My First Baptism

Monday January 17th, 2011

HEY family!


So this week has been really awesome. Me and my companion are doing absolutely great! This week we had two baptisms! Steven is 17 years old and because of some complications with the boundaries we ended up getting him in our ward. He is soo excited about the gospel. We went over there yesterday with some of the ward missionaries because he doesnt know anyone in the ward, that made him even more excited. He is going to institute, and we are teaching him the after baptism lessons! We also baptized a man named Alfredo Seminario. He is about 60 years old give or take and he is also very excited about the gospel. The coolest part was I got to baptize him! This was my first one on the mission. He was a double dunker, kinda confused why he had to be re-baptized but it all worked out in the end. I got some pictures of it to I will see if I can send them. Also, we got a referral from the ward mission leader, and it is a family of 8 and almost all of them seem interested about the gospel, so that will be really sweet if they all get baptized. One of our investigators, Kevin Molina is 14 years old and he is taking english as a second language in school. He has a final exam this week so yesterday I went over there to help him with english, it was kinda nice being able to teach someone english rather than have them teach me spanish lol. okay so I kinda made a deal with the ward mission leader and his brother. They are twins their names are Enrique and Julio. They really like my backpack so I said that if they get us 15 baptisms they can have my backpack. They are both really excited about this and we have gotten about 20 referrals from them. Apparently this backpack is really nice down here. So it will probably get robbed anyway so I figure what the heck! Today for p-day we are going to a place called malecon. I dont really know what it is but apparently it is really cool! We are going with the zone leaders elder tucamo y elder reese. oh and another cool thing, some kind of fungus is growing under my eye. Apparently elder keables had the same thing, but I have this cream that I put on it, hopefully that will help. Elder Keables said it is caused from always sweating, I have it on my waistline, face neck and back. But it feels a lot like poison oak so I am wayyy used to that after last summer so I should be good! crazy that I have already been out in the field for a month huh? it seems like I have been doing this forever, but not long at all. Kinda a weird feeling but I am sure that anybody that has served a
mission knows what I am talking about. last monday we went out teaching and it started pouring down rain, by the time it started pouring we were about 20 minutes from our house. So needless to say we got sooooakking wet. I took some pictures of that as well. I dont think  can send them this week, but I will send some pics next week. Hey mom if you could, send some beef jerkey, a small red book of mormon in english, some more pez candy and acne stuff. The red book of
mormon is for a member that wants to learn english. If you cant dont worry about it just saying. So what is new in your lives? i want a picture of this canoe of dads, and also just the family! Alright well I love you guys, hope all is well and that you are all choosin the right! alright peace out, love you

Love


Elder Storm

New Pics from Ecuador

Elder Storm enjoying an ice cream treat with his companion on Christmas Eve

Elder Storm with a family they were teaching

Another good family that Cody loved

Elder Storm's first Baptism

Caught in a rain storm! Drenched!

I saw him Standing Majestically JK

Monday January 10, 2010

Hey Fam-

Okay well it turns out that I did not go to Quenca. I was transferred to Malvinas, Guayaquil! Its soooo much hotter here lol. I am with Elder Garcia, he is my new companion and a district leader! He is a really hard worker, I am enjoying being here. So you will never guess who is in my zone.... ELDER KEABLES!!!! ya I totally saw him last Wednesday at our district meeting and me and him got to catch up a little bit, but man it was really good to see him! I will probably be seeing a lot more of him because he is in my zone! Soooo sweet, he speaks Spanish super well, not that I am surprised but it was just weird to hear him talk in spanish. My companion had told me the night before that I would probably see Elder Keables the next day and I flipped out, I was sooo excited! Then as soon as we walked in the gates of the church I saw him standing majestically in the doorway jk jk, and it was soo weird to talk to him at first, like I didn't even know what to say, I was in utter shock because it felt sooo surreal that he was actually there! man... so we talked about what was new in good ole chico, and just his plans after the mission and all that good stuff, I hope I can sit down and talk to him sometime for a long time so we can legitly catch up. How awesome is it that we are in the same zone though? gosh I am sooo pumped to be here in Guayaquil. I also saw Elder Vuinovic in the office on Tuesday, and he is lookin good, speaking fluent spanish of course, but ya you can tell he is a leader. And holy moly Elder Keables is a freaking good District Leader, I can honestly say he is the best one I have seen yet, (which isn't saying much but still). Gosh sooo crazy, I got butterflies in my stomach just talking about it... ahhhh. Anyway he invited me and my companion to go play ping-pong today at the stake center, I am not sure if we are going or not, but it would be awesome if we did! okay so about my new sector, Compared to naranjito. Its a little more dangerous, my companion has been robbed twice since he has been here. and he has been here for about 4 months or so. Actually really funny story, So this guy was like on drugs, probably crack or something, and he comes walking up to us and I move out of the way because I automatically knew something is wrong. So he targets my companion and starts kissing his arms and asking for money and has my companion in a death grip. My companion is trying to communicate with him telling him he doesn't have any money and that we are missionaries. But he keeps persisting and keeps kissing him and
bowing to him and all this other stuff. So finally I stepped in and pushed him away from my companion and he walked away. But it was sooo funny, I was laughing sooo hard. my companion was kinda mad that I was laughing so I had to hold back a little bit, but gosh it was sooo funny. Also we got 3 baptismal dates this week, which is awesome, we have 5 right now for the month of January. I would've sent pictures this week but I forgot my camera. Spanish is coming well, everything is going great, I am loving my mission, even though it is really hard, it is sooo rewarding, and sooo worth it. We have a companionship exchange on Tuesday and I have to take someone around a sector that I have no clue where anything is. Should be interesting. Maybe we will just have to sleep on the streets that night because I have no clue where the house is most of the time lol. Pray for me! lol, Well I love you all and miss you even more, send me some pictures of dads canoe, just the family in general or something because I am missing you all like crazy. okay love you guys

LOVE
Elder Storm

Okay so it was a quick email this morning because we had to do other things so me and my companion are here again, don't worry we are being obedient. So ya it is not the number 1 place to retire, I thought I was going to quenca but I am in Guayaquil. YA there is kinda a sewage lake, lots of trash, smells like poop lol anyway it is overall a pretty great area, its a little dangerous, but that's pretty normal for Ecuador. I did go play ping pong with elder Keables, it was really fun, he is the same guy when it comes to that stuff. We got to catch up a little more and it was awesome. So idk if you know but there is a
guy here that makes these awesome scripture cases, but they are kinda expensive. Don't worry I am not saying that I want them right now but maybe sometime in the future, because they are pretty cool. My area is impoverished, but generally speaking everywhere is impoverished here, their richest is like our poorest. My new companion is awesome, his name is Elder Garcia, he is from Lima Peru and ya he has been out here for 15 months. So he is not trunkee which is awesome. He is a hard worker though, and we are being obedient with exactness. The prayers definitely helped because I have an awesome trainer and I am in the same Zone as Elder Keables. So what the heck! Thanks for filling me in guys, Jordan is in Mexico? I had to hear that from Spencer, I gave Spencer his license last Wednesday so he officially
got it, finally. I think Spencer will be sending Sister keables a picture of us, but once again I forgot my camera so I don't have any pics yet. And I think most of those gray hairs were because of me mother. I am sorry I put you through sooo much stuff. alright well i love  you very much,

LOVE
Cody

DAD:
what the heck dad? what are you doing on a ladder? man you never learn do you! gosh I told you to be safe while I was gone, what good is that kayak and canoe gonna do you if you cant even paddle! alright enough of that. DAD I really miss being able to work with you, when I am out there and sweating working hard it reminds me of construction, waking up early and working all day is super rewarding, I miss construction though. Gosh I promise if you spent a week down here you would be grateful for that cold, I know that I will never take it for granted, gosh I miss it. Just pray that I get sent to quenca or loja because it is a bit colder down there. dad I am grateful for your support, I look up to you a ton, you have made me who I am today. you have taught me how to work hard, and that has really paid off here on
the mission, you and mom have been such great examples to me and have shaped me into a missionary. I know you will  probably say "I told you so" but I wish I would have prepared more, because i don't think I did hardly at all. Read some of the scriptures, but not much else. I am sooo grateful that you are my father, and I promise after my mission we are going to do tons of kayaking trips and now canoeing trips!

love
Cody

I am loving the Mission

Monday January 3, 2010

Hey

This week has been absolutely insane... I don't know where to start but on Tuesday we did a companionship exchange, me and Elder Church, two gringos that don't speak a lick of English were together, because our
companions thought it would be a good idea. Apparently we are not supposed to do that but i didn't know that at the time. It actually wasn't bad, we worked and it went well. The rest of the week my companion had no desire to work, he was absolutely and completely trunkee. I could not get him to work at all Wednesday, or Thursday. He just wanted to sleep, it was really hard. Anyway he and elder Gonzalez had a great idea of spending New Years together in a Sector called Triunfo. Anyway we went there Friday afternoon, and spent the night.
Its a bummer...my companion and one of the other companions did some things that shouldn't have and are now being sent home. So anyway, right now I am companions with one of the Zone leaders, Elder Richins. He is suuuchhhh a good missionary, like we got a baptism date yesterday from somebody we talked to for
the first time! Anyway he is a super great example to me and he loves to be absolutely obedient, which is absolutely awesome! Anyway he was companions with Elder Vuinovic for a while, that is Kyle's friend! So
ya small world. I found out that I will see Spencer's in Zone Conferences in January sometime! So that is super super exciting!!!! I cannot wait, I will be sure to take lots of pictures. But as far as the language goes, I speak more than I understand, because everyone speaks soooo fast down here, but little by little I am understanding and speaking more. I did by the jersey, it is awesome! Thanks for depositing the money. Well if dad engineered the balloon drop I am sure it was fabulous! That's sooo sweet that Taylor is taking out his endowments! I am sure he will love that experience and with Jordan escorting him that will be awesome! I am really finding it hard to believe the cold is overrated, the heat is waaaayyyyy more overated, atleast you can do something about the cold. I cant do anything to prevent me from sweating lol. mom I am glad you
are finally seeing procrastination as a gift, haha jk but seriously I know that the way I am has made this a lot easier, everyone always asks me "so let me guess, you are hating the mission right now" but actually its quite the opposite, I am in one of the poorest places I have ever seen in my life, and I am completely content, and I do stress about the language at times, but overall I have just put it in the lords hands, he will bless me with the gift of tongues, he already has, and I know if I am putting forth my best effort, the spirit will do the rest, if people really want the gospel they will be prompted by the spirit to listen to what we have to say and be baptized. mom I am not going to lie, I have thought about coming home a few times, I am loving the mission, but it is no cake walk. I come home so tired at night that during my nightly prayers I will fall asleep and wake up a half hour later on my knees lol. But I know that through the trial of my faith and devotion to Heavenly Father, he will deliver me from my afflictions. So anyway tomorrow me and Elder Richins are going to Guayaquil so I can recieve my new companion! so I am pretty stoked to be able to get an awesome trainer! I hope all is well with you guys, I hope that things have slowed down a little bit at work and that you
are able to relax a bit more, anyway love you all, I wish you the best, and I will talk to you next week!


LOVE
Elder Storm

Obedience to exactness

December 20, 2010

 

Hey Fam!

 

Ya I got the news about Taylors mission call, that is sooooooo freaking sweet, Argentina Sustencia is what I think I heard! The video was a little choppy, but its all good. Man he is gonna love South America, I don't even think it is that hot in Argentina so he will like that. Its hotter than heck right now, we get rain and then the sun comes out and just makes like a steam pot out of this little town of naranjita. Soooo sick that Taylor got his calll, AHhh it makes me sooo happy and excited for him, Argentina is going to be so awesome. Um ya pday is usually on Monday in the mission from what I know so good thing you wrote! I have been adjusting a lot, but it has been soooo awesome, I love the field mom, honestly 100x better than Peru CCM. like almost a night and day difference. Anyway, the Spanish is coming slowly but surely, I comprehend more and more everyday, speaking is slower but I am getting the hang of teaching. We have two baptisms on Christmas which is awesome. Its the parents in the Loor Family, honestly their family reminds me of ours when we were investigating the church, crazy awesome though. they have 3 kids, two girls one boy and the girl has already been baptized, but the parents weren't because they had to be married first, But that is happening this Thursday in another town, so we get to go to that as well! Oh we just got two more baptisms the other day. it is An elderly couple, the Ibarras, and we taught them the first lesson, came back and they wanted to be baptized. I was beyond excited when I heard that! Gosh its awesome finding people that just want it right away. Our apartment is normal size I think. it has two bedrooms and a kitchen and a bathroom. prior to popular belief we do not have to wash our clothes in a bucket, and we have running water 24/7. I have heard a lot of rumors that have not come true so far, I don't know where people get some of this stuff. Ya we have a phone in our apartment so we will be able to call from there, idk where to buy a calling card, but I will try to figure it out today... oh and I wanna send you guys some stuff but I heard it is like 10 bucks for a pound, so idk you tell me, it will be a late Christmas gift or something. Anyway, your prayers are helping me because I am absolutely loving every part of Ecuador, oh and it is just me and my companion covering the whole city of naranjita so ya it is just the two of us in our Apt. I never thought people would, but they have been having problems saying my name, it comes out like this "ehhstern" but its all good, I probably don't pronounce anything correctly in Spanish lol. the town is pretty normal, well for South America, tons of businesses and most of them sell the same thing, kinda like china town in San Fransisco. I had a weird/cool experience this last week, we went to a members home to eat lunch and he had just killed on of his pigs. So he was showing us the guts and cuts and it interesting. Then he also owns chickens and they were slaughtering two hundred that day, another member works for him and he is an awesome guy, kinda like a brother wagner latino version. Anyway he was killing and boiling the chickens and my companion thought it would be a good experience for me to see how it is done, so Brother Milanda brings one of the chickens to me and asked if I wanted to kill it. I said sure and so he gave me the knife and told me to stick it through its neck. So I did so, kinda felt weird but whatever. And then I pulled out the knife which was promptly followed by a stream of blood that was then splattered all over my shirt. He started laughing and so did my companion. Luckily I had some "tide to go" so it was all good for the rest of the day, and all this happened before we ate lunch, appetizing huh? haha ya I know. So more of my daily schedule is that we study until 11 in the morning and then go out and teach the rest of the day, we very rarely dont have another appt to go to which is nice. The members are always very giving, and we never leave a home without eating or drinking something. the food we eat is soooooooo much better than the food in Peru, omg like seriously love it! eat lots of rice, but I am used to it by now, I have only had one meal I didnt like and that was after the chicken blood experience, I think we ate some weird part of a pig, I am not really sure. I am excited about the CDs you are making, I want some soundtracks to movies, like tarzan and prince of Persia, maybe bravehart idk but soundtracks are awesome as long as they are either disney or instrumental.. Obedience with exactness! We only have to walk about a couple minutes to get to the chapel, its literally right around the corner from our apt. I do get homesick on pdays but that is completely normal. Gosh I just love this work, I love you guys sooo much!

Alright well I gotta write the president, but talk to you on saturday!

love

   Elder Cody Storm

In case you were wondering...I am in the mission field right NOW!

December 16, 2010

 

Hey Familia!

 

Elder Storm here reporting from a local place that has internet, called a cyber. In case you were wondering I am totally in the mission field right now, and it is awesome. I am in a place called naranjito and it is about 1:30 outside Guayaquil. Everything is absolutely lovely, it has been off and on rain since I got here which is nice because it makes it feel more christmassy, Besides the fact that I am sweating like a pig 24/7 lol. Anywho me and my companion cover the whole town by ourselves. I have no idea where we are or where we are going most of the time, but esta bien. I love you dad, I appreciate you taking time to email me, it means a whole lot and it brought a huge smile to my face. Anyway, my companions name is Elder Montoya, and he is from Trujillo Peru. He has been out for about 23 months so I wont have him for very long, but you can definitely tell he knows what he is doing. I think possibly I left my camera and my english scriptures in the mission home, so I wont be sending pictures this week but I should get it by next week. So we left for the airport at about 6:30 in the morning on Tuesday, they said that we werent able to call anyone, which stinks but hey in 9 days I will be talking to you guys!!! We got to the airport and realized that we were only allowed 33 kilos of weight combined in both our bags. I was at about 46 kilos so we were going to have to pay some big overages. Luckily the church came to the rescue, and paid, for a second there I thought I was going to have to dump some stuff. We finally got on the plane, and we were all soooo nervous, I wanted to sleep but I definitely could not sleep at all, sooo excited/nervous. The flight was about 2 hours, and when I saw Ecuador for the first time, I was at ease. It is about 10x nicer than peru, so I am super happy. as we were walking through the airport I was thinking, ahh the humidity isnt that bad, I can definitely handle this. Then we saw the mission President and his APs. He is a super nice guy, automatically called me elder Tormenta, which I have been getting used to because almost everyone calls me that down here. We all piled into a van and headed towards the mission office. We had a quick lunch and then we had an orientation meeting, pretty much a review of what we learned in the CCM. After we got to go to the temple which is like right across the street from the mission office. It was sooo awesome, I absolutely love this temple, talk about beautiful. After I took some pictures in front of the temple, and then people just started going their separate ways, Sooooo weird to be by myself with my companion, that is probably the weirdest part actually. I am so used to being able to be with a bunch of guys, not used to it at all. We spent the night in the mission home and in the morning left on a bus to my Sector. naranjita is sorta jungle like, there is banana trees and pineapple trees everywhere. Lots of people live in houses made out of bamboo. We actually taught a lesson to a family in a bamboo house. I am loving it so far though. it is sooo sweet. Yes it is hard work, but I can handle it. I have already noticed my spanish improving since I got here so that is good. Today is pretty chillax though, we did service in the morning from about 10:30 to 12:30, ate lunch and now we are emailing, its a mini-pday. I have some unfortunate news however, I have not  yet seen spencer, I was sooo hoping I would but it didnt happen, I have heard from a number of elders that he is a stud, and everyone thinks he is sooo cool. (typical of spencer haha) anyway I hope I get to see him soon, talk about an epic reunion, chariots of fire kinda stuff right there. Anyway didnt get your packages, but an elder said he had mail for me so they are probably in there! I will probably get them early next week is what my companion said. Oh and we already have two baptisms lined up for the 25th! talk about getting my feet wet in a hurry (no pun intended). Anywho, family, I love you guys, think about each one of you everyday, no idea what a great influence you are on me, your emails are awesome. you guys mean the world to me, please stay safe and dont get hurt, idk why I always worry about that for some reason. All is well with me though, no need to worry, the Lord is on my side and I am ready to baptize some people and bring them to Christ!

oh and how weird is that that it is only gonna be the 4 of you for christmas? I know I would be weirded out, and dad I am excited to see this canoe of yours, be sure to send pictures of this masterpiece.! dont worry I wont open the packages until Christmas! okay love you guys, peace out

LOVE

Elder Tormenta