There's No Place Like Home

It’s true, you know. There really is no place like home. That is something I think one cannot fully appreciate until they have not only left his or her home but also been severed from phone lines and the ability to pick up and call loved ones to feel that instant connection to home. This week, as Elder Berthelson would confirm, I have had a hard time not being able to call. Every time something awesome happens or I just need to share news or I want to have a breakdown on someone’s doorstep, my instinct is to reach in my pocket and tell my mom or someone about it. No dice out here. At least 15 times a day I can be heard pleading, “Can I call my mom?” “No”, is the cold and constant reply.

It’s not that I’m homesick. I’m just used to sharing everything with my family and that is not possible.

All things considered, this has been a really good week. We finally got a hold of Douglas which was so awesome. He is golden and excited to learn more. He is already reading the Book of Mormon and we haven’t even taught him yet. He said his cousin just died and his grandma is very sick so he wants us to come back after the holiday. It should go well. We did a lot of finding this week and found quite a few potential investigators.

On Monday night and Tuesday, we did exchanges. I went with Elder Rodgers, the District leader to Bridgeport. He is in a Spanish area and we had so much fun. I learned a lot from him and had a cool experience. We were out tracting/street-contacting and saw these two ladies sitting in their driveway. We talked to them for a while and they told us to come back in the morning. We did and left them with a DVD, a Book of Mormon, and a reading assignment which they committed to do. We taught them a lesson and it was so good. I got a picture with them so I will send that eventually when I have enough pictures to develop. I haven’t been taking as many as I probably should.

It is so hot here! Humidity is of the Devil! Just thought I should throw that in.

We are getting fed quite a bit which is good. The members in this ward are AMAZING! I really love this ward. Elder Berthelson gives me the impression that it won’t be like this everywhere and that makes me sad.

So this week has been okay but pretty uneventful. By this time next week, however, (hopefully) we will have a whole bunch of new investigators to talk about! I hope all of you are doing well and that the sun is shining wherever you are! Let me know if you have any questions for me. All my love!

Pres. and Sis. Pehrson with Cody

It's all about the tie!

Note the matching red ties...Cody's idea!

I'm a missionary!

Week One In The Field

"And I said to myself, 'Where would people never notice a town full of robots? ...CONNECTICUT!'"

That's a line from "The Stepford Wives". Except the robots here are not perfectly beautiful women who tend house and dote on their husbands all day, they are people who are "all set" in their church and "all set" in their ways.

This week has been kinda tough; definitely not what I expected for my first week. However, I have been able to see great blessings already and I know I'm doing what is right. Let me give you the rundown.

Let me set the scene. Monday. 4 AM. BEEP BEEP BEEP! (That’s what an alarm sounds like) We got up, finished packing, got ready, and jumped on a bus to the airport. As soon as we got there, we checked our bags and then got to call home. I called Mom’s cell and talked to her and Grandma for a while. I did pretty well until Tyson got on the phone and I broke down. After I got to talk with them for a while, I called Melanie. The nice voice that was suppose to tell me I had 270 minutes remaining on my phone card informed me there were only seven. I was so good to talk to her until the same nasty lady said there was one minute left. Before twenty seconds had passed, the call was ending and the last thing I heard was Melanie crying, “I love you” into the phone. That was really hard.

As we approached Chicago for our layover, the clouds were really thick. The only thing I could see out the window was a blanket of white and the blue sky. Then I noticed the top few levels of the Sears Tower poking up out of the clouds. It looked so cool. I tried to get a picture but it didn’t turn out.

The clouds were just as thick landing in Hartford. As we came down over the winding rivers and fields of green, I felt like I was descending upon a home I left long ago. It was so gorgeous and I was filled with such an intense happiness. We met President and Sister Pehrson at the airport and went to their home for dinner and a testimony meeting. We all spent the night there and when we got up the next morning (Tuesday) we headed to the church for some training and meeting our companions.

My companion is Elder Berthelson (it rhymes with ‘Turtle-son’) from West Jordan, Utah. He goes home in September and has been doing a really good job of training me. So on Tuesday night, we were on our way to our apartment and were going to stop by someone they tracted into last week. We stopped at his house and were hoping to have a lesson but they were just sitting down to dinner so we said we’d come back in the morning. This man is named Douglas and we have gone by his house EVERY DAY this week but he is never home.

So we went to the apartment and got settled in then hit the hay. Wednesday we tracted the street Douglas lives on. We found an Israeli man who was a little over energetic and told us he’d read from the Book of Mormon if we’d look up his religion online. Unfortunately, that is not a church-approved website. Then we did service at a food bank; just boxing food and throwing out what we thought was bad. That was hard because there wasn’t a single thing I looked at that I would have considered as “not bad”. We did a lot of tracting that day and had NO success. Even Elder Berthelson said it was not a good day. That night, we helped a family move. It was good to meet with some members. They were super nice! While we were at their house, I took a picture of a table that Grandma wants but she can’t have because it’s in North Carolina now.

Thursday was district meeting which was really good. We talked about desires and then went to the mall for lunch and some browsing. It was very nice to be in a mall again and was the moment I felt most at home in the last month. Then we went to meet Sister Riccio. What an amazing woman! She was so much fun to hang out with and reminded me of Sarah Grether, for those of you that know her. We talked about her daughter who is at BYU-I and struggling so I told her to invite my friends to help her out. By the way, major thanks to everyone who did that! Sister Riccio told me on Sunday that it meant so much to her! After Sister Riccio, I’ll give you on guess what we did. Drum roll, please…. TRACTING!

Friday was a pretty uneventful day until we had a lesson with a recent convert named Cathy and her husband Roger. We talked about faith and it went really well. Next week we are just meeting with Roger who is convinced he has no faith. That will be interesting.

Saturday was a really good day. We did some tracting and such in the day time and went to a baptism for two eight-year-olds where I gave a talk on faith that was so good; most people thought I’d been on my mission for a year. Then, after the baptism, we went to the ward mission leader’s house for his wife’s surprise birthday. It was a really nice party and the first chance I had to see the Connecticut I had expected: “The Stepford Wives” version.

Sunday was perfect. We didn’t have any meetings because it was Father’s Day so we just went to church at 1:30 and the ward here is so amazing! People have to travel quite a ways to get to church (five towns make up our ward) so people truly are from ALL walks of life and everyone is so accepting of one another. It is humbling to be in a place where the gospel is true no matter what you have or who you’re with. After church, we had hamburgers at the Nelson’s. They were really good. Afterward, we decided to street-contact and ran into a guy in our ward named Brother Steinke. He is a police officer and has to supervise road construction. He taught the lesson in Elder’s quorum and it was so amazing! It was about Peter denying Christ three times. It was so good and it made me want to study Peter. Someone pointed out that Christ had twelve disciples in the boat when he walked on water and eleven stayed in the boat but Peter had the faith to go to Him. Also, he wasn’t the fastest runner, but he was the first one in Christ’s empty tomb. It was a very spiritual day and was just what I needed to get this week started on the right foot.

I hope all is well with all of you! I love each and every one of you so much! I’m doing well but keep praying for me and know that I am doing the same for all of you! Sorry this was so long. I’ll keep it shorter next time.

Greetings from the Land of Tennis Rackets and Pottery Barn

That's a Saturday Night Live reference in case you didn't get it.

Well, I'm here. The flights were long on tiny planes and we didn't even get to run through Ohare like they do in "Home Alone". Oh well. I digress. So, normally my P-day would be Monday but since I don't have bedding, My companion, Elder Berthelson, felt bad for me and said I should get you my new address. Here it is:

6295 Main St.

Trumbull, CT 06611

Yes, I'm in Trumbull. "The Rumble in Trumbull" in fact. It is apparently the wealthiest area in our mission. We already went to see a potential investigator who was about to eat so we're going back in the morning. I've been honked at (in a good way) once and flipped off (in a bad way) once. So yeah.

I should go but I hope all is well with you and I promise you'll get more stories and details on Monday. Love you!

Love,

Elder Cody M. Jardine

1 Down, 51 To Go

That is a two week period. I only have to do 51 two week periods more and then two years will be up. Crazy, huh? the math doesn't really seem to add up but i promise it does.

So first thing's first: This week has been a bit of a roller coaster. The kind that goes up and down then up and down. Like many roller coasters, when you get off, you vomit your brains out. That just might happen to me due to the two day headache I've had that refuses to cease. All in all however, I think I've been able to get off this roller coaster and had desires to stand in line for it again. I really have had a lot of good experiences this week.

So at a fireside, we sang "A Child's Prayer" for the closing song. The Spirit was so strong there. It was so amazing to hear 2000+ missionaries singing a testimony of God and how He hears and answers our prayers and it reminded me that as missionaries, we sometimes have to have the faith of a child. It was very cool. Elder Bleazard and I have also had some amazing Teaching appointments this week. One with a Mock investigator we met with last week and this time, our lesson went way better. We got her to make commitments to pray about Joseph Smith and read and pray about The Book of Mormon. Then, last night, we met with a teacher to practice teaching the plan of salvation. He told us when we were finished that it was an amazing lesson. He commended us for the personal experiences and scriptures we shared and told us they were all perfect for the situation he made up and that he had never even heard one of the scriptures before but that it was "PERFECT".

Yesterday afternoon, we had a large group meeting to discuss how baptism is central to our purpose as missionaries. It completely changed my attitude. I know now that I can be a successful missionary no matter what Connecticut's statistics are. If I set worthwhile goals and earnestly seek to achieve them, I can fill baptismal fonts. I know that I just need to be diligent and try my hardest and the Lord will provide the rest. It was such an amazing meeting.

However, it paled in comparison to last night's fireside. Robert D. Hales came to speak to us with his wife and it was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. He talked about how obedience is requisite to having the spirit and the Spirit is requisite to missionary work; especially baptism. It was so great to hear from a prophet of God talking to me not as 1 in 13 million members of the church but as 1 of 2000 young people preparing to serve the Lord. His message felt very tailored to me and it was an experience I will always carry with me. One thing he talked about was being a mission president in London. He said he had a prima ballerina, a concert pianist, and a star basketball player as missionaries who were all told if they served missions, their careers would be virtually over. He commended them for choosing missionary work but then went on to say how we had all made sacrifices to be there. Whether we gave up scholarships or other educational opportunities or whatever it was, everyone sacrificed something to be at the MTC. He then said that whatever we sacrificed could not possibly be worth what we would gain from our mission. I know this was a true statement. I don't think I sacrificed that much to be here. At least I didn't let anything go that I can't have when I get back but I know this will be the most worthwhile experience of my life.

I love this work. I love being here and I can't wait to get to the field. Thanks to everyone who is supporting me and praying for me. I love all of you and I feel your support. Thanks for everything. Next time I email, I'll be in Connecticut so look forward to that!

All my love,

Elder Cody M. Jardine

1 Down, 103 To Go

One year ago yesterday, I graduated high school. I've done a lot since then but it seems like the time flew by. I thought about this yesterday and how fast these two years are going to fly by. Then I asked myself, "Is that what I want?" Yes, I am excited to be home with all of you again. BUT, I'm so excited to serve and already know I'm going to love my mission and the people.

So there is an annoying red clock ticking time away and I hope I get to say everything before I get logged off. First of all, I am loving it here at the MTC. You can all rest assured that I'm doing okay and I'm in good hands. My companion is Elder Bleazard from Manti and we are having a blast with the other elders in our room; Prusse and Owens. There are two other elders in my district and 4 sisters all going to Temple Square. My district leader is quite the tool, but I'm learning to just suck it up.

Remember a couple days before I came here and Tyson was doing all that fake dialogue (SP?) stuff that was getting on my nerves? Well, I figured out he was doing that to help prepare me for my district leader. He is always having conversations with himself.

This is going to be very jumbled and such but i want to make sure I hit all the highlights. Yesterday, I had to sew a button back on a pair of slacks. It wasn't anything like what Grandma could have done, but i think it's on for good now. Plus it's on the inside so looks don't really matter. I've been the only person in my district to have a hot shower every day so far and who has slept through the night so those are definite tender mercies considering how much I value those two things. The food here. Well, it's gross. There have been some hit-and-miss things that I enjoy but I have just been too spoiled with REAL food my whole life that I can tell the difference when it's cooked cafeteria style.

Now some more substantial and important stuff. On Sunday night, there was a fireside where Robert P. Swenson spoke. It was really good and uplifting and lifted my spirits, even though I can't remember what he said and I don't have my notes with me. Last night, Bradley D. Foster from the second quorum of the seventy and his wife spoke. Her talk was about being able to say, "yay" even when days are hard and you feel alone. On days when I get the door slammed in my face and I can't call home, I can still find something to be happy about. He talked on a myriad of topics but what really stuck out to me was that if I am just myself and teach with the Spirit, I Will be able to do much more and much better work.

On Monday, Elder Bleazard and I had a mock-teaching appointment. We had been given some background info on an elderly couple but it turned out we were teaching a college-aged girl so we weren't prepared at all but we felt like it went okay considering the situation and we felt the spirit and learned a lot.

Thanks for all the letters!! I got 15 on Friday and 12 on Tuesday so the love is felt and IT IS GOOD. I love you all so much and am praying for all of you! God Speed!

Love,

Elder Cody M. Jardine