September 27, 2010

Hey! This week was a really exciting and interesting one. I worked really hard and had the opportunity to work with some other elders that don't have very much experience out here in the mission either. I had 3 mini-cambios (being with a different companion for the day) this week and 2 of them were with elders that speak about the same as I do...! It was difficult and we struggled but I lead most of the teaching and was able to get what we needed to get done while my companion was in a different sector helping some other missionaries out. Everything is going by so fast now and I can't believe that I have already been out here for as long as I have. I am learning so much right now and I am getting better at every aspect of the mission.

We had conference with our President this week and we got to hear form him and I got to see a few of my friends from the MTC. It was nice and they are all doing pretty good. We talked in conference a lot about the love that God has for all of his children and that we need to search for that same love for the people around us. We talked about how the atonement (Jesus' sacrifice) doesn't have nay affect on peoples lives if they aren't taking the steps to use it and making those ordinances in their lives such as baptism...I am doing good and am on a spiritual high, I feel so blessed for everything I have and all of the knowledge that I have gained out here. I love the life that I am living and the experiences that I am able to have at this young age of my life.

On a non spiritual note guess what!!! I weighed myself today and ....I weigh 165 lbs. I have officially gained 20 lbs out here in the mission field! the food here is really good and there is a lot of it, but I know I need to be careful and start watching what I eat a little better. But...No fears I'm still not fat, I'm doing my exercises. Not much else is going on here just working hard and trying my hardest to keep learning this impossible language. I am doing really good and I am so thankful for all of the support that I have from everyone. Have a good week and keep praying. Elder Dastrup

September 20, 2010

sorry about not posting this last week...I didn't realize I hadn't posted it til today....cody's mom

Hey everyone!
I had a really good week but it went by really fast and for some reason I don't remember much. This week was 18 de septiembre which is their version of 4th of July. It was pretty interesting and a lot of fun, but nearly impossible to work. The festivities lasted all weekend and are ending today. Well I have some really, really bad news.....mom don't kill me but... I lost all of my mission pictures! I know mom told me like 50 times to make sure I save them onto discs and sent them home but I never did and now I have none. I let someone use my camera to take pictures at the ward party and she erased all of my pictures on accident when she was trying to erase 1!!! I almost got really mad at her but then I realized that it wouldn't help the situation so I am just trying to be happy with everything but...if anyone knows a way to recover photos that have been erased off a memory care I would love to know because I lost about 400 photos...HELP!!!
We are working hard to find more people to teach but we haven't had too much success. We got a lot of references from the members in that ward that should be good but we are going to have to find all of the houses and try to get in. I got to see President and his wife on Sunday which was nice and Hermana Humphrey said that she has been talking (emailing) to mom a lot which was really cool, kind of weird but cool...haha. (mom is helping build a blog for my mission). We have conference on Friday so I will try to take a picture with her to send it to you. My Spanish is getting better everyday and I still struggle with it but I can understand pretty much any conversation that people are talking about and I usually can say what I want to. I need to study grammar and vocab more, but I definitely see an improvement. I love the work out here and we are trying to do everything that we can to get the Lord's work going a little better down here in Chile. Keep praying for the people here...Love you guys!!!
Yours Truly,
Elder Cody Dastrup

August 13, 2010

Hey everyone! I don't have a lot of time this week so I am going to do it quick! (I wrote president in Spanish and it took a little longer) haha. I am doing good and like I said I had transfers this last week. My new companion is Elder Bastow and he is from Twin Falls, ID. He is an awesome guy and an even better missionary and he will help me a lot with all of the things that I struggle with right now. His Spanish is good and when we teach eh likes to do it with 100% power and spirit and 0% amor! He teaches extremely different than Elder Garcia did but I am learning a lot and we should have some really good experiences. We worked a lot with the members this week and obtained 10 references on people to teach! We want to work with the members a lot more and help them to help us find and teach more people. The weather is changing a lot here and it is slowly starting to warm up. At night it is still really cold but the days are warmer. My new cop want to do some really fun activities on our pdays so I am excited for that and he wants to do more miny transfers with the other sectors in the district which means I will be working a lot more with missionaries that don't have much time in the mission. It's kind of scary but it will be good for me and for my Spanish because I will have to step up and teach more. I love all of the blessings I am receiving from being out here on the mission and I hope that you all are doing well. I love you all so much and hope that you all are doing alright. Choi
Yours truly,
Elder Cody Dastrup

Sept. 6, 2010

Hey! So I had a crazy week!!! I finally go the package mom sent me with the stuff from Jess and the letter from AJ. Thank you guys for everything, I was super excited when I got everything. Ok sooo the funny or the bad 1st?... I will start with the bad. My comp Elder Garcia is getting transferred and he is leaving to be a Zone leader in the Zone where Elder Reed and Stermetz are. (My 2 best friends from the MTC). It's like 4 hours away and it's possible I might not ever see him again because he is so far. I am having a tough time with it because I have really grown to love him and I will really miss him. Also I am losing my Zone Leader Elder Moulton, he is done with his mission and is going home. Both Garcia and Moulton were such great examples to me and I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to serve with them. If I have any sort of success on my mission I know it will have a lot to do with the good start that I have gotten and the good examples that I had laid in front of me. Tomorrow I receive my new companion at like 10 or 11 in the morning and for the next 2 weeks or so I will be helping him get comfortable in the sector. I am a little nervous but not too much because I know the sector and our investigators really good, I am just more sad to be losing my Papi (1st companion in the mission field). Ok enough sobbing!

So last night was horrible but super, super funny! Next time you have the missionaries in your house for dinner ask them if this has ever happened to them....So we kind of knew that Garcia was going to leave this cambio so we have been visiting members and saying bye for the last 2 days. First of all we had a huge and late lunch at like 2:30, it was really good but a lot of food. Afterwards at like 6 we had a family home evening at like 6 with a family in the ward. They made a bunch of pancakes and I ate more then anyone and after the pancakes they brought out a pastry thing and cut me a huge piece. I literally have never been so full in my life. I am not exaggerating when I say I couldn't hardly walk. Afterwards we went to another families house to say buy and take a picture. They insisted we ate something but I physically couldn't and after they gave me a huge drink of this nasty melon juice. So after this we went to an appointment that we had at 9 to reschedule for today but when we got there he insisted to give us a drink of papaya soda. I shouldn't have drank it....but he was persistent so I tried. I got like half way done with it and realized it wasn't possible, we kept trying to leave but he kept talking and talking and talking! I thought I was going to die. I finished the drink painfully and we left his house. I got 2 houses down and threw up all over the front of their patio and it wasn't a little throw up, it was epic. But it gets better, I threw up all over my shoes so I walked and found a patch of thick grass to wipe my shoes off. As I was wiping my shoes off "cleaning" them you will never guess what happened....I stepped in a huge pile of dog crap! And about an hour later I found out my companion was leaving me. Probably one of the top 5 worst nights EVER!!! I found humor in all of it and am truly trying to be optimistic about everything. Well I have got to go but wish me luck this next week and keep me in your prayers! Love you guys all so much and hope you have an amazing and joyful week.
Yours Truly,
Elder Cody Dastrup

August 30, 2010

(AJ what were you doing down in Chile??)

Hey how's everyone doing? I had an amazing week here in Chile and am loving the mission. We have conference here in my city tomorrow and Wednesday with the mission president and one other zone, so that should be interesting...(I am the newest missionary in the conference and it is training) I am a little nervous but I know it will be really good for me. A week from tomorrow are transfers and I have a distinct feeling that Elder Garcia is leaving me. He has been an awesome companion but I'm pretty sure our time together is almost done. I have learned a lot of things since getting here a couple of months ago but I still have a burning desire to be better, in the language, scriptures, spiritually and just to be an overall better person. We are working really hard and have a lot going on this week in the mission. We had 3 baptisms in our sector this month which is the most in the zone and I think possibly the mission. On average our mission baptizes around 80 people every month and there is 150 missionaries. We could be working so much harder and be doing better but I know we are doing a good job.

I don't remember any really funny things that happened this week. It is really cold here again and we have had a lot of rain, which makes it miserable to work, but no complaints here, I know it is better then the summer you all just had in Phoenix. I don't know if there is anything specific you all want to know about Chile or my mission, but if there is ask me (or email my mom) and I can write about it. I attached some photos of the baptism, Javiera, her dad, mom and brother Jaquin (my favorite family here) haha. and a picture of this kid in our ward Christian who is super funny and reminds me of AJ a lot. I have met a lot of people here that remind me of people back in the states so in a way I kind of feel at home here. I hope you are all doing well and having an amazing time, if you get a minute read our wards scripture of the month....D&C 1:12...It's POWERFUL!!! Love you all.

Choi,
Elder Cody Dastrup

August 23, 2010

Hey Everyone! I had an awesome week! How is everyone doing back in the states? Chile is hanging in there and we are having a lot of success. We had a lot of miracles this week...I had a mini cambio with one of the zone leaders, Elder Moulton on Tuesday and it went really good. We have a 16 year old named Andy who we visit him and his mom like once every week or two but he had a lot of problems so we never really thought he was listening to our messages. He likes to to go out in the night with his friends and rob people because his family doesn't have any money and stuff like that ....SUPER FLITE! (Gangster) but I know deep down he is a good kid and just needs some help. So Elder Moulton and I taught him a lesson that was really powerful and he has been praying and said he wants to change and be baptized. This is a huge miracle and I don't know if he will follow through with his words but if he does, it would be the best decision he has ever made. We had another miracle on Sunday too...Hermano Del Valle (the dad of Javiera) talked with the bishop and really wants to baptize his daughter before we have transfers (7th of Sept) so Bishop said that we could do the baptism this week! So we have Javiera's Baptism this Saturday. I am really excited and it should be really special.

I am a little nervous for this upcoming month because I don't know if I will have a change in companions or not. I think one transfer more with Elder Garcia would be perfect, but I have a feeling he is leaving. Our sector is strong right now and we have a lot of potential so I think one more transfer with Elder Garcia would be perfect. My health is good and I ate McDonald's today so I feel AMAZING!! It's weird to say, but if you live here and can afford to eat at McDonald's you are pretty well off. (I used my personal visa, haha) It's starting to heat up here and I am beginning to realize that I am going to have a really hot Christmas. I miss everyone a lot but time is flying and I almost have 5 months in the mission. I wish time would slow down but it is what it is and I need to keep working harder every day. The only struggle I am having right now is patience. I want to know the language perfect, learn the scriptures better and have everyone here love me, but I know that I am not ready for all the blessings the Lord has in store for me. I need to be patient and work hard so I will be prepared. I love the work with all my heart and I would die for this message that we have, it's true and I am witnessing it's effects every day. Hope everyone is doing well.... Love always Elder Cody Dastrup

Aug. 16, 2010

Hey! I am doing well this week, how's everyone else? This week we had a lot of new people but it was hard to get into their houses for lessons. We had a few investigators at church and it was a nice sacrament meeting...the other 2 classes were something like a train wreck. The church is young here and there is still a lack of good leaders in our area, but with time and hard work hopefully that will change. My comp and I are trying to find new ways to find people to teach so we got an idea....when we don't have anything to do and we need to find more people to teach we are going to go to the other churches in the area and sit in for their meetings and if we get an opportunity to teach or share a thought, we will. We feel like it will be a good experience for us and we will be able to learn more about the other churches and find more people to teach (that's the idea, we will see how it goes) haha. Today we had a zone activity and we went to a place called "Salta de Itata" which is a huge waterfall. It was fun and I got a lot of pictures that I will attach. I will also attach the pictures from our baptisms the last two weeks. Speaking of which...Javiera will be baptized in 3 weeks, the first week of September. She has a desire to be baptized but we just need a couple of weeks to prepare her dad to baptize her (amazing family). The work here is good and I am loving every minute of it. All I can really ask for is for everyone to keep praying for me and my investigators and remember how blessed you are to live in the country that you do. Love you all and have a great week! Chowww....the one and only Elder Cody Dastrup

August 9, 2010

The only good thing about Monday is that we get our letter from Elder Dastrup....lol

What's going on! It was an awesome week for Elder Garcia and I. We baptized Luis and are hoping to get his family involved with the church as well, but it will be difficult. We have another baptism this week for a girl named Javiera, she is like Katie but 2 or 3 years younger. Their family has a lot of money and we have family home evening with them every week. It is a member family but they were inactive for a long time, but Elder Garcia and I have helped them get back to church and Javiera is ready for baptism this Sunday! We are having a lot of success and I know it's a huge blessing because there was only 1 baptism in the last 6 months before I got here.

I witnessed a miracle today. Elder Garcia and I were walking to take our laundry to a lady in the ward who does our laundry for us and we were talking to people on the street while we were going and I asked a random lady how her day was and stuff and she said she had something for me...MY PLAQUE! The name tags that missionaries have, I lost it 2 weeks ago and she had it in her purse and said she found it in the street a couple of weeks ago. We live in a decent sized area so it was a little crazy for that to happen.

I finally got letters this week, I received a lot so I won't get back to everyone all at once but I wrote like 6 today so...yea in a week or so those should be arriving. Thanks for the package mom, I got it and have eaten all the candy! (American candy is so much better the Chilean). Thanks for the letters/candy from my friends in there also (Jess and Josh). This next Monday Elder Garcia and I have decided to go into the city and take some pictures in the morning so the next email should have a bunch. I am doing great, my health is great and it sounds like everyone is doing ok. I love you all and miss you like crazy, this week I have missed my family a lot for some reason and I think it's because I see how happy families are down here and how close they are one with another. I think that is one thing we can all work on back in the states, family home evenings are essential whether you are a member of the church or not. Set aside one night a week where you can spend 2 hours or so doing something with only you and your family, or with another family that could use some help. Show love for each other because you never know what tomorrow is going to bring. Have an amazing week and keep praying for my area and investigators, it's working!!! Love Elder Dastrup

August 2, 2010

Hey how's it going? I am doing good today, the weather is still pretty cold here but not unbearable. We played Futbol and I had 4 goals! I am dominating the Latinos down here, haha. Elder Garcia's back is fine, he had some inflammation with his muscles or something but he rested a lot this past week so we will be back to working hard tonight and the rest of this week. Stephanie got baptized! It was seriously the best experience of my life, watching someone come up out of the waters of baptism pure and clean....amazing. We have another baptism (Luis) this week but it is a little sketchy, pray for us this week please. We are over one ward because generally down here there is one building for each ward. Our building is nice and is close to our house. Our area is about 7 miles long and 4 miles wide (It's big), but some of it is pastures so we don't always have to go 7 miles a day. I have had some crazy food (like horse), but I never know what I am eating...I just eat it...FAST! haha This food here is actually pretty good but I feel like it all tastes the same. The weather here in Chillan (my city) is cold, it gets past freezing every night and I think the coldest it has gotten was like 15 degrees but I don't know because they don't use Fahrenheit here. I'm glad to hear dad has been working on my car and when it gets cooler outside you guys can drive it as much as you want. Sounds like the house is going to be different when I get back, and I am super excited. You all are staying really busy and that is good to hear. Anyways I am doing good and hope all is well, love you so much and pray for you all every day. Elder Dastrup


p.s. if you have sent a letter anytime soon I found out from the mission home it should be delivered this Thursday if all goes well. There is only 3 cars for the whole mission so that is why it takes so long for him to get letters delivered to him and our package that we sent 3 weeks ago just got to the mission home....thanks for all your support to Elder Dastrup .....love Cody's Mom)

July 26, 2010

Hey! I had an awesome week but not much crazy stuff happened. We have a baptism this week on Sunday with Stephanie and the following week scheduled with Luis. I am really excited for both of them. Luis is a very poor man with a huge family living in his little house (probably 15 people) and they are CRAZY! We only get to teach him in his home because nobody else wants to listen but he loves it and can't wait to be baptized to be an example for his family. It is amazing to see how our message can literally change peoples lives in only a few weeks (we have something special). My companion is having problems with his back so tomorrow morning we are going to the doctor, but today we mostly spent our time cleaning the house. It is super clean!!! We went downtown today to buy some stuff for the week and I knew I needed to buy a rug for the house but forgot. So when we got home I was looking for something to use as a rug, I found some blankets in the closet and decided I would use one to make some rugs for the house. I cut it into 4 rugs for our tile floored house and when my companion had seen what I did his face went pale and he said "usted tiene una pecado" which means "you have sinned" haha. I guess hmna Fischbeck doesn't like when things happen to the extra blankets so.....don't mention this to her mom! I tooka picture with Elder Fischbeck and of the Fischbeck's and they are attached to this, also a picture of the volcano's we visited 2 weeks ago. Anyways I gotta get back to work but have a good week and love everyone! Elder Dastrup

P.S. I am only getting letters like once every 3-4 weeks and packages once every 4 weeks sooo if I don't get back to you very fast sorry!!! Choi

July 19, 2010

Hey Everyone! How is it going! Chile is doing great and I have my first baptism this week, STEPHANIE! It's gunna be awesome. I also had my first baptismal commitment this past week....IN SPANISH! haha. The work is good and my companion is still really good. I am super excited for tonight because we are inviting another person to be baptized this Sunday! I think she will say yes, but I don't know. She is 10 years old and reminds me of Katie, they have quite a bit of money and she dresses just like Katie and looks 2 or 3 years older then she is. Her dad is super cool and likes the NBA! And likes the SUNS! (my favorite Chilean I have met so far) I think we should be having more success in the next month or so with baptisms but you never know here. We had 8 investigators at iglesia and it was super good, because that is usually the hardest part, getting them to church. We have church at 10 in the morning and I don't want to call the people of Chile lazy but...they are. haha We knocked a door the other day at noon and got yelled at because it was too early and the man was sleeping, and it was a weekday! So pray for our investigators to wake up a little earlier and come to church! We played soccer today because it's our p-day and I had 2 goals! We played 10 on 10 on a huge field and it was good for me, I needed to go run around. How are you all doing? I miss our ward so much and all my friends but I know what I am doing is so much better then anything else anyone could be doing. I am also currently reading Jesus the Christ, it is amazing and everyone should read it (members and non members of the church) Jesus Christ....wow, I just know with all my heart that he is our Savior and I cannot explain it but I feel so close to him right now. I've got to go but know that I always pray for you all and just want do say, enjoy life it is truly so amazing, just look around.
Love you all,
Elder Cody Dastrup

July 12, 2010

Hey everyone! This email might be a little short, because I don't really have much time. Today was pday and our zone went up to a ski resort for the day to have a BBQ and hang out. It was really fun and I got a couple of pictures, but nothing too crazy (just a bunch of snow). This week has been good and we continue to gain more investigators. We have one family that we have taught twice, they have a son and 3 daughters and they are super cool and open to everything we have to say. The father in the family had a heart attack 3 weeks ago and is doing better now but still has some complications. They are way nice and I hope they continue letting us in their house to teach. My comp and I are having a difficult time with some of the ward members and their unwillingness to serve others. We were in a meeting and brought up the fact that a member had mentioned she needed some logs split at her house because she doesn't have a husband and it is hard for her, numerous members talked about how we didn't need to serve those who could do things for themselves or could pay for others to do it. I know that this is incorrect, we need to remember to always serve others sooo we are going to her house tomorrow during our lunch to split logs (haha). Not much has happened this week in way of notable things but just remember to always serve others as Christ would. Love you all so much! Elder Dastrup

July 5, 2010

Hey everyone! This week was a busy one for me! I got to go meet the new Mission President, President Humphreys on Friday and it was super good. He is a gringo from California who served his mission in Argentina, his mission President was Richard G. Scott! Super cool...his wife doesn't speak any Spanish (I found my new best friend) so during the mission conference she has a missionary translate her words into Spanish. the conference was short, but it was good. At the conferences I get to see my friends from the MTC and it is always nice to see them but my companion and my other best friend from the MTC aren't in our area so they go to a different conference. the conferences that we have are in Concepcion and it is about a 2 hour bus ride from my zone. As we were buying our tickets for the bus in the bus station a fight broke out between a thief and 3 guys beating the crap out of him...I kind of got in their way and got hit, but only in the arm and I got out of the way haha. It was crazy, the police didn't do anything about it and the guy who stole stuff was getting pounded. "Thou Shalt Not Steal" has never been so true. After that I realized that it's important to always be safe down here and always pay attention to your surroundings. this week is going good though, this last week we received 14 new investigators! It was really good. I think we are doing a good job and we are working hard every day, but we could always work harder. I sent a picture or 2 of Concepcion, it is beautiful and the church there is amazing, it is up on a hill above the city and the view is amazing. I hope I get to serve in Concepcion before my mission is over, it is way nicer than my city Chillan! haha I don't know if I mentioned in my last letter, but the food here is good, a lot of potatoes, soups, chicken and chorizo. The toughest thing about the food is that we eat only once a day for lunch (provided by a member) at like 1:30 p.m. and we can't eat again until we get home to our apartment at 10. They have something called "once" (like the number 11) and it is like dinner, but we aren't aloud to eat it as missionaries, even though it gets offered to us all the time. It's weird. Anyways, keep praying for our investigators, I love you all and hope everyone is safe and well.
Yours Truly,
Elder Cody Dastrup

June 28, 2010

Ho la! Como Es tan? How are you all doing? My week was good, filled with excitement and really good. I have no clue where to even start...First off, I learned how to send letters from here, I got you letter mom and dad. I get letters on Tuesdays and my pdays are Monday so it should take 2 or 3 weeks to get back to you, but write me and I will do my best. Now the important stuff...We had a baptism scheduled this week for Sunday, but it fell through. Lets just say that things are different here, our investigator had all the lessons and like 10 visits from the missionaries, went to church 4 weeks in a row but he is gay....I was crushed when my companion came back from the interview, but there isn't much we can do but pray and fast for him. We are in a pretty rough area in 2 ways. We have a lot of "flitas" (Chillan gangsters) in one section so my companion won't go over there after like 6. It is tough because there are people we need to teach over there that don't get home from work until 7 or 8. The other reason our area is rough is that missionaries don't have much success here. My companion has been here 2 1/2 months with 0 baptisms...But there is hope, we have at least 1 investigator who should be getting baptized soon. The gas for our house has a leak in it or something so we had to turn it off and haven't had a warm shower for 4 days! the water is freeeezing! Pray for my house haha Chile is so different than the states, everything about here is crazy. One thing that is similar though is the music...It is actually the exact same. They listen to American music here, and I hear it all day every day. It is kind of awkward though because they don't understand the words and they will be listening to rap or something and it will be unedited and they will be singing it...It's a little funny because they have no clue what they are saying. Anyways, I have got to run but thanks for the prayers, keep praying for my investigators. I love the mission and I wouldn't be doing anything else with my life for the next 2 years. Later!!!

OK the pictures I put on here are mostly from the MTC with my zone, district, teachers, etc. (Elder Bryan Mortensen) but some are obviously from here. I will take way more from here so don't even worry about it. I was going to send more pictures of our house, but our senior missionary said I shouldn't because it would worry you, haha but I did send you a picture of our sweet kitchen! George Foreman grill baby!!! Love Elder Dastrup

June 21, 2010

Hey everyone, I hope your doing well. This week has been such a busy one! I can honestly say that I have no idea what the heck is going on here! When we arrived in Chile on Tuesday we all realized that we did not know the language, none of us, and it was humbling. So far I love the 6 days I have been here, but I would be lying if I didnt say it was difficult. I will start off with the bad or... "different" stuff. First off they do not speak Spanish here, they speak Chilean which is 50 times faster and the words are different. I literally understand like 1 out of every 50 words, but its all good, its my 1st week. The poverty here is unreal. I am in the city of Chillan which is actually pretty large maybe as big as Concepcion??? I am not sure. But the people aren't poor to the point that they can't put food on the table, but they definately struggle. If you want to know what it is like, I would suggest driving down to south Phoenix, finding the poorest part and walking around for a while, it is humbling. Our house is not very nice either. We have broken ceramic tile flooring no heated water except the shower which isn't really heated. It is always cold in our apartment, cold enough that I can see my breath. There is dogs everywhere and they poop on the sidewalks and the streets so you have to be careful haha I won't get into too much detail because I dont want to worry you all, but just be grateful for what you have. Now the good news! We have 1 investigator being baptized this upcoming Sunday and we probably have 3 or 4 that should be getting baptized in the next 3 or 4 weeks. My companion is a native from Ecuador who speaks little English. I am glad to have him, because he knows how everything works and all of the people love him, and he is perfect at the language haha It is hard having a comp who doesnt speak english though, because I have so many questions about the language but he cant answer them because I can't explain anything to him. Having a native is a blessing, but it would be nice to be able to ask more questions. The language is coming... I realized that I am picking up vocab super fast, but I am still struggling with structure. It will take some time. I am working super hard, but keep me in your prayers, because it is super hard to stay positive sometimes. I pray alot and some days are better than others, I have faith that the language will come and pray for the gift of tounges every minute of the day. Chile won again today in the world cup, they are 2-0 so far and the people here are going crazy! They love futbol here more than we as americans can imagine. Look up Alexis Sanchez... He is some amazing soccer player on Chile and everyone here talks about him haha. Well keep praying for me, and I dont know how the mail works here, so if you sent me anything I will try to get back to you as fast as possible. Love you all so much and I need you now more than ever. Pray for me and more importantly pray for the people of Chile. Choi...

Next week I will send some pictures so you all can see what it is like here. I just didnt have the time to do it this week. Have a good week!

June 14, 2010

Cody left the MTC with 15 other missionaries headed to Concepcion Chile today. We were fortunate enough to hear from him when he landed in Dallas. He only had about 15 minutes of talking time but it was great to hear his voice and his confidence. He is excited to go serve the Lord for the next 22 months down in Chile. He is nervous as he knows he isn't great at the language yet but with faith and prayers he will come to know the language in a short amount of time. He asked that we all pray for him to pick up the language quickly as he knows he has made remarkable strides so far with learning Spanish thanks to many prayers in his behalf but knows he will need to learn much more when he gets down there. He will spend the night at the mission home and will be gettting a new companion first thing Wednesday morning (we heard this morning that he has a new companion who will be training him is Elder Garcia and they will be serving in sector of Los Volcanes and located in the city of Chillan) . We also learned from one of the other missionary mom's that his p-day will be on Monday's so we hope to hear from him this coming Monday and he should have closer to an hour on the computer so we may get longer letters from him. We are excited as a family to hear all the wonderful stories about the Chilean people and watch the growth of a great young man. Adios until Monday.

June 11, 2010

This week has been amazing. Elder Reed and I were selected to teach 2 groups of 30ish missionaries their first night at the MTC. We had an investigator and we started the teaching for 15 minutes then handed it over to the missionaries to group teach. They both went really good and Brother McCall (the guy in charge of it) told us that we were the best elders that he has ever seen at doing what we did. It was really rewarding and I felt really good about it. We also had our last TRC yesterday and it went really well. My district is all leaving on Monday to Chile and I am the travel leaders so I need to make sure everyone catches their flights and whatnot. I am nervous to go but I feel comforted, like no matter what happens and how hard it is going to be, everything will be alright. The language is coming and I can teach most principles as long as I have the vocab about the subject studied. I can tell that others are praying for me because everything has picked up and I am super thankful for you all and everything you are doing for me. The computer freaked out and I lost 10 minutes of email sooo I got to go....Sorry for the short letter. I love you all soooo much! Pray for me and wish me luck! All you need to know is that I love you and I am doing well! Adios Elder Dastrup

June 4, 2010

Hola! Como estan?! Estoy feliz por que...My travel itinerary came in yesterday!!! I am leaving the MTC on June 14, 2010 for Chile. I will go from SLC to DAL TX to Santiago Chile to Concepcion! I have 23 hours of scheduled travel time and I am so excited....haha I am trying to stay focused this week and keep in mind that I will be out in the field in a little over a week. It's a little scary to think I am going to be in a place where 95% of the people don't speak a lick of English, but I am excited none the less. I will be getting a new mission president 2 weeks after I arrive down in Chile so that should be a neat experience to be able to serve almost 22 full months with the same mission president. As for here at the MTC, all is well and my companion and I are still doing awesome. We taught a lesson in Spanish yesterday in the TRC and the man we taught was actually a non member I believe. He had tattoos and huge gauges (huge earrings to make large holes in your ears) and he had a real nice beard. For me this is the perfect type of investigator, somebody who is different and has strong beliefs...just in the wrong things. The man we taught was really hard to teach (he made a companionship in our district cry last week) haha but he was really interesting and had a unique and funny sense of humor. We taught him the plan of salvation and he took it really well. He tried to throw us off or distract us a couple of times throughout the lesson but we reeled him in and taught an awesome lesson. We were teaching about the 3 kingdoms of glory at the end of the lesson and he said he would be fine with the terrestrial (sarcastic) and I called him a Mentiroso! (LIAR) We all laughed and when the lesson was over he said "Bye Brent (my companion Elder Reed), Bye Cody" I was so confused! How did he know my 1st name?! Then I looked down on my scriptures and saw it engraved on them. That teaching experience was really good for me and I felt that that was the strongest that my companion and I have ever taught in Spanish. I am doing good and loving the work. I miss you all but the truth is, I would rather be out here serving the Lord than anything else so...your gunna have to wait another 22 months to see me, haha. I've gotta run but wanted to say thanks to Gma Guthrie for the package and thanks for all the other letters and packages. Love Y'all so much and hope you know how lucky I feel to have known you.
Yours Truly,
Elder Dastrup

May 28, 2010

Hey Everyone! Como Estan? The MTC is still going good. I have seriously made so many lifelong friends after only 6 weeks here! I know it's crazy I have been out over 6 weeks! After my time is done here at the MTC I will be about 1/12 done with my mission....CRAZY! It feels like I have been here for 3 days. The food was good for the 1st few weeks but I am totally over it now, I have put on 15 pounds! (No worries to the ladies, it's all muscle) haha. I was able to teach 6 lessons in complete Spanish this week (with the help from my companion) Keep praying for me, the language is coming but a few more prayers couldn't hurt, right? haha We got new missionaries this week in our zone and it was a cool experience. As a zone leader we are in charge of getting them comfortable with the MTC, showing them how to teach lessons and giving them a tour of the campus. You Arizonans will be shocked to hear this but guess what? We had a blizzard on Monday! Not a light snow storm but a BLIZZARD at the end of MAY! It snowed so hard that 2 huge trees 40-50 feet tall came crashing down by the mail room. I have some pictures of it and it was really cool. Enough about me...How is everyone? Are you enjoying your summer? How is Gma Poll? How is Travis? I think about him and his family all of the time and I hope they are doing well. Thanks- Jessica and Mom and Gma Dastrup for sending me packages recently, they were much appreciated by both me and my roommates...and the whole floor! I am so thankful for the opportunity to be serving as a missionary in such an exciting time in the world and can't wait to get out into the field in 3 weeks...CRAZY! Thanks for the support, keep sending letters and stuff, I really appreciate it. Adios Elder Cody Dastrup

May 21, 2010

Hey everyone como estan! How are ya'll doing? The MTC life has picked up a little bit and we are working wayyy hard! This week (yesterday) we had to teach our whole lesson in Spanish! It was so flipping hard! My companion can speak almost fluently though so it's all good. But anyways I have a funny story about our lesson...well I was about to bear my testimony to the lady we were teaching and what I was trying to say was "I know my Spanish is bad BUT I know that God loves all of us etc..." but what I ended up saying was I know my Spanish is bad BECAUSE God loves us....AHHH! Just to clarify things to everybody, my Spanish is not bad because of God's love for me, it's bad because I am a white boy from a white town with all white friends and a white family! haha Anyways, my companion thought that it was hilarious and gives me crap about it like every day. Esta bi en. I have been studying the Book of Mormon hard and will probably finish reading it in 2 weeks or so. (I started over the day I got here). We have another district leaving on Monday, but we did get some good news, we get a new district of 12 with 4 hermanas (sister missionaries). It's always nice to have some sisters in the zone, it keeps us humble. How is everybody doing? How's the weather? It is still a little chilly here on most days, but I love it. I watched a video on the lds.org world report and it talked about Chile. The report said that over 1 million homes were either destroyed or badly damaged. It's crazy to think of how many that is. I am so excited to get down there and help those people out, and even though I might not know a word they are saying, I will still know how to serve. I just wanted to thank you mom and dad for always teaching me by example how to serve and love others no matter what your reward may be. I heard something the other day that hit me kind of weird, it's really simple but I think we can all ask ourselves this question before we go to sleep at night. "Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need?" If you haven't then you are doing something wrong and you seriously need to evaluate the way you are living your life. I promise to you that as you serve others you will be a happier person and you will be a great example to others. I love you all so much and pray for you nightly, keep praying for the people I am going to serve that they may be prepared to learn. Have an amazing week. Love,
Elder Cody Dastrup

May 14, 2010

Here are a few pictures of Elder Dastrup while serving at the Provo MTC. They are with his first District and Companion Elder Reed.

This Weeks Letter:

Hola! Coma Esta!!! I had an awesome week here at the MTC, I don't even know where to begin. Oh now I remember where I wanted to start...Tuesday night Jeffery R. Holland came and spoke to us! Crazy huh? He is the most powerful speaker that I have ever heard. The greatest thing that I learned from him is how he spoke to us...He was so powerful and so bold that you felt like he was looking into your soul and telling you everything that you as an individual needed to hear. He said some really rememberable lines to us, he said "How dare you think that you have the right to be the one missionary who wastes his mission and the Lord's time." He also said that if we ended up leaving the church and come up to him with a bunch of tattoos and long hair and try to talk to him about our missions, that he will "punch us right in the nose" haha I thought it was a very funny thing for an apostle to say but it is very true. The main point that he talked about that I wanted to share with you is how he said we were such examples to young children. He said that his grandchildren look up to missionaries with such high esteem and for us to be anything less than what they think is horrible. I hope that I was a good example to all of you and that I had some positive impact in changing someones life for the better. Yesterday we had TRC (our last one in English) :( and we taught a pretty awesome lesson on the plan of salvation. I got to use the story of how I will see my older brother again who died at birth and what a blessing that is to me. We taught another lesson last night on the word of wisdom and how important it is in our lives and it was super powerful. I just went through the temple for a man who was born in 1637! He has been waiting for over 300 years for somebody to help him out and I was the one who got to do it, it was such a great experience. I love you all and miss you so much. Thanks for all of the support I receive, it means the world to me. Ooo and by the way on a super spiritual note...I heard the suns swept the spurs, I knew I would be blessed for serving a mission I just didn't know my blessings would be so great!!!haha Love you guys...Elder Cody Dastrup

May 7, 2010 Letter

Hola! How's it going!? This week seems to have been pretty uneventful, but there were some experiences that I would like to share with everyone. We have TRC appointments which are fake investigators (people interested in the church) but how it works is that you get to teach these people that you have never met, find their needs and meet their needs. We had a lady who had a niece that has cancer. Her niece is 32 and has 3 kids. She has about 3 more months to live and had no concept of what happened to her after death. So...we decided to teach her about the plan of salvation PERFECT. As we were teaching I shared a personal experience with her and felt the spirit sooo strong. It was so powerful and at that point the spirit so strongly testified that the spirit was true. The lady committed herself to baptism without us doing much work at all, it was the spirit. Anyways, I am still really enjoying my time here at the MTC. My companion and I haven't gotten on each others nerves yet and that makes all of the difference int eh world. By the way anyone is welcome to send us food anytime:) (mom send us more lemon bars) The days drag on here and the weeks fly, it's weird and hard to explain why, but this feels like home (for now) haha . I am picking up the language and with the help of the Lord I should have it in no time, or maybe a couple more months, haha. Some elders from our zone are leaving this week which is going to be tough on me but it will be ok. I have become close with so many people and have at least 10 people I am going to try to stay in contact with even after my mission. How is it in AZ? I miss it there. I miss all of you especially the family. I miss Addie and I miss the Suns! I miss everything sooo much, but at the end of the day...The mission is where I need to be and where I want to be. Everything else will still be there when I get home, but I may never get an opportunity like this again. Remember to follow your desires and as long as they are righteous and you are obedient God will prepare a way for your greatest dreams to come true. I love you all and have a good week. Adios! Elder Dastrup

April 30th Letter

Hola!!!
How is everybody doing! I had a lot of stuff going on this week. We had a TRC appointment yesterday (fake investigator) and we taught him the 1st lesson on the restoration. Me and Elder Reed, who is from Alaska, did very well and we felt the spirit a lot. For the first time here at the MTC I completely felt how it would feel to have real investigators with real needs. We had a district from our zone leave this week which was sad because I had become really good friends with some of them. We are now no longer the new district in the zone too. We got a new district a couple days ago and they are really nice...really nerdy though lol. I still miss you guys a lot, but I know that 2 years will fly by and that I will enjoy all of it. I went to the temple again today which was cool. I have been working really hard this week but have a goal to work even harder this next week. How is the family doing? How is G-pa Dastrup doing? I feel like I have been gone forever, fill me in! haha I heard that there was another huge earthquake and hurricane or something in Chile...? Dear Elder me so I can find out about it. Thanks for the flag, that was super nice of you and our district was really happy. I will send you some pics this week hopefully so you can see what my comp and my new friends look like. How is Katie doing? I miss her a lot and lover her sooo much! Hows Addie? Send me some pictures of you guys...maybe the last family pictures that we took. Thanks for the lemon bars and all the treats. The lemon bars were amazing and you need to send us some more in a week or so...we at them all. I hope some of my friends have stopped by to see you guys, I know Jess has and I'm really thankful for that. I am just about outta time so I will talk to you next week! Adios Elder Dastrup

April 23, 2010 Letter

Hey! I finally got to a computer! My P-days are on Friday so I will be emailing you on Fridays after we go to the temple. I got to go today to the Provo Temple and from the outside it is a little ugly, but inside is beautiful. I had a good experience there and it felt super peaceful. I miss you guys a lot but I know what I am doing here is what I need to be doing. It's hard not thinking about back home, but I am doing a pretty good job and am not too homesick. The language is still really hard but I can bear a basic simple testimony and prayer in espanol and I am working on the 1st vision. I am trying really hard to always stay diligent and do what I need to be doing and it makes it way easier with my companion. He seriously is soooo spiritual. He knows every scripture for everything and he isn't one of those people who likes to rub it in. He is humble and sincere and at times it's frustrating to see everything come so easy to him, it's nice to have him as a companion. I like the food here, it's really good and there is a lot of it. I see Bryan all the time, I have also seen Josh Caskey, Michael Stanfield and Jake Pehrson. I see Bryan everyday and it's nice to see him, we talk all the time. He is doing well and learning the language really well! I have probably gained 5 pounds this week, but it's all mostly muscle because I am working out everyday. The basketball gym re-opened this week and I totally schooled some elders here so tell dad that nobody has given me crap for my yellow shoes, haha. On a spiritual note, I have learned so much about the gospel and want everyone in my life to know how helpful you have been to me. I miss everyone and really really love what I am doing, the work is hard but the reward is great. LOVE YOU! SOMEBODY SEND ME A CARE PACKAGE I AM HUNGRY!!! Everyone who wants to write, send me letters or dear elders because I have limited time on the computer. Mom send me a dear elder with all my friends addresses that you got....I love you guys so much and hope you know that I know what I am doing is right.

Love,
Elder Dastrup

YAY!!! we got our first letter from Cody!



Hey guys,
The MTC is great and I love the people here.My companion is the smartest most diligent person I have ever met (adults included).My district is awesome and I need to send you some pictures that we took....If I get the time.I miss everyone back home and wish I could see you guys, but i know my purpose.I see Bryan everyday and i love it!It's good seeing a familiar face and it feels really good to talk to somebody close to me.All the elders here are super cool and very understanding.The language is still hard and I'm not picking it up as fast as the other elders but....I am the only one in the entire district that didnt come into the MTC speaking a little spanish.I will probably be the last one to pick it up,we will see though.Pray for me.
Love ya,
Elder Cody Dastrup

More pictures from Sunday April 11, 2010

A few pics of right before Cody left for his mission....when I get more I will add them. No word from him as of today hope to hear from him this week.

Talk

Cody will be speaking in church on Sunday, April 11, 2010. He reports to the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Provo, UT on Wednesday, April 14, 2010.