I am, for the eighth time, a proud uncle. I miss those kids!!!!

Dear everyone under the sun (or the snow, if you're so lucky),                  November 26, 2012

Congrats to everyone who has decided to go on a mission whether you've
received a call yet or not.  How exciting that so many of my wonderful
friends are leaving to serve the Lord!  I'm honored to be your friends
and so grateful to have your influences in my life.  Anna, I got your
letter.  Expect a reply as soon as I can get one out.  =)  Everyone
else...  Well, write me!  I'm hoping my last batch of letters got out.

Is anyone new getting married/having kids?  I'd love to hear about it!
 Aubs, I'm SO excited for you and your now-larger family.  I am, for
the eighth time, a proud uncle.  I miss those kids, but I know they're
in good hands.  I'll ruin them for you all when I return.  I was
reminded today that after next week I only have 5 transfers left!
Gosh.  I don't know how to react to that.  I'm not ready to be
"unplaqued" yet!  Transfers are next week.  Some people say that I'll
train.  Others think that Elder Wilhelm will be staying for at least
one more.  Whatever happens, I'm excited for the opportunity to keep
on working here and growing every day.

In other news, we've redivided our areas and, though the division is
good and smart, it hurts.  We lost about 13 investigators (5 with a
baptismal date and more that were progressing toward one).  We gained
very little in return.  But, we got a good area with some potential
that just needs to be tracked and conquered!  A conquering we go.  =)

This last week was an incredible numbers week.  Well, compared to what
we've been seeing at least.  We had 22 lessons!  It was great.  And 9
people came to church.  The numbers don't matter in and of themselves,
but the people behind them do and I love that these people grew so
much this week.

We are teaching two sisters who are polar opposites.  The older sister
is loud, knows her bible well, likes us for no particular reason, but
is iffy on the idea of re-baptism.  The younger sister is quiet, but
very accepting.  When the older sister said that she wouldn't pray to
find out if God wanted her to be baptized again, her younger sister
was shocked.  She said, "You're not even going to pray!?  What have
you got to lose?"  They both came to church and seem really genuine.

We also had the opportunity to teach a missionary from The Jehovah's
Witness church.  It was surprising.  I don't want to talk poorly about
other churches...  But suffice it to say that I'd never met a
Jehovah's Witness that wasn't looking to fight with us and bible bash
us into insensibility.  Edmilson wasn't looking for that.  We talked
very calmly, explained our beliefs very basically, and he even let us
end with a prayer.  He invited us back next Saturday to bring him a
Book of Mormon.  I get the feeling he thinks that we're kind of his
"pet project" as he's also a missionary, but we'll see how Saturday
goes.  I liked him a lot.

I had a great Thanksgiving, by the way.  =)  We had it as a special
event on Thursday.  At 4 we went to President's and played a little
bit, talked, and ate.  We talked about what we were thankful for.  I'm
thankful for the loving support of my friends and family.  I'm
thankful for my mission and the many great things it's shown me.  I'm
grateful for conversation.  I'm grateful for the true church.  I'm
grateful for my Savior.  I'm grateful for The Book of Mormon (I've
recently started Helaman again and I can't get enough!).  Most of all,
I'm grateful to be a child of God, to know that I am, and to feel His
love every day.

I've made a concrete decision that I've shared with very few people.
After my mission, I'm joining the Air Force.  It might not be right
away.  I might do some school first.  I might decide to get married
first.  I'm not sure on the specifics.  I still want to try for the
choir, but if I don't get in I'll do something else.  I need to look
more into it, but I'm certain that this is the right choice and the
path that I need to take for my family and my life.  I will join up.
I feel more right about it than I ever have.

Hey, I love you guys and I wish you all the best.  Merry Christmas!
We're loving Christmas music in our house right now.  =)

Love,

Elder Cody R. Eckman

Happy Early Thanksgiving!

  Sorry for this posting a week late, Too much happened last week and I just didn't get to posting, and then I got sick just before Thanksgiving and am just starting to feel human again. 

  Cody's Mom

Dear family, friends, and random strangers,                        November 19, 2012

Happy early Thanksgiving!  Also, Reed, Nikki, and Jeff:  Happy Birthday this week!  I sure love you guys.  I hope life is treating you as it should.  Life on my end is brilliant!  We had a great week with lots of great insight and learning.  It went by FAST.

First off, I learned the importance of planning, effective study, and communication this week.  Little things lead to big ones.  We had a successful week, but I know that it could've gone better.  The Spirit could have been stronger.  The study could have been deeper, more insightful, more delicious.  And well, we've learned.  So we'll do.  As a wise man once said:  To know but not do is to not know.

Secondly, I learned more about the importance of focus this week.  I've been a bit unfocused as of late and it shines through onto the work.  The more I focus on what the Lord wants, the happier I feel.  This is certainly a key to success in life.  At times, it's easy to forget whom you represent.  I'm really striving to not forget.

As I read Ammon's words in Alma 26, I was touched by the way he "boasts in his God".  How do we boast in our God?  Do we live as He would live?  Do we do what He would want?  Do we believe in Him more than in ourselves or in man?  Someone once asked, "How do I love thee?"  Indeed, how do we love our Lord?  This is a question that has really touched me.  How do we show Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that we are truly theirs and that we want nothing else?  By living nothing else.  99% correct is still 1% wrong.  God is not a God of almost or good intentions--He's a God of action, repentance, love, and growth.  If we strive for 100%, He will help.  That's my testimony and my goal.  I will strive to be 100% obedient in all things.

Hipólito (one of our coolest investigators) came to the District Conference that we had this week and loved it!  He's excited to become a Mormon (as he told us) and seems really content with his new choice of religion.  He's a really good guy and I'm excited for him.

I'm excited for Thanksgiving on Thursday (we're going to the Thompson's and having a real Thanksgiving dinner!) and for Christmas some time after that.  Calling home will be nice.  =)  I'll let you all know more about that when I do.  I'm already listening to Christmas music.  I love it!

I love you all and thank you so much for your continued support, love, and prayers.  It helps more than you know.

All my love,

Elder Cody R. Eckman

Elder Wilhelm and I were robbed at gunpoint--really, a pretty normal week. =)

Dear Everyone,

Hey!  I had a really cool week, but nothing huge happened.  We had a Zone Conference, I got to talk with the psychiatrist that created the famous "color code personality profile" (I am, as always, VERY blue and VERY red), and Elder Wilhelm and I were robbed at gunpoint--really, a pretty normal week.  =)

We were only able to get 1 of our 3 new baptismal dates last week.  I'm hoping that next week we'll see more and even more progression from our investigators.  They're incredible people.  Hugo is the one I'm most worried about right now.  He was going very strong, progressing very rapidly...  And then he started to fall off the face of the map.  We weren't able to sit with him last week.  He hasn't been to church in 2 weeks now and he's hard to get a hold of.  Please keep him in your prayers.  We're trying extra hard with him.

I won't leave you all hanging any longer--it's true, I received a training from Elder Hartman (Dr. Taylor Hartman) who is the Mental Health professional for all of Africa.  He's really cool!  I enjoyed the training a lot and learned a ton from him.  I was also able to sit with him one on one for a while.  It was really insightful and taught me a lot.  I'm excited to apply what he taught us to my life and mission.  Just a little tidbit:  100% Responsibility brings options.  Blaming others has the opposite effect--everything shuts down.  4 Steps to Success in Life:  1.  Get yourself.  2.  Get truth.  (As in eternal, pure truth.  Truth never changes.)  3.  Get over yourself.  4.  Get others.  It was a really fun, interesting experience.

The downside?  All my notes are gone.  And my scriptures.  And my backpack.  I also lost chapstick, about 4 dollars, my empty wallet, and our cellphone.  Oh, I was robbed on Saturday, by the way.  We were walking down a fairly normal street and some young guys started following us.  I had the spiritual prompting to stop and start talking to a few people as we walked, but I ignored it.  We were in a bit of a hurry.  If we had, we probably would have been fine.  As it stands, one of the guys came up behind me, grabbed the strap of my bag, pointed a gun and said, "Dá tudo."  (Give everything.)  He was acting all sorts of tough.  We didn't care much, really.  I dropped my bag and they went through my pockets.  They took everything but my White Handbook (I keep it in my breast pocket--it's always filled with money).  They took all of our stuff, ran off, and Elder Wilhelm and I started walking.  We were super annoyed.  We weren't scared; we hadn't been in any danger.  We had been completely calm as the guys robbed us.  As we walked away we started complaining a bit to each other, however.  We lost our scriptures!  That's the worst part.  I've been marking those up like crazy!  But, hey.  We're fine.  Nothing happened.  We got home just fine.  Mom, don't worry.

By the way, if any of you are thinking about missions but aren't sure yet--go.  Go.  I'm telling you, it's the best thing you can do with your time.  It's been the best time of my life up 'til now.  I promise you that you won't be missing out on anything.

Well, I love you guys.  I'm learning tons.  I'm becoming a much more organized person.  And a finisher.  And disciplined.  The change is becoming more noticeable to me.

My best,

Elder Cody R. Eckman

Missionary work is pure service!!!

Dear people,

What a cool week I had!  I loved my lessons, the opportunities that we had to serve and help many people, and the love that I've felt coming from the Lord.  He's truly got a soft spot for missionary work, and I had a sort of revelation:  Pure missionary work is pure service.  It's how Christ did it and it's how we should too.  With that in mind, missionary work becomes almost more... tangible to me.  It's not just teaching and finding and baptizing (all good things, to be sure)--it's living what we know, transmitting the love of God, and doing what He would do were He here.  It was a cool little epiphany.  Also, this is to say that the work won't end in 8 months (the time that I have left according to my wonderful and annoying friend, Elder Wilhelm) but will continue throughout my life.  I love Elder Wilhelm.  He's a wonderful missionary with a lot of talent, diligence, and love.  He truly looks on the Angolan people with a heart full of desire to help.  I'm learning so much with him.  We got out there this week, knocked doors, did street contacts and found a ton of people.  This area needs to grow and has so much potential.  I'm loving it.

Another highlight of the week:  We went to an orphanage and taught some kids English, played with them, and showed them a little love.  It was really sweet, but kind of sad.  It showed me that kids are SO resilient.  They take any hit that life throws at them with a smile.  They don't know how to be sad.  They just play, smile, and don't notice things like a lack of clean clothes, a parental figure, etc.  It was really touching and kind of hard to see.  Heather, you would have loved it.  The idea of being a philanthropist is growing on me.

4 people have now accepted baptismal dates and we're hoping to see a total of 8 by the end of next week.  These people are truly preparing themselves.  We talked with two younger guys this week named Alex and Adilson and they just...  Got it.  They understood why a Restoration was so necessary.  They came to church, have been reading, and really enjoy sitting with us.  It was really cool.  I explained the Gospel of Jesus Christ as being the best possible thing we could have in our lives to be happy.  They seemed to really like that idea and are excited to take the necessary steps to fill their lives with good things and blessings in place of things that don't last, that aren't real, and that leave them feeling empty.

What else?  Halloween came and went.  No one here really cares much.  I heard something about a hurricane in New York?  What happened?  And the Presidential Race...  What's up?  Mom, you said you'd send a package with the Reedys.  I would love some Root Beer.  =)  (Or Mountain Dew...)  I'm kidding (mostly) but I would really like another tape, maybe.  To listen to in my mini-tape player.  If it's not too much trouble.  Other than that, I think I'm fine.  I'm content with what I have.

I sure love you guys.  I'm happy to be doing this work and hope that you're all finding fulfillment in your lives.  =)

Elder Cody R. Eckman

A few thoughts on Ether 12 verse 28

Dear Folks Who Love Me,

I'll start off today with a bit of what I've been studying lately.
Ether 12 really touched me as I read it recently.  It's all so GOOD.
Faith, the purpose of weakness, how miracles come, etc.  It leaped off
the page at me as I read it this time through.  I invite you all to
read it and ponder its message.  One thing that really stood out this
time around was verse 28.  Everyone knows/loves verse 27...  But what
about 28?

Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show
unto them that faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me—the fountain
of all righteousness.

So how do we overcome weakness?  By coming unto God (as said in 27).
And how do we come unto God?  Faith, hope and charity.  If we seek to
increase these attributes in ourselves, we'll crowd out any other
negative pieces and be freed from our weaknesses.  What a cool
promise.

This week was really cool!  I love Elder Wilhelm.  He's a blast to
walk with and an awesome missionary.  I'm afraid we'll only be
together one transfer, but that's okay.  The Lord knows what He's
doing.  We have 3 Baptismal Dates as of Saturday and I'm so excited
for these people.  I have a slew of new investigators who I'm still
getting to know.  One of them (one of those Baptismal Dates) is named
Lorenço and he's a champion!  He understands The Book of Mormon SO
well.  He explained it to us like this:  "Well, I joined the Universal
Church in '94 and recently found that it wasn't true.  Then, you
Elders came along and showed me this beautiful doctrine and this
incredible book.  It's true and it makes so much sense--the Bible
talks about Jacob's son Joseph so much and there are some incredible
promises made to him that are never realized in the Bible.  So, we
have The Book of Mormon which is a record of Joseph's descendants."
Whenever we answer any of his questions or doubts, he's completely at
peace; he's finally found the little piece of himself that he was
missing and he's savoring every moment.

We're working with a lot of Less-Active members and it's really
inspiring (and sometimes hair-pulling) work.  For a multitude of
reasons--offense, laziness, disenchantment, unworthiness etc.--these
people have simply stopped coming to church, reading, praying, etc.
It's sad to see the downturn that their happiness, peace of mind and
life in general has taken.  Note to self:  Don't ever go inactive.
It's not a desirable way to live.

I've realized that one of the biggest of Satan's lies is the idea that
after sin we cannot become completely clean again.  He wants us to
believe ourselves unworthy, unclean, and unhappy.  I testify against
this.  Christ came for this!  He came to free us from those feelings
of guilt and unhappiness.  If you've truly repented, why do you worry?
 Repentance is the cure of the soul and can bring a perfect peace.
Though a sin be as scarlet, it CAN be white as snow.  I know this.
The devil also knows this and he's scared of it.  He's passed a point
of no return and wants us to believe the same of ourselves.  So, cast
not off confidence, believe in the atoning power of Christ and go
forth in faith.  We CAN become the person that the Lord wants us to
be.  Our past doesn't have to limit that.

I'm so very grateful for the gospel in my life.  It changes a lot.  It
provides light in a dim world and relief from the pains of mortality.
I've seen it melt hearts, change lives, brighten countenances, and
lift unbearable loads.  THIS is life eternal.  Anything else is just a
clever trick, a blatant lie, or a fleeting and false joy.

I like an example I learned recently of a cake being baked by the best
baker.  Every slice of this perfect cake has a distinct flavor.  If a
person were to arrive and take just one piece of the wonderful cake,
they'd walk away feeling satisfied and feeling as though they'd had
the best chocolate cake in the world.  Or strawberry.  Or vanilla.
But unless they stay around and enjoy every piece of the cake, they'll
never be truly fulfilled nor understand what they are missing.  We
have the cake!  It was "rebaked" by Jesus Christ through the prophet
Joseph Smith.  We aren't grasping at crumbs of chocolate or vanilla...
 We have so much more than the best chocolate cake in the world.  As a
missionary, I get to introduce well-meaning folks to other slices of
that cake that they didn't even know existed.  What a life we live.

Well, I love you guys.  Life is great.  I'm happy.  I'll soon get a
new house (this should hopefully mean water and energy =)).

I leave it with you--go and share your cake.

Elder Cody R. Eckman

Ana and Flávio, a young couple who have a lot of interest in The Book of Mormon

Dear everyone,                                                                                October 22, 2012

This week was wild!  We met some great people.  Among them are Ana and
Flávio, a young couple who are very open, legally married, and have a
lot of interest in The Book of Mormon (which is great, as people
become Mormon by reading The Book of Mormon).  They are SUPER nice.
I've never sat with a couple who were so...  Prepared.  They grew up
religious but encountered some things in their church that they felt
were against the commandments of God.  Now, as they said, they are
open for something new.  The way we found them was really cool.  We
were on a split with the Zone Leaders and Elder Clifford hadn't been
feeling well.  He asked a random person going in the direction of our
house for a ride.  They informed him that it wasn't their car, but
their friend's and that she was in a hurry.  It was apparent, however,
that they felt bad about the situation.  Two nights later, they ran
into missionaries on the street and started talking.  They were amazed
and impressed by the seeming self-sacrifice of missionary service and
wanted to know more.  It's a simple way, but it feels so inspired.
That first lesson was so cool.  I really enjoyed sitting with them and
am excited to go back tonight.

We watched General Conference this weekend...  Wow!  What a
conference.  I spent Sunday sick, but I was still able to watch it and
I enjoyed feasting on the words of living prophets.  And what a feast
it was!  I have so many notes to go over.  If for any reason you
missed it, go and look it up now.  Wow.

I have received transfer calls.  =)  I'm off to Luanda 1 C to be with
Elder Wilhelm!  I LOVE Elder Wilhelm.  He's one of my closest friends
here.  And I get to live with Elder Walker (another close buddy) and
Elder Cafferty!  What a cool house!  I'm really excited to work over
there and refresh my mind on work in a new area.  Transfers are indeed
a good thing.

I have recently realized the audacity of my goal to finish The BoM 10
times a year.  I still want to.  I still will finish it 10 times in
2013.  I feel that it's important.  After that, we'll see how
effective I found it to be.  I'd rather read it once and truly get
something out of it than read it 10 times and get nothing but a good
read.  I'm sure the optimal study schedule is really somewhere in
between--or not to have a page limit at all but to STUDY the word as
it was meant to be studied.  I'm certain that my Ten Timers Challenge
(as Elder Rainbolt, Elder Arrington, and I are calling it) will be a
large learning experience.  I invite any who wish to join us in our
super nerdy, super fun challenge and quest of deeper spirituality and
knowledge.

I'm really loving the scriptures lately.  There's so much beauty to
word of God.  It's powerful, too.  And just...  Perfect.  The
Scriptures are the books where the answers don't change.  What a
blessing it is to have an anchor to our faith, soul, and conversion in
the form of words that can be "always before our eyes" as King
Benjamin described to his sons.  I say this a lot, but I regret my
lack of scripture study before my mission.  I missed out on a lot.
But, hey, we live and learn.  I've learned that a lot lately, too.
There's little need to regret our pasts so much as we sometimes do.
We've learned.  We've grown.  And, if we've learned it right, we've
fixed the problems.  The regrets should only cause us to not make the
same mistakes again--not to harrow up our souls to the point of
sadness and loss of self-respect.  We are here to grow, after all.

I love you all and, at times, miss you.  But...  Hey.  It's life!  My
life is good.  I know yours are good too.  We're all doing what we
need to do, so we're happy.  Peace is a good thing and the Lord is
very willing to dole it out to us.

Much love,

Elder Cody R. Eckman