Christmas is over NOW BRING ON THE NEW YEAR! 2015!

the new year is coming on. lets get excited! next febuary i can say i have a year left on my mission to countdown on! but im excited to bring on new resolutions to make myself better for the new year! christmas was great! i feel bad for my family they had an elder that was half asleep when they skyped me! but i enjoyed seeing them all!
     thanks so much for those who sent me something for christmas i really appreciate it! here comes to a new year with a strict diet to keep the pounds off!
    thanks so much to the chisholm family, my brother and his family, my grandpa snyder, grandma simons, grandma & grandpa horton, sister cottom, and to those of the patuxent ward that gave me something for christmas! i have been using the money i have received to build my tie collection so i have a better selection and newer to pick from. some ties i have are now bike ties because i got them dirty from biking and stuff. but i will put pics up of new things i got for christmas when i next remember to! i almost forgot about my blog this week because i was so busy and gone all day everyday! i will be gone allot this week with going to the temple to do volunteer work on the 31 and then temple trip on the 2nd and then to our stake center for a zone confrence and tomorrow to the vc by the temple for a performance and festival of lights! so lots of driving and being gone allot!
     i hope you all had a great christmas and hope you enjoy this great new year! next time i post something on this blog it will be a new year! wish me luck and have a wonderful week and day!

Christmas Time! #heisthegift #sharethegift

Christmas time is almost here! next week is the week! my family gets to talk to me on skype and we get to chat. It's going to be great!
    Christmas is a great time of year! especially as we talk and share about the true meaning of Christmas! especially with the he is the gift is shared with everyone! it has been a great week so far as we have been helping others receive that message so that they have a greater Christmas. we are excited for Christmas to come. we have a great ward party we have been preparing for and setting up for that happens tonight. even thought this time of year is a little bit tough for me it is a wonderful time of year to celebrate the savior's birth! he is the reason we have Christmas in the first place! we need to remember it's not about the gifts or the fun we have, but for him who gave us all of this! we so blessed with what we have!
    I'm glad to be serving in the area I am. I can say I have lived in California............Maryland and live down the street from Hollywood..........Maryland.
     I really do enjoy where I am right now. you are well fed. every night a dinner. Every day we are busy. it feels like it is going by fast because we are working hard and focusing on what we need to! it has been almost 2 weeks into the transfer and that's crazy. I feel like I just got here!
     anyway I hope you have a great week! thanks so much to patsy cottom, the miller family, and the bishopric for the Christmas cards I have received. have a WONDERFUL week! Enjoy this wonderful Christmas week!

Pics for this area
Patuxent Area Pictures

New Week, New Area!

So for those that dont know yet i am in a new area! the area is Patuxent! almost the southest part of the mission. we are the 2nd area to the last of the bottom of the mission. it is a car area so thats a plus. i also get fed every night so far. the people that i have met in this ward are solid and great! they are so missionary minded here that allot of them let us practice our lessons on them and they are solid on helping with service for less actives. it is great Our ward mission leader is amazing to he is solid and helps us get meals and has appointments set up for us or even has people we should go see. its great! i am just starting to get to know this area but it is going to be great! i may miss anacostia a little bit but its going to be great in Patuxent.

Here is pics to start it off with me and Elder Jensen! we had a great time at a place calle dflat iron farms for some Christmas lights! there will be more later!

A Great Week To Start December #Sharethegift #Heisthegift

what a great month it is! what a great time of year it is with what the church is putting out and for us to take the opportunity to share the true meaning of christmas. i invite all to share the video and website:  christmas.mormon.org. it has a great video to help show others the true meaning of christmas!

 anyway it has been great this week! i have talked to over 70 people on the streets this week contacting. its crazy our goal is 100 by the end of the week. we are working on trying to get our teaching pool built back up. we really dont have investigators to teach right now thats why i have invited you all to have the missionaries over. see what you can do to help them. be the member missionaries they need! help them gain investigators and people to teach.

anyway i invite you to share the christmas spirit with all. help them bring the true meaning of christmas back into their lifes and not to be the commercial type of christmas but the spiritual and true meaning of christmas.

  i will soon have a christmas list put together for those that want to send anything to me. right now i am at a lost of what i wish for or what i need. i should have a list put up next week! if you were a missionary in the past and you have ideas for my family email me some suggestions and i will send it to them or put it up on my blog!

  Thanks so much, HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK! as well as A BLESSED DAY!

Thanksgiving was amazing!

What a great week to be Thankful!
     coming to the end of this week i have got sick of eatting. i have had 2 big meals this week for thanksgiving. i feel like i need to have a big fast to get rid of the weight i have gained. but it means more diet and working out for me. anyway it has been great. it has been a great relaxed week. so with key indicators which are the numbers we count from our teaching. not many missionaries are going to have many numbers because either people were out of town or didnt want to be bothered by us while family was around. we still got to enjoy an amazing meal at a members home! i enjoyed it allot! the family that we went to visit their son is get5ting ready to serve a mission in the california roseville mission. he leaves to the mtc on the 3rd of december. he got his call at the begining of november! he is really excited! we have been sharing our experiances and stories with him so he is more pumped for his mission! i am excited for him! He will do GREAT! but i hope all has had a great thanksgiving and a fantastic BLACK FRIDAY!

I will have a christmas list up soon for those that want one or need ideas! one idea that comes to mind is subway giftcards! im still thinking of things to ask for!

 pics of thanksgiving will be up soon!


     

THANKSGIVING WEEK COMING UP!

Next week is a great day to celebrate with family and friends! its a day of appreciation as well as the month. you may see everyone on Facebook posting things they are grateful for. you know i will make a list next week of what my gratitude is!

this week has been great getting things done. so today we went to the white house for a tour as a mission..... guess what my thoughts are..... some know me and would guess my reaction but its different from what you think..... sadly it was not worth it. i got exited for nothing. it was over in like 5 minutes. their visitor center was more exciting then it all. even the capitol building tour was more exciting. anyway if the showed more the white house and not only a fourth of it then it would had been more worth it. anyway yeah. so this week has been good. i have been staying busy.
Know what i have been thinking about is that it has been almost a year since a great Family friend has been passed away! he was a great home teacher for my family! their family has been great! he was in a sad car accident and it wasnt his fault. my heart is for his family!

 this time of year for me is full of hard to think about anniversary's of things but i try to stay busy so they dont get to me to much! november, december, and january i have a hard time. im grateful for the plan of salvation to help sooth the feelings and to help me not feel to down. im grateful to be out on the mission for these anniversary's so i stay busy because a couple are coming on the year mark. some are comeing on a couple years since it has happened! i will always remember them for who they are and not what they did.


I'm Grateful For All I Have And What I Am Given!
Have A WONDERFUL Day And An Amazing Week

A WEEK OF MEETINGS AND GREATNESS

This week has been great. we have had the opportunity to have a area seventy come to do a tour of our mission! Elder Katcher has taught us allot of things regarding the mission and questions that we had! he was marvelous in what he does. we had a wonderful ward council meeting with all of the missions stakes and i think it helped the ward councils.(hopefully). and then we had a marvelous zone conference today with him! that was amazing! ill have to put my notes up soon! this week has been full of meetings! i have finished my christmas shopping for the family allready! check off my list of things to get done! im exited for thanksgiving! i get to practice my cooking skills next week for my fellow anacostia ward elders that i serve around. even though we will be at a members home for it i will pick a seprate day to do it with them. it will be magnificent! i continue to make great efforts in the great parts of the ghetto! its a great place to learn and grow. as it reaches the colder times, we try to stay warm and still invite others to come unto christ! some people think we are crazy to be out in the cold doing this and think we shouldnt be out. not many people are outside this time a year to talk to on the streets. but maybe people will let us in when its cold outside and maybe give us hot cocoa and listen to what  we would like to share with them! maybe thats how will will bring up our teaching pool! its marvelous on what things we have that will want to have us come in if they are kind enough! but hopefully all will be well. last time it was snowing i was biking in the snow. so we will see if i do it again or if it may change next transfer. but im enjoying my time! thinking about it in a few months i will hit my year mark out on my mission then i will start counting down instead of up to my year mark! i noticed that i count the months going up, now when i hit my year mark i will be counting down! its a great pleasure of mine to be serving the lord in the greatest mission in the history of (my) life! in the great mission of the WASHINGTON D.C. NORTH MISSION! i cant wait to see any of my other siblings feel how i feel and see the great blessings that come from serving a mission!

But for now i wish you a great week and a blessed day! Email or write me anything you may have questions on or even to just say hello and i try to get back to you as soon as i possibly can! i always enjoy letters, emails, or even gifts. psych i dont need gifts, fore the poor and the needy need the gifts. help those in need for christmas! help the missionaries out on helping those in need! help other familys in need for christmas or thanksgiving! share your testimony with someone! share a meal with someone that is struggling!

What do you do moe?

"What do you do Moe?" is another way of saying "whats happening?"
        so this week has been great aside from not having a very big teaching pool. things do progress with anacostia central! man since daylight-savings it has been getting darker sooner then usual. but we continue to work hard! so this month is the great month of thanksgiving and a great month to appreciate what we have and what has been gifted to us by our loving heavenly father! we are all blessed to be here on this earth and to have the family's we do! what are you blessed with in your life? write in on a piece of paper and put it in a journal or have it for your family in the future! a great thing is that your future family will look in your stuff after you pass and something may be about them or even just something they can learn about you or just even when they do family history for you that's one thing they will find! but that's the great thing about family history and leaving something for your future family. also think of this: have you been doing family history? have you been using Familysearch.org? i have found so many cool things on mine so far. i have found the funeral service talks on my great great grandfather on my grandpa Snyder side. its such a blessing and i know that the spirit of Elijah is with you as you do the work. someone told me "those on the other-side of the veil are there to help us so that we can help them do their work.". i know as we do the work for our ancestors it makes the temple trip more meaningful and great! on my mission i have a goal to finish all 10 names i have been given do temple work. get this i have 10 or so temple trips left on my mission. that's crazy so i have that time to finish their work in the temple! so i invite you to look into your family search and do the same and find names you can do work for in your family. also try to do it as a family, maybe for a family home evening activity or lesson, and learn together of where your from, stories, pictures, where your last name came from or where it may have changed. anyway i know i have found that from both sides of my family has come from Sweden & Norway. its cool also its a little diffrent for me cauz i have 3 familys i look up the tree for. even though my real dad is out of the picture i still look at his family but i look at my moms, my new dads, and my old dads side. its still great! so down below is pictures i will have on my family tree so when i die people can see it when they look me up down the line in the future! also this blog will be on there as well so they can read all the stuff from my mission and as well as i was!  i hope you all have a great day and give family search a try and see what you find! i know familys are a great blessing! i know family has had to deal with allot of crap with me around and with me not being around much either! i was a turd and unsupportive and wasnt home a whole lot. i always was someone that wanted to be alone but i appreciate my family alot now and cant wait till i start mine and it will be great!

Happy Halloween!

what a great week it has been! got to watch meet the mormons, got a new companion, became senior companion, and halloween was a great day!
so with meet the mormons... it was heart touching and amazing i recommend watching it! i hope you take friends there also that need to know who we really are! it was a tear jerker for parts throughout! but it was amazing for it all!
             with my new companion his name is Elder Tyler Johnson from american fork. he has only been out 2 transfers so i get to be a great example to him and help him as he is still starting out in the mission. he is awesome and enthusiastic and great! its weird being the older one in the companionship but its getting to the point that im in the older group because im getting closer and closer to my year mark. time has flown like crazy on my mission! i was like "man its going to be crazy to go back to real life when i go home" then someone told me "your mission is as real as its going to get" so im enjoying every bit of it! i love the mission! its the best mission in the history (my) life! i always recommend going on a mission if you get the chance i know people that regret it but are making a goal to go as senior couples when they get older! as long as you get to experiance the joy of helping others where ever the lord needs you to help his children!
             so halloween we had a great day we went the wednesday before and went to the ward halloween party and had a door decorated so we could hand out candy for the kids. then the day of halloween we went and did our regular proselyting and then cam in by 5 and stayed in to be safe and then we had a emergancy test before we went it but we had pizza and watched 17 miracles for the night and then went to bed! it was a great night.
             so last pday we went to the national harbor and we run into a lady that was a member waiting for her husband to come out of a confrence and she asked us if she could take our pic and text it to our moms like she had done when he brother was out her mom got a text so we did it and our moms got a cool suprise for the day which is the pic below but its a great one!

well what a great day hope you have a great week and a marvelous day!

till next time have a good one!

ENJOY the pics

  

Almost the end of a wonderful transfer!

so since the last time i posted i have had allot of good times.but my favorite was going to the temple and doing temple work! i always enjoy going to the temple! so i have been working on answering allot of letters people have emailed me about my blog or just even for help! im glad i can help all those that need the advice,help or even a friendly letter! i try my best to keep up also i may be a little behind but i will get back going to it. anyway so i hope my blog helps those that look at it or also show how im doing for the family!
      Halloween is coming soon and its the time of year that i like but i will be inside for the day since its dangerous around our area to be out after 5 for halloween. but its great soon it will be thanks giving then to christmas when i will skype with my family! hopefully they get it set up with their tv this time instead of their ipad! but within 3 months it will be official that i have been out here for a full year and then it will be down hill counting from there. then ill be back home leaving my life! it aint as real as being on a mission ill tell you that!
      so at the end of the week we will find out who will be staying and who will be leaving! then the following tuesday we should find out where everyone will be going or the day of transfers like last time. but yeah it will be great! we get to do interviews with president cooke tomorrow it will be great. i always look forward to those days!
     i decided to add pics from my previous pday  activity in the city hope you enjoy! have a great rest of your week! and remember find a missionary to help or be a member missionary to help them out! try to make a goal to feed them once a month!

what a week of great stuff.

so this week has been great with all the stuff we have got to do. we have started a miracle board in our apartment and it is filling up and its great!
    so i have been thinking for a while, what would happen if i started a home coming talk as i go along my mission as i do things. i may only get 15 minutes when i get home but man its hard to condense down all the stuff that has happened so far in the mission. i have passed my 8 month mark on the 5th so thats cool. it doesnt feel like i have been out that long! but time goes where it needs to go! but i want to share so many stories. and it will be a suprised to hear me give a talk longer then 5 minutes. i have struggles doing workshops in our various meetings.(district,zone,mission,etc) but it will be great. i also want to start planning my ending testimony that i give at the end of my mission before i go home! hopefully the family gets to come out to do our road trip so we can all have fun in d.c.
     so as a missionary we struggle in our areas with either finding investigators or people to teach. well last week we fasted for our area to get better and it has so far we are getting better responses from people and working on getting lessons during the week it makes it great! thats the power of faith and fasting!
     i hope you guys that read this can invite the missionaries over, get to know them, feed them a meal or a snack, help them practice their lessons that they teach, and help them as member missionaries. its a great way to do your part to Hasten The Work Of Salvation yourself! this is short but a great message to share with others! till next week, keep a influential smile upon your face and a positive attitude with others. give them the benefit of the doubt!

Have A Great Week!

#CharlieMike

 E.Simons

:)

almost half way through the transfer!

so its been a great week! the work may be slow but we had a great time watching general confrence!
as a missionary my favorite was elder bednars talk. i just want to print it out and just hand it out all over anacostia now! but its a great privilege to hear from the prophet and the apostles!
 you know im getting closer and closer to being at my year mark of serving the lord. just a few months then it will be down hill counting from there. i hit my 8 month mark last sunday which was cool! im enjoying it here. time keeps flying on me though, it needs to slow down! but you know as the will of the father is done, he will be pleased! so its all great. this week is a short one but i want to make a suggestion if there is any suggestions on what you want to see on my posts hit me up on my email (everydayamissionary@gmail.com/cody.simons@myldsmail.net) but here is cool pics for you guys!
                                                       Have a Great Week! #CharlieMike

ward newsletter for this month thought i would share it this week!

ward newsletter

september 26 2014

sorry its so late

Hey Family & Friends! its wonderful in the great parts of the ghetto! i keep busy here, there is so much to do here i dont have much time spare time but at lunch or dinner! thanks for those that have sent letters to me. if i havent got back to yours im sorry im still cantching up from my birthday cards. 

being out here in the ghetto has really brought more appreciation to what i have and do! anacostia is such a great place to learn that even though i feel bad for those out here in poverty. its always hard to see heavenly fathers children in poverty! i always tell people " every sacrifice you make brings a blessing around the corner". Remember that no matter what trials you go through you will have happiness in the end!

so in the mission right now we have a challenge to read the book of mormon and we are to read 4 pages a day and we started this 7 weeks ago so we are moving along and bringing ourselfs unto christ as we bring the people of the washington dc north mission area unto christ. 

anyway so i told my mission president that i want to stay in the ghetto till next year. if my mom tells you she wants me out of the ghetto tell her its a learning experiance. she over worries to much. anyway but its great being away from home for a while i learn from not relying on the nest or money that way or anything like that im learning for myself in the real world. even thought i pretty much lived away from home during the week with my grandpa in provo and came just for the weekends to my parents house. but yeah im enjoying. the mission has changed me allot. for me a mission is  vacation from home but doing something i love! i enjoy the pdays but at the sme time i enjoy helping gods children in the washington dc north mission area!

i want to thank the tarwaters for sending out the newsletter. i always like hearing about the other missionaries in the ward. and how the wards doing! i wwant to thank thos young men and young woman that have either sent letters or gifts i really appreciate them allot it allways makes my day! i cant wait to see who else goes on a mission in the ward! im exited for elder skinner, elder belk, and sister chisholm that just went out! i wish them luck and am glad they choose to go on a mission! it will change their lifes as it has for all of us that have been out on missions so far!

so im short on time to finish this for the ward newsletter but i want to invite you guys if you are wondering how im doing to check my blog out at everydayamissionary.blogspot.com and 2nd to try to invite the missionaries ovver for a meal and get to know them. for those that have missionaries out alwways hope their kids are well fed. well its your guys turn to return the favor and feed the missionaries and see how you can help them out in their area as a ward or even as member missionaries. give it a try you will be blessed for it! aand if you feel extra generous try to do it once a month or make a goal for it! gget to know the missionaries in the ward/stake and let them get to know you. your experiances or situations or just stories might help them find someone to relate to their investigator so they have someone to fellowship the iinvestigator. help them out a little bit!

well i wish you luck and love you all have a great week!

  have any questions? my infos on my blog on the left!  

              our mission saying at the end of a conversation

              #Charlie Mike  (continue the mission!)

Keep up the smile! :)

  Love Y'all

Whats The "T" Brova

Whats the "T" brova is a ghetto Phrase for whats up whats been happening!
    so its been a great week with transfers and all. i received a new companion to the ghetto! his name is elder jackman and he is from the town right above me also known as orem utah! for me it may be the 2nd best town but as long as provo is #1 anyway its starting off great! he just came from the spanish program. maybe ill learn a little spanish!
 
     k so a hard thing i have came to realize is that when you here about cool things from home have happened and your just like " man i wish i was there for that". well stay strong out there. you are ment to be on the mission. i have come to find out that timeing has been great for me out here! for example some of my experiances growing up has helped others. i have told them how i over come drinking coffee, how i have over come some of the teenage addictions, how i have helped myself grow from allot of things. my family situation with the split and the bringing back together has helped and how i have been able to relate. now with the smoking and drinking was not something i could have been able to get into. that stuff is nasty and it kills your insides. the blessing of having sacrifices in you l9ife to bless others as you can relate to them.

    so we have been working hard on helping others learn about family history in our mission and it has blessed others with what they have found and for some it has helped connect with more with their family as they work together to be able to find family that needs work done. family history is a great work in this life it is so amazing!

     you know another thing i want to tell you guys that have hard stress. it will be ok in the end i mean i have had hard times just on the mission and im pushing through. i may not show it but i sure as heck try hard to keep myself strong as i push through my mission as i watch theses childrren of god suffer through poverty or just even when i cant always help. i try my hardest so if you are having a greqat do or even a bad day try to find someone that is struggling and bring a smile upon their! share a scripture with them or even pray with or for them! i always think there is someone out there worst off then i am and i have really noticed that out here in anacostia and even my mission. its so hard to watch but appreciate allot more of what i have then what i did have. the mission has changed me allot and for those young men/young women preparing or just thinking about a mission I KNOW a mission will bless you and help you! dont give up you are ment to help someone out! you are here on earth for a reason. there is really great movie i saw called saturday warrior its a great movie of 2 guys before they came to earth and they were friends and one says to the other "i will find you and bring you back unto christ" and we are ment to find those friends we talked to in the pre earth life and this all goes for those just starting on missions also! just remember you are also a child of god! you are serving him and he will bless you in the end! like i always say all sacrifices you make there is a even bigger blessing around the corner. I KNOW what you are doing is right and what you were ment to do!

    if you are a member missionary, former missionary, a present missionary or even preparing for a mission if you are comfortable i would like to hear blessing or miracles you have seen in your life or even on your mission or ones towards your family! i would like to hear some maybe you will hear a miracle back from me!
    contact info: 
mailing address: 11700 falls rd potomac md 20854
               email: cody.simons@myldsmail.net
        blog email: everydayamissionary@gmail.com
        Facebook: Elder Cody Blaine Simons

 Hope you guys are having an amazing week! and keep up the beautiful smiles you all have and make sure to help someone out in need or just struggling maybe it will help you, it may just put a smile on your face and give you a warm feeling inside!

I LOVE YOU ALL AND WISH YOU A GREAT WEEK!

wow this transfer is pretty much over this wednesday!

so wow this transfer has been a great one! it has also flown by, where has time gone? but man i am at 7 months and a 1/2 its crazy it doesnt feel like its been that long yet!

     so tonight we find out if we leave or if we stay in our areas! which if i get back online by monday ill let you know what goes on if im leaving or staying and then tuesday we find out where we go if we are leaving. but its been a great one! my companion Elder Eshiet is a great companion! so a day that we had this transfer.

     (9/11) was a day of reflection and for safety perceptions because we serve in the city and our mission president wanted us to stay safe so he had us at the temple visitor center and the stake center right next to it. we just did bike safety (which i needed) and listened to diffrent workshops by the president, his wife, and the assistance to the president, then the dc zone leaders which isnt the zone we are in but our district served in the city so we went there anyway! i learned allot but it was great! the people affected or involved in the event of 9/11 my heart is with those familys that celebrated the, well i shouldnt say celebrate, but had remembrance in the event! its was so big i remember hearing about it at school and seeing videos! its crazy how i was only like 6 or so but its a big impact!

      wow this week has gone by fast also because  i remember just posting my last post on my blog!
but its been a great one! well im going to add pics of me dress funny but in safety dress for my bike area! but hope you enjoy them! Have A Great Week!

Wow What A Week!

so this week has been a great successful week! in our mission we have a goal of getting 20 lessons a week and guess where we were able to get this past week.....Guess........ 22 .... we did it we actually made it over  the  goal normally we are from 13 to 15, but this week we have beat the goal! but other then that wee have been good in our area we are fully established in our new place. its a great town home. im going to miss it when i leave the area because we all put together a great gym in the basement. we walk stairs everyday that gets me more exercise during the day besides work outs and biking. also i am down to 228 lbs since i started doing my workouts and diet. i remember back when i was fit when i did sports when i lived in provo and when i was living in payson to. but i cant wait till i can play football with my buddies again in provo. but yeah when i get to my next area when i move im going to miss anacostia and all  the tools i had to grow spiritually and physically! here as some pics of me as i have grown up! but yeah i hope everyones week has been great! i want to also mention a congratulations to my uncle and aunt Skyler and Jessica Horton on their wedding!
      for those that have sent me emails or letters im still getting to those i have been so busy but i will make sure to get them done soon! have a great week!

When I Was A Kid

Back When I Was Fit 

When i was fit 

Before my mission after graduation

The first day in the mission feild

Man its been a minute!

"man, its been a minute" is a ghetto saying meaning its been a while. 

         so i have come to realized that i have been doing everything blog wise and not sending emails out to those that cant see my blog. i need to work on sending out a copy email wise. but its been great in the ghetto. we are now in a nice town home we moved into. we need to figure out why we dont have a mail key so for now if you send letters to the mission office at 11700 falls rd potomac md 20854. till we can get a key for our mailbox.
         so i have been working on all the letters that im responding to that i have received. i am so backed up due to how busy i have been but hopefully i can catch up when i have a free minute. so i thought i would let you know. i really appreciate all the letters! today is going to be short because im short on time cauz we are doing a ward bbq today with the new bishopric in this ward and soon i will have pics to share later on but yeah im glad everyone is doing great and hope i get back to you all soon! hopefully everyone that has been looking at my post have been looking at the videos and pics i put up.

Hope everyone's week is starting out great!

Keep up the great smile you have!

Have a GREAT WEEK!

#CharlieMike

:]

   

The Ghetto Is Getting Better!

so last week was a slow and hard week to meet with people, but so far this week has been a great week! we are working hard so at the end of the week we can move into our new place which is a great place and newer and not as bad as our old place.but it will continue to work out.
        so for p day yesterday we did an awesome zone activity. it was a how down country theme which was pretty cool.we enjoyed great games and it was fun. so we did bobbing for apples, 3 legged race, donut eatting from the sting, seeing who can eat grits and goat milk the fastest.(which i hate gritz now) anyway it was great then we did tug-o-war which was fun and muddy. but it was all fun.
     
      so the new address for my new place is: 1512 tanner ct Washington D.C 20020
     
       im exited to be in my new place in the same area in Anacostia central. also for those that have sent letters im working on getting those done. i have been really busy so hopefully i can get to those soon. thanks for the patience! but this week is short but hope you have a great week!

It has been another great week on the mission!

It has been a great week this week. so this week we got to do lots of things we had an awesome zone training and we had a great time doing a wedding this week. it was a great experience.
            the zone training taught me how to better read the book of mormon to get something out of it here is 5 points to it.

  a. Write down insights in a journal and annotate like crazy
      b. Look at the big picture
      c. Read between the lines (deductive and inductive reasoning)
      d. Ask questions to others and to yourself
      e. Apply it to yourself or to the people you teach

           these are the points we learned as we help our selfs come unto Christ as we help those we share the gospel with! and those that read this as they are preparing for a mission use this as you read the scriptures as you get ready to go out!

            now with the wedding that was so amazing the couple the other elders in our ward baptized and we had a great ceremony for them at the church and we surprised them with an amazing reception. it was amazing ill make a page with the pictures on it of what we did. i got to confirm the wife to The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints. it has been a great week and opportunity to help them out with it and to get them on their way. The countdown has started for their 1 year mark to be sealed in the temple! its exiting! 

              

Hope everyone's week has been amazing I know mine has and look forward to another awesome week!

To those that have wrote me a letter sorry its taking me so long i have allot to catch up to and its taking me a little bit especially since i have been so busy! ill try to get it done as soon as i can.

Hope You Have A Great Week! And A Wonderful Day!

Simons says: Keep A Smile Upon Your

Beautiful Face And Show Your 

Love to Those Around

 YOU!

;D

-Elder Cody Blaine Simons

Beginning Of A New Transfer (6 months)

well its been a great start to the transfer. Thanks to all those that sent cards, packages, and love on facebook. so i have gotten a new companion and im staying in Anacostia central area. my new companions name is Elder Imo Eshiet and he is from nigeria so its pretty cool soon he will be a full citizen and his family lives in either north or south carolina. but its going to be a great transfer. its been a super busy week take a look in the videos section of my blog i put videos of celebrating my birthday and i added new pics of doing a service project on my birthday. it was pretty sweet and fun soon we will be going back to finish it up soon. so today i had a privlage to confirm someone that was baptized into the ward yesterday and it was a great experiance it was the other elders that baptized i just had the privelage to confirm the mom a member of the church! it was awesome! im so short on time but i had to get this up cauz idk if i can get it up tomorrow. if im on tomorrow i will add more! hope everyone has an Awesome Week! and a Great Day!

   

End of the transfer and my 6 month mark is this week!

hey how is everyone doing? my week has been great i have enjoyed it esspecially being my companions last week in the ghetto since he will be transfered also. so last week we got to attend a nationals game as a mission which i was expecting more competition in the game the phillies lost miserably which im ok with but the score ended at 11-0 and so yeah it was over at the 2nd inning so oh well but we got to teach a awesome first and second lesson with the people next to us it was pretty sweet. my grandpa told me i had to get a hot dog and soda at the game so i did and i took pictures of all sorts of stuff and made a page for the pics check it out sometime. anyway last week we also got to enjoy the temple it was pretty sweet. i always love going to the temple every transfer. its like a reboost for me in a way! all is great as i continue to work in the amazing ghetto of anacostia and as i get a new companion.but i cant wait to see what the next transfer brings me! its been a great week and i will be moving apartment soon within 20 days cauz our lease is up and our place is a crappy apartment so we will find one better and move so hopefully it will all be great! cant wait to heart from everyone one soon! enjoy this amazing week! until next week enjoy the pics! i will have a pic up soon of me burning a tie!

amazing week ahead being the week before transfers

so yesterday i didnt get to my post or my email cauz i had my day full yesterday. we did a service project for a charity called a wider circle which helps those in poverty ans we helped get things put out for those coming to look for furniture or food when i need and cloths and we spent 4 hours doing it. which was a great experiance and felt good to do. 

     so this week will be a great week we have some great investigators, less actives, and members we are going to be meeting with. also we got departing (end of transfer) temple trip wednesday and we are also going to be attending a nationals game saturday as a whole mission. i am exited for the game it will be my first time attending a nats game. but next week is transfer week and this saturday we find out who leaves and stays and then next tuesday we hear where the everyone will be leaving to if anyone is moving in the zone.

      update with the diet: it is going really great we are working on changing gyms at the moment but im losing fat and enjoy the biking (which im improving at) and also my food eatting routine and meal choices are doing great. hopefully i can stick to it when my companion and me split cauz he has kept me going and has taught me allot on it.

Hope everyones week is going amazing and everyone keeps a smile upon their face!

Have a wonderful week and a blessed day!

Elder Cody Blaine Simons

Careful: you give a lot of attention to details Original: you are unique and you dont copy others Decisive: you always make good choices Young: you are full of life

p.s check out the other tabs on the blog to see pics and videos

another week in the ghetto flown by with an amazing week!

This week has been a great success in the ghetto!

so this week we got to do so much we had some money lesson with investigators this week we also got new investigators this week! also we had a awesome zone conference which was amazing! (which i got an awesome birthday tie from the mission president and his wife! its the 4th one on the first pic of my tie collection which anyone can add to it if they would like!)

         so this week it has flown by i mean with the work going well in this area its amazing! i want to give a shout out to the young women in the west mountain first ward for the wonderful snacks and gift they sent me! that was an awesome gift! it puts a smile upon my face when i hear from others and get gifts like those that were thought through. i mean im grateful for my amazing parents for getting me some new pants and shirts and other things that they got me. 

     so tomorrow as missionaries we get to go have fun playing football at the national mall which is always fun! i am amazed at this area. when i go to church its few but the members are humble and amazing people! im glad i get to serve in the area i do i love my mission and all the things i can do in this area! 

hope everyone has an amazing week and a wonderful day!

till next time cant wait to hear from everyone that would like to get to me an ask questions.

   *if anyone is ever wondering what i may need or would like to send anything here is a list

-white short sleeve shirts

-ties

-stamps

-anything missionary supply wise

-church music cd's

-3 ring binders

-whatever you may think i may need if you know how a mission goes

*these things can be anything for my birthday also with it coming up on August 9th!*

MY TIE COLLECTION SO FAR!

almost half way through this transfer July 14th 2014

well wonderful awesome family & friends &other viewers. it has been a great week this week. im sorta getting a hang of my new area. its harder memorizing the roads around here. i miss the grid system but the gps got roads stuck in my head when i drove in my last area. but hopefully i can get the area memorized enough i can help the next companion if i dont move and be able to show him where to go.

         so recently i have changed my diet which i have been losing weight and people have been telling me i look like im thinning since the last time i have seen them. so i have a diet of food and i go to golds gym monday, wednesday, friday, and the other days work out at the apartment except saturdays thats basketball day. but also my food diet has changed i went to costco and spent $135 to have a diet for the month. so we have chicken and rice for lunches and dinners it depends sometimes but the rice is brown rice which either way i hate rice. but my breakfasts are one meal everytime and its a morning drink. so you put 1 cup oats, a bannana or Peanutbutter, 2 eggs, a scoop of protein powder and milk and blend it up and i take fish oil pills and a multi vitamin with it. so thats my breakasts but yeah the snacks are greek yougurts, cottage cheese, and once in a while a peanut butter and honey sandwich on wheat bread or multi grain bread. but it all keeps me going and so here is my routine workouts during the week.

gym-monday: chest/triceps

tuesday:  biceps/abs

gym-wednesday:legs

thursday:shoulders/triceps

gym-friday:back/biceps

saturday:abs/cardio/basketball

thats my routine during the week and the scheduled stuff. so i ave been going down in weight but building muscle. its been great and everyday im on the bike so it helps too.

               so this week i have been getting to know quite a few people in this area. the ward is small. its funny i comapre it to the school i went to being small but yeah its the only church building that i have seen that doesnt have a gym in it. but its a great building. its been a great experiance to serve in the ghetto here. 

               but im getting exited on this mission i mean so may things are getting better and better. ill tell you why my testimony has grown, i have felt in certain areas or times in the mission what my purpose with some people or some situations is. i have been able to meet awesome people and the great opportunities that i will have ahead i mean i read my patriarticle blessing and some of the things in there get me exited for the rest of my mission.

               so we just found out that the previous mission president here has been diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer so i ask that all of you that read this pray for president Matsumori. which he is a temple president now. i hope all will be great in the end for him. i heard he was pretty awesome.

            so one thing i want to ask who may be getting rid of any old dress up pants that you dont want anymore that i may be able to have cauz i dont want to ruin any of my suit pants biking. so im looking for some that i can just use that are easy to bike in. im looking for 36x34. so if anyone that has any can mail them to either address to get them to me or if its drivable to my parents.

      my parents address: 10178 s 6000 w. payson utah 84651

      mission office: 11700 falls rd potomac md 20854

anyway i would really appreciate if anybody had any to get rid of for me to have.

      hope everyones having a wonderful week! and look forward to those that i hear from soon!

                                        DC NORTH ELDER CODY BLAINE SIMONS

                                                                D&C 4:2 

4th of July celebration! July 6th 2014

well this week has been a great one with the 4th of July and all the great things. sorry i didn't get a mass email out last week they moved our pday to the 4th so that we could enjoy the 4th of July! it was a great holiday! we got to see some crazy things in dc! i am now in a new area with a new companion which he has an awesome blog to go check out(my companions blog). his name is Elder Erik Little. hes a great companion we are enjoying each other and oh just to let everyone know im in anacostia which is a ghetto area so it is awesome to experience. i have really enjoyed my mission up to this point now yesterday was my 5 month mark and at the end of this transfer i will hit my 6 month mark its awesome! so in this area the ward is small which is easier to do testimony meeting with everyone cauz i am more comfortable to smaller groups and its been great. i have enjoyed the ward here but miss the laurel ward.the ghetto is a new experience and a wonderful place. ok so i got to tell you stories k. so during our celebration we went to the mall and watched the fireworks and got to hang with a cool family. well towards the end as we were in an hour line to get on the metro to head home there was a drunk lady that started a fight with a innocent guy and everyone was yelling for the cops so the horse cops came over and was trying to stop her and she started booking it and they chased her for a little bit with the horses and came back with her in hand cuffs which was sweet so everyone started cheering for the cops. so that was funny and cool.but we had a good time enjoyed the fireworks there and got to take some cool pictures of the fireworks which will be put up soon when i get them put together on the photo section of the blog. who likes my idea for the blog? so one thing i decide with the blog and people can make suggestions but i want to put stories or my experiences up so that those that are thinking about a mission can read my stories and heart from others also. allot of what inspired me was when i went on an awesome youth conference trip which was a mini mission thing at Utah state and allot of things i got out of it where the stories the spiritual experience and how you can grow from a mission. i am grateful to sister Chisholm, sister Obray, sister Belk, sister york, brother Mckay, Brother Southwick, Bishop York, and all the other leaders that i may have missed and to all the youth i was able to have great Experiances with. my mission is the best thing i have decided to do and something i will remember for the rest of my life. im greatful i was called to the Washington D.C. North mission.

         so how was everyones forth of July? was there any cool stories to share? i enjoyed the 4th of July! hope everyones having an awesome week And a blessed day! 

2 days away from the end of the transfer next month it will be 5 months down 19 to go! then 6 months and 18 to go! June 23 2014

well this week has been a  great one being my last week in laurel. so with knowing im moving im going to be getting a new address which i wont know till after wednesday my address but tomorrow i will know where i will be going to. for now i know im going to a bike area. i have a little bit of bike experiance here in laurel after the car wreck but the other areas arent as big as this one. so yeah it will be all good.

so with that im going to miss my investigators i have been working with. 

herbie and mercades have been great to teach they got to the point we just need to marry them and then the can be baptized and their daugher wants to do it with them so she is waiting till they get married so they can be baptized as a family and the son will soon be 8 and he can be baptized also. 

then with dencie she was awesome to work with. her family was less-active but got them coming back to church. she was suppose to be baptized but someone dropped the ball in comunications so it went to long so she turned 9 so it becomes the missionaries duty at that point. she has been great to work with and enjoys the missionaries.

with pedro and mike they are on the path of baptism. it was a great how we were able to meet them. so there was a time when the spanish sisters where tracking in pedro and mikes area they met a few people they sent to us as referrals. so we went to go check on those referrals, we came out of one of the buildings and pedro stopped us and said "are you guys affiliated with any church?" and you know we go along telling him how we are missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. he then asked if we gave rides. and we told him how we can have members help give rides and so he got exited and we went to his apartment a few  times and got them on baptismal dat thats on july 6th but sadly i wont be there for it unless some how i find a way there i know for sure ill make it to denice's baptism.

so yeah hopefully all is great in my new area. but this next few days will be packing to leave good ol' laurel im going to miss this area its got all you need and its a great ward here.

so hopefully everyone got the letters i sent out to. and i hope you enjoy it and look forward to those that write back. i relized next transfer ill be hitting my 5 month mark then my 6 month mark to where i can burn a tie it will be fun we will see which tie i burn for it and these last few months have flown by like crazy next thing i know ill be looking back when i finally hit the year mark. so it will be awesome. 

DC NORTH MISSIONARY ELDER SIMONS

4 months on the 5th! Put your shoulder to the wheel! June 2 2014

so last week i didnt email because me and my roommates went to the the zoo and did shopping and didnt get back in time to do emailing before p-day ended. so thats why there was nothing last week. 

so here is the report for this week so it has been really great and things have progressed on! ok, so i believe it was last week that i didnt report that we had something come up. one night we get a phone call from sisters saying they had referrals for us, so we took the info from them to go and check on the referrals they gave us. well a couple of days later when we go to check on these referrals. as we were coming out of the apartment building they lived it a guy stopped us and asked if we were affiliate with a church and we said "yes, so we are missionaries for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." and he asked if we offered rides to our church and we told we could get a member. so we had that cool thing happen for us and now when we went to go teach them the first lesson i could tell the spirit was there and we got him on date for july 6th!

so one of these p-days i have decided that im going to pick an hour to write the people that i have had a hard time finding time to write back and get back to them. so if anyone would like to write me or ask any questions about anything or would like something from a missionary, feel free to write me. also im working on improving on facebook with people so if you know anyone that could use a facebook missionary. suggest them to me on facebook or suggest me to them on facebook and i will help them out and answer questions for them. im always trying to put stuff on facebook that may be a quote or picture that will make someones day or to help them with gospel questions. if i schedule it i do discussions over chat with many people about the gospel and i start groups that would like to keep it private with certain people or i can make ones that are opened up. either way i schedule stuff like that when i can or when i need to!

         hope everyones week is great and the day is a BEAUTIFUL one!  

                     HAPPY MONDAY!

       (the pics below are new ties i got and a pair of shoes i got for my collection)

I'll be emailing later hopefully

$10 shoes that are regularly $30

                          $4 ties each which come with a handkerchief and a tie and cufflings  

DC NORTH MISSIONARY ELDER SIMONS