God speed, I'll see you in 2013!

Dear Friends and Family,                                         July 22, 2011

As of this Wednesday, I'll have been in the MTC for eight weeks.  Now, eight weeks seems like a long time, at least to me.  But, if you put things to do in that time frame (e.g. learn an entire language) that eight weeks suddenly seems a lot shorter.  I'm leaving on August 1st, and my only objective right when I get there is to talk to as many native speakers as I can once I arrive.        Great!

The crazy thing is, even though I talk about not being ready, something inside me feels ready, but it's not me.  It's like something is ready FOR me.  I believe now more than ever that God loves all of us.  He's concerned if you're concerned. The most All-Powerful Supreme Being in the Universe does care if you pray for help on a spelling test.  He cares if you pray for traffic to be fast because you're late.  And I testify that He cares about a naive 19-year-old boy who is trying to learn Spanish.  If we ask, we shall receive according to the will of God,.

Thanks everybody, for taking a minute to see how I'm doing. ☺  I wish I could see how you all are doing.....oh wait, I can!  Send me a quick note or a letter if you have time.  I know it sounds pathetic, me pleading for letters, but I just want to see how people are doing. ☺ If not, God speed, and I'll see you in 2013.

      Elder Crabb

We got MTC pictures!  Thanks goes to Heather and her smart computer who knows how to scan and save the right way!

Me and my companion, Elder Peterson!

The big map in the hallway, look closely, you can see my reflection!

The only picture I have with everybody!

L to R:  Elder Beals, ME, Elder Price, Elder Cousineau, Elder Hon, Elder Williams, Elder Trowbridge, Elder Aylesworth (District Leader), Elder Peterson, and Elder Sorenson

Some of our district at the temple, On what turned out to be a very sunny day, apparently.

The Provo Temple

Orange Tie Day!  L to R Me, Elder Price, Elder Williams, Elder Hon, Elder Cousineau, Elder Peterson, Elder Aylesworth.

Four more days in the MTC.  Get those next day letters to him today.  I will be posting his new address soon!

Ukulately Update

Hello again. It's been a while since I was able to post anything...to make a long story short...dumb picture-max problem over on my regular blog, I had to change how I posted over here on Cody's page so I could still post pictures and updates from him. And then blogger decided to make this blog private without allowing anyone to access it...weird! Anyway I think I got it all figured out now...well lets hope. If you don't see any posts from me in a while I probably ran into yet another snag.

Anyway I asked (begged) Cody to send me some pictures from the MTC. They finally came and I scanned them into my computer and let my SIL take them home and when I pulled them up, they looked awful! Dumb scanner.

See? Weird huh!!

So I'm hoping to get a better scan done with the pictures ASAP and I will post them. In the mean time I'm going to tell you about one of the pictures we got that made me LOL! First of all I don't ever plan on actually posting it, not because it's bad, but because you don't want to see it...and you're welcome! It's a picture with about 5 guys sitting on the top bunk of a bed. They look like they are about to go to bed or they are ready to go out and take a jog....It's got hairy legs goofy faces and the whole bit, I couldn't understand why he had taken this picture, none of the people in the photograph was Cody. Then I turned it over and read the caption on the back... "My weird district thinks it's funny to hang out on my bed!!!" HAHAHAHa, that's awesome! I'm glad to hear there are a few people who are taking on our roll as "older sibling teasing and tormenting." I don't think Cody would feel at home anywhere that someone wasn't giving him at least a little bit of a hard time!

Anyway, I'm hoping you will hear from me soon with actual MTC pictures!

FYI: Cody leaves the MTC in 7 days...That's only 1 week guys! If you'd like to send him a letter while he is still on US soil, you'll need to do it fast! Afterwards I will post his address in Culiacan as soon as I get it.

Was anyone able to send Cody a letter in pure Spanish...how did he do translating it?

July 7, 2011

Hola!  I've now officially hit the one month mark!  And big news:  My visa went through!  No delays for me!  Anyway, things have been going really well here, including my Spanish (if anyone wants to see how well, send me a letter in Spanish...I dare you. ☺)

I think you'd be interested to know that Mexico has developed it's own sort of slang, makes no sense, but it's hilarious.  Some of my favorites:

Spanish     /     (literal translation )    /     meaning

¡No Manches!  ( no (word that means nothing))  = No way!

¡Buen Padre!  (good dad)  = Sweet!/Cool!

¡Brilla!  (Bright)  = Awesome!/Nice!                           

It seems like the walls of the MTC are closing in as of late, I'll be lucky to be alive in 5 weeks.  But everything is going really well.  My life is great, I've put on weight (of course) and I am loving the letters I'm getting from everybody. ☺ Nothing makes a missionary's day more than a letter, even if it's a short one.  Hopefully I'll have more to write about soon. 

I miss all of you, and I hope to hear from you soon! Nos Vemos!

Con Amor,
Elder Crabb

Uncle Elder Cody Crabb

Elder Crabb is setting a fantastic example for his 9 nieces an nephews!  You can see how well he interacts with them in one of the last posts where he drew pictures for the younger kids...he knows how to engage kids and they love it.  He will be so great with the kids of Culiacan! 
All the kids love writing and receiving letters from their uncle and hearing all about the fun adventures that Uncle Elder Cody is having!

Here is a unique perspective from Cody's nieces and nephews on what it's like to watch their Uncle serve a mission:

Sydney:

What are you going to miss not having Cody here? "Him teasing me and him making me laugh."

Do you think Cody will be a good teacher? Why or why not? "Yes. Because when he wants to be serious he is, and when he wants to tell people something he just tells them."

What's your favorite part about writing letters to Cody?  "Getting letters back from him!"

If you could tell Cody one thing from you, what would you say? "Does it have to be about his mission? ( "What would you say?") "You're like a bigger brother..."


Megan:

What are you going to miss not having Cody here? "Having him playing with us when we come over."

Do you think Cody will be a good teacher? Why or why not? "He's probably going to be one of the best, to me. Because Cody can talk about his feelings about everything. He's just really great at almost everything."

What's your favorite part about writing letters to Cody?"Writing how proud I am about him, and he can write back and I can tell him how much I love him and about how much fun he's having, or is he's having problems,..."

If you could tell Cody one thing from you, what would you say?  "Hi Cody! I love and miss you and I can't wait until you come back."


Tory:

What are you going to miss not having Cody here? "Um, not being able to hang out with him at his house. I miss playing video games with him and all that stuff."

Do you think Cody will be a good teacher? Why or why not? "Yeah. Because he kind of takes a lot of responsibility at his house and...yeeaah....that's it."

What's your favorite part about writing letters to Cody? "Um...that I can hear what he's doing there and I can also talk to him when he's pretty far away."

If you could tell Cody one thing from you, what would you say? "I'm proud of you!" (and his eyes were all shiny and wet when he said it...!)

Joshua:

I think it's pretty cool that Uncle Cody took me (and my cousins) to the NickelCade just before he left!  It was something neat because I guess that is something my dad did with Cody.  
I think that it's pretty neat that Cody is going on a mission because it is being a good example to me and I will know what to do on my mission.    When I go on a mission I wants to serve in Texas!  (Texas??? Where did that come from?)

Emily:

Cody is putting on a great example and he is going to serve his mission in Culiacan, Mexico.  It makes me feel warm inside even if it's a cold-cold day, when I think about Cody serving a mission. I want to serve my mission in China--the other part of the world!  But I don't know how to talk like them yet...
Extra excerpt:   There has been quite a learning curve with my kids figuring out what it means for Cody to be serving a mission...some times it gets down right funny!  We've talked about Cody being at the MTC several times now, and after a few confusing looks on their face Emily finally asked,  "What is Uncle Cody doing in the Empty Sea!"

Spencer:

This is the only picture I got of Spencer where he was looking at the camera---he had just stuck his head in a bucket of water!!!

What are you going to miss not having Cody here? "Him not here. Playing games with him.
Do you think Cody will be a good teacher? Why or why not? "Yeah. Because he's a nice person."

What's your favorite part about writing letters to Cody? "That I can practice spanish words with him and that I get to write to him."

If you could tell Cody one thing from you, what would you say? "You're funny!"


Wesley:

Missions are used for language and I don't know what else.  I feel good about Cody's mission (giggle-giggle).   Is there one of those smiley face things ☺ oh yeah, those are fun!  I like Cody because he is cool and because he's a cute guy!  And I want to go on my mission at Nicago..what was it?  ... Lacago? (do you mean Chigaco?)...oh yeah, that's it, Chigaco!  (again, where the heck did that come from?)

Michael:

What are you going to miss not having Cody here?  "It won't be fun talking on the phone at Christmas. And also at my birthday."

Do you think Cody will be a good teacher? Why or why not?  "Yeah. Because he'll look at his notes."
What's your favorite part about writing letters to Cody?  "That he can look at it. And he writes nice stuff"

Rusty:

What do you think about Cody going on a mission?  "um, good." 

What is Cody doing on his mission?  "Playing basketball."

Who does Cody teach on his mission?  "His Friends!" 

Where do you want to go on your mission?  "To School.  Mom? ...I love you!"

Poor Rusty is finally understanding what it means that Uncle Cody is on a mission for TWO YEARS...it means he is gone!  Rusty was sitting up to the counter and we were talking about the fact that he is getting too big for mommy to carry around the house anymore.  To which he replies as usual, "yeah, but Cody can carry me!" (thanks to Cody always being willing to pick up Rusty EVERY TIME they were together!!!)  I explained again that Cody was serving a mission and that we wouldn't get to see him for quite a while. After he sat there looking straight ahead for several minutes, (no kidding) I finally asked him what he thought about that.  He said simply, "that's not awesome!"  Ah, poor kid finally caught on!  Although a few minutes later he looked at me and said, "but I think Aunt Jennie is strong enough to carry me!"  Hahaha...I'm sure she is, she's much stronger than mommy (just a heads up Jen!). ☺

One more story:  The night before Cody left for the MTC (empty sea!) he gave Shawn a present.  From what I understand it's the same exact present Shawn gave five year old Cody when he was leaving for the MTC!  Now it is something special the kids watch and remember Uncle Cody!...

Space Jam

Thanks to all the nieces and nephews for taking time away from their summer vacation to answer some questions for us.  Cody is lucky to be surrounded by such a fun loving family!

If you would like to write a post, check out the instructions here, and then send one in!  We can't wait to meet you!

Salutations from Uncle Cody's biggest fans:

Syd, Meg, T-Dog, Josh, Mily, B.C., Wes, Mike & Rusty 

I need to apologize, if you've been with me (Rhoda) for a while, you know that my camera has a black spot in it's lens/ sensor.  Over on my regular blog we play Spot the spot....I will try to make sure I have decent pictures, but every once in a while you can see that darn spot!

--Sorry for re-post it several times I am having major issues with the format for some reason and some of the text disappeared!  Blogger??

Guest Post Written By...YOU!

photo credit

Would you like to write a post on this blog? I've been talking (writing) back and forth with Cody and he has given the thumbs up for me to give his blog readers, friends and family the opportunity to write a post every once in a while.   In fact Cody thought it was a great idea, saying something to the effect that I was a blogging genius, but I think he was just being nice! ☺ There will be a few rules in which you will have to abide while writing.

photo credit

First of all please keep in mind that this is, in many regards, a mission journal that also happens to be online, so please don't write any thing too personal.  Also please keep it clean and family friendly. 

There are four topics that you can choose from:

1.  Cody:   A memory or (true) story about Cody Crabb, that is in good taste!

2.  Missionary Work:  Any mission experience, it could be of serving a mission yourself, or that of a friend who is serving a mission (A story of Cody's friends also serving a mission would be fantastic!!) or a  story you have/had as an investigator of the church.

3.  Current update: This could be based off a letter that Cody sent you.

4.  Your testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

During your post, please tell us who you are.  If you know Cody personally, please tell us how you know him.  If you are a blog stalker (like I tend to be), tell us how you found the site.  It would also be fun to know where you are writing from, and if you could include a picture of yourself (or yourself and Cody!) that would rock!  And of course if you have your own blog, make sure to include a link so we can all come say hello!

 Please try to keep it focused around these topics. You can also mix and match or even write a few different posts if you like! Depending on the updates I have from Cody and how many I have from you, I will try to use one guest post a week or at least one a month.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the first installment, written (with help) by Cody's nieces and nephews.
In the mean time write up your posts and send them to rhodacrabb@msn.com.

Thank you!
Rhoda

Disclaimer:  I reserve the right to not publish entries that do not fit the criteria previously stated, also I will let you know when an entry you have written is about to go live on this blog.