Merry Christmas!

December 23, 2013

Merry Christmas to all!

This week has been a crazy one! It's so odd that it's already Christmas Adam! Time seems to have lost all sense. But Merry Christmas nonetheless!

As you well know, I was transferred. And it's been a whirlwind! I found out on Tuesday morning at transfer meeting that I was being transferred to Grand Junction. That's the main city on the other (West) side of the mountains. It's about four hours away from Provo, and from Denver in the other direction. I got to drive a Dodge Caravan out west! I'm not sure why they had the Arizona boy drive a minivan through the snowy mountains in December... But it worked out, and I didn't crash and go tumbling down the side of the Rockies!

Ho, Ho, Ho!

I'm serving in the Grand Junction 7th ward, and I'm the district leader here, as well. Our district is pretty diverse! We have two sets of Spanish missionaries, and two sets of English missionaries. A set of elders and a set of sisters for each language. That's four sets total. The Spanish elders and sisters share the Spanish branch (Mount Garfield), and the English elders (us) and Sisters share the English ward (Grand Junction 7th).

My new companion is Elder Bartlett, who is on his second transfer. That makes him my step-son, because I'm his follow-up trainer! He's from Elk City, Idaho, and we get along pretty well.

Grand Junction! It's super different from Litttleton! I've never quite understood what a small town (or small city) is like, but I think I get it now! Grand Junction is very rural. It's taking a lot of adjusting! It makes me miss my last area in ways I didn't anticipate! But I'm doing great here, so no worries! Transferring to a new area, I'm finding out, is a lot like starting your mission over again! I don't know any people here, or the area, how to get around, how to act around certain people... I didn't really expect that. But at least this time I have a lot more experience!

As a district leader, I get to conduct companion exchanges with the other elders in my district. Since there's only one other set of elders, it makes things pretty easy! We did our first exchange on Saturday. I got to spend a whole day in a Spanish area! It was super cool. I was able to understand most of what people were saying, and I could communicate my thoughts pretty effectively. We found a couple of new Spanish investigators from tracting, and had some good lessons with less-active members and investigators. At the end of the day, we went to the Fiesta de la Navidad! Presidente Vasques asked me to say the prayer and blessing on the food. I'm not quite sure why... But I did, and no one was the wiser! Some of the branch members complimented me on my accent. So, that was a fun day! I'm sure I'll do exchanges with them at least one more time this transfer.

Well, it's almost Christmas! I can't wait to Skype with all of you! And guess what else! It's almost my birthday! The big 1-9. I've still got a few days left of telling people I'm 18. It's been pretty fun to be able to do that as a missionary, because people are always so impressed. Haha! Then we'll start the new year! 2014! A whole lot is going on, and the work here in Grand Junction is great. Merry Christmas! Stay excellent and remember why we celebrate! I love you all!

Sincerely,

Elder Rogers