Hey!

February 24, 2014

This has been a crazy week! On Monday, we taught Robyn and Shayla again, and it went really well. On Tuesday, we taught a couple more lessons, and put some miles on our bikes!

Wednesday was a little crazy. We taught a couple of lessons in the morning, and then had to get a ride to the Grand Junction West Stake Center for interviews with President Murdock. We were there from 3:00 until about 7:00. Most of the time we were just waiting, but we got our interviews, which was good. I always look forward to seeing President! That night we had a special dinner put on by the Activity Days girls in the stake. It was a really good dinner, and a great chance to talk to them about missionary work!

Thursday morning we had specialized trainings. Basically we learned a lot of good things from our Zone Leaders, the Sister Training Leaders, and the Assistants to the President while President Murdock was interviewing everyone else in our zone. (We had our interviews the day before to save some time.)

Friday was one of those days! We had our weekly planning session, accompanied by some craziness with another companionship, but that's all resolved. And then we had to go to Walgreens so Elder Curran could pick up his prescription. On the way back, a rope got caught in my chain, so I had to fix that. My shirt got dirty in the process, and then my pants ripped when I went to get back on my bike! So, we had to go back to the apartment so I could get some not dirty and ripped clothes on. By the time I was done with that, it was already after 4:00! I can't remember the specifics of what we did for the rest of the evening, but I'm pretty sure we tried to share the gospel. The day ended well, though, with a great dinner activity with the ward!

Saturday was great!! After our studies, we went out on our bikes do to some finding. We felt like tracting out this little group of homes that appeared very... let's say, humble. We did find one lady who listened to us, and asked us a bunch of questions. She had been drinking a little, but we gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon and I think she appreciated our message. It kind of felt like we were wandering, not knowing where to go. Elder Curran wanted to stop and talk to a guy in his garage about his motorcycles. So we talked to him, and I was slick bringing the gospel into the conversation: "Where are you from? Sacramento? I think we have a temple there." And then it all unfolded. His name is Roger, he's 31, and he is actually a member of the Church. He hasn't been active for about 18 years. Elder Curran asked him how he felt about coming back, and he said he'd been thinking about it. In essence, he said, "Actually, I pulled out my slacks and white shirts the other day and washed them. I was planning on going to sacrament meeting or something. I've been feeling like I need to go back." He said he still prayed every day, and the only thing he didn't have that he wished he did was a set of scriptures. We gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon, and he was really touched. I feel like good things are going to be happening for Roger soon, and I'm so happy for him! The Lord is reaching out to His children in many ways.

Next week we've got a lot of potential investigators we've talked to on the street that we need to follow up with. It's going to be a good week! Choose the right, and enjoy the Gilbert Temple Dedication!!

Sincerely,

Elder Rogers

A Thought from Mom:

D&C 3:1-2

 "1 The works and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught.

 2 For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round.”

It is February!

February 17, 2014

I know it's been February, for a couple of weeks, but I couldn't think of anything else to put...

It's been a good week! Elder Curran, my new companion, is a good missionary, he works hard, and is enthusiastic about the work. A lot of good things have been happening! On Friday, we were riding our bikes to drop in on an investigator, and we happened to be on the road right as all of the high school kids were walking home from school. We got the chance to talk to a lot of them, to get to know them, and teach them about the restored gospel. It was a great time to be out on the street!

On Tuesday, Elder Curran and I were out trying to contact people on the street. We talked to a man for a few minutes while he was walking (and he walked us right out of our area), but he didn't want to hear our message. As we were walking back to our area, we walked up behind an older man. I said hello to him, and he said hi back. I started to say, "We're missionaries for the--" and he said, "I am no English..." So, I said, "Oh! Somos los misioneros de la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias. Compartimos un mensaje... " and so on. I taught him a little about the Restoration, and gave him the Spanish Elders' phone number. His name is Arturo, and he said he would call them. Elder Curran was super confused. He said, "What did you just say; and how did you do that?" It was kind of funny!

The next day, I also had the chance to share the gospel with Rosario, a Hispanic lady, on the street. She told me my Spanish was good. I don't know, but hopefully it was good enough to help them understand our message!

 

Zone Conference

We had an excellent Zone Meeting that really got me excited and lifted my spirits! Things are going well. 

Oh yeah! Chuck got baptized on Saturday!!

Yeah...We're pretty excited!!

It was so awesome! He is doing so well, and I'm really excited for him. He was confirmed on Sunday, and the next step is to get him the Aaronic Priesthood. Ultimately, he and his wife want to get sealed in the temple, and they plan on serving a mission together when they're older!

Chuck's father-in-law baptized him

We had a great lesson with Robyn and Shayla on Wednesday, and they both decided to work towards March 22nd for a baptism date! They want to be sure of their testimonies first, but I have faith that they can be ready.

That's all for this week! Have fun, and be excellent!

Sincerely,

Elder Rogers

A Thought from Mom:

"Folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." ~Abraham Lincoln

Well, I Thought So Anyway

So, Butterfingers strikes again.

Obviously, getting a new companion isn't something that is up to me in any way, but it just seems to be my luck! Each week on Friday morning we have our weekly planning session, which lasts about three hours. The planning session always ends with a companionship inventory, where we talk about our companionship, things we do well, and things we can do to improve individually and as a unit. We started our companionship inventory, and I said, "Elder, you seem kind of down lately. What's up?" Then the phone rang, and he took it into the other room and answered it. He came back about a minute later and explained that President had just called, and the reason he was feeling down was because he was going home. It was kind of a shock! He didn't explain to me the exact reason why, but it was something personal.

President Murdock said a ride was coming to take him to Denver in 2-3 hours. Then I got a call from the Zone Leaders, telling me to pack up all my stuff, because they were going to move me to another area for a little while, while they tried to find me a new companion. I packed up my stuff, and Elder Bartlett packed up his. A car came and took him and another Elder to Denver; the other Elder was going home because of medical issues; and the eleventh ward Elders came and got me. So I've been in eleventh ward for the past three days, all the while trying to make sure our appointments in seventh ward are taken care of. It hasn't been too difficult, because the eleventh ward doesn't have a lot of set appointments.

Wow! So I haven't been able to keep a companion for two transfers in a row, yet. My new companion is arriving today from Fruita, CO. His name is Elder Curran, and I haven't ever met him, formally. In summary, it's been the strangest week of my mission so far. I'm doing alright, though. It's going to be an adventure taking over the area with a new companion. But with the Lord's help, we can do it!

In other news, it's been raining here quite a bit. Actually, it's sleeting right now. It hasn't been all that cold in Grand Junction, but in Denver it's been freezing, so I hear!

We had a good lesson with Chuck, and he's ready to be baptized this Saturday, the fifteenth! Yay! I'm so excited for him! We're planning on James' baptism happening on March first. We're still waiting for permission from Noah's mom. Shayla is sixteen. We had a great lesson with her, her member father, and investigator mother about the Plan of Salvation. They understood it all, and really liked the doctrine! We took Shayla and her dad on a church tour Thursday night, because Shayla was nervous about coming to church. They came to sacrament meeting yesterday! Things are looking good in that situation, and I'll keep you updated.

Well, this coming week will be an interesting one! I can certainly look forward to a lot of adventures. Remember to be good and love everyone! I love you all! You are constantly in my prayers.

Sincerely,

Elder Rogers

A Thought from Mom:

The Lord Jesus Christ taught, “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it” (Luke 9:24).

“I believe,” said President Thomas S. Monson, “the Savior is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish—and in effect save their lives.