Letter to Elder Rogers' Parents

Posted with permission from Brother Gum:

To the Parents of Elder Jake Rogers; 

I wanted to take a minute and express my deepest appreciation for the efforts your son has spent teaching me. He recently left our ward and the last I heard he was in Grand Junction area but what a GREAT YOUNG MAN you have.

His knowledge of the gospel and kind gentle teaching spirit has truly been a blessing to me. I am working my way back to church and I am expremely grateful for his teachings and friendship. One event that I will never forget; I just compiled a letter for my Bishop and scheduled a meeting with him. I had such horrible feelings after making the appointment I almost cancelled it. The next day your son and his companion Elder Brunson came by and I explained them the events and they offered me a blessing. The words of compfort and council given me that night were amazing.

Each time he was in our home I felt the spirit very strongly. It has truly been an honor to come to know Elder Rogers and I wish the very best for him. I had 3 of my 4 children serve a mission and I know the challenges those years bring. Let me reassure you his work is changing people's lives and he is doing a marvelous job at being a missionary. His lessons are exatly what is needed at the time. His knowledge of the scriptures is amazing and his desire to help is a perfect example everyone could follow.

I have delayed writing to you for some time. Life just gets so busy, for that I apologize.

Please let Elder Rogers know that everything is moving forward for me and great things are happening.
He has truly made a difference in my life.

Respectfully,

Mark Gum

In a follow-up e-mail, Brother Gum  stated, "I am eternally grateful for (Jake's) sacrifice to serve a mission."