Shalome!The snow has melted and it is warming up! Grass is growing, and birds are singing! I don't have any pictures, because I still don't have a
memory card for my camera, but there are so many cherry trees and peach trees here, and they have been blooming with awesome flowers! (Thanks, Mom, for sending me a memory card :)
It's really pretty to see. So, I'm glad the winter is gone.Biking in the winter is not my favorite mode of transportation. Hooray for Spring!!
This has been quite a week! On Thursday we had Zone Conference. I know I've said it before, but I love Zone Conference!
President Murdock's two sons, Blake and Ben. Blake served his mission in Portugal, and told us about a miracle on his mission when the 75-year-old lady they lived with got baptized after attending church for more than 25 years. Ben served his mission in Hawai`i (I just learned last week that that's a 7-letter word; "`" is a letter in Hawai`ian). He talked about how awful and rainy and muddy and unattractive his first area was, and how he used the mighty power of prayer to make it through. They were both great talks!
Then, we had a training from the APs about conversion. Those of us who
felt so prompted and prepared made a covenant to strive to become the
best missionaries we can me. We showed our commitment by signing the
mew mission flag. I signed it right on a stalk of wheat on the left.
I'll try to include a picture that another elder took of the flag so
you can see. They want to keep the flag in the mission for a long time,
and have hundreds of missionaries who want to commit themselves to the Lord's service sign it. It was awesome!
We were also introduced to a new method of finding new investigators. President Murdock shared with us the "survey approach." There are ten questions that we ask people to get to know them and their religious
background before we teach a short first lesson. It's a great way to get to know people and their concerns before teaching them, and also a more effective way of getting into people's homes! People are
typically turned off by the traditional "we're missionaries" approach.
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| Look...there's nothing "traditional about us!" |
Instead, President told us to say that we are representatives of our
Lord Jesus Christ. A lot of missionaries have been having success with
this new method! Elder Curran and I got shut down about ten times in a
row when we first tried it... But maybe it was just a bad time of day.
We tried it on Friday evening, so I'm sure people were just trying to
relax after getting home from work. We'll try it again soon.
General Conference was amazing! I found a theme throughout all of
conference. I can't sum it up into one sentence but it was basically
as follows: The world is an awful place. Standards and morals are
being thrown right out the window as the last day draws near; but the
Lord's standards will not change. We need to become more firm in our
convictions than ever before. We will be called upon to defend our
faith, and we must be prepared to do so courageously! Out of love, we
should be shining examples of our faith, and true disciples of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
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| My beautiful nieces and nephew--And my amazing parents |
dedication in two talks! I remembered on Saturday night that the wedding had happened the day before... So, Happy Wedding Day! I love it when families grow. It's the best! Whether people are married, or born! Speaking of being born, Happy birthday to Rose and Marissa! Hope they're great!
Remember to choose the right! Read and re-read the conference addresses. I liked President Monson's statement that they deserve our attention and continued study. And of course, Be excellent to each other!
Sincerely,
Elder Rogers
P.S. Robbin is getting baptized on Saturday!! (I've been spelling her
name wrong this whole time...)
A Thought from Mom:
"Everyone will have fears; but those who face their fears with faith will have courage."
~President Monson
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