Another week in Paradise:)

10/3/2016

Dear Family,

This week was real good! On Monday we went on a sweet hike and just generally enjoyed life. 

So instead of giving you a daily play by play, Im just going to share an experience I had with a dear investigator, David Fortson, and my insights from General Conference :)

So we met David Fortson a few weeks ago tracting. He didn't seem too interested, but he invited us back and so we went. That appointment went so well, the Spirit was so strong, and we committed him to baptism. The next week he cancelled his appointment with us for family reasons, but we felt that we should go see him, so Saturday night we stopped by and talked with him. He had had a really hard week with some family issues and also some health scares so it was so special to be able to bare witness of Christ's love for this man and God's awareness of his problems. We were able to give him a blessing of comfort and he said that because we had stopped by, he would be able to sleep tonight. The next day we were able to watch conference with him. It was such a tender mercy to be able to hear from David how this message is helping him out. I am so grateful to be a missionary.

So This weekend, as many of you know, was General Conference!!! It was my third out in the field and my 2nd to last as a missionary, so I tried to pay close attention. Because I stayed up late making a cake for Elder Mccleves birthday, I fell asleep during one of the Sunday morning talks haha but besides that, It was good. The three biggest things I got out of Conference was that 

1. I need to improve my prayers, and the way the Spirit told me to do that was too say a prayer of gratitude every day and to pray ten minutes before I go to bed. It was so cool to receive revelation :)

2. Be ambitious boys, Be ambitious for Christ. Elder Yamashita gave a great talk about being better and striving for Christ and his doctrine.

3. I also got the chance to ask the Lord what I needed to work on (what I lack) and I received the prompting to have more gratitude and to stop complaining, even jokingly. 

Another thing I got from conference was a sure witness of the Prophets and the Restoration, and that I need to be bold in my testimony of the Book of Mormon. So make no mistake, this is the true Church of Christ. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. The Doctrine of Christ is what the this life is all about. Have faith brothers and sisters. Don't forget the joy you first felt when you had ears to hear and you partook of the fruits of the Gospel. Nothing else will give you satisfaction, and nothing else will bring true and everlasting joy. 

I love you all,

Elder Rogers

Miracles!!

Sept 26, 2016

Denver Temple Trip - 1 year Baby!

Dear Fam :)

Hey So this week was absolutely amazing!

We have been so blessed here in Canon City (pronounced Canyon). Over the last 4 weeks we have found over 50 new investigators and have taught hundreds of lessons. Working from the ground up seems to be my gig in life, and I've had a great time serving the Lord and trusting in him. Out of all the people we find, we get dropped just as quickly, so the turnover rate is enormous! But out of the many we find those elect few who are really ready for the gospel. Currently we have 7 investigators with baptismal dates, and we will be in the font quite a bit the next few weeks. Here are two miracle stories from this week!

The first one is about a guy named David Fortson. David is literally the epitome of the golden investigator. We tracted into him awhile back and he said we could come back. When we finally got to meet with him, the Spirit was so strong. He said that all his life he felt like something was missing and that he never got baptized because all of the churches he went too didn't feel right. He is reading the Book of Mormon! And he has accepted the baptismal date of Oct 15th!

The other story happened yesterday! We were tracting out a trailer park when we knocked on the door of Cynthia Fraley. 20 years ago Cynthia Fraley was Excommunicated, but she never lost her testimony. As we talked with her, she expressed feelings of not being good enough, and staying away because of transgressions. It was such an honor to be able to testify of God's love for her and tell her just how much she is worth. We even got to give her a blessing, which she had prayed for that same morning. This is the Lord's work, and It is true!

So there is a little taste of what I do everyday. 

This week I was also got to go to the Denver Temple for my half way mark! I cannot believe its already been a year. Time flies so quickly here. It was such a blessing to be in the Lord's house, worshiping Him. 

I know this Church is true. Christ Lives, God Loves us. We can come closer to Him through keeping the commandments. He will never let us down! :)

Love, 

Just Pictures

 9/19/16

I'm Back!!!

9/12/16

Dear Family,

Just between you and I, for the last three months I have slowly felt less and less like a missionary. I am 100% back and ready to go, but the last two weeks have been a wee bit painful to refocus! Imagine going from teaching all day everyday, and feeling successful, to not working at all.  Then, back to training!  I know God always has a plan. Always.  My testimony never died, or even came close. I definitely have felt the Love of the Lord a ton lately, especially over the last three months. One of the blessings that God gave me is that the last three months flew by. You know what else has flown by? My mission. I am officially a year out, with only one year to go :/ I just have been given so much, I just don't understand it. Even in my darkest moments the Lord continued to bless me.

ANYWAYS!! My week was amazing and full of miracles! Also, I took a ton of pictures this week, but I left my camera at home -_-

Monday: We cleaned the house and had a grand old time at a barbeque! We are helping this family get ready to go to the temple and be sealed, and Im just so happy I get to be apart of this work!

Tuesday: I had to go up to Specialized training because I'm a district leader, which means more meetings.  Canon City is an hour away from Springs, so it was a lot of driving that day. Also, Elder Morgan was sick, so we didn't end up doing much that day!

Wednesday: We Tracted!! A lot!!

Thursday: We weekly planned and Tracted a lot!

Friday: ZONE TRAINING! We talked about our path of discipleship and our love for our Savior and it was so powerful! Im so grateful for Jesus Christ!

Saturday: We tracted a ton. From like 11 in the Morning to 8 at night. It was insane!

Sunday: We had Church and talked about families in Elders Quorum and I was reminded that I had the greatest family in the world!

Sorry the details are spotty! I forgot to write down exactly what happened! But we have this super solid guy named Nathan who is going to be baptized soon! He is so prepared for the gospel!

All in all we taught 88 lessons this week, and found 21 new investigators! And I am super unfocused right now! #ADHD

I love you so much! And next week will be better!!

Love,

Elder Rogers

Matching Cat Shirts, Miracles, Morgan and Mccleve

9/5/2016

Dear Family and Frens and Loved Ones and Cat fanatics. And My Mom, This is for you!

After three months of perpetual torture and lack of doing anything, I am back! I want to apologize for the state of my emails, and my disposition. Sorry if I gave any of you scares (mom)!

This is how my week went :)

Monday we went to the Royal Gorge as a district! A recent convert got us all tickets and even bought us lunch!! It was so kind of her! It was really scenic and awesome! But I forgot to take pictures. I must have missed out on that gene, sorry dad, Im making a goal to take 3 pictures a day :)

Tuesday! My Camera was dead, So I don't have any pics, but I picked up Elder Morgan and Elder Mccleve! Elder Morgan is from Sacramento, California! And we are basically the same person. He likes fitness, I like fitness. He is the oldest of six, Im the oldest of six. He has one sister, I have one sister. And Its in the same order as well! We also have a pretty similar sense of humor, and we just get along great. Already best friends! Elder Mccleve is from one of the nine stakes in Queen Creek, Arizona!!! But I didn't know him before now! From what he has told me, I won't even recognize my home town! We all get along dandy, and we bonded over a similar love of ANIME!!! #nerdsunite

Wednesday: I took my boys tracting, and they loved it! They are naturals at talking to people! 

So, at this point, all the days blend together! So I will summarize my summary ;)

Because our teaching pool was dead and empty, we focused on finding people this week. So as we took it to the Lord and exercised our faith, the Lord blessed us with meeting over 155 people this week, teaching 71 lessons, and finding 18 new investigators. 

Two of the new Investigators have accepted baptismal dates for the 24th of September!  Their names are Nathan Ford and Norma Jean Mazarik! Im so glad to be able to serve the Lord.

I truly testify that none of this success has anything to do with any innate drive, skill, or ability I or my companions have. All any miracle takes is faith in God. These were His successes! These are His investigators. This is His work. I know that I have a Father in Heaven who loves me perfectly. He loves me when its not convenient. He just loves me. And I can't express how grateful I am. I often think of the hymn "How Great Thou Art". I am constantly in awesome wonder. I testify that the witnesses we receive by the Holy Ghost are real. And we can feel the love of God through them. I know that Christ lives. I know it I know it I know it. He is my Savior. My Redeemer, My Best Friend. I testify that He engraved each one of us on His palms, and in His side, and on His feet. Just ponder why, as a perfected Being, He would keep the marks of the nails and the thrust in His side. The answer is perfect love. Because of that love, I can change. I can be clean. And so can you. Come unto Christ (Moroni 10:32) You'll never regret it. Loved ones, I know these things because God led a young boy into the woods to pray. And because that young boy prayed, and because God loves us, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is on the earth. It is the true church. I know it. The Book of Mormon is the Word of God. I never tire from its pages. Joseph Smith was a prophet. We have a living prophet today, Thomas S. Monson.

And because of all these witnesses, I have unshakeable faith. Doubt not, only believe. I promise that if you experiment upon the word, if you can only desire to believe, than you can come to know these things too. (Alma 32) You can receive your own testimony. You can become converted! (Alma 5:26, 45-47) 

I love Christ, and I love yall! 

Youre Homie,

Elder Rogers 

P.S. In mission lingo, I am now the father of 4 boys and 2 girls. #ProudPapa

​The fam at the Royal Gorge Train!

​Cees baptism (a month late)

​Royal Gorge Bridge!

​Elder John Tyler Mccleve!

​Flawless Selfie with my boys! (Mccleve on the left, Elder Morgan on the right)

​Elder Morgan, Preaching the Gospel

​Elder Mccleve, Enjoying Colorado Sunshine, and also Preaching the Gospel

​Rainstorm at Sunset It was cooler in person

​Me and Cee, enjoying the wind playing with our hair ;) I love this lady :)

Almost Half way :)

8/22/16

Hey,

Hows it going? I'm doing dandy! Thanks for the package, it did my heart good! plus the Shades are sweet! And they fit my face. So in a week It will be a year left. Not that anyone is counting. #September14=365. I miss you all terribly! I heard you are moving? Anyways, sounds like everyone is doing good!

Unfortunately, the work is pretty dead here in Canon.The ward hates us because we don't do a darn thing. My comp doesn't really care at all. I plan for days and nothing happens.  So, often I am napping during the day because my companion won't do anything. But, I'm choosing to have a good attitude. Also, its kind of hard to write weekly emails when you have literally done nothing all week. Only one more week, and then I get a new comp. hopefully. But life is still great!

I'm just trying to make the most of it. Trying to be happy!  I'm at 50 pullups and 50 dips! I've been struggling with motivation but, I feel it coming back! I really want to get into the habit again. I am getting kinda big though. I will send a pic. Besides that, life is good! Love you lots. We do have one investigator, and he has a date for baptism, which is really sweet! His name is Jeff, and his wife is a member and they are so cute! Sometimes the Lord lets tender mercies happen!  We found them through going out with brother Johnson, who is a member of the bishopric.  

I might double train next transfer, which would be super dope! I hope I train again. I need that greenie fire back in my life! Also that greenie drive for obedience haha. I miss that. I love being a missionary out here, serving the Lord, easily the best thing I have ever done! Thanks for sending protein, you know me so well :) Just let me know if its too much of an inconvenience! Tell me how the business is doing! Tell me how you and dad are doing! I'm going to be writing more letters soon.

I love you so much!

Mason

We had a baptism!!

8/15/16


Dear Family,

This last week we had a baptism! It went so great and she looked so happy! Her name is Cynthia Sullivan, but she goes by Cee, and the Lord had been after her for a long time. 

So this week went by pretty ok! Thank you Coppetier family for the package, I love you! Thank you Kaylie for the Chunk shirt, you know me so well! And thanks Mom and Dad for the Package, I needed the Sun glasses!

So on Monday we had this awesome experience with some non members who had some questions. The Nelsons, a family from the ward, invited them over to meet with us, and I hope someday we get to teach them more. I got to explain the true nature of God, and the Spirit was so strong. I love being a missionary.

So Tuesday went by same old same old, as did the rest of the week.

Thursday was awesome though, because we had a sweet miracle happen. We were working with our Ward Mission Leader and the family we had planned to stop by wasn't home, so we prayed and got the idea to go visit a less active member who hasn't been to church in years. The visit went great and he committed to coming to church this upcoming Sunday! So excited for him. He is trully ready to come back!

I forgot my camera, otherwise there would be pictures! 

I testify that God lives, and the Jesus Christ lives and loves us as well. This is His Church. This is His Work. I know that the Book of Mormon contains the Words of Christ, and that it is the word of God. 

I love you lots and I hope your week is going good!

Till next week,

Elder Rogers

Its hard to admit when we are struggling...

8/15/16

Hey Mom,

So, I am definitely struggling right now. My comp doesn't want to work or be obedient. This is easily the most disobedient I have been, just by virtue of being around him. Im trying so hard to be obedient and work hard, but Im alone. I am definitely turning to the Savior right now, and trying to come close to Him, but sometimes I am so angry with my comp that I have to pray for a really long time to calm down. I wish i had never been transferred here to be honest. Some days, with the companion that I have, Its really hard to feel like a successful missionary, and sometimes its hard to feel like a missionary at all. I definitely pray about it all the time. All the time. I know God is keeping me safe. I appreciate the prayers mom, and the concerns. I'm trying hard out here, and I'm giving it my best! Im gonna write a group email about this week, but I'll just let you know we don't do much. The ward doesnt trust us, and it breaks my heart. Im just so lost on what to do. Anyways, I love you lots,and I miss you tons! I can't believe that jacob is gonna be home! Crazy! I also can't believe its almost been a year. One more month and Im half way! Love you!

Love,

Your baby boy

A typical Week in my Life

8/1/16

Dear Family and Friends. 

Here is how my week went:

Monday: We went up to Colorado Springs and played board games and volleyball. I got the chance to hang out with my good friend Elder Clancy, which was pretty nice. We then stayed the night, because on Tuesday we had Zone Conference.

Tuesday was a huge meeting from 7:30 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon. It was really really long. Really long.

Wednesday we had a couple meetings with investigators, which went ok.

Thursday: We set up a baptismal date for Jeff, for August 27, which is pretty awesome. Jeff is married to a less active member who is trying to come back to church, and its been awesome to teach them.

Friday: We had a ton of meetings and service, which made a long day longer haha. Fridays just arent the same!

Saturday: We did more service for an investigator and his member mom. We did landscaping, so I felt right at home! It was like 80 degrees tho, so it was really nice!

Sunday was awesome as always, I love the sacrament!

I want to bare my testimony that Obedience brings happiness. It brings blessings and peace. I testify that Jesus Christ is there and that He loves me. Personally and infinitely. He paid the price for my sins and mistakes and mess ups so that I can be clean, so that I can feel hope. I love Him, He is the greatest friend I have ever had. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is His church, and that I represent Him. What an honor it is to invite other to come unto Christ!

I love you all, and miss you lots!

Love,

Elder Rogers

Too busy to write...

7/25/16

Dear Fam,

Man, Sorry, but this email is just gonna be weak. At this time in my mission, I'm doing pretty good, just super super busy! I love y'all so much, next week will be way better, promise! In other news, Zach needs to email. and so does Ben! Like right now! I will be sending letters home soon, so if you want a letter, email me your address and some questions! Love yall!

Elder Rogers

Missions are hard!

7/18/16

Hey Mom!!
So my companion is Elder Tyler Villaneda, and he is from Salinas, California. He doesn't really want to be a missionary,and doesn't care for obedience. ...and we are staying together for another transfer -_-  he has a pretty immature sense of humor, but can be funny sometimes. He likes to listen to a lot of crappy music. He can play guitar pretty well, but is usually in a bad mood. He came out with me, which makes correction difficult. also, he doesnt care in the slightest. 

Im so excited to have Jay and Bri back home, that will help a ton! I really love the Nelsons in the ward. I met them last night, they own a crossfit gym, they are super down to earth, and they have an intense rock climbing wall in their down stairs. They are just really great. There are a lot of Gossipers in the ward, which is really annoying. People stress me out. The work isnt going as well as Id hoped, but I feel like im trying to do it all by myself. So thats frustrating.

My best friend, in probably the whole mission, is Sister Madsen, a sister in my district. Its a little awkward, but we usually have a good time if the other is around!



 I love you dearly, and I miss you lots!

Love,

Elder Rogers 

Having an ADHD Day!

7/11/16

Hey Family,

I'm doing good! I'm just a little unfocused enough to write a long email today, haha.  I'm excited to get done with this transfer, its been a rough one. I'm just studying the Book of Mormon right now, And we are working with a cool Part member family right now. Canon is sort of like La Junta, pretty rural. I'm trying hard to get going in this area, but I have a really good feeling about this week! Charity is where it is at and I am working on it this week.

 Me and my dad, Greatest ever

 Me and my boty and his boy(the one behind him) Im grandp!

 Im on Mars

Red Sun,  Sorry Cal' el

Call me Nephi!

Happy Fourth of July!!

Hey Family!!

 I had a great Fourth of July.  We went to a ward breakfast, and then we went to bishops castle, then we played volleyball at the park, then we had ribs at a members house and launched fireworks. Haha,  it was a good day. Unfortunately I forgot my camera. -_- It looks like Lake Powell was a blast!

This was the second time I've been to Bishop's Castle and it was a blast! I faced my fears and went to the highest point, which is probably a solid 100 feet in the air on uninspected mortar and steel. it was sketchy!  Best part was I got to hang with my boys that I loved training so much.  I got really close with them. I also got to see Elder Johannesson, who I trained last! It was good to see them!

Things are still a little rough with my companion... 
I'm trying to be the best I can, he doesn't really respond well to invitations. He just does what he wants. A lot of the time he says he doesn't want to be a missionary. Its really sad, because he is going through some hard family stuff. His motivation isn't there at all.  I am just praying for him and his family.

Love you!!

Holy 4 Days of Service Batman!

Dear Family,

How are you? Happy Independance Day! God Bless America! I am so grateful for our amazing country and the opportunity I have to serve the people in it by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It truly is amazing. Im also grateful for the men and women who make freedom possible. Freedom isn't free. Thank you.

So this week was the strangest of my entire mission! It started out by going to Colorado Springs for P-Day and then Exchanges with one of the Zone Leaders, Elder Price! I got a lot of Cupcake in my face from P-day, but luckily I survived. I also did some Parkour, Shout out to Zach Attack for inspiring me #kongs for days! 

So after Tuesday's exchanges, we got word that a family in our ward was being kicked out of their house, and that they had two days to pack and move a family of 6. And of course, because it was so last minute, there wasn't a lot of help going on. So we got the opportunity to move for 4 days straight. We packed, planned, and moved an entire house, and then cleaned it afterwards. It was an incredible 30 plus hours of service. By the end of each day, we were so exhausted that we would just crash. It was weird to not be proselyting, but I know that what we did is what Jesus Christ would have done. Needless to say, my body was wrecked, and remains wrecked. Some of that furniture was quite heavy!

 Anyways, I want to testify that I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. With out God's love, this life would not be worth it, at all. I know, with all my heart that the feelings of the Holy Ghost, and His companionship, are real. I testify that because of the power of the Holy Ghost, I know Christ lives, and will come again. I know that families can be together forever, through Heavenly Fathers plan. I am so grateful for this Gospel. I know it to be true. 

I love you all, and miss you lots, but I am so happy to be where I am, and to be doing what I am.

With all my love,

Elder Rogers