Macho In My Cuatro

Howdy,

Wow, a lot has happened since last week. 

Luckily I was able to get my tooth filled at a different dentist. I say luckily, but it actually wasn't fun. It hurt because the problem was with the filling, so they got to drill it all out and fill it again so that really wasn't that great, but I'm happy I got it over with. 

Friday I went to Debbie's because Grandma left for Georgia, and that's where I spent Friday, Saturday, and most of Sunday. It was crazy saying goodbye to everybody, it was surreal almost. I was not very nervous except when I finished my class on Saturday and realized I didn't have any more classes, but I got an email from the mission nurse telling me she saw where I was going and that my trainer was awesome so that was nice. 

Sunday night was pure chaos trying to get everything packed and I was exhausted, but finally, Monday morning came around and it was my time to fly out. We headed for the airport, without breakfast, and I had to say my goodbyes. Even at the airport saying goodbye to my family it didn't feel real. I was able to get there at the same time as some other missionaries so that was nice. I made it through security with them, and then when I got to my gate I saw Brookie's dad which was awesome. I talked to him for a long time, and so I didn't eat breakfast before I got on the plane, which was a mistake.

 Anyway, I flew out with 22 elders which was crazy. When I landed we walked to the baggage claim where we met President Ensign and the APs. As everybody was grabbing their luggage President Ensign grabbed me (literally haha) and pulled me aside. He asked if I was the runner who signed at Weber State. I said I was and he said that he had big plans for me in the mission. He said he was pairing me with one of the best elders in the mission. He said that my companion only had one transfer left and he wanted me to suck up all of his knowledge so that I could become the missionary he wanted me to become. It was cool. After that, I watched to see if he did something similar to other missionaries, but he didn't as far as I saw. 

As I was walking to the car I saw Elder Willis, one of my buddies from high school. He's been serving here for about two months, and it was so awesome to see him. When I got up to the car, I found out that I have not one, not two, but three companions. That's right, I'm in a cuatro. I also found out that my first area is in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Whiskey city USA. We are about 300 meters from the Ohio River, 100 meters from a big casino, and 50 meters from a pretty legit park. They make a lot of whiskey here, and so it smells like yeast. I kind of like it, it smells like bread dough right before you stick it in the oven. 

My companions are cool. Elder Robinson, the elder President Ensign was referring to, is on his last transfer, and he's awesome. He's a pretty legit runner. He's been to NXN and a bunch of other high up there meets, so we're excited to go on runs together. He is very sarcastic, but he likes the work, and so I'm excited to work with him. Elder Weaver goes home today, so our cuatro will be town to three after today. He seems like he was a great missionary. Very obedient and diligent. Elder Leavitt is here on reassignment from Paris, France. He speaks French and he's been here for like a month. He's really cool. After today, Elder Robinson will be training both of us.

Because it was Elder Weaver's last day we went to some restaurant last night that they'd never been to before. There was a long wait, and the food was pricy, but trash. We all agreed we won't go there again. The worst thing about being in a cuatro is that I had to sleep on the floor last night cause there's only three beds. Oh well. I had like a pad to sleep on. Not the best night's sleep, but I survived. 

I really like my area. The only thing I would change is that I wish I was Spanish-speaking. Elder Robinson is the district leader and he said he'll set up an exchange with me and the Spanish elders though. Anyway, so far everything has been great!!

Keep Striving everybody!!

Elder Rogers

The pictures are of my cuatro at Walmart, me walking onto the plane, a picture my MTC district drew of me, me with Elder Willis, and me with Brookie's dad at the airport. 

A picture my MTC district drew of me

Me and Brookie's dad at the airport

Getting on the plane 

Me and Elder Willis

My cuatro at Walmart

Airport

 

I thought we could stay with him until he went through security, but no such luck.  We had to say goodbye at the airport entrance.  

Goodbye hugs.... and he's off

Tanner's Last Super

Tanner's last Sunday dinner at Grandpa & Grandma Rogers' house before flying to Cincinnati. 

Liam, Mei, Orson, and Tanner wearing their Disney gear

Tanner with Grandma and Grandpa Rogers

Beneath a Man You Find....His Nucleus

 Howdy,

Wow, what a week. It's crazy that I'll be flying out soon to Ohio, it seems like my time in the MTC has flown by. Sorry, this letter is a novel - I guess I had a lot to say. 

Last Wednesday I had a really fun experience going to Tokyo Station with Grandma, my mom, Caden, Zac, Debbie, and Russ. It's one of those restaurants where they cook the food right in front of you. It was a super awesome experience. The food was delicious and it was really fun to see everybody. Another cool thing that happened there was that while I was leaving I saw my friend Tracen. He also ran for Riverton, and now runs for Weber State. I was pretty happy that I had decided to wear my Weber State XC shirt that day. It was good to talk to him for a little while. It was awesome. 
Thursday I had a pretty fun experience during one of my classes. I made a comment and proceeded to jam out, whistling to the 2016 youth theme, press forward song. Anyway I looked up, and everybody was laughing but I couldn't figure out why, so I just kept jamming. It was a couple of seconds later that I realized that everybody was laughing at me because I forgot to turn off my mic. I was a little embarrassed about that but oh well. They were lucky to be able to hear a beautiful whistled rendition of the 2016 youth theme. I, like Tow Mater, am a pretty good whistler. Haha just kidding. At least I didn't start singing with my mic on like an elder in my district did. 

Another crazy thing that happened this week is that we got a new morning teacher... AGAIN. This is our third one, and I was actually pretty happy with this one. The crazy teacher isn't there anymore, and this guy is pretty strict, but also hilarious. He likes to tease us and stuff but he also likes to get stuff done. He asks a lot of stuff from us. I thought I was busy before, but I had no idea. When he started our first class he said that we would suffer a lot in his class. He said some of us would probably cry, and we would all probably hate him by the time we were done with him. I was super happy about that and excited for the opportunity to learn. It didn't take long for me to learn that he was serious - I would suffer in his class, and although I was excited for the suffering and the learning, I quickly learned that you can't suffer and learn without the suffering part. One morning I was pretty stressed because I felt like I was falling behind and I was coming up short in so many areas. I prayed and during my prayer I kind of whined to God, telling him about how I felt like I was inadequate and overwhelmed. I went on for a while about the things that I felt I was getting wrong, and then I finally turned to him and asked what I should do, and if he would help me to be able to get all of my things done, so I could feel more caught up, and so I could learn what I needed. It was in that moment that I reached out for help that an idea for a plan popped into my head. This idea was about how I could better spend my study time. The more I thought about the plan, the less overwhelmed I felt, and the more excited and capable I felt. I know that God heard my prayer and that He knows how to help me, and each one of us. It has not been easy to get everything done, but nothing of value comes easy. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to serve God and to challenge myself in new ways so that I can be better prepared to serve those in Cincinnati. 

One of the highlights from this week happened on Friday. While eating breakfast I flipped raspberry jam all over my white shirt. It was pretty bad, but in a way I was excited. Before my mission, my mom bought this stain remover she heard of through her Missionary Mommas Facebook group. It supposedly had magical powers that could take out any stain with ease. My time to put this bar to the test had finally arrived. It had done well with other small things but the big job was here and I was excited. Grandma had spray and wash, but I didn't use it because I wanted to see the true power of the bar. A lot was on the line. If the bar didn't work, we would have wasted 3 bucks on Amazon, and I would also have to throw away my shirt while still in the MTC. I prepared my shirt and put it into the wash, and I went to class, anxiously awaiting the results of my experiment. When I got a three-minute break I hurried to the laundry room and... it worked!! That Missionary Momma's Magic Mexican Miracle Stain Remover Bar really does have voodoo powers or something. 

Also on Tuesday Hermano Guitierrez joined my class and I got to talk to him. That made me super happy. His "it's not adios it's hasta luego" proved to be true and I was so glad. That day I felt "super bien" y "muy fuego". 

Today I drove all the way down to Riverton from Grandma's to get a cavity filled. I've had this appointment for a long time, but when I got there the nurse lady cleaned my teeth, and then the Dentist said that he wouldn't have time to fill it today. That was pretty frustrating. I also felt dumb going in there cause he's a pediatric dentist, and I'm too tall for all the chairs and stuff. I thought the humiliation would be worth it when they gave me a token at the end and I could get a bouncy ball, but it turns out the bouncy ball machine was broken and so I had to settle for one of the lame toys. Oh well, it'll be OK. Hopefully, I can find another dentist with enough time to help me before I fly out on Monday, or else I'll get it fixed in Ohio. He did give me two toothbrushes though so that was nice. 

Make sure y'all get out and vote, but be respectful of others. We don't have to agree with others to respect them and treat them with kindness. Also when you vote you get a sticker. My sticker is not what I was hoping for though. It says "Utah Women I Voted" on it. Where's the "Utah Men" sticker? That's sexist. I'm offended haha. Anyway, go vote!

Have a great week!! I'm excited to write y'all from Cincinnati, Ohio next week!!

Keep Striving,

Elder Rogers

Dinner at Tokyo Station 

Caden and I at Tokyo Station

My new teacher, Hermano Alcalá

Me with my vote by mail ballot

Me by some of grandma's wood

The Teeth of Knowledge

 Wow, it's crazy to think that I've been in the CCM for almost a month now. So far I have loved it, living with Grandma has been amazing, even though it's sometimes hard not being able to see my family as much. 

Saturday was sad for me because we learned that our teacher Hermano Guitierrez wouldn't be our teacher anymore. I was bummed cause I really liked him. Our new teacher, Hermano Derival will be good though. He is very smart. I know he speaks at least English, French, Spanish, and Swahili, and I have a feeling he speaks something else but I'm not sure. He is absolutely crazy though. He is very high energy which is kinda a good thing cause he teaches in the morning, but at the same time it's a lot to handle, but I think I'll have good experiences with him. 

This week I had some good experiences with Spanish that made me laugh. Elder Sahagun got his wisdom teeth out on Monday and so he wasn't in class. Hermano Nieves asked why he wasn't there, and I said, "el no puede estar aquí hoy porque de sus dientes de conocimiento" which means "he can't be here today because of his teeth of knowledge". I figured they had a different word for wisdom teeth, but I wanted to see his reaction. At first, he was like oh ok, but when he realized what I said he was way confused. I quickly changed to use the word for wisdom, instead of knowledge but he still didn't have a clue. Another Elder explained that he got his wisdom teeth out (in English), but his reaction was priceless. I also busted a gut because the word for "they think" in the command form (crean) sounds like the word crayon in English. Ya, my district thinks I'm kinda weird but I am so they can deal with it cause I'm having a good time. 

Some other fun adventures this week were going to the stump- the natural well in North Ogden -to get some water, seeing one of my mom's high school friends at the store, falling out of bed while trying to turn of my alarm (even though the bumper pads are on the bed), ripping Grandma's dead peach tree out of the ground while in church clothes during a  break, going to Chick-fil-A with Debbie and Nate, running on the treadmill cause John thinks his new baby is more important than running with me, and a great time at Sunday dinner with my family. 

Sorry, this week's letter is super long and weird.

Keep Striving

Elder Rogers

My new teacher

Me with the dead peach tree I pulled out at grandma's house

Me at the water stump in Pleasant View

My teacher again

The Sounds of Mexico

 Howdy

Wow this week was crazy. 

General Conference was so awesome!! All of the talks were great, and I've enjoyed them even more listening to them the second time through. I'm super excited to continue to study all of the great council we received!! 

One of the elders requested to be changed to an English-speaking mission and left the CCM last Thursday. It made me pretty sad. I knew he had been struggling, but I was trying to help him and encourage him to stay. He starts the Provo MTC today so hopefully, all goes well for him, he will be a great missionary. I hope that him leaving doesn't lead to a bunch of other missionaries deciding to leave too though. The CCM is sometimes hard, but rewarding. Not to mention the benefit of getting to hear random Mexican sounds in the background like weird cats, dogs, parties, and Mexican horn things.

One thing that made me super happy this week is that my teachers have both said on multiple occasions how impressed they are with my Spanish. During my first practice lesson, I was a little nervous to go off of the script that I and Elder Sahagun had made, but with the second lesson, I decided to go for it, and just let the lesson flow more into a conversation. Because we weren't right on script Elder Sahagun was lost in a couple places so I kinda took over which made me feel a little bad, but afterward, my teacher was like "Woah Elder Rogers that was super impressive, where did you learn to speak Spanish?!?" Both my teachers have told me that they are very impressed with my Spanish in the last week and they have been grouping me with elders who have been struggling because they said I could probably help them. I try but I don't think I'm a very good Spanish teacher haha.

 
I think John's wife must have had their kid cause I haven't seen him since Friday. I didn't want to do laps around the house so I started running on the treadmill downstairs. I don't know why anyone would choose to run on a treadmill haha. You don't go anywhere. So for all you folks who don't need to have a companion with you at all times, y'all should wear a jacket hat and gloves if it's cold, or a short-sleeved shirt if it's hot (make sure you keep that shirt on though cause modest is hottest y'all ✌) and go run outside. The treadmill maxes out at 10 mph so I haven't been able to do any speed work, and I can't have an incline cause I would hit my head on the ceiling, but I've been running for about 45 minutes a day at 6 flat pace. I whine about the treadmill, but I'm actually super happy it's here so I can run still (even if it is fake running). 

It's been a lot of hard work this last week. Yesterday was probably my busiest day here. I studied for over 13 hours. I was downstairs from 7:45 AM to 9:35 PM, with a 45-minute lunch break at 1:30. I did get 3 five minute breaks in there as well but my brain was fried at the end of the day. I am so grateful for this opportunity to learn and grow before I get to Cincinnati because I sure need it!!

President Nelson once said "Eat your vitamin pills. Get your rest" 

I would encourage all people with epilepsy to take that advice literally to help avoid any unwanted surprises.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve the Lord on my mission!!

Keep Grinding Everybody

Elder Rogers

Me showing how much room there is in between the top of my head and the ceiling while on the treadmill (I haven't hit it yet) 

A picture I snagged of Elder Sahagun while we were having comp study