Elder Tanner Rogers: I'm The World's Best Backwards Driver

Howdy

Norwood never ceases to surprise me. It was another very busy and eventful week. On Thursday we were riding our bikes to go to visit some people at the children's hospital, when we heard some gunshots about 150 yards away on the street we were supposed to turn on to. We looked down and saw people running away as fast as they could, and others running into either help or get into the fight. We crossed the street and took a little detour to get around it, but we still saw all of the cop cars and emergency vehicles hurrying in. I am grateful for the spirit and prayers for our safety that keep us out of those situations. I also appreciate prayers of safety because my bike has no brakes on it and we didn't have time to fix it during the week, so that lead to some sketchy situations as well. Luckily with everything going on, I came out with only a couple scuffs on my shoes and some scratches on my hands.

While we were walking around trying to talk to people, a drunk lady asked us if we had a dollar. I knew I didn't have any cash, because I never carry it with me, but I figured I would take out my wallet pretending to check so she would be happy. When I opened my wallet I was amazed because there was a dollar there. I couldn't believe it and gave her my dollar, and we walked and talked with her as she walked to the corner store. Fast forward a couple of days and we're making some phone calls. We call a guy who said he had seen us walking, and talking to people right where we had been talking to her, and said we had looked nice, and that he was willing to talk to us. We'll see how that lesson goes this week.

This week we heard a cool story from a less active member we have been helping out. She struggles with finances, and if she paid her tithing, she wouldn't be able to afford a full bus pass. This meant that she would have to walk the 3 miles to get to church on Sunday because she couldn't afford the fares. She woke up early Sunday morning and walked to church, and then walked home afterwards. The next day she was waiting to catch a bus, but it was very late - she said two hours. A public transit worker stops and told them that the bus was late because of a driver shortage, but that another one was coming. Some other people there complained, and because of the inconvenience, the lady gave them all free bus passes through the end of the year. When we make sacrifices to keep the commandments, God gives us blessings. (Shout out to Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21)

We also had zone conference this week. It was one of the best I've ever been to, and the spirit was so strong. One of the questions that hit me was: "What is your relationship like with Heavenly Father?" That made me think - am I satisfied with my relationship with Him? The answer I got is no I'm not, and I hope I never will be. I hope I keep growing closer and closer to Him so that I can become like Him. Also on the way home, we watched a man back up 150 meters on I-75 because he missed his freeway exit. That's how it's done in Kentucky.

Have a great week everybody!

Keep Striving!

Elder Rogers