Elder Tanner Rogers: Olé

Howdy

This week after much probing I got a different bike with functioning brakes. This would be a good thing, except I've been on a bike without brakes for so long that an adjustment period was necessary. While riding down a steep hill we were coming to the bottom, and out of habit I grabbed my brakes and squeezed pretty hard. I felt my back tire lift off of the ground, and I thought for sure I was about to fly into the stopped car in front of me. There must have been an angel by my side because the next thing I knew my bike tire slammed back against the asphalt and all was well. The new bike is actually pretty nice. I got it from other missionaries that weren't using it. It has thin tires and can cruise pretty fast. The only issue is that it is easier to pedal, so I get less of a workout which I consider unfortunate, and the thin tires are also very slippery in the rain which has been fun. The moral of the story is if it ain't broke, and sometimes even if it is, don't fix it. All joking aside, I am grateful to have brakes and a safer bike.

On Friday we were supposed to have a lesson with a lady, but she texted us and said she might be thirty minutes late. We had another appointment not long after, and so the logical thing to do would be to tell her we couldn't bike there, and we would have to reschedule, but it didn't feel right to me. I felt like we needed to ride there and see if she was home, and that she would get home before she told us. It was hot outside, and Elder Brock suggested we made calls. It did not feel right, but I eventually agreed because biking did not seem logical, even though it felt right. I told myself that we could make phone calls instead and that maybe I was just looking forward to riding bikes, and that calls could be a better use of our time. The whole time we made calls I felt sick inside, and couldn't focus. I knew we shouldn't have been doing it. Right at the time we would have arrived at her house on our bikes, we got a text from her saying that she was there, and ready to meet. Luckily we were able to set up a time to talk later, and the lesson went well, but I still wonder what could have been if I would have listened to the spirit and acted. In President Oaks' Hear Him video he says: "When you get an impression, act upon it, however unusual it seems or however inadequate you feel in following it. There is a reason, you may not know the reason, but blessings will come to you and someone else if you hear Him." The spirit is real and will bless us in our lives, but we need to have the faith and courage to act on our promptings even if they are strange or illogical. God sees the whole picture, while we just see the pieces.

Please pray that our friend Kiara will choose to be baptized soon. Kiara and her husband Froy have two young kids, and she is originally from Puerto Rico. She is very close to baptism but is scared to commit for fear of making mistakes. We are heartbroken because she didn't come to church yesterday, so please pray that her prayers will be answered, and she will be able to hear God speaking to her.

Keep Striving and Listening

Elder Rogers