A Little Bit of Rusteze and An Insane Amount of Luck

 Howdy

The transfer call was this week, and I got the news that I will be staying here in Norwood! That was pretty unexpected because two days before the call President Ensign looked me straight in the face and told me I would be leaving and Elder Brock would stay. It's definitely been a weird week. We had a nice mission party with a taco truck and a talent, which was really fun. It was really fun to see everyone, and unlimited free tacos are always a plus.  My favorite talents were a guy doing yoyo tricks, and another guy spun a basketball on a chopstick in his mouth.

Earlier this week we were teaching a lesson on the streets downtown. It was going pretty well until a random drunk guy intervened and started swearing at us and ruining the spirit of the lesson. The alcohol smell on him was very strong, and we kept telling him we were studying the scriptures so he could join us or leave, but he wouldn't- he just kept interrupting and swearing a ton. One time he walked away for a second, but then came right back and he started talking to me pretty close to my face. He kept swearing, and I was a little nervous because he was so drunk, but he was getting in the way of our lesson, and his language was really bothering me. I told him "Hey, we'd appreciate it if you cleaned up your language. We are trying to talk about God, if you are willing to join us we would love to have you, if not please leave and let us study." I wasn't sure what he would do, but he apologized and said that I reminded him of his son, and then he left and never bothered us again. The lesson went really well, and the people we met with said they really wanted to meet with us again, so I was happy about that and also happy that I didn't have to get in a fistfight with a drunk guy in the streets of downtown. Sometimes when we want answers to our prayers we have to be bold, brave, and work hard for the desired outcome to occur.

We were really busy this week, and we had next to no time to find new friends, because of everything. We prayed that we would be able to find people while we hurried to and from our different appointments and mission activities. Yesterday night as we rode our bikes around we had 3 people stop us and we were able to teach all of them a little more about what we believe. It is amazing to me how amazing God is. We didn't even look for them, we were just riding our bikes, but He put people in our path who wanted to learn more, and gave them the courage to stop us. It's crazy to me. I know God lives and is aware of us, and that this truly is His work. I'm grateful to play a small part in it. Missionary life is the greatest!

Keep Striving Everyone - God notices

Elder Rogers

The Norwood Mound (Not as cool as the other one, but still cool. They named the high school after the history of the mound, so it's got a subtle impact on the community here.  No signs or anything at this one to explain it though.)

 Lightning storms around here are cool and pretty common

My first trainee Elder Brinton achieved his goal

A cool car we found at the Children's Hospital parking garage. We thought we should take a picture so we jumped out of the car and hurried and then ran back in and drove off - there was one car that got behind us in the process who probably thought we were weird.

There were two deer so I tried to take a picture with them, but they ran into the bushes.
(You can see them if you look very closely at the very back but I was a little bummed.)

Closer up of me on the mound

Beef Stroganoff we made- better than North Star's 

Selfie on the mound

A picture of me

First, I'm Going To Take Your Stick

Howdy!

This week, we almost called the Jehovah's Witness missionaries and talked to them about what they teach. Our friends' wife is investigating the Jehovah's Witnesses, and he doesn't like it so he reached out to us. He wants us to help him and his wife join the church together. We realized that we didn't know much about Jehovah's Witnesses, so we thought about calling their missionaries, but the only way we could get in contact with them was to refer ourselves and have them come over.... that wasn't going to work out. It was fun to think about for a second though. 

We, unfortunately, had a lot of experiences with people bashing us this week. At 8:59 one night we called a guy, and he talked our ears off and tried to bash us. We talked about some scriptures in the Bible, and he said I knew the Bible way better than he does, but then said I was possessed by the devil and that the Book of Mormon had no power in it. I asked him if he had read it, and he said he hadn't even opened a copy. I was bothered and tired at this point, and kind of went off and told him that he was in no position to tell me anything about the Book of Mormon or my beliefs and told him to read the Book of Mormon then we could talk more. Then I said I was going to bed and we ended the call. I felt bad about that one.

On the other hand, we taught another person this week named Gregory. On the day of our lesson, he asked us to meet him outside his church where he is a deacon. We got nervous because we thought we were headed straight for another bash situation, but it ended up being one of the most powerful lessons on my mission, and he said that the spirit was very strong when we talked about the Book of Mormon. He said he wasn't sure if he was ready to change, but that he felt the truth in our message. We hope we will meet again with him soon. 

We got cussed out a lot this week, I fixed my bike, but it is broken again, I volunteered to play the kazoo in the mission wide talent show, we locked ourselves out of the church, I found out I really don't like Buffalo Wild Wings, and that I am extremely grateful for the commandments. The people here are amazing. They don't have much, but they give what they have. I know the Book of Mormon is true, and that when we follow Christ's example we will have true joy, not the fake stuff the world is full of.

Keep Striving!

Elder Rogers

Member meal

Us with pasta salad

A random selfie

The Walgreens Pharmacy thing

 New Super Listerman Bros (a bar)

The district at Buffalo Wild Wings

Us at the church

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

Me with a monarch butterfly 

Elder Boren and I

Elder Boren, Elder Johnson, Elder Brock and I

Us with the city in the background

 Me with terrible lighting and the city

 Rogers Park Place

Zone Conference (I am the third from the left on the back row)

Off The Road and Into The Tulips

Howdy

The days seem to fly by out here. Elder Brock and I are having fun serving together. With the Covid restrictions lifted we have a lot of fun street contacting people, and we work each other hard. We always come home and pass out for naps during our lunch and dinner time, and then again at night, but the Spirit helps us to have the energy we need to make it through each day. We have been blessed with a lot of success, and it has been really fun.

One of our friends lives at the University of Cincinnati, and when we visited him he lives in a Christian frat house. They have lots of things built in there, like lofts or twenty-foot tall bunk beds. It was kind of cool to see all of his friends and that they keep themselves to such high standards, and have a cool house. He came and played basketball with us today, and we are hoping to help him progress and see how we are different and can help him have even more joy. 

Lots of people have offered us free weed, and other drugs which is funny for us. There are a lot of situations where it is a little sketchy, but we just look up stand tall and trust that the spirit will keep us safe as we go to share the message of the gospel. A member in our ward plays for the Cincinnati Bengals and told us he would take us to dinner this Friday, so I'm really excited for that. 

It's hard to remember the crazy or funny things, the week just kind of flys by and blends together. The gospel is true, I appreciate all of your prayers for my health, safety, and support, I feel them daily.

Keep Striving!

Elder Rogers

Me and my dinosaur 

Us by a mural

The tree of life drawing

Me after a 6.5 mile run with Elder Stewart 

Don't Eat The Yellow Snow

Howdy!

This has been a really nice week in Norwood. This area is a really fun place to be. There are always people that are willing to let us teach them. Most of the people here are very humble, and it is very fun to be busy. I am very glad that we are able to knock on some doors and do street contacting here because it is working pretty well here. People just kind of like to hang out in the streets, and so we get to go talk to them. The bummer side of that is that we see lots of *interesting* things go down. It makes me sad for the kids that live here and encourages me to keep going and working so that hopefully, the people here can have better lives. We have been having fun working hard together, and Elder Brock shares one of my favorite passions - sleeping, so we come home at night and just pass out and then go right back to work again. He is one of the hardest workers I've ever met, and it's been fun to be his second-half trainer. He said he would get in arguments with his first-half trainer because he was sometimes lazy so I'm doing my best to keep up with him. 

On Tuesday we had a fun adventure. We had a lesson in one of the most sketchy places that we are allowed to go, and while we were biking there I saw a quarter on the ground. I saw that I was enough ahead of Elder Brock that I could stop and pick it up and so I did, and when I did I noticed that my bike tire had a hole in it, and it was leaking air pretty quickly. We hurried to get to our lesson before my tire was completely empty. We made it, but he didn't answer the door or any of our calls. Luckily the Spanish Elders could come to pick us up in about two hours, so we walked around and talked to people which lead to some very interesting situations. We had to ride back with five people in three seats in order for us and the bikes to fit. I thought it would be fun to have them take my bike and have Elder Brock ride home while I ran, but they said no since it was late and they needed to get into our apartment with my bike. Fixing the bike was a big pain, but it got us in with some members because we needed to use their tools.

It is amazing to me how the Lord extends his hand to keep us safe and to guide us to go to the places we need to be when we need to be there, so we can meet people who need the gospel in their lives. I know He lives and that this is His work. I am so grateful to be able to be a part of it.

Keep Striving,

Elder Rogers

 Zone soccer activity 

I pulled a big weed at the church

Us riding bikes

 Hair Cut

Chili Mac- 2 boxes of Mac and cheese 1 can of chili and 4 hot dogs 

All of us in the car after my flat tire

Us in the rain 

A Whole New World

Howdy! 

My first week in Norwood has been such a great experience! Norwood is very different from Liberty. We are in the ghetto a little bit, but the people here are so humble and so willing to talk to us. The ward is pretty small, we had less than 40 people there yesterday, but it has been such a good time! We have found lots of people teach, and have had a lot of really great experiences. It has been really fun to come from a slower area to one that is on fire. My companion is Elder Brock. He is a great missionary! He is a really hard worker and we've had a lot of fun together this week! 

Something I think I've learned here so far is how to be more bold. We have a lot of people that we want to talk to, and if they aren't keeping commitments or are willing to read the Book of Mormon we have to be completely honest with them because we have other people that we could be spending our time with who are ready to read and progress. In Liberty, we were so grateful to be meeting with someone that we would be a little timid because we would be afraid of losing them. I wish that I would have known then what I know now because I feel like even though we would have had even fewer people to teach, we could have found more people that were truly ready to follow the Savior. 

Something that I have seen this week that is really cool is watching people make changes in their lives. One of the people that we taught last night is Ryan. When we got to the house he yelled at us for coming over, but his wife told him she had invited us. He reluctantly opened the door and talked with us. The spirit was very strong in the lesson, and you could see a light come into his eyes. He said he had never been into religion before in his life, but he loved the Book of Mormon, and he put a pass-along card with the address of the church in his wallet so he wouldn't lose it and could come to church next Sunday. We are excited to meet with them and to help them bring the spirit into their lives even more. It's been a great week and I'm excited for the coming adventures here in Norwood! 

Keep Striving!

Elder Rogers

 No dumping sign with a toilet in front of it

Elder Brock and I after a bird pooped on his shirt

Elder Brock and I in a downpour 

He Did What In His Cup?

 Howdy,

It has been a very eventful week, with a lot of exciting miracles! On Monday after our preparation day ended we had our lesson fall through, and so we decided we would walk around the apartment complex for a little bit and see if there was anyone we could talk to and start teaching. We did that for a while, and nobody we talked to was interested at all, and so we started to head back to make phone calls when we got chased down by an 11-year-old kid. He asked us if we were the guys who went around knocking on doors talking to people about Jesus. We said that we were, and he was super excited about that. We eventually gave him a Book of Mormon and set up a time to meet with him again. He is really amazing. His living situation is less than ideal, and he said he just turns to Christ for help and comfort. He had to go into surgery the day after our lesson with him, but we plan to attack him with the deacons quorum so he can get some good friends and be surrounded by others who love the Savior. 

Another miracle that we saw this week happened at our apartment. We were sitting inside making some contacts with people, and we felt like we needed to go sit outside. It was a little hot, and we live next to the freeway so we were a little hesitant to do it, but we just felt like it was something that we needed to do. So we moved our chairs right outside our door and continued to call people. Less than 5 minutes later our neighbor 3 doors down who we'd never talked to before approached us and asked us who we were. He said he had seen us going in and out and he was impressed by us. We introduced ourselves and told him what we do, and he got really excited. He said he was really happy and excited to hear our message. We shared a little bit, and he said he wants us to come over on a day when he has his two sons over so that we can teach them too. Not one of the people we had planned to call that day answered the phone, but we made the contact that needed to happen. 

Tuesday when we were teaching English to our friend Abdul we saw the sisters in the building and asked if they would take 5-10 minutes to give him practice talking to people besides us. He loves talking to other people, and we thought it would be great. He basically told us and the sisters that we should get married because we were similar in age. When he saw how uncomfortable it made the sisters he went off. I thought it was hilarious. It was a little awkward, but he gave us a watermelon after so it was worth it. 

Elder Brinton and I finally caught a frog so that was cool. 

On Friday I found out that I would be leaving Liberty Township and heading to Norwood. This area is very close to downtown. I'm in a district of all elders again, because President Ensign said that this area is too sketchy for sisters. I'm second half training my companion Elder Brock, who is from Spain and is really awesome! I will miss Elder Brinton and the people of Liberty, but I am excited for the adventures that lay ahead!

Keep Striving!

Elder Rogers

 Elder Brinton with Froggy

Us with our friend Abdul (I'm holding the watermelon)

Me with Froggy 

Elder Brinton and I

Me with Sis. Motter and Bro. Wilhelm

With our friend Jim at church

 Evelyn and I in front of the flag on the 4th

 Elder Brinton and I with Elder Griffin

 Saying bye to Elder Brinton