When You Said Ouch

 Howdy,

It's been an interesting week. Transfers usually prove chaotic but this week had a fun little twist. Monday night we came in late to the office after some teaching appointments to get some last-minute things ready for transfers. I was helping Elder Parry by cutting the incoming missionaries' ID cards on the paper cutter, but apparently, I wasn't paying attention very well (and also I was using the side without the guard) and I ended up cutting a lot more of my finger than I did paper. I quickly wrapped it up without really looking at it, and we finished getting everything ready. Fast forward to when we get home at 10:15 and I quickly go to clean out the wound and get to bed because it's WAY past my bedtime. So I take off the tissues I had used as a bandage, which had bled through a couple layers, and it was then that I realized it was worse than I thought. I had cut through my nail, and my nail as well as the end of my finger was chopped off and hanging on by a piece of skin. There was blood everywhere and it looked really nasty so I started feeling pretty nauseous. We decided to call the mission nurse to see if I needed to get stitches, which was a very bad idea. She asked for pictures and talked to a couple people and then told us that it looked bad, but that since all the urgent cares in our area were closed we needed to go to the ER. So there we were, heading to the ER at 10:30 at night. I was not happy about this. A piece of advice to anyone going to the ER - don't change the bandage right before you go out they'll never look at you. I wanted to go home, but I was told I had to stay. So I waited in the ER waiting room for 4 hours in the middle of the night so that I could be told that no stitches would be necessary and they put some super glue on me. They did give me a work note saying I didn't need to go to work for 2 whole days though. That note went right in the trash. We got home a little after 2:30 AM and were up at 6:30, running and presenting at transfers by 8:00. It was a long day. Luckily we got to bed at a reasonable hour the next couple of nights and now we're doing great, with a sore thumb and an even stronger desire to never call the mission nurse. 

Other than transfers and the ER it was a pretty normal week. I did my first ever muscle up so that was fun. One day while we were tracting in the rain I found 48 pennies. I was completely amazed. I spent a couple moments in shock and then Elder Parry said "You know what you can buy with 48 cents? Absolutely nothing." That might be true, but life, like collecting pennies isn't about having everything all at once. Good things come through small but consistent efforts. I may not be a millionaire (yet) but I am 48 cents richer. When we do our part, the Savior will help us to be our best each day until we get to where He knows we can be. 

Quote of the week: "I want this meeting to hype us up, just like us guys get hyped in the locker room about sports or how girls get excited about cheer or... reading books." - Elder Cox our district leader.

Keep Striving!

Elder Rogers

Beans and sausage again

Elder Parry and I

ER in the middle of the night (don't change the bandage)

 Sending Elder Leavitt to France

Sending Elder Leavitt ×2 

I can't spell 

Noodles

That's French For Front Door

 Howdy,

This has been a pretty great week here in the office. A little while ago while we were out knocking on doors a guy named Richard opened the door and let us in. We went in and we had a nice talk about the restoration with him. Everything was going well until we were about to leave and I noticed a bedbug crawling up my bag. I quickly flicked it off, but it made me super nervous. After we left Richard it was time to head home for the day. I told Elder Parry and when we got home we sprayed all ourselves, our truck, our apartment, and all of our clothes with permethrin, and checked each other for bedbugs. We didn't see any, and we thought we were safe because we sprayed so thoroughly. Well, we were wrong. The next morning we found a bedbug in our apartment by our clothes we had worn the day before (which we threw off in the corner to quarantine them), and I found a lot of nice little bite marks on my wrists. We threw basically everything we had touched in the last two days in the washer and dryer and sprayed again with permethrin. This time we were more successful, and we haven't seen any bedbugs or bites since. Our apartment, clothes, and truck smelled so strongly of permethrin that I don't think any bedbug would want to come close to us at all. It gave us both a little bit of a headache, but it was worth it to kill the bedbugs. They're nasty. 

Elder Parry and I go run every morning at a park close to our house, and we have a couple of Catholic Priest friends, Bob and Larry, that we see there every day. This week while we were talking to them after our run Larry asked us if we had anywhere to go for our Christmas dinner, and when we told him not yet he invited us over, and so now we are going to go have a Christmas dinner at a Catholic Priest's house and we are very excited! It's kind of fun that we are friends with them. We get excited every day to wave and say hi, and we get bummed when they aren't there or we don't see them. Apparently, they aren't there sometimes because they go to mass every single day, and sometimes it runs long. 

We've been blessed to be able to stay really busy. We have a lot of lessons, and we've been crazy busy in the office. I have had to spend a lot of time on the phone and freaking out about being on the phone with the insurance company, but everything seems to be working out quite swell. I am grateful for the Savior, and for this time of year when we have extra opportunities to remember Him!

Keep Striving,

Elder Rogers

Elder Ockerman pranked us

The assistants had us over for homemade corndogs because Elder Acor worked at a corndog truck

Tuna sandwiches 

A Company Is Like An Enormous Clock

Howdy,

I never thought that I would have to use a fax machine on my mission (or ever really) but I guess life takes us to unexpected places. Turns out fax machines are kind of cool but also annoying. It kept yelling at me saying I needed to dial one before the number, which I had already done. I think I'll stick with email, but I guess it's another cool life skill the office has given me. 

We went on exchanges with the YSA Elders yesterday, and it was lots of fun! We went down to campus to do some street contacting, and it is weird. Everybody there is like - in college and my age and stuff. There was a lot of cool stuff there. UC is playing Houston in their conference championship game, and everything was getting set up. They were putting up banners everywhere, and we even saw ESPN camera crews getting shots of the sunset, with the trophy, and just other places around campus. While we were talking with some people the busses with the Houston football team rolled in and all the players were just walking around. It was so cool. Then as we were leaving the cross country team ran by us on the sidewalk and I freaked out it was so cool. The campus is cool, but I don't think I'm quite cut out to be a YSA missionary. I feel much more comfortable striking up conversations with adults and people older than me. For instance, we found a friend named Heidi. She lives at a care center not far from us, and we've had a couple of lessons with her. I feel right at home in a care center. She started telling all of her friends about us, and now there's a whole group of people at the care center that want to talk with us more about the Book of Mormon. 

I've been blessed to be able to use Spanish a lot here, and have even taught a couple of lessons. It's wild to me that even though I haven't ever served in a Spanish area (yet), I've been able to use Spanish so much in each of my areas. The Lord has prepared me to be able to serve and teach wherever I've been placed. I'm grateful that God sees the big picture, and that I've been ready to serve as His hands in this part of the world.

Our friend Rickey is doing very well. He has a strong desire to get baptized and strengthen his relationship with God. He has been reading the Book of Mormon, watching the Book of Mormon videos, and even watching the Chosen in his spare time. He is so fun to be around and I'm so proud of the progress he's made in his life. Please pray that as we talk about the word of wisdom and law of chastity this week that he will feel the spirit and accept the message.

Thank you for all your prayers! Christ lives!

Keep Striving,

Elder Rogers

Elder Parry and I on kazoo for the birthday of a missionary in our district

Leg lamp

Our lunch experiment (I wouldn't buy again, Elder Parry says he would)

Me on campus with the ESPN crew and the trophy in the background 

Mr. Bluebird's On My Shoulder

Howdy, 

This week was pretty good. Thanksgiving was really fun! There was a pool table at the family who fed us and so it was fun to play with the kids. Our friend Alissa finally got out of quarantine but then she was puking buckets and we weren't able to meet up again.

This week it seemed that every time we talked to anyone something about farming and funny animal stories so that was fun. It didn't matter if it was zone conference, with our friends, or just around the office, I've learned a lot about animal parts and how to deal with farms. At zone conference when we weren't learning, sharing stories about cows or sheep, Elder Parry and I were doing car inspections which have been lots of fun. Most people's cars were pretty nice except that they all smelled bad. I really like some of the little tree air fresheners like vanilla bean, cherry, piñacolada, and Black Ice is ok sometimes. 

Our friend Rickey is doing really well! We are excited because he is so excited to learn about the gospel and he has been reading the Book of Mormon daily and taking big steps in faith. 

 Thanksgiving was a great opportunity to look back and remember all of the things that I am grateful for! I truly am grateful for this gospel and the opportunity I have to share it every day as a missionary! I found a quote that I really like from my great ×5 grandpa John Tanner that explains why I chose to serve: “Conversion is the greatest miracle. It is even more wonderful than healing the sick or raising the dead. For while a person who is healed will eventually fall sick again and ultimately die, the miracle of conversion can last forever and affect the eternities for the convert as well as for his or her posterity. Whole generations are healed and redeemed from death through the miracle of conversion.” I love serving as a missionary because I know the Savior lives! 

Keep Striving Everyone! (Also buy an air freshener)                                                                                                              Elder Rogers    

P.S. it's a plum

Thanksgiving 

We found some deer visiting our friend Heidi at the care center

Elder Parry took a selfie 

We found pork chops on clearance at Walmart so we bought them and cooked them for a 9pm dinner 

A Penny Lost Is a Penny Found

 Howdy,

So every day we go and run at Bicentennial Park, and we always talk with our two Catholic Priest friends, Larry and Bob. About a week and a half ago our friend Larry went missing. He just stopped showing up. We started to get really nervous, and we missed him a lot. At district council, we got an invitation for more of the friends of the missionaries in the district. So Elder Parry and I decided we would take the invitation pretty seriously. It came as a nice reminder to be better at praying more specifically for our friends and their needs as well. We decided that we would pray for our Catholic Priest friend Larry and that we would see him again soon. We went to the park the next day and he was there and we were all very happy to see him. We had a nice chat with him. Long story short prayers are answered. 

I also learned that it is important to double-check the math on spreadsheets, make sure you carry a spare mask, and that pizza trays are not a worthy substitute for aluminum foil. 

As I studied the life of the conclusion of the Savior's mortal life in the New Testament this week, I thought a lot a lot about Peter denying the Christ, and how I sometimes act similarly. I would hope that I would stand tall, and defend Christ in every circumstance. Each and every time we don't share the full message of the restoration of the gospel and of the Book of Mormon we are in a way denying the Christ. We fear men and ridicule or rejection more than God. Perhaps today there are loving words which Jesus would have me speak. I know that with the help and encouragement of the Savior, my voice shall echo the message sweet, and I'll say what He wants me to say. Christ lives and there is a work to do. I pray that I will live worthy, listen, and act so I can fulfill my part. 

Go enjoy some rainbow jello this Thanksgiving 

Keep Striving

Elder Rogers

The sign Elder and Sister Ockerman made for my chair so the assistants will stop stealing it (It stands for The Most Amazing Vehicle Coordinator Ever)

Wheelchair basketball 

Elder Parry and I in wheelchairs

My two newest ducks

Most Little Birdies Will Fly Away

 Howdy,

This week was quite wild. Transfers were at the beginning of the week, and we made a total of six trips to the airport over the course of 4 days (3 on Monday, 0 on Tuesday, 1 on Wednesday, and 2 on Thursday). This was the McGuire's first transfer ever and thanks in part to a power outage in the Phoenix airport and delayed flights, it was wild. I feel bad that all of the crazy things happened on their first transfer here. The weirdest thing that happened to Elder Parry and me is that we were at the airport trying to pick up missionaries whose flights had been delayed. We wait and wait and finally one sister missionary comes through alone. We ask her about the Elders on her flight, and she said that there were none. We called missionary travel, who told us that they could possibly be in Houston or Charlette, but they really didn't know. That meant that Elder Parry and I drove back this one sister missionary back to the mission home. It was a little weird, and we felt bad for her. We survived though. We were insanely busy, but the APs had it much crazier than us. They woke up at 4:30 am on Monday to get some missionaries to the airport, had a crazy day, had to go back to the airport that night (to meet the lost Elders), and didn't get to bed until 2:00 am Tuesday (21.5 straight hours). They then woke up at 6:30 on Tuesday (after 4.5 hours of sleep)  and had to do a ton of stuff to help with transfers and conduct the new missionary training meeting. I'm not sure how they survived. 

An exciting thing about this week is that we were able to put our friend Alissa on date to be baptized on December 18! We had a great lesson with her where the spirit was so strong. She is so excited to be baptized and continue to study in the Book of Mormon and come closer to Christ. Everything was going so amazingly until yesterday she found out that she has covid and has to quarantine. We are in the process of figuring out how we can do lessons with her over zoom, and trying to help her watch church online and everything. It is a bummer, but really just a small bump in the road. I am excited to continue to help her strengthen her relationship with the Savior!

This week, like most weeks in the office, has flown by in a flash. I have come to realize here that life is exactly as fun and as enjoyable as we choose it to be. It is easy in the office to be bugged that we can't spend all of our time doing "regular missionary things", but life is so much more enjoyable when we find joy in the opportunities that we have to encourage, uplift, compliment, and serve those that have made sacrifices to serve the Lord. When we stop focusing on things that are out of our control and start focusing on doing better at the things that we can, life becomes a wonderful and joyful journey. "Saints can be happy under every circumstance (because) the joy we feel has little do with the circumstances of our lives, and everything to do with the focus of our lives. For Latter-day Saints, Jesus Christ is joy!" I know that Jesus Christ is the source of all joy, and I love and rejoice serving as one of His representatives.

Keep Striving, Drive Safe!

Elder Rogers

Me with a hammer at the Loveland Castle today on our P day adventure 

 Me with a sword

Elder Parry with the hammer 

Us and the APs in front of the Loveland castle 

Us with "Pastor Mom" on a special assignment from President- we all have the same goal of bringing people to Christ!

Us with Denise at church

Us with Elder Dixon at Skyline (he liked it 💪)

A Million Dreams

Howdy,

This has been a pretty great week in the Ohio Cincinnati Mission Office. It's been quite busy preparing for the upcoming transfer, and we also had some fun adventures with the police. On Wednesday we woke up and got ready to drive to a nearby park so I could get in my morning run, but the truck sounded quite funky, so I turned it off and back on again but the noise persisted. Upon further inspection, we saw that the exhaust pipe had been cut with a saw and the catalytic converter had been removed. Apparently catalytic converters on foreign makes contain rhodium, which sells for about $30,000 an ounce. Apparently, it's becoming an all too popular trend to steal them. Our truck still runs, it just sounds like we straight piped it by taking the muffler off and it smells pretty bad. We had to call the police and I feel like a big boy talking to insurance companies and the like. I'm excited to get it replaced. We felt really cool driving the loud truck for about five minutes, but then it started getting us headaches and we felt like punks. 

We had a fun trip through Lawrenceburg, IN to help open up a new missionary apartment last Tuesday. We stopped and ate there, and it made me really happy to be back. Elder Parry's mom sent him a message on Thursday saying that we could get free tacos from Taco Bell because of something that happened in the world series. We had fun going to 2 Taco Bells during our dinner hour. At the second one, we ordered a taco, and they gave it to us, but we had to pay because they ran out of "free tacos". It was ok because it was cheap. A free taco is way better than a cheap taco. We got high fives and called bad A's because we knew a scripture reference, and we also had a really fun time jamming to Christmas music.

Deliberate practice with the help of the Savior makes perfect. We can all become better as we remember the Savior in our day-to-day lives. I know He lives and that the Book of Mormon is true!

Keep Striving!

Elder Rogers

Cincinnati parking (Not us)

What they sawed off

District

"Free tacos"

Elder Ockerman's Facebook post about me

What they sawed off from the other side

Tanner's Creek Drive

We finally found the basketball hoops at our apartment complex after we asked our landlord if there were any security cameras to find out who stole our catalytic converter