Grab Shell Dude

Howdy,

It's been a pretty good week, albeit a stressful one. The big news from the week is that we had Elder Douglas, a member of the quorum of the 70 visit our mission. It was pretty awesome. Most of the setup and take-down fell on Elder Parry and I. It was a lot of fun to be a part of, but man was it exhausting. We had a lot of meetings at the beginning of the week and President made sure we knew exactly how he wanted things to go. Wednesday we woke up at 4:15 to take an Elder to the airport for a trip to the consulate, and then we went to go set up and enjoy the 6-hour meeting. Then we took down and were able to start heading home to teach around 5 pm. On Thursday we got up at 4:55 to get everything ready for the next 6-hour meeting. That one went well. Friday we got to get up at 6:30 like normal to set up for another 3-hour meeting, and it was crazy because we got hit with a huge snowstorm (which made for a fun run this morning). After the meeting, we were driving to a lesson in our suits because we were running late and the roads were a disaster. The snow removal is not as good as Utah, and so people were just stuck on the roads and so we were pushing people to try to get them unstuck in our suits, which was a lot of fun. It was a lot of running around and trying to get everything ready this week, but the meetings were so amazing. I'm very grateful for Elder Douglas coming here and for the spirit he brought. It has been good to apply what he has taught. 

Besides getting the meetings ready we didn't have a lot of time for teaching and finding. We were able to go on a short exchange with the YSA Elders so that I could meet their friend Harry. He's super cool and runs track and cross country for UC. It was so nice to talk to a runner person again about runner person things. Rickey is also doing well and is excited for his baptismal date of February 18. Wednesday was the first time in 8-9 years that he has gone a day without a cigarette, which is so cool! He invited me to baptize him, and so Elder Parry and I are really excited.

It is amazing to me to know that Christ can change our desires and help us to build more faith. When we act with diligence and obedience our faith will grow. I'm so grateful to serve as a missionary. It is the greatest adventure and blessing, and I love being able to serve in Cincinnati! 

Keep Striving!

Elder Rogers 

Elder Willis and me

President and Sister McGuire at Skyline

Elder Parry and me at Skyline

All of us at Skyline

All of us minus President McGuire

Sunglasses 

If You Keep Talking To Yourself People Are Gonna Think You're Crazy

Howdy, 

This week was pretty good. The highlight of this week was our meeting with Rickey on Saturday when he set a baptismal date of February 18th! He is so awesome! In the month since we've taught the word of wisdom, he has gone from smoking a pack and a half a day to smoking around a fourth of a pack. He is excited to keep working and growing to get closer to Christ. We are praying for him that he can overcome his addiction to smoking. 

Last Saturday the Bengals won their first playoff game in 31 years, and the whole city has been pretty excited about it. During the game last week we were out tracting and almost every door we knocked on people responded with "cmon man the game is on" or something of the like. We would usually try to ask what the score was to try and get them to talk to us but also because we wanted to know. We went to one door and the lady responded in the way everyone was, and when we asked the score she told us it was 26-19 with two minutes left. We were like ooh that's close who has the ball and she was like cmon just get in here and watch the last 2 minutes with us. I looked to Elder Parry to see what he thought we should do but he was already halfway through the door so I followed suit. We talked a little bit about football and a little bit about Jesus and we were able to set up a return appointment with her (which went really awesome by the way and now she said she's going to come to church, and we're going back again this upcoming week). After the game was over we left and tried to keep talking to people but no matter what the question the only response we got was "Who Dey, Who Dey!" So that was fun. The moral of the story, football can open doors.

I found a quote this week that I really liked. "Habits are formed by doing something over and over. Good habits are formed by deliberately doing the right thing over and over." Whether it's coming closer to Christ, running, or anything else, constant, consistent, and deliberate efforts will take us where we want to go. We can't ride the current, we need to stand up for something more, just like the Savior did when He died for all of us.

Keep Striving

Elder Rogers 

Our friend Big Cookie at Walmart 

Brotherton's (I got a good burger 1/3 lb beef, 1/4 lb goetta, bacon, egg, lettuce, tomato, cheese)

I lost a bet

February 18! 

Tracting

Snow tracting

I Had A Dream Once

Howdy,

It's been a pretty good week here in Cincinnati. Just about everyone we talk to is anxious about the Bengals game today so I'm sure we'll hear about it tomorrow at church tomorrow. A lot of our lessons fell through this week which was a bummer. It allowed for a lot of needed catching up in the office though so that was good, even though I would occasionally go a little stir crazy from being in front of the computer all day. 

Our bedbug situation has been pretty good. We've only seen 2 since they came and sprayed. Bedbugs really aren't terrible, but it's a little gross when you see one and squish it, and your blood squirts everywhere. On another note, we finally were able to try the Goldstar chili burger. It was pretty good. Their chili definitely isn't as good as Skyline's though. It's really thick and reminds me more of a sloppy joe than Cincinnati chili. Guess I'm a Skyline guy.

We had a cool experience on Thursday this week. While out knocking doors we had an impression that we should go to a certain complex. When we got there all of the buildings had new locks and we weren't able to get in. We walked around trying each building and when we saw one we saw someone who was going to come in so instead of trying to open the door we made it look like we were reading a notice about a lost dog in the window. She let us in. After knocking on 2 doors a lady walked in and screamed when she saw us, and Elder Parry recognized her as someone he had met and had a dinner appointment with about 8 months earlier. She told us of some of the challenges she had been having and how seeing us had brightened her day and helped her. We didn't have much success at that complex - we were only able to talk to one other person. We were sent there for her. I love that God is aware of each of us. There are so many people on earth, but God knows and loves each of us personally, and I am very grateful for that. 

Keep Striving! 

Elder Rogers

Who's Behind?

 Howdy,

It's been a pretty great week here. We have been able to set up a lot of appointments and leave the office to go teach which has been a lot of fun, but it has also put us way far behind with office things. We got to pick up some brand new cars from the dealership this week which was a lot of fun and a little stressful as well. They have free lemonade there so that was a bonus. The temperatures have taken a cold turn but Elder Parry is nice and goes out in the mornings with me to run which has been awesome. Our apartment also got sprayed for bedbugs and we haven't seen any since so that's been nice. 

We went with Elder Ockerman to clear out an old missionary apartment, and they had a mini pool filled with a bunch of fish in their kitchen. I bet it was fun for them but it was a pain to clean and Elder Ockerman was not amused. They ended up getting flushed down the toilet, but were too big and swam back up. We tried again and we think they're gone now. Hopefully, they are, or else when the landlord does his inspections he'll have quite the surprise waiting for him in the bathroom. 

While sleeping this week Elder Parry and I had a conversation. It went something like this: 

Elder Parry: *rolls over* 

Me: "Shall we pray?"

Elder Parry: *now awake* "sure"

Me: "Dear Heavenly Father, we're so thankful for all the food we're going to eat today, please bless it. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen"

It's good to know that even when I'm sleeping I'm thinking about the important things. Zac and I truly are brothers. We also came up with the theory that the keto diet is just a shorter version of the original name which was Kielbasa to Skinny, but it was too long so they left the first and third letters of kielbasa and the word to.

This week a couple things stood out to me. One is from Preach My Gospel: "Your calling gives you authority; keeping your covenants gives you power" (pg.12). The other is 2 Timothy 1:7-8: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord". We all have the ability to be led and directed by the Holy Ghost in our lives. God has given us all potential. We can only reach that potential for ourselves and adequately serve others when we make and keep covenants with God. I hope I will rise up so I can powerfully serve God and the people of Cincinnati.

Keep Striving! 

Elder Rogers

Dumplings and veggies from Sister Ward

Marvin

Waffle House on New Years Day

We got a pull-through spot on the second row at Walmart. ¡Que Ganga!

They're All Sloths!?!

 Howdy, 

This week was fun. A lot of our friends were busy or out of town, which lead to a lot of time out knocking doors. I really enjoy knocking doors, but it was mostly in the '60s this week, we found a couple pocketfuls of pennies, nickels, and dimes, and set up a fair amount of return appointments so that probably played a big part in why it was so enjoyable this week. Besides that, our week was quite eventful. 

Sunday night as we were preparing to go to bed we found some bedbugs which lead to a search, which resulted in us finding many more. This was very sad because we thought we were past the bed bug problem. We found some on our clothes,  some in the carpet, and a lot on the ceiling, which we thought was odd. When we talked to our landlord that she told us that it's possible they could be creeping down from our upstairs neighbors, but more likely is that they were climbing up onto the ceiling so that they could parachute down on us during the night while we were sleeping, which apparently is common practice for bedbugs. We've had to be extra careful, and our apartment is going to be sprayed in the next couple of weeks to kill them all. In the meantime, we've been doing all sorts of makeshift things to kill and deter them, which have been working quite well, even if it leaves our apartment looking in disarray. Luckily for us, bedbugs don't spread diseases, they are just an annoyance and a little gross and creepy.

I also had the pleasure of going to the BMV this week to renew the registration for all of our vehicles. I think working at the BMV would be rough because nobody wants to go there and doesn't really know what they're doing, so all day every day you would just have to work with confused and annoyed people. Anyway, we had everything all ready and when we got there we gave them the information and they got to work. When they finished they came back and said that the check that we had made was too big by a little over $90 because we had included the postage fee, but that wasn't necessary since we were there in person. They asked if we would be willing to donate the remainder to blind kids so that they wouldn't have to void and redo all that they had just done. I called Sister Ockerman the financial secretary to see if that would be ok, and she gave a very quick no way. Everyone at the BMV was upset and thought that we hated blind kids, but luckily for us, we could just pin it on "the finance lady" so that we didn't look like the ones willing to squeeze lime juice into the eyes of the blind children. Luckily we were able to figure it out in a way that didn't involve us having to come back and the BMV have to redo everything - they just wrote us a check for the difference.

We also found out this week that we will be getting a senior couple to replace us in the office on February 18. After that, we will train them, and then we get to go back to the world of full-time proselytizing. 🙌

At the Ohio BMV, I felt pretty cool whipping out my power of attorney signed by President Nelson saying that I could act in the name of the Church. It made me think that when we are baptized we all take upon us the name Jesus Christ. We always carry his name and are always His representatives, whether we wear a name tag on our shirt pocket or it's written on the fleshy tablets of our hearts. I hope as I enter this new year that I will be able to be a better representative, follower, worshiper, and friend to the Savior Jesus Christ.

Happy New Year! Let's make it a year of striving! 

Elder Rogers 

Church van (not ours)

We went on a run in the rain 

 Skyline chili sign 

Me with soup 

Maybe Christmas Perhaps, Means A Little Bit More

 Howdy!

It's been a pretty great week. Christmas I'm the mission field is fun but doesn't really feel like Christmas as much. Especially since it's been in the 60s the last couple of days. The ward has been great to us and we've had a lot of fun today and yesterday celebrating with some of the families here. We were able to have a nice dinner with our Catholic friend Larry. It was the fanciest meal I've ever eaten. We started off with "snacks" of smoked salmon and cheese with crackers in the kitchen, then progressed to the dining room where we ate on fine china. We had soup, veggies, chicken, the whole deal. Also apparently he's a world traveler and we got to hear lots of cool stories all about that. It was a great time and we gave him a Book of Mormon. We had a nice talk about some of the things that we believe, and nobody bashed at all it was just a nice talk so Larry gets ultra mega bonus points. Other than that we've been busy getting things ready for Christmas conferences and doing our best to get out of the office to go teach. It's been a lot of fun. Today we were able to go visit our friend Judi in the hospital because she got hit by a car and all her family lives far away. Because of the accident, she wasn't able to see them so she was all alone. It was great to be able to talk to her and try to brighten her day. 

I've had the words of a hymn have been in my mind lately: "Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,

With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Till, ringing, singing, on its way,

The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,

Of peace on earth, good will to men!" 

Because of the birth of Jesus Christ, our night sky is not only a little bit brighter, but our hearts and our futures are as well. God speaks to us today, and we can always carry the spirit of Christ with us through the year as we remember not only His birth but also His sacrifice and we try to follow Him. I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ. I know He lives, and I love Him.

Merry Christmas everybody!

Keep Striving!

Elder Rogers 

 Dinner with Larry

Ammon street 

Us at the hospital

I'm wearing Elder Tolley's pillowcase as a mask because I forgot mine. 

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