Wow Look At That Shine

 Howdy,

This week while contemplating in the shower I was struck with a revelatory-esque flash of genius: Mac-Moroni and Cheese. It's pretty much a boxed Mac and cheese with noodles in the shapes of Book of Mormon things. After I had this genius idea I knew I needed a way to advertise my product. That's when I had another revelatory-esque flash of genius: HelaMan and the Masters of the Book of Mormon. It's a He-Man spin-off based on the Book of Mormon - kind of like the living scriptures videos but everyone is insanely ripped. Each episode has its own individual intro, but they are all pretty similar. An example would be like this: "I'm Alma, son of the prophet, I used to be one of the vilest of sinners but one day I was visited by an angel and caught up in the memory of my sins. Then I remembered the teachings of my father, looked heavenward, and said in my heart: 'Christ has the power!' Amulek became my companion and I became Alma - the most powerful missionary in the universe!" For Nephi it would say his back story and then say: "I became Nephi the most obedient man in the universe!". I made up one for each person in the Book of Mormon. Each episode will end with "This episode of HelaMan is brought to you be Mac-Maroni and cheese." If any of you want to join me and invest just let me know and we can talk further. We'll be millionaires in a matter of a couple of months I am sure. 

Rickey is doing very well. He has a meeting with the bishop tomorrow to create a plan to go on a mission. He keeps bringing it up to us and telling us how much he wants to do it. We are also teaching Ingrid and her son who is 36. Ingrid wants to be baptized, but she needs to kick out her boyfriend Doug first. She told him he needs to move out, and Doug didn't like that very much so now Ingrid says that Doug is mad at us, so we're a little afraid of him now, but Ingrid says she's determined to kick him out. The Speths got here on Monday, and they are our replacements in the office so we were very busy training them this week, and will continue to do so this upcoming week. They will do well in the office, and Elder Parry and I are looking forward to going back to more normal missionary work.

I'm grateful for the Book of Mormon. The more I read it the more I love it and the more it teaches me about the Savior. 

Keep Striving!

Elder Rogers

Elder Parry skater edition

Us on the top of the Wilmington Tire Tower

Just Keep Swimming

 Howdy,

It's been a pretty good week. We had zone conferences which were pretty crazy, and also a lot of fun. It is always fun to see everyone. After one of the zone conferences, we went to deliver some bikes to some missionaries in need. We went to go park in a parking lot in downtown Dayton, near their apartment, but the parking meter was broken and wouldn't give us a ticket so we decided to leave to be honest, and also so we wouldn't get towed. We went to go park on the street by a meter in front of their apartment, but when we pulled up we saw that the meter only took coins. We didn't have any. I went to search for some in the car, and Elder Parry started looking around the van. While I was searching I said a silent prayer that we would be able to find a coin to pay for parking. We were running a bit behind, and we were trying to help the missionaries. Just as I finished my prayer Elder Parry walked around the back of the van with a quarter he found on the ground. We then were able to deliver the bikes and get back on the road with 2 minutes left on our meter. As someone who actively looks for coins on the ground, I thought it was extra cool because quarters are an extremely rare find, and it was the exact amount we needed. I am grateful that God wants to be involved in our lives, and will help us out even with the little things like being able to pay for parking.

The highlight from this week was Rickey's baptism on Friday night. It was an amazing experience, and it was great to see how far he has come. Rickey has had a hard life, and seeing the spirit work on him has been such a blessing. He was able to overcome smoking and many other addictions to be here. I am so proud of him and grateful that God has allowed me to be able to get to know him. We filled up the font nice and warm for him, and it felt like a sauna to go into the font room. We turned off the font about 15 minutes before the baptism started to let it cool a bit, but it turns out that the plug here doesn't work very well at all, which meant the water level was a little lower than we wanted. I baptized him the first time but his knees came up. The second time the same thing happened. By the time the third attempt came around the font was noticeably lower than it was when we entered. On the third attempt, I stood on his feet to keep them from coming up and lowered him all the way down to where he was laying down on the tile and kept him there long enough to see that his whole body was under, and then I pulled him out and we shared a very big and very wet hug. As we went into the bathroom to change Rickey was asking me about how he could serve a mission and Elder Parry and I taught him how to tie and put on a tie for the first time in his life. It was such an amazing experience and I'm so excited for tomorrow when he will be receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. 

I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon. Reading it every day is a pleasure that brings so much light and peace into my life. It is amazing to see how Jesus Christ can take us where we are and help us to become better. I have a long way to go before I get to where I want to be, but I am blessed and grateful that God uses an imperfect person like me to assist in His work. It brings me so much joy, and I love being a part of it. 

Keep Striving Everyone,

Elder Rogers

Dinner

Exchanges 

Kentucky Fried Chicken in Kentucky (Tastes about the same to be honest)

Lunch with Mike

Rickey's Facebook story

Rickey and me in white

All the elders at Rickey's baptism

Rickey, Elder Parry and me

Rickey with his family

If Anybody Asks Ya, We Was Out Smashing Mailboxes

Howdy,

As usual, it's been a pretty chaotic week in the office. Last Saturday after delivering some necessities our van got stuck in the driveway of some Elders. We tried to get it out, and even went and bought a tow strap and had the Elders try to pull us out with their Equinox. Unfortunately, we broke a couple of things off their hitch and then we snapped the tow strap. We ended up having to call a tow truck that got us out no problem. 

There were a bunch of Elders trying to get to their original assignments and so we had some more fun adventures. Thursday we went to the airport in the morning, headed back with more missionaries in the afternoon, found out they didn't have their passports so we went back to the office and got them, and drove back. They made it through security and everything so we figured they had made it, but we got a call saying they missed their flight by just a few minutes. We drove back to the airport to pick them up. They hung out with us Thursday night and helped them get on a flight the next day after a couple covid complications. All in all, we drove to the airport 4 times on Thursday. 

Cincinnati (including me) is super excited for the super bowl. There are stands on just about every street corner selling Bengals merchandise, and they even called off school the day after the game. There is a lot of orange and black everywhere. It has been interesting to see how people's attitudes about the Bengals have changed since I first got here. Everyone is so excited now, whereas before everyone (myself included) was pretty apathetic before they were in the world championship. I hope that each of us can be loyal lifelong fans not just to the Bengals, but also to the Savior, and walk with Him through thick and thin. No matter where we are, His arms of mercy are extended, and we always have the ability to join His team. I am so grateful for His sacrifice and His love, even if I don't always make the best choices. Repentance is an amazing gift, and I love getting to share my knowledge of it with others. 

Rickey's baptism is just six days away! Please pray for him! 

Keep Striving and Who Dey! 

Elder Rogers 

Stuck van

Our divots in the grass

Me chilling at my desk

Homemade Mac and cheese made with bacon and 1 pound of sharp cheddar cheese

Us with a corvette while picking up new cars 

Batman Calzoney with Elder Sowers

Mickey Mouse Club House

Howdy,

This week was pretty good. Lots of adventures. Transfers were on Tuesday, and they were very crazy. We're in the process of taking the total number of cars in our mission down from 83 to 69 and they also gave us 8 new cars to replace some of our older ones. It was a lot of chaos at transfers trying to get people to their new cars and also installing and swapping things while they waited because we didn't have any extras. We also had a pretty big ice storm this week. It rained for a day, and then we had "frozen rain" (it's just hail pretty much), topped off with snow after that. It was pretty slick outside because the ice was under the snow. Our car doors froze shut and all that. Everyone was freaking out, and we were mandated to stay inside all day on Thursday and most of the day Friday. We weren't even allowed to drive for 3 minutes to come into the office, so I was pretty peeved. We had so much to do in the office, but we just got farther behind as we scrambled to come up with ways to spend our time productively at home. We were luckily allowed to leave our apartment Friday and catch up a little. 

Yesterday while making dinner I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. When I looked I didn't see anything so I just figured I imagined it, but then it happened two seconds later. When I looked the second time I was shocked to see a mouse on our floor under my dresser. I was not very happy. I told Elder Parry and Elder Sowers (who was staying with us for a couple days this week), and we had an interesting time trying to deal with it. I stood guard at the door while Elder Parry and Elder Sowers tried to pin him down and trap him. I got on my knees to search under one of the beds with a flashlight and when I did the mouse ran straight at me and went through my legs out the door of our bedroom. I screamed very loudly and rushed to see where he had gone but I couldn't find him. We closed our door and stuffed the bottom so he couldn't get back in during the night, but now we have to deal with the fact that there's a runaway mouse inside our apartment somewhere and we don't know where. Not going to lie I would prefer bedbugs to the mouse. I really would just prefer that they all leave us alone. I was pretty cowardly and did a lot of screaming and panicking last night. Elder Parry did ok and Elder Sowers handled it best. 

How bout them Bengals though? Who Dey! Everyone is really excited for the Super Bowl around here. They even changed the street signs to say things like Joe Burrow Ave and stuff like that. We're nervous to see if we can be able to talk to anyone at all next Sunday, but I'm really excited. When Elder Willis (a Steelers fan) got his mission call here (before me) I teased him saying that he would come home a Bengals fan and the Bengals are bad. I guess I'm biting my words because now they're in the Super Bowl, and I'm pretty excited about it. 

Christ lives and this is His work and His gospel! I'm so grateful to be able to serve as one of His representatives here in Cincinnati!

Keep Striving (Just like the Bengals)

Elder Rogers

Frisch's all you can eat breakfast buffet

Mission tour with Elder Douglas in Cincinnati (I am on the second row of Elders second from the right. I'm hard to see.)

 Mission tour with Elder Douglas in Dayton (I am on the far left on the second row of Elders)

Rickey's story he put on Facebook. He is doing so well!

A funny sign we saw in a parking lot

Texting conversation

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