You've Fallen For One Of The Classic Blunders

 Howdy, 

 This week was pretty good. A couple of weeks ago while out tracting we felt like we should go to a certain area to find. When we got there, we didn't have too much success, but we had one good contact where we gave a girl a Book of Mormon and referred her to the sisters. Fast forward to this week and the sisters stopped by. The lady that we had given them didn't answer but they decided to knock the whole area. They met a lady who had found a Book of Mormon that someone had thrown away. She looked through it and was interested. Then the sisters knocked on her door. She took it as a sign that she needed to read in the Book of Mormon more. It was cool to see that God has a perfect plan for all of us and that those who are ready will be led to the gospel even if it's not in the way we thought.  

While in a lesson the other day we watched a video of the tour of the Washington DC temple led by Elder Stevens and Elder Renlund. When Elder Renlund came on the screen our friend Rodrigo leaned over to his brother Diego and whispered "Joe Biden?" to which Diego responded with a quick: "no". We thought that was incredibly funny.

We helped out with a 5k this Saturday. They gave us wands to help direct the runners. It was fun but weird to see the whole thing from an outsider’s perspective. Also, I wished I was running. It was fun though. Later on Saturday, we went to the baptism of William, one of the friends of the other Elders. It was a super awesome experience, and the branch did such a great job of welcoming him to the ward. The other Elders asked us to bring a treat or something for afterward, so we baked 72 cookies. When the baptismal service was over the Latinos went into action and we ended up having a full dinner. Nobody was asked to do any of it. They know how to run a party here. The spirit was super strong in the meeting. The members also gave us a really good referral and we had an awesome member present lesson.

We also got bashed a fair amount this week. One guy told us the Bible was false and he wouldn't believe it until he was shown proof. We asked him was he was looking for as proof. He said he would believe when someone showed him the grave of Jesus and other Biblical prophets with their bones inside. We told him that the fact that Jesus' bones weren't in the tomb anymore was pretty integral to the story. That guy was pretty funny. Another guy, a Baptist pastor, told us we would go to hell because we told people they needed to repent. This pastor looked us straight in the face and told people that repentance wasn't required for salvation and that we were convincing people to follow the wrong Jesus because we said people needed to repent. I was floored. I could not believe what I was hearing. He was very mad at us for knocking on his door, so we tried to bear our testimonies and leave, but I was shocked that he thought that repentance wasn't required. The first words quoted to the Savior in the New Testament are about the necessity of baptism. In the next chapter (Matt 4) Jesus begins his mortal ministry in verse 17: "From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand". Later in Matt. 7:21 Christ testifies that we must do the will of the Father in heaven in order to enter into the kingdom of heaven. I am grateful for the knowledge that God is our loving Heavenly Father. I'm grateful that He loves us enough that He expects us to change and make something of ourselves. President Nelson has said: "Nothing is more liberating, more ennobling, or more crucial to our individual progression than is a regular, daily focus on repentance. Repentance is not an event; it is a process. It is the key to happiness and peace of mind. When coupled with faith, repentance opens our access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ." I am grateful for the opportunity to repent - I need to do it often. I'm grateful the Book of Mormon, that clearly lays out the plan that God has for us, and most of all I'm grateful for the Savior who made everything possible. 

Keep Striving!

Elder Rogers

A funny across-the-hallway rivalry

We don't have faces

These people parked very close to their house but didn't hit it

Elder Parry and I with the Y'alls mascot at the Memorial Day parade

Geese

Whoah Dude, Are You Crying?

Howdy,

It was a pretty good week. Honestly, it was a little bit of a blur. I was sick for most of the week, but I just popped some Tylenol and everything worked out pretty well. 

It rained a lot this week and so we were soaking wet a lot of the time. It was really fun, to be honest, and a lot of people were willing to talk to us because they were curious about what we were so committed to that we were willing to walk through the rain. It was fun to tell people we were willing to walk through the rain because the message is true.

One of the biggest challenges of missionary work is that people have their agency. Our whole job is to try to help people do things and make difficult changes in their life. We face a lot of rejection and letdowns, but it is amazing to see them actually choose to make a change for the better. This week my friend Rickey went to the temple for the first time. It was so amazing to see how excited he was and to see that the gospel has changed his life. Joseph Smith said in the Wentworth letter: "The standard of truth has been erected. No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done." It is amazing to see the fulfillment of this prophecy as I serve as a missionary.

Keep Striving

Elder Rogers

On exchanges with Elder Bowler

Getting rained on

We got soaked

District activity 

Zone conference (I'm on the back row, 10th from the right)

 Us at Costco 

Rickey at the temple

How Do You Read This? There's No Pictures!

Howdy,

It was a pretty good week. We had zone conference on Thursday which was a lot of fun. On Tuesday while out tracting Elder Moeller went to open the screen door of someone's house to knock, but it turns out that there was no screen door and so he ended up just opening their front door. Unfortunately, the guy was sitting right there vacuuming his front room. He was not pleased. That was an awkward moment. Maybe sometimes it's a good thing people mistake us for Jehovah's Witnesses when they first see us...

The coolest thing that happened was an experience we had to find Romel on Tuesday. We were out tracting, and we saw a Latino sitting in the shade with headphones in so we dropped what were doing and headed straight for him, with a slight detour to talk to our fisherman friend who was using hotdogs as bait to fish in the apartment complex pond. It seems to be pretty successful based on the stories he told us. We talked to the Latino sitting under the tree, we gave him our schpiel about the Book of Mormon, gave him a pamphlet, and set up a time for us to come back on Sunday. It was a pretty successful contact, and so we went back to knocking on doors. After we knocked on two doors we had the thought that we hadn't done what God sent us there to do and that we weren't done talking to him so once again we stopped what we were doing and headed straight for him (a little bit more awkwardly this time) and asked if we could sit down and study the scriptures right then. Come to find out he had been studying in the Bible before we walked over the first time. We had a nice study of Matthew 3 and talked with him about baptism and the nature of God for about 25 minutes. Then we left knowing we had done all we could to help him out. Turns out he is super cool. He texted us on Friday and asked if we could meet up another time before our previously planned Sunday meeting. All of our experiences have been super powerful, and apparently, he worked for a company that did landscaping for our chapels in Nicaragua. We're pretty excited to keep working with him. During our lesson on Sunday, we were once again outside by the pond and we got swarmed by some geese and ducks. It was a little spooky. A duck bit Elder Moellers hand because he was trying to feed it a piece of grass, but not hard enough to break the skin or anything.

I'm grateful for a Loving Heavenly Father and for the opportunity to serve Him as a missionary. My Spanish is slowly but surely coming along. I am having a blast and am grateful for all of the experiences and lessons I have been learning. God really does hear and answer our prayers.

Keep Striving!

Elder Rogers

A frogadilla doormat

 Weber Lane ( If you look closely you can also see that we were jamming out to Look to You from the 2022 Youth Album 🔥)

No somos Testigos de Jehovah

MORE Geese - I think that more Geese live in Florence, KY than the rest of the world combined.

Well That's Too Dang Bad!

Howdy,

This week while out tracting we came across a driveway where we found 57 cents on the ground. I was amazed, a whole collage of quarters, nickels, dimes, and pennies. I knew that God had sent us to the right place. So we knocked on the door twice with no success, but we couldn't give up on a 57-cent house that easily. We felt prompted to knock a third time. I pounded on that door so hard my knuckles hurt for about 15 minutes, but it was totally worth it. Rolando y Elmer answered the door and when they learned we spoke Spanish they invited us to sit down. They told us that they were afraid to answer the door because they thought we were the immigration police. Rolando had only been in the US for 15 days and had walked for 14 hours through the desert with just what he could carry so that he could cross the border. We had a very powerful conversation and the spirit was very strong. He told us how poor they were and so I felt bad taking the coins I found on their driveway so I gave them and all the other coins I had found that day - roughly 70 cents. They invited us to come back. We constantly wonder if it is ok to try and teach and help illegal immigrants, and I'm still not sure of the answer but I am grateful for the spirit encouraging us to knock a third time and be persistent so that we could share our message with someone who needed it. 

Something fun about being a white guy in a Spanish area is that nobody assumes we speak Spanish. That means that when they knock on the door they talk to each other in Spanish to try to be clever, but we understand them the whole time. I think it is hilarious to respond while they are talking to each other about us and see how they react. Usually, they get embarrassed to the point that they agree to listen to a message. It is amazing to me how well known the Jehovah's Witnesses are and also how much people hate them. I would say 9 times out of 10 people assume we are Jehovah's Witnesses and want to slam the door on our face, but are instantly more interested when we say that's not who we are. I feel like I need a sign to wear around my neck that says "No somos Testigos de Jehovah ni la policia de inmigración" (We aren't Jehovah's Witnesses or the immigration police). It would probably help us out a little. Also, Elder Moeller is terrified of spiders so I've become the designated spider and bug killer so that's been fun I guess.

I'm grateful for the Book of Mormon and all of the additional insights it has given me about God. I have been reading in 3 Nephi lately when Jesus is visiting the Americas. He talks a lot about taking no thought of what we will eat, drink, or wear, and to just focus on the work. That can be a difficult thing, especially the part about not thinking about food. I'm working on it. I love what N Eldon Tanner said in his talk entitled Obedience: "Brother, this Church demands nothing of you. It just offers you a better way of life." I am grateful that God loves us enough to show us the way to live that will bring us joy, and I'm grateful to be able to share that knowledge with others as a missionary.

Keep Striving!

Elder Rogers

Apartment inspections

 A big hooptie

A funny sign we saw while tracting

Live, Laugh, Love, Share, Invite

The District

Like Sparrows Egg Between Thighs

Howdy,

It was a pretty good week. While we were having companionship study Tuesday morning I felt like I should open the window (a fairly common practice for me). I did and sat back down, and then a minute later I suggested a video that we could use to teach one of our friends. Elder Moeller responds by screaming no to which I said ok well I guess we'll use a different one. He responded by saying that he had just seen a lady fall in the parking lot and that she hadn't moved or gotten up and that we needed to go run and help her. So we booked it outside without socks or shoes but otherwise is full pros mode. When we got there she was in total shock, and not doing very well. She was pretty dizzy, and when we asked her what year it was she told us she thought it was 2000 or 2001. She couldn't remember the password to her phone either. Luckily she could remember the phone number of her daughter and so we called her from our phone. She said that she was at work and couldn't help, but that we could call 911 so we did. Then we waited there with her for the ambulance to come to take her to the hospital. I'm grateful that I like to look out the window and that we were in a position to be able to help her. We haven't seen her since and so we hope she is ok. 

We also went to El Nopal this week. It is a Mexican restaurant that 6 of the people we are teaching work it. Not gonna lie it wasn't that great, but it was really fun to see our friends there. They tried to wait on us in English and it was cool to see how their English has improved from since we first met them until now. Our favorites from El Nopal, Juan y Jessica have been doing very well. They have been reading and praying about the Book of Mormon, and the other day they wanted to spend our whole class talking about the gospel, rather than splitting it 50/50 between gospel and English which is what we normally do. Their biggest struggle, like most people we teach, is that they have to work an insane amount, and they don't have Sundays off to come to church. This week is 5 de Mayo and so we are going to have a branch fiesta which should be a lot of fun. Also, we had a good laugh watching a bunch of drunk Latinos playing musical chairs. Just listen for the banda and you'll know you're in the right spot.

Serving as a missionary is honestly one of the coolest things ever. It is so much fun to try to focus solely on the Savior. When He is the center of all our thoughts there is joy that comes with it. It is usually exhausting, people slam the door in our faces, and they sometimes yell and swear at us as we walk down the road, but there is nothing else I'd rather be doing. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and it is such a blessing to be able to serve Him as a missionary. 

Keep Striving!

Elder Rogers

Elder Moeller and I at El Nopal

More Geese

No parking anywhere

Us downtown today after a doctor's appointment

"*Goodness* You've Gotten Fat"

Howdy,

 This week was pretty legendary. Our biggest struggle in the Spanish branch has been to get in contact with the members and having them talk to us. We've been trying to ask the branch president and the bishop what we can do to best help them out and we wouldn't get any responses. Two weeks ago we cornered Cristhian (Elders quorom president) at church and asked him what we could do to help. The only thing he brought up was that they play soccer on Friday nights. We told him our mission president told us no, but that was the only thing he would bring up. Besides the fact that President McGuire told us no they play fútbol during prime proselytizing time, so we were hesitant to go. We talked to our leaders about it and said that they only thing they wanted us to do was go to the Friday night activities, and so we were given the green light to go play. It was one of the coolest things ever. They are all super good (kind of a flex but I did score on them though), and I realized why Cristhian wanted us to go so bad - there are way more people that come to fútbol than come to church on Sunday, and it was a good way to get to know them. So we had a lot of fun, they had us both speak at church on Sunday, and now we are talking with a nonmember friend of one of the youth who we met playing on Friday. I guess it worked. The next day every muscle in my body was super sore, and I tore through my old shoes so I guess I'm going to go get some futsol shoes today so I can go be a real jugador. 

 While out finding on Friday we felt prompted to turn around while driving and go to a different appartment complex rather than the one we had planned on going to. After knocking for 5 minutes we found a super awesome guy named Luis who seems super interested. I was grateful we listened to our prompting. On Saturday we felt prompted to go to a certain area to find. When we got there a train came and seperated us from our car. We were having no success, but each time we thought about leaving a train would come by and so we had no option but to stay. Eventually after being in the neighborhood for a long time we found a man who said he was interested in our message and we had a nice conversation with him. At the next house there was a large group of latinos that were open to hearing our message. God put us in that area and kept us there so that we could talk to those people. 

This Sunday we had an ecumenical Easter Celebration and a lot of missionaries, Elder Moeller and myself included, sang 'This is The Christ' as a choir. It was really cool. As part of the service a Presbyterian Reverend gave a short talk. While she was talking she said that she was so excited for the time when Christ will come to restore all of His lost truths and restore His church to the way He intended it to be. We all had nice grins on our faces when she said that. Unfortunately she said she's a Reverand and wouldn't be interested in hearing our message. I feel like after a transfer here my spanish is getting much better. When I first got here it felt like at least one of us could understand what was happening most of the time, but now I feel like both of us understand most of the time. I love being in a spanish area, it's so incredibly fun. 

As I've been studying the life of Jesus Christ and His atonement this Easter season I was lead to a talk by Bruce C Hafen entitled The Atonement: All For All. This is a quote that specifically stuck out to me: "So if you have problems in your life, don’t assume there is something wrong with you. Struggling with those problems is at the very core of life’s purpose. As we draw close to God, He will show us our weaknesses and through them make us wiser, stronger. If you’re seeing more of your weaknesses, that just might mean you’re moving nearer to God, not farther away." I'm so grateful for a Savior and a Loving Heavenly Father who use me as a vessel to share the restored gospel, and for the knowledge that through Their grace my weaknesses can become strengths to bless the lives of others.

¡Seguir Luchando!

Elder Rogers

Goose whispering

"High Priest Mode"

Panda Express with Elder May and Elder Tanner (my 5th cousin through John Tanner)

Texas Roadhouse with Elder Parry and Elder Bowler

Did That Dog Just Say "Hi There"

 Howdy,

This week was a pretty great week, albeit a little uneventful. The transfer call was Saturday, and Elder Moeller and I learned that both of us will be staying in Florence, which wasn't a surprise to either one of us. I'm grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve in the Ohio River branch and to have Elder Moeller as my companion. He's pretty cool. Here are a couple of things that made us laugh this week.

While tracting we knocked on a door and a little kid appeared in the window. We didn't quite hear what happened inside, but we heard his response: "I don't know who they are but they look goooood." It made for a nice laugh and a good pat on the back moment.

This week during our virtual missionary devotionals someone said "There is so many elect people out there waiting to receive the gospel." Elder Moeller and I both simultaneously said "are" to correct the grammar and we busted up laughing. It isn't something either of us does often so we thought it was hilarious. 

During a lesson this week I was having the hardest time understanding what was going on. I was completely lost and that made me a little frustrated. Why with all of my studies and all my prayers was I still out in the dark. So I just sat there nodding my head pretending like I understood. Finally, I swallowed my pride and admitted that I didn't understand. When I asked our friend Ramon for help he explained one phrase to me and it seemed like the curtain was lifted off my eyes. I understood everything for the rest of the lesson. I was reminded and taught that if you don't like something you have the power to change it. Murmuring and complaining will never make anything better, but taking action will. I'm grateful that God puts me in situations where I need to stretch and humble myself and see how much I rely on Him for His help in my life.  Even though I am far from perfect, He is, and it is a privilege to be able to serve Him. As I pondered the meaning of Easter this week I was led to a talk called The Atonement: All For All by Bruce C. Hafen. It talks a lot about how when we give everything to the Savior, our imperfect efforts combined with His perfection will be enough. The tough part is making sure that we give absolutely everything over to Him. I am so grateful for the Savior and His sacrifice for each and every one of us. I know He lives, and I am grateful for the opportunities that I have each day to testify of His divinity to those who live in Kentucky. 

Keep Striving,

Elder Rogers

Elder Moeller forgot something in the car and so he had to go grab it in the pouring rain

Rogers Lane