So the first of the week we had a lesson with one of our investigators, Ali, and this guy is a stud! He is from Iran. He speaks Persian, English, and German. I don't wanna jinx it somehow but our last lesson with him we asked him to be baptized on the 23rd and he said he will pray about it and find a day that will work best for him. So I hope that it still goes through! The last time we had a baptismal date set up the guy moved. But Ali is strong and we know he can do it.
So on Tuesday night to Wednesday morning I had the coolest opportunity to go on splits with our district leader. Elder Awerkamp is one of the most inspiring/uplifting guys I've ever met. He has two months left on his mission so his German is amazing and mine is just good enough to say "hi", "sorry", and "I'm from America". Haha just kidding luckily it's not that bad. But this Elder knows what he is doing. The coolest thing about him is that he and his twin brother opened their calls on the same day, got called to the same mission and went to the MTC the same time!! How freakin sick is that!! Just to add on, Elder Awerkamp plays just about every instrument in the book and he taught himself. He taught himself to play the organ while on his mission and it sounds like he has been playing it his whole life!! Anyways, the split was way good and I learned a ton being able to spend a day with him in his area. Oh and his area is called Worms. And it's not the insect, it's pronounced "vorms" for you Americans.
Oh so funny story I hope I didn't tell already, but we were on a street tram with a bunch of people and there were some American teenaged girls on there with us. We overheard them talking to a German about soccer and they asked him if soccer in Germany was the same in the US... we started laughing sooo hard they sounded like typical American girls. I think they were also blonde so that could explain some stuff.
So just to wrap up. Elder Stiles and I were teaching a Muslim named Tsopfion. He is a really good guy but the whole time we were talking with him it just sounded like he was trying to do the converting instead of us. We asked him if he had any interest and he said a little. He then pulled out the Muslim bible called the Croan and gave it to me. He said if I read this then I'll know how similar our churches are. I told him I can study anything but the Book of Mormon and the bible. Then he told me and my companion to repeat a phrase after him. My companion immediately said no we have to go to another meeting. We began to walk away quickly. Later I asked him what that was all about and he said that to join the Muslim church you just have to say a phrase. That phrase was the one that Tsopfion tried to get us to say. So I guess you could say I was about to be a Muslim!! Haha I had no idea!
Anyways to the spiritual thing this week. When we went to church yesterday I was really looking forward to just sitting in the chapel for a little and just relaxing. It had been a pretty tough day as far as thinking about home goes, and I wanted to just think about the spirit and everything it has done for me in my 19 years of life. Before I walked into the chapel the bishop stopped me and asked if I could say the opening prayer. I said yes for sure but started thinking about how "hard" my life is. Then the second counselor stopped me before I couldn't even sit down and asked if I could help pass. I willingly said yes and sat down. Elder Stiles and I were then asked to teach the young women's class about the priesthood. These three simple tasks made me so bugged for some reason and i just started thinking of all the stuff that has happened lately that I just can't stand. Well I eventually got up and stayed the prayer, then passed the sacrament. I didn't have a mean face on while I was doing them, but inside I was so bugged. Right after I got to sit down and listen to the speakers, although I didn't really understand much of anything, I felt so comforted and I knew that the spirit was telling me to just stop thinking and relax. I know at times we can be really stressed out on the mission and off the mission. But I also know that whatever is out into our lives and seams hard at the time, just remember to look back once you have gone through that and when another trial happens just think about how much it will strengthen you for the better. I know that the Lord didn't have me say the prayer and pass the sacrament for no reason, I know it was to both help me feel the spirit and hopefully help the ward feel the spirit.
Till next week!
Elder Rogers
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