Signing off

  Well this week was a good one for sure! I can’t believe how fast time goes, it makes no sense. I’m so grateful for this area though! I’m so glad i was able to be here for so long and meet some many awesome people. It’s awesome to be able to work with so many awesome people that are all working towards helping others come unto Christ.
  But, a little bit about the last 7 days! On the weekend we did some service for a German family that had a ton of wood in their driveway and they needed it in their garage. After we moved a ton of wood we went finding for a little bit longer before our dinner appointment with the McLaren family. They are way cool and brother McLaren does tons of family history work. Actually, the member we met with the day after that also does a lot of family history! It’s way cool to hear stories from them about their ancestors and stories that they know now.
  Sunday was crazy! A couple members in the ward were at dinner a couple nights before Sunday and one of them was wearing a BYU hoodie. Their waitress was interested in their hoodie and told them that she wants to go to school there but doesn’t know if she had to be a member or not. But she also said that she believes what the Mormons believe in! It was crazy! So she made it to church, she is a super cool girl that can speak 4 languages and is way mature! She had a couple questions about the church, but the Spirit was able to testify to her about what we were saying. It was so awesome to meet her and we gave her over to the sisters since she’s a single young woman.
  Earlier in the week we went finding in this city called Linden and this city was insane! We got there and we just started knockin doors and everyone who answered would just wave us away. Which was no big deal until we ran into this cat that was pretty much possessed! This cat just followed us around and kept meowing at us all weird! Elder Adams was super scared for some reason, but it was more funny than anything. Eventually the cat stopped following us and we were able to talk to some cool people. No one had tons of interest, but a couple were willing to at least let us in and hear us out.
  Wednesday was awesome, we had an awesome district meeting and the senior missionaries, the Jacobs, made us an awesome lunch. They are such great people and I am waaay glad I was able to serve alongside them. After district meeting we met with a couple people that sadly asked us to kindly not come back but were grateful we stopped by and chatted. We had German class and were able to talk to the young men about how to teach as missionaries. We definitely aren’t perfect at
it, but it was awesome to be able to talk with them and give them pointers on how to reach teach by the Spirit.
   Today we visited a castle in Heidelberg and thinking about it  I think I visited the same castle my first pday on the mission, that’s crazy!
   But just to close out one last time, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about success and becoming who our Heavenly Father knows we can become. I realized that our success/satisfaction comes from our
personal conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. This conversion propels us to keep going and keep looking forward. As we do this we can’t help but let our example beam out like a light for others to
acknowledge.
    I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know the Book of Mormon testifies of Jesus Christ and has that power of conversion within its pages. All of life’s big questions can be found and
answered inside the Book of Mormon. I also know with my whole heart that the healing, redeeming, never-ending power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ is needed for us to be able to put our bad habits and sins in the past and follow our Savior, Jesus Christ. Don’t be so quick to run from the outstretched arms who’s hands were scarred for your eternal salvation. Because Jesus Christ went through such a hard (to us impossible) trial for each one of our sins we don’t have to be sad throughout our life on earth. I know this to be true because I have experienced this power in my own life. Be positive, know that there is happiness coming, and look to Christ for comfort and council!
    I hope everyone has a great week! I’ll see you next week!
Elder Rogers

Hmm, so you’re Trinitarian..?

Wow what a week, people are funny and it was great to meet with some people! Honestly this was one of the most spiritual weeks of my life. I learned a lot about revelation in my studies and especially about the power of the Book of Mormon.
    To start off, last Thursday evening we had a member split with some of the guys in the ward. We visited some members that the ward council has been talking about for a while and sadly all the people that me and my split companion visited weren’t home, or they were really busy at the moment. But we still had a good time!
    On Friday we knocked on some guy's door and he said that he knows us so he let us in. We got talking about the church of course and he was asking tons of questions about it, which was great but we felt like we were being interrogated! But sometimes that is the case. The discussion continued on and we were on the topic of the Godhead for a while. We told him that God the eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ are separate beings; that both have bodies of flesh and bone and that with the Holy Ghost they make up the Godhead. They aren’t one God, but they are one God in purpose. He then leaned back and thought for a second, then said, “Hmm, i never knew Mormons were Trinitarian?”
(Meaning we believed in the trinity, which we don’t). We tried to explain it over and over different ways with scriptures and he still wasn’t getting it. Eventually he asked us, if we were to die right
now, do you know you would go to Heaven? I had always thought of this question, but it was the first time someone I had just met asked me that. We thought about it for a second and then gave our answers.
    After that little discussion with that guy I started to think about having that knowledge and faith that if you did all of a sudden die would you go to Heaven. I'm very grateful for the knowledge of the
plan of salvation and I hope everyone can receive that testimony of it as well.
    I can’t really remember Saturday too much, except for we met with our only German investigator and he is super cool! We talked about the restoration and the Book of Mormon and he seemed to like it. He’s got a way dope beard and I’m pumped to teach him further.
    Sunday was great, a member in one of the wards decided to take one of us to go visit a new member in the ward that was inactive in her last ward. So he wanted to go visit her and see how she was doing or if there was anything we could help with. Luckily I got to go and I’m
so glad! I really look up to this member a lot.  When I first met him I thought that he didn’t really like me all that much, but over the time with eating dinner with his family and working with him with
missionary work I’ve come to really like this guy. Since I go home soon he was giving me some great advice about when I get home. Pretty much advice on sticking it out through the hard times and holding to my testimony. It was really awesome and I’m so grateful for him.
Before we met with the member that we visited, he suggested that we said a prayer in the car before we walked up to the door. It was super spiritual and I can’t even describe how awesome it was to be sitting in some car in the middle of nowhere, in Germany, feeling the spirit
speak to us. It was like the Holy Ghost was in the car and said the prayer for us.
    Other than that we met with a former investigator that is super cool! He was this jacked dude with long hair and a beard, pretty much like Tarzan just had clothes on hahahahaha! He is really chill and
laid back about a lot of things so religion isn’t a worry for him.
    Well I just realized this email is already getting thick so I’ll do you guys a favor and end it! Haha! Lately I have been studying revelation and I realized I wasn’t understanding it as well as i should’ve. So I went to God in prayer and asked for help! I realized that I wasn’t being specific in my prayers. I had forgotten how all-knowing and all-powerful God is and for some reason I thought that he wouldn’t understand me if I asked him to help me understand revelation as I study it. Instead of praying for really general things, we need to be more specific! God knows exactly what we mean! He is that friend that you can go to about anything and He will understand you perfectly!!!! Trust in Him, know that He is there and don’t give up.
    Jacob 4:8 says
“Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of his ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore; brethren, despise not the revelations of God.”
    Everyone have a great week!
Elder Rogers

It’s already March

Well, another week is gone just like that! It’s crazy how fast it goes when you’re busy! Winter finally hit and it’s actually cold now, it felt like a really long fall until this week! Last weekend we had a split with the other elders! I got to stay in Ktown with Elder Heller! It was awesome to be with a German for a whole day and just get to really speak the language and learn some great tips from him. He’s a super great missionary. On our split we helped a family move some wood from their front yard to the back and then had a super great lunch with them. They are a really cool, humble German family. It was super strange to have a German appointment because I’ve only had American appointments for the last 10 months! Not complaining they have been awesome. After that we had an appointment set up with a less-active member, but he wasn’t able to make it sadly. So we went finding! We didn’t have a ton of success, but it was still good to get out and go work.

   Sunday was great, Elder Adams and I both gave talks in one of the wards and then elder Ashworth got up to bear his testimony. Elder Adams and I were super psyched out to give talks, but they both went great and we didn’t go over, so the bishopric was happy. Earlier this week we had a great Missionary Conference and learned a ton about the importance of using the Book of Mormon because of the power that it has.

    We also went on a member split with some priests and the bishop from the ward and it was a ton of fun! Elder Adams, a  priest, and the bishop went by on an investigator and they had a really good lesson with him. Elder Ashworth, me and two priests went to another appointment with members and had a blast. We taught them about how we can become immune from the temptations of the adversary and how important it is to set goals and stick with them.

    Well just to wrap up I hope everyone knows how important it is for us to be converted. As i studied for my talk last Sunday i learned that Alma the younger wasn’t converted when the Angel appeared to him and the sons of Mosiah, he was converted to much fasting and much prayer. In other words, it took time, it took enduring trials and learning for himself. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is what we can use to be converted, it’s what gets us on the path to Christ and keeps us on it. I hope everyone has a great week!!!

Elder Rogers

Weekly

Hey I got no time and I put my weekly off for way too long and now I’m crunchin it in!! This week was great! We talked to some cool people that are ready for the gospel and we are excited to get to know them more! It’s also starting to get pretty cold! We have been staying warm though!

I'm sorry my weekly is terrible, but what do you do! I hope you all have a great week and I just want you guys to know that it’s better for us to be all into the gospel than to only be a little in or not at all! I challenge all you guys to read elder Sabins talk from two conferences ago titled, all in or something like that!
Catch ya next week!!

Elder Rogers

Home made, from China

This week was pretty good! There was a lot of craziness that happened, but it’s still been a good time here in Ramstein, like always. I’m super happy to know that I’m finishing my mission here, I had thought that when I got to this point I’d just sit in the back of the boat and let my companion do all the work, but it’s totally not like that! When anyone gets to the end of their mission they should be
at the front of the boat because they have good experience and have been doing missionary work for a while. I’m grateful for the Lord and everything he has blessed me with as I have tried my hardest to be the best representative of His church as I can be.
    As far as investigators and stuff, Douglas was busy when we stopped by so we will be coming back this weekend. We were supposed to meet with Tim this weekend as well, but he just fell out... it is what it is. And Anthony is actually making some good improvement! We had stake conference last weekend and he was able to make it! The stake presidency gave great talks as well as the other members that were chosen. Elder Sabin was also there and he really reached out to everyone there and spoke to their needs. We haven’t been able to meet with Anthony since, but as far as we know he knows a couple people from the ward already and that he liked the conference.
     Well besides that, it’s been crazy talking to people on the streets or at their door with three people. I can’t remember if I mentioned it last week, but Elder Adams and I have another Elder with us. His name is Elder Ashworth and he is in his second transfer so we are kind of double training him. It’s super weird, but it’s pretty fun. I’ve never had 2 companions at the same time so it’s cool to see how it works!
    Anyways, I’m very grateful for this work, for the holiness of it and also the miracles we see just by putting faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ. Take a second every night (before or after your nightly prayer) and reflect on what Jesus Christ has done or what He is currently doing for you. When you sincerely think of Christ and the suffering that He did for you individually, you will come closer to Him and feel more of His perfect, never-ending love. I have felt this love! I know what it’s like to feel so terrible that you don’t think the light of Christ can reach you, or that His love wasn’t meant for
you. But just like I was, you’re wrong. His love, light, and mercy are for you and me and everyone! Individually and always! He wants us to be happy, why would He go through all the suffering and pain for you personally if He didn’t care about your happiness!? He does truly love us, and that love is real because he loves us and knows what’s best for us.
     Everyone have a great week!!!!!!!!
Elder Rogers, the older one

Schiebetür, Schiebetür

    This week was super great! We had transfer calls on Saturday night and Elder Adams and I will be staying in Ramstein!! I’m super glad, I’ve been here for quite a while and I don’t have a while left at all so I’m happy to be here for longer. Anyways, sadly elder Clarke got transferred. We all miss him tons and I wish he was staying, but it is what it is and the Lord needs him somewhere more than i want him here. But we will see each other again so no biggy!!
     Sooo last week on Friday and Saturday, and this last Monday is and the other elders helped a lady and her family build some new furniture in their new apartment. One of the things we helped her build was a huge sliding door closet cabinet thingy. It was terrible and took us sooo long to figure out the instructions. Anyways, it took us about 12 hours total but we eventually got it done!!
     Other than that, last week our appointments with our investigators fell out, but this week we were able to meet with one named Douglas and one named Anthony. They have been really awesome and we were able to have great discussions about the church with them. Anyways, Tim is also progressing really well and we are hopefully meeting with him on Friday! He is super close to getting an answer to be baptized, so it’s just a matter of sticking with him.
     Oh one thing I forgot is that elder Adams and I will be getting another missionary with us on Saturday! He is pretty new on the mission, but his companion is pretty ill right now so we will be having him for the transfer. We are excited but also hoping all is well for the other missionary.
     Well I hope everyone has a great week! I’m grateful for all that the Lord, Jesus Christ teaches us and for everything that we are able to accomplish through Him! I love this church and the safety that it brings into our life’s! I know it’s true and I can’t deny.
     Elder Rogers

America

Hey everyone so this week was great! We had our district meeting on Tuesday and it was the last one for the transfer! Elder Clarke was pretty sure he was leaving haha! I also assigned him to teach about the law of chastity and he thought I was joking so he didn’t prepare! He asked me to just cut it out! He’s a dork but he is probably one of the funniest guys I know! We are like best friends forever now. Also he doesn’t have anybody waiting for him at home so if you want his email HMU!

We had a way Good Friday this week! I was on a split with Elder Clarke’s companion (German...) we met with one of our investigators Douglas and he wouldn’t pray because he didn’t want to like show God that he was doubting. But then we just talked for a while and he agreed that he needed to pray about the Book of Mormon! Then we met with Tim and it was way good and we asked if he wanted to be baptized and he said yes! He hasn’t gotten an answer yet but he is still praying and willing so now it’s just a matter of time! Then we went on base to chili’s with a less active member and he is like the coolest guy in the world! So it was one of the funnest splits I’ve had!

So we got a text from Douglas and he just said guys I got an answer but in a weird way but I think I understand it haha! So then he came to church on Sunday and told the whole Sunday school class that he missed a call from this over Facebook from this random guy and so he wrote him and asked him and the guy said it was just an accident! So he looked at this guys profile and it said he was from Heaven and working for God! So then he said that there was no way it was a coincidence to accidentally call someone through Facebook! So that was his answer haha!

I'm gonna wrap this puppy up with my testimony about prayer and receiving an answer to prayer.  I know that God hears and answers our prayers and He does it in a way that we will know it! So don’t get down if you don’t get answered right away cause He will answer you!
Love you guys!

Weird smells and crazy grandmas

  This week was super great, but also super weird! Pretty much Monday was just weird as heck, but we got through and got to meet with our investigators! On Monday, we covered for the other elders because they didn’t have enough time to get to it. Anyways, I won’t go into too much detail about the appointment, just know that it was one of the weirdest experiences I’ve had on my mission and that it stunk like strong cat pee and 100-year-old cigarette smoke! It was terrible and the guys were just crazy, but we did our best to chat with them and finally left after 2 hours. One of them is an inactive member and his friend is a catholic.
    Also on Monday, as we were dooring one day, we came upon this street where some grandma just stood outside her apartment and stared at us. She wasn’t very friendly and when we said hi she just growled. Anyways, after we said hi she went inside her house and continued starring at us through the window. We tried waving but she wasn’t happy about that either. But we finished that street and it was all good after that!
    We got to meet with one of our investigators last week and he is doing great! He made it to church this last Sunday and was taking notes during the talks that were given. We will be meeting with him and two other of our investigators tomorrow! I’m super happy that he is finally getting back to us. It’s been like 2 months of just trying to get back in contact with him. Hard work pays off though!
    Well, I don’t got too much for you guys, this week was just good! I'm grateful to be out here and be able to share the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ with everyone that i can! I hope everyone has a great week!
-Elder Rogers

The 17th prophet of the church

  This week was great!! We actually got a lot done and saw some sweet success! We also did a ton of dooring, we just about doored a whole city in two days. We got a lot of no’s and a couple of ya I guess you can come back, so it wasn’t too bad! Besides dooring we met with a couple of our investigators! They are doing great, one of them is still working with his wife to help her realize that we aren’t going to steal anything from her or anything, just want to help them come closer to Christ!
     Our other investigator is doing great, he is making a little bit more progress than the other and his wife hasn’t met us or even knows about us so we are good with her for now. Hahaha! We sadly didn’t see him at church on Sunday, but hopefully he will be able to make it this coming Sunday!
     Also this week, we met with Lester, our recent convert. He is doing ok but could be better. He is just working through a lot right now and we are just helping him increase his faith in Christ. We are planning on giving him some space for a while so he can search the scriptures and come to God in prayer to see what he really wants to pursue in life.
     We also got to meet with a guy that we doored into from a couple weeks back! He is here with the army and it’s just him and his wife. They are barely older than us and super chill. When we met with him we didn’t have a ton of time, but we had a great short lesson with him. We talked about God and He answers all of our prayers, and that we can ask Him anything we want and He will give us an answer. He told us we can definitely come back so next time we plan on talking about the Restoration with him.
     Well that’s about all that happened this week, there was probably more I just have no idea right now. I’ll try to send some pics from the week, but I’m not even sure if I took any. Before I wrap up I just wanted to share how grateful I am for prophets that are called of God. I know that Jesus Christ leads this one and only true church and I know that President Russel M. Nelson is meant to be called as the 17th prophet of the church at this time. I’m excited to hear from him and to increase my knowledge in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
     Ciao!!
-Elder Rogers