Virginia Chesapeake Mission

Virginia Chesapeake Mission

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Goodbye 2015!

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone had a most joyous Christmas Day! Ours definitely was! There's nothin' like some good Southern cookin' to celebrate! And it was wonderful to talk with our familes! And it was also nice to relax a little bit.

On Tuesday, we had our Mission Christmas Conference. It was great! We watched "A Muppet's Christmas Carol" and were uplifted by many musical numbers. My companion and I along with four other Elders sang "Angels We Have Heard on High". It went well. To conclude the conference, Our Mission President and the Kinston Stake Stake President addressed us. Both messages were wonderful and the Spirit was ever-present.

Christmas Eve was also tremendous! My companion made both of us Egg Nog milkshakes and we watched "Mr. Krueger's Christmas". Then we read the Nativity story from Luke 2. It was a good night and we were both excited for the morning.

The central message of the Stake President was to Trust in God. And also to live so that He could trust in us. Does He trust us? He will always love us, but as we follow Him and trust in Him, He will have greater trust and confidence in us. Proverbs 3:5-6 reads,

"5 ¶Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

I know that He will guide as as we trust in Him. I invite each of you with this upcoming New Year to make a resolution to Trust and follow God more closely. Great blessings will come as you do.
I love you all! Have a wonderful week and a spectacular New Year's Eve!

With Love,
Elder Rogers




Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Merry Christmas Y'all!

Hello Everyone!

This week was great! On Monday, our zone gathered together and we played some sports. That was really fun!On Wednesday we had our ward Christmas party. It was a success! There were so many people there. The whole gym was full and there were a lot of non-members and less-active members. The primary did a wonderful job singing and portraying the Nativity. And Santa even came!

On Sunday, our investigator came to church again! He's come two weeks in a row, so we're pretty excited for him! And what made it even better was that his girlfriend (who's a member) was feeling sick, so she couldn't come, but he came anyway! We had a wonderful Sacrament meeting. We sang in the ward choir and a great talk about peace and service and Christmas was given.
Oftentimes we hear the story of the first Christmas from the New Testament, but the people in America were also rejoicing and preparing for this wonderful event. Samuel the Lamanite prophesied,

"5 And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you.
6 And behold this is not all, there shall be many signs and wonders in heaven.
7 And it shall come to pass that ye shall all be amazed, and wonder, insomuch that ye shall fall to the earth.
8 And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall believe on the Son of God, the same shall have everlasting life." (Helaman 14:5-8)

We may ask ourselves if the wonder we feel when considering the birth of the Messiah is as great as the wonder of that people. Do we fall to the earth in amazement and wonder? Do we drop to our knees and express our gratitude to God for this miraculous gift? I would invite each of you to ponder the wonderful gift of His birth, ministry, and Atonement over the next few days and thank your Father in Heaven for it. I promise that a gratitude for Him will provide a sense of peace and that as we "...believe on the Son of God,...[we] shall have everlasting life." (verse 8)
I love you all! Have a Merry Merry Christmas and a wonderful week!

With Love,
Elder Rogers







Monday, December 14, 2015

His Name is Talbot!

Hello Everyone!

This week was good! I met my new companion on Wednesday. His name is Elder Talbot, and he's from North Ogden, Utah. He loves baseball and has been doing really well so far! It was pretty funny because his MTC companion was also named Elder Rogers! So now there are two Elder Rogers' in the Virginia Chesapeake Mission! Haha President Baker said that it was a temptation for him to put both of us together. That would have been confusing.

On Sunday, one of our investigators came to church, so that was pretty exciting! And I was speaking in Sacrament Meeting, so that just made me want to do that much better. I spoke about the Holy Ghost and how he can bring a mighty change of heart in each of us. We also practiced singing with the Primary, so that was fun! We'll be singing with them in our Ward Christmas Party.

We've been sharing "A Savior is Born" with just about everyone that we meet with. I love it! The names of the Savior given in Isaiah 9:6 are just so fitting. "...Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." We are SO blessed to know of His miraculous birth! He loves each of us deeply. This Christmas season let us all remember Him and allow Him to be the center of our lives. I know He lives. I know He has provided redemption to all who will believe on His name. May we always believe on His name and act accordingly.
I love you all! Have a spectacular week!


With Love,
Elder Rogers






Wednesday, December 9, 2015

A Savior is Born

Hello Everyone!

This week was a good one! We Deep Cleaned our apartment, and now it looks real nice. We also had lessons with a lot of Less-Active families this week. What made it even better is that a couple of them came to Church! It's always a great feeling to see them there.

Tranfer calls were on Saturday! I was thinking about it and it seems like I've always gotten a transfer call if I wasn't in training myself or training another missionary. I began to think that this might be the first time that I'd go without a call...but then President Baker called us! He told me that I would be training a new missionary! This will be my 3rd time and I'm very excited! My companion is getting transferred to a city called Kilmarnock in Virginia. He'll be opening up the area. And the Sister missionaries that also serve in Mt. Olive are both getting transferred away. We'll be getting two Spanish-speaking sisters. Lots of changes.

Church went really well yesterday. The Spirit was present as many bore testimony of the birth of the Messiah. I love this time of year. I felt God's love as I listened to the words of His beloved servants yesterday during the Christmas Devotional. And again as I watched and shared the new video, "A Savior is Born". We are so blessed to have received this beautiful gift from God. He truly loves all of us so much and knows us so deeply. This Christmas season, may we all remember why we celebrate and offer our greatest devotion to God. Let us praise Him and serve Him. I know He lives.
Have a wonderful week and spread the Christmas cheer!

With Love,
Elder Rogers

P.S. "A Savior is Born" is found at christmas.mormon.org

P.P.S. There are angel lights going down main street here. They're beautiful!




Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Delicious Delight!

Hello Everyone!

This week was full of service! On Wednesday we helped out at a pig farm and on Friday we helped nail in some floor boards. I haven't used a hammer for a long time!

Thanksgiving was fantastic! Turkey, ham, rolls, cheesy casseroles, fried corn bread, pecan pie, and chocolate cake! It was delicious! And the family we ate with was really nice.
On Sunday, a less-active member we've been working with came to church! It was so wonderful to see him there! He enjoyed it and even came to the ward choir practice that evening! He was a Bass, so he sat next to me and we both had a good time!

On Saturday afternoon, we got a call and were asked if we could both prepare 10 minute talks to give at Sacrament meeting the next day! They were not sure if the concluding speaker was going to be able to make it to speak due to a death in the family. So we accepted and spent the next few hours preparing to speak. We actually didn't end up speaking, and the original speaker came and gave a wonderful talk! But I learned a lot from preparing a talk on the Holy Ghost and how He can change us. I felt His influence as I relived certain spiritual experiences in my life. He truly bears witness of the Father and the Son. 3 Nephi 11:26 teaches that, "...the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me..." I know this is true. What a wonderful blessing it is that we can all receive such peace, direction, and knowledge directly from God. I would invite all of us to seek those things, for I know that they will be provided as we do.
I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

With Love,
Elder Rogers



With Grateful Hearts

Hello Everyone!

This week was a good one! On Tuesday we were visited by Elder Mervyn B. Arnold. I learned a lot, but what I remember most is the powerful testimonies born by Elder Arnold and President Baker. I love the Spirit that we feel when someone bears testimony of Spiritual truth. It is such a joyful feeling.

Later on in the week we went to an appointment with one of our investigators and were slightly disappointed to not find him home. But a blessing that came from that is that his cousin was home and said we could share our message with him. We had a great lesson and he was interested in learning more. As we make the most out of every situation we're in, we will see the Lord's hand working in our lives. There have been so many times in the mission where we went to a certain home or place with a particular reason in mind only to find out that The Lord needed us there, just for a different reason.

On Saturday we attended a baptism of a 9-year old girl the Sister missionaries had been teaching. The Spirit is ever-present at moments like that. It was a wonderful event.
On Sunday we had the chance to sing in the ward choir and begin preparing for some Christmas performances. It was quite enjoyable!

As Thanksgiving comes up this week I would invite each of you to offer a prayer to our Father in Heaven of only gratitude. I have found that doing this brings such a sweet peace. He has truly blessed us with all things. I love the words of King Benjamin in Mosiah 2:19 "And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thank your heavenly King!" I am so grateful for a Father in Heaven who has blessed us with all that we have. His love is great for us. The Savior's love is great for us. I pray that we can all be grateful to Him. Let us show our gratitude not only in thoughts and words, but in our actions. I know that as we do this, The Spirit of God will strengthen and uplift us and remind us all we truly have to be grateful for.
I love you all! Have a thankful week!

With Love,
Elder Rogers