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

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!

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

Cotton Galore!

Hello Everyone!

This week was good! On Monday we had a Zone Preparation day! That was really fun and there are a lot of great Elders in our zone. We played some basketball and soccer and other sports. On Friday we had exchanges and we got to help out a lady fix some posts on her farm.

Two of the less-active families that we taught this week came to church! It was really exciting to see them there. There is such a joy in attending church and partaking of the Sacrament, and that joy is just added upon when others whom you love also come.

Tomorrow we'll be blessed to be visited by Elder Mervyn B. Arnold of the Seventy. I'm looking forward to it! I'm also excited to see many of the Elders I've served around.

This week we experienced a miracle! As we were tracting in an area we aren't in often, one man let us in his home. We taught the Restoration and he said, "That just makes so much more sense than what I've heard before." It was nice to hear those words. The Spirit was present as we taught him and we are excited for our next appointment.

I have been trying to ponderize verses of scripture each week and this week I chose Alma 60:23. Especially the second half. It reads, "...Now I would that ye should remember that God has said that the inward vessel shall be cleansed first, and then shall the outer vessel be cleansed also." I know that this is a true principle. As we cleanse and purify our Spirits and inner vessels the rest of our lives will be purified and blessed. As we put Christ first, everything else will fall into place. What a blessing it is to have this restored gospel in our lives! May we all live and apply it as we draw closer to our perfect Savior.

I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

With Love,
Elder Rogers

P.S. Here's a picture of me in a cotton field a year ago and then one of me in a cotton field this week.

Goldsboro Zone

Hello Everyone!

This week was a good one! I'm starting to get used to the area and we've been staying busy! This week we met several less-active members and got to know them. It's been wonderful to teach and love these people and feel the Spirit of the Lord as we do so. This gospel will truly bless all those who heed its message.

On Friday we had Zone Meeting! It went really well! I'm in the Goldsboro Zone now, so it was nice to meet all the different missionaries. This is the first Zone meeting in 2015 that hasn't been in the Kinston East Zone! We talked about helping investigators and members keep commitments and I was truly edified.

This week I thought a lot about Spiritual things and temporal things. In Matthew 26:41, the Savior says, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." What a true statement! There is great power in strengthening our spiritual stamina and relying more fully upon the Lord than upon the arm of the flesh. As we do the simple things like scripture study and prayer, our Spirits will be filled and we will receive strength to live our lives as the Lord would have us. He is so merciful and loving and He is waiting with open arms to help us in every aspect of our lives.

I love you all! Have a scripture-filled week!

With Love,
Elder Rogers


P.S. Here's me in a field and also a picture of our humble abode.

Mt. Olive Arrival!

Hello Everyone!

This week was a good one. It was full of change! On Wednesday, I met my new companion, Elder Funk and headed off to my new area. I've met a bunch of new people this week and have enjoyed Mt. Olive thus far! We live right next to the Mt. Olive pickle plant and some mornings as we go out to work,we can smell the fresh aroma of pickles! Haha so that might take some getting used to. My companion is really great, though, and our home is nice! Elder Funk is from Mesa, Arizona and he really likes trucks.

On Thursday, we saw a miracle! We were tracting and a man answered the door. He told us that he wasn't really interested, but went to get his wife. She wasn't interested either, but right before we were about to leave, I taught them briefly about the Restoration and how there were 12 Apostles on the earth today. That caught their attention and they let us sit down and share the message more fully. Afterwards, the man who at first rejected us apologized that he had done that. He was quite sincere and expressed how sorry he was. It is amazing how much a little understanding can change ones perspective.

We also had a Trunk Or Treat event on Saturday that was really fun! They had a little picture place set up that my companion and I got our pictures at. We also handed out some candy. It was a good time!

One spiritual insight that I had this week came as I ended my fast. I gained such strength throughout fasting and as I concluded, I read a few verses from Isaiah 58. The whole chapter is powerful, but verse 8 says, "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward." I know that fasting is inspired of God. I felt so much peace and courage as I fasted with real intent yesterday. As we obey God's commandments with a willing heart, all of the promises He gives are sure. He truly will grant us each blessing that He promises with unfailing certainty. His love is infinite. I pray that we will all strive to love Him as He loves us.
I love you all! Have a joyous week!



Elder Rogers