It Began in Weekly Planning

Hello Everyone!

This week was great! On Monday we had a Zone Preparation day. It was really fun to meet together with everyone and play some sports!

We saw a miracle this weekend. But it began during our weekly planning session. The Spirit was present as we planned, and a we received some revelation for a certain investigator we hadn't focused on recently. We were inspired to teach him in a particular member's home. So we took action and those plans took place on Saturday. We set him on a baptismal date, and he came to church. He's excited, and so are we! I am so grateful for little miracles like this.

Another of our investigators also came! And 3 or 4 Less-Active's we were hoping would come! It was wonderful! And our Bishop and Stake President both spoke since it was Ward Conference. What made it even better was that there was food afterwards! We a delicious Southern meal!

Recently I've been marking and trying to memorize several verses from the Book of Mormon. There are so many inspiring verses in there! I love it! One of them was from 2 Nephi 9:45. It reads, "O, my beloved brethren, turn away from your sins; shake off the chains of him that would bind you fast; come unto that God who is the rock of your salvation." It's just so simple. How grateful I am for a Savior who provides a path of deliverance. He is so loving. Let us turn from all of our sins and turn to God. I know that as we do, peace, joy, and happiness will enter our lives. We will have a great purpose and meaning behind our actions. I know that this gospel is true. And I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

With Love,
Elder Rogers

"Do You Have a Dinner Appointment?... Alright, We'll Feed You!"

Hello Everyone!

This week was miraculous! Interviews with our Mission President went really well. President Baker is a wonderful man. On Thursday, we had a lesson with a less-active member that we had been trying to meet with ever since I got here. And we also had a lesson with a member and his wife who's not a member. Both were great!

On Friday, we were out teaching with a member and as we drove past the library, we saw one of our investigators standing outside it. So we stopped and shared a message with him! We hadn't seen him in a while. And then he came to church this week!
There were 3 times this week that members offered to feed us on the spot! On Sunday we didn't think we had any meals, but then we ended up with a lunch and a dinner appointment!
At 7:30 on Saturday night, we got a call and my companion was asked to speak in church. Not much notice, but he did great!

I've been reading the beginning of The Book of Mormon recently. I love Nephi's words! He teaches the importance of prayer in 1 Nephi 18:3. It reads, "And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things." This was as Nephi was building a boat. When we have to do difficult things or go through many afflictions, we must turn to the Lord. Not only will He provide a way for us to accomplish great things, He will provide peace. I know He is there. And He yearns to hear from us. His love for each of us, His children, is great. May we love Him as He loves us.

I love you all! Have a fantastic week!!

With Love,
Elder Rogers

P.S. Here's our mission logo.

Miracles!

Hello Everyone!

This week was great! We saw some amazing miracles this week, but I'm going to save those for the end. On New Year's Eve, my companion and I went to the Mt. Olive pickle drop. At 7 PM they dropped a 3-foot, glowing pickle into a big bucket. (One they use to make pickles I think...) They did it at 7 so everyone can go home and get to bed on time, which was nice for us missionaries since we can't stay up late anyway!

We had a great Zone meeting on Friday. A Bishop from one of the wards came and spoke for a little while, so that was nice. We're going to read through Preach My Gospel as a mission as well, so that's been great!

Alright, now for the miracles. On Monday night, our Elder's Quorum President was scheduled to come out teaching with us. Our appointment for that night had canceled a day or two before, so we were going to just try to stop in on a few people with him. The first person we tried, we ended up having an amazing lesson and our Elder's Quorum President was just excited about it the whole way home. Then Tuesday came and a Brother had signed up to come out to a lesson with us. Around 4 or 5 our appointment for the night canceled. So we called a bunch of people and couldn't find anyone to go visit. Before I knew it, we were driving to our home so the Brother could take us out. I was unsure of where we would go, but after praying I felt peace and knew that it would work out. The first place we tried was an investigator's home and they let us right in. We had a wonderful lesson! The same thing happened on Wednesday! We had a member signed up to come out teaching with us, and our scheduled appointment canceled. The first person we tried let us in and we had a great lesson! Our God truly is a God of miracles! "But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are." (Mormon 9:11) I know that God lives. He loves. And He will truly perform miracles in our life according to our faith.
Have a wonderful week and look for the little miracles in your life!


With Love,
Elder Rogers

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

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

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!