#Hallelujah

Hello Everyone!

This week was wonderful! We've been staying really busy and teaching a lot. The Restored gospel is the best message anyone could share!

On Friday we had District Meeting and we also went on exchanges with our District Leader, Elder Bullinger. He's my MTC companion, so it was really fun to be companions with him again (For a day), 18 months later!

There was a man that the Sister missionaries here have been teaching and he was baptized on Saturday evening. It was a wonderful service. And Church on Sunday was absolutely marvelous. The Spirit was strong and we were edified. I know that as we continually follow Christ and keep the commandments, we will be given continued strength.

During Fast and Testimony meeting, I bore my testimony about how the gospel is all about love. The Plan of Salvation was made out of love and carried out because of love. John is truly correct when he states, " He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him." (1 John 4:8-9) What a great privelege it is to serve our Father and help all to feel His abounding love! One way we can share His love is by helping others learn of Him and Follow Him. The Church recently came out with an Easter video that helps do just that. I would encourage you to share that video with a friend or family member. I know that as you share God's love, you will feel it in your life. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I love you all! Have a lovely week!

WIth Love,
Elder Rogers


P.S. The video is found at www.mormon.org/easter

Grand Caravan Ridin'

Hello Everyone!

I'm in Virginia now! It was a wonderful, crazy, stressful, and fulfilling week! The first three days of the week, I packed and said goodbye to a few of the members in Mt. Olive. I'm definitely going to miss a lot of people down there. On Wednesday, a member drove us to Greenville, NC where transfers took place. I got to ride up to Virginia with two of my past companions, Elder Dudley and Elder Ferrero, so that was fun!

On Thursday was a mission leadership meeting and then Friday was Zone Meeting! It's been 5 months since I've conducted and led a Zone Meeting, so I was a little rusty, but it still went really well. Our Zone is great and everyone was excited and happy.

My new companion is Elder Davis. He's from Layton, Utah and he loves rock climbing. He's been on his mission for almost 18 months. He's great and I'm excited to serve with him here in Suffolk!

We've already seen miracles here. The Lord's hand is so prevalent in this work. I know that 2 Nephi 27:23 is true. It reads, "23 For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith." He truly does do miracles. As we exercise our faith in Him, He will reach out and miracles will be present in our lives.

I love each of you! Have a miraculous week!

With Love,
Elder Rogers

P.S. Yes, our assigned vehicle is a Grand Caravan.

Yes, It's called the "Virginia" Chesapeake Mission

This week was exciting! I'm getting transferred to Virginia on Wednesday! This will be my very first time serving in Virginia. I have absolutely loved serving in North Carolina, but I am also excited to serve in Virginia. We got transfer calls on Saturday. Elder Talbot is staying in Mt. Olive, and his new companion will be Elder Weber, who has been out for about 6 months. My new area is the Bennett's Creek ward in Suffolk, VA. My companion's name is Elder Davis and I will be serving as a Zone Leader again.

On Tuesday we experienced a miracle! We were in a town we don't go to very often because it's far away and we were headed back to Mt. Olive. I saw a sign for an apartment complex and felt prompted to try to go find it. We ended up at four homes that looked like there were people home, so we decided to knock on their doors. The last one was a man from Haiti and he invited us in to teach him. We began to teach the Restoration and about halfway through he told us that his son was a member! He called his son out of his room and when I saw him, I realized that I had seen him at church before! So now we're teaching the father. We'll see where it goes!

On Wednesday we had some crazy weather! We ended up staying at a Less-Active members home for about 3 hours because we had to stay inside due to the tornadoes! Luckily we were safe and the next day there wasn't much storming.

I have been "ponderizing" a verse of scripture each week for a few weeks now. This week I chose Ether 6:12. It is when the Jaredites land upon the promised land. Part of it reads, " [they] did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them." Our Father in Heaven is so merciful! Whenever I personally thank Him in prayer I feel His Spirit in great abundance. We have so much to be grateful for! Think about how He has blessed you in your life. And then thank Him. I know that He loves us. As we express our gratitude for His tender mercies, we will realize more and more of them in our lives.

I love each of you! Have a grateful week!

With Love,
Elder Rogers

Real Southern Cookin'

Hello Everyone!

This week went really well! We stayed really busy and a couple less-active's we've been working with came to church yesterday. We also went to a place called "Grady's BBQ" on Saturday for lunch. It was so delicious!

Our investigator from Haiti has been doing really well! He said he'd be baptized if he found out the restored gospel was true! We've been doing our best to help him feel the Spirit and progress in the gospel.

We've been working with a certain less-active each week for some time. Recently we started reading The Book of Mormon with him. (Alma 32-42) It has been wonderful! He's started to keep commitments of reading the Book of Mormon which he never would before. He also told us that he's starting to think of gospel-related topics throughout the week. He has been remembering a time in his life when he was quite active in the church. There is great power in The Book of Mormon! I know that it is inspired of God and truly an impacting missionary tool. In 2 Nephi 33:10 Nephi testifies that his words are the words of Christ.

"And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good."

I know that Christ loves us. He is so very real and He can help us so much in life. The Book of Mormon testifies of His divine mission and will bring us closer to Him. I invite each of you to make daily scripture study a part of your lives. I know that as you do, you will feel His love in greater capacity.

With Love,

Elder Rogers

God is Love

Hello Everyone!

This week was inspirational! Early on in the week we found some new investigators, so that was exciting! They both seem pretty interested, so we will see how it goes. One of them expressed how much she wanted to change her life for the better. The Spirit was present as we testified that the restored gospel is exactly what she needs.

On Friday, our mission president and his wife came down to North Carolina for a Specialized Training. It was wonderful! We practiced teaching and learned much about teaching together as a companionship.

The next day, Saturday, was the first session of Stake Conference that we went to. A returning less-active family drove us. They are the best! And the meeting was full of the Spirit. Our mission president, his wife, and some Stake leaders spoke and brought such an amazing feeling into the room.
On Sunday, a less-active member that we've been working with came to Stake Conference! The meeting was wonderful and we learned a lot!

One thing that stuck out to me this weekend was the power of love. President Baker really emphasized this. In 1 John 4:7-9 it reads, 

"7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him."

I know that God loves each of us. I know that His Beloved Son loves each of us. No matter what. But when we follow Them and show our love for Them, we can feel Their love so much more clearly. As we live this gospel, our love for God and those around us will continually increase. Think of how you can show greater love. I promise that as you do, you will feel His love. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I love you all! (And not just because I talked about love in this email!) Have a wonderful week!

With Love,
Elder Rogers

P.S. We got some hearts from the Young Women in our ward for Valentine's Day!

So Much to Be Grateful For!

Hello Everyone!

This week went well! We had some setbacks, but were able to press forward with faith. No matter what we go through, we can always rely on the Lord and He will deliver us or provide strength. And we had some miracles on Sunday!

The first miracle was that one of our investigators made it to church. It was exciting because he brought his little daughter and he also told us that his wife would probably be interested in the gospel as well.

The second miracle came that night as we taught a less-active member. We've been working with him for a while and he's been through a lot in his life. When we first started meeting with him he would not read the scriptures or accept many commitments. But recently he's been reading the chapters we offered him and last night he thanked us for our efforts on his behalf and gave each of us a hug.
This gospel is such a great blessing! God loves us so tenderly. And He has blessed us so greatly with the gift of His Son and so much else. May we thank Him and offer our gratitude daily. A verse from the book of Ether illustrates this simple principle. Talking of the Jaredites, verse 12 of chapter 6 reads, " And they did land upon the shore of the promised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them." As we all express gratitude for His tender mercies, we will be more aware of them. He truly loves us. I know that He lives and is yearning to be a part of our daily lives. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I love each and every one of you! Have a great week!


With Love,
Elder Rogers

You'd Like a Free Bible? Our Pleasure!

Hello Everyone!

This week was great! We stayed real busy and saw many miracles! A few of those had to do with some headquarter referrals. Whenever people request a free Bible or Book of Mormon or something like that online, the missionaries in the area are notified. Most of the time these people aren't the most interested, but they mainly just wanted a free Bible. But this week that was different. We got 3 new investigators from those types of referrals! They were all really interested, we gave each of them a Book of Mormon in addition to the Bible, and we'll be continuing to teach them. It's been exciting!
A couple of the Less-Active's we've been teaching are convinced that their life is good right now, or that living the gospel will not bring happiness. No matter where we are in life, the gospel will always bring us greater happiness, peace, and direction. I know that.

Other than that, we've been doing a lot of teaching. It's such a wonderful thing to share the beautiful truths of the restored gospel. One of the young men in our ward is leaving on his mission in a few weeks to Guatemala! He gave his farewell talk yesterday about 'hope'. Hope is such a crucial thing. No matter what we go through or experience, we can always have hope through the Atonement of Christ. In Moroni 7:41, we learn, "...ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise." We can always have hope for eternal life as we rely on Christ. He has prepared the way. Now we must choose to follow in His footsteps. I know that as we do, our lives will be joyous. Challenges and affliction may come, but we will always have a hope to one day dwell with God. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I love each of you. Have a hope-filled week!

With Love,
Elder Rogers