Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Christmas


 
 

December 28, 2015

Hello everybody,

Well this week was really crazy. So for Christmas Eve we were able to stay up until 12:20 and watch the fireworks. So while we were waiting for the fireworks, we cooked sausages, ate ice cream and we also played Uno for a long time.

On Christmas we went to the house of member and they cooked a big lunch for us and we talked a lot.  Here a lot of times they throw water on people as a prank for Christmas. So as we were leaving their house they threw a bunch of water on us and we got soaking wet. Then we played some soccer in their backyard and that finished Christmas.

The other day we did service for a family and we helped pour a concrete patio. That was pretty tough because we had to make all of the cement by hand. The next day I was so sore, haha.

I had a really great Christmas, but most important of all I read a lot about the birth of the Savior and I was able to share it with people as well. I could really see the importance of sharing the birth of Christ and the true meaning behind Christmas.

I hope you all had a really great Christmas and I hope you all have a great New Years Eve.

Love you guys,

Elder Rogers







 

 

Christmas Conference


 

December 21, 2015

Hello Everybody,

This week there has been a lot of preparation for Christmas, we had our ward Christmas party which was really good. We were able to get to know some people that haven`t been to church in a while, so we talked to them and they even went to church yesterday, so that was really amazing to see that.

We had the Christmas conference this week and it was so great. Every zone sang a Christmas song. We sang “Jesus Once of Humble Birth” with “The First Noel” and it went pretty well. But it was really great to be able to hear all of the zones sing their songs and feel the spirit. Something else that was really great was to be able to talk to the missionaries that I haven`t seen for a long time. Something crazy is that the sister missionaries that I arrived with on the mission are going home this change. I cannot believe that they are already going home. It doesn`t seem like it has almost been a year and a half.

        I hope you all have an amazing Christmas love ya’ll,

Elder Rogers

 


 


 



Sunday, December 20, 2015

Preparing For Christmas Conference



 
 

 
 December 14, 2015

Well this week was pretty crazy.  On Saturday we did a big service project for the Silva family; it was really great. We did a lot of construction work.  It reminded me of pouring concrete and digging holes for my work before the mission. Before we worked, we had an American breakfast.  We even made maple syrup, pancakes and everything. We helped make the food and the family said that they really like the way that the Americans eat their breakfast because in Uruguay they mainly just eat bread for breakfast.

 
In our mission around Christmas time we have a Christmas conference and for the Christmas conference all of the zones sing a Christmas song. In our zone (Las Piedras) we are going to sing “The First Noel” with “Jesus Once of Humble Birth,” but there is a twist to it. The Latinos are going to sing “The First Noel” and the people from the states are going to sing “Jesus Once of Humble Birth” in English and it is going to be awesome! So to prepare us for the conference, we have been practicing a lot. Hopefully all will go well. Hope you all have a great week.

Love ya’ll,

Elder Rogers

 

Monday, December 7, 2015

A Christmas Message

December 7, 2015

Hello Everybody, 

      How are you all doing this week? I am doing great.  This week we went to Villa Maria (small town) and we found a family that wants to listen to us. When we got there she said we could teach her family right now and her friend was over as well. Her friend left and brought her kids to listen to the lesson.  It was amazing we had like 7 people listening to our message. The only problem is it is kind of far away so it is hard for them to go to church. 

       We have been focusing on sharing the video "A Savior is Born", we have a ton of hand out cards and we have been giving them to everybody. I really like the video it is about kids that testify about the birth of Jesus Christ. There is also another video that talks about how the world would be without the Savior and how sad it would be and how we could not repent from our sins we could not be happy. But, Christ was born.  He was born so we can repent and overcome our problems that we have. He can bring us home to where we came from and be able to live with God.

Love you all and I hope you all have a great week,

Elder Rogers

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Thanksgiving

 
 
December 1, 2015
Hello everybody!!!
How are you all doing? I`m doing really good.  This week we had a lot of conferences. First we had a zone conference with the President of the mission and it was really great.  We talked a lot about becoming missionary and not going on a mission. It is so important that we progress in our lives and keep on progressing and learn more about the gospel. Then we had stake conference this week and they talked a lot about ward council meetings and the importance of having meetings that talk about how we can help the members in our ward.
Well recently in our area it has been kind of hard to find investigators to teach so we found out that in our area we have like 4 or 5 little towns .  So yesterday we went and visited these towns and we found a good amount of people that said we could return and share more of our message. We are going to go back there Friday to visit them all, so we are really excited about that.
Thanksgiving was actually pretty good we met up with some other elders and had a Thanksgiving dinner. We had barbecue chicken, mashed potatoes, and juice. We even sat around the table and said the things that we are grateful for so that was pretty cool to be able to do that. In the morning we woke up early and played basketball and soccer.
Hope you all have a wonderful week,
Love Y’all,
Elder Rogers

 
 
P.S. I forgot to say that this week is changes and I am staying in the same area with the same companion. Wow.


 


  

Saturday, November 28, 2015

I’m a Different Person Than When I Started My Mission

November 23, 2015

We had a conference this week for all of the missionaries who just recently started their mission and the trainers. So we went down to Montevideo and had the conference and it was really great. I was able to learn a lot.  They talked a lot about focusing on using the pamphlets that we have in our mission to help the investigators increase their testimonies of the gospel. At the end of the conference we talked about the experiences we have had being trainers. It was really great to be able to hear all of the experiences that everybody has had.

In Uruguay one of the bus stations had a strike the day of the conference, so we weren't able to go back to our area right after the conference ended. We just worked in the areas that are close to where we had the conference. So when I was in the offices, my area was close to where we had the conference. I was able to visit my old area and I talked to Nilda (whom we baptized about 4 months ago). She is doing really great it was a miracle that I was able to see her. So I am so glad that they had a strike here because I was able to visit her.  She told me that she is probably going to visit San Jose (my area right now) soon and if she does visit we could totally visit her.

Elder Lopez is doing really great, even though he has to get used to walking all day in church shoes. I kind of forgot all of the things that a missionary has to learn in their mission. It is really great I am able to see my personal progression that I have had in my mission and I know I am a different person now than when I started the mission.

Hope you all have a great week.  Love y’all.

Elder Rogers

 

Monday, November 16, 2015

Member References and a Dog Bite

 

November 16, 2015

This week was kind was pretty interesting.  We have decided that this next week we are going to focus on asking for references from the members. We are going to have as many lessons as we can and focus on the missionary work here in the ward. The ward here in San Jose has been starting to focus on the less-active members of the church and helping them come back. 

Well something crazy happened this week for the first time in my mission. I got bit by a dog. We were talking to some guy in front of his house. We set up another time to visit with him and as we were leaving his dog ran up and bit me on the arm. It is nothing serious; I just have some little teeth marks in my arm that`s all. So that was probably the most exciting thing that has happened to me this week.

These next coming weeks are going to be crazy because we have a lot of conferences coming up so I will write more the next time.

Love you all and hope you all have a great week,

Elder Rogers

Exchanges with Elder Poulson

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Goals


November 9, 2015

Hello everybody!!!

This week was a really great week and it went by so fast, I can hardly believe it. Yesterday was really great.  We were able to talk to our branch president about goals for the ward and we set goals for baptisms for the month and also for attendance in church. 

In our stake we are going to have a stake conference at the end of this month. The stake wants as many people as possible to go to the conference. So we have decided what we are going to do is give an invitation to every member in the stake and we are going to go out with the members and give out the invitations. 

Friday I had exchanges and I worked with Elder Bess from Brigham City.  He is a really cool guy. He recently arrived in Uruguay; he has been here for about 3 weeks. We had a really great day. We talked to a lot of people and were able to get to know each other better.

Love you guys.  Hope you all have an amazing week,

Elder Rogers

 

The Best Mission

 
 
 


 
Monday, November 2, 2015

Hello everybody, 

This week was an amazing week, we started out the week with talking to everybody we could. Then later in the week we were able to see the fruits of our efforts.  As we passed by the people we talked to in the streets, we were able to find a couple of them and share the message of the gospel to them.

Elder Lopez has been working really hard lately.  We have been focusing on teaching about the restoration of the gospel. He is beginning to be able to teach the restoration really well. I love talking about the restoration of the gospel and explaining Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and the role it has played in my life. 

Today we had a zone activity and everybody is supposed to bring food to the activity. So the elders that I live with and I decided to make pizza for the zone.  We made like 6 or 7 pizzas it was so crazy. 

Hope you all have an amazing week,

Elder Rogers

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Not all Spanish is the Same

President Cook with Elder Lopez & Me

October 26, 2015

Hello everybody,

This week has been pretty crazy.  We had to travel a lot. But, this next week we don`t have to travel a lot, so that will be pretty nice. 

My new companion is Elder Lopez from Peru, and he just recently arrived in the mission. I never realized how many things there are to learn in the mission.  There is so many things. Elder Lopez is an amazing person and he wants to be the best missionary he can possible be.

So recently a lot of the investigators that we have have been really hard to find, so right now we are focusing on finding those investigators and also finding more new investigators. In Uruguay we do a lot of street contacts and also knocking doors, but the majority are from street contacts. 

So something that is pretty funny has been happening lately.  Well, my companion is from Peru.  In Peru they speak very differently than the Uruguayans and they have a lot of words that do not exist in Uruguay. So when we have conversations he says a bunch of words that I have never heard of. So I have to ask what does that mean and then I`m like, “Oh this is how you say this word in Uruguay. “

Love you guys,

Elder Rogers

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Landscaping

October 19, 2015

So.... this week is changes, I am staying in my area in San Jose and I`m going to be training a new Elder! 

So the scripture that I have been ponderizing this week was  3 Nephi 18:24:

Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up—that which ye have seen me do. Behold ye see that I have prayed unto the Father, and ye all have witnessed.

I love this scriptures and how it talks about how we need to be representative of Jesus Christ and hold up our light to the world.

This week we did service for a sister Alguilar.  We did a bunch of landscaping in her garden. First we dug up all of the weeds and some dirt and put some nylon on the bottom so that the weeds won’t grow back and then we put rocks on top. My campanion Elder LeaƱo and I are quite the landscaping crew haha.

Love,

Elder Rogers

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Ponderize Joshua 1:9

 
October 12, 2015
Hello everybody!
Well this week I do not have a ton of time to write because I sent a bunch of photos and that took up a lot of time. But, I do want to share something with you guys from General Conference. I don`t know if you guys remember, but in conference one of the members of the quorum of the seventy talked about how he ponders about a new scripture every week and he memorizes it and thinks about the scripture during the day. The scripture that I am going to ponderize is Joshua 1:9.
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
 I have been pondering about this scripture a lot and thinking about how I should now be afraid  because God will be with me wherever I go.
Just wanted to share that scripture with you guys and I hope you all have a wonderful week,
Love,
Elder Rogers