Wed, 8 Dec 2010

Howdy Everyone,

Well this week has sure gone by fast. I blinked and it was gone, really. Last Wednesday we flew to Halifax for Zone Leader Council, a meeting with all the Zone Leaders and the Assistants and President. It went really well. We set, what we feel like the mission can accomplish this upcoming year. Unfortunately, I won't be able to be there the whole year, but I can sure help it along the best I can. When we flew back to Newfoundland, we flew in at midnight, NL time. It was crazy. We were dog tired when we got home and still we got up at 6:30 that morning. Let's just say we went to bed really early that night, ha. Also, this week has been really rainy. It's on the verge of snow, but it's not, it's more like hail and we get a lot of freezing rain. That is when the rain hits anything on the ground or you and it turns to ice. Yup, so it's really cold here right now. The people we have found recently, have had trouble meeting with us on account of the holiday season, which stinks. That seems to be the only excuse that people use right now.

The branch here in St. Johns has a double baptism this week on Friday, which is so awesome. This branch has grown really fast while I have been here. The bad thing is that I wasn't able to contribute. Mount Pearl is definitely a really hard area and I know why they would put someone older in the mission there, because it can get discouraging if you let it get to you. Transfers are coming up though, which is always a nervous time. By next week we will know whats happening, so I cant wait.


SPIRITUAL THOUGHT
After moses came off the exceedingly high mountain (the Pearl of Great Price account states): Satan came to him to tempt him saying "Moses, son of man, worship me" (moses 1:12). His response to the devil was so quick and unwavering that it totally threw him back; moses replied "who art thou...that I should worship thee, for behold I could not look upon God except his glory should come upon me...but I can look at thee in the natural man...get thee hence Satan, deceive me not"(moses 1:13-16). Satan's reaction to this subtle rebuke is quite pitiful; "Satan cried with a loud voice, and rented the earth...and Moses began to fear exceedingly ...nevertheless calling upon God (the same phrase used by Joseph Smith, to be delivered out of his bondage of the tempter before his vision of the father and the son JSH 1:16). Moses received strength and commanded saying depart from me Satan, for this one God will I worship, which is the God of glory (moses 1:19-20).
What I want to focus on in this account of the scriptures, is the phrase "Moses began to fear exceedingly." Fear almost always detracts us from faith. It is a tool Satan uses against us. Since he is the father of fear his whole job is to take us away from faith because where there is fear there is no faith and if he can take us away from faith then we have let him win over us and then he gets exactly what he wants, which is to make us miserable like unto himself. Remember this one truth given to us by Elder M. Russel Ballard, "The greatest man came to the top because of the strength that grew from meeting resistance." So of course we are going to fear a little in our lives. Of course we are going to meet opposition himself, sometime or another, but Moses' council here to us is, don't let your guard down. Face your fears. Over come your doubts. In more modern scripture, the Savior has said, "Be patient in afflictions, for thou wilt have many; but endure them for lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days(D&C 24:8). We have the best help mate that we could ever dream of, in our most fearful time. Let's remember that and do what Moses and Joesph Smith did and call upon God to help us out of those dark and trying times.

Love you all,

Elder Rogers

Wed, 1 Dec 2010

Whatyeat me buddies,

So December is here and the snow is falling. Ha, we got caught out in a blizzard yesterday, which was really fun to go out in, no one wanted to let us in or even open their doors, so what we did was just go play in it for a little while and then went inside to warm up and just chilled for the night. But this week has been really good, we have 2 new investigators already this week which is really cool. We definitely have seen the hand of the Lord this week for us here, even with the cold weather. Other than finding people to teach there really wasn't much that went on this last week.

Elder Dewey and I fly to Halifax tonight. I never knew that I would fly so much on my mission - just not right, it seems like, but we are going for Zone Leader Council. I love those meetings, they are just as good as Zone Conferences, it seems like to me at least. Elder Dewey and I have been working really hard here trying to get it ready for the Winter because we don't want to be out in the cold all Winter long. We would love to be inside in the nice heat, lol. I'm a little selfish, but I'm from Arizona, what can you expect?

Love you all. Thanks for your prayers and support.

Elder Rogers

Wed, 24 Nov 2010

Well this week was a lot better. We actually found someone to let us in. We happened to knock on this family's door and they said come back on Sunday and immediately I gave up hope, but said we can still come back and see what happens and so we did and they ended up letting us in to teach them. We taught the Restoration to them, then we asked them if we could have a kneeling prayer with them and they said OK we could do that and what was awesome and so cool, was seeing the mom and the dad get everyone who was in the house to come and kneel down with us to have a prayer. It goes to show you how much that means to this family's life. After the lesson I was humbled a bit because I didn't have faith in them when we met them and they ended up being the highlight of the week. I felt like Peter when he was rebuked softly by the Savior and said "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" As long as we keep our eyes fixed on the Lord, nothing can make us sink into despair. I'm going to try not to do that again, But I'm human and I'm not perfect, ha.

Next Wednesday we get to fly off the rock again. It seems just like yesterday we did that, but being Zone Leaders, we have to get to Zone Leader Council and that's the only way to do it if you're on Newfoundland, ha. I love to fly. By the time I have to fly home it really won't mean much to me anymore. I mean all the plane flying you're usually suppose to do is to get to your mission and then home, but for me I'm going on my 6Th or 7Th plane flight since I have been here.

The snow finally hit. It came 2 nights ago in a huge storm piled up on our door and had to shovel my way out of our door. It was so cool. I have been missing the snow and when it came I was so happy. it has been really cold, obviously with the snow here, but the humidity and the wind really make it worse than being in AZ. I'm probably going to dry up and look like a prune when I get home, ha. Oh well I guess.

Thanks so much for the love and support everyone shows,

Love Elder Rogers

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Wed, 17 Nov 2010

Well this week has been really hectic again. Elder Dewey and I haven't been able to find those elect. We have been including members in our finding efforts and still nothing has happened yet, but we know the turn is just a little bit further for us :)

This week's thought comes from the last book of the Book of Mormon in the 9Th chapter. Here Mormon is lamenting to his son Moroni because of an emotion that so many of us face; vs:3, "And now, behold my son, I fear lest the Lamanites shall destroy this people for...Satan stirreth them up continually to ANGER one with another. What a sad thing to be worried about in the world. Question: Has much changed.....? Continuing on in, vs:4, Mormon goes on to say, "When I speak the word of God with sharpness they tremble and ANGER against me and when I use no sharpness they harden there heart." Mormon is doing the best he can to tell his band of rift rafts they need to sharpen up, but no matter what he does, nothing is getting through their thick hearts and then he goes on to say this horrendous statement which is at the heart of my message to you today; vs:5, "For so exceedingly do they ANGER that it seemeth me that they ...have lost their love one towards another. In the words of a prophet "anger doesn't solve anything, it builds nothing but it can destroy everything." (Thomas S. Monson) It can destroy even our love for our fellow beings even our families who we hold most dear to us in this world. Satan knows where to hit us hard. This is in (the family) so why would we want to give him another tool against us? A powerful tool, but yet a subtle tool. "For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away" (3 Nephi 11:29-30). Now we aren't perfect, no one is. But if the Savior was pleading here for ANGER to be done away with, to the Nephites, back some 2000 plus years ago and yet He is still striving to do the same with us, it must be something that he really wants to get rid of. I would believe it is a tactic that the adversary has used for ages and ages and most likely will never stop trying to use it. So let us cease from anger and forsake wrath and forsake that evil one as well. Let us love one another as Jesus has loved us and strive to be more patient in trials and afflictions. There is no reason to get upset or angry. That only makes situations worse, so lets follow the Savior's council and do away with it as best we can.

Love
Elder Rogers