Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Week 30: Good Things & Lovely Receptions! :D

Hey Family and Friends! :D

I hope you all had a stellar week! I know I did! Me and Sister Trent have a blast together! We had some crazy good lessons this last week and worked really hard. We are praying for a baptism because our investigators are really up and down right now so that is rough. Ron's last lesson was really good. President and Sister Jacobsen came because our members canceled on us last minute. So that was a blast! I love them! And I am so glad they live so close! We put Ron on date for August 6th, but then he wasn't at church on Sunday so that made us a little nervous. But we think it's just because our ward mission leader is out of town and he didn't want to go without his new, best bud! Haha! But we meet with him twice this week and Brother Robison should be back in town so that's good!:)

Lisa hasn't been making it to church either because of all her health things. But she keeps all our other commitments and we meet with her twice this week so we are just continuing to help her get through some rough patches. She's such a sweet woman.:) Keep her in your prayers 

We picked up a new investigator named Paul this last week and he is solid! He is so nice and awesome and he is going through a really hard family situation right now. We found him as he was pulling his "transformer" out of his car and we asked him if we could help him. He said, "No. You missed all the dirty work!" Haha! We meet with him twice this week and he said he is willing to get baptized if he comes to know these things are true! So cool! The only struggle is getting him to church because he goes out of town every Sunday to see his kids. Dang. What is with it and church lately? Haha. The struggle is real.

We also picked up a new investigator yesterday named Jing! She is from China and has the cutest, little, 5 year old son named Leo. She even asked us, "What do I have to do to join your church?" She is so sweet! We got to give her an English and Chinese Book of Mormon (she wanted both so that her English can get better.) And we meet with her again this week. The only struggle is she's going on vacation for a month. So that kind of stinks!:P

But the work is really progressing here in Meridian! I think all we needed was a little Sister Trent magic! She is awesome!;) I really love this work and love my mission. It is changing me. God is changing me. And I couldn't be more grateful. Hope you all have a stellar week!:)

--
Remember the church is true and I love you!
<3Sister Rogers<3
Michigan Lansing Mission


This is the only picture I have for the week! Sorry! I need to get better at taking pictures! We helped the George's set up for their 2nd wedding reception. One was in Washington, and then one here! For both of their families! I just love them! Oh! and we made those signs by the way!;)

Week 29: Hotter than Hades!!!

Hey Family and Friends!<3:)

For those of you down there in Arizona.....I hope you haven't gotten toasted yet! It has been so hot here this past weekend! And humid! It got to 95 yesterday and with humidity that is not fun! Always sticky...and I never knew your knee caps could sweat! I was flipping out! Haha! The humidity is at 75% today! Gross! The only reason I can complain is even though it isn't 120.....it is humid! And man! I was made for dry heat! Hahaha!:)

This week was STELLAR! Like always! We have a new investigator named Ron and he is solid! WE found him door knocking and here's the crazy story. So me and Sister Trent were determined to get our 15 hours of finding in for the week and so at 8:30 on Saturday night I had a feeling we should go door knock this certain street, and then we were about to leave and Sister Trent said "Let's do this last house." (Which is weird because we usually just finish one side of the street and don't start the other so we remember what we do.) But anyways, we door knocked this one house on the other side of the street! It was the LAST house of the night and week! And there is where we found Ron! Comp unity and listening to the Spirit at its finest!:D

Ron is single and has had good experiences with missionaries in the past! We taught him at our ward mission leader's home and they hit it off great! They both are the same age, have the same personality, have connections with MSU, etc. And craziest thing is he said he wanted a good organization to belong to because eventually he wants to retire to Quito, Ecuador. And our ward mission leader flipped out because he was one of the FIRST four missionaries to serve his mission in Quito, Ecuador! MIRACLE! THAT JUST DOESN'T HAPPEN! We are totally putting Ron on date for baptism this week! It is an awesome story and he is a STELLAR man!

Lisa is still on date and keeping all her commitments except for coming to church. She has a hard time waking up in the mornings because she has insomnia and our church is at 9. Please pray for her! But she is so stellar! She just stopped smoking cold turkey and gave us her coffee to get rid of after we taught her the Word of Wisdom. In the dumpster it went! But shhhhh! She thinks we "gave it away". Haha! She just didn't want the money wasted. But we thought that was an ok to lie about....jk......missionaries don't lie.;)

Me and Sister Trent went on a road trip with President and Sister Jacobsen on Saturday! We got to go to Big Rapids because one of Sister Trent's investigators got baptized! It was so fun! President loves to tease and make fun so it was an adventure! 2 hours to get there! So 4 hours in the car with Pres! Haha! I am so glad I have gotten to be in his ward and be so close with the two of them! I just love them and know for a fact that they were suppose to be my leaders here in Michigan! 

Other cool miracle of the week! Me and Sister Trent tried this thing while finding that we heard about! We prayed to have a specific person or description to come to our mind that we could talk to while door knocking. So when we finished praying I said I got a grandma and Sister Trent got the word Jim. So we went to the street we had planned and I had a feeling we should go back to our apartments and door knock. Which is weird because they have been door knocked 50 kajillion times. But we went back and there was a grandma sitting in her walker literally right in front of our apartment door! And she kept telling us about her son, Jaydan, and we flipped! It was a J! Not Jim, but there was no way that was a coincidence! I don't believe in them! Such a cool experience! We had great faith that day!:) And every day of course!

Anyways, I love you all and hope you have a stellar week! Stay cool and remember "by small and simple things, are great things brought to pass!"

--
Remember the church is true and I love you!
<3Sister Rogers<3
Michigan Lansing Mission


An ice cream run that required LOTS of dairy pills. But we got to take a 3 hour nap after so I slept it off! Haha! #lovePdays #qualitydairyicecreamtho


Throwing away Lisa's coffee!:D


This is Lily. She followed us around while we were door knocking and we were trying to call her owner. Luckily the neighbors knew where she lived!:) So cute!



The baptism we got to go to in Big Rapids! They insisted that I needed to be in the picture too even though I wasn't one of Ruth Ann's missionaries! The Big Rapids branch is so sweet!:)

Monday, June 13, 2016

Week 28: Everything Under the Sun:)

Hey Family and Friends!:)

I hope you all had a STELLAR week! I know I sure did! I unfortunately had to say bye to my long time mother, Sister Nelson, and my awesome companion, Sister Lau, this last week! That was bitter-sweet! But I didn't cry! So mission accomplished! I think it is awesome how Heavenly Father gives us peace in change as we know what we are doing is his will for us. And ultimately, in the long run, his plan is even better and will make us happier than we could ever do by ourselves.<3 :)

Here are "Momma's Questions of the Week":

1.) Tell us about your new comp:

SISTER TRENT! I ADORE HER!<3 She is seriously the sweetest person I have ever met! So happy, so bubbly! She kind of reminds me of Meagan! And man! Did I need a Meagan in my life right now!;) She is from Iowa. But she has literally lived EVERYWHERE! Utah, Belize, Maine, England (in Brighton, daddy!), Nebraska, Florida, Wyoming, Nevada, and now Iowa! She is a hard worker and the cutest! We get along great! And we are killing it in our missionary work!

2.) Update us on your AWESOME investigators:

Ok....so our two SOLID investigators right now are David and Lisa!

David: We are helping him stop smoking by doing the "Stop Smoking Workshop" which guarantees he will quit smoking in a week if he follows it step by step! He is all for it! We are stoked! We are starting him on it tomorrow! And we did family history with him this week at the Family History Center at the stake center! MY MISSION HAS MADE ME ADORE FAMILY HISTORY! I can't wait to do it when I get home! David even told us he heard from his aunt that his dad was baptized Mormon, so he's doing some more research to figure that out!:)

Lisa: She is a referral we got from Salt Lake City right before Sister Lau.....I mean Kya....so weird....went home! She referred herself and wanted to know what it takes to serve a mission in Ghana, Africa. Bahahahaha! We are teaching her and put her on date for July 16th! She is solid! She is just having a hard time coming to church because it is so early and she has health issues that make it hard to wake up early! But we are working with her! She stopped smoking after reading the Book of Mormon. We went to her place for a lesson, but she totally forgot, so we rescheduled and right before we left she said, "Oh! I read that pamphlet! I quit smoking! And I didn't know drinking coffee was a sin!" Bahahahaha! She is stellar! Pray for her health to improve so she can get to church!

And we have been picking up a lot of new people! More deets soon!;)

3.) What blessings are you personally feeling from your mission so far?

Health and Strength. Having chronic fatigue, anxiety, and depression makes a mission tough sometimes. But I have never had more strength and energy in my life. That is a HUGE blessing.

My testimony. It is growing. If I am not changing other peoples' lives, they are definitely changing mine.

4.) What strengths have you gained from your companions and the people you're teaching?

SO MANY! I have had 6 companions so far in only 6 months of my mission. So much has happened in so little time. But overall...I have learned that you can love ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY no matter what. We are all brothers and sisters. Let's help each other get back to our Father.

5.)  If you had a "theme" to your week, what would it have been?

Everything under the sun. BAHAHAHAHA! So much happened. And it has been really sunny!;)

6.) Ponderize Scripture for us?

Alma 34: 41 There is always hope through the atonement of Jesus Christ. We can do all things with his help and direction!<3

Oh! And last thing! We got to meet Elder Dunnigan of the area of the seventy yesterday and he is AWESOME! He went around shaking everyone's hands in ward council and asked us missionaries how the work is going! He said some things that I LOVED as well!

-"Testimonies are to be found in the bearing of it."
-"The standard is not perfection....the standard is following towards the tree of life."
-"The Lord is concerned of the faith we arrive, rather than the hour we get there."

LOVED THIS WEEK! SO MUCH HAPPINESS AND CHANGE! I LOVE MY MISSION! AND I LOVE YOU ALL! HAVE A STELLAR WEEK!<3 

--
Remember the church is true and I love you!
<3Sister Rogers<3
Michigan Lansing Mission

Goodbye ol' fam! I miss you!<3 #straightouttalansing #bestdistrict


And I just LOVE this pic! Just laughing! It was totally an accident picture, too!:)


Me and my sister saying bye to our momma!;(


When I said bye to my mom!;( Don't we look alike?;) Really though......


MY NEW COMP! SISTER TRENT!<3


FAMILY! GUESS WHERE I ATE?! A member took us to Fazoli's! There's one in our area and I about died! I had been waiting to go there for 9 weeks and they surprised us! My childhood.....ahhhhh....memories......<3


Saw this above a doorstep and screamed and almost peed my pants! And Sister Trent was dying laughing! What the heck, Michiganders?


I ate a chicken foot. Disgusting. Don't listen to Elders when they tell you random, Chinese buffets are good. It's all lies. And a waste of $15.:P #sicknasty





Saturday, June 4, 2016

Week 27: Losing and Gaining Eternal Family

Family and Friends!:D

This is the weirdest thing ever emailing at 3 pm on a Saturday afternoon! I keep thinking it's Monday....haha!

WELL....I know you are all wondering......I am going to be getting Sister Trent as a new companion. I have no idea who she is, but according to my other missionary friends she has served in Big Rapids, MI for her entire mission so far. This will only be her 2nd area! Crazy! And she has been out for over 9 months according to Sister Lau. I am pumped!:D BUT...I am not so pumped that Sister Lau is leaving me AND Sister Nelson. I am going to be a balling mess on Monday morning. It is SO NOT COOL! :P Sister Nelson got called to be a sister training leader in Mount Pleasant and I TOTALLY called it! Haha! I am pumped for her! But I am going to cry because I will miss my "mom." No doubt about that!

And then I also dropped two investigators this week sadly!;( Julie, Jesslyn, and Russell. I am literally losing everyone this week. BUT they are still good friends with us. They are just not wanting the gospel in their lives right now. But I know this has opened doors for them in the future to receive the gospel. Planted good seeds for sure! And made eternal friends! Blessings though! Because we picked up a new investigator! Her name is Lisa and she was a referral we got from Salt Lake City. She is coming to church on Sunday and we have just met with her once! And she said she would get baptized! WOOOOHOOOOO!

And I got to go to the Truscott's baptism this morning. Apparently a couple weeks ago they asked Sister Nelson and Sister Child if I would be there because they wanted me to say the opening prayer! I love them! I was so flattered and touched! I miss teaching them for sure! BUT they have family in Arizona...so when I get home they are going to come visit!;) 

But other than that nothing much has changed since I talked to you all on Tuesday! I hope you have a STELLAR week and keep sharing the gospel! You NEVER know who needs it! Bear your testimony to someone this week! That is my challenge to you all! Testimonies change lives. They have changed mine.

Love you all so much and miss you just as much!:) 

-- 
Remember the church is true and I love you!
<3Sister Rogers<3
Michigan Lansing Mission

Paloma saying goodbye to Sister Lau! She said in her closing prayer, "Thank you for letting Sister Rogers stay!" I was literally in tears! Love this girl! We are trying to get her and her mom, Marie, back to church. It has been a while! And we are going to start teaching Paloma the lessons because she was never baptized!:D When we ask her if that would be ok Paloma says, "I am good with getting baptized and the Holy Spirit and stuff....but this (*points to her hair*) ....does NOT do well in water!" BAHAHAHAHA! We were dying laughing! We told her if that is the greatest worry she has, she is good to go!;)


Saying goodbye to Jesslyn and her family last night! Eternal friends! I can't wait for them to accept the gospel someday!:)


Me saying bye to Hyacinth!;( 


Jesslyn even gave us flowers and these quinoa chips and juice boxes she got us addicted to! And even some Baha'i literature....hahahahaha! Love and will miss that family!


THE TRUSCOTT'S BAPTISM THIS MORNING! WITH ALL "THEIR MISSIONARIES" AS THEY CALL IT!:)




Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Week 26: When it Rains, it Pours! (And I am meaning sweat and trials...not literal rain! Haha!)

Hey Family and Friends!<3

Holy cow! It has been like a sauna here lately! I am used to baking in an oven! Not constantly sweating when it's not even that hot outside! Ridiculous! Haha! I would way rather it be hot and humid then freezing cold though! That's the AZ blood in me! Haha!

This week is crazy! It is the last week of the transfer and everybody is leaving me! Including my companion, Sister Lau, and my trainer, Sister Nelson, who is most likely getting transferred! Plus, I got permission to go see Virginie one last time in East Lansing before she leaves for France.:( I am going to be a mess this whole week and weekend! I have already cried multiple times!

But all is well because I am still REALLY HAPPY! :D Because Heavenly Father knows what he's doing and the work is progressing here! I am so excited! Me and Sister Lau sung at church on Sunday and everyone LOVED it! (Or at least kept saying they did....haha) It made us feel pretty good! We even had 3 investigators at church and a less active! Exciting!:)

I get to go this Saturday to the Truscott's baptism in Lansing!!!!:D (Remember them?!) They are the part member family that me and Sister Nelson door knocked into when I was serving in Lansing. Joe (the dad) and Ella and Ethan (the kids) are getting baptized this weekend and I am so excited to see them again! A baptism is a baptism on your mission, it doesn't matter if you are their current missionaries or not. They had an impact on my life and I love them! I can't wait to see them!

And crazy change in the mission! The last week of every transfer we have 2 P-days! Monday and Saturday! So I get to email Saturday again! But then we don't get a P-day the first week of every transfer. There were some issues going on with not getting everything done (laundry, emailing, shopping, etc.) on P-days that were transfer days so they made some changes! Just to let you all know because my emails have been so whack lately. 

But anyways, it has been a really good week! I hope you all have a stellar week and stay happy! And cool in that AZ heat! :) I will talk to you all again on Saturday!

--
Remember the church is true and I love you!
<3Sister Rogers<3
Michigan Lansing Mission

The Bate's! Love them! Brother Bates is from England and Sister Bates is the relief society president! We took a pic with them last night after they fed us a yummy, huge Memorial Day dinner!;)



One of my favoritest kiddos ever! Elijiah Hopkins! Constantly telling me I am his favorite sister missionary! I have known him since I have been out on my mission and he has been lucky enough to get me in the Lansing and Meridian ward! (He is in both of them because both his parents and their families are!) Love him! He just really wanted me to take a picture of his art! He wanted to give it to me! But I told him a picture would be better!:)