Happy Jon Day! aka Tuesday : )

Minha Familia,

First of all, thank you so much for all of your support. I love every single letter and package that I get. Will you tell G.G. thank you for the box of Laura Bush's she sent me? haha They are delicious, and of course, they're individually wrapped. I love seeing the pictures of Henry, thanks for sending them in the emails. I don't know how, or if I can print them off. And I don't have time to try and figuire it out really. Mom, haha don't worry about the hangers, I got some here. People just leave them around. And don't worry about the Peanut Butter, it's a sacfrice I can make. Plus, I don't know if I can afford the weight in the luggage.

Well, to be honest, there aren't a ton of really spectacular events that go on here, except for all of the spiritual growth, of course. But most days look the same, and so I don't have many awesome stories. I did however, have an interesting encounter with an Elder. I was in the bathroom and so was he, and I read his nametag. Elder McLaws. I thought, what are the chances? Well, turns out it's Bishop McLaws nephew from Oregon. Once we figured it out, I recognized that he looks a lot like Jace. I see him all the time because we're both Brazil, so our classrooms are near each other.

Alright, maybe I lied about the lack of interesting events. Every week we have one fireside and one devotional, and they are always really moving. This last one was a speaker from the Church Missionary Dept. He spoke about love.

After he spoke, I was talking to Elder Powell, and I told him something like, "We always like talking about love, but I don't know if we ever learn much about it just from hearing words". (Something like that...) I started thinking about it a lot, and I don't think there is anything as omnipresent and as thoroughly mysterious as "Love". I don't really know where I'm going with this but hear me out. When we talk about love, the conversation is often laced with inadequate analogies and hollow superlatives. It's true, and I'm sure I'll use some myself, and that's because love is just difficult to understand. But I think one of the most basic priniciples of love is that love is power. Have you ever thought about how love has changed you or changed someone you know? Something else happened this week, and it relates, trust me.

My class room is on the same floor of the MTC that Ricole's friend, Kristen Hatch (aka, "K$") works on. The other day I ran into her and we started talking. Fact 1: Anyone who has heard Ricole talk about Kristen knows how much Ricole loves her. Fact 2: I love Ricole more than air. Fact 3: I don't know Kristen that well. Fact 4: Kristen loves Ricole, too. With all of that in place, something really cool happened when I talked to Kirsten. Because of all of the facts and assumptions, I felt a real concern for Kristen, and I know, I absolutely know, that despite fact 3, Kristen would take care of me if I needed it. Isn't that just the coolest thing? I don't think I explained it very well, but because of our shared love for Ricole, I saw Kristen as a friend, someone who was on my side, someone who was looking out for me. And we've only met twice now! I don't know, I'm sorry if that doesn't make sense, but it was really cool to me. Love is power, and in that case it was the power to connect two random people.

A second though about love's power. When we have love, when we have charity, it changes everything about us. It reminds me of a quote from Remember the Titans. I'll probably mess it up, but I'm sure Caitlin could give you the real quote. In summer camp, Coach Boone is yelling at his players as they do up-downs, or something like that. He screams, "We're gonna change the way we BLOCK! We're gonna change the way we TACKLE! We're gonna change the way we EAT! We're gonna change the way we WIN!"

When we have love, everything changes. Maybe the nature of the things themself don't change, but maybe we only see them differently. Because of my love for the Gospel, for my brothers and sisters, and for my Heavenly Father, I'm changing the way I study, the way I read, the way I speak, the way I pray, the way I see others around me, the way I feel, the way I look at trials. I'm changing so much. Family, I'm changing so much. And I'm so grateful for it. Changing is the ONLY way I can be capable of helping with this work, and love is the ONLY way by which I can change.

And it all starts, ends, and centers around the love of Jesus Christ. I don't claim to understand every aspect of God's love. I don't think I can in this life. But I know that God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son. And Christ so loved the world that He gave His Life. Christ is the power, He is love.

If I never learn Portuguese, I hope I at least learn how to love. Elder Holland said, "If you can't teach them today, love them today, and maybe you can teach them tomorrow". God loves AND teaches us every day, in His own ways, ways that we don't always understand.

Family, I love you. I love you so much. Thank you for e'rything.

Love,

Elder Jonathan Todd Rogers

Week 2

Minha familia Querida,

 

First things first. I love you. Dad, I love you. Mom, I love you. Violet and Co., I love you. Ricole, I love you. Mitch, I love you. Blaze and Lucy, hello.

 

I miss you all. Everyday is so long that they each have their ups and downs, and then all of a sudden I'm waking up again to start over. I'm working hard, I'm trying to at least. I can't tell you how much I enjoy getting letters/packages from you. Today was especially bem because I got a package from Gabby (I picked it up and found out it was from her about two minutes after I sent a letter to her haha). It was full of Texas stuff haha. Will you tell her thanks for me somehow? I'll send another letter too. And then I got a plate of goodies from Ricole and some of her friends! I have the best family and friends. Speaking of family, the other day, the Elders from the district were asking to see pictures of everyone's family, so i whipped out that awesome lil album and you should have seen their reaction. They thought we looked like the perfect family. I thought to myself, we're not always perfect- we usually are, haha- but not always, but I also thought, I would not change a single thing about our family. I repeat what I said earlier, I love you all so much. It is such an awesome feeling to know that even though I'm on a mission, and we're apart for a short time, I can be with you forever. I can't think of anything greater. Man, you're making me tear up over this keyboard.

 

I'm learning so much. So much about Portuguese, about the Gospel, about how to share the Gospel. I'm really being stretched here. Truly. And at times, I feel like I can't stretch anymore, and the Lord might just have to make do with what He has in me. I just don't see how I will be able to become what He needs out of me. I never ever came close to realizing the difficulties of a mission, and believe me, I know there are plenty more to come, but I know that through the stretching, He is making me into what He needs. I've learned that I will never be able to become what He needs, at least not by myself. But we, me and Him and you, with all of us, I can serve an honorable mission. I pray for you all every night, every day, whenever I can. And I don't think I ever understood the power of prayer before I came here, but I'm beginning to learn. And I also discovered something that I should have discovered a long time ago, in prayer, you don't have to just thank Him or just ask from Him, you can pour your heart out to Him too. After all, isn't that what He wants from us, our hearts?

 

I'm starting to see more and more everyday why we need a Savior. I also learn every day that I know very very little, but behind that thin film of knowledge, I have faith, and faith is the first principle of the Gospel, not knowledge. I went to the Temple today, and I thought to myself, I have so much to learn, so much to become. But being in the Temple was probably the most peaceful I've felt in a long time. At the very same moment, I was experiencing a deep humbling realization of how much I lack, but I was also feeling God's love and His peace. I know that He is our Father, and He loves us. He doesn't just love us in the "Football Coach" kind of love either, that's the kind of love that is only concerned about winning and not so much about His players. Surely He does want us to "win" and to return to Him, to become more like Him, but I know that He is also concerned about His players, for His players are His Children. That's why we're here on this playing field of mortality (I promise I'll stop with the analogy soon haha), because we have a very special goal in mind, a goal that can only be won with the Help of Jesus Christ. I'm a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is a daunting call to live up to, and although I don't know everything about Jesus Christ, I know enough. He lives. He came to the Earth and He suffered. He suffered in every possible way. Only He could do it. He died so that we might live together as families forever. I love Him, and I want to become closer to Him.

 

Family, I love you. Don't ever worry about me. Of course there are difficulties, of course. But as long as I'm doing the right thing, and I'm trying, I'm in the Lord's hands. He will protect me, strengthen me, and He will certainly stretch me. For that is what He needs to do to me to accomplish His Will, and accepting His will is the most important thing anyone can ever do. I love you all so much. More than ever before, more than I can tell you.

 

Elder Rogers

Oops...

We got a snail mail letter from Jon today!  He writes when he can... like while he is waiting for his companion to finish dressing, lol.  So todays letter was a compilation of 3 days of mini-letter writing.  It was SOOO good to hear from him again!

Anyway, I guess he didn't want me to put the bit about the interview concerning district leader in the blog.  Oops!  So, I took it out... you early birds got the worm, I guess!  I would have left it in, but right now I'm still indulging him... haha.   This is Jon being Jon.    : )


Tomorrow we'll get an email!  whoo hoo!!

Some Henry pics to pass the time...

If you are like me, you are anxiously awaiting Jon's next email.  I promise not to make this a blog about Henry ( he already has one of those), but here's a little something to tide us over until Jon writes.  : )

 This was Henry last week... he won't let Violet feed him with a spoon anymore... he wants to feed himself.  Finally she just stripped him down, put him on the kitchen floor, and let him have at it.  This is the result, haha.  He looks pretty proud of himself.  : )

This is Henry on his first birthday, which was yesterday, July 23.  We had gone for a hike up Multnomah Falls, walked to a neighborhood cafe for lunch, and then he (and we)  finally got to take a nap.  But apparently he got up too soon, and wasn't too interested in his birthday lemon meringue pie.  What's up with that?  haha

A few pics

This was taken in front of the Provo Temple (obviously, haha) with Ricole, before she dropped him off. 

First Email Home

Querida Minha familia,

First of all the shift button on this keyboard doesn't really work, so expect very few capitals. Second of all, estou muito feliz aqui a o MTC. Oh desculpa, sometimes I slip into Portuguese. Well I'll get right down to it. I am so happy to be here, to be serving a mission. It's not all hunky-dory, but we all knew that going into it. I feel so disorganized, I have so many things I could say but I only have 23 minutes left after I figured out this program. I try to scrounge up the time to write you when I can, and I'm sending off another letter today, but I might not be able to keep that up. Some of the elders in the district have been a little jealous by the amount of letters I get. They dont know that 90% of them are from mom haha. I did get a letter from Kal and Gab and Ashley Alley and a guy from spring term and Ricole. Letters really are great fuel for me and I appreciate them so much.

The first day here was crazy. Ricole kicked me out at the curb into the hands of some elder and then I went through an assembly line of sorts and got a id card, a key, and minha plaqueta! I've been so excited to get my black nametag. I look awesome with it on. Meu nome e Elder Rogers e sou um missionario para a igreja de Jesus Cristo dos santos dos ultimos dias. From the moment I got here until today (p-day), basically every minute has been scheduled.

My district, which has 12 elders and 2 sisters, is so awesome. I think we get along much better than most districts and everyone tells us we're bigger than most districts. There is elder from my hall in spring term. I met one of the sisters in the cougar creations store and we talked about our missions to Brazil, then I met her again here. My companion, Elder Powell, was in my mission prep class actually, and after we both got our calls to Santa Maria, a mutual friend (Kim Johnson) introduced us officially. I would see him at BYU because he lived on the other side of the same floor of Budge, and we talked about how cool it would be to be companions. and now we are ghaha. Of the 14, 3 are going to Santa Maria, the others are in other Brazil missions. My zone, which is made up of like 8 other districts is all Portuguese speaking, but some people are [going to] Portugal and some are Angola or Mozambique. I had Book of Mormon and American Heritage with my zone leader and so I kinda knew him. He's such an amazing elder. It's weird but even elders (btw, we aren't supposed to say "guys, dude, man" etc. haha) even elders that have only been here for a few weeks seems like they are soooo way far ahead of us. I mean, I knew Elder Richter (the zone leader) and he is my age, but he is just so far ahead. I hope that I can be where he is at 5 weeks. I have seen a lot of males from my Budge Hall too. We usually run into each other in the cafeteria.

It's super busy here but it's great, I wouldnt have it any other way. After I got used to the intense schedule of study, I was feeling quite good. I felt humble, but I felt comfortable. I knew I had a lot to do and to learn, but I was willing to work hard.

I got the box of cookies yesterday! Thank you so much! I gave one to each of the elders in the district last night because we had 12 cookies and the sisters live in a different building, so they'll never know that we had them haha. Our district is really amazing. From day one we have been cohesive and we get along so great, sometimes too great, and during those times I feel like I have to do something, but I'm not sure how. The language has been coming along well. From minute one the teacher has spoken 90% Portuguese and because he speaks really slow and because I know some Spanish, I understand most of what he says. Spanish has helped a ton. Well, I'm out of time.

I love you all.

Elder Rogers