Temporary Reassignment!

Jon called home last night!!  It was quite a surprise, as he had written earlier that he would call on Friday.  So when the phone rang, and caller ID said that it was a pay phone, I just thought it was some person who found a random dentist in the phone book, looking to get drugs off of Todd.  (these type of people usually call from pay phones)  Then Todd noticed it was an 801 area code, and I jumped off the couch and scrambled for the phone!

It was Jon, and I burst into tears as soon as I heard his voice.  Big surprise, haha.  It was  incredible to hear his voice.  He sounds SO good, and is doing SO well.

He will be serving in the Salt Lake City Mission, which includes downtown, and parts of Nevada and Wyoming.   It will be English speaking, though he will get an hour a day to study Portuguese. 

He leaves Tuesday, and is so eager to get out there and get started.  He is super excited about his call, and knows this is where he is supposed to be.  : )

So, let's hop on dearelder.com and send him one more letter, today or Monday!

Some News!

Hi Family!

 

It's been such a crazy week. Thank you so much for your support! I love you! Just a quick note, I'm going to send a little package to you with some things that I want to be safe at home and I'll include a knick-knack or two for you, but the truth is that your cool souvenirs will come from Brasil and not from the MTC Bookstore. I started writing a note that I will also include, but it's not done. I'll send a couple pictures. Look at the backs of the pictures because I labeled one of them.

 

I have some questions for voces. First of all, please please keep me updated on the "Board of Review". I want news as soon as possible. Second, Dad, about C.S. Lewis, I would start with Mere Christianity, it's the classic. Some of his other books will have a similar flow/feel, but will cover other topics about religion. How's the hunting going? Elder Palmer in my district is a hunter and I want him to come up to WA to turkey hunt with us. You'll like him. Mitch, how's marching band?? And the wife beater thing...haha you are the best.

 

You asked about the language, and I love portugues. It's an incredible language. I find myself forgetting Spanish, which is good I guess, but Portugues is so fun. I wish I was more disciplined and spoke it more, but I'm trying. I feel fairly comfortable with it. Cool Story for you. There is this elder who is from Acre Brasil. His name is Elder Da Silva Nogueira. Talk about someone destined for MMA greatness right? Well, actually, he's really skinny, and he just went through an episode of appendicitis, so it might not happen. He is 22 and he was converted when he was 15. He was called to the New York Mission speaking portuguese. Since our schedule just changed, I'm on the same sschedule as him now, meaning we have gym and other things at the same time. Because of his health, he just goes up to the field and brings his book to study English. Even though he's going Port speaking, he's here for 12 weeks to learn English, and I think he's pretty frustrated with it. So when Elder Powell wants to go up to the field, I like to find him and sit with him and talk to him. Oh and by the way, it's all in Portugues. We've maybe exchanged 10 english words with each other, only when I don't know how to say something. I don't say this to brag or anything, because it's quite hard to understand him. He speaks really fast and really low, and he even admitted to doing it. The other native Brazilians are much easier to understand. But we just sit there for the whole time and talk. He has to repeat a lot, but he has an amazing story. He is the only member of his family, and he's sacrificed so much to be one a mission. He's told me about his conversion, his parents, his mom's experience with the Church (she has had a Book of Mormon since 1980, but she never showed it to him), the death of one of his family members, how he wanted to serve a russian speaking mission, so many cool things. I've told him about all of you, the grandparents, my experience of opening the call. I love Elder Noguiera so much. We don't always understand each other with our words, but I think we understand you each as people pretty well. He's amazing and I can't wait to talk to him after I know portugues. So I don't have a lot of time left, but I just can't say enough about Elder Nogueira (we're going to take apicture today, and I'll send it to you someday...) I'll do my best with the remaining 8 minutes.

 

Like, I said, what a crazy week. And to be honest, it's been tough. I'm learning that there is a big difference between knowing something in your head and knowing something in your heart. I know with all of my soul that God is aware of us and He loves us. Last Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were the toughest days since I've been here I think. And do you remember how we have a devotional every Tuesday night? Well guess who walked into the auditorium that night. There are approximately 15 people in the world who we stand up for when they walk in to the auditorium. We stood last Tuesday. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland came. Mom, Dad, Mitch, you all know how I feel about Elder Holland, I don't feel like I have to explain that. In every sense of the phrase, Elder Holland was sent from God. I felt like it was a miracle, a sign from God that He knew what I was feeling and He was going to prove it to me. I think if Elder Holland had been wearing a nametag, I would have been able to read it from where I sat. I wish I had time to tell you what he said, but instead I'll tell you how I felt. I felt God's love in a very powerful way that night, even after we left the fireside. It was the beginning of a miraculous week. Not miracles in the sense of loaves and fishes, a miracle in the sense of spiritual healing. The Spirit has been teaching me frequently and powerfully this week as I've continued to struggle at times. But we have to know the bad to know the good, and this week has been very very good.

 

Quick ending. I should be reassigned on Wednesday. And I think I get to make a 5 minute phone call on Friday. Good things are coming! I'm so excited! I'm where I need to be. I love you!

Monday = New P-day

Hi Familia,

 

Well, as you have probably noticed, my p-day has been changed to monday. The whole schedule for our district is being changed up. I think it has something to do with BYU starting. So these last 2 and a half weeks, wow, I can't believe that, these last 2 1/2 weeks will be a little different. Most important things first: I love you, family. I pray for you every single day. I miss you, but I know that we're all where we are supposed to be. You give me so much strength. Thank you.

 

I got another batch of cookies from GG. I can hardly keep up with all the goodies I get haha, but I'm very grateful for everything I receive. Will you tell G-ma thank you for me?

 

I'm sorry I wasn't able to send a letter last week. P-days are really quite busy as well. And with the new schedule, p-day ends even sooner. So I'm going to do my best to write letters, but I might not be as consistent as the last few weeks. I'm really sorry about that, but I know you understand, and I am grateful for that. This email might not have anything that is blog worthy, I hope that's okay. Sometimes I think I put pressure on myself to write something really cool for the blog and I neglect you all a little bit. I'm sorry for that.

 

Oi Mitch, golfing sounds like it will be a blast. You've got some great amigos. I hope marching band is rocking your world. (No need to comment on that hilarious pun.) When does school start up? Is your schedule set in stone yet?

 

Mae e Pai, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY tomorrow! 25 years! I love you so much Mom and Dad. Thank you so much for loving each other and for raising our family to be so close. You said you went somewhere together, didn't you? Portland? I forgot my notes for this email haha.

 

As you can imagine, the weeks start to blur together here. I really don't know how long I've been here. I just know that I leave around the 13th of September. Speaking of, I had a  dream that my visa came last night. (Sidenote: Kalli wrote me and told me that she got a job working in the MTC health clinic, which I walk by like 6 times a day. I havent' seen her yet, which is good, because I'm not allowed to participate in visits with family or friends anyway.) But earlier today I was told that I got something in the mail and it was from the MTC and they thought it might be a visa thing. My heart was pounding. I grabbed Elder Powell and we ran to see Elder Ortega who is the keeper of the mail. I saw the letter and I immediately recognized it as something just as great as a visa. A letter from Kalli! She used an MTC envelope and I recognized her hand writing immediately. It was awesome to hear from her. It's weird because since the envelope didn't have a stamp, I knew that she just dropped it off, which means she was like 30 yards from the building I live in.

 

But anyway, no visa for me or anyone in the District. We're all happy though. We're excited for our reassignments that should come in a little over a week. I heard a rumor that the Quorum of the 12 also makes the reassignments, and I don't know why that wouldn't be true. So it's pretty exciting. How stinkin lucky am I to get 2 mission calls! I can't wait. Whatever happens, I'm excited. Granted, there is also a decent dose of fear and hesitation mixed in with the excitement, but it's all good. Maybe there's something the Lord wants me to do before I go to Brazil.

 

I realized something today. I've been in mission prep for my whole life. And really, most of it came within the walls of our home. Some of the most important things that I could've worked on before I came were things that I learned from you. Of course, I'm not calling myself great at any of these things, but I have a solid foundation thanks to a great family. Like, how to be quiet when you feel like you have good reason to complain. Sometimes I feel like complaining, but I just think of Dad, and he never put up with that kind of stuff. We have way too much to be grateful for to complain about anything. Also, how to reach out to people. Mom, we all know this is your area of expertise. Some people in this world, even the MTC, are obviously not having the best day of their lives every single day. Mom, you taught me how to recognize that, but even more important, you were an example of doing something about it. I'm still quite awful at the whole processs, despite the greatest teacher in the world being my mother, but I try to be more like you. Both Mom and Dad have told me this: This life, this Gospel, is all about people, and it really is. I read one of Grandpa's poems today about the Cripple being healed by Christ. What an amazing poem. I think that if you know anything about Christ, you know that He put people before anything. And He could've had anything He wanted. But He chose to descend below all things to do something for other people. Something that we could never ever do. Mitch, I have to thank you too. You teach me how to be bold and confident when it is appropriate. When I think about how scared I might be to approach someone in Brazil (or Kentucky) I like to think about how powerfully you would do it if you were the one wearing the nametag right now.

 

Family, I'm out of time. I love you. I pray for you, but my power is nothing compared to His. Trust God

 

Love E. Rogers.

23 August 2011

Well, another week has passed by. They honestly go so fast. I want you to know that I'm doing really well. I'm working hard and I'm certainly improving, although not as quickly as I would like. (But I have had a thought about that, so I'll get around to that.) So I think I have three weeks left here. That's hard to believe. I need so much more time to prepare. But I'm trying not to let that fear overcome my faith. So it is fairly likely that I will be temporarily reassigned, which would be such a great blessing. If that  happens, I should find out in about two weeks where I'll be sent. It's like opening another mission call! I'm very excited for whatever happens. The only downside I can possibly think of to being reassigned is that my thin base of portugues might suffer while I'm in the states, but I know that I'll be in Brasil when the Lord wants me there. If he needs me somewhere in the U.S., I'll do everything I can to figure what I supposed to do and learn while I'm there. I want to have the attitude of Ammon when he met King Lamoni. He said that he had intentions to possibly live out the rest of his days among the Lamanites. So if I end up spending two years in this country, maybe I'll find a King Lamoni. I guess the bottom line is that I have no idea where I'll be going in three weeks, I could even spend an extra week here, but whatever it is, I will be happy and I will work hard.

 

Dad, thank you for sending me your testimony. I asked for it because I thought it would give me strength, and it definitely did, and still does whenever I read it. I thought of you the other day when someone at lunch was talking about hunting and they wanted me to tell some stories from my hunting experience. You know what I said. "What happens in the woods stays in the woods". Mom, thanks for teaching me how to sew a button. I do it about once a week haha. You asked me about typing up my written letters for the blog, and if you think it's a good idea, go for it. I trust you completely. Mig, thanks for the little notes you send me. They make me laugh hysterically. I appreciate all of the letters I get from you. I don't think I can tell you how much they mean to me.

 

So this week started out with an amazing experience. On Sunday nights, after the fireside, there are several videos played on campus that we can choose to watch. Elder Powell and I went to see a replay of an MTC devotional that Elder Bednar gave on "Becoming A Missionary". It was an incredible message. It has really changed me and Elder Powell. He said it might be the turning point in his mission after hearing it. And I thought to myself, this could be my turning point too. And then I thought to myself, I'm going to make this my turning point. God made me to act, and not to be acted upon. I'm not going to waste any of the Lord's time waiting for a turning point to come anymore. I'm taking this one by the horns. I can't describe how powerful that talk is. I hope I get to see it again. The first point he talked about was that we should all "Become missionaries, and not merely 'go on a mission'". I love that. Mom and Dad, you both told me on seperate occassions that one of your favorite words is "become". You've helped me to see the importance of that word. I'm really trying to "become a missionary". I'm trying so hard to be perfectly obedient, and I really need to work on maintaining focus and listening for and recognizing the Spirit. Oh man, just thinking about this reminds me of all the things I need to work on. But that's the miracle of the Atonement! We can change. Sempre podemos melhorar. You know I'm a worrier (and yes, I spelled that right. I didn't mean warrior.) And you might think that this massive list of improvements to be made would make me worry. Well sometimes it does, but when I'm feeling the Spirit, I don't feel worry. I feel confidence in the Lord's ability to make something out of me, something way better than what I am. And I don't feel worried, I feel humbled, and very, very grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. As I've been thinking about the process of becoming, I was reading Alma 17 verses 2 and 3. I've heard these verses a lot, a ton. But there was a word that stuck out to me this time that I never paid much attention to before. Look for the word "waxed". It describes the sons of Mosiah, and I think it gives us a clue into the process of their becoming. Mom, have I ever made a candle? I can't remember. But maybe I've seen Ricole or Violet make one, because I know it starts with a string. And you dip the string into melted wax right? The first time you pull it out, it probably has a little film of wax on it. But it doesn't come out a candle on the first go. So you dip the string over and over and over, and each time the string collects a little bit more wax. Between dip 12 and 13, you might not see a very big difference, but the patient accumulation of wax turns a string into a candle, ready to hold a flame. I think my becoming process is a lot like that of a candle's becoming process, because sometimes I want to study the scriptures, pray, fast, work, and I want to become a candle right away. But that's not how it works. And sometimes I might be doing all of those things and I might not even notice a difference. But that's where faith comes in, because I know that if I'm giving my all and doing all that I'm supposed to, God will make a candle out of me. And maybe, just maybe, the flame of  Christ will be able to abide with me, and hopefully some hearts will be softened, and the they will be able to see the glories that God has extended to His Children. I'm out of time, family. I love you so so much. Thank you for everything. I might not be able to write a long letter today, but I'll try my best.

 

Love,

Elder Rogers

16 August 2011

Hi Family!

 

I love hearing from you! Thank you so much!  Thanks for the goodies! So I have some news. I might have mentioned it a few weeks ago, but in our branch, the District Leader position is only for 4 and a half weeks, and you might know this, but four and a half weeks was this weekend. So I was released, and you know Elder Ortega, the one I mentioned before? Well he's our new district leader, and He is soo awesome. I'm learning so much from him. The very first meeting we had as a district, I was blown away by him. I wish I could've learned from him before, I would've been much better if I had his example to follow. I am so grateful for the blessing it was to be the district leader. I learned so so much, so much that I don't think I will even start to mention it right now. I will say, however, I really believe that the Lord knew that I needed some specific lessons, and He wanted me to learn them sooner rather than later.

 

Good luck with the Dirty Dash! I hope it goes well! Let me know please!

 

Hey I got an email from Travis today, but since I'm so crunched on time, I don't think I'll be able to respond to him through email. Could you get me his address por favor?

 

So as you know, every P-day we go to the Temple. I woke up today with this weird stinging in my neck, like I slept on it wrong, I think you know what I'm talking about. Well it was quite a nuisance, but I didn't think much of it. That was until I went to the Temple. I started thinking about pain, and a thought came to me. My eyes were already wet, but when this thought came, it came with a feeling of assurance. There is a lot of pain in the world. We all know that. But you know what thought came to me today? It was something like this. Pain has a purpose. Our loving Heavenly Father doesn't want us to suffer any more than we have to, any more than will be for our good. Is there anything better at bringing us to our knees and bringing us to our Heavenly Father than pain? (This is frustrating to me because I can't think of how to describe this as hard as I try. Maybe think about it on your own and you'll feel what I felt.) God will not make us suffer more than the precise amount that will make us turn to Him. 

 

Don't let the questions about how it works stop you from enjoying the blessings that come from the fact that it does actually work. There will be pain, but that's how we grow. That's how we recognize how much we need help, and how much we need Him. Pain isn't entirely bad when we accept it as a reminder. There will come a day when we will be able to rest from pain and despair and sorrow, all of the thorns of this prickly world will be removed and we will be overwhelmed by the joy and the love that will come to define our lives hereafter. I love and think about D&C 121 all the time. I so glad we were able to visit Liberty Jail. My son, peace be unto thy soul. Jon, this too shall pass. I think of those verses often. God has promised us amazing things, and He will keep His word. His promises are absolutely real, and on the other end, our need for compliance is just as real.

 

Family, I love you so much. I think of you often and I am so grateful for you. Thank you for the prayers, God is answering them. I wish I had time to tell you how much I feel strengthened by our Heavenly Father. Miracles have not ceased. I love you.

 

Elder Rogers

One month out!

My Dear Family,

How is everyone doing? I think about you all and I am so grateful for each of you. It's so great to get your letters and emails and all the other things you send, thank you SOO much! Thanks for the brownies, the district loved them! The Vasquezes also sent me a package. I sent them a thank you, but will you thank them again for me? I've realized that I'm usually pretty bad at answering questions and replying to things you say, so I'm going to not write a sermon, but obviously being here, much of my life is about spiritual learning.


Dad - Seu portugues e muito bem! I'm jealous of your tri-lingualism. I don't know if I ever told you this, but one of the many reasons for which I was excited for my mission was so that I could learn another language. To be honest, I really hoped it was going to spanish. I remember on numerous occasions when I would get to see you use your Spanish to help an old lady in the airport, or a struggling man at the turtle liberation camp. I've always loved Spanish, and always hoped that I would be able to speak Spanish with the person I look up to the most. But, The Lord needs me in a country where they speak portugues, and at first, I was a little less excited than I should have been, but now, I absolutely love portugues. I love it. It's so fun to learn and to study and to speak. I've learned something else about my mission through portuguese. I always wanted to learn a language and be fluent, and I thought that a mission would be a way of accomplishing that. But you know what I've learned here? The Lord isn't teaching me Portugues so that I can be fluent in Portugues. He's teaching me portugues so that I can teach, serve, and bear my testimony to people in Santa Maria. It was a tough realization at first, but I want nothing more now. Sometimes I really feel like the Lord is teaching me the language. Almost as if when I sleep, He's putting vocab into my head, because sometimes I only look at a word once, and I'll remember it when I'm teaching. OR all of a sudden, I'll remember a word from high school spanish and i'll say it, and it turns out to work in Portugues. The language is one of the obvious ways that I am seeing the hand of the Lord in my life. That's too bad about S2S, but good luck on the dirty dash. I can't wait to run with you again!


Mom - Your story about the magazine seller really touched me. You are quite the missionary! Something I'm starting to learn is that sometimes I felt like I would have to convince people that the Gospel is true, but that's not really the case. I teach people about the Gospel, and Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost convinces them.

Mitch - your portugues is also coming along! I'm so excited for you, irmao. You've got a great year coming up for you. Brother, I want you to know that I pray for you every night. (Mom, Dad, Violet, and Ricole, I pray for you too, but I'm speaking to Mitch for a moment :)) Ringold and Workman will be awesome teachers, and they will help make your senior year great, but you have so many other things going for you that will make your life awesome. Brother, I love you so much. I wish we could serve together, I could really use you here. Don't let any of the worries and disappointments that might come your way get you down for too long. I know that's ironic, coming from me, going to you, but the truth is that life's too short. Mom and Dad told me that all the time, I wish I understood it like I'm beginning to. I hope you enjoyed replacing that fence post with Dad. I am 100% honest when I say that I'm jealous. I wish I could have been there. Some of my favorite memories of my whole life were when I was working with Dad.


Do you all remember my lucky-life saver necklace? Well when I was in the Spokane airport, I read in the Miss. Handbook that we're not supposed to wear necklaces, and I didn't want to be disobedient right off the bat, so I took it off and put it in my backpack. And I really really missed it. I started thinking about it more and more and I thought it would be okay to wear it, so I asked my teacher, and he said it was fine. I was so anxious to put it back on again. It's jsut a little necklace. An agate and some leather. But to me it means so much more. To me it means family and love. The truth is, I do cry here sometimes. But I'm never sad. When I think of the people I really care about, the tears come, but the tears are just a symbol of love, a reminder that love is power, love is real. When I feel how strong my love is for all of you, It is a testimony to me that God lives, that Jesus is our Savior, and that there is life after this. How could a feeling as strong as love be felt by anything that wasn't created by an all-powerful, all-loving Heavenly Father. That's one of the first things we tell people when we teach. God is our Loving Heavenly Father. I know that He is. Have faith, and He will lead us through all things.


I love you all so much.


Elder Jonathan Todd Rogers

Just a Pic

We took this pic on my cell phone just as we were leaving to get Jon set apart.  I literally could not look at it for the first 2 weeks.  Only recently did I look at it, and now I can do it without too much pain!  haha

He is so amazing.  : )