July 28, 2014

            It is so strange, but my companion is going home in a week. Crazy.  It has been so much fun serving with her.  We have had some crazy ups and downs, but it has helped us grow so much.  

       This week the church building was almost closed due to something about there being a crack in the ceiling.  There was a huge deal about it with caution tape and everything.  We were thinking about setting up a huge tent in the park and having our meeting there, but the church magically became safe on Saturday, so no church in the park experience.

      This week was incredible; we were able to have so many members come out with us to visit our less-actives.  One experience included a member taking the lead in inviting the less-active to church.  It was such an amazing experience and the members have such strong testimonies.

      We were doing some tracting this week and I was a bit nervous as usual.  But the Spirit was ready for me to speak, so when the door opened, I (somehow) boldly proclaimed, "Jesus Christ’s church has been restored to the earth today. What do you think of that?"  That started a good 30- minute conversation with the man and concluded with him wanting to see what our church was like.  Conclusion: the spirit will give you the power and the words if you desire to share with others, but you must first open your mouth and exercise faith.

“If we desire more faith, we must be more obedient. When we teach our children by example or precept to be casual or situational in obeying God’s commandments, we prevent them from receiving this vital spiritual gift. Faith requires an attitude of exact obedience, even in the small, simple things.”                Elder Kevin Pearson

Sister Rogers

 

It’s a Rainin’ in Jersey

 

July 21, 2014

            I don't know what it is about New Jersey, but the rain here is crazy.  We have had so many flash floods in the last week it was crazy.  The rain is so bad that the windshield wipers are not fast enough so that we can see.

            The miracle this week is that our less active, Sister Papin, came to church again for the second time.  It is so amazing because she is reading her scriptures all the time.  She loves them.  But unfortunately she was in the position that she didn't have time last week to read and she told us that her week went horrible.  She said, “You need to come over, it is horrible.”  She expressed that when she read her scriptures that everything worked out, but nothing did when she didn't read her scriptures.  Let’s just say she is planning on reading her scriptures from now on.

            We don't have many investigators right now, but we have some ineradicable less active that are progressing so well.  One of them gave a talk on Sunday and gave us a shout out a few times during her talk.  

Sister Rogers

New Mission President

Saying Goodbye to the Jeppsons

My new Mission President & His Wife - Paul and Jane Taggart

July 14, 2014

            Well everything has been going crazy with the New Mission President and his wife.  He has some big changes he wants to start implementing in the mission.  We are really focusing on using all finding our ideas, even if they are a bit crazy.  This last week we met them and it was such a neat experience.  

            We were eating banana pancakes in the kitchen and Sister Taggart walked in.  Of course, as the good missionaries we are, we offered her some so she sat down at the table and started eating off the plate that had clearly been someone else’s not long ago.  She even picked up a fork and asked us how many people had used it.  We had determined that less than 5 people had been eating with it, so obviously it was still usable.  She is so awesome.

            President Taggart is a spiritual walking faith bomb.  He has great ideas and he is ready to really help this mission step up its game.  One thing that he said that really stuck in my mind is that he reads his scriptures as long as it takes to feel the spirit.  I know before my mission I sometime read my scriptures because I felt like I was supposed to, but to think if we could start every day feeling the spirit how much happier we could be every day.

            This week we had the privilege of doing lots of service.  We were able to help a lady move in to our ward plus we started organizing a storage area for a less active, which basically added up to 5.5 hours of service, so we might have been a little tired at the end, but it was completely worth it.

Love you all.

Sister Rogers




Just being silly with my Comp

Mansion house..... Yes this is what my area is like

When you don't have parking do it the Jersey way

Being crazy in the car.  These are the Jersey Sisters

Me and Sister Walton

July 6, 2014

Alright this week and I ran out of time to write, but this is what we did for the 4th of July.

We went and watched the fire works on an 11 story balcony over the beach. To say the least it was awesome.

                             
 

 

How God Shows His Love for Us

June 23, 2014

 

            Well a few Sundays ago I had the great opportunity to give a talk in church.  It was a pretty good talk if I do say so myself.  Just Kidding.  If any of my talk touched anyone it was the Spirit that touched them and it was such an amazing blessing to study and pray for guidance to help and uplift others.  The theme for my talk is the title listed above and it really got me thinking about blessings I receive in my life.  

 

            For example I absolutely love ICECREAM.  I know this might be news to some of you because I became addicted to it in college.  But I love it so much that I have 2 ice cream stickers on the back of my badge.  So Heavenly Father knows that Sister Walton and I love ice cream and last week Sister Walton was having a super rough day.  We were contacting and a random man we contacted gave us Klondike bars. He was so amazing.  He is from Pakistan and lives in Rhode Island.  He was so interested in learning why we would dedicate our time to go out and teach the gospel and pay for it.  He is interested in reading the Book of Mormon.  Then it got even better because our rare meal appointment fed us ice cream sundaes.  The member also commented on Sister Walton's talk and the part that she shared a personal experience about feeling alone.  The member started crying because her daughter is going through the exact same thing right now and it gives her hope that she can get through it.  The ice cream life did not stop because later in the week a less active bought us ice cream twice......Double Stuffed Brownie.  Though thinking back on it I probably should have picked something else for Heavenly Father to show me his love.  Well as the elders say (as they pat their stomachs) my testimony is growing (just kidding it is not actually that bad)

 

            The sad news of the week:  President Jeppson is leaving this week.  The mission is going to miss him so much.  I try not a think about it.  He has been a source of such inspiration and love.  With his help I have come through the most difficult struggles I have faced out here.  He has been through so much and truly knows how to comfort those who stand in need of comfort.

 

            I love you all!

 

            Remember to read your scriptures because as you do everything else will get done.  Put God first and he will take care of the rest.

 

Sister Rogers

 

Let’s Decorate the Gym

June 9, 2014

            Weddings are great.  This week we decorated for a wedding.  Let’s just say the gym at the church didn't look like a gym any longer.  We spent the majority of the service cutting plastic sheets to hang up on the walls.  We also decorated the gazebo.  But afterwards we were so exhausted.  My companion almost fell asleep in studies.  We had a stupendous week.

            On Monday we had a nice surprise.  One of our less actives asked us what we were doing and if we had had dinner.  Of course, a version of P-Day dinner is usually something you can scarf down while you are scrambling to finish the letters you promised to write to people.  So the obvious answer was no we had not had dinner.  She says “Then let’s go and get some food.”  So IHOP it was.  That was a real tender mercy of the Lord.

            This week was full of miracles.  We got in contact with at three people that we haven't seen since the first week of the transfer.  It was amazing to be so blessed.  My companion who is usually very timid even called one of them to repentance.  It made me so proud of her.  

            The greatest lesson I learned this week is that God really wants us to do such great things, but he knows we are not perfect, so he must perfect us in order to achieve our potential.  So I guess I no longer need to be surprised to discover that when I have the hardest trials the greatest blessings follow. One thing that my old companion always told me is that God is always preparing us for something else.  Well, I hope you all have a great week

            Just last note I want to thank everyone so much for their prayers.  I know a large part of my receiving so many blessings on my mission is due to all the prayers I have received from my friends and family.  I love you so much.

Sister Rogers

 

The Attitude of Gratitude



Sister Houser and me

June 2, 2014

            Well this week is something that has really sparked some soul-seeking.  I have really been examining my motives behind my actions and I have come to realize that my main motivation is not love.  It comes, I have found out, when you switch to a new area and your heart is still a bit in your last area.

            So this month’s theme is Love, which is so perfect and it is really amazing how much serving people really causes you to love them.  So my companion and I have been doing everything we can think of to serve the members and non-members.  We discovered the best way is just to show gratitude.  It has not only built them up, but it has also helped us remember all the blessings that we have been given.  So, in conclusion, if you want to have happiness, have gratitude.   

"A subtle but significant blessing we receive is the spiritual gift of gratitude that enables our appreciation for what we have to constrain desires for what we want. A grateful person is rich in contentment. An ungrateful person suffers in the poverty of endless discontentment."

                                                            —David A. Bednar, "The Windows of Heaven"

            In addition, we found a new investigator this week.  He was a potential that Sister Walton had and when we visited Neil, the first thing he offered us was beer.  We decided to save the word of wisdom lesson for later, but we taught him the Plan of Salvation.  Neil has never really been to church, and doesn't really know anything about things religiously.  As we talked, it was if he was soaking it all up.  It was so cool to see and it was really amazing to watch him start to understand what we were saying.

            I went to the TEMPLE.  It was such a neat experience again to go and you learn something new every time.  It is amazing because the temple is the only place I have been where it is as if the Spirit is tangible and you feel it everywhere.

Love you all

Sister in Jersey





Sister Houser and me at the Zoo

Sister Houser my 3rd Companion

A Magnolia tree - the most beautiful tree in Jersey

 

My new companion - Sister Walton

Sister Walton and me at the Manhattan Temple

 


A recent convert

The Statue of Liberty