Pictures from Jon's first area in Lima, Peru

These are some pictures from Jon's first area.

To make the images bigger double click on the picture.

letter from Jon 4-8-08

4/8/08



My dear mother and father family and friends, I am in Huanuco a mountain town high in the Andes mountains and I love it.. Early last week I got transferred to a province shipped out on a bus for 9 hours. I was so scared and anxious. I traveled on the highest freeway in the world through the Andes with three other Latinos. The area is 15000 feet above sea level. The bus ride was so crazy! We drove right by Cerro de Pasco, the highest city in world, and I saw llamas and little old ladies in cowboy hats just like national geographic. It was exciting and so foreign. We were at 15,000 feet and people were literally up-chucking everywhere. I prayed the whole time and only had a little headache. Altitude sickness didn’t bother me and still doesn’t. I’m really blessed. It was a crazy trip. We were literally 6 inches from cliffs in this bus plus the driver dude had road rage! I am here in Huanuco with my new companion, Elder Hamoani from Arequipa. He is good guy who wants to work hard!!!!
Dad and Mom, I’m ok!! It’s no secret I’ve been through absolute hell in my old area and with my old companion--- he was such a punk! Now I am in the mountains and it’s so pretty. We live above a family in a cement box house and they are really nice. The food is better too!
I want to be the best I can. I can literally feel the Lord leading me by the hand and directing my life and in this mission. It is inspirational and I know this mission is molding me into the man God and I want to be, fast. I’m growing up so much and have been through really hard times but I’m doing great and I am happy and I know the Lord is with me every step of the way.
I have built my faith on my savior Jesus Christ and I will not and cannot fall.
The day I got here I was one of three white dudes and this way nice kid helped me learn the ropes and things and now I’m doing so good! Everything is good, my new comp and the area and this new kid and me have lots of fun. He is old, but that I have grown to really like him and I’ll give you a hint he doesn’t have a tooth? .....You got it Elder Birdsall-take 2. hehe Yep two nebies/greenies up in the mountains. haha I love Huanuco, its so pretty like Germany and Hawaii and it has perfect weather. It is a little frigid at night and when I shower (woof !). But I’m happy and my zone leader is the bomb and Elder Birdall and me have lots of good times! We buy salchi papas hot dogs and potatoes to survive and I’m happy.
I’m sorry the next couple letters that you get might be hard to read because it was so hard for me. The days were so rough. I am fine now, and I can do this! I’m gaining weight and I’ve only been here for 5 days,.
We are in an area that hasn’t had missionaries. We are opening this area my companion and me. I am a new Elder, sometimes I don’t know what Pres. Lindstrom is thinking giving us so much responsibility and trust, but I will do my best.
I really have loved the last week its completely different in provinces and I couldn’t be happier. Thanks for all wonderful mail. I try to make every letter a little care package for you mom.
I am in the mountains and its crazy mail. It still comes every week and the same address. My new comp is chill, everything about this new area is for me and I thank the Lord everyday. I feel like I have broken through my first wall. Be happy for me!
I will send pictures of this place. You will all love it!
I had opportunity to listen to one and one half sessions in English what a tender mercy!! My favorite talk was the one on prayer by Elder Bednar. Oh how wonderful! I loved it and I liked the last talk of President Monson and also Elder Ballard’s talk before that on mothers. I thought of my sweet mother. I love conference and that powerful talk by Elder Zwick wow . Conference was really special for a tender mercy for me!
I know you were probly all thinking of me and i was thinking of you too! Muah—(Ani told me this word means kiss) my heart burns for you all thanks!
I forgot to say happy b-day to you dad! Happy B-day! I love you and way to go Clint, wow you’re a stud! (He is saying congratulations to Clint. Clint won the Outstanding Young Engineering Professional of the Year for the Utah Water and Environmental Association) I know the Lord has blessed you Clint and Dad. You have a good life course and you do good service and I want to be just like you.
I’m in the jungles and I couldn’t be happier. Don’t be sad mom! Your sonshine is fine! “ They ain’t nothing going to break my stride …ain’t nothing going to bring me down,” …. I will try to be more positive and have good attitude. I feel so blessed with the way everything is right now. Look up Huanaco on Internet. I’m here with a big river and green mountains. I love you all and will talk to you next week.
I know this church is so true. I can feel spirit flowing through me. God and Jesus live here with me everyday! Love your son Elder Jon Rogers

3-24-08

Hey mom and dad ,
This is your son down in Peru thanks so much for fun emails and wonderful
letters. I’m glad you had a good time and got a taste of what I deal with everyday. I’m also glad you had fun last night for Easter. I was thinking about you
I’m so sorry for email last week the server was down and it didn’t work I tried so hard mom. It shut down after that sentence I tried writing. I am here now and everything is alright. I will email next Monday as well. We didn’t get any cards or email this week. It’s been tough but I will be patient. I pray you get my letters let me know. I love little blogs to catch me up every week. I read a few last week and that was good. I understand its hard with one way thing but know I read it all. I’m just happy to get it. I will try always to let you know how I am.
This last two weeks has been extremely hard on me and difficult I’m having a hard time with my companion and I let Pres. Lindstrom know but nothing is changing he is so mean to me and I’m just lonely and we aren’t doing what we need to. I will never give up but he is really disobedient and says hurtful things about kylee and fam cause I guess he likes putting me down. I don’t know what to do some days and with the diarrhea and my comp not wanting to do what we should. I’ve had comp study 3 times since being in the field. I know this is a test for me so please keep me in your prayers some days aren’t so bad, but I’m glad to hear things are going good.
Thanks so much mom and dad Clint fam. Tell everyone I love them so much. I went to temple last week and had a good long prayer for all my loved ones and to help me get through these hard times. I feel like cast away some days like no one knows what is going on with me but the Lord does so I will try to be positive always. Don’t worry about the mail, or email I write every week. I love you mom and dad fam. I know sometimes there is technical difficulties but have faith and stay positive. I’m here and I love you. I’m trying too. Thanks so much for everything. I’m looking forward to next week should be a good week for mail. I love you. I will go on in this great cause. love your son Elder Rogers

E-mail 2-25-08

2/25/08

Hey mom and dad,and family,
I’m here in Peru and I’m alive and surviving. My Preparation day is on Monday, except when I go to the temple. When we have a temple day our preparation day is changed for that week only. I am serving in Lima in the Bayovar Stake. I am assigned to the Villa Hermosa and Valle Sagrado wards. My companion is Elder Echegaray from Chiclayo, Peru. He is native and so we don’t really talk a lot but he knows what he is doing and I’m learning a lot I am in really rough part just me and my comp I’ve been here for five days know and my house is the humblest thing you have ever seen half our house doesn’t have a roof and my bed is on a bucket and bricks. It’s just made out of cement and it’s just really dirty. I took a lot of pictures and I’ll send them later.
This area is known for lots of baptisms we are about an hour outside of Lima in slums and there are nasty dogs everywhere. There are dirt roads with houses made out of sticks bricks wood tarps duct tape no lie it’s the craziest thing. I was so nervous the first day. We only have cold showers and the food is really hard to eat. I’m doing ok and surviving I’ll try to be happy. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to email but my p-day is on Monday so it should be a regular thing I’m getting used to things and hanging in there. I pray so much everyday and this is the craziest adventure. You’re going to die when you see for yourself were I live yikes... well we need to talk about business.
They are threatening to take away email so the new rule is that there can only be one address yours jemcoinv@infowest.com Ok that’s just what we have do. Mom so tell everyone in family, Bishop, President, uncles, aunts that they must email you and then you forward it to me ok. It’s frustrating but I’m so grateful for email so please help me gather it all Sunday night and then forward to me especially tell Kylee girl ok thanks.
Mom, and please don’t read theirs you can read mine reply if you must but just send it to me this is only way I can receive email is through the jemcoinv@infowest.com address you so please tell Kylee and everyone fast and if they already sent some last five days since last wed 20. Tell them to resend to you and then you send to me...please!!!
Thanks I love you all and am doing well. You send mail by pouch and regular. I would just mail regular like you have been. I got a few letters the first day that were 1 month old at the office that were pouch. I got one today from mom with newspaper so send regular mail. I think it is the best bet also you can send packages in big envelope and padded envelope with mission home address. Just go to post office and write everything that is in the package on green slip outside of package. I am sorry the mail is so slow i haven’t received any recent mail in two weeks. It is so frustrating but know it will all work out and it will soon catch up like the CCM . I love all of you and would really enjoy any mail from you mom. I write you every week mom, dad, Kylee and I will email Mondays. The area I am in is wild and everyday I sweat climbing up the hills to teach people in the huts but the mission is having big success and we have a goal of 400 yeah 400 baptisms this mouth as a mission. There are a little less then 200 missionaries in the mission and me and my comp have 6 people we are teaching that are committed for March 9th- yeah! I’m getting the language bit by bit but it’s hard I’ve been put in the fire but your always in my prayers.
love you mom and dad your son Elder Rogers

New Missionaries for Peru Lima East

President and Sister Lindstrom with their new missionaries February 19, 2008. Where's Waldo?

Let Me Out of Here -5 days and counting

2-3-08

Hey Mom and Dad and Family,
I Love you and home everything back in St. George is great. I am doing good in Peru, and only have two weeks left in this place. I am so excited to get out in the field, and start working and teaching and sweating. I love being outside doing anything but sitting in the classroom. This CCM is a really good place but I’m ready for a change. I get tired of it, 12 hours a day, all day everyday! It has been a good week. I have gotten lots of letters and I love them so much! They sustain me through the rest of the week. I can’t tell you enough how much they help.
Thanks so much; G & G Hafen, Ani, Lisha, Tyler, Clint, Dad, Erika, Ricky, Aunt Marcia and Aunt Michelle, Ang and T.J., Bishop, Pres. Wilkinson, Mom, and Kylee girl for all the wonderful days you make with your letters.
Some days are just a bite and then I get a nice carta or cartas and it just uplifts me, and gives me something to look forward to!
This week we got 7 new North Americans on Wed. and lost about 30. We also got about 30 new Latinos. There is only about 60-70 total in the CCM now and we are the old group yeah!!! I got called with my companion to be zone leader in the CCM! –yikes! It was very surprising since he released all the old district leaders and then called me to be zone leader. I will do the best I can our President doesn’t really know a lot and so he told us we will figure it out together. I am excited it’s just crazy, I guess. I handle all the mail. Yeah!!! So I get to see it first. I am so excited for that. We also have to organize all of sacrament meetings, and devotionals. It will be good for me. I just try to stay positive and light. I can’t tell myself I am a zone leader cause I never want to be one of those leaders who no one can stand cause he thinks he is better. I tell everyone hey I am just like you brother. I just need to be a good example mostly. Elders get frustrated sometimes cause this place really is like a prison sometimes, and we all want out!! They have a rule for everything and none of them make sense? But I promise I’ll stay positive.J
It’s just been a regular week nothing too exciting except last Wed, we went for a tour of Lima and that was very awesome. We went down town to the nicer part and saw the big palace, the capital building, and we saw the changing of the guard! It was way cool. I took some way cool pictures of the city, and town square and beach. We also went to the Peru soccer stadium, and I bought two way awesome jerseys. I love soccer jerseys! I took some good pictures of the beach and the sunset at the CCM. The sunsets here are very pretty because the air is so gross and polluted. The sky turns blue, pink, purple and orange. It is very beautiful. On our tour we learned so much about Lima. It is over 500 years old. Lima used to be the capital of all of South America because of the Incas the most powerful Army/culture of its time. There are 28 million people in Peru and 10 million of them live in Lima! That is over 1/3. This is one of the biggest cities. You really could spend your whole mission in an area about the size of inner city St. George because the slums on the hills hold about 300,000+ people…it is nuts!!1 It seems
Like there are no rules for traffic, building or anything. They just do what they can, or the fastest or the cheapest and easiest. It is really nice in some areas; beautiful and clean and then really bad in other areas!!! I have seen some really scary streets.

I have been out 3 times Interpol, temple and tracking. I love going out it is such an adventure and so unreal! I still get to go tracking and to immigration. I get to go out 2 more times into the city before I live in it—yikes!!!
Tell everyone to keep writing and that I will try and write back. I write at least 2 letters a week
I am having fun with the Elder, but I know that it is all going to change real soon, I am going to be thrown out on the streets. I am so scared but excited. Pray for me cause I’ll be days away from going when you get this letter. I could be sent anywhere on the east side of Lima, and I just don’t know what is going to happen! The Lord will protect meJ D & C 84: 80 and 88

80 And any man that shall go and preach this agospel of the kingdom, and fail not to continue bfaithful in all things, shall not be weary in mind, neither darkened, neither in body, limb, nor joint; and a chair of his head shall not fall to the ground unnoticed. And they shall not go hungry, neither athirst.

88 And whoso areceiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go bbefore your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my cSpirit shall be in your hearts, and mine dangels round about you, to bear you up.

Thanks for all your love and support, you are substaining me. I want to know everything. I want to know about girls b-ball. I want to know who is going on missions. Ani how is school? What are your plans for the summer?
How is Y.M. coming Clint? That is so awesome that you are Y.M. Pres. Make sure you tell me all about it. Make sure you put your index finger about 3 inches away from there face and say!!! “ Will you commit to me that you will be to flags Monday Morning at 6:00!” Just like Pres. Wilkinson. Tell him thanks for everything that I learned. I learned so much from him!!! I know I would not be as good a missionary if it wasn’t for him.
Tell me about sports and the Super Bowl. ---Dad---Clint
I got a haircut this week and it was brutal! The barber comes once a week for new missionaries and Oh my land! The clippers just ripped the hair out! I have been parting my hair like a plig trying to dodge the Latino hair Nazi, but he got me and like a lamb to the sheers I went. I look like a doof! But oh well! I should be good until JuneJ
I went to the temple last week but I could not go to a session. I had some problems.( diarrhea) It is no bueno. I sat out in the hall in the Lima Temple while everyone else went in it was no fun! I am supposed to get to go to more times so that will be good. I did not want to do a session because I would make it a 3-hour session cause I was going every hour on the hour! L Sorry--- I thought I would share some of the joys of being a missionary! It was a bad day!
I watched a really good movie last Sunday—the Restoration. It really pumped me up for my mission. I want to work hard and fight for the church all I can cause I owe it to all those who sacrificed so much. Joseph Smith is my hero. He was so brave and optimistic and that movie just really helped.
Two years is a short time to work and get a taste of what some did and sacrificed there whole life to. I am also reading “ Our Heritage” It is such a good book. It tells all about the pioneers and their stories, and miracles and trials and all they went through with the early years of the church. Did you know that 6,000 or so people were endowed in Nauvoo before leaving to come to Utah? They left for Utah as eternal families.
I love the Latinos, the other day the janitor was talking to me and wanted to get words to the song I sang with him, “More than Words” He went home and found them on the Internet and made me a copy. I saw him the next morning and he slipped me a folded piece of paper and smiled , hehe ---we are buds. Every time I see him he says, “lets sing.” One day in the laundry room I sang with him, it was fun I got something with every Latino I see. One guy always says, “what’s up home boy! Cause that is the only phrase he knows! So I say nada nada Limonada!
The Latino’s ask us where we are from, and we say Utah and then they say…..oh the factory. They call Utah the factory for Missionaries.
We got a bunch more Latinos yesterday going to Lima East and they all say its muy frio! Cold. The weird thing is they live here in Lima and they serve in Lima.
That would be like me getting my call to Veyo or Bloomington and speaking English and then going to the Stake Center to train for 3 weeks. Isn’t that weird!
One kid jumped the wall the other day and just went home. His companion told me he didn’t want to be on his mission anymore. So he just left while we were playing soccer.
I play soccer every day except this last 3-4 days. I kicked some Elder and lost my toenail. I took some pictures. It stood my big toenail straight up.
I love taking long showers. I get up at 6a.m. every morning and shower until about 6:30. I just relax and pray and think and sing, and it’s my time. You have to be careful here in Peru because the water goes from hot to really got to ice every min. I have a pretty good system going. I eat a canola bar, shave, wash my hair, floss, brush my teeth, wash my body, pray, change all in the shower. So it is like a 5 for one for me! Mostly I pray it is so relaxing!
My teacher is 25 and a bishop of a local ward. He is cool and bears his testimony all the time on how the church is responsible for everything good in his life especially his wife and kids. He tells us to work hard and you will be blessed. I really enjoy that!
I will continue to be optimistic and work hard. I still cannot believe I am in Peru.
Everyday has its struggles. It is something else down here.
I know there will be hard lonely times ahead, but I know the Lord is with me. I am trying to be totally obedient. I know if I do this, the Lord will bless me in the long run even if it seems it is not a big deal---the rules.
Alma 57:21
21 Yea, and they did aobey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their bmothers had taught them
We got to watch the Pres. Hinckley funeral yesterday--- it was so good. He did so much for this church and was so positive! My teachers down here are living proof of the perpetual education fund. 5 years ago these mem were in the slums in plywood houses, then the missionaries found them and baptized them, then they went on missions, then they came back and got a job at the CCM. Now they are married and going to school, what a miracle!!!
I know the church is true. I love being a missionary and I love all of you at home.
Here I am serving my mission soon to be who knows where in the mountains of Peru!
I love you Mom and Dad and Fam and everyone else. Love Your Son

News from the Field e-mail 2-7-08

Hey mom and dad and fam,
How is everyone? My new p-day is Thursday ,so I’ll for sure be here again next Thursday ok? Pres. Groberg called my comp and I to be zone leaders. I was shocked I feel no were qualified. There are 25yr olds in CCM and fluent in the language, but I will do the best I can. He said he could use my help- yikes. We are trying to figure things out. He is trying to figure out how to run this place--- its always out of control, but I’m excited. I’ve already had to talk to him about multiple problems. I also get to handle mail yes... hehe and we are in charge of Sunday church totally. Everything is in Spanish so that’s way stressful, but its good for me. I am excited for the work and I am doing my best. Thanks for all the wonderful letters and emails fam and sweet Kylee girl. I got your first response to my first letter today how glorious.
I got sick, but I’m doing well now. I don’t what to talk too much about sickness cause its over and I’m fine but it was scary. I’ll send home journal entry later but I had to get an IV yikes. It was the same old thing with bad throw ups but I’m happy and fine and surviving. Thanks for all the love and positive letters Richard Hinckley is coming down this Saturday so that’s going to be good. I have to call 7 speakers. I watched the Prophets funeral on TV and the new Prophet exchange so that was neat and a good break from class. I only have less then 2 weeks and I’m out of here. I can’t believe it. I’m so excited to show you guys what the real Peru is like.
I’m losing weight and I can’t help it. My pants and shirts are sagging like tenth grade again. I went to the temple today that was so fun it might be my last time but I’m glad I could go. Your letters are such a big boost and mine are still coming. I sent a letter every week. Your letters really boost me and get me through week. Pray for me I’m kind of scared and excited for field but about 12 more days yikes. I put bunch of names in temple all my buds on missions and you mom and dad. I love all you guys and will talk to you next Thursday. You can send me long emails cause I love them and they have dear elder here I found out, so give that a try if you like for 2 more weeks. Thanks so much mom and dad and fam, I love you. I take pictures of my emails. When I can print it will be great but it already is thanks for all love and support. Things are good in Peru. Tell me what’s up Clint in Young Men’s. Love your son Elder Rogers