Jon Fun Pictures

At the top of the mountain in Huancayo . Notice the patch on his pants. Zone Huancayo baby. Most of the Latinos are newbies and newbies in the church too

A todos mis amigos desde el valle del sol- Huancayo. El parque de identidad

Hey Ho!

We think this picture is funny cause in everyone's house they have a bitter beer face family picture. Here we are in a classic Peruvian picture.

Left to right

Elder Morrison- Vernal Ut., Elder Rogers, Elder Ferrer- Dallas Tx, Elder Bates San Antonio Texas Zone Leader

9-14-09 LIMA

fam!!!!!!!!! 9-14-09Wow it sounds like everyone had a great week and I’m so happy for that; Dad with fishing..and ward changes woof cool though.. I’m still here and working hard in my responsibilities. Hey don’t let me get trunky that is not a good thing. HeheWell its been another great week here in Campoy. Its been so fun having my stud companion and working hard. I’m happy cause its not to hot and miserable yet but that’s starting to change..yep it’s about that time of year. I’m getting ready to sweat like a Vitarte dog again! It’s all good! things are going great this week. We had interviews and he pretty much told me my companion is leaving then I’m going to be holding the reins or taking the whippings –jk! He was asking me how I felt in my new area and all. I think I know it well enough ?...I hope.Well its always really busy busy doing things going on divisions planning weddings, interview, numbers, little problems in zone, sicknesses…..I don’t get to study as much as I would like but I at least try to read an hour in Book of Mormon and D & C to get the spirit but the phone rings every 5 min until 11 or 12 at nights sometimes. On weekends I sometimes get frustrated! Some kids call to ask what we’re doing for p day when they should be snoozing but then once in a while you’ll get a call from the big man ....what you want!!!!!!! Oo..... buenas noches presidente como esta.The other night we took a sick Elder Ramierez , a newbie to the down town Lima E:R: at1:00a.m. We went by taxi. We were there until 5:00a.m. He was throwing up blood almost. So after a blessing and 5 or 6 runs to bathroom I said,”lets go!” It was an adventure, The ER staff gave him IV. I got to sit there and watch what one of the biggest scariest cities of the world brought in on Thursday night. There was contusion accidents, drunk, etc. It was wild and I was dead the next day. Such is the life of a missionary. It is crazy sometimes..but it was good to help. It’s cool that President trusts us to do stuff like that. I sometimes feel like a kid, but we have lots of responsibility.I also got to ride in the minivan of Hermana Leyva with nice and smooth church jazz music to go check if the rooms were clean of the elders. I did not want to get out of that sweet ride. It reminded me of all the times I tried to succor out of work and go to the gas station with Curtis and buy a root beer! loved running errands with him but I hated it when he dropped me off back in the heat.Well we got a marriage this week and we got 6 people that should get baptized this next 2 weeks here in Campoy. My companion and I are really working hard with families. Lucy and Edgar are going to get to go in on Saturday they call us there sons and feed us every time we are in there house and its fun seeing the change in them. Their son is so so happy in mission and I cannot believe they’re going to get baptized. I am going to make a movie for them of it all.Things are going great and I’m working hard. I love hearing from the elders everywhere. Way to go ELDERES! Hehe and helping these poor great people!! Its crazy we’re back in the cerros and these people buy big screens before they buy there roof and sweep the dirt floor inside their house until it hardens into cement almost. It’s pretty sad and gross the way they live but its Peru and I can’t even take my camera out and take a picture because I feel so bad. Plus someone will snatch it. We are so blessed!
Our bishop is the man! I love you all!
Your son in Peru muah!!!!!!!!!!!!ELDER ROG .

Elder Rogers 9-7-09

Hey fam ¡!!!!!!! 9-7-09
Well another week down here in Campoy, Lima, Peru. I can’t believe that I only have 15 domingos mas! I’m glad to hear all is well in stg and that your all happy and doing good.Well this week has been super super busy we did so much. Starting with last week , I took my zone to the ZOO! …….Yeah tell me about it who is the coolest ZL ever ? We have an activity fund and I spent most of it the last day of agosto and the activity fund for September , woops but I wanted to start out with a bang and reward our zone for getting 19 baptisms !!!!!yeah!!!! We were so close to twenty but there are 19 people more in the church. It is awesome we are looking forward to miracles this month! We had Zone conference on Friday and our class went well. My companion and I taught together and it’s easy to look like you know what you’re doing when your companion is such a stud! We taught and I had to direct the conference. It was way nerve racking but I think I did alright. I just had to give brief outline of what was going on like that red head dude on spoken word!
And the best part yet, my comp and I were in charge of lunch too and we took everyone to an all you can eat Chinese buffet in down town Lima! Now if there’s one thing I’ve learned on my mission the hard way its...DONT EAT Peruvian Chinese food! But this place was great! It was like Mesquite! And we got serious props from the boys and the big man...they all really liked it. It’s been a busy week with lots of activities of the conference and stuff. I feel like I’m back in high school and doing assemblies and d week! But I only have two conferences left now. I can’t believe it! But it’s been a good week.Well the work has been a little tougher this week missing so many hours going in to Lima to get everything ready. We are always in charge of conferences and if it doesn’t run smooth it’s like are heads on a platter.
We are finally back to work and are working really well with bishop and members and our ward is amazing! We have a family who has a son on a mission and they are going to get married on the 19th and baptized as well. Mom and dad and with son on mission, it will be family!!!!!!!I’m pretty excited about it. The spirit is so strong as we teach and I really know we are supposed to be here at this time for them. It’s really cool! I love finding the people God wants in his church!I sure do love all you guys ! The church is true and I love being a servant and missionary.
Love your son in peru From lama land will chat next week!!!!!!!So also the new bible came out and it’s like the coolest thing down here. President held it up during conference and everyone was like the coolest thing ever oooooooo awwwwww .Elder Rogers.Ps The other day one lady told me that her leche(milk) was way yummy and asked if i wanted some she said it was from her grandma(mamita) and I said oo I thought it was from your cow...hehe ( being funny) and she almost died laughing. I had to stop her cause i thought she was going to choke. You would have laughed so hard she sounded like the wicked witch of the este!

From Lama Land 8-31-09

8-31-09 Hey fam!!!!!!!!!!!
Well it’s been another week can you believe that were does time go?Well I’m so glad everyone is doing so good. I love hearing the fun stories and memories made during the week! Woof dad your trunking me out( just kidding I’m glad you had fun) with the fish stories and Clint but that sure does sound like fun. I love fishing! I can’t believe jord is already in the field!... woof! It is fun going down memory lane (he’s doing awesome ) Reading his novels every week…. he writes so much! I don’t know how he does it. Well I guess that’s what happens! It makes me laugh! I never had email or msn or anything until I went to DSC. I sure try hard to type type type… Well this week was awesome we had our first counsel with all the zone leaders . It was the whole mission and I got to see my buddies that I haven’t seen in years from all over Eastern Peru; Haunaco, Cerro, Hauncayo , La Merced. We spent Monday and Tuesday together and we talked about some great things. President really taught us well.
It is also fun talking to Elder Wilding about three to four times a week as he is now my IM –assistant to the Pres. I am so excited to serve and help the elders. President gave us the tools to do it this week. We also had the opportunity to go to the temple twice this week which was so awesome for me. It was my first time in 7 months and it was so great to be back in that celestial room and feel his spirit. It was a great conference and I learned a lot about how the mission works. At the conference this week and I had to stand up and teach elders of four zones how to get good references for 25 min!!!!
I got called this morning and I am in charge of lunch for 60+elders after conference this Friday so that should be fun . It is kind of different doing these things I’ve always enjoyed but now have to do. I still love it and love helping new elders that need help like me when I started. It’s so rewarding to give um a side hug and say you’ll do great pal!My Ward and bishop is the best and I love him he is giving home teachers to the people who aren’t even baptized yet and it helps so much. He is completely in the love with our work and it makes me so excited to have calling after the mission to help Elders and the work. I am going to help them just like he helps us. He welcomes all those that we are teaching to church and he offers his house to them. He feeds them and he sends his wife after them. It is so awesome feeling the love!Things are going great I have lots of fun with my companion. He’s such a stud and we just joke all the time with are investigators too and it’s so fun. Now I know the language, I can actually pick up on jokes he does and it’s fun to throw a line at him too. The other day we went in to a house ( It was a part-member family with members that know us;) ) and I said now.. You’re going to have to be patient my companion is from Las Vegas and is learning Spanish so ask me all the questions ok? He says I’m from Las Vegas in English and he is just like silent for first 5 min of the get- to -know you chat. It was great, I was laughing cause my companion i s my bud and we love having fun.We baptized a mom and her two kids yesterday and it was such a good baptism. We had a program and everything. I felt the sprit strong. It was so great seeing them get baptized. I baptized the mom and my companion baptized the kids.
Dad I know it’s all about the people and I have so many great friends. my favorite thing to do is to ask the new converts their story, and it is so interesting . I want to make a movie of how the church as grown in Peru. One kid was telling me how he used to street fight before his mission for cash yikes….He was showing me all of his scars and now he comes to church every week in a suit and he is a teacher of Young men. It’s so great seeing the change in these people’s lives. Brigham in Jauja wrote and told me that he is preparing to go on mission ¡!!!!!!!!!!! He completes his year as member on the 16 of September. That was the kid that was baptized in three days with Elder Benites and I love that kid. He actually called me from Piurra last week, i was like hello con quien hablo (who am I talking to?) and he said peanuts! My Nick name for him and he was here in Campoy too! I love being a missionary and love all you guys! Yesterday we had family home evening with a family that is getting married and then baptized! Yep more marriage parties hehe! We watched a video and it was in Spanish and I was like hey we need to change it cause I thought it was in English. I am getting so used to Spanish. My companion looked at me like you dork….I felt pretty dumb!
I sent a letter for moms b day with some fun pictures--- please share with all its fun.
Your son en lama land Nos vemos pronto

8-24-09 You get to translate today

Hey fam!!!!!!!!Wooof well im here in the uglyest city in the world yep.....Lima! i got changed with just one change with my kid as a zone leader here in Campoy its a getto area in down down lima. My comp is the man! Hes elder Deza from my group and we are ready to tear it up big time i was kind of suprized cause they always had me train two cnages but yeah there was also joke going around that i was gunna train again hehe whos gunna be rogs next kid. But im excited just to tear it up with my main man deza buena gente.I feel liked i acomplished all i could with sanches that kid has lots to learn but last week with him he was able to baptise and he finished his lessons with me and thats my curriculum for kids ive never had one that hasent been able to get in the water and teach and challege so i sent him off., im escited to learn again and kind of have a comp thats just knows whats up and see his stile and way he teaches ive trained for almost year and it was like crazy to see deza just throwing curve balls in lessons and im so excited to be his comp! Our ward is the bomb its like all jovenes and rms the wards in lima are so awesome we live with our lider misional and are bishop is 30 yr old rm and weve already had a baptism and we have fam of three that can go in next week that right a fam!!!!!!!!!! Im so escited i was literally just druling to see so many fams and great people so ready its just differnt in lima and its so laod fast moving and jam packed i love being a providence boy but im ready to just baptise like a crasy man and with what im seeing im just like druling...hehe my comp is escited to cause he can see it in me there is so many great fams here..... well i said good buy to all wonderfull peeps in huancayo and got on dredead bus and passed ticlio one more time highest highway in there world it always makes me just so weesy but i to love it cause its prettys windy drive in world mom would be one prayed with alcohol swipe laying on floor in the back but its such andventure! I got here and just forgot how contaminated lima is its like living in a humind dank sand box with dogs slime white painted black, and fish and jacussi again hehe. But the people are so humble and ready hehe the kids are so tight and last night i met a kid and he was spiting some lima slang and i couldent really understand but he said ( how did you turn into a peruvian potatoe like us white boy...) i was like yeah word...whata? hehe but i think he liked me he had mohock shave and eyebrows with shaved lines in them like nelly... hehe but a stud hehe thers so many crazy kids with style down here but they com to curch and love it and they come like in pin stripe suits first time with there whole squad and like ..yo weres rog at?...we got sweet fam and mom and two kids carmen and brenda andd manueal that are probly going in this week im so excited i gueass record for compoy zone is only 20 por mounth its kind of poor getto area but last time they got 20 was last year with my main man benites right before they sent him to me in jauaja and we are lookinng to break it this mounth i want to so bad heheI love being sone leader but its so much to worry about and i can tell im gunna be slammed this next four mounths woof I love all you guys so much!Ps we last in soccer hehe i put bone colletor on back of my jersey to be intiminating but it dindnt work hehe we last 4 to 2 i scored are two gaols it was fun i love soccer!Your son!

From Lama Land

What up Fam!!!!!!!!!!!!This is j rog down in Hauncayo ,Peru.
Well this has been a crazy week. Time is just rolling and it hard to keep up with it. We had another great baptism this week and finished my companion’s lessons one a cinco baby! I’m thinking about buying him a cupcake today and putting a candle in it! It was like pulling wisdom teeth but we got her done. He’s 100 percent better and I’m excited for him we have been working hard and I’m proud of him!Happy bday mom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On the 21st. I got fun pictures coming that should get a good laugh. I planned it well.
I still love the Liahona but I don’t forget about great script stories and answers, mom. I got little distracted this week and read “our search for happiness” it is so so good!!! I loved it Yea ,mom we do lots of service I have to or I get board. In the picture we are making a mud house? Yea what time are we in! Hehe …yea that house is a upper class house of plywood it came out pretty. Wow mom and dad your vacationing fools ……. I want to go to the beach when I get back too!I now eat with the second counselor of the stake of hauncayo. We talk deep doctrine and its so fun and cool the knowledge he has. It inspires me! I’ve really gotten into fun studies. I’ve always loved studying but it just gets better you know!Sorry about all the grammatical errors. I’m really not that handicap. I just don’t have lots of time or the best keyboard. Sometimes the keyboards don’t have letters –sorry.I’m so happy to know you are all going well and jord is tearing it up in the mtc hehe thats awesome. I am proud of all my buddies on there missions just doing so great in their own way . We all came for a reason I’ve come a long way from the refining process of MTC and CCM hehe. It’s fun to see the changes.
I am looking over my shoulder and I can see Birdsall with his two day beard, his ugly tie, his tennis shoes, his trucker hat and shirt and tie and I just have to smile. He’s a great elder but he has a style and it is p-day …. What a doof but I love him. It’s been a long ride.We working it here and just trying to find the escogidos Well just a normal week not much to report on Our old penz stopped building her second story to her house when we left. Now we pay someone else as penz?....now she doesn’t like me. I guess I ended her flow of doughJWe went hiking again in Cochas to find more native people. In Cochas they don’t even know what cable TV is . It is to fun!Love your sonElder rog in lama land

Pictures From Scan Disk

So I am calling the first page Just say no to sweaters 2nd page Mission memories

3rd page

Here we go building a house again.

Can you imagine living in the little shack?

Look at the semi-nice furniture though?