No Marriages? 11-23-09

What up fam!!!!!!!!!!! 11-23-09
Well its been a crazy week and time is just disappearing… wow Clint your 31 brother hehe thats crazy but your Young…your so Young and im excited for you it sounds like you had fun in Cancun. Orvil is growing growing and mom sounds like the best grandma ever hehe that’s great! I’m so gald everyone else is doing well.
Well the weeks go by so fast and it’s just crazy this week we had the last zone leaders conference and it was fun eating pizza and staying up late telling stories with all my buddies for the last time they all look at me and just cant believe I’m leaving and won’t be there next time and I can’t either and it’s kind of hard trying to get used to it for the last time. President taught us good and we have last Christmas celebration conference on the 21st Monday and then I sleep in the office and get on plane next day. I have my last interview with pres on the 8th and he wants to hear and see my goals…mmmm for what my plans are. I love the mission and love being a elder and especially helping those other elders .
This week I have to tell you all was probably the most stressful just bad week of my whole mission . Don’t get worried but we got a call last Friday night that the matromonios were a no go cause the state of Peru chosica denied that the elders marry people . So until there is an investigation I guess there had been some filing problems and just chunk and so they said no and maybe not for this week either and we don’t know what we are going to do but I was the one who got to stay up until 2 30 in the morning crying laughing ticked shocked calling everyone telling them in my zone that we got shafted…I first call the assistants and the ZL’s of shosica and it just destroyed them with a burn and said how can you call me at 10:30 saying there is no marriage tomorrow if I got a family of 4 and grandparents cakes, dresses, little sparkly things everywhere, cookies waiting in the church, a full to the brim baptismal fount!!!!!!!!! And 300 ward members ready to see this dude tie the knot and baptize his wife!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don’t you tell me there is no marriages boy or I’m going be in a three legged foot race with you the clinica san paolo ! They then told me it was from state. Well we baptized 0 this week and it was a disaster. we sent members to investigators house at 12:30 and they all cried and it was hard to get them happy again. I just remember sitting on my bed looking at my comp and we both started laughing it is so stressfull being a elder sometimes) ps I really wasn’t that mean on phone it was just to make you laugh but I can talk pretty fast in espanol) ..Who have so much responsibility and happiness of lives in your hands not to mention the salvation of souls but I said a prayer and we got it figured out for hopefully this week. Oh man I’m grateful for the trials form God I know this is how it will be in future at work, marriage, and with crazy kids or whatever. Like they say come what may and love it! This week will be a better week but we canceled so many baptisms it was so so so so embarrassing all the ZL’swere so mad all we could do is go on its nobody’s fault woof. I just remember calling my bud Elder Bac from Guatemala and I said its over buddy no marriage tomorrow. I woke him up and he said you’re kidding. I’m dead I’m so dead what a nightmare I said. I’m sorry and slowly hung up the phone ocuh!
Well we had some good people in church and things are looking lots better it always gets better and the family is happy and ready to go on. I love you all may god bless.
I work hard every day down here for all those who want to come to Christ from lama land muah!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Elder Rogers moroni 8 2 I think of dad when I read this

Trouble on the ball Field

What up fam!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well im down here in sweaty old peru and i dont know how im gunna home not so skinny like my plan just sweating like a dog but o well…im lovin it! Im so glad to here that the am is doing great and that things are tranquillo. Mom your getting in Spanish nice work!
Im glad to here big kace is tearing it up in basketball and gage is home and just loved his mish I knew he did and know he is a stud . wow he really has changed a lot that’s great. and its gunna be un to see everyone and hear the stories! Hehe I got so many stories hehe speaking o stories well we went to internet today and the web was down so we decided to play futbol a little early and while we were in the capilla some one threw tear gas over the fence at us probly some punks or something put we were playing and all the sudden we had like three elders just hit the deck and I and my comp were like what is going on then I couldn’t breath it hurt so so bad I just had to spit so bad like 5 times it felt like I had salt water up my nose and my throat was bleeding it was way rough and I told everyone to get the heck out of there and we all went running into the church then in the bathroom and had a sink party and took showeres in it, it was so weird and we never even saw anyone or any thing but some of latinos say its happened before and they come and rob your stuf when you run inside I imagine…..but we were in the church and I got the key so nothing happened but how about that or a story it happen about 45 min ago and now im here but we are all fine happily ….crasy peru! Im never gunna forget this place I have experienced so many things its kind of scary to have to protect if something does happen but we are protected.
Well im still here in campoy and im gunna die with elder toral from Ecuador its cool we are good enough buds I sometimes think he is more trunky then I am! But I just got to stay ocused I go out there and pound it everyday I know I can always do better but im making the last push we got some good baptisms coming up if we can get things put together with these marriges, and we also received a ref today of fam of 5! Yeah and they are pretty promising I just want to feel the book before I head out and have success .
I m trying to finish bom and just read alma 60 verse 36 and ilove it cuase it casue its my main man moroni and he just doesent put up with chunk hehe and is just so powerfull and I have read that verse many times in last few days I really like alma chaps.
Well we really have had some great experiences latly we have helped a man come back to church after 15 years and now he will be married to his wife and his wife will be baptized and we also have a kid that falied us like on 10 citas and I alwys tell him that we will be his bud but that we need to move on well he came to curch and said elder rogers give me one more chance and I said of course buddy and he came to the appointment and said he just wants to be baptized and said he wasn’t ready at first budt know he is I don’t know why I was so paticint with him but I guess the lord does and and looked and my comp and said valio la pena causa ) it was worth the pain brother) and he is going in on Sunday hehe wow I will never deny how the lord literally uses us ans his tools and puts people in our path and if we are out working it will all work out. Tight!
Well that’s about all from lama land love your bro
Elder rogers

Everyone but me is going home

Hey fam! 11-9-09
Well it sounds like everyone had a good time at time out week for the mujeres! That’s awesome I’m glad you had a great time
That’s way funny trying to imagine the boys tending the kids hehe McDonalds always is the solution.
Well it’s been kind of a sad week and hard one but still great in the obra del señor . We had a big group pack the bags and turn in the keys this week and most of them were all my best buddies. I had one elder elder english who lives in Vegas who has really helped me just turn this zone into well oiled machine as one of my district leaders and he stayed in my room last night and now he’s gone along with elder Johnson from Bountiful Utah, Wilding; stg, merill Ogden vally, Lowery ; California, Lucas; Illinois, and many more. I can’t believe there gone because they are the ones I started my mission with! I can still remember some of them in my first areas we have all grown so much! As we build the kingdom of god here in the world he builds all of us..
I also had one kid in my group leave to go back to Afghanistan in my group? He’s a tank driver and pres called in morning and he left at night. What are we still over there? He left so fast pres says he had to go. It’s my last change now and it’s kind of hard for me to except it but I’m ready to rock it and burn until the engines roar!
This week we had four couples with their kids come to church and just when things were getting way slow we know got a potential 8 with date. Yesterday I looked up in air and said thanks you now we might be having some marriages again. Maybe three full families, it would be great way to leave. We got the goal we got the plan now it’s go time! We took a couple over to Lucy and Edgars house last night and had FHE and watched the Joseph Smith movie and then challenged them to get married and get baptized. They accepted and it was played so perfect our new married members did all the work they said do it, it will help so much in your life! We have them and son of 12 years old going in on 28! And will challenge other family of 4 Tues night! I love to work and if I had my wife and kids I’d love to find teach and baptize for a lot longer. Now I know exactly what I’m doing and I love to do it and feel so comfortable…but that’s why it’s only a one time deal. I talked in church yesterday and told some fun stories from Hauncayo and it was really fun to tell.
When I started the mission, I worked to try to make time go by faster . I know I’m working now cause I just don’t have enough time, I want to baptize my last day here!
I love you all ….your son in lama land
Elder rog
ps thanks Clint fam for bday card so fun! Jar bear voice, and cancun? Thats so not cool bro
Ps. During lunch we keep it real with mancola and phase 10 hehe. I love having fun! We made a pancha mancha the other day( chicken under the ground with hot rocks) and it was so cool. I wrote down all the instructions to be able to do it when i get back. It will be sweet at p.v. or Powell! And you play cards as you wait i also made pollos with Money we had their orange and say Campoy 21! On them with areas

Sweating it up in Lamaland

Hey fam! 11-3-09
Well it’s been a crazy busy week i have absolutely no time for myself and the days just melt together and we are slamin Campoy! We finished the month with 21!!!!!!!!!!! Baptisms! For the first time ever in Campoy for years! It was awesome and we really brought it together and it was so fun and the Lord just gave us miracle after miracle.
We started it out last week celebrating my bday we went bowling and I spent all of the funds on one shot. It was so fun and everyone really had a good time! I scored 166 here in ole Peru not bad uh? But then it was all go time! We got the zone pumped up on Tuesday and looked at all of our possibilities and then my companion and I went on divisions and took other missionaries out of their areas to help elders with investigators with a date it was crazy idea and it worked! I went with Elder Anco to la portada and we talked with the parents of a 17 year old girl (Gladis ) she has assisted the church for almost a year, and her parents would never give her permission to get baptized. I told Elder Anco we would get permission… and he was fasting. We went to the house and sure enough the mom didn’t want to talk to us….but we said a prayer with the girl and told her if she had faith and Lord wanted her to be baptized at this time he would present a way. We had a great member there too. She went in her mom’s room and 10min later came out with angry catholic mom….I was so nervous and Anco didnt say a word. We just started teaching about the family and how God is our father. I asked her if she found anything wrong or offensive about our message and then told her if she really wanted her daughter to process spiritually she needed the spirit and to get the spirit she needed to be baptized correctly. She bore testimony and her friend bore testimony and Elder Anco and I bore testimony. Then the mom said , when is she going to get baptized?....and what does she need?...the golden question. I said your love and support and she said …..I agree and I was little nervous in saying the baptism time because it was for the next day but I just threw it out there with big smile. It’s tomorrow you going to come?.......She said I’ll be there and her dad will too because now I understand! Miracle! There was some chest bumping and prayers of gratitude after. Getting 21 baptisms-----it was great experience and I’ll never forget how spirit just used us like a hammer and pick to open that ladies heart . It was great and Elder Anco is still in awe. Even though I’ve seen it before with Elsa and Astrid and my atheist friend, I too am in awe.…wow how great is this gospel? How wonderful is it to be a soldier and literally fighting for the truth. It was so great! Latter that night the mom accepted a date for 28 of November!

My companion worked hard on the other end and we as a zone were there present as the las Tones went in. A team effort!
I am so so grateful to be an Elder!! I love my mission and I am so so stressed out and just running around and I don’t get much sleep andall I don’t think about much else then this great work. I’m having so much fun and love helping other Elders. Our division went great with new Elder Taylor and his companion and they were able to baptize 4 this last week after not baptizing for a month. Miracles miracles, all around.
This week we also had 2 days as Elder Anco and I took 35 jovenes around to knock doors and then stayed the night with the older ones and divided with them for 2 days. I was with fun k id that told me all his stories and kept telling me to slow down. He was falling asleep in the lessons cause he was just so so tired but a great kid and we had some fun times.
I love all you guys
Sweating it up here in lama land your son elder Rogers!
This week I’m taking my zone to play soccer against our arch rival the zone Las Flores.
There going down!

10-19-09 I'm skinny but I'll pork up

im skinny but i know ill pork upi dont know if i will be able to get what you sent with lady 14 wardi got golden undisthanks so so much muah!!!!!!!!My dear FamilyWell what a week it has been uh? I am so overwhelmed for the love and support i have and recieve from my family, friends , leaders, and my havenly father. I dont know were to start or what to say on my own behalf, but i start with a I am so so gratefull for the opurtunity i have to finish my misson down here in peru. I know it was a miracle talking to dad on the phone and after our talk i imediatly dropped to my knees and thanked the lord and told him i woulnt waste 1 hour of what i got left and am so excited to work. Thnks so much for all of your prayers and fasting and may the lord bless us all and give me 62 more days!Well this week we worked hard and got 10 people in sacramental in church and we put fechas on two of them! It looks like im gunna have to get my best suit out again cause we got another wedding! We got two familys progressing as well and i can see things cahnging even though work is a little slow im just all smiles and happy to be out there, it is now full out we busted fan out and im sweeating like a peruvian.Things are going good in the zone we are all pretty unided and working hard, always lottle problems but i love getting up in front of them and puming them up with the scriptures like moroni and going out to war! Im like i dont hear you boys!!!!!! Lets to it! Will you put one more with fecha..bring one more to church!....FREEDOM! hehe jk but i do get pretty pumpedWe had great confernce with Elder christoferson of 12 this week at good ole ccm(SPIRIT prison) mtc in lima i heard one elder say that and pause at front gate saying i dont want to go back in there ... hehe it craked me up. But it was great conference and i really loved it. I saw little smith i am way skinny but not any skinny then that stick hehe i just huged him when he told me im skinny and told him welcome to peru, that im leaving and how he liked first change, food, dirt, dogs, stuff and we joked a bit he looks good and that i have eating more plates of white rice then he has hours in the misson he asked if i was serious and i said ....as a heart attack pal hehe it was fun to see him he is lima north and i know his zl he played futbol with me in ccm.Well there is a great peruvian story of two rats that fall in buket of milk and start swimming put one just cant see the point after while and drowns but the other just wont give up and just at point of despair the milk starts turning to butter and thickins up enough with his churring to raise up and hardn into cheese and he walks out of bucket, or somting like that i love that story and it remind me of my misson,and all those converts and all of us with life and being members of this church im never gunna stop wimming and telling all those to keep swiming with me. i have been through a lot and learned so so much and had so many crazy stories and adventures but i know it has changed my life! I will never be the same. I love you all and have a solid testimony of this gospel i have testimony of the power of the preisthood! Know god the father and christ live and are closer to us then we will ever know i testify to that.I love you all your son in lama land Elder rog!

It's a miracle

My dear family 10-12-09Thank you so much everyone for all the love and feelings you have expressed for me in your emails, its really hard and scary for me what is going on and its hard to concentrate and lead a zone, after i got off the phone with dad I got a blessing from president Leyva, then i went to the temple with president and his wife and the office elder’s. We held a special prayer in my behalf in the celestial room of Lima, Peru temple. We then went and got a MRI at 9 30 at night . Pres and his wife were with me the whole time until 11 30 at night. Pres. started crying and said he needed me here in this mission. In a personal interview we talked about lots of things and I felt like I was talking to dad. Saturday the whole mission fasted for me. I have so much faith in the Lord but am still so scared , . but I too have felt the peace and know he is watching over me. Only the Lord knows what is going to happen, i can’t worry or fear! I must trust in the Lord and that is what I’m going to do and what I’ve done my whole life. I know he will take care of me and I have done my very best for him. I don’t want you all to be sad. We must have faith. I will try and do whatever the Lord asks of me but I just want you all to be ok. This mission has been the hardest thing for me but i have put it all on the altar. I got really sick in Jauja and I thought I was going to go home but I somehow was healed and I still don’t know how to this day. I had really bad skin problems on my back and legs and arms, and I was healed and can’t explain how. When i started my mission I was so nervous i couldn’t eat, or sleep and I didn’t tell anyone. I just pleaded with the Lord and got over it.. I know the Lord has called me here for a purpose and I never knew I could do some things that I have done but I know he called me here and I must have faith. Yesterday my comp and I had a baptism and I tried to get my mind of things working hard Saturday, and domingo. I love being a missionary and love helping others.I wouldn’t trade these experiences in my life for anything! I love my Savior and his work! I love all of you please pray for me to accept the Lords will. I’ve expressed my deep feelings to him how i want to stay. I want those 24! I want to finish strong with what he sent me here to do. I asked that he would please take into account my feelings and desires. Please pray with me today as I will be going to the office at 2 to talk with the doctor about my results. Please pray that I can know all options and know what to do, and that if it is God’s will I can take care of the problem and stay. The lord loves us and only he knows. We must trust him I’m trying to be positive I’m so grateful for this time the Lord has given me in my life to serve him. I know this work is the most important work on this earth, and God lives and his son Jesus Christ lives and directs this work! And all of this happened because one boys prayer was answered . Joseph had it a lot harder than me in his life, May the Lord bless our whole family through our faith in him in the name of Jesus Christ amen.I love you all so much, thank you for all your love and supportLove your son in lamma land. elder rogers

Follow-up The MRI was negative---- We got our miracle.
Jon gets his 24!

10-5-09 Letter

Hey family! 10/5/09Wow what a great conference and great boost for all of us from the Lords prophets.I loved it and you better believe that i was there at all 5 sessions with my new suit all slicked up. I loved every second and took good notes. I really loved Holland’s talk and the prophet about love, and Eyrings about expresing that love and having good relation with dad and parents and spouse. It was so good and so true. I loved the street boys talk by the Chinese dude! There are so many stories like that of lives getting fixed and turned around here in Peru Isn’t this gospel just awesome? It’s like the answer to everyone’s problems and struggles. If they just follow its principles and it can be fun too cause you always feel good. I loved Holland. I love that man, and want to be able to teach like him what power!Well I’m glad everyone is doing great. it’s been really good week. I look so forward to conference and that was my last one..I’ll always remember for rest of my life where I was. ( in peru) I understood perfectly in Spanish 4 great conferences. I love being an elder and spiritual doctor down here helping in real live action, and I love all of you.Well I’m still here in Campoy and my new comp is Elder Toral from Ecuador, (it’s on the coast were the temple is) and this kid is my best bud! ( he reminds me of j Hamm jordy) and he is always happy and just funny and good elder. it’s kind of blessing being zone leader because I have had some really great companions and it so fun to learn from them. He is loaded too. He pulls out like 400 soles in cash when he was putting his stuff in room and says it’s a little money for personal stuff. I was like woof, all his stuff is nicer than mine. He also pulled out sub with two big speakers and mp4 with digtal camera with all the hymns, talks, efy. It’s been fun living off his abundance. He says he’s here to help me die peacefully and happily hehe Well we’re tearing it up here. I’m in full study mode learning more than ever, working and sweating every day. I am also waking up extra early every morning and hitting the exercises and I feel good. I want to make these next 2 changes the best.
We have lots of confidence here in ward. I’m ZL now and it’s kind of stressful being fully in charge with President calling all time. It is mostly handling money. I have to write everything down and am so so busy all the time getting everything ready; meetings, travels and conferences, ...It’s fun though and I love it. Christofferson is coming on the 17 and all of Lima Elders will be there! Also the CCM EldersWell I sure love all you everything is going great here in lama land and I’m running around just like I was at fun assemblies at Dixie High, my companion and I teach with scripts and get everyone pumped up. I have some fun lessons in my journal All investigators are welcome and we have 4 references that are looking goldenWith love Elder Jon rog