It's the Final Countdown (For the MTC)

I have 1 full day left in the MTC. So I'm kind of freaking out a little, but its fine. I am about to go make this real life! 

Funny story of the week. SO it's my last time teaching a progressing investigator (our teacher Hermano Beltran) and I am teaching him about the nature of God. I'll write out our conversation in Spanish, then translate it for y'all.

"Dios tiene un cuerpo de carne y jueves."

"Jueves?? Cómo el día de la semana?"

"Oh..no! Dios tiene un cuerpo de sangre y juevos"

"God has a body of flesh and Thursday"

"Thursday?? Like the say of the week??"

"Oh..no! God has a body of flesh and eggs"

So...that's me here! Week 6, preaching false doctrine! Hahah it was hilarious. The real word, for future reference... huesos. Dios tiene un cuerpo de carne y huesos. Honestly, I'm not 100% positive that's how you would say that, but I'll learn by Monday;) Anyways, that was the funniest moment of the week by far. Also my most embarrassing spanish mix-up. I'm sure you will be able to look forward to many more of those in a couple weeks though! 

My thoughts about leaving in a nutshell: I'm scared out of my wits. I don't feel ready, I feel like I just barely got used to this transition, Spanish is hard and natives talk so fast, and goodbyes are not my forte. Today we had to say bye to my favorite teacher and it was absolutely heart-wrenching. Hermano Beltrán has taught me more than I can express in words, and I seriously am going to miss him so much its pathetic. I have learned somuch about how to be a more effective missionary, how to study the scriptures, how to work with a companion, how to teach in unity, how to be positive and see the blessings in my mission, how to get through hard times, how to have faith, how to have the Spirit... and thats just a beginning. I am so incredibly grateful for my experience in the CCM and the people I have met and gotten the opportunity to work with. My companion has taught me so much, about the gospel and testimonies, about teaching, and about strength. She has been SO patient with me (and my emotions). I love her so much and I am way sad that we are off to different missions for the next 18 months. She has always had such a good sense of humor that keeps me going when things get hard, and we connected so well. My district means so much to me, and I have so much respect for them. They all have different strengths and I'm stoked to hear about how they're able to bless their missions. Saying goodbye is going to be SO hard, but we are all moving on to a more exciting phase. 

It's been hard for me recently because all everyone talks about is leaving, and I want to enjoy my last bit of time here. My companion is purely stoked, and always brings up how excited she is to serve in McAllen. I wish I could steal some of her excitement and get rid of some of my fears. I wish I could say I was purely excited too, but I can't sort out my thought processes. I have been struggling to be honest. I'm working on my faith so that it will overcome my fears though. Today I am fasting, and I know tomorrow will be hard, but once Monday comes I want to be pumped. I think that being done with packing and saying goodbyes will help...

Today I read a scripture, D&C 31:3... I don't have my scriptures here to quote it exactly, but THE HOUR OF MY MISSION IS COME! I need to be filled with joy and leave all my fears behind so I can move forward with the work that needs to be done!! I am proclaiming the most important message people will ever hear in their lives! :) 

Well, I have to go now, but wish you all the best! Next time we talk I will be in Texas!!! Watch out Houston;) haha just kidding

Love you all! Have a great week :) 

Last Week in the MTC

Howdy there my family and friends!!

I am literally here 4 more full days. What is even happening?! 

I've been a missionary for a month now, and I made a very short list of some things I have learned so far... I literally feel like I could have gone on with this list forever, but I'll keep it brief. 

1. Time really is going to fly on my mission. 

2. I do not have a Mexican stomach. 

3. Fresh mangoes are life. 

4. My mission is going to require a daily effort and a lot of work. 

5. Scripture study is SO important!! For EVERYONE not just missionaries! 

6. I need the Spirit every day at every single moment!

7. The power of the Priesthood is SO real

8. I. LOVE. LATINOS. 

9. The Atonement can and will give me strength when I need it because...

10. I AM NOTHING. On my own, I could not do ANY of this. But thankfully I am not left on my own, and I have received strength countless times.

11. God is looking out for me and He KNOWS AND LOVES ME. 

12. The Gift of tongues is making the impossible possible... I am learning SPANISH! 

13. Prayers are answered- not always in ways we expect, but God wants to bless us! We just have to ask in faith! 

14. My mission is going to affect the rest of my life

15. "The temple or nothing" This is what I want for my investigators and what I absolutely am having for me. I am getting married and sealed in the temple, nothing less than that. 

16. I have been given specific gifts to help me in this work, and although I don't know what they all are yet, I am learning that God has prepared me to be here. 

17. God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies those He calls.  

I will stop there, but this is just a few of the things I am learning---- aside from everything in all my classes and lessons with investigators!! I really could go on forever. And I could explain each of those things more!! 

So yesterday, I had a minor panic attack... I think literally. But I'm fine now- Some Elders I didn't even know walked up to me and asked if I was okay, that they saw me crying and wanted to know if I needed a blessing. (Sidenote, this panic attack was in the middle of the comedor, everyone was walking past and lots of people tried to comfort me- it was bad...BUT God is looking out for me and EVERY person I know here at the CCM happened to be there at that time so I got to see friendly and familiar faces- it was a tender mercy. Anyone can tell me things will be okay, but seeing people from home and from school was SO good) Granted, I still couldnt control myself, but I love my friends. Anyways!! Me and Hermana Sainsbury went with the Elders, and 6 of them stood in on this blessing. All I had told them was that I was anxious and couldn't seem to be comforted. 

In this blessing, they brought up things that they couldn't possibly have known for themselves and I KNOW it was God speaking through them to bring me comfort I couldn't have found anywhere else. I wrote two pages in my journal just of things they said to me that I exactly needed to hear, and it was INCREDIBLE. I know that Heavenly Father knows me and He knows my needs. I felt His love so strongly through that blessing, and I know that those Elders had the power of God and they are using it to bless His children. 

I am so grateful for all the things I have learned here at the CCM. I love the people I have met and come to know and there are SO many things I still need to work on, and it is EXTREMELY overwhelming, but God doesn't demand perfection from me. He wants me to continue improving and learning! Thats all I can do! I'm nervous beyond words for the field, but I know that God knows me and loves me, and that if I put my trust in Him, He will take care of me. I am feeling so blessed. 

I love my Savior Jesus Christ. He is MY Redeemer, and through Him I can receive the strength I need to go about this work. He is transforming me from little weak Shaelyn into the powerful missionary and Representative that He needs me to be. I know this church is true and I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to proclaim this to my soon-to-be-friends in Houston Texas!! :) 

Have a fantastic week!! Love you all, 

Hermana Rogers

One Month!

Hola familia! 

So I dont know if I have already told you guys about Hermana Sainsbury and my goal to sit with natives every meal, but it has been so entertaining!! I love meeting and talking to them haha they think we are hilarious (no- its nothing I actually say...I think its more all the stuff I can't say) Two quick stories. So Wednesday is when we met them- Hermana Aguiñiga, Calagua, Ake, and Siza. Two of them eat breakfast with us, and the other two eat lunch and dinner with us. Wednesday morning they served Quesadillas for breakfast........with a FLOWER inside!!! hahah I was thrown off, and i played with it for probably 5 minutes asking the Hermanas if it was normal for them to eat flowers, where they came from, if they tasted good, and finally I just ate it. They were laughing way hard because I was so confused at the massive flower in my tortilla... 

Then for lunch, a couple minutes after us meeting our other new friends, Hermana Sainsbury was squirting lime on her food, and it shot out of her hand and juice sprayed right into Hermana Ake's eye! She looked like she was in so much pain, but she was laughing so I think its okay to call that a funny story. 

Anyways! This week went by faster than any other weeks that I've been here, and I only have one more!! That is such a crazy thought... I HAVE BEEN HERE A MONTH NOW! I have been learning SO much and it is so hard for me to imagine taking all the things I have learned about teaching and channeling it into real investigators in the field, but hopefully I will be able to do it effectively enough!

My talk of the week is When I Am Weak by Gérald Caussé. :) My companion had brought it with her and let me read it because I have had an obsession with this topic in my studies lately. 

The Lord has the power to transform our weaknesses into strengths. 'God is not the God of superheroes, nor the God of people without weaknesses- such beings do not exist!"

Here is a list of PRINCIPLES TO HELP OVERCOME LIFE'S CHALLENGES:

1ST. Build on your strengths

2ND: Recognize your personal limitations

3RD: Rely on the Lord

4TH: Qualify yourselves to receive the GRACE of the Savior

(The talk goes into detail about each of these, but thats a summary!) 

Elder Neil A Andersen describes grace as "Spiritual knowledge and power that changes how someone sees himself, increases his capacities, and magnifies his ability to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord" 

The Spirit will sanctify us and raise us beyond our mortal condition, which I will certainly need as a missionary every single day. The Spirit is the single most important element in missionary work because it is the way I will testify, the means by which my words will be carried to the hearts of the people I will teach, and the way they will receive personal revelation for themselves and become converted unto the Lord. 

I have both the privelage and the responsibility to preach the gospel to God's children! I am the Hope of Israel and I am 19 years old!! The people I am going to teach are prepared by the Lord to receive me and they deserve the very best of me--everything that I am and more. This is THE MOST IMPORTANT MESSAGE PEOPLE WILL EVER HEAR IN THEIR LIVES!! It is my responsibility to study and prepare and teach these people with the Spirit, HELPING them receive the Restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I am helping them come to know their Savior, and bringing them to Him one by one so that He can heal them! I have been so humbled as I have recognized that this is God's work, these are God's children- I need to be as persistent as He would be in bringing them to the knowledge of the truth. 

OKAY. I have a challenge. Its a bit of an extended challenge, and it'll require some work! I dont know where you guys are at in Book of Mormon, but I have been thinking and learning so much about the power of scripture study- and especially of the Book of Mormon. 

This Book will CHANGE LIVES. It is full of the words of God, and even more than that, it is a tool for CONVERSION. Through the Book of Mormon we can receive revelation, learn the doctrine of Christ, and come to know the Savior more personally. 

The prophets have emphasized blessings of studying the Book of Mormon forever... what I want to do is pick something (either a promised blessing from a prophet or a specific question we want answered) and then read the Book of Mormon with that in mind. Is it too ambitious to read it by the end of the year? No? Perfect. Lets do it. Reading the Book of Mormon prayerfully will change your life--I know it has for me! 

Brother Loveland (when he was my seminary teacher) told me, "It doesn't matter how much you go through the scriptures, but how much the scriptures go through you" That changed my view of scripture study since high school, and I am so grateful for the opportunities to learn from the words of God. 

As a missionary, the Spirit will bring things to my remembrance but I have to get them there in the first place, and this is why gospel study is so important! When you learn by the Spirit, your heart can be changed. I feel like I sound way too preachy right now....I'll stop!! 

Basically, this is THE LIFE! I am loving it. 

This is the Lord's time. I am His instrument!! 

Have a good week!! Love you all SO much :) Talk to you very soon!!

Sincerely, Hermana Rogers

PS My next PDay is on Wednesday, and then the week after it will be whenever it is IN THE MISSION FIELD!! Just giving you that heads up! Also-- I dont think I will get anything else if you send it here, so you can delete this address from the blog and everything haha 

ANYWAYS I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!! :)

Semana Tres

So my BIGGEST UPDATE this week is that it flew by AND I wasn't an emotional wreck. I know, its a miracle but definitely 2 good signs there! So anyways- the CCM got hit hard with some bug thing (or salmonella- no one knows for sure) Saturday night 3 companionships left our evening classes early because they were SICK. One of our Elders was green in the face and it was scary- Sunday at church 4 out of 12 from our district was there... it was BAD. Hermana Sainsbury was one of the people who got sick so we spent a bit of time at home this week, but she is all better now!! 

While we were gone though, our elders- who by the way are the best- wrote us notes because they missed us. (Lets be honest- they probably fell apart without us;) My favorite two notes were from Elder Heileson and Elder Roundy. Elder Heileson said about Hermana Sainsbury's sickness, "It could be worse. 2 Kings 2:23-24" Then Elder Roundy went off about how we are their big sisters, "except you can't hit us or yell at us..so nice big sisters. Come back, we need our Hermanas" It made my day. 

Before everyone got sick, we had TRC which stands for Teaching Resource Center... they explained it as "bringing people in from outside the CCM" Which I interpreted to mean, "Best bring your A-game because you're teaching REAL people this week!!" (Sidenote- I have a confession. I think I made myself sound much cooler than I actually am. We haven't taught any real investigators yet... The investigators we have had all turn out to be our teachers here in the CCM. The stories are real, they take someone they taught on their missions and pretend to be them, but all in all, I am not legit yet). ANYWAYS. Saturday we taught Hermano Beltran's wife... It was nice to meet her, but teaching her was a little awkward because the whole time she kept bearing testimony to us. She is a very active member and we had no idea what to teach her, but it was still a fun lesson! She is way cute :) 

I learned SO much this week. It feels like nothing really too out of the ordinary happened... but yet my brain is EXPLODING with all the things I want to tell you guys! 

Elder Bednar. Character of Christ. Christmas Devotional. (I think every person should read this talk... so if you find it, I want a copy, and if you can post a link to it on my blog, that would be great :)) IT IS AN INCREDIBLE TALK! I can't even try to summarize it, but I will talk about what hit me the hardest and got me thinking this week. CHRIST TURNS OUTWARD IN LOVE AND COMPASSION WHEN THE NATURAL MAN IN US WOULD TURN INWARD IN SELFISHNESS. Elder Bednar told ME, "This mission IS NOT ABOUT YOU. Get over yourself, get out of the way, and quit worrying about what you want. Your investigators need to be converted to the Lord, not to you". My role here is to lead people to their Savior so that through the Spirit, they can gain a testimony and work on their conversion process! This week, I learned a lot about CONVERSION and GRACE. I will try to explain what is going through my head. 

Conversion is consistently living what we believe, not in our own strength, but in HIS strength. The Atonement gives us strength beyond our own to do good and become better. Through Christ's grace, we are able to put aside the natural man in us and become a "Saint"- a true disciple of Jesus Christ. We are here on earth to try and become more like Jesus Christ- we certainly won't be perfect at it, but He doesn't expect perfection! Christ came so that we can CHANGE. We can turn our weaknesses into strengths and change our natures. Repentance is RETURNING to God so we can align our will more fully with His. Everything I teach as a missionary is about turning towards God, who is the ultimate source of lasting joy and happiness. I am called to SERVE HIM and bring HIS CHILDREN to the light and knowledge of the Gospel. He will enable me to perform the calling I have been given. I CANT DO THIS MYSELF. I am not going to convert anyone, THE SPIRIT WILL. I am a messenger of the Spirit- my testimony may be the spark to start their conversion process, but that is only if I am living worthy of the Spirit and doing my best for my words to be HIS words. 

I don't know if any of that made sense, but those are a bit of my thought processes!! Heavenly Father knows what I needed to hear this week, and I am feeling so incredibly grateful for my call to serve. My calling to be a representative of Jesus Christ and to do the things that He would do if He were here. I love this gospel and I love this work. I'm excited for the moment I can become a "real" missionary haha but my time will come eventually ;) 

I love you all!! I hope you've been having a fun week with the family in town! 

PS in 8 days I will have been out 1 month whaaaaat??? 

PPSS. Yesterday was funny. My spanish was broken and my teacher asked me after class, "Hermana, qué pasó con su español?" (What happened with your spanish??) I couldnt figure out how to say anything back to him in spanish so I stuttered for a while and then he said, "Hermana su español murió" (That means my spanish DIED) Thank you Hermano Beltran hahah it was hilarious... 

LOVE YOU!! Sincerely, Hermana Shaelyn Marie Rogers

Here's the link to the talk she mentioned:
 http://www2.byui.edu/Presentations/Transcripts/ReligionSymposium/2003_01_25_Bednar.htm

Semana Dos- Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

HOLA Familia!! 

This week was insane. It feels like SO much has happened and I have NO clue how to organize the events of this week into a logical format, but Ill try! 

SO GUESS WHO WENT TO THE TEMPLE THIS MORNING? Well... kind of... I DID!! The actual temple is closed for remodeling I think, but we got a tour of the VC there and got to walk around a little. We didnt have a lot of time there, and Im mad at myself because I talked to some random old guy that was on vacation there instead of walking all the way around... I was being too nice to tell him to go away, but he really wouldnt stop talking. He was a nice old man, and any other time I would've been happy to chat about pyramids in Mexico and the population of cities in the world, but anyways. Está bien.

I LOVE THE TEMPLE. My day was still officially made. I fasted the 24 hours leading up to when we went because I had some questions and concerns I wanted to have help with, and I got answers. God definitely loves me and wants me to have the help I need! I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR OUR ETERNAL FAMILY, and the knowledge I have that my family is forever. I love that I am out here now so I can teach other people that their families can be forever too. In fact, we are teaching one of our investigators that tonight!

Another wonderful thing that happened at the temple: We were sitting in front of the statue of Christ, and listening to the recording of His words. He said TO ME, "Let not your heart be troubled... Walk in the meekness of my Spirit" It was comforting to hear those words, and I decided that is this week's theme because I need to remember that! And another thing I needed to hear- We listened to part of Jeffrey R Holland's talk, "Lord, I Believe" The part that stood out to me was "Be true to the faith you do have- WHAT WE KNOW WILL ALWAYS TRUMP WHAT WE DO NOT KNOW". I love this. Mostly because at this time, I am REALLY feeling all the things I don't know- like....SPANISH. And it is so hard to teach, and keep track of all these things I am supposed to be doing and becoming, and I don't know how to do it! BUT. I do know that God loves me, and He has called ME to be a missionary, but to be MYSELF. I am not supposed to fit this perfect mold. I don't know everything about the gospel, but I know that I am a child of God, and EVERYONE ON EARTH IS TOO. I know that I am here learning so that I can invite people to come to know my Savior, and their Savior. AH I could go on, but I will talk about other things...

Here's some more awesome moments of this week. 

--FAST AND TESTIMONY MEETING IS AMAZING AS A MISSIONARY. Even when it is in Spanish!! That was INCREDIBLY powerful. So I had written out my testimony on this lovely piece of paper so I could read it off, but I forgot it when I stood up. I had to wing it from the pulpit...in spanish... but I ended up so grateful for that. I honestly dont really know what I said, but one thing stood out to me. I hadn't planned on saying this until it was already out of my mouth,but I said, "él tiene fe en nosotros" I remember that because it was what I needed to hear, and I hadn't thought about it until I had already said it. God has faith in us, and He has given  us our callings in life- Mine right now is to be a missionary, and He knows I can do it! 

--Monday, our district did a "Solo Espanol" day. From the time we woke up until when we went to bed, we were only allowed to speak spanish. Suffice to say, it was the most frustrating day of my life I think. Our Elders all gave up around lunchtime, but me and Hermana Sainsbury stayed strong. IT WAS SO HARD- But I do feel like I am improving...We will try the whole spanish thing again later...Meanwhile we have other language goals that arent making me as frustrated. 

--Sidenote: It has now become a regular thing for Hermano Beltran (our teacher) to pull me aside during class or during our breaks to ask if I am okay because I cry all the time. Hahah we determined yesterday that I now have hand signals to let him know if its a happy cry, a spiritual cry, or an "I-dont-understand-spanish-and-need-to-take-a-break" cry... haha its pathetic. 

Okay last thing I think, I don't know if I will have enough time to explain it, but this week- after a particularly hard day (I describe it as metaphorically sprinting into a brick wall) I read the story in Matthew about Peter walking on water. Christ's apostles are on the ship, the storm gets bad, they see Christ walking on water and Peter asks if he can walk to Christ. Christ tells him to come. ... 

Peter starts WALKING ON WATER, but then he takes his eyes off the Savior and sees the storm around him and begins to sink. He cries out, "Lord, save me" and IMMEDIATELY the Savior reaches out His hand to save Peter. He then says, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt". I don't have time to explain all my thoughts, but I love that Christ is immediately there for us the moment we call out to Him. I started to sink a little bit this week. I am in MEXICO, thousands of miles from home, trying to learn another language, not going home for 18 months, left my family and friends, teaching people I've never met, in classes or studying for 10 hours a day, etc etc. I need the Savior because this is NOT POSSIBLE without Him! I can't think about all the reasons I can't do this because HE KNOWS I CAN. He has faith in me. I need to let not my heart be troubled. Okay I wish I could talk more about this but Helaman 5:12 ties into this perfectly... I love it. 

 

I love you all! I am so happy here and I know really truly that this is where I need to be. :) 

Talk to you next week! 

Love, Hermana Rogers 

LOOK UNTO ME IN EVERY THOUGHT'; DOUBT NOT, FEAR NOT. 

Semana Uno

Hola familia y amigos!!  

Anyways! I'm in Mexico city!!! This place is seriously paradise... well- within the gates of the CCM that is. Outside it is somewhat questionable. But somehow amidst the storms, fireworks, gunshots, sirens, screaming, sirens, blaring music, and cars honking outside the gates, I can usually hear myself think! Seriously though-- I love it here! 

And I mean, aside from all that there's the fact that IM A MISSIONARY!!!! I am literally living all my dreams right now. I wish I could explain in words how amazing it feels to be here and be HERMANA ROGERS. Getting my nametag was the most incredible feeling! I LOVE PUTTING THAT ON EVERYDAY. Also-- today is my first P day and its been more than a week so I am exploding with things to say. Wish me luck organizing my thoughts. I guess I will just bullet point a list answering the questions I have been asked a lot... AND then try and summarize my experiences this first week? Sorry if it is super long! I will work on consolidating my thoughts for next week. 

FIRST OF ALL. Companion: since I kind of spend 24 7 with her... HOLY GRACIOUS I love her SO much. Her name is Hermana Sainsbury from South Jordan Utah. She went to a year of school at UVU, was on the track team there, she is HILARIOUS, SO good at teaching, GORGEOUS, sweet, talented... its fine guys she is just PERFECT. We have connected really well and she has always been so encouraging to me. She took the transition to mission life really well and has been a huge help to me when I am struggling. I gave her fair warning that I would be emotional though ;) She is a sympathetic crier, so I feel bad for her hahaha considering I cry all the time ;) 

OUR DISTRICT:  Oh have mercy we are struggling. haha they are all 18 year old BOYS. Me, Hermana Sainsbury, and 10 BOYS. It is the most insane thing on earth. I love em, but I can't stand em you know?? It has been really hard for me this week to be patient with them because focus is not a thing. Quiet study times don't exist. They all got so close so fast, so I feel like an outcast a little, which has also been way hard for me. BUT they really are good guys. I have a story later.. but right now, thats a fair enough description. ALSO we are technically in the intermediate class, so our teacher (who is FANTASTIC- Hermano Beltran) he claims he doesnt know english-- until he pulls me out of class to ask why I am crying (Which yeah-- that happened) 

Casa  we live in a house with 20 girls, 4 to a room. It is CRAZY. We dont spend a ton of time in our room because our schedule is son insane, but when we do, it is always an adventure! I love the Hermanas I live with SO much. We have good times. It's way nice to have people to relax with for like 20 minutes at the end of every crazy day. 

FOOD IS AMAZING. I actually love it. Thankfully we have an hour of gym time every day and my companion LOVES to work out otherwise I would be rolling myself to class every day. I am trying lots of new foods! Papaya, guava, Mole/Mate (whatever that chocolate stuff is- they put it on chicken... it was interesting), Tamales, Ceviche, REAL enchiladas, and MY FAVORITE: Straigh up fresh mexican MANGOES. If I could eat one of those every day for the rest of my life, that would be great. It\s funny though when they try and make American food I don't like it, but I AM LOVING the Mexican food!! 

CCM OVERALL  there are 1000 missionaries here, our district (19-C) has never existed before apparently, but because there are SO many missionaries now and increasing numbers coming in every week, they have had to make a couple new branches. The MTC President, Presidente Pratt was mission companions with Elder Holland back in the day so that's epic. ALSO the Spirit is SO strong here and everyone is so great!! Unfortunately, the Mexico City temple is closed for remodeling so we won't be able to do a session while we are down here (which made me SO sad) but we will still get to go to the Visitors Center next P day. It rains EVERY DAY here. Me and Hermana Sainsbury did a dance in the rain the other day and people could see us out their classroom windows haha some elder complimented us on it later....it was creepy but whatever, we had fun :) 

AND thats enough of that! If you have more questions let me know but now onto the ACTUAL good stuff. 

This is HARD. I think I have probably had a meltdown every day. I haven't gotten to the point where I've seriously considered coming home, but I am always thinking of you guys. I miss you SO much. And every day has been hard in different ways, but I am learning more than I could have ever imagined. This is spiritual boot camp. WE HAVE FINISHED TEACHING OUR FIRST INVESTIGATOR LAST NIGHT. we taught her 5 times, and it was...interesting. But there were so many instances where I was carried. Whether it was while preparing, while in the middle of trying to express myself, or while bearing my testimony to her. Those were powerful experiences. PRAYER IS REAL. If you ever doubt that, get on your knees and really try it. We pray all the time here, and I can't explain how important it is in this work. Revelation will not come unless you ask for it. The Spirit will be with you when you genuinely acknowledge that you need it. Me and Hermana Sainsbury have a hard time with the language. The struggle is REAL. but I have felt words come to mind to express thoughts I didn't know I could. It was AMAZING. 

The Priesthood is a real power. Last week i got SICK. It was awful... I couldn't focus in class for a whole day (which is 2 segments of 3 hours each), I was always in pain, and I had no desire to do anything... I brought it up to one of our elders, and he said that they were giving a blessing to my District Leader later and could give one to me too if I wanted. So anyways, there were 4 of them that gave me a blessing, and I FELT the pain leave me. It was powerful, and the things they blessed me with were things I needed at that moment. Keep in mind this was given through those boys I mentioned earlier-- These boys become men when they are performing their priesthood duties and I gained so much respect for them. 

Also, Heavenly Father knows me personally. I have had prayers answered, and have felt so strengthened by Him EVERY DAY. This is His work, I am His servant, these are His children. I can't waste my time here because this is my time to serve HIM. I am preparing in this CCM to enter the field, follow His spirit, and speak to His children in their language. I have felt the importance of my calling and I know my purpose. I am introducing people to MY SAVIOR. He can strengthen them like He has strengthened me, and I can't wait to serve in Texas. I know that I am God's investigator right now and that He wants everything for me that I want for my investigators.. CHRIST IS MY COMPANION. I am here for a reason and that reason is to serve Him with all my heart, might, mind and strength. I am learning so much every day about the language, about the gospel, and about myself. I wish I could explain every experience and every blessing and I'll hopefully get better at typing on these Mexican computers haha the keyboards are so weird. BUT right now, just know I am happy. I am doing my best to enjoy every moment and not be worried or anxious. I KNOW THAT THIS IS WHERE I NEED TO BE. I know that this church is SO true. Prayers are answered, scriptures are God's words to US, and Heavenly Father knows and loves His children. Jesus Christ suffered for ME. I matter to Him, and so do all of His children. I love this work. I love the gospel. And I LOVE being a missionary. 

Love you all BEYOND WORDS. Have an amazing week! 

Love, Hermana Rogers 

Quotes of the weeek: 

"Podemos.......rodillas?" -Elder Young (translation...can we.....knees?) 

"So this one time, I was getting beans, and he was getting beans too" -moi

"Tiene cintura?" (I asked this to a guy at the reception desk... Cintura means Waist in spanish..... I meant tape) 

"Es...su padre...todo su vida?" (I asked THIS to our investigator... It means, Is he your dad all your life? UH... no duh, Sherlock)