That was the greatest. I love you all so much!! I am glad that we had that opportunity to talk and catch up-- wish it could have been longer, but i won't complain! I love you familia mia! :) Haha Brayton and his spam made me laugh- is that what he asked for?? Has he tried all the flavors yet? ;) Also I love when Janaea told me she was bored and TJ left to go play video games haha too funny. But regardless I know who in the family loves me the most ;)
I realized though that I didnt share my testimony in Spanish!!! I was totally bracing myself for that and planning on it, but then I forgot haha maybe next year ;)
im glad I get to spend 2 Christmases in the mission field. I was way worried about it at first, but Christmas is the best time of year to be a missionary!! (well lets be honest, any time of year is a great time to be a missionary) but I really saw so many miracles, and saw so many hearts be opened during this season. i saw so many people that were willing to serve others as well. It made me so grateful. i love christmas!!
I don't really know what to write about since I talked to yall this past week, and told you pretty much everything that has been going on!
Paco got the Priesthood!! And he is going to bless the sacrament this next Sunday!! :) he had another member show him how it was going to work, and asked us to send him what he needs to say so he can practice. he gets nervous in front of people, so this is a big step for him, but I am so excited! He is so ready to keep progressing :)
This week we spent so much time with the incredible members of this ward. Honestly I dont ever want to leave. There is so much potential in this area, so much love in this ward, and these people have changed my life. I feel like I probably say this every week, but its so true. I love West Lake Houston with my whole heart.
Theres so much I could say about this week!! Ah it was a great one. There were some funny moments I'll share real fast. So we were at dinner with a member, and instead of sharing a scripture as a Spiritual thought, she wanted us to sing a song. So we got ready to sing and started singing, but something made us all laugh. Hermana Perez, Stiles and I were all laughing, but the member didnt think anything was funny. She asked us to start over, and we tried so hard to pull it together, but we couldnt for the life of us stop laughing. hermana perez laughed so hard she fell out her chair... The hermana from our ward was not too pleased, and told us, "you dont have the Spirit with you"... hahah uhh...okay? That was the hardest hymn i have ever sung haha we could not catch our breath for the life of us.
Then another day we were with Yolanda and Saul's sister, teaching them. Afterwards, we were all talking and they asked Hermana perez if she ever ate because she was so small. Then they pointed to me and said, "Ella es mas gordita, verdad?" (She's more chubby, right?) Then said to me, "A ti, te gustan los brownies si?" (You like brownies huh?) hahaha it was so funny...
And the NEXT DAY at dinner, we were at another members house, and hermana Perez blamed me for getting her sick (I was sick first, then she got worse than me) The members said to me, "Its because you didnt eat healthy before the mission. You only like junk food. Did you eat vegetables? You didnt, I can tell" ......uh..... hahah guilty? so for my new years resolution I definitely need to start eating healthier and exercising haha ;)
The other day at a dinner appointment I was asked to share the spiritual thought, so I started talking, and then asked a question... they laughed and asked me, "Hermana what happened to your spanish? Its gotten worse! You're like a crab, walking backwards" That made me feel pretty self-conscious, so I was nervous to try teaching again.
This morning we taught Tito and Hermana Perez wasnt feeling very good, so she told me that me and Stiles would be teaching.... I still get really nervous teaching, and feel inadequate sometimes. When we started teaching Tito, i started talking and he started laughing and looking around at everyone else. I started getting choked up and flustered, but kept talking. Hermana Stiles and I switched off teaching, but I started to think, 'Hermana Perez is right here, she might as well just take over for me, I dont want to teach anyways, he is just laughing at me'... but I decided to keep teaching. We were teaching about the Plan of Salvation and once again i was reminded very strongly of my purpose here. I don't know how to describe it, but I said a prayer in my heart, and did my best to teach and testify of the things that we were teaching. While we were teaching him, Tito got tears in his eyes. We explained to him our purpose on earth and that we are here to live the gospel and exercise our faith in Christ. We are here to repent and make ourselves better and then be baptized and make those promises with God. We explained to him the purpose of our life here and that we can be happy now and for eternity. We told him about his potential as a son of God and that He has a Savior that has made it possible for him to progress. As we were teaching him, I remember saying something like, "Tito. This is why i am here. To tell you about God's plan and teach you His gospel so you can return to live with your Father. i am here to help you know how you can progress because your Savior suffered for you and He wants you to be happy." I dont remember exactly what I said, but I remember I felt it in my heart and knew that this was my purpose as a missionary.
I am so grateful for my testimony and for the Spirit that encouraged me to keep talking even though i felt self-conscious. I am glad that I have this opportunity as a missionary to continually be sharing the message that has brought me so much happiness to me. I love the mission, even when it is hard. I know that I have so much to learn and so many ways to grow, but I am glad that I get to do that through focusing on others... I had a bit of time where I was so sad and I couldnt figure out why, but now I know it was because I was focusing on myself. I hope that i am able to be selfless, and forget myself in the work.
I am so excited for the year 2015. I am ready to set new goals and try my hardest to become who my Heavenly Father wants me to be. I have so much to go to become more Christlike, and i am glad that i have this time on a mission to focus completely on Him. I am excited to see how my testimony grows and changes this coming year, but i am even more excited to see how people here can grow and change because of Him.
I dont know if my thought processes are making sense, but I hope so!
Happy New Year family!! Make it a year to remember :)
I love you all! it was good to see you this week <3
Love, Hermana Rogers
P.S. THE GREATEST OBISPO IN THE WORLD IS AQUI IN WEST LAKE HOUSTON. Guess what I got for Christmas? Yeah. A Ukulele. obispo bought one for Me, Hermana Perez, and hermana Stiles!!!!!!! we told him we were going to pay him for them, and he told us, "I have a deal for you. instead of paying me the money, donate what you would have paid to fast offerings- thats where the money should go" It was amazing. He is seriously the most incredible human being. I am so grateful for him and the opportunity I have had to serve in his ward. He has so much love for everyone-- we are being taken care of :)
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