The Mission Is Incredible

I don't have much time, because as you heard, we went to Louisiana to
go FISHING :) Since our area is so big, we have a lot of liberty to go
wherever we want on Pdays! :) we went with a group of members and it
was way fun! But I will try and summarize this past week!

We still don't have a car unfortunately. It has been a full week and
then some, and it's IMPOSSIBLE TO GET AROUND, which makes the work a
lot more difficult. But thankfully we have amazing members here that
are willing to help us out a ton, so thing have still been happening
and we get a lot of quality time on our bikes. :)

Some of the miracles of this week! We met this boy named Brando! He is
the grandson of a less active recent convert that we have been working
with. He is 17, and has talked to missionaries before and been to
church twice with his grandma and his dad. He came to eat dinner with
us, invited us back the next day and came to church with us! :) it was
awesome. He is really humble and has a lot of potential- he doesn't
have a very big religious background, but we were able to focus a lot
on developing a relationship with God and understanding who Jesus
Christ is- the lesson with him was really spiritual and made me
realize how blessed I was to have the knowledge I do about my Savior
and loving Father in Heaven. Brando said he felt the spirit, and when
we invited him to be baptized, he said yes! His date that he is
preparing for is the 14th of November. Best birthday present ever!!

Another amazing lesson we had was with Armando! We finally got to see
him again! It has been soooo long! We went over the baptismal
interview questions and he knows EVERYTHING still, even though it has
been so long since we have been able to see him! We invited him to be
baptized- he has already passed a couple of the dates he has set, but
right now he has been working until 10 or 11 at night and also on
Sundays in the morning. So he has been so so hard to see. But we
watched the Restoration video with him right then and the Spirit
filled the room so strong. We shared our testimonies about the
importance of the Restoration and then had him say the closing prayer.
In his prayer, he thanked Heavenly Father for sending us back to him,
and also for showing him this beautiful video and helping him know
it's true again. It was an incredible feeling!

Antonio is still doing so well :) He also came to church on Sunday!
President Garcia had his baby blessed in sacrament meeting which was
beautiful, and then afterwards we went to his house to have lunch with
all his extended family. That was so fun!

Hector had a little bit of a fall out this last week, but it was an
opportunity for us to testify to him of the Atonement and everything
it means for HIM. Yet another moment where I was able to reflect on
the importance of Christ's gospel. He knows everything we need and how
to help us. There is nothing we can do that will keep us from His love
and mercy. He is able to forgive our sins and heal the pain we have
felt from them, He can turn our weaknesses into strengths and help
change our hearts. I love my Savior.

We were also able to meet with our President of the mission this week
and receive training from the Assistants, which was incredible. One of
the things that they did that I highly recommend to everyone: say a
prayer, pour out everything in your soul, spend time talking to
Heavenly Father. Then sit in a quiet place and write yourself a letter
from Heaven. It was BEAUTIFUL. I have done things like this my whole
mission when I read scriptures that are for me, I write them down- I
have felt so much love from my Heavenly Father through the scriptures
and promptings of the Spirit. It was an incredible experience. :)

I have been spending quite a bit of time reflecting recently. I
realize that teaching the gospel is the most rewarding thing I have
ever done with my entire life, I love being a missionary. There is
nothing I want more than to help these people find what will bring
them happiness, a knowledge of Jesus Christ and what He has done for
them. The feeling of teaching someone how to pray, and then listening
to their heartfelt sincere prayers thanking God for leading you to
them and changing their life is the most incredible feeling I have
ever experienced. Watching people change their lives when they hear
about the hope and peace and happiness that comes from Christ's gospel
is AMAZING. This is the greatest year and a half ever. :) I have felt
soooo much love in this past year, more than I could ever express. THE
MISSION IS INCREDIBLE. I LOVE IT SO MUCH! I am sooooo grateful I am
here. :)

Thank you all for your support- happy birthday Brayton-o :) I love
y'all so much! Have a great week!
Love,
Hermana Rogers