January 26, 2015
I'm staying in Post Falls, Idaho with Sister Ellis! It's so crazy to think this is my last transfer on the mission> I'll be seeing your faces before we know it, it feels surreal! I have such a huge desire to work hard and help this area as much as I can before I leave, it's weird though cause I can definitely feel myself preparing for home and making little plans in my head, President told me it was okay to do that haha so I'm just going with it. Thankfully I do feel focused and I feel just so blessed to be having this experience. I'm really happy to be staying in Post Falls, there are so many great people here and a few investigators that I would have been sad to leave. One of them, John Lamothe, is amazing! He has had some rough experiences in the past and has a desire to better himself and to come closer to God. He is so humble and has such an amazing understanding of the Atonement. We sat there for thirty minutes just talking about the Savior and what's possible because of Him, it was such a good discussion, the Spirit was thick. He has a catholic back round so there are some interesting views he has. He told us that they don't worship the Virgin Mary but they pray to her because they don't want to ask too much of God but if they really need something they ask Mary to ask her Son for them because He won't say no to her. It was really interesting. We are trying to help John realized that he has a very loving Heavenly Father who has asked us to pray to Him always and that it is only through prayer to our Heavenly Father that he can come to know these things are true. I think it's sad that some are taught to feel that they can't speak to God anytime they want to because they might bother him or because they are not worthy to do so. John's understanding of this gospel is growing though and his countenance is changing more and more. He came to church yesterday and loved it! He said he will be baptized but told us it is going to take time so we'll see!

GALEXI WAS BAPTIZED! What a little cutie. She was so excited! She invited so many people to attend, there were a lot of non members there and I know they felt the Spirit. While Galexi was changing Sister Ellis and I bore our testimonies and I couldn't hold the tears in haha it has been the coolest experience teaching a little investigator. I'm excited to teach her and her family some more.

Sister Ellis and I were able to go and do baptisms at the temple this last week with our recent convert, Dylan. He spells it wrong haha I tell him that all the time. He has no idea what I'm talking about. He is such an awesome kid though! It was so great being able to go to the temple with him and perform those ordinances, it's been forever since I have been able to do baptisms so I was excited! I love the temple, it's so peaceful in there and I plan on going quite often when I come home so anyone who wants to join is welcome :)

I hope you have a great week, i love you!

Love, Sister Rogers

The Dunbars!!! Galexi is the one up front, she's a goon. We love them!

 Sister Ellis and I at the Spokane temple

She loves me.

The Dunbars

Our new Jeep!!! We have fun in the mud.

January 20, 2015

This last week has been interesting, I woke up a couple days ago feeling so off. I was nauseous and my body ached, I threw up a few times. You would think by the end of the day I would start feeling better that's usually how it goes but it lingered for a few days and I still feel kind of weird. Much better than the first day though. I just have no appetite at all ha but it's getting there. You know something is up when Adrienne has no appetite. That reminds me of a time when I was at Iggy's sports grill with Dillon and I was so hungry. We (or maybe it was just me) ate the whole bread basket and I wanted some more. That is not how I feel right now ha nothing looks good but it's getting better so no worries! I just feel like it has such an affect on the work. It's the worst being sick on a mission. Especially when your time is almost up and you just want to be out doing the best you can. BUT I look back and I realize how much the Lord has blessed me with good health, especially on my mission! I have only been sick once before this week so I am grateful. It's pretty incredible. I also feel very grateful to my Heavenly Father that he has taken care of all of you guys. I remember at the beginning of my mission I always had a little worry in the back of my head that something could happen to a loved one while I was away but we have been promised that the Lord will take care of our families while we are serving and I thank him every single day for keeping that promise. I realize that sometimes the Lord has other plans for us that are meant to challenge us and help us grow but I feel like I've come to a point where no matter what I happens, I have faith that it will all work out and that God's plan is a happy one despite the hardships along the way. I'm rambling haha but hands down I am just so happy that the Lord has taken care of all of you and of me.

Galexi is getting baptized this Friday!!!! I'm so excited for her! Yesterday we went over the baptismal interview questions with her. We asked her about the law of chastity and the word of wisdom, tithing, and other things we have taught her. Her answers were the greatest, she was making us all laugh! When we asked her what her understanding was of the law of chastity she started listing off what she knows including, "no kissing boys". Kyla, her mom, was happy about that answer. It reminded me of Dad and how he would always tell me when I was younger not to get married until I was 30 or not to kiss until I was married! I think I also remember him telling me to throw rocks at boys haha he is such a crack up! We decided to let that response from Galexi fly for now, it brought Kyla some relief. I feel such a stewardship over the Dunbar family, like I need to always be sure to keep them in my prayers forever and keep in touch with them and help them remain active in the gospel so they can receive all of the blessings Heavenly Father wants to give them.

We have another investigator Ray, who is on date for February 28th. He is a good guy. He loves to learn and wants to know everything which can be both great and challenging at the same time. He wants logical answers to support the Spirit that he's been feeling. What I mean by that is I'm pretty confident he has felt the Spirit time and time again confirm to him that this message is true. But he is too scared to act on it. So we are trying to help him the best we can. I  have really felt the Lord's help as I've been teaching him. He asks difficult questions or shares interesting concerns that Sister Ellis and I seem to answer somehow, he isn't able to argue our responses and it looks like he is content with them. It's really cool to see the Spirit work that way. I've learned a lot about the gospel in moments like that.

Logan is entering the mission field soon!!! I could of sworn he just went into the MTC? Crazy. I'm praying for you Logi. I've recently heard some super funny stories from members of our ward who have served in South America. Logan's going to have some adventures haha

I LOVE YOU! I hope you have a good week.

January 12, 2015

Okay okay I love teaching youth. Why have I not had youth investigators my entire mission?? They are the best. Galexi is getting ready for the big day and she is such a little missionary. She had her friend Kayla over (who's older brother just got baptized a few weeks ago) for one of our lessons. We were teaching the Plan of Salvation and when we finished Kayla told us she wanted to get baptized. Her mom is really supportive of the church, especially because Dylan, her older son, was just baptized, but she doesn't want anything to do with it. She doesn't want to change. I'm convinced that these kids and teenagers we have been teaching are going to play a huge part in softening their parents hearts. Before we closed we invited Kayla to talk to her mom about it and see what she thinks, before she could even respond Galexi turned around and looked Kayla straight in the eye and said, "Will you come to church with us?" HAHAHA her face was so serious, it was the greatest. Way to be bold Galexi. She will make a great missionary someday. I have never felt more happy on my mission then when I'm teaching the cute little Dunbar kids and obviously my recent converts but these guys just have such a huge spirit about them and they want to learn how to be like the Savior. I love them so much, they strengthen my testimony every time. I need to remember to take some photos of them. 

Okay. I really want to just chop my hair all off. Not all of it but definitely shorter. Are you sure you want me to wait til I come home? It's not that cool haha it's actually pretty boring. I don't know if I can wait two more months! 

Sister Ellis, my Nashville companion, is awesome. Did I ever tell you she is a convert? She was baptized a little over a year ago! We have such good talks and I ask her all the questions in the book! She tells me about her life before she was baptized. It's fascinating. I'm really impressed with her faith in God and her willingness to make big changes. Penny, who we live with, is a recent convert too. Both Penny and Sister Ellis do not have any family members who are members of the church. We all talk about it sometimes and I find myself just feeling so blessed, having been raised in the Church, to be surrounded by women who haven't always had the gospel and who have developed very strong testimonies of it's principles. How cool that I get to have opportunities like this you know? I am starting to talk in an accent thanks to Miss Tennessee here. 

Have a great week! I love you so much! 

Love, Sister Rogers

January 5, 2015

The weeks are flyin! I can't even believe it ha I'm getting a little nervous and starting to feel some butterflies in my stomach. I feel like the Lord is helping me though, to stay focused and to feel motivated to work hard with the time I have left. 

Galexi, one of our investigators, have I told you about her? I don't think I have but if I have you will just have to hear about her again, she's amazing!! We found her through a part-member family, she is the daughter of a returning member who we also love. She is 9 years old and is on date for January 24th. She reminds me of Sadie! I never thought I would have a cute little investigator. I've always wanted one because youth are honestly so wonderful. They are teachable and recognize the Spirit. They want to do what's right. 

Last Sunday we gave Galexi a copy of The Book of Mormon Stories, the one that we read together as a family when I was younger. It has the pictures and everything. We invited her to read it and when we came back she was already half way done and told us she uses it to help her understand the real Book of Mormon! So she is reading both and is soaking it all up like a sponge. She even told us about how Joseph Smith didn't translate the Book of Mormon right away but needed to receive training from an angel until he was ready! We were pretty amazed by her desire to learn and to better herself. She was so excited to tell us about her spiritual experiences that it was difficult to get through our lesson with her and her family. It was a wonderful problem- it made us so happy. I wanted to stay there for hours and keep teaching her.. the Spirit was so strong. Galexi has a special spirit about her. She loves the gospel, it rings true to her and she is progressing so quickly.. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY. There are so many great things that come from sharing the gospel. I have come to love teaching the gospel so much. I felt a little twinge of pain the other day thinking about how I won't be able to teach anymore... and then I was quickly reminded that we have visiting and home teaching, callings, testimony meeting, and family home evening. These opportunities to teach others especially our families and to be taught ourselves is a blessing from the Lord. The moments I have felt the closest with my Heavenly Father through out my mission is when I'm teaching one of his children or when I am doing my personal study in the mornings. You have spiritual experiences right at your fingertips, waiting to happen. You just need to make them happen. 

I love you guys so much! I'm thankful for all you do.

 For New Year's Eve we went out to Red Robin for some burgers with Penny and we were allowed to watch a movie from President's approved movie list. We chose the Blindside. I have never been that excited to watch a movie before 

Elder Blu Haws everyone. My Zone Leader. He reminds me of Nate Lambson!