NEWS FROM THE FIELD 12/15/11

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TEARS OF JOY

Words that will make any mother cry.....

i will "TALK" to you all soon.

I will be calling from the Schlosser's home @ 5:00P.M. VA time. I am not sure what time that is for you but it will be 5 here.    I sure do miss y'all I hope everything is going good. Tell everyone i say hello and i will "TALK" to you all soon

MERRY CHRISTMAS   Hope all of you have a good Christmas  Love you... Mom, Dad, Kisha, Dan, Lincoln, Owen, Klete, Tatum, Wyatt, Hudson, Kelsey, Beau, Acey, Gunner, Grandma,Grandpa and everyone else!!!!!!  Elder Rogers

♪♫ and the countdown ♪♫ ticker is getting smaller ♪♫  

♪♫ Under 365 days!!!♪♫

DARK CAVES, DRAGONS, SWORDS & THE ABYSS

A Mom's reaction:  Okay okay, I let my imagination get the better of me with this picture!  (I HOPE!!) 

Excerpts from Elder Rogers letter:
Well i will be here in Great Bridge for another 6 weeks.

                Elder Parry is leaving to go up to Buckingham (country) and Elder Winward is going to an old area he was already in called Oak Grove (City/Ghetto) they leave on Thursday. So i will get my new companion then. His name is Elder Dransfield. This will be his first time being a zone leader. That means I will have to show him the ropes..... but i am still learning... Guess it's out of the pan and into the fire. So now there will only be 2 of us. He is an amazing missionary from what i hear. I have never met him but everyone i talk to said he is THE BEST. So i am a little nervous to see how it all work out. Maybe he will be teaching me what to do! 

                So this week there was a Sister in the ward who's husband in under way (deployed in the Navy) She asked if anyone knew anything about plumbing.... I said. i know a little but not much. Well lets just say I was "neck deep" in some fun. First of all you should know that no one on the east coast has there house on the ground. They ALL have a crawl space under their house to prevent flooding. I used my small knowledge about my "Fathers Trade" and went to go help. Her sink was backed up. So we tried to unclog it. I tried all i could to do it from inside but to no avail... So i knew there had to be a clean out right outside..... Nope there is a crawl space. That means it is under the house. Let me remind everyone it is around the 50's for the high and it has been raining (got the picture?)

                So i embark into the abyss... Not knowing what i will encounter. The opening (or mouth of the cave) was only 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide. I got down on my hands and knees and dove in head first. It was WET and FREEZING. I opened the clean out and used my trusty sword (i mean snake). After I snaked it I looked to the ground next to me and saw tracks....It was a Dragon! (Or maybe a raccoon.) oh and the spiders (they must have been at least 4 feet in diameter).... I crawled the 10 miles (or 30 feet or so) back to the mouth of the cave with spiders and dragons on my tail. I made it out alive and victorious. (I hope) Covered in mud.  It was...fun... maybe there will be a children's book about it one day.

                I am glad i know how to do stuff that matters. Like how to sew a button or frame and build a wall or cook or fix a clogged sink. You know the things you need to know to survive. There are so many people (Esp. Missionaries) that don't know how to do any of that. I just wanted to thank all of you for teaching me he things that matter. And The gospel!!!! i am glad to know i could make it on my own where a lot of missionaries wouldn't stand a chance. So thank you family. Esp you mom and dad.

                That's all for now. Haven't received the packages yet. Can you believe that Christmas soon approaches. We will figure out the call thing and let you know. Oh -- and our door is one of the only in the whole complex that has Christmas decorations. (Thanks Mom!)(I will have to take a picture of our tree. It is soooooo cool. your going to love it!

Thanks!   Love and miss y'all!   

12/6/11 Flashback for this missionary!

DECEMBER 15TH- ONE YEAR HUMP DAY!  

 He will have been gone one year.  

Then another 10 days & we get to hear his sweet voice!

Back in the day.... Elder Rogers and his older brother Klete were banner carriers for my dance studio called "STARS".  

Well.... I was having "STARS" flashbacks on Saturday night... Our Ward entered a float in a Christmas parade! Oh man. It was fun we had a Nativity seen on the float and the youth were Angels and Shepherd that walked beside. We handed out Candy Canes with a little church logo and a nativity on it. We walked beside and handed out candy canes too. It was fun. We shared a little pep-talk before we started. We told them about how they represent the church and how their actions can make a big impact. It made me think of the Christmas parade that we did every year. It turned out really good and we are hoping it makes an impact on the area. At least we hope it made people realise that "Mormons" believe in Jesus Christ. That is something we really have a problem with out here. You wouldn't believe the stuff people believe about us. So now we just sit and wait to see if we get any leads from it. Oh and Elder Winward was on TV!

 I hope Everyone is Enjoying the Holiday season. 

Make sure to take a second to take a step back and breath for a min. 

Don't get too caught up in all the mumbo-jumbo. 

Have fun and be a family and remember Christ. 

That is what it is all about!

Well Said Elder Rogers~We ♥ and miss you.

Check out this Mission Pictures Tab!

Our Missionary has been telling us he was sending a package of pictures for months... we have been waiting and waiting....   finally arrived.

Check out his blog HERE and see the goodies inside.

Be Still My Heart!!!!

11/21/11

 Hello Everyone!

Oh man... was i nervous!

   We drove up to Richmond to do the interview. I was in my best dress. We got there the people from Salt Lake were already interviewing some people so we got in trouble for being noise! haha I waited for my turn to sit down. The people did their sound checks and then made sure the camera angles were all right. We as they were preparing to film me they kept adjusting my suit and fixing my hair and all kinds of stuff. It was NUTS! then one of the camera guys walked over and grabbed the smallest thinnest thread and cut it with a knife (that he borrowed from me  ) I asked him how he saw it.

   He replied, " Oh this is in high definition.... That means we can see every little thing."

   I was shocked and said, "...Oh."

   He laughed and said, " Yep people will see every little detail and every zit on your face!"

   Everyone laughed. HAHAHAHAH

   Then he said, with a grin, "No pressure." hahaha

   We there wasn't any. I was as cool as a Cat. They asked me all kinds of questions and i answered the best i could. They said they were impressed with how i conducted myself. they said i looked like i had done it before. I was thinking...Ya i have been interviewed for football before. this is nothing.

   When i was all done i went and talked to this lady about the film. That's when it all hit me. She said i was going to be viewed by all the world. She said i was going to be shown @ the MTC and that one of my answers was so good they were going to use it for a different project they were working on for the youth and Family history! AHHHHHHHH Is that nuts or what.

   I asked when it would be done. She said soon but she didn't know how long. So as soon as i find out i will let you know.

 The past week went great !!  BAPTISMS!  We just baptized a 20 year old on Saturday. Mr J. was the best. He has battled through a lot. He is the best friend of a guy we baptized last month Mr. B. Each one of them took a month to get to the waters of baptism!!!! Isn't that crazy!!!! THE CHURCH IS TRUE! 

  I love you all. Eat lots of (TURKEY) food for me.

    P.S. the whole mission got permission to play football in the morning on Thurs. Don't worry i will be careful 

11/13/2011

Excerpts from his email:   

I guess i should at the new news i just received.  

   We have there DVD's that are distributed all around the world to missionaries. It is 2 series Called "The District" it shows how to be a good missionary and the in's and out's of missionary life. They help and go over with all aspects of the work. We have had there for 7 months or so.... Why do i tell you this????...... Well..... because....

    Elder Rogers is going to be traveling up to Richmond on Tues to be interviewed by The Church. Because of the new Program we have started (Family History and Missionary work) I will be Interviewed and filmed so others can learn how to do it. I am going to be an example for others FOREVER! It is making me freak out a little! AHHHHH oh man i hope i do good. Looks like all the Family History stuff you have been telling me about and all of the work I have been doing with it as well is going to pay off. Little did you know Mom that all your hard work wont just be blessing our family but missionary work around the world. Say a prayer that I wont mess up. I sure will be!

    I really appreciate the veterans now that i have been around them. I thought i did before but After Newport News i will always have more respect for them.

   I LOVE YOU ROGERS FAMILY!!!!!!!   

Something I read:  

Conquering your fears through action   Life brings with it many doubts and fears. But the unknown and the untried have held more people back than any lack of ability. Most successes are never seen because they're never attempted. The courage to face your fears can build momentum that creates magic. Each time you overcome an obstacle, a fear or a step back, you gain confidence. Every small victory helps you feel more certain of yourself and your direction, pushing you further and faster than you ever thought possible. You can do it! What's holding you back? True, fears are intimidating. So start small. Believe in yourself and take one small swipe at your fear today just to see what happens. In the end, half of the doing is in the deciding. If you stumble, don't be afraid to brush yourself off and jump back in. 

NEWS FROM THE MISSIONARY FRONT LINES 10/2/11

Hello there family!

   How are things back on the west coast??? Things are great here.

   A cold front moved in and i am shivering! Cold and rain the past few days. Cold enough for a coat in the day time. I don't know if i am ready for another winter yet. The leaves are beginning to change a little already! Can you believe it? Brrrrrr  "You don't have to shovel the Sunshine to your door, you don't have to shiver in the cold ya ya ya, dreaming about the day when I can come back to the place, Ar - i - zona how do you do!"

   Well nothing big changes when you become a Zone Leader. You just have to do the same things as a District leader just on a bigger scale. You report numbers, which means the number of new investigators and lessons taught and stuff like that, to the Assistants. I would say the biggest difference is being on the phone ALL the time. It seems like whenever we aren't in a lesson someone is calling! I talk to a lot more elders and sisters and try to resolve questions and conflicts. The biggest part of being a Zone Leader is being an Example. We are looked at by all the elders and sisters. So we have to be on the top of our game and be really obedient and learn compassion as well as show our commitment to the Lord!  We get to talk to Pres and the Assistants a lot more. And we have to give Trainings at Zone Conference and Zone meeting. That just means we lead and give talks and "train" elders and sisters how to be more effective. And we go on a lot of exchanges too( we switch companions with another companionship for 24 hours and try to help them learn and grow.) It is a lot of responsibility but I am excited for it.

   I am getting acquainted with the ward little by little. It is a little harder to balance ZL stuff and missionary work. It takes a lot more planning and you are under the gun every day to get it all done. But it is a BLAST! And my companion's are the best! I am so blessed, I feel the best companion anyone could have -Jesus Christ, Heavenly Father, and the Holy Ghost- everyday stronger and stronger.  I love that feeling!

Love and Miss Y'ALL

Virginia's New Fighting Spider,

Elder Koltn John Rogers

ZONE LEADER!!TRANSFERS! MIRACLES ALL AROUND US!!! 9/17

Hello hello!

   Well transfer call where last night... but before we get to that... I had the opportunity to baptize 4 people on Saturday. The C. family is awesome. The mom is already a member and so is the oldest boy. He was baptized when he was 8 he is 16 now and hasn't really been to church. So I got to Re-Activate 2 people (mom and oldest son) and baptize 4. There are 8 people in the family. Mom (member) Dad (Nonmember) Justin (member) Christopher (Nonmember) Courtney (non member) Breanna (nonmember) then Bailey (Not old enough) and little Justin (Not old enough). I really have connected with the Dad and really helped him. SO we baptized the dad Christopher Courtney and Breanna! Thats right 4 people!!!! The best part was that they are all united together now! Oh! and on Sunday they got the holy ghost and the 3 guys (Dad, Justin, and Chris) all got the priesthood!!!! Is is sooooo awesome. They have grown so much! And they have nothing but smiles!

   ok As for transfers...

    Well... We where pulling in for the night I was totally BEAT and there was a call from a number we didn't know. We thought is was a missionary calling to make a "fake Transfer call" it's a trick where you call and ACT like Pres Perry and tell the other missionaries they are getting transferred Don't know if that makes any sense. But it ends up being pretty funny...

   Any who, So we answer the phone... And the voice on the other line said Hello this is Pres Perry... and it actually was! So he told Elder Swanson that he is staying here and told him to give the phone to me... Long storry short President said I am going to be a Zone Leader in Chesapeake! AHHHHHHH!!!! that's CRAZY! I couldn't believe it. I am Excited and reallly nervous. It;s a lot of work but i am so stoked to do it. So all i know is that i will be moving down there on Thursday so that will be a new address. I don't quite know it yet but i will let you know next week. I will let you know the whole scoop next Monday.

   I am loving it the weather has been rainy but soooo soooo nice, 65-72 degrees all week. But it rained for 3 days straight!. 3 days without stopping! I couldn't believe it. Not one second without it coming down! Oh but the next few days where so good. I loved the whole thing.

   I am Sad to leave the area. But hey, Where i got there it was totally dead and we brought it back to life.Heck, we baptized a family and have 3 more really close too! So I am ok with leaving.

   How are things back home. It was cool to here all the miracles that hapened to mom when she was getting ready to leave... As a district leader Every night i get to talk to all the missionaries in my district and every night I had them tell me the miracle of the day. They are all around us we just have to look for them.

Update from 9/2 (sorry a little behind)

  Things are good this upcoming week will be a little crazy. We have Mission Conference tomorrow. Saturday the C. Family will get baptized. The Mom is a member and half of the kids too. So it will be the dad, a 13 year old boy, 11year old girl, and a 9 year old girl. I am super excited. That means every night this week we will be at their house. On Thurs they get interviewed and Sunday they get confirmed. We also have a bunch of lessons. Our FHE on Ft. Eustis and a bunch of other stuff. Oh and Transfer calls come on Sunday. So we will see how things go.
  We are switching out the Mazda 3 for a new car on Tues. That is super exciting. This car is ready to be retired. We washed it today and gave it a wax tried to get it looking nice to turn in. I guess the church sells them and buys a new one. But if i get transferred i wont even get to enjoy it.
  No coolness yet. Still hot and humid... My favorite! But it is all good everyone just excepts the fact that we are drenched so it isn't that bad. And a lot of people offer us water which is nice. I hope the temps start to go down a little. I would like that. By the way... EVERYONE smokes out here! I mean it. I am sure i am going to get lung cancer just from the homes we go in. SOOOO much smoke. Ugggg I hate it
  I sure do miss y'all. Isaiah 41:10, and 13 Love the scripture. Fear Not the lord is with you! Make sure you look that one up! PS I found the Scripture that describes why i am out here. That will have to be next week's scripture.
  NEWPORT News for the week..... ummmm Lets Just say, teaching The Law of Chastity to a 13, 11, 9, and 29 year old makes life interesting! But It must be done! Teaching a lot of lessons. Having a blast and i am staying happy.
Love y'all I'll talk to ya in a week!

DID YA FEEL IT?

Minutes after the quake, the director of the U.S. Geological Survey, Marcia McNutt -- who watched objects falling from the shelves in her office -- cautioned that the shaking might not be over.   “What the concern is, of course, is that this is a foreshock. If it’s a foreshock, then the worse is yet to come.”

Earthquake Summary

 Tectonic Summary  The Virginia earthquake of 2011 August 23 occurred as reverse faulting on a north or northeast-striking plane within a previously recognized seismic zone, the "Central Virginia Seismic Zone." The Central Virginia Seismic Zone has produced small and moderate earthquakes since at least the 18th century. The previous largest historical shock from the Central Virginia Seismic Zone occurred in 1875. The 1875 shock occurred before the invention of effective seismographs, but the felt area of the shock suggests that it had a magnitude of about 4.8. The 1875 earthquake shook bricks from chimneys, broke plaster and windows, and overturned furniture at several locations. A magnitude 4.5 earthquake on 2003, December 9, also produced minor damage.

Previous seismicity in the Central Virginia Seismic Zone has not been causally associated with mapped geologic faults. Previous, smaller, instrumentally recorded earthquakes from the Central Virginia Seismic Zone have had shallow focal depths (average depth about 8 km). They have had diverse focal mechanisms and have occurred over an area with length and width of about 120 km, rather than being aligned in a pattern that might suggest that they occurred on a single causative fault. Individual earthquakes within the Central Virginia Seismic Zone occur as the result of slip on faults that are much smaller than the overall dimensions of the zone. The dimensions of the individual fault that produced the 2011 August 23 earthquake will not be known until longer-term studies are done, but other earthquakes of similar magnitude typically involve slippage along fault segments that are 5 - 15 km long.

Earthquakes in the central and eastern U.S., although less frequent than in the western U.S., are typically felt over a much broader region. East of the Rockies, an earthquake can be felt over an area as much as ten times larger than a similar magnitude earthquake on the west coast. A magnitude 4.0 eastern U.S. earthquake typically can be felt at many places as far as 100 km (60 mi) from where it occurred, and it infrequently causes damage near its source. A magnitude 5.5 eastern U.S. earthquake usually can be felt as far as 500 km (300 mi) from where it occurred, and sometimes causes damage as far away as 40 km (25 mi).

I was very glad to have a friend- Mendy Tanner, who lives in Virginia -very near our missionary.  She told me  that she had just talked my missionary.  They were all at a Zone Conference in the church building when the earthquake hit.  They are all safe and accounted for.  

The earthquake was felt as far north as NYC and Rhode Island- for rememberance here are a few pictures.

 President Obama's golf game is interupted, he asks, Ya'll having a party of somethin?

From the missionary Moms group: 

> Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:48:36 -0400

> Subject: [LDSmmSEUS] Earthquake in VA 

Just wanted you all to know your missionaries got a good shake up. I'm sure

they are all fine and will have fun stories to tell. It was a little scarywhen it was happening, but didn't last too long. Phone service is backed upso difficult to call or text in or out. But just wanted you to know that noinjuries have been reported or any damages. Epi- Center was south of Fredericksburg in Mineral, VA. 5.9. Bridges are being inspected, trains arebeing delayed and tunnels closed until inspected. Hope this helps and youdon't worry.-- Lia LeeRMM Elder Ryan Lee - Birmingham England Mission 1/07-1/09

DQ Delivers!! {{{via an Awesome Newport News Ward member!!}}}

Between You and Mendy A. Cooper Tanner

Mendy A. Cooper Tanner July 18 at 2:39pm Report

Hi Bobbi,
Elder Rogers is in our ward Newport New 2nd. Heard he has a b-day on Friday and that you want to do something special for him. Let me know if we can do something for you. Tell us what he likes and maybe will pick him up something. My son Nate is in England on a mission and he will be 20 on Wednesday. So we would be glad to help.
Elder Rogers and his companion ate dinner at our house last night. We feed them homemade enchiladas. For dessert we made orange flan. We had never mad it before and wanted to try it.

Mendy Tanner

Bobbi Twining Rogers July 18 at 3:45pm

Mendy- (cute name!) OH MY HEAVENS!!! So wonderful to get your message. Yes Koltn's BDay is on Friday. I was feeling a little sad for him being in a new area with a new companion for his BDay, so you have really made my day!!! It is very nice to know someone who is willing to put their arms around our missionary! We have been doing the 12 days of "Birthday" and just found out today that we had his address a little messed up and he has only gotten 3 of the 10 packages we sent..... They weren't anything big just a little something to let him know we were thinking about him. Thankfully, we got his correct address this am. and I will be mailing his big present tomorrow.

It is so nice of you to offer to do something for him. I was wondering about getting him some cupcakes/or maybe even an ice cream cake delivered to him. Maybe you can tell me where I could place an order. A Local bakery or ice cream shop? Maybe I could even have it delivered to you to deliver to him so it doesn't melt in the weather?

... and Oh my heavenly stars again! Your son is in England? I am sure that Koltn has told you I was born in England and travel back whenever I can. I am planning another trip in Sept. Where is your son? We are traveling all over England up through Scotland and over to Dublin. I am sure we could make it a point to catch up with him. : )

Sounds like you fixed a wonderful meal for the Mish's. Koltn's favorite food is Mexican. His loves homemade taco and enchiladas so I am sure he appreciated every bite!

my email address is johnbobbirogers@msn.com would love to keep in touch. Let me know if you have any cupcake/ice cream cake ideas!

Thanks so much
and give our Mish a big hug (or handshake) from his family back home.
We sure do miss that guy!
Bobbi

Mendy A. Cooper Tanner July 19 at 4:43pm Report

sorry I don't know what happened. We have 2 places close to our home Baskin Robins             757-874-7731       or Dairy Queen            757-887-8102      . You could order your cake and put it in my name and we'll make sure he gets it.

Mendy A. Cooper Tanner July 19 at 4:47pm Report

just email me and I'll pick it up.

Bobbi Twining Rogers July 20 at 1:38pm

Mendy- thank you so much! I ordered from Dairy Queen            757-887-8102      . The managers name is Rashmika. I paid in full $28.98 so no money is due. The approval code for the order is 023316. Rashmika said you can pick up the cake any time after 12 noon on Friday. Hope that all works out for you!! I appreciate it so much! I am sure Koltn will be surpised. I did get his big package off on Monday and it is supposed to be delivered on Thurs. thanks again! By the way, my home phone number is xx and cell is xx in case of any issues. You are the Best!!

Bobbi Twining Rogers July 20 at 1:40pm

by the way, the order is under Mendy Tanner..... she said she will ask you to sign the charge slip verifying the order was picked up.