June 27, 2011 {Email}

This week was a great one! Elder Baraza and I are doing our best with this area. We were supposed to have a baptism for Alfred yesterday but things didn't go as planned. Throughout the week we realized he still has a couple of things he needs to work on before he is baptized so we decided he needs to wait until he figures these things out. He still doesn't really understand why he has to wait but we know that baptism is such an important thing and we have to be willing to keep ALL the commandments when we are baptized. It will be better for him to wait a few weeks so he realizes the importance of his baptism. Hopefully things will change with him so he will be prepared for it. 

One of the coolest things right now is my old investigator from Tonaso. Elder Wright is still teaching him, Frederick. He has a baptismal date for July 17th. This guy has changed his life! He is a Rasta man so of course he was into smoking weed and all of those things. Once he knew that this was the true church, he knew that he would have to give it up. It definitely was not an easy thing for him to do, but he did it and hasn't smoked since. This guy is doing all he can to follow the commandments and be worthy for his baptism. He knows the importance of it. He is even preparing to go to the temple after and do baptisms for the tons of ancestors he has. It's so sweet to see that light come into their life. He REALLY knows it's true! Hopefully Alfred will be the same way soon.

I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Rogers

June 20, 2011 {Email}

This week has been great! It's amazing how just going out and doing the work just makes things fall into place. That's what me and Elder Baraza have been doing. We didn't really know where to start in our new area so we just went for it knowing that things will happen. Things have been progressing very well in Kwadaso and we have been gaining that same love for these people that i always desire to have. We have one man, Alfred, that should be baptized on sunday. He is about 22 years old and loves the church. He was solid from when we first met him which was at church. We asked him why he likes the church so much and how he knew it was the true church. He said that he knows because of the way he sees the missionaries live righteous lives. They are always doing whats right and acting in behalf of God. This really took me by surprise since that is not a normal answer we get. But hey i was way happy with it. If that is what it takes for him to get the seed planted then that is sweet! We just have a lot of sweet people like this right now. I can't wait to see how much this area progresses in the next couple months. The work is sweet! Elder Baraza is doing great! He is becoming very comfortable here in Ghana and is starting to open up with the people. It has really been fun to get to know him and his background. I'm already gaining that same love that i had with my former companions.

Today we had our farewell zone conference with President and Sister Sabey. It was pretty emotional. I can't believe their time is already up. It seems like i just met them at the MTC. I, and this mission, will miss them so much. They have helped me so much to learn, not only to become a better missionary, but to become a better person and most importantly a better husband and father in the future. I am so blessed to have been able to serve with them for this small amount of time. They have changed my outlook on life and the importance of the gospel and families. They will leave on June 30th but we in Kumasi have seen them for the last time today. It was really sad. It will be strange for us to adjust to a new mission president, but that man will be called of God just as President Sabey was so we know that he has the authority. Things are definitely changing here in the Ghana Cape Coast Mission!

Elder Rogers

I saw a lion roaming the other day!
I was so scared but my Kenyan companion scared him away like it was nothing!

June 13, 2011 {Email}

This week was pretty sweet for us in Kwadaso. We basically got a whole bunch of new investigators so it was a lot of walking around, contacting and trying to learn the area more. Kwadaso is seriously a maze for us. It's just a bunch of straight dirt roads that all look the exact same. Everytime we look for someones place we keep saying, "It's gotta be the next one!" Usually we are wrong and we are actually going the wrong way. Ha it's an adventure! We do get to meet a lot of sweet people because of it though.

Being with Elder Baraza has been a different experience. It's strange to have an African companion fresh in the mission field. He is very new to the Ghanaian life because Kenya is a lot different. I think he has told me about everything there is to know about his country and i could probably write an encyclopedia about Kenya now haha. It's cool though, it's always fun to learn new cultures especially these African cultures.

On Sunday we had a powerful church service. We had a few of our investigators show up, but one of the most rewarding things for me every Sunday is to see the people that i love in Tonaso come to church. A lot of the people me and Elder Wright were teaching are now preparing for their baptisms! It's so sweet to be a part of it still and every week they just come up to me and give me a big handshake and say they miss seeing me. Elder Wheeler, Elder Wrights greeny, is really lucky to have come into such a sweet situation with so much success. I tend to get jealous that he gets to be with Elder Wright and the people of Tonaso everyday but its good for him to be with such sweet people. Hopefully soon we will have people like that in Kwadaso! 

Elder Rogers

Me and Elder Baraza

Eating fu fu at Grandma's place

Our last baptism - Pretty sweet huh!?

June 6, 2011 {Email}

Well, training is very different than normal missionary work but its not bad. My new greeny is Elder Baraza from Kenya!! Yeah it has been way fun to get to know him and more about his country. He is a very quiet kid though and i have to force him to talk. I think he is still in culture shock since Ghana is a lot different then Kenya. Kenya seems to be very civilized kinda like America. He misses cheese and milk just like me ha. Other missionaries have said that the Kenyans are as close to Americans as the African missionaries get. It's been fun. It is definitely different being the senior companion though. Being the one in charge all day and making the schedule, starting the lessons, giving commitments and lots of other stuff is a change from what i have done before. My mission has mostly been pretty equal with my companions but now i have to take the load until he gets acquainted with this mission life. He is coming small small and will soon be a powerful missionary. He has a very strong testimony. And by the way he is Elder Sitati's (General Authority) nephew haha so no pressure. I better train him right since i know that ha.

Something else that is new is my area. Since me and Elder Wright were together in Tonaso someone had to take the other companionships side of Asuoyeboa and it ended up being me. The place is called Kwadaso and is a lot like Abuakwa with the dirt roads and stuff. I am still trying to learn it. It is cool though, now i have served in three neighboring areas, Abuakwa to Tanoso to Kwadaso ha yeah i will know this side of Kumasi fairly well.

Elder Wright's greeny is Elder Wheeler from Bountiful, Utah! It has been so much fun to see an American greeny and to see how weird all of ya'll are haha jk. He has been adjusting very slowly and we are still trying to get him to eat fufu. I'll tell you once you start to do the Ghanaian things then everything becomes so fun!

It's been a crazy week though! Lots of changes for me. I'm loving it and my new companion Elder Baraza.

Time is flying by. Remember when i just got my call and we said I would have a new mission president when i was 10 months? That day is coming! It's going so fast!

Love ya tons!

Elder Rogers