~ 12/11/2017 ~ Hey Team.

Que paso?

This week was pretty great...despite it snowing 5 inches and being on foot!! HA blew my mind! Almost felt like I was home for a while!! We went on an exchange with the ZoneLeaders which was pretty sweet. Got lots of work done!! This week we probably decorated like 8  Christmas trees.... I am about Chrsitmas Tree'd out haha

This week we did a lot of knocking and found this guy that seemed pretty interested and actually invited us back.... rare occasion;) 

So last night we actually went back and met with him for almost 2 hours!! He gave us his whole background and holy cow.... he is legit!!! When he was 21 he was given 3-6 months to live! He decided that since he was going out already he was gonna live life up! Long story short he ended up in prison for a long while!! He grew up having a Grandpa that was a Episcopal Preacher. I asked him why he invited us back and he said that it was because I said that we focus on the Living Christ. We taught him that Restoration and he accepted everything that we taught him. He promised to read the Book of Mormon and to pray to know if it was true. It was an awesome experience, and we have more lessons with him this week!! Sorry my email today is pretty boring, but I really just wanted y'all to pray for Eli Ponce that he will accept the gospel and to keep the commitments that he has made with us!

Hope y'all are doing great and striving to Light the World this Christmas season!!

Love you bye- Elder Rose

Churches on every corner...literally

Me & Elder Moline

Makin snow angels;)

The Awesome old ladies at the Sr. Center

The Awesome old ladies at the Sr. Center

A letter Home to his Mom this week:

Hey Momma, Thank you SO much for all of the presents you sent! I already opened all of the cause I couldn't wait any longer haha!! Sounds like you guys had a great week. This week was pretty dang good!! I got asked to instruct District Meeting... I think it went well ha! After that the Zone leaders came down and we went on exchanges with them!

Elder Moline, the one in the picture is awesome! He is from Canada and actually going to UVU after the mish too!!

This week we picked up 2 new investigators and actually taught a lesson last night that went SUPER WELL!!!! He committed to be baptized once he knows it is true for himself!! I am super pumped! Transfers are next week, and we get our call on Sunday night!! I honestly kind of hope to stay... never thought I would say that, but I just want to keep seeing Fort Stockton improve! I have seen it turn completely around and now want to keep teaching our INV ELI PONCE!! If you could pray for him that would  be  awesome!!!

Hope you have had a great week this week!! I will let y'all know what the verdict is next week! So don't send anything else because I might not get it!!

Also the hair clippers are so SWEET!!! Thank you so much! Love you Momma!!!

Love Elder Rose

~ 12/9/2017 ~ Friends in Texas :) ---An Update from Elder Rose's Mom

We received a text yet again from The Olsen's in Texas. This isn't the first text from them, but it's so thoughtful that they snap a picture after feeding our missionary with his companion, right before they head out the door.

Elder Rose giggled at me for sending gloves and ear warmers to him a few weeks ago. I told him it's better to be prepared, and he said, 
"Thanks for ordering that stuff for me!!! It was actually 94 on friday😅"

I can see that he was maybe he was happy he had a mama send him stuff to keep him warm anyways! 
haha

Elder Rose had an adventure last weekend when he wrecked his bike. So Monday, 12/4/2017, he and his dad emailed back and forth about what part he needed. The bike shop in Lubbock, Texas was awesome, and got Kim hooked up on Amazon with the part that we needed to order. 

Then, another friend in Texas texted with Kim to touch base about Elder Rose's bike, and he said he'd make sure that if Jaron needed help that he'd get the bike up and running with him! This guy was funny about the weather, and texted this picture below with his comment~ haha!

This is a friend Elder Rose has met and she and our family talked on Thanksgiving Day. She is awesome, and has a cute little one that Elder Rose has a fun time with!

So Grateful for many wonderful people in Texas taking care of our boy, as he tries to take care of them!

12/4/2017 ~ Blessings and Broken Bikes ~

Santa baby

Que tal chimacos?

Riding off into the sunset

This week was pretty good!!

On Thursday we went up to Odessa for Zone Conference!! Learned a lot and got to see some of the buddies i have throughout the mish!! This week we also got the opportunity to give like 4 blessings!!

One morning we got a call from a super random number, so I answered and the lady was asking for me. She just got out of a super sketchy situation with her husband, but he left her and never paid rent! She was going to be evicted from her apartment! So I asked if we could meet with her at a less actives house to talk with her! We went over and the only thing we could think of to help her was give her a blessing! So we taught her a lesson and she totally accepted a blessing. We still haven't heard from her since but I was a very cool opportunity to teach and give her a blessing!! 

Last night we also got a few calls from some member that had been pretty sick, so we treked our bikes on a 10 mile bike ride out to their house ot give them a blessing, on the way home we stopped by some innactive member that I have never met and we were finally able to sit down and talk with them! It was sweet! Hoping that we can get them to commit to come back to church. 

After we were on out excursion to the boonys we were riding through this park to see if anyone was balling up at the courts! It was like 8 at night and SUPER dark.... we were haughling through the park and I took this turn pretty sharp and the next thing i knew my wheels were flying out from under me!! Haha I ate CRAP! We had a pretty good laugh about it all until i realized that my bike was brok, and we had to walk 7 miles home ha!! 

So we went to like the main road so that there would be some light, cause all the sketchy stuff goes does here at night.... we were walking past Dickey's BBQ Pit and apparently an inactive member is the general manager and brought us into feed us!!! We met a guy in there that is huge into bikes and totally taught him a little and he offered to help me fix my bike!! So we left getting enough food to feed us for 2 days and picked up a new investigator!!!! God works in mysterious ways haha!!

Hope y'all have had a great week. never Forget that this is the only true Church!!

-Elder Rose

Our XMAS Tree

Rose

Legends

Me and My Son:)

Got em

Knocking

11/27/2017 ~ Be Thankful ~

Howdy Howdy mi amigos.

This week was a pretty relaxing week in all honesty.... not much more than knocking on lots of doors and lots of people telling us that they already have found Jesus. This week we were riding down this street and saw this guy in his car. Started talking to this guy and he said how grateful he was that we turned around to talk to him!! He wanted to get over his alcohol problem and knew that we could help him! He invited us over for Thanksgiving Dinner and we totally thought we were in Kolob... not Fort Steezy... since that never happens here ha!! We totally thought that we were gonna have a baptism here in a few weeks haha....... so we show up to the guy's house after going and smashing a TON of beer bottles to make the side of this raod look nicer..... we show up and he is already drunk ha..... he is a legend! We continue to eat and enjoy our time with him, but he just keeps getting crazier and crazier!! He put down 3 mason jars of vodka with like an ounce of juice ha!! It was pretty dang exciting!! 

This week we also were able to hang out with Father Hatch and volunteer EMS like 3 nights in a row! Got to be down on the field for a football game and much more!! Super great week!!

Hope y'all had a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

-Elder Rose

Happy Thanksgiving Chumps

Our boy Louis

Trollin the Streets

The sign says it all

Another sunset pic;)

11/20/2017 ~ God Loves You

Just sending Pics this week..... and reminding everyone that God is Real and loves you!

Hope y'all have a great Thanksgiving this week.

#teamoadios

Biking... biking... and more biking

No surprise at all

Because Texas

Me and My son and our new jewelry from Father Hatch

Why?

views man

11/13/17 ~ Sore Thighs and Bottom

Howdy Howdy,

Chillin on some random Mexican's couch

This week has flown by looking back! For everyone that doesn't know already, we had transfers last week and I found out that I would be staying here in Fort Stockton and I would be training a new missionary...... I am a Dad:) But with all that news came some bad news... they were taking my truck and putting our butts on bikes...joy!! It doesn't help that I am in one of the biggest areas in my mission, haha!! We have found that it is so much easier to talk to some people, but it doesn't help that everything is SO far away:) Gonna have thunder thighs after this transfer is over.  We have also been chased by dogs every single day this week ha....I have already had to kick a couple, and almost wiped out after hitting a little dog....Oops:)

This week we found some pretty sweet new service that we are gonna be doing every week!! There is an Old County Jail here, and they want us to come once a week to help them clean up and make it look nice outside!! This week we were also able to go to the Chamber of Commerce, a flower shop, the Sr. Center, and the Football game to do some service!! We have become friends with some of the Lions Club members here and they always run Concessions for the Football games and do lots of things for the community, so hopefully that opens up some teaching chances!! My favorite service that we do is going to the Senior Center!! The people there are awesome!! We go about 3 times a week and always play games with them..... and boy do they go hard in Bingo haha!! 

This morning I was reading in Romans 5:3-5 and wanted to share it with y'all!! Before my mission I wasn't too lucky with all of my injuries and really wasn't very happy or grateful for them at the time. I figured that maybe they were happening to humble me a little and to help me be more grateful for the abilities that I had! In Romans it talks about through our tribulations we develop patience and through patience we develop experience and through experience we gain hope. I have been reflecting a lot on experiences that have shaped my life lately and looking back, every time that I felt down... 2 people were ALWAYS there for me. And those 2 people were Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father loves us and doesn't want us to suffer, but to learn and be happy. He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to come here to take away our sins and all the pain that we will face. Jesus Christ has felt the pain that everyone has gone through, and is someone that we can always rely on when we feel like we are at our lowest. Even though we may not understand why we are facing a certain trial..... it will help us in the long run develop patience, experience, and hope. There is never a reason to hang our head, but we can always look up and know that someone else has felt the pains and frustrations that we have felt. 

Love you all and hope y'all have a blessed week!!

-Elder Rose

My dream truck;)

100% Humidity

My Sons

Father Hatch's Holy Water😂

Servin my time

11.6.17 ~ Fort Steezy again!!

Howdy Y'all,

This week has been full of some crazy things... wish i could explain it all in detail.... but I'm short on time so bare with me!

The night of Halloween we were in our Apartment around 8 at night playing sorry... and making some ties since we couldn't be out knocking doors past 7. It kept getting later and our neighbors were partying HARD!! They were so loud ha... and out of no where we hear 7 gun shots in the alleyway behind our house.... we went to bed and shut the lights out  so the psyco didn't think there was anyone home ha!!

This week we also went and helped a family in our branch dig more of there hole for there adobe house...fun!! HA it is such a workout!!

So we got a phone call on Thursday from our favorite Catholic Priest Father Hatch and he was gonna be in town working the EMS at a football game for one of our outlying towns!! So we totally went to a football game on friday night and were working with the Ambulance crew! That was pretty dang sweet!! 

This past week I wasn't feeling to great and woke up with a 102 fever so Father Hatch totally hooked me up with some free shots and drugs without charge!! He's a good guy!!

This week we also got asked to help build the play set at the high school for the upcoming play so we were over there quite a bit this week!! 

Hope y'all have had a great week!!! Keep praying for missionary chances and I promise they will come!! By helping others live the gospel you will see little changes that will benefit you and your family's life!!

#loveyou bye

-Elder Rose

10/30/17 ~ Another week in the Vineyard

Howdy Howdy.

To start out this week we had Zone Conference up in Odessa on Tuesday which was great!! Always a good time in Odessa. We went to Walmart for a few minutes after Zone Conference and we noticed this older guy that was kind of following us... I  finally turned around and started talking to him, and apparently he was homeless and just lost his job, and was trying to provide for his family. He was asking us for money or basically anything that he could sell to make some money. I told him that that ain't gonna happen haha... In a more polite way... but he told us that the reason he was following us was because we were close with Jesus and he needed some blessings!1 So we asked if we could say a prayer with him.... he said yes but only if he could say it and stand in a circle and hold hands!! He gave one of the most heart felt prayers I have ever heard!! He prayed for us and our safety and to also help us find success!! He was a really cool guy once we got to know him more!!

This week we also went on a little drive out to some of our outlining towns to see if we could talk with any of our less actives!! We went to one member! Sister Griggs... and holy crap she is one of the  craziest old ladies I have met while I've been here in Fort Stockton haha!! She opened the Door and Screams " Holy Christmas... it's about dang time y'all came to visit" haha she totally reminds me of Mrs. Mecham...love ya auntie ha... She gave us some Dr. Pepper and we sat in her front yard and talked for about an hour and a half about some of her past and then lots about the gospel! She wanted to come to church, but doesn't have a car besides her husbands that works in the oil fields!! She wants us to actually come back next Monday and split wood for her so that is our plan after we email next week!!

Hope y'all have had a great week!! The church is true.

love ya bye

-Elder Rose

Week of Service! ~ 10.25-17

My caption says it all!! 

This week has been so full of just crazy service! We got up super early one morning and went to the Branch President's house and built chicken coops, fed the animals, a bunch of other farm work and then they fed us breakfast before we had to move onto the next service appointment!!

The next thing we did that morning was dig a 3 foot hole that was 20 feet long by 15 feet wide..... and the dirt was basically as hard as concrete haha Welcome to Texas! That literally took FOREVER and I think should have been counted for the exercise for the whole week😅  

We also went and cleaned up a bunch of garbage for a members house... the same one me and Elder Brower rebuilt the first couple weeks I was here!!

And on Saturday...... We mowed some Less Actives lawn.... and It literally took us 6 hours. Between the lawn mower being super old, the grass being literally up to my belly button, and having to fix the engine like 4 times.... It was one long day!!! Not much else to say!

Hope everyone is remembering Christ in your lives and striving to be like him! Pray for missionary opportunities and they will come!! Also please Pray for the people in Fort Stockton to have their hearts softened and be willing to hear the message that we have to share with them!!

Love you bye

-Elder Rose

Me and my fav goat

Chunkin up.... gained like 15 since I've been here😂

Beautiful Sunrise

Midland/Odessa Zone Conference - This was on President Hales instagram account on 10/24/2017
Elder Rose looking good!