11-19-2018 ~ Outta Lubbock

Howdy everyone,

Well I'm gonna get right to the good stuff....... I am finally getting transferred out of Lubbock! I am pretty sad to leave Lubbock and especially the ward/area that I am in.  I have gained some great friends here and have many amazing memories here.  But on the positive side of things. I am getting transferred to Abilene, TX to be companions with a good friend, Elder Hendersen!! I have always wanted to go to Abilene and now I am headed there in the area that I wanted and a good comp. I also found out last night that Elder Hayden Wood and his companion will be living in our apartment with us until they get a new apartment. That will be crazy since Elder Wood and I haven't served around each other at all yet. It will be sweet. I am super pumped for this transfer!!

On the other note, my week was one of the best of my mission. We spent tons of time with Dale, James and Amoni this week. Between walking 3 miles with Dale and his dog a couple times. Walking James' crazy dogs....ended up chasing them and trying to get them to behave. And playing catch with Amoni and A.B. in a park. And then just the last few lessons with them before baptism. 

On Saturday they were all baptized, and that was such a great experience not just for me but everyone that came. There was lots of support from our ward and that made the spirit there even stronger!! On Sunday Dale and James asked me if I would confirm them. That was also a great experience. I look up to all of them so much for the changes they have made. Next Sunday James and Dale will both receive the Aaronic Priesthood and have the opportunity to go to the temple and do baptisms for members of their family. So cool. 

This past transfer my testimony has truly been strengthened seeing them change. They have put their faith and trust in the Lord and relied on Him every step of the way and he has lifted them and helped shape them to the men that he knows they can be. The power of the Atonement is so powerful and is sometimes hard for us to comprehend. But I know that through our faithfulness and obedience to what God asks us to, the power of Christ's Atonement will turn our weaknesses into a strength. We do not have to have a complete understanding of every point in the gospel to know it is true, but what we do know is true we have to hold on to and act on that. By acting, our faith will grow in other areas and it will continue to grow as we put forth the effort to do the simple things like reading our scriptures, praying and going to church. 

I know that this gospel we have contains the fullness of what Christ taught while he was on earth. It contains everything that we need to make it back to our Father in Heaven one day. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and was called to restore the priesthood and fullness back on the earth. I am so grateful for a living prophet today that leads and guides and continues to push us closer and closer to what our Father in Heaven wants. This church is true, and I am so grateful for the decision I made to come on a mission and serve the people out here in the middle of nowhere Texas. I hope y'all have a great Thanksgiving week and travel safe for all the holidays. 

Love, Elder Rose

If anyone who would like it...here is my new address. 

3649 Cedar Run Road #411

Abilene, Texas 

79606 

11-12-2018 ~ Weeks feel like days

Hey Family and Friends

I have gotten to the point on my mission where everything is a blur. Days feel like hours and weeks feel like days. So that's my excuse for not writing in as much depth as I used to. 

This week was really good though. We had the opportunity to have Zone conference this week with a general Authority there. His name was Elder Ochoa. He is a member of the 70. He instructed us and motivated all of us all to do better and be better. It was a crazy Zone conference because we had more than half of the mission there. Close to a hundred missionaries. What was even crazier was that they asked me to conduct the meeting. That was pretty nerve racking but a great experience. Right after we had Zone conference, we had a mission Leadership Council with Elder Ochoa also. He again instructed us and help us set goals to help our mission meet. He also chastised us a little bit on being better. Way more harshly then the rest of the mission. It will be awesome to see the progress we make within the next 6 months.

This week we also had exchanges with the Portales Elder. I went with elder Moody. It was a pretty good exchange.

 

This week we have also been preparing Dale, James, and Amoni for baptism. They all had their interviews on Saturday and they are passed and are ready to go as long as they stay clean this week from Satan. We are pumped for this upcoming Saturday. 

Funny story of the week. Yesterday at church three people that we didn't recognize showed up. Two of them were non-members and one of them was a member. They all came to gospel principles class with us a couple of the members and Dale. We were reading in the gospel principles book and one lady flipped out, cuz of something it said about the restoration of the Gospel. We thought it would be the perfect opportunity to teach the restoration. But we had five other people with us. Everyone in the class kept trying to give their two cents on what to say and it just ended up very bad and basically like a bash for class. Luckily Dale already has a strong testimony or I'm sure it would have shook him a little. Dale actually shared his testimony with her of the restoration which was awesome.

We will be going to see the crazy lady sometime this week to clear up her questions and hope she doesn't come to class next week to bash again cause she said she would be there ha😅

Thank you all for the prayers for me and for the people me and Elder Terry are teaching. The prayers have truly helped all of us. The gospel is true.

Love y'all!!

-Elder Rose🌷

11/5/2018 - Sucker for cigars🍭🚬

Hello everyone.

This week flew by. We had a couple exchanges. I went on an exchange with Elder Blake this week. That was fun to go with him and to catch up a little bit. Also went with Elder Mann, the assistant that we are working with this transfer. It was a good exchange also! Exchanges always make the week go by much faster. On Halloween all of the missionaries that are serving in Lubbock had the opportunity to go to the temple. That was great to be able to go there and remember the promises that we have made with Heavenly Father. Also to see many blessings come from that in our daily attitudes. 

This week we really focused on James Gallowkowski, Dale Keyser, and Amoni. They are all getting baptized on the 17th of November. Which is coming up very soon. The only one that we are a little worried about is Dale! He has really kind of struggled smoking ever since we invited him to stop. But he knows that he needs to for more than one reason. It is pretty funny because last week every time he would go to smoke there would be something either making it so he couldn't or he would feel guilty when he was. This past week we also bought him two bags of Dum Dum suckers and traded them with his cigars. He is very determined to this time to stop. He is a couple days clean right now and will have to be totally clean for the next two weeks to be baptized on the 17th. He is working hard at it and will definitely need a little extra help. So please keep him in your prayers. 

Love y'all and hope you all have a great week. 

-Elder Rose🌷

Dale's outside pet...... Elder Terry touched it's butt (no joke either)😅

E. Blake

E. Terry and I

E. Mann

Temple Group

More scootering

10/29/2018 -Speak, He is there

Hello family and friends,

Tryna get a peek of the game

This week has been a very crazy week. It has been full of out of the ordinary things which I never would have expected to see and be a part of in my life. My testimony has truly been strengthened this week. I know that our heavenly father is there and that he loves us. He listens not just to our prayers but to our desires we have in our hearts.

Last Monday I talked a lot about Dale! This past week Dale has been through a lot that is set back his progression to baptism. But he will get there soon. Last Monday we were not able to see Dale. He wasn't home the times we went to stop by. Early Tuesday morning we got a text from his son Dakota. Dakota told us that Dale relapsed on some pills and alcohol that his neighbor slipped him. We instantly went over to see Dale early that morning. He was completely out of it and not conscious of what was going on at all. We gave him a blessing, even though he was babbling on about who knows what the whole time. This went on for about 2 days. While Dale was out of it we would go over about twice a day to walk his dog And talk to him a little bit. Thursday morning we went to see him and he was out walking peanut. I could tell there was a lot on his mind and he was very embarrassed. He saw us and looked down ashamed. We went and started talking to him and he just wasn't his self. It was heartbreaking to see. He was very angry at everything going on around him. Satan was working very hard on him and was in his every single thought. After getting Dale to calm down enough. We read Moroni chapter 7 with him. We don't know why we felt prompted to read it but we did. In the last verse of Moroni chapter 7 it says.

48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

After we had read the whole chapter we invited him to pray with all the energy in his heart and tell how many father what was on his mind. That was probably one of the most spiritual experiences I've had my whole mission. While we were reading the book of Mormon I could see the countenance on Dale's face completely change. I was literally seeing the anger or leave him as he was reading. After he said his prayer he didn't know what to say except tears rolling down his face. He knew Heavenly Father was there and truly was listening to him.

After we had that lesson with Dale everything has been smooth sailing since then. We have gone over every day and read the book of Mormon with him and helped him understand the gospel. He knows this church is true and is willing to give up everything to get there. He showed up to church yesterday looking very snazzy in his sons sweet suit and floral tie. We recommitted him to be baptized on November 17th and are gonna do everything possible to help him get there. If Dale gets there we will have 3 baptisms that day and have a mega baptism for the ward. 

Over the course of my mission I have come to know how much Heavenly Father loves us. He loves us so much he was willing to send our older Brother, Jesus Christ, to suffer ALL things for us. He is there for us to rely on Him and what he has done for us. As we rely on Him and His Atonement and repent and change, we can feel of our Father in Heaven's love for us. 

Love y'all and hope y'all have a great week!!😏

-Elder Rose🌷

Walking James' dogs with him

Texas

Skert skert

 Our street

Bro. Jorgensen and his sick jacket.