Ich habe einen Sohn!!!....Week 7 in Rosenheim

     Hello one and all! I would like to report on the epicness that happened this week! Namely... ME GETTING A SON! I'll get into that... I can start with saying that I am happy. Happier than almost ever. I'm in a great mood, my Mission really has been turned for the absolute best now! I'm so glad to be able to end it with a son! Oh! YESS! So the weather here has been like raining the whole last week too... but that's ok for me actually because when it rains.. that means its not hot outside! And I am still not a fan of the heat. So rain does me good! Man did my week ever fly by. It was so good!

     Ok so I'll start off with my new Companion. My Son. My Heir. So I am sitting here with Elder Johnson of Bountiful, Utah! Right out of the heart of Utah! He is so good! So he has like 6 older Siblings... He has had a good life! Came to me right from the MTC. Oh what a guy! I got to pick him up  on Thursday in Munich, what a day that was. Nice big hug and then we were off! But really.... I can't say enough about how awesome he is. Like... he is outgoing, which is a great blessing cuz around others I'm not quite as smooth as this master ;) So he fills in the gaps! He is so diligent in learning and speaking German and is really just super easy to get along with. We are gonna have a great time. Its like one of the biggest blessings ever that I have him at the end. He is who I needed to help me go further and do more. He is gonna be a mission changer! I'm like so stoked! MY SON IS THE SICKEST! 

     This week flew... cuz when you are getting ready to leave (Elder Tholen was leaving).. we are always on the move. We had member appointments through the week. On trains, talking with people, it juts kinda flew by.  Thursday was transfers and there was a mess in Munich due to trains being on strike and so like... that took a lil more effort from the office to get everything in order but they got it! I picked up my Son and we came back and got to go out and get some stuff done right off the bat. SICK!

     Our great friends picked us up delivered us to Bahnhof (train station), then picked us up again we I came back and had us over twice this week to eat. We had some great times with them, they rock! Its a blessing to have people who are so willing to help and love. Living the Gospel really shows. I love it!

     On Sunday... Elder Johnson gave a way good testimony and totally blew the ward away with his German! Its so fun. I love having a son, cuz it helps me get back to basics in Missionary Work and focus on the principles. Its a great reminder and having the pure innocence and faith and love from him, boosts me up and pushes me further than ever! Ah its so sick! 

     The police showed up at the house this morning looking for Elder Tholen... lol! He lost his wallet like 3 months ago and they found it! YAY! So that was cool.... 3 Police in my house! 

     I have to run, we had to come to an Internet Cafe today... internet at the church is down... But life goes on! I love it! I love you all. Love rules the world! Have a great week ok! LOVE YOU!!!

Elder Rodgers!!! <3

New 'son' Elder Johnson

Good bye dinner for Elder Tholen at members

they are so spoiled

Add caption

Welcome dinner for Elder Johnson with members

They are so spoiled at their house!

New belt for lederhosen!

Ausdrücke der Liebe.....Week 6 in Rosenheim

     Hello near and hello far! This week, I gotta say may have been one of the most uplifting and fun weeks of my entire mission. The whole attitude and the whole flavour of the everything was spicy! Oh I really really loved it. Man oh man. Then, taking into consideration that my whole family and many friends were at Belly River this weekend.... I DIDN'T EVEN GET TRUNKIE!!! Oh man, this week. It was just that stellar! Lets go through it and hopefully you will get an understanding of what I went through! So good! 

     Monday was P-day and we hit the train and busted it out to AUSTRIA!! Went to a place called Kufstein where we visited a sick castle and I bought some wicked clothes! So like the weather was great and it was so pretty! Being back in Austria was awesome, I got a great new suit! Ah it was an awesome day. Just the attitude of Austria cheered me up for the week! Member appointment that evening too :)

     Tuesday was a good day and then in the evening we went and stayed overnight in Munich because we had interviews and district meeting at 8am on Wednesday!! So for District Meeting we were asked to bring one of our favourite talks ever. And so I remembered this one, it never really meant a ton at that point... May 2011... But now.. Oh boy let me tell you.... BEST TALK EVER! It was even so good that they made a Mormon Message about it. I'll link the talk and the video to the bottom of the email cuz you all need to watch it and read it! Its like the best ever! 

     So the talk is called "The Eternal Blessings of Marriage" by Elder Richard G. Scott. Ok yes. Judge me all you want. Being on a mission kinda makes you marriage trunkie at some point or another. But with the words and blessings and promises and experiences from this talk.... how could you not want that?? AHH! Its like the sickest ever. So I got to read a few sections from it for the district and tell them all how that applies to missionary work and why I love it so much. A mission prepares you so well for marriage. Like... its so fabulous. So having this so early in the week really kept me up and bright! HAPPY!!! <3

     Thursday we had a great member appointment and life was just full of JOY! Earlier to we had a great lesson with a new investigator! Like... can you see how awesome this week has been going for me!!!

     Friday we had another great appointment with an investigator family and ate and then just loved life! Its going so well there! Then we caught a train to Munich for the Stake Priesthood Meeting. It was like a barbecue to start and so we got to hang around with other missionaries. SO MUCH GOODNESS! The meeting itself was way awesome. We got driven to a train station by a member... and got our train by 10 seconds... like we were booking it!!! So good! Then got home late and hit the bed nice and quick! 

     Then comes Saturday Morning. TRANSFER CALLS! So, the news is .... Elder Tholen has been transferred to South West Germany on the border of Switzerland and for me... I'm gonna be a dad! I get a golden for my last 2 transfers <3 I'm gonna be training! So sick eh! I'm like way stoked for that! SOOO STOKED! So that like made me just like so happy! Ah! So good! 

     Saturday only barely started at this point... We got a train at 7:40am and got picked up by a member and drove out to a far away part of the area to help with a move. A lady from the work of some members. So 2 other Elders came down out of Munich to help us as well, lots of big heavy old furniture. So its just always fun helping move... and with 4 Elders... even funner! So that was a riot! Fun helping move! It was a great day. Then we got treated to McDonalds! 

     And so we are there... sitting out on the patio in the middle of nowhere... 4 Elders and a member... and we hear... "Hey Elders!!".... UHH WHAT?

     A dad and his 3 daughters from Salt Lake City who are here on vacation... haha. Like I don't think they appreciated the rareness they just witnessed. Legit, we were in the most random, small place. I have no clue how that happens... 

     Anyhow it was fun! Sunday was a good day and now we are here again. I'm smiling and happy and yay! Life is great! I cant wait to get my Golden on Thursday! Its gonna be a stellar 2 transfers! I'm excited to go forward! 

I love you all! Dont forget to express your love and share it too! LIFE ROCKS!

<3 Love you all!

Elder Rodgers <3

Talk:

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/the-eternal-blessings-of-marriage?lang=eng

Mormon Message:

http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/expressions-of-love-2

In Kufstein Austria

a castle in Kufstein

A well inside the castle

new suit!

Total traditional wear!

dinner at members with Elder Tholen

Muttertag....Week 5 in Rosenheim

     Hello Everyone! Its Monday and its awesome! Yesterday was Mother Day and that was awesome too! Like even more than awesome I guess I can say. The weeks here seem to be blending into one long one. Its weird how time seems to go. Its throwing me off! I've been in Rosenheim for over a month now. Hard to believe that. Its going on... onward ever onward you could say!

     MY thoughts are really mixed up right now. Let me see how I can get them out.  Monday was a good day. Tuesday was fun. We went into Munich for our District Meeting and then ate a lunch prepared by the senior couple there. Really, senior couples are the depth of missions. They are so supportive in so many ways. I want to go on a senior mission sooooooo bad! Like that's so happening! 

     Anyway, we had an exchange after. I got to work with Elder Bauerfeind! A German! A real German! We had a blast. Exchanges are really great! So we went out to a place to contact a couple referrals we had gotten. On the way there I sat in the train and sat by 2 girls. Immediately I recognized that they weren't German; based on the English... lol. They were 2 students on a Study Abroad in Salzburg... from California. HA! I sit in a train with 300+ people in it and sit right by the 2 Americans... Imagine that eh? So we were able to have a good talk! 

     The next day with Elder Bauerfeind we got poured on! It was raining hard! We had time to just go out and so we threw on our jackets and hit the rain. Got a good lil picture... you cant actually tell there though how wet we really got. Exchanged back and then went to a lesson!

     This lesson went great! We have picked up teaching a girl who has been taught in the past but never made progress. Well now we have had 2 lessons and she is doing really well. It was a great lesson. Teaching really is a great blessing for me. It's so much fun seeing the understanding in the eyes of the person. Its really cool!

     We were able to get out and do lots of dooring this week too. Found a few good areas and really went to town on them. I love the little villages outside bigger cities. There we have great experiences dooring. 

     We had another good lesson on Friday with a fabulous family. We had a nice barbecue and it really was a pleasure. People are what make the mission. We even had another lesson on Saturday with another lady who has known the missionaries for a long time. She was super nice. I love how nice people can be. Having someone who really cares and who really tries to understand is a blessing. I love the people in this Mission. 

     Sunday was the day to beat though! Cuz it was stellar. After church we went with a young couple and the wife's parents to dinner at their house. It was great! Food and games and spiritual thoughts and goodness! Skype too! So yeah, skyping was kind of the best ever. Like... I think the thing that got me the most was the changed voices of the twins and Brad. Logan was talking and I was confused why Brads lips weren't moving... THEY ARE SO OLD! 

     Of course talking with mom was the best! It was a great day! I loved that. By the way... we also had a game of 3 person wizard happening... and I'd like to mention that I actually did end up winning lol. Just for you mom ;) hahaha 

     Then there is today. We are gonna go into Austria today! I'll send pics next week. Its gonna be great, super weather today! 

Well, another week gone by. I love the Germans and I love my Mission! 

Have a lovely Week!

LUVS <3

Elder Rodgers!

Me and Elder Bauerfeind before the rain

Me and Elder Bauerfeind After the rain!

Das Leben ist gut! Nicht einfach, aber doch gut!.....Week 4 in Rosenheim

     Hello my wonderful friends and family. I come this day with an open mind... mainly open because there is nothing in it. I'm like so blank right now I don't even know if I will be able to write anything. My title today comes from the email from my wonderful Aunt Kay! The sentence....Life is good Tanner! Not easy, but good! That really sunk into me. I agree! Who would have thought of all the hard things I'd get to go through on my mission. Not always the easiest. But like.. in looking back there are times of awesome epicness where I know for a fact that my mission is the best ever. Even in hard times... with people or with situations... its still the same thought..... What can I learn from this. I think that a mission is the coolest because as a missionary I'm in a situation where its expected of me to teach and to be an example... but what people may not always realize... is that as a missionary... I get taught by so many people and I look to others so much for examples. I'm here to teach... but I think I learn more!

     It has been said: "You know you are teaching through the Spirit when something you say, enlightens your own understanding."

     I have been fortunate enough to have experienced that often throughout my mission. Its a cool feeling. I say something... and all of a sudden as I'm saying this... my mind clicks and I realize some part of something that I had never seen before. It's an awesome thing. 

     This happened this week in a member lesson. We were with a family and we had asked to come over so we could give one of the Preach My Gospel lessons. We chose to do the 3rd lesson which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a great atmosphere to teach. The Spirit was there right off the bat and even though we as missionaries were the ones doing a lot of the talking... by the end of it my mind was enlightened and I learned a whole new aspect about baptism and the Holy Ghost. How necessary it is to have both.. in relation to covenants and to enduring to the end. Just cool.

     We got to go up to Munich for our district meeting this week. It was my first time back in the Office in exactly 600 days. I hadn't been in that building since September 5th, 2013. It was pretty cool. We have a solid district. It's a ton of fun. I also love knowing things and so being in a district with the office really lets me know whats going on in the mission. Its pretty cool!

     I have been involving my studies a lot with the history/background of the Book of Mormon. Like how its been written, and the little things like that. One really interesting thing I've come across is the "learning of the Jews". It was too much to explain here... but looking into understanding and language and ideologies... its really cool and has been allowing me to see more into the Book of Mormon.

     The book of Mormon is so cool! I also came across one of my favourite sections of scripture in the Bible again, one of the scriptures being 1 Peter 3:15.... "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear"

     I think there are so many things to be learned from this scripture. One that came across to me this week was that if someone is gonna be asking me for the reason of the hope inside me... they probably should be able to first recognize that there is even a hope in me. So I ask myself then.... when I'm walking around outside... Does my appearance say 'Full of Hope'?  How do people see me. Am I smiling and am I happy. Would I even be in the situation where someone may ask me for the reason of the Hope within me? 

     Little things like that that really affect a week. Its such a blessing. In teaching, I have really been able to see the Spirit at work. Its such a blessing to be able to witness such a powerful thing. I love my mission and I love the scriptures! 

I'm thankful for Mothers Day this week and I wish all the wonderful moms and women out there a happy Mothers Day! My mom especially! And also all the Aunts and Grandparents and friends who have played such a motherly role in my life! You are loved!

Have a beautiful week!

LUVS <3

Elder Rodgers <3

My group (from the mtc)

a lil castle!

Forget-me-nots!!!