Busy Busy Busy

Hello all!

The last week of the transfer was great. Elder Stencil and I taught a lot of lessons again and did a lot of things. Transfers are here again and I am getting transferred back to Westminster. I served there last May and June. It was a fun Zone and I am excited to go back. My new companion will be Elder Ah Nee, whose from Hawaii. I am really sad to leave the Denver Zone as I always am with my areas but I will love Westminster as well. I will also miss living with the Smiths too. They are currently on vacation so I didn't really get to say a satisfying good bye. 

There is a big world wide broadcast for all missionaries in the world tomorrow that we all have to see. Transfers are also tomorrow so this transfer day will go down in history as the craziest of them all. We had a Zone Leader logistics meeting in downtown this morning and we have so much responsibility for a lot of things.

Jenna is doing great. She and Reat came to church on Sunday and we didn't even have to invite them! She is really progressing but Reat doesn't have motivation to get married. He is ok with it but I think he is really holding the couple back. Tonight we are teaching her with the Stuetz again and it will be my last lesson with them. I hope she gets married and baptized soon. Andrew is still reading the Book of Mormon a little bit at a time. Last lesson we had with them we read in the first part of 2nd Nephi. I'm just really bummed I can't say good bye to the people we are teaching. I didn't foresee this issue when the MLC was discussing the change of transfer news. 

Thursday we went to a district meeting in Downtown and the church building is weird there because of all the buildings. We went to the roof to take some pictures. Yesterday Elder Stencil and I went to the Coors Stadium where the Rockies play. As for the Broncos, I was never really a fan of the NFL but I have warmed up to them a little bit. One Sunday we were tracting and EVERYBODY was watching the game. They will definitely be a team I will root for when I go home. I'm glad everyone is still doing great. It hasn't been too cold here in Denver . It's been in the 40s and 50s lately. Still too cold for me but its been nice. Stay awesome and I'll talk to you next week!

Love,

            Elder Rodriguez

Progressing Investigators

Happy Monday!

Hello everyone, so good to hear from you. It has been a fantastic week. Elder Stencil and I taught 20 lessons this week. I haven't been this busy since my last area. Monday was Zone P-Day and we all had fun. Tuesday was zone meeting and that went pretty well. It could have gone a little better but it still went well. Being a zone leader is stressful at times but its good stuff. This week has seriously been full of miracles.

We taught our investigator Jenna last night with a young couple. They are such a big help teaching her. She and her boyfriend Reat just got back from Idaho and they went to church up there. She is definitely progressing in the gospel and she forced Reat to come to church yesterday at 9am. It was a surprise to see them there. But she said she loves church and the people there. We can tell her desires to follow Christ are increasing. We just have to get them married first.

Another investigator we are teaching is Andrew Demmamose. He is in his 80s and has a wife and a daughter that are members. Missionaries have been teaching him for years and have had no luck. But weeks ago I felt prompted to invite him to read 1 Nephi 1. Just the first chapter and he was very hesitant to read the Book of Mormon. But when we came back he read the first 10 chapters. In fast and testimony meeting his daughter got up and said that was the biggest Christmas gift he could give her. When we came back to teach him this week he told us he finished 1 Nephi and from what his wife told us yesterday at church he read another 10 chapters or so into 2 Nephi. Andrew says he loves reading the Book of Mormon and enjoys the history and stories that it has. He also said that "maybe I will be a Mormon". 

This week we have a ton of appointments set up and it will be another busy week. Members tell me that it is just the start of the Colorado winter and it’s going to get really cold in the next 2 months. I'm not excited for it. I am still doing well; no sickness or anything. If we do get sick the Smiths take good care of us. I love and miss you so much. I'll talk to you all next week. 

Love,

            Elder Rodriguez

Happy New Year!

Hey Everybody,

Happy Monday. This week was pretty rockin. Arianas baptism was a great turn out. She had her grandpa baptize her. A couple members of the ward were there as well. On Tuesday we had MLCs and we discussed the 2016 mission baptismal goal. They wanted us to fast for that. On Thursday we had a mission wide meeting to present the baptismal goal of 501 souls for 2016. They also wanted us to fast for that meeting. Then Sunday was fast Sunday too. But fasting is good for your spirit. The mission wide meeting was a great spiritual boost and I got to see many of my fellow missionary pals. On New Years Eve a member took us out to dinner at this sushi place. We had to go home after diner but we weren't allowed to watch any movies like on Christmas. Elder Stencil and I just ate junk food and chilled for a bit. The flu has gotten a lot of people here but I haven't gotten sick since Thanksgiving. Elder Stencil and I have been pretty healthy. I haven't gotten another flu shot either but I don't know if I really should get it.

Today is Zone P-Day and we are going to a place called Family Fun Zone. We can do laser tag, bumper cars, and obstacle courses. We aren't allowed to ice skate though. We also have a ton of appointments planned for this week. Siale Tuinukuafe is 18 and just got called as one of our ward missionaries. He went to Cal High before he moved to Colorado but we will be taking him out with us and help prepare him for his mission.  It has been getting a tad bit warmer here in Denver. The past couple of days have been in the 40's and 50's and bright and sunny. There is still a lot of snow that hasn't melted though. Things are going great with me. A lot of the people we teach are getting back into the swing of things so we can start teaching them again.  I miss you all. Until Next time!

Love,

            Elder Rodriguez

Ice Cold

Hi Everyone!

It has been so cold here! Not much snow but it has been in the 20s I think. Elder Stencil and I had so much food on Christmas, we couldn't finish it all. We also enjoyed "Inside Out" and "Big Hero 6". Ariana, the 8 year old we are teaching, is getting baptized this Saturday. I'll be sure to send some pictures. Elder Stencil and I have been super busy the past couple of days. We had a big meeting with the stake president and the high counselor over missionary work. We had to give them a report on the zone. We had a stake training for full time missionaries on Saturday and a bunch of other stuff. This week will be pretty crazy as well. Tomorrow is MLCs most of the day with the other zone leaders and STLs and Thursday we have a big mission wide meeting to talk about the goals we will have for 2016. Our lessons have been going down a bit because of everything we have to do. Being a Zone Leader can be very tiring at times, but it is wonderful to serve the missionaries. Today we are going to try to play dodge ball with a few other elders and next Monday is Zone P-Day.  I hope you all are well!

Love,

            Elder Rodriguez

Merry Christmas!

Hello all!

Merry Christmas!! It truly is a great time to share the gospel and the message of the Birth of Jesus Christ. This week was pretty crazy but we got a lot done. Denver had a huge snow storm on Tuesday and we weren't allowed to drive any mission cars that day. So Elder Stencil and I had to walk all day long in the freezing cold. It was very unpleasant but we got 4 lessons that day. One that night, a young couple was able to pick us up and help teach a lesson to Jenna, our progressing investigator. I was kinda nervous because we taught them the law of chastity and it was going to be a make or break lesson. But it went super well and the Stutez, the young couple, helped us out SO much! She accepted the commitment to get married to her boyfriend and she is moving forward. We committed them to figure out the logistic of the wedding so it can happen as soon as possible. On Wednesday the Denver Zone was able to take out some missionaries fresh from the MTC. There were 8 missionaries that were going to Farmington New Mexico but they missed their flight due to the snow storm. So they were staying in a hotel in our mission. Since their mission president didn't want them to stay in all day and do nothing, there were a few companionship's that were able to take one missionary to their area and show them what a mission is like. The Elder we took was Elder Reid from Blythe California. 

Yesterday we taught Ariana, another investigator we have. Her mother is always with us when we teach her because she is only 8 years old. We hope she gets baptized when her family is in town in about 2 weeks. The Denver Zone will go caroling again this Wednesday night at the mall in Downtown. It is supposed to snow but hopefully we can still do it. We get to watch 2 movies on Christmas Day so Elder Stencil and I might watch one with another companionship. The Star Wars movie is a big deal here in Denver as well. Everybody is seeing it. I look forward to seeing it as well in 9 months. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

Love,

            Elder Rodriguez

Winter is here!

Hello Everybody!

How is life? Seems pretty good from what you have told me. For me everything has been super crazy! So I am staying in my ward and Zone but Elder Hodson left last night.  Since Elder Hodson was gone I had to figure out transfers for the coming and going missionaries by myself last night in a trio. The next couple of days will be hard as well. We have a zone meeting we have to plan for on Wednesday and we have a Mission Christmas Devotional on Thursday. The Zone has to come up with a skit for that as well. My new companion is Elder Stencil and he is from Ohio. He has only been out for 4 1/2 months and he is a zone leader now. He doesn't really know what he is doing so he is just following my lead for now. So a lot is falling onto my plate. But I'm not too stressed just busy busy busy.

Elder Hodson and I had a really good last week. We taught lessons to people we haven't seen in a while. We were able to watch the Christmas devotional last night. Since I was in a trio I went to their ward members house. I did an exchange with a new missionary in another ward in the zone. He and his companion cover downtown Denver so I enjoyed that area. On Saturday the whole zone did some caroling at the 16th st. mall in Downtown. We were trying to get potential investigators by using the Christmas Initiative "A Savior Is Born". It turned out pretty well. There was a piano that one of the Elders Played and we borrowed an IPad from one of the members to show the Christmas Video. Have you guys seen it yet? It is pretty awesome. 

We also had MLCs on Friday with all the new Zone Leaders and Stls. A large number of missionaries went home today. I got really close to this particular group of missionaries, so I was a little bummed to see them go. I went up to the mission home last night though to drop off Elder Hodson and another Elder from the zone. There hasn't been a lot of snow lately. Most of it has melted away. This week it will be in the 50s. I truly miss you all this Holiday season and I wish you all the best for this week. Take care and I will talk to you next week!

Love,

            Elder Rodriguez