This is Why I'm on a Mission!

Well, she's definitely speaking and spelling like a British missionary! Enjoy :)

Hello Family!

This week has been amazing! The transfer is coming to a close and it is really weird! This is the last full week of the transfer, and chances are either Sister Miller or myself will get transferred. It is really cool to think of how much I have grown and changed in the past 3 months! 

Before I forget, this week I ate the HOTTEST food I have ever eaten in my whole LIFE! Sj, the amazing woman we are teaching (who know has a baptismal date!! more about that later) made us food when we were over teaching her. It was quite an experience! Basically, my nose was running, I had tears in my eyes, my face was red and I was sweating like a pig! It was HOT. she made us 3 different types of curry, and we only has 20 minutes to eat it at the end of our lesson because we had to get to another appointment. It was painful, but Sister Miller and I laughed pretty hard when we were at home. We were both really proud of ourselves for eating the whole plate of food! 

Also, we bought yoga balls this week (for 5 pounds!) and it has been hilarious and fun. It is really nice to sit on it rather than my broken chair its great for stretching and morning exercise.  Basically I decided, I have to have a yoga ball forever! I've had one since freshman years of college. Anyways, that was a random tangent, but hey, life's good! 

The main part of the week was really rough. T, our investigator who is supposed to get baptized on Sunday had some concerns about tithing that weren't going away and he didn't feel like getting baptized on the 4th was a good idea. Sister Miller and I were devastated! He said he still wanted to be baptized, but he couldn't accept tithing and needed to know more about it. We needed a miracle!!! We didn't want to  push it back, because he is ready. He has a solid testimony. So, we prayed. Like a lot. The whole zone prayed too ( the zone leaders send our prayer requests probably once a week) and we thought a lot about what we could do. Then Sunday at church, Tony saw another Chinese man receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and a man in Elders Quorum randomly bore a really good testimony about tithing! After church we talked to him, and he was cool with being baptized on Sunday. He understands that you can't really understand tithing until you pay it. (We'd told him loads of times, but this time he FELT it). My heart was so full of thanks! Fervent prayer brought a miracle to pass. I cannot wait for Sunday! 

Then we bused to Sj's home and we taught her the lesson we've been trying to teach her for weeks. We taught her the plan of salvation, and we talked about the temple. It was a powerful experience. She is so ready! We talked about how families are sealed in the temple, and she can be sealed to her husband, and eventually their children. I was able to share/testify of how our family is together FOREVER, despite unique circumstances. It was probably one of my favourite moments on the mission so far. This is what being a missionary is about! It is about uniting families, and helping them get closer to the temple. She is scheduled to be baptized on Aug 18, which will be amazing. The best part is, she will be baptized by her husband. Crazy thing- we fasted 2 weeks ago that we would be able to get her to commit to a baptismal date when we met with her, but the appointment fell through and we were disappointed. We felt we asked for a miracle and didn't get it. God has his ways though. We did get it, just not in the time frame we thought we would. (I'm 95% certain Sj is mentioned for the first time at the beginning of the Larry and Aladdin post, if you want some background).

Next miracle: We met with S yesterday and did the stop smoking program with him. It was another one of my favourite moments on the mission. When he passed the cigarettes over, (a huge deal for him), I was SO proud of him. He wants to change. He wants the gospel. He can quite smoking with the help of God and through Jesus Christ.  He can do it!  This week is make it or break it. The Elders gave him a blessing and it was a powerful. He was promised if he can quit smoking for 7 days, he will be freed from his addiction and many other amazing things. He described the experience of getting a blessing as an "emotional energy" running through him. Basically, after a hard week where we weren't seeing people progress, Heavenly Father blessed us 3 times in one day!!! 

This week, between S, T and our other investigators I think I will be praying harder than I ever have in my life. but, God hears and answers our prayers and miracles happen according to our faith. 

Also- funny thing. We were going through Mosiah 2 with T and explaining that these were King Benjamin's last words to the people before he died. T is so funny! He said if he was King Benjamin he would say "Be silent- I'm dying!" HAHAHA 

We have Zone conference on Thursday of this week and I am looking forward to it! We all were asked to read the talk "Waiting on the road to Damascus" by President Uchtdorf in preparation for it. A part I wanted to share with you is

 "Those who diligently seek to learn of Christ eventually will come to know him. They will personally receive a divine portrait of the Master, although is most often comes in the form of a puzzle-one piece at a time. Each individual piece may not be easily recognizable by itself; it may not be clear how it relates to the whole. Each piece helps us to see the big picture a little more clearly. Eventually, after enough pieces have been put together, we recognize the grand beauty of it all. Then, looking back on our experience we see that the Savior had indeed come to be with us-not all at once but quietly, gently, almost unnoticed. This can be our experience if we move forward with faith and do not wait too long on the road to Damascus"

I love the whole thing, but I loved the idea that our knowledge of the Savior (or our conversion, turning our will to God or whatever it may be you want to insert in there) doesn't come over night. It is something that happens gradually as we diligently seek the Lord. I am striving every day to be diligent as a missionary and representative of Jesus Christ and to completely turn myself over to God piece by piece and learn to be a better missionary piece by piece. 

Now for some pictures!

Sister Roscher with OT. She says he is incredible! He used to be a Pentecostal priest. He is from Ghana and will be going back in a month after he finishes his masters degree.

Every companionship takes pictures on the sign before transfers. It's a tradition! And they were matching teapots :)

I truly cannot express my feelings of love and gratitude. Thank you for your love, support and prayers! I cannot do this without you! I love and miss you. You are always in my prayers! 

Week 12

Family and Friends, Hello! 

This week has been HOT. Its also been the driest July England has had in 250 years! It has been really nice to be in the sun all the time. This week is supposed to be hot, but rainy (at least that's what the members tell us). 

I was on exchange all day Tuesday, and it was cool because this time instead of staying in my area I went out of our area. I was with Sister Turnbow, one of the sister training leaders. She is absolutely amazing! She only has 2 and a half weeks left before she goes home and has so much knowledge and wisdom! It was also fun because I got to be in a car all day! Having a car definitely makes things like daily contact and back-up plans easier, but it is easier for us to find people to teach on our way to places since we bus, walk, and bike. I love learning from other missionaries! There is SO much knowledge floating around among all the missionaries in the field. 

This week was a trial of my faith for sure. We have been trying harder to focus solely on mission work, be in tune with the spirit and help our investigators progress more. I felt like all week we were running into brick walls, and investigators told us they didn't want to set a date for baptism, won't make their baptismal date or stood us up for appointments etc. It was really annoying! They know it is good to meet with us, the know the gospel is good and have basic testimonies of the things we teach them but won't commit! I think its partly because these people have been progressing since I got to the field, and they are getting so close to making the right decision that Satan is working overtime and their fears are holding them back. We still had a good week though. And I learned so much. I feel like I learn as much, if not more, during the hard times as I do they easier ones. 

T, one of our investigators will be getting baptized on Aug 4, so we will be teaching him the last 2 lessons this week and he will have his baptismal interview as well. I am really excited for him to take this step! It has been a touching and cherished experience to find and teach him. It is crunch time though! If you talk to any missionary the 2 weeks before someone gets baptized is a very nerve-wracking time, and I feel it! That's for sure! He is so amazing. He knows how important baptism is and how God will bless him when he keeps his commandments. Every time we meet with him I feel my spirits buoyed and my testimony strengthened. 

S, the man who committed to baptism a week ago, is progressing. The biggest thing is that he is a chain-smoker and has been for 20 years. This week Sister Miller and I are studying and learning the stop smoking program and we will be teaching it to him on Friday of this week. I hope and pray that he will be able to overcome this addiction, because this is really the only thing that is holding him back. He can do it, I know he can! Especially with the Lord on his side.

This week I have learned more about how to be a truly effective missionary I must give everything I am to the Work and the will of God. It has been a very humbling experience. It is a process, but one I hope I am embarking on well. The Book of Mormon is full of examples of incredible people who did incredible things with the help of God. The Lord looks after us. And he guides us, strengthens us and helps us to become better! That truly is why were are here. I cannot put into words the feelings which I have experienced this week. I feel my conversion to the gospel deepening and feel I am coming to understand my Savior so much more. In summary, I just feel more deeply about everything I think. Even things I didn't think I needed or could feel so deeply about. For instance,  I read Alma 14 and wept for the women and children, for Alma and Amulek, who were so faithful yet experienced so much hardship. I never thought I could read through the Book of Mormon and feel so much! I feel that being able to feel in and of itself is a blessing! President Rasmussen always tells us "the opposite of love is not hate, it is apathy". Think about it- it will change how you feel about feelings :)

I am grateful for the gospel and for my Savior Jesus Christ. I am grateful for a Heavenly Father who knows and loves me, and all of his children, so perfectly. The more I learn about his plan, them more humbled and amazed I am. 

Oh, and mom. My daily routine is up at 6:30, exercise and get ready til 8, personal and companionship study from 8-11 (because I'm in the twelve week program fro new missionaries we get an extra hour of comp. study), then whatever we have scheduled for the day. Usually we have a couple lessons scheduled, go finding or tracting for a little bit and travel to any DA's we have. Our days vary a ton from day to day and can change a lot when people cancel on us last minute. On  P-days we usually email, do our grocery shopping, clean and then go into City Center, do something with the Sister training leaders (who are in our ward) and play sports with the missionaries in our district (since the weather has been nice). P-day also varies though based on what we need to get. It is always surprising how fast P-day goes by! Especially when you calculate travel time into everything.   

Here are some pictures: 

With Sister Turnbow after transfer

Cadbury world! Cadbury (like the chocolate) originated in Bournville which is in my area! There is a chocolate factory to go to but we haven't gone because its 15 pounds, which is really expensive. Here's a pic of the sign though! 

A picture of the clock tower. She used used the word "beautiful" to describe England :)

PS Sister Miller and I made Chicken Korma with Naan bread last night. It was delicious. I think I love Indian food!! Dad you now have an Indian food buddy forever!

PPS you should look up Eton mess and Rasberry Pavalova and make them. They are English summer desserts and are SO delicious! 

Love, 

Sister Roscher

Fire and Barbeque

Here's this week's update!

This week has been one of my favorite weeks on the mission so far. We had a dinner appointment 5 nights this week, which is really something because there are so many missionaries in the ward. I was stuffed all the time! The members are really nice here. Its also been in the upper twenties for the past week and a half. (They use Celsius across the pond. Its been in the 80's there for those of us used to Fahrenheit). It has been so nice! We're way more tan because we're outside all the time. The English people are funny because they all complain they are melting! 

First exciting thing, we witnessed a fire! I'll attach a picture. It was one of the nicer pubs on High street (the main street in each city). I don't know all the details, but it was cool to watch the firemen in action. We were lucky we weren't busing a lot that day because the buses couldn't go through high street- it messed the buses up! Funny that it was a pub, and a sign was burnt- all that was left was barbecue and grill haha 

Wednesday was zone meeting and it was really exciting because we watched the missionary broadcast. I was touched as I watched it. They did an excellent job on it and there were some really valuable tools and things shared. I especially loved the story President Monson shared about the small branch in Canada that became a ward. I also loved what Elder Nelson said: "Love is the lubricant and life of missionary work." I also really loved the emphasis placed on member missionary work. As missionaries, our calling is to assist the ward members in fulfilling their duties as missionaries. We can't do missionary work without the help of the members! Anyways, it was inspired. I feel honored to be part of the missionary force at this time in history. 

There were several other highlights: 

We were teaching S (he's the one who found us) and we really wanted him to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. I can't remember if I told you this story, but a few weeks ago he prayed to God to know what could bring peace in his life and then opened up in the Book of Mormon to Baptism. So, we were trying to help him understand that baptism is the way in this lesson. We listened to him and asked inspired questions and he told us what was truly holding him back from baptism. We took him to the baptismal font and both shared our testimonies of baptism while he looked at the font and thought about it. When we sat back down and re-extended the baptismal date he said YES! For August 4th. We will have work hard and be diligent though because he's a chain smoker, but he knows this is the key to putting his life in order. He can feel the spirit. We have been meeting with him for over a month, so we were ecstatic! The Spirit was in that lesson directing us. It strengthened my testimony of always teaching with the spirit! 

The heart break of the week was M. She was the Chinese girl that was so elect I emailed about a few weeks ago. We haven't been able to contact her since she committed to baptism. It has been a source of frustration for me because she was so ready. We found out on Saturday from one of her flatmates (someone finally answered the door) she moved back to China 4 days ago. I was crushed when I found out. I really felt like she was ready for the gospel. I think it happened suddenly, so she traveled around Europe for a week of two (which is why no one was home) and then left. She was the first investigator I truly loved. I thought she was going  to be my first baptism. We gave her the website which the church uses in china to coordinate wards and activities etc. so I hope and pray that she will remember the spirit she felt and will contact the church in China. Through this heartbreak though, I now understand the parable of the lost sheep. i love all the people we are teaching, but I still miss M. That is how the Savior feels about all his children. There is no cap on His love for His children. It was hard, but I learned, grew and loved. 

One of the dinner appointments we had was a picnic with a Filipino family in our ward, and they invited 3 sets of missionaries and told us they had invited all their non-member Filipino friends too. We were excited for the change to find people through members. Funny thing though- turns out it was a huge party in celebration of Filipino independence day!! We ate real Filipino food though. It was actually really good! I probably couldn't eat it every day, but it was cool! 

The ward had a barbecue on Saturday and it was really cool because we had an investigator and a inactive family we've been working with come! We should have had a few more, but they didn't come. The ward is great. We also had a few people wander to the activity off the street. Some of them may be potential investigators!

 On one my favorite things from personal study this week was Alma 1:24-25. It talks about how the saints stood strong in the faith despite persecution from those who had been of the faith or weren't of the faith. These saints saw people  they cared about fall away. It's really important here because pretty much any active family was friends with families that are now inactive. We are actually dealing with 2 families who are struggling because a family who was once a rock in the church fell away and are anti-mormon now. The rest of the chapter talks about 5 things which the people of the church did to find peace and stay strong in the gospel. It is really useful and was very good for me to learn to help teach families things they need. 

There were many other miracles this week as well, but I don't have time to write about them! 

Other random things about this week- We have been sleeping with the windows open because there is no a/c and the houses are really well insulated. We were woken up 3 times on Saturday night by drunk people! On Monday, on our way to city center, we stopped at a World War I and World War II memorial. Poppies are a sign of  military respect here and they make wreaths of them. 

Biking has been pretty good this week. We've only biked probably a half hour to hour a day so bicycle butt hasn't been too bad. Its pretty funny biking in a skirt though! Sometimes my skirt gets caught in the brakes!  

I LOVE being a missionary so much. I love the people. I love the Lord. 

I love you all! 

Sister Roscher

P.S. the story in the Ensign this month about the saints in Sheffield, England is epic. It can happen in England too! (Sheffield is about an hour away from where I am too! )

The War Memorial

The pub on fire

Sister Roscher and the University of Birmingham clock tower

"Some of the cutest little kids in England", as she said in her email :)

Bicycles and Hayfever

Sorry for the delay everyone! Here's this week's update. 

Hello! 

And happy late 4th of July! 

This week has been way cool! Its been hard, but it's also been good. On Tuesday I ate fish and chips for the first time at a proper "chippy" and it was pretty good. Not my favorite, but apparently we were at a low class one. Then we had an appointment with a less active family at 6 (a regular appointment) and when we got over there they had a 3 course meal made for us. It was delicious Indian food, but MAN. I thought I was going to keel over and die! It was pretty funny. Even at buffets I don't force it down like I did then. We ended up having to run off the bus to the chapel to go to the bathroom because we felt so sick. It was fun though :) 

At the "chippy". She's starting to sound British ;)

I also bought a bike on Wednesday! It is a pretty nice bike. I got it used at a kind of ghetto bike store, but it came with mud runners too. He also had a really nice used bike lock I was able to get. I even got the dreaded helmet for safety. I'll have to send you a picture... I look like a legit NERD! But its fun to bike around a little instead of busing all the time! On our ride back from the bike shop we rode by the Canal and it was a very picturesque ride. I was laughing the whole time! 

Anyways, we had a grand-ole dinner on Thursday night in celebration of the 4th. We made tacos, baked onion rings and had ice cream. It was pretty fun, and it was a beautiful day, so we ate it outside on our grass! 

Aren't they just the cutest missionaries?!

It just wouldn't be the 4th of July without fireworks.

Saturday we were biking around and we were going down a hill to a round-a-bout. I was following Sister Miller and so I saw the whole thing... her brakes went out on the way down and she was going too fast to turn safely and not get killed by cars. So she ran into the back of a work van. The van didn't even notice because she's slowed down some, but it was SO funny to watch. I didn't know her brakes didn't work so I didn't recognize it was dangerous at all, but it was just SO dang funny to watch. I just wondered what on earth she was doing and then saw her bump into the van. 

This week we had a hard time meeting with our investigators which was really depressing, and we only had 2 at church, but I have faith this week will be better. Having 2 at church was still really great though/ they are still amazing!

W is doing well. We meet with him once a week and he loves the Book of Mormon. He has missed church for the past 2 weeks unfortunately. He is learning so much though. In 2 years, he will be solid! 

T, from China, is absolutely astounding. Definitely a golden investigator. We talked about a belief in God and he basically said, I just believe God is there and that he wants me to be happy. And he has lots of really good questions. We didn't fully explain the sacrament before his first Sunday, so when we met with him this week he asked us about it and why there were men sitting in the front. He thought it was a small refreshment, but couldn't understand why it was in such small portions. Haha oops! I now know to always explain that before the come to church, especially people without a Christian background. T wore a suit to church this Sunday and was beaming. He even pre-read in the Gospel principle manual. We could not be more blessed. I am so grateful to teach him! 

This week I have learned so much about the blessings we receive from keeping the commandments. We have taught a lot of lessons about keeping the Sabbath day holy, and other commandments. It was cool to realize exactly how much the Lord blesses us when we keep his commandments. This week was a struggle in realizing my lack of experience teaching  and in scriptural knowledge. The most important thing is the spirit though. I will learn more as time goes on. I will work hard to learn it and to work on communicating with others better. 

 I Love you all! And miss you so much! Thanks for your wonderful emails! We're running short on time today.

Love you!

Sister Roscher 

If I hadn't seen the picture of Sister Roscher stuck in a tree, this would be my favorite.
 This picture is a solid 2nd place ;)

P.S. If you happen to figure out what a mud runner is you should let me know. Google only pulled up races where you run through mud :)

I Dare You

Family and friends! Hello! 

This week has been crazy and amazing! I didn't get transferred, which is great because I just got settled! before I forget, can you save all the pictures posted on the mission blog that have me in them? 

I haven't seen the missionary broadcast yet, because it wasn't broadcast, but we should hopefully be watching it in the next month. I haven't heard anything yet about how it is going to affect our mission, but it will be exciting to see! 

I ATE A BONE. Like a chicken bone. Craziest thing I've ever done! I only ate half of it because I couldn't take any more without throwing up, but I ate it! I never knew you could eat bones! Apparently they're high in iron so they're healthy. I DARE you all to eat a chicken bone and then send me a picture of it! :)  This week I also discovered lemon curd. It is amazing. Its like a concentrated lemon jam, but not really? Its way good though.

Last P-day was fun! We went with the other sisters and played a game in the woods and then ate burritos. It was a nice break to be out in nature (which was actually a park! haha) This week we have met some really interesting people. I love that Birmingham is SO diverse. Sometimes we're riding on buses and we are in the minority. Its pretty cool! 

This week we were able to meet with almost all of our investigators which was pretty lucky. Unfortunately, we haven't talked to M all week, we have tried everyday and she hasn't been around. Its heartbreaking, but all hope is not lost! We will keep on trying. 

We now have 2 more people with baptismal dates, which is so exciting! It is pretty stressful though. I'm learning that getting them to commit to the date is the easy part. Actually getting them to that date is a lot harder. It takes perseverance, love, and a lot of inspiration! Its amazing though. I don't know exactly what these people need, what time frame they need and exactly what their concerns are, but Heavenly Father does! 

Miracle: This week we found T when we were out finding. He just moved from Swansea (Wales) and has only been here for a week. 3 years ago, he met with the missionaries twice and came to church but didn't progress further because his English was struggling and he was just starting. He has now improved in his English speaking and was excited to meet with us. He recognized the name tags. We found him on Thursday, taught him the first lesson on Friday and he came to church Sunday and loved it! He is amazing! He is going to the YSA home evening tonight and will meet with us again tomorrow. Finding T made it more bearable that things with M are rocky. 

The past couple of weeks have really made me appreciate good ward members. We can't do missionary work without their help. They are the ones who take over after the missionaries have played their part. I have really learned how important home and visiting teaching are. We meet with so many inactive and part-member families who have fallen away from the church because they hit a rocky patch and there was no one there to show they cared. A good home or visiting teacher could have really changed things. As members of this church we have to help build each other up. We all have to same end goal. Anyways, enough of that rant :)

The weather has been fairly nice. I have only had to wear a jacket about half the time. 

Also, I guess I have a package stuck in customs (I am assuming it's the Cd's) which I intend to pay to get out. I'm not really sure why its stuck there, either there was something illegal in it, or it was deemed valuable. idk. So. They have VAP taxes here and anything that is shipped into the country is taxed. They like to detain packages which they know are valuable and new. To avoid any more issues, still list what's in the package, but class it as missionary supplies not gifts. If there is anything new, tear tags off and make it look slightly used (probably just tearing the tags off is fine), and lastly when it asks you for the value of the package don't put anything over 50 dollars (even if it is, which I hope not! haha) That should hopefully prevent any problems. 

Oh, and we made TACOS this week! I literally died and went to heaven :) 

Now for some pictures!

This is a cathedral in downtown Birmingham. So beautiful!

Mince meat! You can't find normal ground beef... it looks like worms... but it tastes good after its cooked! 

And the best of them all: Sister Roscher stuck in a tree :)

 Love, Sister Roscher