The Church Brings Joy in all Shapes, Sizes, and SOUNDS!

Hey y'all!!                                                                                          

It was such a great week here in Grayson!! The spring weather is finally here and it's so nice! I could live here forever, if it was always like this!

            This week went by super fast because I was never with the same companion for longer than 24 hours! Elder Covington and I went on three exchanges with three different companionships. I got to stay in Grayson the entire time so poor Elder Covington was living out of a suit case the entire week! We are having so much fun together. It's ridiculous! I swear I'm constantly laughing at or with him...but usually at him. Ha Ha. We've been asking everyone to be baptized no matter where or who they are and it's been paying off! We found tons of people to teach this upcoming week and we will have a few people on date for baptism by the end of the week!

Elder Roderick with Pablo

            Also this week I had one of the sweetest experiences on my mission so far.  One afternoon while we were contacting in a neighborhood, we started talking to this guy who had a lot of anti- information about the church. We kept trying to just testify and walk away but he wouldn't stop talking to us! The conversation was beginning to get pretty heated and I was about to say some...not very Christlike...things when I felt a tap on my back. I turned around and saw a little boy standing there with a notebook and pen. He handed me the notebook so that I could read it. I read what he wrote and it said, "Hello! My name is Pablo. I'm 11 years old and I live down the street. I know you guys are missionaries. I know because I'm Mormon too! We're in the Dacula Ward. What's your name?" I started writing back and forth with Pablo for the next 10 minutes or so and it was honestly one of the sweetest experiences ever! He told me all about his baseball games and how he wants to serve a mission like us someday! His mom came over and I was writing messages with her too because she was deaf as well. She was almost in tears because it made her so happy to see her boy having fun with the missionaries. I'll never forget that moment with Pablo!

            Overall, everything is going great! You know you're lost in the work when you're a missionary in all of your dreams! Ha Ha. Thank you all for your support and love! I couldn't do it without you! 

Elder Roddy 

General Authorities and the Power of Prayer

WHADDUP HOMIES,                                                                                           

I figure that it's time I stop saying "Y'All" since I've completely left the redneck lifestyle and entered into the hood of ATL! HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!! I hope you have your green on today. Don't worry. I always wear green because I get assaulted if I'm not wearing either dark green or camo because dark green is one of the colors of the gangs around here. So, I'm covered today and always.

Elder Quentin L. Cook
Elder Roderick's new "Bro."

            It was an awesome week! Man it was fun! First off, last Saturday we had Elder Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve come and visit us! It was awesome! He wanted to shake every missionary's hand.  So, I thought to myself, “This guy probably get's SO tired of every missionary coming up to him with big bubbly eyes and expecting a greeting and a handshake.” Then I thought, "I'll just say something to him first!" So I walked up to him and said "ELDER COOK! It is SO nice to meet you." I could tell he was a little surprised.  He replied, "Well, thank you Elder Roderick. It's nice to meet you!" Sooooo you could say we're bros. Ha Ha. But really it was so inspiring to listen to him talk! He talked to us all about how each missionary is where they’re supposed to be. He also took us through the process of how the apostles decide where to send missionaries. It was so cool to listen to! I know Georgia is where I'm supposed to be!

            On top of a visit from Elder Cook, Elder Kopischke of the First Quorum of the Seventy came to visit our mission! Talk about General Authority overload! He conducted our Zone Conference and Mission Leadership Council. The leadership council was so amazing! I wish you could've been there to listen to this man inspire us. He basically told us that an entire mission rises and falls with the success of the leaders and he said it in a motivating way. It wasn't intimidating at all! It was so awesome!

"Ooops! Excuse me. I thought
I was knocking on the Roderick's door."

            So like I mentioned, in Grayson I'm finally experiencing more diversity! We had some hilarious experiences knocking doors this week! We seriously meet the funniest people! One afternoon we knocked on a door and this elderly African American lady answered. We started talking to her and found out her name is Annie Butler. Annie started asking us questions and she asked, "So are you guys really representatives of Jesus Christ?" We said, “Ya. Of course Annie!” Then she said, "Hmmm...Let me see." So she grabbed my hand and held it in between both of hers and closed her eyes and just sat there for about 5 seconds. Then out of nowhere she said, "Oh yes! Thankkk you Jesus!! Oh, God bless you. I feel the power!" I was thinking, “Whaaat?” Then, I immediately replied, “Well, thanks Annie. We gotta go now!" Then we booked it across the yard.

            

          
           The next day we met this guy named Ollie who grew up in a gang in downtown Atlanta and he was told us alllll about it. He was a little under the influence at the time so this made the conversation more funny than anything. At the end of the conversation he offered to pray with us and he was saying the most absurd things! (A little background information here… whenever we pray with people they usually blurt "Amen! Yes Jesus!" in the middle of the prayer.) So, during our prayer with Ollie my companion, Elder Covington, decided to switch rolls! Ollie was praying and all of the sudden I hear "AMEN!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!" and I look up and Elder Covington is screaming at the top of his lungs! I was DYING.  Life is good! Love you all! Thanks for your endless support!

Elder Roderick

"Now Entering the Battle Field"

AYE Y'ALL WHADDUP WHADDUP!!!!                                                  

So, my week was literally a roller coaster - up and down, up and down! As a missionary, I've come to expect that every week. This week, however, it was like my experiences were juiced up with steroids and they hit me so much harder!

            Last week I told you about the Gonzalez family: a family of five who we were planning to baptize on March 8^th.  I hope my previous email conveyed how much I loved that family! On Tuesday night, we were joined at the church by multiple members and were able to teach the family a great lesson. They paid their tithing (without us even asking them), Jared (14) went to mutual and loved it, and Madeline (the mom) bore her testimony to the bishop while Antonio (the dad) helped teach his younger son, Andre (8), about the importance of a living prophet. It was like the most golden family, in the most golden lesson, I've ever seen.

On Wednesday afternoon Elder Covington and I were listening on audio to a video called Missionary Work and the Atonement.  I think I've told you about it before. It's an amazing video that you should watch! Anyway, in the video there's a part where Jeffrey R. Holland talks about the Atonement and he says, "You must be prepared at least once on your mission to shed one of the tears He (the Lord) shed". I remember thinking to myself, "Man! When is that going happen? My mission has been pretty great so far!" Well, that afternoon we went over for another appointment at the Gonzalez home, this time only with Antonio. As soon as we got inside the door he said, "Fellas, I have some bad news. I'm not going to be baptized anymore and neither is my family." He went on to explain that on Tuesday night after our GREAT lesson, he decided to get on-line and research about Mormons and after eight hours of reading anti-Mormon material, his mind was filled with false ideas about the church and he was totally turned around. The family completely dropped us and wouldn't even keep a Book of Mormon. I can't even explain how I felt! My heart sank to my feet and I was literally speechless for the rest of the day.    It was so hard for me to watch this family, who I loved so much, get completely turned around because Satan got a hold of them! However, as the week went on I was able to learn a lot from this experience. At first I was really hard on myself and I thought about everything Elder Covington and I could've done better. But, I realized we really did all we could. I learned exactly what Elder Holland talks about in that video when he refers to the difficulty of missionary work. Sometimes we think that it's all fun and games and since we're servants of the Lord everything will go right. Well as servants, we have to be prepared to go through A LITTLE of everything HE went through - the good AND the bad. Otherwise, we couldn't call ourselves representatives, could we? If I'm supposed to bring salvation to people, and as Holland says, "salvation is no whimsical experience", then it's no wonder my job is not easy! I have to be able to endure experiences like this so that when the blessings of missionary work roll around, they seem that much more sweet!

This picture is a sign that sits at the exit of the parking lot of a nearby Christian church. I took that on Wednesday afternoon before we went over to Antonio's house. I have a whole new outlook on that picture now! Sometimes we think that when we enter the mission field we're entering the most glorious and happiest experience of our life, which we are, but we forget all that has to come with it. I've come to learn that the sign might as well say, "Now entering the battle field" because that's really what it is! We're constantly fighting on the Lord's side against Satan, and I'm glad to be on the side that I'm on!

            I'll make sure to bring a little more happiness next week. Ha! I’ll also tell you about our experience listening to Elder Quinten L. Cook!

MAKE SURE EVERYONE CONGRATULATES MY BOY,

ZACH "DIRTY Z" MORRIS ON HIS MISSION CALL.

Love you all!!

Elder Roderick

A Dip in the Pool for Antonio … Stay Tuned

Hey y'all!!

It was an awesome week here in Grayson! My legs have never been more sore from tracting and knocking on so many doors. Ha Ha. Fortunately, our hard work has been paying off! We had a ton of miracles this week so I'll tell you about a few of them!

            On Tuesday night we met with one of our investigators, Geronte Watts. We taught him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and invited him to be baptized on March 22nd and he accepted! It was so funny because we had talked with him earlier about being baptized on the 15th and he was down for it, but his wife wasn't, so he declined as well. This time when we extended the invitation, he said, "Ya, of course! I thought we already talked about the 15th?" Ha Ha. His wife is still not willing to meet with us, but Geronte is very dedicated and willing to progress so we're hoping he stays strong!

            By far the best moment of the week was on Thursday night when we met with Antonio and his family! As I explained last week, Antonio is getting baptized this Saturday, March 8th. We finally had the opportunity to meet with his wife and kids (ages 14, 8 and 1). We taught them about the Restoration and the kids were so engaged! They asked a million questions and couldn't get enough information. We taught Jared (the 14 year old) how to pray and he offered the most sincere prayer. After the lesson we asked them to follow their father and be baptized on the 15th and they accepted! Little Andre (the 8 year old) said, "Yay! I'm getting baptized. I'm getting baptized!" It was so amazing! On Sunday they all came to church again and it was like they had been there for years! They paid their tithing and we haven't even taught them about that yet!  Jared wants to come back on Tuesday for mutual because he loved it so much. I really think this family is going to be able to stay active and be a rock in the church! It's honestly the most amazing thing ever to teach a family and watch them grow together. That's what missionary work is all about!

            Antonio's baptism this Saturday is going to be so memorable because we're doing it in a pool! (Remember, that Antonio is the guy who is paralyzed from the waste down so he's confined to a wheel chair.) A member in our ward has a really nice pool in his backyard, so that's where we decided to do the baptism. We haven't figured out exactly how it's going to work, but it'll definitely be a unique experience. I'm so stoked!

            This Saturday afternoon Quinten L. Cook from the Quorum of the Twelve is coming to our mission! Elder Cook will be the second apostle to visit my mission and the third I’ve heard speak since I've been out. Do any of you want me to pass anything along to him? Any questions? You know I'll put my arm around the old fella and ask him anything you want to know. I'll let you know what he has to say.

            I'm sorry this is short. I didn't have a lot of time on the computer this week! ONE MORE THING THOUGH: I gave the wrong address last week! Well, just the wrong apartment address. Here's my correct address:

2945 Rosebud Rd.

Apt. 604 <--------------------

Loganville, GA 30052

Sorry about that! I'll still be able to get anything that was sent to the other one though. Thanks y'all!

Have a great week! Love you guys!!

Elder Roddy

Parleys First Makes an Impact in ATL

Hello Parleys First Ward Members,

Thank you so much for the money you donated for me to use for the Lord's work here in Atlanta! I've been really careful and prayerful about what I use the money for because I wanted it to be special. I was finally able to use it for one of our investigators named Kenny. Let me tell you Kenny's story:

            Kenny is a 22-year old who lives with some members of our ward here in Hickory Flat, Georgia. At the age of 16 Kenny lost both of his parents for different reasons and he began to head down a life of temptation and misery. By the time he was 17, Kenny was already in jail for drugs and crimes. He spent the next three years of his life in and out of jail and wandering from place to place. By the time he was 21, he and his sister, Amanda, were completely homeless with nowhere to go.

Despite his lifestyle, the thing that must be understood about Kenny is that he has always been a softhearted, yet passionate boy who loves to help people any way he can. He's also one of the smartest and wisest kids I've ever met. When he was 19-years old and in jail, he had a powerful conversion to Christ and was filled with the love of the Savior so much that he couldn't speak for quite some time. Listening to his conversion reminded me a lot of Alma the Younger. Following his conversion, whenever Kenny wandered the streets or traveled in a freight train from state to state, he would preach to people about the Bible and tell them about the impact it had on his life. He has told me countless stories about nights where he was freezing because he had given all his clothes to another homeless man who needed them more than he did.

This October, Kenny got out of jail after being there for 6 months. Through the help of some amazing people, he and his sister were miraculously connected with the Wymans, an elderly couple in our ward who just returned home from serving a mission in Oregon. The Wymans let Kenny and Amanda into their home and took them in like their own son and daughter. After a lot of convincing, Kenny and Amanda agreed to take the discussions from the missionaries in the YSA branch. Amanda didn't stay interested for very long, but Kenny always stayed interested and wanted to learn more. However, Kenny didn't want to meet with the YSA missionaries anymore, so Sister Wyman brought us over to meet him. Kenny instantly became like a brother to us! We taught him all the lessons and read with him the story of Alma the Younger's conversion. He got the chills and told us in tears that he knew the Book of Mormon was true! However he still had a lot of doubts about the church. We challenged him to pray about it. We kept meeting with Kenny and Amanda. Then, a couple weeks later he called and asked us to come over because he had some news for us. He explained that he prayed about the doubts he had, and God told him that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was indeed His church and this is where he belongs! His conversion was so powerful and real. We set up a baptism date, but then learned that he couldn't be baptized until he is off probation, which sadly, isn't for a couple more years.

Elder Roderick and Kenny in Hickory Flat, Georgia

            Although he can't be baptized yet, Kenny has been coming to church every week and has even received a calling in the ward. He's one of the most spiritually gifted kids I've ever met. With the money that YOU gave us, we took Kenny shopping and bought him some dress clothes so he doesn't have to continue coming to church in his torn shoes and ripped sweatshirt. THANK YOU SO MUCH for giving this young man what he needed to continue to progress in the church and become a righteous Priesthood holder one day! You are the best!

Love you!   Elder Roderick