Family,
Kinda weird emailing you guys after I talked to everyone the other day. But it was really good to talk and hear how everyone is doing. The past week has been a tough one. You would think that around Christmas time you would be the most busiest and working really hard and stuff. But not the case since not many people wanted to do anything or meet and just wanted to be with family instead of us. Plus it was really windy and cold this past week. That made it tough with bike week last week. Good news though is that a part-member family we have been working with for quite some time has been progressing and reading the Book of Mormon. We also have a tentative date for January 28th for his baptism. He is a really nice guy and has some concerns we need to work with but we really feel that he will get a confirmation and learning and gaining a testimony by that date to be ready for his baptism. His name is Dave and has a wife that is a member and a little baby girl with another one on the way. Missionaries have been seeing them for a very long time so it is good to finally see them progress and work to actually be together forever. It was all thanks to following the spirit as to invite him and to be patient and just listen to the things he was thinking and to address his concerns. Something I have been working on is role-playing and practicing different situations with companions to be ready for any situation and what to say and find out concerns of people when I actually do it with real investigators. Being prepared is essential when going into a lesson. If you are not prepared or studied some things that you might want to share, then it will be ineffective or you won't be able to address his needs. Other than that, we have had a quiet week of trying to find work and find new investigators. I really appreciate the letters and little presents everyone has given me. It was a good Christmas for me in the mission field. I am very grateful for all the support and love my family and friends show. I hope everyone else had a great Christmas and will have a happy New Year.
Love,
Elder Roe
P.S.-From Lorraine....We had such a great Christmas. We were able to talk to Elder Roe TWICE, for a really long time! It was incredible to hear his voice....when you get to hear "Hi mom" from your missionary...it's pretty incredible. That will definitely help me get by for the next six months. He sounded GREAT!! He and Elder Miller spent most of their day in their lonely apartment (okay, those are MY words). The family that signed up to feed them, asked them at church Christmas morning, if they could find a different place to go that day. Sad face. Let me state for the record...Elder Roe and Elder Miller didn't complain about it. They were very understanding. The family has two missionaries out in the field. One of them is pictured in this blog. They were afraid of missing their son's phone calls PLUS, they didn't want to ignore them while talking on the phone alot that day. So, Elder Roe called another family that had wanted them over. That family said, "Sure, come on over". Sounds easy, but they don't have a car. So, Elder Roe told them that they would need a ride and the family said, "We'll call you back". That's when Elder Roe first called home. While we were talking, he got the call from that family saying that someone was on their way to pick them up. I hung up with him when the family arrived. He was able to call us back, about an hour and 1/2 later. Yup, they ate and came right home...to the lonely apartment (again, my words)! But, that allowed us to talk to him for a long time! He had us on speaker phone for his companions entertainment. We didn't put him on speaker phone though. We hung out in a bedroom and whoever wanted to talk to him, would come in the room. We actually didn't know that he had US on speaker phone until Keriann got on the phone with him and asked him if he liked his companion.....Elder Miller responded, "NO!". He was joking, but that's when we knew he was listening in on everything. We didn't mind at all. I figured anything we talked to our son about, he must not mind his companion knowing. That actually taught me something about my son. He is learning and growing in so many ways. I could not be happier for him. He is learning to approach people that he doesn't know and talk to them. This is huge! I think it takes a lot of courage and confidence to do the things that missionaries do. They also have to be tolerant of others "ways" and their habits. This is nothing knew for some of you, but it is for us. I'm so thankful that our son is well and had the desire to serve a mission. I made sure to tell him that our family is so blessed because of his service. He acknowledged that too. He told me that HE is so blessed and appreciates our love and support. That extends to all of you too! He knows that you love and support him and that you pray for him. He is so grateful. Thank you so much!
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