"Alright Satan..... i'll get another one."

Well this week was awesome! Silena White, our investigator, is extremely excited for her baptism coming up on the 22 of August and we're excited for her. We love going to teach her cuz she understands everything and she just soaks it all in like a sponge. She's got so much fire already and she's not even a member. The ward had a temple trip and she was super bummed cuz she wants to go to the temple SO bad. She's looking way past baptism and setting her focus on the temple which is something that i wish every investigator could do. She goes down to Gainesville, FL, quite often for treatments and she is always sharing the gospel with everyone. It's not uncommon for us to get a phone call from her as she's riding the bus down there. She'll be having a conversation with someone about the church and when they ask a question that she doesn't know the answer to, she'll give us a call and hand the phone over to the person that she's talking to. She left her Book of Mormon on the bus one time and when she got home she called the bus driver and asked her where her Book was and the driver said she didn't see it on the bus and doesn't know where it is.. What was Selina's reply? "Alright Satan..... i'll get another one." She's super funny and so awesome! Life is all good in the hood in Tally. Sunday was probably the highlight of the week! We went to church and guess who was visiting the ward before us?? Elder Dube from the First Quorum of the Seventy. He's from Kenya and he was part of the West Africa Area Presidency when i was there. So between their sacrament meeting and 2nd hour i was waiting outside the chapel and he walked out so i shook his hand and got to talk with him about Sierra Leone a little bit. Being around someone from Africa and talking about Sierra Leone was so sick... it made me so Africa Trunky all day. That was definitely the highlight of my week!
This weeks "sermon from the keyboard" is a little different. It's an activity that i learned from one of my companions almost a year ago and has helped me so much on my mission. Here's how it works. You'll need a piece of paper, a pen, and an envelope. On the piece of paper you write down something that is distracting you from your goals or something that is becoming a burden that is to "heavy" to carry... example for a missionary would be: "I'm worried about my family back home,"or, "I don't know what i'm going to do for a career path when i get home." I don't have a great example for a normal civilian cuz i'm not there yet.:) But find what is holding you back from becoming better and write it down on the sheet of paper... it can be one thing or it can be many things but write at least one down. Once you've written that down fold it up and put it in the envelope. Seal the envelope. On the envelope write the words "In the Lord's hands now." By doing this you are putting whatever is holding you back or whatever you are struggling with and you are putting it in the Lord's hands. For him to take care of. Tape it up on the wall, use it as a scripture bookmark, or place it somewhere that you will see it daily. When you see it you'll be reminded of what's inside and what you are leaving up to the Lord to take care of. Also do this prayerfully so that you are letting the Lord know what you're giving him. Once you put it up do everything in your power to leave it to the Lord. It's a hard activity to explain over email but it works! You don't have to share what is inside with anyone either.. you can if you want but i would advise keeping it to yourself. This activity will help you trust in the Lord and you will see that the Lord is in your life and supporting you and helping you through the things that you are struggling with. Try it out! 
-Elder Rogers