Merry Christmas from Tennessee!

 

Our Christmas "phone call"

 Monday: It started with breakfast at the ZL's apartment with like 14 other elders, it was like a frat house. But there were 3 others that play guitar as well and were actually pretty good so we played together for awhile, which was cool. We then went to the Stake center and played a bunch of basketball and volleyball then ate lunch at Costco and went back for a little bit. Due to mileage restrictions, we decided that tonight we would stay with the Maryville elders overnight because we have the Christmas zone conference tomorrow in Farragut and we don't want to have to drive all the way back just to come right back up. But we forgot our suits, which is kinda important for interviews with the President... so we went to goodwill and I got a sweet green, Masters-esque jacket for 10 bucks, haha. I have gray pants to wea,r I just didn't have a coat, but it's pretty sweet. Tonight we went on splits and I've been with the DL Elder Skelton(Maryville elder) who is a really awesome missionary. It's also been fun to have Elder Heninger (The other Maryville elder) in my district because we became super close friends in the MTC and he's a stud. 

The green jacket (no, he did not wear these gray pants with it!)

Tuesday: Today was the Christmas zone conference, which was awesome. I was stunting the green jacket with pride. But it was really cool because also they played a video of the whole missions’ families saying Merry Christmas so that was cool to see the fam. After zone conference we went and got our stuff from the Maryville apartment and were heading back to Sevierville. On our way back, driving through Seymour, we felt like we should go see a lady named Elizabeth,which was odd because we had dropped her as an investigator due to a seemingly lack of interest and we could hardly get a hold of her. Come to find out from her roommate she had been talking about us the last couple days and was wondering how to reach us. She was at work, but at least we know she has interest.

Wednesday: Today kinda blew, I've been feeling kinda sick the last week or so but today was the sickest I've felt in a long time.  We were in the apartment most of the day which meant a ton of studying.

Waiting for Christmas morning

Thursday: Today was a normal morning, and then we headed up to Maryville again because we had interviews with President Pickett. What a great man and leader he is, I'm looking forward to these next years with him. After that it was a rough night because all of our appointments had fallen through. But that night we got a call from the Sisters saying that there was someone needing a priesthood blessing. We met a less active lady who is really struggling with a lot of things. We were able to talk with her for a while and then proceeded with a blessing. After that, at about 9pm, in the apartment we got another call from a very ill member and we went and gave another blessing. The power of the priesthood is real. Since being out here I have received and given multiple blessings and there is nothing better to describe it than the true power of God.

Friday/Saturday: These days were just a lot of contacting less active and tracting.

Sunday: This Morning we got another call to give a blessing so we did that, and then met someone else early at the church to give another blessing. We have been able to give a lot this week so that's really cool. The Christmas Eve sacrament meeting was really cool, a lot of music and a lot of visitors. We probably had over 200 in attendance when the average is about 115 or so. We then had a meal appointment at 2:00 and then again at 6:00... We are full.

This week flew by, but everything is going well. We are working really hard to get this ward and area back into shape because it's kind of on a dry skid right now, but we are going to keep on chugging along.

The area is awesome and really beautiful, but everything smells like cigarettes and jeans. And yes the accent is very thick down here, it's the most stereotypical accent and they just embrace it, haha.

Elder Roden

One week to Christmas!

Spanish studies (his comp is a Spanish elder)

Last Monday: P day was super nice to talk with friends and family. We just kinda hung out doing laundry then went to the church and played basketball for a while, pretty laid back.

Tuesday: Tuesday was a long day of a lot of grumpy people, haha. Not many people were fans of us today. But we worked our hardest to the end of the day.

Wednesday: Another pretty long day, but we did teach a lesson to a guy named Monty in Pigeon Forge, which has been lacking in this area. Then that night we went to Mutual and hung out there for a while. 

Christmas lights on Apt. 23 (on the right)

Thursday: Today we had district meeting in Maryville, which was really fun, and got to go on "exchanges" for like an hour at Wal-Mart so we could get our comps something for Christmas. I was with Heninger who's one of my really good friends from my MTC district.
We came back to Sevierville and taught a lesson we had set up (!), and then went to a member’s house for dinner and they have a Catholic son-in-law who we were also able to teach (!!). They are also just a really cool family so, hopefully, we can work with them a lot. Teaching opportunities are pretty sparse right now so that was awesome.

Friday: Today was another long day of finding (contacting inactives, tracting)

Nashville Temple!

Saturday: Saturday was a super cool day. We left the apt. at 5am then met at a member’s house at 5:30. Then we had a 4 hour drive to the Nashville Temple! We were able to do a lot of stuff in the temple but the coolest was witnessing the sealing of a couple in our ward, the Barraza's. So that pretty much took up our whole day because by the time we got back it was like 8:00. I got really lucky because missionaries rarely get to go to the temple, so that was awesome. Also, the Nashville Temple is tiny. It's right next to a ward building and the ward building is probably bigger. 

Elders Martin and Roden, Sisters Rodriguez and Spencer

Sunday: Today we went to church, ended up being selected to teach Gospel Doctrine while sitting in the class, and taught the primary the history of the Christmas tree when I honestly don't really know it, haha. Then we tried contacting people for awhile, then we had a dinner appointment in Gatlinburg. It was cool because it was the first time for me driving through the Smoky Mountains and Gatlinburg. We ate with a cool family with the sisters. We and the sisters also sang a song for them and I played the guitar. The song was “Love is spoken here”. 

Elder Roden was happy to find out that guitars ARE allowed in the TKM

What every missionary needs...

This week was pretty good! I got a cheap guitar from a pawn shop and a sweet UT (University of Tennessee) moonshine bottle from Walmart so that was a blessing! Some days are a lot better than others but that's all part of it. Southerners are tough, but us Utah boys ain't too bad either.

Elder D. Roden 

Sevierville, TN

Friends and Family,

Tuesday: we woke up at 4am and had to be at the bus by 4:50. Then we took frontrunner and Trax to the airport. From there we flew to ATL, then a 2 hour layover, and then on to Knoxville. We landed and met President and Sister Pickett and the AP's- all amazing people. We then went to dinner at the mission home and got to call home. After that we slept at a hotel a few miles away for the night.

MTC District

Tall guy problems on the airplane

Wednesday: We woke up and went to the mission office to fill out some paperwork, then went to the Stake center for transfers. I was assigned to the Sevierville (Severe-Vull) area to be trained by Elder Martin from Highland, UT. We cover Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, Seymore, and Kodak, and the sisters cover the rest of the area down by Gatlinburg. Martin is actually a Spanish speaking elder, and so was the guy I replaced. So there is a chance that I'll need to learn Espanol. We then got taken to our area by the ward mission leader, Bro. Thedy, who has long gray hair and no teeth, but he seems really great. We also met a ward missionary named Mama Sauce, haha.  We live in a pretty old apartment surrounded by trailer parks, which is interesting. That night we did a little Spanish tracting (so I did nothing but smile) then met some of the ward at mutual. I met a guy named Brother Minton who actually served with my Dad in LA for a bit so that was really cool. Then we just went grocery shopping then back home. 

Elder Roden's corner of the room

Tennessee "snowstorm"

Thursday: Woke up, workout, study, then went to District meeting, which was fun. We then tried contacting a lot of people and tracting with little success. Just struck up a few conversations which sometimes is all you can ask for. It's very diverse here, like today we knocked all day on multi-million dollar homes, trailers out in the boonies, and the projects. That night we had a couple sketchy guys out in the boonies with KKK flags, and they came out with shotguns when we parked, and they didn’t portray that they wanted to hear about the Light the World program, so we decided to change locations, haha. We then went to a dinner apt. that ended up being, like, 25 people in a house built for 2, so it was a bit awkward, but fun. The Sevierville area missionaries are me, Martin, Sis Rodriguez and Sis Spencer.

Not sure what's happening here...but it was at the MTC

Friday: Today we were able to contact some more people and found a new investigator and taught him the restoration. Other than that, it was just another average day of trying to contact and doing some tracting. 

Elder Roden and Elder Haynes trading coats

Saturday: Today was crazy, just running around and things kept falling through. We first wanted to go to the Pigeon forge Christmas parade go street contact, but turns out they didn't have one I guess. Then we tried to go to a flea market that is regular for us to go set up a table there.  But it had been snowing and everything goes haywire when it snows in the south, so nobody came. Then we tried to go to another parade in Seymore and just didn't plan our time right, so we drove out and literally came right back. Then at 2:30 Bro. Thedy picked us up to take us to stake conference in Knoxville, which is a little over an hour away. We then attended priesthood and the general adult sessions. We didn't get back home until about 10:45 

Sunday: Stake conference was really good. We heard from Elder Beheshti of the seventy.  There was a nonmember that just showed up out of nowhere because he had gotten a pass along card. His name is Cowboy Tim. We were able to talk with him a little while and are planning to meet with him this week. And he is wanting to start coming to church, so that was cool. We also attended a Baptist service so, HALLELUJAH! 

Elder Roden's new glasses, engraved with our family missionary motto: Stay there

It's been going good so far! The work here is very tough, not a lot of people get inside doors. In the last 2 years all the baptisms have come through the members, so that's where I think we will work the hardest. We do get a lot of bashers coming after us, but we are taught not to bash back, which is good. But I've been given some stuff to study so, if I need to, I can handle myself. But we will just keep working! Also, sorry this was a novel.

Elder Roden 

Go time...

 Derek flew out to Tennessee on December 5. We were able to speak to him on the phone twice, briefly, so that we knew he'd made it.  On the night of the 6th, Mark received a phone call from an old mission companion.  Elder Minton now lives in Sevierville, TN and had just met Derek, who is serving in his ward.  Thankful for the Lord's tender mercies.  We were able to find out where he will be serving and who his companion is. 
From December 5, 2017:

Hello friends and family,

Currently in the Atlanta airport on a layover and about to board the plane to Knoxville. The time in the MTC flew by. Had a lot of good memories and definitely some rough ones, but that's how we learn. I'm going to keep it short this week but I'll try to be better at writing longer and more interesting letters.

I am where I need to be. I'm excited, nervous, and scared. This is still very new to me still. But I will do my personal best every day.

Elder Roden 

Elder Roden's first area, Sevierville, TN

7 new elders and 1 sister on the left, President and Sister Pickett and the 3 APs on the right

All the TKM missionaries at transfers

Elder Roden's trainer, Elder Martin is the one holding the manilla envelope