A thankful heart (and full stomach, too)

Date: Wed, Nov 26, 2008 at 5:06 AM
Subject: Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey Everyone!

It's crazy that Thanksgiving is already here! The time just goes so fast... I'm going to be back in Utah before any of us know it! Already almost 3 months of my Mission is gone!

Anyway, I'm sure you're all wondering what we're doing for Thanksgiving. Well, we heard from the Zone Leaders that we can go to a members home and have dinner there and so we phoned up this really amazing Family and we are seeing them for dinner tomorrow! We are both so excited, when we were on the phone with them they were asking us all about a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and it sounds like it is going to be amazing! I love dinner appointments. We have that one tomorrow night, one on Saturday, another on Sunday, and another on Tuesday! We've had a lot of dinner appointments here and they are so much fun and the food is great!

Yesterday we were at Attingham Park again and they let us go for a walk around the park. We went to a part of the park where the deer stay and we got within 20 yards of some of them, it was amazing! It was so nice and relaxing to be out there in nature again. It reminded me of when I shot my deer last year and Elder Woolsey and I were talking about hunting and camping the whole time, it was great. In a way it really does feel like Thanksgiving, I love it.

Last week on P-Day we taught a man named Ian and he is great. From what we can tell he is a very kind and loving father and husband and just a great person all around. They even have my Missionary Scripture- "Ye are the Light of the world" on their piano! Anyway, he's a great man, but that night he asked us a couple of really tough questions and we said we'd have to get back on him. We're seeing him again next week and we're hoping we'll be able to answer them. Other than that we are seeing a man named Phil who is really nice. We're getting to be good friends with him, and we've taught him 4 times I think. He isn't progressing too quickly, but he is keeping the commitments we give him so that's good. Oh yes and on Monday night we saw a couple of less-actives, Sister Perks and Sister Wittman. They are both amazing Sisters and I'm so happy to know that I will know them for eternity! Sister Perks made us a pizza while we were there and they are both just so nice to us. While we were with Sister Wittman we got to sing with her and I played the piano, it was great! I just love all the amazing people we get to work with here, I wish you could meet them!

Last Saturday morning we played football with a few Ward Members and it was a lot of fun. They are so much better than us. If the U.S. played Great Britain in a Football game, we'd get creamed. But then again, if we played them in a Basketball game they'd get creamed. I think I'm getting better at Football though, I guess you'll find out when I get back!

We've been having better success setting up appointments with QGC's and it's amazing. When I was with Elder Ayers he was always setting up appointments and I never thought I would be able to do it and now I am! It's difficult though because most people aren't in when they said they'd be and so a lof of our appointments fall through. It's great though, because the Lord still places us in the paths of people who will listen to us. We get on these appointment chains where we will go to one appointment and it will fall through, then we do some work in that area and get another appointment in another area. We go to that appointment and it falls through and we then are placed in the path of someone who will give us another appointment. I think the Lord is guiding us to someone who is really prepared by these appointment chains. It's kind of fun anyway! The hand of the Lord really is in this work.

Thanks for all of the prayers and support and everything, it's much appreciated. Oh and the letters are amazing as well. They really uplift me every time I read them! I'm sorry it will take me so long to respond to them though, I'll do my best! Keep them coming though, the Lord knows I need your support through prayers as well as letters. Our area is a really difficult one. Will you pray for the people here? I know that we will see miracles here, and I'm excited for it. Also, will you pray for the Ward to be ready to receive new members through Baptism? The Lord will bless us all for our work (This week I learned that Prayer is a form of work, see BD-Prayer) in behalf of those here. Prayer changes things!

Well, last I checked the Church is still true. That right there is something that is amazing. We have the truth once again on the earth! We have a Prophet once again on the earth! What a wonderful Church. Joseph Smith was a true Prophet and he did see God the Father and Jesus Christ in that grove of trees all those years ago. I know that the sacrifices that he went through to be the Lord's instrument in restoring the truth were worth it. And so are our sacrifices to share this knowledge with the world. Which reminds me, how are your Missionary experiences going? Are you finding people for the Missionaries to teach? The Missionaries there need your help so much. There is so much potential in Member-Missionary work, it's just amazing. Will you work to have at least 1 Missionary experience a week? Even in Provo this is possible. Pray for it. Think about it. Expect it. Expect the Lords help with it. I know that He wants to help us do Missionary work, and He will. He will bless us so much for our efforts. This work is the greatest in the world. Of all the things that I am I am most thankful for the fact that I am a Missionary. It makes me so happy! I love this work. I love Jesus Christ. He lives and loves us so much. The power of the Atonement is real and we can experience it daily. The power of the Priesthood is real. Miracles do happen, big and small. God lives and loves us. He is there for us to speak with anytime, anywhere, and about anything. Our happiness is what is most important to God. I know that as we give our wills to him, for that is really the only thing that is ours to give, then He will make us happier than we ever thought possible. I love you all so much, keep up the amazing work!! God bless you for your love and support to me!

Love,

Elder Rowley