Preparation and progress

Date: Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 4:28 AM
Subject: Hello Everyone!

Hey!

Wow these weeks just go by so fast, have I ever told you that? I've probably said the same thing in every e-mail, it's so true! Well, 18 months from right now I will be getting ready to get on a plane to come see you all again, that is crazy. The past 6 months have flown by and I have loved them so much! Being a Missionary is the greatest!

We've had yet another successful week! The work here is going so well and it's all the Lord preparing His children here for the truth. Plus the ward here is just so ready to have new converts, it's amazing. I never realized before just how important the ward is in Missionary work! Anyway, on Sunday Peter and Chris came to church and it was amazing. They fit right in! The ward thought that they were members visiting from somewhere else and were surprised to find out that they were our investigators! They loved church and they continue to progress very well. We're seeing them again tomorrow and hopefully we'll have a Baptismal date for them! I'm so excited for them.

As you probably saw, we had dinner with the Tricketts last Thursday and that was incredible. We went to a pub/hotel place in a city called Peel (GoogleEarth it, there is a castle there!). I got the fish and chips (surprise, surprise, I know) and it was the most massive plate of fish and chips I've ever seen! And it tasted amazing, I wish you could have some. The Tricketts are incredible and we just love them so much! We keep hoping and Praying to be able to share bits of the Gospel with them.

Also on Thursday we taught a young man named *Jared. He has been very prepared by the hand of the Lord. He told us about how he recently decided to stop drugs and turn his life around and he couldn't really figure out why. It prepared him to hear the Gospel and we taught him the Plan of Salvation! We're a bit worried about him though, we haven't been able to get a hold of him since we taught him. We're also hoping and Praying that we can see him again soon.

On Sunday we taught an amazing man from Bulgaria. He came here to work and his wife and daughter are back in Bulgaria. We love meeting so many foreign people, they work so hard and they are so kind and humble! We taught him about the Restoration and he accepted a commitment to be Baptized! We're seeing him again today in a members home and we're very excited to see him progress! The Gospel is going to bless him and his family so much!!

Thank you so much for all of your Prayers for us, they are being answered! We still continue to have a constant flow of new investigators- about 3 a week- and it's great. That's the way every area's teaching pool needs to be. Thanks for all your help in the work here, you definitely have a part in it! The people here are being blessed for all that you do for us!!

Other than the teaching and finding things are going well. We continue to work with the ward and we grow to love them more and more every day! I'm still loving driving and I keep improving on that. I still remember killing the car daily in Shrewsbury and now I haven't killed it in who knows how many days! Being a Missionary is so much fun. I think my days of driving are almost done though (for now). Transfers are next week and both of us are very curious to see what will happen. Anyway, that means it's time to start sending all the letters to the Mission Office just in case! Oh yes and Preparation Day is changing to Monday in a couple weeks, we're excited for that. Next week it will be on Wednesday and then the following week (9 March is Preparation Day) it goes to Mondays.

Well, don't ever forget the Church is true! I know by the Holy Ghost that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Joseph Smith was a true Prophet of God. The more pressure and opposition I see against the Church the stronger my testimony gets, I love it. There are a few hard hearts here and they need to be softened, please please pray for that to happen. I love the people here though, they're amazing. Anyway, I know that God does live no matter what anyone else may say. He does love us more than we can comprehend, and our relationship with Him is more important than any other on earth. Jesus is the Christ and He is the Savior of all mankind. He did redeem us from physical and spiritual death. He does have the power to heal us physically and spiritually as we obey His Gospel. I'm so thankful for that Gospel and I know that the fulness of it has been restored. What a blessing it is to have the truth in our lives! Don't ever forget that great blessing of the Gospel. Learn it, live it, and love it. It really is the only to success and happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. We can overcome the world through Jesus Christ. He knows us. He knows our suffering and knows how to deliver us from it. I know that that is true. He loves us and that's why He went through all that suffering. It makes Him happy to see us living the Gospel for that is how we accept His great and eternal sacrifice for us. The Atonement is central to this Gospel and this church, and I love that being a Missionary has increased my knowledge of, appreciation for, and faith in that great sacrifice! Never pass up an opportunity to share your knowledge of this sacrifice and of the Restoration!

Anyway, have a wonderful week! Keep making the world the amazing place that it is! We really are the salt of the earth and the light of the world and I love it! Please please keep the letters coming!!! They help more than you know! And I will work harder at sending more out, I promise. You're amazing and I love you, never forget it.

Love,

Elder Rowley

(*names have been changed to protect privacy)