I can see Ireland and England from my house

Date: Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 4:19 AM
Subject: 7 Months...

Hello!

How is everyone this week? Is the sun shining in Provo? It's trying to here. This morning as we were driving into Douglas we could see the mountains of the Lakes District in England across the Irish Sea. Oh and on Saturday we got to see Ireland from the other side of the island! It sure is beautiful here!!

Well, 7 months has already come and gone. It's crazy how fast time flies! I've loved every minute of it so far, even the difficult ones! Before any of us know it I'll be on a plane heading home! But until then, there is much work to do.

Our boiler still isn't fixed but maybe we might get the part this week, we'll see. We are very happy that Sister Radcliffe is back though! She returned on Friday evening and told us a little bit about her amazing experience helping out in a school over in Rio. She helps us out so much. All of the Ward members here take such good care of us, we are so blessed!

Yesterday was a wonderful day at Church! We were extra happy to be there because we had missed last week. I never realized before what an incredible blessing the Sacrament is! I love it! We were privileged to see Peter and Chris there as well as Wanda and her son! They all enjoyed it very much and plan to come to General Conference! We are excited about General Conference by the way, it's going to be amazing. We also got some pretty exciting news in Sacrament meeting that I'll probably have to tell you more about next week! Oh and we also saw a somewhat less-active recent convert there (who was Baptized last December) who has been struggling recently. That was really good! I love Church.

On Friday we were excitedly expecting the Assistants to President Bullock to come over to go on exchanges with us, but they couldn't. One of them had what they supposed to be Appendicitis! We have since heard that he wasn't operated on and is doing fine now! It was a bit disappointing to not have them come, but everything works out according to the Lord's will!

On Wednesday last week we had an amazing experience with the youth. We were invited to do an "MTC Experience" with them and it was amazing. We taught them how to teach, testify and commit people and we really learned a lot. After we taught them they had "practice investigators" that asked them questions, it was really well planned out. It reminded me just how much I would love to teach at the MTC there in Provo when I return in about a year and a half!

Other than that things have been going well. Please keep Whitney and Andres and their family (our new investigator family from the other week) in your prayers. They are often poorly and it's difficult to see them. Please pray for them to recover so we can continue teaching them! Prayer works! I know if we pray for them then they will be blessed by the restored Gospel!

We haven't seen our friend from Bulgaria in a little while but have been in contact with him by phone. He needs some prayers as well. We really want to see him again soon, we are so excited for him and his family also to experience the great blessings of the restored Gospel as well as all of our other investigators. He's too good of a man to not have the Gospel in his life!

Actually we didn't teach as much last week, we spent a lot of time street-contacting and tracting. We were blessed with some great success though, which we are excited about. We have a few appointments with potential investigators lined up this week and hope to get more soon! Please pray for us to have new investigators! Again, prayer works! Never underestimate it's power!

And the Church is still true. Jesus is the living Christ, the Son of God. He loves us. He knows us. He knows how to help us in our sufferings. I know that that is true. The Book of Mormon is true and it is the word of God. It does bring us closer to God than any other book as we abide by its teachings. I love that book. It is the keystone of our religion and the keystone of my testimony of the restored Gospel. The fullness of the Gospel has been restored. That is true. This is the only true and living Church on the face of the earth today. There is a Prophet of God on the earth right now and we get to hear from him this weekend! I know that we can learn and grow much from General Conference. I know that the Plan of Salvation is real and true. It is perfect even though we may not understand it perfectly. God does love us and wants us to return to His presence. We can do that through Jesus Christ and no other way. It will probably always be difficult to follow the way, but it will also definitely always be worth it. The work done in the Temple is true and it is amazing. I love the Temple. Go to the Temple as often as you can. I wish I could go more. We have so much work to do there, but we also have so many blessings to receive there as well. The Temple is the best place on earth! I love being a Missionary and I know that this work is true!

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful week and keep up the incredible work. Keep praying for those Missionary experiences, they will come, I know it! And when they do please please don't forget to let me know about it! I recently received a letter from a past Assistant to President Bullock who told me of some of his Missionary experiences on his way home from his mission and a few when he got home. It was amazing to hear and that great joy of Missionary work was still with him! Anyway, I love you all. Keep the letters coming.

Love,

Elder Rowley

Zone Conference, Liverpool (yes--that Liverpool) and the ferry

Date: Mon, Mar 23, 2009 at 5:45 AM
Subject: Zone Conference, Liverpool, and the Ferry...

Hello Everyone!

How are you all doing? How's the weather over there? How are your Missionary experiences going? I hope they are going well, don't forget to write me about them!!

Well, we've had one crazy, but great week! On Tuesday the boiler specialist came and told us that the pump on our boiler is out. It will take 3 weeks to get a new one, but until then he said that they might could re-wire another type of pump to fit our boiler. Let's hope so!








On Wednesday we got to see the Tricketts for dinner again and it was wonderful! They are so nice and we love them so much. We were able to leave a copy of the Book of Mormon with them as well as a Restoration DVD. The Restored Gospel is true and everyone deserves a chance to receive all of our Father in Heaven's blessings from it! We hope the Tricketts do, please pray for them to!

On Thursday we had a nice ferry ride back to the mainland for Zone Conference! We got to do some work in Preston and met some amazing people, it was great! Zone Conference the next day was amazing and I learned so much. Revelation is a beautiful thing and is so important. We had Elder Per G. Malm (from Sweden) of the 3rd Quorum of the Seventy come and speak to us. He was amazing and the spirit was so strong as he spoke. I'm excited to apply, this week, what I learned at Zone Conference. Oh and Elder Woolsey and Elder Ayers were both there, it was great to see them also. That night we got to stay with our Zone Leaders in Liverpool and it was amazing!

The next day, Saturday, we got to play football (soccer) with some ward members and investigators in the area and it was a lot of fun. We realized all too late that we were going to be cutting it close to catch the ferry from Birkenhead (across the Mersey River from Liverpool, look it up on GoogleEarth). So we got back to their flat and quickly changed and packed up and got in the car with about an hour to go. We did get to see Liverpool City Centre which was amazing, and we also got to go in a tunnel under the Mersey River, that was really cool too. We got lost on the way to the ferry though, and when we found the road it was closed, and we got to the terminal just as the ferry was sailing out. We missed our ferry! It was a very intense day but I'm glad that it happened. All of us learned a lot that day. So we stayed one more night in Liverpool and then got our ferry back to the island yesterday. We are so happy to be back on the island!

It's been a little while since we've seen our investigators which I don't like but we are going to change that today and tomorrow. They are doing well though. Pete and Chris were at Church yesterday even though we weren't and we hear they are doing well. I'll give more updates on them all next week. Please pray for them to progress towards Baptism!

Well, the Church is true. I love this Gospel and I love that the fulness of it has been restored. I know that the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only way to true happiness in this life, and the way to receive all of God's blessings in the eternities. How amazing is it that we have a Prophet of God and Twelve Apostles on the earth today?! And we get to hear from them in a couple weeks, I'm so excited!! I know that Thomas S. Monson is a true Prophet of God and that Jesus Christ guides and directs us through him today. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and it will help us gain a greater testimony of the Gospel as we read it prayerfully. I love that sacred record. It does bring us closer to God and Jesus Christ. I love this restored Gospel and I'm so thankful to be a messenger of it. There is nothing in the world like representing Jesus Christ. Never pass up an opportunity to share your testimony with anyone, but especially with a non-member. It is the way that we invite the spirit to link them to all of the amazing things that happened before this life. That's the amazing thing about this world- every man, woman, and child in it said yes to Jesus Christ before this world. It's our sacred responsibility to help them say yes to Him in this one. Please pray for Missionary opportunities, seek them out, and let me know how they are going!!

Anyway, you are all so amazing and I'm so blessed to have you. Keep up the amazing work, I love you all so much. Have a great week and let me know if there is anything I can do for you!

Love,

Elder Rowley

Quocunque Jeceris Stabit

Date: Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 5:23 AM
Subject: Hello from the Isle of Man!

Hello!

How is everyone this week? Is the weather getting warmer and warmer over there? It's doing the same here and we really like it, people like to talk so much more when it's warm!

We've had a good week though except for one thing. A couple of nights ago we came in and did our planning and started cleaning our pile of dishes and realized that we had no hot water. We checked the radiators around the flat and they were all cold. Our boiler is out!

We rang the boiler place this morning and they will hopefully come tomorrow at the earliest. I sure hope they come soon! I'm thankful for trials though because we learn so much from them. Plus it makes a great journal entry! I'll look back on this experience and laugh on it one day. And I'm sure some of you will get your laughs from it now!

The work is going very well though. Our prayers are being answered, WE HAVE A FAMILY TO TEACH!! We are so excited, Whitney and Andrew are the parents names, and they are amazing. They are just so ready to be taught! They have two girls and they recently had a baby, they've lost relatives recently, and they are currently members of the Christian spiritualist church (which means that they have similar beliefs and are very open)! They are so kind and they have accepted what we had taught so far very well. We are so excited for them all to receive the blessings of the restored Gospel!!

We also had another couple of new investigators. I think I told you about that little family that we helped with the wardrobe. Well, we started teaching them and they are amazing. It's a single-mother with two children and they are great. One of her children was asking some amazing questions when we taught them. And he's only 11! We're excited for them as well.

Our other investigators are doing well also, this place is just buzzing and I love it so much.

Pete and Chris weren't able to come to church on Sunday because of a late flight, but they are doing well. It seems that this week we've had breakthrough lessons with all of our investigators. Wanda (Scottish woman with two sons), for example, worked with her boss so she could come to Church on Sunday. She didn't make it in the end, but we were happy to know that she is sincere. We are also teaching a mother and daughter who have been very devoted members of the Church of England all of their lives. In our last lesson they almost said that they know it's true, it's just a matter of "saying yes" to following it. We're excited for all of our investigators, they are progressing so well. Thanks so much for all of your prayers in their behalf, they are being answered!!

On Saturday we got to go up to Ramsey (the North of the Island) for a little while and that was great. We got to teach a quick spiritual thought to a member up there and then got to do some service for an older couple while we were street contacting. This island is so beautiful. Every time we go to Ramsey we have to travel over Snaefell, the tallest peak on the island. It is gorgeous up there and it takes a lot of concentration to keep my eyes on the road, there is so much to see! We've got some pictures and videos of what it looks like up there so you can see it soon!

Anyway, don't ever forget that the Church is true. I've recently gained a stronger testimony that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints really is the only true and living Church on the earth. It is the "one Lord, one faith, one Baptism" that the Bible talks about. No other Church has the authority from God. I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. He really did see our Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ and they did call him to be a Prophet. I know that this work is true and it is powerful and important. It brings the greatest blessings in the world. "Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven!" It is so true. When we sacrifice our will to our Heavenly Fathers, we are infinitely more happy than if we were to follow our own will. He is our father and He does live and He does love us. Nothing can change that, not even our disobedience. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer and I love Him. Because of Him we will be resurrected and we do have a chance to obtain Eternal Life, the greatest of all of God's gifts. Every good gift comes from God through Jesus Christ. He lives and loves us. He wants to help us do Missionary work! Don't forget to keep updating me on the Missionary work in the area! This work is so important and it brings such great blessings! I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God because I have read it and prayed to know of it's truth and the Holy Ghost has given me God's answer that it is true. That answer has blessed my life every day since I received it. The Book of Mormon is the keystone to a testimony of the restored Gospel and it will bring us closer to God if we will abide by its precepts. I love that book and I love the Gospel!

Well, I guess I'd better wrap this up. Have a wonderful week and please please keep the letters coming! I know I say that in every e-mail but letters really do help so much, just ask any returned Missionary! I love you all, thanks again so much for all of the love, letters, prayers, and support. I couldn't do it without you and without the Lord!

Love,

Elder Rowley

Quocunque Jeceris Stabit
-whithersoever you throw it, it will stand.

Looking for the bright side of Monday P-days

Date: Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 5:29 AM
Subject: Hello from the Isle of Man!

Hey!

Well, P-Day is now on Monday. It feels weird and I'm thinking it might be a bit tough to adjust to right at first. A break in the middle of the week is good for us but not good for the work. Hopefully this way we will be able to focus more on the work and get more of our amazing investigators at Sacrament meeting on Sunday!!

It's been a good few days since I last wrote, lots of rain! Today is sunny though which we both really appreciate. The Lord gives us so many little tender mercies every day, it's incredible. I love being a Missionary and I would never ever give it up for anything!

Peter and Chris are doing well. They came to church yesterday and again, fit in perfectly. We were speaking with Bishop Grove later in the day and he said that he was thinking about Peter being in the Bishopric in the near future! Everyone loves them and they continue to progress very well. We love them so much and look forward to seeing them a couple times every week. We're really hoping that they will recognize the answers to their prayers and make the "leap of faith" and be Baptized. They are going to be so blessed by the Gospel and they are going to bring many blessings to the ward here. Please pray for them!!

Our other investigators are doing well also. We our friend from Bulgaria a couple times last week. At one point we were talking about faith and he pretty much quoted Alma 32:21, it was amazing. I never cease to be amazed at how much the Lord is preparing some of His children here to hear the restored Gospel! We get to work with some amazing people.

Recently we've been doing some work with Brother Clague, a former Bishop in the ward. He is an amazing man who was Baptized only in the last decade or so! He has a farm and he recently turned a part of it into a laser tag place and a "fun barn" with a bunch of big toys in it like at McDonalds. It's great, he has us over there and feeds us every once in a while. We got to do some service for him on Friday and it was great to be in the farm environment again! Tonight we are teaching a short spiritual thought for a combined Family Home Evening at him home tonight. He has a friend from Thailand who works at the fun barn and has been coming to church a lot since around Christmas. She comes because she bet him that she could get to the bus stop from the fun barn before the bus left. Brother Clague told her that if she lost she would "have to" come to Church. Sure enough she lost and kept her promise! We haven't taught her yet but we are hoping and praying to start teaching her soon. The ward members here are so amazing and they help with the work so much!!

Well, I'd better wrap this up. Never ever forget the Church is true. Joseph Smith was a true Prophet of God and the Book of Mormon is evidence of that. I know that the Book of Mormon is the true word of God and that it has the power to change our lives for the better if we live the principles within it. We need to obey God so he can bless us. Elder Larson has taught me recently that our Father in Heaven's default is to bless us. We are the ones who mess that up when we sin. Sin is so stupid! I feel like Nephi most of the time because of all of my little sins: "O wretched man that I am!" I know that wickedness never ever was nor will it ever be happiness. The spirit teaches us what is right and what choices we must make to be truly happy. And those choices that will make us happy are the choices to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is central to all happiness, to everything that is truly good in the world. He can heal us as we come unto Him, both physically and spiritually. I know that that is true. God does live. The truth has been restored and we are so blessed to have it. The sacrifices we make for our Father in Heaven and His purposes are worth it. They are rarely ever easy but I know that they are always worth it. Being a Missionary is tough but I love it. It's taught me so many things, but recently I've learned more and more what a blessing it is to have trials and go through difficulties. I will forever appreciate them even more. We learn from them and that learning is priceless. God teaches us through trials. He does love us and He is desperately concerned about our happiness and salvation. He is always there just waiting to bless us, all we need to do is obey and thus let Him in. We must study the scriptures and pray with real intent every day to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and be truly happy. I know that and I'm so thankful for that! Never ever give up in living the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it will never be worth it to give up!

Anyway, have a wonderful week, I love you all! Keep up the amazing work, and don't forget to keep the letters coming! They do help, all of it helps. The prayers and letters especially. Your prayers in my behalf and in behalf of those Elder Larson and I teach and serve here on the Isle of Man are being answered. Thank you! I love you!

Love,

Elder Rowley

Five more weeks on the wonderful Isle of Man!

Date: Wed, Mar 4, 2009 at 4:45 AM
Subject: Hello again!

Hey Everyone!

How is everyone? Is Provo High still dominating in basketball? I'm always telling Elder Larson about how well Provo is doing! How's the weather over there?

Well, we're still here for another 5 weeks at least. We're excited to hopefully see some of these investigators Baptized and Confirmed in the next few weeks! We keep hoping and praying that they will study the scriptures we leave with them and pray and come to church and pretty much experience conversion. If you pray for them as well I know that they will all be greatly blessed for our combined faith and prayers in their behalf!!

Yesterday was quite the day. We had an appointment fall through in the morning and as we were street contacting on the way to get some lunch we ran into GP again in his police suit! Those police hats they wear are pretty amazing, maybe I'll get to try one on someday! We were glad to see him and it was an answer to a lot of prayers to be able to see him. We're hoping to be able to go golfing or do something with him on a P-day in the near future. Please pray for him and his family as well, they are so close to accepting the Gospel and we really hope we can get to know them better over the next 5 weeks.

Also yesterday we taught Winnie one of the recent convert lessons, it was great! When we left it was pitching down (British for pouring) with rain and as we traveled to an area to go tracting it turned into snow! So last night I drove us home in the snow. This morning the sun is shining and we can see all of the fields just covered in the snow, it's gorgeous and I love it! I grow to love this little island more and more every day!

Also yesterday we spoke with a man in the street named Brady who seemed really interested. We got to teach him the restoration and he accepted it all very well, and we even got to give him a copy of the Book of Mormon! I love giving that book away, it feels so amazing. We weren't able to get a return appointment with him though, he said he would give us a ring when he was a little read in the book. Please pray that Brandon will ring us! Your prayers really do bring about miracles in the Lord's work here!

On Saturday we saw those members of another faith. Before we left we were able to testify of the Book of Mormon and that felt good. Being in that lesson has really strengthened my faith in the restored gospel. It makes me thankful that the foundation of our church is not the Sabbath day but Jesus Christ Himself. I know that that is true and I'm so thankful for it!

Other than that everything else is going well. Sister Radcliffe (their landlady) left this morning for Rio (in South America) for 3 weeks. Most nights or mornings she will knock on the door and tell us something about this or that and she is just so funny. The other night we tried to trick her and told her that I was leaving and she said "machine-and-gazel-shaft." It was about the coolest thing I've ever heard and hearing it with that British accent made us laugh, it was great. She was saying it in place of a swear word or even a replacement swear word. It is possible to be creative when something goes "wrong" and you want to verbally express yourself! Anyway, please pray for her to be safe while she is there!

I guess I'd better wrap this up then. The Church is true, there is no doubt in my mind about that. This Church is the only true and living Church on the face of the earth and the only one that has the authority from God. No other Church has that. We are so blessed to have it and to be able to share it with all of God's children who don't. I testify to you that we are all God's children and He loves us all equally. He is all about our happiness and salvation. There isn't much difference between those two things. I know that life is hard but Jesus Christ is always there to help us. He knows our suffering and because of that He knows how to deliver us from it, I know that is true. I know that the Holy Ghost is real and that He lives as well. I'm so thankful to have that incredible gift. The power of the Scriptures is real as is the power of Prayer. These two small and simple things will help us along the path back to God's presence. I know by the Holy Ghost that the Book of Mormon is true. It has helped me every day of my life since I began reading it. It has changed my life for the better every time I have read from it. It has the power to do that for all of us because it brings us closer to God than any other book as we abide by it's precepts. I love the Prophet Joseph Smith and I am so thankful for all that He did so that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ could restore the true and living Chruch to the earth through him. He was a true Prophet of God and I know that Thomas S. Monson is our true and living Prophet of God on the earth today. God does speak through him. Prepare for General Conference. Go to the Temple, the blessings that come from serving there are innumerable and will prepare us for the words of our living Prophet and Apostles. I love this Gospel and I know that it is true. Never ever ever give up on doing what's right, it will never ever be worth it to give up. Nobody said it was easy, but it is worth it.

Anyway, thank you so much for all that you do for me. It helps so much. Don't forget that the people here are blessed for everything you do for me. Please please please keep the letters coming!! Have a wonderful week and may God be with you!

Love,

Elder Rowley