It were easy!

Date: Mon, Aug 3, 2009 at 4:08 AM
Subject: Where do the Years Go...

Hello!

How is everyone this week? Happy, healthy, going to the Temple and having Missionary experiences? I hope so! You're amazing.

Well, I've just about made it through the teen-age. I still feel way too young to be 20, but I think I'll enjoy it! Tomorrow we have District Meeting in the morning and then I'm going on exchanges to Middleton (the city just next to Rochdale, it's not too far outside Manchester). I'll be working with a Finnish Missionary named Elder Rosenberg! I'm very excited, it should be a lot of fun! It should be a quiet birthday, not many people will know about it which is good. Isn't it strange that as we get older we look forward to our own birthdays less and less. Time flies!!

We have had a great week with a lot of ups and downs. Many of our investigators are falling through the cracks, we can't seem to teach or even contact them! It's pretty crazy, but we've had some promising new investigators.

Jaime is busy with her family and wants to put the lessons on hold for now. She will still be Baptized one day though. We saw Solomon and Rita mid-week and set up an appointment with them, but it didn't work out and we still haven't been able to see them a second time. A few of our other investigators have all stopped the lessons for now as well. Its a bit depressing, but I'm excited to tell you about our new investigators.

On Monday we were with a member in a city called Heywood that we only go to about twice a week. We had a couple appointments fall through out there, so we decided to go by some potential investigators. I felt good about a certain one, and when we got there, there was a man across the street getting off his bike. As I spoke with him he kindly let us in and we got to teach him about the Restoration!! It was good, but we haven't been able to see him since. Oh and his name is Stephen by the way. I'll keep you updated on him.

Then later in the week we were with a recent convert family from the Congo. They told us at the end of the lesson that they have a friend that wanted to visit with us, and we set up an appointment with the friend for the next day. We had the opportunity the next day to teach Asabbe and Mary, two friends from Ethiopia and the Congo! They accepted everything very well and we're seeing them again tonight. If all goes well they will be dated for Baptism by this time next week! Please pray for them to come to church and to accept a Baptismal date to work towards!

Another day in the week we were back in Heywood again and we were street contacting after a couple of appointments fell through. Elder Winward spoke with a very kind man named Ian who let us teach him in his home right there and then! Heywood is a place of miracles! Anyway, he was very talkative, and we'll hopefully see him again this week. Please pray for him to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon and to come to church as well. We're really hoping and praying that these people will progress and I know that miracles will happen as we ask the Lord to help these souls!

I passed my theory test! "It were easy" as they say over here. I know that the Lord was with me and He prepared me to pass. We had to travel to Oldham, another neighboring city where our Zone Leaders serve, so I could take the test. We almost arrived late, but we were blessed to be on time. I love the tender mercies of the Lord! Please pray for me to now be able to quickly get through the lessons and to pass my practical (driving) test!

District Meeting last week went well. It's a lot of work being a District Leader, but I love it very much. I trained on speaking with people on a bus, it was a lot of fun and I learned a lot just from conducting the meeting! I have an amazing district and they are doing very well right now. After district meeting we went on exchanges with our Zone Leaders, I went with Elder Eichelberger from California and it was a lot of fun. We were able to teach a Portugese man as well as many other amazing people. I learned a lot, I always learn a lot on exchanges. We have some great Missionaries in this mission!

Other than that everything is going well. Kennedy is doing well, we're hoping and praying that he will pass the Sacrament next week and come out teaching with us soon. Please pray for him to experience these things. He's a great young man. We had him reading from the Book of Mormon stories book so he could understand better, and in one of the lessons he basically told us the history of how Lehi's family get to the promised land! It was amazing, I'm always amazed with Kennedy's understanding.

Anyway, I guess that's about it for this week. I love being a Missionary and I know without a doubt that this work is true. My testimony is strengthened everyday. I want you to know that I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. The Plan of Happiness is real and true. With Adam came the fall; death, hell, spiritual homesickness, agony, pain, suffering. With Christ we become at one with our Father in Heaven again. Because of Him we can overcome every form of death. We can overcome spiritual homesickness. We can overcome the loss of loved ones as we are sealed together in the Temple. We can overcome our physical and emotional pain and agony. We can have the gift of the Holy Ghost. I testify that every good thing that we experience in this life is caused in one way or another by the Atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He did die for us. But more importantly, He lives for us. And we will live too as we live His Gospel. I testify that this is true. To experience the blessings of the Atonement we simply have to live the Gospel. If I have learned anything else on my Mission, it is this. I know all of this because I have read and Prayed about the Book of Mormon. That book is the word of God and it will bring us closer to God than any other book, because it brings us closer to Christ. It deepens our faith in Him, helps us to repent, prepares people for Baptism, gives us the spirit, and helps us endure to the end. I testify that all of this is true. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Well, I love you all. Don't forget that what you've done for me blesses the lives of the people here. Let me know what I can do for you. Keep up the amazing work. Thank you for all of the prayers, love, support, packages, and letters! I love you!

Love,

Elder Rowley