Another Elder Rowley in England!

Date: Mon, Feb 22, 2010 at 5:17 AM

Hello Everyone!

We've had a great week here in Preston. The work is going pretty well, we just need some solid people to teach. I am very excited to have another Elder Rowley in England though! Leeds is a great Mission from what I hear! And Zack will be in the best MTC in all of England.

Our week has been very busy. We've been spending a lot of time searching for new people to teach. It's a lot of hard work. Last week we set up 38 return appointments with people and we're hoping that many of them will work out that we'll be able to teach them. Don't get too excited though, usually when we set up this many appointments we'll have maybe 4 or 5 actually let us teach them. We're going to see great miracles this week, I just know it.

Our investigators are doing well but they keep disappearing. Some we can't find and some we stopped teaching because they weren't progressing. Some have been busy and this week we'll start seeing them again. Please pray for us to have some solid people to teach in the next week! We need it so much.

Other than all of the searching for new people last week wasn't very busy. I got to take Elder Cowley and his companion back to Heysham so they could go back to the Isle of Man. They did some work in our area and really blessed it. We have so many great Missionaries in this mission and I always learn so much from them.

On Tuesday we were at District Meeting here in Preston with the other district in our zone and we learned about how to commit people to Baptism. It was great and I learned a lot. We have two amazing districts here in the Preston Zone. I also got to work with an Elder MacDougall from Scotland that day and it was amazing. He's only been a member for about 6 years and he is great. We were blessed to teach a woman on a bench as we were searching for people to teach, it was amazing.

We also taught a young Chinese man named James. He was great and he felt the spirit as we shared the First Vision with him! I love helping people feel the spirit. He is excited to read the Book of Mormon and come to know that God is there for him. You'll hear more about him in the future. He is just really busy and he needs to understand the importance of putting God first. Please pray for him to understand that.

Well, that's about it for this week. Oh I'll also tell you that I played the piano at Church on Sunday again, it was great. I'm getting more and more confident with it. It's like the parable of the talents... I had one talent and as I used it I gained another. It's great. Missions are the best. The Gospel is true. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. Jesus is the Christ and we can experience true happiness only from being like Him and serving others. Thomas S. Monson is a true Prophet of God. What He speaks really does come from God and we can apply it and be blessed in our lives because of it. The restoration is real. The truths of the Gospel, the Plan of Salvation, and the authority to administer the ordinances of Salvation is once again on the earth. Joseph Smith is a true Prophet of God and the First Vision is real. Let us live the Gospel we know to be true!

I want you all to remember that I love you and I hope and pray that you are blessed for my service here. I know I say it every week but I can't let you forget that what you've done for me goes to bless the lives of the people, and Missionaries, here. Have a great week and keep up the amazing work!

Love,

Elder L. Rowley

Time flies

District Meeting in Carlisle

Date: Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 5:20 AM
Subject: Miracles!

Hello Everyone!

I hope you're all having a great week and that you write to me and tell me about it! We just keep seeing the miracles pour out here in Preston and around our zone! It's all because we are striving to be exactly obedient, the Lord is just bound to give us these blessings.

Last week was amazing. On Tuesday morning we made the long travel up to Carlisle and it was amazing as usual. It's about the same distance as Provo to Duchesne, and it looks similar to it as well. The hills just aren't nearly as large as the ones there in Utah. Anyway, we worked with the elders there and they were amazing. We did a lot of speaking with people in the streets and tracting and we set up some great appointments. I worked with a French Missionary named Elder Torres. Now I've been on exchanges with Missionaries from both Mum and Dads Missions. Anyway, I learned a lot from him and I felt very blessed to get to work with him!

The next day we traveled to a place called Heysham... does anyone remember that name? It's where the ferry comes in from the Isle of Man! Yep, we picked up Elders Cowley and Joliffe who are serving on the blessed Isle. We had some lunch with them and did some work with them that day and it was amazing. It was great to get caught up with Elder Cowley, he is so concerned for people, I always learn so much from him when I'm working with him. So that was very exciting. It's just one of those amazing tender mercies of the Lord that I am able to travel to a place I have been before to pick up the Elder serving in my previous area. And to hear that the people I worked with there are doing well, that was so amazing as well.

And then Thursday was our Zone Conference! It came very fast. I was blessed to be able to play the piano for the Conference which was scary but not so much since I've had all the practice before. I was also able to give a report about our zone and Elder Griffeth and I trained our zone on member work. It was a great conference and I felt like I had a much different part in it this time, much more responsibility. It was great though and I learned a lot. And now we're reading the Book of Mormon as a mission. It's amazing and I've already learned so many new things that I never picked up on before! I love this mission, there's nowhere else I'd rather be right now!

So that's one reason that the week just flew by. But then on Friday we taught some amazing people and that just went by even faster. We taught Jimmy and he just soaked up the Plan of Salvation. He could come teaching with us. He needs to come to Church though and then he can be Baptised. We also taught a couple named Basil and Sarah who committed themselves to come to Church and to read in the Book of Mormon. They are all very prepared! I love teaching such amazing people.

On Saturday morning Elder Griffeth and I were talking about the state of our zone and we felt that we should go on exchanges with the other Elders that live with us. I got to work with Elder Johnson from Colorado and he taught me a lot. We drove to the Sisters area (we have one Sisters companionship in our zone) and he did a Baptismal Interview there. We also did some street contacting there and one of the first people we spoke with let us teach him. His name is Josh and he was amazing. He felt the spirit as we talked about Joseph Smith and the Sisters are going to teach him tonight. I love miracles!

Then yesterday was amazing as well. Nobody came to Church, we can use your prayers for that. But the ward pianist was ill so I got to play the piano again. I played two hymns that I've never really played before and I sight read them just fine, it was amazing. And President and Sister Bullock spoke and it was amazing. I learned a lot from them and I'm very thankful to have a Sacred Mission President.

After Church we went to a potential investigator lesson who was a relative of Eric. We had to diligently search for the house, but when we found it and knocked on the door we found Eric there! It was amazing and it made me so happy to see him. We taught him and rescheduled him for Baptism and he will be great. We're seeing him tonight and he also can use your prayers that he will be able to come to Church on Sunday.

And then the evening was so amazing. We had a Tea appointment with a Chinese potential investigator. I rang him earlier in the week and he invited us to tea and I said well why not so we went there. Their names are Forest and Kim and they made us Chinese spaghetti and it amazing. After we ate we taught them the Restoration and the spirit was strong and they committed to be Baptised! It's very exciting, we're seeing them again later in the week. Please pray for them as well. Then as we were walking back to our car Elder Griffeth followed some promptings about some houses to knock on and a man named Greg let us in! So we taught 3 new investigators last night. It was all so amazing.

So as you can tell we've been very busy and because of that the time has gone very fast. I've felt the spirit a lot more in these past few weeks and I feel that it's because of our combined obedience and service to our zone and to others. We were a bit hesitant to go on exchanges on Saturday because of the state of our own area, but we trusted that the Lord would bless us and he really did. I'm almost certain that if we hadn't gone on exchanges then we wouldn't have seen all those miracles. Blessings come to us from our obedience to the commandments and service to others. Then as we remember Christ the Atonement takes effect and we see great miracles. This is our Baptismal covenant. It's also the purpose of our lives. It's how and why we live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I testify that it works. Doing these three things, or keeping our Baptismal covenants, is what brings us true and lasting happiness from the Holy Ghost. The Gospel is really true. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. It is the gateway to personal testimony and it's the most powerful tool in others conversion, but our own as well. I testify of Jesus Christ and that if we will read in the Book of Mormon and pray about it then we will come to know that He really is the Son of God and that He did save us from our sins. I love this Gospel and I know that it changes lives.

Well, I hope you all have an amazing week. I love you all so much. Keep up the amazing work, you make this world a better place every day. Don't forget Moroni 8:3.

Love,

Elder Rowley

Power to change lives

Date: Mon, Feb 8, 2010 at 5:00 AM
Subject: Hello!

Hello Everyone!

I hope you've all had a great week. We've had amazing miracles happen here and I'm excited to share them all with you.

First of all, I've been driving around and working around some of the famous historical sites for the Church. Yesterday we drove right past President Hinckley's old flat when he served here all those years ago. On Saturday we spoke with people in town centre, right near the famous obelisk where President Hinckley preached. I can even see that same obelisk out the window right now, the library is just near it. And a few days ago we drove past the flat where some of the first Missionaries to England stayed when they were here. This area is amazing and I love it here!

Last week was great. On Tuesday morning we drove for nearly two hours all the way up to Carlisle, near the border of Scotland and England. It was a beautiful drive, and we had a great District Meeting up there. We have some great District Leaders in this zone and they work so hard. After the meeting we went to work with the Elders in a town called Workington. It was great, I worked with an Elder Hanchett who taught me a lot about excitement. We were very blessed, the next day after we were there they taught a new investigator that Elder Hanchett and I had set up an appointment with the previous day.

After that we had a beautiful drive to a city called Kendal. We passed Lake Windermere and many other lakes and mountains. It looked a lot like some parts of Utah but I didn't get homesick. Anyway, in Kendal I got to work with Elder Green who is from Tremonton and he is amazing. He taught me a lot about Charity and many other things. We were blessed to be able to teach a new investigator as well. I loved working there.

We returned on Thursday morning and did some work in our own area, but the next day we were on exchanges again with the elders we live with. I was with a German Missionary, Elder Dittmer. He taught me a lot about confidence and teaching and finding skills. We set up lots of appointments with people on the streets and taught some wonderful people as well. We were exactly obedient the entire day as well, we didn't miss one minute with the schedule. It was amazing.

A couple days later on Saturday morning we had planned to do some street contacting in a certain area, but when we got there it wasn't very busy. We felt that we should go to a certain street, so we did and after speaking with maybe 10 people a man named Nigel let us teach him on some steps! It was amazing and he is great, he accepted to be Baptised in a few weeks! He didn't come to Church yesterday though, so that concerns me. Please pray for him.

Yesterday was amazing as well. We didn't have anyone at Church, but I was blessed to be able to play the piano for Sacrament meeting and that went well. I'm getting a lot more comfortable with playing for meetings and I'm happy about that. Elder Griffeth and I also taught the Elders Quroum lesson about the Book of Mormon and that was a great experience as well. I love the members here.

Also yesterday we were blessed to be let into the home of a young man named James. As we taught him about the Restoration he recognized the spirit and also accepted to be Baptised in a few weeks! We're excited for him to progress and you can pray for him as well. We need some really solid new people to teach right now! Please pray also for us to be able to find some solid new people to teach.

Well, that's about it for this week. I know that the Church is true. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer and He knows each of us personally. He loves us and He has the power to help us change our lives. I know that because I've experienced it for myself. I know that we can all experience this daily. The way to come unto Him is through daily study in the Book of Mormon, prayer, and renewing Covenants at Church. These things are true and they truly change lives.

I love you all so much. Thank you again for all you do for me, I'm feeling the effect of your prayers in my behalf. Keep up the amazing work, you make such a massive difference in my life and in the lives of those I teach and serve. I couldn't do this without you. Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Rowley

Going places

Date: Mon, Feb 1, 2010 at 4:18 AM
Subject: Hello!

Hello Everyone!

I hope you've all had a great weekend. There's not too much to write today since you heard from me last Thursday. Time has really flown by since then, we've been really busy! And we've been experiencing amazing miracles as well.

We're teaching some great people right now, one of which was Baptised this past weekend! His name is Oscar, he is Chinese and he is very smart. He will make a great member and we're excited to have him in the ward. His Baptismal service was wonderful by the way. The Missionary that was here before me got to Baptise him and the spirit was strong. Afterwards we had a nice surprise when a Chinese investigator of the other Preston Elders (there are two companionships in Preston, we live with them) played Pachelbel's Canon in D on the piano. It was pretty amazing. And I got to play the piano for the service again by the way!

We're also teaching a man named Eric from Ghana who is experiencing a lot of trials right now. The Gospel will help him a lot and we're excited to see him be Baptised in a couple weeks. He's preparing to be Baptised on the 13th of February. I love him already. He could use some prayers right now.

We were also blessed yesterday to teach two new investigators, they let us into their homes as we knocked on them! We were blessed with this because we were obedient and we spoke with everyone we possibly could, the Spirit guided us to these two prepared people. One was named Sunny, he is a Christian from India and he was great but it was hard for me to understand him. Indian people are great, I love them. We'll hopefully be seeing him soon. It will be difficult to see people in the next couple days though as we'll be in the Lake District!

Anyway, the other one was named Gemma. She is great as well. She has a son who is 7 named Louis and he listened well as we taught them the restoration yesterday. They felt the spirit and will hopefully be preparing to be Baptised in the next few weeks! Gemma was taught a few years ago so she remembers a few things about the Church and that was a great starting point to us teaching her. You'll hear more about her in the future, we're seeing her tonight.

Church yesterday was great but sadly, none of our investigators came. Please pray for our investigators to come to Church. They need it so much. Anyway, Church was at 9:00 and Sacrament meeting was first, I wasn't used to either of those things. Church over here usually starts at 10 or 10:30, but there are two wards here so it has to be earlier. Oh, and this ward is the oldest unit of the Church that is still running! There's a plaque in the chapel that I've got a picture of. Anyway, the ward is amazing! We have some great members that I'm getting to know well. I just know I'm going to love serving here. I'm also going to get to use my piano playing skills, the ward piano player is gone every fast Sunday. I think I'm finally starting to get used to playing for Church meetings!

Last week on Friday we had a meeting all day at the Mission Home with President Bullock and other leaders in the mission to council and discuss the needs of the mission. It was great and I learned a lot. This mission is going places. We're starting to double the amount of Baptisms we've had previously and it's a great miracle. We're working to keep this happening. Aside from that Sister Bullock cooked for us and that was also amazing.

This past week has gone so fast and I've learned so much. Something I've learned from Elder Griffith is the importance of exactness in obedience. It really is hard, and sometimes not everyone in a group or team wants to do it, but when it happens the miracles flow. Just like the Army of Helaman in the Book of Mormon. Those two new investigators we taught on Sunday wouldn't have come had we not been exactly obedient. It really is like D+C 82:10 says, when we obey the Lord is bound to bless us. We don't leave any room for Him to not bless us! And He loves to do that. Obedience is important. The Gospel is true and it really has been restored. Joseph Smith is a true Prophet of God. I know this because I know that the Book of Mormon is true. My testimony is strengthened every day as I read in that sacred record. Prayer works and changes things. The Atonement changes things, and it continues to do so in my life every day. This is only possible as we have the faith to repent and obey the principles and ordinances of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is a great blessing we have in our lives and we must share it and use it every day!

Well, I love you all. I can't say it enough. You mean the world to me and I really couldn't be here without such a wonderful support system. I want you to have the happiness that comes from living the Gospel. You've made my life better by helping and encouraging me to live it myself. I hope you have a great week and keep recognizing the Lord's hand in everything you do. It's there, we just need to look for it!

Love,

Elder Rowley