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