Life is that simple!

Just a note: We had a great visit by phone with Luke on Sunday. He sounds wonderful. I appreciate his honesty that a mission is hard work and he faces opposition every day but also that he enjoys serving the Lord and he loves being a missionary. We also learned this morning that Luke will be leaving the Isle of Man on the next transfer--May 20. He has loved serving amongst the people on the Isle of Man--it feels like home to him--but he is willing to go wherever the Lord needs to send him next.--Dalene

Date: Mon, May 11, 2009 at 7:44 AM
Subject: Happy Mother's Day!

Hello!

Happy Mother's Day! How is everyone? Are you all ready for school to be done? I sure am. I mean, I'm sure glad it's done for me! Being a Missionary is better than going to school any day!

We've had a great past week. Wanda's Baptism is on hold for now, but it will happen in the near future. I'm excited for her, she just needs a little more preparation before her Baptism. She is dong great though and still remains happy and excited about everything! Last Monday we were able to have dinner and FHE with her, Luke (her son), and the Preece Family (members). It was amazing and Wilma and Luke enjoyed it very much!

Peter and Chris are doing well, they weren't at Church last week because Peter was feeling poorly on Saturday evening into Sunday morning. We saw them a couple times in the week and they are still just about ready to be Baptised! They are so close and I am so excited for them.

Our other investigators are doing well. John is working a lot of hours at his job so it's difficult to see him often. but he is recognizing the spirit better which is great! Wendy and Andy are doing well, we taught them about the Plan of Salvation last week and they agreed with it all! They are so amazing. In the middle of the week we were able to teach a kind woman named Glenis who is amazing.

We had an amazing day on Saturday. In the morning it was pouring and we were tracting and got pretty wet. The afternoon wasn't very fruitful when people wouldn't listen to us in town and when we went tracting. In the evening it got sunny and we had a new investigator from South Africa! It was incredible, he is such a kind man who has a great faith in God. Then we were able to teach some members and one of them asked for a blessing and we got to do that for him, it was incredible. I loved Saturday.

Well, my time on the computer is running out so I'm going to have to end this now. I love you all so much. The Church is true and Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. His true and living Church has been restored to the earth and we are so blessed to be a part of it. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and is true. It will bring us closer to God and help us be happy every time we read it. I'm so thankful for that great book. I know that sin causes unhappiness, but when we are obedient we are happy. Life is that simple. If we obey God we will be blessed and happy (see Mosiah 2:41), if we don't we won't. I love the Gospel and I know that it is true and that it can help us in anything and everything that we experience in this life.

Have a wonderful week! I love you so much! Keep the letters coming!

Love,

Elder Rowley

Send some letters...I mean love!

Date: Mon, May 4, 2009 at 4:31 AM
Subject: Happy May!

Hello!

Wow these weeks just go so fast, it's crazy! I love this work so much. How's everybody over there in Provo? I'm glad to hear that the weather is warming up a bit and that you are even getting some nice British weather as well! Rain is wonderful, isn't it? Just the other day we were tracting in the morning and it was rainy and cold and just no fun. We had some lunch then in the afternoon it cleared up and was nice and sunny the rest of the day! The weather is crazy over here and I love it!

Anyway, we're doing well this week. Elder Llaguno is doing well and is teaching me a whole lot. Sometimes I wonder if it's him that's training me! He's a good man and I hope that he sees a lot of success throughout his mission!

On Tuesday I had my first driving lesson with one of the members and it was great! I learned what I need to work on to take my test to get my Great Britain driving license. Driving on the left side of the road is so much fun, I think I'm going to miss it when it's over. Maybe when I return home I will drive on the left side of the road just for fun.

Our investigators are doing well and Wanda is scheduled for Baptism this weekend! I'm so excited for her, she will make a wonderful addition to the ward here. Hopefully all will go well and the service will run smoothly, we'll see. We might have to postpone it another week because of Baptismal clothes and other things, we'll see. Keep praying for Wanda to be ready for her Baptism whenever it is!

Peter and Chris weren't at church yesterday and we couldn't get a hold of them on the phone so we are a bit worried about them. I'm sure everything's fine though. They are progressing well and we are now just resolving some of their concerns in preparation for them being baptised. We still aren't sure how far off their Baptisms are, but we (and the ward members) are hoping and praying that it will be soon! Please Pray for them also, especially Chris, to be ready for baptism soon.

John is struggling at the moment with work and some other things, but he is reading and praying still. We are hoping and praying for him to start to progress towards Baptism. He's a good man and I'm sure he will be baptised one day soon.

We also had the opportunity to teach a very kind woman named Joe this week. She is very proactive and is willing to ask questions and then listen to the answer and then speak about how she feels about it. She's had a hard life and has really turned things around for herself and her two children and we are excited to see her again this week.

And we finally were able to see Andy and Wendy again! They had some wonderful questions and we took a member with us and he was great and the spirit was strong and it was just amazing. I'm excited to see them progress. Their beliefs about life and the spirit world and everything are very similar to ours which is really exciting!

I think that's about it for our investigators. On Saturday we had a really... interesting experience. We both felt really good about a certain street to tract and so we went there Saturday afternoon. After a few doors we found out why we were there when we were let in by a very kind Brazilian man! He took us into a dining room where there were a few other men and they said that they were talking about Jesus Christ. We were very excited to tell them about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, but as we did they started to explain their belief that the Bible is it. They pretty much fulfilled the Scripture in the Book of Mormon that talks about people saying "a Bible, a Bible, we have a Bible!" They were very kind though. We left with a Prayer but it was in the way that they Pray as they said. It was interesting and I'll tell you more about it later.

Well, the Church is true. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and it is true. I know that through the power of the Holy Ghost. I'm so thankful for the Gospel. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that He has experienced every pain that we have and because of that He can help us make it through the things that we suffer. I know that repentance makes us happy. It's so hard to change. I wish I was better at it. I know that Heavenly Father helps those who try. We can't do anything without Him. We need His divine help every day of our lives, even when the sun is shining and there is food on the table and the children are happy and there is money in our pockets. As we seek His help in those moments as well as when times are tough we will feel closer to Him. The Nephites were destroyed because of their pride and so will we if we don't humble ourselves. I feel like such a prideful person. I'm so thankful for the example of Jesus Christ, that I can follow Him and become more humble and become happier and become the best person that I can be. I love the Gospel and I know that it is true!!

Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful week full of Missionary experiences. Thanks again for all of the love, prayers, letters, and support in every way. I need it so much and so do the people here. Remember that they are being blessed for all that you do for me. I love you!

Love,

Elder Rowley

PS- send some letters, I mean love!

Hot water never felt so good!

Date: Mon, Apr 27, 2009 at 4:56 AM
Subject: Hello!

Hey Everyone!

How was your week? You didn't get any more snow there did you? It's been nice here. The trees are starting to blossom and leaves are coming and it's beautiful! I love spring! I'm still driving and I love seeing the Island change all the time. I think I've driven from our flat in Castletown to Douglas over a hundred times now! I've been here for so long it feels like home to me! Utah will always be home home though. Oh and our boiler is fixed! I never realized before what a wonderful blessing it is to have central heating and hot water!!

Elder Llaguno is doing very well. He continues to teach me so much and I learn something new every day. He is so willing to learn and improve and he is very teachable. His testimony is strong for only being a convert of 5 years. He helps me so much. Being a trainer is pushing me to be the best Missionary I can be and I love it. Please pray for Elder Llaguno to see success here in his first few weeks!

Everything is going well though. Yesterday a Missionary couple in our Mission, Elder and Sister Davis, came over to the island. They are looking for a flat for a Missionary couple to be here! I'm excited for this new couple, they are going to love it. The only downside to having the Davis's here was that they had to take our phone! They arrived here on Saturday and when they got here their phone wouldn't work! So they have our phone until tomorrow. That's been an adventure. It was good to see them at church yesterday though!

Church was great yesterday! Last week there was a conference in Liverpool with Elder Ballard and it was re-broadcast here this week. It was amazing and I loved the talks, I learned so much. And Wanda & Luke, John, and the Portuguese man we're teaching all made it to church! I'm so happy that they got to be there for that, the spirit was so strong!

Our investigators are doing very well though. Wanda's Baptismal date had to be moved to May 9th because of a Ward Activity on the 2nd. We all feel much better about that. I'm so excited for her. She is so ready and will make such a wonderful addition to the Ward here!

Peter and Chris are doing great. They had family over yesterday so they weren't able to make it to church, but we saw them in the week and Peter is starting to think about dates for Baptism! Hopefully we'll be able to have Peter be baptised and then he can baptise Chris when she is ready! I'm excited for both of them as well. They both are also going to make such great additions to the Ward here!

Our other investigators are getting there... slowly. We hope to start seeing them progress even more over the next few weeks, and also to get some new investigators as well. I feel like we need to focus on finding the elect. We know they are out there, it's just a matter of finding, teaching, and baptising them!! Please pray for us to find the elect here on the Isle of Man.

Oh and our Mission Conference was incredible!! President Packer was amazing. Him, his wife, and President and Sister Bullock all spent some time talking about the family and how things have been, it was really interesting. Then he opened it up to questions and gave his talk. The spirit was so strong. That man is called of God and I'm so thankful for him. It's such a blessing to have living Apostles and Prophets on the earth today! After the meeting we all had the opportunity to shake his hand, then we took a mission picture with everyone, it was great. The ferry rides were calm as well! It was a wonderful trip back to Liverpool even if it was only for a couple days!

I'm curious to know about your Missionary Experiences. How are they going? Are you praying for them? I hope so. Missionary Work is the best. I love it so much, there is nothing in the world like the joy that comes from doing this great work!

Well, the Gospel is true and it has been restored. I know that and I'm so thankful for it. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that it is the springboard to personal testimony of the Restored Gospel. It does bring us closer to God. Read it every single day. We must be closer and closer to God each and every day of our lives. His commandments are the one and only way to true happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. Pray to Him everyday. He has feelings too, remember. He loves us and wants to hear from us. I know that that is true. He is very literally our Father, and He really does know each and every one of us better than we know ourselves. He knows how to help us when we are down. As we seek Him first when things are difficult, and even when things aren't difficult, He will lift us up and bring us through the trials we are called to pass through. I know that The Power of the Holy Ghost is real. We need that power every day of our lives. We need to be guided by it. We've heard of and experienced too many times feeling a prompting of the Holy Ghost and not acting on it, then feeling stupid when we realize the consequence of not acting. I know that this is a Gospel of action. We must be up and doing and work hard to fortify ourselves against the adversary. What a great blessing it is to have our Savior Jesus Christ there to help us when Satan tempts us. He can and will help us. He wants to help us more than we know. He loves us. He suffered and bled and died for us. All that we can have the opportunity to return back to the presence of our Heavenly Father. I love the Gospel and I know that it's true!

Anyway, have a wonderful week, you are wonderful people who make the world a better place. Keep up that amazing work. Keep the letters coming. Please. Thanks for all of the prayers and love and support and letters and everything, it helps so much. Never forget that the people here are blessed because of all of the wonderful things that you do for me! I love you!!

Love,

Elder Rowley

I love this mission!

photos courtesy of the Tricketts, who saw the elders just yesterday

Date: Mon, Apr 20, 2009 at 6:15 AM
Subject: Happy Spring!

Hello Everyone!

It sounds like it's been a busy week in Provo! That's exciting. It's sunny right now and the trees are starting to blossom! It looks like spring and I'm very excited. It's going to go fast though!

We have had an incredible week. The mission goal for Quality Gospel Conversations is 70 over 12 set up appointments. Last week we reached over 70 and set up 10 appointments! Twenty-one of those were in Liverpool, but we reached it anyway! We were both excited to see so much success. We were really struggling to set up appointments though, and we had none when we got back from Liverpool on Thursday evening. We asked Heavenly Father to bless us with some appointments and on Saturday we set up 7!! Prayer works. I'm excited to see these people, we're hoping and praying that these appointments don't fall through!

Our investigators are doing very well. On Saturday we saw Peter and Chris and Peter said that he wants to be Baptized! We told him to pray about a date and asked him and Christine to think about it and we'll probably be seeing them when we return from our Mission Conference. I'm so excited for him, he could be Baptized in a couple weeks if all works out well! Please pray for that to happen in the Lord's time and for Chris to get there soon.

I'm very proud of Elder Llaguno. He is such a trooper. He works so hard. He works so hard to speak with everyone, it's incredible. The other day we were street contacting and he spoke with a man from Portugal. We set up an appointment with him and on Saturday he became a new investigator! I'm so excited. This area is being blessed so much!

We haven't been able to see Wanda for a little while, but we're seeing her as soon as we return from our Mission Conference. We stopped by to see her the other day and just said hello and she seems to be doing well. Please pray for her to be ready for Baptism on May 2! She is so close. We have a lot of investigators who are so close. If we pray for them then they will receive all of Heavenly Fathers blessings from the restored Gospel. I know it!

John came to Church on Sunday! That's 3 weeks in a row that he has been! We're so proud of him. He's starting to progress faster and faster. Maybe he will be Baptized in the next few months... we'll hope and Pray. He's such a good man. He's really funny, we'll say something like "you're a good man John." to which he replies (in his Chinese accent) "no no no, you're good man, you're good man!" I love John!

We have a few investigators that we haven't been able to get a hold of recently, please pray for that to happen. They are such amazing people and we aren't sure what's happened to them. Pray for Adrian and Judy, and also Wendy and Andy. We're also hoping and praying for new investigators as well. There is so much work here to be done!

Zone Conference was amazing. It's a wonderful time to be a Missionary in the England Manchester Mission! We achieved 32 Baptisms as a mission in March! That's the second highest amount of people Baptized in one month for the past 5-6 years and maybe more. We are doubling the numbers. And President Bullock says that we can double it even more. We continue to be blessed with such amazing tools to find those souls who are prepared for the truth. Please pray for the continued success of our Mission. I love that when someone in the Mission has a Baptism it's not just that companionship that celebrates. We, as a Mission, celebrate it. I love this mission so much!

Well, the Church is true. My Testimony of it is strengthened every day. I love being a Missionary and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I know that this work is true and it is right. Never pass up an opportunity to share the Gospel, no matter how scared you may be. It's never worth it to give in to fear. I know that we will be happier as we are more faithful in speaking up to share the gospel with others. Nobody said it was easy, but it's infinitely worth it. Have Missionary experiences. Pray for them. Study how to share the Gospel. Ask the Missionaries to help you. The missionaries in the Provo Mission cannot reach their full potential without you. I'm going to challenge every single person who reads this letter to have at least one Missionary experience a week. Look for them and Pray for them and they will happen. I know that they will, even in Provo. The Lord will bless you for it. He needs our help to do this work. We are His hands. I love this great work. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. If God's spirit children who don't have the Gospel aren't invited to come unto Him then His suffering for them is nearly wasted. I love the Savior. I know that God loves us. He lives. He will help us live the Gospel. We must put Him first in our lives. Joseph Smith was a true Prophet of God. The Book of Mormon is true and it is the keystone of my testimony. It is the way that those who don't have the Gospel will come to know that it's true. I love the Book of Mormon. I know that it will bring us closer to God as we abide by it's precepts than any other book in the world.

Anyway, have a wonderful week and next week I'll be able to tell you what it feels like to shake President Packer's hand. I'm so excited to meet him. Keep up the amazing work, Heavenly Father is proud of you for it. I love you all!

Love,

Elder Rowley

Don't lose your savor!

Date: Tue, Apr 14, 2009 at 4:30 AM
Subject: Happy Easter!

Hello from the Isle of Man!

How is everyone this week? How was Easter? It hasn't snowed over there again, has it?

Our Easter was great. Church was great, especially Sacrament meeting. There was a presentation by the Clarke's, Larry, and another member named Sister Huxley-Wright; it was amazing! The spirit was so strong. And we had 4 investigators there! Larry brought a friend of his, George, who we are teaching, Wanda came, and so did John! We were so happy to see all of them there and I'm happy that Elder Llaguno has had a good start to his mission.

The last few days since I last wrote have been amazing. We've seen a lot of people and spoken with a lot of people in the streets, it's been so much fun. I still struggle to speak with everyone, your Prayers in my behalf (as well as Elder Llaguno's), and in behalf of the people we serve here, are much appreciated. Being a Trainer is probably the hardest thing I've ever done, but I love it. For example, I don't think I've ever made more phone calls in my life! I'm learning and growing in ways I never thought possible!

Wanda is doing well. Please pray for her to be ready for Baptism on May 2nd. She is so close and is so amazing and ready!

Peter and Chris are coming along as well. They are reading the Book of Mormon. Please pray for them both to have the witness that it is true and that they need to be Baptized.

We saw Jack on Saturday it was amazing. He's progressing. I'm almost certain that he will be Baptized one day soon.

We are also praying and hoping for new investigators. Elder Llaguno spoke with a Portuguese man in the street the other day and we are seeing him on Saturday! I love it when he gets opportunities to speak with people in Spanish. His knowledge of the Scriptures and of the Gospel is wonderful. He is teaching me so much! We also have a couple more appointments with potential investigators on Saturday that we hope will work out.

Well, never forget that the Church is true. I'm so thankful for the blessings of the Gospel in my life and I know that the good things in our lives do come from God. He does live and He is our Eternal Father in Heaven. Every part of the Gospel points us toward being in His presence forever. Preach My Gospel talks about Eternal Life a lot and I love it. That is our number one goal when all is said and done, to obtain all that God has. And the way we do that is through Jesus Christ. I know that He lives and that the power of His Atonement is real. The fullness of His Gospel has been restored to the earth today through Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon is true evidence of this. I love the Gospel. The blessings of the Temple are real and powerful and I'm so thankful for them. Go to the Temple. There is so much work to be done and we can't afford to miss out on the blessings from going often. I know that President Thomas S. Monson is a true and living Prophet on the earth today and that Jesus Christ directs the affairs of this Church through him.

Anyway, we're off on the ferry today to Liverpool for Zone Conference tomorrow! I'm very excited. And next week we are having a Mission Conference with President Boyd K. Packer!! Being a Missionary is the best!

Have a wonderful week and keep up the amazing work. You truly are the salt of the earth, don't lose your savor! I love you!

Love,

Elder Rowley

Wow! What a Week: Hello, Good-bye, and prayers, please!

I've been in similar shoes before--training a new missionary from another country and culture. It can be challenging. I know Luke will appreciate your prayers in this new opportunity to serve. Thanks all for the love and support!

Date: Thu, Apr 9, 2009 at 4:38 AM
Subject: What a Week!

Hello!!


Sorry it's been so long! I completely spaced and forgot to tell you that transfers were this week! I'm still here on the Isle of Man though... with a greenie! That's right, I'm training! I'm a bit nervous but I know that it's where I need to be and what I need to be doing. With the Lord's help I can do it, but I need your prayers so much. They will help and will bless me and my new companion and the amazing people we serve here!

Elder Llaguno (chyaguno) is from Spain and he is awesome! On the bus and ferry rides yesterday we just spent time getting to know each other and talking about the Gospel and being Missionaries, it was wonderful. I'm remembering now what it was like to be a greenie, and I'm realizing just how far I've come since then. I have a great feeling that Elder Llaguno and I will work well together and see miracles here! I'm excited for him.

Elder Larson went to Bolton to be a District Leader! I'm going to miss him, but we'll see each other at Zone Conference next week. And I'm excited for him, he is going to be amazing. I learned so much from him. I think I've learned more from the people I've served with than from anything else, it's incredible. And there is such a bond between those who learn together through this great work, it's amazing. I love this great work!

I learned something really great on the ferry ride to Liverpool. This time we prepared and took the motion-sickness tablets like President Bullock told us to. right from the start it was very bumpy and we were a bit worried that it wasn't going to be a very pleasant experience. But the tablets worked and Elder Larson and I had a nice conversation on the rocking boat like it was no big deal! Life is going to be rough no matter what, but if you have the right medicine then you won't get sick. That medicine is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Some people have some medicines that work for a little while, but in the end they are still sick. It's a great blessing that we have the one and true "medicine" that will keep us "well" for eternity!

The last week and a half has been good though. We got to teach FHE to the Johnsons and it was awesome. They are such a wonderful member-Missionary family! They have a son, Robert, who was recently ordained a Deacon. I love seeing that happen. It seems like just yesterday that that was me, and I love to look back and see how far I've come. And I also love that I can tell these young men how fast it will come and go and how much fun it will be.

Our investigators are doing well. Our friend from Bulgaria is leaving to go back soon and he's been talking with his wife about things and we probably won't be seeing him too much anymore. He still has the Book of Mormon and I firmly believe that he will be Baptized one day.

Wanda is getting Baptized on May 2nd! We're so excited for her, she is doing so well. She is working on giving up her tea and coffee and is doing wonderful. Please pray for her to have strength against the opposition and to be ready for Baptism!

Peter and Chris continue to progress. They came to General Conference and enjoyed it very much. Please pray for them to be ready for Baptism.

General Conference was amazing by the way! Elder Larson said on Saturday before we watched that first session (it was from 5 to 7 pm for us) that Elder Anderson would be the new member of the Twelve, and sure enough, he was right! The talks were all so amazing though, I feel so much spiritually stronger now. I'm excited to get the conference Ensign so I can study it even more!






Elder Larson and I spent our last couple days together saying goodbye to people and it was great. We both have grown to really love the people here, I'm sure it was hard for him to leave. It's crazy just how fast the last 4 months have come and gone.

Anyway, the Church is true! I know that God lives and loves us. Jesus Christ is our Savior and He knows how to help us. He is the only way to success and happiness in this life and eternal life in the next. I love Him and I love that I get to represent Him as a Missionary right now. I know that President Monson is a true Prophet of God and he loves us. We can't affort to pack away our conference notes; we must keep them out, study the conference Ensign, and apply the principles in our lives. Those words spoken are true and will bless us as we study them and apply them. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and is the keystone to our religion. We will become closer to God by abiding by it's precepts than by any other book. Joseph Smith was a true Prophet of God. We are so blessed for his great sacrifices, and so many more of God's children will be blessed as we sacrifice to share this great message with them. The power of the Priesthood and the blessings of the Temple are real and eternal. Go to the Temple!! There is too much work for us to do, too much spiritual strength for us to acquire, and too much happiness to be had to not go to the Temple at least once a week. I wish I could go every week and I would if I could, but my assignment is different for now. I love the Temple and my life is blessed every day because of it. The Gospel is true!

Well, have a wonderful week and I'll write again on Monday. In a couple weeks President Boyd K. Packer is coming to the Mission for a Mission conference! I'm so excited, it's going to be wonderful. Anyway, keep up the amazing work. Your prayers, letters, love, support, and everything else are much appreciated! Keep it coming! Heavenly Father knows I need it! I Love you!

Love,

Elder Rowley

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

Good friends and good food: a photo essay

Short and sweet

Luke told me he had a much longer version of this all typed out and then the computer deleted it (that's the second time this has happened). This is the Reader's Digest Condensed version:

Date: Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 4:39 AM
Subject: Hello!

Hello Everyone!

We've had another great week this week and the time continues to fly by!! I love being a Missionary so much. It's crazy to think that I've been out for nearly 6 months!

We've had 3 more new investigators since I wrote last, it's incredible, the blessings just keep flowing in! The first one was *Sandra, a daughter of one of our investigators. The other week she was in on one of the lessons and we have been able to teach her the Restoration and Plan of Salvation so far, it's been great!

On Monday we began teaching an interesting man named Phil. We taught him about the Restoration and we're not sure how much more we'll teach him. But if he is willing and ready to listen then we will continue to teach him! He's a good man.

Yesterday we taught that young woman that we helped with the nasty plant in her front garden (over here it's garden, not yard). We taught her about the Plan of Salvation and she has a lot of amazing questions! We almost had to start teaching her about the Restoration she is so prepared!

On Saturday we had a run-in with people of another faith. We had an appointment to teach a promising African couple who know another African couple that was recently Baptized. We went in to teach them and they started going on about the Sabbath being on Saturday and they wouldn't let us use the Book of Mormon and it was pretty intense. Needless to say, we now know why the Sabbath was changed to Sunday! I'll tell you more about this one when I return home!

Well, the Church is true. God does live and He loves us all so much. Prayer does work and it does change things. I've seen that every day of my Mission. This work is true and it does bring us a great happiness! The Book of Mormon is the word of God and I love it so much. I love coming to understand and know it better and better. I know that the Holy Ghost is real and He blesses our lives so much. I love feeling the Spirit, it's amazing! I know that life is hard but it is worth it if we live the principles and ordinances of the Gospel!

Anyway, have a wonderful week! I love you all, thanks so much for all the love, letters, support, and prayers! It really does help so much. Especially the letters. Just kidding. But really, keep them coming!!! I love you.

Love,

Elder Rowley

*names have been changed to protect privacy

When it rains blessings, it pours

Date: Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 4:30 AM
Subject: Happy Valentines Day!

Hey!

Okay, so who over there is sending up all those Prayers for us? We have had such an incredible couple of weeks, just know that what I write here is only part of the blessings we are receiving! I love being a Missionary, and I love serving here on the Isle of Man with Elder Larson!

Well, our prayers are being answered. When it rains blessings, it pours! In the last 2 weeks we've had 9 new investigators so far and they are such incredible people, I'll tell you a bit about each of them.

The first is an amazing couple, *Peter and Chris, who seem like they were once members. Their questions are so amazing, they have really been prepared by the Lord. We're seeing them for the third time this weekend and hopefully we'll have them at Church on Sunday! We're excited to see them progress and we love them so much already. We just can't get over how prepared they are!

We've also started teaching a young man named Andy who is in his early 20's who is very prepared as well. He's had a hard past and he is looking forward to a turn-around in his life (repentance=conversion=
commitments! See PMG Ch. 11). He is very humble and we are very excited to see him progress in the Gospel! Pray for him to be able to get outside of his comfort zone.

On Monday we taught a man from Russia who is amazing. He accepted all that we taught very well but there is a bit of a language barrier. We've got him a copy of the Book of Mormon in Russian and we're excited to see him progress as well! We're seeing him again tomorrow.

Also on Monday we went to teach a young man named Larry and he had a friend there named John. They had some amazing questions for us and we got into some really deep doctrine a little bit! They seem to be accepting all we've taught them so far very well and we are seeing them again tomorrow as well!

Then yesterday... was probably another one of the best days of my Mission so far. We went to teach a lady named Wanda from Scotland (her accent is so cool!) and her two sons were there. All three of them accepted all we taught and they are excited to have us back again this weekend! We can see them being Baptised in the future!

Also yesterday we met a lot of amazing people and set up 4 pretty solid appointments! At one point we were trying by a potential and we saw a young lady trying to saw apart a pretty nasty bush. We asked her a couple times if she needed help and she politely declined. We looked at the situation (she was in no condition to be doing that kind of work) and helped her anyway, it was amazing. We were both excited to get to saw off those thick branches and move them for her. We even got to share a bit of the Plan of Salvation with her and set up a return appointment for this weekend! I LOVE doing service for people, especially when it's unplanned!

Oh yes and I'm sure you've seen by now, on Monday we visited the Tricketts, they are so amazing. We love them so much. They got us a couple of pedometers so we can see how many steps we take every day, they are so nice to us! We're praying for them.

Heavenly Father is just pouring out the blessings on us, thanks again for all of your prayers, they are being answered. Now as we have all these new investigators the next step is to get them coming to Church and reading in the Book of Mormon and Praying. If we will all pray for that to happen then these people, and this area, will be so blessed!! Miracles are happening here and I love it.

My Testimony has really been strengthened in the past couple weeks as well. I know that God does live and He does answer our prayers! The Book of Mormon really is the word of God and it does help us come closer to Him, more than any other book on the earth. Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God and I know that Thomas S. Monson is the Lord's Prophet on the earth today. Jesus Christ is the head of this great Church, not President Monson. I know that Jesus Christ does live and He did suffer, bleed, die, and was resurrected to save us from physical and spiritual death. The windows of heaven are still open, God does still speak through His chosen Prophet. How blessed are we to live in this day and age? Never have a people of the Lord been as blessed as we are. We really are in the final seconds of this great war between good and evil. If we will fortify ourselves against evil, just as Captain Moroni fortified the Nephite lands and cities in the Book of Mormon, then we will win. I'm right in the middle of the war chapters in the Book of Mormon right now and I absolutely love them. I've discovered even more that what we give to our personal Scripture Study and Prayer is what we get. If we pour our whole heart and soul into these simple things then great things will be brought to pass. The Church is true and there is no other true Church on the face of the earth. We are so blessed to have the truth once again. We are so blessed to have things like the Ensign to help us do Missionary work. I recently read President Eyring's talk on Missionary work and it was amazing. Study that talk and keep praying for Missionary experiences! I'm not the only one on a Mission! Let me know about your Missionary experiences!

Anyway, have a wonderful week and please keep the letters coming!! Thanks to all those who have sent letters and packages and such, it's such a blessing! Thanks again for everything you do, all of the love and Prayers and support is much appreciated. I love being a Missionary and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world! I love you!

Love,

Elder Rowley

*names have been changed to protect privacy

seascapes and sunsets

photos courtesy of Tom Trickett

I hope Luke stays on the Isle of Man for forever, because I love getting pictures via e-mail from the Tricketts.

Miracles do happen!

Date: Sat, Feb 7, 2009 at 5:19 AM
Subject: Hello!

Hello Everyone!

What a week! It went so fast and so many amazing things are happening, I can't hardly wait to tell you about them all. Don't forget, anyone and everyone is more than welcome to send us mail anytime! Letters to Missionaries are worth their weight in gold!

Well, I actually have to hurry because we have an appointment soon. Zone Conference was incredible. I love Zone Conferences, they are the best! We left on Wednesday and the Ferry ride was nice and smooth, we got some studying and letter-writing done. When we got there we went to our Zone Leaders Area (we're in the Liverpool Zone) and went on exchanges with them. I got to go with Elder Crowther who was trained out on the Isle of Man! We got to teach a lesson, visit a recent convert, and try by some potential investigators, it was so much fun! I always learn so much from the other Missionaries here, I love it. We taught this lesson to a woman named Magdalena and her husband. She recognized the spirit very well, she said that when we were there it was like there was a piece of Heaven in their home, it was amazing
and very humbling.

Thursday was Zone Conference and we got some wonderful training which we are excited to apply to the work on the Isle of Man! Thanks for the letters and packages by the way, I love them!! For a part of Zone Conference we got to sing "Be Still My Soul" with a group of other Elders and some Sisters, it was amazing. President Bullock spoke about the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Codices and how they support the Book of Mormon and all the teachings of Joseph Smith, it was amazing and it really strengthened our testimonies. Sister Bullock told one of her amazing stories and related it to the work, we always learn a lot from her. At the very end of the Conference we did the questions of the soul from chapter 5 of Preach My Gospel. We all have been studying these and they drew names out of a hat to see who would go up and answer the questions based on the scripture given in Preach My Gospel. My name got called and it was pretty intimidating, but a lot of fun! It was all so amazing. That evening we were with the Preston Elders again and I got to go with the Preston Zone Leaders to do some tracting and to teach a lesson, it was a lot of fun, I love these amazing people I'm serving with here!

Yesterday we traveled home and we have been hoping and praying for a nice, calm Ferry ride for the past few days. And we sure got it. We were also praying for the strength to contact people on the Ferry and we got that too, kind of. We got some food right when we got on because we were hungry and we knew that this time we wouldn't have to worry about "donating it" to the floor of the ferry. As we sat down and began to eat the man sitting next to us said "does President Bullock know you're here?" Both of us were very surprised when the man introduced himself as GP. GP lived in Salt Lake for a while with President Jacobsen (the previous Mission President before President Bullock) and even got to meet President Hinckley. He lives on the island and President Bullock told us to get in contact with him but we haven't been able to because he has been gone until just yesterday when he was on our same ferry to come back. Miracles do happen! We got to know him really well and it was just great. As if that was amazing enough there were a couple guys who started asking us about the Church and things, it was amazing. We are still in awe of the blessings we have received over the last few days. I love being a Missionary.

Other than that the work is going very well, we've got a lot of potential investigators lined up and on Monday we actually got 3 new investigators who I'll tell you more about next week.

Well, the Church is true, never forget it! President Monson is a Prophet of God and he is guided and directed by Jesus Christ himself. I know that this Church is the only true Church on this earth. God does live and He does love us more than we can ever really understand. He does answer prayers. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and I love Him so much. The power of the Atonement is real. The power of the Priesthood is real. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and it will bring us closer to God. There is power in the small and simple things of Scripture Study and Prayer, I love these two things so much.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and feel free to send loads of letters! We only go back to the mainland once every 6 weeks so please send them to the flat. We don't have transfers for another month so no need to worry about me getting transferred. I'll work on sending more letters too! Thanks for everything you do, you are all so amazing and I love you so much. Keep up the amazing work and let me know about your Missionary experiences! I love you!

Love,

Elder Rowley

photos from the Isle of Man

Luke's first baptism

Luke is a big fan of Elder Larson's famous curry (I might have to ask for the recipe)

Lovely photo of the Isle of Man

We came home from the hospital to find a letter with pictures this week, too (excuse the low quality--I need a scanner, no?). What a wonderful surprise!

And we finally got to meet Elder Larson's mother (or, as Luke would say, Mum). It was lovely to meet her (we are big fans of Elder Larson around here--serving with him has been the best thing for Luke) and she's wonderful. She was so kind to us. It was great!

The glass is completely full

Date: Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 4:45 AM
Subject: What a Week!

Hello!!

It has been an amazing week with many ups and downs! I love being a Missionary, have I ever told you that? It's the best, you get to learn and experience so much!

The Island is great. Saturday we had quite the storm here, they closed some of the roads because the waves were crashing up onto them! The wind over here is pretty intense and I love it. Oh and I'm still loving driving! Oh yes and I almost forgot, there is snow on the mountains! You'd be surprised at how mountainous this little island is, I love it. Compared to the mountains in Utah they are more like large hills though!


photos courtesy of Mr. Trickett


Well, I'll bet everyone's curious about our Baptism. It was amazing! Everything went so well, this ward is amazing and we love them so much. They feel like family! It felt amazing to get to perform the Baptism and I'm happy to say that I only had to do it once! It all seemed to be over way too fast though, already its been almost 4 days since that happened! Oh and the confirmation was amazing as well, the power of the Priesthood is real and I love it. Winnie is so amazing and she is already a strong member who will do great things for this ward! Baptisms are the best!

Other than that we've been having fun teaching some amazing people. We continue to teach Ben, our other African investigator and he is doing very well. We're actually seeing him tonight, I'm excited. On Sunday we got to teach the most amazing Chinese man named John. We love John!! We were teaching him about Alma 34 and the whole scales of justice and mercy thing and the arms of safety and he understood! He repeated it all back to us and it was wonderful. John is so cool. I think it's pretty funny that I come over to England and most of the people we teach are from other countries! It's great though, and we do teach a few British people. The Lord is preparing more of them for us to teach.

The Tricketts are amazing and we love them too! On Saturday evening we had dinner with them and it was great. I love mushy peas! It was a wonderful meal and after we had dessert they started asking us questions about the church. Long story short, we got to teach them a little about the Restoration and quoted JSH 1:17! The spirit was strong and we are hoping and praying that we will be able to start teaching them soon! Please Pray for that to happen! Miracles happen because of Prayers.

Yesterday we got to do a presentation at a Primary (Elementary) school assembly and it was great. It took me back to my time at Westridge, it was pretty weird to see how far I've come since then! We talked about what we do and what a typical day is for us and what we share with people, just the basics, and it was a lot of fun. British children are smart and we love them too!

Other than that the work is going well. We are hoping and praying to find a nice, prepared Family to teach and your prayers would be much appreciated with that. I know that miracles will happen by our prayers, I've seen it already so many times here on my Mission and I love it! I'll tell you more about all of the miracles I've seen when I return.

Today is the beginning of another transfer and I'm glad we're both staying here. I don't look forward to the day that I get transferred to somewhere else, but I know that the Lord knows what He is doing with these things. There are so many reasons that I've been sent to serve here at this time with those I'm serving with. It's amazing to keep finding new reasons almost every day. I love being a Missionary and I can't help but thank Heavenly Father for it every day. I can't imagine being anything else! I hope to keep learning and growing daily and become a better instrument in His hands every day. The Church is true. Jesus is the Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. He does live and He does love us, no matter what the world says. God does exist and He is our Father in Heaven. He does hear and answer our prayers and I'm so thankful for that. I know that we can do nothing without His help, He truly has given us everything we have. The glass is neither half full nor half empty, it is completely full. Heavenly Father has blessed us with so many things, and even the absence of some things is a blessing. He knows what he is doing, He is smarter than we are, and if we will follow Him and His Son Jesus Christ, we will make it back to His presence and be happy in this life! The power of the Priesthood is real and I'm so humbled that God would trust someone like me with His power. I know that this work is true and it is important, and it has the power to make us happy. I Love being a Missionary!!

Well, that's all for this week, I hope you all have a wonderful week! Thanks for all the letters and keep them coming! If you sent something to the Mission Office within the last month I don't have it yet, we only get to go back to the mainland about once a month. So sorry if I take a while to respond! Anyway, I love you all and keep up the amazing work! More next week!

Much Love,

Elder Rowley