World Cup

Elder McKechnie and Elder Rowley at the Border of Scotland and England!
Peter's Baptism. Richard Boulton Baptised Him

Date: Mon, Jun 14, 2010 at 6:43 AM
Subject: Re: Hi!

Hello Everyone!

I hope you've had a wonderful week! I sure have. I'm loving Preston and the people and our amazing members and I'm excited to have Elder Rowley come to Chorley this weekend!!

This past week has been very busy. We were in Carlisle on Tuesday and Wednesday. I got to work with a Bulgarian Missionary named Elder Krustev. I've worked with him before and I was so happy to hear that he's improved a lot in his English skills and in every other aspect of the work. He's a great example to me of working hard even though the odds aren't always in his favor. He is the only member in his family and yet he is a very good and strong Missionary. I really enjoyed working with him and we were even blessed to be able to teach one man right there on the spot. It's always a miracle to get to do that.

I'm also sad to say that Elders Llaguno and Jin have moved. It's okay though, they're only across the street! It's sad to not live with them anymore but it will be more effective for the work. They moved on Friday and Elder Burnett, who is now in the office, came to help them so I got to see him, it was really good to see him again and he is doing very well.

In other, not as important news, we did watch the England vs. USA world cup match, and it was amazing. It didn't feel as good as doing Missionary work, but it was still nice. It was funny though because at the beginning of the game I was rooting for England, but when they scored not too long after the match began my heart got the best of me and I had to root for the USA. I didn't ever realize just how much I really do love our great country! In the end it was 1-1, which is the best for the work. Because of that nobody has been angry with me because the US didn't win, and they haven't been too crazy because England didn't with either!

The best part of the week was on Friday. Peter was Baptised! It was good to see him there in the water and to see him be Baptised. The service was amazing and the members are very good to Peter. He will make a great member and I'm excited for him to continue to progress in the Gospel! I think that one of the best parts was afterwards when I asked Peter what he thought when Elder Griffeth first knocked on his door. He said that he could feel Elder Griffeth's energy. It really impressed me and made me thankful to have been able to serve with such a great Missionary.

Yesterday I was at the MTC and Stake Centre and Temple site in Chorley and it was amazing to be there. We had Stake Conference and that was wonderful; then we took Peter and our Chinese investigator, Haiming, up to the gate of the Temple and told them a bit about it; and on the way back Elder McKechnie saw a friend of his who is in the MTC right now and we got to speak with some new Missionaries. It was all so exciting. I love the Gospel an that we were able to feel of each of those different aspects of it- the Temple, the Stake Centre, and the MTC. The Church is true! I also feel to mention that the spirit was very strong even as we were just at the gates of the Temple.

Well, that's about it for this week. The Gospel is true. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. A true testimony of this great latter-day work comes from reading and praying about that sacred record. I love how Elder Holland spoke in General Conference about how we cannot come to full fellowship in this latter-day work without a testimony of the Book of Mormon. And I testify that that is true. For me personally as I read and Prayed about the Book of Mormon the spiritual confirmation came and now I'm seeing all the other evidence on top of it that this church is true, what what we preach really does come from God, and that there really is a God in heaven. I spoke with some very opinionated atheists this past week and it was just evident to me that it is so much better for persons, families, communities, and the world to believe in God and morals and the Gospel than to believe that we evolved from pond scum and we have no eternal destiny, that morals and rules are relative and don't really matter, and that selfishness is what brings happiness. I even feel the spirit lessen as I write those disgusting opinions which atheists have. They as people are children of God and I love them, but what they think is false and comes because they have been heavily brainwashed by the devil. How blessed are we that we have the pathway back to our loving Heavenly Father. We know how to be happy in this life. We have a hope for a better world. We understand the eternal laws that govern all of humanity- especially the law that selfless sacrifice brings happiness. The evidence that there is a God is there in the simple fact that when any person or group of people choose to reject God and disbelieve in him, and their morals and ethics consequently decay; that their lives are deprived of God-given happiness, and they only become pioneers for the devastating decline in society that we see all around us today. We as the latter-day saints must stand as living witnesses that God lives and loves all of His children, even those who choose not to listen to what He has to say. We truly are the salt of the earth. We must defend the knowledge that God is there and the knowledge of His plan for our happiness that I know has been restored to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. These things are true not because of factual evidence, but because of the power and gift of the Holy Ghost. We must share the Gospel with our brothers and sisters around us for it is true and nothing will ever change that.

Well, I love you all so much. I'm thankful to work alongside you in this great work. I hope you have a wonderful week and keep up the amazing work!

Love,

Elder L. Rowley

Recognizing the spirit

The Preston Zone at Zone Conference

Date: Mon, Jun 7, 2010 at 12:20 PM

Hello Everyone!

We've had an amazing week here in Preston. I love serving here, it's just the best place to be right now! Today it's a bit rainy, even right now it's raining, but I still love it. It's been very warm recently and we're all starting to get the Missionary tan! I'm excited for the summer.

First of all, yesterday was one of the best Sundays of my mission. Peter, Michael, and Naghma were also at Church and Peter will be Baptised this weekend. They are all doing well by the way. My favorite part though was in fast and testimony meeting. There were two deaf people in the congregation and a member sat at the front and signed the whole meeting. I loved it, even though it was in British Sign Language and I couldn't understand all of it. Then, in the middle of the meeting a new sister in the ward got up and shared her testimony in ASL! It was amazing and it made me so happy that I had to get up there and share my testimony too. All I could sign was that I couldn't remember enough signs to share my testimony, so I had to let the interpreter do it. After the meeting I was able to have a conversation, half in sign language, with one of the deaf people that was there. It made me so happy that I made that decision to take ASL in high school.

The next experience I want to share was from getting a referral from a member family. Last Sunday we had an appointment in an area that was a bit farther away from the centre of Preston. As we went out there Elder McKechnie recognized that there was a member family that lived in the area. The best part was that the father of the family actually taught Elder McKechnie when Elder McKechnie was in primary. Well, less than a minute after we realized that they lived in the area we saw them walking down the street with their children! It was amazing and we were able to stop and say hello to them and talk with them and they invited us over for a tea appointment! As we went to the appointment and shared a spiritual thought and asked for referrals, they quickly told us of an African family in the area. We tried by right after the appointment and we were let in this African family's door! It was amazing, we were able to teach them the very next day and we're excited to see them progress!

Now probably the best experience I'll share with you was at Zone Conference. We got to go to a Scout Camp in the hills near Manchester. I never would have thought that there would be a place like this in Manchester, but there is. It was beautiful. I love the rolling hills of England. We had a few sessions of Zone Conference and an afternoon of sports and hamburgers for dinner. It really unified our whole mission and everyone benefited from it. I'll never forget the experiences I had there.

The theme of our conference was that exact obedience is the "Pathway to the Promise", which is a phrase that President Bullock was inspired with recently. We learned a lot about that and talked about passing down the sacred culture in our mission to the younger Missionaries, and had some wonderful experiences as we did that. One of my favorite experiences of the conference was recognizing the spirit of Missionary work. As we played sports I felt happy and had some contentment, but I still had an empty feeling, I thought that it might be similar to what I felt most of the time before my mission. It's hard to describe how I truly felt, but I think you know what I mean. Then in the evening for part of the session of Zone Conference we had an hour of personal meditation time in the woods. We were all spread out so we could still see our companions, but we were far apart enough that we could be alone. The spirit was very strong then, and it felt like a Personal Priesthood interview with Heavenly Father. After that I felt so much more fulfilled and just full of joy. I felt the joy of being a Missionary and knowing from the Lord that I've done good here in England. I felt the joy of knowing the positive effect that the Gospel has had in all of our lives and of knowing that we all can be together forever as we live the Gospel always. It was amazing to tell the contrast between the two feelings. The Gospel is what brought that feeling of joy, and it's what still brings that feeling as I feel it even now. I know that this feeling comes from Heavenly Father and that we can all feel it as we apply the principles of the Gospel in our lives. This isn't to say that playing sports and doing other things than the Gospel are bad, those things are still necessary, but I'm just happy to recognize the difference in the spirit that the Gospel brings. I know that these things are true because of my testimony of the Book of Mormon. I know that it truly is the iron rod. If we study and apply it's principles consistently then we will be always on the Gospel path that leads to the promise of "peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come" (D+C 59:23 I think it is). I also want you to know that I've been able to experience the pathway and the promise of D+C 31:5, and we all can as well. The feeling of living the Gospel and experiencing it's blessings is the very best in the whole world. Again I'd encourage all of us to continue utilizing the Gospel in our lives and work to share it with everyone we can so that they can as well!

Well, I love you all so much. I'm here because of you. I hope you have a wonderful week and keep up the amazing work!

Love,

Elder L. Rowley

Everything is great right now!

Date: Mon, May 31, 2010 at 6:08 AM

Hello Everyone!

How's your week been there? Ours has been great. There's not too much to write today though because it's only been a weekend since I last wrote.

With the transfer we've been busy with meetings and planning sessions and everything. It's been fun. I love being in this mission! I get to work with some of the most amazing people here. We're also having some exciting things happening here, like a Zone Conference at a Scout Camp this week and then next week we'll get to watch the England vs. USA world cup game! I'm so excited and I'll be sure to let you know all about everything.

This week we were blessed to have Naghma and a man named Michael at Church yesterday. They really enjoyed it. We have so many amazing investigators here and I love them so much. Peter Molnar was down South in Stonehenge this weekend and he will be Baptised in a couple weeks. I'm excited for him.

As for Michael he is incredible. We taught him for the first time on Tuesday last week and when we saw him for the second time on Saturday he said he was so excited for Church that he wouldn't be able to sleep that night! He really enjoyed Church and is scheduled to be Baptised later in the month. Elder Jin and our Recent Convert Chung also enjoyed speaking with him. It was amazing to see three Chinese people in Church on Sunday! This ward and area are so diverse! And the work is going so well, Preston is on fire right now and I've got a feeling that even more miracles are ahead!

That's about everything for this week really. Our investigators are doing well, our zone is doing well, the weather is amazing, things are just great right now. I love this great work and I have a testimony that it is true. The Gospel has been restored. The knowledge of the Plan of Happiness is now on the earth in its fullness. We do truly have everything we need to know to return back to the presence of our Heavenly Father. I testify that He lives, loves us, and answers prayers and changes lives. Change is possible through the Atonement. That is the most powerful force on the entire planet and we have access to that power through the principles and ordinances of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have such a wonderful blessing in this Gospel, let us share it with everyone around us! I know that the Lord will help us to do so and that the blessings that come from doing so are greater than we can imagine. I know that this is true because I am experiencing it right now. The Holy Ghost is real and I feel it.

Thank you again for all yo do for me. Don't ever forget that I couldn't be here if it weren't for your help. Keep up the amazing work and have a wonderful week! I love you all!

Love,

Elder L. Rowley

When the dog bites

Elders Rowley, Llaguno, and Jin. Father, son, and grandson.

Date: Wed, May 26, 2010 at 10:52 AM

Hello Everyone!

I hope you're having a great week. Ours has been amazing and very fast. The weather has been nice as well, almost too nice. We've all got tans on our collars where our shirts are because it's been hot and sunny recently. Today has broken the trend though and it's been raining on and off all day long. I love the weather of England!

Well, I suppose the biggest news here is that Preston now has a Chinese Missionary in it! Elder Llaguno (the one I trained on the Isle of Man about a year ago) is currently training Elder Jin from China. He is amazing, I've only talked with him a little bit though. I'm excited to get to know him more. He will help Preston a lot with teaching and hopefully also Baptising much of the Chinese population here. Also, Elder McKechnie and I will be serving together another transfer, we're both staying here in Preston! I'm so excited.

We've seen so many miracles in the past week. On Tuesday we went with Elders Llaguno and Dittmer to Lancaster, an area in our zone, to do some finding for the Sisters there. Elder Llaguno and I got to work together again and we taught 3 people on the street! It was amazing. It was almost just one right after another!

Our investigators are doing well. Peter will be Baptised in the beginning of June, he was sick on Sunday so he didn't come to Church. Naghma is still accepting commitments and coming to Church and seems to be progressing well, and the rest of our investigators aren't progressing. We did have a nice miracle at Church on Sunday when an investigator that Elder Griffeth and I taught on Elder Griffeth's last day came to Church on Sunday! We're hopefully seeing him and a friend of his tonight and I'll let you know of his progress. The miracles never cease.

Saturday was an interesting day. We had a very successful day and even were blessed to find and teach two new investigators on the street! It was amazing. The interesting part was in the evening; we were walking to an appointment and Elder McKechnie got bit in the leg by a dog. No need to worry at all, he's fine and it wasn't even that bad really. The crazy part was that we had to go to the hospital and have it checked out so Elder McKechnie doesn't get sick or anything and we were there pretty late in the evening. Hospitals are interesting places, that's all I have to say about that.

And the latest miracle we've seen recently was last night. We got to teach an amazing Chinese man that Elder McKechnie spoke with in town centre on Sunday afternoon. He accepted the Book of Mormon and Baptism and is preparing to be Baptised also. He's very sincere. The best part is that we now have the help of Elder Jin to help him progress to Baptism! I'm very excited to see what will happen with this in the next few weeks!

Well, the Church is true. The Savior lives. His Gospel is a precious gift that He's given to us and we need to use that gift. It makes Him happy when we use it to repent and improve ourselves and also when we share it with others. This is how I've found we can take care of this great gift and please our Savior. I know this is true because I've felt that He's been pleased with me as I've done these things. I know that this works in all of our lives. The Savior lives and loves each of us. His Atonement is real and it can change our lives daily.

I love you all so much. Thanks again for all you do for me and I hope you have a wonderful week. Keep up the amazing work!

Love,

Elder L. Rowley

Elder McKechnie, the victim of the dog bite.

When they come to church

Elders McKechnie and Rowley in the Meriva.

Date: Mon, May 17, 2010 at 9:49 AM
Subject: Re: Hello!

Hello Everyone!

How's your week been? Ours has been good and miraculous as always. The weather keeps warming up and right now its sunny outside and very warm here in the Library.

The greatest miracle was yesterday at Church. Peter, Naghma, Tanya, and Carla all came to Church and enjoyed it very much! The members were good to them as well and we're excited to help them all progress towards being Baptised. Thank you for your faith to pray for them to come, it worked! Faith truly does precede the miracle! The other miracle is that our zone also did well, we had 17 investigators at Sacrament meeting around the zone and that hasn't happened in nearly a year!

Tuesday we were blessed with two new investigators. One was Chinese but sadly doesn't want to learn more. She does have a copy of the Book of Mormon in Chinese though so the seed has been planted. The other one was found on the way out of that lesson. We were headed to the car and our time in the car park was up so we were in a bit of a hurry so we wouldn't get a ticket, but there was a man sitting on a bench nearby that was watching us. He got up from the bench and walked closer to where we were parked and I felt a prompting to speak with him. So I did and we ended up teaching him right there and he also accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and said he would read it! It was amazing. As we listen to the promptings of the spirit, the Lord truly leads us to prepared people!

The next day we had a good interviews and training meeting, we got to train our zone on helping investigators keep commitments and it went well. That evening we went on exchanges with the AP's and it was amazing. As we were walking into our apartment complex (it's been converted from a mill into flats) Elder Ridley, who I was with, spoke to a man named Eugene who we got to walk with to his flat and teach him right there. As we taught about Joseph Smith we asked how he felt and he talked about a burning sensation in his chest. It was amazing and the spirit was very strong then and throughout the whole lesson. We're seeing him again this week and I'll update you on his progress. We also taught a Romanian woman and her son who are amazing but have already stopped taking lessons. They also have the Book of Mormon though, so the seed is planted there as well! I love giving away copies of the Book of Mormon, it's one of my favorite parts of Missionary work!

On Saturday a man named Arran McCorquodale was Baptised. Elder Griffeth and I found and taught him in Preston town centre a couple months ago and he's progressed well ever since. I'm excited for him to be a member now!

Well, it's been a great week. It feels amazing to be a Missionary. I can't even tell you how much I've come to love everything we do. From waking up at 6:30 and exercising to studying for two hours every morning to teaching and finding and Baptising and doing trainings and everything. The spirit is always here in this work. It makes me so happy. There really isn't anywhere else I'd rather be right now. It's all possible because of the Spirit and because of the truthfulness of the Gospel. This Gospel we preach is true and I know that Joseph Smith was the true Prophet of God who restored it. The Church is true. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. It's the iron rod that leads back to God's presence. Jesus Christ is truly our Savior and Redeemer and changes our lives as we live His Gospel. We are so blessed to have all that we have.

Thank you once again for the love and support and prayers and everything you do. I truly couldn't do this without your help.

Keep up the incredible work. Have a wonderful week!! I love you!

- Elder L. Rowley

Why I am a missionary

We had to sleep in the room with the other Elders and

Elder McKechnie got sick because we had a water leak

in our bedroom.

Date: Mon, May 10, 2010 at 5:02 AM

Subject: Re: Hi again!

Hello Everyone!

How is everything there in the States? Things here are going very well. Today we've got some clouds and some rain, but we're looking forward to hopefully being able to play some football later today! I'm excited.

We've had a pretty successful week and most of our investigators came to Church. Peter was there yesterday and he enjoyed it very much and we also were able to start teaching Naghma again recently and she came as well. Tanya and Carla didn't make it though and we'll have to teach them about the importance of Church. It was a very good day though, in Gospel Principles we had 11 different nationalities present! This area and ward is so diverse, I love it!

Also yesterday we saw a miracle in town centre. We were street contacting in the same area that President Hinckley did when he was here and I'm sure many other Missionaries have worked there before as well, but we were hoping to be able to teach a new investigator. We prayed for it and sure enough, we got into town centre and saw a man who we'd scheduled an appointment with previously sitting on a bench. We invited him to be taught right there and he accepted and became a new investigator! It's exciting to see so many miracles!

That's about it for this week. Elder McKechnie was ill earlier in the week so not much happened then. Our investigators are doing well and our zone is doing pretty well and it's just great to be a Missionary. I am so happy serving the Lord here and I know that this work is true. Jesus is the Christ. Through his Atonement we can overcome death and hell and return to live with God. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is true and it's been restored. The Book of Mormon is true evidence of this. It is the most powerful tool in conversion, whether it be our own or the conversion of a loved one or even just someone we meet on the street. It truly is the iron rod that will lead us along the Gospel path back to ultimate peace and happiness with our families and Savior and Father in Heaven in the Celestial kingdom. This is our ultimate goal, to get there and to take as many people there as possible. This is why I am a Missionary!

Well, I love you all so much. I'm always amazed at your example and love and support and prayers and everything else you do for me and so many other people. Keep up that amazing work of the Savior. Have a great week!

Love,

Elder L. Rowley

I love the nice British rain

Hello Everyone!

I hope you've all had a great week, ours has been fantastic. The nice warm weather is holding up for the most part, but it's cooled down and rained a couple days recently. I love the nice British rain though.

First of all I'm late in writing because Monday was a Bank Holiday so we couldn't e-mail. We did get to go to the Temple though! It was amazing and I got to see some members from Liverpool as well. The Temple is great, I felt the spirit very strongly as we were there this time and I'm learning more and more that the Gospel is mostly about what we feel rather than just simply what we know or do. Although those things are very important as well.

Last week we saw a lot of miracles. On Friday and Saturday I got to work with the incredible Elder Llaguno again! It was amazing to see how much both of us have improved since this time last year. It's crazy to think that it's been exactly one year since we served together. We were also blessed with miracles greater than what we saw when we were on the Isle of Man. On Saturday morning we were doing some street contacting near town centre and got to do some service and help a man carry a couple boxes of pigeons into town square for a celebration of some sort. After a bit more street contacting we were also able to teach a man on a bench about the Restoration! It was amazing. In the afternoon the same thing happened twice, we taught two more people on steps near the place we were street contacting. It was amazing. Miracles just keep happening here.

We also had a good time at Zone Conference last week. Elder Mckechnie and I were able to train our zone on Sacrament Attendance and it was a lot of fun. I love zone trainings, we've got another one next week! I also got to see a lot of my former companions as a lot of them are still in the mission. Only 3 of my past companions are home right now. Zone Conference is always a lot of fun.

On Wednesday we got to do some service and take care of a wild garden of a sister in the ward. It looked like a jungle when we started and about half of it was cleared when we were done. It looked like a hurricane went through the part we had done, it was amazing. I loved it. Garden work is so much fun.

We're also teaching some amazing people right now. Our Hungarian investigator, Peter, is doing very well. We keep teaching him in members homes and he's coming to Church and reading and understanding the Book of Mormon and it's great. He's scheduled to be Baptised at the end of May and we're very excited for him. Pray for him to be ready for Baptism and to understand everything we teach.

Another great miracle has happened thanks to the great faith of those who have been praying with us for us to have a Baptism. On Sunday we got a ring from a member named Brother Cleaver. He has a couple of friends named Tanya and Carla that Elder Griffeth and I taught once in the past. Well, on Sunday they were with him and talking about being Baptised as soon as possible, so Brother Cleaver rang us and told us about this and we taught them that afternoon and scheduled Tanya to be Baptised on May 22nd! Now we just need to teach her everything and get her ready for her Baptism!

Well, the Church is true. I just keep learning so much about the Gospel and how much it helps us in our lives. The world is in a sad state and the people of it need what we have. We truly are a light on a hill for all those who are in spiritual darkness. The Savior Jesus Christ is the source of that light. I know He lives and loves each of us. We can feel that love and the infinitely positive effect of His Atonement in our lives as we live His Gospel of faith, repentance, keeping covenants, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. The Gospel truly can be felt more powerfully than it can be known, and it's very important for us to feel the Gospel every day of our lives. The scriptures are true. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and my testimony of the rest of the Gospel was planted and is nourished through reading it and praying to know of it's truth. Anyone can experience these blessings in their lives this very day, no matter how much they may have experienced them in the past.

I love you all so much. I couldn't be here without your help. Keep up the amazing work. Thank you again for all the love and letters and support and encouragement. I appreciate it so much. Our Heavenly Father is mindful of you. Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Elder L. Rowley