Cheeks are getting chubbier

Date: Mon, Jun 22, 2009 at 4:45 AM
Subject: Crazy Week...

Hello Family!

How are you this week? How's the weather? I hope things are going well and that you are all enjoying the summer! Warm weather is great!

Well, our week was really up and down. It started off really strong and then in the middle of the week we got some disturbing news and had to drop an investigator. I'll tell you more about it later, but nearly everything fell through on Friday and Saturday, it was pretty crazy. I love trials though, we can always look back knowing we've grown because of it. The Lord really does consecrate our trials for our gain!

In other news, Vicky was confirmed yesterday! The spirit was strong and she is going to make such an amazing addition to the ward here. At least until she goes back to Nigeria in a couple months. Also yesterday we had another African investigator, Kennedy, come to church for the first time! He's scheduled to be baptised on July 11th and we are very excited for him. There is a bit of a language barrier there, and we're hoping to be able to understand better what he is experiencing. And on top of that Kirsty came with her partner! I don't remember if I told you about her or not. I'll tell you anyway. She was taught before and her partner (Simon, who was a less-active) put the brakes on it. When we recently started teaching her again she was receiving some intense opposition from him. But last week she said that miraculously he's had a change of heart and has decided to come to church and get the Priesthood and turn things around!! We're so excited for the both of them.

Also this week we had a few new investigators!! We had a very sacred experience with a father and son named Roland and Danny. Danny was referred to us by the Mission Office, and we've started teaching him and his father. Anyway, we taught them the Restoration and the spirit was very very strong, I wish you could have been there. I love the new training we've received on teaching the restoration, it works miracles! The leaders in this mission are truly inspired! Anyway, at the end of the lesson Danny told us that he knows that the First Vision is true!! We're excited to see them progress and receive of the blessings of the Atonement through the Restored Gospel!

Happy Father's Day by the way!! Yesterday in Sacrament meeting all of the primary children sang and talked about their Dad's and it was really great. I was smiling and laughing the whole time. I love the ward here, again, I feel like I'm at home. They take such great care of us! This week we again have dinner appointments every night but the weekend! It's exciting, but my cheeks are going to get even chubbier.

I guess one more thing I can tell you about Rochdale is that there is a very large Muslim population here. We aren't really allowed to teach Muslims right now because the First Presidency said so, but I'm really enjoying seeing so many different cultures.

Well, the Church is true. My testimony of it grows everyday and I'm so thankful for that. I know without a doubt that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet of God. The Book of Mormon is evidence of that. Jesus Christ truly is our Savior. We should never doubt His matchless power to heal us as we repent. We receive of the blessings of the Atonement as we live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our job now that we have entered into the path is to continue on the path and invite others to experience these blessings for themselves. The world needs these blessings. I testify of that. God has commanded us to take His truth to the world and He has promised that he will help us do it! Being a Missionary is the best thing I've ever done in my life. The blessings of it never ever end. It's truly amazing that if we attempt in any way to repay our Father in Heaven for what He has done for us He just pours out more blessings upon us and we become more indebted to Him! He truly is our Father. He has feelings too, don't forget that. Praying is always more important than any phone call, or sleep, or work or school or whatever it may be. And the miracle is that as we pray we have help in those things. "Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven!!" That is true. If we sacrifice for the Lord, He will make it up to us times a million. The Church is true. Never forget it. Share your testimony.

Anyway, I love you all, keep up the amazing work! I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you! And don't forget to keep the letters coming. Please. Have a great week and let me know if there is anything that I can do for any of you! I love you

Love,

Elder Rowley

Another baptism!

Date: Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 4:12 AM
Subject: Backwards Weather?

Hello!

How is everyone? It sounds like our weather has been flip-flopped! We're getting sunshine here right now, and have been a lot for the past few weeks! What a blessing. I think it rained twice last week... or at least twice that we got caught in. We have had so many appointments since I've been here, it's crazy!

Last week we taught 23 lessons! It was pretty crazy and busy. We have so many appointments. I'm sure blessed to have a diligent companion. We were so busy that we even had to go on splits with the members! I went with a ward Missionary named Paul and we had a good time. It felt weird being on the Missionary side of things instead of the member, time goes so fast. Anyway, then later in the week we took the Elders we live with on exchanges for a little while and it went well. We are so busy!

Yesterday was amazing, Vicky was Baptised! The service went well, I got to conduct the music, it made me thankful for being in choir all those years! Everything went as planned, except that we couldn't get the boiler working so the font was cold! The spirit kept Vicky and Nigel, the man who Baptised her, warm. And we're excited because last week we were able to send in the details of Vicky's husband in Nigeria so the Missionaries there can start teaching him! I'm excited for Vicky and her whole family!

Our other investigators are doing well. Jamie McKeon is still going strong and is such an inspiration to us. I learn something from him every time we meet with him. He has such a strong faith in the Savior. As for our other investigators, we haven't been able to teach Bau since we gave him a Baptismal date to work towards. We're hoping and praying to find new investigators this week, so your prayers for that will be much appreciated. I know that we will see miracles as we all exercise our faith in behalf of the people of Rochdale!

Last week I got to go to my first Interviews and Training meeting since December when I went to the Isle of Man. It's like a mini Zone Conference where President Bullock interviews all of us and we receive training from him and the assistants. It was great to work with Elder Ayers again, I'm so blessed to have been trained by him. Anyway, they gave us some great training on teaching the Restoration. It was really powerful, the spirit was very strong as we used the tools and skills they helped us to practice and develop! I'll tell you more about that later.

Well, I guess that's about it for this week. I love being a Missionary, I will miss it so much when I'm done. This work is true and it has power to bring great blessings into our lives. I'm learning so much about the Gospel, myself, people, the world, everything. I love it so much. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world! We've been talking a lot about being a Sacred Missionary in the Mission recently, and I've really enjoyed it. I've realized, and I want you to know, that we have a Sacred Mission President here in the England Manchester Mission. He is one of a kind. I really could see him being a General Authority one day!

Anyway, the Gospel is true! Nothing else matters as much as the Gospel. The most important thing that ever happened in the world is the Atonement. The day that Christ was resurrected was the best day in the world. The second was the day that Joseph Smith first stepped into that grove of trees that we now call sacred, and prayed. The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is sacred and it is the second most important event in history. I know that it is true. Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and I love him for that. I'm excited for the day I will get to give him a big hug and thank him for all that he has done for us. Even more than that I'm looking forward to giving the Savior a big hug. I studied Elder Holland's talk from Conference about the Atonement this morning. That talk is powerful and it is true. I exhort us all to study it, as well as all of the General Conference talks. The living Prophets and Apostles of this Church are true and their power is real. They are inspired, if we listen to their counsel then we will be blessed. It's such a blessing to have a living Prophet of God on the earth today! The power of the Atonement is real though, and it has blessed my life so much, and continues to do so every single day as I live the gospel.

Well, have a wonderful week! Thank you again for all that you do for me, I cannot say it enough. You are such a blessing to me and to the people here who I get to serve. Keep up the amazing work, never give up on living the Gospel, and keep reading the Book of Mormon! I love you!

Love,

Elder Rowley

Truth, opposition and the plan of happiness

Date: Mon, Jun 8, 2009 at 7:44 AM
Subject: Hello!

Hello Again,

How is everyone this week? We're doing well here in Rochdale. Today the sun is shining which is good because we've missed it for a couple days. Overall it's feeling like summer now, last week we went 3 or 4 days in a row without wearing out suit coats! I like summer.

Everything is going well this week. We are teaching so many amazing people, and the members are getting excited about the work as well. Last week we taught 13 lessons with members present and no lessons without, it was incredible! They are really on fire here.

Vicky's Baptism is on Sunday, so I'll be telling you about it in the next e-mail! She is so amazing and she already has such a strong testimony. This morning we were going somewhere with a part-member Family and we saw Vicky walking down the street. We waved at her and she wasn't really smiling until she saw that it was us. It made us so happy to brighten her day!

Jamie is doing well also. He is working towards Baptism as well and is still scheduled for the 20th of June. We're excited for him. He has such a strong Faith in Christ and has all his life it seems. He's a great example to all of us and I learn so much from him every time we see him!

We still haven't been able to see our Fijian investigator since we dated him for Baptism. He needs some serious strength against opposition... we're hoping things improve for him and we can see him soon.

We are also teaching a young-woman from the Congo named Florence. Her parents were Baptised not too long ago and they are just a wonderful family. They speak mostly French, so it's difficult for them to understand us sometimes, but Florence speaks English really well so she can translate for her parents when they don't understand. She's been coming to Church more recently, and is even going to young-women! The ward here helps us out so much.

Kirsty is another investigator that we recently started teaching again. Her "partner" (means that they live together but aren't married, it happens a lot over here) wasn't too happy with her taking the lessons which is why they stopped teaching her before I got here. Now it seems like she doesn't care about the opposition, she just wants the Gospel so bad that she is willing to do anything for it. She already is so receptive to the spirit, in the first lesson we had with her last week we asked her to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and she did and got her answer and knows it's true! It's amazing, we're so excited to hopefully set a Baptismal date with her this week!

In other news, Zone Conference was amazing last week! We learned a lot and I really enjoyed the trainings, especially the ones from my trainer Elder Ayers. I also got to see Elder Llaguno and his new companion, Elder Frogeley, as well as Elder Larson, they are all doing very well! It was great to see all of them, I've really grown to love them so much.

Yesterday there was an amazing conference across the British Isles and Ireland. President Uchtdorf, Elder Anderson, and Elder Oaks (our area president) all spoke, it was great! I learned so much, and thanks to the amazing members here, Vicky, Jamie, Kirsty, and Leeroy and Louma were all able to come! They all enjoyed it very much and felt the spirit a lot!

Well, the Church is true. I grow in my testimony every single day and I love it so much. I think I've heard hundreds of objections to the Church so far, and I know for a fact that they are all dead wrong. Satan sure is good at getting lies into people's heads. We are so blessed to have the truth on the earth today. I testify that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was lost after the Apostles were killed. It was brought back with the Prophet Joseph Smith. If we aren't sure if Joseph Smith was a true Prophet of God, all we have to do is read the Book of Mormon. What a blessing it is to have evidence that every single person in the world can know for themselves that this Church is true. I know with all my heart that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It does bring us closer to God every time we read it. And as we become closer to God we are happier, we have more peace, and we are more prepared to live with our Families forever in His presence. I'm so thankful for the knowledge of the Plan of Happiness. I know that it is true. No other Church on the earth teaches the Plan of Happiness. Our brothers and sisters need the knowledge we have. Missionary work is one of the most important things we must do in life, and it will bring us great blessings! That is true. Never doubt that. Never doubt that if we pray for Missionary opportunities and experiences, they will come. Pray for strength to open your mouth. It will work. Prayer does work, and it does change things. No matter what anyone ever says, that is true. God lives and loves us. He does have a body and so does Jesus Christ. I'm thankful for that. I'm glad that we can understand our Father in Heaven and don't have to wonder or guess about him from false creeds that have been made up by men. His truth has been restored. Let us proclaim it!

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful day, week, month, and year. Keep being amazing and the Lord will bless you. Thank you for the blessings you have brought to my life. Don't you ever forget that the people here are being blessed for all that you do for me. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. Keep the letters coming. Heavenly Father knows I need your support. Pray for Missionary experiences. Please. I love you!

Love,

Elder Rowley

Don't forget to write!

Date: Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 4:47 AM
Subject: Hello!

Hello again Everyone!

What a crazy week it's been! I'm standing up in the mac store here in Manchester (the e-mail places in Rochdale aren't reliable at all). We've had to take the train here this morning to get our e-mailing done, it's been pretty fun! I love all of the adventures I'm having over here in England!

So how is everybody anyway? Enjoying the hot June weather?! We sure are. I've been wearing short-sleeved shirts for the past few days now, it's been so hot! It hasn't rained in a little while as well, that'll probably end in the next couple days! Anyway, I'm still loving Rochdale and I'm getting to know it and the people of it better and better every day.

I suppose that the biggest news of the week is that we had a Baptism on Saturday! 11-year old Loma Major was Baptised and it was amazing. Her Family all came which is great because they are kind of less-active. She also has a brother who was Baptised last month, so they will both be a great strength to their Family! The service went well and I was blessed with the opportunity of playing the piano for it! I should have learned the hymns better when I had the chance! It went well though. I also got to speak which I enjoyed as well. I'm so excited for Loma, she will make a great member of the Rochdale ward!

Our other investigators are doing very well. Vicky is still ready to be Baptised in a couple weeks on June 14 and is doing well in everything. She is so enthusiastic about everything, I love it! She's such a good example to everyone. Also Jamie is doing well with everything and is still ready to be Baptised on June 20. At Loma's Baptism he got excited and planned out his Baptismal service! It reminded me of myself when I was getting ready to turn in my Mission papers! He is a great young man and is also a great example to us all! Sadly, we haven't been able to teach the Fijian gentleman we have dated for Baptism on Independence Day at all since we saw him last week. Hopefully we can see him again soon. For Vicky pray that she will be ready for the 14th and that her Family in Africa will accept the Gospel also. For Jamie pray for him to have strength against temptation and be ready for the 20th. For Bau pray for him to be strong against the opposition that he is facing. Thank you for praying for our investigators, it truly brings to pass miracles here! Prayer works and changes things.

We still have so many other investigators that I simply don't have time to tell you about. I half expect that they will split this area soon and have another companionship here. We'll see. Hopefully over the next several weeks I will be able to tell you about all of the amazing people we're teaching.

Last week we were fed every single day except Monday and Saturday and it was amazing! The members here take such great care of us and our investigators, I'm so thankful for them. Never underestimate the great blessings that you can be to the Missionaries there! I think that my favorite dinner appointment we had was last night with the Spragg Family. They are amazing and they both (the parents) have amazing conversion stories that I'll have to tell you about another time. Brother Spragg has done Missionary work for us here, street contacting people and speaking with them on the bus and so many things. I believe that his efforts are a big part of why the work here is going so well. Again, you can be such a blessings to the Missionaries there, never forget that.

I don't know if I told you last week but we got to go to the Temple last P-day and it was amazing. I really needed it. I know that the blessings of the Temple are real and powerful and I'm so thankful for them. It did feel a bit strange to be back in Chorley though, it felt like I was going back home or something. I'm feeling more and more at home here every day, I love it!

Well, this e-mail is getting very long and that is only about half of my experiences in the past week. This work is so amazing and I love it so much. I know that the Church is true and that Jesus Christ is at it's head. The Book of Mormon is the word of God, never doubt that! It will change our lives every single time we read that, I'm a living testimony of that. Never underestimate the power of the word of God. Study it, Pray daily, and attend Church every single week and you will be built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. Remember Helaman 5:12? Satan will do everything he can to destroy us, and if we do these three simple things then we will not fall when he tempts us. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and Thomas S. Monson is a Prophet of God on the earth today. I'm so thankful to have living scripture. Listen to his words, we need them more than we know. Study the General Conference talks, they will change our lives as we give heed to the words of the living Prophets and Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. I know without a doubt that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior and that He died for every single one of us. The Church is true, without a shadow of a doubt, the Church is true!!

Anyway, have a wonderful week, I love you all so much. Your prayers are much needed, in my behalf and in behalf of those I teach and serve here in England. Being a Missionary is the best. Don't forget to write. Please. Thanks again for everything, keep up the great work! I love you!

Love,

Elder Rowley

Seems like serving in Africa

Date: Wed, May 27, 2009 at 8:42 AM
Subject: Hello from Rochdale!

Hello Everyone!

How are you all this week? How's Provo? Tell me everything. Rochdale is incredible and I love it already! We've had a great week and I'm excited to tell you about everything here, even though I still have a lot to learn.

Well, we do live just up the street from that Church that you were looking at on GoogleEarth, it's St. Chads - the Church of England. I've got some good pictures of it from our window that you'll have to see soon. The bells were going off last night and it sounded really amazing. Oh and we live with another companionship, Elders Hastings and Ward, both from Idaho. Elder Hastings is the District Leader and takes great care of us all! It's a lot of fun!

As for the work here, I love it. I feel like I'm serving in *Africa! Half of our investigators are African and they are just amazing people. We're even having a Baptism this weekend! Her name is Louma (pronounced Loma) Major. She is amazing and we are excited for her and her family. Then we are also teaching another African woman named Vicky who is dated for Baptism on June 13! She is so valiant, it's incredible. She won't let us leave her place without giving her something to read! And then we have Jamie McKeon who is also very valiant. It appears that his life has really turned around since he's been taught. He is dated for Baptism on the 20th of June and we are excited for him as well. We are also teaching a man named Bau who is from Fiji and is dated for Baptism on Independence Day! He is amazing as well, he told us that when he is Baptised he will probably be kicked out of his place by his friends that he is living with, but he just said that he was okay with that! It's all so amazing, that's only the tip of the iceberg. We had 8 investigators at Sacrament meeting this past Sunday and there are just so many more people I have to tell you about! We are so blessed here, it's a time of great harvest! I just hope and pray that I can remain worthy of it all!

Sorry to be so short but I've got to get going, we're almost out of time. The Church is true. There isn't any other true and living church in the world. We are the only restored Church in the world, every other Church is reformed, think about that. Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God and the Book of Mormon is evidence of that. I love the Gospel, it really is the only path to true happiness in this life and Eternal Life in the next!

I love you all so much. I'll write more next week, I promise. And it will be on Monday. Thanks so much for all that you do, it makes a massive difference in my life and in the lives of those I get to teach and serve here! Keep up the amazing work and keep the letters coming! I love you!

Love,

Elder Rowley


*prior to his call Luke really wanted to serve in Africa

Thankful I'm not perfect

Date: Thu, May 21, 2009 at 5:01 AM
Subject: What a Week!!

Hello!

How is everyone this week? Excited for summer? I sure am! It's getting warmer here and I like that.

Well, my time serving on the Isle of Man is over. I'm currently in Rochdale, which is just outside of Manchester. My new companion is Elder Winward from Salt Lake City and he is great! The work here is going amazingly well, we have 3 investigators dated for Baptism this transfer, and many others we're working with. It's going to be a busy week as I get to know and start teaching all of them! I'm so excited though.

As for my last week on the Isle of Righteousness... I mean Isle of Man, it was amazing! We got to do service for some members and helped the Allen's get in and settled and in the last couple days said goodbye to everyone. It was a lot of fun, and I'm going to really miss that blessed Island. Elder and Sister Allen (from Portland, Oregon by the way) are incredible and will take good care of it as well as Elder Llaguno and his new companion, Elder Frogeley, who was the assistant up until he went out there! And Guess who the new assistant is?! My trainer, Elder Ayers!! I'm so happy and excited for him. This means that I'll get to work a lot more closely with him and the other Missionaries, especially as I'm back on the Mainland! It's an exciting time, but I sure do miss the Isle of Man!

Yesterday was one of the craziest days of my mission. I went on the ferry completely alone then had to catch some trains to Manchester where I was literally found by a member family from Rochdale who drove another Elder and me there. It felt really weird to be alone, but I know it was approved by the Lord because it was approved by President Bullock!

And last night was absolutely AMAZING!! Here's the background story: The BYU Chamber Singers have been on tour here in the U.K. for the last 3 weeks. They got to do festivals in Ireland and did a lot of concerts here in England/Wales. I was a bit sad to see that they were coming because I was going to be on the Isle of Man and would miss the times that they would be here. (President Bullock gave approval for us to go with investigators if possible, but on the Isle of Man there was just no way we'd be able to go.) But there was a bit of hope because on transfer day (yesterday) I saw that they were going to be in Oldham and I thought maybe I'd be transferred to Oldham that day. Well, Rochdale just happens to be right next to Oldham, so we got to go to see one of the BYU Singers concerts!! It just happened to be their last, and as I said before, it was AMAZING!! The spirit was so strong, and I learned a lot from all of the pieces they sang. They even did a few pieces that I sang in Chamber Singers and Provo High! It was so exciting, I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father gave me that chance to do that.

It's been a pretty crazy couple of weeks, but the Gospel is still true. I'm so thankful to have a testimony of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. This morning in study I started a list of the blessings of the Atonement, and it's incredible the things that we can have from the Savior's sacrifice for us. I noticed though that every single one of the scriptures that I studied mentioned doing some part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Faith, Repentance, Baptism, etc.). I've learned that that is true, if we want to experience all of the blessings of the Atonement in our lives then all we have to do is live the Gospel. It's that simple and it's so amazing. And it's possible as well. This week I've been more and more thankful that I'm not perfect. Every day is a new chance to learn and to grow and to improve on what we did yesterday. Being perfect without experiencing any of this would be very boring. But I'm so thankful that through Jesus Christ we can become perfect and return to live with Heavenly Father again. I love this work and I know its true!! How are your Missionary experiences going by the way? They will come if you pray for them, I promise. I know that prayer does work, Heavenly Father really does listen and answer our prayers. I know that He did answer Joseph Smith's prayer by appearing to Joseph Smith with His Son, Jesus Christ, and that they called Joseph Smith to be a Prophet. He was and is a true Prophet of God and the Book of Mormon is how we know that. I'm so thankful for the restored Gospel!

Well, you are amazing people and I love you so much. Keep up the incredible work and please please keep the letters coming! Feel more than welcome to flood the postbox with letters this week! My new address is:

Elder Rowley
7 School Lane
Rochdale
OL16 1QB
England

Please write. Don't forget it. Thanks again for everything, I love you all so much. Have a wonderful week and keep having Missionary experiences!

Love,

Elder Rowley

Farewell Isle of Bliss Man

We probably won't hear from Luke until tomorrow, but we did get an e-mail from the Tricketts, who informed us that Luke will next be serving in a little place called Rochdale. I just liked reading that

It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch.

He certainly will be a lot closer to the rest of the mission now. I hope he loves it and feels as much at home there as he has on the Isle of Man.

More news soon...