It really is a worldwide church

This week has been really good. It went by fast just like they always do though! My ankle and finger are fine and now I have no excuses not to get to work! Its good to hear that Matt is doing well, he will be a great missionary. The other day I was thinking about the Barrys and how amazing it would be to have them as mission presidents but I know I'll feel the same way with mine as soon as I get to know them a little more. Its good to hear that everyone is going great. Things here are pretty amazing, we are teaching people from so many places! So far we've taught people from Nigeria, Angola (Portuguese speaking), Czech, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Norway, The Congo, China, and of course English. Its pretty amazing how many different languages the Book of Mormon comes in, we brought one in Bengali to some people from Bangladesh and they were amazed we had it! That's probably been the most amazing thing I've noticed, how many different people live here! Last night we ate dinner with a family where the husband is Persian so we ate Persian food and Indian food. It was really good. It was also funny because their baby had Bob the Builder toys and they all thought it was funny that I knew all the names. Thanks Kyle! I also had my first Kabab! It was enormous, and really good. I took pictures but still haven't thought of how to send them.... I think next week I'll bring my camera to the library and sent a couple pictures. I mostly have pictures of our flat because I don't take my camera out in the days but I think I might every now and then. Our flat is getting more and more amazing though. I don't know if I already said this but we turned our glass table into a ping pong table and moved it in the front room. Then we took the couch from the front room and put it in the kitchen. I'll send those pictures next time. Oh I was gonna ask if you would put another name in the temple this week his name is Steve (don't know his last name) and he is from Nigeria. He is going to school and just got married and he and his wife and his whole flat are scheduled to be baptised. The only problem is that you are not supposed to work more than part time as a student from a different country and he was 2 hours over last week. Because of this he might be deported which would be really bad because he won't be able to get a good enough job to support his family. As a part of their culture they are also responsible for their parents, so there are two families depending on him getting an education and a job. Just keep him in your prayers for me. Well that's about it, I'll talk to you next week!

Everything is fine this week. I've always bounced back from things pretty quick anyways but I'll still try and be careful. Whenever I tell people about all the things that happen I tell them that somebody must not want me on a mission! That just gives me all the more reason to be here in my eyes! Ya running was never my favorite, in the mornings I play tennis with one of the zone leaders and we usually run to the court. Its not very far but he usually is far ahead of me. I'm really glad there will still be Barrys in the ward, I really like Mark and Katie and Matt will be an amazing missionary. That's really funny about the Alligator at the Barry's in Florida. I'm convinced God didn't send me somewhere like that because I would spend too much time with the animals and not enough time working! Speaking of animals, over here they have Wood Pigeons which I think I told you about in an earlier e-mail. They are all over the place and are really big, there are also plenty of normal pigeons here too. Its a little reminder of home everywhere I look! Good old Spencer Thomas is going to California then eh? He'll be a good missionary. That reminds me, this week I'm going to take a picture in front of something and I need you to take it to the Crookstons for me. Is that OK? I just see this poster everywhere and it reminds me of them so I'll attach it next week. Thanks. I think about the ward all the time. I really miss being in such a small and tight-knit ward but I just think that that is what we're trying to build here! The ward is really good here and I've felt welcome from the minute I've been here. Yes I did get the driver's licence (that's really how they spell it over here) and thank you. I was surprised to open it because I look a lot older in it. Oh well go figure. That's something Shae told Aaron when he got back from his mission. "You looked like a little boy when you left and now you look like a man" We'll see if that's true, hopefully. No we don't go to the ocean but maybe one of these p-days we will. Speaking of p-day, its slowing drifting away! So i'm gonna go have some fun and get a haircut! Thanks for all the snail mail, it makes my day and I read them all the time, none of it ever feels preachy and everything I read helps me to be a better missionary. This week i'm gonna focus on serving my companion and being the best companion I can be!

Wish me luck, love you!
Elder Rowley

life over the sandwich shoppe

Opposition: ankle better, finger dislocated

Haha, ya this week has been really good. Time has really picked up and yesterday I've been gone a month! It pales in comparison to Jon's 8 months though... Oh well. Ya Adam is great, he's 20 and going on a mission next year so we get on really well. Its fun to work with all the members here because they really want to reach out because the ward is so small. My ankle is fine now and gets better everyday so thanks for the prayers and you don't have to worry about me so much. It does feel like somebody doesn't want me out here though, right after we e-mailed we went and played games at our church. We were playing dodge ball and it was the last throw and if i caught it we would win so I did and when I caught the ball I heard a cccrrack! I looked down to see my poor pinkie crumpled up and dislocated! After a few attempts from different people Elder Swain popped it back in and now its fine. He said I probably shouldn't play anymore though so I wrote Rachiel, started writing home and ran out of things to say. (I'll finish it today). I guess one of the people we are teaching I could tell you about is named Steve. He's from Nigeria and just barely brought his wife back from Nigeria too. We taught him the first lesson and scheduled him to be baptized but Steve and Agnus came to church yesterday! And he had a bunch of questions but said we could answer them when we came back or at church next week, we didn't even have to ask him to come back! Well I'm really sad to hear about Brother Oldroyd, tell him he was always one of my favorite people in the ward and that I love him. I'll be praying for him. Thanks for keeping me updated on the animals, I sometimes worry about them but I know it will all work out.

Yup, that's our flat. We live with the zone leaders like a said which can be really fun most of the time. Nights are really different though because everybody is calling people and getting key indicators and stuff. The other day Elder Swain came home and had us all help him and we converted our dinning room table into a table tennis table! We're gonna be real great by the time we all go home. As for my ankle it is doing fine. The bruising on my toes already happened and we were afraid that meant it was getting worse so i'm glad to hear that's supposed to happen. I'm also glad you told me to stay off of it for a couple weeks because I was running on it earlier today. Did I tell you that we have a tennis court near our flat and some mornings we go play? I'm still carefull but I'd like to play everyday, usually we just lounge about during exercise every morning and it makes it hard to stay awake during study time. Did i tell you about the people i met in church last week from Provo? He worked for the track and she was on the team, they said they know Coach Robison and that they were there for a track meet. I can't remember if I told you that. The language really isn't that hard to understand, except maybe when people are yelling at you. That happened this week. This man started chasing off his property with a brick and yelling at us and Elder Thorup. That was earlier in the week and its been much much better since then. Like I said last time, the members are fantastic and Adam added mom on facebook. We were in the car waiting for Elder Thorup and the ward mission leader and I got to thinking and said do you have facebook? And he said yes and i told him to add mom, it was pretty funny. One last thing I wanted to tell you about happened two days ago. We sometimes go over to a recent convert's house and visit with her and her three kids (I may have mentioned her before, her name is Sonia and she has four kids, Les, Jade, Jason, and Adeena) but she called us on Friday and said she wasn't going to be able to come to church that week. We called her and it turns out her husband flipped that night and smashed a bunch of stuff in their house and got arrested. Well we went over and helped her clean it all up and it was a mess, but then her husband came home! It wasn't anything scary it was just like he'd been arrested for another reason. I think it may have happened before or he may have some condition or something. But the best part was that we got to give her a blessing of strength and comfort. It was really good. I'm really sad to hear about Bud Oldroyd and the Cuell family. He has always been one of my favorite people in the ward and I will keep him in my prayers. Well its nice to hear that Lindsay and Kyle are doing well. Tell them they can e-mail me whenever they want. Somedays I forget about home and other days its a little harder so I'm gonna try and work much harder.

Love you.
Elder Rowley

please keep the prayers and letter coming

Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:41:04 +0100
Subject: Re: 7/8/2010

To Shane:

Ya I'm here alright and by here I mean in Newcastle. My address is 1A Henry Street Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 1DQ. They say to send letters to the mission office (the lister hill address) just in case i have to move. I guess i'll clear up the ankle stuff right from the beginning. Well we were playing football on the very last day at the MTC and remember how i hurt my foot playing basketball like 2 months before. Well i did the same thing chasing after a ball, it felt fine and i just walked it out because they told us if anyone got hurt they would murder us and make us sit through the mtc 3 week session again. So i hid it and then felt that i should tell Sister Clegg after the temple because I was having a hard time walking. She gave me some Ibuprofen and I left to come out here. The bad news is that it is getting worse, it was black for the first few days but the bruising there went away. The only problem is that the bruising is coming at my toes and on the other side of my foot. I think I will go to the doctor today while everyone else is playing games. My companion is Elder Peter Thorup from Taylorsville, Utah and we live with the zone leaders, Elders Swain and Black. They are all really cool and its interesting to see all the numbers that come into our flat.

I've actually been real suprised that I've been homesick, in the MTC i didn't even think about home. I think that being out here and being rejected by the majority of people just brings you down and its hard to feel wanted or loved. That's why i'm so glad there are zone leaders in our flat, Elder Swain says that i can talk to him anytime i have a problem. The ward is also an amazing place to feel welcome. Although it is teenie. Our goal is to get as many investigators at church as possible so we're going to try to invite 30 people to church every day. Lets see how it goes. Newcastle is amazing though, full of students and lots and lots of people. I've never seen so many people in my life, its hard to realise (english spelling) that they are all God's children and they all need to hear the message of the Restoration. I hope that my testimony gets stronger so I have the faith that we can help everyone. President Lindley is really great too, we ate at his house with all us greenies and the Assistants and it was really great. Sister Lindley is really really nice. She made the costumes for a bunch of Church movies. President Lindley also is way into motorcycles. He showed us a picture of him with his custom chopper and he has a sword on the back, he's a real neat guy. Like I said the work could be going a lot better but there are still two people that we've scheduled for baptism. Elder Thorup invites everyone to be scheduled on the first appointment (sometimes i feel like it is a bad idea but sometimes it is really good) and we scheduled Stuart and Steve. Steve is from Nigeria and said he would come to church next week with his wife and Stuart said he would come too. We just have to have the faith that they will. I realised that faith is really the most important thing about having investigators improve. We have to believe that when they say they will do something they will do it, doubt does nothing. Well I'd better e-mail Mom and clear up this ankle mumbo-jumbo. Keep the prayers and the letters coming! I never thought I would say that on my mission but if its hard it must mean someone is trying to keep me back! Take care of the animals for me, Love you,

Elder Rowley

To Dalene:

I'm good, I told dad the story of my ankle but you probably deserve to hear it too. I hurt it playing basketball a while back and when we were playing football I landed wrong and hurt it again. I didn't think it was a major problem and was afraid that Bishop Pattendon would murder me if i was really hurt so i didn't tell anyone. But after we went to the temple i decided it would probably be best to tell Sister Clegg so I did and she gave me some drugs and ice. It has been getting better and better since then until this morning. The brusing had just about gone away but this morning the bruising was getting worse around my toes and on the inside of my foot. I will probably go to a doctor today. If it is broken then i probably won't be sent home, i might just have to work in the office for a while. My companion is Elder Peter Thorup from Taylorsville, Utah and we get along for the most part. We live with the Zone Leaders Elder Swain and Elder Black. I sent dad the mailing address so he will look it up on Google earth so you can see our flat. Its pretty cool, its on top of a sandwich shop and our front porch is a roof. Even though that is my address they say to still send post to the mission office just incase i get transfered or have to work in the office for a while. Luke doesn't really talk with a British accent he speaks more south than north anyways. He has the rythmn of the natives but he says all his t's and stuff. He also talks really quiet. It was good to see him though and work with him too. They even got to eat with us at the MTC, we had fish and chips. The mission president is amazing and his wife is really nice and spritual. We ate sloppy joes at their house with the greenies and the Assistants to the President and then had a testimony meeting. It was really good. The people are pretty much anything and everything mixed together. There isn't really a typical person in Newcastle. Everyone looks different, talks different, or dresses different. It may just be because there is a university here but it is really diverse. The accent isn't really that hard to pic up on except with little kids it is kinda hard to understand but we don't talk to many anyways. We did help at a primary school carnival on saturday though. We helped a member named Sonia and her 4 kids, Les (oldeset son), Jade (oldest daughter), Jason, and Adeena. They were all really funny and came to church with us too. Thanks about the picture stuff I haven't really cracked out my camera since I got to newcastle but i took some pictures at the MTC. Independance Day at the MTC was really great, it was fast sunday so the chef (Luca) decided to make an American Barbeque along with what he'd already made. I ate soo much. Our table of four had probably 12 plates on it and we were really sleepy for the rest of the day. Well thanks for all the prayers and the mail, i feel like i need them both which is weird for me so keep 'em coming. Take care of everything back home for me cause two years will go fast and i expect everything to be the exact same as when i left it. Look out for the cats for me and let me know if anything happens. Thank you so much mom, I love you.

Elder Rowley

Classic Zack

Date: Tue, Jul 6, 2010 at 1:47 PM
Subject: Re: Happy 4th of July!


Well today was the last day at the MTC. We leave tomorrow morning and they dunno when P-day so they let us e-mail tonight. Oh and my ankle might be broken so........ goodbye!

Dear Family,

Dear Family,

Well I figured I might as well try and write at least once before I leave the MTC. Even though I'll probably be gone by the time this letter gets here. Thanks for all the letter, it has been great to hear from everyone. It's funny, I usually get a letter every day and I'm the last one to know. Everybody rushes to check the mail before lunch and they're all upset that I have one. It's funny cause I could go either way but it upsets everyone else. So keep 'em coming. I'm not really sure what all to write because I'll answer all your e-mails once a week. Oh well I'll figure something out. The MTC is really great though., the first day super long, I think we were all awake for like 40 hours that day. There are 33 of us here and it's great. i know everyone by name and friends come easy and friends come quick. I already told you about my companion Elder Gardner and we live with our district leader Elder Horner and his companion Elder Erickson. We are in the Helaman district and our teachers are Brother Loynes from Wales and Brother Goble from Liverpool I think. It's funny because most of the teachers went on missions to the British Isles and they are all from here. The other weird thing is that everyone in the MTC is American. I hope it’s not like that in the field. Classes are amazing and everything you could ask for. The teachers are funny, they tease us about being American, we tease them on being British, and best of all the Spirit is always here. The first couple of lessons we had talked all about the work in England, especially how a ‘Second Harvest’ has been prophesied and yet to come. Brother Loynes tells us that we have the authority and prophecy that we can baptize millions. That’s written in our district room. I believe we can do it. It will take a lot of prayers though : ). We went on a ‘finding’ activity last Friday which meant they took us street contacting in Manchester. Brother Loynes had told us there were no morals left in Britain and the people can tell and they are looking for something to fix it. Boy is that apparent when you hit the streets. Everybody smokes. There were probably only 3 people we saw who weren’t. When we asked some peole what they believed in they said drinking and smoking. It’s hard to watch. Edler Gardner and I fasted and prayed the day before if we would be led to people who were prepared to be taught and we did. We talked to maybe 10 pople that day and gave everyone some sort of church literature, whether it was a pamphlet or a Book of Mormon. We got the numbers of 2 people and left a good impression on everyone we met. It was really hard at first, but it got easier after the first one. Th way they teach us to talk to people reminds me about that ‘Robots’ movie, “See a need, fill a need.” All we’re doing is finding out what’s wrong with people and then helping them out. It’s amazing what people will tell you about themselves right there on a street corner. I think it’s because they’re too surprised and taken aback to come up with a lie, so they just tell the truth. The biggest problem we had that day was switching to teaching them something. As soon as they stopped talking about themselves they stopped listening. It got better since then, but it is still a hard thing to do. Well now I know why all Luke took pictures of was the food. It’s the only time we’re allowed to use our cameras! Oh, and it’s really good. No news on any weight gain, I gain and drop at least 2 lbs. before and after every meeting. You should see Sister Clegg’s face when I tell her I’ve dropped 2 lbs. during personal study. I told her “Bet you didn’t think I was that good at studying.” Well every day I feel more and more like I’ve got a special work to do out here. I don’t have enough paper to tell you all about it, but when I get home I’ll have figured it all out and tell you then. No sign of Luke yet but word on the street says I’ll be knocking doors with hin on Friday. But once again I’m the last to know. Oh well I guess I’ll find out soon enough. Today we went on the church history tour, it was cool. The farms out here are amazing, I took lots of pictures but don’t know how/if I’ll send them today. It’s about time to go get a haircut (even though I don’t need it) and then e-mail. We might even get to play some futball!! Well, keep an eye on all the animals for me, especially Lindsay and Kyle. Well God lives and watches us and will do whatever we ask as long as it's His will. We've pretty much got it made! Love you all. --Elder Rowley
p.s.
Mom- Swans come very winter to the MTC pond
Dad- Did you know every swan in England is property of the queen?