Deliver me

Ya, Luke was right about Halloween here, it was pretty lame. They didn't even make us come in early because nobody really does anything anyways. It was pretty crazy yesterday though because it was a Darvy match which is a rivalry game. Newcastle played Sunderland which is like the biggest rivalry in the North of England. There were so many people in the city centre it was amazing. It was just a flood of white and black (the newcastle uniform). Its pretty neat though, the mascot of Newcastle are the magpies. But that was a crazy thing that happened this week. this week was really up and down though. We had two really really good days and the rest were either really bad or alright. I'm gonna focus a lot on working hard though. Hopefully we'll be blessed for it! There was one instance I think I will tell you about though. So this ward has a member who is 94 years old (95 this month) and she feeds the missionaries all the time. She is just a little old lady but she cooks really good food and is a real riot. She tells the funniest stories too but the best thing happened last time we were there. I had heard that Minnie (her name is Minnie Selkirk) liked to dance and that she had a frog that if you pushed its hand she would dance to it. So this time I found the frog and pushed its hand. What happened next I was not expecting. The frog was dressed in like hip-hop stuff and started playing a rap song. Minnie starts dancing and it was the funniest thing I've ever seen. She dances like a gangster! She was really good too, she did like this shuffle and it was soo funny. She is a real joy to be around. I need to start taking advantage of my mission cause its going by took quick. I might leave Newcastle next week! Transfers are almost here and it has gone by too fast. That's something I'll be working on. Well I got to go dad, we're going to holy island today! Hopefully I'll see a puffin! I'm so excited. Well dad, I love you. Keep up the good work and I'll talk to you next week.
Love, Elder Rowley
(oh ya, there is another Elder Rowley in the mission serving a mini mission so I might get a nametag with a Z on it. haha!)


That's a great picture of all those kids. I sure do miss them all, but oh well. They will just be older and funner when I get home. Halloween in the UK was a bit lame but we are both doing really well. And for Christmas I think I might just buy some things out here. Transfers are next week so today I think I'm going to try and use my card and buy a Newcastle football top or something. Just thought I'd warn you. I don't wanna buy that much stuff but football tops are always fun. Well this week has been a good one but it has been difficult. I'll just tell you about our Saturday which was amazing. So the main reason that it was amazing is because we were diligent every minute of the day. We were absolutely knackered when we came home but it was definitely worth it in the end. We went street contacting in the morning and then dropped by this woman who gave us her address. Turns out she gave us the wrong address but the person who lived there took a Book of Mormon and became a new investigator! Then we went knocking until 5 0'clock and it was amazing. We found loads of new investigators and it really made our whole week because we'd had some terrible days. I'm still a bit upset about that but there is nothing we can change except the future! Today was an amazing example of that. We met with Lee at 5 o'clock and we realised how much he cares for his family. He is finally beginning to understand tithing and said he will talk about baptism with his parents. I would be so happy to see him baptised! Then we went and saw this woman named Kathy who was taught in the 80s, she is really spiritually sensitive and is was great the first time we met her but since then it has been alright. Her dog died this week so we were afraid that she would only talk about that and it wouldn't be a very good lesson. But we were blessed and we talked about lots of the Plan of Salvation and she is believing it all and the spirit is with her when we teach her. We were also able to give her a blessing and her whole countenance changed afterwords, it was like she was 20 years younger! It was great and then we started walking home when something amazing happened. It was the night before Halloween and there were some people who were having parties on this street and this woman wobbles over to us with 2 kids in arm and collapses crying into my arms. I just stood there with a blank look on my face as Elder Wheeler tried talking to her. She was crying really hard and we calmed her down a little and sat her down in front of a house (it ended up being her house). I had no idea what to do or say and kinda just sat there as Elder Wheeler was asking her questions. Her little girl opens the post slot of their door and yells in, "Daddy, the police are here" So I started panicking afraid that the dad would flip out on us but when we told the woman we weren't police she said, "I know, you're from the church of Mormon, you were here the other day. I just need to hear some verses out of the bible" So we look at each other with blank faces and start flipping through our book of mormons. Later Elder Wheeler told me that the only thing he could think of was 1 Nephi 3:7 which he had been trying to memorise that day. So I start looking through frantically not thinking of anything when her little girl says, "Mommy, my daddy hit you" So we started realising what was really going on. I still had no idea what scripture to read when I had a thought to turn to 2 Nephi 4. Now this wasn't a strong spiritual prompting but a thought that came into my mind. So I opened it up and read to her from verse 30.

Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.
31 O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul? Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin?
32 May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite! O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may walk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road!
33 O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way—but that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy.
34 O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.
35 Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I bask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen.

It was crazy because as soon as I started reading the verses (which happened to be perfect and even end in amen) the Spirit took over. I wasn't worried anymore about what her husband would do or what was going on, everything just came very naturally. I asked her if we could pray for her, got her phone number to check up on her, put a book mark where we read and gave her the book. It was so simple and felt so natural, it was crazy. It was a real testimony of the Lord prompting us in ways we don't expect, through simple thoughts and actions he paves the way for us. It was pretty crazy. Well that was our miracle for the week. I'll hopefully have more next week but I gotta go. Love you mum.
Elder Rowley