The spirit of Thanksgiving

Mum,
Still looking, we've met some really great people and are working hard every day but there is still a lot of opposition. For two days straight every single appointment we had flogged us. It was lame! But we talked to a lot of people on the way and got appointments with even more people, who also flogged. Oh well we're still working hard! I finally got your package. Clif bars! Haha I was so excited! And that music that Steve sent is amazing. The Lower Lights Hymn Revival is great, I listen to it all the time and sing it in between (I've already apologised to Elder Jensen for it) We did have some great opportunities this week though. We met this girl from Botswana and taught her a really good lesson, by the end she wanted to know if she could meet the prophet. We looked at each other and said, "Sure!" It was exciting. Then we had a ward activity called, "Taste the World" where people brought food from all over the world. We have food from the Philippines, Africa, South America, and some English food too. It was really fun and the ward brought some nonmembers that we got to talk to. The food was really good too! There is some sad news though. There was a former investigator that Elder Jensen had taught before I got here who is in ICU for liver failure because she is an alcoholic. She probably won't live past this next week and we are trying to give her a priesthood blessing but the family might not let us. The other downside is that we taught one of her roommates who is having a hard time with it all and he was touched by the Spirit and said that he wanted to be baptised with her when she got better. We're praying for a miracle and that she will pull through and that we can baptise them both. We'll see what the Lord has in store for us though. Well I'd better crack on, hopefully I will get to a bookstore today and find you those books and maybe do a little more Christmas shopping but we shall see.

Love you all. Ing-at! (Tagalog for take care!)
Elder Rowley


It's the first picture and the house on the left. That very top window is my study window so you got it. If you go one street over onto Ring Road the chapel is on the corner of Kingswear Parade. I can see it from my window. I do have some pictures of the other houses though because I've been taking pictures of the fog in to mornings and that is right across the street from us. I'm excited for you to go to Duchesne. I was talking to President Lindley about deer hunting earlier in the week and if made me realise that this week was thanksgiving. Take a picture of anything you'd like, I'm just excited you're going. That will be really fun. On Thursday we'll probably be eating at a member's named Ilsy, she is from Africa and loves missionaries and the Filipinos come over and it is a right good time. If having thanksgiving with a Columbian, 3 Africans, and some Filipinos isn't in the Spirit of thanksgiving I don't know what is! Ya we have been working really hard to get Elder Jensen that baptism so I know that the Lord will make sure it happens in the end. This week has been mad though. For two days in a row every single person we tried to see flogged us (that's English for not showing up) but oh well. I am trying to learn how to work this area, it is quite different from Newcastle but it is a fun adjustment. When you move an area you tend to loose a lot of fears and try a lot of new things so that's what I've been trying to do. It is really fun but hopefully we get more effective about it. We had a great activity at the church called "taste the world" and there were lots of foods from different places and it was really fun. The members brought some nonmembers too so I was a great night. We were hoping all those people would come to church with us on Sunday but we were disappointed to have nobody there. Oh well I guess we will have to work in degrees. This week was a major improvement from last week and I know we can do better and better. President Lindley gave us some training on Thursday morning and he said the he could look at his board of missionaries and pick out those that he could put anywhere with anyone and after three weeks they would be reaching the standards for the mission (it's what the mission president expects of our key indicators like lessons with members and church and stuff) and they will baptise after 6 weeks. I think that we can do that here in Leeds 4 and get it just in time for Elder Jensen to for sure be here for it. So while this week wasn't everything that we wanted it to be it was a major improvement from last week. All we can do is take it one day at a time and we'll be able to look back and see our progress. It's like you always taught me about taking tests, just one question at a time. I did have an extraordinary experience this week when we gave a member a blessing. Other than her name being really long and in Portuguese it was great. It is amazing to be able to feel the Spirit work through you in a such a powerful way. We are hoping to give a blessing to an investigator in the ICU with liver failure that I told mum about. She will probably die but we wanted to do all that we could to help her and have her and her friend be baptised together. That is one of our biggest goals this week. Well for Christmas I'm not really bothered. If you think of anything I might like send it my way but don't worry about anything. Mum sent some music from Steve Vistaunet that is amazing so I should be set but if there are any books that you could think of I could read that would be great, (I've been trying to read in my spare time at the flat and it is really fun, I'm almost half done with Jesus the Christ and wanted to read Articles of Faith but I don't have one) so that is all I could think of. I'm just like you though, I couldn't really care so I'm a pain to shop for! But if you'd like anything let me know! Love you dad. I'll miss you during Thanksgiving but shoot a muskrat for me this year!
Elder Rowley