New Comp!

Papanwa,
Well transfers were just as I predicted, for once! But
there were a couple of things that I couldn't have seen coming. So
Elder Woodbury left as we all thought he would but you will never
guess where he's gone. He moved one area to the left and is now
serving in Newcastle! His companion is Elder Vahine from Tahiti, he's
only been a member for like 2 years and he is amazing. It's so funny
that he's only moved one area over, oh well that should make the move
easier for him. I did get a new companion though and his name is
Elder Andrew Hubbard from Fort Smith, Arkansas. He came out with
Elder Stevenson so just one transfer after I did. He's served in like
5 areas though so he'll probably know more about the work than I do.
It'll be pretty fun though. I don't know much about him except that
he ran track in high school. He was pretty good as well, his 400 time
was 48 seconds. Apparently he's talked to Coach Robison from BYU. Is
that Isaac's dad or his Grandad. I couldn't remember. So ya that's
what happened with transfers. We've also got a great new zone leader
named Elder Thomas. He is amazing. I've served around him before and
he has a great story and everything, I get to talk to him every night
because I follow-up with him. I'm really excited for how things are
gonna go here for the next month or so. Hopefully we see some
baptisms, it's been a while since I was there for a baptism. There are
a couple of people I taught previously who are getting baptised in
other areas but we haven't seen one here in a while! But ya that's
really all there is to report.... I love you Dad. Thanks for sending
all the pictures and stuff, they make my day every time I read them.
Take care and I'll talk to you next monday! Love you
Elder Rowley
ps-Lindsay needs to get to bed earlier. She's e-mailing me right now
because she says the house is too cold and she's trying to get warm!
(sent at 3:38am our time)

Mum,
Ya it was really fun talking on the phone with ya'll. But I'm
gonna be honest it wasn't as weird as it was in the past. I've heard
that is true with the whole phoning home thing, after a while you just
want to get back to work. (here he mentions a few things about next summer)
I'll probably stay at home for another year as well
which will be fun. But enough of this trunky thought, back to
missionary work! Well we had our transfers on Monday night and we all
got a big surprise. Elder Woodbury has left us here in North Shields
but the surprise was that he just went to Newcastle! Haha, I couldn't
stop laughing! He's serving with a missionary from Tahiti and they
live with the Zone Leaders. We also got a new zone leader named Elder
Paris Thomas. I've served around him and know him pretty well so this
month is gonna be really exciting. If you check out mormon.org he's on
there. The church is filming his mission as well for a program about
missionaries that's gonna be on ABC sometime. That's pretty tight but
either way he is the most humble missionary I have ever seen. It's
great here. So my new companion is Elder Andrew Hubbard from Fort
Smith, Arkansas. He came out one transfer after me and has had more
areas than I have. So he'll probably be showing me a thing or two.
He just got here yesterday so I don't really know much about him... He
is from a family of 5 and his younger sister is going to BYU right now
but that's about all I know. Things are going really well here and
we're getting excited for this month. We are hoping to have 4
baptisms here. It's a very high goal but we're gonna do our best to
make it happen. Well there isn't much else to report on because we
spoke about most everything on Sunday. I'll look forward to hearing
from you on Monday though. Love you loads mum, thanks for everything.
Take care!
Elder Rowley

A little snow but not cold at all

Mum,
What?S?!?! I can't believe they are all home, I'm tripping
out. That's ridiculous. I really don't know what to say, I'm just
gonna forget about it. No regrets, they're stuck at home now! Well
this week was amazing. Our Portuguese friends came to church. She
brought her two kids and they all really enjoyed it. They are great.
The lesson was on the word of wisdom which we hadn't taught yet, but
it went well. We're seeing her later today so we'll see how it
actually went. They are so amazing. I feel so blessed that the Lord
sent me here because he knew there would be people I could teach and
baptise. Last week she told us she is quitting her job at the new year
so she can take care of her son. He's 9 and has speech problems so
when he has to go to child care while she working he gets picked on.
She told us she'll be able to come to church every week. We almost
did a backflip and then invited her to be baptised next month. She is
amazing, I hope everything goes well and that we get to teach even
more of her Portuguese friends. Also that woman who came to church
but then went down to see her mum who died last week went to church
down there. She really enjoyed it all and will be back on the second
of january. Hopefully she can get baptised next month as well. From
the looks of it there are a bunch of people who can get baptised next
month, we're really really excited about it. We just have to make
sure that we're humble and seek help from the Lord. I really want to
find more people so we don't go into a slump of baptising and then not
baptising like some areas do. I love it though. Christmas is gonna
be fun, we're spending the morning with the Bishop. That's something
they do every year here and it sounds pretty good, the bishop is
amazing in this ward. As far as weather goes, it snowed two days ago
but it was gone before we left the flat. It's not even cold. I don't
think I'll even need to wear a coat! Its sounds like Grandma Jacobs
really isn't doing well at all. I'll pray for her. I still have a
picture with her and I remember dad told me that it might be the last
time I'll see her. Oh well, she needs to be with Grandpa Jacobs.
That would be a long time to wait... Oh and yes I did get the other
Christmas stuff. It was perfect, that is everything I could have ever
wanted. The CD is amazing and the ornaments are perfect. I look
through them almost daily. I still don't know how you got some one
them like the one from Dan's mission in Brazil and such. But it
really was just what I needed this Christmas. Oh and I got a letter
from Rachiel saying that she's turning in her papers soon. Is that
the one you were talking about? It's gonna be pretty neat if they all
go on missions before I get home. I guess Christmas is gonna be a
suprise for all of you because I have no idea when I'll call. The
morning probably but we'll see, I never plan that far in advance.
Well mum I think that is everything for me. I love it here so much, I
wish I could stay forever. Tell Jon and Joe to save some fun for me
for when I get home but tell them they are already missing out on
mission fun. I love you mum, take care!
Elder Rowley
ps-Please thank Clayton and Lauren for me. That's really nice of
them, you can put it in the suit money and we'll see what happens.
Love you!

Dad,
I don't really know what to say. I can't believe that Joe is
home now too! I'm really in shock with all of
it. Sounds like Jon's talk went well though. I can't believe you
recorded it! Of course I want you to send it, send it as soon as
possible! That's probably the best Christmas present I could get
other than the stuff mum already sent me. The stuff she sent was
really really good. I hope they adjust really well, I also hope they
leave some fun for us all to do together. I can't imagine what it
will be like going home in the end. It was really strange hitting my
18 month mark but I'm gonna try my hardest. I sent my mission
president a list of things that I'm committing to do before I got
home. Hopefully he remembers and can hold me to them all before I
finish. But all it all things are going really well. Our Potuguese
friends made it to church yestereday. She brought her 2 kids and they
all really enjoyed it. The only hitch was that the lesson was on the
Word of Wisdom and he hadn't taught any of it yet. Oh well, we'll see
her today and find out how it went. Her kids did really well at
church though, I was really impressed. Another crazy miracle with her
though is that she is quiting her job. That means she can come to
church every week and hopefully get baptised next month. Its super
exciting, one of her kids will be able to get baptised as well, I'm
stoked. Another miracle came from that woman I talked about a couple
of weeks ago whose mum died. She went to church down south and really
enjoyed it. She gets back on the 2nd of January. I'm just conscious
of how much time left I have on the computer so I'll warn you I might
end abruptly. So things are going really well here, I love it. This
ward is amazing and we're looking to have a couple of baptisms next
month, its great. Christmas will be really fun, we're going to the
bishops. Dunno when I'll call but it'll be before you get to church.
Take care of grandma jacobs for me, I remember last time I saw her you
told me it might actually be the last time I'd get to see her. Oh
well, I'd be ready to be with my spouse as well if I were in her
shoes. Don't worry about me getting 'trunky' as they call it. Send
me all the pictures you want and I definitely want Jon's talk. Haha, I
still can't believe that. Well Dad I think that's all for me. I love
you so much, take care of yourself. Merry Christmas and I'll talk to
you on Sunday. Love you Bye!
Elder Rowley

Amazing!

Dad,
Happy Anniversary! Sounds like you had a good time. I'm glad you're
enjoying being a high councilor, it must be a handful sometimes. Ya I
know Elder McKay. He's a zone leader right now and his ward has
baptised 30 Slovakians this year. He's doing really really well.
That's really funny, what is the missionary's name anyways? I'll see
Elder McKay in a week so I can tell him about it. Good times. And
I'm glad Jon is staying out of trouble. I can imagine him wanting to
be back in Chile, we just barely sent off two missionaries for America
this morning. I can't believe it. That will be so weird. Speaking
of weird. Do you realise that my 18 month mark is next Sunday. I
don't know what I'm going to do. I barely made it through my year
mark, oh well. This week has been a really good one but it went
really fast and I don't have much to report on. We had an amazing
experience this last week though. We are teaching a woman from
Portugal that has 2 kids and she is amazing. She was taught like a
year ago but the elders stopped going by because she worked a really
difficult work schedule. We went by her and she has still been
reading the Book of Mormon. We took a member from Arizona who served
his mission in Brazil and it was sweet. She told us how she is amazed
that the Book of Mormon is so spiritual. She has noticed that she has
more patience with her children when she reads and also that she will
say a prayer and then read the Book of Mormon and find an answer. It was amazing and one of the most spiritual lessons, which is also amazing because we've been having loads of those recently. It was
amazing. I don't really know what else to write, the weeks seem to
just fly by. I can't believe that i only have 6 months left. Oh
well, I'm gonna stop thinking about it. Well that's about it. I love
you so much Dad. Thanks for everything, have a good week!
Elder Rowley

Mum,
This week has been a blast but it also went by really quick.
Also, I don't have much time to write sorry! I haven't gotten any of
the other stuff yet but I might have it by tomorrow or something, no
bother. Things are doing really good. We've got a couple of people
who are really really close to baptism but just need a couple of
things to work out before they can get baptised. We had a really
amazing experience with a woman from portugal!! We took a member who
speaks portuguese (served his mission in Brazil) and it was amazing.
She said that she knows the Book of Mormon is true and it was
amazing, the spirit was so strong and we took that member and his
wife. They were the same ones that fed us thanksgiving dinner. It
was such an amazing teaching appointment. She also has two kids, one
is 9 and the other is 4 or something. They are so much fun and all
they need is for her to get a job where she doesn't work weekends and
then I think she'll be baptised. It is amazing. The week really
seemed like it just flew by and I don't remember anything else we can
update you on. But I can't believe how soon Christmas is coming up,
next Sunday will be my 18 month mark. It's gonna be pretty crazy.
Well mum, I don't think there is anything else. I love you so much.
Happy anniversary! Take care!
Elder Rowley

Teaching by the spirit

Mum,
Fun fun fun. I totally want to do a road trip to see all the
family after I get home. Probably the summer after, I'll just pile
in the car with whoever wants to go and make the whole trip!! Well not
too much time to think about that one. Gavin is sooo huge though!
That's really good. And it looks like Justin is doing well with the
No Shave November! I'm glad you got to spend some time there. I got
your Christmas CD, it is really good. Thanks so much, some of the
songs I thought I was home though! Haha, it was good. This week has
been really good. It's crunch time to make the miracles happen and boy
and they coming along. We've had some really neat experiences these
last couple of days, it seems like every appointment we go into is an
outpouring of the Spirit, I love it. I'll share a couple with you and
then one with Dad. I'm sure you'll spread them around though, just use
discretion. So I was on exchange with an Elder from
England and he just served in Sheffield where they are teaching loads
of eastern europeans. There is one ward that has had 31 baptisms this
year and most of them are from Slovakia. So spending time with him
helped me catch the fire of finding the prepared people. We got in to
teach these Polish people and it was really cool. None of them spoke
any English whatsoever so we used the internet. We did our best but
the Spirit was really strong even though I had no idea half of what
they said. We're going back and I'm gonna try and pick up on how to
read in Polish but we'll see what happens. It was just fun the see
how the Spirit magnifies what we can't do. Then we had a super crazy
and weird miracle. So that woman who came to church and was really
well fellowshipped has been visiting her dying mother. She said she
wants to be baptised but we knew it would be after her mum passed away
and she still has some concerns about water. So the members have been
amazing. They organised the Branch President down there to give her
and her mum a blessing, we only found out about this on Friday and
they all felt the Spirit. I'll give you more updates on that
later but wow. I think that's all I have to report on this week.
Thanks so much for everything mum I love you. Take care and I'll talk
to you next week!
Elder Rowley

Dad,
Tanner is playing my Ukulele?!?! Well, he'd better be good at
it. Stake Conference would have been really fun, especially on the Dry Council. I hope Jon
and Chase don't get in too much trouble before I get home! Try and
get a picture of both of them for me. I'm really glad mum got to go
to Oregon over the weekend, that would have been really fun. I've
always loved it there. Maybe I'll get a master degree there someday!
Who knows! Well maybe I should tell you a little about our week here.
We're still working really really hard to reach our mission goal and
we are getting some really crazy amazing miracles. I told mum about a
couple of them so she'll have to update you on it but I'll tell you a
couple as well. I noticed something really fun about teaching. I
totally change my vocabulary and the way I talk when I teach different
people. We taught an African guy who is a preacher and I felt like a
preacher, using bible verses before everything I said. Teaching has
never been so much fun as in the last couple of weeks. I've never
felt the Spirit so much in a teaching appointment as now. We had an
experience with a woman who can't get baptised because of where she
lives. She has tried to move out in the past and has been really
close to baptism but something always goes wrong for her. Because of
this she feels really bad that she knows its all true but she can't
get baptised, she questions a lot of things now as well. So we'd
planned to go and teach her about baptism and assess the situation
further. We'd seen her earlier in the week and it was a spiritual
feast. When we sat down in the appointment with her though the Spirit
took us a completely different way, I think I only said baptism like
once. We read Alma 32 and she really enjoyed it, she's developing
such a love for the scriptures it's great. When we'd finished reading
she got a little quiet and then looked up at me and said, "Why did you
choose that scripture today" I told her that we'd been advised to
choose 10 chapters that would be good for our investigators so last
week I prayed and found 10. I had them written down and I felt the
Spirit tell me that I should choose that one. She then told us that
she had prayed before the appointment and God had told her that we
wouldn't talk about baptism when we saw her. It makes her upset cause
she can't right now so she didn't want to feel bad and God told her we
wouldn't. I'm just glad we listened to the Spirit and didn't talk
about it. She then told us that from this experience we'd just had
she knew that God loved her and that he really cared. She also knew
that this wasn't just our job but that we actually cared about her.
It was really really cool. We've had an experience like that in
almost every single appointment this week. I can't tell you how many
times an investigator has stopped us in an appointment to explain how
we've answered their prayer by what we've said. It's been really neat.
So pretty much the church is true and being a missionary rocks. I've
been reading the Ensign and that always gets me really excited to be a
normal member of the church because there is so much potential and
opportunity there but I'm still really grateful I can be a missionary
for a while. I love it. Thanks for everything Dad. Take care of
yourself. I love you!
Elder Rowley

People and places

Elder Rowley at the Selby Abby


Elder Rowley and Elder Mike


Nila's baptism



Mike and Henrique (Selby)

The youth of Selby


Elder Rowley on a bike


Elder Woodbury (North Shields)


River Tyne

PIES!

Mum,
Well it sounds like you had a good thanksgiving. I talked to
Mike on Monday and he told me that he had sent you some stuff, funny
kid. Thanksgiving here was really good. We have some members from Arizona who are here for
school and they made us thanksgiving dinner, it was proper good. And
get this, her family has a speciality on Thanksgiving. PIES!!! It was
sooo good, made me think of home. It was a good thanksgiving. The
rest of the week seemed to disappear on us. I don't know where any of
it went. I'm trying to think of any fun or interesting things I could
tell you about that happened. We found some more Portuguese speakers
that we're seeing this week. The American member served in Brazil so
he's gonna come with us. Elder Woodbury is doing really well and
things are pretty much normal. Hopefully we'll have a baptism in the
next couple of weeks, maybe 2 if we're lucky and work hard. I love
this ward a lot, I'm learning more about the church here than I've
even in my entire life. I love the whole organisation and stuff its a
blast. Well I figured because I have nothing else to say, they do say
that picture say a thousand words so I'll send a bunch with the extra
time I have! Love you mum. Thanks for everything. Maybe I'll wait
to open the Christmas stuff until Christmas but maybe not. Take care!
Elder Rowley

Dad,
I can't believe that jon is home. I really cannot believe that,
it is too crazy. Looking at that picture I just don't know what to
say, its pretty weird. Oh well, no use thinking about that. He'll
speak on my 18 months mark which will be kind of funny. I talked to
Luke about goals he set for the last 6 months of his mission to make
him work his hardest. I've been thinking about some to push forward
to the end, should be fun. Thanksgiving sounds like a proper riot. I
love thanksgiving, I'll have one soon enough though. The Thanksgiving
we had here was really fun. There is an American couple from Arizona
that are going to school here and they were sure to treat us right.
Best part is that she specializes in making pies. It was just like
mom's pies, I couldn't believe it! This week is whole was pretty good
as well. Not much happened that I can remember to report on. Just
neat as a whole. We had some people at church this week but not as
many as last. We'll hopefully be having at least one more baptism before the year
ends, this ward is so supportive that I don't think they would be
bothered if we baptised someone on Christmas. We'll see what happens!
Another really exciting thing happened. We found some more
Portuguese people! There is an American in the ward who served in
Brazil so he's gonna come with us and it will be just like old times!
I'm really excited for that. Other than that the work has been pretty
normal this last week. Funny story though, the whole mission has run
out of planners! Last week we planned on bits of paper and anything
we could get our hands on, it made it so much harder. This week we
filled our old planners with post-it notes so it shouldn't be a
problem at all. It is just funny how you get adjusted to things and
then things seem impossible without it! Things are going well in
general though and I really do love it here. I'm gonna finish here
though so I can send some pictures for all of you. I love you Dad.
Take care! Keep an eye on Jon for me! Haha
Elder Rowley

So blessed

Dad,
Another week gone is right. Things are speeding up really
quickly here in North Shields. We finally got some people to come to
church with us on Sunday and they all really enjoyed it. There was a
woman that was fellowshipped so well that I think she'll get baptised
pretty soon. She spent so much time with the members on Sunday that I
don't even know her all that well. The members just took to her in an
instant. She is deathly afraid of water though so that's the only
obstacle we're dealing with. If I remember right wasn't Jan
terrified of water as well? I'm sure she'll have it resolved sometime
soon. But it has just been so great here. I hear a lot about
missionaries who struggle with their wards and stuff and I'm really
grateful we don't have to deal with that. In all my wards the leaders
have been really supportive and caring and it's such a great thing to see. We've been getting a
lot out of our missionary coordination meetings recently. Like I said
the new WML is the just released Stake President. He puts in as much
effort and time in being the WML as he did as a Stake President. I really have found a
love for church meetings since I've been on a mission, I always
enjoyed spending extra time at church before but I just love going to
meetings. It's neat to see how everything works in the church. I bet
being the High Councilor over Missionary Work is gonna be exciting.
What all do you think you'll do? I never realised how many
opportunities I had to share the gospel before my mission.
It's funny how close you get to the missionaries you serve around.
They become like a second family. Last p-day we drove around looking
for ice cream it was pretty fun. We had an Alaskan, a South African,
and two Utah boys. I realise that if I had never come on a mission I
would have never met any of them. Great thing about it is that most
of them will end up in Utah at one point or another! Well I don't
think I have much else to report on. Sometimes as a missionary I feel
like our old friend Scott. People in England have so many problems
and previous experiences that scar their lives. There are a lot of
really messed up people here. All we really do is listen to them and
the Spirit does the rest. Well Dad, that's it for me. I love you. Have a GREAT time in Duchesne for
me. Take care!
Elder Rowley

Mum,
Our week was amazing! We finally got people at church!
Miracles all over the place. This week has been so busy and crazy and
hectic that is just flew by in an instant. I hope the rest of my
mission doesn't go that fast! Sounds like Jon's did...... So ya there
were a coule of people at church and they all really liked it. There
was this one woman who we taught once this week and took a member. We
knew this member would be really good because she served a mission
with her husband and wow we were right. The best appointment I've had
with a member ever! She came to church and was fellowshipped the
entire time, I didn't have the chance to hardly say 2 words to her. Then after church
she was invited over the another members house for dinner and things
were just on fire. I realised that we have been so blessed in this
ward. Our Ward Mission Leader is the just released stake president
and has so much stuff in plan and is really on the ball. I think it
was a blessing that we didn't get anyone at church for such a long
time because we really got to know the members and they came to love
us. They were praying for us and wanting us to succeed and then the
heavens open and everyone is ready to get to work! Hopefully that
means a couple of baptisms before the year is over. Things are going
really well here. Elder Woodbury is doing really well. This last p-day I realised as well how all
these missionaries become like a second family to you! Last week we
drove around for a while trying to find Chunky Monkey ice cream with a
South African missionary. It is just good time and good friends. I
love being a missionary. Hopefully things keep getting better and
better, it will make the work even funner! Sounds like things are
good as usual back home. Funny chickens. Tell Jon hullo from me!
Kyle said you've all been watching Doctor Who? I can't believe that!
I used to watch it a little bit before but it is huge over here!
Funny funny. I'll remember Brother Stewart in my
prayers as well. He's been such a great home teacher. And I'm
perfectly fine for the winter here. Like I said the cold doesn't
bother me much and there are always more layers you can put on. Well
mum, I think that's all for me. I love you so much! I've been taking
more pictures but somehow always forget my cord....Take care!
Elder Rowley

Lots of melting and exploding going on

Mum,
Crazy good week. We had zone conference about the temple and
it was a mind melt. I tried to take notes the whole time but at times
my notes literally say, "Then my brain exploded" We have some Zone
Conferences like that, we used to draw pictures of our heads exploding
with doctrine, good times. Well I'm e-mailing on Tuesday because
believe it or not we had transfers yesterday. Of course I'm staying
and so is Elder Woodbury so things are gonna be great. We are finding
some really prepared people and the Lord is really blessing us. We
have had some neat experiences with resolving peoples concerns early
on. There is a woman we are teaching that was almost baptised a
couple of times in the past. She was saying how bad things always
happen before she almost gets baptised and how that would be the only
thing stopping her this time. It was funny because about a month ago
I was thinking about Joseph Smith's experience and some neat things
came to mind. We turned to the Pearl of Great Price and shared how
Joseph Smith was overcome by Satan just before the first vision. Then
I shared how Joseph Smith knew 100% that that wasn't God. That's why
he had the faith to pray after that. She had felt like it was God
telling her not to join the church. After we shared that scripture
things just melted. Almost all of her concerns were resolved and she
is doing great. She just has to find a new house and then she can be
baptised! We're having lots of neat experiences like that now, crazy
crazy. Funny news about transfers, Selby got a car! I can't believe
it, Leeds 4 got a car right after I left as well. Ridiculous. Oh
well, since I finally passed my test maybe I'll luck out and get a
car. Well that's about it for me. I love you mum. I'm excited you
get to go to Oregon to see Gavin's baptism, tell them I say hello! Oh
and can you believe that Jon gets home next week! Tell him hello for
me! Well take care! Love you!
Elder Rowley

Dad,
Well have a good time with Thanksgiving. I'm sure I'll be
fine, the difficult part is almost over. President Lindley tolds us
that we're having a whole mission Christmas Party and said that it
would be his 18 month mark.....that means it's mine too! Its pretty
crazy. Driving is fun when I get the chance. I'm hoping I'll get to
drive to Leeds in the near future. How fun would that be! Sounds
like things are going really well back home. We had zone
conference last week which is always really interesting. President
likes to overwhelm us with doctrine to build up our testimonies and it
usually ends with, now don't teach this to your investigators, this is
for your benefit and testimony. So it's pretty neat. This time it was
on the Temple so of course it was mind blowing. He showed us all the
symbolisms from the Salt Lake Temple and it was mind blowing! I
really thought my mind was going to explode. It was nice though and a
great spiritual uplift. Then we went to work to make our mission goal
happen. We have seen so many miracles already. I told mum about one
that was pretty neat. We are also finding loads and loads of people
to teach. When we visit them I always have the thought, "Do I think
they'll get baptised this year?" Most of the time I don't know so I
just pray that I can say the right thing to make it all happen. So
things are going pretty well. It's getting a bit colder but not too
bad. I'm sure the snow will come pretty soon but it has to be pretty
cold for it to snow because there is so much salt in the air. I took
some pictures of the coast and stuff at night and they turned out
pretty well, I didn't bring my chord again though.... oh well.
Transfers just happened and we're staying the same so that will be
good. We have a bunch of people who are going home half-way through
next transfer so we'll see what has to happen in a couple of weeks!
Other funny news about transfers, Selby got a car! I can't believe
it, we bike for miles and miles and as soon as we leave they get a
car! Oh well. I'm gonna laugh when they drive the outskirts of the
area and meet people that knew me and Elder Thimmesch! HAha. Well
that's about all I have to report for this week. We're going to
Newcastle again as usual so that'll be fun. I love you Dad. Take
care of yourself and good luck in your new calling. Tell Jon hello
and Chase and everyone! Love ya!
Elder Rowley

Massive sense of urgency

Elder Rowley and Sam
Elder Rowley
Elder Peterson and Elder Rowley

Mum,
So much to write and so little time. First to answer some questions you asked. No we don't go to the temple but we're having a zone conference on the temple tomorrow. Yes I got Colton's e-mail and he is doing great. Traci wrote me a letter last week so I knew she was going to Thailand (amazing!). I got your package this week as
well. Thank you so much. And about Christmas package I was gonna tell you not to send decorations or any Christmasy stuff like that. We've already got loads in our flat and I'm sure there will be plenty of
surplus! I still can't believe that you got Sam Swindler to say, "zombie apocolypse" in his talk. Things are going really well here. We had halloween which is a bit lame and then Guy Fawkes night which is anything but lame! We have had some neat experiences and as a mission we are working really hard to reach our goals. We set the goal of baptising 425 people this year and we are 100 short as of last monday. It is going to be a massive miracle but we're gonna make it happen! I'll share an experience about how its changing the way we have been working. There is such a massive sense of urgency
now! We need to find these people and we need to progress the ones we have. We are teaching a family from Nigeria and they were not really bothered about joining the church. They like us to preach to them but they didn't want to get baptised. When they said that I thought about our mission goal and the kind of miracles it will take to make it
happen. I also thought about the family, they have four kids who are a blast and really crazy sometimes. Then I just told them their church wasn't getting them close enough to God and that this church was the only one that could do that. I told them that if they read and pray and come to church then they will feel and know that they will grow closer to God only in this church. It was funny because they looked at each other and then at me and said, "Are you telling us that we need to stop going to our church and go to yours?" I looked them both in the eye and said, "No, I'm telling you to ask God if you need to
join our church and then when he says yes, that you should do it" It was pretty crazy. Other news is that I saw Sam! She is doing really well. It was so good to see her. And I passed my driving test! I was driving all around Newcastle on Friday and I've really missed not being able to drive! Once again I forgot my camera cord but I'll send you pictures
next time. I love you so much mum. Thanks for everything you do, take care!
Elder Rowley

Dad,
This is the hardest time of year to be in England! I'm not too
bothered about Christmas but the Deer Hunt and Halloween and
Thanksgiving!! Oh well, I made it last year and I'll make it just find
this year! Its so crazy reading all of your e-mails! So many things
are happening back home. Sounds like the deer hunt was a blast but
nothing short of an adventure. I wish I could have helped fix the
truck but oh well. I think you shouldn't get a really new truck cause
they all look too fat. Maybe a 90s Silverado or F150. I think I'll
buy a Bronco when I get home. Speaking of which. Chase bought a
Porsche! You should try and get a picture! Halloween was good but we
couldn't really do anything here and Guy Fawkes night is always crazy.
People just have massive fires in the middle of the street and stuff.
It reminds me of the end of the world. Funny how a lot of things in
England seem like that! I passed my driving test last week as well
which was great. I got to drive all day in Newcastle on Friday and it
was a blast, so much fun. Maybe I'll get a car area to finish my
mission in! I got to see Sam too. She is doing really well and is
excited for her trip next year. I can't believe that you're on the dry council! That is gonna be a major adventure! I'm sure you'll get to know President Warner
really well. I heard from Colton and that was really good. I miss
all the Duchesne cousins and family but I realise that even if I was
home that half of them are on missions now too! We're having some
amazing miracles happening in the mission. As I told mum and Luke, the mission goal for the year is 425 baptisms and confirmations and as of
last monday we are 100 short. We're not just giving up though, we're
gonna make a miracle happen! I've never had such a fire burning in me to share the gospel with people!!! I just want to talk to everyone
and get everyone to join the church! We know that there are 100
people prepared and waiting to get baptised this year and all we have
to do is find them! Its so exciting but there is a lot of pressure.
Miracles have already happened though, in South Shields they found a
woman last week who has a friend who has tried to get her to church
for years. Everything is falling in to place and she'll be baptised
in 2 weeks. We just need to make sure we have 100 of those people!
Well dad I'm running out of time but I love you so much. I love being
a missionary and for the great examples I've had my whole life of how
to live. Thank you.
Elder Rowley

Miracle after miracle!

Mum,
Wow, there's a lot of good news in that e-mail. That picture of David and Mike is great and I'm so happy he got the Priesthood. Will you ask Mike if Henrique Moura got the Priesthood as well? That is so exciting! And I'm pretty sure that 70 was the one you were thinking of, that's pretty crazy. I wish I would have been able to talk to them a bit more, it would have been funny if he would have remembered that trip. I didn't know you got to go to the London Temple on your mission? That's crazy. I wish I would have asked for more stories from you and Dad when I was home. Well this week has been super crazy. We found loads of new people! It has been hard to keep up with all of them. We are starting to get all mixed up with names and everything so hopefully we don't forget about anyone! We also had a crazy amazing miracle at church yesterday. So we were leaving Sunday School (Sacrament meeting is last here) and the Bishop walked in and said that a man came in off the street named Mark who wanted to meet with missionaries! He was taught in Newcastle a few months ago but he now lives in North Shields and he is great. Just walked in to church and said that he wants to change his life! Haha, what a miracle! We are working on progressing our people right now. We have found a lot of new investigators but we'll see what happens with all of them, pray for the best! I don't think there is really anything else to report on this week. I haven't taken my driving test yet but it is scheduled for the 4th of November, wish me luck! I think that is everything, sorry its so short. Love you Mum! Bye!

Dad,
Wow what a week it sounds like you've been having back home! Sounds like quite the adventure with the deer hunt and all sorts of mishaps. I'm really glad to hear that Lindsay spent some time with Grandpa. I was talking about Grandpa's missions with Elder Woodbury and I wish I would have asked more questions and got to know them better. Oh well, there will be plenty of time for that in due time. I'm excited to hear and eventually see the changes in the back yard, that would be so nice! Our week was really really good. We found loads of new investigators and things are really picking up here. There are two experiences I'll share with you. On Tuesday we had an appointment flog (fall through) and we had about an hour until our next one. We didn't have enough time to see these other people so we were stuck finding in the area we were. I could tell Elder Woodbury didn't really want to work there because he really wanted to see the other people and to be honest I wasn't too in the mood as well. But we set out to go finding and I told Elder Woodbury that we should pray and choose where we should go. We prayed and then he looked up and half heartedly said the street we were already on. Now it has taken me a long time to learn even a little bit of how to follow the Spirit while finding and I really wanted Elder Woodbury to figure it out as well. It's something that can totally change the attitude someone has on their mission when they recognise they were where the Lord wanted them for a time. So I didn't accept that he had made the right decision and told him to think about it as we walked and to choose another street. As we walked I prayed that he would be able to find the right street and when he chose one I didn't really feel to good about it. But he seemed committed to it so I figured we'd give it our all. We knocked on the first door and I prayed that someone would let us in so Elder Woodbury would realise that he'd followed the Spirit and his prayer was answered. Nobody answered so we went to the next door. A kid named Johnny answered the door and let us in! We taught him a bit, invited him to church and then left after about 20 minutes. You should have seem Elder Woodbury's face for the rest of the day. It was the neatest experience! I was really grateful that he recognised and had his prayer answered. It was neat. I was gonna tell Mum but I totally forgot about the experience! The other one was when this man named Mark just walked into church on Sunday. It was amazing and he is really good! Miracle after miracle! Hahaa. Well that's about all for me. We have interviews with President Lindley tomorrow which is always fun. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks so much for everything Dad. I love you!
Elder Rowley

He missed it, but it was great!

Just wanted to post this photo of the baptism of one of the young men Zack had been teaching in Selby. He actually moved into Luke's mission right before Zack was transferred to North Shields. One of the young men from Selby who Zack loved to teach with was able to drive down to baptise him. What a great day!

Hoping to turn things around

Dad,
The language up here is going great! I love it so much. The other day when we got a bus a overheard two girls speaking portuguese. I made a mental note of what they look like and there is an american guy here who served in Manaus Brazil so maybe we'll see what happens next time we see them! HAha! Well that is our little flat. It's the set of flats on the right hand side and we live on the ground floor, it's pretty podunk. Our area going north up to Ashington I believe and it's just us two here. The bishop of this ward is amazing. He is so humble and knowledgeable and willing to help, he's perfect. He came with us to a couple of appointments and he really knows how the get things done. I'm confident we can make some real miracles happen here. I'm hoping we can turn things around here because the ward deserves quality missionaries and its easiest to get those when an area baptises a lot. I can't believe its deer season again. I can't wait for next fall. Things are just going by too fast! This week has been really neat, we've been finding loads of people and the work is really going to pick up even more here. I'm super excited. I love being so close to the sea and we contact people by the coast sometimes, it's really nice. Don't worry I've been taking pictures but I just haven't sent any lately! We've got a couple of really good people we are working with now and hopefully we can get a baptism next month! Well there isn't much more to report on over here. Who else has got their mission call? And is anybody else getting married? Crazy crazy. Well I love you Dad. Thanks for everything. I never realised how lucky I was to grow up the way that I did. I think it was exactly what I needed. Love you take care!
Elder Rowley


Mum,
*David got baptised!! Woo hoo! That's super exciting. I was gonna tell you that I gave him my quad but I didn't (tell you). I use that little one you bought me before I left for everything so I thought it wasn't a big deal. Oh that's super exciting. Things are going really well over here. We have been finding so many potential investigators its been crazy. I now realise the reason. Thanks for all the prayers! Hopefully we can get back to teach all of them this next week, that would be good. We had a neat experience yesterday at Stake Conference. They re-organised the stake presidency (really really young now) and Elder Causse of the area presidency came to visit. Elder Causse is French and he came with the only of French seventy. They are the first two from France, ever and this was their first assignment together. It was really neat to hear all of their experiences at the conference. We also got to hear a little story about the Paris Temple! So Elder Causse headed the team that took the appeal to the mayor of Paris to see if they would allow a temple there. He said that he had made a power point presentation about the church and why they should allow us to build a temple there. When they got to the appointment the mayor said that he wasn't going to watch the presentation because he knew that he would hear all the good things about the church and he didn't want that. The mayor brought forward two women who were on the Paris City Council. One was a Catholic and a mother of 9 and the other had a doctorate in Theology. The mayor said that they would do an investigation of the church and in one month Elder Causse would be brought back to the mayor's office. Needless to say Elder Causse was nervous over the next month. When he got back to the mayor's office a month later the women had prepared a presentation. They said that they had been to the internet (bad idea), and done their research. But then they had gone to a sacrament meeting! They also knocked on all the doors of the members in the proposed area and asked them about their neighbors. The theologist said that it was the closest church to the original church in the bible that she had ever seen. And the mother of 9 was impressed at the members. Well you know the end of the story and that's how there is a temple going to be built in Paris! I thought that was a neat experience to share. Cool huh? Well I don't have anything else to report on this week. I'm signing up for my driving test again so watch my account please. Love you so much mum. Thanks for everything!
Elder Rowley


(*David is a young man Zack was teaching in Selby with a recent convert Mike, whom I recently met. Zack was really impressed with David. Just before Zack got transferred, David moved to Lancaster, which is in Luke's mission. Over the weekend Mike (who is waiting for his own mission call) emailed me to let me know he went to Lancaster and baptised David. He also asked me to pass on David's thanks to Zack for the scriptures. We had a feeling that Zack had possibly given him his own scriptures. Turns out he had. Good thing we sent him with two sets!)

I can do the Geordie accent!

Mum,
North Shields is great. I've missed this zone and I've missed the Geordies. And guess what, I can do the accent now! It's been pretty fun, I think I'm going to talk in a Geordie accent all the time now! My companion is Elder Austin Woodbury from Kentucky. He's been out for about 7 1/2 months or something. He reminds me a lot of Steven Markham. He's great. A really good teacher and he knows the gospel really well. I think that one of the difficult things as a missionary (especially if you've been out a while) is having so many companions! Me and Elder Thimmesch were getting to the point that I knew all of his friends and family by name and then I get transfered and have to start all over again. Oh well, I've been really lucky that I've only had 3 other areas because the ward adjustment is also different. The ward here is so neat though. They are all older and only about 40 people come to church. Funny news, there are Rowleys in the ward! I haven't had too much of a chance to talk to them but I'm gonna see if I can get some family history out of dad to see where we came from and when! So things are going well here. There are a few people to teach but needless to say, there's some work to be done! But I love it here. I was wondering when *they all got home. How is Justin doing? And Daylin! That's neat-o. Glad to hear about Mike. I hope he gets his call next week as well, that would be super exciting! I told him that he should call me and gave him my new phone number. I already miss them but the day will come when I'll get to see and talk to them all again. Well I think that's all i have to report this week. i LOVE YOU MUM, TAKE CARE! (I was typing one handed just for fun and that accidentally happened with caps lock but I'll leave it for you)
Elder Rowley


Dad,
North Shields is really great. I'm so excited to be in this zone again. All the district leaders and the zone leaders are people I know really well so there is already a great unity here. We're so far away from everyone else that its easy to be unified and it makes it really fun. I realised that North Shields and Selby are the same and that's why I'm glad I got sent here. Selby turned around a lot and we were doing quite good. North Shields is exactly the kind of area I feel best in. The ward is older and there are only about 40 or 50 who come to church. There are hardly any priesthood holders and the area hasn't had much success. There are a lot of things that's we're going to have to overcome. My companion is Elder Austin Woodbury from Kentucky and he is a lot like Steven Markham. I went from having a massive district to just having one team. The missionaries are really good there are just a couple of things we have to sort out. I hope I can do everything that needs to get done. Wish us luck, I fasted for a baptism this month yesterday so that's our goal. Here's a funny story. There is a family of Rowley's in the ward! I haven't gotten to talk to them that much but they are great! That leads me to a question. Grandma Janet gave me the family history for her side back until the dawn of time but I was wondering about the Rowley side. Do you have any information about where we came from and when it was. How long has the family been in the church as well? I dunno how much of that you'll be able to figure out but I was just curious. Well that's about all I have for this week. I love you Dad. Thank you for everything. Have a good week.
Elder Rowley

Hard to say good-bye!

Mom,
I can't believe we're getting another temple in Provo!!!! Me and Elder Thimmesch guessed right on the dot where they would be. I said there would be five, 2 in the states, one in Columbia or Bolivia, one is Western Africa, and one in Paris! Elder Thimmesch guessed the one in South Africa! Conference was really really good. We got to watch most of it but it was funny to realise how far away I am from it all. We watched the second to last session with a Brazilian member on his laptop, kinda funny. Well we got transfer calls last night and you'll never guess where I'm going. Back to the Geordies! I'm going to North Shields in the Sunderland Zone! I'll be right next to Newcastle and if things work out I'll be able to visit Sam once or twice! Can you believe it! I'm still shocked. It will be another great adventure though, not sure the last time they had a baptism there. We'll see! I'm super excited though. Its gonna be really hard to leave Selby. Tonight we are going to young mens and young womens and its gonna be pretty difficult. We got teaching with 2 of the young men every week at least. We spend so much time with them all its a blast. We're going to York with Mike today so that'll be a fun way to say goodbye. Oh well, all things must come to an end. I keep thinking about how hard it was to leave Leeds 4 but how many great adventures I had in Selby. I'm convinced that is what the Lord has in store for me in North Shields! I wish I had more to report on, those seem to be the only things on my mind right now. Elder Thimmesch is getting someone named Elder Balls and he is really good. It will be a perfect follow-up train for Elder Thimmesch. Sounds like things are going really well back home. Take care of things for me. I love you so much mum.
Elder Rowley


Dad,
A new temple in Provo! Woo hoo! I'm super excited. I couldn't believe that. The satelite wasn't working for that session so I just heard about that from a couple of missionaries but wow! Me and Elder Thimmesch guessed every one of the temples right, I couldn't believe it! Conference was really good as well. Priesthood Session was my favourite as usual. We sat will all the prospective Elders of our ward and it was great. There were about 4 of them and we all looked at each other during the conference and wow they are gonna be such great missionaries. They come teaching with us almost everyday and they are great. I'm grateful that I was here to serve around and with them. They've all grown loads since I first met them as well, I'm stoked for their missions. That leads me to the unfortunate and sad news. I'm leaving Selby after 4 1/2 months here! I'm going back to the North! Its an area called North Shields and it is right next to Newcastle. That means I'll be right next to Sam and might even be able to visit her once or twice. Crazy crazy crazy!!! I'm really sad to leave Selby, it will probably be even harder than it was to leave Leeds 4 but if North Shields holds half as many good times as Selby then it'll be worth it! The more I think about it the more I can't believe that I'll be going back North. I'm really excited. Those young men I'm leaving weren't too happy. Henrique told me he'd call me every week and come visit me! Haha! Good thing for Facebook so I can actually meet up with them again someday! Elder Thimmesch is getting a missionary named Elder Balls. He is exactly like Elder Thimmesch and was just barely a Zone Leader so they are going to tear it up in Selby! That's the thing I think I'm most happy about, I know that Selby is being left in good and capable hands! Well that's about all I have to report this time around. We're getting to the trunkiest time of the year for me, Thanksgiving! Oh well, I go through last year just fine! Just stop catching all my fish! Leave them for another year so I can catch them all! Thanks for everything Dad. I got that letter you sent me this week. I was one of the best letters I've ever gotten, it was exactly what I needed, it could not have come at a more perfect time! Then I finished the Book of Mormon again this week and then General Conference. It was just the boost I needed to get things going. I don't know how much success North Shields has had of late so it's gonna be some hard work. Good thing I like work! Love you Dad, take care!
Elder Rowley

Turning to God

We got an email from a missionary mom who met Elder Rowley while touring with her recently released son, the former Elder Heinrichs. She sent us a new photo of Elder Rowley, Elder Heinrichs, and Elder Thimmesch

Mum,
Eh bad news about the driving test. I failed! I was really surprised, I thought I wouldn't have any problems. Its super strict here though and most people fail it twice before they pass. I was really worried about the money bit cause it costs 60£ to take again, plus driving lessons are really expensive. I won't be able to take it for another 6 weeks so it probably won't be in Selby. I was super bummed but oh well. I'll make sure I don't spend any money so I can get my license, sorry its so expensive. Church was great yesterday but unfortunately we're still not finding new people to teach! But we've made some plans to improve and I know we'll get there. This last week has been really different though. We've had the spirit a lot more while we were finding and its helped us a lot. I had a pretty crazy experience on Thursday though. I got to go on exchange with the Zone Leaders and another missionary who both speak Chinese and boy was it great. All day was in Chinese and I wasn't able to communicate with people very well but the Spirit was like a million times stronger! It was amazing to sit in a lesson completely in Chinese and know exactly what they were saying and what was going on. I picked up on a little bit and it kind of freaked some people out when I started teaching and was on subject. Its not as hard as it sounds, I learned a couple of words and you can read body language and guess the rest. The Spirit was so strong though! It made me really want to learn another language! Oh well, the time will come for that. It was just a cool experience. I'm so glad that things worked out with *Mike. He wasn't at church yesterday and we couldn't get a hold of him so we were wondering what was up. That's really exciting though. Glad to hear that **Sam is doing so well too. It makes it easier to keep people active in the church when I've got my mom to fellowship them! Woohoo! So I'll let you know when I make plans for my driving test again. The mission will reimburse the first $100 but that is far gone. It wont' be for another month or so though so I'll keep you posted. I think that's all I have this week. Thanks for everything mom, I love you so much. Have a good week!
Elder Rowley



Dad,
Sounds like you really did have a crazy week. I can't believe all the stuff that Mike did, we didn't see him at church and we were wondering what was up. That's Mike for you. There are 3 or 4 young men that we spend a lot of time with. I hope they all go on missions, they would be so great. They all speak other languages as well! This week not much happened here. We are still struggling to find people to teach and the whole zone is having trouble as well. I hate it when this stuff happens but we'll get out of it. I told mum a neat experience I had when I was in York this week with Chinese people and boy was it fun. We're spending so much time with people who speak entirely different languages that English isn't sounding like English anymore! I didn't pass my driving test either so looks like that will be another long and costly journey, oh well. The guy who failed me was a JW so maybe that's a good excuse to fail! Haha. Well I'm sorry I don't have much else to report. Things are kind of dead here. We're keeping in good spirits and our finding is getting much better. It's neat how when things aren't going so well you turn to God a whole lot more. It's fun that way. But every time I feel like things aren't happening and that I'm not being very successful I write home and see all the crazy things that come from our work. It's really comforting to realise how far a little effort can go! Well that's all I've got for this week. Love you Dad. Take care!
Elder Rowley
ps-I can't believe that Kingfisher just sat it your hand! Did you know they are the largest hovering bird, they are just like a massive hummingbird!

*Mike is a young man in Selby who was baptised last December. He friended me on Facebook and I met him up at Temple Square when he came to the U.S. this summer. He's a great kid, the only member in his family, and working hard to prepare for a mission. Yesterday we skyped him into our Primary for sharing time, where he told us about his conversion and talked to the kids about the blessings that come from missionary work.

**Sam is a woman Zack found and taught in his first city. She was baptised a year ago last week and is doing great. She also friended me on Facebook and reports to me every time she does something new in the church (visiting teaching, giving a talk, teaching a Gospel Essentials class). She wrote something for me to share with the Primary about her conversion and the blessings that come from missionary work. She will be coming to stay with us in March and we are looking forward to taking her to visit a number of the local temples here.

Zack also wrote something up for me in his previous email. It was a great sharing time!

Baptism!

Dad,
Nila's baptism went great. She brought a lot of her family and they all had a really good time. Her sister will hopefully be baptised at the end of the month as well. Another great miracle we had happened with this kid named David. We met him on the street and gave him a Book of Mormon and invited him to read it. Turns out that he read the whole thing in one day! He holds the UK record for the fastest of Harry Potter number seven. Just over 2 and a half hours! He prayed about it [we assume he means Book of Mormon and not HP 7] and knows it's true as well. The only downside is that he is moving to Luke's mission on Saturday. We'll see how things go but it'll probably be a baptism for them. Other than that things in Selby have been really slow! But we're confident we can find people to teach. After we left our tea appointment last night I realise that I haven't found the family in Selby that I'm supposed to baptise yet. That's a scary feeling when you might only be in an area for another 4 weeks, but we'll see what happens. This ward is so great I don't ever want to leave. The bishop said that he is going to call President Lindley and request that I stay another transfer. I don't know if that will do any good but we'll see. Yesterday we had a mission tour and wow was it epic. A mission tour is when an area presidency travels around the mission and gives kind of like a zone conference on Monday and Tuesday. We had ours yesterday and it was great. They talked all about the miracles that come from personal and powerful prayer. There is a mission in Portugal that went from baptising 8 people in 6 months to over 100 people last month because of personal prayer. Crazy crazy. Hopefully that will help us find the person/people that we need to teach and baptise here in Selby. Jordan Steinagel got home this week! Isn't that crazy. Jon said that he has 2 months left. That means that Joe will be back before the year ends and then Jeff in February. I can't believe it. Its gone way too fast. Well this luck I've got my driving test. Wish me luck! It's going to be quite expensive. I already paid 60 but I'm taking some lessons tomorrow which will be another 50. The mission will hopefully reimburse like 100 of it but we'll see. Wish me luck. Well I love you Dad. Thanks for sending me on a mission. Best decision ever! Take care!
Elder Rowley

Mum,
Lindsay's first dance?!!? Ridiculous, I can't believe how old she is now. Nila's baptism went great on Saturday! Her whole family came and they all loved it. Sophie (her sister) is doing really well too. Hopefully she gets baptised at the beginning of next month. And as for David. He is golden. Read the whole Book of Mormon in one day and we gave him a quad that hopefully he'll finish soon. Unfortunately he is moving to the Manchester Mission on Saturday for school. I told Luke about it and he might know the missionaries but he's been home for a while so probably not. It is still amazing. I told Dad about the mission tour and how I still feel like there is a family for us here in Selby. I might get transferted soon so hopefully we can find them this next week! I think that is a great idea about Mike. I'll tell him about it today and then I'll have him Facebook you about it. And you wanted me to tell about how missionary work has blessed my life? Well I don't know exactly what you want and there's not exactly enough room to put it on here with but I'll give it a go. A mission becomes everything to you. It helps you appreciate everything you've ever been given and then gives you a desire to give it all to other people. On you mission you feel closer to Heavenly Father than at any other time in your life and you feel the love of Jesus Christ every day. You'll never work harder, cry harder, sleep better, or be happier than on your mission. More than any other time in your life, you live the covenant of your baptism to always remember Jesus Christ. Plus its a blast to go and meet a completely different kind of people! I hope that will work. Well I've got to get going. I'm taking my driving test on Thursday, I hope it goes well. I have some driving lessons tomorrow and then its show time. I think I'll do alright, I hope I just pass it the first time and don't have to worry about it any longer. Wish me luck. I love you Mum so much. Take care!
Elder Rowley
ps- Elder Thimmesch did wrestling and he told Kyle that he should definitely do it! Also, did you know it is your parents 50th anniversary on Thursday? Love you!

Eating dirt

Mum,
Our week was really good. No new people to work with and we lost a few more but we had miracles that made it all worth the while. Nila is getting baptised this Saturday and it has been so much fun teaching her. One of the lessons she brought her twin sister Sophie and now we are teaching both of them. They both came to church on Sunday and while me and Elder Thimmesch were sitting in Fast and Testimony meeting, guess who walks up to the stand. Yup, Nila bore her testimony on Sunday and boy was it good! Another amazing miracle happened with Sophie at church. She was sitting in Young Woman's and the Young Woman's president started bearing her testimony and Sophie felt the Spirit! She said, "Then when she started talking I got this really cool feeling and almost started crying." It was so amazing! Things are looking good for them but we really aren't teaching anybody else. That'll change this week though! I was looking through my camera to try and tell you some funny stories and I remember a couple of things I forgot to update you on. I dont' know if you heard about Mike but on the way to the temple two weeks ago he was in a car accident. He is fine but it was a miracle. He was with another kid named Henrique (from Brazil!) and it was a really bad accident but they were both fine. Henrique broke a tiny bone in his hand and Mike broke his sternum. But the car is totalled, there were no airbags and Henrique's head almost went through the windscreen. They are both fine though! It was a crazy miracle and they are fine. Those two are so funny and they're going to be great missionaries! But then I remembered something funny that happened to us this week. We were riding our bikes home and we decided to take a short cut through this farmer's field that we've taken before. It was pitch black but we had lights on our bikes. It didn't take us long to realise that the field had been plowed and that there was no longer a path. But we decided to keep going. Elder Thimmesch went first and he was about 30 feet in front of me when I hear him yell and see the light on his bike go down. When I caught up he had gotten stuck in the dirt and had fallen down a hill. It was hilarous. As we kept going it happened at least 3 more times. By this time I was laughing so hard and Elder Thimmesch had me go first so he could see better. The path came back and Elder Thimmesch yells from the back, "Its all smooth sailing from here!" As soon as I look back on the path both of our front wheels fall into a 2 foot hole across the path. We both ate dirt! It was great.



We're both fine, it was just funny. I'm trying to think of a story I could tell you about languages that you could share..... I guess it is a big difference in England than other places. Like for us when you speak someone else's language, if they don't speak English they are so grateful because they can actually communicate. Even speaking a second language it is difficult for people to communicate. And example would be with Miro in Leeds 4. So we spent a lot of time with the Portuguese speaking members in Leeds 4 and there was one who didn't speak very good English. She couldn't come to church very much because she worked a lot so we started visiting her and reading the Book of Mormon with her. She would read a verse in English and then I would read one is Portuguese. It was really fun for both of us and I actually learned a lot about pronunciations. After a while she started bringing people to church and letting us teach her friend. All of whom didn't speak very good English. Because we had taken the time to learn her language she trusted us with her friends and we could communicate with her and then her friends through her. It was a great experience and it got good enough that I learned the first vision and how to bear my testimony in Portuguese. I hope that works. Well I'm going to try and send some pictures but we'll see if it works. I love you mum, take care!
Elder Rowley

Dad,
Sounds like you didn't have a very good week then! I can't believe you got sick at school! That has never happened. Well sounds like things are picking up though. Things here are doing really well. We're struggling to find people to teach but the two people we are teaching are doing really well. Nila and her twin sister Sophie both came to church again and Nila is getting baptised this Saturday! She even felt the Spirit enough on Sunday that she bore her testimony is church! I couldn't believe it, I've never had that happen before! Her baptism is gonna be so good. Sophie is great as well. At church she felt the Spirit really strong when the Young Woman's President bore her testimony. It was funny that she didn't know what it was either, she said, "I got this really cool feeling and I almost started crying!" It was perfect. But ya other than that we aren't working with very many people. The Lord will provide though and things will work out. I just gotta make sure that we're doing all we can to make it happen! I told mum some funny stories that happened this last week and some spiritual stories as well. We have to go to Leeds today so I haven't got much more time to write. Sorry. Well I love you Dad. I think about you often and I'm grateful for everything you've done for me. A lot of our priesthood lessons have been on families lately and I keep realise how lucky I was. A lot of people here don't have very good family opportunities, especially our investigators. That's the great thing that the gospel has to offer us. The change for a brighter future. That's really the hope of the Atonement isn't it. Well thanks so much dad. I'll try and send some pictures as well. I love you!
Elder Rowley

Looking for a family

Dad,
Isn't it crazy how time changes on a mission. I still can't get my mind around it. We worked hard all day everyday and collapse to sleep at night and then you blink and it has been 3 months. It is amazing to me. I hate to think that someday it will all be over and I'll be back at home. That's a terrifying thought. Well I'm just not going to think about it and the Lord will make everything work out. This week has been really good but crazy. We had loads of meetings and hardly had anytime to work! I had to go to York and then Leeds and then Harrogate (which takes like 3 hours on a train!). I looked at our schedule for this week and was relieved that we only have one meeting to go to. Its funny, when I first came out I was so afraid to talk to people and stuff that I loved meetings they were an excuse not to work! Now I enjoy meetings but I'd be just as happy if not happier to be working! I can't believe that school has started again. As soon as school gets over it'll be time for me to come home, that's a scary thought. I wanted to tell you that I did get that envelope with all the pictures and boy was that fun! We spent all night (until 10:30) looking at them all and talking about all the people in them. Fun fun. Well I feel bad that most of my e-mails are really short. I can't ever think of anything to write, the days meld together that much! I told mum about an amazing experience we had with a Filipino lady we used to teach. I felt prompted that we should try and see her again and her husband let us see her and we're going to start teaching her again. Her husand won't let her come to church or be baptised though (yet) so it might be a long process. She said she already knows that Joseph Smith was a prophet though, so its all in her husbands hands. We're looking for a family to teach this week and I pray it works out. Elder Thimmesch is doing well, he's learning how to be a proper missionary. Hold down the fort for me while I'm gone. It'll be quicker than you think and I'll be back home again. I love you Dad. Thanks for everything, take care!
Elder Rowley

Mum,
Well this week has been really good but quite hectic! Nila's baptism was for the 3rd not yesterday but it has been moved to the 10th instead. Her mum wanted it that day and Nila is going to another kid's baptism on the 3rd so it will all work out. This week I was swamped with meetings! We hardly had any time to work! I had to go to York, then Leeds, then Harrogate. We spent probably a whole day on the train or bus, what a week! We're still looking for more people to teach though. We had a great miracle the other day! Over the past couple of days I had been thinking of that Fillipino woman that we taught a while ago whose husband wouldn't let us teach her. When were in the area and we decided to try and see her and her husband was fine with us being there. We talked to her and she said that she had been reading the Book of Mormon and that she knows Joseph Smith was a prophet! It was amazing. The only problem is her husband still. He is alright with us coming round like once a week but he won't let her come to church or change her religion (She's a roman catholic as most Filipinos are). So we're going to keep teaching her and pray that one day soon her husband softens his heart. This week is going to be a great week for finding people though, we've got virtually no meetings and things are looking good. I really hope we can find a family, that would be amazing! Well thanks for keeping me posted about the family. Last night I had one of those dreams where I go home and I woke up as if it was a nightmare. I hate those dreams! I'll be home soon enough but there is plenty of work that needs to be done here first! Wish Kyle and Lindsay luck for me and school! I can't believe how old everyone is now, that's really freaky! I love you mum, take care of yourself. Talk to you next week!
Elder Rowley

Staying in Selby!

Mum,
Well that feeling I had was wrong gratefully. I'm still staying in Selby for at least another month! I was really nervous about what was happening and stuff but things worked out really well and I'm still staying! I spoke with Mike last night and he said that he told his parents he's going on a mission and he's already almost finished with his papers! I can't believe it. He is so great. Last week we spent our whole p-day is Selby with all the youth from the ward and it was a blast. That is why I was gonna be so devastated if I left. Some other good news! Nila is getting baptised next Saturday! She is super prepared and is doing great with everything and then something even better happened at our last appointment with her. She texted us and said, "could I bring my twin sister?" So now we're teaching her twin sister and they both came to church on Sunday. Things are going really well here. We haven't got many other people to teach though right now so that's the big struggle again. Things are going great here though and I love it. Take care of yourself mum, love you!
Elder Rowley

Dad,
Well I'm staying in Selby for at least another month. I was so nervous last night that I was gonna move but turns out the Lord still wants me here! Woo hoo. Elder Thimmesch is staying here too so I'll have more time with him. We've still be struggling to find new investigators though so our weeks haven't been so good. But a girl named Nila is getting baptised next Saturday and we started teaching her twin sister and they both came to church last week so things are still going well. I'm just worried about what is going to happen when she gets baptised if we don't find anyone new to teach. Sounds like Kyle is doing really well back home. Mum said he was a bit nervous for Dixon. To be honest I struggled a bit at Dixon but as soon as you hit high school things work out well. I'm sure Kyle will do fine. Glad to hear you're finished with the belly shots, those must have been painful. I can't believe that school is about to start up again. Things are going way too fast, I'm terrified to think that I go home as soon as school gets over. That means I'll have to register for classes sometime soon. Ridiculous! Jordan Steinagel goes home in 2 weeks and then Jon gets home in 2 months. Joe will be home a month after Jon and then Jeff gets back in February. Ugh, I don't want to think about it anymore. Well I love you Dad, take care of yourself and hold down the fort for a while. Bye
Elder Rowley

Still loving it!

Mum,
You want an e-mail for the last two weeks! I don't know if I can do that! Well I'll give it a try. The days and the weeks just seem to roll together and soon enough I get transferred to a new area. Oh well its always an adventure. So the biggest thing that has been happening has been training Elder Thimmesch. Everything was super easy at the beginning but now I have to make sure he knows and does everything he's supposed to. There is a rumor going around that I will leave next transfer which is unusual to say the least so we have to prepared for everything! Two weeks ago Elder Thimmesch took over the area for the first time. He was with Elder Melo from Brazil and they did a great job together. Then this last week I got to go to leadership training. Over half the mission was there to receive training from President Lindley and the Assistants, it was quite fun. I got to spend some good time with all my old friends in the mission. Some are doing really well and others seem to be struggling a bit, but once again, that's how it goes. Nila it really our biggest investigator right now and we've been getting dropped by people right and left which means that when she gets baptised we wont' have anyone to work with. Not letting that happen! I've been put in that situation too many times, getting put in a new area with nothing happening. So we're working really hard to find new people to teach. Its difficult training though because there is a balance between getting stuff done and teaching your new missionary. I think I've found a balance for most things but as always, the work is no cake-walk. Things are going really well and I'm still loving it. Today we are spending the whole day is Selby playing sports with the members. I'm super excited. I love them all so much! Well I hope that's a bit more of an e-mail than I've been giving you as of late. Love you much mum, take care!
Elder Rowley

Dad,
Well it was quite an experience last Thursday. We were just knocking on doors when President called me. It was funny though, as soon as I hung up the phone I didn't think anything wrong would happen and there wasn't anything I could do so we just went back to knocking. I'm glad to hear a little more about the situation though, sounds like quite a miracle. Funny how those kind of things sneak up on you, I'm sure there are many times people sit down in their bed like you did and think about things, whether or not they are ready to die. It's probably true for a lot of things. When life catches up on you and you have to sit down and think about the person you are and if that's the person you wanted to be when you go. I guess I get those feelings a lot as a missionary. You lay your head down at night and think, "Am I really the missionary I wanted to be after being out over a year?" Funny how life is. Well I wish I had really good news to report about our week but it was a pretty bad one. We've been dropped by a lot of people the last couple of weeks and this week we just wanted to find more people to teach. We didn't find hardly anyone though, even though we did all the right things. Elder Thimmesch is doing really well and this week is his test week to see if he can take over the area. You're almost guaranteed to stay with your trainer for 2 transfers but the Zone Leaders and District Leader think I'll leave next transfer. Oh well, its not in my hands so we just have to be prepared for anything! But we have high hopes for this next week, I think we're going to find a family. I've always wanted to baptise a family but we've never done it yet. That's one of the things I reflect on, its so easy to see all the problems in an area and say, "I'll find that family in my next area" but that day never comes. So I think we're going to find our family this week. Well there's not much else to report on. I love you Dad. That was the big reason that President wanted me to call, to express my love for you. Thanks for everything you do. I'm proud to be your son. Take care!
Elder Rowley

Short and sweet

Mum,
I've got no time to write, we spent p-day at the air force base in Harrogate and just got back. I love you though! Take care
Elder Rowley

Baptism!

Date: Mon, Aug 1, 2011 at 12:10 PM
Subject: Zack 8/1/2011

Dad,

You're right, two weeks of news is almost too much to handle!! I can't believe all the family is in town and everything. I still remember the last time we went to Oregon and saw Jon and Mindy! Everyone is growing up so much. I can't believe all of Kevin's kids and Brandon's kids in the picture! Its crazy, it doesn't even feel like I've been gone that long. We were talking the other day about mail and those things and I realised that pictures are the most valuable thing to send to missionaries. I wish I would have told all my friends to send pictures cause all I've got is stories with no pictures!! But it sounds like it was a good 2 weeks, I'll be excited for family reunions someday. Just make sure they plan all of them for after I get back! This week was really exciting for us. We had a baptism! Tony got baptised and asked Elder Thimmesch to do it. So it was needless to say a great week. It was so stressful though up until the baptism. That's really the only time I get stressed out on my mission, just before baptisms. It was really good though and he will be fellowshipped well and is going to institute this week. Elder Thimmesch has got an adventure though, I'll be in York the next two days so he's all on his own in Selby for a while! He'll be here with the Brazilian Elder Melo and its gonna be interesting. I hope he learns a lot and they have a really good time together. I'm sure they will. We also were able to schedule a girl named Nila for baptism. She's been coming to young women's for the better part of a year and her parents have finally let her come to church. We're setting things up with the bishop to visit her parents to make sure its all okay but that's more exciting news! I'll put a picture of the baptism on the end of this e-mail for you, it was a really good night. Its really funny being a missionary though sometimes. We got to so many meetings and are so involved in the ward that you learn a lot about how the church works. It's great to see how the Lord turns your weaknesses into strengths, I love the way the church runs though. I'll be excited to have a calling someday. Well I forgot to e-mail mom back so I'd better do that. Take care of your shoulder I hope it all goes well. Love you Dad
Elder Rowley


Mom,

Our week was great! We had a baptism on Saturday! Tony was baptised by Elder Thimmesch and confirmed by the bishop in sacrament meeting. It was really exciting and it was a great way to end the week. We also were able to schedule a girl who we've been teaching for a while for a date in September. It doesn't seem like its been a week since I last wrote you but it sounds like there was enough action packed in your week to fit in an entire month! There are been some good e-mails today, I really appreciate it. Elder Thimmesch is doing really great. Improving every single day, I'm excited to see how he does in the future. Today will be a real test for him, I'm going away for 2 days to York so he'll be with the Brazilian Elder Melo. Elder Melo came out with him and doesn't speak much English so it will be challenging for both of them! Last week I was with Elder Melo and boy was it fun! He taught me a lot more Portuguese and let me borrow his Pregar meu Evangelho! I promise I don't study it during study time but its fun to look up a word or two in my spare time! He also helped me with my pronunciation of the first vision and taught me how to bear my testimony! There is a Brazilian family that I'm anxious the teach the next spiritual thought to! I also got a package from Grandma that had loads of Grandpa Dale pictures and stuff. It was really good. Well I haven't got much else to report on, here is a picture of Tony's baptism though! Love you mum, tell everyone I say hello and that I love them. You should proper post me some pictures of everything. A missionary can never have enough pictures!!!!!!!
Elder Rowley