Elder Rowley
The last e-mail
16 years ago
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Changing it up!
Well you were wrong about Grimsby and Scarborough but then again everyone guessed wrong this transfer. After 7 1/2 months in the Leeds 4 area I have been called to serve in Selby. Let me tell you all that I know about Selby. It's really little, full of old people and you talk to the same people after about 3 weeks. I'm pretty sure it's a biking area as well! I'm serving with Elder Hilliard who I'm pretty sure is from Utah so that will be all 6 of my companions from Utah. I'm nervous/excited and pretty much everything in between. I really have no idea what to expect. I was having so much fun with different cultures and languages I thought for sure I would get sent to a bigger city somewhere but I guess that Lord has something else in store for me. I think that's how I overall feel about getting called there. It was honestly the last place I would have guessed or chosen so I'm really interested to see what the Lord has in store for me. It'll be an adventure alright but I'm excited (I already finished packing!). This week has been another amazing and good one. We have been working our butts off and have been seeing a lot of success. The greatest miracle of all time happened this last week though. My good friend Teodomiro Dias passed his interview with the bishop and will receive the Aaronic Priesthood at 6:30pm on Friday. At 7:00pm he will be able to baptised his niece Xanda. It was exactly what we wanted and it couldn't have worked out better. That has been my greatest joy in serving in Leeds 4. Let me explain a little bit. There is a woman from Portugal named Ilsy who befriends all the missionaries, she feeds us, has pictures of us on her fridge, and all sorts. She has two kids who are amazing and funny. In her neighborhood there are a lot of Portuguese people like herself (they are all originally from Africa) so they spend a lot of time together. She has a friend who is a member named Erika who has a son named Sergio. Along with those two families there are 3 or 4 other Portuguese families in the area who all have their kids play together so we get really close to them all. Erika is Miro's niece and brought him to church that first Sunday and that eventually led to his baptism. Xanda is Miro's other niece and is the one that is getting baptised on Friday. The thing that I'm so grateful for is that the Lord provided a way for me to help a family that I love so much in the gospel. Those 2 families have been my favourite part of this area and the Lord made it possible for us to bring even more of their family into the gospel. There will almost an entire row of Portuguese speakers at church! It is amazing. That is really all that I wanted out of my mission so now it's all (even more so) about what the Lord wants. I feel like I've already found taught and baptised the people I need to so now I'm just gonna do what the Lord wants. Knowing Him, He'll probably send me even more people that I can make a connection with. It's pretty sweet. Well I love you. Take care of yourself. I'll let you know everything about my next area as soon as I figure it out myself. Love you!
Elder Rowley
Elder Rowley
Friday, May 27, 2011
When a stranger calls
Elder Smith and Elder Rowley and a new friend
The Saturday before Mother's Day we received a phone call from Zack's landlady, who was arranging times for the missionaries to call. She was delightful--speaking with both Shane and me and telling us how wonderful Elder Rowley. One of my favorite parts of our conversation was when she told me how he plays their piano early in the morning. I asked her if he woke her up and she admitted that sometimes he does, but she doesn't mind. He plays from the Children's songbook and she thought it was a great way to start her day. What a wonderfully kind woman. I'm sure there is a special place in heaven for those who look after our missionaries!
*****
On Mother's Day we enjoyed a 50-min. phone call (he was supposed to have an hour--but they had to make the bus for an appointment). It was great to hear his voice, but my favorite part of the conversation went a little like this:
Elder Rowley: They call me Scruffy
Me: Why would they call you Scruffy?
Elder Rowley: Because my clothes are a little beat up.
Me (wondering why his brand new almost-a-year-old suits weren't holding up): How so?
Elder Rowley: I only had one suit so this missionary who was going home gave me his and it has holes in it.
Me (wondering how it was he only had one suit left--we sent him out with two brand-spanking new excellent quality two-pants suits): Well, there was this guy who got baptised and he didn't have anything to wear to church...
Yes--that's our Zack. He gave a new convert the suit off his back. I love that kid!
*****
So late Wednesday night, under the direction of Shane, I listened to our voicemail. A perfect stranger called to tell us he'd been in Leeds this past week and had met with Elder Rowley on Sunday and that he was doing great--he looked great, was really happy and all was well. He wanted to send us a few pictures.
Such a thoughtful gesture that means so much to the family half a world away.
Leeds 4 chapel
Leeds country as seen from a train
Leeds downtown a week ago Friday
Monday, May 23, 2011
Mummy,
Our week was amazing! I'm exhausted though. We had all sorts of weather including rain (finally), sunshine, and a lot of really bad wind. And that was just on Sunday! Speaking of Sunday, we had 4 people at church this week! Andrew and Becky came again and a less-active family we've been working with came as well. It was great. The biggest news in Xanda though, she is really ready to be baptised and will be baptised by Miro on the 3rd of June! We had to wait an extra week to make sure that Miro could receive the priesthood to baptise! It is so exciting. I probably won't be here for it but that's no bother, she is amazing though. She wants us to teach her American words and phrases and uses them with her kids. Her kids are really funny and amazing as well. I love the Portuguese people we see in this ward they are so amazing. So this last week here is going to be a powerful one! We've got loads of plans and it should be a great way to finish off my stay in leeds 4! Not much else to report on, Elder Smith is still doing great. We've been planning a bunch of stuff to do when we both get home which is exciting as well. I love it and I'm as happy as ever, I just need to get some sleep! I'm really glad to hear that Spencer Soerenson got his call, I'm glad he's going. And Tyler as well! I can't believe it, they are all so great. Well I'd better get going! I love you so much mum, take care of yourself and I'll talk to you next week!
Elder Rowley
Dad,
Well sounds like its definitely the last week of school. Good luck, I know how stressful it can be and kids without recess sounds even more stressful! I don't remember any days that they made us stay inside. Well I'll probably keep this kinda short because we've got a lot to do today and not a lot of time to do it. We were super blessed to have a bunch of people out to church with us and we're planning on some baptisms in the next month. We were going to baptise Xanda this next week but some things didn't get communicated well so she will be baptised on the 3rd of June. We decided it came down to wanting whats best for Xanda. It's still super exciting and I can't wait! Unfortunatly I probably won't be here for it, oh well at least its happening. That's probably the biggest news I have, Xanda's baptism. I'm so greatful that we got to work with her though, she is amazing. The gospel just makes sense to her, its perfect. And her kids are amazing as well, I feel so blessed. It'll be a great way to leave this ward and I feel just about overwhelmed about it! Well good luck with school and all. Keep me posted on Lindsay's tournament and such. Keep a hold on Luke as well, before we know it he'll have flown the coop and be a bishop somewhere! Well I love you dad. Me and Elder Smith talk about our dads often and I'm greatfull we were both raised with such hard working examples of the gospel. Thank you. I'll talk to you next week!
Elder Rowley
Our week was amazing! I'm exhausted though. We had all sorts of weather including rain (finally), sunshine, and a lot of really bad wind. And that was just on Sunday! Speaking of Sunday, we had 4 people at church this week! Andrew and Becky came again and a less-active family we've been working with came as well. It was great. The biggest news in Xanda though, she is really ready to be baptised and will be baptised by Miro on the 3rd of June! We had to wait an extra week to make sure that Miro could receive the priesthood to baptise! It is so exciting. I probably won't be here for it but that's no bother, she is amazing though. She wants us to teach her American words and phrases and uses them with her kids. Her kids are really funny and amazing as well. I love the Portuguese people we see in this ward they are so amazing. So this last week here is going to be a powerful one! We've got loads of plans and it should be a great way to finish off my stay in leeds 4! Not much else to report on, Elder Smith is still doing great. We've been planning a bunch of stuff to do when we both get home which is exciting as well. I love it and I'm as happy as ever, I just need to get some sleep! I'm really glad to hear that Spencer Soerenson got his call, I'm glad he's going. And Tyler as well! I can't believe it, they are all so great. Well I'd better get going! I love you so much mum, take care of yourself and I'll talk to you next week!
Elder Rowley
Dad,
Well sounds like its definitely the last week of school. Good luck, I know how stressful it can be and kids without recess sounds even more stressful! I don't remember any days that they made us stay inside. Well I'll probably keep this kinda short because we've got a lot to do today and not a lot of time to do it. We were super blessed to have a bunch of people out to church with us and we're planning on some baptisms in the next month. We were going to baptise Xanda this next week but some things didn't get communicated well so she will be baptised on the 3rd of June. We decided it came down to wanting whats best for Xanda. It's still super exciting and I can't wait! Unfortunatly I probably won't be here for it, oh well at least its happening. That's probably the biggest news I have, Xanda's baptism. I'm so greatful that we got to work with her though, she is amazing. The gospel just makes sense to her, its perfect. And her kids are amazing as well, I feel so blessed. It'll be a great way to leave this ward and I feel just about overwhelmed about it! Well good luck with school and all. Keep me posted on Lindsay's tournament and such. Keep a hold on Luke as well, before we know it he'll have flown the coop and be a bishop somewhere! Well I love you dad. Me and Elder Smith talk about our dads often and I'm greatfull we were both raised with such hard working examples of the gospel. Thank you. I'll talk to you next week!
Elder Rowley
Monday, May 16, 2011
It's a family affair
Mommy,
Well you were right about some things. Me and Elder Smith are still doing our best to tear it up here in Leeds, I might only have 2 more weeks here?! But it has been really good. Xanda is ready to be baptised and told us she knows it is all true and is really excited. We are going to go over the interview questions in english and portuguese just to make sure everything is good and then she should be ready for baptism! She is fantastic! We have a couple of other people who are getting to be consistent church goers which is really exciting and things just seem to be going up and up and up. We made contact with someone named Jamie that we thought we lost and hopefully we will be able to resolve his concerns. I'll let you know more about that this next week. We also had zone conference on tuesday. I got to drive to York and boy oh boy was it neat. Like an entire castle trapped in a city. Sorry no pictures, I was driving. But zone conference was really fun because we got to see so many missionaries that we have missed. They had people who are leaving bear their testimonies and they were all people that I've known like my whole mission. It was really hard for me and scary to realise that they won't be a part of my mission forever. But it was a good zone conference, I got my brain melted with doctrine on Joseph Smith by President Lindley. It was good. So that was pretty much our week. Not much to report, just good news! I got your packages last week! Thank you so much. Once again it was just what I needed. Dad send me a journal and my other memory card, hopefully both will be full soon and I've been looking out for a suit to buy. I love you so much mom and I love being a missionary!
Elder Rowley
ps-I just had a thought that I felt I should share with you. So we have been getting a couple of people to church and it made me really happy but then I realised that all of them are bringing kids into the church with them. So we have 4 adults that come consistently and 4 or 5 kids that come with them. They are not baptismal age so it is easy to forget about them when we talk about missionary work but how amazing of an effect will it have on them in the future! I love it!
Dad,
Everybody complained about the way that Elder [?] was driving so I got to drive to York! It was a blast, I really enjoyed it. Zone Conference was good too, we talked about Joseph Smith. President melted my brain with doctrine about the Prophet of the Restoration but it was good. The departing testimonies of some missionaries really got to me. Especially one that was in my first district and who was in my Zone for like my whole mission. It's gonna be weird without those people. My trainer goes home in July as well! But Zone Conference was great and we had a great week as well. The biggest story/invesitgator this week has been Xanda. She is from Africa then Portugal and is amazing. She is Miro's neice and a is amazing! We have been teaching her with Miro and with her member cousin Erika and when we teach her there is kinda funny routine. We'll teach her in English, then have her family testify/teach in Portuguese/Kreole and then since we don't understand all of the Portuguese her family says she repeats back to us in English. It is a perfect way to make sure she is understanding everything. She is preparing for baptism in two weeks and is getting interviewed this weekend. It is going to be amazing!!! So that has been the biggest highlight. We also had some great people at church and like I told mom I feel so blessed to have so many little kids at church with us. There are 4 or 5 kids that have been coming and I'm exciting to hear about their activity in the church after their parents eventually join. It gave me a whole new motivation this last week. I really am going to miss the little kids in this ward, I was thinking about it last night while going to bed. It will be really sad. I'm probably leaving in like 2 weeks as well. Oh well... I'm glad to hear the funeral went well. I'm gonna miss Hilton too, he was always really nice to us and a good man in the end. I guess you'll just have to find someone else to visit when you go to see grandma! Tell the rest of the family good luck as school is winding down and good luck yourself with all the crazy kids. good news! I did get your packages and they couldn't have come at a better timing. I got stuck at the mission office for a while and they both showed up out of the blue, it was really good. I loved the pictures that you send, I would have to say that is always the best thing to get sent in a package or a letter, pictures. The journal came with great timing because I'm almost finished with the one I have and I'm striving to fill up my memory card with pictures. I haven't got much time to write, the mission president is bringing us all food for p-day today and we've got to go to the chapel soon. I just want you to know how much I love you dad and look up to you. Whenever I catch myself daydreaming about home (and its not too often) I just think of all the fun work that lies ahead for me. The biggest thing that me and Elder Smith have in common is that we both love work and I'm greatful I learned that from you. Love you dad. Take care!
Elder Rowley
Well you were right about some things. Me and Elder Smith are still doing our best to tear it up here in Leeds, I might only have 2 more weeks here?! But it has been really good. Xanda is ready to be baptised and told us she knows it is all true and is really excited. We are going to go over the interview questions in english and portuguese just to make sure everything is good and then she should be ready for baptism! She is fantastic! We have a couple of other people who are getting to be consistent church goers which is really exciting and things just seem to be going up and up and up. We made contact with someone named Jamie that we thought we lost and hopefully we will be able to resolve his concerns. I'll let you know more about that this next week. We also had zone conference on tuesday. I got to drive to York and boy oh boy was it neat. Like an entire castle trapped in a city. Sorry no pictures, I was driving. But zone conference was really fun because we got to see so many missionaries that we have missed. They had people who are leaving bear their testimonies and they were all people that I've known like my whole mission. It was really hard for me and scary to realise that they won't be a part of my mission forever. But it was a good zone conference, I got my brain melted with doctrine on Joseph Smith by President Lindley. It was good. So that was pretty much our week. Not much to report, just good news! I got your packages last week! Thank you so much. Once again it was just what I needed. Dad send me a journal and my other memory card, hopefully both will be full soon and I've been looking out for a suit to buy. I love you so much mom and I love being a missionary!
Elder Rowley
ps-I just had a thought that I felt I should share with you. So we have been getting a couple of people to church and it made me really happy but then I realised that all of them are bringing kids into the church with them. So we have 4 adults that come consistently and 4 or 5 kids that come with them. They are not baptismal age so it is easy to forget about them when we talk about missionary work but how amazing of an effect will it have on them in the future! I love it!
Dad,
Everybody complained about the way that Elder [?] was driving so I got to drive to York! It was a blast, I really enjoyed it. Zone Conference was good too, we talked about Joseph Smith. President melted my brain with doctrine about the Prophet of the Restoration but it was good. The departing testimonies of some missionaries really got to me. Especially one that was in my first district and who was in my Zone for like my whole mission. It's gonna be weird without those people. My trainer goes home in July as well! But Zone Conference was great and we had a great week as well. The biggest story/invesitgator this week has been Xanda. She is from Africa then Portugal and is amazing. She is Miro's neice and a is amazing! We have been teaching her with Miro and with her member cousin Erika and when we teach her there is kinda funny routine. We'll teach her in English, then have her family testify/teach in Portuguese/Kreole and then since we don't understand all of the Portuguese her family says she repeats back to us in English. It is a perfect way to make sure she is understanding everything. She is preparing for baptism in two weeks and is getting interviewed this weekend. It is going to be amazing!!! So that has been the biggest highlight. We also had some great people at church and like I told mom I feel so blessed to have so many little kids at church with us. There are 4 or 5 kids that have been coming and I'm exciting to hear about their activity in the church after their parents eventually join. It gave me a whole new motivation this last week. I really am going to miss the little kids in this ward, I was thinking about it last night while going to bed. It will be really sad. I'm probably leaving in like 2 weeks as well. Oh well... I'm glad to hear the funeral went well. I'm gonna miss Hilton too, he was always really nice to us and a good man in the end. I guess you'll just have to find someone else to visit when you go to see grandma! Tell the rest of the family good luck as school is winding down and good luck yourself with all the crazy kids. good news! I did get your packages and they couldn't have come at a better timing. I got stuck at the mission office for a while and they both showed up out of the blue, it was really good. I loved the pictures that you send, I would have to say that is always the best thing to get sent in a package or a letter, pictures. The journal came with great timing because I'm almost finished with the one I have and I'm striving to fill up my memory card with pictures. I haven't got much time to write, the mission president is bringing us all food for p-day today and we've got to go to the chapel soon. I just want you to know how much I love you dad and look up to you. Whenever I catch myself daydreaming about home (and its not too often) I just think of all the fun work that lies ahead for me. The biggest thing that me and Elder Smith have in common is that we both love work and I'm greatful I learned that from you. Love you dad. Take care!
Elder Rowley
Monday, May 9, 2011
I just knew...
It was good to talk to you as well! I left a message for you as well I don't know if you got it. But sounds exciting about people and missions back home. And yes I do know Didier, he came to church a couple of time and sat in Elder's Quorum with us, he was nice. I don't really have much else to report on because we just spoke yesterday but we did have a really good week. Xanda came to church all by herself and is looking good for her baptism in the end of may and a woman named Rinah that we have tried to see and teach for like 6 months finally came to church as well! She had her sister over and it changed her whole attitude about investigating, it was amazing. So both of them are looking really good for baptism in the next couple of weeks. Then I will probably have to leave my beloved Leeds 4 but it will be a great way to leave! I've still got a couple of week left so I'm gonna work my hardest so Elder Smith has a lot to work with when I leave. It was fun to learn to make Fuba last week and I was even more amazed to hear that you have had it before. It made me realise that I need need to hear stories from your mission! I hardly know (or remember) anything you have told me about it. Sounds like a great opportunity for a letter! Haha. Well I'll take your advice and take more pictures and spend more money. Maybe I'll buy some shoes today! Well I love you mum. Thank you so much for raising me in the gospel and being such a good example to me. Talking with Elder Smith we realised that the main reason we were obedient to our parents and came on missions is because we love and respect our parents and our Father in Heaven. You never had to force me or pressure me into it, I just knew that you loved me and that it was what you wanted me to do. Thank you. Take care! Love you!!
Elder Rowley
Elder Rowley
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Happy, happy birthday Elder Rowley, dear...
Mum,
Thanks for all the birthday wishes it was a really good day. I can assure you that all of our prayers were answered and we met most of our goals last week! We had 3 people come to church and it was a great week all together! For my birthday I tried to keep it quiet but I got sang to in both junior and senior primary and all over that place. It was really good. The members we ate at, Matt and Karey Wiles were really fun as well. They gave us loads of food and even made me a cake, I'll send you a picture of it! All in all it was a great day and great week. Things are going really well for me and Elder Smith! I'm really sorry but I haven't got any more time to write, we've got to get to work! But I love you mum, take care! I have no idea about next week for mother's day but I will probably call in the morning or afternoon. I'll be sure it's not when you're at church though! I love you!
Elder Rowley
ps- Karey tried to add you on facebook I think.
Dad,
It was a really good birthday and now I'm finally 20! What made it even better was that we could go to the mission presidents house on Sunday night and we had three people at church on Sunday! We actually met most of our goals last week, it was amazing!! For my birthday some people let out the secret and I got sang to in both junior and senior primary, how embarassing! Then the members fed me and birthday dinner and made me a massive cake, I'll send you a picture. I'm sorry to hear about Hilton, I've told you there is a member here who looks just like Hilton, maybe I'll get a picture for you. I'm really sorry but I've got no more time to write. I've already spent all day getting estimates on a broken car and we haven't done any work yet! Busy busy. But I love you dad! Take care of yourself and I'll talk to you next week! I dont' know when yet but I definitely will talk to you!
Elder Rowley
