Mum,
I'm glad to hear about the stuff with Grandma Jacobs going
well, though it must have been pretty interesting and all. Oh, where
do I start with Hartlepool. I feel like I could talk about it and
especially our people all day long. Oh well let's try for a start. So
my companion is Elder John Shumway from St. George Utah and he loves
to hunt. He goes home in 6 weeks and is such a great friend and
example. I love serving and teaching with him, it is a blast. We
have a car and are over 7 teams in the Billingham stake. I got to go
to a stake coordination meeting yesterday which was an interesting
experience that I enjoyed. Let me tell you about the area.
Hartlepool is a branch of the church that is quite small. There is a
senior couple here and he is the branch president but President
Lindley said that they aren't sending any more senior couples here to
be branch presidents so we have to find and baptise the new branch
president. This gets me in to the people we are teaching. I could
talk about them all day, I love them so much! So there is a pretty
ghetto area here in Hartlepool and a couple of transfers ago they
found and started teaching kind of the ring leader of it all. They are converted!
Everytime we go over there I feel like I am at home. They are so
loving and amazing and hilarious and just perfect. They are getting
married in April and then baptised a week later. He is the new branch
president. Because he is the ring leader of everything in Hartlepool
he has given us so many people to teach. It is such an amazing
experience to teach him and his friends because they have all been through so much in their lives. But when you look in
their eyes and teach them the gospel their humble and broken hearts
melt. I love teaching them so much! We have so many of them and I
could talk about them all day long. It is like every relationship we
have with every investigator is such a sacred feeling. I love it so
much. We always tell each other, "I wish my whole mission could feel
this way." It is the happiest I have ever been and I love it! Its
funny because I'm always at a loss for words with these people. When
they pray, when they keep commitments, when they accept baptism I am
just amazed and stand in wonder and awe. It's great. So that's pretty
much Hartlepool in a nutshell. I love it here. Well mum that's about
it for me. Thanks for everything. I've sorted almost everything with
BYU and such and it should be fine. I got to visit my African friends
before I left Leeds and I told one of them to add you on Facebook, I
don't know if she has yet. Her name is Ilsy D'alva or something like
that. Love you mum, take care!
Elder Rowley
ps- I gave Dad, my address and such but if you send it to the mission
office I'll be there in 2 weeks so you can decided. Take care!
Dad,
I don't know where to start this week. Things are super epic
here. My companion is John Shumway from St. George, Utah and he loves
to hunt. Elder RS. Smith my old companion is in the zone and all
three of us just talking about hunting and shooting and fishing and
everything all day long. He is such a great example and I love
serving with him. The area we live in is really close to the sea, I
can see it from my flat and it has been a great adventure so far. Let
me tell you about the people we are teaching. So in England you get
these pockets of really rough and poor places where there are a lot of
drug problems and things. The people in these areas are all really
struggling with loads of things and most of the time they are not
receptive to missionaries at all. But we are teaching them here!
There is a man and his fiance and they are the
centre of everything here. He has a rough life and is kind of
like the ring leader of all of Hartlepool, everyone we see knows him.
But they are converted, that is all I can say. I feel like
they are family. It's so amazing because of them we are teaching loads
and loads of people. They are getting married in April
and baptised a week later. I am just at a lost for words at how
amazing these people are. I feel like everyone we teach is one of the
Rowley clan. I love it here. It's amazing. Yesterday was like the
best day ever at church. Hartlepool is just a tiny little branch and
there is a senior couple here and he is the branch president. We had
some people there and one of our investigators bore her testimony at
church. Its amazing. Me and Elder Shumway just look at each other all
day and say, "I've never been this happy in my whole life." So
pretty much things here are amazing and I love it. It feels like I've
been here for like a month and a half already and I hope it stays that
way. I'll be sure to give you a picture or two next week. Dont'
worry about the BYU stuff, I've got most of it figured out. I was sad
but also happy to hear about Grandma Jacobs. I knew she was ready to
go. Well Dad, that's about it for me. I love you so much. Take
care!
Elder Rowley
ps-Did you by any chance sign me up for the draw this year for the
deer hunt? Its no problem if you didn't.
