Another great adventure

Dad,
Well Saint Patrick's day was kind of funny here. We live by a
long line of pubs so almost every night we see loads of drunkards. On
weekends they dress in really funny clothes and run the whole length
of the road going from pub to pub to pub. They call it the Otley Run.
So that was my Saint Patrick's Day. But I didn't have much time to
write as usual unfortunately. I'm having to figure out courses for
school and such. But it was transfers this week! I was really
surprised the hear that I'm leaving Leeds 1! Only six weeks here, I
can't believe it. It was neat though because when I got here I had
the feeling that I would be leaving after one transfer. It's funny how
the Spirit warns you of that kind of stuff so you can prepare. I also
totally guessed what is happening to Elder Weitzel as well. He's
gonna be the District Leader here and is also gonna train a new
missionary! It's super exciting. There were loads of trainers in this
group and 6 of them have been in my district! I'm so proud of all of
them. Elder Thimmesch is training as well so I'm getting a grandson
as they say on the mission! So things are going really well. I'm
excited for this next transfer. I'll be moving to Hartlepool in the
Billingham Zone. I'll be serving with Elder Shumway from St. George I
think. He trained Elder Woodbury one of my old companions. He goes
home in 6 weeks so that will be another great adventure. And get
this, we are gonna have a car finally! I'm pretty excited to see what
missionary work is like with a car. So things should be good. Sorry
this e-mail is so short again dad. Thanks for everything, I think and
talk of you often. I'll talk to you next week. Love you!
Elder Rowley

Mum,
We had some really neat experiences with languages this week!
Yesterday we taught a Romanian family that came to church on Sunday.
They loved it and are pretty epic. It's funny because the wife speaks
no English, the husband speaks a little English, and the friend only
speaks Romanian and German. Haha. So the lesson was in English,
German, and Romanian. It was pretty fun. We also taught in
Portuguese this week as usual and French which is always exciting. I
love it here. But unfortunately my time was short here and I'm being
transfered! Who knew I would have a 6 week area! I'm moving up North
to Hartlepool in the Billingham Zone. I've never served around there
but I've got some good friends there. It's funny because Elder Weitzel
will be taking over the District and training a new missionary at the
same time. He's only been out six months. I expect great things for
him and kind of knew this was going to happen. So we'll have to see
how it all plays out but I'm excited. The missionary I trained is
training as well so as they call it I'm getting a grandson in the
mission! It was a pretty exciting transfer all in all. I feel like
there was a lot that happened this week but I don't have too much time
to write it. The mission president is fine with me looking at classes
and such during p-day. I'm looking at a lot of courses and have
talked with some people who went to BYU so I have a pretty good idea
about what I'm gonna do. I'll suprise you with it when the time
comes. But that is enough about that. Thanks for everything mom I
love you so much! Take care and have a good week!
Elder Rowley

Back to Leeds!

Mum,
I talked with Henrique from Selby and was planning on calling
mike at about that time. Problem is that Henrique said Mike lost his
phone is the snow! Haha. Our week was amazing! I'll tell you about
it but then I'll let you know about transfers. So is started off
really well and then I went to Newcastle for a day and a half. I was
with Elder Herlin who speaks Chinese and we taught a bunch of Chinese
people. I was really really fun to sit there and have a lesson
entirely in another language. The people who we taught this time
didn't speak as good of English so it was harder for me to keep up,
especially because we really only said like 5 words in English the
whole time. So that went really well and then I came back and found
out that they had a really good day in North Shields while I was gone!
We worked our butts off all week and were able to have 5 people at
church on Sunday!! It was so exciting. We had loads of members out
with us and everything, all it all it was a great week. Probably the
best week I could have left on. Which leads me to my next item of
business. Yes, its time for me to leave North Shields but you'll
never guess where I'm going. I'm going back to Leeds!!! I'll be
serving in Leeds 1 with Elder Weitzel who is from Germany! We are in
a 4 man flat with two people who were in my last district and my
companion just barely got to the area like 2 weeks ago so it will be
all brand new. I'll be able to see my old Portuguese friends as well
because I think I'll be in the Leeds 4 district!!! Its super
exciting. I can't believe it. I never would have guessed it and
nobody else guessed it either! I'm being replaced by like my best
friend in the mission, Elder Spratt! I'm really excited because I
know he'll pick things up right where we left off and he's gonna tear
it up! I'm so excited. So things are going really well and I'm happy
with everything! I think that's about all for me. I'm gonna buy some
things from Newcastle today to remember it and such but then we're
gonna have a good time! I love this work! Take care mum, I love you
loads! Bye!
Elder Rowley

Dad,
Jeff is home!!!!!!!! I can't believe that, it's ridiculous. Crazy
crazy crazy. I hope thinks work out with the truck and everything and
I'm glad to got to spend some time with family. This week as usual
flew by but unlike other weeks I felt like I had a good hold on this
one. I spent the first few days in Newcastle with Elder Herlin. We
were teaching people in Chinese and it was really fun. Most of the
time I just sat there and watched and tried to figure out what was
going on. It was really fun when I would know what they were talking
about and then I would say something and the person would look at me
as if to say, "Do you speak Chinese too?" It was really fun. Then I
came back and we just took off with our week. Things came together
really well and we had an amazing week! We had 5 people come to
church! It was amazing. We had quite an amazing blessing as well in
this one appointment. So we are teaching a woman who
can't be baptised right now because of her living situation but she
wants to really badly. It was so amazing to
see the way the Spirit works on people.
She has an 11 year old who is so much fun. At the
beginning of the lesson we were talking about how I always wanted to
be an uncle and she says, "Well you can be my uncle!" And for the
rest of the lesson she refered to me as uncle rowley! Even in the
closing prayer and it was so touching, the gospel is for families! So
that was great. We were also able to teach a Czech family again and
they are amazing. I love teaching people who don't speak any English,
the Spirit is so much stronger there! So our week was really good and
it was possibly the best week I could leave on. So unfortunatly
that's what's happening, I'll be leaving tomorrow. But I could not
have been more suprised or excited about what's happening. So I'll be
moving to Leeds 1. Let me tell you a little about it. It is a 4 man
flat and a 4 man area. My companion is Elder Weitzel from Germany who
was only moved to the area 2 weeks ago. The other two missionaries
were in my district in Selby. It is a massive university area and one
of my good friends from Selby is going to school there now. I'm
pretty sure that Leeds 4 (my old area) is in my district so I'll be
able to go there now. Nobody was expecting it at all but it is
possible the best transfers ever! Even better is the missionary who
is replacing me. Its Elder Spratt who served in Leeds 2 in my
district. When Elder Stevenson was about to go home we went on
exchange at least once a week. He is one of my closest friends in the
mission and is probably the best replacement I could have asked for.
I'm so suprised and excited that I can hardly stand it! I can't
believe it, I'm almost at a loss for words. So that's what's
happening here and it is super exciting! Well that's about it for me.
Love you Dad, take care. Let me know if there is anything you need!
Talk to you next 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

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

Life Flight!

Well papa I'm moving! I'm going to the Leeds 4 ward with Elder Jensen. The Elder who came out with me who I sat next to on the plane. Its pretty crazy to think about serving with someone I came out with but I'm excited. I told mom I couldn't sleep last night and I'm already packed. I have learned from some other Elders that we live with members in Leeds 4 which is going to be a change, probably for the better! And the funny thing is I'll probably only be Elder Jensen's companion for 6 weeks because after this next transfer he will have been there for 6 months. It will be weird to have so many 6 week companions. Other exciting news is that an Elder I came out with is training this transfer so that will be pretty crazy. There are so many exciting things happening that I just can't take it! I will definitely miss Newcastle though, a lot of other areas aren't as diverse which i think is less fun. Yesterday I almost had an entire conversation with someone in Persian! We teach people from all over the world and we ever had 5 people at church last week! That is the most of my whole mission but that record isn't gonna last long. Jon Duerden said that he is gonna have to go home on a stretcher and I told him they are gonna have to take me home on life-light. It makes me so excited and I know that working hard is the key to success and happiness. Have you ever read Jesus the Christ? I have started reading it before bed and during lunch and stuff and it is really really good. I just thought I'd let you know how good it is. I'm trying to think if we had any stories to tell. It has been quite rainy recently and yesterday the rain was freezing! Don't worry I'm staying well but I don't really get bothered by the cold. Remember that one time I was up at Sundance waiting because I thought you said if I missed the bus to just wait instead of getting the next one? Every since that day I have never really been bothered by the cold. Kind of a nice advantage to cold winters huh? I have been trying to take more pictures and hopefully I can send some today but England is really pretty. Since the sun is rarely up then when it is there is a cool twilight effect. I have been trying to take advantage of it so we'll see how it works. Christmas is coming up, did you want anything? I told mum what I was planning on sending Lindsay and Kyle but I need help for everyone else. Let me know if you have any ideas. Well Dad the church is true, thank you for everything you've done for me. I wouldn't be the missionary I am now without you. Thank you so much.
Elder Rowley


Guess what mum! I'm leaving Newcastle! I'm going to the Leeds 4 ward to serve with Elder Jensen. Yes, the Elder Jensen that I sat on the plane with. Pretty crazy huh? We are going to live with members and being so close to the mission home we get to take investigators to the President's fireside on Mondays. How exciting is that? I couldn't sleep last night because I was thinking about all of the new possibilities and challenges and such. I also have a long line of members that I need to say goodbye to in Newcastle. It will be hard and lame but I pulled out those thank you cards you put in my bag and I'm going to write some to the members here and start on the ones for people back home. Well we were definitely blessed a lot this week. For my entire mission we have always had a hard time getting people to church, usually only 1 person comes every week. But this week we worked our little behinds off and lo and behold 5 people came to church! There is a funny story about one of them. So we were waiting to go to tea with a member and they were stuck in traffic so we decided to knock on some doors around their house. We were kinda doing it to kill time until the member got back but we found a family of 4. At first Steve said, "I divn't believe in nowt" (Geordie for I don't believe in anything) so we were afraid it would be a lame door. Then as we kept talking to him he said he would love his wife to be baptised and when we explained a bit more about it then he said he would bring his whole family to church. When you bring a family to church it is amazing, the ward just adopts them. We were busy picking up some other people for church but when we got there Steve was waiting with the other Elders. He had a big smile on his face and said his wife was with the women and his children were in primary. They loved church and everyone loved them and they are going to be scheduled for baptism this week. Another amazing thing that happened is with a girl named Brooke. She is Chinese and is actually an investigator to the Zone Leaders but I have met her a couple of times. When they told her to start thinking about who she wanted to baptise her she came up to me after church and said she wanted me to do it! How crazy is that! Unfortunately I'll be leaving so I can't do it, but no bother! Well I'd better get going, I think I'm gonna start doing some Christmas shopping for everyone so let me know what you want. Love you so much mum. I'll be emailing from Leeds next week!
Elder Rowley