Fill your vase

I learned a really neat lesson the other day, one about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I won't bore you with the who, what, where, and why of flower picking, but know that flowers were picked, placed in a water-less vase, and left unseen for hours. They were beautiful when they were first picked, so full of life! If flowers had the ability to feel happy, these flowers were feeling just that. While we were out living our busy missionary lives, the flowers died. The once beautifully bloomed flowers looked as though they would never recover. I had a thought, a simple one that took very little effort - add water. I did just that, I added water to the vase and when we returned that evening we quite literally gasped. The flowers were gorgeous! Back to that beautiful bloom, the one that has me wishing flowers had feelings so I could label them as happy.

Being a missionary, my mind couldn't help but relate this little experience to the gospel. Water is essential to sustain life - flowers, animals, humans, we all need it. Jesus Christ and his teachings (often referred to as living water) are essential for eternal life and true happiness. If we do not fill our spiritual vases with water, we will die. We all make mistakes, we forget to add the water, we put other things of lesser importance ahead of that water, sometimes we even blatantly refuse to add the water. Just as those flowers wither away, our spiritual progress begins to not only stand still, but deteriorate. Oh how important it is for us to fill our vases! Study the scriptures diligently! Attend church weekly! Pray with your heart, your whole entire heart! Attend the temple! Share the gospel! Do all that you can!! Fill your vase so you don't wither away. If I were a Book of Mormon prophet right now, I would probably turn my caps lock on and start telling everyone to repent now and come back, back to the path that leads to everlasting happiness! Happiness that is found here & now, and into the eternities, is only achieved by relying on Jesus Christ. We cannot return to full bloom, we cannot reach our full potential, and we cannot become who we are meant to become if we don't allow Christ to help us. Let Him in, let Him fill your vase.

pics of the week

saying goodbye to the YSA’s
 
MTC seven:
 

Spring!!

an answer to my prayers

It came in the mail, all the way from Nevada. It was addressed to me, even though she was a stranger. I felt loved and appreciated, I felt grateful and humbled; a 15-year old girl took the time to seal it all up in a super cute envelope. I opened it up and there it said, "called to serve" - what an honor that is. Now that card sits right on my desk, I see it every morning. It's a reminder of who I am, who called me and why. It reminds me that I'm a blogger and a missionary, we use facebook and skype. Heavenly Father knows best, He uses our talents and gives the chance to try. That's why I was sent here, so I could share the gospel online.

I have been wanting to blog again and I've been asking Heavenly Father if I can, and if it can be more like before my mission - I think if I blog that way I can make a bigger difference. It's sort of like that identity crisis when you're a missionary but you're still supposed to be yourself but you don't know how. So I've been praying about blogging and then the coolest thing happened. My prayers were answered by a letter from a stranger! This amazing girl took the time to write me and thank me for my blog as a missionary and I am so grateful that she did. She wasn't sure why she felt impressed to, but I know why, I needed that answer from Heavenly Father. Never ignore an impression, you might just be the answer to someone's prayer.

i'm now serving in......

transfers happened!!!! i definitely miss the YSAs so much, but hey - i get to see them any time they come to the VC! i actually got to see a few of them this weekend for general conference! we got to watch it on the big screen in our theater at the VC. I thought it was going to be harder to say goodbye to the YSA. I think Heavenly Father blessed me with feelings of peace. I had a few breakdowns before, but the actual goodbye wasn't what I expected it to be. When we went to email, I jumped on FB to make an announcement on the group page, I wanted everyone to know what was going on. We also

texted a few of the YSAs to let them know and make sure they came to
FHE so we could see them. I had received a FB message from David Sosa, a less active that we knew but when the elders were here they worked with him much more than we ever did, but he still took the time to send me a personal thank you and I just felt so appreciated! I realized that I'm going to miss ALL of the YSA, not just the ones I worked closely with. I felt more like a YSA at that final FHE than a missionary. Something keeps popping into my head that sis caffee said to me, she told me that I was so good and being with the YSA and not of them. I hadn't even recognized that of myself and I feel grateful that Heavenly Father helped me be a missionary in situations that would sometimes be hard to uphold that standard.

so I'm now serving in...... KENTLANDS! it's actually super close to where i was before. even though we're neighbors it's suuuuper different, hello massive mansions and super rich people. it's hard to find lots of success when tracting, and tracting is pretty much our only option when we don't have appointments, but i'm so happy! i feel like every time i write i am just so happy to be a missionary! We haven't had much of an opportunity to actually be in the area, we've been at the VC for the past few days, but I am really excited and love what I've experienced thus far. We had some amazing miracles in the VC this week!!! My testimony is growing stronger and stronger of how powerful the VC is and just how special it is to be serving there. I sometimes think the VC is under appreciated by us as missionaries, I have certainly taken it for granted and failed to recognize the miracles that happen here. We met an amazing couple who lives right next to us! Sadly, they are not in our area and the Gaithersburg elders will end up teaching them. We were able to teach them about temples and eternal families. We showed them the movie in the house and the spirit was just so strong! It was that movie that allowed the spirit to touch their hearts and accept our invitation to meet with missionaries. They own a FROG yogurt shop in our area, so we are going to stop by and make sure they were able to meet with missionaries!! We found out that FROG stands for Fully Rely On God! Isn't that neat?! I also had the opportunity to talk with a man named Cliff over the phone. He's in his 60s and is looking for a new church, a place to feel like home. I happily explained that he found it, this is where he will feel at home!! He accepted my invitation to meet with missionaries, I got all his information, and then bam - the internet went down. I was devastated. In the last half hour of our shift at the Visitors Center, I was able to call him back and I got through to him! He had tried calling again and was directed to a sister in Salt Lake. She had told him that she would try to find me, but it would have been very unlikely that she could. He was so happy when we were reconnected and he exclaimed, that although the other sister was kind and helpful, the enthusiasm I had was what drew him in. Because of that experience I have been able to recognize that one of my talents is that: my enthusiasm for life and for the gospel. As I started to reflect on that, I recalled a few other instances where my enthusiasm was commented on and appreciated. I know that Heavenly Father sends to me specific people that will respond to my unique abilities. It really was a miracle that I met Cliff and was reconnected with him. We had even covered a shift for some other sisters that night! Right place, right time!

once upon a time i went running. we went into the city to see the cherry blossoms this morning, they aren't fully out yet, but it was so fun! i actually ran (you would be so proud!!). we plan on going back next week when it isn't raining though and hopefully the blossoms are in full bloom. we were soaking wet and super cold, but it was still so fun and i'm glad that we went. minus the fact that i still haven't unpacked! yeah, i'm living out of suitcases right now. we get home so late and we haven't been home for lunches or dinners. we've been at the VC pretty much every day since transfers. #thelifeofamissionary
Sister Chapman and I contacted the neatest lady on the metro today. We were heading back after our city run, and were witnesses to what could have been an awful accident. She had tried to catch the metro by sticking her hand in the doors. But the doors don't recognize when that happens, and the people inside were frantically trying to help her get loose. Luckily, her arm, her umbrella, and her bag were pushed out just as the metro headed on it's way. Sister Chapman immediately ran up to her to make sure she was okay. We got to talking to her and taught her about temples and modern day prophets. We invited her to visit the VC and as we were leaving she asked for our numbers (asked for OURS! the elect!!). We gave her our facebook names and got hers as well! We are so excited and we are so grateful that we were blessed with the opportunity to meet her. We cannot wait to begin teaching her online! We are so blessed to be online missionaries!!

i'm happy to be here. the real kind of happy, not the i have to be happy because i'm a missionary happy. i've been reflecting on general conference, trying to think about what i gained this time around. i tried really hard to listen to my feelings this time instead of just listening to the words. there were a few times where i didn't know exactly what was being said, but my testimony was strengthened. i felt the literal power of the holy ghost bear witness to me that these are indeed prophets of god and this is the one true church restored on the earth today. i felt it in my heart. i know that this is god's work and i know that this is the best thing we can all be doing with our lives. not just the full time missionaries, but all of us!!

love you all so much!!!

love, sister rowley

pics of the week

first skype lesson

what I learned from Sis Fifita… how to have fun!

what missinaries do…. wait