Missionaries Blog Too

If you know how to throw a welcome back party, then I'm ready to be your guest of honor. I'm back! I'm blogging again and this time I'm blogging as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! Choosing to serve The Lord for 18 months is the best decision I have ever made. Missionary life has been hard, really hard (I have no problem being honest about that), but it has been absolutely amazing. The daily miracles always outweigh the difficulties and trials that come my way. There is nowhere I'd rather be than right here helping others strengthen their relationship with Jesus Christ.

Everywhere I go, I'm reminded to utilize my talents as a missionary. Talents? What talents? Um, hello... blogging! It is no accident that the Lord has called me to serve in this particular place, at this particular time. Despite what some people may think, missionary work is much more than knocking on doors and giving away a Book of Mormon. Believe it or not, missionary work includes facebook and blogging.

So here I am with another blog, this time with a very specific purpose, a missionary purpose. Everything I share here will revolve around one little thought:  BE OF GOOD CHEER. "Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear,  for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come."  (Doctrine & Covenants 68:6)

I'm learning that the only way to do missionary work is with a happy heart and smile on my face. No matter what you say or do, it means nothing without love and sincerity. I'm learning that the only way to have that love and sincerity is by relying on the Savior. This is His work and His mission, not mine. I know that Jesus Christ loves us and knows us on a very personal level. Because of Him, we never have to feel alone. I may be out of my comfort zone, walking up to strangers and sharing with them my beliefs, but as long as I rely on Christ, there really is no reason to fear.

Pics of the week

Every week brings new photos.
Here are my pics of the week.

Companions: Sis Leben & Sis Rowley

Photo 2 - Exact quote "being a missionary does not mean i stop loving ice cream"

FIRST A THOUGHT, then an email

For over a month now, we have been writing letters to our darling sister missionary daughter. They have been filled with words of encouragement, love and support. We send off these letters hoping that she will grow and learn from our experiences and feel uplifted through our insight. Over this same period of time, something quite remarkable has happened. As we have been receiving letters from her, we find that it is our testimonies that are growing from her experiences and we are uplifted by her understanding. Her letters are filled with the sprit and this has been a great blessing in our lives.

 

and now… this weeks email:

it's been a rough few weeks. it wasn't until i had a really good day, that i realized i was sort of feeling depressed (nothing to be worried about though! missionary life just requires a lot of adjusting). i was afraid to talk to president cooke, worried about bugging him when he had so much on his plate already. sister griffiths really helped me understand that president WANTS us to call him. and so i did. we were able to set up a time to meet together the following day. tender mercy: actually meeting in person instead of talking over the phone.

i am convinced that there is no other mission president that i could have served under. president cooke and his wife (his whole family for that matter) are amazing. the mission president before, and probably many in other areas, have a hierarchy for calling. you call your district leaders first, they call the zone leaders, and then they call the assistants to the president, who then call the president. obviously that is the hierarchy we ought to use, but in some cases we really are allowed to call president. he WANTS to hear from us, he wants to have that one on one conversation. it makes all the difference to just know that. i had missed that, the ability to talk to a parent-figure like that. i have always been so open with you (mom & dad), so it's a great blessing that president allows us to be that way with him.

in that meeting i learned a lot from him, and he also gave me a priesthood blessing that made all the difference. he pointed out to me that he could have assigned two seasoned missionaries to start this YSA group - to whitewash and begin from scratch - but instead he called me. it blows my mind that the lord and president cooke have THAT much confidence in me. knowing that also humbles me and helps me realize how dependent i truly am on the atonement and on my relationship with the savior. that's what missions teach missionaries: to REALLY depend on the the lord. 
the blessing he gave me that night was so wonderful. i'm so grateful for the power of the priesthood and to have access to it here while i am serving and away from dad.

i honestly cannot wait for you (mom & dad) to meet these wonderful people. you will love the cooke's so much. i have known them for a very short period of time, but i love them so much. i loved them the very second i met them. i wish i could have better explained that experience with president, but i can't. i struggle to find the words sometimes and that was one of those times. i sort of wish i could have recorded that meeting so i could remember it forever. the feelings i will never forget though, so perhaps that's all i need.

OH! I CREATED A NEW BLOG! sisterrowleyindc.blogspot.com
i'm still working on putting it together, but i decided this was the best way for me to do online proselyting. every time i get on fb i start writing a post and realize that it's waaaay too long and i just get frustrated and give up. this way i can post lengthy things and then post the link on fb! so i will continue to send emails home and mom can take care of that blog, and then this blog i will use to teach and share some other personal experiences! perhaps some of the info will overlap, but i'm not quite sure how i'm going to do it just yet.

sister cooke & her daughters found my mission blog and love it! they also watched me opening my call! i want to watch that video again, i love it so much. i feel sort of pressured to be so good at online proselyting - everyone here knows that i blogged before - and i just get online and don't quite know what to say or how to say it. it's one thing to blog about your life, but to blog about life and turn it into a preach my gospel lesson is entirely different. this is something i need to pray more about. heavenly father will help me know how to do online proselyting and utilize my talents.
i wish i had 5hrs to write emails! i have lists of things i want to say and they just get longer and longer everyday!

i love you all so much!

love, sister rowley

Monday’s [very brief] email

FRIENDS & FAMILY!

i look so forward to mondays, to emailing home and letting you all know how much i love you. we had stake conference this week and it was AMAZING. i have been struggling a lot (i'm on the world's biggest roller coaster right now, so many ups and soooo many downs - one extreme after another). stake conference was everything i needed. we had an area authority visiting - j. christopher lancing. there was a  youth choir that sang the EFY medley song. i love that song so much, even more so now that i am a missionary and i am truly "as the army of helaman... taught in [my] youth, and i AM the lord's missionary, bringing the world his truth." i need to start carrying tissues around with me. pour elder squires (it's fine, he was front row - i was second) had to grab the tissues for me TWICE. you know how it goes, the rowley cry that never stops. the best part of stake conf. was when elder lancing talked about sections 121-123 of D&C. section 122 was what really spoke to my soul. i should have brought my scriptures so i could tell you exactly what i learned, but he talked about how this section ought to be personalized. that section says "if" so many times and if we go through and change those "if" trials of joseph smith's to our own personal trials we can then really personalize that promise "fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever."

Sister Rowley

PHOTOS!!!

Scriptures + Oatmeal = Missionary Breakfast
Sister Leben & Sister Rowley

Excerpts from a letter–FIRST VISITOR CENTER LESSON (SOLO)

10/22/13
Last night was my second shift at the visitors center and it was awesome! It was a shorter shift because of PDay. I was reviewing my training binder when a family came in. At first, I was hoping that some other missionary would come over, but I am so grateful that this teaching opportunity was mine.

They are a family of 4 – just like ours, with two daughters – from Ethiopia. The father had briefly been in the visitors center before, but didn’t stay long because he wanted to bring his family. He had seen the temple from the highway and wanted to see what it was. They walked around the temple grounds and then came to the visitors center. They had a few questions about the temple and I tried to answer them to the best of my ability. I taught them about eternal families, promises we make with God, and even baptisms for the dead. They were with me for pretty much the entire night.

I showed them the “God’s Plan” video and we again talked about eternal families and creating families and homes on a foundation of Christ. They loved the video! I taught them about the prophets (Joseph Smith & modern day prophets) and about the restoration and the Book of Mormon. They are orthodox and very faithful to Christ. We looked at paintings of Christ and even the Christus. They were so knowledgeable and after I would teach something, they would say “true! that’s true!” I was so inspired by their commitment to Christ and their obvious love for Him and for each other.

Things just got great towards the end of the night. We were able to find a Book of Mormon in their language! They wanted one, but not in English. They were so excited! I committed them to read the introduction as a family by Saturday. I will then call them Saturday and talk with them about it. I pray that they fill the spirit and come to know the Book of Mormon the way they do the Bible.

I stumbled over my words and didn’t always know what I was doing, but I tried. I stepped forward with faith, knowing that the Lord would prevent me from saying anything stupid or wrong. I’m learning that the Holy ghost is always there, but sometimes in a way I didn’t expect. Sometimes he helps me teach by knowing what to say and where to go, but more often I’m seeing that the Holy Ghost works as a filter. I open my mouth in faith, praying that something, anything I say, will touch the hearts of those I teach. Then the Holy Ghost filters the things I say in a way that allows the investigator to hear and feel exactly what the Lord wants them to. I can’t wait to see what happens with this amazing family and I know that even if they don’t accept the gospel now, I was the one who helped plant that seed. ME!… the sister missionary who just got here and has no idea what she is doing. My very first visitors center lesson! WHAT A BLESSING!