living the dream… in the city!

New transfer, new area, new companion. I'm in Chevy Chase now! It's a family ward mixed with mid-singles. and now i get to LIVE IN THE CITY!!!!!!!! you guys, it's the absolute best. i love that i get to live in dc, totally better than maryland. it's so fun taking the metro and walking around in a place so full of people that you hardly know who to talk to first! a missionary's dream! i'm living it! i love my new companion too, a tender mercy after a rough transfer. but you know what, those rough transfers really help you appreciate the good ones. and they help you grow and become a better person. i know i should have changed a lot of things about last transfer... heavenly father blessed me with many opportunities to be a better person, and i failed to take them. sister weber is from middleton, idaho and she is the absolutely sweetest. that's everyone's go-to description of her, because it really is the first thing you think of when you talk about sister weber - she is so sweet. she so sincerely cares about others. i love that we talk to each other and actually care about each other as people, it's one of those companions are more than just companions situation. needless to say, i'm blessed this transfer. chevy chase is amazing. it's the most productive and progressing area i've ever been in. lisa got baptized 2 days ago, we have two others getting baptized in july, and a couple progressing investigators as well. it's insane!! i've never experienced anything like that before! i thought i would miss kentlands more, but i think being in this particular area with this particular sister helps me not miss it as much. there are certainly things and people i miss, but it's not as bad as i anticipated. mary ellen and rick are at the top of my miss list, i think they will be for the rest of my mission.

i hit my official 9 month mark this week! I've been a missionary for exactly 9 months! Half way is both an exciting and scary thought. I'm half way through, I survived the hardest part, but I now only have 9 (technically less) months to be a missionary, to become who Heavenly Father wants me to become, and to help who I'm meant to help. I have a feeling it's going to go by much faster than these first nine months. I'll blink and it will all be over. i hope i can reach my potential as a missionary.

life is good! i'm happy and i'm working hard. i'm even getting up at 6:30 EVERY morning and this morning we ran outside. and by ran i mean mostly walked and jogged for like .5 seconds. #istillhateworkingout

LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

from skype to baptism

Yesterday was D's baptism! He's the guy sister Fifita and I found together before they took missionaries out if the Seneca singles. I'm convinced that this is why they created that area, so that we could find D. He had met with missionaries prior, but lost contact and went off to school. We were the ones who found him again just before he heading back to school! We taught him over Skype, and then sister chapman and I continued to teach him. It eventually reached a point where we knew we needed to pass him to the Gaithersburg sisters. When he returned from school, these would be the missionaries in his area. As soon as we passed him, he committed to baptism! Being a VC sister brings so many blessings... Seeing D a few more times after is one of the many. I actually got to teach him at the VC when they brought him in! And now he's baptized!!!!! Sister Fifita and I got to go to the baptism together! There is no better way to celebrate my half-way mark as a missionary. No better way. The moment D came up out if the water was so special for me. I can't really describe it, but it was just this peace, an almost tangible peace. Sister Fifita
felt it too, I could tell. We just looked at each other with tears in our eyes and knew that this is what life is all about, helping others
grow closer to Christ. Because I'm here serving The Lord, I was sent to seneca singles, and sister Fifita and I were blessed to be
companions, who then found D and helped him get back in touch with missionaries which lead to this... A baptism that marks the
beginning of a new and happier life for him.

Lay it at His feet

Imagine this. You're sitting in a room full of people. It's quiet... you're all thinking about the question that has just been asked. What are your regrets? What are the thoughts and actions that plague your mind? What do you wish you could change? You start to go through every little thing that you've been doing wrong. The list gets longer and longer and you start to feel overwhelmed. All your flaws and faults lay before you and you wonder if you can ever overcome them. The perfectionist within is absolutely freaking out.

You move outside. Symbolic of all those regrets are weights, they sit in a pile practically begging to be picked up. Picked up and carried by you and everyone you're with. They come in all different shapes and sizes, similar to the regrets and individuals that surround you. Which weight should you pick? Will it be too heavy? Will you be able to carry it? How far will you have to go? Your regrets are now more than thoughts in your mind, they become physical weights to be carried by you and you alone. Sure, you're surrounded by friends, all of you carrying regrets, but nobody knows exactly how you feel. The sun beats down, the sweat starts dripping, the silence continues. Will this ever end? Will you ever feel relief?

The end is near. Just when you think you can't go any further, back inside you go. It's cooler there, you're protected from the sun. The bugs can't get you anymore, and would you look at that... there are chairs! The best part is yet to come though... no longer do you have to carry the weight alone. There on the stand is a statue of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of all mankind. His arms are outstretched and you've been told to lay your weight at his feet. You walk up to Him and hand over your burdens, walking away lighter while He takes on the

load every single person was carrying. Not half of it, all of it.

9 For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made. (Alma 34:9)

We did this as missionaries, reflecting on the regrets we have had on our mission thus far. I often worry about how I will feel at the end of my mission. Will I have learned anything? Will I have changed at all? Will I continue to regret those same things or will I had tried harder to change? This experience was exactly what I needed as a missionary who had just reached her half-way mark. It was one of those mighty change of heart experiences, one that empowered me and helped me see that as long as I rely on Jesus Christ, I can do anything! Focusing on the regrets we have is useless. It's important to recognize where change is needed, but dwelling is dangerous and because of Christ, it's unnecessary.

The zone leaders were originally going to assign certain weights to certain people, but we ended up choosing our own, which an elder pointed out, was perfect considering how we often are the ones who weigh ourselves down. We choose to let ourselves be burdened by our past regrets and mistakes, not those around us, and definitely not Heavenly Father. Even when we were seemingly alone, trekking along with our weights in hand and the sun beating down, we were never truly alone. We all had different weights, different regrets, but we were all together, all struggling in one way or another. Sometimes I forget that I'm not the only missionary here or anywhere who struggles. It was cool to visualize that, to see all of us carrying our own weight but knowing that everyone in that entire group was carrying something. Nobody was exempt. Nobody ever is. Life is meant to stretch us, we're here to learn and grow. Trials are an essential, humbling part of this journey we call life.

The power of the Atonement is real. I'm so grateful for Jesus Christ, for His love, His example, and His sacrifice. I'm especially grateful for this experience that has helped me change not only as a missionary, but as a person who is just trying to do her best. These are the type of experiences that help me become who God intends me to be. God has a plan for everyone, mistakes and trials are a part of that plan, but so is The Savior, the one who can help you, me, and everyone. Lay it all at His feet, you don't have to do it alone. 

happy fathers day to me

so i'm sitting down in the main theater on father's day, the Why I Believe event has just started. all of a sudden i'm called to the aisle... sister carcamo and sister amparo NEED me and it's URGENT. why on earth would they need me? i'm not on shift, what could have possibly happened that they need me for? i walk upstairs and start to worry that i'm in trouble or something. they have these worried looks on their faces, so i'm sure something bad has happened. they turn around and ask me if i'm good at taking pictures. i confusingly reply with a yes, and continue to wonder what on earth could be so urgent. they lead me outside and there they are.... uncle eric, aunt tamara, and all the kids!! HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ME! it was almost too good to be true. it took me a minute to realize that standing before me was my family, and they were real! and then i figured it out and started crying. it was so fun seeing them, catching up, taking cousinly selfies, skyping mom & dad for 1 minute (long enough to throw up the I LOVE YOU sign and tell dad happy father's day). seeing them was the biggest tender mercy of all time. we weren't even supposed to be there that night! sister croese had a meeting with sister cooke afterwards, so she asked us to come even though we didn't have someone for the ward or an investigator with us. i would have been so sad to find out they had stopped by on a night i wasn't there! they were heaven sent, it might have been a planned trip, but seeing and talking with them was a miracle that heavenly father knew i needed. i have been drowning this transfer. a lot of things have been a challenge, and in more ways than one, being with family was like finally coming up for a breath of fresh air. as i was sharing some of my mission experiences with them i was able to see how heavenly father loves me and cares about me despite my many, many weaknesses. i said things that i wasn't necessarily thinking, it's as if heavenly father was helping me say certain things, helping me see that i need to stop dwelling on my mistakes and move forward. as aunt tamara told me how awesome it was that i was avoiding the benches at the VC, i was able to feel that even though i do so many things wrong, that was something, one thing, i was doing right. heavenly father was grateful for that effort i was making to be more productive in the visitors center (thanks aunt tamara!). it really was the best thing of my life. i'm so so glad that happened and so grateful that was during this challenging time of my mission. one of the best parts of being on a mission is finding joy in others' joy. that's what sister busath did for me last night. i was so glad she was there, and that i was able to share that miracle with her. i couldn't pick anyone better or more important here in dc to introduce my family to. they even got to briefly meet the eyrings! now you can all say you've met president eyring's brother :]

time is pretty short today, we're going on last minute splits tonight because sister croese will be in yet another meeting. i'll be going to quince orchard with sister saviano and what do you know... i'll get dinner!!!!!! that in and of itself is a tender mercy.

best thing of my life, even better than seeing my family, was finally meeting with sandy. it was the absolute best night of my entire mission. SHE'S GETTING BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!! the date is july 26th, just one year and 2 days after i got my mission call. it was our first real sit-down lesson with her. we talked about the BOM, briefly about families being together forever, and mostly focusing on the feelings that she was feeling that night and that she had felt at the visitors center during christmas time. sandy and i both cried all night long, and the spirit was there in abundance. i knew that god had meant for me to meet sandy with sister owens last transfer, that i was meant to be the one who patiently and persistently kept in touch with her, that sister sottili and i were meant to be the ones who visited her on her special pre-opening day at the new talbots, and that i was meant to be a part of that first lesson with her. i've never prayed harder in my entire life for the salvation of another. throughout that entire lesson i just kept begging heavenly father to help her recognize the spirit that was there. the two of us cried all night and i could tell that she knew that this was true and coming from God. she is excited to read the book of mormon and is excited to grow closer to heavenly father! i ended up writing 5+ pages in my journal that night about sandy's story. as we were leaving she asked if she should get sundays off work, SHE asked US! we told her that would be great! and you know what's cool?? her boss has met me! inspired! meant to be! who knows how that will influence the things they allow her to ask for at work?! everything leading up to sandy is a miracle and tender mercy. we usually spend our tuesday nights with mary ellen & rick, but this one particular tuesday another family signed up to feed us dinner. because of that we were able to meet with sandy and now she's getting baptized!!!!!!! this is why i'm on a mission, this is why i'm here in DC, to meet sandy, and help her feel the spirit. transfers are coming up, and the original plan was to transfer me. now that president knows about sandy he/i have no idea what's going to happen. i've never been more anxious for a transfer in my life. i prayed about it, and asked heavenly father to help me feel peace about whatever happens. just after that i looked up and found this quote on the wall, "if God brought you to it, He will bring you through it." at first I thought to myself, "perfect! I get to stay with sandy here in Kentlands!" But now I'm trying to see it as the bigger picture. Perhaps it means that god brought me here on a mission and HE will be the one who brings me through it, HE will be the one who decides where I go and who I help.

whatever happens will be what God wants. This is HIS mission, HIS children, HIS time, and HIS decision. i'm learning to be better about that, to be more dedicated and serve Him in a way that demonstrates what a privilege this is. only 9 more months to grow and learn things i can learn nowhere else.

lots of love,
sister rowley

pics of the week

catching firefly's


p-day at great falls overlook