The Late P-Day (February 22/23)

Dear my beloved family,

Hey! How's it going? I apologize for the late email and any concern it may have caused. Yesterday we had Zone Conference and so P-day was moved to today.

Elder Triantafillakos and I spoke in Sacrament meeting on Sunday. It was my first real, non-read talk (meaning I didn't read it word for word, but had notes and looked at the audience). But it worked! It was long enough and said what I wanted to. I talked about Agency and basically said how we can always choose our actions, and by choosing that we are choosing th consequences. So, We can choose happiness by keeping the commandments, or we can choose sorrow, pain and grief, by choosing to sin. So of course, we all want to choose to keep the commandments.

Zone Conference was great by the way. President Jolliffe talked about Finding, and how we should always be doing it because the more people we talk to the more people we teach; and the more people we teach, the more people who get baptized, and the more people who get baptized, well, the more people who receive such wonderful blessings that come from it! It seems like a pretty obvious statement, but I think sometimes we forget it as missionaries to talk to EVERYONE. How else will they know about the Gospel? (There are of course the few exceptions where people shout out to us and ask US questions).

The work has still been going pretty slow here in Napier. I think that's because most people are elderly and set in their own ways of religion. But Elder Triantafillakos and I are still making progress and are trying to be more creative in our finding techniques (compared to just knocking on doors and saying the same usual things).

Also at Zone Conference, Sister Jolliffe talked to us about helping our investigators overcome addictions. It was extremely helpful. LDS Family Services has a booklet that addicts can use and write  in to track their progress. The steps to stopping the addiction are all based on gospel principles. Addicts learn to rely on the healing power of Christ and not just on themselves to overcome their problems.

We also were told the news of who the new mission president is going to be. They're from Orem, Utah. And their last name is Kezerian. Do you remember my friend Courtney? It's her parents. At least, I'm 90% sure that they are. President Jolliffe said their youngest daughter just got married, which Courtney did, and so it's pretty funny. I don't really know them very well and I'm quite positive they have no idea who I am. So it'll be interesting having them as my new mission president in July.

As for the rest of the week, it was good, as usual. Strangely, for something like three days in a row we met someone who talked to us for a very long time. That doesn't happen very often. We were standing up for the entire time, so my knees got pretty sore. They were a Muslim man, a Seventh-day Adventist lumberjack and a Christian woman whose lawn we mowed (in our church clothes. They were all super nice to us as we shared with one another our beliefs. I find it pretty amazing how some religions are so close to the truth but are just missing some very important details that are preventing them from realizing it. So I'm very grateful for the knowledge we have of Christ's gospel as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and that we're being led by a prophet today. It's so great! (and that's an understatement).

Matt and Jenny and the kids (whom we now call the Zalewski's, because that's Matt's last name of course) are doing great still.  They still haven't been able to come to church yet though because things keep coming up. I know that once they do, they will be able to progress a lot faster. Elder Triantafillakos and I have been emphasizing having prayers every night, individually and as a family. We made "prayer rocks" (rocks that say "prayer" on them) with the kids to help them remember whenever they see it before they go to bed to pray.

Rebecca (the Chinese woman who I mentioned last week) is also doing great! (I really need to find a better word than "great".)  She's definitely understanding so much more about Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and she's finding much more joy in reading the scriptures. She reads select verses in her Mandarin Book of Mormon and then in the English one and she's able to comprehend what we want her to learn much easier. We keep trying to get her to come to Church, but she says she gets car sick. I don't think that's really what her concern is.

In answer to one of Dad's questions: "Tomato sauce," which is put on just about everything here, is different than ketchup. Sort of.

I'm sorry i can't say more!

Just remember:
"True happiness comes only by making others happy"---David O. McKay
Keep doing what is right, and praying day and night! And reading your scriptures too!

Have a wonderful week!

I love you all so very much!

Love,

Elder David John Rowe

Earthquake Report

Just a note to those who are concerned about Elder Rowe's well being in light of the devastating earthquake in Christchurch on Monday our time, Tuesday his time. David and all of the other LDS missionaries in the Wellington mission were reported safe and accounted for within hours of the earthquake. Since David is now some distance from Christchurch (on the North Island as opposed to the South Island), we don't know that he was even aware of the earthquake until after it happened. However, we continue to pray for and wonder about those who became very dear to him during his time in Christchurch. We hope that they are safe and well. We won't know David's reaction until his email next week.

What's Valentine's Day? 2/13 - 2/14/2011



Elder Rowe says New Zealand reminds him of southern California. Now we see why.



Sneak peak of Elder Rowe



Omahu, Elder Rowe's current area in the city of Napier

Napier Beach

Hello my wonderful family!

It's been an interesting week. But then again, every week is an interesting one. Napier is still hot, and I'm still sweating more than I have in my entire life, and most people don't want to talk to us, but everything is great, the work is progressing and I love being a missionary!

First of all, Matt and Jenny are doing great. They love having us come over and teaching them and their six children. I always love going over to teach them because I always feel so uplifted after sharing the gospel with them. I'm always so happy everytime we go over and I leave with a renewed sense of energy and determination and love for missionary work. We had a really wonderful lesson with just the two of them on Wednesday night after the kids were in bed. We read with them The Family: A Proclamation to the World, and of course they caught on to our subtle hint that they need to get married. They've been planning on getting married for a few years actually but part of it is a money issue--they'd like to have a big fancy wedding. But we talked about temple marriage and the blessings and joy that comes from that. So we're working on it. They still have the desire to be baptized, they still haven't recieved that divine witness that the Church is true. When that comes, I think their desire to be married sooner will come, so that they can get baptized!

The two of them came to a baptismal service on Saturday! We invited them to come with us to the baptism of a girl the zone leaders have been teaching. They had wanted to see what a baptism was like and so they (as well as Elder Triantafillakos and I) were really glad they went. They were planning on coming to church yesterday, but they didn't . We don't know what happened, so we 're hoping to see them tonight.

In other news, Elder Triantafillakos and I were ecstatic to see Sharlene and her daughter Jessica at Church yesterday. Sharlene also brought her mom and her foster daughter Brodie. Sharlene and Jessica have been less active for a couple years, but we've been visiting them the past couple of weeks. With the encouragement and an invitiation from us,(as well as the Spirit) and the resassurance from Bishop Tohiariki, Sharlene felt loved and welcomed to come back to Church. She's also getting another foster son that she wants us to start teaching.

Elder Triantafillakos and I are also teaching a Chinese woman named Rebecca. She's a nursing student at the university and is learning English . She actually speaks English very well (she doesn't think so) but has a hard time understanding certain things, like God. She's been getting taught the lessons  for a couple of months now and I think has heard everything, but it hasn't really made sense to her or stuck. So we've basically started over with her and just teach her about Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and who they are and what they' ve done for us. Because she grew up in China, she was never taught about such wonderful things. It's so rewarding to me to see the joy it brings her when she understands a principle we've taught or when she reads from the scriptures. For example, on Saturday, we read Matthew 11:28-30 with her. She'll read the verses three times and then ask what certain words mean. So we explain what it means to take Christ's yoke upon us and we explained how a yoke works with oxen and that Christ offers His help and makes whatever burdens we have so much lighter because He is there pulling with us. She loved it and I loved seeing the joy it brought to her. That's what this gospel is all about! Happiness. So I hope you realized how much I love being a missionary and sharing happiness with others.

 Just remember:
"True happiness comes only by making others happy"---David O. McKay

Keep doing what is right, and praying day and night!

Have a wonderful week!

I love you all so very much!

Love,

 Elder David John Rowe

I'm so sorry I have to go! We're now only allowed one single hour for emails and I'm way to slow at writing. I'm starting to write my emails on paper before hand and just copy them. Next week I will answer the questions I can.

I Can't Think of a Clever Title This Week - 2/6 - 2/7 2011

Elder Rowe and Elder T enjoying corn on the cob from their backyard garden.

The back yard garden yields the fruits of some previous missionary's labors

Another enchanting New Zealand sunset

Dear my beloved family,

This week has been quite a different one!

From Monday night to Wednesday morning, the traveling assistants (the assistants to the President who travel to all of the areas in the North Island) stayed with Elder Triantafillakos and I, and we accomplished so much! The four of us split up and did twice the work. Elder Walsh and Cobbett are both awesome, powerful, and experienced missionaries who taught us a lot and increased our number of investigators tremendously. Seven new investigators is the usual for the week, but we got seven on Tuesday alone. So we're very excited to begin teaching them this week; some we've already been able to teach. The work is increasing here in the Omahu area. I learned a lot from the traveling assistants and feel so much more comfortable just talking to people and particularly encouraging less-active members to come back to Church. Rather than just asking if they want to, it's good to remind them of the feelings of the Spirit they once felt and that is more likely to give them the desire.

To clarify, most of the popular and big stuff to do in Napier is in the Zone leaders' area--the top of Napier. Our area, Omahu,  is the bottom half and is a much quieter part of the town. 

During the week Elder Triantafillakos and I had a wonderful lesson with Matt and Jenny. We've taught them the Plan of Salvation over the space two lessons, and we asked, "If you found out what we are teaching you was true (through prayer of course) would you be baptized?" They said yes. IF they found out it was true. On Wednesday, we taught them the message of the Restoration because Matt missed it when Jenny was taught before, and I don't think Jenny quite caught the whole picture of it. So we taught them the wonderful truth that Jesus Christ's Church has been restored to the earth today through the Prophet Joseph Smith! And when we realized they understood what we were truly saying, we reminded them again of the question. We then  committed them to be baptized on March 5th. They agreed! I could have run the whole way home! We were so happy! They're still praying and waiting for that answer, so I'm excited for when it comes. Sadly, they couldn't come to church yesterday because something came up. Next week they will be there. We still have to get them married, though. Any advice, Robby?

  

This weekend, Friday night to Sunday evening, Elder T and I got to be trainers. The stake did a mini-mission for all of the priest-age (16- and 17-year-old)young men. It was very cool. I worked with Brother Amner, who was set apart as a missionary. I took him around to our lessons and some door knocking and all of the other missionary experiences. It was a great training experience for me.

 And now for Dad's questions:

Q: What are some of your favorite New Zealand meals? 

A: Barbecues are the biggest thing. Sausages, meat patties, fish (cheap fish) and steak all dipped in tomato sauce! 

Q: Is the food much different? 

A: No. 

Q: Do groceries seem expensive?

A: Yes.

  

AAh! Sorry gotta go! I love you!

My time is up!

please add the usual goodbye!

Love,

Elder David John Rowe

Kia Ora Cuz! 1/30/2011 - 1/31/2011

This week Elder Rowe and the rest of his district visited a Marae, a Maori funeral home.

Elder Rowe in front of the marae

Dear Rowe Family,

Hello!

I'm glad to hear so much wonderful and exciting news from Orem-ville. This week has been a good one. I hope I didn't sound too depressed last week. I wasn't, but I am much much happier now than I was last week after a wet and uneventful change from Christchurch. I haven't heard what's the latest from the Mapurangas, but I hope to talk to Elder Prebble soon enough and what good news he may have.

It's super hot here! It's the hottest area in the whole mission, I was told. But I'm wearing sunblock, so no worries. I just need some sort of sweat-reducer.

I like Napier a lot, even though no one seems to care what we have to say. We're still doing a ton of door knocking. This week we have plans to change it up a bit and talk more about family history with all of the elderly people who "have their own religion" and don't care to hear that Jesus Christ's Church has been restored to the earth or that they can be married not just "until death do they part" but for eternity! So we've been trying to practice new ways of getting people interested, because this area has been struggling for awhile with progressing the work.

But all is well. I can legitimately say that I enjoy door knocking. I would, of course, enjoy it a lot more if people were accepting of the good news that we share, but I still enjoy it and am constantly thinking of different things I can say to these people to give them understanding.

We're not just door knocking all day, however. Elder Triantafillakos and I have a few progressing investigators. We have had a lot of joy lately as we've been teaching Matt and Jenny. They are the young parents of seven kids under the age of nine. Yeah! Lots of crazy kids. Every time we visit, we have to talk and play a game with the kids for a while before we can actually start teaching, but we've taught them the Plan of Salvation and they loved it! Of course they did, because it's true. Matt says "it makes so much more sense" than the idea of just Heaven or Hell. Jenny is reading the Book of Mormon and likes it. Besides the fact they'll have to get married before they can get baptized (they actually told us they have been planning on marrying before we even mentioned anything), the other big challenge is getting them to church. Because the kids are so young and not used to holding still and being quiet, Jenny is worried about taking them. But we'll be working on that.

We had a meeting with the ward council on Wednesday. We all have lots of plans to help the ward grow.  The ward has been its small size for awhile now and missionary work hasn't been the most successful. So we're working with the ward leaders, who are very willing to do whatever they can. We hope to accomplish all we can to progress the work and get out of this rut that Napier/Omahu has been in for awhile.

We have randomly been given so much free food this week from people. A bag of plums from a lady while we were door knocking. A watermelon from a member in another ward who was selling them on the roadside. Popsicles from a guy buying fruit from one of the road side salespeople. A ton of leftover meats from one of our dinner appointments. And this morning a sister from the ward brought over a bunch of groceries! We are so blessed, and grateful for it. So know that I'm being taken care of.

And now for some answers to Dad's questions:

Q: Wow, you are no longer on the south island! 

A: I keep forgetting that fact and that Aukland is actually nearby and not in another country. 

Q: Were you sad to leave Christchurch?

A: Yes

Q: Are you okay with the move? Not that you had much choice.

A: Yes 

Q: Were you able to say goodbye to the Mapuranga’s? 

A: Yes, luckily. I told them that we shall meet again. 

Q: What about your bicycle?  Did you take it on to the plane?

A: Yes.
 
Q: Was your flight during the daytime? 

A: Yes.

Q: Was it cool? 

A: Yeah!

Q: How big was the plane? 

A: Quite small. 

Q: Did you fly by yourself? 

A: Yes. I love being able to see the view from up in the plane, so much green!
Q: How is the new town?

A: It's great.

Q: It sounds like you have met the ward leaders; did you say that they are all Polynesians? 

A: About 80% of the ward is Maori. 

Q: Do they speak Maori and English?

A: Few actually speak Maori fluently. Anyone in the world who speaks Maori knows English. 

Q: How is your new companion? 

A: He's great and we get along well. 

Q: We have decided just to call him Elder T. Has he been a member his whole life? 

A: Most people, including President Jolliffe, do. Yes.

Q: Are his family members? 

A: His mom and step dad are, his biological dad isn't. 

Q: Has he always lived in Australia? 

A: Yes. 

Just remember:

"True happiness comes only by making others happy"---David O. McKay

Keep doing what is right, and praying day and night!

Have a wonderful week!

I love you all so very much!

Love,

Elder David John Rowe