Sunday, October 24, 2010
New Mission Home Address
For anyone who is interested in corresponding with Elder Rowe via snail mail, please note that the mission office moved this week. We've updated the address in the profile box on the home page.
Earthquakes
Dear Loved Ones,
I can't believe it's already been almost two weeks! It seems like just a few days ago that I got off the plane in Christchurch. Yet the big aftershock that was last Wednesday seems like forever ago! It's a very confusing thing. Days last forever, but weeks fly by. And I heard that months are even faster. So it seems I'll be coming home in just a couple weeks and that two years will have already passed.
Finding people to teach (investigators) has become a lot easier. Elder MacTavish and I have "heaps" of investigators, it just seems like they're never home. But the lessons we have been able to teach have been going well. Our usual schedule (apart from scheduled appointments) is us biking to a certain area and trying to teach our investigators in that area, but they're nver available. Because our investigators aren't ever home or are "busy," we will go to a different neighborhood, and find the same lack of success. So then we will do some door knocking.
Though it's of course pretty scary still, door knocking has become a lot easier and more comfortable. I think especially because I have been trying to rely more on the Spirit and not just saying the basic door approach phrase. Getting totally rejected isn't that bad because that just means they're not ready to hear the gospel. So we move on and try to say the best things we can to touch their hearts and help them realize how the gospel will bless their lives. I've found that the easiest thing to have a conversation about is the earthquake and aftershocks. "Did you feel that one on Wednesday?" "Yeah!" "Yeah, it was like 5.8!" I heard the ceiling tiles in the Riccarton mall fell down! Whoa! or "How has your house been doing with the earthquake?"
It's interesting. We had an aftershock during Sunday School yesterday. Everybody just sits there with an awkward/worried look on their face. When it ends, we laugh, then everything continues normally. And then we discuss it later with people we meet. "Did you feel that one this morning?"
Earthquakes are a pretty cool thing to feel. Not when they cause damage, though. The usual Riccarton ward building (about a five minute drive for most members) was damaged in the main earthquake, so the ward began sharing a chapel with the Cashmere Ward about 20 minutes away. Initially, the plan was to use that building until November and then go back to our own chapel after repairs had been made. But we were told in Church yesterday that we won't be going back until at least March. It's been a problem. There have been some members who haven't been coming to Church the past couple of weeks because the Cashmere chapel is too far away. Now that we're going to be there until March I hope they'll realize they need to come. The distance has also been a problem to get new investigators to Church! So we'll press forward with faith and hope it will work out and that members and non-members will be able to cope with the distance.
The ward is great, by the way. I'm struggling with people's names, but I was told that's okay. (They only know my name because I'm wearing a name badge). We have dinner with different families four or five times a week, which is fantastic. I've been able to eat all of my vegetables and other healthy foods then because we've been lacking them in our flat (it's not called an apartment). By the way, Elder MacTavish and I are the only ones in the flat (which is pretty "flash," or fancey). It's part of an apartment complext of about ten flats. Or would that be a flat complex?
On Saturday the city put on a free concert--eight hours of popular New Zealand artists--as encouragement for the people fo Christchurch to "Band Together." We heard there were 21,000 people who attended. Don't worry, we didn't go. By the way, Hagley Park, where the concert was, is one of the coolest parks I have ever seen. The trees are huge and it's a gigantic green place. Maybe you should Google-Earth it? I think it's my favorite part about the city of Christchurch so far. We pass by or through it a couple of times each week. It's beautiful!
So you know, last night I had a great experience as we rode home. I felt a really wonderful feeling of gratitude to be here. I need to admit that once I arrived here in Christchurch, I lost my excitement for New Zealand. But last night, I just felt so much gratitude and joy to be here and to be a missionary. I don't know what it was, but I now have an even greater desire to be serving here and I know that desire will only increase.
I need to go, but I hope I answered all of your questions and that my grammar sounds okay. I'm worried it's going to be pretty bad when I get home. (No offense to the Kiwis).
Have a wonderful, wonderful week! Good luck to the girls and their last week of the term. Work hard, and pray! I know prayer is one of the best ways to be comforted. It has helped me so much. So never hesitate to do so, nothing but good can come from it.
Thanks for all of your prayers, support, and encouragement. It means "heaps" to me (a lot!) So thank you.
Love,
Elder David John Rowe
I can't believe it's already been almost two weeks! It seems like just a few days ago that I got off the plane in Christchurch. Yet the big aftershock that was last Wednesday seems like forever ago! It's a very confusing thing. Days last forever, but weeks fly by. And I heard that months are even faster. So it seems I'll be coming home in just a couple weeks and that two years will have already passed.
Finding people to teach (investigators) has become a lot easier. Elder MacTavish and I have "heaps" of investigators, it just seems like they're never home. But the lessons we have been able to teach have been going well. Our usual schedule (apart from scheduled appointments) is us biking to a certain area and trying to teach our investigators in that area, but they're nver available. Because our investigators aren't ever home or are "busy," we will go to a different neighborhood, and find the same lack of success. So then we will do some door knocking.
Though it's of course pretty scary still, door knocking has become a lot easier and more comfortable. I think especially because I have been trying to rely more on the Spirit and not just saying the basic door approach phrase. Getting totally rejected isn't that bad because that just means they're not ready to hear the gospel. So we move on and try to say the best things we can to touch their hearts and help them realize how the gospel will bless their lives. I've found that the easiest thing to have a conversation about is the earthquake and aftershocks. "Did you feel that one on Wednesday?" "Yeah!" "Yeah, it was like 5.8!" I heard the ceiling tiles in the Riccarton mall fell down! Whoa! or "How has your house been doing with the earthquake?"
It's interesting. We had an aftershock during Sunday School yesterday. Everybody just sits there with an awkward/worried look on their face. When it ends, we laugh, then everything continues normally. And then we discuss it later with people we meet. "Did you feel that one this morning?"
Earthquakes are a pretty cool thing to feel. Not when they cause damage, though. The usual Riccarton ward building (about a five minute drive for most members) was damaged in the main earthquake, so the ward began sharing a chapel with the Cashmere Ward about 20 minutes away. Initially, the plan was to use that building until November and then go back to our own chapel after repairs had been made. But we were told in Church yesterday that we won't be going back until at least March. It's been a problem. There have been some members who haven't been coming to Church the past couple of weeks because the Cashmere chapel is too far away. Now that we're going to be there until March I hope they'll realize they need to come. The distance has also been a problem to get new investigators to Church! So we'll press forward with faith and hope it will work out and that members and non-members will be able to cope with the distance.
The ward is great, by the way. I'm struggling with people's names, but I was told that's okay. (They only know my name because I'm wearing a name badge). We have dinner with different families four or five times a week, which is fantastic. I've been able to eat all of my vegetables and other healthy foods then because we've been lacking them in our flat (it's not called an apartment). By the way, Elder MacTavish and I are the only ones in the flat (which is pretty "flash," or fancey). It's part of an apartment complext of about ten flats. Or would that be a flat complex?
On Saturday the city put on a free concert--eight hours of popular New Zealand artists--as encouragement for the people fo Christchurch to "Band Together." We heard there were 21,000 people who attended. Don't worry, we didn't go. By the way, Hagley Park, where the concert was, is one of the coolest parks I have ever seen. The trees are huge and it's a gigantic green place. Maybe you should Google-Earth it? I think it's my favorite part about the city of Christchurch so far. We pass by or through it a couple of times each week. It's beautiful!
So you know, last night I had a great experience as we rode home. I felt a really wonderful feeling of gratitude to be here. I need to admit that once I arrived here in Christchurch, I lost my excitement for New Zealand. But last night, I just felt so much gratitude and joy to be here and to be a missionary. I don't know what it was, but I now have an even greater desire to be serving here and I know that desire will only increase.
I need to go, but I hope I answered all of your questions and that my grammar sounds okay. I'm worried it's going to be pretty bad when I get home. (No offense to the Kiwis).
Have a wonderful, wonderful week! Good luck to the girls and their last week of the term. Work hard, and pray! I know prayer is one of the best ways to be comforted. It has helped me so much. So never hesitate to do so, nothing but good can come from it.
Thanks for all of your prayers, support, and encouragement. It means "heaps" to me (a lot!) So thank you.
Love,
Elder David John Rowe
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Greetings from Down Under
As I guess you've found out, I'm in Christchurch (or Chch). And yes, I have felt aftershocks from the earthquake from six weeks ago! It's awesome! You start hearing a thunder-like sound, and then all of a sudden, the walls start shaking for a second or two. I felt one as we were teaching a lesson on my first night, and one this morning. Very weird.
I will try to answer all of your questions, but I might not have time. Next week I will plan better and type faster. I will copy your questions and then give the answer, okay! I think this will be the easiest way to answer. I hope it makes sense.
Q: How was the MTC, day to day?
A: Great!
Q: What did you like?
A: I liked being able to use my time in the most efficient way possible.
Q: What did you not like so much?
A: Having dinner at 4:30.
Q: Was it easy or hard?
A: Neither.
Q: Was the food good?
A: Good in some ways, but kind of weird in others.
Q: What was it like to be in a district that was going to a different mission?
A: It was weird thinking they were all going off together and I wouldn't see them again for a long time.
Q: Were you sad to leave them?
A: Yeah, but I didn't cry. It was just hard to think I won't see them again unless we planned it or maybe randomly at BYU. I also wondered if they'd even remember me.
Q: Did they leave the MTC at the same time?
A: I was in New Zealand before they left the MTC.
Q: Were there sisters in your group, or just elders?
A: There were three sisters in the other district going to Minne (Minneapolis).
Q: How was your flight? Did you talk to anyone on the plane? How did that go?
A: My flight to San Fransisco was interesting. I talked to a man in his 60s named Ron the whole way (or he talked to me while I asked questions). He knew about the Mormons and missionaries in general and he would randomly ask questions about everyday life as a missionary. I couldn't really give him good answers because I hadn't fully experienced it. I tried to keep bringing up religion and his experience as a Protestant, but he would eventually change the subject or act awkward about answering. When we landed, I finally mentioned the Book fo Mormon and how it's like the Bible. I pointed out that since his wife loves the Bible so much, she would like the Book of Mormon too. He wouldn't take the book, so I left him with a pass-along card for a free copy. I hope he'll at least show it to his wife.
My 12-hour flight from San Fransisco to new Zealand didn't seem long at all. I planned to write heaps (Kiwis never say lots or tons, it's heaps) of letters but I didn't have any time. I was talking to an Australian couple on their way home from Alaska that I was sitting next to for the first while. "Dave" told me all about how great New Zealand is. So that was great. But since our flight was over night, he kept trying to go to sleep and I didn't think I should keep talking to him. So he would sit back, close his eyes, adn then five minutes later tell me some more about New Zealand. I was able to get a good eight hours of sleep in on the flight, and then in the morning when we landed, Dave and I started talking again. I didn't know exactly what to talk about, but I eventually left them with a pass-along card that said, "Can our marriage continue after we die?" and the mormon.org website. So I hope it had some impact on them.
New Zealand = Extra windy California. Where the people drive on the wrong side of the road and have great accents. The funny thing is though, that now I'm the one with the accent. "Hey, this one's got an accent!"
My companion is Elder Mactavish from Hamilton, NZ. He's a really cool guy and has been in the area for a really long time (4 1/2 months), which is good. In my mission, it seems the missionaries are either from North New Zealand or Utah. Seriously. And so I'd say a quarter Utahns, a quarter white Kiwis, and a quarter Polynesians. Sweet as. (That's more slang. Rather than saying "so cool" or "that's awesome!" it's "cool as" or any adjective really with the word "as" after it. "It's cold-as, Bro!" "Scary as!" So I keep expecting them to finish their similes: "cold as . . . ice" or "big as . . . a bus." But it's all sweet as.
President and Sister Joliffe are great! Sister Joliffe is probably the giddiest woman I've ever met. President Joliffe is mean. Which is more slang. First night, we new missionaries were talking. "So what do you think of President Joliffe?"
"He's mean!"
I was like, "What? He's way nice, what are you talking about?"
"Oh, no. Mean is a good thing, Elder Rowe. It's like cool or awesome."
So "mean" is a good thing.
I haven't really had too many weird things to eat. My first two meals with members were pizza and spaghetti. But I had Marmite this morning for breakfast on toast. It was disgusting. I can't even describe it, but imagine rancid Nutella that smells like bad soy sauce. Also, I was fed French fries (called "chips," which I already knew) with bread. You put chips and ketchup (which the Kiwis refer to as "tomato sauce") on bread and eat it like a sandwich. Weird. But normal tasting.
New Zealand is not at all like I expected so far. It's a lot like the small cities of California, really. There are some parts that are just really green, though. The parks are really pretty with huge trees. I really like biking past/through those.
I wish I could say more, but I'm almost out of time. I will try to answer more questions next week.
Missionary work is hard (of course), but I'm enjoying it so much! The few people we are able to teach make up for all of the hard times. Also, church was great yesterday. It was the Primary program. Funny stuff, but always so spiritual. I love hearing kids bear their testimonies. We can learn so much from them.
Until next week! Fa! (Tongan, I think, for 'bye)
Love,
Elder David John Rowe
I will try to answer all of your questions, but I might not have time. Next week I will plan better and type faster. I will copy your questions and then give the answer, okay! I think this will be the easiest way to answer. I hope it makes sense.
Q: How was the MTC, day to day?
A: Great!
Q: What did you like?
A: I liked being able to use my time in the most efficient way possible.
Q: What did you not like so much?
A: Having dinner at 4:30.
Q: Was it easy or hard?
A: Neither.
Q: Was the food good?
A: Good in some ways, but kind of weird in others.
Q: What was it like to be in a district that was going to a different mission?
A: It was weird thinking they were all going off together and I wouldn't see them again for a long time.
Q: Were you sad to leave them?
A: Yeah, but I didn't cry. It was just hard to think I won't see them again unless we planned it or maybe randomly at BYU. I also wondered if they'd even remember me.
Q: Did they leave the MTC at the same time?
A: I was in New Zealand before they left the MTC.
Q: Were there sisters in your group, or just elders?
A: There were three sisters in the other district going to Minne (Minneapolis).
Q: How was your flight? Did you talk to anyone on the plane? How did that go?
A: My flight to San Fransisco was interesting. I talked to a man in his 60s named Ron the whole way (or he talked to me while I asked questions). He knew about the Mormons and missionaries in general and he would randomly ask questions about everyday life as a missionary. I couldn't really give him good answers because I hadn't fully experienced it. I tried to keep bringing up religion and his experience as a Protestant, but he would eventually change the subject or act awkward about answering. When we landed, I finally mentioned the Book fo Mormon and how it's like the Bible. I pointed out that since his wife loves the Bible so much, she would like the Book of Mormon too. He wouldn't take the book, so I left him with a pass-along card for a free copy. I hope he'll at least show it to his wife.
My 12-hour flight from San Fransisco to new Zealand didn't seem long at all. I planned to write heaps (Kiwis never say lots or tons, it's heaps) of letters but I didn't have any time. I was talking to an Australian couple on their way home from Alaska that I was sitting next to for the first while. "Dave" told me all about how great New Zealand is. So that was great. But since our flight was over night, he kept trying to go to sleep and I didn't think I should keep talking to him. So he would sit back, close his eyes, adn then five minutes later tell me some more about New Zealand. I was able to get a good eight hours of sleep in on the flight, and then in the morning when we landed, Dave and I started talking again. I didn't know exactly what to talk about, but I eventually left them with a pass-along card that said, "Can our marriage continue after we die?" and the mormon.org website. So I hope it had some impact on them.
New Zealand = Extra windy California. Where the people drive on the wrong side of the road and have great accents. The funny thing is though, that now I'm the one with the accent. "Hey, this one's got an accent!"
My companion is Elder Mactavish from Hamilton, NZ. He's a really cool guy and has been in the area for a really long time (4 1/2 months), which is good. In my mission, it seems the missionaries are either from North New Zealand or Utah. Seriously. And so I'd say a quarter Utahns, a quarter white Kiwis, and a quarter Polynesians. Sweet as. (That's more slang. Rather than saying "so cool" or "that's awesome!" it's "cool as" or any adjective really with the word "as" after it. "It's cold-as, Bro!" "Scary as!" So I keep expecting them to finish their similes: "cold as . . . ice" or "big as . . . a bus." But it's all sweet as.
President and Sister Joliffe are great! Sister Joliffe is probably the giddiest woman I've ever met. President Joliffe is mean. Which is more slang. First night, we new missionaries were talking. "So what do you think of President Joliffe?"
"He's mean!"
I was like, "What? He's way nice, what are you talking about?"
"Oh, no. Mean is a good thing, Elder Rowe. It's like cool or awesome."
So "mean" is a good thing.
I haven't really had too many weird things to eat. My first two meals with members were pizza and spaghetti. But I had Marmite this morning for breakfast on toast. It was disgusting. I can't even describe it, but imagine rancid Nutella that smells like bad soy sauce. Also, I was fed French fries (called "chips," which I already knew) with bread. You put chips and ketchup (which the Kiwis refer to as "tomato sauce") on bread and eat it like a sandwich. Weird. But normal tasting.
New Zealand is not at all like I expected so far. It's a lot like the small cities of California, really. There are some parts that are just really green, though. The parks are really pretty with huge trees. I really like biking past/through those.
I wish I could say more, but I'm almost out of time. I will try to answer more questions next week.
Missionary work is hard (of course), but I'm enjoying it so much! The few people we are able to teach make up for all of the hard times. Also, church was great yesterday. It was the Primary program. Funny stuff, but always so spiritual. I love hearing kids bear their testimonies. We can learn so much from them.
Until next week! Fa! (Tongan, I think, for 'bye)
Love,
Elder David John Rowe
Thursday, October 14, 2010
New Zealand-Bound
Elder Rowe left for New Zealand on Monday, October 12. We spoke with him briefly during his layover at the San Francisco airport. A word to the wise: If you are sending out a missionary, equip them with a calling card for those airport phone calls. Our plan to have him call collect and then call him back on the pay phone didn't work out so well. But it was good to hear his voice and hear how happy and excited he sounded.
We waited eagerly (and anxiously) to hear from him. We knew that he was scheduled to arrive in New Zealand at about 1:00 p.m. our time Tuesday afternoon (8:00 a.m. Wednesday New Zealand time). We hadn't heard from him by Thursday night, so Bob thought it would be a good idea to call the mission home. We had a brief but wonderful chat with Sister Joliffe, the mission president's wife. She told us where David was headed for his first area (but we'll keep you in suspense until his first email). And in her beautifully British way, she commented that he is lovely.
An email arrived later that night with photos from his time at the president's house. You'll notice that he and Sister Palmer (the sister he traveled with from Provo to New Zealand) picked up a few friends upon their arrival in Wellington. We don't know much about them, but look forward to hearing about them soon!
We waited eagerly (and anxiously) to hear from him. We knew that he was scheduled to arrive in New Zealand at about 1:00 p.m. our time Tuesday afternoon (8:00 a.m. Wednesday New Zealand time). We hadn't heard from him by Thursday night, so Bob thought it would be a good idea to call the mission home. We had a brief but wonderful chat with Sister Joliffe, the mission president's wife. She told us where David was headed for his first area (but we'll keep you in suspense until his first email). And in her beautifully British way, she commented that he is lovely.
An email arrived later that night with photos from his time at the president's house. You'll notice that he and Sister Palmer (the sister he traveled with from Provo to New Zealand) picked up a few friends upon their arrival in Wellington. We don't know much about them, but look forward to hearing about them soon!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Letter #2
Hello to all!
Once again, I am doing great. The time has flown by so amazingly fast! I leave next Monday. I can't believe it, but it's great! Except for the fact that I leave Monday night from San Fransisco, and arrive Wednesday morning in New Zealand. But I'm hoping that the time difference applies and that my flight isnt really 33 hours. I doubt it, but it will be long nonetheless.
Fortunately the long flight will give me plenty of time to write letters and then preach the Gospel to all of the people on the plane. I'm very curious as to how that will work because it will be my first time to ever share the Gospel with a stranger. I feel I will have to talk to at least one person, considering there won't be anybody else to do so, except for the one sister missionary who will be on the same plane. That's right. Sister Palmer and I, (I met her last week) are the only missionaries on the flight. We'll see how that goes... I'm not sure if she and I were the only ones that were sent to the Provo MTC from the States. I guess all of the other missionaries live closer to New Zealand than Provo, so maybe they were all sent there. I will let you know when I arrive.
Speaking of which, I won't be emailing next Tuesday because I'll be on the airplane. Hopefully I will be allowed to email once I arrive. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll have to wait two weeks to get an email.
Anyway, everything is going fantastic. Despite my lack of sleep, I'm loving it all so much! I love learning from my teachers, and having workshops where we get to learn specific skills. Yesterday we had a meeting where we learned about how to find people to teach. We were told stories about so many converts who had been waiting to hear the Gospel. In each case missionaries saw them and didn't talk to them so they didn't get baptized until years later. The simple key to talk to everyone, everywhere, all the time! I think that will be hard, but I also think it is necessary. The more people we find who are accepting, the more people we can teach, which means the more people that can get baptized. Our purpose as missionaries (which we recite everyday) is to "Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them recieve the restored Gospel, through Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, Repentance, Baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End." Missionary work is so important. And I love it so much!
We spend a lot of our time practicing teaching. I always go into a lesson somewhat terrified, but afterwards, I always feel so great because of the Spirit. Without the Spirit, there is almost no point in teaching. The Spirit is what prompts the investigators to be baptized, otherwise we're just teaching them a history lesson. So we have been working on the importance of "teaching people, not lessons." We teach according to their needs and how Christ's Gospel can bless them. Because it can bless everybody! Everybody needs it in their lives, us missionaries just need to know what to say that will convince them of that. And that's why we rely on the Holy Ghost to help us.
Also, last Tuesday was our first devotional. Elder L Whitney Clayton came and taught us about the "stone that is rolling." The Gospel is being spread all across the Earth, and it can't be stopped! And it's our job as missionaries to help it spread even more! It was a very encouraging and uplifting talk. And if there's a way for you to read it, you should!
Conferecne was so great.
I'm almost out of time, but I just want to say I love you! I will write you later.
Love,
Elder Dave Rowe
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Hello Everybody!
I am alive and well and have survived my first week. I'm enjoying my time immensely, besides the fact that I'm always SO tired and in need of a nap. I'm having a wonderful time and am accomplishing so much!
Words of advice for all pre-missionaries: study Preach my Gospel as much as possible! I thought I was rather familiar with it, but if you can't teach the lessons then you're not ready. So remember that, and tell all of your pre-missionary friends.
So, about me: My district is great! We all get along really well. However, they are all going to the Minnesota, Minneapolis mission, so I won't see any of them ever again after my last day in the MTC. Luckily, I finally met a missionary going to my mission yesterday. But she's a sister missionary. She told me that there is actually an MTC in New Zealand, so all of my future companions are there. So it's a little bit weird, but it's a relief to know that I'm not going to be the only missionary in my mission.
My companion's name is Elder Snyder from Farmington, Utah. He's a great guy and is really hard working and determined to use our time effectively. I'm really grateful for that. In fact, almost all of my district is from Utah. Taylor Dalrymple, a friend of mine from Junior High, is in my zone, which is fun.
My teachers are great, and they show that they genuinely care about us. Their names are Brother Wall and Sister Eyre. I've seen a lot of Elders (we don't use the word "guys" here) from Orem High: Nate Jensen, Derek Latimer, Shane Evans, Alihi Faalafua, Joel Wallis and Alex Cecil. And Sunday I finally found my childhood buddy Truman Rowley, the day before he left for Chile.
I just love being a missionary! It's so tiring and kind of stressful (like having to teach a lesson on your second day), but I love it. I love learning so much and feeling the Spirit so often. And I know that I'm supposed to be here, serving the Lord.
Love,
Elder David John Rowe
I am alive and well and have survived my first week. I'm enjoying my time immensely, besides the fact that I'm always SO tired and in need of a nap. I'm having a wonderful time and am accomplishing so much!
Words of advice for all pre-missionaries: study Preach my Gospel as much as possible! I thought I was rather familiar with it, but if you can't teach the lessons then you're not ready. So remember that, and tell all of your pre-missionary friends.
So, about me: My district is great! We all get along really well. However, they are all going to the Minnesota, Minneapolis mission, so I won't see any of them ever again after my last day in the MTC. Luckily, I finally met a missionary going to my mission yesterday. But she's a sister missionary. She told me that there is actually an MTC in New Zealand, so all of my future companions are there. So it's a little bit weird, but it's a relief to know that I'm not going to be the only missionary in my mission.
My companion's name is Elder Snyder from Farmington, Utah. He's a great guy and is really hard working and determined to use our time effectively. I'm really grateful for that. In fact, almost all of my district is from Utah. Taylor Dalrymple, a friend of mine from Junior High, is in my zone, which is fun.
My teachers are great, and they show that they genuinely care about us. Their names are Brother Wall and Sister Eyre. I've seen a lot of Elders (we don't use the word "guys" here) from Orem High: Nate Jensen, Derek Latimer, Shane Evans, Alihi Faalafua, Joel Wallis and Alex Cecil. And Sunday I finally found my childhood buddy Truman Rowley, the day before he left for Chile.
I just love being a missionary! It's so tiring and kind of stressful (like having to teach a lesson on your second day), but I love it. I love learning so much and feeling the Spirit so often. And I know that I'm supposed to be here, serving the Lord.
Love,
Elder David John Rowe
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Entering the MTC
We took David to the Missionary Training Center today at 1:15. There were dozens of current MTC residents there acting as hosts. They efficiently took David's bags from the car while introducing themselves. They asked him his last name and said, "Elder Rowe, you're going to love it here!"After a few photos, a few hugs, and a few tears, he left to start his great adventure.
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