Transferred....

Being a missionary is a transient life.  Everything you have has to be able to be moved.  Packed up with a few days notice and fit into a couple of suitcases.  You have to say good-bye to the people who have embraced you.  You get a new companion, a new ward (or wards) family, have to learn a new area, new streets, new places to buy your groceries, and, oh yeah, it's Christmas time.

There's one thing that's constant.  The gospel.  Your purpose.  Your work is done where you are leaving.  The Lord has work for you to do someplace new.  It looks like Elder Rowley's work was done.  He expressed his love to us many times for the Palm Bay area and the people he served there. Even after the first week, we could see that he loved them.  Here are some of the pictures he took when he found out he was being transferred.

Brother Gordon - Ward Mission Leader

Elder Wilson & Elder Rowley

Jake Moore & Elder Rowley

The Phenicie Family

The Cook Family

The most wonderful thing about being a missionary is the conversion of people to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Before he left Elder Rowley was able to baptize a sister.  What a wonderful opportunity for him.  She and her brother were both taking the lessons.  He is still working on getting ready for baptism.  In the Lords time...

Here is the talk he gave at her baptism.

Baptism.

It is the first covenant we make with God. It is the gate way to our Heavenly Father. It is the beginning of the end. Covenants are a binding and solemn agreement with God. We promise to obey him and he promises to bless us.

Christ was baptized and he said it was to fulfill all righteousness. We need to do as he did and be baptized. In 2 Nephi 31:10-12 the prophet Nephi is quoting the savior. (Read it). The savior is offering us to follow him and to do as he does and he will bless us with the Holy Ghost.

When we are baptized, read in Mosiah 18:9, we will have the desire to mourn with those that mourn and also to stand as a witness of Jesus Christ. To stand at a witness of Christ and to take upon you his name, means you are willing to serve him and keep his commandments for the rest of our lives. It means we will be a light to those who stand in darkness. When we are baptized we are cleansed from sin. Baptism is our spiritual re birth. It cleanses us from head to toe! It allows us the companionship of the savior through the Holy Ghost. He will accompany each of us along the road of life. Baptism is a representation of us barring our old life of sin, going under the water, and rising up out of the water as a new person, completely clean from all pass transgressions. Our father in heaven is so pleased with the decision you have made Marcia to be baptized.


Baptism isn't the end. It is the beginning. Once we are baptized, that's not all. We must endure to the end. Enduring to the end means we continually repent and try to become more like our savior. In 2 Nephi 31:20 it says.... When we endure to the end we will receive eternal life. That is our main goal. Baptism opens the gate for us to get on the strait and narrow path so we can gain our eternal life. "As patiently, faithfully, and consistently follow this path throughout our lives, we will qualify for eternal life." (PMG 66). Every Sunday we renew our baptismal covenant by taking the sacrament. The sacrament will make us clean again just like baptism does. It is important that we take it weekly so we can always stay on Gods path and continue to endure to the end.


Bear testimony.

From Elder Rowley. "my job in Palm Bay was accomplished in the sight of the Lord. I'm scared but excited for what is to come:)"

InvestiGATORS

Jake and Justin two young men in our Ward went fishing. They didn't catch anything. But I get a call from Justin saying he is going to be at the house in 10 mins. I was like okay. I open the door and Jake pulls out a baby alligator! It was still alive too! It was freaking awesome! We got to hold it and take pictures with it. We I taped it's mouth to see what it does when you put a stick in its mouth. It was awesome. A good way to end a pretty slow day!

Justin, Jordan & Jake

This investiGATOR isn't happy with the gospel plan.

You can't have a gator as a pet!!

Reclaimed

This last week in Elder Rowleys weekly email he referenced on of my most favorite Mormon Messages for the youth entitled "Reclaimed"

You can watch the video here:

Don't we all have garbage?

Isn't it wonderful to know that through the atonement of Jesus Christ we can rid ourselves of all of that and become clean?

Even through disappointments, cancelled appointments, dropped investigators, Elder Rowley is continuing the learn the true power of the atonement.

Here's Elder Bowen's original address, if you would like to read the entire talk

The Atonement Can Clean, Reclaim & Sanctify our Lives

A Day at the Beach

 Every three months, if you are serving by the beach, you get to go.  In Elder Rowley's words, "I am super excited! We have to go super early before all the beach goers get there. But we get to watch the sunrise so that will be pretty cool."

Have you ever watched those Discovery Channel shows where they show those baby turtles crawling out of their nests in the sand and trying to make their way to the ocean?  They are so small and the 20 feet that they have to crawl to make it to the ocean seems like hundreds of miles to them?  While on their path, they have to watch out for predators, crabs, seagulls and apparently LDS missionaries...although I'm sure that Elder Rowley and his companion and other district members didn't intend to eat him or keep him as a pet.  Perhaps they saved him, by putting him closer to his destination.  Look how very tiny that turtle is!  Better yet, look how very happy our son is!

Couldn't he somehow relate that tiny turtle's journey into a missionary gospel lesson?  A short journey that seems long. A journey wrought with trials and challenges.  The turtle has a eye single to it's ocean home.  A straight and narrow path.  Much like our earthly and mortal life.  A journey that seems long - although it's a small moment in an eternal perspective wrought with mortal trials and challenges.  Sorrow, pain, sickness, suffering.  If we could gain the turtles perspective - an eye single our celestial home on the straight and narrow path. 

Here's where our journey differs from the turtle.  There is nothing that can save a turtle when a predator grasps it in it's throngs.  If a crab gets a hold of that tiny turtle, chances are it's done.  There is no salvation.  Despite it's eye single to it's destination - the adversary can and will stop it.  Many baby turtles start on the very same journey, but few make it to the final destination.  We, on the other hand, tend to lose sight of our destination, but luckily have the benefit of a Savior.  Perhaps we could learn a lesson from the turtle and focus more on the destination.  The goal of the ocean.  And such is the work of a missionary.  Many start on the journey, many are lost along the way, and yet missionaries are there to help those find their way back.  We are there to help our brothers and sisters find their way back.

An eye single to the Glory of God.

Faith is Simple But Powerful

This week I have seen so many miracles. My testimony of faith has increased dramatically. I have had a couple of ah ha moments. Because of that I have bigger goals weekly and my faith has increased dramatically. 

This week I taught a kids who is about my age.  He was pretty cool.  We taught him that there is a  prophet on the earth and that we need to keep the sabbath day holy.  We also showed him a Mormon message by Elder Bednar.  He really like when we said that Christ is the light of our lives.  The spirit was so strong there.  I am starting to feel more comfortable being on a mission.  I am starting to talk more during the lessons.  On Wednesday we taught an investigator the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I could feel the spirit speak through me and it was such a powerful lesson.  

On Thursday we hit our goal of 2 members present at our lessons today.  Now we are at 6 for the week.  One was to a guy who can't read, so we have to read to him.  We are also doing a lot of tracting.  We had 16 contacts, which is good.  It hard when no one is home in the afternoon.  This morning I had a great personal study.  It was on tender mercies.  I read Elder Bednar's talk in the April 2005 Conference.  We have so many in our lives.  I see them so much on my mission.

The highlight of Friday was a potential we met up with.  A couple of weeks ago we were biking down a road and she yelled, "Hey are you Christians?"  So we stopped and talked to her.  We couldn't set anything up with her that second, but we staid we'd go back.  We went back on Friday and it was a great lesson.  She already had a very good religious background, she knows what the spirit feels like.  We taught her the restoration and she said she could feel the spirit so much.  We gave her a Book of Mormon and right as we gave it to her she said while looking at it, "My soul is on fire right now!"  The spirit was so strong there!  It was such an awesome experience.

Faith has been a huge part of why we are being blessed.  We have been setting our goals higher.  I promise that as you set goals that are hard to reach and if you have the faith to get them, God will make it possible.  Faith is so simple, but so powerful.

Later Gator

Well it's a good thing that Elder Rowley is willing to try different foods because he got to eat him some GATOR....

Also here are some pictures of him with his companion, Elder Scott and his district on a p-day carving some pumpkins just in time for the BSU/BYU rivalry.  The timing was perfect.

The Love of a Sister

So before we took Jordan to the MTC everyone got to put a letter in his suitcase.  It was really an emotional time for our family.  This is the first time our little family has been apart for any length of time.  Looking back on those last few days, I still get pretty emotional.  I didn't ask to read anyone else's letter, but Ella shared hers with me.

It was really so very sweet.  I went into her room on the Saturday before we were going to leave and she was sitting at her desk.  I was actually kind of irritated because she should have been packing and she tends to get easily distracted.  I thought that's probably what was happening, so I was ready to get after her, when I realized that she was writing her letter to Jordan.

I took a picture of it.  I'm sure he'll keep it and I hope he reads it often.  You can't get more honest than that.  I think she understands the magnitude of what's happening here.  He's going to miss 2 years of her life.  Milestones will come and go for her and for him.  His example will impact her for good.  Her tenderness will also impact him.  He's so lucky to have the love of his sister.

Finally Some Pictures

Elder Rowley has had limited capability to upload some pictures to us, so we were thrilled when we got these few gems on Monday with his very short e-mail.

Elder Navarro and Elder Rowley

Elder Rowley and Elder Izatt in the MTC - heading to Florida Orlando Mission

Official

The Efficiency of the MTC

We are an efficient church.

The drop off at the MTC is an efficient process.  Why prolong the agony, right?

You drive in, a kind volunteer looks in your vehicle to see if you are dropping off an elder and a sister and then directs you one way or another.

A volunteer on a bright orange parking vest directs you to the curb where a "host" missionary is waiting to help you unload your belongings.

Hugs are exchanged, photos are taken, tears are shed...That's all folks!

He's in the Lord's Hands now.

The Last Days...

We had three days together as a family before Elder Rowley entered the MTC on Wednesday, September 10, 2014.   We toured Welfare Square, attended the Salt Lake Temple, visited the Temple grounds, went to the family history library.  It was a glorious time!

Wednesday morning Jim gave Jordan a father's blessing and then Jordan gave each family member a blessing.  It was probably one of the most sacred and tender moments we have had together as a family.  The sweet spirit that wrapped around me as I listened to our son express his love, concern, devotion and the love of our Heavenly Father for each individual in our family was truly beyond words.

Our final meal was a the In-n-Out Burger just a few miles from the MTC.  You can never go wrong with a double double and french fries animal style.