Querida Familia,
So I sent my last letter after
skimming yours real quick and reading the bottom part. After I sent it, I was
able to read yours and Chelsea's emails to me and I was absolutely amazed at
the connection to the days when I really felt a need to pray and the days Alexa
was having the hardest time. The Lord really is looking after us all. So this
week was really quite the week. First of all, I guess I could share transfer
news with you:) Transfers are not until tomorrow but we just got all the news
yesterday. So many changes for me! My new companion is Sis. Mckeever from
California and my new area is online! This means that I will be the one to
answer chats and such from mormon.org.
and that includes Spanish chats! Hopefully this will help my Spanish improve
more. I'm actually pretty excited about that. Everyone who has done online has
loved it. They say that that is where most of the miracles happen. Plus Sis.
Mckeever has said that she wants to run with me in the mornings and that she
will cook for me if I do the dishes:) She likes to eat healthy:) Maybe I'll
loose the little bit of weight that I've gained here:). I'll have to get a
picture of her and send it. She has been out in the field one transfer longer
than me but entered the MTC one week after me. Not sure who qualifies as the
senior comp. in this case:). I am super sad to leave my area though. We are so
solid with our wards now I hate to leave. It's a good thing Sis. Patlingrao is
the pro at the area book cause they are whitewashing our area, meaning neither
of us are staying in the area:( Brandon about had a cow when he found out about
transfers, "What are these transfers?! Sis Rowley, your leaving me?!"
Haha, he's so dramatic. He said it was ok though cause I will be in the VC all
day now:) I do have to say goodbye to the beautiful beach pad and move up by
the temple with all the other sisters. I'm sure gonna miss that and Sis.
Patlingrao too:( Oh well, I am happy to do whatever the Lord wants me to do.
It's going to be another good transfer:)
We did end this transfer with a
miracle though. Franchescka is now a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints! Her baptism on Sat. was one of the sweetest experiences I have
been able to take apart of. I told you that I was worried about her testimony,
well, if she didn't have one before her baptism she has one now. I think the
best part about this experience was how involved the ward was in helping her
get to this point. So many people in the ward made sure to fellowship her and
share their testimonies with her. At her baptism, everyone there was not just
there for a baptism, they were there for Francheska. All of them knew and loved
her and you could feel it in the air. The spirit was so strong. When I got up
and shared my talk about baptism, I said, "Francheska, I hope you can feel
the spirit in the room right now." Really, you could have cut it with a
knife! She was so cute and excited as she was getting in the water. After, she
got up and bore her testimony saying how it was a miracle that she was there
because her coming to Hawaii was something that her parents didn't want her to
do and didn't give her any money to do, but she came anyways and now she knows
that God wanted her to come. I think about when I first met her with Hermana
Rodriguez and look at how much she has changed now and it is so amazing and
humbling. The gospel truly did change her life and she has a glow about her.
When she got confirmed with the Holy Ghost, she was blessed to be a light to
her family and she would bless many lives back in Peru. We got her information
and are planning on staying in contact and making sure her bishop, the
missionaries, the Relief Society pres., and everyone else knows that she is
coming so she can stay strong. I am so grateful that I had this opportunity to
meet and teach her and to use my Spanish. It has been such a testimony builder
to me.
Another testimony builder has
definitely been teaching Chris. He is so prepared and we can just see how much
his faith has grown just this past week. So I don't remember if I told you or
not but he had his boss in the Navy call him up and he was assigned to be
shipped out within the week. Well, we were all kinda nervous about this as you
may guess. He went and told his boss that he wasn't going to leave
before originally planned (which was in like 3 weeks) unless he went
out to battle with him. Well they said that they would talk about it and meet
with him again on Thurs. We all started praying. We put his name in the temple
and told everyone we knew to pray for him. So Thurs. comes around and we waited
all day for the phone call he promised. That night we
finally received it. "So what's the news?" I asked,
"Well," he said, "I don't know what happened, a miracle or
something!" He then explained how they had had a bunch of meetings and
talked to different people and in the end, they decided they weren't going to
ship him out till September!!!! He said that this never happens where they change
their mind like that. The best part was while we were cheering our celebration
he exclaimed, "Prayer works!" "Yes it does!" I shouted
back. Yesterday when we met with him he told us of his strong testimony of
prayer. He said that since I told him to pray for specific things he has
started doing that and that he can't explain it but he gets his answers. He
said a "warm feeling" doesn't quite do justice to what he feels when
he prays. We asked him how his testimony has grown and he said that he feels he
has gotten closer to God since he started learning about these things than he
had gotten the whole time he was Christian or Catholic. He then gave one of the
sweetest prayers and asked Heavenly Father to keep this fire burning in him.
This gospel is so true! God loves us so much! With transfers coming up I only
pray that Sis. Patlingrao and I will still be able to go on exchanges to teach
him since this is an interesting case with the visitor center thing and all so
we'll see. I'm just so grateful to be apart of it at all!
This weekend has also been an
interesting one. So a few days ago, Fri night I believe, I was writing in my
journal downstairs when Sis Shin came and and said, "hermana, I need you.
Sis Mark is weird." So I went upstairs and found Sis. Mark lying on her
bed with her eyes half open and groaning. We tried calling out her name and
shaking her awake but she wasn't responding to anything. So we called our VC
director Elder McDonough and he told us to call 911. So, on my mission, for the
first time ever, I dialed 911. The paramedics showed up right after Elder and
Sister McDonough and made us all leave as they tried to get her to respond.
Well eventually she did start responding but they took her to the emergency
room in Kahuku to check her out. So we all followed the ambulance down and
ended up staying there till 2 in the morning. She is fine now but I think this
experience was really hard on Sis. Shin. This transfer has been so stressful
for all of us in many ways, full of some of the hardest times so far, and yet
the most rewarding as well. I feel I have learned so much and gotten closer to
God this transfer. I think I'm learning that it really is through the hard
times that you come to know God and how much he loves you. It's through
strengthening your relationship with others that you learn more about your
relationship with God. I love this gospel. I love watching it change people and
feeling the spirit that grows in them as they come closer to Jesus Christ. I
pray daily for all of them and all of you individually and somehow it helps me
to see Gods hand in my life more. I listened to the CES Fireside talk by elder
Bednar like Chelsea told me to. It really was directed for our family! Alexa,
you are so strong and beautiful. Heavenly Father is helping you become more
like him and I think helping you understand the atonement in a more personal
way than most people understand. I love you so much and miss you so much! Thank
you for being the most amazing family ever! I told Sis. Mark about each one of you
and showed her pics and she said "I love your family! They are so
awesome!" I totally agree! I love you all so much!
Les Amo! Les Quiero!
Hermana Rowley (Shayla)
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