Week 22-Transfer 2

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)

Week 21-Transfer 2

Aloha familia!

So this week really was a week of miracles. I'm going to try to remember everything the best I can because I don't have my journal with me today. First of all, I want you to know that everyone here is praying for Alexa. For some reason this week I have felt an extra need to pray harder for you and Alexa. I have been thinking about you a lot and really keeping you in my prayers. Also the missionaries here are praying for Alexa as well. I admit that it has been hard but can I just say how much my testimony has been strengthened because of all this? I know the power of prayer works. I know that because of Jesus Christ and because of His role in our family and our lives, we have a strong foundation and cannot fall (Helaman 5:12). I know he is watching over us and I have felt his hand in my life more than ever. 

Last night we had another lesson with Franchesca. I have been worried about her because of different things and I honestly wasn't sure if she would be OK for baptism for different reasons. Last night we went over the baptism interview questions and discussed each one in detail. She has been praying and she says she feels peace about being baptized and wants to follow Jesus Christ. We discussed the importance of the commitment she would be making and asked if she was willing to do that. She said that she was and I think she finally understands the importance of reading the Book of Mormon because she knows it's a true book and she needs to understand it more. At the end I was able to bear my testimony with her. I don't remember exactly what I said to her but I know I talked about Helaman 5:12 and bore my testimony about what building our foundation on the rock of our Redeemer has done for me personally and for my family. The spirit in that room was stronger than it had ever been and I could see in her eyes that she could feel it. When I was done, Sis Patlingrao bore a powerful testimony as well which added to it. After she was done I asked Franchesca, "What do you feel right now?" "I feel like God is here" she said. I think that was the most powerful moment I have had. "God is here" I said. Then I was able to explain about the Holy Ghost and how after baptism she would be able to receive that gift to feel God with her always as she followed Him. We still have a few details to set up but I think her baptism for Saturday is still going through. Thankfully, I am a visitor center sister and will be able to stay in contact with her and set everything up with her bishop and the missionaries in her area when she goes back to Peru on Mon. 

Speaking of blessings of being in the Visitor Center, I never knew how amazing it really would be to be here, especially with this new program. So the first day we started the new program we met this old couple from Washington who were about to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. He was raised in one religion and she was raised in another and they tried Methodist for a few years but they are moving now and wanted to find another church. I asked if they had tried the LDS church and they said "no, maybe we will though." They agreed to have the missionaries come bring them a Book of Mormon and teach them more and they kept saying things like, "I'm so glad we left the villages early to come here" and "you made our day with this." I just told them I was glad too and they made my day:) On the tram ride back they asked "do you get many people like us?" meaning willing and excited to learn more. "yes" I said, "That's why I love what I get to do!" God's hand is in this work so much and I am so blessed to have the opportunity to see these miracles. And the best part is that I now get to stay in contact with them and see them to baptism and beyond! I also had a miracle on the phone with a lady from Mississippi who called in about United Health Care or something. When I told her who I was she said "Oh I've heard about Y'all on TV! What is it Y'all do?" "Teach people more about Jesus Christ" I said. "Oh that so good! I love Jesus Christ! He just means everythin to me." :)Well long story short, she agreed to have the missionaries come and she said "I really wanna talk with you some more too!" So I'll definitely be in touch as well:). It seems like I've seen tons of miracles like that this week but I think the biggest one happened on Sunday. 

So Sunday night I was on shift in the Visitor Center and was a little put out by it cause I had to miss the Fireside that was going on with our Mission President in one of the theater rooms. I was just giving tours and all and a couple walks in wanting to go through the presentation of Gods Plan for His Family. We talked with them for a bit and then took them through the 15 min presentation. After we asked them about what they felt and all that and that is when we found out that the young man, Chris, was actually investigating the church. I asked how long he had been investigating and he said 6mths. Apparently he had come in to this visitor center 6mths ago (He lives on the Island) and had self referred to see the missionaries. Well the missionaries had visited him 3 times and he said next Sunday was going to be his first Sunday to go to church (he was really excited about it). Then his friend asked if there were lessons that the missionaries were supposed to be teaching him cause apparently the 3 times he met with them they didn't really teach him much. They only shared a short message and then played pool! They then asked if it were possible for us to teach them here today. Thankfully with this new program with us being their "official" missionaries since we can contact and teach them throughout the whole process we were able to tell them "definitely" So we had them fill out our guest cards with our information, and we also asked if there was anyone else they thought could use this message and each of them referred 2 people! Also on the guest card of Chris where it asks for religion he put "Mormon":)!!!!! We ended up teaching the beginning of the first lesson right there and then they said that if it was OK they wouldn't mind driving here for us to continue teaching them. So we set up an appt. for them to come tonight! It was so amazing. The whole time we were teaching him I kept thinking how he reminded me so much of Brandon. He is definitely so prepared from God and, as he put on the comment part of his guest card, is so "Excited to learn more." He told us "I don't want to go through the motions so I'm going to have some questions." "Good!" we said "That is why we are here! We don't want you to just go through the motions. We are here to help you understand and learn more so you can discover for yourself that this is true. Write down questions that you think of and ask us, we love questions:)" He also said he loves reading and will start reading the Book of Mormon. No idea why this guy hasn't been to church or isn't baptized yet after 6 mths! But that just makes me happier that we have this new program here at the VC. The missionaries in their areas are going to have to take these referrals we send a bit more seriously! It is estimated that 1/3 of everyone who joins the church started investigating because of a Visitor Center. That number is now expected to go up to over 1/2! The work of God will go forth boldly and nobly! 

I love this work. I love seeing Gods hand in my life and in the lives of those around me, including my family. I love you all so much! This church is so true. Believe it or not, this was a hard week for me. Spiritually and mentally I felt depressed and physically I have been sick (yes mom I actually bought pineapple juice). There are certain things I have been kinda having a hard time with and so I adopted a new motto. "Pray always lest ye enter into temptation." Prayer works! Heavenly Father hears me and answers me in ways that I don't expect but am so grateful for. I am so grateful for the Atonement. I have been seeing it work in the lives of investigators and less-actives alike. Its real. Heavenly Father loves His children so much! I love you so much. I pray for you always. My sweet companion and now all the sisters here are praying for you. I think we are all being made strong through this. Thank you for raising us to be close to Jesus Christ. Thank you for teaching us to have that strong foundation. 

Les Amo!!!!!

Hermana Rowley

Week 20-Transfer 2

Aloha familia!
This week has been another one full of miracles in me and all around me. On Wed we had our interviews with Pres. Dalton. That man really is quite inspired. We talked for a bit and he gave me some really good advice and then I asked if I could get a blessing and he gave me a really good blessing and then we talked some more and said a prayer and then he was like "is it all right if I lay my hands on your head and give you another blessing?" I said ok so then he gave me another blessing, blessing me with some things that I really needed to hear. I am so grateful for the priesthood!

On Fri, we got a new investigator! We found her name on the unbaptized list in the YSA14th ward and so we went to visit her. We found her roommate home and she told us a bit about her. Chandra is a Sophmore at BUYH and on the Soccer team with her best friend Lindsey. She goes to church and activities with all her friends but feels that she has no need of getting baptized and that she is good where she is at. She had been taught by the sisters before and invited to be baptized and said no. We had been asked by Pres. Dalton to visit all the people on the unbaptized list etc. and invite them to be baptized. So on Fri, Sis. Patlingrao and I fasted to prepare for our first lesson with her. The spirit was so strong in that first lesson. We talked to her a bit and she basically told us her script of what I'm sure she tells everyone about not wanting to be baptized. We asked if we could say a prayer with her and then afterwards asked what she felt. She said she felt good and was glad we came but... she still didn't want to be baptized. We did set up a return appt. with her and the next time we taught her, we got her to really think about the importance of this gospel for her. She knows that if it's true than she needs to get baptized and go further but she just needs to get an answer if this is right for her life. We are just praying she will keep her commitments! She is such a sweet girl!

As far as Franchesca goes, she has a baptism date! March 9th. Only problem is that she knows that she needs to follow Jesus Christ and she says she knows that the BOM comes from God but she doesn't think she has to read it!!!! We had a long talk about this last night and she promised she would read what we left her to read. It's amazing to me though to see the changes she is making as she understands more and more about the gospel. We are just doing all we can to make sure her testimony is super strong so that when she goes back to Peru on the 11th she will still be strong. She did seem relieved when I told her that I would make sure her bishop and the missionaries in her area will know she is coming.

Here's something interesting, yesterday I got some very interesting news. Sis. Ogawa (a japanees speaking missionary) came to me and told me about a referral that she had for me. "In Spanish?" I said reluctantly? "Of course!" she replied. She then went on to tell me about this man who she was teaching online who was super interested and wanted to learn more about the gospel but did not have any way missionaries could teach him because 1: he lives in Japan and speaks very little Japanese, 2: he doesn't speak any English, and 3: his native language is Spanish. WHAT?! Only here in the Hawaii visitor center right now would I be asked to teach a man in Japan who speaks only Spanish! Sis Ogawa said that she could take the calls with me cause he speaks a little Japanese. Let me tell you, these are going to be the most interesting conversations ever, Japanese/Spanish. I love this gospel:)

I have really felt the Lord helping me out in this work. I feel that right now my Spanish is terrible but I'm not so worried about it anymore. Somehow the Lord is going to help me out. There are people he needs me to teach right now so I just have to do my best to practice the language and teach them with the spirit. Those Spanish people in Japan need me!:) I love you so much and pray for you always! That's funny that Grandfather sent you that talk by Elder Bednar. That's actually the talk I had just read in my personal study so that's why I shared that with you. I'm so glad you got to read the whole thing. It's so good! I love you all so much! You are seriously the best family in the whole wide world!

Les Amo!
Hermana Rowley (Shayla)

This one is Franchesca

Week 19-Transfer 2

Aloha/hola mi familia!

What a week this has been! Sounds like for you too. I could just imagine Alexa pulling that tube out. I remember all too well the last time. Is Tyson taller than me yet? Someone should measure him:) Yes I did get the package, thank you sooo much! And yes my favorite was definitely the letter from dad:) I'm not even sure where to start with this week. We have been so busy organizing the area book and meeting people and doing our best to find new investigators. I think coming back from being full proselyting to little Mormon town Laie is hard for my companion because it takes a lot of patience and faith in the Lord knowing that he will eventually lead you to someone to teach. In the meantime we have been working with the less actives in the wards and with Franchesca. Its so amazing to be able to feel the spirit working with you as you teach, whether it be members who need the spirit more in there lives, recent converts like Brandon who are now preparing for a mission:) or investigators like Franchesca who are waiting for an answer. The spirit and the gospel really do change lives for the better. David O McKay once said, "The purpose of the gospel is...to make bad men good and good men better, and to change human nature." That is what the "redeeming and enabling" power of the atonement is for. in Mosiah 3:19 is says to "put off the natural man" (bad men good) and "becometh a saint" (good men better) "through the Atonement of Christ the Lord." It is a wonderful experience to be able to share this with others and to watch that change take place as they learn more about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

So yesterday for our training in the morning, we learned some good news. The Lord is hastening His work in Visitor Centers! There is a new form of accountability that we are doing here where instead of having goals for how many people agree to meet with the missionaries, we have a goal of how many baptisms we want to see! This means that instead of getting people to meet with the missionaries and then sending them to them, we get to count them as our investigators and be the missionaries who teach them until the missionaries from their area get there and then after we still stay in contact and help encourage them until baptism! Oh how wonderful technology is. Not sure why it took this long to get it to this point but as of right now, the average percentage of converts who join the church because of visiting a visitor center is 1/3. They are now expecting that number to go way up. Not sure if any of this really makes sense to you but be assured it is so exciting for us!:) It helps me to know that these people I meet from all over the world and have spiritual experiences with here in the Visitor Center get to become my investigators and I will get to help them further to baptism!

I think something that I've been learning this week is how much the Atonement is really for everyone. How it's the Atonement that really gives us strength to do things that we can not do on our own. How there are countless instances in the scriptures when the prophets have prayed for strength to endure or change their situation rather than for their situation to be changed. Nephi prayed "O Lord give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound." Alma and Amulek prayed, "O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance " and Alma prayed" O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions which shall come upon me." In all these instances, their afflictions were not removed, but they were granted strength according to their prayers and faith. The Savior suffered for us so he can know what we need. So he can run to us and strengthen us as we go through this life. So he can know how to comfort us and lead us through our afflictions. So we can put off the natural man and become more like a saint. 

I love you so much. I think and pray for you always. Thank you so much for your love and support for me. It really does mean the world to me. Any time I have a rough day I just remember how much my family believes in me:) I try to count my blessings every day and pray for strength through the hard stuff. Love you all so much! Ill try and get some pictures to you soon and I'll finish up that recording and send it:)

Les Amo!

Hermana Rowley (Shayla)

Week 18-Transfer 2

Alooooooooha!

This week has lasted so long it seems! Mom, Sis Patlingrao coming back from full pros just means that she spent the last two transfers in Maui as a full proselyting missionary. Sorry for not explaining that more:) My friend here said that you just need to download a converter off the Internet in order to convert the file for the recorder thing. He said there are some pretty decent free ones you can get. Ill continue to record though and send it to you if you can't get it figured out. Sis Patlingrao, my new companion, is such a great missionary! She is a sweet little Filipino who has such a strong testimony and a drive for missionary work. I've already learned so much from her. I do miss Hermana though. I really have been thrown into the Spanish deep end! The day after Hermana left she sent me a text saying she was at the airport and she wasn't able to call her family and she wanted me to call them and tell them she was going to be home at 830. WHAT?! She knows as well as anyone that speaking another language over the phone is as hard as anything! Well, I said a prayer and went into the referral center and called up her Spanish speaking family in Guatemala. Lets just say that I sure hope they got the message cause I could barely hear them let alone understand them. I guess if they didn't then Hermana Rodriguez may still be at the airport waiting for them.

Also that day I received a shock when a family who didn't understand any English came in to the Visitor Center speaking Spanish. Of course everybody came to me and said "Hermana, Spanish!" I fumbled away with my first Spanish tour by myself and afterwards went into the bathroom to cry. I admit that I felt so alone and scared and overwhelmed that day. Since then my Spanish scripture reading and language study has definitely been put into overdrive. Sister Patlingrao has been so good at helping me as much as she can. Tagalog and Spanish both use the same numbers and colors and so she is happy she can at least help me with that:) Either that night or the next was my first lesson with Franchesca (the girl from Peru that Hermana and I had been teaching) with Sis Pat. I think it was actually the best lesson we have had with her yet since she was trying to speak in as much English as she could for Sis Pat's sake and she didn't switch from topic to topic like she usually does:) We helped her understand how important a testimony of the Book of Mormon was and how she needed to pray to receive an answer. 

The real Spanish miracles for me happened yesterday and today! Yesterday when I was at the VC, one of the tram tours came carrying a couple from Argentina. I found them as they were looking through a BOM and was able, with terrible grammar and broken Spanish, to explain what the Book of Mormon was. How it contains the words of God, another testament of Jesus Christ, just like the Bible and how it was about the people in South and Central America. It's always cool to tell people that it is about their people:) He was really interested so I asked if he would like missionaries to come to his home in Argentina and share more about the BOM and Jesus Christ and he said YES! I actually think I like giving tours in Spanish better than in English because I say as little as I can and then it really is the Holy Ghost that takes over. Today, just a few minutes ago, Sis. Adamson called me in cause there was a group from Spain in the VC. I went in and talked to them a bit and was almost able to understand everything! I asked if they would like to learn more and they said they were on a long trip and wouldn't be back til May. I said "Esta Bien!" They just laughed and said no thanks but they did leave their information so we can call them again and reinvite them. I have no idea why the Lord wants me to do this, but I am so grateful He trusts me enough to learn Spanish enough to teach these people. Good news about Brandon, He got his Aaronic priesthood and temple recommend to do baptisms on Sun!!!!!!!! If it was appropriate to clap in church, I would have been clapping when they announced it! It's so fun to see him progress like that.

Alexa, never stop smiling, even if you don't want to:) I love you so much and am so proud of you for your strength through all of this. Just know that no matter how bleak things seem right now, Heavenly Father is shaping you into the person he wants you to become. After all, the purpose of this life is to prepare to meet God so that we can be like He is when we see Him again. Because He suffered the Atonement, He knows exactly what you are going through and is the only one who can give you the strength through all this (Alma 7:11-12). I think that as you turn to the Savior, your burdens become lighter because he is able to help you understand the why. He is able to help you see a little more of what he wants you to become. I love you Alexa. I love you all. This Gospel, the Atonement, is real. It changes lives and people. I pray for you every day and send aaaaalllllll my love with this email:).

Les Amo!
Hermana Rowley (Shayla)

Goodbye Hermana