Bring Them Hither and I Will Heal Them

Hey Guys!

I can't believe that August starts this week... its so crazy! I feel like I blinked and July was gone! But it has been such an incredible month. July will be one I never forget!

On Saturday, one of our investigators got baptized! It was such a neat service. (Fun story: all of our translators for her are male, so obviously when we were in the changing room with her, none of them could be in there. We had a lot of fun playing charades trying to explain everything to her since we can't communicate with words. ) She doesn't speak any English, so the entire service was entirely in Spanish. Even the songs we sang were in Spanish. It was so cool to see how the ward came and supported her even though none of them can communicate with her, and couldn't understand the service they were there and completely embraced her. And the spirit was felt there so strong. Its neat because she decided to be baptized because of the way she felt at church, even though she couldn't understand anything. And then we all got to have that same experience at her baptism, where we couldn't understand but the spirit spoke louder than words. Her husband is a member but he hasn't been very active in the church ever in his life. He has been working really hard to be able to baptize her! And the look on his face after he baptized his wife was priceless. He was so happy! I love them so much, and even though we can't talk to each other our spirits are still able to communicate. We can just look them in the eyes and they look back and words become totally unnecessary.

We also had another cool miracle this week! It has been super rainy and we no longer have a car at all. We used to have one that we could drive when the storms are really bad but at transfers this week we had to give up our car. So on Thursday, it was storming really badly and we were only able to bike. So we decided to reschedule the appointment and do something else out of the storm. As soon as we rescheduled the sky cleared up!! But we decided that since we had already rescheduled we might as well just do what we were planning to do instead and walk over to the church. As we were walking I just kept feeling like we needed to go a different way, a longer way. I kept ignoring it. But finally I told Sister Day what I was feeling and she said that we should do it. So we went the long way around, and as soon as we got to this particular street that had been on my mind, there was a guy up ahead of us. As we were walking towards him, my mind kept going back and forth... "We need to talk to him! No, he's probably not prepared for the gospel... But maybe he is... buts he's kind of scary looking... So? he's still a child of God!" This happens a lot... I have little arguments back and forth in my brain. I'm not crazy though... Finally we got to him and I just opened my mouth and started talking to him. We were able to teach him the first lesson right there on the street, give him a Book of Mormon, and commit him to be baptized. He shared with us how he was new in Lakeland, his wife had just died, and he is just trying to find what God needs him to do here. It was so powerful! He told us that from the first second we were in his view he just felt this peaceful feeling that he couldn't describe. Its so cool how God puts us in the right place to meet those who are ready for this Gospel.

This week in district meeting they committed all of us to offer to say a prayer with everyone we meet, whether it is someone on the street or someone whose door we just knocked on, so we have been doing that this week and it is so cool! Something cool about being on the bible belt is there are very few people who will say no to a prayer. And then we are able to have a powerful spiritual experience with this random stranger. That is something I am going to miss so much! There have been a few times when we have been praying with people on the street and there are noisy cars driving by, but as soon as we start praying the world gets silent. Every time! I can just imagine that if I were to open my eyes and look up that the world would be frozen in place. That's what it seems like! I love having spiritual experiences with random strangers on the street... its so neat!

So I just wanted to quickly share something from my studies this week!!

In my Book of Mormon reading I am in 3 Nephi. So I have been reading about Christ's ministry among the Nephites and it is so powerful! One thing in particular really hit me this week and it comes from chapter 17.

Christ has just finished teaching the people some of His commandments and he is about to leave for the night, but he looks around and sees the faces of the people and how badly they wanted him to stay, so he stayed a little longer.

He says,

"Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind. or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them..."

"And it came to pass that when he had thus spoken, all the multitude, with one accord, did go forth with their sick and their afflicted, and their lame, and with their blind, and with their dumb, and with all them that were afflicted in any manner, and he did heal them every one as they were brought forth unto Him."

What hit me most about these verses is that the sick had to be brought to Christ by another. None of them could go by themselves. How many of us know people who are spiritually sick and need to be healed by Christ? We have to be the ones to bring them to Him.

"And they did all, both they who had been healed AND they who were whole, bow down at his feet, and did worship him."

When we do that, we will rejoice together with those that we bring.

I am so grateful for this Gospel. I am grateful for a Savior who can heal us. And I am so grateful to be a missionary, and to witness Him heal others everyday.

I love you all! Have a wonderful week:)

Sister Rowland

The Weak Things of the World

Hey Family!

Can you believe it is July 20th already? This month is flying by... its honestly really scary. Transfers are this week, but I am staying put and so is Sister Day. So here goes my last six weeks! I'm sure for family and friends back home its really exciting and happy when your missionary comes home, but from the missionary's perspective. Its very bitter-sweet. I have really been appreciating the small things this week. Those things that I will never experience the same way again. I cry a lot about it. Its a good cry, its a grateful cry. Everything that happens on a mission is truly miraculous.

There is a poem that one of the missionaries shared in district meeting a few weeks ago. It makes me cry every time! Enjoy:

As I stare out the widow,

Tears still in y eyes,

I see the vision of those I love,

As we said our last good-byes.

The flight was long and tiring,

As two questions plagued my mind:

Do I want the life that's ahead of me,

or the one I left behind?

You see eighteen months is such a long time,

For going door to door;

In my reflection, I thought,

There must be something more.

I struggled off the plane,

looking for a friendly face;

When a man called President said,

"You've come to the right place!"

.....

I sit reflecting once again,

As this day is my last,

Please, Lord, it isn't fair,

The time went way too fast..

As I stare out the window,

Tears still in my eyes,

I see the visions of those I love,

As we said our last goodbyes

The flight was long and tiring,

As two questions plagued my mind;

Do I want the life that's ahead of me,

Or the one I left behind?

I don't know who the author is but I love it so much! The mission experience is indescribable.. and it does go by way too fast.

So pretty much this week has been incredible, and I want to share with you all a few miraculous experiences we had this week.

The first maybe wasn't so miraculous, but it was one of those experiences that I will probably never get again. On Saturday we were knocking doors in this neighborhood. Then randomly it started looking like it was going to rain (Florida has the most bi-polar weather ever!). But sometimes it just looks like its going to rain and then never does... and we really wanted to finish knocking this street. So we just kept going. Then it started to sprinkle... but we kept going. Then all of the sudden we hear this wall of rain coming up behind us and in seconds we are soaked through! There was nowhere to take cover except this very Twilight-esque forest. So we went to take cover in the trees. They helped a little but not very much. The rain just kept coming with little sign of it clearing up soon, we were already soaked so we just decided to walk in the rain to the church where our next lesson was going to be. We were a mess! Our clothes were soaked, our make-up a distant memory, but we were so happy. It was just so pathetically hilarious:) So we made our way to the church and rung ourselves out in the bathroom and taught our lesson and attended a meeting with our ward mission leader looking like wet cats and freezing our tails off!

The next experience... so you know how we walk and bike everywhere? And sometimes there is no one out on the street so it feels like we are getting hot, sweaty and exhausted for no good reason? Well, this week we had four different people come up to us in our apartment complex and say, "What do you guys do? We see you walking and biking everywhere, all day long?"

So we tell them what we do!

The third: So about three weeks ago we were tracting this street and we see in one of the drive-ways a car with a Utah license plate! That is a rare sight here in Florida. We were so excited to knock on that door but nobody answered! :( So a few days later we were in that same neighborhood to see an investigator and we decided to try that same door again. And there was a mom and daughter living there who, indeed, had just moved from Utah! We could tell that they knew who we were, but we couldn't tell if they were members or not so we just asked them if they ran into missionaries a lot in Utah. And then they told us that they are members but they don't go to church anymore. They had a bad experience and had absolutely no interest in ever coming back. We asked them if we could at least let the ward know that they were here and they said no. So we left them the church address and our phone number if they ever needed anything...

Then yesterday at church, the person who said the closing prayer said, obviously by the prompting of the spirit, that there was someone there today who was giving it one last try and he prayed that whoever it is would feel God's love and want to come back again. It was such a powerful prayer! Afterward I turned and started looking around to see if I could tell who it was. I saw through the chapel doors out into the entryway and on the couch I could see two people. I couldn't see who it was, but I had a pretty good idea. I asked my companion if she could see who it was and she couldn't. And we couldn't get out of the chapel because everyone was talking and visiting. Finally, we made it out and it was them! IT WAS THEM! THEY CAME. They came to give it one last try. And I honestly don't know what their experience was, and I don't know if they will come back. But I hope and pray that they will. And I hope that they did feel God's love for them.

And the fourth experience, to show that God really is aware of us. Yesterday at church, one of the members pulled us aside and began criticizing the way we had taught one of our investigators. He was honestly quite rude about it and Sister Day and I left church feeling absolutely no confidence in our ability to do anything. We went home and prayed really hard that Heavenly Father would help us through the day.

Last night we had a lesson with some recent converts, her non-member daughter, and some members, including two recently returned missionaries. We had dinner and played some family home evening games and then we taught a lesson. We taught the message of the Restoration because of the one non-member who was there. Family and friends, the spirit in that room was suffocating. I have never felt the spirit so strong, or felt so much love for one person my entire mission. Everyone in the room felt it! And it had nothing to do with Sister Day's and mine ability or inability to teach. But it had everything to do with the love that Heavenly Father had for this individual, and His love for my companion and I, and his joy at our efforts. Afterward, one of the returned missionaries came up to my companion and I and said, "That was a great lesson, you two teach really well together." Little did he know that was exactly what we needed to hear. Heavenly Father provided us with a perfect situation to teach us a few things

• the spirit is the true teacher
• we have been called by a prophet of God because of who we are, not because we are perfect teachers
• when you truly love the person you are teaching the spirit will be there and they will feel it
• we never need to worry about our inadequacies, because lets face it: we are all completely inadequate, but Heavenly Father loves us anyway and He will help us to get His work done.

The happiness, peace, and joy that we felt after that lesson was overwhelming. I am so grateful for our Father in Heaven's love.

There was a scripture that I came across in my studies earlier this week, before all of this happened. But it was perfect.

Doctrine and Covenants 35:13-14

"Wherefore, I call upon the weak things of the world, those who are unlearned and despised, to thresh the nations by the power of my Spirit. And their arm shall be my arm, and I will be their shield and their buckler; and I will gird up their loins, and they shall fight manfully for me..."

I know that I am weak, I know that I'm imperfect. But I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ make up for that, if we are humble and rely on them.

I read this story in a conference talk last week:

"There was a young piano student and his mother, wishing to encourage him, 'bought tickets for a performance of the great Polish pianist, Paderewski. The night of the concert arrived and the mother and son found their seats near the front of the concert hall. while the mother visited with friends, the boy slipped quietly away.

Suddenly, it was time for the performance to begin and a single spotlight cut through the darkness of the concert hall to illuminate the grand piano on stage. Only then did the audience notice the little boy on the bench, innocently picking out twinkle twinkle little star.

His mother gasped, but before she could move, Paderewski appeared on stage and quickly moved to the keyboard. He whispered to the boy, 'Don't quit. Keep playing.' And then, leaning over, the master reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass part. Soon his right arm reached around the other side, encircling the child, to add running obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice held the crowd mesmerized.

In our lives, unpolished though we may be, it is the Master who surrounds us and whispers in our ear, time and time again, "Don't quit, keep playing." And as we do, He augments and supplements until a work of amazing beauty is created. He is right there with all of us, telling us over and over, "Keep playing." "

Keep playing, y'all :) You are who you are and where you are for a reason!

Love you!

Sister Rowland

Their Testament is in Force

Hey Family!

Hope you all are having a great summer! Can you believe that we are already almost halfway through July?? Its going by so fast! Its honestly kind of scary!

Its been nice and hot here:) I'm seriously going to die my first winter back in Utah. I freeze in 70 degrees! We have been working hard and seeing so many miracles and we are teaching some of the coolest people on the planet! I want to tell you about them:)

So first off we are teaching a 15 year old girl. She is the daughter of a less active who hasn't been to church since she was a teenager. The young women in the ward reached out to our investigator and her cousin who is a member and they started coming to church and activities and seminary. And now she wants to get baptized! We were talking to her at our lesson last week about how she can be an example to her family (her mom and three younger brothers). We committed her to have family prayer every day even if she is the only one participating. Yesterday at church her mom came, her two younger brothers came, and her 12 year old brother asked us if he could be baptized too. I am so impressed by her and her diligent example and her faith. She is so incredible.

Then we are teaching the 15 year old brother of the returned missionary in our ward. He has been in Puerto Rico with his dad for a few weeks but we have Skype lessons with him almost every day. (Thank goodness for technology!) He is reading the Book of Mormon every day and saying his prayers. He even lets us call him in the mornings and wake him up for a lesson during his vacation! How many 15 year old boys do you know that would be okay with that?!? We asked him this past week to talk to his dad about taking him to church in Puerto Rico and he wasn't too sure about it. He didn't know how his dad would react. But he told us today that he got the courage to talk to his dad and his dad said that not only would he take him to church but he would attend with him!

We are also teaching a newly wed couple from Chile. He is a less-active member and speaks little English. She is not a member and speaks no English! She wants to get baptized and they have already made it a goal to be sealed in the temple. As we have gone through the teaching process with her she has had some pretty incredible manifestations that this is the truth and that it is the right path for her and her family. Even though she doesn't understand English she comes to church every Sunday because she likes the way she feels when she is there.

We have another investigator with a Catholic background. His entire family is Catholic. And joining our church would mean turning his back on his family's religion and traditions. He is having a hard time making that decision but he is diligently praying and seeking his answer from God.

I could go on and on sharing the incredible stories of courage and faith and the incredible people we are teaching! I love them so much! I am so grateful for the privilege that it is to serve here and to work with them. So many people have to sacrifice so much when they learn of the truth of this church, but they do it!

I just want to let all of you know that I know without any doubt that this is Christ's church. I know that it was restored to the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith. I know that we have prophets on the earth today to direct and guide us. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God.

I was studying in Doctrine and Covenants section 135 this morning. It talks about how the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith seal the testimony of the Book of Mormon and the truths of the church. Its a pretty powerful section and I would definitely recommend that you take a look at it.

There is a part that says,

"... the reader in every nation will be reminded that the Book of Mormon... cost the best blood of the nineteenth century to bring [it] forth for the salvation of a ruined world..."

That sentence punched me in the face when I read it today! I was reminded of just how precious the Book of Mormon is. Our entire knowledge of the Gospel is so precious. And it didn't come free. Joseph Smith wasn't the only one that gave his life for our salvation. There were many prophets and disciples before him. Not to mention the infinite sacrifice of our Savior. We simply cannot take what we have for granted.

We cannot take the Book of Mormon and the truths it teaches for granted.

We have to appreciate it, and read it and live it! If you have not come to know for yourself that the Book of Mormon is true, now is the time. If you have one, read it. And every time after you read kneel and pray and ask God if it is true, then wait, and listen. And God will reveal it to you through the Holy Spirit. If you don't have one, let me know. I will get you one!

It will change your life!! I promise!!

I love you all so much:) Have a wonderful week, be happy, and stay cool!

Love always, Sister Rowland

Declare with Unwearyingness

Hey Family!

This week has been a pretty great week!  A lot of biking and walking and sweating as usual:) There really isn't too much to report so I'm just going to cut to the chase and share some thoughts that I've had this week...

They may or may not connect or make any sense but here it goes! :P

Helaman 10:4

Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but has sought my will, and to keep my commandments.

3 Nephi 19:2-3

Yea, and it was noised abroad among the people immediately, before it was yet dark, that the multitude had seen Jesus, and that he had ministered unto them, and that he would show himself on the morrow unto the multitude.

Yea, and even all the night it was noised abroad concerning Jesus...

Jacob 5:71-74

Go to, and labor in the vineyard, with your might...

And thus they labored, with all diligence, according to the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard...

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

Okay, now let me see if I can tie this jumbled mess of thoughts together...

We know that God has a divine plan for us, and we know that a family is central to that plan. We know that marriage is between a man and a woman who can bring precious spirits to the earth and raise them up in love and righteousness. We know that families are under attack.

It's a testimony builder to me, thinking of the recent Supreme Court decision, that our last General Conference was completely centered on the family. I know that our leaders are truly inspired by God, and that if we heed their counsel, we will be able to withstand the evil in our day.

I have come, over the course of my mission, to have a very solid testimony that I am on a mission right now to prepare me to marry in the temple to a worthy priesthood holder and raise a strong family centered on the teachings of Jesus Christ. That is why the missionary age was lowered. That is how the Lord is hastening His work.

We have a responsibility to declare to the world our standard on families and the importance of families. We need to not be afraid to make our position known and to defend it. Those verses in the Book of Mormon have some words that I really like:

• Unwearyingness
• Immediately
• All the night
• Might
• Diligence
• Labor

President Eyring said, "You begin by holding up the Lord's standards clearly and without apology. And the more the world drifts from them and mocks them, the bolder we must be in doing that. "

Elder Holland said, "Be strong. Live the gospel faithfully even if others around you don't live it at all. Defend your beliefs with courtesy and compassion, BUT DEFEND THEM."

I know that greater power and spirit will come into our lives and our homes as we put in, not just a little more effort, but all of our effort in defending the Lord's standards for families. There are so many ways to do that, and any and every one of them is good. But I think the best thing we can do is resolve to do better in our own families. Love and show love more. Serve each other more. Read and pray together more. Spend more time doing quality things. Live the Gospel better, as a family.

It makes me think of Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty.

Alma 46:12-13

And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it- in memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children- and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.

And he fastened on his head-plate, and his breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins...

Its time to put on our armor and hold our banner high!

I commit to make marriage a priority when I return from my mission. I commit to settle for nothing less than marriage for time and all eternity in the temple of God. I commit to make child-bearing and raising a priority. I will not put my own restrictions on when or how many but trust in the Lord's will and timing. I will always make prayer, scripture study, and family time a priority. I will do all in my power to raise my family on the principles of "faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work and wholesome recreational activities." I recognize that my role as mother is divine and my sacred responsibility is to nurture my children. I commit to do my very best in all of these things.

I love the primary song The Family is of God:

God gave us families,

to help us become what he wants us to be.

This is how he shares his love,

for the family is of God.

I know that Heavenly Father loves us. His plan is for us to return to live with Him someday, as a family. I know that God will bless us as we defend and declare the standard He has set.

I love you all!

Sister Rowland