Moving Mountains

Hey Family!!

Time is flying by, way too quickly!! Everyone here starts school today, its crazy that summer is over already! I feel like it just started! As far as the weather goes though it FEELS like it just started. Its been hotter 'n Hades here! You walk outside and you basically just melt. It's funny, every time we knock on someone's door their first comment is "wow, you girls are really sweaty!". What? Is that what this strange liquid is that is literally drenching every inch of my body? Thank you for letting me know! :) Sometimes they don't even say anything, they just go grab a handful of paper towels for us.

Yesterday, we were tracting and we knocked on this cute little house and this cute little mom answered and we offered a prayer and she let us come right in! She has a new little baby. And her husband even paused his video game so that we could all pray. They are looking for a church! And said we could come back next weekend to share more with them... Then as we were walking back past their house to head home we saw a cop out front looking for them.... I don't think they are going to be able to make it to our appointment on Saturday... :p

I don't really know why they were looking for them, but hopefully is was just because they lost their dog or something. Would a cop show up for that?... For sanity's sake, let's just pretend he would!

This week we also had zone conference! It was amazing! I learned so much. President shared a story about a man who God came to and gave him a task. The task was to push as hard as he could against this very large boulder near his home. He was to do this all day, every day. So this faithful man did! He went out every day and pushed and pushed as hard as he could. At the end of the day he would come home absolutely exhausted. He was hot, tired, sweaty, and his muscles were fatigued. But he would get up the next morning and do it all over again.

Then the adversary came a long and pointed out the fact that this man was pushing as hard as he could every day and wearing himself out, but the boulder hadn't even budged. He convinced this man that he was a failure, and that he was just wasting him time even trying.

Utterly discouraged, this man went back to God and asked him why he had given him such and impossible task. He admitted that he felt like a failure and didn't want to do it anymore. But God responded and told him that his task was never to move the rock, his task was only to push against it with all his strength, everyday! He pointed out to him how strong this man had gotten, how healthy and fit he was from pushing every day, how much change had taken place in his life.

Sometimes our task is a lot like this man's. We simply have to push with all our strength. Sometimes we expect the rock to move and we feel like failures or we get discouraged and give up. But if we just keep going, we will be able to look back and see how much we have grown. We come to understand that God's intention was never to move that rock, the rock doesn't matter, but we do!! His intention was to help us grow, to strengthen us, to make us into more than we ever imagined we could be.

In those moments where we feel discouraged because the rock isn't moving, we have to remember that if we have the faith of a mustard seed, mountains WILL move. But it is God that moves those mountains, not us.

I am so grateful for my mission. Sometimes I feel like I'm just pushing pointlessly. We knock hundreds of doors and no one is interested. We teach people who seem so ready, then out of nowhere they stop meeting with us. We do everything we can to be obedient and do what is asked of us, yet nothing happens.

But looking back I can see that something was happening, in me. I was being strengthened, and molded, and changed. Because I am important to my heavenly father, he loves me and he knows what is best for me. I remember days when I would put on my sunglasses to hide the tears and I would pray, sometimes out loud, and ask Heavenly Father why these sad things were happening, why we weren't seeing success. His only answer was to just hang in there, keep going, keep pedaling, keep pushing on that rock. And now I understand.

Yesterday in church, during the sacrament, I was pondering on the words "take His name upon them." And how when we are baptized we promise to take upon ourselves Christ's name. I was taken back to a distant memory back in the MTC where I learned what that sentence means. I was in the MTC and listening to the sacrament prayer and I looked down and I saw my nametag. I saw my name, Sister Rowland, right above the name Jesus Christ. I had literally taken His name upon me. I had promised to represent Him in a very real way for a year and a half. To love like He loves. To serve like He serves. To preach His gospel.

I'm so grateful for a little black nametag that changed my life forever.

See you soon!
Love always, Sister Rowland

Charity Endureth Forever

Hey Family!!

How is everybody?!

Things here are wonderful:) We have been knocking lot's of doors, its fun. We are teaching some really cool people though! So last Sunday, we had this guy show up at church. He had taken the lessons about a year ago, and wants to take them again and be baptized. So we went and had a lesson with him. He is living in a home with some less-active members and there is another boy living with them too who also wants to be baptized! They are such a great family, and we have so much fun in the lessons. I'm grateful to be here to be able to teach them.

Yesterday at church, another guy just randomly showed up wanting to take the lessons. And we will be seeing him this week! So we decided that rather than walk the hot streets and knock door after door, we are just going to chill in the air conditioned church and let people come to us ;) Just kidding. That would be nice though!

Its been raining a lot here! On Saturday we were tracting and it started to rain and thunder really badly. There was nowhere to take cover except on the front porch of the door we had just knocked. Nobody was home, and the lightning was close and there was a lot of it! So we just sat on their bench to wait out the storm... then they came home! Talk about awkward... But they were very kind, told us to make ourselves comfortable and even offered us some water. I'm so grateful for kind people!

So I was reading a talk this morning by Elder Holland. He gave it a while back in the Brazil MTC I believe. And its called The Miracle of a Mission. It's so good! I read it once before right at the beginning of my mission, and it was fun to see how my perspective has changed.

He shares some experiences that President Hinckley had on his mission. He shares how he struggled so much at the beginning and just wanted to go home. But one day, after receiving a letter from his father instructing him to "forget himself, and go to work!" Everything changed. Everything changed because HE changed. He changed his mind, changed his perspective, changed his attitude.

So I was reflecting on my mission. I can relate to President Hinckley. At the beginning of my mission, I struggled. I wanted to go home. When I didn't want to go home, I was just suffering through. I was so miserable, guys! And it was my own fault. But one day... and that day really wasn't too long ago, I finally got it. I understood that I was miserable because I was withholding my will. I was holding on too tightly to what I wanted. And I know that since that day where I finally just let go, and got to work, I have been so happy. Happier than I have been in my entire life. I have changed so much! And I've changed for the better.

Also, random thing that I learned at church yesterday! So the lesson in Sunday School was about charity. Charity is the pure love of Christ, because Christ loved everyone perfectly. And we are supposed to strive to do the same. But the teacher brought something up that gave me a very unique perspective (sidenote: the teacher is a recent convert, he hasn't even been a member for a full year, but he is incredible!) He said that when Christ suffered for everyone in the Garden of Gethsemane, he felt everyone's pain and sorrow. And in that moment he learned exactly what everyone has been through in their life, giving him the unique opportunity to be able to see things through each person's perspective. Everyone has had different experiences, and our experiences largely determine how we view the world. Different views are often what makes it difficult for us to get along with or love another person. But because Christ knows everyone's perspective perfectly, He is able to love them perfectly. So if we want to increase our charity, we have to learn to see things the way others see them.

I have an example of this. So I had this companion that I was really struggling to get a long with. We seemed so different and I didn't think that we would every really be able to click. She did things way differently than I would have and that created some conflict. One day, I brought this up to her (probably not in the nicest way), but when I did she opened up and shared with me some experiences from her past. And as she was sharing these things, I prayed in my heart that Heavenly Father would help me understand her and He did. And the love I felt for her from that moment on was indescribable. She became one of my closest companions and one of my best friends! (As I shared this story, I realized that the same story applies to most of my companions...)

If we want to be like Christ, we have to learn how to do that, how to put ourselves in others shoes. That's what He did. He put Himself in our shoes in a very real and incomprehensible way. I know that is true. And knowing that brings me so much peace. He loves us, God loves us, and in return we need to learn to love ourselves and others unconditionally.

I LOVE YOU ALL!
Sister Rowland

Coming Forth as Gold

Sister Vanderhoff and Sister Rowland 

Hey Family,

So, I know I have shared this before but one scripture that has come to have great meaning to me over the course of my mission and especially this past week is Job 23:10

"But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold."

I know that trials and troubles and hard things are simply refining us and making us all we can be.

This week has been crazy. On Saturday, we got a call from our mission president informing my companion and I that we were being transferred unexpectedly. He gave us three hours to pack all of our stuff, clean our apartment and give all of our investigators to the other sisters serving in the ward. Suffice it to say, Sister Day and I were upset. We had been seeing so many miracles! We had ten investigators on date for baptism for the month of August! That is insane! And we weren't given any time to say goodbye to anyone. We were picked up by some other missionaries and taken to our new areas.

My new area has no baptism dates set, and no real solid investigators. The ward is struggling. The work is slow. I was angry and frustrated with my mission president and with Heavenly Father! It seemed so unfair!

But Saturday night, after I got settled in my new area. My companion and I went and met with the Bishop to talk about the needs of the ward, and how we could help him. This bishop has only been a bishop for two months. But he has an incredible vision for this ward. He is currently reorganizing EVERYTHING. As we were talking to the bishop about the needs of the ward and his vision I felt the spirit so strong. The spirit confirmed to me that this transfer was not a mistake, but a merciful act of God. I felt that I needed to be here because I can help this ward. I also felt that I needed to be here because this area and ward can help me to become all that my Father in Heaven expects of me.

Amid all the crises on Saturday, my companion and I asked the elders for a blessing. I don't remember anything that was said in that blessing except that Heavenly Father knows my potential. He sees who I can become. And He is doing all in His power to help me to get there. He knows that someday I can be GOLD! This is all part of the refining process. I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who loves me enough to push me, stretch me, and maybe even hurt me a little so that I can experience a fullness of joy.

So, I am going to see how much lemonade I can make of these lemons these final few weeks. Honestly, this is probably the easiest way to finish a mission. Whenever you get to a new area, you are always on fire. You have another chance to make a good first impression. New places, new ideas. Its easy to be bold, work hard and focus for the first few weeks in a new area. And now my first few weeks are also my last few weeks. I think this will work out nicely:) My new companion is wonderful and beautiful and sweet and I'm really excited to see what miracles will happen here.

So just remember, sometimes what seems to be the biggest injustice is really the largest blessing in disguise. Don't be too quick to judge!

God's plan is perfect! I love you all:)

Have a great week!

Love always, Sister Rowland

our address is:

5714 Calais Ln.

St Petersburg, FL 33714

Just a short email:)

Hey Family,

You will all probably be very grateful to hear that this email will actually not be a novel:) I just have a couple neat experiences that I want to share with y'all from this week!

1. So on Monday we were knocking doors and we weren't really having any success. Then across the street we saw a guy out in his garage. We started talking to him and found out that he had recently been converted from atheism. He is about 22 and has not really believed in anything his entire life. He lived a pretty rowdy life. But in the last few months he has changed his life completely around. He was completely willing to let us come and teach him. So we gave him a Book of Mormon. A few days later, we went by to see how his reading in the Book of Mormon was. He said, "I haven't really read as much as I would have liked. I only read that first night you gave it to me." We assured him that it was okay and asked him how much he read. "Only sixteen chapters." he replied. HA! ONLY?? He is the best. When we taught him the restoration, he understood the importance of the priesthood like no one else I have ever taught in my mission. At the end of the lesson HE asked US if he could be baptized by that authority in our church!!!

2. Our leaders have been encouraging us to be very specific in our prayers. So one day this week before we went out for the day, we asked heavenly father to give us two people that we could share a Book of Mormon with, and at least one to accept a return appointment. So we went out and within 15 minutes we had given out both Book of Mormons and set a return appointment with one of them. So after that we went back home for lunch. As we left our apartment after lunch we prayed that we would be able to talk to one person on the way to our next appointment and share a Restoration pamphlet with them. Its august in Florida and the only people crazy enough to be out on the streets are Mormon Missionaries, so we got two houses away from our investigators and hadn't seen a soul and then this car pulls up to us and asks if we are from a church. We told him we were and he asked if we had any PAMPHLETS that he could have!!!! HOW INSANE IS THAT??!! Heavenly Father answers our prayers, and when they are specific, his answer and blessing will be specific.

I know this church is true, guys. This work is important. And God loves us! I hope you all have a great week!

Love always, Sister Rowland