Thunderstruck

This week was a good week. We had changes. Changes are always on Wednesday. So on Tuesday Elder Sànchez and I went to visit all of his converts and the members. They all gave us food. I was so full after eating 3 dinners and one desert. We were in this place called Pushtan visiting some members and it was getting late and Pushtan is kind of far away and it there was a thunderstorm coming. We walked home in the dark, it was me and the five other missionaries in my district, with a really cool thunderstorm behind us. There are weird storms here where there are is a bunch of lighting but it stays in the clouds. The lighting doesn't fall and there is no noise but it looks like Thor and Harry Potter are fighting in the cloud. It was really cool. 

So I got a new companion. His name is Elder Solano. He is from Peru. This is his first change as a ZL. In our area we are doing good. We have about 10 progressing investigators and I would love to write about them all but I just don't have the time. This thursday we are going to baptize a girl named Susana and I will tell you more about her next time. I haven't had parasites for a couple of weeks so that is good. If you would like to know something more specific send me and email with the questions. 

I've been studying a lot in the Book of Mormon. I really love reading the book of Mormon it explains everything really clearly. Before the mission I loved reading it because of the wars and the stories and the people. Now I love it because of the doctrine explained. It is the word of God and we all need to study it.

Thanks for everything!

-Elder Rowberry

It's the climb

From Monday July 21, 2014

This week I went on interchanges with Elder Rosales from Guatemala. We went to a place calld Cusamaluco. It's so far away from the city and we had to walk for so long. You have to go down and up around 300 steps in the middle of the jungle then you have to climb up a hill they call Quebracho. It's super steep and long. It's also extremely hot here. I just sweat and sweat and sweat.You can´t escape the heat especially when you are walking down a long dusty road in the middle of the jungle. It's awesome. I sometimes think about my friends that have cars and ipads and houses that aren't filled with bugs and food that doesn't have parasites and say to my self, "I'm glad I got sent to a mission for men." No, I'm just kidding. I really like being here. I've learned a ton. 

    We have a lot of progressing investigators that we are teaching. We have had a pretty good amount of people in church we hope to be able to put baptismal dates with them. We have a lot of investigators with issues. We have two sisters that are our investigators. One of them has a daughter that is handicap and has a tumor and they don't have money for the treatments. Also a credit agency is going to take away their house. Their house is made of corrugated tin and it's all they've got. I feel really bad for them. I feel like Peter sometimes when he says, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee" Like I said last week the Gospel of Christ is the answer for everything. That's why we suffer the sweaty heat so we can what we have to them.

Love you all.

-Elder Rowberry

Meet me halfway

Well folks, I'm halfway done with the mission. I completed a year on the 10th of July. I can't tell you how fast the time goes.  I feel young still in the mission. It's been a great year. I've learned so much. I've had so many growing experiences. I bet I'm really different than I was when I left. I know I've made changes and I am a better person but it's kind of the frog in the frying pan idea you don't really recognize it. Anyways in my last interview with President Cordón before he left he told me that I had changed a lot, starting with my spanish. He didn't mention anything specifically but that was pretty cool. I am very convinced that the mission is one of the best things that anyone could ever do. It gives you an opportuinty to refine yourself. It is not easy at all but it is the best. You learn so many valuable things, patience, love, tolerance, hard work, self control, self sufficiency and so many other things. You also learn so much about the Gospel and how it helps people. I am also thourghly convinced that the Gospel is the answer to every problem. Doesn't matter if you're dirt poor or filthy rich, happy or sad, dumb or smart we all have problems and the answer is found in the Gospel. If you have problems in your life I invite you to study the scriptures, pray, and go to church. This will help you change. We all need to remember the 5 basic principles and ordinances of the Gospel. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentence, baptism (sacrament). The Gift of The Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end (making addition covenants in the temple regular church attendance, paying tithing, service, and priesthood). If we can all follow the Gospel and repent we will be so much happier.  2 Nephi2:21 And the days of the children of^amen were prolonged, according to the ^bwill of God, that they might^crepent while in the flesh; wherefore, their state became a state of^dprobation, and their time was lengthened, according to the commandments 21 And the days of the children of ^amen were prolonged, according to the ^bwill of God, that they might ^crepent while in the flesh; wherefore, their state became a state of ^dprobation, and their time was lengthened, according to the commandments which the Lord God gave unto the children of men. For he gave commandment that all men must repent; for he showed unto all men that they were ^elost, because of the transgression of their parents.which the Lord God gave unto the children of men. For he gave commandment that all men must repent; for he showed unto all men that they were ^elost, because of the transgression of their parents.25 ^aAdam ^bfell that men might be; and men ^care, that they might have^djoy.

 

Have a great week!

Love you all

-Elder Rowberry

It's a bugs life

This week was a good week. On Wednesday we got to go to Santa Ana for the Welcome Meeting for President Spjut and Sister Spjut (Spyut is how it is pronounced). We got to know them a little bit and to learn a little bit from what they learned at the New Mission President Seminar that they had. In that seminar all of the twelve apostles speak with them. We learned some cool stuff from that. On Friday my companion and I went back to Santa Ana for the Leaders Meeting. It was my first and the first of President Spjut as well. He was kind of nervous but it was really good. We talked about some changes that we are going to make in the mission that were taught by the apostles. 1. We are going to start teaching Lesson 5 of Preach My Gospel before and after baptism 2. We are going to start focusing more on D&C 20:37 (The requirements for baptism) 3. We are going to be in charge of teaching all of the lessons again after baptism and 4. We are going to visit the converts constantly for 3-4 months after baptism and teaching them and keep dropping by for a year to teach. All of these changes have to do with conversion and retention. We have to focus more on getting the people to the temple and not just to baptism. It's very important that they go to the temple. In the talk "Your four minutes" in General Conference by Gary Stevensonhttps://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/your-four-minutes?lang=eng he talks about something that Elder Bednar did to help his family members recieve  the essential ordinances. It's a good talk you all should read it and then think about people you know that need those essential ordinances and help them.

This week Elder Sánchez, Elder Leiva (an Elder that lives in my house) and I got sick. We all had diarrhea and I threw up in the night on friday night. We all went and took tests and turns out we all have parasites. I have E. Coli. Don't worry though because I've got pills and it's going away I feel much better. We didnt work on Saturday or on Sunday. We went to church though. I feel almost normal. It just one of those things you know?

Ha

Well have a great week!

-Elder Rowberry

Goodbye, Farewell

From June 30, 2014

This week was a really good week. We had a lot of success in our area as well in the zone. In our area we had 10 investigators in church. In our ward, Nahuizalco, we had 25 investigators. There are three companionships in my ward. The other two brought 9 and 6. So I'll tell you a little about the investigators that we have. We have the Famila Menjívar. There are four of them; Dad, Mom, and two girls that are 10 are and 13. They went to church and they liked it. They are just having doubts about leaving their old church. They live right next to some members that are really good friends with them. They are references from this member family. We are going to keep working with them so that they can get baptized. They are going to need a little bit of work but we are going to use the Book of Mormon a lot. That is the key folks. We have a mother and daughter that went to church as well. They are named Susana and Elizabeth. They are really positive. They almost accepted a baptismal date yesterday but the next time we teach them we will put the date. There is this old lady that came named Adriana. When we first talked to her she didn't seem like she was going to want anything. She has been to church twice and we hope to put the baptismal date today.  Those are a couple of them that we have. 

I am really liking Nahuizalco. We work a lot out in the jungle. I sweat a ton which means I also stink a lot. Nahuizalco is a lot different than Highland. 

This past week we had to say goodbye to President Cordón. We had a goodbye multizone which was really awesome. It is kind of sad to say goodbye but what can you do? I learned a lot from him. He was a very good president. Our mission has the reputation of being the most obedient of Central America because of him. He is now going to go work in the Quetzaltenango Temple as a administrator there.  President Spjut came and I am excited to be able to work with him.

If anyone has any question I would love to answer it. 

Thanks for everything.

-Elder Rowberry