Photo-shoot Fresh

From September 15, 2014

Happy Independence Day everybody! Today the 15th of September is the Independence Day of El Salvador. One of the biggest things that mark this day is that all of the schools have their marching bands and they go out into the streets and have parades. They aren't quite as good as American Fork but you've got to work with what you've got. 

Nothing really exciting happened this week. We just keep on trucking here in the zone. One cool thing that happened is that we got to go eat with President Solis, the Juayúa stake president. He took us to a nice restaurant here in Juayúa to eat because we passed 15 baptisms in the month. It was pretty cool. It felt strange to sit down at a nice table with table cloths and to have a waiter. We plan on eating with him again next month. We have been working hard to find new investigators. We put a baptismal date with the kid named Diego. His whole family are members. We are working to reactivate them. They have gone to church the last two Sundays. We are trying to help them remember what they knew. I don't really have anything else to write and I am out of time but I love you all. Have a great week.

-Elder Rowberry

P.S. I recently figured out some cool features of my camera so me and my companion took some photos. Also there is a picture of Elder Slack and his companion. Ha. #glamourshotsbydeb

President Solis and the Zone

Viva La Vida

From September 8, 2014

The mission is awesome. You learn so much and grow so much. I was thinking about how valuable the mission is in experiences. It is priceless. If you are debating about going on a mission. Just do it. 

This week was a good week. Well all weeks are good weeks here in the mission, even if they're bad weeks because we are in the service of the Lord. I have lately been trying to really recognize the hand of the Lord in my work. I had an experience yesterday that showed me, again, that the Lord is directing his work. We left with a member to go contact references and visit less actives. We had visited a couple of houses and then we went to another house. We showed up and started talking to an inactive kid. His mother, who we intended on visiting, was not home. As we were talking to the kid his mom showed up. She was crying. She sat down with us and told us that her son had had a stroke and that he was probably not going to live. I had never seen this sister in my life. She is an inactive member. We were able to read the comforting words in Matthew to her, "[Él] No está aquí porque ha resucitado." We explained that we can see our loved ones after this life. We also were able to give her a blessing of comfort. I know that God put us there in that exact moment that we needed to be there. Asombra me da, really. I know that God loves His children and that He wanted us to visit His daughter and help her out.

I am excited to see how our new zone works. I have good feelings about this month. Our potential is not really high now but we brought quite a few people to church and we can put some dates this week. I felt this week like I have been in a slump. I realized what you have to do to get out of a slump in the mission. You have to find new investigators. That is key to make sure you don't fall into slump. We have been making plans and sharing Preach My Gospel with members to get references. We had a good amount of people in church this week, more than we had committed, which was a complete miracle. I can see us leaving this slump really soon. I believe the zone has been in the same slump because in August we, you could say, "wrang out the rag until we had dust coming out." We worked so hard with the people we had that we neglected finding news which later down the road came back to bite us. We make mistakes so we can learn from them.

.-Elder Rowberry

Attached is just a random photo that I found on this computer and a picture of the zone last change. Not a lot of differences huh?

Carry Lo o ogs Carry logs

From September 1, 2014

This last P day we did a service project. We woke up at 5:30 and we went to this Canton called Carrizal. We went to go help a recent convert get some fire wood for his house. I really was not that excited about going but we went anyway. Almost the whole zone went. We got there, after a 45 minute hike through the jungle, and we went to go find the recent convert. We found him and we had to go down a really steep hill to get to the tree they had cut down. He was cutting a path for us with his machete. A little comment about the machete: In Utah the main work tool is a computer. Here in Nahuizalco it is a machete. I think that says a lot about the place. Anyways they cut down the tree and cut it into little pieces. We then carried these logs, probably about 3/4 of a mile to a mile, up this steep and slippery jungle hill. The logs probably weighed 60-70 pounds. We made two trips and we were all sweating like crazy. I was already really tired before we went but I was hammered after, a great way to start off the week I should say. I recovered quickly though.

So the month of August is over. We didn't quite reach our goal but we did really well though. We had 16 baptisms as our zone of 5 companionships. We are hoping to improve in September.

On tuesday of this past week we did a zone activity in which we shined shoes in the local park. People we pretty stunned that we were doing something like that. We had a lot of positive comments. 

Yesterday we had another baptism. A lady named Silvia Cortez got baptized. This lady is a great example for me. She has had a lot of problems in her life lately. Someone stole her light receipt and used her address to take a loan out so the loan agency has been on her to pay it. Also she has a niece that is mentally challenged and some health problems. She has had all the trials but has persevered through them. I know that she will be able to use the help of the Holy Ghost to know how to leave these problems.

Thanks for everything.

-Elder Rowberry

Running down a dream

From August 25, 2014

This week has been a good week. We have been working really hard here in the zone. Everyone is exhausted but happy. We have been working hard this whole month and we don't plan on stopping. Everyone in the zone is putting in their best effort, I feel like, and I believe that helps the rest of us to keep pushing along. We have been doing interchanges a lot to help the missionaries in their areas. We are really working hard to try to reach our goal of 20. We are going to need some serious miracles if we are going to reach it. I personally feel a little bit sad that, according to the way things look right now, we aren't going to reach it but I also feel happy because we have been putting in every ounce of energy into it. Really we have acheived a lot. There is a phrase that goes, "Shoot for the moon, because even if you miss you will land among stars." 

A couple days ago I had a really cool experience. For reasons that I don't understand, a lot of our investigators that were going to get baptized have been flaking out on us. They have been having dreams and problems that are out of our control. Anyways, we were talking to a 20 year old kid named Freddy that was going to get baptized yesterday, this is all happening on Saturday. We got to his house and we taught him part of the Plan of Salvation and the Atonement and then we asked him how he was for his baptism. He told us he wanted to wait until next month so that he could get baptized with his friends little sister who is going to turn 8. We explained him that he should not procrastinate, that tempations and problems would come if he waited, and that baptism is the key. We taught him really well, I felt like, and we asked him if he was going to get baptized. He said, "Yes but the day I told you." "Ok," I told him, "We are going to see what God says alright?" Hesitantly he got down with the rest of us on our knees, we were with his member friends. I told him that he should ask God if he should get baptized tomorrow (Sunday 8/24/2014) and that he should wait in silence for an answer. He started praying and he asked and we waited. We waited for around 5 minutes I believe. He then finished. I asked him how he felt and he told us that he felt calmness. I read in Galatians 5 about the fruits of the spirit. I told him that is one of the fruits. I repeated the baptismal invitation. He said "Yes, the day I told you in September." "NO," I thought, but I told him if that is what he felt like he should do than he should do it. We left the house of the member and we continued on. I felt pretty discouraged as well as my companion. I felt like missionary Job, where everything in my area was just falling. I accepted the fact that God was trying me for some reason or another. My companion was almost in tears because Freddy was not going to get baptized and we wouldn't get close to our goal. We went to our next appointment and they gave us dinner. I didn't really feel like eating. I was trying to be happy. Then my phone rings. I pick it up and I see the name of the member whose house we were at. I wondered she wanted. Maybe we left an umbrella in her house or something. I answer and she tells me that Freddy wants to talk to me. He tells me that he was thinking about it and he really did feel in his heart and that he was going to get baptized the next day. I went from way low to way high in a matter of seconds. I really felt in that moment that God exists, and he loves us. It was a marvelous feeling. My companion almost cried again. Yesterday, Freddy got baptized. It was very nice. I love the mission.

Thanks for everything.

-Elder Rowberry

Cause you're in New York

I went to San Salvador this week for Migration. It was quite different than Nahuizalco. It actually has big buildings. Even Santa Ana have more than a four story building. It's not quite like New York though. 

This week was an interesting week. We are working really hard to try to accomplish our goals. I don't know what it is but we have been struggling in our area. I am worried about the people we have that are "supposed" to get baptized. They have been acting a little weird. I am feeling the pressure of my position in trying to reach this goal. I know that I have to be an example for them.  You can pray for J. S., S. C., Freddy, Adriana, Jessica, Mariana, and Elizabeth.

 On Saturday I went on interchanges with Elder Slack. He's from West Jordan. We were out in a cantón called Pushtan. We could see clouds coming in. It was starting to get dark and it's a 25 minute walk back to Nahuizalco. We started walking and it started raining with everything it had. It was not only rain but lighting as well. There was a ton of lighting and a couple struck real close to us. We were soaking wet and on a dark muddy road running back to Nahui screaming like little girls. I had never heard before the lightning. Everyone hears thunder but I heard the lightning whiz across the sky. It was awesome! I thought, "What is my family doing on this wonderful saturday night?" I thought well they are probably talking to the neighbors, playing basketball, and just having a good time. Meanwhile I am trudging up a dark slippery hill in the jungle in El Salvador with rain pouring down on me and lightning about strinking me. I love the mission!! 

This morning we went and saw some waterfalls here in Juayúa. They are really cool. That was the first planned zone activity that I have ever been to.

Anways I don't have much more time.

Have a great week!

-Elder Rowberry

Till I Collapse

From Monday August 11, 2014

This week was a crazy week.

On Tuesday we had the leadership meeting in Santa Ana. We had to wake up at 4 in the morning to get there. It was really good. We learned about making goals and reaching them. The next day we had to wake up at 4 again to go to the temple with investigators. Unfortunatley we didn't get on bed exactly on time. The Tacuazin finally came. I was showering and my companion yelled at me telling me not to leave the bathroom. I asked why and he told me the tacuazin was in the room. To get to the rest of the house from our bathroom you have to pass throught our bedroom. So the tacuazin was trapped in the bedroom. I opened the door a little bit and saw a tail in my closet by my clothes. It was long. Then the tacuazin left my clothes and went to the floor. Tacuazin in english in possum I believe. This rat was the size of a 2.5 L bottle of soda. We spent hours trying to catch it without getting bit. We didn't want to kill it because we would have felt bad. We finally caught it and we gave it to the neighbors. They eat those things here. I would like to eat one, one day.

I have been tired all week on beacuse of all the stuff we had to do. I had to organize transport and "herd" about 70 people take them to the temple and make sure they got back in the bus. It was kind of stressful. But it has been great. We are trying to reach a baptismal goal of 20. Right now we have 6 baptized and 16 with date. As a zone we have faith and we are working hard to acheive this goal. This week I also went on some interchanges with some elders in my zone. I two cool spiritual experiences. I went with Elder Hassard to his area. Elder Hassard is new in the mission he has around 4 weeks here. He is from Syracuse, Utah. We went and talked to some investigators that we wanted to put baptismal dates with. They had some problems so we explained the restoration. If someone has a testimony of the restoration everything else falls into place. Anyways they still had doubts so I asked them if the wanted to ask God. These were two seperate lessons. We knelt down with them and they asked if they should get baptized and they both described a burning feeling in the chest and they both accepted baptismal dates. Elder Gubernick, who used to be AP but now is home, told me once, "The knees never fail." Turns out that it's true. If you guys have a lack of testimony or doubts or questions, kneel down and ask God.

Love you all folks.

Have a great week!

-Elder Rowberry

And really bad eggs...

A couple of days ago I went to make myself some French Toast. I went to grab an egg and it broke when I touched it. That is when a smell from El Infierno came out. There was a hard black substance in the egg, which I am assuming was a dead, rotted chicken. Also a bunch of black goo oozed out. I don't believe I have ever smelled anything so bad in my life. I had to wash my hands three or four times to get the smell out.  It was bad. 

This week was a good week. We were able to baptize Susana. She is 20 years old and she is studying to be a lawyer, which is in stark contrast to other investigators that I have that are 20+ years old and can't even read. One day we were with a recent convert and he wanted to knock doors, which I hate, but we decided to do it. I am glad we did. We found Susana and her mom. Her mom had listened to missionaries before and had gone to church. We started teaching them and Susana was a fairly easy investigator. She was ready. Her mom still hasn't got baptized for some problems that we are working through but hopefully in August! In the baptismal service I saw an investigator that we have. I didn't even invite her but her neighbor, who is the Relief Society President invited her. She showed up late so I didn't see her until I left the bathroom after changing. I talked to to her and she tells me, "I want to do it on a weekday because on Sunday they get out too late." I was confused. I asked her what she was talking about. She said, "When I get baptized I want to do it on a weekday." Oh... Cool! So I put the date with her right there. We hadn't been able to teach her for maybe two weeks because she is always working. She always goes to church and that is what has converted her. Her name is Adriana. She is probably 65 years old. 

So my dear chula mother sent me a list of questions to answer.

 1)  Is it still raining a lot there?  I would have loved to have seen the thunderstorm you described! It rains a lot but not like it normally does. It's been kind of dry. 

 2)  How did your baptism of Susana go last week? Read above.

3)  Are there a lot of differences in the feel of the mission with the new mission president?President Spjut is a lot different then President Cordón. They are both great. President Cordón was more formal and more strict in a certain sense. He wanted perfection. President Spjut is also strict but in a different way. It's hard to describe if you don't know them. They focus on different things when they teach but both are fantastic.

4)  What are you cooking yourselves to eat these days? I have actually been cooking a lot lately. I generally only cook breakfast because we have someone to give us lunch and there is a lady in the ward that gives us free pupusas at night if we want. I have been cooking, pancakes, french toast, bacon and hashbrowns, eggs, breakfast burritos, cold cereal, oatmeal, yogurt with granola, crepes, and some other things. I enjoy eating well. 

5) I know Elder Solano is from Peru.  What else can you tell us about him?  Family, interests, hobbies, goals in life etc. He is the youngest kid in his family. His family is members. Before the mission he liked editing photos and videos, which is cool. 

6) Did you ever kill the rat thing in your attic?Nope its still there. We aren't really sure how to do it. We have a machete in the house and we are just waiting for it to fall through the roof. There is a roof tile that is about to fall so I think one day it will fall through and we'll get it with the machete and have the neighbors cook it up for us. 

7) Do the gang members have a lot of tattoos?The more dangerous ones do. 

8) Do parasites really go away as quickly with medicine as you made it sound? Yeah it was really good medicine.   

9) Were you ever told to drink a can of coke each day to kill the parasites? No

10) Do you take very many pictures? Yeah I've been taking more lately. I just have fear to take my camera with me a lot.

11) Will you send more pictures? Will you?

12) What do you do with your garbage? We burn it. No I'm just kidding that is what the people in the cantons do. There are some missionaries in some areas that burn their trash. There is a truck here in Nahuizalco that passes by collecting trash so we just set the bags outside and they get them.

W, W, We, wel, well thats all folks. Have a great week!

-Elder Rowberry