It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

This week was good. Nothing really exciting happened. My area is pretty small compared to all of my other areas. I like it a lot though. My area is struggling right now. We don't have many positive investigators. We're working on it though. The zone is also struggling right now. Also working on that. I feel like I have a huge mountain to climb to change the zone but I like challenges. My zone has 11 companionships, almost twice as much as my last zone. 

My companion is really cool. He is really patient and nice. His name is Elder Lazo. He lives in Honduras. 

We went to the leadership meeting on Tuesday and we talked about how we need to teach about the Atonement so the people can feel the need to change like King Benjamin teaches in Mosiah 2-5.

I went on two interchanges this week and walked a ton! There are some areas that work in cantons that are really far away. I also went to a place called San Lorenzo. It is right on the border of El Salvador and Guatemala. So we went to Guatemala. 

We decorated our Christmas tree that we have. It's really hot and there is a 0 percent chance of snow for Christmas. So it doesn't actually feel anything like Christmas.

Nothing else really exciting happened. Sorry. I'll have a more exciting week this week.

Thanks.

-Elder Rowberry

It's a new day. It's a new life, for me.

Well folks I am now in a new area. I am now in the ward Atiquizaya, in the stake Atiquizaya, in the zone Atiquizaya. My new companion's name is Elder Lazo. He is from Honduras. He is really cool. He has a little bit less time than I do. Atiquizaya is a bigger than Nahuizalco but my area is a lot smaller. It's going to be different working here than working in Nahui.

I was kind of sad to leave Nahuizalco. I learned a lot of things there and I grew to love a lot of people. I hope that one day I will be able to return there to visit. I feel like that is my home in the mission. I am excited however to meet new challenges here in Atiquizaya. And there are new challenges. Atiquizaya is not doing so hot right now. Elder Lazo and I have a lot of work to do to change this zone. My zone has 11 companionships now which is almost twice as many as Nahuizalco. 

Chikungunya strikes again. Elder Lazo got it as well as another Elder who lives in my house. I'm using a lot of OFF so that I don't get it. 

I don't really have much to say this week. I will fill you in more next week.

Thanks for everything.

-Elder Rowberry

Staying Alive

From Monday November 24, 2014

Well my companion didn't die this week. He's fine. But his feet hurt him still. We didn't work for half of the week almost but it was a good week. We were able to witness a great miracle. A couple of weeks ago we found a family. This family consists of the dad, the mom, and a toddler girl. The dad's name is Noé. He is Freddy's brother. I baptized Freddy in August. His wife's name is Carolina. We visited them a couple of times. The second time we visted them Noé told us that he just wanted to learn about the church and Carolina said that she was catholic and that we were wasting our time with her.  We didn't return for a week or two. We were on interchanges one day and Elder Flores was in the area and I was away. That day they went to their house. Supposedly something had changed and Noé wanted to go to church. He was doubting his wife though. He said that he wanted to get baptized and married, because they were just living togther. Anyways they went to church that sunday and they liked it. We kept teaching Noé because Carolina always works during the week in San Salvador. That following Saturday I went to visit them with the Bishop and with 22 year old convert in the ward, because Elder Flores was sick. We read The Family: A Proclamation to the World and watched the mormon message "Enduring Love." I invited them to be married the following Saturday  the 22nd. I thought they were going to say that it was way to fast but they accepted. The next day the went to church and I returned in the night with Elder Slack to visit them and we were able to put the baptismal dates with them for the 23rd. Elder Flores and I could hardly believe it. We thought there had to be something wrong. They passed their interviews and were keeping all of their commitments. They read all of the pamphlets and then could teach us what the pamphlet said. Because they did it they were able to feel the Spirit and were converted. On Saturday they got married and on Sunday they got baptized. Those are the last converts I will have here in Nahuizalco because this morning the assistants told me that I have changes. I have learned a lot here in Nahuizalco and I love it a lot. On Wednesday I will know where I am going to be. I will let you know next week.

-Elder Rowberry

Thank you for everything 

Live Like You Were Dying

Just call me John. John the baptist that is. Why? Because I just baptized Jesús. Jesús finally got baptized! He had a baptismal date when I came to Nahuizalco but he didn't get baptized that date so we put another date with him. He didn't get baptized that date so put another date with him. He didn't get baptized that date because he had a dream where Jesus (Christ) came to him and told him to be baptized on his birthday. That was in August. His birthday was yesterday. So yes, he got baptized. I am happy for him because he finally got baptized. 

That wasn't the only baptism we had this week. We also baptized a girl named Mariana. She, like Jesús, had been an investigator for a loooooooong time, more than a year actually. She was living with this one member because they had a kid. We were able to get them married this week and she got baptized. I am really happy for her because we have been teaching her for a long time. Chepe (José) is her husband. He really wanted her to get baptized after getting married to her. They are really awesome. I love being with them. 

What's with the subject line? Well my companion this week got the famous Chikungunya. This a virus transmitted through mosquito bites. On thursday and friday he had a fever of 40 degrees celcius or 104 degrees fahrenheit. The disease also gives body pain especially in the joints and the feet and hands. It also gives an allergic like rash that itches. It's pretty rough. So he still has that he is getting better now though. There isn't really any vaccine the main thing you have to do is sleep under a mosquito net and wear repellant. That is what I always do because I don't want Chikungunya nor Dengue. Chikungunya is more painful but Dengue is more dangerous. There are missionaries right now that have both. 

Anyways folks have a great week.

-Elder Rowberry

I love to see the temple.

From November 10, 2014

This week was a good week. On Tuesday I got to go to Santa Ana for the monthly leadership council. It was really good. I always like to go learn from President, the assistants, and all the other zone leaders. I always leave that meeting with a renewed work ethic. We also went to the temple this week. I hadn't been to the temple for a long time. I kind of miss being able to go every week like I could before the mission. The temple is really a wonderful place. I would challenge everyone to go at least once a month. If you aren't worthy to go, get worthy to go. If by chance you are not a member become a member. It is necessary to our salvation and the salvation of our ancestors. It is also a place where you can go to recharge the spiritual batteries even more than you can at church. It is also a place where you can go to pray and get answers to questions.

I was studying in 2 Nephi 32-33. Nephi talks about how important the sciptures are. 

 2 Nephi 32:

3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.

 4 Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark.

 5 For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.

I also like in chapter 33 when Nephi gives his testimony of the words which he had written

2 Nephi 33:

 10 And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.

 11 And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things, notwithstanding my weakness.

 14 And you that will not partake of the goodness of God, and respect the words of the Jews, and also my words, and the words which shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the Lamb of God, behold, I bid you an everlasting farewell, for these words shall condemn you at the last day.

 15 For what I seal on earth, shall be brought against you at the judgment bar; for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey. Amen.

READ the Book of Mormon.

Thanks for everything.

Have a great week

-Elder Rowberry

Birds flying high, you know how I feel.

This week was a good week. I guess every week is a good week even if it was a bad week. It's a good week if you are in the service of God. 

My companion Elder Flores had to go to San Salvador this week. So Ï went, again. That makes it four times in the last couple of months. Elder Flores is really cool. We get along really well, maybe too well. We sometimes get distracted during planning or study but we are trying to do better. On Friday we had a special zone meeting. We went up to Juayùa and had a zone meeting with them. President Spjut did interviews during the meeting. After the meeting President went and visited with us. I went with Elder Chigua, who is a district leader in my zone from Guatemala. We also went with President Sànchez of the Texical Branch. We went out to Carrizal in Presidents nice 2013 Toyota SUV. It was geting dark when we were teaching. Turns out that the whole canton didn't have electrity. So we were teaching in the dark. I went to read a scripture and President had to pull out his iPhone so that I could read. After we taught we left. I was a little bit nervous to be out in that canton, at that time of night with no lights, in that nice of a car but we were fine. I guess it is better to be in a nice car then walking at that time of night, which I have done. I sometimes wonder why I was ever even a little tiny bit nervous to walk outside at night at home. It was cool to be able to teach with President. Obviously he is way better than us. 

On Saturday we went to an investigators house and the kid, whose name is Eric, was out flying a homemade kite made from a newspaper and some little sticks with some sewing thread. We started to try to fly the kite with him. Elder Flores got pretty excited when he started flying it. He ran along ways and got the kite up in the sky. He also got it stuck in a tree. The string was stuck in the tree but the kite was way up high and way far away. We tried to recover the kite but we couldn't so we just left it there flying in the sky with the string attached to the tree. The kid wasn't mad that we lost his kite. I think he thought it was pretty cool that his kite was flying so high. We felt like litle kids again flying the kite. 

Thanks for everything everybody.

-Elder Rowberry

If you look real carefully up at the top left you can see the kite.

Walk this Way

From October 27, 2014

This week really was not anything special. I forgot to mention more about my companion. His name is Elder Flores. He is from Comayaguela, Honduras. He is a convert of 3 years and the only member in his family. He has one year in the mission. He's a cool guy.

 I went on interchanges twice this week. During one of them I went to two cantóns called Sabana Grande and El Carrizal. These places are far. They have transport. The transports are old trucks. The trucks are big and in the bed they have it all caged in. I'm not a huge fan of Salvadoranian public transportation. There are always way too many people and I am always hunched over because the ceiling is about as tall as where neck is. Just picture it. A tall white giant stuffed into a 1980's school bus with the ceiling at a height of 5 feet 10 inches with 200 Salvadorians. Super fun. That is one thing I will not miss when I leave the mission. Anyways on the way back from Carrizal we walked. It is a long ways. We walked for over an hour to get back to the city. 

We saw a really cool miracle this week. We left with a member to go contact a reference. The reference wasn't there. We told her that we wanted to go visit someone else that she knew. We always ask her for references but she always says there isn't anybody. But we finally got her to take us to someone. She told us that mayber her cousin would recieve us. Her cousin had listened to the missionaries before. We went and she recieved us. The second appointment was cool. We were explaining how Christ's church was lost. I asked her if she knew which was the same church that Christ set up. She said,"The Church of Jesus Christ." "Yeah I know but which church is that church," I replied. She responded, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." After I picked up my jaw off the floor I asked her how she knew that. She told us that it was because she had prayed and feels like that is the right church. So we invited her to be baptized. She accepted very enthusiastically. Honestly I am still having troubles believing that actually happened. She is going to get baptized in November. It is important to find the people that are ready and chosen. Chapter 9 of PMG talks abou that. 

Thanks so much everybody!

And a special shoutout to my sister Jane who turned 18 on Saturday! Guys, I believe she is single. 

-Elder Rowberry

Attached are a couple of pictures from a service project we did.