Hey Fam!!! This week has been pretty dang exciting. (nacho) Hahaha we have been teaching like crazy. There isn~t enough time in a day. I love it here. I don´t speak perfectly but the people here go into shock when they hear i have been here less than 2 weeks. I met the bishop of another ward and his son and his son just got back from his mission. He asked my companion if i was in my 2nd or 3rd transfer and she said she has just passed 1 week here in brazil and he was like NOOOOO way. It was really funny.
We have about 7 really receptive investigators and about 40 who are good but not progressing rapidly. We have 5 baptisms marked for this week. It is really incredible how the lord works. Every encounter with some one is incredible. Yesterday was amazing because on the metro we had 2 other elders accompanying us to our area. One of them asked me if i was ready to teach about prophets and i said yeah! Bring it on hahaha. I taught a girl he contacted on the bus and she said thanks I don~t need that though. He said oh but you do. She got up and left. On the metro the 4 of us entered the car and just scattered. Each of us talked to about 5 people. Passed out pamphlets and talked about our purpose here in brazil. People are really in awe of my blonde hair. Everyone askes me if it is painted. hahaha Many people start to talk about the states or my hair when we start to talk to them and i say that´´s not what i am here to talk about hahaha. It has been so much fun. My companion is great. We have got some big plans this week. I am really excited.
I loved talking to you all at christmas! It was the best christmas present ever! And talking with TY was great too! He IS THE BEST. The members said he talked like a cowboy hahahaha. His accent was different to them. No more crazy bug stories yet. Gotta go. I love you all!!!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
OH CHRISTMAS TREE
I remember both my Christmas's in the mission field like they were yesterday. My first was the hardest because, like you, I got in the mission field right before the holidays hit. I was homesick and two years before I got to go home seemed like an eternity away. My second Christmas was my best; I was well into my mission loving the people of West Virginia and teaching with the spirit. I missed home but did not want to be anywhere else in the whole wide world. I was in Fairmont teaching the Soles. I remember me and elder Hammer going to get a Christmas tree from a tree farm you could either have one cut or get one with the roots and all. We could not afford a big one and the owner of the farm showed us some that were real cheep. We looked them over and found a little scruffy one. The root system had very little dirt left on it and had sat exposed to the air for some time. He said he didn’t think it would live if we re-planted it but that we could cut it off for just a Christmas tree. We wanted it with the roots so he found a little tub to put it in. we put the poor little tree in the tub and packed a little dirt around its roots and loaded it on top of the mission car with some rope. it stood about five feet tall, it really was not much to look at, we even joked that Charlie Browns Christmas tree looked better that this one. With the help of some donated Christmas decorations we put the little tree up in the corner of our cold little apartment it really didn't look half bad all decorated. Well Christmas came and went and sometime in the middle of January we started talking about what to do with the little tree, we decided to throw it out, but we thought no, lets plant it in someone’s yard. We asked Mary Jane if she wanted it, we told her it would remind her of us after we were gone. The day we brought it over I remember her seeing the tree and making a comment that it looked dead. We started digging a hole in the frozen ground just along her long driveway. It was like digging in rock and we really couldn't get down too deep. I said to her Mary Jane, I'll tell you what, if the church is true this tree will live, if the church and everything we have taught you was false this tree will die. She said you must have a lot of faith in that tree because it looks like the odds are against you. Well fast forward twenty five years later as I returned to the Soles home to visit their son returning from a mission and to see Gary be baptized all in the same weekend. as I pulled up their drive way I was greeted by this magnificent beautiful 40 foot Christmas tree thick with pine branches and standing there as if to tell me hello old friend I knew I needed to keep your promise to the Soles and live. That was a great experience for me. Christmas in the mission field is so special you will feel the Saviors love for you at a high level. We miss you Ashley and I know the lord is very pleased with the work you have done and will yet do. I will keep you close to my heart on the 25th. I love you so much Hun. Dad
I remember both my Christmas's in the mission field like they were yesterday. My first was the hardest because, like you, I got in the mission field right before the holidays hit. I was homesick and two years before I got to go home seemed like an eternity away. My second Christmas was my best; I was well into my mission loving the people of West Virginia and teaching with the spirit. I missed home but did not want to be anywhere else in the whole wide world. I was in Fairmont teaching the Soles. I remember me and elder Hammer going to get a Christmas tree from a tree farm you could either have one cut or get one with the roots and all. We could not afford a big one and the owner of the farm showed us some that were real cheep. We looked them over and found a little scruffy one. The root system had very little dirt left on it and had sat exposed to the air for some time. He said he didn’t think it would live if we re-planted it but that we could cut it off for just a Christmas tree. We wanted it with the roots so he found a little tub to put it in. we put the poor little tree in the tub and packed a little dirt around its roots and loaded it on top of the mission car with some rope. it stood about five feet tall, it really was not much to look at, we even joked that Charlie Browns Christmas tree looked better that this one. With the help of some donated Christmas decorations we put the little tree up in the corner of our cold little apartment it really didn't look half bad all decorated. Well Christmas came and went and sometime in the middle of January we started talking about what to do with the little tree, we decided to throw it out, but we thought no, lets plant it in someone’s yard. We asked Mary Jane if she wanted it, we told her it would remind her of us after we were gone. The day we brought it over I remember her seeing the tree and making a comment that it looked dead. We started digging a hole in the frozen ground just along her long driveway. It was like digging in rock and we really couldn't get down too deep. I said to her Mary Jane, I'll tell you what, if the church is true this tree will live, if the church and everything we have taught you was false this tree will die. She said you must have a lot of faith in that tree because it looks like the odds are against you. Well fast forward twenty five years later as I returned to the Soles home to visit their son returning from a mission and to see Gary be baptized all in the same weekend. as I pulled up their drive way I was greeted by this magnificent beautiful 40 foot Christmas tree thick with pine branches and standing there as if to tell me hello old friend I knew I needed to keep your promise to the Soles and live. That was a great experience for me. Christmas in the mission field is so special you will feel the Saviors love for you at a high level. We miss you Ashley and I know the lord is very pleased with the work you have done and will yet do. I will keep you close to my heart on the 25th. I love you so much Hun. Dad
Sister Rowland's great cockroach adventure
So last night!! I killed THE BIGGEST COCKROACH i have ever seen. it was so sick. it was so fast and would run and hide under stuff. i was not going to be able to sleep until that thing was DEAD hahahaha. it was so funny. me and my companion were screaming every time it would run and it ran behind my bedpost. i slid the bed out to get it and it stayed there. so i pushed it back and it caught its nasty antenni in between the wall and the bed post but its body wasn~´t squished. it was squirming around and freaking out and all we could do for about 30 seconds was sit there looking at it screaming hahahahahaha. so then i finally got the courage to step on it and i squished it as hard as i could. we decided to clean it up in the morning and took some pictures hahaha. then as we were putting the room back together it started freaking out AGAIN!!!!!!! we screamed at it again for another 20 seconds and i moved the bed and it crawled over by me. not as fast cause he was halfway dead but i jumped up and steped on it as hard as i could until i knew he was long gone. my heart was racing hahahahaha it was the funniest sickest craziest experience ever!
I went to bed with the creepy crawlies and layed there for a little while thinking WHAT AM I DOING HERE? That DID NOT just HAPPEN! (tony barney style) And then, i came to the amazing conclusion that there is no way i would be here doing this right now if i didn]t know that this gospel is ABSOLUTELY 100% true. That cockroach was soooo nasty! and i have a lot more to experience i am sure. But i was happier than i have ever been because I really do know that I know it IS TRUE.
Tell anyone who doubts in the truthfullness of the gospel that There is no way i (Ashley Rowland) would leave ..wait..THERE IS NO WAY I WOULD LEAVE: my family, the people i love, the beautiful town i am from, the many friends i love, the luxuries of home, a car, and even snow
FOR THIS: christmas with a nasty cockroach, surrounded by a language i don´t really understand in living conditions definately considered 3rd world in America, IF I DID NOT KNOW THAT THE GOSPEL WAS TRUE.
There is no doubt in my mind that this may be one of the best christmases of my life because I HAVE THAT KNOWLEDGE - i may not have anything else i am used to, but I have a knowledge that Heavenly Father loves me and all of us. He REALLY wants all of us to return home. I am sorry for those of you at home who have everything i don´t have right now - yet dont understand this. I hope you will think about the blessing you have to have a little knowledge about the gospel. If you don´t understand something -FIND OUT WHY and SEEK TO UNDERSTAND IT.
CHERISH THE THINGS YOUR PARENTS TAUGHT YOU. Parents here basically teach their kids that getting drunk and dancing is happiness. That is all there is to look forward to in life. THERE IS SO MUCH MORE FOR US TO LOOK FORWARD TO THAN BAD HABITS AND OLD SINS . I want to invite you all to pick something right now you want to change and DO IT! FIX IT! Don´t waste time with things you don´t need. ALL I NEED is a LOVING FAMILY and the knowledge of Heavenly Father´s plan for me to return to him. What else do we really need?
Thanks for all you do for me. I love you so much and i am more grateful for you than ever. Please do a good job and remember the things you know in your heart.
I love you Fam!!!!!
xoxoxoxoxo
Beijinos!!!
-Sister Ash
I went to bed with the creepy crawlies and layed there for a little while thinking WHAT AM I DOING HERE? That DID NOT just HAPPEN! (tony barney style) And then, i came to the amazing conclusion that there is no way i would be here doing this right now if i didn]t know that this gospel is ABSOLUTELY 100% true. That cockroach was soooo nasty! and i have a lot more to experience i am sure. But i was happier than i have ever been because I really do know that I know it IS TRUE.
Tell anyone who doubts in the truthfullness of the gospel that There is no way i (Ashley Rowland) would leave ..wait..THERE IS NO WAY I WOULD LEAVE: my family, the people i love, the beautiful town i am from, the many friends i love, the luxuries of home, a car, and even snow
FOR THIS: christmas with a nasty cockroach, surrounded by a language i don´t really understand in living conditions definately considered 3rd world in America, IF I DID NOT KNOW THAT THE GOSPEL WAS TRUE.
There is no doubt in my mind that this may be one of the best christmases of my life because I HAVE THAT KNOWLEDGE - i may not have anything else i am used to, but I have a knowledge that Heavenly Father loves me and all of us. He REALLY wants all of us to return home. I am sorry for those of you at home who have everything i don´t have right now - yet dont understand this. I hope you will think about the blessing you have to have a little knowledge about the gospel. If you don´t understand something -FIND OUT WHY and SEEK TO UNDERSTAND IT.
CHERISH THE THINGS YOUR PARENTS TAUGHT YOU. Parents here basically teach their kids that getting drunk and dancing is happiness. That is all there is to look forward to in life. THERE IS SO MUCH MORE FOR US TO LOOK FORWARD TO THAN BAD HABITS AND OLD SINS . I want to invite you all to pick something right now you want to change and DO IT! FIX IT! Don´t waste time with things you don´t need. ALL I NEED is a LOVING FAMILY and the knowledge of Heavenly Father´s plan for me to return to him. What else do we really need?
Thanks for all you do for me. I love you so much and i am more grateful for you than ever. Please do a good job and remember the things you know in your heart.
I love you Fam!!!!!
xoxoxoxoxo
Beijinos!!!
-Sister Ash
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Dear Tyler and Ashley Two weeks ago I conducted and bore my testimony about how blessed I am and how the lord has blessed me with a great family. I talked about how when I was a kid me Rob and my friends Jeff and John had decided to hike the
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When an individual is motivated by great and powerful convictions of truth, then he disciplines himselft, not because of demands made by the church but because of the knowledge within his heart
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Of myself I am nothing and cannot do much of anything , but with the help of family , friends and especially God , I can do Anything
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Anthing Positive is Better than Anything Negative
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Saturday, December 19, 2009
Sister Rowland She is Here!
Ashley's Misson President and his Wife emailed us!
" We are so excited to have Sister Rowland with us. She has an infectious smile and personality, does not hesitate to speak Portuguese, and will convert many with her genuine Love for others, her unabashed testimony, enthusiasm and sheer will power! She is a dynamo - we already can tell that she will be a powerful, positive influence in our mission.
" We are so excited to have Sister Rowland with us. She has an infectious smile and personality, does not hesitate to speak Portuguese, and will convert many with her genuine Love for others, her unabashed testimony, enthusiasm and sheer will power! She is a dynamo - we already can tell that she will be a powerful, positive influence in our mission.
Sister Rowland's arrival in brazil! ...FINALLY :)
Some pictures taken of Sister Rowland, President and Sister Jackson, and her companion Sister Hulse, from Kaysville Utah who also has a little brother serving in Brazil. Ashley's and Tyler's mission Presidents were companions in Porto Alegre South misson together way back in the day.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Sister Rowland Christmas Wish!
Today Ashley got to call and say that her VISA came, and she is flying to her Mission in Brazil in the Morning at 6 am ! Yeah! The address for the Brazil MTC is incorrect she will be going directly to her mission so I will post a new address as soon as I have it.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Hey Dad
This will be the last email that i will be sending you guys before Christmas. So i just wanted to let you guys know that i love you and that i am sure loving this journey. Its not easy at all. But it is where i want to be. I will be calling you guys, to set up an hour that you can call me this Christmas . Just in case you don't have the number to call to me from there you need to dial... 0-11-55-51-_ _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ and then 8 other numbers of the house number that should appear on the caller ID ... At the end of the number that i will call to you guys . I will explain a little bit more . I hope to catch someone At home. ! But if not i will just try a little bit later . I had a great week dad, and im learning a lot. I have longed to hear your voices again. I Think it will help me a lot to hear you guys . Not that im sad or anything like that , but i know that it will help me. I love you guys so much. Thanks for everything dad
Love Elder Rowland
This will be the last email that i will be sending you guys before Christmas. So i just wanted to let you guys know that i love you and that i am sure loving this journey. Its not easy at all. But it is where i want to be. I will be calling you guys, to set up an hour that you can call me this Christmas . Just in case you don't have the number to call to me from there you need to dial... 0-11-55-51-_ _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ and then 8 other numbers of the house number that should appear on the caller ID ... At the end of the number that i will call to you guys . I will explain a little bit more . I hope to catch someone At home. ! But if not i will just try a little bit later . I had a great week dad, and im learning a lot. I have longed to hear your voices again. I Think it will help me a lot to hear you guys . Not that im sad or anything like that , but i know that it will help me. I love you guys so much. Thanks for everything dad
Love Elder Rowland
Friday, December 11, 2009
Sister Rowland All I want for Christmas....
Hey Family!!!! How are you! I hope all is well with everyone! I don't have a lot of time, but I just wanted to let you know that this week was AWESOME> Still no news with the Visa situation. Come to find out my field entrance date was December 7th so i'm already loosing some field time. All is well though. All i want for christmas is my visa!!!! hahahaha. Keep praying and i know it will come!
Sounds like you have all had quite an eventful few weeks. I am so glad you are my family!!! I love you so much. I was able to listen to Claudio R.M. Costa of the seventy and his talk was so inspiring!!! I may even copy the notes and send them your way. He is from brazil and he talked about his conversion story and the role the missionaries had in his life. It was way cool. he's my new favorite seventy! hehe. Well lets see, Portuguese is coming a long. I think i am going to send my memory card home for christmas with the new pictures. I recorded myself giving my testimony and singing happy birthday to mom!!! It would be fun for you to see it. By the way HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!! I love you so much. I hope you have the best day ever sunday! Sorry for all the typos..we just got back from the health clinic for my companion and my hands are frozen. She has had a really rough week. I sent a tape telling the whole ordeal so look for it tomorrow!!! Hope all is well. I miss you a lot! I have been reminicing about all the memories we've had around the Christmas season! So many wonderful joy-filled memories! You are the greatest parents, and I'm so thankful we weren't spoiled little snot nosed brats hahahaha "i'm not a snot-nosed brat!" Man, good movies, good times, GREAT FOOD, i miss wheat bread! mmmmm all i want for christmas is a loaf of wheat bread!!! and a bottle of honey!!! and a knife to cut it! Mmmmmmmmm... I've had a stomach infection and all i've been able to eat the past 3 days is watered down gatorade. I'm back to normal tomorrow!!! Real food is so good. Health is such a blessing! I love you all so deeply. Hope all is well. Tell other family that they can send me love notes on www.dearelder.com i think all they need is my mission and mailbox number so pass it on #307. Only while i'm in the mtc though. But letters and notes are the best!
Gotta go! Tchau
Um grande abraco (a great big hug)
Muito beijinos (many little kisses!)
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxox
-sister rowland
Sounds like you have all had quite an eventful few weeks. I am so glad you are my family!!! I love you so much. I was able to listen to Claudio R.M. Costa of the seventy and his talk was so inspiring!!! I may even copy the notes and send them your way. He is from brazil and he talked about his conversion story and the role the missionaries had in his life. It was way cool. he's my new favorite seventy! hehe. Well lets see, Portuguese is coming a long. I think i am going to send my memory card home for christmas with the new pictures. I recorded myself giving my testimony and singing happy birthday to mom!!! It would be fun for you to see it. By the way HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!! I love you so much. I hope you have the best day ever sunday! Sorry for all the typos..we just got back from the health clinic for my companion and my hands are frozen. She has had a really rough week. I sent a tape telling the whole ordeal so look for it tomorrow!!! Hope all is well. I miss you a lot! I have been reminicing about all the memories we've had around the Christmas season! So many wonderful joy-filled memories! You are the greatest parents, and I'm so thankful we weren't spoiled little snot nosed brats hahahaha "i'm not a snot-nosed brat!" Man, good movies, good times, GREAT FOOD, i miss wheat bread! mmmmm all i want for christmas is a loaf of wheat bread!!! and a bottle of honey!!! and a knife to cut it! Mmmmmmmmm... I've had a stomach infection and all i've been able to eat the past 3 days is watered down gatorade. I'm back to normal tomorrow!!! Real food is so good. Health is such a blessing! I love you all so deeply. Hope all is well. Tell other family that they can send me love notes on www.dearelder.com i think all they need is my mission and mailbox number so pass it on #307. Only while i'm in the mtc though. But letters and notes are the best!
Gotta go! Tchau
Um grande abraco (a great big hug)
Muito beijinos (many little kisses!)
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxox
-sister rowland
Friday, December 4, 2009
Sister Rowland's latest email
Hey fam! I love you all so much! this week was a trial but was incredible. I had so many neat experiences this week. I learned that 4 visas came through so there is hope and a good chance i will go to the field in brazil on time! Also, there are near 300 missionaries who are here and not in brazil. the brazilian MTC Teachers have nothing to do. The church is going to have them teach us as companionships through the web-chat program skype. We'll use webcams and can have class with Brazilian teachers. It is so cool! What a blessing!! I am really excited. We had a really good lesson a couple days ago about being unconditional missionaries. There are many who are complaining about teachers, situation here, ect and I am glad to say that I haven't participated. But it was a great lesson. So many missionaries needed to hear it. The whole atmosphere in classes and around the mtc has been way more positive. I also had the chance to talk to a man on the phone and told him how much i love the book of mormon and how much the gospel has blessed our family. I told him how we are so close and care so much about each other. I hope the gospel can bring his family as much happiness as we share. I love this place, this experience, the people i've met and the blessings i've recieved. I love each of you. I hope that you all are doing good. Ty's such a great example to me! Man i'm lucky!!!
Love you all! Sister Ash
xoxoxoxo
Love you all! Sister Ash
xoxoxoxo
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