January 19, 2014 Letter

Hi family,


Well it sounds like the triplets are still growing. When I get home they will probably be walking and talking. That is crazy! Dad it sounds like your pretty busy as well like usual. Keep it up. Also thank you so much for the Calendar! I would guess that would be Amelia's work. I love it! Happy birthday to Grandma French on the 26th! I was always impressed at how many of my games you made it to Grandma. It seemed like you rarely missed any if you missed any at all. I really appreciated that.


Well this week wasn't too hot for us, but this week is suppose to be hotter. That is alright. I am just glad I am not in the other areas during this time of year. Mom I do use sunscreen sometimes, and I actually do wear a hat. An old man in our ward gave me a big hat to wear. My companion wears one as well. I feel like if I didn't wear it I would get fried. It is pretty useful. Karen sometimes we do take naps on Pday if there is nothing else going on.


This week was pretty busy. I went down to Brisbane on Friday for a leadership training meeting. It is about an hour and a half to a two hour drive down to Brisbane depending on traffic and construction. It was a great meeting though. Besides that we had some great progress with some investigators this week as well. A less-active lady in our ward is dating a guy who doesn't really know much about any religion. We are now teaching both her and the guy she is dating though. Her name is Patty and his name is Noel. It is tough for Noel because it is all new to him, but he is willing to learn. We are excited for him. We also tracted into a great family this week! The Briskey family. They actually invited us in out of the heat and fed us lunch. It was a miracle! That doesn't happen very often in Australia. We were very grateful. We had a brief talk about the Plan of Salvation and set up an appointment to come back this week. They did tell us they were brought up Catholic but they wouldn't mind having us come back. So we will see what happens there.


I love seeing the different personalities of the people we meet. Sometimes they aren't so friendly, but they are still children of God. It is amazing how many times in the Doctrine and Covenants its says "the field is white already to harvest." Something we have talked about in our district is that the field is ready to harvest everywhere! Not just in Utah or somewhere else. The field is even ready to harvest in Australia! I have definitely seen that. I am so grateful for the chance I have to be serving a mission. We are so blessed to meet these people. I love the Gospel! I love the Lord! And I love all of you! I hope you have a great week.


Love,
Elder Low


P.S. As of this morning I weigh about 216 pounds. Either I am getting fat or I am hitting a growth spurt. Just thought I would throw that in there. Love you all!

January 12, 2014 Letter

Hi Family,


Well I am glad to hear that nobody is in the freezing -50 degree weather over in the states. We have been hearing stuff about that and I saw a picture of Niagra Falls as it is frozen solid. That is crazy! That makes me feel better about being in the heat. Dad good luck with all the ward conferences. That will be a busy time. Dad could you tell the Kennards thanks for the Christmas card they sent me? I just got it last week.


Mom I did get my bike fixed. I think it was somewhere around $67. I used my Canadian visa so I hope that is ok. Also I can't think of a whole lot I would want for my birthday, but something I could use would be deodorant. It is crazy expensive over here! To buy the kind I like, I think it is around $6 a stick. I use old spice anti-persperant/deodorant. I am not sure how expensive it would be to send some over. If it would be more expensive I can just buy it here. I think our mission will be using facebook sometime in 2014. There hasn't been any announcements about it yet. I would guess that we would be getting iphones and ipads sometime this year as well.


Well we had a pretty tiring week. We have really been struggling with consistancy with some of our investigators. So we did a lot of finding this week. My companion and I tracted for 20 hours this week. We are really trying to work with members in finding people to teach as well. That is something our stake president here has really been pushing. Hopefully we can progress with that. I like teaching a lot better than tracting.


We did have some good lessons this week though. Unfortunately Christine worked on Sunday so she couldn't make it to church. Robbie Christine and her family are Catholic. Christine is very open to other religions though. Her only problem is that she believes all religions are true. We have tried to explain about priesthood authority, but I think she is struggling to grasp the concept. We will keep working with her. We did have a good lesson with a man named Bernie though. He has met with the missionaries before so he is very friendly towards us. He is interested to learn again so we are excited to work with him. Apparently he was in a pretty bad car accident and it was a miracle he survived. I think that is what has sparked his belief in God. It sounds like he hasn't finished his purpose on Earth yet.


Something that has been more apparent to me on my mission than ever is that God can give us strength. Not only spiritual strength, but physical strength. I am not going to lie, serving a mission can make you pretty tired physically. I am sure all of you that have served missions can relate to that. Every day I pray for strength and I really notice that the Lord has blessed me. Just when you feel too tired to keep going, He gives you a little extra push. He loves us so much and He wants us to succeed. I am so grateful for that. I know this Gospel is true! I know this work will continue to move forward! I am so grateful to be a part of it. I love you all and I hope you have a great week.


Love,
Elder Low

January 5, 2014 Letter

Hi Family,

 

Well it sounds like the Richard Low family up in Edmonton is keeping life busy. Sounds like fun. Leslie how are you doing? I am glad to hear that the triplets are all at home and that they are doing well. Karen and Alvin good luck at school again. The holidays always seemed to go by so fast.

 

Well we had a really good week. Unfortunately I did not stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve, but I did hear some loud noises from people celebrating outside. Instead us staying up late, we just made a really nice dinner. My cooking skills are coming in handy. I made water and bread..............just kidding. We had steak, potatoes, carrots, fried onions, and some tomatoes. It was actually really nice.

 

I will try to answer some questions really quick. Mom and Dad my Samoan companion is pretty trunky. He goes home in March and I think he is pretty excited. We are still working hard though. Karen people call the candy over here lollies. The two new missionaries in our flat is Elder Beveridge and Elder Pu (poo). Elder Beveridge is from Utah. He is great! He was my zone leader in my last area for awhile. I am really excited to have him here. Elder Pu is from China. He is funny! He is learning English so we have a good time with him.

 

I am not going to lie, I wish it would snow here. This week was crazy hot again! There was some record breaking heat over here. And Mom we are in one of the cooler areas. It got up to 40 degrees celcius this week. I think there were other areas that were hotter and probably a lot more humid. So I am glad I am in Toowoomba for the Summer. We tracted for 6 hours on that day that it got up to 40 degrees. We were so blessed for it though! We are really starting to see progress in this area.

 

We finally had one of our investigators come to church this week. Her name was Christine. She is from Sudan. She was suppose to be working on Sunday so she said she wouldn't be able to make it, but then she called us on Saturday and said she didn't have to work anymore on Sunday and that she wanted to come to church. It was amazing! She loved it as well. She stayed for the whole 3 hours. The members really made her feel loved. I love when the members help with the missionary work. It can bring about so many miracles!

 

It is amazing to see how much of a difference the Gospel can make in somebodies life. Christine was so happy at church yesterday. I love it! I am so grateful that we have the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord loves us so much and all he wants is for us to be happy. To find true happiness, we just have to put complete trust in Him and live the Gospel. I am so grateful for the chance I have to learn more every day. This Gospel is so true! I love it! I love you all and I hope you have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Low

December 30, 2014 Letter

Hi family!

Well it sounds like everybody had a good Christmas. It was good to talk to everybody I could at Christmas. I am glad everybody is doing well. Richard and Leslie it sounds like things are going to start getting really busy now that the triplets are home. Good luck with that.

Well this week was pretty awesome for us. We had a mission Christmas party where we got together with most of the mission. We did some service in the morning ( I made bracelets for foster Children), we had a huge lunch, had a spiritual meeting, and then we ate more and watched "It's a Wonderful Life." So that was really fun. Of course we had Christmas and we got to call home. Our Christmas was pretty sweet though. We had lunch at 12, another lunch at 3, and a dinner at 6. They were all with members. So all I did was pretty much eat this Christmas. I love it! Oh ya and then I got all the lollies from home as well. It was definitely a good Christmas.

Don't worry, we found time for other things besides eating as well this week. I definitely got burnt! We had a hot weekend! It got up to 38 degrees celcius on Sunday. It has been pretty humid here as well. So I got quite the nice burn. We are having transfers today as well. That is why I am emailing today. My companion and I are both sticking around, but the two other Elders in our flat are leaving. So we will find out later who is coming in.

We had a lesson with a really awesome lady this week. Her name is Patty Lassere. Her son is a less-active member of the church and she has known about the church for awhile. We talked about baptism and she wants her son to baptize her. I think he has some problems though, so we will see how that goes. We have another lesson with her this week so I am really excited about that! We haven't seen Daniel Smith for awhile because he said he would be gone for the holidays. So we are hopefully going to see him sometime later in the week. There are so many miracles waiting to happen in this area. I love it! I am excited to continue serving here.

This Gospel is so true! I got the chance to speak in church this week. It was on Christ like service. I talked about members working with missionaries. We have the greatest message on this Earth, and to not share it with others is a little selfish of us. We never know who we can touch with a little act of kindess or just opening our mouth to talk about the Gospel. The Lord is preparing people everywhere. The work will move forward! Anyway, I hope you all have a great week. Love you all!

Love,
Elder Low

December 15, 2013 Letter

Hi family!

 

Well it sounds like things are pretty busy back home. It seems like they always are around Christmas time. Leslie I love those shirts that Thomas, Mason, and Luke have! That was pretty funny. Benson is getting so big! I love seeing pictures of everybody back home. Sorry I don't send more pictures. I should get better at that. That is nice that the Cougars won the Cougar Classic. That is a fun tournament to win. Who is all on the team this year?

 

Mom don't worry too much about the emergency transfer. I love it up here in Toowoomba! It is a nice area. I hope the people I was teaching down in Logan are still all doing alright. Maybe I will see them again later in my mission. As for my bike, I forgot it in my last area. So I am planning on getting it when we go down there for the mission Christmas party.

 

Well let me tell you a little bit more about my new area and my new companion. This area is a lot more modern than my last area and not as run down. It is probably safer around here as well. I am in a flat with 4 missionaries again. The other two missionaries in our flat are from Utah. You know the area you serve in is pretty white when there is a companionship that are both American. My companion, Elder Palemene, is from Samoa. He is finished his mission in March. Is English is still pretty broken. I think he understands it a lot better than he speaks it. But he is a good missionary! I love him.

 

I will try to work out how I am going to call home on Christmas. We are going to call from a members home and he is actually Canadian. So I think he has a pretty good plan to call Canada. I think he calls there a lot. I will try skype as well. Mom what is the skype account address? What time do you want me to call? I was planning on doing it sometime in the morning during boxing day here. Maybe at 9? That would mean it would be about 4 in the afternoon on Christmas Day there. Just let me know.

 

Well this week was pretty good for Elder Palemene and I. The area is pretty dry as far as investigators go. So we have really been trying to find people to teach. We have been visiting some less-active and part member families. We have also been doing a lot of tracting. The other day we tracted into a guy named Daniel Smith. He said he was convinced that God was real and he was really interested to learn what we had to say. We had a great lesson with him! He said that we cleared up a lot of views he had about Mormons. We are going back this week. I am really excited about that! Hopefully things go well there.

 

Well I hope you can all enjoy the Christmas season. I love this time of year! There is such a good Spirit around. Mom now that you have already sent your package to me, don't worry about anybody else and just enjoy Christmas. Just kidding. This is a special time though. We are so blessed to have a Savior Jesus Christ who loves us and died for us. It is amazing to think what a humble birth He had. I know in my life I have always had a lot more than I needed. I think I took a lot of things for granted. I owe so much to Him. No matter how hard I try, I will never be able to repay Him, but He still loves me. I am so Grateful for that. I know without a doubt that we have a loving Heavenly Father and a Savior Jesus Christ. When we take this time of year to remember Him, we can find so much peace. I love it! I hope you all have a great week and a Merry Christmas! Love you all!

 

Love,

Elder Low

December 8, 2013 Letter

Hi Family!


Congratulations to the Richard and Leslie Low family! That is amazing! It sounds like it was quite the experience. Thomas, Mason, and Luke eh? Where did those names come from? Leslie keep hanging in there. You are a champion! I am so glad that everything went well. Thank you for all of the pictures. I love seeing my nieces and nephews back home. I can't wait to see those three. They will probably be a lot bigger when I see them. Julie I can't believe how grown up Anne and Faye are. They look so much different! That is awesome. It sounds like your family is doing great. Exciting times!


Well this week was pretty eventful for me as well. It started out pretty normal. We got a call from the mission President on Saturday morning though. It was an emergency transfer! It was very surprising! So I actually got transferred on Saturday. I am now a district leader up in a place called Toowoomba. My new companion is Elder Palemene. He is from Samoa. He is a great guy! He finishes his mission in March I think. So he has some experience. I am excited to work with him. We are serving in the Darling Heights ward. We are in the Ipswich zone so maybe I will see Julie and Andrew around when they move here. It all happened so fast! We got the call Saturday morning and we got picked up around 11 that morning. So I didn't have too much time to pack. I was a little sad because I didn't get to say bye to everybody in my last ward and all the investigators we had. I loved that ward! But I know this is where the Lords needs me now. I am excited to serve here! Also it is cooler up here. Toowoomba is quite a bit higher in elevation so it is not so hot. I love it! Not as humid either. It will be a good place to serve for the Summer.


Mom I have not gotten your parcel yet. I hope that the Mission office will send it here and not to my last area. If not though I can get it on Christmas Eve at the mission Christmas party.


It is a lot different serving here. There are a lot more white people. There was a lot of polynesians in my last area. So maybe I won't be eating so much anymore.


Well that was my exciting news for the week. Not quite as exciting as the news back home though. Congrats again Richard and Leslie. That is awesome. Families are amazing! They are the basic unit of the church. I know I say it a lot, but I am so grateful to have such a wonderful family. Our Father in Heaven has a plan for every single one of us. We are all sent to our families for a reason. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have that families are forever. I love sharing this message with the people here in Australia. Good luck with everything back home. I love you all so much! Take care!


Love,
Elder Low


P.S. How do you want me to call home on Christmas? There is a family here that says we can use their skype on boxing day to call home if you would like.

December 2, 2013 Letter

Hi family!

 

Well it sounds like it was an exciting week back home. Justin it sounds like your team almost pulled off another victory at alumni. It seems like your team is in the final every year. That is awesome to hear that Aaron was playing. I am glad that he is enjoying life. Robbie congratulations on the interview at the U of U. That is awesome! Leslie good luck with the delivery this week! I will be praying for you.

 

This week was pretty good. We are starting to get more of a Christmas feeling around here. We sang Christmas hymns in church. I love it! I love the Christmas season. Some people are starting to put Chrismtas lights up. Not many though. It is a little weird seeing Christmas lights up when it is so hot out. Christmas is pretty much the same over here. People put up trees and stuff like that. It is great! Mom I am not totally sure how I am going to call home at Christmas yet. I will probably call on boxing day over here, Christmas over there. From what I understand, we can get some help from the members if we want to skype home. Would you rather me skype home or just call home? I think the time difference between me and home is 17 hours.

 

Well we keep having miracles over here. Unfortunately it doesn't look like we will be having any baptisms on December 14th. But they will happen sometime. The Fanueli family is really progressing. They came to church yesterday and Brother Fanueli said they would keep coming every Sunday. It is amazing to see how happy they are about coming back to church and progressing in the Gospel. The Gospel brings so much happiness, espescially for families. We were hoping to have the Fanueli kid's baptism on the 14th but it might take a little more time. It will happen though!

 

We had a couple of other great experiences this week as well. So the other week we tracted into a lady from Thailand named Ead. When we went back to visit her, she told us a little about herself. She mentioned how she had tried to take her own life before. She ended up in the hospital. While she was in the Hospital, some people like us with name tags came and gave her a blessing. She said that blessing saved her life and she has been trying to find those boys every since. So she was pretty happen when people like us with the name tags came knocking on her door. She wants to learn more about our church. We are excited to teach her!

 

We also had a funny experience with Mensung and her kids. So we have been trying to teach Mensung for awhile. It is tough because her English isn't very great. So we have been teaching the kids who know better English. This past Saturday when we went to teach them, they showed us a picture of them with a couple of LDS missionaries at a baptism. Mensung and her oldest son have already been baptized! They were baptized while they were in Adelade. It was pretty funny. So we talked about baptizing some of her other children. I think they would love to come to church if the parents spoke better English. We will keep working with them.

 

It is amazing how many opportunities have opened up for us recently. The Lord is really blessing us. I love it! It is amazing to think how much our Savior loves us. He has done so much for us, so much that we can't possibly repay him. As we try to repay Him, He continues to do more for us and continues to bless us. It is a miracle.. I am so grateful that I was sent to such a wonderful family. Thank you all for your amazing examples to me. I hope you all have a great week. I love you and pray for you every day!

 

Love,

Elder Low