March 30, 2015 Letter

Hi family,

 

I am glad to hear everybody had a good week. Cammie did your Mom enjoy the Oilers game? Looks like a good time. Zach congrats on the piano award! That is exciting. And I am so excited for you to get baptized this weekend. That is great! Sounds like you are pretty spoiled getting to go to General Conference as well. I love General Conference!

 

Cammie unfortunately we are still not using Facebook or iPads in this mission. It may be awhile before we get them over here. Mom my toe is doing much better now.

 

We had an interesting week though. Mostly because of medical issues. I got food poisoning! I think that was the first time I have ever had food poisoning. It was terrible! One of our potential investigators had a birthday for his 1 year old son that we got invited to. There was a lot of Tongan food. We don't know what it was, but quite a few people got sick. So my system was completely cleared out! The funny thing though was it was only the white people who got sick. None of the Islanders got sick. They must have really strong immune systems.

 

We are seeing some progress with some of our investigators as well. We met a great lady this week while knocking doors! Her name is Nerida and she is 62 years old. She recently had her Mother pass away who she was very close to. She use to be a Methodist, but she is not active in any church at the moment. We had a great lesson with her and she is going to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. We are excited for her! We also had a good lesson with Lona and Tara. They know they need to be married, it is just a matter of when. So things are progressing slowly.

 

Things have been pretty crazy, but I am so grateful to be here in the Whitsunday area. I am so grateful for the atonement in my life. He understands us perfectly! And because of that, He knows how to help us through any trial we face. Even food poisoning. And at this time of year, being Easter, we get to Remember that He Lives! Something that we should apply to our life every day. It is such an amazing message! It is only through Him that we are able to be with the people we love forever. I am so grateful for that! This Gospel is true! I love you all! I love my Savior. I hope you all have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Low

March 23, 2015 Letter

Hi family,

 

Well it sounds like it was a good week up in Edmonton. I can't believe that the Cardston boys made the provincial final again. That has seemed to happen a lot in the past few years. Mom I think when I feel the cold again I will be in shock. We are starting to get out of Summer here so all of the tourists are starting to come in. Winter is the big tourist season here.

 

Well it has been a pretty interesting week. We are still doing quite a bit of door knocking. Most of our appointments cancelled this week. We are really trying to find some solid investigators. We found a couple of really friendly people who are willing to hear more about the Gospel. So we will see how we go with them.

 

I read a talk by Elder David A. Bednar recently called Seek Learning by Faith. It was a talk given to Gospel teachers. It talked about the best way we can teach people the Gospel is by inviting them to act. Of course God hears our prayers, but after we pray we must put in our effort. It is when we do this that we begin to see His divine guidance in our lives. I am so grateful for a Loving Father in Heaven who is wanting and willing to guide us. He loves us! Sorry about the short email. I love you all and hope you have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Low

March 16, 2015 Letter

We knocked into a very nice lady who raises baby kangaroos. I think they are called Joeys or something. She let us hold them. Too bad she wasn't interested in the Gospel.

Hi family,

Well it sounds like it was a busy week for everybody. Mom and Dad it sounds like you got to see some good basketball as well. It sounds like Cardston is waiting for Zachary Low to get a bit older.

Mom I went online to do those things for BYU. I will try to get an interview with my Mission President this week so you will be able to register me for classes.

Well this week has been another battle. We are starting to see some small miracles though. We had another great lesson with Lona and Tara. Tara seems really excited about the Gospel. She is reading the Book of Mormon and she loves church. She actually came yesterday even though her less-active boyfriend Lona didn't. It was great to see her there. We had a good lesson with Billy as well. It makes it tough though that there are really no other young men that attend the branch. I think he would really enjoy church more if there were some other young men. He is a great kid though.

It is amazing to see how the Spirit can touch peoples hearts. In Preach My Gospel is says that "true doctrine understood changes attitudes and behaviors." When people feel the Spirit and start to gain their own testimony of the Gospel, the worldly things they loved seem to fade. We are starting to see that with a few of our investigators. It is amazing! The Gospel really does help people find true and lasting happiness. I love it! I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Low

March 9,2015 Letter

Hi family!

It sounds like everybody had a great week! Good to hear. Robbie and Cammie Grant is so cute!! In the picture his hair looks so red. I love it! Dad that is really cool that Elder Hamula is coming to your stake conference. He use to be the Pacific area President which covers Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. He came to our mission last year. That is exciting.

Mom Bowen is about a 14 hour drive away from Brisbane. Yes we do help with the sacrament in our branch. I told them I play the piano and it sounds like they are going to get a keyboard so I can play. We usually just sing without one. And no there is no daylight savings here so I believe we are 16 hours ahead.

Well this week was a real battle. Most of the investigators that we do have are involved in Rugby someway or another so that takes them away a lot. So we ended up doing heaps of door knocking this week. The other day we were knocking doors and Elder Mareweieta all of a sudden said "I'm swimming". It was hilarious. He was absolutely drenched in his own sweat. It is very humid here. Another funny story about Elder Mareweieta, for some reason he loves sticking Q-tips in his ears. He does it all the time. The other day we were driving and all of a sudden he pulled a Q-tip out of his pocket and started cleaning his ear. He is so funny. We also met a great kid last week though. He is a 15 year old boy named Billy from New Zealand. He lives over here now with his cousin who is a member of the church. We met him very briefly but he has a great spirit. He seemed really keen to learn more about the Gospel. We are excited to teach him.

I say it every week, but if there is anything the mission has taught me it is that the Gospel is true! The more I study the more it just makes sense. I know the Gospel was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I love reading the Book of Mormon. I know our Savior lives! He knows us, He loves us, and He understands us perfectly. I am so grateful for that. I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week!

Love,

Elder Low 

March 1, 2015 Letter

Hi family!

 

Sounds like another good week. Karen and Alvin that Medwars thing sounds like quite the activity. That is pretty cool that you came 3rd. Robbie have you heard back from the U of A yet?

 

Well I will answer some questions quick. We stay in a little town called Bowen. Our area covers a few hours away in several directions. So it is pretty large. There are a couple of different towns that we cover. The nearest big city is about 2 hours away. Most of the tourists are in a place called Airlie Beach. It is part of our area about an hour away. We don't go there though because it is not the best place to be. Our apartment is pretty small. We have a clothes line out back to hang up our laundry. It is nice and cozy. Elder Mareweieta is starting to get use to everything. Sometimes I feel like I am babysitting though. It is pretty funny. I love him!

 

Whitsunday is a very unique area to serve. There has not been too much success up here for the last little while. So we have a lot of work to do. The senior couple serving here has only been here for a few months as well. So they are trying to get to know everything. We are seeing some great progress though! It is surprising how many less-active members live up here with their girlfriends/boyfriends. We are teaching a couple like that. Lona and Tara. Lona is a less-active member and Tara is not a member. We had a great lesson with them last week though and they came out to the branch on Sunday. Tara seemed to have a really good experience. It was great! There are a few other couples like that as well that we are trying to work with. The toughest part is that none of them are married and they are living together. Hopefully there will be a couple of weddings happening sometime.

 

I am so grateful to know that the Lord is in control. Things are pretty tough here at the moment trying to find people to teach, but I know that the Lord has prepared His children here. As long as we stay diligent, we will find them. It is the same with anything in life. Sometimes things aren't always the way we want them to be, but the Lord will always fulfill His promises. As long as we stay faithful, things will work together for our good. Sometimes it won't be easy, but it will be what is best for us. I love this Gospel! I love being a missionary! I love you all and hope you have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Low

February 22, 2015 Letter

Hi family,

 

Wow Mexico looks like the place to be. Justin that is a massive fish you caught. Sounds like it was a good vacation. I am glad to hear that. Also thanks for all the birthday wishes.

 

Well every week seems to be an interesting week on the mission. We spent most of it down in Springwood working. We knocked a lot of doors! My toe is still recovering from the toe nail but it is a lot better. In the middle of the week we started to hear about a big cyclone that was going to hit up North. It was a category 5. It was suppose to hit between Brisbane and where we were headed. So we were unsure if we would still be flying out. In the end we still ended up flying out on Saturday morning. That was just the beginning though. It was really bad weather because the leftovers of the cyclone were coming down to Brisbane. We had a really rough take off. The plane was shaking pretty bad. It seemed like everything was ok after that but a little while later the captain told us the plane had been hit by some lightning on the take-off and we were heading back to Brisbane. Long story short, we had to wait for a new plane. So we arrived in our area about 5 hours late. It was a long day.

 

The Whitsunday coast is beautiful! We live close to the coast. Unfortunately we don't go out to the Islands, but we cover a lot of area around the coast. It is so humid up here! I think it is because the cyclone was so close. At the branch yesterday there was about 35 people in attendance. Most of them are Tongan. I love it! They are great people. There is no chapel here so we actually rent sports facility each Sunday to meet. I think the key to missionary work here is going to be working with these members. Lots of them have friends and family that need the Gospel. This area is very unique. I am excited!

 

It doesn't matter if you live in a big city or a remote island, God still knows you by name. I love that! He knows each of His children and His Gospel needs to be preached everywhere. This Gospel is true! I am so grateful to be able to share it with everyone! I love you all and hope you have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Low

February 15, 2015 Letter

Hi family!

 

I am glad to hear that the Justin and Amelia Low family as well as Mom and Dad are enjoying their time in Mexico. It sounds like a lot of fun! Hopefully the wheather isn't too bad when you go home.

 

Well this week has been quite a crazy week. My new companions name is Elder Mareweieta. He is straight from Kiribati. He is a character. You can definitely tell he has not been in a first world country before. He doesn't know how to work a washing machine, stove, etc. So it is almost like teaching a kid. His English isn't too bad but definitely needs some work. I love him though! I am excited to work with him for the next 2 transfers. We have not made it to WhitSunday yet. We are staying down close to Brisbane for a week because Elder Mareweieta is going to a new missionary orientation. That will be this Thursday and Friday. We will most likely be flying up to our area on Saturday.

 

So this week we have been working in an area called Springwood. We have been doing a lot of running around as well. We had to do some shopping for Elder Mareweieta to get him some shirts, pants, shoes, socks, etc. because he didn't have much coming from Kiribati. I also had to go to the podiatrist to get part of my big toe nail cut out. I had a really bad ingrown toe nail that I figured I should get taken care of before I go up north. So it has been a very interesting week.

 

To answer some questions about WhitSunday, it is a big tourist place so it is going to be a little different for missionary work. There is just us and a senior couple up there. Other missionaries are a long way away. Fortunately we will be full time car because our area is so big. So we will be leaving our bikes down in Brisbane.

 

It is great to know that the Gospel is the same anywhere you go. The Lord is preparing his Children everywhere, even in WhitSunday! I am so excited to see what the Lord has prepared for us there. One of my favorite quotes is "there is no growth in the comort zone, and there is no comfort in the growth zone." In order to strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ, we need to work at it every day. It takes effort and time. But it is so worth it. I am so excited for these last few months in WhitSunday. I know that if we give everything we have to the Lord, He will bless us with miracles. This Gospel is true! Iove being a missionary! I love you all and hope you have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Low