January 28, 2015 Letter

Hi family!

 

I can't believe that it is up around 20 degrees back home. That never happens in January. Living in this heat has made me realize that the cold was not that bad. I am glad to hear that everybody has had a good week.

 

My week has been great! I am really trying not to eat too much, but it can be hard around the Samoan members. I think feeding missionaries is how Samoans view doing missionary work. It is funny.

 

We are seeing some great miracles here as well. We were able to teach Reshana a few more lessons. The more we teach her the more we can see that the Lord has prepared her. The other day we were praying that she would be prepared because she has a boyfriend up North that she was thinking about moving in with. They day we went to teach the Law of Chastity, she told us before we taught the lesson that she had separated from him in hopes to start fresh. Also the pregnancy test was wrong. She is not pregnant. Long story short, she is preparing to be baptized next week. Hopefully all goes well. She has made some huge changes in her life. And she still hasn't smoked! It is awesome.

 

Well sorry my letter is so short this week. But this week I have definitely seen again that the Lord is preparing people everywhere to accept the Gospel. They are just waiting for someone to invite them to learn more. In preach my Gospel it says something along the lines of  "people will not change unless invited to do so." That why it is so important the we follow the promptings of the Spirit and open our mouth. We never know whose life we can change with a simple invitation. Thank you for all your love and support! Love you all and hope you have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Low

January 19, 2015 Letter

Hi family,

 

It sounds like life is much more busy since I left home and it doesn't sound like it will ever stop. That is good. Being busy is great! The good news this week is that I am still alive. Just kidding. Logan isn't that bad. It is really nice that I already know the area though. It makes things a lot easier.

 

I will try to answer a few questions now. Yes I still get to drive the big van around. Woodridge is a suburb in the city called Logan. My companion Elder To'ia has actually been out for the same time as me. We both finish in May. We are both zone leaders in Logan and his English is actually really good. Much better than some of the other Elders I have served with. He is great! I love serving with him. Dad we can still go out and run in the morning but there isn't too many nice places to run. It is going to be tough to stay in shape. Especially with all the Samoan members here. It is ridiculous how much they feed us. And they won't let us leave until we have eaten heaps. I have already put on some weight this week. Our flat is boiling hot because we don't have air conditioning and the fans we have are useless. We only have 2 and one is pretty much broken. I am sweating all the time. It is great!

 

Well we have already seen some miracles this week. We are working with a guy named George. He is 16 and has some friends in the church. He has had all the lessons and was suppose to be baptized before, but there were some issues. So we have been trying to resolve some concerns and really help him strengthen his faith in Christ. He is a great kid. He has had a pretty rough past though. He does not look 16. We are also working with a lady named Reshanna. She is 20 years old and is pregnant with her 3rd child. Again she has had a rough life and wants to make a change. She has a big smoking addiction but we taught her the word of wisdom the other day. She said she has tried to give up smoking before but she just couldn't do it. After the lesson she said she had no more desire to smoke. At church yesterday she told us she hadn't smoked since the lesson. It was amazing! I really hope that she can keep it up. The Lord can give us strength to overcome any temptation.

 

It is amazing what we can do with the help of the Lord. When we rely completely on ourselves and put our ways above His ways, that is when we struggle. But when we put our trust in Him and follow His ways, that is when we find true peace and happiness. I know that He hears us when we pray. He is willing and wanting to help us. I am so grateful for the strength He gives me each day to keep working hard. This Gospel is true! Thank you for all your love and support. I love you all and hope you have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Low

January 12, 2015 Letter

Hi family!

 

It is good to hear that everybody is surviving the winter. It sounds pretty cold. It has been very rainy here. I like that better than the heat. 

 

Well it might be a short email today. It has been a pretty hectic day with transfers. I found out on Sunday night that I was getting transferred out of Ipswich. I have spent a lot of time there on my mission. It was a little sad saying bye to everybody on Monday. I will miss that place.

 

I had quite the surprise this morning at transfer meeting. I was really hoping to train a new missionary and be back on the bike, but I am still a zone leader. I am in Logan now though. We live in a place called Woodridge. I don't know if you remember, but this is where I started when I came to Australia. I was in an area called Logan 1. Now I am in Logan 2. So it isn't the exact same area, but it is the same ward. I stay in the same place I did when I was here before though. It is a very run down place! Very dangerous at times as well. Our flat is pretty run down as well. So I came from the nicest place I have stayed on my mission to the most run down place. It is very funny actually. It is going to be good to see everybody in the ward again. I don't know if anybody will remember me. There are heaps of Muslim people around here as well. Not many people speak great Enlgish. My companions name is Elder To'ia. He is from Tonga. This area has really been stuggling! They haven't had a baptism in a long time and it sounds like we don't have anybody very close. It is going to be some tough work! I am very excited.

 

To be honest, when they took me out of Logan last time it was very sudden. I was emergency transferred. I look back and it kind of felt like my work here wasn't finished. Now I know that it wasn't finished. The Lord is in control and He has me here for a reason. I am excited to find out what that reason is. It won't be easy, but things that are worth achieving take work. The Gospel is true! He is at the Head of this work. There are people prepared everywhere to accept the Gospel. We just have to find them. I love you all and hope you have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Low

Belated Scanned Pictures

Take back to last year at this time...Dallin sent these pictures a while ago and I've been trying to get them scanned and up on the blog. So here are events from a year ago!

 

"Like our sweet ride? Just kidding...we wish."

(Printed Oct 14, 2013)

 

"Temple Day up in Brisbane."

(Printed Nov. 25, 2013)

 

"My old district at the temple."

 (Printed Nov. 25, 2013)

 

"This was a pretty crazy storm. We got caught in it for a bit."

(Printed Nov. 25, 2013)

 

"This is what they were cooking at our Christmas Party in Logan. It's a pig! Yum!"

(Printed Nov. 25, 2013)

 

"A less-active member makes shirts. So we paid him to make our zone some shirts."

(Printed Nov. 25, 2013)

 

"Elder Porutu (from Tahiti) and I in our lava lava's. Sorry if I already sent this one."

(Printed Dec. 2, 2013)

 

"I don't like spiders. They get pretty big over here though."

(Printed Dec. 2, 2013)

 

"This was a day in Logan when the rain was starting to clear up."

(Printed Dec. 2, 2013)

 

"Us and our Zone Leaders."

(Printed January 6, 2014)

 

"This is all the mail and stuff I got on Christmas Eve."

(Printed Jan. 6, 2014)

 

"Christmas Morning!"

 

"Thanks Mom! It was a good Christmas."

 

"After I opened them all."

 

 

 

 

"This was just 1 of our meals on Christmas!" 

 

"Elder Palemene (from Samoa) and I. The person who took the picture cut my head off."

(Printed Jan. 6, 2014) 

 

 

 

"Heck yes I can cook!"

 



 "We did it!"

 

"This is the beautiful meal we made on New Year's Eve." 

 

 

 

"Me and Elder Hatch from Magrath."

(Printed Jan. 6, 2014)

January 5, 2015 Letter

Hi Family!

 

Well I am glad to hear that everybody had a great time over the holidays! Sounds like it was very cold and everybody ate a lot of food. Not much has changed. Sorry I haven't emailed in awhile. The last few weeks have been a little crazy. We had our Pday on New Years eve last week and the library was closed. We ended up playing some volleyball and basketball. It was fun! Jason you should have left your tooth out. You would look like a real hockey player. Just kidding.

 

Karen for housing at BYU, we are good with 4 or 6 in an apartment. Mom I don't think this mission will be on facebook anytime soon. At least not in my time. And I actually lent my bike to another missionary. We are full time car at the moment so I didn't need it. I might need to get it back from him soon if I go back to biking.

 

Well this week was a little better for us. We still did a lot of door knocking. We are hoping to catch up with Addi this week. She is still on the Gold Coast. Josh is still keen to come to church, but he says he isn't quite ready to be baptized. We are still working with him. He will come around eventually. Hopefully these next few weeks will be filled with a little more teaching and less door knocking.

 

I read a great article in the December Ensign recently. I can't remember it word for word, but it talked about a way to overcome any trial. We need to ask ourselves "Do I trust God above all else?" Some might consider this to be a bit silly, but it is true. When we are doing our part and staying faithful to our covenants, God has promised us that all things will work together for our good. We may not be able to see it now, but the blessings will come. Whether they come now, later, or in the next life, God has promised that they will come. The key is to be obedient and keep moving forward. I have found that applies very strongly to missionaries. I am very grateful for the blessings I receive each day as a missionary. Some days are tougher than others, but it is so worth it! I love seeing how the Gospel changes lives. God lives and loves us! It is true! I love you all and hope you have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Low

 

Christmas Morning! Elder Thomas is a big BYU fan. He got some BYU stuff as well. Also my tie came from an orphanage in Cambodia. They gave everyone in the mission one.

 

December 17, 2014 Letter

Hi family!

 

Well it sure doesn't feel like Christmas here. I think I am going to melt. It is so humid! It is good exercise though. Julie and Brian that is awesome to hear that Brian got a job in Utah! That is exciting news!

 

Mom as far as me calling home for Christmas goes, I will probably call home around the same time I did last year. It will be the morning of Boxing Day here probably around 8:00am. So I think it should be around 4:00pm Christmas Day there. And I will use skype. The only thing is I don't have your skype address and this is my last email day before Christmas. So maybe I will have to call home somehow before. I don't know where I will be skyping from either. I will have to figure that out.

 

Well this week was pretty crazy. People are busy around Christmas time and school is out as well. So it can be pretty tough to catch people. Some of our investigators are going on holiday for Christmas. We will just have to find some new ones. Josh Kerr is doing pretty good. He is still reading the Book of Mormon and searching for his answer. We also found a great new investigator named Hannah. It sounds like she has had the missionaries around before. We are excited to teach her. We have been doing a lot of door knocking as well.

 

I hope everybody is enjoying the Christmas holiday! It truly is a time of year when people are more giving. The Spirit just seems to be stronger. I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ. He lives and He loves us! He restored His Gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith. We have the evidence of that in the Book of Mormon. These things are real! I love you all and hope you have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Low

December 7, 2014 Letter

Hi family,

It's good to hear that everybody is into the swing of Christmas. It is a great time! Julie it sounds like the lights at the zoo are pretty cool. And I hope you end up in Utah next year! Robbie congrats on the new job as a peace officer. I remember all of my friends hated the peace officer around town. I think he threw around more authority than he actually had. I hope you don't get attacked. Also those are awesome pictures of the triplets! I can't believe how big they are already. 

I will answer a few questions quick. My last companion Elder Tino is from New Zealand, so he was going to fly back for Addi Pyles baptism but there are some complications right now. So we will see what will happen. Dad I do still see Garth Pitman every once in a while, not too often though. And in November our mission hit 76 convert baptisms. We had heaps of dates, but a lot fell through in the last 2 weeks. That is still a pretty good month though. 

Well like I said, it has been a little bit of a tough week. We have been unable to meet with Addi. We can't even get ahold of her. Apparently she is having some family problems. I think it has something to do with her ex-boyfriend. She has been in contact with Elder Tino though so I don't think he is flying back. Hopefully we can meet with her soon. We have been making some great progress with another family though. I can't remember if I mentioned Summah and Lyric Penne. They are 12 and 9 years old. Their Dad is less-active and they are not members. They are very keen to learn! They even want to be baptized. The only hold up is the Dad. So we have been trying to work with him. He seems to be warming up. I really believe that he will come around. 

I am so grateful to be a full-time missionary. I have said it before, but true happiness comes when we serve others. I think that is why everybody is so happy at Christmas. People seem to be a lot more giving. This Gospel is true! He lives! I hope you are all enjoying the Christmas season! Love you and have a great week!

Love,

Elder Low

P.S. When do you want me to call on Christmas?

February 8, 2015 Letter

Hi family,

 

I am glad to hear that everybody is surviving all the changes in the weather. That is some pretty crazy wind. Hopefully Mexico will be a little bit better. Joanie Griffin is so cute! Cammie Grant is getting so big. I can't wait to meet these kids. Also Ryan I like the facial hair you have going on.

 

Well it has been an absolutely crazy week! A good one though. So on Sunday night we got our calls about transfers. And guess what, I am getting transferred!! So I only spent 4 weeks back in Logan. It was sad to leave but I have a very exciting new assignment. First of all I am training a new missionary! I was so excited about that. But secondly I am going to a place a far way away. There is one zone in the mission where missionaries have to catch flights to. It is the northern zone. I am going to a place called Whit Sundays. And that is where I will be training the new missionary. Whit Sundays is actually a really big tourist place. Look it up. Apparently it is beautiful! So I am staying down around the Brisbane area for about a week and a half so I can get my new missionary and next week there is a new missionary orientation. After that my companion and I will be flying up to our area. I am so excited!

 

We saw a miracle this week as well! I don't know if you remember George, but he has been and investigator for a while. He has had about 6 baptismal dates but has backed out every time. Sunday after church he came up and said he wanted to be baptized the next day. So yesterday we were organizing everything for his baptism. He was baptized yesterday. It was amazing to see. It was a miracle for my last day in Logan. He is a great guy! I am excited for him!

 

This Gospel is true! I know it! I am so grateful for the Prophet Joseph Smith for sacrificing so much for the Lord. It is not about our will, it is about His will. And when we submit ourselves to His will, He will bless up more than we can imagine. He loves us and He knows what is best for us. I am so grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who hears and answers my prayers. It is true! I love you all and hope you have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Low