June 22, 2014 Letter

Hey family!

It sounds like some people had some fun down at echo lake. Zach you sound like quite the fisherman. That is awesome! You will have to teach me a thing or two. Robbie and Cammie are you getting excited? When is the due date again? Amelia and Joanie when is your due dates? I am sure you have all probably told me but there is so much to remember. Also happy birthday to Robbie this week on the 28th! Turning 25 right? That is crazy! It seems like not that long ago that we were taking you down to the MTC. You were scared because you thought they were going to take you wand away. Just kidding!

Well things are still going well for us. This is definitely the warmest winter I have ever had in my life. Cammie we have run into a few people that watch the world cup, but it doesn't seem to be too big. I think Australia is already out. That is probably why.

As far as our teaching pool goes, we are having some ups and downs. Meeting with people is probably our biggest struggle. With Tarl and Darlene things keep seeming to pop up. We were able to get a short lesson in though. We are still trying to meet with Brandon again as well. We are planning to see him on Wednesday night, so we are excited about that. Alex and Chrissy were unable to make it to church yesterday which was really unfortunate. We stopped by yesterday afternoon though and had a great talk with Alex. He is trying to give up smoking and he has made some great progress. There is a program the mission uses as well so we are trying to help him with that.

We had a miracle this week! It was a long week for us and not many people were responding while we were tracting. On Saturday afternoon though we knocked on a guys door named Sam. He looked like he was in his early 20's and he was very interested in religion. We went over the restoration with him and he had some great questions! It was an awesome lesson. He understands the concept of Priesthood and he understands that if the Book of Mormon is true, then the rest is true as well. He was excited that we gave him a Book of Mormon. His only hold up is that he is starting University again this week and he will be busy. If he takes the time and puts the effort into finding out if the Book of Mormon is true, I know he will find the answer. He is a smart guy. We are seeing him again this weekend.

So things are definitely headed in the right direction. We just have to continue putting the effort in and I know the Lord will bless us. It is such a blessing to share the Gospel. I know without a doubt that we have a loving Heavenly Father who loves us and hears our prayers. He sent His Son to die for us so we can find strength in our trials, receive forgiveness of our sins, and work towards the goal of never-ending happiness as king Benjamin describes it. I am so grateful for this knowledge! I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Low

June 16, 2014 Letter

Hey Family,

I can't believe it is already Summer again back home and people are heading to Echo Lake. I love that place. We are in the freezing cold of winter now. Just kidding. It still gets up in the 20's celcius so I still feel like I am getting burned. The mornings and evenings can be a bit chilly though. Joanie congrats on another boy! That is exciting! A few more and you can just make your own basketball team. Julie thank you so much for sending the Gel seat! I am excited to get that. Also happy birthday to Kamry this week on the 21st I believe! I hope Jason and your kids make it everything you dreamed of and more.

We made some progress this week with one of our investigators. I think I have mentioned a bit about Alex. He is 20 and trying to find a job. He dropped out of school in grade 9 so he has had an interesting life. He finally came to church this week though! He even brought his girlfriend Chrissy along. They both seemed to get something out of the meetings that really applied to them. It was awesome! Chrissy hasn't wanted to sit in on the discussions with us but we are hoping that she might now. We are still really excited about Tarl, Darlene, and Brandon as well. Things are definitely looking up right now.

Sorry this email is so short. Maybe I will have more to say next week. This Gospel is true! I love being a missionary. It gives me a chance to focus on other people. I have really noticed that when we focus on other people and try to help them, our own worries seem to disappear. I love hearing stories about members sharing the Gospel with the friends. It really is the most effective way to do missionary work. It sounds like some of the people in Cardston just got that opportunity with the family from England moving in. That is awesome! We are so blessed to have this knowledge. The Lord is preparing people everywhere to partake of His love. Sometimes we just need to help people find it. I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love,
Elder Low

June 9, 2014 Letter

Hi family,

 

Sounds like quite the adventure over in Toronto. Sorry to hear about Luke. It sounds like the Lord has quite the plan in store for those three. Also happy anniversary to Karen and Alvin! That is so weird that you have already been married for a year. That sure went by fast. Robbie congrats on getting that job up in Edmonton. That is awesome! And nice work with your neighbors. They sounds like a great family for the missionaries to teach and I am sure the missionaries and the Lord are very appreciative of your work.

 

Also happy Fathers Day this upcoming week to Dad and everybody else who is now a Dad. Dad you have shown all of us an amazing example of what it means to be a dedicated Father. Thank you for sacrificing so much for your kids. It has meant so much to me and I am sure to everybody else as well. We love you!

 

My bike seat is not broken, it is just really hard and not comfortable to sit on. Julie I may take your advice and find a gel seat. We will see.

 

We have had so much progress this week it is amazing! We are being so blessed. The other week we tracted into a man from New Zealand named Tarl. When he came to the door he greeted us by saying "Elders". That doesn't happen too often here. It turns out he knows a lot about the church because of friends and family. He even attended some seminary when he was younger but he is just not a member. We met his wife Darlene last night and their kids. They are an amazing family! We had an awesome lesson. The Spirit was so strong! Tarl even gave us the closing prayer. I am so excited to keep working with them. We also had a lesson last night with a 19 year old named Brandon. His fiance was baptized a few months ago and he is interested. He has talked with the missionaries before and has been to church several times. But it sounds like his last experience with the missionaries wasn't so great for him. Hopefully things go better this time around. Things are really progressing though!

 

This Gospel is so true! I am grateful to be a missionary. Something I have really noticed is that the Lord WANTS to bless us. But we have to do our part first. It is a simple principle. When we keep a commandment, we receive the blessing. If we want the blessings of paying tithing, we pay tithing. If we want the blesses of attending church, we go to church. It is just like we read in D+C 130:20-21. The Lord will bless us when we keep his commandments. I have definitely seen the blessings of serving a mission. This is the Lord's work! I am blessed to be a part of it at this special time. I love you all and hope you have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Low

June 2, 2014 Letter

Hi Family,

 

Well I just wrote you a couple of days ago so I really don't know what to say. Mom I am back on part time bike now that we have 4 Elders in the flat. It is actually nice except the seat on my bike is pretty painful. I did not know Elder Boychuk before I came out on the mission. He looks kind of familiar though so I might have saw him around somewhere back home. Cammie I can't believe you are due so soon! I am so excited for you guys! Do you know if it is a boy or a girl yet! You probably already mentioned it, but I have a terrible memory. Also that is awesome to hear about the Japanese lady in our stake. Miracles are happening all across the world.

 

Well today we actually had a really awesome Pday. There was a really nice family in our ward that took us to a wildlife sanctuary. It was really cool! We got to hold a koala and pet some kangaroos. They had all types of wildlife there. I will send some pictures home.

 

Well I got some awesome news last night. I am not sure if any of you remember Noel. He was an investigator we had when I was up in Toowoomba. He was suppose to be baptized in March but then some issues came up about tithing. So we worked with him and before I left I challenged him to be baptized on May 31st. He thought that it might be too soon but I felt very strongly about it and he accepted. I was transferred after that though. Last night I got a call from the Elders up in Toowoomba and they told me that Noel was baptized and confirmed on the weekend. He even got a white shirt and tie. From what I hear he was a pretty happy man. I was so excited to hear that news last night!

 

Something that Preach my Gospel teaches that is very important is that no effort is ever wasted. As missionaries we might spend hours and hours knocking doors but get no response. In reality we may have caused many people to ponder. In the Book of Mormon Abinadi never got to see the results of his efforts while he was still alive. He was burned before Alma baptized nations. On the other hand, Ammon got to see the miracle of his work while he was still out serving. Thousands of Lamanites were converted. When we make an effort to share the Gospel, we never know who's heart we can touch. We may not see it in this life, but that seed that we planted will grow over the years. No effort is ever wasted! That is why we should continually be searching for someone to share the Gospel with. Last night when I heard about Noel, I was so happy! I know that as we strive to share the Gospel with others, we will find a happiness that is much great than any worldly possesion. We will feel of the love of Christ. I know this Gospel is true! I am so grateful to be serving a mission. I love you all! Have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Low

Elder Scott. This guy is huge! He played on the Junior national volleyball team. Great missionary!

 Brother Hall is the member who took us.

 

 So much fun!

 

 

May 28, 2014 Letter

Hey Family,

 

Sounds like another busy week. Mom and Dad I am glad you got to celebrate your anniversary. What did you like better, Dave's drive-in or the Keg? Just kidding. Dave's is pretty good though. Happy birthday to Justin this week! Turning 31 on the 31st. That is pretty exciting. Anything fun planned?

 

Well to answer a couple of questions, the weather here is still pretty nice. I am not sure about exact numbers, but I would guess it has been in the mid 20's at least. It has been hot enough to feel like I am burning. And Karen it is definitely much more effective to work through members. That is if they really want to help though. Investigators are usually a lot more solid when a member introduces them to the missionaries. We still have a standard amount that we have to find through our own efforts each week though.

 

Well I have some more crazy news for you. Just when I thought things couldn't change too much more. I am now with 3 new Elders! Elder Lolohea and Elder Manuel are both gone. That was pretty surprising. So now with four of us we split the area again. My companions name is Elder Scott. I am finishing his training with him. He is from California and he is six foot eleven (sorry I will have to send a picture next week). He is a really good volleyball players. He is hoping to play for BYU when he gets off his mission. I think he said he played for the US junior olympic team or something as well. He is also an awesome missionary! I love working with him. The other two Elders in our flat are great as well. Elder Boychuck is from Canada (Lethbridge), and Elder Tini is from New Zealand. We have a great group of missionaries! I am excited.

 

We are really starting to see miracles in this area as well. I don't think I mentioned much about Alex to you, but he is about 20 years old. He seems like he has a bit of a rough past so he is trying to change things around. He is looking for a job right now. We have had some great talks with him though. We even set a baptismal date for him on June 28th. There are some things we need to work on for him, but we are praying that he will be ready. Another lady we are teaching now is named Lucy. She grew up in an anti-religious home (the father), so when we came around she just said she was interested. It is interesting how the Lord works with people. There are some other people we are working with as well. The Lord is really blessing us!

 

Something I have really learned on my mission is persistence. The other night Elder Scott and I were knocking on a less-active families door for a little while. He thought it was funny that I just kept knocking. I could hear people in there and I thought they couldn't hear us because of kids, TV, etc. Finally they heard and came to the door. They were really friendly and we are going back next week. It is something small, but it payed off. It taught me the lesson though that we often have to just keep trying. There are challenges in life where we just have to keep pressing forward and trust that things will work out for the best. I am sure it wasn't easy for Joseph Smith when he and the people he loved were constantly persecuted. But as he found out, this life is short, and if we endure it well we will be exalted on high. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it. The Lord will strengthen us. This Gospel is true!! I am sure of it. I hope you all have a great week! Love you!

 

Love,

Elder Low

May 18, 2014 Letter

Hi Family,

 

First of all happy anniversary to Mom and Dad. 35 years is pretty amazing! But that is just the start of the rest of eternity. I am sure I can speak for everybody in saying thank you for all that you have done for us. You have both sacraficed so much for your kids. We love you.

 

Robbie I am really sorry to hear about the news. That really surprises me. The Lord must have something special in store for you and your family. Often we have to be patient to find out what it is. Sometimes things don't work out the way we would like them too, but they will work out the way the Lord knows is best.

 

Well I am starting to figure out my new area a bit more. It is pretty large so we are full time car. We will see how long that lasts. There are still some things up in the air as to whether we are going to still be in a trio or if there is just going to be 2 of us. As for now, I am still with Elder Lolohea and Elder Manuel. It is a pretty interesting companionship. I love them!

 

As far as the work goes we are really trying to build our teaching pool. We are trying to find that balance between finding on our own efforts and working with the members. We did have dinner with a family yesterday and left them a challenge to introduce somebody to us missionaries. They told us to come back next week and they will have somebody there. So obviously they had somebody in mind. Sometimes it just takes a little effort. This seems like a really great ward so I am excited! Other than that we did quite a bit of door knocking this week and visited quite a few people. Things are starting to come along! I am excited.

 

We had the opportunity to hear Elder Hamula of the seventy this week. He came to our mission and "toured" around. One thing that really stood out to me as he spoke was how much sacrafice him and his wife have had to make in their lives. I think he said it was around 2 and a half years after he returned home from his mission he was called as a Bishop. Not long after that he was called as a stake president, and after that a Mission President. While he was a Mission President they were still having kids and raising a family. I think he even said his wife had twins while he was a Mission President. I can't even imagine how much work that would be. In the church we often have to make sacrafices. But I have realized that no matter how much we try and repair our Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ, we will never be able to. As we continue to sacrafice, They continue to bless us. That is because They love us so much and want the best for us. And things that are worth accomplishing are never easy. But I know that the Lord will always provide a way to help us be where we need to be.  He has a plan for each of us. He will bless us as we keep pushing forward. I am so grateful for that! I know this Gospel is true! I hope you all have a great week! Love you all!

 

Love,

Elder Low

May 11, 2014 Letter

Hi family!

 

Well I just got off skype with you all not too long ago. It was great seeing everybody! All of the grandkids are getting so big. Life seems pretty busy. Happy Mothers day to Mom again! Mom I can't even begin to explain how much you have done for me. You have sacraficed so much to raise all of your kids, and now you are sacrificing more for the grandkids. I am so grateful for everything you have done and everything you continue to do. I love you! And I hope you have an amazing Mothers Day.

 

Well I mentioned a little bit over skype, but my life has been pretty crazy this week as well. I am down here on the Gold Coast and loving it! The ward here is awesome! Justin like I said, I even met somebody that you served with in Melbourne. It is a small world. As far as the work goes here, there is not much going on. So we are really trying to pick things up and find some more people to teach. I feel like this will be a great area!

 

As for the crazy part of my week, it is a long story. I am serving in a trio for now. I am still serving with Elder Lolohea from Tonga, but I am also serving with Elder Manuel from New Zealand. The ward use to be split into 2 areas with a set of missionaries in each, but now we are just covering all of it. It is a pretty huge area! So I am really trying to get to know my way around. I am not sure how long it will last though. We might have some more surprises this week. We will just have to wait and see.

 

We have a member of the first quorum of the seventy coming to our mission this week. His name is Elder Hamula. He is the Pacific area president. So I am excited to hear from him as well.

 

Well sorry it is such a short email. Hopefully I will have more to say next week. I want you all to know that I do have a testimony of this Gospel. I have learned so much on my mission! One of the great things I have learned though is about the importance of the Holy Ghost in our lives. Laman and Lemuel saw an angel and still fell away. Sometimes we experience miracles in our own lives and just let them fade. Visions and Miracles don't convert people. It is only through the power of the Holy Ghost that we can become truly converted. He will comfort us, He will guide us, and He will strengthen us. I know that if we strive every day to live the Gospel and listen to the promptings of the Spirit, He will never lead us astray. I am so grateful for that. I love you all and hope you have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Low