Hide and Seek

 Hey!

Well I finished the Book of Mormon this week! :) That book is truer than true. Best book I've ever read! :) I seriously learn so much everytime I read. Sister Rogers and I were singing the "Scripture Power" song all week! But I wanted to share the scripture Moroni 8:3 with everyone, but I forgot to write it down! :( So go look it up! It made me think of all my amazing friends and family back home! :) We also heard a talk this week about patience, and there was a quote I just loved.

 

"The Lord's promises are not always swift, but they are always certain." -President Uchtdorf

I honestly don't even know what happened this week. The weeks are going by faster and faster. I have been out five months and it feels like five days. It is finally cooling down though! It's been like mid to high 80's rather than mid 90's. So that's been awesome! It's still pretty humid though! But we can definitely tell the difference from a month ago! I'm not quite as soaking wet as I was! ;) We heard November is the best so we look forward to that! :)

We are still just doing a lot of finding people. We know that God is preparing people, they are just really good at hiding! But I played hide and seek quite a bit as a kid and teenager, so I'm pretty sure we will find them soon! :) It is just a big faith stretcher here! It's so hard to have faith in people when you get let down so many times! But we have so so much extra help from the other side.

 

Today we painted our apartment. Well, spot painted! I told you how it was so gross and we've been fixing it up. It looks like a whole new apartment! We shampooed the carpets too! :) This ward is just so amazing. Especially at feeding us! BUT! I am going on a dessert diet in October! Only one dessert per day! Which means when members give us cookies or brownies after dinner I can only have one! It's gonna be tough, but hopefully it will be worth it! You know how I am about sweets! Anyway, now we just need to get them to get finding people to teach! They will come along :)

We are still going to Don and Sue's every week. Don is coming along just waiting for the Joseph Smith experience so that is that. :( He is excited for conference though! :) We haven't been able to see Pamela or Irma :( They have been "busy." It's always hard when people pull that because you never know if they are being for real! We would so much rather just have honesty, people! But we met a really sweet family this week. A lady, Heni, was walking so we stopped and talked to her. She asked us to pray for her friend Sima who has cancer and whose daughter, Jessica, is really struggling and hasn't left her room for weeks. So we asked if we could go visit them. Heni happily took us there and we prayed with them. Jessica talked with us and she won't even see or talk to anyone! It was a really cool miracle! :) Sima was also very appreciative of our prayer! So was Heni. She said she thought we were angels when we stopped next to her on our bikes! :) haha I guess we kind of are! We are planning on going back to talk with Jessica soon.

We got soaked on our bikes so a family put our clothes in the dryer during dinner and we wore robes ha! :)

 

On Saturday we had a service project and dinner before the Relief Society broadcast, so that was fun! And the broadcast was just amazing of course! :) I hope all you women got to listen! I just love listening to President Monson. I can't help but smile and know that he truly is a prophet of God! We are so blessed to have that! Sister Rogers and I are SOOO excited for general conference this weekend!!! :) It will be interesting watching it on a church pew rather than my nice couch with all my snacks and PJs, but I know it will be an awesome experience! :) I really hope you all will be able to listen to some of it atleast! I know that the prophet and apostles receive revelation directly from Heavenly Father for us individually. It's the best! :)

Well, I hope everyone is having an amazing Monday and that this email finds you happy and well! :)

Fall is in the Air!! :)

Hey! :)

The first day of Fall was a few days ago, and it was 90 degrees! Yikes! But I can tell it is getting a little cooler here! There is a nice breeze usually! Too bad I'm missing those fall leaves though! :( This week I learned a lot about faith. You know there is a reason it is the first principle of the gospel! Without faith and charity we have nothing! So my commitment to everyone is to go read Ether 12 :) Missionaries are taught to ask direct questions, such as, "Will you read Ether 12?" When we ask direct questions we usually get a direct answer! So in your own missionary work, try to ask direct questions. And also have faith! Brenda once taught me that if you don't have faith in yourself then you aren't trusting in God either! I love that and have never forgotten it! And remember, faith without works is dead ;)

This week was pretty good! :) We found a new investigator! I love her! Her name is Pamela, and she is from Lima, Peru! :) She is so cute. She was just sitting on a bench outside our apartment one night, and we talked to her for like an hour and walked her home! Then an RM in the ward came and taught her with us because he spoke Spanish :) I am learning more of Spanish phrases because we meet so many Spanish speaking people! It's insane!

We spent a lot of our week cleaning out our area book. Which basically means visiting former investigators and potential investigators found a long time ago. And we did quite a bit of tracting! We seem to be finding more open people, which is exciting! :) We also got to visit some families who are less active, so it was good. We did yard work for Don and Sue like always! Don is reading the Book of Mormon now, but just really struggling with his faith :( We are just praying that he will get answers to his prayers because it is basically up to him now! He just needs to take that leap of faith! We also helped another guy with yard work! He said he would come to church since we helped him, but he didn't :(

We had to say goodbye to our recent convert family the Caldwells! They moved :( So that was sad. But Christina and Alex are doing well! I had a little bit of a rougher week I guess. I just over think things! So I felt like I should ask for a priesthood blessing. Our ward mission leader gave me one after church yesterday, and it was just what I needed! I have felt so much better ever since! The priesthood is so real and is truly the power of God restored to the earth through a living prophet! I love it! :) Speaking of living prophets!!! Ahhh!!! :) Conference is sooo soon!! :) We are so excited! Like counting down the days! And the relief society conference is this week! :) Yay!! :) Except super weird that conference is at noon and two here... Oh well!

I hope you have an amazing week! Don't forget that you have a Heavenly Father who loves you! And a missionary in Florida who loves you too! :)

Love, Sister Lowry

PS: Can you believe it's been five months? Wow!!

Charity Never Faileth...

 

A kid we talked to on the street let us hold his bird :). 

It's name was Gas...the kid was atheist. :(

Hey all!

"True christianity is love in action. There is no better way to manifest love for God than to show an unselfish love for your fellow men. That is the spirit of missionary work." -Pres. David O. McKay

Doing yard work!  :)  Our matching shirts are from this amazing frozen yogurt place!

 

Charity is seriously the most important thing ever. If you don't show your love for someone, you aren't going to get anywhere. Every single Christlike attribute links back to charity. That is probably the most imporatant thing I've learned so far. I don't know if anyone reads my blog that this will go on, but if anyone who does is considering a mission, you MUST go!! It is the best experience ever. There is nothing more important you could do than serve the Lord. And it is such a blessing to do that and that only for 18-24 months. Not to mention it gets you out of school for a bit! I sure am happy I'm not in Kendra's shoes taking a chemistry and biology test in the same week! Yikes!

We found a turtle in the road :)

 

Florida wildlife.  These birds are everywhere here!

 

Anyway, we had a good week! :) It was freakin hot, we didn't have the car, I am so sore from biking so much, and I wrecked again. Except this time I was carrying a huge tupperware thing full of our left overs from dinner! Don't worry, it stayed closed! :) but a car did have to slam on it's brakes so they didn't run me over... :\ Don't worry, I'm fine! And now we have the car. So I should be safe for 7 days.
 

My cute companion Sister Rogers and me :)

 

This week we got to feed some ducks in one of the billion little lakes they have everywhere. I was so fun and relaxing! There was a lady there one night and I started talking to her. She seemed kinda down, but I just talked to her about her family and job and church and stuff. She opened up a lot and fed the ducks with us. Before she left she said that she was really thankful that we stopped and talked to her. She said she was dreading it at first because she went on a walk to get away from people and was "in a mood" and knew we were missionaries and would try to be friendly, but that it was just what she needed to talk to us! :) It made me feel so good that I had helped someone out. Charity again!
 

A quick stop at the temple before a meeting! :)

 

We got to visit a less active woman last night who has a husband and son who is a rockstar at karate! Usually she just talks with us and we share a scripture, but this time the husband and son joined us! :) I think it was because we got to know them and watched some of his karate videos with them! Hm, what to do you, love again! It reminded me of watching Brady's wrestling videos all the time! This kid was just like Brady. "How'd you do at your tournament?" "Pretty good, I took two firsts and two seconds." Haha it made me feel at home! :)
 

 Temple tour with Alex & Christina.  They loved it! 

 

We found someone to help us teach the Ko family English! :) She is a less active woman who lived in Japan and used to teach the children there English! :) We were praying so hard for someone who knew Japanese then I remembered that they had lived there! :) God answers prayers! :) Mormon chapter 9 ;) Also, the Holt family came to church yesterday! :) So that was exciting!

 

District Preparation Day!

 

We got to help Don and Sue again this week and had a pretty good lesson with them! Don had a ton of questions but he is such a deep thinker that they are ones that are hard to address so they don't really matter! He is such a talker too so we just listened! And Sue would just laugh and interupt every once in awhile ha. They are coming around I think :)

I made Sister Roger's take her nasty medicine!

 

Her new medicine was even worse!

 

We have still just been doing a ton of finding stuff! And sometimes it is really tough. I often feel like asking the "Why does missionary work have to be so hard?" question, but then Elder Holland's voice comes into to head from an aweome talk he gave. "It wasn't easy for Jesus Christ, what makes you think it should be easy for you?" And he goes on to talk about how we get to walk shoulder to shoulder with Christ in this work. It is so true. I have never felt closer to my Savior! It's amazing! :)

Well, I hope all is well and that y'all are loving the fall season! I am missing it! We are still in the 90's till about Halloween I hear! Thanks for all your love and support and prayers! I pray for you every night!

Love, Sister Lowry :)

 

 

Christina's baptism! :)

 

Alex & Christina's wedding!

 

Twinners!

 

Alex and Christina's rings!

 



I tied like 80 of these burlap bows for a wedding reception. 

Guess cheerleading did me some good.  Haha!  :)

 

 

I'm A Mormon

Hi I'm K'Loni

I'm a Mormon. I grew up in Cedar City, Utah. I attend Brigham Young University.

 

 

 

 

About Me

I moved away from home to go to college last fall. It has been really hard being away from my family and my hometown, but I have learned to love it and found ways to make it easier. In my spare time when I'm not studying I like to watch movies, take naps, bake, talk, exercise, and read.

 

Why I am a Mormon

I am a Mormon first because I was born to parents who are Mormon. Growing up, it was because of them. But, as I got older, I am a Mormon for myself now. Gaining my own testimony made it so much more real to me how true this church is. I know that this is the only true church and that we have a true living prophet and apostles that lead and guide us today, which helps me continue to follow the gospel. I have felt my prayers answered for many things, including how true the Book of Mormon is, and that also keeps me following the gospel of the Mormon church. I know that my Savior lives and loves me, and that is the best reason to be a Mormon to me.

 

Personal Stories

My mom died in March of 2012. I was a senior in high school, and the oldest of the three kids. It was a challenge for not only my family, but many more, as my mom was a teacher at a local elementary school. Everyone wondered how me and my family were doing so well. With the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation, we knew that we would be able to all be resurrected and be able to see my mom again. We know that families are forever, and that my mom's spirit is around us all the time. The Holy Ghost has never stopped doing it's job as the comforter for me and my family. I couldn't imagine dealing with the death of a loved-one without this gospel. I know that it can help anyone who must deal with death.

 

How I live my faith

I have a calling in my ward that is sometimes difficult, but I still love it. I love to do my visiting teaching so I can get to know other girls in my ward and help them in any way possible. Since I go to BYU I get to live my faith everyday with the people around me that have the same beliefs. I love being able to serve in any way I can.

 

Anyone Know Japanese?? ;)

Hello! :)

So good news, the members of the ward are doing so much better! We have been setting dates with them to have someone to share the gospel with, and they are getting excited and hopefully good things will be coming of it soon! :)

 

"We have a mission in the world. Each man, each woman, each child who has grown to understanding or to the years of accountability, ought to be qualified to preach the truth." -Pres. Joseph F. Smith :)

 

So, my companion is finally healthy! Yay! :) And we rocked this last week! We taught way more lessons that we have since we've been here. And we found a new investigator! Which was much needed because Christina got confirmed yesterday! :) Her name is Irma, and we are meeting with her on Saturday :) Only problem, I have the stupid head cold that everyone is getting!! >:( So I'm pretty mad about that. I have done so good this whole time with not getting sick! But I just keep telling myself what dad always told me... "You don't have time to get sick!!" ;)

Well, this week we had exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders. That went well and we learned how we can make each of our contacts count more! :) We also had ZTM (Zone Training Meeting), which was amazing of course! It's always nice to get some insights from other missionaries and to have that spiritual boost! However, it can sometimes make me feel inadequate, but I think that is just Satan putting thoughts into my head... Anyway! I had to give a spiritual thought on a positive attitude! I used one of my favorite quotes since like freshmen year... "Out of all the things I wear, my expression is the most important!" :) The missionaries in my zone got a kick out of that because they know I'm like obsessive about my jewelry and such!

So we got a media referral this week! Which means someone puts a name in on mormon.org, and we get a text saying to go visit them! It is a Japanese family with the name of Ko. They just moved from Tokyo and are looking for jobs. They know a little English, but barely enough to communicate! Ahh I was just wishing Brenda or Comstock were here soooo bad!! We really want to teach them. They were learning English from the missionaries in Japan, but we don't know how we can really teach them English without knowing Japanese? Yeah, it's a tough situation! But they are super nice people. Just pray for us and them that somehow we can work something out! Please! :)

Overall, it was a good week! Just went by super slow... We got caught in the rain twice! And it's still super hot. But, like I said, we taught more lessons and met a lot of people and the members are getting more involved! :) So as I've mentioned before, the good always outweighs the bad! :) Heavenly Father really does always calculate everything to bless us, as my trainer always said! Even if it takes a while to see that! Patience and a positive attitude are key! :) I love you all and hope school, work, etc. are going well! Have a great week! :)

Love,

Sister Lowry

Wreckless

Hello!

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day! :) The library was closed so we are emailing today. And I forgot a quote :( So I will do it next week.  Sorry! Actually, I just found one in my planner. It's more for us missionaries, but it can apply :)

"If you don't plan well, you plan to fail!"

I love that because I am a big planner. I love being organized.

So, it was a pretty rough week! Sister Rogers went to the doctor on Thursday finally and she had a sinus infection. So she got a z-pack and was down for 2 days. But, Wednesday we got to do service for Don and Sue again. The Lord is softening their hearts slowly and we are really hoping to start teaching them soon! I just need to remember to be patient. You know me! Sue even made us pork chops and apple sauce! My first time trying them together! :) Oh, and Tuesday was a good day because Sister Rogers wrecked twice on her bike. Oh my gosh it was so funny! We laugh so so much. It's what keeps me going some days! :)

But the weekend was AMAZING!! :) Saturday morning was Christina and Alex's wedding! :) It was like perfect. The Relief Society brought some snacks for a little reception thing after and everything worked out great! :) We also met a guy on the street who let us hold his parrot :) But he was atheist :(

Then Christina got baptized on Sunday! :) It was so neat. But, the water heater in the church broke! Satan will literally do everything he can do stop the work from progressing! But Christina was so tough she still just went for it! :) Also, 2 less active women came to church! :) It was so amazing! Sometimes getting inactive people to church is more exciting than having investigators at church haha! We also went to 3 birthday parties this weekend. Yeah, we're popular, I know. But all that cake and ice cream was not good for my figure...ugh :(

Yesterday was good because we got to catch up on letter writing! :) We also got to go visit the Holt Family. I believe I've mentioned them before. They are such nice people! They said they are probably going to come to church for the fellowship, which is great! :) Their girls are so cute and the family just feels like family to me kinda haha! But, on the way from the Holt's to our dinner appointment (we were already 30 minutes late) I had a little accident on my bike... Ok maybe a little more than "little" accident. It was more like a somersault over the handlebars. Man it hurt so bad. And I was going so fast. And there was a car right in front of me! The guys face was priceless! I would have paid to see me do that! But remember when I played soccer how I would like roll out of a fall and just stand back up? Yeah, that's what happened! So I got out of the road and Sister Rogers was laughing so hard. So was I. I was expecting my clothes to be all torn and stuff but I was just a little bloody. I hit my head and my back/shoulder. Good thing I was wearing a helmet and my backpack! They saved me! So I'm really sore today, but I'll be fine. Oh, we were near our ward mission leader's house so his wife patched me up and took us to dinner. Yeah, it was all kind of a blurrrrrrrr.

Well, that's about it! Don't forget to be happy! Attitude is literally EVERYTHING! No matter how cheesy that sounds! :) I love you all! The church is true! God answers our prayers and protects His missionaries (even though I heard about a couple deaths recently, so so sad :( and miracles really do happen every day! :)

Love, Sister Lowry