Transfers Bring Opportunities for Growth - Aug 1, 2016

Saludos tiernos a todos!

Soo...Elder R**** won't be staying with me another transfer (darn it). Why? Well firstly, because he's headed to Villa Mella. Secondly, because I am no longer district leader here. Why? Because I'm going to train (insert deer-in-headlights here). So yeah,tomorrow morning I will meet my kid around 9ish in Gazcue at the mission office. This is going to be interesting.

I am better (I just had some virus thingy, turns out).

(Some one asked him how keeping covenants has helped him teach the gospel.) With regard to keeping covenants: keeping covenants IS how you preach the gospel. The Missionary Handbook starts out by saying that the rules and standards therein have been approved by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. Thus, since all things that come from the mouths of those 15 men when moved upon by the Spirit is scripture (see D&C 68:3-4; see 1-6 if you want the missionary-motivator application), the rules and standards in the Missionary Handbook are commandments. Wherefore, they fall under the higher covenants of the temple endowment, not to mention our baptismal covenant to keep the commandments. If one is not exactly obedient as a missionary, one cannot have the Spirit, and if we receive not the Spirit we can not and SHALL not teach (D&C 42:14). It is almost frustrating sometimes how easy it is as a missionary to lose the Spirit's guidance. You leave the house late, you don't exercise in the morning, you don't follow a prompting to change your lesson plan--whatever the problem may be, the Spirit is out the door. It is an effort at first to keep covenants, or so it seems. You can't let yourself get loose or lazy about anything. However, as time goes on, you recognize how much the you really need the Spirit, and you strive to be obedient out of that need, and out of a profound and honest love for God and for all men.

Oh, so, miracle for the week: Tuesday we went to see the mission doctor, since I was mostly better but still having problems and because Elder R***** had some kind of heartburn or acid reflux problem that was making it nigh on impossible for him to eat (from the pain). We left and decided to stop by McDonalds on the way home, since it was around lunchtime. There we get in line to order our food, and a lovely older couple from the States asks us to come over and sit by them to help them translate between a family they were visiting with. Then the guy came back over and bought us our food. Then we sat down and started sharing. The two are from the Idaho Falls area, and they had gotten back a year or two ago from a mission in the West Indies. They had come to Santo Domingo to see the sealings of three families they had met on their mission. In the meantime, they were sitting with a Haitian family who their son had baptized on his mission to Haiti over 11 years ago. This family consisted of a father (still in Haiti--the rest of the family lives in Boca Chica in the DR), a mother, an RM, two soon-to-be missionaries (the ward mission leader of Boca Chica and his sister), and two younger kids. The ward mission leader had just returned from a SOY encampment (the outdoors latino version of EFY) as a counselor. We helped translate between the old couple and the family, and it was really, really special. The Spìrit was super strong there, and there were some really tender smiles shared.

I don't have too much else on my mind at the moment. I love you guys! Be safe, and enjoy the Rowe reunion! Keep striving for unity in everything (D&C 38:27). Disfruten su semana, y nos vemos aquí pronto.

Con cariño,

Élder Rowe