April 28, 2014

Dearest Family,

It's Hot. I'm not really sure what the temperature is but it's been really hot this week. Sometimes it's hard to sleep which makes for some good star gazing at 2 am until you get eaten by mosquitoes and then still can't sleep because you have a bunch of mosquito bites. On the bright side, I washed my sheets last week and so they don't stink anymore but actually smell really good (Don't ask how long it's been since I washed them last). Our water is pumped into a tour and so when the sun hits it, the water heats up and in the very moment a cold shower is the only thing you desire, you get a hot one instead. I was grateful though because it's been a long time since I've had a hot shower. I love this place though. My kabahays (roommates) are amazing, Elder F. is getting the hang of things and the L's are like family. Brother L. has taught me so much. He is one of the smartest men I know. I am happy. I am content with where I am, and confident in where I am going. I read a talk last week about the being the "Fourth Missionary." It's by Lawrence E Corbridge. It talks about Four types of missionaries. The Fourth is the one that submits all. Consecrates all. In the end, the way of the Fourth missionary is the easiest. The fourth missionary truly lets the Lord mold them. This has been my goal this past week. To submit completely. Be Obedient and work hard and efficient, earnestly striving to improve and then the Lord does the rest. The Language is improving and I feel the Lord working through me more and more as I improve in all aspects.

We met a family this week. The La's family (Sister B. and Brother T. and their grandson I.). was a referral from the B.  family. They are great. Their son was most likely killed but they haven't yet recovered the body and they are super interested in the Church. As we taught them for the first time we were talking about our purpose we were able to give them comfort about their son. Our first time teaching was actually our second time talking to them and we had give them a Plan of Salvation pamphlet. Sister B. was very impressed that we are serving for our Church at such a young age. She asked a little more about what we do and why we're here and we shared Mosiah 28:3 with her. I told her that we are here for their salvation. Brother T.  is still thinking but Sister B. will be baptized at the end of may or beginning of June hopefully.

B. and L. have been super busy and so we have had to push their baptism back a little bit. They are still doing super well though. They fish together for a living and so when they are out on the Ocean fishing, while they wait for the nets to fill they read from the Book of Mormon! I was so excited when they told us that. I can't wait for them to be baptized.

Sister M. is doing well also, despite persecution she continues to investigate although she is not quite ready to be baptized. We will continue to work with her. Please continue to pray for her and that her neighbors and relatives will soften their hearts that they might be convinced of the wicked traditions of their fathers that they might escape the chains of Satan which trap them in darkness. Some of the things that they have said to her break my heart. People can say whatever they want to us and it's whatever and I may not even understand. But when people persecute my investigators, my patience is tried a little more. I know that it will strengthen her though if she will make the decision to be baptized. There is power in prayer. And the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion.

I love you all so much. Thanks for your emails. Thanks for your love and support. I feel your prayers. Keep the faith and may peace be the journey. Never pass up an opportunity to share the Gospel.

Love Elder Lowe

D&C84:88

This is a photo with Elder Banks, General Authority Emeritus, who went over to Leyte and Samar after the Typhoon Haiyan (Yolonda.) He spent three months touring the mission, inspecting missionary apartments and approving living conditions for the elders and sisters to return. He saw every elder and sister to their new apartments as they returned to the Tacloban Mission. He's 82 years old and spent three months of 14 hour days, six days and over 12,000 miles from one end of the mission to the next. He spent two hours with families of missionaries from the Tacloban Mission in a special fireside this evening (4/27/2014), sharing his experiences and showing pictures from his travels. Although he is "Emeritus" Status, he's still a special witness of Jesus Christ and share a powerful testimony of the Savior's love for each and everyone of us. -Gordon Lowe

 

Walk In Newness of Life Letter 4/22/2014

Dearest Family,

It has been a good week here in Libagon. The internet was down yesterday and so we are emailing today instead. The work is tough but I love it so much. I really feel and can see the Lord molding me, as well as other missionaries into better people. I am grateful to be here serving the Lord. The Greatest blessings in this Church truly come from our service to others. Even on the days where I feel like I can't understand the peoples needs or don't know how to help them, the Lord always provides a way.

Our investigators are doing well. We only taught them once this week and they weren't able to come to Church but they continue to grow in their conversion. My biggest concern for them is their Recent Convert neighbors who aren't being the best examples to say the least. We are working with them and trying to help them though. Sometimes I feel like they are better examples to their neighbors than their neighbors are to them and they aren't even members yet. Here where people are so poor it's a real challenge helping people understand the blessings that come from making sacrifices to attend church and keeping the Sabbath day holy. Conversion, however is a process even after we are baptized. This is why it is critical that investigators and recent converts have the support of active members. Assuming these investigators come to church this coming Sunday we will plan on having their baptism on the 2nd of May. I am so excited for them.

The Baptism of Sister A. was really good. It was such a privilege to baptize her and it was even better to experience her confirmation. One of the speakers at the baptismal service talked about how when we are baptized we walk in newness of life. I really like this concept. Each time we partake of the sacrament as we renew our covenants we walk in "newness of life" and repentance must always precede participation in the Sacrament as it must precede Baptism. We must never forget our covenants and we have been reminded of that time and time again by the general Authorities and officers of the Church. 

In Chapter 8 of "Preac My Gospel" Their is a quote that talks about goal setting and how if we don't master the principle of goal setting we will reach a ripe old age and have only reached a small part of our potential. One thing our mission president has stated in our mission vision is Beginning with an End in mind. I have begun to apply this in the small things as well as the big things and encourage you all to do the same. Set goals of what you want to accomplish whenever you do something. For me it is things as small as personal study to things as big as the end of the mission. 

I know this Church is True. I know Christ stands at it's head. It is His Church. I know that my Redeemer lives. Happy Easter.

Love Elder Ethan Adams Lowe

I'll Teach, She'll Testify 04/14/2014

My Dearest Family,

Question of the week: Is "Holy Week" Really Holy? Or just an excuse to party? We shall see. The Challenge of training continues but things are going well. Elder F.and I are both growing from this. 

I am so excited for the baptism of our investigators on May 3. They are basically members already. The brother is a fisherman that I can see as a strong leader in the Church. Brother L.  and I were talking about how strikingly this situation resembles Peter in the bible. The Lord did amazing things with Peter. I believe he will do amazing things with this brother as well. Whenever we visit them I feel so much love from them. We might as well be their own grandchildren. They told us the other day that if we weren't there, that it would be okay because the brother would teach the lesson and then the Sister would testify. That comment made my day. It makes me so happy to see them becoming spiritually self-reliant. Sometimes I feel like they are better examples than their neighbors who are also members...

We are also preparing for the baptism of Sister A. this coming Saturday. Sister A. is 15 years-old. She reminds me of a Character off of the Sandlot or something like that. She has a really spunky personality and despite persecution, she has a strong desire to be baptized. We have been teaching her with her aunt  who isn't quite ready to accept the invitation to be baptized. Her aunt has changed a lot over the course of our teaching though and I look forward to helping her resolve her concerns. Last night her and Sister A. came over while Sister A had her baptismal interview. While Sister A. was being interviewed Elder F. and I as well as a family there talked with her aunt and she told us about some of the persecution. We then sang together from the Hymn book. It was such a neat experience singing together and bearing testimony through song. I hope that she was able to gain strength and courage to overcome persecution and opposition. Unfortunately, she was unable to come to General Conference and listen to the words of our Prophets and Apostles about persecution and opposition but we were happy to relay their advice. Opposition and persecution truly do accompany truth. That truth has been made evident as I have served in the mission field.

I really enjoyed General Conference. Very basic and simple. Keep Covenants, be true to what you know. I Loved President Uchtdorfs talk about Gratitude. One of the best ways to cope with the stresses here in the Mission field is to have a grateful heart. The Lord truly has helped me so much.

I love you all and look forward to hearing from you each week. Keep moving forward. Keep the faith and may peace be the Journey. 

In Alma 17 when the sons of Mosiah and Alma cross paths it says that their joy was added to because they were still brothers in the Lord(verse 2). As I serve in the mission and as you all serve at home we are all growing closer and more like our Savior so that when we meet again we will still be Brethren or Family in the Lord. 

Love Elder Ethan Lowe

Letter 04/07/14

Wow, What a week. It started out pretty stressful but got better as the week moved on. Training is overwhelming at times but I'm just trying to take things one thing at a time. Elder F. and I are starting to get used to each other now. He told me I need to be less strict. I told him he needed to be obedient. He's starting to get what this is all about and is teaching me a lot in the process. I am excited for the weeks to come. There is much more to learn and many more things to be experienced. There was one evening I was feeling and apparently looking pretty depressed and Brother L. reminded me to Cheer up and that life was to be enjoyed. He's right. So I changed my attitude and the rest of the week was much better.

Our investigators are doing well. B. and L. are the grandparents of Sister M. and they are planning on being baptized on May 3. I am so excited for them. We read 2 Nephi 31 with them this week and it was really neat teaching them more about the doctrine of baptism and about enduring to the end. They understand this Gospel so well. They are going to make excellent members. I love seeing the smile on their faces when they see us upon arriving at Church. I can honestly see Brother B. becoming an effective local church leader in the future. They are very poor, but they have what they need and they are rich in spirit.

I love you all. I love hearing from you. Read 1 Nephi 8 this week. It's a good chapter. Really strive to apply it to your lives. I love how in verse 8 it says many hours. Remember this life isn't a sprint to the finish but a race of endurance.

Keep the Faith and may peace be the journey.

Love Elder Lowe

 

(Another note from Ethan Lowe talking about being interviewed. You can see him starting at about 5:30 in the clip.)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1CIHHnG2Ag&feature=share&list=PL-2ihKjhqm0W8pdAfRl743TiiCsy3AIke

Hey People,

Pretty sweet world Report eh? That's cool that they used that clip. One of those people they talked to was D. B. He is from Palo and lost family members in the storm. He was our ward mission leader in Palo Ward... 

We will watch Conference this coming week. I am so excited. Hopefully the typhoon this week won't be big enough to cause a brown out. We haven't heard much about it so I'm not too worried.

Letter 03/31/2014

My dearest Family,

I love hearing from you all. It has been a crazy week here in the mission. These past six weeks have been some of the best six weeks of the mission. We got some good things started and witnessed many miracles in this area. This week started out quite normal. P-day on Monday, District meeting on Tuesday. On Wednesday, while we were doing language study, we got a call from our zone leader. I answered the phone and he informed me that he was calling about transfer announcements. Due to the recent reopening of the mission, we didn't expect that there would be many transfers. He proceeded to tell me that my companion would be transferring and that I would be training a new missionary. As he told me these things my face just went blank as I replied, "okay... ah. okay. okay. I'll let him know. Thanks. bye." After I hung up I couldn't say anything. My companion came over and put his arm around me and then when I finally came to, I told him the news. He took it a lot better than I did. He told me he was super excited that I would be training. Because of the way I reacted he thought something had happened to my family or something. I was so nervous and scared and well, not ready to train. I have only been in a Cebuano area for six weeks and now I will be on my own with the language. Now with all that said, I know that my mission president is called of God and that this will be a good experience for me. God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies those who are called and I know he will do the same thing for me. 

In that same day my companion packed up his things, we went and said good bye to a family and then we went to Sogod to spend the night so that we could get a van early in the morning with the other missionaries in the zone that were transferring. We left at about 3:30 AM Thursday morning and traveled up to the transfer point in Tacloban. There is still a lot of damage but things are moving in Tacloban. The people continue to press on through life. 

Whenever a new batch of missionaries come into the mission they are taken to McAurthor park to meet their trainer. It was weird being back, the scenery is a lot different now. As part of the program, the mission presidents wife read an article about MacAurthor and how he returned. Then she talks about how Jesus Christ will return. This time it was cool being there though because... We returned as well. The work of the Lord continues to move forward in this part of the Lord's vineyard in preparation for the Second coming or Return of Jesus Christ. A miracle happened as each of us stepped of the plane, back into this mission. 

My new Companion is from the Philippines. He speaks Tagolog and Ilocano. 0 Cebuano. I can understand tagolog a little still but It's really hard to speak it now because I have switched to Cebuano. He doesn't speak much English either. I am going to learn and grow so much from training him. I am striving to love and serve him and help him become an obedient missionary. He doesn't like me very much yet but he'll come around.

On Saturday, our investigator who has been waiting to be baptized since before the Typhoon was baptized at last along with two others in the other Elders' area. It was really neat. I had the opportunity to confirm her as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints the next day. It was incredible. Hopefully her mother and her grandparents will enter the waters of baptism soon as well. Her grandpa is progressing super well and attributed his success fishing to his listening to the Elders. He told another brother that the reason he caught so many fish was because he listened to us. I am excited to see them progress. They have a date to be baptized on the 19 of April. 

I love you all so much. I am so grateful for your love and support. Keep moving forward. Keep the Faith and may peace be the journey. Never pass up an opportunity to preach the Gospel. We are Disciples of Jesus Christ.

Love Elder Lowe

3 Nephi 5:13

When The Savior Comes To Visit Letter 03/23/2014

Akong Mahigumang Pamilya:

Napasalamaton ako para sa inyong mga ampo ug mga huna-huna! Ganahan ako nagbasa sa imong mga emails. Malipayon ako nga mga butang didto sa USA ang nindot. 

It has been another excellent week here in Southern Leyte. It rained a lot. There were a few days that I came home soaking wet. But being wet really doesn't bother me anymore. As long as my scriptures stay dry, I'm good. My white handbook has gotten completely soaked so many times. It's still functional though. I dropped it in the dagat (ocean) the other day on accident while we were crossing a river (I think I sent a picture last week). 

We have continued to work with the B. family. They are amazing. Brother B. might be leaving for a few months for work and he told us that he was going to miss us. He's been in prison several times but you would never know it. This Gospel has changed his life so much. I am so happy they are returning back to activity. They told us this past week that when ever we come visit it's like the Savior is visiting. I felt a little unworthy of the compliment but I'm grateful for the spirit that is present in our visits. One of their daughter's is nine but wasn't baptized and so now she needs to be taught by the missionaries before she is baptized. We taught a simple yet powerful lesson on prayer. I learned so much about prayer as the spirit taught the lesson. It is amazing how the most simple lessons can have such a strong spirit. Afterwards, we were talking about how simply we taught and asked why don't we teach like that all the time? 

Brother E. is doing well. His parents won't let him come to Church but hopefully he will be able to come next month when we are in Sogod and he also wants to come to General Conference. Like I've said before, he has so many questions and does a lot of research but this week when we taught him, he didn't seem to have as many questions. He seems to be starting to understand or rather accept the Gospel. We hope he can now continue to accept these things and become converted. 

We had Zone Training meeting this past Tuesday. I love this zone right now. Our zone leaders are really good and after everything that has happened we are all really close with each other. The spirit was incredible. At one point of the training we were talking about Mosiah 3:19. It says to PUT OFF the natural man and then it says to BECOME a saint through the Atonement. The first part makes reference to the cleansing power of the atonement. The Atonement allows us to put off the Natural man by allowing us to be cleansed from sin through Repentance. The Second part refers to the Enabling power of the Atonement. The Atonement enables us to become a saint. One elder made a comment that I really liked. He is a convert and you could say he had a rough upbringing. He said that it's much easier to go from bad to good then it is to go from good to better. To go from bad to good requires that we repent and stop doing bad things and start doing good things. But going from good to better is harder because we have to sometimes give up seemingly "Good" things for better things. Many General Authorities have said similar things but it was really neat when the elder said it considering his past. He is an amazing missionary to say the least. 

I love you all! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. You are always in mine! 

Keep the faith and may peace be the journey!

Love Elder Lowe

Nindot view- I took this picture just before being spotted by the children and then getting chased. 

Just have faith letter 03/17/2014

Dear Family,

I am short on time so I'll keep this one short.

It has been an amazing week here in Libagon. We had Seven Investigators at Church on Sunday and they all had a great experience. We should be having a few baptisms here in April and we have one scheduled for March 29. 

This one family we had been teaching, well they have this daughter who is nine and hasn't been baptized and so she is one of our investigators. We passed her on the street the other day and so we asked what she had been up to that day and she informed us that she was reading The Book of Mormon. It was the cutest thing. She is the most Christ-like little girl I have ever met. Even in church on Sunday she was listening so attentively to the speakers. She is a sweet heart.

Brother E. is doing well but he needs faith. He wants evidence. We have taught about faith quite a bit. He has a lot of doubts and he does a lot of research. He is still receptive and wants to know for sure that this is true. However, I think he has asked us about every big Anti Mormon doctrine there is. If you have a question about any of them let me know and I have probably studied a scripture which resolves it. We don't always answer his questions but we do study them. Pray for him to be able to change. It must be a huge sacrifice converting from a religion you have been devoted to your whole life.

We continue to teach the T. family and friends (the group of about 30). Some are progressing, some are just there. We want to separate them but people just gather and so it's hard. We almost had five of them at church but something came up and so they are coming next week instead. On our way from one of our visits with them all the kids were holding on either of my arms and all in all I think there were about 12 on each side. They almost tore me in half. I'm not joking. We ran away again, but they were more persistent in chasing us this time. We walk a lot but my running endurance has dwindled quite a bit. We only ran like 400 meters but my legs were sore the next day. 

I love this work. The Lord is helping us so much. I know this Church is true. I know this is Christ's Church. I love you all. Keep the Faith and may peace be the Journey.

Love Elder Lowe

Hebrews 8:16-18