26 December 2008

So i just talked to you all not too long ago, about 2 days ago. that was awesome im so glad that we got to speak. By the way the way to say merry christmas here is, "Vesele Vanoce!" but as you know i am doing really quite well. it was a shame that i had to have you all call earlier. It would have been neat to talk to grandpa. You can send him love from me. Im truly grateful for the conversation we had it was very uplifting for me.

This mission as you have probably noticed has changed me quite a bit. i have truly learned that charity and love are two very important things. Im trying to take upon myself the characteristics that Christ had. And as i have learned about these two in particular, charity and love, i have felt the power that these two qualities hold, especially when you show these towards others. Im having a lot of fun out here. It is harder during the holiday season to be away from home, but time moves quickly, and before i know it ill be saying that i want to go back and serve my mission again. That knowledge gives me motivation to continue on giving my all.

Let me know when you all get my package i sent. i guess it'll be sometime after you return home from grandpa's. Im currently at a loss for words of what to write or say seeing as how we just spoke. Well like this, I love you all so much i thank you for being prepared and willing to listen to the missionaries that taught you and brought you unto the gospel. If it were not for the decisions that both of you made, then i would not be here today in the czech republic. Thank you dearly for that.

Vy jste neco uzasneho a nemohu chapat jak drahocenny jste mi. Nepral bych si abych mel nejakou jinou rodinu. uz vidim jak spatne mluvim anglicky. Je to vtypny. Mam vas moc rad. You are something amazing and i cant grasp how priceless you are to me. I would not wish to have any other family.

I am already seeing how badly i speak english. its funny. I love you all so much. Take care and have fun this holiday season. s laskou___with love,your son ,morgan

15 Dec 2008 - It snows here - ALOT

Hello family of mine I hope you are all doing wonderful im really getting excited for this holiday season. It is going to be amazing. I know you all are excited for christmas and when you get to call!! And you are in luck because i have the information today, for what you will need to do to call.

But by means of the work, things are going swimmingly, i want to thank you for all your prayers. Missionary work here is going through ups and downs. In some areas missionary work is going very well, wereas in other areas it is currently struggling, nevertheless we are seeing an overall increase in baptisms here in this country. We currently have 4 baptismal dates that we are now working with in our area of Liberec. It is a lot of work, and very hectic. Im am very pleased though that the Lord has chosen my companion and i to be here to carry out this work. It is interesting to reflect back on my own life and to see and ponder about the kind of individual that i was. The Lord has truly opened my eyes to what i truly am capable of doing, i even remember how i would not dare walk in a gas station by myself to use the bathroom, because i was so shy and afraid to talk to people. But the Lord has strengthened my weaknesses and turned them into strengths, but the Lord can do this with anyone of his children. The Lord will open the eyes of those who are first willing to rise up from their beds, He is willing to give the words to speak to the person who is first willing to open his mouth. Its amazing the things that i have seen here since ive been on my mission, but nothing that i have seen is anything that could not have happened before i came out, i simply did not have the faith, nor was i willing enough to do my part. We must do our part and then the Lord does the rest.

I love you all, you have been an amazing example to me. I love your letters, they always give me the strength to continue on and to continue working. My time here is running out. I must hurry and do all i can. Im beggining to think that two years is two short....maybe ill ask for an extension...? Just Kidding mom...hehe, but i do need to work harder to accomplish the goals that i have set. I love you mnoho krat.

Here are the questions:
Questions:

How is it going with Elder Briggs? he is a great companion, loves to speak czech and really wants to learn and have success. I have been blessed with a wonderful companion.
How is his Czech? his czech is better than mine was at his age in the mission.
Have you had the Czech Food (or slovak) Halusky? yup i know how to make halusky from scratch. Ill make it when i get home.
What is your favorite Czech Food so far? Svickova definately.
Are you still having Christmas there (at the Toplansky)? on the 24th we will be at a members home, the 25th for lunch i will be at the toplansky.
Is it getting colder? much it is on average about -2 degrees celcius, not too too bad. but plenty cold for a hawaii born florida raised boy.
Has your christmas box arrived yet? not yet that i know of but im not in prague they are going to do a christmas run for all the missionaries and take all of them their packages for christmas

welll family i love you and wish you the best christmas holiday. Are whitney and Jeff coming down for the holiday? Take care of yourselves i love you so much.

Your son
Frosty the Morgan

08 Dec 2008

Well i must say that this week was a pretty decent one. I was in Prague and Brno on thursday and then on friday. that was tons of fun, it is always great to be surrounded by friends, whenever we talk to people on the streets, sometimes we will ask them what is the most important thing for them in their lives, and a lot of times we would get the answer that friendship is really important to them. I think that friendship with those people that have the same standards as we have is a really great thing to have. When a person can sit down with a great friend and discuss those things that are most important to them, that there is a truly great feeling of comfort and happiness. Surround yourself with those people that you can have this sort of relationship with, with people that you can talk to about the gospel and about the mysteries of this life and the life to come, people with whom you can talk to about families, and standards. There amoungst those people will a person feel a greater sense of self worth and greater happiness.

I love you family. time for questions:
How is everything this week? Doing very well, still pumped and ready to go.
Is everyone getting ready for Christmas? yes they are we have a gigantic christmas tree on our town square (namesti)
Are the members totally excited to see success and are they pumped about missionary work? yes they are very excited and are really getting involved.
How is your new southern boy companion? he is very nice and super great. this will be a good transfer.
What are his interests? He had a scholarship to play basketball at a private college in north carolina
What did he participate in - in school? basketball, he is very good.
What city in North Carolina is he from? Goldsberg
Do the Thorlos socks keep your feet warm? for the most part, i need new sneakers because my feet freeze in the little vans i have.
When is your next trip to the Mission Office? this tuesday
Do you feel the Christmas Spirit over there? not as much as i would at home, home is what makes christmas special not neccessarily the trees or snow or any of those things, just being home is what is awesome
How much time do you get to talk this Christmas? not sure yet probably just an hour
What are your plans for Christmas Dinner? the 24th we are with members having dinner. and the 25th we are going to be at erik and anna's for lunch!!!

Family you are amazing i love youu soo much and wish you the best this christmas. Start thinking about new years resolutions, and make plans to make them happen!!!!

Ill talk to you next week.

love your son Morgan

01 Dec 2008

Are you EXCITED!!!!!!! to know what is going to happen? So im staying in Liberec and getting a new companion. His name is Elder Briggs. He is in the same MTC group as elder Hatch, my current companion, and he is from the south, i think from North Carolina, so we are going to be having some southern blood coming into the Liberec North area which is going to be a lot of fun. Im really excited about that. From what i hear Elder Briggs is one of those good Southern Grown missionaries. This past week was very exciting. We had two baptisms, and were still able to maitain a high standard with teaching member lessons. We had 21 so we were just 9 short of last week which is a.ok in my book seeing as how we were able to help two others enter the waters of baptism. Thank you for letting me know about the letter you shared that really means a lot to me. I truly hope the members all know that they can do whatever they set theirs minds to, especially when that involves missionary work. I'll tell you something, I talked a lot about faith and fire in my last letter and how that helps to bring more people into the gospel, but there is something else they we can do to go along with that and it is called expectations. The Lord wants us to develop our skills and to be obedient unto his commandments. He has promised us over and over again that if we are obedient unto him that he with bless us with limitless numbers of blessings. We can all take those blessings he has promised us and as we are faithful and obedient, we can expext the Lord to do things. This past week as missionaries as we have been obedient and faithful, and we have gone out finding, expecting fully that he will lead us to those who are prepared, expecting fully that we will find that person and teach them the gospel and invite them unto christ, and that they will feel the holy ghost and except the invitation, and i testify to you that it has worked that we have been led.

The Lord always, and with all my heart i say this, He will always keep his end of the promise. As i have relied on the Lord, i have never been let down, not even once. With sacrifice comes victory, and with the test of faith comes the opening of heavens and an outpouring of miracles and blessings. I know with all my heart that God lives and that he is truly the Father of our spirits, and that he being connected with the deepest points of our hearts knows how to give good gifts to his children, to those that are worthy and faithfully expecting. Expect miracles, but be willing to show forth faith. Before the miracle comes though, be prepared to struggle, to cross paths with the difficult, to see your faith tried, but when that comes continue on and endure with the full expectation that the miracle is waiting just around the corner, and i promise with all my heart with all faith in the Lord that the miracle is just around the corner. Never give up hope, never lose faith.Im learning more here than i could have ever imagined. Life is an interesting experience. There are always new canyons around every corner and great mountains to climb. The trick i have learned is to never stop climbing. The canyons can be deep and hope can look like the small twinkle of light at the end of the tunnel, but never stop climbing, the longer you climb the more distance you put between yourself and the great adversary, and the closer you get at ever step at every foothold, to our Lord and Savior in the kingdom of our Father.

Our questions for Morgan:

Turkey Bowl:Were you the QB of the team? nope i ran and played a little line defense.

How did you all celebrate Turkey day? We ate together as a district at a nicer restaurant

How cool that Elder Rust was playing too. Is he in your zone? Yeah he is, it was so funny because he was so excited when we asked him to play. Funny Funny man I like him.

I love you mom I love you dad I love you whitney and jeff
Im thankful for you prayers for me and the people here.
Dodrz (Endure)
your son and missionary,Morgan

24 Nov 2008

Hey Family So i must Say that i have just had the best week on mission by far. I saw many miracles! like actual miracles happen. Stuff where i was just like standing there with my mouth open with no idea how it happened! Crazy those will be stories i will hold onto forever. You will hopefully get two of them in voice files today. So this week was amazing. So last week as i was turning in numbers elder Mack our Zone Leader challenged us to teach 10 member lessons this week. Now let me fill you in on the size of the challenge that he had given us. The every week average for a companionship is about 4-5 and those are good numbers, the standards of excellence or mission standards are to get 4 lessons a week with members. So of course i accepted elder macks challenge and threw it right back at him to also get 10 member lessons. So we went to work setting up meetings with members to be present. Monday we had 2 already so we were looking good. Tuesday we had three in the plan, but all three fell out and that is when we had a tough day but we saw a miracle when we went tracting and found a family that is totally prepared, they let us in & we shared a message and they loved it and became new investigators. We saw them twice this week, they have a 4 yr old girl and two 4 month old twins, boy and girl. Awesome family!!! The dad originally studied to be a priest, but then met his wife, I talk about it in the voice files.

Oh yeah i gave the other elders in the district the challenge as well and they accepted so we worked together a ton during this week. But yeah long story short not only did both companionships get 10 member lessons, but both companionships got 15 member lessons putting us at a total of 30 member lessons and 6 other lessons!!!!!!! It was 100 percent amazing!!! I've never seen anything like it. I don't know why the Lord loves us so much, but for some reason he does!!! He helped us so much, I am blown away. it is so unreal what two very powerful things can do when you put them together. Faith + Fire = Miracles , I'm not kidding it was so Crazy! I really did see miracles with my own eyes this week. And to add to it, We only have 9 active members that we can teach with during the week!! I think each one of them at least taught with us twice, some of them even more than that. Then, to top it all off We challenged two more people in our area to baptism for the 3rd of January, and they excepted giving our little city 5 baptismal dates, And all 5 of them were at church as well as two other investigators giving us 7 investigators at church. I'm really having trouble knowing what i should think about all this.

In the Zone we have 7 missionary companionships and all together the zone taught 54 Lessons with members, our district of 2 companionships carried the whole Zone!! Ok but we have to be Humble, The Lord has opened the windows of heaven on this Mission, he has raised our sights by showing us that we can do more, that we can find people, and that we can bring children unto Christ no matter where we are in the world. They say this area of the world is hard to baptize in, I would say otherwise. All we need is to raise our sights and mix Faith with Fire! Anything is possible. We are about to have three baptisms this coming saturday and it is going to be amazing! This branch had gone through a period where they had not seen a baptism for 3 or 4 years straight. They are about to see three and then a following two next year. At the beginning of the transfer we told the mission that we would for sure get two baptisms. Well we are doing that and even more two it, we are going to get four!! The stereotype has been broken, this is no longer a mission where baptisms are hard to find, this is becoming a mission where baptismal fonts are hard to find!!! We are going to Prague for the baptisms because we dont have anywhere to do it here in Liberec.

We found 10 new investigators this week as a district! The thing that pleases me most right now, is the fact that it isnt just the district leaders companionship that is making all these things happen, it is both companionships in the district that are equally stepping up to the plate. It has been awesome thanks for your prayers.

Mom's questions:
Are your shoes staying warm and waterproof? yup they are doing good but my regular sneakers arent
Dad and I think you may need to buy some warmer shoes or boots for the winter - what do you think? i should be ok with the dress shoes.
Have you heard from Karel and how he is doing in Olomouc? (if you get his address, we would love to write to him) he is doing amazing and has a surprise talent for playing the piano , so he received the calling of branch pianist.!!! so cool
Are you homesick at all? It is ok if you aren't, I guess we just raised a well adjusted young man. And you are even doing it without your blankie. I'm not too homesick, of course i miss my family, but I'm having a great time here.

Dad's questions:
How cold is it now? So Cold 2 below 0 Celsius
Are you freezing yet? pretty close.

We've seen pictures through one of the webcams and it looks like a lot of snow. Is it like a snowy village like you see on the postcards or is it just like snow back here and wet and cold? It is Like snowy villages in the postcards.
Do you need more thermal long-johns, scarves, gloves, etc? I can get most stuff here the exchange rate is pretty good right now.

Are you still having fun? Having a blast

Well i must go i hope the letter helps i had such a good time. I love you so much .

Your son Morgan Nowland

17 Nov 2008

Well i tell you what we just had an amazing week in the district! we taught 28 lessons between the two companionships 15 of those lessons were with members! That is an all time record for this area since it has been in existence. the closest this district has ever come to that number of member lesson and just lessons period was two weeks ago when the whole district together taught 23 lessons 11 of which were with members present. Before this transfer the highest amount of lessons taught together as a district was i think like 15. 6 with members. So this district is flying to new heights, and none of that is because of me, it is all because of the missionaries in this district. They have new vision, aim, and faith. The Lord is blessing this area of his vineyard, and i am so thankful to be apart of it. WE have three baptismal dates in the area right and are looking to add two more to that this coming week, so we will see how that goes. We have this coming week and then one more after it before transfers so get excited! Most likely i will be staying here in Liberec but we will see what happens. Our district right now is the youngest district in the mission all four of us being here for less than a year. It is so amazing what faith and fire can do when you put the two of them together. Being here and seeing the success that we are having is such a great testimony to me that it doesnt matter where an individuals language skill is at, it matters where you faith is and where your motivation is. Amazing things are happening in this area and we are looking to do even more. We have planned as a district to have 20 member lessons 10 from each companionship. It is going to be sweet!! The coolest part is that the members truly are starting to catch the vision, they are starting to teach with us a lot more often. Imagine this we taught 15 lessons with members this week, and we only have 7 members that we can teach with. Woo Hooo!! Go members!! We have more members than that but they live in different cities outside of Liberec so it is a little harder to teach with them. Missionary work can be so much fun! and its crazy because im already moving into my tenth month an my mission, but only my eighth month in the field! I cant believe how fast time goes by. Our most progressing investigator right now is named Lukas. We have taught him the first three lessons and the Law of Chastity, learning the vocabulary to teach that lesson was fun i'll tell you what.....That was a little awkward. Lucky for me that we have Preach My Gospel in czech so that helped a ton.

Next week we will be in Prague for our P-day to have a Turkey Bowl between the Hradec Kralove Zone (Thats us) and the Prague Zone. So i will be emailing probably closer to 3 or 4 our time.

Questions from home:
Are you teaching bunches? yeah, we taught 28 lessons in the District 11 of those were from us, so the other elders are showing us up but, im really pleased with that because my goal was to get the missionaries in this district to a point where they all could move on to District Leaders before this transfer was over. I think that we will see that happen from the example they have been setting by their work. The missionaries here really are finding machines. It is mission standard to find and make three new investigators every week.

Do the members feed you, have you for FHE with investigators? tonight we have one which will make for our second of the transfer!

What are their customs for Christmas? they have Karp for christmas dinner, that is a custom and also something for the children that has to do with an angel the devil and saint nick. ill tell you more when that rolls around.

Do you get snow there? yeah it started to flurry today while we were outside.

Do you need cool ideas for teaching your district? no i think i should be good but feel free to send stories when you want, or you can always send talks and things in the mail for me to use and read

What kind of things do you drink? Juice, water, Kofola (czech soda)

What do you eat for lunch most often? stroganoff, soup, Gyros

What do you eat for dinner most often? sandwich, leftovers.

Je vam zima? ( moms note: I asked him if he was cold in Czech and this is his reply - I have no earthly idea what it says- that will teach me)
no to je ano. je mi velmi zima, myslim ze budu koupit neco noveho aby mi chladno nebyl. ale co? to nevim.

Well i believe that is all for now i have to write my letter to president and then we have to fly because we have a couple of meetings tonight.
Take care everyone i love you all, and i thank you for your prayers in my behalf.

Much love to you from the Czech Republic, "The CR"
Your missionary or son, or both,
Starsi Nowland

10 Nov 2008

Dear Friends and Family,
Here is Morgan's letter from this week. His Czech language is causing many typo's so instead of correcting them, I hope you can read between the consonants. Enjoy, Susan

hiya moma a dada

Well greetings from central europe! it is still crazy for me to think about it sometimes that im roaming around causing spiritual havac (in a good way of course) in the middle of the european continent. the temperature here is definately dropping and the skies are looking greyer and greyer. The Locals are saying that we should be entering into snow season in about the next 3 weeks so im getting excited and a little nervous. i hope i will be able to stay warm. No ill be fine, im really excited. So it sounds like good things are happening in georgia!!! wooo hooo! So by the time i come back home there will be a new stake there right?! Well family i just went on a vilet(day trip)today to a castle called Bezdez. it is one that is in ruins but it was very neat and beautiful. i'll have to send the pictures from that next week though. I had lots of fun and was really evcited that i could enjoy the time with the district. So pretty much everyone in all of Europe knows that we have a new president, and whenever we contact people on the street they always through in "the Question" so, what do you think about your new president? So it is a little difficult, we just tell them that we have been away from home so long already that we dont know a thing about him.

Anyways the work is going really well, we found 8 new investigators this week in our area (not to be confused with potential investigators)! it was awesome, that is 8 people that we have had a lesson with, prayed with, and set up a following meeting with. The work is so hard but so satisfying and fun!

Our Questions to Morgan:
How is tracting going? (Note from Mom: By the way tracting is spelled without a "K". hehehaha.)
As you learn a new language your mother tongue starts to go to the dumps, in czech we say Traktovani for the english word tracting which is probably why i cant spell it correct. tracting is a little hard just because here the situation is a little different. Going trakting here is like walking into a hotel back in america and knocking on the peoples doors. So as you can guess a lot of people arent too happy about that. So its a little difficult to find the elect. but it is possible.
Is your teaching pool getting bigger?yes we found 8 New investigators this past week!!!
Where is Elder Hatch from? Arizona phoenix area
Are you eating well? yup im learning to cook some good things.
What size pants do you wear now? Is your waist size 33 or 34? probably 34
Do you want me to send one of the pair of brown pants that you didn't take? if you would like to.
Any favorite food items that you want me to send that you can't get there? Oreos, popcorn, Chicken in a can for chicken salad!!
Do you ever use the iron we sent with you? i left it at the MTC it was too heavy. We have a good one right now in our apartment
Are you keeping a journal? i have kept a journal everyday for about four months straight now. Im am very pleased with it.
Well family it has been a great week and we are looking forward to giving a baptismal commitment to our investigator Lukas so, In the words of a czech Hold Your Thumbs!!! It is the same as cross your fingers, or you can just pray that helps too...haha...Ftyp, that is how they say joke.I love you, stay strong,and keep the faith, Morgan

Mom Note: I attached his letter to his mission president - we have the video of the Miracle Bowl and have watched it a couple of times. I also showed the last 3 minutes of the game in Seminary one year to teach the principle of "Never Giving Up" - so it seems there is one thing he remembered from Seminary. (hopefully there are many more).

President,
Well it has been quite an eventful week. We were able to see a great amount of success this week as a district. As I reflect back on everything that happened I was able to see that our success, finding 13 new investigators, was due to the fact that we had the faith and the energy to go and do it. We had the help of other missionaries in the zone, but even still when it comes down to it, like in The Miracle bowl as we call it in the year 1980, when BYU played SMU (Southern Methodist Univ.), BYU was down quite a few touch downs, and everybody had given up hope and had left the stadium thinking the game was in the bag. That didn’t matter though, BYU wanted it, they knew they could get it and so maybe we could say “with faith” they went after it and came out on top victorious at the end. BYU scored 21 points in the last 2 minutes and 33 seconds of the game. That, is what it takes in missionary work, it takes sacrifice, and struggle, and then after the trial of our faith that is when it comes. That is when victory is made, that is when the elect are found and brought back into the presence of God.
As missionaries we are apart of a great work that I’m still trying to figure out and understanding. But my understanding becomes more and more clear as I see my faith tried and as I see they blessing from that trial. If I could just get rid of my own self pride, that I know how this work works and that I know what’s best for these people, then I would start to see that the Lord truly knows how it works and the He truly knows what is best for his children. It becomes clearer.
The district is doing great we have little kinks to work out but we will overcome. With Lord at our side we can accomplish all.

Starsi' Nowland

03 Nov 2008

Hello Family
I hope everything is looking wonderful there in Georgia. Things are moving along here in Liberec. This past week was a harder one for us. We had some really great finding activities. We found 14 potential investigators!! it was really great. We also went to Jicin for a Zone Flood. Jicin is the sisters area so it was really good for them. I Love you so much. Make sure momma that you also look at moderation in all things. I really didn't intend for you to go out with the missionaries everyday...That is Amazing!! and I'm sure you helped their investigators overcome great difficulties and concerns ...but you are teaching future missionaries in Seminary, which is also missionary work. What really helps is if you could pick one day every week or even every other week and set that day with sisters and then they can plan on being able to use you on that day, and set up lessons in the spot where you have said you'd be available. If every member were able to give 2 hours every other week to teach with the missionaries, then they would never have to teach a lesson without a member!!! But you all are doing such amazing work there in Georgia. I am so impressed and pleased with the great advances in missionary work and the growth of the ward. Two Thumbs up!!!
It gets dark here now around 5:00 in the evening, its kind of crazy, but makes for really interesting missionary work. Our teaching pool has taken a large hit now that Jvan has been baptized, Igor moved to Slovakia, and that a few investigators dropped us. We are having to do a bit of re-building, which means a lot of finding time. It is very difficult though because we are currently making the transition from contacting missionaries to tracting missionaries so we as a companionship are running into a problem because we don't quite have a hold on how to make it work so we are struggling with finding new investigators. It will start to pick up, we just need some time to figure out how to tract.
Questions:
1. What is your local address? you will have it next week...im sorry i forgot it while sitting here.
2. Can I send your Christmas package there? you might be able to. I dont know if im going to suggest that though.

3. Do you have that pen that I gave you that has the oil vial in it? i do and i can use that for sure.

4. Do you think you will be there in Liberec for Christmas? Im not sure. Since elder Hatch has already been here for two transfers now, that probably means he will leave and that i will stay, but i really dont know.
5. Are you staying warm? yeah im doing pretty good. Ive already broken out the long johns. So at least for now im good. (you know how Momma's worry-especially this Momma)



Did Karel get baptized on Saturday? YES!!!!! he did its so Amazing!!! I was able to talk to him on the phone on the day of the baptism!!! WOOO HOOO!!!!!
(Note: Karel is the young Taiwanese man that was in the Czech Rep studing at the University in Morgan's last area. He was on a train that Morgan and his companion were on. Morgan's Czech was not that great yet and this young man was speaking English. Morgan said he was so nervous because he has only been there a couple of months, but how could he not tell this man about the gospel - he was after all speaking English, so he had no excuse not to tell him. And after a few "I can do this" under his breath, he talked to him and they became great friends and he just got baptized on Saturday. It is a lesson to us all that we have to talk to those around us - no excuses. What if he hadn't told this young man about the restored gospel). I love you and wish you the best have a good week
Love Morgan

27 Oct 2008

Well Family i bid you all a big AHOJ! another week has gone by. Did anyone ever tell you that time goes by so fast. They shouldnt call it time they should call it "Fly", "lightining", "quick", "fast", or even "what just happened"...Hey can you tell me "what just happened. It is so amazing how quickly a week can go by. then before you know it youve got 9 months behind you.
I'm having a good time here. The work is moving pretty well things are starting to move faster, and people are starting to come unto Christ. Its so neat to watch someone make such amazing steps towards eternal life with God. I hope you are doing well at home there in Georgia. I hope the members are seeing success from this amazing work that we are all about. A quick word from the missionary. Do everything you can to help the missionaries in your area of the vineyard. If you do that you will start to see everything else like work, money and family fall into place, the Lord has commanded all of us to do his work, and i am 100% conifident that when the Lord gives a command he is willing to back the command with blessings, 100% of the time. As we do missionary work we will see our testimony grow, we will see our desire to serve increase we will see our temporal wealth increase and we will see our families grow stronger and we will see our children sustaining the faith and growing up to be like the strippling warriors of old. Momma daddy whitney Jeff, i love you all.
Well I am pleased to announce that Ivan Vasili Canga is the newest member of the Liberec branch (picture below) and that he is on track to receive the Priesthood this next week at church. I am very excited for him and the covenants he is making with the Lord. It truly was a great experience to see someone who was so prepared and ready to receive the gospel to enter into the waters of baptism. We lost a great friend and investigator Igor, he was reunited with his family and is now home in Slovakia. It is really sad to see him go because he was truly a great friend , but it is comforting to know that he is with his loved ones and, it is ok because he has not left us completely he has just moved to different teachers. I know he will be baptized. This was a strong week for the other elders. They were able to do some really great finding.
Our hopes are high and we are looking forward to an even better week. There is this really solid investigator named Lukas, he is a young guy and is the kindest investigator I have ever taught. He is the kind of person that I would be friends with back home. He is about 24 and already has a Christian background.

Baby steps: when the first step is prepared and then charted and then becomes a reality, then the second step follows kindly in place behind, and as confidence and faith increase the steps turn into a walk, and then a jog, and before you know it your running. That is what we are doing.

Questions:

Do you get to print your letters and read them later? no i always read them here im just always in a hurry so i sometimes miss some things.
What size of CTR ring do you wear? im not really sure does 8 sound like a normal size or 9
Who got baptized in Prague? That was our investigator Ivan, here from Liberec. We live about an hour outside of Prague if your taking a bus, so the members alsways prefer to have baptisms there or at a lake and it is too cold for the lake so we went to Prague.
Was it someone you had taught while there? Nope here in Liberec
Do they celebrate Octoberfest there, if so have you gone to the celebrations? no they dont. nor do they celebrate halloween or thanksgiving (of course). But they do celebrate christmas..yeah but it even is a bit different.
Did you put up your poster on the wall yet? not yet i have it laying out to get the curve out of it.
From daddy:How is your district doing? we are doing pretty well, we need to have a greater focus on getting people to church on Sundays, it is not so easy here because people like to leave town on the weekends.
Is everyone getting along okay? yeah we are doing awesome in that aspect
Are you having great success? i would say we are having good success I love the idea of being a companionship versus 2 sets of Elders in a district.
Is that concept having success? yeah its working pretty well we have a strong bond and high spirits
Do you find it to be more productive and uplifting? i think so and the other elders really seem to like it they too refer to us as a companionship so it is good they are very supportive.
Well you all have a good week. Find some new people to bring to the Gospel...i will be doing the same.
Love you so much, your one and only son,
starsi nowland

20 October 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOTHER! hodne stesti vam blahopreju!! That is how you wish a happy birthday here. It means lots of luck i wish you. That is also for daddy i know it is already way past but...I still hope your birthday was good dad. I figure it is better that i forgot because that means that in my mind you are still the same age...which means you dont get older! That is not the best excuse but i hope it makes you feel younger. Life is going pretty well here in Liberec. We taught 15 lessons this week 8 with members 4 without and 3 less actives. So a pretty successful week in that sense.

Well we had zone conference this week and it was a blast. I learned so much and am so excited that I got to see Prague again. It has been a long time since I have been back on this side of the country in bohemia. I have been given a great opportunity and am trying to figure out what I can do to improve our work here. It is wonderful to be able to look at what we are doing and see that as a district we are doing very well in a certain area like with member lessons and to be able to ponder now on what we can do to increase the other areas of our work. I'm going to see what we can do to increase our number of new investigators per week and members at church. I feel that if we can maintain our member lessons taught as well as members at church and new investigators than I really feel that we will see an increase in progressing investigators and baptismal dates. So we are going to do some research there and enlist some new goals to make these things happen.
I've never seen the members of the Branch so excited about one individual before like they were for Jvan this past Sunday. Everyone was talking to him and really congratulating him. It was almost like we were in a ward back in America. I think baptism is now becoming a reality here. It has been so long since they have seen a new person enter into the church.
What an amazing experience and joy it is for a person to find out that he can have a personal relationship with God, to try and have that relationship, and to know for himself that God lives and experience that relationship in all actuality and truth. It is amazing to see someone come into this great knowledge of truth that He lives and loves us and desires to speak to us in our hearts and in our minds.
The missionaries here are doing great. They have got the fire in them. We are going to go out as a district today and tract these panaloks that we found that are full of families. It is exciting to see success. It is exciting to see others lives change.

Questions:
1. Are you eating good? yeah.
2. Have you gained weight or lost weight? i have lost muscle and gained fat. I dont get to play frisbee as much to keep the fat off.
3. Do you need the shoes or extra pants that you left here? not yet i dont think im doing pretty well. You could send one pair of pants, black or grey. that could help a bit.
4. Which of the pair of socks do you like the best? well i like them all, its just that since i walk so much the fuzzyness gets like rubbed of and creates holes. i dont have holes yet in the new socks but i can see it being a problem.
5. What would you like for Christmas? a czech ctr ring and an oil valve mine broke my second transfer, a cool tie from that hole in the wall SUITMAN store one with paisleys and stripes.
6. What did you think of General Conference? Great but i watched in czech so i didnt get a whole lot from it.
7. What was one of your favorite talks? umm president monson Priesthood session. i saw that one in english.How about the announcement of the Rome, Italy temple? that is going to be sooo cool and a big help for the missionary work there.

Well the mission life is good. it gets hard sometimes but it is teaching me a lot and giving me time to really put my priorities in order. seeing so many people all the time really teaches you a lot about yourself and how to be a stronger more motivated individual. I love you a ton family but i will miss thanksgiving. They dont celebrate that here, so my companion and i will probably make something together.
Take care your son Morgan

6 Oct 2008

Hello Friends and Family,
Here is Morgan's letter from this week. He is in a new city called Liberec, Czech Republic. It is just below the borders of Germany and Poland in a mountain region. He said he wanted to go to a mission that had snow - well I don't think he really understands what he asked for, just wait for another month or maybe even sooner. He is going to see snow. His birthday was October 4th and he seems to not really believe he is no longer a teen-ager. Nor do I. Gosh, I sure love this boy, he is wonderful. Enjoy! Susan

Hello my most loving family. I'm in a new city, i just aged out of being a teenager (cant use that excuse anymore), I have a new companion, And somehow I'm supposed to serve as a district leader while also follow-up training a younger missionary......Life is good. Really it is. The worst part of all of that is that I'm 20, but i guess I'll get over it. I dont think I'll ever grow up. I love you all sooo much. I am so glad to hear that Michael was also assigned as District Leader in Argentina, he deserves it, he works so hard. I think the Lord just really thought I needed to be humbled......Well he did a good job. I will fill you in on some stuff later.
Liberec is a beautiful city, and it is full of so much potential. I'm looking forward to the opportunity that I have to work here. Elder Hadzik wants to have a new building here in Liberec. So we are working to increase the numbers here so as to make that happen. This area is really going to explode.

As a companionship, Elder Hatch and I are doing very well, Elder Hatch has a really good foundation and is often doing a lot to help me. He really cares for our investigators, and also the members here in Liberec. I am doing very well. I am trying to do what I can to figure out how I can best be of assistance to these missionaries here. They are wonderful though, they are very loving and supportive. We have decided that we do not want to refer to ourselves as a district but as a companionship of four. WE are doing this to strengthen the unity between us and also to provide a strong support group for each of us if ever we are getting down about the work or whatever it may be. We are young and are very excited! We have faith, now we are just working together to strengthen it and use it. We have high expectations and are looking to make those turn into realities.

I truly cherish this opportunity to grow and to serve side by side with these missionaries. The Work is hard but it is always worth it.

Questions:
1 - Did you get the 2 packages (box and tube)? no not yet but i will on Friday
2 - How did you celebrate your birthday? Umm.....I chopped and stacked wood, Got dogged by two investigators, played ping-pong for sports day and had a run in with a drunk man. But really it was all very enjoyable. We did end up buying some soda and and little baked goods for that evening.
3 - Tell me about your new companion? he is from Arizona, was a swimmer in high school, he is very nice and does a good job at making sure that i dont do anything too ridiculous.
4 - What do you like best about being District Leader? Getting to serve with such willing and supportive Elders
5 - What do you like least about being District Leader? Knowing that the Elders in this district are much more capable than i am. I'm not sure i deserve this. But i will try.
6 - How many investigators do you have in Liberec? about 6ish
Dads Questions:
How do you like your new area so far? it is beautiful, we are in the mountains, so it is really pretty , we actually live on the namesti area, Town square on this street that is a hill.

Is it as pretty as the area you just left? yeah it is
How's your new companion? super nice and willing to work and have success.
Are the Rusts in your new area? They are in Hradec Kralove which is where the Zone Leaders are.
Do you get to listen to the Saturday sessions or just Sunday's? We get to listen to both this coming weekend.

Life is good here. I'm sad i could not celebrate my birthday with you all but that is ok. I love you all tons and hope that the Lord blesses you all. I put some more pictures up. Sorry about the voice files. still isnt working.

I wish you the best say hi to everyone for me.
your one and only son

Morgan

29 Sep 2008

Hello Family of mine! Well i have some really great news for you. I am going to be serving in the city of Liberec. I am going to be serving as district leader there follow-up training Elder Hatch. I am soooo nervous!!!!!! I am excited though, it is going to be a great learning oppourtunity for me.
Comments about Olomouc and note to his mission president: Well this has been a very successful transfer for me. I feel very satisfied with what has been achieved. Not all of the goals I set were met but there were definitely my focus and from that focus I have seen success. I am pleased to say that I am leaving this area with more potential then when the transfer started. There are very strong investigators in the area and two baptismal dates that I feel confident in.
There has been a lot of growth in this area of the mission. Now we are just making our way into maintaining that growth and getting these new members involved. I'm really excited for this transfer that is about to begin, but all at once nervous. I've already got some good ideas about things that I want to see happening in the district. I have never had this kind of responsibility before. But I am looking forward to doing the best that I can as District Leader of the Liberec district. I know that I have been called to this position by the Lord and I know that I can rely on him to help me and fill in the gaps. I know like in 1Nephi 3:7 that the lord giveth no commandment…save he shall prepare a way. So I know that there is a way by which I can accomplish the task at hand. I have a feeling that there will be a lot more prayer involved in this next transfer.
Thank you for the opportunity I have been given.


My whole world is going to change her in a little bit. I am so excited for it though. wish me luck family.

It sounds like the US is having a little bit of trouble. Ill be sure to pray for you all there in georgia. Take care of yourselves.

Setting goals is what helps us to move forward in life, even when we aren't sure that we can accomplish them. The road that leads to a goal is where we grow the most, not neccessarily the end result.

I love you all for loving me and watching out for me.

you one and only son
Morgan

Mission pictures

01 Sept 2008

Ahoj Rodino! I love you all sooo much, the Lord has given our family so many blessings that it is just amazing to me. Missionary work seems to be everyody's life right now in our family. We truly are blessed to have all been able to visit the temple and take out our endowements.

Missionary work has got to be one of the most difficult, emotionally painful, and physically and spiritually stressful things that I have ever done. Yet, I get up every single day ready to do it again and again, and I LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT! Sure it is tough, and there are days that I feel like I am not up to the task, but the joy and energy I get from those little successes is so satisfying that I just have to keep trying everyday to find more of them.
We had on the plan this past Wednesday to go out and find a new investigator in the park closest to us. We had prayed for the guidance to know where to go and we both received the inspiration that we should go to that park. We were walking through the park keeping our eyes and hearts open to receive that individual who had been prepared by the Lord. We made it all the way through and were circling back without any success from the people that we had spoken with. It was proving to be very difficult, a trial of our faith. We were getting close to being out of the park when we saw a man eating a rohlik that he was dipping into some sort of tuna salad stuff. We said hi and told him that we were missionaries here in the Czech Republic, volunteers for our church. He looks up at us and says, "Please, sit down", we look at each other and then take a seat. We commence to discuss why were here and what our message is. He listens and agrees but expresses some concern. As we are talking with him and resolving concerns, our branch president walks up out of nowhere and says hi introduces himself and invites this man to English classand to family home evening and to church on Sunday. He says that he thinks he can do that because he has those days off. It was amazing! Then, like some superhero, as quickly as president showed up he was gone again, leaving us with a much more comfortable and prepared investigator…needless to say, we set up another meeting with him and got his number! As we have reflected on this contact we have realized just how prepared he really is. It is interesting to see how well the Lord knows his children, and knows what each of us needs in order for us to progress in life, and in the gospel.
The work is moving forward, struggling here and there every now and then, but in the long run it is pushing forward. Being a missionary is such a satisfying work. I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve.

Thats a really cool experience i was able to be apart of!

Heres the ?'s

Questions:
1. Did you ever get the package? not yet but i probably will this week because Wilding is going to praha for his visa

2. Your birthday is coming and I wanted to know if you need anything? Black socks that are nice and solid, that wont wear out too fast
I know you want to buy some things there - that is fine but I would like to send a little something
so if you can think of some things from home you would like, let me know.
A. Black socks that are nice and solid, that wont wear out too fast. Maybe some really soothing music that is sacrament appropriate, like pretty piano renditions of some really great songs

3. Did you get a package from the Primary here? no i didnt.

4. Do you get letters from any other people? Shelby and kailey

5. Do you need any socks or pants? socks, thats probably it i like pants they have here better
6. Anything you want us to send? music, yummy foods, pictures of the wedding

i love you all take care

thank you for being wonderful

your son,
Morgan

16 September 2008

Hi family thank you for keeping me updated on everything i love to hear the little things that are going on at home. Im excited about my birthday but what you are sending sounds like it'll be great im really excited for the Triple combination. if you could do the cover in a dark brown leather that would be really neat. oh and you dont need to put my name on the cover but if you could put it inside that would be better. you all are awesome i love you so much.

I'm looking back on a week that I would consider very successful. Another child of God was brought into the fold. Mila was baptized and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost. She became the newest member of the Olomouc branch. I am very excited to begin working with her as a member and really focusing on strengthening her. Mila and Vladimir are both members of the church now, and that means our new focus is preparing them to go to the temple and receive those blessings. I am truly excited for them. The Zone Conference was a good experience for me. it gave me a lot of strength and new motivation in the work. I heard some things that I want to strengthen in myself and also some things that I want to put into action. Let's end this transfer on top.

Our questions for Morgan -
So did you get to do the baptism? I did It was amazing!!! but i like watching people get baptized just as well as doing the actual ordinance.

take care of yourselves, oh yeah we're going to a castle today so i will send pictures of that next time . tell whitney that i will send her a letter in the mail with some pictures.

Have a wonderful week, you one and only son

elder nowland

8 September 2008

Hello family, im glad that im able to write today because a lot happened, most of which is in the voice file but here are some of the things i told president:

I think this week has been one of the most successful weeks of my mission but I truly feel like it has been the most stressful and difficult to date as well. We worked so hard this week, and with that I am very satisfied and pleased. Our aim has been to meet all the standards of excellence in an attempt to start raising the levels of success that we can have as a companionship but also to raise the success that we can have as missionaries in general that are in this mission. I know that it is possible for the number of lessons taught a week, the number of baptisms a transfer, for these things to go up. But I have come to the realization that these things will only begin to go up as the level of our individual conversion goes up. I realized this week that I am not as converted to this gospel as I should be and can be. By that I mean that I still need to increase my understanding of key principles of the gospel. The main one that I feel I need to increase my understanding on right now is the Atonement, and its affect on my life. I truly feel that as missionaries and all of mankind begins to understand the atonement better and how it helps each of us individually, that there will burn a fire within, and not just a fire of heat but a fire of unquenchable light. I believe that we can culminate within ourselves a fire so bright that no darkness can over take it and no spirit can doubt its truthfulness. I know that, that is what Christ had within himself, that is what the prophets have, and the apostles, and the wonderful men and women have that lead and guide this church. So I am on a journey to find that fire of unquenchable light. I think Sister Slovacek hit it right on the head, it's that 220 volts. I need to plug myself into that 220 volt socket.
Wonderful things happened this week. We had a final prep meeting with Mila for her baptism. And then on Sunday she had her interview and passed and we are now planning for her baptism, it is going to be so amazing! Vladimir and her will be able to have an eternal marriage in the temple! What a great blessing for them. (she asked Morgan to baptize her - he told us this in his voice file, he is a little nervous but extremely humbled and honored that she asked him)
It has truly been a wonderful week. It took a lot of hardships to get there. As I reflect back on this week I see the blessings that come from the test of our faith. The Lord will give blessings to those who are faithful and endure to the end. I know God lives and watches over us. What a great time to be a missionary.

Questions and such:

1. Did you get your package yet? yes i did Woop Woop! thank you for that. i am most appreciative. The shirts and food are awesome! and so is the cook book.

ok and you all have been asking what i would like for my birthday and such. Something i realized i could use is a small desk calendar that i could use for planning and such. something big enough to write in and look at. but also compact enough so it can set on my desk, so i dont have to hang it on the wall or anything, that would be really nice. it doesnt have to be fancy, just functional.

The main thing that i would really like to have is the czech triple combination made smaller. We have the averagely large size triple but it is a little too big to carry everywhere. I have heard that it can be done, that some businesses can shrink down the page size and then bind it for you but i havent taken the step to do it just yet. I havent looked into the price but it would probably one of the greatest souveniers i could have from my mission. I would like to do it sooner than later because i would like to study from it and mark it up and stuff so im going to look into it here if you want to look into it there that would be great. i have talked to a lot of people about it and they said i could do it as long as i dont try and sell it. Which i wouldnt so that is what i would like to do.

I love you so much, i didnt respond to whitney yet because i ran out of time but ill get to it next week. take care Family

you one and only missionary son,
Morgan

18 August 2008

Zdravím Vás, Rodinu (Greetings to you all, Family) I cant wait to see all the super cool pictures from the wedding. It will probably be best if you could print them off and send them to me. I Wish whitney and Jeff the best. And gladly welcome jeff into the family as our newest member. Who knows how long he will hold that title.....until a new littler munchkin will take over that title? But i wanted to tell everyone that im doing most fine here in Olomouc, CR.
The spirit is so strong with missionaries. Missionaries have so much more help than they realize. Elder Wilding and I have come to realize that everyday we can see miracles. Every day! It's such a wonderful experience to be able to see a life change and grow closer to God. It is an indescribable emotion and feeling to watch someone give up everything they've ever known to chase and desire and search after truth.
I need to figure out what I can do to get more of our investigators to church. It is proving to be a bit harder of a task for me than I originally thought. We had three investigators lined up to come. Unfortunately, they didn't pull through. So as a companionship we are going to work on what we can do to make that happen. On a personal level, I'm really starting to enjoy the Czech language which is really good because it is giving me that stronger desire to study the language and improve my skills in it. The only problem I'm running into is that there are so many things that I want to improve on that I'm running myself in more directions than I can handle so I'm really working on taking a step back and focusing in on the things that I feel are most important at this time.
As a companionship we are starting to get a hold on things. We really want to get our new investigator level up so we are really working on working by the spirit when it comes to finding those who have been prepared to hear the message. I'm seeing and feeling things and working in ways that I have never thought were possible for me to work. I'm starting to realize the power of the priesthood and how it helps me in all aspects of life. The power of God is truly here on the earth and I am so lucky to be apart of it and be able to use it. Now, I just need to share it.

And for the questions:

1. Did you finally get your next package? nope i only got the one with the CD's2. How many were at church this past week? about 20 ish
I love you all so much and will fill you in more on what is happening here after i buy some new batteries.
Im really getting into books. Ive been buying old czech books mainly just bibles. But it is fun!

Quick question. im having trouble teaching word of wisdom when it comes to Coffee so If you could can you send me stuff about what makes coffee so bad for our bodies other than caffeine. Thanks bunches

Take care you always have my best wishes im always praying for you and everyone back home.

Your one and only missionary son,
Starší Morgan Nowland

04 Aug 2008

I'm really looking forward to a transfer filled with excitement and success. Elder Wilding and I have already seen some great success here in Olomouc. We have set some goals in place and are really looking forward to accomplishing them.
The first few times we were out contacting this week were really rough, it was shut-down after shut-down. But we kept at it. We kept talking to people trying to figure out how we can really get across to them how happy they will be if they will just listen to our message. So, we went home a couple of nights empty handed. It was hard, but finally on Sunday we saw the blessings of our hard work and determination. We talked with three people on Sunday and two of them became potential investigators. We got their numbers and set-up a follow-up appointment. And with one of them we taught a lesson and gained a new investigator so that was pretty awesome!
I'm realy starting to see how great getting rejected is, because I know that after all the rejection comes a wave of blessings! It is really interesting and cool how that works, how the Lord gives us trials to test our faith and humble us and then blesses us in ways greater than we can imagine.

Over and out,
Starší Nowland

Questions:

Do you have a lot in common? yeah we like the same music and both want to be sound recording engineers, he had a more successful band than i had before the mission, he toured and everything!!
How is the language coming along? its still coming. slowly though
How's the teaching pool? its ok bigger than most but its hitting a downslope right now
Are you still having fun? I really am


I love you all tons, take care, and keep me updated on the wedding!!!!!

your syn (son),

Starší Nowland

28 July 2008

Hey family this week has been quite the good one we just got transfer fax which is the attached file so you all can see where everyone is serving and how many areas there are. ElderChambers is gone but i already know Elder Wilding and he is a way cool missionary!!!!
This week we accomplished many wonderful things. On Tuesday we were able to hand out 1000 English flyers.
I love you all so much. The amount of missionary you all are doing back home is absolutely blowing my mind!!! You are the best parents a missionary can have!!! You are doing as much if not more missionary work than i am and that makes me "well pleased" with you. All my love to you!

your one and only son!!!

Starší Morgan Nowland

p.s. thnk you soo much for all the pictures, the ones of andy too those are super cool!

14 July 2008

Hey family i love you all soo much and am soo happy to hear that you all are having so much success with missionary work. It makes me very pleased as your son. I would love to see the changes dad made in the theatre and to see a picture of your bedroom looking from the inside out through the new door.

It has been an eventful week, and I really feel like Elder Chambers and I were able to have success in our week. We made contact with a wonderful young man this week,his czech name is Karel and he is such a humble guy. he is originally from Taiwan but is going to be living in the Czech Republic for the next 2 years going to med school. We taught him the first lesson and really saw his countenance change as he watched the Joseph Smith story, he is so ready for the gospel in his life, his family is Buddhist but he said he did not feel in his heart that Buddhism was true and so he became Christian. He said that he had never heard about Joseph Smith or our religion before but said after our meeting that he has never felt how he was feeling before. We told him he was feeling the spirit and then he told us that, at that moment he was the happiest he has ever been. I know he will get baptized and be able to carry the gospel on to his family. I look forward to what we have to teach him.

Here are the questions:

1. Do you need anything? umm not that i can think of, i want to start losing weight so im going to go looking for some protein or protein bars, dont spend too much on me for my birthday because i can buy stuff here that i will want, if that is ok?

Things are going really well here for me im really enjoying myself. Life is really taking on a new outlook, Im feeling so much more peace and am able to really recognize the spirit a lot better. Im changing little by little for the better! It is exciting!

I hope the missionary work pushes forward there in georgia for you all, it sounds like things are really picking up. I pray for you all every night. I love you sooo much.....it is wild to think im so far away from...but i love it...i couldnt have asked for a better blessing for my life right now.

Take care stay happy, dont get too stressed about the wedding, it should be a happy time, allow the lord to help prepare the way for things to fall into place.

Love eternally, your son

21 July 2008

Hey family it is so good to be able to write you every week, Ive have missed you all a little bit more than normal this week, but i got it back under control. We had a wonderful week this week...we are raising the levels of success in this mission, usually most companionships get about 6 lessons a week, for the past two weeks we have had 12 lessons one week and then 11 lessons this week, it really is amazing!!! Plus a baptism and i really feel like three more willl be baptized within the next transfer. Things are going to start jumping out of their socks in the next months my baptism goal for my mission is 22 and im starting on my path to accomplishing that goal! im going to ask prezident if he will leave me here for one more transfer. Things are so much fun here! If ever you find more funny pictures of me and my friends please feel free to send them to me!

Questions:

How are your investigators progressing? Well Vladimir got baptized this week and that is abosolutely awesome it is my first baptism of the mission!!! and im only in my second transfer!!! Woop Woop!!!

It really is amazing in Olomouc, i hope Prezident will let me stay here in olomouc for at least one more transfer.

Regarding your birthday, Dad and I will put $ in your account so you can buy something for yourself. Is there something specific you are looking for or want to buy? i will probably buy either dress shoes, sneakers, or a new dress belt and slacks.

That is all for now i think.


I love you family,

your one and only missionary son,
Star¹í Morgan Nowland

Mìjte se Pìknì

07 July 2008

Morgan sent us 3 voice files this week so his letter was short. But he had a great week in teaching. He was able to travel this past week to Brno. I think it is the second largest city in the Czech Republic. While there he had great success in speaking to 3 people who spent at least 30 minutes talking with him in the big city square. They asked him to come to their home and teach them again. He gave their names and addresses to the missionaries who are serving in that city. He was only there for the day, but he was excited about that. He also tracted into a "Gangster Group" of teen agers. They go by american nicknames of: Dr. Style, Baboon, Smile and Lemon. He said they didn't seem extremely interested at first, but they gave them what they could and prayed that they would want to hear more. They set up an appt with one of the young men and have met with them a couple of times. There were 3 in the original group and now at the last appt there were 7. Isn't that awesome. I think my son and his great companion are just what these young people need. Morgan's companion is Elder Chambers. He is the Zone Leader and played drums and guitar in a band, and Morgan played drums in a band called Handlebars, so they know alot about these kinds of kids. They have developed a great relationship and seem to be just where they are needed at this time. Morgan got his package this week and 8 letters. He was so excited about the letters, so if you haven't written to him, he would love to hear from you. Missionaries LOVE letters.

I also received an email from the senior couple who is serving with 4 other missionaries in Olomouc. It was so sweet, I had to post part of their letter here:

Dear Brother and Sister Nowland,
How are you doing today? My name is Sestra Suzanne Rustova and my husband and I are serving a mission in the Czech Republic and are blessed to be here in Olomouc with your great son. He was not here in Olomouc when we first arrived in May but was transfered after the first transfers when we came. His Czech was so good that I thought he had been serving for a long time and I was shocked to find out that he came barely before we did. He has translated for us in church and he does such a good job at it. What a kind, good person he is. We have loved getting to know him. He is such a hard working missionary and does just what he is asked. He is also one who doesn't steal the limelight but is there ready. He is always the last one to eat and makes sure that everyone is taken care of. He has a lot of wisdom for one so young. Tonight I noticed the scar on his arm and he told me about it. That was some accident. He and Elder Hill taught the English class all by themself tonight and they did such a good job. I know it was pretty hard without the other Elders but they did such a great job. It was the first time we have gone to English and we thought they were great. Also, Starsi Nowland comes up with the best games for home evenings. Last week was so fun with the flour in the cup and the glasses with ping pong balls. We all had a good time. Thank you for raising such a special son. We think the Lord sent the best young missionaries to the Czech Republic. They are outstanding missionaries and you have one of the best. We love him. May the Lord Bless your family while he is serving here.
Love, Sestra and Starsi Rust

30 June 2008

Hey! my loving family, Alright so ive reorganized myself so that i wont forget to tell you about important things that happen during the week, and i will be making recordings of all those important things. So you should have everything that has happened to me or is worth writing about in those recordings.
This week went very nicely. It was a wonderful week to be able to serve. First, on Tuesday we traveled to Zlin for exchanges with the elders there. While there, myself and Elder Chambers were able to find a new investigator for Elder Topp and Roberts. The next morning we had studies and then went out and Elder Topp and I were able to find another new investigator. Elder Topp let me take the reigns. I contacted this gentleman on the side of the road and we taught him right then and there. It was an eye opening experience for me to find someone and teach them while we were still standing on the side of the road. We shared the first vision and gave him a challenge to meet with us again. It was so cool because we got his number and committed him to hearing more the coming Friday. Then after returning home we went out and contacted this group of 3 guys who looked a little sketchy, they looked like gangsters, but sat with us and listened while we taught a first lesson and some of the second lesson. After that we went to have a lesson with our investigator at her work and ended up teaching…well four of her co-workers sat and listened to us but two of them were really responsive, and were asking questions and talking quite a bit about God and what they believe and were sincerely curious about what we believed. We had a successful Family Home Evening…well there were only five members there but they said that it was one of the better Family Home Evening's that they had been too. I am doing wonderful , I'm setting new goals for myself to become a stronger more capable missionary, I feel like I have wasted a lot of time worrying about some selfish reasons for why I'm not doing better as a missionary, and now am seeing the light.

It is soo nice to get a letter from each of you. I really appreciate seeing both of your personalities come out in your letters, and it is good to have multiple accounts of events, it helps me understand a little better, because you both write about different aspects....Its like reading the scriptures, instead of having four accounts from Matt, Mark, Luke, and John. I have two accounts from Susan and Jeff...aka...Mom and Dad.

I hope my letters and voice files and pictures fill you in on all the things that you would like to know. If they don't then just let me know and i can modify and add more.

In my personal Study of the scriptures right , I'm using the book ,"The life and teachings of Christ and His Apostles"..It is really good because it is taking me through the life of Christ chronologically using the four gospels.

I love you sooo much and hope that you enjoy yourselves at home...look forward to seeing the pictues!!!

Much love, your one and only missionary son,

Morgan

09 June 2008

So this week in the life of Morgan Carney:

I have now been to three different cities since i have been here in my new area in Olomouc, because Elder Chambers is the Zone Leader here i get to travel with him to check up on the other missionaries in the zone so on Tuesday we traveled to an area called Zlin and helped the elders there find some new investigators, spent the night in Zlin and then got up and took off to Ostrava, all of our distanced traveling that we do is by train which is a blast because you get to see the Czech countryside!! it is so pretty, for the most part. While in Ostrava i went on exchanges with Elder Price (he is my mtc group) it was a blast because we went out contacting and had some good success. Heres the story:

So we started off with the goal to go out and find three potential investigators, sad to say, after talking to about four people with rejections from all, we didnt think that we could accomplish this goal with only 45 min left to find people. So we decided to shrink our goal back to getting one solid number from someone. The Lord must haVE BEEN DISSAPPOINTED WITH OUR LACK OF FAITH BUT WANTED TO SHOW US THAT EVEN THOUGH WE WERE YOUNG WE COULD HAVE AS (sorry hit the caps lock on accident) good of success as the more fluent elders. so Right after we set the goal to just get one person this young guy with red hair comes walking up the road, we stop him and talk to him for like ten minutes about the gospel, get this he was a believer already and was interested in knowing more. So we got his number and continued on with about 30 minutes left, we talked to a few people with no success, then came across a young kid with his dog as we were making our way back to the other elders and sisters. We told him what we were about as we walked with him, needless to say he had no interest at all in the gospel, it wasnt for him he said. Well we just kept walking with him and ended up talking about his dog and what he likes to do in his free time, also he helped us with our czech...that was way sweet! so we continued walking and talking with him for like 30 min, it was super cool, just getting to know him. But at the end, when it was time for us to head back, i just said to him hey look your a really good guy and we would like to talk with you more, but we are missionaries, that is why we are here, to teach about Jesus Christ, Can we meet with you and talk about what we believe? .....And he said yes! he wanted to sit and talk right then but we knew that we had to go so we got his phone number and set up a later appointment with him that coming friday..! it was so sweet!! we said bye and then took off back to the other missionaries because we were about 15 past ,...or so we thought, we got back and they said that we still had time, we were a little bummed because we could have taught a lesson, but we went back out with high hopes because we could actually get the goal of three potentials that day...so we took off and were searching for that person, the person who wanted to hear the gospel,...about ten minutes of no success went by, we talked with a guy who was a business teacher in chicago but he wasnt interested. We were on our way back again, when we stopped a lady, she was a bit older but was religious and believed in God and Jesus Christ already...SWEET!!!...she didnt want to hear too much about the gospel but we were able to invite here to english class and got a solid commitment out of her to come.....All in all it was successful, and we have only been in the country for 2 months!! It was amazing and a great showing of the Lords hand in our lives, It really strengthened my faith.

Oh we missed the train we were supposed to catch to get home so we had to take another which was a bit more expensive, but it was sweet it is called a Pandalino, we got treated like Royalty i think because its a business travelers train but also because we were in Whites shirts and ties.

That was the big excitment for this week...oh yeah and the two people that we commited to baptism (Vladimir and Mila)...well now we are teaching his mother!! And I think she will eventually be baptized too...because Vladimir is super solid!! He wants to be baptized sooner that the date we set!!!

Alright, now time for questions:

1. How was the little branch there in Olomouc? Or is it called a district?
A. Its a branch and it is doing very well we've had a good solid 25-30 people both weeks ive been here

2. Did you say you had a CD player? If so, I will try and get a copy of the songs from this years EFY.
A. yeah i do have a cd player so you can send cds if you would like

3. Does Elder Chambers need anything?
A. no he is good he says

Well that is pretty much all ive got for now, im sorry i dont have any voice recordings for this week but i really havent had time we are just always going and teaching and by the time we get home we are rushing to get stuff done before bed.

Take care this coming week, much love, your son

Starši Nowland

16 June 2008

Well it has yet again been another week that has absolutely flown by. Mission time is really starting to fly by. I can't believe how long I have already been away. It is really amazing here, almost everyday whenever I walk through a Namesti I think to myself....Wow, there is no way that I am actually here right now, I can't believe my home is back across the Atlantic Ocean! It is really quite mind boggling, because how many people when they are growing up around the years of fifteen to eighteen actually think that when they are nineteen that they will be living in a foreign country communicating and talking with people.! Its funny because currently I'm living in the country that everyone else from all over the world is coming to visit. It really is pretty magical here... Its going to be a scary day when I have to think that I am going to be leaving this place,.. when I'm going to be leaving this country... thats why I'm not going to think about it too much. Time is so precious, and yet everyday I see it getting smaller and smaller. Days just don't last as long as they used to. The hardest part about being a missionary is that I see peoples lives just wasting away, Time just walks past them and they don't even notice it...Always cherish time, and make the most of it. I've really began to see how limited time is, and it's scary because I'm afraid to sleep for fear that I will wake up on the plane ride home.


Love you soo much, the work is progressing, and it will pick up! These people aren't going to know what hit them! This gospel will move forth. Expect the unexpected!

Your Son,

Star¹i Nowland (Ted´zemì) our last name in Czech )

2 June 2008

Hey Family,

I hope things are going swell back in georgia. ...please send pictures, i love to look at pictures, they are a lot of fun.

Ok so a lot of stuff that i would be sending in this email, i have put into my voice files so listen to those first.
But as For Your Questions:

1. How did you get to Olomouc? BY TRAIN!!!! it was just like Harry Potter!!!! It was so cool. I got to see the country side, BEAUTIFUL!!!

2. Were you by yourself? Nope, i was with elders Reichman and Price

3. How is your new companion? He is sweet i talk about him in my voice files

he lived in Marietta, Georgia for a while - that is cool 2 southern boys.

4. How was it moving with your suitcases for the first time? not too bad, it was a little hectic in Prague

5. Did you leave anything behind? A few ties i didnt want

6. How is the new apartment? it is huge, i talk about it in my voice files


Things are really going great, im having soo much fun here i absolutely love it in Olomouc!!! This place is like a diamond in the rough, we will definately be coming here after the misie (mission)

I love you and look forward to hearing about the house and how you all are doing. I talked about a few things that i could use in my last voice file. I love you all so much and hope that you are enjoying yourselves.

Much Love,

Your son Morgan

19 May 2008

Here is my letter that i wrote to President Slovaèek: Its a good summary of this week, you've already heard some things but thats ok!

Success this past week has been a wonderful experience. We went through a little bit of a drought where we couldnt get anyone to have interest in the church, we couldnt get numbers, it was just no fun at all. This week was a wonderful eye opener though, first, we were able to meet with our most progressing investigator, and we challenged him to baptism but he wasnt sure he was ready so we ended up giving him the challenge to pray about being baptized into the church and he agreed that he could do that. Then, we had exchanges and i went oput with elder whiting and we had quite an adventure. We contacted many wonderful people who werent interested in the gospel but we were able to have good conversations with them, we taught a lesson to another one of mine and elder turners investigator. That was an interesting axperience because we asked him to pray, and he just started praying, but we had no idea because he was saying the steps that we had taught him out loud and then offering that part of the prayer: for example, he was saying,"First we address God" "Dear father in heaven" "Then we thank him" "Thank you for......" and he went on like that so we thought he was talking to us clarifying what he was supposed to do...haha! it was a funny experience but a really good one because he did pray, and we challenged him to pray everyday so it was a really great lesson. Then on our way home we contacted a guy who ended up being a Slovak, and taught him a lesson ending it with prayer and commitments and everything, it was so cool. But the week Gets better! After we had Zone Conference and Got our Missionary BINGO cards we went out and Tried the Book Of Mormon Bait thing and......It Worked! we had like five benches there was a Book Of Mormon on one bench, then myself, then a bench, then elder turner, then another Book Of Mormon on the last bench. It was so cool, this guy came walking by me first and i asked him how to pronounce a word from the Book Of Mormon, he told me then continued on. He got about ten feet past the last bench, turned around came back, sat on the bench and started reading!!! It was Like a Textbook situation!! It worked perfectly!! Needless to say we now have a new Potential investigator, Elder Turner taught him a lesson right then and there, and i asked two girls how to pronounce another word and then told them why we were there and talked to them about what we believed, It was a good experience for me to be on my own talking with native czechs. Oh and we also prayed with someone on their doorstep, we got this mans number invited him to church and prayed with him on his doorstep!! It was so much Fun!
So i must say that this week has been very exciting, I have a much stronger testimony that unity as a companionship is so key to having success. The Spirit only dwells with missionaries that are unified in the work, and with missionaries who are having fun doing the work. This has been a blessing for my testimony. Elder Turner and myself are having a great time! This Transfer has taught me a lot and Im excited for what is to come.

26 May 2008

Morgan is being transferred to a new city it is Olomouc, Czech Republic. You will still write to the same address. It is said to be one of the most beautiful cities in the Czech Republic. It is in the Moravia area of the Czech Republic. It has history back to 900 AD. He is very excited. His new companion is Elder Chambers who has been in the Czech Republic for 10 months and is from Washington State. Morgan is very excited.

I think that Im really excited for whats to come, but, looking back on this week. We had a lesson with our older investigator. He is progressing rather slowly, but that is ok. We've had three lessons with him, and we are just struggling with getting him to do everything. Then, we had a lesson with our Brand new investigator that we got from our Missionary Bingo activity!! Which turns out will make for a good investigator because he really doesnt have any problems with the doctrine we are teaching it is just that we are going to have to work with him to break his smoking and drinking habits. He is retired and doesnt do much with himself but drink and smoke his sorrows and depressions away. It is really quite sad and scary, but he wants to be happy so that is where we will pull the motivation.
I am having the time of my life here! Im looking forward for all the amazing adventures im going to have and am about to embark on. Something tells me that the time has come for me to make a great change in the work i am doing and in the success i have been having. Im really excited because im ready to start stepping everything up a notch and to start really making things happen here in the Czech Republic, the time is at hand and im ready to go! Im....ahhhh!!! just so ready to start doing things, and to make a change in the work!!

I love you all so much!! today is a little hectic because i have to go and start packing for transfers but expect more next week!!!Yay!


Your one and only son,
with love,

Morgan

5 May 2008

Hey Family, Here is what Happened this to Start, Or at least the Highlight.

It's so difficult to know that we have something that is so amazing for eveybody and then to see people just leave as if it were nothing. We have to increase our finding efforts so that we can bring those who are prepared into the Gospel. So that is what we have been doing, but its just hard because we haven't had much luck lately...I think after a week of sincere searching and talking with people we only got two numbers. Although inspite of all these things all i can do is pray for more strength and faith and just keep on keeping on. That is the way of a missionary! Have Faith And Keep on. I am super excited to gain more experience and to be able to teach and preach and work....as Missionaries do. I dont know, This is just an exciting work and I'm looking forward to seeing the church grow by leaps and bounds.
Oh, cool experience though, Elder Turner and myself were at the building waiting for our investigator to show, he was someone that Elder Turner contacted while on exchanges. It was about 15 minutes after 6. Our meeting was scheduled for 6 so we were deciding to leave when Elder Turner had to use the restroom...I was thinking oh no what will I do if our investigator comes while Elder Turner is away, just as i was thinking that a man sort of apprehensively comes walking up to the door, so i let him in not knowing what our investigator looks like...We'll the man tells me that he is Self-investigating the church and that he wants a Book of Mormon in czech because he went to the library and all they had were copies in english so i gave him one. Then, Best Part Yet! He asks me if he can come to Church on Sunday....Im thinking to myself [WOW!] and what did i say,....Of Course you Can! So i Tell him the Times and that I will Keep an eye out for him and find him on Sunday....At that time Elder Turner Comes back and we have ourselves a new Potential investigator. Well He Comes to church and, We now have a lesson set up with him for Sunday at 6. It was truly the work of God. I am so Blessed to be a part of this work, it is absolutely wonderful. So Things are Going Well. I can See the light at the end of the Tunnel!

Now For Questions

Did you get the package I sent? Not Yet
Did it have everything in it? Ja nevim je¹tì - I dont know yet
Have you found a new backpack yet? nope i will be getting one today though
What brand and color did you get? It will Probably be a Deuter
Have you bought any cool ties yet? Nope Not Yet, I will be doinng that today (Hopefully ) as well
How is it going with your investigators? Yes and No...We have a hard time meeting with any one investigator more than once a week. I will Keep you updated

Are there anymore details regarding MY mother's day call? "ICW" (I can't wait) Basically it is what i already sent you. They havent given us any new information...just to have you call at the time i told you before which was like 1 o'clock(7 o'clock my time), elder turners parents are calling at 9 our time, and we have 1 hour to talk. i gave you the number you need to dial, the last 6 numbers are the numbers that reach our actual phone.

But yeah have questions ready to ask me, and it will be good!!! yay! Im excited ! It will be fun.

I Got a letter from Erin the other day and im sending a bunch of letters today,...but i have not heard from Kailey, and i sent her a letter right when i got here in Prague so its been a month...Im not worried about it...Shelby and Erin write to me so that is good.

I'm curious how the house has changed, oh let me know what your plans are about selling the house? I'm having Fun, Prague Is Beautiful! We will definatley come in the Spring. It is a little before tourism hits like crazy...so it will be good

I love you bunches, I will be on the computer for another 30 min or so...so ask questions if you need.

With Love,
Your one and only Son

Star¹i Morgan Nowland

28 April 2008

Hey family its sooo good to hear from you! everything is going very awesome "tady v Praze" here in Prague! We have been teaching a less active family and also three other investigators, and we have a new investigator who we are meeting with tonight. One of our investigators is a super cool kid who looks like he is probably 21 years old he is really cool in that he was trying to find God himself.....but he tried to find God by using Marijuana....go figure? i guess he realizes that that didnt work out too well but anywho, he is super into God but has some really strange beliefs but he listened to us and we taught him the first 2 lessons the only problem is that he got really scared after we taught him the second lesson. I think its because he has gotten taken advantage of by a lot of people in his past and they've robbed him of money and a lot of other things and so he is just afraid that we might do the same.....welll....he has felt the spirit and said it himself that he felt it and i think he knows that what we are telling him is true.....but he just doesnt want to get let down again. but i think he will pull through.

I hope the family is doing great, but now for the questions.

1. How is your backpack holding up? my backpack....well im prepared for an i told you so from mom...unfortunately it is too small. so im not sure what to do as of yet i need probably a 22 liter pack....so let me know what you think

2. Have you shown anyone your picture book or your family pictures? yes my group in the MTC and also my companion

3. Did I see a picture of a Ramen Noodle sandwich in your pictures? you did, it is called a samoan...you boil the noodles for like 10 seconds...mix up an egg with the ramen noodle seasoning...fry the ramen noodles on a pan with the egg poured into the noodles... put sandwich condiments and the now eggfryed noodle square between toasted bread and enjoy...the ramen noodle egg thing should be soft not crunchy (see picture posted below)

4. Was is your sandwich and do you like them? it is a samoan...and yes!

5. Do you need a phone card for Mother's Day? no...actually you all have to call me...because all we have are cell phones and they cant call out of the us....so on mothers day you need to call me at 1 o'clock your time which will be 7 o'clock my time i will explain more in my next email....so that is all for now

7. Are you finding that you will have enough money on your Missionary Visa Card for the month? yes i should be fine...but that account is only for food and other missionary approved things

alright so unfortunately im at the internet place that wont let me put my stuff onto the computer but, i didnt have but a few pictures anyway...so yeah i will make sure to have more for you for next week.

Everything is going great ...i will give you more info about little things in my voice recordings.
that is all for now but i will bw at the computer for another hour writing my letter to the mission president (its a new thing they are trying) so you can continue to send me emails if you have any questions about what i have written

Ja Vam Miluju (I Love You (plural))

your one and only son

Starši Morgan Nowland

14 April 2008

I'm having a really good time here in the Czech and we went to the Prague zoo today and so you will get some pictures of that...umm a lot of our investigators that we invited to General Conference didnt show...infact none of our investigators have shown to anything, it is really depressing. We are struggling a little with the work but i have faith that it will pick up. General Conference was amazing!!! And i talked about it in one of my recordings. Once i can finally send you my stuff it will be much fun for you!! I love you so much!! And i will try to take pictures of food and stuff and of our apartment.

1. Have you had to get your haircut yet? nope
2. If so, where did you get it cut? n/a
3. Did you get your visa credit card? i did
4. How much money do you have to spend each month? 340 dollars about 6000 koruna
5. Do you think it is enough for you each month? i do, although i hvent been here a month yet
6. Did you get any of your money exchanged when you arrived? i havnt exchanged any
7. How was the plane ride? long and rough. i didnt sleep much
8. Did you sleep on the plane? nope
9. What are the interests of your companion? The Jazz, and Star wars and superman and batman
10. How is the weather? weather is warming up but we still have chilly and wet days
11. Are you wearing thermals or thermal socks? neither
12. What is the best food you have eaten this week? umm we eat at home a lot so we make like hamburger helper stuff which is good
13. What is the worst food you have eaten so far? im not a big fan of their tangy sauerkraut
14. How is the language coming for you? slow and hard
15. Does the water taste good there? um you have to filter it first but it tastes fine.

I'm trying to send pictures and video files but im fearing it isnt going to work, this really stinks because basically the answers to all the questions youve been asking me and then some are on my voice files and this computer wont let me put them on. I hate to make you wait but i am going to have to find another computer place to put my pictures and things in an email. i took a ton of pictures today too... im in this czber internet place where a lot of kids come to play computer games and they have like a crazy fire wall that won't let me put any of my pictures or sound files on here, it is really depressing because i have a ton of stuff to give you. I will try and send them later in the week or next week.

much love Starši Nowland

1st Week in the Czech Republic

8 April 2008

I will post Morgan's letter below:

OK so the worst thing just happened, i just typed up this super huge letter and like i thought i had sent it so i closed out the screen and realized that i didnt send so anyways im going summarize real quick and answer your questions.

What city are you in? Prague!!! Prosek area/Jablonecka 40
Who is your companion? Starši Turner
Where is he from? Kayesville Utah
How is the food? not Amazing but it is still good
What has been the best thing you have eaten? For breakfast, roliks(a bread stick basically) dipped in yogurt
Did you buy groceries? yes
What did you buy to eat? all sorts of just czech stuff
What is your apartment like? super small our washer is in the kitchen and it drains into the
sink...no dryer. Smallest aptmnt in the mission
How many members in your congregation at church? about 70
What time of day will you be emailing normally? 11 to 4 somwhere in there
When is PDAY? mondays but today is an exception because we had zone conference yesterday.

Im having a great time it is sooo beautiful here.
I walked on th Charles bridge and went to the cathedral here in Prague
I ride the public transport everyday, its great.

Serving a mission is the most fun i have ever had.

Performing on a stage with a band is the second funnest. This is a hard mission but the hard times make for the best stories. The elders here are great!

I love you all sooo much!
yours only,
¨Starši Nowland