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

Starsi Nowland

Whitney putting Name Tag on Morgan

April 1st - Morgan Leaves for Czech Republic

Dear Family & Friends,

We heard from the Mission President in Las Vegas on Sunday, March 30, 2007. He called to let us know that Morgan would be leaving on Tuesday, April 1st to fly to the Czech Republic. He was very nice and said that once they met Elder Nowland, they prayed really hard to have his visa take a very long time because they really wanted to keep him. They said that Elder Nowland must have been praying for his visa to come quickly and for some reason the Lord saw fit to answer his prayer instead. He was very complimentary of Morgan's attitude and how excited he was to serve the Lord and his likeable personality. We did hear from Morgan yesterday via email. He also sent some voice files that he has recorded since he has been out. He really likes his companion in Las Vegas, Elder Thibideu, he said all the kids call him Elder Tiptoe. He is from Calgary, Canada (the same place our future son-in-law is from). Morgan leaves today at 10am on Delta 786 from Las Vegas to Atlanta and then has a 2 1/2 hr layover where a few of the other missionaries awaiting Czech visas were serving a temporary mission and they fly out this evening at 7:30pm on Delta 62 nonstop to Prague arriving there at 11am tomorrow morning. It will be a 16 hr flight for Morgan. It is 9 1/2 hrs from Atlanta to Prague. I hope he gets some sleep. He is so excited he probably won't sleep, but he should get a chance to call from the Atlanta airport. Jeff and I thought about going out to dinner tonight and we hear the Atlanta Airport food is great....haha, don't worry we aren't going but it is tempting. Enjoy the pictures I posted and use his new address now to write to him. He would love to get some letters.

Temporarily Reassigned

Dear friends and family,

I just heard from Morgan (Starsi' Nowland)last night. He was able to make a call because he has been temporarily reassigned while he waits on his visa. He will be leaving Monday, Mar 24th to go to the Nevada-Las Vegas West Mission. It should only be for a couple of weeks but could be a couple of months depending on the visa. There were 13 in his district. Two were going to Slovakia and they didn't need visas so they are going straight to their mission and 6 others who were going to the Czech Republic got their visas and 5 going to the Czech Republic did not get their visas and they are all temporarily reassigned. Our son is the only one being separated from the other 4. That is because they are all going to the Georgia-Atlanta Mission. Hmmmmm. Now try and figure that one out. Do they think his mom would drive just a mere 60 minutes south and try and see him or what? Sooooo he is going to Nevada with another Elder who is waiting on his visa for Slovenia. And with all of the civil unrest in Serbia and Croatia Morgan said many of those missionaries have been reassigned permanently to Canada. He said that was a very sad day for those missionaries. He said he is very thankful that he is just waiting for his visa. He was actually very excited to go stateside for a few weeks so he can get the opportunity to teach the lessons in English before he has to give them in Czech. He shared his testimony in Czech and it sounded so great. I didn't understand a word he said but I felt his humble spirit, I got a lump in my throat. Whew. I can't even write this without tears. It was very special. If you want to write to him I have put his temporary address for the mission office at the top.

10 March 2008

I will update from the emails/letters we have received in March. He currently has only 14 days left in the MTC and then he flies out to the Czech Republic. He says he is really excited and nervous. We send him a package every week with healthy snacks (at his request) and some fun things too. For St. Patrick's Day we sent him a funny tall green (of course) hat, blinking bow tie, a large pin that says
"Are we green yet?" - quite appropriate for greenie missionaries, green jelly beans, and other fun things. In a previous letter he asked for a Czech Flag to use as a bed covering. Instead of a nylon flag, I got cotton fabric and made him a summer blanket with the flag pattern. He should get it by the end of the week. I am sure he will love it - he better it was a labor of love.

He has taught the first 2 lessons in Czech and said he did quite well but the language is very difficult to learn. He says the "gift of tongues" is literally at work.

One week he didn't get but one or 2 letters and felt very deprived but said it really humbled him. We reminded him of the 3 calls we got from him the entire summer when he was at BYU and how many messages we left for him to call us and he was always too busy. Hmmm. The emails we receive are always very short, so he must be writing to some of you instead of us, so let me know if you have any news I haven't posted.

He always begs for more letters in each email, so here is a plea to friends and family to write this week. I will post his new address next week once he leaves the MTC.

Feb 5, 2008

Starsi Nowland writes:
He got our package with stamps, mailing labels, etc. He was excited to hear I made him a Blogsite. He loves getting letters and thanked the Harringtons for their letter and "huge" bottle of cologne. He says he gets sweaty before the end of the day and this help keep him smelling good. He also got a letter from a few others including the Johnson's. He has seen a few of his friends from home that are in the MTC such as Tyler Ward & BK Batchelor. He hopes to send a picture home of his District of 12 other missionaries. He said he taught the first lesson to a "mock" investigator (a guy who was from Sweden who served his mission in Czech Rep) and he did it in Czech. He said it was a really spiritual experience, probably the best lesson he has taught since he has been at the MTC. He said he went outside at the front entrance of the building the other day and he saw people and cars!!!!. In his words... "It was so crazy, I had almost forgotten that there was still a world outside of the MTC...it was really funny actuall. I can't imagine what I'll be like when I get back in 2 years, but I'll have the Lord at my side so that will help. I'm so excited to learn the language and begin teaching in the Czech Republic. Our teachers have been telling us so many stories about their missions over there...Oh and one thing they all agree on is that the food is AMAZING! I'm so excited. I love you all sooooo much and hope to hear from you soon."

I had asked him a few questions and here are the responsed to my questions.
1. How is the food? He likes the food, but he is not very picky
2. How were you selected to be the District Leader? He said each young man was called in and interviewed and then the leaders prayed about who should be the DL and then they were all called back into the room and he was told he would be the DL.
3. When did you start learning the language? The very day he arrived.
4. How is learning the language? It is a very difficult language, but he LOVES the language and the Lord has really blessed him in learning to speak Czech.