26 Oct 2009

Hey family!

This week’s district meeting was a really powerful one. I don’t say this because I want to brag of myself, but actually because I want to brag of my companion. One evening we came home and we were feeling really good about the day’s activities. Elder Pearson after taking a seat began to share his thoughts out loud. Well before he knew it he had monologued for 40 minutes about the power of our calling and our reliance on the spirit. I felt super motivated by the words that he was sharing with me and felt that he should share those same words with our district. So I gave him about 30 minutes of our district meeting to expound upon those thoughts. He did an amazing job. Elder Hill later mentioned that it was one of the best district meetings that he has had on his mission.

We pushed really hard this week trying to get member lessons. Throughout the week we had a total of 6 lessons with a member present set up. Three of them fell through and caused for a scramble yesterday to make it happen. We came to the point where we had nothing else to do but hope that at one of our meetings there would be a random less-active friend of the investigator there that we did not know about. Even though the standard was not reached, we did see an increase, and that increase is our motivation this week to really make it happen.

This next week should be great the Zone Leaders challenged us as a companionship to get 6 member lessons, so that is what we are going to do. The district goal for the end of this week is to have had 8 member lessons and 4 people at church. Hold your thumbs for us, it is going to be a wild ride!

Now for questions:

It looks like it has been kind of rainy, is that correct? yes
Has it already started snowing? a little but then stopped
I noticed that Elder Hill got a New Missionary - what is his name? Vivona
Where is he from? Indiana
What is your direct address? Dukelska 46, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Do you have a mailbox? nope
So are you getting settled in your new city? yeah its great
Is it challenging because of the beer production? a little but not a lot
Are the people harder to teach? the same
More receptive than in other cities? nope
Struggle with the Word of Wisdom? always
Is your comp fired up about being there? you bet ya
How long will it take to get a package to you? maybe three weeks possible 4
Do you have any investigators getting close to baptism? 2 are getting close to receiving a date
Are the members supportive of the missionaries and do they get involved with the work? a very very little bit....but it is starting to get better, we had three member lessons this week. we are going for 8 total as a district though
I love you all and am thankful for what you have done to help and motivate me
You are truly the best parents that i could have had.--
With love,
Your son,
Starsi Morgan Nowland

19 Oct 2009

A Waffle Fest before he left the Mission Office in Prague - notice the goofy face...lol














He always talked about being so tired at the
end of every day. But he says there is no
greater feeling than being spent at the end
of a day in the service of the Lord.
What a priceless picture.
















The sleeping picture was sent to me by Elder and Sister Robbins. They are a senior couple serving in Prague. Elder Nowland has grown very close to them. I am glad they sent me this picture with them.






They all went on a vylet (day trip) on their P-day to Knezi Hora,
which is right behind the castle, this the place where on
July 24, 1939 the country of Czechoslovakia was dedicated to the preaching of the gospel by
Elder John H. Widstoe. Elder Russell M. Nelson returned to this same spot in 1990 and offered a prayer of thanksgiving and rededication. Very appropriate that the name of the mountain is Priest Hill.












This is a picture of the Zone in Prague before
Elder Nowland left this past week to serve in
his new city of Ceske Budejovice.












Now in the city of Ceske Budejovice on P-Day.


Elder Nowland, Elder ?, Elder Pearson, Elder Hill (if you know the mystery Elder please let me know)

.....

.

Elder Nowland and Elder Pearson

Hiya Family!

I'm now in Ceske Budejovice serving as the district leader!

We traveled in on a train! It was great.

I have come to realize that this is definitely not going to be just a walk in the park. We are going to be walking in the park nearly every day to find the investigators that this area needs. In all actuality, I’m really excited to be able to work here in this city because there is a big need for member lessons and people at church. These are our two biggest focuses. The district has set a baptismal goal of 4 for this transfer and I really feel that if we put the work into it, it will happen. The only thing I’m afraid of is the human factor. I have a really comforting confidence that the Lord can help us find that many people.

In district meeting this week we talked about Moroni and the title of liberty. What he did has become our motivation. We got some old proselyting shirts and put them on, then we rent them off of our bodies and we are going to make our titles of liberty out of them. It was a lot of fun. I took a few pictures as the Elders were renting. We are going to hang a flag up in each apartment, in the building and in branch President Chrdle’s home. It went over really well. Because we have such young missionaries we are having the “Polar Bear” (a training where we apply practical missionary finding methods into czech). This past one we had, we broke down “the contact” and practiced the different parts like in football how one player runs down between two rows of players breaking through the pads that the players are holding; except we had one missionary contacting through three other missionaries. The missionary was not allowed to move onto the next contact until he had accomplished his task with the first.

I am really excited for this next week because we already have four member lessons set up for Tuesday, with about 9 lessons total in the plan. We double booked two 1 hour blocks and got a member to come to that hour. Sister Kalenska and President Chrdle are the members that are helping us. We did a lot of calling! We called all former investigators that looked to have any potential, and contacted as many of our current investigators as we could. There are 2-3 investigators that we are already teaching that are looking really good for making progress towards a baptismal date.

This is a very beautiful city. I’m excited.

We went on a vilet (day trip) today to an amazing Castle Called Hluboka we got some fun pictures!

Ill post them as soon as possible!Question time:We noticed you finally had to use some of your money from your account what did you buy? Two white shirts a thicker coat (it is sooo cold here.....and rainy)Do you have a lot in common with Elder Pearson? we both like to laugh and have good success. He is really easy going. We both like to be goofyDo you think you will see his dad while you are there? Probably not, his dad is in RussiaWas it hard to leave Pres and Sis Slovacek? yeah, but i'll be fine. It was hard to leave PragueWhat did they tell you when you left? "You had better have success down there!" ...Seriously thoughDo you think you will stay in Ceske Bud until the end? AbsolutelyWill you take pics of the apt there? yup remind next week though just in case.....hee heeWhat did you think of Conference? Elder Holland's talk? conference was sooo nice it was a great booster to get me going again. Elder Holland and Andersen's talks were my favorites!Well that is all i have for this week. I love you and will talk to you next week. Make sure not to spend too much money on the christmas package. if anything send stuff that will be great for little gifts to children that dont make too much noise. So i can use them in sacrament. We have a lot of little kids in our branch.

Thanks a ton!!

Ahoj! --With love,

Your son,Starsi Morgan Nowland

10 Oct 2009

I am going to make a quick apology for the length of this letter, but because of conference our time has been cut short today. I wanted to let you know a few things though, and answer some of your questions.I am so glad to hear that things with work are going reasonably well. I don't remember having a single tornado watch the whole time that i was there in Georgia. I hope that everything turned out all right and that everyone is safe and healthy.

Conference so far has turned out to be amazing! it is full of great talks covering concerns that we as missionaries hear on a daily basis. It will be wonderful teaching with the talks once they come out in the Liahona. We have been spending the past week getting transfers all figured out. Otherwise, I will be going to a southern city called Ceske Budejovice i will be a district leader and will be follow-up training Elder Pearson (his father is the General Authority).

As for the questions:

Did you laugh at that poster of Barrett and Evan? Yes i did it was perfect! thank you so much for doing that for me.

Did you enjoy your package? Absolutely, and i am still enjoying it! Im actually wearing the tie today!

Elder Briggs hasnt had grits since he left home and was in heaven when he ate some.

Thank you family for all that you do, the loving kindness that you have shown unto me will be with me for all eternity.

As parents you really were consistent in raising me just as Elder Bednar spoke about.

Thank you.

I am learning so much and am thankful that i am out here. I am truly where the Lord has always desired that i be at this time in my life.--

With love, Your son,Starsi Morgan Nowland

26 Sept 2009

This picture is from a Young Adult Family Home Evening with one of the Senior Couples Serving in the Czech Republic Mission - Bro. and Sister Robbins.






Ahoj!!


It has been another week! Weeks don't last nearly as long now as they did when i was in High School. It all is going by so quick. we just got back from a Zone leader conference that we had in Brno. It was a lot of fun and i am really grateful that at this time in my mission i get to be apart of such wonderful opportunities to learn from the other elders and from mission president.


The coolest thing that happened this week is that.....drum roll please.....I finished reading the Book of Mormon from cover to cover within a 6 week period !!!!! I know for many people this is not such a massive accomplishment, but for me it really is something absolutely amazing. I never really had a very strong testimony of the importance of the Book of Mormon, i always considered it to be a true book, and i defended it as scripture, but i never really knew the great importance that it holds, and also the great amount of knowledge that is contained within its pages. I have grown to love the book. It is interesting because now that i have finished it i feel this great desire to want to pick it up and start all over again. It really is an amazing piece of work that know matter how intelligent Joseph Smith was or may have been; he could not have written such a book by himself. even if he would have had four years to write it. If any man had four years or more to try and write such a book, i am firm in my belief that no one could create a compilation that would come anywhere near to what the Book of Mormon is.





We received a really great blessing from the Lord but not anything that could top what happened to momma. Thank you for sharing that story it is absolutely amazing!! We went out contacting and talked to 5 people. The third and the fifth are where the miracle happened. we talked to them about the Plan of Salvation. One is a convinced atheist and doesnt believe in God but he does believe in something after death, so we set up a time to meet again and talk about exactly what happens after death. it was really interesting because he is a really sarcastic individual and seemed as if there was nothing we could do or say to help him feel the need to learn more. We took a step back and started to listen to him and discern with the spirit what his true desires are. And, we found it. That was pretty neat to receive that blessing of the Lord.





I love you all!!!!!!!!! Have a great week--


With love, Your son,Starsi Morgan Nowland

19 Sep 2009

It is so exciting to hear that things went really well for you all this past week. It really is a great motivation for me to persevere and continue on in the work. I'm really excited to see the branch (he forgets we are a ward here) when i get back. I have a feeling that I'm not going to recognize anybody. It is a wonderful feeling to know that my family is doing missionary work right along side me. I forgot to mention a big ol' HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DADDY!! I want you to know Dad that when my mind was pricked to remembrance about that fact that your birthday had come and gone, I felt absolutely horrible. Then, as i thought more about it i realized that it was probably better that i forgot because then, in my mind at least, you dont get any older. Now isnt that just wonderful. My mind creates a "Neverland" for you, so i figured that even though i am half way around the world, that i can still give you a gift. The gift of never growing up! Which my 20 years of experience has shown me is a gift that you already assume that you have. But now it is official!! So Congratulations to never having to grow up; at least in the mind of your son. I love you daddy!
This week some really neat things happened. We went to a meeting that we had, upon showing up to their house we were pleasently surprised to find that they had four other friends from Nigeria staying with them as well . We felt the impulse to change our lesson plan to discussing the baptism of Jesus Christ. It turned out to be a very bold lesson, but very powerful. Also while i was on exchanges with my District Leadder we were out contacting near the center of Prague which is a bit abnormal because there are always a lot of tourists there so missionaries don't frequent that area too often. For some reason though we were out there and ended up getting contacted by two amercan girls that know (Elder) Travis Chambers. I told them that i had lived with him for two months and know him pretty well. They were really excited about that. Small World huh... So because of the example that Elder Chambers always was, we are now meeting with these two while they are here an a study abroad program. We will see what happens. The power of example is something so great, much greater than we realize. That it why Alma was so dissapointed with his son Corianton. For because of Coriantons bad example, many were hardened in their hearts and did not listen unto the words of Alma and his sons Helaman, and Shiblon. Something really cool that i cant remember if i told you or not is that Elder Briggs challenged me to read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover this transfer. I have been completely absorbed into the book. I am truly amazed that a book of scripture could be so amazing. Another neat thing is that because of this great excitment that i have felt towards the Book of Mormon, when i finish it i want to read the New Testament in the same fashion. It is a witness to me that the Book of Mormon does not only witness and testify of itself, but it testifies of the truthfullness of the Bible and as you read in the Book of Mormon, it develops in you a greater desire to read the Bible as well. The Book of Mormon is truly a magical piece of literature that i know without a doubt was written by the hand of God.

Questions?

Do you think you are a better field missionary or office missionary or both? I enjoy the field work, it keeps me on my toes. But I do ok in the office when it comes to keeping things organized.
What do you like most as AP? working with President so closely, and being able to travel aroung the mission
What do you like least? Balancing the area and the office and the mission.
Last chance for things in your birthday box?
An updated picture of Whitney and Jeff in their home.
Pictures of our new home
A picture of Barrett and Evan Bello
Cinnamon Poptarts
Grits
Green "Icebreakers" mints
I cant think of anything else so if you think of anything else i guess it will be a surprise!it is possible that i will buy a new pair of shoes because mine are seeing their end. cobblestone is a destroyer! But it is fun to look at!
I love you all and look forward to hearing from you next week. Im in Alma 50 and looking like i will finish before the transfer is up...keep your fingers crossed. I love you, and wish you well this week. --
With love, Your son,
Starsi Morgan Nowland

12 Sep 2009

Hello family
I'm really excited to be back home! Well back home in Prague! I have spent the past four days in the Slovak Republic. It was an absolute blast! I have never worked so hard in my whole mission! I'm planning on making a voice recording telling in a little more depth what happened. It was these same three days Tuesday - Thursday, two years ago that the church received recognition in Slovakia. So the Zone Leaders took advantage of this opportunity to excite the missionaries to making the second Slovakian miracle! So we (Elder Briggs and I) went to Slovakia to be a part of it. The schedule was that the missionaries put off all of their regular meetings to the weekend so that for the three days they could devote all their time to finding new investigators. We woke up every day at 5:30,and we were out on the streets from 7:45 in the morning to 8:45 at night! And we weren't just out talking to people here and there but it was power contacting!! It was truly talking to one person after another, we were talking to every single person that crossed our path. I have never worked that hard on my whole mission. We didn't have any lunch break or dinner break, we just carried around carrots and apples and little sandwiches with us and had little 15 minute breaks about every 2 hours. I say that i have never worked that hard, but i have never felt so satisfied and happy. When we finally got home yesterday i was so tired. I am soo happy to be home and to have a day of rest. Cool story really quick though was that when we got back into Prague we dropped our things in the office and then went out contacting for our own area. we talked to three people....just three....The first one was way grumpy and said something pretty rude to us, he was a really big guy, we just looked at each other smiled shrugged our shoulders and then continued on, the second one when we contacted him, he simply said, "I am a Jew," and then continued on, then the third person we talked to was the blessing from God. His name is Adam, he has been thinking about how to get rid of all the problems in his life, he came back to the church building with us and after we taught about coming to know God, and praying with him, he said,"i feel very comfortable right now, really.....pleasant, it is hard to describe." Well you can guess what our reaction was! We told him that those feelings are confirmations from the Holy Ghost that the things we were sharing with him are true. Miracle!

Ether 12:4,6 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with a surety ,hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God. And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.

These are truly words to live by. I have seen this promise fulfilled so many times on my mission. In these past four days i have seen it more than ever! God always keeps his promises to us. the Prophets do not lie. This is truly the Gospel of Jesus Christ again in its fullness. Of that i testify.i love you family
This weeks questions:
So how's everything this week? It went well.
Are you having a better week.
yes we really had a week of miracles, tender mercies of the Lord.
Are you still enjoying being in the office? it definitely has its perks, like this past week.
Scout questions: (moms notes-I am doing a Little Philmont Scout Training and wanted to share some of his cubscout memories)

1. What did you like most about cub scouts? I liked going on camp-outs and making smores
2. Which camp out do you remember? The one in florida when went on the canoe trip and boats would go driving by and their waves would tip over some of the scouts....Hilarious!!
3. What did you like doing most at the camp outs? finding a hiking stick and carving it with my pocket knife. Also, playing capture the flag.
4. What food did you like at the camp outs? Dutch oven cooking is the best ever!!
5. Who helped you most with cub scouts ? Mom and dad
6. What is your funniest memory of cub scouts? i will have to agree with Andy on the time i ate that mexican food!!!!
7. What did you like about Derby Day? Seeing all the cool cars and, the pushcart derby. It was really funny when the scout leader would tip over.
8 What was your favorite Pinewood Derby Car? The Jamaican bobsled
9. What did you like most about the pack meetings? I loved the cheer box!! That was so fun. The live wire cheer was definitely a favorite
10. Is there a particular skit that you remember? The three rivers skit "its as clean as three rivers can get it!"
11. What is the funniest thing one of your parents did while they were being a cub scout mom or dad? Probably watching dad pack for a camp out. It was either putting a 20 dollar bill in his pocket and saying," Ok im ready! i think there is a holiday inn right around the corner!" or him getting the blow up mattress sheets pillows a grill a tent heater, a few chairs and some "tee kee torches" to put up around the tent.
I hope this week is another fun one for you all. Enjoy yourselves
Love you bunches, Your son,Starsi Morgan Nowland

6 Sep 2009

So I'm going to apologize for writing late this week. By the way when i said we are having a baptism here in Prague i was meaning as missionaries as a whole so it was actually an investigator of the district leaders. It is really scary because right now it is taking a little bit longer for any of our investigators to start making the essential progress towards baptism. I am going to share with you that i am getting a little scared that the goal i established at the beginning of mission is not going to be acheived. dont worry though that doesnt take away any of my desire to still strive for it to make it a reality. I suppose i need to have greater faith. We have had a pretty calm week here. But on tuesday of next week we will be in slovakia trying to make another miracle happen there. It was this time about three years ago that the first miracle happened. It was when we were striving really hard to get enough signatures to get the church recognized by Slovakia. So we are going there this time with to try and find 27 new investigators in three days. It was in three days that the missionaries got 27,000 signatures. The Zone Leaders there have invited all the members to hold a fast for the missionaries for them to be able to find that many new investigators. I had an interview with president the other day. It was cool just because he told a little about his mission and how you can have great field working missionaries and great office working missionaries, and even missionaries that can do both very well. He mentioned that while he was an assistant he had a companion that was a great field working missionary for a companion, but when they brought him into the office he just wasnt able to make the transition so he went back out into the filed and did amazing things. The story helped me with my concern a bit. In case you didnt know president Slovacek served his mission in Austria.
Our questions for Elder Nowland:
Anyway how has everything been this past week? things have gone well, we are having trouble finding good solid people.
Are you doing a lot more traveling or has it slowed down for a season? it has slowed down for the week but as you read above it will pick back up again.
Are the missionaries putting into practice the things you have taught them? yes, here and there we are hearing good success storiess about the trainings
And are they seeing results? yup Is the work continuing to accelerate? it is continuing to accelerate. We just had 12 baptism this weekend in the mission! 6 of them were in Olomouc!

I have to go now but i love you and wish you the best this week. P.s. thanks for letting me know about you back momma nad how the priesthood blesing really worked. It was a great testimony builder for me to put more faith in the power of those blesings and the priesthood.-- With love, Your son,Starsi Morgan Nowland

29 August 2009

Morgan sent us pictures of his apartment and also of a few of his
companions who were going home this past transfer.

View from the apt balcony


Elder Nowland's study desk (below) - nice and neat.

Perfect for picture taking. Actually he is a pretty neat young man for the most part. Some of you remember I coordinated all of the colors of his mission items (orange) so it would be easy for him to keep up with. He got his call in October so everything was orange anyway. So you will see these throughout the pictures. My other mom friends thought I certainly had OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder - yeah so!)
Orange supply box with orange stapler, orange sticky notes, orange scissors in the box.









Bedroom Area - notice his orange suitcases.


Kitchen - pretty modern. They must have just cleaned for the apartment check or something. This is just way to clean for missionaries.












Entryway

















Closets and his companions bed.










Here is Elder Nowland's bed. He asked me to
make him a lite weight spread for his bed with
the pattern of the Czech flag. I am happy to
see he is still using that. Under that you will
see his orange sheets and pillow case.













Study Area













Previous Companions who were
getting ready to go home.
Elder Chambers, Elder Nowland, Elder Wilding













Elder Chambers and Elder Nowland
they are great friends














Here they are again. They served in Olomouc
together in Morgan's 2nd area
and had great success together. They will remain friends
forever. Elder Chambers mom and I developed a great
friendship also. We love our boys. Aren't they awesome.

Now for Elder Nowland's letter for this week:

I just got back on Thursday evening from another week of conferences. It was a lot of fun! But I'm not going to lie about that fact that i was completely exhausted afterward. We started off in Brno, where i had some interesting feelings run through me as i watched Elders Guzy and Barker give their departing testimonies!!!! it was super weird!! because i remember serving with Elder Barker and him being scared because he had only 5 transfers left. Yeah....now he is in his last one. Our companionship study training got progressively better. Our best run of it was in Praha. We had this one training called the "silver bullet" which focused on the standards of excellence. For part of the visual aid we had a missionary shoot a silver birthday hat off my head with a Nerf gun. It was a lot of fun and surprisingly no one took advantage of the opportunity to shoot me in the face. Elder Strupp at the Prague conference nailed it first shot! I was impressed.

Cool story of the week was that we had been on exchanges in a little city called Zlin and then another little city called Jihlava. After these exchanges we were completely worn out. We had worked so hard and diligently to find people in those areas. We were in the car on our way home when i vocalised what we were both thinking. I said,"when we get back to praha we need to go out and find, the Lord has someone prepared for us." So we went. We took the metro to the stop Namesti Miru. We get out and make our way up the stairs, right as we were on the pavement Elder Briggs takes about two steps and contacts this guy that has an ice cream cone. The guy is interested and walks back to sit down with us on a bench, we talk about Heavenly Father, Prayer and the Book of Mormon. When this guy sees the Book of Mormon he got really excited. He said something to the effect that, patterns repeat in this world so often, just like when Christ came to the earth and started preaching something slightly new, and the pharisees and leaders of the church all denied Him and hated Him, even today people are still doing that. He said many wise things that were very impressing for a man that is not a part of any church. This man, whose name is Pavel (Paul), has clean cut hair, he is shaven, kind, intelligent, has a job, a home, a great desire to improve and progress, he knows the bible, he speaks czech and english, and is possibly a father (we didn't find out too much about his family) Pavel is what we would call a "Kingdom Builder" he could very easily become the next young mens president, or branch president. He could hardly wait for us to hand him the Book of Mormon. he opened it, closed it, then looked at us and said," I'll read it." From this experience i learned that for miracles to occur we need a few things. We need obedience all the time, we need faith that the Lord is watching over us, we must make sacrifice (hard work even when we are having little to no success), and then when the feeling hits us that we are ready to go in or to stop, we say a prayer asking for strength, and then go out fully expecting and waiting for the Lord to provide. It was a great experience, i slept well thursday night.

It was a truly great learning week. I had a lot of fun. Slovakia is absolutely beautiful. Rolling hills....It looks like the Shire from Lord of the Rings. Marvelous!
Momma, make sure to take care of yourself, lots of rest and patience.
(mom's note: I hurt my back (herniated disc) last week when we were in Utah for our son-in-laws graduation from BYU - but I am doing much better)

I love you all enjoy this next week!--
With love, Your son,
Starsi Morgan Nowland

22 August 2009

Cau! I'm glad you had fun in Utah! The weather looks like it behaved while you all were there. Thank you for sending the pictures. Everyone seems to be the same for the most part. It is a slightly different family to look at with a newly added member. I'm glad you all had fun together.

This week i had a really cool experience with my testimony of the Book of Mormon. the story can be a long one but i will try to keep it short. we were talking with a guy out on Namesti Miru. He started out as being very interested in what we believe, but really just wanted to prove to us that his ideas about us not needing a church or anyone for that matter other than God were the true way that God wanted us to live. He was all over the place and very unfocused. He caused a very strong spirit of contention as he was cutting my companion off everytime he tried to teach this man something or testify to him. I felt suddenly very alone and empty as the Holy Ghost left because of the level of contention between this man and my companion. I stood up because i wanted to leave. Once we kindly said goodbye and walked away, i said a prayer in my heart asking the Lord to please send his spirit back and to calm my heart, for it was beating very fast. After having offered up that prayer, I felt an impulse to read the Book of Mormon in Moroni 10:3-5, and continuing to 6 and 7. I read out loud in an effort to bring the spirit back to the both of us. We were waiting down in the metro when i started reading. To explain a little bit, i have never felt that horrible and completely alone in a long time. I have always had trouble recognizing what the spirit feels like, i was always looking for some powerful feeling that would be super noticeable when a person had it, but i came to find out that the spirit is a very simple feeling of calm and quiet comfort. As righteous people we have this feeling always. It is when we offend the spirit that we really notice the difference. So as i read these passages from the prophet Moroni, I felt my heart and chest fill so quickly with love and peace and that quiet comfort that my body didn't know what to do or how to react other than to send tears pouring from my eyes. I cant remember the last time i cried but i dont ever remember crying quite like this, and i could not stop, which was funny because i felt the desire to keep reading but i couldn't read the words for the tears that were filling my eyes. It was a bit embarassing in front my companion, but that experience was so powerful for me. Any doubts that i had ever had about the Book of Mormon being written by God through living prophets were completely washed away with those tears. I know that God exists. I know that he loves me and cares for me. His love was shown to me that night in the Book of Mormon. He does want us to know who He is, He does want us to know what the purpose of this life is, He does, and has made that love for us boldly evident through the revealing of more scripture in addition to the words that he had been revealing with the books of the Bible. The Book of Mormon was compiled and written by those prophets of old for the sole purpose of proving more powerfully to all of mankind here on earth that Jesus is The Christ, the living son of a living God, Our living God; and that we need not be lost our confused anymore about what the gospel of Jesus Christ is and what it isnt. It was a truly great experience for me.

Question time! Your b-day is coming up. Anything you would like? The only thing i can think of would be those scriptures that i wrote about last week, but i would want those to stay there at home with you all.

How's your new comp? He is a good hard working missionary. We've served together already so that makes it easier.

Are you impacted at all by the Swine Flu or these other Flu viruses going around? nope not yet at least
Did you ever get the envelope of the posters that I made? I did, Sister Robbins thought it was way funny, and President got a good kick out of it. We all agreed that someone has too much time on their hands and loves being a missionary mom.

Did you ever use the Bumblebee training idea? not yet but i was looking at it the other day stewing over it a little.

Family, you are the greatest. I love you and am thankful for you.--

With love, Your son, Starsi Morgan Nowland.

15 Aug 2009

We have been so busy this week. Picking up new missionaries getting a new companion (see questions below), taking old missionaries to the airport, and having leadership conference. I don't think that i have ever been as tired on my mission before as i was this week. We lost a lot of sleep due to getting up early and getting to bed late. No fears though, the reason that we got to bed late was because of President and assisting him with the old missionaries and other items of business. It was really neat though that i got to see Elder Chambers' parents. His mother said so many nice things about momma. She said that she was so thankful that momma talked to her and kept her updated on what was going on with her son. She said that momma was such a wonderful lady and knew for sure that she was a wonderful mother. She said that momma was always so loving and kind and that she really enjoyed the conversations that she had with you mommy.
My letter is going to be a little short today because i was just downstairs in the building with a gentleman that was homeless and looking for food and clothes. I got him something to eat and gave him a coat and shorts. I sat and talked with him for a little bit. He is originally from slovakia so he was speaking a mix between slovak and czech. He is a little mentally ill. He was kind. It was really sad for me because he said that he doesn't love his family because they can't help him anymore. So now he is homeless and on his own. I couldn't imagine that kind of life. a life without family, without love. I will always strive to show kindness and love to others.

I'm happy and healthy, my allergies have been acting up a little but no worries.

Here are the questions of the week:
Who is your new companion? My new Companion is ........[drum roll please].......Elder Briggs!!! Round two!!! Where is he from? He is from North Carolina
Do you want anything from BYU? Maybe, a book. "The Apostasy" by James E. Talmage.
Ok so there is a missionary here who has the small size Quad that I have and use. But get this his is not the quad all-in-one version like mine, but his is the split version. The Bible and then the Triple. I would absolutely love to have that version of the scriptures. I would be so excited. The color of choice would be first in brown, then black. I would ask that you not send them to me though. But keep them at home for me to use when i get back. I will pay you back for them once i get home. I love you tons.
You are the coolest family ever!!
When you send "the Apostasy," if there is still room in the box could you send the cinnamon poptarts, and cheese grits again?!!
Thanks I really appreciate you all so much as my family. You all mean so much more to me since i have been away. Take care until next week.--
With love, Your son,Starsi Morgan Nowland

8 Aug 2009

Hello Family and Friends -
This is Morgan's Mom - I did get pictures this week after much begging. But I have to preface them with this: Morgan has NEVER been able to take a picture with a "normal" face. You should see our family photo album. We can take 5 quick photos on the camera and he will have a different goofy face in every one of them. So with that being said, here he is. Nothing has changed, even as a 20 year old.

A package for the AP and Office Elders...

...some serious stuff

A sign - OK - I need a translator for this one,

but it says something about the name of the Church and a date. I guess I will have to wait until February when our translator gets home to find out what it says. Or if you don't want to wait, you could just google it. hmmm now there is a thought.




I want to go here someday. I wish he would send me little titles to the pictures, but I guess I should just be grateful that we get pictures.

This is Elder Nowland, Elder Guzy and Matthew Slovacek - the Mission President and Sister Slovacek's son. He is a return missionary and has come back to Prague to visit his parents. He caught up with these two while they were on their P-Day in Downtown Prague

Now for Elder Nowland's letter for this week:

Ahojte,

This week is the week of transfers. That means that we have not yet had transfers but Elder Guzy and i have been spending quite a bit of time with President at the transfer board trying to figure out who needs to go where, who needs to take on more responsibility, who needs to move out of their city, etc.

Getting the sisters worked out just right was quite difficult. Zone Leaders and my next companion proved to be the next difficult task. It has been a lot of fun though to work so closely with President, counselling together about what should take place.

A really cool success story this week was that Elder Guzy and I had just had a meeting with a guy named Gus. We were hungry and were deciding where we should go to eat. As we were walking across Namesti Miru (Town Square of peace) Elder Guzy contacted a young man sitting on a bench. He is a young man with a piercing right through his lower lip. He would appear to be a bit of a punk, but he is such a humble young man. He was actually sitting reading a book called "On the Boarder of Truth." It is about a reformer named Jan Hus. We had a very spiritual conversation with him on a bench on this town square that was positioned right in front of a massive catholic church. (Ironic huh?) We taught him about knowing the truth of all things through prayer. He agreed with the things that we discussed and set up a meeting for the next day. He came the next day a little late and a little flustered. He had been running from job to job, and still had another to go to, so he only had like 15 minutes, but told us that he had to keep his word to us even though he would only have 15 minutes. We gave him the Book of Mormon and challenged him to read Ether 12. He happily accepted. A very cool story and success for me that it does not matter what a person looks like, or how they act; they might very well be the person who is most seeking for the truth, they just dont know where or how to find it.

The Work is still going forth. We have had a lot of meetings this week. things are working out well for us. We have been blessed to teach 14 lessons already this week. the Lord is truly blessing us.

Question time:

Did you get transferred? Nope, Assistants always stay for at least two transfers
Did you get a new companion? Not yet, on Monday
What interesting thing did you do this week? Umm i stared at a board for a long time to figure out which missionaries should serve together and where changes should be made!!
Is it scary to drive in the Czech Republic?

a little bit but it is not too bad after you get used to it.
Do you drive on the "wrong" side of the road? nope the road system here is pretty similar to that in america. the big difference is no turning on RED!
Is the drivers seat on the opposite side of the car from here? nope same side.
Take a picture of you by your car OK? Ok, that is not a question momma
Take pictures of your new apt OK? Ok,....still not a question
MORE PICTURES PLEASE-PRETTY PLEASE? Not going to answer one this because it is not a question.Mother, we might need to take some time to re-explain the difference between a question and a command.

(note from mom: I figured if I put a note to him in the question part that he has to answer about sending me pictures, I might get some, hence the funny little replies - it worked, I got some pictures - hehe)

I love you all so much and am thankful for the motivation that i recieve from your letters.

Do something fun and unique this week! --

With love,

Your son,Starsi Morgan Nowland

01 Aug 2009

So this week has been really quite hectic because there is a young single adult conferencce going on in a little city outside of Prague about 2 hours away. Elder Guzy and i were basically the shuttle service for the conference from Prague. We mainly had to bring a senior couple that is serving in Moldova to the conference and then back today so that they could fly to Holland. So today we were on the road for about 5 hours. After getting back to Prague, we ran into another senior couple that is from Serbia. Their son served here in the Czech Republic as a missionary and they had arranged to meet up with a family that their son baptised. This family has been in-active for the past 15 years and this meeting is a opportunity to get them active again in the church. So we have been translating between the two for the past hour. It was a really great experience. Tears were shed and i could feel a great sense of love in the room as these two worlds were being brought back together again. It was a testimony to me that there is missionary work to be done all over the world in all sorts of different settings. This world really is a small one. I love this gospel and the truth and happiness that it brings to people all over the world. Since i am short on time i will get to your questions.
Do you plan on going back to school Spring term? My mission will not end until february so i don't know. I would like to have some recuperation time to work and earn some money but whatever needs to happen i'm willing to do, except for coming home early.
If so, we will have to make a quick turn around to your mission when you get home and it will probably be cold, or do you want to wait and start BYU in summer? Look into it and give me the options of how things would work out in each situation and then i can give you a firm answer of which one will work. Thanks, I love you
When you have baptismal services, do the Elders conduct them or does the Ward Mission Leader do it? The Ward Mission Leader
Is the Branch Pres. there each time? usually, it is very rare that he is not there. He welcomes them to the branch family.
What is a typical baptismal service like as far as the program goes with speakers, music, etc.? We have 2 five minute talks usually about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost, a musical number, and opening and closing prayers and songs. While the individual changes clothes we have a testimony meeting our just sing songs. sometimes missionaries can teach a lesson.

The work is all around us and the Lord can only bring us back into His presence if we will all help each other. We are in this world together, and we promised each other that we would do our best to use our free agency wisely. For some of us that promise includes helping those around us who havent yet figured out how to choose the right.

I love you so much and wish you the best week.--
With love, Your son,Starsi Morgan Nowland

25 July 2009

Hey family,

So this week has been superb. We were in Slovakia at the beginning at this week for zone conference. So left Sunday evening to Zilina, the trip was about 4 hours from Prague. We spent the night in Zilina, and had zone conference Monday morning. It was really funny, because our training had to do with a balloon game. Our training was on communicating clearly. And so we developed a fake game that had no rules, or instructions. We simply gave each missionary a balloon, had two tally takers, and two parakeets (the Parakeets and tally takers had no real purpose). We then gave one player from each team a balloon with the jolly roger (mom's note: I think he means a jolly rancher) on it. Then all at once, we gave them 10 seconds and said "Go!" It was really funny to watch how the missionaries reacted. Most of them started blowing up their balloons, some were highly confused and just sat and stared. We then got into our training which ended up pretty good. The next few days were pretty hectic as we traveled to Banska Bystrice, Trencin, Brno, and finally back to Prague. While we were in Banska Bystrice, I had a really cool experience contacting with Elder Haberman. On their town square in Banska Bystrice there is a really ornate, beautiful, luxurious fountain. Sitting on the fountain was a young couple, Elder Haberman and I contacted them about what they think of when they hear the word "church." To make a long story short, we had a really great conversation, and took them back to the church building, where we taught about the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was unique to see how even though each one of them had different ideas about religion, that they helped each other to overcome certain concerns.

I found this cool analogy in the office for how to teach the third lesson, using a story with pictures about a man who is traveling to his father's house. Even though there was a lot of driving across the two republics, Elder Guzy and I got to know each other better by telling stories all along the way. He really is a great missionary, and has a really funny past.I have come to the knowledge that, when we really rely on the promptings of the Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit can make us sound a lot more impressive than we really are. As we went into the second conference in Brno, I felt like this came true with myself, because I was required to contact Elder Guzy as a part of our training. I didn't quite feel ready for the contact but as i got into it i really began to testify and feel the spirit testifying through me. The spirit entered the room with such a great strength, that it really made the whole training so much more powerful. I am so thankful that God our Father in heaven doesn't leave us here on this earth without any contact from Him, but rather he sends us his spirit that a part of Him might be in each one of us that we can feel such great promptings from our Heavenly Father who knows us so well.

You have a lot of questions this week so I'm going to get right to it:
Has our package arrived yet? yes and thank you soooo much! the grits were a nice surprise
Was the chocolate melted? it was a little bit
Did you eat it anyway? Of course!!!
Anything in particular you want sent...more pop tarts, etc? i don't really see anything that i would like at this moment. Maybe wait on the next package for a few weeks.
Are your shoes holding out? yeah they are doing pretty well. I think they might last me to the end

Are you getting letters from any of your friends? Not a whole lot. the last one i got was from Lindsay Owens and one from Kailey

Are you still having fun being an AP? yes, it is a lot of fun but i look forward to the day when i can get back out and just work in the field again

What neat things have you done with the missionaries lately? Just the training about communicating clearly, and how they didn't have a clue what to do with the balloons because we did not express what we really wanted even though we were very enthusiastic.

How often do you get to drive? Pretty much everyday we are in the car
What kind of car do you drive? It is an Opel Astra (I put a picture of a similar one above)



(Moms note: I have to paste in my letter to Morgan so his response below makes sense, but it is funny, so I hope it is worth it. I was asking him questions...
Did you get your package?
Was the chocolate melted?
Did you eat it anyway?
(golly that started sounding like the little song "I found a peanut, I found a peanut..."
Do you know that song?

OK, I really am not as insane as this letter is sounding, I am just your same goofy mom as always. Here is his response in which he pasted part of my letter:)


(golly that started sounding like the little song "I found a peanut, I found a peanut..."
Do you know that song? i do know that song! I think Andy was the first person to introduce me to it.Well that is all that i have for this week. The transfer is winding down, which is scary, but things always continue on and we must always move forward.
Elder Chambers is going to be going home here in 3 weeks when the transfer ends, which is very sad for me, but he has to move on too.
Take care family!--
With love, Your son,
Starsi Morgan Nowland

Pictures from the Vylet (Day Trip)

Mustache Monday
at the office.







.

President Slovacek, we promise not to paint our faces ever again, but Sister Slovacek told us we could - I promise. Please let me out, please!














(he always used that smile on
us here at home too - it worked on us as well)











Enjoying the day with the office staff,
this is Elder Nowland with the Robbins
and Elder Kartchner














This is the picture with the group.












President Slovacek looks like he is taking the opportunity for a teaching moment. He is just an awesome Mission President. Elder Nowland says he is so blessed to be able to work so closely with he and Sister Slovacek.

President Slovacek let me out of the castle prison

and I promise to behave. But I can still have fun.....

18 July 2009

Vitam vas, It literally means, "I Greet You",

I'll start this email with a quick funny story so every monday and thursday we have a meeting with all the people in the office so that we can all coordinate what will be going on for the next few days. Well seeing as how the office can sometimes become difficult to handle mentally on a day to day basis, we sometimes have to do things to keep our minds sane, which usually involves doing things that are insane...or just dorky. So the theme for the monday meeting was mustache mondays.

President and Sister Slovacek found it quite funny, so the story continues...on thursday when we had the second meeting of the week as all four of us missionaries walked in we were suprised by the fact that President Slovacek, Sister Slovacek, and the senior couple the Robbins were all wearing pirate Patches over their eyes, they said it was in celebration of Pirate Patek, which is interesting because Patek is the word for Friday in czech, so it didnt make much sense, but it was very funny. Sister Slovacek is a hoot!

In the missionary work though, we had a meeting set-up with a guy we had met on a bench last week on tuesday of this week. When we were standing with him at the bank of the river across from Charles Bridge, a young man and a tour guide come walking up to us. It turns out that the young man was from Canada and was a return missionary. He was very jealous that missionaries get to serve in prague. We ended up getting a contact for his tour guide who was a czech, and inviting her to english class. Later on in the week we went over to teach a recent convert name Jana. While we were with her and her 14 year old son (who we are teaching the gospel to) she took us up to her neighbors flat and we taught the daughter and her boyfriend about God and prayer. It was really neat because Jana helped us teach by bearing her testimony, and it was a very strong testimony about the power of Christ and his atonement.

Then on Friday we traveled to Brno for a Zone Leaders council meeting. It was such a good council, because it was a complete council in the sense that we sat in a circle and simply addresssed many different concerns with regards to the mission and how we can improve. The spirit was very strong and we all left with a completely different outlook on the mission and how the work can progress forth. I have begun to really enjoy counselling with the president and the other missionaries. I am beginning to realize that in life and in marriage Counselling will be very important. If we just try to ignore things and hope that they work out, or hope that the other individual will just make the change, then the possibilities for a misunderstanding or a difficult situation will be much more likely to present themselves. We must always be willing to share our thoughts and be open with one another in love and humility. When we accomplish that we will see a greater bond formed and higher rate of successfulness in our lives.

Questions:

So how was the vylet with the Slovaceks? It was a blast!

Did you take pictures?

I did the will be uploaded so that you can take a look at them.

Did you get your package? no I have not gotten the package yet but I assume that it will be here within the week, most likely on monday
Are you feeling more comfortable with being AP? Yes, I am getting to be a bit more comfortable now that I have had time to get know President more, and now that I am beginning to understand what is expected of me.

The mission is a blast! it is unbelievable to me how much i am learning here. You really do learn the skills for life while on a mission! I highly recommend it.

I love you all.

This week can be the best week ever if only we choose to make it that way!

11 July 2009

Morgan is far left on the back row.

Jak se vede Rodino?

Hello family it has been an absolutely crazy quick week on my end as well! So in the life of an Assistant there are a lot of missionary THINGS that we are assigned to do. One of those is that we are in charge of all visa work that takes place in the church across the Czech and Slovak Republics. So there is going to be a youth conference in a little city outside of Prague, and not only are the Czech and Slovak youth coming but there are about 28 youth from Moldova and 2 from Cyprus. So the past few days have been full of filling out Letters of Invitation to the Czech Republic for these 30 individuals so that they can get a visa to be over here. It was hectic because it involved waking up early to go stand in lines to get in as soon as possible. The only problem with waking up early is that we don’t really get that sleep back.

It sounds like mom is becoming an electronic whiz. I’m very excited for dad’s new job. It sounds like it is going to be a big improvement, and a lot more enjoyable. Working together has got to be a blast, as long as you find ways to keep the stress levels down.

I just realized that I might not have told you that I have been driving for about 4 months now, and it is an absolute blast! I also feel really cool just that I can say that I have driven not only in Europe but in The Czech Republic and also in Slovakia!! I was really scared when I first drove because it had been about a year since I had last driven. It is normal now even though it took some getting used to with the different laws and style of driving here.
I think we are officially teaching the most hippie family that I have ever met. I might have told you about them already. They live about 45 minutes outside of Prague in a little mountain cottage, and when I say little I mean little. It has two rooms that are still altogether smaller than our kitchen in Callaway. They play guitars and hand drums, the kids are home schooled, they have goats that they often paint red with the wild strawberries that they pick, and we just found out yesterday that they are going to travel all the way over to the coast of France so that the father can build a legitimate year round live in it “Tree House”! They are the sweetest people; they have three little children which is big for a Czech family.

I uploaded some pictures for you all of a haunted house thinger we went to. It tells all the myths and legends of the city of Prague. There are also pictures of the office that I work in with the other three Elders. Some pictures of the main post office, me with a statue (he is a little indecent but still very neat), in the metro, and others.

It is time for me to depart. I love you family and hope that you continue to see great successes from living the gospel. I have learned so much up to this point and am continuing to gain great treasures of knowledge. Enjoy your week! Oh and we are going on a small trip with the Slovaceks on Wednesday to a place called “Cesky Raj” or Czech Paradise, so you will get some of those pictures next week!!

Love you hodne krat,
Your missionary son,
Elder Morgan Nowland