Cool Blog

2008-06-18T14:43:00.000-07:00

WOW,so i had nothing to put up so, i discovered him. yep hes pretty happy

HAPPY 2ND ANNIVERSARY JD & MEGAN

2008-05-20T14:20:00.000-07:00

I don't have a recent picture of them, so yes this is stolen from Megan's blog...
Today is their 2ND Wedding Anniversary...and I may be a little prejudiced, but I think they are even cuter together now...time has enhanced their cuteness...wish them a happy day if you can!

Emma in ACTION!

2008-05-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

Here she is totally covered by all the other players...no view, but she did make the first shot!!

Not only in basket ball is this girl on her game, but for the 2nd year in a row-she passed off for the Stake Primary all 13 Articles of Faithand the same night ..sang 'I am a child of God' for a baptism...in Chinese!

She is really an inspiration!

RISING STARS!

2008-05-20T14:06:00.000-07:00

Is she already to go...or tell the other team where to stand??

EMMA'S 1ST NET BALL GAME...

So we started off in 90 degree heat of the day...on the hot side of the hill...blacktop= not so fun.

NO shade...no where to sit. Emma plays GA or Guard Attack position. She was the only member of the team to score-6 points. Granted it is a strange form of basketball---leave it to the Aussies! 'NO dribbling ball...ball can't touch the back board when shot' etc. what kind of game is this?

Visit to 'Green Hills' on Mother's Day

2008-05-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

We went after church and dinner to visit Dana's mom. Her name was Milli Rose. The out door pics are taken from where she is laid to rest.

Mothers Day download...

2008-05-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

I am so grateful for family! Emma Rose with all her sweetness...those that know her know EXACTLY what I mean...and Tanner...with his funny ways! I am posting some pics from our day...we started with really beautiful flowers...Emma had saved her money, probably forever...to get me a brighton necklace and earring set...they are gorgeous...I am wearing them in the pics. Tanner got me the mercedes of cook books...red leather...so nice! Can it really be for cooking??

Tanner...don't ask!

Happy Birthday to a legacy!

2008-05-13T17:34:00.000-07:00

Gosh I miss my Nana...I think of her often with sweet memories flooding in. She left a legacy for us all to learn from...the best is yet to come. Here's to remembering a truly great pioneer who lived long and strong, and continues to bless our lives with her stories, examples and testimony.

Happy Mother's Day to me!

2008-05-09T14:16:00.001-07:00

So these arrived yesterday...my favorite flower of all! I love tulips, and I love that Megan remembered that I love tulips! Gosh I miss that girl!

Southern Baja

2008-05-07T18:16:00.001-07:00

The quaint fishing city of La Paz (one of my favorite places that we went...)
A boat that I loved!! Looked like an old car...
The 'Last Supper' Sand artist was sculpting on a beach in La Paz, Mexico.

More Mexico

2008-05-07T18:10:00.000-07:00

The gorgeous arch in the bay.

Another view from the sky...
Dana and I at the condo...trying to self photograph...

2008-05-07T18:09:00.001-07:00

Here are some more of Cabo and the sailing!

Have courage...

2008-05-07T18:03:00.000-07:00

So I had to put some parasailing pics in to 'prove' that I did do it...no regrets as it was awesome!!!

Cabo is beautiful from above...

This is a pic that Dana took as I was too afraid I would drop my camera...you can see the boat in relation to how high up the let you go!

Fashions...

2008-04-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

Emma hitting the runway!

We had a modesty fashion show last week, that the stake put on. Emma was one of the models in the show, so I thought I would show her off...

And Megan please note that I wore my modest is the hottest shirt...

Cabo, Pacific Ocean Side

2008-04-29T17:18:00.001-07:00

2008-04-29T17:08:00.000-07:00

Time passes whether it is fun or not...

So yes, we went to Mexico...who would of thought that timing would be such an issue...when we planned this trip back in November!

Dana was able to spend a few days down in Baja before I came, brushing up on his spanish...always a good thing.

It was so beautiful! The condo had an ocean view, and the people were wonderful!

Nice!

2008-03-17T17:29:00.001-07:00

Could he be blowing that kiss to me??? I wish! As Dana takes a picture of me taking of

picture of Keith...oooohhhh weeeeeee.

What would you like???

2008-03-17T17:22:00.001-07:00

So I guess Dana will not ask next year, what I want for my anniversary!! ...as he endured (well) my fav Keith Urban...(guess Carrie Underwood wasn't too bad for him to have to look at for 3 hours)...It was amazing!! What a fun night we had! Such a great concert--although I missed our concert group from Garth--

Latest from Thailand 3/5/08

2008-03-05T13:03:00.000-08:00

Well we had a pretty good last week here. Last Sunday we had a double baptism at church. Elder Howell baptized the daughter of a recent convert family that we visit in our area...they were baptized about 6 months ago everyone in the family except this one daughter but now she is!! It was an awesome day for that family and we are all way happy for them. Then I baptized an older lady named sommay, who was an old protastant member. She was a referral from our english class, so that was cool. Besides that, yesterday we had a show in a place called lopburi. We showed in a market and met up with E. Tuttle! It was good to see him, he is actually going home in about 4 weeks so thats sad. The Elders and Sisters there got a ton of new investigators and potentials. The sisters got about 8 new investigators and a few potentials and the Elders got about twice that because there are 4 Elders and only 2 sisters. So it was awesome. As for how things are going....its an interesting mix with E. Ensign in here now. We are all slowly adjusting, everyone has a different style they play so it causes everyone to adjust somewhat. Also, everyone had different atittudes and ideas and what not so its just new new new!!, but its good. Well you asked about our tour we are going on....it will be the last week of this month...I believe we are leaving here on the 23rd or somewhere around that time. We will be going to alot of different places....including: udon, nongkhai, khon kaen, mahasarakham, royet,kalasin, sagonakhon, and a couple other places I can't remember them all off the top of my head. Well thats enough about that...haha...Hey I bet everyone is excited for jessie and tommy...thats so cool, I am way excited for you guys:) It's so wierd not being home with all the changes that take place....but the updates will do for now I guess...I was glad to hear everything was ok for grandma, I've been praying for her....I hope she continues to heal. Congrats to tanner for passing the first part of his class, I bet he is excited to get driving....is he going to beat spenser?? did spense ever get his license?haha that would be funny if he did....then it would be like a jake/josh relationship....I remember jake would always force josh to drive him around..hahaha good times eh guys? Remember that one time we went to arkansas....hahaha good times...no need to say anymore....well everything is going good.....as for clothes and shoes i think I'm good ...no needs yet...my suit is way sweet. I'll have to take some pics and send them to you......love you guys elder lowrey

Latest from Thailand 2/27/08

2008-02-27T11:06:00.000-08:00

Hey family....Well another week another email.....I hope you are all ready for the 'exciting' update.haha. Well...we sure have had an exciting week here in the pakkret area this past week. We got our monthly show list of the different places we will be playing this upcoming month.....really quite unbelieveable. We have about 30 shows linned up for the upcoming month, including a tour of the eastern easaun side of thailand that will be for about one week long. So we are all really excited to go out and perform in all the different places. We just hope we will be ready being that we just got two new members in the band and have only practiced about 3 or 4 times. So hopefully all will go well. It all starts with one show this sat. here in bangkok. I'll let you know how it goes. As for me and E.Howell we are doing way good. We have found some awesome new investigators that we hope will be getting baptism dates soon....although we will have to hand them over to the assistants to president and the office elders as we are going to be going around the country performing....we won't have enough time to be with them and teach them. But we will see how it all goes, it will all work out. It's kind of an interesting 'opportunity cost', I actually had an opportunity to talk with President about it...because as a missionary our main priority is our investigators....but he said he knows that it is a big hit to take 8 elders out of the mission but he says that he believes it is worth what our band does for other areas. O yeah elder howells' dad is going to be a mission pres. in the minnisota mission...so he is way excited..for that. His mom and dad were in the recent church news so he was so excited to see them. Well anyways...life is great....our areas are picking up and I feel like our purpose in being in this music group is showing in bright colors....we are seeing so many people be touched and open their hearts to the gospel through it. It's so cool to be a part of this ...I love every minute of it. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world right now. I've loved the last couple weeks as I've looked back and seen the growth I've experienced on my mission. It's so awesome to see what happens and how much you progress when you trust in the lord and do it his way...I love it. I'll never leave it, I am starting to see what people mean when they say they think about their mission everyday of their life....because I do it everyday, even though mine is still going...I constantly think about past experiences I've had. Well I love you all and hope you all are well . elder lowrey

Tanner's Work...

2008-02-20T07:55:00.000-08:00

Last year Tanner took a photography class...and I am so proud of his creativity! These are just a few of his shots...

Valentines Day...

2008-02-20T07:39:00.000-08:00

I can honestly say that I have never had a valentines day like this one...dinner with an ocean view and a movie with great freinds would of sufficed...but Dana may have gone overboard...4 dozen roses later, chocolates :) jewlery (copper and tourmaline stone) and a strand of pearls almost as tall as I am! What a day it was. Hmmm am I spoiled?
Not everyone during a life time that we are close to has our best interest at heart all of the time...UNDERSTATEMENT!! but despite the gifts (don't get me wrong...it was an exciting day!!) I know Dana's main objective is to be my friend and a companion that I can honor and who honors me. I am sooo grateful for his integrity and honest heart.
I know...many of you have had that love for years...but for me, I have never quite experienced life with someone who loves me for who I am, and is striving to build me up.
So I am, today, grateful for the friend I have and the companionship that we do share.

A look on the inside...2/19

2008-02-20T07:38:00.000-08:00

Hey great to hear from everyone...sounds like everyone is doing good. That's too bad that your computer crashed but oh well sometimes starting new is the best thing to do...(that might not be true...)?? Well anyways, I'll answer your question,....the calcium tablets helped a ton and I'm feeling alot better......So this past week has been an interesting one. One of my companions, Elder Pyper, will be moving to a city called Don Muang. Elder Mcconnell , our music leader, is leaving SYS...so E. Pyper was called to replace him. We are also getting a new sound tech. which is a Thai elder named natawhut and Elder Ensign, my mtc companion, is also joing the group this week. As for me I believe I'll be staying with E. Howell in my area. So it will be an interesting moves, we thought for sure that President wouldn't move anyone because we have a big week long tour in march and we didn't think we could be ready for that if we had new people come in...but aparently the Lord thinks different..haha.but all in all I am excited. This past week my two companions and I had an oppertunity to eat dinner with the old Ambassador to the U.S. and his wife. They are one of the royal family contacts that we work with for public relations and governmental purposes. It was awesome!! When working with such key individuals its so important to be always be building good relationships with them....these are the people who have say in us being here in thailand and being recognized as a church...I really see us as young missionaries being guided to know what to say and do to be improving those relationships..it's such a cool thing to be a part of:) Anyways, other than that we had an English Evaluation Night...in which we played games and watched 'Finding Faith in Christ'. We have been seeing some good investigators come through the english program so I've always enjoyed having a part in it. Well, it sounds like things are coming along back home...and sounds like the cabin is getting there too. I can't believe how fast time is moving, some of my best friends in the mission are going home in like 2 days and alot more in 6 weeks ahhhhh...it's so crazy to see all the changes and to look back and realize how much time has passed....time is such and interesting thing when you only have one goal, one objective or purpose....I've been doing missionary work for so long everyday....It's engraved into me...I can't even keep track of time...it's a wild experience....I'd recommend it to everyone....well I love you guys ....i love this work so much...I know that there is so much work to be done....so do it. Have a good week too:)love you> elder lowrey

Make today count...

2008-02-05T13:10:00.000-08:00

Yes, today is the day...make the effort!

You will feel better!

GARTH 08, LA I was there...

2008-01-30T10:27:00.000-08:00

Yes the big weekend came, and like all good things went way too fast!
Amanda did win, got all her pics up first! What a beauty of a belly you are getting girl! So fun to see her in her nesting get up! What a cute momma!
It was a really fun (tiring) time. But what is better than a girls weekend...sisters, neices and cousins...and Tommy?? I was excited to meet Jessie's Tommy...totally approving of course (as long as he is still paying :) I love my family so much! I never realize how much I miss my sister, until she is here, or I am there... and there is giggling...and memories of our lifetime friendship...what a weekend.
Prior to the family's arrival- Megan flew in for some fun! We took Megan (Emma and I) before everyone came Thursday, to see 'Wicked' in Hollywood at the Pantages Theater--which was amazing. --The theater and the musical. (belated birthday celebration) yes she is 22! I didn't think I would enjoy the play as much as I did. I think we all did--digging for quarters, trying to fit under 1 umbrella (thank you Emma!) and all!! With this amazing weekend planned, of course the black clouds creeps in, as they tend to do, but did not spoil the mood--goodness prevails! We took a day trip Saturday to Newport and Balboa Island to see the sights, walk on the pier, take the ferry...and the best watching Lauren busting some moves...too much fun for one weekend!
Garth was amazing, as we knew he would be! (Even better than our ice cream!) We did get to see Trisha and Huey Lewis perform a couple of tunes which was such a bonus to the absolutely packed center. Still lovin the triplet hoodies...we looked good!
I have this blurred memory of a bridal store?? What was that about? Thanks to all who helped --in the midst of turmoil surprising me once again, to make this a never to be forgotten weekend!

the road is long...1/29/08

2008-01-30T10:21:00.000-08:00

Hey family, man did you guys miss an awesome week.(wish you were here haha) Well lets see, we had so many shows i can't believe it. We had one on Sat. which was awesome....there were so many people there. Mostly because it was set up right outside the skytrain station in downtown bangkok...so there were hundreds of people coming and going throughout our show.....anyways it was a great sucess....the elders and sisters in the area got a ton of new investigators and alot of potentials. Then we had a baptism on sunday and also had a fireside in asoke again, this fireside was about pa work in thailand and whats been taking place recently with regaurds to sys' part in helping missionary work in thailand... it was awesome. Then on mon. we had a show in the office elders area.....not so much as a sucess as the other shows but it was still pretty good. It is so exhausting to be hauling all that equipment around again...it reminds me of past work with corporate events and old days in the band....man its tiring ...loading then unloading then doing it again...then going teaching...it is a way tiring way to do missionary work. Then yesterday we had our zone conference which was way good...president dodge talked about changes that will be taking place within the church with regards to president hinkleys' passing away. Then today we went to ayuttaya and went around with the other elders there, which was a nice needed break:) It was good to see E.Witt , who I served with there for 3 months....who is a good friend. It was so good to talk about the investigators that I had left there and see their continual progression in the gospel...it is so awesome to see results from hard efforts. This saturday we actually will be going back to ayutthaya for a show so we are looking forward to that. Other news.....I got my suit that I had ordered , it is the coolest suit ever....thanks for the christmas gift mom. Well how is everyone doing at home? It sounded like your get together was fun.....one of those much needed breaks:) Hey how are things going back in the ward there? How is the new bishop and things going? How are the kids doing in school? How are the out of school activities going? Wow, I can't believe I'll be coming up on a year in country in a week or so ....crazy to think how the time is flying by. I've learned so much since i've been out here...so manythings that i don't think i could've learned anyother way besides coming here. It has been good to reflect on my personal growth since i've been here on a mission. It is an awesome thing to see how so many things i believed before are actually engraved in my thoughts and speech and actions. It's things that can only happen by living the principles and teachings of the gospel. It is so sweet to look back and see what my mission has done for others and of course myself. The gospel is the sweetest thing in the world, I love it. My new assignment here has taught me alot, its defiently been a growing experience for me .....well its been a good week, thanks for the love and support from all you guys......love elder lowrey

Beaches...everywhere you turn...well it is an island...

2008-01-18T12:02:00.000-08:00

I asked for a pose and this is what I got...

2008-01-18T11:54:00.000-08:00

My silly husband... He was the best tour guide! When his Dad retired from the gas company, they bought a sail boat and sailed to Hawaii the year before Dana's mission. He has a great 8mm film about the sail. Dana took 2 friends and his Mom and Pop. It took 3 weeks total to get to the big island. He spent about 3 months sailing around the islands.

Scenes from Hawaii

2008-01-18T11:35:00.000-08:00

Snowmen carry surf boards.

So, Christmas on the island was alive and well! They had more decorations in Hawaii and more lights then anywhere I had ever been!

So back to my Hawaii tales...

2008-01-18T11:27:00.001-08:00

Okay so I did not expect to see these guys in Hawaii...

We started yes with Alan's graduation...great!!! Stopped by the temple...gorgeous...

Setting the Scene...

2008-01-18T11:05:00.001-08:00

Presidents...honored guests...anyone you know??
crowd of hats...eager hats!

the scene...

Big Al's Big Day!!!

2008-01-18T11:00:00.000-08:00

here he comes just a walking down the street...singing do wa ditty ditty dum ditty do!

Yep had to sneak a little sees in there...sooo many leis! He had one of fried chicken!

With proud parents...

And proud aunty...

a hug from the momma

1st Stop...North Shore

2008-01-18T10:59:00.001-08:00

A bit fuzzy but you can make out the eager parent's in the crowd...as Ron and Jenny wait for the big moment...

Christmas in Hawaii...

2008-01-18T10:46:00.000-08:00

I no longer wonder why Hawaii is the rainbow state...I started out trying to count all of the rainbows that I saw during the 10 days on the islands...but failed! :)

The beauty and uniqueness the Hawaiian Islands hold is incredible!

taken on Oahu

Reunited and it feels so great! 1/16/08 Happy B-Day to MEGAN!!

2008-01-16T12:24:00.000-08:00

Hey...so the new and unique adventure has begun...what an interesting and mentaly draining past couple days I've had. So lets talk about it so far.....last Wed. I packed my bags and thur. i went to bangkok and had moves meeting...of course I got called into the band....nothing new....I actually am in a three-some.....interesting eh? now my second time. I am with Elder Pyper and an Elder named Howell....well you might have heard about E. pyper because he is in my group and I was with him for 3 1/2 months in surin,...in the same house..E. howell is 2 groups older than us and i met him in the mtc also so it s a big reunion...so those are the comps....we live with 2 other elders....E. mccleary and elder chaiotta....both of whom i was pretty good friends with before so we have the sweetest house in teh mission for sure...it is so fun....sometimes too fun. So in the group there are 7 of us....E. chaiotta is the sound man....and the rest of us do different things...: E. Mcconnel(utah) our music leader plays piano and sings; E. Wortham.(another guy i met in the mtc one group younger than me) plays bass....and sings...and some trumpet..;elder mccleary....sings and random things like cowbell, shakers, chimes, and bongos...an interesting mix...;e. pyper plays 2nd guitar part and sings lead on almost everything....;i play guitar.....and some thai instruments that i am learning and sing; and elder howell sings. thats the group....we practice 2 times a week for about 4 hours....(tue. and thur.)other than that we work like a normal missionary unless we have shows or special gigs.....like sat. we had a specail fireside in a place called thonburi...in bangkok...which we performed an "acoustic" set..so yeah...the new calling is really hard....alot harder than i expected....we have 30 min.a day to study our parts (singing and instruments) and then get together and practice as a band tue and thur. so not a lot of time to learn parts....beings that i am not a singer and have never learned how to sing parts but we are workin on it...and we have to memorize the songs in thai...and our instumental parts...which i have alot of.. so at first it feels kindof overwhelming ...but it will all happen...in due time. Man I love playing guitar....I missed it so much:)well i have never been so tired my whole mission ...there is alot of practicing late and getting up earlier to do special things and assignments....like today..we woke up at 4 30 to go to a place called asoke...and met with a guy named Bishop Keith B. Mcmullin...might have heard of him before eh?? he is in the presiding bishopric....so that was way sweet it was so good but i am sooooo tired..there is alot of pressure because its just like i come in and need to be ready to perform for shows so its an interesting thing we got going ...but it helps this mission alot, so I am learning..well we only used about 30 min today so i've got to go teach english class....love you guys hope all is well at home....i am good and enjoying burger king and subway:)i already feel better:)love you guyselder lowrey

Our Missionary Rocks...literally!

2008-01-10T16:03:00.000-08:00

Well....man what a crazy week.....it has been such a roller coaster here this week. This past week by far has been the craziest moves week of my mission. It all started because my companion is going home this week.....which leaves me in our area....because I know all our investigators and members and the area....so usually I would stay and train someone else in the area then I leave ...but ...that is not the case this moves.....President Dodge called me on Tuesday and sure enough asked me if I'd come play guitar for the mission band "SYS". Well ...wasn't expecting that haha...so tomorrow I'll be going to bangkok and getting situated down there.....and two new elders will be coming into my area. On top of that .....Elder witt's greenie (hunsaker) is moving and elder witt is training again.....so ayutthaya will have two greenies....so that will be fun for the area. Anyways as for me I have no idea what is going to happen haha next week I'll have more information.....but yeah we don't have a lot of time because I need to go pack my stuff and clean the house and do a number of other things before I leave...so we aren't using very much time on the comp....but I am in good health and still happy ....love you guys thanks for everything elder lowrey

Live from the Elder 1/1/08

2008-01-04T16:30:00.000-08:00

Hey all, wow I can't believe that it's 2008! A part of that unbelief is that we don't celebrate it as missionaries.(meaning staying up till' midnight and eating all kinds of foods and what not) So a new year ....what do you do? I am glad I am on a mission, it's like I don't have to chose what I am going to do this year...it's all laid out for me. I just decide how I'm going to do it. Well I am way excited for this year and for the experiences that lay ahead. I honestly can't believe that more than a year has past since I was last at home and last saw everyone. Well as for my week, it was awesome. Even though almost everyone was completly drunk it was still good. So everyone is off work and school and most everyone wastes their time with alcohol and drugs....but....we found one guy in the mess of the crowd who is awesome......we hope. haha. We invited this guy and made and appt. for the following day which was yesterday...he was really good. We are going to see him on friday again so next week we'll know how he really is. Other than him all our other investigators went home....meaning went to diferent provinces to go visit family for the new year...so it's been a quiet week. On the other hand, it was way good to talk to those I talked to. So good to hear a familiar voice and to hear all is well. Thanks so much for the christmas gifts and for the new year wishes from everyone. I hope everyone has a fantastic year and we will see you in a couple months...haha...well not much too report...love you guyselder lowrey

12/25/07 Christmas in Thailand...

2007-12-28T14:13:00.000-08:00

And so this is christmas...and what have we done...another year older, a new one just begun -niel diamond. HEY!!! How was everyone's Christmas? I hope it was as good as mine was:) So yesterday all us missionaries were all treated to a boat tour/luncheon on the river jaw phra yaa.....down in bangkok. It was a lot of fun to see all my friends and see president Dodge....as for food wise we had some classics ...rice and stuff(stuff meaning meats) but it was tasty...and free. After our lunch we had a white elephant exchange....which was alot of fun...I personally ended up with the much coveted "swensons ice cream membership card" I was very pleased with the gift...in fact we have plans as a district to use it today...:) this card includes buy one scoop of ice cream get one free....and 15% off and what nots. So I was happy...the other elders in my district got as follows:E. witt, wind chimes; E. hunsaker, pingpong paddle set; and E. Ly, got a massive bag of candy....which will end up being dispersed and separated amoung the district....:) on top of that....i got a couple packages...from mom....which included the necessaties of the holidays: gel insoles, tooth paste/electric power brush....and junk food.....with spending cash....(which will turn into a custom tailored suit in a couple weeks:))and also a package from grandma fish....including swedish candies, socks, and study materials. So all in all the best christmas in the mission so far...As for other activities....on monday...our district and starting with about 4 members went caroling to lessactives and actives homes....after caroling to each individual home those members would jump in the back of the truck and go with us to the next home...so at the end of the night we had quite a few people...it was so much fun...I was loving every minute of those christmas songs....playing them on the guitar....we of course added licks and small solos....for show....only... needless to say we rocked christmas here in ayuttaya..no one ever saw it coming. speaking along the lines of music....there has been some speculation...with regaurds to the band sys. First of all , to answer some of moms ?s, it is all missionaries in the band...it is a "special" calling in this mission....we have the band because it helps keep us in the country...it helps us (as missionaries) keep getting visas...because we are playing free concerts and often perform for royalty and special parties and events...so it helps us have better relations with the government here. There are alot of rumors going around the mission about me right now...with regaurds to this band. It seems as though all missionaries are set at getting me into the band....everyone is always trying to convince president dodge to put me in....but of course he won't,yet, because he only calls those who he feels like he should call. It's not about the talents you have with music....but more so what president wants us to do. As for me personally I dont' really want to be in it.....I like being a normal missionary....if you are called in the band you don't really do missionary type of missionary work...meaning tracting and inviting and teaching investigators....so it would be wierd to be called into the band....but if thats what i get called to do I'll do it for sure. So anyways on another note..our area is really taking off. We got a couple people that are doing really good. they are really progressing....hopefull they will keep it up...and hopefully we can keep finding new people. I love this area alot it is so good. I've learned alot here.....probably some of the more important things I've needed to learn. It's been a sweet christmas and a good start of the moves...I can't believe there is only a couple weeks left until I get a new companion...I am going to miss my lil' cambodian friend, I love this guy alot. well enough about random things in my personal life....love you guys hope everyone is doing good and well....for those of you in missouri drive safe in the ice and snow....and those of you in cal. i guess drive safe too.. ...love you guys happy new year!elder lowrey

Kauai, Hawaii 12-2007

2007-12-22T11:47:00.000-08:00

Hanalei Valley, Kaui...can't even image the beauty! I can't believe that I am in Hawaii...so much to see...many pics to follow!

Andy's letter 12/19/2007

2007-12-22T11:42:00.000-08:00

Hey family.....how's life? As for me it's all good. So..kind of an interesting week...no Christmas email from mom and stuff.....hmm. So yeah I won't hold it against you:) Well yeah so I have had an interesting week this past week.....We got rockin and rollin a little bit in our area....we've found like 15 new people...and a couple familes so we are trying to get them progressing but haven't yet met with all of them....so next week we'll know who is progressing and ...but yeah it is looking good for our area....we are still practicing for our christmas jam on sat. I am looking forward to playing....I've loved playing guitar again it's been so much fun...but makes me think about home too much....haha...other than those things today we went down to a dermatologist in bangkok because I've had some "bodily rashes" break out the past few days...so that was really awkward.....enough said about that.....so as many of you probably know....this is my last christmas in the mission field...and I will be calling home on the 24th (think its a monday)at about 5:00p.m. your time....so don't worry about anything just sit by the phone on that day and time...and hopefully you are free....because I won't check my email before then...haha isn't that convienent?? we love mission rules.....anyways....my companion is dying in 3 weeks which is interesting beings that I am his last comp...it brings interesting feelings....I've actually just recently killed one of my zone leaders....this past monday was elder skousans last "working day" and he spent it with me up in ayutthaya...we saw some good stuff happen so that was sweet. Anyways besides that I can't believe it's christmas because I am still in a constant sweat....haha we are sailing smooth at a solid 90 degrees..so no snow thats for sure.....and there aren't any decorations.....or music....so it's like its not happening....although it is...oh yeah we have our christmas party on the 25th....for the missionaries....we are getting on some boat and floating on a river for like 3 hours gwaa gwaa.....from what I understand there will be food and gifts(meaning white elephant thing) and some other things....so it should be nice..... I am excited to see old friends and stuff.....well love you guys hope your holidays are fun....i sure miss everyone!love you guys elder lowrey

Elder' latest 12/12/07

2007-12-14T09:50:00.000-08:00

Hey mom and fam, how was everyone's week? Hope it was good. Hey mom you should ask Elder Snieter if Elder Jensen ever rapped for him....because while I was with him I would make up beats on my guitar and we would have E. Jensen rap every night....he's really not that good.....but the stuff he says is way funny. We had some good topics and good times:) Well, I can't believe that the Clasons are moving away....sad day. Hey, I bet everyone is excited for Christmas....eh? I know I am. I'm not sure if I told you this last week but we are going on a ship for christmas....so it should be way good. Besides that we have some good activities planned at our branch. Well this past week was so good. We had our Zone conference, in which we had a guest speaker. Who just so happened to be Elder Hollstrom of the seventy who looks over the asian area. It was so good we did alot of hands on trainning and got some good advice and direction. We definetly got the spiritual boost we were looking for. Other than that, Elder Witt and I switched off yesterday and had a way good time and found their area a new investigator. Elder Witt and I get along really good and are pretty close.....so it made for a really fun day. By the way, I told Elder Witt about our boat trip we are planning.....and he being a surfer from flordia said if you need another hand....he is in. He gets home before me though, in march of next year so...little before me. O hey mom I was wondering if you or Dana or the kids wanted me to get you anything special....like get a suit cut or whatever.....suits are like 150 bucks......custom tailored and you get two pairs of pants...so if you are interested in anything.just send me your measurements ..and what color/style you'd like........or watches or anything let me know and i'll hook you guys up. Well I was thinking about getting myself a suit cut.....because my suit that I brought is pretty much done for....well anyways...hope everyone has a good week. The gospel is still true over here ....hope everyone has the opportunity to share it this christmas!!!!Love you guys....let me know what you need Elder Lowrey

Irony

2007-12-10T16:10:00.000-08:00

hey mom....glad you liked the pictures....hey that Elder that you asked me about is the one that just moved from ayutthaya....I served with him for a moves here in ayutthaya....and he is one group younger than me so I met him in the mtc...he is a cool guy and a solid elder....so you can tell elder snyder that he is good :)But yeah he moved out of my district a week ago and is serving in a place called warin, province of ubon...well on another note....you guys are going to Hawaii??? for 10 days..??? Just for the record....in my childhood we never left the states...then when I went on a mission you guys went to mexico last year and hawaii this year...oh, man.....shheewww...these kinds of things are hard to get over...haha.well atleast I'll get the boat trip when I get home....next december..well work on the island...hasn't changed too much....in fact work in ayutthaya hasn't changed for a while....this whole area hasn't seen a baptism for about a year already...so its hard for both areas right now...this past week I met one really cool guy....that just so happened to be the head father at the biggest catholic church here in ayutthaya...but I called him and went and met with him and taught him about our church...he is way good....I'm pretty sure he won't change because of his current position in the church, but atleast we have the chance to give him an opportnity....and he is pretty open to studying in the book of mormon so who knows what will happen with him....so yeah other news we had our moves meeting and elder witt is training a greenie from st.louis mo!! so the district morale is up because of hometown bonds....haha....his name is Elder hansakerhe is pretty cool.....hopefully he gets to see something good in his greenie area....well this past week we have been having alot of problems happen in the branch my first week here we had almost 55+ people at church, which is pretty normal but the last couple weeks weve been getting about 30 or less....so its getting interesting.....funny how the experiences I had in surin kind of trained me for this place...i find myself being able to find answers to problems alot easier because of past experiences.....so I am grateful for that.but yeah hopefully we just keep working and someone eventually will reap the rewards...well hey this week is huge for the thais..its one of there bigger holidays..Fathers day.....which is the kings birthday. there are so many crazy things going on....for instance...infront of city hall they have this massive tent with free food alll day.....which is of course planned into our daily plans....its not the best food but its free....and there are alot of people over there to invite. besides that they have set up concerts all over the city so it makes finding people alot easier at night....because they are all gathered in these areas;.....bad thing ..they usually are all pretty drunk.well not too much other news...life is good ...oh yeah i was wondering if I could get some calcium pills...im having problems with my joints ....i think it might be from not getting calcium because i eat rice....so that would be nice...it doesn't have to be a sams club size..just something normal ....umm other than that life is all good....i'm excited for christmas...the ward had me learn a ton of christmas songs that we will be using when we go caroling....so that should be fun....well love you guys...hope you have a good week .....i want to throw some happy birthdays to all those who have one.....(i cant belive my lil bro is 17..!!!ahhaha crazy sweet hope you had a good one man)well love you guys....elder lowrey ps...grandma fish: thank you so much for sending my book!!!!love you

Thanksgiving 2007

2007-11-28T10:35:00.000-08:00

Every holiday I hold my breath hoping that if I am helping to care for the missionaries in our ward...someone in Thailand is taking care of my missionary.

It was a lonely Thanksgiving with out Andy, (those who enjoy feeding him know what I mean--he is fun to feed:-) lots of ooohhs and ahhs.

Yet, this year he was in good hands, thanks to the Gibbons Family in Bangkok.

We had a lovely day and were so happy to have Megan here with us!

Megan and I had more fun on the days to follow...shopping until almost midnight...and walking the pier in Redondo only to entertain ourselves by renting paddle boats in the harbor...It was a fun weekend.

I have soooo much to be thankful for, and am grateful for where I am.

November 28th 2007 Thai Turkey report...

2007-11-28T10:33:00.000-08:00

Hello family...So I'm sure everyone is wondering how my thanksgiving went..?or maybe you don't care but I am going to tell everyone...So we went to bangkok to the home of a family called the Gibbons...and were also joined by the families of Bunker and Felps. Thanksgiving was awesome. Lets just say that these families really took care of us. The food was so good...and the house was just like back home...it was so crazy to see things that I haven't seen for a while....like a real dryer!!or the silverware or a couch.... or CARPET!!! did I tell you guys that thais don't have carpet??? oh yeah they had central air too! what an experience...it was way fun. They had so much food and were way good hosts and hostesses.....it was awesome. Way better than the hoagie sandwiches we got in the mtc last year...haha. I also learned that I will miss 3 thanksgivings from home...! cuz I'll finish my mission next dec. like the second week. Anyways the down side of that experience is the homesickness that followed ....but the left overs that they sent home with us helped us with those feelings:) Well other news we have one elder moving from our district and its me...not....wait not me...elder jensen...is moving and a new greenie is replacing him...so thats exciting....as for me I will be killing my cambodian companion elder ly...this will be his last move before he finishes up so it should be good. As of right now everything seems to be going good. I'm not sure why but starting to get a little homesick..with christmas and stuff coming up...this will be my 2nd christmas.....kinda wierd to think eh? Well it sounds like everything is good with the boat..you should tell Dana to start boating over to Thailand and by the time he gets here I will be getting off my mission and he can pick me up...haha fun eh? ....anyways...thats exciting and it sounds like everything was good with grandma lehmans funeral....hope everyone had a good time. Well to answer your ? about the box....there is really no gaurantee on that stuff...too bad there were some sweet things in that box...(completly irreplaceable)..:( So yeah tonight should be really fun....we have our english showcase night...and we've planned out an American Thanksgiving night.....which will include all the things we do as kids in kindergarten...like make indian hats and pilgram hats out of paper.... bobbing for apples...(not sure how the thais will do with that) and one of my favs ..."The Turkey Hunt"....ok so we usually don't do this in America but we are incorporating here ok...? anyways we have fake bushes and behind these bushes will be a flock of turkeys(actually balloons...but have the appearance of a turkey...???) So, the players have to aproach the "forest" and make turkey calls inorder to entice the turkey to exit from its bushy home....when they make a good or funny enough call the turkey will slowly and cautiously exit its bush....at that time the player must shoot the turkey using a very cleverly made blow dart gun.....after they kill the turkey (or brake the balloon) they go get the question that is inside of the turkey and proceed to answer it....kind of a twist off of jeopardy...hope it is fun....?? :)Don't worry it's completly harmless and kid safe....hopefully. Well this week should be a good one we have some new investigators that are reallly good that we have found this past week....so the work is picking up and I am excited to be with elder ly another moves...!!:)Well thats my report...love you all elder lowrey

Elder Lowrey's Thai Tales 11/15/07 (hump day!!)

2007-11-15T10:19:00.000-08:00

Hey, sounds like life is good and all ....with a 26ft. long boat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!what ...where did that come from haha...sweet I am looking forward to that in a year...so yeah today is my year mark as a missionary...this is the day that i entered the mtc...wow...time flew so fast...i'm loving every min. of it....so yeah this past week I was out for a couple days....being sick...but it wasnt dengay so that was good....the hospital here is good too...so that was a plus...anyways i was sick for like 4 days....so it was a big set back...this past wed. we went to a massive waterfall that was way fun..but sad because we couldn't swim in it....but it was alot of fun...anyways...I'll send some pics next week....I was sad to get the call from president that grandma had passed away. I will miss her alot...I hope everyone else is coping ok..with everything. Let me know if I can do anything for anyone.?? well sorry I didnt' write a lot this week I emailed grandma and megan so I dont have much time left... hey have you got the box I sent yet???I sent it a month ago so you should be getting it soon....???hopefully. when you get it I'll explain some of the things in it....cuz it might need some explaining....anyways I love you guys....thanks for the email this week ....know that I am feeling better....and that I love all of you..oh mom I have a favor.....will you send me my "teachings of the prophet joseph smith book" it actually might be a grandma fishs house...I am not sure....but that would be great...if you could. love you guys..elder lowrey

November 14, 2007

2007-11-14T13:15:00.000-08:00

So did I ever think that I would be excited about sailing? May just be the furthest thing from my mind...but yes we have a new addition that I am very excited about. She is a 26 foot spooner named Jambalah. We bought her in Monterey when we were up for Amanda and AJ's wedding. NO we did not plan on coming home with a boat! This past weekend we trailered her to the desert for holding...and getting her ready for a spring voyage to Catalina.

November 8th, 2007

2007-11-13T17:43:00.000-08:00

week four on the island..... Hey fam....how's life in the good old usa??? Thailand....yep. Well this past week we had our zone conference. We went down to bangkok on tuesday and had our conference then me and elder witt switched off and stayed with the "Sys" band down in pakkret for our p-day. So anyways our main purpose in staying an extra day was to go to a place called the villa, it's a import grocercy store.....so you could only imagine the feelings that I had as I walked through the doors and saw all the marvelous things....let me just say imported food is awesome. Well the results are simple.....soft tacos and chips with salsa.....a massive thing of hersheys syrup.....a1 steak sauce...pepperidge farm cookies..and a number of other things...we also got to go bowling with the other elders in bangkok, which was way fun....anyways my shopping experience probably has no meaning to everyone else but if you didnt eat or see some of the things you like for a whole year....you would be just as excited.....ok....?wellother than that experience I am not sure what I got hit with but I am taking the sickness again....there are signs of dengay but I think its just another false alarm.....hopefully it doesnt turn into anything big or nasty....but yeah besides the sickness and our p-day....and zone conference....lets answer some ?s....What is happening with the weather this time of year? ....its still really hot.... Do you get to sight see much on your p-day? ....sometimes ....everytime i send pics means that i got to go sight see.... Emma would like to know if you have to do your own laundry and house keeping?.....partly...there is a old thai lady who cleans up for us....:) so yeah other news.....my comp is still under 5'2 and still cambodian...and the river behind our house has dropped about 7 feet so the worries of flooding are over....we go fishing alot and jam with the karaoke boats behind our house...which is still way fun...?anyways...not too much new news this week ....oh yeah I bet you'd like to know what president dodge talked about at zone conference....dont you???? hey says dont "khii nog" .....lets talk about it.....that in thai is bird poop....do you want to know the meaning...? the thai people call white people that come back and marry a thai girl bird poop....(rightfully so)so yeah pres. dodge talked about some missionaries coming back to find a wife ....he simply said...dont do it....which is what everyone wanted to hear ...except those planning to come back and marry a thai girl...interesting no??? apparently those are the problems in the mission right...now...well on that note lets end this letter....love you guyselder lowrey

OCTOBER 31ST ELDER UPDATE

2007-10-31T14:35:00.000-07:00

First thing first....thanks for getting those snacks in the mail...they are going to change peoples lives here in thailand. Anyways, life is life. This week has been a classic week here in Ayutthaya....We are seeing some sweet things happen here in this branch.... this past sunday the branch president pulled us into his office... with us he discussed goals and problems that he wanted us to help the branch with....this might not seem like a big deal....but if you knew the barrier that has been between the missionaries and members here you would understand more fully. The missionaries that have been here in the past have told the members that they not only didn't want to work with the members but that they didn't need the members help in missionary work...so after the missionaries said that actions followed that just built the barrier all the bigger. So the missionaries and members haven't been on the best terms for the last year or so....which of course has had an impact on the missionary work here also...but this little place is changing...we are getting the members to help us in all aspects of our work we are giving them responsibility and the results are of new strong member/ missionary relationships....which are already starting to have a positive impact on our results from our missionary service. So that was something great that has happened and developed over the course of the last week or so...Yesterday we had companionship switchoffs....I switchedoff with elder jensen....in his area....it was alot of fun. They have one investigator that works at a show place....it is packed with elephants and tigers and what not...everything is just laying around and you can just walk around and pet stuff feed stuff .....whatever your heart desires....:) anyways that was cool....its always crazy feeling when there is like a bunch of tigers loose just walking around. Anyways....another sweet thing is that the other elders in our district found this group of burmese people....like 15 of them. They were going to a church called Grace church or something like that...and started investigating with us....But these people are way sweet this whole group is really interested and keep the commitments that they are givin....the only problem is they dont' speak thai....and only a couple of them speak english so there is alot of translating going on....but yeah the other elders are like international elders...they teach in a bunch a languges....right now their investigators include people from....burma, lao, vietnam, and korea....so they have an interesting group of people to teach....anyways....a bit of random info for you...well ok everything is going good....hope all goes well with the wedding and what not.... i send my congrats to the two....i love you guys let me know if i can help you at all....love you guys
elder lowrey..

Weekly (Elder) Update

2007-10-25T12:21:00.000-07:00

hey family...so an announcement...about email...President Dodge said that the new rule for email is....everyone can email me....(any family) but if I reply I have to go through my Mom's email address....so you can email me again. As for other things....I am actually out of surin....and I don't know what to do....haha. So fyi...I moved to a place called........ayutthaya....its a couple hours north of bankok...and kinda to the west....the church has been here for about 3 years...so the branch is really small....but way sweet....It was actually opened about 10 years ago but got closed due to a number of different things. Anyways...my area is interesting....about 45 percent musilm....(hard conversion rate ... beings that death could be punishment for changing religions.) Anyways I am on a island...kind of....my area is surrounded by a river....and the other 2 elders look over the area on the outside of the river....Anyways this place is interesting....this is like one of the oldest cities in thailand..and the place where they filmed the movie mortal combat...there are a ton of ancient temples...and a ton of foriegners haha since i have been here , just a couple days, I have helped translate for a ton of people...Anyways....I got a new companion too....he is cambodian.....so lets just say I still am not speaking awhole lot of english....haha.. anyways he is way small ...he is about 70lbs and about comes up to my armpit....so he is way small....anyways...we will see how it goes.....hopefully it will be ok...anyways...the branch is pretty cool....the branch president has been a member for just over a year so doesnt really quite know whats going on....but hes good. we have about 5 priesthood holders that come to church so its about the same size a the surin branch....but not the same problems.... :)..I don't know why but president loves putting me in areas with no investigators and small branches...haha ....maybe there is a lesson to be learned...haha...so yeah...we have like 1 investigator....so we will see what we can do in the next couple weeks...on the island(my area) we only have 13 members so there isn't too much member work to do also....yeah from our area to the church is about 15 min. on a motorcycle and a little far on a bike.....we got special permission to use boats here though because it is reallly convinient....umm...our house is pretty sweet....it is right on the river...and our neighbors are these massive karaoke boat/resturants....that have tons of people singing and stuff meaning drinking and singing all night...so it gets interesting....haha....in this time of the year...there is a ton of flooding in my area....like everyone on the other side of the island has moved out of there house....i am talking two story house is now one story ....this isn't little floods like in surin....there is like 10 feet + of water in some areas......our house is almost flooded so we might be moving if it gets worse....anyways....apparently this happens every year....because....it rains alot up north in like chaing mai and chaing rai ...so when the dams are fulll up there they open them up.....and the water all comes down to ayutthaya ...fun no?>but its pretty fun..i will send you some pics when i take some...anyways...thats the report....thanks for the email....love you guys elder lowrey