Robert was so nervous about giving his talk.
He unfortunately had procrastinated the preparation until the weekend, and then he was invited to the lake so he felt vey unprepared.
He took his scriptures with him and his talk guidelines. When I got down their Saturday, we worked on his talk together. He pulled some very good scripture stories and some stories from the Ensign.
Sunday morning Robert gave a wonderful talk on Forgiveness quoting a story about a women that forgave a young man that threw a 20 pound turkey over the overpass that fell through the front window of her car and crushed her face. She forgave him. He also quoted the scriptures of the lord that forgave his servant that owed him 10,000 talents, when the servant begged forgiveness, but then that same servant didn't forgive his servant a debt of only 100 pence (Matt 14). He finished with a scripture from D&C 64 - I the Lord will forgive whom I forgive, but as for you it is required to forgive all men.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Friday, June 28, 2013
Off to the Lake for a Short Trip
We were going to have a family campout this Friday night, but then Devon had to work so we gave permission for Robert to go to the Lake with Aaron and his family. They had asked earlier in the week, but we said, "no" because of our planned campout, but then that all changed.
Just as Robert was packing up, Mark called to remind us that Robert is speaking in church on Sunday - wow! That is a huge set back - what will we do now. We've already told the Green's he is coming. Betsy made the decision to send Robert to the lake with Aaron and she would go down on Saturday after the wedding to pick him up and bring him home.
Robert had a great time. He was able to wake board on Friday night, and tube, knee board and more boating on Saturday. They had a full day of fun!
Mr. Green suggested that I come down on Saturday and stay. I was shooting a wedding on Saturday so I wouldn't be able to get there until later in the afternoon but the idea of staying over was wonderful, and that is exactly what I did. After taking photographs at the wedding I drove down to the lake by 6:00. We had a lovely evening. Robert and I woke up around 5:30 (CST) 6:30 (EST) and drove back home. We printed his talk and made it to church by 8:45 (EST).
Just as Robert was packing up, Mark called to remind us that Robert is speaking in church on Sunday - wow! That is a huge set back - what will we do now. We've already told the Green's he is coming. Betsy made the decision to send Robert to the lake with Aaron and she would go down on Saturday after the wedding to pick him up and bring him home.
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| Robert really comfortable wake boarding |
Robert had a great time. He was able to wake board on Friday night, and tube, knee board and more boating on Saturday. They had a full day of fun!
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| Robert on the knee board |
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| Grabbing a wave! Go Robert! |
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| Look at him - so cool! Way to Go!!! |
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| Hanging with his best summer buddies! They look like naturals |
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| What is this??? |
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| Robert and Aaron - master the Rubik cube! it was midnight - but they did it |
Robert received Proclamation at Fiscal Court
On Friday, June 28, 2013 at 2:00 Robert Thomas Lowe was introduced at Oldham County Fiscal Court for earning his Eagle Scout Rank at the age of 14. He was very nervous when the Judge Voegele called him, along with his whole family up to the podium. He spoke about himself and about his Eagle project. Robert, addressed as Rob, was presented with a Proclamation from the Judge.
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| Photo in Oldham Era - 7/4/13 |
Monday, June 24, 2013
Week 7 - Jessica's first letter from the Philippines
KUMUSTA!
Guys guess what?? I'm in the Philippines!!! Seriously though, sometimes i'll be walking down the road or on a jeepni or see the jungle around me and be like oh... i'm in the Philippines haha. So first things first. I got here safe and sound on monday night and we spent the night at the Manila hotel. The next day we rode a bus to Olongapo and let me tell you, that was quite the adventure in itself. The driving here is nuts! Like for real- no rules. They just weave in and out as they please and unfortunately my motion sickness prone stomach didn't take it so well haha. But ok lang! We got to the mission home and the next day we got separated from our MTC batch and got assigned to our new companions and areas! Not gonna lie, I miss my MTC batch and district so much, but now it's time for the real world. My new companion is sister Canaunan and she is so sweet! She always looks out for me and makes sure i'm ok. She is a native Filipino and speaks mostly Tagalog, but that will definitely push me to get better at the language. We are assigned to open a new area in Hermosa and we are the first sister missionaries to ever be there! Pretty cool huh? We live in an apartment with 2 other girls- sister Ila (another Filipino) and sister Mack from my district in the MTC!!!!! I am seriously so grateful to have her here with me and have someone to talk to. So the rumors about the bathrooms, toilet paper, showers, and food... all true hahaha. It's great though! Most of the time I just laugh it off and think about what an adventure it is here. Plus I get to share the gospel and my testimony of Jesus Christ everyday so what could be better than that?? The Philippines sure is crazy though! First of all it is sobrang mainit dito!! So hot here! And so humid! You know that feeling of being dry? Ya I don't haha. You never stop sweating and always feel a little sticky, but you just accept it and move on haha. Oh and It rains randomly throughout the day everyday. Like water up past my ankles in the street haha. Mom I am SO glad we got the crocks now haha. My companions are all jealous haha.
The people and members here in the Philippines are SO SO nice! Even though my Tagalog is at like level zero they always try to talk to me and make me feel welcome and help me to say things. They all tell me that they will teach my Tagalog if I help them with english. Pretty fair trade. It's so funny, on the street people always just stare at me and little kids always come up to me which is the best. People always call out to me with the funniest names. Some include: "hi joe!", hey Barbie!", Americano!, or grabe, sobrang magana, gorgeous and who knows what else haha. My companion laughs sometimes at stuff they say to me and she says they always think i'm some kind of a celebrity. She always jokes around and says she has a celebrity for a companion haha. The members here are super nice and ALWAYS want to feed us! I'm going to be roughly 5000 lb. by the time I get home so you better still love me! Remember, it's all about my sparkling personality :) haha. Just kidding with all the walking in the sun we do I should be ok. But ya, Life as a missionary is great! We have 8 new investigators and 2 people who already want to be baptized! Its so cool to be able to share my testimony of the gospel with others and help them to form a closer relationship with their heavenly father and Jesus Christ. These people live in conditions that I can't even describe into words. Like literally, they have nothing. Most of the people we teach live in the jungle/ rice fields with cement boxes as home- if they are even that lucky. Many just find scraps of metal or wood and put them against trees and find tin or tree branches for a roof. I've not seen a single home here with windows, carpet or tile floor, washers and dryers, or AC. But you know what? They are the happiest people because they have their families and are humble and enjoy the little things in life. I know this experience is going to and already has made me appreciate what I have been blessed with in my life. I feel so blessed to be with this people and to learn from them and to bring them something that means everything to me- the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love you all so so much- like seriously you don't even know how much I love and miss you, but I know I am where I am supposed to be and I have people who need me to teach them the gospel. Sorry if this has seemed jumbled and random but there is just so much I want to tell you with so little time and for all of you who know me -I’m horrible at typing haha. You all are amazing and such good examples to me. I love you and love this gospel and know it is true and that Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us and knows what you are going through.
Keep being amazing and write me lots of emails :)
MAHAL KITA!!
Sister Lowe
-ps sorry I don't have any pics of the Philippines... a monkey jumped out at me and I got scared and dropped my camera and it broke. True story. No mom I am not making it up haha and yes I know that is like the fourth camera I’ve broken in 2 years. But i'm going to buy a new one today! I love you :)
here are some pictures of my last night at the MTC with all my girls I was over as a sister training leader :)
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Family time in Utah
Monday afternoon we took the kids to our favorite (local) hiking place - affectionately named Fat Mans' Misery. It is a red rock canyon above St. George. We love to go there because there is so much to see. Now that we've been there a few times the kids know it well. Devon immediately started hiking up to the top (50 ft above the floor), while Robert and Marissa headed off the go through the Fat Man's Misery crack - and by crack I mean crack in the rock.
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| Robert at the mouth of Fat Man's Misery |
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| Marissa ready to enter Fat Man's Misery |
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| Devon on top - Betsy looking up |
Others in the area call the canyon "The Narrows" because the walls are so narrow.
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| Marissa in the Narrows |
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| Betsy in the Narrow part |
After everyone made it successfully through the narrows, Robert decided to go back in to the spot where Devon climbed down and up - straight up and down climb.
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| Robert going back in from the back side. |
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| Family photo: Robert, Devon Marissa, Betsy and Mark - center |
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| All three made it to the bridge |
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| Devon climbing |
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| Robert hanging |
Mark's Dad Passes Away
On Monday, June 10 Betsy received a phone call from Kevin, Mark's brother around 5:30 pm. He called to say Howard had passed away. Before he told me I was at first thinking he was calling about preparations for the Family Reunion coming up in July, or that something bad had happened with Shauna's (his wife's) health, but it was Mark's dad. Mark's phone had lost battery power so Mark was without a phone over the weekend - actually until Thursday, so that is why Kevin had to call me instead calling directly to Mark. The timing was complicated. Mark's brother was in Hawaii, and Robert and Devon were away on the high adventure in the middle of Missouri (8 hrs away) and Marissa was away at Young Women's camp in Southern Kentucky ... so the family decided to wait for everyone to get back before holding the funeral services.
We weren't going to tell any of the kids so they could focus on their activities, etc., except that some of the older nieces and siblings started posting on Facebook and Instagram so Mark and I knew we needed to contact Marissa to let her know what had happened before she saw it on Facebook or Instagram (which we knew she would). The boys were mostly unreachable the duration of the trip and neither of them have much of an interest in Facebook and neither has an Instagram account so we decided not to tell the boys until they returned on Friday.
It will be expensive but we decided to take all the children to the funeral, since Mark was the only one to attend his Mother's (the kids were so small), and since each of them had a personal relationship with their grandpa. We knew it would be important for them to say goodbye. It would also be nice for them to be together with their nieces and nephews.
Kevin and Linda did the planning of the services - both viewing and funeral. Mark will be one of the speakers, Betsy will conduct the music and Devon and Robert will be paul bearers (the grandsons or husbands of granddaughters).
Saturday morning everyone got up and finished preparations for our flights. We flew from Louisville to Charlotte, NC to Las Vegas, NV. There we rented a car and drove to St. George, UT. It was after 11:00 pm when we arrived (1 am our time). We stayed at the Town Place - very nice.
On Sunday, we all attended church in Dad and Kevin's ward. It was nice to be there again. It used to be our ward nearly 11 years ago. Devon was reunited with his 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Jerri Alldredge. Sister Alldredge was also one of grandma Lowe's best friends. She spoke at Devon's baptism - it was very inspired and guided and directed Devon in many ways throughout his growing years.
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| Devon with Ms. Alldredge |
After church we all ate a quick lunch before the adults had a meeting about Dad's will and trust, etc. Brian Lowe, Howard's cousin from Las Vegas was dad's lawyer so everything was very well done and complete. He was very helpful in explaining the documents and necessary items that need to be done. Mark and Jordan are the executers of the will. They had a lot of work to complete.
From there we picked up the kids and went to the Metcalfe Mortuary for Grandpa Lowe's viewing from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. We were all there to support dad and his siblings, Kevin, Linda, Jordan, and Alan.
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| Marissa, Mark, Robert, Devon and Betsy - 6/2013 |
With it being 2 hours long, the cousins were able to have some time to get reacquainted with each other. Gary and Brian are brothers, son's of Kevin - they talked with Devon for a long time.
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| Talking with Brian and Gary Lowe |
Around 7:00 Brittney, Chad, Brenda and some of the cousins decided to go to Iceberg (Ice cream place) to get milkshakes. They were very nice and brought back a cone in a cup for me and another one for Mark. Mark was busy inside so I went outside with Marissa to enjoy the evening sunshine and eat my HUGE ice cream cone ... then I had to eat Mark's too, because it would have totally melted by the time he could come.
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| Betsy eating her ice cream - it was a nice relief |
After the viewing everyone changed and went over to the Fairfield Inn where some of us were staying. The kids played cards and reconnected and we ate pizza. The next morning was the funeral. It was held at the chapel. There was a viewing from 9:30 - 10:30 am and then a Family Prayer lead by Jordan Lowe before the funeral starting at 11:00 am.
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| Jordan, Alan, Linda, Mark and Kevin Monday morning |
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| Robert, Marissa and Devon on Monday |
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| Betsy and Mark |
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| Betsy and Marissa |
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| All the family |
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| Michelle Lowe (Jordan's wife) with Chase - Landon and Faith's son She is a grandma |
Kevin spoke first about Howard's early years, then Linda about his teen/dating years, Jordan followed with his years at BYU/Marriage and early married years. Alan spoke about the years in Iran and Mark finished with his years in Hawaii. Kathy sang in his honor. It was a beautiful service. Everyone was happy that Howard was at last reunited with his wife after 11 years of living without her.
After the service we drove out to the cemetery for the burial. Don Hatch, Robert Lowe, Jeremy Twitchell, Jordan Weaver, Devon Lowe, Landon Lowe, Gary Lowe and Brian Lowe were the paul bearers.
Mark Lowe did the grave dedication prayer and then we had our special time to say good-bye for the last time.
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| Paul Bearers bringing in the casket |
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| Mark, Alan, Linda, Kevin, Jordan |
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| Linda Weaver with Garrett and Shannon |
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| Mark with Betsy, Devon, Marissa and Robert |
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| Cathy with Jeremy, Krew and Keagan |
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| Brenda with Don, Brody and Capri |
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| Gary and Diana Lowe |
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| the flowers were beautiful |
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| Mark, Devon and Robert together - the Lowe boys! |
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| Precious moment - Mark and Kevin |
Howard left a legacy of values, principals and character in each of his children and now his posterity carries those traits and passes them onto their posterity. Mark cherishes the lessons his dad taught him, through his dad's experiences and through the lessons and values he instilled in Mark as a boy - they remain strong to this day. Mark hopes his children will hold true to the same values and character traits that Howard so dearly exemplified: integrity, intelligence, honesty, thrifty, courageous, cautious, charitable and always faithful.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Boys on High Adventure in Missouri
On June 9th, Devon and Robert took their gear over to the O'Brien's house and spent the night there so that the crew could get an early morning - 4 am early - start for their
HIGH ADVENTURE!
In tow was 13 bikes and helmets, 9 boys and backpacks, 6 canoes and ores, 4 cars loaded to the hilt, 4 leaders - "what were we thinking", 2 Lowes (my boys), and 1 awesome trip ahead of them.
That first morning they drove to Sedalia, MO where they started on the Katy trail. Today is the 50 mile bike ride. They were the "fast and furious." Ben and Max started at lightning speed with Robert, Brandon, Devon and Reece hovering right behind them. Everyone had a great day.
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| Starting out: Riley, Jim Brovont, Ben, Reece, Ephriam, Robert, Max, Trevor, Dennis Hartin, and Devon Rusty O'Brien taking the photo |
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| Over half way the boys cross over a bridge in Cooper County! |
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| Robert super focused |
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| Brothers biking together - this is so cool! |
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| Devon working at it |
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| Robert having a great time This is one of my favorite photos of the trip |
Day 2 started with a canoe ride down the Missouri River. Devon was center canoe while Robert was in front and Riley was in the back.
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| Robert, Devon and Riley - all checked off and ready to go |
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| ready, set ... GO |
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| heading over to meet us with the others |
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| Everyone is ready to canoe the river! |
After canoeing the Missouri River for 20 miles the boys camp - have dinner and head over to a indoor climbing facility. They had a great time on what is called "bouldering"
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| Robert traverse walking |
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| Robert - Tight rope walking |
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| Scaling the wall |
Devon did all the climbing as well, but chose not to be in photos - go figure :)
Day 3 Today the boys rappelled down the side of a cliff and climbed back up. There were 9 boys to go. They had a paid guide since Brandon While wasn't able to be on the trip - he's the certified climber. At first the boys had to listen to all the instructions even though several of them already have their climbing merit badge. Review is always good!
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| listening to instructions |
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| Robert climbing up |
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| see the steepness of the cliff - straight up |
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| Devon rappelling down |
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| further down |
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| safe at a resting spot |
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| Robert coming down |
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| Robert climbing up - looks so hard |
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| A view of the river from their camp site |
Day 4 - the BIG DAY!!! Today is the 100 mile bike ride. They all look ready for the challenge. Ben, Brandon, Reece, Ephraim, Riley, Trevor, Robert, Devon, Max, and the leaders Brian, Rusty and Jim are ready to head out.
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| Steady peddling |
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| They took breaks often to refuel their bodies and fix flat tires Devon had 4 flat tires - ugh!!! |
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| Robert at a rest area with Max's Dad, Brian Miller |
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| Devon keeping pace with Ben and helping Trevor stay on pace |
Day 5 - after eating breakfast and cleaning up camp, the boys start back towards Kentucky. On the way they get to stop at Holiday World Amusement park for a few hours of fun. Mark and I thought (as did the boys) that they would get to be there for 6 hours, but one of the leaders needed / wanted to get home early so they were only there for 3 hours before driving back to Kentucky. They arrived at the church at 6:00 pm. What a great High Adventure!!!
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