Cardston is Great!

Hello Family,

Cardston is great! There are maybe 5000 people in the whole town and we are covering 7 wards and the Waterton branch, that is closed until the summer.


The temple is a block away from where we live and I see it all the time -- it is so nice. The temple is usually closed on P-day, but on the 20th it will be open so we can go then and on transfers we have p-day on Tuesday so we can go then too.


Elder Anderson is great he has only been out for one transfer and he is from Springville, Utah. He is really good with cars and is a better missionary than I am. He was being trained by Elder Blackham, Aunt Fredi's neighbor.


Elder Anderson - with the Cardston Temple coming out of his mouth!

Cardston is a really funny place, there are a lot of old people that move here so they can die near the temple. We spoke in Church yesterday and I saw about 10 young families maybe and the rest are just older people. We live with an older member whose name is Brother Seabourne. He is the grandfather of Travis Seabourne who I met in Lethbridge. He is the one who is dating Morgan Bailey's friend. Small world. He is really nice. He feeds us breakfast every morning and is always willing to come to lessons with us. He looks a lot like the elderly man from the movie UP.

We get free lunch every day because a lot of the restaurants in town are owned by members and sometimes we get double dinners, but somehow I've lost a little bit of weight which is nice.

We cover two little towns called Leavitt and Mountain View just a little ways out of Cardston and there is this one man who we visit who is a taxidermist and reminds me a lot of your coworkers Mom. He is really nice and gave us some elk and moose meat to eat. He also gave us some spare elk skin that I am going to try and make a scripture case out of. Other than that I can't think of much else to say. We got a new car which is a 2011 Subaru Impreza which is really nice.

We had a baptism this Saturday, it was a young girl who is 9 years old. Elder Anderson baptized her and the Bishop confirmed her. So that was cool.

This older man named Brother Marshall came up to me and told me he has Dowd's in his family history.

The Plewrights, an Australian family that Elder Pikula and I got really close to came to the temple and had lunch with us on Saturday. It was nice to see them.


The Plewrights with me and Elder Crowe who was one of the Zone Leaders from my last area.

Well that's about it. Here are some pictures. I am glad Grandma and Grandpa Dowd got a new computer. I am looking forward to hearing from them.

Love you all,
Elder Dowd

P.S. Elder Whiting and Elder Welling went home too which is weird. Elder Crowther will go home in May. I am the second oldest missionary in the zone now. It's weird. Love you!


Elder Welling (just went home) who trained Elder Crowther who trained me!


Sister Macias who served in Lethbridge with me. She is home now.




Elder Dowd, Elder Grbin (MTC Companion) and Elder Mercado

Transfer to Cardston from Calgary -- Angel Moroni on Calgary Temple Now

Dear Family and Friends,

Sadly, my companion's health concerns ended up being too difficult to manage on his mission and he returned home yesterday. I have been working with the Zone Leaders for a few days. I found out this morning I am being transferred to Cardston to the West Zone there in the Fort Macleod Zone. My companion will be Elder Anderson. I will know more about him next week. Fredi's neighbor, Elder Blackham, was his companion and that is about all I know. Carston is a fun place to go because most of the restaurants there are owned by members of the Church and they invite the missionaries to eat there!

My health is good. The weather hasn't been too bad. I've been staying pretty warm. Elder Pikula gave me some good gloves that have kept my hands warm.

My testimony is good. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that
he gives his priesthood to his servants the prophets and that whenever
there is a prophet on the earth the Church of Jesus Christ is on the
earth. I know that there was an apostasy after the earthly ministry of
Jesus Christ and his apostles and the priesthood authority was lost
but has now been restored by the prophet Joseph Smith. I know that the
Book of Mormon is evidence of that restoration and of the divinity of
Jesus Christ. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints is the true church on the earth and the only church with the
priesthood of God. This priesthood allows us to participate in all the
saving ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ which allows us access
to the atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that Thomas Monson is the
prophet of God today and this I know by the power of the holy ghost.

On January 12th they hung Angel Moroni on the Calgary Temple. The pictures below are some pictures another Elder took who was near there when they raised the angel on the temple.





I lost my camera and haven't been able to find it. But I was fortunate enough to have been given a $100 dollar gift card to a Superstore so I went and bought a camera. I got a Fuji because I as able to get SD cards and a case. Other than that and being transferred to Cardston, which I am excited about, not much has been happening. So I love you all and hope that you are staying warm.

Love, Elder Dowd

Chinooks Gone! Freezing Weather Here!

After a warm spell that lasted weeks, Aletha Bennett faced a wind chill of –27 as she ran along the Bow River pathway on Sunday.
Photograph by: Gavin Young, Calgary Herald

Dear Family and Friends,

We have had a lot of chinook winds lately and so the weather has been really nice! However, this past weekend, they subsided and now it is -14 today and got down to -26 degrees Farenheit, so it is not so fun anymore!

This next Sunday we have Stake Conference in the Stake where we are serving, so that should be pretty nice. I always enjoy those meetings.

My companion is still struggling with his health - he will be seeing a specialist this week, so that will help know what course of action the Mission President will need to take to best help him. So, keep us in your prayers.

I am sorry this letter is short, I accidentally pushed something on a longer letter I was sending and it just erased and I am needing to go, but I appreciate all of your support. You asked who I got mail from -- I got a Christmas card from Arielle Harrison, Elder Travis Lindberg and Sister Boss this week. Sister Boss send me $20 which was really sweet, thank you Sister Boss. I think I told you who else I got cards from in an earlier letter. Oh yea, the Eschenbergs sent me a card, it's crazy how much those boys have grown!

I have lost my camera so I would love if you all could pray that I find it.

Good news, I found out that Elder Quinton L. Cook coming here in March so maybe we will have a Mission Tour, that would be great.

Glad to hear you are all doing well.

I have to go, but I love you all,

Love, Elder Dowd

Calgary weather update: Environment Canada is calling for periods of light snow on Monday and temperatures holding steady around -25 C. Expect an overnight low Monday around -29 C, or -36 C when the wind chill is factored in. A wind child warning remains in effect for the Fort McMurray/ Fort MacKay area, with temperatures there likely to plunge to -40 C or lower (-36 ºC = -32.8 ºF)