Well hello fam bam!
The library was closed yesterday so we're taking a little time today to write everyone!
This week was crazy good to say the least:]
We entered into Sister Shimshack's house!! haha and i have to say it wasn't nearly as bad as i thought it was going to be. I think that woman has saved every piece of paper she has received since the 5th grade, so we've done a lot of sorting and throwing away. She just likes junk... but i think slowly we'll be able to clean out all her boxes. By the end of the night you could kind of see some floor space so that was good!
OH something else pretty neat happened, we have been teaching this less active family the Condons, we went over there and in the middle of the lesson the mom turned to me and said "so i heard something about you at church yesterday". I was just like oh great what did you hear? All of the sudden this lady starts crying and says "I heard you were a pretty good dancer but kinda gave it up to come out here, I just wanna thank you because i think that says a lot about the type of person you are". I really had no idea what to say or anything especially now because this lady was crying haha but it was just a neat experience to think that i really am an instrument in the lord's hands. He has put me through certain things maybe not even for myself but for other people as well.
Alright so last Wednesday i was having a rough day, to sum it up i really just didn't want to be a missionary that day. I was super frustrated with Priddis, i just wanted to fetchin take a nap, or sit under that tree, or i don't know.... breathe. So most of the day i was being a little punk, but it's fine. Well we went to go follow up on Mark Jones, we left this firefighter with a book of mormon about a month ago and he accepted it. Well we went back and he's read over half of it, he was so excited to see us and just kept saying thank you for changing my life forever, this book doesn't take away from anything that i already believe it just adds more. I seriously had to pinch myself to make sure i wasn't dreaming. He then goes on to say that a couple days before we had showed up he had been praying, a lot of his close friends (firefighters) have passed away recently and in his prayer he said 'Lord if i am missing something please just let me know" and dun dun dun! a couple days later we showed up:] After talking to him and sharing our testimonies i felt like the worst person ever. Haha all day i had been being a brat and not wanting to be a missionary, and this incredible man ends up thanking me for changing his life. I realized that night that I only have 18.. well now almost 16 months to be Sister Bowden, after that it just goes back to who knows what. So i'm trying every day to make the most out of where i am. I know this gospel can change peoples lives.
We're also teaching Coach Graves, this man gives me a headache every time we enter his house. He is very set on his bible and basically condemned me and Priddis to hell last time for perverting the ways of the lord. haha i laugh because I left him with a chapter of the Book of Mormon to read. 2 Nephi 29..... and if you don't know what that one talks about i invite you to read it. We're going back this afternoon and i'm nervous/excited to see what happens.
The Mendiola family is doing so great! Her kids everytime they see me will run up and say Sister! Sister! and give me a huge hug. Her daughter Luleisha always grabs my face and says i love you sister. I can't even tell you guys how much i love this family. Her baptismal date is set for June 8th and I can't wait:] We've also started teaching her son Jayvon so he might be getting baptized soon as well! Everytime we go over there her kids ask what my real name is and I told them that when i leave I'll tell them, transfers are next week and i'm crossing my fingers that they keep me here. I'm 87% sure they will unless President feels the need to put me on a bike. And actually i just found out that Priddis is getting transferred.... so it looks like i'll be training... haha oh woof. MAKE SURE TO PRAY EXTRA HARD FOR ME.
Church on Sunday was AWESOME! we had a lot of less active members and investigators come. I ended up sitting in the back row crammed between an asian man with super bad b.o. and 2 ex- drug dealers. As weird as this sounds i loved it. The whole time i couldn't stop smiling because how neat is our church! Anyone and everyone is invited to come join, regardless of your background, race, gender, we just want everybody to come be a part of it. It was actually a privilege to be crammed in the back row of the College Station 2nd ward.
Oh woof, i actually have another story haha i know i have a lot but everyday SO much happens, so we finally got a hold of a less active member Connie Colley, and her actual name is consuelo haha sweet huh. Well we went into her apartment and i kid you not i thought i was going to throw up with how terrible it smelled. She has like 7 cats, 4 turtles, and a plethora of fish. I'm not sure if she realizes that it smells like someone is dying in there, but man she needs some lysol or something. To make it better she had a fan blowing right at me and Priddis so every 20 seconds i would just get this great wonderful wiff of kitty litter. She's actually a pretty solid woman though, she has a super strong testimony it's just hard to come to church because of her work schedule. That's the thing that i think people take for granted in Utah, in utah everything kind of shuts down on sundays, but in other states that isn't necessarily the case. And it's kinda hard to tell someone to find another job so they can come to church. Hopefully we find some way to help her!
It's getting pretty dang hot here in texas. Actually though we had some huge storms this past week, and when it rains here it pours. We're actually going to ask President today if we can go help Oklahoma for a day or two i guess things are looking pretty bad over there? haha you guys probably know better than me though, i'm pretty isolated from the world as of lately. But yes it's hot, and i have decided College Station's new name is Sweaty Station. I'm constantly disgusting, and i think people are constantly taking pity on me haha but hey we sure do get into a lot of houses this way!
One day between appointments we went knocking and we knocked into a college student named Austin. He's single so of course we have to give him to the Elders to teach, but i guess when the Elders went back they knocked on his door and said hey we're missionaries la la la. Basically Austin wasn't interested in the gospel so much as he was interested in me and Priddis. hahaha hey flirt to convert ya know?! He seemed way interested when we were there, but i guess he told the elders he was catholic, not interested, and shut the door in their faces.
Well that was basically the jist of my week! It's been so great and i'm learning so much all the time! I love what i'm doing out here and the blessings that i get to witness on a daily basis! The church is true people, the church is true:] I love you all and love hearing about the craziness of things back home! Keep doing what you're doing, i know the lord is mindful of each of us.
-Sister Bowden
Picture so you won't forget my face!!
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