Monday, June 3, 2013

Week 8 - Hit the Ground Runnin'

Well my dear family:]
This week has been well, interesting with a lot of ups and downs! We taught Coach Graves for the last time (at least for now) we went to visit him and he hadn't read 2 nephi 29, so after talking a little bit we decided to read it with him. I think it actually kind of hurt his feelings a little bit, he loves the bible and our intent wasn't to hurt his feelings, but goodness when the man condemns us to hell we kinda gotta bring out our big guns as well! So for now he's on the back burner.
We had to bump back Sharlynn's baptism which kinda sucks! She's soo ready to be baptized but most of this week she's gonna be in arkansas and we haven't taught her everything yet so the date is now June 22! It's gonna be so great! We went to Lulu's kindergarten graduation on friday and we actually came in contact with another investigator so that was sweet!
Oh my lanta. We had dinner at Barbara Moore's house this week and can i just say never again!! haha she made us catfish and oysters. I wanted to gag it smelled so bad with every bite i just had to psych myself out and say it's just slimy chicken it's just slimy chicken. haha SO GROSS. A member called us later that night and while she was moving out she had hired a lady to help her clean. She ended up bearing her testimony to here and sending us over to see her. Marta is awesome. As i was handing her a book of mormon i looked into her eyes and said I know this book can bring you so much peace and comfort into your life. I seriously felt the spirit so strongly. She later told us that her daughter had passed away 5 years ago and she still wasn't really over it. She came to church yesterday and it was perfect! We're gonna start teaching her this week and i'm so stoked! By the way, WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME HOW GREAT THE BOOK OF MORMON IS? haha i'm serious. I know you guys told us to read it and la la la, but seriously there's some dang good stuff in this book. During study time i seriously am blown away by all the things that i learn. I know that it really can change a person's life and help them come closer to him.

I was reading Eyring's talk Mountains to Climb earlier this week and was just blown away.  After reading it felt somewhat inspired to ask Heavenly Father to send me a mountain. haha i'm only waiting to see what he throws my way. It is soooo dang hot and humid here. On Saturday basically everyone and their dog flaked out on us, so we ended up spending a lot of time tracting, can i mention it was 103 with who knows what % of humidity. hahaha as we were standing on people's porches and doorsteps i was literally dripping sweat. Haha it was a rough day. We went over to Shimshack's to help her clean again and that ended up being awful. She wasn't in the mood to clean so we shared a thought with her, after we shared it was bearing my testimony to her about the temple and la la la. All of the sudden she said, there's something i haven't told you guys. It turns out Shimshack drinks coffee and alcohol, and that's what's keeping her from the temple. As we were walking home that night i can not tell you just how disappointed i was. I wasn't mad it just hurt my heart that she had kept that from us, that we thought everything was golden and then wham! While walking i thought to myself man,, is this how i've made my parents feel? When i had those extra piercings in my ears, or stayed out later than i should, or was just being my dumb rebellious self, is this what they felt like? Cuz if so, i am so so sorry. I just felt a little betrayed, hey i'm here to help you and you kept this huge thing from me? Man. Well anyways she's getting a blessing tonight and things should start rolling again.
After church yesterday we met up with Brother Mader! He's come to church 3 weeks in a row and is doing soo good! I don't know if i've mentioned this before but Mades has a HUGE smoking problem. but anyways we decided that yesterday was the day to talk about the word of wisdom. As we got talking he started putting up a fight, finally i just asked him, Mader would you die for the Lord if he asked you to? He said yes. Then i asked, Mader if the Lord asked you to quit smoking would you? He said no. And then quickly added well he's never asked me too. (Powerhouse moment for Sister Bowden) I then said Well Mader He's asking you today right now. Will you stop smoking? Boom, there's the spirit. He got a little fidgety and said ah, crap. haha he said he's going to stop, but we have to remind him everyday. He actually started crying and said he didn't want to let us down so everytime he's about to smoke he's gonna either call us or a member that he's pretty close to! We're praying for him and i hope so badly he sticks it out. I know that miracles can happen and this will be so awesome if he does it!
This week i really have come to love the time we have to study, there is just so much to study and learn. I love it! I feel like i have made huge leaps from where i started. I am a lot more confident in teaching and just letting the spirit take the lead. When i got set apart President Christensen said Just hit the ground running don't waste a minute of it. I'm trying my best to do just that, i have hit the ground running and everyday i want to keep that pace. I love this gospel. I know that if we face our daily challenges and make the most out of what we are given we're going to be so pleased with what we have accomplished. In Alma 26 there's a verse that says I can not say the smallest part to which i feel, and man that's how i am. I'm so grateful to be here in Sweaty Station. I'm so grateful for this opportunity i have to help others find Christ in their life.
I miss you guys so much! I pray for ya every night and can't thank you enough for all the support ya give me! Transfers are Wednesday! I'll let ya know how they go:] Love ya all! Stay strong, preach on!
-Sister Bowden

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