Hey hey hey:]
Well where do i even begin this bad boy? So this past week was SO good.
and i hope we are all thinking well, it's about time:] cuz i sure am!
On
tuesday we had Specialized Training with President which is always just
a spiritual blast, we talked a lot about the difference between just
having a testimony and being truly converted. I think that's one of the
reasons i am so grateful for this opportunity to serve i know without a
doubt that growing up i always had a testimony, yep i had a knowledge
that the things the gospel shared were true, but i now am becoming
converted. It means so much more to me. I'm reading Jesus the Christ and
i'm at the part where it's going over the whole Christ walking on water
story and I think 89% of the time i'm like Peter. I'm super impulsive
and when i see something great i say Hey hey, let me do that too. I know
i can do it, but then after a little while i start realizing that this
isn't quite as easy as i was planning. Here come the winds and the waves
and i start to sink. I'm so grateful for our Savior, who at these times
is right there to reach out his hand. I know that a lot of the time He
does this through other people cuz clearly I am not peter and clearly i
am not walking on water right now.
We
had decided during planning that we were going to see a lady named
Karen Foreman. She was just a name on the less actives list and we had
decided heck, we should try to see her. That afternoon as we were out
about some of the elders texted us and said hey we have a referral for a
lady in your ward, her name is karen foreman and she's wanting a
blessing. I responded and said oh that's weird we were planning on
seeing her tonight anyways. So we swing over there and got to know Karen
a little bit. She grew up in Utah has some best friends in Hooper
actually. She also may have cancer. She wanted to get a blessing of
comfort and that's why she was trying to find the Elders. This is her
"Peter" moment, and it was an incredible experience to know that
Heavenly Father had already directed us to go and visit her. I told her
that we actually had already been planning on seeing her and she started
crying. She knows just as i do that Heavenly Father knows us, He knows
us and he does hear us. His hand is in everything, as me and Combs left
that night we both felt a surge of THIS IS WHY IM ON A MISSION! haha it
was awesome and i was so grateful for that moment. While training at
times can be a little tiring and frustrating, i have grown this love for
it. I love seeing the change that starts taking place in new
missionaries, I love seeing their desire to serve others grow, i love
seeing their own testimonies and conversions being strengthened, because
in a round about way it helps me feel like i am doing something right:]
We
spent a lot of time over at Charlene's house this past week, she
decided to do a bake sale fundraiser for a wrestling team. So man did i
just bake my little heart out this past week. I would also just like to
mention that one of the greatest accomplishments i have achieved while
being out here is that i have gone 7 MONTHS without kissing anyone! haha
well that basically all went down the drain when her little 3 year old
daughter lip raped me when we were leaving!! she ran up to say bye and
she's so stinkin cute that i picked her up (yeah sue me i know it's
against the rules) well in picking her up she just laid one right on me!
haha probably a moment i will never forget.
We
had mission correlation every week and this past week i FINALLY felt
like we were making some progress. The assistant ward mission leader had
a couple names for us to go see and there was a good spirit in the
room. When he dropped us off afterwards i said Brother Perez you are the
best ward mission leader! haha he said oh well i'm not the leader i'm
just the assistant. I just hopped out and said oh... well you might as
well be. k there i said it! They were all laughing and so were we
because honestly that is the truth! Our ward mission leader still has
probably said a couple hey how are ya's and that's it!
On
saturday we were asked to help out with a stake young women's
conference because it was all about being a missionary la la la. I'm
just gonna say it, it was much easier just showing up to those things
than actually putting them together. sheesh. When everybody was gone i
turned to combs and said well i have no idea if anyone got anything out
of that cuz basically i just made soup and filled peoples salad bowls.
haha is that how the leaders feel?? That night a boy in our ward was
baptized and we were so excited to go because the family is super great
and invited their nonmember friends! The spirit was so strong throughout
the whole baptism but listen to the best part! Right before we were
about to start, some random lady walked into the church asking to learn
more! MIRACLE. We started walking with her down the hall and i wasn't
really sure where to start and then bam. right in front of the chapel
was a picture of the first vision. It was a really neat experience and
as we were talking in the chapel she asked what she had to do to get
baptized... ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! so we're planning on meeting with her
later today:] We'll see how it goes.
I
am starting to love the ward, yesterday i really feel like we were
finally becoming a part of it. Not just the awkward girls that sometimes
we see on sundays. Things are starting to come together, we're starting
to pick things back up again. It's crazy to think of all the different
things i am able to learn in a week. I love that i really am starting to
see how God truly has a hand in our lives and how amazing the gospel
really is. I'm grateful for this opportunity because i truly am becoming
the person i want to be for the rest of my life. When thou are
converted, strengthen thy brethren. I am converted not just to my
friends in the church, not just to the doctrine, but to our Savior Jesus
Christ. I am not here to earn my way to heaven but i'm trying to learn
my way to heaven.
I love you all SO much:] i hope this week you're able to find just how much our Savior loves us. Miss you all the days!
Love, Sister Bowden
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