Week 69 - The Mexico of My Mission

Hello Jello:]

Well I hope this email finds everyone happy! The past week has been one full of many stresses and many great miracles from the Lord!

So Yessica's family have totally been putting up a road block on us! Her dad has started taking her to work early every morning and then in the afternoon her mom will take her to work with her so basically this past week was SO frustrating in trying to have a lesson with Yessica!  BUT we did not give up and saturday night we were able to see her!  I was so excited because literally that was the first week since June that i had not seen Yessica! She is doing well, we talked about her family issues and all the drama that has been going on, she still has the desire to get baptized:]  So Tuesday, Aug 19 Yessica will be getting baptized:]] and yes, we most likely will be hiding it from her parents.. which I

Hello Jello:]

We had our leadership council throughout the mission and it was SO incredible. I can't say enough how much I admire President Mortenson and all the changes that he is making in our mission.  I just love the way he works, the way he teaches, and just all the inspiration that he gives me. Granted he told me that he expects to send me home in the ambulance . . . but hey it's all for the work right? haha speaking of going home in an ambulance, I seriously have been SO tired lately!  I don't know if it's just everything coming round circle but man, I have never worked harder and I have never seen so many miracles:]

I got to teach this past week during zone meeting and it. was. awesome!   Ah, teaching missionaries is the hands down the best thing.  Just to be able to flip open the scriptures, ask a simple question and then let them receive their own revelation is such an incredible thing!  I have been very grateful for this opportunity to serve as STL, even though I wasn't too excited about it at first.  It has been pretty challenging and stressful, but it has also pushed me to keep stepping up my game and continue in growing and learning in the gospel.

We were able to find a family of 5 this past week! A FAMILY OF 5!! It was a dream come true, and the neatest thing was that the first time we had left them with the restoration pamphlet and when we came back the father told us that they had studied it, prayed about it as a family, and they know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I. just. about. died.

I also got to go to the temple with my golden child David!!  He's still just as great as he was a year ago and is now preparing to go on a mission himself:]  As we were leaving the temple He shared some things that I had taught him during the lessons that had made all the difference in his decision to be baptized.  It was just an incredible heartfelt moment, where it really made me feel like man, I have made a difference out here.  Ah, it was just incredible and I know whole heartedly that David is going to be an incredible missionary:]

I got the awesome opportunity of speaking yesterday (which I love so so much) and I'll share a little something something from the talk:]

There once was a girl

quite a lot like you,

she had worked very hard

hoping her dreams would come true.

She worked and she pushed

and she worked even more,

then after some time

her dreams started to soar.

And then came a shift

a quick rapid change,

nothing made sense

it all seemed so strange.

Impressions and promptings

were pounding on the door,

the more she ignored them

the more they struck her core.

Fighting and clenching

and turning away,

Then came her breaking point

she finally said ok.

She questioned and doubted

kept wondering why,

it just doesn't fit

this dream isn't mine.

A call from the Lord 

an invitation to serve,

her path wasn't broken

it just had a curve.

And little did she know 

this path was a new beginning,

A step on the right path

a time to quit sinning.

And now she can see

with her eyes full of light,

That it's been nothing but a privilege

to serve the lord with all her might:]

I truly have been so incredibly blessed and i can feel the spirit so strongly.  I love my savior, I am so grateful for the mighty change he has brought about in my heart.  I will never be able to say or do enough that will show that gratitude that I have.  Missions are just unlike anything you could ever expect.  They can be so hard, so so hard, at times you feel like this was the worst idea you've ever had. You feel weak, vulnerable, and worthless . . . but then through all the trials and challenges you find renewed faith in the Lord. You find confidence in Him and that His ways are so much better than your own.  I love you all. I know that God is so mindful of each of you.  I hope that this week is just filled with incredible experiences, I can't wait to hear about all of them:]

Love, Sister Bowden