Week 54 - Being What He Wants Me To Be

Well hello hello my dear family:]

This week ended up being quite challenging! We had interviews with President Pingree and as always they were great! As we got to talking things we're just peachy and we started discussing... plans to go home.  Which, as of lately, isn't my favorite subject to talk about.  For quite some time I have been planning on coming home in September, that way I could have 3 solid months to get back to ballet shape so I could audition in January! That's been my game plan for I can't even tell you how long.  Well we're talking about it and President says "Ya know I think that's a wonderful plan.  It'll be exciting to see what happens when you get home."  For some reason though, I felt the need to pray about it and ask the big man upstairs what His thoughts were.  The next day during my studies I received my answer. . . He needs me to stay.  He needs me to stay til the end of October. When I got that revelation I was so bummed!!  But what about ballet?!  What about all my big plans?  And ya know what thought I had . . .  "Have you still not learned that that's not what I want you to be?"  Aahhh crushing.

The next day was hard as well, we went out and knocked for hours with a couple sparks of excitement.  I saw a little boy out riding his bike and I asked him, "Hey what's your name?"  "Casinova, Jeffrey!" He replies and I ask him, "Well Casinova, where is your mom?"  He laughs at me and says "NO call me Jeffrey" and starts pedaling away.  We follow him to his house and as we approach it starts feeling a little weird.  We can hear a woman inside yelling the F word about every other word and there is broken beer glasses ALL over the yard.  Jeffrey runs inside and says "Mama!  Somebody is here to see you."  The mom says a couple other choice words and comes storming out the door, she takes one look at me and Sister Niedert (exchanges) and says a wonderful collection of words that I never, never, never would like to hear again.  She throws a bottle at the house and it shatters.  As we are walking away I can hear her screaming at Jeffrey.  Ya know the worst thing about it is that Jeffrey doesn't know any differently . . . to him that's how mom's treat their kids. To him that's just the way families are, and that thought right there is what breaks my heart the most.

The next day once again we're out trying to find some inactives on our list.  We got to a door, knock and decide to leave a note for the lady.  As we're walking away another crazy lady pokes her head out the door and yells, "I would recommend that you never come back here" and before we can answer, she slams her door.  We get in the car and as we're driving away our phone rings, I answer it and before I even know it, the crazy lady is once again yelling some cruel and disgusting things at me.  I just sit there, in shock.  And then I broke.  Why are people SO mean?  Why does Satan have to work so hard to try and bring me down?  Ah it's like 2 Nephi 4. Why should my strength slacken because of my afflictions?  My answer:  OPPOSITION.  

I got a blessing from our incredible Bishop and it was an answer to some of the deepest concerns of my  heart. I know more than anything that I am needed here.  There are specific people that need me and will need me until October.  I need to trust in that and trust that all will be well:]  I think that at times the more we try to build our relationship with God and help others do the same, the more Satan is going to try to stop you.  The more he is going to put doubts in your mind and throw some really nasty things in your way.  I'm learning to stay strong, to not throw in the towel, and to keep trying even when I feel like I can't.

I love this gospel. I know that it is true and that others have given up so much more than I.  Heavenly father is there, and I know He will help me through the hard times.  In fact, I think that's what He does best:]

I love you all and I hope that you have an INCREDIBLE week:]  We get transfer calls this Sunday!  Can you even believe how quick time is flying by?!  It's just not right!  And then it'll be mother's day!  Ah I'll talk to you guys soon!  I miss you so much!!

Love, Sister Bowden

Week 53 - My First REAL Easter Experience

ALOOOHA:]

Well another week has come and gone and I just want everyone to know that I MISS YOU!  I have decided that holidays are just not the same when you are solo dolo, especially when you're dying Easter eggs by yourself!  Ah you know that's my favorite part of Easter! (well other than the whole resurrection part of it), but hey, it's all good.

I don't think that today I'm gonna take a really long time to write about all the miracles and ups and downs of this past week, but I do want to share something that has really led me to believe that Heavenly Father truly does have a plan set out for each of us.  At times we may even turn away or feel distant from our Heavenly Father but even then, He still does not give up on us.

So yesterday I woke up feeling like a champ and we got to the church by 7 for some meetings.  Before sacrament meeting started I was anxiously waiting to see which of our investigators were going to show up and which ones were once again going to miss out on some sweet blessings.  While I'm sitting there looking around when I look behind me and I see this guy that I instantly recognized.  Of course i'm sitting there thinking no, there's no way, I'm in Montgomery, Texas and I haven't seen him for like 4 years, nah he probably just looks a lot like him.  When the meeting finished Sister Bonner tells me go talk to those people, they are a part member family and we haven't seen them in awhile.  I take a breath and tell her I already know them and go walk over to re-introduce myself.  I walk up to the girl and say, "Hey, are you McCall Nelson?"  She looks a little confused and says yeah that's me.  I turn to the guy and say, "and your Rudy right?"  He says yeah and they are both just staring at me like I'm the most awkward girl in Texas.. So I say well I'm Sister Bowden and I went to Fremont High and I remember seeing you guys there!  Rudy looks at me for a little bit longer and says... "Is your first name Macall?"  Haha i smile and say Yeah! He then asks me, "you dated my friend Ducky right?"  Haha, I start laughing and said "Yeah, a little bit."  We start talking a little bit and I asked them if we could come stop by later this week.  They say sure sure and wa la, we have reconnected with one of our less active part member families!

But.. let me give you some background information.  Rudy is not a member of the church, but I have been aware of him since I was an 8th grader.  For one reason or another at school every time I saw him I would think, "You should talk to him" but did i ever?  No not really, I would when I was with Ducky but that was maybe once.  I can't even say though how many times at school I would see him and there was some weird connection that words don't explain.  When we got home from church I just burst into tears.  Even during high school when I was kinda taking some wrong paths Heavenly Father was still preparing me for when I would serve a mission.  I know that He places people in our paths for a reason.  It seems like He always knew what I would end up choosing and now He's placed me here in Montgomery, Texas, of all places, to help this guy that I should have helped so long ago!  I just truly believe that there is a purpose to everything.  I'm incredibly humbled and grateful to know just how mindful Heavenly Father is of each of us.  He works in incredible ways and I feel like I have been placed in Montgomery for a specific reason. Crazy!!

But, yes, while Easter is so great with bunnies and eggs and candy, this year I think I finally understood what this is all about.  Because He came our lives have meaning.  We will live again.  We can be forgiven.  We can find peace.  Because He came, we can start over as many times as we need.  We can be lifted from our trials.  We can see our loved ones again.  And Because He came, we can return back to our Heavenly Father.  It's been incredible having this opportunity to spend time in dedicating myself to the Savior.  It is through him that we can find happiness.  My life will never be the same:]

I love you all, I miss you all, and I can't wait to kiss you all.  Haha, Ew heck no!  Scratch that last one.  Have a great week y'all I'll be seeing ya before you know it:]

Love, Sister Bowden

Week 52 - How Do You Measure A Year?!

Well hello jello!!

 

I am just SO happy to be writing y'all today:] This past week has once again been one just full of incredible moments and learning experiences!

 

So Sister Bonner is the sister training leader in our zone which means that she has to go on exchanges with all the other sisters in our zone, which means that I also have to go on exchanges with them.  So yep, we do a lot of exchanges!  This past week I got to be with Sister Powell and Sister Ae and it was SO incredible!  Right before I was falling asleep all of a sudden Sister Powell whispers in the dark "Sister Bowden..?"  " Yeah?"  "I just want you to know that I really look up to you."  It's little moments like that that make me feel like hey ya know, maybe I'm not too bad of a missionary after all and I absolutely adore Sister Ae!  She's from Hawaii and is seriously my long lost twin.  We have the most random things in common and I think I spent the whole day laughing:]  We visited with our awesome hippie neighbor Ken!  He's a really neat guy, that we'll share scriptures with and see how he's doing.

 

During our weekly planning sesh me and Bonner were discussing things that we needed to be better at.  We decided that one thing we really needed to focus on was that each lesson was led by the spirit instead of us just teaching the same lessons that we've been teaching for awhile now.  In doing that, I have really felt a difference in our lessons!  We're teaching this girl named Brittney who is seriously like the nonmember version of Macall!  I stinkin love her and as we tailored a lesson specifically for her and her needs, we had an awesome outcome!  I love that moment when the spirit breaks down their walls and they really start opening up to you.

 

We also spent some time knocking away, and we came across a lady named Paige!  Gave her the scoop had a good time hearing about her past experiences and right as we were about to leave Bonner asks her, "Can we leave you with a prayer?"  She says sure, and as I was praying I just felt the spirit once again take over.  When we finished she said Holy Cow!  I have goosebumps all over!  I really am so grateful for the power of prayer!  I know that as we are sincere in our prayers and are truly seeking the things that Heavenly Father has for us, we will be blessed.   We will find comfort and we will find happiness:]

 

I got to listen to President Monson's talk with some recent converts, the one about Courage, Not Compromise and it really hit me hard.  I think one of Macall's biggest weaknesses is that I really just wanna be liked by everyone, and in having that weakness I give into people so that we can all be friends.  CAN I SAY HOW HARD THAT IS AS A MISSIONARY?  I'm working on finding that "inner courage" so that when moments like this arise I won't be afraid, I won't lower my standards, but I will trust in the Lord.  It's Him who I should be trying to please anyways right?  I just wish that we could all get on the same page and just want to do the right thing.  How do you help people feel comfortable around you when you don't really think they are doing what's right?  Haha I sound like I should be back in jr. high or something... but anyways I just really loved that talk, if you haven't listened to it, do.  It's a good one:]

 

I also ate crawfish for my first time ever! and man those things look creepy.  It's also a whole heck of a lot of work for a teeny bit of meat.  Haha . . . not even worth it:] but hey I'm always up for new things.  It's all about the experience right?

 

Well honestly, we have just a lot going on!  Too many investigators to sit here and write about all day.  We had another 14 year old boy come to church yesterday and he's wanting to be baptized so we gotta get the ok with his mom and then let the lessons begin!  It truly is such an incredible blessing to be serving in an area like Montgomery.

AND NOT TO MENTION I HAVE OFFICIALLY BEEN SERVING THE LORD FOR A YEAR! i can't even believe it's gone by so fast:/  Who am i, if i'm not a missionary?  Haha no one is gonna think i'm cool anymore wah!!  Haha but really, it's been the greatest thing ever.  I can't tell you what a privilege it is to be a part of this great work, to get to be an instrument in the Lord's hands and help people get started on their own path, man, there is NOTHING greater:]

 

I love you all oh so much!  I hope this week is one full of incredible things, that if your sick ya get better, if your stressed ya get some ice cream, and if your bored you find a sweet adventure to go on:]  Like one of the talks said, we only have 4 minutes, let's make the most out of it while we can!

 

Love, Sister Bowden

Week 51 - Miracle Mania :}

Familia!!

 

Well sweet mercy!  Before I jump into the great moments of this past week . . .  YES Elder Holland's talk was SOOO good!  No when my little incident happened, I didn't think about writing the general authorities, but man, it hit home and I really appreciated what he shared.  That man literally must have been my best friend in the premortal life - not. even. kidding.   General Conference is seriously like christmas morning as a missionary.  I absolutely loved all that was shared and I couldn't help but think "Ah! my family is sitting in that audience!"  I did for a moment miss you guys a lot:]

 

But, like I was saying this week was just FULL of miracles!  I truly feel so incredibly blessed to be serving a mission.  One night we were trying to get in contact with one of our former investigators at the gas station she worked at.. well it ended up being a huge hot spot for us!  We were able to contact and talk to a lot of people that were coming in and the best part was later this week when we went to follow up on a mother and daughter named Ella and Jennifer, we were able to teach the first lesson powerfully and invite both of them to be baptized on May 10.  They accepted the invitation:]  I have a firm witness that Heavenly Father really will place prepared people in our paths as we show our obedience and faithfulness to Him.

 

So here in Montgomery we really push to have a member at EVERY lesson, which at times can be kinda stressful but someway and somehow the Lord always provides.  One night our appointment fell through as they often do, so we took our member out tracting.  As it was getting dark the member said hey let's just try one more.  We went and knocked on the door and the lady said she was having a rough day and now wasn't really a good time, then WAM the member starts bearing a powerful testimony on the Book of Mormon, that she was a daughter of God, on and on and the lady just started crying.  It was a really incredible experience to see this member just take off!  Sometimes I feel that their testimony is much more powerful then mine, mostly because with the badge people expect me to just testify of Christ all the day long, but coming from a normal woman it had a totally different impact:]  Members, you are so great!  Never never doubt what you are capable of.

 

Mickey and Glenda are still just moving right along! We watched the Sunday afternoon session with them and it was such a spiritual moment.  I appreciated SO much when L. Tom Perry started sharing his story with the horses, it spoke right to Mickey and they loved it.  As we were talking afterwards Glenda blurted out, I just love this church! Mickey had just one question  . . . he said growing up me and my daddy were like this, we were always close . . . will I be able to see my father again after I die?  How grateful I am for the Plan of Salvation.  It was such an incredible moment to be able to share my personal testimony that yes, he would be able to be with his father again and that his father was probably a lot closer to him than he realized.  As we shared our testimonies on eternal families Mickey started tearing up.  I know that families were meant to last through the eternities, I know that we were placed specifically in our families to help in our journey back to our Heavenly father.

 

So sister Bonner is the STL and that means that she has leadership meetings and exchanges about twice a week so yeah sometimes I feel like I've been left in the dust to figure things out.  This past week while she was gone, I had no idea what to do so we took some time knocking doors . . . well we go up to one . . . knock knock knock . . . me:  "Hey! We are the missionaries from the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" . . . (cut off)  Lady: "You mean the Mormons?"   Me: "Haha yeah that's kinda become our nickname, but what we do" (cut off) . . . Lady: "There ain't no way in hell we are talking to Mormons I am a Baptist and I have heard plenty about y'all". . . (slams the door).   Well my goodness!  Angry, pregnant, baptist ladies are definitely not on my favorite people to talk to list!  In Montgomery there are literally like 7 churches on every street and a LOT of Southern Baptists.  I guess that a lot of the preachers will preach against us and warn their congregations about the Mormon missionaries . . . Yikes.  Well, it's nothing that a little softening of the heart won't fix:]

 

But seriously things are just catching fire down here, I've absolutely loved it and I am absolutely so tired every day!  I love this gospel.  I know that Heavenly Father truly is a father to us, he loves us.  Jesus Christ is His son and our savior.  I'm grateful for living day prophets and the HUGE impact they have had on my life.  Being a missionary truly is the greatest thing, everyday I'm so grateful to be out here.  I now see things from such a different perspective.  The greatest decision I have made so far was to give up something I loved so dearly, to a God I loved even more.  I feel that He has never forgotten me for it, and has brought greater blessings than I ever could have expected:]

 

I love you guys so very much!  You are in my prayers and I hope that you do the incredible this week!

 

Love, Sister Bowden

 

Week 50 - My Spiritual GIANT!

My family!!

 

Well oh my goodness.  I don't even know where to start!!  I was transferred and I am now serving in the blessed land of MONTGOMERY!! and all I can say is that it truly is incredible and I have hands down the best companion in the mission:]  I'm serving with Sister Bonner!! She is 6'2" and literally i feel like she is retraining me on how to be a missionary. She doesn't sit around and wait for miracles to fall into her lap, she seeks them out. She pushes me to do likewise and I am so so so grateful to have a companion that just wants to work.  These next 6 weeks should be incredible!

 

Montgomery is like you classic Texas type small town.  I absolutely love it and we have soo much going on in the area right now!  I want to just sit and type down all the neat experiences but I will share just a couple small moments that really impacted me this past week.

 

So we have a wide range of people that we are teaching right now.  We teach a woman who literally lives in a mansion on the lake, and then we also teach a man who, when we met him, didn't have anything but a mattress in his apartment.  I love that truly the gospel can bless any person no matter what circumstances they may be in.

 

We also had a baptism this Saturday!  Millie Coats is 79 years old!  We call her grannie and she calls us "her girls."  After she was baptized, we were waiting in the bathroom while she changed and during a quiet moment I heard her softly whisper "thank you Jesus."  When she came out in her dress, she bore her testimony to Sister Bonner and I.  It's a good feeling when you can here your convert simply say, "My love for the Savior has grown and I know this is His church."   Ahhh they get it!!!

 

One night after an appointment fell through, we decided to go through the neighborhood and start finding some people.  We weren't having the best of luck, we started to walk up this couple's driveway and as we were walking, the wife saw us and started shooing us away saying, "We don't have time for you right now."  Sister Bonner just yelled back, "We are just in the area doing some service! Can we help you?"  It took both of them by surprise and they said sure and asked if we had a hammer!  Haha well we helped with their new screened in front porch and set up a time to come back and share a message. That first lesson was one of the best ones I have taught while on my mission:]  Mickey and Glenda were so excited to hear that we had a prophet here on the earth today!  She asked what his name was and if she could look him up.  We left her with a bunch of information and told her to check out mormon.org.  Well... listen to this!  She got on and started reading and said that ALL of our beliefs are things that she has always thought were true!.. and then she came across the Word of Wisdom... both her and mickey smoke and drink both coffee and alcohol.  She looked at the computer, looked at him and then said.. "Well it's time we give it up anyways."  CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?  I was blown away at how prepared these two have been.  Haha they are your classic Texans.  At one point Mickey said,  "I am a classic old school red neck!  My priorities are 1: my lord Jesus Christ and  2: my family."  Haha they are hilarious and i absolutely love them:]

 

Last, but definitely not least, we have Marcus:] who during sacrament meeting yesterday leaned over to me and whispered, "Sister Bowden.. when can I get the holy ghost?" :]]]]] Are you kidding me??  We talked a little bit more about his baptismal date and how he would receive the the gift of the holy ghost that following Sunday.  He is just so grateful and so ready to accept all that we have.

 

I truly feel so so blessed to be serving up here in Montgomery!  It is a place full of opportunities and with my awesome partner Bonner, I'm looking forward to the coming weeks.  We have A LOT to do, and I hope that we can somehow put a dent in all the things we wish to achieve.

 

I hope that all is going well back home, that each day you are finding little moments of happiness:] and know that I am missing you!!

 

Love, Sister Bowden

Week 49 - Not Apos, Just Understanding

Ohlo!!

Well here it is my family, looks like after a really blurred 6 months I am heading off into the sunset to an area full of new challenges and adventures!!  But, before I jump to all of that, let me tell you about this past week which was full of miracles:]

 

We had the opportunity of going to the temple and I was really grateful for the time that we got to spend there.  It was neat to prepare for it in the morning and receive some really neat impressions while I was inside:]  I think that the more you try to build your relationship with Heavenly Father the more you'll be able to understand how He works and how He speaks.

 

We went as a district and to help a family clean up their yard and while everyone was pulling weeds, Elder Hunter and I found a skateboard!  Holla! Iit was a good time riding that thing around for a couple minutes and no one panic!  I didn't break my arm or anything:]  

 

Haha, another funny story from pulling weeds.  Me and Elder Keith were in one section pulling away when all of the sudden he leaned over and accidentally let one rip. Hahahaha, oh his face was hi-larious and I couldn't help but just bust up laughing.  Me and Keith were in the same MTC district so I just told him that after a year of friendship it was just time to take it to the next level:]  I guess there are no more walls between us haha.

We also have 3 new FAMILIES that we have started teaching!!  Can you even believe that?! We have found them through knocking, members, and other missionaries and it has been incredible to see the miracles all happen in such a short amount of time!  When we went to our Relief Society activity on Thursday we had 3 other members say "Hey we have some people that we want to introduce you to, they are willing to listen to the lessons!"  I was completely blown away!!  And to top it all off Rori Van Hook came to sacrament meeting on Sunday:]  She said that she had a lot of questions and I think that it's just going to be a process with her.   Fortunately for us, the Janis family in the ward is Jewish, and every year they practice the traditions of Judaism.  When we introduced Rori to them, she was pretty excited and kept saying, "I need to talk to them a little bit more."  Honestly, good things are just flowing into the Katy 2 ward:]  I absolutely love it. 

 

So yes, as it turns out, it seems that I am being transferred right as soon as things start moving in our area.  I am so happy though because I know that whoever comes in next will be coming into some really great opportunities!  I'm leaving the area in WAY better conditions then how I got it which is honestly all that I could ask for:] and all of it just reminds me of Alma 7:19..yea, I perceive that ye are making his paths straight.   I think that's the slogan for my mission..haha either that or "It's all good!"  I am so so grateful for the time that I have gotten to spend serving in Katy.  I know that I've have built relationships that will last forever and I couldn't be more excited for what lies ahead. 

 

I know that my Savior lives.  I can feel it with every ounce of my little body:]  Nothing makes me happier and nothing drives me quite as much as this knowledge.  Every moment of serving a mission has been worth more than anything else.  I've really been striving to just follow the spirit and have it with me constantly.  I'm on the home stretch and I wanna make the most of every day, every hour, and every week.  

 

I love you all and think the world of you.  I'm praying for you every night and I hope that this week you'll be more mindful of the things Heavenly Father is trying to tell you:]

Love, Sister Bowden

Week 48 - You Converted the Whole Ward!

Well hey there mi familia!

This past week has been one just full of great experiences and I, once again, am just so grateful for this opportunity that I have to serve the Lord:]   There is nothing better that I could be doing. 

We had exchanges and I got to spend the day in Sealy which was SO good:]  They live with members and the guy has an art studio in his house which is so sweet!  He has dedicated a whole lot of time to his pieces and had this huge collection of paintings of Christ's ministry while he was on the earth.  It was a pretty neat experience and I loved the experiences he shared with me.  It's pretty neat to think that the Lord has blessed us with so many different ranges of talents!  But, anyways, we spent a lot of time knocking doors in Sealy and I absolutely loved it!  I love humble people:]  It really was good for me because we were able to contact a lot of people and find a handful of people that were willing to listen to us.  I left with the thought of "Phew! You are still a good missionary":] 

One day Me and Newhouse decided that we were gonna spend some time tracting in our area... haha which we avoid at all costs because with previous experiences it just hasn't seemed like the most effective way to spend our time.  Well, before we start going buckwild pounding on doors we decided to say a prayer for where we should go and I felt an impression to go to this certain building number at the apartment complex we were at. The second to last door Joanne answered, and at first she seemed pretty put off that we were knocking randomly on her door.  BUT, the spirit took over, we talked to her about a loving Heavenly Father, that the Book of Mormon can be a source of strength and that it was written specifically for this time.  As we left her with a prayer she was just smiling and said, "You have no idea how much this means to me!"  CAN I JUST SAY HOW GOOD IT FEELS TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE AN INSTRUMENT IN THE LORDS HANDS? When you listen and follow the spirit, it just is unlike anything that you could ever experience. SO good:]

We also had dinner with my favorite lady Sister Hanna:]  As we were talking about what's been going on and la la la she told us that we have no idea all the good work that has come from us being here.  She said, "Sisters you should be proud of the work you have done, you've converted this whole ward" :]  I guess a huge part of missionary work, which honestly I tend to look over, is helping the members in their own conversions. 

Speaking of the ward, I got to speak yesterday in sacrament meeting! and once again, i love speaking!!  Haha it's become one of my favorite things to do.  I love just getting up telling a good story, throwing in some gospel principles, bearing a powerful testimony, and just walking away:]  Haha I talked mostly on how being a member of this church or having the gospel in our lives will always be something we'll have to fight for.  It's not meant to be easy, but I know that as we strive to constantly trust in the Lord man, we got some pretty great things to look forward to.  I LOVE THE KATY 2ND WARD.  K there I said it.  This has been thee absolute hardest thing that I have tried to be a part of, but I have just grown to love this area and all the people in it.  I know that it is through trials that we can become better acquainted with God:]  Afterwards I had quite a few people come and say, "Man Sister Bowden, that was so great!  I was just hangin on to every word!"  I truly am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who finds a way to work through all types of people, even this crazy, free-spirited girl from Hooper, Utah! 

I love you all so so much!  I hope that you are happy and well and that things are just moving right a long:] Keep fighting that good fight and know that I'm missing you guys.

Love, Sister Bowden