Two Thousand Sixteen

~THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR THE CHRISTMAS AND BIRTHDAY WISHES! LOOK FOR LETTERS SOON!~

High 5! 

1. Christmas! My first one away from home was a success! It definitely wasn't the same but it was good. We had a great Zone Training in the morning, a zone potluck, played games, ate way too much, and I LOVED skyping my family!

Christmas morning with the zone, and having fun with my selfie stick!

The birthday missionaries!

 

We didn't have candles, so they made us take a bite out of the cake, haha!

2. BiRtHdAy! Yeah, I'm old now! The people here made my birthday a special day for me! We only had sacrament meeting because of all the snow, our ward mission leader's family threw me a birthday party, and we had a killer lesson with a less active who wants to work towards going to the temple :)

3. Exchanges! I spent a day in the Spanish branch this week with Hermana Marzo! I met some great people, got to work on my Spanish, and we got caught in a blizzard! Fun memories :)

4. Yesterday we had another big Zone Conference! We talked about our goals as a mission for 2016 and were spiritually fed and uplifted.

The BEST zone in the mission with Elder and Sister Bennett!

5. Steve is on date to be baptized on January 30th! Pray for him!

Down Low, 1 Slow...(haha)

1. It snowed a TON but now everything has turned into ICE!

(That's all I can think of this week!)

 Yesterday we talked about goals and visions for the new year so I thought it would be appropriate to share a few things with all of you! We made lists of what is good and should stay, what is bad and should go, and what is missing that we should add. I think all of us can apply it to this upcoming year as we set goals and make resolutions! I've been able to reflect on where I'm at and my goals for 2016 by making these lists. I invite all of you to read in Preach My Gospel page 146 about goal setting! Elder M Russell Ballard said, "I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don't set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age  and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life." We all have great potential. Like the Family: A Proclamation to the World states, "everyone is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such...has a divine nature and destiny." It is my prayer that we will all have the eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to know and feel what we can accomplish during this next year!

I love you all! God speed and Happy New Year! Cheers to 2016!

Love, Sister Bowen

More Christmas fun  and shenanigans with some of my favorite people!

Red or Green?

High 5!

1. We have a new investigator! His name is Steve and he is SO prepared for the gospel. He is progressing really fast and we will see him again tomorrow and hopefully set a baptism date for January!

2. This week we ran into a less active named Lorinda. Her records never got moved from the reservation but we took the bishop over and she is excited to start making her way back to church. 

3. We got to help one of our favorite elderly ladies pack and deliver Christmas goodies this week! She made tamales and biscochitos. YUM :)

4. We have the best time caroling every day...HAHA. People think we are crazy but it's so fun!

5. IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS! 

Down Low, 2 Slow.

1. This week we had to eat chicharrones AND menudo...look it up if you dare!

2. Sister Morris was sick practically all week so she stayed at members houses while I worked our area with other members.

Merry Christmas! I can't believe Christmas is really in 3 days! I am feeling very blessed to be a missionary this year. I know it will be a Christmas I will always remember and one I gave lots of attention to the true meaning, which is our Savior, Jesus Christ. We do A LOT of caroling...one of my favorite songs, because of the meaning behind it, has become The Little Drummer Boy. He has nothing to give to the new born King but he promises to "play his best for Him". It reminds me of a tradition my family has each year. We all think of gifts we can give to Christ, write them down, and put them in His stocking. Even though there is no amount of money or precious thing we can give to Him, we can play our best for him by living a Christ centered life, keeping His commandments, opening our mouths to share His gospel, and serving His children. I hope we all have a great Christmas! 

"Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:...His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." -Isaiah 9:6

God speed!

Love, Sister Bowen

(My FAVORITE people in our ward took me to Chipotle for birthday lunch this week since they will be out of town.)

Wise Men Still Seek Him

(We woke up to snow again...it's beautiful!)

High 5!

1. SURPRISE! We are staying in Eldorado for Christmas! We are SHOCKED but super happy and excited! They ended up making a new district so we are in that!

2. Multi-Zone Conference! Elder Bennett, from the 70, came a spoke to us for 9 hours this past Tuesday! It was AMAZING! Our mission has been so blessed! It was definitely something I will never forget and always cherish.

3. Our ward Christmas party was this week and it was a HUGE success! We had 10 investigators there! (If only we could get them to church, right!?)

4. We found a new investigator this week by carol tracting...haha. Her name is Gabriella. When we asked if we could sing her a Christmas carol she actually said no but then we ended up teaching her, having the elders come give her a blessing, and she invited us back! 

5. Last night, Jay came with us to the bell choir concert! It was super fun! Christmas music is the best!

Down Low, 2 Slow.

1. This week I talked and met the rudest people I have yet to meet on my mission...(it's okay though because we also had a super successful week.)

2. Pretty much our whole zone is sick! (except me-that's a good thing!)

ChRiStMaS BoNuS!

*John and Leila came to church on Sunday!

*We have the biggest apartment so we got to house the sisters who came up from El Paso for Zone Conference and it was a giant slumber party!

*We had interviews with President this week.

*Our December Zone Training was AWESOME!

*One of the families who had us for dinner this week invited 4 non-members who we got to teach!

*We did service at Manzano Elementary, helped our neighbor move, and helped paint and decorate for the Christmas party.

It was a really good week full of Christmas miracles!

My message today is simple (partly because I have no time). I am feeling super blessed to be a missionary this Christmas season! I've been able to really focus on the Savior. I've been thinking about the nativity and made a comparison between us and the wise men. They knew the scriptures and the signs of Christ's birth. They stayed humble even though they were wealthy and when they saw the star, they sought the Christ child immediately. Even though they were of high rank, kings, they left their duties and they traveled to Bethlehem to see our Savior. I hope that we can all step back from the hustle of the world to reflect on the real reason for the season. Christ was born so that one day he could die for us and I know that to be true. He is the gift.

God speed!

Love, Sister Bowen

(This person's yard was so cool!)

We Are His Hands!

High 5!

1. We found a new investigator this week! Her name is Misty and she has 2 little boys. She is super solid and we are excited to continue teaching her this week :)

2. We got to go caroling with the youth for their mutual activity!

3. We went to the Relief Society activity this week and it was really nice! We sang a bunch of Christmas songs and read the Christmas story :) I love this time of year!

4. Yesterday, we did a special fast for investigators because the ones we have are really inconsistent and only want to meet with us every 3 weeks and a NEW investigator showed up to church yesterday! His name is Jay and he said he has just been visiting a bunch of churches, googled us, and decided to come! We talked to him after and he said he really liked it and felt something different and would definitely be back! Miracle! We were also really amazed at the simplicity of the testimonies that were borne yesterday, which we know touched Jay's heart.

5. Last night we had dinner and watched the Christmas devotional with a family in our ward as well as their non-member friend! She really felt the spirit and her 9 year old little boy asked if they could go to church with us sometime. It was awesome :)

Down Low, 2 Slow.

1. We are struggling to teach investigator lessons right now :(

2. Yesterday a new stake was built, which is a good thing, but they took our district leader area which causes the ratio of elders to sisters to be off, so it is most likely our last week in Eldorado and they are probably getting elders back. At least we will be able to say we were the only sisters that ever served in Eldorado, haha!

We run into a lot of people who "don't believe in organized religion" and who claim to practice on their own, with out attending a specific church. I've been thinking about this "excuse" a lot and came across Elder Christofferson's talk from General Conference. He compares the church to the body of Christ. "We are the eyes, hands, head, feet, and other members of the body of Christ [...]" I love the scripture in D&C 81:5. "[...] succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees." This is part of our baptismal covenant! Elder Christofferson says, "Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. Uniting ourselves to the body of Christ-the church- is an important part of taking His name upon us." As we come together as members of the church we can accomplish so much more and lift each other up. For example, he talks about repentance. "Repentance is individual, but fellowship on that sometimes painful path is the church." I am grateful for the examples I have of faithful disciples of Jesus Christ who assist me in getting through good times and bad. I hope that we can give special attention to those who need strengthening and lifting up this holiday season. You will see great blessings as you do so. D&C 115:6 explains to us that "[...] the gathering together upon the land of Zion, [...], may be for a defense and for a refuge from the storm [...]" that the world throws at us. 

I love you all! Thank you for the continued support! God speed!

Love, Sister Bowen

PS. P-Day will be Monday again next week because of transfers!

We Are The Clay, Thou Our Potter

High 5!

1. Thanksgiving! My first BIG holiday away from home was a success! We had a zone activity in the morning with lunch and then we cut out turkeys and hearts to decorate some members doors during the day. (We only got caught once, haha.) We went to a steak house for dinner with a couple in our ward and some of their friends who are actually less active members of the church and part member families. They served a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and then afterwards we went to a members house and played games :)

2. We found a new investigator this week! His name is Samuel and he is SO prepared. We taught him the first lesson and then he came to a baptism with us on Saturday.  Hopefully we will get him on date at our appointment this week! His first language is Spanish so it's been fun to practice a little bit again, haha.

3. We had a lesson with Tati this week that also went super well! It is seriously an answer to our prayers that her mom is letting her meet with us. We aren't sure we will see her baptized while we are here but it's going to happen eventually and we are privileged to prepare her for it!

4. Yesterday we met a lady named Hilda while we were tracting. She broke down in tears because she recently lost a granddaughter and her husband has cancer. She is a Catholic but has been questioning everything and agreed to let us come back a teach her about how our message can strengthen her in this time of difficulty. Pray for her!

5. We went on exchanges with Alvarado Park this week! Hermana Marzo came to Eldorado with me and we had a lot of fun :)



Down Low, 2 Slow.

1. Roy dropped us.

2. We didn't get to teach much this week with so many people out of town for the holiday.

Happy December! I am so excited for this Christmas season, especially as a missionary! If you haven't watched the new video yet, "A Savior is Born", I encourage it!

This week my thoughts come from Elder Maynes talk from General Conference. A member in our ward spoke on it in sacrament meeting this week so it really got me thinking! He talks about the importance of centering our lives on Jesus Christ and standing in holy places. He promises us that, "If our lives are centered in Jesus Christ, He can successfully mold us into who we need to be in order to return to His and Heavenly Father's presence in the celestial kingdom." May I add the opposite outcome, that when our lives are not centered on Christ, we are allowing the worldly voices to influence and mold us into who it wants us to be. How can we be sure our lives are centered on Christ? It comes down to being converted rather than just convinced. Mosiah 5:2 illustrates the steps of gaining a true testimony. First, you HOPE it's true, then you THINK it's true, then you BELIEVE it's true, then you KNOW it's true. True and lasting conversion comes when we take one step further, however, which is CHANGING. We need to live what we know. President Hinckley said, "Get the gospel out of their minds and into their hearts. Get the scriptures out of their hands and into their souls." I hope that we can allow the Atonement of Jesus Christ to change our nature, not just our behavior; so we can become truly converted to this gospel and make any place we stand a holy place.

I love you all! God speed!

Love, Sister Bowen

PS. We have a conference next Tuesday so I am not sure when P-Day will be...probably Monday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

(The ducks love me!)

High 5!

1. This week we were asked to help out with YW in Excellence. It was missionary themed and so we put together a mini MTC experience for the girls. It was super fun and a success!

2. Julietta is doing SO well. We had another lesson with her this week and the spirit in her apartment was strong and undeniable. We know she felt it as we reviewed the Restoration by watching the film. Tears ran down her face. She prayed right then and there to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet and if the Book of Mormon is true. She is slowly but surely progressing and we are so proud of her!

3. We had our first lesson with a man named Roy this week! He is a neighbor to some members in our ward. He seems pretty comfortable in the church he is going to right now but agreed to reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. That's all it takes! We will find out how it went later this week during our second lesson.

4. We had dinner with a family in our ward this week and they invited their non-member neighbor as well! Her name is Gaby and she is from Romania! She is Christian and is going through some hard things so is super interested in learning about the church because we promised it could help her.

5. We got to help a family in our ward move this week as well as help them paint their house so it is ready to sell! It was super fun :)

Down Low, 2 Slow.

1 and 2. I had my first bike wreck this week...it was bound to happen-haha!

(Bike rides are fun...until you wreck!)

This week, being Thanksgiving, I have been focusing my studies on gratitude! One of my favorite stories about gratitude is found in Luke chapter 17. This is the story of the 10 lepers. Jesus Christ comes to their mercy and tells them to shew themselves unto the priests. As they went, they were cleansed. Verses 15-16: "And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks [...]". Be the one. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf tells us that gratitude is the catalyst to all Christlike attributes. I hope that we can all keep an attitude of gratitude during this season and the Christmas season to come, for the many blessings and mercies which He doth bestow upon us. 

God speed!

Love, Sister Bowen

Reach Up, Reach Out!

High 5!

1. Brooke's baptism! Ahh! Saturday was such a good day! We had a great turn out at the baptism and so many of her non-member family members were there to support her! A little miracle beforehand...her great-grandpa (who brings her to church) is like 94 years old and the night before the baptism got SUPER sick. Brooke's dad wanted to push the baptism back but instead, we took some elders over to give him a blessing and Saturday morning he woke up and forgot he had even been sick! Cool, right? Priesthood power is REAL! After the baptism, we had a social at the Lewis's and got to know her family a little bit better. We are all so happy for Brooke!

(The other little girl is Katelyn Lewis! She is in Brooke's primary class and she came teaching with us all the time.)  :)

2. We got to help with an Activity Days function this week! The girls are doing an international daddy-daughter event so we got to help paint for it!

3. We had lunch with Ana and Tati! They are SO ready for the gospel and we think they are a lot more comfortable with sisters so pray that they accept our invitations! 

4. Another miracle story from this week! We have been struggling to consistently teach a majority of our  investigators so I may or may not have prayed for them to have humbling experiences...well, the next day we got a call from a part-member family telling us that they just got notice that they were being evicted from their home and had only a few days to get out...sooooo, we went over and talked to them and promised them some pretty amazing blessings if they would give priority to The Lord. AND they came to church on Sunday! Yay! We have another lesson this week! Pray for Julietta! 

5. We got a new ward mission leader- Brother Corwin! He is SO awesome! He is Kevin's father-in-law! We are really excited to start working with him :)

Down Low, 2 Slow.

1. Sister Morris was sick this week :(

2. Yesterday we had our first snowfall and tracking in the snow is COLD.

With our recent baptisms, I've been thinking about our baptismal covenant. We can find it in Mosiah 18:9-10. When we are baptized, we promise to mourn with those that mourn, comfort those that stand in need of comfort, stand as a witness of God at all times, in all things, and in all places, serve Him, and keep His commandments. When studying these things I was led to another scripture found in Matthew 25:40- "[...] Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." My challenge for all of us is to REACH UP in prayer, asking God who we can REACH OUT to and then act on the promptings and situations that come. The blessings are endless if we will take our baptismal covenant to heart. Going back to verse 10- we will be redeemed of God, numbered with those of the first resurrection, gain eternal life, and always have His spirit to be with us. The sacrament is the perfect time to reflect and remember these things each week!

God speed!

Love, Sister Bowen

Tis' A Gift To Be Simple

High 5!

1. I'm staying in Eldorado for another transfer! I am SO glad because Brooke is getting baptized on Saturday!

2. Regional Conference! Yesterday for church, there was a regional broadcast and it was SO good! They talked about simplifying our lives and repentance. They gave a shoutout to El Paso and Albuquerque too! HOLLA ;)

3. We finally got to see Rachel this week and she PRAYED! For the first time ever, she prayed out loud with us and the spirit was SO strong!

4. We were tracting this week and found Celeste! She is super solid and invited us to come back. We could tell she is super prepared so we are excited to teach her this week!

5. We were walking the streets and this car drove by with a bumper sticker that said "waiting for a missionary" and then sure enough they slammed on their breaks and backed up to talk to us. Come to find out, this girl is not a member and is SO ready to be baptized. She goes to seminary every morning and church every Sunday. We are having dinner with her this week so pray that it goes well!

Down Low, 2 Slow.

1. We had the SADDEST drop lesson with a part-member family yesterday :( I cried...haha.

2. IT IS COLD AND DARK! Haha!

My thoughts today come from a lot of the regional conference yesterday! I LOVED how the general authorities talked about simplifying our lives and related it to how simple this gospel is. We hear the term "primary answers" a lot, and at first, might think of them to be the answers that little kids tend to give; but in reality they are the primary answers because they come first and are the most important, even with how simple they are. I love the scripture in Alma 37:6- "[...] by small and simple things are great things brought to pass [...]" With the small things like, reading our scriptures, praying, going to church, keeping the commandments, and giving service, it is nearly impossible to fall away from the church. When we are teaching investigators, the main commitments we leave with them are CPR...church, pray, read. It's essential to stay alive and to grow spiritually. When we do these simple things, the 4 primary questions can be answered. 

1. Is there a God?

2. Is Jesus Christ the Son of God and Savior of the world?

3. Is Joseph Smith a prophet?

4. Is the Church of Jesus Chris of Latter Day Saints God's true and living kingdom on the earth today?

I testify that when we apply Moroni's promise and ask with REAL INTENT, meaning we will act on the answers we receive, the primary questions will be answered by doing the primary things, and all other questions, concerns, and doubts will have no place in you.

God speeeeed!

Love, Sister Bowen 

STAND!

Happy Birthdays to...

High 5!

1. Exchanges! I spent a day in Manzano this week with Sister Fristrup! It was SO much fun, especially because I came out with her so we enjoyed sharing our experiences with each other so far :) 

2. Brooke is getting baptized in 2 weeks! Yay!

3. We found a new investigator! His name is Mark and he recently lost a loved one but is SO prepared for the gospel. He's been through a lot in his life but stands as a testimony that the gospel helps us in ALL aspects of our lives.

4. The elders gave us a solid referral this week. Her name is Alicia, she is a senior in high school and has a 1 year old little boy. Last night we taught her the first lesson and again, SO prepared. Her answers to our questions were spot on and she expressed sincere desire to change her life around. She has been looking for a church and agreed to be baptized!

5. HaLlOwEeN! We spent Halloween night carving pumpkins and passing out candy and mormon.org cards :)

Down Low, 2 Slow.

1. Our ward mission leader got called as the new bishop of our ward...

2. We almost got robbed this week but instead they accepted my umbrella, HAHAHA!

My thoughts today come from Alma chapter 46! This is the chapter about Moroni raising the Title of Liberty! On it, he writes, "In memory of..." and then lists some things that he is grateful for. Then, he puts on his armor and covenants with God to always be a true believer of Christ and maintain his rights and religion; because he knows that in turn, The Lord will bless him. Moroni was a powerful missionary and of course didn't want to keep these things just for himself so invited all to also enter into the covenant with God. In verse 21 it says, "And it came to pass that when Moroni had proclaimed these words, behold, the PEOPLE CAME RUNNING together with their armor girded about their loins, rending their garments in token, or as a covenant, that they would not forsake the Lord their God [...]". What makes you come running with your breastplate of righteousness, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and sword of the spirit? I hope we will all continue running to the gospel. I testify that it is the only source of lasting happiness and that Christ has His hand extended to all of us, at all times. Ephesians 6:13- "Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to STAND." 

God speed!

Love, Sister Bowen

PS. P-Day will be Monday next week because of transfers!