HASTA LUEGO TEXAS!!!

High 5!

1. Randy is SO solid. He came to FHE last week and had so much fun with our ward. He reads, prays, and comes to church and we are so excited for October 17th!

2. Yesterday we got to teach Relief Society about blessings of the temple :)

3. Alan got to meet with President this week. His date has been pushed back again but he is slowly making progress!

4. The General Women's Broadcast was SO GOOD! It made me so excited for conference this weekend and I loved being with all the sisters in my ward.

5. I'M OPENING A BRAND NEW AREA! WHAAAAAT!? Tomorrow I will be transferred somewhere North of here. I do not know where yet so look for that next week! I am so excited! Hard work is ahead and I can't believe The Lord trusts me to do it!

Down Low, 2 Slow.

1. I am leaving UTEP :(

2. I had to say the hardest goodbyes this week :(

AH, I cannot believe the time actually came for me to leave my baby area. I am SO sad but The Lord has been preparing me for this change and I am ready and excited. I have made the BEST friends here and so many people have had an influence for good on my life. These past 41/2 months have been incredible and the memories will be cherished forever.

WITH THAT, PLEASE HOLD ALL MAIL UNTIL NEXT WEEK. I will send my address then :)

This week we read Alma 48 with one of our recent converts. WAR...haha. BUT I love this chapter because we can apply it to us! In verse 7 it says, "[...] while Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni, on the other hand, had been preparing the mind of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God." (DISCLAIMER: The Lord's team always wins!) It goes on to say that Moroni and his followers built forts and places of resort and walls of stone to protect them. (Thus we see, we still have to do our part.) In verse 9 it says, "And in their weakest fortifications he did place the greater number of men [...]." We know our weaknesses. We know where Satan attacks us the hardest which is why those are the places where we need to place our strongest defenses. (More scripture study, more prayer, more fasting, ect.) I promise as you do this, anywhere you stand can be a holy place or a place of "resort". Verse 17 is my favorite... "Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men." Find YOUR scripture hero!

I love you all SO much! Have a great week :) God speed!

Love, Sister Emilee Bowen

CharACTer!

 

It was a rainy week in El Paso!

High 5!

1. Max! Max was a media referral to Hondo Pass but YSA age so he got passed to us this week! I swear it's like teaching Joseph Smith! All his questions are answered through the gospel and he is so excited to get baptized on October 17th!

2. Victor! Victor was a referral from a recent convert in our ward-Hector. Same type of deal as Max. Super solid and everything that we teach him makes so much sense in his mind. After this week, he will be on date as well.

3. Randy! Randy comes from a part member family in the Redd ward but is YSA age so he was passed to us this week. He said he has explored many churches and has no doubt in his mind that we are the only true church on the earth today...! Cool, right? He is also on date for October 17th.

4. He finally saw Jaime this week and he also came to church on Sunday! YAYYYYY. He will also be back on date after we see him this week. He said he's done rebelling...hahaha.

5. Karen came to church on Sunday!

Down Low, 2 Slow.

1. Brad is ignoring us again :( Satan is really working on him so please keep him in your prayers.

2. We lost our car keys...can't find them anywhere, haha.

Man oh man, this week was FULL of miracles! Look at all those new investigators we got this week! The Lord is preparing SO many of His children to hear the gospel and it's a blessing to be a part of.

This week I want to talk about service! When we are physically sick, it is necessary to turn inward and focus on recovering, but when we are in need of healing in our soul, turning inward doesn't work.

After Jesus Christ suffered for our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane, he notices that a servant had cut off one of the guard's ear. Perhaps it would be understandable if Christ had walked past him, after all, He had just sweat drops of blood from every pore and was now on His way to be crucified. In Luke 22:51 we read about the character of Christ, "[...] And he touched his ear, and healed him." This is significant because Jesus Christ who suffered the most, has the most compassion for all of us who suffer so much less.

As we lift others, our own burdens are lifted as well. President Eyring gives a talk in a priesthood session of conference called, "Man Down!" Part of his talk signifies this responsibility. "Almost all of us have seen a battlefield portrayed in a film or read the description in a story. Over the din of explosions and the shouts of soldiers, there comes a cry, "Man down!" When that cry sounds, faithful fellow soldiers will move toward the sound. Another soldier or a medic will ignore danger and move to the injured comrade. Whatever the risk, someone will run low or crawl to get there in time to protect and give aid. The histories of such groups are full of stories of those loyal men who were determined that no man would be left behind. Our comrades are being wounded in the spiritual conflict around us. You are under covenant to go to a spiritually wounded child of God. You are responsible to be brave enough and bold enough not to turn away."

I promise that as we look outside ourselves, we will be healed as well. There is no other cure but service. Matthew 16:25.

I can see Mexico from here!!

God speed!

Love, Hermana Bowen

PS. Due to transfers, P-Day will be Monday next week :)

I found a ranch named after me! ;)

The Giants Are Awake!!!

High 5!

1. John surprised us and showed up at Mysty's baptism! I was SO happy to see him! We have been having so much fun :)

2. Laura and Diego got married!!! We helped set up and I got to do her hair!

3. Mysty got baptized!

4. A former investigator contacted us this week and we met and taught him. His name is Brad and he bore powerful testimony of how much better his life was when he was actively learning and coming to church. Crazy! He is now back on date for October 10th!

5. Exchanges! This week we went on exchanges with our STL's! Hermana Espinoza came to UTEP with me and we had lots of fun teaching and speaking Spanish ;)

Down Low, 2 Slow.

1. Anna dropped us...NOOOOO! :( Literally broke my heart. We convinced her to at least see us 1 more time so we are having lunch on Wednesday. Pray for her please!

2. Sister Ingold is sick sick sick.

This week was FULL of miracles, as you can see :) Today, I want to share a story that a previous sister training leader wrote for me.

Once upon a time in the land of latter-days, the great King of Heaven sent forth His sacred covenant to provide the way for all of His children to return home. The pathway of return had been purchased at great cost, requiring the sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son, and now the destiny of the whole kingdom rested on the keepers of the covenant.

The keepers of the covenant were spiritual giants who had defeated the king's enemies when they had attempted to defeat the plan from the beginning. They were valiant, gifted youth who humbly accepted the role to come forth in the latter-days to carry out the covenant to all the children of the great king, knowing the courage, power, and potential of those great and noble giants, the leader of the enemy gave the following instructions to his minions...

"Do not underestimate the power of these sleeping giants. Do not try to confront them with evil, but rather sing to them lullabies of entertainment and the song of fun and games. Set leisure to be their king. Shower them with riches, that ease and comfort may be their lot. Fill their precious time with perceived harmless but trivial pursuits; with TV and toys. Create a noise that His spirit will not be heard. Do all that you can to prevent them from hearing the still small voice and the call to arms. The quiet voice of revelation must not be discerned, lest they awaken to the slippery slope of decent upon which we have so carefully lured them. Remember to encourage them that all is well and that there is no need for alarm. Assure them that it is okay to lay aside the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the breastplate of righteousness. Convince them that they need not keep the sword of the spirit ready, for the battle is elsewhere, not in their own hearts and homes. Remind them often that they are chosen and elect and they need not worry that they might fall. Convince them that they are better and stronger than others who have fallen. Above all, keep them from the clarion call of the prophets who bid them arise. We must not disturb their peaceful slumber of complacency and mediocrity. Encourage them to fit in with those of the world, with whom we already have a friendship. Convince them that clothes and language, music and movies, and activities for a thrill pose not threat to their calling to be a "chosen generation"."

Suddenly, an alarm was heard throughout the halls of the powers of darkness. With breathless urgency, a messenger burst into the room where the Prince of Darkness was instructing his legions, and with a strained, lamented whisper said, "The giants are awake." 

Missionary work is in full force and ALL of us are apart of it. Step up to your calling as a missionary and President Ezra Taft Benson's promise will be fulfilled. "It is my conviction that member-missionary work will raise the spirituality in any ward where applied."

God speed!

Love, Sister Emilee Bowen

Turn On The Light!

High 5!

1. Wednesday we got to see Raven and do some service out at their new property!

2. Friday we got to have dinner with Anna. I love her. She will get baptized one day.

3. Our ward had a "rescue night" this week where we all were assigned less-actives and recent converts to invite over to the Petty's house and we played games and had a BBQ. We had a really good turn out!

4. Remember Laura!? Her and Diego are getting MARRIED on Saturday so we've been helping with that :)

5. Mysty is getting baptized on Saturday!!!

Down Low, 2 Slow.

1. So many people cancelled on us this week so we tracted a TON!

2. We find more lizards than investigators...hahaha!!!

Hello hello! I feel like I just wrote an e-mail but here I am again! This week was so good! My thoughts today are about the light of Christ.

Every person who has lived, is living, or will live on this earth is born with the light of Christ. Throughout our lives we go about making choices, some of which can brighten our light and others which can dim our light. Many of us, I'm sure have had the experience  where someone asked, "What's different about you? There seems to be a light in your eyes." When we actively strive to brighten our personal light of Christ others notice. Some of us might look at this as a large task to accomplish but we can brighten that light by doing the simple things- praying, reading our scriptures, repenting, and serving others. Most of the time it is these simple things that we overlook. When we continue to do these things and use our agency for good, our light becomes brighter and doing so makes it easier to make the right choice the next time.

The same is true for the contrary however. When we make a wrong choice, or simply ignore a prompting to assist someone in need, our light dims, again making it easier to do the same the next time. We know that Satan works by degrees, so if we keep following this pattern, eventually we could end up in complete darkness.

What happens when you sit in a dark room with no light for a long period of time? You get used to it, right? Your eyes start to adjust and you get comfortable. And when someone turns on the light, it hurts. For a few seconds, the light hurts our eyes and in that moment we want to go back to sitting in darkness. But again, our eyes adjust to the light and we realize how much better we can see with the light on.

I plead with each of you who are struggling to adjust to the light or who are still contemplating whether or not to turn it on...the Atonement of Jesus Christ is the healing power on the earth today. It's going to hurt at first and it's not going to be easy, but I promise things will get better and you will adjust. Your eyes will be opened to a clearer picture of what God wants for you and your life will improve. Trust Him. He gave you the light of Christ so others could glean from it and also make the choice to turn their light on. I have sat in darkness before and it is my prayer and testimony that each of you will believe in the saving ordinance of the Atonement and make the choice to turn on the light.

God Speed!

Love, Hermana Emilee Bowen

Walk the Talk

High 5!

1. We got Mysty back!!! YAY! We are so grateful she decided to stay in the YSA ward! She is getting baptized September 12!

2. Saturday we had lunch with one of our recent converts-Matt, as well as his mom who is also a new member and his grandma who is taking the lessons!

3. Alan is for real getting baptized on October 3!

4. We had random interviews with President Miller this week and him and Sister Miller came to our sacrament meeting on Sunday!

5. Last night we taught Diana and she brought one of her friends to the lesson and now we are teaching him!

Down Low, 2 Slow.

1. We keep finding lizards in our apartment...haha!  We find these in our house all the time. It's like getting a new pet every day! They are so quick though and hard to catch, hahaha!

2. Our member present lessons are going down because everyone started school!

This week was good and it went by pretty quick! My thoughts this week come from a talk given by our prophet, Thomas S. Monson, entitled "Ponder the Path of Thy Feet." He explains the importance of walking HOW He walked rather than where He walked. Jesus Christ walked the path of disappointment when He was rejected by so many in Jerusalem during His mortal ministry, He walked the path of temptation after His 40 day fast when Satan said 3 times, "If thou be the Son of God [...]". He walked the path of pain in Gethsemane where he suffered for our sins. There are so many more examples but from these we catch a glimpse of why He understands all that we encounter in this life. In answer to these rough paths, He walked the path of obedience. In 1 Samuel 15:22 we learn that "[...] to obey is better than sacrifice [...]". He walked the path of service when He brought strength to the crippled, sight to the blind, and hearing to the deaf. He walked the path of prayer when He cried unto The Father, "[...] not my will, but thine, be done." President Monson challenges us to "Let [our] light so shine before men that they may see [our] good works, and glorify [our] Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16) The Saviors example provides a framework for everything we do and His words provide an unfailing guide.

Love and miss you all! God speed!

Sister Emilee Bowen