Come As You Are!

High 5!

1. Kevin's baptism was a HUGE success! Everything went so well and the spirit was SO powerful. It was definitely the most spiritual baptism I've ever been apart of and I am so grateful for the Corwin family for all they did to make it happen. We are so excited to get their family ready to go to the temple.

2. We have a new investigator, named Brooke. SHE IS 10 YEARS OLD! Ahh, she is adorable. On Sunday she came to church and then we taught her for the first time. We brought 2 other 10 year olds from her primary class to be her friend and teach with us. My heart was so full as those sweet, little girls told her about the story of Joseph Smith and gave their testimonies about prayer. She really wants to be baptized so PLEASE pray for her family to allow it. It made me think of my cute little brother Andrew, who has the strongest testimony. No wonder Heavenly Father wants us to become as little children.

3. Yesterday was Missionary Monday at the temple! It was so good to be there and receive answers to my questions and feel the peace that no other place brings.

4. We taught another new investigator named John! He is a craftsman and does tile work for practically everyone in our ward. He is hesitant about committing but did say that in time, he sees it leading to baptism!

5. We knocked into a lady named Beverly this week and she invited us in and was super excited about our message! We are having lunch with her on Thursday so stay tuned!

Down Low, 2 Slow.

1. I got food poisoning this week :( No bueno.

2. We got stuck in a HAIL storm one day, HAHA!

 

I've been pondering lately how I can better "come unto Christ". I've realized that there is only 1 thing that we can give to Him that He hasn't already given to us, and that is our will. I need to be better about giving it up. Surrender your will to Him, unconditionally. Turn all your desires, wishes, ambitions, dreams, and hopes into His hands. Be true and faithful in your head and in your heart, not just your behavior. Trust in Him completely. He knows all things and has all power. Trust Him who's love for you is perfect. He does not compare us to His other children and neither should we. Trust in Him who will take you as you are but will make of you, immeasurably more than what you will ever make of yourself. He will create of you a masterpiece when you might only be able to create of you a smudge. You will create in ordinary man; He will create a God. 

God speed! I love and miss you all.

Love, Sister Bowen

Anchor Of Our Souls

High 5!

1. Saturday we got to spend ALL day at the temple! We did some cleaning of that and the temple President's home as well as planted new flowers on the grounds. I loved being there and I am so excited for this coming Monday, because us missionaries all get to go!

2. Sunday was the Primary Program <3 I love little kids. Their testimonies are so strong and I love listening to them sing and share the cutest experiences.

3. We met a new investigator this week. Her name is Joanie and she came to church on Sunday! She has met with missionaries before and has SO much faith, just a few word of wisdom problems. Pray for her! She is going through a divorce right now and NEEDS this gospel :)

4. Kevin is getting baptized THIS Saturday!!!

5. Last Tuesday we got to go bowling with our zone, haha :)

Biking at night through our favorite tunnel!

 Down Low, 2 Slow.

1. I AM LOSING ALL MY SPANISH!

2. We still haven't seen Rachel :(

Hope is the anchor of our souls! This week as I studied hope I realized that it goes right along with the faith that I talked about last week. Anchors are meant to keep boats grounded and hope does that same thing. We trust and believe that going to school will help us become educated which eventually will lead to a career, right!? It's the same with the gospel! Doing those simple things like keeping the commandments, going to church, reading our scriptures, saying our prayers, and serving others keeps  us grounded to the firm foundation of the gospel and helps us live Christ centered lives. Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, "Being blessed with hope, let us, as disciples, reach out to all who, for whatever reason, have moved away from the hope of the gospel. Let us reach to lift hands which hang hopelessly down." Believe that engaging in a Christ centered life will bring eternal happiness that can't be found outside the walls of this true and living church.

I love you all! God speed!

Love, Sister Bowen

Walk by Faith, Not by Sight

High 5!

1. Okay, so every first Wednesday of the month we do "singing in the park". All the sisters in our Zone meet these 2 autistic brothers at the park and we sing the WHOLE hymn book! Haha, it's the greatest thing ever!

2. Zone Conference! We had a zone conference this week about planning and it was awesome. I really think the missionaries have higher visions to what we can accomplish now and we are all super motivated.

3. This week we tracked into a lady named Alberta! She was SO enthusiastic about sisters being on her doorstep so we thought she was a member but found out that she's so Catholic but LOVES Mormons, haha! She used to meet with elders once a week but since has stopped :( We see SO much potential in her and her family and will go back! She is an extreme couponer so I will never be buying shampoo and conditioner again! 

4. Kevin and Bomee are our most solid investigators right now. They are a part member family and Kevin committed to being baptized on October 24th! Coolest thing about their family... they are 100% def! The father-in-law translates in ASL for them! We go to sign language classes every Tuesday night in hopes of picking some up!

5. Sunday was such a good day! We finally got to be in our new ward and meet so many more people! They are so excited to have sisters so we are spoiled!

Down Low, 2 Slow

1. Rachel hasn't met with us since we set her baptism date :( Pray for her.

This week I finished Ether! My favorite chapter is chapter 12 and I studied and learned a lot about faith. In verse 6, we read the definition of faith. "[...] faith is  things which are hoped for and not seen [...]" I love what comes next. "[...] wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." The order of events is always sacrifice, then blessings. Faith means, taking a step in the dark once in a while in order to see all that God has in store for us. Some of my favorite examples from the scriptures are Christ healing the blind man, Christ raising Lazarus from the dead, Nephi obtaining the plates from Laban, the Liahona, a prison falls, the 2,000 stripling warriors are preserved, and the brother of Jared sees the finger of the Lord. There are so many more examples but the important thing to know is that they are all wrought by faith. It is my testimony that without faith, even seeing wouldn't be enough.

God speed! 

Love, Sister Bowen

The Road to Eldorado!

High 5!

1.I'M IN ALBUQUERQUE! I am loving it here already! It's much cooler than El Paso and greener! Haha! We have the BEST ward! (Eldorado) The members here are amazing and SO missionary minded. There were elders here for about 2 weeks before we got here so technically we are pink washing but it's pretty much like starting from scratch. We also don't have a car so we bike and walk! The Lord truly has been preparing this area! There is so much work to do here and so much potential! Sister Morris and I are SO pumped. And by the way...I LOVE SISTER MORRIS! She is 24, from Oregon, and will hit her 2 year mark of being a member in December.

2. Rachel is one of our investigators! She referred herself to the mission office! What!?!?! That doesn't happen! She is Native American and has family on the reservations who are members so that's how she got interested. She is on date to be baptized on October 24th! Pray for her!

3. IT'S BALLOON FIESTA TIME! Every morning we look out and see all the hot air balloons covering the sky! It's super awesome.

4. CONFERENCE was SO good! I loved how much we learned about being happy. Keeping the commandments and being obedient brings us the most happiness and the most freedom. Simple.

5. Last night we went and met an elderly lady in our ward. Her name is Marcie. She is the SWEETEST! She told us the best stories about her childhood and I learned so much from her experiences. It reminded me of Elder Bednar's talk from conference!

Down Low, 2 Slow.

1. Starting from scratch is HARD! I am learning to rely on the spirit more than ever though!

2. This week was so long and exhausting. I come home every night and after planning fall asleep right when my head hits the pillow. The Lord carries me through every day.

(Saying Hello's and Goodbye's to all of my old companions at transfers!)

Last night we were walking to a dinner appointment and as we were coming up on the members house, their neighbor came outside. She was fairly young, 40 maybe, and she was in a wheelchair. She greeted us like she knew who we were and could not stop talking about how great the Lewis family was and how much we were going to love Sister Lewis's cooking! We assumed she was a member but later found out that she isn't. Sister Lewis told us of their friendship and a little bit of Edie's story. Edie was in an accident that paralyzed her from the waist down when she was a teenager. A few years ago, her husband passed away, also in an accident. Edie says she never knew how much God loved her until He gave her these trials, her 2 biggest fears in life. She knows God knows her and gave her these trials because He knew she could handle it. Her faith is firm and unshakable. Brother Lewis shared with us that he has felt her husband, Brent's, presence in the temple. Pray for Edie and strive to develop the faith and trust that she has.

God Speed!

Love, Sister Bowen

***NEW ADDRESS***

10800 Comanche Rd. NE
Apt. #105
Albuquerque, NM 87111