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