Stand Up & Stand Out!

High 5!

1. Father's Day! Sister Ropelato and I both got to speak in the Manzano branch about out dads and we had dinner with an awesome family who made us feel at home :)

2. We tracted into a new investigator this week! Her name is Marion. She actually took the lessons 30 years ago and says the only thing she didn't do was get baptized...hmm, well, now is the time! She is a teacher and super sweet so we are excited to get her progressing.

3. We had an awesome lesson with Wendy this week. We watched the Restoration Film and she really opened up to us! We are excited about getting her back on track for baptism and so is she!

4. Yvonne is an investigator who we have been trying to get to church for months and this week her and her granddaughter came! It was a miracle and she loved the spirit there.

5. Last night we got to have Family Home Evening with the Bishop in Valencia Ward and his family. Their oldest is getting baptized this Friday so we gave a lesson on baptism! We love them!

Down Low, 2 Slow.

1. We are COVERED in mosquito bites! Itchy!

2. It's definitely summer! HOTTTTT.

President Hinckley gave a talk back in 1993 that really touched us this week! He begins by sharing a story...

"I met a naval officer from a distant nation, a brilliant young man who had been brought to the United States for advanced training. Some of his associates in the United States Navy, whose behavior had attracted him, shared with him at his request their religious beliefs. He was not a Christian, but he was interested. They told him of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem, who gave his life for all mankind. They told him of the appearance of God, the Eternal Father, and the resurrected Lord to the boy Joseph Smith. They spoke of modern prophets. They taught him the gospel of the Master. The Spirit touched his heart, and he was baptized. He was introduced to me just before he was to return to his native land. We spoke of these things, and then I said: “Your people are not Christians. What will happen when you return home a Christian, and, more particularly, a Mormon Christian?” His face clouded, and he replied, “My family will be disappointed. They may cast me out and regard me as dead. As for my future and my career, all opportunity may be foreclosed against me.” I asked, “Are you willing to pay so great a price for the gospel?” His dark eyes, moistened by tears, shone from his handsome brown face as he answered, “It’s true, isn’t it?” Ashamed at having asked the question, I responded, “Yes, it’s true.” To which he replied, “Then what else matters?”

These are questions I should like to leave with you: “It’s true, isn’t it? Then what else really matters?”

Sometimes it might seem hard to stand up for what you believe, but President Monson offers some wise counsel in a talk he gave a couple conferences ago. "It is often difficult to be different and to stand alone in a crowd. It is natural to fear what others might think or say. Comforting are the words of the psalm: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” As the world moves further and further away from the principles and guidelines given to us by a loving Heavenly Father, we will stand out from the crowd because we are different. We will stand out because we dress modestly. We will be different because we do not use profanity and because we do not partake of substances which are harmful to our bodies. We will be different because we avoid off-color humor and degrading remarks. We will be different as we decide not to fill our minds with media choices that are base and demeaning and that will remove the Spirit from our homes and our lives. We will certainly stand out as we make choices regarding morality—choices which adhere to gospel principles and standards. Those things which make us different from most of the world also provide us with that light and that spirit which will shine in an increasingly dark world. As we make Christ the center of our lives, our fears will be replaced by the courage of our convictions."

This all reminded me of a primary song :)

1. Dare to do right! Dare to be true!
You have a work that no other can do;
Do it so bravely, so kindly, so well,
Angels will hasten the story to tell.

Chorus. Dare, dare, dare to do right;
Dare, dare, dare to be true,
Dare to be true, dare to be true.

2. Dare to do right! Dare to be true!
Other men's failures can never save you.
Stand by your conscience, your honor, your faith;
Stand like a hero and battle till death.

Chorus. Dare, dare, dare to do right;
Dare, dare, dare to be true,
Dare to be true, dare to be true.

I love you all! God speed!

Love, Sister Bowen