Sometimes It's Hard to Be a Missionary

Not a ton to report this week.

Missionary work is hard, but it's just life though.

We were at a dinner appointment yesterday, and we were talking about faith as it relates to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We talked about how it leads us to keep the commandments, and to do whatever it is that God would have us do. It takes faith that these things will be to your benefit and happiness. A lot of times we'll relate that to the joy promised with the efforts of doing missionary work and invite members to experiment on the word and invite friends to learn more about the gospel.

The lady whose house we were at has really had a lot of great opportunities lately to share the gospel, but they haven't made it to the next step yet. She asked us how we handle that. And it takes faith--sometimes we're granted glimpses of the fruits of our labors, but more often than not, we probably don't see the results.

We talked about Abinidi. He boldly proclaimed the gospel and died for it--without knowledge that it had any effect. But Alma heard, and did something about it--that's a big deal.

We talked about how sometimes we are the seed sowers, and sometimes we are the harvesters, and if we could see the whole picture, it probably would be more satisfying to be the seed sower.

We talked about the way we react to spiritual promptings. Sometimes we'll receive a lot of inspiration and revelation on how we can be a better person from a particular church meeting. We'll resolve to do and be better. And then we come home and stay the same. We don't like to change, even if it's for the better. People feel the spirit when they hear about the first vision or the plan of salvation, we invite them to do something about it, and they agree to. And then second guess the reality of the spirit they felt, or get lazy. Just like we do :P

It takes a special person to change religions, no matter how true it might be.

Somebody told us the other day that this is the most snow Indiana's ever gotten. And we're lucky enough to be here! It's getting a bit old though. On Friday, we weren't allowed to drive 'cause the roads were so bad. We couldn't really ask members to sacrifice their lives or their Valentine's date night to take us to appointments :P And then people's Friday activities/events got moved to Saturday, so all those appointments cancelled too.

And that was the week--cancelled appointments, lots of snow, and people who told us they'd be at church and didn't make it.

Such is life, eh?

We got kinda down and depressed and frustrated. With the situation and with ourselves. But we're looking forward to being better missionaries, and better weather (which might come someday). This week we've got a baptism, zone conference (in Bloomington!), exchanges, a missionary movie night (where members invite their friends--we're watching "17 Miracles") and a youth missionary fireside (with no fire involved :P) So it looks like it'll be a good week with lots of good things goin' on.

Hope all is well

Love,

Sister Bowen

A Misplaced Phone and . . . . Soccer

Well, Sister Blacker and I are in Franklin for another transfer! Not super exciting, but we're glad to stay, 'cause we love the ward, and there's a lot of good things going on :)

Saturday was a great adventure. We got to go to Bloomington for R's baptism. It was really exciting to see everybody there. I've missed it. When we got back to Franklin, there was a baptism for our ward for a man named D who the elders have been teaching. After that, Sister Blacker and I had gotten permission to do a member exchange so that she could go to a baptism in Plainfield for a gal she taught in Indy YSA. I stayed in Franklin because we were having a class to "learn more about Jesus Christ" (that had been advertised in the paper and on Facebook) and we were supposed to teach part of it. It's kinda funny 'cause when you go on splits with members, people greet you then look around to see where your other half might be. It was a great and exhausting day.

It was kind of a crazy week over all. We drove down to Columbus on Tuesday morning to start an exchange with Sisters Knight and Sessions, and then Sister Knight and I drove back up...and left our phone there. It was fine 'til the evening when it started snowing like crazy, and the cars got grounded. We had to make some calls to coordinate/cancel appointments and find a ride back down to Columbus. So we met some neighbors by borrowing their phones to make some calls. The last neighbor we bothered, let us use her phone so I could call Sister Blacker to see if she could make some calls and then get back to me on the same number. So we stuck around for awhile and taught our neighbor a lesson. She was very interested, so we'll see if that goes anywhere.

Our ward mission leader (who drives a plow truck) gave us a ride to meet up with the other set of Columbus sisters (Sisters O'Brien and Hansen). So Sister O'Brien came with me and Sister Knight went with Sister Hansen, so Sister Knight could get back with her companion and then Sister Hansen would go with mine. And we still didn't have our phone. O_o And I didn't see my companion for two days. Weird.

And we had a lot of things to prepare for. We did a training about effective questions in zone training on Friday, I spoke at a baptism on Saturday, and taught a class that evening, and on Sunday, Sister Blacker was teaching Gospel Principles. We were uber busy. But that's okay, 'cause that's how we like it.

I've been thinking lately (a dangerous past-time, I know) about people who get hurt and stop coming to church. We're meeting with like 4 part member families, and that sort of thing happens far more often than it should. Some of them have had severe physical or emotional abuse at the hands of church members. They feel like a large part of their suffering has come through the church--and partly it has.

Then I think about soccer. Soccer has caused some of my greatest physical and emotional pain. Sore muscles, loss of breath, bruised shins, strained quads and hamstrings, jammed fingers, loss of a tooth, and a broken collar bone. The emotional agony of failing to make a team--a goal I'd worked for my whole life, up to that point, hurt beyond anything that I'd imagined or wish to ever experience. But despite the pain, I always go back. I go back because I love soccer.

It's a great blessing to be able to teach Christ's message of love. He gives us church because He loves us. And our task is to learn to love Him, and act according to that love. We triumph over our anguish because we love Him.

That's all for this week :)

Much love,

Sister Bowen

Here's me with R and B from Saturday :) B was afraid the church building would fall in on him. After R got baptized, he said, "When I do that, the water will probably turn black! They'll have to dunk me four times!" He's so funny.

What a Great Blessing!

What a great blessing it is to be a missionary.

We met with an older lady last night. She's an active member, who I hadn't met before yesterday because she's been out of commission because of some back problems. I didn't expect a lot from the lesson. We meet with members to teach the gospel, and to help facilitate their receiving the blessings of doing missionary work. Most older people talk about how they only know church people these days, and they've done their work.

We asked her what "the gospel of Jesus Christ" meant to her. Most people will say things about Christ's teachings. She said, "I think it comes down to faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the holy ghost, and then enduring to the end" She's the only one who just knew that. (Not that we're quizzing members when we ask that sort of question, 'cause we're not.) She told us how exciting it was when she first learned about the restored gospel when she was 20, "And it's been exciting ever since." 

She talked about how it really hit her when Elder Gifford Nelson mention in general conference that Elder Perry had said that the hastening of the work is on the same plane as the restoration of the priesthood and the first vision. She mentioned how we can watch it happen or be a part of it, and she said, "I want to be a part of it!" And she is--she's done a lot of good with those around her, and shares the gospel with those she meets at the store and wherever else she goes. What a great example.

And that's how I'd like to be. I hope that my mission changes me enough so that I can retain always the clarity that I have now. I hope that I can keep this pattern of doing things against my natural tendency for the sake of righteousness. I hope I begin to make the best choices in exchange for the good choices I do make.

I read Elder Nelson's talk about choices from last general conference this morning. I really appreciated his comments that we developed certain spiritual gifts before we came to earth, and we can choose which spiritual gifts to develop here, too. He talks more about developing self-mastery. I've been thinking a lot about that, and how I wish I'd developed that sooner, but I'm grateful to be able to work on it now. I hop out of bed without pushing the snooze button now. I go out and talk to strangers now. I manage (or try to manage) my eating habits now. I'm actively striving to do what Heavenly Father wants me to do now.

I've been studying a lot about faith. I always hated when people talked about how belief is power, 'cause it's not. But faith is a principle of power, because if we truly believe something, our actions align accordingly. If I believe keeping the commandments will make me happier than I could be otherwise, why don't I keep them better? Christ was all powerful because He had perfect faith in Heavenly Father's guidance for Him, and aligned His behavior accordingly. God would have us be intelligent, responsible, hard-working, honest individuals because the most satisfying form of happiness (in my mind) comes from becoming something great. And He's given us the guidance to become such, through the commandments. And Christ provided the Atonement to enable us to overcome those things that prevent us from keeping the commandments. How cool is that?!

Well that's my sermon for the week :P

And R (from Bloomington) is getting baptized on Saturday! And I probably will be able to go! I'm purdy excited for that :) Here in Franklin, we've got some tough people to work with, but things are still going well. We've got a sweet 9-year old girl getting baptized later this month, and some other things in the works. February should be a good month. Unless we get 20 inches of snow this week, like some sources are predicting O_o

Much love,

Sister Bowen

And here's a picture of the Indianapolis temple, as of Friday :)

Cold Yet So Happy

Well team, it's cold over here.

Thank goodness for people who will meet with us (to keep us off the streets) and fleece tights. And for church. Church was fantastic yesterday.

There was a couple there, who have some friends in the ward. He's been coaching the young men's basktetball team, and has had a lot of questions. I was teaching Gospel Principles (which probably had about 25 people in it) and the lesson was about Creation. Not one of the most exciting topics, but I had a purdy good game plan. We were going to talk about why we needed to be separated from God to fulfill His purposes for us, how His creation of the Earth shows His love for us, and then how we can show our love for Him through our treatment of His creations. I had just asked what people could do to show love for God. Some said things about not trashing the Earth. Great comments. A (the man visiting) raised his hand and talked about how the members he's met are the most loving people he's ever seen and show their love for God by how they live and have treated him. He was in tears. The spirit was strong. And that was the point. We show our love for God by loving each other. We are the crowning creation for the Earth, and everybody to be loved as though they are God's treasured child, because they are. That's how we can show God we love Him.

Relief Society was about President Uchtdorf's talk "Come Join with Us." At one point, the lady teaching asked those who were not born into the church to raise their hands. Most of the people. She shared what got her into the church--missionaries came to her and asked, "If Christ's church, as from the New Testament, was on the earth today, would you join it?" She said she would.

She asked others who'd raised their hands what got them in.

~An older lady's daughter had joined the church because the boy she was dating was a member. She saw the change in her daughter and was impressed by that.

~One lady was raised Jehovah's Witness. She asked why there were prophets in the Old Testament, but not today. Missionaries knocked on the door and shared a brief message about prophets.

~One lady's dad had become agnostic when his preacher left their congregation for a higher paying position. When missionaries came by, he asked how much they paid their preacher. When they answered that he didn't get paid, his heart was softened.

~One lady heard about the Plan of Salvation, and just knew it was real.

It was really neat to here these different experiences.

Sister Tolman's been updating me about Bloomington. J's getting baptized. She said in church, he had this awesome moment when he said, "The Church is True.  All of it is true!" When Sister Tolman and I first became companions, we met this really cool guy named S. We had talked for about an hour about geology, astronomy, God, and beliefs. We'd been trying to contact him ever since, but he hadn't been home. She said they finally caught him at home, and he said he'd been waiting for them: he'd thought a lot about what we'd said, and set an appointment with them.

It's been really great to be able to hear things like that after leaving an area. That along with the miracles happening out here have been incredible.

I've also been learning (again) that we do need the spirit to teach. I love logic, but it's not enough. The restoration of the fulness satisfies inconsistencies. One example, I tried to explain last week, was about how God loves us beyond what we could imagine, yet how baptism is necessary. This lady we were talking to believes the Bible whole-heartedly (or so she says), which clearly states that baptism is necessary for salvation. But she doesn't think that God would deny somebody on their death bed, if they were truly repentant, even if he doesn't get baptized. But then why does anybody get baptized, if it's not really necessary? And thus we see how the Lord provides a way that justice and mercy can both be satisfied--baptisms for the dead. He's purdy cool, eh?

With that thought in mind, F (our new Haitian investigator) asked us about what makes our church different from others. There's so many who think we're not into the Bible, but we believe it/follow much more thoroughly than others. That's a difference.

Anywhen, life is good, Indiana is cold, and keeping the commandments makes us happy.

Love,
Sister Bowen

P.S. Update from SIster Tolman just now: I'd just asked how R and B were doing and she said "B has been secretly reading the Book of Mormon.  We had a lesson with him last week and he told us, quote, "I don't know what kind of testament you need from me, but this is true."  He slammed his fist on the Book of Mormon repeatedly as he told us this.  We are talking with R tomorrow about moving her baptism date so that she and he may be baptized together..."

I am so happy right now :D

He's Coming Right After This

Hello World!

It's cold here. And the ward seems to like me. Or not I can't tell. Yesterday I said the closing prayer in sacrament meeting, the closing prayer in Sunday school, and the opening prayer in Relief Society. Last week I spoke in Sacrament meeting, and next week I'm teaching Sunday School. And the ward's not super small or anything, so maybe I just need extra blessings ;)

During Relief Society yesterday, I sat next to this older lady who has Alzheimers I believe. She lives with her son and daughter-in-law, but her son goes to Priesthood, and her daughter-in-law just got called to teach in primary.

Her son will tell her that he will come get her after the meeting, but she forgets. She will get all agitated and look around for him. So I tell her that he is coming right after the meeting. She asked "He told you?" and I nod. Every 3 minutes or so she'd start getting agitated, so I would just whisper and tell her, "He's coming right after this. He told me." And then she would relax.

That's kinda like life. We forget that The Son really is coming. He's coming right after this, and we are not forgotten.

We also had a lesson with a recent convert named H. She has MS and is confined to a bed. We showed her the Mormon Message "Men's Hearts Shall Fail Them" Afterward, when we asked her what she thought, she said, "Well, I know that!" Her faith is astonishing. She takes her trials in stride. 

It got me thinking. We're currently working (or trying to) with a handful of less active members. Many of them have been offended, or don't believe that God loves them. If people leave for these reasons, they don't understand the purpose of life. They don't realize that our trials are opportunities to grow. They don't understand that God loves being merciful, but sacrifices His desires to spare us torment that we may progress and develop.

Sometimes we get frustrated 'cause church isn't as uplifting as might be expected, whether because our calling takes us out of our preferred meetings, there are too many distractions, or whatever else. We might not get the upliftment we'd hoped for, but we do have the opportunity to develop patience, or tolerance, or love, or compassion. What's better? Learning theory for how to be better, or having practice?

We contacted this lady who'd been out of the church for years, and didn't really want her records in, but her family kept sending them. She explained that the church didn't really fit her family. (She has a little boy with autism, among other issues that make church attendance hard) But she said she still believes the doctrine. Well, she doesn't understand key parts of it. Particularly how religion is to change us--to make us better. We shape ourselves to be more like Christ. We don't shape Christ to fit our preferences.

We've gotten to meet a lot of really great people, who we will hopefully be able to teach. It's really hard to find people right now 'cause it's so cold. But we still tracted for a couple hours. And we still have all our toes, so that's a nice bonus. But more importantly we did find people to teach--a couple from Haiti who are missionaries from their church, but are in the states to take care of their baby's birth defects. We'll see where that goes :D

Hope all is well for everybody, and that wherever you are, it's warmer than it is here :)

Sister Bowen

Put Me in Coach!

Two quotes of the week:

"People's agency makes me look like a terrible missionary" --Sister Blacker

"Rejoice, you're awesome" --Elder Perkins (of the Seventy)

We've been struggling with people. It's an adventure going from an area with 9 progressing investigators to one with 0. For example, we had four lessons set up for Friday, with members to join us for each one. The first one worked out, but the investigator refused to read the Book of Mormon. The second lesson fell through. The third lesson, the member couldn't make it, and we found out that the lady (who wants to get baptized) won't be able to until December 'cause that's when she gets off parole. The fourth lesson, both the member and the investigator fell through.

On Saturday, however, our spirits were lifted, 'cause the mission leadership got invited to attend a two hour training from Elder Perkins. He told us a lot of faith inspiring stories about how how we don't always see the affects of our actions, and about the set-up and inspiration of Preach My Gospel. He talked about how Elder Bednar said that he wishes we'd replace the word "meeting" with "revelatory experience." If we come to sacrament revelatory experience, or district revelatory experience, etc. with a question, then we are moving accountability from the speaker to the listener to receive guidance from whichever revelatory experience we are attending.

He also spoke of the types of questions we ask. Joseph Smith didn't ask "Which church is true?" but, "Which church should I join?" The question implied action.When we ask with "real intent" there must be action involved, eh? Heavenly Father is less likely to reveal truth to us if we don't intend to do anything with it.

I sure do miss Bloomington. It was really nice to know everybody in the ward. And to know my way around the area. And to have everything in close proximity. But Franklin seems purdy great too. The members are so open to sharing the gospel with their friends. And they really love feeding missionaries.

There was a "Why I Believe" last night. One of the ladies who spoke had President Cleveland baptize her back in October. She was talking about how she stepped into the font, and then said, "Put me in, Coach!" Soo funny. But there were a lot of great testimonies shared, it's so cool the different ways people are prepared to receive the Gospel. Now we just gotta find some of those folks in Franklin O_o

That's all I've got for today. Much love!

Sister Bowen

A Non-Preparation Day Email

Well. Here I am emailing on a not preparation day. I swear I'm not wicked (for that reason anyway). We've been a bit limited because of crazy weather.

I got transferred to Franklin, Indiana. It's about 45 minutes north east of Bloomington. I moved in Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday we woke up with 2-3 inches of snow. On Saturday afternoon, we got notice that church would be cancelled the next day because we were supposed to get a foot of snow over night. On Sunday we woke up with no more snow on the ground than there had been before. Buuut we were counseled to stay inside: if it's bad enough to cancel church, we probably shouldn't be out and about. And then the snow started. It was super wet snow, but maybe only like 6 inches. Yet the streets and sidewalks were covered in slush. And then it froze.

Monday, nobody was allowed to drive--if you did you'd get a ticket. Tuesday, we were only allowed to go out if we had set appointments (or else we were supposed to stay inside). And today we're free to go about our Father's business :D hooray!

Driving has been a party. I only slid through 1 red light yesterday, and like 2 stop signs. So fun! 

So Franklin is a small town and we also cover Ninevah and Trafalgar. Works been a bit rough so far because 1) we had to stay in a couple days and 2) all of our appointments with investigators have fallen through since I've been here. But that's okay. We're just supposed to find other people who will want to activate the Atonement in their lives. Aaaand learn overrated qualities like patience and diligence ;)

I do miss Bloomington. We had some really great lessons the day before I left. We got to see J. We don't set appointments with him, but usually show up on Friday or Saturday. We'd seen him Saturday, so we knew he probably wouldn't be expecting us on Tuesday. When we got their he said, "I knew you'd be here" So classy me said, "I won't apologize for coming over unannounced, then" He talked about how he'd been praying about truth and the Holy Ghost and felt he should read Moroni 10, and the spirit told him we'd be coming over. So we talked about things like we normally do. He mentioned again about how close we was to being baptized. "I'd even arranged for Seth to baptize me." He mentioned all the times he'd really felt the spirit at church, particularly all the poignant moments of learning and realization the last time he'd come. So we asked why he'd stopped. He equated it to Peter walking on water, but falling when he got scared. And so we wait.

And then R is doing awesome. She'd agreed to live the Word of Wisdom, and her main concern was what to do with the starbucks in her freezer 'cause she didn't want to waste it. What an all-star!

My new companion is Sister Blacker. We are both new to Sister Training Leaderhood. And we actually came out together. We sat (and slept) next to each other on the plane. But we don't really know what we're doing. Sister Training Leaders are kinda like zone leaders. We look after the sisters in our zone and in the neighboring zone. We go on exchanges with the sisters we watch over, help train at zone trainings and are part of the mission leadership counsel. Kinda fun stuff. Elder Perkins of the Seventy is coming this Saturday, so the mission leadership is invited to learn from him. That'll be cool too.

That's all for today, 'cause I gotta get back to work. Hope things are warmer wherever you are!

Much love,

Sister Bowen