Last Area!

Hello World!

I am now in Columbus, Indiana, serving in the 4th ward. And the ward is huge. I dunno if I'll be able to meet everybody in just 6 weeks O_o We are the first sisters ever to serve in the 4th ward, but that's not as big of a deal as it was in Lebanon, 'cause the ward was just formed at the beginning of this year. Columbus is just south of Franklin, so that's kinda cool, 'cause I've met some of the people here before. Bishop Shoaf served his mission in Nevada, and his last area was Minden/Gardnerville, so that's kinda exciting, too.

Yesterday we had the craziest day. First we went to church (at 8:00 am 'cause 4 wards meet in the building). Then after studies and lunch we headed out for the day. We stopped in on a part member couple. They were super nice--she was raised Amish, which was interesting. They aren't super interested in coming back to church but they love when the missionaries come by.

Then we went to drop off a Bible for somebody who'd requested one on Mormon.org. We taught most of the family about the Restoration right there. We'll be seeing them again later this week.

Then we met a lady that the previous elders had been teaching. They'd been teaching her for months, but told us she wasn't super interested 'cause she loves her church--but she agreed to go on a church tour this evening. We'll see where that goes.

Then we walked to the other end of the street where another investigator lives. We caught him outside skinning the squirrel he was about to have for dinner. He's going to cook up some squirrel for us when we come back tomorrow O_o

Aaaand then that evening, we stopped in on a family that the elders had been teaching. They had never met the father 'cause he was off being a sniper for the UN, or somethin'. We didn't really believe that was true. But when went by, they welcomed us in, and he was home too! She was raised in a Mormon community in Mexico, where she went to seminary and everything. And he was super cool. The way he looks and carries himself reminded us of Captain VonTrapp. We asked him about his occupation, and he said he works for the UN for personal security. One of his daughters was asking about what a spirit is, and talked a little about how when people die, there's like a kinda snapping noise when their spirits leave their bodies--something he's witnessed many times O_o The two daughters are very interested in learning more, and the parents seem pretty interested as well. We'll be taking them on a church tour this evening as well :)

The rest of the week was also adventurous, but in other ways.

Monday, we celebrated preparation day in Fishers, 'cause we had to take Sister Hansen there so she could go home. We got to play with like 30 missionaries instead of the usual 6. I got to see Sister Howard before she went home as well, so that was really nice.

Tuesday, we taught lessons with and I said good-bye to M and T. I got to say farewell to several others as well--one of the nice things about the day before transfers is that it's really easy to stay busy.

Wednesday was transfer meeting, where I said good-bye to a few a my missionary buddies that I won't see again on my mission, and met my new best friend, Sister Carpenter. She's purdy cool. She's from Rupert, Idaho, and went to BYU-I for a year before coming on her mission. This is her fourth transfer, and she is a hard worker, so that's fantastic.

On Friday, we had set up a member lesson, and were hoping to be able to find somebody to talk to right before it started. So we drove up, started wandering through the neighborhood a little, and then decided to knock on a door. A very friendly lady answered and knew who we were,  At first we thought she might be a member. But she wasn't--her daughter was good friends with a gal from the ward who is currently on a mission. She had given her friend a Book of Mormon, and the lady we were now talking to had leafed through it a bit. We asked if we could give her a little more context, and she happily agreed to let us teach the Restoration right there. She said she would definitely have to read it. Not sure if that will go anywhere right now, but it was an answer to prayers.

On Saturday we went out to Nashville, Indiana to help a member take out her carpets. 'Cause we are limited on miles, we decided to spend the day out there. Who knew that it was a very touristy time of year for Nashville (Brown County)? We sure didn't. But we do now.

So, we've had lots of adventures thus far. Coming here was a little overwhelming 'cause there are just so many members to meet, and we have a tricky area to work in. The concentrated part of Columbus is in the other wards, so our area is mostly comprised of high-end neighborhoods spread out through the country. Finding and budgeting miles are going to be more challenging than ever. I don't know how to do this. But Heavenly Father does, so I guess I just need to follow his guidance. It's been working so far.

I hope everybody has a fantastic week,

Sister Bowen

Pictures!

Missionaries I will probably never see again :'(

~Me with the sketchy Crawfordsville elders: Elders Park and Williams

~My farewell to Sister Howard. May she rest in peace

~My favorite elder, Elder Twitchell

A few more.

~Story behind this one: In Franklin, a lady in the ward that she loved the way I crinkled my nose--it would be something my husband would love about me. My companion and I thought that was funny, and I didn't know what she was talking about. I didn't think much about it 'til a few weeks ago, a lady from the Lebanon branch mentioned how my husband would love the way I crinkled my nose. I still didn't know what she was talking about. And then like two weeks ago, another lady from the branch mentioned that she liked the way I crinkled my nose. Sister Hivner took this shot while I was talking with somebody--I didn't even know she was taking it. But I figured this must be what the ladies were talking about. Scary.

~Sister Taylor, me, M, and Sister Mercer