This week has been a major improvement from the last. I'm not quite sure what happened last week, but our companionship unity was out of balance. But now we are back on track and ready to work. I think the zone conference really helped us to center our focus on the same things. I really liked the broadcast from last night as well. It really helped to motivate me to work even harder, especially after seeing the success in other missions in the world. One of the things that really stood out to me was how everything comes back to the bishop and the ward mission leader. Right now, we are struggling with both of those people. The bishop is still really sick. Our Stake President did come to our ward yesterday and gave the ward a challenge to pray for him as a ward. He promised us that if we have the faith, then our bishop will be healed. I sincerely hope that our ward follows through with this because if they do, then it will be a great blessing. I think it will help with ward unity, especially if they see how when they all come together they can bring to pass miracles. I'm not quite sure when we will start using the technology that they mentioned...we'll have to see! Our mission president sent us a letter this morning saying that he knows as much as we do at this point, but he thinks it will be soon.
Things in our area are going really well. We taught quite a few lessons this week, and we really put our faith into it. One of my favorite examples was when we passed by to see an investigator. She wasn't home, but we decided not to get back into our car until we taught a lesson. We knew of a less active that lived across the street, so we decided to knock on her door. She didn't answer, so we just decided to knock on her neighbor's doors. Nobody really answered, but then we saw the husband and daughter of our less active come home. So, we decided to go up and ask him if he needed help taking in their groceries. He said no, but told us that his wife was home. So, we went in and saw her. We were able to teach a really great lesson about the Restoration. The Spirit was so strong in that lesson - something we have been lacking in previous lessons with her. It was such a miracle that we were able to be there at the right time to see her. We also went by and saw our recent convert Jaime. (Pronounced Hi-may, just in case you were wondering...) we weren't quite sure what we wanted to teach him when we went into the lesson. All we had in mind was talking about agency. So, we went in and started, and the Spirit really took over. It ended up kind of being a mini testimony meeting (we had a member with us, and he kind of initiated it) and it was so great. Jaime has such a strong testimony, and he has seen so many blessings since he joined the church. One of those blessings includes a better relationship with his family. He went and visited his dad for the first time in a long time on Father's day, which was super great. He has a better relationship with his daughter, and even his ex-wife ( just as the mother of his daughter) and he went on and on about tons of other blessings that he has seen. I know that this gospel blesses families.
Something that I am personally working on this week is being a bigger part of the teaching process. Whether it be contacting, How to begin teaching lessons, or other lessons, I decided to not be afraid to speak Spanish and just go for it. I've noticed that when we teach in English, it is so much easier for me to speak through the spirit, but when it's in Spanish I usually get really afraid and back off a little bit. But I really took the promise in D&C 100 to heart. I've really noticed a difference. I still stumble a lot and I'm pretty sure I sound like a caveman when I speak Spanish, but I am able to get my point across. I really like the story told by Brigham Young about the man who could do no more than bear a simple testimony, but that testimony was so strong in his eyes. Right now, all I have is a simple testimony. So I am going to be better about sharing it more frequently.
Things in our area are going really well. We taught quite a few lessons this week, and we really put our faith into it. One of my favorite examples was when we passed by to see an investigator. She wasn't home, but we decided not to get back into our car until we taught a lesson. We knew of a less active that lived across the street, so we decided to knock on her door. She didn't answer, so we just decided to knock on her neighbor's doors. Nobody really answered, but then we saw the husband and daughter of our less active come home. So, we decided to go up and ask him if he needed help taking in their groceries. He said no, but told us that his wife was home. So, we went in and saw her. We were able to teach a really great lesson about the Restoration. The Spirit was so strong in that lesson - something we have been lacking in previous lessons with her. It was such a miracle that we were able to be there at the right time to see her. We also went by and saw our recent convert Jaime. (Pronounced Hi-may, just in case you were wondering...) we weren't quite sure what we wanted to teach him when we went into the lesson. All we had in mind was talking about agency. So, we went in and started, and the Spirit really took over. It ended up kind of being a mini testimony meeting (we had a member with us, and he kind of initiated it) and it was so great. Jaime has such a strong testimony, and he has seen so many blessings since he joined the church. One of those blessings includes a better relationship with his family. He went and visited his dad for the first time in a long time on Father's day, which was super great. He has a better relationship with his daughter, and even his ex-wife ( just as the mother of his daughter) and he went on and on about tons of other blessings that he has seen. I know that this gospel blesses families.
Something that I am personally working on this week is being a bigger part of the teaching process. Whether it be contacting, How to begin teaching lessons, or other lessons, I decided to not be afraid to speak Spanish and just go for it. I've noticed that when we teach in English, it is so much easier for me to speak through the spirit, but when it's in Spanish I usually get really afraid and back off a little bit. But I really took the promise in D&C 100 to heart. I've really noticed a difference. I still stumble a lot and I'm pretty sure I sound like a caveman when I speak Spanish, but I am able to get my point across. I really like the story told by Brigham Young about the man who could do no more than bear a simple testimony, but that testimony was so strong in his eyes. Right now, all I have is a simple testimony. So I am going to be better about sharing it more frequently.
Sorry for the lack of pictures...for some reason it never seems to work, but I'll try and figure something out. I'll get something to you soon!! Something that I am going to start doing though is a video journal. Sometimes it's kind of hard to sit down and write about everything in my journal, but lots of times, we get stuck waiting for trains, so it's the perfect time to do a quick video :-) haha I'm going to try it soon...I'll let you know how it goes. (This was an idea from another missionary)
There's nothing super exciting going on this week...just the norm, but we are getting close to transfers! It'll be interesting to see if I stay or go...I've heard that there are 9 new hermanas coming in, so that will be interesting. I hope everything is going well back home!! I love you dearly and I hope you have a fantastic week!!
Love,
Hermana Bowerman
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