May 30, 2011: Elder Bowles

Dear Mom and Dad,

It has been in the 80 degrees this whole week and it has been nice.    Kristin, get everything on that list no matter what.   Even though it might look ridiculous just get it.   The church knows what you need and what you don't.   Get everything on that list!!!   Do you understand?   Kristin what is you address for your LDS mail so we can communicate while you are on your mission?

Elder Serrano is from Mexico.   He his a Spanish speaking elder and learned English when he came here.   He just only knew spanish.   He speaks very good English.   He has been out for 1 year and a half.   He goes home thisSseptember.   He does not want to go home, he wants to stay.   Memorial day!!!!   We won't do anything special just clean our apartment, and play chairball at the stake center.   Chair ball is so fun.   It's when you get a chair and a soccerball. You have to protect your chair.   You can take the soccer ball and try to hit somone else's chair but you can't let the soccer ball hit your chair or you are out of the game.   Very fun!!    Craig goes in the MTC in one week.   I hope he has gotten everything for his mission and I will get to see him in 2 months.  

Now I am in a new area we kind of have an investigator.   His name is Russell.    Right now he is looking for a church and has questions about this and that . I can tell he was very intrested and will soon be an investigaor.   He is very nice.

I have tried on my hearing aid this week.   It does not work,  It died and went to heaven (ha ha).   It was really old and gave up.   If you want to find a hearing aid on my right ear I am okay with that. I will focos on my mission and find people.   It's okay don't feel bad I just always have to ddapt and carfully listen to the people.   Did you get to see Tyler this week?   How does he look?   Does he know I am on a mission in Long Beach California?   I can't believe Tre comes home in one month.   Lots of people are going home and coming in the mission.

I love you Mom and Dad and Kristin and of course Harley.   Thanks for keeping me supported.   I love you talk more next week.

May 23, 2011: Elder Bowles

Dear Mom and Dad,
  Well you had a crazy week.   I can't believe you drove all the way to Montana and back. That is a long drive.   Wet weather, sorry all we had was sun. The address to my apartment is different.   It the same address but a different number.   I's B13.   I moved all the stuff out of the old and put it in the new.   It took a total of 2 days.   One day was like moving and the other day was cleaning. That apartment was disgusting. It was really dirty. The kitchen was always dirty and you will see cockroaches when you come to the apartment at night. When we took out the fridge,  under it was a bunch of dead cockraches and was gross.  But we cleaned it and it is a sparkly white floor now.   The new apartment is so much better.   Basically everything in there is new.   I am glad. Me and Elder Serrano made a goal to clean the apartment daily.   If something needs to be cleaned we clean it and the same thing with vacuming.   We have been there for a week and it's going pretty good. Every night I would come to the apartment and it would be clean, there would be no cockroaches!!!   It nice to come into a nice clean apartment.

How did Kristin handle receiving her endowment.   Was she shocked and confused at first.   I bet she was and probaly said what happened to me?    Kristin goes to the MTC in a month and you will have 2 kids on their missions at the same time.  It's crazy.   Right now the missionary work is slow and we have no investigators.  We have a few potentials but not really any investigators so we are knocking on doors and going to former investigators.

About my hearing aide.   I just forget to tell you every PDay  I wore it during the MTC and it was working fine I heard out of it.   But as soon as I got to California the hearing aid sort of died.   like I would take out my implant and put the hearing aid on and the only thing I would hear is like the sound of a finger snap.  But I coudn't have a communication with my hearing aid just with my implant.   When I got in the bicycle accident my hearing aide fell out and I didn't realize it.   Just before I left for dinner that dayI realized my hearing aid was not on me.   I said a quick prayer hoping that my hearing  aid would be there.   When I went out to the spot where I fell it was there. It's all in one piece but the outside is a little rough.   I think when I had the bycyle accident I either stepped on it or a car ran over it. It's still in one piece.   So I have not worn it since.  I have been using my implant only. Before the Accident I don't think my hearing aid was helping me.   I think it was dying because it's been used all my life.   It is just worn out.   I am going to put a new battery in my hearing aid and try it again.   As soon as I got to California Long Beach Mission the hearing aid went to it's lowest volume.   It's an old hearing aid.   I have been using only my implant.   I've had lots of conversations with people, talking on the phone and I am adjusting to talking  to people outside by cars and when it's windy.   Don't get mad at me I just forgot to tell you about the hearing aid, been busy with missionary work.

Can't believe Tyler is home, Tre will be home in a month.   I saw them when they left and now they are back.  Say hello to Tyler for me.

I love you mom and dad Thank you for supporting me.   More missionary stories next week.   California is deinately an international Mission.   Have a wonderful week family,   I love you all .
Love Elder Bowles

May 16, 2011: Elder Bowles

Dear Mom and Dad,
Good thing that you only have like 2 more weeks of school.   Good thing this year the plays turned out well-- wish I could be there.   It rained yesterday and it has been 2 days of windy weather.   It looks like that you had a busy schedule. You go to Montana then you come back and help Kristin get ready to go in the MTC. It will be exciting. What is Kristin's Missionary MTC address so I can write to her and what is craig's missionary MTC Address?

Well I am very sorry to hear all the sad news that we have had in the ward.   Give all my love to them and wish them to get well soon. Tyler comes home this Friday whoa it's crazy.   He I just left and he is back now.   I won't see Tyler or Tre for 2 more years.   Looks like the bathroom is almost done.  Do you think that you can send me some pictures when it's done because I really want to see it.   Derek Marshal telling you about the cockroaches it's way worse than you think.   The elders before I got then never cleaned up the place good so cockroaches started coming in.   I think the building has to be burned down to make the cockroaches go way forever.   Yesterday when I was heading back to the apartment up on this brickwall I saw this dark black big animal with a long skinny tail.   I was like what is that. Then it looked at me I said hey Elder Roberts it's a possum. Elder roberts scared it away and I could not take a picture of it. It was so cool.

Does kristin have any questions about the MTC?????? I can answer them for her.   My arm is fine and it's healed. No I am not riding my bike anymore, we got the car back. We got it back on Friday.   I was like yes now we can get to appointments faster and be a little safer. On the car they replaced the entire front bumper.   I did not break anything to that nice 2010 Chevy car. The other Elders ran into a cement block and broke the bolts of the splash guard . Then I guess they broke the grill too and made a crack behind the lisence plate of the car.   I did nothing to it. T he other Elders never reported it.   They did not want to lose their driving priviledges.   Now we got the car back.

On the 14th we got tranfer calls.   You want to know where I am going????? I am staying in the area but I will be moving to a different ward. I was in Norwalk Ward now I am in Cerritos 1st ward.   Elder Roberts told me that Elder Clegg who is almost done with his mission was in Cerritos 1st ward for 2 tranfers and was in Norwalk for 6 months.   I just hope it's not the opposite I don't want to be in this city for 8 months. That will be really bad.   I got a New Companion Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He was one of my roomates in my apartartment when they told me where I was going the said you're going to be in Cerritos 1st ward and you are going to be campanions with Elder Serrano.   Elder Serrono is from Mexico and is a great missionary. I  can't wait to work with him.   It should be fun. I am moving to a different apartment so  me and Elder Serrona will keep it clean.   Can you send me a copy of the new magazine of general conference April 2010?   I saw it it so cool, the  picture of temple square covered with snow.  Cool Picture Thanks Mom and Dad I love You.
Sincerely Elder Bowles

May 9, 2011: Elder Bowles

Dear Mom and Dad

I forgot to tell you yesterday Happy Mother's Day!!! Wow it was great to do skype. Last night I told you that my Mission President gave me special permission to do skype.   I think that I was the only one that did skype.   Good thing I am deaf so I can see you guys.   I was a little late sorry about that.   I got at the mission office around 3:45 and trying out how to do skype.   Good thing the elders helped me.   All the Elders were jelous and I told them I am special.   Elder Roberts said what did your family talk about or what did they say?   I said you don't need to know what my family said, my family is personal worry about your family.   He is like we are companions so you have to tell me.   I said no, and told him the same thing again.
The cut on my arm is fine and the scabs on my arm are coming off and the pink and red is going away.   So it must be healing slowly. Yesterday that was a fast 40 minintes.   I did not expect it to go that fast. I t was so nice to see you on the camera.   I forgot all the questions you asked me, but it was so nice to see all of you.
I am wearing my brown cochlear implant and it is working so you don't have to worry.   They are both working fine.   Now you can ask me the questions that you were going to ask me yesterday.
I heard you met Elder Roberts girlfriend.   Is she nice?   Elder Roberts said he wants to get married at 21 or 22.   It sounds a little nuts.   I could give him some advice but he's not going to listen.   But I am going to keep my mouth shut and let him figure it out. Well I love you and happy mothers day.   Write some more questions from yesterday.   I love to answer to them all.   Love ELDER BOWLES

May 3, 2011: Elder Bowles

Dear Mom and Dad,
Everything is going great.   I saw the pictures and it snowed pretty good.   On one of the pictures I saw the fence.   Is that our fence what happened to our old one?  That new fence is so cool . I like the color and it's a cool fence.   This morning I got a chance to go to the LA Temple.   It was so nice to go to the temple.  It's been 3 months since I have not gone through a temple . It was very nice.
I feel very sad for Marilyn and I want to express my love to her.
I have some good news and bad news.   Let's start with the bad news.   The car is in the shop, so we had to use our bikes. I've  been using my bike for about 2-3 weeks.   Last week on wednesday, I was going off of this speed bumb,  you know to get air,  well when I came down somehow the wheel fell off and crashed into the road hard and scrached my elbow and my side hip.   When I got up I looked at my arm by my elbow.   It's like the skin went on the road rubbing it. So I have this big huge scratch from my elbow to about a finger long. It was hurting  when I was cleaning it.   I put nespron on it and it is healing very very slowly.   I go to bed at night and I can't find a good sleeping spot because every time I set my arm down it hurts because I put pressure on it.   I am okay.   The car should be back in a few days.
Last week Elder Perry spoke to the missionaries of the Anaheim and Long Beach Missions.  It was so cool.   I was sitting on the second row.   Elder Perry talked about the world and how the church is growing.   He said what the world says about us and that with all the negativity it opens doors for us in the church. Tthe people are going to realize that we don't do those things.   He talked also about how it's important to read theBook of Mormon and to teach about the Book of Mormon.   He talked about Joseph smith and how Heavenly Father chooses his Prophets very carefully.   He said it was the perfect place to train Joseph Smith and teach him about the church and help him to translate the Gold Plates.  He said that Joseph was completely isolated from the world and was in the right place.   Heavenly Father knows who he chooses the Prophet to be.   I just never thought about it that deeply as Elder Perry.

This Sunday for Mothers Day. the call is only suppose to last for 40 minutes.   I asked my mission President about the skype.   So I don't know yet,  I think he will tell me in the next few days. I don't know if we are using skype or not. Good thing president bubert wife knows. I am excited to talk to the everyone. It's going to be wonderful. I cain't wait. Mabye you could ask today if skype is okay so we are both asking and the are concerd. Can you show me the pictures of the bathroom I really want to see the progress. Thanks for supporting me mom,Dad,kristine. I got te easter basket. The Easter bunny came!!!!!!!
Thank you I love all of you. Happy Easter.
The call on mothers day has to last for 40 min the told us. The told us there are 2 slots when I can call one at 3:00 to 40 minutes and then one later in the evening. I don't know who has skype. I haven't asked.   Mabye I will ask my Mission President what I should do.   I think I am calling 3:00 California time so I think it's perfect.   I am just unsure of the skype.  Iit should be good.