Hola Familia!
Drumroll...............rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.............my new companion is Hermana Rodriguez from Mexico City, Mexico. She's twenty-one and so ready to work. Everyone she meets tells her that she talks like someone off of the novelas (soap operas), which is funny because she says she doesn't even watch those at home. I told her I'm expecting a novela dialogue reenactment between her and Elder Blanco (el otro Mexicano de Monterrey) during district meeting tomorrow. Included is a picture of us in our first hour together :)
It is such a relief to have a companion again. I felt a little like a "foster missionary" from Sunday at noon to Wednesday at noon, being passed from member to las misioneras and back to the members. It feels so great to back in a real companionship where we can rely on eachother.
We taught the young women how to make pizza this Saturday. It actually turned out really yummy! It was the second Sunday of the month which meant the obra misional turn to speak again. Of the four of us, we divided the first four mission lessons in Preach My Gospel.
We taught lots and lots of new people this week. President Blunck has changed the program direction a little so now we work with half less-actives and half investigators. Now the trick is remembering how to work with investigators more after a different focus for four months. I guess that's why it's good I'm with a new missionary from the CCM who only focused on teaching investigators so that we can learn together. I keep learning that we will find the people who are prepared and ready to receive the gospel. We are not salesman and can't force anyone to accept anything. Like dad said, we are agents of love helping families through the message of the restoration.
Thanks so much for your sweet packages. Haha....I actually got valentine's day before Christmas, but that's okay. I've opened up the quotes.
Haha...I think having my "hijita" is making more weary to have actual real children in the future.....haha....just kidding. But really--I feel this incredible new pressure and sense of responsibility. I've focused alot on just calming down and praying....lots and lots of prayer.
As far as service goes, we haven't had a mission service project here in la selva (jungle). We are supposed to look for service around where we live to do every Wednesday morning.
Hmm....progress and the less-actives. Still an interesting assignment with ebb and flow that I never imagined. Good news is the majority of Less Actives we taught this week came to church. You can visit and visit someone, but it's really up to them. It is so individual. We're going to try to work more and more with the members and get the visiting teachers more on check because everyone we meet tells us "oh it's sweet that you're visiting. No one ever visits me."
Dad: thanks so much for your quote from Sunday. I pray everyday to understand the Spirit. It's like learning spanish all over again having to understand to teach by the spirit. I wrote the quote in my missionary agenda :)
Thanks to Garrett, I read Elder Uchtdorf's "Forget Me Not" address this week. Here is a quote I liked:
"...we sometimes see the gospel as a long list of tasks that we must add to our already impossibly long to-do list, as a block of time that we must somehow fit into our busy schedules. We focus on what the Lord wants us to do and how we might do it, but we sometimes forget why. My dear sisters, the gospel of Jesus Christ is not an obligation; it is a pathway, marked by our loving Father in Heaven, leading to happiness and peace in this life and glory and inexpressible fulfillment in the life to come. The gospel is a light that penetrates mortality and illuminates the way before us. While understanding the "what" and the "how" of the gospel is necessary, the eternal fire and majesty of th gospel springs from the "why." When we understand why our Heavenly Father has given us this pattern for living, when we remember why we have committed to making it a foundational part of our lives, the gospel ceases to become a burden and, instead, becomes a joy and a delight. It becomes precious and sweet....seek out the majesty, the beauty, and the exhilarating joy of the "why" of the gospel of Jesus Christ."
I hope everyone has a beautiful and loving Valentine's Day. I know Heavenly Father LOVES us. Yes, He loves you, too.....and so do I!
Happy Day of Love.
Love always,
Hermana Bowles
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