Elder Bowen's Mission Blog: Marshall Rain!

This week was awesome!

I think I had one of the funnest moments in my entire life and it should have been one of the worst ever! So this week I went on an exchange with Elder Koenen! It was awesome! So on the exchange we had zero appointments scheduled which can make for a really long day. Well it went by way faster than it should have. That morning we went out and started tracting and it felt like we were in a rain forest because it was crazy Humid! It reminded me of how hot it was last summer and how I need to brace myself for the heat because it's around the corner! We knocked on someone's door and they said they were sick and we asked if there was a better time for us to come back and then they asked well who are you? are y'all Jehovah's witnesses? and we said no. Then she asked if we were with Longview Baptist temple and we said no. She then said ok I will talk to y'all then because I'm actually looking for a church home. She came out and we told her where the church was and she said that she would like to come some time. We are going to stop by again some time soon and see if we can start teaching them. But that was neat. Then for the rest of the day Elder Koenen and I knocked doors all day long and didn't get to teach a single lesson. It was hard to keep on knocking when you are tired but it's always easier when you have a great missionary who helps you keep going. Well at the end of the day we had about an hour left and it started to rain! It poured! It was incredible! There was lightning in the sky and rolling thunder but that just made it one of the best experiences ever! We went to an apartment complex. We parked and then decided which building we were running to and took off! We ran to the nearest door and when we got there we were laughing because of how wet we had gotten just from being in the rain for 5 seconds! We started knocking and running door to door and just having the time of our lives! People thought we were crazy but we thought they were crazy for not wanting to hear the gospel. Elder Koenen and I at the end of the night said "This could have been the worst day ever but it was the best!" It's all about your perspective, attitude and love for the Lord! That's what makes things amazing or horrid.

Also B. came to church again on Sunday! It was Amazing! And he stayed for the youth baptism afterwards! It was great! He is progressing so much more in the gospel now that he has started to come to church. It's crazy but people can only get so far with only meeting with the missionaries. Then its like they meet a wall that they need to get over with their faith and they do that by coming to church. Then they are on the fast track! I'm hoping to be able to see B. make the covenant of baptism before I leave Marshall! He is on course for it!

We got in touch with our investigator C. and she is still home bound from going to the hospital as she recovers. She still has the desire to learn and be baptized and as long as her health improves for her to be able to be immersed then she will be baptized. She is one of the most incredible people ever! She is 19 and has the best attitude toward life ever! It is incredible to see how prepared she really is for having the gospel in her life!

Last night I learned something really awesome. It's a visual aid lesson where you make a paper cross by tearing a piece of paper once and it tells an awesome story about a missionary who goes to an island far away and teaches the gospel to the people there. We taught it to a part member family and the spirit came in really strong and everyone listened to it too. It was amazing! Talk about a Miracle!

I love being able to be a missionary! It is such a privilege and a blessing! Thanks to having an amazing family who love and support me, I'm able to be here in Marshall fulfilling a calling from the Lord to preach His gospel! This work truly is one of the greatest works ever! It's changing lives, saving souls and making families eternal! Sweet is the peace the gospel brings to all who love the Savior and live His teachings! And everyone can have it! It's just up to them if they want all the blessings that God has in store for them.

I love y'all so much!

Love your missionary,

Elder Drew Bowen