It's incredible to think that another week has passed by! Last week feels like it was forever ago and yet just like it was yesterday! I can't believe that General Conference has already come and passed. I barely had time to get excited about it before it was already over! But I loved conference! As always. It's hard not to when you get to hear from the Lord's prophet and His apostles! So many people don't realize just how nice the structure of Christ's Church is. No other church claims to be organized under priesthood authority with a prophet and Apostles. Only one. The true and living church of Jesus Christ. The world today has a weird look on the Savior's church. So many people think that well it doesn't matter what church you go to as long as it serves God (or claims to at least) and that you like it. Many don't think there is only one true church but that all churches are in some way combined simply because they serve God. All Christian churches are combined in one way. They all profess Jesus Christ to be the Savior of the world. But Christ only established one church and it had structure to it. That structure and authority is only found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This is His church restored through Him appearing to Joseph Smith and sending His servants with Priesthood Keys to bring the fullness of His Gospel once again to the earth.
Did any of y'all notice that you sustained my mission president in his soon to be new calling as a counselor in the General Sunday School presidency? He gets to serve with Elder Tad R. Callister in a few months! It's just another evidence that I have one of the best mission presidents ever!
We watched part
of General Conference with a part member family. It was great! The
entire family watched almost all of conference for Saturday. It was
great. I love the spirit that comes from conference and how each talk is
meant for us. It was amazing to see this year as in years past. It
applied to the T. family who we watched the Saturday sessions with as
well. You always learn something new when you listen and are sincere.
We even took the T.'s son to the priesthood session with us. That
brought back good memories of going with Daddy and Christopher and
Jared. Those were always great memories.
This
past week Elder Kidd and I went on an exchange with the Henderson
Elders Hendry and Smith. I worked with Elder Smith in Marshall and it
was a great experience. We worked in a neighborhood and met a very kind
lady who was in her 80's and visited with her. She was more open to our
message than I thought she would be. We also met a man who had lived in
Utah who asked for a copy of the Book of Mormon so he could read it. He
was a very nice man even though he reminded me of how long I have been
out on my mission. When he heard I had been out for 15 months he said,
"Oh wow you'll be home in no time!" He was really nice though and visited
with us for a little while.
At
the end of this week I learned a really important lesson. We had an
appointment fall through on Friday and so we knocked in the trailer park
we were at. We met a very nice lady who said she was attending a
church here in town and that she wasn't interested in our message at this
time. Elder Kidd asked if we could leave her with a card in case she
changed her mind and she said ok but I wont really use it. Well Sunday
afternoon we got a referral for a lady named Karen who lived in the same
trailer park. You can imagine how surprised we were that her address
was that of the lady who said she was not interested. What a miracle!
The spirit has such an influencing power upon the Lord's children!
Just this morning we received
another referral from church headquarters for some one on a street that I
knocked with Elder Johnson months ago. Elder Johnson and I got in a
good habit of leaving a pass along card on the door if no one answered
and it sure did pay off. Someone looked at the card and then used it.
The Lord uses our efforts and then turns them into something. This is
the fifth referral that I have received in Marshall that came directly
from leaving a card on a door or giving it to someone after talking to
them. The Lord helps us in His work every single day in small and simple
ways. We just have to be patient to see how He will use our efforts to
bring about His purposes! That's why we are only tools in His hands but
what a blessing it is to be able to take part in His work in whatever
way He sees fit.
Doing our part brings a fullness of joy even in the
hard times and makes every seeming failure worth every effort. We don't
have to do everything we just have to do what the Lord would have us do
in moving His work forward. We just have to do our best at our part in
His work and He makes up the rest!
I love y'all so
much! Always remember that! I think of y'all often and how much I love
y'all! I'm excited to be able to talk to y'all again on mother's day and to
see y'alls faces once again. I hope that y'all apply the things that you
learned in conference and that you do what you felt was specifically
directed to you! I love y'all tons!
Love your missionary,
Elder Drew Bowen
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| First Baptist Church in Marshall |
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| Elder Bowen with B. |
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| Elder Bowen and Elder Kidd being funny in their hats. |
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| The lake they had to drive through to get to an appointment! |
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