Tooele Week 7: Transfers, Snow, and Dogs

Good morning y'all! Had another great week out here in Tooele! Transfers are this Tuesday and I'll... *drumroll*... will be staying here! Unfortunately, Elder Lester is leaving me!! And guess what, he's going to dirty Kearns!! He is going to Kearns East Stake where I was just 7 weeks ago. haha!! And, I'm getting a new greenie. His name is Elder Lane, and he just got out last transfer with Lester! He was actually in Kearns last transfer (I guess he was my replacement haha). So I'm super pumped to get him here in Tooele! So I'll be here another 6 weeks! I'll tell y'all more about him next week when I get to know him!

But ya, we have two baptism in February coming up, which Lester is upset about because he's moving before that. haha! But ya, one is Travis who is married to a member and they have 4 or 5 kids that are young. So, this week we should be setting him on a date for sometime this month!! So, I'm super excited for that! He's been coming to church and activities so it's been awesome to see that change in his family! Then we have a 9 year old of a less active family getting active again. So ya, her name is Talia! So, I'm super excited for this transfer!

We also had a few miracles this week! This week at church we had a guy walk in. His name is Shawn, and he's from Guam! He has a lot of tats, but he's a really cool guy. He told us that he's been to jail and he wants to change his life. So we will be meeting up with him sometime this week. He hasn't ever been to an LDS church before or heard of the Book of Mormon, so we are starting from square one with him! So, I'm super excited for this opportunity to work with him!

So ya, been a great week! We had a few cool experiences, and I love the work out here! The mission is awesome, and I am always learning something new!! Thank y'all for the letters and emails! They mean a ton! Also, Elder Quinnelly was made our Zone Leader this transfer, so that'll be great! Our new District Leader is Elder Whitaker! And I finally burned a tie for my 6 month mark as well this week! haha!

Elder Bowie
Tooele North Stake
Salt Lake City West Mission

Tooele Week 6: Prison Break

Well, as y'all can see from my subject, we had to break into our house this week! Haha! So we were walking back home, and Elder Lester couldn't find the keys on him. So we retraced our steps and still couldn't find them. But don't worry! We went to the Spanish Elders down the street and slept with them since it was already around 9:30. Then it snowed. So ya, we have to wait for a couple of weeks till we can find them. Haha! Our landlords came over & they are LDS, so they said they could get us new ones. So they gave us keys today for both of us! So, they are really nice! So don't worry! We are back in our own home. Haha! 

But ya, this week was great! We had the temple, which I talked a little bit last time I emailed on Thursday. I love going to the temple and had a great time there! This Sunday, Elder Lester and I gave a talk in the Tooele 2nd Ward, and I got to talk a little bit about Gordon. B. Hinckley, who was the previous Prophet of the Church before he passed away in 2008, and some of the things he taught while he was alive. So that was really fun! I talked for about 35 minutes which was a fun experience! I shared Isaiah 40:31 which Cailey shared with me a while back.

But ya, it was a good week and we met with Travis, one of our investigators, this week. He is doing really good and is super close to baptism! So next transfer he will probably get baptized which will be a great experience, especially for Elder Lester, since he's still new. So I'm pumped for that! I love y'all so much! I hope everyone has been doing great so far this winter! Pray that I don't lose my key's again. Haha! For reals though, I love all of y'all and can't believe it's been over 7 months! Time flies too fast! Peace out y'all! Stay warm! If y'all need anything let me know!

Elder Bowie
Tooele North Stake
Salt Lake City West Mission

Tooele Week 5: Snow And Temples

Good Afternoon! We just got back from the Temple in Bountiful, and it was awesome! It started snowing when we got outside which was cool and a little cold! We had a pretty good week so far and found quite a few people to start working with and to help them get back to church and get closer to Christ. The Temple was ballin!

We saw quite a few deer as well and in fact yesterday we saw a 8 or 10 point buck on the street when we were walking to dinner, so that's neat! And I also went on exchanges with Elder Quinnelly this week which was ballin and we got to talk and serve around his area in Edda! That was a lot of fun as well!

So ya, had a good time this week and I hope y'all did too! Love y'all so much!

Elder Bowie
Tooele North Stake 
Salt Lake City West Mission

Tooele Week 4: Our Purpose

Good morning, everyone! This has been another great week here in Tooele County! We didn't have too much success this week (other than a few lessons in one our wards). We have recently, since we are whitewashing a sisters’ area, have been trying to go on splits with our Ward Mission Leaders, Priest, and stuff like that. That way we can cover twice as much ground to contact people and to find new people to teach. So, we made a goal yesterday to find a least one new person to teach and to continue on from there.

I really love this area, and the members here are really helpful to us which is fantastic! We are getting to know them and starting to build some bonds which will be really useful! We went to one our wards yesterday, and we talked a lot about the Restoration and the Plan that God has for us. It really helped me to get focused on why we are here helping people to get closer to Jesus Christ. So, it's ballin to be here and to learn more about our Savior as I learn this new area. It's awesome!

So ya, I hope all of y'all had a great week! Just know that I'm loving the work and the people here! I love all y'all! Stay safe! Something that I think would be good for everyone is just taking time to get to know our Savior. When Elder Rasband, from the 12 Apostles, came to the mission, he invited us to get to know Him, and by getting to know Him our will to serve Him will increase. So, just wanted to extend that same invitation to get to know the Savior. Something that I did was to read the 4 Gospels which I finished a week ago. It really helped me a ton! I love y'all! Stay warm! Thank you for all of the support! It means a bunch!

Peace out!

Elder Bowie
Salt Lake City West Mission

Tooele Week 3: Snow, Snow, and Happy New Year!

Good morning everyone! I had a great week as we head into another new year! We have done a lot of contacting this week to expand our teaching pool, and we were able to find a few more less active families to teach this week. We have been going out with our awesome ward mission leaders and missionaries to help us contact as well! The members here are great, and they are very supportive of the work! We aren't teaching as many people as we did in Kearns, but we are doing our best to find more people & to work hard with those that we do have! It's crazy to think that it is 2017 already!! I'm looking forward to the new year, and I can't wait to see what lies in store up ahead! The Tooele zone is awesome, and we have been playing a lot of Nerf with the zone. It's pretty fun to be part of it! Thank y'all for all of the wonderful letters and emails! Y'all mean a lot to me! Happy New Year! I hope everyone has a great new year!

Elder Bowie
Tooele North Stake
Salt Lake City West Mission