Skip to main content

Cookies and Pears

Hello my friends! I have officially been out for 2 months! Only 22 more to go but I don't think anyone is counting. My week was pretty great so listen up!

Tuesday was pretty uneventful to say the least. Elder Dixon and I were going to go street contacting with this awesome sign we made to get people to come to us, but we took so long making the sign that we didn't actually use it. It kind of stank, but that's missionary life. We also were going to have a lesson with this guy named Marius (who by the way, wants to be baptized!) but he had to clean up a street accident for his job. Kind of a bummer but as long as he has the desire to be baptized, I'm all good. 

Our sign we took so long to make (Roll a dice and win a prize!)


Wednesday we went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders and I went on a short exchange with Elder Redenbaugh (another elder from Iowa!!!!!). We went on a short 2 hour exchange, but I learned a lot and we had great success just talking to people on the street. Super awesome experience and we were able to gain 6 more contacts in about 2 hours! The more, the merrier! However, the day became a flop when 2 people we were going to have lessons with bailed on us. Really rough experience to go through. But we finished the night at a member's home and they showed us cat videos which is one way to bring spirits up haha.

Thursday was a slow day because it was cold and rainy and the people are usually very anxious when the weather is cold. So we really didn't have much success. We did, however, talk to a man who gave us a chance and we have a conversation about church and the Book of Mormon and it lead to us getting his number and a potential person to talk to which is a plus!! We also set up a lesson with another person, but due to traffic, the man was not able to come. Another failed lesson, more rough missionary life. But the highlight of the night was when we went to a member's house named Sora Delia. She is a very recent convert but she is so strong in the gospel. We read from 3 Nephi 12-14 which is Jesus' visit to the Nephites. While we were reading, Sora Delia would stop every few verses and analyze the words of the Savior. She told us how simple the words Jesus said are to follow. It was such a cool experience because she is new in the gospel, but she taught us missionaries in simple terms that made so much sense.

Friday was honestly the weirdest day of them all. We started my visa work so I can legally be in this country. It was so hectic and we really didn't do much because of that. But all we could do, we met this girl named Andrea who seemed interested in what we had to say. So she invited me and Elder Dixon to go talk with her and her friends. The great thing is, they invited us into a bar to talk. So basically, I taught about the gospel in a bar to people. One of the weirdest experiences so far, to be honest. Then later that night, we had a game night with college students from our English classes. We played minute to win it games which was super fun to play and watch. I can successfully say I can get a cookie from my forehead to my mouth in less than a minute. Then we went out for dinner with a family whose kids had a birthday. It was super fun and I love the family to death. they are so energetic and fun and it was a great way to end the night!

Saturday we were gifted by pears by an English student which was very confusing. I mean free pears are great, but why?? I don't know but it lead to a great English class so I am excited! There are college girls in our class who have so much potential to be baptized. They are so receptive to our small spiritual thoughts and they are willing to help us out in any aspect, whether it be English or game night, they want to help. I am pumped to see how all that goes! That being said, the rest of the day flopped. 2 more people we were going to have lessons with did not show up and it is pretty annoying. I just want to teach people and have blessings come upon them!! 

Elder Dixon and me with our pears


Sunday was church and we had probably the simplest church service ever. Only 11 people showed up, but they were awesome. Sora Delia brought her friend and we talked with her and she said she is very interested in our message so we are going to see how that goes! The talks were given by 2 13 year olds in our branch and they did a great job. They spoke on faith and how important faith is in this church. Faith is the first thing we must have if we want to change or improve. It fuels action and leads to a strong foundation if we grow our faith in good things and let faith grow within us. Super powerful coming from youth. We finished the night with another lesson failing and it was definitely a hard one because we went to the person's door, waited, and were essentially denied. It was a hard way to end the night for sure.

While this week was rough, I am reminded of Alma 26:30. Ammon is rejoicing in God and he is describing the mission he had. He and his brothers had many sufferings and trials and were rejected and beaten by many. But they did this to bring some souls unto Christ. And when they did, they rejoiced and were so happy because one person was willing to listen to their message. Ammon demonstrates a missionary who is humble and rejoices in God's power before his own.

I love you all and miss you all! I hope you have great weeks and continue to be awesome people!

Va iubesc,

Elder Bowen

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Stand Ye in Holy Places

Hey everyone!!! So this was a really big week and a good amount of things went down, but I don't have all the time to talk about them, so I'll just give you all the basics! Bowen and Hoisington in the street! So the highlight and downfall of this week was when we set a baptismal date with Felix for about 24 hours. So we met up with him this week and we had a lesson about the Plan of Salvation. We had Fratele Matei with us and he was a big help for us because he loves this lesson. So we teach and it went really well and we set a date for August 18th! We were happy, Matei was happy, it was great. But we were talking with him at night and he said he no longer had any faith. So naturally, we meet up with him again and it was an interesting meeting. Essentially he is looking for historical evidence that the Book of Mormon is true and he doesn't have that evidence that it is true. So, we dropped his date and we won't be meeting with him anymore until he starts having ...
1 comment
Read more

Day 1 - to the Provo Missionary Training Center

Day 1 (from David not Cole) The day began so early.  We arrived at the Des Moines Airport at 4:30 for a 6:00 Flight.  Checking in was no problem, but it became real that this was the first steps in embarking on this two year adventure. Saying goodbye was hard for all, but we all kept it all together. The itinerary took Cole from Des Moines to Dallas-Fort Worth to Salt Lake City.  He fortunately met up with a couple other missionaries enroute to the Provo Missionary Training Center (MTC). Aunt Lisa met Cole at the airport.  The flight was slightly delayed, but they were able to get out of Salt Lake quickly as his bags were the first off the plane. We spoke with Cole as they traveled to Provo.  He was in good spirits, and proud to have navigated security, connections, gate changes, and all that excitement. In Provo, he also met up with his Aunt Sara and her family (Uncle Simon, Kajsa, Brynn, Maya, Isak) and Uncle Scott and his family (Aun...
Post a Comment
Read more

"Whatever it is, we are against it" - Romania?

Hey everyone it was a pretty great week in Bucuresti! Tuesday we had exchanges with the Zone Leaders and I went with Elder Krylborn. He's a pretty awesome guy and we had a really solid day! We spoke in Romanian for a good amount of the day and focused a lot on how to keep accountable with the goals we have set. Overall, it was a great day and we were able to see a lot of success because of our hard work!   At a mall in Bucharest - me being me Wednesday we didn't do much overall except we had someone try to fix our hot water and have it ultimately fail so they told us they would try again the next day. So that was fun? Thursday we had a good day as we met with a member named Fang Shuang (he's from China) do his Family History so that was pretty awesome!! We also got some pretty great lunch with him so that was pretty great! We then had a lesson with a man named Florian who ended up being super awesome! We taught a 30 minute Restoration and he ab...
Post a Comment
Read more