Email from Oxford, MA

Sister Boldt and I were blessed the other night, because I received an answer to my prayer. I was asking Heavenly Father how we could get more involved with the youth, and when we went into a members home for dinner, she asked if Sister Boldt and I could teach Young Women's one Sunday! We gladly accepted. Although it is far down the road, we are patiently waiting to get to know all of these youth. The youth are the key in this ward to get members going. Unfourtunatley, there are a lot of instances that have involved people getting very offended from many different people, or their testimonies are not strong - so we cannot be bold with them. We can, however, be bold with the youth. So that is where I am going to try and start digging for those golden testimonies that they don't realize that they can have.

(Sister Bower answered some questions sent from home:)

How many investigators do you have in your Teaching Pool?

-- We have nine! But I have only taught one so far. Everyone is either out of town or is unavailable.

Are you serving in just one Ward or are you covering multiple Wards?

We are only in one ward. The Oxford ward.

What is your companion's favorite snack?  Does she like chocolate?  If so, what kind?

Her favorite snack is Fiery Hot Cheetos. She has a cheeto addiction, and has gotten me addicted to plain old cheesy Cheetos. What a punk. She LOVES chocolate. She will eat all kinds she says, but she really likes the Symhony bars....... and she is currently listing off all of the chocolates she loves..... which is like... every kind imaginable. She cracks me up!

Is your mission utilizing FaceBook and tablets?

No we are not! They keep saying we will get them soon, but who knows when that will be? Probably not for a very long time still to come.

What doctrine are you studying right now?

I am currently not studying anything specific. Instead I am delving into the Book of Mormon like I never have before. I crave reading the Book. I currently just finished Alma 48 this morning. I read a chapter each morning - and basically what I do is write down things that stood out to me IN my Book of Mormon. Things about the story line, characteristics about the people and leaders, etc. I have found that I never really knew what was going on in all of these "War Chapters" and now they are probably my favorite!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Book of Alma, and I want to be Captain Moroni's bestest friend because he is the coolest man EVER!!!! I have fallen in love with the Book of Mormon, and I can't even describe how much I love reading it. Study time should be longer than an hour each day!!!

I love you and miss you so much! But if we are being honest here, you probably miss me more than I miss you guys.... is that bad to say? I just love being a missionary so much, and the work keeps me busy so I don't really have time to miss anyone. It is kind of a blessing. But you are in my prayers every morning and night!!!

Love Sister Emma Bower