Photos from Oxford, MA

Email from Oxford, MA

My week was splendid. Although, I am exhausted in all ways possible, I am standing strong. Missionary work is hard because you are exerting yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, AND spiritually. Hence the reason for me being tired and having headaches a lot. Apparently, missionaries always get sick the first or second week they are in the field. It hasn't happened yet, so let's just pray that it doesn't happen at all! My dinners have all been rather good so far. I am eating veggies like a pro. Even though I hate them. 

It has been VERY HUMID HERE! You Washington people have no idea. Uuugh. However, my hair has been doing VERY well. The Lord has blessed my hair. BAHAHAHA. It is weird to say, but he has. AND the humidity allows me to wear my hair curly. That's right ladies and gentlemen. You heard me right. After years of straightening my hair, I sometimes wear it curly here. I expect many applause and flowers and treats. HAHAHA, jk. I think I look weird with curly hair. I think it is because the last time I wore my hair curly it was long. Plus, it doesn't have much volume on top, like it does when I straighten it. BUT, the point is that I HAVE been wearing it curly. Let it be known to the whole world. I'm hoping that by wearing it curly that it will grow. I JUST WANT LONG HAIR AGAIN :(

A Bubbler is a water fountain/drinking fountain. If you say water fountain, nobody here will know what you are talking about. A Rotary is a round-a-bout. A Grinder means Sandwich. And Malt is a milkshake. 

I saw Emily Rogers at the MTC. She seemed like she was doing really well! She seemed excited to do the work, and seemed to have some good friends down there from what it looked like. So you can tell Sister Rogers that if you ever run into her.

Let's see what else?  Many people in the ward, and all over Massachusetts have had bad experiences with missionaries in the past. Many less actives have been offended deeply and if we were to be bold with them and tell them how it is, it would just make things worse. There are not many youth, and the ones that we have are not very active. The primary kids are, but the youth are not. The parents don't force their children to go to church. A lot of it is because a lot of the members are converts and don't want to push their children. I wish I could just be so blunt with people, but I can't! It is hard. 

A lot of our work is focusing on the less actives and nonmembers though. We are trying to build a really good trust with them.  Sister Boldt and I are trying to come up with ways that we can get involved with the youth. We believe that if we can influence the youth and children in the ward that it will make a huge difference. The problem is that a lot of the youth have youth conference and girls camp and all kinds of things. 

The people are just so different here, and I pray that I can somehow make a difference and open peoples eyes to the reality that the gospel brings. It breaks my heart to see so many people not living the gospel how they should be. I just want to convert EVERYONE, UGH!

Plus, I haven't even met any of our investigators yet. They keep canceling or not showing up to appointments. So I haven't taught a single lesson and my teaching skills are just itching to come out and preach the gospel to people! Hopefully we will be able to bless somebodies life sooner or later. It is just hard to be patient.

Anyways.... that was my rant. I feel better now.

Pray for me! I'm always praying for each one of you :)

Love Always,

Sister Emmie Bower :)

Email sent from Oxford, MA

Greetings from Oxford, Massachusetts :D 

A little town out in the boonies. Everything is SUPER spread out. But it is SO beautiful here in New England. Every house we pass by, I feel like Mr. Darcy or somebody from that time is going to walk out the front door!

We live in a kind of crummy little apartment where the neighbors are nice - all except one. But its okay. Life goes on. Everything is good.

My new companions name is Sister Boldt. Pronounced Bolt, like a lightning bolt. The "D" is silent. She is really nice and I couldn't have asked for a better trainer! She rocks.

​We don't proselyte that much. Actual I haven't even knocked doors yet. The people of New England are very different here. Statistics show that going door to door is really not effective in New England. So we focus A LOT on ward members and less actives.  We have a fabulous Bishop. We had dinner at their house last night and they  are pretty awesome people. I love them! They have a gorgeous house! 

President Packard is SUPER nice. He is the mission president. Him and his wife are so funny, and they like to TALK. It is something that you really have to get used to. And President Packard is a Texan so they ALWAYS had a ton of good food. DELISH! He says he is our father first and president second or something like that. He is a pretty neat guy. He is a pretty inspired guy too, he can receive revelation like a rock star. Well, rock star probably isn't the right term to be using.... like a ROCKIN APOSTLE. lolol. But really though. You'd love the Packards. 

Hmmmm.... there are a lot of weird names for things down here. I will give you some names, and you have to try and guess what they are and I will tell you if you are right in my next email.

1.) Bubbler

2.) Rotary

3.) Grinder

4.) Malt

They also have this deliscous thing called a Fluffer Nutter. It is a Peanut Butter and Marshmellow fluff sandwich. It sounds super gross but it is THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD. I AM ADDICTED. YOU HAVE TO TRY IT!!!!!!!! SOOO GOOD. It is a New England thing. But it should be introduced to the whole world. Because it is so tasty. Like heaven. I want one now..... mmmm..... so good..... You. Must. Try. It.

The elders in my District are awesome!  We only see them on District meetings one Fridays. Or on P-days when we decide we want to do something together. I think we are doing a picture scavenger hunt with them next p-day. It should be fun :)  Sister Boldt says I fit in perfectly with our little group. She receives a lot of revelation for me, which I admire a lot about her. She is very in tune with what the spirit has to say to her. I am striving to be like that. It is hard to recognize revelation. But I love the spirit that missionary work brings. It is absolutely splendid. I just hope I can make a big difference like Sister Boldt says I will make. She keeps telling me that I am going to be a legendary missionary and that everyone will want to be my companion when they get to know me. I don't believe her, but that's what she always tells me. She is the best. I don't know if I take that as revelation, but I do take it as revelation when she tells me I will have a big impact on certain families that we have met with. And I can feel it too. There are some families in this ward that just need me. Need us. Need us sister missionaries :)

There is probably a ton that I haven't told you, but I can't think of anything else right now! Although I am sorry to tell you that there are some words out here that you have to say with an accent or nobody knows what you are talking about. For example - Worcester. It is pronounced "Wusta" here. And my companion has it bad when it comes to her R's . I have to constantly remind her how to say words the RIGHT way. LOL. So if I come back with an accent - please don't kill me - because I won't be able to help it. My companion didn't even notice until I pointed it out to her. IM SORRY. I don't have an accent yet though :) I am still very much myself.

Photos

Email from the MTC

Note from the editor:  Our apologies that we haven't had any updates until now.  Just needed to work out some kinks.  We'll try to stay more up to date after this.  Thank you for your patience!  And now, here's Sister Bower...

From email dated June 9, 2014, sent from the MTC:

Hi Family and Friends!

I am doing absolutely wonderful :)  My companion's name is Sister Watts.  She is pretty much my BFF.  I love her, we are so much alike and when we teach, we literally finish each other's thoughts.  The spirit is so strong when we teach together.

I am loving the MTC.  I am in love with my teachers.  We do a lot of role plays in class, which I COULD NOT do at first.  I just had to laugh when we did them.  But now it is second nature almost.  Each of our teachers also role play as investigators, which you would think would be weird, but it is second nature to have them switch from teacher to investigator.  And let me tell you, you grow to love the investigator side of them even more every time you teach them.  Sister Reddish plays a Catholic, 21 year old woman, who wants to know more about the Mormon church because she has a lot of Mormon friends.  She is super hard to teach.  Her character, Jamie, doesn't really want to know if the Book of Mormon is true.  She just wants information so she can understand her friends a little better.  However, she IS willing to read the Book of Mormon, and has already started reading.  Sister Watts and I are going to teach the Plan of Salvation with her today.

Our other teacher, Brother Metcalf, plays a character named William.  I freaking LOVE William!!  He comes from a hard life, the only person who is really in his life is his mom, who lives far far away.  He used to be into drugs and has been to jail many times.  Plus he dropped out of high school so he is not an excellent reader - but he does extremely well when he reads from the Book of Mormon with us.  Sister Watts and I feel the spirit as soon as he hopes the door (to a classroom, but we are pretending it is his home).  I wish I could just hug William - too bad I am not allowed.  I have never felt the spirit so strong - only when I teach William.  I hope that it will be that way for my future investigators.  When I don't know how to continue my sentence or don't know what to say next - Sister Watts literally picks up where I left off.  And sometimes I feel the spirit tell me to tell William something, but Sister Watts beats me to it.  And she says the same thing about me.  We flow so wonderfully together.

I love the Elders in my District.  They are all nice and friendly.  Although I have to agree that the Elders are spiritual giants, and earthly idiots. ;)  It's just true.  It is weird to be older than them too.  They are all just out of high school - even though they look like college students.  They are the best though :)

I love you and miss you!  But not too much yet because I am loving serving the Lord :)

Keep me in your prayers and I will keep you in mine!

Love you all <3

" Farewell Talk " - Put Your Trust In The Lord

For those of you unable to attend , and others who follow this blog - Here is my " Farewell Talk " for before I leave on my mission .  I'm not the greatest writer when it comes to these things , and am hesitant to post this . But hopefully it will be an influence to you in you're life or help you in some shape , way , or form . Enjoy ~

Good morning Brothers and Sisters ,

Today I was assigned to speak from my favorite general conference talk by Elder Russell M . Ballard called Put Your Trust in the Lord . When Brother Wood called me and asked me to speak , he told me that I could choose my favorite talk from any of the conferences . This was hard for me – I have never really had a favorite because they are all so good . So I pray that the spirit will be with us and that you will benefit from what I have to say .

As many of you know , I have been called to serve as a full time missionary to the Massachusetts , Boston mission . I thought it would be good to start out with why I decided to serve . And I’m sure many of you have heard this story , so just bear with me .

I can remember the day well , as I stood in an arch formation with my fellow band members . We were warming up our instruments and practicing parts of the music before we went on the field to compete in our final marching band competition of the season . In front of each student on the grass , were out hats – or what we call shakos . As we were warming up , the band parents were placing those big goofy feathers in our hats – what we call a plume . When one of the band parents got to my shako , he bent down and placed the plume into it . Then with a smile on his face , he stood and quickly told me what had happened in General Conference that day . The missionary age had been lowered . Boys could now leave at 18 , and girls at 19 . My first thought was , “ That couldn’t be , he is just pulling my leg .” I can distinctly remember my second thought being , “ Oh darn , I’m going to have to serve a mission .” After thinking that , I placed the thought in the back of my mind . I didn’t want to serve a mission . It wasn’t a part of my plan . Skipping ahead to the day before Easter . I was studying my scriptures more intently that evening , because the following day I would receive my patriarchal blessing . The thought of serving a mission had crept back into my head , and with a sigh I got on my knees and said : “ Heavenly Father , if you want me to serve a mission you are going to have to tell me in my Patriarchal Blessing .” So he did . I was told that I would literally serve very soon . So I immediately agreed to go . Although it wasn’t easy trying to change my attitude from being “ this is my plan, and I’m going with it ” to “ This is God’s plan , and I trust Him .”

“ The Prophet Joseph Smith declared that ‘after all that has been said, the greatest and most important duty is to preach the Gospel .’”

Elder Ballard includes the following in his talk : “ President Thomas S . Monson said : ‘ Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together … [and] labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him . He has prepared the means for us to share the gospel in a multitude of ways , and He will assist us in our labors if we will act in faith to fulfill His work .’”

The prophet has told us to work together as members WITH the missionaries . As members of the church we should be wanting to share the gospel with others , and to introduce them to the missionaries . Just because you are not set apart as a missionary , does not mean you cannot be one . A quote by Neil A . Anderson comes to mind – he said : “ If you’re not a full time missionary with a missionary badge pinned on your coat , now is the time to paint one on your heart .”

Elder Ballard continues : “ We know from our research that most active members of the Church want the blessings of the gospel to be part of the lives of others whom they love , even those whom they have never met . But we also know that many members hesitate to do missionary work and share the gospel for two basic reasons .

• The first one is fear . Many members do not even pray for opportunities to share the gospel , fearing that they might receive divine promptings to do something they think they are not capable of doing .

• The second reason is misunderstanding of what missionary work is .”

I can honestly say that I have been guilty of these things . Sharing the gospel is not easy – it can be scary . But guess what , all you have to do is share what you already know to be true . And if you end up becoming stumped on what to say , send up a pray in your head for the spirit to help you . Or if someone asks you a question that you don’t know the answer to , then it is okay to say “ I don’t know ” as long as you conclude with “ But I can get back to you on that .” Heavenly Father will be pleased and will bless you for giving it a go , and trying your best . Your best is all that He asks for .

Whenever my Dad travels , or flies somewhere , and I’m sure he has shared this with you , he prays for a missionary opportunity to arise . And it never fails to come , every single time . And he is excited to tell my family and I when he has one of those experiences . I can remember my first time flying , I thought I would see if my Dad was pulling my leg , or if something like that could happen to me . So I prayed for a missionary experience , and as soon as I was seated and began chatting with my flying companion , our conversation led to the church . I was surprised at how easy it was to talk to a complete stranger about the gospel . But it gave me confidence , all I had to do , was pretty much bear my testimony .

“ Perhaps you feel you may be asked to do unrealistic things in your relationships with friends or neighbors . With the help of the Lord , let me remove any fear you or any of our full-time missionaries may have in sharing the gospel with others .

Make the decision to do what Jesus Christ has asked us to do . The Savior has said :

“ Ask , and it shall be given you ; seek , and ye shall find ; knock , and it shall be opened unto you :

“ For every one that asketh receiveth ; and he that seeketh findeth ; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened .

“ Or what man is there of you , whom if his son ask bread , will he give him a stone ?

“ Or if he ask a fish , will he give him a serpent ?

“ If ye … know how to give good gifts unto your children , how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him ?”

“ Brothers and sisters , fear will be replaced with faith and confidence when members and the full-time missionaries kneel in prayer and ask the Lord to bless them with missionary opportunities . Then , we must demonstrate our faith and watch for opportunities to introduce the gospel of Jesus Christ to our Heavenly Father’s children , and surely those opportunities will come . These opportunities will never require a forced or a contrived response . They will flow as a natural result of our love for our brothers and sisters . Just be positive , and those whom you speak with will feel your love . They will never forget that feeling , though the timing may not be right for them to embrace the gospel . That too may change in the future when their circumstances change .

It is impossible for us to fail when we do our best when we are on the Lord’s errand . While the outcome is a result of the exercise of one’s agency , sharing the gospel is our responsibility .”

Elder Ballard also says: “’you don’t have to be an outgoing person or an eloquent, persuasive teacher. If you have an abiding love and hope within you, the Lord has promised if you “lift up your voices unto this people [and] speak the thoughts that [He] shall put into your hearts,… you shall not be confounded before men;

“[And] it shall be given you … in the very moment, what ye shall say.’”

Elder Ballard continues , “ I quote from [ a ] successful member missionary , Clayton Christensen : ‘ Every time you take someone figuratively by the hand and introduce him or her to Jesus Christ , you will feel how deeply our Savior loves you and loves the person whose hand is in yours .’”

I would like to read to you the lyrics of a primary song .

1. Faith is knowing the sun will rise , lighting each new day .

Faith is knowing the Lord will hear my prayers each time I pray .

Faith is like a little seed :

If planted , it will grow .

Faith is a swelling within my heart .

When I do right , I know .

2. Faith is knowing I lived with God before my mortal birth .

Faith is knowing I can return when my life ends on earth .

Faith is trust in God above ;

In Christ , who showed the way .

Faith is strengthened ; I feel it grow

Whenever I obey .

The line , “ Faith is trust in God above ” stands out to me . Throughout my life I can see patterns of this . For example , every time I pray , I wonder if God will listen . And I know that when I finish a prayer that He hears me , every single time . And there is no doubt in my mind that He listens to your prayers too and cares about what you have to say and what is happening in your life .  

Going back to the example of changing my plans to match the Lords . That took a great deal of faith to trust that what He has planned for me is going to strengthen me and help me throughout my life .

Showing that you have faith and trust in the Lord , to me , means that you pray and talk with God and maintain a relationship with Him . And let Him guide you throughout your life . Do as Jesus would do , and love those around you and share with them what makes you happy .

Something that brings me great joy and happiness is the gospel of Jesus Christ . I would like to invite those of you who are not members of the church , and even those of you who are , to come unto Christ .      

In the Book of Mormon , in Alma 10 : 32-33 , it reads ,

“ 32 Yea , come unto Christ , and be perfected in him , and deny yourselves of all ungodliness ; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness , and love God with all your might , mind and strength , then is his grace sufficient for you , that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ , ye can in nowise deny the power of God .

33 And again , if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ , and deny not his power , then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God , through the shedding of the blood of Christ , which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins , that ye become holy , without spot .”

In closing I would like to leave with you my testimony – 

I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , is the true church on this earth today . I know that President Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet of our church , and that what he counsels us to do is right and a tool to lead us on our journey home to our Father in Heaven . I know that missionary work is important  , and I am excited to share with others the happiness that the gospel brings me . I know that as you put your trust in the Lord that He will bless you and guide you in your life .

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ , Amen . 

Mission Call

Dear Sister Bower :

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . You are assigned to labor in the Massachusetts Boston Mission . It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months .

You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday , June 4 , 2014 . You will prepare o preach the gospel in the English language .

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When I am serving my mission , I will be including a section for this blog in my letters home to my family . I pray that it will help someone in their life as they read my experiences and adventures . It will also be a way for people to see what I am up to as I serve . 

God be with you till we meet again . 

--> Sister Bower