Email from Oxford, MA

Okay. So let me just start out with telling you what it feels like to truly be a missionary. Your days feel like weeks and your weeks feel like days. I don't even know what happened during which day this week. It just feels like one big blur, and let me tell you, Sister Boldt and I are SO TIRED. I feel like I am going to collapse at any minute.

I have found out what my mission is for. It is for two reasons. One - so that I can help my companions, because I know that I will have a great influence over them. Heavenly Father has told me several times. And also, I was going over the notes from when I was being set apart as a missionary, and in that blessing it told me that I was going to be a great influence for those who come from broken homes, and I will have a huge effect on them and their families, because through me, they will know the importance of eternal families. So that is my mission. I am her for my companion, the youth/children, and families. I don't know how I am going to do all that Heavenly Father wants me to, but I have already agreed to do whatever He asks me. Even if it is the last thing I ever want to do.

Exchanges went SO GOOD. I was able to do more than I realized, and although it made me exhausted beyond belief, I am glad that I was able to experience it. Sister Patterson was my companion for the day, and she is incredibly nice! I could have spent another day with her.

So on Wednesday, (I think it was Wednesday? I don't remember.....) Sister Boldt and I had to go to a meeting called Return and Report. It is for all of the new missionaries and their trainers to attend. Basically we have a lesson from President, and the AP's. Then our trainers leave the room and we ask any questions we want. Her and I are extremely blessed. While everyone was complaining, I had nothing to complain about or ask questions about. She said all of the trainers in the other room were asking questions about how to make their companionships better, and Sister Boldt said she had no complaints of questions about me either. We are lucky. I was able to see Sister Watts, my first companion from the MTC. She was SO happy to see me! She is one of the best missionaries around, and one of my best friends.

After the meeting we all went and did a session at the temple. It was SO AMAZING. The Boston temple is beautiful. I loved it. It was so amazing to go and do a session with only missionaries. I wish you could have experienced it with me. It was the coolest thing, and it was the strongest spirit I have ever felt when we all went to the Celestial room.

OH! and guess what happened when we were driving on the way to the meeting. Sister Boldt missed the entrance to the church, so instead of turning around on the highway and being late, she parked in the temple parking lot. Well, once we got out of the car, it started to drizzle. Sister Boldt looked at me and all she said was "oh no, RUN!" and she took off running to the church on this tiny little path that curved every which way! It literally POURED on us. And we were running in PENCIL SKIRTS. It was HORRIBLE. We got the chapel and got to a door only to find out it was locked, so we had to run all the way to the other side of the building. It was so embarrassing when we walked in because we were soaked. Everyone just looked at us and asked, "Is it raining outside?" Sister Boldt and I looked at each other and then looked at them like "really, are you REALLY asking that question?!" Because we were drenched.

Saturday, was also amazing! So long story short, Sister Boldt taught a family up in the New Hemisphere (I think she means New Hampshire?) area, and they were completely inactive. Saturday, we were both able to attend their family getting sealed in the temple. It was so beautiful. I have never been to a sealing before (obviously) but it was truly and amazing experience and it just gave me a stronger testimony of me wanting to get married in the temple. They had five little children, and one on the way. It was amazing to see all of them kneel across the alter. It was truly and amazing day.

Yesterday, I was able to help teach the lesson this time in the missionary class at church. Last time I didn't talk at all, and this time Sister Boldt said I did much better. She said that when I was bearing my testimony about something that one of the woman was almost in tears. I didn't even notice. I don't even remember ANYTHING that I said. But I am glad that I was apparently able to touch someone's heart. I thought that I was just blabbering on and on. But apparently I did a splendid job. We get asked to teach class a lot on the fly. It is scary for me. But I just follow whatever Sister Boldt does and wing it with her. It is always an interesting time.

OH! I remember another thing we did this week. We attended a funeral. That was rather sad. But it was a lovely service and everyone was glad that the old guy finally went. He was in a lot of pain. Apparently his non member wife, who wanted nothing to do with the Mormon's wants to get baptized now. Miracles are everywhere in this mission, even when things are sad, people can see the Lord's hand in their lives. It is truly amazing. I love being a missionary :) Even though some days I am like "what the heck am I doing out here in Massachusetts, all the way in the middle of no where?" But I know that I am being blessed.

Email with Photo from Oxford, MA

I am doing just grand this week. I am exhausted  as usual, but am doing grand. Sister Boldt has been sick a lot this week, so I have been taking care of her. We didn't even leave the apartmentSaturday because she had a fever on and off. So I made her sleep and have been nursing my TRAINER back to health! We have been taking turns getting sick. She let me sleep in until TEN O'CLOCK today! That little booger. She went and cleaned almost the whole apartment, WHILE SHE IS STILL SICK. I mean, I am grateful for the sleep, and I am still feeling really tired, but she told me that she felt like she was going to throw up and she was STILL CLEANING THE APARTMENT.   My companion. Sheesh. haha.

My days are all starting to blur together. I feel like Sundays are like... every other day! But I guess that is a good thing because it means we are keeping busy! Hmm.. what else? OH! I drove for the first time yesterday on New England roads! But only because Sister Boldt was sick and needed me to finish driving home. My poor companion :( But if you haven't seen New England roads, then you don't know the meaning of scary driving. The roads look like there is only enough room for one car, but somehow two cars fit down it. So driving was a fun adventure! I kept us all alive :D haha

Tomorrow we are doing exchanges, which is when you switch companions for a day. So tonight we are going to switch with the Sister Training Leaders in our zone. Apparently the Sister Training Leaders call and ask the District Leaders about any concerns they have about Sister Boldt and I, or any suggestions they have for us. Apparently Elder Trujillo told them that I needed to stay here in Oxford, and my companion would go somewhere else for the day. Do you know what that means? Two things. One, I am going to be in charge for the day which is SO scary because I feel like I don't know how to do ANYTHING still!!! And second, the fact that my District leader felt prompted to tell them that I need to stay here means that he is making sure that I am getting hardcore training. Elder Trujillo has been pushing me way past my comfort zone since I got here, and has been making me do things that greenies DO NOT normally do. For example, staying here and being in charge for during exchanges. And also, he made me give a training to our District ALL BY MYSELF. Greenies never, or rarely give trainings, so he is training me HARDCORE. Between him and my companion, I am learning a lot. But it is still scary to be a leader..... especially since I have only been here for four weeks starting yesterday.

The storms have been interesting. I love watching the lightening, but the thunder is scary. One set of our elders saw a lightening bolt touch down several feet in front of them when they were driving. But they were uninjured, and said it was wicked cool. So the tropical storms here are always an adventure.

Our youth had an awesome time at youth conference. They visited all the church historical sights and did indeed attend the pageant. They also went and did baptisms at one of the temples there. They slept in tents so that they could have two solid days to get to do everything. They had a blast. They rode up in charter buses, and all of the youth wrote there testimony in two Book of Mormon's and gave them to each of their bus drivers which I thought was the coolest thing ever!

Roasting s'mores at a members house. They are foster parents so they have a lot of little kids who love us to pieces! They have a sweedish neice and nephew visiting who are visiting for the summer and are interested in the gospel. They are amazing kids, and I would do anything for them! 

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

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