Use Your Voice As a Trumpet

Me and my Hermana's

Hang-in with the zone on Pday

This week went incredibly fast, maybe its due to the fact that we're writing early but wow! So p-day we bought lunch at a local grocery store, went to the chapel and watched the movie "Up" as a zone. Afterwards we had time to run some errands and take a sweet blessed nap. Good stuff. Monday and Tuesday we were super busy with all the recent converts that the missionaries were bringing and us trying to add some family history decorations to the offices to get the vibe and fung-shway on our side :)

We were blessed this week to have a special training from the President and his assistants in which we learned about the importance of using your voice as a trumpet (literally raising your voice and not being afraid to be bold) and how important it is to use inspired questions and teach clearly the gospel. To emphasize his point, the president at one point asked a sister to come in front of everyone and with the voice of a trumpet begin to teach lesson 3. It was interesting to see how maybe we are shy and timid to make waves or are scared of the reaction and rejection of the people we teach. However, now it is the goal of mine to try and liven things up once in a while with the "muertos" or all the dead people here in La Historia Familiar and see if I can wake a few people up with my "trumpet voice". I tried it yesterday and I think it went ok, sometimes I feel bad raising my voice at these sweet little grandmas that they bring, but I figure that maybe they can't hear well so its ok. Ha-ha.

Highlight of my Grandpa Bowers

This same day, after the training from the president, we gathered up another group of recent converts and were able to go to the temple. We went with a big group this time of 16 people (plus some regular members) and for 11 of them it was the first time EVER that they had been at the temple. Some of them stayed outside with us, and we were able to show them the beautiful temple grounds, the distribution center, have a temple photo shoot (this temple is so gorgeous that nobody can help themselves and everyone has to have some type of mini photo shoot) and the we showed them some of the shops that if you know where to look you can find. It was fun to be able to share our testimonies about the temples with the recent converts and be able to be a spiritual tour guide. After wards we were able to get everyone home safe and sound, and one of the recent converts contacted the bus driver and now has a reference to give to some of the elders that are in our zone. How cool is that?

After the Temple -tired and hungry!

Friday was a crazy run around day but it all turned out well. After the late night at the temple, we woke up nice and early to be able to be in the offices in time for my companions English test. To all the Latinos there is an opportunity to take an English exam in which they ask you questions through the computer, and a test proctor listens to your voice and then gives you a score. My old companion, Hermana Osinaga from Bolivia, scored a 6 out of 7, 7 being the highest score! Hermana Inca later this next week will find out her score. We were practicing on the bus ride there, and it was amazing because she was answering really well, and then later I was told that she never before the mission had studied English. Wow how cool is that with how much that she has learned! And to finish the night, we were having problems with getting our laundry washed. The sister that usually does it has been without water for two weeks, and we tried washing some stuff by hand but there just really isn't time as a missionary. So we tried to find solutions and the bishops wife let us borrow her machine to wash the essentials and we sent the rest to a close lavanderia. We were like, oh its going to be so expensive.. but no! it was surprisingly cheap so we were super grateful. But at the end of the night, after running around all the the town trying to drop of the clothes in different places we went to buy yogurt from our neighbor, I put the hamper down for one min to give her change... and a DOG comes and starts TO PEE on the freshly washed clothes. I yell and we go chasing after the dog, and it was just soooooo bad that after ALL the hassle to transport- beg- and plead favors to get laundry of 2 weeks washed, that a dog had to come and do its business. Thankfully I think we scared it off before it could really get anything wet, and after a carefully sniffing test we decided that everything was good to wear. Oh count your blessings!

I mad my Comp a crown for her 18th month

Hope you all enjoy this week and know that the Lord loves you!

Hermana Bowers