"There is SO MUCH work for me to do, and I'll NEVER have this chance again"

Wednesday, July 20, 2011 8:29 AM

Cadha heard her phone beep this morning so we were able to catch Camille on line.  It was fun to "chat" back and forth.  Sounds like she is doing good.  Going through the ups and downs that everyone has in a mission BUT the work is flourishing despite the Bishop's demands to stop teaching "the coloreds" and focus on Italians.  WOW!  Unbelievable!!  But that will go in one ear and out the other for sure and she has the support of her mission President too. 
Once again, here is her contact info.  If you email her, she won't be able to respond directly as time doesn't permit but she loves getting letters from family and friends.  And I will also include her mailing address too.
Rosaleecamille.bowman@myldsmail.net

Missione Italiana di MilanoVia A. Gramsci 13/4
20090 Opera (MI)
Italy
So, today was a day to relieve it all...

This past week has been really difficult for me. Thoughts of not being efficient enough, not working hard enough, and not opening my mouth to talk to people just consumed me. We are asked to do at least 20 invites a day, and it isn't something that I think about usually...we are always in giro (on bikes) going to and from appointments, that I just don't think to ask people questions. I feel like people see us as big monsters coming to attack them with the words of God...I know it's not true, but people DO see us this way. Even today, we couldn't find a certain bus stop and we asked some man, who just kept walking, and didn't stop until he realized we were lost!! People...sheesh...it's your eternal SALVATION here! Anyway, so we have this goal of making at LEAST 10 inviti per day...and if we do, we can get icecream. We succeeded yesterday, but...it was too late to get icecream. Maybe some other time?

But like I said, today was the day to relieve it all. I actually reread my patriarchal blessing, the notes that were taken of my setting apart, and all the little notes people have written me before and during the MTC. I need to remember that I CAN do this...and I shouldn't have these thoughts because they are not from God. The work really is progressing..for heaven's sake, we have..1...2..7 BAPTISMS within the next month! The adversary is just trying to get me down..entertaining my mind of missing home and what life would be like if I was home. No offense, but after I think about it...life would be pretty lame at home. NOTHING compared to what life is like, here, right now. I'd never forgive myself if I went home anyways...and I never would of course, so nobody worry!! When the work gets tough, and it is hot hot HOT outside, and your bishop tells you not to invite anymore colored people to hear the gospel and only speak to Italians...COME MAI?! But President Wolfgramm basically told us to stick it to our Bishop and to keep doing EXACTLY what we are doing. And so...we shall.

Today was just a BEAUTIFUL day...I'm sending home more pictures and a few scrapbook things to save. We went to the Ferrari Museum today...Yes my masculine friends, THE Ferrair Factory and Museum...every single make of car since Ferrari even started. I wasn't too thrilled to go yesterday, but it ended up being amazingly fun! I got a LOT of amazing pictures...so I am excited to send them home! I never really understood why guys liked cars so much...I remember being with one of my guy friends and we took his truck to get fixed and there was this SUPER nice car, and he almost drooled over it. I didn't get it...but all I could do was think about that time today and how he would have LOVED this experience...hahah ANY ONE OF THEM haha Be jealous :) just kidding... But I just enjoyed the museum, and just became refreshed. Sorella Johnson and I bought a tortello this morning (which are DELICIOUS...they are like a turnover with this tart jam inside...I'm pretty good friends with the women who own the bakery shop haha...whenever they see me they always wave and call out whether or not there are tortelli today) and then for lunch we splurged and split a pizza bianca con broccoli e salsiccia...NEW FAVORITE DISH!! As well as a canoli...oh. my. heavenly. days. It was absolutely heavenly...we are pretty good friends with the pizza guy too. Anyway, as I sat thinking about the day..I realized and remembered that there is SO MUCH work for me to do, and I'll NEVER have this chance again. As quoting Matt Stone <a mission is where you learn to live your life> Matt, thank you SO MUCH!! This is truly what picked me up. Am I going to let what others say get me down? Am I going to let a little...okay a LOT of heat get in the way of the work...and even homesickness? NO!! I was given comfort and blessed to walk RIGHT THROUGH homesickness, and so I shall. And most of the sisters say that the 2nd and 3rd transfer are usually the hardest...but it is all worth it in the end.

We have seen so many miracles this week...Eva is an investigator from Cuba...and she has been taking the lessons from us. Her sister, Gricelia, is already a member and asked us to start teaching her right away. Their other sister, Ursula, is learning too...but she is up in the mountains for a while for medical reasons...but she IS reading the Book of Mormon everyday. Gricelia is really the only one who speaks Italian, but it is VERY slurred...like the Cuban Spanish. Eva only speaks Spanish, so Gricelia has to translate sometimes. We give the opuscolo's in Spanish and do our best to communicate. Oh how I WISH I had learned how to learn a language when I took all those classes in college and high school...and then I could speak the Spanish language!! Nonetheless, it really is true that the Spirit still communicates. All in all, we spoke about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and about the Holy Ghost, and Eva started crying saying that she KNEW the Book of Mormon was true and that the things we are teaching her are true too. She is going to be baptized on the 6th of August...and she is more than ready. I LOVE teaching them and they just love us...Gricelia just thinks my laugh and HUGE smile is great...it always cracks her up and she calls me her little rascal. I'm the <spunky one> out of the companionship...haha...nothing has changed my friends...if only, gotten better hahah!! And everyone just, I don't really get it...but I guess my cheeks are just like baby cheeks and everyone I meet just always pats them saying how cute they are...boh? I dunno...but it makes me laugh and them too...so it's okay. So Eva is doing amazing. 

We have had to move Seth's baptism to the 30th...scheduling for the building just wasn't working out, and I have to go to the Questura this weekend to finally get my Permesso...so I think it will be for the better. He will be getting baptized with Felix and they are SO excited for that. AND the Anziani have been teaching Anna's son, Etore....Anna was my first baptism...and he is getting baptized on the 6th. THE LORD WORKS MIRACLES!!

With the miracles also come the tests of faith. Anita and Victory are VERY difficult investigators. They are so willing and trying so hard to do what the Lord asks them...but they are seeing no fruits. They have NO MONEY and NO DOCUMENTS and their faith is really being tried. We came to the lesson and Victory was dead drunk...2 full bottles of STRONG WINE completely gone. He drank because he was too broken inside and wanted to forget everything because they have no money and Anita was being too stubborn and thinking about <going to work> again...(her work being prostitution) She never went, and Victory said he would dump the rest of his wine out later. This, as a missionary, is when you don't really know what God wants you to do. You can't help them financially or physically...all you can do is promise them Spiritual comfort. Come to think of it, Anita had an AMAZING dream. And she told us the lesson before yesterday night...She was sitting on a park bench holding a book (I am pretty sure it was the BoM) but she didn't know. Then someone told her to turn around, and it was a man in a white robe with long hair. She didn't know who He was and so she asked Him...she wasn't scared at all...but comforted. All the person said was <I Am that I Am> and He repeated it again....(When she told Sorella and I this...I couldn't believe it....) She asked Him what that meant, for she had never heard that before...and He said that she would come to learn it in time. He said that He was proud of her for what she was doing...for preparing to be baptized...and that her choice would bring her more happiness then she would EVER know. And then she woke up. She woke up to the picture of the Savior hanging over her bed, and thought to herself...that looks like the man in my dream...But she didn't think it was possible. She then looked at us, and I just looked at her and asked for a minute to find something in the scriptures. Exodus 3....when Jesus Christ gave the name to Moses to declare unto the Hebrews as to who sent him. And with that, Anita BEAMED. She couldn't stop laughing or smiling and how blessed she really felt and how real it was. THAT is what is giving her hope now....and that's all we can give. We just hope and pray that God will guide them to what needs to be done in their life so that they can survive.

How blessed we truly are to live in the country that we do. Italy is amazing...but I couldn't live here for life. The gospel is so strong in America...USE IT and take ADVANTAGE of it. Sometimes we still have things...bordering on apostasy...During Sacrament on sunday, the man blessing the sacrament was taking a long while to start...so I peeked, and there he was, kneeling on the ground...arms raised in the air with his head tilted back...basking in...nothing....and saying the sacrament prayer...APOSTASY!!??!?! I had to repent all during sacrament because I couldn't stop laughing....yeeps. But anyways, we are so blessed and the Lord really does work miracles. We have to remember that we are just doing our best and the Lord will fill in. We can't be supermen and women all the time...our health must be taken care of and then we can work even harder. Learn to love God and see His hands in your life everyday...because I PROMISE it is there! Example one...I dropped my toothpaste lid down the sink today...yeah yeah yeah...and we could NOT get it out. I went to unscrew the faucet underneath..and the pipe was so corroded that it split...in my hands. Dangit. So I'm like WHAAAATTTTT??!!??!?! And my companion and I just started laughing...dun dun duun...we had to call the office. So, I didn't want to talk so I had HER call and I kept working on getting the stinkin' cap out (been working for 20 minutes now) And so I just prayed...<Heavenly Father, I know that you made an axe float for Elijah from just tossing a stick into the river...and thus I know that you can help me get this cap out of the sink...only you know how to do it.> And so I waited...I had tried everything...straws, knives, forks...my own two fingers! But I waited, and I felt that I needed to get 2 sharp cutting knives...the ones with pointed ends. And I had to stick them both down equally and apply equal pressure on both sides....and sure enough...it came right out. Only the Lord could help me know what to do. I tried stabbing the cap with one sharp knife...and that only jammed if for a little. The little ridges caught the bottom of the cap and the equal pressure just helped that much more... This, to me, says that the Lord wants to help us, and He knows EXACTLY what to do...we just have to be willing to calm down and listen.

If it is important to us...then it is important to the Lord.

Until next time,

Love Always,

Sorella Bowman

As I Sit Here...

Wednesday, July 13, 2011 8:14 AM

 

BOY!!  She's on fire.  She has a bit of her mama in her.  I'd be dang upset too.  Read on and see why.....
Rosalee

Buongiorno tutti!

 

So, as I sit here and sweat, and sweat, and sweat, I can't help but be excited for this work. This weather is extremely taxing, and it has been very difficult keeping my body in check. Don't worry Mom, Sister Wolfgramm has been helping me keep balanced. I had to buy peanut butter and gatorade, and I have to eat 4 fruits and 4 vegetables everyday, as well as a vitamin. And water is so important too. But I'm telling you, it is so hot that you don't even want to eat. We shower and sweat for the rest of the day...NEVER is the weather cool. I'm dripping right now as I'm writing and I feel absolutely disgusting...bleh! BUT...I do love Modena and wouldn't trade it for anything. I just feel so blessed to know that you are all in air conditioning, and that is the life that I come from. The Lord really has given us so much!

 

As far as this week goes, we have Consiglio tonight and I am NOT excited. We are basically going to have to break the boxes of the ward here...basically call them on the carpet. It's really sad that we have to go in with our guns up, but I do know that it is a form of righteous indignation. Believe me, I am NOT justifying myself or my companions or the Anziani...the ward really is in the wrong on this one. Basically, after our baptism on the 9th, Bishop pulled me and my companion aside and asked us to start teaching more Italians and stop teaching the Africans. It is a ward goal and since we are apart of the ward, he would like us to participate. They think that we are only teaching Ghaneans and Nigerians because they speak English, and we as missionaries don't want to speak Italian because it is a hard language. Ugh! Just gets me fired up just thinking about it! Regardless, Sorella Johnson took the baptismal forms to be signed, to confirm the baptism and Bishop was so put out and almost didn't sign them because he thought that they were for our other 2 investigators who came for the baptism. Hard to believe...it really makes me so upset. I'm going to mention this in my email to president, but it really is a struggle right now. Also at our baptism of Riche and Anna, Riche had to be baptized 3 times...1st because her hair floated up and the 2nd time because I and another ward member mentioned that her hand was COMPLETELY out of the water. We teach COMPLETE IMMERSION and it's not a big deal in the U.S. if someone says something...Neither of the witnesses saw it, but they re-did it anyways because it had to be done right! Bishop again pulls me aside and basically tells me to keep my mouth shut because it isn't my job. IN the future, even if the new convert has BOTH legs out of the water, it isn't my place to say something. BY GUM IT ISN'T! I just started crying...right there. Working so hard to make this baptism work, preparing my other two investigators for baptism, STRUGGLING to get this ward to support and trust the missionaries...and all I could do was cry. He said that he still appreciated me...but you know, I talked with the ZL about it...and they said that I did the right thing. It IS the witnesses job BUT the ward members should NOT get mad at me because as missionaries, we are there to make sure the work gets done. So tonight, at consiglio...there is a LOT of explaining that will happen.

 

THe thing is, the investigators that we have are ABSOLUTELY SOLID!! Anna and Riche's baptism, aside from the incident with Bishop, was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I have taken pictures and will be sending them home soon! Seth and Felix came to the baptism, and Seth FINALLY decided on a solid date and is SO excited. He is being baptized on the 23rd. With my eyes all red and puffy, the lesson was still AMAZING!! The spirit was so strong! Felix was in the room too, and was so proud of Seth for <finally talking like a man> haha I looked at Felix after a minute and asked him to be baptized on the 30th...he had made the decision to be baptized the week before (something I didn't expect until at LEAST the end of the transfer!!) But I looked at him, and he looked at me and sighed and chuckled <Sistah Bohmahn, you took da wurds right from mai haht. Dat is de date I want> BAPTISM TIME!!! We are now working on getting his family to hear the gospel in Nigeria. He LOVES the idea of being sealed as a family in the Nigerian temple. He shows up EVERY SUNDAY and this last Sunday he showed up in a Suit and Tie!! These investigators are amazing, Mom and Dad...just amazing. Anna is SO STRONG and does more than any new convert I have ever seen. She gave her mother as a referral in Congo and always checks to see if they have called her. We had a ward grill that was a total flop, no one showed up until an hour and a half later...but Anna was there on time and helped Sorella Johnson and myself, as well as the ward activity leader set up. She even had her children do it too. That is what got to me about what my Bishop said to us...right after this wonderful ITALIAN family's baptism...he comes and says we need to stop baptizing africans. Please understand I respect my Bishop, and I love my ward, despite the racism...but a baptism is a baptism, and we are here to bring EVERYONE to the gospel of Jesus Christ...no  matter WHO listens. They want us to baptize more Italians, but they don't even take care of the inactive Italians that they have...lessons to be learned I guess.

 

But anyway, Sorella Johnson and I have 2 MORE baptismal dates for these 2 sisters of a member in the ward. Her name is Gricelia and I saw her one Sunday sitting with two women I didn't recognize. I walked up to them and find that they both just arrived from Cuba and Gricelia wanted THAT WEEK to have an appointment with us to teach them. They only speak SPanish, and sadly, I cannot remember ANY spanish for the life of me...soley Italian. But Gricelia translates and so does the Spirit. They have a baptismal date for August 6th...a goal to reach! Elder Bowman, I am SO PROUD Of you for the work you have done in E-Town...I practically cried when I read your letter...Talking a woman out of suicide is an AMAZING task...and i KNOW you had the spirit of the Lord with you as you taught this woman and saved not only her life, but the spiritual lives of all her friends!

 

I'm sorry to have complained, but I was really low with the mentality of the ward. To be honest, I just wanted my daddy and my mommy and to cry...such a sucker...but I really did!! You are missed!! I am glad that everyone is having such a wonderful time in Idaho...I was really missing it around the 4th! BUT...I am enjoying it here and having the time of my life. I am learning so much and growing so much!! Thank you for the package Mom...I have NOT received it yet, and it probably got in RIGHT after Zone Conference and I'll be getting it next week...don't worry.

 

I promise the work is going well and the work entails EVERYTHING! You struggle with the planting and harvesting, but the effort produces the fruits of your labor. Thank you for all the emails that everyone has been sending..Sister Betty Jo Gillespie's email made me cry...thank you for your conversion story...I FELT the truth of it!

 

This gospel is true...my patience is growing and my love for life and this gospel is EVER increasing. I cannot testify of the importance of a mission in someone's life...I am growing for the better and learning to teach and love just as the Savior did and does. And...I haven't changed as far as being my bubbly self...I still speak out and I am still the strong personality...just more refined I guess? I love who I am becoming and I feel the Lord's strength with me ALL THE TIME!! We got 20 lessons this past week, and are on our way to doing it again! We have a promise that if we do 20 lessons a week, our baptisms will double!! ONWARD, EVER ONWARD AS WE GLORY IN HIS NAME!!!

Love,

Sorella Bowman

"The work is just BOOMING now"

Wednesday, July 6, 2011 10:53 AM

 

Oh my goodness!!

 

I cannot say how relieved I am to have a P-Day today...I KNOW that this transfer is going FLY BY soooo fast!! Already my companion has been here a full week! I just can't believe it. Transfers went really well and we just had to dive into the work. As I think I said last time, we have gained the WHOLE city and we have QUITE a bit of repairing to do. There is a new convert who has STILL not received the gift of the Holy Ghost, but I KNOW that it was divine intervention that she didn't make it to her confirmation on Sunday because she is still addicted to marijuana...and it wasn't caught during the lessons, interviews AND baptism :( I don't know HOW it was missed...her eyes were FIRE RED the day of her baptism. Sometimes, I have learned that there is a need to have optimism, but as well as a REAL sense of reality. Even I knew that she was high..her eyes had that look. But, the missionaries said that everything was fine...who am I to judge? She wasn't my investigator...but after seeing the baptism and just KNOWING that she wasn't ready..I was KICKING myself. So now, I am grateful that the Lord trusts my companion and I enough to find her again and get her path straight.

 

The work is just BOOMING now. It's tough, but time flies by so fast. We haven't done ANY finding work...just biking everywhere and appointments. I am NOT complaining, but I just feel like the Lord is blessing me with so much that I can't keep up! I keep having, well in missionary terms, <nightmares> that I am home and my mission is done...or that I have forgotten an appointment or that President sent me home early and I didn't understand why. Last night I dreamt that I woke up in a hospital (probably because one of our new investigators told us her story of how the gospel became an answer to her prayers for being in a coma for 2 months) and every one was so excited that I was awake. I was too, but I didn't understand why I was in America. And Mom, you kept telling me that I had finished my 18 months and that I was home and completed my mission. I believed you, but I was like...well, why don't I remember any of it?! What happened to all my invesitgators? Did Seth get baptized? Why don't I remember teaching these people that I love so much?! And then you turn and say that I was in an accident and that I didn't remember anything because of it. And next thing I know my whole right side is horribly bruised and my shoulder is completely dislocated and I was sent home because of the accident. DAH?! Of all things, I just wanted to know how my investigators were and how guilty I felt for not writing in my journal every night... The woman that we visited, her name is Angela. Her story is so interesting..and she shares it almost every time. You have to be very blunt with her, but she listens and with our lesson...she finally got the point that even though she experienced this celestial glory type thing...I told her that she would NEVER feel that again unless she was baptized by proper authority. She shrugged it off and said God would give her another chance. I then said that she was been given a chance at life, just as she told us. After this life, God is a just God, but it will be so much harder to learn! What are you going to say to God, as He is giving you this chance RIGHT NOW? You just didn't want to take it? ...That shut her up really fast and just jumped right in...<what do I need to do? How many lessons do I need to be ready to be baptized?> So on and so forth...It's amazing how when you really try to listen, the Lord tells you EXACTLY what to say and HOW to say it. I had been struggling with the language the day before, and with this lesson...the words just CAME. But words don't come unless you are willing to listen. A lot of our investigators just need to know that we love them, and that this just isn't another baptism...another number for the church. I had only been to her house once, and she lives about 13k outside of Modena...we had no map, no directions...and no response from her phone. We left in the morning with only our bikes and helmets, a tortello (which is an AMAZING pastry here that is so delicious...the women in the bakery love me hahha) and my memory of pictures. This transfer has FORCED me to find street names. They don't have street signs like the US...it is just a cement block on the side of the building...hit or miss of finding it. So we set off, and I get to a certain point...right at the beginning...and I panic a bit because I don't remember. And then I tell myself...Sorella, you cannot listen if you are too busy panicking...so I listen and, I kid you not, a loud and pressing voice tells me to go LEFT. I look left, and sure enough it is the street we need to get too. Of course, it's the main road and the ONLY street name that I remember. So as we are traveling, everyone...you know me..I panic a little when I don't know directions to places. And that is with a car AND a GPS system. But here, all you have is a foreign language and your faith to guide you. As we were biking, I was recalling how if the Lord can help the 2k stripling warriors defeat an army...He can help my companion and I find a road, on our bikes, for an investigator who needs this truth. And also, the Lord had stopped the rain that morning..and so I KNEW that He would get me there. All the while, my companion is just trailing along and I am just talking, literally talking with the Lord...well, in my mind of course. I just hear a small voice telling me to keep going straight. And even every once in a while I would hear like <after the bridge go left> but the voice was different...like, I didn't even believe it. And then a more powerful voice, one that was more comforting...I canNOT even explain it...would tell me to keep going straight. And sure enough, I needed to keep going straight. We kept biking and then at one point, the same strong voice said <You will know how to get there from here> And I was like <No! No! No! Don't leave! I'm human! I won't remember!! And I do NOT want to get us lost!> Gosh, this 21 year old missionary with her nerdy helmet and fanny pack begging the Lord not to leave..which He never does in the first place, but like little babies they have to take steps on their own to learn!! And with the <no, no, no> thought, another one came immediately to my mind...that the first time I went to this investigators home, I prayed to the Lord that He would help me remember landmarks and bring the pictures to my mind when I needed them. And right then and there, I said that I was sorry and just pressed forward. And sure enough...we made it there just fine. We made it to the lesson, learned so much about Angela (the investigator in the coma) and learned that the Lord needs us to start from scratch with her. Cè lo facciamo! We can do it! So that is just how blessed I am...as well as picking up street names faster and making faster connections. The Lord is REALLY directing our work.

 

There is so much more happening...Anna and Rishe are being baptized this weekend, as well as a ward barbeque. Next weekend is Seth's baptism (he is still nervous...but the Lord will help him) The week after that Victorty and Joy and hopefully Angela are being baptized, and the week after that Andy is being baptized, and HOPEFULLY the week after that Felix will be baptized. We had 7 investigators at church, and one bore his testimony! We have only been meeting for a week! Amazing. Our work has just taken LEAPS and BOUNDS!! And it is ONLY done by the hand of the Lord..what with learning Italian, speaking Africaan, and just connecting with SO many people....Oh for heaven's sake...I love my mission!!

 

As a missionary...you see SO many things. Both good and bad. At such a young age, I have come to see so much, and realized how blessed we all in America really, really are. We have come to find so many african women who come here in hopes of a solid job and good company, only to find that they are in debt for life and sold into sex slavery. What a way to live? To go to bed in absolute pain...physically and spiritually...spending your nights crying and begging God for forgiveness. KNOWING that you are doing abominable things before the Lord, but you are bound by contract and have no way to eat. To wake up every morning hating yourself because you know what you have to do that night to pay the bills. At those times, it is understandable when these women ask <Where is God?> Truth be told, this is the life of an investigator that Sorella Johnson and I are working with. She is BEAUTIFUL and WONDERFUL...and when we found out what she does, and how much she hates herself...I just wanted to cry. It's a very common practice here...and the women hate it. All she wants is to be clean in the sight of God..that's all that matters to her. And what a BLESSING the gospel is. TO have a testimony and I am called to share the cleansing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ...to know that God is BOUND when we do what He says...to KNOW that my Savior LIVES and that He truly DOES feel every pain that we have. HOW BEAUTIFUL THIS GOSPEL IS!! She looked me straight in the face and with accusation in her voice, about the plan of salvation <HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS IS TRUE?! HAVE YOU SEEN IT? HOW DO YOU KNOW GOD IS THERE?! (in the Celestial kingdom)> I looked at her and said <Because I have prayed about it...I do not need to see things to know that they are true. I have prayed, and God has answered. I do not need to see the sun rise to know that it will...> And with that, it solved her concerns. My gosh, looking back, the Lord has blessed me so much. It really isn't me teaching...I am just willing to open my big mouth and let the words just come...

 

You learn SO many ways to teach here. With Nigerians and Ghaneans, they are your friends for life. You might as well be blood. You have to speak a certain way, and you have to relate life to nature and to creations of the earth...and it fits. The gospel fits everything...or rather, our lives are made to FIT the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I will proclaim it from the mountains to the sea, that my God lives! ANd that His plan is for EVERYONE. Of course people don't listen...but you wait for the ones that will!! You knock casa, or strada, or parco and people will literally stop and stare at you. You smile at them and begin talking...and they are in SOME type of trance. You SEE that they SEE what the Gospel has given us in our life...and then reality snaps back in and they literally shake their heads and life is as it was <No, no. no, Sono catolica> And then it's gone. BUT we can take comfort that there WAS a difference made in someone's life that day...even if they didn't listen to the message. Someday they will....someday they really, really, will.

 

Life is going well, and the relations with the ward is improving. Fratello Pitochi just loves us sister missionaries and brought us a HUGE watermelon on Sunday. It's amazing what a simple Hello can do. Older people feed us and bring us food because that is how they express their love...by all means, I am NOT ashamed to take it. So take care Mom...I really am eating well...but working hard enough to where my weight is in good standing. Night is hard because I crave sugar...but I am getting better...or trying to be haha.

 

Amber...I am SO happy to hear from you! I about cried when I saw you pictures! Every time I pass a baby shop I think of you!! I am glad all is well...I'll write you soon!

Mom....Pictures are COMING! And I mean.,..a LOT of pictures hahah I bought the camera and you said you wanted pictures...so you will be getting them!

Ash...You've got something coming for you....be prepared!!

 

Alright, time is up..gotta go! Be safe, thank the Lord for each day you are given....because it truly is a gift as to how blessed we are.
Love,
Sorella Camille Bowman

And it is time for transfers!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011 7:52 AM

 

Hello everyone!

 

Things are pretty, well actually, VERY crazy right now. We are right smack in the middle of transfers, and EVERYONE in my apartment is being transferred except myself. Sorella Snodgrass is opening a new companionship in Torrino and COMPLETELY starting from scratch...not even an area book to work with. Sorella Laratro is going to Trieste (a city near Venice) and Sorella Willey is going to Verona. As for myself...I might as well be being sent to somewhere else. They are shutting down the second companionship here in Modena of Sorelle and so MY companionship gets ALL of their investigators. I have to teach my companion all about the city!! There WILL be another set of sorelle that live with us but they will be opening a companionship in Reggio-Emilia which is about 30 minutes away by train...what a stinky commute right? But the ward out there INSISTED they have sorelle, so President is going to try it. I am excited to meet everyone tomorrow..well really Sorella Chambers and my companion Sorella Johnson. Sorella Jones and I will be living together again, so I am SUPER excited about that. It's pretty much like Christmas in July because the sisters are leaving behind everything they don't want or need...and it's pretty good stuff! Sorella Snodgrass gave me mints, pens, envelopes, and FOOD! What a great past few days!!

 

I am actually really grateful that I am not being transferred this time. Our investigators are doing so, so, well! I am glad that the ward liked Anna's story. Mom, she truly is an AMAZING example of faith! We taught her the Word of Wisdom today, and she completely accepted it. She admitted that she drank beer and wine, but she knows that if God has commanded her to stop, then she will stop immediately. And right before her baptism too!! I just can't believe it :) We haven't had to do much finding work the past couple days...at least I haven't because I have been biking all over the town. I didn't realize how BIG Modena really is! I got to meet some of the investigators of the other sorelle, and a few of them live over 10 miles outside of town...It's a long bike ride, but it is still beautiful.

 

Time is seeming to go by faster, but the nights right now are pretty hard. We don't get much sleep because it is SO DANG HOT and there is NO air conditioning. Speaking of which, I don't really understand why you and Dad are looking at a pool...it's not even hot there in Utah. It's UTAH for crying out loud!? And I was also curious if there is an Egbert Reunion this year or next...or is everyone just going to wait until Daniel and I get home?

 

Transfers have pretty much consumed the week, even though we do see miracles everyday. The Lord gives you the power when you need to use it and you can't be afraid to tell people the truth. Sorella Snodgrass and I were teaching one of our investigators named Andy, who has been slowly progressing. We were teaching him the Plan of Salvation, and at the end I just felt like I needed to give him the baptismal invite. You have to explain the proper form of prayer and the proper authority for baptism over, and over, and over again here. The investigators do not seem to get it. So, I just dove for it and invited him to be baptized so strongly that I didn't even know what I was doing!? I stared at him straight in the face and he was laughing at first...but then realized I wasn't joking. Then he looked at me and said, <Do you mean to tell me that my baptism is not valid in the eyes of God?> And me <That is EXACTLY what I am telling you> DAH?! What am I doing?! But I held strong and he stopped, and just said, Alright...I will really think about it. MIRACLE?!? Usually he just sloughs us off and is like <alright, alright, I get it, I get it> and schedules another appointment. But this time, it really sank in. God works in really mysterious ways. Sorella Snodgrass was telling me that there was an Elder in Japan who was just transferred to an area and met an investigator who had been meeting with the missionaries for 5 years...and was proud that he was not yet baptized. So this Elder, hearing the man brag...looked at him STRAIGHT in the face and in the Japanese command form a king would use when talking to a slave he said basically <YOU BE BAPTIZED, PIG!!> The man's face got SUPER red and he and the Elder just stared at each other for 10 minutes...Then the man jumped up and said <FINE! I WILL BE BAPTIZED!!> Elder: <GREAT!> Man: <WHERE?> Elder: <THE CHURCH!> Man: <WHEN AND WHAT TIME?> Elder: <THIS SATURDAY AT 7:00> Man: <FINE! I'LL BE THERE!> Elder: <GREAT!> ...And sure enough, the man was baptized and NEVER left the church! Funny enough, this man was an instrument in converting a young punk that the missionaries had been teaching. This kid would NEVER come to church, greasy, stinky, just a ball of yuck. So the elders asked him for a ride to church one day, and the kid says sure...and while he was already there, he should just come to church. The recent convert man saw this kid, and knew him some how. He walks right up to the punk kid, grabs him by his shirt collar and shoves him against the wall and starts slapping him, telling him that he stunk, he needed to clean up his life, he needed to take a shower, he needed to be better for he was a disgrace. WHAT?!!?!!? The elders are like FREAKING OUT about this time...and then the man leaves! The kid is left standing there like a dog with his tail between his legs. The elders don't hear anything from him that whole week...but on Sunday the kid is clean shaven, hair cut, beard gone and was baptized soon after. Not that I would command someone as if they were a pig, or even slap them silly against the wall...But I do know that sometimes the Lord has us do things that seem out of our character...and yet, they are EXACTLY what the investigator needs to hear.

 

I can't really think of anything else to say...I am just staying busy with teaching our investigators and helping them progress. Understanding really does come through prayer, and the Lord really is there to answer them. I feel bad sometimes because I will say my prayers before bed, and then crawl into bed and just keep talking to Him...I feel bad because I usually fall asleep before I finish the conversation. I know that's a habit of mine...even with people...but I think, well I HOPE, the Lord understands!

 

I am developing and sending some pictures home today. They turned out pretty cool and I am excited to show you a piece of Italy. How is Correne doing with her little baby? Has Autumn had her baby yet? And please tell Jess congratulations for me! And Amber should be due here in about 2 months!! Please ask them how they all are doing and let me know! OH! Since I am staying here another transfer, I might as well give you my apartment address...It's simply:

G.B. Amici 28

Modena, Italia

41100

 

The gospel is true and the Lord really is preparing this land to EXPLODE! I love and miss you all...please fill me in on what is new! Email time is like the highlight of EVERY missionaries week!

 

Con amore sempre,

Sorella Bowman :)

I almost forgot...HAPPY BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK GRANDPA EGBERT!!

"It is BAPTISM TIME!!"

I'm so glad I didn't have to go all week without hearing from her.  Sounds like things are just hopping along.  I sent her a package and it seems as though she hasn't received it yet but...THERE'S A JAR OF JIF IN THE PACKAGE!!  Hahahaha!  That might qualify me for the "best mom" award...what do you think--just read on and see???  Lol!

Thanks for you love, support and prayers,

Rosalee

Thursday, June 23, 2011 10:20 AM

 

HELLO EVERYONE!!

 

This week we did a scambio (exchange) and our P-day was moved to today, Thursday. I had the opportunity to stay here in Modena and be the Senior Companion, and Sorella Snodgrass went to Verona. Yes, that is right...Verona...home of Romance and Romeo and Juliet. So...guess what we did for our P-day? Yes, that's right, we spent the whole day in BEAUTIFUL Verona. Don't worry, I have taken TONS of pictures and cannot WAIT to send them home!! We started the day early, catching a train at 8:15 in the morning and arriving around 10:30. As we see our companions, everything is great and off we go to a bancomat (ATM). As we arrive there, Sorella Snodgrass says she has a surprise for me...and she hands me a tinfoil package thing. As I go to open it...what do I behold?! A REAL PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWHICH!!!!! She put extra peanut butter on it...it was REAL american peanut butter...JIFF...oh man, I almost cried!! She put peanut butter on both sides with this delicious jelly in the middle...oh what a great thing. I took pictures...don't you worry! We walked through Centro and saw the BEAUTIFUL arena, Juliet's Wall, Juliet's Balcony, as well as the statue (Ash-I was thinking about you the WHOLE TIME while looking at these things! You're loved!). We also saw Gucci, Dolce&Gabana, and Lui Vitton stores...(Katelyn-I was thinking about you during this time too...there are these pericchieri all over the town which are custom designed fur coats and clothes...I couldn't help but think of you. I couldn't get a picture because...well...there was a very intimidating man behind the window, so I didn't chance it). We walked around and inside this GRAND castle and took pictures above the river. The pictures turned out so fun and I am just so excited to send them home. We got some gelatto, and of all places, we ate lunch at McDonald's...cheap and easy...unfortunately. But funny enough, Fratello Bulloch was totally right...the McDonald's are SO much fancier and the food is SO MUCH BETTER...it's great! We get icecream there quite frequently, at least the one here in Modena. But as we were finishing the day, there was a teenage girl sitting next to us...in all black, smoking a cigarette, drinking tea and something else...probably coke, and scars all over her arms. It totally broke my heart...she had headphones in her ears, so we just waited. Then dear little Sorella Smith just started talking to her...she is 16...and really wants to believe that there is a God...but so many bad things happen that she has no hope. She is from Germany, as well as her two friends...but throughout the lesson, through the cigarette smoke and sadness, she was BEAUTIFUL to me. I could FEEL how much Heavenly Father loved her and just wanted her to know how special she was. This girl was brilliant and had so much to offer, but shielded herself behind all the sorrow and frustration she has in her life. We got her and her friends to make a commitment to pray...just see if there really IS a God. Of course we KNOW there is, but it really is amazing that the simple questions we don't even THINK TWICE about...really are serious questions for others throughout the world. (shakes head...) Man, it is AMAZING. 

 

But, even with the scambi, I realized how much I love this city...how much I really do enjoy teaching here in Modena.That's relaly exciting about the vinegar, Mom! I'm glad Josh took a picture...MODENA PRIDE! I have stayed away from pigeons, and I actually took a picture of some today...how many we really DO have. They flop all over the place...partly because it's really, really hot now...we sweat like crazy EVERYDAY. Cold showers are blessings and you never really get dry from that point. We have fans going and EVERYTHING...but no relief. I do keep hydrated and I eat...A LOT...so do not worry yourself. We are actually heading to the store after this. Through it all, I don't know, I can't really complain...I'm really loving how things are going right now. :) I'm hoping to stay here...next week is transfers, and President has been doing some crazy stuff lately, so you never know. BUT, I really hoping to stay because...

 

Does anyone know what time it is?? Yep, that's right...it is BAPTISM TIME!! With the investigators that we have been teaching, Richard has accepted baptism for the 23rd of July, Seth has accepted the 16th, and remember the woman we met in the park..how if God gave us a second chance we would talk to her? Well, He did...and she is SOLID. She is going to be baptized on the 9th of July as well as her 8 year old daughter. I cannot TELL you how many miracles we are seeing right now. The lesson with Ana, the one who will be baptized on the 9th, oh my gosh she is absolutely wonderful. Everytime we go to a lesson she cries, just knowing the truth of it. Reesha (8) and Chris (6) are her two children who participate with their whole little hearts. We went to an appointment just yesterday, on scambio, and they were SO excited to see us. We used my beautiful puzzle that explains the plan of salvation, and had the children put the pieces together. Once it was completed, Ana cried and wanted to draw out the plan so that she could make it bigger and her children could see it everyday. She talked about how beautiful it was and that she had never seen it, but she knows that it is true.

 

The Lord just blesses us with so much, and yet, I feel like I do so little!! I look back throughout my days and I can't believe I am already finished with my first transfer. Are you kidding?? Time is just flying by and I am really getting into the swing of things. Although, it really is true what they say...the days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days. But you know, this week has taught me that I really am capable to do this work. I have been Senior Companion this week and I was TERRIFIED. I would be in charge of the phone, appointments...everything...leading on bike..(yipes!?) But after this scambi...I am just so happy. I LOVE talking with people on the phone! We were in the elevator the other day to go downstairs and pick up some pizza (yesterday with Sorella Smith) and someone called me and had a total conversation in Italian, and I understood everything. I hung up the phone and Sorella Smith goes <Sorella, you just had a conversation in Italian over the phone...you realize that, right?> And I pause, get a HUGE smile on my face, and YEAH!! I JUST DID, DIDN'T I?! Goodness, tender mercies for sure!!

 

I am trying to think of what else I could possibly share...Oh! Mom, I HAVE bought a new camera already that was a while back. I am going to go grocery shopping and I might have to use my personal funds because RIMBORSI (refunds) have not come in yet. Thank you so much for being so on top of things! I can't believe you are going to make cupcakes for all those girls...I am sure they will love you for it. I was thinking the other day about packages...I really, really think it would be best if you could send my gloves, coat, boots, a scarf, and one of my warm hats to Italy. If anything, just the coat and boots and gloves.  Things are SOOOOOO expensive here that I don't care if they have to take money out of my account. The shoes (sorry Katelyn) are NOT well made and are ridiculously expensive. So I'd rather have a solid pair that will last me through the winter. They don't get worse than Rexburg, so I should be okay with those things. Please, please, PLEASE consider it!!

 

I don't have really anything else to say. I am really loving the ups and downs of a mission. I am learning to not let the little things bother me...truthfully. I just go through life as it is and am ALWAYS comforted that the Lord has a plan for us. He ALWAYS does. We just really have to align our will with His. Yes, I don't understand why certain things have happened, are happening now, and will happen...I but what I DO KNOW is that they ALWAYS work out for some benefit later in life...as long as you keep the Lord involved. I KNOW that the Lord is a God of Miracles and He is just waiting for us to see them and acknowledge them...It's hard...but it CAN be done!! Life is to short to be angry...sure there are times to be sad, but all the better to be healed with. Anger just doesn't account for anything...it really doesn't. I am coming to find myself...recognize my strengths and my weaknesses. Sure, this is strange, but I have found that everytime I talk on the phone with someone, I always leave them laughing. Simply by talking to them! I don't say funny things or anything...but I love the fact that I have been blessed with the ability to leave someone a little happier after talking with them. Not to be prideful, but I am so grateful that my happiness can shine to others. I've never really accepted it before, or rather, never really got it...but I do now. Happiness is contagious...you can change a world with just one smile.

 

Keep pressing forward, I am glad life is going well. Have Cadha give Halle a BOM with her testimony in it...maybe even a picture of them together. One small step can change the course of everything.

 

Love always,

Sorella Bowman