Fresh fish! We catch 'em, you buy 'em!

I can just feel her excitement in her letter.  If anyone wants to email her I'm sure she'd LOVE it but don't be disappointed when you don't get a personal letter back as her time is so short but I can assure you that she reads them all and LOVES them.

camille.bowman@myldsmail.net

 

Wed, Sep 28, 2011 at 5:25 AM

I have to chuckle to myself as I walk the streets every morning...I see the pescherie with fresh fish lined EVERYWHERE and the smell is exactly that...fresh..fish!! If any of you remember Aladdin, as Jasmine is walking the streets, you see a merchant wave a HUGE fish in front of her face and say the line I put for the subject heading...And, it is a big joke between my siblings and I that, for YEARS I always thought he was saying "Fresh fish! We catch 'em for your..."

 

Bottom's up, ladies and gents! I am pretty sure I mentioned last time where I was going..but I am here in the port of BEAUTIFUL Genova. I cannot TELL you how much I LOVE this city!! It is EXACTLY how I picture Italy to be. There are hills EVERYWHERE and houses on the hills. One of these P-days, when we have money, we are going to go to Cinque Terre and see all of the beautiful places there. There are bakeries on almost every corner and fish markets too. Our apartment it just amazing...SO MUCH NICER than Modena's. Our ward is absolutely astounding. I'm really in shock as to how much people are willing to talk with us and how many referrals we have received from the members. Mom, there is a woman in our ward from Peru and she thinks that YOU might have had a connection with her sisters...years back...on YOUR mission. When she heard your name she said it SOUNDED familiar, but she had to ask her sisters. Isn't that GREAT?! So, I am trying to brush up on my spanish because a LOT of people speak that here. Many people from Ecuador and Peru...it's pretty great.

 

We already...OH!! MY companion! She is just wonderful! They have COMPLETELY changed the MTC program...I am so jealous because the material we receive now is practically the golden plates for missionaries. We jump right into teaching...our heads have kind of been spinning this week because we have absolutely NO money and we live out of our area..taking the busses gets pretty expensive...but we make do. Her name is Katie Nilson, and she is from Alpine, UT. Crazy huh? Her dad is a stake president over there..maybe you have heard of the family? Anyway, she's great and can speakk the language...so we just jumped right in. We ALREADY have a baptismal date and I am just PUMPED for this next transfer. Mind you, we are DEAD TIRED at the end of every day...living in a busy city drains you! But, there is such a good feeling here that I am really pleased with the rate things are going :)

 

Oh my heavenly days...what news about Hampstead. Mom, if you can, put JT on the email list...I'd really love to hear from him, seriously!! And I am so glad that all went so beautifully in Hampstead. I'm sure you sent our love, right?

 

So, the weeks consist of us just trying to figure out our bus schedules, what busses to take, and the hopes of not getting lost. WHICH we have already managed to accomplish (the getting lost part) but we have great Anziani that take care of us. There are 8 of us here, out DL works with the other Sorelle...and...well...this will be an experience...that's for sure. But Anziano Pitt and Anziano Romeo (Italian) haha, they call us every night to make sure that we get home safe...after our getting lost ordeal.

 

The city is WREAKING with history and I cannot WAIT to send home pictures. I guess there is a gelatteria here in Genova that you have to take an elevator to get to...because as you are buying the city, you can look out the window and see a HUGE panorama of the city with the sea. Oh mamma mia I just can't wait!! Yeah, we go running in the morning and the smell around 6:30 is fresh bread and pizza. Around 7:30/8:00 it's fish...HUGE fish and little fish and things I have never seen before...haha such an adventure.

 

That's about all I can think of right now...things are going super well and I hope to hear from you all soon!!

 

Con Amore,

Sorella Bowman

Oh What A Beautiful Morning...

Oh what a beautiful day!!

 

Buongiorno tutti!! The weather here in Modena is finally changing! The air is crisp and clean...truly reminding me of my mornings in good ol' Rexburg Idaho. To be truthful, I find myself wanting to wake up to the smell of pancakes when I would spend the weekend with Gramma and Grampa in Ashton. The weather is just great...I find myself getting REALLY excited for fall weather here! But, as we know, with weather changes comes...well...health changes. I've been out of it pretty much since Saturday. I am just so dang tired! We have ALL come down with something...sore throats and stuffy noses and achy bodies...we have to sleep a lot. But, you know me, I felt bad not really doing anything, so I made chicken noodle soup for everyone yesterday. I must admit, I really felt like my dad...a little something here, a little more of this there...tasting until it turned out really good. See Babo! (Babo=Daddy in Italian) I HAVE been watching!! I didn't boil the chicken in the water though...I thought I should have, but it grossed my companion out so I just cooked it up in the pan and then added it...Despite that fact, I thought you would be just so proud! haha to be totally truthful, I have been cooking quite a lot this week. We made pancakes one morning for Sorella Silva's birthday...and they were NOT like American pancakes...but she still liked them...I made homemade syrup..which turned out pretty tasty. I also made a tiramisu for her birthday cake which turned out DANG good also...Let me just say...I've got a few things up my sleeve when I come home :) I have also discovered a new love in the mornings...my companion is really into natural healing (yes, always reminds me of Aunt Claudia) but I have taken a liking to peppermint oil...Katelyn (during college days) would always rub it on my temples to get rid of my headaches and I forgot how much it calms me down...But Sorella Smith has been helping me calm down at nights with the oil, and warm milk with honey in the mornings. Now now now, when I say "calm down" it just helps me focus on ONE THING because at night...your mind is ALWAYS going on what you have to do next! But for the mornings with the milk, it is actually helping me curb the cravings with my hypoglycemia. Just having a thick glass of milk is REALLY making a difference. I added a little bit of cinnamon and nutmeg this morning...smelled just like a cinnamon roll. ..Haha holy moly, I really sound like my Dad's emails...hahah but heck, I'm in Italy right? I gotta share SOMETHING about the food!

 

Gramma, thanks for the updates about baby Isaac...he's still in my prayers. Also, can we have a family reunion the July AFTER Daniel and I get home too? For Heaven's sake I'll just miss the reunion by 2 months!! THink about it and let me know please! Ams..Thank you for the pictures! Your little boy is just beautiful! The pictures come REALLY HUGE though and I can never see the whole thing :( but from what I CAN see...I can't WAIT to meet the little tyke!!

 

So...you know how last time I had a feeling that the Lord was preparing me to do something really big? And I didn't know what it was? Well...I was right. Sunday night, my companion and I were guessing on where we were going to be transferred with this upcoming. We actually knew last Monday that President was shutting down the Sorelle here in Modena...there is just no cooperation with the leaders. So, we've had to keep our mouths shut this whole time...and Sunday night we could have a little fun guessing where to go. Sorella Smith guessed Trieste, but had a feeling that Como was just around the corner. And look here, she IS headed to Como!! Yes, the beautiful lake everyone talks about AND Swiss chocolate? It'll be a blast. She'll be traveling by boat, bus, and walking. As for me, I just looked at the map and guessed that I would be going to Genova and training...again. I just knew it! But I had to wait till the next morning. President calls and asks me to go and open Genova and that I would find out who my companion is on Thursday. Yes, I'm training...and opening Genova. Genova has been closed to sisters for the past year and a 1/2. So it is up to my companion and myself to set a good name for the city. There will be another companionship opening with us..Sorella Silva and Sorella Simpkins. It should be a grand adventure. I don't know where ANYTHING is...what ANYTHING looks like...nothing. So I would say this is a granchè (a big deal). From what I know about Genova is that it is BEAUTIFUL, right by the sea. They eat a LOT of fish, and Spanish is really spoken there in the city. Time to pick up another Book of Mormon...in another language! Gotta renew what I have sort of learned! Yipes! Enjoy the pictures when you look up the city on the internet!

 

Speaking of pictures...Mom, I sent a pack of them home last week...have you gotten them yet?

 

I am grateful though...The members we became close with were NOT happy about this..."che peccato!" and we actually had one of our new converts and her sister cry...all throughout the lesson. They were preparing dinner for us, and it was like a funeral dinner! They laughed and laughed once I said that, and it got the ball rolling to laughing again. This may sound prideful, but in our first Zone Conference, President encouraged us to work so well with the people that they would cry when you left the city. And I strove for that...to make a difference in the ward and with the people around me...And well...it did. Little Riche was bawling when we went to say goodbye to Anna and her family...Anna felt awkward because Riche was crying so hard....but it is so great that we can write to all these people. Blessings!!

 

I look back on my life leading up to my mission and I am humbled with situations like these. I was so willing to give this up because I wanted something completely different. I knew I needed to go on a mission...but I wanted to get married instead. Dah, the Lord's work will ALWAYS be done. And so I sit here, I just think...who am I to deny the Lord in using me to do His work? Look at everything He has for me to do. I'm lucky I didn't get struck by lightning, or have an experience as Alma did! Struck dumb and chastised for denying what I knew I needed to do. A situation in where I wanted to have my cake and eat it too. Meh (little smirk on my face) I WILL have my cake and eat it too...just about a year's time from now! Haha :)  I am so grateful to be here on a mission and to really grow and stretch myself. I am happy to say that I KNOW I won't be returning as the same person I left...and that's a good thing. Sorella Smith cracked up and said the next thing to come will be a traveling Sister...going from coppia to coppia throughout the whole mission. It HAS happened in other missions...I just throw my hands up and say "boh"...the Lord is capable of anything and everything!! So it's out of Modena at 5:00am tomorrow morning!!

 

As far as Dina is concerned..we lost her. The cheating was too much for her and she asked to be left alone. We left a note in her mailbox saying goodbye..and we can only hope for a brighter future. She was SUCH a wonderful lady...and it makes my heart hurt to have lost her this time. You just HATE it when you think about the situation, and the Adversary shares his little victory cry in making you think he won this time. But, the adversary NEVER wins...the Lord has bigger and better plans...we just have to plant the seeds first.

 

I hope you get my letters well, and I would say I apologize for them being so wordy..but I am not going to...There is just TOO much to write!

Until next time,

Sorella Bowman

 

p.s. This email seems really short...but...it's really not...Oh well! Next week there will be a LOT to share I'm sure! haha

I guess there is a first for everything!

Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 4:56 AM

 

Ciao carissima famiglia e anche miei amici,

 

Amber! CONGRATULATIONS with Baby Jack!! I feel like an Aunt already!! He is BEAUTIFUL, and CHUBBY, and just WONDERFUL!! I can't wait to meet the little tyke! Good work keeping yourself healthy...9.4 pounds..you had a GENUINE bowling ball!!! Congrats!! :DDD

 

SO, my letter this week is going to ring true...this week really has been a first for EVERYTHING!! Let me start with the Thursday scambio to Firenze (Florence). No, I didn't get to see the Duomo or the leaning tower of Pisa...that will have to be saved for another day. But I did get to realize how SMALL Modena is! I was trying not to have anxiety that place was so huge! The saddest thing, when I arrived at the sister's apartment...they have over 200 families inactive in their area...Milan has over 400. The adversary is working SO HARD..and I'll elaborate on this more later. Anyway, I had my first bite of brie cheese (snicker) not my favorite...as well as eating a RED orange! Not blood oranges, but literally red oranges. And they were DELICIOUS!! While I was there in Firenze, we rang a citof and this man pokes his head out the window, looks at us, and lets us in. As we climb the stairs and reach his door...he opens it (a man looking like, well a mix between Sasquatch and Santa Clause) and says <Hi!> I look at him, ask him in Italian if he speaks English...he nods his head...and what the heck..I start ahead extending an invite in Italian. You can't blame me! People here say they speak English adn so you go off and then they look at you like you are crazy! Anyway, I continue, he lets me finish...and then he steps out of the doorway and in perfect english he says <Well, anyway...back to the English thing>. My companion just rolled...saying how I should have just seen my face! I wasn't expecting that at ALL!! Come to find out, he wasn't interested in our message...but it was nice to talk to fellow americans...he's from Florida on vacation with his wife and friends. There's a first...

 

Another first...We did our service opportunity on Friday and we were just starving!! We went by McDonalds and got a small soft serve cone...it was SO HOT and we hadn't had anything sweet since..well..forever. As I am sitting there, our stomachs are rumbling...and Sorella Smith asks if I have ever had a Big Mac. Yeah, surprise, surprise my answer was no! She about flipped! She bought one right there and we split the dang thing. So, my first Big Mac ever was in Europe, in Italy, on my Mission. hahah go figure..Oh! And I also had my first REAL African meal...Felix knew how much I wanted to try it and so he worked ALL DAY on Saturday to prepare FooFoo and Egosee Soup. It turned out really good...I didn't eat a WHOLE bunch because I know it stops you up...but he was so proud of us white girls eating it...You grab handfuls of it, and form it into little balls, dip it into the soup and swallow it whole. I tried rolling it between my palms to make a ball and he said I had to stop...Only the Grannies do it that way. YOu just squeeze it between your hands like to make a roll and go forward. I couldn't swallow it whole...so I chewed it...He was pretty shocked with that...but...he was still proud just the same. Seth was there too...and he just felt so bad for us. He doesn't like foofoo and so, against our will...LITERALLY he went and bought us pizza too!!! SO we took the pizza home and ate a little for lunch the next day...They feed us WAY too much...but they love it anyway. So that's my food firsts!!

 

Another first...this past week as I returned home from scambio...I realized that we had only accomplished 6 lessons! THat night we did some major calling and within 2 days we were going to accomplish 20. It wasn't crazy and we were going to accomplish it!! Come to find out...some things happened and we didn't accomplish 20...but we DID double our lessons..and that's okay with me. Sunday evening we had to cancel 4 lessons...because...well...I got into my first major bike accident. No really, it could have been really, really bad. The Lord was protecting me because I SHOULD have been hit by a car AND split my face...literally. BUT DON'T WORRY!! I am okay now...just really, really, sore and VERY bruised. Sorella Wolfgramm considered me her miracle Sunday night. As I was recooperating at the casa, all I could think about was...<Well, I wonder what my mom would do if she knew that I was in bed recooperating from all this mess..while everyone is dancing around the kitchen eating tacos...and just coming home from Church>. Sorella Smith was just amazing...she recounted the whole story, because quite honestly...I don't remember it. So here's the scoop... 

      As we were coming home from our lesson with Seth and Felix, my bike got it's 2nd flat tire. Okay, had to cancel one appointment across town so that we could switch bikes. We got home and I decided to use Sorella Smith's old bike..which our bike man said was pericoloso, but I didn't really understand why. I knew the brakes weren't that great, but I tested them and they seemed fine. We get to a round about and I squeeze my brakes...I don't remember anything else from here...Sorella Smith says she hears a thump and turns around to see my face: Eyes as big as saucers, my mouth wide open, my hands going out in front of me. I remember falling and then saying to myself, outloud <Gotta get up> My biggest worry was holding up traffic behind me. So, my stuff has flown everywhere and I, well, looking back I feel like a stud because I lifted my bike NO PROBLEM up two levels from the street. There is a step and then another step where we were, and I just moved my bike up that way...yeah, thanks Mark for the weight routine...Sorella Smith grabs everything and just starts laughing. She admitted that she and her family has issues with laughing at people when they get hurt...and by golly...I rocked a doozy! So I start laughing...which is MUCH better than crying. I look down at myself after a few people asked if I was okay...and I start shaking...as the adrenaline wears off. My skirt is completely trashed on the left side....dirt from the road all the way from my feet to my hips. My left wrist is burning and my left elbow has a bunch of dirt. My right palm stings and I notice my left knee is throbbing. I lift my skirt and both my knees are trashed. No blood or anything, but my left knee begins to sweel immediately and my left thigh...shoot, all I could think about was the picture of Grampa Egbert when he fell off the Tarzan in Idaho and slapped his leg against the water...My right knee had road burn all over the place...and it was just a mess. Sorella Smith grabbed everything and we went over to Dina's to clean myself up a bit. The Fabio's were there (Fabios=gay men who are being a BIG issue...I'll explain later) so I tried to clean up as fast as I could. We got home eventually, and Sorella Smith just loaded me up with peppermint oil to stop the swelling and cool down the burns. It worked! We decided to stay in the rest of the night because i was going in and out of shock...The next day I was okay... a little sore...but then yesterday I just had to sleep. I was EXHAUSTED and my arms feel like I was in a boxing match. My knees are okay despite the deep violet color on my left, and my thigh is okay despite the fist size bruises I have (3). So...my first bike accident...there we go.

 

Dina and the Fabios. Let me tell you, we had a lesson with Dina on Wednesday night and there were these 2 gay men there...Supposedly Dina had lost her keys and they let her in the apartment complex. We were supposed to have a dinner appointment with just her, but they wouldn't leave...So another first...I had dinner inside of two gay men's apartment. Dina was there, but we had to eat in their house because her gas went out... Anyway, they are being a BIG issue because we can't get ahold of Dina anymore. We are trying to hard to fight for her...to just teach her!! THese gay men are just ruining her life...because they are hiding the problem, not fixing it. Dina has just discovered that Leo has been cheating on her...and it RUINED HER. And the gay men just made it worse because...well...you know how they work. So right now, as was said in Zone Conference, we are at war. I have NEVER felt the strongest urge to command someone to leave a room...to literally get hence as I felt whenI  was around those..well....men. Dina doesn't see it...and we don't know what's going on. But literally, we are, as missionaries, at war. I feel like a big ball of light whenever we have to encounter these gay men. You lose the Spirit immediately, but yet, you feel like you have so much power because you KNOW that you are living right in the sight of the Lord. It truly is the difference between night and day. So now our lives consist of trying to get ahold of Dina again and showing her the light that she is missing...Please pray for us!!

 

The work is slowing down...and I really feel that the Lord has some BIG changes for me. I keep feeling like the Lord is going to have me open a city...but you never know. At Zone Conference, the Zone sang happy birthday to me because the next conference isn't until December...and afterwards President pulled me aside (people say something that they admire about you...a Wolfgramm tradition) and said that if he could say something, (he couldn't because he'd have to for everyone) he said that I was like an old seasoned Relief Society president, stuck inside a young body. I'll get the job done, and I'll do it how I'm supposed to. He told me not to take it wrong...and thus, I took it as a genuine compliment. I was touched and very grateful!!

 

So remember how I wanted to go on a Mission? And I did go, and I learned a lot, and I am almost halfway through...I hit my 6 month mark in two days? Yeah...remember how I figured a mission would make me be a super mom and make me better than I have ever been? Yeah...I remember that too...I remember my desires everyday...and then I look forward, and remember that they are always changing...but yet the Lord is ALWAYS improving me!!

 

Love you all so much..but I gotta go! Thank you for the letters and emails..please please PLEASE keep them coming!!"

 

Con amore,

Sorella Bowman

"Little by little...I WILL learn this concept!"

Wednesday, September 7, 2011 8:39 AM

My my my...Dear friends and family,

I am COMPLETELY pooped as I sit here and write home. I'm a little nervous to tell everything...compared to my brother's emails, I write NOVELS! But...all of you are used to that I guess...so I'll just continue. I've been doing P-day in a t'shirt and jeans, and let me tell you...it is SUPER weird! We've been running around because this morning, me and my companion, the other two sisters and 4 elders...all of us went out to a member's home to help her in-laws harvest their GRAPE VINEYARD!! Can you believe it?! We harvested GRAPES! In ITALY!! For...well...not for wine, actually for vinegar and marketing...but still!! Their home is beautiful, and it was such a good feeling. Usually it is just them 3 harvesting and with all of us...we got a WEEK'S worth of work finished in less than 3 hours. Afterwards we had an AMAZING lunch that was just so good...but once we got home EVERYONE had to be in a hurry to get things done...we haven't even showered yet for heaven's sake. BUT...we really enjoyed it. All of us were working together and my district leader would lead us in singing broadway songs and random tunes...meh...we're not that shabby!

Seeing the pictures of Amber...GIRL!! I am just smiling SO HUGE!! I have been thinking about you EVERY DAY!! Little Jack-Jack will be here before I even know it!! Less than a week! Dad, your emails ALWAYS make me laugh because they are ALWAYS about food!! YOu would love it here...food is ALWAYS mentioned whenever we go to homes! We actually have an appointment with Dina (who is progressing FABULOUSLY!!) and she is making us dinner. She makes us bread ALL THE TIME...which is SO GOOD with marmelata...what's that in English? Maremelade...oh, right! Jelly! I'm not even kidding...I'm starting to forget words in English...and I CONSTANTLY mix the languages....yeesh! But I Love it just the same! Mom, I LOVED the email you sent and I canNOT believe how BIG Brielle is! AND she is SO BEAUTIFUL!! What a pretty baby!! And about Ruston's little personality..what a joker!

There isn't much to report...but Dina is our main form of progress! She is just doing SO AMAZING!! And she is going to be SO KEY in the work because the day that she could finally come to church, like immediately after we left her house Saturday night she called us...a DOG had bitten her son's calf in the park and had to go to the emergency room for immediate surgery!!??! Are you KIDDING ME?!!? So she didn't leave the dr's until 5 Sunday morning...but we had an appointment with her sunday night that was just great. Tonight we'll be with her AND Leo...and this will be his first lesson. Dina tells us that he calls her whenever we swing by the pizza shop he works at...and it makes him SO HAPPY. He is REALLY SHY...but Sorella Smith and I decided to make an effort once a week to see him. We had been really craving pizza so we went on Monday and became IMMEDIATE FRIENDS with the owners...Franco and Anna. THey are WONDERFUL people from Napoli...we'll get the gospel in their lives somehow...it's just not the time right now :) So the next day was Tuesday and it POURED rain...all day long and there was a sciopero...which is when ALL the trains and ALL the busses go on Strike and nothing functions. So the Reggio sisters stayed home with us and asked if we could do the yummy pizza place for lunch...Sorella Smith and I just sighed but said sure...it really is the best pizza in town!! So we head there and Franco was just SO excited to see us again...and Leo too. I know they love us because they made a pizza out of nutella just for us...and because we blessed it...Franco said it would NEVER make us fat...hahahaaah Sorella Smith and I decided that is a ONCE A TRANSFER treat. It was really great thought...a lot of fun..and a good way to share the gospel. SO after that luncheon, we had to make it to an appointment with Felix. We met at the local McDonald's because it was raining...mind you, this is AFTER we ate a huge and filling lunch..and he INSISTED that we got something to eat. I tried to explain, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. So...we just got some pineapple slices and a milkshake...we were pretty miserable...but what can you do?? You exercise, you eat as best as you can....I guess we just have to be more careful!!

Other than that, things are going well. Yeah yeah yeah...I am preoccupied right now with all the food people are giving us...because I just feel it enter my mouth and go STRAIGHT TO MY HIPS...but...I'm really trying, and that's all the Lord asks of us...pray for me!!

I'm trying to think if there is anything that we could possibly share...the transfer is almost over and I'm pretty sure I'm staying now. The ward still needs a TON of work..our poor ward mission leader is only 22 I just found out...and he is FRAZZLED!! People just are NOT willing to help around here...and it is really, really sad. But what can you do? Please always remember HOW BLESSED you all are in the US...You have NO idea how amazing the church really is around home. Speaking of home, So fun about the salsa and spaghetti sauce...OH MY HEAVENLY DAYS!!! Speaking of spaghetti\pizza sauce...At Quelli Che...where Leo works..they, well actually in EVERY pizza place, they have a pizza with hotdog slices and french fries on it. Gross right? Yeah, I thought so too...but one day it was our "free day" and we decided to split a slice between ourselves. Yeah, you can buy pizza by the slice here or a whole pizza...it's awesome. So we decided to try some...and it was SO GOOD!! YOu would never think right?! Oh man...try it sometime...you just put mozzarella cheese, the hot dogs and fries...and it is AMAZING!! You can't eat too much of it though...only like a slice or so...hahah fun experiences.

Zone conference is next week...we'll be heading to Verona...I think we may do a P-day there soon...who knows. The city is SO BEAUTIFUL and I love it there...so it'll be fun to see everyone again.

That's about it...struggles are here right now...but I'm really doing my best to work through them all. We won't accomplish our goal of 6 baptisms..not even one baptism...sometimes I wonder if I'm not working hard enough...but you can only go as fast as your companion. I pray for a better day each and every night as well as each and everyday and SOMETHING always comes up. The weather has been really messing with our bodies...I've actually had to stay in a few nights because I've been so sick...but we still try our best. I can't focus on what I don't do...only what I HAVE done. Little by little...I WILL learn this concept!

Okay, enough rambling...miss you all and hope to hear from you all!!

Con amore,

Sorella Bowman

"I am finding things in my life that...you just have to laugh about."

Wednesday, August 31, 2011 10:12am

Hello friends and family,

There is not much to report today...this week has been pretty calm. To answer your questions Mom, all I did to my hair was a trim and reshaped the layers. I do NOT plan on cutting it short for at least the next year...don't worry.:) Now for the fun stuff...

When people tell you that a mission is the best thing you could ever do...they are right. Sure, I'm being a little selfish right now...but I am learning so much about myself through others and learning so much of what I am capable of. It's just so much better to look at life that way. You have to stop looking at what you lack, and really look at what you accomplish. I had to call the Mission Mom this week because I was just such a mess within my own thoughts...I needed a mom to talk to! I felt, that as a trainer, I just wasn't doing my job! We weren't talking to so many people, we were inside quite a bit, and things were just starting to get to me. In all honesty, I felt like maybe I wasn't doing my job because I am not really that stressed! Sure, there are pinches, but I am actually ENJOYING myself...and yet, working in a different way. We stay inside to make up time to study, because with the weather changing, Sorella Smith can't get up. She was flat out the other day...Monday morning...and she just couldn't move. So, instead of doing certain things that we would normally do...I felt that we needed to stay inside and prepare HER for the lesson tonight. She had become frustrated with me because I wouldn't let her teach....and yet, I got frustrated with her because I WOULD give her opportunities to teach...and she wouldn't take them. As she vented her feelings to me...I was, honestly, proud of myself for not saying anything. I actually felt a little like Dad when he gets his feelings hurt...the tight lip and everything...and I just said "I need a minute" and left the room to pray. We both calmed down, and no feelings were hurt...and the idea the next day to do Roleplays with her...came to me. And with that, we realized where we really were both lacking and it was a struggle, but it truly brought miracles. I am getting better at holding my tongue and not getting so frustrated!! It's WONDERFUL!! I really feel like I'm developing the patience that I have always desired. I mean, sure we stay in quite frequently, but I have felt, time and time again, that my companion is my work right now. She can't speak the language, and yet, when we went over the lesson for Monday night...the Spirit was SO STRONG because we had practiced and we were able to teach together. Before we had left for the lesson, I was almost TRYING to make myself feel guilty because we are moving at SUCH a different pace...but I couldn't. We prayed as a companionship yesterday, to see if ALL THE TIMES WE MISS CASA are really what the Lord wants...and, surprisingly, it is. The phrase (you can't run faster than you have strength) is totally true. I am SO TIRED at the end of everyday, but yet, it is more of a mental tiredness...and it's good growth. My companion is truly coming along so well...verb conjugations and everything...such leaps and bounds.

I am finding things in my life that...you just have to laugh about. I'm learning how to feed my body and really receiving revelation about this hypoglycemia. The Lord really did send Sister Smith to me because of her illnesses, she really knows a LOT. She just found out today about my issue and she just says "THat makes SO MUCH SENSE now!" Oops...just slipped my mind. So we are trying, together, to eat better and have less sugar...only one day a week. And by heaven, it is WORKING!! I don't feel AS TIRED and I find things that are better for me...and I just FEEL better. SO that is something I have always wanted help with, and I think I am finally getting it. She teases me for the <gerbil food> that I bought today...but I have to get my fiber in SOMEHOW!! We were at a member's home on Monday, teaching their neice about the church (the miracle lesson) and they HAD to feed us dinner. We tried to refuse, but they take no...as..well...not an answer. So, the sister comes out with this plate....like huge plate...half of white rice and half of BUTTERED mashed potatoes, and a teeny tiny piece of some type of meat...as well as this salad that...pretty much tasted like bile, and caneloni...that was burned. We ate it...and Sorella and I had a GREAT laugh about the salad...because we loaded our plates with the leafy greens...and really wished we hadn't. You really have to find creative ways now and then to shovel things down...truly. So...the eating comes difficult sometimes...especially when you work out everyday and your clothes begin to fit a little differently...Yeeeaaahhh...so we are cutting out sugar and really helping each other.

Everything is going well and time and time again the Lord blesses me. It is when I am working my hardest that the adversary brings back memories or even memories of my faults...and I just have to look at how far I've come and rejoice in the life the Savior has blessed me with. Sorella Wolfgramm says that I can't think I've failed...with the situation I am in, I have to think at how far I have come. She said that the Lord has blessed me with experiences with relationships to help me understand people and what they need....This was an inspired statement from her...because it really caught me speechless...truly off guard. But I just truly have a testimony of through trials, we really DO see the blessings...even if it comes much later. You heal, and you can either let yourself heal in a (wow, can't think of the english way to say it...give me a second...) You can heal in a more brittle manner-to allow yourself to be bitter and angry...or you can heal into a more softer, genuine person...And not to toot my own horn, but I just really feel that the Savior has healed me to see life in a more beautiful way and to truly see the glass half full because I can see WHAT happiness is. Life is so much more beautiful when happiness is your perspective. I know it may seem that I am speaking in code...but I am not...just speaking my thoughts as they come.

Seth, Felix...oh man...they are crack ups...and they feed us ALL THE TIME!!! But they are doing great in church as well as Anna, Riche, and Eva. Dina is progressing BEAUTIFULLY...testifying with all her heart that this church is true...she wants to be baptized on the 24th of September!!!! We have a few others that we are working with...but the gospel will always progress no matter what comes your way. I love you all...I pray for you all...Correne, I am so glad that you have answers for your little boy...I have been thinking about you all lately...and answers medicinally are such blessings! I promise the Lord will strengthen you..and just think of what a strong little spirit you are blessed to be taking care of!!
Until next week... Con tutto del mio cuore, Sorella Bowman

p.s. TANTI AGURI A TE! TANTI AGURI A TE! TANTI AGURI CARA MIA SORELLA CADHA!!!!!! TANTI AGURI A TE!!! Of course I didn't forget..have a wonderful birthday little sister...you're a teenager now (tomorrow)...holy smokes!!! Have some fun and eat a piece of cake for me...I'll be thinking of you!!!