Week 55 - No P-day this week

Monday's Email:

Hi, how are all of you? :)

Alright, so yesterday were the transfers, 14 people are going home and 22 new guys are coming... President and Sister Hansen have told us that we don't have P Day today (we have been working in the office all morning), but we will be able to make a half p-day during the week. So I am just sending you guys this email to let you know that I wont be able to write back today, but I think on Thursday I will be there! I love you guys all so much! You are the best and I don't know what I would do without each and every one of you guys :) :) Stay tuned, I will write like a robber in the night when it becomes possible, so be prepared. I love you guys so much,

Elder Howells

Thursday's Email:

Howdy,
How are you? Happy P-day ;)
I have been crazy busy. But now, the transfers are all over! In my district are Elder Crosby (Brad's CCM Companion), his new comp who he just started to train, and Hermana King, and her new comp who she just started to train. I'm a dad twice now. Lol. My investigators are really good, but we haven't been able to talk to their dad, which stinks, so they still aren't on track because we can't get the dad's permission. I hope you've had an awesome week up till now! 

I love you!

Week 54 - Deotero

Hey pops, how are you? :) I have had an awesome week, full of good things. We also had some great lessons yesterday. Here's a sad story - during the first session on Sunday Morning, a gal in our ward came to us and told her that her brother was in the hospital and that he was dying, so she asked us to give him a blessing. We went, Elder Coronado annointed, I sealed and blessed, and I felt no reason, no prompting to say, be healed, I just felt that he needed peace as he painfully was slipping into the Spirit World. So, that is what I blessed him with. Yesterday, the same Sister came to us, and asked us to visit her brother again. We went, and he was in a bad way. His son, my age, was worried to death, trying everything to keep his Dad awake, gentely carresing his face and fanning him to keep him cool, without tiring. The dad asked us what he needed to do to be okay. We taught him about repentance. He thought about it while suffering failing lungs and heart and the associated side effects, and we helped him find peace with his questions. That was the worst, but at the same time the best experience of my mission. To see someone, someone who was haunted by his past, about to enter the next life, scared to death. To see the sweet fruits of the repentance that he was attempting, helping him understand that the Grace of Christ will cover him, after all that he could first do. Then, to leave, knowing that I won't see him alive again, was hard, but at the same time rewarding. He was trembling with pain, his body was spasming due to the organ failure, and his family emotionally heartbroken. However, that one visit taught me more life lessons that I could've hoped for. We have to live our lives in a way so as to be at peace in these moments of trial. Stand in holy places, choose the right, be just and fair to all, loving others, sharing testimonies, and doing all that is praiseworthy and of good report. If done, we will be able to slip into an eternal rest with faith and with hope, knowing that we've done our best, repenting when needed, helping always, and having lived the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That visit, I have no doubt, was a blessing that the Lord had in store for me. The man's name was Deotero.

I planted 10 pumpkin plants in my front yard about a month ago, and they should grow pumpkins in the next month, so that's exciting. 

I love you all!  Have a great week.

Elder Howells

This family are members of the Colon Ward in Cochabamba

Brad and his companion

Brad's Pumpkin Patch!

Week 53

This week was quite trunky/home-longing, but still really good. We got a lot done. We had an excellent zone conference, got a bunch of office work done, and on Saturday and Sunday we were able to proselyte. Schweet. The weather is supposed to be heating up but it has been clowdy and rainy for most of the time. Today we played basketball (I played all time D), then we went to a Peruvian Restaurant in my old ward, and now I'm writing. The work is good, we have 2, maybe three investigators with a date for the 29th of October. Whoot whoot. It is true, field work is so much better than office work.

Week 52 - 1 Year Down!

Well, today was a good day, we played basketball. My D game is still strong, but my offensive game has taken a serious blow in this one year offseason I've had. So, I don't contribute a whole lot to my team, but I suppose A for effort. ;) 

I loved general conference! I think my favorite talk, or most powerful for me was by Elder Rasband. You can tell of the conviction of his words, and also by President Nelson, who spoke on joy. I am a believer in the primary scripture he shared, and I think if we could all keep that attitude, life wouldn't be the ¨burden¨ that we sometimes mistakenly take it to be. 

This week was good. I really enjoyed, a lot, lot, lot of work in the offices, a leadership council, and I had to give a powerpoint presentation in front of all of the zone leaders in the mission and the sister leaders (there are 30 of them), the assistants, and President and Sister Hansen. This was Thursday morning. So that was fun. lol. Then the conferences were a huge spiritual recharge that I needed. The offices, where there is almost no study time or proselyting time are not a very spiritual orienting place, but the conference was awesome and gave me what I needed. 

HUMP DAY BABY, BOOM (Hump Day is your one year mark). One hump down, one to go!

I love you all.  Have a great week!