So this week was great!

So your week sounds really awesome full of crazy things happening!  Ethan looks so old! Whats happening???  I haven't even been gone that long! Oh I sent dad an email about Wells Fargo. and I am gonna try and use it tomorrow.  Hopefully you'll get the email and figured it out by then, but if not, ohh well!

So this week was great! Its getting hard to look for others to teach because we are focused on teaching the people we have and not doing a lot of contacts. Mas eu sei nos podemos fazer mais, e encontrar mais pessoas quem é precisando o evangelho em a vidas deles. Eu tinha um muito bom experiência esta semana com jejuando! (but I know we can do more and find more people who are in need the gospel in their lives. I had a very good experience this week with fasting!) My Portuguese is coming, not perfect, but understanding teaching and creating friendships is a lot easier now that I can understand more.  I still have a lot to learn and gotta try and be more humble so I can constantly ask the Lord for help. I had a great testimony builder with fasting this week and am gonna continue to see the miracles God is sending me when I do my best. 

We found a person (very golden) and hopefully everything will work out and have her baptism this week!! Oh also we are gonna have a mission conference this week with one of the 70... its will be awesome! But they wont serve us food so it will be a little sad :P haha  Everything is working, everything is growing, and I am way excited to work and grow this week! Hopefully everything vai dar certo!

Oh yeah we went shopping for souvenirs this week since my comp is going home in 2 weeks!! We went in the giant Catholic church next to Mercado Central (a huge flee market thing, Brit will know) We took some awesome pics and the other pic is of a family that is always helping us and giving us food, they are really awesome! And they like sour stuff! :)

The baptism was great and all went well!

08-10-15

The baptism was great and all went well!  Caio brought his family to watch and support him, which was awesome.  It has been a great experience to watch him grow in confidence.  At the beginning, he was really shy and had concerns about being in front of everyone to get confirmed. He has been solid conquering his fears. Also he was not very excited about the idea of serving a mission, but when I was sitting next to him in Elders Quorum he said that he had the desire to serve a mission! It was awesome!  The Lord is always teaching and molding us to change us into someone better.  The only thing we need to do is let Him guide us to those who he has been preparing.

The Lord is just blessing us tons right now!  We got a referral to a Moça (young woman) who is eager for baptism.  One of the few families in our area, who actually seeks to bless lives through sharing the gospel, gave us this referral and said she had others prepared to receive the missionaries... so awesome. The Lord will bless those who try and diligently seek Him. As with anything, only a handful will be prompted to talk with us.  We need to put in our effort to receive all the blessings the Lord has for us. This week was awesome helping everybody and hopefully they can continue seeking the happiness they found.  

A funny story that happened this week was a 9 year old little boys pants fell in the toilet, so he went around church without his pants... aww he was awesome. Oh and I made a mistake.  I had to pay for the package Brit sent, not the one you sent. Thank you both for the stuff, it was awesome! All the candy is almost gone already... it made for good presents. Mas obrigado for everything, it was so good!

I miss you!  The pics are awesome! Ill send some good pics this week!

Love you all com meu Coração! 

Elder Bowden

Oh my comp in the U.S wants to return my suit I think he will call you this week?

Here are pictures with Caio and family

Cashew soda!

Here is the Brazilian version of
Grandpa Arroyo... he has tons of plants and vegetable and fruit trees and animals!.... and some of his kids are crazy so it fits perfectly! haha

This is the bridge of death that is really sketchy and looks like it will break every time we cross it! 

a picture from the doors of the church.

Everyone deserves the chance to become who God knows we can be!

Oh Mom I am gonna try and use some money in like 2 weeks for my comp who will be going home in one month!  It's nuts!  We are gonna be working hard to finish strong and it is his birthday tomorrow so I might give him my package. Oh it came in last week, but I need to pay like 90 reis (30dollars) to pick it up tomorrow when we go to the mission office.

Oh and this week was awesome!  We are working with an 18 year old who is just rocking the gospel!  He is way focused on doing things right and he will be baptized this Saturday! It's gonna be awesome! sorry mom, I didn't take a lot of pics this week.  I left the camera at home but next week I'll send more pictures!! Speaking of pictures, that picture of gramps is awe inspiring! Just makes my day! 

This week was a little different.  We didn't have as many lessons with investigators but with recent converts and less actives. It's surprising to me to see how often people are so focused on the new that they forget about what they already had. There are a lot of members who are less active or inactive entirely and are often times forgotten or deemed less important. But if anything, I am learning that everyone is a child of God, that EVERYONE is a priority. How great shall be your joy if you bring save one soul unto me. The feeling is awesome of helping the one like Jesus so often did. Always looking for that next friend to find and help. We have an investigator that is longing to go to church with her child but wont go without her neighbor who became inactive. The opportunities we receive here to grow in faith seem to be endless, always another person to help, to reactivate, to teach, but what is more important is to befriend and love everyone. I have found a way to help me desire to help everyone. I try and think of the person who first shared the gospel with my family and how grateful I am for that person, and how much I want to give everyone else that chance. Everyone deserves the chance to become who God knows we can be! 

Keep trying to help others! Its freaking awesome what your doing!!!

Love you more then E-mails can express! Thanks for all you do for me!!

Com tudo meu coração!

Elder Bowden 

It doesn't matter who we have been or what we have done, all that matters is where We are going!

A legal!!!  We baptized a man named Sergio este semana!  It was really awesome to see him and God change his life around.  At the start we found him super drunk, sleeping outside his house, almost in the street. It was pretty awesome to see him as he changed and started living the Palavra de Sabedoria and other commitments to help him change his life and become a member of Gods Church this week! It's pretty great! He doesn't like to smile for photos, so he only looks a bit like a mobster, but he's a great guy! :)

This is the picture Jordan sent... he does look a little mobsterish! :)

We had some sweet days this week, constantly learning, growing and becoming better. It doesn't matter who we have been or what we have done, all that matters is where We are going! Its been very interesting to me to see how as missionaries, we always need to be focused on helping others.  Many of us look only for the next baptism, but as a representative of Christ we need to remember all people are priceless. Baptisms bring joy, but so does charity, and unconditional love for everyone we see. Definitely a thing I am going to work on. I Learned this week as you focus on yourself you loose, but when you focus on others you find more blessings and more love in your life. A great hard week of learning :)  

 It is awesome to hear about how the Lord is blessing you guys! Keep it up because I need As Much Help as I can get!  The Lord has to work with me, a stubborn boy who needs more humility... But I have faith the Lord can make this boy a man one day... a man like Paul said in Corinthians 13.

I wish you the best!   Boa Sorte!  

Elder Bowden 

Brazil is nuts as always but lots of fun!

This week was good but our baptism fell through.  Hopefully it will be this week!  He is an awesome guy who is changing his life and becoming a different person! 

Brazil is nuts as always but lots of fun!   My comp and I say tons of quotes all the time, its great!  We are always looking for more people to help and teach! We love to give each other words to use when we do a contact with someone on the street.  It definitely makes things interesting! We are working a lot, trying new things, learning and becoming better each day! I am gonna stay in this area with Elder Benitez for one more transfer, then he is going home!  He is gonna get so trunky! haha The Lord is preparing me to fight trunkyness because this will be the second missionary I "kill" in the mission! He is really cool.  We weren't really good friends at first, but now we joke a lot and have fun after working! We have made a goal to work hard everyday this transfer, and for my comp not to get trunky!! Its Great!  I am learning a lot! 

Oh my card didn't work.  I don't know whats wrong but can you call Wells Fargo and find out please? Thanks! 

I have some good pics for you this week, but I'll try and get more of Brazil :)

Love you guys lots, have a great semana!

Elder Bowden

PS sorry for the short emails mom! ;)

This week was good... I had fun continually learning.

Na, it's way different here, almost everyone will let you in to hear a message about Christ but not many are willing to act, even when they receive answers to prayers.  That is true, its not very fun to have an investigator who knows its true but wont go to church... we have plenty of people to teach but not a lot of people who want to change.  It's not finding investigators thats hard, its finding those who are ready to act. We have a good ivestigator who is acting and will hopefully be baptized this week. We will see.  Our mission pres has different views on baptisms, but I will follow what he says. 

This week was good... I had fun continually learning.  Just staying busy, working hard, trying to learn how to be a better man everyday! Good luck with everything going on this week! 

Te amo!

Elder Bowden

Oh and can you find out how much the box weighs and how much it costs for shipping? A member here wants to know, thanks! 

These are some mini pizza things... without cheese and sauce, but they have meat... they are pretty good!

Missions sure teach you to plead for help from God!

Querido Familia,

I have found that the mission is so much harder for me over here. I am getting really homesick and I miss you guys a lot!!! The good part about it is it helps my desire to work and stay busy, always trying to work, to learn, to focus on everything but myself so I can focus on my mission. Out of country missions sure teach you to plead for help from God because you need it to do His work.

We have lessons everyday and those are usually normal... we only seldom teach people who are really crazy! We are working with a man who is a drunk and hes been clean for a week now and are working with him to keep it up! Bus rides are nuts because sometimes you pack in like sardines and almost get separated from your comp!  Its crazy, they fit like almost 70 people on one bus here, everyone is like sardines, its nuts!

 I am gonna pull a mom. "I want pictures!!!!!" So what's new about everyone? I only get bits and pieces! Ok maybe alittle more then bits but eu preciso mais (I need more)!!! :) So I figured out I still got a long time on my mission so don't be afraid to send me goodies when you can! :)

 I love you guys keep being awesome for me!

Com tudo meu amor,

Elder Bowden

This week the camera didnt leave the house but I took a few selfies for ya mom!

some delish soup and pizza and a member gave my comp home made truffles

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