Wind-uhs & Widt-ahs

 Hey y’all!

[Summary at the very bottom cuz I know not everyone has time or the attention span to read this.]

This week I've been able to further appreciate the faith of Southern folks. Here it is a simple fact the Jesus Christ is our Savior. Everyone already knows that. 

We were talking on the phone with a lady. We can call her L. L will be getting her leg amputated this week. She is in a hospital right now and she filled out an online request to speak with missionaries to find more hope in Jesus Christ. We decided to talk to L about the Resurrection and how because of Jesus Christ we will all be made whole. We expressed that someday our bodies will be healed and we will live with our Savior. And she said she didn't care much about what her body would be like; she knew she would be whole if she got to be with Jesus. 

That's pretty incredible.

We sure have a lot to look forward to. Being whole because we get to be with our Savior. 

I do sometimes have a hard time understanding the southern accent. Yesterday in the second ward the talks were about tithing and giving that 10% to the Lord. Both talks referenced the widows mite and the windows of Heaven. Widow seemed to be pronounced closer to widt-ah and window closer wind-uh. I found it all minorly entertaining.

I know that windows of heaven really are opened as we pay our tithing. Tithing gets touchy sometimes but that is silly because it's just like everything else in the gospel you can follow the basic faith formula. Faith= do the thing and see what happens and then you have more faith which leads to eternal blessings. Read the Book of Mormon + Pray to know if it is true = Knowing the Book of Mormon is true & more faith. Do the thing. Pay your tithing and then pay attention. Blessings do come. 

One thing I hear quite a bit from Southern folks is that Jesus woke them up today. They wouldn't be here without Him. It's true. We rely on the Savior to get us up each morning. When I think about how much Christ is already aware of and taking care of us, that 10% seems like a lot less. 

Pay your tithing and then pay attention. See what blessings come. It could be financial blessings. It could be increased strength. It could be safety. It could be your grades in school looking better. It could be family relationships healing. Sometimes it's eternal blessings that we might not be able to sense here on Earth. The windows of Heaven will open as we pay a full and honest tithe to our Savior. 

When I started this email I did not think it would be about tithing but that's where it went and I'm okay with that. I hope you're all doing well and making good choices. I love you. I love you. I love you. 

Still holding to the rod,

Sister Owens 

Summary: I love to see the faith people have here in North Carolina. Pay your tithing and then pay attention to blessings you receive and I love you.

Here's the link to my mission pictures album:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZMqcVg4i6kAMWJVH9

🍀

 Happy St. Patricks Day! 

That is all. Love you!

- Sister Owens 

🤍

 Hey y’all!

[Summary at the very bottom cuz I know not everyone has time or the attention span to read this.]

Here are some updates as far as my mission goes!

🤍 I am in my third transfer

🤍 I am now serving in Goldsbro 

🤍 I have two new companions (I'm in a trio)

🤍 I am over 2 wards

🤍 The three of us gave talks yesterday

🤍 My mission President, President Stevens is having surgery today

Lots has happened. I am excited. 

Goldsbro is a bit like Fayetteville but less sketchy. Still a lot of military people because there's an air force base here. 

My new companions' names are Sister Cutler and Sister Colasurdo. They're both really cute and fun. I think we're figuring out how to navigate being in a trio pretty well. Sister Colasurdo's mission scripture (the scripture on her plaque is Galatians 5:9. She has celiac disease. And Sister Cutler has a super contagious laugh.

The wards I'm over are called Goldsbro 1st ward and… wait for it… Goldsbro 2nd ward. We gave talks in the second ward yesterday and they told us the title of the talks were to be: I Stand All Amazed- The Awesome Atonement of Jesus Christ. People said we did really well. I enjoyed how different and how the same all of our talks were.

Here's a snippet of my talk. “I invite you all to more fully invite the Savior into your life and especially into your Easter celebrations this year and for years to follow. As you focus more on the Savior I promise you will know how focused the Savior is on you. You are his sheep and he is your shepherd. He has always and will always love you. Knowing this can change the way you feel about yourself, other people and the world.”

Kinda fun. 

I’m honestly not too worried about President Stevens; he has over 200 missionaries praying and fasting for him.

I think I figured out how charity never faileth. I think I didn't fully understand that phrase but I've gained some more understanding now. 

First here is this scripture:

1 John 4: 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

When we have charity we can do things even if we are afraid. I imagine the Savior was scared as He went to Gethsemane and that is the reason He brought His friends with Him but Jesus Christ still took on every pain and sin and all of it because of the great love which He has for each of us. 

I can do scary things when I have charity. 

And by simply trying to do the will of Heavenly Father we are never failing. Heavenly Father always makes up the difference. 

Hopefully that makes sense! 

Still holding to the rod, 

Sister Owens 

Summary: lots of things are happening. Yay. Charity never faileth. Yay.

Here's the link to my mission pictures album:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZMqcVg4i6kAMWJVH9 

March Fo(u)rth

 Dear friends, family, & foes, 

(Just kidding about the last one, it should really be, dear my mom’s facebook friends & family)

Yesterday was march 4th. A date I thoroughly enjoy. No other day (that i know of) is a command like that. I certainly feel like it was a good mantra for my last 24 hours. March forth.

Yesterday we found out transfer news. I leave Fayetteville tomorrow. This was not the expected result but we all expected me to stay and take over the area. That's alright though. I have completed my training. Here are some things I have learned so far. 

1 John 4:18

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

Charity, that perfect love, really does cast out fear. Talking to people is so scarrrry. For me. But it's a lot easier when I feel genuine love for the people I am approaching.

Being a missionary isn't a normal calling. I don't do normal and natural things because my call as a missionary is not normal and natural. My message is not normal and natural. It's excellent and extraordinary. Heavenly Father can do excellent and extraordinary things through someone small and simple like me.

Heavenly Father values the title of Father. He loves his children. He is our literal Father and he is so proud of us.

You gotta do your part for miracles. Miracles follow faith, a big part of faith is action. 

Perfectionism will ruin your life if you let it.  Let good enough be good enough. (I'm still learning this one.)

March forth. Keep going. If it takes you longer to reach a goal you can absolutely still work towards that goal. 

Gelato is pretty good. 

My companion is probably the person I have the opportunity to serve the most as a missionary. Even if we don't get to help a lot of people I get to help her.

Every attribute of the Savior helped him prepare for and go through with his suffering in Gethsemane and death on the cross. Every attribute helped him be perfect to help each one of us.

I gotta wrap it up. It's p-day. And today that P stands for packing. 

Love ya'll! 

Still holding to the rod, 

Sister Owens

No summary today because I'm both lazy and stressed. 

Here to Harvest

 Hey y'all!

[Summary at the very bottom cuz I know not everyone has the time or attention span to read this.]

In our mission (perhaps all missions, I don’t know) we have something called recitations. Where we all stand and say a bunch of things. We sound like a glorious chorus of robots. I still don't know our recitations too well but I'm certainly getting there. But I digress, one of our recitations is Doctrine and Covenants section 4 it contains 7 verses total, in my mission it's described as the job description of a missionary. 

I must admit that at first recitations annoyed me. Sometimes they still do, perhaps because I haven't 100% applied everything we say or maybe because it feels like the majority of missionaries say it just to say it and not like they really mean it.

In an effort to be a consecrated missionary I've been taking recitations (and many other things) more seriously. As I have studied and pondered Doctrine and Covenants 4 I have thoroughly enjoyed the metaphor of harvesting. 

Often, missionary work is compared to planting seeds. “Well don't worry if she's not ready to listen yet, you're just planting seeds.” or “Just keep watering, keep inviting,..” I’m not here to plant seeds. I'm not watering a garden. I'm here to harvest. 

“The field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul;” (D&C 4:4)

I'm thrusting in my sickle with all my might. Believe me, the field is white already to harvest. We have 10 new members in the Fayetteville 4th ward. Yesterday in our new member class the teacher expressed to everyone that we missionaries will leave. And a bit like a parent, we will never stop worrying about these people that we helped come to Christ. It's up to the ward now. It's actually been up to the ward the whole time. They plant the seeds, they do the watering. 

I'm temporary hired help here to harvest. 

The field is white already to harvest. There's a lot of people out there looking for truth and hope and the joy that only the gospel can bring.

I've been planting seeds and watering as a disciple of Jesus Christ for a long time we are all sowers and now I have the opportunity to harvest. 

It's been kinda fun to harvest.

This week after Sacrament we chased The car of one of our friends so we could talk to him about baptism. There's very few things that make me run because generally running brings me minor pain and disappointment. But I ran to catch someone in their car to talk about the joy of the gospel. 

Love you! Keep being so amazing and stuff. I'm literally just tired of writing this now. 

Still holding to the rod, 

Sister Owens 

Summary: #here2harvest (for more information read the email above) 

Here's the link to my mission pictures album:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZMqcVg4i6kAMWJVH9

Slow Progress is Still Progress

 Hey y'all!

[Summary at the very bottom cuz I know not everyone has the time or attention span to read this.]

On Saturday we baptized our friend Anastasia. Anastasia has been meeting with missionaries for well over a decade. More than ten years. Here's the story:

Once upon a time in December Sister Job & Sister Owens were checking their text messages (something that, frankly, we aren't very good at) and much to our surprise a random number had texted us saying Merry Christmas, how are you guys? So naturally we looked up the number in our cute, little, (we would not function without it) app with our area book and all of the relevant information for missionary work. We found Anastasia was the one who texted us and we failed to scroll all the way down to the bottom.of her information. We texted her and planned a time to meet her and her husband and see what would come of it.

So we went over to their house and met them and chatted and it was great and we thought cool. We found out that Chris (Anastasia’s husband) had been baptized a few years ago but at this time wasn't particularly interested in church. We found out Anastasia had previously been on baptismal date but chickened out the last minute or something (still unclear).

After our first lesson/discussion/meeting I decided to do some #research and take a quick scroll down Anastasia's time line on the PMG app (previously mentioned would not be able to do anything without it app). As I scrolled I realized it kept going and going and going. And then her time line went to 2014. Shortly after that we found out that they had missionaries be the witnesses for their wedding, which was in 2009. Its been a hot minute of them hanging out with missionaries. 

Sister Job and I really weren't sure what to do next.

I was really concerned that there was nothing we could try that previous missionaries hadn't already tried. I didn't really know what to do. Anastasia had been taught every point and every lesson at least once before. And she had been invited to do everything we knew to invite people to do.

After careful council and consideration we decided to extend the invitation to have her read/listen to the Book of Mormon in its entirety, from cover to cover, in one month.

She did it in two. And was baptized the day she finished the Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon paired with the Spirit is the most powerful tool in conversion. I remember that because I got it wrong on a training type test. (It was a trick question, and I'm still mad.)

It wasn't really me or Sister Job that got Anastasia to be baptized and make covenants with Heavenly Father. It was the Book of Mormon and her learning to recognize the influence of the Spirit as she read. 

If you haven't read the Book of Mormon, read it. Especially if you have been Baptized. The Book of Mormon will invite the Spirit into your life and help you learn to recognize how you can receive revelation for your own life. 

At Anastasia's Baptism Sister Chae spoke. There, we learned that when Sister Chae was pregnant with her oldest daughter (who is now 5) Sister Chae went to a lesson at Anastasia's house. Sister Chae told Anastasia she knew her journey to reach this point was long and not easy and it wouldn't necessarily begin to be easier but it would continue to be worth it and she would continue to be more like Christ.

It doesn't matter how long it takes as long as you are continuously moving in the right direction. Keep going towards Christ. Continue forward on the covenant path even if all that looks like is opening up your Book of Mormon. Maybe it's not even reading it yet but just taking the time to open the book.

One of my MTC teachers told us that on her mission whenever her or one of her companions had a bad dream they would open the Book of Mormon. Not read anything, just open it. 

Sometimes just doing that is enough. You don't have to get through it all in two months. You probably already know your next step on the covenant path. It might simply be scheduling your next temple appointment. And if you want it to happen in one month and then it takes two that is still something to celebrate. 

Even if takes over a decade for you to make your next covenant or read the whole Book of Mormon or forgive that one person, keep moving forward.

Still holding to the rod, 

Sister Owens 

P.S. Happy Valentines Day! Love you all!

Summary: Our friend Anastasia got baptized. Pretty cool. She's been meeting with missionaries for 10+ years. Sometimes doing the right thing can take some time but it's still worth doing! 

Pray He is There

Hey y'all!

[Summary at the very bottom cuz I know not everyone has the time or attention span to read this.]

Today is the first p-day that while hanging out with the district I have not felt like I was about to get hit with a volley/soccer/pickle/foot/basket ball. They are playing pickle ball at the moment and I actually feel safe. (Yay!) Feeling doesn't actually mean I am safe though. 

…the pickle ball was hit far over the fence. And down a hill. I actually probably am safe for a bit.

The ball was quickly retrieved so I'll be on my guard as I write this. 

This takes me back to the first time the district was here playing pickle ball on my very first p-day in the field. That time I was hit with a football on my ankle. The ball hit my ankle and the elder who tossed it came up and very awkwardly touched my ankle said, “so sorry,” grabbed the football and ran away. Super awkward. I've been hit several other times but that one was so memorable because it was just so awkward.

Update: I got hit. I love pday. Someday I'll learn to catch a ball or kick a ball or not just sit here. 

Just kidding I'm being really dramatic, the ball rolled into me. 

Anyways I'll be a serious goose now. 

Yesterday Elder and Sister Uchtdorf spoke to the young adults of the church yesterday and I got to watch it and it was wonderful. I don't remember much of what they said but I do remember I could feel how much they loved each other and how much they loved the people they were speaking to. 

I think that even if people forget what I say I want them to remember how I made them feel. At least if I make them feel good. We communicate with so so much more than our words and that's good because so far I haven't done too much of the talking. But I do a great deal of listening.

I think I'm also pretty good at the body language thing. I read a book about body language for a book report once and it was super interesting and it helps me know how comfortable people are (or more relevantly are not) talking with us. 

I'm glad talking to God is easy. Like praying can be super formal or it can be completely silent. Sometimes I write my prayers because sometimes saying them out loud can feel overwhelming sometimes. 

Prayer is also easier because God listens. 100% the time. There's never any miscommunication because He speaks our language perfectly and knows us perfectly.

I wish I was better at listening to God.

I guess I get distracted. But I'm trying to learn all of the ways my prayers are answered. I know my prayers are answered in ways unique to me, like things that might only be an answer to me that would be weird or random to other people.

I love prayer. I love that I can talk to God. I love that anyone can talk to God. I love you and I hope you love talking to God. 

Still holding to the rod, 

Sister Owens 

Summary: I don't love getting hit with volley/soccer/pickle/foot/basket balls. I do love prayer & I love love you! 

Here's the link to my mission pictures album:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZMqcVg4i6kAMWJVH9