Happy New Year!

Dear Family,

I know you want a update, but it's much harder writing as an assistant than as a normal missionary. There's a lot of running around. Not as many people I'm teaching. When I do have an opportunity to teach the gospel, it's normally not to someone in my area. I will do my best to fill you in.

21 December: Elder Taylor and I decided to surprise exchange one of our zone leaders. We drove up to Spartanburg, to find the zone leaders not at home. :) the zone leaders were off doing their job going on exchanges with individuals in their zone. We called them and told them where we were and they asked us to go on an exchange with the Simpsonville 1st Elders. We drove to Simpsonville and went out with the Elders. I had a good day with Elder Anderson. It was great to be in one of my old areas with one of my old companions. At the end of the evening, we drove to Seneca to go on an exchange with the zone leaders for the Greenville Zone.

22 December: It was great to be out among the people of Seneca. Elder Seamons and I visited one of Sister Black's converts. (Sister Black was the senior sister in Seneca when I was a district leader in Anderson.) Memories of the beginning of my mission flooded my memory while I was there. That evening we went to a less-active home and raked up their leaves. :) It was fun. The member showed up and she jumped in the pile of leaves! It was funny watching a grown women jump into a pile of leaves. We followed her example and jumped in the leaves as well! We then had a lesson with her and her unbaptized child. The lesson was great and at the end of the lesson the daughter committed to come to church and the mother accepted the invitation to come back to church. That evening we drove home to Columbia.

23 December: was a driving day. We woke up early that morning and we drove up to Myrtle Beach to go on an exchange with the zone leaders for that zone. (You may notice a little trend, every transfer we are supposed to go on an exchange with each of the zone leaders, but for the past two years, the assistants have not ever done it.) Normally the assistants will just visit the zone leaders in the Columbia area. I decided that I was going to budget my time so I could visit each of the zone leaders. As soon as we got to Myrtle Beach, Elder Taylor got out of the car to work with Elder Lund, while Elder Esplin and I got in the car and drove back the direction I had just come, to go to Florence for a baptismal interview. (The zone leaders were out of miles so Elder Esplin came in our car which has unlimited miles.) The interview went great; she is now a member of the church. After the interview, we drove back to Myrtle Beach. After we arrived in Myrtle Beach, we headed home with a few "stops" on the way. We stopped in Conway and Marion to deliver Christmas packages to the missionaries. I don't know why some parents decide not to send their packages through USPS because any other type cannot be forwarded. There were many missionaries who did not have their Christmas packages on Christmas. :( This is why Elder Taylor and delivered packages. Many of the missionaries were overwhelmed that they received their packages. It was a great evening.

24 December, Christmas Eve: Elder Taylor and I decided we were going to brighten some of our missionaries lives by taking them caroling! We picked up the West Columbia Zone in the large van and we drove them around to their investigators and sang Christmas songs! It was a great evening.

25 December: We decided we enjoyed the caroling so much that we did it again! This time we went with the Columbia Zone. Once again the night was filled with happy hymns celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

26 December: Elder Taylor, Sisters Bukowski and Moore and I taught Leslie Smith. Leslie has some health problems and learns really slowly. We taught him the Word of Wisdom and Law of Chastity. He is a sweet spirit. He accepted both laws. He had to give up tea and smoking (what a surprise--everyone smokes and drinks tea here!)

27 December: Elder Taylor and I were able to proselyte in our own area for a little bit. We saw Anthony Tyler again. He really enjoys the Book of Mormon. He continues to tell us, "This book was written for me." He does a great job applying the stories to his own life.

28 December was Zone Leader Council. It was a great meeting. We focused on the upcoming year. We set some new standards and plans to accomplish them.

29 and 30 of December: I can't remember a single thing I did those two days....

31 December: Yesterday we went on exchanges with the zone leaders in Columbia Zone. It was a great day. Elder Taylor went with Elder Stoneman, and I went with Elder Pack. At the end of the exchange, Elder Pack really shocked me with a comment. He said, "there are two missionaries that have had the greatest impact on my mission." He paused for a moment then continued, "You are one of those missionaries." It was probably the greatest compliment I've received on my mission. I'm not sure I deserve it and I had no idea how to respond. All that came to my head was "what?" I finally gathered my senses and thanked him and gave him some counsel for his zone. After the exchange, we went over to the mission home for President McConkie's birthday! (Bruce R. McConkie never celebrated birthdays, neither do his children, including my mission president.) He had a nice dinner and that's it. He does not enjoy presents or parties. After dinner we sat in his living room and talked. It was a great evening.
Well this has been laborious to write, so I'm going to close for now. I love life. It seems to fly by too quickly, but I'm going to hold on and enjoy the ride!

Love,
Elder Cowan