Really Cool Experience

Dear Family,
I first want to thank you for the package. I really appreciate it. It did make it here in time for Halloween. The muffins are always great. They stay moist and soft. The brownies were good as well. They seemed extra spongy different than what I remembered, but extremely delicious. Thank you again.

So I have a lot to update. On Friday the 23rd we had a District development meeting. It was great to join with the other companionship in the District and to give and receive wonderful trainings. After the DDM, the Zone Leaders came and blitzed our area for three hours. I worked with Elder Kailiponi while Elder Andersen worked with Elder Quakenbush. The exchange was great. Elder Kailiponi and I found a lady named Stephanie. Stephanie has recently come to know that Jesus Christ is her Savior. She began to go to a non-denominational church and when we taught her about the Book of Mormon, she became really excited and said, "This goes way beyond what they teach me at this other church. All they use is the Bible. You use both. That's deep." It was a great lesson. Stephanie committed to come to church. On Sunday Stephanie did not come, but a woman we met while knocking doors came. We were not able to teach her because she was the only one home, but on her door step we invited her to come to church, and she came! Her name is Najha. She is from Trinidad. She really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, she is moving out of our area so we will not be able to continue to work with her. After church we stopped by Stephanie's house to check on her and see why she did not make it. As we talked with her she explained that while she was getting ready for church the preacher on TV was preaching against the MORMONS. This scared her so she did not come, but then when we showed up after church, she was really touched to know that we truly did miss her.

On Monday we had a really cool experience. We were working on one side of town and I had the impression that we needed to see a former investigator on the other side of town. We were on the bikes so I was hesitant to ride my bike across town, but the Spirit persisted so off we went. We ended up biking for 45 minutes straight to get to this former's house. We walked up to the door and Kenny came out and we invited him to hear our message, and he was nowhere even close to being interested. I thought it was strange that Heavenly Father told me to bike across town just to have a man tell us that he was not interested. We then knocked on the door next to Kenny, and we met Vonda, and her daughter Taylor (age 12) and her son Tyrun (age 9). We taught a wonderful first lesson about the Restoration and they just ate it all up. Before we left, Vonda thanked us for coming over. She said that she was standing at the sink doing dishes, and the thought came to her that she needed to get back into church, and as she thought about it, we knocked on her door. I love being a missionary! It was such a blessing to see the Spirit direct me to her door by impressing upon my mind the need to see the former investigator. We are teaching Vonda and her family again on Wednesday.

Had interviews on Wednesday the 28th. I worked with Elder McMurry on Thursday. Saturday was Halloween. Stephanie came to church on Sunday. Sunday night we set her up on a quit smoking program. She is progressing toward her baptismal date of November the 14th. I continue to receive letters from my recent converts back in Anderson. Edna Bentley is still strong in the gospel. She just finished the Book of Mormon. Kent and Holly are doing great. I have been so blessed, and I continue to be blessed with the opportunity to watch the Spirit change peoples lives. I love you all back in AZ, but I never want to go home. It was scary when I reached my 8 month mark. I feel like I just got here. It's hard to grasp the idea that 1/3 of my mission is over. I am more determined than ever to make the most of every minute and to rely completely on the Spirit as I am a Representative of my Savior Jesus Christ. The atonement is real. I am so thankful for my opportunity to apply it in my life every week as I take of the sacrament. I pray for each of you and especially for Dad during this busy time. I love you.

Love,
Elder Cowan