Dear Family,
After the long wait, I have the awaited transfer information....My New Companion is ELDER TAYLOR! Yes the same Elder Taylor who I trained in Anderson, Yes, the same Elder Taylor I served with as zone leader companions in Camden, Yes, he is now my companion in the calling as Assistants to the President. :D Life sure is crazy! It made me laugh when President told me. Right after the prayer was given to begin transfer planning, President stood up and said, I know who my next Assistant is going to be. It's Elder Taylor. I couldn't tell if he was joking. I informed him that I would love to serve with him again, but I had already served with him twice. To this he responded "You have? When?" It had completely slipped his mind. On to the week. I am out of time.
Monday, Elder Tran and I were informed that the new missionaries were coming in at 5:00 pm. We were working in the office preparing for the transfers and new missionaries when the office sister, Sister Taylor, informed us that the flight had been delayed and the new missionaries missed their second flight. The new arrival time was 11:50 p.m. :) It really was a blessing in disguise because we had too much stuff we needed to get done before transfers and we were not able to do it the week before because we were traveling the mission. We picked up the new missionaries and they were tired from their flight, but very excited to be here. The new missionaries were really funny. They were afraid to laugh or do anything out of line. I remember coming in the mission home and being very careful to not give President the wrong first impression. They will all be great missionaries. We trained the new missionaries on Tuesday.
Wednesday was transfers. Things were hectic like usual. Elder Tran is now training one of the new missionaries down in Charleston. I can't remember Thursday. :) Friday we were in the office figuring out a new deal with Sprint. We then went to the Windsor Lake Christmas Party. It was great to be there.
Saturday we cleaned the office Elders' apartment. We completed some more work with Sprint, then we went to Ft. Jackson for a social for all the AIT soldiers. It was great. There was food and games for the soldiers.
We are preparing for the the Christmas zone conference. The missionaries are going to perform talents then we are going to play volleyball and do other fun activities. It's going to be fun, but tiring doing it in every zone. I will be tired by the end of the week. I can't believe Christmas is here. I need to apologize to Justin; I have not gotten his birthday letter in the mail. I will do it today.
Tomorrow will be the last day at Basic Training before exodus. They will not be back until the second week of January. Sundays are going to be so different without the base. It will be good though. This will be my last transfer as an assistant. It will prepare me when I train a new missionary my last transfer. I hope all is well. Merry Christmas! I love you all!
Love,
Elder Cowan
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
"Save the Souls of Man"
Dear Family,
What an exciting week! Thursday was great with all of the feasts that we were able to go to. In the morning, before we went to President and Sister McConkie's home, we stopped at the office to do some office work. While I was sitting at the computer working away, I received a phone call from a lady who was in search of a bishop. She told me she needed to speak to a bishop about getting some food. As I tried asking her some questions, she became a little defensive and she would not give me her name. I told her I needed to know where she lived in order to know which Bishop she should contact. She didn't even want to tell me where she lived, but finally she told me she was located at Barbara Dr. & Two Notch Road. I told her I needed a minute to look it up on the internet to find her location. This unnamed lady was not very excited with the idea that I would put her on hold. Finally, she agreed and I typed her information into the computer. By the time I found the address and which ward it was in, I tried to talk to her on the phone, but it was too late. She had already hung up. I felt bad I wasn't able to help her more, but from the abruptness and the rude way she spoke, I don't think she was very humble and not really "in need" as she stated. If she were "in need" she would have waited while I looked up the information. Anyway, I will return to this random phone call later.
We went to the McConkie's home and that was the best Thanksgiving food I have ever had! It was sad that it was our first stop of the day. After eating Sister McConkie's food, the other two dinners did not excite me. :) After dinner at the McConkie's home, we went to John Crew's apartment for round number two. We had a fun time visiting with the Crew family and also with the sisters who also serve in the Windsor Lake Ward. After the second dinner, we started to drive back into Columbia. While I was driving, I realized we were on Two Notch Road. I had the thought pop in my head, "look up Barbara Dr. and Two Notch Rd." I followed the prompting and had Elder Tran look it up. When the GPS located our position, we were crossing the intersection of Barbara Dr. and Two Notch Road. It was too late to turn. Also, we had the sisters following us to Sister Drake's house for our third dinner. The thought came in my head, "you need to go back." I tried to brush the thought away, but then it came again, "you need to go back." I then began to rationalize with myself saying "the sisters will get lost if we do not show them the way to Sister Drake's house." I also thought, "we are going to be late to our dinner if I turn back around." I was having this battle in my head when I turned to Elder Tran and I asked him, "Why is it so hard to follow the Spirit? I feel we need to turn around, but I'm not sure if it's just my own thought or the spirit prompting me." Elder Tran looked at me for a moment and said, "turn around." I decided to follow his counsel and we called the sisters and told them to continue ahead of us. We gave them the best directions we could, then turned around. As we began driving back to Barbara Dr. and Two Notch Rd, the thought came to me, "turn left." I decided to test this thought by first asking Elder Tran. I said, "Now the question is, which direction are we going to go when we reach the intersection?" "I feel we need to turn left," he said. "Really? I was actually thinking the same thing." When we reached the intersection, Barbara Dr was on our left and to the right the road had changed names! This boosted my confidence that we were being led by the spirit. As we drove down the street, we noticed a hotel and there were quite a few people standing outside. Elder Tran told me to turn in, so I turned. As we scanned the group, their was a US army soldier in his ACU (uniform). We pulled off to the side and began to talk to the man. He had just finished basic training at Ft. Jackson and we was headed to Georgia for AIT. We were able to teach him briefly about the gospel and he committed to attend church the following Sunday down in Georgia! After speaking to him, Elder Tran and I felt like we had done what the spirit needed us to do, so we drove to our dinner appointment. I will never know what will happen to that soldier, but I know the Lord was behind us meeting him: the phone call in the morning, the Holy Ghost bringing to my remembrance that address right as we were driving passed the intersection, Elder Tran and I serving on the Fort Jackson military post (the only two missionaries in the entire state who even begin to understand what they go through in basic and being able to understand what he had just completed). It was no coincidence. I am continuing to learn how to follow the spirit. Wow, that is a long story and I have not even finished the first day! We had a great dinner with Sister Drake; she is so funny. I hope y'all will be able to meet her someday.
Friday we drove to Charleston for a two day specialized training meeting. The meeting lasted the entire day, then we visited some of Elder Tran's converts in Charleston. That evening we slept on the floor of some Elders' apartment. Saturday was day two with the Charleston Zone. It was great.
Sunday we attended the base. I taught the discussion group. I did not do a very good job. I ran out of time. I was not able to cover everything I wanted. Even with the unfinished lesson, I knew I had to invite the class to be baptized. I was a little nervous, but I invited all to be baptized. One soldier, Brother Soli, shot his hand right up. It was a testimony that the spirit converts--not my teaching skills. It also reaffirmed the need for missionaries to be bold. One cannot fulfill his purpose of bringing souls unto Christ without inviting them to do so. Brother Soli is planning to be baptized tomorrow.
Monday was office work. Tuesday and Wednesday we had the two day specialized zone meeting in Florence. Thursday and Friday we had the same meeting in Greenville. This morning we finished transfer planning, and then had a bunch of random stuff we had to do. One of the things we did was scan a giant pencil drawing into the computer. I am attaching the file so you can see. It's an amazing picture. Elder Tran is going to be transferred. As a last hurrah, we went to a Vietnamese restaurant. I had pho. Elder Tran talks about it all of the time. It was a great experience. I am going to miss Elder Tran. I wish I could tell you who my next companion is. I will tell you next week! I know this work is true. I love my life. Let us all "Save the souls of man."
Love,
Elder Cowan
What an exciting week! Thursday was great with all of the feasts that we were able to go to. In the morning, before we went to President and Sister McConkie's home, we stopped at the office to do some office work. While I was sitting at the computer working away, I received a phone call from a lady who was in search of a bishop. She told me she needed to speak to a bishop about getting some food. As I tried asking her some questions, she became a little defensive and she would not give me her name. I told her I needed to know where she lived in order to know which Bishop she should contact. She didn't even want to tell me where she lived, but finally she told me she was located at Barbara Dr. & Two Notch Road. I told her I needed a minute to look it up on the internet to find her location. This unnamed lady was not very excited with the idea that I would put her on hold. Finally, she agreed and I typed her information into the computer. By the time I found the address and which ward it was in, I tried to talk to her on the phone, but it was too late. She had already hung up. I felt bad I wasn't able to help her more, but from the abruptness and the rude way she spoke, I don't think she was very humble and not really "in need" as she stated. If she were "in need" she would have waited while I looked up the information. Anyway, I will return to this random phone call later.
We went to the McConkie's home and that was the best Thanksgiving food I have ever had! It was sad that it was our first stop of the day. After eating Sister McConkie's food, the other two dinners did not excite me. :) After dinner at the McConkie's home, we went to John Crew's apartment for round number two. We had a fun time visiting with the Crew family and also with the sisters who also serve in the Windsor Lake Ward. After the second dinner, we started to drive back into Columbia. While I was driving, I realized we were on Two Notch Road. I had the thought pop in my head, "look up Barbara Dr. and Two Notch Rd." I followed the prompting and had Elder Tran look it up. When the GPS located our position, we were crossing the intersection of Barbara Dr. and Two Notch Road. It was too late to turn. Also, we had the sisters following us to Sister Drake's house for our third dinner. The thought came in my head, "you need to go back." I tried to brush the thought away, but then it came again, "you need to go back." I then began to rationalize with myself saying "the sisters will get lost if we do not show them the way to Sister Drake's house." I also thought, "we are going to be late to our dinner if I turn back around." I was having this battle in my head when I turned to Elder Tran and I asked him, "Why is it so hard to follow the Spirit? I feel we need to turn around, but I'm not sure if it's just my own thought or the spirit prompting me." Elder Tran looked at me for a moment and said, "turn around." I decided to follow his counsel and we called the sisters and told them to continue ahead of us. We gave them the best directions we could, then turned around. As we began driving back to Barbara Dr. and Two Notch Rd, the thought came to me, "turn left." I decided to test this thought by first asking Elder Tran. I said, "Now the question is, which direction are we going to go when we reach the intersection?" "I feel we need to turn left," he said. "Really? I was actually thinking the same thing." When we reached the intersection, Barbara Dr was on our left and to the right the road had changed names! This boosted my confidence that we were being led by the spirit. As we drove down the street, we noticed a hotel and there were quite a few people standing outside. Elder Tran told me to turn in, so I turned. As we scanned the group, their was a US army soldier in his ACU (uniform). We pulled off to the side and began to talk to the man. He had just finished basic training at Ft. Jackson and we was headed to Georgia for AIT. We were able to teach him briefly about the gospel and he committed to attend church the following Sunday down in Georgia! After speaking to him, Elder Tran and I felt like we had done what the spirit needed us to do, so we drove to our dinner appointment. I will never know what will happen to that soldier, but I know the Lord was behind us meeting him: the phone call in the morning, the Holy Ghost bringing to my remembrance that address right as we were driving passed the intersection, Elder Tran and I serving on the Fort Jackson military post (the only two missionaries in the entire state who even begin to understand what they go through in basic and being able to understand what he had just completed). It was no coincidence. I am continuing to learn how to follow the spirit. Wow, that is a long story and I have not even finished the first day! We had a great dinner with Sister Drake; she is so funny. I hope y'all will be able to meet her someday.
Friday we drove to Charleston for a two day specialized training meeting. The meeting lasted the entire day, then we visited some of Elder Tran's converts in Charleston. That evening we slept on the floor of some Elders' apartment. Saturday was day two with the Charleston Zone. It was great.
Sunday we attended the base. I taught the discussion group. I did not do a very good job. I ran out of time. I was not able to cover everything I wanted. Even with the unfinished lesson, I knew I had to invite the class to be baptized. I was a little nervous, but I invited all to be baptized. One soldier, Brother Soli, shot his hand right up. It was a testimony that the spirit converts--not my teaching skills. It also reaffirmed the need for missionaries to be bold. One cannot fulfill his purpose of bringing souls unto Christ without inviting them to do so. Brother Soli is planning to be baptized tomorrow.
Monday was office work. Tuesday and Wednesday we had the two day specialized zone meeting in Florence. Thursday and Friday we had the same meeting in Greenville. This morning we finished transfer planning, and then had a bunch of random stuff we had to do. One of the things we did was scan a giant pencil drawing into the computer. I am attaching the file so you can see. It's an amazing picture. Elder Tran is going to be transferred. As a last hurrah, we went to a Vietnamese restaurant. I had pho. Elder Tran talks about it all of the time. It was a great experience. I am going to miss Elder Tran. I wish I could tell you who my next companion is. I will tell you next week! I know this work is true. I love my life. Let us all "Save the souls of man."
Love,
Elder Cowan
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Amazing and Exhausting Week
Dear Family,
What an amazing week! I will be completely honest, I am exhausted. I've never had such a difficult time staying awake. On Sunday at church, Sister Drake was confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was not there to witness it because we were at the Ft. Jackson military post. On post we had another baptism and confirmation, Brother Gee. It was great. I also met a soldier named Brother Brandt. Brother Brandt is amazing. He is so in tune to the spirit. Brother Brandt watched the baptism and confirmation of Brother Gee. Brother Brandt has committed to be baptized next week. :) I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve on the Ft. Jackson Military Post. After the services were over on the military post, all the missionaries gathered together to update each other on what was accomplished during the two hours on post. As we shared who was getting baptized next week, we noticed that there is a potential of 5 baptisms next week. The Lord is truly blessing our efforts on the post. I am so grateful that our Father in Heaven is sending his prepared children to the military post.
When we left the military post, we drove straight over to the Windsor Lake Ward, like usual, and we were able to catch the end of Priesthood. Then we had the baptism of John Crew. Also, Greg Rosado, the young man the sisters have been teaching (they've had Elder Tran and I come and teach quite a bit because Gregg responds better to men) was baptized as well! It was an amazing day. We also had one of our new investigators attend church and the baptismal service. Her name is Barbara. As she attended the baptismal service, she felt the spirit very strongly. I am excited to continue to work with her. John is planning to be confirmed this upcoming Sunday.
Sunday night we had a missionary fireside. We had a recent convert and her missionary come up and they both shared their testimonies concerning the conversion process. It was very sweet. I love listening to recent converts share their testimony. They are so full of the spirit and are willing to do anything for the Church.
Monday I was in the office for the first half of the day and the second half we went to the mission home to do transfer planning. It was a spiritual experience as we prayed and planned together where missionaries should go and who they should serve with. We were led by the spirit and were able to have transfers planned faster than President has ever had before.
Monday night we stayed up late putting together a DVD that would have all of the "I am a Mormon" profiles from Mormon.org. We were at the office until two in the morning. We then had a specialized leadership meeting with the Nephi and Ishmael Zones Tuesday morning starting at 9:00 a.m.. We were up by 6:00 a.m. The meeting was great, it lasted 8 hours, by the end of it Elder Tran and I were very tired. During the meeting, President McConkie stated over the podium that all missionaries would receive a copy of the DVD that we had made for President to show during his training. Tuesday night we were at the office until 12:00 and Elder Tran and I were falling asleep at the computer, so we decided to go home for the evening, and come back the following day.
We woke up at 5:00 and drove to the office. We completed all the DVD's just in time to get to the church at 9:00 for the meeting. Elder Tran and I were so tired. We struggled staying awake throughout the trainings. What was worse, was that all the missionaries could see us as we sat up front. Overall, the meeting was really good. I felt we focused on the 8 points that the missionary department has asked us to work on.
After the meeting, we went to the office to grab a few things and I noticed in my little slot that I had an envelope addressed to me. I grabbed it quickly and tore it open. I was really excited; I knew what it was. It was my father's conversion story. I did not have time right then to read it because President McConkie was having difficulties with his laptop at the mission home. We drove over to the mission home and we fixed the computer (it wasn't even broken, President was just hitting the wrong button :) ) and then we had dinner with President and Sister McConkie. Mother, if you ever want new recipes, ask Sister McConkie. She makes the best food. I am excited to go over to their home in a couple of hours and eat all of their food!
When we arrived home last night I began to read father's conversion story. I was doing well, up until Brother Genet spoke to dad. I could not hold back my tears of gratitude for that man and all of the Mormon students at the school. It was a very spiritual experience. I wrote in my journal my feelings from reading my father's experience. I have an even greater desire to give my all and if it's Heavenly Father's will, to help a young "Mike" who will grow up strong in the gospel and one day have sons who are eternally grateful, like I am, that my Father joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Well, that's the update for now. I am creating DVD's for all of the missionaries as I write this email. Hopefully, I will have them all done for the rest of the meetings we will be having the rest of this week and all of next week! I can't believe how fast time is going! Elder Tran and I realized that today is our 21 month mark! I have been and will continue to give my all until I have accomplished everything the Lord would have me do here in South Carolina.
Love,
Elder Cowan
What an amazing week! I will be completely honest, I am exhausted. I've never had such a difficult time staying awake. On Sunday at church, Sister Drake was confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was not there to witness it because we were at the Ft. Jackson military post. On post we had another baptism and confirmation, Brother Gee. It was great. I also met a soldier named Brother Brandt. Brother Brandt is amazing. He is so in tune to the spirit. Brother Brandt watched the baptism and confirmation of Brother Gee. Brother Brandt has committed to be baptized next week. :) I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve on the Ft. Jackson Military Post. After the services were over on the military post, all the missionaries gathered together to update each other on what was accomplished during the two hours on post. As we shared who was getting baptized next week, we noticed that there is a potential of 5 baptisms next week. The Lord is truly blessing our efforts on the post. I am so grateful that our Father in Heaven is sending his prepared children to the military post.
When we left the military post, we drove straight over to the Windsor Lake Ward, like usual, and we were able to catch the end of Priesthood. Then we had the baptism of John Crew. Also, Greg Rosado, the young man the sisters have been teaching (they've had Elder Tran and I come and teach quite a bit because Gregg responds better to men) was baptized as well! It was an amazing day. We also had one of our new investigators attend church and the baptismal service. Her name is Barbara. As she attended the baptismal service, she felt the spirit very strongly. I am excited to continue to work with her. John is planning to be confirmed this upcoming Sunday.
Sunday night we had a missionary fireside. We had a recent convert and her missionary come up and they both shared their testimonies concerning the conversion process. It was very sweet. I love listening to recent converts share their testimony. They are so full of the spirit and are willing to do anything for the Church.
Monday I was in the office for the first half of the day and the second half we went to the mission home to do transfer planning. It was a spiritual experience as we prayed and planned together where missionaries should go and who they should serve with. We were led by the spirit and were able to have transfers planned faster than President has ever had before.
Monday night we stayed up late putting together a DVD that would have all of the "I am a Mormon" profiles from Mormon.org. We were at the office until two in the morning. We then had a specialized leadership meeting with the Nephi and Ishmael Zones Tuesday morning starting at 9:00 a.m.. We were up by 6:00 a.m. The meeting was great, it lasted 8 hours, by the end of it Elder Tran and I were very tired. During the meeting, President McConkie stated over the podium that all missionaries would receive a copy of the DVD that we had made for President to show during his training. Tuesday night we were at the office until 12:00 and Elder Tran and I were falling asleep at the computer, so we decided to go home for the evening, and come back the following day.
We woke up at 5:00 and drove to the office. We completed all the DVD's just in time to get to the church at 9:00 for the meeting. Elder Tran and I were so tired. We struggled staying awake throughout the trainings. What was worse, was that all the missionaries could see us as we sat up front. Overall, the meeting was really good. I felt we focused on the 8 points that the missionary department has asked us to work on.
After the meeting, we went to the office to grab a few things and I noticed in my little slot that I had an envelope addressed to me. I grabbed it quickly and tore it open. I was really excited; I knew what it was. It was my father's conversion story. I did not have time right then to read it because President McConkie was having difficulties with his laptop at the mission home. We drove over to the mission home and we fixed the computer (it wasn't even broken, President was just hitting the wrong button :) ) and then we had dinner with President and Sister McConkie. Mother, if you ever want new recipes, ask Sister McConkie. She makes the best food. I am excited to go over to their home in a couple of hours and eat all of their food!
When we arrived home last night I began to read father's conversion story. I was doing well, up until Brother Genet spoke to dad. I could not hold back my tears of gratitude for that man and all of the Mormon students at the school. It was a very spiritual experience. I wrote in my journal my feelings from reading my father's experience. I have an even greater desire to give my all and if it's Heavenly Father's will, to help a young "Mike" who will grow up strong in the gospel and one day have sons who are eternally grateful, like I am, that my Father joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Well, that's the update for now. I am creating DVD's for all of the missionaries as I write this email. Hopefully, I will have them all done for the rest of the meetings we will be having the rest of this week and all of next week! I can't believe how fast time is going! Elder Tran and I realized that today is our 21 month mark! I have been and will continue to give my all until I have accomplished everything the Lord would have me do here in South Carolina.
Love,
Elder Cowan
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Lots of Miles and Miracles!
Dear Family,
Eight Hundred and twelve. This is the number of miles I have traveled in the past six days. :) Life sure is busy. Monday we traveled to Union with President McConkie for a specialized district meeting, Tuesday we drove to Sumter for a specialized district meeting. After the meeting, we went over to President's home and watched a video in Preach My Gospel and discussed it for his meeting he had to go to Wednesday-Saturday. With President out of town, Elder Tran and I decided we would go on exchanges with all of the zone leaders throughout the mission. :) We were not able to visit all of the zone leaders, but we got pretty close. On Wednesday, I went with Elder Pack in Camden while Elder Tran took Elder Ernst down to our proselyting area in Columbia. Elder Pack and I visited one of my former investigators, Trish Helton, and we had a great lesson with her. The reason I had dropped her while I was in Camden was because we simply lost all contact with her. When we stopped by on Wednesday, Trish explained that she had to move unexpectedly when I was serving in Camden. It was a miracle that she moved back and we came by again to see her. :) At the end of the lesson, both Trish and her daughter, Dasney, committed to come to church and they both want to be baptized on December 11! It was great to see them so excited to meet with the missionaries again.
Wednesday night we met up with Elders Pack and Ernst and Elder Tran and I drove down to Charleston. Thursday morning, Elder Tran went with Elder Peery, while I was planning to serve with Elder Stoneman for the day. Elder Stoneman is a Spanish missionary, so while he was studying Spanish in the morning with his usual companion, Elder Williams and I went proselyting with Elder Peery's normal companion, who's name incidentally is Elder Williams also. I was only with Elder Williams for one hour, but during that hour we found an inactive member who wants to go back to church. It would have been easy for Elder Williams and I to wait in the apartment while the Spanish missionaries were studying, but because we decided to use our time effectively, the Lord blessed us to cross paths with this sister who really needs help at this time. After they finished studies, the two Elder Williams went with each other and I worked with Elder Stoneman. I really enjoy serving with the zone leaders. They are all so focused and committed to fulfilling their responsibilities. Elder Stoneman and I found one young man who wants to be baptized. We also had a miracle, Elder Stoneman has been working with a lady and she recently attended a baptism, and she really wants to get baptized, but the Elders thought she was living with her boyfriend. As we taught her the Plan of Salvation, she told us she was not living with her boyfriend! Because she is living the commandments and she has a sincere desire, we decided to baptize her right then and there in the creek.....ok maybe not, but we moved her baptismal date up two weeks! :) At the end of the evening, Elder Tran and I got back together and drove up through Columbia and kept on driving all the way to Spartanburg. We got there late at night.
Friday, I served with Elder Lund in my old area in Spartanburg. We had a great day. We taught seven lessons and they now have four more investigators with a set baptismal date! We also went to a sister's baptism and I was volunteered to play the piano. :D It was great to be at the baptism. I was able to see the Baker family. I love the Bakers. Sister Baker told me that she reads the blog, so I'm sending out a shout out for the Bakers: I LOVE YOU GUYS! :D
Friday night Elder Tran and I got back together and we drove to Seneca to visit the other zone leaders on the other side of Greenville. We stayed the night with them last night, but Elder Tran and I remembered that we had not interviewed John Crew for baptism. We decided to leave early this morning. As we walked out to the car, both Elder Tran and I pulled out keys to drive the car. As we did this we realized, that I had a pair of keys that did not belong to us! The keys belonged to the Elders in Spartanburg! We drove back to Spartanburg, dropped off the keys, then drove home. :) It's been a crazy week and next week is going to be even more crazy! President just called us during his break at his mission president seminar and he told Elder Tran and I to organize zone conferences all throughout next week so he can quickly visit all of the missionaries and have them immediately apply what he is learning. :) Life is great! John Crew is getting interviewed tonight, Sister Drake is getting confirmed at church tomorrow, and we should have two baptisms on the Ft. Jackson military post. I love my life and I hope you love yours!
Love,
Elder Cowan
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Grateful for Plan of Salvation and Eternal Marriage
Dear Family,
"Congratulations!" "Have a wonderful life together," "You two should have done this a long time ago," these were the type of remarks I heard all morning. This is because John Crew and Vivian Thomas were married!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D It was very exciting to be present for such a momentous day in both of their lives. It was fun and I am so excited for them to continue to progress in the gospel and be sealed in the temple next year! :) It really hit me when in the ceremony Bishop Strickland stated, "which covenant will last throughout the remained of their mortal lives." It really stuck out to me. I am so grateful that I have been blessed with a knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and know what will take place after the grave. I am also grateful that accompanied by this knowledge we are blessed to live in a time where temples dot the entire earth. All those who have a desire to receive the greatest of all of God's blessings are having the opportunity and access to go the temple.
In preparation for the wedding, we were asked to provide the cake. :) This was quite the experience. Luckily, John and Viv were not interested in a tier cake. All they asked us to make was a fruit pizza. Fruit pizza is made by taking sugar cookie dough and making a big pizza crust, and then you cook it, and then you put cream cheese on top, smother the whole thing with powder sugar, and then top with sliced fruit, and then sprinkle with powder sugar on top! Elder Tran and I decided to make it last night, but our first attempt failed miserably. Both Elder Tran and I forgot about the cookie dough cooking, so we burnt it really bad. :) This morning we ran back to Walmart and grabbed some more cookie dough and this time we decided to form the dough into a giant heart. It worked out perfectly. And it passed the delicious test. Within Five minutes of bringing out the cake, it was all gone! :) Success. John Crew is getting baptized on The 20th of November.
On to the second star for the week! Bo Hyon Drake. Sister Drake is from South Korea. She is the nicest lady in the world. Every time we come over to her house, she makes us food. We always tell her that we do not need the food, but she insists until we submit to her wishes. Sister Drake loves Jesus Christ. Her greatest desire is to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We have been teaching Sister Drake and she accepted the invitation to be baptized! Sister Drake quit smoking and drinking coffee just because we told her it was a commandment. Sister Drake reminds me of the scripture in Alma Chapter 32:16, "Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is [she] that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart, yea without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe." Yesterday Sister Drake was interviewed by President McConkie and was found worthy to be baptized! Her baptismal service is scheduled for tomorrow right after church, then she will be confirmed next week during sacrament; the same time John will be confirmed! The Lord is truly blessing us. It's because Elder Tran is the coolest missionary ever!
The rest of the week went as follows:
Monday: In the office during the morning. We had a specialized training meeting with the Newberry District in the evening. I've always know President is inspired, but Monday was really cool. A missionary has been struggling and I didn't agree with the way it was being handled, but in the end, President saved the day. It was humbling to see the Spirit of the Lord work through President McConkie.
Tuesday: Elder Tran and I were "volunteered" (more like "volun-told" as they say it in the army) to clean out the storage unit. It was an all day process. It's still is not perfect, but it is 100 times better than it was when we first got there.
Wednesday: During the morning we had Correlation with Brother Edwards. In the afternoon we had a Specialized Training meeting with the Downtown Columbia District. The meeting was really good. After the meeting we drove to Sumter to swap one of the new cars with a car that was sold this week. Sumter was the half way point between Marion (where the old car was and us, with the new car).
Thursday Elder Tran and I had the opportunity to proselyte the entire day! In case any of you wanted my opinion on black lights, I feel they are of the devil. Every time I have met someone who owns one, they always have an evil spirit about them. We met a man who had a very contentious spirit and his entire house was lit by black lights.
Friday : We began the day with a Post Development meeting. We were honored to have two chaplains attend our meeting. They both spoke about their experiences in the army and also gave us background info about basic training. I feel I will be able to relate better to the soldiers now that I have learned more about them. The rest of the day was tracting!
I hope all is well with all of you! I love each of you and keep being examples to those around you!
Love,
Elder Cowan
CPTP
"Congratulations!" "Have a wonderful life together," "You two should have done this a long time ago," these were the type of remarks I heard all morning. This is because John Crew and Vivian Thomas were married!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D It was very exciting to be present for such a momentous day in both of their lives. It was fun and I am so excited for them to continue to progress in the gospel and be sealed in the temple next year! :) It really hit me when in the ceremony Bishop Strickland stated, "which covenant will last throughout the remained of their mortal lives." It really stuck out to me. I am so grateful that I have been blessed with a knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and know what will take place after the grave. I am also grateful that accompanied by this knowledge we are blessed to live in a time where temples dot the entire earth. All those who have a desire to receive the greatest of all of God's blessings are having the opportunity and access to go the temple.
In preparation for the wedding, we were asked to provide the cake. :) This was quite the experience. Luckily, John and Viv were not interested in a tier cake. All they asked us to make was a fruit pizza. Fruit pizza is made by taking sugar cookie dough and making a big pizza crust, and then you cook it, and then you put cream cheese on top, smother the whole thing with powder sugar, and then top with sliced fruit, and then sprinkle with powder sugar on top! Elder Tran and I decided to make it last night, but our first attempt failed miserably. Both Elder Tran and I forgot about the cookie dough cooking, so we burnt it really bad. :) This morning we ran back to Walmart and grabbed some more cookie dough and this time we decided to form the dough into a giant heart. It worked out perfectly. And it passed the delicious test. Within Five minutes of bringing out the cake, it was all gone! :) Success. John Crew is getting baptized on The 20th of November.
On to the second star for the week! Bo Hyon Drake. Sister Drake is from South Korea. She is the nicest lady in the world. Every time we come over to her house, she makes us food. We always tell her that we do not need the food, but she insists until we submit to her wishes. Sister Drake loves Jesus Christ. Her greatest desire is to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We have been teaching Sister Drake and she accepted the invitation to be baptized! Sister Drake quit smoking and drinking coffee just because we told her it was a commandment. Sister Drake reminds me of the scripture in Alma Chapter 32:16, "Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is [she] that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart, yea without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe." Yesterday Sister Drake was interviewed by President McConkie and was found worthy to be baptized! Her baptismal service is scheduled for tomorrow right after church, then she will be confirmed next week during sacrament; the same time John will be confirmed! The Lord is truly blessing us. It's because Elder Tran is the coolest missionary ever!
The rest of the week went as follows:
Monday: In the office during the morning. We had a specialized training meeting with the Newberry District in the evening. I've always know President is inspired, but Monday was really cool. A missionary has been struggling and I didn't agree with the way it was being handled, but in the end, President saved the day. It was humbling to see the Spirit of the Lord work through President McConkie.
Tuesday: Elder Tran and I were "volunteered" (more like "volun-told" as they say it in the army) to clean out the storage unit. It was an all day process. It's still is not perfect, but it is 100 times better than it was when we first got there.
Wednesday: During the morning we had Correlation with Brother Edwards. In the afternoon we had a Specialized Training meeting with the Downtown Columbia District. The meeting was really good. After the meeting we drove to Sumter to swap one of the new cars with a car that was sold this week. Sumter was the half way point between Marion (where the old car was and us, with the new car).
Thursday Elder Tran and I had the opportunity to proselyte the entire day! In case any of you wanted my opinion on black lights, I feel they are of the devil. Every time I have met someone who owns one, they always have an evil spirit about them. We met a man who had a very contentious spirit and his entire house was lit by black lights.
Friday : We began the day with a Post Development meeting. We were honored to have two chaplains attend our meeting. They both spoke about their experiences in the army and also gave us background info about basic training. I feel I will be able to relate better to the soldiers now that I have learned more about them. The rest of the day was tracting!
I hope all is well with all of you! I love each of you and keep being examples to those around you!
Love,
Elder Cowan
CPTP
Saturday, November 6, 2010
"We are always on the move!"
Dear Family,
I have no idea how or what I should share in this email. Things are just crazy! We are always on the move.
Monday we filled out reports for the mission and then at 3:00 p.m. we began our Zone Leader Council. The meeting was really good. I hope and pray all the zones will succeed in the month of November. We had a very good month of October: 65 baptisms in the mission. I hope and pray we will be able to be consistent in our missionary efforts!
Tuesday we were able to proselyte! :) We were able to visit some of our investigators. I love being able to teach. These people are great! I love sharing the gospel.
Wednesday we had a specialized Training meeting in Florence. As I arrived, I recognized that the majority of the missionaries who were serving in the district are my posterity! Elder Taylor (my son) is the district leader, he is training Elder Carlisle (my grandson) and there is also another companionship Elder Caldwell (my grandson) who is training Elder Hinckley (my great grandson) :) It was great to visit all of them and give them some training on how to improve as a missionary. After the meeting, Elder Tran and I went on an exchange with the district. I went with Elder Taylor Elder Carlisle while Elder Tran went with Caldwell and Hinckley. The lord blessed us to have much success in the short time we were there. Elder Taylor, Elder Carlisle, and I were able to find a man and put him on date. The lesson was really good. Elder Tran was able to help the other companionship firm up two of their investigators. By the end of their lesson, the man who had been smoking crushed his cigarette's and he and his girlfriend poured out their alcohol and set a date to get married!
On Thursday morning Elder Tran and I took a missionary to the airport. After serving for 23 months he is now back home. After that, we traveled to Elgin to complete a similar specialized training meeting with that district. We are finding that missionaries are not role playing very often and it is negatively affecting their ability to teach. The meeting was centered around fixing this problem. Thursday night we traveled to Spartanburg to stay the night there in preparation for the SDM (specialized district meeting) we would be having in Greeenville the following day.
On Friday we had two meetings right after the other. One with the Spanish district and then one with the Boiling Springs District. (Random note--Before the Spanish meeting, I realized that one missionary knows Becca and Tara from BYU-Idaho and another Elder knows Cherry. What a small world--to think that all three of us would be in Greenville South Carolina was so weird!) Yesterday evening we traveled down to Columbia and visited with a lady who just got baptized. The sister had been working with her, but the sisters were having a difficult time trying to get the 14 year old son to progress. They asked if we would come to see if he could relate to an elder better. We taught him and he is a very sharp young man. Before we left, he accepted a baptismal date in two weeks. I love this work and I love each of you!
Love ya!
Elder Cowan
I have no idea how or what I should share in this email. Things are just crazy! We are always on the move.
Monday we filled out reports for the mission and then at 3:00 p.m. we began our Zone Leader Council. The meeting was really good. I hope and pray all the zones will succeed in the month of November. We had a very good month of October: 65 baptisms in the mission. I hope and pray we will be able to be consistent in our missionary efforts!
Tuesday we were able to proselyte! :) We were able to visit some of our investigators. I love being able to teach. These people are great! I love sharing the gospel.
Wednesday we had a specialized Training meeting in Florence. As I arrived, I recognized that the majority of the missionaries who were serving in the district are my posterity! Elder Taylor (my son) is the district leader, he is training Elder Carlisle (my grandson) and there is also another companionship Elder Caldwell (my grandson) who is training Elder Hinckley (my great grandson) :) It was great to visit all of them and give them some training on how to improve as a missionary. After the meeting, Elder Tran and I went on an exchange with the district. I went with Elder Taylor Elder Carlisle while Elder Tran went with Caldwell and Hinckley. The lord blessed us to have much success in the short time we were there. Elder Taylor, Elder Carlisle, and I were able to find a man and put him on date. The lesson was really good. Elder Tran was able to help the other companionship firm up two of their investigators. By the end of their lesson, the man who had been smoking crushed his cigarette's and he and his girlfriend poured out their alcohol and set a date to get married!
On Thursday morning Elder Tran and I took a missionary to the airport. After serving for 23 months he is now back home. After that, we traveled to Elgin to complete a similar specialized training meeting with that district. We are finding that missionaries are not role playing very often and it is negatively affecting their ability to teach. The meeting was centered around fixing this problem. Thursday night we traveled to Spartanburg to stay the night there in preparation for the SDM (specialized district meeting) we would be having in Greeenville the following day.
On Friday we had two meetings right after the other. One with the Spanish district and then one with the Boiling Springs District. (Random note--Before the Spanish meeting, I realized that one missionary knows Becca and Tara from BYU-Idaho and another Elder knows Cherry. What a small world--to think that all three of us would be in Greenville South Carolina was so weird!) Yesterday evening we traveled down to Columbia and visited with a lady who just got baptized. The sister had been working with her, but the sisters were having a difficult time trying to get the 14 year old son to progress. They asked if we would come to see if he could relate to an elder better. We taught him and he is a very sharp young man. Before we left, he accepted a baptismal date in two weeks. I love this work and I love each of you!
Love ya!
Elder Cowan
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Crazy Adventures of First Few Days as Assistant
Dear Family, I forgot to inform you last week that with the new assignment to be President McConkie's Assistant, I have a different preparation day than the rest of the mission! My preparation day is on Saturdays. Thus this is the reason you are receiving a letter from me today! I have no idea where to begin. This has been the craziest adventure! I've enjoyed every moment of it, but I'm on my toes because I am not sure what is going to happen next. There is never a dull moment when assisting in the upkeep of a mission.
It all began on Wednesday. At transfer meeting, President McConkie was up at the stand and he announced at the pulpit that two missionaries would be serving together. The only problem was that one of those missionaries was not informed that he was being transferred, so he was still in Greenville--two hours away. I knew right away that this was going to cause a problem, which I will discuss further later. At the end of the transfer meeting, President announced that Elder Poll was being released as his assistant to train a new missionary and that I would be Elder Tran's new companion. I was shocked by the amount of people in the audience who were so excited by this news. Throughout the transfer meeting everyone is relatively quiet, but when the President announced my new responsibility, there were many who voiced there opinions with "Yes," "Elder Cowan!" and other comments. I was nervous for my new assignment, but it was a relief to hear the sounds of so many missionaries who will support me in this assignment.
After the meeting, all the missionaries left except the departing missionaries and the two companionships who were waiting for the companionship from Greenville to drive down to transfers. We all drove over to the mission office so President McConkie could conduct his departing interviews. Two of the missionaries, while waiting, decided that they were going to send their packages off that they had carelessly "forgotten" to send home on their preparation day. These two missionaries were only supposed to be gone for one hour, but they were gone for three. The rest of the departing missionaries had to leave for the mission home to quickly eat dinner and prepare for the temple. I was left at the mission office to wait for the two missionaries who were mailing packages home. Anyways, the day got all messed up and Elder Tran ended up taking the departing missionaries to the temple, while President and Sister McConkie drove to the airport to pick up a sister missionary who has been serving at the Salt Lake Temple Square mission for the past year. While they were doing their activities, I was left at the mission home with the two missionaries who were supposed to drive back up to Greenville.
Wednesday evening: The departing missionaries came back from the temple and President gave them all some advice about returning home. Then we watched the departure video which is a slide show of pictures from all the missionaries going home. Afterward, the missionaries were all nervous about going home that next day, so they stayed up late and then we finally went to bed. The next morning we drove them to the airport and there was a 12 passenger pileup on the freeway, so the departing missionaries missed their flight. :( This is the first time that departing missionaries have missed their flight. :S They put them on a new flight which was supposed to leave 10 hours later. We watched them go through security and then we left. Elder Tran and I had to gather up a bike for the Salt Lake Temple square missionary and then we went to the office to do some paper work, but then we received a call from President that we needed to pick up the departing missionaries because they missed their second flight as well! We picked them up and stayed another night at the mission home with the departing missionaries. We woke up at 4:00 in the morning yesterday to help the missionaries leave and this time they made it on the plane. :) We then drove the mission van and trailer back to the mission office to pick up our car. During the night, someone broke into our car! :) We had to leave our car there, call the senior couple in the office and tell them to fill out the police report, and Elder Tran and I drove up to Camden with the Fullmers (senior couple who serves at the Ft. Jackson base) for our Post Development Meeting. Following that meeting, we got in the car with President and Sister McConkie and drove to Myrtle Beach where we had a Specialized District Development Meeting. Then we drove to Conway and had another Specialized DDM and then we drove back to Columbia! It was great spending five hours in the car with President and Sister McConkie. I am able to get to know them personally. It's such a great blessing to be around them. They truly are spiritual giants.
Today We woke up and spent all our day working on President computer. It works now and we now have to find an apartment to move into! Life is an adventure! I love the gospel and I love each of you!
Love,
Elder Cowan
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