Delhi

Dear Family,

Delhi is awesome, we are doing really well- Elder Johnson and I. He is from California(Bay area). I am really loving serving with him, I'll send some great pictures next week. I am really enjoying the work with him. He is really good at talking to people and connecting with them fast. He loves them and I am learning a lot from him. We found a lot of people to follow up with this week. One couple in particular stands out to me. They attend the Assembly of God church. They were a very nice and she was talking to us outside for a little bit and then we her husband drove up, she said "now my husband is really mean so if he comes out of the car with a shotgun...." Meanwhile her husband has already smiled and raised his eyebrows while waving. So that brought some laughs and we were having a great conversation about the book of mormon, and then we started talking about what they liked about religion, they asked us if we had any songs so I pulled out my hymn book and showed it to them. I said that one of my favorites was # 116. She opened to it and started reading, after the second line I started singing it as she read it, she stopped reading and listened while I sang the rest of it. The Spirit came. I said that I felt the Spirit and asked if they did too. He responded that he did. I then testified that: "This is the reason that I am out here sharing these things with people. I know that the book of Mormon is true and that as you read, ponder and pray, this feeling comes. Will you allow us to come back and teach you more?"

It was awesome. I love missionary work. There are so many nice people here. The branch is really close and most are excited about the work, they just don't quite know how to go about doing it. So we are going to take them out hometeaching and teaching our investigators. I am really excited. (about 65ish active)

In all probability I am going to go on exchange over to Norwich soon, It is still in the district. (Delhi, Oneonta and Norwich) and I felt like I had done my part there so I am just filled with hope and joy and excitement about the future. I don't have any regrets about leaving Norwich. I want to be able to say the same thing at the end of my mission, I still have a ways to go though.

Last night was pretty cool, the car died(The battery did something wierd) and it wouldn't start for a while. But it finally did start and we were able to make it back home. I know that the Lord is watching out for us. I am glad that Lovetta and Tom were able to get jobs. It is interesting to think about how merciful the Lord is to all of us. It is indeed really hard to have a child die young. Joseph Smith and Emma had so many of theirs die very young. But thinking about it in the eternal perspective, what a blessing that must be now, they are all saved in the celestial kingdom, they have the chance to raise them now in righteousness, while their posterity who did live fell away from the church. I don't understand why all things happen, nor do I think we can in this life fully, but I do know that God loves His children, that His plan is perfect. I am so grateful for the many things that I don't understand which seem hard and difficult but make me grow.

Hope you have an awesome week!

Love,

Elder Trezor Sheen Owens

Dear Family,

Here are some fun pictures of us from this past week. We are really enjoying working with Teresa and have shifted our focus-just because they are so distracting- and are going to be teaching her children at the same time as her, so we have held off on the baptism. She is having so many AHA! moments. She continues to say: "I know that! but she hasn't ever heard it before. It is so wonderful to see the spirit have an effect on people's lives. We have also been working with a brother in the ward who has had a really rough childhood, and his grandma took him in and saved him from it. He has struggled with his testimony and with any desire to come to church or participate. It was so cool to be able to see how the Lord knows each of His children. We have been able to teach him the missionary lessons and he is excited now to read from the Book of Mormon, he loves to pray now, and there is a new light in his eyes, more hope and much more joy. It is so wonderful.

We ate dinner at Brother Lopez's house(on his roof) And then threw the blanket off. While we were up there his dog dissappeared so he was searching all of friday night and saturday for him. He hasn't found him yet. But I shared my testimony in sacrament meeting about how each of our trials are personally geared towards us. I am so grateful for all of the things that I have gone through and experienced because I am so much stronger because of it. Brother Lopez got up right after me and was still worried about his dog, but bore a simple testimony that the Lord has a perfect plan and that no matter what happens, it will be all right. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from President Hinkley: Everything will turn out in the end. If it hasn't turned out yet, it isn't the end.

Love, Elder Owens

Dear Family,

It sounds like you had a good memorial day yesterday. We spent all of our P-day cleaning, just like we have every p-day since I got here to Norwich. The Appartment at first glance looks worse than it did when we started, because we are doing a deep clean. The bathroom really smelled, the oven and fridge, the sink, the car. Things that you don't see at first. But I am really excited for it to be a clean place again. I really have gained a testimony of the spirit being able to be more abundant in places where you invite it through trying to clean and lighten up the place. Teresa is having a crazy time trying to learn the gospel at the same time as moving and raising 5 kids by herself and being in the Air Force reserves and going into a nursing program. We hope to be able to teach her soon. We got permission to teach her at 9 A.M.(usually comp. study) because she said that was the best time due to Nehemiah being a 3 year old who is grumpy by the time 10:00 comes around.

We got a few referrals from the people in the ward who have missionaries out. The sons wrote home and said that we should talk to some of their friends, so that was cool. One of them (stephen spitner) said that we could talk to him some more, and he is our age, keeps the commandments, so we are excited to teach him.

Haven't been able to see the Bitners(With the 6 month old who was in the hospital)

Robert and Diane Rogers are progressing well, we see them every sunday at 3, and they are liking the book of mormon.

We helped Paint Teresa's house. Brother Lopez is awesome, he comes with us whenever we want, he is 62 but looks 39. He is a painter and had a paint sprayer so we were able to paint her whole house in a day, which was incredible. We spent 2 saturdays ago painting half a wall. Teresa's Children's names are Noah(15) Caleb(12) Micah(10) Yo'hanna(6) Nehemiah(3) Hanna is amazing. I got to talk with her a little bit and she saw a picture of Christ and said: "I love him" I showed her a picture of Joseph Smith seeing Him and Heavenly Father because he prayed, and she kept saying: Do it! Do it! I want to see Him. So I was able to teach her about the spirit and how we can feel their love even though we can't see them yet, we live our life so that we will get to eventually. It was so cool. little children have so great understanding and faith. I learn a lot from Knee-High and Hanna. :D

I love you all!

Elder Owens