Nov 15

Well.... This week was ok.

nah, This week was incredible! I am so glad right now. We found a really cool family. Bill, Belen, and their son Sebastian. Bill is basically a cross between Dan Burton and Dad. They are reading the book of mormon together as a family. I really like them and have high hopes that they will progress. They are interested in doing food storage and emergency preparedness, and lots of things like that. They were asking about how long we could live on our food storage back home. I am glad I've never had to. I really like fresh fruit and vegtables. Home canned fruit is an alright substitute for fresh fruit, but canned vegtables can't compete wtih fresh ones.

We have tried really hard this week to just listen to people and find what they care about, listen to what they are looking for more in their lives. To show them that we aren't about just increasing our numbers or trying to get as many as possible to church. We are really caring about individuals, and seeking for ways to bless their lives. We have seen a huge change in the way that people have reacted towards us as we have shown that sincere love for them as a person, and kept in mind ways to help them see it. We always had the love for them, but now we are trying to show it more and it is really doing wonders.

My trainer is home. Elder Anderson. I haven't heard from him yet though. Elder Gurney is home, Elder Stahle is home, Elder McBride is home(I have heard from him) Elder Johnson, Perkins, Stone, and Daniels-brown of course, are my companions still out. 1/2 4/8. It is kinda crazy. I love it though.

Study Preach My Gospel, try teaching the lessons. You learn so much as you try to teach! I think teaching primary must be similar. I think Steve Robertson would be an awesome primary teacher. Does his wife have a calling? She was a fun lady too.

Love Elder Owens

Transfer Week! Oct 25

News:

Elder Perkins is leaving to go to Greene a little place above Binghamton(a big place) He isn't excited about how little it is, he wanted a city. He is fairly shy still, I think it is where he needs to go.(Greene) I am so excited about this transfer! I get to be the big missionary finally! hahaha- Guess who I am getting though. The biggest missionary in the mission, he's been out about 6 months I believe but he is 6' 8'. Elder Stone. I met him a couple times and he is nice.

Billy Bleyl hasn't really read too much, it is hard to get him excited about it- he has a tough time reading.

Brother Cook(Don't know his first name) Is the blind investigator that we found from the HQ Temple square referral, he is excited because he heard about an operation that can restore his sight. I got him the BOM on CD and he said he would listen to [some of] it this week. (I hope his wife reads along- Magaret)

Keri La Rose- A really nice lady -don't know too much about religious back ground- she has an awesome family two really good kids and a 6 month old. AND a husband- Chris. We are going to teach her on the 31st.

Love,

Elder Owens

A really foggy day

My District. Left to right in silly one Elder West(District leader+From my MTC group+becoming my Zone Leader this transfer from Bountiful area, UT) Elder Rammel(Being trained by Elder West from cali)

Sister Bently(Been out for 12 weeks now- came out at 21 from Arizona)

Sister Mitsula(convert to the church from Cali)

Elder Lyman( From Washington MTC group with Elder Perkins, My new district leader)

Elder Perkins,

Me,

Elder Taylor Gamble(We went to UCAS together, he is being trained by Elder Lyman been out for 6 weeks, From Orem)

Funny green setting on my camera that I thought was a fun picture.

Us with Billy Bleyl. (Lighten the last one and I think it is a good one)

October 11

It is hard sometimes to press forward with a perfect brightness of hope having an eye of faith. The past two transfers have been the hardest to do so on my mission. When hard times come sometimes I really do try to speed up and forget about the struggles I'm having. President Uctdorf's talk was such a needed principle for me to understand. Pressing forward with perfect brightness of hope doesn't mean we have to run. We can still just focus on those most important things rather than try to add more to our lives, we need to simplify and turn to the scriptures and to prayer. I haven't been doing the best at scripture study. I am going to make that my focus for the rest of the transfer. We are finding some solid potentials and new investigators. I am glad to see the work continue to move forward in spite of our weakness. I have been filled with the love of God so much these past two transfers. I have come to know my Father in a deeply personal way and I wouldn't give it up for anything.

September 6th

Some of the Investigators we have here are:

Billy- He is the cousin of the Gardner family. Brother Garnder is the family history consultant here, he is also the teacher for the Preach my Gospel class that we have every wednesday. Billy broke his arm recently while he was racing his lawnmower(I haven't heard of lawn mower races before, but they are big in this area.) We were able to teach him this past week for the first time and we set him with a baptismal date of Oct 16th. We're really going to try teaching him a lot and get him ready for that. He seems like he could very easily keep that date, so we're excited about that.

Alex and Nicole- I believe that Alex is getting disability, and Nicole works at a store around here( Hannaford I think) They have been "investigating" for a while. They like us but don't really keep their commitments too faithfully, they say that they will, but don't follow through. Alex just had an uncle die, we were going to teach him the plan of salvation, left him the reading for it, and wehn we came over to teach him he said it wasn't a good time. It always makes me wonder- "not a good time? It is the best time to learn of the plan of Happiness! when you need it!" But oh well I guess we've gotta respect his agency. They said they would call us after his birthday+funeral for uncle on thursday.

J.R. Spicci- Married to a member who just moved out to Utah in July to be by her family- She doesn't like it-her family and her aren't getting along, so she wants to move to idaho or Arizona now. He is staying here and working every hour that it is light. We have been really blessed in being able to catch him at just exactly the right moments, he probably spends about 10 minutes at his house every 3 days(During the hours we can work) 10am-9PM We caught him last night and talked to him for 8 of the ten. It was awesome. He knows that the church really teaches good things and that it helped him when he gave up coffe and tea, but then he kinda got upset at someone, and since then he has been really slow at progressing(went back to drinking coffee and tea) and now he doesn't want to join until he feels he can put his heart into it, he thinks that the way thats gonna happen is through a sign(witness) we talked to him last night about the parable of the pickle, and what it would mean/how you could tell if the church were true. But I think that the way for him to get his answer is to use the light he already has, to start praying, reading his scriptures again, give up those bad habits that he knows he should, before expecting more. God's not going to open doors you aren't ready to go through. I was thinking about the opening of China for missionary work. I realized that there are a whole lot of people in China! I wonder if we would even have enough missionaries to cover that area! I realized that China will open when the Church is ready to care for it. We probably need lots more missioanries, and that should be what I pray for first, then when we are prepared, the door will swing open. Same thing with JR, When he is prepared and willing to be baptized, the Lord can witness that it is the right thing, and open the door.

Mimi- Mimi has a simmilar story. She still smokes, she is older and fairly set in her ways, luckily some of those ways include personal revelation. She loves to know that she is doing what God wants, she just doesn't immediately accept what He wants her to do. She knows that He wants her to quit smoking but she is kinda fighting if she wants to or not. She is an interesting Character, I am not sure what we are going to do. Write more next time.

Elizabeth Baez- We found out that she just lost two sons and their friend in a swimming accident, they both had girl friends, on the funeral for the two boys, the 19 year old's girlfriends had a baby, and the 17 year old brother's girl found out that she was pregnant. Crazy huh? But Elizabeth wants to learn more so we are going to get to teach her sometime with a member(Her husband drives truck and so is never around.)

August 30th

Things are going well. Working hard is the way to success. In order to find the Lord's strength, you've gotta use all of yours. I really saw that this week. I have been trying to help Elder Perkins to be excited about missionary work. He always seems tired and isn't the happiest. I asked him to plan for us on Saturday, so he planned a great day. I just followed his lead and was along for the ride pretty much. He had energy, and he was a lot happier than usual, I on the other hand was a little grumpy and tired and not too excited. I hadn't put my part in, I didn't do my work, so the Lord didn't give me as much of His strength either. It was a powerful lesson on planning and being diligent if you expect to receive the blessings. It reminds me of a scripture that I have been memorizing:

Helaman 14:30 and now remember, remember, my brethren that whosoever perisheth perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity doeth it unto himself; for behold ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold God hath given you a knowledge and He hath made you free.

That's all for this week I guess. Hope you're all doing as wonderfully as I am!(as members say all the time at dinner appointments: "if you leave hungry, it is your own fault. Help yourself." We do that with our happiness. We choose what we do, and if we want to be happy choose to follow God. If we work for it, we'll get it. Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened. We strive for something, desire it, work for it, and we receive our wages from who we list to obey, God is a much more merciful master, much greater gifts come from following Him. Wickedness never was happiness. who are we working for?) ;) hahaha. Take care and have a great day!

Love, Elder Trezor Sheen Owens

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