Another fun week:)

From: Kristen Owens
Date: Mon, Mar 18, 2013 at 1:02 PM
Subject: Another fun week :)
To: carolyn owens

Hey Family,

First, thanks mom for your letter and all the updates. I am sooo happy that Makena was able to be sealed to our family!!! :) I love her sooooo much! Ah! I am so grateful for the gospel! And Little Madden was blessed :) I can already tell from the pictures that he is going to be a great football player :) We'll call him chunky fudge the second (that's for you mom and dad). And thanks mom for the package and all the goodies (yes my favorite cadbury eggs!) and the pictures! I had to look at them several times--I miss you all so much! It brings me such joy to see you all so happy and blessed! Holy moly! I pray for you every night. Thanks for your great examples.

This past week Lil' Tommy got baptized! He was sooo happy! He had to be immersed 4 times....ha But, it just shows how important the ordinance is to do it exactly right. He claims he was dipped once for every year he could have been baptized before (He's 12). He is the coolest kid. We just love him and are excited for his brother to be baptized this Wednesday. He really is my favorite. His family is awesome and we are so grateful for his example to them all. He is set to receive the Aaronic priesthood next Sunday. The ward was very supportive and the confirmation was great.

Well, let me just say, being in a trio is fun! It's hilarious! We laugh so much every day. Sister Topi and Sister Kekauoha and I are all sooo different, but it is fun to have so many different opinions! Sister K is so much like Britt! I tell her that all the time. She has such a big, bold personality and it is very refreshing to have someone say it how it is! The other night we had a few things fall through and we were getting a little frustrated with our investigators and them not keeping their commitments. Sister K was a little upset so naturally we made her pray :) ha.ha. She said the best prayer I have ever heard. She was so straightforward with Heavenly Father and it was just so great. I just love her. I remember Sister Mansfield saying once that if you are mad you shouldn't wait to pray--pray even when you are angry! :) it works. Sister Topi is so loving and charitable. We are both learning how to show forth more love to those around us. Working in three is much different than two. It's fun though :) wouldn't have it any other way.

We are working with several families and we are really excited for them. Both of the families are from Liberia. They are great individuals with such a strong spiritual side. We are hoping to get them baptized next month. WE BAPTIZE! They are so great.

I am learning more and more how important it is to have our investigators and recent converts be truly converted. They need so much support because the culture is so different. We meet so many less active members that have testimonies but aren't living it. It kills me to see their potential and I know it is killing them to not be living what they know to be true. Please reach out to those who are not active. They need a friend. Just be their friend.

We had a great experience this past week with a less active lady who is in a nursing home with cancer. We decided to stop by and we ended up singing a song "I am a child of God" to her and sharing a brief message about trusting in God. It was such a neat experience. I remember reading in Emily's letter a while back about how she loved the power of music and this experience was a testimony to me of how powerful music really can be. The spirit was sweet. I love the hymns.
We had an okay week. We did have a miracle though. We had prayed with our district leader right before a lesson that we would be able to teach a restoration lesson and invite someone to be baptized that night. We went with our joint teacher and the person wasn't home so we 10x10 the area and ended up meeting a couple, sharing the restoration message briefly with them and inviting them to follow Christ's example. They didn't say yes to the baptismal invite, but they did have a lot of questions about baptism. We are seeing them again tonight. Faith is an interesting thing. It's incredible how much flows from having faith. A mission is definitely a test of faith. Every day! :)

This transfer is pretty exciting. We have some good things going on. It's hard balancing three in a companionship but it's been a great experience. I am excited to see what the rest of the transfer brings. We have made goals: 1-be more focused and consecrated and 2-find, teach, and baptize a family. We are praying really hard. Thanks for all of your prayers, we really need them. I always feel like I am not reaching my potential and that is something I am working on is not letting that get me down.

The weather is great. It's definitely snowy! We were grounded today until 12pm :) This time last year it was 60-70 degrees :) yay.
The work is great, my testimony is growing so much, and the Lord is so willing to forgive. I know the Atonement is real. I know this gospel is for all our brothers and sisters. I know this church is His church. I love you family. Please keep the prayers coming.

Love,
 Sister Owens

Hey

Kristen Owens	Mar 11 (7 days ago)
to me

Dear Family,

This is getting a little depressing, opening my email and finding no letters from anyone. I am going to blame technology for this one, but if it happens again, I'll really start to wonder..."Anyway, Life goes on," as my Sister Topi would say.

So. This week was awesome! We received a third sister straight from the MTC! She was there for 2 weeks and is from California. Her name is Sister Kekauoha. She is hilarious and reminds me of Brittany's personality. She is so much fun and her laugh is great. We just love her. My companions are complete opposites yet we get along pretty well :) It's interesting training two missionaries at once with both of them at different stages, but, it's up to the Lord. So, these sisters are awesome. I really do admire and respect them for who they both are. They bring such different things to the table. I have come to realize I am a controller....ya....I need to relinquish my pride...ha. My goal this week is to rely more fully on my companions and the spirit rather than my own knowledge and skills. It's so much easier to be a missionary when you do that. The ward is getting really sick of me being here...they keep saying, "since your in a threesome, does this mean someone is leaving?" ha I joke with them and say they better get used to me being here because I am not planning on leaving anytime soon :) One of the most rewarding things this week for me was when a member approached us at the baptism this past weekend and said, "I finally had my missionary moment." She invited her neighbor to come and check out the church because they have been looking for churches to go to. Don't worry, I totally high-fived them both for their efforts and they planned on giving them a Book of Mormon to them after church. We will followup today and see how it went :) But, this is after many moments role playing with them and encouraging them and promising them blessings and opportunities to share the gospel and they did it! :) I love it! The members here are incredible. They really are so enthusiastic about the work and they do it so well :) We love them and I really hope I never leave this area. I don't know what I would do at a different place...eek.

Well Lil' Timmy is getting baptized this weekend! He is the cutest and we all feel like he is our little brother. I almost started crying in our lesson (okay, i did cry, but just a little) when we talked about the priesthood and invited him to prepare himself and remain worthy for that special gift. This kid is going to do great things as he prepares to serve a mission as well. His brother is getting baptized the following week. It will bless their family so much as they do that and receive the priesthood. That family needs it :) We love them.

We had some great experiences this week. I invited some Muslims to be baptized after teaching them briefly about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Restoration. they said they would follow him in every other way but not baptism, He is only a prophet to them. It was a rough lesson. but, it was still great to invite them to follow Christ :) sister Topi just laughed at me after and couldn't believe I invited two very very Muslim people to be baptized. hey, that is our purpose right? ha

Funny Stories: One day we were driving in the car and sister topi rolled down the window and yells, "BAAPPPTIIIIZZEE!" in her Albanian accent. We now have a theme for the transfer--"BAAPPPTIIIZZEE!!!" It's our response to everything, we even say it before we go out and work in the morning, or right before a lesson. It's great. I just love her--she is hilarious.

Sister Kekauoha had to explain the word "booger" to Sister Topi. Love those tender moments. This is probably inappropriate to write, but it was funny. She's had to explain a lot of words to Sister Topi...we are now working on not using so much slang in our vocabulary :) It's fun to be with two other companions--adds a lot of dimension :)

Miracles this week: too many to write. President has added a new key indicator: how many restoration lessons with an invitation to be baptized we teach each week. We taught 5 this week and got 7 new investigators :) It's been pretty cool to see how many people are prepared for the gospel, also as we follow President's counsel=miracles. I love inviting people to follow the Savior and receive a remission of sins and receive the Holy Ghost! It's the best.

Well family, I love you, and I am so grateful for you. we were able to find some families this week and it helped me put things into perspective as Shea and Nadine are sealed to Makena for time and all eternity. I love FOREVER FAMILIES! the gospel is true, my heart is so full of joy! I love it! Keep on keeping on! You are my lights and examples. I couldn't do this without you!

Love,
  Sister Owens