Baptismal Covenants

This week was pretty good! A little on the slow side but that's just life haha. There has been a bug going around getting everyone sick but luckily it hasn't come over any of the missionaries here! Hopefully it will stay that way haha. 

Tuesday and Wednesday were both good but a little slow. It was beautiful outside so I can't complain at all. But we just went around trying to contact investigators, formers, and people on our SCI list which was pretty unsuccessful. However, we did get to see the lady that we gave a blessing to last week and talk to her which was pretty awesome! Nothing to crazy but she said she enjoys us coming by and wants to come to church! So that's awesome! 

Thursday we went to Mepkin Abbey again to do service which was fun. And then afterward we went with a member to help clean up and paint a trailer that he rents out which was pretty fun. Afterward he got us pizza for dinner which was awesome! 

Friday we got to go to a members house and participate in the last lesson of the temple prep class and have dinner which was amazing. We got to watch a video about the temple and talked about how important the temple is. I am so grateful for the blessings of temples. It is where we can go to grow closer to God. Me and Elder Anderson are helping a less active member get back to church and go to the temple. It has been such a blessing to be able to see him progress and I am grateful that I have been able to be a part of it. One thing that is amazing to see is the Lord really prepares these people for us. We just knock on their doors when we feel prompted to and they usually don't even need our help! 

Saturday was great. Our ward mission leader's daughter got baptized which was great. And there was a wonderful talk given on the gift of the Holy Ghost which was awesome. It is such an amazing blessing we can be given to have the constant companionship of a member of the God head. In the New Testament, John the Baptist was baptizing people and he told them that the baptism he was giving them was incomplete, and that there would be another to come after him (Jesus Christ) who would baptize them by fire. And he was talking about the Holy Ghost. And with it as our constant companion we can feel peace through the storm and comfort through our trials. 

Sunday was great! We went to church and had a linger longer afterwards which was pretty fun! We had some great food! And our ward food storage guy challenged some of the ward members to use only food storage food for their dishes. It was really cool and the food was really good!! This morning we also got transfer calls and Elder Anderson is leaving Moncks Corner. He has been for for 4 transfers and with me for 3 of those. It has been a pleasure to serve with him and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to be his companion. I will be staying in Moncks Corner and getting a new companion and I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for me! I love you all and miss you so much! Have an amazing week!

"I live life a quarter mile at a time"

Elder Dowell (2)

Monks in Moncks Corner

This week was pretty good! Tuesday we had DDM and I gave a training which is always fun. And the zone leaders were there because they were gonna go on exchanges with Elder Rose so that was awesome because it is always fun to see them! After DDM the zone leaders got a call that they had to go help some missionaries in Charleston that locked their keys in their car though, so they couldn't go on exchanges. But elder Rose and Elder Anderson still needed to exchange so we decided we would do that! So it was me and Elder Carter down here in Moncks Corner. And to start it off, before the zone leaders went down to Charleston we got to go have lunch with them which was a blast. Then me and Elder Carter got to work! We got to see one of our investigators who has been having a harder time progressing. And we talked to her about the priesthood and why it is important that she go to a church that has the authority to act in God's name. It was a really good lesson and I am grateful that we got to have it. 

After that we had a lesson with a guy in our apartment complex. He is always out and about walking walking his dogs and sees us leaving on our bikes in our shirt and ties and asked us what we were always doing! So we told him, and he said he would love to have us over sometime to talk about our church. That was about two weeks ago, and we finally got an appointment set up for this last Tuesday. We went over and taught him the restoration which went really well and he asked some really good questions. Then after the lesson itself was finished he had some more questions for us. The questions pointed toward a struggle he has accepting God. So we told him as much as we could and invited him to read from the Book of Mormon and he said he would and that he would love to have us over for another lesson. 

Wednesday not to much happened. We got a ride up to Georgetown to re exchange which was fun as always. Afterwards we tried to go see some people that weren't home which was a bummer. Then we played some basketball and there were a bunch of nonmembers and less active members there which was awesome so we got to talk to them. 

Thursday was pretty fun! We started with some service at Mepkin abbey. We were splitting wood for about 3 hours which was very tiring but just as fun! Then we had a bunch of appointments fall through which was a bummer. But we got to finish off the day at Book of Mormon class!! And I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon. It has the answer to every one of life's questions. I know the Book of Mormon is true and that we can grow closer to God by reading it than any other book. I have learned so much from it and still no nothing compared to how much it has to offer. Friday and Saturday were a little on the slow side. I got a nail in my tire so we were walking until Brother Hill could take us to get a new tire on Saturday which was rough. But it's back up and running now so no worries!! 

Mepkin Abbey

Sunday was awesome. I know I talk a lot about the sacrament. But this Sunday especially I could really feel of the importance of it. It was fast Sunday so I was fasting. And anyone who knows ,e knows I get hangry real quick which is rough haha. But I had been fasting with a few questions in mind and I really took a step back and just thanked the Lord for all that I have been given during the sacrament, and I just felt overcome with love and peace. It was amazing and I am so grateful that I have a Father and Heaven who knows me so well and knows that was exactly what I needed. Then between Sunday night after planning and Monday morning studies I read 3 Nephi- the end of Mormon in the Book of Mormon which was awesome. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that it was especially for us today. I love you all and miss you so much!! Have an amazing week!

"And give each other $20"

Elder Dowell (2)

Waffle House Birthday

 

Hello everyone. This week was pretty good! Monday was Elder Rose's birthday, so he and Elder Carter came down and we had Waffle House for his bday lunch and played some basketball which was really fun. On Tuesday we went with Brother Singer to do some service. That was pretty fun. He had gone the day before to cut down a bunch of trees and he cut down 10 to 12 trees. So when we went we just took all the parts of the tree and put them in a big burn pile. The pile was taller than me and probably 6 feet across so it was huge. Sadly we did t get to burn it though haha. 

Then on Wednesday we had a worldwide broadcast from the executive missionary council which consists of Elder Oaks, Elder Bednar, Elder Anderson, and a few other church officers and general authorities. That was awesome! They trained us a little bit on our purpose as as introduced a new mission schedule. It isn't to crazy. Before we had a schedule that had us doing certain things at certain times every day. We still have everything to do but now we get to pick when we do them which is nice. It was a very uplifting meeting and I am very grateful for it. Them on Thursday we went to Charleston for zone conference and Elder L.Whitney Clayton of the presidency of the seventy was there as well as president and sister Turner and Sister Clayton (Elder Clayton's wife). And that was awesome! We talked a little about about the broadcast from Wednesday and then we talked about what we do as missionaries. Elder Clayton explained that missionaries have an angelic calling and a special mantel placed upon them to carry it out. We talked about how every missionary, for the most part, is a good missionary. We all come out to serve and dedicate our lives to the Lord and that is good. But there is a difference between a good missionary and an angelic missionary. So we talked about what makes a missionary angelic and it was really cool. I am so grateful that we have the opportunity to have leaders in the church that can constantly receive revelation to help us improve and serve the Lord. And I am grateful that there are men like Elder Clayton that are willing to accept the call and do everything the Lord asks them to do. 

Then Friday and Saturday were pretty slow. We had a while list of appointments set up and people to see, and we only got to see like 2 of them. So that was a little disappointing but that's alright! There's always next week! There was one super awesome thing that happened on Saturday! A little bit of backstory, on Sunday nights we try and confirm all of our appointments for the week and seek members who we think would be a good fit. On Saturday we felt like Brother Dalling should come with us. So we contacted him but he was supposed to be in Virginia on Saturday so he couldn't come. Then on Saturday night, we had just finished dinner and were about to bike out then door when he texted us and asked if we could open the church for him. And it was on our way so we said yes. And when we got there he said he was going to do some cleaning but afterward, if we still had an appointment, he would be happy to take us! And we did! So he came with us! And he really connected with the person we went to see and it was awesome.  

Sunday was pretty good! I gave a talk as well as Sister Julander which was really fun! Sister Julander's talk was great. We both spoke on preach my gospel. I focused on chapter 9 (finding) and the faith to find! I used the story of the sons of Mosiah for most of my talk and I think it went pretty well! Sister Julander focused on chapter 4 (recognize the Spirit) and she did awesome! Luckily I went first so we ended on a spiritual note haha. After church we tried to visit a few people that weren't home. But on our way back in to the apartment one of our neighbors starting talking to us and asked what makes our church different. So we talked a little about modern day revelation and he had a few more questions that led us into the start of the restoration! We told him it could take a while to explain so he asked us to come over sometime and have a lesson with him so we set up an appointment! So overall good week! 

I love you all and miss you so much!!! Please pray for missionary experiences and try to spread the gospel! Have a great week!

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it"

Elder Dowell (2)

Scriptures

Hello everyone! This week was amazing! To start it off we had DDM which was pretty fun. We are doing a teaching role play this month called the 7 minute restoration which is really fun! We try and teach all the doctrine of the restoration lesson in 7 minutes. And I was role playing with Elder Rose but our whole district was laughing at me. Because I LOVE the scriptures. And I love to teach with them! But in seven minutes I don't have enough time to open to all the scriptures I want to. So I just explain what they say. And I was standing up and making gestures to go along with what I was saying and everyone told me I looked ridiculous but Elder Rose it made a lot of sense! So it was fun. 

Then I went up to Georgetown for exchanges with Elder Rose. While I was up there we got to teach a few lessons that were awesome. The first one was about the scriptures. One of their investigators was having a hard time understanding why he needed to study so much! So we got to explain that to him! The Lord has given us commandments and standards to live by in order to be happy. And it used to be, the prophets would tell you! And you would just listen to them. And they still do tell us! And we still listen to them! But we also have the scriptures, and in them are the commandments of the prophets from days of old. And we can turn to them whenever we have questions, doubts, concerns, or just need comfort. And when we turn the scriptures and to the Lord and he sees that we are trying to do all that we can, he will bless us! And that is a promise! If you don't believe me check in the scriptures! Right after a commandment is given, a blessing is promised. Every time. When we explained that, the investigator understood and lot better and said he wants to study his scriptures more! Because who wouldn't?

The only other lesson we had while I was there was with another investigator they were having trouble contacting. But we caught him at home and played some basketball with him in front of his house which was really fun. Then we went inside and he asked us what the message we had for him was. And we were very poorly prepared because we did t think he would be home! So we did t have anything ready! But then he said, "what can you tell me about repentance?" And we had an amazing lesson with him on repentance. We shared the story of Alma the younger's conversion. He was going around preaching and persuading people against the church. Then, while he was traveling, and an angel appeared to him and the sons of Mosiah!! (Mosiah 27 & Alma 36) This angel asked him why he was sinning and persecuting the saints. Alma felt the full weight and pain of his transgressions, he records is as "even unto death" and he felt sooooooo bad that for the things he had done. He said that he didn't want to ever see God he felt so guilty. But then, he felt his sins forgiven! He repented and the weight was lifted so he felt the pains thereof no more! And after he came out of his stupor, he became so converted that he just wanted to share his gospel with everyone! So he did to the best of his abilities. When he felt the pain of his sins, he was certain he couldn't be forgiven. But nevertheless, the Lord forgave him and Alma became an amazing missionary, and prophet. It was an awesome lesson and the investigator loved it. 

Then after the exchange it was back to Moncks Corner! Thursday we had an awesome lesson with a less active member! He is working on getting to the temple and has been attending temple prep class! We went over and taught him the restoration which was awesome, and he had so many questions! We answered them all the best we could and he said he is so grateful for us and that he is so excited to go to the temple! I envy him greatly and am so grateful to the opportunity to be working with him. 

Friday we had an awesome weekly planning session, but sadly all of our appointments fell through. Then Saturday was awesome! The rainy weather made it rough but we had an awesome member (Brother Dan) come out with us. And we were able to put one of our investigators on date for baptism!! She said she had been looking for a church where the people care and she feels at home and she thinks she has found it with us. We read Matthew chapter 3 her and asked her why she thinks Jesus went to John the Baptist to be baptized. She said she had never thought about it, but when we told her it was because he was the only one with the proper authority she said it makes sense! And she promptly agreed to he baptized by someone of the proper authority into Christ's church. Which was awesome! And I am so excited for her. 

Then Sunday was good! We had ward conference so there were a ton of stake leaders there which is always fun. And we got to sustain all the church leadership which I am so grateful for. I wholeheartedly sustain President Thomas S. Monson as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and his counselors Henry B. Eyring and Dieter F. Uchtdorf and also the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators for this church in these latter days. Me and Elder Anderson got snatched by the primary for all of church after sacrament meeting to be captain righteous and talk to the primary kids about choosing the right which was really fun! And I looked a little goofy but that's alright. It was totally worth it. That was pretty much all that happened this week! It was a pretty good one! I did watch a really awesome talk by Elder Holland like 5 times. It is from October 2012 and called "The First Great Commandment". If you get a chance this week please watch it! And if you can't watch it at least read it! But given the choice between the two I would watch it. Elder Holland speaks with such emotion and conviction. I love you all and miss you so much! Have an amazing week!

"When the going gets tough, the great ones party"

Elder Dowell (2)