He Lives!

Hello everyone! 

I am sitting here and I honestly don't have much to report on. So this might be on the short side... sorry in advance! 

This week has been good! 

We had interview with President Wilson on Tuesday and that was great. I swear mission presidents are just the most inspired and awesome people in the world. He talked to me a lot about self-discipline and how that is the key to being a great missionary, not just a good missionary.

 So I'm still working on that. :) 

We've been doing a lot of tracting lately, which always brings fun reactions :)

 Last night we got a lot of door slams and got told that Mormons are weird and a cult and so on. Haha but then there are the nice people that make it all worth it. But we are just trying to find people to teach! It seems like our investigators just keep falling off the chart. So pray for us! 

On Friday we also had Return and Report, which is a meeting for trainers and their trainees. And guess where it was...... CHIPPENHAM! We got to go street contacting at VCU for like 2 hours and I was in heaven even though it was pouring rain.
 I miss that place so much!! So it was fun to go back for a little bit. 

We also got to meet our recent convert, Adriaan's parents this week! They are in town from the Netherlands for about a month and only speak Dutch. We showed them the He Lives video and Adriaan translated the words on the screen. It was so cool to see the Spirit fill the room as we watched. They also came to church on Sunday! Hopefully they will be more open to learning about the gospel after visiting here. 

Have you guys seen the video yet?? It is so good! 

HeLives.mormon.org

Share it on your social media!

Also, the General Women's meeting the other night was awesome. It was so cool to see the theme of the family in all of the speakers and it just shows how much Satan is trying to destroy the family.
 We need to defend it! 

I am grateful for prophets and apostles that can lead us and guide us in a scary world. I loved Elder Eyring's talk too. It was on empathy and lifting up the hands that hang down around us. I have definitely seen the power of that principle on my mission.
  Sometimes people don't need us to solve their problems, they just need to be loved.
 So think of someone who could use some love and send it their way. :) 

I am so excited for General Conference!!!!!!!!!!! Best time of the year, no doubt haha :) I hope you all have a wonderful General Conference and a wonderful Easter!

I know that He lives! He is here. He loves us. He died for us. And He rose again. I know that is true and I am so grateful that He did. I know that He can help us in the good times and the bad times and the in between. We just need to find Him. :) 

"Oh sweet the joy this sentence gives, "I know that my Redeemer lives!"

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

XOXO, Sister Fowers

I love this lady so so so much!! So good to see her back at Chippy!

Obedience brings blessings!

Hello errrbody!

Honestly this week was pretty uneventful... but it was a good week nonetheless. :) 

We've been doing a lot of tracting and just trying to find find find!  

One thing I've been learning a lot about though is obedience. Not just obedience though,

  exact obedience! Its hard to be exactly obedient, lets be real.

 But I've been studying about it and I came across this scripture:

D&C 130:20-21 

"There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—

And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." 

Of course I've heard that scripture bunches of times. But this time it just clicked with me and I started to think, "What if the reason we aren't getting new investigators is because we aren't doing this...?" or "What if so and so didn't get baptized because I didn't do this...?" and I just realized that you never know what law your blessings are predicated to! So, if you want to receive blessings and see miracles, then you need to be obedient to all the laws. Don't risk losing those blessings just because you aren't willing to live the small and simple laws. 

So think about what laws you could keep more fully and then do it! You never know what blessing will come. :)

Okay rant over haha.

Sorry there's not much else to fill you guys in on! Just missionary life as usual :) 

The other night we left from a lesson where we had an FHE in a member's home with a recent convert and it was so fun and as we were driving away I just felt so happy.
 Missions are so happy!  

Even more, the gospel is so happy! It is the happiest thing in the world. Nothing better than laughing and loving everyone around you and just being happy. 

I hope that all is going well at home! 

Keep a look out for HeLives.mormon.org! 

Love you all lots and lots and lots. Thanks for all the prayers.

XOXO Sister Fowers :)

Love her :)

Pray Always

Hello everyone!

This week has been quite the week. Let me give you a little low down. 

It all started on Tuesday. We had a good day, we had a lesson with our investigator Catherine and it went really well. Then we went tracting and had just a normal day. 

Then we had dinner. It was a good dinner with a super awesome family in the ward, but when we were sharing a message with them after dinner my companion turned to me and told me her stomach was hurting really bad, which was kind of normal because she had been having an upset stomach for a while,
 but we thought it was because of all the new food she was having to eat. 

We had another appointment after dinner, so we went with a member to the Orcutt's house and during the lesson, I could tell she was just really sick. So we got out as soon as we could, but when the member finally drove us back to our car Sister Mailata was not doing good . She was like doubled over in pain! So I asked her if she felt like she needed to go to the hospital and she said yes, so we called the mission nurse and she told us to go to the ER at the VCU hospital in Richmond. 

So off we went! At like 11:00 to the ER! Haha I felt like Nephi when he says, 

"And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do." 
  (1 Nephi 4:6)

Have I ever taken anyone to the ER? Nope! But Heavenly Father guided me and we got there. They did a bunch of tests and eventually they just treated her symptoms and we got her some medicine, so we went back home that night. 

She is feeling much better! But the most spiritual part of that experience for me happened before we left. 

As I was talking to President Wilson on the phone and trying to get everything together as fast as I could before we left, while I was flurrying to get ready to go, I looked over to see my companion quietly kneeling by her bed. Saying a prayer. 

Wow. Such a simple moment, but so powerful for me. She understood that the true, divine help that she needed wouldn't come from a hospital, but from her Heavenly Father. Even while she was in so much pain, she took the time to kneel and ask for Him to heal her. To me, that is real faith. 

D&C 9:24 "...pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good."

Prayer is such a powerful thing! I'm so grateful that we can call upon the powers of Heaven to help us at any time. That is such a blessing! 

We also had a wonderful lesson last night with our recent convert, Adriaan! It was so fun because he was there, we were there, his wife was there, our other recent convert Carol was there with her husband, Adriaan's home teacher was there and his wife and 8 kids! Haha talk about a big crowd! But it was a powerful lesson about the Plan of Salvation. Then afterwards we all talked and ate cake haha, it was fun :) 

Things are going great here in VA! Today is my 8 month mark! Woohoo! 

Sister Mailata and I are doing just great, she is the funniest little Samoan ever, I love her so much. :) And the work is moving forward, slowly but surely! 

Also, I am so pumped for conference in a few weeks!!! 

And Easter. 

And the HeLives.mormon.org video. 

Its gonna be so great. :) 

I hope everything is going great! Love you all lots!

XOXO Sister Fowers

Super-cali-fraga-listic-aspeal-idocious?

Hello everyone! 

Spring has finally sprung in Virginia! Well, I hope it has at least. You never know here. :) Its been a lot warmer the last few days and I am loving it! 

Down side though? I am literally dying of allergies. AHH. I'm going to die when all the pollen really starts to come. Pray for me!

This week has been good! We've seen some cool miracles. 

On Wednesday we went on a power exchange with some of the Sister Training Leaders and they just came out with us to do some tracting and we found a new investigator! Her name is Jasmine. She's 18 and just a super nice, sassy, Christian girl. She let us right in and we taught her the restoration. She told us that it was so weird that we just happened to stop by because just a few weeks before that she had been doing a lot of things that weren't right, but that she went to church one day and had a super spiritual experience and decided to completely change her life and recommit herself to Christ. Then we came! She told us that we were the first people she's met that believe all of the things she believes. She also loved the Book of Mormon and is so excited to read it. We had another lesson with her a few days later and she is doing great. Her best friend even joined us halfway through the lesson and really liked it, so now they are both reading and praying to know if its true. 

Another day we went tracting and found another investigator named Catherine Edge. (We don't have very many investigators so its a miracle that we've even been finding some). She is a super nice lady, in her 50's. She is disabled and in a wheel chair, so her kids take care of her a lot. She really liked everything we taught her but at the end she said she didn't know if she'd ever convert because of some of the "crapola" we believe like not drinking wine hahaha :) We told her to take it one step at a time ;) We have another lesson with her tomorrow!

We are also working with some super awesome recent converts. 

One is named Adriaan van de Rijken. He is from the Netherlands! His wife, Karen, has been a member her whole life but has been inactive most of it. She decided to come back to church about a year ago and Adriaan just got baptized! They are the funniest, most blunt, sarcastic people ever. I love them. They are such a powerful example of the power of the atonement in people's lives. It is never too late to change your life! No matter how far you've gone. 

Another recent convert is Carol Orcutt! Her husband Tommy is still investigating, so we are teaching him still. They are both super southern and so sweet and cute. She was taught by the previous sisters and was just golden. She accepted everything they taught right from the start. Her husband is a little more apprehensive, but we are plotting with Sister Orcutt to get him in the water ;) He comes to church with her every week though, so we think it will happen. 

We haven't had the chance to teach the Cox family again yet, but I will keep you guys updated!

Another exciting thing: HeLives.mormon.org! 

The church is doing another huge Easter video initiative! The video doesn't come out until March 28th, but its going to be awesome. :) So get ready to share it and blow it up when it does!

My little compie and I are doing good though! She is such a great missionary.
 She misses home a lot, but we've all been there.
 She is learning so much and has grown a lot in just a few weeks. :) 

The other day I was being cruel and wrote down the word "super-cali-fraga-listic-aspeal-idocious" and took a video of her trying to pronounce it. (I don't know how to even spell it?) Hahahaha it was literally so funny. I would send it, but its too big of a file. We have fun. :)

She sings super good though, so we sing alto and soprano parts in our lessons and
 we sound pretty bomb, jus sayin ;) 

I didn't take very many pictures this week, sorry! I'll be better next week. I hope everything is going great at home! We are doing great and are expecting to see lots of miracles here!!

You are all just gems and I miss you guys a lot! LOVE YOU!

XOXO Sister Fowers

I love my compie!

Pronounce this!

TALOFA! Meet my little Samoan :)

Talofa means hello in Samaon if you were wondering. :) 

I won't keep you in suspense ;) I've been transferred to the Clover Hill ward back down in Midlothian, which is super close to Richmond! I'm excited because we are in the same zone as Chippenham!! So I'll get to go on exchanges there and visit! 

Also, my companion is Sister Mailata! (mah-ee-la-ta..... thought that might help haha).
 SHE IS SO GREAT! I just love her so much. :) 

Get this. She is from an island is western Samoa called Apia. Her mom joined the church when she was 21, so Sister Mailata has grown up in the church her whole life. She lives in a village up in the mountains and this is the first time she has ever left her island in her life. 

Crazy right??

She has 2 brothers and 2 sisters and is the oldest in her family. She also has 49 cousins.... YUP. Her family doesn't have internet, so she can only write them letters. 

Also, she is still learning english, so we're working on that hahaha :) flash cards for days!
 She has been teaching me a lot of Samoan though,
 so holla! I ended up learning a language after all ;) 

She is my same age, but when she completed her mission papers, after years of trying, her dad finally decided to take the missionary discussions and got baptized a few months later. All because of her decision to serve. How amazing is that?? 

Simply put, she is probably the most un-worldy person I know and is sooooo humble and kind. Back home she would drive an hour, two times a week, just to go to the temple. She has such a strong testimony and even through broken English you can tell that she has such a powerful testimony. 

It's going to be a great transfer!

The Clover Hill ward is so great too! The members really really take care of us. The sisters that we replaced, just had two baptisms right before they left, so we are working with some awesome recent converts right now! We are just trying to figure out this area and find new people to teach though. 

We also live with two other sisters in our apartment, so that's fun :) 

This week hasn't been too exciting as far as missionary work goes, but we are teaching an awesome part member family, the Cox's! So pray for them :) 

I don't have much time left but I am grateful this week for the sacrament. Every time I feel stressed or inadequate I just look forward to Sunday when I can gain strength and renewal from the sacrament. What a blessing to be able to be new every week! I love it. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Spring is hopefully on its way! I'm sick of Virginia winter haha :) Love you all lots!

XOXO Sister Fowers

Saying goodbye to Sister Wagstaff

and HELLO to my new little Samoan greenie, Sister Mailata! 

Wearing our "ie lava lava's" :)

First time she's ever seen snow haha :)