I cant even begin to express how ridiculous this week was, and also how incredible it was.

This week I had my last interview with my mission president and my last Zone Conference. In the Hawaii Honolulu Mission, at a missionaries last Zone Conference, they give their "dying" testimony and all the missionaries sing 'Aloha Oe'. Aloha Oe is a song that was written by one of the past Queens of Hawaii and its a goodbye song, in fact its sung in the movie "Lilo and Stitch" when the the sisters have to part ways. Ive watched missionaries my whole mission stand in front before they go home and everyone sang to them, but this last Friday it was my turn. It made me sad to see all these wonderful missionaries sing goodbye to me. I guess its really my time to go. I cried, President and Sister Bekker cried, my companions cried, Sister Satame refused to come up afterward and hug me along with everyone else because she didnt want to cry. It was a great to shake hands with and hug all the missionaries one by one afterwards and tell them how much I love them. In part of my dying testimony I said, "18 months ago I gave my greenie testimony at this exact same pulpit and I said 'Im Sister Bowen and Im a greenie!! And I hope I stay green my whole mission!' Im here to report that I am still green. I learn so much everyday, Im still blown away at my calling, and feel so grateful to my Heavenly Father for sending me to the Hawaii Honolulu Mission, under the direction of President and Sister Bekker. They have taught me so much. They taught me that its okay to be blonde and from Salt Lake City Utah!! Im a child of God! And all of us have individual gifts and talents that are needed here in Hawaii." I have such a strong testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ and The Book of Mormon. I know they are true and nothing can ever take away my testimony of that.

As for the ridiculous side of things, Ill update you on my return home. Lets just say its a miracle both me and my companion are still here in Hawaii.

This week we traveled to Waipahu, my old greenie area, and visited a couple of Chuukese. The Chuukese all live in an area called "Poop Town" (yes that is really what its called). Poop town scares Sister Satame (dont get me wrong it scares me too) because the last time we came here, a drunk Chuukese man grabbed her head haha. We met a few people and talked to lots of Chuukese and luckily were able to avoid the drunk men.

Friday was Sister Bendixens birthday and they invite us and one of our neighbors, Christine, who isnt a member of the church over for dinner and a lesson. We all arrive at the Bendixens apartment at the same time and when Sister Bendixen opened the door and welcomed us in she said something along the lines of "Chris what did you bring? You didnt have to bring anything!" Chris responded, "Its a birthday cake, because today is my birthday!" We couldnt believe it!! Sister Bendixen responded, "Today is my birthday!!" And we all laughed about that for a while. I am so grateful for how involved they are in my life I love them so much.

This week a good friend of mine made me think a lot when he said, "Have an awesome Sabbath... Eye single to the Glory of God!  Think about this... Define the Glory of God?" I had a great Sunday study with that writing prompt and found some great articles and quotes I would like to share:

Avoiding Unrighteous Dominion - Sept. 1990
By James S. and Jeanne N. Jardine

"The work and glory of our Father in Heaven is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39.) He glories in his children, in the process of their perfection, and in their progress on the path to exaltation. That glory is to be our single and principal focus on earth. The Lord has said that every man is to seek “the interest of his neighbor, and [do] all things with an eye single to the glory of God.” (D&C 82:19.)"

Author C. S. Lewis reminds us of the eternal importance of the people around us:
“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. … Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.” (The Weight of Glory, New York: Collier Books, Macmillan Publishing Co., 1980, pp. 18–19.)

The glory of god is us, his children. And if we want to someday to become like God we need to learn to love his children too. President David O. McKay said, "True Christianity is love in action. There is no better way to manifest love for God than to show an unselfish love for your fellow men. This is the spirit of missionary work” (Gospel Ideals [1954], 129).

President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “We are here to assist our Father in His work and His glory, ‘to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man’ (Moses 1:39). Your obligation is as serious as in you sphere of responsibility as is my obligation in my sphere” (“This is the Work of the Master,” Ensign, May 1995, 71).

In a way, the glory of god is missionary work. John L. Lund said, "We are on this earth to learn to love what God loves" which is eachother.

God puts specific people in our lives so we can help eachother progress and return to him. He does that ON PURPOSE because that is his purpose, love, and glory. That is his whole goal and it should be our whole goal,  for ourselves and those around us. To return to him. Its why the gospel was restored, why we have the scriptures, the Plan of Salvation, everything! Because we are his everything and when we have an eye single to the glory of god, we show him that he is our everything.

Called to Serve
 Onward, ever onward, as we glory in his name;
Onward, ever onward, as we glory in his name;
Forward, pressing forward, as a triumph song we sing.
God our strength will be; press forward ever,
Called to serve our King.

I love this work and I love Hawaii, but I also love my family and Utah, "Come what may and love it" right? 😊 Have another wonderful week and remember that you are so loved by me and by your Heavenly Father, I know he answers prayers and loves us more than we can comprehend. Until next week, (which will come very soon, they seem to go faster and faster😉)

Aloha,
Sista Bowen 

I hit my 18 month mark on Friday

This week was fun, I have a couple of stories but first I want to say I can't believe I hit my 18 month mark on Friday. My mission has been the most amazing, hard, rewarding, long, short, and testimony building experience Ive ever had and I have so many mixed feelings about it being over. This week is Zone Conference and Ill be giving my dying testimony in the same exact chapel I gave my greenie testimony in. I attended many Conferences in that same chapel in Waipahu and as I watched missionaries give their last testimonies I always told myself by the time Im pau with my mission and giving my testimony I will have so many insightful things to say, but like Albert Einstein once said, "The more you know, the more you realize you know nothing." Missionary work is so much greater than I think any of us realize. Its Gods work and glory and WE get to be the 1 in a millions that get to be involved in that. I use to think I was very average because I was blonde, born and raised in the church and from Salt Lake City. From a Utah perspective, yes Im much more apart of the majority, but after being in a place like Hawaii for a year and a half, I realize how different we are from the world, and of all the hundreds of thousands of years that could have been born, we were born TODAY because our Heavenly Father knew we would do everything we could to spread the gospel. The world NEEDS us to do missionary work. The father of one of the families I taught and baptized in Maui will often post on Facebook about different his life is and his gratitude for how Jesus Christ has changed his families life. Funny how missionary work does the same thing to the missionary too. 😊 I love this work and I love how much I have changed, I have a testimony of this gospel and what it can do to people because of personal experience. Thank you to everyone that played a part in getting me on a mission, I will never, ever be the same.

On Saturday, we went with the Elders in Waipahu to visit a couple of chuukese families that they are teaching but have a hard time communicating with. How that works, I dont know. As we were walking down the street, late at night, we saw a group of drunk men. Sister Satame and I usually avoid such groups but the elders didn't get the memo. They stopped and started talking to this group and we stood off to the side. Out of nowhere one of the drunk men comes up to Sister Satame and GRABS her head. I immediately wapped his arms off and one of the Elders went between him and Sister Satame and pushed him back. He angrily talked to him, and then we quickly left. "Sorry Sister Satame... does that happen very often?"  Needless to say, we didnt stop to talk to anymore drunk men. 😂 That same evening I met for the first time, an elder who has only been out for 2 weeks. He was called Marshallese speaking and wanted to let me know all about Micronesians. "You say 'Iakwe' to say hello in Marshelles, or 'Ran Allim' in Chuukese, also Micronesians...." Boy did that 2 weeker teach me so much about Micronesians.😂 I wanted to be nice and knew he just felt proud to be a Marshelles elder so I just listened for the 2 hours we walked around visiting people with them. Finally, Elder Jacobs (his companion) couldnt take it anymore. He goes "Did you know Sister Bowen has been working in the Micronesian area for 8 months?" "Oh no way, anyway the Micronesians...." haha he didn't get the memo but its okay I know hes just excited. 😉

Wednesday night, we went to dinner at the Smiths house, who is one of my favorite families in our Branch. After a delicious dinner of fish soup, we shared a message about President Russell M. Nelsons committment to all the Women in General Conference to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year and then share it with somebody. We started cleaning up our dishes after and Sister Smith says, "Do you want to paint? I bought canvas for everyone!" So then we all painted together! It was the most fun night ever. 😁 I look terrible in the picture because we had spent the whole first part of the day at Pearl Harbor swabbing the deck in the sun haha. That was Elder Fanene, Elder Lidang and my last Pearl Harbor trip which it really sad to think about as I type this. But we all got T-Shirts and took some fun pictures together. I am so glad Im going home with them, they are such a big part of my mission and my life. 😊

We met Sister Satames older sister this week, and they havent seen eachother in over 12 years!! She has super cute kids and she hooked us up with Banana and Octopus, which was super generous. We gave her a Book of Mormon and are going to start teaching her. She also braided Sister Satames hair, Chuukese style, with was cute to watch. 😊

Last, but most definitely not least, the Evingers, a couple from my first area in Ewa Beach that are like my parents away from home, WERE SEALED IN THE TEMPLE THIS WEEK 😄😄😄 Sister Evinger sent me a message this week all about it and I am so happy for them. I love them with all my heart. 😙😄

Im grateful for my mission and for my testimony, I am also grateful for my parents and grandparents that have lovingly helped me to get me to when I am today. I love you!!! ❤

Aloha,
Sista Bowen 🤙🏼

This week was another fabulous week in paradise.

Im happy all the general conferemce talks have come out and Ive been able to experience it all again! 2 other Elders in my zone, My District Leader Elder Lidang, and one of the assisstants to the president Elder Fanene, die with me at the end of this transfer and everytime we see each other they always says things like, Sister Bowen youre dying soon huh? And Sister Bowen have you started the dating section on My Plan yet? Haha those two think they are so funny 😂 I am glad Im spending time with great Elders like them my last few days here on the mission, hard to believe I wont be spending time with them anymore. 

On Saturday we had a really neat experince with the assistants! We had a college student call the mission office and ask if she could interview 2 sets of missionaries for a report she is doing for her behavior science major. The assistance and us were asked and so we drove to the school and had a great interview with Aggie! She asked us questions for her project she was doing on The Church of Jesus Christ religion but afterwards asked us her own questions and said she was interested in learning more. I loved sharing my love for the work and doing missionary work in a way Ive never done before on my mission. 😊

I have gained such a powerful testimony of prayer over my mission, and particularly over the past few weeks. As we were watching the Restoration movie with one of the people we are teaching a few weeks ago, I noticed as young Joseph Smith prays and for a long time ponders in his heart his question about which church is Jesus Christs church, we simultaneously watch Joseph Smiths father slowly but consistently carve a toy for Josephs  little brother. It takes time, but just like the toy is worked on and given to Josephs younger brother, Heavenly Father answers Jospeh Smiths prayer, and many others' prayers at that time who were asking the same question, "which church is Jesus Christs church?"

In the book "Saints" it starts by describing the eruption of a volcano, something that may have seemed insignificant, almost accidental, for the majority of world at the time. But as we read, "The eruption of Tambora affected weather in North America through the following year. Spring gave way to snowfall and killing frosts, and 1816 passed into memory as the year without a summer. In Vermont, in the northeast corner of the United States, rocky hills had frustrated a farmer named Joseph Smith Sr. for years. But that season, as he and his wife, Lucy Mack Smith, watched their crops shrivel under the relentless frosts, they knew they faced financial ruin and an uncertain future if they stayed where they were." It was because of that eruption Jospeh Smith Sr. was forced to move to Palmyra, closer to where Moroni had buried the gold plates hundreds of years previous. This was the beginning of our Heavenly Fathers plan to restore Jesus Christs church. As I heard it once said, "If you're praying for it, Heavenly Fathers working on it."

I have prayed for things my whole mission, and recieved answers, but it always seemed like some of the most important things I prayed about never got answered. My faith continued to grow and my testimony became unshakeable over the course of my mission but I still felt like perhaps my prayers were on the back burner of Heavenly Fathers to do list. Ive come to realize that more important prayers usually take more time to answer due to the nature of an important question needing a more important answer.

I needed help forgiving past friends and didnt know how or if I even needed to, I felt like they had been in the wrong. Imagine my surprise when an entire talk, in general conference, by thee Elder Holland, addressed my concern with exactness, down to reminding me that we need to forgive for our own sake not others and included my name in the very talk he gave. It was more than surprised, I cried. A lot. Others may call it a coincidence, but I have never felt my Heavenly Fathers love stronger in all my life. That talk was for me and it brought me to tears to think that my Heavenly Father loves me so much to address my "unimportant" concern in that way. He really does answer prayers and he cares about the one, not just the majority. 

I was also concerned about a family member (not reading this email) who I love more than I can put into words. I didnt know how Heavenly Father could possibly bring her back from where she has gone and I felt hopeless despite my many, many prayers in her behalf. I felt prompted to go out of my way and email her about her life and church, something I thought might push her further away. Ive been doing that for weeks now and this past week, I had one of the most joyful experiences Ive ever had, I honestly thought I would burst like a bubble (So did my companion haha). I recieved an email from her which said that friends had invited her to watch general conference with them and she described the peace and joy she felt in that setting, something that hadnt happened for over 5 years. She described other experiences that are bringing her back to the gospel and I was so overcome with joy for her and the evidence that Heavenly Father has been working on answering my prayers. 

Other events of the week:

Had Pho for the first time this week with the girls from our branch and loved it and spending time with the girls. Sister Satame, on the other hand, wasnt having as great of a night. (See picture)
Yesterday I wore a Traditional Chuukese dress to church and everybody was very impressed (See picture).

Somebody accidentally took Sister Satame slippers at one of the houses we were teaching at haha. Buggas stole dem da kine. 😂😂

Last exchange Ill ever go on was this past week with Sis Niualiku in the Pearl Harbor military ward. It was great actually going out and talking with people who were honest about whether or not they were interested haha. 

Sister Satame LOVED her birthday box from the Bowen family😁 Thanks for sensing that to her, it made her whole year 😊❤

Heres a couple of my favorite lines from sister Satame this week:
B - "Sister Satame, you need to eat real food before you eat cake."
S - "Cake is not food?"
B - "No."
S - "Oh my gosh."

*While playing pictionary to learn new English words*
B - " Ill give you a hint, You put it in the toaster."

S - "Chicken."
B - "No."

*A very obviously homeless person talking to themself and writing frantically on something.*
S - "Student?"
B - "I dont think so..."

S - "Joseph Smith"
B - "what"
S - *points to Mr. Quaker on Quaker Oatmeal Box* "Joseph Smith."

Good Morning from Hawaii 😁

I thought this General Conference was amazing! The work is moving forward so much more rapidly, guess we better make sure were on the train before it leaves without us😉

This week my old roomate that reported to the MTC the same day as me, returned home. Its real now. Im so proud she did it! She was a mess in the MTC, but she did it. :) I send her a letter but she never responded, I also saw my other old roomate Kylee went to the airport to see her. That really hurt to see them so happy to be together. They both absolutley hate me and it hurts to feel like the outsider, but I think Ill be alright. I can only control my own actions, not theirs.

I sent in my A Hui hou this week (Farewell Quote for the Mission farewell letter😮) This is the one I sent in: "One thing kept them true. It was the experience of the past. This was the basis of their present faith and allegiance. They could not go back to their old past; they must cleave to Him. So Peter spake it in the name of them all: Lord, to whom shall we go? Words of eternal life hast thou! ...And we know that he is the Holy One of God. And this conveys all that faith needs for further learning." Edersheim, Jesus The Christ Chapter 21. This quote means so much to me and reminds me of what Elder Holland said in his "Elder Holland way" when he came to visit our mission: "This has to be forever! Forever and ever and ever! You cannot ever be the same person you were before." Im not the same person I was before and its all because of the change, power, and hope of trying again that comes from Jesus Christ. How lucky am I to know he is there. I credit my knowledge of that to the Book of Mormon, I know that is the word of God and more importantly, the evidence that Joseph Smith is a prophet and a fullness of Jesus Christs gospel. 😊

As for news in matters of Sowing, the temple trip for the branch is coming up and we are trying to prepare all our people. We keep going to one of our recently less active friend Linsels home and asking her if shes coming and trying to teach her husband but he always sneaks out the back. One day well catch him home. We also visit Sis Satames sister and aunty a lot and we hope their family is going to start being active again and hopefully encouarge the rest od the family to be baptized. Our 3 most progressing people are Jusalyn Bossy (RM Curtis Bossys new wife), Anres the preacher from KPT, and the less active Faraway family. Its good, hard, fun work.😁

I love this work and General Conference, Who knew the Bowens were so famous? :)

Have a wonderful week, I love you!❤

Aloha,

Sistah Bowen