September 3, 2012

Como estan Familia, Well this week was pretty good and tiring. We confirmed someone a member of the church and we were told by someone on Sunday that they want to be baptized this week along with about 2 other people, so that’s way exciting! Well I’m way tired today because we played basketball for like 3 hours in the blazing heat! So I’m sun burned and tired. So, I’m glad to hear everything is going good, how’s Brandon in school? That’s good to hear he played, but hopefully they win next week. So I’m not to sure what to talk about. Oh, so this week I went to my church building to an appointment I had and when I got there, some guy started talking to me and he was like, yeah, I served my mission in Veracruz and I was like, oh that’s cool. Do you know Dallas Reynolds? He was like, Yeah! I trained him! and I was like no way, that’s awesome! So we talked for a while about that. I thought it was pretty funny that I found someone that Dallas knows. I thought that Uncle Michael was going to have his baby in November? So Dad, start a new email please. I need to talk to you about something. It’s not bad but its just something I want to do and so if you can please do that and let me know. Well, we’re still doing great. I thought I would have transfers but I didn’t and the ward started getting sad when they asked me and I told them I didn’t know. I dint have transfers so I’ll still be here for the activity this Saturday that we’ve been planning.. All the members have promised to bring like 4 or 5 people, every single one, so it should be great. Well, I just want to end with something that happened this week. So we were teaching a family of 5 this week the plan of salvation. When we taught, it we did our best to help them feel that it was true. They told us that they want to change everything they were doing to be better people. On Saturday, we went with them again and asked them if they were still planning on going with us Sunday and they had a bunch of reasons why no,t so they said no and we left. We got to church the next day and they came and we asked what happened and they said, well we woke up and felt like we needed to come. It was way awesome. I love this! Love you guys miss you and pray for the activity to be good on Saturday! Elder Lowder

August 27, 2012

Hey guys! This week went really good! We baptized and had the opportunity to meet new people and share our message. We actually have to change apartments because President called me and said that he doesn’t want us to live there anymore because there’s not a priesthood holder in the home. I completely understand, so we looking for a new apartment. So I got the money, thank you guys very very much. I actually went today and bought me some new shoes. My clothes are fine. My shirts are yellow but its the style here in the mission. haha So that’s pretty crazy to think that Brandon’s already had his first day of high school. So I just want to share some words with Brandon about that experience he’s going to have. High school is what you make of it. You can really study and do what you’re supposed to do or not do that and be like me and just barely pass because it bores you. Im gonna be honest, ever since I’ve left school, I’ve had a fire to learn, I want to learn, I want to study. I don’t know if its because of the gospel or I just want to be smart, idk but I want to learn. Brandon, don’t give away this opportunity that you have to do good in school. There is time to study and time to pray. It’s honestly a lot easier to be able to study right when you get home so that you can have the time to rest afterwards. Don’t be lazy, do your school work and ask the teachers, study! Its doesn’t mean that you’re a "nerd" to study because everyone does it, so please Brandon, take advantage of it. Also, I want you to read a few verses for me; 3rd Nephi chapter 18 verses 18 and 19. Brandon, you need to pray always because you are going to have ALOT of temptations because like it says, Satan wants you to fall and doesn’t want you to do the things that the Lord does.Your favorite word needs to be NO. I want you to be strong. I know you will be, I trust you and I want you to please!!, PLEASE!! put time in your week to write me and ask me for help in whatever you need life, friends, stress, SPANISH haha. Love you Brandon be strong. So I feel great to be here and I’m in the same area as when we talked on Mothers day. It’s way small, but thanks to the blessings that the Lord has given me, I’ve been able to be a tool in his hands to help strengthen this ward, to make it bigger, and happier. Ether 12: 4, If we have a firm hope for a better world we will have nothing to worry about because our faith will be like an anchor, always abiding in good works and always putting the Lord first above all things. I love you guys and I hope you guys will make the chain that holds the anchor of your faith stronger everyday so that you will never pass for anything that will make you fall. I hope I can give you something to make you wake everyday and feel like I do everyday. Today is going to be great no matter what happens, it will be great because the Lord lives! With Love, Elder Lowder

August 20, 2012

Hey guys! This week was great, we didn’t baptize because they wanted to wait for family to be able to come so we called it off until their family could make it. Tomorrow at 3 o clock I will be baptizing, so just so you guys know and you can think about how one more soul is making a promise with our Father in Heaven. So the activity that my companion and I are planning with the Stake president is coming together great and it looks like we are gonna have a lot of success! Our ward is way excited for it and they are working hard so that it comes out to be what we want it to be. The stake president is way excited also and is really happy that we are working with him to get this activity going good for the stake. How did Brandon hurt himself? So this week we have about 4 people that will be baptized as long as we do everything we can to keep these blessing coming. I’m glad you guys liked the plaques. I wanted to do one of the family but they told me the faces wouldn’t come out very wel,l so I just did one of you guys. So I hope everything keeps going well and that you guys keep doing what you need to! I love you guys and miss you! P.S ask me questions more so that I can remember things about the week better, ha. Elder Lowder

August 13, 2012

Hey Guys!! I’m so glad to here that everyone’s doing great and is happy! I’m doing great! I’m not going to lie, I feel a lot older! It felt weird, I’m not gonna lie, to have my birthday here even though I had fiestas. It still felt way weird not having you guys there but i really enjoyed it! One day you will see pictures of things but it takes forever and I don’t like it, haha. So this week was great! We also had the opportunity to listen to a Seventy and WOW it was awesome to hear him talk about experiences he’s had as a member sharing the gospel. It was really a blessing to here it. We are still loving being companions and having a whole lot of fun helping everyone we can. I’m absolutely the happiest I’ve ever been in my life and its because we are having the opportunity more than once to here the words, I know this is the truth! Its the greatest thing I’ve ever heard and it really makes me feel amazing! So this week we are going to baptize 4 people that are way excited and want to be baptized and I’m so happy that they’re going to get this experience to be baptized as members of this only true gospel. Also, to be able to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost so that they have that help so much more in their lives! I just want you guys to know that I know for sure, like I know that the sky is blue, that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ LIVE and LOVE us all. That’s why they make things hard, so we learn and we become like them! I pray and hope every moment that I am doing what the Lord expects of me while I’m his servant for the rest of my life and onward. I pray everyday that I have some sort of experience to make me better so that I can be like them. I hope each one of us in our lives do the best we can to be able to be like him no matter what the circumstances are or what happens and that we die doing what we know the Lord wants and trying to apply something from them in our lives everyday! The Atonement has changed my life and I try to always use it so that my Lord and Savior didn’t suffer for nothing but suffered and gave me what I have so that I use it always! I hear everyday things like "Its hard to do things that he wants" or " I don’t have the strength to say no to my friends or to change" or" I forget sometimes". These things happen, yes but they don’t have to! Everything is possible if we want it to be. When we don’t do what we should is when these things run through our mind or come out of our mouths that its impossible. I know the opposite of that Its All Possible always! We just need to use our faith and trust our Father in Heaven so that we can do ONLY what he wants, not what we want! I know this without even the smallest doubt and I share that with everyone that reads this email with much Love and Hope that it will help you to be able to try and be better every day in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen Elder Lowder

August 6

HEY GUYS!! So this week was awesome! We had a lot of success and we are having so much fun doing it! We baptised 2 people and confirmed 3! We had 12 investigators at church and all the members are way excited and starting to support us alot more! Everyone here is just happy and working hard to complete our role as members and missionaries! I've never seen it before that everyone wants to work with us or wants to have a little part in our work and im super excited! I also can't accept that i'm going to turn 20 friday. My ward doesn't know i know but they're gonna throw me a little surprise birthday get together on friday and saturday another family of members are gonna throw me one to hahaha so you guys know ill be taken care of. So we have 11 people ready for baptism we have an activity almost ready for september 8th that is going great and that is going to be awesome! So i can't be happier with what's going on here! I cannot believe the blessings that we are receiving here! So I'm glad to hear that you guys are had a great time in san antonio. I'll make sure to pray for the bells and aunt jodi. So i love you guys and i miss you all and hope you guys keep doing your best! Elder Lowder

July 31

Hey guys! Thank you guys for your emails im sorry but time caught up to me today but next week im going to email all of you back! So this week was a great week! I got my new companion his name is Elder Tapia if you remember he was my companion for like 3 weeks when i was in the threesome. So i already know him really well and we get along great! So this we it felt wierd to actually have help in the work. Elder Tapia has 7 months in the mission so he is works hard. Which for me is a great blessing because now I can trust him to give him some responsabilites to haha. Im still senior companion and feeling great! We had the oportunity to baptise yesterday and it was one of the best baptisms of my mission. I really had the oportunity to see the support that the ward is giving us. The service was full of members, we didnt have enough room for the people which made me feel so great to know that all our work we have put into gaining the trust of the members has paid off. We have a new family of 4 that were teaching and we have 3 people prepared to be baptised the week!! Im so greatful that the Lord has blessed me again with the help ive needed to really be able to do what the Lord has called us here in this area to do. We had the oportunity to fast with the priesthood on saturday for the missionary work in this area and were really getting blessings from it. Also this week my companion and i took the iniciative to talk to the stake president and were planning an activity with his and the leaders of the stake! There all way excited with the idea and were recieving alot of support and blessings. What were doing is were going to have an open house as a stake here. The members are going to bring people to know more about our church and what we believe in. Were making this activity so big! In my ward we have a member that works at the MTC here in Mexico. We had the idea to bring all the missionarys from the MTC here to work with my companion and i and other missionarys in the zone. To be able to invite everyone to the activity! I called president and he gave us permission to do it and so that's also going to happen. My companion and i felt impatient because our leaders aren't doing things like this. So we took the initiative to do it and its looking awesome! So my companion and i are doing great!! It's great to hear from the whole family and to know that everything is going great! It blew my mind to see how old my cousins have gotten and i still can't accept some things haha. Well i love you all and miss you all and hope you all are doing the best you can! Mom Dad expect a package to get to the house here soon! I got the pictures! Elder Lowder

More July

hey guys! Well this week was good. My investigator Fransisca didn’t come to church again, so we let her go. Sandra and her 4 kids are progressing amazingly! They came to church yesterday and loved it! They should be baptized this week but we have to marry the mom and the dad so we have that to check off. So, tomorrow I get a new companion and Elder Dias is going home. My new companion is coming tomorrow and its gonna be Elder Tapia again, hahaha. We got along together really well and he’s way obedient also so we should have a lot of success together. Why did Papa have to have surgery? So, I’m kind of glad that my companion is heading home. My companion has been very depressing and quiet and very serious and he complains a lot. So the 3 last three months have been hard for that reason. elder Tapia has 6 months in the mission and I know him very well, so its gonna be a big change and a big help for me. Joe sent me an email and seems pretty excited and ready for things to come which is awesome to see. I know he will do great out there. So I miss you all and love you all I am really putting a lot of faith that this next month or however long will be, will be great. Elder Lowder