Challenging Zone

Dear Family,

This is going to be a really rushed letter because I had a lot of traveling and we should be out working as soon as possible! Anyway, this past week I wasn't is my area very much. I had a bunch of meeting and I did a lot of exchanges this week. I worked in three other areas this week besides my own. This week I have a few more meetings and I don't know if I'm going t help another missionary out in their area. My zone has been very discouraged and there has been some disobedience problems that I've been trying to resolve. It's a little tough, but I like the challenge. I have to carry the zone on my shoulders basically.

So a little update on the investigators . . . Hilda, Graciela, Luciano and a new friend, Luerdes came to church this Sunday. Luedres is 15 and five months pregnant and Graciela is 16 and smokes like a chimney. We let them both go to the Relief Society. They were having a great experience, but then they started to smoke in the bathroom of the church during the classes!!!! I was so embarrassed! The bishopric came and asked me about it and I had no idea what to say! It was terrible . . .but other than that I think that they had a great experience. Hilda is really excited to keep going. She lost her husband, her oldest son, and I think her father last year. She is really prepared to keep learning. Her son, Luciano, didn't want to go to the primary class because he was embarrassed, so I had to miss the quorum class and try to convince him to go inside the whole time. He was super stubborn and it drove me crazy. When we finally moved into the gospel principles class, I was pretty annoyed and the recently returned missionary, Gaby, asked me if I was ok. I explained what happened and she totally understands. I love return missionaries. They understand things so much better! I totally want to marry a return missionary. They have such a sweet spirit about them!

Anyway, we couldn't teach very many of our investigators this past week. It didn't help that I wasn't there for much of it either. My comp is kind of slow to leave the pench and not too motivated on his own to work hard. I'm working on that with him.

Well, I have to go. Sorry it's so short! I just have to hit the street and baptize!!! :) Love you all! Oh, and I'm glad I got into BYU. I need to call Elder Borgersen about housing and whatnot. I'll let you know next week. Chow!!

Love,

Elder Blake W. Cowan

Learning Curve & Growth

Dear Family,

So I think I have changed a lot this past week. I learned a lot about humility and about controlling myself and becoming more like the Savior. I honestly think I grew more in this past week than I have in a long, long time. So it was a very successful week, which is odd to consider that I learned humility when everyone was praising the numbers we got this week. But in a way, I feel completely different now. 

So the week started off a little odd. It felt so weird to be with a new companion and in a new area. I just felt like I was doing an exchange with another missionary. But what I've come to realize is that this zone, the largest in our mission, depends completely on me right now. There are quite a few disobedient missionaries here and especially the ones that live in my pench. I have been a robot with the rules lately and I have been dragging people out of bed and making people study, bath, eat, and leave on time. I feel like a drill sergeant almost, but I can see that my diligence is helping each of these missionaries and our zone.

One of the elders in my pench is actually the other son of my trainer. He has been a problematic elder since day one. I remember when my trainer used to talk to me about him and his problems. Well, anyway, he has not been waking up in time for the past several transfers. He gets up usually around 10:00 every day! I wasn't going to let that happen anymore. So, I've been waking up extra early to get everyone up for a mutual prayer every morning and getting them all doing exercises or reading the scriptures. I have even sat by this Elder's bed and read the scriptures for an hour just so he could have a study in the morning and to not let him sleep. He has now been getting up every single morning cause he knows that I'm serious about this. 

My area was completely dead when I got here. The past missionaries went to visit other areas last week to see converts and what not because the Elder I replaced was going home. So, there was nothing waiting for me here. I put a huge goal, though. I decided to take out 14 new baptism dates this past week. And I did it! My companion was so tired from a full hard week of work, that he fell asleep in one of our lessons this past week. ha ha! But I'm whipping everyone into shape now. So I just decided to go out and work as hard as I know how and contact everyone possible. We found some amazing people and we were able to have some amazing lessons. 

One of these great experiences was the other day in the morning when we were trying to find a house and we were a little lost when all of the sudden, we heard a very clear voice say, "Elder!" It wasn't a shout or anything, but it made both me and my companion stop in the street and we both looked at each other. We decided to go back and figure out who it was. We went to the house where we thought we had heard the voice and we saw a parrot there. In my mind I began to think, wow, it was the parrot saying something similar to elder and now we're just doing a regular contact. We clapped the house three times and finally a woman came out and we shared with her that we wanted to teach her and her family about the gospel and how it blesses our families. She surprisingly opened the gate and told us to come in and teach her and her family while she was cooking lunch. We started to get to know them a bit and basically gave them an overview of what we do and what the church is all about. We invited them to be baptized and to come to church and this lady said that she works on Sundays, but she wants us to take her kids to church! It was awesome! We felt that this family will really progress and have strong testimonies.

This whole week was just packed with feeling the spirit. I think the members are seeing a change in the missionaries too. I have made several goals and I am determined to make the members and missionaries work together and to carry out the plans they make in ward council. I am determined to show everyone by example how to work hard, be obedient, and to love people genuinely. I am so excited for this second week of work and am expecting to see a bunch of miracles everyday!

We had a sister missionary return this past week. Her name is Gaby and she is awesome! She wants to work with us and she is so excited to help her own ward grow! We met her family who is slightly inactive and they have seen a huge change in their daughter/sister. We have been so focused on reaching our goals and being obedient, that this whole week just flew by! I don't even have time to write down all the experiences that we've had.

I just feel so alive and filled with the spirit! I am so ready to work and to help others come unto Christ in the way that the Lord has instructed us. Pray for my zone to catch the fire of the missionary work too. I want them to all feel this same desire that I have! I love you all and am grateful for your advice and your letters. I feel your love and I know that I am being protected by your prayers. Remember that you are also involved in this great work. You need to be on the lookout to give references to the missionaries. You are the biggest key factor in this work!! Share what you know to be true!!

Love,

Elder Blake W. Cowan

New Area: El Triangulo

Dear Family,

I have to say the only part of the mission that I don't like is when you have to say bye to people that you love. I am now writing from the zone of Adrogue. My area is El Triangulo which is where my dad, Elder Vergara died. Looks like I'll be dying here too! It's odd to think that I'm in my last area already. . . My companion is someone who I've already known pretty well. It's my good ole buddy from Peru, Elder Tantachuco!! He and I were in a trio for a day before I trained for the first time. He's a capo! He goes home with Elder Borgersen in about two and a half months. This is going to be the first time I have to kill someone in the mission! He's a great missionary though and we should work hard together. Our zone has been suffering for some time now. For about a year, it's been one of the lowest zones in the mission. It's about to be lit up, though! I'm determined to make this zone be the best in the mission especially since we have more missionaries than any other zone! I am in charge of about twice the amount of missionaries now. It'll be great!

Well, my last week in 9 de Abril "A" was pretty sad. I hate having to say goodbye to people that I love. The change was necessary though based on the circumstances. So the real miracle of this week was Dani again. She's progressing a ton! She has the strongest testimony I've ever felt and is so converted to the gospel. We brought her and a few other investigators to a baptism service on Saturday night of the other elders in our ward and Dani leaned over to us and whispered that she wanted to be baptized already and that she is going to get baptized really soon. We haven't tried to rush her because she really wants her family to accept it. Miraculously, the baptism was of two girls who got baptized alone without their families. That was a testimony for Dani that she also could do that. Her family is already starting to like us too. We always stop and say hi to her brothers where they work and we have been trying to do mini service projects for them. Her mom is already starting to soften her heart. But Dani came to the gate of our pench one morning after working the night shift and said that she wants to be baptized on the 23rd of February. She put her own  goal and she is going to do it! Too bad I won't be there. But Borgersen will send me pictures of it.

Raul and his family want to take a break for a while. He's beginning to work again as a bus driver and he wants to work two weeks and then wants us to pass by again. SO that was a bit of a bummer. Mabel made some progress this week too. She keeps saying how she wants to get baptized so bad, so I told her that she has two options: to either get separated or get her divorce done and then get married. She's kind of leaning towards getting separated because Nestor is not a great person and things already aren't doing well. She'd be baptized today if her situation would let her! 

It wasn't the greatest week with finding. We tried really hard and actually received a big list of references from the members after visiting them this week and trying to show them how important it is that we share the gospel with our neighbors and loved ones. Maybe there'll be a prepared one there. There was one reference that looked really promising to us! The lady went to the open house of the temple and loved it!

Well, I got to go now. I'm excited to be in a new area and start from scratch. We basically have nothing going for us right now and we're going to get some work done! I'm so excited to get to know the missionaries, the members, and the people here! The scary news is that this pench was robbed about three weeks ago while the elders were sleeping!!! SO we have to lock up good every night. ha ha! But don't worry. Everything will be great. 

I love you all and I am so glad to be a missionary. This really is the Lord's work and He requires more from me than what I've been giving. I'm going to do all I can to reach my potential and to help my brothers and sisters in this new area come unto Christ. I'll miss the people I left, but I know it's only bye for a short time. I'm entering into my last five months. I just want to finish the mission good.

Love,

Elder Blake W. Cowan

Lesson of the Week: Want, Ask, Receive

Dear Family,

So I feel horrible. I'm super sick. Besides that I'm great because I'm a missionary and there's nothing better than that! :) I'm probably not going to write much because I've got bad body aches, so typing is tiring. Pathetic I know. ha ha! So, I have learned a lot about humility this past week. It's such an interesting trait. It's hard get on your own. Usually it requires another to help you see it.

So with Raul and his family, we had another lesson with them the other day and we taught their son, Fernando about the plan of salvation. It was great! They are slightly lazy, but we see them being baptized in about a month with some good encouragement. 

We had quite a few meetings this week too, but we learned a lot about the importance of having the spirit with us even in the pench when we're done with the day. It was great!

So the best news was from our neighbors this past week. Priscila and Dario are going to get married on the 22nd of March!!!! :) They both want to get baptized too! They just have to go get their turn taken out at the civil registor and they'll be able to get a baptism date too! :) Needles to say, we're very happy and content! :) We've been working with them since I got here about four months ago!  They've got so much potential and I love them so much.

Alright so we've been having great lessons with all of our neighbors together in Priscila's mini house. ha ah! We have the younger Pri come over, Dani and her sister Brenda, and us all in this tiny little room that is probably the size of our laundry room. But we have had some of the most spiritual lessons there. Everyone ends up crying every time! We have taught the plan of salvation and then we talked about the Tree of Life and the importance of holding on to the rod despite of all the temptations and trials. We shared that one specifically because they all have huge challenges in their lives and within their families. I wish I could just help them all. If it were possible, I would take them all with me to the states and serve them so they can escape these problems and be happy. 

So I feel terrible. I'm sorry for writing such a short letter. I just can't concentrate very well. We're expecting to finish this transfer really well and to give all of our efforts to get things prepared for the next missionary who comes here. I love you all and am grateful for your support.

So here's the lesson of the week: want, ask, receive. The gospel is that easy. It was like that to Joseph Smith and to every member of the Church today. It's true, the scripture that that boy reads in 1820 changed the course of history and each of our lives. I know that this is the Lord's work. I know he guides me to his elect children and that he prepared their hearts to listen to our message. My only true desire is that everyone can come to Christ and realize the importance of having an eternal family. That's my goal.

Hope you have a great week! Love you!

Elder Blake W. Cowan