In Christ Alone

     This has been a very interesting week. Honestly I do not think I have ever had a week quite like this one and it was quite an uneventful week. My companion contracted a cold and apparently in the fine print of the contract it stated that it was a week long deal, so due to contract issues and after a lengthy court case, I lost, so we were stuck in the apartment Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and part of Saturday. It is not easy when you have a baptism on Sunday and you are unable to see everyone prior to it.
     Speaking of which, we had two baptisms on Sunday!!!! YAY!!!! It was so nice, I am so grateful for it. I was looking at my Preach My Gospel where I have all their names, and I have a line separating them according to areas I've served in. Well. . .so far in New Town I have baptized five people, which is the most I have baptized in a single area since Amasaman. That was over a year ago!!!! Heavenly Father is truly blessing me in this area. An area over a year ago I called "a living Hell of an area" (that is a quote from my journal), but now that I am here, it is completely different from what I thought I had seen in 24 hours over a year ago. Now it is growing, splitting and now expanding. Crazy.
     Story: Yesterday was a very emotional day and I will tell you why. We had planned to baptize five, BUT Satan is a horrible person and if he were a human I would probably punch him in the face. Here's why: Thursday the Zone Leaders come to do one of the interviews for one of our candidates (one of the Zone Leaders stays with my companion), and back story, this investigators on Sunday missed Church because his daughter was involved in an accident and was in the hospital. Well, Thursday in the interview, he receives a phone call saying she has passed away. . .I said to the Zone Leader after "Well that was a bloody curve ball Satan just threw" (Zone Leader loves baseball), and he was like, ya. . . shock. So hopefully he will be baptized on the 29th of the month.
     Saturday we are able to go out small and we meet with one of our candidates who is super excited to be baptized. We ask her all the questions just to prepare her for her interview the next day, and well, she answers them, so we think ok she is ready. However interview the next day with the zone leader and she fails. . .when she is told she cannot be interviewed because of somethings, she freaks and storms out of the chapel saying she will never come again or never to go to her house again. The assistant ward mission leader chases after her and tells her to prepare for the 29th of March. She just walks off apparently, so I am freaking like oh shoot we've lost her, I almost cried. Great news about her is she called today and she is angry at me for some reason, but tonight we are having a ward family home evening and members have been calling her all day today so hopefully she will come and I can talk to her.
     However! WE DID HAVE TWO BAPTIZED! Celebrate! One's name was Prince Daniel (no joke that is his name). He is a 21 year old college student, very smart, you could call him a "player" in American Slang. Super cool guy wanting to change his life around and he came out of the water changed. So happy and just so excited. Funny part was we had like 2 feet of water, and the baptizer couldn't get him under for the life of him. So Daniel just was like, I will lay down so then he sits down and tells the guy to say the prayer, guy says the prayer and then lays Daniel in the water, just barely enough to completely immerse him. The other that was baptized was a woman named Unice Gota. She was so ready weeks ago, but traveled and came back Saturday night, interviewed and was baptized. She came out of the water hugging everyone in sight (you get the idea) she was so happy. Jumping up and down like she got a present from someone - very happy. It was wonderful.
     Well, that is all for now. Just think next week maybe the last blog I send as a full time missionary. I am not sure if the following week we will have time but if so then that will be the last one, but if not then next week will be it. Crazy how two years has finally come up and said, sonny your going home!

Love

Elder Bowden