Dear Mom (and family and anyone who gets to read this')

I love the MTC! I have met so many amazing people and had such marvelous experiences; I was born to be a missionary and yet that doesn't mean that it isn't hard! My first day here was wonderful and every day after I have had awesome experiences. I have met a lot of people I know, I already mentioned a few, Sister Patton, Elder Bodily, Sister Carpenter and Sister Hamson. I found Sister Carpenter by "chance" right after deciding that she had probably already left. We were so excited to see eachother! I had a marvelous experience with my companion, Sister Richardson (who I love a WHOLE lot, she is wonderful) when we taugh a lest active member. His wife was there, too, and she helped some. I felt as though I was talking a lot, sharing a lot of experiences but the words just flowed from my mouth and somehow (by the Spirit) he responded in a way I never expected and after asking what he needed to do to get back on track and after my companion and I talked to him some more, he told me that he felt he and I had similar backgrounds and that he could relate to me and that because I have been able to overcome hard things despite wanting to give up, he felt he could do it to. We left after a prayer and hug from his wife and a handshake with him (I told him that I wanted so much to hug him!) and walking into the hall, I fell apart, and cried and it was actually more like a quiet wailing and Sister Richardson and I huged and cried for a minute before we went on to our class. I felt incredible love for Brother L. and his wife and I couldn't beleive that I could affect a person's life like that in such a brief period of time. I love all of you and thank you, Mom and Hannah and Dad for sending me your love through your words and Grandma Rene, too. Letters help me a lot, especially funny ones like Hannah's; it made me and my district all laugh. We loved it, so thank you Hannah;) I hope that all of you know how I love you and that I am doing well. I have ups and downs but mostly I smile a lot because the Spirit is so overwhelming. I love my teachers, Brother Belliston and Brother Roberts (who is from South Africa though he is white, haha, he's a funny chap.) There's so much to say but so little time. Keep in touch.

All my love,

Sister Bowen

Dear Family and friends,

I am so excited to get to email again, hopefully I can tell all I want to in less than 30 minutes! There have been a lot of things on my mind, I am learning amazing things every day! I love my companion, Sister Richardson. We understand each other very well and we feel the same about a lot of things; she is the best companion ever in her own way! And yes grandma, she and all the elders in my district as well as 4 other sisters and all the elders in another district in my zone are going to Utica. We all will leave together this Tuesday which should be fun. I have been frustrated with the elders in my district because they don't focus very well and they talk and joke about things that aren't horrible but aren't appropriate considering what our purpose is here. They laugh and talk and joke when we have study time and sometimes I wish that our teachers could hang out in our class all the time so that they wouldn't get so out of hand. I do love them though, they have good testimonies and I like that they can be light-hearted; I just hope that more young men will understand the importance of acting and speaking always in a way that invites the Spirit. The more we talk, the less the Spirit can speak to us.
Find out what Dear Elder is and figure out how it works.
I want to know how we are related to Glen and Jared Brooksby, I've talked to grandma Rene about them but I can't remember. There is a sister going to Utica with us whose sister-in-law is a Brooksby and she is related to them. She said that they are from Saratoga Springs, New York which is in our mission. We were so excited to make that connection; I will write about how we figured it out; the veil is very thin:)
I love all the missionaries here and all the teachers and the people I meet. Elder Bodily, Andrew Bodily's brother who I know from a class I took at BYU-Idaho, who is going to Utica, too, I have gotten to know and he is so funny! I love how he makes me laugh every day, he reminds me of Isaac sometimes. Yesterday I complimented a sister on her skirt and a teacher who was behind me said "You're going to be a great missionary." I have so many experiences I want to write here and next time I'll focus more on them but for now just know that I love all of you and want to hear more from you! I love the few letters I have received, they lift me up. Isaac's and Hannah's have been two of the best letters I have gotten in all my life, they made me laugh and cry. (By the way, I can't tell who Isaac was talking about in his P.S. in the letter he sent and I am so curious to know!)
I love you all.

Dear mom and family and friends,

It has been hard not being able to write or email for a whole week because I have so many things I want to tell you about. I cried a lot on Tuesday, or at least more than I usually do, all because I was happy, especially after talking to you and the rest of the family. I had a humbling experience at the airport. I was talking to a lady on my second flight and really liked her. I wanted to give her a pass along card (one that says Mormon.org on it) but I forgot, until I saw her again at the baggage claim. She said goodbye and as I watched her walk away I was fretting because I wanted to give her the card with my name on it so that she could look up my profile. I grabbed it out of my bag as fast as I could and I told my companion, Sister Richardson to come with me and we ran to her. I told her quick that I was a missionary, asked her if she knew about the Mormon church and then gave her the card. She was kind and was smiling at me and we hugged and said goodbye. As we walked away, I couldn't hold back tears because I had almost let that opportunity pass by, just because I was anxious. I'm just glad that I did it.

I love President and Sister Wirthlin. They are both very kind and I respect them very much. It was nice to stay in the mission home for the first night. I remember going to the window and looking out to see many tall, skinny trees and I felt peaceful.

I had a very special experience meeting my companion. The last night I slept in the MTC I had a dream about her, and when I walked into the chapel she was the first sister I noticed and I suspected that she was the one because she looked like the girl in my dream. When President Wirthlin said her name and her area and was about to announce her companion, he slowly looked down the row of new sisters and when he looked at me and said my name he was overcome by the Spirit and so was I because I already knew. This is the only reason that I feel alright with being in the area I am in, Fayetteville, because we are very opposite and even though we get along I am struggling a lot. Every day I feel a bit of despair but I know that I need to be here for someone. My area, which covers Fayetteville, Cazenovia and Manlius (where I live) is very poor and run down. There are a lot of old houses which are neat to see but it's sad to see them falling apart.

The first night I was in my area I met a tiny (maybe 5') old lady, Jean, from Scotland who I love dearly. She is a member but doesn't make it to church because of her health. She is very kind and even though I have only visited her twice I feel as though I have known her for ages. It's fun to be able to talk about Scotland and England with her (funny but I was wearing my red kilt skirt the first night I met her) and she loves music. She had me sing for her when she found out that I sing. I wish that everyone could meet her.

I have met a few other families and some less-actives, too. I feel discouraged because we aren't teaching any progressing investigators at the moment but I want badly to find some. Tracting is not my favorite thing to do, I am overwhelmed by all the records and things that I have to keep track of and I feel absolutely uncomfortable here but I know that I need to hang on, even if I'm stumbling all the way. I have never wanted so badly to be someplace happier but I know that joy and success never come until after trials and the more difficult the trial, the greater the reward. I love all of you and more than ever I need letters! I need prayers, too. I will try to send some pictures.

Love always,

Sister Elizabeth Bowen

D&C 121