Monday, September 8, 2014

September 8, 2014

Yeah its been an interesting week for sure. and Definitely a rough one. lots of scriptures. lots of talks. and probably the most prayer ive ever done in my life. it has not been easy by any means. Yes missions are amazing things. but i feel like my time is done. and ive come to peace with that answer. but id be lying if i had any clue what im doing. i have no clue what im doing at all and im scared. but i know i have the best parents in the world to help me every step of the way. you are  amazing. you have helped me more than youll ever know. i am so grateful to have you in my life and to be the wonderful examples that you have been. and im so grateful to have you here by my side helping me. i know that ill be fine. yeah im scared. but one day at a time ill get through it. my mission has been an amazing and extremely rough ride. ive learned more than i ever thought i would. and my own conversion has been tremendous. my testimony will not be shaken. i know my savior. i love his atonement. i wouldnt be where i am without it. i love the ability to change for the better. ill never forget my mission and i dont regret it one bit. it has taught me so much and i feel like i am so much a better person. but now i know that my mission is done. dad you told me once that i have to Earn Jackee. and to be honest i dont know if i have. i dont know if shell even have me now. but either way. this is what its going to be and ill have to live with the consequences. she is amazing. and youre right shes perfect for me. being an insta dad is kinda scary sometimes. but im ready. again im not going to pretend that i even know what im doing.. i prolly never will. but ill just fake it so everyone thinks i know what im doing. that is one thing that my mission has taught me hahaha.  i love you mom. sorry for all the crap that i put you through as your child but i love you. thank you for everything. i will never stop hugging and kissing you. i will go to you for everything. sorry i was such a butt for not doing it sooner. you are the best mom anyone could ever ask for. you are strong you are smart and you love everyone. 
I love you dad. thank you for your patience. thank you for your advice. thank you for all the help and guidance that you have given me. and will give me. you are the best parents in the world. i love you.

September 7, 2014

I got in A wreck. Rear ended some one..there car not a scratch. Mine.. Pretty messed up.. 


September 2, 2014

It must be super weird with only Ashton and Dallen home. i was just thinking how weird that would be. soon tho it'll be full of grand kids.. and we will visit so much. I'm so looking forward to having my kids growing up around you and having you and dad as grand parents. makes you feel old huh? well i am 20.. haha. ugh its crazy. haha. itll be nice tho. now you get to spoil them rotten and get them all sugared up and poopy and give them back to us haha. I love you Mom. you have no idea how Happy it makes me that you and Jackee talk.

Super bummer about Calvin's Wreck. that really stinks. glad hes ok tho. idk why he cant just go get a normal friggin job.. oh well. 

I miss my family. i miss my brothers. and hanging out and messing around. Dallen and Ashton are Prolly driving eachother mad. Dallen is a lot like me so hes Prolly pushing ashtons buttons all the time. haha they are getting so big its ridiculous. imma get home and they'll be bigger than me. Derrek is gonna be the smallest out of everyone haha. then we all get to whoop on him for a change rather than him killing us all the time.. i cant wait. then when we all team up against dad we can actually win especially now that hes old and grey and his back is all messed up we might have a fighting chance haha maybe. Man life its crazy. growing up is crazy.. goes so fast. 

Its been a good week tho. we do lots of service for everyone it the ward. like 10 hours a week. its awesome i love it. my birthday was pretty good, i really enjoyed it. today we are doing the ice bucket challenge.. i don't really know what it is but i guess you just dump a bucket of ice water over your head and film it. and Angela's kid. Nate nominated us to do it. so we thought why not. so that'll be fun haha. its gonna be a good week tho. im excited. Idk why but i feel like its gonna be a good one haha. i hope.

gosh i suck at writing emails..  i never know what to write. 

I'm going to the chiropractor soon. my back is pretty messed up from the car accident so i guess we will see how that goes. i don't really have money tho. if there is any you can spare i would greatly appreciate it. i budget everything out and i still come up short every month. then the chiropractor is another 10 that i originally didn't plan on. so idk. what ever you can spare would be very appreciated.

Jackee sends me money sometimes and i hate it haha i feel like a bum when she sends it. but i have no problem asking from you haha jk. plus were having to buy more food now cuz the members are slacking on feeding us. were supposed to have a dinner every night. but they cancel all the time so we go through our food faster than planned. so that's a bummer. idk. oh well.
just loosing weight haha

Mom .. I love you.. I hope you know that. and imma hug you so hard when i see you.. love you too dad.. haha
Have a great week. 

Love Elder Bowler

Saturday, August 30, 2014

August 25, 2014

Hey Mom and Dad, 

Thank you for your emails they were great! Crazy that its all flying by now. transfers are tomorrow and I am staying here in the area. and also for the first time my whole mission i have the same companion for more than one transfer. Mackley is being transferred but im staying here with Humphreys. should make for an interesting transfer. we share our ward with sister missionaries but now they are being white washed and replaced with elders. no one is really happy about that. our ward mission leader is a very opinionated guy and he doesn't like it at all. this ward has been through 4 white washes in 8 months which is friggin crazy. its been a good week tho. this transfer flew by so fast tho man its nuts. thank you so much for the package i loved it! the g's are super white haha.. i loved everything. the slushy maker worked perfectly for me. it says if you read the instructions that if it doesn't work you have to turn the fridge down. so basically it has to pretty much be about frozen already. and you have to do like soda or something. but it works great. i love it. the pinata was awesome tell Dallen that the gum in the barrel and top really does taste like soap.. i tried it haha. it was great tho.. i think my favorite part was the oatmeal lace cookies ugh. man that made my week. theyre like crack haha. im surprised that they even made it in with Dad there haha. crazy that i turn 20. man haha. thats crazy. it doesnt even feel like anything now. its crazy being on the downhill slope of my mission tho. time is just flying by. i cant believe it. everything is all a blur. im looking forward to this next transfer. it should be a good one. we are working with Angela still and her family. they are my favorite. i love them haha. i hope to stay here in junction for a while. 

elder Oaks came to the mission on saturday and talked to the missionaries here in junction. it was super cool. hes pretty funny and he knows a ton. he spoke for only 30 minutes but it felt so short to me. i could have listened forever. he was just winging it the whole time by the spirit. every once and a while he would stop and say that the spirit is saying this. which is so cool to see someone so in tuned with the spirit. he even read his wife's mind. he was talking and he stopped all of a sudden and said that im getting a feeling that my wife wants me to say something. then he stops and then was like oh she wants me to talk about this. and she didnt even say anything.. it was pretty cool. i was glad to be able to meet him. 

other than that its just been another busy week in the field. working hard everyday. same ol same ol. ..

what are we gonna do today elder bowler?
the same thing we do every day pinkey. try and save the world..

some parts of it gets old haha but i enjoy it. 

my back has begun to be a problem. its hurting way worse now. that car accident up in craig really messed me up. we have an official mission nurse now so maybe ill call her. and im still having a rough time sleeping. im exhausted all the time.. i hate it. i cant even function sometimes. idk. ill call the nurse and check it out. 

i love you guys tho. i really do. thank you for all the help and support you give me. and thank you for all the letters from the family campout. i loved them. 

love you!!!
Elder Bowler

Sunday, August 24, 2014

August 18, 2014

I am so excited for Dallen to be in seminary. especially when his senior year will be the Book Of Mormon. I did it my freshmen year and i didnt pay too much attention haha. so senior year will be pretty amazing for him. especially when preparing for a mission. Calvin being a bouncer is pretty funny. i can totally see it. not exactly a great environment but oh well. im pretty sure you thought i was Derrek in that paragraph haha. i can totally see Ashton playing the guitar. And when Derrek gets home they can jam out. haha. 

Mom, thank you for all your patience and love and kindness and the great example you have set for us growing up. its funny to think back over the progression as we grew up. like when we were younger and we would clobber each other and you would freak out and cry. but after a while all you would say is "take it outside, Dont break my house" which happened quite often. then me putting a ton of little holes in the wall. having to fill them and repaint. but then wrestling and putting a huge hole in the wall haha. and then us being boys were always pretty dirty minded haha. after a while you would catch it before we did haha. someone would say something and before we could even think dirty you would say "thats what she said" before any of us could and it would only make us laugh even harder. haha or you would stop us before we could say anything. you knew us so well. knew our thoughts even before we did. it made growing up in our family a wonderful experience. i loved it

I know that i have my rough days. and i know that you probably think that i have a crap work ethic and i cant do hard things and that youre probably expecting me to come home early. but even in my rough days i know that itll get better. i know that i can do hard things. i know the time will fly by and i know that i will finish my mission, and ill give the best homecoming talk youve ever heard haha. then im gonna go to clear creek and go cliff jumping. i wanna go on a camp out with dallen and ashton and dad when i get home. leave for a week. and i want us to read the whole book of Mormon together in a week. i think itll be awesome. im sorry if i disappoint you with some of my choices and mistakes. i wasnt exactly the easiest child to raise. i honestly dont know how you did it. especially with five of us. you get a lot of sympathies from the people here in colorado. I also want to thank dad for all the advice and help he has given me over the course of my life. i honestly wouldnt be where i am today with out him. he is someone i look up to immensely. ill always reach out to him for help and advice. and i know that i havent been the most affectionate child ever but man i cant wait to get home and hug the crap outta you guys. and ill never stop. i havent shown much appreciation for all that youve done so i have a lot of hugs and kisses to make up for. youll be sick of me in no time haha. it makes me so happy that you and Jackee are becoming good friends. i read my patriarchal blessing all the time and i cant believe how much it has helped me and is going to help me in my life. i really love my family alot. my emails are short and for the most part positive. but i wont lie i have some extremely low and hard moments throughout the week. but i keep going. i do my studies but my family is something that really gets me by. and the thought that i need to finish what i started. i guess what dad said about me having to earn her is something that really motivates me to keep going. because its true.. I am going to finish this. as hard as it may be. im doing it. i just hope that ill be strong enough to get through the hard times. but studying really helps. the book of mormon really keeps me going. and prayer. no im not a perfect missionary but im a good one. ive become quite the teacher. ive learned alot. i love it. this is the last week of the transfer. crazy how fast time flies. \

i love you mom
i love you dad
 thanks for all that you do for me in my life. 

Love
Elder Bowler

Sunday, August 17, 2014

August 11, 2014

there was a member here that knew jackee and snapped that picture to her. it was a while ago. i didnt even know she posted that or even talks to the rest of the family. i actually havent talked to her in a while. the 7th was the year anniversary of Nicks death. most likely a super hard day for her. how is she doing? do you still talk to her?

this week has been better than the last few. ive been studying like mad. i read everything. listen to talks all the time. i just get lost in this stuff. its nice tho cuz when my comps have questions about certain things i can answer them. they are suprised that i actually know my stuff haha. i suprise my self sometimes. its nice to that i can put confusing things in a simple way for others to understand. it really helps as a teacher. weve been working hard. success is kinda slow tho. there are a few families that were working with that are super awesome. one is a less active husband. and his fiance is investigating. with two kids. super awesome. theyre gonna get baptized but the husband wants to do the baptism but he is slow to repent. kinda holding her back. kinda annoying haha. but oh well. Grand Junction has some amazing people. awesome members. theres a family that moved in from germany out of the military and theyre super cool. i like serving here. the transfer is coming to an end which is crazy. it feels like it just started. and im almost twenty. man.. its cool to look back in my journal a year ago and see how far ive really come. me and elder mackley are training elder humphreys and sometimes its a little frustrating. hes pretty immature and doesnt really know how to teach. but were really helping him learn which in turn is helping me learn. i think all the time. was i that immature and unlearned. i probably was. which again is cool to see the progression. and i see the potential for this kid to become a great teacher. thanks for keeping me updated on everything back home. its really nice to hear about whats going on. i love it.

also idk if you already made a B-Day package. but could you include like four pairs of the shirt stays. like the normal ones you usually get. maybe some study materials like highlighters and a strait edge. and gum and maybe a gift card to somewhere for three of us. idk thats all i really want. maybe if you wanna spoil me a new watch would be nice. one with a white band. maybe. id like that. 

but if you already got stuff then dont worry about it. i can wait till christmas haha.

i love you mom. sorry for all the headaches i give you

Love
Elder Bowler

Saturday, August 9, 2014

August 4, 2014

Dallen.. Play Football. youll be glad you did. plus youre gonna be bigger than me and everyone will be mad at you if you dont play. and its really good prep for doing hard things (mission)

anyway. its crazy that everyone comes home now. derrek comes home next month. and im on the downhill of my mission. i can look back in my journal and see what i wrote a year ago. its pretty cool. i do have my rough moments. this week was pretty hard but im determined to stick it out. the bad times will blow over eventually. so i just work. not gonna lie the hard times suck pretty bad when they come but i just read the scriptures like a mad man haha. it helps. im on my fourth time through the book of mormon. almost done with alma. its a pretty good book. i can read it forever. 

g sizes i guess i need like 4 xl extra support bottoms. and 4 cotton poly crew neck xl tops would be greatly appreciated. and yeah i like to wear long sleeve. if you could can you get like a smaller chest size. like mid 40s 50s are too big. i got a shirt from walmart and it was a 17. 17 1/2 neck . so just a xl shirt and it fits great. but i got short sleeve. if you got a few of those it would be nice its hot here haha. everyone says oh youre from arizona youre used to the heat. but im dying haha. its more humid here and i sweat like crazy. and ive always liked the cold more. 

other than that im doing pretty good. im determined to make this a good week. the transfer ends on tuesday the 26th. my bday. so dont send anything close to it cuz i might be transferred. idk. 

it seems like my emails are just getting shorter and shorter. i guess i just like letters more. maybe ill start writing again. well see haha. stamps are expensive. i think i should be able to get some tho.

i gotta go tho. 

love you!!
Elder Bowler

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

July 28, 2014

I got the pants. not very good material tho haha. i slid down a pole on the stairs and it burnt a hole and completely ruined them. but i got the other pair so its all good. my shirt size is like a 17 1/2 or 18 neck and 36/37 sleeve,

i ended up in grand junction with elder Mackley and Humphries, both super funny elders. Mackley served with Gonzales right before i did and hated him just as much. we just moved apartments today 

so our address is

125 Franklin Ave. #312 
Grand Junction, CO 81505

i had a pretty rough week. easily the worst on my mission yet. closest ive been to coming home. but i got over it i hope. i just hate moving around every transfer and not being able to stay anywhere long enough to build relationships with people. so when we visit the mission there wont be hardly anyone to see. and i hate being tossed around not feeling like i belong anywhere. its very lonely. i dont really have friends. its just hard. 

but i cant really do anything about it so might as well make the most of it. right? 

theres this online college for members of the church. idk if youve heard about it but i want to do it when i get home but i think it would be perfect for calvin. its only $65 per credit hour. for a year then after a year it transfers to byui and if you keep doing it online then it stays $65. and has a quite a few degrees. its way awesome. bachelors degree for about $10,000 total. super awesome. all online at your own pace. plus it throws in a little religion. haha. but its awesome. im deffinately gonna do it.

pathways.lds.org look it up

other than all that.. ive been pretty good. i like it alot here in Grand junction. its nice. 

i feel like im getting worse and worse at emailing haha. ill try to do better 

Love ya. 
Elder Bowler

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

July 21, 2014

i got transferred to highlands ranch again but president is moving me tomorrow. maybe to craig idk yet. ill send a letter with my address when ever i land. i know president doesnt hate me. just sometimes he gets really frustrated haha. he kinda had a bad week the other week. four missionaries went to in-and-out in provo. idk if i already said that or not but but he was in a bad mood. and i didnt help. i saw him the other day and he took one look at me and said hes gonna give me $100 to go buy some new shirts. i guess mine are pretty worn out haha. oh well. use it up wear it out make it do or do with out. motto still carries on for missionaries. ive pretty much had water and pretzel bites for the past week. and then what ever members feed us. not too often tho. missionary life. i decided from now on im never shopping anywhere except the dollar store haha. that place has just about everything a missionary needs to get by. perfect. im not coming home. i decided that a while ago. i started it might as well finish. im half way done. no turning back. yeah it gets pretty crappy sometimes but whos life doesnt? just roll with it. pray a little harder. and move on. such is life. one year left. still some growth to go through. but its all good. im excited. time flies. just gotta work hard. make it go faster haha. crazy that nana and papa are coming home already then derrek in a little while too. i cant believe it. time goes by so fast.
sorry to hear that the activity didnt go as planned. it sounded like it was gonna be a lot of fun. then life happens. do what you can with it i guess. man life is just crazy. i look back over the past year. i cant believe how far ive come. then i see how far i still have to go haha. im excited tho. id just like to stay in one place longer than one transfer so i can actually have some friends to connect with and come back and see. the past six transfers i havent been able to really connect with anyone. havent really get to be a part of someones conversion like i would like to. oh well. not much i can do tho.
i gotta go tho. pday is calling. might go play ball with jimmer. we saw him earlier today. shooting at the stake center. hes pretty cool.
LOVE  YA!!!!
Elder Bowler

July 14, 2014

i really do like jackee alot and im glad that you are talking i really would love for you to become close. im gonna be obedient on that aspect now and just hope that it does work out. shes amazing. i wish i could go on that high adventure. it sounds amazing. who is all going? we had our baptism on saturday it went really well. it was cool to actually see a baptism that i had a part in. so that was nice. i dont have much time so ill write more next week. and ill let you know where im at asap.

love ya
Alec

Thursday, July 10, 2014

July 7, 2014

Kinda crazy that nine months has passed. Time flies by so quickly. Tell them I said congrats. I never got the pants that you sent. Or if I did there just sitting at the mission office. Idk. I could use some socks maybe two shirts and some extra support g bottoms. Other than that I think I'm good. 

We have a baptism on Saturday. This one really looks like it's going to actually happen. Brown is gonna baptize her. She's like 60. And Uuhh different. But whatever. She says she talks with god and angel Moroni on a regular basis. But god answered her prayers and she came to us asking to get dunked. So who am I to stop her haha. She's pretty cool tho. Been through a lot in her life. Makes my life look like a friggin cake walk. And here am I complaining all the time haha. Things are going good tho. Missionary work is alright the area is beautiful and great for the summer it's like 70s 80s on average. Definitely beats Arizona haha. Transfers are next Tuesday. Idk what will happen. I guess we'll see. Idk If I wanna stay in this area or not. If brown leaves and I train like I think will happen then I'm screwed cuz I really don't know the area that well yet. I feel bad for the missionaries I train haha. No new missionary should have a house like this for their first area. That's just sick. Cuz they'll be like oh man a mission is like this? Then his next area will be a crap hole apartment. It's better to have a crap hole apartment then come here. So you appreciate it more haha. Our house is like the most coveted place in the mission. I love it here. Just missionary work is hard. Our area is huge. So we ask these people who live out in BFE to drive two or three hours to a church they don't even believe in yet. Most of the members don't even want to make that drive. Oh well. We still have a pretty good turn out. We went fishing the other day at echo lake. It's soo beautiful up there I took like a billion pictures haha. Colorado is amazing. I love it here. 

I love hearing about every thing back home. I want to come home and spend as much time as I can with my brothers before the school year starts. I can't wait. I had a weird dream that Dallen died and I was soo sad it was so real. So I'm gonna spend a ton of time with Dallen and Ashton when I get home haha. I can't express how much I love all of you. My family is the greatest part of me. My favorite blessing that god has given me. 

Love you guys. Have a great week
Love 
Elder Bowler 

Sunday, July 6, 2014

June 30, 2014

Its crazy that Charity is leaving already. dang. I miss all the rodeos. i love rodeos. they told us missionaries that for the 4th we need to go to as many members bbqs as possible. glad to hear everything is going good back home tho. crazy to hear everyone growing up. ugh. i saw calvins tat. i don't like it at all. its not even a good one. just seemed like he did it out of spite. oh well. I'm serving in frontrange which is a huge area covering. golden, evergreen, blackhawk, central city, idaho springs, dumont, georgetown. and a ton of other little places. but its huge.  missionary work in japan sounds rough. i couldn't do it. although i really like sushi now. its really good. and shrimp.. mmm. good stuff. grandpa was trying to get us to eat that all the time and i hated it. but i love it now. work is going good tho. we have a lady on date for the 12th of july. she's really awesome. her name is liz.  she's in her 60s she's been investigating for like 30 years. and finally one day she was just reading in D&C and was just like. i need to be baptized. so that was super cool. its really gonna happen. I'm excited. i love you mama. i was just thinking about my whole childhood the other day and i realized again how amazing of a mom you are. you are always striving to make everyone happy even if that means that you might not be happy yourself. i always loved that about you. you're the best mom anyone could ever ask for. especially to deal with all us five boys. i tell people about our family and everyone says that you're amazing for doing what you did. you really are amazing mom. i love you so much. dads pretty great too haha. he's helped me out so much on my mission. you're the best parents ever

love you!
Elder Bowler

Monday, June 23, 2014

June 23, 2014

haha missionaries are awesome. we do have a lot of fun. Jackee is the girl i talked about in my last email. You'll really like her. i really like her haha. she's great. but yeah. our mission is expecting iPads by the end of the year for sure. glad to hear everything is going good with the family. its crazy that I'm almost to a year. time flies so fast. i feel kinda lame cuz i don't have hardly anything to write this week. I've been in a car my whole mission so far haha. and yet i still lost a ton of weight. its crazy. still working on myself still improving. slowly but surely. i had a little rough spot this week. almost gave up again haha. president gave me permission to call dad for 30 min. i didn't tho. idk why. but I'm better now. just need to take it all out on the b-ball court haha. life is going good tho. I'm really enjoying it here. summer in colorado very nice. 80 and rain. love it. all the snowbirds are up from az to escape the heat. theres a ton of people from az coming haha. not a bad gig tho. summers here are the best. and winters there are the best. can't blame them haha. i love you guys a ton . hope the week goes well.

Love 
Elder Bowler

June 16, 2014

i really needed the email you sent last week. i had a rough transfer battling it all and i was just ready to give up the fight. and it really helped me come to terms with my problems. it was good for me. dont feel bad. this week was good tho. we did alot of service. there are some really great people here in our area. i think im gonna move up here when im done. ill move to Rifle or something. theres a girl i really like haha but im staying far away from that till i get home. shes amazing tho youll really like her. shes a convert with a really rough past. i was able to be at her baptism when i was in trouble and going around with president. she had a daughter and then a year later the father died of a heart attack and a few months later the missionaries found here and shared the gospel. ive only talked to her a few times but shes great. i hit my year mark soon. its crazy that its been that long already. i was thinking the other day about Derrek coming home soon and also about Lexi. its crazy how everything just seemed like yesterday that derrek left for his mission. man how time flies. things are going really good tho. i really like my comp we get along really well. president wants me to train next transfer. theres gonna be like 25 new ones coming. im nervous but excited. it really helps me be better and obedient. so itll be good for me. 

Personally im doing really well. im ready for this next year. im excited to give it my all. i feel like my first half was kinda rough so i wanna make up for it in the next year. probably wont be easy but im gonna give it my all. so pray for me haha ill need it. 

i love you all so much. you are the greatest thing i have. you have helped me out so much thank you for everything

Love 
Elder Bowler

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

June 2, 2014

Man I miss my Family!!! You are all so great. I was thinking about everyone a ton this week. I think I wrote like 7 letters just for the heck of it haha. This week has been so much better for me personally. I picked up Sudoku haha.. it helps. But yeah with everything going on and me becoming a good person through the gospel really helps me know what i want out of life. What I want in a Wife and a family and a marriage. I really need someone who is as strong in the gospel as i need to be and well grow together. and im deffinatly having a temple marraige. i worked to hard to throw all that down the drain haha. so tomorrow is transfers. i dont know where im going yet and i havent even packed yet. haha itll be a late night. thats how it usually is tho haha. i just invested in some space bags. hopefully ill be able to transport all my crap easier now haha. i dont know how iv have so much crap its rediculous. i need to get rid of it all haha. oh well. i really suck at emailing now days. i just dont have much to say at all. the last few nights with my comps were fun. im really gonna miss these guys we had alot of fun this transfer. easily my favorite so far. last night we layed up on the roof and talked and looked at the stars for a while before going to bed. ill miss em. the people here in craig are so amazing. i cant wait to come back and visit after my mission. i have so many people i wanna see haha. its gonna be great. ive done really good this transfer. president wants me to train in a few transfers. im excited. the other night we had a really awesome lesson with a mamber in his home and his wife isnt a member and we were teaching and the spirit was so strong and it went super well. and i realize that im becoming a pretty good teacher. and i never really had confidence with my teacing but it was so good. it was all the spirit. and his wife sat in. didnt participate much but theres no way she could deny that spirit. it was great.
 
well i gotta go. hopefully ill write more next week.
sorry im a bum at writing haha.
much love to you all
Elder Bowler

Sunday, June 1, 2014

May 27, 2014

Alec when his eye was swollen
pretty crazy week. lots of personal trials and growth. painful as always haha. but i talked to my mission president and my comps and they're helping me out now. president told me that I'm being transferred and that I'll probably be able to get my tonsils out. hopefully. well see where it goes tho. i just get really discouraged and mad at myself sometimes that i keep messing up. so I've had to learn to be patient with myself and realize that I'm not gonna be perfect overnight. I'm really trying tho. its been hard but good. but yeah. transfers are on the 3rd so ill let you know where I'm at asap. apparently it'll be somewhere hard. so well see haha. and then he wants me to train again the transfer after. I'm excited to train again. so last Sunday my comp fell asleep at the wheel and drove off the opposite side of the road and we almost died. we were pretty roughed up and the car was too. going back to look at it, i have no idea how we are still alive. we should have rolled a lot. we were going like 70 and i didn't have my seat belt on. it hurt pretty bad and I'm still pretty shaken up haha.. I'll be alright tho... I'm down to only one pair of pants tho all my other ones ripped pretty bad. and there's nothing around here so i would really appreciate it if you could order some online and send it to the mission office address for me.. and if you could get a slim fit id love it. but other than that I'm doing pretty good. love ya tons. thanks for all the help you've given me ..

This is so Alec!  

God's creation...amazing!


His comps.


Tuesday, May 6, 2014

May 5, 2014

Hey Mom and Pop
 
so its been a crazy week so ill take it day by day haha..
 
so Tuesday..
woke up in the morning and i couldn't see anything. my eyes were in so much pain and they were so sensitive to light it was killing me. so we went to the hospital and they said i had a scratched cornea or something. so they put my on oxycodone and eye drops. and ordered a ton of sleep which was great i loved it.
 
then Wednesday my comps had a meeting in grand junction and i went with a missionary buddy of mine in rifle for the day. slept in till 11;30 was blind for a while. and we went to lunch with a recent convert there shes way cool. been through a lot. and slept some more. then went to the same recent convert for a lesson and she gave me a awesome pair for oaklies for my eyes so that was awesome. id like to serve there someday
 
then Thursday. i felt like garbage all day. the meds were really taking a tole on me. slept a lot did some shopping. and ended the day by making little bombs and breathing fire and doing the caprisun challenge. which is 15 caprisuns in 15 minutes. or basically drink as much as you can until you throw up.. it was awesome..
 
then Friday was interesting. i had a follow up with an eye doctor in town and it was soo dumb he treated me pretty poorly. and wasn't very nice. i was there for like 10 minutes and charged me $136,, sooo stupid. but it turns out that i had an ulcer the whole time instead. so i got new eye drops that are worth $145 for 3mL super dumb. almost had to pay that too. but i talked to sister Murdock and she got it all cleared with missionary medical or i would have had to pay all of that.. but i was in such a bad mood all day because of it. so i made a fire arrow and shot a bottle filled with a little gasoline.. didn't really work. so i made some queso. rough day
 
Saturday night we went into the shed on at our place were living at. which is member owned but they're gone for now.. and we caught two birds. it was pretty fun. we named them cornelius and jaques. it was fun. we let them go Sunday morning.
 
Sunday was really good. church was great and i was struggling with a few things. its not so much obedience lately just cuz I'm with zone leaders so I've been pretty obedient the past few transfers and its been great i love it. but i was struggling with a few personal things and i got your package today and i loved it! best package i ever received. i loved all the pictures. especially Kaley getting engaged haha to Derek hahah that's pretty awesome.. any way but yeah i loved it. and new contacts which was perfect because i couldn't wear my old ones anymore and it was my last pair. but i especially loved dads letter. i was praying and fasting for help with a few things and his letter was literally and answer to my prayers and it couldn't have come at a more perfect time. it helped me out so much its not even funny. because i was struggling so bad. i was even asking for a different trial if He would just take this one away from me. but dads letter helped me out soo much. i was great. It was amazing how it all worked out. it really helped me know how much Heavenly Father knows and Loves me. it was the perfect letter at the perfect time.. it seriously couldn't have been any better
 
so yeah its been quite the week for me. but I'm loving it up here in Craig. I'm loving my companions. they are so great. its a great area with some really amazing people

April 28, 2014

hey momma
 
 i can email again ... yay.. i got transfered. im in craig now.. middle of nowhere. im with Zone leaders again. this time by my own choice. my companions are elder Serr and Barfield. they are super great and really funny. i love it. our address is
 
639 green street Apt # 4
craig, CO 81625
 
i honestly dont really have much to write this week. sorry . i feel  really lame. ill write more next week i promise
 
love you tons.
 
Elder Bowler

Thursday, April 24, 2014

April 17, 2014

Hey Mom/Dad-

So, a lot has been going on lately.  I had a talk with president and he told me that I'm being transferred and I'm going to be put with someone who is struggling with obedience.  And he wants me to help this Elder out to be obedient.  He asked me if I could be able to step up and set the example of obedience and honestly, I'm pretty scared.  I really don't know if I'm ready to do that because I know how I am and I know how quick I am to mess up and go back.  All my life it seems like every time something came up to do the wrong thing, even though I know it's wrong, I'm totally down.  And yes, it's extremely stupid, but true.  Even though I know what's right, I seem to deliberately choose the wrong.  Even on my mission, I've done things that I didn't even do at home and I'm so ashamed and angry at myself for doing.  But one thing I'm learning on my mission is the power to change.  Not only investigators, but especially myself.  The Atonement is real and it works.  But, I'm afraid that given the opportunity to be disobedient , I might take it because even with the Zone leaders, i wasn't the best I should have been.  I want to be better and I want to be obedient.  I don't know if I'm ready to help someone else be obedient when I'm still struggling with it.  I don't know.  I'm so confused.  I really don't want to go back to the way I was and I'm so afraid that given the chance, especially with someone else who struggles with obedience, I feel I might go right back into that mess.  President seems to trust me and he's inspired, so I guess the Lord trusts me too.  I just don't trust myself.  No, I haven't been the best missionary I can be.  I want to be but I'm not there yet, so I'll be doing a lot of fasting and praying.  I need help...bad!

Thank you so much for your last letters from FHE.  They made me so happy and once again came at the perfect time.  I love it.  It's been a pretty good week, though.  I've been in a really good mood.  Still a little rough with Elder Gonzalez, only a few more days though.  Transfers are on the 22nd.  So don't send anything here.  It's been nice to look over the transfer and see how far I've come.  It went by fast.  It's crazy.  Pretty soon, I'll hit a year and Derrek will be coming home.  Crazy!  It all goes by so quickly.  It's nuts.  This transfer has been really good for me though.  Tons of praying and fasting and my testimony has grown so much.  I'm so much of a better missionary than I was before all this.  They always say the most important conversion is your own and I really see that.  I've really grown to love this gospel and I appreciate it so much more in my life now more than ever.  Especially going into so many homes that don't have it and teaching and bearing witness of it has grown my testimony so much.  I love my mission mostly right now for the change I see in myself and how much better I am because of it.  As soon as I get myself all figured out, then I'm gonna help everyone!  It really helped me to remember that I chose to be out here.  I knew there would be things for me to give up and things for me to start doing.  Because of that choice to come out.  Some of my other choices may be limited, same with bad choices...go to jail.  Choices are limited because of one choice.  But, I chose to be here.  Might as well live up to that and be here for the right reasons.  Thanks for all you do for me.  I love you with all my heart.  You are the best parents anyone could ask for.  Miss you tons!

Love,
Elder Bowler

PS - you should know how much our mission quotes "Nacho Libre".  It's crazy!  Reminds me of home.

March 31, 2014

I just got your second letter today and thank you so much for that.  I am so excited for General Conference.  I can't wait and I'll do what you said with the questions and the prayer.  I love listening to them speak.  Sorry to hear about the kittens and jury duty.  Life's rough.  The area is good.  It's pretty ghetto.  Being in a Branch is interesting.  We have so many people to see , there's just not enough time and it's already split into two areas.  But, no one comes to church .  Hard sometimes because in the ghetto there is so much evil that we see and hear.  It's so hard to see and you know the message we share will bless their lives and make them truly happy, but nothing seems to change.  Also hard.  planting sees is nice, but when we're called to do the harvesting, it does get discouraging.  But, there are so many great people who are so prepared for the gospel, it's amazing to see.  Today has been really good.  I've really seen the blessings of fasting to help me have clean thoughts and stay in a good place to be a good missionary and a good person.  It has been really good lately and I owe it all to the Lord.  He has helped me out so much.  The past few weeks truly have been a refiner's fire for me and though it's still hard, I truly feel the Lord changing me.  I just want it to be for good.  I'm scared that I might easily fall back to my old ways.  It's scary for me.  

Yes, I got Wendy's package and I wrote her a letter.  I got the shirt stays, but they don't really work.  The clasps on them don't hold well at all, so I don't know what you want me to do.  I'm praying for Calvin, though.  I think about him and worry about him all the time.  I've seen the evil and pain that that path leads to.  I've talked to so many people like that and I really don't want him to go through the same things.  It kills me to see people go through that.  Let alone, my own brother!  Many tears and prayers for him.  I love him more than he'll ever know but I also know that he has agency.  He has to go through this to learn and yeah, it's hard and sad to watch, but I love him and that's all I can do right now. 

Apparently we are getting iPads in April.  Everyone gets their own and when you're done with your mission, you get to keep them.  I don't know how it's gonna work, but I'm guessing it's gonna be highly regulated and any misuse will get them taken away.  Also, I don't know how the people of Colorado will take it.  We drive nice cars (we got a brand new 2014 Corolla), we dress all fancy and now we have iPads?!?  Especially here in the ghetto parts of the mission where most everyone can barely afford food and we bring in this iPad.  I don't know.  I just think some people won't like that very much.  Makes us look like spoiled rich kids.  But on the plus side, it would be so nice ot have it during a lesson and pull out videos and what-not.  And I'm sure the first few months will be the worst of it.  Just like getting anything new, everyone is gonna freak out for the first little bit (me included!).  Then the excitement will eventually die down and maybe rise a little each time new missionaries come and get iPads.  Man, blessings of serving a mission.  Things are going good though and getting better.  Thanks again for all the support and love I've received in the past couple weeks.  I've really needed it and it has helped more than you'll know.

Love ya,
Elder Bowler #2

PS- Just a couple of things I want to ask about
1.  Do I have one of those missionary plaques?  Cuz I see them all the time and was told that you just have to ask the Bishop, but I'd like one and idk if I even get one.
2.  I'm out of extra contacts and missionary insurance doesn't cover it.  I can last for a while with the ones I have in and I still have those glasses but yeah.
3.  could you also send a bunch more pictures like you did in the last package.  I like to hang them on my wall.

March 30, 2014

Hey Everyone,

I'll start out the letter by saying that it was a really rough week.  You can decide if you wanna keep reading.  But first before I start, the sd


card I included is completely full so if you would be so kind as to putting it all on a computer and take it off the card, then maybe put more pictures and stuff from home for me to look at.  It would be greatly appreciated.  Alright, back to the letter.  So starting off Monday not being able to email was so hard for me.  it's like my support for the week and going a couple weeks without it has been killing me.  So the whole week was pretty rough because of that.  Then Monday I was horribly sick and that carried on for a little bit.  And I've been struggling really bad with myself and bad habits and messing up and I talked to President about it and along with the rough week, it's been super hard and discouraging and I've felt extremely inadequate with myself and not having the spirit with me as a missionary is hard.  So yeah, rough week.  Ok, enough of that, now for all the good/funny/cool stuff...

Here is my side of the room and our study set up with my comps.
So last Sunday we were talking with a ten year old kid named Zack who is actually supposed to be baptized soon and as we were talking, he stopped and asked "why, when I look at you guys is there a white light surrounding your bodies, every time I see you there's this white light around you that's different from everything else".  I got all teary eyed because it was a rough day for me.  Helped me know that God loves me and makes me wanna be better because of all the people watching me as a missionary especially kids.  Josh Beecher wrote me a really good letter that seemed to come at the perfect time.  Another thing that makes me laugh is just some of the people we come across.  Like, we were at Wal-mart and this guy looked at me and looked at my tag and yelled "Praise Jesus! Hallelujah!"  It was pretty funny.  We come across a lot of interesting people and people think we're weird.  We come across a lot of drunks and people that are high.  It's great.  The week has been pretty cool, though.  One night, I was praying really hard, struggling from not emailing and telling the Lord how much I need to hear from family and the next day I got your letter.  Just another way of God showing me that He loves me :).  This week has been one of a lot of struggles but also a lot of change and improvement of myself.  I've come to know the power of fasting and prayer.  I've grown so much closer to my Savior and my Father in Heaven, learning to be patient with myself with my weaknesses and mistakes, which has been so hard especially for me.  Messing up a lot, I get mad at myself and discouraged, so being patient with myself has really helped me out this week.  Also, striving to worry less about myself and more about the people I'm serving.  It's crazy sometimes because we as missionaries get so involved in these people's lives and being a tool in the Lord's hands.  It's really humbling sometimes because something cool will happen and I'll think to myself "why would the Lord choose me to have something like that happen?!?" because I never felt worthy enough to deserve miracles and blessings.  But, I've come to know how much Heavenly Father loves me personally and it's been a rough but amazing process for me to come to know that.  I love it.  I love the ever present possibility of change.  I can always change and better myself and who I am.  It's helped me to realize what is truly important to me in my life.

Just want you guys to know how much I love you guys and appreciate all the help and support I have received.  It has made a world of difference to me and my own journey.  I wouldn't be where I am at today without everyone in my life and the example they've set.  I love youse (ghetto Denver talk...hahaha!) guys.  Miss ya tons.  Keep writing and sending stuff, please!  I love it!

Love Elder Bowler

POOP ON SATAN!

Friday, March 21, 2014

March 13, 2014

Hey Momma-

So I guess I won't be able to email much for the next little while.  So, if you don't hear from me too often, don't worry too much.  I just don't like writing too much.  But, I guess I'll try and fill you in as best as I can.  Sooo...long talks with President.  I made him pretty mad.  I don't blame him, though.  There has been so much pain, trials, and growth in the past week, it's been crazy.  I've been transferred to the Barnum Park North Branch.  It's pretty fun serving with Elder Gonzonlas and Elder Selfaison.  Great guys and lots of fun.  They're both Zone Leaders, so I'm kinda being baby sat by them for a transfer.  My address is:

4545 Morrison Road, #206
Denver, CO  80219

I've been doing a ton of thinking lately.  Mostly about my mission also.  Up until this time, I always wanted to draw the line of obedience so that I could get close to it and still be a good kid/missionary.  So, it was easy for me to fall and when I did, I fell pretty hard and I'm understanding how far from that line/cliff that I want to be.  My companions are great.  They're really helping me to be really obedient and a better missionary.  It's a long process and I have a long way to go, but I'm determined.  All that disobedience and stuff I shouldn't be doing has only brought me misery and pain.  Happiness comes from obedience, hard work, and love.  I really want to be happy and I'm working on it.  We do a lot of work here and I love it.  I'm all gung-ho about missionary work again.

Much love,
Elder Bowler

PS - send money :) Thanks!  Also, I could use a few more shirt stays.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

March 10, 2014

Yeah its been a pretty crazy week. so much has happened. lots of long talks with president. traveling around a ton. talking with a ton of different elders that ive grown to love. a lot has happened. transfers are tomorrow. ill let you know where im at as soon as i can. but im gonna be staying.. ive been doing a ton of thinking and this past week has been the hardest week ive had probably ever. but the main thing is that all my life when ever a hard thing would come i would usually tend to run from it and go watch a movie or stare at the stars or go fishing or something. but on a mission i cant really do those things. and now when this hard thing came i had no where to run to and actually having to face it has been so hard. but i need to. so that when life gets hard again later on when im married i already know how to get through it. and out here on a mission with nothing else to turn to to run away from it ive been learning to turn to the lord and its helped out a ton. i havent been the most obedient elder in the mission. and i was upset because i couldnt do two years of what i have been doing. i almost feel like the first six months have been wasted. but talking with president. ive decided that i need to change and be better. the rest of my mission needs to be better if im gonna do this for another year and a half something needs to change. so i went and destroyed all of my disobedient stuff and decided that from now on im going to give it my all and try to be the best that i can be and not waste any more of my time. i know that its going to be hard. but i have the lord on my side now. and hes there when ever i need him. which will be pretty much always haha. being a missionary has easily been the hardest thing ive ever done. but im tired of running from all my problems. its time for me to buck up and face everything and quit worrying about myself. this isnt for me anymore. although i have alot to learn and alot more to grow. my mission is for the lord and those who dont have this wonderful gospel in my life. i want to be the best i can. to live with god again and be able to face him with confidence knowing i did my best and didnt waste the two years i have to give back to him. it wont be easy but its so worth it.
i love you soo much. thank you for all your support and love. and the good talks. now that i am away from home i love talking to you guys. you have helped me so much. i truly have the best parents in the world. love ya!!

Thursday, March 6, 2014

March 3, 2014...snailing...

We've all heard of "planking", but have you heard of "snailing"?

March 3, 2014

dad convinced me to stay. its nice to be able to talk to you guys like this. i guess i took it for granted and didnt appreciate it as much until now. youll probably be getting alot of calls from me just to talk. talking to you really helps. im doing better now. good talk with president. good nights rest. really helps. i really hope that i can come out on top at the end of all this. i know that i need to fix all my problems while im here. if i go home all messed up i wouldnt be doing much good for myself at all. and even if by staying i only progress a little by the end of my mission at least i progressed. but i hope with a good president and constantly slowly getting through this and many more talks with you guys, that ill be much farther along than i am now. maybe even like derrek is now. its really cool to see where he is now from where he was. it does give me alot of hope. dont have much to write today. im being transfered. so dont send anything until after the 11th. love ya tons. thanks for the talk and the email. really helped a ton

lova ya
 elder bowler

Thursday, February 27, 2014

February 24, 2014

Yeah i was so excited to see Tracy's baptism. President let me go see it. It was amazing. I can't believe that Dallen is 14 that is friggin nuts. ugg. awesome to hear about Cody. congrats to him. hes gonna love it. being over the YSA ward we cover two stakes. but each ward has their own normal set of missionaries. but we only deal with the singles 18-30 in all the wards. so there really isn't that much. but we have a ton of fun. we have FHE every monday with fun and games. i think tonight were doing Zumba and volleyball. or something. and we get to go to Institute every Tuesday and learn from the bible. YSA wards are notorious for not getting fed all that much but our ward does pretty good. and people give us food for other meals too so our ward is great. there are  a lot of awesome people here i love it. 

things are going a lot better for me. talking about things really helps me out a lot and i can see my self becoming a better teacher and i love it. this past week has been pretty great and I've been a lot happier with where I'm and and what I'm doing. cleaning up my life has been hard but so worth it. I'm so much happier. keeping everything inside was destroying me and i don't know how i did it for so long. but I'm better now and hopefully i can start the changing process so by the end of the mission ill be who i need to be and learn all that i can from my mission and I'm gonna stick it out to the end. missions are hard and the idea of giving up and going home is really inviting. but that's not for me. i know i can do hard things and this is one thing that i really need to finish.

Monday, February 17, 2014

February 17, 2014

ive been taking the pills anyway. i think it has alot to do with how i was back home with keeping everything to myself and it all boils up inside. and now finally talking about everything is getting the release ive needed. which is nice. after talking about everything and being honest its really helped. idk if its the pills or just talking but i do feel happier. im still tired as ever tho haha. so stewart amspacher is taking me out to lunch today. with the kids.. and tracy decided to get baptised. which is awesome. and wendy just called and wants to take us out to lunch too.. so now we have two lunches.. awesome haha. should be fun. 

thats really sad to hear about Monte. thats really hard.

and now to hear that our cats are sleeping around. getting pregnant. satan is doing a great job destroying the family unit. pregnant cats not even married. its a shame. and the chickens are too sad to talk about ever since mine died.. ugh its so hard losing someone you love!

and yes we got to play with fire haha. it was fun. we get fed pretty great out here haha. usually the singles ward is famous for not getting dinners. but we do pretty good. we had bacon wrapped steak twice this week haha. and lobster. good stuff haha. we also wake up early and play basket ball a couple times a week haha its pretty fun. im loving the singles ward. its crazy. 

i havent seen the new temple movie yet. i dont know why they even changed it.. seems dumb.. oh well ill see it in the beginning of march. so well see haha

im doing pretty well tho its been a pretty good week and my companion is great were having lots of fun haha

love you guys a ton 

love elder bowler


Monday, February 10, 2014

February 10, 2014

this has been a pretty good week. things are looking up. I've been in a lot better mood lately. the counselor guy doesn't really help all that much. oh well I'm happy for now.. the president and his wife want me to see a doc and take some meds to help me have more energy and be in a better mood all the time. i guess we'll see how it goes. The singles ward is pretty crazy were all over the place all the time and i should have brought my journal so i could tell you some stuff but i forgot. so ill try and remember the stuff that happens. so we were in a lesson with this guy trying to get off drugs in a super sketchy part of town and his drug dealer showed up mid lesson and it got super sketchy so we had to leave. and were always in places where people smoke tons of weed and cigs so we come home most days stinking like smoke. its nuts. Please don't beat yourself up not feeling like you weren't a good enough mother.. you are the best mom in the world. its not your fault I'm messed up. haha but seriously you are the best. you are so loving and kind and you'll do anything to make me happy even if its super inconvenient for you or pisses you off or something. all the thousands of times when i asked you to bring food to class at school and no matter what you always came through and i never really appreciated it. all my life you have always been there for me no matter what and i could always count on you. sorry that i haven't been so open emotionally but i love you soooooooooooo much you have no idea. you are the best mother anyone could ever ask for and you raised us amazingly. no one is perfect but you got me on a mission and that's amazing. now that its my time to grow i realize how much i appreciate you and dad in my life.
i love you mom

i love you dad

i love you Calvin

i love you Ashton
 
i love you Dallen

i love you Shep

i love you Shauna

i love you angel.. sometimes

i love you whoever else cares

but yeah ill keep it short and simple 

love you guys
   miss you tons

Love 

Elder Bowler 

oh and i finally tried sushi for the first time.. its pretty good. my burps taste like fish now haha

Sunday, February 9, 2014

February 3, 2014

Hey Momma!!

I got transfered to the Belleview YSA ward haha we cover like 14 wards. its crazy. which reminds me. Im trying to buy myself a GPS but I need help. So whatever you can do to help would be greatly appreciated. 

my address is 

The Hampden Appartments 
8567 W Hampden Ave
Apartment 107
Lakewood CO 80227

Its soo good to hear from you guys tho. I emailed Nana and Grandpa. It was so good to hear from them. And I've been thinking a lot lately. I never knew that Grandpa was a convert. and I realized that I don't know much about them so I asked them to tell me about it. And I also realized that I hardly know anything about you and Dad. And I've always wanted to know more but i just never asked. but yeah i would really love to hear about it. Its crazy that Dan is out now. I'm glad that things are going good back home its good to hear. I'm soooo glad that Calvin got another job so quickly. The counselor dude went well I'm seeing him again on Wednesday. I really hope I'm not too crazy and have to be sent home. that would be horrible. Idk if the Mouthpiece thing is working or not. my companion tells me it helps to not snore but i still snore. haha. i still feel like im not getting any rest. i want my tonsils out so bad haha. Idk just talking to the counselor was pretty crazy. I told him things that I've never told anyone ever.. it was cool to get it all out. the first session was just to get to know me but the next few will be to help me out

i gotta go tho but know that i friggin love you guys . 

Love Elder Bowler