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

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

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.

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

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.