SOLO ME FALTA 1 DIA. SOLO 1.
ayyyyyyyy yi yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
So I'm basically the Princess and the Pea right now, laying on top of 39 layers of scarves, skirts, shirts, dresses, aaaand mission shoes (aka the pea... I can feel them, does that mean I'm a princess?!). Taking a break from the chaotic-ness of packing... (typical Lauren, packing at 2:43am) Because it's honestly starting to hit me that I'll be set apart as a missionary of the Lord to.day. Like, this is really about to happen.
Loads of people have asked, "What are you feeling? Nervous or excited?" To be honest, I. am. stoked. I get to devote 18 months of my life to my God, with the one and only purpose of inviting others to come unto Christ. What an honor, what a privilege. So yes, to answer your question, I am excited. I'm not going to sit here and tell y'all that I'm expecting it to be sunshine and daisies 24/7, and that every door I'll knock on will magically turn into an investigator, no. But I will testify to y'all that I know that I have God on my side. If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31) and my personal favorite, ever since I was 8,
1 Nephi 3:7
I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
Keeping a positive outlook is something extremely important to me, and I know that through God, I will be able to accomplish anything He asks of me, and through faith in Him, I will always be able to remember WHY I'm serving. What was that word? Serving. Serv-ice, noun, the action of helping or doing work for someone. Oh, wait, that W word, what was that? Work, noun, activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result. The missionary purpose is as follows:
Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is by no means a "break from life" nor a "vacation". The field is white and ready to harvest. And here I am, Lauren Michelle Bowman, ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work.
I have already decided that I'm just going to embrace every experience, good or bad. Come what may, and I will (try my hardest) to love it. I'm definitely not saying there won't be hard times, I mean, come on now, leeeeeet's be realistic, missions are one of the most trying yet rewarding time periods in life. "For after much tribulation come the blessings" (D&C 58:2-4) The Lord said to the Prophet Joseph Smith, after a period of great afflictions, "Know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good." The harder that final mile was to run, the more satisfaction ya feel when you finish (the satisfaction part comes after you pass out, if you're me) We aren't promised freedom from adversity or affliction, heck, that's why we're here on Earth! To be tested. To gain a testimony. To make it back to our Heavenly Father, who is cooooonstantly rooting for us.
I am already in love with my Ecuadorian people I haven't met yet in this life, although I know that in a previous life, I promised at least one person to go and find them in Ecua, and share this glooorious message with them. I could never imagine doing anything else with my life at this point! I will serve with all my heart, might, and strength. Y'all, my mission is not about me. It's not even my mission! It's all about those who I will have the blessed opportunity to come into contact with.
I love my Heavenly Father with all my heart. I love Christ with all my heart. I love this Gospel with alllll my heart. I am so very blessed to have this knowledge and I'm positively jumping up and down at the thought of happiness that people will be able to feel as the Lord uses me as an instrument in His hands to bring the world the truth. (weeee are aaaaaaaaaas the armies of Helaman)
I know for a fact that The Book of Mormon is true, I know that Christ died for our sins, I know that families are most definitely eternal, and I know without a doubt that the Atonement is real and it works absolute wonders. I can't imagine my life without the light of this truth.
I honestly cannnnnNOTTTTTT wait to begin this new chapter of life!
haaaaashtag 1 day ;)
Con amor,
Hermana Bowman
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