Cheers!

I thought I would reflect on this past year, seeing as it is coming to a close! It has been incredible, definitely the best of my life so far, and hopefully this coming year will beat it! 

The beginning of my mission was great. It felt so right to be a missionary, and I learned so much from my trainer, Sister Bartnik (who goes home this transfer!!!). She helped me to adjust to the rigors of missionary life, to be thoughtful and kind. Then Sister Hansen joined us for a transfer and we combined areas! That was madness but it was fun learning from each other about teamwork and communication. Then Sister Gietz joined me and we had the time of our lives! Everyone we taught could feel our love because we were so happy all of the time. We are like two peas in a pod. Or too crazies escaped from the looney bin! Then I was transferred and was with sweet little Sister Miller for the Ogden Temple open house! she helped me to show my love for everyone I came in contact with. My love for the temple grew and I realized how much I loved being a missionary and how hard it would be to work at a temple visitor's center. Then I was with Sister Nelson and we rode our bikes around the countryside and enjoyed the autumn air. She taught me about trusting yourself and finding joy in the little things. Then came the big responsibility, and I was transferred to the north part of the mission, whitewash training! And I was made a Sister Training Leader and a Technical Instructor for the iPads! I have learned so much from my baby Sister Matheson, she is such a light in my life. She helped me through some hard times and reminded me why I am on a mission. Over these past ten months I have helped people to become baptized and reactivated, and have even seen some go to the temple! That is the vision of the mission, to envision the people we teach at the temple, dressed in white. I am so grateful to be able to share my testimony and see the light of the gospel brighten the lives of those around me! He never said it would be easy, but He always said it would be worth it!

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas. We had our baptism on Christmas Eve, and the spirit was so strong! She stood in the font for a moment after she was baptized, and just soaked it in. Then she bore her testimony and shared how she knew that this is the true gospel of Jesus Christ. She has found so much strength; we are so excited to see what her future holds. Then we went over to our investigator's house and made tamales with them! Ooooh they were delicious!

Christmas Day we skyped our families! It was THE BEST! Then we had a Christmas breakfast and then went to a Bishop's home and spent the day with their family. They are one of our favorite families and we are so grateful to have them in our lives!

The snow has been falling and temperatures are dropping! Luckily I now have 12 scarves, so I think my neck will stay nice and warm :) Thank you to everyone who was so thoughtful and sent me Christmas presents! 

I love you all and I hope that you are smiling! 

xoxo

Sister Boman

The Gift

I hesitate to say this, but i'm going to go ahead and say... this week has been one of the best weeks of my mission!!! I mentioned last week that we found a new investigator and started teaching her. She is all set to be baptized on Christmas Eve! The day after we met with her she was struggling so much to stay strong and optimistic. Satan was working so hard on her! We taught her about trusting the Lord and letting Christ into her life, to strengthen her. She has had a hard time trusting people because of her past experiences, but we helped her to see the power that our Savior Jesus Christ has and the love of our Heavenly Father. The next day she was so peaceful and truly felt that things would work out. Every single day (because we met with her almost every day) she had more and more confirmation that this gospel is true. With her faith growing every day, she started to see the potential that she has as a daughter of God. As we taught her the commandments, she knew that they would help her to be strong and to feel the influence of the Holy Ghost. She went to Salt Lake for part of the weekend and we were even able to skype a few lessons with her! I am so grateful for technology! It has been such a whirlwind, but at every turn, we know by confirmation of the Holy Ghost, that she is ready. And just in this short week, she has seen her life start to turn around.

We have been meeting with another family, neighbors of a member of the church. They recently moved to Utah from California, and they love it here. Their neighbor invited them to come to church. The lady and her cousin are living together, and her daughter's home burned down in California so they moved out here to live with them. They are suddenly taking care of all the grandchildren, and it has been a lot to handle. Still, when we meet with them, she says "I just feel like the fire was a blessing. They needed to come here and have a new life." They loved church and we have met with them twice. They are so eager to learn, and they often talk about how they are just looking for the truth. We taught them about Joseph Smith, and how he had that same question. When we explained that he translated the Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ, we told them that after the great apostasy (also known as the dark ages) Heavenly Father knew that we would need more scripture to guide us. They both turned to each other and in unison said "That makes sense!" When investigators have that revelation, that this gospel really does make sense, it is the best feeling! You know that they are ready to receive it. 

With both of these experiences, it made me think of a principle that I have learned as a missionary. We are encouraged to keep in daily contact with our investigators. This helps them to feel the spirit more often and not forget what you have helped them to feel. It was once said that if an investigator is not ready for daily contact with a representative of Jesus Christ, then how can they be ready for daily contact with their Savior Jesus Christ? This has helped me to recognize those who are truly prepared to repent, change their ways to align with God's will, and commit their lives to follow Jesus Christ. And with both of these new investigators, they want to meet with us every day if possible. The sooner the better! They recognize the importance of this gospel, and they don't want to waste a minute in their journey to learn more and feel of our Heavenly Father's love.

Live Nativity!

I am so grateful for this time of year, to remember and celebrate our Savior's birth. To think that it all started in the most humble circumstances, a baby in a manger. To know that Jesus learned as he grew, through the power of the Holy Ghost, that He was the Son of God. To know that He faced temptation, but stood up to Satan and said in Matthew chapter 4 verse 10, "Get thee hence, Satan". To know that He struggled as He suffered for us in the garden of Gethsemane, and said in Luke chapter 22 verse 42, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." To know that His love for us is never ending, that is the gift. He is the gift. And I am so grateful! 

with a CAMEL!

I love you all and I hope that you are smiling because it's CHRISTMAS!

xoxo

Sister Boman

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

This week was wonderful! We had a Christmas party with the north part of the mission last week. We heard some wonderful speakers, ate some delicious food, and then had a Christmas talent show! Sister Gietz and I prepared a skit together with two of the Elders from the senior missionary couples. I rewrote the words to the song "Sisters" from White Christmas and we performed it! It was a hit and we had so much fun. 

We are getting into the holiday spirit with the Christmas parties, lights, and it finally snowed again (it has been an unusually warm winter, my prayers were answered!). We have been sharing a new video that the Church made called He Is The Gift . It is a beautiful reminder of what Christmas is truly about-  the gift of our Savior! He has given us hope in our lives and makes everything possible! 

We have been blessed with so many miracles this week. We found so many new people to teach, we are truly seeing miracles. We had a girl call us the other night and said she wants to be baptized! We met with her last night and she is so prepared! The Lord has guided her to this point and has helped her to know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. She prayed to know how she could be happy with all that she is dealing with in her life, and she opened the scriptures and the first word she saw was "baptism"! The she said wait it can't be that easy! Then she opened again to 2 Nephi 32 and it read:

 

"And now, behold, my beloved brethren, I suppose that ye ponder somewhat in your hearts concerning that which ye should do after y

e have entered in by the way. But, behold, why do ye ponder these things in your hearts? 

Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost?

Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.

Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark.

For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do."

She knew from these scriptures that she had already received her answer! We asked her when she would be ready to be baptized and she said "Yesterday!" Haha she decided on Christmas eve! What a gift to give and receive! We are so excited for her. She is so full of the spirit, we can see it in her eyes that she is ready!

I love this gospel! I am so lucky to witness this and many other miracles daily. 

feliz cumpleaños hermana Gammon!

I love you all and I hope you're smiling!

xoxo

Sister Boman

Put It On The Altar

9 month mark, we went out to a Mediterranean lunch!

We had a baptism last Saturday! It was awesome. She was so ready to be baptized, the only thing she was nervous about was her makeup running and getting her hair wet. She is so funny. Everyone was there to support her, and on Sunday when she was confirmed a member of the church and received the Holy Ghost, the whole ward welcomed her as the newest member of the church. It was testimony meeting, and every testimony was about the power of the plan of salvation and the light and life that the gospel brings to our lives. It was exactly what she needed to hear! 

Last week I was able to go on exchanges with my spanish hermanas! As always, I was treated to some delicious mexican food and met some incredible people. We visited an older couple who are not members but are very interested in learning more about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We taught them about the Book of Mormon, and they were excited to read and learn more about what Heavenly Father has spoken to His children. The whole time, as I looked at the woman, she reminded me so much of my Nana! I was so touched by the spirit, and knew that if they were to be baptized, their lives would be blessed in the same way that the gospel has blessed my grandparent's lives. It was such a beautiful moment to feel of God's love for them. Also, she gave us a giant bag of tamales, so that was awesome!

While our baptism shrunk our teaching pool for a moment, we found two part member families and a man who is not a member who all want to learn more about the gospel! It was awesome to find them and know that the Lord has prepared them to meet with us. 

Being a missionary is hard. I usually focus on the good and uplifting moments from my week, but things have been difficult. I know that the Lord is giving me so many things to handle because I am stubborn and want to do things on my own. But He is patiently waiting until I finally turn to Him for help. And although at times it is overwhelming, I know that He is breaking me down and building me up into the person that He sees me as. I trust Him, and I know that when I give it up to Him, He will bless me for my faith and obedience. I trust His plan for me. 

I love you all and I hope you are smiling!

xoxo

Sister Boman  

WOOOOOAAAAAAHHHH WE'RE HALFWAY THERE

love this sister!

WOOOOAAAAHHHH LIVING ON A PRAAAAAAYER! I'm halfway through my mission! I can't believe how fast it is flying by. We are only covering one stake now, so we are working to build up the work so we are as busy as we were before! This week we had a leadership meeting and President Hiers spoke to us about the mission vision, which is "true conversion that leads to baptism or reactivation and then to the temple". He said that we should be telling more stories to inspire and motivate our missionaries. We should find people who have been prepared by the Lord, and then help them find their conversion story. 

The woman we have been teaching who's husband recently passed away is getting baptized this weekend! We have been meeting with her frequently, and every time we invite her to do something or to live a commandment, she says "Yes! Of course!" We taught her about the word of wisdom, and she said "I can't give up my coffee!" but then as we continued to teach her why we have been given this commandment, she knew that she wasn't going to let anything get in the way of her getting baptized. By the end of the lesson, she agreed to give up coffee, substituting it for hot lemon water. We are so excited for her to be baptized. As the day gets closer she gets more and more excited, and we do too!

We had an awesome lesson with our recent convert last night. Things have been super busy in their lives since they got married and baptized, and we were finally able to see them. He shared with us an experience that he had last week. He was laying in bed, asleep, when he saw a bright light and heard a voice say "You haven't talked to me in a while. And I know you haven't been reading your scriptures." He was frightened, but felt a sense of peace. He said "Needless to say, I have been reading the scriptures every day." It was so incredible that the Lord spoke to him in that way. He knows how to reach us all! We are so excited to see him progress and truly have a desire to learn and grow in the gospel. 

Thanksgiving was awesome last week. We were totally stuffed! One of the families we ate with asked for our favorite thanksgiving food, and she made me a chocolate pie! Oh man I was in heaven. It was so nice to have a little slice of home. 

I love you all and I hope you're smiling!

xoxo

Sister Boman