That Blessed Day

We had a great week! Hermana Duff and I really get along well. It is the best to have companions you can laugh with. Just last week in every mission vehicle a "Tiwi" device was installed. They are "mentoring" devices. In other words, it yells at you if you are a bad driver! If you are speeding, it tells you to check your speed. If you don't reduce your speed, then you get penalized. Not wearing seat belts and driving aggressively will also penalize you. Many missionaries were upset, I even heard one say "Forget it, I won't drive any more!". I was pretty tense the first few days, but now I can see that it is making me a better driver. Even if there is a line of cars behind me, i'm going 25 around that curve! Hermana Duff said "Aint nobody going 25 without Tiwi in the car!". But it reminded me of commandments and principles that God has given us in this life. We have the Holy Ghost to warn us if we are going too fast, and if we don't listen, then we are penalized, and it's usually in worse ways than losing driving privileges. I'm grateful for commandments that are put in place to keep me safe. 

we did it!

This week I had the privilege of going to the temple with a couple that I helped reactivate in Roy! It was so incredible. They have grown so much. Now they are sealed together for time and all eternity. I am so grateful for the blessings of the Priesthood, that we have the power to bind on Earth and in Heaven. It makes me want to be even more bold with the people that I teach! They need to know what they are missing, and what they could have!

We had a really fun preparation day last Tuesday. We went to the Treehouse Museum (the owner had given us free passes). It's a children's museum, but we had a ton of fun acting like kids for the day! I even got to pretend I was president :) Lucky for all of you, I resigned. I've got enough stress as a missionary lol.

President Boman!

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

xoxo

Sister Boman

Your Potential, Your Privileges

This... was a hard week. For most of her mission, Sister Greene has been dealing with arthritis problems. After much prayer and counseling, she decided to go home. It was so sad to see her leave. She is such an incredible sister, and I learned so much from her. She is so strong and brave for sticking it out this long. She didn't want to go home, but she counseled with the Lord and had faith that He would take care of her. I love her so much and I wish her the best! Love you Greene! Who am I going to quote Nacho Libre with now?

That left me in a new area that I had only been in for just over a week, with a brand new companion! We did some shuffling with the sisters and Hermana Duff, who was serving in the spanish program, has come to be my new companion! She is from Trinidad, in the Caribbean! She is a convert to the church and it is so neat to hear her testimony. Plus she has an awesome accent :) Together we are getting our footing and learning the area. Luckily we have plenty of help from our leaders! 

This Sunday we attended three sacrament meetings. It was a long day! We spoke in one meeting about having faith to do missionary work. We both spoke about the importance of gaining your own testimony before sharing it with others. That love and appreciation you have for the gospel will then motivate you to open up and share the gift that you have been given! Sister Duff talked about how limited our time on this earth is. She said that this time on earth is the only time in eternity that we have to be tried and tested. It is the only time we have to make choices and to act, and our decisions determine our destiny. That is why we must embrace trials that come, because this time on earth is when we prepare ourselves to meet God. It is where we learn and grow and change. We must take advantage of this time, and help others to make those changes as well. That is why missionary work is so important- everyone on this earth should have the opportunity to learn and grow and realize their potential. 

It reminds me of a video that we love to share. It's called Your Potential, Your Privileges. It tells the story of a man who doesn't quite understand his full potential and privileges! 

I hope that we can all begin to realize the great plan that our Father in Heaven has in store for us. He loves us and He wants us to be happy!

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

xoxo

Sister Boman

I found Bomans!  

You're Killin' Me Smalls!

watch out, we're baaaack!

This week was great. It is always strange to go to a new area and get to know all new people, but luckily you learn to love them just as much as the people you were working with before. It really was sad to leave my last area, but I am excited to see the work grow in my new area! 

We are trying to build up the stake and get the members involved in missionary work. It is so much more effective when we have their help. Otherwise we are just those girls that come and knock on your door. What is awesome to see here is that there is a ton of missionary effort from the youth! Usually I am hesitant to work with younger kids, but these kids actually want to get baptized! It's not just the pressure from their parents, they actually have friends who are setting a good example for them and they can sense a difference. The great thing about these kids friends is that they are not ashamed of the gospel! They care about their friends and they aren't afraid to share the gospel with them. 

We are teaching a young man who is 13. I'm going to call him Smalls, because he is exactly like Smalls from the movie the Sandlot! He is so sweet and genuine, he has the same smile and laugh, it is so funny. He is so smart too. Before he is baptized he needs to come to church three times. We asked him why that is a requirement for baptism, and he said it is important to show that you're willing to do this, that you really want to follow Jesus Christ. He gets it! We just had a lesson with him about the word of wisdom, and he said it is important because we don't want to break our relationship with God. Then his friend, who was baptized in the past year, told him about how he will feel when he is baptized. He said "It's weird, well, not really weird. But you come out of the water and you just feel... good." It was so neat to hear him testify of the power of baptism to his friend!

We also started teaching a young girl who is 12. Her mom is Catholic and her dad is a less active member of the church. Her friend has been inviting her to come to church, and then asked if she would want to meet with the missionaries and learn more. We had a lesson and there were a bunch of young women her age there to help support her. When we were teaching, all of her friends would chime in, sharing their testimony and stories. We invited her to be baptized and told her that she can pray to know if it is right. Her friend leaned over and said "When you pray, you'll get a good feeling, and that's Him telling you that it's right!" To see that these youth have this awesome support helps me to know that they can thrive in the gospel. 

I love to see the temple!

It is such a privilege to be serving here in this mission. We just recently had a training for all of the sister missionaries, and I gave a training with Sister Livingstone about being bold. As sisters, we have such a huge capacity to love, and with that love, we can be even more bold. The people we teach know that we care about them, and that we want to help them progress in the gospel, to change, to repent, and to become baptized. I know that with the power and authority that I have been given, and with the help of the Holy Ghost, I can change people's lives!

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

xoxo

Sister Boman

Down South

icicles are fun!

Transfers have rolled around, and I am leaving the north and going back down south! Sadly, I will be leaving Sister Matheson, but I will be reuniting with....... Sister Greene, my MTC companion!!! Never in a million years did I think we would get to be together again, but it is happening! I am excited to see what this transfer will bring, who I will meet, and what miracles we will see.

Sir Toots A Lot!

We had a great week celebrating the new year. We got together with the missionaries in our zone and played games, but we all went home early to catch our curfew. On the way home we almost hit a tiny little dog! It was a few streets down from our house, so we parked, scooped up the pup, and knocked on the closest house with a light on. They directed us to another house, with no one home, so we decided to get out of the freezing cold and just go back home and deal with it in the morning. Oh man that little dog was hilarious. Poor guy was so cold. He was so happy to be in our warm apartment. As soon as he came in we realized why missionaries are not allowed to have pets... they are so much work! He was really nervous and... a little gassy. We named him Sir Toots A Lot. Finally he settled down, and in the morning we called everyone around where we found him (thank goodness for missionary resources, maps, and ward directories!). Turned out that the dog belonged to the Bishop! Someone visiting had let the dog out, but they didn't notice until later that night, when he was already safe in our apartment. Their son had said a prayer that the dog would be safe. I guess we were an answer to their prayers! 

We have been sharing a video recently that is super funny, but it also has a great message. It's called New Year's: Look Not Behind Thee. It tells the story of Lot and his wife. They were commanded by God to leave Sodom and Gomorrah, the wicked city. He told them to leave, and to not look back, but Lot's wife looked back, and was turned into a pillar of salt. A pretty harsh lesson to learn, but it shows how we need to trust the Lord and His plan for us. We can't dwell on our past, wishing we could return to our old ways. We must look forward with faith, and trust that Heavenly Father will provide a way for us. This new year, I am trying to trust my Heavenly Father more. I know that He loves me, and I know that He has big plans for me. 

What will you do this year to look forward with faith?

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

xoxo

Sister Boman