Baba Yetu

Musical Fireside!

This week we had the Ogden Musical Fireside! It was such an awesome experience. I was asked last minute to join one of the special musical numbers, called Baba Yetu. It is the Lord's prayer in Swahili. I was still recovering from a cold, but luckily it was gone by the time of the performance. As soon as the music started a rush of adrenaline flowed through me, and I sang my heart out! It was so much fun. We had the Ogden tabernacle packed full, there were people standing! So many missionaries were involved and there were some incredible special numbers. I was so grateful to be a part of it. 

dinner with our mission president and wife, the Hiers!

We have been teaching a young girl who is 14. She has come to young women's activities forever, but has never come to church or met with missionaries. We have taught her a few times now and she came to all three hours of church last Sunday! If you have ever been a missionary, you know what a big deal that is! It is so hard to get people to church. We had a wonderful lesson with her at the Bishop's house, and it was awesome to see how open and receptive she is to the gospel. We told her to really give it her all and test it out, to see if this is right for her, and she is doing just that!

This last week we had Zone Conference. It was super spiritual and the trainings were awesome. In our mission we have the opportunity to take the Gallup Strengths test, and we discover what our top five strengths are. Mine are input, developer, connectedness, empathy, and activator. We did an exercise where we each thought of a problem that we have that we want to work on, and then we looked at other people's strengths and found someone we thought would have good insight to our problem. It was so neat to see how we are each blessed with different individual strengths, and we can help each other so much with our varying personalities and perspectives. 

I wonder what the Savior's strengths would be? Maybe empathy, belief, includer, activator, and connectedness? He always knows how we feel, He knows what He stands for, He makes things happen and takes action, and He feels a deep love for all of us. I know that He is real. I know that He is helping me each and every day. I know that I could not do this work without His help. I am so grateful to be a missionary. My time is running short, but I know that I can make the most of it with Him by my side. I know that we can all find true joy and happiness by relying on our Savior Jesus Christ. He is our brother, and He loves us. 

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

xoxo

Sister Boman  

 

Make A Change

This week we had some changes! We moved into a new apartment, we're living with a family in their basement. They are super fun and we love them so it has been great! Also they have a dog and a trampoline so what more could we ask for??

We were planning on having a baptism this coming Saturday for the young girl we have been teaching since January, but due to family schedules it happened last night!!! It was a bit hectic trying to get it organized so quickly but luckily missionaries are pro at being flexible and it was an awesome night. She was excited and nervous and said she felt like an astronaut in her baptismal jumpsuit! Haha that girl cracks me up. Her friends gave the talks and said the prayers, and they did such a good job! They have been so instrumental in making this happen. If she didn't have their example and support she probably wouldn't have made the decision to be baptized. At her baptism there were quite a few members of her family who attended who are not members of the church. We shared the message of the restoration of the gospel while she was changing back into her dry clothes. This is one of my favorite parts of baptisms because we get to teach so many people all at once! I boldly promised that if they took the time to search, study, and ponder the things we had told them about, that they too will have a desire to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized. I feel so honored to share this gospel with everyone I meet. The spirit was so strong in the room. I love it!

We have found a few more people to teach, unfortunately it doesn't work out immediately with all of them, but sometimes it does! We met a young girl who is 10 who comes to church with her grandparents every other weekend when she is with her dad. She has been dying to get baptized! We finally met her, and when we asked her why she wants to be baptized, she started crying! Her heart is so full and she wants it so badly. She recognizes the spirit when she is learning and wants to have it with her always. We are so excited to help her in her journey.

I never thought that I would be teaching so many young kids on my mission, but I am so grateful. They are so bright and full of light, and I can see the need that they have for the guidance of the spirit. The world is getting harder and harder to live in without it, but I know that there is a way to find joy and happiness in this life, and it is through our Savior Jesus Christ. He knows and loves each and every one of us!

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

xoxo

Sister Boman

It Isn't A Sin To Be Weak

Hey guys! Hope you are all doing well. This week we found a lot of new people to teach! the Lord knows that we are ready to work hard and make the most of our missions while we are still here! We finally contacted some people that we have had on our radar for quite a while, and many of them are interested in learning more about the gospel. One young girl has come faithfully to the weekly young women's activity, but she is not a member! She has a lot of member friends and is the sweetest girl. We finally talked with her and asked her if she had ever thought about joining the church. She said "Well i'm not against it, but I just don't think I know enough to make a decision." Good thing we showed up! We told her that that's exactly what missionaries are for. We help people to know if they would be interested in joining the church. We teach and invite them to learn and to test it out. It was so exciting to see her accept the invitation. We really think she is prepared! 

We had the Logan musical fireside this weekend and it was great! Everyone did a wonderful job, and I even got to spend some time with my baby, Sister Matheson! 

good times with my baby girl!

Something that I have been blessed to learn and understand more is the difference between sin and weakness. There is an article in the church magazine the Ensign called It Isn't a Sin to be Weak. Something that I have struggled with a lot is punishing myself and feeling unworthy because of my weaknesses, but in reality, there is a big difference between sin and weakness. Sin is willingly disobeying God's commandments, but weakness is a result of our own humanity. The Atonement gives us the opportunity to repent of our sins, but our Savior's grace makes up for our weaknesses. This knowledge has helped me so much, and I was able to share my new understanding with one of the less active sisters that we are teaching. It was so awesome to see the light come to her face. She is SO hard on herself, and I was able to help her realize that all things are possible through Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Redeemer. 

I am so grateful for the time I have here in Utah as a missionary. My testimony has been strengthened more than I knew it could or would. 

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

xoxo

Sister Boman 

Words of a Prophet

CONFERENCE!!!

This was one of the best weeks of my mission!!! Conference was so incredible, I was so blessed with revelation and with light. I was able to go to two of the four sessions! On Saturday morning, we went with the young girl who we have been teaching since I came into the area, her fellowshipping family (the mom and daughters), and then we had our recent convert, the 9 year old boy, and his 17 year old step brother who is not a member! It was so neat to see their faces in their first experience at the conference center, and especially at Temple Square! We showed them the Salt Lake temple, and after conference we went and showed them the Christus. I sat next to our recent convert during conference, and he took notes in his notepad while I took notes in mine :) How special to see such a young man, filled with the spirit, and able to receive revelation. Of course, two hours is a long time, so we all got a little antsy toward the end.

Because it is my last conference while I am on my mission, I was able to choose another session to go to. I chose Sunday morning, so that I could see Music and the Spoken word, a broadcast by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and I knew that the Prophet always speaks on Sunday morning! I went with Sister Lewis, her and her husband were my senior couple in Plain City and they have become adopted grandparents. We went down together and had a wonderful time. Our tickets were so good! The choir sang like angels, and the Prophet spoke all about the power of the temple, and then my favorite apostle (I know I shouldn't have favorites but I do), Elder Jeffrey R. Holland spoke! His talk was so powerful. He spoke of the fall of Adam and Eve, and how without that fall, without our humanity, we would have no need for a Savior. But because of that fall, Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice is essential in our lives. Throughout the conference I learned a lot about trusting the Lord, strengthening faith, and being obedient out of love. President Uchtdorf made an analogy, saying that if we think that we buy our salvation with obedience, it is like buying an airplane ticket and thinking we own the airline. Our Savior's sacrifice and grace makes it possible for us, after all we have done, to gain eternal life.

Did you watch conference? If not, it will be available soon online at lds.org! I want to hear what you guys thought!

Last night we had a great lesson with the young girl who we brought to conference. We had asked her last week to pray about a day to be baptized, and when we asked her, she immediately said "I already decided, I want to get baptized!" We were so surprised! Her answer showed us that she is truly ready. We asked her how she decided and she said "I don't know, I just felt good about it!" That is exactly what the spirit does! It doesn't overpower us, we still have our ability to choose, but he gently whispers the right thing to do, and helps us to feel good about it. We are so excited for her!

I got a new companion last week, her name is Sister Pitt and she is from Oahu, Hawaii! She is full of life and energy and I am excited for this BUSY transfer ahead of us.

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

xoxo

Sister Boman

Sister Pitt! My new companion!