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

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