Endure

We met a lot of new people this week. We finally contacted some referrals that we have been trying to meet for a while, and had some really good lessons. One lady, she is not a member of the church, but her husband is. He hasn't gone for a long time. She grew up with her mom telling her bad things about the LDS church, and so she really did not have a good opinion of it. After a lot of soul searching and pondering, she finally found peace in Christ, and decided that she is not going to judge people because of what they believe. She has since married her husband, who's family is active in the church, so she has come a long way. She was really sweet, and it was so neat to hear about her journey in discovering the love of our Savior Jesus Christ. She said that her husband has been struggling with his faith, and we offered to come and help with some of the questions he might have. We set a return appointment, but we're guessing the husband is not quite ready to come back, because she texted us, cancelled the appointment, and said no further visits were necessary. Bummer!

Then we met a young girl who is not a member but her mom is. We had a lesson and talked to her about the church and baptism, and she seemed on board. The mom, although she didn't participate much, seemed ok with everything, until the weekend when she texted, cancelled the appointment, and said they did not want to reschedule. Double bummer.

It would be easy to look at these events and say what is the point of even meeting them?! But I have learned in my time in the mission field, that success is measured by our commitment. Because we are committed to the work, we gave these people an opportunity to learn. They might not be ready at this time, but we have planted a seed. When Heavenly Father leads us to these people, He wants to see if we will keep working, even when it is tough. He wants us to learn to turn to Him, to trust Him. I have seen that with many things in my life. If I am going through something hard, I try to turn around and say ok, what am I supposed to be learning? It doesn't all make sense at once, but the more I counsel with the Lord, the easier it is to have hope.

This weekend we have the incredible opportunity to hear the Prophet of the Lord, President Thomas S. Monson and other apostles speak to us at General Conference! I invite you all to watch or listen to it, it is on the BYU channel, but you can also stream it live online at lds.org. There will be two sessions on Saturday, and two on Sunday. I can't wait to hear what guidance and counsel they have for us!

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

xoxo

Sister Boman

p.s. sorry I have had no pictures! not much to document, next week will be different :)

Real Love

I have found renewed faith and love for my Savior Jesus Christ this week. We are still searching for those who are prepared to hear the gospel, and with each day that we are fruitless, I know that the Lord is working us to see if we will keep going, even when the going gets tough. 

I was able to go on exchanges with Hermana Orchard, and we tracted most of the day, going door to door looking for people who are willing to listen, specifically hispanics (she is in a spanish branch). We met a man who has been working in the United States for 14 years, and hasn't seen his family since he left mexico. It is incredible to meet people who are going through real struggles, to see the sacrifices they are willing to make for their families. It makes me incredibly grateful for all that I have been blessed with. We went to a Relief Society activity that evening, and it was so fun to listen to the sisters speak to each other in spanish. I can understand a good amount, maybe i'll go to a spanish ward when I go home :) 

We had a lesson with a young girl that we have been teaching for the past two months. It has been difficult trying to help her learn, she is suuuuper shy and easily distracted by her friends that come to the lessons. We had the lesson last night at her home with her step-mom who grew up catholic. It was all about Jesus Christ, His life and death. It was neat to help her step-mom realize that a lot of our beliefs are similar. We invited the girl to be baptized on a specific date, to which she was unsure (typical answer, she does not like being put on the spot!). We told her to pray and ask Heavenly Father if she should be baptized. We promised that the Holy Ghost would testify to her and help her to know that it is right. The spirit prompted me to ask her step-mom as well. I said "If you came to know that these things were true, would you be baptized?" She said "Yeah, possibly..." WOW! I wasn't expecting that! She said that there is a lot that she doesn't know, and that she has been feeling conflicted. We told her that we would love to help her learn and find some peace. I am so excited! If I hadn't acted on that prompting, we would have never known how she was feeling, and that her heart was open and ready to learn about the gospel. 

In preparation for Easter, I have been focusing my studies more on Jesus Christ. The more I learn about Him, the more I love Him. He truly is my brother. He suffered every pain I would ever go through, and knows exactly how to strengthen me. I am so incredibly grateful for His love. As a little girl recently put it, "That is real real love!". 

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

xoxo

Sister Boman

Words of Wisdom

hiking on pday!

We met some pretty cool people this week. We met two women, one is 100 and the other is 103 years old! Needless to say, they are incredible women. Both are members of the church, and one had met every prophet since Heber J. Grant! We asked her what wisdom she had for us, after her years of experience, and she said this: "Be obedient to the principles of the gospel". I don't know why, but I was surprised at her answer. It showed her testimony and the perspective that she had gained throughout her years on this earth. I thought of what my response would have been if I was her age. Would I have learned the same lesson?

I gave a talk this Sunday on how we can find joy in keeping the commandments. Our perspective can change when we realize the purpose of the commandments. Our Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to be happy, so He gives us commandments so that we can. If we truly understood that our Heavenly Father loves and cares for us and knows what is best for us, then we would not only be willing, but anxious to keep His commandments. We would know and understand that obedience brings blessings. President Uchtdorf said:
 

"Part of our challenge is, I think, that we imagine that God has all of His blessings locked in a huge cloud up in heaven, refusing to give them to us unless we comply with some strict, paternalistic requirements He has set up. But the commandments aren’t like that at all. In reality, Heavenly Father is constantly raining blessings upon us. It is our fear, doubt, and sin that, like an umbrella, block these blessings from reaching us."

By keeping the commandments, I have found peace and happiness, and also protection from the adversary. It is when I have strayed off the path that I have been more susceptible to his snares. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father cares about us so much to give us so many ways to be happy and safe in this life.

I know that it can be difficult, but we will never feel of the peace and true joy that comes from obedience until we try it! And the 104 year old sister said it's the most important thing that she learned, so I think i'm going to take her advice :)

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

xoxo

Sister Boman

Mountains To Climb

This week... I'm going to stop classifying weeks as good or difficult because they all have a little bit of everything! I'll just say that sometimes when life gives you trials, you wonder if you are going to make it. Can I do this? The answer: probably not. But the wonderful truth that we try to teach people (and ourselves) is that we are not alone.

In the Book of Mormon in Moroni, chapter 7, verses 19-37 and 40-42, it talks about how we are not alone in our journey. The Lord will send angels to minister to us. With His help, we will be able to see miracles. In verse 25 it says:

"Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ."

We need not suffer alone. Through our faith, we will be lifted up and have the strength to endure. The hardest struggles I have had were times when I tried to get by on my own, with my own knowledge and strength. When I finally put it in the hands of my Savior, I was able to see miracles. That is one way that I know this gospel is true. It has helped me to climb mountains that seemed insurmountable. And that is why I am a missionary, to help others to find that faith and hope, to be able to climb those mountains with the help of their Savior Jesus Christ.

Last week I celebrated my 1 year anniversary of coming on my mission, and it was bittersweet. I was so grateful to look back at all of the good times I had, but even more grateful for the trials that I endured and the hard lessons that I have learned. I can look forward with faith, and say, "give me mountains to climb, give me rivers to cross, give me something that's going to make me better than I was".

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

xoxo

Sister Boman

12 Months Down

I seriously can't believe I've been on my mission for a whole year! Time has flown by and I have really been so blessed to spend this time in the service of the Lord.

So last week was really hard, but when you hit rock bottom, you can only go up! We met with the 9 year old we were teaching every day last week. Satan tried to get him down a few times, but he stayed strong and was baptized on Saturday! It was one of the most spiritual baptisms I have been at. He had so much support from family and friends there. Everyone knew that he is a spiritual giant and they were so proud of the step that he was taking. The next day during church he was confirmed a member of the church and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was testimony meeting and he went a bore his testimony about how Heavenly Father has helped him in his life. He said that "knock knees" are genetic in his family and his brother had them so bad that he needed surgery. He prayed that his brother would be ok and everything went well. It has been so incredible to see his faith grow and his desire to share it with everyone he comes in contact with.

The hugest miracle out of all of this is the progress that his dad has made. He started out very hesitant and very questioning. He said he wants this for his kids, but not for himself. By the end of last week, he was teaching and testifying along with us, helping his son to realize that baptism is a good thing. He enjoyed the baptism, and we just found out on Sunday that he wants to learn more and have the lessons himself! He doesn't want to get baptized, but he wants to be able to lead and teach his son. We are SO excited! This is a huge step, and it has been such a blessing to see the power of the spirit work on him. We never thought we would get to this point, especially so soon!

I am so grateful for the miracles I am able to witness here in the mission field. I know that I have been gone for a while because I can feel how much I have changed. I have learned so much of my Heavenly Father's plan for me, and have felt my Savior's love and His redeeming power. I just love this gospel!

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

xoxo

Sister Boman

Tender Mercies

This week was really hard. One of those weeks that you never forget, not necessarily in a good way. It seemed like every lesson we had and everyone that we came in contact with rejected us. We had a lesson with a young man who was interested in learning, but when it got down to it, he said he really doesn't have a desire to change. He had so many questions and kept firing them off, but we answered them all. By the end of the lesson we were exhausted. Then, we met a woman who is 90 years old who is not a member. She has met with missionaries so many times, but just doesn't feel like she needs to be baptized again (she was baptized in two other churches). Her son was baptized, but he continues to tell her that she has lived a good life and that Heavenly Father will understand. I can just imagine her husband on the other side shaking his head, wishing that his sweet wife would recognize the truth. Her life has been prolonged and so many missionaries have come by, trying to help her. Of course we would never force her to do anything, but it was so sad to see her reject the blessings of the gospel. Then, we had a lesson with a lady who has been less active for 18 years. She finally told us that she doesn't want to come back to church, and that she wants to check out the Baptist church. She had even been through the temple. She says that she will be with her husband again, but she fails to realize that temple covenants are predicated upon our obedience. It was so sad to see her reject the things that she once learned. Then, we met a woman who is not active and is afraid to come back to church because she doesn't want to jeopardize her relationship with her husband. She said that she is happy where she is. 

I know that it sounds like a lot, and I hope I don't sounds like i'm complaining. All of this happened in one week, and it broke our hearts. It was so hard to see so many people turn us away. We told them how much we care and love them, and called them to repentance. It was so hard to hear them say no, to say "I'm happy where I am". They don't even know what they are missing, and they are too afraid to change. 

But this trial was given to us for a reason, to see if we would stay strong. To see if we would continue working even through the hard times. Luckily through all of this, we have continued to meet with the young boy who is getting baptized! We brought him to a baptism so that he could see what it was like, and we had the most incredible lesson with his family last night. He is worried that he isn't ready to be baptized because there are certain commandments that he isn't ready to keep. It was such a small thing that was worrying him. We let him know that satan is working really hard on him. He doesn't want him to make this step, and to have the help and companionship of the Holy Ghost. When his dad heard this, he began testifying that what we were teaching was true. This is the dad that was once Jehovah's Witness! He said "Why wouldn't you do this? You want to live a good life, to be a good person. Why wouldn't you want help from the Holy Ghost in your life?" We asked him if he would like a blessing to help him to feel peace, and the sister that joined us for the lesson called her husband to come and give him a blessing. After the blessing, the whole room was filled with the spirit. Even dad was speechless. He said that he could see his son in the same position, giving a blessing, when he is older. Hermana Duff and I were nudging each other the whole time. We could not believe how far his dad has come! It was so incredible to witness the power of the spirit. Our Heavenly Father is truly mindful of each of His children.

Then, today, we were able to have lunch with a couple I taught in Hyrum! They are the BEST and I was so grateful that they came all the way down to Ogden to see me. 

love these guys!

I know that our Heavenly Father is mindful of us, and he gives us trials to strengthen us. It reminds me of the Mormon Message called The Will of God. No matter what we are going through, it is all part of our Father's plan for us. I am grateful for the hard week that we had, because I saw how I could get through it with His help. It also made the good moments that much sweeter. 

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

xoxo

Sister Boman   

All You Need Is Love

happy valentines day to us!

Happy late Valentines day to you all! I hope it was a wonderful day full of love and happiness. Unfortunately for us, not many people were home because of the long weekend and the holiday. BUT, we didn't give up. We heart attacked a few people that we love and appreciate (cut out hearts and covered their front door with words of love). It was awesome later to hear their responses. I think i'm going to make it a Valentines Day tradition! There is one lady who we met a few weeks ago who goes to another church, but we visited with her and she is SO nice. Her husband is deployed and she just recently moved here, so we knew she could use some love on Valentines Day! We heart attacked her and she texted us, saying it was "one of the most thoughtful, caring, meaningful things" someone has ever done for her. She was so grateful! It felt so good to make people smile and to feel loved. 

I was able to go on exchanges in my first area and I saw Jackie and Randy! I worked with Jackie and helped her to prepare for baptism. She is doing great. She prints out the lessons before every Sunday and studies them so she is prepared to participate! It filled my heart to know that she is still strong in her desire to learn and grow in the gospel. 

love these two!

We met a non member family while tracting in some apartments. They were hesitant at first to even listen to us, but by the end we were in their home, testifying of truth, and they made a return appointment! Something that I have found that is so important is that we need to be real with people! We need to let them know that we love and care about them, and we need to talk about the gospel with them as soon as possible! Especially for us in door contacts, because we only have a few seconds before they have made up their mind! If we speak of the gospel, then the Holy Ghost will be able to bear witness to them, and if they are prepared and open, they will feel in their hearts that it is true. 

I love this gospel. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have that my Heavenly Father loves me, and that my Savior Jesus Christ loves me so much as to suffer and die for me. That is true, eternal love. When we feel of that love, it changes our hearts, and it can carry us through even the darkest of times. I want everyone I meet to be able to experience that love!

One of the most heart-wrenching mormon messages i've seen is called Enduring Love. It is such an example to me of the power that true love can have to unite us together. Grab some tissues before you watch it!

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

xoxo

Sister Boman