6-month Marker

Hey Everyone!

 

So the reason I'm writing today is cause tomorrow is transfers. President likes to mess with our P-Day's all the time and this is one of those things now that Wednesday before transfers is P-Day. Kinda dumb but whatever. So I'm glad I wrote down what I wanted to say cause I hardly remember the last week and a half. Well first I just want to say that I finally hit my 6 month mark yesterday! haha It's pretty huge cause I remember thinking this day would never come. I didn't even think I would make it 4 months. I almost didn't with how rough of a start it was. But yeah I burnt a tie yesterday. We had the Spanish elders over to "celebrate" I wanted to draw my name in cologne (the only flammable thing we had.. at first..:P) but It was pretty anti-climatic at first. I soaked it in alcohol and cologne and it was a pretty weak flame and then it hit something and the flame got bigger (hence the pictures) then I took it out on our porch and E. Peterson found waterproofer spray. so I torched it up :) the apartment smelt so bad though.. haha It was funny though. But yeah! So as usual. Life in Westland is still pretty much the same. Finding is hard. A lot of walking. and the weather continues to be bipolar. So things out of the usual. We had one of our neighbors all pissed off at us cause we constantly call him a "pot-head" every time we walk in.. We never see the guy. and when we do we're nice. Yeah it smells like pot in our complex. but it's the people below us that smoke it. But holy cow. this guy was relentless. We baked him cookies and he just slammed the door in our face (nothing we're not used to) but we left it there with an apology note and haven't heard from him since. But that took up like most of our evening, trying to fix that out. So last Monday we did find a new investigator knocking around. which we thought was sweet, but that was all we found last week. We haven't found so far this week. We have a couple part-member families who are close to investigating. one is Chealse Wimer (a less-active 19 yr old) and her boyfriend Jeremy. Who is also 19. They have a 6 month year old. (who was born the day I went into the MTC.. Ironic) they are living together and we've been working with them. They are sweet to be around and we're trying to get Jeremy to start investigating. We've extended and he said he'll think about it. So we're going over tonight and we'll show him the restoration DVD and hopefully that'll get him. Last Tuesday we met with Dwayne again. We watched that DVD with him and it touched his heart. Which was cool. I almost didn't grab the DVD but I felt I should and I'm glad I did. Cause he has a problem with other churches and how they run they're tithing and how he's looking for a church just like Joseph Smith was. We told him how he can get an answer and it's through the feelings of the spirit etc. He did feel the spirit there though which was cool to see and we pointed that out. Then later that evening we taught Mike. We were going to finish the Commandments but didn't talk about that at all. We went over the importance of the Book of Mormon and testimony of the Restoration is. He still has his concerns. Which are kinda silly but they're real to him and we're still trying to figure out how to help him. Yesterday I tried to fast for him but woke up just feeling like crap and We tried to go see that gator we found last Monday, no answer. Car was there but no one showed. Then as we're walking by she drives right past us... So dumb. So I just wasn't in the right state to be fasting and it wouldn't have done any good really to me either. Plus we had to walk clear out to the east side of our area which is close to a 2 hour walk. It was cold and windy and just bitter. But we made it and it all worked out. Talked with a less active guy who's been convicted over 20 times.. Yeah we got a ride from a felon haha. Oh well we would have been late to dinner if we didn't and we're safe. Umm We've tried tracting several areas with no success. A couple potentials but that's it. We tried one on sunday and they were leaving just as we knocked and they just finished praying as a family and this black chick said. "Families that pray together stay together.. Now let's go to the Casino and win some money!" haha we were laughing cause it was pretty funny. So we are going to try again this next sunday. That same complex we knocked in the a guy who claims to be a witch. We'll just leave it at that. He was weird. Nothing too crazy though. He was decently nice. Just said he "prays to the same god, just different rules."  Then the next door was this little kid opened up, we asked for his parents (something looked wrong and we just said he's probably abused.. not really serious) but then we hear his dad just yelling and cussin. Came to the door. Said he's not interested. And then we hear more yelling.. Nothing makes me more pissed than hearing crap like that. Whether to kids or girls. It's not right. We couldn't get involved, but I felt so bad for that kid. I'm grateful for how the church views families cause a lot of people come from broken homes. It's just sad. Last Thursday Elder Porter of the Seventy came and spoke to us. He expounded on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how those 5 things need to be the core of everyone's testimony. And he tied the Atonement and our purpose into that. There are a ton of weird kids out here... Lot of young and immature faces. It's ok cause the mission has a lot of those anyways. Most of our leadership is those kind of people. Just Immature but kissers. But they're good missionaries. They just do really dumb things sometimes.. Elder Tolman, one of the AP's (who worships president [go figure] and acts just like him...) played the violin with a piano accompanying him.. Brandon. You're so much better and made this kid look like a fool. haha. He messed up a bit and it just didn't flow off his fingers. And I only care cause I've been around that for a while and know how it should sound. But yeah. Not else is happening. I was thinking the past couple days of good things that have come from my mission. (just trying to see some blessings in all the crap that's gone on.) And the biggest one right now that I'm thankful for is the people I've been able to meet and have in my life. Like Elder Cornia (he's going through a rough time. His girlfriend is acting the same way Lexi did and he's freaking out. haha but I'm keeping my eye on him but he's just struggling.) I hope I get to stay in this Area at least one more transfer. E. Peterson thinks he's going. He's been here since August, you never know. Monday we got to have dinner at a less active members house the Pauls. Jordan got baptized a year ago and Kara has been a life long member with extreme parents. He's 22 and she's 19 and they have a kid. They are super sweet and He's in a local band and has met basically all my favorite bands. It was cool. He's like "you're unusually chill for a kid coming from Utah" when he asked where I'm from. Cause he's gotten some weird ones that he's nice to but doesn't like. We'll probably have dinner with them every monday to help them out. They're cool. Then Joe invited us to come watch his band during practice. I played his drums and don't like electric kits, but they have to stay quiet cause of neighbors so everything is run through headphones. but it was cool and it was cool being a part of a jam sesh. I miss those days. But his kit was weird and was a little difficult. But we talked with people and the guitarist was cool he was way chill and related on like all this bands I know. It's cool. I love being able to relate with music. I miss it so much and won't say no to talking about it or being apart of it. Just like the guy who dubstepped on his mission, this is one of my things. I'm glad to be slowly getting myself back and not worrying so much on being a strict rule keeping robot, but being me. Cause that's who I was called as. I've been talking to Calvin and eh things got a little heated there. But he asked me why did I even go on a mission (cause I told him basically everything in my life fell apart it seems) but the answer I gave him has also helped me realize more of what I'm doing out here. Which is something I've been trying to figure out. And I'm still figuring out. Sure days are still rough sometimes. And there will be days where I'd love to hate being a missionary, but I'm grateful for the growth I've been able to have in my life. 18 months seems daunting cause the first 6 were harder than anything else, but everyone says it's gets better from here. Not easier, just better. So we'll see. I wonder what my mission would have been like if I didn't take those dumb anti-depressants, cause those just made my situation harder and worse. (worse thoughts instead of better ones) cause I'm doing better without them. Oh well God had a plan for something right? K love you all!

-Elder Derrek Bowler

Alright so I'll email in a second. But the Pictures for this week are this old V8 car/chassis we found and me burning a tie cause I hit my 6 month mark yesterday!! haha CRAZY! I got a video of me torching it but it's too big to send so you just get picture :P