Merry (late) Christmas

Dear all,

Christmas was great!  We went to our friend's district meeting because our district leader never holds one so we watched the musical version of David and Goliath.  It's pretty awesome! We had dinner with an awesome member family on Christmas Eve. Then, we had a sleep over with all the Sisters in our zone!  We watched Finding Nemo and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  It was a blast!  On Christmas we spent almost the whole day with a member family and we got to talk to our families!  That was great!  However, I started feeling sick on Christmas and when I woke up the next day, it was a lot worse!  I got permission from the mission nurse to go to the Urgent Care on the north side of Indy. She has us go there because the doctor is a RM and he's from SLC. Haha!  He doesn't charge us anything!  The name tag means something there.  He told me that I have Pharyngitis and put me on an antibiotic.  Ew!  My voice sounds like I smoke 3 packs a day.  Yesterday I woke up with a billion more symptoms so I called the mission nurse to tell her and she laughed at me trying to explain my illness.  "Sister Fowler, you do not have a sore throat in your ears!"  That's what it feels like though! I will get better!  

Because I was sick and it was Christmas, we had a pretty bad week.  We taught a fraction of the lessons we normally teach. That was sad! I really just need to get better!! 

Well, President has told me that I will be here in Indy 1st for 6 months, but Sister Kitchen and I have a feeling I might be transferred in a couple weeks. That will make 4 1/2 months in my 1st area-so that's good.  I would love to stay here for another transfer-or the rest of my mission!  I love this area, but if the Lord needs me elsewhere, I will go.  :) I just love the Chin people so much!  

I hope everyone at home is staying warm, happy, and HEALTHY!  

I love you all!  xoxo

Sister Fowler

Sis. Kitchen and I

We bought this 80's jacket for Elder Uthaichai for Christmas!  Haha!

E. Uthaichai wearing his Christmas present.

We put make-up on E. Ledesma for Christmas! Who's a pretty lady?

I was sick and I wanted some of E. Ledesma's Filipino spicy ramen so
he made me some and brought it to me.  He's sometimes nice!  :)

Merry Christmas!

Okay, so I don't remember a lot about this week but I'll try!

This week I was teaching English class and the word was "interested" and I was explaining what it means and my investigator, Jemimah, said "Like you and boys?" I said, "Yes!  I am interested in boys!"  She totally understands what it means!  Haha!  The next word was "not interested" so I said, "I am not interested in a boy if he smokes or drinks alcohol."  Haha!  You gotta do what you gotta do to help them understand things. ;)

We totally bought Asian mats last P-day!  They're so cute!  All the Chin people have one.  I don't care if I have to drag it around to every area for the rest of my mission, I still want it!  

Christmas Conference was so fun! I got to talk to all my buds in the mission.  I feel like I know a lot of missionaries even though I've only been here for 4 months.  I miss my first District leader and Zone leader!  They've moved on to bigger and better things I guess.  Elder Owen is jealous that we got so many Chin people to come to church last week!  Haha!  My breakfast looked happy one morning. I got to talk to Elder Brown a little bit!  We talked about home and stuff.  He was companions with my first district leader (Elder Owen) and my current zone leader (Elder Rasmussen).  He was also companions with Elder Brown. (Yes, Elder Brown and Elder Brown were companions.)  Elder Brown is in Brazil now but I knew him because he was in my zone. E. Matt Brown told me that people always asked if they were 1. brothers 2. gay because they have the same name.  Haha!  Awkward.  

Wish me luck training at district meeting this week!  Woof!  ;)

I hope you are all happy, healthy, and holy this Christmas season!  Have a Merry little Christmas!  :) 

Love,

Sister Fowler xoxo

Sister Kitchen had her own business making Cupcakes before her mission. 

It was called "Sweet Kitchen's Cupcakes"  They're delicious!  :)

My Breakfast is Happy!

We had to buy Asian mats!  I've wanted one for so long.  It's called a "per" pronounced: pair.

Chin Children!  They're so cute!

Here's E. Owen himself!

Elder Brown from Lehi!

Christmas

Awe! I love her!

We think we're funny :)

Random

Christmas Miracles!!

Dear all, 

This week has been LOVELY!

We go Christmas caroling every night with a member family and we show people "He is the Gift" on youtube.  That video brings the spirit! Even if there are a bunch of noisy children around.  :)

One night we were with a family that has 3 little boys.  Their oldest kept telling me about Star Wars because I've never seen it.  When we were caroling, he grabbed my hand and said, "Hold my hand, missionary!" In his cute little voice. He made me laugh so hard!  Later he was explaining to us about the First Vision and Joseph Smith and he told us, "God said to Jesus, 'you are my son!'"  I think he might be mixing Star Wars and the First Vision together...Haha!:)

Yesterday we saw too many miracles to count!  We had so many Chin people come to church!  Enough to start a branch of their own!  If only they would get baptized.  That's coming next!  We all sang Silent Night in Chin as part of the Christmas program.  Did I know what I was singing?  Nope.  Was the spirit there anyway? Yes!  Also, President Cleveland found us an interpreter.  Seriously, this guy is American, 28 years old, a member of the church, and knows Burmese?  It's too good to be true-but it is!  He came to church and spoke to them all.  He said that we need to order Books of Mormon in Malay because all of the people we teach lived in Malaysia before they came to America.  Also, he showed us an app that he created that will help us learn Burmese.  He said it only takes 3 days to learn the alphabet and in 4 months we could be fairly fluent.  That's if we had time to learn it!  Yeah, right!  Haha!  I'll stick to learning Chin because it's the same alphabet as English.  I have been so blessed to work with these people and I hope to stay here for as long as possible!  :)

I hope you all have a lovely Christmas season.  Don't forget to take our Savior's love to everyone you meet!  Romans 10:15

Love,

Sister Fowler xoxo

Transfers...... :)

Hey y'all!

We had transfers this week!  Sister Loveland ended up exactly 12 miles away, so I'll still see her around. :)

My new companion is Sister Kitchen!  She's so dang cute. Like, cupcakes and hot pink/zebra cute.  She makes fun of my English though!  My English has slowly deteriorated in this area.  "So many fruit!" It's an inside joke.  She reminds me of a Disney princess: beautiful and spunky! 

We had a miracle this week!  We team teach a family with the Elders because Elder Uthaichai speaks Thai and Za Kip Men understands him. Last week, they asked if we could teach them more about Joseph Smith and prophets. We've literally taught them the restoration 8 times so I didn't think there was much more we could do. During studies the thought came to me that maybe the Restoration video is translated into Thai!  I watched it in every language when I was sick so I figured one of them might be Thai.  :) I asked Elder Uthaichai to check that for me because I don't know what the heck Thai looks like.  They came over and said it was!  So for district meeting we watched the Restoration in Thai with Swedish subtitles because Elder Uthaichai is fluent in both...don't ask.  He said the translations aren't direct but they mean basically the same thing.  This week we'll show them the video and Men will translate it for her family!  Miracles do happen!   

We visited Cung (Joong) this week too!  Her 18 month old daughter Deborah (Deh-Bore-Uh) put her television remote in our English bag when we weren't looking.  Later that night she called us and explained to us what happened. Keep in mind, she barely speaks English...Haha!  Good thing I have the gift of tongues.  Really! Sometimes I understand things that I shouldn't.  Anyway, I checked in our bag and pulled out her remote!  It was so funny! 

Saturday was Sister Kitchen's birthday!  I felt bad that she was in a brand new area for her birthday so I tried to make it special.  The Elders decorated our door with streamers and balloons.  Cute!  We took her out to lunch at Olive Garden with some other missionaries in the area that she knows.  It was a great day!  

Yesterday we had Albert translate some testimonies into Chin during Testimony meeting!  He stood at the pulpit with a microphone and translated for the Chin people that came.  The spirit was so strong in that meeting!  The spirit truly does speak every language. :)

We were teaching Sai about prophets and I wanted to show her a video of Thomas S. Monson.  We watched a 3 minute clip that has been translated into Burmese on the church's website and afterward she put her hand on her heart and said, "Holy..."  She was looking for the word "ghost."  I said, "Thiang Clarau?"  (Holy Spirit?) She smiled and nodded.  She knows that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that Thomas S. Monson is one today.  She barely speaks English!  I'm so happy to be doing this work in this special area.  I don't know what I did to be blessed with the opportunity to work so closely with these people but I hope I keep it up!  Before my mission, I knew that I had friends here in Indiana that I've met before that I told I would find and teach about our Savior.  Those friends just happen to be Asian and I couldn't be any happier about it!  I want to adopt their culture because they're so precious! I'm so in love with all of them!  :)

I killed my foot this week!  It's all black, blue, purple, and red.  EW! Don't ask...I'm clumsy. 

Inn i thil umtuning ca in ka kua tuah!  Kan dawt tuk!  

(Write me all the home events!  I love you!)

Love,

Sister Fowler xoxo

Burmese drink! I killed my foot... and Asians!

Mission Lyfe

Hey, all!

We went to two baptisms this week!  Yay!  Rosemary, (a former investigator, that moved to another area) got baptized!  She was ready even when we taught her. We were happy to be with her on her special day!  

We went to Lunch in Colombus on Tuesday with Susan and the Sisters there.  Susan is one of our investigators-but she's pretty much Mormon. Really---She's read the BOM 3 times, she's been to General Conference in SLC, she's done her family history and her ancestors have had their temple work done, and she believes that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet.  She just struggles with Joseph Smith and thinks the Book of Mormon is self-serving.  She's been investigating the church since 2008!  Can you say dry Mormon? She'll hopefully gain a testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. It's weird to teach her because I swear that she knows the doctrines of the church better than I do!  I seriously love her though!  Her ancestors have had their ordinances performed for them-she just hasn't gotten hers yet...we gotta fix that. :)

Thanksgiving was a blast!  We had three dinners.  Way too much food!  Then we totally didn't get permission from President to watch Frozen with a member family and he didn't tell us to not tell other missionaries that he didn't give us permission to watch it....;) Haha!  That night, we had to get on a conference call with the whole mission!  It took forever to take roll call of 250 missionaries!  Woof to that! But President talked about the Christmas season and the video -He is the Gift- that we can use to share the gospel. I would hope it works! We have 200 pass along cards to give out in the next 20 days. :)  Everyone should go watch it!  That video brings the spirit so strongly into the room whenever we watch it.  

Well, tomorrow marks my last day as a trainee!  I'm going to be a normal missionary!  Yay!  I get a new companion this week too. :(  I will miss Sister Loveland dearly!  I hope my new comp is Asian too. :)

Well, see you all soon!  ;)  Kalo Duh! 

Love,

Sister Fowler xoxo

​Sister Jones, Sister Loveland, and Sister Fowler---3 generations!  

Sister Jones is my Grandma and she goes home to Utah tomorrow...:(

Turkeys!

I love Sai Cer.  She's the sweetest, smiliest Chin person!

Elder Ledesma...Elder Uthaichai...