Hello family!!!

               What a great but a little stressful week! This week we had interviews with President. I swear he can read my mind. He always says exactly what I need to hear. This month we saw a lot of miracles, but also so many difficulties. Our goal was to have 5 baptisms and they all fell through. It made me really reflect on what I am doing wrong and how I can be a better instrument in the Lord’s hands. But I felt peace after my interview. President said to me, “Hermana Fowler I know how hard you worked this month and the Lord knows how hard you worked and that’s all that matters.” But I know I have lots more to give. I’m sooo imperfect it frustrates me. But something President Wilkinson always said was that we won’t be a finished product at the end of our missions and that that is a process of a life time. At the end of my interview he called Hermana Loza in and talked to us for a little and then my companion begged to know the changes and he gave in and told her she would be leaving but didn’t tell her where. So she got to say goodbye to everyone and gave her last testimony in our two sacrament meetings.

               Sooo here’s the big news.... MY NEW COMPANION IS HERMANA HUBLER!!!!!!!! We were in the MTC together. And I have ALWAYS wished to be her companion. The Lord has blessed me an extreme amount these almost 15 months. I am so excited to work with her. She already has helped me so much.

               And here is the other big news.... right now I am in Escazu with Rachel!!!!! And will be here for two days wooohoo. My companion has an appointment with the doctor so we will be staying here. So we will be companions again for a day yaay!!!

               After this week of praying for how I could improve, I had a really cool experience. During transfers today a girl came up to me and said Hermana Fowler I have to tell you something. She went on to explain that about 1 month ago a man randomly came to church. He said that he had for a blond curly haired girl on the bus and she gave him a card with an internet site. So that whole week he kept thinking about that girl who talked to him so he pulled that card out and searched the whole church’s website. He ended up getting baptized this last week. She told me that he showed her the card and it had my name on the back of it. So she showed me a picture of him. To be honest I don’t remember him but it was such a blessing to see how important it is to always open our mouths.

               Dayan is progressing so much!! I just wish you could all meet her she is such an amazing person. The members are working hard which is such a blessing here!! Before I forget, I didn’t get to see women’s conference (there was a huuuuuge rainstorm and all the lights went out. It was probably the biggest rain and thunderstorm yet. We started singing in the dark until the lights came back on.

               I love this mission. I love Costa Rica with all my heart. The people here are just sooo good. For example today we had to take the bus at 4 in the morning and I was sooo cold because they had the ac blasted and this cute old man got up and asked the bus driver to turn it down because a girl was really cold and wants to sleep. Cute huh??

               I love being a missionary and love the hard times too. It makes it all worth it in the end. I feel the Lord’s protection in my life and in my families. He is the gentle healer and accepts us as we are. I got to go!! I love you all. Read the Book of Mormon it will change your life and make you happier. I promise you!!

Hermana Fowler

Hello Family :)

               What a great week!! This week was Costa Rica’s Independence Day! They are veeery patriotic. Like to the extreme. All of the kids in school are very much into band and parade stuff. On Monday almost all of Liberia was in the park and we were having a hard time finding someone to do our family night with. Well we ended up feeling like we should go to this recent convert’s house with the other Hermana’s that are also in our area. We got there and they had a guest over. We started to teach him and he was very interested. We invited him to be baptized and he started bawling. He felt like it was exactly what he needed to do. But then two days later we showed up at the house that he was staying at and they said that he left and is actually a thief. But I still feel like he will be back soon and repent of his mistakes.

               On Wednesday I went to Nicoya to do divisions with Sister Camacho. It was such a blast. She has really bad knees so we decided to just work in one specific area. It went very well and we found lots of new people to teach. The next day we had a multi zone conference. Besides almost dying of heat it was a very good meeting. It made me set more specific goals for my life and realize things I need to improve on.

               On Friday we did divisions again with Santa Cruz. That was Rachel’s first area!! It is beautiful!! And soooo hot. That day Hermana Diaz and I came back to Liberia and my comp stayed with Hermana Diaz’s companion. It was a day full of miracles. Since I don’t have a ton of experience in our area it was just like a clean white slate.

               One experience that was really cool was that we were walking down a street trying to contact a reference. But we didn’t know where it was at all. We both felt impressed that it was this one house so we start to pray and then called them to the door (we don’t knock here we say uuuupe buenas. I’m not sure if I’ve told you that yet). So we started talking to this family and they were actually all members besides the mom and her daughter. They had come to church a million times but haven’t gotten baptized pretty much because they are scared of commitment. It made me realize how much the Lord does guide us to where we need to go. There just aren’t coincidences in this life.

               That same day we felt so strongly to contact this one house. So we did and when she came to the door we just told her how we felt so strongly to stop by her house. We explained why we were here in Costa Rica, to come to find out that she had come to church 2 times but then the missionaries that were teaching her left so she lost contact with the church.

               After it started POURING!!! We both didn’t have umbrellas. But the difference between rain here and rain there is that it’s warm. So I don’t really need an umbrella but I just didn’t want my scriptures to get ruined so this kind lady gave us a baggy. I love the ticos they are so giving.

               That same day we were walking and literally both had just said how hungry we were and then we started talking to this guy and he said here have a feel bag of yummy fruit. And it’s my favorite fruit here. So yummy. They’re called mamon chino. So juicy.

               Then on Sunday we were talking to this girl and then all of a sudden this guy said here eat it and it was a yummy meat on a stick. There are always lots of miracles at the end of the month with people giving us food. I’ve really seen that when people give missionaries food they always receive more! But anyway so we were in the rain just loving it but also really wanting to enter a house so we went to this one house but unfortunately there wasn’t a girl inside. He came to the gate and we started telling him who we were and stuff and he said that the missionaries used to always teach him and he really wanted to go to church but always got too scared. Uh oh no more time!! I looove you all I love this gospel!!!

Hermana Fowler    

Dayan's kids!!! I love them they are sooo adorable!!

(This is an entry from a sister missionary, Hermana Cook, who lives with Anna right now.) Kendra

Hi family and friends!!! 

I am a happy missionary.  I am just gonna give a few highlights of the week...

I don´t know if I have told you but I have a new best friend!! Her name is Sister Fowler and she is the greatest.  She is gringa and is from Bountiful.  She is Sister Loza´s companion so we live in the same house and it is the HUGEST BLESSING!! I´ve never had a gringa comp but this is the closest I´ll get and it is the best.  Well on Martes we had divisions!  She is my sister training leader so she came to my area to work with me.  She is SO full of faith.  We started out the day praying to be able to find three new families that have already been to church once.  We went out to work as I always do... diligently obediently faithfully.. but we also had SO much fun :)  Seriously I love her... when we finished the day we realized that we had found THREE new families and EVERY SINGLE ONE had been to church at least once!!! Do you all realize that Heavenly Answers our prayers!!??? He truly does!! IT just blows my mind.  The next day I studied Helaman 10 and 11 and I saw it proven there as well!  THe Lord WANTS to bless us... he wants to help us!  And if we are righteous and obedient and our desires are righteous... He will give us what we want and need!  I love my Heavenly Father... and also Sister Fowler.

Hermana Cook and Hermana Fowler

Hello family! :) How is everyone doing??? Haven’t heard from Sam, Thomas, Ben or Jake for a while. An email from you would make me a very happy missionary!!

               Okay so right now we live in a house of 4 Hermana’s. Our house is very pretty and we even have ac which just doesn’t happen here in Costa Rica. I actually have not yet been in a house with ac besides ours and the church (just the sacrament room) and McDonald’s. It’s hotter than hot here. It’s so hot that after we shower it’s almost impossible to stay dry for more than a minute. But I love it.

               Ahh Guanacaste is just such a happy place. It’s not like the prettiest place in the world but to me it is. Everyone rides their bikes and usually someone is peddling and the other is sitting on the handle bars. Most of the roads are dirt roads. We pretty much just walk with our eyes closed because every car picks of a bunch of dust every time they pass by. This week I almost fell in a gutter. The gutters are like 6 feet deep so ya it was a miracle. Ahh we had a bunch of rainstorms this week. Holy moly the thunder is louder than anything my ears have ever heard. And the ground shakes too. I lost my umbrella so I got sooaked but it was fun.

               There are a lot more animals here. The other day we were walking to one of our appointments and we heard this huuuuge growl. Scared us half to death. My first thought was crocodiles but I was wrong. Monkeys!!!! So so so cute. I want one Mom pleeeease!!! The cutest part of it all is that every monkey that has a baby carries it on its back. Cute huh??

               When we got a little frightened a family saw and started laughing at us. So we started talking with them and they let us share a message with them. One of the ladies was really really skinny and in her stomach had a huge ball. She later told us that she has cancer and is expecting to die in a few months. We taught them the restoration and we all had tears in our eyes. They know it is the truth. But then said that they have their church and won’t ever leave it. I think that’s something that always has and always will break my heart is when someone knows the truth but doesn’t act.

     

       

   So this week we had leadership counsel. It was great!!! We had to wake up at 1 and then didn’t get home until 12 so it was a long day. But a great one. Hermana Laboriel organized the room soo cute. We each had a nametag and also a Twix on our table. She talked about the importance of living in clean places. Man the mission really teaches you so
much!! I know I’ve said this before but really Mom I’m so sorry I didn’t help out more. I learned my lesson I’ll be better!!!

               But I learned a lot from the meeting it was very inspiring. I just kept thinking well yep that was definitely what I needed to hear. President talked about being disciplined. In October we are going to start doing something called sacrifice week. Which I’ll explain next week. He said if we aren’t disciplined we will never have success in life. It made me feel
really grateful for Jan!

               The people we are teaching are soo good. One little girl named Kelly
has changed soo much!! and is preparing to get baptized this month.

               This week we had divisions with the Hermana’s that live in our same house. I went with Hermana cook and it was such a blast. She cracks me up. We saw sooo many miracles. When we started divisions I felt so strongly to pray to find 4 families. At first no one received us and then when it was 8:30 we had found 3 families. She we said okay we are
not going home until we found this family and we won’t be disobedient so pleeease show us where to go. So we started walking and saw this cute little house. We knocked on the door and a couple came out. The wife had been to church and said she always loved the LDS church. We taught her at the door step and they both accepted a date for baptism. As we walked about we were so amazed at how the Lord always answers our prayers!! Uh oh no more time I love you all I love this gospel!!!!! Read the scriptures pray and go to church always!!!!!

Hermana Fowler

This was a great crazy week,  and the next week will be even crazier!!! We got to go to the temple!!!!! We did a session with President and his wife. I received looots of answers. It was a very special day for me. After, our zone won a lunch with President, so we went to McDonald’s. It really is like the closest thing to food from home so I was really happy. It was nice to be with President and his wife and talk about things. They really do feel like they are my parents. Well mission parents.

               So on Saturday we went to part of our area that is pretty far from our house.  We walked for like an hour and a half and then the investigator wasn’t there so my companion and I were trying to think of who we could visit. Dayan came to both of our minds so we headed over there. We both actually had never met her but Hermana Lozas old companion had found her when they were doing divisions because they had transfers. So we received us very well and we started to get to know her and her partner a little better. It was incredible. I can’t even put to words how strong the Spirit was. She said to us that she will not go to church until she knows a lot more about the gospel. It was weird because then we started explaining the temple. And by the end they said that they are going to set a goal to be sealed in 2016. It was amazing to see them set their own goals and also that they could see the bigger picture. I know that they will be converted because they know that baptism isn’t the end. It’s the beginning of a lot of enduring. By the end she said to us. Don’t worry about me I’ll be going to church tomorrow. I felt so anxious to leave that lesson to pray and thank my Heavenly Father for letting me be present during that lesson.

               Words really can’t describe how happy I am. I feel like the more close I get to Christ the more weaknesses I find. But I know that the Lord is patient and will make me a better person. I love what I am doing!!!

Hermana Fowler

Hermana Flor and Hermana Fowler

This week was wonderful :) I’m loving my new area more and more every day. Where I am serving there are a ton of missionaries. In our church building there are two different zones and like 20 missionaries. So it’s been really different. There are lots of activities like we have English classes and also Family night for the ward on Tuesday. The English classes have been really cool. This one girl has come every week. Her name is Teo. This week I didn’t know what I should teach so I asked this Elder if he had something in English that we could read and he happened the have his Preach my Gospel. We read about the restoration and she just kept saying woow this book is really interesting. Where can I buy one of these? She hasn’t been very interested in coming on Sundays but I know once we read the Book of Mormon in English she’ll gain her testimony.

               So Margorie is a Lady who we have been teaching and got baptized this Sunday. She really is such a great person and has changed sooo much. She has an illness which makes her act in a certain way but it’s really made me realize the importance of seeing people as they can become and not how there are when we find them. She lives very far away but is very willing to sacrifice every Sunday to wake up at 4:30 and come to church. On Sunday she literally went to all three of the hours of church and then the 4th hour that we have at 7 at night. It was a great day for her. She is hilarious. We were helping her prepare for her baptism interview and then right before she called us asking how to pronunciate the prophets name so we told her and then met up with her 5 minutes after. As we were walking to the church I saw that there was something on her hand and as I got closer she had written Thomas S. Monson on the palm of her hand. She kills me. I could literally write a story of all the funny things she says.

               So her son and her good friend got baptized with her on Sunday. Her friends name is Marleni. She is also such an amazing person. She had doubts all week about if she should get baptized on Sunday. On Sunday she was all good and got the church and was way happy until right before when it was time for her to change she said Hermana Flor, I want to wait to get baptized next week. So we took her to another room and talked with her. I really don’t even know what we said but I could just see how much she needed the Spirit in her life. She decided to get baptized and as she left the water we hugged her and she said I know with all my heart that this truly is the only true church on the face of the earth. Satan worked harder than ever this week. It was just a confirmation that indeed this is the church of Jesus Christ. These are the last days and he needs us to be his Saints. I love you all!!!!!

Hermana Fowler

I don’t have pics of the baptism :( but I’ll try to find someone that took pics and send them next week. I’m sorry I’m the worst with pictures but this is the only one I’ve got for the moment I’ll send better ones next week!! maybe

Hermana Peters and Hermana Fowler