We Love Skype!

We got to Skype with Sister Owsley for an hour on Christmas. She looks so happy and is doing well. She told us all about the area she is in. It is a new area so they don't have anyone to teach yet so prayers would be appreciated so they can find some new investigators :) She said it is very cold and asked for more fleece lined tights and a short down coat she can use when she is riding a bike, although they are suppose to borrow bikes from members but so far have had no luck acquiring some so they walk ALOT! She said last Tuesday they walked 6 miles which is a good thing since she said every meal they get fed includes meat and potatoes and funeral (cheesy) potatoes are a staple at every meal! It was so good to see how happy she looks and to hear her voice. We know she is loving doing the Lord's work and is where she needs to be right now.

We put her on the big screen!    Sisters!!!

There may have been a few tears shed at the end :(...

Sister Owsley with Mission President Curtis and his Wife
Who she Adores!!!

First Week in the Field

Wow has it been a crazy week. So some things I forgot to mention in the other letter, My companion/trainer Sister Cluff  and I are opening a new area here in Mountain home. She hasn't been here and obviously neither have I so It has been an interesting few day needless to say. we have no investigators at the moment so we are talking to lots of people. Our Area covers 2 wards our area (the two wards) covers about 80 miles, and guess what mom? We are on... BIKES!!!

hah I got a good laugh about that when president Curtis told us so did everyone else. The unfortunate part is we don't even have bikes yet so we are on foot till we can find some.(Yes,  Mountain home is that small!) ON Saturday though we went up with Sister Freer, a member of 4th ward that we cover, to Prairie, Idaho which is a small town about 60 miles north of town. We went to meet the less active sister up there and visit with them. Dad would have been so jealous. there were deer everywhere and all the people there live in old log cabins. One of the families we visited lives in a old convenience store that is now a house. It is so beautiful up there. We will definitely go back when I come home! Sister Freer the one that took us just left today with her family to go to la jolla for Christmas I gave her all the good places to go, and maybe a letter to bring to Escondido :) So if a lady comes by saying she knows me let her in! She so sweet!

Yesterday after Church Sister Cluff and I went out to try to meet some less active and part member families. As we were walking home we still had a half an hour till we needed to be back so we stopped and prayed to know what to do. We decided then to go visit this other family that lives near us. On the way there we both go an impression to stop at a house we were passing so we did. It was this older man named Juan he told us how some missionaries had come by some years before and so we asked him if we could come back and visit him and he said yes! It was amazing how the lord lead us to him. I'm am so excited to be here. Yes I am really home sick and yes the days are long but. After last night I don't know how I could not want to share this joy with everyone! I Love it here in Mountain Home and according to president Curtis I should be here for at least 6 months and I'm so excited! Being a missionary I now know how important it is for member support! Please help the missionaries any way you can. Pray for opportunities to share this joy with others. It is too good to keep to ourselves. A scripture I read was in Mark 5:19 It talks about how great the Gospel of Jesus Christ is and how we should want everyone to feel the peace and joy it brings! pray always and seek opportunities to bring others unto Christ. That's part of our purpose as missionaries. whether it be sharing the gospel or just being a good friend we should all be striving to show Christ Like love. I love you guys so much!

Sister Owsley

#itsnotgoodbyeitsc-youlater

She made it to Idaho!

I made it to Idaho! wow it has been crazy the past week. We left on Tuesday and were bussed up to the mission. 5 hours on a bus is a long time. Anyways we arrived and the mission office and had orientation then went back to the mission home and had dinner the sisters stayed the night there. Mom you would love sister Curtis she is amazing and so kind. Wednesday was transfers. That was a rough day you know how I don't like change or the unknown so I was a wreck. I did however see Elder Stoddard, wow does he look different (he looks just like his dad now) it was good to see him ill send pictures on Monday. So my companion is sister Cluff she is amazing and so kind. We are opening up a new area in Mountain Home. Which ironically is closer to Boise. It has been crazy so far the past few days. There is so much to do and so little time. We are staying in a members home. Sister B is a widow who lives in the most amazing house ever it was built in 1900 and is amazing. We live up stairs in what we call our apartment. But she is an amazing lady who is so kind. she loves playing the piano and plays church hymns all the time. Well I just had to quickly email you. Ill email you again on Monday which is P day here. also I wanted to let you guys know we are trying to find somewhere to Skype or call home on Christmas. So I don't know what time yet. I think we will be skyping . So plan on that Christmas day. Love you all so much and cant wait to talk to you guys!

#itsnotgoodbyeitsc-youlater

Sister Owsley

First Letter Home

Family!

I cant tell you how much I loved all your letters! they were so amazing and really helped this week! I also love the other letter mom. So this week has been CRAZY. of course dad would be right on top of things when he got home. How was Sunday? How is the new priesthood holder? I want to know all about how his first Sunday passing the sacrament is? How did the show go (im sure it was GREAT)? My District consists of 6 of us who are going to Twin Falls On Wednesday my Companion never showed up along with another Elder in our District so we kept asking when she was coming but they finally said she wasn’t coming any more. Sad  Right? I have been praying for her for whatever happened. Wednesday was crazy and let me tell you having a companion is hard but having two is really difficult. My companions are sister Bors who hails from Kansas and Sister Rabb whose from Michigan. We have 3 other Elders in our District who are also all companions Elder Westfall who is from Florida (we get into heated debates on which state is better) Elder Prosh who is the funniest person and comes from the heart of Dads Mission and Elder Hefner who is from Arizona and he has the most spirit I have ever seen. I really love all. I FOUND THE SISTER FROM POWAY! her name is Sisterr Pili. she isn’t in our zone or district but she is in the zone next to us there are about 8 of them going to twin falls too. She is awesome we instantly clicked and we are best friends. Since being here I will say I have had a hard time I enjoy it but my companionship has been anything but great. It also probably doesn’t help that my anxiety and some really bad OCD tendencies are heightened here .  Me and the two to other sisters didn’t click they are very different from me. Yesterday kinda came to a boiling point and there was no other way but to talk it out. It went so much better than I expected. After we talked we decided to read a random scripture and its the one that talks about building your foundation on Christ. We all decided that’s what we needed to do. we needed a Christ centered Companionship that was based on Christ. Im so grateful for the gospel and the understanding that it brings. Another experience I had was on Saturday all of us were teaching an investigation and both us and the Elders totally messed us I mean It was BAD we fought the whole time with him over the Book of Mormon. Right after that we went to Zone teaching and It was about Teaching with unity, both your Companions and the spirit. It truly was what we needed to hear, and out lesson that night we talked about how create effective lesson plans that both teach and invite the spirit. Each day here bring a miracle. Yesterday was a turning point for me and I really want to give this my all! I am so excited to be a missionary. My Favorite this is putting my tag on every day and I am so thankful for the blessings of being a missionary. I have learned so much, more than I ever thought I would! I love you guys so much and miss you, But this is where I need to be now! The Lord called me and trusted me and I want to do everything I can to be worthy of that trust This Gospel is true and It blesses the lives daily if you trust in the Lord!

I Love you too the moon and back

Love, Sister Owsley

#itsnotgoodbyeitsc-youlater

MTC
Emily Entered the Missionary Training Center (MTC) on December 4th. She was sooooo excited. I (her mom) cried both because I was sad to see her leave and because I am so excited and proud. She only cried a little when she hugged her Dad.  We are anxiously waiting for her first letter home!