hlmowrer

[hlmowrer]

COMING HOME!!!

[hlmowrer]

Week 102: The Last Hurrah

Well.

This is it!

The last letter I'll write from Michigan.

It hasn't fully hit me yet, but in just 9 days I will be stepping into my family's home for the first time in two years.  Seeing people that have been the stalwarts of my life's story, and yet they've been on the other side of a continent for this entire chapter of my life?

That still feels a bit off, especially since I've made a whole new life here in Michigan.  Some missionaries never shake the sense of transience, moving from one place to another.  But here I am, having now served in two branches for extended periods of time in close proximity to each other.  I'm pretty sure I know more people in the Lansing Michigan Stake than I do in my hometown, and that realization still hits me pretty hard.  I genuinely feel like I'm leaving home to go home, and it's a very new and bizarre emotion.

Michigan really has become my home, and I feel that the Savior has taught me one of his amazing qualities...Just like He can love us for exactly what we are and still see all we could become, I have come to love Michigan and its people with all my heart.  All their strengths and talents, recurring faults, cultural idiosyncrasies, and everything in between.  The work of inviting them all to know Jesus Christ and embrace His Restored Gospel has been accelerating for some time now and I'm so excited to see what the future brings for the good people of this state...they are so prepared, so in need, and so deserving of it!

The missionaries that have served alongside me in the Michigan Lansing Mission have also become my greatest friends and examples.  I've been heartbroken again and again to say goodbye to those who have departed before me as well as those who will remain here when I go.  I hope the Lord allows me opportunities to build on the friendships I've made with the missionaries as well as the locals of Michigan, as I really have come to dearly love them all.

Anyway, enough talk about that.  I'll send a final email after I'm home with the rest of the nostalgia spiel.

This week was a hopeful one!  We've been working to make sure that the St. Johns branch and the missionary work we've been doing will weather the transition well.  When you get down to it, there's a lot of information that only exists in my brain that I need to either tell somebody or write down!  Our branch just got a new Relief Society presidency so that's adding fuel to that fire too.  We're also still working hard with our friends Steven, David, and Jamie (please pray for them all) although they aren't quite ready to be baptized before we leave.  They'll get there soon, and I will rejoice with them from the West Coast!  I think the highlight of the week was my exchange on Wednesday (the last of my mission) with my mission brother, Elder Rogers.  This was notable for a few reasons...Elder Rogers was trained by the same missionary as me (Elder Wilchek), he is currently serving in Charlotte (my previous area that I loved), and he is my zone leader to boot!  There was a lot to talk about, and he was frank and kind throughout.  It was really fun to get out and do the work with him, and because of the aforementioned overlaps in our missions there was a lot to reminisce and counsel about as well.  We were prompted by the Spirit to find a couple new friends (one of them, Bernita, invited us in while singing!  She's pretty good!) and we had a very deep and meaningful discussion in the evening about some things I've gone through in life.  I've got a lot of love for this man now.

My time as always is running short and like the authors of the Book of Mormon I've only said a tiny fraction of what I would like to, but I hope it paints at least a small picture for you.

I love each and every one of you forever!  Can't wait to see some of you soon!-Elder Beren Mowrer

***My Current Location***

St. Johns, Michigan

***My Previous Locations***

Charlotte, Michigan

Fremont, Michigan

North Muskegon, Michigan

Kalkaska, Michigan

Midland, Michigan

Provo, Utah

St. George, Utah

***My Mission***

Michigan Lansing Mission

***My Mailing Address***

18106 NE 31st Circle

Vancouver, WA 98682

[hlmowrer]

Week 101: A White New Year!

HEY everybody!  Welcome to 2025!  Isn't that just unreal?  

Yeah, I couldn't believe it either.

This was a pretty marvelous week.  These last couple months of my missionary service have included more opportunities to teach and receive revelation from Heavenly Father of what to share than I think the entire past year did.  This week was a blur of lessons, both with those we have been teaching for several weeks as well as a couple of new people!  We very much feel as though we've been trading blows with the Adversary with a couple of them...please pray for Steven & David.  They're on the cusp of something beautiful but change, as we know, is hard.  The new friends we've found are also deeply in need of Heavenly Father's love...one of the most bittersweet parts of being a missionary is constantly feeling the joy of finding someone who is alone and suffering through life while also taking on some of the burden of the terrible things that are causing that suffering.  That reality has done a lot to give me gratitude both for the things that I have, and especially the relationship with Jesus Christ that gives me the strength to keep my ship pointed in the right direction in the midst of the storms!  So many people I meet are struggling so badly to find meaning and joy, but it's very very difficult to convince them that there IS a way out!  We rely on the Savior to show us how to reach people, because left to our own devices we can do very little.  It makes me so happy to know that in all of this chaos there IS someone who knows how to help!  And He gives freely to everybody that is willing to at least try to come to Him.

Jesus is pretty great.

Speaking of Jesus being pretty great, I would like to talk about Mike Fuller.  I've come to love this man quite a lot.  He is so humble and willing to follow God, as much as I've taught him he still teaches me how powerful the Holy Spirit can be when we ready ourselves.  We have been preparing him for his baptism the last couple weeks, and he has diligently taken the steps necessary to prepare.  His physical health is very poor though, and when he arrived for his baptism on Sunday, his knees were in particularly bad shape.  I felt the prompting to offer him a healing blessing in the back of my mind, which I largely ignored for reasons I still don't understand.  As we got closer and closer to showtime, the prompting returned with increasingly greater intensity until I think finally the Holy Spirit just had enough and shouted it at me along with the following verse of scripture that we had used in a recent lesson:

Matthew 10:1 says:And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power againstunclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. It has always amazed me how the Spirit will bring things to my remembrance that I read in the recent past to teach me.  The twelve disciples were given the Priesthood authority to heal in the name of Jesus Christ, and three of them restored that authority to be used in the church today!  And what good is having it if we don't use it! So we quickly explained how a blessing of healing would work and Mike quickly accepted.  We offered it to him, and sent him in to change for his baptism.   A bit of background for you...in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we follow the example of Jesus with baptism...that means being baptized by fully immersing in water.  As Mike and the brother that was baptizing him quickly discovered, getting down into water horizontally is really hard to do in Mike's physical condition!  They made two painful attempts to do it, then a chair was lowered into the water in the hopes it would help (it did not after two more attempts).  We struggled to think of what to do when someone suggested that Mike get down on his knees and do it that way.  I knew Mike's knees were in absolutely no condition to have his entire body weight put on them and was about to shoot the idea down when I heard Mike quietly say "No, what they did is working!  Let's do it!" In awe, I watched this wonderful man carefully get down on his knees and finally be baptized without incident.  He later said that he felt no pain in his knees during the attempt.  In that moment, the healing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ caused an undeniable miracle come to pass, enabling Mike to make a covenant with his Heavenly Father at last. I testify that God's miracles are not dead!  His love and His power are just as real as they were in the times of the scriptures, and they are given freely to his children! It was a joyful day.   I like Joy.  I'm glad my Savior is willing to teach me where to find it. I can't wait to see what He teaches me about it this week. Love you all <3 -Elder Beren Mowrer

***My Current Location***

St. Johns, Michigan

[hlmowrer]

Weeks 98, 99 & 100: 'Tis the Season...

..to be a missionary......and to get really behind on absolutely everything.

But that's okay :) 

Week 98:

This week was a bit of a busy blur, and keeping with the theme of the last few weeks it felt like we were barely keeping it all together at the time.  But there were some really neat miracles!  We had been teaching our friend Mike for a few days, and in talking to some of the members they all seemed to have the same question!  "Mike Fuller?  Is he related to Tim Fuller?"

I had never heard of this Tim character.  I deduced that Tim had been an elderly man that had joined the church shortly before his passing away a few years ago.  We brought a member that knew Tim well to see Mike, and when asked Mike exclaimed 'Tim!  Of course I know Tim, he's my brother!"

Mike had no idea that his brother had joined the church.  The member with us had been the last to see Tim alive, and Mike was the one that found him after he passed.  They missed each other by less than 30 minutes.  Mike wept when he discovered this!

We had a great lesson and marveled at the way God brings things together.  The next evening Mike called us out of the blue with a baptismal date he had set for himself, something we hadn't even asked him to do!

Later that week we enjoyed the St. Johns Branch Christmas Party.  Much like the Light the World event, I felt very at home amongst the people and festivities!

Week 99:

This week was a lot of just trying to keep up.  Being busy as a missionary is better than not being busy, but I'm discovering it has its ups and downs too.  We have 3 friends preparing to be baptized, and Satan had been working overtime on them trying to prevent that.  The tetris of trying to plan these baptisms, help these friends with their struggles, fulfill other responsibilities in the mission, and do it all while nothing was reliably set in stone was a mental and emotional workout.  I look forward to a day where my life will be more consistent.

The headline event of this week was my final zone conference.  Jesus Christ's birth, life, and sacrifice was the focus of course and our mission leaders did a wonderful job of inviting the Spirit and making it special!  It was surreal to stand at the podium and give my departing testimony.  I had a long list of things pieced together in my mind that I wanted to say, but before going up I prayed to have my words guided by the Spirit and I honestly don't even know what I said...I just know that the Spirit was in it and that it went in a different direction than I had planned.  That's what happens when we turn our will over to God I guess!  I was able to get some of the goodbyes out of my system and reminisce with some of the missionaries that will be going home with me.  I can be a really sentimental person, so the fact that I went the whole day without shedding a tear or really being sad at all is a testament to how much Jesus was surely with us! 

Week 100:

This week was special of course...the birth of the Savior of the World is worth celebrating!  There were tons of festivities going on, and it was really fun to be able to participate in it all!  Being able to be around some of the people that I love provided a God given oasis from the chaos that has otherwise been consuming everything for the last several weeks.  I have a lot of pictures to share from this week, I'll tell you about what I did below!  

As far as the work is concerned though, unfortunately one of our friends was unable to do his baptismal interview and needs to delay.  That was a bit of a blow, after things seemed to be going so well!  It also took some soul searching to consider what I could have done to help him that may have made a difference.  Heavenly Father, being good at what He does, showed me some things I needed to change while reminding me that growing is a positive thing.

Fortunately as a delightful blessing to end off on, I received a letter from Jessica Polhamus informing me that she had had a tender moment with the Lord as well and had decided to be baptized!  I was able to make preparations to travel to Holt, where the baptism would take place and surprise her!  It was a very special day as her husband David was able to receive the Aaronic Priesthood earlier the same day and therefore be able to baptize her himself!  She bore a powerful testimony of her experiences, and it brought me a lot of joy to see her and her family again on such a special day.  Many other people I know and love from the Charlotte Branch and even the Jackson Ward were there as well, adding some nice icing on the blessings cake!

As I am so closely nearing the end of my time serving Jesus Christ in Michigan, it's been time for a lot of reflection on the last two years of my life.  It's become more real every passing day to realize that I'm already in the process of saying goodbye to these people that I love and this place that has become my home.  As sad as that is, I'm filled with joy as I consider that what I WILL take with me is my massively strengthened relationship with, understanding of, and love for Jesus Christ.  Not to mention the knowledge that I have been able to help many others find that same thing.  That I will take with me through any move, any transition, and even into the next life.  I love Him so much.  All that I am comes from Him, and I'm so excited to keep walking my path with Him even though that path will soon lead out of Michigan.  I hope Christmas has been a good opportunity to explore what knowing Jesus Christ could be like for each of you :)  I know it has for me.

All my love, forever!

-Elder Beren Mowrer

[hlmowrer]

Weeks 96 & 97: A Spiritual Oasis

Author's note - The bulk of this letter was written last week and I was unable to complete it.  This week I have completed it...but now don't have time to write about this week.  Bear with me...I'll figure this out eventually lol

HEIDY HO party people how's it going?  We're doing another double header here and I'm very distracted so we'll see how this goes.

Week 96

ANOTHER ROUGH ONE jeez...a lot of it kinda blurred together and because I'm a walnut and I didn't write a letter LAST week I can't remember 100% of the details.  I feel like that week was a really solid metaphor for life...I had pretty high hopes for it that didn't all come to fruition (although some certainly did!), there were times where the problem was very much ME and other times where the problem was very much out of MY control, and yet still there were little diamonds in the rough sprinkled throughout.  Those little moments of humor, opportunities to brighten someone's day, the thrill of acting on spiritual promptings and finding the person we were clearly sent to find, and many other bright spots were present daily.  Much like all of life, my ability to appreciate those things largely determined my happiness and connection to Christ. 

And, fitting with the theme, we celebrated Thanksgiving Day!  The joys of gratitude bring me closer to God than anything else it seems, and Thanksgiving offered an opportunity to spend a lot of time with people I love.  I spoke to many family members from home and was invited over by two families from my branch, both of whom I've come to love very much!  The Holy Spirit reminded me that I really have been given all I need to succeed in the tasks I've been given, and I love Him to death for that.

So then, on to Week 97

It continues to be AMAZING to me how quickly things can change in the mission.  Often times when we have a slow week it can feel really demoralizing, thinking nothing is happening while we're just slogging it through.  But I've noticed that after that kind of week we usually find ourselves suddenly very busy with all the things that were set up during the week previous, and this was no exception!  We had not one, not two, but THREE miracle moments where we prayed where to go and then found someone who was really in need right where we were prompted to go, and I think I spent more time teaching honest to goodness lessons than I have any other week of my mission.  Teaching is a lot more fun and gratifying than many of the other things we do, and it's also the most important!  Teaching a lot is how I know things are going the way they should, and I marvel at the miracle that we've suddenly found ourselves so busy doing the Lord's work.  

Despite all this my mental health has been wobbly, and the stress of trying to allow our friends to be baptized sooner rather than later while also trying to not rush them or cause problems with already planned holiday things is making me feel *very* overwhelmed.  Luckily, Heavenly Father knows that too, and he answered my prayer for strength and calmness!

On Saturday, we were invited to attend "Light the World: A Night in Bethlehem", a musical production sponsored by Lansing Stake (a grouping of local congregations).

It was AMAZING.  The music was glorious, everyone did an amazing job, and while enjoying the concert portion I felt the Spirit hit me so strong as I realized that I was truly sitting in a refuge that Heavenly Father prepared for me.  Warm, comfortable, and surrounded by friends and truth.  I love this church.  

While we were at the event, all the missionaries began receiving phone calls informing us of our new transfer assignments...this one being my last one!  

I'm pleased to announce that I will be remaining in St. Johns for the next 6 weeks with Elder Junsay!  I'm happy with this, Elder Junsay is a great companion and I feel like we're just getting started in this great area!

I love you all so much, and I WISH I could cram more of my crazy experiences into these letters but for now I'll have to let you enjoy my pictures and get on with your day.

-Elder Beren Mowrer

[hlmowrer]

Weeks 94 & 95: Well this is what you came to do, isn't it?

UPDATE /// APPARENTLY I FORGOT TO SEND THIS ON MONDAY SO HERE IT IS SORRYYYYY

I find myself once again regretting my decision to squish two weeks into the same letter...especially now with retrospect informing me that they could not BE more different.  So now I basically have to write two letters.  #NaturalConsequences

-Week 94-

This week was an immensely busy week.  We kicked it off with a zone conference, and it's one of the strangest conferences I've ever been to.  We were invited to the mission president's home for it, which was a fun twist but a VERY tight fit.  The Spirit helped me understand the application of most of what was shared (an answer to a fervent prayer of mine beforehand) and it was a delight to see the zone.  Afterwards we were shuttled to another building for a "surprise"...and discovered that there was a dodgeball court waiting for us.  President Peckham wanted to give us a rare opportunity to unwind a little bit (and, after some prodding, admitted that he finds watching his missionaries play sports very funny).  It was actually pretty fun, but I really would not recommend doing it wearing suits and dresses...

The remainder of the week was a mudrun of trying to get Dustin ready for his baptism...it was a lot of stressful work but a happy work nonetheless!  While we were at it another dear friend accepted our invitation to be baptized as well!  Missionary work gets a lot more fun when you have some momentum and you get to spend more time rejoicing with those you've worked so hard to help, and I thank the Lord for the opportunity to know some of these amazing people.

I also got to go out on an exchange with Elder Thornton, which was a fun blast from the past!  He was my companion about a year ago in Fremont, and it was nice to revisit old memories and counsel together about how we can move forward in our respective areas.

And last but far from least, on Sunday Dustin was finally baptized!  After more than a year of considering it he was finally ready, and it was well worth the wait!  He's such a great guy, and it was so cool to see him take such a powerful step for him and his family!  There's a lot left to do but he's one of the ones where I am so excited to see where he and his family are at in a few years.  I know he feels good about it.  To quote his words: "I feel GREAT.  I'm past Cloud 9, this is Cloud 10!"

The joy of others really is the gem of life sometimes :)

-Week 95-

*sigh*

Okay, time moves kinda fast in the mission and mentally transitioning from writing about last week to writing about this week just gave me emotional whiplash.

This week had some setbacks for sure.  Right at the beginning of the week, the friend that had decided to be baptized had an experience that severely rattled him and he completely 180'd.  It was a lot of stress trying to repair the relationship and make sure he wasn't going to cause any damage to anyone else, and thanks to divine help that effort was successful but he is now not someone we can teach and connect with.  

The rest of the week followed this pattern...very suddenly it felt like all the progress we had made was gone.  Throw in my foolish decision to get multiple vaccinations done at the same time, and neither my body nor my soul was very happy with me.  I held on for what felt like dear life most of the week, once again praying to Heavenly Father for a path back to stability.

And then, like they always do, the tender mercies came.  I got to have dinner with a friend in my branch who just so happened to share a personal experience that helped me gain a much better perspective (I KNOW God did that for me intentionally) and as Elder Junsay and I went over our upcoming plans, we discovered that the very difficult labor of the week had resulted in many interesting opportunities being set up over the course of the NEXT week.  So now I have some things to look forward to.  Dustin is still happy, and at the end of the day all seems to be more or less alright.

God is so good.  And SO much more patient than I am. He's gotta teach me how He does that one of these days.

All my love forever <3

-Elder Beren Mowrer

[hlmowrer]

Week 93: A Child's Prayer

BACK TO BACK WEEKLY LETTERS BABY

I hope you're all so proud of me :)

This week definitely continued the theme of last week.  Most of you know that I've been kinda going through it the last few months, and while I've seen many miracles and blessings that show how much of an important and powerful time it's been I have definitely found myself praying for some respite.  This new transfer has been a very positive new beginning, you may remember the blessing of being able to attend the Temple and the miracle of Dustin's progress towards making his own sacred baptismal covenant with his Savior!

But this week, missionary life still being very demanding and me being a very weak mortal, I found myself once again on my knees praying that the Lord would grant me some internal peace.  I was pretty aware that the problem was my mindset and not anything actually happening, but I felt powerless to change it.  This was kinda coming to a fever pitch on Friday as I willed myself out of my apartment to go try and meet some people...in the pitch dark (thanks for nothing daylight savings...)

That night I met about 50 generally kind but also profoundly uninterested members of the Catholic faith, and we had a decent lesson with Dustin.  A fairly average night.  But going home I felt a sense of peace and confidence in my soul.  I felt joy as I understood that my prayer was being answered!

The next day had its difficulties but we were met with fantastic success, in an almost uncanny way!  We did well in a friendly competition with some other missionaries and actually had a lot of fun doing it, meeting so many interesting children of God along the way.  It was honestly almost hard to keep up.  For the second day in a row, I felt my burdens being lightened by the Savior.

And then it was Sunday.  I arrived at church to be reminded that it was time for the annual Primary program, an event where the children of the branch sing and talk about all they've learned about Jesus this year.  Hearing their pure first steps towards knowing their creator brought light to my soul!  One of the songs they sang was entitled "A Child's Prayer".

Heavenly Father, are you really there? 

And do you hear and answer ev’ry child’s prayer? 

Some say that heaven is far away, But I feel it close around me as I pray. 

Heavenly Father, I remember now 

Something that Jesus told disciples long ago: “Suffer the children to come to me.” 

Father, in prayer I’m coming now to thee

Though that song was surely written with the thought of a small child seeking to know if God loves them, I could not help but see myself in those words.  "I am a child of God" is a common thing to hear in church, but I fail to remember sometimes that Heavenly Father literally sees us this way.  He cares for us SO lovingly as we slowly but surely discover how to communicate, be clean, understand the need for rules and order, learn compassion, gain work ethic, and all other things which are good.  When we err, it diminishes His love and patience for us no more than a parent who's toddler has just knocked something off a table or forgotten to say thank you for a gift.  

So now, thinking that God had made His point to me, I merrily went on my way.  That night I was invited to visit some member friends of mine for dinner.  As we talked I found myself reassuring this sweet mother that her efforts to have a clean home, raise her sometimes unruly children in the Gospel, and keep a lid on her own mental health really were sufficient in the eyes of God, and it pained me that something so obvious to an outside observer was so hidden from her own view!

I then heard what I was saying...and realized it applied perfectly well to me too.  I'm trying.  I'm doing well enough.  Am I perfect?  Not even close.  But would any reasonable person say that I'm doing more or less okay in life?

Probably.

And you know what's cool about that, to all those of you who have read this far?

I'm not a special snowflake.  This applies to you too.

God loves you more than you know.

If you want to become more sure of this reality, find someone in your life that also happens to be forgetting that.  Tell them the truth.  God will help you listen to yourself talk as you speak truth in the service of others.

In the name of Jesus Christ I bear testimony of that, and I invite all who read this to test it.

I love you all so much, please write back and tell me how it goes!

-Elder Beren Mowrer

[hlmowrer]

Weeks 90, 91 & 92: "Mortality Works"

Hey all!  It's time for my weekly (monthly) letter!  It's unfortunate that sometimes the most eventful times in life are also the hardest to record.  I'll try to hit some highlights of the past few weeks!

The House of the Lord

One of the greatest blessings I could have asked for finally came!  A recent policy change allowed me to travel outside the Michigan Lansing Mission boundaries to the nearest temple in Detroit!  Attending the temple is one of the most sacred and uplifting experiences a person can have, and to have the opportunity to go and be reminded of the promises I've made with my Heavenly Father there was a gift from heaven beyond price.  Latter-day Saints view the temple as the home of the Lord Jesus Christ, a sanctuary where we can commune with Him and strengthen our covenant bond with Him and our families.  Of course we can always talk to God and receive revelation wherever we are, but there is no better place to have a good connection than the temple, and I am beyond grateful to have been invited.  It is my goal to never go that long again without entering The House of the Lord.

Transfers

I received my new assignment, and I am remaining in St. Johns as a district leader but I have received a new companion!  Elder Junsay comes to me from Ludington, and it's good to see him again because I actually flew to Michigan with him almost two years ago!  I've hardly seen him since though, so reconnecting has been fun.  We're pretty evenly matched as well, so we make a good team.  The goodbye to Elder Ritter wasn't too bad though, since he's only in Owosso (less than 30 mins away) and he's still in my district!  All of the elders in this district are my current or former companions...it's really quite weird.

Dustin

Our man Dustin is a friend we've been teaching off and on the entire time I've been in St. Johns, and he's been in touch with the missionaries for a little over a year.  The man has come a LONG way in life and still has a long way to go, but we have had some really powerful discussions with him recently and he has decided that he wants to be baptized!  I'm so thrilled for him, and it's a blessing to my soul to be able to help him get ready for such a sacred thing!  It's going to bless his family so much!  He still has a lot to overcome though, so please keep him in your prayers :)

As always my friends, there is so much more I wish I could say but know that I love you all to death and I want to hear from you if possible!  I would also like to take a moment to testify about the title of this letter.  This life is all about becoming something.  It's not possible to be static here, at all times we are either becoming more like our Heavenly Father or more like our common enemy.  So often on my mission I've felt lost in the chaos and discomfort of life...it really is disorienting when things aren't always peachy and simple...and they're usually not!  In this part of my life I have spent a LOT of time dealing with very real problems and work that not only can impact the direction of my life but also the lives of many others...and I've been doing so without the many comforts and ways to cope that have been available to me my whole life.  I've made many mistakes and committed plenty of sins, all the while becoming more and more aware of how far I need to travel to truly join my Father and Savior in their kingdom.  However I look back on all the time, and all the difficulty, and all the tears...and I can see so many miracles.  So many blessings.  I can look in the mirror and realize that I have become something...something much more like Jesus Christ.  I am a better being than I was before.  And on top of that, I struggle to recall the sheer number of people whose lives I know I've impacted for the better, and that doesn't even begin to cover those little impacts I will never know about in this life.

A recent talk given at one of our worldwide General Conferences was entitled "Mortality Works".  The Elder taught that somehow we can bumble through this life, bouncing off the walls and struggling to do even basic good sometimes, and yet if we train our eyes on Jesus we somehow make it.  We come out of this refining fire on the other end and we are somehow prepared for the majesty and beauty and joy of Eternal Life.  I don't understand it, but then sometimes I don't want to because I know what I know will bring me back Home to my Father and my life to come.

This life is enough.  Because of Jesus Christ, I'll be okay.  Through Jesus Christ, I can help others be okay.

That is everything to me.

Until next time <3 

-Elder Beren Mowrer

[hlmowrer]

Weeks 88 & 89: We're well into the final quarter, folks

Hellooooo!

I think I just have a deep seated desire to confuse you all with the rate at which I send these letters.  Are you confused?  If you're not, kudos from me.  I'm confusing myself.

If it makes you feel any better, not an absolute ton of interesting stuff has happened.  I'm becoming ever more aware of how soon my missionary service will come to a close, and it's one of the most bittersweet things I've ever felt.  I'm well aware that dwelling on that reality will probably lead to nothing good though, so I'm seeking to just keep trucking along until someone calls me one day with my transfer news...and tells me I'm going back to Washington.  

Anyway, I'm now pretty well acquainted with St. Johns!  It's really nice to be in an area long enough to get to know the region and the people.  I thrive as a missionary when I have a positive relationship with the church members and the community, so getting that ball rolling has been nice!  We have a few amazing friends we're teaching right now that are so prepared to take the step of being baptized, but pretty much across the board they're struggling to find time to study and meet with us, so please pray for them.  I don't know why but St. Johns has more of these types of situations than any other place I've ever seen.  In a way it's refreshing, because when we CAN meet with them it goes really well, but it's hard to make changes in life when you never get to stop and smell the Gospel roses.

As for me, I'm trying to practice what I preach a little more when it comes to that.  My time in St. Johns has been some of the hardest in my entire service, and it's testing me in ways that I can only imagine are preparing me for my life that is to come.  I have trust in my Savior, Jesus the Christ, that He will be wiser and more patient than I and that if I nurture my faith, the way I teach others to do, that I will come out the other end a better, more Christlike person.  That's been what I wanted all along, so if this is how He chooses to accomplish that then I'm on board!

I wish that I was able to share more, but for now I hope this update will do.  

Love you <3

-Elder Beren Mowrer

[hlmowrer]

Week 84: Charity never faileth

Okay folks.  I have had a very long week, and I'm even more tired and behind than I was last week when I said that.

So here's the most important thing on my mind right now, and it'll have to do :)

In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Moroni gives a deep testimony of charity and how it is at the center of all Christlike virtues.  A famous verse includes the phrase "charity never faileth", which is the motto of the Church's Relief Society!  My responsibility as a missionary is to help others build a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ, and sometimes the Lord lets me practice on myself a bit first 

This week I've been trying to seek after Jesus quite a bit, and He has been so patient.  So kind.  He has listened to me, taught me, and comforted me patiently as I've tried to get some of my own things figured out.  He's given me opportunities to bring light to others and be of service to them in their time of need, just as He has done for me.  Unlike me though, he is completely unweary.  Unweary of mosquitos and sweat, unweary of drama and poor judgement, unweary of explanation and reexplanation, unweary of lessons learned and amends needing to be made.

He can handle it all!  He lets me learn so I can be like Him.  So that one day I can do all these things out of pure love, and never become tired of it.  His love extends past any infirmity, his grace past any mistake.

It's really quite cool!  I invite all who read this to go on a journey with Jesus.  Let him show you how to love the way he does.  I'm not there, but one day I will be.  Now I get to go help others walk the parts of the path I have already walked, and it will make me better too. 

Thank you for helping me get here.

I love you forever!

-Elder Beren Mowrer

(p.s. Jesus will often send messengers to lift you up in a time of need...I would like to thank the Steeds and the Websters for being those Godsent messengers to me this week, and an extra round of applause to Sister Steed for being the best "charity never faileth" Relief Society President Michigan's ever seen <3)

[hlmowrer]

Week 83: I found out how to change the world

Hi friends!  I'm very tired and very behind today, but I felt impressed that I should write at least a quick one.

This week was largely a continuation from the theme of last week...from time to time in the mission field I find that even in the space of a day I can go from feeling on top of the world seeing the hand of God left and right, to being so stressed and tired and disappointed in my own mistakes that I can't hear my own thoughts, and all the way back again.  This week has been no different, let me assure you.  But God is good, and goodness includes patience so he works with me :)  This week contained two really distinct and amazing miracles, and I think Jesus would like me to share them with you, so I will!

Miracle One: Bailey

We had zone conference this week, and that motivated my companion and I to make an inventory of what more we could put upon the Lord's altar and begin trying to change what we could.  That evening after the conference we had time to go out and do some proselytizing in town. Our first stop by was unsuccessful, and as we prayed about what to do next a very clear picture of a place we needed to go was put into my mind. And I'm not kidding you, I felt the spirit give me better turn by turn directions than any GPS possibly could. Eventually we arrived at the place I had seen (where we had never been before) and we prayed about what we should do next. We both felt that we should begin knocking on a certain side of the street...initially it went how knocking normally goes in St. Johns (people here are a bit spicy towards the missionaries...) but we both felt very strongly as we went where we should turn and how many houses we needed to knock. We arrived at one house and spoke to a man for a couple minutes while his dog barked loudly. He decided he wasn't interested, and as we continued walking wondering if we had somehow blown it, we called out to a young woman walking up her driveway. She walked back down and patiently listened as we introduced ourselves and why we were out, and then started telling us an amazing story of how she had recently found Christ and had been prompted to participate in a service mission for another church over the summer that had been really fulfilling. We invited her to a service project we have coming up, and offered her a copy of the Book of Mormon which she gratefully accepted! She also admitted that she had heard her neighbor's dog barking and had pretended to get something from her car, hoping we would talk to her!  Her name is Bailey, and though I don't know if she'll decide to reach out to us I know for a fact that she was not only an answer to my prayer but that we were an answer to hers.  Only the Lord can bring people together with that level of precision.

Miracle Two: Zach

Elder Ritter and I had been meaning to stop by this one non-participating member family for days.  They were at the far south corner of our area (and our mileage allotment was running very thin) and they had been very inconsistent in how they have received the missionaries in the past.  We were repeatedly prompted to go visit them, and when we finally made it down there we were met with no answer at the door.  We were confused and prayed to know what we had missed, and I was prompted to look at their record again...where I discovered that their address did not match the GPS pin of where they lived.  Of course!  So we drove to the second address and knocked on the door.  We heard quite a lot of strange yelling inside for several minutes...we were about ready to leave the crazy people to their business, when the door opened revealing a surprisingly clean cut young man, not much older than me.  We introduced ourselves and asked if he knew the family we were looking for, and he did not.  We then explained that we are missionaries for Jesus Christ, and he begins telling us how he had gone through a spiritual awakening over the last year and how happy knowing Christ was in his life had made him.  We asked if he'd like to come to church with us, and he said he's never been and would love to!  The spirit was strong as we talked, and it was clear that Heavenly Father had been trying to lead us to him.  I'm so grateful we followed the promptings that lead us to Zach.

You probably notice some similarities in these two stories.  As I pondered how awesome those experiences had been, I was hit by the realization that if every missionary in the world was able to be connected enough to the Spirit to have miracles like that every day, it would literally change the world.  Think about it.  How cool is that?!

Go see miracles this week my friends.  They can come to us all when we seek after good things.  I love you. <3

-Elder Beren Mowrer

[hlmowrer]

Week 82: The Mint City is...minty

Okay, let me explain.  Mint is sweet, but also filled with menthol, which causes a cooling sensation in the mouth.  Thus creating a bit of a clash.

St. Johns fits this perfectly.  This town contains some of the most amazing saints and some of the most closed off grouches in the world.  The members here are on their A game, and it's been so fun getting to know them and their families!  We've got some great missionary efforts underway with their help, and we're praying hard for miracles on that front because our own efforts to reach out to people have been rough.  Most people in Michigan are at least polite when we are out talking to people...not necessarily so in St. Johns.  Many people seem to feel that what we're doing is somehow malicious.  I really don't know why, but it's been noticeably icier than my previous areas.  We're trying to consider what we could do to serve these good people and help them understand that we do care for them, whether they are curious about the Restored Gospel or not.  

As for me, I continue to learn that life is hard yet simultaneously filled with blessings.  I have struggled to keep my head up and my patience strong as the marathon of mission life carries on, but what I have been taught by the Lord is how to pause and smell the roses each day.  Gratitude is an empowering thing, and I invite all who read this to try writing a list of the dumb little things you're grateful for each day.  It's actually quite fun, and it helps me realize that an ugly day or week cannot fully overshadow a good moment, nor a good life.  I'm in the best place I can possibly be, doing the best thing I could possibly do.

So today, that can be enough.

I sure love you.

-Elder Beren Mowrer

***My Current Location***St. Johns, Michigan

[hlmowrer]

Week 81: Welcome to St. Johns

I'm in a new SPOT!!!  That hasn't happened in QUITE some time, you guys!  Packing was a fever dream...when you've lived in a place for 6 months you start to forget you won't live there forever, and extracting myself from my apartment in Charlotte was no easy feat.  Saying goodbye to everyone reminded me of the sheer volume of people I had come to love in that place...the packing and the people competed viciously for my time, and I'm glad the madness is over.

As I mentioned in the last letter, I'm now serving the community of St. Johns, Michigan!  St. Johns (yes, there's no apostrophe) is an interesting place.  I was told by several others that the town can be a bit freezy to newcomers, especially missionaries thanks to some misconceptions last year.  So we're working on building relationships with community leaders, and thanks to the Lord's awesome timing we immediately got an opportunity!  St. Johns is known for its mint growing industry, and every summer they have their Mint Festival where it seems the entire county comes to have fun for a weekend.  And just to our luck, that weekend was THIS weekend!  There were a ton of interesting vendors that we had the opportunity to chat with, and we teamed up with our new branch to help them run a booth of their own!  For those that don't know, in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints our ancestry is very important to us and the Church operates an organization called FamilySearch which curates the world's largest collection of genealogical records, family memories, pictures, and more!  It's pretty neat, and it's something members of our faith can often bond over with members of a community.  So, our booth introduced all who were curious to FamilySearch, the challenge being that if we couldn't find someone's ancestor in 5 minutes or less, there would be a prize.  It went pretty well!  Other than that it's been a mudrun of getting things organized and getting used to the new area and companion.  His name is Elder Ritter, and he's a great guy!  We get along well, and we have a similar vision for the area.  One thing that has been tricky is that we "washed" in (meaning that we are both new, and have had minimal contact with the missionaries that were here before us) and so figuring out who everyone is has been a headache.  They have a lot of friends who look really awesome on paper, but we have not been able to get in contact with them since we've been here and according to the notes most of them have been MIA for at least a month.  Kinda rough.

Something that's been a real treat is getting to know our branch.  The St. Johns branch is a very healthy branch...several participating families, all with kids (in Michigan this is extremely rare), a beautiful meetinghouse, and a far more organized structure.  It's a lot like Midland, my first area 19 months ago.  No congregation since Midland is even remotely like it.  So that's been a fun challenge, remembering how to connect with the youth and the families and be of service to them.  It's a bit different than working with mostly elderly couples and singles, but the newness of it is fun!  They seem to like missionary work too, one couple brought their neighbor over for dinner the first day we were here and we had a delightful study with her.  She came out to church yesterday and wants to meet again!  Heavenly Father has such great kids.

And sometimes the Lord sends little silly miracles that let us know we are cared for.  On Sunday, our mission president and his wife randomly turned up for church!  I've been here a long time, and that's never happened before It was a nice surprise. I've done a lot of feeling content and a lot of feeling terrible this week for one reason or another, but I want to testify of how much peace knowing about my eternal identity has brought me.  Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness is an immutable fact.  He is my divine parent, and I His son and heir.  He loves me more than anyone else can, and He loves those I love more than I do.  The trust I have in His promises and His love for me give me peace when the world seems to be falling.  That peace carries me through those hard trials and difficult life events that may otherwise rock the very foundation I rely on to get through a day.  They are still painful, but nothing rattles me to my core when I remember who I am, and who He is.  I invite all who cannot yet say this to inquire to Him.  Ask to know more about how He feels about you.  He never lets a question go unanswered forever. <3

All my love to you as well, forever.

-Elder Beren Mowrer

p.s. I ask any that are willing to pray for my family this week.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ brings peace to our current struggle but as Jesus taught us in Gethsemane, some parts of life are as inevitable as they are bitter.  Thankfully, no bitterness, no separation, and no confusion lasts forever <3  Never forget that.  In time we will all know for certain the unlimited goodness of Heavenly Father's plan, and we will discover that every single good thing truly will last into the eternities

______________________________________________________________

Reply email from Mom: I read your latest letter to Grandpa as he asked to hear it two nights ago. Him and Grandma were both there and they just glow with pride and happiness whenever we do this. You write the way you talk and so it’s like having you with us for a moment. 

When I read the PS to them, grandpa was quiet for a moment, and then he said, “ I think that last bit might’ve been for me.” I was like "Yep. I think it probably was."

He didn’t have his glasses on, so he couldn’t see your soda picture well but he enjoyed having the question posed to him.

[hlmowrer]

Weeks 79 & 80: Hearts break so that you can leave a piece behind

[EDIT: I wrote this last Monday but forgot to send it.  My bad

sorry for any inconvenience...]

GOODNESS okay it's been a ride these few weeks.  Hi friends!  

It's your favorite (I hope) Elder here.  

I am filled with news for you!  These past few weeks have been a blur, and to be honest I'm okay with that.  I missed you last week because I was taking a day to go enjoy the company of my missionary district in Jackson, and I'm very grateful for that opportunity because I needed it.  Sometimes we go through trials to remind us who we are, and who our Heavenly Father is.  Some of my experiences of the last couple weeks have very much been of that nature, and though the emotional burden made me a bit less productive than I wanted to be I know that they lead me to have an open heart and be reminded that I am my Heavenly Father's son, and His patience for me far exceeds my understanding.  After getting through some of these lessons, the past week has had me excited for the future, and it's been really nice to feel that way!  

So on that note, this past Saturday we had our transfer assignments given!  After 6 months I am leaving Charlotte, but will not be travelling far to my new home of St. Johns, Michigan!  I am still a district leader, and my new companion will be Elder Ritter!

I have mixed feelings about it.   I am excited to begin a new chapter (I have had this area for 6 months and Elder Geren for 4.5, both records for me) and I'm the type of person that is energized by change.  It's going to be the first time in a long time that I'll have to reengineer my routines and daily activities.  

The hardest part though (and it's not close) is leaving the people I've met here.  I thought I bonded with people in my past areas, but I feel like I've lived with these ones my whole life.  I love so many of them dearly, and the past few days have been filled with very tearful goodbyes.  As with all things in mission life, it is nearly impossible to tie off every loose end.  Tomorrow will also include some hard goodbyes, as a few missionaries I've come to really love are on their way home to carry on with their lives.

I cannot express how grateful I am to the Lord for sending me so many of these people that are close to my heart, it's a testament to how well He knows me and how much He loves me that he would put me in a position where I would have my people...as an introvert I quickly lose my marbles if there's no one I can truly connect with.  I will miss Charlotte with all my heart, and I'm so excited for the day I can return!

I love you all so much, and I'm so grateful for all your prayers.  Please always talk to Jesus, even if you feel you have nothing to say.  He wants to hear you <3

-Elder Beren Mowrer

***My Current Location***NEW - St. Johns, Michigan

***My Previous Locations***

Charlotte, Michigan

Fremont, Michigan

North Muskegon, Michigan

Kalkaska, Michigan

Midland, Michigan

Provo, Utah

St. George, Utah

***My Mission

***Michigan Lansing Mission ***My Mailing Address***         

 ---NEW---1280 Sunview Drive #12St. Johns, MI 48879Photo

[hlmowrer]

Weeks 77 & 78: Elder Mowrer: Honorary GM employee

Beren Mowrer <beren.mowrer@missionary.org>

Mon, Jul 22, 8:01 AM

to bcc: me

Friends!

Hi there.  Many things have happened since we last spoke.  My memory is going to struggle, but here are some of them!

We had outdoor zone conference!  This is an event that we do once a year where we gather in a park (rather than in a church building) for our training conference that we do every 6 weeks.  It usually involves some extra fun activities that we don't normally do, such as a hike and a *very intense* scavenger hunt.  (I did not win...)  At this particular conference we also went over a really cool new approach to connecting with people that has already made missionary work more fun and more effective and I had the opportunity to see a lot of people that I love!  I attached pictures below for more comments.

Beth got baptized!  Our dear friend Beth has now made a covenant with Heavenly Father that has already brought her blessings and joy.  I had the opportunity to confirm her a member of the Church of Jesus Christ and bestow upon her the Gift of the Holy Ghost, which was a beautiful spiritual experience for all involved.  Interacting with God brings so much peace and joy that we would otherwise never know, if you find that you haven't tried recently please do!!  It's truly the only way I find the strength to get through life.

(Funny Story: The Adversary usually does something really obnoxious to derail people from being baptized...this usually means causing some kind of distracting havoc or doubt in the person's life that requires faith to push through.  Beth, however, was an absolute trooper and was not dissuaded by any of that.  So, of course, the baptismal font decided to drain itself while we were beginning the baptismal program.  Baptismal fonts are big, and filling them takes hours. 

So we got the fun of rearranging the program on the spot so we would have time to refill the font...with COLD water.  So now Beth likes to quip that we tried to freeze her to death.  I guess the warmth of the Holy Spirit will have to suffice.)

Some of you reached out after the tone of my last email, I want to thank you all for that.  Most of the issues that have caused me to struggle are still present, BUT these last two weeks have also contained an outpouring of miracles that have made life quite a bit more interesting!  Seeing the hand of God in your life is a great antidote to any struggle, and thanks to your prayers and kind words (and more importantly my Savior's Grace), I have been able to soldier through and see the progress in myself and the work I'm doing.  It's beautiful, and so, SO worth it.

I love you all, more than most of you know. <3

-Elder Beren Mowrer

[hlmowrer]

Week 76: Or should I say, week 1776

Hey there.

I've been learning a lot of life lessons this week.  Doing that isn't always fun, but one thing that just puts me in awe every time is how unbelievably much I can learn in a single day.  Being a full time missionary provides more opportunities for self reflection and connection with Heavenly Father than possibly anything else I could do, and this week taught me how much I need that.  As you can probably tell from the tone of this letter, I had a lot of really deep struggles this week.  My main takeaway, looking back on it, is that I could feel the Savior standing right next to me through every moment of it.  And there were moments when I knew I at least tried my best and I was willing to accept that, and there were certainly those where I felt like the weight of my own flaws and weaknesses was going to suffocate me.  Jesus didn't seem like He was bothered by the difference at all.  I could literally feel His confidence and love calm me down in the hardest moments.  I feel like this week lasted a month, and while that didn't feel good while it was happening, I now realize how much of a blessing that is.  No other time in my life have I experienced entire chapters of getting schooled by the Lord and this mortal experience in the space of a single week and have actually changed by the end of it.  I am beyond grateful for everything these experiences teach me...especially as far as it teaches me who my Savior is.

And, as an additional blessing, there were some really nice extra adventures too!  I enjoy the 4th of July, and last year I was really disappointed as I really didn't have much of an opportunity to celebrate it.  This year not only was I able to attend a neat parade, but I was invited to my mission president's birthday party last minute!  His wife decided that she wanted to surprise him with some of the missionaries, and I live fairly close to Lansing so I was invited!  We got to all sneak into his house and surprise him with a birthday dinner when he got home.  It was very fun...I love my president, and having dinner with him made it a great day for all of us!  I even got to see some fireworks on the way home :)

I love you all, from the bottom of my heart <3 

-Elder Beren Mowrer

[hlmowrer]

Elder Mowrer's Extras from week 74

Hello there!  Last week I put together these photos, but was never able to write a letter to go with them.  In case anyone is curious, I'm sending these as a little bonus reel to go with the letter I just sent!