March 8

Dear Family and Friends,This week was a pretty rewarding week, It has also been one of the tougher weeks that I have had since i have been out. Homesickness is something that rarely effects me lately, I think of home, but I do not long for home, sure I would like to be back there but I really just want to get to work and forget everything else. I have really been working to keep us busy this week, we have continued to give service as much as we can find it. I love serving at the RDA and around others in the town. Working with the people here in Oamaru is great because it gives us heaps( Kiwi lingo) of opertunities to share our beliefs and our purpose. I really do love the people here.On thursday we had a zone training meeting in Gore. So we slept over at the zone leaders Flat so we wouldnt have to get up earlier for the three and a half hour drive. While we were in Dunedin with the ZL's we made sandwiches with them for the Zone meeting. I also had a wrestling match with Elder Danner, who is from Idaho. He wrestled and I was just itching to wrestle someone haha. It was long and Drawn out and we eventually just ended it due to the lateness of the night. I really miss wrestling, It was one of the most rewarding and character building experiences I have every had... until I complete my mission of course. The Zone meeting that we had was really informative, I really enjoyed it. Elders Oborn and Danner gave the presentation along with sister Simmons the STL. We talked about the goals that we can all set to help us reach our mission. Which is to "Burst through the frontier of faith and dwell in the realm of the miraculous". we learned all about Setting goals to help our investigators be strengthened and grow in the gospel. We were to do this by focussing our goals on the committments we make to those we teach. "Commitments make Converts." The main focus was to help us become master planners so we could grow the number of baptisms this year in our mission, which as it stands the goal is 400. That is one baptism per companionship per Quarter. I know the Lord can help us achieve this goal. Everything is possible through the lords help. We have also continued to teach Zack, this saturday we taught the fifth lesson. We have rescheduled his baptism to the 14th due to a small scheduling conflict. I am confident that he will be ready to be baptised on that day. I have asked President Hudson if I can stay in Oamaru for another transfer so I can see him baptised. He has yet to decide who he would like to baptise him so we told him we would cross that bridge when we get there. I am so happy for him. The lord trully does work miracles in peoples lives. I know that this is Jesus christs church restored again on the earth, I know that Thomas S. Monson is our leader here on the earth. I love you all and I Pray for you.Love always,Elder Bowers