Mom of a Missionary. Emails from Mexico, March 25, 2019. The Last Email.

I love this place (reflections on a two-year dream)

Hello, Family and Friends. Elder Bowlby here.

The time of mine has come to a close. This week I work until saturday, because this saturday I end up in the mission home. I have worked hard for two years, I have passed through many trials and troubles, and at the end of it all, I am a changed Bowlboy... er... Bowlman. Bowlby.

I'm going to miss the mission, especially this area of Altamira. We have put so much heart and soul into this area, and I'm hoping that I have made a positive influence for good that will last a while. This week we had 30 lessons and made 140 contacts. The most success I have ever had in my mission.

I was able to go on splits with Elder Grande, my old companion from Purification Victoria. We worked hard and remembered good times from about a year back. He's still going strong.

I think that I'll come back one day just to take pretty photos. There are a lot of shots that I would have loved to take but there just hasnt been time. My camera is tired. I am too.

Today, the mission president took us Bowling. I have never scored better at Bowling... guess because I'm the BOWLby. 

It was pretty fun.
Everybody gave me some last saludos because for many of them that knew me, this is the last time they'll be seeing me before I head off. Surprise surprise.

Overall, it's been great, I'm a different person, I have new perspectives, and I've learned many new things. Are you ready for me, world? Here I come.

Love you all! See you soon. It will be exciting.

-Elder Bowlbodile🐊

Daffodils. A Study of Spring Flowers.

The Daffodil symbolizes rebirth and new beginnings. In England they are associated with lent and are called Lent-Lilies.

I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd -

A host of dancing daffodils:

Along the lake, beneath the trees,

Ten thousand dancing in the breeze

The waves beside them danced, but they

outdid the sparking waves in glee;

A poet could not but be gay

In such a laughing company.

I gazed - and gazed - but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought.

For oft when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye 

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

TO DAFFODILS

Fair daffodils, we weep to see

you haste away so soon;

As yet the early-rising sun

Has not attain'd his noon.

Stay, stay

Until the hasting day

Has run

But to the evensong;

And, having prayed together, we

Will go with you along.

We have short time to stay, as you,

We have as short a spring;

As quick a growth to meet decay,

As you, or anything.

We die,

As your hours do, and dry

Away,

Like to the summer's rain;

Or as the pearls of morning's dew,

Ne'er to be found again.

Robert Herrick (1591-1674)

I've always wanted to find a Robert Herrick poem to go with one of my

flower blogs as I do family history and know that I am very distantly related to him.

If you are giving Daffodils to anyone, always give them in a bunch,

don't give just one.  When given as a single bloom, a 

Daffodil can foretell misfortune.

What is your favorite spring flower?

G.G.

Learn more about: The Meaning of  Daffodils
                                  Lent Lily
                                Growing Daffodils

Cruising With My Husband. Our First Auto Show Adventure. The Sandy Autorama.

This year one of my goals is to learn more about my husbands love of old cars.  So last night we went on our first car show adventure together.  We attended the Sandy Autorama.  What really made this car show for me was there is a car there from "The Dukes of Hazzard!"

This is the 13th car that was used in the shows.  I can't believe that I actually got to see a car from the show.  That was one of my favorite shows as a young teenager.  The man who was showing the car bought it as a wrecked car and restored it.  It just made the night so fun to see this car.

Here is our friend's car.  It is beautiful.

This is a 57 Chevy Bel Air.  My husbands best friends project car. 

Unfortunately he lost his battle with cancer a few weeks ago.  But my husbands friends who own the Phoenix Customs Auto Shop stepped in and helped them to finish the car. It was

a great blessing to our friend to have his car finished before he passed.  It was nice to know he 

got to drive it a little before he passed away.  

Now this is a car I wouldn't mind owning a Mustang. 

This is another car that the Phoenix Customs Auto shop has restored.

If you need work done on a car these men are the ones you should go to.

They do amazing work and are honest and reliable. 

My husband is always talking about how amazing their skills are. Every now and then

my husband will help with the engine issues that is his specialty.

My husband has a side job working on a friends old cars.  This is not the actual car he

is working on, but he needed photo's of this car because he is working on a similar car.

He wanted to show the owner what the car would be like when finished.

I like the VW Beetle.  If I ever get a newer car

this is the type of car I could see my self getting.

The vehicles at this show were just so beautiful.

The craftsmanship was amazing. 

My husband telling our friends son what he likes about the

engine of the car.  For my husband the outside of the car

is not the most important thing.  "Sound and Speed" that is

what makes a car fun.

A nice wagon for a road trip to the beach.

I was glad to have another person with us who understood all

the car lingo.  I enjoyed looking at the cars

but I'm pretty clueless about the type of car, year, why it's special.

Well we had a great time at the Sandy Autorama.

I'm looking forward to a summer of cruising with my husband.

G.G.

Phoenix Customs 

If I Go Missing....

If I Go Missing.....
     My Daughter loves to listen to crime pod casts.  Last week during spring break we were listening to a podcast together called if I go missing.  The next day I had to drive to work in a blizzard so as I left for work I texted my daughter and wrote, If I go missing this is the route I am driving to work.I have to say that it was the scariest drive in a snow storm I have ever had.  There were lots of people stuck on the side of the road and my usually very short commute took over an hour and a half.
This has started a daily correspondence of texts between my daughter and I about our day and what we are doing and where we are going. All starting with "If I Go Missing."
     I thought it would be a neat thing to post little journal entries about things I would want my family to know about me if I ever went missing, or if I just happen to die suddenly.  Not that I think that would happen to someone as boring as I am.  But there are things that perhaps I have not told them that they might want to know.
     So my rule is with these post no photos. Just a short little journal about something or someone in my life.  It's for me to practice writing and to leave a little bit of my history for my family to some day read and enjoy. 
     Something I would like them to know is that I love my daily texts with my daughter.  We always text good morning and good night and then have little random text conversations though out the day.  I love that we can be apart but still be a part of each others life.  I also email my mom pretty much everyday.  We share some little part of our day with each other.  I have kept every single email my mom has sent me over the years.  I was thinking I should print them out and make a book, but after making a book of two years of emails from my sons mission I think the task of printing years of emails may be too big of a project.
So If I go missing I want my family to know that I loved keeping in contact with you by text message, and email and snail mail.  I love all the different ways that we have communicated.  Each text, email and letter has been treasured.
G.G.

The Crocus. A study of Spring time flowers.

I'm so glad spring is finally here.  I'm starting to decorate my house with spring items and had some time to start going through all my flower photos.  When I think of spring I think of Crocus flowers.
I haven't had much luck growing them in my garden here in Utah.  And I haven't had much luck finding them in the gardens that walk either.  I used to have a lot of them in my garden in New Jersey.
I remember sitting and watching them open as the sun warmed them up, as the kids and I waited for the school bus.

The Meaning of the flower is : Cheerfulness; spring and resurrection. 
They are cheerful little flowers.

 Here is a nice Crocus Poem to celebrate spring with:

The Song of The Crocus Fairies

Crocus of yellow, new and gay;

mauve and purple, in brave array;

Crocus White

Like a cup of light, -

Hundreds of them are smiling up,

Each with a flame in its shining cup,

by the touch of the warm and welcome sun

Opened suddenly.  Springs begun!

Dance then, Fairies, for Joy and sing

The song of the coming again of spring.  

By Cicely Mary Barker.

Cicely Mary Barker was an artist and poet.  If you have young children and

you want to teach them about flowers and magic you should get 

her Flower Fairies books.  They are beautiful.  

Do you have a favorite spring flower? 

I'm not sure I can pick one as a favorite, but over the next few weeks

I hope to share some of my favorite photos and some 

poems that I have found about each one.

Happy Spring!

G.G.

Mourning the loss of my cat. Two months in and no the answer is not to get a new cat.

My sweet cat died from cancer two months ago.  I can say that this month has been easier than the previous months since she passed away.  There are things I still do though. 

I still sit in the window where her cat tree used to be and watch the birds and talk to her about the different birds that are at the feeders.  I still leave the bathroom door cracked so that she can come in because privacy in the bathroom is not something cats think are important.

Today as I started to clean my garden out and prepare for spring I kept looking at the back door thinking she would be there waiting for her treat of a few pieces of fresh picked grass.

I think she was part horse the way she got so excited to have a little grass snack. 

She always knew where I was.  She even greeted me at the door when I came home from work.  I still close the door when I'm taking groceries into the house.  She was a strictly indoor cat and I always worried she would get out and get hit by a car.  I kept her so safe in our house and yet nothing is safe from cancer.  It's this silent deadly killer.  

I find her cat hair everywhere still. Even though I feel like I have cleaned and cleaned the house. I actually like finding her cat hair.  It's almost as if she is saying "I'm still around."  I believe animals go to heaven too.  I believe she can still see me even though I can't see her. 

The one thing I will say is if you have a friend who has lost a pet don't tell them to get another one.

I'm just not ready for that yet.  I still want all the things this cat was to me.  Every animal has it's own personality and I'm not ready yet for a new personality.  I'm still missing my dear little fur friend.

We are also now grieving the loss of a close friend too.  The past few months have been

very emotionally draining.  Cancer has taken those we loved and left us feeling sad and 

a little angry. 

I have been working on ways to turn my grief into good. Everyday I answer trivia questions

on "FREEKIBBLE"  This helps to donate kibble and litter to shelter cats.

I have signed up for "AMAZON SMILE"  so every time I order from amazon.com I donate to the local animal shelter.  I also plan on making fleece blankets for shelter cats and kittens and when I deliver them I will also donate food.  This summer my daughter and I are going to go to a cat cafe and visit with the shelter cats there.  When you pay to go in and visit the fee helps to pay for the care of the cats.  As I continue to find ways to help shelter cats I will share these experiences with you.

G.G.

Mom of a Missionary. Emails from Mexico. March 18, 2019 Only One Email left of this Mission.

Look at your life (or mission) through heaven's eyes!

Hello, Family and friends! Elder Bowlby here.

This week, another cold front came in. I'm very sick (pun intended) of the cold because yes, I always end up getting a cold with the cold. This week we managed to have the most lessons of my mission, 24, but we didn't make the 140 contacts, short just by 17. It's really difficult to manage the time! We're having a lot of success teaching the restoration simply this week by means of a cardboard cut-out puzzle I made to teach the principle of the restoration. It works really well, especially with young children and families because they have a lot of fun piecing it together. Shame I only made it now! If I had only worked earlier...

This week I've been debating about my mission, if I've really served how I should and if I've really achieved what I would call "Success". Truth be told I have only had 5 baptisms, which is a very low number for missionaries who serve in this mission, but if we are to use the parable of the seed-sower, I've done a lot of "throwing-seeds-around". I've changed as a person, I have new perspectives... all in all, I would say that, yes! I have had success. All I have to do is finish strong, and avoid slacking off. Time is ticking but there is still time! We will see if I can get a baptism in before I go, but I'm not sure.

We're setting things up so that next transfer Miramar will have lots of success, in these last two transfers my companion and I have found a LOT of families. Overall, I've done a lot of work. There's a part of me that wants to stay, there's a part of me that wants to go.

So hang on! I'm not going to slack off just yet. I'm in the last moments and I'll live it well. I love you! Miss you dearly, but see you soon!

-Elder Bowlby

I have to say this brought myself and my husband to tears.  We are so happy that he feels his mission was a success.
I can't believe there will be only one more email.

Mom of a Missionary preparing for my son to come home. 21 days and counting....

Here is the first count down photo I took in April of 2017.  It seems so very far away.  There were 729 days until my son came home.  We were at the beginning of a journey that seemed like it was going to go on forever.

I have marked this countdown sheet and photographed it pretty much every week that my son has been gone.  Every Monday I have sat down and filled in the little circles.  I had the idea that I would make a flip note movie with it.  I'm not sure I have a computer that has the ability to make what I want.  Maybe in a few months that new computer I've been dreaming of will appear.   So much has happened from day one to 21 days left.  We have lost beloved friends.  We have lost our beloved family pet.  Our daughter has finished one semester in college and is almost done with her second semester.  We have all changed and yet we are all very excited to reach day zero and have our son back home.  I think my co-workers will be glad when I am no longer talking about all the things I am doing for my soon to come home missionary. 

One of my many welcome home projects is finished.  His door is covered with 

purple hearts with all the interesting elder names he gave himself.

His welcome back to the nest basket is getting filled with more items.

I even found some peach juice from Mexico to add to it.  There are some new 

colored pencils and drawing paper as I'm sure he will be itching to start drawing again.

I have had a lot of people give me advice about my soon to return missionary.

The one thing I know I'll listen to is to take time to listen to his stories. 

I can not wait to sit and listen to all the adventures my son has had. 

Do you have any advice for me? 

Please feel free to comment.

G.G.

Mom of a Missionary. Emails from Mexico, March 11, 2019.

Work like you've never worked before!!

Hello, Family and friends! Elder Bowlby here.

This week, we did a LOT of work. We basically hammered through every day we could.

So, we managed to talk to 143 people again (yes!) and THEN we also managed on top of that 22 lessons. And finally on top of that, we had investigators in sacrament meeting after almost a month without people coming! Woah!! Things went well for us, but we were SUPER tired at the end of it all. We invited so many people to come but in the end, we were very happy with the two that came.

Hey, time is moving fast! The more we work, the faster time goes. It's quite interesting. It's already the 11th of March. I constantly pray for the strength to keep on track, because there are lots of distractions coming my way. Other things are starting to bombard my mind, because not only college is coming soon, but the reality that I will have to keep progressing spiritually too! I have many tasks, and I'll have to get organized... but I'm not worried.

Here's a scripture that called my attention during my weekly studies:
It's 3rd Nephi 24:13-18. It's a bit long but I recieved an interesting message.

Christ here is quoting Malachi to the Nephites.

13 Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say: What have we spoken against thee?  

14 Ye have said: It is vain to serve God, and what doth it profit that we have kept his ordinances and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of Hosts?

15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.

16 Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard; and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.

17 And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

18 Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

I believe that the Holy Spirit speaks to us when we read the scriptures. We often might understand a scripture in a way that speaks personally to us. This scripture reminded me to not complain in the Lord's service. Perhaps we might complain, saying that it's difficult and unrewarding to follow the commandments when the rest of the world beckons... but we need to remember and think constantly about God and Christ. Sometimes, yes! We suffer, even in the Lord's service, but we need not speak forcefully against God. Count your many blessings.

Well, I love you all, and I hope you're staying strong! Pronto I will see you all again. Keep working hard! I will too.

-Elder Bowlby
Only 2 emails left.  The surprise this week was that we actually did have a phone call home.  How nice to hear my sons voice if only for a few minutes.

The Butterfly Biosphere. An Oasis From The Winter Weather.

The other day I was talking with a co-worker and she was saying she was sick of winter and the cold.
I told her you need to go to the Butterfly Biosphere at Thanksgiving Point.  It's like walking into a tropical wonderland.

They keep the temperature at 85 degrees so if you decide to visit 

make sure you wear light clothing.  They also have a misting of water to keep the 

area feeling humid.  I guess the butterflies that they have there are from 

the tropics of Mexico. 

I have gone almost every week since they have opened.

Its nice to leave winter behind for an hour and 

walk among tropical flowers and butterflies.

I recommend going in the afternoon or morning as I think 

the butterflies are more active at these times.  I took

my husband in the evening and there weren't as many butterflies flying around.

They have signs up that tell what the different butterflies names are

and where they are from.  If you bring children they have little booklets about the butterflies and 

I believe magnifying glasses for them to carry around and use to take a closer look .

They also have a little pond with a turtle and some fish.

I enjoy going to practice my photography and capture cool photos of butterflies.

They even have an area where you can watch butterflies emerge from their cocoons.

They have some other play areas if you have young children.

So if you are sick of the snow and winter cold go check out 

the Butterfly Biosphere.  

G.G.