Good, Bad, Great!

Dear Family!!

Well, Mom I don't know if you wrote me or not it looks like I didn't get a letter from you guys but that's okay! I still love you! Ha ha! I sent you guys some letters today but I don't know how long they will take to get to you guys! And to begin with the Gilberts here do know some Dennis's from Utah so that's really cool! I told you they reminded me of grandma and grandpa! And just an update, it actually is getting pretty cold now! Which is weird cause it should be getting warmer! And everyone is getting sick but Elder Peel and I are the only ones that haven't gotten sick yet! Hah! Lucky! And thank you for the thermals Mom! I have already used them and they are so nice I love them! But GUESS WHAT!?!! Wednesday is my half way mark through the CCM! AWW it's so weird and I am so happy! It is awesome here but I want to be out in the field so bad! I can't believe how awesome and fast it has been! Since I have been here I have been going OCD or something seriously! Ha ha! we have all these books and stuff and only have a small desk in our classrooms and everything has to be in its place! Ha ha my district makes fun of me but I have been rubbing off on my companion cause now he is doing it too! Ha ha I love my companion! He is such a stud and I love him! We are great companions! Also since I have been here for three weeks now I have been getting really tired and its annoying cause I don't want to! They really do work us hard here at the CCM but it'll all pay off!

Last week we got a new batch of missionaries and actually got one new elder in our district who went to the Provo MTC for 8 weeks then had to go home and now is going to be here with us for 4 weeks! So he will have been in the MTC for 12 weeks!!! But he is a great guy! And all the younger gringo missionaries are all confused and scared the first couple days and it was weird to see that because I know that is how I felt! Elder peel and I made it one of our goals to help the new missionaries out as much as possible and we have really helped them out. They thank us all the time! I am glad I can be an example for them! Soo onto my week now . . .which to start off it was good then bad and then awesome near the end of the week, I will explain . . .

It began great because we were the only district here at Alcantatar and we got to have pancakes and American food for breakfast! It was awesome! And it was our P day so that is always a good day! Then we had cake and popcorn Tuesday night because it was Elder Sousas birthday! And he is one of the Brazilian comps here in my district and one of the nicest and funniest guys I know! I love him so much! 

But then as the week kept going on I just kept getting really tired and by Friday I was exhausted! I tried everything to stay awake but just couldn't! So since I was tired I kinda began to slack a little and same with my companion. But to begin I will talk about our investigators! We got a new one last week named Rafael who doesn't believe in anyone or anything so that will be a little bit of a challenge and we will see how that one goes. And Carolina has a baptism date! She is a rockstar investigator and believes in everything we teach her except when we taught her the Word of Wisdom she was having a really hard time accepting that, but then we just told her that it was just another commandment of God and if she wants to follow his example she will have to stop drinking tea and coffee. After we told her that she realized it was true and excepted. However we won't see her for a week because she is going on a vacation with her Catholic family and I feel they might have a big influence on her to not get baptized! I'm praying so much for her to stand strong! And then there is Alejandro. ..  AWW he is so difficult! He doesn't believe in anything, he is hard headed, never pays attention and is just listening to us for his girlfriend. It's is so annoying! We have taught him so many lessons but he just doesn't accept anything! And he has turned down baptism and I honestly just don't know what to do with him!!! Afterwards our teacher gave us feedback on our lesson and pretty much chewed us out for not knowing his concerns but we have tried everything it seems like and he just won't open up! So I got really down on myself and was really frustrated! But on a funny moment in the lesson we were talking about the Atonement and sin in Spanish is Pecado and fish in Spanish is Pescado. And pretty much the entire lesson I kept saying Pescado. So I sounded really stupid saying stuff like, ¨We can receive a remission of our fishes if we use the Atonement¨ ha ha it was pretty funny! But other than that I was really hard on myself and just went to the bathroom and that's when I just lost it and started to cry because I was thinking of you guys and my family! It was a really hard night for me but on Saturday morning in my personal study I came upon D&C 100 which I don't have time to write out, but I would like you guys to read it! I know now that the Lord is watching over you guys and I am doing the best thing I possibly can!

Then it got to the awesome part! Sunday!!! I love them so much! They just load you with spiritual highness to live off of for the week is seems like. We watched some videos and had the mission stress doctor come and that was really relaxing to just forget everything. Then we watched a devotional by Elder Anderson and he testified so much about how we need to be a witness of the power of the Savior. And it just hit me like a wall! We were fasting that day and I was fasting for you guys and for myself to be able to teach better and know what to do with my investigators. And that is when I started to cry again but this time for good reasons because I just felt the Savior's love so much! I know He died for my sins and that I have this opportunity to represent and share that love with the people here in Chile! I am so blessed! It was like everything I needed to hear that day! The Lord really is watching over me! And then in fast and testimony meeting I bore my testimony in Spanish and I just felt so much peace when I was bearing my testimony because I know that when times get hard I still have my testimony and no one can ever take that away from me and I will not doubt the things I have experienced! I love being a missionary and am so grateful for this experience! I know Jesus Christs lives and is the Savior and Redeemer of the world! I cant wait to share His message with the people here in Chile! Sunday was just an awesome day! It was exactly what I needed! 

Well that is my letter for the week! I'm half way and going to keep serving with everything I got! I love the mission and I wish you guys the best! I love you guys so much and thank you for everything you have done Mom and Dad! Mom you have been the best mom in the world. And I don't have time to write you personally Dad so I will just write it in here! I just wanted to thank you guys for your examples! Mom you are so hardworking and loving and Dad you have been a role model to me my whole life! I love you guys so much and I know I haven't told you that enough! You guys are the greatest blessing in my life! I am so grateful for your examples and especially you, Dad, for your example of converting to the church and serving a mission! Thank you for setting me apart as a missionary! I am so proud to be an instrument in the Lord's hands! Thank you guys for leaving this legacy behind for our family! Dad you are the greatest dad in the whole world and I will never forget all the times you have made me laugh. Your diligence to serve others is wonderful. Mom you are the greatest mom in the whole world and I love you so much. Thank you for always being there for me and being willing to help me with anything! I love you guys so much! Have a great week!

Love Elder Cowan

p.s. I don't know if you guys didn't write because you didn't know when my pday is because it changes every week but as long as you guys write on Sundays you will be safe

p.s.s. Do you have Rachael's address or can you get that somehow? Text her maybe?

p.s.s.s Did Austin get his mission call yet?