Dear Mom,
Alright well I have a ton to write and hopefully I can write it all! Sorry for the pictures last week I can't see what the pictures are because they are all just a list of numbers when I plug my camera in so I just picked some random ones! ha ha but I will try to send better ones! I take pictures of my emails I can't finish because writing is the most stressful hour in the CCM ha ha! But yes my old teacher served in Buenos Aires North and she knew the Gulbransens and she flipped out and took a picture! Ha ha I was hoping you would be able to see it too! And that is great that you are doing that service! And don't be so hard on yourself about your scripture study! You are my number one example of scripture studying. I would see you studying every single night! You are amazing!
Okay, now onto my week. I will be straight honest, this past week was the hardest time in my mission yet. . . I truly had to humble myself before the Lord. So as you know I was changed to a Spanish district and I thought it would just be all fun and games and all but the first couple days were the worst. It was because they moved me out of Alcantara and are making me stay at the CCM which I was not aware of and not planning on. I love staying at Alcantara. It is the best! And it really sucked that I had to leave and leave my old district and the Gilberts. Now I kinda feel like I'm locked here since I am here all day. Alcantara gave me hope everyday because everyone that lives there becomes family and the breakfasts are better and it is all around better. Unlike the CCM. . .And it was a pain to re-pack everything when I know I will have to re-pack once again in a week. But, hey, that's mission life! But the two hardest things were leaving my old district and my new companion. My old district was the best and I love them sooo much! It was really really hard to leave them. My last day with them was very challenging and there was a lot of tears shed. And it has been very challenging in the Spanish District. Please pray for me. It has gotten a lot better than it was the first couple days, but I am still struggling a bit. I have pretty much gone from enjoying my CCM experience to now just enduring the CCM.
My new companion is Elder Medel from Mexico. He is very hard to read and I still don't really get him. We have gotten closer now but about the first three days we were together he wouldn't talk or do anything with me. He is a very serious, monotone, and quiet guy. He always seems angry and just really hard for me to have him open up. So leaving what I love behind to change and go to him was why it was so much harder on me. The first couple days we hardly talked and I really was wondering if he even wanted to be here. With his bad attitude it made me have a bad attitude, so I pretty much told him our third day together that I didn't really wanna be in this district but with my old district, which I'm sure he already could pick up on. It has been getting better, but it is still very challenging to work with him.
And I know being in this Spanish district will help my Spanish but it's just as you said, Mom, it has been really hard for me to go from the top to now the very bottom. There are so many times where I am lost in class or lose focus and zone out for a while because everyone is talking so fast. And all the rest of the Latinos don't really seems to want to help me and just care for themselves. So that has made it harder too. After the first couple days in this new district, I was on the edge of tears all day long. I felt so worthless and pointless to be in the district. It has been really hard for me. But one thing I learned this week is that the Lord just wants me to be humbled. I remember what Dad told me right before he set me apart about how there are going to be times when it will seem really hard and like you can't go any longer--and this was definitely one of those time--but I remember Dad saying that it is just the Lord pushing me for more growth in the future. I kept that advice in mind and really just focused on myself and didn't worry about anything else. I have really learned how to endure these past couple days. I was having such a hard time that I even went and talked with the president of the CCM and right when I walked in I just lost it completely. I started bawling my eyes out and couldn't help myself. He comforted me and told me that out of everyone here I could do this. And that really helped. I think all I really needed was someone to talk too since my companion doesn't talk with me. 
Saturday I saw a letter in the mail room from you guys, but unfortunately they sent it to the mission home so I have to wait another week. That made me a little upset because I haven't gotten anything. But Saturday was Medels and I's first teaching together and it went really bad. He just talked the entire time. I think he thinks of me as some dumb American that doesn't know any Spanish. And it has really been hard because since it is the first week for the Latinos I have had to do all the same stuff that I did my first week so I felt like I have been back at ground zero. That is when I started to begin my fast after lunch on Saturday. And before in my life, I have never had a huge testimony of fasting but fasting is incredible!!! I love it! I started fasting for the Lord to give me strength to get me through this challenging time and for help with the language. After lunch, I went back into our classroom and immediately my companion just started talking up a storm with me and we started laughing and it was awesome! And after that we had our next lesson to teach and we both taught the lesson and we teach really well together. He is rock solid in the gospel. And what really broke the ice was when we started talking about our girlfriends and he was trying to say Rachael's name, but he cant really pronunciate her last name well, "Holt." So in the middle of companionship study he turns to me and says, "Hey Rachael's Hott!" Hahaha I freaked out I was thinking what? You don't even know her man! Back off! Ha ha but then I figured out that he was just trying to say Holt but he cant! Ha ha! It was really funny! And we had a stress relief class and it really helped break the ice too because I think Elder Medel realized that I have been in a lot of stress lately with all the change and everything so he wrote me a very nice letter apologizing for his attitude the first couple of days. So those two things really broke the ice for our relationship.
Sunday was another awesome day! We took our group photo to hang on the wall in the CCM and I can't believe the time is finally here! Sunday was all in Spanish also, but since my last district has been here for 5 weeks they got moved up to Spanish Sundays as well, so it was really nice to just be with them once again for a day. I had a very powerful experience too. We watched The Testament in Spanish and then after that they had us write our testimonies down just on the Savior. And I started to cry again because of the love of the Savior and for everything he has done for me! I know my Savior lives and is always looking out for me! I know he died for our sins and we can use His Atonement to be made clean. I know the Savior knows me personally and knows my limits and I know now that He knows my potential and He put me in this district for a reason. I am so grateful for our Savior and that is why I am here on a mission. . because I love the Savior. It is as simple as that. I want everyone to feel the love of the Savior the same way I have. We are all so blessed with this gospel in our lives! I also bore my testimony in Sacrament meeting about my love for the Savior and I lost it there too and started to cry ha ha. It has really been an emotional roller coaster ride this past week!! Ha ha! But in a good way! It was hard at first being in this new district but after Medel started opening up to me and now we are teaching well and I know that the Savior is looking after me I know everything will be okay!
Family Night my old district and I sang a musical number that was Blake's idea of singing Joseph's Smiths First Prayer to the tune of Come Thou Font and it was great! They also made me a thank you card with a little countdown in Starburst haha! It was really nice and sweet to read all their feelings they have for me. It was very comforting! So I am not saying everything is just dandy again. It is still a little hard being in this new district and with getting to know my companion but I have just learned to kill him with kindness and make him smile as much as possible. I really like the phrase, "Try your best and the Lord will provide the Rest." I have really put that into practice this past week. D&C 121 verses 7 through 9 have been a great comfort for me too. And I have learned to look at the positive side of everything. Like here at the CCM the exercise is a lot better! Ha ha! So please keep praying for me but I just wanted to let your know that I am fine and you don't have to worry about me! The Latinos are warming up to me and it's getting better! I only have one more week anyway! It was pretty funny, what got the Latinos to warm up to me is when I scored my first goal against them in soccer ha ha! I am getting pretty good at soccer now ha ha.
Okay, I have to go but I also wanted to share another cool experience I had my last night in Alcantara. Elder Gilbert has been having some health problems and has been having a really hard time breathing and my last night, in front of everyone at Alcantara, he asked me to give him a priesthood blessing. It was a very spiritual experience for me. That is the first time I have actually done the saying of the blessing and it is awesome how I could just rely on the Spirit to fill my mouth of what to say. But the bad news is that his health has gotten worse and today at 6 pm he is going into immediate open heart surgery. I am really praying for him and I would like all of you to pray for him too. He really has become a father to me while I have been here!
But I love you guys! And I have to go! Can't wait to write you guys next week when I am in the mission field!!! Woo hoo! Love you guys and you are all the Best!
Love
Elder Cowan
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