^

Dear Family.
Que Pasa?! It was so fun to be able to talk to y'all on Christmas. I was so tired by the end of it, I'm not sure that I made much sense....Hello from Troy. We are excited to be here. I miss mobile and my polys, but I am happy. The branch here is wonderful and full of life. What a wonderful place to be. It's kind of neat that I am opening up another area to sisters. Troy has never had sisters before.The Elders here (Elders Rookhuyzen& Austin)are very hardworking and serving. They spent hours cleaning our apartment so that we would be able to live in it when we got here, they organized an area book for us, and are helping us get to work here. I feel bad...we ended up getting put in another apartment......(I found a cockroach crawling in my suitcase from the 1st aprmt)yuck Our new apartment is only 6months old and is way nice. I feel bad, (it costs $100 more)I think they spoil the sister missionaries a little too much. I think I could have handled the cockroachy, moldy apartment , but my companera was totally against it.Whatever I'm not going to complain...this place is nice! We both have our own bathroom!HAHA Elder Rookhuyzen is totally Robert! It is so funny...same commentary, speech, and humor...it's awesome! I now have another adopted brother. ALso,Elder Austin is very short and Sis. Carpenter swears he is a dwarf.(she says she's studied dwarves...haha)but he's nice anyways.We've only been here a day but have seen the foreshadowing of the fulfillment of His promises. In that one day we met 5 people who actually own a copy of the Book of Mormon!We are still working to get ourselves organized, and it is as if the Lord Himself is just so excited that we are here.Love Sister Colvin
ps: Rose, I sent a pkg. with my randomstuff in it...so be lookin' fer it.pss: Sarah ...the things i was going to mail you is packed somewhere but will be recovered shortlypsss: Dad, Elder Honzik said he sent you a birthday card... Is that true? HAHAHA that would be funny.
Saturday is now our p-day...We are the Troy University Campus sisters and mondays are the busy days. WE will be working mainly on campus. Crazy huh? I am mostly waiting for Sis. Carp to be done emailing......anyways rosie, I hope you had a good Christmas. It is so wierd to be in a branch now. I looked at the branch directory and there were 100 members total. Crazy huh? They said about 60-70 come on sundays...and the building is tiny!We live on elm st. by campus but don't remember exact address. Guess what ... last week in mobile we found out one of our investigators got arrested (Patty) She attacked her husband and his duaghter. Oddly enough she LOVED me...she would go on and on about how much of an angel i was....One time, us, the elders and president were all there and they gave her a blessing. Now they always give me such a hard time about it.." Oh SIster Colvin , You're such an angel! haha" What silly elders. SO the last two nights we've had to sleep in a member's home. Her name is Yolanda, she's older, and only speaks spanish. It was really strange but we loved her. We adopted her as our grandma, our Tia. :) This morning, Yo comia 4 sopapias a desayuno...mmmm Well gotta go...the elders will be picking us up soon...(we've been having to ride with them lately cuz we got no car) yes, we will be getting a lot of exercise this transfer.
love you
bye-bon

HI

Hi everyone,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROSEANNE (and Tres the week before)
Sorry I didn't write last week...I was way way busy.Sis. Carp. was sick & I almost had to stay inside all day on my birthday. Luckily, I was able to go with the Sisters in Semmes. We met up with a bunch of the missionaries in the zone and had a great day. 4 people made me birthday cakes! The Polynesian Elders gave me stuff from Hawaii. We all just played Ultimate frisbee and sang songs. It was one of the best birthdays I've had. It would have been better with y'all, but I'll see ya next year.here is an exerpt from my weekly letter to Pres. Summerhays-------------------------------------------------------Hi President,
Guess what, I just got a bunch of emails from my family telling me how much they love me! Isn't that wonderful?
President, the Lord loves his people so much. He sends us messages every day telling us of His love. If we would just look....we could always be filled with this same joy.Wonderful things are happening and are in store for Mobile. It has been a beautiful gift to be a laborer here. I have been able to see so much, so many changes and growth! I want you to know that you've put the right missionaries here. Everyone is working together to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of their brothers and sisters. Thank you also for calling and singing on my birthday! That was wonderful. This was my only birthday on my mission, and it ended up being the best I've had ANyways, everything is wonderful and great out here. LOVE you!
Love SIs. Colvin
------------------------------------Wow, I have less than a year out here! What ? I hope I can fill out the measure of time I've been entrusted with. I've put my whole heart into Mobile more than I've done in anything. This week Trang Pham is going to be baptized(with a miracle). I cannot tell you how I feel. I love that boy so much. I have found a lost brother and the reclaimation is so very sweet.Please everyone pray, pray , pray for that boy. There are some difficult circumstances surrounding it. We need a miracle.I love you all, Thank you for the love and the gifts. Sis. Carp says thanks too. Guess what, one of my former investigators delivered those packages to our house!!! Crazy huh? It was a miracle!BYE LOVE YOU...i'mgoing to be singing o holy night on chrstmas day.... also I need some sheet music for church stuff please some if you can...different stuff.Well i gotta go........thanks jake for the hilarious card..i laughed alot and put it iny my journal
love bonnie

WHAT

hi everyone,
I didn't get to email yesterday because my companion is sick and has been literally in bed for a week. I can't go anywhere unless I go on splits....not easy. Well we had the Luau and it was AMAZING. over 400 people showed up and it was the best thing I've ever been to. The entertainment was so amazing. I, with God's help, danced in 2 of the performances and actually did okay :) haha I have had such a crazy week. This transfer has been nuts. My comp. called home yesterday without telling anyone...but don't worry everything is fine. AnyhowI have had to rely so much more on the Lord. Situations are very different and I am having to adjust. There is a ton of good happening and I am happy.Thanks for the Tree hahHA
love bonnie
GOT TO GO ...LOVE YOU!

Grandpa

I wanted to share a beautiful experience I had on Thanksgiving Day. I sat reflecting on the bare wood floor as my companion took a nap. I was thinking of all I had to be Thankful for. I was thinking of all my blessings, I was thinking of my family. I was thinking about grandpa. I had sudden flash of memories play before me in my mind. They were all of him, his smile, his expression, his hugs, his kindness, and love. It was a sweet and tender feeling I then had. I love my grandpa so much. I pondered over him for a very long time. I prayed. I talked with my Heavenly Father about my wonderful grandpa. My father spoke back to me. I had a great feeling , a great enlightenment about grandpa. I can tell you now that I know for a surety that it was wisdom in God and evidence of His love that Grandpa passed when he did. I know now that Grandpa was meant to be with me on my mission. He is with me and has been with me. He is my angel, or at least one of them.As I came to this knowledge, I truly felt as if grandpa was right there with me. It was ...words cannot describe. I thank God for that experience. It was a beautiful gift on such a special day.I hope that through this, each of you can have your souls warmed by it. I hope it brings you assurance and peace.

Love,

Your Bonnie

To You In My Heart

HI everyone,
I guess y'all would like to hear about my Thanksgiving spent on the white sandy shores of Orange Beach! Beautiful! We saw Dolphins. Heidi Crittenden ( yes that same one dad) invited us to spend Thanksgiving with her and her family, we got permission so yeah. It was so awesome. We were able to do so much good with her family :) Half the family is vegan so I tried a To-furkey (tofu-turkey). It didn't taste anything like turkey but was okay. Plain turkey is gross anyways.. Here's a funny thing that happened. Someone set a glass casserole dish on the stove top. Little did they know that the eye was still on......BAMMMMMM!!! Glass blew everywhere..all over the food....... The poor grandma..., " I'm going to bed!!!!" and she did for a few hours. Luckily they saved a lot of the food. It was just a little crunchy.HAHA just kiddingAnyways, this transfer has been amazing. We went over to the Jensens to teach Gwen her new member lessons ( she was baptized before I got here). She has been having a really hard time lately. She hasn't been coming to church and has been falling back into old habits :( I cannot describe all that occurred, but after much prayer before we got there ( satan has been working on us hard) God was with us and helped us say what she and her family needed. The feeling in that room at the end was of pure love. We all in that moment, just sat there in the glow of the love of our Father and eachother. I love those times, because after that, it is never the same. You are somehow bonded to one another sealed even. Love is the real power that seals families together I have come to know. What is the priesthood. The power of God? What is God's power? I say it is his all powerful, ever reaching, fully formed, perfect Love. If we are sealed in the temple and have not that love in us or for one another....are we really sealed for time and all eternity? No, we are notIf we have not Charity it means nothing and we are nothing.Please please consider what that means!Our Father said, " If ye are not one, ye are not mine."Think about that! The sacred ordinances will not seal this family together if we do not love one another. I know it is hard to get along sometimes, but please consider how important the sealing power of love is. If you have a grudge or hard feelings about any member of this family, I beg you to let it go so that we can be a forever family!It is vitally important that we learn how to love eachother. Let us love one another as Jesus Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. Let us give our lives for one another in constant service, affection, and a purer and deeper love.Please everyone, will each of you respond back to this letter. I want to know what is in all our hearts. How can we make this family stronger, more fortified, and more eternal? I love you all, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, and you...God be with usIf I could be there now with you, I would take each of you aside, give you a hug and a kiss, and tell you I am so sorry for hurt I've caused you in the past. I would tell you that I've got your back through anything. I would tell you what I love about you. I would tell you I am your daughter (mom & dad) or your sister (everyone else). I wish I could send you a piece of my heart you could keep in your pocket or under your pillow.You have all my heart,
love bonnie
Ps;
i'm sending another message after this one

TURKEYS!!

Hi everyone,
Happy Thanksgiving. Everything is going well.Roseanne!!!!!I cannot believe it! Why am I never there when that happens? I'm happy for you!!! I am really glad that another choice spirit will be added to your home, because I know it will be guided towards our Savior there :)Please send ridiculous amounts of pictures and information.ANyhow, the work has been so good lately. We've been so busy.SIs. Carpenter is still new and wasn't trained on certain things so I've been trying to help with that. Anyways, she's very bubbly, very sweet, and very giving. The people instantly took her in as their own :)The dancing is actually going pretty good. Oddly enough, I've been sort of helping all the others sister learn how to do it. ( It's nothing like hula if that's what you're thinking). ANyways i'm actually out of timehope that the Turkeys are great!Love Sis. Colvin

Mele Kalikimaka

Good morning ,

Co Khoe Khong! That means How are you in Vietnamese....pronounced Kaw Quay Koang....haha there's no way I can spell that phonetically. That language is spoken in such a different way from the way we speak....ANyways, well I'm here at the University of South Alabama library. Sadly, transfer information won't open...doesn't really matter because I got it all out of Elder Kleinman last week what was happening. :)Sis. Mickelson(the best ever) is being transferred to Andalusia to be in a Trio. I will continue to be here in Mobile and will be serving with Sis. Carpenter(from AZ woo woo!!) ANyhow, I will be senior companion and will be finishing her training as she is quite new....it will be strange driving after not being able to for over 6 months. Oh yeah, I am now surrounded by a bunch of Hawaiiian elders....I wish I could describe what that is like....well maybe when I get home... haha ANyways, They, I mean, we are putting on a huge stake Luau here. There cooking two huge pigs in the ground, tons of food, performances of singing and dancing ( one of which includes flaming swords)And oh joy and rapture, I have to be in one the dances.......................................................................................................................

If any of you know me, I am completely dancing retarded. This will be on stage in front of a lot of people!!! Ahh...The things I never thought I'd be doing on my mission.. .ANyways, the work is going really great! Sam called last night because His clippers broke in the middle of giving himself a haircut..

Does that remind you of anyone Jake?...he wanted to see if we had one....also we've been working on helping him out with his hot water... He hasn't been able to come to church for about a month and finally he let us know it was because he hadn't showered...anyways.He's been doing great and the Lord has really helped him along.As for sending a package, the only thing I can think of that I need is vitamins and calcium pills (ooh fun, I know) Sorry I can't think of anything...I just need prayers...you can probably lay off a bit on the prayers for protection as I'm sure y'all are worry warts and focus more on praying that He will help me become a better person, leader, missionary, and servant.oh yeah and pray that I'll be able to dance and not look stupid....Love y'all, be good

love sister Colvin

Mele Kalikimaka

Ps: send me some Hawaiian jokes so I can make fun of all the Elders haha

Sis. C

Hi ! How are y'all?
Happy Birthday BEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hope you have the best birthday that a brand-new 7yr old can have! Remember, the best things to do on your birthday are the things that will make other people happy.This week was good. We met a less-active woman who told us some crazy stories involving a half cow/half bear, a serial killer, and Kellog's Corn flakes (ask Sarah about it)-We just had daylight savings, which is weird because we never did that in Arizona. -I'm also learning a lot of Vietnamese.-I found out Trey's name is actually Trang...-I think I got a world record for mosquito bites...if I don't end up getting West Nile Virus that will be something to marvel over.-We've also found (let me know if you've also found this in LA Jake) a few people think that they don't need to go to church because they watch BYU TV! Too bad they can't teleport the sacrament :)We also met an amazing family, they're just like Joseph Smith's family except they smoke :) It was one of the best lessons the Spirit has taught yet. I have found myself very much able to speak beyond my normal capacity. I have full confidence in the Spirit, so I have been able to speak, even as if with the tongue of angels. It is so beautiful. I cannot boast anything of myself, I have tried to speak with just my own abilities before and have found just how feeble and pathetic those attempts have been. I'm sitting here at this computer trying to think of how I could best describe how I feel, but like Ammon (in the Book of Mormon), I cannot say the smallest part of what I feel. I know that God lives, Jesus is the Christ, and the Holy Ghost is real. This I know because I speak by that power, I love by it, and I am by it. He promised us He would be with us in this life. Let us all find that to be true.Please everyone pray for the Sanders, Sam, Trang, the Smiths,Gerry, and Dennis's family. Please also pray for your own missionary experiences...why let me, jake, & ammon have all the fun?

Happy Halloween!!

My family!!!

(It's getting kinda cold...please, no comments from Russia :)haha)

Hey guess what, we had a tornado here this week. Apparently, homes were destroyed and I'm not sure if anyone was hurt( hopefully not)...anyhow it was in our area in a place called Irvington. Luckily we weren't over there that day:) Wanna here a cool thing that happened?....Well we were having our lunch break, and I decided I wanted to look up a word in the dictionary. Anyhow, it was an old dictionary of Sis. Jernigan's that I use every once in a while. Well, this time, it flipped back to the very back cover and I found an old blue envelope. I opened the envelope, and to my great surprise..their was money in it: not just a few dollars, I'm talking about a wad of cash! The first bill was a hundred dollar bill. I was thinking, " Holy Moses! Is this real?" I've never seen so many Benjamins in my life:) So we took it to Sis. Jernigan and she was pretty surprised...she had no idea that was in there. Well, she counted it, and the total came to two thousand eight hundred fifty dollars!! She said her late husband was always hiding money and would forget where he put it :) Anyways that was so cool. She deserved it for all the good that she does. She is a Saint...she helps everyone with anything. Haha just a few days before, she bought Sis. Mickelson new shoes because her old ones were breaking. ANyways, she said she would have given the money to me if she was allowed to... and I know she would have too ( for those who don't know we cannot accept money from people...against missionary rules.) Anyways, it was pretty cool.I love being a missionary. The Lord loves all of us so much. It has been really neat to see my prayers answered that I have been offering for quite some time. The Sanders family let us back in their home this week!!!! I love that family so much. The first lesson I ever taught as a missionary was to that sweet family. For a long time, I thought that they stopped investigating because they weren't ready. Well, that's only partly true. I have found that it was also because I wasn't yet that missionary they needed. I feel that I have been trained in the last few months to be the missionary that more of His children need. Isn't that wonderful? How merciful is our God? During Sacrament this week, I read the words of a hymn. Reverently and Meekly Now..i think that's the one-- the words are spoken as if coming from the Savior. When I read them, it felt as though He were truly speaking to me. I am one of the ransomed ones. Is that not most humbling? During our last zone conference, I had a sweet experience. All were gathered in the circle allowing for each to see one another. I noticed our name tags with the name of Christ written upon them. I was shown a different perspective. In that moment, I did not view everyone as missionaries but as those ransomed ones. Jesus Christ has ransomed all, and He has written his name over the hearts of each. As I sat reflecting upon it, I pictured in my mind, His others who know not of Him that we see walking by us on the streets or at their doors with His name also written upon their hearts signifying His payment for them by that great sacrifice. "Oh, ( I thought) if I could only see them this way always." What a great dependency we all have upon Him! This is where we are all united, we, each, have been ransomed by the Lamb of God, the One prophesied of from the beginning. Does not that, alone, make each one special and each one beloved?

Love Y'all,Bonnie ( sister Colvin)

Hola (in honor of Mom)

Ha ha I love you crazy ones.How are y'all? We had a great week. We met with Trey & Nga and it was awesome. Their uncle sat in on some of the lesson. Afterwards he was telling me how he was their uncle...pointing to the boys in the room saying they were his "nieces" & pointing to the girls calling them his "nephews" hehe that's so cute. I love that family! It is so fun how crazy it gets at their house: they've got a ton of people living there, lots of bantering in a language I do not know, 8 little kids running around screaming, there's always something being cooked in the kitchen, we-as is their custom-remove our shoes before coming in, a lot of smiling, a lot of love, one of their nephews is half asian/half white..so Trey& Nga call him "white boy" as a pet-name, all have a lot of responsibilities in the family, it is just great...they treat you like their own.Anyhow, Sis. Mickelson are getting along really well. I love how companions become like added, well, sisters.We are serving with some great people & have been able to see some wonderful things.Stake Conference was yesterday and Pres. Spencer(stake president) came down and walked out among the people. He had asked everyone who had been away from the church and recently come back ( as well as those who had just joined the church to stand up). He greeted each of them on bended knee putting a ring on their finger and then embraced them. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Many were in tears over the wonderful feelings of love and joy.Elder Kleinman( an outstanding person) who was sitting next to me is blind. He said, " What's happening Sister Colvin?" I tried my best to describe it to him. Afterwards I said, "I wish you could have seen it." He then told me that even though he is blind, he could still feel the spirit that was in the room during that time.Blindness, seemingly a hinderance, has not the ability to withold things communicated spiritually. The Holy Spirit speaks directly to the heart...even the broken I might add. How lucky that Elder is to be able to see the world through his spiritual eyes alone. I am grateful for my sight of course, but it was inspiring to behold the example of the wonderful love God shows in granting us our weaknesses.Love Bonnie...ps: I challenge you all to pay close attention this week to the content of you hearts. See that it is filled with Love and Hope. Ask the Father to help you strip away anger, pride, & negativity. See if it does not lead you to do good and to be ridiculously happy!

This weak I mean week, ha ha

hey ya'll,Yet again...we are in the library with the slowest computers in Mobile. Anyways, it has been another week filled with good. :) We had a great meeting with Trey (17 yrold Vietnamese Boy). He doesn't speak English very well...so there is a great adaptation needed in our lessons. Basically everything has to be taught as if you would teach a young child. It gets interesting at times. There's alot of improvisation required. For example, We were trying to teach him that through Jesus Christ we can be cleansed from sin. Well, he was having a hard time understanding....so... my hand (representing Trey) was trying to get to a picture of the Sun ( representing the Celestial Kingdom or Heaven),,,,however, he was being blocked by a baby sized shoe(representing sin). I pulled out a Finding Faith in Christ pass-along card. In the end, the card (representing Jesus Christ) picked up "Trey" carried him over "sin"( or the shoe) and took him to "heaven". It was really funny and we all laughed. He is so wonderful. We taught him how to pray and he's been practicing and doing really well. Him and his sister Nga ("Nyeh") are the only ones in their family who do not believe in Buddha but in Jesus Christ. The only explanation I can offer for why that is, is because they are choice spirits and must have been very valiant before this life.Many times I find myself, ( when i'm not being a prideful and ridiculous creature) that I am truly nothing before my Lord. I am absolutley and fully Nothing without His help. Many times I will meet a person or persons who I know, without a doubt, fought for His cause with greatness in the pre-existence. It is quite humbling. Sometimes I think, " well, who am I to tell them these things or even about Christ...for they truly knew it? Such people as these..so much worth, so much value... what an honor it is to present that to them here."I think these realizations have come much because I have been trying to work on NOT having pride rule my heart. Now that has been a hard thing. How many times does one have to check herself on that topic? Probably a million.... I am so frustrating at times. Pray that the Lord will mold me into what I am meant to be. I hope to be more of a reflection of Him....

My Mission Pres. is Awesome by the way

Family of Colvins,
This week was good. On Pday we played v-ball again...I played for like 3 hours straight and wow,,,I was sore the next day. It was fun...I got to (as the elders would say it) "pancake" Elder Jambon (simply meaning that I blocked him) which, is funny because I'm way shorter.Anyways, I LOVED conference! The best talk was given by Elder Wirthlin.What power he has! He gave everything he had to stay up there and deliver. Not only was that amazing, but the best thing to witness was the loving kindness the apostles have for one another. It was a blessing to see Elder Nelson up there with him, sustaining him.I'm not sure I have yet told you how privileged one is to be serving with Sis. Mickelson. I am utterly amazed by her. I am certainly glad that I've learned a long time ago not to compare. Otherwise, I fear that serving with her would be a very painful experience; she's so good! :) But anyways, I tried something different in my studies this week. As I was reading the Book of Mormon, I read aloud, speaking as if the words truly were being spoken by the prophets at that moment. Well, I have found something wonderful in it. As it came to life, the spirit was more easily conveyed, more easily felt. I was there. I think, that the Book of Mormon deserves to be read with passion. It should be read with as much care and as much power as it is powerful. When we casually read it, I feel we, in a way, harden our hearts to the reality, spirituality, and blessing of it....even that cheer in our hearts. I'm not saying that one needs to read it aloud, but with care. This is something I have learned this week.I'm sure you already know these things, but I guess I just wanted you to know that I'm growing. Mom & Dad, yes i did like conference. Haha I told my comp about Glen today, the cherry bomb, and Pres. Ford Sarah!! Hi. I just finished your tape...hopefully I don't sound crazy... I was a little tired when recording it. Thanks for the Vitamin C.I love this work.Rose & Tres, I miss ya. Trish & Robert, I think I'm getting better at my singing. I've been doing the things you both showed me and have been able to project much better.....although unfortunately, a bit too much. One elder said I was loud :) I guess I'll save that for the stage...haha Gab, there's a gabby in my ward here & I adopted her as my temporary Gabby until I'm home again :) Ben & Zack, keep doing funny& silly things you're only little once. Abby & Grant, I love you two crazy-heads.Jacob & Ammon I also want to encourage you both in your dedication to our Savior. Thank you both for striving to be obedient in all things. When I'm a little sad because of some who do "withhold their labor" from Him, I think of you both, knowing you're working hard, and I feel comforted.
Take Luck,
Sister Colvin
PS: I thought I'd be as awesome as other people and write a "book" this time.
Ps;; we were at the Odom's house & my comp was looking all around for a cat she thought she saw.......came to find out that it was a painting on the wall.....haha its funny that Brother Odom not sis. Odom is the one who owned the kitty painting

HI!!!!!

Hey Y'all,Tis' I again.

I"m trying to think...it's so hard to remember everything that happens in a week...Dad, thanks so much for the weather channel flashlight/radio...it's awesome. I was very happy to get it, and also the letter. It made my week :) So how's ere-body?Well things are continueing to go well here. I'm staying in Mobile another transfer much to my satisfaction. President Summerhays called me the other day asking me about how the area was going etc. He said that He would trust both myself and Sis. Mickelson to train the new sisters coming out, but he said he didn't want to break up a good thing. So, Sis. Mickelson and I are still together. I was really nervous when he called because I was worried he was going to ask me to train. Ha ha...Sister Jernigan was really happy I get to stay :) I am too. So, we met a strange man the other day. He said, " I'm a pirate...that's why I'm drinking beer". haha We actually ran into him the next day and he was saying, " Remember me? I'm a pirate" and then bent his finger into a hook shape and said, " ARRRRR!" ANyways,,, I've learned a long time ago that it is not usually worth the effort to try to teach an inebriated (did I spell that right?) person. Thought y'all would find some humor in it....that stuff happens all the time.We also met another interesting character. We were tracting ( which is awesome) and we met Curtis, a 70 year old man. He was utterly convinced that he was infact a smarter than...well, pretty much everybody. He talked and talked and talked...rather quickly too. He kept saying stuff like.."well you don't know this but.." "now you wouldn't know anything about this but..." " I know more than you do about Mormons" you've never heard of this I'm sure..." Wow, it was very interesting. There wasn't really anything we could say to him; he wasn't really a listener. However, the best part was...in the middle of his frantic rambling, Sister Mickelson looked Curtis in the eyes and said, " You know, God loves you." The strangest thing happened...it literally put a hitch in his preaching. He seemed quite taken aback and then quickly tried to recover by saying "uh,well Yes He does". Is it not the greatest of all? Love. Especially the love of God, it is what reminds us all of the bigger picture. It takes a step back from doctrinal disputes, and one can see what matters....and that is infact Love.Look it up, go in the topical guide in the scriptures and look up Love. There are so many places where that word is made mention. Let us all take a new view on the importance of that word. It is the answer to all and the solution to all. Let us all search for it and find it. Let us all have that in our hearts. As Latterday Saints we absolutely have to have enough Hope in our hearts, enough Love in our hearts to not only sustain ourselves but to freely give to others. THEY NEED IT. There isn't enough in this world and too many go far too long without it. So go out and Love with all your hearts!

Love Sister

Bonnie Colvin

Ps; I love my family

a special experience

Dear Mom,Dad, Roseanne, Tres, Zackary, Abigail, Grant, Trisha, Robert, Jacob, Gabrielle, Ben and all.

Again the week has past by with many wonderful things. Sunday was Sam C.'s birthday. Now let me tell you more about this man. He's 59, lives in a run-down trailer, and among many health problems has Schizophrenia. When I first met him(in the first few weeks of being a missionary) he yelled at me. He was a very angry person. I didn't take it personally because he was mostly just angry with the world. I felt very strongly that we needed to teach him. The spirit was very obvious, even in that first encounter, hinting at what great worth and potential he had. Well, we kept at it. Often times, he would yell,argue, and threaten to end all our communications. Underneath it all, we saw a broken heart and a desperate will to know God. This man, even with a learning disability, began reading the Book of Mormon every single day.

I wish I could relate all of the beauty in which has thus transpired. What a treasure, a gift from our Father to allow me to witness this great transfiguration of his heart. Sam is not the same, he is more like my brother who I'm sure I knew before. He is meek, he is softened, he is happy, and he even laughs a little. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to hear him tell us how he has been praying that he might be kinder to people. He understands what love is. He has not spoken it, but it is in his eyes.

I wish you could know all his background to fully understand how wonderful it is for him to know love. Sam has no family. His past is very sad. The Sam I first met had no friends either.

Well the Lord has since remedied that. Not only are we his friends but some ward members have also befriended him.

Yesterday, Sister Mickelson and I brought our Brother Chandley his first birthday cake and sang him his first birthday song. What an honor it has been to bring warmth to a once cold and seemingly forgotten heart. I will never be able to thank Heavenly Father not only for loving me so much to allow me this experience, but to also love Sam so much to bring him sweet comfort and the joy of the gospel. I wanted to share this with you in hopes that you all might be of good cheer. It is more evidence of a Loving Father which we can treasure. And be of good cheer our Savior has overcome the world!

Love,

Sister Colvin

Please include this brother in your prayers.

Have a round of Hugs

Hello Y'all in Arizona, ...or Loozeeanna
I was recently reading in Alma 4 when he decides to give up the judgement seat. In verse 19 it says, " And this he did that he might go forth among his people...that he might preach the word of God unto them, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty...seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against them." I am constantly wondering what we can do to motivate our members. When I read this, the scripture seemed to say that we must bear them UP in pure testimony FOR them. So, if we preach the word, bear testimony, and "stir them up in remembrance of their" own testimonies, it will be done. If each of us could always be reminded of the beautiful sacredness and power of that gift that our Father has given us, which is our testimonies, how much more great could we be? How much more good could we do? How many more souls would we save?If we all, somehow, could appeal to that which is written upon the heart by the Holy Ghost, I believe miracles will be born.
Love, Sister Colvin
Ps: there are many good people in this world.