Still in Carmen...as SENIOR COMP!!! :)

HOLA FAMILIA!
WOW! Well I was going to tell you lots of exciting news and some other random things to keep you on your feet about changes or ``transfers`` but it's really the best news I have. So here it is.... I am staying in the tiny city of Carmen! I know its great right? The other crazy thing is that Elder Taylor is leaving and my new comp is Elder Condor. He is from Peru and has only been in the mission for six weeks! Thats means that I am finally senor comp! I am really excited but also a little bit nervous....I will have to do mostly everything cause he is so new and doesnt know the area. I really hope that he comes with the desire to work and strive to be obedient. It was kind of hard this change and I did actually slack in a few things but I am looking forward to the future and improving lots more! I will be staying here in Durazno to work tomorrow with an other elder and then my new comp will come back on Tuesday night and will go to work! Thanks for all your love, support, and (I cant think of the word but it means your worried about me) that! Its really good to here that Denver is still hanging in there. Hopefully they do just as well or better then the Packers... You will have to also let me know next week who won the national championship today....GO LSU! Anyways the work is slowly progressing and we are finding the few people to teach. I have been trying to plant lots of seeds like you said and I am starting to see that some day it might make a difference. I only wish that I could be the same farmer that planted, took care of, and harversted. I guess its all what the Lord has in store for me and my area. I will continue to strive to do my best and always seek His will. It isn't the easiest thing in the world, especially when we have the natural man that always wants us to do the opposite. I dont have a lot to tell you other than that. They fixed the internet on the computer in the church. So that means that we should be able to email you every week on time whether or not the library opens! I love you all so much and you mean more than anything in the world to me! I often think of you, what I am missing out on, and wish to be there. Then I re-think things and realize that this is where the Lord and you guys want and need me to be. The blessings that come from serving a mission are beyond measure and know that it is all worth the sacrifice. I had a pretty good birthday, it wasnt the same as home and Ashlee didnt make me a cake? What the heck sis? JK I went to a members house to have a charla or lesson on Friday, it was the same member that we went to for Christmas. It was really good cause we studied from the Book of Mormon and then we ate PB&J`s! I know we dont have peanut butter down here but my comp shared his that he got for Christmas with homeade jam! It wasnt quite as good as the ones from our house with our peach jam, but they were tasty! Then Hermana Ester gave me a ``humble`` gift as she called it and it was a thing of shaving cream. I said she didnt have to get me anything and that I was grateful for anything. She said she just wanted me to have a good birthday and I did! She is a really sweet lady and does so much for the missionaries! I love all the great members and people here in Guay and all over the world. Some times I think they dont always realize the differences that they make. I feel almost the exact same....it seems really wierd to be 20 and out of the teens. I have to start telling people that I am 20 in our all contacts now. It is so funny cause everyone always says that we are so joven or young and then ask our ages. They always guess somewhere around 25 or 26 and then we say 19 and 20...its great! Well only one more Christmas and B-Day in the mission and then I'll be home with the gang! :) I feel that I am at a changing point in my mission and it's for the better. Not that I was a bad missionary before, but I still have lot to improve on for the down hill stretch! I know that the church is true. I know that it is lead by Jesus Christ Himself through a living prophet. I know that they recieve revelation the guide us, I feel it is all directed to me as I read and study the conference edition of the Ensign! I know that we have trials for a reason and that as we work to overcome them then we are blessed with necessary strength. I know the God knows and loves us personally. He knows what is best for us and always want us to be happy even when we dont always strive to follow Him. I love you all SO MUCH! I will let you know how this week goes with my new comp on Monday. I hope that you all have a amazing week and continue to work hard and see success in your lives! (I am sure mom will do fine on her test!) I am so grateful for the gospel in my life, the most amazing gift and blessing I have ever received. I am so grateful to share it with my brothers and sisters here in Guay! LOVE YA! NOS VEMOS
CON AMOR
Elder Bowden