Happy Monday everyone! I can't believe yet another week has gone by (wow...it's crazy how much I tend to say that!), but it's so true! Especially this week, we had a lot of things going on that just made it fly by!

Every Tuesday, we have this thing called a "car fast" which basically means we can't use the car at all every Tuesday. It's kinda hard, but it is so good for us. We spend practically all day outside if we don't have lessons, so we have tons more opportunities to talk to people we meet outside. We've seen a lot of miracles from it as well!

This past Tuesday, Sister Leifson and I wanted to go see some people that were on the other side of our area (about a 2 hour walk from our apartment each way) so we snagged the bikes from the other sisters and rode around all day! It was a major flashback to the beginning of my mission (my first area was a biking area for 3 months)! All the memories of slamming on the brakes to talk to everyone on the sidewalk, sweating as you enter every house and facing the common struggle of finding a sturdy pole to lock up on our bikes on. It was great though and I loved it! We ended up biking over 30 miles that dsy... and let's just say Sister Leifson and I were pretty sore the next couple days afterward... :)

On Thursday, Sister Leifson and I got to go with Ashley to the temple to do baptisms for the dead for her first time! It was an amazing experience and it was my first time doing baptisms for the dead in the Portland temple. I love the temple so much and it's amazing how much of the Spirit can be felt there.

Ashley was able to bring 6 female names of her ancestors to do their baptisms, and the baptistry was overflowing with the Spirit as she was baptized for them. She was so overcome that she was weeping in the baptistry. She was so happy for her ancestors and the opportunity they will have to accept the baptism she did for them, and it brought a lot more meaning and reality in what we are doing as we do temple work for our family. It truly is a miracle! How blessed we are to have the power of the temple in our lives to help us have a more eternal perspective and to bring our families together!

This past week I also went on exchanges! Hermana Larson from McMinnville came up with me to Forest Grove and we had a good time. She is a really good missionary- super bold and super kind! I loved getting to know her and she was a good example to me of the importance of talking to absolutely everyone we see outside.

This past week we've also been working a lot with a young recent convert named Lillie. She's been struggling to come to church these past few months because she doesn't have very many kids her age at church, but we recently got back into contact with her and she is the cutest thing!

She is nine years old, so the lessons we had with her all have activities and crafts for her to do. She loves them!

This past week we couldn't have a technical lesson with her, but we were able to stop by and see her to give her some coloring pages of Jesus Christ. We were walking to her hour when she pulled in the driveway, and her face just lit up like a Christmas tree! She was so happy to see us and excitedly showed us the assignments we gave her to finish. She also said she would come to church on Sunday...and she did! It was her first time to church in over 3 months! Not only did she really enjoy it, but she wants to come in the future! We have some super fun upcoming lessons with her that we are really excited for and I'm really looking forward to!

Spiritual note of the Week:

This past week in my studies, I've been thinking a lot about the Plan of Salvation, and most specifically, the premortal life. It absolutely amazes me to think of the life we lived before we came to earth, and that even though we were only spirits without a body, we spent our time learning and progressing. Our whole lives- before mortality, here on earth, and after this life- is all about PROGRESSION!

I love thinking about all the questions marks of the gospel- and in the Plan of Salvation, there are many! I've learned that I'm the type of person that wants and feels like I need to know everything! I've learned that I don't like question marks and it, at first, made me impatient to think of all we don't know about pre mortality and what will specifically happen after this life. But as I've studied it more and truly pondered and prayed about it, I've gained a peace of mind that I don't really have to know or understand everything! I'll never know everything, no matter how much I may want to. But right now...I'm okay with what I do know now and I have comfort in knowing that I will continue to learn and grow. My testimony has grown so much and I'm so excited to see how it will continue to grow. This gospel is amazing and has become the foundation and center of my life.  That testimony has only come and will only continue to grow as I've studied it through the Book of Mormon, prayer, and acting in faith on what I am learning. How blessed I am to be on a mission and having the opportunity to learn these things!

I love this gospel and I love all of you! Thank you for all your love and support. I would love to hear from any of you and I hope you have a wonderful week!

All my love,

Sister McCown