Well things here are going well. I'm sorry this is a short letter as well. The computers at the Library are all full, and only the 15 minute ones are available.

 

I'm learning more of the Lords love. I know he loves us. I especially loved the Relief Society Broadcast when the 1st counslor said "I love you." Those words were so tender, and I was grateful that she loved me. I sincerely felt that it was true and it was comforting to me to know that she loved me, with a Christlike love, even though she's never met me. Imagine if we could all share that Christlike love with each other. How much kinder, would this life be? How much easier would it be for our fellow men and ourselves to overcome trials. I love the perfect example of our Savior, especially his perfect example of love. I'm grateful for His chosen servents who express and represent that love so well. I'm grateful for the examples of others.

 

I love you all so much.

Have a wonderful week!

Sister Lewis

 

On Mon, Oct 1, 2012

It's starting to cool off here as well. I don't know how I feel about it. I've decided I absolutely love the heat, and despise the cold. My companion is the opposite. She's always like 'ugh it's so hot, I hate being sweaty...' I tell her she's really dramatic. But then when it's cold outside I find myself saying, 'ugh... I don't want to get out of the car... why is it so cold?? Turn the heat up!' Then she responds with, ..."wow... so dramatic." Seriously though... yesterday the church was so cold my bones ached... I felt like a 90 year old woman ;) haha. I like the idea of fall- I like wearing sweaters, changing leaves, drives in the canyon, back to school supplies, soups, hot chocolates. But as a missionary... I'd just rather be warm, and have the sun shine while I go talk to people lol. Lawrence, supposedly is a really fun place to be during the fall, however. It's full of tree's- so the leaves will be beautiful, and they have all sorts of festivals (not that we'll go to any).

The work here is going well! My mission has gone by really fast so far. I'm more than half way done, it's a weird feeling. I've learned a lot. It's funny how people learn so many different things on their missions. I was talking to a woman the other day, and I asked her what the biggest thing she learned on her mission was. She said, "I learned how to relax." I laughed, because I think that's one of the biggest lessons I've learned too. I know that's not what you would typically attribute to a missionary- but I'm learning that principle in the way I need it. I'm really recognizing my weaknesses and strengths and the Lord is helping me fine tune the strengths, and overcome the weaknesses. I'm very, very grateful- because I have many of them.

So one of the lady's we're teaching is so prepared for the gospel. I think I've mentioned her before. The most powerful lesson I've had on my mission, so far, was with her. I think I mentioned before that she was taught not to pray to God, but through Saints. In the last two lessons she has talked about how liberating it is to pray to God directly, and that she loves it. She's asked to say the closing prayer in our last two meetings. I love her so much! I wish we could see her every day.

I love seeing the Lord work with His children. I love seeing people progress and change. I know the Lord loves it more.

This truly is His work, this I know. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Sister Lewis
Love you all!

On Mon, Sep 24, 2012

Well the work is going well here. Even though people choose not to progress or accept our message, I see the Lords hand in the work every day. He tells us what to say, gives us the power to discern thoughts and needs, and when we are worthy allows us to speak with power and authority from on High. I'm seeing Him extend beautiful gifts to us as missionaries and work miracles constantly- I know that in these miracles my role is to remain humble and charitable- otherwise the gifts HE GIVES me become as 'tinkling brass' and are of no worth. The reason He gives them to us is for the benefit and Salvation of His children. We must love them as He does, and use them for this purpose.

It's hard to see people's needs met so perfectly and beautifully by our Savior, and watch them reject His extended arm. I read some scriptures the other day that truly penetrated my heart, and I felt my heart pour out the same questions spoken by the prophets. The first was in Helaman when Nephi is teaching the people. They reject Him as a prophet but claim they would've followed the prophets in days of old. He says, "And now when ye talk, ye say: If our days had been in the days of our fathers of old, we would not have slain the prophets; we would not have stoned them, and cast them out. Behold ye are worse than they; for as the Lord liveth, if a prophet come among you and declareth unto you the word of the Lord, which testifieth of your sins and iniquities, ye are angry with him, and cast him out and seek all manner of ways to destroy him; yea you will say the he is a  false prophet..." I feel like I experience this daily. Children of our Father in Heaven say, if Moses was on the Earth we would follow him, if Noah warned us of the flood we would hearken. Yet what was the role of these prophets? To point God's children to Christ! That's why the Lord gives a prophet to lead us and guide us back to our Savior. Today, there is a prophet on the Earth. God is the same yesterday today and forever! He changes not, and if you imagine a God in whom there is variableness or a shadow of changing you have imagined up unto yourself a God who is not a God of miracles. He does work among the children of men as He did in days of old. It is through a prophet who points us to Christ. Sometimes I wish I could gather every one around us and cry out these words of Jacob:

"Behold, will ye reject these words? will ye reject the words of the prophets; and will ye reject all the words which have been spoken concerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning him; and deny the good word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and quench the Holy spirit and make a mock of the great plan of redemption, which hath been laid for you?"

Truth has been restored. There is a prophet, and I often wonder in my heart, why deny the workings of the Lord? Why reject His counsel and His ways? Why, when this perfect being seeks only to bless you and bestow upon you the truth unto salvation, will ye deny it and seek after your own way?

I love the truth. It sets us free. I will seek the truth all the days of my life, and not from the wisdom of men, but from a God who does not change. From a God who loves and cares about my soul and whom I trust to deliver to me truth in its purity. We ask men to pray about our message, we invite them to obtain the truth from God himself, and not from us... and still they deny us. Still they say, "I will not pray about this message... but if I had lived in the days of Moses.... I would pray then." How can they say this, how can they say their character would be different? What would change? We don't even ask them to trust us, but to seek after the truth from the Lord with all energy of heart, and surely if they would humble themselves before him and do this, He would answer in His time and way! Yet still... we are rejected, and therefore He is rejected. As the prophets were in days of old.

I was reading in 4th Nephi after the coming of the Savior, and how the people began to build up many different churches. The scriptures teach they did not 'dwindle in unbelief, but they did willfully rebel against the gospel of Christ." This is what we see today, many churches, being built up day by day, teaching different doctrines and changing the ordinances of Christ. They teach for doctrines of men. It is hard to see, when I know the Saviors fullness is here... that these children of God could have a fullness of His gospel, even the same church that was on the Earth when He was on the Earth. They could have all of His peace- not just a part. They could know for themselves, and obtain from God that knowledge which man cannot reveal, if they would simply read, and pray about the Book of Mormon with sincerity of heart and real intent.

I know this is His work and I really do see His miracles occur all the day long, just as in days of old. Prisoners are set free :), hearts are changed, our needs are provided for as if manna came from Heaven, all at the hand and kindness of our God.

The other day we were without dinner and very hungry. We prayed the Lord would provide. We knocked on a door and someone invited us in for dinner. That's never happened to me before. Then again, I've never prayed for it before. :)

This is the Lords work. I know He loves His children, and all the glory is always to Him.
In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.
Love you all,
Sister Lewis

On Sun, Sep 16, 2012

We've had some amazing experiences with one of our investigators! Last week we were going to visit a woman in the ward. Before we got out of the car we said a prayer and I was filled with this burning desire to fulfill our purpose while we were there- I pleaded with the Lord that our visit could be effective and that His work would progress through it.

When we walked into her house she said "hello" and started walking back towards the door while saying, "one second, one of my friends wants to meet you." She walked outside and in a few minutes came back with her friend trailing behind. We sat down and started talking with her friend. She's had a very confused upbringing in regards to religion, and didn't understand that we can pray directly to God, and develop our own personal relationship with Him. We taught her that we don't need to pray through Saints, but that we pray directly to our Father in Heaven, and we close in the name of Jesus Christ, who advocates our prayer. She was amazed by the concept and the spirit was very powerful.

The next lesson we had, we planned on teaching the restoration of the gospel but the spirit told us to teach the plan of salvation instead. I've never been in a more powerful lesson, where someone understood the gospel so clearly. We taught by the spirit, and she learned by the spirit and so it was an incredibly edifying experience (D&C 50:17-22). When we taught the pre-existence and Adam and Eve she exclaimed, "Oh that makes sense!" We read 2 Nephi 2:23-25 with her and she said, "that just answered all my questions." When we taught about the resurrection of our bodies, and that through Jesus Christ our bodies would be whole and perfect one day the spirit was powerful. After I testified of the truth the spirit told me to stop speaking. I did. In the silence it settled more deeply into her heart and she began to cry. When it told me I could proceed we did, on through repentance and that through Jesus Christ we can become clean from sin. When we asked her what repentance meant to her she gave a perfect definition. We told her that is exactly what we believe. She said, "I didn't grow up being taught that... but confession never made sense to me." In the end of the lesson the spirit bore powerful witness to her heart and ours that she was a daughter of God with a divine nature, and this plan of redemption, is true.

She's amazing. Every time we have a hard day Sister Crick and I look at each other and say... well at least we get to see Eliza in a few days.:)

Anyways I better get going, but I love you all so much and I know this work is true.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

On Mon, Sep 10, 2012

Well things here are going well. I have a new companion named Sister Crick. She's wonderful, and teaching me a lot. I'm learning a lot about my weaknesses and strengths... and working hard to overcome my weaknesses. Sometimes it seems like as soon as I get a handle on one of them, the Lord shows me another. Lol. I guess it's part of the process...

We're teaching a family right now who is wonderful. The mother loves the Book of Mormon. She's already through 2 Nephi and she told us the other day that she was doing something, and then she remembered reading in the Book of Mormon that she shouldn't do it and so she stopped. She also told us how she was having a hard time with something at work and then she read something in the Book of Mormon that really comforted her heart, and she stayed up all night thinking about it :) Her husband has also never wanted to attend a church. But he likes this one and thinks it's good discipline for the children. We're working on helping them recognize the spirit and understand that this is our Saviors church.

I have been thinking a lot about how I know this is the Saviors church. I get asked the question a lot, and I never have a specific experience to tell people, because the Lord has told me from day one. I've always known, and it's been confirmed to my heart constantly as I grew up. As I pondered on this yesterday during Sacrament meeting I felt of the Saviors character, and of His goodness emanating from everything about the church- from the Sacrament, to the Temples. His goodness and character shines in all of it, and I know it is His. Because I know Him, I know this is His church. How I love Him, and yearn to serve Him and His children with all the purity and energy of my heart. I'm grateful for the atonement that gives me grace after all I can do. :)

Well I hope all is well with you!! Thank you for the letter. I love you all!
Sister Lewis

8/27/12

Things here are going well! I have a new companion! Her name is Sister Crick. She is wonderful and I love her. I have already learned a lot from her.
I wanted to share with you a quote I heard yesterday at church. I love it and know it to be true,

"A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things, never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation; it is through this sacrifice, and this only that God has ordained that men should enjoy Eternal life." -Joseph Smith, Lectures on Faith.

I know God will ask us to suffer, endure and sacrifice much- but it's all for the goal of helping us become like His son, who was willing to sacrifice all things. I know it is only through this humble submission to the Lords will that we find faith strong enough for the atonement to work the miracle of Salvation.

In the scriptures we are taught we are saved by grace after all we can do. When we do all within our power to serve and follow God, then will grace become 'as our day' and we will find our character and nature changing through the atonement of Christ the Lord, insomuch that we become holy and without spot.

We are also taught that repentance is the means by which the Savior finds the power to Redeem. The greater our repentance, the greater our redemption. The greater our repentance, the more we sacrifice, the more we labor with unwearyingness for our Savior, and the stronger our faith becomes; until like Joseph Smith says- it is strong enough to bring forth the miracle of salvation- for salvation is a miracle in every sense of the word.

I know this to be true, and I'm grateful for a kind and merciful God who teaches us of His ways, and intends for us to become like Him and enjoy all the blessings He has. It's the most humbling and tender thought my heart has ever contemplated. I am grateful for the gift of His son, my Savior and friend, Jesus Christ. Through Him is given the power of God unto Salvation, on conditions of repentance.

I hope all is well and I love you all so much. Thanks for all you do.
Love,
Sister Lewis

8/20/12

Well things here are going well. I am daily amazed at the miracles the Lord provides. I'm learning more and more that small miracles are very common when you embark in the service of God. He is all powerful, and I've found if I don't get in the way too much, he will work miracles all day long. When we consecrate everything to Him, he provides where we lack. It's a law of Heaven.Yesterday at church we were headed to our gospel doctrine class- we were running late and there were people already in there waiting for us. As we passed the Librarian, however, I had the impression to stay and talk with her. I stopped and turned around and we went back to chat with her. We were there for a few minutes and I started wondering why I had felt the need to talk with her, and if we had accomplished what the Lord had in mind (after all we did have a class to get to) as my impatience and curiosity grew, I looked down the hall and saw a former investigator walking towards us with a huge grin on his face. I was stunned. Sister VanCamp and I looked at each other dumbfounded. We went up to greet him and found out that for the last 3 weeks he's been coming to church- just slipping in and out. Today he wanted to stay for the other 2 blocks and was trying to find us. If we had not stopped to talk with the Librarian we would have missed him. Miracle. We happily took him with us to Gospel Doctrine, and after that he went to Priesthood which he seemed to enjoy very much.

Then later that day we felt impressed to stop and knock on a specific house. We got out of the car knocked on the door and the lady said almost instantly, "My grandma is a member of your church and my nephew is serving a mission in Utah right now." We asked if we could share a message with her and she said, "Yes please come back on Wed night." ..... cool.

After that house we headed over towards the house of the Relief Society President. We didn't know where we were going, but we knew that the night before we had felt impressed to be in that area. As we drove over there we passed the house of a former investigator who had really wanted to be baptized but was moving. In the chaos of it all the sisters had lost contact with her. As we drove past we noticed that her car was still there. Sister VanCamp threw on the brakes and turned around. We got out of the car only to find that they hadn't ended up moving, and she had lost all the contacts in her phone and she was planning on coming to church next week so that we could get back in contact, and she could start preparing for baptism again. She doesn't feel she's ready yet, but knows that she does want to be baptized. 

Here's one more example of how the Lord provides for us as we are in His service. We did a Relief Society function last week and as part of the meeting we were going to have the sisters write down a list of 3 people who they wanted to share the gospel with and under the direction of the spirit decide what the next step was for them and their friend- whether it was inviting them to an activity, giving them a Book of Mormon, taking them to church etc. Then they were to make an action plan on how to do it. We met with the Relief Society President about half an hour before the meeting and told her everything that we planned on doing. As we explained this portion of the meeting she said, "Perfect, Sister Christiansen has the scrapbook paper for that as well." Sister VanCamp and I looked at each other as it dawned on us that we had never actually got paper or pens or the sisters to actually be able to make their action plan. We had  completely forgot about it. Then we looked at Sister Pomeroy and said... "Well that's convenient. We never talked about this though, because we came up with the idea this morning. How did you know to get scrapbook paper?" She said.... "I have no idea. Sister Christiansen just said she had it and was bringing it."

I see the Lord provide for us and our investigators daily, in big ways and in small ways. I'm grateful for them all. I know the biggest way he provides for us daily is through the power of His atonement. The more we repent the greater affect it has in our life, and the more we realize how it is involved in every intricate moment. (Helaman 5:11). I love our Savior, and I am very grateful for Him, I am nothing without Him. 

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

8/6/12
Well. I have more miracles for you!!!

Are you ready.....

........

JOHN (aka Matt) GOT BAPTIZED!!! :D

Yes. You read that right. BEST. DAY. EVER.

If you remember, about a week before I left Lee Summit, John told us he wasn't sure what he wanted to do anymore, and he was very confused. He grew up in the Nazarene church, and they are like his family. He loves them and he didn't want to disappoint them by leaving. He said, however, that he believed Joseph Smith was a prophet and the Book of Mormon was true. He said he needed time to pray and figure things out. The last time I saw him and we talked with him was on his driveway and it was right before church. Even though it should've been a very distressing moment, the Lord filled me with so much peace as we talked. I didn't understand why, I just trusted it and hoped.

After that day we didn't hear from him again, nor did we expect to.

Last Monday I got a letter from Sister Crystal telling me that John was getting baptized on Saturday. She said the Sunday after I left he texted them out of the blue and said.... "I've been doing some thinking.... can I get a ride to church?" She said they've been working with him ever since and his commitment level has drastically increased.

I got to go back for the baptism on Saturday. Of course I cried the whole time. It was SUCH a beautiful day. It brought me more joy than I know how to express, to see my friend enter the waters of baptism, and offer the first fruits of repentance, covenanting with our God to serve Him. Afterward I talked with him and he said he sat on a rock in the woods for hours meditating and praying and finally came to the conclusion this was what he needed to do. He recently turned 18 so he's now in the singles ward but they've really adopted him in. It's amazing because from the very beginning we felt inspired and directed to make our ward John's family. The room was full the day of his baptism. Everyone was there, including many people from the singles ward. Sister West and I cried the whole time. He made me promise to come back and go with them all to do baptisms in the temple. How awesome is that!? To go with a friend to the temple for the first time... could there be anything more joyous? We get to go 2 times a year so we're going to try and get all of our Recent Converts in Lawrence and Lee Summit, to meet us all there on the same day.

I'll send you pictures next week.

Here's the other miracle for the week.

In Independence I took a man named Frank and his friend Kaitlin on a tour through the V.C. Kaitlin was a member, Frank was not. Frank and I connected well and enjoyed our time spent together. In the end I gave him a B.O.M. with my testimony in it. They said they'd come back in to see me, and I hoped they would, but doubted that I'd ever see them again.

Fast forward now to this last Sunday. (Yesterday). Sister VanCamp and I were on splits because we cover two wards. She was in Lawrence 1st Sacrament meeting, and I was in Lawrence 2nd Relief Society meeting. After the two meetings we met back up and she told me some man stood up during fast and testimony meeting and said he was getting baptized in a few weeks. We were talking with a couple people, and were so confused by it. As far as we knew, he lived in our ward boundaries, and was not working with any missionaries.

Well we left the chapel and as we walked out I saw Frank and Kaitlin in the Foyer. I was so excited to see them! I ran up to them and said hi. He told me he was getting baptized, and Sister VanCamp said, "yes I enjoyed your testimony." It all clicked in to place that this was the mysterious man we had all just been talking about.

He said that he had been talking with Kaitlin in the last few months and she had taught him everything and he wanted to be baptized but he didn't feel comfortable meeting with missionaries so they had just talked to the stake president and they wanted to see if he could be baptized without taking the lessons. Then he said, "but you understand me and how I learn, and I would feel comfortable if you were doing them." We have a lesson scheduled for every night this week so he can be baptized as soon as possible. (He wanted to just get them all done yesterday... but we didn't feel that was a good idea.) Hahah. It was amazing!!

I love our Savior and I'm so grateful he's allowing me to watch my friends come closer to Him every day. Being a missionary is the best.
P.S. We just saw Tonya and her brother in the Library and they're doing great.

I have quite the story to share with you.
Moroni 7:26-28
"And after that he came men also were saved by faith in his name; and by faith, they become the sons of God. And as surely as Christ liveth he spake these words unto our fathers, saying: Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men? For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will cleave unto every good thing; wherefore he advocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens. And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men."

I know that these words are true. I know that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is a God of miracles, and he works according to the faith if His children.

This week we experienced an incredible miracle. Tonya is someone we've been teaching for a couple months. She is amazing. The sisters before me were on her street one day and felt impressed to knock on her door. Tonya invited them in and they had a very powerful lesson and they've been teaching her ever since. Tonya's brother has been in jail for a couple of years and his release date is Aug. 3 so for the last few months she's been preparing for him to be released. She's sacrificed a lot in order to help provide her brother with an apartment and all of the basic life necessities he'll need. When prisoners are released from jail they walk out of there with the things they walked into jail with- nothing else. She's been very stressed trying to figure out how to afford everything and figure out all the details. This last Tue. we were trying to find a house of a former investigator, and were having no luck. Finally after several failed attempts of trying to locate this person, we decided to go knock on a house across from Tonya's. We pulled onto her street and parked the car a couple houses down from hers. As we were getting out of the car we got a call from her. She had been crying and told us that her brother Eric was not getting of jail in 3 days. She asked if we were close... 'conveniently' we were. We walked right over and started talking with her. Turns out the prison was running Eric's papers through for his release and found a misdemeanor he had never been charged for. They told him that best case scenario, he would only have to serve another 6 months. Most likely he'd serve another 18 months, and at the max 3 more years (I think). Tonya cried and said she couldn't imagine what her brother must be going through... to have the hope of being released in just a few days ripped out from under him like would be unbearable. As we talked sister VanCamp had the impression to talk about miracles. We read her the scripture I wrote to you- Moroni 7:26-28 and Sister VanCamp felt impressed to tell her that if we had faith enough, God could still release her brother from prison on Aug. 3, she then invited Tonya to fast with us and petition the Lord to still release her brother on that day, if it was the Lords will. And if it wasn't, that he would consecrate our fast for giving Eric the strength he would need to endure another year and a half of prison. Tonya began to cry and said she was so touched that we would be willing to do that. We agreed to eat dinner together the next day and then start our fast. We all prayed about what we should fast for and spent all day Wed. thinking about it. When we gathered together that night, our answer was the same: That he will be released from jail on Aug. 3. Tonya wanted to fast that Eric would have strength, his lawyer would be knowledgeable and caring, and that his judge would have compassion. I knew all of these things she wanted were inspired of the Lord.  Together the three of us knelt in prayer and one by one we all offered up our own prayers to God and started our fast.
The next day I woke up and the Lord brought to my mind the story of Ammon and his brethren. I remembered that when the Lamanites scattered the kings flock, the servants despaired. Ammon, however, found great joy. The scriptures say, "Now when Ammon saw this his heart was swollen within him with joy; for, said he, I will show forth my power unto these my fellow-servants, or the power which is in me, in restoring these flocks unto the king, that I may win the hearts of these my fellow-servants, that I may lead them to believe in my words." I felt in my heart that this was what the Lord was doing for Tonya and her family. Sister VanCamp, likewise, felt that this was true. Her faith was unwavering and remarkable. She strengthened me and buoyed me up to have greater faith. She was truly the Lords instrument in this circumstance, it was remarkable to watch him work through her.
So the day progressed onward and it was hard! This was one of the hardest fasts I've ever done. Our bodies were exhausted by the end of the day, past the point of hunger and to the point of complete fatigue. Sister VanCamp kept saying, "It has to be this hard, because it's a really big miracle we're asking for." :) I just love her.
We arrived at Tonya's house that night at 8:15. We got out of the car to see her standing on her porch with her hands in the air yelling, "hurry up and get in here! I'm dying of thirst!!" Tonya talked to us about the fast and said that she had been praying all day long. She even said a couple times while she was at work she felt annoyed because people kept trying to talk to her, or calling while she was trying to pray :) The joy that we felt in that moment was amazing. I knew that what we had done was good. I knew that Tonya had exercised great faith in the Lord and truly had trusted in him. This was the first time she's ever done anything like this, and the faith she exercised was amazing to me. After we talked we all knelt down and ended our fast in gratitude, with fervent and faith-filled prayer. Once we said amen, our heads popped up, we looked at each other, smiled and all sprinted towards the kitchen where we proceeded to have a huge glass of water and bowls of cereal *One of the best bowls of cereal I've ever had. (For Tonya, cereal and a cold hotdog wrapped in Krafts singles sandwich cheese. Nasty I know).
So a couple days pass and we get to Saturday. I woke up that day and instantly started thinking about her brother and when we would find out what happened. It crossed my mind several times that day and I continued to pray in faith that he would be released from jail if it was the Lords will.
Sat. night she called us. Sister VanCamp and I looked at the phone and said, "he's getting released." We answered with smiles on our faces and Tonya said, "where are you? are you on my street again?"  (hoping for another miracle... lol. alas, we were not) We told her no and she said. Are you sitting down, are you in the car? We told her yes and she said. "A miracle happened. He's getting released on Aug. 3"
So much joy flooded my heart, and continues to do so as I write this. We hung up the phone and humbly bowed our heads and with great joy thanked God for the miracle he granted. We had a couple appointments we were supposed to go to so we couldn't go over, but right after we hung up with Tonya we got a call from our 7pm appointment and it canceled. Miracle number 79089. We went over there and celebrated together. We knelt in prayer to thank our Father in Heaven for what he had done. Tonya offered the prayer and said, "I just want to tell everyone I see that you are still a God of miracles."
This was such a tender and choice moment. While Eric getting released from prison is remarkable miracle, to me it is not the greatest miracle that happened here. For weeks we've been praying and struggling to help Tonya build her faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ. It's occupied my mind and heart day and night. And through this experience Tonya's faith in Jesus Christ was built. After this experience she said, "my faith is a lot stronger that I thought it was."
We read her this scripture:
Ether 12:12
"For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith."
Our Lord is a God of miracles and he works according to our faith in Him.
I know that he patiently works with us to build our faith, and that it is by faith that we change our natures and become as He is. To overcome the natural man, to wash our garments white through the blood of Christ is a miracle, and it is preformed according to our faith in Jesus Christ.

Moroni 7:26 "And after that he came men also were saved by faith in his name; and by faith, they become the sons of God."
Ether 12:19 "And there were many whose faith was so exceedingly strong, even before Christ came, who could not be kept from within the veil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith and they were glad."

Faith is the first principle of the gospel. It is through faith we progress line upon line, until according to our faith in Jesus Christ, our natures are changed we become like him, and we cannot be kept from within the veil.

I know Jesus Christ is our Savior. I love Him. It is the greatest honor of my life to serve Him. To speak of Him. To teach and testify of Him. To represent Him, and to see my beloved brothers and sisters develop faith in Him- their Redeemer, the Redeemer of Israel.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Rachel's new address is 1113 Jana Ct. Lawrence, KS 66049.

July 23, 2012

Our apartment is great- because we live in a member’s home. It's really well taken care of. Clean etc. I love it, much nicer than the last place. Haha. I love the spirit that is in our room. We don't spend much time there but when I come home at night I can feel a difference of spirit as soon as I walk into that room, and it's because it's a holy place. It was interesting to go from being at the V.C. for 6 hours a day to being on the streets for 12 hours a day. The V.C. is sacred and there's a special feeling there. I studied and served in a 'temple-like' atmosphere for 6 hours and I could noticeably tell the difference when I came out full-pros. Now our room, or members homes, become like the V.C. for us. :)

Anyways things here are going awesome! Lawrence 2nd ward is really catching the fire of missionary work. About a month ago Sister VanCamp and Sister Graph fasted that the wards would catch the fire of missionary work. Then about 2 weeks ago Sister VanCamp and I were studying and while we did the Spirit gave us a very specific promise that that the Lord was preparing people in the lives of our members to hear and accept the gospel, and he was willing to prepare more people according to their faith. We both felt the spirit powerfully confirm that to our hearts. After we received that very specific promise from the Lord, we knew we needed to meet with our ward leaders and tell them what the Lord was willing to do for our area. We started talking about how to relay this promise from the Lord to our ward, and again we received very specific instruction. We met with the Bishop and the Relief Society president Sister Pomeroy. (I told you about her last time) As we talked the spirit was powerful and instant inspiration started coming. She took our ideas and met with the Relief Society board and instantly started getting the ball rolling. She came to us the other day and said that for a long time she felt she had been missing something. She said I kept telling the bishop, "we're missing something... we're missing something." and he would say, "you're doing everything, I don't know what more you can do?" She looked at us in the eye and said... "This was it. It was missionary work. I met with the ward council and told them this was what we were missing. They listened, were quiet for a minute and then said... 'you're right.' we haven't been doing missionary work." So now they have us so busy it's insane. We're speaking on Sunday, teaching the 5th Sunday lesson,  helping out in the Primary and planning 2 ward functions for the month of August. Hopefully soon we'll be busy teaching their friends- we've already started with a few of them. It was a miracle how it all worked out; even to the days we're doing our ward party's.

We also are teaching some amazing people. Including a Methodist minister and his wife. Last time we met Sister VanCamp said 'what would it mean to you to know that Jesus Christ church has been restored to the earth as we've explained?" He said... "I've been thinking about that a lot. What would it mean? It would mean my church holds no authority. It would mean I would lose my job, house, career... everything. But I'll do what the Lord wants, and if he tells me this is true than I'll follow it." They agreed to be baptized September 8th if the Lord answers them and tells them this is true. :) So awesome.

Well I better get going. I wish I could tell you all the stories and miracles we experience from day to day... but there's not enough time. I love you all SO MUCH. I know this is the Lords work, and I am merely is instrument. I'm grateful he allows me to participate, and because he's given me the stewardship to progress the work in this area of His vineyard, I know it means I must give everything- not just now, but all the days of my life in the service of our King. I think of the song, "Sweet is the work my God, my King! To praise thy name, give thanks and sing. To show thy love by morning light, and talk of all thy truths at night."

Love Sister Lewis.

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 11:35:33 -0500

Well things here are going great! We're working really well with our ward. We had a meeting with the Relief Society President a few days ago, to enlist her help and she totally ran with it. She came up to us yesterday and gave us a referral, and started looking over our progress report and analyzing how our ward could help. It was awesome. She gets things done. After she left I told Sister VanCamp that she's our perfect ally- if we were in a war, the other team would be waving their white flag right about now! Ha-ha.

Here's a miracle for the week:

We had a lesson set up with a woman named Victoria. She wasn't there when we arrived but her son was. He had just got back from a study abroad in Argentina. He invited us in and we started talking. We had brought a Spanish team-up with us because they're originally from Mexico. The four of us sat down and started talking. We taught him the restoration and the spirit was so strong. We spent some time talking about the atonement and he said he had been taught his whole life about Jesus Christ and he understood the historical aspect of it but it still just didn't make sense to him. We testified that the atonement was so that we could become like our Savior, and it was something that we use from day to day. Through the atonement we repent of our sins, find forgiveness, and then use its enabling power to change our natures into a Christ-like person. We testified that it would only truly make sense to him as he started to use it. He looked at us with understanding gleaming in his eyes. He said nothing for a moment and then sincerely and emphatically said, "Thank you." He told us he has had countless conversations with people about the atonement of Jesus Christ and never understood it, until this moment. It was amazing!

Then we went on to explain the restoration of the gospel. We taught him about gospel dispensations and the pattern the Lord uses. We taught him that the Lord calls prophets to teach the people the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the bible, the Lord would call prophets who would teach God's children, but eventually the people would reject the prophet and fall into a state of apostasy, or spiritual darkness. This time period of being taught by a prophet is known as a dispensation. Dispensations usually end with the rejection of the prophet and a state of apostasy. In time the Lord always reaches out in love again and calls another prophet, thus beginning a new dispensation. We taught him that Adam was the first prophet. His teachings were eventually rejected. In time, God called another Prophet to begin a new dispensation, this prophet was Noah. We taught him that the Lord would give his Priesthood, simply the power and authority for man to act in the name of God, to His prophets. We taught him that because of this Priesthood power, these men would literally act in God's name for the salvation of his children. We explained that when Jesus Christ was on the Earth he established a church, and gave this priesthood power to his 12 apostles. After Christ's death, however, God's children once again started to fall into this state of apostasy. They rejected the 12 apostles and eventually killed them. Because of this rejection God withdrew his priesthood power from the Earth and His church and the fullness of His gospel was not found on the Earth. This is known as the great apostasy. God, however, reached out in love and eventually called another prophet to restore Christ's church to the Earth. This is the same pattern God has always followed. God called Joseph Smith as a prophet, and gave him the Priesthood power thus beginning a new dispensation. Christ's church was re-established and it is on the Earth again today, in its fullness just as in days of old. God is the same yesterday, today and forever, and his church is lead through a prophet just as it always has been.

The spirit there was powerful, and Michael completely understood. After we taught the lesson he said. "That makes perfect sense. It's a pattern. Does that mean there will be another apostasy?" Sister VanCamp and I had the hugest smiles spread across our face because when he asked that we knew he understood our message. We explained that in the Bible and the Book of Mormon Christ foretold of this last dispensation and promised that we would not fall into apostasy again.

Michael said he wanted to learn more. He said it all makes sense and I've had questions answered today that I've had for a long time. :)
Seriously, so cool.

I know our message is true, and we lie not. Jesus Christ’s church has been restored to the Earth and the fullness of the gospel is here again. It is our duty and responsibility to gain our own witness of this truth, and then be valiant to that witness. If we are truly the disciples of Jesus Christ, we will be true to this knowledge in all things, and we will stand as a witness of Him at all times.
His sheep hear his voice and know Him. They love Him. They obey Him. Our duty is to find them.
Of this I know and bear testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I love you all
Sister Lewis

I'm in Lawrence Kansas. It's a college town- KU is here. People keep telling us that it's the most liberal place in all of Kansas. It's definitely different than where I last was. In my last area, everyone believed in God- I may be met 1-2 people that weren't sure if they believed in Jesus Christ. Here.... most people aren't sure. They believe in a higher power, but they don't know what that means. I love laboring all day long to convince people through the power of the Spirit that Jesus Christ is their Savior. Sister VanCamp and I have walked away from people so spiritually drained from doing all we can to help people understand Jesus Christ as their Savior. It's deeply satisfying to know that you did all you possibly could to help them gain a witness of Jesus Christ and to know that they were given a fair chance. That's what I hope for- that everyone I talk to is given a fair chance, that I labor with all my heart to make sure that they fully understand what I've said and they've felt the spirit witness to their hearts the truthfulness of our message. Then it's up to them as to whether or not they accept that witness. Our job is to bring it, and do all within our power to help them.

We met a woman a few days ago and started teaching her about the restoration. She said she used to have a firm belief in God but she hasn't for a while- due to trials. We talked with her and testified of the truthfulness of the gospel. She was really closed off when we first walked up to her, but after a while she opened up and really listened to what we had to say. After the lesson we invited her to church she said she'd come. Her fiancé said, "Wow. That's a miracle. She's refused to set foot in a church for 8 months." It was such a neat experience. Little miracles like that happen all day long, I could never write them all. It's amazing to see hearts soften and open as they feel the spirit of the Lord.
I know this truly is the Lords work. I know Jesus Christ is our living God, and He as well as His atonement is in the details of our life.
I love you and hope all is well!

Sister Lewis

Things here are going well. This has been a whirlwind couple of weeks! We've experienced so many miracles. We had a mission fast a few weeks ago. It was one of the most powerful faith building experiences I've ever had. You could feel the faith of all the missionaries and our mission president combine together to call upon the powers of Heaven. We fasted that we would find people every week, and that those we found would progress. The day after our fast every single companionship came back the the V.C. at night with miracles to share. It was amazing. Since then things have been booming. We have been blessed with so many people to teach and they are all solidly progressing. Two of them will be baptized soon. On Sunday we had the inspired goal to have 7 people at church. We prayed and worked so hard to get all of those people there. But then last minute two of them told us they couldn't come. Sister Crystal and I were so dissapointed. BUT THEN. We got to Church and 2 other investigators had unexpectedly showed up and so we still had our 7! It was a huge blessing from the Lord, we were grateful. The real blessing is that so many of His children were able to be at his church on Sunday.

 

We also set a goal to have 6 people, by the end of the week, on date to be baptized. Currently we're at 2. It's not about the numbers, it's about the people, and we really believe that by the end of the week we can find and help 6 people be progressing towards baptism. Pray for us... we have a ways to go, but I believe it can happen- and if it's God's will, it will happen.

 

The Lord is truely blessing this part of His vineyard in great ways and it's a privilige to work in it. Sister Crystal and I look at each other at the end of everyday, completely humbled and amazed to be serving here right now. We know it's blessings from the Temple, the faith of our Mission President, the faith of our ward, and the faith of the missionaries around us. I am very grateful. I love the people we are teaching, and I'm honored to know them and see them progress and develope a relationship with their Father in Heaven and their Savior, Jesus Christ.

 

Helaman 5:11

 

"And he hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem them from their sins because of repentance; therefore he hath sent his angels to declare the tidings of conditions of repentance, which bringeth unto the power of the Redeemer, unto the salvation of their souls."

 

I love this scripture. It teaches that the power of Jesus Christ is based on the conditions of repentance. His power to redeem those we teach is conditional upon their repentance. His power to redeem me, and change my nature is conditional upon my day to day repentance.

 

I know Jesus is the Christ, that He is mighty to save and he offers this to all God's children upon the Earth. We partake of His salvation as we repent and turn unto Him. For His arm is lengethened out all the day long, and his bowls of charity and mercy are full, if we but come unto Him.

 

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 

Sister Lewis

Sushi night at the Keightley's



The girl from the video we love :) ... it was kind of awkward how tall I was compared to her. hahah



Early morning birthday breakfast for Sister Jones



Jason Hatt's daughter- she's hilarious.

 

 

 



Us with Matt after he decided to give up his tea for water. :) Hahah. He wasn't very happy about it- but look how pumped Sister Crystal and I are.



We love Brother Cook!!



Celine's sister, Mariah!



Well things here are going really well. We're experiencing so many miracles in our area right now. We're really learning how to work with members, and right now we're teaching people who are all friends of members- it's by far the best way to go. It's hard to go back to tracting etc. on the days we don't have things set up, because I know it's not nearly as effective.

 

All the people we're teaching right now are sincerely progressing. It's so great :) It's amazing to see how the Lord has prepared the way for us to get to this point. Months ago we felt impressed to help the ward become John's (Matt) family. Then we received the impression to have him at a family home evening every week. We started doing these things and a few months later received the impression to start having ward members pray for John and other investigators. We invited several of them to fast with us on Sunday for our Investigators. I originally thought this was all simply for John. The other day, however, the Lord showed me that he's used John and these experience to excite our ward about missionary work, to get them involved in it. Now because of that, we are teaching several of our ward members friends, and we have several other people who want to invite their friends to take the discussions with us. The Lord has done great things in our ward and area. I am so grateful to have been able to see it.

 

Well I better get going, but I love you and I hope all is well.

I know that this church is true, and that God loves His children. His mercy towards us is great. I often feel like I can't be grateful enough for the blessings we see from the Lord. I know Jesus Christ lives, and I know we can develop a very real and personal relationship with Him as we strive to become like Him- for light cleaveth to light, virtue to virtue.

 

Mosiah 25:10

"And again, when they thought of the immediate goodness of God, and his power in delivering Alma and his brethren out of the hands of the Lamanites and of bondage, they did raise their voice and give thanks to God."

 

Remembering God's goodness gives us the power to praise Him and find our hearts begin to change.

 

I'm learning so much right now about how to be a more effective missionary. I am constantly amazed by how inspired PMG is. Before my mission I would read it and not gain much from it. Now as a missionary I read it and inspiration constantly comes about how I can more effectively teach and help people come unto Christ. I love accounting weekly to the mission president about the inspiration we've received for our area and the people we're teaching- I especially love when I can say we've followed through with that inspiration. It helps it seem so real, and it's helping me realize how much the Lord is guiding us as we teach and conduct our days. I didn't understand how to account to the Lord or my mission president for a long time. I just felt like I was listing off things I did throughout the day. Now I understand that I'm supposed to account for the inspiration I receive from the spirit. Then it really is me saying: This is what you've told me to do as I've labored in your vineyard. This is how I've done it. This is what I'm planning on doing next. What more should I do? The principle of accounting is so inspired and essential. I love accounting for my actions! :)

 

So here's an "accounting" of something that happened this week. I felt strongly a few weeks back that we needed to teach our investigator how to hear the spirit. She's been reading and praying and meeting with us, but she hasn't been able to "hear" the answer from the spirit that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and the Book of Mormon is the word of God. So we had a lesson in which we tried to teach her and help her recognize the spirit. It was a good lesson, but not entirely successful. Then this week, again the prompting came that we needed to teach her about the spirit, only this time it came to my companion.  When my companion received the inspiration, things changed. We went to work together in learning how to follow through with the inspiration we received. We talked with our ward missionary about it, we studied PMG, we did practices, etc. After we had done our part and prepared to teach our investigator, we said a prayer and asked in faith, knowing we would receive because we had done our part, that she would be able to feel and recognize the spirit during our lesson.

 

We went into the lesson and struggled for a while. We were praying and trying so hard to say the right things, in order to help her understand the spirit. Finally after 45 minutes of reading from the Book of Mormon, teaching, testifying and talking together Sister Crystal said, "Sister Lewis, will you bear your testimony of Jesus Christ?" I said yes, and bore my testimony. Afterward Sister Crystal turned to our investigator and said, "How do you feel right now?" She described the feelings of the spirit, peaceful, calm, comforted, assured. We told her that was the spirit! She said, well I've felt that before, this is how I always feel when I learn about Jesus Christ. Then we told her that those same feelings would come to her as she learned about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, and as she prayed to know if it was true. We asked her if she had noticed those same feelings as she prayed about the Book of Mormon? She said, "That's a great question. I haven't been looking for it. I'm going to do that."

 

It was a miracle lesson, and everything changed when my companion received the inspiration as well. I am so grateful for Sister Crystal. I learn so much from her every single day, and I am SO LUCKY to be her companion. It's so important to work together- we're a team!  Afterwards we knelt down and thanked the Lord for helping us, and in my prayer that night I accounted for what we had done.

 

Being a missionary is awesome, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be one! It's amazing to stand before people and tell them, we represent the Savior Jesus Christ, and we want to share with you His message about how you can come closer to him. How lucky to be a missionary in these last days, to represent our Savior. I love the Savior with all my heart. He is my greatest hero. I want to be just like him. To be able to represent him is a privilige I am unworthy for and something I will praise God for throughout the eternities.

 

I love you all!!

 

Sister Lewis

 

Sorry everyone for not keeping up with the blog summer has kept me preoccupied, but I am now finally getting to it.

Well things here are going well. We've had some really cool miracles. There was a referral I received at the V.C. a while ago for a woman named Pearl. I told you about her a while back. She was the one I called and connected with so well. I knew exactly what to say in order to connect with her. I even found myself saying to her the first time we talked, "Well Pearl... you practically are mormon... you just need to be baptized!" She laughed and laughed at that. Well I've stayed in contact with her because she hasn't been willing to meet with missionaries yet. We've become good friends. I was thinking about her the other day and I felt impressed to be very open and frank with her. So I called her and said, "Pearl I don't have a lot of time, but I want you to meet with missionaries. So I called your nephew and he said you could meet with missionaries at his house. Will you meet with them?" She kind of avoided the question so I thought... alright fine, I'll just teach her the first lesson. I taught it and we had a good conversation, but she wasn't getting the idea that only this church was the right one. (I've come to find out that's a real problem for people out here. A lot of people think that Joseph Smith did see God and Jesus Christ, they believe the Book of Mormon is from God, but that it still doesn't matter what church you go to.) So after a while I finally said, "Pearl is it alright if I'm blunt with you?" she said, "yes, of course" (I knew it would be- she reminds me of Lucy Mack Smith) So I said something to the affect of, "Pearl, what I'm saying is that none of the other churches are right. They all teach about God, and that's good- but they are not the Saviors church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church on the earth, and it's the only one you can be baptized into and receive salvation." She paused and said..."okay... I don't believe that... but I respect it." I then asked her, "Pearl, what if it was true? How would that affect you?" Her response, "Well I guess I'd have to believe it." I said "yes, and what would that change?" She said, "well everything I suppose." I laughed and said "Yes it would. Pearl, will you read the Book of Mormon and pray to your Father in Heaven to know if what I told you is true?" She said, "of course I will!" Then I said, "And Pearl, when you receive the answer that it's true, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the preisthood authority of God?" She said that if God told her it was true she would be baptized. :D Then she said, "And I know God will answer me, because he's always been very frank with me." At this point I'm just grinning from ear to ear, because as I mentioned before, just a while earlier the Lord had told me I needed to be "frank" with Pearl. The Lord has such a great sense of humor, and he truly knows how to help all his children perfectly.

 

Well yesterday I called her again to see how it was going. She's started to read the Book of Mormon. I started teaching her the plan of salvation. We talked for a bit and I found out that she only lives 30 minutes from the Lyon's cabin in Sandpoint- and she loves to fish. I told her after my mission I'll come visit and take her fishing (she's 75). She laughed and laughed and said alright sounds good to me. I really feel that I was supposed to meet and teach her.

 

Well I'm out of time, but things are going really well. I love you all so much and I hope you have a wonderful day!

 

Scripture for the day:

18 But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever.

 

28 O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish. 

 

39 O, my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in transgressing against that Holy God, and also the awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that cunning one. Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal.

 40 O, my beloved brethren, give ear to my words. Remember the greatness of the Holy One of Israel. Do not say that I have spoken hard things against you; for if ye do, ye will revile against the truth; for I have spoken the words of your Maker. I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken.
 41 O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name.

45 O, my beloved brethren, turn away from your sins; shake off the chains of him that would bind you fast; come unto that God who is the rock of your salvation.
 46 Prepare your souls for that glorious day when justice shall be administered unto the righteous, even the day of judgment, that ye may not shrink with awful fear... 
52 Behold, my beloved brethren, remember the words of your God; pray unto him continually by day, and give thanks unto his holy name by night. Let your hearts rejoice.
My soul is learning to delight in plainess. The ways of the Lord are plain, giving all men a fair and equal chance.
Sister Lewis

Here's a brief discription of the pictures- I'll try to send more next week.

 

1. We drive to a total of 1 hour everyday in going to and from our area. We call it our 'road trip' this is a little insight into one of them. lol

2. I don't remember what else is there, but the picture of us all making crazy faces, was the night of transfers we were so anxious to hear who was leaving because we had all been here for so long.

3. The last one is at the Wests. They've become some of our greatest friends out here. They're members of our ward. They feed us healthy food and let us come get food whenever we want. Hahah It's great.

So this week we had a lesson with one of our investigators and commited him to stop drinking tea. It went really well, he knows he needs to do it. We had a team-up with us, a couple named the Wests. They were baptized around 20 years ago. They shared their experience in giving up tea, coffee, alcohol etc. It went really well for a minute... and then Sister West started going off about caffein and how she had heard all these prophets talk about the evils of caffein and so she had decided not to drink it period- even diet coke. I smiled and looked at my companion who loves diet coke.

 

After she said that it somehow came out that Sister Crystal really enjoys her diet coke... slash... I may have let it slip. Sister West gasped and then looked straight at our investigator and said... "I have an idea for you!" At this point I'm already laughing because I know what's coming. "If Sister Crystal gives up diet coke... will you give up tea?" then turning to Sister Crystal she says, "Will you give up diet coke?" Sister Crystal looked back at her just stunned at what had just happened. Our own team-up turing on us!! Anyways to make a long story short, Sister Crystal is not drinking diet coke anymore.

 

Things are going well here! We're seeing people draw closer to Jesus Christ... including ourselves ;)

 

I know Jesus is the Christ, and I know this is his work. He directs it, my job is simply to obey.

I love him, and desire to give him and his children my very best. I know he will help me do this, I've already seen him strengthen me.

He is a loving God. He is also a perfect God, meaning he cannot allow sin in the least degree- nevertheless, he is merciful to those who repent. I am so grateful for this, and that I can repent daily.

 

Scripture: Alma 26:15

"Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting light, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about witht he matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work."

I love you all

Sister Lewis.

 

So things here are going well! Today has been such a WONDERFUL morning, we had a V.C. training this morning with a woman from Salt Lake who works in the missionary department. It was such an inspired training. At the end we were doing role-plays and she had two sisters get up and role play for all of us to watch, learn from, and critique. One of the Sisters pretended to be her own mother who is not a member, and the other sister tried to discern from the spirit how to help her. They both were weeping by the end as we all were. The spirit communicated to us in that sacred moment that every person who comes into the Visitors Center is a special child of God, and has a story. We should treat them all like we would our own family members. I thought of my family and how anxious I would be for them if they went into a Visitors Center. I would hope so desperately that the sister there would love them like Christ, treat them like Christ, and listen to the spirit carefully so she could know how to help them best. I would want her to be worthy in every way to receive revelation for my family and obtain blessings for them. I would want her to give them absolutely everything she had in her heart to give- and even then I would hope and worry if it would be enough. I would have to trust God to make up the rest. Understanding and feeling that desire helped me have such a better understanding of how I need to treat every person that walks through the doors of the VC and every person I meet on the street.

 

Here's a scripture for the day:

 

 

2 Nephi 2:4

 

And thou has beheld in thy youth his glory; wherefore, thou art blessed even as they unto whom he shall minister in the flesh; for the Spirit is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And the way is prepared from the fall of man, and salvation is free.

 

This is Lehi speaking to his son. I love the idea he illustrates here- that it matters not whether we lived before Christ's life, during his life, or after his life. The spirit is the same, and we can come unto him now and be blessed, just as well as we could have had he dwelt among us.

The links below are the pictures from the cultural celebration and the temple dedication. P.S. Rachel is in one of them look for her.
> Culutral Celebration folder:
>
> https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ewqq3d0zi1xmu57/AdLA7kT2ww
>
>
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> Dedication Folder:
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> https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4rmfhjupe3f6u3g/rW-nhbzRiE
>

This week was amazing! President said the temple was like a rising tidal wave. No matter where the ship is on the wave, they are all lifted by it. He said the temple will do the same for the people in this area. I testify that this is true. THe miracles we've seen are miraculous. Every day Sister Crystal and I have a moment where we look at each other and ask... "did that just happen?" The blessings the Lord is pouring out upon us and the people here are amazing. I truly feel an unquenchable desire to offer God more grattitude, more commitment, etc. Yet I know I could never repay what he's given. We've have found so many prepared and elect people who desire to prepare for baptism. It's incredible, day by day we are lead by the spirit to them/they are lead to us. Because we're not perfect at hearing the spirit, more often than not the Lord has just brought them to us. Haha... it's just amazing and I don't have the words to describe it.

 

I want to quickly tell you about our experience this weekend, however, with the temple dedication and cultural event. I don't have much time so unfortunately I'll have to give you the brief version.

 

On Saturday we were privileged to participate in the cultural event to celebrate the opening of the temple. This event truely was a celebration for our God and prophet. I will never be able to adequetly express the feelings of grattitude and joy that touched our hearts that evening. Watch the mormon message for the San Salvador temple dedication. (Amanda post that video with this blog entry). You'll get a taste of what the temple has done for our area, and what the celebration was like. This is my ALL-TIME favorite mormon message- I saw it in the MTC and loved it. The best part, is I am currently living it.

 

All the youth have spent the last few months preparing various dances and songs to preform for the prophet as a celebration for the temple dedication. The things they preformed were so touching and inspiring. I was filled with so much love and admiration for these youth. I knew they were special beacons of light to a world suffering in the darkness of sin. I could feel of their goodness and purity.

 

They preformed several numbers and asked the full-time missionaries to participate in one of the closing songs. It was a missionary medeley. They started off singing some missionary songs, and then would end by singing "The armies of Helaman." During that song the missionaries were supposed to walk onto the stage. The group of youth would part and we would file into the center while the youth continued to sing. Then we would all finish together by joining our voice to these words...

 

"We have been born as Nephi of old to goodly parents who love the Lord. We have been taught and we understand that we must do as the Lord commands. We are as the armies of Helamen, we have been taught in our youth, and we will be the Lords missionaries to bring the world His truth."

 

The most humbling part of the whole experience was as we walked in and began to sing, the Youth surrounding us knelt to the floor. We knew before hand that this was the plan. President Keyes had explained to us that they would kneel down and we would stand and sing the song. What feelings of humility poured into my heart as I saw these valiant and special youth kneel down as we stood to sing. We are their servents, and there they knelt for us. Even now as I write it my eyes are wet. We are their servants, yet there they were kneeling. As we sang a powerful spirit filled the center and all the Audience stood up. Including the Prophet of the Lord. Again, we are their servants, and there they stood for us applauding us and weeping. The prophet of the Lord included. We stood to face him the whole time, we were singing for him.

 

It was such a special experience. As I was surrounded by all the missionaries in our entire mission, I knew that they were called and set apart by a special calling. I could feel that the power of the Lord was with them, and that they were representatives of Jesus Christ, serving under a holy calling. It was remarkable.

 

The next day in the dedication President Monson said these things about the celebration. "Last night we touched the veil of Heaven." And speaking of the preformances, "I have never seen it done better." When he said that last part the spirit bore powerful witness that this was a message from Heaven, and that the Lord had accepted our offerings, and it truly had been our best.

 

I am just so grateful. President Keyes called us that night and told us all the missionaries were going to get a DVD of the celebration. I AM SO EXCITED :) hahaha. We are just unbelievably blessed by our God. He has given us his house here in Missouri, and the effect it's had upon member and non-member alike is tangible, and noticable.

 

I know He lives, I know Jesus Christ is our Savior, I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the restored church of Jesus Christ upon the Earth today.

 

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

 

P.S. YES I CAN CALL HOME FOR MOTHERS DAY. WRITE ME ASAP AND TELL ME WHEN YOU HAVE CHURCH SO I CAN PLAN AROUND THAT. I'LL CALL YOU SUNDAY MORNING TO TELL YOU WHAT TIME I'LL BE CALLING.  I LOVE YOU LOTS. HAPPY MOTHERS DAY:):):)