Happy Valentines Day!!! 

:) I LOVE holiday's- especially love holiday's :) Even though as a missionary 'valentines day'... is... well useless... I still love seeing the hearts everywhere and the pink and red colors! Today I'm going to try extra hard to love everyone like God does. :) and mom and dad HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! Glad you've made it (25 or 26 years... really mom...?) hahah. I love you and Dad so much and I am so grateful you are my parents. I couldn't be luckier. That's awesome you've been able to make it to the temple every week, I'm so happy for you! It's amazing how much I miss it and think about it out here, I haven't gone so long without going to the temple since I was in Alaska, and before that since highschool. I can't wait for my next chance to go. Soak up all the beauty of the temple you can for me :) It's amazing how much my love for our family has grown since I've been out here. I feel so lucky to be a part of our family. I'm glad Amanda is loving dance, and Mary is still cooking. I sent her an amazing guacamole recipe in her letter the other day. You'll have to let me know when she tries it and what you think. I'm also going to include a spaghetti sauce recipe at the end of this letter that I think you'll like and it's SO EASY. One great thing about eating with a member every night is we get lots of great recipe's! Since today's p-day, I'm considering trying a banana bread recipe that we got the other day... we'll see if I end up with the time. Also, I sent Wendy a letter, but I just got her latest package, tell her thank you for me! I LOVED it, and the sweater fit and I happen to be wearing it at this very moment. She also sent me these little panda-bear cookies, that several of the sisters were super excited about- everyone wanted to try one; and one of the Sisters was telling me that it's her favorite treat. She's amazing, I love getting her packages and updates on how things are going. I'm sure she's told you she's re-vamping the house, but she sent pictures and they look great! Sister Atkin was looking at them and was very impressed. Also thank you for your v-day package. I loved it :) Thank you for the CD, I listened to it this morning while I worked out and it was fantastic. Thanks for doing so much for me mom, I love your letters they bring me so much joy :).

As for here, things are going great! We're teaching and having wonderful experiences. We had exchanges last thursday and it was such a wonderful experience. I went with Sister Minall to her area, and our first lesson was amazing. We felt very directed in what to pray for and what she needed to feel. We felt that it was very important for her to understand the need for the restoration. Preach my gospel talks about how when people feel and understand the reality of the apostasy, the restoration will shine brilliantly before them- similar to the way a diamond shines brightest against a black background. We felt she needed to understand the need for the restoration of the gospel. So we knelt down and Sister Minall offered such a beautiful and humble prayer, asking God to bless us to speak clearly, and for this woman to feel and understand the apostasy and restoration. When we got there, she began telling us about how her week had gone- she's experiencing a lot of trials right now, she cried, and we were able to relate to her with some of our own trials we've faced in the past. It was such a beautiful lesson because the spirit directed Sister Minall and myself so clearly as to the things we needed to say and do to help this women. When the lesson began I had no idea how we would teach the apostasy and restoration- we thought maybe she would need the plan of salvation lesson instead. But miraculously, as time went on and we said everything the spirit put into our minds and hearts, we ended up at the apostasy and restoration. Sister Minall taught and testified with so much power. I looked over at her and she was glowing with authority and purity. :) and the miracle came when this women looked at us and explained perfectly back to us the need for the restoration, understanding with clarity why her previous baptisms were not under the authority of God and why she would need to be rebaptized. We were so happy! Sister Minall extended the baptismal invitation to her and this woman, said she wasn't sure if it was right yet. (She's been invited to be baptized many times before and she has always said that to the missionaries... she wasn't sure yet.) I felt impressed to read her a scripture from Ether which says we "receive no witness until after the trial of your faith" I told her that faith was a 'hope for things which are not seen but are true' and if she was willing prepare for baptism that it would witness to God of her faith, that she had a "hope for things, which were not seen, but true,"  I told her that if she would do these things, the Lord would eventually answer her prayer, because of her faith in Him. She looked at me with hope shinging in her eyes and said she would do that. She set a date for March 3. Her simple and sweet faith was so beautiful to me. Her willingness to wait patiently upon the Lord and trust him by preparing to be baptized, all the while hoping as she did so, that He would answer her. I know if she will do this He will answer her. I love her. She is a daughter of God, and it's a humbling privilege to be able to teach His children of Him, for they are eternal in nature, and of a divine heritage. They have the potential to become like Him, and knowing that is enough to fill my heart with grattitude at the opportunity to work with Him, for the welfare.

 

Something that has really stuck out to me as of late is the reality of the restoration of the gospel. So many people read from the Book of Mormon, or hear the story of Joseph Smith and tell us that they believe Joseph Smith was a good man, or that the Book of Mormon contains truth and good things in it, but thats about as far as it goes....

 

The reality of our message, however, leaves no room for such a statement. Joseph Smith is either a prophet of God, or a diabolical liar. There is no inbetween. I was reading from his history yesterday, and thought I'd share some of it with you,

Joseph Smith explains that as a young boy he was extremely confused as to which religion he should join himself with. Which church of all the churches were true? They all understood the passages of the Bible so differently.

 

He says, "In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions I oftens aid to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all worng together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it? ... At length I came to the conlcusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God. I at length cmae to the dertermination to "ask of God" concluding that if he gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom and would give liberally and not upraid, I might venture."

 

He then tells us he went into a grove of trees near his house and asked of God. Upon asking the Lord which church he should join, he says,

 

"I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light rested upon me I saw two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all discription, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me calling me by name and said, pointing to the other-- this is my beloved Son, hear Him!"

 

Joseph Smith claims that God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Him.

 

He then goes on in his history to claim that other Heavenly messangers appeared to Him, restoring to Him the Priesthood authority of God, and that an Angel appeared to him and told him where he could go to find a record of an ancient people. He claims that he went there, dug up from the Earth this ancient record, and translated it by the power of God, bringing forth to the world "The book of Mormon." As Mormons, we profess that Joseph Smith, was not just a good man who did good things but that he is a prophet of God. We profess that a prophet of God lives on the Earth today and directs Gods' church the same as Moses, Noah, Abraham and other ancient propohets did. 

 

There is no room for a 'middle ground' in this story. It either happened, or Joseph Smith has deceived the nations, as a great liar. It's one or the other.

 

I know for myself that it happened. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God. I know that the Book of Mormon, was translated through the power of God and that it is a scripture. I know that a living prophet walks the earth. I know that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His son Jesus Christ, and that through him, the Savior restored His gospel and His authority and priesthood to the Earth again. This is not just a story, it happened. The true and living church is upon the Earth today, and my soul yearns to declare to the whole of the Earth, for it is true, and I cannot deny it. If people accept the witness of the Spirit that this is true it will prove a savor of life unto them, or they may reject it and be left guilty before the judment bar of God, having set at naught His counsel, His wisdom, and His ways.

 

What I have written, I have written. And it sufficeth me. It is my testimony, and I know it to be true. I speak it with reverence, and great anxiousness and desire for the welfare of men. I pray daily that they will hear and accept the voice of the Lord.

 

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

 

I love you all!!!

 

Sister Lewis

I loved the story about Samantha. She would write me little notes like that all the time and they always cheered my day. She is such a special girl. Tell her I love her and miss her.

I'm very excited about Amanda getting her pointe shoes! How does she like the new studio? Do you think it's worth it yet?

Yes- my address is the mission home address. I get mail the same day it arrives at the mission home because I am a VC sister- so send it there.

Mary's letter was beautiful and you can tell her I'm writing her back today- I didn't get one from Samantha though, so if I was supposed to it got lost somewhere in the hussle and bussle?

The letter from Dad was great to read, I really appreciated it. I teared up a little at it- especially what he said in the end.

The work is progressing. We found a few new investigators and I love them so much. One is a man named Nolan; I'm not sure how to help him but God is inspiring Sister Atkin and I with ideas. Everytime I see him, I silently weep for him. He is so sincere and genuine is his desire to love God and search out truth. But he's a man of 'reason' and it's very hard for us to teach him because he wants to discuss the philosophy of God. I love him, and in our last lesson we were able to bear powerful testimony to him. We will have to teach him very differently than we probably will ever teach anyone else because the way he learns is very different from the average person. He spent 15 hours studying for our last visit, and he read 1 Nephi 32, 6 times before we met again. He told us he thought about us every morning and night, and he's met with a lot of religious people but we're his favorite. He said there are very few people he honestly believes will go to heaven, but that he thinks we will be there. He weeps everytime he talks of love for God and being obedient to him. I weep with him. I'm learning to feel like Jacob, to have faith and anxiety over the welfare of each person I meet. I know God will help us help him as much as it's possible to do.

 

Selene is doing great as well- Satan is really attacking her right now. Ever since the time she made the decision to be baptized he has done everything he can to shake her faith. But Selene is awesome, she told us on Sunday "Satan's attacking every part of my life right now... but you know what? I'm going to win!" Hahah. We're praying for her, she's strong and will stay strong, but it's always hard to see someone experience trial, even when you know it's for their good.

 

I think one of the most interesting things about being out here on my mission is my capacity to discern evil is so heightened- or maybe there's just a lot more of it here than there is in Highland Utah. Hahah. I think that's it. But Sister Atkin and I have been blessed to feel and discern evil very easily- it's tangible and you know almost instantly when the light and hope of Christ is not in a person, or an area because we can feel it- but we are doing our best to bring it to them!

 

We have a few more investigators who are progressing. We started teaching a woman named Marcella and we invited her to baptism on the first visit and she agreed! Her 'easyness and willingness' to believe amazes me. We taught her the restoration and she said, "it sounds true to me." with a big smile. She wants a family ward to take her children to, and she wants them all to be baptized. There is still a long road ahead for her, but I have hope that if she chooses she will be able to travel the road and come unto the Savior and His gospel.

 

The VC is great! We witness so many miracles there. It's really slow in the winter and there are days no one comes in and so I study and talk with the other sisters. This was hard to get used to and frustrating and first- I think every sister experiences the initial frustration  of it- but God has comforted me, and I know he is aware of our situation and we were called there for a reason.

I have taken a few very special tours and the spirit was very powerful. Every tour is filled with the peace of the spirit. Some tours are filled with the powerful peace, and kindness of the spirit. Then some tours are just power-house experiences. All are valuable and necessary for the people that come to the VC. We like to call them 'miracle tours.' One tour I took I invited a woman to baptism and she said yes- it was such a powerful tour and the energy of heart and mind it required left me absolutely exhausted at the end. Another tour I took was with the Elders and a minister they had brought him. He was a very special man and I learned a lot from him. We really connected and the spirit of our tour was very sweet and beautiful. Afterward he told the missionaries that when they come back to the VC he wants to see me again because we really 'understood each other' and my testimony was very sincere and genuine. I just love him (His name is Don). There have been times the spirit has directed me to join a tour already in progress- and I have and been blessed to know exactly what to do and say to help the person on tour. The VC is a great place to progress missionary work. Sister Atkin actually took Selene on tour before she ever taught her- that's where they met, was at the VC. Then a month or so later Selene 'self-referred' her self to meet with missionaries at Liberty Jail, and it just so happened she was in Sister Atkin's area. Selene and Sister Atkin were supposed to meet- they have such a special bond and connection. It's beautiful to see.

The VC is great. In the spare time it's great to be able to study so much, or to serve other sisters and try to meet their needs.

 

All in all, it's all God's work and so no matter what I do, it will be to serve him, through all the days of my life.

 

THIS PART IS FOR THE BLOG:

I don't have much time to write this week- but the work is moving forward. We still experience miracles daily and we are filled with joy when the people we meet with take steps closer the Savior; and we are filled with sorrow when they don't come towards him. This week, however, I wanted to write to tell you a  little more of missionary work. So often we hear about the miracles of missionary work, the miraculous experiences, or the tragedy's. But there are so many instances where the spirit does not tell us exactly where to go, or what to say or do. He gives us peace in our decisions and then we have to go to work and do the best we know how.

I remember when I first went to the MTC I believed that if I worked hard enough, and had enough faith, every lesson I gave could be powerful. This is true, however, it's a different kind of power than I was expecting. The Lord will not open the Heavens in every lesson and send Angels down to bear witness of our words. Why? Because this would not be of the greatest benefit for His children. Think of Laman and Lemuelm though they had seen angels and heard the voice of the Lord, their foundation was built upon the sand, they were not sure, steady and steadfast in Christ. Because they did not put forth the diligence to have and feel the peace and surety that comes inbetween those experiences, they had not built their foundation on Christ, and anchored themselves to Him through Hope in his atonement.

As a missionary, we have many lessons where the peace of the spirit confirms our words to the hearts and minds of our Investigators, and it's simply that an unmistakable peace. Most often, when the scriptures talk of the Holy Ghost teaching man, it refers to Him as the 'comforter.' They say that the 'comforter' will teach us where to go and what to say; that the 'comforter' will enlighten our minds with truth etc. One of the most important things to understand about the spirit is that often he simply speaks perfect peace to our minds when the things we are hearing are true, or the decisions we are making are within God's desires. It's important to learn how to discern that peace.

 

I know that the Savior is the Prince of Peace, and that this gospel will fill the hearts and minds of the people with the peace of God, which passeth all understanding.

 

I love you all!!

Sister Lewis

Pictures from the MTC