Wow. Sounds like things were great at Barnes farewell. I wish I could've heard!! I can't wait to see pictures! Tell him I love him. Our ward really is so great. Tell them hello for me. Also tell all "the neighborhood girls" I say hello. The hiking sounds fun! I miss seeing Mountains. We had weather like that here too. Only it was 80's and the next day 30's! Let me know how the trip went.Training is good, I actually have done it before, they just barely started sending out letters. My companion is so great. I've been blessed to always have wonderful companions who are always my friend, and give me strength when I'm weak.

 

We had such a great lesson the other day. We've been teaching a woman who has come from a dark past. She's made huge changes, long before we met her, and continues to make changes as we're meeting with her. We had a lesson the other day, and felt impressed to focus on the gospel of Jesus Christ. We started by teaching that through the gospel we can be clean from sin. The spirit was strong, and then we movd into teaching about faith and repentance. As we talked about these first principles of the gospel the spirit was very thick. Before long she told us a concern that we've never heard from her. We've been meeting with this woman for about 4 months now. She said, "even though I've left that life behind for some reason I just can't feel worthy. Like, when I go to church it's not really me and who I am." She said "I know His forgiveness is real, but my old life is what I was raised to know, it's hard for me to feel like it's not who I am, even though I don't do those things anymore." My heart almost broke, when I heard this. If she only could see herself the way God see's her. If she could only know who she really is. It takes my breath away.

We were lead to very specific stories to share from the scriptures. The spirit continued to grow stronger. Then our team-up bore testimony of a similar experience and how powerful the atonement is. They both began to cry and I knew the Lord was telling our friend within her own soul, that His forgiveness is real. It's amazing to see the atonement at work so constantly. It was at work the moment we walked into the home and we said the prayer. It was at work as the spirit settled into the room. It was at work when she told us her concern, and we were guided with what to share. It was at work as the spirit testifed to and touched her heart. What a beautiful lesson it was.

 

We had another one with Jewel as well. We watched the restoration and the spirit was so powerful. We got down on our knees and prayed 3 times during the lesson, for the Lord to reveal to Jewel the truthfulness of our message. She cried in all of her prayers, and the spirit testified to her heart that our message is true. I can't describe the sweet and beautiful feelings of power, peace, and testimony that fill the room when we teach- but it's a remarkable experience every time. It fills and satisfies the soul of every person in the room, if they will open their heart to it.

Sister Forbush and I are learning from on high how to teach with greater convincing power of the spirit, and how to discern the thoughts of our investigators. What a marvelous work we are engaged in. What a wonder it is to see hearts changed and convinced of the Lords message. I know these experiences are real, and that they came from the Lord and his imparted spirit. I've witnessed the Lord communicate to hearts that Joseph is a prophet, the Book of Mormon is His word, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is his restored church once again upon the Earth. It will come to all who sincerely seek the answer. Of this I know and testify, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I love you all. I know He lives.

 

Sister Lewis

1.Carl's baptism!

2. Ernestine, Carl, Mrs Betty. Mrs. Betty introduced them to the gospel! We just love her.

3. The schedule we had to work out for all the new sisters coming to serve at the jail, and the decrease in cars. It took SO MANY HOURS! I had to use parts of my brain that I despise using. Lol. when all the math finally fell into place it was such a miracle. Suddenly all the numbers connected. I understood for maybe 10 minutes why people loved math. Because it's so rewarding when it all fits into place. Then I went back to despising it (too strong?) because it's so hard to work out!

Our lost phone! and the other one is of Carl. We love him! He's 89. And reading the Book of Mormon, coming to church and praying to know if it's true. He's so great. He thinks I'm German and that Sister Forbush would be a good wife because she's soft spoken. HAHAH. Carl carved what he's holding!

Snow storm! We lost our phone during this storm. The next email will be us finding it, AFTER ALL THE SNOW MELTED! LOL.

6. Friend from Lee Summitt. She used to come out with us to lessons all the time. We were so happy to see each other!

7. Mrs. Betty! She brought Ernestine and Carl to the gospel :)

8. Thank you for my V-day treat!

9. Lost on the way to Zone meeting. WHY DOES IT ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME!? Lol. We went 30 minutes on the wrong free way.

1. The Ruis family we LOVE!

2. A Sr. couple who is going to Barnes mission! They said they'd look for him!

3-4. Sister Forbush and I trying out Vienna sausages. Ew.

5. A special tour we took at the jail.

March 19th

Hey mom! Thanks for the email :) I can't believe Barnes farewell is this weekend! Wow that's crazy. I'm excited for him. I think all of those things you mentioned he will gain if he serves with his heart. :) Thanks for getting school taken care of. I've actually briefly thought about switching to BYU. With all the sisters leaving on missions enrollments are low and it would be very easy to get in right now. We'll see what happens when I get back. I would rather go back to BYUI. But it might make more sense to try BYU. I've thought about talking to Austin about it, but I don't want to worry or think about it, I only have so much time left where I don't have to concern myself with those matters. So I'll just figure it out when I get back. I don't really want you to post these things on the blog- about April and Jewel. Just because I don't think they'd appreciate their stories up for everyone to read. But things with April are going so well! I called her this week and she said that she was on vacation but she made sure to pack her Book of Mormon. Before I called her I was praying and to know what to say and that she'd feel the spirit and I felt so strongly that she knows. The spirit has already told her. I even felt that she knows she knows, but she's denying it. I prayed that I'd have the chance to tell her that. We laughed and talked. I just love her so much, I'm sure we'll be friends for a very long time. But as I was teaching about the apostasy we started to discuss her questions and concerns and I said, "April everything will be answered if you just know that the Book of Mormon is God's book. It all hinges on that. All you need is to gain a witness the book is from God." She agreed and then I said. "April, you already know this is all true. Your heart knows it. You've felt it. The spirit has born witness. You're just afraid. I know it, you even know it. you know you know, you're just unwilling to let your mind catch up with your heart." She never denied what I said, she just went into her fears and concerns about joining the church. She committed to pray for strength to accept the Lords answer and to continue to read and pray. She has really been thinking alot about her readings. I just LOVE her. She's so wonderful. We got off the phone and I was filled with such an overwhelming joy, that I can't describe. I'm so anxious for her to accept what she already knows. I hope she gets baptized soon, but I also kind of hope it's after my mission so I can go! lol. I don't know how i'd get there she's in North Carolina. Maybe when she goes through the temple. I really feel she'll get there soon. When we were hanging up she said, thank you so much. I always feel so much peace when we talk, and these conversations really help. Little does she know how much they help me as well. I truly feel that she is my friend. Jewel is also doing so well! She came to Presidents devotional this last Sunday and she really felt the spirit. She was crying and said, "I think this is going to happen for me a lot sooner than I thought." She's so prepared it's unreal. We know that her husband is playing a huge role in helping her receive the gospel. We know angels are preparing the hearts of men, just like Alma says. It's amazing to see and feel that. I love this work. It's hard. It's challenging. We're on the front lines of the battle with Satan. But the Lord protects his servants, and we have no cause to fear. You see remarkable miralces and trajedies on the front lines. This is a work my heart loves. I'm grateful to be able to serve our God in this manner. I'm grateful that because I am part of the tribe of  Ephraim I know it's my responsibility and the Lord will give me opportunities to be such a missionary throughout the whole of my life. It is the desire of my heart.

well I love you all very much!!

Here's a scripture for you mom- regarding what you said about blessings outweighing the sacrifices:

Romans 8:18 "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Our sacrifices and sufferings are not even worthy of the comparison of our blessings. What a remarkable thought. I have faith in this scripture. I believe it to be true. I cannot see it. But I beleive my Savior and trust that my blessings will not have comparison to my sacrifices. How great is our God.

March 11th
Well here is the update on life here.
We've had so many wonderful experiences!!! Remember Jewel? Our Family History Miracle? Well we've been teaching her and it's amazing every time! She is so wonderful and so prepared. We know and have felt very strongly that her husband on the other side is working overtime to help her receive the gospel. We feel that he is there in our lessons. Our first lesson with her was so great. We sat down and were filled with what to say. We found ourselves saying things we've never said before. We kept telling her over and over again, to keep a prayer in her heart as we spoke because we knew our message was from her Savior and if she would pray with sincerity and act on the things we shared, the Savior would witness to her heart that what we shared was true. She cried at several points during the lesson and kept telling us she really felt like it was meant to be and we were supposed to meet etc. She came to church on Sunday and when she left she said, "I'll be back, I just really feel like this is what I need to be doing!" Afterward sister Forbush said, "Jewel is our Jewel" Haha I love it and it's so true!!!
Another wonderful experience came as I was calling someone from our teaching center at the jail. I've been talking with a wonderful woman named April. I love her sooo much. I really do feel that she is my friend and I get excited to talk with her everytime I call. It's hard, however, to teach formal lessons over the phone. People don't usually answer wanting to instantly engage in an outlined lesson. Especially since they can't see you. You really have to work to build a strong relationship so that they can trust you. You have to work hard to set them at ease and make them feel comfortable, so that you can engage them in a conversation about God. So it's been hard for me to teach "lessons."  April has been around the church for a long time so she actually knows most of our doctrine, but I usually testify of principles as we talk and testify how important it is for her to know this is God's restore church. The other day before I called I was praying about what to share and how I could teach the lessons as it is in PMG so that my friend can know the truth for herself. I felt inspired to pick two bullet points to teach every time I call. Then go through the lessons step by step. I also felt impressed that as I picked those bullet points before I called I would need to kneel before the Lord and ask him to provide a way for me to teach them. I did just that, I picked the first to bullet points from lesson one. Then I knelt in prayer and asked the Lord to provide a way for me to teach them to April. We started talking and I instantly knew it would be hard to incorporate them naturally into our conversation. I prayed so hard to know how to do it, and then as Elder Holland counseled I stopped worrying about it and I listened with love and waited for inspiration to come. Before I knew it the Lord filled me with wisdom and counsel. I found myself saying things I had never thought of before, and before long the conversation naturally flowed into the first two bullet points and it was an incredible conversation. At the end she committed to write down the questions of her soul on a piece of paper, and then pray about those questions and ask for answers to them. Then she committed to open the Book of Mormon and study it to find an answers to the questions of her soul. It was so amazing how perfectly everything streamed together. I learned a lot from our lesson as well. The Lord taught us both profound lessons throughout our conversation. It was amazing. Afterward I was filled with so much joy, I knelt on the ground and prayed, laughed a little, and rejoiced with my Father in Heaven at what He had just done for his daughter and my friend!
I also took a tour through the jail the other day- before we went in I asked everyone to say what they hoped to gain from their experience at the jail. We all talked about it and I asked everyone to pray in their hearts that God would help them receive what they desired while they were here, and I promised that He would. I also shared what I wanted to gain. I said that I wanted my testimony of Joseph Smith to be strengthened during our tour. Wow. I have never born such a strong witness of Joseph Smith in my life. It was such an amazing experience, and the Lord answered the silent cry of my heart. I know He answers the prayer of faith, and will help us along in all ways. It's wonderful to be in His service and to know Him. I plead with Him daily that I might know Him more, and I can feel him help me along as I come closer to His heart.

Thank you for all you do. I love you all soooo much!!!
Love Sister Lewis

February 25th
Hi mom! I love you too! I'm so excited for Barnes to go on his mission. How neat will that be. Things here are going well. It's a busy p-day I had a lot of meetings so I won't have a lot of time to email. The neat story for the week is that "revelation rains." Sister Hansen and I have received a lot of inspiration about things we need to do here at the Jail. to make it better for our guests and bringing people closer to Christ. We knew what we were receiving was right and inspired of God. In the end when we were about to roll our all of our changes and plans, we felt impressed to wait. Confused, we did. This morning we had a meeting with the department from Salt Lake and they told us about changes they wanted to make. Down to exact and small details they were the exact changes Sister Hansen and I had been inspired about. It was amazing. We're now ready to immediate apply what was taught because the changes have already been drafted up specific for our Liberty Jail. It was amazing and such a testimony builder. President Keyes taught us months ago that revelation rains, meaning when it comes it falls upon everyone involved. He talked of an experience where he felt impressed to incorporate specific training meetings into our monthly agenda. He hadn't applied the changes yet, when 1 month later Salt Lake said we needed to have training meetings once a month covering the exact things President Keyes had been inspired about. Revelation rains.

Things here are going swell! We have a baptism coming up this week. He is such an amazing man. He's the husband of one our recent converts. He's had to exercise a lot of faith and make some changes and he's done it all with amazing trust in God. The other day we stopped to visit him real quick and as we stood on the door he began to weep and tell us that he loved God so much and was so grateful for all the Lord had done for him, and he just wanted to do all he could to follow him. :) It was such a beautiful and tender moment.

As for what to do when you come. I don't know yet, but I'm down for some good barbeque. I might suggest a closer destination that is apparently the best barbeque around. It's about an hour a way, it's a little gas station, but at lunch the lines are out the door. I was thinking it would be neat to invite Kim and Wendy to meet us for a few days out here, it sure is closer than  Utah. I could show them a little of what I've done in the last year or so. ;) and we could plan some activities they might be interested in. Just some food for thought.
As for BYU, I'm not sure when registration day is- I think it's probably after I get home but if you could call and find out from the office if there is anything I need to be aware of in order to register for fall semester that would be great. Thank so much!
I love you!
Sister Lewis

February 18th
Hey! So things here are going well. :) Sister Forbush and I had to write up a miracle we had the other day to put in the jail's miracle journal. So I'm just going to send you a copy of that for the day.

This morning Sister Forbush and I studied family history in the 12 week training program. We were inspired by what we learned and determined to use family history in our proselyting efforts that day. We packed family history cards in our bags and told the Brenchley’s as we walked out the door that when we came back in 2 hours we’d have a family history miracle to tell them about! Then we left on our adventure. We felt impressed to tract down Liberty Landing Street. The first door we tried was a lone, large yellow house nestled into the trees at the top of a steep hill. We parked at the bottom and hiked up to the top, huffing and puffing the whole way. We arrived only to find a creepy abandoned house, with a car parked in front. Off to the side of the house there was a motor home, resting under an overhang of green plastic paneling. We crossed the obstacle course of bikes, dirt and logs, also known as the front lawn, to the motor home- hoping we would find the family there. As we walked under the green overhang the paneling creaked and whistled with the wind. A loose piece swung back and forth like a pendulum ready to collapse on us at any moment. With one eye on the paneling and another on the door, we knocked and waited anxiously for the trailer to open. We waited for several moments when to our surprise… nothing happened. The door stayed shut, the paneling continued to creak in the wind, and Sister Forbush and I stood alone at the top of the hill. No miracle at this house.

We turned around and trudged down the hill.We tried several more doors but with no more luck than the first. About the 4^th door we knocked on a friendly older woman answered, swinging the door wide and allowing 4 little dogs to come bursting out of the house. We immediately used them to our advantage and oohed and awed over how cute they were. Noticing a fish tank inside the front door we suddenly developed a deep interest in aquatic life… we asked her if we could take a closer look at the tank. She cheerfully let us in. Step one, check. As we surveyed the myriad of fish we noticed several old pictures hanging on the wall behind the tank. We mentioned them to her and asked who they were of. She told us they were her great grandparents. We began asking her about her life and family. She told us wonderful adventures from the exciting life she’d lived. She was kind and caring, and easy to talk to. We loved her instantly.

Focusing on her family we asked if she’d ever done any family history research. She mentioned that she’d always wanted to but wasn’t sure how to start. Our smiles stretched bright as we pulled out our handy family history cards. We told her we’d love to show her how to begin her family history research. She agreed but in the end wasn’t ready to have us come back and teach her how to begin. She said she’d look up the website on her own in her spare time. We could see our conversation beginning to close and her curiosity waning. Unwilling to give up on this wonderful woman, we silently prayed for another way to spark her interest in our message. Desperate to know what to say I plead with my Father in Heaven and then listened. Quietly and gently a question began to from in my mind, “Have you ever wondered what happens after this life?” A stream of light began to form in my thoughts and I could see where to guide our conversation.  Knowing she was a widow I posed the question and then asked her if she believed she’d see her husband again. She of course answered, “yes.”

A second question crisply made its way into my thoughts, “Do you believe you will still be married to him in Heaven, as husband and wife?” I tenderly spoke the words and she responded with… “Well, I’m not sure. I suppose I’ve never thought about that.” I began to testify to her that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God, and he intends for those marriages to last into the eternities. She began to get teary eyed and said with a glimmer of hope, “You’re going to make me cry.”

We let this hope sink into her heart for a moment and then continued on.

We asked what was necessary for a marriage to be considered valid in the U.S. She mentioned you needed to be married by someone holding a license. “Exactly,” came our reply, “you must be married by someone with authority. The government of Heaven is no different. For a marriage to last into the eternities you must be married by someone holding God’s authority.” We then knelt by her side and turned to Matthew 16:19. We read with her the account of Christ giving Peter power to bind things into the Heavens, which says,

 "And I will ^agive unto thee the ^bkeys of the ^ckingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt ^dbind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

We testified that this binding power was how God bound marriages into the Eternities. Then we asked her what the pastor had said at the end of her vows. “Till, what, do we part?” She spoke almost in a whisper, “till death do we part.”

“Right” came our soft reply. “What did that man tell you that day? He told you his power was to marry you for this life only. With that very phrase he testified to you that he did not hold the same binding power Peter was given by Christ. We know, however, that this power has been restored to the Earth again today, and that your marriage can be made Eternal through this power in a holy temple of God.”

While showing her a picture of the temple, Sister Forbush testified of the comfort that comes through the knowledge of eternally bound families. She shared how she had felt of that peace after the loss of her own mother. She testified that through the priesthood power, she knew her parents had been bound together in the temple and they would be married in the Eternities. She testified that she was sealed to her mother and family in God’s kingdom. She knew they were not permanently separated at death, but would remain a bound family for time and all eternity. The spirit was strong, and our friend wept. We asked if we could come back and teach her more, to which she readily agreed.

We knelt on the ground and said a closing prayer to our Father in Heaven thanking him for the spirit He had given us that afternoon, and for the blessing of Eternal families.

15 minutes later we were back at the Liberty Jail. Bounding up the stairs we called out to the Brenchley’s “Ask us about our family history miracle…”

Sister Forbush and Lewis.

Love you all!! This work is true :)
Sister Lewis

February 11th

Hi! Happy Valentines day... in a few. Thank you so much for the poster! I loved it and dug into the hot tamales right away. Also Sami thank you for your letter! I loved it.

Things here are going great! :) I'm very happy and my companion and I are being blessed so much. She's amazing. I'm touched by her spirit and sincerity every single day. The Sisters I work around are all SO good. I've been blessed my whole mission to constantly be surrounded by simply amazing Sister missionaries and Elders.

 

This Sunday we got our friend Carl to come to church. He's 89 years old! We've been teaching him and trying to get him to come to church. He always tells us, "I'm too old to change." We tell him "you're never too old to change." When we tell him he needs to be baptized he always says, "Now I've already told you, I've already been baptized." We always respond with "and what do we always tell you Carl?" Then he says.... "You'll have to tell me again." Hahah. He's great. One lesson we were inviting him to church and he said, "next week." We spent about 10 minutes testifying of the importance of acting now, asking questions and reading scriptures about procrastinating the day of your repentance. Afterward he said, "well now I feel bad." We told him that was good, he could use it to change. Then I said, "So Carl, will you come to church this weekend?" He said, "Well no. I already told you I wasn't coming." He reminds me of Grandpa Barnes. But this Sunday he came!!! It was so great to see him sitting up there with his cane listening to the speakers.

 

We also are teaching another man named Carl. He's always worked on Sunday. We taught him to keep the sabbath day holy last week. We knew it was going to be a hard lesson and that we needed to be spiritually prepared to labor with our hearts to communicate God's message. To be honest I went in feeling almost weary with the task ahead- we prayed to be equal to it. The lesson went so well! The spirit was so strong. He started off telling us he couldn't be baptized into the church if we required him to come every Sunday. By the end he said he would act in faith and either find another job or trust God to work something out with his job.This Sunday he showed up and said that he told his boss he wouldn't be working Sundays from now on because he would be attending church. At first his boss told him no. So Carl said "then you'll have to write me up, because I'm going to church on Sunday." He said that his boss has now told him he can have every Sunday off. The Lord blesses us when we act in faith to keep his commandments. I'm grateful for the faith Carl showed.

 

Things are going well here in Liberty, MO.

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

P.S. sorry this letter was short.

Love Sister Lewis

 

February 4th

I'm so glad to hear Barnes was in the temple! I bet that was such a special experience!! Yay!! :) I got to go last week as well, how cool is that :) We went on a  Wed. First time in over a year. What an incredible experience it was to be back. So peaceful, and absolutely the house of God on the Earth.

 

I have very little time to email today, but here are a few stories/thoughts for you:

 

Story first. We were teaching a woman named Angela about the Book of Mormon. We had a different lesson planned but when we got there we felt impressed that we needed to teach her the power of learning from the Book of Mormon. So we switched gears and read where she was at 1 Nephi 8. We were directed by the spirit to get out peices of paper and all write down something we felt we needed from Christ that day- an answer to a question or a concern. Angela identified hers as did Sister Forbush, myself and our team-up. After we taught her the power of study journals, and wrote down our needs and desires. We felt very strongly that if we would kneel down together and pray to our Father in Heaven to answer our questions, that he would. We asked Angela to kneel with us and offer the prayer. Afterward we got up and in faith began to read. I tried to focus my attention on Angela, but I simply could not the spirit began enlightening my mind with answers to the deep questions of my heart. When we were finished I had received an answer, but I was not sure if she had. We asked her if anything had stuck out to her. She said yes, and went back and read us a verse that perfectly answered her concern, then she expounded to us why it related to her current situation. We told her that the Lord had answered our prayers. As we went around the room, we had all received revelation from God. How merciful He is!!

 

"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" 3 Nephi 14:11

 

We wrote down what we had learned and then knelt back down in prayer to offer God grattitude for what He had done. We asked Angela to offer the prayer and be sure to sincerely thank our Father in Heaven for hearing and answering all of our prayers. What a miracle.

 

Next thought: I took a lady through the Liberty Jail and she said the most profound thing I've heard anyone say concerning that jail. She said that it was appropriately named, Liberty Jail. She said "This was truly a place of Liberty. It is only as we submit our will to the Lords, and surrender our life to Him, that we find true freedom." The symbolism in that building is profound. I hope you come to visit the area when the time comes so I can show it to you! :) Love you all have a good week!!!

 

Sister Lewis 

#1. Heathers baptism
#2. Their family
#3. It was also 60 degrees out. BEST DAY EVER.

Hi mom! Things are going really well here. I love hearing the updates things sound great. Yes I got Mary's letter and yours and just loved it! I keep forgetting to tell you but everyone in our immediate family can email me from their own emails if they want. I can email them back as well- might make letters and keeping in touch easier. That's so amazing about Dani's call. How great will it be to have the four of us all on missions at the same time!!! I can't wait for it! Too bad it will be so short lived. I have no idea what my release date is, sorry. I just know it's the end of May. I'll find out eventually I'm sure. I laughed about Barnes and his calling. Sounds like quite the challenge. That's great Barnes is knocking doors, that was such a HUGE blessing to me. It's really neat because here at the Visitors Center we have a phone center where we call referrals from members. We're supposed to be doing that half the time we're at the jail. When I got here it wasn't being done at all. It's amazing to see how Heavenly Father gives us talents and experiences to further his work. He's helped me and another Sister really catch the vision for what can happen here at the jail and we've really been working to help the other sisters know how important these referrals are, and how to call them. In the last three weeks, out of the people we've been calling, 13 of them have agreed to meet with missionaries and 2 of them I'm regularly keeping contact with over the phone. Miracles are happening everywhere. I just love it! Yes I do a half/half day like we did at the V.C.
Here's another miracle. There is a woman named Alma who just moved into our ward. She's blind and she's trying to re-activate and get back on the gospel path. When we met her one of the first things she told us was that she had to leave her braille Book of Mormon back in Colorado. She expressed how sad she was that she could not read the scriptures. Getting/shipping a braille copy of the Book of Mormon is not an easy endeavor. It comes in 6 HUGE books. Well fast forward a week or so later to our p-day. We were at an LDS book store, and just leaving when the owner stopped us. He said, "you sisters don't by any chance know someone that reads braille do you?" We told him yes and he said "Well I just inherited a braille Book of Mormon and there's no way I can sell it. Do you think there is any chance they would want it?" My mouth just fell open. Was this for real? Sister Wilson replied instantly, "Yes that would be great!!" He took us to the back and loaded us up with the Book of Mormon. It took all my strength to carry the books home. When we took the books to Alma the next day we told her that this was a Book of Mormon hand-delivered from her Savior Jesus Christ, it was a gift from Him to her.
Also, the baptism and confirmation yesterday went wonderful! Heather is so great. She bore her testimony at a devotional we had last night and told the story of how Jesus Christ answered and helped her through everyone of her questions and trials leading up to her conversion to the gospel. She talked about how the day before her baptism she knew she would be worried and nervous so she went down to the V.C. and prayed for peace and strength. She said she just sat there for a few hours and was overwhelmed with peace. It was great to see her and her husband together Sunday after she was confirmed. They were so loving and happy together. She just beamed. I know Heather was baptized by the proper priesthood authority of Christ. She's joined His only true and living church. What a glorious and marvelous thing that is. What a bright future she has. I bear you my witness these things are true, and I am about the work of Christ as His missionary, so is Jessi, so will be Barnes and Danni. How great it is to live in this day and age, when the gospel rolls forth boldly, nobly and independent. 
In the name of Jesus Christ amen.

I'll send home the picture of all three of us holding one of the 6 books.
The video is me with Alma's son doing the "missionary handshake" (his handshake he likes to do with all the missionaries)
The other picture is from this morning. Hahah. I played soccer with the Elders and Sisters and didn't wear shoes. I didn't realize it was stinging my feet so bad until afterward as I walked to my shoes, I was like... my feet kind of hurt. Hahaha. I tried to pop them and they won't pop! I just love sports lol, we're going to go play again today at 3- maybe they'll pop then.
One is from the baptism
One is with the V.C. directors. They went home this week :( So we're getting new ones
One is from eating WAY too much chili-cheese fry casserole for dinner when we were at the jail one night. Lol. I was just so hungry!

P.S. Found my wallet. Really???? In my bag the WHOLE TIME. Ya. Don't want to talk about it. My companion and I both looked in my book bag like several times each. Lol.

January 14th
Thanks for forwarding the letters! Jessi is hilarious. I'm excited to send her a letter. It did bring back fond memories of the MTC. They have the best granola cereal EVER in the south east corner I will have to tell her about- it's the only place to get it. lol. NO. I did not find my wallet. Shortly after I realized it was lost I knelt down and prayed and the spirit told me I was not going to find it (at least not any time soon) I still chose to scavenger the house and call every place I had been. God was right. No where to be found. It was a rough p-day!! I lost my license/credit cards/mission card/health cards/gift cards/fast offerings and the Lopez's Christmas check was in there. I don't know if they will want to cancel it or not. I'm pretty sure it got thrown away in my grocery sacks and is in a landfill somewhere. Who knows? I canceled all my cards, apparently it's going to take 90 days for me to get a new license so I can't drive. ugh. (P.s. mom, I have no idea where my Social Security card is. I'm praying it wasn't in my license. Can you look for it? I need it to get a new license. I know it's a mess. I'm going to fill out paperwork, and send it to you. Then you will have to take it to the DMV and get the license for me. They're also sending my cards to the house and you can then forward them to me. What's my balance on my card?) THEN. to top it all off I plugged my thumb drive into the computer and I let the virus protection scan it, and it deleted ALL of my mission pictures. Hahahaha. REALLY?! Oh man, I'm laughing to my self right now. It's so ridiculous it's funny. I think the Lord was teaching me how to have my heart set on him and nothing else. Like he said to Joseph Smith in the Liberty jail, "many are called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen? Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world." It's okay everyone... I have nothing worldly left to set my heart on. Hahah.

Things here are going great. I got a Voicemail this morning from the sisters in Lawrence and 7 of the investigators we found and taught in Lawrence are being baptized! They all had dates when I left, but the dates are now rapidly approaching and apparently they're all still on board. They take up almost every weekend from now to the middle of February so I can't go back to all of them :( but maybe a few. I'm just excited they're preparing to make covenants with their Father in Heaven. It's great!! We experienced SO many miracles in Lawrence, and I'm glad to hear they're still rolling. :D It's hard not to know how everyone is doing, so that voice mail this morning was wonderful. Things in the Liberty 1st ward are going well too! We have a baptism the 19th of January :) (which is when 2 people are being baptized in Lawrence) I don't think I can make all of them. Hahah but what a beautiful day it will be in Heaven!! Heather, who is being baptized here has been going to church for about a year now and taken the discussions 3 times. She's been ready for a long time and we're so excited to see her make promises with God, that will bind her closer to Him. Yesterday we also had a miracle finding moment. We felt impressed to tract a specific street. It was COLD. Cold with humidity is miserable. I have a serious hate for the cold. lol. Anyways we went through several houses and eventually found someone named Leena. She said she had lived in Utah for a while and that she had been very interested in the church there, but no one had given her a book of mormon or invited her to learn more. MEMBER MISSIONARY WORK FOLKS!! We have a call to hasten the work from a prophet of God. That wasn't just to the missionaries. That was to EVERYONE. We gave her one and she said she was so grateful to have one. We have an appointment to go back this next Friday. :) God knows all his children. One time in Lawrence we felt impressed to knock a specific street. We found a family who was reading the Book of Mormon! The husband and wife were both about half-way through. They weren't interested in having us teach them more, but it was a witness to me that God knows the events of everyone of His children, and he sent us there to offer them more, whether or not they were willing to accept it. It's wonderful to learn of his ways as He works through you.

Anyways I hope all is well. I am loving my mission, every aspect of it. Even the trials bring beautiful lessons to strengthen our faith and commitment.

Love you all!
Sister Lewis





Some Christmas pics and others

One of them, The picture of me with a young girl, a book of mormon, and a rabbitt, is Chandler. That's the girl I chose to give Samantha's book of Mormon too. She is the Lee's daughter. (the Lee's are the x-gang members). She loves the book of mormon. :) I told her it was from my sister and I was only going to give it to someone special.

January 7th
Well things here are going really well. We're experiencing so many blessings from Heavenly Father. We have a baptism planned for the 19th. We started teaching her the week I got here. She's had the discussions 3 times and is finally ready :) She's great. She didn't want to take them again lol, so instead we're having her teach us the lessons by asking her questions. She'll be very prepared. Hahah. We're also working with some other great families. I love serving at the jail there is such a special spirit here. In my set-apart blessing the Lord promised me that I would see the Visitors Center implement changes I suggested. He's inspiring my heart and mind with things that can change, and I'm excited for all of the things that can happen here if we all exercise faith. He's blessing me with His vision for the Visitor's Centers, and I'm so grateful to work in one. Here is a miracle that happened here the other day. There were some Elders working in an area almost an hour away. One of them kept feeling impressed that they should take a less-active family to the jail here. Every time the impression would come he would put it aside because of how far away the jail is. Finally he couldn't ignore the prompting any longer and they decided to come to the jail. They were just finishing up their tour and were in the exit room with one of the Sisters when Elder Simper (one of the Senior couples) came into the room. He walked over to Sister Altier and asked her if she knew how to speak sign-language. Puzzled Sister Altier said, no I don't. Elder Simper said, "That's too bad, we just had 4 deaf non-members come in and they want a tour." The Elder who had been having the impression to come to the jail, spoke up and said "I'm actually the sign-language missionary for the mission." He translated for them and they were able to take the tour. Miracles happen everyday when we're in the service of the Lord. He knows and loves us individually. How wonderful it is.

I love you all!!!
Sister Lewis

A few pictures... I left my camera at home so I can only send what's on my flash drive. I'll try to send more Christmas pictures next week. I LOVED all of my gifts. I'm wearing the blue cardigan right now :) Thanks again. Love you all. The man in the pictures is Arnold- who was baptized before I left. And the woman is Cecily. The one who was the referral and we kept finding her as we missed our dinners- hopefully that story rings a bell. Love ya!

December 31st
So things at Liberty Jail are awesome. I love serving here, the spirit is so powerful. It's a different atmosphere than almost any other place. It's as close to the feeling of a temple as I've ever been. Not quite the same- but close. I just like to sit in the rotunda (where the jail is) and think. The whole building is so symbolic and the Lord is teaching me a lot about why the prophet was held here, what lessons were learned, and how it relates to our mortal experience. When the prophet was held in jail he could not see beyond the four walls that held him. The only way he could reach beyond his circumstance was through revelation. When the windows of heaven opened and the Lord spoke he could reach beyond his walls and see things from a higher plane. I know this is true of our own lives. We are divine beings having a mortal experience. We must reach beyond our walls and see things from a different plane. We can do that through revelation from the most High God, who see's and knows all things. He will help lift our thoughts and broaden our understanding. We must, like Elder Eyring taught, however, be willing to remove "the pavillions" that cover God from us. We must humble our hearts in the depths of humility, setting them upon God and not the things of this world. We must exercise faith and trust in God at all times. We must let virtue garnish our thoughts unceasingly. We must allow our bowels to be filled with charity. And we must cheerfully do all things within our power. Then we may "stand still, with the utmost assurance to see the Salvation of God, and for His arm to be revealed." These are just a few lessons from Liberty jail. Lessons intended to build a Zion like people. (D&C 101:1-5).

Things in our area are going great as well. We had several people come to church yesterday. When the meeting started only one person was there. My heart sank, but then just as we were singing the song, several more showed up. It filled my heart with so much excitement!!! We're working with a young family right now who is just wonderful! I love teaching the gospel and watching the spirit help people grasp the Eternal principles of their Father in Heaven. How great is my joy- as the Lord promised it would be! :) He always fulfills his promises. I'm so excited for Barnes to experience it. I'm also so excited for Kerrick and the faith he's exercising. I don't know him but you can tell him I say hi and he and his family are in my prayers as well. How great it is to be in the service of our kind God.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Sister Lewis

December 22nd
Hey! I hope you got the some pictures from Loraine McCall and Orlin Wagner in the last few days. They should be emailing you some soon. I got transfered! I'm at the liberty jail. It's wonderful. I haven't done much yet, I got here last night at 5 and went over a few things, and today is our p-day. But starting next week I'll have p-day on Monday's again. I think I'll be able to email- but not sure because the Library is closed. But we can probably use the jail's computers.  Our new address is: 211 N Gallatin Liberty MO 64068. I have everyone's Christmas packages! Thank you so much. I'm waiting till Christmas to open them though. I will probably call some time between 1030-5. Wish I could give you a more exact time, but I don't know yet. Hopefully I'll be able to email Monday to let you know. I'll look for your letter. If Barnes got his call- don't tell me in the letter, I want to hear over the phone!! If he didn't get his call- tell me he didn't so I won't be anxiously waiting all day. hahaha. Okay well Iove you all. Merry Christmas. Talk to you soon!

Sister Lewis

December 16th
Hi! Merry Christmas!!

Glad to hear Kristina's back at home and things are going well for everyone. I got the Lopez's card/gift as well as the Andrews. They are so kind. Tell them thank you for me. I'm going to try and send off thank-you's today, but it's a very packed day, and  I'm not sure I'll get to everyone- so they might get late Christmas cards. Tell everyone I send my love. I can't believe Barnes gets his mission call this week! What an awesome Christmas present. I'm so excited to hear about it. I assume wed is probably when he'll get it. So I guess probably as fast as I'll hear is Monday at email, since letters usually take 4 days. Bah. So excited.

Things here are going well. Our investigators are doing wonderful. One family we've been teaching had a little bit of a scare, the wife ended up in the hospital for a few days. The Lord, however, worked through that experience, and used it to soften hearts. Sister Crick and I felt like He would. By the end of it the husband said he was ready to be baptized, and wanted to be sealed together forever! They are a wonderful family and we love them so much. They have 3 boys- and they're hilarious. Also another woman we've been working with decided to get baptized on her birthday. It was amazing to see the spirit work with her. She's been holding off baptism because she feels like she needs to be perfect before she's baptized. We try to help her see she's already doing really well, and more ready than she thinks she is. We were visiting her Wed. and she was teaching her 7 year old son about why Christ was baptized and before we knew it mid-sentence she turned to us and said, "we're supposed to follow the example of Christ, and how can I teach my son to follow that example if I don't follow it and get baptized? That's it. I'm getting baptized. On my birthday- it will be the start of a new life." It was a miracle the spirit produced. It's wonderful to see the spirit work with people. So much happens when we aren't there. Another woman we're teaching was talking to us the other day and told us that the Lord was really working on her heart. She said that she is learning she must be more patient, loving and forgiving. She said he was teaching her hard lessons, but she was grateful because she knew it meant he loved her. "the Lord loves whom he chastens." Another one of our investigators was talking in a meeting the other day- we had stake conference, and prior to the general session there was a meeting for investigators and recent converts. Some General Authorities were visiting. In the meeting he asked, "what do the missionaries teach you?" One of our investigators said, "how to really repent, and apply what you learn." It's been such a privilege to teach him. I see the Lord showing him how to put what the gospel into his heart.

I see Christ changing the hearts of men. I see Him changing my heart. That's what it's all about. Obeying the Lord and His ordinances so that our hearts change. They go from being hard and stony, to broken and contrite. It is when they are broken the Lord can heal them. This is why he asks us to offer a broken heart and contrite spirit, so that he can heal it. It's not always easy to bring forth a broke heart, but it is always worth it. When He heals our hearts, He makes them soft, willing, obedient, full of love, long suffering, patience, humility, brotherly kindness, meekness- He fills them with His attributes. I'm so grateful for the chance I have to break my heart before the Lord daily, so that He can heal it and make it the heart it must be in order to preform His work. He loves us so much. I'm know that my weakness are many, and I'm grateful he allows me to serve as a representative of His Son. I'm so grateful I get to see the Savior change the hearts of men. What a wonderful God we have. What a beautiful season it is to praise Him, and give Him the gift of a broken heart. Or in other words, a heart sorry for sin, a heart willing to change, and a heart hopeful that we can. Christ gave us everything, holding nothing back. How wonderful it is that we can learn to do the same. Repentance is a true act of joy and hope. What a hopeful season this is. One of my favorite sayings says, "Hope is like the song bird who senses the dawn, and carefully starts to sing while it is still dark."
That we all might have this hope, and become more fully converted and devoted servants of our Savior, Jesus Christ is my prayer. I know He lives. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Sister Lewis

December 10th
Hi!! Merry Christmas!

I'm so excited about Barnes papers!!! I don't want to wait. I might be more anxious for him than I was for me. lol. That's great that the Lord is continually helping him go. His tender mercies are wonderful aren't they? He is such a loving God. I want to be like Him. I'm glad to hear Kristina is recovering, and that Grandpa shouldn't be in the hospital too long. Tell him and grandma I send my love. Please give all of the familiy, Bairds, Grandpa and Jeannie, Derricotts, my love. I should get transferred a few days before Christmas. Transfers are on the 20th. That's hilarious about Samantha's gum. Tell her it will be something she can laugh about one day.

Tell Dad I love him and happy birthday! I was going to put his letter in here, but decided to write it and mail it home, so if I send it out today it should probably be there on Friday. I'm glad he had a happy birthday.

The baptism was wonderful! Brother Lillich, Arnold, is a good faithful man. On Thanksgiving he txted us, "I'm thankful for given the chance from God to try to be more faithful. I'm also thankful for you two for unlocking the truth before me." He's started on his family history, and we want to take him and some names to the temple next week. On Satruday when Arnold was baptized he came up out of the water and instantly gave his fellow-shipper, brother McCall a hug. Then as he waged through the water towards the stairs, he started to cry. He turned back around and gave brother McCall another hug. They embraced, and stayed that way for a while, crying. I don't think there was a dry eye in the room. The Lord poured out his spirit on us. Then we went back to the room for a final talk and the welcomes. As one of the Bishop's counselor's was giving the welcome, the spirit impressed Sister Crick and I to bear our testimonies. 

We got up and shared the story of how the Lord had lead us to Arnold. We had been out in Lecompton visiting a less-active member. We were far from our home and hadn't eaten since that morning. It was around 6 o'clock at night. We had said a prayer that morning that if it was the Lord's will, he would provide us with dinner. As we were getting in our car to leave the spirit stopped us, and told us we were not done yet. We looked around trying to decide which house we were supposed to knock on. We were led to brother Lillich's home. We knocked on the door and he greeted us, instantly expressing interest to learn more. In a few short moments his cousin came to the door and said, "we're having a birthday party, would you like to join us for dinner?" 

As we shared the story with the group, we talked of the spiritual significance of that event. The Lord had lead us to him, and in response, he and his family had chosen to feed the servants of the Lord. God's hand was there every step of the way, and Brother Lillich willing responded to it.

The Lord sweetly settled into the room as we told this story, and then He blessed us to bear testimony of His restored church with great power. He was there, and He bore witness to every soul in that room that His church has indeed been restored, and brother Lillich had just become a part of it. As I looked from face to face I saw the spirit penetrate every soul, with the witness that this is Christ's restored church. It was quite a remarkable experience, and I felt the Lord with us. 

Things are going well. I love you all SO SO MUCH. Merry Christmas.

Sister Lewis

There is a picture of us at the V.C. with the Lee family. Then some Ruby Red slippers and a Kansas sign. Lol. Also the Lee's daughter faith- she's SO CUTE. and Our Christmas tree we decorated. It was really early this morning- right when we woke up (we got up early to do it) So we have massive morning face. But we were just so excited we couldn't wait.