Week 42: Blisters, Sunburns, and Keys

Hello all! So today was a super awesome week, just in case you were expecting anything different.

We started the week off without a car, which is always really fun and I'm being completely serious haha! We get to meet a lot more people walking around, and I find it's much easier to slow down and see unplanned opportunities when you are forced to slow down haha!

So, as I mentioned we met a lot more people this week and we received a super amazing instruction in zone training on making our contacts with people more effective. Because of these two factors and especially with the guidance of the Spirit and the help of the Lord, we were able to meet a bunch of people who were excited to hear about our message! Many were intrigued by the ideas of prophets, eternal families, personal responsibility in the gospel, and so forth. We are going back to see 4 of the people we met this week and let me tell you that is a lot! If you didn't think so before, now you know. Our betting average is pretty low as missionaries haha but it's all worth it!

One of the amazing people we met this week is named Dona. She has been doing Bible study with a Jehovah's Witness in the area for a long time so she loves having religious people over. She told us from the beginning that she wasn't just going to accept everything we said right off the bat, she was going to do her own studying. Little did she know that that's exactly what we ask people to do: read the material themselves and pray to know if it is true. Everyone's answer ultimately needs to come from God.

We also started teaching a girl this week named Keysi (pronounced Casey). We had met her mom last transfer and her whole family speaks Spanish so we tried to get them hooked up with the Spanish sisters, but the rest of the family wasn't as interested in learning. So, this week we had a lesson with Keysi and her parents. It was awesome! Keysi was able to translate for her parents which helped her a lot to understand what we were saying. She is 13 and super smart so she caught on to everything we were teaching really quickly. But, more importantly, the Spirit was super strong especially when we talked about the Holy Ghost and the Atonement. We also had a church tour with her two days later and she is bonding really well with the members of the ward that are around her age. It's awesome! During the church tour we talked about baptism and why it is important. She said she has been thinking about getting baptized for a long time so that's something she will "probably do." She is awesome! We are going back tomorrow to teach her!

We also got to see Anna again this week! It was a huge miracle! She was about to leave her house and was working on some stuff in her yard and we were able to offer service and the help from the ward. We also brought her some cookies that we made with a member of the ward and a large print Book of Mormon. She said of the Book of Mormon, "Hm, I haven't been able to read any of this since the last time I saw you girls, but maybe I'll take a look. Maybe it will help me with everything." OH YEAH! It will definitely help anyone who reads with an open heart!

I also got a sweet sunburn on my neck this week. I am officially a true Virginia redneck. And hold onto your seats for this one: I have a tan line on my wrist! What?! Haha!

Well, that is about all the highlights of this week! We also got to see some less-active members that we've been trying to meet for a while. The Spirit has been abounding in our companionship recently. It's awesome!

Well, I love you all! Thank you for everything you do for me and my companion!

Love,

Sister Lewis

 

Redneck

My companion and a tin of mission-legal kisses

Week 41: "Mareina! I met a girl named Mareina!"

Hey everyone! This week was super awesome! It went by really quickly because we had a ton to do, but it was so awesome!

So, Monday night Sister Tripple and I got a call from the sisters serving in my last area, Mt Airy, MD. They were calling to let us know that my investigator from Mt Airy, Mareina, was getting baptized that week! WHAT?!?!?! I was FREAKING OUT! Just before I left Mt Airy we had dropped Mareina as an investigator and told her that when she was ready to learn again and be baptized, she should let us know. So last Sunday, the 12th, she walked up to the sisters at church and told them she was ready to get baptized! They asked when, and she said, "How about this Saturday?" Again, WHAT?!?!?! I was FREAKING OUT! So amazing! So many prayers for that girl! I love her a ton. She has been one of the biggest examples of faith to me!

So, in our mission, in order to attend a baptism of an investigator you taught in a previous area, you need to bring an investigator you are currently teaching or a less-active member of your ward. So we immediately started making a list of people we felt would benefit from attending the baptism. The first person that popped into my head was Sister Anderson who had just returned from less-activity. When I realized she wasn't less-active anymore and that wouldn't be allowed, we decided not to call her. Anyway, this week we went on exchanges and Sister Jeppson and I switched places. "Coincidentally," Sister Jeppson and I taught Mareina together! So, while I was in Winchester and she was here in Woodstock, we tried our hardest to find each other rides to the baptism. We also found out on exchanges that Mareina moved her baptism to Friday instead of Saturday! AH!

Once I was back in Woodstock on Thursday, after 3 days of trying to find rides, we hadn't been able to find one for either Sister Jeppson or myself. So on Thursday night I started texting a ton of people asking them if they would be able to come. Sister Anderson kept coming to my mind, but I kept pushing it away...until I realized that her husband and son are nonmembers! So, I texted her and asked if her family would be able to come to the baptism. Nothing happened that night, but the following morning Sister Anderson texted back and said that her husband and son wouldn't be able to go but that she could make it work! I decided that since she had come to my mind again and again it would be a good experience for her to attend (among other reasons) and I would ask President Christiansen if that would be alright. And, he said yes!!

So, on Friday, we had an exchange for a few hours so that Sister Jeppson could come to the baptism, and Sister Anderson drove us up there! On the way there, we found out that she had been prompted on Wednesday (after the baptism date had changed) to get her tires replaced that day instead of Saturday morning like she had planned. She said she knew the baptism was the reason for that as soon as we asked her about it!

Sister Anderson ended up being able to see an elder who is serving in Mt Airy and who taught her husband a while back which was an inspiring experience for her. She said on the way back, "I haven't felt this kind of peace in over three months." I have never seen Sister Anderson the way she was after the baptism. She is an amazing woman; so sensitive to the Spirit it's ridiculous!

At the baptism I asked Mareina what made her decide to get baptized. If you all remember her, she was the girl whose family didn't approve of the Church. She said that once she realized that if she got baptized her parents couldn't do anything about it, she was overwhelmed with peace and she took that as her answer. She knew what she needed to do! I am so grateful for the Lord's timing and that Sister Jeppson and I were able to attend with Sister Anderson. It was an amazing experience for all of us!

Thank you for everything you do for me! I love you all!

Love,

Sister Lewis

 

 Mareina and me

Mareina, her missionaries, and her boyfriend

 The glorious reunion of Sarah Merson, Sister Jeppson, and Sister Lewis

Week 40

So this week was another slow week with our investigators. Barbie dropped us because she did some research and talked with her family. Sad. I wish there wasn't so much hate out there against our church. It makes you wonder why.

This week did go really well with working with some of the less-active members of our ward! They are all so cool! Honestly I would spend all day with each one of them if I could haha! There are a few that are working on learning because they haven't been to church in decades. Literally. So it's really fun to sit down with them and help them re-learn a lot of the doctrines they learned as kids or younger adults.

Yesterday was a really good day! It was one of those days that was dragging a little at first because I was so tired, but after my nap at lunch I said a prayer that I would be given the energy to do what the Lord wanted me to. After that, Heavenly Father prompted us to visit a less-active member that we couldn't' get a hold of for weeks and she was out on her front porch! We had a really good talk with her about faith and the Book of Mormon as the keystone of our religion.

After that, another prompting came to visit a returning less-active member of our ward. She was a little out of the way, but the prompting was clear, so we made the drive out to her place. At first, she wasn't going to let us stay, but after a few minutes we got to talking and one thing led to another and we ended up there for about an hour! We had an amazing talk about some of the things she is struggling with and shared a message on faith using Alma chapter 32. It talks about faith as compared to a seed. She had also just shown us her garden that was bursting with fruits and veggies. Only six weeks earlier it was full of tall grass and weeds. She loved this message!

In conclusion, the Spirit and the Atonement were the miracles. Couldn't do this work without them!

I love you all! Thank you for everything you do for me!

Love,

Sister Lewis

Week 39: New Mission President and Barbie 2.0

Hello everyone! This week was super fantastic so fasten your seat belts! Haha 

So on Wednesday we had an awesome day! It started out by meeting our new mission president and his wife, the Christiansens. We all got together as a stake of missionaries and President and Sister Christiansen told us about their lives, their family, and all that good stuff. They have two daughters joining us in the mission field at the end of the month! We are so excited to meet them. The things that I remember most was President Christiansen's coined phrase, "My mission is to bless" as well as the testimonies of all the missionaries and of our mission president and his wife! They are so awesome! They are a lot different than President and Sister Richards in many ways but not in a bad way of course! President Christiansen is very reserved which is completely opposite of President Richards haha he didn't hold back (again, in a good way). It's just like the apostles. Each of them is very different, but all are amazing! Think of Elder Holland, who I might compare to President Richards, and Elder Bednar, who I might compare to President Christiansen. Two very different individuals, but they each bless our lives in tremendous ways. President Christiansen also reminds me a lot of my dad, which I had actually anticipated from all I had heard about him.

Anyway! Haha, ramble much? We had a really good time meeting them, and that night we taught Danielle, and Chloe joined in! We taught them about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and Danielle had a lot of questions! It's always fun to answer people's questions. My favorite part of teaching is that we get to feel the Spirit so strongly. The Spirit was definitely there at Danielle's home. We're excited to continue teaching her.

On Thursday, the Relief Society President in our ward came with us to teach Barbie about the Restoration. We used cups to help her visualize the Restoration! It helped her a ton! She totally accepted everything we taught and also has amazing questions. One of the things that impresses me most about Barbie is her trust in the Lord and the Spirit. When she comes across the so frequent rumors about our faith, she asks us about it. As we explain the truth or answer her questions, she pays attention to the way she feels and she trusts it. It has been a privilege and a blessing to witness her amazing faith. She came to church yesterday and plans to continue coming. Due to other factors, we will move her baptism date back, but she is so dedicated to work and get there!

Saturday was Independence Day! I'm so grateful for this country! I know that this country was meant to be the place for the Restoration of the gospel and God's church. How grateful I am, regardless of anything that has transpired in this country, that God set the stage for the gospel to be restored in these latter days.

Pictures: Sister Christiansen and I (and a photo bombing Elder Penrod) and Preparation Day Lazer tag (don't look too closely...)!

Week 38: Barbie

Well, I don't have a lot of time but luckily this week was pretty slow. Not lucky that the week was slow but lucky that I don't have too much to write in so little time.

We dropped four of our investigators this week, and by dropped I mean stopped teaching them and let the members know so that they can help them now and in the future to learn and accept the gospel! I am so grateful for the members in this ward! They are so trustworthy and I feel absolutely confident leaving our investigators in their hands.

We are still teaching Danielle and Anna! We didn't see them this week because all of investigators went AWOL until last night haha but we are meeting with both of them this week! I am so excited!

We also started teaching a woman named Barbie! I know! Awesome! Haha, her real name is Barbara but she goes by Barbie. She is so awesome! We met her on her porch and she let us right in. We shared a Mormon Message called, "From Gang Member to Good Man." Her and her boyfriend loved it! Barbie has been looking for a deeper relationship with Christ for a long time and last night when we saw her the second time, we explained that baptism and living a Christlike life would give her that. She decided to be baptized on August first! "A new month, a new Barbie" she said! We are so excited and happy to help her get there! We are hoping her boyfriend Wes will soon jump on board and decide to be baptized as well!

Well I love you all and I only have 30 seconds left!

Sister Lewis