Week 68 I think

This week was awesome! First, transfer news! Sister Blosch and I are both staying on Kent Island! We were both so grateful for that because the Harrisons are getting baptized in a couple weeks and we have some investigators that are really starting to progress! Neither of us wanted to leave when the work is picking up so much!

Well, I forgot my other planner at home because I started a new one today so I'll just have to go by memory of what happened this week!

We saw the Harrisons every day this past week until the Historic 2016 Blizzard of the Mid-Atlantic started. And yes, that's a made up name. We were inside from 3pm to the end of the evening on Friday and also stayed inside all day Saturday and after 6pm on Sunday to stay safe! But, we were still able to see Sherrie and her daughter Emily yesterday which was awesome! Emily loves the Bible and wants to learn more about God so we are going to teach her as often as we can with her busy schedule and visiting her dad every other weekend.

Speaking of Sherrie! We went by one night this week, and her boyfriend Drew was home! We asked if we could sit down and talk to them about the Restoration again, and Sherrie said, "Oo yeah! You should tell Drew about that!" So, we did! It was awesome to see how excited Sherrie was to share with Drew! He has a lot of questions because he attended a ton of churches as a teen, and it confused him about God...that sounds a lot like Joseph Smith! He was willing to read and pray about the Book of Mormon so we are excited for the next time we get to sit down with him. He was there yesterday but busy doing laundry and running errands. That was too bad, but we will have another chance!

With the Harrisons, this week we talked about the Restoration, the Book of Mormon, and the Plan of Salvation. It seemed like they liked talking about the Book of Mormon the most! They said they sometimes open the Book of Mormon to a random page and start reading, and it's always what they need to hear! Just before we came over to talk about the Plan of Salvation, they had done that, and they opened to a chapter in the Book of Mormon about the Plan of Salvation and baptism! How awesome! They love reading the Book of Mormon and are so excited to get baptized! They were supposed to go to NC this weekend but had to reschedule their trip because of the snow, but Sister Harrison was telling us that if they had gone her grandma would have spent money on them for food and wouldn't have been able to make it up here for their baptism! So, as far as Sarah is concerned, that storm was god-sent! What faith!

Well, I love you and thank you all for your love, support, and prayers!

Love,

Sister Lewis

Week somethin' or other number two!

Time is getting by me so quickly here on the island! It's really true when missionaries say the days feel really slow but the weeks feel super fast!

As for this week, we started teaching two new people! Their names are Ashley and Sherrie. They aren't related...separate people...

We met Sherrie on my first night in the area and she set up an appointment for after the holidays because she was sick and things were crazy with Christmas coming up! So, we went back this week twice and taught her about the Restoration and the Word of Wisdom. (That's the guide to our health, a.k.a. do's and dont's of eating and intake.) She is awesome and has a nine year-old daughter who loves the Bible! That made teaching about Joseph Smith amazing! She loved it!

Okay, not a lot of time, in fact only a couple seconds!

Big news of the week! We started teaching the Harrison girls again and they are planning to be baptized on February 13!! They and their mom came to church on Sunday! That was huge!!!! Their mom, Sarah, hasn't been to church in NINETEEN years! She said it felt like coming home! They are so awesome and committed! They may face challenges in the coming weeks, but Heavenly Father is aware of them, and He is going to help them because they are so ready!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love you all!!! Thank you SO MUCH for your prayers, love, and support! I mean that!! MIRACLES ARE HAPPENING, PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!

Love,

Sister Lewis

Week somethin' or other

Well this week was awesome! I have been waking up and falling asleep exhausted every single day! That is a good sign in the life of a missionary, but I still contend that I need to take more naps haha!

This week we dropped all of our investigators because we haven't been able to meet with them. Deirdre is hard to get in with, and Billy has been getting sick and, with his age, he really needs to get that resolved before we proceed in any fashion. As for the Harrisons, we are still working with them as a family because the parents are less-active! We will still be able to meet with the girls because we'll work with them as a family, and we actually hope to pick them up as investigators again tomorrow! We had an awesome visit with them on Saturday night, and their mom seems to be on the verge of a major breakthrough! There's one thing we do know- whenever that breakthrough happens it is going to be HUGE for that family! Sister Harrison told us that starting this new year has got her thinking about coming back to church. She said she told her husband on their anniversary (the 7th) that she was going back to church this year, with or without him haha! Go, Sister Harrison! She also told us that her daughters WILL be baptized by March! WHOA!!!! So, hold on for that one. There will be pictures!

On Wednesday-Thursday we went on exchanges with Sister Jones and Sister Larsen. Sister Jones came here to Kent Island with me and Sister Blosch left the island for the first time...fly, little bird. Haha! Sister Jones is going through some similar struggles (nothing huge, really, just wanting to make the most of our time) so it was really great to have her here with me to share some advice and such!

On Thursday we also talked to the sisters about what we could do to love ourselves a little more. They gave us the best pep talk in the history of time and also shared with us some of their tricks. Sister Blosch and I have been looking in the mirror every morning and listing "I am" statements. For example, "I am strong!" It has been a very meaningful experience for both of us. Even though it sounds silly, that exercise (along with praying to see my strengths and to know who I was before I came here to Earth) has been very meaningful to me. The "I am" exercise always reminds me that "I am" is another name for Jesus Christ, so that is one reason it has helped me to more fully represent Him. I encourage all who struggle to try this exercise and see the difference in how much more you love yourself, those around you, and your life!

On Saturday we had an appointment with a woman named Marilyn Washington! She is an amazing woman! She is 70 years old, and she participated in the March on Washington! She has had an amazing life and has such a thirst for knowledge and truth! We taught her about the Restoration, and it really touched her because she is always wondering why there are so many different churches based on the same book. It was interesting for her to learn that those churches had been formed on the interpretation of man. She is so excited to read the Book of Mormon and find out if our church was really formed on the word of God! I've attached a picture of us together!

Thank you for your love, support, and prayers! I feel them every day, and I cannot go on without it! Thank you!! I love you!

Love,

Sister Lewis

 

 

 

Week 65

This week was awesome! Some highlights:

We taught Billy three times this week! We were supposed to go to the temple to visit the visitors center and to see the Christmas lights, but he ended up getting sick! Instead we had a lesson where we read from the Book of Mormon with him! It was wonderful! He is so sensitive to the Spirit, and he believes that the Book of Mormon is true! He really wants to be baptized! We are just trying to help his wife catch that vision, too! Please pray for her. Her name is Janet =)

Also, Sister Blosch and I have been praying about and making plans to help the members of the branch with their missionary work. We knew that it would need to start with the leaders of the branch, so we prayed really sincerely that we would have opportunities to build trust with them! Those prayers are being answered! We are going to start setting up family mission plans with members of the branch, and it's going to be awesome!

I am out of time. Here are some pictures. The first one is a man in Charles Town who Sister Feinga and I met and the elders taught and he was baptized! His name is David Rowland! YAY!

The other is the sunset off the Bay Bridge <3

 

 

 

Week 64: Island Fever!

I don't really know if "island fever" means that you are stir crazy and want to get off the island or you never want to leave...but in this case it means I never want to leave haha!

This week was amazing! We got to visit with Billy three times, and a member of the branch even came with us one of those times! He is amazing! He really understands and recognizes the Spirit! This week we asked him something about Joseph Smith (I can't remember the exact question), and he answered saying, "Well, I'm going to know if Joseph Smith is a prophet by looking into your eyes, because if you believe it, I'll believe it!" He always tells us that he can see it in our eyes and that he feels it in his heart. He knows that everything we tell him is true! He is still excited and committed to read from the Book of Mormon and pray to receive a personal answer from God to know if the Book of Mormon is true. We are going to start reading with him because he is super popular and everyone interrupts him when he reads haha!

We also had a chance to visit the Harrison girls on Christmas Eve! We talked to them, and I finally met their mom! We have been practicing for our next lesson with them since I got here to the island so whenever we are able to teach them what we have been planning and what the Spirit has told us to share, we are going to be SUPER prepared haha! Just keep sending your prayers their way! They are going to need an extra boost of spiritual strength to get to church and prepare to be baptized! The girls are still on fire and want to be baptized more than ever! We love them!

I also met our investigator Deirdre on Saturday! She is such an interesting woman, and I don't mean that in a derogatory way haha! Everything she shares is super interesting and just captures my attention! We're going to teach her tonight!

Well I am out of time! I love you all and thank you for your love, prayers, and suport!

Love,

Sister Lewis