Week 72: The Week We Were Held Hostage

So, to explain the title...This week we went to visit a member that had just come up on the records about a month ago. We had tried by another time and no one answered, and another time we dropped by just before curfew and left loving sticky notes on the door but didn't knock. This week when we stopped by, a man answered the door. He was the woman's husband. He didn't seem very happy to see us but invited us in from the cold. He then asked us if we had our ID on us. We said it was in the car. He told us to go get it. So, Sister Blosch and I went to the car, grabbed our driver's licenses and ministerial certificates (certifies us to proselyte), and went back. When we went back in I asked him why he needed our ID's. He didn't answer but told us to give them to him. I asked again and he proceeded to rant about how the missionaries had been harassing them for three years even though his wife was not a member of the Church. I went to hand him my ministerial certificate and instead he reached and snatched my ID out of my hand and Sister Blosch's out of hers. Well, long story short they didn't want to sign a form for her records to be removed so it wouldn't happen again, the man was threatening to make copies of our ID's (very illegal), and we wouldn't leave until he gave our ID's back because we didn't want to get the police involved. Looking back, it may have been better to call the police the first time he told us to leave without giving our ID's back to make sure that he didn't copy them...oh well I guess. Anyway, we were pretty much held hostage until he gave our ID's back.

(A note for Mommy and Daddy: now we know why I needed to work for Theressa. It prepared me to be held hostage haha. But, I am safe and there was no harm done.)

Well, I am all out of time because lots of people love me and send me emails and I have no time to answer...buh. Haha! I love you all! Here are some pictures from the Harrisons' baptism!

Thank you for all you do for Sister Blosch and me!

Love,

Sister Lewis

 

 

 

 

Week 71: The Harrisons' Baptisms

Okay, unfortunately I left my SD card reader at the church so I cannot send any pictures of the Harrisons baptism, but I will tell you all about it so you can picture the beautiful image in your mind! And I will send pictures of it next week!

We had an amazing lesson with the Harrisons the day before their baptism! We walked into the house and things were a little tense...stress from preparing for the baptism, people stepping on each other's toes, and also Satan was working as hard as he could before they were baptized, as he always does. So, we sat down with them and we had a "companionship inventory" with them. For those who have not read Preach My Gospel, companionship inventory is the last step of our weekly planning session. Basically it's when we tell each other how awesome we are, set goals to improve over the next week, and ask for suggestions on how to improve. It's really awesome! We basically focused on the telling each other how awesome we are part with the Harrisons, and it was amazing! There has been a lot of hurt in that family, and to watch them seek forgiveness from one another and to forgive each other was amazing! We went through their entire family and talked about what we love about each person, and with every comment of love, the Spirit became even stronger. They are an amazing family, and after that exercise we were able to set some goals with them for their future in the gospel. Last night we called to set up an appointment and caught them right before they started their first solo family home evening! It was a tender feeling when we heard that!

The baptism was amazing! The girls grandma and great-grandma on her mom's side gave talks on baptism and the Holy Ghost, Katie and I sang, "I Know That My Redeemer Lives," the girls bore their testimonies, the Branch President shared some beautiful thoughts at the end, and President Christiansen came! There's another miracle there, too! There is a sister in our Branch who had a daughter pass away from the same disease as our mission president's daughter. So, we invited this sister to the baptism, and she was able to sit with and talk with President and Sister Christiansen! The Lord puts people where they need to be!

Well, no time oy!! Haha, I will update you more on Jessica and another woman we started teaching named Robin next week!

I love you all and thank you for your love, prayers, and support! I know it comes in many forms! Thank you for all of it!

Love,

Sister Lewis

Week 70

OH MY GOODNESS THIS WEEK WAS AWESOME! I only have three minutes to tell you about it so here are the highlights!

On Monday afternoon our mission president came to the area to meet with the Harrison girls, and he invited us and the elders to go out to dinner with he and his family! WHAT A PRIVILEGE! That doesn't happen a lot as a missionary. We got to spend 2 hours one-on-one...or like....four-on-four with our mission president, his wife, and their two daughters! We also had delicious seafood which was definitely an added bonus.  ;)

The Harrisons are doing so well and still right on track to be baptized this Saturday!!! Also....MIRACLE OF MY LIFE!!!! BROTHER HARRISON CAME TO CHURCH!!!!!!!! The same man that wouldn't sit down with the missionaries for YEARS....CAME TO CHURCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND CRIED!!!!! HE CRIED ACTUAL TEARS THEY WERE FLOWING DOWN HIS FACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, so their youngest daughter Niki got up in church and shared with everyone how grateful she was that her dad was at church and just thanked everyone for helping her get there and talked about how excited she was to get baptized, and EVERYONE was crying it was the sweetest thing EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm out of time but we also started teaching a woman named Jessica this weekend! That was a miracle! I'll have to fill you all in about her next week!

I love you and thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers! They make the world of difference!

Love,

Sister Lewis

Picture: Sister Cousin It

 

 

Week 69: It's FABruary!!

This week was amazing! We weren't able to meet with Sherrie this week. She texted us on Wednesday before our appointment to tell us that she loves us and thinks that we are great girls but she has a lot going on right now and feels bad that she doesn't have time to read the Book of Mormon. We talked to her a little about how the gospel can help her to deal with the stresses that come in our lives, but we may have just confused her. Well, that was a little heartbreaking, but the good news is that there are no hard feelings and she is still genuinely interested but she doesn't feel like it's something she can fit in right now. We may still visit occasionally, depending on her circumstance and schedule, so that's good, too! We love her!

We did get to meet with the Harrisons this week, and boy was it a week with them! We need someone to send us a hose because they are ON FIRE! They learned a lot of stuff this week! Faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, church attendance, being a follower of Jesus Christ, the word of wisdom, the temple, and some other awesome topics were all discussed with them this week! We actually met with them FOUR times! It was awesome!

We have seen so many miracles with the Harrisons this week. Like I've said in the past, their parents are members of the church but they are not active. In addition, their dad, Ronnie, wouldn't visit with the missionaries for a long time and had some hard feelings to overcome for a long time. By some miracle, Sister Blosch and I have made a really awesome connection with him! THIS IS THE TIME FOR THIS FAMILY! Yesterday Sarah (their mom) was not feeling too great in the morning so she wasn't able to make it to church, but Ronnie got them up and ready for church and brought them there! This was HUGE! He said himself that he never would have done that even two weeks ago. We still wanted to make sure the parents are fully supportive, so after church we went over there and had the MOST AMAZING talk that we have ever had with the Harrisons! We honestly had no idea where to begin because there was a lot going on surrounding the situation, so we said a fervent prayer before we went into their house. Sister Blosch told Heavenly Father that we didn't even know where to start and we weren't even sure what to teach but prayed that HE would guide the lesson. The minute we walked in, the whole family started telling us that they had been having gospel discussion since the girls had gotten home from church! Ronnie told us that he felt wrong about just bringing the girls to church and dropping them off. He said, without even being prompted on the subject, "We need to come to church as a family. I'm hopin' and prayin' that things will start to turn around if we do that. There's something just tellin' me we need to go to church. I'm not sure what it is. I can't really describe it, but that's the way I feel."

.....

WHOA!! Ronnie has been pretty quiet since I came to the area so this was a miracle! He opened up about a lot of his feelings and fears about coming to church, and it was just AMAZING! Heavenly Father answers prayers. The girls are getting baptized on February 13, and the entire family is coming back to church. They have a goal to get to the temple to be sealed, and this is all just one amazing miracle. Jesus Christ changes people's hearts! He sure has changed mine.

I love you each and thank you for your love, support, and prayers. I have been thinking especially this week about those who have made the generous and loving decision to contribute to my mission fund. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot say it enough. This has been the best time of my life, and there is nothing I could ever do to repay you. This is the work of changing lives, and my life is one of them. Thank you!

Love,

Sister Lewis

PS - This week had some challenges but ended AMAZING! Therefore, the theme of this week is: there are rainbows after rain! Some of you may also know that I love to dance in the rain...I'm learning that because of Jesus Christ, we can dance through our trials, too! Here are some pictures for you!