Did I mention that I love my job?

Today before dinner I got to see Lynette!!! Just another perk of working at the MTC. She announced that she was reassigned to South Carolina until her visa for Brazil comes. I got to say goodbye to her today before dinner. It was a joyous reunion with lots of laughing and hugging and excitement. She said it felt like Christmas. I agree.

23 April 2013 "The Lord did not send you here to fail!"

4-23-13

Querido Familia,

I cannot believe I have already come to my last week here at the mtc! The time has absolutely flown by faster than anything before in my life! I will be receiving my reassignment tomorrow and will call and let you know my new assignment either Thursday or Friday. One more Elder received his visa today in my district so we know they are coming slowly but surely, however I am actually really excited to get to serve a stateside mission for at least a couple weeks! They told us the calls go all the way back to the 12 and approval from Pres. Monson which is pretty cool to know how important this is and that it is what God wants for me at this time.

Highlight of the past week: Elder Richard G Scott came to speak to us and it was one of the best, if not the best, talk I have ever heard. My hand was cramping from notes and it seemed like the whole room was in tears much of the time. We talk a lot about learning to recognize the spirit, but it was so powerful coming from him! Two especially neat things about it: One, he paused at one point and said he felt impressed to leave his apostolic blessing that the Lord will bless us with the language. It will come if we are living worthily and doing our part! And secondly, he blessed us to learn, grow and love our companions. I wish I had the exact wording of what he said, but I guarantee a lot of missionaries felt prayers answered as we heard that promise from an apostle of God. The second thing that was a bit unique and really cool: After he finished we sang a closing song and just as a sister was about to give the closing prayer he stopped her and got up again and said I need to tell you one more thing: "Remember the Lord has called you to succeed not to fail!" He talked to us about how the Lord will fit the task to our capacity. I suppose I'm probably not the only missionary here who often feels young and under qualified to be here so it was very meaningful to hear that. He also told us that to reach new heights we must do things we've never before done, which might seem like common sense, but how often do we want to do great things but constantly hold ourselves back for fear of reaching out of our comfort zone? That is such a huge part of the mission and I know I have already been forced out of mine on several occasions and will continue to be, but I know that as we develop humility before God and learn to trust Him he will allow us to grow more than we could ever dream and do things we never imagined!

I have to admit this week I was starting to feel a bit nervous and uncomfortable and unprepared to be leaving the mtc next week. It seemed strange because I honestly wasn't nervous at all coming to the MTC, and for most missionaries it sounds like that was really hard. But I found myself several times feeling anxious and a bit scared [this week] about teaching real people and being out in the world next week (again it's never easy to jump out of my comfort zone). I had been praying often to feel prepared and receive some kind of assurance that I would be fine. I think perhaps I wanted someone to actually tell me I would be fine or something, I'm not sure, but I got the answer quite differently than I expected:

 I was teaching our English investigator, Filho and invited him to baptism. He expressed concern about being prepared within 2 weeks. I felt strongly to reassure him that if it was the Lord's will for him to be baptized in 2 weeks then the Lord would make sure he was prepared in that 2 weeks. As I said that, it hit me that that was exactly what God was trying to tell me too! He sent me here for 6 weeks and if I am doing my part, he will make sure I am sufficiently prepared in that 6 weeks. It hit me how I have learned way more in the past 5 weeks than I ever could possibly have done on my own and that was His way of telling me that he can make miracles happen and he will have me prepared if I trust Him. Just like both Elder Scott and Elder Ringwood talked about, I ALWAYS need to trust in the Lord's timing. If He trusts I can be ready in 6 weeks, I need to trust in myself that I can be ready in that 6 weeks thru his help. His confirmation is the only one I need.

Another blessing I'm continually realizing is that I really am surrounded by the cream of the crop. The more I get to know the missionaries here, the more I am in absolute awe of what incredible people I have to learn from and how blessed I am to get to spend 24/7 with them. I was talking to Sister Trost (Branch Presidency wife) and she was telling me that the difference between the missionaries she and her husband were mission presidents for 10 years ago and the missionaries today is crazy. I believe it, because the testimonies I have heard and the insights and stories from 18-20 year old Elders and Sisters constantly astounds me. It is the most incredible thing to see the Lord's work hastening right in front of me! We're often reminded that that prophecy is truly being fulfilled here and now. As of last week, the MTC is 50% Elders and 50% sisters. It is leading to a lot of new changes all the time and we've had a lot of GA's and other leaders visiting as they try to work out the logistics for the "Tsunami" of missionaries who are on their way. We are just the first big ripple and a lot of us are going to be the ones training the huge wave of new missionaries coming in shortly after us, and I definitely believe the Lord has sent some of His finest right here. Such a blessing to be a part of and I already feel like so many of the Elders and Sisters I have gotten to know in the last 5 weeks are like brothers and sisters to me. It's amazing how the gospel does that! More times than ever before in my life I've been overwhelmed by how blessed I am. I don't think I could've asked for better friends and family members.

Thank you so much for your prayers and for your examples. It's the best getting to hear from you and hearing about your lives! Also if you ever are putting up pictures or printing some you should send them to me because honestly I think most missionaries would agree we love getting pictures more than chocolate (which is saying something as a member of the Lewis family) or treats or anything else! After we finish class we love showing each other any pictures we get from our families and talking about them. And mom you're basically a celebrity here, because every one of the missionaries who knows about our family wants to know how you've sent 13 children on missions :)

Love you all and I look forward to talking to mom, dad and Hunter for a few min this week and hopefully seeing Whitney again for lunch!

Com amor,

Sister Lewis

16 April 2013

I can hardly believe I'm getting to the tail end of my time here at the MTC. It absolutely flies by! Dad I was thinking of you this week I hope the end of tax season went well and you can enjoy getting back into seminary! One of my good friends here has a birthday on April 14th but her dad is also an accountant so she spent half her life believing it was April 16th which I thought was pretty cute.

My heart goes out to the families in Boston for the tragedy yesterday. I happened to be at the Student Health Center (Don't worry mom I'm pretty sure I'm fine it was just a pre-cautionary thing) but I saw the news and was completely shocked. One of my closest friends here that I run with every morning was supposed to run in the Boston Marathon and through several miracles and promptings ended up leaving on her mission early so she wasn't able to go and it has turned out to be such a miracle for her considering how likely it is she would have been finishing close to the time went off. It was sobering to see that happen in the world, but it strengthened my resolve to want to share the good news of the gospel with families and help them know that this life is not the end! I know these trials in people's lives help turn their hearts to God and it opens up wonderful opportunities for us as missionaries.

It also made me realize we are quite cut off here at the mtc because most of the missionaries have no idea but being so extremely cut off from the world gives us such a unique opportunity to grow in ways we never otherwise could. I'm actually kind of sad I only have 2 weeks left because I love the mtc so much. I love getting to learn so much and becoming so close to those around me and the devotionals here are so incredible! Gerald Lund spoke to us this last week (He was your seminary teacher right mom?) And he gave such a good message about recognizing the voice of the Lord. There were SO many good points that he made, but one thing that was a really good reminder to me was to be able to say both "Thy will be done" and thy timing be done. It reminded me of the CES devotional elder Bednar gave before I left about having the faith not to be healed. I'm realizing more and more how crucial it is to rely on the Lord's promptings even though often we don't understand why we are being asked to do something, but also to recognize that there is a time for all things and just because it is something good doesn't mean it is what we should be doing right now.

Getting to spend hours a day studying the scriptures brings so many incredible new insights as well, I'm going to have to buy a lot more notebooks before I leave because I learn SO much all the time! Probably the highlight of my whole week though was that my companions and I started setting aside time to read the same chapter and talk about it. The first time we did it I was super passionate about the discussion and didn't understand why my companions didn't seem to be as excited about it as I was, but over the last couple days, one of my companions who usually likes to take naps during scripture study started really loving this time as well and even asked if we could get a notebook so she could start writing all the things we talk about as well and it has been such a blessing to me to be able to see how she has grown to love the gospel and specifically the scriptures so much more! I'm also learning to love them more and more and this challenge ti read 14+ pages a day has been one of the coolest experiences for me here. Oh and we got our first "investigator" to commit to baptism this week which was pretty exciting because that invitation is still a little scary for us :)

Dad I thought you would especially appreciate this last Devo we had on Tuesday. Bro. Greg Droubay came and shared a lot of cool statistics with us about how the work is hastening. He showed us the work they are doing in New York and London with the Mormon.org campaign and the huge effects it had. It was amazing to see how much of a difference it made with people searching the church thru the internet and how the book of mormon play really opened a lot of opportunities for the church. There also really seemed to be a theme on sunday between the Devo and Relief Society with Sister Mary Edmunds on fully engrossing yourself in the work. Most of us had about 20 years to be focused on ourselves, and now we have a wonderful opportunity to stop thinking so much about ourselves and focus on the Lord's work regardless of the little things. I loved what Sis. Edmunds said about how there have been millions of missions served and there are many many more to come, but none of them are my mission. There are certain people the Lord has prepared for me to teach and a work he has specifically prepared for me. And so it goes in our lives. We have been so blessed with gifts and talents and the gospel and we have a responsibility to fulfill the mission he has for us on this earth. I wish you could all read the devotionals they give here because they are so so inspiring.

I also wanted to mention that cousin Tim Andersen and I have the same meal/service/gym/p-day schedule so I get to see him all the time and we play basketball together almost everyday. Mom you can tell Uncle Dean and Aunt Colleen they have such an awesome son! I guess I haven't seen him for a while because he is huge now and so mature and it's so fun to have some family around!

I love you all so much and the Lord loves you even more! We are so so blessed!

 

Love, Sister Lewis

9 April 2013 General Conference weekend

Dear Family,

So I think in my last letter I may have said the weekend before (Easter) was the best weekend of my life, but I'm gonna have to take that back because I'm pretty sure this weekend was the best weekend of my life! Wasn't General Conference just amazing and so perfect?! I hope everyone got to soak it up because our leaders had so much for us! It was really amazing as a missionary to see the difference from the past 38-ish General Conferences I've seen in my life. It seems like usually I have a couple talks I really like and then I'll fall asleep in one or 2, but this time I literally felt like every single talk had such a wonderful message for me and the whole world! Beyond just making me a better person, I got to see the basic doctrines of the gospel taught by the best and it made me want to re-read those talks so I can be a better teacher in the mission-field, and I felt like there was so much for me to learn not just as  a missionary, but as a companion, a member of a family, a daughter of God, a future mother, etc. And being in a room with thousands of other servants of God who are feasting on every word invited such a beautiful spirit that was definitely present the whole 8 hours of it! 

It was interesting to me that all the talks given about strengthening the home hit me more than ever before even though I'm not with any family and I'm away from home. 1- I know it's super important to teach my pesquisadores [investigators] about families, but 2- they related really well to something I've been coming to learn and appreciate more lately. Elder Ringwood and his wife gave a devo last tuesday and it was one of my favorite talks I've ever heard. It was about enduring to the end, but the part that hearing about families made me think of is how going on a mission builds a foundation for our future families. He talked about how the work in the home is our most important work we will do on this earth. He said "There is a reason Nephi went back to get the plates/scriptures before he went back to get a wife." Because first we build the foundation to do that most important work and to teach our most important, life-long investigators: our children.

I've also decided that as missionaries we are blessed with a special gift to learn so much more than we normally could. At least that is how I feel it has been for me. I felt like I had a pretty good basic understanding of the basic principles of the gospel, but I was especially touched this week by the story of Alma the younger and recognizing the need for each of us to have that change of heart/born-again experience, and to continually re-commit to follow him and receive that remission of sins. It helped me understand how to explain to my investigators the need for baptism and partaking of the sacrament. We had a couple of really awesome experiences with them this week and I think it's finally starting to boost my comp's confidence which has made such a huge difference! One of our Portuguese teachers got switched to another district because there aren't enough (We keep getting tons and tons of Brazillian missionaries who can't get visas) and at first that was a little frustrating because our English teacher goes a lot slower and doesn't push us as hard so I felt like I was getting as much as I could out of class, but I realized this is probably just what my companions needed to help them feel more confident in their abilities as missionaries. Anyway I've also been able to see more than ever before how as we strengthen our testimony of the Savior it increases our desire to serve him and it makes me love getting to be here even more!

I hope all of you were as fired up from Elder Nelson's talk and are "catching the wave"! We loved that as missionaries and the whole room would get excited every time a speaker brought up how many missionaries are out. It's pretty fun to be a part of! And I loved what I think it was Elder Andersen said about painting a missionary tag on your heart even if you are not a full-time missionary!

Also thanks to Verlan and Logan and Whitney for your letters. It's funny to see how what they show in the movies and what not is so true how there is nothing missionaries love more than getting mail! Everyone always crowds the mail room after each meal and getting a package is like the best thing that has ever happened to them :) And I'm so excited to hear CG is moving back to the west! One of the girls going to my mission I found out is from Flower Mound. CG and Katied do you know a Matt and Julie Linford from 5th ward? It's her aunt and uncle who raised her and they sound like an amazing couple. It's incredble to see all the sacrifices each missionary here has made to be on a mission especially a lot of the sisters and it just really made me appreciate having so much support from my family in every way that made it so easy for me to drop everything and go. And I loved getting to see the pictures of little Annalisa Lynette! She is so cute and I have to admit I think I miss seeing kids more than anything else! On our temple walk last Sunday there were 2 toddlers running around in their Sunday clothes in the grass and it about killed me I just wanted to pick them up and play with them.

Oh and Hunt I was thinking of you Sunday because after conference for our Devo they had the BYU Men's Acapella group come in and sing for us and it was awesome! We had to go get in line about 2 hours early but we got to be right up front and it sounded so good and you would've loved it! I'd love to hear how your prep for Summer in Provo is going. I'm so excited for you!

I have to go but I love and appreciate you all so much. Thank you for your prayers and support it kind of blows my mind sometimes how blessed I am.

Te amo!

Sister Lewis

Springfield, OR missionaries!

Sisters Funke, Zimmerman, Walton, Lewis, Whitmer &

Elder Shaw

2 April 2013 Easter at the MTC

Oi Familia!

So this has possibly been the best week of my life. I absolutely love it here it's a bit overwhelming. So much happens in a week that I don't even know how to get it all down into one, but having Easter Sunday here was the absolute best! 

We had our fast and testimony meeting (In English which is always a huge bonus) and the spirit was SO strong and then we had a huge mission conference where about 3000 missionaries all partook of the sacrament together it was an incredible sight! Then Bishop Causse spoke which was so good! I feel like my testimony of the atonement just grows so much everyday here, and then that night Sheri Dew gave a devotional which just kept the cup overflowing. 

She talked about the 3 things that the Adversary tries to confuse us on and that we need to have a firm belief and understanding in. 

1. We need to know who we are, that we are children of God

2. How to hear and understand the voice of the Lord

3. to know who the Savior is and what he has done for us.

And she pointed out that one way to recognize if you've been a successful missionary is to look back and see if you love the Savior more now than you did when you began. So I guess in that case I could go home a successful missionary right now! :) 

And then yesterday, believe it or not was even better! One of the elders in our district got his Visa so it was a bit more emotional and serious in the classroom knowing that we were about to lose one. Our evening class Irmao Porter was teaching us Portuguese but then decided to change the rest of the lesson and shared an incredible mission story about when he learned what faith was first hand and then bore a beautiful testimony. Instead of doing our planning right after he left like we normally would, Elder Christensen (the Elder who is leaving) asked Elder Forsyth to give him a Priesthood blessing which was one of the most beautiful blessings I've heard. If everyone wasn't crying already we decided to sing Be Still My Soul together afterward and at that point the whole room was just completely filled with the spirit and I felt God's love in a way I never have before. I've only known these missionaries for not even 2 weeks and I already love them so so much! And I could feel inside me the love that God had for each one of them. 

Heading back to our rooms I could just feel his love for every missionary here and for all of His children and I couldn't believe how blessed I am that I get to be one of His servants to go tell the people of Curitiba how much he loves them and that they can have that same feeling! It was indescribable. I really just can't fathom sometimes why I am so blessed but I am just so full of gratitude that Heavenly Father has given me so much. When I was reading Jacob 1 last night I felt like I had that somewhat answered though. I was reading in vs. 19 and it hit me how seriously Jacob took his call to teach the people. That if he had not taught them diligently the sin would be on his own head. Their salvation was so important to him and I feel I have the same calling as a representative of Jesus Christ. I have been so blessed because I have a huge responsibility to share with other people throughout the world. It really made me look at how I spend my time here at the MTC and I want to make sure I am spending every precious minute of the Lord's time preparing myself to be better able to better serve the people who I am supposed to serve. There is a reason they keep us on such a tight schedule here, but it gives us the opportunity to learn and grow so much!

We also got a new investigator this week and she is so golden! She is in her 60s and her kids have all had issues with drugs and alcohol but one of her sons joined the church and got rid of all those habits so now she is trying to learn more about the church. It was amazing to see how God prepares his children to receive the word. Also it was so much easier to understand her! I could finally have a full 30-40 min lesson without any notes just having a conversation with her in Portuguese and talking about the gospel. It felt so good. I love the language! it is beautiful! Although I think my English has gotten worse because of it.

We've also been able to get a lot closer to the other district of sisters who are going to Curitiba. I love getting to know these missionaries and see the sacrifices they have made to be here and how the gospel has blessed their lives. They are so inspiring! One of the sisters in their district I think is basically the exact same person I am so we go running or play basketball together at gym everyday and could just talk forever. It's amazing to be surrounded by such great individuals! I'm sad to say one of my roommates ended up going home. The first few days are really hard and it got frustrating for her, but my companion who was also struggling has grown so much since then and knows that she is supposed to be here which has been awesome to grow with her and see God's hand in her and her family's lives. They have been blessed so much from her being out here. So now I'm in a trio with Sister Barker and Sister Cropper. They are awesome missionaries who are so obedient and try really hard. I just love them a lot! Sorry this email was a bit scattered, but time is always really rushed. But I love all of you so much and appreciate  your prayers and support! I love getting to show pictures of my family and tell my companions and other sister missionaries about all my wonderful older siblings and parents!

 

Muito Amor,

Sister Lewis.

Jeremy Shaw (Springfield friend) & Katie Zimmerman (Oakridge)

Elder Shaw & Lynette - same district, same mission, same purpose - Bring others unto Christ