February 8th 2016

February 8^TH 2016

Hello!

Fun fact: sprinkles for ice cream are called 'jimmies' here. 👍🏼

We had plans to go to the temple last week on Friday, but then the
biggest storm of the year decided to hit on that day, even though it
was in the 50's like all week!! 'Storm Lexie' postponed our temple
date, but we still decided to have an AWESOME day! :) A member from my
last area/ the coolest person ever, was going to come get us and take
us to the temple, but then since the temple was closed and she had
already driven all the way here to get us (like 2 hours!!) so we went
to the mall instead. It was such an AWESOME day!! Shout out to
Nerissa, we love you!!!

We had interviews with President Stoker, I am so thankful for his
tender testimony and closeness to the spirit. I love this mission!!
And I am so thankful for the Priesthood.

We also got transfer calls, I am staying with my trio and staying in Saco!
Also, this transfer is 7 weeks instead of 6! I'm excited to be with
these cute sisters!!

Ninette got baptized!!!! She and her family only speak French, the
elders taught in English so my comp sister Monjar translates (gift of
tongues, it's REAL!) and we have some French speaking members.  It was
such an awesome experience to see the ward come together to help her
on her investigator journey, now she is a member!! Woo!! The whole
session was in French, our bishop who baptized her even decided to
learn French so he could baptize her in French. It. Was. Awesome.


We had a slow 2 weeks due to illness, I was down and out with a major
cold, and then I accidentally passed it to my two beautiful
companions... Whoops.
But yesterday was AWESOME! We had a lesson with our two cute
investigators Alice and Molly. They are so smart and so sensitive to
the spirit. We taught the first part of the plan of salvation, and
they were asking the best questions! Our time ran out, so we committed
them to baptism and they said yes!! They want to be baptized on March
19th!! We are so excited for them! They are such amazing girls. With
such strong faith!!


A quote to ponder on, and remember that this life is our time to
prepare to meet God! Are we doing all we can, with all we have, to
progress to Him?
“God left the world unfinished for man to work his skill upon. He left
the electricity in the cloud, the oil in the earth. He left the rivers
unbridged and the forests unfelled and the cities unbuilt. God gives
to man the challenge of raw materials, not the ease of finished
things. He leaves the pictures unpainted and the music unsung and the
problems unsolved, that man might know the joys and glories of
creation.”
- President Thomas S. Monson

LOVE YOU ALL!

Sister Lewis

Me and Sister Stoker (mission Presidents Wife). I sure love her!

                                              Exchanges with the sister training leaders!

                                                                          Life motto

                                         Our plan B! A day spent with life long friends. :) ❤️

                                                                Ninette's baptism!!!!

January 25th 2016

January 25^TH 2016

THANK YOU everyone for the awesome birthday love!!! It was a great
birthday, spent immersed in the work. :)

Fun fact: the third week in January is on average always the coldest
week of the year in Maine. 

This was on Tuesday, inside our house, frozen.                                                                                       It's cold even when it's not!

We witnessed a lot of progress with our investigator Bruce! He was struggling a little at the big fining of the week so we 'heart attacked' his door with scriptures and uplifting quotes and he really appreciated that! We had a lesson with him a few times this week, he is preparing for a baptism in February! He has a great desire to do what the Lord wants him to do. He is very knowledgable.

I wish I had more to tell you about... But like I said... A bit rocky...

Haha... Ok I got something:

We were sitting very contently in sacrament meeting, listening to a man in our ward give a wonderful talk on the temple. He began to talk about a tradition that the temple has, where if it's your first time going through, you get a free cookie! And as he was explaining he pulls out a brown bag, and pulls out an actual cookie and holds it up in the air. I began dreaming about what that cookie might taste like, when all of a sudden he says: "Sister Lewis! Will you please come up here?" Welp I got a bit light headed and red in the face, but I made my way up there, and he says: "hey everyone, it was Sister Lewis's birthday this week, so I got her this cookie. And she really wants to go to the temple, so if anyone can take her and her companions to the temple they would love that." After a brief moment of shock, I made my way off of the stand, cookie in hand, and a goofy smile on my face, and sat back down.

So that was fun...

Speaking of birthdays, thanks again everyone for the love. It was definitely felt!

This week was rocky, but hey, better to build your foundation on rocks and not sand! Unless it's p-day, then definitely play in the sand. :) (additional photo from last weeks epic adventure) (this is our shell phone, we call our mermaid investigators on it)

We made cupcakes for lunch on Friday, then after eating more than my mom probably would have liked, we went out and worked. :)

                                       

Hey! I was a bridesmaid for an impromptu wedding at the church on Thursday! That was cool. Kinda weird... But definitely awesome!

                             

We recently had a missionary training, a lot of general authorities spoke and inspired. It was really good! The part that stood out to me the most was Elder Oaks said: we should have the Doctrine of Christ engraved on our hearts and embedded in the marrow of our bones." I thought that was very bold and obviously a very important point to make. So this week I have been studying the Doctrine of Christ! I have come to the realization that it is literally in the heart of all we believe and do. I urge you all to study and ponder and pray about how the Gospel and Doctrine of Christ is working in your life right now. Faith. Repentance. Baptism (sacrament). Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Enduring to the end.

I want to bear my witness to all of you whom I love so much, that our Heavenly Father is mindful of each and everyone of you. He knows you individually and personally. He desires for us to be happy. He wants us to live with Him again. I know that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God. I know that this is the true and restored gospel, and it is an honor to be a servant of the Lord.

I love you all!! Have a FANTASTIC week!!

Sister Lewis

Jauary 18, 2016

January 18, 2016

A local Mainer told us this joke:
Did you know the 'toothbrush' was invented in Maine? If it were
invented anywhere else it would be called a 'teethbrush '.

It's so true....

First things first:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ON SATURDAY DAD!!!
You are the best father in the WHOLE WORLD!!!

Fun fact: the ocean is still awesome even when it's dumping snow and
27 degrees. :)

👍🏼

Have a great week!!!
I LOVE YOU ALL!!

January 11, 2016

January 11, 2016

Fun fact: Mainers call going 'up north', 'down east'. So up is down
and north is east. Directions go something like this: "you wanna head
down east past the big tree with the cah, it's in the sticks a bit,
it's the one with the cah pahked in the doh yahd." THIS LITERALLY
HAPPENED.
(New England translation: 'Doh yahd' is actually door yard, which is
actually a garage.)
I love the New England (Maine) way of speaking, it makes me so happy :)

Crazy miracle of the week:
We have an investigator named Bruce! Bruce is so sweet and kind. He
has a lot of health problems, but he is so happy! So we have been
teaching Bruce a lot, and he has a baptismal date for February 13th!
He is so excited, and he understands the gospel so well.
One day after our lesson, Bruce invites us to come with him to his
other church. He has come multiple times to ours, and we felt like it
could be a really good to go with him. So we agreed! So, we went with
him that evening to his church, called 'Transform Ministries'
and thePastor was very kind! There was about 3 other people there, so we
doubled their congregation. It was very lively and energetic. We
answered questions and got involved, and it was a great sermon! At the
end everyone was feeling very spiritual, so we stood up to pray. He
turned on some music, and everyone starts swaying and praying. Out of
the corner of my eye, I see Sister Monjars hands shaking a little bit,
and I looked at her and she gave me big-eyed look like 'somethings
about to go down'. Pastor Kyle then invited anyone that wanted to say
something, to go ahead and say it. Well, Sister Monjar pounced on
that! She bore such a firm and powerful witness of the restored
gospel, the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, and how Truth is restored on
this earth. She then invited everyone to learn! Pastor Kyle said "on
behalf of my congregation, we accept your invitation."
(The congregation was the Pastor, Pastors wife, Bruce and another lady)
So we invited them to come to our church...
And They did!!
Pastors Kyle and Bruce came to church yesterday! His wife was sick,
and the other lady didn't show up.
It was such an awesome experience, Pastor Kyle got along great with
our bishop, and he really like church. He even stayed all three hours!

January 4, 2016

January 4, 2016

Fact: in the 1800's there was a law that the slaves could only eat
lobster 3 times a week. It was actually considered a poor mans meal!
Now that it is exported all over the world it is much more expensive
and in high demand.

I am now in the Saco Maine area, but I live in a precious little town
called Biddeford. Biddeford is the Maine version of Vegas. Lots of
casinos and bars and clubs everywhere! The only difference is that
it's not 125 degrees, more like -25 degrees.
I am also in a TRIO! I have 2 companions: Sister Allen and Sister
Monjar. They are so fantastic!
The people here are very kind! It's a New England thing to just roam
around the streets, which is very great for the work of salvation! We
meet a lot of great people every day.
There is a distinct feeling of spiritual preparedness here. The people
are open to stopping and talking to us, we usually know their life
story within the first five minutes, and then the spirit kicks in and
we are prompted to introduce different aspects of the gospel that can
help them.

A 'journal-worthy' experience happened the other night! We stopped to
talk to 3 guys on the street, we started to introduce the Christmas
video to them asking if they wanted to watch it, and one man said "hey
I can't pass up seeing a movie with two hot chicks!" My first thought
was 'what the heck!?" And then there was like .2 seconds of "well...
Thank you sir! Not the compliment I was going for, but I will take
it." And then the thought of "we should probably not be here right
now..."
Turns out they were harmless, a bit drunk, but nothing three sisters
can't handle!

We had the opportunity to go and contact a potential investigator
named Cecile. She was so kind when we first met her. When we got to
her home she was so gracious and happy. She welcomed us in and we sat
down, ready with the restoration. When we began talking she asked if
she could share her religion and what she believes. We knew that we
needed to sit and listen, she needed someone to talk too. Cecile has 2
parakeet birds that live in the living room, and it seemed the more we
talked the louder they chirped and tweeted! At points it was hard to
focus. But the lesson continued. After a while we began discussing
with her things that we believe and things we have in common. Sister
Monjar then diligently followed a spiritual prompting to share 1 Nephi
11: 14-21 about when the angel came to Nephi in a vision and he saw
Mary the mother of Jesus. Right at the moment she began to read from
the Book of Mormon, the birds that were so loud and distracting,
stopped. They were silent. The only thing that filled the room was the
spirit of the Lord testifying to all of us that the things Sis. Monjar
was reading was true. They were quiet the entire time she read the
passages, and then began again when the discussion went on. It was
beautiful and awe inspiring. A small moment in time that solidifies
the testimonies in our hearts, that the Lord truly is mindful. And
that the Book of Mormon is the word of God!

 

I hope that with the new year, we can each make a goal to read the
Book of Mormon every day. It is SO IMPORTANT. I promise you that if
you do, this year will be a great one. You can never go wrong when you
are on the Lords side.

Love you all!!!

Sister Lewis

MAINE ❤️❤️❤️

December 28, 2015

December 28, 2015

Fact: what Utahns call 'white elephant' new englanders call a 'Yankee
swap'. Yankee swaps are a lot less brutal than white elephant gift
exchanges, at least as far as I have experienced.

This week was a lot different than I thought I would be experiencing
this time of year.
It started off with some really far out experiences like: inviting a
person to learn more about Jesus Christ, and then him interrupting us
to confess that he was a 'raging heroine addict' and that he needed a
'fixing'. We were also followed by a crazy man who was laughing
hysterically and shouting word that I am pretty sure we're not
English.
It was all down hill from there.
  My sweet companion, bless her heart, was inflicted with much pain as
she endured kidney stones. (She gave me permission to tell you.) we
ended up in the ER for a good chunk of Wednesday evening as they tried
to find ways to help her. To no avail, she was left to her own
devices. On Christmas Eve we went to a members home and she curled up
on their couch and I helped with the Christmas festivities. We had an
AMAZING time! It was so much fun getting to know them better and to be
in their spirit-filled home. The next day was Christmas! Shout out to
my awesome family!! It was so awesome to talk to you and see your
gorgeous faces!!!! We spent the day with the AMAZING Weiss family! It
was so comforting to be with people like them, family away from
family, on such a sacred holiday. I feel absolutely blessed that I was
able to be with them and for everything they did for us to help us
have a memorable Christmas. :)
We went to our bishops home after the Weiss's and played games.
Glorious games!! It feels like it's been a million years since I have
played, it was so fun!
The things that I have learned from this week will carry me through my
mission, and through my life. The people in this area, and especially
this Ward, have a special place in my heart.

There is nothing big and glamorous about a mission. They aren't filled
with extravagant experiences, orchestras don't play in the background
as you leave your apartment in the morning. Fireworks don't go off
when something amazing happens.
The life altering, soul changing, experiences often come in quiet,
sentimental experiences. Like sitting by a fire and talking about
things of the spirit with people that you love. Long hugs. Sentimental
scripture sharing. Bearing testimony over the phone.

I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity in concord (getting
transferred tomorrow) but I know that I was here for a reason, I met
people I needed to meet, I learned things about myself that I would
have only learned here.

I love this mission!!

Sister Lewis

December 21, 2015

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

We had a wonderful zone conference this week, where we learned so many
awesome and amazing tools to help in our missionary efforts here, in
the blessed land of New England.
Our mission sets a 'vision' for every new year. Our 2015 vision was:
"rescue 1000 in 2015"
Our 2016 vision is: " every member invites an individual of a family
to their home to take the lessons from the missionaries." Or something
like that.
IM. SO. EXCITED!!!
I think that this is by far the best thing that we can do over here
because we need to help the members feel the missionary spirit, and I
believe that it will be the most beneficial way to find people to
teach.

We have already started to see the beauty of this vision come to pass!
We have been to a few members homes where they tell us the people they
want us to go and visit, and we invited them to go with us, and now
they are excited to be involved in the missionary work! It's so
fantastic!!

Another fantastic thing is that I got to try LOBSTER for the first
time and it is AMAZING!! It's so crazy how lobster is such a delicacy,
and yet it's the messiest and creepiest meal I have ever eaten! Mmmmmm
but soooooo good!!!