3-14-11
Mi Quierida familia y amigos,
Como estan?! This week I've been focusing more on my Spanish and trying to think, read, pray, talk, everything in it so I'll be ready for next transfer because I have some big news.... I'm going to be a trainer! I'm still kind of freaking out in my mind when I think about it, and I'm not sure what the Lord or Pres. Nelson are thinking, but I know this is His work and if I do it His way we will be successful so I said yes. I'm going into my 4th transfer tomorrow and as of tomorrow I'll have been here in Far Rockaway for exactly 6 weeks, but I don't feel like I know anything. Not only as a missionary do I feel extremely young and inexperienced, not to mention my Spanish on some days is horrible (one lady in our branch gave me this little children's book, just like the one we'd read out of with you mom when you taught us how to read, but this one's in Spanish and supposed to help pronunciation since she said my Spanish was very crude and green), but then on Sunday randomly I had to translate for an auxiliaries leaders meeting and it all just flowed and I was able to say everything and everyone understood me, so go figure. Anyway I also am completely unfamiliar with the area since we're in cars and I haven't driven (literally I can't remember the last time I drove a car, maybe in August?) so I never know where we are at or where we are going. So these last few days I've been determinedly trying to memorize streets, writing down all the information I can and getting every scrap of info out of Elder Simkins' head before he leaves. So tomorrow I'm going to go get my "kid" and word on the street is that a bunch of the new greenies are natives from Mexico so hopefully I'll get my first native companion and my Spanish will skyrocket! I'm super nervous that I'm supposed to show him the ropes and thinking about how much I could influence the rest of his mission is really daunting, but we're both going to be so young we will just have to learn together!
This week was mainly filled with Simkins saying his farewells to everyone, he has been here for 3 transfers (almost 5 months, as much time as I've been in NYC!) and has gotten really close with a lot of people, so actual teaching hasn't been the priority, just a lot of picture taking and exchanging information, but also it's good that I'm getting to see all of them and I’m trying to set up apps. for next week! Another fun thing this week is the presence of Judaism here. In the middle of a lesson in the projects with this sweet 86 yr old frail little black women that looks just like I imagine you'll look in 30 years mom (she doesn't use a cane and can read fine without glasses and still sings in her Pentecostal churches' choir which we know requires a LOT of energy), while teaching her I don't think she really was understanding, she just likes talking about the Lord so we kept trying to get her to tell us what she was understanding to know where to go with it, and randomly she just turned to me and says, " You're Jewish aren't you? I love Jews, I love everyone!". In spite of my efforts to assure her that I wasn't Jewish by religion or ethnicity she wouldn't believe me. This whole peninsula is covered in Jewish communities, tons of schools, synagogues, stores, etc. with English and Hebrew writing, all the stores have signs saying they are Kosher, and walking in the streets are all the men in wide brimmed black hats and long beards, and little boys with yamachas (sp?) anyway, ever since I got here everyone has been asking me if I was Jewish, but this week especially we had several interesting times when people thought I literally was Jewish! They all wear Sunday clothes, have the same facial features as me (if you know what I mean.lol yeah Lewis family!), and have curly brown hair. If I put one of those caps on I could probably walk into a synagogue and no one would say a thing. Apparently I must have ancestors from the tribe of Judah because it's ‘minorly’ eerie how well I fit in with them. I've never lived in close proximity to large Jewish communities before so I always thought it was a funny joke, but now I get asked if I'm a Jew several times a day!
Back on a serious note; Yesterday was an especially good day since we got to fast (little Lewis Pease I hope is okay), and also Jason and Tonia were finally confirmed. The spirit is so strong when the Lord is using you as an instrument in His hands, just feeling the Spirit confirming what we were saying was from the Lord really stuck out to me. I love this gospel and this work!! Although it was interesting doing it in a little branch with such brand new leadership that doesn't really know much, but we're all learning together! I can't believe next transfer Elder Scott will be District Leader (he's only a transfer older than me), but he's an awesome missionary and we're super stoked for the growing enthusiasm by the branch leadership for missionary work! He is a great guy that will definitely help all of us to grow and reach our potential and I'm blessed to get to serve around him. His comp will be on his 7th transfer, he'll be on his 5th, I'll be on my 4th and my kid will be on his 1st, so this will REALLY be a baby district. Greenie fire all the way! We're pumped, although a little apprehensive, but it will all work out in the end. Just gotta have faith=) Yo tengo fe! Oh also last night we showed "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration" to the Berrett girls (Sis. Randalls' granddaughters, only one is a member) and the Castillo girls (all recent converts that match up perfectly in age with the Berretts). I love that movie, it literally gives me chills it is so powerful. Man being on a mission is the best because we just get to do things that invite the Holy Ghost all day long! Nothing is better than that. It's still so cool seeing Joseph (Nathan Mitchell) and thinking how much he looks like his little brother my friend Andrew Mitchell from back home. Cool stuff!
Other than that, the week has been more or less the same. We had pupusas again on Sun which I absolutely love! This morning we had breakfast at Sister Randall's (this large and loud black woman). I haven't had waffles in forever, she also made amazing French toast with this hcallah bread and I got her to make that buttermilk syrup that you make mom that we put on that blueberry breakfast bread pudding thing, it was sooo good! Also sausages and bacon, fruit, the works! We felt like kings, it was awesome. I'm sure excited to get to work here for at least another 6 weeks, probably longer. I apparently am the clone of an Elder Harris that was here for 9 months so everyone thinks I'll be here until my year mark! Crazy I'm already past my 6 month mark. 1/4 of my mission over. It's just going to get faster!
Well I better go, but I can't wait to hear back from all of you. Thanks for the letters, e-mails, pictures, etc. I love you! I hope everything is okay with all the storms. The tsunami and earthquake in Japan have been on all the channels the last couple of days. I hope everything is safe in Oregon! I love and pray for you=)
Love, Elder Lewis
Monday, March 14, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
110228
2-28-11
Dear Family and Friends,
I'm so sorry, but this week's letter is going to be VERY short. We don't have any time since we went to a different library this week and we only get 1/2 an hour. It's like the MTC again! I've been spoiled. This week has truly been a week of miracles and growth I can't even begin to explain.
First off the hi-light for me was yesterday. Jason and Tonia Blount were baptized!!! I got to baptize Jason and Elder Simkins baptized Tonia (pronounced Tanya). They are shining examples to me of their dedication to the Lord and determination to always follow His will. They are going to be such a wonderful asset to this struggling little branch. Jason is looking forward to learning more and getting to baptize his son, and Tonia is so happy to be united as a family, they want to work towards the temple so they can be an eternal family. It's amazing just hearing about the type of life and relationship they had before, and how much they have changed and grown in the 4 weeks I've been able to be around them. I would say teach, but truly us Elders just get them to sit down on the couch and then the Spirit does the rest. It's the coolest experience. The baptism was pretty stressful at first since something happened over the weekend in the rain storms and the water heater wasn't working so the water came out freezing cold and not exactly pristine clean, but it turned out alright. I didn't think it was THAT cold, but everyone else when they touched it said it was, and poor Jason and Tonia had to go all the way under. I guess after having cold water for so long I'm immune to it=) It was a really good service, next week we have a District Conference so they won't be confirmed for 2 weeks, but I'm not too worried about them, they're so good!! I had to play the piano at the service which was a little scary, but luckily the 2 we had chosen were randomly ones that I could actually play! A tender mercy of the Lord. I loved the support from the branch and all the members that came out to support. I wish I would have gone to more baptismal services back home, I can't remember the last one I went to in Oregon and I can't imagine our ward never had them, I just never went! They are such a spiritual experience, even if you just watch!
The week has also been amazing because of all our amazing investigators! The Lord has truly blessed us more than we deserve! We were able to meet with a lot of them and have some good lessons, and I think we're making progress. Only Jason and Tonia could make it to church, but the others called last minute and said they couldn't make it, which although it is disappointing, at least they called unlike normally when people just "juke" you and never tell you what's going on.
(I just found out that we can sign in and get another 1/2 hr.!) The other hi-light of the week was Zone Conference!! We only get this every other transfer so it is especially a cherished time of instruction and learning. I'm continually impressed by my wonderful mission president and feel so blessed to learn from him. I also love our AP's, Elder Cottrell from American Fork, UT he was my first ZL back in Brooklyn so it was great to get to see him again. It's amazing how the Lord takes ordinary young men and can turn them into spiritual giants like them. It's a testimony to me that the Lord truly does qualify those he calls, so I guess there's hope for me!! The conference put a ton of emphasis on working with members in order to be more affective in the work. We went through the scriptures, did practicing, and had really good discussions about our role as missionaries, the role of the members and how we have the responsibility to help them and strengthen them. I loved a letter I recently received from you mom that talked about how as a missionary my most important work and conversion probably won't be with the investigators that I baptize, but my companions, and I think also the ward members that we interact with. Helping them see what the church teaches, and how it can bless them more than they can even imagine. The media and culture out here seem to be even further advanced into the world and the downward spiral into disbelief and low morals that it's such a struggle for the members here to stay afloat and separate themselves from the oily water that seems to invade every home and household. Those few shining lights of hope and examples of what life could and should be are so wonderful I love the members that I can count on to carry the rest of the branch. Our Branch President and his wife, they sacrifice so very much I can't imagine what a temptation it would be to just move back to UT. Every light counts out here! Anyway, I just loved getting to learn how we can strengthen the members and help them to have greater testimonies in Christ and his gospel, and then hopefully spark in them the desire to share that with others. Every member a missionary: I wish I would have taken that literally before! Also at the conference we learned a lot about working with less-actives, and taking advantage of using all the resources God has given us. It's so true what Elder Cottrell said about the homes of inactives are a gold mine for potential members! I already knew that because of the amazing advice from family members like my sweet sister in law Katherine, but I guess now I can see how we can apply that specifically here in Far Rockaway! I won't bore you with any more details about the things that I learned and it sufficeth me to say that I've learned a lot and I'm rededicating myself to working on being better! So much to do and not enough time, but all things are possible with God, I'm just going to be very exhausted when he's done with me=)
The weather here isn't too bad, mostly rainy so it reminds me of Oregon, it gets cold, but not nearly as cold as January in East New York! Don't worry mom the members are keeping us well fed and are very sweet and thoughtful, giving us food even if we don't have time to eat with them. I love the people here! No matter where you go you can find some gems, as long as you get to know them enough. I can't believe I only have 2 weeks left of the transfer. I'm going to be VERY sad when Elder Simkins leaves, in spite of our differences, we're learning to make the best and communicate better so we can work with unity and we strive to have the spirit with us. It’s not easy, but if we're committed to it, we learn how to be better, and then it makes us feel better. Win win for everyone=)
I love this work, I can't even explain how amazing it is, what joy it gives, the way it enlivens and lightens up my soul each and every day. To be a servant of the Lord is truly the most blessed role I could ask for and the happiest I have ever been. This is Christ's church on the Earth without a doubt. We have the opportunity in the car occasionally to listen to conference talks and I KNOW we are led and guided by men called of God. I love and miss all of you, and keep you in my prayers!
Love, Elder Lewis
Dear Family and Friends,
I'm so sorry, but this week's letter is going to be VERY short. We don't have any time since we went to a different library this week and we only get 1/2 an hour. It's like the MTC again! I've been spoiled. This week has truly been a week of miracles and growth I can't even begin to explain.
First off the hi-light for me was yesterday. Jason and Tonia Blount were baptized!!! I got to baptize Jason and Elder Simkins baptized Tonia (pronounced Tanya). They are shining examples to me of their dedication to the Lord and determination to always follow His will. They are going to be such a wonderful asset to this struggling little branch. Jason is looking forward to learning more and getting to baptize his son, and Tonia is so happy to be united as a family, they want to work towards the temple so they can be an eternal family. It's amazing just hearing about the type of life and relationship they had before, and how much they have changed and grown in the 4 weeks I've been able to be around them. I would say teach, but truly us Elders just get them to sit down on the couch and then the Spirit does the rest. It's the coolest experience. The baptism was pretty stressful at first since something happened over the weekend in the rain storms and the water heater wasn't working so the water came out freezing cold and not exactly pristine clean, but it turned out alright. I didn't think it was THAT cold, but everyone else when they touched it said it was, and poor Jason and Tonia had to go all the way under. I guess after having cold water for so long I'm immune to it=) It was a really good service, next week we have a District Conference so they won't be confirmed for 2 weeks, but I'm not too worried about them, they're so good!! I had to play the piano at the service which was a little scary, but luckily the 2 we had chosen were randomly ones that I could actually play! A tender mercy of the Lord. I loved the support from the branch and all the members that came out to support. I wish I would have gone to more baptismal services back home, I can't remember the last one I went to in Oregon and I can't imagine our ward never had them, I just never went! They are such a spiritual experience, even if you just watch!
The week has also been amazing because of all our amazing investigators! The Lord has truly blessed us more than we deserve! We were able to meet with a lot of them and have some good lessons, and I think we're making progress. Only Jason and Tonia could make it to church, but the others called last minute and said they couldn't make it, which although it is disappointing, at least they called unlike normally when people just "juke" you and never tell you what's going on.
(I just found out that we can sign in and get another 1/2 hr.!) The other hi-light of the week was Zone Conference!! We only get this every other transfer so it is especially a cherished time of instruction and learning. I'm continually impressed by my wonderful mission president and feel so blessed to learn from him. I also love our AP's, Elder Cottrell from American Fork, UT he was my first ZL back in Brooklyn so it was great to get to see him again. It's amazing how the Lord takes ordinary young men and can turn them into spiritual giants like them. It's a testimony to me that the Lord truly does qualify those he calls, so I guess there's hope for me!! The conference put a ton of emphasis on working with members in order to be more affective in the work. We went through the scriptures, did practicing, and had really good discussions about our role as missionaries, the role of the members and how we have the responsibility to help them and strengthen them. I loved a letter I recently received from you mom that talked about how as a missionary my most important work and conversion probably won't be with the investigators that I baptize, but my companions, and I think also the ward members that we interact with. Helping them see what the church teaches, and how it can bless them more than they can even imagine. The media and culture out here seem to be even further advanced into the world and the downward spiral into disbelief and low morals that it's such a struggle for the members here to stay afloat and separate themselves from the oily water that seems to invade every home and household. Those few shining lights of hope and examples of what life could and should be are so wonderful I love the members that I can count on to carry the rest of the branch. Our Branch President and his wife, they sacrifice so very much I can't imagine what a temptation it would be to just move back to UT. Every light counts out here! Anyway, I just loved getting to learn how we can strengthen the members and help them to have greater testimonies in Christ and his gospel, and then hopefully spark in them the desire to share that with others. Every member a missionary: I wish I would have taken that literally before! Also at the conference we learned a lot about working with less-actives, and taking advantage of using all the resources God has given us. It's so true what Elder Cottrell said about the homes of inactives are a gold mine for potential members! I already knew that because of the amazing advice from family members like my sweet sister in law Katherine, but I guess now I can see how we can apply that specifically here in Far Rockaway! I won't bore you with any more details about the things that I learned and it sufficeth me to say that I've learned a lot and I'm rededicating myself to working on being better! So much to do and not enough time, but all things are possible with God, I'm just going to be very exhausted when he's done with me=)
The weather here isn't too bad, mostly rainy so it reminds me of Oregon, it gets cold, but not nearly as cold as January in East New York! Don't worry mom the members are keeping us well fed and are very sweet and thoughtful, giving us food even if we don't have time to eat with them. I love the people here! No matter where you go you can find some gems, as long as you get to know them enough. I can't believe I only have 2 weeks left of the transfer. I'm going to be VERY sad when Elder Simkins leaves, in spite of our differences, we're learning to make the best and communicate better so we can work with unity and we strive to have the spirit with us. It’s not easy, but if we're committed to it, we learn how to be better, and then it makes us feel better. Win win for everyone=)
I love this work, I can't even explain how amazing it is, what joy it gives, the way it enlivens and lightens up my soul each and every day. To be a servant of the Lord is truly the most blessed role I could ask for and the happiest I have ever been. This is Christ's church on the Earth without a doubt. We have the opportunity in the car occasionally to listen to conference talks and I KNOW we are led and guided by men called of God. I love and miss all of you, and keep you in my prayers!
Love, Elder Lewis
110221 Logan's missionary letter
2/22/11
Dear Family and Friends,
First off, congratulations to LaDawn and Danny on #8! I can't wait to get pictures of adorable Katherine Lynette Mason! Also congrats to Aaron on his internship.
Sorry I'm not getting this letter out until today. Since yesterday was President's Day all the libraries were closed unfortunately so we didn't get a chance to write. Ironically today the libraries' systems are all down so we had to go to an internet cafe anyway, luckily my comp is beast friends with this crazy African lady that runs an internet cafe so she isn't charging us anything. Instead we're going to bring her a strawberry cheesecake for her birthday on the 27th.
So this last week was pretty exciting! At first the weather was super warm, but then it changed all of a sudden to being really cold and windy. Then 2 days ago we woke up to a blanket of snow everywhere. Right when you think you're rid of it for good... it just keeps coming back!! I can't wait for winter to be over. Oh well, it's not too bad when you're in a car, those are always extremely convenient!
Big event of the week was on Saturday, we had a temple trip! Since we have 5 recent converts (4 of which are youth) they all got to go on the District Youth Temple trip, so we got to go with them! I'm glad I got put in this pool when I did, I didn't even really do anything, but I got to go so I'm happy=) It was fun getting to ride in a car into Manhattan (last time I went there back when I was 14 we took a ferry from NJ), then the temple is right in the heart of it all! It was cool getting to see Central Park in the day time, and seeing Julliard and Broadway, but we didn't really have time for pictures since we were running late (of course). It’s a really cool set up with the temple on the first floor and then you can take an elevator up to a full sized church building with gym and everything; Kind of odd, but an interesting change. I loved the stained glass painting right at the entrance to the temple part, of the Savior on the road to Emmaus with the 2 disciples right after his resurrection. We got to do baptisms, confirmations, and everything! It was my first time where actually I got to help out, and we did some of them in Spanish which was pretty cool. Truly the temple is the house of the Lord on earth, the spirit is so strong there, it was especially touching seeing our converts the Castillo’s, the mother there with her 3 daughters, they were all so excited=) That's what makes a mission all worth it!
I also got a package from Esther's family with yummy cookies and a cute card for valentine’s day (I love having them close by), and even the Burton's were thinking of me and sent an adorable card written and signed by Eden, a bookmark she made for me which I get to look at every morning during breakfast when I read "Our Search for Happiness", and the hi-light was the fun Texan picture. I have NO pictures of my family except the tiny wallet sized one and some printed on family letters, but no ones to put in a photo album. I wish each of my siblings could send me a pic of their family, I want to show them all off!! Haha everyone freaks out when they find out how many siblings I have (even more so than before it seems), so I wish I had more than the black and white Christmas newsletter to show my wonderful family!
On Monday we had our zone activity and it was a little out of the ordinary... we went to a NY Islanders hockey game! My first hockey game ever! We beat the Boston(? not sure) Panthers 5-0 so it was pretty fun. Only one fight broke out which I guess was a little disappointing since all you ever hear about hockey is how great it is because it's legal to fight. It was a little odd seeing these players just kinda wrestling/punching each other and no one's even doing anything. I left my camera in my back pack of course so I don't have any photos, but hopefully I can get some from one of the other elders by copying it onto my camera. We also got free T-shirts out of the deal so that was fun=)
As for the mission work: we have lots of people that we find, it's pretty easy in the projects, and when we can teach everyone we talk to. A nice change from the city where 1/2 the people we talked to didn't live in our area, and we always had to turn over English speakers. Here we just teach anyone and everyone! It's awesome!! Our main investigators that have dates we were having a hard time getting a hold of, but we finally got a lesson in with them, solidified their date, got them excited but also emphasized the importance of it. The spirit was super strong and I'm way excited for them. Now that they're married and everything is good, Jason has overcome all his habits of smoking etc.. They really have changed around their lives and they always tell us about the amazing experiences they're having and how much God watches over them and is blessing them, but at the same time how hard the adversary is working to prevent them from making that vitally important covenant of baptism. We're going to meet with them again tonight, and again later in the week, then on Sunday they are going to be baptized! It's amazing how prepared the Lord has made them. Their journey to finding that this is Christ's church that he leads and guides it; their journey to baptism has been a long one, but they're finally ready! I feel so blessed just to be here to be a part of it!
we have some other stellar people that are really open and interested, but the problem is getting a hold of them or finding a time we can visit them. New York is seriously the busiest craziest place ever, no one stays still!!! I guess it's something that just comes with the territory=) Every day I meet new people that Simkins and Larson were teaching before I got here that we just haven't been able to get a hold of.
With recent converts we are trying hard to help these new members continue to strengthen their testimonies and ease their way into the very strange world/culture/language of the LDS community. I never fully appreciated how different it is, everything I just took for granted. It’s also interesting getting to see all the ways other religions do things and where we have similarities and differences. I don't think I'll ever see as many churches in any other part of the USA as I do here. There are dozens on every street corner, from little dingy ones squished between bodegas and pizza places, to grand cathedrals that dominate the whole street. Who knew that there were literally millions of types of churches, each one with a different name and doctrine. Crazy stuff!
We've had a pretty rough week with lots of ups and downs, being with one person 24/7 really isn't healthy no matter how hard you try, but I continue to re-find that service is the best way to love; selfless service, just cleaning up, doing small acts of kindness, making them breakfast, whatever, it makes you feel happier and remarkably if you don't expect anything in return you just feel better. We silly humans just keep making stupid mistakes, we never seem to learn. Oh well, I guess it makes the process all the more meaningful.
As for my Spanish, it comes and goes. Sometimes I think I'm pretty good, and then I'll try talking on the phone to Hna. Rivera and I'm not sure if anything she says is a coherent word or just a jumble of slurs. Then again I can't understand half the members over the phone in English either so I've decided that I rely way too much on facial expressions, hands etcetera to communicate=)
Well that's about it for us out here in Far Rockaway, New York! I still love living on the coast again, constantly miss the Oregon Coast, but every place has its unique beauty. I love every opportunity I get to share the gospel. Who would've thought that a mission could be this rewarding?!=) I love all of you and hope to hear from you eventually! The flow of letters is drying up, but everyone's busy. At least I can always count on my mom=) Love ya!
Love,
Elder Lewis
Dear Family and Friends,
First off, congratulations to LaDawn and Danny on #8! I can't wait to get pictures of adorable Katherine Lynette Mason! Also congrats to Aaron on his internship.
Sorry I'm not getting this letter out until today. Since yesterday was President's Day all the libraries were closed unfortunately so we didn't get a chance to write. Ironically today the libraries' systems are all down so we had to go to an internet cafe anyway, luckily my comp is beast friends with this crazy African lady that runs an internet cafe so she isn't charging us anything. Instead we're going to bring her a strawberry cheesecake for her birthday on the 27th.
So this last week was pretty exciting! At first the weather was super warm, but then it changed all of a sudden to being really cold and windy. Then 2 days ago we woke up to a blanket of snow everywhere. Right when you think you're rid of it for good... it just keeps coming back!! I can't wait for winter to be over. Oh well, it's not too bad when you're in a car, those are always extremely convenient!
Big event of the week was on Saturday, we had a temple trip! Since we have 5 recent converts (4 of which are youth) they all got to go on the District Youth Temple trip, so we got to go with them! I'm glad I got put in this pool when I did, I didn't even really do anything, but I got to go so I'm happy=) It was fun getting to ride in a car into Manhattan (last time I went there back when I was 14 we took a ferry from NJ), then the temple is right in the heart of it all! It was cool getting to see Central Park in the day time, and seeing Julliard and Broadway, but we didn't really have time for pictures since we were running late (of course). It’s a really cool set up with the temple on the first floor and then you can take an elevator up to a full sized church building with gym and everything; Kind of odd, but an interesting change. I loved the stained glass painting right at the entrance to the temple part, of the Savior on the road to Emmaus with the 2 disciples right after his resurrection. We got to do baptisms, confirmations, and everything! It was my first time where actually I got to help out, and we did some of them in Spanish which was pretty cool. Truly the temple is the house of the Lord on earth, the spirit is so strong there, it was especially touching seeing our converts the Castillo’s, the mother there with her 3 daughters, they were all so excited=) That's what makes a mission all worth it!
I also got a package from Esther's family with yummy cookies and a cute card for valentine’s day (I love having them close by), and even the Burton's were thinking of me and sent an adorable card written and signed by Eden, a bookmark she made for me which I get to look at every morning during breakfast when I read "Our Search for Happiness", and the hi-light was the fun Texan picture. I have NO pictures of my family except the tiny wallet sized one and some printed on family letters, but no ones to put in a photo album. I wish each of my siblings could send me a pic of their family, I want to show them all off!! Haha everyone freaks out when they find out how many siblings I have (even more so than before it seems), so I wish I had more than the black and white Christmas newsletter to show my wonderful family!
On Monday we had our zone activity and it was a little out of the ordinary... we went to a NY Islanders hockey game! My first hockey game ever! We beat the Boston(? not sure) Panthers 5-0 so it was pretty fun. Only one fight broke out which I guess was a little disappointing since all you ever hear about hockey is how great it is because it's legal to fight. It was a little odd seeing these players just kinda wrestling/punching each other and no one's even doing anything. I left my camera in my back pack of course so I don't have any photos, but hopefully I can get some from one of the other elders by copying it onto my camera. We also got free T-shirts out of the deal so that was fun=)
As for the mission work: we have lots of people that we find, it's pretty easy in the projects, and when we can teach everyone we talk to. A nice change from the city where 1/2 the people we talked to didn't live in our area, and we always had to turn over English speakers. Here we just teach anyone and everyone! It's awesome!! Our main investigators that have dates we were having a hard time getting a hold of, but we finally got a lesson in with them, solidified their date, got them excited but also emphasized the importance of it. The spirit was super strong and I'm way excited for them. Now that they're married and everything is good, Jason has overcome all his habits of smoking etc.. They really have changed around their lives and they always tell us about the amazing experiences they're having and how much God watches over them and is blessing them, but at the same time how hard the adversary is working to prevent them from making that vitally important covenant of baptism. We're going to meet with them again tonight, and again later in the week, then on Sunday they are going to be baptized! It's amazing how prepared the Lord has made them. Their journey to finding that this is Christ's church that he leads and guides it; their journey to baptism has been a long one, but they're finally ready! I feel so blessed just to be here to be a part of it!
we have some other stellar people that are really open and interested, but the problem is getting a hold of them or finding a time we can visit them. New York is seriously the busiest craziest place ever, no one stays still!!! I guess it's something that just comes with the territory=) Every day I meet new people that Simkins and Larson were teaching before I got here that we just haven't been able to get a hold of.
With recent converts we are trying hard to help these new members continue to strengthen their testimonies and ease their way into the very strange world/culture/language of the LDS community. I never fully appreciated how different it is, everything I just took for granted. It’s also interesting getting to see all the ways other religions do things and where we have similarities and differences. I don't think I'll ever see as many churches in any other part of the USA as I do here. There are dozens on every street corner, from little dingy ones squished between bodegas and pizza places, to grand cathedrals that dominate the whole street. Who knew that there were literally millions of types of churches, each one with a different name and doctrine. Crazy stuff!
We've had a pretty rough week with lots of ups and downs, being with one person 24/7 really isn't healthy no matter how hard you try, but I continue to re-find that service is the best way to love; selfless service, just cleaning up, doing small acts of kindness, making them breakfast, whatever, it makes you feel happier and remarkably if you don't expect anything in return you just feel better. We silly humans just keep making stupid mistakes, we never seem to learn. Oh well, I guess it makes the process all the more meaningful.
As for my Spanish, it comes and goes. Sometimes I think I'm pretty good, and then I'll try talking on the phone to Hna. Rivera and I'm not sure if anything she says is a coherent word or just a jumble of slurs. Then again I can't understand half the members over the phone in English either so I've decided that I rely way too much on facial expressions, hands etcetera to communicate=)
Well that's about it for us out here in Far Rockaway, New York! I still love living on the coast again, constantly miss the Oregon Coast, but every place has its unique beauty. I love every opportunity I get to share the gospel. Who would've thought that a mission could be this rewarding?!=) I love all of you and hope to hear from you eventually! The flow of letters is drying up, but everyone's busy. At least I can always count on my mom=) Love ya!
Love,
Elder Lewis
110214 Logans missionary letter
Week #23 2-14-11
Dear Family and Friends,
Happy Valentine's Day!!!!
Well I've been in Far Rockaway for almost 2 weeks now and it has been quite the adventure! The work is so different when working English and Spanish, and then having a car... It's still taking getting used to. The weather here has been absolutely amazing, at least this week. I guess I spoke too soon when I agreed with what everyone told me that February would be the coldest, or maybe I"m speaking too soon now since we're only half way through. It's rather ironic since last week was okay, just some days of freezing rain/snow and gross weather like that, but nothing too detrimental. This week had lots of sunny days, tons of the snow is melting and I can see grass again, it's amazing! I rarely get to see grass in New York anyway since they don't exactly have "open spaces" those are called lots, and they're always full of broken rusty cars and an unsanitary accumulation of trash. Well I'm enjoying seeing the grass as the layers of snow/ice that has covered it for 2 months is finally receding! My companion is from AZ and is always very excited when the sun shines, he literally is 10x happier when it's sunny like today, so that puts me in a better mood and the whole day goes better! It's too bad that I just got a bunch of hand/feet warmers right when I thought I'd need them, but if this weather keeps up, I guess I'll save them for next year (I can't believe I'm going to have to survive another winter here! I'm not looking forward to it)!
In planning last week we set some pretty high goals, we wanted to reach a week of excellence (the standard set up by Pres. Nelson), and we had soo many lessons! It was amazing the times we didn't think we were gonna get our goal for the day, but then somehow somthing would happen and it would all just work out! Anyway, needless to say we did a lot of walking, a lot of talking, and a lot of teaching!
Most of our investigators this week actually were not being very cooperative (as in no matter how much we tried to twist/contort/change/last minute scramble to meet when them when they said they had a moment, they still weren't there), but it was a good opportunity to find a lot of other people. If we go to someone's house and they're not home (which is a lot now that reality has set back in, I still don't know how my first week everything went perfectly) we just go knock doors in that apartment building. If we really have no leads and no one to try, we'll say a quick prayer asking for the guidance we need to find the person that needs us. Everytime we did that we'd get an impression and more often than not we'd feel like one certain floor was where we needed to go. Without fail, when we did this we'd find someone who obviouisly needed us, whether they had a son that was a member, or they had taken the lessons back in their country, etc.. Always they were, as Elder Pearson says " a 3 ready to be a 4, or a 4 ready to be a 5.", the Lord had already had played a role in their lives where they knew of the church and wanted to find out more. I'm looking forward to following up with those people and hope that they still have that desire!
Wed. we got to attend a ward meeting with all the auxilary leaders which is always fun with the language barrier, but they're trying to do better on making a Branch mission plan, they just don't really understand the concept I think, so we're trying to help them understand what we as missionaries do, and where they as the members need to be doing, what their role is, as individuals and as a branch. It's so strange being out here where the church members are all so young in the church, almost all converts, and it's just a struggle to do the basic things that I always took for granted:priesthood holders, home teachers, cooperation/love between members, etc. It's like a whole new world. Sometimes I'm surprised I'm still in the USA. Now I know what Aunt Durelle and Esther's familes were talking about with the struggles of the church out East. It's so weird since the church was founded in the same state I am in right now! For Youth Conference the youth are going to the Hill Cumorah Pageant and doing the whole church history thing. They don't even realize how lucky they are!
Friday we had a CDM where we reviewed Elder Pearson's talk and discussed what that means for our mission, what goals we want to make, and what we have to do in order to accomplish them. It was really inspiring and I'm excited to try and put into practice this desire to step it up and perform at the next level. It was a really good discussion and I really like my new zone. My "Pops" Elder Kerby is a District Leader in my zone so it's fun being around him again.
Saturday the branch had a Valentines Party which was fun, mostly only the Spanish speakers came, it's kind of sad seeing the tension between the differences of the 2 cultures. A language barrier can be quite the hinderance to the cooperation and collaboration of the members, but this is the Lord's work so I just do the best I can and try to just love everyone. It's really interesting how the more you serve someone the more you come to love them. Even if they do things that you don't always necessarily like, if you are serving them and trying to help them, then you can't help but love them! It also holds true for companions. I don't think you can ever live with someone and get along perfectly, we're all just too human, but if you really have an attitude of service and looking for ways to help them, then they'll reciprocate and you'll both be happy. In the end it equals out and it really wasn't a struggle to serve them, but you got a lot more out of it. Another thing I'm enjoying with Elder Simkins is that we talk a lot. In the White Handbook it encourages us to talk frequently, so that's what we do! All day long we just get to know each other better. It's a lot of fun and makes the walking or waiting on a bus go by faster (well if your not fearlessing someone, then the bus ride is over in 2 seconds before you can even get the person's information!) Anyway, we were happy some of our less actives we work with came to the party and brought non-member friends=)
Sunday was basically the best day ever. Probably because... We had a baptism!! It was Ashley, the daughter of the family that a lot of them got baptized 1-2 months ago, she finally got her answer and it was really cool helping her figure that out and understand that she needed to be baptized. Anyway, all the work and effort that my comp has been doing for 2 months finally came to fruition. The Dad of the family is antagonistic and was really mad when his ex-wife and other kids got baptized, but the mom has full custody so they could get baptized, but it's still really hard for the kids, and the son is only 8 and doesn't want to talk to us because of his dad, but the women of the household (of course, always women are more spiritually intune) are now all members of the church. We're super excited! I was able to be a witness for her and also the other companionship in our distric they had a baptism as well, the father of a family that has been innactive for years and only these last couple months have been reactivated and now the whole family is united, and the younger kids can be raised in the gospel. Ashley was able to be confirmed a member and receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost so on Sat. she can go with all the youth in the district to the temple. It's going to be a special time for them since the mom and all of her daughters will get to go to the temple. I also am blessed to get to go with them, even though normally as missionaries we only get to go at our 1 year mark and right before we go home. I can't wait! At the baptism we also (all the Elders) did a musical number in Spanish and it was really nice. I love how strongly music can invite the spirit and strengthen it. Hearing everyone's testimonies in church last week and then at the baptism was very encouraging. I've only been here for 13 days, but I already love it, with all of it's projects/ghettos and scary neighborhoods, these people need the gospel more than anyone else. Like my friend Elder Kimo Lawther told me in a letter while he was working in a scarier part of town, "Instead of taking the people out of the bad area, we take the bad out of the people and let them change their surroundings to be better." Well yeah I guess that's it!
Like I say every week. A mission is the best thing a young man can do and I love it! I'll be eternally grateful for these experiences, the things I learn, the people I meet. I hope I never forget these feelings, the changes I've seen, and can always stay true to this gospel. Seeing the members and visiting ALL the innactive/less-active it's amazing to see the night and day difference. Even if a person knows the church is true, if they aren't attending their meetings and doing the things they know they should, they are not happy. They sometimes pretend, but you can feel the spirit if it's present in a home, and unless children are raised with gospel principles, they will not fulfill the potential that they had, they are deprived from a home filled with love and the spirit. That's one of the saddest things I've seen. I'm so grateful for my wonderful family where I was always raised to know of these things, able to feel the spirit. Once you've felt it, the lack of it is agonizingly apparent! I'm grateful that each and every day I get the opportunity to bear my testimony of my savior Jesus Christ and the truthfulness of His gospel, and His church restored to the Earth once again! There's nothing better than that!
Elder Lewis
Dear Family and Friends,
Happy Valentine's Day!!!!
Well I've been in Far Rockaway for almost 2 weeks now and it has been quite the adventure! The work is so different when working English and Spanish, and then having a car... It's still taking getting used to. The weather here has been absolutely amazing, at least this week. I guess I spoke too soon when I agreed with what everyone told me that February would be the coldest, or maybe I"m speaking too soon now since we're only half way through. It's rather ironic since last week was okay, just some days of freezing rain/snow and gross weather like that, but nothing too detrimental. This week had lots of sunny days, tons of the snow is melting and I can see grass again, it's amazing! I rarely get to see grass in New York anyway since they don't exactly have "open spaces" those are called lots, and they're always full of broken rusty cars and an unsanitary accumulation of trash. Well I'm enjoying seeing the grass as the layers of snow/ice that has covered it for 2 months is finally receding! My companion is from AZ and is always very excited when the sun shines, he literally is 10x happier when it's sunny like today, so that puts me in a better mood and the whole day goes better! It's too bad that I just got a bunch of hand/feet warmers right when I thought I'd need them, but if this weather keeps up, I guess I'll save them for next year (I can't believe I'm going to have to survive another winter here! I'm not looking forward to it)!
In planning last week we set some pretty high goals, we wanted to reach a week of excellence (the standard set up by Pres. Nelson), and we had soo many lessons! It was amazing the times we didn't think we were gonna get our goal for the day, but then somehow somthing would happen and it would all just work out! Anyway, needless to say we did a lot of walking, a lot of talking, and a lot of teaching!
Most of our investigators this week actually were not being very cooperative (as in no matter how much we tried to twist/contort/change/last minute scramble to meet when them when they said they had a moment, they still weren't there), but it was a good opportunity to find a lot of other people. If we go to someone's house and they're not home (which is a lot now that reality has set back in, I still don't know how my first week everything went perfectly) we just go knock doors in that apartment building. If we really have no leads and no one to try, we'll say a quick prayer asking for the guidance we need to find the person that needs us. Everytime we did that we'd get an impression and more often than not we'd feel like one certain floor was where we needed to go. Without fail, when we did this we'd find someone who obviouisly needed us, whether they had a son that was a member, or they had taken the lessons back in their country, etc.. Always they were, as Elder Pearson says " a 3 ready to be a 4, or a 4 ready to be a 5.", the Lord had already had played a role in their lives where they knew of the church and wanted to find out more. I'm looking forward to following up with those people and hope that they still have that desire!
Wed. we got to attend a ward meeting with all the auxilary leaders which is always fun with the language barrier, but they're trying to do better on making a Branch mission plan, they just don't really understand the concept I think, so we're trying to help them understand what we as missionaries do, and where they as the members need to be doing, what their role is, as individuals and as a branch. It's so strange being out here where the church members are all so young in the church, almost all converts, and it's just a struggle to do the basic things that I always took for granted:priesthood holders, home teachers, cooperation/love between members, etc. It's like a whole new world. Sometimes I'm surprised I'm still in the USA. Now I know what Aunt Durelle and Esther's familes were talking about with the struggles of the church out East. It's so weird since the church was founded in the same state I am in right now! For Youth Conference the youth are going to the Hill Cumorah Pageant and doing the whole church history thing. They don't even realize how lucky they are!
Friday we had a CDM where we reviewed Elder Pearson's talk and discussed what that means for our mission, what goals we want to make, and what we have to do in order to accomplish them. It was really inspiring and I'm excited to try and put into practice this desire to step it up and perform at the next level. It was a really good discussion and I really like my new zone. My "Pops" Elder Kerby is a District Leader in my zone so it's fun being around him again.
Saturday the branch had a Valentines Party which was fun, mostly only the Spanish speakers came, it's kind of sad seeing the tension between the differences of the 2 cultures. A language barrier can be quite the hinderance to the cooperation and collaboration of the members, but this is the Lord's work so I just do the best I can and try to just love everyone. It's really interesting how the more you serve someone the more you come to love them. Even if they do things that you don't always necessarily like, if you are serving them and trying to help them, then you can't help but love them! It also holds true for companions. I don't think you can ever live with someone and get along perfectly, we're all just too human, but if you really have an attitude of service and looking for ways to help them, then they'll reciprocate and you'll both be happy. In the end it equals out and it really wasn't a struggle to serve them, but you got a lot more out of it. Another thing I'm enjoying with Elder Simkins is that we talk a lot. In the White Handbook it encourages us to talk frequently, so that's what we do! All day long we just get to know each other better. It's a lot of fun and makes the walking or waiting on a bus go by faster (well if your not fearlessing someone, then the bus ride is over in 2 seconds before you can even get the person's information!) Anyway, we were happy some of our less actives we work with came to the party and brought non-member friends=)
Sunday was basically the best day ever. Probably because... We had a baptism!! It was Ashley, the daughter of the family that a lot of them got baptized 1-2 months ago, she finally got her answer and it was really cool helping her figure that out and understand that she needed to be baptized. Anyway, all the work and effort that my comp has been doing for 2 months finally came to fruition. The Dad of the family is antagonistic and was really mad when his ex-wife and other kids got baptized, but the mom has full custody so they could get baptized, but it's still really hard for the kids, and the son is only 8 and doesn't want to talk to us because of his dad, but the women of the household (of course, always women are more spiritually intune) are now all members of the church. We're super excited! I was able to be a witness for her and also the other companionship in our distric they had a baptism as well, the father of a family that has been innactive for years and only these last couple months have been reactivated and now the whole family is united, and the younger kids can be raised in the gospel. Ashley was able to be confirmed a member and receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost so on Sat. she can go with all the youth in the district to the temple. It's going to be a special time for them since the mom and all of her daughters will get to go to the temple. I also am blessed to get to go with them, even though normally as missionaries we only get to go at our 1 year mark and right before we go home. I can't wait! At the baptism we also (all the Elders) did a musical number in Spanish and it was really nice. I love how strongly music can invite the spirit and strengthen it. Hearing everyone's testimonies in church last week and then at the baptism was very encouraging. I've only been here for 13 days, but I already love it, with all of it's projects/ghettos and scary neighborhoods, these people need the gospel more than anyone else. Like my friend Elder Kimo Lawther told me in a letter while he was working in a scarier part of town, "Instead of taking the people out of the bad area, we take the bad out of the people and let them change their surroundings to be better." Well yeah I guess that's it!
Like I say every week. A mission is the best thing a young man can do and I love it! I'll be eternally grateful for these experiences, the things I learn, the people I meet. I hope I never forget these feelings, the changes I've seen, and can always stay true to this gospel. Seeing the members and visiting ALL the innactive/less-active it's amazing to see the night and day difference. Even if a person knows the church is true, if they aren't attending their meetings and doing the things they know they should, they are not happy. They sometimes pretend, but you can feel the spirit if it's present in a home, and unless children are raised with gospel principles, they will not fulfill the potential that they had, they are deprived from a home filled with love and the spirit. That's one of the saddest things I've seen. I'm so grateful for my wonderful family where I was always raised to know of these things, able to feel the spirit. Once you've felt it, the lack of it is agonizingly apparent! I'm grateful that each and every day I get the opportunity to bear my testimony of my savior Jesus Christ and the truthfulness of His gospel, and His church restored to the Earth once again! There's nothing better than that!
Elder Lewis
110207 letter to priests and laurels
2-7-11
Dear Priests and Laurels of the Springfield 5th Ward
Well I’m very honored to get this opportunity to talk to all of you about my missionary experiences so far. I’ve only been a missionary for 5 months (as of tomorrow), but that has already flown by! My mission even in such a short time has already become the best and most influential part of my life thus far. Starting out in the MTC I had the opportunity to solely focus on my relationship with my Heavenly Father and humbling myself so as to allow him to mold me into the kind of missionary He wanted me to be. I thought I knew a lot but how quickly the Lord shows us where we are weak, but like he tells us in Ether 12:27 he gives us these weaknesses to humble us and eventually make those our strengths! That has been what has been such a miracle for me. These things that we all struggle with whether it be boldly sharing our testimony, having the desire to keep the commandments, or being too prideful/judgmental, if we bring those to the Lord He WILL help us change to overcome them. There’s not anything much better than that! The only thing that compares to seeing your own change and progression on the path to our Heavenly Father, is being an instrument in His hands to help His other children begin their paths to Him. Having the calling and responsibility to enable you to focus entirely on the work of the Lord so you can be part of those experiences to help people through their conversion process really is the best thing that I have ever experienced. You always hear the cliché “Best Two Years”, but seriously the changes you’ll see others go through and your own personal spiritual growth will be the absolute best experience of your life. NO amount of time spent “hanging out with friends”, going to college, playing sports, or any other of the numerous other reasons people use as excuses, NONE of it compares to the joy you’ll have as a chosen servant of the Lord. In the Jan 2011 Ensign the First Presidency message talks about that greatest of joys. Trust me, I did the college scene, I did well in sports, I had tons of friends and had a lot of fun times but nothing is as FULFILLING as missionary work. I LOVE THIS WORK!! I know it’s true, and it’s a commandment that every worthy young man serve a mission. Don’t take lightly that commandment given to us from a prophet from God. Prepare NOW to be ready to have that wonderful blessing in your life.
Some things I wish I would have done were (there are so many!) I wish I could have taken the admonition more seriously, “Be a missionary now, as you prepare to be a full-time missionary”. I grew up in Oregon where I was the minority and I’d think it was too hard to share the gospel, but actually we’re lucky to be SURROUNDED by missionary opportunities. Most of our friends are non-members and we should always be an example for them and let them know we are who we are because we belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but also we should do more. Be willing to bring up the church with your friends if you feel the prompting of the Holy Ghost. Invite them to activities; invite them to church if they express interest. If they show actual interest or curiosity, invite them to meet with the missionaries. Even if you don’t do any of those things, get to know the missionaries in our ward, establish a friendship and all you priests go on splits with them!
If you feel like all of that is too much to ask; then start from the basics. Strengthen your own testimony that this is God’s true church restored again on the Earth. Come to gain your own testimony, no longer leaning on your parents’ and just doing things because your parents always have brought you to church. Do it because YOU know it’s true. The best way to do that is reading the Book of Mormon AND praying. There’s no substitute for those 2 things for helping you gain a testimony of these things.
Thanks for taking the time to listen to me. I hope you will actually act on my advice , and learn from my mistakes and start NOW to prepare for the best opportunity of your life! You all are so blessed to have the homes and families where you live, don’t ever take that for granted! Keep up the good work.
With Love,
Elder Lewis
Dear Priests and Laurels of the Springfield 5th Ward
Well I’m very honored to get this opportunity to talk to all of you about my missionary experiences so far. I’ve only been a missionary for 5 months (as of tomorrow), but that has already flown by! My mission even in such a short time has already become the best and most influential part of my life thus far. Starting out in the MTC I had the opportunity to solely focus on my relationship with my Heavenly Father and humbling myself so as to allow him to mold me into the kind of missionary He wanted me to be. I thought I knew a lot but how quickly the Lord shows us where we are weak, but like he tells us in Ether 12:27 he gives us these weaknesses to humble us and eventually make those our strengths! That has been what has been such a miracle for me. These things that we all struggle with whether it be boldly sharing our testimony, having the desire to keep the commandments, or being too prideful/judgmental, if we bring those to the Lord He WILL help us change to overcome them. There’s not anything much better than that! The only thing that compares to seeing your own change and progression on the path to our Heavenly Father, is being an instrument in His hands to help His other children begin their paths to Him. Having the calling and responsibility to enable you to focus entirely on the work of the Lord so you can be part of those experiences to help people through their conversion process really is the best thing that I have ever experienced. You always hear the cliché “Best Two Years”, but seriously the changes you’ll see others go through and your own personal spiritual growth will be the absolute best experience of your life. NO amount of time spent “hanging out with friends”, going to college, playing sports, or any other of the numerous other reasons people use as excuses, NONE of it compares to the joy you’ll have as a chosen servant of the Lord. In the Jan 2011 Ensign the First Presidency message talks about that greatest of joys. Trust me, I did the college scene, I did well in sports, I had tons of friends and had a lot of fun times but nothing is as FULFILLING as missionary work. I LOVE THIS WORK!! I know it’s true, and it’s a commandment that every worthy young man serve a mission. Don’t take lightly that commandment given to us from a prophet from God. Prepare NOW to be ready to have that wonderful blessing in your life.
Some things I wish I would have done were (there are so many!) I wish I could have taken the admonition more seriously, “Be a missionary now, as you prepare to be a full-time missionary”. I grew up in Oregon where I was the minority and I’d think it was too hard to share the gospel, but actually we’re lucky to be SURROUNDED by missionary opportunities. Most of our friends are non-members and we should always be an example for them and let them know we are who we are because we belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but also we should do more. Be willing to bring up the church with your friends if you feel the prompting of the Holy Ghost. Invite them to activities; invite them to church if they express interest. If they show actual interest or curiosity, invite them to meet with the missionaries. Even if you don’t do any of those things, get to know the missionaries in our ward, establish a friendship and all you priests go on splits with them!
If you feel like all of that is too much to ask; then start from the basics. Strengthen your own testimony that this is God’s true church restored again on the Earth. Come to gain your own testimony, no longer leaning on your parents’ and just doing things because your parents always have brought you to church. Do it because YOU know it’s true. The best way to do that is reading the Book of Mormon AND praying. There’s no substitute for those 2 things for helping you gain a testimony of these things.
Thanks for taking the time to listen to me. I hope you will actually act on my advice , and learn from my mistakes and start NOW to prepare for the best opportunity of your life! You all are so blessed to have the homes and families where you live, don’t ever take that for granted! Keep up the good work.
With Love,
Elder Lewis
110207 Logan's missionary letter
2-7-11 #22
Dear Family and Friends,
This week has been pretty hectic and I have a million things to tell you all about, but I'll limit this to some key prominent events. First off...Transfers! So after being in East New York, Brooklyn for 2 transfers (3 months nearly), I've finally left my birthplace. After lugging all my luggage ( I guess that's where the verb comes from) through snow/rain and the freezing cold onto numerous trains, up countless stairs and next to the freeway and through lots of puddles, I finally got to the mission office all in one piece (well mostly, I think that experience scarred me for life and now I will forever more appreciate the wonderful convenience of an automobile, especially during winter! Trains and busses can be quaint, but NOT for moving all your belongings that have to last you for 2 years!) Well the past is in the past. Now I'm in.... Far Rockaway! It's a little peninsula on the southern tip of Queens, bordering the JFK airport. My companion is Elder Simpkins from Thatcher, AZ (all my comps are from sunshine states: TX, AZ, CA! the exact opposite of rainy Oregon). He has only been out 2 transfers longer than me, so we're both pretty green, but he's really great and I've been extremely impressed at not only his Spanish, but his basic skills as a missionary, his love for the people, and strong desire to be obedient. Missions are great if only for the fact that you get to know such a wide variety of people and see how many amazing ones are out there! We work our district with only one other companionship: the DL Elder Stewart and his comp Elder Scott. All 4 of us are really young, under a year, but I kinda like it. We all are Spanish missionaries, but we teach Spanish and English in our pools. The branch here is pretty small. They meet on the 4th floor of some business building right above the AIDS clinic. The members are 70% Hispanic(quite a mix of every country: Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, DR and of course, Honduras etc..). The leaders are all Spanish speaking except the Elders Quorum President and of course the Sr. couple, Elder and Sis. Hunt from Draper, UT. Sacrament meeting switches off every week between English and Spanish and the Elders and a nice Sister from the ward have to translate. Everyone that doesn't speak the language the meeting is in that day, have to wear headphones. During meetings with missionaries and ward leaders we have to translate for the 3 non Spanish speakers. Luckily most of the branch leaders speak English to some extent or another, but they prefer Spanish so it always makes things interesting. Translating is extremely hard, I was only asked to do it for like 15 mins for a short meeting, and I think it's going to take a lot of practice to figure out the balance between listening, and repeating, saying literally or trying to just get the gist of it and saying that. I'm excited to learn though and I think it will help my Spanish a lot!
Already it has been tons of fun getting to teach in English and Spanish, the cultures are soooo different. It's fun being new since I never know what to expect when we go visit someone=) Another odd quirk to this specific area is that all the missionaries are only elders that speak Spanish and English. I guess this area is supposed to be as ghetto as you can get out on the "island" so it's fun seeing people's reactions that the only places I've been are E New York and Far Rockaway.
We have a car!! But we share it and only get it every other day. It’s amazing how much more we can get done with a car! We teach seriously twice as many lessons because we can just get to appointments ‘like that’ (imagine me snapping my fingers). I'm coming to love this area so much, even though I haven't even been here a week, I've been very warmly welcomed in, and the people are just amazing! Very diverse (we taught this Haitian family where they mostly speak Creole their native language, and French which is what their school language was, and in school they learned Spanish and being here for a year learning English so we would teach trying to use our knowledge of Spanish/English and whatever French words could be similar, languages are so fascinating I'm lucky to be somewhere that I'm exposed to soooo many! As for investigators, I'm loving not being blinded in!!! We have tons of great investigators, I don't know where these people come from, but I wish I'd found people like them in E New York. Already we have 3 baptismal commitments:, one with a girl whose sisters and mother got baptized a couple of months ago, but her dad is very antagonistic to the church and she was really struggling getting an answer. It was one of the coolest moments of my life seeing her conversion and change of heart and the effects of the Spirit on her, in just the 6 days I've been here! We also got 4 investigators to come to church!! Who knew that missionary work could actually have this many great---no ‘spectacular’, days. I'm waiting to wake up or something, it's too good to be true!
Also the weather has actually been really good. We’ve had a couple of days of cold and freezing rain/snow and lots of fog (it's like being in Oregon again!). We live right on the beach. We watch the sunrise from the ocean every morning while we are getting ready in the morning, and it's amazing!
On Friday I had one of the highlights of my mission. We had a mission conference where Elder Kevin Pearson of the 70 came, and I learned sooooo much! I thought I'd just use one of the few little blank pages in the back of my planner. I filled 3 and I was writing as tiny as possible. Already I've recopied my notes into my study journal so I don't forget anything. I don't have time to go over what he talked about, just a few quick things (I always say that, and then end up talking forever!). Mainly we learned how we need to change our identity. He talked a lot about his personal experiences as a missionary in Finland, and we realized how if we want to truly fulfill our purpose we need to forget "Logan the BYU student", and be the missionary, a representative of Christ, that he wants us to be. We need to be Disciples of Christ (which was the subject of Sunday school in church!). We talked a lot about repentance, humility, forgiveness, all these things that we really needed to hear. He hit on the power of prayer, and as a companionship we have changed the way/intent/frequentness of our prayers and we have already seen results. These men are inspired, truly called of God! He also talked about helping people come unto Christ, persevering, and how to treat/react to different people on different parts of their path back to their Heavenly Father. It really made me mindful of EVERYTHING I do, and made me mindful of making sure that if it's someone's first encounter with Christ's church, it's going to help them progress, not detract, from their conversion. He said "Conversion is always taking place, in everyone!" (emphasis added). I just loved that idea that everyone accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ before they came here, they know it, we are just reminding them, just like it says in Preach My Gospel.
Well my time technically isn't up since...I'm not in an internet cafe!!! We're in a library and it's free and we can do it as long as we'd like, but there are things to do, so I'll end with my testimony. Today I had the opportunity to write a letter to the Priest/Laurels back in my home ward. I thought a lot about what I would say, how I could help them prepare, what I wish I would have known, and mainly I summed it up with: 1.Being a missionary even if I wasn't set apart, and 2. strengthening my own testimony first if I want to share it with others. On my mission my testimony has become so much stronger. Before, I knew this church was true, I had felt the spirit confirm that to me multiple times, but had I truly been converted? I tried to live righteously, but was I living up to my potential, doing my best? Granted no one is ever going to be perfect, only Christ was and that's what makes His infinite atoning sacrifice so amazing, but I can always improve... a lot! Here I've seen how I was before, the way I acted, where my priorities were, where my heart truly was. I'm thankful for where I've been, because that helps me appreciate so much more what I am now (just like with having heating, hot water and a car!), but that thankfulness doesn't end there. It has spread into a desire to push through the temptations, the difficulties, the preoccupations of this life. I want to truly live as a disciple of Christ and make myself worthy to belong to his church. Now I know that I can do that, I've seen my progression and I KNOW. I know this church is Christ's church on the Earth and that he leads and guides it through his chosen prophets. I know that if I want to enjoy all the happiness and blessings in this life that God wants to give me, then it's me that has to change, not Him. When I pray at night, I don't tell him that he needs to give me this or that, or bless this investigator or that less active member, no. I pleadingly beg that I can change to know how to help them, to live my life worthily to always have the spirit with me, well at least more than just the few times when I bear witness of Christ's work on the Earth. I'm entitled to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, so that is what I need to work on to have. I know he loves me and knows me personally, individually, and more fully than anyone else. I know he has a work for me to do here in New York, that there are people that he has prepared for me to teach. I'm thankful for this opportunity to be an instrument in his hands and I'm so grateful that I've been blessed to get this far. I love each and every one of you, thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and all your support, spiritual or physical. I hope my being here on a mission can also help all of you to want to continue being missionaries in your respective places and that you will do your part to move the work along. The Lord has called us, we only need to respond to his call and act! I know these things are true, and I bear witness to their truthfulness in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Logan Lewis
Dear Family and Friends,
This week has been pretty hectic and I have a million things to tell you all about, but I'll limit this to some key prominent events. First off...Transfers! So after being in East New York, Brooklyn for 2 transfers (3 months nearly), I've finally left my birthplace. After lugging all my luggage ( I guess that's where the verb comes from) through snow/rain and the freezing cold onto numerous trains, up countless stairs and next to the freeway and through lots of puddles, I finally got to the mission office all in one piece (well mostly, I think that experience scarred me for life and now I will forever more appreciate the wonderful convenience of an automobile, especially during winter! Trains and busses can be quaint, but NOT for moving all your belongings that have to last you for 2 years!) Well the past is in the past. Now I'm in.... Far Rockaway! It's a little peninsula on the southern tip of Queens, bordering the JFK airport. My companion is Elder Simpkins from Thatcher, AZ (all my comps are from sunshine states: TX, AZ, CA! the exact opposite of rainy Oregon). He has only been out 2 transfers longer than me, so we're both pretty green, but he's really great and I've been extremely impressed at not only his Spanish, but his basic skills as a missionary, his love for the people, and strong desire to be obedient. Missions are great if only for the fact that you get to know such a wide variety of people and see how many amazing ones are out there! We work our district with only one other companionship: the DL Elder Stewart and his comp Elder Scott. All 4 of us are really young, under a year, but I kinda like it. We all are Spanish missionaries, but we teach Spanish and English in our pools. The branch here is pretty small. They meet on the 4th floor of some business building right above the AIDS clinic. The members are 70% Hispanic(quite a mix of every country: Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, DR and of course, Honduras etc..). The leaders are all Spanish speaking except the Elders Quorum President and of course the Sr. couple, Elder and Sis. Hunt from Draper, UT. Sacrament meeting switches off every week between English and Spanish and the Elders and a nice Sister from the ward have to translate. Everyone that doesn't speak the language the meeting is in that day, have to wear headphones. During meetings with missionaries and ward leaders we have to translate for the 3 non Spanish speakers. Luckily most of the branch leaders speak English to some extent or another, but they prefer Spanish so it always makes things interesting. Translating is extremely hard, I was only asked to do it for like 15 mins for a short meeting, and I think it's going to take a lot of practice to figure out the balance between listening, and repeating, saying literally or trying to just get the gist of it and saying that. I'm excited to learn though and I think it will help my Spanish a lot!
Already it has been tons of fun getting to teach in English and Spanish, the cultures are soooo different. It's fun being new since I never know what to expect when we go visit someone=) Another odd quirk to this specific area is that all the missionaries are only elders that speak Spanish and English. I guess this area is supposed to be as ghetto as you can get out on the "island" so it's fun seeing people's reactions that the only places I've been are E New York and Far Rockaway.
We have a car!! But we share it and only get it every other day. It’s amazing how much more we can get done with a car! We teach seriously twice as many lessons because we can just get to appointments ‘like that’ (imagine me snapping my fingers). I'm coming to love this area so much, even though I haven't even been here a week, I've been very warmly welcomed in, and the people are just amazing! Very diverse (we taught this Haitian family where they mostly speak Creole their native language, and French which is what their school language was, and in school they learned Spanish and being here for a year learning English so we would teach trying to use our knowledge of Spanish/English and whatever French words could be similar, languages are so fascinating I'm lucky to be somewhere that I'm exposed to soooo many! As for investigators, I'm loving not being blinded in!!! We have tons of great investigators, I don't know where these people come from, but I wish I'd found people like them in E New York. Already we have 3 baptismal commitments:, one with a girl whose sisters and mother got baptized a couple of months ago, but her dad is very antagonistic to the church and she was really struggling getting an answer. It was one of the coolest moments of my life seeing her conversion and change of heart and the effects of the Spirit on her, in just the 6 days I've been here! We also got 4 investigators to come to church!! Who knew that missionary work could actually have this many great---no ‘spectacular’, days. I'm waiting to wake up or something, it's too good to be true!
Also the weather has actually been really good. We’ve had a couple of days of cold and freezing rain/snow and lots of fog (it's like being in Oregon again!). We live right on the beach. We watch the sunrise from the ocean every morning while we are getting ready in the morning, and it's amazing!
On Friday I had one of the highlights of my mission. We had a mission conference where Elder Kevin Pearson of the 70 came, and I learned sooooo much! I thought I'd just use one of the few little blank pages in the back of my planner. I filled 3 and I was writing as tiny as possible. Already I've recopied my notes into my study journal so I don't forget anything. I don't have time to go over what he talked about, just a few quick things (I always say that, and then end up talking forever!). Mainly we learned how we need to change our identity. He talked a lot about his personal experiences as a missionary in Finland, and we realized how if we want to truly fulfill our purpose we need to forget "Logan the BYU student", and be the missionary, a representative of Christ, that he wants us to be. We need to be Disciples of Christ (which was the subject of Sunday school in church!). We talked a lot about repentance, humility, forgiveness, all these things that we really needed to hear. He hit on the power of prayer, and as a companionship we have changed the way/intent/frequentness of our prayers and we have already seen results. These men are inspired, truly called of God! He also talked about helping people come unto Christ, persevering, and how to treat/react to different people on different parts of their path back to their Heavenly Father. It really made me mindful of EVERYTHING I do, and made me mindful of making sure that if it's someone's first encounter with Christ's church, it's going to help them progress, not detract, from their conversion. He said "Conversion is always taking place, in everyone!" (emphasis added). I just loved that idea that everyone accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ before they came here, they know it, we are just reminding them, just like it says in Preach My Gospel.
Well my time technically isn't up since...I'm not in an internet cafe!!! We're in a library and it's free and we can do it as long as we'd like, but there are things to do, so I'll end with my testimony. Today I had the opportunity to write a letter to the Priest/Laurels back in my home ward. I thought a lot about what I would say, how I could help them prepare, what I wish I would have known, and mainly I summed it up with: 1.Being a missionary even if I wasn't set apart, and 2. strengthening my own testimony first if I want to share it with others. On my mission my testimony has become so much stronger. Before, I knew this church was true, I had felt the spirit confirm that to me multiple times, but had I truly been converted? I tried to live righteously, but was I living up to my potential, doing my best? Granted no one is ever going to be perfect, only Christ was and that's what makes His infinite atoning sacrifice so amazing, but I can always improve... a lot! Here I've seen how I was before, the way I acted, where my priorities were, where my heart truly was. I'm thankful for where I've been, because that helps me appreciate so much more what I am now (just like with having heating, hot water and a car!), but that thankfulness doesn't end there. It has spread into a desire to push through the temptations, the difficulties, the preoccupations of this life. I want to truly live as a disciple of Christ and make myself worthy to belong to his church. Now I know that I can do that, I've seen my progression and I KNOW. I know this church is Christ's church on the Earth and that he leads and guides it through his chosen prophets. I know that if I want to enjoy all the happiness and blessings in this life that God wants to give me, then it's me that has to change, not Him. When I pray at night, I don't tell him that he needs to give me this or that, or bless this investigator or that less active member, no. I pleadingly beg that I can change to know how to help them, to live my life worthily to always have the spirit with me, well at least more than just the few times when I bear witness of Christ's work on the Earth. I'm entitled to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, so that is what I need to work on to have. I know he loves me and knows me personally, individually, and more fully than anyone else. I know he has a work for me to do here in New York, that there are people that he has prepared for me to teach. I'm thankful for this opportunity to be an instrument in his hands and I'm so grateful that I've been blessed to get this far. I love each and every one of you, thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and all your support, spiritual or physical. I hope my being here on a mission can also help all of you to want to continue being missionaries in your respective places and that you will do your part to move the work along. The Lord has called us, we only need to respond to his call and act! I know these things are true, and I bear witness to their truthfulness in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Logan Lewis
110124 Mission Letter from Logan
1-24-11
Dear Friends and Family,
Well even though everyone told me that February is going to be the coldest thing I will have ever lived through, I kept telling myself that it would be coldest in the beginning of January since it's supposedly the middle of Winter, but they were all right, it is sooooo cold here!!! We need to do more finding and tracting, but it is quite possibly the most miserable experience of my life when we're out knocking doors at night in ghetto neighborhoods and my whole body is numb and my toes have frost bite, but I guess it builds character or something like that My comp always tells me "We knock doors to show God that we have faith, and then he gives us investigators through other routes, because of our faith." So hopefully we'll find someone soon since right now the only good find has been Antonio (I'll get to how he's doing later) so we're just working away and looking for a miracle!
I'm on week 6 of my 2nd transfer now and I (as usual) cannot believe how quickly this transfer flew by! Seems like Elder Kerby left just last week! I keep hearing that it's only going to get faster and faster, but I don't know how that'd be possible, or else I'd be back home in no time! I guess I just need to cherish every minute and work harder in the limited time that I have! So this week! Monday we didn't do anything for P-Day for the first time, just went to the other elder's pad (so all 8 of us gathered in one little pad, there aren't enough chairs, but most of them were lifting weights anyway) and I got a chance to catch up on writing letters which was nice. That night we were invited over to the house of a less-active member and it was fun getting to know that family. They're Dominican and talk the fastest and loudest of any family I have yet to meet. Sometimes I'm truly at a loss as to what she was saying to me and I think she'd try to talk louder to help me understand, but it was still too fast I couldn't tell which words were which! Oh the joys of learning a foreign language in your own country! It's funny how the Hispanics when they ask me questions about home they refer to "my country" and I'm not sure if it's impolite to point out to them that even though I'm VERY far from home, I'm still living in "my country"=) Also a brother in the ward called us and asked us to meet him at the chapel so we could give him a blessing. We called the Elder's Quorom Pres. to ask who Bro.Munoz' Home Teacher was so next time he could give the blessing since we want to give the members opportunities to learn grow and fulfill their responsibilities, but he didn't know. That's the one thing with this branch which I'm finding very frustrating. They have the priesthood holders and the number of members numbers necessary to do things, but they really slack on Home and Visiting Teaching. In our specific area all the "members" are less/inactive and we are struggling getting the active members to help out. They don't even visit each other let alone the inactives! It's too bad. I wish I would have done more for our inactive families that I used to home teach. Missions teach you SO much, and make you wish you'd been very different before. Tues we had Deep Cleaning! Although we moved in not too long ago, when we got here our apt was kind of a mess, basically still a construction site, so we spent several hours continuing the process of cleaning. It's extremely hard to sweep a wooden floor that is still rough and has never been sanded. I resorted to using a vacuum on a wood floor, just using the hose end.lol We did a lot of walking around that day, had some near death experiences on the ice, visited the Lee family and had a good lesson with the mom and kids and gave them a reading assignment. We also taught English Class We only have one student. He's a recently reactivated member from Mexico City and knows next to nothing in English so it's good for me to get to teach (or attempt to) English in my limited Spanish. Both student and teacher learn together! McDonalds has promotion right now where on hot drinks there are little stickers and if you get 4 then you get a free Med. Hot choc. so every time I see one on the street (which is a lot since litter is a disease here) I look for a sticker and then throw away the cup. Slowly but surely I'm saving the environment, and I get a free hot choc out of it! So after English class I went and got my free Hot Choc. Wed. we visited Antonio in the morning when all the girls and family are at school etc. since he works from 2-11 so we teach him in the morning. We had a good lesson reviewing the first vision and covering stuff we didn't have time for the first time we taught it, and he remembered everything really well! We also taught about the Word of Wisdom. We were a little worried about that because we had heard he used to drink-- from him and other members, but he said that it made sense and he would pray about it. Also I had a delicious DA with the Luna family who are Mexican. It's quite ironic how my whole life I was told I was going to go to Mexico on my mission since I don't like that type of food, but now I actually love it! I still don't like hot stuff, but I can handle a little and it's all great! Thur. we did lots of knocking and looking up potentials etc. We've been going through all the old lists of people that old missionaries had talked to and gotten info abt. but never taught. We have lists of each "zone" inside our area and when we are in the zone we look up all the names. It's weeding out a LOT of people since most everyone has moved or is not interested or lies to us that they aren't that person etc. but we're just giving them a gift and if they choose not to accept, it's too bad for them and their loss. I'm just glad I have it!=) We also did weekly planning which was good. Ever since my Greenie Conference we always do a lot better planning our lessons and trying to address our investigators specific needs and I think our lessons go better now! At Hna. Flores we had stuffed peppers, they were yummy! I'm loving getting to try such a variety of foods. Fri.we had district meeting. We're sad because our District will only have 2 baptisms at the end of this month, but we had good lessons focusing on our mission theme for the year and on using the Book of Mormon. Its funny how we get similar lessons so many times, but I always feel edified! We had a ‘Street Sweep’ in Bushwick and I was SO cold! But it’s fun to be out among the people just fearlessing every single person and being with all the missionaries in the zone. We taught a new investigator we found, named Javier. It was just a ‘getting to know him’ lesson, but it was really good. We had a good lesson with the Lee family. We watched the Restoration in Spanish and I remember watching it in the MTC and understanding next to nothing, but this time I got most everything! It was great since their dad (who I've never met), actually came in and watched it with us and the wife and kids told us that he didn't like the church anymore-- although they were only baptized less than 2 years ago. They've basically been inactive ever since, but after watching the movie Hna. Lee turned to us and said she knows that the First Vision is true and she believes it. The spirit was really strong. They had also done the reading assignment we left them. We explained it and the Dad gave a good insight, then he asked us to stay and they fed us! They came to church on Sunday (well the mom and 2 kids) too for the first time in like a year! I was very excited about that. There is lots of reactivation work to do in our area. Also Tue night we had a DA with the Viera family, but when we got there the mom had forgotten and so they ordered Chinese and we watched Testaments. I've never ordered Chinese, but apparently delivery is free, as I learned in the movie "While You Were Sleeping" but they don't deliver Christmas Trees. Sat. we had breakfast at the Dorantes. Mexican scrambled eggs are seriously the best! I loved it, and french fries, beans etc. I’m telling you, it's a miracle that I just gobble up this food that before I could barely choke down. Weird. We looked up a lot of potentials, still not much success, then we had a lesson at Roxanna's. She is seriously struggling, she never reads or keeps any commitments so I feel bad but we'll probably have to drop her, after so much work! Yesterday we walked with Antonio's family to church, it was awesome! We had a good lesson with them and the whole family after church. I love that family, they're the best! We finally made contact with a less active, Ana, from Mexico. It's sad the hardships that people go through here in New York, I wish there was more we could do for them.
So yeah, that's my super long and overly detailed letter. Sorry, I just love my investigators and this work, even though when I'm out tracting it's miserable, I know it's where I’m supposed to be! I know this church is true. Every day when I get the opportunity to share my testimony or hear other people's testimony, mine is strengthened so much. I'm so blessed to be here at this time. Now I’m going to go see the Brooklyn Bridge one last time before I get transferred probably next week. It'll be exciting! I love you all!
Love, Elder Lewis
Dear Friends and Family,
Well even though everyone told me that February is going to be the coldest thing I will have ever lived through, I kept telling myself that it would be coldest in the beginning of January since it's supposedly the middle of Winter, but they were all right, it is sooooo cold here!!! We need to do more finding and tracting, but it is quite possibly the most miserable experience of my life when we're out knocking doors at night in ghetto neighborhoods and my whole body is numb and my toes have frost bite, but I guess it builds character or something like that My comp always tells me "We knock doors to show God that we have faith, and then he gives us investigators through other routes, because of our faith." So hopefully we'll find someone soon since right now the only good find has been Antonio (I'll get to how he's doing later) so we're just working away and looking for a miracle!
I'm on week 6 of my 2nd transfer now and I (as usual) cannot believe how quickly this transfer flew by! Seems like Elder Kerby left just last week! I keep hearing that it's only going to get faster and faster, but I don't know how that'd be possible, or else I'd be back home in no time! I guess I just need to cherish every minute and work harder in the limited time that I have! So this week! Monday we didn't do anything for P-Day for the first time, just went to the other elder's pad (so all 8 of us gathered in one little pad, there aren't enough chairs, but most of them were lifting weights anyway) and I got a chance to catch up on writing letters which was nice. That night we were invited over to the house of a less-active member and it was fun getting to know that family. They're Dominican and talk the fastest and loudest of any family I have yet to meet. Sometimes I'm truly at a loss as to what she was saying to me and I think she'd try to talk louder to help me understand, but it was still too fast I couldn't tell which words were which! Oh the joys of learning a foreign language in your own country! It's funny how the Hispanics when they ask me questions about home they refer to "my country" and I'm not sure if it's impolite to point out to them that even though I'm VERY far from home, I'm still living in "my country"=) Also a brother in the ward called us and asked us to meet him at the chapel so we could give him a blessing. We called the Elder's Quorom Pres. to ask who Bro.Munoz' Home Teacher was so next time he could give the blessing since we want to give the members opportunities to learn grow and fulfill their responsibilities, but he didn't know. That's the one thing with this branch which I'm finding very frustrating. They have the priesthood holders and the number of members numbers necessary to do things, but they really slack on Home and Visiting Teaching. In our specific area all the "members" are less/inactive and we are struggling getting the active members to help out. They don't even visit each other let alone the inactives! It's too bad. I wish I would have done more for our inactive families that I used to home teach. Missions teach you SO much, and make you wish you'd been very different before. Tues we had Deep Cleaning! Although we moved in not too long ago, when we got here our apt was kind of a mess, basically still a construction site, so we spent several hours continuing the process of cleaning. It's extremely hard to sweep a wooden floor that is still rough and has never been sanded. I resorted to using a vacuum on a wood floor, just using the hose end.lol We did a lot of walking around that day, had some near death experiences on the ice, visited the Lee family and had a good lesson with the mom and kids and gave them a reading assignment. We also taught English Class We only have one student. He's a recently reactivated member from Mexico City and knows next to nothing in English so it's good for me to get to teach (or attempt to) English in my limited Spanish. Both student and teacher learn together! McDonalds has promotion right now where on hot drinks there are little stickers and if you get 4 then you get a free Med. Hot choc. so every time I see one on the street (which is a lot since litter is a disease here) I look for a sticker and then throw away the cup. Slowly but surely I'm saving the environment, and I get a free hot choc out of it! So after English class I went and got my free Hot Choc. Wed. we visited Antonio in the morning when all the girls and family are at school etc. since he works from 2-11 so we teach him in the morning. We had a good lesson reviewing the first vision and covering stuff we didn't have time for the first time we taught it, and he remembered everything really well! We also taught about the Word of Wisdom. We were a little worried about that because we had heard he used to drink-- from him and other members, but he said that it made sense and he would pray about it. Also I had a delicious DA with the Luna family who are Mexican. It's quite ironic how my whole life I was told I was going to go to Mexico on my mission since I don't like that type of food, but now I actually love it! I still don't like hot stuff, but I can handle a little and it's all great! Thur. we did lots of knocking and looking up potentials etc. We've been going through all the old lists of people that old missionaries had talked to and gotten info abt. but never taught. We have lists of each "zone" inside our area and when we are in the zone we look up all the names. It's weeding out a LOT of people since most everyone has moved or is not interested or lies to us that they aren't that person etc. but we're just giving them a gift and if they choose not to accept, it's too bad for them and their loss. I'm just glad I have it!=) We also did weekly planning which was good. Ever since my Greenie Conference we always do a lot better planning our lessons and trying to address our investigators specific needs and I think our lessons go better now! At Hna. Flores we had stuffed peppers, they were yummy! I'm loving getting to try such a variety of foods. Fri.we had district meeting. We're sad because our District will only have 2 baptisms at the end of this month, but we had good lessons focusing on our mission theme for the year and on using the Book of Mormon. Its funny how we get similar lessons so many times, but I always feel edified! We had a ‘Street Sweep’ in Bushwick and I was SO cold! But it’s fun to be out among the people just fearlessing every single person and being with all the missionaries in the zone. We taught a new investigator we found, named Javier. It was just a ‘getting to know him’ lesson, but it was really good. We had a good lesson with the Lee family. We watched the Restoration in Spanish and I remember watching it in the MTC and understanding next to nothing, but this time I got most everything! It was great since their dad (who I've never met), actually came in and watched it with us and the wife and kids told us that he didn't like the church anymore-- although they were only baptized less than 2 years ago. They've basically been inactive ever since, but after watching the movie Hna. Lee turned to us and said she knows that the First Vision is true and she believes it. The spirit was really strong. They had also done the reading assignment we left them. We explained it and the Dad gave a good insight, then he asked us to stay and they fed us! They came to church on Sunday (well the mom and 2 kids) too for the first time in like a year! I was very excited about that. There is lots of reactivation work to do in our area. Also Tue night we had a DA with the Viera family, but when we got there the mom had forgotten and so they ordered Chinese and we watched Testaments. I've never ordered Chinese, but apparently delivery is free, as I learned in the movie "While You Were Sleeping" but they don't deliver Christmas Trees. Sat. we had breakfast at the Dorantes. Mexican scrambled eggs are seriously the best! I loved it, and french fries, beans etc. I’m telling you, it's a miracle that I just gobble up this food that before I could barely choke down. Weird. We looked up a lot of potentials, still not much success, then we had a lesson at Roxanna's. She is seriously struggling, she never reads or keeps any commitments so I feel bad but we'll probably have to drop her, after so much work! Yesterday we walked with Antonio's family to church, it was awesome! We had a good lesson with them and the whole family after church. I love that family, they're the best! We finally made contact with a less active, Ana, from Mexico. It's sad the hardships that people go through here in New York, I wish there was more we could do for them.
So yeah, that's my super long and overly detailed letter. Sorry, I just love my investigators and this work, even though when I'm out tracting it's miserable, I know it's where I’m supposed to be! I know this church is true. Every day when I get the opportunity to share my testimony or hear other people's testimony, mine is strengthened so much. I'm so blessed to be here at this time. Now I’m going to go see the Brooklyn Bridge one last time before I get transferred probably next week. It'll be exciting! I love you all!
Love, Elder Lewis
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