What a week!

Where to begin!?

I don't have a lot of time (we're supposed to be in Fort Wayne in 20 minutes.... it's an hour drive... oops!)

This week has been filled with lots of grace! Lots of little miracles. :) It's wonderful to be a missionary. Ooh, I love it.

This week we had family home evening with a recent convert family and had so much fun. I am so grateful for all the family home evenings I had growing up. :) Family time is important. 

Friday I went to Huntington for exchanges and we had a great day! I always learn so much from the other sisters. :) Sister Chavez and  I had a grand old time. It was pretty cool, we taught one of the investigators that I had taught on exchanges in Huntington a year ago!

Saturday we had a "media split" day, where members came out with us to take pictures and document what we do all day! :) We delivered cookies, taught lessons, played games with the folks at the nursing home, found some new people to teach, and did a virtual chapel tour. It was a good day. :)

Earlier this week I picked up an old Ensign and read "Walking in Circles". I thought it was cool. One of the quotes at my study desk came from that article, and I never knew it! 

My favorite part of this week was yesterday. I got to sing "Savior Redeemer of My Soul" in sacrament meeting. Singing is one  of the ways I express my love and share my testimony, so it was pretty neat for me to be able to say goodbye to the ward in that way. The arrangement from 17 Miracles is so beautiful. Luckily we have a sister in the ward who is talented and came up with the accompaniment for me to sing with. :) We recorded it Thursday night when we practiced, I'll see if I can get a copy of it to share. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week! :)

Much love,

Sister Sarah Jane Lewis

P.S. Some people have been asking questions about when I'm speaking in church. I have been told it will be March 22ndbecause of ward and stake conferences.

Hello!

This week flew by!

We had a lot of great things happen this week. Lots of opposition, but lots of good things too. 

On Monday we had family home evening with a family in the ward. The dad is a member, and the mom wants to be baptized! 

Tuesday we met Lavar! He's a family man and we're excited to teach him! Later Tuesday evening we went to the Relief Society activity with our investigator, Debbie. She completely surprised us because she usually just sits at her computer when we teach her husband Ronald. :) But she had fun! :) 

Valentine's day was pretty eventful! We had lots of blowy snow! We had a blizzard in the morning (you couldn't see the cars in the parking lot outside the windows), and the rest of the day the wind blew the snow around--as if it were still snowing. We had lunch with a member and afterward taught Derrick, one of the people I taught when I was here a year ago. (The fact that he met with us again was a miracle!) He wants to learn again, and we're hoping that time and experience have softened his heart. 

Lots of little miracles every day! It's cool when you have experiences that let you know that you're in the right place at the right time, we had a few of those. We were supposed to teach a woman named Rose, but she wasn't home. So we decided to go and see if Austin was home. We were approaching his house and sister Nielsen said "His car isn't there." I felt like we should try to see him anyway. We pulled up and I looked around. Just to my right there was a lady standing at her window. I waved, and she waved back! It turned out to be a lady that the sisters before me had taught--and she was moving. She was only back for 24 hours so she could pack! It was a blessing to be able to see her. She'll be meeting with missionaries in the city where she's moving. :)

Yesterday's Relief Society lesson was really wonderful. The sister who was teaching made the analogy of how sometimes we might feel like we're living in a desert.

 

Things seem kind of dry, desolate, hard, lifeless,  and dull. 

But when examine our lives, even the hardest times, we find that there are flowers blooming on the cacti, and the skies are clear at night, making it an ideal place to look up and see the stars.

It might seem cliche, but finding the silver lining makes a big difference.

I love you all!

-Sister Lewis

1858 S. Business 31 Apt. 2D

Peru, Indiana 46970

True Love: The Pure Love of Christ

Hello all!  This week has been great! We had some powerful lessons, met some interesting people (I've always wanted to teach a pastor!), and had a lot of fun. :)

This week I've learned a lot about love and agency. Two of the most powerful things we can exercise in our mortality. The best example of love and agency is that of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He chose to suffer for our sins, pains, afflictions, weaknesses, temptations, sorrows, and death. He did it out of love.

One of my companions showed me Moroni 7:42-48. Only, she replaced the word "charity" with "the Atonement."

 42 Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.

 43 And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart.

 44 If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have the Atonement in his life; for if he have not the Atonement he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have the Atonement.

 45 And the Atonement suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things,believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

 46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not the Atonement, ye are nothing, for the Atonement neverfaileth. Wherefore, cleave unto the Atonement, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—

 47 But the Atonement is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

 48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

I am so grateful for the Atonement in my life. I am continuously learning about  grace, that divine enabling power, given to me as I seek to do Heavenly Father's will. It's humbling. I love this work! I love the gospel! I am aware that I have weaknesses (very aware!) and I am SO grateful for a Savior to help me. I am learning that his grace is sufficent. :)

image credits: lds.org

I'm going to read this talk this week. I thought I'd put it up so you could all enjoy it with me:

the-tongue-of-angels

Love,

Sister Sarah Jane Lewis

1858 S. Business 31 Apt. 2D

Peru, IN 46970

P.S. Pray that we find our mail key... we lost it on exchanges in Huntington last Friday. :) We don't want to have to pay the $40 for a new one. (Now you know that if I don't write you back it's because the mailbox is holding your letters hostage for a while.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

hello! :)

Zone Fun Day 02.02.15

I don't have much time today, but I hope you are all having a lovely week!

We had zone conference on Tuesday! It was great! We learned a lot about how important it is to leave a good legacy. :) 

We are teaching a sweet couple who are so prepared!! :) It's so awesome to see someone who is earnestly seeking truth. :)

Our sister training leaders gave us a referral this week. Wendell is in his 70's and is just the sweetest grandpa! We went yesterday (in the middle of a blizzard) to help him get started on his family history. :) Such a miracle that the sisters met him, and that we were able to meet him. He wants to be baptized! 

Also, an 86 year old lady named Reba who has never shown interest in being baptized agreed to be baptized next month! We are just seeing so many miracles! (I think it comes with the snow...)

Well, I don't have much time left. Zone funday today in Huntington. :)

Much love,

Sister Lewis

P.S. Be good and watch this video.

good-things-to-come

 Lauren was the girl I taught in my last ward. I left 5 days before her baptism. :) So happy she was baptized!! 

They sent me "home" early!

We were at the transfer meeting and they said "In Peru 1 Sister Nielsen will receive...." and I knew it was my name they would call! :) For the rest of the meeting I sat in complete shock. I wasn't expecting to come back to Peru at all! TheMcDonalds drove us from transfer meeting back to Peru. It was good to be with them. I love Sister McDonald a lot. She's a sweetheart. We kept it a secret to the rest of the ward for as long as we could. :) I wanted to surprise everyone. We had dinner with the Tuckers (another one of my favorite families.) Brother Tucker said "It's like getting one of my daughters back." :) That night we visited the Kintner family, Sister Kintner came out teaching with us (we're teaching a family of 6--the Strong family). Sister Kintner was surprised as well. But my favorite thing was when Sister Waite came to pick us up and drive us to district meeting. Her face was priceless. We hugged and I cried. It felt like I was coming home. I love Sister Waite, she's so wonderful. I love Peru, too. Heavenly Father sure loves me a lot. 

My new companion is Sister Nielsen. She's from Idaho Falls, Idaho. She loves writing fantasy stories, reading, and cats. She's a stellar missionary and really loves the people we're teaching. :) We're getting along great. Working hard and having fun!

We went to a meeting in Muncie on Friday, then drove with the Hilemans to the Columbus Temple to do baptisms with Christopher for the first time. He was baptized in October. There were so many recent converts from the mission that there wasn't time for us (the missionaries) to do any baptisms, but we had a wonderful time helping in the temple. The Spirit is always so strong. It was cool to see new members being baptized for their parents and grandparents. It's awesome to be a part of that kind of missionary work. We're hastening the work of salvation! Another side note: I saw and visited with members from the Middletown ward, the Cherry Grove ward, and also the Eaton ward Bishop and his wife. :) It was pretty cool. Sad news, I got an update on my 84-year-old recent convert, Brother Howard. He was Baptized in Middletown, and he's not doing well. He's been in and out of the hospital. :( 

It seems surreal. I cannot believe I am back in Peru! I think Heavenly Father wanted me to see how much I've changed since I was here before. Sometimes I have a hard time seeing how I've changed. Being here has helped me see that I have changed. :) 

Sadly, I was not close enough to see Lauren's baptism. I hope it all went well. I'm waiting to hear back from her about how it went. :)

Yesterday in Sunday school we talked about Jesus Christ and what he means to us. I love being in the Gospel Essentials class because of the pure and simple testimonies that we get to hear from the recent converts and returning members. We were talking about how forgiving Jesus Christ is, I was reminded of Doctrine and Covenants 6:4, one of my favorite scriptures.

 34 Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail. If we build upon Him we are His.

 35 Behold, I do not condemn you; go your ways and sin no more; perform with soberness the work which I have commanded you. A loving invitation from a friend.

 36 Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. He is always there.

 37 Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen. He loves us and wants to bless us.

What a blessing to know that we have a loving Savior who cares about us individually. He wants the best for us and for our families, and He is there to help us achieve our greatest potential. :) I know He lives! I love Him and am forever grateful for His Atoning sacrifice on my behalf. 

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

It's true. He loves us, and we are His friends.

Well, I guess that's about it! I hope you are all having a wonderful day and a wonderful week! Write to me if you'd like. I have a new (old) address!

Carry on!

Sister Lewis

1858 S. Business 31 Apt. 2D

Peru, Indiana 46970

We took a Zone Picture after the District Meeting

We went to the Columbus temple to do baptisms with our recent convert, Christopher. :) President Porter was there too! :) Another tender mercy: Sister Abrams and Sister Carlson (sisters from my last zone) were there as well.

A major surprise!

My Goodness, this morning has been one of tears. 

Sister Syndergaard and I are both being transferred out of the area. I am soooo sad! I love this ward so much! We have had so many good things going on. And I can't believe we're being transferred because we are having a baptism on Saturday!!

All I know is that this week I asked Heavenly Father to send me wherever I needed to be to grow the most, or send me where I could be the most helpful. I am nervous and excited for my new adventure. In the words of President Hinckley "It will all work out."

It isn’t as bad as you sometimes think it is.

It all works out. Don’t worry.

I say that to myself every morning.

It will all work out.

Put your trust in God,

and move forward with faith

and confidence in the future.

The Lord will not forsake us.

He will not forsake us.

If we will put our trust in Him,

if we will pray to Him,

if we will live worthy of His blessings,

He will hear our prayers.

This past week has been amazing. We have seen so many miracles. A young man that we met this week came to church yesterday! His Name is Nick. The cool thing about meeting him was that the timing was PERFECT. we met him on Tuesday and set up a return appointment for Thursday. He cancelled Thursday and rescheduled for Friday. Friday he told us that his mom passed away the day before. I know it wasn't a coincidence that we met him this week. 

My spiritual thought for this week comes from my favorite talk of the week. Some of you may have already heard it. If you haven't. Listen/watch here. 

"If we are focused on the things of the world, we can miss a whole spiritual world that is all around us. We may not be able to recognize the spiritual promptings that the Holy Ghost is anxious to give us to direct our lives and to bless others. Conversely, if we focus on the things of the Spirit and that which is “virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy” (Articles of Faith 1:13), then we’re less likely to be sidetracked by the temptations and distractions of the world. The best way to avoid distractions is to have our focus firmly set on our purpose and be anxiously engaged in a good cause. Be careful of your focus—don’t spend time focused on climbing a mountain only to discover you have climbed the wrong one.

 Inspired thoughts produce good deeds; good deeds produce other good deeds, and so on, eternally.

Mark 4:20 says, “These are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.”

The idea that small, simple but purposeful acts can have dramatic consequences is well supported in the scriptures. Alma taught his son Helaman:

“By small and simple things are great things brought to pass. …

“… By very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls” (Alma 37:6–7).

One of life’s early lessons should be that there is great power in the compounding effect of little things that we do each day. Small and simple things are at work in your life right now—working either for you or against you. Just as the Lord uses such things to build you up, Satan uses them to distract you and lead you slowly, almost imperceptibly, off the path."

I hope you all have a wonderful week. Wish me luck! :)

Carry on!

-Sister Lewis

Sister Sarah Jane Lewis

c/o Ohio Cincinnati Mission

P.O. Box 11671

Cincinnati, OH 45211

Many are Cold, but Few are Frozen.

Here's a winter photo from LDS.ORG for you to enjoy:

It's a cardinal--because I'm in the great OHIO!

WHAT A WEEK!!

Oh-so-many good things are happening! I don't even know where to begin! :)

I will just say... this week has been cold, but we are working HARD! (Thanks for the hand warmers, Cecily!) 

So, something cool I've been learning about that applies to any group: the church, a family, a mission, etc.

Doctrine and Covenants 63:63 Wherefore, let the church repent of their sins, and I, the Lord, will own them; otherwise they shall be cut off.

It sounds pretty harsh, but the principle is that when we repent as a church, as a mission, or as a family, we can receive grace. The opposite is true. When one person fails to repent (change/become converted) it robs the whole group of divine help. So! I'm focusing on doing what I can to tie up any of my own loose ends. :) It's awesome! We all get to be a part of THE Hastening!

Doctrine and Covenants 88:73-74

73 Behold, I will hasten my work in its time.

 74 And I give unto you, who are the first laborers in this last kingdom (THAT'S US!), a commandment that you assemble yourselves together (Work together!), and organize yourselves (Prioritize), and prepare yourselves(Put on the Armor of God daily), and sanctify yourselves (Repent--joyfully!); yea, purify your hearts (what do you desire?), and cleanse your hands and your feet before me (what am I doing with my time? With the time the Lord has given me?), that I may make you clean(An invitation to apply the Atonement more fully in our lives.);

It's an exciting time to be serving! :) I am so glad I get to be a part of this! The Lord is hastening His work! :) So many miracles are being poured out.  I am choosing now to strive to  "[b]e one who nurtures and who builds. Be one who has an understanding and a forgiving heart, who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them. Be fair with your competitors, whether in business, athletics, or elsewhere. Don’t get drawn into some of the parlance of our day and try to “win” by intimidation or by undermining someone’s character. Lend a hand to those who are frightened, lonely, or burdened.

If we could look into each other’s hearts and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and care." -Marvin J. Ashton, "The Tongue Can Be a Sharp Sword"

I hope you all have a lovely week! Do something nice for someone else today. :)

Much love,

Sister Lewis

205 Sycamore Ln. #62

South Lebanon, OH 45065

P.S. Transfers are next week. I don't think I'm going anywhere. :) Which is good, because I love it here.