Happy New Year!

My challenge to you is to give yourself time today to "be still" and listen to Heavenly Father. Ask Him a question! :) 

"Choose to converse with your Father in Heaven often. Make time every day to share your thoughts and feelings with Him. Tell Him everything that concerns you. He is interested in the most important as well as the most mundane facets of your life. Share with Him your full range of feelings and experiences.

Because He respects your agency, Father in Heaven will never force you to pray to Him. But as you exercise that agency and include Him in every aspect of your daily life, your heart will begin to fill with peace, buoyant peace. That peace will focus an eternal light on your struggles. It will help you to manage those challenges from an eternal perspective." -Elder Richard G. Scott 

This new years was the best, most memorable I've ever had! President Porter gave us a packet of talks to read and questions to ask ourselves for a self-evaluation. :) It was awesome to take some time to read my patriarchal blessing and reflect on the vision Heavenly Father has helped me to create. 

What's your vision for your life?

In 100 years from now, what will I care about?

What do you want your life to be like when you're 50?

What will be important to you then?

What do you want your marriage to be like?

What kind of home do you want your children to be raised in? Describe the activities, the feeling and the tone of the home you desire.

What do you want your relationship with God to be like?

What do you need to do now to strengthen that relationship?

When you go home, what kind of woman do you want your family to see that you have become? 

What kind of woman do you need to become in order for this to be a reality?

                                

It was awesome to step back and think about what He  has planned for me. :) It's easy to get down on yourself, but thinking of how He sees you is ennobling. 

"Our Heavenly Father sees our real potential. He knows things about us that we do not know ourselves. He prompts us during our lifetime to fulfill the measure of our creation, to live a good life, and to return to His presence . . . 

Another regret of those who knew they were dying may be somewhat surprising. They wished they had let themselves be happier.

So often we get caught up in the illusion that there is something just beyond our reach that would bring us happiness: a better family situation, a better financial situation, or the end of a challenging trial.

The older we get, the more we look back and realize that external circumstances don’t really matter or determine our happiness.

We do matter. We determine our happiness.

You and I are ultimately in charge of our own happiness. " -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

I love you all and I hope that you have a wonderful day and spectacular week! :)  Remember who you are! :)

Love,

Sister Lewis

205 Sycamore Ln. #62

South Lebanon, OH 45065

P.S. Does anyone know what this fruit is? We found it at Kroger. It smells like a lemon and looks like an octopus. 

P.P.S. Can't believe it. 2 months left. I'm finishing it strong!!

 Strange Fruit 

"God Moves in Mysterious Ways" and He knows how to use a GPS.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my favorite people!

(You really are my favorite if you've stuck with reading all my emails for 16 months. )

This week was fabulous because I got to do the Lord's work! Oh and also because it was Christmas and I got to Skype my family. (I  them.) To all my family members who weren't there: I missed you! :)

Sister Syndergaard and I enjoyed Christmas eve with a family who have a small farm and doggie-boarding house. :) I got to hold some cute goldendoodle puppies, and after dinner Sister Syndergaard and I were angels for the nativity. :)  I wish we had taken a picture. Meh, a photo probably couldn't have handled all our heavenly glory. hehe.

Christmas day was a bundle of fun! We skyped our families from the McGee's home (see attached picture), visited a couple of single sisters, and one of our recent convert families. We had dinner with the Simmons family (Mom! they even had carrot pudding for dessert). 

Christmas as a missionary is the BEST. The Spirit of Christmas is really the Spirit of Christ. And the best way to bring that Spirit of Christ is to serve others. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve as a representative of Jesus Christ full-time. :) In serving others, I really am the one who learns the most. That is a gift I will ever be grateful for. 

Yesterday we had a pretty cool thing happen. We had just finished contacting some people who had been referred to us in Morrow, and we were heading to Maineville to visit a member when all of a sudden Sister Syndergaard said "who is that on our GPS?" There was a little icon in the middle of the road a few hundred feet in front of us. (Each icon represents a person in the ward.) This was not someone we had met before. So we went in search of Jamie. She didn't live in the middle of the road, but she did live in Maineville. After a few dead ends, we finally found Jamie's house. We knocked on the door. Her ten year old peeped through the window next to the door and said "I don't know who it is" to the residents therein. Soon thereafter a man opened the door. His wife followed after him. They invited us in. When we asked if we could come back later this week to get to know their family better, the dad said "yes!" Jamie is a less-active member and her husband is Catholic, and they have two little boys. It was a miracle that we found them last night, and that we found them all together and at home (Jamie is a pharmacist and works odd hours). :) It was pretty cool. After meeting them, I thought back to something that had happened earlier in the day. I had been flipping through the hymnbook and stopped on the hymn "God moves in in a Mysterious way." How fitting. :) If he needs to, Heavenly Father will place a tiny icon in the middle of the road to catch our attention. :) It's all because he loves us! I know it's true!

I love you all! Have a good week! Choose to be happy!

Love,

Sister Lewis

205 Sycamore Ln. #62

South Lebanon, OH 45065

Write me letters! 

A Savior Was Born: Rejoice!

The Ward surprised us with gifts! The ward loves us, and we love the ward!

Merry Christmas to all!

Tuesday we had a wonderful Christmas conference! There were probably 20 different musical numbers. The Spirit was so strong as we talked and testified of the Savior through words and music. :) We watched "What Shall we Give?" and wrote down what we were going to give up for the Savior. I am so grateful that He is there to help me as I make changes in my own life. I've been thinking a lot about Ether 12:27

7 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

As we strive to learn and improve, we will be shown our weaknesses so we can, with His divine help, turn them into strengths. It's a process! But I'm believing and I'm hoping and striving to help others do the same. Repentance is joyous, just as Elder Christofferson said "Repentance is a divine gift, and there should be a smile on our faces when we speak of it. It points us to freedom, confidence, and peace. Rather than interrupting the celebration, the gift of repentance is the cause for true celebration." (The Divine Gift of Repentance)

 Ether 12:4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.

It is hope, belief, and faith in the Savior's Atonement that has carried me when I could not carry myself. When my soul was sorrowful because of my sins, I relied on Him. This is the joyous message of Christmas. A Savior was born! He lives! And because He lives we all will live again. We are free from the bondage of death and sin. :) What a miracle. What a Gift.

Merry Christmas! May the Spirit of Christ surround you this week.

Much love,

Sister Lewis

christmas.mormon.org

easter.mormon.org

Exchanges with Sister Carlson

Another Great Week!

Hello all! 

This week has been sweet.

On Friday I had a great study. I was reading a talk by Elder Maxwell and 2 Nephi 4. It's one of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon. If there's one lesson I have learned on my mission, it's that repentance is such a beautiful thing.Nephi's psalm really touched my heart as I read it. :)  Each time we open the scriptures, we learn something new. I just thought I would share a quote from the talk. :)

 

"Jesus instructs us, for instance, that we are to come unto Him (see Alma 5:34; Matt. 11:28–30). However, as you have noticed, when we strive to come unto Him, we come to see how He will then make our weaknesses better known to us, sometimes painfully, in order to help us to progress. Christ even promises us that He will make some weaknesses into strengths (see Ether 12:27). . . As to the location, nation, time, and circumstances in which our personal discipleship is placed, we should, as the scriptures say, be content with the things allotted to us (see Alma 29:3, 6). Yet there will be an accompanying divine discontent in order to spur us on as we strive to become more like Jesus." -Neal A Maxwell,"Testifying of the Great and Glorious Atonement"

Tomorrow we'll have our Christmas Conference. I will have to tell you about it next week. It is should be amazing. It was last year! Sister Syndergaard and I are going to be singing "His Hands." 

Here's a snippet from Sister Syndergaard's email this week:

This last week we have been teaching Mike and Clara. They have been coming to church with us for almost a month now. Mike has schizophrenia among other things and Clara has severe depression. They are very poor, but also very humble. It has been so cool to see Mike happy. He's always laughing when we are around and says things like "I want to be a Mormon!" or "The 27th is too far away. I think that I should get baptized this week." Haha! It is so funny :) A friend of Mike's told him once that we were weird and this was the message that was left on our phone... "Hello Sisters, I am really upset right now. I'm just really upset. One of my friends told me that you guys are, well that you, you're weird. BUT YOU'RE NOT WEIRD!EVERYONE FROM THE CHURCH IS ALWAYS THERE FOR ME AND I LOVE THEM WITH ALL MY HEART. YOU'RE NOT WEIRD. AND I BELIEVE YOU AND NOT THEM! Anyway call me back. I'm really upset right now."

Haha, It cracked us up :D He is the sweetest man you'll ever meet.

:) Have a wonderful week! I love you all!

-Sister Lewis

On the First Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me...

 Feeling Festive at the Christmas Party

Hello!

This week has been great! I sang and Sister Syndergaard played her violin at the Relief Society Progressive Dinner on Wednesday night. We performed Silent Night. :) Sister Syndergaard is a talented violinist! 

Thursday we had zone conference in Kentucky. :) We left uplifted and motivated to work harder and to be more faithful. We are  still working to reach our mission-wide goals by the end of this year. 

On Friday Sister Campbell and I saw miracles on our exchange. We were able to find two new people to teach, and met a pretty sweet guy named Cody on the street. It was cool--Sister Campbell was the perfect person to have with me that day, because her personal experiences really helped Cody. He lives in another city, but he'll be meeting with the missionaries there.

Saturday we had another social media split. If you're curious about what that is, look for pictures and videos with thehashtag #socialmediasplit.We made cookies at a member's house and then rushed to an appointment. When we got out of our appointment, a less-active sister had sent us a text and asked us to meet her for lunch. A miracle! We were able to teach her niece and introduce her to the LDS youth websites. We had a great lesson with our new investigator fromFriday, and ended the day by going to the ward Christmas party. All the missionaries sang together (and we all wore ugly Christmas sweaters.)  It was a great party! We participated in an interactive "12 days of Christmas" sing-along (each table was one of the days of Christmas) We were the 3 French hens. ) They shared this video after dinner: What Shall We Give? 

Sunday Mike and Clara came to church. They are preparing to be baptized on the 27th! The First Presidency Christmas Devotional was wonderful! if you missed it, don't worry, you can watch it on LDS.org.

OH! and it looks like I'll be spending Christmas here, I'm not going to be transferred. Sister Syndergaard and I are both staying! :) So feel free to send packages and letters to my address! :)

205 Sycamore Lane #62

South Lebanon, OH 45065

Have a lovely day!

Love,

Sister Lewis

 

Miracles!

Good morning!

If you're wondering why I'm writing today, we had leadership council at the mission home yesterday.

Friday I went on an exchange with Sister Smith! We saw miracles as we talked to everyone! We were able to find 4 new people to teach! At the very end of the day, at 8:30 we decided to contact some referrals we had received earlier in the week. One of those referrals was a mom and her daughter! They were happy to see us, and said we could come back!  We have really been focusing on finding families to teach. Saturday I had a wonderful exchange with Sister Abrams, again, we talked to everyone! The weather was beautiful, so there were a lot of people outside putting up Christmas lights. :) We were able to see some people that we hadn't seen for a long time, and we ended the day by having dinner and a powerful lesson with a member and his non-member wife. By the end of our wonderful day, my voice was gone. 

Sunday morning I woke up and my voice was still nonexistent. ...I had a great time at church. I greeted people with smiles and waves, Sister Syndergaard was my voice. Heavenly Father definitely has a sense of humor, because I LOVE talking. He probably gave me this experience so I could spend some time listening. I've never thought I was a bad listener, but it was a good reminder for me. :)

Sunday afternoon the Assistants to the Mission President called us and asked us to do a training at leadership council. We would have 20 minutes to train the leaders of the mission on revelatory studies. When they called us, I just laughed--I wouldn't be speaking any time soon. But, we agreed. Sunday evening we prepared for the training, and I went to bed. 

Monday morning I awoke and my voice was ... still gone. We went through the first half of leadership council and I still had no voice. I ate lunch. No voice. When I told Sister Syndergaard to prepare herself to speak, she kept saying "Oh, you'll talk." And then I thought, why not? :) I have been asked to give a training, and I am going to give a training. I thought of my patriarchal blessing. In it there is a sentence that talks about how I will have the health and strength to do all that I have been called to do. I shared it with Sister Syndergaard, and she said "you were literally called (on the phone) to do this!" Heavenly Father surely does have a sense of humor. :) So, we were nearing the end of lunch, and I said a little prayer. I asked Heavenly Father to help me to give the training. :) I said hello to someone. I squeaked. It sounded awful, but I could talk. :) So, Sister Syndergaard and I got up and gave the training (including some jokes about my voice.) I know that Heavenly Father answers prayers. He loves us and gives us challenges and opportunities to grow in faith. And stand with Nephi in saying, "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."

Miracles happen! :) I am a witness!

Other exciting news: This Friday in Time Square, advertisements for "He is the Gift" the new Mormon.org video will be playing all day. It's awesome! Everyone will be getting pass-along cards for the  video in the December Ensign. More info about He is the Gift, click here

The video will be launched in 2 hours! :) So everyone should go to christmas.mormon.org to watch it. (We got to see it yesterday, it's awesome.) #SharetheGift

I love you all! Have a wonderful day!

:) Oh! and Happy Thanksgiving! Here's a Thanksgiving Video. :) Enjoy! 

-Sister Lewis

Oh, the joys of being sick. :)  Luckily, I've been joyful anyway.

This week in the OCM!

Hello all! :) I hope you had a spectacular week! Mine sure was!

This Thursday we had the opportunity to hear from Wilford W. Andersen of the 2nd quorum of the Seventy. It was a wonderful and uplifting meeting. In a leadership meeting prior to  the main training he talked about how disciples of Christ are different leaders than those of the world. In the world power flows from leaders. In the Lord's Kingdom power flowsto the leaders because they are meek, humble, hopeful, faithful, and filled with charity. We talked about Doctrine and Covenants 121:41-46 as the model of good leaders. I have a lot to work on! :)

  41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion (sharing knowlege and listening to one another), by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;

 42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—

 43 Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;

 44 That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.

 45 Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.

 46 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.

During the main training meeting we learned about head knowledge, heart knowledge and soul knowledge (putting head and heart knowledge to action).

I was honored to be able to sing "Savior Redeemer of My Soul" during the meeting. Elder Seegmiller played the violin and Elder Smith played the piano (he arranged the whole musical number.) I love singing the hymns because it brings the Spirit so strongly. :) 

I wish you all could have heard the arrangement, it was beautiful. (it was a lot like the one in Seventeen Miracles).

Have a lovely week!

Love, Sister Lewis

We woke up to snow this morning.. here's my view.

Exchanges with Sister Rolfe