Just pictures for this week

Last day with Sister Hart:( We love the Calls!!!

We took a ton of pictures, but none of them turned out very well... This was probably the best one haha. TEAM MONCTON:) Elder Woodbury wanted to ruin all the pictures by not smiling... and no one's sure what Elder Waldie's doing.

District Meeting in Amherst, Nova Scotia. Elder Trent (who will be transferred tomorrow), Elder Waldie, Elder Woodbury, and Elder Draycott on top of them.

Hahaha weirdos. They're all the best.

Sister Pizzey and I were on exchanges this week and we found this hilarious truck!

Just take a moment to enjoy this masterpiece.

Me and Sister Pizzey. Or, as I like to call her, "Sister Pie-Zed." Since they don't have the letter "Z" here. They call it "Zed" haha.

Meet my new close friend, Icy Hot.

22 July 2013

Hey!

I've pretty much told you (parents) everything about my life in my e-mails to you already, I'm short on time, and I'm really distracted because of transfers, so I won't send a big e-mail like I normally do. So I'll just send pictures and the quote of the week and like 2 other things.

Quote of the week:

A conversation between Sister Hart and Elder Trent (Amherst) on the phone the other day--

Hart: What are you up to? Conquering the world?
Trent: Well, yeah.

Hart: You're gonna do all that today?

Trent: Well, no, that's next week's plan.

Hart: Oh, what's today's plan then? Conquering Amherst?

Trent: No, nope. Just conquering the street.

Hart: Oh. Are you conquering Amherst tomorrow?
Trent: No, tomorrow's plan is the neighbourhood.

Hart: Okay, are you taking over Amherst Sunday then? I thought you had to take over the whole world by next week?!

Trent: Well no, Wednesday's our deadline. We have to take over Amherst by Wednesday at the latest. Thursday we'll take over all of Nova Scotia, Friday is Trinidad, and Saturday we'll conquer the world.
Hart: Wow! That's a great goal. Now what are you plans to meet this goal?
Trent: Um, basically knocking lots of doors.

So my new friend's name is Icy Hot. He and I are the closest we've ever been (even closer than when I brushed my teeth with it). He supports me when I'm at my lowest <3 EVERYONE DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO NOT HAVE TO MAKE ICY HOT YOUR BEST FRIEND.

That's it for today haha.

Love,

Sister L

Zone Conference on Tuesday (with a million missionaries!!). IT WAS GREAT. Elder WOODbury, Seester Hart, Uncle Waldie, et moi.

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. Meet some of my favorite people in the whole world. #monctonmissionaries

Surprise Photos

We (Sister Lewis' parents) got an unexpected email from one of the young women Sister Lewis taught and who was recently baptized.  It was lovely to hear from her and to see the photos!

McDonald's

Salut from Canada!!! Lots of people say "Salut" here.

In fact, before I forget, I've been meaning to say this since my second P-day! But here the McDonald's signs (like the giant Ms) have mini Canadian flags in the middle of them and it's really weird. I'll have to take a picture because it's really funny looking haha.

Now for birrthdays!!! I keep forgetting to put birthday wishes in my e-mails. So happy birthday to Krystal Richey, Olivia Tuttle, and Miss Quinnly "Participant" Nilsson!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!

AND CONGRATS TO TREY DJ BRIMHALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my goodness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's so weird that all this is happening! Trey, this is crazy. When did we get so old?

Quote of the week:

Sister Hart--while meeting up with the Elders to get the keys to the chapel: "Sister Lewis had a mind-blowing experience today."

Elder Woodbury: "Elder Waldie had one too!"

Me: "Oh yeah? What was that?"

Elder Waldie: "MOOSE!!!" (don't worry, all of us were confused, it's not just you)

I am bursting from excitement right now because today is going to be AWESOME!!!!! Before P-day officially ends, we're going to Salisbury to pick up Isabelle*, who is going to be our member at our member-present lessons tonight!!! SO EXCITED! She is too! She's gonna be a missionary tonight, just a couple weeks after her baptism! HOW GREAT IS THAT?! We needed a member to teach 21-year-old Ethan Raymond*. He's single, so we needed a member Sister to come, but none were jumping out at us as someone who would be good to visit a 21-year-old guy, and then we thought of our good friend Heather, WHOM WE LOVE. It's going to be great!!!

I really need to take 6 paragraphs and apologize to the people I still haven't written back..... I can only write letters on Mondays, and between grocery shopping, e-mailing, cleaning the apartment, going to the banque, and running all over town doing tasks for ward members, our P-days aren't really days off:) And so I have really limited letter-writing time and have been doing awful at writing people back! But I LOVE the support, and every letter I get is like a huge boost, and I swear one day I will get on top of it and write back! Thank you!!!

Yesterday was my first Sunday in about a month where I didn't teach Gospel Principles, which was really weird and really nice! I enjoyed not having to pretend I have time to prepare awesome lessons for that class:) They actually called a member we've been working with in getting her reactivated since we got here, and now she has a calling! We're really excited and pleased because she is PERFECT for it.

Also yesterday I did singing time in primary again! It went really well!!!! I love those kids!!!!!!!!!!!! There's a boy in primary named Cameron. He's 7. We've been to his house for supper before, and he likes sitting on the piano bench with me during sharing time, even though he's not really supposed to haha. But he always finds me at church and talks to me and he's super cute. And yesterday after primary, he came up to me really shyly and said, "Here you go. This is for you." Then he gave me this big red heart with a "UR COOL" sticker on it and gave me this shy smile. HE IS SO SWEET! It's one of my favorite gifts ever.

A lot of people focus on baptisms to rate their success as a missionary. I find a lot of joy in getting people baptized and helping them come unto Christ that way, but it's also incredibly gratifying to see someone coming to church again after they haven't been in ages, and it's partly because you've been working with them and visiting them and loving them. And when you help someone come unto Christ out of love, you will always be successful. Maybe not in getting them all the way there, but in getting them a little bit closer to God. And there is nothing that comes close to the feeling you get when you help someone to know their God. That is incredible.

Anyway, I love you all. The Church is true. Now go hasten the work:)

Love,

Sister L

(Sister Lewis' little brother asked to see pictures of her apartment.)

When you first walk in the door and look left--dining table and living room.

When you walk in the door and look right--kitchen.

Living room from other angle.

Messy table:)

The office. My desk is the dark one on the right. Haha well by the looks of the wall, ONE of us moved in!

In the office. The giant area map we made. Our area is everything south of Mountain Road, if you wanna look taht up. Dieppe's is everything north of it. We live down there in area 1, close to the river.

One of the only things hanging on my wall

The bedroom. My bed's the brown one.

My nook:)

Our dressers. Mine's the one on the left. Haha this picture's dumb.

There was a car show in Moncton this week and all these awesome cars were driving around! This one was SO COOL!!!!!!!!!

They have this thing called bagged milk here.... What?!

Photos From Bay of Fundy

These photos go with this previous post.

This girl is on fiyaaaaaaah!

That's right!!!

Quote of the week:

Elder Woodbury--after finishing a delicious cup of vanilla bean hot chocolate we picked up at Second Cup (like Starbucks): "Man, can I get a second cup of this?!"

Sister Hart and me: "Ha ha, Elder. Ba-dum-chow."

Elder Woodbury: [huge pause] "HAHAHAHA OH MY GOSH I DIDN'T EVEN TRY TO MAKE THAT A PUN!"

Yeah, my life is getting sadder, these quotes just aren't as funny as they used to be.

Let me first say that I am SO grateful for all the mail and e-mails I've been getting recently! Mail honestly makes you go from the lowest point of your day to cloud nine in seconds. So here's a shout-out to everyone who's sent me a letter or an e-mail (especially if I haven't replied yet, sorry!). I am blessed to have such support from home.

Okay, so it's been in the mid 30s here with a ton of humidity, and we have been DYING. Fast Sunday was sooooo much fun;)

This last week, we got to go to St. John for their district meeting, so it was really great to see that zone again! We have zone conference coming up, and sisters conference as well, and I love them because you get to see so many other missionaries! We also had a lot of really great lessons. We picked up a new investigator this week (a mother) and we taught her 6 times in a week! She's finally progressing now, and it's so amazing to see how the gospel can bless her and watch her understand it at the same time.

The missionaries in Greater Moncton all fasted for our ward this week. As part part of our fast, Elder Waldie and I both bore our testimonies in sacrament meeting, and it's really amazing to see how our testimonies have already made an impact in what we were fasting for. The Church is true!!!!

A lot of people have been asking me for tips for future missionaries, so here is what I've got!

1. PREACH. MY. GOSPEL. Everyone says it, but if you can know the principles of chapter 3 before entering the MTC, you will have a HUGE head start in the field. You will be blessed with more confidence and more of a desire to serve.

2. Bring a journal for people to sign. Have your MTC district sign it, your first district leader, your first zone leader(s), your companions. It is a huge blessing to have a record of the testimonies of the missionaries you serve with, and nothing can beat it. It is one of my best possessions.

3. Pay attention to the missionary excitement you feel before entering the MTC. The MTC has the Spirit unlike any place in the world. It is totally unique. You will feel it strongly there, and it will strengthen you through the harder MTC experiences. But when you get in the field, you're switching locations from a place where everyone feels the Spirit all the time, where everyone is constantly bettering themselves spiritually, where everyone has dedicated 18-24 months of their lives to God. And you are going to a place that is in general spiritual darkness. It is hard. Don't lose the MTC fire.

4. Study now. As a missionary, you have 2 hours+ of studying everyday. And you get to know the scriptures unlike any other point in your life because of it. Start now and you will be blessed with more people who are prepared for the gospel on your mission.

5. Pay attention to the MTC devotionals. THEY CAN BE BORING:) But I remember vividly something one of the speakers said: "When you write home, inspire your family with your love." One of the hardest things for every missionary is leaving their family. By writing home and inspiring your family with the Spirit and your love, you are blessing them more than you could by being home. Pay attention to the devotionals and your purpose as a missionary will be re-defined and make not only your life more fulfilled, but the lives as your family as well.

Alright, there's a good start:) I love you. The Church is true. Family, YOU ARE THE BEST.


Love,


Sister Lewis

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!!

WHAT A WEEK!

Quotes of the week:

1. Elder Waldie--after Sister Hart and I objected when he said we were the best Sisters: "Do I have to read all the anti to know the Book of Mormon is true?! NO!!! Do I have to read the Bible to know the Book of Mormon is true?! NO!!! I don't have to work with every Sister in the mission to know I work with the best! Sisters!!!!!"

2. Me--the Elders had just called us to drop something off at their apartment for them, and then they said we could all grab something to eat really fast afterwards (this was a couple P-days ago). We showed up at their apartment and gave them whatever they needed, then Elder Waldie said, "Okay, is that everything? You can go now." While driving away: "Sister Hart.... did we just get dropped?"

Well the Moncton Ward had two more baptisms on Saturday!!! Evangeline and Eustace Veilleux*, who are 14 and 10, got baptized and confirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. AND IT WAS AWESOME!!!!! It's been incredible to see how much the Lord trusts the Moncton Ward--specifically its young women! The baptism was great. Eustace (I adore her) asked me to give the talk on the gift of the Holy Ghost, so that was great, and I was also the one who got them all dressed in their baptismal suits and helped them do their hair and get redressed afterwards. And then Sister Hart and I mopped the font and the bathrooms and the ward Canada Day BBQ started! We got to talk to several nonmembers there, which was really great!

Gospel Principles teacher and primary chorister.... Those callings will soon be coming to an end:'( I'm gonna miss it, but I'm really excited for the people they're calling (it's weird suddenly being on the inside and knowing everyone's calling beforehand).

President took me off studying French with Elder Call and the Dieppe Elders for a while because he thought it was stressing me out. So I'm back to doing it on my own, which is alright, I'm just progressing a lot slower.

Okay, now I get to talk about Canada Day in the Maritimes!!!

This morning at 10, the Calls drove us (Elder Waldie, Elder Woodbury, Sister Hart, and me) to the Hopewell Rocks--BAY OF FUNDY!!! It was great! It was all foggy and wet and muddy and a blast! Elder Woodbury cut his hand open and was spewing blood; Elder Waldie and I found a ton of snails on a rock, so we put them together to make a snail family for them; Sister Hart and I ran around jumping off of rocks and taking ugly pictures; we all climbed into several dark caves; and I got dared to eat some fresh seaweed too! It was a really great day. I guess I'll send pictures of that if I can (left my cord at home again... sigh). Tonight after P-Day, we'll be street contacting at Riverfront Park (just east and across the street from our apartment) since everyone will be there doing Canada Day celebrations. I am determined to finish learning "O Canada" before tomorrow--I still screw up some of the lyrics. From what Sister Hart tells me, Canada doesn't get as into Canada Day as America gets into the 4th of July, but I'm still pretty excited. The fireworks will be starting across the street from us at around 10, so we'll get to see some, even with the no fireworks rule:)

Tomorrow Sister Hart and I are spending the morning in St. John, which I'm looking forward to!

Alright, I'll try to send pictures here, but love you! Miss you! It's a great day to be a missionary.

Love,

Soeur Lewis