Buckle up!‏

Alright, buckle up for this one. Idk what got into me but this email
is a long one!
I swear, every week gets faster and faster. Sometimes I think God is
trying to be funny by playing a trick on me, cause I for real don't
feel like it's been a week since I wrote. Heck, I don't even feel like
it's been a week since I came out on the mission sometimes. But, here
we are again.
I think reality sunk in this week, which was really not fun. You see,
for the past month I've been trying to convince everyone (including
myself) that I don't go home for another two transfers. I thought I
was doing a pretty good job, cause even the APs believed me. Then,
zone conference happened. So every 3 months we have a zone conference,
where a couple of zones combine and president and sister wright come
and teach us, as well as the APs and tech elders. At the end, anyone
going home before the next zone conference has to get up and give
their departing testimony. President always announces beforehand who
will have to get up, and then it happens at the end. So during our
lunch break, me and a few other missionaries tried to convince him he
had made a mistake, but he laughed at all of us and changed the
subject. When I got up there and started to share my testimony,
something just hit me. I realized that I really am leaving soon, but I
also realized (to an extent) what this mission has done for me. As the
words came out of my mouth and I shared the testimony that I have, I
realized that the testimony I have now is a testimony I never even
dreamed of having before my mission. It was a such a bittersweet
experience and it made me so much more grateful for this wonderful
experience. And grateful that it's not quite over yet! :)
Speaking of zone conference, it was great. My zone leaders and I were
asked to teach a section together on language which was terrifying
because we've never had to do that before, but I actually really
enjoyed preparing for it. It's incredible how big of a role our
language plays in who we are not just as missionaries, but as people
in general. From gossiping, to speaking negatively, to using
inappropriate language, they all matter and affect who we are. So just
avoid them! It's as simple as that :)
Oh! I forgot about some cool news! Yesterday at church, our cute
investigator Gamine was there, and she said she wants to be baptized
on her 13th birthday, August 28! So we're excited about that :) she
lives with her grandma, who is an inactive member, but gamine has
recently been interested in the church more and now wants to join
which we are super excited about :)
Lastly, I wanted to talk about the Morgans. Oh my goodness, how I love
the Morgans. They are super active members who live up in the crazy
town of angwin and they are some of the sweetest, most incredible
people I have ever met. They have a beautiful house and view and yard
and everything, and along with that are incredibly humble. I tell you
all this because we get the privilege of going up there to do service
for them. It's fun because we go up, and we work in the garden with
Wanda, who isn't a member but her sister is one of the members here.
Then the zone leaders come up and work in the yard with Juan, their
worker who lives down in the zone leaders' area in Napa. We sweat and
work and chat with them, and then we all get together and enjoy lunch
after. I tell you all this because this week at lunch sister Morgan
said something that really hit my heart. We were enjoying talking and
eating when she thanked all of us for coming and working together,
because she always feels such an incredible spirit when we're all
there and is grateful to be surrounded by good people and for what we
each have to bring to the table. As I looked around, I don't know what
it was, but something helped me get a glimpse of how God sees each of
the people who were sitting at that table. Each of us- me, my
companion, the elders, Wanda, Juan, the Morgans- come from such
different backgrounds, but there was just such a spirit of love and so
much goodness surrounding that table, and I was grateful to be able to
see that. So today, I'm grateful for good people. And I'm grateful for
a Heavenly Father who loves me and each of his children so much, and
even lets me see through his eyes for a second every once in a while. 

Love,
Hermana Lewis  

Pictures: 

1. My new best friend, juan's puppy!

2. Again. Cause he's adorable. 

3. Typical moment with us. My comp always takes selfies and I'm always
in the background doing something/being dumb haha 

4. Another picture of me being dumb.... Our investigator gave us roses
and my comp was taking pictures of them so of course I had to get in
it haha 

5. So, I ate a cricket you guys! This was a while ago but I think I
forgot to send it