Suzanna Lewis: Mission Blog

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Dying in Heaven!‏

We got transfer info this week, and my companion and I are both
staying here in st. Helena! I am so stoked I get to finish my mission
in this wonderful place. Hence why my subject line is "dying in
heaven." It was a very weird feeling getting transfer info for my last
transfer of the mission- it just doesn't feel real! But I am stoked to
work my tail off and have a great transfer :)
So as far as things that happened this week, we got our mini
missionary! It was such a blast. Her name is Dani and she is just the
most adorable ball of sunshine ever. It was so fun to have her energy
for a few days and see how willing she was to do absolutely anything-
I sure learned a lot from her example!
This Sunday I was asked to speak in sacrament meeting, and I wanted to
share something I learned as I was preparing my talk. So I spoke about
how we need to be the Lord's hands, and I decided to research a bit
deeper on what that could mean. So I was researching the word "hand"
and I'd never really thought about it this way until now- but when you
put it in literal terms, the brain typically has an idea of what it
wants to do (aka, purpose) and most of the time, it has to send the
message to the hands, and the hands get the task done. Well, that
applies to us because the lord has a purpose and things he wants to
accomplish, so sometimes he has to send a message to his "hands" (aka,
us) to get the task done. So as I was thinking about all this, I had
to ask myself the question of whether or not I was putting myself in a
place where I could receive that message and follow through with it.
And if I wasn't, what I needed to do to get there. Now I'm not even
sure if any of those thoughts I just threw up onto this email made any
sense, so if they don't, just ignore it. But if they do, ask yourself
the same question, because at least for me, a whole lot of guidance
came out of it. So anyways, I hope you all have a lovely week and
enjoy the first few days of July!

Love,

Hermana Lewis

1. Us with Dani!

2. I got to see my faves this week :)

3. My favorite woman, sister cross. Haha everyone calls her corky. She
asked to see this picture and when I showed her she said "aw man, I
look like a fat old lady!"

4. One of my good friends, Hermana Figueroa! She finishes her mission
tomorrow :(

5. Our zone! Minus a few of the elders

Embarrassing... (Probably should be my subject line every week)‏

Happy late Father's Day everyone!

So, basically have a bunch of random thoughts for you all this week. First off, this happened a while ago and I think I totally spaced writing home about it, but do you all remember my investigator, Jeremías, from Sonoma? The one whose baptism got cancelled the week of? Well, he finally decided to take the leap of faith and he was baptized! I just wanted to let you all know because it made me sooo happy :)

Next item of business.... Well, this is more just funny, but this Tuesday at district meeting, my awesome district leaders brought me a bacon maple donut (my favorite) to celebrate my birthday. Then they brought normal donuts for all the rest, and at the beginning of district meeting they passed them out. Well, just as I was taking the first bite, guess who decided to make a surprise visit? Yep, president wright. OF ALL PEOPLE. he immediately started laughing (not knowing the background to why I was the only one eating a huge maple donut with a big greasy slab of bacon on top) and as the district leaders tried to explain it was just to celebrate my birthday, president said something to the effect of "I just can't believe Hermana Lewis is about to put that in her stomach! What has gotten into you?!" Let me just say, it was a very embarrassing experience. And sister wright may or may not have texted me that night and told me I have a problem and need to talk to the mission nurse... (Haha of course she was just joking, but to be fair, president and I had an agreement that neither of us would tell sister wright, because he ended up eating a donut as well and didn't want her to know... But obviously he broke his end of the agreement)

While I'm on the topic of embarrassing situations, this week some kid crashed his bike into a car in front of us so we pulled over and got out to see if he was okay, and of course then a nun walked over and I immediately started sweating and having a panic attack... But I'll have you know I didn't cry and I even smiled at her! :)

What else... Umm we got a call from the AP's the other day and they asked us to host a mini-missionary (someone who is planning to go on a mission and comes to stay with us for a few days to see what mission life is like) this week! So basically we'll be a trio for a few days and we are super stoked! Aside from that, we've just been walking all over trying to save miles so we are exhausted, but it's a good exhausted! One bonus of that is we are walking around by where we live a ton and we just started teaching one of our cute neighbors and she is awesome! She's read parts of the Book of Mormon before and as we were talking about it with her she just lit up with excitement :) so we are praying she continues to make progress!

Anyways, have a great week everyone, love you all!

Love,

Hermana Lewis

Pictures:

1. my comp and I

2. Jazz! A cute less active who has been living here for the past 2 months but she moved to Arizona this week :(

3. THE DONUT

4. No shame. Haha we saw this sticker the other day of one direction in their tween days and the immature kid in me came out...

What an insane week! Where do I even start.... Um well my birthday
yesterday was a lot of fun :) I thought I was going to get away with
nobody knowing because the only member who knew wasn't going to be
there at church, but somehow everyone knew and we had a little branch
luncheon after church and everyone sang to me, it was super sweet of
them. For dinner we went to the Ellis's and we had a big celebration
because Easton Ellis got his mission call (he's going to Samoa!) and
was opening that as well. All in all, we had a great day and I
definitely felt very loved! And of course I wanted to thank all of you
for the birthday wishes!
Aside from that, we saw quite a few cool little miracles. First, our
investigator, Donociano (not sure if you remember him, he was the one
who was supposed to be baptized this weekend but disappeared off the
face of the earth) finally called us! So we're meeting with him
tonight and hopefully can set a new date :)
We also had a really spiritual lesson with one of our less active
members which was probably the highlight of my week. It was just so
amazing to feel the spirit so strong and that the lesson was clearly
being guided. It was also cool cause my companion very reluctantly
shared a few thoughts in English (she's learning English so because of
that she doesn't love to talk in our English lessons) and our member
teared up and thanked her for having the courage to speak because what
she shared was exactly what she needed to hear at the moment. I just
love seeing how God is in the details of our lives.
So I guess I'm on a scripture kick now.... I don't really know what
happened, but lately all I want to talk about in my emails is
scriptures. Haha but anyways, I'm sure many of you have read 1 Nephi
3:7 a million times, but I've been pondering on that verse the past
few days, focusing on a part that I've never really paid much
attention to- when Nephi says "I know." It's not just "I think" or I
believe," but it's knowledge. The verse says, "And it came to pass
that I, Nephi, said unto my father: 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."
I've been asking myself lately whether or not I truly know, without a
doubt, that the Lord will always provide a way for me to accomplish
the things he commands me to do. To be honest, yes, I do doubt that at
times. And it shows, because I don't reach my full potential in a
particular situation when I let that doubt win. But when I truly know
that I can be obedient and do what God has asked me to do because he
will provide a way for me, that's when the miracles happen. And that
doesn't just apply to me and missionary work, it applies to each and
every one of us in our individual lives. So if you don't know that
you're capable of doing something God has commanded you to do, I
promise you that you are. But you can only come to that knowledge
yourself if you put in the study and prayer and faith on your end.
I love you all and hope you have a fabulous week! 
Love,
Hermana Lewis 
Pictures: 
1. My comp and me 
2. Beautiful part of our drive to st. Helena every day 
3. Hermana Garcia had a little birthday party for me this week since
she was gone Sunday and she had sister Morgan make tres leches for me
and it was TO DIE FOR. 
4. beautiful view, of course 
5. Birthday pic w/ my comp!

Becoming Abinadiac?‏

Becoming Abinadiac?
So, I know "Abinadiac" isn't a word.... But for today I've decided to
make it a word because that's what I want to be. This week in the Book
of Mormon, I've been reading in Mosiah about the story of Abinadi.
He's always been such an example to me, but this time around it just
really hit me. Here he is, teaching the words of the Lord and calling
the people to repentance like he has been commanded to do, and the
people are just not having it. They go so far as to try to kill him,
but of course the Lord is like "nice try, but he's got more work to
do" and he delivers Abinadi out of their hands. So then later, Abinadi
comes back in disguise and essentially just fearlessly throws down on
these people. He explains to them that they are not keeping the
commandments of the Lord, and then he starts to teach the Ten
Commandments. Well, this gets the king ticked off and he commands that
Abinadi be put to death. But yet again, he was not yet finished with
his mission the Lord had for him, so he delivers him out of their
hands again and he continues to teach the Ten Commandments. (Actually,
this part is really cool cause Adinadi tells them "Touch me not, for
God shall smite you if ye lay your hands upon me, for I have not
delivered the message which the Lord sent me to deliver.... But I
finish my message; and then it matters not whither I go, if it so be
that I am saved.") He teaches of the atonement and the plan of
salvation and testifies of our redeemer. When he had accomplished all
the Lord required of him, sadly, King Noah sentenced him to death by
fire.
Now, I know what some of you are probably thinking, "why would that be
your favorite story? Where's the good part? What about the happy
ending?" Well, here's the good part, or the happy ending: never once
did Abinadi falter. He stayed completely true to the Lord and was
obedient to the very end in doing what the Lord had commanded him to
do. He didn't care what happened to him after that, but in the end
what really does it matter? I can't even imagine how great his
blessings in the life to come will be. And that's why it's my favorite
story. As I've been reading his story this time around, I've just had
such a strong desire to become more like him- to fearlessly teach the
gospel, to love the Lord and his children enough to boldly call them
to repentance, and trust in him to the point that I'd be willing to
suffer even death for doing what he has asked of me. Hence why I'm
trying to become "Abinadiac."
To be honest, that was only going to be a side note of my email this
week, but I guess I just get too into that story, haha. But anyways, I
guess I don't really have much else to say today. It's been a good
week, we found a lot of new investigators and my companion and I are
having a great time- I think I'm finally learning how to speak
Spanish! But anyways, if you've made it to this point, I congratulate
you on making it through my tangent on Abinadi. It looks like you're
the true and faithful ones! Haha kidding, but anyways, I hope you all
have ahnh wonderful week :)

Love,

Hermana Lewis

Sorry, for pictures this week all I have is a beautiful pano of the
view from the hospital

Road trips for days‏

So, this week felt like one giant road trip... And let me tell you, I
have come to the conclusion that working hard and being on my feet and
getting exhausted by the work makes me a lot happier than I thought it
did! After spending a week on the road and getting tired from doing
nothing, I now know I much prefer getting tired from doing something
:)
So, we went to Sonoma twice for exchanges and service, then Napa, then
back to Napa and Sonoma to pick up a few people for MLC, and on top of
that we were all over in our area as well, so we spend hours on end in
the car and in traffic. But on the bright side, I think this was my
favorite MLC that I've attended. It was exactly what I needed right
now and helped me out a ton. We talked a lot about giving your full
heart to the lord and being fully invested in the work and desiring to
do the lord's will. My desire to work as hard as I possibly can and
give everything to the lord just shot through the roof! Needless to
say, it was beyond worth leaving the house at 6:30am and not coming
home until 7pm!
Also this week we we had interviews with president which I just loved,
as always! Although, my lifelong (well, mission-long) dream of staying
here forever and just floating around the mission has been confirmed
as not happening. :( when I went in with him, he said "Hermana, how do
you feel about nearing the..." And I hurried and stopped him to
explain my plan to him, and he laughed at me for a good while and said
"in case that laugh didn't answer your question, the answer is no."
Haha president wright is probably one of my favorite people that
exists, in case you weren't aware.
Aside from that, we found a lot of new investigators this week. This
area is kind of difference because we pick up so many new
investigators all the time, but it's quite a challenge to get people
progressing towards baptism. But we know it's possible and we're just
going to keep working for it :) I don't think I have much else to tell
you, so I hope you all enjoy your holiday today!

Love,

Hermana Lewis

Pictures:

1. Me and my lunch buddy, Conrad :) we eat lunch with him at the vets
home every week while he tells us war stories

2. Scenery, of course

3. Me and sister malmfeldt at MLC!

4. The young men thought it would be a brilliant idea to destroy our
car.... So this is before

5. And after. (We were not impressed. Also, I'm accepting submissions
of ideas on how to get them back)

Solo español‏

So, my subject line basically describes my life now! My new companion
is super amazing and we have had a great week, and everything is in
Spanish! Because she only speaks Spanish. She just got here from
Mexico last month, and she didn't speak any English when she got here,
so she's learning right now. And because of that we speak in Spanish
24/7! It's crazy! I'm quickly learning that for one, my Spanish is no
Bueno. And two, I'm convinced it takes different muscles to speak
Spanish because my face muscles are always tired. Haha there's a nice
fun fact for the day.
Anyways... I don't know if I have much to report to you all today!
We're just teaching lots of lessons and finding new people! One
miracle we saw this week was that as it is a new transfer, our
president sent out an email with the "standards of excellence" for the
transfer. He asked a few different things of us but one of them was
that we have a minimum of 3 member present lessons a week. Now I know
that doesn't sound like much, but it is next to impossible to get
members to come to lessons here, because they either don't speak
Spanish and don't feel comfortable coming to Spanish lessons with us,
or they do and they are crazy busy or live way out in the middle of
nowhere and can't make it. So needless to say, we knew that would be a
challenge. But I was bound and determined to focus on that and have
been praying like crazy that God will help us. Well, our first day of
the transfer we had 2 member present lessons! Then we also had another
lesson later where we tried soo hard to get a member there and nobody
we could think of who lives close enough to was available, so we
decided we'd just have to try for next time. Well, it was at the
church (which, to fill you in, is wayyy far away from our branch
president's house) and low and behold there was our branch president
finishing up some business and he offered to join us! See, when you
have faith and do your part to accomplish the things that are in
accordance with God's will, he'll always provide. And for that reason,
I love this work more than I can even express to you all!

Love,
Hermana Lewis

Pictures:

1. On our way down the hill from angwin, it just has the most gorgeous view!

2. Me and Lance, one of our investigators at the vets home. This man
is such a character- but he always makes it to church on Sunday!

3. The famous Napa valley sign, finally haha

4. The beautiful Napa River. Fun fact, it's also the back of the
monastery hahaha

5. Typical vineyard picture, of course (sorry, I can't remember if i
already sent this one home)

I love the atonement

So, first off, it's transfer week! And I will be staying here in st.
Helena :) sadly though, my companion is leaving. We were both pretty
shocked as we were sure we'd stay together, but I know next transfer
will still be great. My new companion is Hermana Rivera (so I'm no
longer in a zebra) and I honestly don't know much about her, she
started in another mission somewhere in South America I believe while
waiting for her visa, and she just arrived here in our mission a few
weeks ago. But I'm excited to speak lots of Spanish with her and have
a great transfer! I will definitely miss sister malmfeldt a TON
though. That girl and I bonded like none other and we might possibly
even have the same brain. It's going to be weird adjusting to someone
who doesn't read my mind... Haha
Anyways, today I want to talk to you all about brother Bailey, one of
my best friends. So this man had smoked pretty much his whole life and
never really saw much of a need to change it. He's been a member for
many many years though and liked the church, although he didn't really
have a testimony of the Book of Mormon or anything. So I can't
remember if I've shared this part, but towards the beginning of the
transfer, we felt inspired to show him a video about the book of
mormon and invited him to read it every time he wants to go smoke. To
our surprise, he accepted. And not only did he accept, he ACTUALLY did
it! We called him later in the week to see how he was doing, and he
said he hadn't smoked once since our lesson. Well, it's been a month
now and he's been going strong since that day :) the best part is,
yesterday at church he was able to bless the sacrament and it brought
me so much joy to see him sitting up there smiling :) it has amazed me
time and time again in my mission to see the incredible blessings of
the atonement and its healing AND enabling power. Without that, I can
guarantee that his experience this past month wouldn't have happened,
and it's the same with all of us, the experiences we have might just
be a bit different. Well, I'll leave you with that. I love you all!

Love,
Hermana Lewis

Pictures:

1 & 2- temple pics

3. Brother Bailey!!! He gets around in a wheelchair, but when we asked
for a picture he said it was a big deal and he was gonna make himself
stand up for it, haha he just needed a little help