Week 14

Conference was so good!

Easter was so wonderful!

Okay. This week was awesome. We got our new companion, Hermana Wilson! She is from Idaho. She is the best! I don't know what I would do without her!

I didn't email yesterday because it was Easter Monday and government buildings were closed. 

La familia Pasquier took us out for lunch between sessions of conference. Which was such a blessing, because we had spinach and carrots for dinner with stale saltines left in our apartment from 2 transfers ago (although that ended up being our dinner...). We ate Chinese food. Inside, they were having a birthday party for a 90 old lady, and they had a full on roasted chancho sitting on the table. We took a picture, so I'll try to send that home next week.

We were able to watch every session of Conference! It was superbien! We watched 3 in Spanish, and one in English because Cassandra* preferred English.

Transfer meeting this week was amazing.

On Friday, we were dropping by the house of a former, but she wasn't home. We went next door and knocked. Three guys answered the door. They just moved here from China the day before. They barely spoke English, but we talked to them about what we did as missionaries. We set up a time where we could meet with them at our church for that Saturday. They have no religious or spiritual background. Nothing. We asked if we could say a prayer. We told them we could talk with God. One of their mouths just dropped. We told them that when we pray we like to fold our arms and close our eyes. They closed their eyes, and their arms were perfectly placed, square to their bodies, and followed us exactly, to the movement or adjustment of a finger. On Saturday, we met them at the church. It was the three of us, and then Celeste Pasquier came as the member. Before we even started teaching, Xuen* said "I want to be a part of this family". Our hearts just melted. We gave them a quick tour of the church, and ended in the Chapel. We then had a lesson focusing on "God is our Loving Heavenly Father" and then we taught them how to pray. We had brought two Restoration pamphlets in Mandarin so we could teach them. Xuen had to translate what we were saying for his friend, Li*. Xuen asked, "Can I pray?". He was so excited!  The spirit was so strong. He said, "Father. I want to be a part of this family. Amen". I cannot even describe the Spirit that was in the room. We were all holding back tears. We all testified. We told them that to become a member of God's family, we needed to be baptized. We invited them to be baptized the 26th of April and they both said yes! We are passing them onto the Chinese Elders, but can't wait to see what happens with them. We see them this Friday!

Yesterday, we went tracting, which we don't do very often. We ran into Jose*, from Peru. It was nice to see him, but sad that we couldn't meet with him. We are hoping to get in with the wife, eventually.  But while we were tracting, we ran into so many Spanish families! We can't wait to see what happens with those!

While out contacting on Friday, we ran into a student named Yuri*, from Russia. We had a QGC with him, and then invited him to come to Conference. And he came! He enjoyed hearing what the prophets had to say and loved that they told us exactly what we need to do to be happy. We passed him off to the English Elders.

On another note, two nights ago we were contacting in Burnaby. It was around 8:30 at night, and a group of 12 year olds were just walking out on the street being loud. There was not a good feeling. Not a feeling that we were in danger, but a feeling of darkness. It was crazy. I want to say similar to how Joseph Smith described right before the First Vision, but probably not that dramatic. But I got confused and I couldn't understand what was happening, and I felt like I couldn't see, although I could. It was weird. All of a sudden, this kid pulls a real gun on us and said, "Get down. I have a gun". He was all talk, and we said a prayer afterwards and everything turned out prefect.

Anyway. Pray always. God loves everyone! We all have a duty as members of God's family to help others of God's children find the way to eternal life. Do what you can, and you'll find so much more happiness.

Paz y bendiciones!

Hermana Lewis

Indian food while on exchanges.

Avocado toast. Heaven sent. And pasta. 

First picture as a companionship!

Waiting teach preach the word. 

Thanks to the Raddons! What an Easter miracle! <3 

Sunset.

I ordered more name tags. I guess I need to order some more...

Week 13

"Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost" (2 Nephi 31:17).

This week was perfect. I loved every minute of it.

 Last Monday we got to have dinner with President and Sister Burt. We met at Boston Pizza. It was Hermana Williamson and I, Hermana Cobb and Lee, Sister Flinders and Sister Rogers (Sister Training Leaders), and then two other Sisters. President and Sister Burt talked to us and gave us so many words of advice and just talked to us. It was amazing. They are definitely called of God. I am so grateful for them. They have such moral authority and are so humble. I felt so edified, both physically and spiritually afterwards. 

Arturo Ramirez* was baptized on Friday!!!!! My first baptism I could go to as a missionary!! Every Friday, the ward has their activity night. Every group gets together and does their activities. This Friday, the activity was the baptism. Arturo Ramirez was an investigator of Elder Francis and Elder Gurr. Arturo Ramirez has such strong faith. It is so amazing. I don't even think I can describe it. His testimony is so strong. At the baptism, I just felt so much joy. My cup was overflowing. Here is one of Heavenly Father's children, opening the gate to eternal life. God has so many children, and he cares about each of them individually. I think I could just feel how much love Heavenly Father has for him. And he has that much love for all of us. It was such a beautiful experience! I'm so grateful I could be there! Arturo Ramirez was confirmed yesterday in church, and the Spirit was so strong again. What a wonderful work I am a part of.

We had been inviting investigators, recent converts, and less actives for the past week and a half to Arturo Ramirez's baptism, but the day of, everyone was cancelling on us. We were still allowed to go because we were helping out with the program. But I had the feeling to text Omar, a recent convert, and then Diego*, a potential who we have been trying to meet with for a while, to come. It was really last minute, but they both were able to come! Diego really fit in so well with the ward, and even when the time came that Hermana Williamson and I had to leave, he was talking with so many other friends. Omar said he felt the spirit so strong and it helped him remember his own baptism (almost a year ago).

I went on exchanges with Hermana Cobb from Wednesday to Thursday in Surrey! It was so fun! We taught two lessons. We just love that we still have that comp unity we did in the MTC. It was so good. Love that Hermana to death!

I had exchanges with Sister Flinders on Thursday to Friday! She is so amazing. She goes home on Wednesday, so I was her last exchange! She has such a great testimony and view on everything. I learn so much from her.

On Saturday, we had scheduled four lessons with families! Two of them fell through, but we are going to be teaching them this weekend. 

Our last lesson on Saturday went late. We missed the first half of Women's Conference, but what I did see was awesome. We watched in Spanish. So it was twice as awesome.

Yesterday. Cassandra was baptized! And confirmed! She was originally just going to have to wait two weeks to be confirmed, but we made it happen last night. Bishop wanted to start a half hour early, but we had invited the Hermanas and President Burt, who were on their way, but wouldn't be there until 4:30, the time the baptism was supposed to start. So we tried to stall as much as we could. President and the Hermanas got here in time, but Bishop had them start without us! Including Cassandra! It was so crazy! We felt bad that it was just so rushed. But in the end it all worked out. It was such a beautiful experience! She was just glowing. The Spirit was so strong! I swear I was just smiling so big all day. I'm sure I looked ridiculous, but I don't really care. She was baptized. What a blessing! What a blessing from Heavenly Father that we can be made clean and return to live with him and Jesus Christ one day. If that isn't an action of love, I don't know what is.

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ having a  perfect brightness of hope, and of love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father : Ye shall have eternal life" (20).

Two people, in our ward alone, just made the first step to eternal life. Those blessings are now open for them. It is so cool.

"And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen" (21).

There is no other way we can be saved. There is no other way to have eternal happiness. We all must turn to Christ and be perfected in him.

We need to "[rely] wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save" (19). It does not stop at baptism. We need to be using and applying the doctrine of Christ in our lives every day. We need to have faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement, repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure and enjoy to the end. This is the path to eternal life.

Last night we got transfer calls. In the past, they did them on Monday nights, but when we were talking to President Burt on Monday, we talked about doing them Sunday nights, and I guess he like how it sounded. Any guesses? I'm staying in Vancouver Spanish. So is Hermana Williamson. And we are training a new Sister! We get to go to the meeting on Thursday and everything! Now we just have to figure out how to fit another bed and desk  in our small apartment. I can't wait! We think Hermana Cobb is training in Surrey.

Also, because it is the end of transfers, we have Sister Thompson with us. She is from Idaho and goes home on Wednesday. She is super sweet and does such a great job sharing her testimony with everyone. We have her until Tuesday afternoon, and then Hermana Cobb finishes up the transfer with us. 

Lots of changes and so much fun. I love doing missionary work!

Speaking of which, we taught Gospel Principles yesterday on missionary work. Our church is a missionary church and has always been. That means if you are a member of the church, you have a responsibility to share with everyone the knowledge we have. So go and do. Don't miss out on the miraculous blessings that come when you bring one of Heavenly Father's children back into His fold.

All for now!

Love,

Hermana Lewis

Cassandra's* baptism!

Right after the baptism.  I love her with all my heart!

Week 12

This week it rained quite a bit! So that was fun! I also received revelation, or just knowledge, that I may want to invest in some more waterproof things before winter comes around!

Some things I keep forgetting to mention:

1. The Book of Mormon Musical is coming in April. The tickets sold out in 60 seconds or something crazy like that. We are planning some ways to share as much correct information about the Book of Mormon and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as possible.  On April 11, all the missionaries in our mission are going to have members with them all day, and are going to use Facebook, Twitter, and other social media websites with #RealBCMormons of pictures or descriptions of what we are doing. We're really excited. There are some devotionals that the Quorum of the Twelve have set up for the members here to strengthen their testimonies, and for the past couple weeks, we have been preparing the members in our member visits. We'll see how well it works if you hear about it!

2. We are whitewashing. We opened up this area, so we had to start over with investigators. So that was a fun thing for my first transfer! We've learned a lot!

Transfers are next week! I cannot believe how fast that came! I can't believe I have known Hermana Williamson for 5 weeks already! She is so wonderful! I'm so grateful that she could be my trainer. She has taught me so much and I don't know what I would do without her!

Cassandra* is getting baptized officially next Sunday!! We are so excited. It is such a miracle!

We were doing a role play Tuesday morning for a lesson we were going to have with Cassandra later in the day. We were going to have exchanges and I was going to be staying in our area, so I was Cassandra so I could really feel what the Spirit needed us to do. The Spirit totally guided our role play, and we were lead that we should read the story about Ammon, King Lamoni, and his father. We role played the whole lesson, and so many of the concerns she had were answered in our role play, and afterwards we felt it was so right.

A couple hours later was her lesson. I taught with Hermana Cobb. We read and explained the story, and how the stories in the Book of Mormon aren't just stories of other people, but that they really do apply to our lives. We probably wouldn't ever have to build a ship, but the principles we learn are what we need to apply. Then we asked her what she thought about it. She talked about how it was kind of the same situation with her wanting to be baptized, but her dad not allowing it.

Here is the coolest part. It came straight from the Spirit.

"Cassandra. At 8:00 PM on Thursday night, you are going to go and talk to your dad and tell him you want to be baptized. The Lord has softened his heart, and he will let you be baptized. Hermana Williamson and I will be praying for you, Hermana Lee and Hermana Cobb will be praying for you, the Elders will be praying for you, Juan Pablo will be praying for you, and about forty other missionaries (our 2 zones) at that time. Will you talk to him at 8:00 PM on Thursday?"

She said she would but got really nervous. We explained that God promised his heart would be softened and talked about how he is all powerful. She got so excited. She was still so nervous, but she was so excited because she really wanted to be baptized.

The Spirit was so strong during that lesson.

We texted our zone, and had the Elders text their zone, and everyone said they would pray as a a companionship at that time. We have wonderful zones!

Wednesday, I was just thinking about that lesson. I was worried about what would happen if her dad said she couldn't get baptized. I made her a huge promise! Then I remembered something so important. I wasn't the one who promised her anything. I was just blessed enough to be the voice of the Lord as he promised her that because she was willing to follow his son, Jesus Christ, and be baptized, that her Dad's heart was going to be soft. I felt so much peace, and was not even worried from that minute on.

Thursday, we had a lesson with Cassandra, and then we told her at the end that we would call her at 7:455. She was still committed to asking, nervous, but excited.

We called at 7:45 and she said she was going to do it early, but then he was asleep. She didn't want to risk waking him up to ask him because she didn't want him to be mad. Hermana Williamson said that this could be a way that Satan was trying to stop this from happening, but the Lord told us at 8:00, and it needed to be then. We said a prayer with her and then reminded her that everyone would be praying for her.

At 8:00, we prayed. We prayed. Everyone prayed. We felt so much peace. We prayed for 10 minutes. It was such a beautiful experience. After we got in for the night, we called her. She said how things went.

Her dad said she could be baptized. He even said he would go to her baptism. What a miracle. He said he didn't want anyone to talk to him there, but he would go just to support her.

If that isn't amazing, I don't know what is.

She is getting baptized!!!!! This Sunday! 

Like I said, I had exchanges with Hermana Cobb! What a blessing! We were in Vancouver and we had such a great time doing missionary work out in the field together! We even set a goal to teach a lesson before we went home, and it happened! Love her to death!

On Saturday, we were trying to get a hold of an inactive member of the ward, in a part member family, but were not able to get a hold of her.  On Saturday, we felt the need to change our plans, and we ended up walking and contacting as we went to stop by formers and other people we picked out from the ward. We stopped by this home again, and the son answered and told us his mom was in the hospital. We were able to get the information and visited her in the hospital, were she welcomed us in, which was a miracle in and of itself because in the past, she would not even open the door to talk to the missionaries, and we met her husband and another one of her sons, and because we visited them, they are more open to us now!

I love seeing how intimately involved the Lord is in our lives. He is constantly blessing us. I love knowing that I can trust someone completely, and that He puts certain things in my path because they are best for me!

The Lord just keeps sending blessings. Not just to me, and not just because I'm on a mission. So look for them, and then thank him for them.

Hermana Williamson and I get to eat dinner with President and Sister Burt tonight! Hermanas Lee and Cobb will be there too, as well as Sister Rogers and Sister Flinders, our Sister Training Leaders. We are eating at Boston Pizza. So excited. Can you believe that though? He was saying he wanted to eat with us to Sister Rogers and Sister Flinders, so we kind of forced him into it once we figured it out. President and Sister Burt are seriously so amazing. I don't know what I would do without them!

Les amo hasta la luna y de regreso! 

Hermana Lewis

Exchanges and blossoms from a tree! All of Vancouver has blossoms everywhere! So beautiful!

Mi amor.

After our lesson with Cassandra on Thursday! Hermana Williamson, Cassandra, Alicia (Young Woman in the ward, y yo).

Milagros Para Siempre

I guess I am going to have to start getting used to not having very much time to write...

Remember Alejandro*? He has had some lessons with the Vancouver South Elders, Elder Kennedy and Elder K-, and they said he was doing really well. Yesterday in Sacrament Meeting, I looked out the doors, and I'm 98% sure, and 20000% happy, that he was leaving the church with his family! Blessings! He was so willing to try the gospel. Love it!

A couple weeks ago, we had a whole day planned where were just going to be in Burnaby, so in order to spend our time the best, and keep down the amount of Ks we have, we decided to just pack a dinner for us to eat. We were going to a lesson with Rachel, who we found tracting out apartment buildings, and her family, who are First Nations, but they cancelled as we were on their porch. We asked if we could just share a quick scripture and thought, and she said yes. We went in and got to meet her mom, who was visiting, and her sons and daughter. We stayed for 45 minutes. Afterward, we walked to our car and noticed we still had 15 minutes before we planned to eat, but we were both so hungry. Hermana Williamson asked what I wanted to do, and I thought about it for a good while. Then I realized the only reason why it was taking me so long to figure out what to do was because I knew what was the right thing to do, but I wanted to just eat. So I decided that we should go contacting for 15 more minutes. We got out of the car and started talking to everyone. We just kept getting rejected over and over. The last person we talked to told us he just lost his phone, and was going to try to find it, and was waiting for his bus. We got into a good conversation, and asked what his name was. He said Jose*, so we started speaking in Spanish, and HE SPOKE SPANISH! We got to know him a bit more. He is from Peru. We asked him if we could get his number and share a message with him another day. He said we could, and as we walked back to our car, we were just so happy because if we just ate 15 minutes early, we could have just changed our schedule by 15 minutes, but because we stuck to our plan, we were blessed with a miracle. Even though we hadn't even taught him, it was a blessing that we found someone who spoke Spanish.

Jump forward to this week. We called him and he said we could come teach him on Saturday! So we got Luisa to come with us, and on Saturday, we went to his house, and as we were walking up, we saw toys. We were super confused. The way he was talking to us made it seem like he was here alone. We knocked on the door and he let us in. Inside there were toys everywhere! We got super excited! Then hiding on the stairs was his 4 year old son, Juan*. He is the cutest. And the fact that he speaks Spanish makes it that much cuter. Jose told us that his wife was out running errands, but that he also has a daughter, Rosa*, who is...just guess. 8. We taught about how the Gospel blesses families and about the Book of Mormon. He was SUPER accepting! He just believed what we were telling him. He told us that hey went to a Christian church in English, but they were looking for something more, and something in Spanish. We told him that's exactly what we have and that Luisa would actually be Juan's teacher and there is a really great program for children where they learn and do fun activities. We invited them to come with us yesterday. 

They weren't able to make it yesterday, but we are planning on teaching the whole family this week, starting with the Plan of Salvation. We are just super excited to be able to teach a family! We've been praying for one since I've been out, and Hermana Williamson has been since she's been out. We have faith. But Heavenly Father's will be done.

Our investigator Cassandra*, has been coming to church for so long now. She really does have such a strong testimony, but she's really nervous to get baptized. Her mom is a member, but her step-dad is not and is pretty anti. Missionaries have been working with her for over a year, but she's really afraid of what will happen if she does. We had a lesson with her on Thursday about the Atonement (which is what we have taught about in YW for the last two Sundays, so it's been really fresh in her mind) and how we can only access all the blessings of the Atonement through baptism. We asked her about her concerns and talked about how if God is all powerful, he can soften her Dad's heart. We also talked about taking a leap of faith. Often times, we look for a big answer that we should do something. We pray, and while looking for the big answer, we overlook the soft answer that has been there all along. I told the story about when I was deciding to serve a mission or start school. I was praying and fasting, but didn't really feel like I had an answer. Or at least I was afraid to take the one I thought I had received. But it wasn't until after I made a decision, that I felt an overwhelming feeling of peace come that I was supposed to wait to do school, and plan to serve a mission immediately. We explained that she needed to take a step of faith. Pray and tell Heavenly Father that she is going to be baptized, unless she feels otherwise, instead of praying to know if it is the right thing, because she already knows. We committed her to March 29! 

One cool thing I was studying today(?) was that commandments aren't temporal. All the commandments we have are because they help us spiritually! I don't know. It's really cool to think about it that way. 

Last Monday, we went to Stanley Park! We were going to be there with the STLs, Sister Flinders and Sister Rogers, but we weren't able to meet up with them when we got there. But we were with Hermana Lee and Hermana Cobb. It was so fun, even if it was so short. 

Last night we had dinner at la casa de la familia Fajardo. We ate such good food! Hna Fajardo is from Chile and served her mission in Vancouver, English speaking. She made chicken, rice, and a cucumber tomato salad. I ate half a chicken. We all did. I love it. The rice was so good, and of course, the salad. Then, we ate pastel de papa! It was super delicious! She even sent us home some! And then she gave us dessert. It was a peach gelatin, with ice cream and whipped cream on top, and raspberries. It was so good! They have the cutest dog, and get this, a ferret! 

Hermana Williamson and I were studying the other day, and the Spirit totally directed us to something we had to do. And that is find a way to get the members active and involved, especially in missionary work. We have some awesome plans, coming soon! So hold on to your seats everyone! 

Today, we are spending all P day with the other Hermanas! Hermana Lee goes home April 1st, so we are getting in as much bonding time as possible. We are going to have a Restoration party! We are too excited. 

We had Zone Conference on Tuesday and it was awesome! Loving life. 

Have a great week! Do something extraordinary for another child of God who needs it! Everyone needs something! 

Con amor y todo, 

Hermanita Lewis

Reunited at Stanley Park

Totem pole

Water bender?

Beacho the ferret

Week 10

This week was a week of miracles. It's crazy to think that with all these miracles I am seeing, as just one small child of God, that God doesn't ever run out of miracles for all his children. He never gets tired of blessing us. He never gets tired of guiding and loving us.

On Saturday I got to drive past Richards Stadium! There were huge posters of the Canucks on the windows and boy, I got so excited.

Last Monday, we went to Granville Island. I wish I got more pictures because that place is amazing. There is a huge market, smaller food businesses, and then store after store, successfully targeting people like me. We walked into a hat store (I love hats) and it had hundreds of hats. All different shapes sizes and colors. They were amazing. And expensive. What a cool place though. We are definitely going back.

This week was interesting. We had plans for so many lessons with members, so many visits to less active members and recent converts, but for some reason, almost every single thing fell through. BUT, the Lord accepted our efforts, accepted our plans, and we still saw so many blessings and miracles throughout the week, even though it didn't go like we expected. Almost every day we were able to find at least one Spanish speaking person while finding. If that is not a huge miracle, I don't know what is.

One of the best things to think about as you are talking to someone is that you are helping them come to Christ. When I think about that, I just get so much strength. I can feel the Spirit so strong, and it's something so simple. Doctrine and Covenants 11:11 says, "I am the light which shineth in darkness". I love to try and bring that light to others so they can have the comfort and peace knowing we have a Savior and Redeemer.

I love that in the gospel, when you have a testimony of one thing, it doesn't matter what it is, but you will gain a testimony of so many other things.

 I love what Oliver Cowdery said. "The Lord...is rich in mercy, and ever willing to answer the consistent prayer of the humble". If we turn to the Lord, he will answer our prayers. He answers with patience and love. He is all knowing, and we need to trust that the answers we receive are what is best for us. He knows what we need now in order to be ready for what is to come.

He describes the gospel as "a Gospel of Repentance! What joy! what wonder! what amazement!" I cannot even begin to understand how perfect this gospel is. It is a gospel of hope and joy. No matter what is happening in your life, if you turn to the gospel, turn to Christ, you can find the positive side to all things. I love what it says in 1 Peter 1:7, "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold, that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ". All that is asked of us is to do our best. We will receive strength to do what is asked of us. We have been told not to be a "slothfull servant"  (Doctrine and Covenants 58:26), but at the same time, "do not run faster or labor more than you have strength" (Doctrine and Covenants 10:4). The Lord has set expectations for us, and we do not have the right to lower or raise those standards. Through repentance, or change of any kind, we are able to experience the full goodness of the gospel. We can overcome our weaknesses and challenges. All of them. If that isn't a message of only hope and joy, I don't know what is. That is the most beautiful gift. And it's because of Him.

"I am they fellow servant". There are angels always around us, helping us and guiding us. 

"And as we heard we rejoiced, while His love enkindled upon our souls, and we were wrapped in the vision of the Almighty! Where was room for doubt? Nowhere; uncertainty had fled, doubt had sunk no more to rise, while fiction and deception had fled forever!" The more we surround ourselves in the gospel, the less our doubts will have an affect over us. Faith replaces fear and doubt. How many times does our Savior tell us to not fear? Act in faith.

There is so much more. I love it. It is so simple. Do what is asked of us. Be a disciple of Christ.

With all my love,

Hermanita Lewis

Bratwurst and Sauerkraut at Granville Island <3

Banana Case. No.

Intercambios

Mongolian food for the win.

Deer Lake Park. We brought a dinner Saturday because we were running around, and decided to eat here!

Area map

Downtown

A donde me mandes iré?

What a great week. I don't things get much better than this.

When I first got my mission call, I honestly was fine going wherever. I had ideas of where I thought I would go, but when I read Canada Vancouver, and Spanish speaking, that was nothing I ever even contemplated. It was something that was really weird to think about. I don't know why, but I definitely wanted to know that it was where I was supposed to go. I wanted to know what it was in Vancouver that was going to be part of my bigger picture. The parts I couldn't see, but that the Lord could. Now that I'm here, the experiences I am having are amazing. I'm sure that they are similar to any missionary, but also different. I maybe have not received a huge understanding that this is where I am supposed to be, but I definitely feel so blessed that I am here and I am learning, and I know it's where I am supposed to be.

A little bit about my mission. For starters, there are two Spanish speaking areas. On is Vancouver Spanish and the other is Surrey Spanish. I am in Vancouver Spanish. It covers North Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Richmond, Coquitlam, Port Moody, and Port Coquitlam, and the surrounding areas. Right now, a lot of the work we are doing with members, less actives, and investigators is mainly in the Burnaby area.

The ward members and all other Spanish speaking people we work with find some way of calling me the big Hermana, and Hermana Williamson the small one. They think it's really funny, too. I'm probably taller than 94% of the ward, meaning there are probably 3 people taller than me. It makes hugging and besos a lot more interesting than they already are. We were doing service at Hermana Leiva's house a couple days this week because she is moving. Hermana Williamson, Marta Iris, a member, and I were cleaning out and washing the cupboards. They were both standing on chairs, and I was standing on the ground, reaching everything. 

Driving is probably the most interesting or different thing here. I rarely see speed signs. I started driving on Friday, and I have only seen three signs. The average for everywhere is about 30 km or about 18-19 mph I believe. So it's really slow. On the highways, from where we have been, it's 50 60 km. For the most part, the streets have 2 lanes going either direction. They don't have turning lanes here, so if you are turning, cars just have to wait behind you or swerve around you. If someone is turning left and someone is turning right, you just have to wait. The yellow lights are really short here, too. I have to be careful with that one. Pedestrians are loved here. The majority of the lights blink green, and that means if there are pedestrians, the light will change to yellow when they press the button, so you have to be ready to stop.

The work here is interesting for sure. I think I wrote about Alejandro* last week, a man we met while contacting. He went to church with us last week, where we introduced him to the English speaking elders. They set up a lesson for after church yesterday, but he got called into work on Sunday, so he couldn't go to church or have the lesson, but they have another one set up. He texted us on Friday and was just asking us how we were doing. He's a good guy.

One of the guys we talked to on the streets actually talked to missionaries before, but never had a lesson or anything. His name is Eduardo*. Then it was about a year later, when we talked to him. And he speaks Spanish so we could even teach him. We texted him last week and asked if we could set up an appointment with him. We had two lessons this past week with him, and were able to have Luisa, a member of the ward who is amazing, present. The first lesson we had was just getting to know him a little bit, and then we talked about the Book of Mormon. By the end, I invited him to be baptized. He said he would listen to us, he would pray, he would read the Book of Mormon, and he would go to church, but he couldn't change his religion. The next time we met with him, we taught the Restoration. This time I invited him to prepare to be baptized on the 22 of March. He said he would think about it. On Friday night, the ward has a Family Home Evening night, and this week, they were watching "Joseph Smith: the Prophet of the Restoration", so the missionaries in the ward could also invite investigators. We invited him after our lesson, but he couldn't. He said he could come to church, though. Yesterday, he came to church! He told us he would stay for Sacrament meeting. It was fast and testimony meeting, and he asked what was happening. He also asked what the Sacrament was and what the water symbolized. I was able to explain both because the gift of tongues is real. Then he asked if Hermana Williamson and I were going to go up. I said I was, and a little into the meeting nudged me and told me to go up, so I went up next and bore my testimony. After Sacrament meeting, we told him there were other classes he could go to. After explaining a little, we got him to come to Gospel Principles this week, which Luisa happened to be teaching (She is also a ward missionary, was just released yesterday as a primary teacher, and also plays the piano for Sacrament meeting. She is amazing). He came to class and participated. At one point, one of the Elders' investigator was saying something about Joseph Smith that he read online that wasn't true, and Eduardo told him that what he said was wrong and a lot of the things on the internet aren't true. It was super cool. WE HAVEN'T EVEN TAUGHT HIM THAT MUCH ABOUT JOSEPH SMITH. Then we got him to go with Juan Pablo, the ward mission leader, and the Elders to Priesthood. After church, I asked him how it went. He said it was the best day of his life and that it all just makes sense.

What a blessing.

We also are meeting with him tonight and watching the Restoration because he wanted to see it.

After Sacrament meeting, a couple members came up to me and commented on my Spanish. They said I don't have a gringo accent! I sound real! What a blessing. But that means they also think I am fluent. There is opposition in everything. 2 Nephi 2!

On Friday, we were out contacting and I ran into this guy. I asked what his name was after talking a little bit and he said it was Jose*. So of course I asked if he spoke Spanish, and the rest of the contact was in Spanish. And it wasn't even hard. And I got his number, so we hope something will come from that.

We had district meeting on Wednesday. Hermana Williamson is our district leader. We are the only mission in the world with Sister District leaders. The first presidency was trying it out, although it probably wont last for much longer. But in our district it is us and then Hermana Lee and Hermana Cobb. It was so fun seeing them again!

This week we had 170 QGCs. It was rougher than last week. People were really quick to reject what we wanted to talk about, most not even reluctant to say whatever it was they thought about the church and our beliefs. It really made me think a lot about the Savior, the prophets, and apostles and all they went through. It really makes me appreciate Jesus Christ so much more. You cannot be converted to this gospel, you cannot be converted to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ without action. That is something that is really big for me right now. The more I apply the atonement in my life, the more ways I find it applies. The more I act on the faith I have, the more faith I gain. The more I notice the Lord's hand in my life, the more miracles I recognize. The more I go out and talk to everyone, even those who do not look ready, the more I find. One thing I have noticed, is that the people who look the least receptive to the gospel are the ones who give us our number and want us to teach them. I have learned a lot about Godly love, and I have been blessed to be able to see people more the way our perfect Father in Heaven and our Loving Redeemer see them. Not near close to what they see, but definitely more than before.

Act on what you believe. Act on what you hope is true. If I could redo anything in my life, it would be acting more on my faith, and not just being satisfied with a hope or knowledge. The more you act, the more you can grow. Keep an eye out for how merciful God is, and then thank him for his love and grace.

Con amor,

-Hermana Lewis

Vancouver Spanish

Hola! There is so much to say! And no time to say it in! I haven't written for over a week and a half. Where do I even begin.

The week leading up to heading out to the field was amazing. We had some wonderful classes and devotionals. Our teachers rekindled our fire to go out and serve and we felt the spirit so strongly.

Last Wednesday, Hermana Cobb and I got to go to the temple for the last time together (for a long time). It was so beautiful. What a blessing that we have temples!

Last Friday, we had our in-field orientation where they got us ready to work with members of the wards we would be serving in, and other skills that are needed for the field. Missionaries who went before us talked about how long it was and how it was boring, so Hermana Cobb and I went with the attitude that these things were what the Lord needed us to know and that we really wanted to be there. We loved it so much and I really do think it prepared us so well for the field.

On Saturday, Hermana Cobb and I made Valentines for our Zone and for the teachers and the ZRT teachers, and we decorated our room. It was the cutest. We took our last pictures as a district with our teachers.

Sunday was good. Hermana Cobb had to give a talk and so did Elder Arce. I didn't but I think it's because I had to play the piano. For the movie, we watched a talk by Elder Holland. I think it's called "Missions are Forever" or something like that. It's amazing. If you can figure out what it is really called, I would suggest reading it. It applies to life just as much as it does to missions. We said bye to Elder Passey and Kaze  because they were leaving early in the Morning on Monday.

Monday was different because There were so many people gone. For one of our last classes, the first hour and a half was just Hermana Cobb and me. Everyone else was getting ready to leave. We cleaned our residence during gym on Saturday, and we finished backing in the morning so that Tuesday wouldn't be crazy.

Tuesday was filled with doing everything we needed before we left. We tried to fit in  as much as we could. We said bye to friends and had a great night. The devotional was a good one to end on.

Wednesday. Oh my goodness. We woke up at 2:45. We got ready and carried, or dragged if you're Hermana Cobb, to the travel office. Her suitcases aren't much smaller than her, so it was hard. Poor Hermana. We checked out and met some of the other missionaries leaving. We expected there to be no food for us, but then we rationalized and thought that would be inhumane to not provide one last snack for the missionaries leaving, so we expected there to be food. There was no food. Ah. We waited until about 4:10 for the rest of the missionaries to show up. They say every week that the buses will leave with or without you, but they wait. We drove to a UTA bus, and we rode that for about 45 minutes until we got to a station downtown where we switched to a frontrunner. We took that for just a little bit until we got to the airport. We dragged all our luggage, for the 5th time and checked our bags. Then we headed to the gate. We made calls home, and then waited for our plane. It got delayed though. and so we waited. Hermana  Cobb and I were just about to go talk to someone when they started boarding. I hope they get the gospel soon! We got on the plane and flew to San Fransisco. I studied various things on the flight over. When we got to San Fran, we had no time to waste. Because our flight was delayed, we only had 15 minutes until our next plane left, and we had to walk to the opposite end of the airport into the international gates. We were hurrying so fast. When we finally got there, they had the flight delayed for 40 minutes. So we sat. Took pictures. Talked. Then after those 40 minutes, it was delayed for another 30 minutes, and then they started boarding. 20 minutes later we started driving down the runway. Now it is lunchtime. On the flight to San Fran we got no pretzels, no peanuts, no nothing. This flight we got nothing. The flight to Canada took about an hour and a half. Elder Erasmus and Elder Fitamant (France/Quebec--going to my mission English speaking) sat next to a woman and they had a discussion about the Book of Mormon and pretty much everything else. Later, Elder Fitamant and I talked about French, English, and food and anything else to fill the time. A line I guess I was saying was "I am starving". He asked me what it meant and I said it means you are really really hungry. At the end of the flight, we had to fill out an immigrations paper. We unloaded and felt the humidity, although it's not that humid here right now. We grabbed our bags and went through the immigration line. Elder Erasmus and Elder Fitamant had a really short line because they are Canadians and went out to meet the Mission President and the others, but the rest of us had to wait in a really long line and then go and get our visas. We were in there about 2 hours and 45 minutes. The lady getting me my visa was asking me why I was serving a mission and how it all works, except not in a curious way, but in a bothered way. She also asked if I had ever been arrested along with other questions. Was anyone else asked that? No. We made it through finally, although for about 6 of us, they only gave us visas for 1 year, so we have to renew those later, we went out and met the Mission President and his wife and some of the Senior couples, as well as two of the APs. They are all great.

President and Sister Burt are amazing. I cannot picture a better President to be leading me for the next 16 months. I cannot get over how wonderful they are! Honestly. I am super blessed.

We drove to the mission office. There we had some meetings and President Burt talked to us. Then we got to eat! First meal of the day!!!! I ate three plates full. It was so good! Then we had various people talking to us for the rest of the night, and President took us out, one by one, for interviews.

After we were all done, we went to a hotel 15 minutes away where we stayed for the night. I stayed with Sister Lai (Australia) and Sister Zundal (Utah). We were finally able to go to bed around 11.

In the morning we woke up, got ready, and ate breakfast at the hotel. It was so good. Then we drove over to the mission office where we had study time and President finished interviewing everyone. Then it was time for companions! We said one last prayer as a group before we left to meet everyone.

We got into the meeting and President Burt shared a message with us, and then he announced companions. There were only two Spanish speaking sisters, and they announced Hermana Cobb and her companion first, so I knew the other one was mine. I went over to her and we hugged and sat down. Once President got to my name, he saw we were already sitting by each other and made a joke. 

My companion is Hermana Williamson. She is from Mapelton, UT. She has been out for almost a year and a half. This would be her last transfer, but she got an extension, which is super rare, but President Burt said he needed her to train. She is absolutley amazing and I love her! Hermana Cobb is with Hermana Lee.

One of the things President Burt shared with us was Mosiah 18:30.

 30. And now it came to pass that all this was done in Vancouver, yea, by the waters of Vancouver, in the forest that was near the waters of Vancouver; yea, the place of Vancouver, the waters of Vancouver, the forest of Vancouver, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever.

We had meetings for the rest of the day. The APs are amazing. Oh my goodness. Can't even explain it, so you'll just have to believe me. After the meetings, we got back to our apartment around 7:30. We unloaded our things, went to go get our area map, and then we had to go to the grocery store because we had no food. It was about 8:30 when we got there, and we contacted 3 people before we went home.

The past few days have been super busy. I'll be able to write about them more another time, but I'm pretty much out of time. I'll also write about the more spiritual part of the mission next time, too. Promise. Cause there is a lot.

Friday, we had a ward fundraiser for the young women and young men. They try to go to Utah for conference, and they made pupusas and they were delicious. 

The ward mission leader is Juan Pablo and he is from Chile. He is great and him and all the members are really dedicated to helping with missionary work. The ward has a lot of inactive members right now, so we have a lot of lessons with less active members. There were about 12 people, including 4 missionaries, at the beginning of Sacrament meeting yesterday.

This week we had a couple lessons. One of my favorites was when we met up in downtown Vancouver. My area is Vancouver Spanish, which covers so much area because it is Spanish speaking, and the Spanish speaking people are spread out. We have a Chevy Cruise as a mission vehicle. Anyway, we went downtown to meet with Jennifer*, who is an investigator. She brought a friend, James*. As Hermana Williamson talked to Jennifer, I talked with James and we talked about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and the similarities between our faith. We were sitting on the steps of a busy street center, but we were just talking about things that really mattered. It was beautiful. He is a member of a different church, but we both were able to talk about the love God has for us and how we have seen the Lord's hand in our lives.

By the way, Downtown Vancouver is beautiful. The whole area of BC is gorgeous.

I heard the Bruins won the game! Although I don't know what the score is. On Friday night when we were contacting, I used it a couple times to start a conversation about the Canucks, but people don't like to talk about hockey with random strangers in skirts, I guess.

A lot of people are really quick to just reject missionaries here. It is really sad and they have no idea that we are sharing with them how to get salvation, but it just increases my desire to find those people who are ready now.

We got 62 contacts from Thursday evening until Sunday night. I love doing street contacting. We have actually contacted 4 separate times in Spanish, which is really rare. Last night I also had one in French. And you'll never believe this one, and we didn't count it towards the total, but I had one in Russian! Turns out trying to learn Russian is paying off. I said hello and that it was nice to meet him, that I was Sister Lewis and that I was here for Jesus Christ. That was it. And my accent, I'm positive was horrible, but I loved it so much. I really just felt, what I think is pretty close, to Godly joy. I have felt so much simple joy out here. It's the best.

Side note. Since I am Spanish speaking (<3), I have the additional hour of language study in the mornings. And since it is the first 12 weeks of my mission, we also have the extra hour of 12 week study. It's a lot of studying.

Love you all!

Hermana Lewis