Week #30

Hello Everyone!

This week we received transfer calls this week and I am staying right where I am at...for the fifth transfer now. It'll be fun. We're hoping to start having some rapid success. This week we had the privilege of watching a worldwide missionary broadcast. We were taught by the apostles and members of the Seventy and it was so awesome. It totally pumped us all up for our work. Super cool thing that happened this week is we found this part member family that just moved from Guyana so we are excited to teach them this upcoming week. We had 3 investigators at church, one of which we picked up on our bikes. He rode on the back of my bike there and back (not very fun)... totally worth it though. I fasted this last Sunday so by the time church was over it had been 24 hours and we just had to drop our investigator off at home and then we would go and break our fast. I was exhausted and so tired and it was so hot and I was so tempted to drop him off like 3/4 of the way and ask if he could walk home, and then I thought of the Savior. Does he take us half or 3/4 of the way? Did he suffer and die for almost all of our sins, weaknesses, trials, afflictions, pains, sicknesses? No, it was all of them, nothing left, all the way, nothing left behind. I thought that was a very fun moment to make that connection about the Atonement. Our Zone Conference is on the Atonement so I am super excited to learn all about that. This scripture that was so cool that I read is 1 Peter 2:21. It talks about following His steps. Imagine someone walking on a beach. To those who don't know Christ or even those who do, you may look ahead and see no foot prints ahead of you, almost as if you are walking alone. That is not true though, Christ walked the path alone so we don't have to. You look ahead and see foot prints knowing that He has walked it before you, you then look behind you, and you see not only your foot prints, but His also, and then at last you'll look to your right and you'll see Him, walking right there with you. Christ's Atonement is not just for the sinner, it's for those who have weakness (which is all of us) but the promise is that He will lift and carry you to make those things strong. (Ether 12:27). Have a wonderful week everyone!!

-Elder Lewis

Week #29

Hello Hello Hello everyone!

This week was the longest/shortest week of my life but it was really good. I moved into my 4th apartment and boy does it have a view! It's pretty cool. We are currently living above a member in our branch, and there's some pictures of sunrises that I watch every morning. This week was a tough one, not a whole lot of crazy stories, but it's still going good! We are trying our very best.  People have their agency and we can't force anyone to accept us. Just now we played sports with all of the missionaries so that was a lot of fun! We got a couple new cool investigators and we able to teach them all about the restoration. Hopefully they can recieve a witness that what we are saying is true! I am so bad at these weekly emails I am sorry. If you guys could read my journal you would get the full experience. I haven't missed a day thus far on my mission.  I know I am just handing out challenges left and right but journal writing is so awesome! You guys should do that as well ;) One cool thing is an investigator in my old area who Elder Hood and I taught came to church! That was super cool!! Our new apartment doesn't have a fridge yet....hopefully that gets installed soon! I am sorry this email was super lame but next week will be better! Stay tuned!

-Elder Lewis

Week #28

Hello Hello Hello Everyone,

This week was a wild one. President Egbert came to Suriname for a little bit to do interviews and to teach us about how we can use the Book of Mormon more in our lives, and in the lives of our less active members, investigators, and members. It was such a cool experience to continue to teach the Book of Mormon to everyone in our area and to teach them how to mark their scriptures and "feast upon the words of Christ". It's so cool to see how excited they all get when they read and when the remember the seed that was planted in them and is just missing it's water. (Alma 32:28,38,41) The number one reason why people fall away from the church or why they are not converted is because they are not reading out of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon will bring us closer to God than any other book.  I know that those who read it in combination with the Bible and other holy scripture that we have, you will feel of Gods love for you and get closer to Christ. It's been so fun to renew my testimony of the Book of Mormon as we have taught it. I know that is true. In my area we have been dropping a lot of the people we have been teaching because a lot of them just aren't progressing. So, we are basically starting fresh. There's been some long days of just contacting and finding people but we have found a lot of really cool people that I am excited to follow up on. 

It's crazy to me how much time flies here, I have almost been out 7 months. Flipping nuts!! Anyway, I don't have a lot of stories regarding investigators and stuff because we really don't have that many. One cool thing is we were able to go on splits with members this week and my best pal Suradj and I got to be companions for a night. It was so fun and he's so powerful. He's going to the temple in March and I am so excited for him. He's teaching me a little Sranan Tango so I am super pumped about that. It's so weird how the gift of tongues works. I am understanding Sranan Tango (the dialect here) and I have not studied it one bit. That for sure has been a miracle. But there is one thing I do want to share, well actually two things. I was reading in Alma 29 about how God grants the desires of his children regardless if they are good or bad.  if we ask  we get them. We can see that when Joseph Smith asked over and over about letting Martin Harris take the Book of Mormon manuscripts. But with those desires, we get to deal with the consequences. Our desires must reflect the merits of the Celestial Kingdom. Anyone who wants to inherit a seat in the kingdom of God must form their desires to match that exact glory. So, I asked myself, "Are all of my desires righteous?" I most certainly don't want to deal with the consequences of unrighteous desires. So I conducted a personal inventory with my self and changed a lot of things and I invite you all to do the same! Read the Book of Mormon everyday and "Ponderize"!! The prophets say all these things for a reason!! I love you all and hope all is going good!

-Elder Lewis

p.s Elder Lewis likes letters and he always writes back!

Gotta love the rain...

Contacting

Week #27

Hello Everyone!

This week was crazy with New Years and everything. One thing I will suggest is that if you are ever wondering what to do for New Years and can speak a little Dutch, I would recommend coming to Suriname. They welcome the New Year right. Since the Chinese own every single store here, they bring with them their illegal fire works.... It felt like World War 3 was in the work!  So much smokey fire crackers and aerials and the people were even saying that it wasn't nearly as crazy as usual and I'm like....what??!!  I can't even imagine what it would be like on a normal year. But super fun! We went outside for a little bit at midnight (apostate I know but it was too loud to sleep). 

We had Zone Meeting this last Saturday and it was so good. It was all about the Book of Mormon and how we are going to get more people converted to the gospel, including less active members and such by reading the Book of Mormon. We focused a lot of Alma 32:28,38,41 and how it compares the word (The Book of Mormon) to a seed and how we must be constantly nourishing this seed every day so that it can sprout roots and be strong because if we don't it will be blown about and burned in the hot sun! I hope you all are reading your scriptures every day especially The Book of Mormon. It will be bring you closer to Jesus Christ than any other book, quoting the words of Joseph Smith in the Introduction. Nothing too crazy happened this week but we found a lady who was already so prepared and we are currently teaching her. We are busy to teach all of our less active and members about The Book of Mormon and getting them all reading every day so we can start strengthening the gospel here in Suriname. I hope you all are having a good week! 

Lobi!

-Elder Lewis