Transfers

Not much news this week ....transfers.  Enjoy Conference!...Val

Well once again I have P-day on a Wed. Transfers were today and I will be staying in the DC 2nd Singles ward. I do love it here. I kind of hope that I will stay here the whole mission. I sent my companion back to Kenya today and received a new companion by the name of Sister Gordon. She has been out about 7 transfers now and she is great. I know I will learn so much from her and she will kick my rear doing missionary work. She is also one of the training sisters at the VC so we will be there a LOT this transfer.

Last week was a lot of saying goodbye for Sister Otieno. I have had so much food that I don't think I will be able to fit any more food inside of me. It was so fun to visit with all of the people in the ward and see how much she will be missed. 

By the way, dad, you should be getting an email from a guy in my ward that took us to the White House and took our picture. Let me know if you get it. I also thought it was cool that the guy who gave the fireside played ball with you. Of course he did and of course you knew him:)

How is everybody doing? I can't believe that it is October already...well soon at least. I want to say happy birthday to all birthdays that I missed. I hope they were all fun. 

Oh mom, before I forget, I was wondering if you could send me a couple of skirts that I didn't pack. One is a brown skirt and the other is a black/greyish skirt. They would be good to have for the winter i think. 

I don't have much to report this week. With my companion going home we spent a lot of time doing that sort of thing. I love you all SO much. It is interesting that every Sunday during Sacrament meeting I always think about my family. I think about all of you. I realize more and more how much I have the best family ever! I am very excited to watch General Conference this weekend. I hope you are all able to do the same. It is the best time of the year:)

Love you and miss you all so much! Send me pictures of you all! 

Sister Lewis

My First Baptism

Background: The "quote" I sent Janell was from C.S. Lewis:  'In the end, there are two kinds of people...those who say to God, "Thy will be done", and those to whom God relunctly says, "Thy will be done".'  Janell collects provoking thoughts (or quotes) so if you have some favorites, let me know and I will forward them to her.  She speaks of the fireside speaker, Brad Bryan below who played baseball at Cal (my alma mater).  I played through 1964 and graduated in 1965, so I looked in my '65 Yearbook (attached), and there he is, middle row, 5th from the left...small world.  I don't specifically remember him, but he looks familiar.  So that you don't call the authorities, Jodee rode home from the park in the back of Diane's van because she couldn't climb into the front...and Diane called it the trunk.  Jodee thought it was funny.  The "conference" she is encouraging everyone to watch is the General Conference of the Church where all the general authorities (apostles..) will speak, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing in 4 major televised meeting from Salt Lake City on Saturday and Sunday, October 1st and 2nd.  Broadcasts will be on cable channel KBYU in High Definition at 9:00am and 1:00pm PDT each of those days.  These are held each April and October and will have a world-wide audience.  I record them and review them from time-to-time during the next 6 months.  We regard them as modern-day instruction for the world, similar to Paul instructing the Romans,  Corinthians, etc. ~2000 years ago.  Janell is right...it seems that someone has always addressed me personally at every conference.  Enjoy! - Val

I loved the quote that you sent. Keep em comin'.

So...I just went to the White House!!! So cool! Smaller than I imagined but cool that I have now officially been inside. The Obama's were inside too but I didn't see them. I only know that because the guy who took us works there so he had the inside scoop. He was the only one who could take pictures so I didn't get any pictures on my camera but I'll have him email you the pics he took.

I DID get the chocolate but I had no idea it had to be refrigerated. I will put it in the fridge once I get home. I have been still eating them though...hopefully that has nothing to do with the fact of me getting sick lately.

So today is my companion's last p-day before she leaves next week to go home to Kenya. She is way excited. We ended with a bang last Sunday because we had a BAPTISM! It was my first baptism. Yep, it was Karl. He is so awesome! He is such a solid kid. I will send you pics. He was even talking about serving a mission in a couple of years. Oh, that made me so happy because that was my first thought when we first started teaching him. He will make an excellent missionary! One of his favorite things he learned about the principles of the gospel was the word of wisdom. That should tell you how stellar he is. That one is a hard one for people to like. :) The night after the baptism there was a "Why I Believe" fireside at the VC. Karl spoke at it. He bore his testimony. I was like a proud parent. Everyone came up to us after to say how solid he is. Yep. He is ridiculous...but in a good way. Not many like him around. At the fireside a man spoke named Brad Bryan or something like that. He played baseball at Cal Berkeley! Ya! I asked when he was there and he said 1963. I told him that my dad and uncle played there too. I wonder if you played with him or if that was right after you played dad. In his talk he had a LOT of baseball analogies...made me miss my pappy. It was awesome!

So I was watching a video at the VC the other day and low and behold who do I see? Yep...it was Dave Tinney! Hahahaha! I laughed out loud. It was a random dvd that I never have seen before about the D&C sections or something. He was a bad guy.  Hahahaha...loved it! I also saw Lita on one of our kiosks! She is on there and it made me  miss all of my people. I love knowing famous people:)

Well I'm glad to hear that Jodee got to ride in the trunk of a car! Ha ha Dobes! That is awesome. Sounds like her birthday was interesting as well. What a good time.

Mom, I had sports day last Wed so that is why I had P-day. It was super fun. I will send you pics. I have a TON of pics to send to you...it will make you so happy:)

Thank you for all the birthday gifts and wishes! They were so wonderful!

I am so grateful for all of you. I know that Heavenly Father is so mindful of everyone of you. I'm so excited for conference. It is my favorite time of year. Watch it. Someone will speak on something that is specifically for you.

Well, I have to get going. I love all of you so much. Let me know how everyone is doing. LOVE YOU!

Sista Lewis

Update & Photos

Explanations: Perla is the Relief Society President of the local ward Janell is serving in.  Ironically, she is the sister of Janell's great friend in Provo, Tasha!  Small World!  The next email that will follow shortly contains pictures of Perla's birthday "party" for Janell.  She is blessed to have so many wonderful friends!  Definition: "Quad" is a reference to the 4 LDS scriptures that come together in one book, and contains the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.  I have also attached some photos of the Visitor Center Missionaries (she is top row, far right...Val

So...I got a package from you! YAY! However, no email. BOO! Thank you so much for the gift that you gave Perla to get me and also the soap! It was awesome!

I had an awesome birthday yesterday. Perla had a picnic for me in her living room. It was SOOOO cooool! She really is so wonderful. We laughed and talked and ate yummy food...and the Georgetown cupcakes were AMAZING! Wow. yep. Good day.  We also had a couple other food appointments so needless to say I was well feed. We had to lessons that we got to teach yesterday. One to a guy that we have never met and the other to an investigator that we have had for a long time. They both went really well. The lesson we gave to Peter (he is a guy from Kenya. He is awesome. He is the guy that we have known for a while), he told us that he is ready to be baptized. Sister Otieno and I were shocked but SO excited! He is so great. I love all the people that I get to meet here.

Today we had a mission Sports Day. Of course our team won both times:) It was really fun. I'm excited for tonight because we have 2 more lessons. One is wiht a girl named Andrea and the other is with a guy named Karl...the one I told you about. He is getting baptized on Sunday so we are going to talk about that! I am SOOOO excited for him! He is truly amazing. I was planning on telling the ward to buy him a quad of the scriptures for his baptism but on Sunday when he came to church he already had them. He ordered them online. Ha! He is wonderful!

I received letters from people in the ward and i LOVED them! I thank them so much for those.

How was Dobe's birthday? What did she do? Did she get my package? I want to know all about it.

Well, I can't really remember the rest of my week. It has been good I'm sure. I love all the people like I said. Heavenly Father is so wonderful and answers our prayers. We just need to ask. Power of prayer is amazing!

I love all of you so much and you are all missed by me:) BE GOOD!

Love,

Sista Lewis

Message from Sister Lewis

Clarifications: Casey is Janell's nephew (nickname, "Chi"), has been married for almost a year.  Heath is a brother-in-law.  The message she refers to on lds.org is worth watching....we also saw our good friend Bethany (Slade) in the video on page 1, titled, "I am a child of God"...if you are like me, you'll end up watching most of them...they're like longer versions of the public service announcements from the church....feel good moments!  You might also enjoy the story below Janell's, where her mom relates a story of her niece, Mandy, who is an Elk Grove cheerleader and also in the marching band. - Val

 

Wow, I have gotten so many pictures from all of you and I LOVE them! Everyone is getting so old and I have only been gone a couple of months...what?! Keep em comin. I love them.

It has been a busy, long week but so good. So much has happened. Last night I had official African food. The Kenyan diplomat here is Sister Otieno's friend so we go over there often. Last night we had African food and it was good...spicy but good. I love them. They are so fun and nice. I feel like I have friends all over the world now. Maybe someday I can travel to visit them all:) One in China, Africa, Germany, Chile, Canada, Australia, and the list goes on. I love it:)

Oh, I wanna tell Casey that we taught a guy and he likes to write music for a living...RAP music that is. I immediately thought about you and Heath and your raps. The kid rapped for us. It was awesome. I laughed to myself cause I imagined you and Heath going at it. So funny. This guy is pretty legit though. Also Chi, there is a sign in the lounge of the VC that says, "Shine the light. Be the light." Hahahahaha. I thought of you again. Any babies on the way by the way???:)

This week we were supposed to have our Sports Day for the mission but it was raining so bad so no sports day. i was really looking forward it it. Sometimes here on the mission you just crave those days you know?

Yesterday we also met with our investigator from Folsom. He is getting baptized on the 18th. He is so good. He said that his favorite part of what we have taught him are the word of wisdom and the values of families. I totally see that kid going on a mission someday. He is so ready and he LOVES the gospel! It makes me so happy to see that. I love that people actually want to know the truth and they are searching for it. It is so great to see.!

So last week there was an accident at our service project. A glass table broke and all these crystal plates and whatnot fell and shattered to the floor. Yep, all broken my friends. Bad thing about it is that they were furious. Well, needless to say we might now go back very soon to their house.

Oh, guess what? There is a guy in our ward that is a security guard for the President or something like that and he arranged for us to have a tour of the White House on the 22nd!!!! Cool huh? And he will go through with us so he can take pictures. I'm kind of super excited about that!

So I saw an awesome mormon message on lds.org this week and you should all check it out if you haven't seen it. It is lds.org-> go to mormon messages at the bottom of the page-> click on page 3 I think and it is called "lessons I learned as a boy". Watch it for family home evening. I want all the kids to watch it cause it is super good and I think they will love it. Also, there is a talk that you can type in the "search" bar called "Sage's Song".

I love this gospel more and more every day. I love my Savior so much. He loves all of us and did so much for us. I love that we have the fulness of the gospel. It is such a blessing to know this. I love the Book of Mormon. I love that it applies to us, now! An intersting thing I learned this week was about the Tree of Life. It talks about the people holding to the rod of iron and THEN a mist of darkness arose. The mist came after they were holding to the rod. Some people fell away because of this. And a "mist" is very slight. You can barely feel it and yet it blocks your view. This just shows how satan works. We need to remember to always hold to the rod. Keep doing the small things like praying, reading and studying the scriptures, and going to church. These things will keep you on the path even though they seem small and simple.

Sorry this letter is long. I must go now. One last shout out to my twin sister...HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DOBBIE!!! WE ARE 29!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE YOU!

Love all of you so much!

Sister Lewis

On Thu, Sep 8, 2011 at 12:02 PM, Ann Lewis <annhlewis@gmail.com> wrote:

Are you there?  Mom

On Thu, Sep 8, 2011 at 8:50 AM, Janell Lewis <janell.lewis@myldsmail.net> wrote:

HAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't stop laughing!!! I just died laughing pretty sure. Oh my gosh....make sure that is the first video I watch when I get home. Oh my gosh!

On Sat, Sep 3, 2011 at 5:08 PM, Ann Lewis <annhlewis@gmail.com> wrote:

Everyone needs a chuckle-

Last night I went to see Mandy cheer at her football game.  She did a great job and half time was approaching.  The band was waiting down at the end zone to come on to do their routine.  Mandy went running down the field only to find out that the cheer group was going to do their cheer first.  So she ran down the middle of the field to the cheer group to get in position for the routine. 

After the routine was over she proceeded to run down the middle of the field toward the band.  A lady met her half way with a shirt to match the band members uniform.  She dressed while running down.  She then started looking for her clarinet .  The lady had not retrieved it for her.  She proceeded to ask everyone she could see to find it.  The band proceeded to come down the field to start their routine.  Mandy was still searching asking everyone she  could to find her instrument.  She finally found a man which pointed up toward the stands where the band had been sitting.  By this time the whole band was in position to start.  Mandy saw that there wasn't time to go retrieve the instrument so she ran into her position to start the program.  Diane was busy videoing the process.  Mandy took her place on the field right in the center front.  She was dressed with the shirt but .... her white legs stood out.  The other band members had black pants on.  She held her hands up to her mouth with her fists tight to represent that she had her instrument up to her lips.  The music started and she marched all over the field in perfect step, white legs, no instrument but marching perfectly.  Diane all of a sudden starting singing, "one of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong."  I started cracking up.  Mandy did a great job, finished her routine, ran off the field throwing her shirt to one of the ladies and ran back to lead the cheering again.  IT WAS A CLASSIC!  America's Funniest home videos here we come!  I am dying to see the video.  Thought you might like the story.  Love, Mom

Sister Lewis - September 1, 2011

Clarifications: Kate is our 8 year old granddaughter (Jolene & Bryan's daughter).  Conner is her 6 year old brother who came forward and stood next to those who confirmed her with his arms folded...he's ready for the Priesthood!  Trent is our grandson (Craig & Denise's son).  - Val

Sounds like you have all been really busy. Sometimes I wish I could talk to you all because I feel like I lose a lot of information and I try to piece it all together but I love hearing about everyone. After I read emails, I don't feel like I have anything really worth while to say. I just want to hear more about all of you. Tell Kate that I say congrats and that baptism is the COOLEST thing! I about died when I heard what Conner did...SO CUTE!!! Also, Trent, SO AWESOME you are going a mission. I am SO excited for you. Ok, my guesses are state side, Oklahoma, or out of the country, Guatemala. Let me know what it is!

Happy birthday to all the birthdays! Mom, i just emailed dad to ask for a family pic since I do not have one and it seems to be in high demand for people to see my family. The Prairie Creek pic will work. If you could mail it that would be wonderful. 

Let's see...I have had a couple of tender mercies and little miracles this week. The main one is the kid I told you all about who is from Folsom. He loves everything about what we teach him. We have a baptism date set for him for the end of this month. I am so excited for him. He doesn't know how his family will take the news so he might not tell them till after his baptism. I told him how my sister in-law is a convert and told him Wendy's story (go Wendy! I knew your conversion story and testimony would help me in the missionary work!) He is such a great kid.

I just tell you what, Heavenly Father sure does know us so well and sure does answer prayers. I have seen that time and time again here. He is so mindful of everything we do and desire. Prayer is awesome.

I have survived the natural disasters here. The hurricane was not bad at all where I lived. I had power and everything. I am super sad to hear about Tasha's parent's house. That did happen to lots of people but it didn't happen where I was. We were kind of scared because a lot of people were freaking out about it. I went to the store and got some things just in case we were out of power for days on end. I really didn't worry too much. I don't know of any place to help out from the disaster. I'll ask around.

Well, I don't know what else to say. I love this gospel and I know it is true with all my heart. Heavenly Father is so aware of all of us. I love my Savior. Keep me updated with everything. I miss you all so much. Tell Dobbie I say hello and I miss her. Let me know what she is going to do for her birthday:) Thank you for all the love and support. I think about everyone every day. I love you all! Thanks for being the best family ever!

Love,

Sister Lewis