Background: The photos are of the missionaries who are returning home at the next transfer...let me know if you do not see Janell.  The wedding she is talking about is our granddaughter, (and her niece) Marie.  - Val

 

Family,

This past week has been so good. I am so anxious to hear about the wedding. I want to know all that happened and see if one of the Browning's could send me a couple of pictures from it. Where did they go for their honeymoon? Where do they plan on living? I want to know what is going on.

Last week was John's baptism. It was SO good! What a blessing it was to be apart of it! Everyone was saying that this kind of baptism was a once in a mission baptism. It is just awesome because both he and his wife are so solid and wonderful. Not that others aren't...now I am digging myself into a hole. Anyway, it was so good. John came into the building a little nervous but Audrey was all smiles. He didn't want to wear the suit. He called it his jail suit because of the look of it. Ha. He is so funny. He looked great all in white. So many people from the ward were there. What is cool is that John and Audrey have been coming to church for about 2 years now so they know a lot of people. They are in a "empty nesters" group in the ward where they do a bible type study and that is how they were introduced to the church. Two years ago they had NO plan on joining the church. Now look at them. Ah, I love them so much. They are like second family to me. I'm so excited for you all to meet them! You will love them and they will love you. Sunday was the confirmation and it was so good. John just kept smiling. He and Audrey left after the 3 hour block to go to their beach house. He texted us that night to tell us thanks. I sure will miss them for the couple of weeks that they will be gone.

Now that the baptism is over it has been pretty slow in our area. It is kind of anti-climatic unfortunately. When you are blessed to teach someone who is so ready, it is hard when you teach those who aren't really interested. People don't return your calls or they are always busy. It makes me so sad. I wish that people would just experience it and know how true it is and happy they could be. We are praying to find the elect. Pray that we will. We have been so blessed so I am not complaining at all. I know all contacts are good because that means that they are one step closer to excepting the gospel. Heavenly Father is so aware of His children so I know all will be well.

This week in our training meeting at the VC the trainers (i.e. me and the other 3) are doing a skit. Yes, my theater side got the best of me and we wrote a Christmas Carol type of skit to go along with our theme for this upcoming Festival of Lights. We have a rehearsal right after I write this letter and I am nervous because a lot of people who are now involved said that I am way ambitious for this one and that makes me nervous. It was so fun to write so I hope it all turns out ok. I just want the sisters to enjoy it and feel the Spirit. It should only be about 15-20 min long but there is a cast of about 15. Don't know how many will actually be in the audience but oh well. Pray that it will work. I shouldn't let my creative side out because I don't have the proper time for it to be at it's best. Oh well. Heavenly Father is so good to me that he sent me to a mission that I could be able to do something that I love. We shall see how it turns out.

Well that is about it. It is coming down to the wire now. It doesn't seem real that it is coming to a close. I know that my body is ready but in my mind it still seems like a have a lot of time left. I do. It is 4 weeks which is SO much time. I hope that I can do good with the time I have left. I sure do miss you all so much though. I am very excited to see my family and friends. It is time.

I love you all so much. Keep me updated on all that is new and awesome. I will see you all soon kind of!

Love you!

Sister Lewis

 

Background: We’ll be picking Janell up in 32 days.  I’ll notify her that all 5 Thanksgiving invites work for me!  “Death” pictures mean the missionaries are going home. – Val

 

Hello family,

I have written down some names of people to visit when you come, and I'm pretty sure we now have like 5 invites for Thanksgiving dinner. Yikes. Not too sure what to do about that but I guess we won't go hungry. We will definitely go to the temple while you are here. That was in my plans a long time ago. By the way, I don't think I get released till Wed. I don't think it is on Tues. just to let you know. There are some historic places that I would love to see. I think there are a couple of them out of the mission boundaries so I will have to check how we can do that. The mission boundaries are so small so it's not hard to do that. There is still a lot of time until then. Keep me posted on the wedding and the baseball games. Tell dad not to hurt himself. You have to be healthy when you come here to get me. Oh, also it will probably be really cold when you get here just to let you know.

I have not received halloween stuff from Jodee...I Can’t wait! I was thinking about her yesterday a lot and I was quoting her in the car. I was telling Sister Miller all about her. It was fun. I miss her. Tell her that.

This past week has been busy. For the next 3 days the Visitor Center will be closed so that is a bummer. I love the VC. They are doing renovations so they have to shut it down for a little bit. They are a little behind schedule so it is a little nerve racking but the Lord's hand is in it so no worries. We get to go to the temple this Friday though so I'm super excited! Today we went to the Arlington Cemetery. It was so cool. It was the most beautiful day. We took "death" pictures for all the missionaries who are dying. It was a weird thought because it still doesn't seem real or that the day will come. We also watched the changing of the guard. It is so interesting. I can't believe those soilders can do what they do for so long. It was fun. I will have to get copies of the pictures and send them.

This Saturday John will be baptized! Oh, I love that couple. He is so ready and prepared. We got to see them last night and we will get to see them tomorrow as well. We talked about the plan of salvation and he summed it up so well. He is solid. So many people will be coming to his baptism. It will be a rock star baptism. It will be a great day, a baptism and a wedding! I can't wait to see all the pictures from that. What a tender mercy from Heavenly Father to let me participate in a baptism of such a great man on the day that I will miss the wedding of a niece that I love so dearly. I got a little sad when I thought about it but I know all is well. I will hear all about it soon.

Yesterday at the VC two girls came in, one from Norway and the other from Germany. They were the cutest girls ever. We chatted for about 2 hours about the plan of salvation, the word of wisdom, and who God and Jesus Christ are. They were just listening and asking so many questions. It was fun to see and experience. The Spirit was so strong. I knew that their hearts were touched. They didn't want to have missionaries but I told them that we'd be friends and I would email them. They travel a lot and they agreed. I knew that seeds were planted yesterday with them.

I have had some other cool experiences in the past week. On Sunday we went to a fireside at the VC by the General Primary President, Sister Wixom. It was so good! I got to see some of the people that I have met in past areas so that was fun. A couple of weeks ago I had a long, deep conversation with a girl from a previous ward and she was there on Sunday. She told me that she was feeling much better after our talk and that she did what I invited her to do and it was helping. I told her it wasn't me. It never is me. That is what is so cool. Yesterday also a girl from the ward I served in Utah as the RS president came in cause she has been here for a little while and knows that I am there at the VC. She came in and cried. I just talked to her. She told me that Heavenly Father sent me on the mission here for her. That made me smile. I am fining out more and more that I am here for a specific reason. He uses others to help His children. He sure does love all of His children. That I know for sure.

I hope I am making sense. I don't have a lot of time now. Tell Jolene to stop getting concussions already and tell her that I want to work out with her when I get back home.

Also, I need advise. I know that I need to find a job when I get home and I have NO idea what my plans are. Is that something I should be thinking about right now so that I am prepared or should I just wait to get back? I don't know what to do or where to go. I haven't had any ideas come to mind so I figure that I'm not supposed to think about it right now. ANYWAY...

I love you all so much!

Sister Lewis

 

 

October 10 Parts 1 & 2

Background: This is a reply to a letter I sent her.  In the first sentence, Janell is reacting to some photos of her niece, Rylee (JoAnn & Jordan’s daughter) I sent her.  I will also be sending a reply from her Mom’s letter.

Oh she is SO cute! Oh my. She looks so much like her father. That is so funny:)

I thought the missionary announcement was SO awesome! We were at our investigator's house (John and Audrey's house) when we watched it. I think it is so cool. There will be double the missionary force and I know that it will strengthen all the stakes in Zion. I am kind of glad that I will be done with full time service before it is in full force. I love serving and I will continue to love serving after my mission but being companions with 19 year old girls...well it could be hard for me. I would rather serve in young womans than be a companion to one. Ha, I know it sounds bad but I really am grateful for all the things I am learning and I am SO excited that all can leave earlier. It will be so good for the youth of the church. I have noticed that the youth of the church seem to be a lot more solid than in the past. There are good kids now a days. I love hearing about the nieces and nephews getting ready to serve. Have them work in Book of Mormon reading and Preach My Gospel into their daily activities. They will be that much more prepared. Maybe I can help some of them prepare when I get back.

The two talks you mentioned were my favorite talks as well. I also loved Elder Uchtdorf's talk. Well, there are many that I loved. I loved Elder Nelson's phrase, "Ask the missionaries!" Yes! That is what I like to hear. Now there will be many of them so hopefully they WILL ask the missionaries. What a wonderful time it is in the gospel. That conference changed me in a lot of ways. I hope it stays. Elder Holland's talk pierced my soul. I love the apostles. What amazing men. Today I studied more of the Plan of Salvation. I love that I find new meanings and insight to Heavenly Father's plan.

My health is fine. I'm feeling a lot better. I got a blessing so all is well. I am truly blessed. I'm so happy to hear that you are feeling better. I need both you and mom to feel good so that you can still come. You are still planning on coming right? I have a lot of people that I want you to meet. A lot of people want to meet you as well.

Well I have to write mom now. I'm really excited to see you both in 6 weeks.  All I know is that I was thinking about you and mom yesterday and I was looking at your picture. I am so grateful to you two. I love you both so much you don't even know. I have been so blessed. I am so excited to see you and talk to you about everything. It is something that I have really missed. I love my pappy and my mamz. You are the best!

I love you so much. Keep me updated with everything!

-Janellie

Background:  This is the letter to her Mom.  For those who are not members of our church...the missionary talk that’s being mentioned is that young men are now eligible to go on their missions at age 18 instead of waiting until age 19, and young women can serve at age 19 instead of waiting until 21.  Currently there are 58,000 missionaries serving in the world, and my estimate is that there will be about 90,000 serving at this time next year. – Val

CONFERENCE WAS AWESOME!

I love conference SOOOOO much. I hate when it ends. I want to just feel that Spirit all the time. I was so humbled to hear from those wonderful men and women. They are such wonderful disciples of Jesus Christ. I learned a lot. I loved all of it. I wrote dad some of the things that I liked. This church is so true. In every way. I can't wait for all my nieces and nephews to serve! Prepare now. I will help you all if you want any help to know how to prepare. Heavenly Father will help you every step of the way. It is the best thing to serve. Watch and listen to the promise that Elder Nelson gives at the beginning of his talk from conference to those that serve a mission. Pretty incredible. It will change your life forever. Let me know if any of you send in your papers in the next 6 weeks. I want to know all about it. I can't wait till the world is full of missionaries!

I am feeling a lot better. I received a blessing so all is well. I was supposed to rest and now I am doing fine. Yesterday were transfers. Sister Miller and I are staying together!!! Whoo hoo! I was so happy about that. She is so fun and awesome. She is a little older on her mission so it is nice. We will also be able to be together for John's baptism on the 20th which will be awesome! Sister Matsumori told us yesterday that she didn't think she'd see that baptism while she was serving. I am so blessed to be able to be here. We hope that we can also find more people in this next 6 weeks. We are teaching a 14 year old girl that is so great. She doesn't know who God is so we are starting slow. She is so cute.

I can't believe I have 6 weeks. It still seems like 6 weeks will be a long time. I think I have been on a mission for 10 years and I still have a year to go. Sometimes it goes by fast and other times it goes by slow. I can't really remember the beginning of my mission. So funny. I have to admit that I am excited to see you all soon. A mission does really help you appreciate and love those that are the closest to you. I miss you all like crazy. I love this work though and the thought of it ending is weird. Mixed feelings. BUT too early to think about all of that.

Last week was busy with conference and all. We were at the VC most of the week it seemed. The coolest thing happened on Sunday. I was at the VC sitting looking at the art exhibit when a sister came in and said that I had people asking for me. I went out to see Tamera and Sheldon Young!!! Oh it was so glorious! I love them SO much! Their kids are so cute and it was so fun to talk with them and laugh with them. They are so great. What a blessing to me to be serving where I am.

Well I'd better go. Keep me updated with everything! Can't wait to hear about the wedding! Tell Mindy to write me. I love you all! The gospel is true!!!

-Sister Lewis

 

Background:  Janell is still battling an illness. Please help pray for her recovery.  Thanks....Val

I don't have much time today so I will have to remember to write a longer letter next week. 

Last week was an interesting week. I was sick most of the week and I continue this week. I was at home all day Saturday while my companion went to a mosque with another missionary. I wanted to go so badly but I felt awful. It made me realize how much I actually love being a missionary. I think my body is dying down. I hope not, because I still have lots of time left. I got to go to the RS broadcast though on Saturday and it was so good. I got to see my old ward I served in and got to see Michelle. She is so awesome and we have an appointment for you all to meet her when you come. She is one of my favorites! Sunday night we were at the VC for a musical performance. I got to see Perla which I always love so much:) She is so great!   A couple of days ago we got to do some service at a member's home and at the end of the visit we watched her kill and skin her rabbits. Ha, I have never seen that before. It was interesting. To top it off she cooked it that night and gave it to us. We still have yet to eat it.

Today we went to M Street with the Hardy's (they are one of the senior couples here). They are so wonderful. We shopped around and then they took us out for lunch. After, we went to the Capitol and received a tour. It was beautiful. It was so cool to be there. I love the history sites here. The Spirit is strong in those buildings. I got a little emotional looking at everything. Heavenly Father is the best.

Well, I do have to go. I don't feel very well right now and I'm about out of time. I love you all so much. I really miss you a lot. The road trip right after I get home I'm sure will be great....I just hope my body doesn't crash on me:) Old age...it's the pits! Love you all a lot! Tell Casey that I'm going to kiss the baby's face right off when I see her!!!!

-Sister Lewis

Background: Here is the link Janell refers to in her message below:  http://embedr.com/playlist/between-heaven-and-earth-lds-mormon-temples – Val

 

Family,

 This week has been a very good week. Couple of days ago we had a great lesson with John and Audrey. He said that earlier that day that he talked to the bishop (because they are good friends) and they had a long conversation. The bishop asked when he is going to get baptized and he told him October 20th! We were so thrilled to hear that! We had prayed about how to ask him about a baptism date because we knew we didn't want to push it because he had to make that decision on his own. We didn't have to ask him about it he just told us! I love when people are truly prepared. It is so awesome. So, John is getting baptized on the 20th and has asked that Sister Miller and I say the opening and closing prayers. He has already picked most of the people to be involved in the program. I am so blessed to be a part of all of this. Sisters have been in and out of this area wondering when he would meet with missionaries. I have been blessed. He is so wonderful. The Spirit is so wonderful. I love how it works. The gospel just makes sense. You see the light clicked in people when all the pieces of their life puzzles start coming together. The answers to their questions for so long are being answered and it feels so good. We get so excited to see them every week. We get to see them tonight and we will be watching the documentary, Between Heaven and Earth. I love that documentary. If you haven't seen it, go to you tube and type it in. You can watch it.

Also this past week we were able to meet with this cute 14 year old girl named Jessica. She grew up in a Jewish family but they don't practice. She wants to believe in something and having an atheist view right now doesn't feel right to her. We taught her about the restoration and she said that she would love to come to church. I feel that the younger kids have a special spirit about them. A lot of pioneers of their families of finding the truth. I told her that she was like Joseph Smith who wanted to know some answers and that by praying she would find those answers. She prayed with us and it was a perfect prayer. She is amazing and I'm excited to teach her more.

I apologize if this whole email is non-sensical. I have a sinus infection I think. I have been getting sick and I feel terrible right now. It was hard to sleep last night because I couldn't breathe. I hope to get medicine for it soon. Mom, I think I am a talker as well so when we see each other it should be pretty funny. I have thought a lot about home this week. I had a terrible dream a couple of nights ago about being caught in a tornado and for some reason I was in a less active's home but I didn't want to stay there. I knew we wouldn't be safe. I was close to our home in the dream. I got everyone to get in a car to drive to your house. I knew we would be safe there. It was an interesting dream because I have had some "tornados" as of lately and it is interesting because my first reaction was I wanted to be home. Home is safe and is love. I was longing for that. Don't get me wrong, I love it here a lot, but just with some recent drama out of my control I wished to be with people that I love. Ha. All is well now. The most important thing is that I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and my Savior loves me. The Atonement is real. I love and am so blessed to know that. I was able to talk to a recent convert yesterday at the VC that I gave a tour to before he was baptized. His name is Phil. It is so fun to talk to him because his life has changed so much and he is so happy. It is such a testimony builder to me.The Atonement works for everybody if they allow it. The Savior loves all of us so much. This work is true. I love all of you so much. I miss you a lot. Be safe and be happy. Jesus Christ loves you...always remember that.

Love,

Sister Lewis