And the rains came down...

Sister Rupper and her daughter Emily dropped off a package from home (Hong Kong).
Thank you!!!!!

A package from home!

 One of my favourite parts about being a missionary is going finding in the rain! I was on trade-offs with Sister Ihler, from Pocatello, ID, and we just walked around the city, sharing our unique message with everyone that we possibly could. People thought we were crazy for being so happy and "working" in the "horrid weather". It wasn't raining that hard by HK standards, but the wind was strong. It was so much fun! It reminded me of why I am a missionary. I am here to serve a righteous cause and help bring salvation to God's children. That rain was nothing compared to the weather conditions the pioneers faced. We got to watch Ephraim's Rescue with the ward (with our investigators). It was awesome! I'm so grateful for the faith of the early saints. Their faith literally wrought miracles. I've seen that on my mission more times than I can count. As we have faith, the Lord will work miracles. God is so real!

        A little break from the rainstorms

Seasalt chocolate brownie soft serve…omnomnom  with Sister Ihler

This past week has been phenomenal! We had so many miracles and heaps of good finding. I think this was a record of New Investigators on my mission...8!  2 of them are a beautiful couple from Colombia! We are referring them to a family ward, but they're so great. They love the feeling of the church and can definitely see how the Gospel will bless their family. 

Our investigators are doing well! Especially Chimgee and Eva! 

Ever since we've been working with Chimgee, we've been witnessing a miracle. From being curious but not believing in God to knowing that God is real, He loves her, and is helping her in her life in the span of 3 weeks is absolutely incredible. She brought us to tears as she bore her testimony in broken English that she believes in Heavenly Father. It was so beautiful. I love being a missionary! Feeling the spirit so strongly in all that we do is such a blessing. Eva is a miracle as well. She knows the Gospel will help her become a better person. She loves coming to church and she is excited for her baptism on the 14th! 

I received the terribly sad news that Nora is going back to Mongolia this Wednesday... :(  But I know she's going to be so strong and be a leader of the church there. She is absolutely incredible. She and Yan Lin are the best ward missionaries I know. 

I'm going to miss this girl.  Nora, you're amazing!

This is Boa

Lately, I've received a lot of revelation on how I can become who the Lord needs me to be. For the past few months, I have been feeling very inadequate and incapable of doing this great work. I have discovered more weaknesses in myself than I thought I had (Pride and humility have never been such a focus in my life until now...) But I've really learned that to overcome it all is to just focus on others; something that has been brought up again and again in my mission. That is what it means to "forget myself and go to work" and to "love the people". Simply serve them. Care for their welfare...and be genuine about it! I hate how selfish the world wants us to be...but the way of the Lord is to serve others. As we do so, we will feel the greatest satisfaction and joy and love that life could possibly bring us. 

This also applies when we teach. We need to love our investigators enough to help them keep their commitments to prepare for baptism. If we truly desire their salvation, we will make sure that we help them keep commitments rather than simply learning the Gospel. Conversion comes from living it. I know that as I've lived the Gospel, I've been blessed, and this has helped me come even closer to my Saviour. It has helped me know that He lives and that through Him I can return to live with my Father in Heaven. Everything will work out as I continue to do what is right, fully relying on the Lord. 

I love this Gospel with all of my heart. I love my Heavenly Father and my Saviour. I love being a missionary.

Love,

Sister Lew

Mexican food and Ginger Beer

Zone P-day at Centennial Park

Zone P-day at Centennial Park

Zone P-day at Centennial Park

Zone P-day at Centennial Park

Try to be a quail

We had an amazing ward conference yesterday! President Hamilton, the stake president, made the analogy of how we all need to be like quails. When it's cold, they huddle together to keep each other warm and comfortable. In the church, we need to huddle together as members, and keep bringing each other in to keep ourselves warm from the cold (safe from sin). We need to support and fellowship those who are coming into the church or who are feeling left out. We need to reach out to them in love and help them know that their Father in Heaven loves them and has sent His servants to minister to His children. 

This week has been crazy! Lots of finding and teaching. We had trade offs with the South Harbour sisters. It was nice working with older people again...it reminded me of Newcastle and the beautiful people I associated with there. 

Our Mongolian investigators are doing really well! Eba and Chimgee both are pretty on track for baptism. It's hard to meet with everyone though because they all have different work schedules and many are on-call. We have a lovely investigator, Eva, who is SO prepared. She has the greatest desire to become a better person and knows that it is through Jesus Christ that she can accomplish that. She is on date for Nov 14!! Amelia didn't get baptised because she's underage and going back to China in 2 weeks...but she's coming back!! We are constantly seeing miracles. 

We actually had a pretty cool experience.

One day, we were finding for a few hours and we just weren't "feeling it"...so we stopped in an alleyway and prayed to feel the spirit and help us act on it to find people enthusiastically. 

After our prayer, everyone we talked to was super cool! Although we didn't have many new investigators out of it, we had great lessons with them. We even placed a few copies of The Book of Mormon! Something I have learned, especially being in such a huge city, is that EVERYONE deserves to know about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Everyone deserves the opportunity to have exaltation. 

Fun with Yan Lin and Nora

I also had one of the coolest spiritual experiences on my mission. Yesterday, we were teaching Yan Lin about Temples and Missionary Work. She's gone on 2 mini-missions and is a fantastic ward missionary. She started sharing a part of her patriarchal blessing about serving a mission and as soon as she said that, the spirit hit me like a bolt of lightning. I was speechless and started crying, then she started crying, then we hugged and all was well. It is so beautiful to see how the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ can change lives. Literally. It's also amazing to have a personal witness from the Holy Ghost of these spiritual truths and to have these experiences. 

Other than that, life is pretty great! I love being able to serve my Father in Heaven and His beautiful children. I love being able to share what I know to be true, and allow people the opportunity to experience the countless blessings that come from God. 

Have a great week!!!!

Love you heaps,

Sister Lew

What Lack I Yet?

How amazing was General Conference?!

The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is on the Earth today. It is a fact. Thomas S. Monson is God's prophet and Elders Rasband, Stevenson, and Renlund are true apostles of the Lord. I'm so grateful for the many answers I received to my questions and the many revelations I had for the Lord's work, His children, and my future. 

The themes that stuck out to me most were Sabbath-Day Observance and the Plan of Salvation. 

It's so important that we keep things in an eternal perspective and remember our ultimate goal - exaltation with our families. In order to achieve this, we need to fully rely on our Saviour, His teachings, and His Atonement. His teachings include keeping the Sabbath Day holy. I never recognized the significance of this commandment until coming on my mission. But I know that as we fully dedicate this day to God, we will be blessed immensely (there are specific promised blessings...I just don't have my PMG with me right now to help me out #failmissionary). 

I'd invite you all to really take the things you learned at conference and apply them everyday. We tend to remember them for a week or a month or so...but really try to make a conscious effort to heed the words of the prophets in all that we do. I promise as we do so, our lives will be more spirit-filled. We will become the people that Heavenly Father desires us to become. It's such a blessing to have prophets and apostles on the Earth today. They truly are called by Jesus Christ and God. 

Sister Luo and I waiting for our interviews

This past week was great! We had interviews with President and Sister Checketts...I just realised this is my last cycle of interviews, zone conferences, etc.... so that was my last interview before my exit one! Crazy! I love President and Sister Checketts. I'm so grateful for their love and leadership. They have a great vision for this area, which is 4 x in White. Baptism, Temple, Endowment, Sealing. This is a vision that we try to create for every single child of God that we meet. 

We had stake MCM with our Stake President, Pres. Hamilton. He is a very wise man. It felt more like a training than an MCM, but it was SO inspiring. It was fantastic. Great insights on how we can really hasten the Lord's work in this area and how we can encourage all of our members and missionaries to rise. 

Fun fact that he shared. The word 'Enthusiasm' comes from 'entheos', which means "God with them"....so when missionaries are enthusiastic about the work, it's because God is with us. STRUTH!

Sister Luo and I have had a miracle week! Especially with Mongolians. In the past week, we've had 3 new Mongolian investigators, 2 of whom have baptismal dates for Nov 14! Super exciting! Nora has been able to fellowship, and watching her teach and testify in her native tongue is so powerful! The lessons we've had this week have been some of the most powerful lessons I've had in my mission. The Gospel is made for every single one of God's children! It's tailored perfectly to everyone in their individual circumstances. 

We had a district fast yesterday for a harvest of souls...specifically for every companionship to baptize many on November 14th. I know that fasting is so powerful. Please pray that we can meet this goal and that we'll have the faith to do so. 

Faith without works is dead. True statement. However, we need ABSOLUTE faith, no doubts, in order to accomplish the Lord's work. 

We went on tradeoffs with Sister Nelson & Sister Munoa and Sister Smith & Sister Toluta'u last week! I love trade-offs! They're just such great learning opportunities. I love being able to see the Lord's servants the way He views them. God sees us for what we can become. As His children, we have incredible potential. 

I love this Gospel and I love being able to share it with everyone. I absolutely LOVE my companion! We have the best time together. Lots of laughs and lots of love. :)

Have a great week! Love you heaps!

Cheers,

Sister Lew 

Chocolates!

My Soul Hungered

Enos is one of my FAVOURITE books in the Book of Mormon. My soul hungers as I plead with my Heavenly Father every night on my knees. Christ feeds our souls as we rely on Him and His Atonement. There is no mistake, sin, weakness, trial, or heartache we can't overcome. How great is that?! All of this sparked from Sister Munoa and Elder Bartlett's stunning musical number of 'My Soul Hungered'. It brought tears to my eyes....absolutely stunning!! 

We have been able to set 5 baptismal dates with our investigators for October 17th!  We are praying and hoping all will go well and that they can progress! 

That is probably one of the biggest struggles, helping our investigators keep their commitments. We by no means want to rush them, but this is salvation we're talking about. It's hard to help people see the urgency and importance of our message, even when we bear testimony with our whole hearts. 

But our investigators are so great! We had some very powerful lessons, including one with Viviana! We went over to the Asplunds for a yummy dinner and we brought her with us. We taught The Gospel of Jesus Christ and we had such a powerful lesson where it was so clear that the Spirit was teaching. 

Yan Lin and Nora are "my twins" baptized 1month and 2 days apart!!
They love dressing up the same! I'm so happy to be back in the city with them.

Cupcakes with Sister Derrick

We went on trade-offs in Summerhill with Sister Derrick from England and Sister Smith from Utah . I just love our sisters so much! They are such great examples; constantly working with all of their heart, might, mind, and strength…it definitely motivates me. We have SOOOO many new missionaries, so it really pumps us to work hard and be good examples. 

Our Zone before the last transfer

Also, 3 new apostles! I'm so stoked! Elder Rasband came to the mission in Feb with Elder Bednar. The Restored Gospel is true and I know that God has called prophets and apostles to represent Him on the earth to lead and guide us. I am SOOOO excited for General Conference. We got to watch the Woman's conference at the stake center. Definitely so inspired! It was all on hastening the work of Salvation, something we all play a huge role in. 

This week of studies was really good. As I was studying some of the commandments, I learned that God promises us very specific and beautiful blessings. Sometimes the commandments can seem like restrictions that prevent us from having fun, but it is the complete opposite. I know that living the commandments brings even greater joy into our lives. They liberate us from guilt and shame, feelings that hold us back more than any other feeling. When we keep the commandments, we are safe and protected. We avoid pain and heartache. We are filled with peace, joy, and love. It's such a great blessing to have commandments. Especially the simple ones like CPR (Church, Prayer, Read the Book of Mormon). These things help us have the spirit in our lives. When we don't have the spirit, we feel stuck....so keep the commandments! 

It's getting really hot over here. It's nice! My tan is coming back! #missionarytanlines

Anyways, I hope you all are doing well!! Have a great week! 

Love you heaps,

Sister Lew

Zhong Qiu Jie Kuai Le! (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!)

A moon cake and a lantern

I wish this computer typed in Chinese...but Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!! One of the members gave me YueBing and I was suuuuuuper happy! :)

It was cold this week....but today was nice and warm! We did a personal safety class with one of the members! That was heaps fun! Then we walked part of the Harbour Bridge with some of the other missionaries! It was beautiful!! I feel so blessed to be in such a beautiful city! 

View from Harbour Bridge

I love being with Sister Luo!

This week has been great! I love being with Sister Luo! We had soooo many miracles! On Wednesday, we went soap boxing with our zone and the new arrival missionaries (who came straight from the airport). It was a very empowering spiritual experience. Standing on a crate and bearing testimony to people on the street sounds a little crazy...but I realised that I love this Gospel so much and I just want everyone to have the opportunity to learn and accept it so that they can have eternal life. It was nice hearing my testimony out loud, and truly feeling that I am here to serve the Lord. The spirit confirmed to me that this was all true and that I'm not wasting my time. 

As Elder Jordan (our new district leader) was soapboxing, a young Chinese girl stopped to watch and Sister Luo immediately went to her. Her name is Amelia and she is from China. She is so keen to learn and we were able to set a baptismal date with her for Oct 17! She came with us to Jin's baptism on Saturday and she just felt the spirit so strong. That was really neat. 

Soapboxing

We also met with a few other new investigators, including Julie from Korea! She reminds me a lot of Yan Lin since she is also young and is a free thinker. However, she really wants to know if the message of the Restoration is true. We had a very brief but powerful lesson with her and she also accepted the invitation to be baptised! 

Leon is still progressing. Everytime we meet with him, I learn so much from the way he understands the Gospel. It is so obvious that the spirit is teaching him and helping him understand, and he sees it in a way that helps us learn and grow. For example, we asked him why he thinks God gave us commandments. The answer I thought of was to protect us and keep us safe. His answer was to help us become perfect like God and help us know how to live our lives because we are not perfect. I thought that was so cool! 

I have no doubt that Heavenly Father is preparing His children all over to receive the Gospel. Everything really does happen for a reason, and it's all part of God's great plan for us. I'm grateful for the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and that everyone will have the opportunity to receive the blessings of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. Everyone has the chance to have eternal life with our Father in Heaven. How cool is that?!?!

Sister Luo, Sister Nelson, and I were together until Thursday, when Sister Munoa came! We know some of the same people, it's kind of crazy! We have 3 awesome new missionaries in our district. They are truly prepared to be here and miracles are already happening. They are great examples and are going to really bring miracles into this part of the Lord's vineyard. All 3 also went to BYU, so that makes them even cooler :P Also, my Chinese is slowly but surely growing and improving. Sister Luo is so patient with me. She's awesome! We have so much fun together and she's such a great example to me. 

This week is going to be great :) We're excited!!

Love you all heaps,

Sister Lew

Transfers!

Ice cream on a spring day in Manly

This week has been one of much learning. It has been a roller coaster of emotions. 

First off, MIRACLES! Leon has a baptismal date！It has been such a privilege to see how much he has grown. His faith is increasing every day and he has such a great desire to learn more truth. He hungers for that truth. We prayerfully invited him to be baptised, and he accepted (after many many invitations). He is preparing to be baptised on the 17th of October, so please pray for him! He's probably my first investigator that asks REALLY good questions....you can just tell he's prepared. 

We met with Viviana and she is awesome! We fasted with her and she had a great experience. She's keeping all of her commitments and she just feels the spirit so much more in her life as she's been living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We had 3 other Spanish speakers in the lesson...so everyone was speaking Spanish but me. It was pretty funny.

With Guilia

We went on trade-offs with the Manly sisters. Manly is soooo beautiful!! I was with Sister Toluta'u. She is amazing! Definitely on fire and I just loved how she was constantly bearing her testimony. 

With Sister Toluta'u

Sister Valdes and I saw so many miracles. As I keep mentioning, she is the most consecrated missionary I know. I'm so grateful for her diligence and obedience. It has definitely motivated me to do much much better and become a true disciple of Jesus Christ. I can honestly say that we really did our best this past transfer. We gave it our all. Although we were always exhausted, we knew that we were doing what the Lord needed us to do. We always felt a sense of accomplishment knowing that we were able to assist in the work of salvation. 

She truly is such a great example and I am eternally blessed to have served with her. Not only were we companions, but we became best friends.

My last goodbye with Sister Valdes

Transfer calls came around and I am now with Sister Luo from Taiwan! She is so lovely! We are so excited to smash the city and learn Chinese. Yay! 

Sister Luo is my new companion!

There were quite a few changes in our district, but I am excited for this transfer! We have 3 missionaries coming into the city and our new Zone Leader is Elder Dean, who served in the city with me a year ago! Lots and lots of miracles are awaiting! :) 

Elders Wilde, Despain and Orr

We also had Zone Conference! That was really good! I LOVE LOVE LOVE President and Sister Checketts. We really focused on 'listening to the Spirit', which is something I am working hard to improve. The Spirit is the true teacher in this work. Without it, being a missionary is useless. I am so grateful for the knowledge and gift of the Holy Ghost. It has made all the difference in my life and I am striving to be worthy of it at all times. 

Lately, negativity has been creeping into my thoughts and emotions, to the point where I sometimes feel unable to feel the spirit. It is scary and it's dark...Yesterday, we had a lesson with a member and we read in Alma 52. We talked about how we have the power to overcome and conquer Satan and that through the Atonement, we can do all things. It's so incredibly true, and I felt a literal weight being lifted from my shoulders as the spirit testified to me that as long as I rely on my faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, everything will be okay. It was just amazing to feel the power of the Atonement. Christ truly did suffer, bleed, and die for us. Not just for our sins, but for our weaknesses, suffering, and trials. The Atonement is so beautiful. I am eternally grateful for my Saviour.

This ties into the theme of our sacrament meeting yesterday, which was the Restoration. We have the fullness of this knowledge of the Atonement because of the Restoration. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church on the Earth. I know that it has been restored to its former glory through the prophet, Joseph Smith. I know that Joseph Smith did see God, the Father, and His son, Jesus Christ. I know that it is the same church that Christ established when He was on the Earth. "Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of Heaven". One of the elders was sharing how no sacrifice is too big or too much for the Lord's work. I reflected back on all of the sacrifices that were made so that we could have the Gospel. I also think of all the sacrifices that were made so that I can be here to represent Jesus Christ and preach His gospel. There truly is no sacrifice that is too great for this marvelous work. 

I know that the Priesthood power has been restored and that it is the power of God. It is so beautiful and I am so blessed to have the Priesthood in my home. I know that it truly does bless families. I pray that every priesthood holder is worthy of it and prepared to use it in time of need. 

The Book of Mormon is true. It is the word of God, and as we read it, we will come to know more of our Saviour. President Thomas Monson is the prophet today, and I am so grateful that we have the privilege of listening to him in just a few weeks! God is our Father in Heaven and His son Jesus Christ truly is our Saviour and Redeemer. I am grateful for this opportunity I have to serve my Heavenly Father and preach His restored gospel to the people of Sydney. It is the greatest blessing and privilege. 

I love this Gospel and I love this work!

Have a great week! Love you all heaps!

Sister Lew

Letter from September 15, 2015

House of the Lord
Holiness to the Lord

I got to go to the Temple today for the first time since December 2014! It was so amazing and beautiful. I was soooooo happy! 

This past week has been full on! I definitely saw the adversary working HARD against me. Temptation, laziness, boredom, uni, family, friends, and more all started attacking me. It was so frustrating. I'm so grateful to be with Sister Valdes. I love having a companion I can love and trust. I can be open with her and she's helped me push through it and enjoy the work. She is a prime example of a 'consecrated missionary'. I hope to become like her within the next 3 months. Eye single to the glory of God and serving with all of my heart might mind and strength. There's nothing that takes her away from this work. It's quite impressive. 

With Sister Valdes at the Opera House

P-day fun with Sister Valdes

I got to serve with the Chinese sisters last week on trade-offs! I went to Ryde and Greenwich (they actually live in the same flat) and I was with Sister Yu and Sister Luo. Both are such amazing sisters!! They have such a great spirit about the work. It's really exciting! LOOOOVEEEE THEM!

I learned so much Chinese as well...I'm becoming more comfortable speaking it. I have the weirdest phobia of speaking Chinese with white people that speak it as well. I choke and can't speak. It's actually quite sad. But I'm perfectly fine when it comes to the natives. Weird…

With the Mandarin speaking sisters

We have some great investigators who are progressing really well! We had 6 at church on Sunday!!!

Although no one is quite ready to accept baptism yet, they all have a great desire and hunger to learn more. They're all keeping their commitments! Especially reading the Book of Mormon. We have an investigator who just loves the Book of Mormon. It's great to see how they're really trying to study and ponder it to know if it's true. 

With Michelle

I've been able to gain a stronger testimony of the Book of Mormon this week as well. I've made more of an effort to study it with my PMG in my personal study. There was one day where I studied 'faith' in PMG and in Alma 32. Out of the many many times I've read that chapter, only then did it really mean something to me and I felt like I was truly learning. 

Being a missionary is so beautiful. The time really goes by so fast and every moment is so incredibly precious. Being with Sister Valdes has helped me see how important the Lord's time is and that there is not a second to waste. I'm so grateful for the privilege I have to serve my Heavenly Father. Despite the rejection (oh yeah...we got told to Go Away pretty harshly this week...), stress, aching bodies, and emotional roller coaster of it all, it is the best thing I can be doing right now. I love being in a ward where I can see people grow in the Gospel and support each other in every step of the way. 

This is my last week with Sister Valdes and Elder Despain! So we're going to make the most of it and see miracles :)

Love you all heaps!

Have a great week!

Sister Lew