1 year! Letter from July 6, 2015

Shoal Bay

It's been one year since we were all together at Nin Nin's house. WHAT THE HECK, how insane is that? In 3 days, I'll hit my one year mark. I can't believe it. It's flown by, but at the same time, it's been so long. It's been a great year. I can look back and say that I am happy and proud of the person I have become in these 12 months. I have become a disciple of Jesus Christ. Although I still struggle to act like it sometimes, I know who I am. I am a daughter of a Heavenly King. I am a disciple of Christ. I do my best to follow His example and live His gospel. As a missionary, I've learned that this is the Lord's work. Not mine. It is directed by Him and He leads and guides us through the Holy Ghost. 

My testimony has grown tremendously. I know with all of my being that my Saviour and Redeemer lives. He performed the Atonement so that we can overcome our sins, transgressions, and suffering. Because He lives, we too can live with our Heavenly Father. I know that families are eternal. I know the Book of Mormon is true. It is the word of God and it testifies of Christ. It was translated by the prophet, Joseph Smith. I know that he did see God and Jesus Christ, and restored the Church of Jesus Christ on the Earth again. We have a living prophet on the Earth today. He is called by God and continues to receive revelation for God's children today. I am here because of President Monson and the revelation he's received to call me to be a missionary at the age of 19. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints contains the fullness of the ever-lasting gospel. I'm so grateful for the opportunity I've had to be raised in this Gospel. I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to share it with God's children in Australia. 

I am a witness to the Lord's miracles. He loves His children and wants to bless them. It's amazing how much joy, peace, and happiness the gospel can bring people. This Gospel is so beautiful. 

This week has been full of cancelled appointments and beautiful weather for finding more of God's children to receive the Gospel. It has been hard. But that's okay! We can't expect it to be easy if it wasn't easy for the Saviour. Sister Uitu and I have grown a lot together as a companionship, and I'm so grateful for that. I'm incredibly grateful for the gift of forgiveness, love, and patience. She definitely has that because I know that I fall short so frequently. Thank goodness we have the Atonement. Without it, I would definitely not be here. 

Sister Uitu and I

What else has happened...

we celebrated the 4th of July with sparklers! That was fun! 

It's cold but sunny!

I have at least 5 more weeks in Newcastle! 

President Packer passed away :( 

I love you heaps! I hope you have a great week!!

Love,

Hermana Lew

My 4th of July creation

Sparklers for the 4th of July

Elder Lucerna's going away party

Hugs, Kisses, and Goodbyes OH MY! Letter from June 29, 2015

Last zone conference with Pres and Sis Howes

I haven't been this spiritually, mentally, and emotionally drained in a long time. The draining came from amazing experiences though. 

We had our last Zone Conference with President and Sister Howes. That was intense. As soon as it started I was already bawling. The spirit in that meeting was so incredibly strong. There was so much love. I feel so safe when I'm with them. I realised that as missionaries, we leave our parents to be under the direction of Heavenly Father, through our mission parents. I know that we have Heavenly parents who love us far more than we can possibly imagine. This love is incredible. We have divine potential as children of God. I have come to know this love through President and Sister Howes. God loves ALL of His children. This is why He has called us to serve, to invite and help His children to return and live with Him for eternity.

We had last interviews with Sister Howes and President Howes gave us each a blessing. It was one of the most beautiful blessings I've ever had. We did workshops with the Assistants as well, and one of the activities was to share a scripture and bear testimony of what it means to us. That was really cool! So many good insights and testimonies. We have such great missionaries in Newcastle Zone. I am so blessed to be able to serve with some of the elect. 

It was incredibly hard to say goodbye to President and Sister Howes, but I am looking forward to serving with President and Sister Checketts. They arrive on Wednesday. Exciting stuff!

I know that the Lord has called me at this time to serve both the Howes' and the Checketts'. There are lessons I need to learn from both of them, and that their leadership is needed for the people of the Sydney North Mission at this current time. There is a purpose behind God's plan for us. 

We also had to temporarily say 'bye' to Jenni :( She went up the coast to live with her parents for a while. 

But enough goodbyes! 

I'm 20 years old now! Sister Howes called and wished me a happy birthday! One thing really stuck out to me. She said, "thank you for being worthy to be here for your 20th birthday". I know that without the Atonement of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, I would not be here. Forgiveness and repentance is a beautiful gift from our Heavenly Father. I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to share this message with everyone. Nobody is perfect, but we are all given the chance to overcome all of our flaws, mistakes, and sins through the Atonement. 

June 27, 1844, Joseph and Hyrum Smith were shot. I studied D&C 135 in my personal study. My testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith grew so much that day. I'm so grateful for the sacrifices that were made so that we could have the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth today. I'm grateful that I now have the knowledge that I can be with my family forever. I would not be here (like...alive) had Joseph Smith not had the humility and faith to pray on that beautiful spring morning in 1820. 

I didn't tell anyone, other than the sisters in our flat, that it was my birthday, yet they all found out. Those darn elders... sneaky sneaky. But it was sweet! I got to celebrate by doing a service project with the ward and cleaning a house of a member. Then we had pizza with a few members, taught Allen, then were with Marlies. Finally we went to the Skelton's for my birthday dinner, where they made pizza! The elders told them, so they ran out and got this delicious chocolate macedamia nut cake and other sweets :) It was really nice and low key. Then we came home to a decorated room full of streamers and balloons! LOVED IT. It was a great birthday! Full of miracles as well!

Throughout the day, we lost keys and we were with people that lost keys. The first thing to do when you lose something is to PRAY, not look for it quite yet. Prayer works. We will be inspired on what we should do to find/replace whatever was lost.

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Celebrating with the Skeltons

Also, we learned that persistence is key in this work! We've been working with a less-active part-member family since I've been here. They've shown interest on and off, but lately, as we keep going by and showing our love for them, they've started to open up. The dad and son came to the service activity and were able to interact with members of the EQ. After that, they came to church the next day for all 3 hours!! (they have only been to church 1 time since I've been here). The Lord truly prepares his children in his own time. It was amazing to see them there. Now we're working with the ward to help them progress. 

ALWAYS FOLLOW THE PROMPTINGS OF THE SPIRIT! 

Sister Uitu and I were walking to an appointment, when suddenly, I said, "we shouldn't go there". I had the strongest impression that we weren't meant to see Bianca. Sister Uitu then said, "I was just thinking that"...Then we were troubled with what we should do instead. We decided to call a member who lived nearby but said she didn't want visits for the next few weeks because she had a lot on. We were nervous, but as she picked up, she said "I was just thinking about you sisters...come on over!" We had a really nice discussion with her, which led me to tears...Her name is Margaret, and she's an older lady. She's so lovely and sweet. We love visiting her. Her faith is so amazing, and we're so grateful for the bold testimony she shares with us every time we see her.

 

I also got so rebuked last night. I felt prompted to go see a member after saying bye to Jenni, but it was dark and cold, and we knew she had a big day and probably wanted to spend time with her family. I was even in the middle of writing her a text, then let the natural man take over. DUMB IDEA. We were on the bus, after waiting in the cold for 30 mins, and the member called us and asked how far away we were and if we wanted to come over for dinner and she could drive us home. I felt so stupid for not listening to the spirit. Don't do that. 

My invitation to you is to ALWAYS listen to the spirit. Whether the prompting is big or subtle, follow it! 

Anyways, today, we're going over to Nelson's Bay! That should be good. 

ALSO. I got my birthday package! THANK YOU!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!!! and Janet Parkes loved the milanos :P 

Love you heaps! Have a great week!

Sister Lew

I Love to See the Temple! - Letter from June 22, 2015

Talofa!

Happy Father's Day to the best daddy in the whole wide world! 

Yesterday in Gospel Principles, we talked about our Heavenly Father and the role that he plays in our lives. He's not just "God", but he's our Father. I'm so grateful to have a dad who is the best example of our Heavenly Father here on Earth. Words can't express the love and gratitude I feel towards both of my fathers. My invitation to you is to reflect on and evaluate your relationship with Heavenly Father. Pray and ponder about what you can do to strengthen this relationship.

And watch this video :) 

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-01-002-earthly-father-heavenly-father?category=mormon-messages/mormon-messages-2013&lang=eng&cid=HP_TU_6-16-2015_dPTH_fMLIB_xLIDyL1-B_

This week has been hectic! I can't believe it's already Monday again. It's been cold and rainy in Newcastle... meh. We've had a few good days of sunshine and many miracles along the way. 

We had our ward Temple trip on Saturday!! We had to wake up super early to drive down, but it was so worth it. June, Tori, and Shulin were there and it was awesome! They had a great experience and it was neat to see how they noticed the spirit of the Temple. Because I grew up in the church, I easily forget that the spirit felt in homes, church, and especially the Temple are more foreign to people who are new to the church. I'm so grateful that I was brought up with this spirit and that I now have the opportunity to help others experience it as well. It was just so peaceful and refreshing. Although I wish I had done a session, it was nice to be in the baptistry. Sister Weiss and Sister Valdes came as well! 

June and Margaret with Sister Uitu and me

Tori and I

Shulin at the temple

Sister Valdes

Later that evening, we had an amazing lesson with our Korean investigator, Chris. Sister Uitu and I have been meeting with him since our first day together. We went over to the Reed's home for dinner and taught a lesson on the Atonement. It was so cool! The whole thing was really inspired. Before we even arrived at their house, Chris was asking questions related to the Atonement from his Bible study earlier in the day. We read from Alma 7:11-13 and bore testimony on our Saviour's sacrifice for us so that we can return to our Heavenly Father. When we asked him how he felt about it, he said that he was grateful and that he wants to follow Jesus Christ. We then invited him to follow our Saviour's example and be baptised on July 11th and he accepted! It was so quiet and peaceful in the room. The spirit was so strong and I was about to cry! Heavenly Father has prepared His children to receive the Gospel. He has His own timing in His work. Marlies bore her testimony in Korean and it was so cool. It tied off the lesson really nicely. 

The rest of our week has been good. We've been trying to meet more less-active members and finding more new investigators. This coming week will be our last zone conference with President and Sister Howes. I've learned so much this past year from them and am so grateful for the opportunity I've had to serve with them. Lots of exciting changes are happening! 

I hope you all have a great week! Love you heaps! 

Alofa Atu

Sister Lew

Letter from June 15, 2015

There truly is opposition in all things. Just when blessings are being poured down and people are making the right decisions by following Jesus Christ, Satan attacks hard. 

But let's start with some of the blessings. 

When I was in the City, we were teaching an investigator named Liu Ding. She was absolutely amazing and fantastic, but couldn't commit herself to preparing to be baptised. She knew the church was true but living the commandments was really hard for her. The Korean and Chinese speaking missionaries continued to work with her when I left. Since then, I hadn't heard anything until Saturday when I got a call from the Assistants saying that Elder Easton and Elder Arnold want to connect. They told me that Liu Ding just got baptised 20 minutes prior to the call in KOREA. It's been 6 months since I left, and since then, she's continued investigating, moved to Melbourne for a few months, back to Sydney, and then to Korea. Throughout that whole time, she's been meeting with missionaries. She even fellowshipped for them. SO COOL! Heavenly Father is amazing. One of the last things Elder Easton said was that "no effort is wasted", and this whole experience truly testified to me that no effort is wasted. The Lord has a purpose for everything, regardless of whether we're planting seeds, reactivating, or baptising. This work is directed by the Lord himself. 

Shulin is doing really well! He received the Aaronic Priesthood yesterday and got his temple recommend and will be coming to the Temple trip on Saturday along with Tori and June!!! We're so excited for this ward temple trip. I absolutely love the Temple. It's just so beautiful and peaceful. We're able to really build our relationship with God and feel at "home". I feel so blessed that Heavenly Father has provided a perfect plan for all of his children to return to Him and that we have Temples to assist him in his work. 

Another blessing, I'm staying in Newcastle for 8 more weeks!!! I know that the Lord needs me here. There are lessons to learn, miracles to see, and work to be done. Newcastle Ward is so great. I feel so blessed to serve here. 

I personally have felt a lot of Satan's influence on me this past week through discouragement, laziness, anger, frustration, impatience, etc...But through scriptures and prayer, I've been able to push back. I'm grateful for the knowledge and resources I have to overcome these temptations and trials. With these feelings, I asked Elder Ezra for a blessing. It was one of the most beautiful blessings I've received. It reassured me of my purpose here, not just on the mission, but in life. Serving a mission has taught me to truly forget myself and go to work. This isn't about me, but it's about Heavenly Father and bringing His children back to Him. 

I invite you to look up scriptures and hymns that comfort you in times of need. We have been provided with such great tools to remind ourselves that we have a Saviour who performed the Atonement so that we can overcome life's challenges and trials. There will be times where we will need them. They will help us draw nearer to Christ and help us rely on him, thus increasing our faith in Him. That faith leads to many more blessings and miracles that Heavenly Father is waiting for us to experience.

anyways that's about it...

It's cold here. I got to pet a koala today! Sister Metcalf was kind enough to take us to Blackbutt reserve (hence why I'm emailing so late). Life's been good. just busy and cold. also I'm on a chocolate fast until my birthday. (...I think I'm addicted to dark chocolate). I'm excited for the Temple trip this Saturday! 

Max Brenner Chocolate

I love you all! Have a great week!

Sister Lew

Baby, It's Cold Outside…. Letter from June 8, 2015

I feel like I should be singing Christmas songs because it's so cold. We're snuggling by the heater with our fleece blankets and in our fuzzy socks. But then we remember we're in 'straya. 

This week was a miracle week…

Shulin's Baptism

Shulin got baptised!!!!! This whole experience was definitely a trial of my faith. I personally didn't think he was going to be baptised, based on our recent lessons with him. He was busy with finals this week, and we finally got to see him on Friday afternoon. During our lesson, we asked him straight up about baptism. He said he still needed more time and wants to increase his faith. We told him that it wouldn't increase if he didn't act on the faith he already has, and the next act is to be baptised. He was still a little hesitant, but then we invited him to pray with us right then and there and ask God if he should be baptised tomorrow or the following week or at some other time. We instructed him to wait after the prayer and just listen to his thoughts and feelings. He said a very powerful, simple, heartfelt prayer and then we waited in silence for over 5 minutes. The anticipation was killing us. Then he looked up and said, I think I need to be baptised tomorrow. The spirit in that room, despite the noise and craziness around us, was so peaceful. It felt so right. Sister Uitu started crying. It was incredible. So then we starting planning his baptismal service. We called everyone in the ward and ended up with a nice, small, and simple service. Right before, the EQ president (who picked Shulin up) called, saying that the house they went to said Shulin doesn't live there and none of us could get a hold of him. I panicked and thought of the worst case scenario. It was crazy. But then everything worked out and his phone is just being silly, and he lived at the house right next door. I got to bear my testimony and sing in Chinese and that was really cool. The Gift of Tongues is real because I know my Chinese is no where near sufficient enough to bear the testimony I bore. He also had an incredible blessing when he was confirmed. He was blessed that he would have the courage to help others receive the Gospel as he received it. Then I thought to myself, HE'S GOING ON A MISSION. Okay, so we'll see what happens, but that would be so cool! Also, we have the same surname! Liu! We might be cousins!! It was a very humbling experience and I know that Heavenly Father is preparing His children to receive the Gospel. 

On Tuesday, we had a conference with Elder Pearson, the area president who was doing a mission tour. That was REVELATORY.  Elder and Sister Pearson are so boss. Super bold and straight forward with high expectations, but they do it with love. It reminds me of the way I was raised, both at home and at school. There was no room for mediocrity when we can excel in what we do. We're doing well, but we can be doing so much better. There is no need to be shy about asking for referrals. There is no need to be casual about the Lord's work. We are here as servants of the Lord. 

As we applied the revelation we received into our work, we saw so many miracles. We had 3 new investigators and I felt that our companionship has grown closer as we've made a conscious effort to invite the spirit into our companionship. 

Seriously, it was amazing. 

Conference with Elder Pearson

The work is going forth. It's amazing to see what has happened in the 6 months I've been in Newcastle. Every fast and testimony meeting, we are encouraged by President to ask a few members to bear testimony of their missionary experiences or on missionary work to set the tone for the meeting. So we did that, we invited a member and one of the primary kids to bear their testimonies and we had such a powerful meeting!! All of the testimonies that were shared were so incredible and full of the spirit. It was really neat. 

I'd like to invite you all to look for missionary opportunities in your daily lives. Jessie and Mum, you have a great opportunity on Thursday as you travel. Carry a pamphlet or Book of Mormon with you. Write your testimony in it and give it out on the plane/at the airport. Every person that walks by you is a child of God and deserves the opportunity to receive eternal life. Let me know how it goes :D

Heavenly Father is pouring down blessings. Yes, I'm tired and I'm stressed (although I shouldn't complain...think about the prophet and apostles), but it is so so so worth it. 

I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to serve my Heavenly Father. I'm so grateful for His love in my life. 

Love you all heaps! Safe travels and stay healthy! 

Sister Lew

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY MONTH!

Yes, yes, it's my birthday month. (and Chrissy's!) 

This week has been incredible and incredibly exhausting! You know how Joseph Smith was so physically worn out after the first vision (and after all of his spiritual experiences)...I now understand why! I received so much revelation throughout the week and I'm wiped, but it's good! 

We had a meeting with Elder Cook and that was so good!!! We woke up at 4:30 to drive down to Sydney...cold, dark, early mornings are bu hao, but so worth it to see an apostle of the Lord. We got to shake hands with him and his wife. The area president, Elder Pearson was there as well along with Elder Leota (another seventy) and their wives. It was pretty cool. They emphasized our role as missionaries. One of the main things that Elder Cook pointed out is to be a ward/branch builder. We are here to build and strengthen the branches and wards we serve. Not just find people and baptise them, but to really work with the members. Without the members, missionary work is ineffective. We had a Q&A session and there was a lot of revelation received from the answers of the leaders. 

• Converted unto the Lord means that when we come off our missions, we will endure to the end. We will not go back to the person that we were before the mission...not only that, but we will not look back. We will come home and do all that we can to serve the Lord in our communities. We won't think twice about being married outside of the Temple.
• Being a consecrated missionary means that we will take the habits and the schedule of the mission and apply it to our lives back home. Being perfectly obedient to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and fulfilling every calling that we are given.

I also had a pretty unique experience. I know that we're supposed to go into these meetings with a question in mind, but I honestly couldn't think of anything until right before the conference. We were given time to study before Elder Cook arrived, and as we were doing so, I was going through my Patriarchal Blessing and got my questions from there. Then throughout the conference, EVERY single one of my questions got answered. It was a huge testimony to me that Heavenly Father is very aware of us individually and he has called Prophets and Apostles to lead us, and give us revelation today. 

We had zone conference on Thursday and that was also really good. We talked a lot about 'feeling' our purpose, not just knowing it. It's important that we act on the things that we know we need to do as disciples of the Lord. We also talked a lot about the transitioning of mission presidents...sad. But I'm super excited to learn from President Checketts. I know that he's been called by God to serve here and I am called to Him to serve the Lord. 

On the teaching side of things, the work has been a tad slower. Unfortunately, Shulin doesn't quite feel ready but please pray that he will continue to progress. He has such a great desire to find the truthfulness and reality of our Saviour. We are so incredibly proud of him and the progress he's made so far. 

We also finally have meal roster going around the ward haha. It's not filled out much, but we're still so grateful that the members are willing to work with us. 

This leads me to my next point that I talked about earlier. Missionary work is ineffective without the members. Missionaries in your respective wards are called there to serve YOU (and the Lord of course). Look for opportunities to do missionary work. Pay attention to your peers, family, etc. around you. Heavenly Father has prepared people for the members to find and for the missionaries to teach. Fellowship them, as well as reach out to the less-active and struggling members of the ward. Let them know that you care, even if they don't want anything to do with the church. As you do so, you will see the Lord's miracles even more. 

That's about it...

2 more weeks in the transfer!! crazy! This week, we have another zone conference with Elder Pearson, and Shulin will be baptised!! yay!!!! :) :) 

I love you all heaps!!!! Have a great day and stay warm! (I am freezing…)

Love,

Sister Lew

Fat Sister Lew - I call myself that so skinny chicks like you don't do it behind my back

I felt like having a trunkie moment with Pitch Perfect. We went to dinner with two sisters in our ward before they went to see Pitch Perfect 2 and I was like...okay cool, just tell us all about it. So they're two mothers, you would think they're old and motherly, but they're like high schoolers. It's great. 

Anyways. This week has been LONG, cold, and rainy. One of my goals was to be less bossy, not take the lead. That was so hard. I've been blessed to have companions in the past with just as strong personalities, that we worked well together and with each other, but for the past 7 weeks, it's been me doing the planning and organising. I try to guide my companion through it but she expects me to do it all, so this week, I made her do it. Wow, that was frustrating... Most of it was like figuring out which bus to take, where to, and where and when to transfer buses. Simple city life stuff, and we had been doing it for 6 weeks prior to that, so I figured she'd have some sort of clue. Not at all. But I made her do it. It's so hard to sit back when you know it's easier to just do it yourself. But that's okay, it was a learning experience. She's patient with my lack of patience and I'm very grateful for that. 

We did have a miracle though! We missed the bus and we decided to help out an older Chinese lady who was nearby. It turns out that we were an answer to her prayers because her arms were sore and tired and she didn't want to do the front yard chores, but had to, so we helped her. She invited us into her home and it reminded me of Asia, super cute. She even gave us slippers to wear inside haha! She's Christian herself and definitely sees the hand of the Lord in her life. It was beautiful. 

Shulin is progressing really well! He came to church, and as our WML pointed out, his countenance from the first time he came to now has changed so much. We are praying that he continues to have spiritual experiences so that he will be prepared to be baptised next month. 

Kylie, unfortunately, suffered a mini-heart attack, but she's alright. We've been seeing her so it's good and she's recovering. 

We've been doing a lot of less-active work this week, and my testimony of doing less-active work has increased so much. It's so powerful when we work with people who recognise the presence of the spirit in their lives and the steps they're taking to come closer to our Saviour to feel the spirit more. 

Other than that, life is good. We have new sisters in the flat who are great! Sister Afualo from American Samoa and Sister Stigen from Mesa, AZ. They're so fun to be with, and so the four of us have been having a ball. 

I love the missionaries here. The spirit is always so strong when we're together. I'm grateful to be in such an amazing mission where everyone here is so purpose driven. We know why we are here and we're willing to work. 

Last night, Elder Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve did a fireside, so we watched the broadcast, and surprise surprise...it was all on marriage.. It's good for us missionaries to know how we can better help the families we work with. Lots of revelation received. Families are ordained of God. They are so so so important. A successful family comes from first, having a successful marriage built on the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Elder Pearson, the area president, also brought up a really good point. The fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:12?) are a choice. We can choose to feel the spirit in any circumstance. When crappy things happen, we can still choose to be happy. We're only miserable because we're allowing the natural man to take over. 

I'm excited! This week is going to be really good! Tomorrow we have a missionary conference with Elder Cook then we have zone conference on Thursday. I love trainings and meetings!! They always have the perfect balance of being rebuked and motivated to do the Lord's work. 

I hope you're doing well. Have a great week! Love you all heaps!

Sister Lew