E.T. Go Home

Lol! I've always wanted to say that! But alas, it is true. For those
of you who don't know,  I am being sent home to have surgery.
I have had troubles with my kidneys most of my life. While on my mission, I was able to see a doctor who 
figured out what was wrong. Fortunately it can be fixed, but will require surgery.
My Mission President decided I should come home and have the surgery.
 Long story short I will be flying home on Sepetember 5th. My surgery will be on September 7th. 
So I will be seeing y'all shortly!
Well, this week has been such an adventure! First off we did
FHE with the Hantlas and that was so much fun! We ended up playing
Farkle which is quite hard to do while small children keep trying to
climb on your lap, but  if you can't control it enjoy it - President
Turner. Anywho afterward we ended up making stove top smores which was
a good idea until I got distracted and caught mine on fire... several
times... you would think coming from Utah I would be able to make
s'mores by now but oh whale 🐳!
We had DDM with our Zone Leaders so we had a good 14
missionaries there which was fun until an elder decided it would be a
good idea to try and break open a water melon with his head...
Elders... which was funny because he not only did it once but did it 3
times to see if he could break it open. His only response after Ward
was "it didn't hurt, my vision just went blurry for a second" ...
again I say Elders... but don't worry all is well with his brain and
the watermelon!
We got a call from our Sister Training Leaders, Sister
Flinders and Sister Fowkes who ended up telling us that we
would become a 3- pack with Sister Davis! Who interestingly enough was
Sister Nordbys last companion... whoops... she also is from South
Jordan Utah and came out on the mission with me so we are all about 9
months out! She is so sweet and so amazing at singing so we decided
that we would do a musical number in church. After that crazy news we
ended up going to a dinner appointment with a little girl named Marly,
the elders have been helping her mom return to Activity and her
boyfriend join the church. But Christy (Marlys mom) wanted us to teach
Marly because boys are weird and gross. I don't disagree . Sorry
Elders. Anywho so we ended up teaching her the Plan of Salvation again
because I have cute little figure (shout out to Rachel) and the Elders
messed it up last time and confused Marly. After we ended the lesson
the Elders stopped by to teach Adam and Christy proceeded to make the
Elders and Adam sit down and have us reteach the Plan of Salvation to
them... I don't know maybe the Elders need help??? But that was really
fun. I love their family so much! 
We saw the kids, Trinity and Stephen who were so sad when I told them that I
would be leaving soon. But they are still doing so good with reading 
their scriptures and are still so excited to come to church! We were also able to see 
Brooks West who has actually finished reading
the Book of Mormon which was super cool! He ended up telling us before
he comes to church he wants to talk to someone who converted to our
church and had some words of wisdom problems so that he can create a
support system for when he starts to quit his bad habits which we are
more than excited for! He ended up telling us the whole story of why
he wants to join the church and I was able to get a picture with him
before I left which was awesome!
Then fast forward to when we did our musical number. We
ended up singing come unto Christ and Sister Nordby played the piano
and there was not a dry eye in the congregation. It was so amazing and
I truly felt our Saviors love so strongly in the chapel! We then were
invited over to a Sister in the wards home for lunch and she had
us sing it to her family and we were also asked if we could do it for Christys family. 
It was an amazing experience because I know
they felt the spirit from the words we sang! We also were able to
visit a couple members so that I can start saying goodbye to a ward
which I have truly grow to love. They have helped change me into the
missionary that I am now and more specifically the person I am. I know
with out a shadow of a doubt that I have been able to touch their
lives as well because of the things they tell me when I visit with
them and the love that they have shown me!
Anyway I love y'all and if you need anything just let me know! I will
see y'all soon (:
Love,
Sister Lewis

Solar Eclipse

Hello friends and family! 

So as you all know today is the solar eclipse, so the mission went out of its way to buy everyone some solar eclipse glasses... and it is currently pouring rain.... so no solar eclipse glasses needed! And all of y'all think Utah weather is bad (; 

Anyhow I hope y'all have had an amazing week! We have been seeing so many miracles this week and it is due to the hard work and dedication that we have as missionaries! This week we had a less active member, who the Elders are working with, tell us that she wanted us to teach her daughter Marly so that she can be baptized! Which I am super excited for! But I have been noticing a pattern... Heavenly Father must think that I am good with kids because they are pretty much the only people I've been teaching on my mission. But it has been the best thing! I am excited to teach her because she is smart and truly has a desire to learn, when Jesus Christ told his deciples to be as little children he wasn't kidding! I have loved every minute of teaching his children here in South Carolina! 

This week we were also able to teach Sister Cook who is our bestie. She just loves the missionaries but hasn't had a desire to attend the temple until just recently. We were able to teach her the restoration yesterday and we had her write down her testimony in a Book of Mormon and give it to her brother! 

Also I am just loving my new companion! We have decided that we are equally weird so we are going to stress eat lettuce (: 

We also had our second Zone Conference with our new mission President which was awesome. He really put a focus on how the Lord truly is hastening the work.  It's amazing all of the things that have been changing because we are preparing a way for the savior. I am so grateful to be a part of this amazing work! It truly is a great time to be a missionary I love all of y'all! Keep up the good work! 

Love,

Sister Lewis

HELLO FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!!

Hey friends and family!
I hope all is well! It's crazy to think that
some of y'all are going to be starting school here pretty fast! It's
so crazy how fast time flies!
Our week has been pretty hectic because Sister Allred got
transferred and I now have a new companion! Her name is Sister Nordby
and she is from Priest River Idaho! She likes to go shooting, show
animals and go for long rides in the woods! And I just love her
already! We have just had so much fun these past few days introducing
her to the area and everything.
Last Week, Sister Allred and I saw a whole bunch of members before she
left. One of them was our Bestie Sister Cook! She ended up telling
us that she is ready to go to the temple and that she needs our help
to be able to accomplish that! So Sister Nordby and I have decided that we are going to
come over every Monday so that we can teach her the lessons to help
her prepare! We are also going to help her in reading the whole Book
of Mormon!  I am so excited for her that she has the strong
desire to go to the temple! Not only to go to the temple, but also prepare for the
temple! 
I am so excited, this transfer is going to be so great!
After Sister Nordby got here we helped her settle in for a little bit. We had a great discussion, and 
set some companion goals to be exactly obedient, and work hard. We also want to have fun
as well.  I feel like I am starting fresh with this area and I
can't wait! So far we haven't found anybody too promising but
we have set some goals and are trying to get a fire started in this
area!
We were able to see Stephen and Trinity again! They are amazing! 
They just take a hold of the gospel and the things they have learned and they are 
continually progressing because they have a desire that is so strong. 
This week has been just a great week and I am so excited for this
fresh start. After you've been in an area for so long it gets hard but
I know that Sister Nordby and I are just going to do great things together and
I am so grateful for that!
I would ask that y'all keep Brooks West and Courtney in your prayers!
And to always think of others! We had such a spiritual experience the
other day in the home of a member who just had a miscarriage and we
talked about how even in our darkest hours, if we serve others our burdens
may become lighter! I am grateful for your love and support! If there
is anything I can do for you please let me know!
Love,
Sister Lewis

Staying in Summerville

Hello! Another great week in the mission field! Man am I grateful to be a missionary! I hope y'all have had a great week and summer! It's crazy how fast time goes out when you're on the Lords errand! We actually ended up having transfer calls this morning and Sister Allred is leaving Summerville! Which means I am staying for another 6 weeks! When we found out we started joking with the members of the ward that they are going to move my membership records into the ward! So that's been pretty funny! But I am excited to see what this next transfer brings me! I'm going to miss Sister Allred but I know she is going to have so much fun up in Simpsomville! 

This week we actually got to visit with Brooks West and he told us that since he has been meeting with us he has actually started praying again! Which is the best news ever! I love it when people tell me that because prayer is so important! We ended up being able to teach him about the restoration of the Gospel. I just love talking about Joseph Smith because his experience gave us so much truth! Especially that God is our Father in Heaven and that he loves us and knows us by name! We tried putting him on date but he told us that he wanted to pray about it and get back with us in a couple weeks for our appointment! He is actually going out of town so he pushed us out a couple of weeks which was super sad, but everything will work out in the right time.

We were also supposed to see Courtney, but she ended up cancelling our appointment last minute. We were sad, but she had just got back in town so it's all good.

We also went to see a couple members who had birthdays and brought them cupcakes and wore party hats! 

Anyway, I hope y'all have an amazing week and lift where you stand! I love y'all 

Love, 

Sister Lewis 

Angel Oak

Hello!

I can't believe it is P-day once again! Man today has been filled with so many adventures! Today we actually went with Sister Fowkes and Sister Flinders to Charleston to see Angel Oak and to try and find the light house at Folly Beach. It was super super fun....except that we couldn't find the light house .... so we ended up taking pictures at this tiny light house that we found! Angel Oak was just so much fun! 

This week we haven't done a whole lot because Sister Allred has had a super bad migraine, but we had a couple of funny stories that we can tell! 

So on Wednesday we ended up going over to Sister Roses house to help her with service. She ended up having her Sister in law there with her and a son named Mike. As we were serving we decided to share a message with them before we left because they are non members. We decided to show a video and for 15 minuets Mike kept asking us if the video was about Taylor Swift and I kept saying "no it's about Jesus!" Then he started staring at Sister Allred during the message and says "ya know... you look like Taylor Swift with glasses" it was super funny. After the message, we were about to leave and Sister Roses 2 year old was throwing a fit because she was tired. So Mike told us that if we didn't come back the next day then he would do the same thing so that long story short is how we were able to teach their family about the gospel! 

We were also able to go to interviews with our mission President which was super awesome because I love him! He is very concerned on how we feel as missionaries. And he really took the time to get to know us individually as missionaries. I am super excited to see what these next few months have for us as a mission. 

Sorry for the lack of things going on but I want y'all to know that I truly love this gospel and no matter how things may seem that I am grateful to be a missionary! 

I hope y'all have a great week! 

Love, 

Sister Maigan Lewis 

Faith As A Power

Hey y'all! I hope you've been having an amazing week full of tender mercies and miracles! I love hearing from y'all and seeing your pictures! This week has been super fun and also full of challenges but mostly fun! Today we actually got to go to this horse barn and play with the horses, that's right I said play! Now we can't ride them but I learned how to train a horse to move and to basically do what you say which was super awesome! But sadly I didn't get pictures ☹️! It was a lot of fun and we also learned how to groom a horse! 

We were able to have our first appointment with Courtney and it went really really well! She is very hesitant, but she wants to learn more and it's seems as though she is going to become a member. She just needs to learn more about why we do things. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and it was a lot to take in, so she had a bunch of questions on how it all worked. She actually already knew a lot about the word of wisdom, so she was pretty nervous to give up sweet tea. We were excited when we found out that Sweet tea is the only thing that will keep her from living the word of wisdom which is hard to come by in the south. But overall it was a great appointment and we had her friend Sister Schertz over who actually had just about the same questions when she joined the church

Another cool thing that we have started as a district is A Faith As A Power, which is basically a goal that can only be accomplished by drawing on the powers of heaven. This concept has truly changed my life and my mission. I am super excited to do it as a district. We will learn how powerful we can be, especially because as a district we have 12 people (by far the largest in the zone). Our goal as a district is to put 3 solid people on date before the end of the transfer and I know for sure that we can accomplish it! Especially since the two investigators that we have been working with are so solid and it's super helpful that they were referred to us by members. So tomorrow we decided that we are going to put Brooks West on date for baptism this week. We are so excited because he told us that he wants this to be a commitment. 

This week I have been diving into the Book of Mormon. It is just the most amazing thing. I have been studying acts of obedience while reading the Book of Mormon. Yesterday I was reading where Alma the younger is giving advice to his sons and the first thing recognized is that he tells all 3 of his sons his experience when he became converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. But every time he explains this experience it is worded differently and different parts are emphasized which got me thinking about Joseph Smith and the first vision. With different people he told he emphasized different points of his experience based on what he knew of that person. This is what we as people do when we are telling stories to different people. I thought it was interesting how many people think that fact disproves the first vision to be a lie. When in reality if he told his story about the first vision the same way using the same words every time then we would know that it wasn't true. I also read a verse when Alma is talking to Coriantum about when he was preaching to the Zoramites:

11 Suffer not yourself to be led away by any vain or foolish thing; suffer not the devil to lead away your heart again after those wicked harlots. Behold, O my son, how great iniquity ye brought upon the Zoramites; for when they saw your conduct they would not believe in my words.

12 And now the Spirit of the Lord doth say unto me: Command thy children to do good, lest they lead away the hearts of many people to destruction; therefore I command you, my son, in the fear of God, that ye refrain from your iniquities;

I thought it was interesting that because of Coriantums wickedness he actually prevented people from being able to believe the words of the missionaries or even the prophet. It just reemphasized the point to me that people look at us as missionaries whether we know them or not. And at all times we need to be worthy to wear our tags. Even as members of the church people are always looking and always watching. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be a missionary and I am proud that I am worthy to wear our Saviors name with pride. I pray that when people see me, they can see their Saviors love, and not a disobedient missionary, or someone who is rude, or anything that would draw them away from our Savior. It truly is a privilege and an amazing opportunity for these 18 months to do that. As members of the church. whether you are conscious or not, people are looking to you as an example. Whether good or bad there is someone always watching which again tells us how important it is to always be an example of the believers in word, in thought and in deed. I love y'all so much and I am so grateful for the support and the love each and everyone of you have shown me these past few months on my mission. 

Love,

Sister Lewis