Gooooooodmorrrnnniinngggg MEXICO! 

Elder Lewis reporting for duty!

Where do I even start for email update number 1.... 

Well first off, sorry for my punctuation and spelling because THE KEYBOARDS HERE ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT AND IN SPANISH! 

Anyways, I'm ok, Im loving life here, my comps are great, the food is pretty bomb (legit Mexican food), and sleep has never felt so sweet. The first day was long. The second day was even longer. The third day was REALLY LONG! But now that Im on day 9 (?), the days are all mixing together and feeling more like days rather than weeks. 

The Lord has blessed me with not 1, BUT 2 COMPS! Elder Barney and Elder Gumm. We play basketball together and all love golf, its pretty sweet. My district is great, lots of cool people. Elders Jacobson and Davis are the other ones in my district, and we all kill it together. Lots of nonstop laughing and farts. 

The Mexico MTC is amazing. Its a 90 acre fenced in oasis inside the middle of grungy old Mexico. Such a pretty place, and the surrounding area is surreal. I'll try to send some pictures over when I can. Classes are long and tough, but with DISTRICT TRIANGULO, everything is a good time. 

The food is good, its been keeping me alive for a week, and I look forward to every meal! The days are from 6:30 to 10:30, so I'm always happy to hit the bed asap. 

I've learned so much spanish already! On our first full day here, we were informed that we would be teaching an investigator a 20 minute lesson... COMPLETELY IN SPANISH! Long story short, and 4 spanish missionary lessons later, we have committed and investigator to be baptized! I must add that the investigator is actually our night teacher posing as an investigator, but we really did have to teach 4, 25 minute lessons about the gospel completely in spanish!

 She said we did great and could really feel the Spirit throughout our lessons. 

We're praying daily in Spanish, and its crazy to see and feel a weeks progress. 

I've been truly blessed here in Mexico, and my life is going great. The Spirit has been a true companion throughout my stay here and I've seen the Lords hand in my life already. I know that what I'm doing here is God's work, and it needs to be done. There are countless amounts of people that are waiting to hear what we have to say and I'm so excited to be able to go out and serve the Lord and the people of Chile with all my heart and soul. My short time here has been a wonderful experience and I know it will only get better. 

I pray for everybody back home and I love you all so much. I'm not going to do some cheesy catch phrase at the end of my emails like Mckay did (loser), but I really have to say, do not worry about me at all, because I really am doing JUST FINE! I love you all and Im so excited to be able to hear from you all. Keep it real!

Love-

Elder Lewis 

Oh. PS

My casa is right by the wall to the CCM, and we constantly hear traffic, horns, Spanish music, and, best of all, nearly constant cannon fire. From what I know, the Mexicans have famous and new Priests that are celebrated and ordained every day. There is a shot from a cannon on the mountain right next to us for every Priest that they wish to celebrate. Pretty consistant cannon fire throughout the day and night. Somedays more than others

Left to right of my district, Hermana Witteman, DeGroff, Murray, and Erickson, then Elder Gumm, Barney, me, Jacobson, and Davis. 

Jacobson and I are already super tight.

It's hard to see each individual sun soaked face, but this is the first photo we have seen of Elder Lewis.

Second row from the top, standing there in the center.

HELLO ELDER LEWIS!!!

It took me a couple days to go into Grants room, after he left.

I knew it would smell like him and the memories would probably break my weak heart...

The day I finally walked in there, there was THIS on his white board.

And you know what, it made me smile!

I worried about Griffin, and how he would handle life without Grant...

he's doing as well as the rest of us.

Some days are better than others!

We got our first email from Elder Lewis!!!

I cannot believe he and Elder Mike Barney are companions!

Elder Barney has an older brother who served in Korea. He and McKay entered the MTC the same day, and lived together a few times in Korea.

Now their little brothers are companions in the Mexico MTC.

I can't wait to hear of their adventures together!!

The Barney family was meant to be part of our life,

 I'm so grateful for these missions bringing us all together.

The day has come...

I've dreaded this day since Grant opened his call four months ago.

October 17, 2017

We left our home at 5:30am, as we left McKay gave Grant one last hug and then handed him this coin.

He told Grant, "I kept this in my left pocket, every day of my mission, it's yours now."

Grant played with it while we waited for the flight.

Grant was scheduled to fly to Atlanta then off to Mexico all alone. We tried to have him fly out of SLC, so he would be with other missionaries, but church travel had already bought his ticket from Boston.

Last minute, a couple days ago, I asked if he would care if I flew to Atlanta with him. 

He didn't care either way, and said he would be fine alone, but also admitted it would make him more comfortable if I was there.

I told him I was going, and I was doing it more for ME than him!

And OH MY, I'm glad I did.

We left Boston and landed in Atlanta, AS HIS FLIGHT TO MEXICO WAS BOARDING.

So we quickly hopped on the train from terminal A all the way to E.

Ran to his gate as they were boarding the plane to Mexico City.

See that first flight on the list...this was the screen after he boarded the plane.

But this cute happy face made it!

He was brave and strong and ready to begin his journey.

As Grant walked onto the plane. I was, of course, teary as I waved goodbye one last time. 

*the pic is blurry because I was waving and saying goodbye while taking this pic*

I stood there for a minute wishing he might peek his head around and give me one of his funny face salutes, 

as I sat staring at the door, and a man walked up to me. 

He asked if that was my son. He said “I see you’re sad. Where is he going?” I explained he was off to Mexico then Chile for a couple years. He asked if I was of the Christian faith and then asked permission to pray with me, for Grant. He felt like that was something he could do to help. 

I wish I had a recording of his prayer, it was so beautiful and touching. 

The part that stood out to me is when he said, 

“I ask that the angels you have charged to protect him, that they will surround him. May they lift him and carry this young man." 

He prayed over and over for the Lord to be with Grant, and he prayed for him by name. It was so tender to my hurting heart. His faith and his kindness were so touching to me. His prayer was beautiful and the fact that he was willing to stop what he was doing at a crowded airport and say a prayer on my behalf, without fear of rejection, was so admirable. 

He wasn’t even on Grants flight. He just saw me in the airport and stopped on his way to catch his own flight. 

I was texting Mckay saying how hard it was to let Grant go. And how much I worried about him on that flight alone. Mckay said, “mom. He’s been set apart, he’s not alone.”

He’s not. He won’t be alone for the next two years. He will have mission parents. He will have companions and he will be surrounded by angels to protect, comfort and carry him. 

This I know, and this is how I have the courage to let him go. For sure, the hardest, most gut wrenching, heart achiest thing I have ever done. The first couple days of a mission are brutal, but I know it gets better.

And then I know he will bless others.

Because we have been given much, we too must give!

I'm so SO grateful for the sweet tender mercies of the day.

There were SO MANY!

In fact, this whole mission experience leading up to this day has been loaded with obvious blessings from a very loving Heavenly Father.

Grant is off to share this light and love with others! 

Three suits, two suitcases and all this stuff...

On Saturday, Grant enjoyed his last outing with his buddies.

He spent Monday finishing up the packing and all the last minute prep.

Look at this guy hemming his own pants.

and eating his last supper.

His last family night,

and his final goodbyes,

This guy is almost ready...

I'm sitting here with Elder Lewis, my "companion", as he packs up his room. 

He was officially set apart as a missionary this afternoon, so I get the honor of being his companion. 

We met at our Stake Presidents house today at 2:30pm.

This guy walked in as Grant Lewis 

and out the door as Elder Lewis.

Our good Stake President gave him a beautiful blessing with some sweet and comforting promises.

Things are getting real over here.

You know what, all this work and heartache and stress and planning....

it's ALL WORTH IT!

I know that!

And that's why I'm willing to do this all again.

Grant and I wanted to get another temple trip in before he left.

So we ventured out EARLY this morning...

and then we crawled through Rt 2 traffic.

Traffic didn't ruin our plans, it just changed them a little.

Initiatory work, rather than a session...

and a whole lot of funny, first time confusion.

Cutest Grant, we laughed the whole way home.

Doesn't matter what you do in the temple, it's just good to be there!

Especially together.

This cute missionary guy went through the Boston Temple last night.

We kept it small and just had the family go...

I'm so sad I didn't get a picture of the four of us together in front of the temple.

After the temple, the four of us enjoyed a late Panera dinner together.

There are for sure parenting moments that are difficult, and heart wrenching... 

but moments like this feel like payday.

Nothing better than having your children with you, in the temple!

A sweet experience we had at the end of the evening.

I was alone in the celestial room waiting for the rest of them. This sweetest young girl came up to me and asked if Grant was my son and if he was leaving on a mission.

Of course I said, "He IS! He's leaving in two weeks to serve in Chile."

She got a little teary and said,

"My brother lives in Arizona and is opening his call tonight!" She then shared what a tender mercy it was for her to be in the temple with Grant, as he prepares for his mission. With her brother living so far away she won't be able to be there with him when he goes through the temple. So she was grateful to be in the temple the same time as Grant.

It was really sweet!

She was on the phone in the temple parking lot as we were leaving. Her brother had just opened his call, on his way to JAPAN.

I told her he would be in our prayers. 

We pray often, in our house, for missionaries.