¡Feliz Navidad and a Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays to everybody, and I hope you all had a great Christmas Day yesterday!
*no snow here*

 

Yesterday, I was able to Skype with my family for a bit, best Christmas present ever! 

This was a good week for us as missionaries here in Chile. This is the perfect time to spread the Gospel and help people feel the love of Christ during the Holiday season.

 Although we don't have much as missionaries, or time to do much for Christmas, we were able to enjoy time with families and members and remember the life of Jesus Christ, and all the blessings that God has gifted to us throughout our time on this Earth.
*Luis had a heart attack this week, we have been able to visit with him in the hospital* 

One of the blessings that I was really able to think a lot about was my family. As Ive said before, one of the biggest parts of this Gospel, and a huge part of our teachings as missionaries is that the family is one of the greatest blessings that God has given each of us. 
Here in Chile, I obviously don't have my family here with me, but I have a new family here. 

I have companions in my house, I have the members of the church here, 
and I have our investigators as a kind of "mash-up family". 

I realized how blessed I am to have my family, and over my time Skyping with them, just how much I love them. 
God gives us families so that we can have a safe, loving atmosphere to learn, grow, and to have people to love to always rely on. Even though I'm across the equator and in a foreign country, I feel the love and prayers of my family every day, and I'm so grateful for that. Without my family, I know I wouldn't be here in Chile, and I know that my life would be nowhere NEAR where it is right now. 
In this wonderful Holiday season, I ask you to think of your families, and spend time with them, because unlike the physical gifts you may have recieved, the gift of our family is eternal. 
Thank you all for your love and support, and I love you all! I hope you all have a great Holiday season and a safe New Year. 

Until next week, love ya!

-Elder Lewis
ps. Here is the final "Zona Wall" from the MTC

Our VERY BEST gift this Christmas....

Skyping with this cutest Elder Lewis...

and meeting his awesome trainer, who Grant loves so much!

The language is coming along, in fact, more than once he said “que” when he couldn’t hear us. 

He's SO happy and working harder than ever.

He was the true Santa this year, bringing smiles to all the faces on Greenmeadow Lane.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

This week was one for the books for sure! 

We had a baptism this week! Hermano Luis was batized on Saturday and confirmed a member of the Church on Sunday! And the coolest part, we baptized him on his birthday! 

What a great birthday present for the old goofball Luis. 

Let me tell you a bit about this guy: Luis is old, not sure how old, but he's old. He only has one leg. And he's heavy. Basically what that means, is that we needed 2 people to baptize him!

(Luis looks worried but it was a lot of work for him and it was tough for him to get in and out of the font cuz hes always in his wheel chair. poor guy, but hes awesome!)

My companion, Elder Arismendez, was going to perform the baptism and our new convert friend, Pablito, was going to help him. 5 minutes before the baptism was about to start, Pablo decided that the pants that we had brought him were not going to fit him. That left me to help with the baptism, and I didnt have any of my clothing for it! 

So guess what we did. I sprinted, with another missionary, about a mile back to our house, in a suit and tie, with my backpack on, to get my baptism clothes, in the 90ª weather! We made it back and I shared a thought before the baptism on baptism and confirmation, and then we went and did the baptism! 

Like I said, Luis only has one leg, so things were a little tough, but we got our man in the water and an official member of the Church! This was such a great experience for me, for Luis, and also for his family. 

After his baptism, we went back to his house for his birthday party, and he was crying, because this was the first time that all of his family had been together with him at one time. 

His baptism and birthday brought his family together for the first time ever. 

One of the big things we teach out here in Chile is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families, and both Luis and his family got to witness that principle first hand. 

I know for a fact that the Gospel blesses families, because of the wonderful and loving family that I have back home in MA. Without the Gospel in my life, or our family, I don't know where I'd be, but I know for sure that I wouldnt be in Chile. And the blessings that I've received here, and that my family has received while i've been gone is far too many to count. 

In this Christmas season, I hope that you all get the chance to spend some time with your families, and to feel the true power of the family unit, and also remember the life of Christ and His eternal sacrifice for all of us. 

I love all of you and I'm so thankful for your words and prayers. 

I wish you all a merry Christmas and good times with your families! 

Love you all and stay safe!

love,

-Elder Lewis

I received a sweet email this week...

We are the Senior missionaries here in Cauquenes and get to work with the young missionaries. Elder Lewis is doing so well! His Spanish is good, and he is fast becoming our favorite! His trainer is Elder Aires-Mendez, who we all love. We’re hosting a Christmas morning breakfast for the four missionaries who are in this area-a real North American breakfast. We’ll take good care of him for you, and I’ll send more pictures. 

 Hermana Finlinson

You know when you're talking to someone, and either your can't understand them, or you can't hear them, or whatever the issue is, but you just smile and laugh and nod your head and hope that what they said wasn't a question? 

Well, that's how I've been living for the past 2 weeks in Chile! 

Chile is known for its fast speakers, and gringos are known for their complete lack of Chilean spanish! HAHA! 

Anyways, I'm learning, all is well. 

This was another good week. 

We started of by taking a bus ride to the beach at Caranipe and played some football 

and hiked a small hill that, believe it or not, had Jesus on it! Super cool. 

We also just about missed our bus home, so we had a Home ALone moment of chasing down our bus! 

My companion and I have also been recruited into the ward choir! We get the pleasure of singing some christmas hymns in spanish during sacrament meeting, which is always a good time! 

Anyways, this week was lots of work, walking, and teaching. Which I'm going to guess the next 2 years of my life will be like, so I'm trying hard to embrace it. 

This email is going to be a bit short, but enjoy the pictures and this spiritual thought. 

My companion and I constantly find ourselves teaching an investigator, and then inviting them to church the next Sunday. "Well, I dont have time... I work Sundays" We get that a lot here. And there are days where we get home late, and I think to myself, " I dont have time to read my scriptures, or study, I just need to go to bed," 

I've come to learn here that sometimes, we just don't have time for certain things. But most of the time, its just that we don't have the will or the want to do something, so we cover it with "I dont have time". 

I know that if we put our minds to something, and really TRY to make something happen, it can happen. But through faith in God, and prayer, and sincerely asking our Father in Heaven, to help us find the will and the time, He will make it happen, as long as we do our part to make it happen. 

We are all God´s children, and he wants to see us succeed. And He also wants us to converse with Him. When we ask Him personally, through prayer, for help and guidence, He will show us the way. If I've said it once, I've said it at least once. Prayer is KEY to life! So I challenge you, to pray when you're in need, when you have doubts or questions, or when you need time. Because with faith and a sincere heart, God will make it happen.

Anyways, I hope you all have a good week, and are staying safe. I love you all, and I pray for you guys every day! Keep it real and make good choices! 

Thats all for this week, ya boi signing out!

Love ya,

-Elder Lewis

I have always said, "Grant is EASY to love!" 

And I've never felt the truth of this more than the last couple months.

His sweetest tender heart has been so honest, and real. His attitude has been positive and inspiring. And his commitment and dedication, to this mission, has brought tears to my eyes, more than a dozen times.

I KNOW this isn't easy for him. I know the decision wasn't one he took lightly.

Many prayers have been said on this missionaries behalf, and my heart burst every time we hear from him. 

Our prayers are heard, Elder Lewis feels them, Heavenly Father hears them, they make a difference. Keep them coming!

I live for Mondays now, it's like a breath of air that keeps me afloat until the next week.

I wanted to journal this first email from Chile. I journal all his general emails, but I normally keep his personal emails personal. But this one...I was to keep this one.

I love his honestly, and I love that he forgot himself and got lost in the work and I love that he recognizes the love of his family and more importantly the love of his Father in Heaven. 

This boy who has always been so easy to love continues to bring a happy peace to our home, even from far away.

MAMA!

Hahahaha the pics of the week are so awesome, I love them! Everybody is looking great, and i love the Christmas tree lol. Anyway HI! IM in Chile and its crazy! Im getting rocko´d but its super great, my spanish is already improving so much just from a week. I dont have much time to write so ill have to keep it all kinda short. Anyway, thank you for the update and for the prayers and everything, i def needed it. The travel day was so lonng. We left monday at 2, and i wasnt at my casa until tuesday night at 9. I didnt get to brush my teeth the whole time! The first day was so hard for me, i dont know what it was but every second my brain was just saying screw this im going home. but then we got to walking and we found our first lesson. right as i started to teach, all my bad thoughts went away. It was so fun, i could feel all the love of god and jesus right there with me, and it was the best feeling of peace ever. Anyway, "dont worry about me, im doin just fine" lol really, im loving it here, the life is great, the country is amazing, the people are so cool, and my comp is great. Ive got it pretty good here, for real. Anyway im gunna write a few more poeple and ill write my general. Anyway, love you! I pray for everybody every day and im feeling the prayers from you guys. Love you all, thank you for the love and support!

Love,
-Elder Lewis

After a 30 hour travel day, GUESS WHO MADE IT TO CHILE! 

That's right, Elder Lewis, reporting for duty here in Cauquenes, Concepción, Chile! 

I'm here today with my beautiful, Peruvian comp, Elder Arismendiz, my trainer! Let me just start off by saying, CHILE IS AMAZING! 

This place is seriously so beautiful. You may look at pictures and say, "It's all ghetto and dirt and mountain crap". Well it is.

But its REAL! 

The CCM was nice and all, but it's time for the big leagues! 

For those that are wondering, the weather is great. Always sunny, around 80° American, the food is always bomb, nothing to worry about there (at least yet).

 The people. The PEOPLE are amazing! I don't know what it is, but I just love the people here, the kids are wild and I have NO idea what they are saying, or what anybody is saying really, but it's so awesome. 

My spanish is improving 10fold out here, because that's all I speak now! Its kind of crazy. Here in Chile, they dont pronouce the S. So, when somebody in mexico says "Entonces, mi casa es rosado, mas o menos," (So, my house is pink, more or less) it sounds like "Entonthe, mi caha eh rohado, mah o menoh". 

ITS SO FUNNY, IT SOUNDS LIKE EVERYBODY HAS A LISP! Its super hard to understand, because everthing sounds different. 

But all is well, I will learn!

  

The first 2 days here in Chile were hard. And I mean HARD. 

Every second, I was only thinking, "I cant do this, I just want to go home. I don't speak spanish, I have no idea what's going on, I'm going home." 

And then came the time to start teaching. My comp and I walked to an investigators house, named Doris. We sat down, talked for a bit, and started to teach. We taught Doris the Restoration. (mom i forgot how to spell it lol) As I found myself teaching Doris about Joseph Smith and his first vision, I realized that I was not worried about going home anymore. I was just focused on helping Doris learn. 

Long story short, I was reminded that the mission isn't about me. I'm here to help others, "To bring others unto Christ". There is a quote that goes something like, "Forget yourself, and get lost in this great work". 

I know that God always has His eye on me, and He has blessed me with the gift of the Holy Spirit, to be a guide and a peace for me for my time here in Chile. He knows when things are tough, when we need help. And He wants to help us, He wants us to talk with Him always. 

Through prayer and faith in God, all things are possible. I challenge you all to read 2nd Nephi 22: 2. I've been sharing this verse with every person that we have time to talk with, and I wholeheartedly believe in it. 

I've said it once and I'll say it again- If you need help, if you have a question, if you dont know what to do, ASK GOD. Through God, all things are possible. 

I pray for each of you every day, and I love you all! 

Thank you for your support and love, I feel it all out here in the field. I hope you all have a great week, and continue to make good choices! 

Love you all. 

Until next Monday!

Love,

-Elder Lewis