Seriously, the BEST part of Christmas day!

Seeing this face, hearing his voice and soaking in THAT SMILE!

He has always been honest with us with this whole mission experience, 

"HARDEST thing I've ever done" is what he tells us.

And so with that, I worry.

Then I get to VISIT with him, and all my worries melt away.

NO DOUBT it's the hardest thing he's ever done. I certainly didn't have the courage or strength to do something so selfless and difficult at that age.

And look at him, he's doing hard things!

Just a reminder that hard things aren't a bad thing...

He's EXACTLY where he needs to be, where he's supposed to be.

Stretching and growing and learning.

He was all smiles and fun to visit with while we talked, 

and then he had to go so we asked him to say family prayer with us.

In Spanish!

He's fluent in the Spanish language but the thing I noticed is how very fluent he was in the communication with his  Heavenly Father, it was obvious he has spent a lot of time pleading and counseling with Him.

There wasn't a dry eye during that prayer... I don't speak spanish, but I know what it feels like when the spirit speaks.

So proud of this boy, Elder Lewis!

Merry Christmas to us all.

Feliz Navidad mis queridos amigos y familiares!!!

Elder Lewis wishes you all a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Chile! 

Even though its about 90 degrees here and I'm sweating like an old street dog, I'm enjoying the Holiday cheer and the free food. 

Hopefully all you guys have enjoyed the Holidays and the time together. 

This week has been a rather eventful one, with lots to share, so, lets get into IT!

We started off the week with a long awaited, long wanted visit to the new Chile Concepcion Temple! 

We got to go do a session there in the morning with all of the missionaries from the inside part of the mission and President and Sister Catala. 

It was a very spiritual and warming experience, and I got to be with my MTC pals Elder Barney and Elder Gumm.

It was an experience that I'd been waiting for ever since I got here in Chile, and it's been a huge dream come true. 

Obviously, we were closing in on Christmas this week, so we had a TON of activities in Concepcion with lots of singing, handing out cards, and lots of spreading of Good Cheer. We built some Light the World card towers in some free time.

One of the neighbor wards was doing a live manger and we had the opportunity to be a part of it!!! 

With our missionary tags as well, as always. 

This week we celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ, but we also celebrated the birth of our beloved pal Elder Gumm! We planned a little fiesta for our bud, and we got him a Colombian cake, set up some balloons, and made up some completos to share. 

We surprised him when they got home at night, at it was a really fun time. Living with 6 is a good time, even though we only have 1 functioning bathroom. 

Yesterday, we had the Christmas Conference! All the missionaries from the inside got together and we got to hear from President Swenson, the temple president, President and Sister Catala, and we got to do some competitions!!! 

And of course, the ZONE of LEGENDS WON!!!! 

LETS GO CONCEPCION!!!

We got lucky, and the whole MTC district was there, so we of course got some photos together. And also with my twin Elder Evans. We did not plan to match either. HA! 

All in all, this was one of the better weeks of my mission. I found that, as a missionary, there are 2 options for Christmas time, you can get down about not being with the family, about having to work, and about now getting gifts, or you can look at it how Christ would look at it. A time to share love, joy, and hope with the people that don't have easy access to those feelings. 

We represent Christ, and we need to share as He shared, love as He loved, and feel as He felt. I tried to choose the latter option, and it ended up turning out like a pretty great Christmas. I hope you all have had a great Christmas, and I wish you all a happy and safe New Year. I love you all, and I invite you all to try to spread the true joy of Christmas, by loving Christ and living as He did. 
See you all next week, after MY SKYPE CALL!!!!

-Elder Grant Lewis

Today marks 14 months in the mission! 

It sounds like a lot, but its just a LITTTLLEEE over half way. So don't get TOO excited.

I didn't have much time to email last week (we had transfers and it was WILD) so I'll get you all caught up on what's been going on in the life of little Elder Lewis, or Elder Jerry Lewis, or Elder Levis Jeans as the Chileans like to call me most of the time. 

I continue working in the mission office. This will be my 4th exchange here in the office, but I'm now working as the pencionista. I'm in charge of houses, phones, and CARS! 

Speaking of, guess who's back behind the wheel 😎 YA BOI!! 

My companion is from Brazil, Elder Alencastro, and he cant drive, so by default, Elder Lewis is back on the streets!

I have also changed sectors. I was in Lorenzo Arenas, but I have made the move into the heart of the city, Concepcion Centro B! 

I'm literally in the heart of the mission, in the heart of the city. 

I didn't get to take many pictures this week, mainly because we were working in the office all day, all week long. We didn't have much time to work in the sector this week, but you'll get to see a bit more next week. On the bright side, I'm living with my good pal and ex MTC comp, Elder Gumm! We have a good time together in the house. 

This Sunday morning, we were getting ready for church and elder Gumm was in the bathroom, getting out of the shower. I heard him struggling to open the door, so I went to help him out. After about 5 minutes of trying to open the door, we realized that Elder Gumm was stucK! We tried everything to open that door. Credit cards, jiggling the door knob, i even took the doorknob off of the door, but that lock just didn't want to come out! As the time ticked away and we needed to get to church, we decided to call in the SWAT team. AKA the Brazilian, aka my companion. He came in swinging with a dumbbell and we freed our trapped friend elder Gumm. It was quite the experience with lots of emotion and action. 

Being in a new sector in a "whitewash" or when the 2 missionaries are both new to an area, is a bit of a challenge. Luckily, we have something to look forward too. We have a woman named Patricia in our area, who now has a baptism date!! She's been battling with cigarettes for years, and she's now taking it upon herself to quit for good. And, BE BAPTIZED! 

We've been trying to help her in every way we can, and she's very excited. We are excited for her as well. 

I'll be back with more exciting news in the next week, but for now, this will have to do! 

Hope all is well, love you guys and your prayers are felt. Keep going!!!!

Much love,

-Elder Grant Lewis

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!! 

But it's about 90° here in Chile, so it doesn't really feel like Chirstmas.

The 28th of November, I completed one year here in Chile! 

It's been a wild year, and I got to spend it on a road trip with my comp to go and fumigate houses an hour and a half away from the office! It was a good time because I got to visit my old sector and my old zone, Pence.

 

This week, I made the resolve to turn some of my goofy grandpa ties into more modern, skinnier ties. I broke out the needles and thread and got to work. 

One down, a lot to go!

The allergies are brutal here in the spingy-wintertime, and I got a nice attack of allergies. Thank the heavens for medicine and a mission nurse. 

This week was special because big bro Mckay got married to Jordan, his new wife! Its been a rather short time, (i dont even know Jordan) but they've been sealed in the temple for time and all eternity. 

What a special experience and I'm so happy for them. I know that the temples hold all of the blessing that we need in this life and in the life to come, and that we have the power here on earth to be sealed for time and eternity. 

This week was pretty normal to be honest, our good pal Mario came to church with us this Sunday and loved it as always. We continue working with him and helping him progress. 

Hope you all have a great week and are staying safe! Love you all! 

Nos vemos en la proxima semana!

con todo el amor,

-Elder Grant Lewis