Some of you may have been wondering,
"Where is Elder Lewis´s awesome weekly email this week? Why is he slackin?". Well, I promise you it was NOT my fault! I'm sure you all know by now, but I have been RAVAGED by a mysterious Chilean stomach bug,
and actually ended up in the hospital, and didn't get to write last week.
SO. Here's a DOUBLE GENERAL to cover for last weeks email!
Lets get into it.
We started of the weekend of last week with Patricia´s baptism!!!
Saturday afternoon, we got the ward together, filled up the font, and after 3 years of investigating and trying to ditch cigarettes, Patricia became an official member of the Church of Jesus Christ!
We were so excited for her, for her decision to make the change in her life, and that she was able to kick the habit of smoking.
It was a great service, and we had a really great turn out. One of the other Elders in my house was doing bad healthwise as well, so we stayed home Sunday and got to rest a bit (between regular bathroom stops). Sunday night, after a week of stomach problems and far too often bathroom trips, I said to myself, "Elder Lewis, you're going to get better so that you can go play soccer tomorrow with the zone and enjoy P-Day". My self pep talk didn't work. I woke up Monday morning and started throwing up. I called the mission medics, and they brought me right over to the hospital. After getting checked in and getting some blood work done, a nurse came in and told me that I have KIDNEY DAMAGE!
They told me I'd have to stay in the hospital for about 3 days so they could do some tests and get me fixed up. My good house pal Elder Bailey stayed with me the whole time, and we passed New Years together in the hospital. I got out of the hospital Thursday, and got back to work Friday. We found a man named Israel. He's a guy who has some family members who are members, he has a lot of health problems, lives in a wheelchair, and lives alone. We visited him this week, and we asked him if he'd like to come to church with us. He said he would love to, and Sunday morning, we passed by to pick him up in his wheelchair and ran to church.
He LOVED the 2 hours in church, and accepted a baptism date right away. We will continue to work with our new friend Israel so that he can be baptized.
Well, these past 2 weeks have been extremely challenging and difficult. It was a tough experience and I passed through some tough moments, but my mission president shared with me some scriptures that I would love to share with you guys.
D&C 122 talks about the challenges that Joseph Smith was experiencing while he was in Liberty Jail. Verse 7 spoke to me. Its says:
" And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good."
We will always pass through challenges, difficult times, and hardships. But as it says in verse 7, these moments will serve us for experience.
As we push through those tough times, we will grow in our knowledge and understanding, and we will be able to confront even more new problems and experiences, and we can help others that go through those some moments.
I know that God loves us, that He wants the best for us, and that He gives us challenges so we can grow and progress. Never give up when things get hard, just remember that God is giving you that challenge for a very specific reason.
I love you all and thank you for your prayers and letters, you guys keep me going out here!! LOVE YOU GUYS!
Stay safe and keep grinding!
con amor,
-Elder Grant Lewis
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