I've been thinking a lot about my past emails, and I realized that I share a lot of the bad. While this has been the hardest thing I have ever done, and I have dealt with a lot of crap, I want to share a few moments that are good, and highlight why I am here.
#1
This story is from the MTC. One day, I was sitting in the office of the MTC waiting for Elder Kuri to finish a meeting. While I was sitting there, I overheard a conversation between the MTC president's wife, and one of the senior missionaries there. They were looking at one of the sister missionaries’ suitcase, and the senior missionary said, "Have you seen this suitcase? It has a bent wheel." Sister Augustine replies and says, "We will just get her a new suitcase." And the senior missionary said, "That’s what I was thinking." This may seem small and silly, but this stuck out to me a lot. The suitcase still worked. The wheel was just bent a little, but they chose to replace it for her. This just stuck out to me as an example of Christlike behavior that I have thought a lot about.
#2
This story comes from when the first earthquake and typhoon hit on my mission. After everything settled, I got the opportunity to help with some cleanup work for peoples’ houses. If I had been back home, I most likely would have never known these people were going through what they were going through. But because I chose to serve a mission, I got the opportunity to help them first hand, and to share with them that just because these awful things are happening, they still have a Father in Heaven who knows and loves them.
#3
One day we found this nanay. She was very hesitant to talk to us at first, but then after a little while she opened up. She shared that she had bought some land, but that the kids of the person she bought the land from thought that they deserved the land. So they started spreading rumors around about her. In this moment we were able to share our testimonies of the power of prayer, and she was so grateful for that.
#4
This has happened multiple times, different people and different needs, but the same story. I have shared this before, but while on our way to a lesson, we passed by a nanay's house, and we saw that it had sadly burnt down. We sent one message to the ward group chat, and there were instantly people volunteering to help her with food, clothes, or whatever she needed.
#5
This last one is small. But on the way to dinner, a bunch of little kids ran up to me asking for high fives. This moment just made me smile.
Although I have had a super rough mission, there are moments that make it all worth it. I truly do love this gospel and I have seen firsthand the blessings that it has to offer. I miss home so much, but I stay out because I know that what I am here to share is true, and I want to be able to help as many people as I can come closer to Christ.
I hope you all like this email. Transfer news got released, and I am going to be a follow up training and district leader back in Cebu, in the same zone as last time. I never really wanted to be in leadership because I didn't want the extra responsibilities. I just want to focus on the work, and I don't really want to have to care if other missionaries are following the rules. But I'm excited for the challenge, and I am glad my prayers were answered to be moved to a new area with a new comp, so that I can get a fresh start and really put all my effort in.
Taco Bell's number one fan,
Elder Lewis
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