Edified and Uplifted

Today is just a really great day.

The sun is shining bright. It think it's like 60* outside. My belly is full of yummy tomato bisque soup from costco, and... oh yeah! I almost forgot!

WE FOUND SOMEONE TO TEACH!

okay.

we didn't really FIND her.

It's Laura, Sister Simmons friend. :)

We were finally able to  meet with her, and the lesson was a miracle. Really. Laura is SO prepared and ready to receive the fullness of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love it. The lesson was kinda all over the place.... but it was directed by the Spirit. She is just so very amazing, and she was just soaking up every little bit of what we had to share!

At the end she said, "Ya know, when I got here today, I was... I was just really not in a good place.... But now, I feel edified, and uplifted. I feel like this big weight has been lifted from me. I know that God had this meeting in his plans for me. I am really grateful to have been here today!"

Wow. Did she just use the words edified and uplifted?? I think she did! She described exactly the role of the Spirit in conversion. #GOLDEN

She was really excited to keep meeting with us, and we set up a time to meet with her next Tuesday! She also however, had some head trauma accident some years ago... so that affects her health. So keep her in your prayers, that the Lord will bless her with strength!

I also invited her to church at the end of the lesson, because I'm singing in sacrament meeting on Sunday, and she said she had plans... but that she was definitely going to try and arrange something, so that she could make it! Gah. This is the miracle we have been waiting for!

Missionary Work is awesome.

Another miracle of the week, is that a couple weeks ago, a lady in the ward, came up to us and said her daughter has a friend, Summer, who really loves coming to church and activities and wants to learn more about the gospel. The only problem is that Summer is 12, so we would need permission from her mother in order to teach her.

Well, after weeks of waiting, Sister Larsen got back to us and told us about the conversation she had with Summer's mom!

Her mom was all for Summer taking the discussions. She wasn't interested in it for herself (she's not ready or wanting to change her lifestyle.) but she recognizes that Summer is more spiritual, and she loves the people in our church, and she said she would love for Summer to be baptized if that is what Summer chose!

WHAT!

Things like this never happen.

Ever.

It was a miracle.

And so we have a lesson set up on Sunday night at 7, to teach Summer the restoration:)

The members of the Leesburg ward are seriously on FIRE with member referrals! It is SO exciting to be a missionary, and it is so much easier to do the work of the Lord, when we are on the same page as the members! I really want to point out, that both these miracles would not have even come if it wasn't for the missionary work that the members are doing.

It is SO easy to share the gospel!

I honestly cannot express that enough.

If a little 9 year old girl, can explain to her friend (Summer) at activity days, that the warm fuzzy feeling she gets from doing service, is in actuality, the Holy Ghost, then certainly, we ALL can do something to share a gospel truth with somebody in need.

And if you think about it...

Everyone around you is in need of SOMETHING.

So pray for opportunities to share what you know to be true! Then be on the look out for when those opportunities present themselves! :)

"God WILL put prepared people in the way of his prepared servants who WANT to share the gospel." - Henry B. Eyring

Test that promise out this week.

I Think you will be surprised at what happens! :)

Alright... so.... other exciting things that happened this past week......

--I got my hair cut. And turns out, that the lady who cut my hair is related to the Fredrickson family in our stake!  I went to school with her little brother, Matthew. He's a year older than me. And he played tennis for Orem High... soo we were pretty good friends!

--Saturday was Sister Stewart's birthday and it was a WAY awesome day! :) WE were able to go to the Temple visitors Center with Michi, Nikki and Sister Simmons to watch the Joseph Smith movie... it moved everyone to tears.

Michi was genuinely touched by it. She especially admired the character of Emma. So on the car ride home, we talked a lot about that. I shared my testimony on how I know that Joseph was a prophet of God, and how I also feel with surety that Emma knew he was too. She had to have known God as well as Joseph did in order to have endured all the trials and persecution they went through... and How I admired that she came to know the truth of the Book of Mormon for herself. Michi whole-heartedly agreed with that.

Michi is a very independent, do it her own way, gal. She is very strong too. In fact, she is a lot like Emma Smith.  And I just feel it deep inside, that she WILL come to know this gospel is true. In her own time. And for herself.

Anyway that was a great night.

--We had exchanges this week with our sister training leaders and that was MUCH needed. for all 4 of us.

. Whenever we have exchanges, the sisters give us a little mini "training". Mostly, it just feels like a therapy session to me. And I love them. It's a time to reflect and learn and look inside yourself. And this time, It was such a spiritual experience for me!! I was reminded of lessons that I have learned on my mission, that I had somehow forgotten... many tears were shed. I was just touched by the Spirit. Reminded that I am NOT alone, and that I don't need to feel that way. I know that God is aware of me, and what I'm going through, and I am going through these things for a reason.

I had a mini change of heart that day. Realized, that it's time to stop asking, "Why me? why this? why now?"

And start acknowledging that what I am going through is for my own good, and I need to ask, "What am I to learn from this?"

So I was reminded of the importance of being grateful IN EVERY circumstance!

-- I wrote Sister Stewart a song for her birthday. On the spot. It's pretty darn funny. I'll send a snippet of it!

-- I had the worst head ache of my life. Ever. I thought I was going to die. And I was confined to my room for the day. It was the worst. But I'm alive and well now:)

--I got the valentines package you sent! We love it! Sister Stewart says THANK YOU! :)

-- As a zone we made it a transfer goal to find 70 new investigators... well, as of yesterday we are at 50 new. So that means we have 7 days to find 20 new investigators... So we had a discussion on how we were to accomplish this, and if it was possible.... And I really wish I was better with words. But I am poor in writing. The gist of the story is that the Spirit was SO STRONG in that meeting yesterday, and we are going to find 20 prepared people this week. It isn't  going to be an individual effort either, but the effort of all of us together. TEAM WORK! being ALL in! :) Sister Stewart and I already found 2! woot woot! So here's to a week of miracles!

This week has been just so busy and full and all over the place.

I love being a full-time servant of the Lord.

There is just a wonderful Joy that comes from doing the will of the Lord, and standing as a witness of God at ALL times, and in ALL things and in ALL places!

And guess what?

You can do it TOO!

So get off your butts and go do some missionary work! ;) [[I say that with much love]]

Have a wonderful week!

Love you!

Sister Carly Lewis

Pics

Dinner with Sue!

Temple Visitors Center!

I forgot to wear a hat... and Sue hates it when we don't wear hats... so she gave me this to wear. She's great.