Esta Semana

Hola familia!




Jael Happy birthday tomorrow! Just so you know I'm sending a card to you in the mail yet you don't have a SUU address so just look for it next time you go home. I love you and am so proud of all the good you are doing with SUU. You are awesome. How is ballroom? Your biology with Jake and Hillary? Say hello to all my friends for me. ;)



Today is going awesome. I got to go to the temple and it was awesome. First off, there was a Thai lady at the temple today that didn't speak English and and needed the session translated. Naturally I was so excited to see a Thai person that I immediately went up and started talking to her. Mom you won't believe this but everytime I tried to say what I wanted to in Thai, Spanish came out instead and she kept looking at me like I was crazy and then I would repeat myself in Thai and all of the sudden she would know what I was saying haha. But then when she realized I spoke some Thai she started speaking way fast and I couldn't understand her anymore lol. So, basically then I just said I had been in Thailand for the summer and it was nice to meet her. But it was cool to talk to someone from Thailand and kinda have a conversation. I bet A.J. is having the time of his life in Thailand right now and I can't believe he has already surpassed me in my language skills. lol



Then after I did a session with the Thai lady, my companion and I went to help with laundry in the basement of the temple. The lady that showed us how to do things spoke spanish so she helped us out by speaking spanish with us and giving us some more practice. It is way awesome. This whole Spanish deal is legit. I think about being here for 5 weeks and I am amazed at how fast the language progresses. My companion and I, Sister Casiano, had an awesome experience on Saturday. As many of you probably know we practice giving lessons to investigators. It's really helpful because many native speakers will come in and voluteer to be taught. Almost all of them are already members but the language is so different when a native is speaking it. Its so helpful. Entonces, my companion and I gave a lesson in the TRC on Saturday as usual. This week however was the first week we were expected to do the full teaching session in Spanish. Not just the contacting part. So we gave a 35 minute lesson on the restoration in SPANISH. I couldn't have done that 5 weeks ago if my life depended on it. Our investigator was Brother Meza. In real life he is from mexico and his mother has a mayan history from guatemala. He is very kind and was really good at being a legit investigator. He listened intensely and asked us many questions so it made it easier to direct the lesson according to the needs of the investigator. I could really feel the spirit. It was interesting to me to know that even though everyone in the room knew it was just practice for us the things we were teaching we could still were true. Our investigator asked the common question of " how do you know we have a prophet of God on the earth today?" My companion shared a powerful testimony of prophets and her witness that she knew Thomas S. Monson was a called prophet of God through the Holy Ghost. Brother Meza's eyes filled up with tears as he heard her words, and then us being girls we all started crying too. It was a very tender experience for all three of us. We talk about prophets every day in the MTC and we study the restoration as part of the lessons on a regular basis; however, as we study as missionaries the lord will fill our mouths with the words we need to say to touch the children of men. The spirit will always testify of truth no matter the situation if you look for it in your life and listen. He later thanked us for our time and service in going out to serve after the lesson. He didn't speak very good English at all so we just continued talking in Spanish. IT's So COOL!! My companion is a lot better at picking up what they are saying but I'm definitely getting better and she helps me out all the time :) I'm learning lots about spanish, myself, and how to unify a successful companionship. It will only continue to be better.



Dad, I don't have my travel plans yet. I head out on that same day... that would be so weird if I bumped into you on at the airport.... I don't know if I could handle it. lol. But what are the chances right? lol. I guess we shall see. If it does then it would be fate. Entonces, congrats on your trip to Japan and your wonderful achievements. I think the Cherry Blossoms will be awesome!



Thanks for the letters, emails, packages. It is so wonderful. I told my district at the beginning my fam didn't believe in packages till Christmas. You sure made a liar out of me. :) I like it. The granola, apples, cherries, etc are DELICIOUS! I love healthy food!



Food for thought with misisonary work: " Give a man a fish, feed him for a day or teach him how to fish and feed him for a lifetime. As missionaries we are not in the fish selling business but teaching. In order to teach you need to know how to catch the fish yourself and have success in reaping your own gospel knowledge. I know this is Gods work and his glory :)



Love you :)



Hermana Lewis