Hello!
It was great talking with you on Sunday, although 40 minutes isn't a very long time. That phone call just kind of blended in with all the other phone calls and it already feels like it was a long time ago. Weird.
Speaking of phone calls, I got a phone call from Dixie (David's Dixie) the other day. She heard that David called me so she wanted to talk with me too. She said that they're preparing to go through the temple within the next couple of months and they were wondering if I could be David's escort. So I asked President and he said yes. (!) She also asked if she could get Elder Rodriguez's address. So I asked President and he said that I could call Elder Rodriguez and ask for permission. (!) I've tried to call him a few times but he hasn't picked up yet. But pretty cool huh?
We had zone conference yesterday. It was really good. President and the Assistants and the Zone Leaders trained us for a while. President taught us how to help people keep their commitments to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. He said that it's very unlikely that a person will get baptized if they don't seriously keep that commitment. So he said that we shouldn't move on to the 2nd Lesson if our investigators don't read and pray about the Book of Mormon after the 1st Lesson. Rather, if they neglect to read and pray, we are to read from the Book of Mormon with them during our following visit. He said that the Brethren want us to invite people to read the Book of Mormon in its entirety from the very beginning. President ended zone conference by giving us some post-mission advice. He shared some of the stuff he shares with missionaries during their departing interviews, since he won't get to have that interview with most of us. This basically sums up what he told us: "Happy wife = happy life." Good counsel. He told us a lot of stuff about marrying the right girl at the right place and stuff like that. He said we should tuck all that information away until after the mission. My next interview with President Sexton will be my last.
Bro. Doug Tice received the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday. Elder Cluff and I got to stand in the circle when he was ordained. He'll be passing the sacrament next Sunday.
Elder Cluff and I have been working pretty hard both in and out of the office. We're trying to do our part to find people that can be baptized. We've set goals and we're trying to teach as many people as we can within the time we have.
I don't know if I told you but a family from the Cerritos 1st Ward just moved into the Atherton Ward boundaries recently. They're the Norris family. I visited them just about every week during the seven months I served in Cerritos. Sister Norris was just endowed last fall. She's married to a non-member named Leonard. She has three kids that are semi-active. They were on our "15 families" list. I'm excited to work with them again. Maybe Leonard will decide to get baptized now.
Hey I just got a call back from Elder Rodriguez! Awesome. He's doing good. He's going to BYU like I said and he's taking about 5 classes. He was excited to hear about all that's going on here in the mission. I gave him David & Dixie's address and phone number so he'll be able to contact them now.
Diana came to church again on Sunday. She's under the impression that she needs to take her time before getting baptized. She's talked with a couple converts in our ward and asked them how long they took to get baptized (no! not that question!) and they said "oh, 8 months" or "oh, a year and a half." Blast. You see, there's technically only 4 lessons that proceed baptism. If she takes forever we'll just end up teaching her those 4 lessons over and over and over and over... She just needs to pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true NOW and as soon as she'll accept an answer she'll get the right one! Oh well. We're teaching her again tonight so we'll so how it goes.
I'm hungry and I need to e-mail President now! Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Tyler J. Lewis
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
May 4th, 2010 (Email)
Hello!
Hey I get to talk to you on Sunday! Happy Mother's Day! Here's what we'll do I think. I will call you at 3:00 p.m. your time. That's 2:00 p.m. my time. It'll be fun! Don't get me trunky!
My new companion is Elder Cluff from SLC Utah! Elder Collier was called to be one of the zone leaders for this zone now. He just moved down the street a little bit. So I'll still see him just about every day. He was a great companion. We worked hard, saw some miracles and had fun.
Diana Giminez made it to church again on Sunday. So she's been there twice now. We think that she'll be baptized this month. She hasn't committed to a baptismal date yet but she probably will soon. Our mission has set a goal to have 90 baptisms this month so we need a lot of miracles to happen. Last month we had the most baptisms this mission has ever had: 53. So as you can see 90 is quite a lofty goal. But President said that the Lord revealed that goal to him at the beginning of his mission. We can do it!
The office is still going well. I have plenty of work to do here. I have lots of baptismal records to submit, plenty of letters to write, half of a Relief Society pamphlet to translate, 7 HAM radio maps to create, several Recent Convert reports to update, and probably more. President had me go with another missionary yesterday to take the truck and the giant van through a tiny gas station car wash. Sometimes I just get random things to do like that.
Elder Collier said that I should tell you that we touched the doorknob that touched the hand of the nephew of Elder Christofferson of the Twelve. Apparently Elder Christofferson's nephew attends the Atherton Ward. He's semi-active. We tried to visit him but he wasn't home.
Doug Tice got interviewed by Bishop Kovacs yesterday and he's going to receive the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday! He's just moving forward.
Brother and Sister Minus are moving to St. George to start their own business. They just felt like that's what they're supposed to go do. Bro. Minus is the vice president of some big shipping company down here so he knows a lot about business stuff.
I haven't heard from Elder Rodriguez or David & Dixie lately. I did talk with the institute teacher of David Ramos the other day. He said that David's still talking about going on a mission. And Elder Harris is still the District Leader of the Compton District. He's training for the third time in a row! So he just kind of followed me and did what I did somehow. He's even the District Leader of the same district.
Well I love you all and I look forward to talking with you on Sunday! Until then
Love,
Elder Tyler J. Lewis
Hey I get to talk to you on Sunday! Happy Mother's Day! Here's what we'll do I think. I will call you at 3:00 p.m. your time. That's 2:00 p.m. my time. It'll be fun! Don't get me trunky!
My new companion is Elder Cluff from SLC Utah! Elder Collier was called to be one of the zone leaders for this zone now. He just moved down the street a little bit. So I'll still see him just about every day. He was a great companion. We worked hard, saw some miracles and had fun.
Diana Giminez made it to church again on Sunday. So she's been there twice now. We think that she'll be baptized this month. She hasn't committed to a baptismal date yet but she probably will soon. Our mission has set a goal to have 90 baptisms this month so we need a lot of miracles to happen. Last month we had the most baptisms this mission has ever had: 53. So as you can see 90 is quite a lofty goal. But President said that the Lord revealed that goal to him at the beginning of his mission. We can do it!
The office is still going well. I have plenty of work to do here. I have lots of baptismal records to submit, plenty of letters to write, half of a Relief Society pamphlet to translate, 7 HAM radio maps to create, several Recent Convert reports to update, and probably more. President had me go with another missionary yesterday to take the truck and the giant van through a tiny gas station car wash. Sometimes I just get random things to do like that.
Elder Collier said that I should tell you that we touched the doorknob that touched the hand of the nephew of Elder Christofferson of the Twelve. Apparently Elder Christofferson's nephew attends the Atherton Ward. He's semi-active. We tried to visit him but he wasn't home.
Doug Tice got interviewed by Bishop Kovacs yesterday and he's going to receive the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday! He's just moving forward.
Brother and Sister Minus are moving to St. George to start their own business. They just felt like that's what they're supposed to go do. Bro. Minus is the vice president of some big shipping company down here so he knows a lot about business stuff.
I haven't heard from Elder Rodriguez or David & Dixie lately. I did talk with the institute teacher of David Ramos the other day. He said that David's still talking about going on a mission. And Elder Harris is still the District Leader of the Compton District. He's training for the third time in a row! So he just kind of followed me and did what I did somehow. He's even the District Leader of the same district.
Well I love you all and I look forward to talking with you on Sunday! Until then
Love,
Elder Tyler J. Lewis
Monday, May 3, 2010
April 27th, 2010 (Email)
Hi!
Doug Tice was baptized and confirmed this weekend! It was a miracle. About 50 or so people came to the baptism. I gave a talk about, well, baptism. Bro. Tice's home teacher, Bishop Thompson, baptized him on Saturday and then Elder Collier confirmed him on Sunday. They've both been working with Bro. Tice for a long time. I came into this ward at just the right time. I got to see a good chunk of the spectrum of Bro. Tice's conversion-- from cynical to stagnant to unsure to "probably" to faithful to baptized! It was a great experience teaching him and watching him decide to take, as he put it, "the plunge." Elder Collier said that this experience has been the highlight of his mission.
Bro. Tice's baptism wasn't the only miracle of the weekend. Do you remember me telling you about the Cordova family that Elder Beverley and I found and taught in Paramount? Alejandro, Beatriz, Tanya and Alejandro (Jr.) Cordova. They're from Mexico and when we found them they said that they'd met with missionaries over there. Well, last week I was pondering about them and reviewing how Elder Beverley and I found them. I concluded that we were definitely led by the Spirit. They live in a random alley on the edge of one of the more well-to-do neighborhoods in Paramount. I remember feeling impressed that we were supposed to find someone along the strip of streets that they happened to live on. They were between some of the last streets that we knocked there. We started teaching them in spanish and they ended up coming to church the first week we invited them. They didn't commit to be baptized right from the start because they said that once they committed they'd really go through with it. We were pleased with that response-- it's the attitude found in more dedicated converts. They enjoyed their first experience at church even though the majority of the ward is english. We taught them for a few weeks and then I got transferred out of the area. Well, this weekend Elder Dunn (former mission secretary) and Elder Haskell baptized THE WHOLE FAMILY! That's a miracle. I'm so happy about that! Out of all the areas I've served in I kind of felt that my work in Paramount seemed the most incomplete. I felt like most of my work was directed towards serving the other missionaries. But now with the baptisms of Helen Seabolt and the Cordova family I can more clearly see what the Lord sent me and Elder Twiss and Elder Beverley to do in Paramount.
Diana Giminez tried to go to Bro. Tice's baptism but she was late and she felt embarrassed so she didn't walk in. She also tried to go to church but she was running late that morning too. She called and apologized to us and explained that she hates being tardy. She said that she wasn't rejecting us and that she still wants to keep learning. She's awesome.
Michelle also didn't make it to church again. She explained some personal stuff that's holding her back. We still have faith that if we keep being persistent she'll make it.
This is Elder Collier's last week here. He's finishing his 5th transfer as the Financial Secretary. He'll get to go back to full-time field work next week. President Sexton called his replacement last night. My new companion, whoever he is, will start getting trained here tomorrow.
Wow! You're going to a lot of concerts this summer! Fun. That's awesome that you all keep running. Keep it up! I'm starting to get cramps in my side while running in the morning. I think I'm trying to run too fast. I was just thinking about my SD card the other day. I don't need it yet but I'm relieved you have it. I forgot all about it and was wondering whether I'd lost it or something.
I'm reading the war chapters in the Book of Mormon now. In the past I struggled with the war chapters. I still do to a degree but I'm starting to understand their purpose more clearly. I relate it to the spiritual warfare going on today. I liken captain Moroni to Christ, the Captain of our salvation, and the Lamanites to the adversary. Here's something edifying to study: read Alma 43:15-21 and compare it with 1Nephi 14:12-14.
Here's the majority of the talk I gave at Bro. Tice's baptism: Mosiah 21:30-35. I focused on priesthood authority. Here's something interesting I learned- in verse 30 it says the word "strength." In D&C 113 the Lord clarifies that the word strength refers to the priesthood.
Well, I'm off to lunch. Love you!
Elder Tyler J. Lewis
Bonus Email
Okay, so we just went and had lunch with Brother and Sister Minus again. This time we went to a restaurant in the Queen Mary. I haven't been over there since the summer of 2008! Elder Collier and I had fish and chips. Anyway, if we're going to St. George in October we've gotta go visit Bro. & Sis. Minus. They'll be moving up there in July. They're going to live up on the hill by the In-N-Out Burger.
Hey could you tell Justin that if I don't write him a letter today I'll write him one next week. I haven't forgotten about him! He's e-mailed me a few times now but I just haven't found time these past couple weeks to sit down and write a bunch of letters.
Hasta luego!
Love,
Tyler
Doug Tice was baptized and confirmed this weekend! It was a miracle. About 50 or so people came to the baptism. I gave a talk about, well, baptism. Bro. Tice's home teacher, Bishop Thompson, baptized him on Saturday and then Elder Collier confirmed him on Sunday. They've both been working with Bro. Tice for a long time. I came into this ward at just the right time. I got to see a good chunk of the spectrum of Bro. Tice's conversion-- from cynical to stagnant to unsure to "probably" to faithful to baptized! It was a great experience teaching him and watching him decide to take, as he put it, "the plunge." Elder Collier said that this experience has been the highlight of his mission.
Bro. Tice's baptism wasn't the only miracle of the weekend. Do you remember me telling you about the Cordova family that Elder Beverley and I found and taught in Paramount? Alejandro, Beatriz, Tanya and Alejandro (Jr.) Cordova. They're from Mexico and when we found them they said that they'd met with missionaries over there. Well, last week I was pondering about them and reviewing how Elder Beverley and I found them. I concluded that we were definitely led by the Spirit. They live in a random alley on the edge of one of the more well-to-do neighborhoods in Paramount. I remember feeling impressed that we were supposed to find someone along the strip of streets that they happened to live on. They were between some of the last streets that we knocked there. We started teaching them in spanish and they ended up coming to church the first week we invited them. They didn't commit to be baptized right from the start because they said that once they committed they'd really go through with it. We were pleased with that response-- it's the attitude found in more dedicated converts. They enjoyed their first experience at church even though the majority of the ward is english. We taught them for a few weeks and then I got transferred out of the area. Well, this weekend Elder Dunn (former mission secretary) and Elder Haskell baptized THE WHOLE FAMILY! That's a miracle. I'm so happy about that! Out of all the areas I've served in I kind of felt that my work in Paramount seemed the most incomplete. I felt like most of my work was directed towards serving the other missionaries. But now with the baptisms of Helen Seabolt and the Cordova family I can more clearly see what the Lord sent me and Elder Twiss and Elder Beverley to do in Paramount.
Diana Giminez tried to go to Bro. Tice's baptism but she was late and she felt embarrassed so she didn't walk in. She also tried to go to church but she was running late that morning too. She called and apologized to us and explained that she hates being tardy. She said that she wasn't rejecting us and that she still wants to keep learning. She's awesome.
Michelle also didn't make it to church again. She explained some personal stuff that's holding her back. We still have faith that if we keep being persistent she'll make it.
This is Elder Collier's last week here. He's finishing his 5th transfer as the Financial Secretary. He'll get to go back to full-time field work next week. President Sexton called his replacement last night. My new companion, whoever he is, will start getting trained here tomorrow.
Wow! You're going to a lot of concerts this summer! Fun. That's awesome that you all keep running. Keep it up! I'm starting to get cramps in my side while running in the morning. I think I'm trying to run too fast. I was just thinking about my SD card the other day. I don't need it yet but I'm relieved you have it. I forgot all about it and was wondering whether I'd lost it or something.
I'm reading the war chapters in the Book of Mormon now. In the past I struggled with the war chapters. I still do to a degree but I'm starting to understand their purpose more clearly. I relate it to the spiritual warfare going on today. I liken captain Moroni to Christ, the Captain of our salvation, and the Lamanites to the adversary. Here's something edifying to study: read Alma 43:15-21 and compare it with 1Nephi 14:12-14.
Here's the majority of the talk I gave at Bro. Tice's baptism: Mosiah 21:30-35. I focused on priesthood authority. Here's something interesting I learned- in verse 30 it says the word "strength." In D&C 113 the Lord clarifies that the word strength refers to the priesthood.
Well, I'm off to lunch. Love you!
Elder Tyler J. Lewis
Bonus Email
Okay, so we just went and had lunch with Brother and Sister Minus again. This time we went to a restaurant in the Queen Mary. I haven't been over there since the summer of 2008! Elder Collier and I had fish and chips. Anyway, if we're going to St. George in October we've gotta go visit Bro. & Sis. Minus. They'll be moving up there in July. They're going to live up on the hill by the In-N-Out Burger.
Hey could you tell Justin that if I don't write him a letter today I'll write him one next week. I haven't forgotten about him! He's e-mailed me a few times now but I just haven't found time these past couple weeks to sit down and write a bunch of letters.
Hasta luego!
Love,
Tyler
April 20th, 2010 (Email)
Hello!
I just got back from the temple! We went to the Newport Beach Temple again. It's been a whole year since the last time I went there. Last year I went with President Davis from the Buena Park Ward. I saw Pres. Davis working at the veil this morning-- he was my veil worker. This time we went with Brother and Sister Minus (ward mission leaders). This was Bro. Minus' second time going through the temple. He just got endowed last month so it was a special experience with him. He went through for his dad, Sister Minus went through for his mom, and Elder Collier and I went through for his two brothers. We did initiatories, the endowment session, and the sealing for his family. It was a sacred experience to be able to help Brother Minus do the work for his family. The blessings of the temple are awesome. I paid close attention to the blessings pronounced in each ordinance.
Doug Tice is going to be interviewed by President Sexton tonight. His baptism will happen this Saturday. That's a miracle. I believe that all of the elders that have worked with Bro. Tice these past couple years are aware and excited about his baptism-- Elder Rada, Elder Nielson, Elder Anderson, and so on and so forth.
One of our new investigators named Diana Giminez came to church on Sunday. She was referred to us from Church Headquarters. She's amazing. She's really sincere and honest. When she accepts a commitment she keeps it. When we asked her to read the introduction to the Book of Mormon she went ahead and read the introduction, the testimonies of the witnesses, and most of the excerpt of the Joseph Smith History. And all we'd asked her to read was the little intro page. She was right on time for our first appointment with her a couple weeks ago. And when we invited her to church last week she told us she'd come with her 5 year old son and that she'd be there a little early because she didn't want to be late. And she did just that. She hasn't accepted our invitation to be baptized quite yet (wants to learn more first) but we know that when she does she'll go through with it.
Michelle Luper didn't go to church again. :( She's going at a slower pace than we thought she would. She'll come around though. We just need to be persistent.
I caught up again in the office. The first half of the transfer is way busier than the second for me. President Sexton gave me another odd job yesterday to keep me busy. I need to track down all the HAM Radios for each stake in the mission and then make maps of where those radios are in relation to the missionaries' apartments. It's an emergency plan thing just in case we have a natural disaster or something. Probably earthquake preparation.
Well, we're going to go have lunch with Brother and Sister Minus somewhere down by Seal Beach. Hope you all have a delightful day and a wonderful week!
ba-bye!
Love
Elder Tyler J. Lewis
I just got back from the temple! We went to the Newport Beach Temple again. It's been a whole year since the last time I went there. Last year I went with President Davis from the Buena Park Ward. I saw Pres. Davis working at the veil this morning-- he was my veil worker. This time we went with Brother and Sister Minus (ward mission leaders). This was Bro. Minus' second time going through the temple. He just got endowed last month so it was a special experience with him. He went through for his dad, Sister Minus went through for his mom, and Elder Collier and I went through for his two brothers. We did initiatories, the endowment session, and the sealing for his family. It was a sacred experience to be able to help Brother Minus do the work for his family. The blessings of the temple are awesome. I paid close attention to the blessings pronounced in each ordinance.
Doug Tice is going to be interviewed by President Sexton tonight. His baptism will happen this Saturday. That's a miracle. I believe that all of the elders that have worked with Bro. Tice these past couple years are aware and excited about his baptism-- Elder Rada, Elder Nielson, Elder Anderson, and so on and so forth.
One of our new investigators named Diana Giminez came to church on Sunday. She was referred to us from Church Headquarters. She's amazing. She's really sincere and honest. When she accepts a commitment she keeps it. When we asked her to read the introduction to the Book of Mormon she went ahead and read the introduction, the testimonies of the witnesses, and most of the excerpt of the Joseph Smith History. And all we'd asked her to read was the little intro page. She was right on time for our first appointment with her a couple weeks ago. And when we invited her to church last week she told us she'd come with her 5 year old son and that she'd be there a little early because she didn't want to be late. And she did just that. She hasn't accepted our invitation to be baptized quite yet (wants to learn more first) but we know that when she does she'll go through with it.
Michelle Luper didn't go to church again. :( She's going at a slower pace than we thought she would. She'll come around though. We just need to be persistent.
I caught up again in the office. The first half of the transfer is way busier than the second for me. President Sexton gave me another odd job yesterday to keep me busy. I need to track down all the HAM Radios for each stake in the mission and then make maps of where those radios are in relation to the missionaries' apartments. It's an emergency plan thing just in case we have a natural disaster or something. Probably earthquake preparation.
Well, we're going to go have lunch with Brother and Sister Minus somewhere down by Seal Beach. Hope you all have a delightful day and a wonderful week!
ba-bye!
Love
Elder Tyler J. Lewis
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
April 13th, 2010 (Bonus)
Hm... it looks like I have more time. Elder Collier takes longer to e-mail than I do. So I'll extend my e-mail.
Well, Michelle Luper is struggling with coming to church. I was studying the Book of Mormon a few days ago and I came across this verse: Alma 21:23. While reading that I received a strong impression that we need to contact Michelle daily and exhort her, "with all diligence", to keep her commitments. I have faith that she'll start progressing if we keep encouraging her and teaching her "concerning things pertaining to righteousness."
Gee I'm hungry now.
Have a dandy afternoon!
Love,
Tyler
Well, Michelle Luper is struggling with coming to church. I was studying the Book of Mormon a few days ago and I came across this verse: Alma 21:23. While reading that I received a strong impression that we need to contact Michelle daily and exhort her, "with all diligence", to keep her commitments. I have faith that she'll start progressing if we keep encouraging her and teaching her "concerning things pertaining to righteousness."
Gee I'm hungry now.
Have a dandy afternoon!
Love,
Tyler
