It's snowing! Again.

Well this week went by fast as usual. I am fairly certain that I have said that every week but it really does feel that way this week. This week we were in Rovaniemi for our district meeting with the zone leaders. We decided to go get lunch at a place that sells this burger called the Tosi Miehen Burger which just means the real man burger. It was pretty massive and pretty tasty so I would say that was definitely a culinary highlight for the week. It snowed like four of seven days this week. I was under the impression spring was coming so that was kinda a rude awakening. Everyone here says that it is pretty unusual and should all be gone next week, but I don't know if I believe the hype. 

This last week we have been doing a lot to prepare for our investigator's baptism which is hopefully this weekend. We had a great lesson with her on the priesthood and how we need the authority from our Heavenly Father if we want to act in his name. The priesthood is something that I have come to gain such a strong testimony in. I am so grateful for the examples of righteous priesthood holders that I have been influenced by in my life. 

This week I was reading in the book of Helaman. I love chapter 5 verse 12 which talks about how when we are built upon Christ not even the devil himself can sway us from our beliefs. I like this a lot because when we have a strong testimony in Christ then we understand why we have everything else in the church. When we look the our savior first then we are better able to understand the purpose of everything that we have in the church. I know that as we strengthen out testimonies in Jesus Christ then everything else will fall into place. I don't know everything but I do know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and because of that I will place my trust in him and his church. Thanks for listening 

Elder Lewis

Easter!

Well this week was Easter of course so that was amazing. This week was filled with some really great experiences. One day we were knocking doors and a younger man let us into his apartment to show us the new Easter video. One of his favorite things to do was to work out and oh boy did it show. We were kinda intimidated but we still went in anyways. Things went really well and we actually have another lesson set up with him this week. It showed me that a little confidence can go a long way.  

In preparation for Easter we have decided to make a extremely focused effort to study Christ in our personal studies. I have learned so much from this and I think it has changed how I think about Easter permanently. My favorite scripture that is from the Savior is John 14:27 which says: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." I really like this scripture because it testifies to me about how the peace that we find in the Gospel is so powerful and so different from the peace we feel from other things. I know that this is true and I know that the peace that comes from the Gospel is something that is only found in this church.  Anyways this week was really amazing and things are going well. 

Love

Elder Lewis

Enjoy these pictures of me on Easter

Holy Week

Wow this week has been wild. Well not too wild but just wild enough I would say. This week we found a new investigator. He is a pretty old chap. He was a sailor for 30 years so he's got some seriously crazy stories. I'm pretty sure he has visited most everywhere. Truth be told we don't really understand all of his crazy sailor stories but it is still a good time. His wife died several years ago, so it was really special to teach him about the Plan of Salvation.  

This week we also met with our investigator from Africa. We were in the middle of the lesson and like 6 of her friends started ringing the doorbell. So all the friends came inside and we ended up teaching them all about fasting. Most of them were really religious and they had super strong testimonies of fasting. It was super cool to see them strengthen each other through their testimonies of fasting. We also had the special experience to translate in church for our recent convert and investigator. I am pretty terrible at it, but it is still pretty fun. It is pretty tempting to start making up my own stories but I do what I can. 

This last week we have been able to share our new Easter initiative with people. It is such a power video. Most people don't have time to watch it, but when we do find people who are willing to watch it, the spirit works wonders. I think it is one of my favorite things to watch the spirit work on people right before your eyes. Anyways have a great Easter!

Elder Lewis

This is from our conference montage last P day 

This is me this morning trying not to get too much snow in my eyes

Here comes the sun

This week was pretty crazy if I do say so myself. The sun is out a whole lot more now and everything is starting to melt. There are massive puddles everywhere so I am probably going to try to hydroplane my bike this week. I got a new companion Elder Johnson. He has been out for about 4 months so we will see if we are able to survive with Finnish this transfer. This week we met with this potential investigator who told us that she was from Venus. The meeting went kinda well, we taught her about the Book of Mormon and she liked it, but she also really likes a whole bunch of other religions. We talked about Shamanism and an amazonian tribal religion among other various religions. It was pretty interesting to say the least. We think it might be best to wait for a little bit before going back. 

This week we also got to watch General Conference. It was simply amazing, I didn't know I had it in me to be engaged for multiple sessions of General Conference. We had two investigators come and it was really great. Our one investigator from Africa was silently clapping after some of the talks so we took that as a pretty good sign. Our other investigator came and then left with a member to eat dinner at their house and then came back for another session. We were so grateful for their friendship it really means the world to this person. 

Yesterday we were knocking doors and asking people to share the new Easter Initiative with them. A dad answered and invited us in. We were pretty surprised and super excited. We watched the video with him and his wife and discussed what brings them happiness. It was really amazing, and they were super cool, by the end two of their kids were sitting around the table with us. We talked about families and the joy and peace that they can bring us. We left them with our testimonies and they invited us to come back another time. I was so grateful for my testimony of families and why it is so important that we have families. Shout out to my family.  Anyways it was a great week, thanks everyone, love you

Elder Lewis

This is me waiting for Elder Johnson to get a haircut.

And this is my new companion and me.