On My Way Out (Week 5)

Kumusta kayo ang mga tao ko!!!!

Before I start I want to wish my brother Aidan a very happy birthday, and wish that the next year for him will be amazing!

This week has flown by! The next time I email you all I'll be in the Philippines! I feel so ready, so excited and so nervous! My lessons have been going well and the devotionals were amazing! Conference was so great to watch. My favorite talk was by Holland when he talked about mothers. It really hit home. I absolutely loved that talk and I also loved when the primary kids sang for conference, it was amazing! The spirit last weekend was amazing it was so uplifting here at the MTC. After conference we had our usual Sunday night devotional which was given by Vocal Point. They really brought the spirit especially when they sang Nearer My God to Thee, it was the last song they sang and by far the most powerful. Monday was an average day with teaching and class. We lost another amazing teacher here because he was needed elsewhere. Tuesday we had our devotional and it was given by the Relief Society President for the whole church Sister Rosemary Wixom. She gave an awesome devotional. Wednesday and Thursday were average but on friday we had in field orientation. We got to teach in English so that was fun and after teaching everything in Tagalog, teaching in English is so easy. We went over different ways to teach people like if we are in the airport or on a bus or in a park, it was a lot of fun. Today so far has been great to, we got to do our temple trip first thing in the morning and I can't thing of a better way to start the day off, it's like I'm on a spiritual high and I don't want it to stop.

I said this earlier, the next time you hear from me will be when I'm in the Philippines. It weird how its been a month and a half. There are days when I wake up and expect to wake up in my own bed back in Lehi. However, I am so glad I am a missionary and that I have the opportunity to serve my Heavenly Father and His son, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The best part of waking up as a missionary is being able to grab my name tag that has Jesus Christ's name on it and put it on. I am so excited to go to the Philippines and teach the people in Laoag. I know that I am needed there and that there are people there that have been prepared for me to teach them and that i will have the opportunity to help prepare others for other missionaries that will come later. I know that this is the true church and that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ and he received revelation to restart Christ Church. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God. I know that everything that happens is for a reason. I know that because of Christ we always have another chance, and that death isn't the end. One of my favorite scriptures this week that I have been ponderizing is Helaman 14:17. It talks about the redeeming power of Christ. I know that because of Christ all things are possible. I love this church and this gospel, and I am so excited for the next part of my mission. Sa pangalan ni Jesucristo, Amen.

Elder Lewis