Transferred!

So I got transferred. I am now in Pagudpud. It is really great here. We have some really great investigators and we plan to have them baptized in December so we are excited. I am right next to Claveria, one of my old areas, and I actually got to see and talk to the members on Sunday because we had District Conference. Wika, my recent convert, is doing really well and is still super active. It made me so happy to hear that. At the conference we got to hear from ELder Tobias one of the Area Authority Seventy here in the Philippines. It was awesome to hear from him.

Sadly we were not able to hear from President or Sister Andrada because they had to go to Manila for a very important reason. Their family is going through a difficult time right now so please keep them in your prayers.

My new companion is Elder Erguiza. He trained Elder Jones from my District back in the MTC. Me and him get along great. Also Elder Pamaran, one of my old companions, is now my zone leader. So it's great here.

Mahal na mahal ko kayo at alam ko na, na itong "work" ay totoo siya. Salamat sa inyo para lahat. Ito yung totoong simbahan. Alam ko yun.

Elder Lewis
Philippines Laoag Mission
Choose Joy

Challenge from Elder Lewis

This is from Elder Lewis' letter below. He's issued a challenge to all of us. You can read the entire letter posted below the latest pictures. 

I want everyone to do two things: One choose to live joyfully. No one can take that from you. and Two: Live life with no regrets. When you are older you don't want to look back and think to yourself "What if.." Do everything you can while you can do it. A quote that my Zone Leader, Elder Fainu, shared with us is, "Did you leave it all on the field today?"

Pictures of Dylan

A little reunion during the Typhoon Lawin evacuation in Laoag.

 Elder DeLeon, Elder Pati-on, and Elder Lewis

The view from Elder Lewis' apartment

News from Dylan

So it has been quite a while. A lot has happened recently. I'm still in Sta Ana and I am loving it. We have been having a lot of meeting recently and I have been exchanges quite a bit recently too. The mission has been amazing.

Right now we have been trying to focus on the Less Active that live in Sta Ana, there are over four hundred of them so finding all of them and getting to know them has been amazing. We are also trying to expand our teaching pool here by finding new investigators. Sta Ana is great, the people here are super nice the only problem is that the get offended really easily so when they get offended they stop coming to church.

Me and my companion have been doing alright, we have been working through some problems that we have been having recently and it has been getting better between us but it's not quite where we want it. Always room for improvement.

I want everyone to do two things: One choose to live joyfully. No one can take that from you. and Two: Live life with no regrets. When you are older you don't want to look back and think to yourself "What if.." Do everything you can while you can do it. A quote that my Zone Leader, Elder Fainu, shared with us is, "Did you leave it all on the field today?"

Mahal na mahal kita at alam ko na itong simbahan ay totoo. Maingat kayo sa inyong buhay.

Elder Lewis
Philippines Laoag Mission
Choose Joy

Proof of Life

Miracles and blessings surround missionaries and their loved ones. One of the miracles we received came from a Facebook post from a member of the Laoag Branch in the Philippines – PROOF OF LIFE. We are very grateful for the many blessings and answered prayers.

That's Elder Lewis in the back corner - smiling as always. 

Elder Lewis is rubbing his face with his back to us, but I would recognize him anywhere. 

Super Typhoon Lawin

On October 19, 2016, Super Typhoon Lawin made landfall in the Philippines. The Philippines have their own weather center and have different names for the tropical storms that affect their island. What we call Super Typhoon Haima, they refer to as Super Typhoon Lawin. 

We are grateful for the mission president and his wife, President and Mrs. Andrada. They are thoughtful and caring and make sure every missionary is safe. I know that the Lord watches over his missionaries and blesses them and those around them. We are feel the miracles of the Lord. 

I have learned more about typhoons than I ever thought I would. I watched with the world the blessings and miracles of many prayers for the safety of the people of the Philippines. Part of what made this super typhoon so dangerous was the very clearly defined eye at the center. The eye of the storm was causing the winds to increase raising it to a Category 5 Super Typhoon with winds up to 315 kilometers per hour (195 mph). Just as the Super Typhoon was set to make landfall in the Cagayan Province (where Elder Lewis lives), the eye collapsed dropping the winds dramatically. When the Super Typhoon made landfall in Cagayan Province it had dropped to a Category 4. 

Being hit by a Category 4 Typhoon is still deadly. More than 7 eastern provinces are without power and it may be several weeks before power is restored. But we know that the Lord watches over his missionaries. The missionaries in the low lying or coastline areas were evacuated to a hotel across the street from the mission home – 84 missionaries in all. The army of missionaries spent their time putting together relief goods for those affected by the storm. After several days, the missionaries returned to their homes to start the work of cleaning up and serving those in need. 

Super Typhoon Lawin - Category 5

NASA's analysis of the Super Typhoon

Cagayan Province after Super Typhoon Lawin

After the storm

Pictures from Claveria

Just being us. Elder Lewis and Elder Pati-on.

Some of Claveria Branch

Shipping to the Philippines?

Santa Ana

So it's been a while since I wrote a big email but recently it has been really good. Sta. Ana is amazing and is really progressing. My companion, Elder Pamaran, is an amazing companion. We get along really well. I have met some really amazing people here. One of our investigators brings his friends to church with him and his mom, who is also an investigator, is always inviting people to come and listen to us.

Remember that God isn't ever the reason bad things happen. Bad things happen because no one is perfect. We need to look past the negativity in our lives and look more toward the positive things that happen. Not only will we be happier but we will see more of the love our Heavenly Father has for us. We are His children and He loves us more than we will ever understand. Let's all show love and kindness to those around us, especially to the people that seem to always be angry and mean, they need it the most. Remember when it comes down to it we get to choose whether or not we are happy, we also get to decide or destiny. If you want things to change in your life, then you need to do your part for the change to come. Mahal na mahal ko kayo at alam ko na mahal na mahal kayo ng Diyos, ingat po kayo huwag kayong kalimutan 'yan.

Elder Lewis

It's Been Awhile...Elder Lewis has been Very Busy

So it's been a bit since I emailed. My companion became sick and he was confined to the hospital so since I need to be with him I stayed with him. Other than that it has been good recently. Our investigators are doing well, and we had a baptism last Saturday. Took me about a year but I got one. I sent a picture, she is the one right beside me in it. She is a great investigator, both her older siblings are members and she was super excited to be baptized the day we started teaching her.

Everything here is good. I am having a great time and am super happy here. The Elders in my apartment are great and a blast to be with. The branch is doing well we are super close with them and working with them is great. We have some great new investigators, one has a testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and we have only taught him twice. He told us he knows the church is true and he wants to be baptized. The best is he goes by Louis so me and him have almost the same name.

I love you all and remember to choose joy :D

Elder Lewis

Wika's Baptism

Everyone together

Me, My investigator, two members and the District President

Zone activity

Zone activity - Elder Pati-on

Zone activity - resort

It's Been Awhile

Sorry that it's been awhile. I am doing so well here and out investigators are really doing well. We had two come to church yesterday and they loved it. They have been before and so far they really love it. We have almost finished the lessons with them and they should be baptized in the next few weeks so we are so excited for them. My old trainee, Elder Pati-on, is now in Claveria with us and we are having a lot of fun being together again.

To everyone back home, I love you all so much and I want all of you to know that a mission, no matter how hard, how stressful, or how upsetting at times can be, will always be worth it. The ability to see people you love change and the ability to grow close and meet Our Heavenly Fathers children is the most amazing experience. To those preparing to go, (Evan( yes shout out bro)) right before you leave I promise there will be so many things stopping you but I promise you that when you go it will be more than worth it. Nothing in life will ever compare to a mission. Now those that just started, you got a ways ahead of you. A way of fun, excitement and love

Never lose hope on anyone, no one is too far out of reach and everyone deserves another chance. Failure leads to success, defeat leads to victory. I love you all so much. Remember that, and remember that you can do anything you put your mind too, including the impossible, because impossible is just a word.

   Elder Lewis
   Philippines Laoag Mission

Hike on P-day

Sister Missionaries and Elder Pati-on

Investigator

This is my investigator and Sister Hammond and me. Her name is Rika (she's 9) and she would not let go of my hand, we walked her and her siblings home from church yesterday, she asked if I could baptize her. So many missionaries have tried to teach her but she listened to me and elder montojo, it's awesome.

Work Hard, Play Hard

So this last week was a lot of and a lot of work. We attended a birthday party and did a lot of teaching. We studied like crazy and got to know our investigators even better so we can truly help them. Next week we should be able to baptize two of them and the best part is they are both part of part member families so we are helping unite families. The amount of joy I feel when I am with them is unlike anything else. Both of them are super excited to be baptized also so it is great!

We got together with some of our fellow shippers earlier today to play volleyball. It was a blast and of course my team won. We are getting really close with the members here and we even got a whole family to come to church together for the first time in a while and they were so happy when they were there. I love this work and I am so grateful for my opportunity to be a missionary for my Heavenly Father. I love Him and He loves me, and He loves every single person on Earth.

-Elder Lewis

Progression (Father's Day Week)

So things have been really good so far. We have a progressing investigator name JR who is the brother of a member. He is really great and he had a good time at church with us. I can not wait to keep teaching him. We have also been making progress with another investigator who also has siblings that are members. She has refused the lessons to every other missionary that has been assigned here but she want to take the lessons with us.

We got to attend the wedding of the sisters investigators. They will be getting married this week. Its been a really happy time recently. I am loving the work, I can understand people when they speak Tagalog which is way helpful now and I am getting better at speaking the language.

Happy Fathers Day to my Dad and to my Grandpas. I can honestly say I have the greatest dad in the world. He has taught me so much and because of him I was able to be more ready for the challenges that I could face in life. I am so grateful for my Dad and all he does for me. I am also grateful for my Heavenly Father and all he does for me. He gives me trials and challenges so that I can grow and I am so grateful for that. Trials should really be called future blessings because that is what they are.

I love all of you so much and remember that we get to choose whether we want to live life joyfully or not, that is part of our agency.

Love,

Elder Lewis

New Companion

So last week we had transfers. My new companion is Elder Montojo. He is from the southern part of the Philippines. We have some new really amazing investigators that when we taught them the first time and invited them to be baptized they told us yes. We only have one problem, they are going to school in Laoag until June 26 so they are only in Claveria every once in a while. Other than that things have been pretty good here. We have been working with some of the youth and they have been really great at helping us.

We also had a miracle happen. So we were in our furthest area working and a ride there is about 30 minutes. Only we had now ride because it was getting dark. Then this random person gives us a ride for a bit then we were walking again. Now it's getting pretty dark and then we go to flag down a tricycle driver when this car pulls up next to us and they offer us a ride. Turns out the driver use to be a mission president and just so happened to be heading to Laoag. So he gave us a ride to Claveria and we had no problems from there. I know that the lord watches out for his missionaries and that if we have faith in Him, He will provide us with miracles when we need them. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Elder Lewis

New Life (last week)

So recently it has been pretty good. We have three new investigators and they are really great. It's been kind of sad around here recently. One of the sister missionaries here goes back home this week. As well as two of my old Zone Leaders. It's weird that they are going home. We had a lot of dinner appointments this last week. So much that we only ate at home once or twice. We also had District Conference again this week so we got to hear from President and Sister Andrada as well as see the other missionaries in our zone.

So this week is transfer week again and I am getting a new companion. I'll put more about him next week.

This week will definitely be interesting, I'm nervous but excited. Life is like a roller coaster, it's fun to watch other people go on it but even better to experience it for yourself.

I know this is the true church and I am so glad I am a missionary. It's not always the easiest but for every moment that it is hard, the moments when it is good it makes up for everything. I love my mission and I can't see myself anywhere else right now.

Elder Lewis

A Really Good Week

This last week was a really good week. We went on exchanges with our Zone Leaders. I went with Elder Erbito and we had a lot of really good conversations. I got to hear about how his life was before the mission and he is a really great missionary. When we were out we found a new investigator and taught him Lesson One. His name is Roger, his religion is Iglesia ni Cristo. We taught him and he had a lot of questions so we are excited to go back and teach him. We hope and pray that he will be receptive to us. We have ran into a few problems with some of our less actives also, they have been having a rough time with the Word of Wisdom. We are working especially hard with them because we really want to see them go to the temple.

One thing that I have really gained an appreciation for is the atonement and the sacrament. How lucky we are to be able to go to church every week and renew our covenants and also to be cleansed from our sins and faults. I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. How I want to be like Him. To have a perfect love for all the people on Earth no matter what. He is the master teacher and the perfect example. I know my redeemer lives and because of Him we all will live again. Change isn't easy but through the atonement of Christ it becomes easier for us to change and to become the person we are truly meant to be. We all go through challenges and trials, we have times where we want to quit, to stop trying to go home early. When we went to teach Roger, I thought about just going to the next house because he isn't ever home. I am glad I still went because we were able to teach him and get to know him and to share with him God's Plan for him. I know God has a plan for all of us, He loves us. My mom shared with me something she learned from a sunbeam. "Jesus Christ loves us and we love him." A General Authority once said, "The Gospel of Jesus Christ is beautifully simple and simply beautiful." I know that to be true, so my invitation to all that read this is to change something in your life and become closer to Christ and God. Take it one step at a time and soon you will be the person you are meant to be. I leave this with you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Elder Lewis

Happy Mother's Day from Dylan

Mother's Day

Today I got to skype home and speak with my family and I am so grateful for that opportunity. We had a really good week last week, we got to hear from the Area Seventy Presidency and then we sang to the Claveria Branch for mothers day.

Happy Mothers Day to all mothers out there but especially to my Mom. Mothers are so important and I was lucky enough to be born to the best mom ever. Listen to your mom because she knows how to help.

Ingat kayo,

Elder Lewis

Time of my Life (from last week)

This last week was way fast. I had so much fun this last week. We went to some far areas of ours to teach and it was great. We also got to teach with two return missionaries so our lessons went really well. I was able to see some new techniques on teaching so it was a lot of fun! Work is getting pretty difficult due to it being harvesting season. Most of our areas are full of fields so we teach a lot of farmers. They are all amazing and so humble and very receptive, the only problem is that they are all so busy right now.

A crazy thing that have happened: We rode on top of a Jeepnee on the highway, it was safe and a lot of fun. Then when we moved to the inside there was a bucket full of fish that were still alive and the water was spilling all over the place. We also rode with live chickens in a jeepnee once. It was awesome. Also lighting struck really close to our house the the whole house shook, the best part was there wasn't even any rain. I love the Philippines!

Everyday we get to meet new people and learning about them is one of the greatest parts of the mission. I love getting to know people and hear about their lives. Talking to people is so much fun. Another thing that I love is that I learn new things when I teach people. Each time I teach I learn something new and teaching also helps me really feel the spirit. I love being a missionary!

This is the true church, I know that without a doubt. I am so glad I am a member of this church. Alam ko na mahal na mahal tayo ni Jesucristo at ni Ama sa Langit.

Mahal ko kayo!

Elder Lewis

Claveria!!

Kumusta po kayo!! So I am now in Claveria and it is so beautiful here! We have the jungle on one side of us and the ocean on the other side and everything is so green! My new companion is Elder Macarilay and he is from Salt Lake so malapit siya sa akin. We share our apartment with Elders Lee and Arangali. They are way cool. The members here are so awesome and everyone else here is so nice and way receptive. We are able to get a lot of lessons done in a week.

We have been teaching a lot of less actives recently and it has been paying off. They came to church so we are going to continue working with them. We got four new investigators this week so hopefully we can help them progress. Half seemed to be kind of interested and the other one wasn't really that interested but we are going to keep working with them and see what happens.

I can't wait to see what happens here,

Elder Lewis

Leaving Sinait

So I am transferring, my new area is a place called Claveria. I only hear good things about it so I am excited to start my next adventure there. I am going to miss Sinait but I know where I am going is where I need to be.

This last week was pretty average and not a lot stuck out. I did learn how important members are though. Not just as people to work with but also people to be with. Everyone has a story and what I spent my last week trying to do was hear people's stories and all about them. I found a greater appreciation for those around me and for what I have been blessed with in my life. 

Life is hard and we all go through trials. That is the point of life though. We have to have a bad day to know what a good day is. I am grateful for my challenges and trials because I can really see my blessings because of them. I am grateful for my opportunity to be a missionary and to be in the Philippines. I love the people here and I can't wait to meet more people and learn about them and their experiences.

Elder Lewis

Life is Good (letter from last week)

So this last week I was able to watch conference and it was such an amazing experience to watch it with the members here. The spirit was absolutely amazing. I loved how Holland ended conference, in my opinion there could not have been a better ending. I was also able to go on exchanges this last week with an amerikano missionary.  It was a lot of fun and we were able to attend a Branch Family home evening. We helped participate and it was so much fun. I got to spend a lot of time with the members this week and they are probably my favorite people. The faith that they have is so extraordinary.

Our week other than that was pretty average. We didn't get as many lessons as we wanted but we are hopeful for this week and I am excited to get to work. I love this place. They have saying here in the Philippines, "It's more fun in the Philippines." They don't lie about that. This place is a blast and the people here are so kind and are so humble. A lot of people here don't have the most amazing things but what they do have they are grateful for and they are so happy. I hope I can always be like them.

I love you all,

Elder Lewis

Still smiling

One of the blessing I have been receiving constantly comes from teaching. When I am teaching whether it be in church, teaching investigators or just teaching in district meeting, is that I end up learning so much more. I go in with a lesson plan and then even though I know the material or know what to say I learn something brand new and I get uplifted spiritual so much.

This week we also had and investigator come to church so we are super excited to go and teach her some more and hopefully she will come back to church, she has some friends that are members so we are really hopeful.

Every day and every week is becoming faster and better. We met some new people when we were out finding and we are excited to go and teach them some more. We haven't been able to watch conference yet because it is not broadcast to us until the week after conference. So this weekend we get to go and watch it and I am so excited to hear from the great men and women that will be speaking. Conference is always uplifting and another great thing about conference is we can also read them over and over again to keep learning. My commitment to all of you this week is to go back and read not just this last conference talks but also study older talks too. I know we can learn a lot from them and the scriptures. I can't wait to watch conference this week. Remember to choose to be joyful and that life is good if you choice to see it that way.

Elder Lewis

Pictures from the Baptism

Heaven on Earth

This last week had to have been the best week of my whole life. Elder Pati-on and I had the opportunity to baptize the investigators of the Sister missionaries in our Branch. We held it at the ocean and on the beach and it was the most spiritual and joyful experience. The joy that you could see on the investigators faces was amazing and the spirit was so powerful. It is a day and a moment that I will never forget.

I know that this is the true church and that living the gospel brings joy. I have seen that in my life and the life of others. Let us remember what Christ did for us. Because of his atonement we all have another chance to return back to Heavenly Father and we can over come any challenge that we face. Life is meant to challenge us and give us trials because that is how we grow and learn and become stronger. Don't see your trials as trials but see them as future blessings.

I love you all, and thank you all for everything.

Elder Lewis

Pictures

Baptism Service, Sister Lhea

Dinner with the Rafanan family

Spider as big as my hand that came into the apartment

​Family Home Evening with the Rafanan Family

Easter

Kumusta po kayo? This last week was great. We went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders this week and it was so much fun. I got to spend all of Wednesday in Cabugao and it was a lot of fun. This week we also found some new investigators with a lot of potential. We didn't get to work with the members as much as we wanted but we have this week to do all the work with members we can.

One of the investigators is a 15 year old boy named Sunny and the other is a man just over thirty that is a professional painter for the city of Sinait. They are both very receptive and so we can't wait to get to teach them.

Not a whole lot else happened this week it was just a pretty average week. However this Sunday is Easter. Easter is such an amazing holiday because it is all about the resurrection of Christ and his atonement. One of my favorite videos the church has put out is about the Resurrection of Christ. It is called Because of Him. So I would like to extend a challenge to all of you, I want you all to watch that video and think deeply about what the atonement means to you. To me it means "pagbabago" or "changing" every second of every day we have the opportunity to change our selves and make our selves better. I know that the only way back to our Heavenly Father is by using the Atonement of Christ to repent and become better. Sa pangalan ni Jesucristo Amen.

Love,

Elder Lewis

Exchanges

Out finding on exchanges

Walking across a dam

Out finding on exchanges

We walked across a dam on exchanges

Hard Work Pays Off

So over the last few weeks it seemed like all the hard work we had been putting in on getting the less active members to come back to church wasn't getting anywhere. Yesterday however we saw the payoff of our work. We had many less active members come to church, not all of them came so we still have work to do and we hope we can get them to come back again next Sunday.

We had quite the amount of times to work with members this week and it was so much fun. Saturday we had this thing called One Day Mission where a lot of members for the whole day do missionary work. For the entire day we got to be out with the members. The members were a huge help and we got more lessons done that day because of them.

Last week we also had Zone Conference so we got to hear from President and Sister Andrada as well as the Assistants to the President. It was very helpful and the advice and training they gave us showed us some better ways to improve out area and make our area very strong in the work. On the way home we were on a bus so full of people that the whole middle aisle was full of people standing with us missionaries pushed up against the door. It was a blast.

The thing I learned most this week was that when life becomes the most difficult for us then we have to push harder than ever to ensure our victory. I know that if we persevere and endure to the end we will over come all of our trials. Hold onto the iron rod.

Elder Lewis

Pictures from Sister Nancy in the Sinait Branch

Writing a Happy Birthday message for Sister Andrada

One Day Mission with the Members

Ingat ka

I Love the Members

So this last week has been really good. We had many opportunities to work with the members and it was amazing. Having members with us in the lessons made it so much nicer. We have really been focusing on less active members and some of them came back to church on Sunday, it was so amazing to see them. At first we were really wondering if they were going to be there and the joy I had when I saw them was napakamaganda.

This week we were invited over to the Branch President's house for dinner and it was a lot of fun, we got to be with him, his wife and his daughter. They are an awesome family.

I have learned a lot this week about patience and seeing things from other people's perspectives. The beginning of the week we had plans with members and then the members would text us back and when they did it was at a time when we were no longer able to work with them because we were in a different city for a meeting. I was getting really frustrated, eventually we got to work with them and we were talking to them and they had been busy with work and family. I really learned that we just need to go with the flow of things and even if it gets hard we just have to press on.

Mahal ko kayo

Elder Lewis

On P-Day We Went to the Zoo

Guwapo siya

The animals really like the camera.

The animals really like the camera

Tiger Iang

Watch out Aidan. The seals are coming soon. 

We went to the zoo on P-Day