Week 9: "The hardest thing I have ever loved to do...."

A few excerpts from this weeks messages: 

From his letter to me: 
My true conversion to this gospel is an ongoing process, but the Lord is showing me great things. It's just a bit rough right now. It's funny how I was so comfortable I was at home, just staying the same and never becoming better. That can not be now, and it is a refiners fire, but everyone goes through it, and I will go foreward with faith. It's super hard, but "nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted."- Nephi 4.

From his letter to Mom: 

I love you guys too. With all my heart! I will continue to pray for you, also continue to pray for me. I'm finding it difficult to put my time I wasted as a teenager behind me. I am finding myself in Colombia, trying to become truly converted to the gospel, and it is a process. Just like the talk from Elder Bednar, it comes like a sunrise, not like a light switch. I'm working toward the day when I see the entire landscape of the gospel, and all the beauty of His plan, and a clear understanding of His doctrine. But for now, I must learn to follow him with the light He gives me. I do love Him, and I'm coming to understand His love for me. Wyatt's words come back to me: I knew of my Savior, but I really got to KNOW Him in Colombia!" This is the thing that I'm striving for, and I appreciate and need your prayers.

Love you all!
Your missionary,
Elder Lewis

Jared's friend Sarah Young also contacted me this week and shared with me a transcript of a voice recording that Jared sent her offering friendly advice. An excerpt of that is included here. Thank you Sarah, for sharing with us. :) 

Continue to study and pray, and voice your concerns to the Lord. Remember that He is all knowing and all understanding. Continue to pray and if it is just your choice, then whatever you decide to do, go forth with faith. Sorry, I don’t mean to preach to you haha. That's the last thing I mean to do. Umm, mmm… Let's see.. So, about a mission. The mission, and I think I sent you a message… Maybe, maybe not. The mission is the hardest thing I have ever loved to do. It's super hard. Sometimes I struggle to know fully why I'm here. I'm here to invite other people to come unto Christ. But it's hard to see all the time. And it's really made me learn what faith is. Learn how to come close to Him on my own, and really have a good relationship with Him. I've found that my faith in Utah is different from my faith that I'm building here. My faith that I'm building here is not founded upon temple square, you know? It's not founded in what I know. It's so different and it's so hard. But the spirit that you feel is real. And it comforts you when you need it and it compels you when you need it. It's really becoming a sacred experience. I've learned more here in the past two months than I probably would have learned in ten years at home. Just about how the gospel works. How in actuality it blesses people's lives. I'm coming to know it. And I'm working on my conversion more and more every day. Finding that although I've never doubted the gospel, that I was never truly converted. And so that's what I'm working on now. And I'm working more and more converted every day.