Email No. 24... 6 months!!

Hello family!

I am coming to you and the end of a great week! So pretty much all I want to tell you about is zone conference plus a few other things. 

First off: I ATE LOBSTER. Man it was good. I learned how to get all the meat of the legs and body and tail and claw... All that jazz. It was so so good. I can finally say that I have had lobster in Maine!

Also, Cathy is doing absolutely superb. We taught her this last week and she mentioned to us that she was doing some further study in the Plan of Salvation pamphlet and she said she was studying specifically the "levels of heaven" (degrees of glory) she said in reference to them, "It amazes me!!" Also she totally understands the priesthood and what the importance of it is. She is absolutely spectacular. 

Zone Conference was absolutely amazing. I wish I could have just recorded the whole thing, so here comes me trying to sum up things that I learned:

1. It started off with Sister Stoker speaking to us. She related Alma 20: 12-27 to our work with those whose hearts are a little more hard than others. What I basically came away with was that it is the great love that we have for others that will soften their hearts. And they then will desire to learn. The love that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for us is this kind of love; which is charity. Charity in this instance is the love that enables us to see who others truly are and who they truly can become. This is the love that we need to develop. We must seek this gift, pray for this gift, and the once we have obtained it (to the largest degree that we as mortals can), we must move forward with the work in order to touch those whose hearts have been hardened against the word of God. 

2. Sister Hawkes (wife to President Hawkes who is in the mission presidency) then addressed us. She spoke about working with members. She mentioned some things that will help us to be recognized as servants of the Lord among the members #1 be fully and 100% obedient (to commandments and missionary handbook) #2 Be excited about the work! #3 Be interested in them and in their lives and families #4 Let them know that they have been prayerfully selected to be visited #5 Don't give up on them! They have lives. 

3. President Hawkes then related 2 Nephi 6:6-7 to us and our divine nature. Some quotes that he said: 

- "Today I am only looking upon kings and queens.

- "The good you do is ripples in a stone." 

- "Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; so do you." 

So that was pretty amazing.

4. Then came the most beautiful talk on Repentance given by President Stoker. (I sent my notes to you.) He brought up so many beautiful things, but what I really wanted to focus on was on the healing aspect of repentance which can only come through the Savior. First he introduced the idea of "kintsugi" which is the art of fixing broken pottery and as a philosophy it treats the breakage and repair as a part of the history of the object.  Relating that to repentance we must remember that once we are forgiven, that is it. We have been healed. The Atonement has been performed and cleansed us. We must "go and sin no more." Repentance is so amazing and wonderful and as President Stoker puts it, "a glorious positive." 

My friends and family, never let old sins trap you from becoming your true potential. The Savior loves you. Your family loves you. Please know that there is nothing that any of us have done to keep us from returning to our Heavenly Father. It might seem hard to repent, but think of the alternative. We must repent and we can repent. 

I love you all. Keep the faith. 

Love, 

Sister Sewell 

Sweet Selfie.

GUESS WHO I SAW AT ZONE CONFERENCE!

Tabby... Recent Convert.  Her mom saw us walking up and brought us these cups out :).

Melissa (Recent Convert), Sister Maxwell, Me, Kyla (Recent Convert), and Kesha (Investigating the church) on the bridge

Notes from President Stoker's talk on Repentance.

Sister Duncan's mom made us super hero pillow cases

Pretty place where we had lunch the other day in Sebec Village.