MTC Week 7: Christmas Visit from Elder Russell M. Nelson

Hey everyone!!

It's been 6 weeks so far and I am on week 7!! Everything is going great! This week was probably my favorite so far, but let me start at Christmas. So for Christmas Eve we had this huge fireside with everyone and the MTC Presidency spoke. They talked about Christ's birth and His life. They also read out of Luke 2 for us which was cool. The best part was when we all sang 12 days of Christmas MTC style. It was hilarious!! :) That night we watched a movie...Mr. Kruger's Christmas and every Missionary got a bag of popcorn :) YUM!

The next day for Christmas we had a MTC talent show with some cool acts and songs. My two favorite were these Missionaries from Russia who sang a Lady Gaga song and rewrote the words to fit us Missionaries! It was hilarious! My other favorite was, this one Elder took one dollar bills and switched them into 20s!!! And then back again!! It was insane and the whole place went crazy!

After the talent show we had our big Christmas dinner!! I had turkey...I swear I have always had ham on Christmas until just now, haha. It was good though :) Probably better than next Christmas' meal lol :) After we had a Devotional and Elder Russell M. Nelson came!!! It was so cool. He talked about the Savior and His ministry and read from Luke 2 as well. An apostle of God read us the story of Christ's birth how cool!! That evening he joined us as the MTC was treated to an act of  "A Christmas Carol". It was amazing and way funny!

The next day after Christmas, on Sunday, we had a combined Priesthood meeting, and guess who came....Elder Nelson!!! Everyone was shocked! He talked about the literal meaning of our calling and what that means. He also talked about the Gathering of Israel. He gave us a ton of scriptures to read, but my favorite was in D&C 88:118-126 :) It applies really well to Missionaries and those who are preparing for Missions! He bore a Powerful Testimony of the Divinity of Missionary work and of the Savior. He then gave us a Blessing as Elders. So powerful!! He also talked about how we as Missionaries are like the Star at Christ's Birth...Leading and Showing the world to Him.

The great weekend led right into a great week! Elder Walker and I this week have been talking so much Spanish and are forcing ourselves to talk in Spanish only. So cool!! It really helps us. We are also teaching lessons 1 and 2 in Spanish now which is so amazing because we hardly know anything in Spanish, haha. It is coming, but it is still hard, but rewarding. We are working really hard though and continue to progress so much!!

This past Wednesday we had the opportunity to be the hosts of the new group of Missionaries. It was so fun!!! I got 3 Elders and 1 Sister. They are going to San Diego, 2 to Brazil, and the Sister to Poland!! Crazy!! It was snowing the whole time though so it was so wet and cold.

Today the Temple was closed so we had a little more down time which was nice :) When I put my laundry in to wash, I accidently bought some Elder more dryer time because I pushed the wrong button, haha. Also the washer that had my darks in it wouldn't open when it was done, so I was stuck waiting with Elder Walker until we could get it open.

This week Elder Walker and I really focused on how we can adjust our teaching to meet the needs of investigators. We also got a head start on outlining lesson 3 because you don't do that in the MTC. We also have been reading and studying on how to work with members and leaders in the Church to help us as Missionaries. I love working with him!

Well, 7th week and still no visa has come. I hope it comes soon because I really want to get to Mexico bad!!!

Anyways gotta go! Love ya and look forward to hearing from you :)

Next week I will send my camera card again so look for that! I also wrote Braxley too, so look out  Brax :)

Love,

Elder Brady Lester

Thank You

I received a personal letter from Elder Lester today, that he wrote on Christmas Eve. He wanted to make sure that I thank the following people for him...


Elder Lester wanted to say thanks to the McCains, Hansen's, and Benson's for their cards and contributions. Also, Bishop Lunt for his family Christmas card, Sister Palfreyman for the scarf she made him, and the Helvig's for their Christmas package. He also thanks Corrinn for the package she sent...that he's not suppose to open until Christmas. He's excited to see what's inside. :)

Thanks to everyone for their support.

MTC Christmas Card

Merry Christmas

 Love, Elder Lester and Elder Walker from the MTC

Christmas Around the MTC

MTC Week 6: Love, Member Missionaries, and Joseph Smith

Hey!!

So it's been 5 1/2 weeks here at the MTC and everything is going great!! Thank you for all your letters and goodies. I did receive all your packages :) Anyways this week went by so fast!! It seems like each week just flys even faster! If I'm right I only have 23 days left until I should be in Mexico!! It's going to be here faster than I know it! I can't wait though!

So this week Elder Walker and I have been studying way way hard!! We have been teaching alot and continue to get better every time. We learn so much!! I really do love working with him and can't imagine working with anyone else for two years. We work really well together off our strengths and weakness's. This week we have worked on teaching members so we can help them be great missionaries. It is so important for members to find the people. Us Missionaries are called to teach and baptize... that's it really. Missionary work is a church wide thing that everyone helps with. I encourage each of you to help the Missionaries teach a friend that you can refer to them :)  It's a great time because it's Christmas :)

On our Tuesday devotional we had a member of the seventy come. Elder Shayne M. Bowen. He talked about the decisions right now in our lives and what we need to decide right now as a Missionary. Like decide right now to love everyone. He also talked about the birth of the Savior and testified of Him. It was beautiful :)

The fireside we had on Sunday was very unique. An institute teacher came and acted out a man who knew Joseph Smith, and was there when he was killed. It was way way cool. In our District Meeting we also talked about Joseph Smith, and each Elder in our district taught something about him. It was cool as the DL as I prayed about the meeting over the week trying to find out what should we teach about. I felt that it was important that each Elder should have the chance to teach and bear testimony of his life. It was special and the spirit was so strong. You could sense that Joseph was in the room with us - it was amazing :) I love our district :)

Tonight we have a special devotional!! I think Elder Russell M. Nelson might be coming but I am not sure. That is just the word on the street, haha. I hope he does!! Tomorrow we have a long but eventful day here!! Everyone is hoping the prophet is going to come :)

So Elder Alston did leave on this past Tuesday, so he is enjoying Christmas in Portugal right now :) Lucky dog!!

Well, I am almost out of time so I will wrap things up!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Amor (Love)

Elder Brady Lester :)

A Missionary Christmas Package

We put together a Christmas package for Brady and sent it at the beginning of December. Here are the items we sent him, full of his favorite treats and flavors...

 A minature Christmas tree with ornaments - Mexican flag colored ornaments - santa, wreath, snowman, tree, writing paper, beef jerkey, gourmet popcorn from Starbucks, a scarf and a hat - his mission packing list didn't not require anything for winter weather, however, he's at the MTC in December and January, so I thought he might like these little warm items to help as he walks across to the Temple each Friday on his P-day.

Lindt chocolate - Brady likes good chocolate, dried mangos, lifesavers, coconut patties, lemon heads, jelly belly's, gummy popcorn, and mints packaged for each of the Elders in his district.

 I also made the most delicious homemade brownies, nice and thick with andes mints inside. He loved the chocolate mint brownies that was at the Hill Cumorah Pageant bake-off, so I thought I would send him this yummy treat.

These are the ornaments we bought for Brady this year to put on our tree. A popcorn ornament for his love of popcorn, and a missionary ornament.

It will certainly be different not having Brady here for Christmas for the first time, but I know that the MTC will have something extra special planned for the Missionaries.  I can't wait to find out!

MTC Week 5: Growth

Hey everyone!!

One month in the MTC!!! It has gone by so fast! I can't believe it. Somedays feel like I have been here forever and others like I got here yesterday. Probably because we are learning so much so fast! Anyways thank you everyone for your letters this week! Getting letters is like Christmas :)

This week was really good! Elder Walker and I are getting along great and are working hard. The best part is we feel like we can work harder so we are going to be stepping it up here soon. This week Elder Walker and I have been outlining our lesson plans for lesson 1 in Spanish!! We have been teaching in Spanish this week it's crazy!! I feel like I go into a lesson so nervous then I walk out thinking "what did I just say?!" It's amazing how fast you learn by the spirit here at the MTC.  It's here all the time that it's hard to know that it is here. But the peace, happiness, and joy we feel is because of the spirit. Monday we will be teaching lesson 1 in Spanish to an investigator which will be way cool! I hope I can only learn faster and hope the spirit will remain with me so I can learn lots before I get to Mexico! Speaking of Mexico I can't wait to go! As much as I love this place I want to go teach real people and have amazing experiences. I want to put my hard work in the mission!

This week Elder Paletta went home because he needed sugery on his hand, but he will be back tomorrow we hope. He is still set apart. Elder Clarke, my best missionary in the district, almost went home for certain issues. Both him and I prayed and prayed and prayed and even fasted for him to stay. His heart is really in the right spot and he wants to be here so bad!!! When I interviewed him and was informed of his situation, I broke down and couldn't take it anymore. As district leader I have had so many challenges with Elders it surprises me! The work crew boys at Cumorah are 100 times more focused and dedicated and it makes me feel out of place. I feel sometimes people hate me because I follow all the rules and encourage them to do as well. Anyways thats the hard part about being district leader. It's frustrating to see these things and some don't care whatsoever. I have an Elder in my room who is the most disrespectful person I have ever met. He is even in the army!! He just doesn't care about anything but himself. President Lloyd, my Branch President, has even said that this Elder doesn't know his purpose yet. It is sad. In the end, Elder Clarke was found worthy to stay and I leaped for joy!

The great thing about being a leader is the opportunity to see everyone grow! Because of the responsibilities I have I get to see each elder grow. The Elder who I believe who has grown the most is Elder Walker my companion. He came from a rough background of drugs, music, and girls, but he knows why he is here and he has taught me a ton!! I am so happy for him. Although he gets upset for no reason sometimes, he still works hard and wants to do his best. He is going to be a great missionary!! :)  I probably get released on Sunday as DL though since it's been 4-5 weeks. I really want to because it is way hard. I have heard rumors that I won't because our district is so fragile and I keep them together real well...but we will see.

So about my schedule...it is different everyday. My teachers come at different times through out the day everyday but Sunday. It all depends on their school schedule at BYU. When we don't have teachers we have what is called MDT time. Which is missionary directed time. This is where we have time for our personal, companion, and language studies. It's really a great time to learn! Everyday except for P-day and Sunday we have gym. They are at different times though so it's kinda hard to lay out my schedule. I can send my planner in the mail though for you to see maybe when I have filled it up. And yes, we do have LGMs every Tuesday at 11:40 (large group meetings).

Our teachers, Hermano Cleek and Hermana Truman, get new school schedules next semester which means they won't be our teachers come January. Our whole district loves them and we are going to miss them a ton!!

A little bit about my district. It is a district of 12 which happens to be the biggest district here. Four of us, me, Elders Walker, Hammond, and Cummock are going to Puebla Mexico. They are the crazy ones and don't really obey the rules much and it's hard because I am in their room. I always have to keep an eye on them. Elders Christoffersen (my best friend here), Paletta, Nielson, and Justesen are going to Santa Cruz Bolivia. They are all awesome and I love Elder Christoffersen. He lives in Herriman Utah and we plan to write each other after the MTC :) Elders Framton and Sheffield are going to Tempe Arizona. Elders Bell and Clarke are going to Spokan Washington. All Spanish speaking of course! There is also an Elder in my zone who just got here and he is going to Mesa Spanish speaking. Elder Santos is his name.

Anyways my time is almost up! I love you all and miss you all and can't wait to hear from you this week! Keep the letters coming!!

MTC P-day Life in Pictures

Brady sent home his memory card. These are just a few of the pictures he sent.

Entrance to the MTC from across the Street

Missionary Training Center Shirt!

The famous map where the Elders point to where they will be Serving

Brady's Companion, Elder Walker

Elder Walker and Elder Lester

Roomates

In the Classroom

View of the Provo Temple

Elder Lester's District

Elder Lester, A Great Missionary

MTC Week 4: Love and Humility

Hey there!!

It's my third week here in the MTC and things are going great!! Thank you for the goodies and treats :)  And Grandma, if I find anyone who knows French I will let you know. Thank you each for all your letters. Kolby though, you gotta write me man!!! Only two lines each letter?? I'm glad everyone is having fun and loving the holidays so far :) Just want to let you know that I am sending a letter to Kasey today and inside it are some pictures which are Elder Walker and I's Christmas card :)  If you could hand some out to friends that would be awesome! There aren't alot but some :)

Anyways, this week has been a hard but rewarding week. On Monday Elder Justesen had all his appointments all day and Elder Walker and I stayed with him and drove all around Provo...which was weird...and we wanted to show him how much we loved him and cared for him. I explained more in the letter to Kasey, so when you get that you can read everything that happened. In the end he decided to STAY!!!!!! Elder Walker and I literally were crying for joy :)  This week has also been hard on Elder Walker and I. We haven't gotten along to well but we just had a nice talk and we are looking forward to stepping it up and getting to work and loving each other! :)  We also just got back from the Temple today where we did an endowment session. It was beautiful :)  I love going to the Temple and am going to miss it when I get to Mexico.

So things that I need to answer are in that letter I sent Kasey so you can read that :) But yes, I can pop popcorn here if you sent some...the floor has a microwave :)  But anyways, this week has been good. I have learned how to conjugate verbs in all the tenses and I am continuing to learn words. I have also memorized D&C 4 in Spanish and am working on the First Vision in Spanish :)  It's hard but it's coming along. I've learned alot in the scriptures this week as Elder Walker and I read from the BOM in spanish everyday. It's really helping us out!! In my personal study I read different things in the scriptures in English and one of my favorites this week was D&C 84:88 :)

In about a week and a half we will start teaching in Spanish...which is going to be way hard and insane but I am looking forward to it. I know that the Lord is really helping us here at the MTC. This work really is much bigger than us and we can't do it by ourselves. I have faith that if we roll up our socks and get to work that the Lord will help us and strengthen our faith. One of the most amazing things here at the MTC is the Spirit of Love. Amazingly, this love helps us do everything!! We have to love the Lord, the work, our companion, as a leader- love the district, and most importantly we have to love our investigators. Love is how we fulfill our purpose, to invite others to come unto Christ (Invitar a las personas a venir a Cristo). I have learned alot about charity and love while being here and it has helped me out a ton.

Something I need to work on this week is humility. I feel like I know a ton about the gospel and about principles and I find myself teaching just a lesson not a person. I need to work on using the spirit to help me teach simply and share my feelings about how I know things are true. I need to use the Doctrine of Conversion (study that this week if you want, Chapter 4 of Preach My Gospel). The best way I need to do this is to be humble and also learn from others.

In the past 3 weeks I have really seen myself grow, but my greatest treasure is to see each and everyone in my district grow. That is why I love being a DL. I love seeing how everyone grows in unity, love, and spirit. It's amazing!! I really do love each one of them. I can't wait to hear from them in the field. As much as I want to be in Mexico now, it's going to be hard to leave these wonderful Elders.

So anyways tell me more about home?! How's Ryan...I hope he is ok. Give him my best and let him know I am praying for him and want to see him back out here :)  Did you get my sd-card? I love all your letters and can't wait to get more. I save all of them in my desk drawer :) Tell Jacob Handy to write me!! Hahaha. Anyways love you all!! :)

Amor (love),

Elder Brady Lester

   

P.S. I love you Mom :) You are the best!

Special Letters

Elder Lester mailed home two special letters he received. One was from the MTC President congratulating him for his call to serve as a District Leader which he received two days after entering the MTC.

And the other letter he received was from the Stake Presidency. I appreciate so much these leaders thinking of him during this time.

MTC Week 3: Obedience, Spanish, and the Spirit

Hey there fam!!

It's been another great week in the MTC :) I have enjoyed all your letters and goodies! So I got my first letters from Elder Helvig and Corrinn which was exciting to see!! :) I can't wait to write them back later today! Also I will be sending my memory card in the mail this week so look for that :)

Anyways, the week has been tough but great! Once again Elder Walker and I are doing great and working hard! We have taught at least 3 lessons everyday and try and contact and testify to people in spanish. It's way cool! We learn something new everytime :) It was a tough week as a DL though. I have a boy in my district, Elder Justensen, who has been way homesick and has alot of anxiety. He's been to urgent care twice and he is having a tough time. He really wants to go home. President Lloyd and I and the whole district have been helping him out a ton! He has a fabulous companion though and I know the Lord put them together for this reason. Unfortunately his companion leaves Dec 15th to the Peru MTC and same with another companionship, but Elder Justensen has to stay here cuz it's better for him.  I hope he gets put with Walker and I cuz I know we can encourage, love, and help him. It's also been a hard week for obedience in my district, so I felt impressed to teach a lesson on obedience. I had my lessons prepared for Faith but I felt like teaching something else. I was nervous, but once I got up there I was very bold, and just started talking and the Spirit was there. The scripture I used was John 14:21. I asked them to keep it in their minds as I was giving the lesson and at the end, I asked if we don't keep His commandments is it fair to say that we don't love Him? I think it really hit everyone and our obedience issue is gone!!

I have been able to learn so much so fast here! Elder Walker and I teach each other so much and each time we teach lessons we learn a tremendous amount. This week though we really focused on teaching a person, not a lesson, and using the spirit. We were able to focus on our purpose and let people know what they needed to hear, and then we really focused on baptism. It was amazing and I can't wait to get to Mexico to share my testimony for reals!

With spanish its been tough, but I am getting through it. I have memorized a ton of new vocab and now can conjugate in the present, past, imperfect, and future tenses. Now it's just learning vocab and a bit more grammer! I hope our whole district can pick up the language well!!

Yesterday in class, Hermano Cleek taught each of us how to polish our shoes. Haha it was awesome!! Now I have shiny black shoes to show off to the cute sisters, lol jk ;) Also today Elder Walker and I bought Spanish scripture cases for the other set of scriptures they gave us. They are way cool and you'll see them in a picture :)

Anyways, things are fabulous!! I am really having a blast even though its hard work! The spirit here is amazing and it helps us learn so much so fast. The things we learn are not just for those we go seek and find, but they are for our whole lives! I am just trying to focus, work hard, and soak up the spirit! I've been really learning how to be a better person by fullfilling my purpose. The Lord shapes each of His missionaries into strong, focused, diligent, obedient, loving men of God. It shows as each Elder diligently wants to learn and can't wait to help those in Mexico, Bolivia, Arizona, or wherever they are going. Its awesome!!

Anyways, I love hearing from you every week and can't wait to hear from you again! Please share what's going on and how everything is! I want to leave you with a challenge to read D&C 121 and Alma 32, and apply what's in there in your lives. I know that it will bless you. I know that you are being blessed and that the Lord loves each one of us :)

Thanks! I love you all!