Mexico Week 35: Baptism Commitments, Rabbit and Crickets!

Hey there family!

Well thank you again for all your letters! I really enjoy reading them all! Sounds like you are all making bank hahaha kids!! Make sure you are paying your tithing and the Lord will bless you with the wisdom of spending and saving your money wisely. I am glad you boys had fun on the campout, and Kolby thank you for sharing your thoughts on prayer. What you learned is exactly what we must do as we pray. We must ask what the Lord wants and not what we want. Wanna know how to do it? Something that I learned here personally on the mission is the importance of listening to the Spirit AS we pray. He will tell us what we must say and ask for. If we do that we can receive instant revelation and we will really feel that the Lord is answering our prayers. I invite all of you to do that as you pray. I promise it is hard the first couple times, but it's hard to listen to the Spirit in this world. Brinkley, thank you for sharing a part of Garrett´s talk. What he said is so true. It's something that I am slowly learning here in the mission...the importance to talk to everyone!! We will see blessings as we do it, and we will be able to bless others as well.

Well this week was a difficult week of work. Elder Escamilla and I were working really hard and we didn't have much success. We would pass by investigators homes and nobody would be there. We would then go and try to visit less active members and nobody! We taught hardly anybody this week. We have now a total of 5 Baptisms who are wanting to get Baptized but they need to get married. Stinkin Mexico hahahaha! We are just waiting until they can get married. We are trying to help with everything that we can but it is hard here because a Bishop can't marry someone here like in the US. They have to be married by the government even if they get sealed in the Temple.

This week we did have success with two new investigators that we found. Hna Alicia and Hna Monica. They are sweet ladies and accepted us into their home and they started talking really openly. Hna Alicia started talking about 2 paths in this life, good and bad. Well I took that as a way to start a lesson. I opened up the Book of Mormon to 3 Nephi 27:33 and we started to talk about Baptism. It was a great lesson. They really understood the importance of it and they both accepted Baptism. Now they have a problem with attending Church on Sunday because they sell stuff in the street and their best day of work is Sunday, so this week we are going to talk about that, commit them to go to Church every Sunday, and get a Baptism date going :) I am really excited!! They are just great loving ladies!

This week we also stared teaching alot to a lady named Hna Gina who talked to us in the street one day and said that she wanted to come to our Church. Well we invited her to Church, she came and we got a lesson with her. She is a member of the Hindu religion which is very weird and rare here. She has a ton of tatoos and earings but she loves to talk about the Bible. When we teach she takes notes!! Its awesome! As we teach she asks alot of questions which is great. The other lesson that we had just two days ago she told us that when she was like 4 or 5 she listened to the Missionaries because her dad let them in the house, but he rejected them after awhile. She said that when I was talking and bearing my testimony the first time, she said it reminded her of when she was a little girl and the things that she felt when the Missionaries were in her house. I thought that was sweet and it strengthened my testimony that the Lord really prepares people for us. That day she accepted Baptism but she needs to get married, so her Baptism date for her and her son Diego is the 12th of November. I really hope she gets married because I might be leaving this area on the 14th of November. Elder Escamilla and I are together for 2 changes/3 months. She is a sweet lady :)

Nothing else much happened this week. Yesterday Elder Escamilla Elder Lamb and Lopez and I went and ate with a lady in our ward who lives forever away and she gave us rabbit again. It was SOOOOOOOOOOO good! I really like rabbit meat. I also ate another bag of the crickets that they sell here. I love them...especially with salsa and lime :) This week we also reactivated another inactive member! I also lost another tie to my Bishop playing chess and losing hahaha. He loves ties and chess and so I have played him three times and lost 2 ties and won 1 hahah! I think I am going to stop playing him now lol. He also bought us tacos :) And he bought us some drink food thing called Esquite. What it is, is a soup with just corn and melted butter in a cup with mayonase chili powder and cheese. It's really good I loved it!!

Well this upcoming week is General Conference! If you have not had they chance yet to read President Uchtdorf´s talk in the Ensign for the month of September, READ IT!! It's awesome and it will help you prepare for conference because like he says "its no ordinary blessing." I love you all and hope that all your prayers will be answered this weekend as we listen to a Prophets voice. I just want to bear my testimony that I know President Monson is a Prophet of God. He knows us and loves us just like our Father in Heaven. May we seek his word always. I love you all! Until next week!

Love,

Elder Brady Lester

Apartment in Castillotla and Pday Fun

These are pictures and prints we have sent in Brady's packages. It's so great to see them hung up.

 Brady loves this quote and memorized it and recited everyday while he served on the Work Crew at the Hill Cumorah. He also recited it in his farewell talk.

 Family pictures, special friend, Arizona Temple, and I love that he has a picture of his MTC companion Elder Walker

Mexico Week 34: Baptisms of Fidel and Jose, Service, Working Hard and Seeing the Blessings

Dear Family and Friends,


Well thank you all for your letters, love, and support!! Hahahaha I am glad everyone is doing great! Well I now officially have 10 months in the Mission which is crazy! It is going by so fast!! I still feel like a new Elder but things are going great! Elder Escamilla and I are getting things done here! We have been working really hard and the Lord is blessing us.


Yesterday we had 2 Baptsims! Hermanono Fidel and his son Jose got Baptized!! It was a crazy morning!! We went to their house in the morning and Hno Fidel was not home! He totally forgot about his Baptism and went to play soccer in the morning hahaha!! Crazy guy!! Well his son knew where he was and we had hardly any time, and our area is HUGE, so we went looking for him in a taxi hahaha. I will never do that again lol because by the time we found him and got to the church, the taxi guy charged me 120 pesos!! That's only like 10 bucks but it's a ton of money here hahaha! I was ticked!! Anyways we got to the church and there was hardly any water in the font so when I Baptized Hno Fidel he had to sit and I knelt down in the font to Baptize him hahaha! It was so ridiculous but so funny at the same time! It was a great service and I am so glad that they are members of the church now! During Sacrament meeting they got Confirmed which was awesome and Hermana Coni came too and got Confirmed!! It was a great successfull Sunday!! Hna Coni is so great and really it the strongest convert that I have Baptized! :)

Well in the past week Mexico celebrated their Independence on the 16th. Nobody wanted us in their house teaching them so we went and gave service to alot of members. One service that was fun was when we moved a bunch of sand at a members house to make some garden thing. It was a blast and I got alot of photos for you all to look at! My back is killing me now but it was a great day :) The night before on the 15th it was hard to sleep with all the noise with the guns and fireworks going off hahaha. They are really prideful about their country here. In the morning there was a ton of drunks in the street!! We invited them all to be Baptized and the alll said yes!!! Hahahahaha it was funny, but we didn't really go to their houses lol.

This past week we got some sweet references to visit and they all want to be Baptized so we are going to be working on those this week. I still don't know them very well, but next week I will have more news on that :) Hermana Sandra and her husband still have not gotten married but they are trying to get it done by next week so hopefully she gets Baptized soon. She also found a job finally!! I was so happy and cried when she told us that because I remember promising her that she would find a job if she got Baptized. Well the Lord has blessed her!!


Things are going great with Elder Escamilla and I! We are working so hard. We have had troubles studying together because we have so many appointments to get to and the area is huge!! We have plans to study though all this week. He really is a great guy and comp! He has so much energy and spirit and is learning so fast! He is going to do great things here in Puebla I just know it.


Well I gotta go now! Thank you all for everything! Shout out to Sister McArthur for the bday money!! Thank you tons! That is a fortune here in Mexico!! You are like another grandma to me :) Brother Hansen as well! Thank you for writing me every month! You are awesome! I am sorry I don't have much time to write you back, but thank you for being faithful in writing :) I love you all!


Love,
Elder Brady Lester

P.S. My comp and I had to go to the mission offices this week for a training meeting for all the trainers and new missionaries, and interviews with president, and I got some cool pics. We ate subway for dinner!!

Letters to Siblings and Mom

Dear Kolby,


Thank you for your letter bro. I want to take a little time to write you :) You are awesome Kolby!! I am glad that you are going to start reading the BoM because my testimony of that book is what really helps me help the people, because I know without a doubt that it is true. It has helped me so much and I see the blessings of living by its teachings. Keep it up brother! Things here are awesome! Elder Escamilla and I are doing great. We Baptized 2 more yesterday! We are having a great time working together! New foods...not really. Yesterday I did buy a little bag of crickets to eat with lime :) It was good! I love you tons Kolby!!


Elder Lester

Dear Braxely,


Hey bro!! How are things? Thank you for your letter but please write more hahaha! That's good that you are getting things done with scouts! Even if its boring, try to make it fun. If you do that you will enjoy it and learn even more! Well things here are great! I am learning tons and really feel the love of God in my life. Do you feel His love? I hope you are praying and reading the BoM everyday because that is how you feel His love. If you don't feel His love, you don't know Him...something I have learned :) Well keep up with the chores and your straight As!!


Elder Lester

Dear Kasey,


What a blessing it is that you have a job! That is awesome! I hope that you give the Lord thanks for that blessing in your life. Something I learned recently in the BoM is that the righteous always gave thanks to their Lord and we must too. I hope you won't be stupid like me and waste all of your money. Save most of it but always enjoy it and treat yourself to something good after a hard week of work. But be wise! I am so happy that school is going great! Keep it up! School is one of the most important things you must work and focus on. I love you tons and you are really my best friend in the world! I miss you more that anybody and you are always in my prayers! I can't wait to see you in 14 months so I can still school you in bball lol :)


Elder Lester

Dear Brinkley,


Things sound like you are doing a ton! Work is awesome and especially nanny jobs because you are right, it will help you for your future family. The calling of a mother is the most important calling somebody can have in this life. More important than being the prophet hahaha, and God gives that calling to you wonder women. It's a sacred calling and the Lord gives all the help needed to fulfill it successfully. I hope you have a great week! I love you :)


Elder Lester

Hey Mom,


Just wanted to write you a quick letter to let you know that I love you tons! You do so much for me and always have the best for me in mind. Even though we are miles away, I really do feel your love in my life. I really feel like the Lord is blessing you and all the kids with so much!! Always remember that we all love you. Even though sometimes the kids don't show their appreciation much towards you for what you are trying to teach them, remember that you are not the only one. Think of a missionary who gets rejected by someone trying to do something good and bring his salvation into his life. Think about Jesus Christ. Every time we sin we really don't show our appreciation for His atonement. I feel like we take advantage of it alot. We don't give thanks for that blessing. The Lord does not put trials in our lives...He only allows the adversary to try us so that we can learn and grow. Without that we can't return to His presence. We are tried and if we come out faithful we will be blessed.

Read D&C 121:1-9. Those are all times that we feel, but there is a promise in there for all of us. Read 1 Nephi 3:7. The Lord always provides a way for us in our difficulties. Remember that you are a daughter of God. You hold the greatest calling in the world...a Mother. I told Brinkley in her email that it is even more important than being the prophet. The Lord entrusts the future of His kingdom in your hands. Your kids are the future of the church, leaders and missionaries and parents. You have the responsibilty of raising us. Sounds intimidating I know...but you can do it.

Remember that you can pray and He listens and answers. That is your greatest tool as a Mother...prayer and counsel from Him in the scriptures. That is how you can receive revelation as a Mom. It won't come all at once, but one day you will realize that all your life you were actually receiving revelation for your family. Have faith and keep the commandments. You also have leaders who have been called to help you as a Mother. I love you and am so grateful to my Heavenly Father that He gave me the best Mother in the world.


Love you,
Elder Brady Lester

Mexico Week 33: Marriages and Baptism plans and Baptism of Coni

Hey everyone!


Well this past week was a pretty good one!! Elder Escamilla and I worked really hard and we had a lot of success!! Thank you for your letters and it sounds like the week was a decent week for you all. I am jealous that you got to go to the Dbacks game but I loved the pictures that you sent Mom :) I hope you guys had fun. That is great boys that you are getting things done with your Eagle Project.


Well in this past week some interesting things happened. Slowly we are still working with Hna Sandra so that she gets married here soon, so that she gets Baptized. It looks like this week she will be taking her blood tests so that her husband and her can get married. I really hope that happens soon so that she gets married and Baptized next week. Also in the past week Hno Yazzer told us that now him and his wife want to get married, so it looks like this week that will happen or the next. Hno Yazzer is an investigator who has two years with the Elders and wants to get Baptized so bad but his wife, who is a member, didn't want to get married for some reason. Now they do!! So we will be helping them with that as well. I am getting really excited for them because it's been a long time teaching them.


On Tuesday, my Birthday hahaha, we had a crazy day! It started off really bad. We were walking to Hna Coni´s house to teach her and make sure she was ready for Baptism and stuff, and as we were walking a ton of members saw us in the street and started freaking out at us for no reason and wanted a ton of help. I had to tell them another day because it was a packed day! Well as we were walking we saw Hna Coni in her car with her daughter and she told us that she was coming back in 1 hour and that she wanted to talk to us about her Baptism. It made us worry a ton and so we changed plans and worked for awhile in her neighborhood for about an hour. Well we went to her house after and she still was not there so we went to wait with a sister in the ward at her house. She was worried too for Coni because she is her best friend. Well we waited and she made us some quesadillas for breakfast which was yummy! Later a brother from the ward that is right next to ours called us and asked if we could go to the hospital and give him a blessing. I was freaking out at this point because the members were wanting our help, Coni wants to talk about her being Baptized, we still had to fill up the Baptismal font which takes about 2 hours, and now a blessing in a hospital that is forever away. I was just thinking to myself, why is all this happening on my Bday?!! Hahaha well I called Elder Lamb and told him to give the brother a blessing because he is from his ward anyways and we still had to fill up the font. After all of that, Hna Coni still did not show up so we went to the church to fill up the font. As it was filling up, we went and studied in the church, and later on went to eat close to the church. We went to some tiny little restaurant close by and I got myself soup, rice, a salad, beans, salsa (really good salsa!), and breaded chicken breast and a dessert for only 35 pesos!! Three bucks for all of that!!! Plus tortillas of course hahaha! It was delicious! After we went back to the church and started to study again because the font was still filling up, and then the same sister who gave us breakfast called and said to come to see Hna Coni fast because it was an emergency! After settling down a bit I started to stress again hahahaha and we went almost running to her house. We got there and she started to explain a story that is really long but basically her husband got drunk at a party and flirted with another girl. She got upset and wanted to talk to him but he got mad and hit her. For that she drank 3 beers and smoked a cigarrete!! I was so sad and frustrating that she didn't call us and was telling all this on the day of her Baptism!! It was terrible. We were thinking that we were not going to Baptize! After listening to her for a while we talked about Repentence and later felt, after talking with our leaders, that she was Repentant and could get Baptized!! I was so happy. So we went to the church to finish things and then had her Baptismal service as planned. It was a sweet service and I felt the Spirit so strong but when I went to Baptize her she kept lifting her foot out of the water hahaha, and so we had to do it 4 times!! The 4th time I just shoved her under the water hard hahaha! It was fun! After a sister bought me a cake and they all sang Happy Birthday to me in Spanish hahaha, and then after they wanted me to bite the cake, so I went for it and guess what...Hna Coni shoved my face in the cake hahaha!! It was so funny and I was so grateful for the members and that day. It ended up being great and my testimony was strengthened about the power of the Atonement and how God will forgive anyone who is willing to "come and see." It was a great day!

 Baptism of Coni

The rest of the week went good! We have two Baptisms on Sunday so I can't wait for that and I really feel that we are going to have alot of success Elder Escamilla and I, as long as we are obedient. We gotta keep working hard! I am just really excited! Well I gotta go, but thank you for all your support! I love you all, especially my Family :)


Love,
Elder Brady Lester

P.S. Yes Mom, I am pretty much fluent in Spanish hahaha. I can understand 95% of what's being said and I talk a ton hahaha, but I still have a ton of words to learn :) 

Letter to Mom

Brady wrote me this letter on July 11, 2011.  The kids and I have only received a couple of hand written letters because Brady emails each week, but this was a special treat! Besides some special little emails he has personally sent me expressing how he's feeling and his feelings for me, this letter and the one here are just so meaningful.   I love and appreciate him so much!

HAPPY 20th Birthday!

This Great Missionary turned 20 years old today!

We had ourselves some Mexican food for dinner to feel like we were somewhat connecting with Brady and we saved his letter that he sent yesterday and read it today.

This is the Birthday package that we sent Brady. He actually received it two weeks ago and of course opened it.

 This was my iPod that I had only used a couple of times. It's full of lots of Missionary Songs, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, EFY and Spanish Hymns.

Here are 20 things that I love, admire and appreciate about Brady:

Serving a mission

Good Example to his #1 fans - Brinkley, Kasey, Kolby, Braxley and I!

Brady can do hard things

Lessons in Patience – so much!

Service to the people in Mexico

Service to a companion when that companion was not kind – Brady would make his bed, iron his clothes, shine his shoes and make him breakfast

Desire and always working to have unity in his companionships so they can be guided by the Spirit and have great success

Prayerful

Studies and then shares/teaches so much in his letters home

Says hahaha throughout his letters and makes me laugh

Healthy

Loving the work

Tender and Compassionate Heart

His love of ties

Humility

Strong Testimony

Always caring about how we are doing at home and praying for us

Spirituality – always has great stories about the Promptings of the Spirit

A great loving brother

Letters to Mom – so grateful and they melt my heart

Mexico Week 32: Baptism of Brenda and Working Hard

Hey there America!

Happy Labor Day everyone!! Sadly they don't celebrate that here in Mexico but their big Independence Day is coming up on the 16th. I hear that just everybody gets drunk which wouldn't surprise me hahaha! Oh and I must wish my sis, Brinkley, a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! You are going to be 18 wow!! You are now a woman. And congrats on getting accepted into a dental program!!! Just remember to study study study and you will do great! I am sure it will be hard but if you pray and read your scriptures, the Lord will help you through revelation. I just felt like telling you that. Thank you all for your letters family and friends :)

Well in the past week Elder Escamilla and I worked really hard! Our numbers were not as good as our first week together but we got a lot of work done. On Saturday we Baptized a little girl and she got Confirmed yesterday in church. Her name is Brenda and she is so cute. Next week I will send photos. Hna Coni went out of town and couldn't get Baptized, but tomorrow...my Birthday...she is going to get Baptized and she wants me to do it! Hahahahaha what a bday gift eh? I am so excited and so is my comp! Hna Coni has progressed so fast and she is so excited to be Baptized! I just know that she will be a great faithful member in the Church! We talked to her daughter after one appointment and she accepted a BOM and later we visited her and she read more than we gave her and loved it. She still feels like she has not gotten an answer from God but she likes the book and she also accepted Baptism which is awesome!! She will be coming to her mom's Baptism tomorrow so we believe she will feel something there :) I really think that she will get Baptized and be faithful in the church too :)

This past week two Baptisms fell through. Two little boys who were ready to get Baptized talked to their dad who works in the US and he wants to Baptize them and he doesn't come home until the first week in December, so that stinks and who knows if I will still be in this area. The great blessing is that their Mom, Hna Alejandra, came again to Church yesterday and she is loving being a part of the ward again :) We for sure will keep visiting them to strengthen their faith even more. Hna Sandra still is waiting to take out some blood tests to get married because here it's a law to do that so that you know that you are clean and can have kids. We found a brother who does those tests really really cheap so it looks like this week they will get the tests, next week will get married, and she will get Baptized. That is the plan :) I pray that it will happen. My comp and I have also been feeling like it's time to start teaching her husband and see if he wants to get Baptized with his wife. I pray that the Lord will help us with that. We have also been teaching the Hno who asked for money, Hno Fidel and his son Jose, and they have stopped asking for money. They have nothing to eat so the other day we took them out for tacos in the street and you could tell that they were very grateful. They really want to get Baptized but they need to come to Church, so hopefully this Sunday both will happen.

Things are going great with my comp. He has been learning really fast and is just a fireball. He really loves to exercise and so he is getting me to do it too hahaha, which is good because I need it! We have been really working hard and we can't wait to see alot of success come from it! I really hope that the Lord continues to bless and help us in this work. I know He will! I am so grateful to be here and am learning tons!! I really miss home but time is flying by!! It seems like very soon I will be on a plane hahaha but I still have 14 months left! Well I miss you all and love you all! I hope that you all continue to put your trust in the Lord and if so...He will bless you.

I love you all!!

Love,

Elder Brady Lester