Mexico Week 61: Work as a Missionary Branch President

Hey Everyone,

Well I want to wish a very happy birthday to my brother Kasey!! I can’t believe you are going to be 16 tomorrow, that’s crazy!!! I hope you don’t keep growing, hahaha. I would also like to congratulate Maggie and Dad on their wedding. Hahahaha, I love the cardboard Elder Lester and the letter to the President. Hahahaha, did you really send that to him?

Thank you all for writing me :) Thank you for the money Mom. You could send me a package and I could get it. I will go to Puebla more with this calling.

Well, as you all know, I am a Branch President.  I am actually the only Branch President in the entire Mission. It’s a hard calling and I have so much respect for Bishop´s now. It’s pretty much the same calling just with less members. We have 83 members on the list and about 40 come each Sunday. This week I have had to interview for giving the Priesthood, Patriarchal Blessings, callings, worthiness, needing money from the church, and helping a sister go through a divorce. IT’S ONLY MY FIRST WEEK!!! 

Hahahaha, I don’t know how long I will be here but I will be here for at least 12 weeks and maybe more. I feel like we are starting up the Branch. One of my goals is to start up the Young Women’s and Young Men’s program. There is youth but there is not any program, so I called a Young Women’s President and a Deacon’s Quorum President named Jesus Huerta. He is great. We are going to start mutual pretty soon and get them working on their Duty to God and Personal Progress. I would also love to start a Boy Scouts program.

I am also in the process of helping some brothers be worthy to receive the Higher Priesthood. One brother, Hno Hector, helps us out a ton and he is really working hard to be ready and worthy. I am going to call him to be my second counselor but Pres. Reeves needs to interview him first. I would like to be the last Missionary Branch President and I would like to have Hector be the branch president in about 12-18 weeks. That is another goal of mine. I am very excited but also I have never been so tired and stressed out. I have a lot of things in mind and we are going to start making some changes in the Branch so that the members work, and so that we can work hard in the field.

We don’t work everyday as Missionaries. There are some days that I have interviews or my comp, who is my first counselor, and days where we have to travel to a bank to manage the Tithing and Fast Offerings. Hahahaha, I have a lot on my plate.

Well today we went to a waterfall place and it was beautiful. Next week I will send you pics. I love the area. It’s really pretty. I am in the mountains, hahaha, and it’s freezing at night. I am really liking it here. My companion is Elder Cano. He is from Sinaloa. I thought I was going to get an American because I have not had one yet, but it will probably be later in the Mission. He is really cool. He kinda does the work a little different so I will have to get used to that but he is really great.

Well I gotta go. I love you all and hope you have a great week!!


Love,
Elder Brady Lester

Mexico Week 60: Transfers - Branch President!

Hey there all ya!

Well his will be a short letter. I have like no time to write. I read all your emails and thank you very much. Well me and my comp have changes. They are going to put in 2 new Elders in Loma Florida which is a little sad but I know that we did the work that the Lord had for us.  

Tomorrow we will have the changes and know where we are going. I am staying in the same zone, and I will either be Zone Leader here, or a Branch President in a Branch, hahaha, the only branch in the Mission. It's going to be a great blessing if I am President, and that helps me understand that the President trusts me and the Lord does as well. That will be cool, but I don't know how to do it. Tomorrow I will know, so I will let you all know.  Life is going good here in the Mission. I love the Mission and everything about it.

I hope that you are all doing great!! I love ya all so much!! Thank you for your prayers and your support.

Love,
Elder Brady Lester

P.S.  After Elder Lester sent this email, he replied back and said that he just found out that he will be transferred the next day to Chignahuapan, which is about two hours North of Apizaco.  He said, "I will be the Branch President. That's sweet!"

Mexico Week 59: Miracle of Felipe

Hey Everyone,

Thanks for your letters and kind words. That’s sweet that you guys saw Kobe Bryant! Hahaha, I hope that you are having a great time in California. I sure am jealous. I would love to be there right now, hahaha!! It’s been raining the past couple of days here in Tlaxcala.  It’s been hard too. We have lost a few investigators and we are trying to find new ones but nobody seems to want the Gospel in their lives. Dad and Mom...what were some ways that you guys found investigators in your mission?? Maybe that could help us out a bit.

Well next week we will probably have changes. I hope to get a new companion. I love Elder Estevez but I am getting a little tired of being with him. He has not changed too much but he is getting better. I wonder if I will be in Loma Florida still next week. Who knows?? I will let you all know! I would like to stay here but yet leave. I like this area but I would like to get to know more areas!

So although we have been having troubles with finding we did find a new investigator while knocking doors. His name is Felipe. He is awesome!! A golden investigator! He really loves reading from the BOM and the Bible. He says that the BOM is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. He has a Baptism date for the 24th of March and so things are looking good right now :) He also used to smoke 2 boxes a day when we first talked to him since he was 12 years old!! But after talking about the Word of Wisdom and giving him a Blessing he has not smoked a single cigarette for now 1 week!! He is so awesome! We just need to find out if he is married or not. I think he is but marriage usually is a problem here in Mexico, hahahaha.

So how are your studies in the BOM?? I would like to see what you guys are learning or read your testimonies to help me out.

Well I gotta go. I hope that things are going well for you guys. I hope that you guys see blessing in your lives. I hope that the Lord thinks that I am a good missionary. Sometimes I feel like He doesn’t because I think the President doesn’t trust me much but I know that I can be better. I will also try and get better in writing. I am just not a very good writer. I love you all and I thank you for your support. I hope that you have a great week!!

Love,
Elder Brady Lester

Mexico Week 58: Apostle!

Hello everyone!

Well I have some great news!! On the 1st of July you guys already know that the mission will be splitting into two missions. We just got news today that Presidente Ralph N. Christensen will lead the Puebla North Mission and President Reeves in the Puebla South Mission. I would really love to be with Presidente Reeves but I feel that I will be in the North Mission with President Christensen. We still don't know who will be where. Because of this great thing that is happening on the 14th of April Elder David A. Bednar will be coming to talk to us!!! An Apostle!! Its going to be awesome! I cant wait. We have to prepare ourselves for this and repent so that we can learn from the Spirit.  Also some other good news is that Loma Florida is going to get a church building this year!! Which means they wont have a House of Prayer anymore!! I am so happy that the work of the Lord is growing here in Mexico.

Thank you for all writing me. I loved your letters :) Dad if you could send me your address again so that I can write you please? Mom and Brinkley I will be sending your letters this week. Thank you dad and Mom for giving me some money. That always helps so that I can eat dinner hahaha. It's just usually breakfast and lunch with the members.  I only have one package request mom....shoelaces. I have my last pair and they are about to break. My Rockport shoes broke again hahaha.  They are crappy shoes so we shouldn't buy those for Kasey when he goes on the Mission hahaha.

Well this week we worked hard. We taught a lot of lessons and we found 9 new investigators! We also invited the Fosado family to be Baptized on the 18th of March and they accepted! Things are going pretty good here. We need to help our investigators progress more towards Baptism and we must find new investigators, but I am very happy with the work right now in Loma Florida. I have almost 16 months in the mission and I feel like I am barely understanding how to do the work here, hahahaha. I pray that the Lord continues to bless us!! 

Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers :) I love you all and hope you have a great week!!

Love,

Elder Brady Lester