Mexico Week 79: For the Temple is a House of God

Hola Familia!! 

Thank you for writing me :) I always love to read your letters. That stinks about your leg Kasey. Hope that it heals up soon!  Sounds like everything has just been going great.  I am doing great!!  My new comp is Awesome!  His name is Elder Lopez and is from Ecuador. He is a great worker and sooooo cool hahahahaha. I hope that everything goes great in this change. I feel like we will have alot of success. That is awesome that the boys are going to get some merit badges this weekend! I hope that they have a great time. I hope that you are all ready for school and stuff hahaha.  

Well I will just get to the point of my email...and why I put down that subject for the email. On Saturday, a family that I Baptized in Haulcaltzingo went to the Mexico City Temple and got Sealed.  The sister, Lorena got her Endowment. It was great news!!! Even better news is that my comp and I got to go!!!! Hahahahahahha it was so sweet! We got permission to go to Mexcio City and go to the Temple to see my converts get married and Sealed to each other and their little baby boy. It was such an experience. I wanted to send pics but of course there is not a place to put in my memory card so I can’t :(  I don’t like the internet here hahaha. It was so awesome!! The Spirit was so strong and I felt like I recharged myself spiritually!  It was the best day of the Mission.  I could not help but cry as I saw Hermana Lorena and Hermano Pedro get Sealed and especially to their little son. I was so happy.  

 Baptism of Lorena & Pedro in Haulcaltzingo

 México City México Temple

 After we left the Temple...around 5ish we went to eat tortas. After we ate we went in a bus to the station and I counted my money and we did not have enough to get home. We were a little worried but I said a prayer in my heart as well as my companion and we felt so sure that we were going to get home. We got to the bus station and we checked our mission credit cards...nothing. I checked my card from home....nothing hahaha. We started walking...more worried and we heard a man yell behind us "Mormones" hahahahahaha. We turned around and it was a brother from here in Tlaxcala in our stake and we know him. He asked us about why we were in Mexico and we told him that we went to the Temple. He was walking with a bag carrier and told us to contact him hahaha, and as we contacted him the brother left to buy his ticket, but our prayers were answered and he bought us tickets as well!!  We got back to Puebla and he bought us pizza as well and him and his wife drove us all the way home. My comp and I were so surprised and we gave so much thanks in our prayers to Heavenly Father. It was amazing.

I don’t know how in the world we found a brother in the biggest city in the world, from the smallest state in Mexico, from our stake who knew us and who has money.  All I can say is that God loves us and watches out for us. I know that He answers every prayer. I am so grateful to Him. 

Our investigators are doing great.  The Familia Minor is just doing great. They still have not gone to Church but they have the desire to be Baptized and pray and read to know. We have been visiting alot of people and doing alot of teaching. We are having alot of progress and we hope to Baptize soon again. Everything has been going just great. This week we have to go to Puebla for the Zone Leader Council. That is going to be sweet like always. I am excited for the work.

It’s going to be hard to go home but I know that God will help me to be able to keep working in His work as long as I am faithful. This is a Church of workers not a museum of Saints who just go on Sundays.  We have alot of work to do...in our wards, stakes, and in the Temple to be able to help God finish His work and glory. The most important work we do is with our families.  I am dedicated to love and cherish my future family so that God can work miracles through us. 

I hope you all have a great week!! I love and miss you tons!! 

Love, 

Elder Lester

 

Mexico Week 78: Transfer for Elder Nuncio & Baptism of Elvia

Hey there!!

Well just to let you know my comp, Elder Nuncio has transfers :( I was really excited to stay with him again. He has been my best comp so far in the mission. We Baptized last Friday, Hermana Elvia.  She has been listening to the Missionaries for 7 months now and she finally decided to be Baptized! I got to Baptize her and it was an awesome Baptism service. Things have just been going pretty great. 

I am glad to hear Kasey that you had a great time at EFY. I wrote to your email because I thought you were still there but then I read that you are home now hahaha. I hope that you had a great time and that you always remember that time in your life. Hopefully you will be able to go back next year :) 

I am sorry for not sending pics.  I have not had a computer that permits me to download stuff. The internets are weird here because they are business and not in the homes because not everybody has money to have a computer in their home. 

Well things are going pretty great.  We had a sweet ward activity the other day. Our investigator family went. The Familia Minor. They are awesome! I really hope that they get Baptized.  We have been working with them alot and we hope to have alot of success with this family.  I pray each day that they can receive a testimony and know that this is the true church. They are really Catholic but that’s what I like because if they are Baptized they will always be faithful and active in the church. 

Thank you all for you letters. I hope everything continues to go well for you all.  I love you all and hope that you all have a great week!  I promise to try and send pictures soon hahaha. I have alot of pics hahaha! 

Love,
Elder Lester

 

 

Mexico Week 77: Summer Rain

Hey there everyone! 

Well this past week was a great week! Not alot happened hahaha, but it was a great week. We worked real hard and we had alot of success. This is the last week of the transfer so we will have to see next week if I will still be with my companion.  I really hope so. He has been my best comp so far. I love him, he is a great friend. 

Thanks for all writing me haha!  Sounds like you are all having a great time back at home.  I hope that it continues to be a blessing for you all.  I pray for you each day and hope that you are all happy. I hope that you all have blessings. Just to let you know...I will leave Thanksgiving plans up to you guys. Just let me all know how it’s going to work out.  I really would love to be with everyone and have a good, fun, happy, and peaceful time with all. 

We have been working really hard.  I love the mission.  I am a little scared for what is to come in the future but I am happy.  We are teaching a new family that we found last week. The Familia Minor Hernandez.  They are really great.  They are really Catholic too, but we have been able to teach with the Spirit and it seems like they know that it’s true.  It’s amazing to see how the Spirit really works with us to help people receive testimonies. We have another lesson with them on Tuesday so we will see how that goes. 

It continues to rain real hard here. It’s crazy!  I have gotten so wet and muddy hahahahaha!  It’s part of the work! 

I love you all and hope that you all have a great week.  Thank you so much for your support and love. I hope that you all have fun. I pray for you each day and hope that the blessings come in your lives.

Love,

Elder Lester

Mexico Week 76: Zone Leader Conference & More Rain

Hey Family!!

Thank you all for writing. I love your letters.  Really Kasey...you broke my heart with that Steve Nash news but I am happy that he is going to be going to a team where he can win a championship. It will be fun to watch him play in LA.  Sounds like you boys are having a great time up in Utah camping and stuff. Sounds like a plan maggie...I will have to try those enchiladas and your pozole dad ;) Hahaha.  Thank you Mom and Grandma for the money. Tomorrow I will be buying my leather scripture cases.  Tomorrow we have a leadership training meeting in Puebla. Hahaha, we are traveling alot.  I am not a fan of the Zone Leader thing...I miss being a Branch President, hahahaha. 

Well the work has been good here. We got to go to the new mission home on Friday for the Zone Leader conference.  It’s really nice. The new president lives in the nicest neighborhood in Puebla. It looks like an American neighborhood but more modern. There is a golf course and everything there.  We got to eat breakfast.  Sister Christensen made us eggs, juice, and pancakes with whip cream!! I have not had whip cream for 20 months hahahaha. We had a great conference. I learned ALOT about A LOT, hahahahaha. Everything I learned really I can see how to apply it in my life after the mission and that is what President Christensen said that he wants.  Just so that you know the president a little more: 

He served a mission in California Spanish speaking.

He was the Vice President of Hallmark Cards (he is rich).

He quit his job because the First Presidency asked him to work as the Head Director of Finances of the Church (he is even more rich).

He had monthly meetings with the Twelve and the First Presidency. 

That is just a little background info about my new Mission President. I guess that I will have to have alot of money to be a Mission President someday, hahahaha.  In the conference he told us that Elder Bednar´s favorite scripture is 2 Nephi 2:14. Hahahahaha, all of us Zone Leaders just looked at each other like...wow...he knows the favorite scripture of an Apostle, hahahaha. He is very spiritual but he says things how they really are. On Friday we did something that I never thought that we would do. We started making the "culture" of this new Mission. We started talking about the Purpose, Processes, and Actions. We talked about how we could make sure that our Actions or Practices in the Mission are aligned with the Processes and the Purpose and throw out the bad Actions and Practices that have nothing to do with our Purpose. It was very cool.  Hahaha, then I think that I received revelation for my personal life in that moment. That formula is a great one to be able to start and better businesses (just a comment since you all know that I like business). Hahaha it was a great conference. I really felt the spirit and learned alot. 

Here in our area we have been working our tails off.  It has been raining like crazy and literally the rain has been up to our shins. We keep working hahaha. The other day we were working in the rain and it was just coming down and some members saw us and asked why we weren’t home since it was raining so hard. My comp just laughed and said...the work goes on. It’s true what he said. The work goes on. God keeps working and doesn’t rest if it’s raining. 

Today we played like 2-3 hours of basketball at the church with a team of a brother in our ward. They are real good. I had a great time but I have just lost all of my condition hahaha. I would just run up and down the court dying. It was really the best basketball that I have played in the Mission. 

Well I gotta go! I love you all and hope that you have a great week! Kasey I hope that you enjoy EFY! Miss you all tons!! OH!! Hahaha before I go I have some good news for you all. My date changed for going home. I was supposed to go home the 28th of November but President Christensen wants me to be home for Thanksgiving, so I will be going home the 20th of November, so you will all have me home a week early hahahaha. Love ya!!

 Elder Lester

Mexico Week 75: July, Peña Nieto, President Christensen‏

Hey there family!

Well things have been very delightful in the Mission. I notice how old I am now because it hurts just to walk uphill everyday to our house. I am not excited to be 21, hahaha. As you all know Peña Nieto will be the new president of Mexico in January. Hahaha, I am happy that he won, I would have voted for him. I helped out some when I was in Chignahuapan, hahaha so good thing that it was worth it.

Today I am in Puebla, the center. The sweet thing about being a Zone Leader is I get to go anywhere I want in the whole mission, hahahahahaha. My comp and I have just been visiting some places and looking at some things. I am looking at gifts that I would like to buy for the family as well just before I go home. We also ate burritos today :) They were delicious, just like home hahaha.  It’s been a great P-day so far.

There was also a march going on with all the people who didn’t want Peña to win but hahaha he won so it doesn’t matter. Peña will fight against all the drug lords except for one, Chappo, who is the famous one. He is the number 1 on the wanted list in Mexico and the US but they won’t do anything to him unless he goes to the US or Mexico. He lives in Europe I think. Peña won’t fight him, but the good thing is that he will kill all the other ones. Things have been interesting though, hahaha.  

Well I don’t know that family Mom, but I will keep my eye out for them. Hahaha, were they visiting over there in Arizona?  That’s sweet!

Ouch! I am sorry for Brink.  I guess I was lucky when they took mine out. Braces, that will be nice :) Well Kolby, that is going to be great that now you are going to high school! You are getting big hahaha.  Hahaha, sounds like the family reunion of Maggie was fun with lots of food! I need to try your pozole dad and see how good it really is or if you just talk it up. Hahahaha, well it will be the 4th of July in 2 days. I think I will celebrate by teaching 3 lessons with a member and 2 others, and buy a nice cold Coke after, hahahahaha.

Well we have been working real hard.  I love Elder Nuncio.  He is so awesome!  He is really a good friend. We have been working hard and now we are seeing blessings. We are happy because we are going to have at least 3 Baptisms this month and hopefully 2 more, but if not, the other 2 will be in August. We have been working really hard with Elvia, Andres, and Andres, hahaha. They are great investigators and they are ready for Baptism. Andres who is an adult, has been waiting for 10 years to be Baptized! Andres is a 13 year old boy and has been waiting for over a year to be Baptized, and Elvia has been listening to the Missionaries for 7 months, hahahahahaha. We are trying to harvest the seeds that have been planted! The field is white for sure! :)

Well as you all know Peña Nieto is not the only new president in Mexico. There is another who has been called by a Prophet and not the people. We had a great Zone Conference Saturday with him in Puebla.  President Christensen is from Utah and talks way good in Spanish!! His wife talks pretty good.  She is learning real quick like Sister Reeves.  In the conference we learned alot from the President about Charity and Obedience. He totally taught us a life lesson about obedience. Usually they say to us in the Mission that we need to be obedient because we are Servants of the Lord. That is true but he also taught us that we need to have a goal first. For example, Return with Honor. That would be the goal, and to achieve it, we need to be obedient. So I learned that we should place goals first and not be obedient just to be obedient. Pretty sweet haha.

This week on Friday my comp and I will be coming again to Puebla for the Zone Leader Conference so I will let you all know how that goes. I am excited. Things are going to be great with him and I am excited to have about 5 months to work with him. It’s going to be a blessing.

Well that’s about it for now. I just want to let you know that I will not be able to send pics home. I am getting very inpatient with Picasa which does not work very well for me. If there is something else we can do, awesome, but I will keep all my pics on the camera for now. I hope that you all have a great week. I love you all and pray for you each day. Love ya!!

Love,

Elder Brady Lester