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

Mexico Week 57: Baptism of the Martinez Family

Hey everyone,

Thank you for writing. I always love reading your letters. They help me out a lot and I love that you all tell me your cool experiences. Thank you mom for the money that you put in my account. Kolby, that's awesome that you are the Deacon's President. It means you have a lot of work and responsibility. As a DL in the mission I have learned that when you love and serve, your district, or in this case, your Quorum works hard and there is success. Try to be like Christ as you work with your Quorum. Braxley, congrats on your first chair in the honor band. That is awesome!!

Mom, I just wanted to resolve an issue I have. I am having a HUGE problem with my contacts!! In about 5 weeks I have gone through 3 pair and that's not good. They feel like they are cutting my eyes and I see everything really blurry. I take them out every night. I have gotten really good with that but they still bother me. I talked with the president and he told me to buy eye drops and I did that, but nothing is working. Could you talk with the doctor to see what is going on?

Well last week was a decent week. We Baptized the Martinez family which was awesome. I want to upload photos but this computer won't let me so I will play with it a little more, but if it doesn't work I will upload them next week. They are so happy this family. Hna Sonia decided to be separate from her husband because she wasn't married. We also want to teach her mom but she is not married either so that is going to be a little hard. I hope that we can help them out.

We have been working hard and the Bishop has given us some work to do. We are really wanting to work with the members a lot so that we can have a lot of success. Today for P-day we went and played bball and that was awesome!! I did some work it was awesome :) I am not so good anymore...well I was never good, hahaha but I am a lot worse hahaha.

Things are going great. This week we are going to do a lot of contacting and teaching to less active members. I have an idea for my district. I would like to print out flyers and put them around the city so that the people can see them and they can go to the church and we can teach them all at the same time and see who wants to us to pass by their house. I think it would be a good way to find new people to teach.  

Well I gotta go but I love you all so much!! Kasey and Kolby...you should do the Trek. When Brink and I did it, it was awesome. I learned a lot and really had a great feeling for the pioneers. Pray about it! I love you all!! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Lester

Mexico Week 56: Diving the Mission

Hey everyone!!

Well this past week was very hard. We did not Baptize and the members still don't help us. We are working hard, but the little success that we have, is slowing going away. I just don't know what to do. I will keep praying and working and I hope that the Lord will tell me what to do. I am also trying to help out my companion because we are great friends and we have unity, but in Missionary work we have no unity at all. I love him a lot though.

Well this past week we had a HUGE new alert that you guys will see in the Church News this week. One the 1st of July they are going to divide the Puebla Mission!! We are going to have 2 Missions and another Mission President!!! It's going to be sweet!! I can't wait. Really all the work that every Missionary has done since 1988 here in Puebla is growing. We are going to have a lot of work to do. I don't know anything else about this but it's going to be great!!

Well I love you all. I gotta cut this short for the little $ that I have, but I love you all and always am praying for you!! 

 

Love,

Elder Brady Lester 

Mexico Week 55: 4 Scheduled Baptisms - Martinez Family

Hey there everyone!!

Well, I don't have alot of time today. I am trying to get ready today because tomorrow really early we have to go to Puebla. We will have a Mission Conference so we will see how that goes, and after I have a leadership training. So I will be in Puebla all day long hahaha. It's going to be nice to get back there :) I miss it!! Thank you all for your letters and kind words. Things are going great here. There is Valentines Day here in Mexico, just to let you guys know, but since women aren't allowed I won't be spending it with anyone, hahahaha, well with my comp :)

So this past week was very interesting. We had a lot of success teaching and working with the members. We are getting alot of stuff done and the Bishop is really happy with our work. We are really excited for this weekend because we have 4 Baptisms planned!! It's the Martinez family. Pray with us so that they will be able to make this Covenant with the Lord. This past week I got 2 two Elders in my district and one is from Gilbert. He is new in the Mission and his name is Elder Webb. He says that he knows Brinkley. I still have the Sisters and the Zone Leaders in my District. I have never had Sisters before but they are doing great work and as their leader I am very happy with what they are doing. I have been very happy with the work of my District. We have improved alot from what we were at when I first got here, hahahaha.

Well I am sorry for the short letter but I don't have much time to write anyone. I love you all! I just sent a bunch a letters for the boys, the Hansen family, and the Bishop. I will get you Mom, dad, and Brinkley here in this week!! Watch out for them!! I love you all and hope you have a great week!!

Love,

Elder Brady Lester

Mexico Week 54: Cambios - not for Elder Lester

Hola everyone!! 

Well thank you all for your letters!! Sounds like you all watched the Super Bowl...hahaha I am jealous. What shocks me is that you all wanted the team that I hate to win!! Hahahaha Brady is a good QB but I hate the Patriots. Hahaha Brinkley that is awesome that you are going to graduate soon. So how will you work? How does that go?  Boys, sounds good about the eagle projects. Keep working hard so that you guys get things done!! Hahahaha dad you made me hungry with all that food that you mentioned!! I would love some of that!! Hahahah I hope work will keep going good and keeping you busy. Can you find an online job for me? I would like an online job so that I can focus on my studies. Mom sorry for not giving your Riggins info. His moms email is jvalderas@juno.com and her number is 425-330-9191. He lives in Washington but after serving in AZ for three months he wants to live there. We have plans. We want to start a jazz band and play baseball for BYU hahahaha, marry mexican girls, open up a taco place in AZ and break dance at all the clubs hahaha. We will see how all that happens. He also is going to come down to AZ my first week back home. Think he could stay with us??

Well that's enough of that. Things have been going great this past week. The Martinez family is progressing very well and their Baptism will be on the 18 :) The Fosado family is reading and praying but they have not come to Church yet and we are trying to help them with that. Today actually we are going to visit them with the Bishop. We are going to try to teach more with members so that our investigators go to Church! We have alot of plans. We really want to get working with the ward members and leaders. One of our plans is to teach the members lessons like if they were investigators. We feel like they will see that we want to work and have the desire if we do that. I hope that it works. 

Today there were transfers. I am still in Loma Florida (Apizaco) with my comp...but Elder Riggin is gone :( He only has 4 months left in his mission and it will be very little that I see him so it's sad, but things are still going great!! Elder Riggin really is one of my missionary heros and I love him alot. He really has helped me out alot in the Mission especially when I was with Elder Rojas. We have only been together in the Mission for like 5 months but we both agree that we have known each other before this life too.

I am getting Sisters in my District so we will see how that goes. They are opening up their area. Also I am getting another 2 new Elders in my District and they won't be here for another week because an American doesn't have his Visa yet. So I have alot of work to do to help out all these new Missionaries. It's going to be hard.

We have also been teaching another lady here named...Monica Diaz. She is a young lady with a family. We have only taught her but we really want to teach her whole family. We have had only one lesson with her about the BoM but she was great and really is interested. We hope to keep working with her. We also found a guy right next to the house of Monica. His name is Antonio Sanchez. He has accepted appointments so we are really excited to keep teaching him. He also makes sweet things out of oak wood. I think I am going to save up some money and buy myself a sweet looking statue type thing...it is the eagle and design on the Mexican Flag, and I want to have him put Mision Mexico Puebla Elder Lester on it. It's going to look sweet!!

So I hope everything at home is going great! I have not tried any new foods and I think it wil be hard for me to try new stuff now because I have 15 months in the Mission. So how is Jacob Handy? Is he going on a Mission? I would like to email him to see how he is. I hope things are great and I love you all tons!! Have a great week!!

Love,
Elder Brady Lester 

Mexico Week 53: Baptisms Scheduled!

Hey everyone!! 

Well this will be a short letter because not much happened this week. Things are going alot better with my comp and I. We are getting alot of things done and he is really starting to pick it up. He is not scared anymore to talk and to teach. Things are going really well. 

This past week we found a family of 4, the Martinez family, and we invited them to be Baptized on the 12th of February and they accepted!! I can't wait for that day!! They are a good family and still need some more teaching so that they understand what they are going to do but I pray that all will go through. We have also been teaching the Fosado family and they are doing great. Hahahaha now they need to give up coffee but they keep reading and accepting us. They fed us dinner the other day and they are so sweet. We are trying to help the brother find work. He was in Arizona for 4 years working in food city! Hahahaha sometimes we talk about AZ and the weather and stuff. He is a great guy!! 

Not much else has happened this past week. Today we played basketball and it was fun! It's been forever that I have played and I am not as good as I used to be hahahahaha. I am sure the boys can kill me in basketball now!! Sounds like everything is going good!! Congrats on doing your Eagle Projects boys!! Keep doing good things and the Lord will bless you so much!! Brinkley keep working hard in your internship!! 

I love you all and hope that you all have a great week!! We have a ton of appointments today in the evening so I gotta go! Thank you for your prayers and for your love!! You are the best :) 

Love,

Elder Brady Lester

Mexico Week 52: WORK

Hello everyone!!


Well thank you for your letters and your kind words that really help me in the week. Each Monday is like the time to re-energize my spirits by reading your letters and emails. Things sound like they are going good. Are you thinking about wanting to move mom? I hope things keep going well in your lives and I know that the Lord is blessing you all. I only got like 9 1/2 months left in the mission and the time is just flying by. Before we know it I will be home and my life will have started. Meanwhile its on to WORK in the field of our Savior.


Well things have been getting better here in Loma Florida. We had a decent week this past week. It's been hard but I know that the Lord and the Mission President trust me alot when they send me to the hardest areas in the mission to get the work started (or maybe it's just punishment) hahahaha just kidding. This past week we really focused on teaching a family of 5 that we found. We had a great family night with a member family and we watched the movie of the Restoration. The dad in the family had a lot of questions about Joseph Smith and what he did so we felt it appropriate to watch the movie with them. It was a neat experience and the Spirit was very strong. This family always has alot of questions about the gospel and it really means that they are learning and wanting to know more. The other night we had a great lesson with them. They started talking about Baptism and wanted to know more about it. We started talking about the Priesthood and Baptism. It was a great lesson. We also felt impressed to talk about the Temple and we did. It was a great lesson and every time we talk with them the Spirit really guides the conversation and lesson. That night they accepted Baptism!! Now we just need to help the brother stop smoking and drinking because he does a little bit. It will be another family in the presence of God :) I cant wait!!


We have been contacting alot lately. Hey Alex, how many did you and your comp have to contact each week in Utah? Hahahaha the contacting is what has been hard for us. We will start up talks in the street and get an appointment but then we go by their house and they are not there, or it doesn't exist, and it's really hard because we have a ton of pueblos in our area!! So we are always taking buses and then they aren't home for the appointment. That is what has been hard for us right now. We keep working though. I have learned alot lately that WORK is what makes us happy. If we can learn how to do WORK we will have success in life, love our family and friends more, the Spirit will guide us, and we will feel the love of God in our lives. WORK is not fun all the time but it's what brings us satasfaction in our lives.


I have also learned a lot about Prayer. Every time we pray...we should receive revelation and guidance from the Lord. He really talks to us especially as we pray. Have you ever listened to what the Spirit has to say as you are praying?? He tells you what you need to say. Every prayer = Revelation. If we don't get it...it's because we don't know how to pray...because the Lord always answers. He loves us too much no to hahaha.


I love the mission and really the blessings of serving will come. I must be more humble to see them right now in my life, but I know that as we WORK the Lord always helps, guides, and bless us. If we give Him a crumb...He gives us the whole piece of bread!! I love you all and miss you all tons! Hope you all have a great and wonderful week!!


Love,
Elder Brady Lester

I uploaded more pictures!! Take a look at them!!

Mexico Week 51: 14 Months

Hey there everyone!


Well tomorrow I will officially have14 months in the mission. I am loving the mission, even though it's really hard, but I am getting excited to go home. I will keep working hard so that the time will pass by fast, hahaha. If I don't work it will be very slow. Thank you for all your letters. Mom and Grandma, thank you. Grandma, that last sentence of your email really helped me because something that has been hard for me is seeing the blessings here in the mission for the work that I am doing. Mom, your letter really helped as well. Things have been really hard and I feel like the Lord is really giving it to me hard. I have learned alot in the mission but my faith is being tried and has been tried for 14 months. Sometimes I feel like I am not good enough to do this work. Well I am not, its the Lord's work. It's just hard to see the talents and gifts that I have to do this work of the Lord.


Well this past week we had a Zone Conference and it was very inspiring. Elder Tate totally planched us on going prepared to listen and learn from the Spirit, not from really good leaders who talk pretty. Hahahaha I think we all repented in that moment as Missionaries, hahaha. Then President Reeves talked about teaching with the spirit and the importance of it. He said that an Elder who teaches well but without the Spirit could Baptize 100's in his mission, and an Elder who teaches with the Spirit only 10. The difference is that there are 10 converts not just 10 baptisms. He really wants us to learn how to teach and do the work the Lord's way. He also said that my gift was teaching and talking. He said that I was one of the best teachers in the mission. That made me feel good for a moment but then I repented for feeling like that. Elder Riggin talked about sharing the gospel and being happy about it. That really hit me and I never really thought about that before. Hahahaha, he said that I was the one that gave him the advice. He was having a hard week and something that Riggin is really good at is being a hard working and OBEDIENT Missionary. He feels like he is doing good but just does not have alot of success in his Misson. I told him something that came to my heart that is so true. "If you want personal revelation about the work, don't go to presidePt or come to me as your DL, talk with your companion." He did it and said that he received very usefull revelation. I love Elder Riggin. He is the best missionary here. I talked about doing splits with the Missionaries and the importance of them. It was a short topic not to big.


Well this past week I finally ate some new food. I ate cow tongue and sheep head. It was very good actually as a taco with some salsa...it's so delicious, hahaha. Also a sister here is going to teach me how to make my favorite food, Pozole, so that I can make it when I get home. Well just to let you know I have pictures but picasa over here is really weird so I don't know how to upload pictures. Just to let you in on some things that we do here - we send our clothes to a laundry place and the sister there washes our clothes for free. We do our shopping in a place called Soriana. It's like a Mexican Walmart hahahahaha its cool.


Well that's all I got this week. It was a slow and hard week. We didn't find any new investigators and we didn't teach much. Actually we found out that an investigator, a dad, is having sexual realations with his 12 year old daughter so the President has to call the Church lawyers in Mexico and this dude might go to jail and can't get the Holy Ghost because he was Baptized a while ago but didn't get the Holy Ghost. He is pretty much screwed hahaha. Well that's it for this week. I love you all and hope that you have a great week.


Love,
Elder Brady Lester

Mexico Week 50: Hard Week

Hey there everyone,


Thank you so much for your kind words and letters. Kolby thank you so much for your donation to Missionary Work. It is so important. Just to let you know I paid my Fast Offerings and also paid a bit to Temple construction because I really want to see a Temple here in Puebla so bad. Thank you everyone for your sweet words. Thank you Benson family for sending me some money that was sweet of you guys :)


Well there is not much to write this week. We worked really really hard but we had no success at all. We knocked doors, looked for people, less actives, and old investigatores. We walked a TON and nothing. We only taught a total of 5 lessons in the week. I have never had such little success in my Mission. It's not easy. The members don't want to help us and we are not getting any investigators. Really and honestly it is really hard right now. I feel like I am not doing something right. I got really tired on Saturday and wanted to quit, but I just repented and kept at it and we still didn't get anything. It's been hard here for me but I know things will get better. It's really hard especially after having so much success in Castillotla.


Well yesterday I gave a talk in church. The Bishop only gave me 5 minutes heads up but I gave a great talk on Missionary Work. I really layed it on the members letting them understand the importance of having them help in the cause. It was good. Yes Mom, we are studying that manual as well. It's a great book. He has some great teachings.


Well I know this is short but I hope everything goes good for you all. Dad I hope you get better and hope things go well in work. Hahaha you guys should come down to Puebla ;) It's pretty. Kids, I hope school keeps going well. Mom, I hope work is good and I love you all!! Grandma keep living the life on the beach!! Love you all and miss you tons!!


Love,
Elder Brady Lester

Mexico Week 49: Happy New Year

Hey there everyone!

Well I hope that you all had a great Happy New Year!! We are officially in the last year of the world, 2012!!! Hahahaha just kidding. If it's true that means I only have 1 month after the mission to be home and get married so that I can go to the Celestial Kingdom hahahahaha. Well I want to send a shout out to Bishop Turner and his family for the sweet package that they sent me for Christmas. Also to Grandma and Sister McAurthur for sending me money. I used that money to buy myself a jacket because it's so darn cold here!! I love you all!!

Well life has been going a bit hard here in Loma Florida. It's not easy being District Leader, especially of one of the biggest Districts in the Mission. It's also been tough with my companion. He is a little different but I love him for who he is. He loves video games so he talks about that all day hahaha, which just drives me up the wall! He also speaks English so he is really really prideful. He doesn't like to work at all but he thinks he is better than me hahaha. It's not been fun not having success these past two weeks...it's actually not so fun. It's really hard but I will be getting stuff done this week so I hope that we will be having alot of success this week.

This past week we didn't do much but the plan that I have here is to visit and reactivate a ton of less active members. I feel like we will be able to have success with that and find some Baptisms. Yesterday only 16 members showed up to Church hahaha and there are almost 300 in the ward so we have plenty of work to do!! We just have to start it up! There is no testimony here so the plan that I have is to teach the BoM to everyone so that they understand who they are and why they got Baptized in the first place. If they have a strong testimony of that book...they won't fall. It's not easy to fall with that book in our lives. In my district meeting I talked about the Book of Mormon and how we must use it in our Mission. Something that I learned is that we have to pray and ask the Lord how we must use it in our Mission. Cool huh!!

Well things are going good and I pray that they get better. I hope things are great at home!! I love you all and hope that you have a great week!!

Love,
Elder Brady Lester

Christmas Packages

We sent Brady two packages for Christmas because we couldn't fit everything in one box. It was fun putting these gifts together.

This is the first package that we sent in November so he could receive it in early December and decorate a bit for Christmas.

 Here is the second Christmas package:

 

 

Mexico Week 47: District Leader in Apizaco

Hello everyone!!


Well today the great rein of Elder Escamilla and Elder Lester ended! We had changes today, everyone in the mission, and I feel a little sad to leave my kid behind but I have a lot of work ahead of me here in the mission. Today I am in a small pueblo called Apizaco. My companion is Elder Estevez from Tijuana Mexico :) He is really a good guy and missionary. It looks like he really wants to work and get things done. It seems like he did not have a good relationship with his last comp and they did not get alot done. I really know that we are going to have a lot of success here and we are going to work hard. He really wants to work so we are going to get started today with our work. I have also been called as a District Leader, hahaha. Guess who is in my district!! Elder Riggin!!!!!! He is my Zone Leader but I am his District Leader!! I am so happy to be with him again. He is an awesome friend and missionary!! He is really excited to have me in the zone.


Well not much happened in the last week with Elder Escamilla. We just contacted and everyone there just gave us the door, hahahaha. I feel like here though we will have alot more success. We have alot of plans to get the work started here. I feel like it's my calling here in the mission - go to bad areas and get the work started, hahahaha. I know that the Lord has alot of plans for me in the future here in Puebla, so I need to just keep working and hopefully everything will go alright!!


Well there are no plans here for Christmas...just work. We are going to plan how we are going to call and do all of that on Christmas so I will let you know during the week what the plans are.


I love you all and hope that you all have a great week!! May the Lord always bless you!! I am sure I will have more to write soon now that we have work to do, hahaha. Love you all!!!


Love,
Elder Brady Lester