Mexcio Week 95: Final Week

Hey Everybody! 

Well I am entering into my last week in the Mission. It's gone by fast. I would like to mention some of my experiences and talk about how great of a Mission it has been and what I have learned. I hope that it might be of great worth to the boys since they all want to be going on a Mission. 

The Mission has been the best yet most difficult experience that I have had in my life. I think that because it was difficult it was great. I remember when I first came to Mexico I wanted to go home. I remember wanting to just give up but I was inspired to go on and finish. Hahaha, I remember hating the food and feeling lonely since my companion wasn't the best and the members were a little mean. I realized that it was just culture shock. Hahaha, since then I have had a lot of difficult times but I have put them behind trying to learn from them. I remember when I was a Branch President, things were really hard and I thought that I was losing faith. Afterwards I learned that my testimony grew and was strengthened from the trials that took place in Chignahuapan. I remember the members and the things that I learned from them as I tried to help them with the spiritual and temporal needs.

I learned alot in Castillotla about Missionary Work and how to really do it. Elder Escamilla and I had great times and a lot of success and I will always remember my time with him. I really enjoyed training Elder Escamilla and also learning from him. He is a great friend. I learned a lot about leadership in Loma Florida (Apizaco) when I was a DL and I had a struggling district with struggling wards. We ended up doing miracles for the Lord there in that district.

 

I remember that I learned the importance of working with members in Totolac (Tlaxcala). Wow, we did some great stuff there Elder Nuncio, Elder Lopez, and I with the members. We ended up having success for the members. They are great there.

 

Now as an AP I have learned a lot of everything. Having to run a Mission of over 100 Missionaries is not an easy task and I have so much respect for the President. He is a great man and has taught me a lot, especially about the future after the Mission and how to apply everything I have learned here, there in the real world. 

I have learned a lot in the Mission and I know that it will help me throughout my life, but I believe that the most valuable thing that I have learned here, that I will always treasure is understanding how and why to apply the Atonement in my life. I really understand that it is more than just repenting everyday. I have learned that it is essential for us to experiment it everyday. I have learned that to be able to experiment it each day we must be obedient. It's impossible to understand the Atonement or even experiment it if we are not obedient. Most people think that you must be a sinner and sin to understand it, but I believe that you must be obedient to understand it because the obedient repent....sinners might not. I have learned that the Atonement has a divine power that can set us apart from reaching our potential....yet it allows us to go beyond that if it is required, and more times than not, God needs us to go past our potential so that we may help Him establish His Kingdom and we do it through the atonement. 

I have learned that really we must understand the importance of the Atonement because it is the center of all we do. We could study the Book of Mormon and find that a lot of scriptures that maybe we don't see very well talk about the Atonement. The Bible actually only refers to the word Atonement one time were as the Book of Mormon refers to it 39 times. Besides the fact that it mentions the word more in the Book of Mormon, helps us understand at a broader view what the Atonement is through personal experiences of the Nephite and Lamanite people. 

I know that the Atonement is important. I know that it is essential for us to apply it to our lives each day. We must experiment at some point in our lives a little what He experienced. I testify as His representative that Christ lives! He loves us. He wants us to be like him and through His Atonement we can do it. 

With Love,

Elder Brady Lester

Areas and Companions

ELDER BRADY LESTER – AREAS AND COMPANIONS

1^st Area:  Huacaltzingo :  January 28, 2011 – May 30, 2011

1^st Companion and Trainer:  Elder Villaba, from Chihuahua Mexico – January 28^th - March 7^th

2^nd Companion:  Elder Lumbreras, from Mexico - March 7^th – May 30^th

2^nd Area:  Castillotla:  May 31, 2011 – December 2, 2011

3^rd Companion:  Elder Rojas, from Peru - May 31^st – August 22^nd

4^th Companion:  Became Senior Companion to: Elder Escamilla, from Sonora Mexico - August 22^nd – December 19^th

3^rd Area:  Centro – Center of Puebla:  Elder’s Lester and Escamilla were transferred on December 3, 2011 – December 19, 2011

4^th Area:  Apizaco – District Leader: December 19, 2011 – March 20, 2012

5^th Companion: Elder Estevez, from Tijuana Mexico

5^th Area:  Chignahuapan – Branch President:  March 20, 2012 –  June 18, 2012

6^th Companion: Elder Cano, from Sinaloa Mexico – March 20^th – May 7^th

7^th Companion:  Elder Rojas, from Peru - May 7^th – June 18^th (not the same Elder Rojas from Castillotla)

6^th Area: Tlaxcala – Zone Leader:  June 18, 2012 – September 2, 2012

8^th Companion:  Elder Nuncio, from Mexico - June 18^th – July 23^rd  

9^th Companion:  Elder Lopez, from Ecuador - July 23^rd – September 2^nd

7^th Area:  Puebla – Assistant to the President, AP, with Elder Lopez:   September 3, 2012 – Present

Mexico Week 81: Baptims of David Andres and Miranda

Hey Family!

Well it’s been raining a lot as of late!  We are getting wet, wet, and more wet!!  It’s hard to work in the rain but we are having success. It has been fun!  I really love my companion.  He is a great missionary.  I love being with the missionaries who teach me. He has taught me and he is a great friend. Today we are in Chignahuapan, hahahaha! We asked permission from the President and he said yes, hahahaha.  It has been fun visiting places and people that I knew here. I have heard that the branch fell hard a few weeks after I left. I feel sad for that. I hope things get better.  My comp and I will be going soon.  Elder Rojas is doing good here but he just is having a hard time with his comp. He is a great missionary Elder Rojas, I love him as well.

Thanks for all writing me hahaha.  Well I only got 3 months left but I plan to work hard and finish strong.  I have plans to keep working after the Mission as well. It has been great so far. The Zone that I am in is a Blessed Zone.  We have been working hard and really we have the best Missionaries in the Mission in our Zone.  I am happy for that.   

On Saturday Elder Lopez and I Baptized 2! Hahahaha, David Andres and Miranda. It was awesome!  We pretty much stayed all day in the Church building because it was Stake conference as well. We Baptized David at 1:00 pm and Miranda at 8:00 pm. It was a great service and a ton of people came!!

We have been working hard and this week we will have another Baptism, Jaime Santacruz is his name. He is like 30 and he is a great investigator! We plan to have at least 2 on the 25th of August. The work has been flourishing in our area.  We are really happy and I love working.  We have been working well with the members as well. We have had alot of success with them. The Family Minor came back from vacation finally so we are planning to work hard with them so that we can get them to go to Church and also have a Baptism date. The Mission has been going great so far. I only hope that we will have success for the rest of my time here.

Well I gotta go. We have to get back to our area and it’s about 2 hours away. I love you all.  I want to wish a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Braxley. I hope you are doing great Brax, I love ya!  I also want to send a late HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Brennan.  I hope you are doing just as well.  Sounds like work, school, and Church are doing great!!  I hope that you all have a great week!!  Love you all!!

Love,

Elder Brady Lester

 

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 74: Rain & Clothing

Hey Everyone,

Well things are going great here and I am just loving the Mission. Hahahaha, I have not been much in my area this past week since I have been in exchanges with all of the District Leaders in the Zone, and today I am in a place called San Martin where I will be working for the next two days. Things are going great. I will be honest, I miss being a Branch President or even a District Leader. Hahahaha, it’s very different being a Zone Leader and I am not sure what I think about it yet.

That stinks that the Heat won the championship. I was routing for the Thunder, haha!
 
Well it’s raining again over here in the Mission. I am lucky to have one of those areas where the streets look live rivers, hahaha. My other pair of shoes are just thrashed and so I think I am going to be working alot more in my "Sunday" ones to finish off the Mission. While we are talking about clothes I will just let you all know how my clothing is hahaha. Like I said, I am pretty much down to one pair of shoes. I have one good belt, hahaha. I am also loving my garments, hahaha. They are grey and with holes, and sometimes it’s hard to get those stains out from behind, hahaha, it’s awesome. I think that my shirts are yellowish now. They seem white but when I am with other Missionaries who have less time in the Mission their shirts are way white, hahaha.  My pants are just different colors. My grey ones look like some ugly brown and my blue ones look like they are turning colors like if I was washing with bleach.  My socks are just...well let’s just say bad.  Thank you for the socks Mom!  Hahaha I think that is the best present a Missionary could get....and hot fries hahaha.  My blue suit is just a sad mess. I think that I am going to leave it behind when it’s time for me to go home, hahaha.  I really won’t use it after.  My ties....wow my ties. Let’s just say I need to learn how to eat better, hahahaha.  I am just looking back at all the money that we spent and it’s just going all down the drain, hahaha.  I love it.  The good thing is that I still have one good suit, that I will have to tailor again to my size. My hush puppies are still good.  And I have one good belt and a pair of good jeans that I bought here because I got paint all over my other ones, hahaha.
 
Just to let you know Mom, I think that it would be better to save up the money to come as a family here next year instead of coming for me in November.  The Church does pay for the ticket so don’t worry about that.  They will probably buy my ticket soon. I think I am going to ask the President if they could fly me out of Mexico City instead of Puebla so that I could go to the Temple before I go home.
 
Things are just great!  I really love my companion and we are getting alot done.  We are trying to help the Zone be more obedient because we have had problems in that, so we are trying to be the best examples.  We are teaching a bit but we need to find new investigators because we are dropping some and are we are hoping to Baptize soon.  We put the goal to go eat seafood if we Baptize, hahaha.  It’s rare to eat that here. I am going to work hard so that I can buy myself some shrimp.

The other day I ordered some leather scripture cases from a brother in Castillotla.  He is going to make them and I am going to pay and get them in like a week or two when I go to Puebla. We are getting ready for our Zone Conference this Friday. The new President is going to be here so it’s going to be exciting.
 
Well I hope that all continues to go well back at home. I feel sorry for Brink and her wisdom teeth. Hope that you feel better soon. You are all in my prayers I and love you all tons!

 

Love,
Elder Brady Lester

Mexico Week 73: Zona Tlaxcala‏

Hey Everyone! 

I hope everything is going great back at home!! Well I am now in Tlaxcala as a Zone Leader. My comp is Elder Nuncio, Mexican, and he is really awesome!!  I love him and am so happy to be with him. We are the Zone Leaders here and we are going to have a lot of work to do with the Mission splitting and stuff. We are going to be traveling a ton!!  I am way excited and ready to get to work.

Thanks for your letters. Just to let you know Grandma, there are not any taco bells here. Hahahaha, actually I think that I will never go to taco bell again after the Mission.  They are not tacos at all!!  Congrats Kasey and Kolby for getting your Eagle Scout awards!!  That’s awesome! Keep it up! I hope that you all have a great summer. Just to let you know Mom, I got your package and thank you tons!!  My comp and I already ate all the food hahahaha :)  Brink, I wrote Sean and he is doing good. He is going to be a great Missionary.

Well I don’t have much time to write. Things have been going great.  I am trying to get back into the routine of being a Missionary again hahaha, and not a Branch President.  I am back on track teaching and getting ready to Baptize alot.  It’s fun just being a normal Missionary working hard.  I have made the goal to be 100% obedient these last 5 months that I have in the Mission. It’s hard but it is so worth it. I am so glad to be in the Mission. I have learned alot.

I am grateful for the Atonement of Christ and am so grateful that here in the Mission I have really learned how to use it each day of my life.  I am so happy that He paid the price so that we can return to His house. He really really wants us just to work hard and do our best because He loves us. If we do our best we will return home again with Him.  He never leaves us alone if we fulfill what He has commanded us to do.

This week we have been teaching a sister, Elbia, and she is great.  We put a Baptism date for her for the 7th of July.  She didn’t want to accept so we were praying real hard so that she would feel that it is the right thing to do. On Sunday our prayers were answered.  The second counselor in the Stake Presidency gave a talk about receiving revelation and the importance to make goals and accept dates so that the adversary doesn’t tempt us hahaha.  It was exactly what Elbia needed and my comp and I just looked at each other like WOW!  Hahahaha, God answers prayers hahaha!!  I know He does.

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

Love,
Elder Brady Lester

3 Nefi 5:13

Mexico Week 72: Transfers

Hey there Everyone!

Thanks for writng me. I loved your letters. Brink I have written Sean but it seems to me that it didn't get to him because I got an email telling me that the address was wrong, so if you could send it to me again that would be awesome. Hahaha, well Kolby, I think that the Heat will win, but I want the Thunder to win. Shame that Boston lost. Things sound great at home! Grandma you should tell your boss to start a school in Mexico or Panama. He would make alot of money especially for the English. Brasil will be a cool place though.

Well just to let everyone know because I know that you are all anxious to know hahaha, I do have transfers. I am happy about it. I would like to stay one more transfer but I am willing to follow the Lord. I am happy for my companion Elder Rojas because he will be the next president and he is going to do great. He has been a blessing to the branch and will help even more.  Exciting things are happening in the branch and I really love this place. I think that it's my favorite area hahaha, more than Castillotla even though Elder Escamilla and I had alot of success there. There is just something about Chignahuapan that I love. Who knows where I will go and who will be my comp but tomorrow I will find out! There are 3 places, Tlaxcala, Amalucan (which is my first zone and I could visit Hualcatzingo, and if he doesn't have changes Elder Walker would be my comp, hahaha) or Angelopolis, which is like the US hahaha, because everyone has money. It's kinda like Gilbert. I have to send the pics still but Elder Escamilla, Elder Cano, and I went to eat at Applebees there :) Hahaha there is a Mac store and everything is just like at home. That would be a sweet area but who knows. I would just love an American comp now hahaha. But its possible that my next area is my last but who knows.

Elder Riggin is going home today and Elder Rojas, the lazy one. Hahaha I talked to Elder Riggin. He is going to find you on Facebook Mom so that you guys plan out the day when I get home, he wants to be there and loves you all so much. He is really a great friend. I think that he will stay in Washington for a while and study and work because one of his comps that is from Ecuador is going to live with him up there for a year. Hahaha he does have a girl who is studying though, Elder Riggin, at UoA in Tucson. Apparently she is a Mexican and speaks Spanish hahaha. He is excited about it but is really wanting to go to AZ.

Well things are going great. I love the Mission and really am Happy. I am happy to know be able to work as a normal missionary. I am really excited to get back out to teaching and contacting all the time and working with the leaders of the wards and not being one hahaha. I have alot of respect for them, like Bishop Turner. They really are called of God and everything that they do is by revelation. It's been a great learning experience to be here. It will help me be a great leader in the church and help me raise my family in the future.

Well I hope that you have a great week. I love you all so much and miss you tons!! I will let you know next week where I am and who is my comp :)

Love,
Elder Brady Lester

Mexico Week 67: BP Responsibilities and Growth, and It's Fun...

Feliz Cinco de May Familia! 

Thank you for all your great and amazing letters. I love you all so very much and I am glad to see that everything is going great back at home and that you are all busy and working. Working is what really makes us happy and I am happy to be able to work for the Lord in Puebla. It’s hard but it’s worth it. Thank you Brink for sharing that quote and it’s so very true. The food that you guys made dad sounded delicious. Sadly, because I am not in the city, I did not see nor celebrate Cinco de Mayo. I heard that it was great but in my 2 years here I have not been able to see it for being in pueblos hahahaha. Don’t worry Mom, I will go to Puebla when my package comes because I have to go get a bunch of materials for the branch that I bought. We go in bus :)  

 Well I have my new companion...just don’t freak out. It’s Elder Rojas and he is from Peru...but he is not the same Elder Rojas hahahaha. He is a little taller, way cooler, and a very hard worker. I really love him alot. The Presidente sent him here with me for 2 reasons. First, he will help me be ready to accept more responsibility very soon. I don’t know what that means because I don’t know what would be more than Branch President. Second, I am training him so that he can be ready to be the next Branch President. That is a great privilege for me and him. Hahahaha, they never trained me...just threw me in hahaha. But I am learning alot more about how I am supposed to do my job as I teach him. I believe that I only have a little time left and that I have almost done what the Lord wanted me to do. I am so happy with what is going on in the branch. I have seen so much progress. The members have said that they haven’t seen the branch like this for the 13 years that it has. Yesterday 34 people went!!! I was so happy because usually there are only like 19 but 34!! We also have 3 Baptisms for this Sunday and a little girl will be Baptized this week. She has 8 years :)

I am loving the work and it’s just fun to do what is right and live the Gospel. It’s fun to be obediente and keep the rules. It’s fun to study and learn. It’s fun to help people and teach the Gospel. I can really see what President Reeves wants each Missionary to experience as Missionaries. It’s also fun to clean the house, hahahaha. My comp and I got a start on that today and we will finish at night.

Yesterday I received some very sad news. A sister in my branch was beaten by her husband so hard that she is in a coma. When I heard that it was after hearing a few members confess to me about some things that they did that were very wrong. I went upstairs to my office and cried. I started feeling like Alma and Nephi, seeing so much wickedness. I knew that her husband had been hitting her for about 3 weeks now because we have been visiting her alot. We have been trying to help her with that but apparently it’s been a problem for 5 years. She has three sweet girls and two of them are our investigators. The dad is not a member...he is now in jail. Last night we went to the hospital to visit her and give her a blessing but the doctor would not let us see her for her condition. Today we will go again and we will visit her each day as well. I pray that everything will be better. When she wakes up, I will also have to help her, as her President, do the right thing and send in an abuse report so that this freaking guy stays in jail.

We have planned a trip to go to the Temple as a branch!!!!!! It will be the 26 of May and I really hope that we can get permission to go as Missionaries because it’s in Mexico City, but I think that we will because we are the leaders. But still I am happy that the members will have this blessing to go because they don’t get to go alot.

 

Well I gotta go!! On Sunday we can talk but it will be very short for the things that I have to do. The number that you can call is 797 100 7476. That is the normal number but I know that you will have to add numbers because it’s long distance. Mom and the kids...if you could call me at 5:00 my time, and Dad I will need you to call me at 6:00 my time. We will have about 40-60 minutes to talk. I am sorry that it will be short but I have meetings and tithing to deposit and interviews. If you want to call tomorrow night to see if it works that will be fine :) 

I love you so very much!!!



Love,
Elder Lester