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 64: Elder Bednar

Hi Family!!

Well this past week was a joyful week. Thank you for all writing me. I love you all so very much and I appreciate your love and support towards me. I have a testimony that an Elder in the Mission sees many blessings in the Mission just for the love and support of a family. I am grateful to have a loving family and I pray that you will always support me in my decisions, especially in the future because I will be staring my life very soon. Grandma, I send my love and prayers and congrats to Kelly!! That is wonderful!!! That is sweet that the Suns and Dbacks are all doing great. Kasey, congrats on wearing a suit!!!!!!! And for blessing the sacrament. It is such a blessing.

As you all know Elder Bednar came on Saturday to Puebla. It was a great learning and spiritual experience. I was able to feel such a Spirit as he and his wife, as well as other General Authorities talked to us. It was a SWEET conference. He didn’t talk to us, but rather it was a conversation between him and us. It was awesome. I also got to shake his hand and look him into the eyes. Hahahahaha, the first thing that he told us was "I hope that you don’t take notes of what I say. I have given up on adults. The rising generation is the hope of this world. Adults writing notes in conferences is so silly." Hahahahaha, when he said that I couldn’t help but laugh. I loved it! He also taught us something so true about agency. Agency is the will to choose but not right from wrong. Agency is choosing God. We don’t have the option he told us. We MUST choose God and nothing else. When we rebel and don’t choose God, we lose our agency because we can’t choose our consequences. When we choose God we choose our consequences. It is so true and it really taught me alot.

We stayed 3 days in Puebla which was sweet and we stayed with Elder Riggin!!!! It was a blast! Hahahaha, we didn’t sleep much because we talked a ton, but it was fun. After the conference with Elder Bednar, my comp and I went with Elder Escamilla and his comp to Applebees. It was soooooooooo good, hahahahha. Just to let you know, I forgot my camera so I will have to send photos next week sorry.

I love you all and I am grateful to be a Missionary and to have a Testimony of the Gospel. I love this Church with all my heart.

Love,

Elder Lester

Mexico Week 63: Slow Week, but Elder Bednar is coming on Saturday!

Hey Family!!

Sorry I don't have much time to write. I am happy that you all had a great time this past Easter weekend. It's very different here. The members of the Church don't really celebrate Easter but the Catholics do. They all celebrate the death of Christ which is all very different and they don't understand that Christ really lives. I am very happy to know that Christ does live and that He loves us. He continues to bless us through His prophets and leaders.

Not a lot happened this week. Everyone went out of town and we didn't get in a lot of teaching. It was a difficult week trying to figure out what to do so that we could have success. I feel that in this upcoming week we will be able to have a lot of success. I am very excited for this week because we are going to have a Zone Conference in Puebla on Friday, and on Saturday Elder Bednar is coming and I am very excited for that. I hope that I am able to learn something so that I am able to feel the Spirit and have a bigger desire to share the Gospel.

Well sorry, I don't have much time. I love you all and hope that you all have a great week. Next week I will send some photos because it's been a while. 

I love you and miss you all so very much!!

Love,

Elder 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