Mexico Week 83: Baptisms of Jaime Santacruz and Moises Paredes

Hey There Everyone!!

Well this week was an interesting one hahaha. I have had problems with my right knee, my tendon.  I have been in my house all week because the doctor told me I need to rest my knee for 1-2 weeks. It’s been very tiring.  My knee gets tired really fast.   

We did not work alot this week. We just went to the appointments that we had. We Baptized though, hahaha, two people, Jaime Santacruz and Moises Paredes.  Hahaha, I have never thought that it’s possible to Baptize when someone doesn’t work, hahaha but we did it.  God keeps blessing us. I did alot of reading in the scriptures and Jesus the Christ in bed hahahaha, while icing my knee. I also did alot of thinking about what I want to study and the business I want to start hahaha. I had kind of a week of resting, thinking, and eating, hahaha. It was kind of frustrating cuz I wanted to work but I received alot of revelation.

Thanks for writing me! I can’t believe that Kasey is dating now, hahaha, but Camille is a great choice :)  Hope that you have fun at the dance!  I want pictures. I am glad to hear that you are all doing great!  The time is going by so fast and soon I will be back home hahaha.  It’s going to be weird for the first couple of weeks but it’s going to be fun hahaha. 

Well I gotta go. I hope that in the afternoon I can upload some pics for you guys! We ate chiles enogadas the other day with our ward mission leader and we got pics!  It’s the best food of Puebla.   

Sorry my email is short...not alot happened this week to be honest. Not alot to say for being in bed.  Hahaha, actually I found out that an Elder who goes home in November with me got sent home with Honor for some knee problems, but when I heard that I told the President in my interview that I will tough it out for 3 more months, hahaha. I love you all! 

Con Amor,
Elder 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 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 41: Changes and Miracles

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you for all your wonderful letters. I love reading your letters each week because they always make me happy and ready for the week. Just want to let you know that I love you all even though I dont write much to each of you. I know that some of you are concerned about that, but I have 1 1/2 hours to write and I try to write everyone but never have the chance to. I am always busy writting letters to my converts as well, but please know that I love you all and hope that you all understand that you are in my prayers always.

Well this next Monday we might have transfers. I kinda feel like I am going but I hope not. I do have 6 months in this area but I would like 3 more. I have really fallen in love with this area. We are having alot of success and I just know that we will have more here pretty soon. I have grown to love Elder Escamilla like a brother, and really he is a great example and is the best Missionary in the Mission. I would love to continue working with him but we will see what the Lord wants from me. Some of my converts are sad and really don't want me to go. Hahahaha, Hermano Euloterio said that he doesn't want to go to Church and not see me, so he doesn't want to go, but I had to talk to him and let him know that I would see him again in one year and that he needs to stay strong in the Church. Hermana Cony opened up a hair cutting place and she wanted me to pick out the name (Cony`s Great Clips), and she dedicated the place to me hahahaha. So sweet. It made me cry.  

Well this past week on Wednesday, Elder Escamilla and I had the great opportunity of working with the Mission President in our area all day, hahaha!! How crazy!! It was a great experience and we learned alot. It was kinda scary at first but I loved the experience and the things that we learned. He really taught us the importance of working with the members. It really inspired me to keep working hard and with the members because that is how the investigators will progress more. Also we talked about how we could split the Ward and the importance of having Priesthood in the Ward. We took that to thought and we really want to start reactivating Priesthood and Baptizing men, hahaha so we are going to try and focus on that.

One lesson we taught with him was to one of our investigators, Hna Gabriela, and her family. We knocked on the door and the mom, Hna Gabriela, and her sister were all crying, yelling, and fighting. Well we started to just listen and it was about money and financial problems. We listened and listened and finally I opened my mouth and started talking about the Atonement and the importance of that in their lives. My companion testified of what I said, but Hna Gabriela said that she didn't want God in her life anymore and that He can't help her with her problems. Well when she said that the President spoked with power and really loud and testified as a Representative of Jesus Christ that they needed the Atonement, and that no one should put down that importance of Christ`s suffering in our lives. He started talking about happiness and the blessings that one can receive as they live according to the Atonement. When he spoke the Spirit was so strong. They all stopped crying, yelling, and fighting, and started listening. We ended with a prayer. The next day we talked with Hna Gabriela and she accepted a Baptism date. It was a great lesson. Today we have another lesson with her and we hope that all goes well with her and her family. 

This past week on Saturday, my companion started having stomach pains in the morning. In the afternoon we went and ate with a member and the pain was worse and he was screaming almost. He called the mission doctor and he told him to take medicine and only drink water and gatorade. Well he did that, and later the sister with whom we ate asked for a blessing. We gave her a blessing and when we left the house, my comp could hardly walk, so we walked quickly to a members house, Familia Ferrusca, because the sister is a nurse. We got there and he was screaming and crying with this pain, and so she sent him to a doctor in the pharmacy. They took us there in their car and the doctor said that it was really bad and gave him an oil shot in the butt, hahaha, and said that we needed to go to the hospital. I called the President and he told us which hospital to go. The good thing was that it was close to us. The members took us in their car and as we were driving I gave my companion a blessing and it was a wonderful experience. I knew that for his Faith, he would be alright. I also had a little mini vision of what he is going to do in the Mission. The Lord gave me that opportunity. Elder Escamilla really is going to do alot of good and work miracles here in Puebla. I just know it. Well we got to the hospital and we were there for 5 hours, and they would not let me in so I was all alone for 5 hours, hahaha. It was a little weird. I had to keep calling the President and my Bishop to let them know how things were. The doctors told me that we would have to spend the night and I was really worried for my comp and was crying for a bit for reals. I said a prayer and one hour later he walked out. I was so happy when I saw him and know that God really showed His hand in our lives.

I love my companion and really don't want anything to happen to him. After, we started walking around for a bit because my comp wanted to walk and I saw a Krispy Kreme!!!!!! In Puebla!!!!! I went running and bought myself 6 donuts and ate them all!!!! Hahahaha I love Krispy Kreme. 

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

Mexico Week 35: Baptism Commitments, Rabbit and Crickets!

Hey there family!

Well thank you again for all your letters! I really enjoy reading them all! Sounds like you are all making bank hahaha kids!! Make sure you are paying your tithing and the Lord will bless you with the wisdom of spending and saving your money wisely. I am glad you boys had fun on the campout, and Kolby thank you for sharing your thoughts on prayer. What you learned is exactly what we must do as we pray. We must ask what the Lord wants and not what we want. Wanna know how to do it? Something that I learned here personally on the mission is the importance of listening to the Spirit AS we pray. He will tell us what we must say and ask for. If we do that we can receive instant revelation and we will really feel that the Lord is answering our prayers. I invite all of you to do that as you pray. I promise it is hard the first couple times, but it's hard to listen to the Spirit in this world. Brinkley, thank you for sharing a part of Garrett´s talk. What he said is so true. It's something that I am slowly learning here in the mission...the importance to talk to everyone!! We will see blessings as we do it, and we will be able to bless others as well.

Well this week was a difficult week of work. Elder Escamilla and I were working really hard and we didn't have much success. We would pass by investigators homes and nobody would be there. We would then go and try to visit less active members and nobody! We taught hardly anybody this week. We have now a total of 5 Baptisms who are wanting to get Baptized but they need to get married. Stinkin Mexico hahahaha! We are just waiting until they can get married. We are trying to help with everything that we can but it is hard here because a Bishop can't marry someone here like in the US. They have to be married by the government even if they get sealed in the Temple.

This week we did have success with two new investigators that we found. Hna Alicia and Hna Monica. They are sweet ladies and accepted us into their home and they started talking really openly. Hna Alicia started talking about 2 paths in this life, good and bad. Well I took that as a way to start a lesson. I opened up the Book of Mormon to 3 Nephi 27:33 and we started to talk about Baptism. It was a great lesson. They really understood the importance of it and they both accepted Baptism. Now they have a problem with attending Church on Sunday because they sell stuff in the street and their best day of work is Sunday, so this week we are going to talk about that, commit them to go to Church every Sunday, and get a Baptism date going :) I am really excited!! They are just great loving ladies!

This week we also stared teaching alot to a lady named Hna Gina who talked to us in the street one day and said that she wanted to come to our Church. Well we invited her to Church, she came and we got a lesson with her. She is a member of the Hindu religion which is very weird and rare here. She has a ton of tatoos and earings but she loves to talk about the Bible. When we teach she takes notes!! Its awesome! As we teach she asks alot of questions which is great. The other lesson that we had just two days ago she told us that when she was like 4 or 5 she listened to the Missionaries because her dad let them in the house, but he rejected them after awhile. She said that when I was talking and bearing my testimony the first time, she said it reminded her of when she was a little girl and the things that she felt when the Missionaries were in her house. I thought that was sweet and it strengthened my testimony that the Lord really prepares people for us. That day she accepted Baptism but she needs to get married, so her Baptism date for her and her son Diego is the 12th of November. I really hope she gets married because I might be leaving this area on the 14th of November. Elder Escamilla and I are together for 2 changes/3 months. She is a sweet lady :)

Nothing else much happened this week. Yesterday Elder Escamilla Elder Lamb and Lopez and I went and ate with a lady in our ward who lives forever away and she gave us rabbit again. It was SOOOOOOOOOOO good! I really like rabbit meat. I also ate another bag of the crickets that they sell here. I love them...especially with salsa and lime :) This week we also reactivated another inactive member! I also lost another tie to my Bishop playing chess and losing hahaha. He loves ties and chess and so I have played him three times and lost 2 ties and won 1 hahah! I think I am going to stop playing him now lol. He also bought us tacos :) And he bought us some drink food thing called Esquite. What it is, is a soup with just corn and melted butter in a cup with mayonase chili powder and cheese. It's really good I loved it!!

Well this upcoming week is General Conference! If you have not had they chance yet to read President Uchtdorf´s talk in the Ensign for the month of September, READ IT!! It's awesome and it will help you prepare for conference because like he says "its no ordinary blessing." I love you all and hope that all your prayers will be answered this weekend as we listen to a Prophets voice. I just want to bear my testimony that I know President Monson is a Prophet of God. He knows us and loves us just like our Father in Heaven. May we seek his word always. I love you all! Until next week!

Love,

Elder Brady Lester

Letters to Siblings and Mom

Dear Kolby,


Thank you for your letter bro. I want to take a little time to write you :) You are awesome Kolby!! I am glad that you are going to start reading the BoM because my testimony of that book is what really helps me help the people, because I know without a doubt that it is true. It has helped me so much and I see the blessings of living by its teachings. Keep it up brother! Things here are awesome! Elder Escamilla and I are doing great. We Baptized 2 more yesterday! We are having a great time working together! New foods...not really. Yesterday I did buy a little bag of crickets to eat with lime :) It was good! I love you tons Kolby!!


Elder Lester

Dear Braxely,


Hey bro!! How are things? Thank you for your letter but please write more hahaha! That's good that you are getting things done with scouts! Even if its boring, try to make it fun. If you do that you will enjoy it and learn even more! Well things here are great! I am learning tons and really feel the love of God in my life. Do you feel His love? I hope you are praying and reading the BoM everyday because that is how you feel His love. If you don't feel His love, you don't know Him...something I have learned :) Well keep up with the chores and your straight As!!


Elder Lester

Dear Kasey,


What a blessing it is that you have a job! That is awesome! I hope that you give the Lord thanks for that blessing in your life. Something I learned recently in the BoM is that the righteous always gave thanks to their Lord and we must too. I hope you won't be stupid like me and waste all of your money. Save most of it but always enjoy it and treat yourself to something good after a hard week of work. But be wise! I am so happy that school is going great! Keep it up! School is one of the most important things you must work and focus on. I love you tons and you are really my best friend in the world! I miss you more that anybody and you are always in my prayers! I can't wait to see you in 14 months so I can still school you in bball lol :)


Elder Lester

Dear Brinkley,


Things sound like you are doing a ton! Work is awesome and especially nanny jobs because you are right, it will help you for your future family. The calling of a mother is the most important calling somebody can have in this life. More important than being the prophet hahaha, and God gives that calling to you wonder women. It's a sacred calling and the Lord gives all the help needed to fulfill it successfully. I hope you have a great week! I love you :)


Elder Lester

Hey Mom,


Just wanted to write you a quick letter to let you know that I love you tons! You do so much for me and always have the best for me in mind. Even though we are miles away, I really do feel your love in my life. I really feel like the Lord is blessing you and all the kids with so much!! Always remember that we all love you. Even though sometimes the kids don't show their appreciation much towards you for what you are trying to teach them, remember that you are not the only one. Think of a missionary who gets rejected by someone trying to do something good and bring his salvation into his life. Think about Jesus Christ. Every time we sin we really don't show our appreciation for His atonement. I feel like we take advantage of it alot. We don't give thanks for that blessing. The Lord does not put trials in our lives...He only allows the adversary to try us so that we can learn and grow. Without that we can't return to His presence. We are tried and if we come out faithful we will be blessed.

Read D&C 121:1-9. Those are all times that we feel, but there is a promise in there for all of us. Read 1 Nephi 3:7. The Lord always provides a way for us in our difficulties. Remember that you are a daughter of God. You hold the greatest calling in the world...a Mother. I told Brinkley in her email that it is even more important than being the prophet. The Lord entrusts the future of His kingdom in your hands. Your kids are the future of the church, leaders and missionaries and parents. You have the responsibilty of raising us. Sounds intimidating I know...but you can do it.

Remember that you can pray and He listens and answers. That is your greatest tool as a Mother...prayer and counsel from Him in the scriptures. That is how you can receive revelation as a Mom. It won't come all at once, but one day you will realize that all your life you were actually receiving revelation for your family. Have faith and keep the commandments. You also have leaders who have been called to help you as a Mother. I love you and am so grateful to my Heavenly Father that He gave me the best Mother in the world.


Love you,
Elder Brady Lester

Mexico Week 31: Finally...a Great Working Companion!

Hey Arizona and family!!

Well first I gotta say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Kolby!! I can't believe you are turning 13 tomorrow!! And you are going to be 14 when I get back and in High School!! I hope you have a great bday!! Kids thank you for your letters! I really enjoyed them. I really miss you all and always pray that you are all right. I hope that the Lord is blessing each of you. Just to answer your questions....I did try new food yesterday...rabbit hahaha and it was delicious!! It tastes like chicken and appartenly it's healthier...but don't tell Daisy or Honey that lol ;)

Well I don't have much time to write today because we have alot of work, but things are rolling in my area!! Hna Sandra was not able to be Baptized last week because she is not married and lives with her "husband." That's a big problem here with the people and they need to be married or separated to be Baptized. We actually have some investigators who want to get Baptized but married no...who knows why. But the good news is that she wants to and her husband too!!! So they need to get some papers ready and I think in the next week we will marry them and then Baptize Hna Sandra finally!! After 3 long months with her!! This week we are also looking to have 3 Baptisms!! The two little boys from Hna Alejandra and a sweet sister, Hna Coni who just loves listening to us and always feeds us when we go teach her hahaha! She really felt the Spirit at Church yesterday and is really excited to be Baptized. She really wants to help her family out too so we will see if when can start teaching them. Also yesterday a brother in the ward was telling me that some 8 year old girl from the ward is going to have her Baptism and Saturday and all that jazz, and I was thinking that it was just another "please come elders to support my child" thing which we always do hahaha, but later he told me that the dad of this girl is not a member so her mom wants me to Baptize her hahaha!! How cool is that! God really gave me a blessing there :)

Things are going great with my comp. I feel really pressured because I have a ton of responsibility, but I know that through prayer the Lord is helping me out. But really I have not felt so tired and stressed in my life before. It's really hard being a trainer. He is so great though! He loves to teach, contact, and just talk to the people. He has such a love for the people here and his Spirit is amazing. I really feel that we are going to have success here. He hates studying hahaha and practicing teaching, but he his trying hard to get to love it haha. By the way Mom, he doesn't know President Jones. He did go to the MTC in Mexico...all Missionaries do but he only went 3 weeks because he doesn't have to learn another language. That reminds me...do you have Mark Scanlans email address? Anyways he is great and I am really excited to be with him! We have 2 changes together for sure since I am his dad hahaha.

Well I gotta go now! I love being here. The weather has been great. It rained all last week and it's raining right now. Hahaha we got soaked walking to an appointment the other night but the sister cried because she thought we were so amazing walking in the pouring rain without jackets just to visit and share a message with her and her husband hahaha. But things are great!! I love and miss you all!!

Love,
Elder Brady Lester

Mexico Week 21: Hard Week

Hey everyone,

Well this past week was probably the hardest week in the mission. I am sorry to say but I have lost complete trust in my companion. He lies all the time and really doesn't not want to work, and when we do, it's not by the rules. It's been hard because he continues not to talk or listen to me and it's been 3 weeks in this transfer. I have been doing everything my leaders have told me to do, but finally today the zone leaders talked to him for a long time because now there is a girl problem. I am not in this problem. I will do all that I can to keep him safe, but I refuse to go home for something stupid that he does. I really hope that we have emergency changes this week. I can't work with him anymore. I pray every night for him so that he has the desire to work, so that I can love him more, and so that I can help him, but its been 3 weeks of the same lazy, lying, disobedient stuff. I don't know what else to do. I really have not felt the spirit at all this past week. I am sick too, hahaha, to add onto things. He also has no money so I have to pay for him all the time to get to where we need to go because the area is huge, so sorry mom for taking out so much money this month :( I feel hopeless.

I am glad all is great back at home though!! I love your letters so much :) This week I will be writing you all personal letters kids, mom, and dad :) So expect them to come in a month or so hahaha. So Kolby, how was camp? I heard nothing from you about that!! Kasey, it sounds like you had a blast at camp :) Brinkely and Brax write more hahaha!!! I love you all :) Anything that I can do for any of you kids and parents?

So the other day I was studying and my comp was sleeping and a sister called us and told us that her dog died at 2 in the morning and asked if we could come and help her bury it in the back yard. Hahahaha, for three hours we dug a huge 4 foot deep hole for the dog, hahaha it was so funny and I was dead afterwards.

Today for pday we played basketball finally, soccer, and volleyball. For some reason it was really boring, hahaha but I still had fun. After, as a district, we went to eat pizza at Sams Club which was yummy :) Today I had to wash my clothes in the bathroom sink, hahaha because we have nothing else, but I am going to ask a sister if in the next change we can "rent" her washing machine every Monday, hahaha. We will see how that will work out :)

To answer questions - I tried one new food this week....donkey meat. It was WAY good hahaha!! It tasted like steak actually hahaha :) Kasey would like it lol. We do eat at a members house everyday but they don't want us because my comp is a jerk to them all...which is sad. The members and the ward are really good though! There is a ton of work to do here but we just need to work hahaha!!

Well I love and miss you all! Sorry this one was short but nothing...and I mean nothing happened this week. I love you and stay safe!! I look forward to your letters next week!

Love,

Elder Brady Lester

Mexcio Week 20: Baptism of Isabel, Work to do, and Giving Talks

Hola everyone!

Well this past week was a better week in my area and with my companion. He seems to have reacted better to wanting to work. I have tried everything and even talked to him about it, and he responded, for about 2 days hahaha. He is starting to get lazy again and mad at me for trying to do what is right, but apparently we will have divisions with the Zone Leaders soon, so hopefully that will help us out. He really is a great guy and an amazing teacher! I have learned to improve my teaching from what he has taught me, and I know it will help, but I just need to exercise more patience maybe, but still be strong and obedient.

Well I told you guys that the Mavs would win! Just because I am on a Mission doesn't mean I don't have my sports prediction skill and gift :)  Hahahaha but I am glad that they won. I have very little respect for Lebron hahaha. I hope the dbacks win it all this year but I am not predicting anything in baseball yet, lol.

Well this past week Hermana Isabel got Baptized.

The sweet lady who can't walk or move very well. We had to fill up the font at 7pm on Friday and heat it up because she could not get Baptized in cold water. Well after it filled up we left the church to go home. Saturday in the morning at 7 we went to stick in these metal heater things to heat up the water, but most of the water drained out, so we stayed another 2 hours filling up the font again, hahaha. After that we left and worked for the day, and at 5 was the Baptism. Well we got to the church very early, at like 3:30, to make sure everything was ready. Well it so happened that the electricity was out in the building for most of the day and the water did not heat up at all! So we rushed around trying to fix up the electricity, and finally it was working and just barely got the water hot enough for the Baptism. During the services I talked about the Holy Ghost and after was the Baptism. Elder Rojas performed the Baptism, and I had to get in to help get her into the font and Baptize her. We had to do it twice but it was still a sweet experience. This week we hope to Baptize her daughter Karla :)

Well Sunday I had to give a talk and I talked about Charity and Love. It went well I thought. I talked about how we are Diciples of Christ because we got Baptized and took upon His name...but without love, the Pure Love of Christ, we are nobody and definately not Diciples of Christ. Also Hermana Isabel was Confirmed. After, during the Gospel Principles class, a nonmember lady came and asked us how we all say that this Church is true and she wanted to know how she could know for herself! Hahaha golden I thought! Well we ending up teaching her the message of the Restoration and she accepted another visit in her house :) Her name is Hermana Sandra and I really hope that she will progress with us!

Well I have been learning alot in this new area. There is a lot of work...we just need to work hahaha!!

To answer your questions - I have tried new foods almost everyday. They eat much more chicken and soup here in the city. The food is way different from Huacaltzingo because they have more money here, hahaha. Yesterday I had this meatball thing after Church with a salsa and it was so so good!! How we wash our laundry...hahaha well we did wash with a Hermana in our ward but it was on Saturday's and we can't do that, so I told my comp we have to wash Monday's or find another way. Well she is not home Monday's and yesterday we asked the Relief Society President to ask some Hermanas but nobody wants to help, hahaha so we will be washing by hand in our apartment!!! :) hahaha.

Well I am sorry to here about Jonathon and Taylor. I really hope Jonathon gets back out. I am really sad of hearing about people going home hahaha. Taylor....well he is also in my prayers. I hope all will continue to be fine with him. And somebody please tell Jacob Handy to write me!! Little terd hahaha.

Well that is it for today! I love and miss you all!!

Love,
Elder Brady Lester

Food in Pictures

These are the pictures of some of the food Brady has eaten in members homes in Huacaltzingo.

  

Tortilla Maker

In Brady's letter dated April 11, 2011 he said he was going to learn how to make tortillas the next day, April 12th.  Here's the pictures of Elder Lester making tortillas. You can see how thin and very tan and sunburn he is.

Looks pretty good! Yum!

Mexico Week 17: Zone Conference with Elder Rasband, Service, Hamburgers and a New Food...Goat Brains

Hey there everyone!!

Well this week was a great and a rough one. It started off bad and good hahaha. First the bad was that one of our investigators, Alejandra, wanted to get Baptized in Puebla where her cousin and friend lives so she got Baptized there by other missionaries which was sad not to see that Baptism haha but I still count it haha. Monday through Wednesday we spent in Puebla with Elder Johnson and Elder Monjaras. Monday was p-day and we just played soccer again haha.

Tuesday Elder Johnson and I worked together all day and we had a lot of success. We taught 3 lessons and found 4 new investigators. One door we contacted didn't answer for like 3 minutes so we knocked the apartment right next to it and then the other door that we were waiting at opened and the door that we at this time were just knocking (sorry my English is bad). So I contacted one and Elder Johnson the other, and it was weird testifying alone haha, but the lady that I contacted accepted our invitation and we taught her. It was cool haha. Later in the day we also contacted a naked guy who opened the door....very weird.

Wednesday was awesome!! Elder Rasband from the 70 came and he taught us about how the Twelve call missionaries. It was the same talk he gave in conference. Later he taught us that we must be balanced missionaries, and if we are here just to baptize we are here for too shallow and pathetic of a reason. We also must help the inactive return. That is a huge priority in missionary work! It was great and the influence of the Spirit was there. After we ate at a chinese buffet which made me sick hahaha. 

Thursday we returned to our area and we taught an investigator Jesus Santos and helped him cut pityas, the cactus fruit haha, and it was fun. That lesson was good too! He was making up so many excuses that an eternal life does not interest him. Well I pretty much told him, with straight up power and authority, that it's going to happen whether you like it or not. So you can choose to accept our message and ge Baptized and be happy forever or not, and not be happy. At the end of the lesson he accepted Baptism :) It was sweet!! 

 Elder Lester and Elder Lumbreras with Jesus Santos

Friday not much happend so my companion and I returned to our house a little early and made a fire and cooked hamburgers. It was a blast haha :)

Saturday was terrible. Three of our Baptisms that we lined up for next week fell through and we won't Baptize Alan, Fernanda, and Trinidad until next change. I cried it was so sad. 

I am still great though and can't wait to get changed!!! Hahaha I also can't wait for the new president to come :) 

New foods this week: 

Rice with banana

Goat brains :) 

Pig skin 

Banana sandwich 

Well I love and miss you all!! :) Stay safe!! I added more pictures!! Check them out!

Love,

Elder Lester