Mexico Week 89: Conferences, Learning and Spiritual Feeding

Hey Family, 

Well again I don't have much time to sit down and write a legit letter. I have been in and out of the offices all day everyday. Last night we didn't get home until 11:00pm. We are working hard getting ready for the changes that we have on Tuesday. We have sent two more Elders home too so it's been very crazy here. We have been working hard and we feel like we are behind but I believe that we are more ready for these changes than the last time. We have a lot of new things going down. We are splitting a Zone into two Zones. Now every Stake in the Mission will have their own Zone and Zone Leaders which makes things a lot easier. We have been working hard to think about how to do the changes for the next change because my generation is going home a week early. Things just have been really crazy. 

Last week though we really had a great week. A lot of Conferences but a lot of Learning and Spiritual feeding. My topics went great. In the Leadership Training meeting I talked about judging righteously in our callings and correcting disobedience. It went very well. I share the example of Lehi in 1 Nephi 8:37-38 and how we need to judge righteously like Lehi did to his sons. I shared another example in D&C 101:2-5 as well. In the regular Zone Conference I talked about the Atonement and Gossip. It went very well and I have learned a lot about the Atonement while studying my topic. It has been great. I have really looked into the Scriptures and notice that the Atonement is on every page of the BoM. One example would be 1 Nephi 3:31 when Nephi and Sam are beaten by his brothers and then the angel comes. It's very interesting to see how it is talking about the Atonement. 

The Conferences have been great and we have been able to teach the Elders a lot of things. We really hit the importance of being Obedient and Repenting because we need to get onto other things in the Mission and not always talk about the Obedience issue that we have. The President has said that if we are not willing to live in a Mission of Obedience, we can go home. 

Well we have started to talk about other things. On Friday we had our ZL conference and we talked about a lot of things. We talked about Numbers of Excellence that my companion and I have been wanting to have. They are great numbers and really high norms for us. It really is going to change the Mission. Yesterday we saw how excited the Mission is as we went to a couple Zone Training meetings. The new culture is being placed and everyone is excited! 

Well I don't have much time. Hope everyone is doing just great! Love you all and hope that you all have a great week! 

Con Amor,

Mexico Week 84: New Area, New Assignment, New Life

Hey Everybody!! 

Well this week has been a very interesting week. I am writing you all today because tomorrow we will not have time to even wash our clothes hahaha. As most of you know I am the new AP which is an Honor. I still don't know what are all my duties and stuff like that but I will be learning. I am actually in Puebla right now and am in the offices with the assistants and my companion. We are receiving some training from them and we are working on the transfers for the Mission. It’s a lot of work and we are trying to get a lot done. In the afternoon we will be going with President Christensen to our old area to have a training meeting with the Stake Presidency, Bishops, Ward Mission Leaders, and Missionaries. It’s going to be interesting going to all of these types of meetings with the President and his wife. When we get back we are going to have to go "Elder hunting" because there is an Elder who is doing some bad stuff with girls....I am so not ready for that hahahaha.

Tomorrow we will be receiving the new Missionaries who come from Mexico in the morning and I am going to be able to see President Reeves which will be weird hahaha. We have training meetings all day tomorrow with them. Tomorrow night we will be going to the airport to pick up the Americans that are coming and we will have to drop them off at the Mission home. On Tuesday we will be in training meetings with them all day as well, and then in the afternoon we will have the transfer meeting hahaha.

Things are beginning to look interesting and it’s going to be a different experience being an AP. Hahaha, only three missionaries here have ever had all the Mission assignments - Elder Gonzalez, Elder Bencomo, and me. I refer to Junior comp, Senior comp, Trainer, District Leader, Zone Leader, AP, and Branch President hahaha...and those two other Elders are legends so I have big shoes to fill hahahaha. The good thing about being an AP is I will get to know all the Missionaries and the whole Mission, travel a lot, learn a lot more from the President, and get my packages on time if anybody sends me some. hahaha! :)  

As of this week in our area...well there was not a lot to do. I had to go to the hospital for my knee but it’s getting better and now I can start working and stop resting my knee. The good thing is that I won’t have to have surgery or anything, but I am taking some medicine which is helping out. I will have to take it light on the soccer and basketball :(

Last night we had a huge ward activity and a ton of people came. It was a BBQ that we planned, my comp and I with the Ward Mission Leader, Luis Medel, and the Ward Missionaries. We planned to have a BBQ and an open house. We planned on having about 100 with 20 invites but it was a bigger success. We had almost 200 people and 80 invites and we had a great time. The food ran out so fast but everybody was asking me recipes for the shredded beef and BBQ sauce that I made :) It was delicious. We put in some spice into the sauce because it’s Mexico. We had mashed potatoes and corn on the cob with baked bread and butter. We did it just like in the USA. A lot of the invites wanted to listen to the Missionaries, so the new Missionaries who are going to be in Totolac Ward – Tlaxcala, are going to have a lot of work. I am going to miss that ward. It was my favorite area for sure in the Mission and I really hope to go back and visit. Hahaha, I hope to start my English school with Luis Medel actually...maybe it will work out.  

Well I don't have much more time to write...and I am sure my letters will be shorter some weeks than others because my P-days are going to be much different. If you can try to write me early Sunday or in the afternoon because I might have to write on some Sundays like today. I love you all and hope that you all have a great week! I want to wish a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Brinkley! Love ya tons Sis!  

Con Amor,

Elder 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