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

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 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

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

MTC Week 9: Permiso, Blessing, Elder Holland and Member Missionaries

Hey Family!!

So it is week #9 here at the MTC. Let me update you on some things about my Visa. So yesterday I got my Permiso :)  I will officially be going to Mexico and can Preach the Gospel there :)  So what they told us is that we won't get re-assigned. They will keep us here and hopefully next Wednesday, we will go down to Salt Lake and talk to the Mexican Consalant. Which means we could leave the 22nd 23rd or 24th!! The four missionaries going to Bolivia just got their travel plans and they leave the 24th at 4:00 am, haha. Hopefully we get ours soon!

So this week was one of the hardest weeks, but yet the most rewarding. I still have problems with the two elders in my room. I try hard to keep the peace and love them but it's so hard when they don't do anything they are supposed to do. It's hard to get along with them. But I still love them, and Elder Walker and I are trying to keep pushing on :)  I asked my District Leader Elder Bell to give me a blessing and it was an amazing experience. In the blessing he said that God has put angels not just around me, but with me, and as he said that I felt something on my back and it was so warm. It was amazing and it is still giving me strength to this day.

So this week is teaching week for Elder Walker and I. We are teaching around 20 times this week!!! It's insane but way cool!! And also very tiring. We are getting so much better Teaching with the Spirit and focusing on our investigators, not our Spanish, and when we do this our Spanish is great!

So Elder Walker and I had this cool experience talking to a fake investigator the other day. He came up and asked if we were the Mormons. We said yes, and he asked where we were going. We told him and he asked when we were going, and we told him we don't know because we don't have our Visas yet. Anyways, he is Mexican and said he was from Puebla, and he said that God didn't want us to get our Visas because he's protecting the people in Mexico from us. It turned into a legit lesson in the hall and we asked great questions and got him to open up. It was a cool REAL experience of teaching someone we don't know! We loved it!

Elder Holland came again on Tuesday!! Great powerful talk! He talked about the materials we have as Missionaries like Preach My Gospel. He said it is written for the conversion of Missionaries not investigators. We first need to get it into our hearts then we can help them Come unto Christ :) It got me thinking alot about Missionary work, especially with members. I have been thinking about how hard Missionary work is for Missionaries and members. Missionary work is hard because Salvation is not a cheap experience and it will never be. We are the Church of Jesus Christ. We are the truth. Why would we believe or think it will be easy for us when it was never easy for Him.


I want to encourage each of you to find friends and invite them to Come Unto Christ. You are what starts up Missionary Work. Find them and don't be ashamed to testify the truth to them. Help them through what we know is true. Love them and you will see how it can help them. When you do this, and it will be tough, I testify you will be shoulder to shoulder with the best missionaries and life this world has ever seen!! Christ commands us to feed His sheep so lets all do it!

I love you all and can't wait to hear from you :)

Love,

Elder Brady Lester

P.S.

Mom and Dad thank you for all the packages and goodies. It was very yummy :)

MTC Week 6: Love, Member Missionaries, and Joseph Smith

Hey!!

So it's been 5 1/2 weeks here at the MTC and everything is going great!! Thank you for all your letters and goodies. I did receive all your packages :) Anyways this week went by so fast!! It seems like each week just flys even faster! If I'm right I only have 23 days left until I should be in Mexico!! It's going to be here faster than I know it! I can't wait though!

So this week Elder Walker and I have been studying way way hard!! We have been teaching alot and continue to get better every time. We learn so much!! I really do love working with him and can't imagine working with anyone else for two years. We work really well together off our strengths and weakness's. This week we have worked on teaching members so we can help them be great missionaries. It is so important for members to find the people. Us Missionaries are called to teach and baptize... that's it really. Missionary work is a church wide thing that everyone helps with. I encourage each of you to help the Missionaries teach a friend that you can refer to them :)  It's a great time because it's Christmas :)

On our Tuesday devotional we had a member of the seventy come. Elder Shayne M. Bowen. He talked about the decisions right now in our lives and what we need to decide right now as a Missionary. Like decide right now to love everyone. He also talked about the birth of the Savior and testified of Him. It was beautiful :)

The fireside we had on Sunday was very unique. An institute teacher came and acted out a man who knew Joseph Smith, and was there when he was killed. It was way way cool. In our District Meeting we also talked about Joseph Smith, and each Elder in our district taught something about him. It was cool as the DL as I prayed about the meeting over the week trying to find out what should we teach about. I felt that it was important that each Elder should have the chance to teach and bear testimony of his life. It was special and the spirit was so strong. You could sense that Joseph was in the room with us - it was amazing :) I love our district :)

Tonight we have a special devotional!! I think Elder Russell M. Nelson might be coming but I am not sure. That is just the word on the street, haha. I hope he does!! Tomorrow we have a long but eventful day here!! Everyone is hoping the prophet is going to come :)

So Elder Alston did leave on this past Tuesday, so he is enjoying Christmas in Portugal right now :) Lucky dog!!

Well, I am almost out of time so I will wrap things up!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Amor (Love)

Elder Brady Lester :)