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 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 53: Baptisms Scheduled!

Hey everyone!! 

Well this will be a short letter because not much happened this week. Things are going alot better with my comp and I. We are getting alot of things done and he is really starting to pick it up. He is not scared anymore to talk and to teach. Things are going really well. 

This past week we found a family of 4, the Martinez family, and we invited them to be Baptized on the 12th of February and they accepted!! I can't wait for that day!! They are a good family and still need some more teaching so that they understand what they are going to do but I pray that all will go through. We have also been teaching the Fosado family and they are doing great. Hahahaha now they need to give up coffee but they keep reading and accepting us. They fed us dinner the other day and they are so sweet. We are trying to help the brother find work. He was in Arizona for 4 years working in food city! Hahahaha sometimes we talk about AZ and the weather and stuff. He is a great guy!! 

Not much else has happened this past week. Today we played basketball and it was fun! It's been forever that I have played and I am not as good as I used to be hahahahaha. I am sure the boys can kill me in basketball now!! Sounds like everything is going good!! Congrats on doing your Eagle Projects boys!! Keep doing good things and the Lord will bless you so much!! Brinkley keep working hard in your internship!! 

I love you all and hope that you all have a great week!! We have a ton of appointments today in the evening so I gotta go! Thank you for your prayers and for your love!! You are the best :) 

Love,

Elder Brady Lester

Apartment in Castillotla and Pday Fun

These are pictures and prints we have sent in Brady's packages. It's so great to see them hung up.

 Brady loves this quote and memorized it and recited everyday while he served on the Work Crew at the Hill Cumorah. He also recited it in his farewell talk.

 Family pictures, special friend, Arizona Temple, and I love that he has a picture of his MTC companion Elder Walker