Mexico Week 34: Baptisms of Fidel and Jose, Service, Working Hard and Seeing the Blessings

Dear Family and Friends,


Well thank you all for your letters, love, and support!! Hahahaha I am glad everyone is doing great! Well I now officially have 10 months in the Mission which is crazy! It is going by so fast!! I still feel like a new Elder but things are going great! Elder Escamilla and I are getting things done here! We have been working really hard and the Lord is blessing us.


Yesterday we had 2 Baptsims! Hermanono Fidel and his son Jose got Baptized!! It was a crazy morning!! We went to their house in the morning and Hno Fidel was not home! He totally forgot about his Baptism and went to play soccer in the morning hahaha!! Crazy guy!! Well his son knew where he was and we had hardly any time, and our area is HUGE, so we went looking for him in a taxi hahaha. I will never do that again lol because by the time we found him and got to the church, the taxi guy charged me 120 pesos!! That's only like 10 bucks but it's a ton of money here hahaha! I was ticked!! Anyways we got to the church and there was hardly any water in the font so when I Baptized Hno Fidel he had to sit and I knelt down in the font to Baptize him hahaha! It was so ridiculous but so funny at the same time! It was a great service and I am so glad that they are members of the church now! During Sacrament meeting they got Confirmed which was awesome and Hermana Coni came too and got Confirmed!! It was a great successfull Sunday!! Hna Coni is so great and really it the strongest convert that I have Baptized! :)

Well in the past week Mexico celebrated their Independence on the 16th. Nobody wanted us in their house teaching them so we went and gave service to alot of members. One service that was fun was when we moved a bunch of sand at a members house to make some garden thing. It was a blast and I got alot of photos for you all to look at! My back is killing me now but it was a great day :) The night before on the 15th it was hard to sleep with all the noise with the guns and fireworks going off hahaha. They are really prideful about their country here. In the morning there was a ton of drunks in the street!! We invited them all to be Baptized and the alll said yes!!! Hahahahaha it was funny, but we didn't really go to their houses lol.

This past week we got some sweet references to visit and they all want to be Baptized so we are going to be working on those this week. I still don't know them very well, but next week I will have more news on that :) Hermana Sandra and her husband still have not gotten married but they are trying to get it done by next week so hopefully she gets Baptized soon. She also found a job finally!! I was so happy and cried when she told us that because I remember promising her that she would find a job if she got Baptized. Well the Lord has blessed her!!


Things are going great with Elder Escamilla and I! We are working so hard. We have had troubles studying together because we have so many appointments to get to and the area is huge!! We have plans to study though all this week. He really is a great guy and comp! He has so much energy and spirit and is learning so fast! He is going to do great things here in Puebla I just know it.


Well I gotta go now! Thank you all for everything! Shout out to Sister McArthur for the bday money!! Thank you tons! That is a fortune here in Mexico!! You are like another grandma to me :) Brother Hansen as well! Thank you for writing me every month! You are awesome! I am sorry I don't have much time to write you back, but thank you for being faithful in writing :) I love you all!


Love,
Elder Brady Lester

P.S. My comp and I had to go to the mission offices this week for a training meeting for all the trainers and new missionaries, and interviews with president, and I got some cool pics. We ate subway for dinner!!

Mexico Week 22: Closing of Haucaltzingo, The Role of the Spirit, Farming and Love

Hola everyone!!


Well things are doing great in my area! My comp has changed a ton and we are finally starting to work hard! We still need to work harder but things are going great! He will have changes though for sure in 2 weeks and he will go and I will stay with my new comp. I am really excited because there is alot of work to do! Everyone is saying that I will be senior comp and I only have 8 months hahaha but I really think I will have more time as junior. We shall see!!


So some sad news....they closed the area of Hualcaltzingo this past week. Apparently when I left the work just fell like a rock and then the missionaries were having a ton of problems so they closed the area! Kinda sad because I really thought that that branch was going to be a ward within a year but not now :(


Well in this past week alot of good things happened. We found a golden investigator!! She was a reference from a member in Hualcaltzingo imagine that!! It's cool because she comes to all the lessons with this lady. Hermana Imelda is her name and she is really really catholic but accepted Baptism when she gets an answer to her prayers. The first lesson we taught was great and was about the Restoration. In the second lesson we answered all her questions about the chapter that she read in the BOM and Baptism and things that we do in our Church. While we were talking about it I had the strongest impression to teach about how we can know that this is true. I taught about the role of the Spirit and how that is how we know. I testified that I knew everything was true and so did my comp. It was awesome!! She really is smart and is willing to change! She wants a sign but I told her that us missionaries are the sign that God wants you to change your life. The answer of your own testimony though must come from the Spirit. This Wednesday we have an appt and will check how her homework went :)


This past week I also learned how to farm hahaha! I totally learned how to plant corn and it was sweet! We did it the old fashion way with the plow and the horse! It was sweet! While I farmed with the hermano, my comp learned how to make tortillas from the hermana, hahaha :) Apparently they don't eat tortillas in Peru, only rice hahaha!!


This past week we also found an inactive member who has not been to church for 20 years!! And his wife, who is not a member, we are teaching!! The brother promised to come to Church this upcoming week so this will be excting to follow with!!


So things are really great!! We are really close with 3 people and believe that they will get baptized in 2-3 weeks! :) We are really close to other Elders which I love hahahaha :) It has been raining the past week and one night all the streets were like rivers, hahaha but this week we will have sun :(


Well this past week I have really learned alot about the importance of love and charity. I believe that success is really brought to us depending on our attitude. I have learned that there is no reason to be down and not to love people in the work of the Lord. We are striving to be more like Him and if we don't love we are nobody! We can't do anything! With developing this love for others I have really felt more of the love my Father in Heaven has for me and my family and the people that I work with. Life is to love!!

Well I love all of you and really miss you all! I thank all of you for your support and prayers! You are all in my prayers too and hope you are all receiving the blessings from heaven!!


Love,
Elder Brady Lester

 

7 Months Serving and an Example of Obedience

Today is Elder Lester's 7 month Anniversary for his wonderful Service to the Lord!

What I admire about Elder Lester is that in his new area, Castillotla, his missionary companion, Elder Rojas would always do his laundry on Saturday's because a Hermana in the ward who offers her washing machine/dryer (I'm assuming she has that). She works on Mondays, which is P-day so that's why he doesn't do it on his P-day. Elder Lester explained to Elder Rojas that they would have to do their laundry elsewhere on P-day. They asked the Relief Society President last Sunday if any Hermana's in the ward would help with this - no one would. :(  So Elder's Lester and Rojas will be washing their laundry by hand in their apartment on their P-day. Elder Rojas isn't too happy about this and Elder Lester's talks about not being lazying, working, and being obedient. But I'm sure they will work it out.  I admire his example of Obedience.

I love these pictures of Elder Lester in Huacaltzingo

 Elder Lester and Elder Lumbreras in Haucaltzingo offering Service

Service

Elder Lester has provided some great service in Huacaltzingo from painting a house, picking the fruit off of the cactus, and he has some other pictures of service he has sent, but I don't recall reading about it. Elder Lester and Elder Lumbreras look like they are helping with the gardening/greenhouse of either a member or an investigator. Wonderful.

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 

Mexico Week 9: The Spirit and Singing!

¿Que tal todos?

Bueno, muchas felicidades a mi hermano Kasey. Holy cow I can't believe you are 15! You taller than me yet lol? Braxley, your letters make me laugh a ton, hahaha. And to give you my opinion...the Lakers will win again and you know why, number 24 is not human in the postseason, so I rest my case :) Brinkley, congrats with your prom invitation I hope things are going good with Trey. Tell him I say hello. As for your talk, good luck! Just remember Obedience is the first law in Heaven so that shows you how important it is. Kolby, how is everything? I love and miss all of you! Grandma, thank you so so much for your contribution. I know that the Lord has a great blessing for you soon in your life. As for BYU....I heard :( I also heard Duke lost too :( So both my teams are gone :( But hey baseball has started up!! :)  Go Dbacks!

Well this week was definately an interesting one. Things are better with my companion only because I am just really really being patient with him, hahahaha, although today and yesterday I was not. Tomorrow we have a zone conference at 8:30 in the morning and I told him we should stay with our leaders in Puebla tonight because we are here in Puebla today anyways. Well he said no because he wants to sleep in is own bed. Well today our leaders told us we need to stay here. I was right again haha so we are going to return to get changed and then come back here to spend the night hahaha. Ugh!!!!!!!!!!! We have changes in 2 weeks so hopefully we will be changed. If not...well it will be good for me, hahaha, and my patience. Did I spell that right? Lol! I am at a point where when I type and write in English I have to think about some words before I write them down because I am thinking the word in Spanish. The language is getting better. I have more confidence which allows me to speak more. I hope by Mother's Day...which is soon...I will be able to understand 100%, right now its about 85-90%.

Well this week we had divisions a couple days with some young men in our branch. It was good working with them. Anyways this week a man, 20 years old, found us and said that he likes how the mormons live and wants to learn more about our religion. Well we set up an appointment with him and taught Tuesday. He agreed to meet again and we gave a Book of Mormon. Thursday we taught him again, but me and Luis Daniel taught him since we were in divisions. I asked him how his reading was in the Book of Mormon and he explained very well the chapter we left him. Then I asked if he prayed and he did and described how he felt peacful and just happy. Well in that moment I testified how that is the Spirit testifying to him that this is true. Then I invited him to be Baptized on April 9th and he accepted!!! I was smiling so much that day, hahahaha. I cant wait for that day!

Lorena this week decided she wants to get Baptized the last week of April which is after this change. We asked her to think about the 16th or 17th of April since it's the last day of this transfer. I hope she says yes because I have been working with her since the begining with Elder Villalba and it would stink to miss her Baptism. Alan our other investigator will be Baptized on the 29th of May so I will miss that one too unless I stay in Huacalzingo once more haha.

Nothing else really happened this week, hahaha. We have been trying to find more people to teach because the others we have found have turned us away. Actually one family still is with us. Hermano Casto, his wife Josefina, and son Napolion. They are hard core Catholic and know the Bible really well. Well last night I was with Fernando a boy in our branch on divisions and we taught them the Book of Mormon and the Bible and how they work together. Well we read 3 Nephi 11 with him, and he asked how we know Nephi didnt just write that and Christ didn't come here to the Americas. Well I asked him how do you know that the Bible wasn't written by these men and there really is not a Christ. He answered that he didn't know. So I told him that this is our invitation, read, meditate, and pray to know if it is true. I then told him that we know the Bible is not complete because how many Apostles did Christ have...12...how many gospels does the Bible have...only 4. He understood that and then I felt like I should testify about families and then sing "Families can be Together Forever." The Spirit was so strong and I will tell you all that was purely through the Spirit, haha it was a good feeling.

This week I hope we get more people to teach haha! We are also looking to serve alot. Saturday we painted a members house blue haha and it was really good!! I have pictures that I will upload when I have time. Right now I have some uploading.

Oh this week I bought two soccer jerseys haha. One of the Puebla team and another from Argentina. I want to buy a Mexico and Chivas one when I have money hahaha.

Well for General Conference we just watch it in our stake center here in Puebla which means in Spanish hahaha. I hope I will understand everything hahaha.

Last week I got your package Mom......wow thank you so much. It's like I am walking on clouds, hahaha.

Oh two other quick stories. One lady thinks we are Apostles, and a drunk man hugged me this week and asked what our profession was because we dress nice. Well we told him and he got mad because he thought that we didn't believe Mexicans believe in Christ, hahahaha funny.

Well I got to go! Love and miss you all!!!

Love,

Elder Brady Lester

Mexico Week 8: Patience, Serving a Companion, and an Answer to Prayer!

Hey there everyone!! 

Well this week has been another tough week. Things have been getting better with my comp. He just is really power hungry, and doesn't accept the fact that he is not perfect, and thinks that he knows everything. But I have been practicing patience big time this week and it has really helped me out. I have also been serving him a ton like shoe polishing, ironing, making breakfast, making his bed. I feel good about it and hope it makes things even better :) Thursday in the morning he sliced his fingered on our broken sink and it was a bad bad cut so we had to go to the hospital in Puebla, so we traveled for two hours and he had to get stiches. Things with his finger are better.  We stayed the night with our zone leaders because Friday morning I had to go to the offices to do something for my Visa. I saw almost all my generation, Elders who came the same day I did. I didn't see Elder Walker though which was a bummer. I miss that guy so much!! He is definately a best friend!  

This week has been tough with our investigators. We found 6 new ones but we only have 2 progressing, Lorena and Daniel whom both declined again a date for a baptism. We hope our prayers are answered this week becasue they are so ready and need this step in their lives right now. This morning I felt down because last night we invited Daniel to be Baptized this Saturday and declined. I started thinking that I am not worthy or something because I felt like I don't have the spirit if these people are not accepting us. I felt like no one here was prepared to hear me and it is only an area of trials to help me later. This morning I really wanted to give up but I went in my room and prayed and pleaded for an answer and didnt really feel any better. Well, I went to my scripture personal study and just a couple days ago I decided I wanted to add D&C to my studies - how they came in order by revelation. Well today I read section 6 and it was the answer to my prayer and gave me exactly what I needed to hear and learn. I am so ready for this up coming week and know success is there. 

This past week we have really organized what and who we have because we have a ton of investigators. 17 to be exact, hahaha but only two progressing. :(  To answer your question Mom, every other week we get to go to Puebla even if we have money to go every week. This week on Wedesday I will go for our district meeting and I think we have interviews with President, but this past week we went for my comps finger and my Visa thing, and next Monday we are going again to the doctor for my comps finger for a check up, so we are just going to stay there and play soccer with our zone. As for pictures I am uploading some right now. They just take forever here. I can only get about 20 in the one hour I have here, so next Monday I will see if we can email in Puebla because the connection is faster and hopefully I can get them all on. I have like 130 to add from last transfer still, hahaha. 

Our branch has a branch building...like the size of our basketball court at the church, hahahaha its tiny. I believe with all my heart that if missionaries stay here and the members help them, there will be a ward by the end of this year. I promise it, so we will see :) We have been trying to find service and did!! This week we are going to paint a members house, hahaha cant wait :)

Well not much else to say, hahaha but if you have any more questions let me know! I missed letters from the kids today :(  I did get your package and Corrinn's thank you soooooo much!! I love the socks and American candy. So does my comp, hahaha. I hope the other package comes this week! 

I love and miss you all so so much!! Please pray for me, I need it! You are all in my prayers! LOVE YOU ALL!!!!! 

Love,

Elder Brady Lester

P.S. Are the members and missionaries in Japan ok??