Mexico Week 36: The Spirit and Happy in the Mission

Hey there everyone!

Well this week was just a great week! I am just happy here in the mission. Things are going great with Elder Escamilla and I. We are really working hard. In the last week we lead the mission in lessons taught to investigators! Things are going great and it looks like soon we will be Baptizing again. I feel like in my first change with him we pretty much opened the area again because Rojas and I got nothing done, but now that we are in the second change together, we feel like we are going to see the fruits of our labors. Things are smoothly going along. We finally have the support of the Bishop. and the leaders of the ward. I have always said that if we have a Ward Mission Leader and Ward Missionaries in this ward, we could Baptize every week, so hopefully the Bishop will get on that hahaha. I feel like finally it's an answer to a prayer that I have been praying for, for the past 4 months in this area. I always ask my Father in Heaven that one day the leaders will help us and He answered me!!

Well in this past week things got a little tougher with Hna Monica and Alicia. They want to get Baptized so bad but they won't not work on Sundays. They make most of their money Sundays because they sell things in the street, and people go out and buy on Saturday's and Sunday's here, so it's hard for them to drop it. I really don't want to Baptize just to Baptize. My goal is that they go to the Temple, and they need to go to Church to be able to go to the Temple. The last lesson we had with them we talked about Faith and putting the things of God first so that He can bless us, and they really liked it and said that they would commit to come to Church so we are working with them. Something that I have learned here in the mission is that as Missionaries we need to help them develop their Faith in Christ so that they are drawn to Baptism by the Spirit. There are alot of Missionaries who just drag them to Baptism. The thing is they don't stay active. I want my converts to be active!

In Missionary work finding by the Spirit is just as important as teaching by the Spirit. If we don't find somebody by the Spirit we don't have anyone to teach who is willing to make Convenants with the Lord. Elder Escamilla and I last week really focused on finding in our comp studies, and what we could do to find more people to teach but not just people...prepared people who are ready to listen to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This past week we found 4 new investigators which is not alot, but all 4 we found through the Spirit and they are all ready to make Convenants with God. They all accepted Baptism and we just need to teach them. We have found 3 great sisters, Hna Reina, Carina, and Erica who have all accepted Baptism right after the first lesson. They all said in their lessons, I want to get Baptized right now hahaha. They still need to learn a bit more, but it was awesome to hear that after teaching them. We also started talking with Hna Coni´s husband. We started getting impressions that he is ready to listen and we went with it. He accepted and wants to follow Christ so that he has a better marriage with Coni :) I am grateful to be worthy to work through the Spirit as we are obedient and study each day. We are learning tons.

Well General Conference was awesome!! I have to say that my 3 favorite talks in order were, Elder Holland, Elder Packer, and Elder Christofferson. I really learned a ton and felt the spirit. I learned from Holland the importance of just being worthy Priesthood holders. It is true what he said. No missionary can teach the Law of Chastity and testify of it, and the blessings of it, if he doesn't live it himself, or repent for any action that he has commited. With Christofferson I really learned about the blessings of repenting. It's hard sometimes but the blessings are amazing! I have learned alot about the Sacrament in the mission. We take it for granted all the time. If we take it worthily and understanding why we can receive the full blessings. I learned alot about the importance of listening and acting on the Promptings of the Spirit from the talk of Packer. It is so true. If we don't listen to it, and make a little mistake, it could change the course of our lives. It's a commandment that we seek, listen, and follow. I watched all that in Spanish, hahaha which was cool. I understood everything and thought it would be a bit tougher because the Apostles always talk so perfectly and use big words, but the Spirit really helped me understand as it always does everyday.

Thank you for all your love and support! I hope you all have the best week!

Love,
Elder Brady Lester

Mexico Week 29: Blessings in Trials and Learning from the Scriptures

Hey there everyone!!

Well first off I want to start off by saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAXLEY!  I can't believe that you are 11 years old now!! That is crazy because I really still remember when you were a little tiny kid hahaha. I hope you have a great birthday!! Kasey thank you so much for you letter and your advice. I am so glad that you are learning, so just apply it!! You are meant to be a leader in the kingdom of God but obedience, study, and prayer is required to take that spot. Brinkley congrats on getting another job!! SAVE your money and don't be stupid like I was with mine. Kolby....Baritone?? Really? Hahahaha cool! You are going to be really good! Mom, congrats on passing your test!! Dad thank you for your letter and for sharing your experiences. I really did learn something and I felt that I must really use the guidance of the Spirit more in that aspect of the work.

Well this last week was hard because my comp did not want to do anything and so he stayed in the house all week. I tried having a member to come over to be with him so that I could go work with other Elders but I didn't feel comfortable with it.

(This is Mom...since Elder Lester has spent a lot of time in the apartment with his companion that won't work, I thought I would show pictures of the new apartment in Castillotla that they moved to awhile back.)

 I think this is the view from Brady's apartment. I believe that's a volcano.

I studied a ton this past week hahaha. There are blessings in the trials. I really learned alot. This week I read 1 Nephi 8 and learned quite a bit of new things. Something new came to me as I was studying this chapter. I learned that the Rod of Iron is like the Doctrine of Jesus Christ which is Faith, Repentance, Baptism, and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost. If we as members and investigators live and follow that Rod, we will have the opportunity to partake of the fruit which we know from Nephi´s explanation in chapter 11 is the Love of God. I learned in my study that this fruit is Eternal Life. That is the gift that God offers us if we live His Gospel. The love part comes in from the Gospel that He gives us but more importantly His Son, Jesus Christ. Without Jesus Christ we can't partake of that fruit. We need His help. There are dirty rivers and great and spacious buildings in our lives, but we always have the chance to come back to the Rod and partake of the fruit through the Love of God, Jesus Christ.

This past week I also learned about the importance of being obedient. There is no way to have success in this work unless you are obedient. There are rules for our protection and for our learning. We can learn so much by the Spirit if we are worthy to learn from it. I believe that we must always remember our Covenants and these Commandments and have them in our hearts. If we really ponder them it will be easier to follow and live them I believe. We will understand the importance of these commandments and then have the desire to keep them. If we don't, we are offending God and can't learn or live great experiences. I love what Joseph Smith taught "When we are willing to come to Him, He will then be willing to come to us." I believe we do that by keeping Covenants and Commandments.

I also read Alma 17 and I love that chapter! It was written for Missionaries I believe! I learned about three things that we must do as Missionaries to have success. The Sons of Mosiah did these things and had alot of success Baptizing thousands for their 14 year mission. First is studying diligently in the scriptures. There is a difference in reading and studying. Studying is really pondering and trying to learn from the Spirit while reading. It takes alot of pondering I have learned. It takes me almost 40 minutes to read one chapter in the BoM because I ponder certain words, verses, and phrases. At home we call it "family scripture STUDY" so I invite you all to really study. The next thing that they did was pray alot. Prayer is the greatest blessing that God gives to all of His children, members or not. We can talk to Him and He will answer us! Its amazing! We just need to listen to the Spirit before, during, and after the prayer. This is one way to receive revelation. The next thing that they did was fast. Fasting is so important in our lives. First, we are more healthy physically. We need to not eat every once and awhile, as the prophets have taught. Second, we are spiritually fed. I have learned that the greatest blessings come from great service and sacrifice. For example, a Mom serves and sacrifices to give life to a child. The Savior served and sacrificed to give each of us the gift of life after death. Fasting is a way to sacrifice something that we all love and receive blessings for it. Then it is not such a sacrifice but something that we want to do because it's a blessing.

Those are some of the things that I learned in my personl studies all week and day long, hahaha. I really know that the Lord is preparing me for something with all these lessons and trials. I just can't wait for it to happen, hahaha. I really see success in the future! I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love,
Elder Brady Lester

Mexico Week 27: Learning to Improve Teaching and Becoming a Disciple of Christ

Hi there!!

Well it's August!!! I will be hitting 9 months in the Mission this month...on the 17th hahaha. Time is just flying by! Thank you for all your letters and support :) I love you all! Things sound like they are going good back at home with all you guys :)

This past week was a good week :) I learned alot. I have been really studying and practicing the lessons that we teach to improve my teaching skills. I have come up with some examples to help the people understand better the Doctrine. I have two examples for Baptism. The first is simple. In John 3:5 it says basically that no one can enter into heaven without being Baptized. Well the example is a door and Baptism is the key to open this door to heaven. The thing is there are many keys because there are many ways to be Baptized now days so there is only one right key. So you need the right authority and proper Baptism to obtain this key. My other example I use more because it's better. Well we all sin, and sin is like mud on our hands. To clean this mud off we need two things to do it because we can't hug God with dirty hands. First we need soap, which is repentance and then water, which is Baptism. I have alot of other examples for other teachings but I really like using them hahaha. The people understand better.

I have also learned alot about becoming a true follower of Christ. There are two things that help us become more like Him. The first is love. We must love others and show it like Christ did. Service is the best way. Christ always served. Before He died, He cleaned the Apostles feet. We must serve people to show our love for them not just say "I love you." Love is a gift from God though and only with His help can we obatin it. We must follow the counsel of Mormon in Moroni 7:48 then. This is the only way we can come to truly love someone. The next thing that helps us is keeping our Covenants. We must keep all of our Convenants and study about the real importance of them. The Sacrament is the most important Ordinance that we do today as members of the church. We sometimes do realize how important it really is. If we understand, study, and achieve these two things we will become true Disciples of Christ. 

This past Wednesday I got to teach in our district meeting and I taught about the highest law that Christ taught. That law is found in 3 Nephi 27:27. I talked about the Christlike attributes and how those are the things that we must always study and live to really live and keep this higher law that Christ taught to His Apostles in the Americas. I would like to challenge all of you to study these attributes in Chapter 6 of PMG and make the goals and plans to live them.

 Well we did not have much success with investigators this past week. Hermana Sandra is an investigator who wants to get Baptized but she wants to wait just a bit more until she makes this decision. We are trying to figure out what we can do to help her. Her husband wants to get Baptized too but he wants to wait awhile because he is not ready, which is true haha. We watched the movie "The Moutain of the Lord" with them and they got really excited and want to be Sealed in the Temple, but still want to wait a bit until they get Baptized. If Hermana Sandra does not accept a date this week though we are going to drop her which is sad. I really love her, she is great! The other night she made me a traditional american breakfast with two sunny side up eggs, bacon, toast with jam, and orange juice. Hahaha it was really good and I was so happy. It's funny because everyone here thinks that's all we eat for breakfast! Lol, oh and her husband taught me a "mexican fry sauce." It's mayonaise and salsa chipotle mixed together. It is so good! You guys need to look to that salsa and make that :) You will all love it.

So my comp and I did something funny the other night. We were listening to a Spanish song that he has on his ipod called "Mientes" by Camila (you should all look it up its really good) and we took the tune and change the words as if we were teaching a lesson to investigators. It was hilarious hahaha! We didn't go to sleep until 12 that night so the next day I was so tired, but it was finally fun to laugh and relax with my comp for once. We also played UNO that night and made sandwhiches :)

Well it has not rained much lately which is sad, but the weather is still great :) I have not tried any new foods but something you guys can try that they do here is the people eat their pizza with hot sauce, which is now my new favorite, or ketchup! Its actually really good! You will have to try it some time. I really hope you all come down to get me when I finish so you can see how Mexico is and try the food :) Oh its sooooooo gooooooooooooooood!!!!! :)  I love the tacos :)

Well I gotta go! I love you all and can't wait to hear from you next week!

Love,

Elder Brady Lester

PS: I played the Bishop the other day in chess and lost, so I lost a tie :( But he did give me a cool one for trying to win hahaha. He is really good!