Week 70 Letter

Monday, June 25, 2012

The summer is always busy, huh.  I am glad that you are fine.  I know what you mean about blah.  Yesterday was that kind of day for me.  But, it was a good day too, and we were privileged to baptize Ariane and Rayanne, 14 and 12 years old and sisters.  It was awesome.  

We also taught some fun lessons yesterday and helped some investigators.  We had a great week.  We taught 30 lessons this week, all quality.  My companion Elder Marqu is doing well and learning very quickly.  He is a stud.  My district is doing alright, but they are going to need some help this week.  I am going to have a district meeting this week about being brilliant at the basics.  Also, this week we did a service project at the house of the girls that got baptized.  Their mom really liked that we were so willing to help, and not say that we were there to help.  Sadly, we were there to see Ariane's favorite dog get hit by a car and die.  Ariane was not home so I put the dog in the wheel barrow and we took it to the jungle to throw it away before see got home.  After, her sister told her and we comforted here a little, and she got better.  It sucked though.  This Sunday was the ward conference.  It makes me miss my ward and stake.  It was not at all the same quality.  The leaders here are tired and not excited.  It is hard sometimes for a missionary.  I have found that in this ward I am now there is really no way to work with the leaders so I decided that I am going to leave them to do or not do whatever they want and I am just going to baptize, and maybe that will excite them, maybe it won't. We had 10 investigators at church today that I have been teaching.  It was a great success.  Sadly, many are not married legally yet, but we will work with them.  It is about a 2 month process to marry a couple, or longer.  What a pain.  Anyways, all is well, and this week we are excited to work like crazy and baptize again.  We have some people picked out for our focus.  It will be good.  I love the people here.  I love my investigators.  I love being a missionary. 

Things always seem hard in the moment, but it really is a moment.  That is what I have been learning.  That difficulties and trails really are momentary.  Sometimes they seem so long, even a life time, but our lives are really just moments in an eternity.  This life in not even real.  It is really just a test.  I liked what was said in the last general conference.  He asked, are we living a physical life with spiritual experiences, or are we living a spiritual life with human experiences.  That really hit me.  Everything about this life would be spiritually, with a few human experiences thrown in, for after all, this life is not real.  This life is all a test.  What is real?  The truths, laws, and light of the eternal gospel.  That is all that is really real, the rest is temporary and so part of a quick, put all the same important and necessary test.  You have always been a great example of that to me mom.  You always seem to have an eternal perspective, and that leads to good decisions, hope, love, faith, and endurance.  Thank you for you example to me.  

Thanks a ton dad.  I sure love all of you, although I must admit that I am not ready to come home.  I sure love being a missionary.  I am really going to miss it.  Pres. Oliveira is in his last week now, so I am really going to miss him.  I have learned a lot about him lately.  I have always tried to be the kind of missionary that never needs to talk to him or take up his time.  He has let me now that I did just that.  I just try to stay in my area and district and make things work so that he can worry about the other missionaries that need his help.  I sure will miss him though, although I am also excited to work with Pres. Reber, from St George Utah.  It will be a new experience.  I hope that I have the same relationship with him as with President Oliveira, that he does not need to worry about Elder Lee, and that Elder Lee will work and strengthen whatever area that he is called to.  I am glad that I had a good dad who taught me how to build the kingdom without needing attention.  Just quietly doing all that is required.  I read a quote the other day that says that a good leader is the leader that takes a little more blame than is necessary and a little less credit than is due.  You are that leader Dad.  Thanks and have a great week.  I love you!

Elder Lee

week 69 Letter

Monday, June 18, 2012

Well, I am really without a lot to tell.  We did have a confirmation of Eduardo.  It was kind of funny.  I was at his house teaching him and his recently baptized mom and we asked if he was going to church.  At the moment he was on a bed cushion wrestling with his little bros.  He said "I do not know" so I was "forced" to go and wrestle him.  I think that that surprised everybody, especially my companion.  By the third pinning combination he accepted to go to church (a Saturday night ride, a cradle, and a finish with the all awaited for banana split, a personal favorite).  It was a little different technique to get somebody to go to church, but it was effective.  He is a lot of fun.  He even showed up in a suit.  He is awesome.  I sure love him and his family.  His mom even gave me a watch this week to just say thanks.  It was really sweet.  I love the people here.  We worked a ton this week.  We were hoping to baptize Ariane this week but she was out of town at here grandma's house.  We will try again this week.  My companion is Elder Marque from Fortaleza, although he was born in Rio.  He is awesome.  He is 24, so although I am training him, he is already really mature which is nice.  He is awesome, and only has one year in the church but he as a solid testimony.  He also thinks a lot like me.  He was also a professional soccer player.  He is awesome.  So, that about sums up the week.  I do not think that anything out of the normal happened.  Really, to tell the truth, everything on the mission is a little out of the normal, but you just start getting used to it.  We also had a mom and her 2 little boys come to church today for the first time, the boys are 5 and 7.  She really liked it.  Unfortunately she is not married legally, but we will try to teach her and her husband and parents in law this week.  Maybe the parents in law are already married.  Super nice family though.  So, there you have, the week of Elder Lee.  I am doing well, I am happy, and I am loving the mission.  I miss all of you, but don't think that I am in a hurry to come home. I know that I am going to really miss all of this.  The mission is amazing.  I love serving others.  I love serving the lord.  I love being a missionary.  I love all of you too!  Have a great week!!!  I pray for all of you!!!

Love Elder Lee  

Hey, I just got done looking at the blog.  I loved all the pics!   Here we just passed the week of cold that Cuiaba gets but are back into the 100 degrees again, which I am thankful for.  It got down to the 60's and I was almost dying during the night.  I do not know how I will survive there after the mission hahahaha   Hey, it was cool seeing all of you with sunglasses, so here is a pic with me and sunglasses from Brazil rocking out to hymns about a month ago.  Love ya

Yeah, sounds like normal.  You are amazing mom.  At sacrament meeting a sister talked about how the women of the church are amazing and it really made me think of you.  The church would sure be blessed to have you here and I know that our stake is blessed to have you there, and I know that our family is who we are because of you and your righteous, amazing, and incredible love, example, work, and dedication.  Thanks for being the best mom in the world.  I was thinking a lot lately about how blessed I was so be raised in a home where I was taught to put Christ in the center of my life and how that has created my thought process and decision making paradigm.  I sure love you mom!

Hey, are you planning on sending a package, because if so, I could use those Colgate whitening strips that I used.  I think that I could use them again. I looked for them here, but they do not exist.  I got the post card and I did get an email from dad.  If you send it to the office I will get it fast because I am close.  I really appreciate it.  Also, if possible send tony to a good will and see if he can find some cool ties for cheap because all my ties are dirty and ties here are like 20 bucks each.  It is ridiculous.  Also, black socks would be nice.  I have kind of hit the point in the mission where all my things are old.  I guess that means I have more than a year on the mission.  I gotta go, but I love you mom and thanks for everything.  Have a great week!!!!

Week 68 Letter

Monday, June 11, 2012

Hello everybody!  

This week was good, but it was a lot more business than working.  The transfers came and my companion Elizeu went to Rondonopolis and I received three more missionaries in my area.  Elder Rowley, who I know from the MTC, American and awesome, and Elder Marque, my new companion, and Elder G Rodriquez, Elder Rowley's new companion, both Brazilians.  We are also both training again.  I am still the DL here, and so far so good.  This week I spent some of the days waiting for them to arrive and others showing Rowley the area and the members to help him get started so we really could not work until the end of the week.  But the part that we worked we worked well.  Also, yesterday was the dedication of the Meneus temple which was awesome.  At the first session a man from England came to see it because his son lives and works here.  He does not speak any English so I was able to translate for him which was awesome.  He was also really happy to hear that my dad served in the London England mission.  He does not live there though, but lives closer to Nottingham. He was a real treat for me though.  It was fun.  I took a pic with him and I will send it to you guys.  

I am really exacted to have a full work week this week.  I hate not working.  It gets really boring.  I really have gained the confidence of all the members here which is nice.  That is the benefit of working hard.  Everybody likes you.  Sadly, there are some things going on with the leadership of the ward that are making this a little rough.  We will get that all worked out though.  I think that I am going to be around this area for a little while longer though because I just started training which is a 12 week or two-transfer process now when it is possible.  So, I think that I will be in this area for at least four transfers in total, two that have already happened, this transfer that is happening now, and the next.  So, that will be about 6 months in one area.  I will try and take advantage of that.  It sounds like you are all busy.  I know that it is not going to be easy helping Danny at the start.  He is coming into a new home, new family, new rules and a new language.  It is going to be hard on him too, but I know that it will all work out.  I pray for him and for all of you.  He is in the right family.  Well, I love all of you and I will try and send pics for you all.

Love Elder Lee

Week 67 Letter

Monday, June 4, 2012

Hello family.  I really only have a short time to write today because things are a little crazy with the transfers.  So, I am going to stay in this area again, and they will put another companionship here too.  Elder Elizeu is leaving for Rondonopolis, which is sad, but sadly it is part of the mission.  I sure like him and I am going to miss him a ton.  I am going to continue as the district leader her and I am going to train another missionary who is entering the field this week.  I think that his name is Elder Markoe, but I do not know for sure.  I am hoping that he arrives today, but if not he should be here tomorrow for sure.  We did have a baptism yesterday. We baptized 16 year old Eduardo, who is the son of a recent convert who recently moved from Paraná to here.  It was awesome.  He is a great young man.  I will put in a pic for you later.  So, this week was good and busy. Everybody in my district baptized, which was awesome, and as a result I did a lot of traveling to do the interviews which were all good.  The best was of Wellington, who really had a lot of fear about getting baptized and was asking for more time, but after talking with him, interviewing him, teaching him, many tears, and a strong spirit, he felt ready and felt the faith and courage come to him to be baptized Sunday, and he was.  It was awesome.  He is 18, living alone, was always religious, and is unusually serious about his life which is rare and incredible.  He is great.  So, there was my week.  We worked harder than usual even to try and make up for the lost time in the area traveling, but God always makes things work out right.  Just have to have faith.  I love this work and I am excited for this next transfer.  Have a great week all of you and take care of my two new little bros.  Love you all!!! 

Elder Lee

Week 66 Letter

Monday, May 28, 2012

Hello my family!

It sounds like you are all doing great.  I am jealous that Shiloh is babysitting all of you.  How I miss it when she would baby sit us.  Make sure that all of you are being obedient.  I sure love you all.  Mom and Dad, I cannot believe that you are in Africa again.  Our family is all over world, literally.  It is awesome.  I cannot wait to meet Daniel and Jet personally.  They sound like they are the best.  Tony, good work with the missionaries.  I promise you that they will miss you when they are transferred.  I love seeing miracles that happen on the mission every day.  The people that you "run into" always seem to be looking for you and needing what you have.  It is awesome.  This week we had six investigators at church, but sadly, almost all of them need to get married legally still.  It kind of stinks, but we will work with them.  They were in the right place.  One of the couples that need to get married is a 15 year old girl and an 18 year old boy that have been dating for 3 years, recently moved here, and are planning on getting married in Nov.  Yeah, there is Brazil for you.  We will try to find a different house for the boy to live in until they are married.  We taught them a great lesson yesterday and they both want to be baptized.  Also, some more good news that I have been discovering.  When I was transferred from Ji-Parana, I left two baptismal dates marked.  One was with José, who has already been baptized now, and the other was with Auroura, whose daughter I reactivated, whose other daughter I baptized, and who I was helping to stop smoking.  She was also baptized on the marked day and her husband who I was also teaching was recently baptized.  Also, the other lady that I baptized my last week there gave the missionaries a referral and they baptized her uncle.  Also, I do not know if you remember me talking about a lady who I reactivate, but I heard that José is now dating her and they are both super firm in the gospel.  Wow, how awesome is all of that.  I sure love all those people and I am sure glad that I was able to receive all of this good news.  Sadly, I receive very little news about my past areas because of a lack of communication, but Junior is always sending me emails about Ji-Parana and what is going on.  It is awesome.  It makes me so happy to hear that my investigators and baptisms and reactivations are doing well and continuing to grow.  So, that was my week.  I am sure that I am forgetting some stuff that I wanted to tell you, but I really cannot remember at the moment... oh yeah, I went to Cuiaba this week to go to a doctor to get an x ray on my finger that came out of place and that I had put back into place, but it has never healed up right, but sadly the bus was super slow and we got there late and so we did not even get to see the doc, but after we arrived we realized that we were 60 cents short to get a bus back to our area, so we walked to the church in the area looking for change of the ground and nothing turned up.  When we arrived at the church I saw a lady looking at the pics on the billboard, and I do not know how, but I already knew that she was not a member.  So, I went up to her and found that a member was already talking to her.  I got to know her and found that she was interested in the church and that because it was open she decided to go in and have a look.  We gave her a tour and afterwards taught her the restoration and she accepted to be baptized when she got an answer of the Book of Mormon.  At the end, the other missionaries of the area came in and we introduced her to them and gave them the referral.  It was awesome, and afterwards we explained the member, who had served a mission in Japan that we were short 60 cents and he helped us out.  It was all about being in the right place at the right time, and with the right shortage of money.  Kind of funny.  It was awesome though.  So, there is the story of the week.  I love all of you and wish you all a great week.  Mom and dad, good luck in Africa and say hi to the boys for me.  Kids, be good for Shi and Shi, have a blast with them for me.  I sure loved the good ol' days.  Tchau, amo todos de vocês.  

Elder Lee