Week 75 Letter

Monday, July 30, 2012

Hello family, how are all of you?  You sound great.  I am doing well.  Thursday we baptized Iasmin, the sister of Isabella who I baptized about 2 weeks ago.  It was awesome.  Her mom is doing a lot better too.  She even said that she would be baptized if not for this lack of marriage thing.  She did promise that she is going to go to church every Sunday.  She was there yesterday.  It was awesome.  All of our other investigators could not make it to church though.  Every kind of excuse.  Kind of frustrating, I guess because I know how much they each need the gospel, but agency plays part of the bigger plan.  Yesterday the state mayor or whatever it is in English came to church too with the mission president.  He brought a bunch of his office workers with him too.  I think that he was really wanting some political support.  I was able to sit with his workers.  It was kind of interesting to see the difference between somebody who goes to church to find an answer and in a search for spiritual knowledge and somebody who goes because his boss makes him and who is simply interested in the "function" of the church.  I tried to explain the fullness of the opportunity that these men had to be visiting the true church of Jesus Christ, but they did not have ears to hear.  Oh if only they knew.  I am so glad that I know.  I am not really sure when I found out.  I think that it came step by step, line upon line, and precept upon precept.  I was born of goodly parents.  I know where to look for a remission of my sins.  What a blessing.  What a message.  It is fun to help people discover this font of living water.  I love being a missionary.  It is awesome.  Well, that is about my week for you.  We are still learning the area, we are talking to a lot of people, and we are working well together.  Elder Barão is a good missionary, and we get along, although it is not as easy as if was with me and Elder Marque for example.  Elder Marque could be my older brother that I never had.  He thinks a lot like a Lee, he plays sports like a Lee, and he loves the gospel like a Lee.  I am going to see him today. It is nice that we are in the same zone still.  I even did a division with him one day during this last week.  It was fun to work together again.  Well, I love all of you and wish you a great week.  Enjoy the summer!!!

Love Elder Lee

Week 74 Letter

Monday, July 23, 2012

Thanks for the experiences dad.  I still cannot believe that I am serving a mission.  I am really sad that it is going by so fast.  I am really trying to take advantage of th4 time that I have left.  I also am kind of slow on really liking to be a zone leader, but I do love the missionaries in the zone and I like seeing them do well.  I also get along with my comp.  He reminds me a lot of kung fu panda.  He is awesome, but he thinks a lot different than me.  I like to lay low, not call a lot of attention to myself, and I really do not need credit for anything.  He is kind of the other way around.  He likes to know everything in the mission, wants to be the assistants best friend, wants to be the next assistant, and wants a lot of attention from others and a lot of credit for his work.  He kind of has a habit of putting others down to build himself up.  Luckily, this drives him to work, which I will take advantage of.  He is easy enough to get along with.  I really do like him.  I will kind of just let him be the man here and really just focus on the work and investigators.  I think that I am really learning about myself on the mission.  Friday we did have a baptism of a girl whose brother has been recently activated.  She is awesome.  Her name is Handy Karoline and she is 12.  It even worked for her brother mike to baptize her which was awesome.  It was really cool.  This ward is good and this area is super big but we will have help.  We are opening it, so we are kind of lost, but the members are helping us.  This week I am going to teach Isebela's sister Iasmin, who has 10 years.  She is marked to get baptized this Thursday.  Her mom has really turned around on her view about the missionaries and the church.  I think that she kind of has a crush on me.  She calls me elder Cruz because she thinks that I look like Tom Cruz.  I told her that she had to see me dad.  She is awesome though.  She even said that she would like to be baptized, but sadly she is not married legally and her husband is a drinker and a lousy guy, but she does not want to put her kids through a divorce, also because he brings in a little money to the house, although she also working.  People here earn way, way, less than in the states.  The normal is 200 reais, or about 100 dollars a month if you work 35-40 hours a week.  It is rough.  Well, this week will be good.  I played soccer today because the new president is letting us.  It was a lot of fun.  I played well, although thee first game was a warm up.  It has been a long time.  I even made a lot of goals on a pro goalie from Chile who is new in the mission.  Also, it was fun playing with Elder Marque who played professionally.  He makes it look so easy.  He was really surprised at how I played which made me feel good.  Good thing that I had a good dad and good siblings to help me learn the sport.  It is really fun to play with Brazilians.  I think that I will have to play indoor when I get home.  I love it.  Anyways, that was my week and day.  I love the mission, and I hope that time slows down a little.   My comp is excited to go home, he already has one year and seven months and is ready to go.  It just makes me sad to think that I am about ready to get into the last 6 months.  I am in a hurry to work.  I love the work, and I have a testimony that this work is real.  That this gospel is true, and that everybody needs it.  I know that.  I love you all, and thanks for your love and support.

PS, I do not know if the package got here yet, but I have not called to the office yet.  If it is there, another missionary went today to look and she I will have it by wed.  If not, it should be on its way.  I love you mommy!!!  Eu estou vivendo a vida, I am living the life!

That is awesome tony.  You are the man.  I can imagine everything.  I also hear that you are helping the missionaries a lot.  I am sure that they love you.  I love the members that have helped me.  It really makes a difference, and it is a great feeling to know that your baptisms will be loved and cared for after you leave an area.  You are sure going to love the mission.  I hope that you are privileged to come to Brazil.  I know that you would like it.  The language and culture is awesome and the people are so easy to love.  Brazil is a country ready for the gospel.  It is being reaped.  I love being involved in this work.  We are a blessed people to be able to help him with his work and glory.  Working for and with the Lord is awesome.  He never lets you down, and you already know that you are going to win.  Satan must live a frustrated life.  He works a lot too, but he does not have what we have.  His power is so weak compared to the power that we use; the priesthood power of God.  Battles wage, but the war is sure.  Let's go get her.  Love you bro, you are the man!

Week 73 Letter

Monday, July 16, 2012

Thanks for sending the package.  I was transferred, but not very far.  I am actually staying in the same zone with Elder Marque so I will see him every week which will kill the missing him thing.  I really will miss him though.  He is one of my favorite companions.  He is a great missionary with great desires.  I am going to miss the area too.  You have all heard how it is from other transfers, so I will not have to explain it again.  I am going to the Mapim A ward, were I will be the zone leader with Elder Barão, a missionary that I have only heard about, but to not know well.  It will be good though.  This Sunday I did get to baptize a girl that I have been teaching all week.  She has a really cool story.  We met here at an activity were a member brought her and so I started teaching her there, invited her to come to church the next day and she came.  We taught her the first lesson and she wanted to be baptized but she told us that it would be hard for her mom to let her.  I talked with her mom the next day and after about an hour of talking, teaching, and explaining, the mom signed off on her to be baptized if she wanted and if she was really ready.  It was rough, but the mom really ended up liking us a lot.  After we got the signature we talked to her and visited with her and everything.  Sadly, she is not legally married or we would have set up to baptize her too.  Later I was thinking about what I could do to help this girl Isebela and help her mom understand that she is ready.  I was washing the dishes at home when the revelation came.  I taught her all of the lessons as if it was an institute class.  She is really smart so it worked.  I taught the lessons using lots of scriptures from the bible and b of m and had her take notes and make an outline of each lesson.  It was incredible the way that she soaked everything up with a hungry desire to learn and the mom was impressed each day with her addition of notes and sound understanding.  When Saturday came we did the interview and the mom felt very comfortable with her daughter being baptized.  I baptized her yesterday in a very powerful baptism meeting.  The spirit was really strong and the mom came to watch.  After, some of the young women sang a special musical number and everybody became very emotional.  It was awesome.  Also, President Reber and his wife were there to watch, which came as a surprise.  It was awesome.   The mission president is really a cool man and has a great spirit.  It seems like he is a little nervous and lost sometimes, but he will jump right into things in a little bit.  My Portuguese is good.  Way better than my English, hahaha.  I still have accent, but if I say that I am from Rio Grande Do Sul, south state of Brazil, they all believe me.  Sometimes I have to say that to buy stuff because if they know that you are American they sell stuff way more expensive.  I sure like Portuguese.  It is awesome.  I am going to miss it a lot when I get home.  I sent some pics to you.  The other pics are of the shirt that Elder Marque gave me which he used to play soccer professionally when he was home.  

I sure like Elder Marque.  Anyways, well, I am off, but I love you and will be back next week.  Thanks for all of you love and support.  Have a great week.  Tchau tchau queridos.  I love you all, and wish you all a great week!!!

Week 72 Letter

Monday, July 9, 2012

Hi everyone!

Sorry that I am writing a little bit later tonight.  We had to switch the schedule around a little today.  So, to let you know, we had a baptism of Thaylanne yesterday.  It was really the other missionaries baptism, but it kind of feels like mine because I went there to teach and interview her a ton of times in the last two weeks with the others on splits.  It was awesome.  She is a wife of a less active member that I meant on the road and after talking with him he said that he would like to come back to church and when I suggested that his wife be baptized he took it as a good idea.  His name is Everton.  They are a young couple with a cute one year old son.  It was awesome.  We also found a lot more people to teach this week.  Today I played b ball and really played.  I am tired, but it is a good feeling.  Tomorrow is a zone conference so it was a good day to play because I will be seated tomorrow for the most of the day.  What else, I did do a division with some other missionaries in my district and we marked a bunch of baptisms, so I am expecting a good week with them.  I might be going over to help them again this week.  Elder Marque is awesome.  He is one of my best companions.  He loves to work and he likes to work smart too.  It is nice.  He thinks a lot like my, but we have a really different history.  He has one year and two months in the church.  Yeah, he was baptized while I was on the mission!  Before the church he was never religious because he just did not know.  So, as a result, I think that he has done everything that is possible as far as stuff outside of the church goes.  I, on the other hand, have not even dated seriously or even held hands.  Kind of funny seeing us together super unified.  Anyways, this Sunday we also brought two other less actives to church which was good.  The work is going forth.  That transfers are coming up.  The transfer day is this next Sunday.  I will know sudsy, and Monday, if I am to leave, will take off to my next area.  I really do not know what to expect because I have a lot of time in this area already, but the training process is normally two transfers and I have only been training Elder Marque for one so far.  Maybe I will stay to finish training his more maybe I will be bouncing.  I really have no idea.  I will let you know next week.  I really would not mind staying another one here with Elder Marque.  Everything is coming together in this area.  It has kind of been a hard area at the start, and there have been some problems in the ward because of past missionaries, but it is all better now, so I would like to stay and enjoy the fruits a little, but sadly that is not normally how it is.  There is always another area in need, but as the hymn goes, I will go where you want me to go dear Lord.  I say Jackson's pics in the Bahamas.  Super cool.  I kind of forgot that there exist cities outside of this jungle that I am in.  I think that I will take a big culture shock when I get home.  Especially the weather.  Brrrrr.  Anyways, I love you all and I wish you a great week!!!!  Enjoy the weather!

PS, here it has gotten down to 65 degrees and everybody is dying, literally.  People who live on the street are freezing to death in some areas.  I have a nasty cold and I am ready for the 100 degree weather again.  Also, we have to take cold showers which are nasty.  Mom, do you remember how I hated to take long showers when I was a kid so that I could get out to watch rugrats, yeah same thing now.  Freezing.  I do not know what I am going to do when I get home to under freezing.  Well, wish me luck in the cold, happily I do not think that it will last very long, it is really strange here.  Love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

Love Elder Lee

Happy birthday Katie, my woodwind buddy!!!!

I cannot believe that you have already had a birthday again!!!  You are getting old so fast.  I have been receiving pics from mom and I am seeing that you are growing from a cute little girl to a beautiful young woman.  I do not think that I am really going to believe that you are you when I get back.  I hope that you had a great birthday, because you deserve it.  I sure love you Katie, and I am thankful that I have such a nice, sweet, and loving little sister.  One thing that I always liked about you is that you have always been full of energy and that you use that energy to bless other people, be there friend, and make them feel good.  You have never been afraid to do the right thing.  I admire that.  I am your biggest fan, and I am glad to be your big brother.  You are the best.  Also, do not forget to right to me to let me know how your birthday was.  I bet it was a blast.  Dad said that you would go to the lake.  What fun.  I sure love you Katie and I cannot wait to see how pretty you are in person again.  Keep up the good work and always remember that your big bro Shane loves you more than you can imagine.  Have an awesome week sis.

Love Elder Lee!

Week 71 Letter

Monday, July 2, 2012

Hey mom,

Sorry that I am writing late but I had to go to the center of Cuiaba today to the mission office to pick up some things and I also ended up buying some soccer shirts.  I am going to have a collection of Brazil teams when I get home.  This week was good, but our baptism fell through sadly because nobody was home when we went to pick them up yesterday morning for church.  I am going over there tonight to see what happened.  I did not go yesterday because we had to go to Cuiaba to watch a fireside were Pres and Sister Reber, the new mission Pres and his wife, spoke.  It was good.  Also, Elder Leal the area authority who was just called spoke too.  President seems like a great guy, form ST George Utah, and he is speaking well, although a little rusty.  He served in São Paulo on his mission.  Elder Leal gave a good talk and in the middle he introduced an investigator friend of a member girl who had come to the meeting.  She was seated right behind me.  I talked to them after the meeting.  The girl lived in Cuiaba, which in not my area, but I invited her to listen to the missionaries and be baptized anyways and she accepted.  I then introduced her to the missionaries in her area.  The missionary in here area is a great guy, but a little timid and shy.  I hope that he takes advantage of the situation.  She looks super elect and already basically accepted baptism when I talked with her.  It was cool.  So, there is my week for ya.  Last Monday I played basketball again on the 9 foot rim and this time I really felt my hops come back.  I was dunking like crazy in the game.  It was fun.  I am about to go and play again.  We had a lot of nonmembers playing with us last time and I hope that they come back again.  It was awesome and a great way to teach people.  Super easy environment and great opportunity.  Anyways, I love all of you and wish you a great week!

Love,

Elder Lee