Week 83 Letter

Monday, September 24, 2012

Hello!

Not a lot to report today, mostly because I sit down to write and I forget everything that I was planning on saying.  Well, here it goes...

This week we had some good and sad news.  The sad news is that Fernando moved to another state.  The good news is that he stopped smoking and drinking coffee which he saw as a miracle and he has promised to continue to go to church at his new home and be baptized.  Some other good news is that we marked some dates for this next Sunday.  It is exciting.  Also, tomorrow will be zone conference which is always good and a blessing.  It will be fun to get to know President Reber a little better.  This conference will just be our zone at our chapel so it will be a little more intimate than what we are used to which will be a fun change I think.  The other good news is that all of my baptisms here and in my last area are all firm in the church, progessing, and sharing the good news with me with much pride and excitement.  That is always fun.  It makes a missionary super happy.  Last night I dreamed that I ended my mission and I cried and cried and cried.  I woke up really happy that I still have another 5 months before this day.  Not that I am not excited to see all of you, but I really do love the mission and so I have to be sure that I take advantage of everyday while I have this great calling and responsibility.  It is a blessing and a joy.  Luckily, I know that the work of building the kingdom does not end after a mission.  So, that is about my week for you.  I really do not remember what else I was going to say... sorry.  Hey, so Josh is going on a mission to Ukraine, right?  Is there anybody else with a call yet that I do not know about?  I am excited for them.  Anyways, I have not looked at the blog yet, so I am going to give her a look.  I love you all and wish you a great week!  Hugs to all of you!

PS – It sounds like Danny’s English is getting better.  It will be a while for me.  But I think that he will learn it faster than 3 years.  I am sure that he has the gift of tongues.  God knew that he would have to learn English.  I cannot wait to meet him. 

Week 82 Letter

Monday, September 17, 2012

Hi everyone!!!  I just got done looking at the blog and I loved it.  I cannot believe how old you all are.  Happy Birthday Danny!  It looks like it was awesome.   I am excited to see you and your bike in person.  We will have fun.  I sure love all of you.  Levi, you are super buff dude.  We can play hockey when I get home, but I think that I will have to buy some roller blades first.  It will be fun though.  Danny, I am going to play soccer today.  I am practicing so that we can play together when I get back.  It will be fun.  I think that you will win though.  Well, I had a good week.  We taught a lot, we contacted a lot, and we found a lot of people to teach.  Sadly, Fernando who was going to get baptized Sunday had to work all day because of an emergency thing.  He works in electric stuff and for hotels and some hotel in Cuiaba were having some nasty problems so all of Saturday and Sunday he was working and I think that he is still there today, but we will remark his baptism.  He has stopped smoking and has given up coffee.  He is doing great and he will be a great member here.  Also, we have a bunch of other possibilities for baptisms this week. It should be good.  I am loving the work and I think that I am learning more and more every day.  Sadly, the weeks are still passing by super-fast, and there seems like there is never enough time to do everything that I would like to, but I guess that that is how life is.  We are working really hard though.  I am doing a lot of splits with the missionaries in my zone which is also good.  All of my recent baptisms here are all doing great and are all very involved in the church, the activities, and even the missionary work.  I think that it is funny.  A lot of the time, recent members and investigators are a bigger help than the strong members.  I think that it is because the truth is fresher to them and they see the need to share it with everybody.  I hope that I never take the gospel for granted.  I know that I did a little bit when I was at home.  It is such a force, a gift, a privilege, and it is great news that we need to share.  We know the truth.  We have at a witness.  We can be god's vessels in bringing about the salvation of many of his children.  I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, because it really is the power unto salvation.  I am so glad that I have been chosen to take this message to the people here and everybody that I contact during my life.  It is an honor and pleasure.  I love the work.  It is his work and his glory that can be brought about with our hands.  Let us go forth boldly and be a light unto all people.  What do we have to lose?  As Paul said, if god is with us, who can be against us?  I am firmly committed to be a righteous and wise servant and steward.  I know that god is with me, I know who I am, and I know that with his divine help and power, the weak things of this world can thrash the nations with his spirit.  What a promise, what a blessing.  We have been called to serve him.  Is there a better master?  His salary is life eternal.  The only other salary comes from being a servant to sin, which brings the salary of death and misery.  I am grateful that we can rejoice because we have the right to choose, to act, or to be acted upon.  To choose our master, because no man can serve them both.  To be spiritually minded is life eternal.  Let us serve him with all heart and mind, that we may gain our reward and fully enjoy our reward with those who we have helped lift, those souls whose value is great in the sight of god, our literal brothers and sisters of a divine creator and father.  I know that this gospel is true.  I know that God's work is to bring about the immortality and eternal life of man.  I am thankful that I have been called to be an instrument in his hands to fulfill his plans and purposes.  I know that whom the Lord calls, he qualifies.  Good thing too  :).  I love you all!!!  Have a great week!

Elder Lee

Week 81 Letter

Monday, September 10, 2012

Hello family!!!

Sorry that I am writing this letter a little later today, I had to get a haircut and we ended up teaching the barber how to play a card game afterwards and teaching him about the gospel.  He seems like a really nice down to earth guy and the haircut was only 8 bucks which is cheaper than a lot of other places here.  So, to tell you the news of the week, we had 2 baptisms on Saturday, Clara, a little 9 yr old girl whose dad we reactivated and whose mom wants to get baptized but still needs to get married legally, 

and Jhyeci, who is 17 and a great young girl who is excited to have found the truth.  She will be a strength in the young women’s program here.  It was awesome.  

Also, Fernando came to church, a single man who is in his 40s and he is excited to be baptized this next Saturday.  He has been to church a lot of times in the past but he was addicted to drinking and smoking but he has seen a miracle in his life since we found him.  He has a week without smoking, beer, or coffee.  He is amazed because he has tried to stop many times before but never could.  We will continue to teach and help him a lot this week.  He is a great guy.  Sadly, Raimundo, the dad of Isis, the 15 yr old girl that I baptized, is having to travel a lot for work now so he is going to leave this week and will not be back for another 40-45 days.  I will really miss him, but he has been thinking a lot about the church and he even said that he will think a lot about baptism while he is gone so that he can feel more ready on the return to be baptized and continue firm in the faith.  On the other hand, two of his cousins, in their 20s came to live with Isis at home here, and so we will teach them.  One is single and the other is married (but not legally dang it).  Raimundo already talked to them about the church and talked really well of it.  He said that it would be the only church worth baptizing in because of the way that you feel when you are there.  He said it is the only church that is true to itself and its teachings.  I think that he believes that it is true, because he tells that to us, but he did not really tell his cousins like that but it was awesome to see him doing missionary work.  I love doing missionary work with investigators and recent converts.  So, that is about my week.  I am doing well, I am happy, and I have excited to work this week.  It will be fun.  I love all of you and I am so proud of each of you.  Also, I am going to go and play some soccer today so that I can play with Danny when I get home.  Good work Danny!!!!  Score a goal for big brother Shane!!!  Love you all and have a great week!!!!

Love, Elder Lee

Week 80 Letter

Monday, September 3, 2012

I cannot believe that another week has flown by and it is more incredible that the month has already passed too.  Time just goes.  This last Friday we had a mission tour with Elder Costa from the 70.  He gave the leaders some training about being a model in all things and then he gave a training to all of the missionaries in the north part of the mission.  It was really good and I learned a lot and now have a list of ideas of things to do.  Sadly, I wish that I had known all of this at the start.  I will have to hurry and get it all done. I am excited to really take advantage of the last quarter of the mission.  I really love being a missionary and in the last 6 months you know that you really got the hang of it.  I was never afraid to invite people to come to Christ through baptism, but I feel like now I am prepared to really help that person be ready and willing to accept the invite.  It is a lot of fun.  For example, the other day I did a division with Elder Grantham who is on his 2nd transfer in brazil and we went and taught a lady that he had been teaching for the last month and whose son I helped get baptized, Cesar.  Elder Grantham explained to me the situation a little.  She goes to a church that keeps Saturday as the Sabbath and she does not eat pork and also believes that her church is the restored church of Christ.  She always says that she will read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, but she just has not done it and really was not showing a lot of progress.  We got there and started talking and it turned into a lesson.  I discovered that she really did not understand the importance of the Book of Mormon.  I taught her a little of the history and how it is another testament of Jesus Christ.  I also explained that it comes with a promise which we find in Moroni 10.  Then I decided to teach her how the Book of Mormon is the keystone to our religion.  I started off by saying that receiving a testimony of the Book of Mormon would respond to all other questions that she may have, for example, about the Sabbath and eating pork and using veils at church and if she needed to get baptized again.  Them I taught her how the Book of Mormon is evidence that joseph was a true prophet, exactly how the ark proved that Noah was a prophet and the opening of the red sea was evidence that moss was a prophet, among other things of course.  Therefore, the church must be the only true church with the only valid baptism on the face of the earth.  So... if the Book of Mormon is true, it is all true and she needs to get ready to get baptized.  Then I asked when she would like to receive an answer from god about the book.  She tried to burn me and say that it was on god's time table.  I agreed but explained that I would like to receive an answer as fast as possible, and that not asking can get in the way of god's time table, for example, if he wants to answer tonight, but she does not ask, how will he be able to respond.  She understood and agreed to pray, but she told me that she would need to receive a firm answer and sign, like somebody prophesying, a dream or vision, or some miracle like speaking in tons (which I thought was ironic).  Now it was my chastise here, but I did it really nicely.  I told her to be careful, because if she was not willing to mess with god's time table, why command him to answer in her way and not his.  She once again understood.  I then bore my testimony about how I read and prayed of the Book of Mormon and how I know that god answered me, without it being a vision or dream, but with the simple but powerful and piercing touch of the holy ghost and how I know that he answered, and I know that god knew that he answered, and so I told her that for me to deny the Book of Mormon would be to deny god.  She was touched and then said something that surprised me.  She told me that she wanted to know of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, but that she would like to read it all.  She told me that she would read it in 15 days.  I agreed with her proposition, so I told her that we could find a spot in middle ground.  I told her that she could read it in 15 days, but that she also needs to pray each one of those 15 days and ask god specifically about the Book of Mormon.  She agreed and accepted to be baptized when she receives a testimony of the book.  It was a great lesson and I really hope that she keeps her promise because I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that god will answer to any person that reads and prays about it.  It was great.  Saturday we will baptize Clara, a nine year old girl whose dad we re-activated.  He has been non active for the last 10 years or so, but is ready to come back.  He is going to church now and more than that, he is going to all of the activities.  Sadly, he still need to get married to his wife legally, but we will help them this week and next week with marriage process and if all goes well they can be married in about a month and a half and the wife is already wanting to get baptized.  Also, I am about to go and teach a man that I have just talked to on the cell phone, but he seems really sincere.  From what I know he had been taught 4 years ago and almost got baptized but he didn't and he has been thinking a lot lately and thinks that the time is coming for him to open his eyes, change his life, and enter the kingdom of god on earth.  I really do not know about the family and living situations, but I will find out here in a little bit.  So, it was a good week and this week will be better and busier.  I am going to try and help each companionship this week.  My goal is for each companionship is to baptize.  The mission has been slow on baptisms lately, our zone has been baptizing the most but they have been coming from my area.  Now I need to really figure out how the help the rest of them.  I am excited though.  I love all of you and wish you a great week!!!!

Elder Lee

PS -  I saw the blog.  Everybody is getting so big and everybody is super cute.  Tony will be a great missionary.  I know that you will be able to help Debbie mom.  Just having a friend in the church that loves you can make all the difference, and I know that she will be blessed because her son is on a mission.  I gotta go teach that man I told you about, Fernando, but I love you mom and wish you a great week. Send my love to the rest of the family and tell them thanks for the emails.  I loved all of them.  Love you!!!