Week 102 Letter

Monday, February 4, 2013

Hey, did you get an email of my flight plans?  If not, I can forward them to you.  I thought that I should make sure that you knew, a little late to think about it, but I am trying, hahaha.  So, how are you?  I am in Rondonopolis still.  I will work here until Saturday, were I will return to Cuiaba, Varzea Grande and hopefully baptize an investigator that I was teaching when I left and is marked to be baptized this Sunday, and asked that I baptize here.  I hope that all goes well.

Well, here is my week, we have been looking for new people to teach and trying to strengthen the people that we baptized here.  Also, we have been running behind inactive members.  It was a good week, and we talked to a million people on the street is seems like.  We even called some bus stops to repentance and baptism because Elder Nunes did not believe that I would.  It was good and fun.  The branch is taking in some exciting breaths of air, and the work is good.  We have some people on track for baptism, which is awesome.  Sadly, I will not be here in person.  All the same, it will be great.  Everybody is getting sad that I am getting close to leaving, and I feel the same way.  It is hard to say good bye, I guess that I never got use to it, but this comes as part of the mission.  The good news is that there will be a great reunion again, and that will be a blast.  This week we are already full of appointments, and the work will go on.  I am ending my mission just the way that I had always imagined.  I love this work.  I am sorry that this letter is short, but I really do not know what to say, and I will see you all soon anyways.  I love you all, and wish a great week. 

With love, Elder Lee

Week 101 Letter

Monday, January 28, 2013

Well, here you go; my official letter for the week...

All is well.  We are working hard and we are excited.  This Sunday we had 3 new investigators at church that we will teach this week.  I am super excited.  Maybe one of them will get baptized before I leave.  This next Sunday will be my last in the area because the next on after I will be in Cuiaba I think.  My recent converts are great and growing.  This week my district picked up a new excitement as well.  They have been a little unexcited lately and thinking of how I could excite them again, I decided to do a fun Sunday activity.  We left with 40 pamphlets of the restoration and started doing power contacts on the street in the rain.  Pouring rain; it was fun and we started doing contacts using all kinds of techniques and fun lines.  It was fun and the district is super happy.  I am really going to miss this area and this people.  Well, I thought that this email was going to be longer, but I really cannot this of anything else to say.  I love being a missionary, and I still cannot believe that it is going to end.  I think that I am in denial, but I guess that that is a good thing.  I am focused and working harder than ever.  And smarter than ever too. Tony is going to love this work.  I love you all, and wish you a great week. 

Love Elder Lee

PS – I do not have my temple clothes.  I just brought my white pants to baptize, but I do not have them anymore, they disappeared after a baptism in Mapim, and I do not know who grabbed them from the bathroom.  My packet should be with the rest of my stuff, and I will need to buy knew pants.

Week 100 Letter

Monday, January 21, 2013

So, to first off answer the questions, I am a size 40 tennis shoe in brazil, which I think is a 9,5.  I still wear a 30x32 pants, 32 being the length (I forget which comes first).  I wear a med or small depending on the shirt style, my dress shirts are mediums, but the short sleeves are longer then I like, I do have an overcoat that I never used on the mission, but I kept it to give to tony, so tell him that he does not have to buy one.  Does that answer your questions?  On the web cam you get younger and younger every call home.  I am getting old, but I think that you will recognize me.  I am the same weight, height, and all as when I left.  So much for the plan of growing on the mission.  About the Brazilian restaurant - there are actual Brazilians at the restaurant?  That is awesome!!!  I am way excited to go now :) 

Some pictures for you…

This baptism was Saturday, and they were both confirmed yesterday.  My comp is Elder Nunes, super great guy, from Bahia, but also lived a part of his life in São Paulo.  This is my last are and last transfer.  Once again, it is going to be heart breaking to leave an area...    the two that got baptized are brothers and sisters, Lucas 17 and Thayla 15, and in the photo there are there parents who we are teaching, and a friend who I met the day before the baptism and invited her to come and watch.  It was a great baptismal service.  I hope to baptize the parents soon, they are so cool and we are great friends.  The dad is a little nervous about taking the step, but we will help him.  The wife wants to get baptized and says that she will when he does.  We just have to work with him a little more.

It is good to hear from Dad.  I sure love my dad, let him know for me.  I know that you know that I love you, but I never get tired of saying it, so, I sure love you mommy.  Tell the kids that I am excited to see them too.  Hey, what do you think about me entering into an indoor soccer league when I get home?  Maybe I will be able to play a little in college. 

Well I love you and have a great week.  Love, Elder Lee

Somehow I missed Week 97 Letter! :>

Monday, December 31, 2012

Thanks mom, I feel the same, but at the same time... old.  I think that it is because I have 21 years now.  I am still not use to that.   I loved the blog, it was awesome.  Everyone is so big and so good looking.  Tony looks ripped man!!!  His forearm looks bigger than my biceps, and I loved his and dad's shirt!  It was awesome.  Well, to catch you up with my week, this Sunday was a success that Rondonoplis has not seen for a long time.  The usual attendance of 50 went up to 70, and we were missing people still who are traveling for the New Year.  Elder Nunes and I brought 8 investigators to church this Sunday which helped a lot and it seemed like the branch got a breath of excitement.  We will run around this week trying to get people on date for baptism now.  It is looking good.  It will be kind of hard though because of New Year’s because we lose a day in the week, but we already have a wed full of appointments, and all of them look promising.  So, that is about my week.  It was great talking with you all, and by the blog I can tell that you had a great Christmas.  I will have to miss the New Year bowl, but get ready because I am going to be there for the mission bowl in Feb.

I think that I am here for the rest of the mission, I am still district leader which surprised me because President said that he would release everybody on their last transfer, and my companion Elder Nunes is from Bahia, but really he was raised in Sao Paulo.

I am 4 to 5 hours by bus from Cuiaba.  I am not sure how many miles though.   I love you all and wish you a great new year!!!! 

 Love Elder Lee!!!

This picture is a bridge and the water is too dirty to see if there are animals, but I am sure that there are some brook fish there.  I just thought it would be a cool pick with the creek and the horse that was there.  I walk by this bridge almost every day to teach a family that lives on the other side.

We also went to a members house to help her make bread that she sells as a service project.  She has had a hard week, and I think that she appreciated the help.  It was fun, and the bread turned out really well.  I promise that I will try to take more pics this transfer.  I will have to buy a new battery charger though, because mine broke, but I will look for one today.

Me and Elder Nunes

Week 99 Letter

Monday, January 14, 2013

What the heck?  What is it that TB does?  Does it have side effects?  If you have it, how do they get rid of it?  Is it just taking meds for a year?  What a mess, but I am sure that it will be alright.  I am sure that Dad had a great conference.  He is the man.  This week we had a good and busy week which resulted in Karina's baptism that happened on Saturday and her confirmation that happened yesterday.  I will send the pics.  Her mom and brother went.  Her brother Robert is 15 and he also went to church for the first time yesterday and really liked it.  We will start teaching him now.  So, it was a good week, although it was hard trying to teach some of our other investigators.  As far as finding people home we did not have any luck, but I felt good about this week all the same.  It has been three months since this branch has seen a baptism, and I think that we kind of gave another breath of life to the members here.  It was good, and we are expecting more.  I love the mission.  Anyways, that was my week, I cannot really think of anything else at the moment... it did rain all week, and we got super wet a few times, but it was fun and lousy at the same time.  It did clear up for the baptism though, which was a little disappointing because I was excited to baptize Karina in the rain, because the baptismal font is outside of the chapel/house. It is a normal font, but just outside.  It kind of looks like a big bath tub, lol.  It sure is nice living in a country that has the best medical treatments, huh?  Here people die from dangy all the time, that mosquito disease.  Two missionaries here in Rondonopolis have dangy right now, out of the 12, but nobody in my house.  I think that I might luck out and go the full two years without catching it.

Yeah, I think that that is what it is.  Anyways, I sent the pics.  Keep me posted, I will pray from here.  So, yeah, that is all that I can think of, so I hope that you like the pics.  I love you all!!!!

Elder Lee

She is almost 14, that is her mom, and the other is her 15 year old brother, big huh.  We already wrestled one time, lol, it was fun.  ;)

Week 98 Letter

Monday, January 7, 2013

Wow, for Tony that is awesome, I am really excited for him and I am super happy that he will be speaking Portuguese.  I think that it is the coolest language in the world!  That is awesome.  The only thing is that nobody told me when he is going. Do you know when he will leave?  I am looking at the blog right now, waiting for Tony’s video to load.  I did read the email, and I am glad that you are already making plans for me when I get home, because I will need something to do, and I have not really thought about anything...but we will work on that when I get home.

  

My week was good and bad.  The start of the week was hard because everybody was traveling, but we really set out to work.  We worked both Monday and Tuesday and it paid off.  A lot of the people that said they would make it to church were not able to make it sadly, but we did have 4 visitors there, and if all goes well, Karina will get baptized and her mom said that after her divorce process she will also be baptized.  So, it is good.  We are teaching a lot here, and we have a big teaching pool. Most of the time there is not time to do everything, so we are running all of the time.  Poor Elder Nunes gets tired sometimes, but it has been a long time since he has baptized so the idea of baptizing picks him up a lot.  We are doing well together.  I did have an interview with president this week, the routine interviews and it was great.  It really did not seem much like an interview.  We talked a little about the area and them missionaries here and a little about my future plans, which I think he noticed are rather limited because he gave me permission to think a little bit about home, lol.  He is great.  I sure loved Elder Oliveira, and I am loving Elder Reber.  So, there is my week in a nutshell.  Pretty simple, but more because there was so much that I do not know how to say it all.  I did almost punch a drunk guy this week.  We were walking on a dirt road when a drunk guy came and starting messing with us and yelling and would not let us leave.  He had a cup of whisky in one hand which I took and threw away, gave him the empty cup, and told him to stop drinking.  He got made and picked up a stone and said that he was going to kill me, but I took the rock from him too and told him to go home, but he just got really mad, and when we were trying to walk away, he ran in front, threw the glass cup on the ground, shattering it, and punched me in the chest.  Out of reflex, I grabbed his arm, pulled it into me, and clenched my fist to knock his lights out when I saw a couple coming on the road and decided that that would not look good for the missionaries, so I twisted his arm and quickly told him to go home before he got hurt, and this time he listened and left.  I said good evening to the couple and they responded as if everything was normal, but after walking for another 10 minutes, the man and his family that we were teaching came behind us in their car and asked if everything was okay.  The couple that passed was the man's cousin and had told him that a crazy drunk was messing with the young men in white shirts and ties.  So, our investigator came behind to be sure that we were alright.  We were, and it was cool that he ran behind us to be sure.  Good thing that I did not punch the guy though, huh.  I think that a different story would have been told at our investigator's house.  Anyway, there is a fun story for you.  I love you all, and wish you a great week.

Love,Elder Lee