Week 36 Letter

Monday, November 7, 2011

Hello Family,
So, this week was great and I am excited to start another great week.  This week I had the opportunity to baptize Waldo (Valdo is how you say it) and he is awesome.  He also has a really cool story.  On morning, I and another 3 missionaries were waiting to take a bus to the center for a district meeting when he approached us and asked for an Elder Lee, an American missionary.  I stood up from the bench and introduced myself, and asked how I could help him.  He introduced himself as a historian and professor in the University that we have here in Cuiaba and said that somebody told him of an Elder Lee that has a material that teaches about the natives of Cuiaba, and that he was interested because he is currently working on a project of the history of Cuiaba.  (I do not know who mentioned my name to him, but I think that it was probably a contact that I did on the bus or something).  I smiled as I saw the opportunity to teach a new investigator and told him that I indeed do have this material and that I would like to present it and introduce it to him in his home were we would have more time to discuss everything.  He accepted my offer, gave me his address, and asked if I would be willing to do an interview with him on his television program that runs for an hour 4 days a week.  I told him to wait to hear what I had to say about my so called material and afterwards we would discuss doing an interview.  He seemed content and jumped on his bus to go to the university.  I returned my attention to the other missionaries who were all laughing at what had occurred.  I must admit that it would seem rather humorous.  Anyways. I found his house that night to pay the promised visit.  I was doing a teaching division with Elder De Abriu, a Brazilian missionary that is 3 months into his mission.  We found his house and Waldo eagerly invited us in.  After discussing his day I asked him, so, what is it exactly that you are expecting of us tonight.  Once again he talked about this material and his project in which he is involved.  I once again confirmed that I do have this so called material, and that it is a book, but I said, Waldo, you must understand that I know that this book is true, and this book really does contain the history of the natives of brazil, and the America in general, but you should also understand that nobody can prove this book false and I will not try to prove that it is true.  This book is a volume of scripture that can only be appreciated if read from a spiritual point of view, and the truthfulness of this book can only be revealed by the power of God.  Waldo understood well, and from this point everything changed.  Waldo became much more interested in his spiritual wellbeing than his project that had previously consumed in expectations of us.  We taught a powerful lesson of the restoration of the gospel and church of Jesus Christ.  I remember that towards the close of the lesson he asked, so Elder Lee, you are saying that this is the only true church on the earth today, and only this church truly has the power and authority of God?  I felt the Spirit speak through me as I replied, Yes brother Waldo, that is exactly what we are saying.  Now that you understand our message to the world, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ in being baptized by his authority that is once again on the earth?  He firmly and quickly responded, yes, I will, and again after moment, yes, I will be baptized.  It was so awesome.  I continued to visit him again and again, ironically always on a split with an elder from a different area.  I found that he had been prepared.  He was living the commandments, he was ready to hear our message, and he was excited to join Christ´s church on the earth.  He is so awesome.  His baptism this Sunday was really cool, and he said that he felt so good. 

He is also really excited to work.  He told me the other day, I know that I am older (he is 49 buts looks like he could be under 40) but I want to work.  He also wants all of the books of the church because he wants to study and learn.  He will be a great help to the word.  I am going to talk with the bishop to put him to work.  Anyways, it was really awesome teaching him, and I am excited for him to be confirmed this Sunday.  So, that was for sure the highlight of the week.  Also, we are teaching many others and helping reactivate members that have been lost in the crowd.  This Sunday we had a full house that went into the overflow.  We had 5 investigators and at least 10 less actives from my area.  I was so happy to see everybody there.  The ward is becoming very excited about the missionary effort.  This Sunday is as of right now already promising to be even better.  That catches you up with me, so until next time.  I love all of you and I am so thankful for your prayers and your letters.  Have a great week!
Com amor, Elder Lee

Week 35 Letter

Hello my family!
So, everything here is great.  We have received some new instruction at the beginning of the week of how President Oliveira would like us to work.  We are now to work much more with recent converts and less active (or non-active) members.  We have been doing that this week.  We have already reactivated one family here in the area and we are looking at helping many more.  There are a lot of people who have been baptized in the last 2 years, but have been lost in the rush it seems.  We have started to look for, find, and teach them.  It has been good.  Sadly, this week was a rough week with getting people to church Sunday.  We did have 3 investigators but we were planning on much more.  We even tried to pick them up as planned, but many were sick or not home.  We will try to contact them this week again.  Elder Aidukaitis is great and we are working hard.  We are also having to walk a lot though because we are finding that area is huge.  Before we have been trying to focus on one area, but now that we are working from a list of less actives and recent converts we have been all over the area.  But it is good.  I often think that missionaries focus so much on baptisms that they forget about leaving them well embraced in the arms of the members.  Unlike our stake and ward, here the members need some help and guidance when it comes to retaining baptisms.  But I am really enjoying the work.  Also, working with less actives will help us find people that are ready to hear our message and show their faith by entering the waters of baptism.  So, I am really excited to get to work this week and really get my hands dirty.  So, that about sums everything up.  It really seems like I have just written to all of you yesterday and not last week.  Time flies when you are having fun.  So, I love all of you and wish you all a happy Halloween and a great week!
Love Elder Lee

Week 34 Letter

Monday, October 24, 2011

Hello everyone!
I hope that you all had a great week.  I know that I did.  So, to start off, Saturday was the baptism and confirmation of Ponciano Papa da Arruda, the older man that dreamed of the temple.  It was so awesome, and there was such a strong spirit there.  He was super happy and excited.  We started off the meeting, and when it was his time to do the ordinance of baptism, his son Luiz and I helped him slowly walk into the water from his wheel chair (he is not able to walk along, and even with help he is not able to move a lot), Brother Luiz took him by the shoulders and I was behind him helping to support him but also moving his legs for him with my hands.  After he got into the water, Elder Aidukaites preformed the ordinance and I helped him lower Ponciano into the water and helped him lift him out of the water again.  Ponciano was smiling from ear to ear but he could not get his footing again, so I lifted him up, one hand behind his back, and the other under his knees and carried him out of the font and into his wheel chair.  Then I had the honor of confirming him a member of the church.  What a great experience.  He was so happy, and he truly understood everything that happened and more.  Afterwards Brother Luiz told me that his dad, when they arrived home, made the comment that he knows why he was not able to walk.  It was because he was so weighed down by his sins, but knows that he has been baptized and repented of all of his sins, he said that he felt like he could more than walk, but that he could fly.  He is such a neat and special person.  Also, it was a great experience for Brother Luiz, he was the only member in his family for all of his life, but he was able to see his dad be baptized for a remission of sins and then receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  What a neat experience for both of them and for us as missionaries.  Really awesome.  Also, this week we have taught a lot and have met more of the members.  They are excited to give referrals now that we have been baptizing people.  It should be good.  So, everything is good and exciting, and to be honest, I cannot wait for p day to end so that we can get back to work.  I am ready for another good week.  Oh, yeah, and I will attach a photo of the baptism as well.  

So, that about sums up the week.  A lot going on and a lot of things exciting are happening.  Life is good and the work is great.  So, I guess I will let you all go, but I do want you to know that I love every one of you and i pray for all of you many times a day and I can feel your prayers in me mission.  Have a great week and an upcoming Halloween!!  Love Elder Lee!

Dad,

I really love hearing from you dad.  I also miss really hearing your voice, but the letters help a lot.  To answer your questions about conference, there was a full chapel, and about half a gym, although in reality, it is not a gym, it is just another class room because the brazil government will not allow the church to put indoor gyms in the church building anymore, I have not idea way,  but there was a good turnout.  I do have to tell you though,  I gained an appriciation for your conferences.  In this conference Pres and Sister Oliveira spoke, and it was great, but afterwards the stake pres and councilor spoke and all of the missionaries were praying that there invistigators were taking things the right way and sometimes even not listening.  The church is new in Cuiaba, and it is growing rapidly, and the church is always the same, but the people are also new, and the people are also different.  It turned out okay, although we did have to explain a lot to our invistigators and even apologize for some of the things said.  But the work is great and the fruits are many.  President Oliveira has a vision of creating a new stake while he is here, or at least leaving everything ready for a new stake.  We have to stakes in Matto Grosso (the state) and they are both in Cuiaba.  We are really trying to push the work along.  It is awesome to be part of his plan.  My mission President to so awesome!  Really great man and super spiritual and he loves the work.  He was a bisop of an area that my MTC teacher served in during his mission in Recife. I am glad that Ryan like my letter.  I sure miss all of them, but I cannot believe how fast they are growing up.  Somebody the otherday did not believe that my siblings hardly never fight, and I did not know how to explain to them how close we really are.  I simply said, my family is the most important thing to me and all of them have always been my best friends in the world.  I am so blessed to have all of you.  Thanks for the letter dad and have a great week.  I love you.  Elder Lee

Week 33 Letter

Monday, October 17, 2011

Hey Ryan, it is Shane!  Dude, I wanted to wish you a happy birthday and let you know that I am thinking about you. What an awesome week!  You are having a birthday and you are an uncle!  You are getting so big.  I miss you a ton my little man.  I think about all of the fun things that we did together.  I want you to know that I am so proud of you and everything that you are doing.  I am so happy that I will always be your brother, forever and ever.  We will always be buddies.  Have a great birthday and let me know how it was in an email to me.  I love you Ryan, and you are the man.  From your missionary brother Elder Lee

Hello my family of new uncles and aunts, and even grandparents!
How are all of you?!  To let you know a little about how I am, I am great.  I am loving the new area.  Cuiaba is super hot, and it doesn´t cool down at night.  Also, it thunders, lightning, and rains almost every day for about an hour or two and afterwards, it is even hotter because of the hot water in the air.  It can get super stuffy.  Anyways, the people here are great.  I still do not know everybody.  Part of the problem is that first Sunday I had to stay home from church because Elder Brandão was sick and this last Sunday we had stake conference so everybody in Cuiaba was there and so I did not know who was in our ward and who was in other wards.  But, we are working hard and working smart.  I am super excited about this.  Yesterday we baptized a 9 year old girl and this transfer we reactivated her family, mom and sister who have already been baptized but have not been to church for a really long time.  They are great people.  

We want to baptize the dad too, but they are not legally married and the mom has to get a divorce first, so the process is a little complicated.  But it was super fun to work with them and then see them get excited about the gospel again, return to church, and baptize the little girl.  They are a great family.  Also, we have a baptism marked for this Saturday.  The father of a member is really old and getting ready to pass on to the other side.  He was never baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ because he is Catholic and felt attached.  But, one night he dreamed of him and his wife in the temple, a very specific and vivid dream that involves much of what happens in the temple.  His son, who is a member and has served a mission, helped explain what his dream was.  His father now wants to be baptized, feeling that this is the only way to make his dream a reality.  He has been prepared.  How incredible.  He will be baptized this Saturday and confirmed the following Sunday.  Also, we are excited about another family that went to stake conference yesterday.  The family consists of a mom, dad, and 2 daughters 18 and 17 (the dad did not go to conference because of work).  They are really religious in the Baptist church and really like their church, but they also have a lot of questions about our faith.  We invited them to conference and they came and tonight we will teach the restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ to them.  I am really excited.  SO, things are going really well here.  We are teaching and working a lot, and we are working smart.  Super awesome.  So, that is what is going on here.  Work and results, which is always a blessing.  I will try to send some pics of the baptism.  So, that about sums everything up for the week.  So, I think to end this letter, I will let you know about something that I have been thinking about a lot lately.  I have been reading in the Doctrine and Covenants and I have learned a lesson over the sections therein.  The lesson is this, God gives line upon line and precept upon precept in his time and in his way.  A lesson simple, but so often not completely understood.  What does it mean in his time and in his way.  Time is simple enough.  God will give us line upon line and precept upon precept, here a little and there a little on his time table, when he feels that we are prepared, ready, or when the time is best suited to help us.  Often, it is not when we want or when we expect, but the promise is the same.  He will give if we are searching.  Ask, and ye will receive, knock, and it will be opened unto you (D&C 4:7).  But now, what about in his way?  Often line upon line and precept upon precept is given by the power of the Holy Ghost, who will tell you in your mind and in your heart (D&C 8:2). But, something that I found is that his way means more than the way that he sends the message to you. It also means the form.  What is line upon line, precept upon precept?  I think that God can send line upon line and precept upon precept in the form of simple revelation, a yes or no answer to a question.  For example, is the Book of Mormon true, do I need to be baptized, was Joseph Smith really a true prophet called of God?  All of these questions bring out a yes or no answer.  Also, I believe that there are other forms.  For example, the question of young Joseph Smith, what is to be done?  How did God answer this question?  The answer came from text of holy scripture that entered the heart of the young boy by the power of the Holy Ghost.  Often, line upon line and precept upon precept comes from the scriptures that are made alive by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Another form that I have found in my personal study is in the form of confirmation.  As the experience of Oliver Cowdrey in asking for a more sure knowledge, God asked him to cast his mind to his earlier conversion, the night that he was comforted with a spiritual experience and witness.  I think that it is also important to note that this answer from God came to Oliver by the voice of Joseph Smith who likely did not know of Oliver’s personal experience.  Remember in James 1:5,  that God will give liberally and not upbraid.  There are many forms that God gives line upon line and precept upon precept.  It is always in his way.  Another form that I have seen many times in my study of the Doctrine and Covenants is in the form of commandments.  Often, people do not see commandments as the blessing that they really are.  Just as the early church was constantly looking for instruction and direction, I as a missionary am always searching for instruction for the Lord, and, as sons and daughters of God, we should always be looking for his council and instruction.  What a blessing; that God will give us the instruction that we need.  How often should we ask, what is to be done?  I am so thankful for commandments, and we should always be seeking more commandments from our Heavenly Father.  With every commandment comes a blessing that is predicated upon that commandment or law (D&C 130:20-21).  God will give line upon line and precept upon precept to those that are seeking his will and seeking to be in his service, but he will give line upon line and precept upon precept in his time and in his way.  My testimony is that if we are seeking and knocking, we will receive and the mysteries of the kingdom will be opened to us, but we need to seek and knock with a heart and mind willing and ready to receive the instruction, council, and answers in the time and way of our loving and all- knowing Heavenly Father.  I share this testimony with you, humbly baring witness that I know for myself, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

-Elder Lee

p.s., the time here changed.  We lost an hour yesterday, so right now it is 11 30 am.  So, I gotta go, but I love you all, and have a great week.  Until then, tchãu!

Week 32 Letter

Monday, October 10, 2011

Hey everyone! 

Well, first week of the transfer felt more like a first day.  My area is in Cuiaba, just a little outside of the city center.  It is called Marada da Serra.  Elder Aidukaitis and I are opening this area, and so we are started new.  We still do not know a lot of people here and are working hard to find people to teach.  We now have our feet firmly planted on the ground and we are loving the area.  It is a lot bigger than any of my other areas as far as people.  Tons of people and this area has tons of potential.  We are both really excited.  Also, I already know that Elder Aidukaitis is going to be one of my favorite companions.  He is a go getter and he has desires to work and serve.  We were already good friends so it is great working with him.  We are also really working on the little things this transfer that will help us be better missionaries.  We are going to try new things and do a lot of experimenting to see what works and what doesn´t.  I know that I am going to grow a lot as a missionary this transfer.  Anyways, this week we taught a lot, and we know that we will teach even more this week because we have learned the area and know more people and have more investigators.  This area is big, but we are going to try to focus our efforts in a couple of areas this transfer because it does not work to walk to one side of the area to the other every day.  We would do more walking than teaching and nobody likes that.  Also, we are living with the zone leaders, Elder Brandão and Elder Oakerman who are awesome.  They are great missionaries and great people.  They will help us grow as well.  My Portugues apparently has improved a lot.  It is hard to tell at this point in the mission if I am improving.  I could already say just about anything that I wanted.  It is just a matter of losing the American accent and picking up some Brazilian accent.  But, with a switch of transfer, everybody comments on how your Portuguese is.  This transfer everybody in the area has been amazed and comments that my Portuguese is great.  It is funny though because if I do not say anything other than the usual yes, good morning, how are you, people think I am Brazilian, and Elder Aidukaitis looks more American than I do, so it is funny.  The other day we did a contact with somebody from Mexico who was new to Brazil and so asked me if I spoke Spanish and if I was from Mexico.  Funny that I understood because she asked in Spanish because she does not speak Portuguese but I understood everything almost perfectly and I answered in Spanish/Portuguese but she understood.  Ha, just a little funny.  Anyways, everything here is great and I am super excited.  Wow, Cuiaba is super hot and it never cools down.  The nights keep in the 30 plus C and the days are burning hot.  Also, it has rained for about an hour every day, thunderstorms and everything, but only for an hour per day, and I swear that i am not kidding when I say that the rain is actually hot water.  The water from the faucet is always hot too.  Super hot here, so it is weird to hear that Shiloh has snow.  I am pretty sure that I would die in the snow right now because I am use to the hot.  Well, we will see when I get home from the Brazilian summer to the Spokane´s winter.  So, everything is great, and the work is better.  I am loving the area, the companion, and the people.  Not a lot of snakes or alligators, but there are a lot of stray dogs and lizards.  Hey, also, in Lucas after I left my ex companion found a dead alligator that an anaconda tried to eat but spit out.  Mom, it looks like your prayers have been answered as I was not there.  Anyway, I love all of you, and I cannot wait to hear from you all again next week.  Have a great week and until later

Elder Lee

Mom,

I’ll answer your questions but before I forget, do you think that you could send another package to me...?  I am jealous of your weather.  It is burning here.  Man, it is hot.  I am sweating nonstop!  Anyways, I was just talking about hockey with my companion.  I miss sports, but I think that I am going to play some basketball today, which should subside my craving for sports.  It has been a while.  I need you to send me retainers for my teeth.  Dr Bates kept the impressions.  My upper retainer broke this week.

My mission president will leave when I have about 8 months left, so I will have two presidents in my mission.  I will try to take some picks this week for you.  I left my camera at the house today, but I promise to send more pics next week.  My package hasn’t come yet but I think that it should come anytime.  It may already be in the mission office.  If so, I should get it this week.  I think that I am there every Wednesday.  I am not actually in the office, but I am in the church building on the same block doing district meetings there.  So, i can run in and check.  Well, I gotta run, but I love you mom and have a great week.  I think that I might get the letter this week and the package so I will let you know next week if I got it.  Have a great week!  May the force be with you!