2/17/15

Querida Familia,

This week has been pretty good! We went on visits with the bishopric and other members of the ward, so that was good! We also have a super solid investigator, who believes that Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon are true, and now he really wants to share it with his wife! We are going to invite him to be baptized again this week, so hopefully he accepts! So last P-day was my companion's Birthday, so a member took us to a mall and bought him a bunch of nike gear! So that was pretty fun! He also took us out to lunch, which was pretty good! So that was last week, so this week we are back to Zone Sports! And we never went on the hike, because it costs money... :( But anyway, I got the valentine's package, it was very nice, and pretty tasty! Now I just have to find sometime to go to BWW... Anyway, I love you all!

Elder Lee

2/10/15

Querida Familia,

This week has been pretty good! We were able to take our bishop with us on some visits and this week they are doing visits as Ward Leadership so they invited us to go with them, so that is pretty awesome. And I think they are going to try to do that regularly!  We are still putting out a lot of efforts to finding new investigators! We have a lot of potentials, but we are having struggles trying to contact them or have them keep appointments, so we are working on that a little more this week! Dad, its funny you should bring up having good studies, because just yesterday I set a goal for myself to have more focused and more productive studies, especially as I come to end of my mission, because it is easy to go throughout your studies without a purpose and you lose a lot of precious time to learn and study for specific people and specific purposes! Anyway, thats about it for me! I hope all is going well! I love you all!

Elder Lee

2/3/15

Querida Familia,

This week has been pretty good! We have been having a lot of success with some of our less actives and saw quite a few of them at church this past Sunday! So that was super awesome! Right now our investigator pool is pretty small so we are doing a lot of finding to try to get that up! Our Zone leaders are too and they share an area with us, so we get lots of referrals from them, so that is good! The members here are super nice, but don't really do a whole lot of missionary work, so we are trying to get them a little more excited about it So today for Pday we are probably going to go hiking the Franklin Mountain, we aren't 100%sure yet, because we might have to pay and if thats the case nobody wants to go! So we will see, but if we do go I'll take lots of pictures! Anyway, that's about it for me! I am glad everyone else is doing well! Good news about mom's foot! So that's good! I love you all!

Elder Lee

1/27/15

Querida Familia,

This week has been pretty good, We did not get to teach as many lessons as we were hoping, but this week is looking better! I did however get to meet some more ward members, so that was good! The people hear feed us really well, on Friday we had three meals and we were already way overstuffed by the time we got to the third. One of them though was, because our Mission President took the whole zone to Cici's Pizza, which is a pizza buffet. But he came and we had a little zone training, and he implemented a Pilot Program based on the video about sharing the BoM that I sent in an e-mail a few weeks ago. So we have been contacting and knocking with the BoM a lot. It has brought quite a bit of success. We have gotten a lot of return appointments, so hopefully those will go through this week! That's pretty cool that Kevin got his mission call! When does he repot to the MTC? Anyway, I find that as I come closer to the end of my mission, I have a stronger desire to press forward and finish strong! I forgot to include it last week, but my companion's name is Elder Hurtado. He is from Zacatecas, Mexico. He is a native speaker, so that is really helpful! Dad, yes he is the District Leader. Anyway, that is about it. I will send Pictures! I love you all!

Elder Lee

District Photo: Elder Myers,Sister Johnson & Wilkinson, Elder Lee, Sister McKendrick, Elder Kozub, Sister Carte, and Elder Barney.

Elder Lee and Hno. Monterrubio

Branch Members from Tome

Elder Lee and Eric

Los Gordos

Elder Lee, Edmundo, and Melody

Elder Lee and the Diaz Family

Elder Lee and Mariela, Juanita, and Estrellita

Elder Lee and Elder Kozub

Elder Lee and the Silva Family

Elder Lee and Elder Hurtado

1/21/15

Querida Familia,

Well this week has been pretty good! We did get our truck back, but it wasn't until Wednesday! But after that we were able to get around to see most of our investigators and Less actives! So, for the news that you have all been waiting for! I was transferred! I am now serving in the Trans Mountain South area in the Mt. Franklin Stake. Its super awesome here! Its a city area and more close together than my last area so that is nice! I haven't had much opportunity to meet the members yet, but I am sure they are pretty awesome! We did get to teach a super awesome man yesterday! His name is B. We taught him the Restoration and the spirit was so strong, and he said that he would read and pray about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith! And the best part is is that he liked it so much that he said he would invite his wife and brother to listen the next time we come, which will be Saturday! So we are pretty stoked about that! Anyway, thats pretty much it for me. I am glad you all are doing well, It sounds like everyone has been having problems with their feet lately, so that's no good! Mother, I don't know if you recall, but the last few times I ever played Settlers of Catan with you, I won! So poke fun all you want, but whatever wins the game! Anyway! I hope you all have a good week! I'll let you know about more people when I meet them! I love you all!

Elder Lee

Its Trans Mountain, It is in the north east of El Paso! I totally forgot to talk about my companion! That is one of the best parts of the area! His name is Elder Hurtado, He is from Zacatecas Mexico and obviously he is a native spanish speaker! He's pretty awesome!


Its kinda fun because he is still learning english so we speak like half and half english and spanish. But, yeah I can talk like normal with him, and he corrects me on gramar and helps with vocab, so it is super nice! And I do the same with him for english! And I have pictures, but I am running out of time and I am still writing my Mission President, but for sure next week, because Everyone decided to email me this week, but next week I probably won't get a whole lot! and I will probably take more pics this week so I can just get them all to you at once!

1/13/15

Querida Familia,

This week has been really slow and not super productive. Last Monday we put our truck in the dealership to get repaired and they said it would take 2-3 days! Then they told us we would get it back on Friday, then on Monday, and we still don't have it! So it has been rough! But we don't let it get us down, we have been walking everywhere and going out with members when we can! My back tire is flat somehow??? But I will probably try to get a replacement today! I have kept the bike in pretty good condition! The only thing that is wrong with it is the disc brake on the back wheel is a little bent somehow??? I don't know what happened, if it was done during transportation or maybe I put the wheel on wrong once or what, but it still works, it just makes a squeaking sound every once in a while. Other than that though its fine! But due to our lack of transportation in a huge area we have been struggling a little bit, but hopefully we will get the truck back today and we will have tons of people to visit that we haven't seen for a while! Anyway, so our P-days, we play basketball and other sports! So I think that is fun! There just isn't a whole lot to do here in Los Lunas, other than LL Hill, but its pretty cold so nobody wants to go hiking or anything outside really. So next week due to transfers on Tuesday and the Holiday on Monday, we will be having P-day on Wednesday! Anyway, I love you all!

Elder Lee

1/6/15

Querida Familia,

This week has been pretty good! We didn't do much for New Year's eve, we were actually on exchanges that night. It's kind of weird that its already 2015! As I look back on the year I ponder on who I was and who I am now and it is crazy the difference! As we start the New Year, I look toward Our purpose as missionaries and the great responsibility that we each hold in sharing this gospel with everyone around us! My Mission President this week shared with us a video that I want to share with you all, and I hope that you all share it with your friends and share it on facebook and all those other social networks! The Link is: 

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865618837/What-is-the-Book-of-Mormon-Video-created-by-3-returned-missionaries-answers-the-question.html

Something that really sticks out to me about this video is that the people sharing it are just normal people, but they understand their role in sharing the gospel with others! Anyway I love you all!

Elder Lee

12/30/14

Querida Familia,

Well not a whole lot to report on. I got sick on Saturday and it lasted until yesterday, it wasn't too bad though, so we still went out and worked except yesterday it was pretty bad, so we just went and bought medicine and I slept for a while. But I feel way better now! Christmas was good, we were able to see a lot of people after we talked, we got fed like 3 times, so that was nice! I felt gross afterward, but it was still nice! I got a lot of nice things! Its a tough call, but since mom wants me to pick a favorite, I really liked the sweats! But the pants and ties were good too! Dad... Hi! Anyway, I love you all! 

Elder Lee

12/23/14

Querida Familia,

Well, Christmas is upon us and there is not a whole lot to say. We had a pretty good week this past week! We had our Branch party, it was pretty fun! I forgot my camera so I didn't take pictures, but there is an hermano in our branch that takes all kinds of pictures and he usually puts them on a disc and gives them out, so hopefully I get one on Sunday! So about 2 weeks ago we had to trade our truck with another pair of missionaries and since we got it, it hasn't worked great, so we finally got to take it into the dealership today to fix the alignment, which only takes about 35 mins, and we ended up waiting there for 5 hours! But it was a little more damaged than we had thought. Turns out the frame had been cracked and had almost completely been separated at one point and they said it looked like someone had gone off-roading in it and ramped it! So we had to wait to see if they could even fix it! They said they can fix it but it would take a few days! So it hasn't been fixed yet, but we are going to take it back in on either Friday or Monday, since they are closed for Christmas and the weekend! So thats the only big news from this week, but I will talk to you more on Thursday! So we are going to Skype with a  nother set of missionaries at one of their members houses! We will get there at 1 but I don't know how many devices they have so we might have to take turns between the 4 of us, but I will skype sometime between 1 and 3 our time so 3-5 your time! anyway I love you  all!

Elder Lee

P.S. I am not sure if we will be using skype or facetime or google chat or what so just bear with it!

12/16/14

Querida Familia,

This week has been pretty good, we have been doing lots of finding, we found some really awesome people to teach, and we also had our recent convert, J, come out with us on visits, so that was pretty cool! I got the little package you sent, but I have bad news for you! A few moths ago our Mission President changed the music policy so we can only listen to Hymns and Motab! But I did get a kick out of it and it was the thought that counted! I really appreciated it and totally would listen to it if I were allowed! Also, while on the topic of rule changes, Due to previous abuse of phone calls, our Mission President has asked that we keep our Christmas calls to 30 minutes! So prepare questions that you want to ask me, because I won't have a lot of time! I don't know if you all got Grandpa's e-mail about our ancestors in the ensign, but I think that is Super awesome! It is interesting to have read the story in a little more detail! Anyway, Not much else than that, but I look forward to chating with you all on Christmas! And we can still use Skype or facetime or stuff like that! I love you all!

Elder Lee

The Church in Sweden

Peter Forsgren, who is talked about in the article is one of Brandon's Great+-grandparents

12/8/14

Querida Familia,

This week was pretty good. It was a really slow week, but we made it through! So we received transfer news on Saturday and Elder Myers and I are both staying in Tome together! So we are pretty excited to be here another transfer! We didn't have a whole lot going on, so hopefully this coming week will be a little more busy! But it sounds like you all are doing pretty well! Dad says he has started to work out, so I guess we will see who is bigger when I get home! Haha! Consider it a challenge! Anyway, sorry there isn't much to report on this week, but I hope you all have a good week! I love you all!

Elder Lee

12/2/14

Querida Familia,

This week has been so great! We had the great opportunity to hold a baptismal service for Jl, J, E, and M! It was such an awesome baptismal service. I also had the opportunity to perform the baptismal ordinance for my first time. I was able to baptize J and E. It such a great feeling when you see someone who did not have the gospel and to watch them change their life completely and to take these first steps into the gospel and to see the joy and happiness it brings them. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary at this time! Also we were able to see quite a few investigators come and watch the baptism, including the mother of J and her family. We had taught them before and they are super interested, but something had been holding them back, but coming and seeing the baptism was such an important step for them. We also had another family of investigators come and watch the baptism, they are super awesome too, they just aren't progressing as much as we would like, we haven't found what is holding them back yet, but they really liked the baptism, so we hope that helps them to be more committed. Anyway, thanksgiving was good, we only had two meals this year instead of three, so that was nice! Overall it was a really awesome week! Anyway, I love you all!!

Elder Lee

11/25/14

Querida Familia,

This week has been really good! We had the wonderful opportunity to here from Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge of the 1st Quorum of the Seventy in a special Zone Conference this past Friday! He is such an inspirational speaker! It was such a great opportunity! And along-side him we got to hear from an area seventy Elder Villarreal! Then on Saturday and Sunday we had the great opportunity to hear from Elder Sitati of the 1st Quorum of the Seventy in a special Stake Conference, where a new stake presidency was called! It was such a spiritual feast! And what a great time to have a feast! As we approach Thanksgiving! I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a missionary, especially at this time of the year! Especially having the opportunity to participate in the front lines of the Church's new Initiative: "He is the Gift" I don't know how much you all have heard about this initiative, but it is such a great opportunity to share the gospel and turn people's focus toward Christ this Holiday season! I hope you all get the chance to participate in this great initiative! Anyway, we are looking forward to this weekend as we will be holding a baptismal service for J and J and their daughters E and M, and also their niece E! We were not expecting to baptize E, but she really wants to be baptized with them and has come to church a sufficient amout of times! So we are really excited for that! Other than that, there isn't much else to report, but what a wonderful week it was! I love you all!

Elder Lee

11/18/14

Querida Familia,

This week was pretty good, we had a rough start, but we were able to turn things around towards the end. So J came back and is back for good, he quit drinking and is on track for baptism with the rest of his family for the 29th of this month. Him and his wife will be getting interviewed by our mission president tomorrow so pray for them that everything will go well! Anyway, that is the big news for this week, I hope you all are doing well! I didn't really get to hear from anyone, but I take it, No news is good news! Anyway, thats it for me, I will send pictures! I love you all!

Elder Lee

Things we see on Exchanges

September Temple Trip

Tried on my comps cowboy boots and bolo tie, figured Ryan would appreciate this one.

11/12/14

Querida Familia,

Sorry I didn't Email yesterday, due to the holiday our mission President Changed P-day to today> I would have told you last week, but we didn't find out until this last Friday. This week has been good. We have had a few good lessons with some of our investigators. It has been a pretty stressful week too. It seems like everything that could go wrong did go wrong. We had a lot of struggles with some of our investigators, J Relapsed on alcohol, but she realizes that it was wrong and is still fighting, she is still on track for baptism the 29th, so hopefully she can overcome this. She also worked things out with her husband and he came back and was on track too, but they got in another fight, and we don't know the status on that still. We tried to stop by last night, but she turned off the lights and didn't answer the door, so I hope everything is alright. And on top of all that, we had appointment after appointment fall through, and one of our investigators dropped us. And then to add to add to the stress, Dad sold my truck and my bike! Haha Just Kidding! But even after all this I can say with a surety that God is in this work and he has a plan for each and everyone of these people and each of us. On a happier note, we did have interviews with our Mission President this last week! That was pretty good, its always nice to be able to sit down one on one with President Miller! Anyway, its good to hear that you all are doing well!  I love you all!

Elder Lee