7/15/14

Querido Familia, This week was pretty good! We were able to teach quite a few lessons this week! We also got an awesome referral from a member of our ward, whose mother wants to be baptized, and the best part is that her mother lives with them and is pretty much free all the time! Everything mainly depends upon the rest of the family being there! This transfer has been flying by, I just hope that I will be able to be here for this baptism! But that's ok if I'm not, as long as she gets there is all that matters! Well we went on exchanges this past week. I was in my area with another Elder (Elder Rodriguez) We had a few good lessons when I was with him! Other than that, not a whole lot happened! We have been doing a lot of finding recently! A lot of our investigators don't seem to be progressing or just can't meet as often as we would like or even often at all. But we have been getting a lot of referrals lately. The English Elders that cover our area do a lot of finding as well so we both work well with each other and get lots of referrals for each other. So we had 2 big rain storms here and they were 2 days in a row! It flooded quite a bit, mainly because the drainage here in El Paso is not good at all! But they were pretty short storms! We got caught right in the middle of them both! We just got completely soaked and it was crazy because we had to navigate around all the giant puddles/rivers. But they only lasted like 15-30 minutes, so afterward we just kept pressing forward! Well that's pretty much it for me, sorry there's not a whole lot to report on, but next week I'll have a good letter for you all! I love you all! Elder Lee

7/8/14

Querido Familia! This last week was pretty good! It wasn't quite as good as we had hoped, but it was way better than the previous week! This last week on the 4th we had Zone Training which was really good! President Miller sat in on it and gave really inspired input! After Zone training President Miller had interviews with a lot of us, including me. Those were really good! That took up a lot of our day, because we were the last ones he interviewed, so we sat around the church and studied until 5ish! then after that we went to have dinner at a less actives house! They are really rich and have a big house and they had a lot of family there too! So that was pretty fun! We didn't see any fireworks or anything, because it turns out that fireworks are illegal in El Paso, because of the huge fire hazard! The weather here has been pretty low the last week or so. It has been in the 90's quite a bit and even one day there was a storm where it drizzled rain a little bit. That day it was really cool, it was in the 80's so that was nice. Tengo confianza en mi espanol, pero no orgullo! Todavia y siempre estoy aprendiendo espanol! Yo se que no voy a tener perfecto espanol, entonces siempre hay espacio para aprender mas, yo no voy a olvidarlo nunca! Its good to hear that everyone is doing well! I hope everyone has a good week this week! I love you all! Elder Lee

7/1/14

Querido Familia, This last week was not a very good one! My companion got sick the first few days, and his bike was in the shop! So we did not get a whole lot done at the beginning! Later I got a little sick, but not enough to keep us from going out, so we went out to teach, but we were so behind in the week that we got super discouraged. But we kept trudging along, because there was no other option, but we just were not at the top of our game! It was a pretty rough week but, this week it is going to be better! In fact, we have already started out the week really well! We had a member come out with us yesterday, and we had an awesome dinner last night where a member brought a friend and we had a really good discussion about the Book of Mormon! Also yesterday since we had weekly planning we made a ton of phone calls for our dinners this week, and for members to come out with us this week! So this week is looking very promising! On another note, our bishop cancelled the last 2 hours of church this past Sunday because, "They just redid the gym floor and the fumes are strong, so we don't want anyone to get sick or pass out!" But we suspect that he just wanted to go home and watch the Mexico v. Netherlands game! Haha! Just kidding. Apparently they redid the floor in another building too and some old lady actually passed out! Crazy huh?! Anyway, I am glad too hear that everyone is doing well! I got the package slip, so I will be going to get the package today, and I will also drop off the package that I have to send! We don't have any big plans for the 4th of July, I actually forgot about that until yesterday! We will probably just go out and meet some crazy people though! Maybe see a few fireworks go off! Who knows! It barely gets dark by the time we go in though, so probably won't see a whole lot! Recently I have been reading in Jesus the Christ and I was reading about the ministry of the twelve apostles. This is when Jesus is still alive and he sends the out on "Missions." Before he sends them out he tells them kind of what he expects of them! He tells them how to go about preaching his gospel. There were a lot of things he told them, but everything he told them applies to us as missionaries and specifically me. But in a brief overview he told them they they are called to preach his gospel and that they are to be bold and to know that they are protected by the power of God! And that is something that really stuck out to me! I am here on a mission to proclaim that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been Restored to the earth! That alone is a bold statement, and therefore should be stated boldly! It does not matter what the circumstance may be, or who I may be talking to! It must be said boldly, with faith that God is there with us and that he is protecting us! And I know that The true Gospel of Jesus Christ has been Restored to the earth and that we again have all of the sacred saving ordinances! I testify of that in the name of Jesus Christ! Love Elder Lee

6/23/14

Querido Familia! Well first I want to apologize, I completely forgot last week to tell you we have transfers this week! That is why I am emailing today! But I will be staying here in this area with Elder Smith! Anyway, This week has been pretty slow, we had a hard time teaching lessons this week. But this week we are going to start picking things up again! We were able to contact quite a few referrals though, which was pretty awesome, a lot of those referrals seem to be pretty interested, so we will see how things go with them! Sorry there is not much to report on this week, but next week I will have a big letter for you all! I hope you are all doing good and all is well! I love you all! Elder Lee

6/17/14

Querido familia, Happy Father's Day Dad, Grandpa, and Ryan! This week was very good! We have been pretty busy! We haven't been able to set those baptismal dates yet, but we are still working on it! There's not a whole lot to report on this week. Just that we have been teaching a lot more than usual, which is good! I feel that with each week that passes I lose myself a little more in the work! Anyway, its good to hear that everyone there is doing well! It sounds like Ryan had an awesome high adventure this past week! I hope one day he can teach me to skin and cook a boar! Easton is so big now! It looks like he enjoyed his cake! Well I hope this week is good for you all! Sorry for the short email, my attention is just not all here today! Well, I love you all! Elder Lee

6/10/14

Querido Familia! Esta semana fue muy bien! Tuvimos muchas buenas lecciones! Todavia no tenemos algunos investigadores que estan progresando o con una fecha bautismal, pero esperamos que manana vamos a tener una familia con una fecha! Queriamos que tuvieron una fecha esta semana pasada, pero ellos quieren que hablaramos con toda su familia antes que se acuerden a una fecha! Y eso es algo que habiamos estado tratando hacer todo el tiempo que habiamos ensenandoles! Pretty much what that said is that we had an very good week, and lots of good lessons! We don't have any investigators progressing or with a baptismal date, but we are hoping for one tomorrow, We wanted them to have one last week but they wanted us to talk with their whole family before they agree to a date, which is what we have been trying to do the whole time we have been teaching them! And if you put all that into google translate, it may say something whack, because I don't have accents in there! Over the last few weeks and over the course of my mission, I have been thinking about the Christ-like attribute of love! I have come to realize that I cannot even comprehend even the tiniest bit of Love! I have thought about the Love that our savior has for each and every person, and it is unfathomable! I also considered the amount of love that a parent has for their child, and it too is unfathomable! This is something that I wish I had realized a long time ago, but as I considered this, I thought back to everything that you guys (Mom and Dad) have said and done with regards to me! And it is amazing to me how even some of the little things that have been said were out of love! For example, the advice that I have gotten the most from Dad, while on my mission is to Be Happy! I had never really thought much about it until yesterday, when my companion and I were walking down a street and he asked me, "What kind of missionary do you want your children to be?" and almost immediately I responded, "Better than me!" and almost at that same moment the thought came into my mind that My very father probably had the same frame of mind! This got me thinking of everything that my parents want for me, and it brought my attention to the advice to Be Happy! And I considered that and thought that that is something that I can really improve on! Not that I am not happy, I love my mission and enjoy it immensely and I would not trade it for anything in the world! But surely I am not perfect, and I thought about it for a while, and thought, just because I am happy doesn't mean that others can tell I am happy! So I decided to work towards being happy and having others be able to tell that I am happy! But, my attention was drawn to yet another aspect! Is this not what every parent wants for their child? Is this not what our Father in heaven wants for all of his children? To be Happy! I am so thoroughly convinced that this is the great desire that our father in heaven has for each and every one of his children! To be happy! To enjoy the fullness of blessings that come from this Gospel, and eventually to have Eternal Happiness in the world to come! I am convinced that it was this that drove the savior when he was suffering for us in the Garden of Gethsemane, and again while on Calvary. It was this love that he had for each of us. The desire he had for each of us to be happy! I am so grateful for the Love that you all have for me and the small things you tell me! Because even the littlest thought or phrase or piece of advice can go a long way! And although I still don't know the immensity of love that you guys have for me I want to express the love that I have for each and every one of you! And the Gratitude that I have for all that you do! Love, Elder Lee

6/3/14

Querido Familia! First things first, Happy Birthday Mom and Easton! I hope you have a fantastic day! Well, this week was pretty good! We had exchanges last week, which was awesome! We tracted into a super solid person and he let us in to teach him right then! We also had Zone Conference yesterday! That was super awesome! I learned so much! We have been focusing a lot on teaching simply. Yesterday's Zone Conference was probably the best one I have been to so far! It definitely rekindled mine and my companions attitude and got us pumped! Then after Zone Conference, we went and tought our best lesson that we have had together. We taught our investigator (J P) about the restoration and invited him to be baptized and he said yes, and we tried to set a date, but he said he would have to talk to his wife, who is also our investigator, she just wasn't at the lesson yesterday! But they are both super solid, and we will be following up with the date tomorrow! Anyway, not much else happened, except at Zone conference we found out that we need to get side bags and Backpacks are no longer allowed! So we will see how that goes! Anyway, I love you all! Elder Lee