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

5/27/14

Querido Familia, Well this week was really good! We have been getting more and more busy lately! We have been teaching a lot more lessons than before! And we have been slowly getting more members out with us! Members are the Key to doing missionary work! It is extremely difficult to get people to progress and come to church without members! This week we attended a funeral for the man I talked about last week! It was very interesting, because first they had a catholic priest come do a ceremony, then a member of our ward blessed the grave! I think the weirdest part was that the catholic priest started talking and he had an italian accent! But other than that, it was a very morbid experience! And I know you are wondering about dressing the body, and the only thing I am going to say about that is that it was a very sacred experience that I will always hold close to my heart! Well anyway, I know this letter is kind of short, but I don't have a whole lot to talk about! I'll make up for it by sending pictures! I love you all! Elder Lee My last Companion Elder Ramos My last district leader Elder Richards and I when we were on exchanges My Companion Elder Smith and I at the Temple My ward mission leader Jose Luis and Elder Rodriguez (An Elder in my district) and I Me next to the lamborghini that we saw outside of someones house Our ward mission leader when he came out with us on bikes! And me in my goober glasses to keep the dust out of my eyes! The wind has calmed down a bit now so I don't wear them as much, because I look ridiculous in them! Our district last transfer! From left to right: Elders Lee and Smith, Sisters Wilcoxson and Mitchell, Elders Rodriguez and Richards, Elders Blood and Berrett! The ZL's are in our district too but they weren't there for the picture! Elder Rodriguez and I

5/20/14

Querido Familia, Well this week was really good, our best in this area so far! Our ward mission leader came out with us all day after church on Sunday, and rode bikes with us! It was super awesome, and we can tell by the way he does missionary work that he was a good missionary in his day! We did some service on saturday, helped a new family move in! And Friday was the craziest day of all! So there was a man who had cancer that we were visiting, he was a member, and the doctors told him about three weeks ago that he had anywhere between one week and three years to live! So on Friday we had a strong prompting to go visit this family! So we got there only to find out that the man had passed away three hours prior to our arriving. He was still sitting on the couch and all his family was there. This experience really got me thinking hard about the plan of salvation and what really happens to us after we die. Seeing this lifeless man on the couch, I couldn't help but wonder, "Where is he right now? What is he doing?" As I saw all of his family gathered around mourning I wondered "What would it be like if I died right now? Would my family all be there? What if I didn't even get to say good bye? What if a member of my family died right now? How would I feel?" As I thought about these things I told myself "Oh, they are just sad because they will never get to talk to him or be with him ever again" Which is kind of a big deal but I thought it is no different that going away for a while or having a friend go away and you lose contact. But people don't mourn over that, so what is it? Why is death such a hard thing for people to deal with. Well, my thought is that its not seeing the person or talking with them that is so horrible. It is the love that you have for that person and the life that they had. It is the unknown, of where they are, or even IF they are. These are normal thoughts and feelings to have. When I came to this conclusion, I could only find peace and comfort in our savior Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation. That through Jesus Christ we will all be resurrected! We can all live with our Father in heaven again with our families and our loved ones! If this is not a basic truth of life and this gospel, then everything Jesus Christ did was worthless. But I testify that Jesus Christ did suffer and die for us! But more importantly, he over came death and was resurrected so that we too may over come death and be resurrected! I testify of these things in the name of our savior Jesus Christ, Amen! Side note, I had only met the man two times before so his passing wasn't super tragic for me, but as we were there my love for him and his family grew. And Tomorrow my companion and I will be going to the funeral home with another member to dress him and his funeral will be on Friday! I love you all! Elder Lee

5/12/14

Querido Familia, Well, not much has changed since yesterday! I am still doing well and am in good health! Thanks for the Birthday wishes Grandpa! I really enjoyed the poem! Well not much else, I hope you all have a good week! I love you all! Elder Lee