26 December 2009--Feliz Año Nuevo!

Wow it was awesome to be able to talk to you guys yesterday. That was really the best gift I received for Christmas, even though your package was awesome! It was so good to be able to talk to everyone, and hear that everyone is doing so well. I loved the pictures you guys sent on the USB too. Everyone had a good laugh looking through them, especially the ones that I looked drunk in. Thank you for the shirts and socks too, and I wore my new tie yesterday. The tie Uncle Ted gave is awesome too, and don’t worry I’m not going to give it away. We attacked the assistants with the water guns last night too, it was pretty hilarious. Seriously the package was the best, and I’m loving the American Candy too! This Christmas was just awesome. It just makes me sad every time that it ends because now we have to wait a whole year for Christmas again, but I’ll be home for the next one. Crazy!
Well the work is going great down here in Peru. This week was absolutely crazy, and the goal was just to get through Wednesday. We had the new missionaries, and the old missionaries trainings and everything the same day because of Christmas. Usually the new missionaries come in a day later. So we were going crazy, leaving at 6 like every day, and some nights getting home at like 10:30. We went to the airport, and it makes me a little trunky every time seeing missionaries heading to their houses. Its all good though we made it through. I also got the payments all ready yesterday, so I can submit it first thing Monday morning. I am a little worried for the holiday season that they will submit the payment late like they did during Thanksgiving, so I’m entering it a day early too.

So the work proselyting is going good too. We have a few great families that we are teaching right now, and we are hoping they will accept a baptismal date soon. We were in a Panadaria (a bakery) teaching a young man, when a lady came in to buy bread. I started to talk with her about which of the breads tasted best here in Peru. It was Christmas Eve so we wished her a Merry Christmas, and then she left. Then about 5 minutes later she came back with her son, and called us out for just a second. The first words she said were, “What do you have to do to be a Mormon?” Lets just say we were surprised, and happy. We took her direction and we are going tonight to visit them. Its crazy how the Lord just prepares people, and if we don’t find them, they find us! It was awesome, and I know that when we are doing whats right the Lord guides us where and what we need to do.
Well it was another great week, and the highlight was really talking to you guys. I’m sure these next five months are going to fly, and we’ll be talking again soon. Thanks for everything, I love you guys so much. Nos Vemos!
Love,
Elder Lee

The pictures are of our little celebration of Christmas. My companion and I opening the presents. Those sandals are a pair made out of car tire rubber. My pensionista in Huaycan sent them too me because I always said I wanted a pair. She also game me two peruvian cookbooks.

19 December 2009--¡¡¡Feliz Navidad!!!

Wow I can’t believe it has come already. Christmas is next Friday, before I get the chance to write again. Well it was awesome to call the other day just to hear your voices, and you guys don’t know how excited I am to talk with you on Friday!! Sounds like things are just awesome at home. I really wish I could go listen to you guys playing in the Messiah. I love the music from the Messiah. I seriously have listened to it everyday since the first of December. I just love this time of year. After we put the lights on our house I think it made everybody else on the street excited to put up lights. I think just about every house on the street has lights on it now. I’m loving it. Two days ago we had an appointment to go to a reference of one of the teachers in the CCM that assists our ward. Well when we called him he was with 6 new missionaries from the CCM, and he wanted us to take them around to all of our investigators to sing them Christmas Carols, and they had gifts to give them. It was really a good time, and it was hard to believe that that was me over a year ago We took them to a few new investigators that haven’t come to church yet, but pretty much all of them said that they would be there on Sunday, and were really excited to have the visit. I think it was perfect for them. It’s kind of weird being so close to the CCM, and the temple, and the area offices for all of Northern South America. I never thought I would actually be working in this area, but it is really cool. I love the ward Mayorazgo. Practically all of our investigators that are progressing really well assist that ward, and everyone is just so animated and willing to help. It really reminds me of a ward back in the states. It is huge.
In the office everything is good. I’m getting ready for the big missionary payment at the end of this month. I just hope there aren’t any delays like last month for Thanksgiving. I’m planning it really well so there isn’t a problem, hopefully. I have already been in the office for over three changes, and the time really just flies. It gets pretty stressful at times, but I just think its just one of the things that prepares you for the rest of your life. It really is crazy how everything in the mission is really preparation for the rest of your life. Having to be with a companion all day every day, and learning to adjust to their personalities and everything. At times it takes some patience, but that just how it goes. I still remember some advice that uncle Ted gave me when I started the mission my first day in the MTC. He said, “My advice for the mission, is just love your companions.” At that time I didn’t realize how extremely important it is to love your companion. If you don’t the work really goes downhill. My companion Elder Rojas is really awesome, we do have our differences, but we are working through them, and things are turning out great. I just love missionary work, and I’m looking forward to doing it the rest of my life. Even though I’m going to be finishing the full time mission in 9 months, the work goes on. Thanks for everything, I love you all!!! FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!
Love,
Elder Lee

12 December 2009--Navidad!

Well lets just say I love the Christmas season, and its even more like home being in a little richer part of Lima. A lot of people put lights on their houses, and I’m hearing a lot of Christmas music. We had the lights on our house first though, and this week tons of people have followed our example. Its pretty funny because we didn’t really have anything to attach the lights, so we pretty much have placed rocks to hold them on the roof. Its pretty funny, but they still are up there, so it has worked. It’s a good thing that there isn’t ever any hard wind or rain here in Lima or we would be in trouble.This week seems to have gone by very quickly. We have been really busy with stuff in the office, and teaching that the time just went by really quickly. We have a few new investigators this week that seem to be really awesome. They have already promised to go to church Sunday, and we are going to there house later tonight to continue teaching them. They seem really interested though. They are a few sisters that have a little juice store. The awesome thing was we were knocking on a door for another appointment, and they contacted us. You gotta love those ones. It cracks me up when the people ask from what church we are from, and then what do they have to do to be a part of the church. Its crazy how the Lord just sometimes has people so prepared to hear and to accept the gospel. Our job is just to follow the spirit always to find these people. So the work is really going great.Tomorrow we might not be able to leave the house to proselyte because they are having a championship soccer game tomorrow, and the stadium is in my area! Oh man it would be awesome to see the game, but we aren’t allowed to leave because it is one of the biggest rival games in Peru. They have big gates in all of the streets here, and they are going to be closed because whatever team loses there are going to be some fights afterwards. This rivalry is probably bigger than BYU and Utah, and I think the fans are even worse when they lose, if you can believe that. We’ll see what happens though. They actually are cutting church to just sacrament meeting too, because the church is just down the street. Pretty crazy huh?
Well love you guys, and thanks for all of the support you always give me I’m glad everything is going so great at home, and I’m praying for you always. Thanks for all of your letters too, especially Grandma and Grandpa Wheeler, thanks for your weekly letter I love reading them. Everyone else too, I’m really sorry it takes me so long to respond, but I’m working on it. Gracias a todos! Les amo mucho!

Elder Lee

5 December 2009--Diciembre, ¡Yeah yeah!

Wow really loved your letters this week mom, and Grandma and Grandpa Wheeler, and everyone else, and I really apologize that I am some bad at getting letters sent now. That is one of the things I have to do better. Sounds like things are awesome back home. I’m not going to lie this time of year makes me miss you guys even more. I love Christmas time, and I have some music from the Messiah on my computer, and I have been listening to it a ton. It just brings back so many good memories. Today we put up some major lights at the house. It is looking awesome. I’m going to take a picture tonight to send to you guys next week. We had a little extra in the budget for the year so I asked Presidente if we could buy some Christmas lights to put up in the house. He was all for it, and lets just say it is awesome!! I love Christmas time, its just sad that it always goes by fast.
Thanksgiving sounds like it was awesome. 20 Pies!! I can’t believe it! If I was there I would have pounded those 2 pumpkin pies in one sitting! Its all good. This thanksgiving was awesome. We have a family, the family Gonzalez, from Ecuador. They lived in the states for a while so they are all over thanksgiving. They invited us to go over and eat with them, but we had appointments. So the hna Gonzalez told us to stop by, and she gave us like 6 containers full of food. One of them had a piece of pie that didn’t look too much like pumpkin pie, but it tasted like it, so I was happy! There are really some awesome people in the wards that we cover. Our pensionista is about to have a baby girl, she is 8 months pregnant, but she went to the hospital, and it is looking like she is going to be having it soon. She is really the best pensionista I’ve had in the mission, and the cool thing is her mom cooks for us too, so we don’t have to change.
So last weekend we had Giovanna’s baptism, and it was a really spiritual experience. She really has felt a change in her life, and she couldn’t be happier with the decision she has made to join the church. I think she thanked us about a billion times for teaching her, and it made us feel really good to see another strong member of the church, really truly converted. Anthony that was baptized 2 weeks ago is going to receive the priesthood this next week, he is really an awesome kid. He was telling us how in his religion class he was explaining how the fall of Adam and Eve really wasn’t a bad thing, and it was all part of Gods plan. It was awesome! He is really a good kid. He is setting the example for the rest of his family, and we are working hard with them so they can be baptized this next month. His mom wants to be baptized so bad, she just has to wait for her husband to come back from the states so they can be married first. The awesome thing is that even though she found out she couldn’t be baptized yet she is in church every Sunday, just as faithful as ever. I love this people, they are just so awesome.
Oh and I got a big old package Wednesday!! Oh yeah!!! That is what I’m talking about! Everybody in the office wants me to open it, and they are still on my case, but I told them that it is for Christmas. Thanks for the package though, I was actually way stressed out for the payment because it arrived a little later than I thought, and the package just made my day. I haven’t opened it yet though, I’m going to wait it out. It’s nice to be in the office though. They didn’t send me my package until like the end of January last time. The changes are the 23rd of December this change, and I think we are going to be losing Elder Ranilla from the office. Its sad, but that is just how the changes are. My companion Elder Rojas is really awesome. He does the records for the mission really quickly usually, and we are always getting out of the office at 4 working hard. It is a good time for sure. We went to the stake center and played basketball, on a real indoor court today. It was something I haven’t done in over a year, and we really enjoyed it. I am really with a good group of Elders, and I couldn’t be happier to be here in the work of the Lord. Thanks for all of your support and prayers. I love you all. Talk to you next week!!

Elder Lee


The pictures are of the delicious pizza we ate today, a bird that pooped on my white shirt last week!, and of Giovanna's baptism. My companion with the bird too.

28 November 2009--¡Feliz Día de Gracias!

It was another good, but crazy week in the office. We started out great with two confirmations Sunday, of Anthony and Estefania. Then Sunday night when we went for dinner, a family that is from Ecuador made lasagna, and it was absolutely delicious. So it was a good Sunday. We have been teaching an hermana that her boyfriend is a member, her name is Giovanna, and she is awesome. She is one of those investigators that you practically don’t have to teach them because they know it all already, and they end up teaching us. We give her a pamphlet for the next visit, and she reads it, and understands it all. Its awesome. Well we had her baptismal interview this morning so she is going to be baptized after church tomorrow. So right now our main focus is trying to get some more new investigators that are progressing. We have quite a few new investigators that haven’t been able to come to church yet, so we are working really hard with them to get to church tomorrow. The work as always is going great though, and the Lord is really blessing us.
This week in the office was insane. President and the assistants went for interviews throughout the whole mission this week, so they weren’t around in the office. I had to review all of the receipts for rent, laundry, and pension to have the payment ready for this Thursday. So I had the payment all ready to make, and then realized that President wasn’t going to be here on Thursday when I had to have him approve the payment. Usually the money takes three days to get into the accounts of the elders, so I was pretty worried. So President booked it home Friday, so I could make the payment before 2 pm Salt Lake time. It was pretty crazy, but I think all of the missionaries should have their money by the first. Just to have that payment done got rid of a lot of stress though.
The last 2 days I finally got my companions out running again. Well they sat on a bench while I ran around the park, but its all good. It feels so good to be running too. Well that is all that happened this week. I hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving. Just like last Thanksgiving I could only imagine the good times you were having, and all of the good food. Does the ward in Provo play football in the morning too? Man, I love Thanksgiving! Well thanks for everything; I love you guys a ton. Talk to you next week!

Elder Lee

21 November 2009--¡Dos Bautismos!

Wow have we been extremely blessed this week. Starting last Sunday we had the confirmation of the Hna Erica, and she is so happy to be a member of the church. After the Sunday meetings we had the baptism of Anthony Delgado, and I swear there were about 60 people there. I always like when we have a baptism on Sunday because the whole ward assists practically. It was a great experience, and Anthony gave a very powerful testimony. His mom Jeannette wanted to be baptized so bad that she was crying. She had her interview, and the problem is she isn’t married, and it kills me because her spouse has been in the States for the last 4 years because he doesn’t have legalized papers to return. She is in church every week, and wants to be baptized so bad, but we just can’t do it. She gave the closing prayer, and was balling because she was so happy for her son. We are praying the we can find a solution for her. Then we were out proselyting on Tuesday night, and the Hna Erica called us and said that her daughter Estefania was there in the church and ready for her baptismal interview. Lets just say we booked it over there as fast as we could, called the assistants, and they came and did the interview. Her dad didn’t really want her to get baptized so we were waiting on an answer from him, and she was baptized Wednesday afternoon. It was really a miracle, and it was an amazing baptismal service too. Estafania is only 9 years old, but she gave an amazing testimony, and even was crying because she felt such a “peace in her heart.” It was just an amazing week.
Then yesterday morning Elder Mera went home. He completed 1 year in the mission, and the sent him home with an honorable release. It was sad to see him go, but it will be much better for him so he can have some time to rest his body, and recover from this problem that he has. My new companion Elder Rojas is great, we have been out of the office at 4 everyday, and we are working hard. I’m loving it, because Elder Mera usually didn’t have the energy to work so hard. We have another hermana in the ward that we put a baptismal date for the 28th of November. She practically teaches us the lessons, that is how awesome she is, and she wants to go on a mission too. I just can’t believe how many blessing that we are receiving. Oh and the other day I contacted a Chinese guy on the bus, and when I asked him his name he said Jon Lee. We are going to go teach him today, I was telling my companions that is awesome we are going to be teaching someone with my same name. The only difference is he spells it Yan Li. It will be sweet if I can baptize someone with my same name. We are going to go today to see what he is like.
I think the only thing that hasn’t gone well this week is running. I have only run like three times in the last 2 weeks. I am trying to convince everyone to run, but all of my running buddies have left. The good thing is one assistant Elder Parsons likes to run, so I’ll at least be yanking him out when they are here.
In the office this week has been pretty busy having to reconcile with all of the zone leaders funds. Sometimes they fill them out so good and other times it is a complete mess, but this time there weren’t too many bad ones. I’m getting ready for the big missionary payment next week that always makes me a little nervous, but it’s all good. I think I’m getting the hang of it by now.
Well I just want you to know that I love the mission, and the only sad thing is how fast time is going. I know this has been the best decision of my life, and I will never forget the experiences that I’m having here. Thanks for all your support, and letters. I really love hearing from everyone. Talk to you next week!

Love, Elder Lee

14 November 2009--Last weeks missing letter!

Well I can't believe it, but somehow I forgot to send the letter from last week. My bad. Ha Ha, a week late, its all good. I was suprised when you said you didn't get it.


It was another good week, I just can’t believe how fast time is flying. It seems like just yesterday when I was writing. As always things in the office have been pretty busy, we have a group of 24 going home this Tuesday, and it is always a lot harder when big groups leave. I have a pretty good system down to get all of their credit cards and emergency funds, so it isn’t too bad. We have a group of 16 coming in too, so it is going to be a fun week. It looks like my companion Elder Mera is going to be heading for home in about 2 weeks. They usually don’t let people with chrom serve missions, but he is going to complete a year the 18 of this month. The doctor just doesn´t think that he can handle the stress and work of the mission. He really gets tired a lot. He seems pretty excited to go home though. Its sad to see him leave a year early, but he will be able to recover better in his house. So I am going to have a new companion in the next couple weeks. So we will see how that turns out.

We have been working hard with the familia Delgado. Always when someone gains a testimony satan works hard to try to distract them from the correct decision they have made. The hna Jenny has had a couple of doubts that a few people have put into her head about the church, and we have been trying to animate her all week. It really is amazing how that works, but I have seen it my whole mission. That a person or family is way excited for their baptism, and then satan starts working on them. Then we have to fight it out until the very end, and they end up making the right decision. Its always a fight, but we got this. We have the lord on our side. The whole family are going to come to church Sunday, and hopefully to the baptism of the hna Erica tomorrow too. To feel that spirit strongly in the church again is going to help them a ton. They weren’t able to make it to church last week too, and I think that might be a little bit of the problem. We are still planning on the 15th for Hna Jeannette, Jenny, and Anthony though. I know with our prayers they will be baptized, and the rest of the family is going to follow after.

I ran into Pablo Pando last Sunday too. How small the world is, to run into one of my friends from back home. He lived out in Vernon, and was always coming to school with Colin. I haven’t seen him in like 6 years, how crazy it ways to find out he live in our ward! It was good to talk with him, and we were trying hard to animate him for the mission too. He said just seeing me down here made him want to go. So we´ll see what happens, but it was really an awesome experience.

Its great to hear everyone is doing so well back home, and I am always praying for your guys. Thanks for being such an awesome family. Don’t know what I would do without you. Talk to you next week!

Love, Elder Lee

14 November 2009--¡Bautismo mañana!

Hola todos, This week was awesome again. It was as busy as ever, but it turned out really great. We started with a baptism Sunday, of the hna Erica. Her baptismal service was absolutely amazing, and when she gave her testimony she explained how just this last month when she started coming to church has completely changed her life. It was awesome because we had three of the familia Delgado there to see the baptism too. We had Anthony’s interview yesterday night, and he is ready for his baptism tomorrow too. His mom Jeannette, has a problem now. She wants to get baptized so bad, but she is not married to her husband. Her husband has been in the U.S. for 4 years, and so we don’t know what to do. We are going to be talking with President to see how we can solve this problem. Hopefully we should be having 2 baptisms tomorrow though. The hna Jenny and Davee are still progressing. Jenny had her boss disanimate her a ton, saying bad things about the church. She was decided to be baptized, and had really gained a testimony, but not coming to church the last two weeks has killed her. She hasn’t felt the spirit, and now she is confused. We have put a new date for her and Davee for the 28th, and Davee knows its true, he just needs to put in the work and get to church. The good thing is, they are all progressing really well.
My new companion got here Thursday, it is Elder Rojas, and he seems like a really good kid. Elder Mera is going to be leaving next Friday, to go home. How crazy is that, but he is ready. His sickness doesn’t allow him the energy sufficient for missionary work. It will be good for him. The good thing is with Elder Rojas we are going to be able to work even harder with our proselyting, and we are going to baptize a ton. I’m really excited.
We had changes this week, and about half of the office left. Elder Wilding went home, Elder Myler went as District leader in Satipo, and Elder Becerra left as zone leader in Huanuco. I’m really going to miss the old office, we were really united, and had a lot of fun. This new office is going to be good to though. I’m just happy we made some sweet shirts last p-day for the old office. Good times with them. So I am District leader in the office now, and it is just another responsibility that I am excited for. We are going to be working hard so we can baptize, even though we don’t have quite as much time as the other missionaries, but we are working hard, and its going great. This month we are hoping for at least three.

So everything is really going just great, and I couldn’t be happier in the work of the Lord. Thank you for all of your prayers, and know that I am always praying for you. Keep up the good work, and I’ll talk to you next week.
Love, Elder Lee

31 October 2009--¡Este semana = Lo Maximo!

Hey mom, thanks for the awesome letter. It really makes me so happy to hear how good everyone is doing at home, and to hear everything that is going on. This week was awesome!! First on Sunday we got to church, and a girl that we contacted in a chifa came! It is awesome when a contact in the street just decides to come. It doesn’t happen to often, so we were pretty happy when she walked in. She was asking about baptism, and a lot about the church. She has her Book of Mormon and everything now, and we are going to be working hard with her to progress. We also had another reference that we have been teaching that came, so we were way happy in the first sacrament meeting for La Molina. Then in the ward Mayorazgo we have the familia Delgado who are one of the best families that I have taught in my mission. Four of the Five in the family came, and they really had an amazing experience. The mom Jeannette and the son Anthony have already accepted a baptismal date for the 14th of November. Then we had an amazing lesson with them on Wednesday. The aunt, Jenny has had a hard time making the decision to be baptized because she had a bad experience in another church before. She has been reading the Book of Mormon like crazy. We had her read Alma 7, and we asked them what part they liked. She went right to versiculo 14 where it talks about repenting of our sins and being born again. She said she felt something come over her that was so strong that she wanted to cry. At that point we challenged her for baptism for the 14th of November, and she accepted without even doubting it. It is one of the best things in the world to see a person converted through the Book of Mormon, and really feel the spirit. We left their house practically jumping for joy. What made it even more awesome is we brought our recent convert, Andres, of 1 week, and he bore such a powerful testimony, and was even teaching parts of the lesson. He wants to go on a mission!! Now that’s what I’m talking about. Even more awesome was when we got to the principles of the gospel class Sunday, and there was Andres in front teaching! They gave him the assignment to teach the class, and the lesson was so powerful he seemed like a member of years. I never would have imagined he would be teaching 1 week after his baptism. He is going to receive the priesthood Sunday, and he is memorizing the sacrament prayers for the next. Holy cow, I’m so excited right now. I didn’t think this week could get any better until we taught another investigator named Erica that the Assistants have been teaching. She had some doubts about baptism, and she felt that she should be baptized in 3 years. Then a hilarious older member lady told her that she got baptized in 1 month, and is still strong in the church. So we taught her a lesson, and we shared Alma 32:16-18. That scripture was just what she needed. She pondered it for a little bit, and she accepted a baptismal date for the 7th of November. You could feel the spirit so strong in that lesson, and I know we were guided by the spirit to say and share what we did. Then she told us how much her life has changed since the exact day that she attended church. I don’t think this week could have gotten any better.
I had the big once a month missionary payment to do on Wednesday, and we got it in without a problem. They are finally fixing up the floor in my office too, so it is looking pretty nice. The weather is warm, the food is great, you gotta love the mission. I seriously don’t think anything went bad this week. I had a pretty big job to figure out how much we have in each account to spend for the rest of the year, but we got that all done, and we are looking really good in that budget. I love accounting too.
Oh and when we were eating lunch Sunday I ran into a family that lives in Vernon! They are good friends with the Mitchel’s, and I actually know their son from back in the day back at Tooele high! We are going to try, and visit them today. I don’t know if you guys remember a Pablo Panda that would hang around with Colin when we were in junior high. Well it was his family that we ran into. They live right here in our area! It was awesome to talk about Tooele, and she knew Frost, Sam, Colin, Rebecca, the whole bunch. Crazy how small the world is.
Well that’s my report for the week, and just want you guys to know that I know that this church is the only true church on the earth today, and it really does bring happiness when we follow the principle that Christ taught. The Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion, and has so much power. It is amazing what happens when someone reads the Book of Mormon, and prays with a real intention to know the truth. The Holy Ghost is always there for us, and what a blessing it is. Thanks for everything, I love you all!! ¡Nos vemos Pronto!

Love, Elder Lee

24 October 2009--Hola Todos!!

Well it was an awesome week! Andres was baptized Saturday, and confirmed on Sunday, and he is just as excited as ever. He is 18, and he wants to go on a mission. I am just way excited for him. Then we have the familia Delgado that are amazing. We have been teaching them for about 2 weeks. The Mom has already accepted a baptismal date for the second week of November. We are also teaching her 2 kids, her brother, and sister. Her son of 13 years has come to church twice, and he wants to be baptized too. We actually have challenged the whole family for baptism, but the hna Jenny and Davie aren’t too sure yet. They are reading the Book of Mormon and really love reading it, and have felt the spirit, the problem is they participated in a church called Nazerenos, and had a bad experience entering to quickly into that church. So they want to be sure, it is really going to help when they come to church tomorrow. You can tell it makes a big difference because The Hna Jeannette and Anthony that have come to church already want to be baptized. It is going to help strengthen their testimonies about the truth of the church; we just got to get them there. So we are really excited about how things are going right now.
Things in the office are going good. It was a really busy week, and it feels great to just have a little time to relax. I got all of the reconciliations from the zone leaders this week, and I have been reviewing all of their expenses for the last month to figure out how much money they are going to need. I pretty much have them already to do the payment Wednesday though. President talked to me yesterday, and I’m preparing a report of how much money we have to spend for the rest of the year in each account. So there is always a ton to do, but you gotta love it. It’s amazing how busy it gets, but the time really flies. In the afternoon it is so nice to just get out of the office and teach. I think it’s a good stress reliever  My companion has had quite a bit to do, so I have been helping him out too. He has to do all of the records for the mission, so sometimes he has me type in the information while he is preparing other reports or something. He has been having some problems, and they are thinking about sending him to his house early. He has a disease called Chrom that is like thousands of ulcers in his intestines or something, and he has to have a treatment that costs quite a bit every six weeks. They usually don’t let people with this disease serve missions because you can’t get better if you have stress, and he is pretty stressed. So we are praying hard for him that everything will turn out well, the will of the Lord. We are enjoying the time we have though, that’s the good thing.
We played soccer for about an hour and a half today, and it was a blast. We have a pretty good group of soccer players right now. It is really going to be sad when Elder Wilding and Elder Becerra leave. We get some pretty good soccer in with these guys. I’m still getting the runs in too. Yesterday I put down a 2 miler in about 11:16 after doing my pushups and everything, so I’m feeling pretty good right now. Oh and Elder Wilding and I set our best record walking from the office to the pension. We walked it in 7:26! I never thought it could hurt so bad to walk hard, but holy cow. That is definitely the fastest I have ever walked in my life. Its pretty funny though, because I think people get a kick out of two Gringos in church cloths walking as hard as they can. Its definitely a good time though. That’s another thing I’m going to miss walking hard to the pension. Elder Wilding is going in three weeks. Well the food is amazing as always, we even at tacos yesterday, we seriously have the best pensionista in the world. She is awesome. Mom, she and her mom even complimented me because my plate is always completely clean. I’m going to eat every single thing you give me, and you can hold me to that. I just feel bad for being so picky before, I really missed out on some good food 
Well thanks for everything, and I love you all. Its always great to hear how well everyone is doing at home. Keep up the good work in Swimming Andrew and Steph, it sounds like they are killing you in practice, and that is always good to hear. Allison, sounds like you might be going overseas again, traveling the world so early, you are lucky. Keep up the good work. Jen sounds like you have been having some pretty sweet concerts; I’m really looking forward to hearing you play. Dad, hope everything is going awesome at work, sounds like your loving the new job. Mom, good work with your class too, I really don’t know how you have so much patience, but its awesome. Thanks for everything. Talk to you next week. ¡Hasta Luego!

Elder Lee


The pictures are of the baptism of Andres.

17 October 2009--¡¡¡¡¡Bautismo hoy día!!!!!!!

Wow it has been an awesome day. This morning Elder Cristofferson came to the CCM, and we were all there for a missionary conference. It is so amazing to hear an apostle of the Lord speak. It was cool because Richard Edgely of the presiding bishopric was there, and also L Whitney Clayton of the presidency of the 70. I could feel the spirit so strongly listening to each of them speak, and it just makes me so happy to have the opportunidad to hear them. We played soccer in the morning too, so the day has just gone awesome. Then to top it all of we are going to have a baptism tonight at 6. I actually have to go check if the font is full pretty soon, but things are just going great. We had to change the chapel that we are doing the baptism because Elder Cristofferson is going to be giving a training to all the area 70’s and mission presidents in our chapel. Its crazy how many church leaders are always around here. Elder Marcus B. Nash assists our ward every week, and he is always asking me and Elder Mera how the work is going. You got to love La Molina, its really weird compared to how my mission has been before, most of the people have their own car, and everyone has nice houses with TV’s, couches, and some even have carpet. Its pretty crazy, but the majority of the people in the area are strong catholics that usually reject us defrente. So working through the members is so important. We actually had an investigator and her son come with a member Sunday. We contacted the family that night, and they really enjoyed the message, and you could really feel the spirit strongly as we were teaching. When we went back the whole family had read the chapter we had left them, and had prayed, and each of them had a different experience, but all of the felt the spirit differently as the read the Book of Mormon and prayed. They are an awesome family, and we are going to be working way hard with them to challenge them for baptism.
Well now for your questions mom. First my clothes are still holding out great, my pants seem a little shorter than they were before. I really think I have actually grown a little bit while I have been down here! So maybe Andrew won’t catch me just yet. My first pair of shoes are still going strong, I’m going to buy a new pair of inserts though. The inserts I have split in half, and are completely destroyed. At least it looks like we are walking hard  I am feeling really healthy right now, I have been putting some good runs down in the morning, and I’m keeping track of all my splits. Pushups, situps, I’m just feeling great. I pretty much never get sick, at times we eat some bad food or something, and that puts me in the bathroom for a while, but I think my body is used to everything we eat by now. The food is amazing, and my last pensionista said she is going to send me a book of recipes too I don’t plan on cooking them, but I’m sure you would make them amazingly mom  So everything is just going great. The office is a little stressful at times, but we learn from our mistakes, and go forward with it.
I was so happy to read you letters too. Steph and Andrew are doing awesome in swimming!! Steph, I’m not going to lie, but I laughed pretty hard when I heard you threw up in the pool, and they had to postpone the meet for like 20 min. That makes me so happy though, I love to see people throw up when they finish, it means they are working hard! That’s what I’m talking about!! Andrew, what has gotten into you! I didn’t hit a 1:12 until like the end of sophomore year! Keep working hard, and you are going to slaughter all of my times. Stick with backstroke though, it is way better then breastroke  Keep up that 4.0 Jen, always remember J-pride, you gotta represent! Sounds like the cello lessons are going great too. Allison sounds like your running and swimming too. Way to go, we are going to have to hit up a few triathalons when I get home too. Dad, sounds like the new job is awesome. I love to hear it when everyone is having success. Thanks for all your letters mom, I really love hearing from you. Sounds like things at school are going great, keep up the good work.
Just want to apologize to everyone for not writing, I don’t think I have written a letter in over a month. I think our p-days are going to start being a little calmer though, hopefully. We have been working hard, but I promise I’m going to start writing again. Thanks for being so awesome, and I love you all. Thanks for your prayers, we can always use them. I’m always praying for you too. Nos vemos!! Chow!
Love, Elder Lee

11 October 2009-- Hola!

Hey Family,
How is everything going back home?! It sounds like it was an awesome conference weekend. Conference is really something I look forward to always, and its always hard to see it end. I especially liked President Holland’s talk about the Book of Mormon, and the huge spirit he had when he gave it. I’m pretty sure every single talk applied to me directly, and there are always a lot of things that I have to do better. I think that’s why I enjoy it so much though, having the prophet and apostles telling us everything that we need to do at this very moment. Its just great. It sounds like everyone is getting sick though. I hope everything is ok. The swine flu was pretty bad down here, and everyone was really worried about it. They still have someone in the door at church with hand sanitizer so germs aren’t spread as easily. I’ll be praying for Jen, and everyone else so everything turns out just fine.
Its funny because you guys are all starting the cold season, and we are heading into spring. Oh man I have always loved hot weather more than cold, so I’m pretty happy right now. It was awesome to hear you guys got the badmitten and stuff out for conference though. We had some good times playing badmitten. I’ve always loved spending conference time with the fam, and its hard to believe I’ve already had three away from you guys. Its good to hear that everyone is keeping really busy too. I’m so excited to hear how the swim season is going for Steph and Andrew. I’m excited to know how the workouts and stuff are going too. I really miss swimming big time, I really have been getting the urge to do a triathalon again, but I guess that’s just going to have to wait a little. I’m still putting down some good runs in the mornings though. We have been playing some hard core soccer too. Its usually 2 on 2 with Elder Wilding, Elder Becerra, and Elder Ranilla, and we have a blast. We even had my companion take a video of us playing, but it’s a little big to send over e-mail.
The work is going awesome. We put an investigator named Andres with a baptismal date for the 17th of October!!! We were so happy, we had challenged him to read 3 Nephi 11, and when we got to the appointment he had done his homework. He not only did his homework though he practically had the whole chapter memorized, and when he prayed he felt a huge desire to learn more, and really felt the spirit. We were planning on teaching him lesson 3, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and then challenging him for baptism. I felt the spirit strongly to just challenge him immediately after hearing his experience. He accepted immediately, and it was just an awesome lesson. He is way excited too. He is a reference from a member, and it is just amazing how much more effective the work is when you have the help of members. Well in the office everything is going great. This week was a little less stressful in the office, and everything went pretty smoothly. I just couldn’t be happier to be in the Lords work.
Thanks for everything, and I just love hearing how everyone back home is doing. Thanks for all of your prayers, I really appreciate them so much Keep up the good work, and I’ll talk to you soon. Nos Vemos!!
Love, Elder Lee The pictures are of our fútbol team :)

3 October 2009--Conferencia Hoy!

Well it has been a pretty crazy week. First Monday I had to make the payment for all of the missionaries, and so I was a little stressed to get that done. Usually it takes about three days to get in there so I had to get it done to have it in for the first of the month. So I got it in, and the money actually got there a day early. The only problem is we had changes on the 30th so everyone took their money out a day early, and there were a few that left their travel money in their old area, where they were supposed to bring it to their new area. So that created a little bit of a headache yesterday trying to fix that problem, but it wasn’t too bad, and I think we got it pretty well taken care of. So we sent a bunch of missionaries home on Tuesday, and it was crazy because Elder Ebert went home, and he was the secretary when we came in. It’s just crazy how fast time flies. So we got all of that taken care of in time for the new missionaries to come in on Wednesday. We gave them their training, and everything, and got them sent off to their new areas. Let’s just say it was a relief to finally get all of that taken care of. Elder Micheal Taylor from Tooele came in, and it was awesome talking with him about what’s going on back in Tooele. It sounds like some good friends have gotten back from missions and everything. He said the new high school in Stansbury is done, and that Tooele high is going to turn into the ghetto. Let’s hope not, man I love Tooele High.
So the work in our area is going really well. We have found quite a few new investigators, and we have one named Andres that we are working hard with, and we are going to put a baptismal date for the 17th of this month. He has been to church the last three Sunday’s, and is excited for conference today too. He is great. We also have a few references from members that are starting to progress too. I just talked to a missionary that was just in Pichanaki, and it made me miss everyone over there quite a bit. He says they are always contacting in the park, and the people ask where the gringo that used to run in the mornings went. I got a good laugh about that, and it was just great to hear how everyone over there is doing. I also ran into one of my first baptisms here in the office the other day, The Hna Pajuelo. She is so awesome, and she actually has a daughter in the mission right now, and they were a little worried about their daughter so they came to talk with President. Its crazy that it has been almost a year since we baptized her, but it was so good to hear she’s still strong in the church and everything.
So it was a really good week. What made it even better was I threw down a good 5k this morning. I’m feeling pretty good in my running right now too. Just couldn’t be happier here doing the Lords work, and I just can’t believe how blessed we all are to be part of this gospel. Thanks for everything, and tell everyone hi for me. We’re going to head over to conference right now, and I am so excited. Its so amazing to hear the prophet and apostles speak. All I have to say is, OHHH YEEEAAAHHH!!!
Nos vemos pronto,
Elder Lee

REALLY SPECIAL POST!!!--Elder Lee

We are family Orihuela Rojas, from Lima, Peru.
On Saturday, we met Elder Lee. He came to our house, with his companions, Elder Ebert and Elder Mera. We spent spiritual time together.
He's a great boy! He's very spiritual and we were glad of having him in our house.
Actually, we also have a son, who is serving in Panama Mission.
We are sending you a photograph of Elder Lee, Elder Mera, elder Ebert and our family.

Blessings,

Orlando & Yovanna Orihuela.

19 September 2009--¡Hola Todos!

Well it has been an interesting week. Elder and Hermana Goede left this Wednesday, and we went to the airport to see them off. They were really excited to get home and see the family, but they were crying because we surprised them by going to the airport. We are really going to miss having them around. They were a lot of fun. I had a meeting with President the other day just going over all of the finances, and we have found that we are looking great for the end of the year. He gave me quite a few assignments to verify a bunch of different things, so this week has been the busiest I have been since I got in here. We got my bank account set up, and things are just going great right now, busy but great.
So my new area is where all of the ‘Gringos’ that live here in Lima assist. It was pretty interesting going to this ward. The first person we ran into was the President of the Lima South mission, and the rest of his family. Then we went in and there was President of Lima Central! It was crazy, and then there up on the stand was President Nash of the presidency of the 70! Man is there some priesthood power in that ward or what. They are all way nice though, and just talk like normal people. It makes me a little less nervous thinking of them as normal people too :) Oh and the other day it was crazy, I don’t know if I told you this already, but Elder Myler and I had an area 70 invite us to eat lunch with him! I had to go to this meeting for all of the stake presidents in our mission to reimburse them for their travel and hotel. So while we were sitting there waiting for them to come up to get their reimbursements the area 70, Elder Pino, told us to eat with them. I told him we were just there for reimbursements, but he said eat, and I sure wasn’t going to turn down that buffet lunch! It was awesome, and what made it even better is they had a ton of beans and rice, and that is definitely my favorite plate here now. It was awesome!
So in proselyting it was like starting from zero last week because they split the area and Elder Ebert kept there investigators. We have been working hard to get new ones though, and we have a few awesome references that are progressing great. I think this area is more like a mission in the states, where the people have more money and aren’t as willing to listen. I miss the people in the street who would just accept an appointment only talking to them for like 30 seconds, but it’s a whole different experience. The members are helping a lot to present their neighbors, and we are seeing a lot more success that way. My companion has a disease called chrom or something where he has tons of ulcers in his intestines, and he had to have part of his intestine removed. Every two months he has a medical treatment that just drains him, so we aren’t able to work as hard as I would like, but we’re working with what we got. He is such a good kid though, and he loves the work, his body just can’t go sometimes.
So everything is going awesome here, and couldn’t be happier. Its great to hear everyone is doing so well at home too. I met a family here that lived in Utah, and the son came out with a shirt that said, “It’s a BYU thing, to BEAT UTAH”. It was awesome!! It was cool to talk a little about good old life back in Utah. Lets hope BYU can keep this streak up too. Let me know how todays game goes next week Thanks for everything, and I love you all!!
Elder Lee

The pictures are: the office elderes, Elder and Sister Goede, Elder Goede giving me the keys to the safe, My new office, and my companion Elder Mera

12 Septemeber 2009--Nuevo Compañero!

Well it was an awesome week. Last Saturday we had the baptismal service of Johan Negron, and it was amazing. You could feel the spirit so strong, it was an amazing experience. His whole family was there too, and I know they felt the spirit. We have been working hard with his mom and his brother, and Johan is setting an awesome example for them. He is so awesome, he is signing up for institute classes, and just couldn´t be happier. That’s what is crazy about this area, it is like a richer area of Peru. Everyone has there own cars, and all of the streets have big huge gates that you are guarded and everything. Its really weird being in a rich area after all of my mission being in province where they didn’t have money. In my other areas you could knock on a door and about 75% of the time have a new investigator, and here is a little different. When they have money they don’t listen as well, and I was really surprised when we have had a few doors slammed in our faces. They are a little more ‘duro’ hard to get to in this area. The awesome thing is we have Papa Johns, Pizza Hut, and Dominos, and it tastes just like good old American Pizza. Oh man I’m loving it. Our pensionista is amazing too. She made tacos the other day, and I haven’t had those since I left home. We also made French toast this morning, just like last Saturday, and it was amazing. I’m not going to lie I’ve put on like 8 pounds!! I decided I had better start eating a little less since I’m not working out as much as I used to Elder Myler loves going running in the morning though so we are putting in some good runs. We have a block we run around that is just over a quarter mile, and I’m getting down to about 5:40 miles for 2 ½ miles. I’m moving up to a 5k each day next week too. It feels so good to be getting some good runs in, and still doing the good old push-ups and sit-ups too. So I’m still staying in pretty good shape.
The office this week was crazy. I got my new companion Elder Mera this week. We were in a threesome for the past couple of weeks, but now I have my new companion. He is secretary of registros, and he is awesome. He had some problems with health, so I have to keep a pretty close eye on him, and we can’t walk very fast, but things are going good. So I moved to his area, and its just like starting from 0. We are looking for new investigators like crazy, and its going to really help to get to know the members of the ward too. Its rough even after just a month leaving Santa Patricia, it’s a great ward. They say the new ward I am in is great too though. My trainer Elder Goede is leaving next Wednesday, and then its all me in the finance office. I feel ready though, and President has really put a lot of trust in me. The end of this month is going to be crazy though, with having to pay all of the missionaries during changes. Its going to be a good time though. Everything is just going great, and I’m loving the work.
Its great to hear how well everything is going at home too. Always love hearing the success everyone is having. Spencer won the keys to success car too, that is awesome, and you guys need to congratulate Toby on his mission call too. Colombus, Ohio, that is awesome. Keep up the good work, and I’m always praying for you all. Talk to you later!! Chow!
Love, Elder Lee

5 September 2009--!Bautismo hoy dia!

Well it has been an awesome week, and we are going to finish it with Johan's baptism tonight at 7:30. He is so excited, and couldn’t be more ready to make this covenant with God. He actually was interviewed by E’ Wilding, and then by President Leyva. It was a long interview, but he is ready and excited for his baptism tonight. He had some terrible problems with alcohol, and he is so ready to change his life around. He has invited tons of people and even went out and bought a bunch of new cloths for the baptism. Its going to be awesome. We also had our multi-zone conference 2 days ago, and it was amazing. I learned so much of how I can be better as a missionary. Working better with the leaders of the church, the friendship that is necessary between a companionship. We always need to think of how we can serve one another. There really aren’t any problems when everyone is trying to develop the christlike attributes. Its amazing how simple it is to be happy always. Be more like Christ. President also taught us how we can better our teachings, and how the spirit is essencial or we might as well just not teach at all. It was a really powerful conference. It was way cool because I got to see a ton of my old companions too. My papa in the mission E’ Lima was there, and it was really awesome to see him. He is really an amazing friend. E’ Maldonado, E’ Guillen, and E’ Guttierez all my friends from back in Pichanaki and it was great remembering the good times there. All of our converses are doing really well, and it was really great to here. Its interesting being in the awesome because I get to be communicating with all of the Elders a lot more. Elder Goede is going to be leaving soon, and that’s going to leave me alone in the finance office, but he has trained me really well, and I feel really comfortable with everything going on. I just really feel lucky for the opportunity to work in finances, all I’ve heard is good stuff about people who were financiero’s in their missions. I think it is good experience for me.
It sounds like everything is going so great at home, and you guys don’t know how happy it makes me to hear all the good you are all doing. I have a hard time believing that Allison is already going to be entering graduate school, that’s awesome she is taking a scuba diving class though. I was reading a few dear Elders from Steph and it hit me that she is a senior in high school now! Holy cow, I can’t believe it, and its crazy to think we’ll be hitting up SUU together next August. The projects Andrew is doing in his woods class sound awesome. You are going to have to send a few pictures of your projects. How is Jen doing with school, and the cello lessons, and everything else. I can’t wait to see the new yard too, its sounding amazing. Sounds like everything is going well in Dad’s work too. Keep up the good work with your class mom, sounds like you always have the luck of getting a few problem kids, but just keep up the good work. You’ve really learned how to handle them after so much experience with them. Toby got his mission call to Columbus, Ohio! That is awesome. I really need to get better at my letter writing to everyone. Its so good to hear that Cecily is doing so well. I’m glad she is stopping by the house, and keeping in touch with everyone. I can’t believe she is going to be getting her mission call soon! Good times, waiting for the mission call. Sounds like Cam is doing awesome with the running still. I told him he had to write me when he broke the 4 minute mile, and I haven’t heard from him yet :( I’m interested to see what his times are at right now. Oh and Cassie wrote me too, I’m sure she is just as excited as ever to have Shay coming home. Shay sounds like he is doing just awesome, its just hard to believe his is done in a month! Well it is always just amazing to get letters from everyone, and I really want to apologize for being such a bad letter writer, but I’m going to keep trying to be better. Thanks for everything, I love you guys so much. ¡Un gran abrazo para todos!
Love, Elder Lee

30 August 2009--1 year baby!!

Well put me down for 1 year in the mission!!! OHHHH YEAHHHH!! Crazy its already been a whole year huh. I’ve reached the peak, and I’m headed downhill now. I still remember the day that you guys took me to the MTC going out to eat at the BYU
creamery, and then picking up the kids from school to take me over. Man I was so nervous that morning. I really can’t believe that was over a year ago now. Time flies when your having fun!! Sounds like things are going great at home. Everyone is back at school and as busy as ever. Its always good to hear. Steph and Andrew are working some crazy hours at seven peaks. Hope you guys still have time to do your homework and everything, and even more importantly the sports! Ha ha. So how are things going with swimming? You guys should be starting workouts soon I think. Are you still running Andrew? If not you better be swimming hard buddy, its all good I love them both. I’m getting some pretty good runs in every morning, I’m up to about 2.25 miles a day, and I’m going to work it up to 5k each day in these next couple weeks. So sounds like Allison is back from Tonopah. That must have been an awesome summer. So I guess she is back at BYU doing the studies again. It sounds like school is going good for you too Mom, and Dads job sounds pretty interesting also. How are things going with Jen and her last year in Junior High. Just really interested in everthing that’s going on back home. Oh and the yard is really sounding beautiful, I am really excited to see the whole house when it is done.
So everything is going awesome down here in the mission. It was a pretty busy week with getting all of the changes in so we could make the missionary payments. We have 188 missionaries in this mission, and it is our responsibility to make sure that they have there money the first day of the month or there are a lot of angry missionaries. So that was our main responsibility this week trying to figure out how much each missionary was going to receive with travel, personal, laundry, and everything else included. It turns out to be a pretty big job. So we got everything ready Wednesday so we could hit the button Thursday and pay the missionaries. Lets just say that is the biggest payment that I have ever made in my life, but hey, it was awesome!! We also had a zone leader conference where I gave a little training on reconciliations for their funds and everything. I’m not going to lie, I was pretty nervous, but everything really went well.
This week we had a lot more time to get out and teach too. We have the familia Negron, who are progressing really well. The best one is Johan though. He is going to be baptized the 5th of September, and he is so excited for it. He has prayed and felt the spirit so strong, and is just loving being in the church. We are working hard with his mom and brother, and we are going to be challenging his brother for the 5th also. We also have Leslie that was baptized last Saturday, and I’m pretty sure it was the most spiritual baptismal service I have been in. When Leslie got up to give her testimony she started to cry, and was so grateful to have made this decision and have the church in her life. She even said that she wants her mom to get baptized too, and then after her mom got up and gave her a big hug. It was amazing. We are working so hard with her mom, she really has had answers to her prayers and seen miracles happen. The problem is her whole family are strong Catholics and her Grandpa is dying, and she is worried about offending everyone and having problems there. We are continuing to animate her though, and she is going to be baptized, the question is when though. As we put our faith and prayers together she will be baptized sooner than later. So we are really having a lot of success with finding great investigators too, and the members are really helping a ton. I think that is what is going to help the hna Rosillo more than anything else.
Well it has really been a great week, and a great year. Thanks for everyones prayers and letters, you don’t know how much I appreciate them I love you all, and am praying for you always. Thanks for everything!!
Love,
Elder Lee
The pictures are the temple, Leslies baptism, and the 1 year celebration with my companions E’ Myler and E’ Ranilla