30 January 2009--Oooohhh Yeeeaahhh

Hey Family,
It sounds like it was a good week at home.  Swim season is coming to an end.  That’s way cool that Andrew is going to state too, and Steph I hope you can be there too.  Its killer when you get sick at the end of the season.  You guys had some awesome times at region though.  Its good to hear that all of your hard work this season is paying off.  Hope everyone is getting over there sicknesses too.  I’m lucky down here in Lima because it is really hot right now so I don’t have to worry about getting sick.  I’m just feeling great right now.  Elder Parsons and I have gone running like 15 days in a row, not counting Sundays, so it is feeling great.  I’ve set a few goals for 10 laps, and running every day I’m getting closer and closer to getting them.  It is amazing what you can do when you set goals and just concentrate on your goal.  Goals are necessary in missionary work and every other part of our lives.  If we put the goal it is much easier to improve.  I have found that in pretty much every aspect of my life. 

    The payment in iMOS went great.  I don’t like paying in iMOS very much because we enter the payment in Soles and then in the cards they change the money to dollars, and then the missionaries take it out in Soles.  So in all of those changes we are losing money.  In MOS I entered the payments in dollars so it didn’t go through so many changes, and it really saved money.  Its sad they got rid of the other system though, I’m just trying to figure out a way we can make that better without having to change the money.  Everybody got their money though, and I haven’t had any mad missionaries calling me this month, and that is always a relief  
The work is going awesome.  We have the hna Jeannette’s baptism tomorrow, and she is so happy to finally be baptized.  She is faithful in church every week, and she really loves being there.  She wants her family to follow too, but they are a little harder to get to come to church.  Her son Anthony is awesome though.  He was baptized in November, and he has his first talk in sacrament meeting this Sunday.  He had it all prepared, and he is really just a good kid, and future missionary for sure.  We also taught Jorge this week, and he is probably the best convert I have ever seen.  He is going to receive the Holy Ghost tomorrow, but I can’t believe how fast he is progressing.  When we taught him Wednesday, he had about 10 scriptures to share with us that he had been studying.  One of the members game him Preach My Gospel, and he is studying like crazy.  Sunday when we said he was going to be in the mission in a year, he told us, “Hopefully much sooner than a year!”  You don’t know how happy I was to hear that.  He really can’t wait to get out in the field.  He wants to go around proselyting with us too.  Its great.  We also received a reference last Sunday of a lady from Canada and her husband from Peru.  We went and taught them, and they are really ready for the gospel.  Its cool because I think this is the first time that I’ve been able to actually teach lessons in English in the mission.  Its kind of hard sometimes because I forget words at times, but it turns out ok.  She understands a little Spanish too, so we teach in Spanish and English.  Its really way cool.  We are going to challenge them for this month.  She even said I want my son to be like you guys, LDS.  Its weird to hear LDS because everyone here says SUD, but we are way excited for them too.  The members are really giving us a ton of references, and that’s the way it should be.  We are just loving the work, and are really being blessed right now.  Thanks for all of your prayers, and know that I’m always praying for you.  We’ll talk to you next week. 
Love,
Elder Lee

Oh and for school I’m not sure what I’m going to do.  SUU starts on the 23rd, but I guess our leaving date is the 31st.  So I’m thinking about going home a week early.  It makes me sad to do it, but I don’t know what other option that I have.  If you guys have any advice for me on this topic let me know.  I don’t know if I could go a week late, we’ll just have to see.  Thanks for everything.  Nos Vemos!

23 January 2010--Un Bautismo ayer!

Wow we had an amazing baptismal service yesterday for my great friend, Jorge.  It was actually his birthday yesterday, so he was born again on his birthday.  

We thought it was pretty cool.  The new pair of married missionaries was a big help for us too.  Jorge asked if Elder Noall could baptize him too.  It was a really awesome experience.  After when Jorge was sharing his testimony the spirit was so strong he started to cry.  He tried to hold it back but he couldn’t, I actually caught myself almost crying too, but I held it back.  It was really powerful.  He really wants to go on the mission, so we are preparing him for that, he really has to be one of the best converts that I have had.  What makes him even more awesome is that he likes running too, he went running with us like 3 times this week.  He is just a good kid, and really a great friend.  

Yesterday we also had a conference with President Leyva, and it was really uplifting.  You always know it was a good conference when you leave and you just want to be a better person in just about every aspect you can.  It was really awesome.  Elder Rojas and I had to teach the last part of a lesson in front of everyone to give an example of how to make commitments.  It always makes you a little nervous to teach in front of everyone, but it really turned out well.  Then when the assistants asked for feedback in what we could do better nobody said anything.  It wasn’t perfect, I just think they were scared to critsize because they thought I would lower their travel money or something   Ha ha not really, but it really was an awesome experience.  

Last night when we were teaching and contacting we were applying everything we learned, and it just makes you feel better.  President even said that we should go into a plaza and start preaching in the middle to everyone like the first missionaries in these latter days did.  I’m all for it, its going to be awesome just standing in the middle teaching.
We also had the hna Jeannette Delgado who has been assisting the church for the past 4 months talk with the bishop yesterday, and he said she is good to go for baptism.  So Sunday night we went over there and challenged her for the 31st of January, and she accepted right off.  She actually said she would rather do it today, but we are trying to animate her other son to baptize with her the 31st.  She is so faithful, and we are just so happy that she finally has the opportunity to make this covenant with God.  The Lord is just really blessing us a ton with the investigators we have right now.
In the office the next week is going to be crazy.  I have to do all of the missionary payments this Wednesday, and I have to do them a little different this time.  They got rid of the old program that I did the monthly payments for the missionaries, and so I’m going to be using the new program called iMOS.  It seems like its going to be a lot easier because all the payments are pre-set it just makes me a little nervous because its different than I have done.  It will be fine though.  I just have to go over a few zone reconciliations to figure out how much money I have to send the zone leaders.
I actually have almost 6 months in the office now, and it looks like I’m going to be in here for about 3 more months.  Usually the secretaries and assistants in the office stay for 6 months, but the secretary of finances usually stays longer because it is a longer training period and everything.  I will probably leave the office with about 4 and a half months left, to just give it all I’ve got in the field.  It is going to be a good time.  The office really isn’t bad, but sometimes I just want to get out there and get a full day of teaching in.  The good thing is when we are out of the office at 4 pm we can usually get a lot done.  I really love the area we are working in too.  So right now everything is just going awesome.  Elder Parsons and Elder Ranilla have gotten a little more excited about running too.  We have run the last 9 days not counting Sunday, and I’m just feeling great.  I threw down a 5k today, and this week has been at least 2 and a half every day.  Preaching the gospel and running every day, I’m just loving life.

Well that’s my update for the week.  Sounds like it has been a pretty crazy week at home, but you guys are going to pull through just like always.  Steph and Andrew, good luck in Region even though you guys are a little sick you can pull it through.  Keep up the good work with your crazy days mom.  Wow you have had a lot to do, hopefully thing calm down a little this next week.  Oh man and that barbecue you guys had sounds amazing.  I’m looking forward to doing that when I get home too.  Even in the middle of winter.  I love our family.  You guys are awesome, and thanks for the letters, I really enjoy reading everything that is going on.  Love you all, talk to you next week!!
Love,
Elder Lee

The pictures are of the baptism of Jorge, and then one of the street that we live on.  Nos vemos. chow!

16 January 2010--1 Bautismo!! Yeah, yeah

Wow, it was an awesome week.  This Tuesday we had the baptism of the Hna Ambar Rosales.  She was the last person in her family to be baptized, and everyone was so happy that this day finally came.  It was a really touching baptismal service, to see the Hna Ambar after 3 years of attending the church finally get baptized.  I actually had the privilege of baptizing her too.  She said she wanted her brother to baptize her first, but then she said that he didn’t have the same spirit as the missionaries, and asked me to baptize her.  It was a really good experience.  

We had the baptism Tuesday because her sister entered the MTC of Perú on Thursday.  Let’s just say they are one happy family right now.  We also have a young man named Jorge who is just awesome!  He actually went running with us yesterday morning, so just for that he is way cool, but he is really progressing well.  Since he first came about three weeks ago he hasn’t missed a Sunday, and he is really excited for his baptism the 23rd of this month.  He just accepts everything we teach, and is really a smart kid.  We are trying to help him get excited to go on the mission too.  Then we also have the hna Erica that was baptized about a month ago.  We just felt one day that we had to go visit her, and she was there with her son that we hadn’t met yet.  He lives with his dad in another part of Lima, but we taught him the Restoration, and challenged him to pray.  Yesterday when we taught him again, he said he feels that it is true, and he wants to get baptized.  The problem is his dad, who didn’t want to accept before.  So we are praying hard that his dad will give him permission to be baptized because the hna Erica is so strong in the church, and she will be there to help him so much.  We put a baptismal date for the 6th of February so we are praying for that date.  We just have a ton that are progressing really well that we are really excited for.  

This week we just got a new pair of missionaries in the mission.  It is Elder and Sister Noall, and they are awesome.  They are going to be working here in La Molina as a pair of proselyting missionaries.  They are just full of energy, and I think they are only like 50.  They are really excited to be in the work though.  Elder Noall served his mission here in Perú, so he knows Spanish, but his wife doesn’t.  She is going to be learning the language as they go.  Just in this first week they have bought us a ton of stuff like cookies, and treats.  It’s pretty awesome!

Well that is pretty much the update for this week.  It was really an awesome week, and we’re hoping for another one like it next week.  Its good to hear that everyone is doing so well back home, and the fun stuff your doing.  Keep up the good work.  Love you all so much!!
Love,
Elder Lee

9 January 2010--Hola, ¿Como está

Well another great week in the work of the Lord, and we have a few new investigators that are awesome.  We have a sister that all of her family has been baptized, and she is the only one that isn’t.  She was living together with her boyfriend without being married.  I guess they had a few problems, and so they are going to be separated at least until they can be married.  She has been assisting the church for like 3 years, and she has such a strong testimony.  She actually got up in fast and testimony meeting and bore her testimony.  It was really powerful.  Her sister is going on the mission this week, so she has a baptismal date for the 12th of January, so her sister can be there too.  We also have a young man named Jorge that has been at church for the last 2 weeks, and he just loves it.  He has attended a lot of different churches, but we gave him a book of Mormon and he loves it.  He really feels a peace when he reads and prays.  We were thinking about putting a baptismal date for the 16th of this month, but during the lesson I felt that we needed to challenge him for the 23rd.  It was awesome because after we challenged him, he said, “Hey that is one day after my birthday, and I will be born again.”  So he is progressing really well, and every lesson he is learning a ton.  He is reading his Book of Mormon like crazy too; he is about half way through with 1st Nephi now.  We are just really being blessed with great investigators.
    Everything in the office has gone really smooth this week, nothing really big going on.  You aren’t going to believe it, but I finally got my companion out running today for the first time.  He only did about a half mile, but we are working up.  I helped him make a workout plan, and I think it’s helping.  I still have to beat him with a pillow to get him out of bed though.  It’s all good though, I’m still getting some good runs in.  The weather here has been pretty crazy for this time of year.  They say usually it is really hot during these months, but all of last week was pretty much cloud cover, and it was cool.  It’s funny because the hardest rain we ever get here is a little sprinkle.  When the sky is all gray it reminds me of right before a big storm back home, but here in Lima it doesn’t rain so it’s kind of a bummer.  It has gotten a little hotter today though.
    Just want you guys to know that I know that this work is the greatest work on earth, and what a great opportunity we have to share it with everyone.  Everyday my testimony is just that much stronger of the Book of Mormon.  I know that it is really the most correct and true book on earth and people really do gain a testimony through studying and praying about it.  How great it is to know that we are in the only completely true church on earth, and the church Christ established is in its perfect form again here on Earth.  If we keep up the good work and follow faithfully we are all going to be in the Celestial Kingdom enjoying eternal life.  It’s going to be a good time.
    Well love you guys, and thanks for everything.  Always love reading your letters.  It makes me way happy to hear everything that is going on back home.  Thanks for your prayers too, we can really always use them.  Talk to you next week!!
Love,
Elder Lee

2 January 2010--2010, Oh Yeah!

Wow, I can’t believe we are in 2010 now.  It was a good year, and its hard to believe that I was in the mission for all of 2009.  At this time I was actually just getting ready to leave La Oroya for Pichanaki.  It is really crazy how fast time is going.  I actually got to talk with one of the people from La Oroya the other day.  It was a young man named Eric, and his brother Diego was my first baptism in the mission.  One of the zone leaders, Elder Guillen, who was also in the CCM with me is in La Oroya as a zone leader, and he was calling me with a question about the fund for his zone  Then he told me that he was on a division with Eric, so I got to talk to a really good friend from La Oroya.  It was awesome.  It is always just great to hear from a convert or hear from other missionaries how our converts are doing.  It just doesn’t get any better than to hear they are still strong assisting the church.  

    This week has been pretty awesome.  I got the payment sent Monday early in the morning to be sure that it arrived before the first of January.  It arrived like 2 days early, so that made me feel much better after the problems we had at the end of November with Thanksgiving and everything.  It was good to have it done early.  Christmas and New Years were awesome here too.  We had normal days of proselyting, but at night we ordered Papa John´s pizza, and it was like heaven.  Once again they had some pretty crazy fireworks too.  Did you guys climb Y mountain this year?  The pictures of the house, and Y mountain were amazing too.  I really can’t wait to run up it, and to play soccer and golf in the yard too.  The house really looks absolutely amazing, and all of the pictures you guys sent me were just great.

    We have a ton of new investigators right now, that we are really working hard with so they can accept a baptismal date.  We have 4 really important appointments tonight, and hopefully they will all accept a baptismal date.  We had 5 in sacrament meeting last week, so we really have quite a few progressing, we’ll just have to see what happens this week.  Well just want you guys to know that I love you all a ton, and I don’t know what I would do without you.  Thank you for all of your love and support, and I am praying for you always, and the rest of the family too.  ¡Gracias por todo! Nos vemos!
Love,  Elder Lee

The pictures are of New Years Eve, and the surprise we had in our room in the morning.  Our window is missing a piece of glass, and when I got up in the morning I almost grabbed that bird that was on my desk.  It was pretty crazy!  Good thing I put my glasses on before.  Ha ha.