SIN SACRIFICIO NO HAY VICTORIA

MOM! It's my last week! 

This week I put in practice the phrase above. I believe it comes from a Transformers movie that was playing on the bus that some elders in our zone took. "Without sacrifice, there is no victory." I think it would be translated kinda like that. Even though it is from a transformers movie, that's a big gospel truth! 

We put it in practice this week and decided to wake up early enough to do all of our studies before leaving the house even on the days where we had meetings and interviews and exchanges (most days). That meant waking up as early as 4:30 some days but I have felt the need to give it all in these last few weeks like a runner at the end of the race! We saw miracles! This week we found more new people to teach that I have in like 6 months! One of the new people we found, JL, accepted to be baptised, came to church, and even gave us ties! I know that the Lord blesses us when we sacrifice. Like you said in your email, promptings of the spirit are never convenient to follow but they are always going to help us! Honestly I felt the spirit a lot this week. 

I had an interview this week with our new mission president, Presidente Barron, which was a very weird interview because he mostly just asked me for advice hahaha. I also learned a lot from that. He's my leader, but he is humble enough to ask me for advice and recognise my strengths and my experience in the mission. He is starting to make some changes in the mission that I really feel are inspired. 

I guess the rest of what's happened recently I will save for next week when I see you all! But I just want to finish with my testimony since it will be my last email home as a missionary.

I know that this is the true and restored gospel and church of Jesus Christ. When we truly show faith, when we do everything we possibly can to repent and be changed by the atonement, when we come to the waters of baptism with the intention of never turning back, and we live all of the other principles and ordinances of the gospel, our lives will be changed here, and our lives will be changed in eternity. My mission has been a very simple one, I have not learned all of the deep doctrine, I have not learned where all the scripture are in the bible that I can use to "defend " myself against other religions, but I have learned these, the most important principles that there are and I have a strong testimony of them. The doctrine that really saves. Jesus Christ lives and loves us! In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

See you on Tuesday,

Love Elder Lethaby

QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Favourite thing about being a missionary?

Favourite thing in the narrie life would have to be seeing real conversion. When you see someone completely change their life and give up everything to follow Christ. There have been few experiences where that's happened, like where I know with no doubt that they will serve in the church until the day they die, but those experiences have made it all worth it.

How do you deal with stress?

I think I have gotten a lot better about dealing with stress in the mission, not really sure if I changed anything but I guess it would just be putting on a smile and accepting things how they are.

#1 Thing you learned as a missionary 1) for your self 2) for those you teach?

1) That if I don't humble myself, or if I give excuses, I will not be happy and I will not grow. 2) If they aren't willing to make sacrifices, their lives can't change. 

How do you keep yourself in the mindset where you're ready to learn and ready to feel the spirit?

Sometimes I feel frustrated with other missionaries or other people which I think is the thing that stops me from feeling it personally. When that happens I try to think about myself and what I could do better instead of trying to blame others. That's something President Nelson taught me a lot. 

Last minute feelings?

I feel really good honestly, excited about the area, about my future, about the changes I've seen in my mission. I thought I would get more sentimental but honestly I'm just feeling ready to keep going with life and take on what comes next and go strengthen the church wherever life takes me :)

Any TIPS?

TIPS! If you're preparing for a mission you will need to get really good at repenting, also if you aren't preparing for a mission you should do it :)

Elder Lethaby went on Tour + lots of pics (9 days left)

July 9

Hi mom! We´re on tour! 

After some biggish problems last week we prayed and felt the need to go work in some areas that are the furthest areas from the offices in the whole mission! We wanted to take advantage so we came up this morning to be tourists cuz it's super pretty and in a little while we are going to work with the missionaries here until Wednesday! 

Thought you would be happy to know that right now I'm writing from Zacatlan, one of the prettiest parts of the mission. I always wanted to come see and it's pretty cool. The town/city is built on the side of this huge valley kinda thing and it's all like misty and magical looking. Pretty cool :) It's far away so were going to stay the night here with the Elders and sleep on the floor and do divisions with them, and then interchanges tomorrow with Chignauapan. Some of the few parts of the mission that I had never seen. 

This week was pretty good/weird in our area. J couldn't go to church cuz her mom is not supportive but we still have hope, I have never had someone so hyped to get baptised! Not even sure why she wants to so bad! Not giving up!

Also yesterday at church a young lady showed up that I had seen before in other wards who said she hasn't been baptised but has come to church many times and wants to get baptised ASAP! Could be this Saturday but she seems kinda crazy, doesn't have a phone, doesn't know her address and got lost when we tried to get her to take us to her house. We put an appointment with her in the chapel, hoping she gets there! Not much else we can do...

In general we are killing it! I've been pretty focused still honestly, way too busy not to be :)

Love

Elder Lethaby


July 16th

MOM!

So in the last transfer in the mission we have to work on a "plan de saliente" which is like plans for our lives. One of the first things I thought of that I want to do is ask the bishop for some kind of calling or assignment with the young men because I have been worried about them and want to see them all in the mish! 

J is getting pretty powerful even though she couldn't come to church again, and we saw a little miracle, they hired someone else at her work so she might just be able to sneak out to go to church on Sunday's now.

This week was a lot of travelling again, but on Saturday we decided to work in Tule/Totolac mode (the areas where we both just worked super hard and gave everything) so we walked super fast and talked to everyone and we saw a ton of success, one guy that we contacted came to church the next day, and we found a bunch of people who were super interested. 

If there's anything else that anyone wants me to bring them let me know because next week is kinda the last chance! 

Right now I'm in Tlaxcallan visiting some converts and members and it's great to see them all again! 

Wish I had more to talk about hahaha but it was a pretty administery week. 

Hyped to see you all real soon, it's going to be super weird but awesome!

Love,

Elder Lethaby

Questions Answered:

Getting any emails or letters from home?

hahah ya lots lately, Elder Stirling, a few other sisters that returned from the mission already, Ana, Scott, Emma, the whole crew. 

Did you try anything new this week? Food? Approach? 

Right now were trying something new! Were kinda going on tour right now! One of the districts here is really having a hard time so we are going to leave our area for the first 3 days of this week and just go help out the missionaries out here. There are some really new ones who don't know how to work, and some really old ones who don't want to work. Had never left my area for so long but we prayed and felt the need to do it! 

When were you the most homesick on your mission?

I think last transfer. I was in the middle of the city with an American comp, felt a lot like home, started getting a lot of notices about stuff back home, it was kinda hard.

The temple is closed starting August 13 to August 27. Want to actually plan some trips before it closes?

Yes! I set a goal to attend the temple 4 times in August so we better get on that

We have always told the Elders how we write to you (2 letters). They seem to love the idea of one with just questions because they really don't know what to write home about. Have you liked the format? We have!!!

I like it too! 

It's a small world...Shout out to the Velazquez Fam & Maller clan

June 25th

Hard week but pretty rewarding! 

I went to Mexico city once, and Puebla twice this week for a ton of meetings, plus we are opening the new area and I was in the temple all day on Tuesday, so we really only had like 2 days in our area.

Last night though, we had a meeting for the people being taught in the zone and the recent converts so I got to see A and K that we baptised in Tlaxcallan! Such good news there!!!!! THEY BOTH TOLD ME THEY ARE FOR SURE GOING ON MISSIONS!!!! That was a goal of mine since I got to the mission! Also A's brother got baptised last week, and her mom is going to be baptised this Saturday! K's parents who were both VERY against the church have now both gone to church at least as well! AND another member of the S family that we had been teaching got baptised on Saturday! SO happy! 

Also I had some very small world moments this week! One of Ana´s companions from the mission got home on the same day as we opened the area and she is a member of our ward and shared her testimony on Sunday! Also I was showing my companion some pics of the boiz and he saw a pic of Jake Maller and it turns out they were in the same room in the MTC! I'm freaking out!

The ward mission leader here is amazing and so is the bishop! Such a strong ward honestly. They are both just working super hard. Living the law of consecration. Hermano S (ward mission leader) still hasn't cut any of my ties this week! 

Man just loving life right now even though it takes us like an hour to find our own house cuz we are super lost opening a new area. 

Have a good week everyone! 

Love ya!

Elder Lethaby

July 2nd

MOM! How are ya!?

Awesome week over here in Apiznice! Got some fresh meat in the people we teach pool. Member ref from Morelos ward named J coming in hot with the triple threat (that's what I call it when we find them, put a baptismal date with them, and bring them to church all in the same week). Big hope there and Hermana P (Ana's comp) is going to help us out there. 

Today I went to go visit Totolac and say goodbye, wanted to see more people, but got to see the old Bishop and his fam. One of the men I have learned most from in mymish. BUT HE NEEDS PRAYERS! His wife G, has cancer as of like a year ago and it's super bad now. She has lost a TON of weight and couldn't even get out of bed to come say hi :( We fasted for her as a mission on Saturday but some extra prayers could help. Love this family to death and the spirit and energy in their home was very different when I went today that in was a year and a half ago. 

On a brighter note, I got to see the baptism of A's mom! She talked about how it was hard for her to accept because like 2 years ago she got baptised in the Christian church, but when she heard her 11 year old son say "Mom, this is the true church." She felt the spirit super strong and realized that it is all true. That's what it's all about :)

They are going to move to another state at the end of this year to be with dad and big sis and baptise them too! SO HYPED! 

Overall doing really well, good comp, we laugh a lot together and he's kinda good at English. Also were planning a ward activity where were going to get all the RMs from the ward to make a traditional dish from where they served and bring it and share it. We have like 20 people on board with full support from a great bishop! 

Also we got a new president of the mission and the country but I don't know much about either one of them so stay tuned. 

Love

Elder Lethaby

Questions Answered:

How is the new Mission president?

Haven't met him yet, not until Thursday but I guess he's super nice and makes a lot of jokes :) 

Who are you teaching right now?

We don't have a lot, the other elders closed the area for a reason I think :( but we found a young lady named J this week who came to church and has a baptismal date! Also the ward mission leader has been helping a ton and we have an appointment with a referral of his who also seems promising! 

Walking everywhere still?

Most places, our area is huge!

You mentioned that having someone go serve a mission that you baptised was a goal. What other goals did/do you have?

Baptise an eternal family! Super cool actually because this week I went to the baptism of A's mom! So in that family 3/5 are baptised, the other 2 live in another state but she said when she shared her testimony in the baptism that they are planning on moving there to convert them too!

Did your Home Teaching experience before your mission teach you anything you could use on your mission?

Yes! I think I learned a lot about ministering as the Velazquez´s home teacher. I remember taking David and Jacob out to movies with us, or driving Enoc to the airport at 3am. Things like that teach a lot about service and I always felt really good doing it. 

Shout-Out to the Turner's and more pics!

Cool looking church mom! Good find! (In San Francisco) ya I will be calling home on Sunday at 5:00 (Mother's Day)! Super excited! Also pretty excited to hear about the plans for Shane´s wedding, but I was thinking about it the other day and we probably won't live together ever again haha kinda sad. :( Does he have plans for a house or are they gonna live out of our basement or what? 

I'm with an American now so I can speak English, we have 2 McDonald's, a KFC and a bunch of American things in our area. I think God is preparing me to go back to the real world haha. 

 Sounds like you are having a good time in san fran, and keep the pics coming! Also thanks for getting my schooling all ready for me.
Love ya!
Elder Lethaby

Hey I'll be quick since we just talked, but wanted to let all my fans in on some fun times from this week!

This area has been super crazy so far hahaha we can't go a block without someone saying something about Trump to us haha so glad I'm Canadian in those moments. We had a black guy from the states contact us this week and he wanted to take pictures and stuff and he said he was a historian trying to prove that the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and the whole world were black people and that the Africans were the ones who built the pyramids and stuff, pretty funny guy. We got a ticket for putting up "free English class" posters all over the city and I guess in the "Historical Center" it's illegal so that's a bummer. I then got sick so I couldn't even leave the house to go to the English Class :( 

We also had the leadership council this week which was kinda fun and we talked about some ways we can get the YSA more into the work, might start going to institute classes and YSA activities, stay tuned...

It's still raining almost every day and my shoes are pretty much done, but I sent them in to get fixed today so we´ll see if we can get another few months out of them.

My companions doing good, we get along pretty well and the zone seems to be picking up a bit :)

I think that's it. Happy mothers day mom,great to see you!

Love 

Elder Lethaby 

Hi Mom!

This week we went from having almost nothing to do all day to not knowing how to fit it all in... the way I like it. We were sharing the ward with some sisters that had some lil problems and closed the area so we now have the whole ward and all the investigators they had! One of them has been going to church for a long time but couldn't get baptised because he was living with his GF but TODAY they got married! So we will have a baptism this week I think but we haven't even had a lesson with him yet! Kinda crazy but its a super solid couple, shes already a member!

This week we also had the stake conference and Elder Valenzuela of the seventy (will become the area president of Mexico starting in august I think) came and spoke and it was super cool. He talked about how he was in Salt Lake a few weeks ago and he ran into President Nelson and went to go shake his hand but the prophet pushed his hand to the side and gave him a hug and said "I love you Arnulfo" which is a pretty hard name for an American to remember, especially a 93 year old one. He then talked about ministering and the importance it has, how he felt to have a prophet of God remember his first name and hug him and say that he loved him even though he's a GA. He said he will never forget that experience. He also said President Nelson goes skiing every Monday!!!! Who knew?! They called a new stake president who's from our ward, has 7 years in the church and is 36 I think! Big responsibility, but he's a great guy and I know he can do it!

This week we had intercambios and I was hit super hard by the scripture that Elder R decided to share in the food appointment with the member. He shared Jacob 5:71 "And the Lord of the vineyard said unto them: Go to, and labour in the vineyard, with your might. For behold, this is the last time that I shall nourish my vineyard; for the end is nigh at hand, and the season speedily cometh; and if ye labour with your might with me ye shall have joy in the fruit which I shall lay up unto myself against the time which will soon come." 

It hit me pretty hard and makes me want to be a better missionary, finish strong, but also be a better member who will prepare the way for the second coming for my whole life. "THIS IS THE LAST TIME" that he will nourish His vineyard. What are we doing to prepare it!?

Love you guy!

Elder Lethaby

Hi mom!
We´re getting along really really well, I kinda feel like I'm back in the Elder S glory days! We work super well as a team, we are talking to each other nonstop and we are actually seeing a 180 degree change in the zone. This week we found almost twice as many new investigators as we did last week both in our own area and as a zone. I think were going to get a sister here in the ward to make matching ties for the whole zone! 

I too, love Bishop Thompson and all the leaders back home. The church is SO strong there. I think its pretty strong here, but it's REALLY strong there. This week a seventy (didn't catch his name oops) went to our sacrament meeting and kinda roasted the ward a little hahaha. He got up and started asking why Elders and not Priests were blessing the sacrament, he whipped out some stats about the temple work in the ward and asked why more members aren't going, and made a few other comments like that. It was kinda weird because it felt like we were being lectured or like punished from someone who should represent the Lord big time but then I realised that Jesus sometimes spoke pretty directly to the people as well and that if we are prepared we won't fear. Hope that can help the ward. There are some super strong members here though, like some homes that we have walked into where you can feel the Spirit super strong like the Turner's house or something, I think we just need to ask for their help and they will give it to us. 

This week we going to train on "enseñar para bautizar" in the zone conference (teach to baptise). Sometimes as missionaries we just teach lessons to make them feel nice on the inside and remind them that God loves them, but if we don't invite them to ACT in a way that will change their lives and prepare them for the covenant of baptism, we aren't doing our job. We asked a recent convert who sells Herbalife products (not sure if that's big back home but if not look it up), and we are going to get him to try to sell his product to the missionaries without inviting them to try it or buy it, without inviting them to ACT. It won't work because the cost is super high (just like the cost of changing our lives to live the gospel), and unless we try it and apply it in our lives, we don't understand the need for it. 

This week A got married and he was going to get baptised but the member who is going to baptise him couldn't make it so we had to change it for this week, but all good there. Hahaha don't really know him still, but seems like a great family and we are glad that we can work with them and have a baptism. 

Love you all, get well soon mom

Elder Lethaby

HI MOM!

Ya I'm missing the temple a lil honestly, the members always get HYPED when I tell them that we have one so close. I really really hope Puebla can get a temple some day but honestly the 2-3 hour drive isn't that bad compared to a lot of people. 

Hahah the other day my companion was talking about how I'm probably gonna eat really good food that first week when I get home as it will be my homecoming and Shane's wedding all in one, and it looks like it will be true! Speaking of food, this week a single sister from our ward took us out to go eat at a Mexican version of Costco called "city club" where they also sell huge, cheap pizzas, chicken bakes, etc... and then as we were leaving she told us that she could extend her membership and give us a card for free so pretty much have a Costco 10 minutes away from the house and today we bought 12 litres of milk there. Good stuff, don't take Costco for granted. 

Who´s Reece dating these days?

ALSO, we decided to be good neighbours and we went to go talk to our Chinese friends downstairs and it turns out the kids don't speak a lick of Spanish or English and the parents speak very very little Spanish. SO we decided to give them Spanish lessons! That is a lot easier said than done... like how do you explain what an "A" sounds like to someone who's used to symbols for everything. Very hard, we are open to suggestions, might ask Amy for help. 

This week we kinda exploded our area! We just started inviting EVERYONE to baptism right away and it turns out people aren't as scared of it as we sometimes think. We also had a baptism of A. Super cool because the ward was very involved in the process. We only started teaching him 2 weeks ago because it used to be the sisters´ area, but the Elders Quorum pres. put a baptismal date with them, a marriage date, did the ordinance of baptism and confirmation and is a super real friend to him. Him and his wife went up to share their testimonies on Sunday and he said the closing prayer in sacrament meeting. Awesome!

Have a good week!

Elder Lethaby

Hi mom! Just got back from Cholula, very cool spot that I wanted to visit for my whole mission, glad we went. Look it up! Want to take you there some day! Can't send pics though still but we are looking for the way to do it. 

We kept trying to teach our Chinese neighbours Spanish this week but still not much luck. They gave us some stir-fry stuff though and taught us how to eat with chopsticks and stuff. We tried to tell them we would make them some waffles for the next time but they didn't get it. 

We also went and taught this great part member family, but the part of the family that isn't a member came down the stairs mid lesson, shirtless, drunk, and angry looking and started to ask why we were there and stuff. I think he had had a bad experience with some members and stuff so he came over to us and his family was holding him back so he wouldn't hit us and he was swearing at us and stuff and he then started hitting his arm where his grim reaper tattoo is and then put it up to his nose and just took a really long sniff (I think trying to scare us) hahah but we just about burst out laughing. We left and it was a bummer, but the main part of the family that we want to focus on is moving out anyway this week so we can teach them in peace. 

Bit of a bummer in terms of investigators this week, we had like 5 that were super committed to come to church and they were hyped and we had members ready to bring them and everything but for one reason or another all of them cancelled at the last minute :(

We also had a ward mission activity that was a "Noche de S´mores". We set up a little camp fire in the church parking lot and we taught all of the members and a few investigators how to make s´mores. I have never seen a ward get so hyped! They couldn't believe how goldeny brown mine were, learned from the best :) 

We have been having a lot of fun this transfer but also working super hard and we are super tired all the time haha, making the most of it!

Love you

Elder Lethaby 

QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Got English classes working again? Make it this week?

Nope! Because there was a stake conf in the church at the same time that we had to be at hahhaha, we are having bad luck. 

Did you get better fairly quickly from last week’s illness? Hope so.

Ya I was really only sick Saturday and Sunday when I talked to you, but as you could hopefully tell it wasn't too bad on Sunday. 

What’s happening to the ticket? Was it in your name?

The ward mission leader put it in his name and he has all of the info we need to pay it but we keep reminding him and he hasn't told us anything...

How big is the zone (how many missionaries)?

Tiny hahaha just 12 Elders now that the sisters closed their area. We have a "4 man bro district"

How deep is that water going down the street in that photo you sent?

Like 9 inches

What is your testimony of covenants?

Huge one! We do "oraciones de convenio" (covenant prayers) sometimes where we promise something specific and ask for something specific in that day and it always works if we do our part. Last week with the APs in exchanged we had the goal of finding 3 new investigators and setting 2 baptismal dates that day and we promised to invite to bap´tism in EVERY lesson. At 8:45 we knocked a door and taught a super quick lesson with 2 brothers who were super open but because it was late we wanted to end the lesson quick so we didn't invite to baptism and we only reached the goal of news but not dates and after as we walked home we realised that if we had done our part (invite to baptism in EVERY lesson) those two brothers would have been the 2 baptismal dates.

How much does it actually cost a couple to get married in Mexico?

Well it depends a lot but I think our guys found a place where they did it for $420 pesos (like $30ish)

What else did you learn at Stake conference…besides another testimony of President Nelson and his love?!

Mmm well I guess just that the Lord qualifies who he calls, the stake president has 7 years in the church and he is killing it! 

I listened to President Nelson’s talk in the priesthood session again. That is SUCH A GOOD TALK!!! He loves ministering, and the simple acts of loving, inviting, making connections makes all the difference. How will you minister this week to your companion?

This week we have been waking up early, going to surprise attack missionaries in the zone and doing divisions to help them out. I also make breakfast for my comp most days which he loves, and we've been making some calls to help out a newer American missionary who has a super hard Latino companion that he can't understand and can't get to work.

Mother's Day, Pictures and getting a ticket!

Hi mom,

This week we saw some more miracles :)
On Monday we had an appointment with someone we had contacted a few days before. While we were on our way to the appointment, we received a referral from the church page of someone who had been listening to the missionaries in Cabo San Lucas and had already gone to church and read a lot of the Book of Mormon! We decided to go to the appointment that we had and then right after we would go look for the referral. When we got to the appointment we asked for the man we had contacted and they said that he didn't live there. We were about to turn back because we ha received a false address, but then the lady at the door said, "I thought that your companions in Cabo San Lucas had sent you to look for me." Turns out we received a false address, but it was the exact same address as the referral we received. We then put a baptismal date with the sister and her three children! 
I also felt the spirit stronger than I ever have in a lesson this week with A (our investigator who will be baptised this Saturday). She told us that she will lose her job because she won't be able to work on Sundays, but she doesn't even care! She has a ton of faith and is already very good friends with all of the YSA in our ward. So excited for her to be baptised! Elder E interviewed her for her baptism and in the interview told her that she would serve a mission! I think it's true :)

It's been raining a lot, I was gonna send pics, but it won't let me :( Little rivers in the streets though, couldn't get to an appointment because of one. 

Looking forward to calling home in a few weeks, I know some things about coming home we will have to talk about, but if you could mostly just get me hyped and pump me up to finish strong that would be a big help. 

I love serving as a missionary, there are hard times, but I have learned to always pray and receive help from the Lord in hard times. He lives and loves us :) We wouldn't have any success in the mission without Him. 

Have a good week,

love,

Elder Lethaby

Do you ever hear from the Bishop or Stake President?Yes, I have heard from both and last week or 2 weeks ago from the bishop!

Any plans for Mother’s Day yet? Well here it's on the 10th of may so I don't know if you want to do it on my mother's day or your mother's day. Either way I could possibly be in a different area with a different companion by then so I will confirm next week about the day and hour.

Have you ever had issues with your toes? Shane’s are still bugging him…Sometimes I feel like they're ingrown a lil but they've been like that since my training and it hasn't gotten worse and they never bleed so I think I'm good.

What kind of work-outs are you doing these days?

Stretching and pushups in the house, not much close by that we can do. 

Do you ever meet missionaries who go through a bit of culture shock when they first get to Mexico? Do you try to help?
Not really honestly, the only time was when I was in the offices there was a new guy who was really sick already and wanted to go home and didn't like his trainer so we got into calling him every night just to talk to him in English for a few minutes and give him a break.

Package arrive yet?

No :( I did get a letter from Oma though with some pics of me and her and Jake in front of the temple back in the glory days. 

Is it rainy season? Staying dry or just making it work?!

It is raining pretty hard every day! I have some pics that I wanted to send but this internet doesn't have sd card reading ability. 

WEEK BEFORE MOTHER"S DAY

Hi MOM!

I got transferred! My new comp is Elder K from Kansas and I am now in an area called "Fuertes" (Strong). On Saturday President Nelson called me and said "Elder do you still have the energy to be a leader?" I said I did and he said "good because you're going to be a zone leader again." So I guess I had a little break hahah but Elder K and I are going to kill it here. Our area is the very center of Puebla. Downtown. There are very few houses in our area, and the houses that there are are very very expensive ones from what I've heard. We will have to find a different way to work... knocking doors won't work because there aren't doors. We already decided to try out English classes again, since we are both English speakers. He was in my zone when I was in Amalucan almost a year ago... in his training hahha. Very hard worker though and I know we can do it. I can already tell why I am here. There are pictures of naked women in every corner, there is worldly music all around us, it's loud and busy... the Lord needs me to learn how to be in the world but not of the world before I head home. I am more determined than ever right now to consecrate myself 100% in the work. We also have a lot of missionaries in the zone who I know, and I know that they will have problems. What you said in your email is true mom, if I don't finish strong, my companions and other missionaries in my zone won't finish strong either. 

On another note, A got baptised this week! She was crying a lot hahha but like good tears, very excited. Her whole family came and it was one of the most spiritual baptisms of my mission, because she was really truly prepared. I think her family will follow. Another investigator named Luz that I have been teaching for the last 3 months passed her baptismal interview this week too, so she should get baptised next week! We also found and started teaching a part member less active family and they all came to church on Sunday and the 10 year old son has a baptismal date and always wants to put on our name tags because he wants to serve a mission one day! Hope that happens! Kinda sad that I won't see all these people progress, but I know the Lord has a purpose behind everything. 

Super excited to be here and work hard! 

Love you and talk to you on Sunday!

Elder Lethaby

Pics:

A's baptism

When Elder Barfuss and I realised the next time we see each other will probably be in Canada :(

The rivers in the streets of Tlaxcallan

DAY AFTER MOTHER'S DAY

Hey I'll be quick since we just talked, but wanted to let all my fans in on some fun times from this week!

This area has been super crazy so far hahaha we can't go a block without someone saying something about Trump to us haha so glad I'm Canadian in those moments. We had a black guy from the states contact us this week and he wanted to take pictures and stuff and he said he was a historian trying to prove that the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and the whole world were black people and that the Africans were the ones who built the pyramids and stuff, pretty funny guy. We got a ticket for putting up "free English class" posters all over the city and I guess in the "Historical Center" it's illegal so that's a bummer. I then got sick so I couldn't even leave the house to go to the English Class :( 

We also had the leadership council this week which was kinda fun and we talked about some ways we can get the YSA more into the work, might start going to institute classes and YSA activities, stay tuned...

It's still raining almost every day and my shoes are pretty much done, but I sent them in to get fixed today so we´ll see if we can get another few months out of them. 

My companion's doing good, we get along pretty well and the zone seems to be picking up a bit :)

I think that's it. Happy mother's day mom, great to see you!

Love 

Elder Lethaby

Practical/Doctrinal response to Opa Passing Away (5 weeks worth-sorry!)

March 26, 2018

Big fan of that spiritual thought (forward Elder Cameron's thoughts on prayer...warrior prayer or farmer prayer). Going to apply it more. Word on the street is that my new comp has a lot of urgency and I have already seen it in how he walks. They even compare him to a young Elder D (you don't know who that is, but he's a really hard working missionary in our mission). His name is Elder P (not my trainer but Elder P 2.0). He´s from Guatemala and has the same amount of time in the mission as Ana (he said he met her in the MTC). Very excited to be here. He is going to be the district leader now and I am going to be the junior companion! First time since my training and I am very excited! I´m going to be able to eat dinner at night, read Jesus the Christ (wanted to do that since my training but never had time), and maybe even go to bed early! President Nelson is getting the young guns ready with experience so that the mission can have good leaders when the new president arrives. So that means I am supposed to train Elder P to be a good district leader and hopefully a good zone leader or AP as well. He has the potential :)

This week we had a ton of success. We received a call from a member that we didn't know on Thursday and she said she had a referral. We went and met him, and he accepted to be baptised in the first lesson! He went to church all 3 hours on Sunday and really liked it. His name in A and he is a doctor, an x-professional basketball player, he's been to 180 countries, and he will soon be a Mormon! A few months ago he had a serious car crash and survived. He is recovering now and can't go to work, so he is taking it as a second chance to get closer to God and he really wants to do what's right! Kinda crazy and sounds like it's from a movie or something, but that's really his story! The ward is hyped on him and the elders quorum is going to play basketball this Thursday and he's going to go!

This week, I and Y were also baptised! We were going to wait another week with I, but we decided he was super ready so we asked him if he felt ready, he said yes, and he did it! There were like 40 people in his baptism, including like 15 investigators (mostly from the 2 families). They both looked so happy! Y, is the little guy in the wheelchair, but his baptism went way smoother than my last wheelchair baptism haha. 

Happy that I will be staying here, I have loved this area so far, and I am very excited about this companion. God loves us! 

Have a good week,

Love,

Elder Lethaby

April 2, 2018

(in response to hearing that Opa died)

I have a very strong testimony that President Nelson is called of God. I remember the first time I did a baptismal interview with him as the prophet, I felt inspired to share my testimony with the investigator that he is a prophet of God and I had it confirmed in that moment that it's true. This weekend confirmed it that much more. 

I will keep Oma in my prayers. I know it was time, and I hadn't heard about a release blessing either, but it sounds like the right thing to do. I love her, and I know Opa is already working on the other side. 

Love Elder Lethaby

Hi mom!

This week was a good week, love the general conference, President Nelson (prophet not mission president) keeping it fresh with some new changes out of nowhere. How do you say "maestro ministrante" in English (the new home teacher thing)? 

Liked President Nelsons talk about that and the stories that Elder Holland shared about home teachers that really ministered, and I agree that if we only do home teaching like a checklist, it doesn't really help much. A little over a year ago they made a similar change in the mission by getting rid of some key indicators like the number of lessons we teach and the number of people we contact, etc... and it has a made it so that the number of baptisms has gone up in our mission even though we have way less missionaries now. So I think it will help. The difference between administer and minister is actually a topic that Elder S and I studied about once a few months ago, very excited to apply it! 

In terms of our area, my new comp and I are working really well together, he's super super hard working. We have an investigator named G who is older, and suffers from anxiety and it affects her a lot. She likes the church a lot and has potential to be baptised this month, but sometimes she can't get out of bed in the mornings because of her sickness so please pray for her :) 

We also have an investigator named I who wants to get baptised and finally came to church for the first time after like a month of trying to come, she is excited but her dad doesn't let her go sometimes even though he's a member, pray for her too! 

Lots of good investigators, but we need the power of heaven to make it happen! 

This week was super catholic, so all of our investigators were out of town and we had a few days where we didn't have a single appointment, but the Lord blesses us with miracles and we found a few new investigatros and an awesome new family.

Have a good week!

Elder Lethaby

April 9, 2018

Hi mom :)

This week was really rewarding because almost all of the recent converts came to church with their families and we had like 20 people in the gospel principles class. There were about 5 who went to the class when we got here. Didn't have much luck with investigators, but I was able to see a much bigger picture than just the numbers we send to the ZLs on Sunday nights. Our first convert in this area (R) who´s dad has been working in the states pretty much her whole life went to church with the whole family, her dad finally came back! He seems like a very humble man who really wants to get as active in the church as he can because he knows his family needs it. I, another convert came to church with his girlfriend who he fully intends on marrying in the temple :) He also said that he got a job offer in Canada and accepted! So I might get to visit him more often and see him grow and serve in the church! 

My companion is doing awesome and teaching me a lot, I think I have talked to more people in these last 2 weeks than I had in the last 3 months haha which is saying a lot! He is pretty new in the mission and still needs to learn a lot but I have never seen someone with such a strong desire to do his best. He only gets sad when he feels like he didn't give his all that day. I like it because even though sometimes we have a hard day or week, there is always hope for tomorrow :) 

All good here, have a good week and I will send pics next week,

Love

Elder Lethaby

April 16, 2018

Hi Mom!

Gonna start with an awesome experience that we had this week:

A young man in our ward (the same one who gave the reference of K) called us and said that he had a referral. We went and visited her and had one of the most spiritual lessons of my mission. She told us that her mom is Christian, her dad is Catholic and that she sees both of them very happy in their religions and wants that happiness but hasn't felt it in any church yet. She obviously related very well with the Joseph Smith story and at the end of the lesson we invited her to pray and ask God. She received an answer right then and there. She started to cry and then accepted a baptismal date in 3 weeks. She went to a YSA activity and even though she had to work on Sunday, she went to church in Totolac and already asked her boss to get work off on Sundays. Huge miracle! Very strong YSA group in our ward too so she will fit right in. 

L (an investigator that we have been teaching for like 3 months but is finally progressing) came to church with her granddaughter this week and said she has even started to share the gospel with her family!

Crazy to hear about the new bishopric, is there a new young men's president then? We haven't heard about a new elders quorum president yet either but the stake president came to train us about how we are going to work as a quorum. 

I love my mission and all the people I have met here. I have learned, and keep learning a lot from all of them. My companions will be life long friends :) Big fan of Elder P. 

Love you and I'm happy your activity went so well!

Elder Lethaby

P.S. I bought 2 suits and a belt today. I know I don't need two suits but they were really cheap and nice (I paid a total of about $280 CAD I think for a Calvin Klein suit and another one as well and a very needed belt, you should see my current belt).

April 22, 2018

Hi MOM! 

This week the Lord kept it coming with the miracles. I´s (who got baptised like a month ago) mom called us up and pretty much said "I'm ready now". We went and taught her (she hadn't really accepted us much before) and she felt the spirit so strong that she cried in the prayer at the end. We taught her about the Atonement and how it can help her to overcome not only her sins but also her sickness, sadness, etc... and she has a sickness that the doctors have said she will never cure of, so it hit her hard. We then taught her that the atonement comes into play when we have faith, we repent, we are baptised, etc... so she accepted to be baptised! Doctrine that saves, lesson 3. Textbook.

Got to go work with Elder V (my son) this week in his new area where he is now senior companion and seems to be killing it. They opened area which can be kinda hard, but he already knows his area super well and had a backup plan right away for every appointment that fell through. They have people lined up to be baptised every week for the next month and a half. The young gun´s killing it. We also helped an investigator move from our area to their area (like an hour long trip) so he's into serving as well. Proud dad. 

I've been translating conference talks in my language study and I recommend one from Elder Uchtdorf called The Greatest Among You. Teaches a lesson I have been learning over the last 2 years. 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/04/the-greatest-among-you?lang=eng

Loving the mission, all good here, should be a great week. 

Love

Elder Lethaby 

Questions Answered

Do you ever speak English anymore?!

I speak English sometimes when I call an American elder or in intercambios, but maybe like once a day I speak English. 

How are your shoes holding up? Lots of walking in this area right now?

My shoes all have different kinds of holes and stuff. Lots of walking. I think I will be able to make it to the end with my current shoes though. 

Have you written down emails, etc. for companions, families, etc.? You won’t always have their LDS mail.

Not much honestly, trusting a lot in facebook for after the mission. 

Transfer?

I´m staying! Elder P 2.0 is here with me now, stay tuned in the big email. 

Have a spiritual moment you can share from this week?

I think it would be when Elder V was packing his bags for the transfer, he left a nice quad (scriptures) out, and when I asked him if he wanted to bring it with him, he said "no, I want to give it to A (a new investigator that went to church for the first time this week that we have only taught twice so far)". He felt a lot of love towards him and it didn't matter that he may never see him again. Great guy.

How much does disobedience affect a mission?

Interesting question. Sometimes there are disobedient missionaries that baptise a ton, and obedient missionaries that never baptise. The difference I think, is more in the personal progress of the missionary. Disobedient missionaries are never happy, they are prideful, and have no lasting change from their missions. 

Did people ask you to compare what your church does with Easter over what the Catholics do?

Ya they asked if we celebrate semana santa and I didn't remember how to say Easter in Spanish until they said it in conference so it was kinda hard to explain. 

How are the members helping you right now?

Lots of them have been giving us referral's without even asking this week which was awesome! The ones that are helping the most are the recent converts :) 2 YSA leaders who are converts of the last 4 months. 

Do you think President has high expectations of you?

Yes. He told me when he sent me to this area that he expects me to be baptising every week :O

Best moment of the week?

When I (convert from 2 weeks ago) told me he's probably going to move to Canada for his work in January! 

Did you get your Easter box? Oma sent liquorice and socks in it for you, along with all the other stuff from me.

No, but I did get dad's letter and a postcard fro Oma! Thanks a lot!

We get to Skype on Mother’s day - the 13th of May…just a heads-up! Will you be in a members home?

I don't know where I will be on the 13th, but I will keep you posted :)

Did the box arrive?

Not yet

Are you bringing your waffle iron home with you? You can probably gift that to the ward or something!! Just be sure to give them your secret recipe!

No I don't think so, if we have one at home I will leave it with someone

Did you try anything new this week? Teaching? Approach? Food?

We tried this one style of tacos called "Alambre" which I like a lot. It's like the meat is all fried up with peppers and cheese and spices. Big fan

Tell us about someone in the ward that you admire/look up to.

The O family. It's a family that some members had told us rumours about when we got to the area, but they have been the complete opposite. The dad went with us like 4 times this week to visit L who's his neighbour that is going to get baptised in 2 weeks and he brought us with some other less active families as well. Just super willing to help out whenever he can and never complains even though she wasn't there and we had to wait for her a couple of times.