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.