Miracle

Wow the group is small! (mom here...Joel's....ahem...Elder Lethaby's response to the group of kids at church is getting smaller as many head off to school or missions!)

This week was crazy wowsers! Honestly my mind doesn't stop now, like I wake up in the middle of the night thinking of ways we can teach something, or members we can bring to a lesson or things like that. I don't have time to think about home or Christmas or anything and I LOVE IT! I am so much more busy now with responsibilities but also with progress in the area this week. We had some really good days to start off the mission of my hijo. \

I want to tell you about a miracle!

We were at the church on Saturday for a baptismal interview with the Zone Leaders and a lady and her daughter walk up and knock on the gate so we go greet them, she asks if we have a picture of Jesus, I told her no but we have pamphlets with him, can I show you the pamphlet and explain a bit about it? She was excited and accepted, then she asked for a "special prayer" because she has been sick for 4 years. My companion gave her a blessing, and we then taught her about the restoration of the authority by which we gave that blessing. After the lesson she told us that she was starting to feel better after 4 years of being sick! She then asked if we could go to her house and give her family special prayers too! So we went and taught her other son. The 3 of them accepted baptismal dates and live close to the church and want to come this week! They have 2 more family members who weren't there too! 

We are never at the church at 6:00 on Saturdays, but because we were being obedient, the Lord put us in the right place in the exact moment to find this family. I have seen their faces before. God lives. 

My companion is awesome; he is a convert of 3 years, and knows the scripture really well and applies them to people. He came pretrained. Glad president knew I needed a pretrained comp. He teaches me lots about hard work. He's funny hahaha. 

We got a little cactus with a star on top and we are getting all ready for Christmas, will send pix next week. 

Dios nos ama, mucho animo aquí,

Elder Lethaby

Questions answered:

What do you cook for yourselves? Anything? Do you have time?

No time, pure frosted flakes

History’s most powerful lessons weren’t taught in a classroom, but on a hillside, aboard a ship, and along the dusty roads of Palestine. Like Jesus, we can find important teaching moments anywhere. Where have some of your interesting teaching places been?

Mmm we have taught in the street with dogs fighting between us and the investigators!

Shane wants to know about your transfers and where you’re at.

I'm staying in Teotlaltzingo and I will be here total 6 months (or more), training Elder S.

How do they decorate for Christmas in Mexico?

Pretty much the same haha, but less real trees. There's red white and green all year though- the flag.

Do you have somewhere to go Christmas day? Will you be taken care of?

Hoping giving lots of lessons, but to skype there's 2 families who said we can come, so we will be with one of them I guess, but I like one a lot so probs them.

What new doctrine have you learned about this week?

hahah I guess the doctrine of time management haha it's really busy as DL and trainer especially when you don't speak the language 100%

What are your new responsibilities as a DL?

Baptismal interviews, nightly calls with every companionship and zone leaders, plan district meetings, teach district meeting, umm probably more but I'm learning.

ESTE ES MI HIJO AMADO (This is my beloved son)

On Wednesday President Nelson called me and said "Elder I have some news for you, ready? You're gonna train a new missionary next week." I was like WOW OK and then he said, "Elder I have more news, you're gonna be district leader too."

So yee here I am with my baby boy Elder S from Mexico and he is a treat! Super hyped, 19 years young, 3 years in the church and puro animo! We are gonna have a lot of fun and get a lot done, I think we will get along well. 

I am super excited that the Lord trusts me with the responsibility to teach such a great missionary already. He honestly is gonna kill it. I don't have much time because we just got here and we have to be home at 8 tonight because it's a catholic celebracion of the virgin Guadalupe so I guess it's dangerous, but ye we hyped! 

Elder Lethaby sporting "the tie"

#LIGHTtheWORLD even in Puebla, Mexico

Ahh yes I was wondering how to say #iluminaelmundo in English haha. But ya we have been sharing that with members and less actives and even investigators like every day. Puro poder in that video. Dang lots of Christmas hyped going on here. Gotta get a picture of the hacienda (no idea how to say that in English) with all the lights. Our neighbours have singing lights so we listen to them all night. 

J blessed the sacrament this week with a white shirt and Samuel the lamanite tie that I gave him. Honestly so cool to find someone, teach them, and then see them perform an ordinance for me like that. He memorised the prayer. His grandson started listening this week too and wants to get baptised. Hoping I can stay here another change to see someone I baptised baptise someone else. Leaving would be cool though too, I like change. 

Last night we were watching the devotional (https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/archive/christmas-devotional/2016/12?lang=eng&cid=HP_SU_4-12-2016_dCN_fEVT_xLIDyL1-B_) and listening to a talk (forget by who oops) but he talked about how weird it would be if we all gathered around the tree on Christmas morning, looked at the presents and then left and continued with our day without opening or using them. That's what we do with spiritual gifts all the time! Yesterday we were also with this member who can't walk too well, lives alone in a very humble home, but has the strongest testimony and fights through the pain to take the convi to church every week. I have a hard time understanding him so I normally don't talk much, but yesterday when we were about to leave he told me to come to him. Then he said to me that I don't talk much, but when I do it's exactly what he needs to hear. He then gave me a kiss on the hand (don't think that's normal here either but in the moment it was really tender). I have this gift of being in tune with the spirit and receiving the guide of the spirit but I haven't opened the gift (opened my mouth to speak more). I don't have the language barrier to hide behind really anymore, so gotta go full commit and just talk a lot! I also learned that the secret to happiness in the mission is contacting, the only indicator that I can control and still leave people with their agency. 

Overall pretty good week, love living here. They are so into parties. Like this week one day they had a block party on every street with like 6 foot tall stages with bands playing, pretty unexpected in a little town but pretty cool. 

Dios nos ama :)

Yo les amo

Feliz Navidad  

Elder Lethaby

Questions Answered:

When are transfers?

Next monday the 12th! 

Did you get your box that E was mailing?

No not yet but could be in the offices who knows! I did however get a letter from the primary, a letter from Oma and the tie and sunnies from Elder Palmer! Still haven't read it all but much appreciated. 

Any traditions you’re going to miss this time of year? Chill!! You’re making new ones!!

snow hahaha. But no like they have lights up and stuff and we watched the broudcast last night and we don't have hot chocolate but we have atole which is better :)

Are you and the ‘boys’ writing each other? Even if just a line or two?

Some of them send me like the whole letter but I don't have time sry boys but ya like a few of them a line or two.

How goes the “get happy and smile on my mission”? Having more fun?!

getting more into it, we call that "animo" here :)

What acts of service have you observed this week?

Elder P is really into serving me which is nice, almost every day when I get out of the shower he has my shoes shined or my shirt ironed or something like that. Good guy. Also we have been doing some of the ideas in the thing on lds.org

What does the Saviour’s birth mean to you? (yes…a heavy one!)

Pure hope. Pretty cool to think that even from His birth we have such a perfect example.

Love ya

Who should I send the tie to next and can you get me their address plz!? I will send pics nex week. (Promises, promises!)

Bit of a cold theme this week!

Hi everyone 

Well, its starting to get cold here,whipped out the heavy coat twice this week! There's frost on the cars in the morning and stuff too but the afternoon it's short sleeves again. Really pretty here when there's snow in mounts. 

We baptized 1.5 people this week! J and almost M, like really, really close. She was all dressed in white, and we put her in a chair and carried her into the font (was very scared I would slip), but when she got to the water, she started crying and like screaming! We put her in the water and tried to do it quick but she was so nervous and cold that she wouldn't do it ;-(. It was really hard but we are gonna try to figure something out so we can have a private baptism in another chapel where the hot water works (we were there from 8 in the morn 'til 5 trying to get hot water but it still wasn't very warm). Still have hope with her, and the ward wants to help pay for J and M to get married, so that's good. 

J though, so so special. I got to baptize him for my first time! He bought his white shirt and pants and brought like 10 fam members to watch cuz he was so hyped. Showed up an hour early. When he came out of the water he was just laughing and smiling and I realized in that moment that baptism is not just symbolic, he was literally fully clean and ready to start his life again. He has some stuff in his past, but now that does not matter at all. His wife isn't a member but was very happy for him and she came to church so maybe now we can start to teach her too! Honestly so happy to have had this chance to be lead by the spirit to find this man. He recieved the priesthood yesterday. 

J is the short, older man in the back.

We found lots of people to start teaching this week, some with a lot of potential. Things are looking up! 

Love you all!

Elder Lethaby

Questions Answered:

Has anyone Mexican commented on your Canadian flag on your bag? And what was it.

Oh ya forgot to tell you but President is ok with backpacks so I don't use that bag now, so no comments, but before some people got hyped. A lot of people here think Canada is in the states too so they get a bit confused. Lots of trump questions. 

How is your health? Thinking you should take a multivitamin…just being a mum here!

My health is 100% and I am taking multiitamins, president told us to because he's a doctor. Also we got shots this week at zone conference.

Are you collecting any recipes? You should!!

I will get on that because there’s some good stuff, getting more into making this one kind of eggs that I don’t know what they are called in English.

What was a highlight of your week?

BAPTIZIN

What was a second highlight!!??

ALMOST BAPTIZIN (will give more details)

Try Smiling

Dang scotty looks like he is having a really good time! 

That's something I think I have forgotten, we were with a member last night and he hyped us up talking about how when we are having more fun, laughing and smiling more we are not only more happy but the work increases also. We have been so focused on working hard, teaching as many lessons as possible and so serious about it that I think we forgot to enjoy ourselves. We can work hard and have fun! We need to be more creative with contacts, smile more in lessons, and show the people that the gospel brings happiness, not just tell them about it. 

This week honestly was very hard again. We have to walk a lot and people don't have cell coverage in most parts so sometimes we arrive and nobody is there after walking half an hour. Our numbers were low, and we didn't use the time that well. LEARNING though. 

Last night though we had 4 baptismal interviews and we will see between 1 and 4 baptisms this week! J is for sure and the rest could be but 2 need to get married and one needs another interview with president. That was a highlite. We have exchanges with the zone leaders tomorrow so I really think we can learn a lot. One of them did the interview with the couple last night and when they finished they both had changed so much. I do not know what he said but I know that the spirit finally hit them where they needed it. I think he will be here working with me tomorrow so I am hyped! 

Ate lots of tacos and tamales this week, starting to get really into the culture, like every meal has to have salt and lime hahah. The stake president came to our ward (like a parish) on Sunday and got the ward hyped because if we get attendance of 120 they are gonna renovate and make a bigger chapel. We had 93 yesterday and when we arrived (in the area) it as in the 60's! 

This less active brother who had big big problems with drinking started coming again and we are working with him to prepare him to baptize his daughter in December! 

Hard week but lots to look forward to. I think this week everything will change. 

Love Elder Lethaby

Questions Answered:

Where's your favourite place to go so far in your mission?

favorite place? idk whereever the people will listen .

Where do you feel most at home?

mmm theres a young couple that I can understand pretty well, they always wanna help and we have the same watch so probs their house. Or the church

What part of Mexican culture has become a part of you?

Phrases like "Hijo de la tostada" or "que cosas no?" but also some of the food I am really into, normally eat like 10 tortillas every day. 

Who can we pray for this week?

Pray for J and M, they had a pretty big change of heart and were hoping they can get married this week. Last night they went from maybe we will get baptized to we wnt to get baptised this weekend so I hpe they can get in to get married.

What scripture did you find this week that was meaningful?

Ugh theres one in D&C but I forget where but it talks about how whenever we get a blessing it is the direct result of following a comandment. Helped some investigators 

"Keep Calm and Keep Knocking" - how I signed off on his email, and here's his reply!

Pretty sure it isnt legal to knock doors :( we dont do it, Elder Perez still hasnt given me a straight answer if it is or not but one time a security guard thought we were knocking and he yelled at us so idk

I Speak Spanish in My Sleep

This Elder Wolf guy sounds like a treat!

This week I really learned a lot; there so many things you can learn - wow. Lots of problems coming up with investigators that we thought were perfect, which can be hard because you really love them and know how awesome their lives can be if they can just let go of the past ugh. J is still gold though, got permission to baptize him in 4 sundays instead of 5. Honestly the last few weeks have been pretty discouraging but I am learning a lot about consistancy, patience and hard work. We are trying to change the way we contact, the way we teach, and everything because someone put it pretty simply at a conference, "If you want different results, do different work." Crazy that I already have 3 months in the mission, new missionaries arrived this week and I felt really good because I realized how much I have learned. Like I remember being in meetings and not understanding a thing but now I understand pretty much everything. It's so fun speaking Spanish. I love reading the Book of Mormon too. I always have read it but now I really look forward to it. I think reading it in another language makes you focus more so you learn more. We can go on splits now with youth and I'm just fine teaching without Elder Pérez. We went to Puebla for a meeting this week and we contacted the whole bus on the way there, "Lift up you voice with the sound of a trump" or something. Lots of people here say 'eh' too which is funny, even americans have picked up saying eh at the end of sentances. Idk what else to talk about so sorry.

Love being a missionary,

Elder Lethaby

Questions answered:

What have learned about yourself this week?

This week I learned that I really need to improve my teaching skills. Before I think I thought that if I work really hard success will just come but the quality of the lessons matters a lot. The questions you ask can make or break someones conversion.

Is snoring an issue in your apartment? Heard about one companionship where it was so bad, they got special permission from the President to have separate rooms! Haha!

No snoring, but turns out I talk a lot in my sleep, a few times Elder Pérez has woken up to me speaking Spanish in my sleep saying, "Hola Hermano, ¿como esta?" I practice contacting in my sleep and dream in Spanish. Last night I dreamt that we met President Monson as a family and he really wanted a selfie but I was bummed because the camera on our mission phone is awful. 

New favourite food?

We had some really good tacos with old investigators this week, idk still tacos I think. Really into mango tang too.

Temperature these days?

mmm some days like 25 some like 10, rained a lot this week which was rough, like a lot a lot. 

Are the Mexican’s revving up for Christmas? Lights and trees are going up here.

Not really yet actually, but we did get contacting cards with the christmas message on them "Ilumina el Mundo".

What kind of service have you witnessed this week?

We don't really have planned service projects but we are pretty good about helping people just carry bags of quick stuff like that. 

What’s your favourite thing to teach?

Str8 repentance. And first vision.

Day of the Dead and I don't like P-day!

Treats for Deceased

Path of Flowers for Day of the Dead

Yeeee another week where we were super busy, didn't teach many lessons but still kinda got lots done. 

We went on splits with some priests in the ward on tuesday and Elder Pérez and the priest he was with found this couple - M y M and they are hyped! Well more him than her but still. We taught them 3 times this week and the most recent one he said he feels like these things are filling a whole in his heart that he didn't know was there, almost a direct preach my gospel quote. We hadn't even taught him chastity yet and he was like I think I feel like I need more unity in my home so I wanna get married and his gf was in the room and they hadn't talked about that yet, I don't think. So it was funny but also like super powerful. They didn't make it to church because he couldn't change work but they wanna get tized! 

J is amazing too, we taught him about tithing at church and he was like ok I wanna start paying so he just gave all the money in his pocket and he's like ya I'll pay tithing. Some people are soooo prepared and it makes me feel the need to work hard to find them because I know there are more people waiting. 

Got Shane's letter and Oma's letter this week! Thanks to them a lot :)

Changing the district here a lot, closing one area and putting 2 companionships in another area so that's why we were busy with that stuff this week. We now have 4 hermanas and 2 elders in the district. Crzy!

Overall very hyped, don't really like pday because I just wanna work but we're still lavando por mano so that takes a lot of time. 

I can feel a very succesful week coming, we are gonna work with members ever day so that will help a lot. 

DIOS NOS AMA!

Elder Lethaby

Questions:

Should we have sent rain boots?!
no it has rained like once a week lately so we all good.

Have you had Chiles en Nogada yet? or Cochinita Pivil?
no havent eaten those things but people talk about chiles en nogada a lot soIm hyped for when i do :)

With Elder P being DL…do you get to do any sightseeing at all on P-days? Pyramids? Old churches?
No pyramids, but we see lots and lots of cool churches, I will try to get pics this week.

Advice for David Henry: That's a different country , so i don't really know much about it, but with the language, study churchy words a lot like Expiacion, Capilla, Barrio and stuff this week. Anything helps so you dont get rekt too hard

Any bad food yet? Either that tasted bad, or was actually bad and made you sick?!
Mmm not really anything like super bad tasting other than mac and cheese. Mole last week made me a bit sick for like 3 hours but like didn't effect the work or anything so no not really

What kind of service did you offer this week?
Helped a lady carry some dirt :)

Who is someone you really admired this week?
This guy in the bishopric Hermano H, he really got hyped to help us and he's 23 and has a kid and wife and school and work but is still trying to find time to help us.

Pan (bread he buys every day for about 15 cents!)

Joel's Companion