Eat Cactus when in Mexico! And enjoy "snow"!

May 22nd

This week was nice because we worked more in our area! I don't remember if I told you but a few weeks ago we received a referral of a sister that has been to church lots of times, has been going to institute and that wanted to get baptized! She's gonna get baptized this week! She was sick the whole week and yesterday she couldn't go to church because of it, like didn't even go to university, so we thought we would have to change the date, but we went to visit her last night and she told us she prayed about it and feels that she shouldn't wait! Great example for her family. Only sad part is that I barely know her because it was all so fast hahah. 

O, our X-drug addict has had a hard time with letting go of smoking :( but this week he stayed put the whole sacrement meeting, but he has to stop smoking completely this week if he is gonna get baptized on the day we have planned so please pray for him. Also his mom went to church again and she LOVED it even though she says she's super catholic and is never going to change :) 

We also had our zone conference this week and it was one of the best I have been to! President asked the missionaries who are converts to share their stories, and it was very spiritual. The thing they said was that they don't remember anythig of what the missionaries taught them, they just remember how they felt. We have started focussing on giving our investigators experiences instead of just lessons. We have to do things differently! We have also been focussing a lot on the sacrament in our lessons, and even though the invitation to church and the invitation to the sacrament are almost the same, there is a very different spirit when we teach about the sacrament. 

Scott Wolff does get it! The work is never over! I like your spiritual thought a lot mom, feel free to share it on my blog, and also I was reading in Matthew 10 this week when Jesus called his apostles and it goes along with that too. Spiritual thought:

It’s about being part of a royal army. "Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I sent for many hunters, and they shall have them from your mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.” Jeremiah 16:16
President Monson said, "the priesthood represents a mighty army of righteousness – even a Royal army. We are led by a prophet of God. In supreme command is our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Our marching orders are clear. They are concise. Matthew describes our challenging these words from the Master: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” (Matthew 28:19)

I will keep Sam Palmer in my prayers, that boy has too much potential to let something like that slow him down, he is going to be a very good missionary. 

Thanks for everything that you do for me! I love to tell people about the blessings of the gospel I have seen in my own family, and try to live in a way that represents the fruit of teaching our children the principles of the gospel. Keep serving with all your heart, might, mind and strength!

Love you all!

Elder Lethaby

May 29th

Hello!
This week was one of the best I have had in the mission honestly. I feel like the Lord is pleased with my progress in the work, and personally. 

M got baptized! She was the golden referal that had already gone to church lots and was going to institute and wanted to get baptized before we started teaching her. 70 people were at her baptism so we had to have the service in the chapel, she has a lot of family that are members. Her uncle that is in the picture was in the font with her and started crying and took a while to baptize her because he was way too happy! After, she shared her testimony about just how good she felt, even if she didnt know everything, she knows it's true because she feels it. That's all we need. After the baptism, her uncle came to us and said, "Thank you Elders, you have no idea how long we have been waiting for this moment." We honestly didn't do much, what did it, was the faith, example, and prayers of her family. She was so prepared and I know that she will serve faithfully in this church for her whole life (and more). I also know that her family will soon follow. 

We also started teaching a man whose girlfriend of like 15 years is a member, but he hasn't been able to get baptized becuase she can't (or hasn't) gotten a divorce from her previous marriage. He talks about how he wants to get sealed in the temple and do baptisms in the temple, and he knows his ancestors are getting impatient with him. We decided to talk to the stake mission leader who also happens to be a lawyer and we explained him the situation and he said he can get them divorced and married again in less than a month! After 15 years of waiting, another prayer is being answered. 

We should never lose hope, or think that our prayers aren't working. Sometimes God needs to test our obedience and patience. I am so grateful for the opportunity to work as the hands of the Lord and for the moments I have had when I know that I have been an angel in the life of someone else. This is His work, we just get to help. But it is so cool to help!

Have a great week, thanks for all that you do for me!

Love you

Elder Lethaby

Questions Answered:

May 22nd

How goes the sister who had the dream about her grandpa? Getting taught?

Mmm havent talked to her because she's not from our area, but her daughter went to church this week (she is from our ward) and we have a FHE (Family Home Evening) with them both tonight so we will see :)

What lesson did you learn this week? Life lesson? Money lesson? Spiritual lesson? People skill lesson? Companion lesson?!

That we can really trust in prayer. We had a lesson with a family of only women because the dad was working and the brother that was gonna go with us canceled so we had to teach outside, but then it was gonna rain so we said a prayer and even though there was thunder and lightning all around us, the rain didn't start until the closing prayer :)

Is it getting hot again? Even in the evenings?

Today it was very hot! The house is always hot at night and cold in the morning. But overall yes it's getting hot

Is it weird that you don’t really get that many more daylight hours? It’s light until about 10:00pm right now here at home, and the sun is up before 5. LOVE IT!

No but I do tell people about that a lot and they don't believe it

Do you have any regrets on your mission so far, and how can you make sure it doesn’t happen again?

Not really because I have learned from them all, and I wouldn't be able to progress without mistakes. 

May 29th

Did your referral sister get baptised?

YEEEEEE she got baptized real good!

How’s Oscar doing on his smoking? Buy him big packs of gum!

Mmm not too good :( 

What hard life lesson did you learn this week?

I learned to be more punctual; a family we were going to teach left when we got there 10 minutes to the lesson and when we called them they said "well we were waiting for you at 8:00 like you told us you were going to come."

Name some service your companion did for you. Name a service you did for him.

My companion always does little things for us when I am showering or calling someone that I don't notice until after, like call the lunch appointment for the next day to give them their reading asignment or just get things organized. I have to repent because I can't think of how I served him this week, hoping that means it has become so normal that I don't remember and not that I don't serve him. 

Any new foods you tried? New region sometimes means new foods (or spices).

We eat gorditas, nopales(cactus), and tlacoyos. Those are some very comon foods here. (Note from mom: See the pics I added from the internet)

SNOW!!!!

 Zone Conference (Elder Lethaby back, center and Elder Barfuss far left)

San Juan Totolac 

We saw Pyramids - pics

Hey we went to a place called Cacaxtla today and also to a bull ring and it was fun but we don't have much time now so I will just share this weeks hits:

we had a cool experience with another reference of a member who went with her friend to the temple on Saturday. We went to visit her after and she told us that she had a dream a little while ago that she was in a room with her grandpa and her kids and that her grandpa (who died a long time ago) told her to take care of her kids, and that when she went to the visitors centre, she recognised the pictures of the temple from that dream! 

We started teaching a woman and her sister who went to church with their uncle when they were little but now they haven't gone much but then she got a blessing and was healed and started going to church again in another ward and institute by herself but now we are gonna teach them and hopefully their family and they're gonna get baptised. 

Recent converts went to temple for the first time, the girl I sent a picture of a lil while ago and her dad and brother! First time I have seen that happen with people we taught or baptised! 

Talked with the fam and it was nice. :) I am so grateful for my family. I feel like I have changed a lot though hahah.

We have been so happy and busy and we have spiritual experiences every day! LOVE being a narry.

Love you all so much!

Elder Lethaby

Pyramid Visit

Elder Barfuss 

Pyramid 

View from the pyramid

Bull Ring

Sacrament is Personal

YEEEE

I like what you said about enjoying it all and not getting to stressed and just work hard and have faith but ENJOY it!
This week I learned an important lesson about that. In a meeting with President Nelson and a few other missionaries this week we were talking about the importance of the Sacrament and that maybe by focusing more in that, more investigators will come to church. We learned a lot about the importance of that up to the point that we decided that the key indicator of "Investigators in sacrament meeting" will now be "Investigators who are there for the sacrament" meaning that if they get there late, it doesn't count! I think President has a very good point, if we aren't participating in the way Heavenly Father wants in the sacrament, nothing that we do in the week really counts! We have to teach that to the investigators to change the culture of the church! We applied that this week and I was able to have a more spiritual experience and enjoy the moment to sit still and think about how I can improve in my service, and love this week. Presidente also said something like, "The whole week we are to be thinking about everyone else, but during the sacrament is the only time the whole week that you can think about yourselves, so enjoy it!" So glad to come from a ward where almost everyone gets there early!

We also had our MTC for members activity this week and it was honestly really spiritual. We talked about some ways that we can share the gospel, but the main theme was forgiveness. When the ward mission leader suggested that I was pretty confused, but then I got it. How can we build up a ward if the members don't get along? Someone new will come and they will feel the contention right away. We watched a video from Elder Holland that I don't know what its called in English but it talks about just letting other people repent, don't dig up the past. And then we showed the way we are going to work with them! We have been working with the members so much that honestly we don't have too many investigators, but these last two weeks, the result has been that the way we find new investigators is by contacting them in sacrament meeting because their friends are bringing them! One sister brought a friend and she is also gonna take her to the visitors centre in the temple this Saturday! I like the way we are working and I think we will start to see a lot of success now. Love the things I am learning on the mission every day. Love my Saviour Jesus Christ, and I know that we really can talk to our heavenly Father in prayer. I hope everyone is happy and free of stress at home! See you next week! 

Love,

Elder Lethaby

P.S. Got to work in Teotlaltzingo for the first time since I left the area and a brother that we started teaching in my last week there is gonna get baptised and I got to teach him again! 

Questions Answered:

Did you make it to the pyramids?No the youth and YSA of the ward had the day off so we all went to play soccer instead but next week!

How are your eyes doing? Still 20/20?I think so! haha

Do you wear sunglasses?Never

Did Cinco di Mayo (probably butchered that!) go away pretty quietly, or was a it a big deal?Hahaha honestly didnt even realise that was a thing. We went to Puebla for a meeting that day and that's literally where all of cinco de mayo started and we didn't see of hear a thing.

Who are you teaching right now, and what’s the best thing about one of them?We are teaching one man named O that is the brother of a member in the ward and he used to have SUPER heavy drug problems but then he went to rehab and now he isn't using drugs (still smoking) but he wants to change a lot. He can't control his body very well because of the effect of the drugs and so he is like really really shaky to the point that others have to feed him. Despite all of that though, with all the health problems, he made it to church for the first time and today we are gonna invite him to be baptised! Lots of problems but he is showing a desire to change.

Short!

Wowsers! Elder Barfuss is in our zona hahaha so we decided to go to their district meeting this week so I could see him hahha and my companion did a practice with him and was pretty surprised by how well he's doing with the language. We gossiped a bit too :) I think we are gonna invite them to go see some pyramids this Monday too! Good guys, him and his trainer are twins haha. 

Gained the trust of the members a lot I think because we decided to go visit ALL of them and work with ALL of them and today we are going to 2 FHE's (Family Home Evening).

The singing in lessons is going good, brings the spirit a lot and then they remember who else needs to hear the gospel. Mmmm ya that's about all I got time for haha so sorry, will write more next week. 

Highlights of the week cuz not much time:

Taught a lesson in a tree, kinda fun I guess, but didn't go to church :(

F got baptised :))))

Love ya

All good here. 

Elder Lethaby 

Questions Answered:

How’s the new companionship working out?

Just great! He's got a lot of experience and good ideas of things we can change and improve here but also is very humble and open to my ideas and I feel more confident about everything now. I am still the junior companion but I feel like we are very 50 50 in everything :)

Do you want help with ideas for doing a Family History Fair?

Sure!

Will you be able to Skype on the 14th (Sunday), or will it be on your regular p-day?

No the 14th is our plan

Favourite scripture this week…most meaning or “aha” moment?

In Alma 10 where it talks about the way Alma as a missionary was working with the members (Amulek), and we are going to share it in a bit in a FHE. Should read it and think about how you can help!

Dead dogs but kinda pretty?

Hello!

We had changes today! I'm still here in Totolac but now with Elder P from Monterrey, the second one from there! He is another very good missionary haha. He has 19 months in the mission and is super humble and obedient and diligent from what I have heard. Super excited to be here with him! I don't know why I have been so blessed with good companions, but this time I think it's because we have a lot of work to do in the zone. The 3 district leaders here all have less than 6 months and are all Americans that don't speak much Spanish and 2 of them are district leader for the first time haha so we had a lot of questions from them today. Also like 15 of the 22 missionaries in the zone are arriving today, 4 areas opening their area. I know a lot of people won't get what that all means but just trust that it's crazy. 

This week was hard but we also learned a lot. We had to travel a ton (6 hours one day) so we weren't in our area much but we started our project that we are going to do with our new ward mission leader. He just got back from his mission so its kinda like having another companion. We are going to visit EVERY member of the ward and teach a lesson with 1 Nephi 8 that we prepared that includes praying on our knees and singing hymns and really, really invite the spirit. Then we are going to invite them to think about the blessings they have received through the gospel in their lives using this story and invite them to a missionary activity that is gonna be like an MTC for members (CCMM). It will cost us a bit of work and we might not see the results right away but we are confident that it will work and we basically plan to assign members as district leadesr that we will call every night and they will work to complete goals of how many friends they will invite to church in their "District". There are people who haven't found the truth just because they don't know where to find it, and others who haven't shared the truth just because they don't know how. So we're gonna teach them! I sent a bit of this plan to Bro Velazquez so I hope they can do something similar in our ward. The members have to help and I know they are willing in the Tuscany Ward, we just have to learn how.

READ PREACH MY GOSPEL! 

I have been very tired but I feel the spirit pushing me on. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that he love us so much! This is His work and if we don't embark in it, we are missing out on so many blessings. Help the missionaries, trust in them, pray for references to give them. That is how we have been able to have success here, and I know we will have more soon! 

Love you so much!

Elder Lethaby

Questions Answered:

So, did you get your box of treats? Take a picture so I can get a deal!

still no :(

How’s the rain…still wet? Does that mean your area actually has a spring, with trees blooming and flowers coming up?

No isn't raining much and its pretty brown with dead dogs a lot but its also kinda pretty 

If you had to make a list of qualities you want to improve on, what would they be?

Being friendly, being less serious, being more humble, studying better, and seeing people like God sees them.

Have you listened to the conference talks and then taken action on anything? What?

The talk that you sent me a quote I think about acting on the first impression, gotta do it or God won't trust you 

Who have you observed exhibiting kindness this week? What was it? What did you learn?

A sister woke up at 6:30 to cut our hair this morning because we had to go to Puebla for the changes and Elder N had really long hair hahaha

Where are you reading in the Book of Mormon right now?

I am reading in Alma 45 or something around there. Bien power 

Who is your favourite person right now and why?

Well Jesus Christ but that is always so I will give you a more temporary answer. Elder N! Because he honestly taught me so much about why we do this work. I understood before that we had to do it and that we had to work hard, but he taught me to do it for the right reasons and that is something that I really needed that will change my life. 

Did you get special Easter dinners…new traditional foods?

*Semana Santa dinners* because Easter isn't really a thing here. But no not really honestly haha the food was the same. 

Have you had Mole yet?

Yes we eat mole a lot!

Elder Barfuss got here today (cousin of Ben) :) Now I am not the only Canadian and he has a very good trainer. 

2 weeks in one (because mom was busy getting through training!)

April 10, 2017

Ugh so sorry for being bad at emailing, its the second most stressful part of the week (next to waiting for the investigators to arrive at church).

One family that we were thinking about dropping at the beginning of the week had a super powerful spiritual experience and the one sister was literal on her knees crying begging her Father for forgiveness after just a super simple Book of Mormon story. This book is so powerful, if I have learned one thing in the mission it is just how true that book is. She didn't make it to church but she talked to her boss and he's gonna let her take Sundays off now so that she can go to church! And her mom and 2 kids went to church! One of the kids was super bored and hungry in sacrament meeting but then he left primary HYPED! So I think they will keep coming haha. Every time we teach them, more keep coming. Honestly we felt the spirit carrying us from lesson to lesson, guiding us so much this week, and I feel that its because we (I) am learning so much about humility, something that I never knew I had so little of until I got to this area. 

A super weirdly large number of people died this week here, like every excuse we heard for why they couldn't go to church or why they had to change the appointment was that someone died, so I get to testify of the plan of salvation this week lots! 

I have been helping my comp with his English a lot this week haha trying to get him to teach me in English with the Book of Mormon  and he normally just says, "Book of Mormon, I love you!" But really that's all they need to know!

I love my Saviour so much, and I am so grateful for the opportunity He gives us to progress and change and repent in this life. He has helped me progress so much with the language (by the way that really was a miracle how real the gift of tongues is), with my teaching, with my diligence, with my patience, with my ability to stop judging others, with my ability to use the scriptures. I have so far to go, but I really have now seen His hand in bringing me to where I am today. I know He has a perfect plan, even if the experiences we have are super horrible, we can learn so much from them. I know that God answers prayers, that the authority of the priesthood is real and on the earth today, and that we can literally become like Jesus Christ one day all thanks to His atonement. I love my Father so much!

Loving the mission because I am learning and progressing a lot, but Elder N is also helping me learn to enjoy every moment of it too!

Love you all!

Elder Lethaby

April 17, 2017

​Hey how are you!

This week was kinda weird because its semana santa and that means everyone leaves so there was nobody home and they have some super different traditions. 

We were in our beds at 11 at night and a parade passed by and they had a guy dressed up as Jesus and other dressed up as the saints and they walk them down the street whipping them and kicking them and stuff, pretty violent, but also an exciting surprise before sleeping. 

We were kinda bummed because it was hard to teach and find, but then on Sunday a ton of people got to church and we got 2 new investigators who we grabbed them both to teach them after and they both accepted baptismal dates! One who used to go with his grandparents when he was a kid and he remembered it and liked it so he decided to go back this week. 

We learned a really good lesson this week on splits with another missionary from Peru. He had the goal of 4 new investigators in the day and it was 8:40 at night and he was almost gonna go back home but I told him we had to go keep looking even though it was super late. We said a prayer and then we started walking really fast and the first door we knocked we found a family that they had contacted before but couldn't find them again and we taught them and found his investigators even though we had to run super fast to get home by 9:30. Prayer works!

We also baptised the 9 year old boy of the less active family we have been working with this week and his older brother brought a nonmember friend to church on Sunday that we started teaching! Super powerful experience in the baptism, his aunt was there giving a talk and I don't know what she said but everyone was crying hahaha he's gonna serve a mission. 

We got a new ward mission leader too that is a recent rm(returned missionary) and he's super excited. I love him so much! We have a plan that I'm gonna send to bro V of how we can basically turn the ward into a zone and get all the members helping us. The members of the church are SO important. We have to read D & C 4 every day I think to understand really how important it is. I have been serving with all my mind and strength but now I'm learning the need to serve with my might and heart too! :) Love feeling the spirit, and plan to do it as much as possible this week.

D&C 4

1. 1 Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men.
2. 2 Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.
3. 3 Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work;
4. 4 For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul;
5. 5 And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.
6. 6 Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.
7. 7 Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen.

Love you all.

Elder Lethaby

Questions Answered:

How goes the Prince of Peace initiative for Easter?

www.mormon.org 

Haven't heard about it! Easter isn't really a thing here haaha its "Semana Santa" and they are more into worshipping images and I think some people get nailed to crosses and stuff, so stay tuned, could be an exciting week.

Busy Catholic holiday all week…any special rules for you missionaries?

As of now haven't heard anything, most people leave the little towns, so I think it should be pretty quiet.

How’s your blue-house family doing? Hopefully they recognised the Spirit when they felt it again.

Ugh they feel it but they weren't there when they said they would be and when we looked for them again we just found one son and had a super spiritual lesson and he just said the feeling is like vibrations from the universe or something

Do you ever get to use FamilySearch as a missionary tool? Invite people to the church to do family history? Of course I asked this!

Mmm not much but one sister asked us to organise a stake wide missionary and family history activity this week so we are planning on getting on it

Have a wonderful, dry (?!) week!

not raining too too much, just a lil

Art we won in the ward activity because we helped with a game of gospel trivia.

The beginnings of Semana Santa from the roof of our house in Totolac

"Las casas azules" 

Pushing through, progressing, promises and the Philippines!

Super powerful friends I have. (after reading a few blurbs mom sent him last email from all his friends on missions)

Also I don't really know the Philippines very well but they're getting another temple so that will get some people hyped!

Honestly a pretty big turn around week, things are looking up! We found so many new investigators this week, a family that got baptised 12 years ago that lost contact with everything about the church because they moved to these blue houses in the far corner of our area but yeee pretty cool stuff. Lots of people accepting baptismal dates, now we just gotta work with the members so they can get to church. We trained in the zone conference about using the book of Mormon to teach with people's needs using the example of a doctor (Elder Navas) who gave pills for every part of the body BUT the part the patient actually needs. We do that a lot when we just teach the same lesson from the same pamphlet to every investigator. It turned out very powerful, and I almost cried from the spirit which was cool. Learned so much in the divisions with the assistants too, this Elder and my companion both have the gift of discernment and I didn't understand how important that it, because so often when we leave from the lesson, they will tell me something key about the person we were teaching and I will say "How do you know?" and they just say they can feel it, even with things like "He was sweating in the lesson because he has to pay his lawyer money this weekend or he's not going to be able to keep seeing his kids." Like things super specific that we later find out are true. When we know everything about these people, we love them and can teach them better, but lots of times they don't want to tell us things like that because its personal. We first have to listen with the intencion to understand and then listen to what the spirit will tell us. I have started to apply this and it is so cool. Loving Totolac.

Conference 

I might not remember who said everything because I left my notes in the house, but what I learn overall is that we have to be humble. President Monson taught me that without saying it because he literally has more power and authority that any other person on the earth right now but he spoke so little and he spoke about things so simple like the book of Mormon and loving one another. That can be applied in the mission too because we shouldn't speak about deep doctrine or argue with them, we should teach doctrine that saves. I also learned a lot from Elder Bednar-  I think when he talked about how it doesn't matter where we serve (calling in the church, assignment in the mission, kind of mission that we are serving, companion, area, in the street, in the store, in the house, in our quorums, etc.) it just matters that we are serving. I had always heard that before, but hit me hard this time. I'm so sure these men are called of God. I heard in the zone conference that if we feel the need to repent after a talk or lesson or experience, it was a good one, and I feel the need to repent now so that's good!

That's it for now, I am so grateful to be serving the Lord in this area, I love him so much and am so grateful for the guide of his spirit in my life.

Love

Elder Lethaby

Questions Answered:

Do you have rubber shoes you can wear in the rain?

No, might buy some soon. 

Have you asked yourself, “How am I doing?” And….?

That was a question I wrote in the conference, "Is the Lord happy with me right now?" And the answer I found was in another question, "Are you progressing?" I think this week I really did progress lots, focusing a lot on developing gifts of God right now and I think it's helping, gift of discernment is super real and powerful and my companion has it a lot. 

Do you keep your promises?

Good question, guessing it was inspired by the primary presidents talk? Honestly not like I should. Even if it's a small promise like "We will arrive at 4:00" and we arrive at 4:05, it's through these small promises that we learn to make bigger promises and covenants with God. 

Who is someone who inspired you this week?

We had splits with the assistants this week and Elder D inspired me a lot. We went to look for a contact from the day before and they gave a false address and I felt a bit bummed out because we had climbed a really long steep hill to find this woman, and I started walking to the next lesson kind of slowly, but this Elder started knocking doors before I even turned my head and the third door we found a father and his 3 kids who are going through some hard times and we taught a super spiritual lesson and they all accepted baptismal dates because he didn't let something like that get him down. Pretty cool.