Happy Birthday Mom!

Hi mom! Happy Birthday! I was doing a baptismal interview the other day and when I wrote down the date I realised your birthday was in 2 days and I got hyped! 

This week was good but kinda hard cuz Satan is working hard out here. We had 3 baptisms lined up for the next 2 weeks and on Sunday family members arrived with 2 of them on Sunday morning, so they couldn't come to church, and the other lil guy´s (Y) grandma who's a member and takes him to church, went out of town. Not much we can do but keep working hard. It's very true what you said about remembering always that it's by the spirit, and not by us. Every baptism is a miracle. This stake is very active, which sometimes leads to be competitive, and then the work sometimes loses the spirituality. It's awesome that the stake is so active and excited though. We have seen a huge change in this stake in the last few months. 

This week K (our recent convert) got called as the YSA leader in the ward. She is so active and I honestly think she will serve a mission. She has read the whole BOM! Her parents who have been very, very against this choice, have even started asking her about the Book of Mormon! So happy for her :)

M who was baptised last week is also going to the activities and even signed up to teach a cooking class in the relief society activity this week!

I don't remember if I told you last week but we started teach the brother (I) of a recent convert with his 3 sons last week. They couldn't make it to church on Sunday, but they are also super excited to be baptised. He even attended a baptism this week with his son. Such a good, sincere, man, that wants nothing more than a better life for his kids than he has had, and he's looking in the right place.

This week I also had a very proud father moment hahaha. My companion has progressed SO MUCH! The first few weeks were very, very hard on me and I think even harder on him. It has been so hard for him to understand the mission life. But every day his prayers are so sincere and the Lord answers them. The ability to speak with elegance, or smooth talk people is not the way of the Lord. He has been such an example of that to me, and the Lord has blessed him for it. It's like in Ether 12, WEAK THINGS BECOME STRONG! I honestly feel like he could probably be a senior companion when he finishes his training in 2 weeks and when he arrived I was worried about whether or not he could make it through his training. Such a miracle. 

Happy birthday mom :) Love you so much and next year I will be there to eat some Chinese food with you guys! And next Christmas, and next time it's dads birthday and most other holidays hahaha. 

Have a great week and enjoy the pics. 

Elder Lethaby

Questions Answered:
Any more issues with bed bugs...or is that ongoing and just a Mexico thing?

In this area, still nothing. I have had them in 3 of 5 areas. 

Is the Zika virus a thing there (from mosquitos)?

They say it is, but there are very few mosquitos right now (and in general), so I am not worried about it. 

Tell me about a great place you’d take me for dinner for my birthday in your mission! Could even be a members house and we’ll be sure to visit them when we come visit your mission!!

We tried a new taco place that just opened up last week right by the church called "Los Cuñaos" (the brother-in-laws") where they make tacos of carne asada with guacamole, 6 different kinds of salsa, roasted onions, etc... pretty cheap, very urban/rusticy design, and very good food.

The "Tlaxcala Norte" zone (bautizona)

A lil trt 

 Our hotel house (nicest in the mission!)

Baptisms, Investigators and Converts...Oh My!

This week was awesome again. M got baptised! She is more active than all of the members hahaha.The bishop went with us to a lesson this week and she was already asking for a calling! So happy for her. And I got to baptise her! First time in a while. 

We also found a new investigator this week whose name is Y and his grandma is a recent convert who just moved to our area. He is in a wheelchair, and can't walk but immediately accepted to be baptised even though his parents aren't too hyped on it but grandma is down to bring him in the wheel chair every week. I feel a lot of love for the lil guy. 

Also, the uncle of M (who we baptised in January) came to church and brought his 16 year old son. After church we went to go teach them and the dad and his 3 sons all accepted to be baptised! Lots of family members who are members of the church that can help out though. 

I know that I am here for a reason, in this area, with this companion, and at this time. So many people have come into our lives and I know it's not by chance. God has a plan for us and knows us by name. He loves us and watches over us always. 

Love being a missionary! :)

Elder Lethaby

M got baptized!!!

Joel's new Mask

Some Stairs in Our area that are Nice and Famous

Shoutout to Brother Fibke and the Boys!

Hahaha love those salsa verde chips, I ate them like every day in the offices. 

(Note from mom...we had these on our trip to Loreto, Mexico...new favourite for the whole family it appears!)

This week we were able to baptise N! She was hyped and even though very few went to the baptism it was very spiritual. The bad news though is that they are going to move out of the area this week! Hoping the new ward can visit them and help them be active members. The jeans at a baptism thing is very normal here, we are just happy to see them :) 

M is also going to get baptized this week! She went to both sessions of stake conference this weekend, goes to institue, had an interview with the bishop, met the stake president, met the mission president, went to the relief society activity, and the autosuficience classes. More active than the bishop I think! 

I've been pretty tired lately, but I am very glad I have a companion who is very excited and energetic in every moment. He doesn't understand a lot of parts of the mission yet, but his heart is in the right place, and that's not something you can teach. The rest will come with time. 

The bishop took us out for a pizza after stake conference to congratulate us for the baptisms we have had. I felt like I was going out with Brother Fibke and the boys like we always did back home after a conference, loved it. I have some really good friends in this ward. One couple who were baptized a year ago just got sealed in the temple and feed us every week at least once. They spoke in stake conference, and the brother is president of young mens and goes with us to lessons every week. That's the dream for our converts! 

Lovin my mission, so glad I took the choice to serve. It's like President Steele (our Stake President in NW Calgary) said about how he accepted to be a stake president when he was baptised. I accepted to serve a mission with all my heart, might, mind, and strength when I was baptised. 

Love the Lord and the miracles he gives us.

Love

Elder Lethaby 

Questions Answered:

Have you sorted out the issue with your landlord thinking you’re to clean the other houses?

Yup! We are only in the one house now, everything outside isn't our problem, and everything inside is her problem if it isn't working. All good

Are you still “rent free”?

No, we pay rent now and have just a normal contract. 

Do you ever teach Family History to the new people?

No, don't even know how anymore really 

Will you get a chance to go to the temple again?

Depends on the new president... right now President Nelson take everyone to the temple on the way to the airport but I don't know what the new president will do.

Elder Lethaby's Relief Society

So happy to see that pic of the Tagg family mom! You have no idea (maybe you do).

This week was awesome, we found a new investigator who listened to missionaries 2 years ago, wanted to be baptised, but lost contact. She accepted a baptismal date more easily than I have seen in my whole mission!

Got my waffle iron back and we had a district activity today with my relief society and made some waffles with whipped cream, banana, stawberries, maple, everything! (6 sisters and 2 elders). 

No baptisms this week for the first tim in like a month, but N passed her interview and will be baptized this Saturday at 11:00. You are all invited.

My companion is getting better and has a lot more initiative now. He doesn't understand a lot of things still, but that's just an adjustment of the mish. 

The house is finally running as it should, and things are going well in general. I will hunt down a mask asap :)

I think that's about all I got for you this week, so sorry.

Love Elder Lethaby

Questions Answered:

Did you get a carnival mask? It was in Loreto as well, but we didn’t go into town to see everything...just heard there was a carnival.

Still no, but I think next week we are going to go get one. 

Feeling any more humble at this stage of your mission than when you started? Tough to answer that...I know! Any specific circumstances that have humbled you?

I would say the lack of baptisms at some parts of my mission humbled me a lot. I was serving as a leader, but didn't baptise much like everyone kinda expects, so I was humbled a lot. Aso Elder N taught me a lot about humility and helped me see my weaknesses but also overcome them. Lots of good experiences have helped me with that.

Mormon.org Does Missionary Work

Hope all is well down there in Mexico (actually I think it's still up)! 

This week was awesome! We got a call from the Elders of Totolac saying that they had just taught and put a baptismal date with someone that lives in our area. Her names M and she looked up the church on mormon.org and found the missionaries number and asked them to teach her. She went to our baptism this week and went to church, and in our last lesson asked if she could be baptised sooner! Miracles exist! She was even asking us what are the hardest questions we get like attacking the church so that she could prepare herself to answer them. The lessons are super weird because she already knows everything from what she's read and just wants to know about like deep doctrine hahahaha. She's like 30 pages into the BOM already. 

This week we had the baptism of C! He was so happy and started crying when he shared his testimony after the baptism! He got baptised on his 12th bday. His parents are divorced so he wasn't gonna be able to go to church this week to be confirmed because he was going to be with his dad who's not a member, so we were stressed but we had another miracle! He showed up alone! Hahaha how many 12 year olds are there that are so determined to go to church that they travel almost an hour in public transport alone to get there? Now we just gotta get mom more hyped! She makes awesome jello though. 

My companion and I are staying another transfer here in Tlaxcallan! Should be another transfer full of miracles and baptisms. 

This week the Carnival started. I will have to get some pics this week, but it's like a big party that lasts like 3 weeks I think and they dress up as the Spanish with white masks and feathers on their heads and dance around and close off big roads to do so. They also play really loud music late at night and early in the morning. Kinda sounds awful from how I just explained it, but I love it honestly. Gonna buy one of the masks but I think they are very expensive. YOLO though right? 

I think that's about it. All good here.

Love
Elder Lethaby


Questions Answered:

Want me to do anything for Caleb and Boston? Something I should get them?

Heard they are Elders now! Not too sure, maybe tell the missionaries to call them and get them to go work with them.

Opportunity to do service this week?

Only thing that comes to mind is helping an older lady who was trying to get a huge suitcase in a very crowded bus haha

When you think of the people of Mexico, what are some of your first thoughts?

La coca (coke) and regatón music hahahaha can't really explain it

Favourite scripture this week that taught you the most?

3 Nephi 9: 20-22 being like a little kid. We taught a couple that are fighting right now and she's preparing to get baptised so we taught her and him about being humble and willing to forgive and forget :) came in handy in my own life too.

Mission Bucket Lists

Hi mom,

Well R changed his mind again and didn't get baptised this week :( but K did! R came to our lesson on Wednesday and said he wasn't ready. He was baptised a year ago in a Christian congregation and he found a member this week that told him to really think it through, and he said he needs more time :(. The good news though is that he came to church early this week (still not in his white shirt though) and said he still wants to be baptised, just not yet. 

K was super ready, did I tell you she finished the whole BoM?! She even said the last prayer in sacrament meeting this week! So happy for her. Will send pics but now my camera is dead and we don't have electricity in our house. 

This week we had another miracle! The bishop told us of a less active recent convert whose son isn't baptised. He will turn 12 this week so the young men's president went with us to visit them. We invited him to be baptised on the 17th because he already has all the attendances he needs to be baptised, and he said "My birthday is on the 9th, can I do it this Friday?" We said yes and so now we are really rushing to teach all the lessons hahaha but we should have another baptism this week and actually it's looking like we will have one every week of this month! We didn't even know him last week, and this week he will be baptised! Already passed the interview and everything! Every baptism is a miracle, that's something I am learning right now. We have had our struggles, but the Lord is blessing us a ton. And the whole district too! Two areas in our district have families of 5 attending church and preparing to be baptised! That one is still on the bucket list for me. 

You guys are coming to Mexico? Learn some Spanish so that I can talk to you when I get home! 

Suggestions for the local narries in Tuscany. Ask the bishop if we have a ward goal of baptisms for the month or at least for the year and make the ward know that goal! Even if it's like 3! Also go ask the ward secretaries for a list that I'm guessing would be called the "list of accion". It's a list of like part member families and less active families with kids who haven't been baptised and stuff. I think sometimes we hope that all baptisms be huge miracles like knocking a the last door and finding a family of gold that goes to church that first week and gets baptised in a month, and sealed in a year, but sometimes there is a strategy to it as well. 

Loving the mish, thinking I probs will extend that extra week, also that week the new president (President Barron) will be there and I would like to get to know him a bit more all well. Gonna pray about it still. 

Love Elder Lethaby

Questions Answered:

What scriptures have really helped you this week?

3 Nephi 11 (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/3-ne/11?lang=eng) helped out a lot. We have an investigator who wants to get baptised and she's ready, but wants to do it with her dad who's not even close to being ready (works on Sundays and drinks). We shared with her how in that story Jesus invited them to come one by one, that we can have a personal relationship with him, and that just because she gets baptised first doesn't mean her dad wont get baptised. She accepted to be baptised on the 17th!

What scriptures have really been your “go to” on your mission?

I've been big into Mosiah 18 (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/18?lang=eng) where it talks about the covenant that we make when we are baptized, Ive also been big into 1 Nephi 17 and 18(https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/17?lang=eng and https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/18?lang=eng), 1 Nephi 3 (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/3?lang=eng), Moroni 10 (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/moro/10?lang=eng), and Alma 32 (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/32?lang=eng). 

Do you have a home? Tough to do that and do mission work, but I trust your capabilities all around!

Well honestly we kinda just didn't take the time to look for one, and they aren't kicking us out, it's just that there's now construction around the other houses that are beside ours. Also we currently don't have electricity hahah but that should be fixed tomorrow. So I think we kinda want to stay because it's a pretty nice house. We will see haha

Any new foods you’ve discovered that you can’t live without?

Avocado. 

Do you show your investigators your pictures of your family?

Honestly haven't done that. One of the current APs always does that, he puts a pic of his family on his planner to show people. Might get into it. 

Never Too Many White Shirts.

Hi Mom,

This week M and R were both baptised in the poderoso Tlaxcallan ward! M wasn't even sure she wanted to get baptised last week but had a great interview with Elder A and she asked him to baptise her after. Such a legend Elder A. R was super happy too, and this Sunday they were at church like 20 minutes early, which for us was a huge miracle (they always got there late). 

R didn't want to get baptised last week either, but after a really good talk with him, we figured out that it was really just because he was embarrassed to go to church in his street clothes (hes very poor, lives in a little room with a dirt floor), and he didn't have money to buy a white shirt. Luckily my mom (haha!) bought me tons of shirts before I left so I gave him one and a tie and he accepted to be baptised this Saturday at 3:00, you're all invited. He's hyped, and the ward is helping him a lot. Also K turns 18 today and can now take her own decision to be baptised this Saturday (also at 3:00). Super prepared girl. Maybe the strongest testimony I have felt in a convert in my whole mission. 

The ward is treating us really well too. A family invited us over to eat burgers this week in exchange for English help haha, they give us referrals, and new family moved in this week that was the branch president in a place called Zacatlan. Strong ward, but we need to keep it coming because they have the goal of 30 baptisms this year. 

This week we also had our first lessons with a lady named N who's married to an RM, and she accepted a baptismal date and came to church this week! Sometimes people have received answers that this is all true and they just haven't recognised it. In the lesson with her we invited her to pray right then and there to ask God if it was true and she didn't feel anything different, after that though, we kept talking about the experiences that she has had in the past and she told us that once she received a priesthood blessing and felt something that she couldn't explain, but that she wanted to feel again! There's your answer! Why are you still searching?!

Anyway, all good here.

Love Elder Lethaby