Week 51 Letter

Monday, May 19, 2014

Famlee!

Well, I don't have too much time, but I figured that maybe I should send you all a letter ;P

This week was a good week. As far as weather went it was awesome, high eighties all week. They say it gets super-hot here, and I am looking forward to it. If I get transferred this next week I would like to get shipped down south to the Algarve for the summer. There it gets super-hot too.

This week we have been trying to work with some investigators to get them progressing. We taught an awesome first lesson to a couple named Maria do Carmo (not the same as last time) and Fransisco. If you haven't noticed, the Portuguese are very conservative with their names... there are only about 20 names, and the rest are combinations and variations. Anyways, the lesson went well, but they didn't come to church. This week we will see if we can get them committed to baptism.

Thursday I hit my year mark on the mission. It has been an incredible year. I really look forward to this year. I am going to really push it, and really dedicate myself. I am going for 100% consecration. I want to be like Alma and the sons of Mosiah. I hope to have an experience similar to Amon, but we'll see... hahaha...

Wow, I need to think of something else, or this is going to be a really lame letter.

This week there was a half marathon here in Régua. At least, they finished it in Régua... The village isn't even half a marathon in circumference, so they had to start 13 miles out of Régua and then finish here. The race was called ''The most beautiful race in the world''. I don't know if it really is, but I wouldn't doubt it too much. The roads here curve in and out of beautiful mountainsides covered in green layered vineyards. I wish I could have run in it. 

Well, I realize this wasn't my best letter yet, but I am going to wrap up. I need to catch a train to Porto. Tomorrow we will have a special conference with Elder Kearon, a counselor in the European presidency. I am excited!

Love you all a ton!

Elder Lee

Hey mom!

I am doing well. Don't complain too much about the hard time running because I know you are still a much better runner than I am...

I wish you would have told me about the package earlier... I could have helped you put it together. The candy didn't do too well in the trip because of the humidity and heat, and I still haven't eaten all of it. I don't really have too much of a taste for candy. However, there are some things I could use. Teeth whitening strips would be great; you can buy them with my card. They have them here but they are of course ridiculously expensive. You still haven't sent it, have you? Transfers are next week, and I don't know if I will stay or not. Maybe it would just be better to wait until next week to send it and then send it to my actual address.

Anyways, things are alright. I am a little buried right now with things I have to do, a lot of them not so fun. On top of that Maria do Carmo and her husband dropped us =/ Also only 2 of our 10+ committed investigators made it to church. Also, Eufragio won't accept a baptismal date. Blah. Also, Eder and Ze are offended and said they weren't sure they were going to come back to church because they are being criticized by members so I have to have a not so fun meeting with Zé and the family to help them understand that they need to change some things, and I still don't know how I am going to do it without offending anyone. Sometimes it is hard carrying a branch on your shoulders. But it is still worth it.

The weather has been amazing.  As for the package, I just thought of floss; the real stuff would be great. Here you can buy floss that is like running a piece of barbwire trough your mouth for kind of expensive, or the real stuff for up around 7 euros a small container. No wonder no one here has teeth...

Also, as a treat, maybe chicken in a biscuit crackers! It must have been the spirit that told me that, because I had forgotten they existed...

What should we do about glasses? I set up an eye exam in a different shop which was free, and I will see how much they will sell glasses to me for. But that's not until Wednesday.

Elder Alves is good. We have a conference tomorrow with guess who... Elder Kearon! I don't think he will remember me, but I sure remember him. After the conference in Porto we will go to the hospital, hopefully for the last time. I will buy glasses here. Make sure I have plenty of money in the account, because it is going to be quite a hit... I will be rich when I get home though. I mean, one paycheck back home will cover the glasses twice over at least, so I shouldn't complain too much.

Well, I love you and I hope you have a great week.

Elder Lee

Week 50 Letter

Monday, May 12, 2014

Famlee!

Man, it was so fun to hear all of your grown up voices yesterday! You are all so cool! Cameron, you sound like the guy who does all state insurance commercials your voice is so deep! Hahaha

I had a great week. We didn't hit our goals this week, we came close though. It was pretty good considering we lost 3 days of work while we were in Porto for Zone Conference and hospital visits for Elder Alves. Elder Alves is doing well though; it looks like he has some form of Epilepsy, or however it is spelt. He doesn't have full on seizures, but it causes him to lose motion in the left side of his body for a few seconds several times a day. They have him on a medication now, and it is already happening much less. We will return to the hospital again next week, but hopefully it will be the last time.

Yesterday was awesome. We had a miraculous 4 people in church. It wasn't the number that was a miracle, rather the people who were there. We had been praying all week that we could get people in church, and we had a good number committed to come. When we didn't see our committed people showing up on Sunday, we started getting a bit disappointed. However, just before we entered the hotel to start the meeting, Rosa Maria arrived, and had brought her sister with her, who seems super awesome. What a blessing Rosa Maria has been! After that, a man who our leader of the group, Zé, had invited showed up as well. After that a man who had been to church a couple of times showed up. We wanted to invite him during the week, but we couldn't find him. He came without even being invited. Last, an investigator named Pedro Alves who we had committed to church came hobbling around the corner. He was in a terrible accident year’s back, and now has very little control of his body. He has to walk with a cane, and as he walks his body sways from one side to the other, very out of balance. He had walked all the way from up the hill down to the hotel to come to church. What miracles!

I spoke in church again yesterday. I think it was the best talk I have ever given, mostly because of the fact that I didn't really give it. I mean, I was the one saying the words, but the spirit was filling my mouth with the right words to say. I spoke on Charity. I hadn't even planned to speak on charity, but when I got up and stood in front of our little congregation, I couldn't speak about anything else. The Spirit led me. It was awesome. I love feeling the spirit like that. I could tell by the faces of the investigators and members that this was exactly what they needed to hear. There was a high councilor that was supposed to come and speak, but he couldn't make it, so we were left with only me as a speaker. Zé told me to speak but if I didn't use the whole time he would have Elder Alves speak. I spoke the entire time, without even realizing it. I thought I had spoken 10 or fifteen minutes, leaving plenty of time for Elder Alves, but when I sat down, it was already time to end. It was so cool. The Lord is so aware of our needs, and I am thankful to be an instrument in his hands to help bring his messages to these people.  

Well, this week should be a good one. We are going to start teaching Rosa Maria's sister hopefully, so pray for her. Her name is Maria do Carmo.

Tonight I am going to make pancakes for a Family home evening dinner in the house of Zé, so wish me luck with that...

I love you all so much. Thank you for your prayers and support. You are the best!

Love,

Elder Lee

Week 49 Letter

Monday, May 5 2014

Famlee!

How are you all doing? Happy birthday Becca! I hope you hare having an awesome birthday, or maybe by the time you read this that you already had an awesome birthday. I know how it is with our family though, so you are probably having a birthday week! I hope you guys all had a fun week.

I had a good week, but once again one of the best highlights from the whole week was Sunday. We only have 2 hours of church here, starting with gospel principles, and then Sacrament meeting. It makes sense that we have gospel principles because all of our members are recent converts, except for 2. Gospel principles was great. We talked about sacrifice. Éder, Zé, Ricardo and Rosa Maria were all involved in the lessons, voluntarily. They were reading, answering questions, and asking questions. Rosa Maria pointed out that she had already made a sacrifice walking all the way to church in the hot sun even though doing so gives her headaches. It was awesome.

During sacrament meeting, for the first time Éder, Zé, and Ricardo all blessed and passed the sacrament together. Ricardo used the white shirt and tie I gave him a couple weeks back, Éder used a shirt that Maria and Zé gave him, (Zé as in leader of our group, not Cabo Verdeano Zé. I know it might be a bit confusing, but in Portugal there aren't a lot of names.)  And Zé used a shirt that Elder Alves gave to him. They were all in white shirts and ties. It was a beautiful sight. We had our testimony meeting. Zé, leader of the group, bore his testimony first. Then his daughter in law Cristiana bore her's. After that I got up and bore mine.

To my surprise as I sat down next to Ricardo, he stood up and walked to the front of the room. He bore a powerful testimony of the book of Mormon, possibly the most powerful I have heard on my entire mission. He talked about how he prayed and received an answer to know that it is true, and talked about the change it made in his life, and how that also bore testimony of its truth. It was incredible. He said amen and sat back down next to me. As I put my arm around him, Éder got up and walked to the front of the room. This really surprised me because Éder isn't one to stand in front of people and talk, especially without anyone encouraging him to do so. However, there he stood bearing testimony that this is the only true church of Jesus Christ on the earth, and expressing his gratitude to us for helping him find it. Like dominoes, as he sat down, Zé stood up. Zé is the most quite of all of them. When he talks in his quite voice, using imperfect Portuguese with a strong Cabo Verdeano accent, you hear the words are coming straight from his giant heart. It was incredible. He too expressed his gratitude for having found ''[his] brothers Elder Lee and Elder Alves'' and that Éder had invited him to church those few weeks ago. He explained that since the very first time he stepped into the church he has been a completely different person ever since, filled with happiness.

After the 3 had finished, Elder Alves stood to bear his testimony. As he did so, I put my arm around Michel, who was sitting on the other side of me. Michel is a man with 34 years or so. If you looked at him you would guess he was about 24. He has a young face, and a soft mannerism. He has depression among other mental challenges, and is reliant on medication and his parents, living at home, working with his dad from time to time because they aren't sure if he is capable of holding another job. He isn't autistic, he can drive and do other things, he has full control of his body and can carry a conversation without any problems at all; it’s just that he doesn't have self-confidence. He is extremely quiet, and can't talk in front of groups of people. When he says prayers in church he says a prayer of about 10 seconds and then sits back down quickly with trembling hands. I love Michel. Anyways, there in sacrament meeting, I put my arm around him and whispered in his ear, ''It's your turn Michel.'' His hands instantly started shaking a bit, and he started to explain that he can't do it, that recently he has started taking less medication so it has been even harder and so on, but I grabbed his hand with my other hand and whispered., ''Michel, you can do it.'' I put my hands back at my side and left the rest to him. After Elder Alves finished bearing his testimony Michel stood up, wiping his sweaty hands on his jeans with his white shirt only half way tucked in. When he got to the front he stood without saying anything, just breathing deeply and trying to hold his hands from shaking. He was looking right at me, so I gave him a reassuring nod trying to say, 'you’re already up there, now you just have to talk!' He nodded back, and then gave the sweetest testimony. Just amazing. He said amen, and walked back to his chair and sat down. I put my arm around him and gave him a big squeeze. He leaned over to me and said in his not-so-quite whisper, ''I have been a member of the church for 12 years. That was the first testimony I have ever given.'' My eyes got a little wet (allergies). I was so glad I was there to see it.

To close the meeting Rosa Maria said another perfect non-Catholic prayer. It was probably the favorite Sunday of my entire mission.

Well, obviously the mission is going great. I'm never coming home, you can't make me! Hahaha, I am excited to talk to you all by telephone this next Sunday. I hope you have a great week; I love you all so much!

Hugs and Kisses,

Elder Lee

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! BECCA!!!!

PARABÉNS!!!!!!!

Happy birthday Becca! I just wanted to tell you how much I love you...

A LOT!

I sure miss you! You are getting so old! Is that a gray hair I see? Does this mean you get to go to dances now? And wear mascara? YIKES! Becca is growing up!!!

Watch out for those boys. You tell em' I'll knock their teeth out when I get home...

Love you!!!!!!

Elder Lee

Hey mom!

How are you? I have a couple bits of news, and neither is drastic, but they aren't good either. 

1. I can't Skype home on mother's day, just call. Our mission president is cracking down on us, he is pretty strict, but it is a good thing. I love him. But I do wish I could Skype home. A phone call is hard with all the kids =/ i really wanted to see your faces =(

2. I have to get glasses. I did an eye exam today because I have been noticing that my companion can see things from a far that I can't read. Well, went in, and turned out that I solidly need glasses. I don't know how it works with insurance or anything.

I only did an eye exam because it was free. So that was good. I know the mission has insurance for us, but I don't know if they will do glasses. Probably not but I will talk to sis Fluckiger tomorrow in Porto during zone conference.

President is just getting stricter. In his last letter he added a bunch more rules. It is good, but I don't like the fact that now we can't play soccer. So much for any P-day activity =( all they do here is play soccer.  No elders can Skype home. We have good Elders; it’s just that President Fluckiger is inspired to be stricter. We have the white handbook, and then 3 pages of additional rules from President Fluckiger.  And playing football?  Hahaha... football... nobody here knows what American football is; we couldn't play if we wanted too =) And they don't have any basketball hoops here in Regua. We literally can't play anything else because we don't have anyone to play with unless we play soccer.

 To call home I will need to use a calling card, but don't you have one already?  I will have to call you; you can’t call me.  I will buy a calling card. You all just be home and ready around 12 o clock.  And don’t worry about no soccer.   I don't really need to do anything to physical on p-day... I live on rice and beans, do rigorous exercises every morning, and walk at least 10 miles a day... I think I am alright. But yeah, I really like playing. It relieves a lot of stress. We usually play soccer with a group of Portuguese Jovens and Africans. I don’t know how long I can call for.  The white handbook says 'preferably no longer than 30-40 minutes'. It will go quick, but it will be good.

 As far as medical stuff with Elder Alves, we still know nothing and will be in the hospital again Tuesday and Wednesday, which means we will lose even more time to work. Aye yae yae

Just plan on getting a call from me on Sunday around midday.

I love you a ton! Elder Lee

Week 48 Letter

Monday, April 28, 2014

Famlee!

Another week for the books already! It was a great week. I don't have a lot of time again today, so I will hit the highlights.

This week we had the baptism of Rosa Maria. She was baptized by our group leader, Zé. It was awesome. Yesterday she was confirmed a member of the church, and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was awesome. She made quite the 180 degree turn going from hard core catholic to Mormon. The Gospel changes lives. She offered the closing prayer during sacrament meeting, and gave a great, Latter-day Saint prayer. She didn't even end in the name of the father son and Holy Ghost, but in the name of Jesus Christ. It was awesome =)

Also, yesterday in church both Éder and Zé received the Aaronic priesthood. First Zé was conferred by the President of the Ramo of which our group makes part, and then Zé laid his hands on Éder's head and conferred the priesthood upon him as well. Zé had never been trained on how to do this. He repeated the words of the first part, word for word as president told him what to say, but when it came to the blessing, president quietly said, 'now it's you'. I won't say I didn't peek to see the surprised look on timid Zé's face. You should know that Zé is very quiet, and doesn't have a great gift of speech. There was silence, and I wondered how Zé would handle it. He took a deep, calming breath, and gave one of the most incredible, if not the most incredible, blessing I have ever heard. When I said amen I had tears in my eyes. There were my two little recent converts having an incredible experience with the priesthood. It was powerful.

As for me, I am great. I am excited to talk with the Fam in a couple weeks for mother's day. Today I strayed from my diet of beans and rice and experimented my cooking skills in making a pasta salad. I think tomorrow I will go back to beans and rice.

I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Lee

Mom, 

I got my hair cut.  I included before and after pics fo you and I even did them model style - just for you.  Love ya!