Christmas and Happy New Year!

Dear family and friends,

How are you all?

Christmas week was great! We got to Skype/call our families and it was awesome. Other than that the week was pretty normal. We started a read-a-thon as the North York Zone and we are going to finish reading the four gospels, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price together soon. It is a lot of reading and my eyes hurt after the 9th hour but it is worth it. I learned a lot from the Savior's teachings, ancient and modern.

I gained a better understanding of the scriptures and hopefully it can help us improve our lessons with our investigators.

Elder Cheng is doing very well. He is adjusting quickly and he is a better companion each day. I can feel the difference in the work and I'm really excited as school starts again because the work will be a lot busier.

Happy New Years everyone! God Bless!

Elder Lee

First week training‏ and Merry Christmas!

Dear family and friends,

This week has been a good week. Elder Cheng Ka-Yeung is my new companion and we are getting along really well. Elder Cheng is from Hong Kong, and he went to the Yuen-Long ward. We knew each other before our missions but now we are getting to know each other a lot better than before. He worked with missionaries for quite a bit in Hong Kong, so he started his first week like a pro. He is already very comfortable with talking to people on the streets and that makes us an effective companionship.

The weather hasn't been that good recently. Toronto was frozen by freezing rain 2 nights ago. Everything is covered by a layer of ice and it looks pretty but driving is not so fun. Power went out for some but fortunately not us. Church was cancelled which was pretty disappointing because the investigators couldn't come to church.

Anyway, the work is going well and we are shriving to be better missionaries all the time. We have already seen some miracles and it is going to keep coming.

Have a merry Christmas everyone!

Love,

Elder Lee

New Transfer! Training!‏

Dear family and friends,

This week has been a good last week of the transfer. We pushed ourselves(and our investigators as well) really hard and we taught the most lessons in a week that me and my companions ever achieved. The sad part is that Elder Hendricks will no longer be my companion anymore and he will be serving in the Cantonese East area. This also brought an exciting news as our mission president, President Scott, called us last night and told us that a new elder will be joining Cantonese work. His name is Elder Cheng and he is from Hong Kong! I have been assigned to train him. (I a dad!)

Being called as a trainer will definitely help me stretch even more as I will his example and show him how the work is done. I am also sure that I will learn tons from being his companion.

I usually wear 8 layers of clothing when we work outside so keeps me pretty warm. The temperature dropped a little bit and it has been snowing.

Also, I got a package that was sent from Aberdeen Ward and it warmed my heart. Knowing that I am supported by so many others and there are younger ones looking up to me gives me a lot of strength.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Love,

Elder Lee

4-month mark coming up‏

Dear friends and family,

How are you all? Time is going by quickly and by this weekend I will have served a sixth of my mission... I have spent a significant portion of time now here in Canada. Every week so far has been awesome and we worked hard. However, I think that it is time now for me to push myself even harder as I have practiced the basics and can now move on to the next level.

Our area has been improving and more of our investigators come to church as we work harder. We are trying our best to help them progress and I have a feeling that some of them will develop strong enough faith be baptized next transfer.

This week is exam week for a lot of our investigators so it is going to be harder to meet with them. We are also trying to get people to the Christmas ward activity to help them feel the Spirit.

May all of you open your hearts and feel the love of God everyday.

Love,

Elder Lee

Week #13/100‏

Dear family and friends,

How are you all?

This week that we just had was amazing. Our goal this week was to achieve the standards of excellence, which hasn't been achieved in a Cantonese area for a long time. We saw miracles that came because of the love that the Lord has for us. He cares about the work that we do.

Three weeks ago we were contacting at Seneca College and we talked to a student named Terek. He is from Fujian and he knows very little about Christianity. We got his number and we tried calling him a few times over the weeks. We could not get a hold of him. On Saturday night we were wondering who we could bring bring to church on Sunday. Since his number seems to be "dead", on Saturday we called him and decided if he doesn't pick up then we will stop trying. Surprisingly, he picked up. However, he said he was not interested. I tried harder to let him know how important our message is but he just didn't want to meet. We dropped him and decided that we would move on and never call the number again.

We kept calling some other potential investigators. Half an hour later, the phone rang. We picked up and could not believe that it was Terek. He told us that he had thought about it and he wants to meet us and come to church. We were so amazed that he had changed his mind. I know that it is the Lord that had done the work. I do not know how He did it but I can only be certain that He did. How often does someone reject you and then in such a short time call back and apologize and expresses the desire to learn from us? I'm not sure but it is the 1st time that it has happened on my mission. It is hard to believe that such courage and the humility came to him in just 30 minutes.

I know that you might think that it is just a coincidence. I do not think so. I choose to accept the fact that it is a miracle. I know that God foresees everything and because of the love that he has for us he provides help.

Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone. May all of you see little miracles in your life and thank Him for them everyday.

Elder Lee

Teaching in Cantonese is great!

Dear family and friends,

How are you all?

This week has been another good week. It hasn't been too crazy but we have been improving and making progress bit by bit. We have been spending a lot of time just talking with people on the streets and teaching them. This transfer is already half way over and we are working pretty hard so that we can see baptisms at the end of this transfer.

Teaching in Cantonese is great. Elder Hendricks is still working hard in learning Cantonese even though it is not hard to understand him at all!

We are constantly looking for referrals from so send us some if you know anyone who lives in Toronto(or nearby)!

Love,

Elder Lee

The Stone is Rolling Forward!‏

Dear family and friends,

This week has been a good week. This area is prospering and we are finding joy in the work. Elder Hendricks and I have been talking with a lot of people everyday and are teaching people on the streets. A lot of times the people we contact are Mandarin speakers. So my Mandarin is definitely improving. It is amazing to see how humble Chinese people are sometimes and how the Lord has worked on them before. Not too rarely do we find someone who is very prepared and it is very exciting and spiritually uplifting for us.

I have been thinking a lot about our callings as missionaries recently. Through the experiences I gained from here, I know that God really does help us, EVERYDAY. The conviction behind our voices and the feeling of the Holy Ghost testifies of the real reason why we do the work: to guide His children to become as He is.

I am thrilled for all the emails friends have been sending me about their mission calls. I know that each one of us can be a big part of the areas where we are serving or will serve in. The stone is rolling forward and we need to prepare the world for the Lord. Get working everyone!

Love,

Elder Lee

New Area! Canto!‏

Dear friends and family,

This past week was the last week of the transfer! I got a transfer call and I am going to serve in the Markham West area with Elder Hendricks staring from Tuesday, speakingCantonese! I have been so excited since I got the news, knowing that I can finally serve in my first language and I am hoping that it will be a good change. I am going to miss Don Mills South and all the people that I have met during this time. I hope that my investigators will continue to learn and be baptized soon.

So recently, for a special reason, I grew in my motivation to serve. I am really hoping that I will always serve with all my heart and will not regret anything at the end of my mission. Time is passing by faster than I would like it to and I realize that I need to be push and stretch myself constantly to become a more worthy and trusted tool in the hands of the Lord.

So day-light savings was on Sunday. I got an extra hour of sleep and that was nice. However, Hong Kong is now 13 hours ahead of Toronto (it was 12) and if you want to chat with me you might have to stay up a little later now.

Have a good week brothers and sisters!

Love,

Elder Lee

Canto Work‏

Dear family and friends,

This week has been an awesome week with my first Cantonese companion Elder Hendricks. We have been teaching a lot and Cantonese work is definitely going to take off in the coming weeks. We found a bunch of new investigators on the streets and we would just teach them and pray with them right there. People will stare at us when we pray out loud in public but I'm totally fine with it. It's just part of missionary work, ha-ha.

Our area is HUGE! It is the entire west half of the GTA. People up here in Markham and Richmond Hill are mostly Asian and are generally more humble than the people in the Don Mills South area. Also, teaching and contacting in Cantonese is unpredictable because I can't really tell if the person we talk to knows Mandarin or Cantonese until they respond. I would say at least 65% of them are Mandarin. I have never felt so grateful for knowing Mandarin. Poor Elder Hendricks would just have to stand on the side for those contacts though.

I met the family of Elder Aldus Wong, who I met in the MTC. They invited us for dinner and we taught a really spiritual lesson. The ward here is great because it is literally a big family. A large number of them are related and they are very helpful in doing missionary work as well.

Anyway, that is about it for this week. Hey if you have any friends that lives in Ontario please let me contact them. I know that the gospel is real and it will help people find joy in life. Amen.

Elder Lee

2 months in Toronto!‏

Dear family and friends,

How are you all doing?

As of tonight I would have been here for 2 months! I am having a really good time here in Canada. We have been working hard and talking to a lot of people everyday. I know that I have the help of God as I speak and the Holy Ghost speaks the message to that person's spirit. It is humbling to see that some people's attitude changes from rejecting to welcoming as the conversation goes on. It is not my eloquence but my obedience that does the work. Those people are the ones who recognize the authority that we represent and power that comes from the Holy Ghost through our voices.

It has been really busy and I had no time to write in my journal this week. Our investigator Lenny is 

trying to quit smoking so that he can be baptized on the 3rd of November. We are really excited for him and hopefully by next week he will be baptized. I will keep it updated.

Have a good week everyone.

Elder Lee

October 21, 2013

Dear family and friends,

This week has been another good week. The work is still going strong! How are you all?

Something special that happened this week was the Toronto Stake stake conference. It was good to hear from the authorities and it was my first time attending Saturday night adult session. It was also exciting to finally see the Cantonese and Mandarin missionaries in the stake. There was a couple of them that attended BYU: Elder Moore, Elder Hendricks and Sister Hsiung! I also met Elder Lai that is from the Ma On Shan Ward back home. I can tell that they are great missionaries and it will be awesome to work with them in the future.

I also met a recently returned missionary, Nathan Lim, who served in HK and has been back for 10 days now. It was great to speak Cantonese with him. The Lim kids are half Chinese and they are just awesome. They always love to help the missionaries in the ward.

I am so grateful for the help that I am receiving everyday by our Heavenly Father. We have been teaching along with members a ton. I am thankful for the opportunity to learn the gospel in my life especially when I see the people we teach struggle with their lives. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the way that the Lord has set up for us to be happy. 

1. Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement

2. Repentance

3. Baptism by Authority

4. Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost

5. ENDURE TO THE END

I have come to realize more and more each day that this is the way of life that the Lord promises us that we can be happy if we live it. Trials will still come but you WILL be happy with you live it.

It's so real.

I know that this Church is more than just a religion. It's all about God. Being a member of His Church is not just showing a belief, but infinitely more importantly is to LIVE the life of a Saint, someone that strives to follow Jesus Christ and learn TRUTH.

Have a good week everyone!

Elder Lee

A good week!

Dear family and friends,

This week has been good! We worked hard and were obedient. My companion and I achieved something in the mission called the Standards of Excellence. We have been working hard since the start of my mission and finally we achieved it this week for the first time. The Lord has promised our mission that if we are obedient we will achieve it and it has strengthened my faith in Him that He keeps His promise.

We doubled our teaching pool last week and now we are pretty busy teaching. We are truly grateful for the progress that we are seeing in our area. We are going to try our best to help them go into the waters of baptism.

We taught a lesson yesterday that was filled with the Holy Ghost. He gave us revelations of what we should say to them during the lesson. I know that Heavenly Father cares about the area and He truly gives us revelations of how we can help our investigators. This is His work.

Sorry for the short letter. Hopefully there's more time to share this week. 

Love,

Elder Lee

Conference Week‏

Dear family and friends,

This past week was a special week because of General Conference. All the work is done focusing on conference. We invited everyone to come and watch at the chapel or watch it online. We would just go up to a person on the street, introduce the prophet and invite them to church.

I have never been so excited about conference. As a missionary, I realize that what they teach during general conference was what I am going to be using in my teaching appointments. There were many talks that were inspiring and quotes that I am absolutely going to use when I teach. 10 hours of watching conference went by very fast as I enjoyed all of them a lot.

Our investigators have been progressing and two of them had set a date for baptism this month. We will try our best to help them achieve that goal. Satan is working hard on them and it is so crucial to let them feel confident in overcoming temptations. We had three investigators attend general conference this week. Nancy (the old Jamaican lady) enjoyed it very much and although she does not have a date for baptism yet, I believe that she is very close. She had many concerns before watching conference, particularly about Joseph Smith, and they were answered very quickly during the first 10 minutes of it. Heavenly Father knows what needs to be said to everyone and he does it through the inspired words from the speakers.

So that's this week. Next week will be Canadian Thanksgiving so preparation day will be on Wednesday instead of Monday. I will be online at about the same time (11am-1pm) and the same email (ernest.lee@myldsmail.net) if you want to chat.

Missionary work is great, especially here in Toronto where you can meet people from literally all countries around the world. By the way, the weather is getting cooler but a suit coat is still optional...

Anyway, talk to you next week! Keep praying.

Elder Lee

2nd Month in Ontario begins!‏

Dear family and friends,

How are all of you doing? How's work/school?

So my first month in Ontario ended two days ago. It was a good month. We worked hard so I feel like it went by really quick. However, it also felt very long because we did so much here. Living in the MTC seemed like a long time ago. As missionaries, we truly strive to use every second of our time wisely. There's no time to waste!

So the top news of the week is that Lindsey got confirmed! It was my first time laying hands on someone's head for confirmation in front of a congregation. It felt great and I'm excited for her. We will keep visiting her but it's going to be less than before obviously. We are going to focus more on our current investigators and Nancy is one of them.

Nancy is a super nice lady from Jamaica and she came to Canada a long time ago and she is at least 75 years old. She goes to another church and luckily their service is on Saturday. She came to sacrament meeting yesterday and I was surprised of how many member came up to her and greeted her. She felt welcomed and I think she would like to come again. She doesn't quite understand the difference between the two churches. That kind of worried me at the beginning. Then I realized that it actually makes our job easier because if she likes the members of the true church better than the false one than it'll be pretty easy for her to get baptized. Then we can teach her the real difference between the churches(i.e. priesthood), and also the how the doctrines different.

We also taught this Bengali, Muslim family yesterday. They were contacted 7 years ago and they were surprised that after all those years missionaries still keep track of them. So we taught them about the restoration and they said they would be baptized on the 27 of Oct if they find out that the Book of Mormon is true. It is going to be interesting to see.

Elder Cowley left the companionship on Tuesday and it at first it was a little weird to serve with just Elder Binford here in Don Mills North. It forced me to talk even more and it was good practice.

Also, we went to the temple on Saturday and it was neat. Temple trips are every 6 months and you have to be close to Brampton in order to go. It was a rare occasion and I am grateful for that.

Also, I looked up a map and I found out that from our balcony we can see the New York on a clear morning across Lake Ontario. So that was pretty cool.

Anyway, the work is great. I am doing fine and there is no need to worry. I am loving the missionary life and I am glad that I still have 95 weeks to do this amazing work. I know that I am doing the work of God. See you next week.

Love,

      Elder Lee

First Transfer ends!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

My first transfer in Toronto is over! Even though it was 4 weeks instead of the normal 6, I feel like I've been here for a long time now. Elder Cowley is getting transferred away so it's just going to be me and Elder Binford for at least 6 more weeks now. The tri-panionship is over and it will take a while before I'll get used to a normal companionship again.

Best thing that happened yesterday/this week/this transfer was that Lindsey was BAPTIZED!!! She has finally found her way into the waters of baptism. She has been very nervous about the baptism for the past two weeks. All the members in the ward are extremely friendly and that played a major, MAJOR, role in her conversion process. It is very nice to know that the ward is supporting missionaries and the work. I don't think that she will have any problems with going to church now, even without the missionaries. I spoke during Lindsey's baptism and it went great. After which we went upstairs to baptize her. She was so nervous to get in the water even after the doors were open and everyone was just staring and waiting quietly. It took her about a whole minute before she finally started walking into the font. When Elder Cowley started the prayer I was nervous. She is my first baptism! The baptism went well and then she bore her testimony for the first time afterwards. She started with "Hi, I'm Lindsey. And I'm a Mormon" Everyone laughed and it made us feel good because we know that the ward loves her already. I could tell that she definitely felt the Spirit when she bore her testimony. She told everyone that she felt a surge of energy in her right when she stepped out of the water.

I know that the power of baptism is real without any doubt. Sins can be washed away and I believe that that is THE REASON why she felt a surge of energy because the spirit within her can finally put down all of her burdens.

I cannot wait till next Sunday when she will receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost. She is going to be a great newest member of the Christ's church.

I want to tell you, my friends, that I know for a fact that this church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is TRUE and the ONLY TRUE church on this planet. Trust in God and He will tell you that same fact that I came to know for myself. Ask him sincerely if this is the true church. I cannot deny that the Book of Mormon IS THE WORD OF GOD and that this is His church. In the name of Christ, Amen.

Love, 

Elder Lee

September 17, 2013

Dear family and friends,

This week has been pretty normal. Nevertheless, we would always come home tired and ready to sleep so I didn't write in my journal. I don't quite remember what happened this week but I'll try to write them down.

We met with Lenny and Lindsey lots of times this week. Lenny was scheduled to be baptized on the 22nd. We basically contacted him everyday for the past week. He is trying really hard to stop smoking. Two days ago we took him for a  walk to the beach(of Lake Ontario) and was trying to get his mind off of smoking. Sadly, a couple hours after we left we called him and he said he gave in to temptation and smoked. After that he hasn't been answering his phone and I'm really not sure if he can be baptized this month. Lindsey, however is doing really well. Her faith is growing stronger everyday and she is very in tune with the Spirit. She is going to be great after she becomes a member of Christ's church. She is also trying to quit smoking and coffee this week.

The members of this ward has been really nice to missionaries and has fed us twice this week, plus one more tonight! It is a great feeling to know that members are involved in missionary work and that they care about us and the people we teach.

We also talked to some interesting people this week. There was this philosophy guy that claims that he argues for a living. He met him on the bus and he would not humble himself and listen to us. He went on explaining his theories for about half an hour. Just when we thought we would leave, another guy came up and claims that he has communicated with God and he told him that people are saved by just grace and not by work. We tried to explain to him that we will be judged according to our works and desires. Again, another prideful person that wouldn't humble himself unto God. The good news was that while we were talking to the second guy, a man named David came up and he was very humble and he truly wants to learn instead of arguing. We are going to contact him later and hopefully he will accept the true doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Keep praying and keep reading the Book of Mormon my friends, 'tis true.

Elder Lee

 Lindsey's last cup of coffee and last cigarette and Elder Binford...

Apparently name tag pictures are a thing

Almost 1 month!

Dear family and friends,

It has almost been a month from the first day I entered the MTC. My work here in Canada is great and I have been learning a lot. I am enjoying working with Elder Binford and Elder Cowley. We have been teaching the same investigators for awhile now and they are making good progress.

So yesterday was my second Sunday here in Don Mills. The ward is great and we had a baptism from the sister missionaries. We invited Lenny and Lindsey (our investigators) to come to the baptism so that they can get a feeling of a baptism and what they should expect. It is always very spiritual to see a baptism because you know that they can enter the Kingdom of God as they come out from the water. It is also nice to see the warm welcome of the ward members to the newest member of the church.

After watching the baptism, we talked with Lindsey for awhile and challenged her to be baptized on the 22nd. She was hesitant at first and she had many concerns and fears. However, the Spirit was very strong and that calmed her down. "Sure", she said, after what seemed like a whole minute of silence, she finally said yes to be baptized on the 22nd. We are all very glad because this is the first time in months of teaching that she is committed to a baptismal date. I am sure heavenly Father is also very excited for her baptism.

On the other hand, Lenny had relapsed and started smoking again. However, he has been cutting down on cigarettes and is also committed to be baptized on the 22nd.

I have really learned to love the people we teach. I am truly concerned for their eternal salvation. I know that baptism is just the first step but that small step is enough to fill me and Heavenly Father with joy.

So two of our investigators, our brother and sister, are committed to be baptized on the 22nd of this month. Please pray for them because Satan is trying very hard to stop them from eternal life.

That's pretty much what has been going on this week. I know that heavenly Father is on OUR side and I have no doubt that he answers our prayers. Pray for good, have faith in Him and Christ, and it shall be done.

Love,

Elder Lee

Week 1 @ Toronto!‏

Dear family and friends,

I am finally out of the MTC and is now in the city of Toronto. The first thing I noticed about Toronto is the diversity. I have never seen people from so many countries before. I have been assigned to serve in the Don Mills South area until the 23rd of this month.

On the flight to Detroit, I sat next to a Catholic lady that was really friendly. She is my first contact! It was a pretty good experience and at the end I challenged her to pray about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. She promised.

My mission president and his wife are very nice and they took me to a restaurant called the Mandarin in Brampton. Afterwards, I had my interview with President Scott and headed to Don Mills South. My new companions are Elder Binford and Elder Cowley. That's right, a tripanionship! They have been great examples of me and they will answer any questions that I have.

Lenny is my first investigator I taught. He has been taught a couple times before by the Elders. He is a 56 years old Jamaican man. We are helping him to follow the Word of Wisdom and he is trying hard to quit smoking. So guess what? We taught him about the Antinephilehites burying their weapons of war and asked him to get rid of his weapons of war, cigarettes. So we put all his cigarettes, ash trays and coffee in a bag. We went downstairs and he started digging a hole in the yard. We put those things in the hole and buried them. He should be getting baptized two Sundays from now.

Lindsey is a single mom and she works late on Saturday nights. Therefore she finds it hard to go to church. We invited her to a members house and we watched the Joseph Smith movie. She felt the Spirit and I think she has a testimony that this is the true church. I bore my testimony to her and invited her to be baptized. She said yes! However, she did not set a date because it is hard for her to arrange to attend church on Sundays. Especially when members of another church takes care of her daughter on Sunday mornings. So we are still trying to help her resolve that problem.

All in all, this week has been great and I have been improving a lot. I really hope that Lenny and Lindsey would be baptized this month.

I know that I am working for no one but God. He answers our prayers and He wants everyone to be baptized so that they can live with Him again. He has prepared people for us to meet and it is up to us missionaries to find them and teach them!

Talk to you next week! Feel free to email me btw.

Elder Lee

Us at the station. Elder Cowley is the one facing the Camera

Second week at the MTC!

Dear family and friends,

The second week here at the MTC was great! I am really starting to love it here and I'm sure I am going to miss some parts of it, especially the people I met here. 

Lots have happened this week and I don't even know where I should start... We (Elder Hoffman and I) have been teaching an "investigator". My teacher pretends to be her and we teach her lessons. Her name is Lauren and we teach her about every two days. At first the lessons  were rough. Elder Hoffman and I just didn't have any teaching experience and we were worried. Surprisingly the lesson went really well. After two lessons of teaching and helping her make commitments, Lauren finally agrees to get baptized on the third lesson after my companion and I bore our testimonies. Even though this is just a practice, I could feel the Spirit was very strong when we testified of the things that which we know are true. I was very happy that she promised to be baptized. It was an amazing feeling. 

Another thing I learned this week is to trust in the Spirit. I know that if I follow the Spirits promptings, God will put words into our mouths. We just can't fail because God is on our side. I know he loves his children and he wants every investigator to feel the Spirit and to follow Christ. I also learned to love our investigators. We should be friends with our investigator before we teach. When Lauren finally said yes to Baptism, I really felt like my sister is going to be baptized, it was amazing.

Apart from that, I have been hearing a lot of mission stories and testimonies from my teachers. I am so excited right now and to serve God. With faith, I believe I can help Him achieve marvelous things.

I have learned to develop a great relationship with my companion. We have companionship inventories three times a day and we just try to help ourselves and each other improve as much as possible. I'm going to miss him.

I would just like to tell everyone that you should never forget to pray. Just remember that our heavenly father is always there to listen to our problems. So pray! It's like calling your best friend, just talk to Him about whatever is in your mind and he will help and bless you. If you haven't prayed before, pray! Your best friends has been waiting to talk to you since the day you were born. He will be very happy to talk to you.

I'll email you again from Toronto next week. Don't forget to pray!

Elder Lee

Letter #1- First week at the MTC!

Dear family and friends,

How are all of you? The first week at the Missionary Training Center is great! 

I arrived the Salt Lake City International Airport on Monday Afternoon. Michael and Pili picked me up and then dropped me off at the MTC. That was it! I'm not going to see any of you in the next two years. I will miss you.

So the first two days were relaxed because I was just waiting for other missionaries to come on Wednesday. My first two roommates were Elder Gouttin from France and Elder Tubban from The Philippines. It was exciting to see missionaries coming from all around the world to serve God and preach the gospel. I met my Zone Leaders on Monday. They are Elder Faber and Elder Higgs. They are going to Mongolia next week. Coincidentally, I knew both of them before their missions. Elder Faber from Bountiful High and Elder Higgs from Helaman Halls at BYU. Small world!

After two days of waiting. I got my first companion! He is Elder Hoffman. He is from the bay area of California and he is going to Berlin, Germany. He is also 19 and he went to BYU-Idaho before he came here. He reminds me a lot of my roommate from last semester, Adam Hastings. Anyway, in my roommates are Elder Hoffman, Elder Ojeda(our district leader) from Paraguay and Elder Lucerna from the Philippines. These Elders are also in my District. There are also some sisters in our district(class): Sister Nikatina from Lithuania, Sister Rodelas from Calgary, Canada and Sister Bautista from California. 

I really like spending time with international missionaries in my district and zone. It reminds me of why I am here: Enter to Learn, Go Forth and Serve. 

Classes are good but I get nervous when I try to teach (fake) investigators. However, I know that I am getting better and if I do it in Cantonese I will have more confidence.

I have been praying a lot. Everyday I wake up and pray, I pray before breakfast, lunch, dinner, classes, companionship study, meetings, before I go to bed and I do companionship inventory three times, which starts and ends with a prayer.

Through prayer, I know that God lives! He loves us and he wants us to learn the Gospel. Always have faith in him and he will bless you. 

This is probably going to be the longest letter I will send during my entire mission. Even Preparation days are very busy. 

I have to go! Good luck and may God bless you with all your endeavors.

Elder Lee

Elder Lee-me!

Our room

Me and elder lucerna

Some Elders from our zone

Me and Elder Hoffman at the temple.

Me, Elder Hoffman, Lucerna and Ojeda (left to right)

Some of our zone (sister Lau tze hei from HK!)

Elder Hoffman and I 

Some Elders from our zone

Some Elders from our zone