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