11 May 2015 - Sean the Baptist

Dear friends and family,

Things are mighty swell here in Mexico! For those not present, I got to skype my family yesterday because it was Mothers day. Speaking of which, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Tomorrow is interviews with the mission president, so I am a tad nervous. Not for myself: I think I can handle anything he throws at me. I am more worried for my companion, but we wont go into that.

This next weekend is stake conference here and that means that Saturday is kind of like P day since we will only be able to actually work for three hours. Priesthood begins pretty much right after we eat and then we will be at the stake center until it is time for bed. I am not complaining because we will have a delayed P day because of the temple this next week.

The work continues to go strong as we continue to find new people to teach and continue to teach those that can progress. It is looking like we will be baptising a man name Jesus in a week or two. We just need to prepare for it.

Sé que este es la obra del Señor y que podemos ver milagros atra vez este obra. Sé que este es la Iglesia del Señor Jesucristo realmente y que El vive y dirige este Iglesia por sus profetas.

Los amo,

Elder Lambert

Mom's note: If you baptize a guy named Jesus, would that make you Sean the Baptist?

A Long and Challenging Week 4 May 2015

Dearest Friends and Family,

This week has been a good one, if not a bit long.

We have had to drop a number of investigators this week for various reasons. The reality is that there are some people in the world that have been placed in a path to receive the gospel and bless the lives of their family, ancestors and friends because of it, but others have been prepared in the opposite direction by an opposite force. As missionaries it is our job to find those people that have been prepared in some way to receive the message of the restoration and give it to them. So, sometimes, we find that someone who we once thought had been prepared to receive the gospel was actually not quite there. It is a sad reality that all people entering the mission field will learn.

On a brighter note, we continue to find people with promise and will continue working with them. It is a truly rewarding experience to find a person, teach them, and see them come to realize the truthfulness of the message. 

A bit of facts about the mission, in case anyone was wondering: Our house here in Los Andes is located in the middle of the line area between the ghetto area and the larger nicer homes. It's livable, but I have seen nicer mission homes. Our Zone leaders home is a mansion, comparatively. We also live exclusively on the second floor. It's like a weird duplex thing. And, no, we do not have more than one companionship. That's actually not allowed in our mission. 

Sé que la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Dias es la Iglesia de Jesucristo en la Tierra hoy. Sé que los recursos de la Iglesia son inspiradas por el Espiritu Santo.

Los Amo, 

Elder Lambert

27 April 2015 - A Challenging Week

(Sorry this is late)

Dearest friends and family,

This week has been challenging. I hope to soon see the rewards.

I wish not to complain, but at times it is necessary that people know the reality of the work. My new companion is...less than exactly obedient.

For those who are unaware, there is a major emphasis in missionary work on obedience. As missionaries, we are kept to very high standards and take upon ourselves a basic oath to live as apart from the world as we can. We are able to DO the work in our own way, but the work must be done and we must act according to our station. We have fun, but we are still expected to be exactly obedient to all the regulations set forth by the church in the missionary handbook. My companion, Elder Padilla, has trouble with this. 

Having more than a year and a half in the mission, he has effectively decided that leaving the house on time, getting home on time, listening to appropriate music, and doing proper study are not that important. I am not sure how to handle this, but I am in consistent correspondence with my mission president. This is my first, but will not be my last, experience with disobedient companions.

That being said, the guy isn't lazy when it comes to the work. We have been finding new people fairly consistently to teach and some of them are looking pretty promising. One family that I have been teaching for several weeks now, is starting to decline in their progress. This has made me sad, but I found guidance just recently through my studies.

In the book Jesus the Christ by Elder Talmadge, he explains, in detail, the Savior's parable of the Sower. He explains in the end, that while many people have the word planted in poor soil, that doesn't mean that that soil can't be tilled and made good for planting. I hope that our experiences with this family will help them refine their parabolic soil and come to understand the importance of the gospel.

Sé que nuestro Padre Celestial nos ama. Sé que tenemos desafíos en la vida para progresar y que podemos vencer estos desafios atra vez el expiación de Jesucristo.

Los amo,

Elder Lambert