Week 4: Being Joseph

Week 4: Being Joseph

Editor's note:  you can write Lydia at Lydia.Lambert@myldsmail.net
*guerra= white girl*capilla= chapel


Hola Mi Amors!

      Everything is going well. And now I finally know how it feels to be the favorite child.  President is very concerned about the sisters, especially the American sisters, and since I am the only Guerra in the mission . . . well, let's just say all the assistants, the zone leaders, and the district leaders are bending over backwards to help us.


      We moved apartments this week and Elder Juarez and Elder Keyes (our district leaders) have been so great with everything.    They were so helpful finding a a new apartment and when we found this new awesome apartment that is in our area and super close to the Capilla they made it happen.   They worked it out with our landlady and moved all our stuff.  When Elder Juarez went to pick up my mattress he saw the big rip and how threadbare and old it is and said, "This is yours?  We are going to fix this."  The next day we got a call from Elder Rico (assistant to the Prez) telling us we were getting new mattresses.  Elder Rico has also been very helpful in getting us everything we need.  When I got to my old apartment we had 1 spoon, 2 bowls (but one had a hole in the bottom) and all sorts of things were wrong.  But the elders have taken such good care of us. Now we are all set up in a beautiful apartment, in a beautiful location, with everything we need.


       This past week Elder Juarez challenged us to bring all our investigators without baptismal dates on a guided tour of the Capilla that ended with us committing them to baptism in front of the font.  We brought an older couple (62&65) on the tour and in front of the font we had them close their eyes and I sang for them, "How Great Thou Art."  The spirit was so strong, then we asked them how they felt and Alberto started crying.  He said he really felt something and told us he had been reading the Book of Mormon even more than we had asked him to.  His wife was less on board, but she said she felt good.  Then, when we tried to commit them to baptism, they said they would think about it.  I think they wanted to talk about it among themselves first.  But, we are going to meet with them again soon and ask again.  It was really great.


I love you guys and your awesome letters:)  and I love the work!
Adios from Mexico,
Hermana Lambert

Week 3: Leaving the 1 to find the 99 6/15/15

Week 3: Leaving the 1 to find the 99 

6/15/15

Lydia with her companion and other missionaries

Lydia meeting her companion

Hola!

      I had an awesome first week. My companion is so great, I am so glad to have the chance to work with her. This week (has it really only been a week?) has been all about finding the lost sheep. My companion and I are both brand new to the area and found the records in disaster. We have been asked by the general authorities to pick 10 menos activa familias [less active families] and work with them to get them going to church,paying tithing, fasting, preparing for the temple, etc. 

       We got there and hit the streets. We are walking a lot. We spend a lot of time trying to track down less active families. It feels less like leaving the 99 to find the 1 and more like leaving the 1 to find the 99 hahaha but its all good.  We have a few really strong members who help us :)

      We are practically famous here now because we try to say "Hi" to every single person we pass, plus we are always asking for directions. I think saying "hi" to everyone prevents a lot of cat-calling because it humanizes us and they get recognition and a smile in a nice polite way. Our area is pretty small. We can walk all the way around it in less than an hour. So we have friends on every street now.

       I invited two people to be baptized this week and they both accepted! 
I know we still have a lot of work to do with them but I am very
excited. Both of these people were previously dropped by the sisters but they have never committed to baptism before. I have more confidence in Jocelin, I don't think Monzur really understands what we are asking.He wants to change but I think it is easier for him to stay as he is. We are also teaching an old couple we contacted and a fruit vendor who stopped us on the street to ask what we were teaching. I feel they are very prepared.  It is so fun to teach them because they are so interested. I love the work and I am looking forward to working more with these people.

       In the MTC one of my leaders always said be the missionary your mom thinks you are. That really struck me.  Not only am I trying to be the missionary I can be but I have have such great examples in both my mom and my dad of what kind of missionary I should and can be.  I love you guys so much! :) Thank you everyone who writes me. I love your letters. Sorry I have so little time to respond :) I love pictures see you all next week!

Hermana Lambert

Week 2: On My Way to Mexico!!! 6/6/15

Week 2: On My Way to Mexico!!!

At the Temple

Hola Familia! (y otros)

This week was even crazier than the last. I spent about 5 hours last night in the ER, not for me though. My companion dislocated her pinky because an elder kicked a basketball at her and the doctors thought she had a fracture as well but turns out not. Her English is pretty good but it definitely deteriorated last night due to pain, nervousness, and having never been in a hospital before except with seriously ill family members.  After several x-rays and long naps we got back to the MTC at about 11:40. It was certainly an adventure. Then this morning we had to go back to urgent care for a check-up visit and to get her medication. 

On Tuesday of this week I went up to Salt Lake to go to the Mexican consulate to get my visa *whoop whoop*!  However, we got lost on the way there... after we realized that we really had no idea where we were, we decided to go into the next building and ask for directions. The next building just happened to be a Mexican Grill... I have never felt more racist in my life. Looking as white as they get we walked in asked where the Mexican consulate was. Having received directions we head out and the rest of the day went off without a hitch. I had never seen poverty in Utah before, but where we were walking in SLC was not a good area.  There were a bunch of homeless people, some drunk guys started yelling at us, and one of the Elders gave his lunch away to a guy who looked like an emancipated skeleton with scabs all over his face. It was pretty scary sometimes, but I was glad we had the Elder with us.

Earlier this week Elder D. Todd Christofferson came and gave a devotional and it was broadcasted to all the MTCs in the world. I was in the Choir and it panned right over me so basically now I am MTC famous. The song we sang was the most beautiful arrangement of I Feel My Savior’s Love. The Choir director is so great, he tells so many great stories from his life and tries to get us to make the lyrics personal to us.

I love the scriptures so much! I keep reading 2 Nephi 31 and 32 over and over again. Same with 2 Nephi 2 which I read the day I got to visit the temple (very fortuitous). The scriptures are just so wonderful I want to have them all memorized. I am traveling tomorrow, I am leaving the MTC at 3:30 in the morning. Mom, I get to call you from the airport so I got a calling card thing from the bookstore. :) I can’t wait to hear your voices! 

Thank you Rachel for sending me that Dear Elder Letter, I was actually thinking of you just earlier that day. I loved it, it was funny, inspiring, and sounded just like you :) Thank you Grandma Christie for your wonderful letter it was very uplifting and brought a spot of sunshine to my day. My district is so jealous of all the packages and letters I get. The packages were mostly cloths I forgot at home (thanks Grandma!), or rain boots, or skirts we ordered on line before I left but I did get one beautiful thoughtful package from the Schwarzers. It was the most adorable journal with all these cute scrap booking things all wrapped up in the sweetest paper :) :) :) :)

Thanks guys I am really feeling all the love. I also got Mary’s, Tabitha’s, and Mom's letters this week. I loved the poem you wrote me Tabitha, I have it memorized. 

Lydia is a delight

She is like the sun so bright

Even though she has some height

In my heart she's still wrapped tight

I love hearing from all of you your letters make me laugh and smile, till next week.

Hermana Lambert :)

First Week Provo MTC 6/1/15

First Week in the Provo MTC 6/1/15

At the Provo Temple with Aunt Kathleen, Rebecca, and Jacob

In my first district

Hermana Lambert studying hard

Hola mi querida familia! (and all you awesome people that read my letters)

I LOVE THE MTC!!! It is the greatest! I feel like I have changed so much already. I always knew the Holy Ghost was supposed to be our constant companion but I never realized what that  could actually be like until now. I feel the spirit all the time and I am constantly amazed by the stream of revelation. Never in my life have I felt the spirit so consistently and so strongly. 

I can already see the Lord blessing me in my endeavors to serve him. The scriptures open where I  want them to and my memory has been strengthened. From day one I have been able to remember specific references or chapters and what they contained that I had never even tried to memorize. It is so cool! Plus I read preach my gospel before I came on my mission a little but now when I read it I feel like I am reading a completely different book, I know that every word is inspired. 

I know that there are angels here at the MTC.  Sometimes it feels like I can practically see them standing in the class room with us.