A Great Week

Our last Fast and Testimony meeting was really good. We ordained Ethan Brown into the Priesthood and set him apart as a Priest. He was very nervous but anxious to receive this ordinance. I was very proud when he bore his testimony. He made the comment that he has never been happier than he has since his baptism. He will be a great asset to the branch. We also set Matthew Naiche into the priesthood. He has been a member all his life, but somehow got lost between the cracks and was never given the priesthood. He says he has been waiting for this his whole life, but didn't know what to do to get it.

Elder Lee and I have a class on Saturdays where we are helping the young men to get their Duty to God award and prepare for missions themselves. One boy went home and told his cousin what he had learned and she approached us and asked if we could come to her home and teach her how to read the Book of Mormon. That made us feel very good. These kids are hungry for the gospel.

I have decided after viewing the DVD on Church history that I will stop complaining about how difficult it is sometimes to serve a mission. When I see what the early pioneers did to share the gospel and the trials they not only had but their families, I feel blessed. We have a wonderful heritage and I am greatful that my ancestors did what they did to give me the gospel. I thank my Heavenly Father for the wonderful blessing.

We sure love you kids and are so proud of you. The Lord is certainly blessing you even though you may not see his hand at work for you. He loves you and so do we.

Love mom and dad

Good bye to our Batty Elders

Well, we just said goodbye to the Elders who were staying with us. They whitewashed the area and are bringing in two brand new Elders. We sure will miss the old ones. They were a lot of fun. We call them the Batty Elders because they always liked to scare us and tease us all the time. Elder Sperry and Elder Smith were with us until Christmas before Elder Smith was sent away. Then we received Elder Brown who came to help Elder Sperry. They got real crazy the last day so I took a few pictures. It was sad when we said "Good Bye" not knowing if we would ever see them again. They went to another part of the mission. But we have great memories.

I'm a Mormon

We just got back from our district conference and President Robison has just given all the missionaires permission to text and view the internet - BUT only to investigaors and members and leaders of the church. He said they are finding that everyone communicates through their text messages and internet so the church is getting on board with technology. They have created a new web site called Mormon.org. It is a website that tells about people who are mormons. They have a profile and tell a little bit about themselves so others can see we are just normal people. At the end they can give their feelings on different issues of the church. We now have about 1200 and they expect in the thousands by the end of the year. We are encouraged to use this tool in our missionary work because people are willing to look things up on the internet that they never would otherwise. Technology is coming to the church. They have purchased advertising space on fox news, cnn and others for people who are just browsing to click into and find out about the church. I know they are being inspired because this is great. We have already given out some of the pass along cards to some people on the reservation. I am posting a copy of one of them. It is very simple and yet very profound. Why don't you try it. Of course, tell us so we can view you when we are showing investigators.

Love mom

Ethan Brown Addl

Here are some more Baptism pictures for Ethan Brown

Ethan Brown Baptism #3

WE HAVE ANOTHER BAPTISM!!! Ethan Brown was baptized on January 22, 2011. We met Ethan back in November when his girlfriend, Edith, brought him to church to help decorate for the Thanksgiving party. We asked him if he was interested in learnng more about the church and he said yes, We asked him when we could come over and he gave us a date. He said he was interested in getting baptized. BUT it took us almost 2 months to find him home. It has been a long process. When we finally started making appointments with him instead of his girlfriend and her mother, we finally got to teach him. He is a really nice young man (22). He comes from Arizona and loves the Lord. He believes that he came here to learn about the gospel. He is already asking for Book of Mormons to send to his family back home. He bore his testimony yesterday when he was confirmed and it was amazing. THE GOSPEL IS TRUE! wE LOVE BEING MISSIONAIRES.

Ethan Brown Baptism #3

Starr Family

Well we had an unusual expereince the other day. We drove up to the church and found a young man (15) standing by the fence. Dad went to talk to him. He invited us to come to his home and visit with his family. Later on that day we went to his home only to find his whole family out on the porch drinking heavily. They made a few smart remarks about us being Jehovah Witnesses. We proceeded to ask if this was the Starr residence. Dad walked over to talk with the rest of the family while I was left with the grandfather. He said he didn't like us coming to his home and telling him how to live. He didn't like the Jehovah Witnesses. I told him I was not a Jdove. So he asked me what church I belonged to. I showed him my badge and told him I was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ. He looked very long and hard at my badge. They he started talking and I couldn't understand anything he was saying. He asked me to put my hands on top of his to feel my spirit. I placed my hands on top and I finally realized that his name was Jesus. They say it differently but he wanted my badge. I told him I couldn;t give it to him because it belonged to me "Sister Lee" He said he liked my badge and he liked me. FINALLY dad said, "Come on Sister Lee, we have to go" I tried my best to get away but he just kept talking. Dad started talking to the mother of the boy we met and I finally got away. We asked her if we could come back another time. She asked why we came and we told her that her son invited us. She started to cry. She couldn't believe her son actually invited someone from a church to her house. She gave me a hug and told me that it was a sign because she was being sent to jail on Tuesday. I tried to console her. Then the grandfather, that I was talking to earlier came up from behind me and put his arms around me so I couldn;t move. I tired not to show my fear but my heart did start pounding. You could see dad getting a little anxious. This guy was a lot taller than he is. He said he liked me and thought I was a good person. I told him I liked him too and wiggled my way out. We walked for the car as fast as we could. I don't think we will go back.

Here are the two girls that are so cute!

I mentioned the two girls that are so cute and always want to go with us. I forgot to post it. Here It is.

News from the Mission Field January 20

Hi Kids,

It has been a very eventful week. We had a great lesson with a man whom we met when we first came into the mission field and we had to let him go because he left the state. But he is back and we gave him an awesome Lesson on the Plan of Salvation. He is a died in the wool Catholic, so it was lively. We kept telling him we have the only true church on the earth and he finally got so confused he said, "Where is this church" That made us laugh. His daughter is getting married in the Catholic Church in February. I hope they invite us.

The picture of the two girls are my friends here on the reservation. Whenever they see us coming they run to get a hug. One girl asked her sister if she could keep coming to our church because she liked it. Her sisiter is inactive but trying to return. The other day we went to their house and they came running out and asked if we could take them some place. They were tired of being home. It was so cute. Of course as missionaries we can't take them unless it is church related, but it made us feel good.

We think we have another baptism! If all goes well we will be having it this Saturday. Dad was walking up some stairs and tore his ligament in his calf. But that doesn't stop him, I just do most of the walking. We spent almost a whole day in the hospital and they just told him to not walk as much but he's ok. The Lord is really blessing us. In order for me to keep exercising I walk around the complex and he rides the cr to be with me. Isn't he great!!! What a dedicated companion. I sure love him

We love talking to you kids when the opportunity comes and absolutely love your emails and letters. Keep them coming. You know your parents get lonely too.

Love mom and dad

Jayro Baptism Poster and family

We took a congratulations Baptism poster to Jayro to welcome him into the primary. He was so excited. He had to fight off his little sister, who insisted the candy was for her. He is such a cute kid and loves the gospel. However, the conditions at his home does not make it easy for him to come to church. His mom is a member but does not make good decisions (alcohol) so she is not able to bring him. We are posting pictures of his grandpa is a real indian cowboy. I hope you enjoy these pictures. They are priceless.

Good news from the mission field

Last Sunday we had 53 people attend our church services!!!! The High Councilman who was there kept counting and re-counting because he couldn't believe it. Neither could we. I had 20 kids in my primary class!!!! It is so exciting and Sister Kanseah asked us to get her two grandsons ready for baptism. Our little branch is growing!

We are working hard trying to find more people to teach. I got this fantastic idea of a time capsule for primary. Included in it was a member missionary tag. I gave each one of the children in my class one of these tags and asked them who they would like come to church with them. Some of them mentioned family members, some members and some not. One family who has three children all put their grandma Luna. So we thought we would go see her. Her grandson brought her to church!!!! Wow. We have an appointment to go see her. The church is true and I love it. I love seeing changes brought into people's lives. Make sure and pray for us all the time ok.

I am posting a few different pictures we took on the reservation. The mouse is the Elders idea of being funny. They love teasing me and I seem to fall for it all the time. I didn't see this when I reached to open the door lock and felt this squishy little mouse. Of course, it scared me to death and they laughed and laughed.

Sure love you guys and miss you. We love hearing emails and letters. Keep them coming. It helps with my homesickness that I get not being around you.

Love you Grandma and Grandpa Lee

We had another baptism

Wow. The Lord has blessed us with another baptism!!!!! We are so excited. We actually had two but one of them had a few problems and has commited for the 22 of January.

We met Renee Ahidley after two months on our mission while knocking on doors. She said she was interested in having her son baptized. So we made appointment after apointment trying to get back with her, but to no avail. We met the grandfather, who said he would really like to have his grandson baptized too. When we found out his mother was in jail and no longer in the picture, we asked if we could come by and teach him. We did. He is a very bright and intelligent boy with a great desire to be baptized. As a matter of fact he asked me at church, "Sister Lee, When am I going to get bapized?" We had to wait for his mother to be released so it was put off until January. A program was planned and Dad spent the whole morning at the church filling the font. You see the water heater will only produce small amounts of hot water. The time came and people started coming to the church for this special occasion. A while after 2:00 we began to realize that the person who was suppose to baptize him was not coming, or the person saying the prayer, or the talk. We asked another priesthood member to baptize, but that left us short a witness. We spent over an hour trying to find someone. We only have 5 people on the reservation who has priesthood authority. We panicked and thought we would have to wait until the next day. Then a call was given to Brother Nielsen, who is our High Councilman, who came up. The baptism was performed, I gave the talk, and it was completed. We were excited to see this happen, as it looked very doubtful at the time. You will never meet a boy who had such a a desire to be baptized. He is 10 years old. We love him.

Evans Family Funeral

We had another funeral this week. Two days after Zola's funeral we heard that Aidin Evans who is 25 years old fell off his deck and broke his neck. That was a SHOCK! He was actually released from jail to attend his grandmother's funeral and visited with his family for 1/2 hour before he asked to go to his sisters house to see her and friends. That evening, while goofing around, he fell off the deck and broke his neck. The family are really struggled with this. We were asked again to conduct the prayer service this time (Like a viewing). Dad did a great job and they asked me to lead the singing the night before. We ran to the church to print off copies of music as there are a lot of non members who would be attending. The next day we went to the prayre service. There was no music!!! I stood up there and lead the music and it seemed as though I was the only person singing. The indians sing very low and you can hardly hear them. Most of the people do not know the music anyway. It was a disaster!!! So when it came time to sing the closing song (I am a child of God) I was prompted to aske the children to come and help. I didn't know if any of them would respond because they do not like to be in front of people. The Naiche family children came up and I began calling names of older children (like in their 20's) that I knew had learned the song when they were children. To my surprise, they all hesitated and then one by one came up and sang. I got so emotional because I really didn't expect them to come, but they did. It brought tears to my eyes because it reminded me of the shepherd when he calls his sheep, the sheep know his voice and follow him. Those kids heard the name of the song (I am a child of God) and it was familar to them. They felt the spirit and wanted to share that song and their belief with the audience. This was very spiritual because most of the time they try to hide the fact that they are LDS. But this song meant something to those people and they shared it with the audience. Here we were, about 15 people standing in front of this large crowd in a large assembly room at the Tribal Community Center, singing "I am a child of God -- and with no music!!!!! It was a sight to behold!!!! I certainly felt the spirit!!!! I was Sooooooo

proud of those members!!!!

The funeral was beautiful!! I learned my lesson from the night before and got tapes of the songs we would be singing for the funeral, so I wouldn't have to sing a solo again. It went over very well. However, the last song was "God be with you till we meet again". A flood of memories came over me about my mom and I cried through the whole song. Aiden's mother was crying out loud and that didn't help any either. I must have looked silly, but it was the wa I felt.

We went to the cemetary to bury the casket. Dad helped brother Naiche dedicate the grave. They had some traditional songs in Apache and and Apache speaker. Before they bury the body all the pallbears come and pin a rose on the indian blanket that they have draped over the casket. It is very touching. Then they bring suitcases full of all the dead's belongings and bury them with him. The family come one by one and throw a piece of dirt onto the casket. It is a very solemn occasion and paid with a lot of respect. Then the girls come and place the flowers on the grave and they then place the headstone, which is a cross with his name on it. It was a beautiful funeral. I feel very close to the Apache Indians right now. We have suffered pain with them. They were very kind and loving to us and thanked us for coming and made sure we came to eat with them afterwards.

Funerals in Mescalero

Wow, have we learned a lot this past week. It has been a growing expereience for us. We had a elderly lady who is a member of the church, Zola Ahidley, who passed away. We were headed down the mountain after a long day work when we received a call from Michelene, Zola's daughter, saying her mom was in the care center and not doing very well. She asked for a blessing. So we turned around and went back up the mountain. When we reached the care center her mother lay there on the bed laboring for breath. It brought back a flood of memories of my mom and I began to get emotional. Dad asked Micheline to say a prayer and she made the comment that her mother had suffered long enough and for the Lord to take her, if it was His will. Dad and brother Fossum gave her a blessing. The first words out of his mouth was, Zola, this will be the last ordinance you will receive while here on this earth. That really took me by surprise and then he finished the blessing telling her that her life was compelte here on this earth and even though her family and friends would miss her, she was needed on the other side. She had loved ones there who were waiting for her. It was a very humbling experience because I felt like she was being sent to the other side --- and she was. She died the next morning at 4:00 a.m. Dad was asked to conduct at her funeral and Micheline decided to hold the funeral in Ruidoso instead of Mescalero because our chapel is so small. She was right because about 150 people came. They were very interested in our pictures so we took small tours around the building showing the beautiful paintings. THEY WERE VERY IMPRESSED! I saw a missionary opportunity and ran to the car and got some pass a long cards and quite a few of them were taken as well. The funeral went very well and dad gave a great speech. He was very nervous though. But the night before the funeral, Michaeline called me and asked me to help dress her mothers body. I accepted but was very reluctant. I have never done this before. I got so nervous that I asked dad for a blessing to help calm me. It was a spiritual expereience dressing her in her temple clothing and I thanked Michaelen for that opportunity. It also brought more memories of my dear mom, whom I miss terribly. I asked Zola to say hi to my mom for me.

Zola was a medicine woman in the Apache tribe and very well respected. The family tried to construct the teepee in front of her home with an arbor which is traditional. It was bitter cold outside and the wind blew so hard I think a lot of people got sick. I took a picture of the tent and arbor but it was never completed due to cold weather. It was a growing expereince for us. One I will never forget. These are beautiful people and we certainly love them.

Christmas Morning with the Elders 2010

Christmas morning was very different this year in the mission field. There were no children around to wake us up. No phone calls to wish us a Merry Christmas. We were a little homesick with two Elders who wished they were home too.

So Dad and I got up and decided to cook a fantastic breakfast for the Elders. We put out the best dishes in the house, cooked bacon, eggs, pancakes, fruit and juice. The Elders were so happy that they really got into having fun. Elder Sperry had received a Christmas tree from his mom ( you will see it in the picture). It was decorated with red ornaments and he is a BYU fan all the way. So he brought out his BYU ornaments and re-decorated the tree. He was smiling from ear to ear with delight. Elder Brown (our new greenie) brought out his Charlie Brown Christmas Tree and we laughed and had a great time. We spent Christmas Eve playing Apples to Apples with the Elders as they had to be in by 6:00. Elder Sperry laughed at everything, but he made the game fun and Elder Brown (who is a lot more serious even got into it.) It was a great Christmas Day. We were excited when we got our phone calls from our kids to make our day complete We sure love you and miss all of you.