"...I'm Making It!"

Sent: Monday, March 25, 2013 10:31 AM

Subject: Tudo Bem?

Man oh man is life crazy. I’m going to start off by apologizing for the errors in this email because I don’t have much time and I have a lot to say!

Portuguese is hard. It is not what they taught me in the MTC. I can hear key words and sometimes pick up on what they’re saying but it is still super hard and I’m lost a lot of the time. I have progressed a lot though so just keep me in your prayers please!

It’s not anything like you can think of here either. I’m in a suburb with ugly houses and ugly streets and there’s really nothing pretty to look at outside of Rio proper. I’m making it though!

All we eat is rice and beans and meat and sometimes the occasional vegetable.

It’s super humid all the time but the weather is cooling off a little bit.

We have had several baptisms fall through and it’s really sad to see people come so close to having the fullness of the blessings of baptism, but Satan pulls them away at the last minute and they continue to be miserable. Seriously it breaks my heart and makes me want to work so much harder! Ugh, stupid language barrier!

The people here are super nice and always willing to spare “a copo de agua para a gente”, or a cup of water for us, and we get a lot of return appointments that usually don’t work out because they’re never at home. But we’re still working hard!

It feels like I have been here for forever and time is passing so slowly, but I know it will start passing quicker and quicker as I get used to everything.

I want to share something my sister Chelsea sent to me: "If every righteous act were immediately rewarded and every wicked act were immediately punished, that would be the most subtle path to damnation possible". This really hit me! I really want the blessings for being obedient, but I know I must be patient in order for them to really make an impact on me. We all need to work on our patience! It’s the best way to be happy!

Please keep reading in your scriptures each day and fortifying yourself against the adversary. I love this gospel. I KNOW its true! Be happy and do work!

Love,

Elder LeSueur

Mormon.Org

"My Visa Has Come Through..."

Well, I think it's safe to say that my work here in Tallahassee is done after baptizing Mary last Sunday... If you haven't heard by now, I got word at 10:15 on Tuesday night that my Visa has come through and I will be headed to Brazil Monday night! I'm incredibly excited but incredibly scared at the same time. I'm a little rusty with the Portuguese and the whole culture change is going to throw me off big time. I know I'll be okay, though, because I'm a part of God's Army and His Army doesn't lose! 

So, just to forewarn you all, my P-Days will probably be on Monday from now on, so don't be saddened by my lack of email next Saturday! I also want to let you know that if you didn't write me while I was out here, now it's going to cost you about $2 to send me one... Now is the true love test ;) I'm just kidding, kind of. I just love Elder Brewington! Even an email will suffice for now! richard.le.sueur@myldsmail.net get at me. 

I'm going to be honest, there's not really anything to talk about in this email because it's only been 4 days since my last one and this week has been all sorts of messed up. We had exchanges on Tuesday and worked extremely hard and were very successful with contacting, Wednesday was very slow and we only taught one lesson, Thursday was filled with Zone Conference, Friday everybody was gone for Spring Break and we had nothing to do. 

Zone Conference was amazing though! President and Sister Jensen were awesome and really helped us recognize that we needed to improve our teaching abilities in order to meet our mission goals. I got to bear my testimony at the end and it was such a cool experience to see that I have grown into a part of their family. The Church is true everywhere and it is evident in the way that the members are always so accepting and inviting to strangers! Ahh I love it! 

Let's see, what else happened... I found a loaded clip of .40 caliber hollow-point rounds on the street corner when we were on our way back from playing soccer with the ward on Thursday night. I didn't want to just put it back because my fingerprints were all over it at that point, so now it's sitting in our apartment as we try to figure out what to do with it. The same night we came across a "party favor" (still in its packaging) on the ground that looked like a dollar bill to me, so naturally I picked it up and immediately threw it back on the ground. I was struggling with picking things up! So I quickly redeemed myself by picking up a penny a few feet later. 

I feel bad that this is such a short email, but I truly don't have anything else that's exciting to share! I will share some personal insights that I learned during my personal studies this week: Don't stress the trivial details. People are going to have conflicting opinions, but if it's not important to your salvation, don't worry or argue about it! It's something we have had to learn as missionaries with difficult companions, and once you have mastered it, there's nothing more relaxing than avoiding conflict. This is especially true with the gospel. Just because Matthew's account of the Sermon on the Mount is different from Mark's doesn't invalidate the Bible! Just have an open mind and don't be so proud that you can't let the trivial things go. "It's better to admit you're wrong than to drive the Spirit away." Brother Smith shared that with me and my companion when we were having a hard time in the MTC and it really made an impact on me. 

Please just strive to be Christlike and invite love into all your interactions with people! As you can imagine, people can be very hard to deal with and hard to love, but we can always find a way to love them. Just like how I still love you all even though I haven't received any letters ;) Be happy and serve your enemies! Happiness is the greatest gift we can get here on this earth! I love you all and am so excited to hear your responses! 

Love, 

Elder LeSueur

Mormon.Org

"The Book of Mormon is true and has brought me closer to my Savior..."

Hello beautiful people! So I have officially been in Tallahassee for one month and tomorrow will be my three month mark on the mission. What in the world is happening to all this time?!

What have all of you been up to? I'm really very curious since only about 3 people besides my family have written me letters... Come on people, show me some love! I at least have an excuse to not write first because I don't have your addresses! Even if you email me your address I will write you a letter! Empty mailboxes at the end of the day are so lame for missionaries.

Anyway, this week was definitely your typical roller-coaster ride as a missionary! We had days that we taught 7 lessons (a large feat on TCC Campus) and we had days that we didn't get to teach a single soul and we had everything in between. We found a few new people who are very interesting and potentially sketchy... So, keep my safety in mind on Tuesday if we end up going over to his place for dinner! Haha I'm kind of kidding…

But what I learned from this week is that we are going to have some incredible days that don't compare and we feel on top of the world, but we can't enjoy those days if we don't experience the trying days, too. How boring would it be if we just did the same thing every day with the same results and never had to deal with disappointment? After all, we learn best when things don't happen the way we want. What I'm trying to say is that even though the bad days are really tough out here, knowing that our Heavenly Father is in charge and will bring us success makes everything worthwhile. Elder David Bednar spoke in a CES Fireside last night and said it really well, "Strong faith in the Savior is submitting to His will, even if the outcome is unfavorable... Do you have the faith NOT to be healed?" Do you have the faith that everything will be for the best when you let Heavenly Father direct your path, or only when it's convenient to what you want? It's hard to keep that state of mind, but it makes life much more enjoyable; I promise!

He also said "Not shrinking is much more important than surviving." Our faith is always either increasing or decreasing... Be productive in your lives and take 10 minutes each day to read your scriptures! It is TRUE power against the adversary and you will notice a difference in your happiness!

Okay, enough chastisement.

So, yesterday was Mary's baptism (we moved it because we had to work a Family History Fair all day Saturday) and it couldn't have been a better ending to my first full month in the field. I was privileged to perform the baptismal ordinance for her and it was the most amazing thing I have done. To be able to do something for the Lord that literally cleanses someone from all sin... That is so much power and so humbling. The service was incredibly spiritual and nearly the whole ward was there since it was right after church!

More than ever, I know that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ on the earth. I know that my work as a missionary is bringing people closer to Him and only through these ordinances are they able to return to live with our Heavenly Father. Being a part of the reason people can have that amazing gift is mind blowing.

The Book of Mormon is true and has brought me closer to my Savior as I have read and tried to abide by its teachings. There is nothing more that I want than for all of you, my wonderful family and friends, to have the happiness that comes with being a valiant follower of Christ. Please, read the Book of Mormon daily and gain that personal testimony of its truth! It will come to you, I promise! But, no matter what I say, it has to be through your desire.

I love you all so very much and I pray that you continue to find success in this life! Remember you are a child of God and He loves you more than you can comprehend! I testify of that in the name of Jesus Christ. Be happy and serve someone in need this week :)

Love,

Elder LeSueur

Mormon.Org