"We all make mistakes... but what separates people is how they change."

Sent: Monday, May 20, 2013 10:19 AM
Subject: Trabalhar com Alegria e Cantar!

Bom dia meu amado família e amigos! Como vocês estão esta manha maravilhosa? This week has been crazy! We had Zone Conference on Wednesday (during which President Lima burned just about everybody in the room), and it was such an awesome experience!

Can I just say that I'm glad I didn't have this during my first transfer when I didn't understand a word anybody said? To be honest, I still didn't understand everything, but I was able to understand enough to see where I need to improve as a missionary and how it will bring me more success!

This is something we should all be doing each day in our lives. We are constantly reminded of things we are doing wrong and most of the time we don't want to hear it so we tune out the people who are helping us become better. DON'T DO THIS! There is a big difference between people criticizing you because they have low self esteem and have to put others down (which is dumb and wrong), and when people criticize you to let you know you have made a mistake, but do it in a loving way that they want to help you become better.

We all make mistakes whether you want to admit it or not, but what separates people is how they change. If we keep making the same mistakes over and over again without looking for a way to fix it, we aren't using our potential as children of the Almighty Creator to learn and become like Him.

President Lima is really good at pushing us to become better and many missionaries don't like him because of that, but I take it as an evidence of love. He really wants us to be the best we can be! And even though he has accomplished his goal of getting a temple built here in Rio, he expects even more of us now.

We are living in times where it is necessary to bring families to this wonderful gospel! We are building temples like crazy throughout the world and this is a sign that the Second Coming is near. The saving ordinances of the temple are necessary for Exaltation, and when we don't do our part to allow others to have these blessings, we are held partially accountable for them not having made the covenants. GIVE REFERRALS TO THE MISSIONARIES IN YOUR AREA!!! Missionaries LOVE referrals and it will bring some of the richest blessings Heavenly Father has for you!

Think about how much this gospel message means to you, and how blessed you are because of it. Now, think of the scripture that says when we serve others we are only serving God. Share the gospel. Share your testimony. Do everything you can to help the whole world hear the message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

We found a family this week from a referral that is absolutely golden. They have their flaws like all of us, but we are going to work ardently with them to bring them to the greatness of this gospel.

Denise, Douglas, and Nicolas weren't baptized this week because Denise had to work in Rio, but we are baptizing them this Sunday!

Joares is going to be baptized on Saturday, too!

Please, keep these people in your prayers that they are able to withstand the temptations that are thrown their way by Satan during this week to keep them from entering into the waters of baptism.

Also, if there is anything at all I can do to help anyone of you, let me know!
richard.le.sueur@myldsmail.net
Now you have no excuse! Haha, I love you all so very much. Stay obedient, stay happy, and stay classy. The Lord loves you!

Com amor e fé,

Elder LeSueur

Mormon.Org

"...Almost a quarter of my mission already gone and I have only just begun here in Brasil"

Sent: Monday, May 13, 2013 11:02 AM
Subject: Caraca! O Tempo Está Diminuindo!

This week was the first time I have really felt like the time is going by quickly. Yesterday was my 5 month mark! Seriously?! That's almost a quarter of my mission already gone and I have only just begun here in Brasil! Its time to put my shoulder to the wheel and get work done.

This week was different. We had Zone training on Tuesday until 2 pm, 12 weeks training in Rio on Wednesday until 4 pm (training for the first 12 weeks a missionary is in the field), Thursday we went to the doctor until 5 pm to find out my companion has blisters in his throat, Friday was more or less normal, Saturday was solid, and Sunday was great.

We have been losing quite a bit of time due to sickness within our companionship and its beginning to be depressing because I'm developing love for our investigators and feel awful when we don't make it to our appointments. I'm not sure how much longer my companion will have to take it easy, but he doesnt want to sit around the house and neither do I, so we still try to work as much as possible until his throat cant take it anymore.

We had a really good day this week when we went on splits with a couple members of the ward where we taught a bunch of great lessons, solidified some testimonies, and got a TON of references. We did an activity with some members where we sang hymns for them while they thought of friends, family, and neighbors who needed to hear the gospel message and now we have a great lot of people to visit!

We also marked three baptismal dates with a woman named Denise and her two kids Douglas and Nicolas. They were the first family that I had a solid lesson with my first week here and they are growing tons! It is so amazing to see a family grow together in the gospel from the first meeting to the point that they are ready for baptism!

I know this work is the Lord's work and I see His hand in the things we do each and every day.

So this letter didn't send last week because the internet went out, but I'll just add a little bit of what happened this week.

We didn't have the baptism of Denise, Douglas, and Nicolas as they went into Rio for Mother's Day, but we plan on having them baptized this Sunday!

Joares was interviewed for baptism and passed, but still doesn't know if this is the true church... Its a little frustrating because he has a testimony of everything we teach and of the Book of Mormon being the word of God, but he has yet to put it all together and realize that this is the Lord's Church. We will keep working with him though!

Iolanda (Yolanda) is golden. She has come to church the past three weeks and loves it! We are trying to figure out whether to baptize just her, or wait for her husband Aridio to gain interest again. He is very Catholic and when we teach him we have very spiritual experiences and feel like hes growing, but then other lessons he is drunk and fights with us about everything. So we are going to teach the Word of Wisdom this week and hope that gives him some incentive to look a little harder at what we are teaching him.

We also found a new family! Marcia and her son João are a contact we made a couple weeks ago, and when we returned and taught the Restoration they were very interested. We are going to teach them with their husband/dad on Sunday because that's the only day he is available so please keep this family and all the other investigators we have in your prayers!

This week as I was studying the first chapter of Preach My Gospel, I was reading about power and authority. It says that, as missionaries, we all have the authority to preach and teach the gospel as we have been set apart to do so. But the only way we can gain the power (as mentioned in the story of the Sons of Mosiah) is by being exactly obedient and keeping our covenants. I have a strong testimony that we are able to witness miracles as we are exactly obedient.

"Obedience brings blessings; EXACT obedience brings miracles." 

Look for ways that you may be slacking with your covenants or even the commandments you might be breaking and strengthen them! The Lord has prepared things for us that we cant imagine in the Kingdom of His Father, so why are we wasting our time with these trivial things that bring "happiness" that can only last a few minutes/days/years? Eternity is a much longer time than we all give credit for... Re-evaluate what you're doing each day and LOOK for ways to improve!

We all have areas in which we can do better. Heavenly Father loves and blesses us when we are striving to become like our Savior, Jesus Christ and I know that it is only through the incredible Plan of Salvation that we are able to return to live in His presence one day.

We must live the gospel of Jesus Christ: having faith in our Savior, using that faith to induce repentance, being baptized by someone who has the proper Priesthood authority of God, receiving the precious gift of the Holy Ghost, and living in a way that is pleasing to God until the end. I promise that this is the only way. But you will never know until you pray about it and ask the Creator of the plan if it is right. Ask Heavenly Father for absolutely anything! He loves us and answers our prayers!

He sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay for our sins if we would accept Him and become like Him through repentance! This is His Church! The Book of Mormon explains this plan perfectly and it doesn't matter how many times you have read it before or if you have never read it before. Give it a chance and tell me if it doesn't make you happy.

I know this work is the work of the Lord and He is making it possible for me, a lowly American, to change the lives of all these Brasileiros. I love you all and wish all you beautiful awesome mothers out there a happy mothers day! Be obedient, read the scriptures, and be happy!

Com fé e amor,

Elder LeSueur

Mormon.Org

Mother's Day

We had the awesome opportunity to skype with Elder LeSueur today, and he is doing great! He looks wonderful and sounds great. He spoke in Portuguese with us and we think he sounds like a native! Here are a couple of screenshots from the big event:

Mom & Dad, The Jensens, The Johnsons, and both grandmas were able to connect on the call!

A good time was had by all (:

Trevor and his companion, Elder B. Carvalho

...And here's the audio of Elder LeSueur's testimony in English and an account of The First Vision in Portuguese. It got cut off at the end, but Elder B. Carcalho told him that his Portuguese was spoken without an accent! 

In Case you want the English text to what exactly he is saying in Portuguese:

" I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light rested upon me I saw two personages , whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other-- This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him! "

Mormon.Org