"You Will Find Great Joy and Peace..."

Wow what a week it has been here in Provo, Utah! I've never been so tired but so dedicated and willing to work in my life as I am here and it's amazing but so exhausting at the same time. I have continued to learn so much and it's really becoming a habit that I will love and hopefully continue to keep past the next two years and for the rest of my life! I miss every one of you so dearly and I pray for you each time I speak with Heavenly Father, so I know He is taking care of you :)

I feel like I have kind of hit a wall with learning the language, but to me that means I just have to work harder! I know the Lord will bless me according to my needs and my obedience to His will. I have never been more willing to deal with things that come up in my life that are tough than I am now and it truly makes me so much happier. We can only deal with the experiences we are given, so complaining and wishing for it to change won't do us any good. Go out and make the most of it and give thanks to our Heavenly Father DAILY for the life He has provided you with here on Earth!

Even when we teach these "investigators" (our teachers act as people they taught on their missions for us to gain teaching experience) I am sad because they don't understand God's plan of happiness for us and I just can't even imagine how hopeless I would feel without that in my life. I testify that He loves each and every one of us beyond what we can comprehend and He's awaiting our return to His presence!

I encourage each of you to develop your Christlike attributes and show everyone you come into contact with the love that our Savior would show for them. We take so much for granted and not everyone has the same love in their life as you do so PLEASE go out and be charitable! 1 Corinthians 13 will tell you exactly how to do that. Go read that chapter, write down the characteristics of charity, which is the pure love of Christ, and strive daily to improve on those characteristics in your own life. I promise if you do this, you will not only be happier, but it will bring you closer to our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ, and in turn you will feel great joy and peace like you have never felt before.

I love all of you so much! I have a lot of time to think to myself when my companion, Elder Ginez, wakes us up a half hour early every morning (because he's gotta look pretty for all those Sister missionaries here ;) ) so during that half hour before I get up to shower, I just ponder about the plentiful amount of blessings I have in my life. My family and friends are the things I know I wouldn't be able to survive without so thank you all!

I hope you all have an incredible holiday season and please, don't focus on what you may or may not get for Christmas. Instead, focus on the Savior and His Atoning Sacrifice for each one of us. There is no greater gift we have received or ever will receive than what He did for us, so I beg you to at least kneel down and pour out your heart to Heavenly Father [in gratitude] for the wonderful plan He put in place to save our souls. If you want to know more about this plan, it's called The Plan ofSalvation. Google it or look it up on LDS.org and just marvel at the beauty of it!

I testify that Jesus is the Christ and He is the way by which we can return to live with our Father in Heaven again in His glory. I know that He loves us more than we will ever know in this life, and I pray that each of you can take time out of your own lives to discover that love! Go out and do some good in the world today and tomorrow and every day hereafter!

I love you all so much! Merry Christmas!

Elder LeSueur

PS- I heard this several times this week, and it really struck me hard. "When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes a quest, THAT is when the true blessings are poured out to you."
BE OBEDIENT!

Mormon.Org