"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

"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