I'll go where you want me to go dear Lord

Her little note to me:

 My confidence has definitely changed, it's true! I know who I am and what I'm capable of. Heavenly Father knows I'm capable of Mexico City, of training. I can't do it perfectly but I can do it! Thanks so much momma, so nice. I changed a lot in Palmas, so now it's time to move on to Morelos and apply everything I learned! Love you so much

FAMILY

Hey! So...great last week! Alma and Enrique did NOT get married, despite our best efforts, running all over Mexico trying to get their papers together. BUT. After early mornings and late nights, we got everything we needed EXCEPT the original birth certificate of Alma, and Hermana Hardy is working on getting that together so they can get married this week. Also, we had a great week of people coming to church, lots of less-actives came back and we had lots of investigators! Probably the most we've had in these last six weeks. I'm sad I won't get to see Alma and Enrique, Karla and Rosendo and their son, Martha, and Domingo get baptized, but I know that they will with Hermana Hardy and her new companion, and so I'm grateful I at least got to play a part in their conversion. Still sad! But I feel confident that I left the Palmas teaching pool as full as I could. So, I'm here in MORELOS 2 in TOLUCA! My situation is pretty much the same as the last cambio, I'm finishing the training of an American, Hermana Garber. This area hasn't baptized in a really long time, so I'm excited to see what we can do! It's funny, because my last District Leader was named Elder Goodrich... and so is my new one! They're 4th cousins, haha, but they're both super nice. My companion is from Kaysville UT and is really cute, already great at Spanish. President came to our ward on Sunday and I asked him about her. He told me she's a LOT like me, that her first cambio was difficult like mine for lots of the same reasons. So I'm excited to hopefully come in and be for her what HERMANA MERCADO was for me. 

I was really REALLY sure I was going to a pueblo pueblo this cambio, but my new area isn't all that different from Palmas. Here is more humble, but it's far from what I was thinking this cambio was going to be. But I already like it a lot, and the bishop here is widely known as the best bishop in the mission boundaries... 

Anywho. So sad to leave Palmas. Seriously, I needed a change, but super hard to leave my converts and lots of members that I love so much. I basically had a day of goodbyes yesterday, and there were some tears shed. Familia Franchini (recent converts) threw me a last-minute birthday party and shoved my face in a cake made of Twinkies sang me all the funny Mexico birthday songs. Maria Guadelupe's daughters made me lots of "poems" and drawings. It was a sad day, but I know it HAD to happen. I'll go where you want me to go, dear Lord! 

So, here I am. New people. New companion. New area. New adventure. I know that I'm here for a reason, just like I was in Palmas and Lomas Verdes for a reason. I know that Heavenly Father knows me, knows what I need, knows what my companion needs. I love Him so much, and I'm so grateful for these great opportunities He's given me! Love you all, have a great week!

Beeeeeeg Keeeeees, Leeeeeetle Keeeeeees

Hermana LeSueur

Be perfect in trying

Emma's letter was really short and just to us last week, since she just skyped us the day before for Mother's Day (which was awesome by the way!)  It was really cute and I thought you might enjoy reading it.  And below it is this week's letter :)

Hi guys!

Can't believe I saw you yesterday! It felt soooo short, but at least i didn't spend the whole time crying again... Just so fun to talk like normal, see our basement, hear your laughs and voices, just be assured that everyone' fine and everything's normal. Also, saying "see you again in 7 months" at the end made the rest of my mission seem SO short! Could be less than that, of course... I know Regents will accept me if I start early, but will BYU as well? I'll definitely be giving that a lot of thought.

Ok first, DADDY, thank you for your nice letter, I am a lot happier. Lots of changes happening! For every single one of us, it seems. I love what you said about it being in the Lord's hands - after all we can do, we may stand still and wait on the Lord. I've been reading a lot about that topic. I'm not going to be a perfect missionary ever, but if I'm trying to be more obedient and more like Christ every day I can be "perfect in trying."

MOMMA! I loved seeing you wearing my Ink shirt and hearing your laugh. I'm sorry I didn't say more about Mother's Day, I want you to know how much I seriously though about and talked about you yesterday. I shared a though with some members yesterday about how you influenced me to serve a mission just SO MUCH. You're so strong and brave and thinking of you making it through the Philippines helps me find the confidence that I can get through Mexico. I know it couldn't have been easy to send your daughter to a place like this, but that just goes to show how completely you understand the Gospel and how much you trust in the Lord. It's incredible, momma, the things you do. You have helped me every single day of my mission, without a doubt. As always, words are so insufficient, but THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING, EVERY LITTLE THING, AND HAPPY HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Kitty Kitty y r u sew prittee. I love you. I miss you. Congrats on being the smartest, sportiest, most beautiful, most talented person in the whole world! Times are a'changin for you right now, and I want you to know how PROUD I am of you, not because of what you've een able to accomplish, but because of the sweet, funny, thoughtful person you are. See ya in a bit!

Sammy Whammy - my b-ball bro-tank baja-voz BRUDDER. Man, Sammy, you look OLD! You're almost as big and tough as Michael Scarn! Almost. Congrats on basketball and on being the cutest TEENAGER EVER. Guess what, if you go slow enough, I'll be home to watch the last two episodes of The Office with you...whaddya think? Can you wait 8 months more? I love you bubby. You're the greatest. 

Lucy SMOOSH. YOU KNOW IT'S SO HARD FOR ME TO LOOK AT YOU WITHOUT CRYING BUT SOMEHOW I DID IT! Goose, my soccer star! Are you going to play for BYU one day??? Man, I just miss holding your cute hand. So happy that you're going to come be with Kitty and I when we live at the Y! Seriously baby, I loved seeing you yesterday and hearing the cute little voice that luckily hasn't changed as much as Sammy's... haha. I love your cute little letters you send me, I print almost all of them to put on my wall and read in the week because they're so sweet. You're the cutest in the world and I love you soooo much!

LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH

Hermana Emmy

Heyyy slash Hola errbody!

So, crazy week...In the training process there comes a point when the person being trained gets to run EVERYTHING! And it was Hermana (VICTORIA) Hardy's week! She did great, and I loved seeing all the things we've learned together come into play. Something awesome this week - we had a SUPER AWESOME FAMILY at church, I feel like we haven't had a solid family in awhile. I think I've already mentioned Karla and fam, but they came with us all dressed up with their two kids and made lots of friends and the husband is basically the greatest, so much interest in the Book of Mormon and wants to keep learning and learning all he can. So that's exciting! I know they'll get baptized, but it's not too likely I'll be here to see it. But that's okay, building the kingdom is building the kingdom! We're focusing a lot this week on getting ALMA y ENRIQUE baptized. I don't know if you remember them, but they're basically the most member-members you can be without actually being members. For some reason or another, they just haven't wanted to get married! We had a great family home evening with them, and now they're willing. PRAY FOR THEM A LOT PLEASE! We're having lots of problems with their paperwork, because she doesn't have her birth certificate, but my whole district is praying we'll see a miracle. We have a great pool of investigators at this point, and it's sad because this could be my last P-day in Palmas. But I loved something Maria Guadelupe told me this week. We were having a lesson, and we started talking about the fact that I could be gone soon. She started telling me that even though it's sad, she feels like I've had a lasting effect here in Palmas and even more than that, I've changed as a person. As in, she told me, that the difference she sees in me - in my confidence, in my happiness, is just incredible. And so she says she doesn't want it but she's at peace with my leaving because "like an angel, you can only be here for a moment to make your difference and then just like that you're gone," and honestly I too am at peace. It was really really nice what she said. I've met so many people who have changed my life here, especially those I've baptized. I was talking to Aida yesterday and she said she'll never forget the moment in which I "looked into her heart" and told her "Why wait to do something if you know it's right RIGHT now?" that was the second she knew she had to get baptized the next day, that she was ready. I have plans to come back and live with her after my mission, haha. :) The members are so wonderful and I've met so many people so SO Christ like that just inspire me every time I'm with them. Oh, Palmas. "Because I knew you, I have been changed for good." 

We had an awesome conference with a member of the 70 yesterday, Elder Nash. Awesome, can't even explain how much I needed it and how powerful everything he said was. Seriously, the theme was ENJOY YOUR MISSION. I have to go in a minute, but I'll try to remember to write down my notes next week. Basically, we were told by him and by President that we are allowed to be happy, it's actually essential. Also, we're so LUCKY to be on missions. Yep, it's true. I feel extremely lucky to be here. I KNOW THE CHURCH IS TRUE AND I LOVE GIVING THIS WONDERFUL GIFT TO OTHERS ALL DAY LONG. I love you all so much, have a great week.               

Beeeeeg Keeeeees, Leeeeeetle Keeeeees,

Hermana LeSueur

Balance

Thanks to all who prayed for Emma and who take the time to write her.  She is learning the importance of BALANCE in missionary work, and that success is not always measured in baptisms but in the amount of hard work and effort she puts in each day.  Agency is a very important part of the Plan of Salvation and Emma has learned a great deal already about doing all she can and leaving the rest up to the Lord. Thanks again for all the support! and ps we finally got some pictures!!

Heeeeeey fam!

Wooooh. First of all, just want to say sorry for sending such a downer as an email last week! I'm sure all of you who've served missions know that sometimes you just get in a bit of a rut. But I thank you so much for your many helpful words, I appreciate it! This has been a challenging week, but better! Manuel, our Colorado investigator, is getting baptized this next week or the next, and Mari is also working with us and the bishop to get baptized. Other than that, we have a really great week planned with three potentially awesome Family Home Evenings - we have an investigator named Karla who has been to church with her husband and two little boys a few times, they go to a Christian church now, but we have a Family Home Evening planned and we'll get them to church! They're really cool and have some great potential to be a really good, strong family. Also, we have a Family Home Evening planned with Maria Guadelupe and her husband and Aida and her husband. It'll be a good week, and with the progress that Manuel is making, plus the fact that he went to church for three straight months in the last place he lived, he'll be getting baptized soon! We had some GREAT lessons with him this week, a few with Mari present and a few brothers in the ward that have had similar problems but now are so happy and so strong in the church. 

Aida and Max are doing great, Aida got confirmed yesterday and then bore her testimony. Very cool. Maria Guadelupe is loving the service aspect of the church, and is the first to sign up for everything. She's so much happier than when I first met her, seriously. I had another fun intercambio with Hermana Toone, and I just loved it. AND DID I MENTION HERMANA HARDY IS GREAT. Seriously, she just is such a fun person and a hard worker. So sad I didn't know her at BYU before! 

We had a great week as far as BALANCE goes, between how many lessons we have with a member present, how many lessons we teach members and less actives and recent converts, how many contacts we had and references we received... as far as all that goes, I feel great about this week, and we succeeded our goals in most areas. WOW, the mission is a crazy thing, but I'm so grateful for it. I'm REALLY grateful for the Book of Mormon. We've been focusing a lot on it, and I would say that alone handed us what ended up being 15 new investigators this week! We have some great great people who are READING, and I'm so excited to see where that goes. Man, we are so lucky to have this book. Seriously. I've loved focusing more on it, the fact that we have the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and that, with the Book of Mormon and the Bible, we know exactly what to do - no confusion. It's so simple and clear and PERFECT. I encourage you all to go read the introduction and the testimony of Joseph Smith one more time, it's so awesome. I know it's true, and all this is WORTH IT! I'm praying for you, and I love you!

Beeeeeeeg KEees Leeeeeel Keeees,

Hermana LeSueur

Emma says this is "classic San Isidro"

Front of Emma's apartment, apparently she had to climb through that open window with a ladder because they got locked out haha

The Hermana's sweet bathroom, no shower curtain, among other things

Loving banana splits at a nice member's house

Man does Emma LOVE Sister Hardy her cute companion

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