I feel so lucky

Hey!

Whooooo so first things first, Toni finally got baptized yesterday! Bad news is, I left my camera in the house on accident tehe oops sorry. BUT next week we should have pictures of two baptisms, because Citlali already had her interview and is gearing up for this Sunday! WHOOO. The Familia Suarez came to church for the third time, along with the English class I gave and the Father's Day activity the ward had. They are preparing for the 5th of July! Super exciting, watching a big cute family progress like this. I feel so lucky to get to watch it. This week was a bit hard, I got sick with a way fun fever so as stressful as it was I had to stay in a few hours. Also, if you're wondering if I'm still allergic to Hazelnut, I am. (I thought it was chocolate ice cream...) Haha, other than that, it was a good week and I'm excited for the rest of this cambio! Only a few weeks more and then we'll see what happens! I hope I stay in Morelos for a few more cambios, honestly. I kinda cut it close with my time today, but THE CHURCH IS TRUE and I love you all more than words can describe!!! I'll talk to you next week!

Beeeeeg Keeeeeees Leeeeeetle Keeeees

Hermana LeSueur

How to recognize the Spirit

HEY FAMILY WHO'S IN DISNEYLAND!

Well, you're all there on rides...here I am in an internet cafe listening to some mariachis and some really LOUD cackling going on outside... something I love about Mexico is that they find a reason to have a fiesta just about every day... aka, something like "teacher's day" is a big deal and pretty much every week there's SOME kind of holiday! But I'm so happy you're there having fun for Kate's graduation! Seriously, it's probably good I'm not there to stress everyone out with my over-planning, jaja. It was quite the week here in Morelos, we didn't have too much success with finding new people, but the Familia Suarez is AWESOME and showed up to church early, everyone dressed up in suits and dresses. So SO excited! PRAY THAT THEY'LL GET BAPTIZED PLEASE! Something sad - Toni got really sick a few days ago, after he'd already helped us plan his baptismal program and was really excited. He was bed-ridden when we went to get him yesterday, and we're going to baptize him next week. Citlaly still has a bit to go before she can get baptized, because she needs to have gone 5 times to church, so the 28th is her date. The Familia Suarez can get baptized on the 5th of July, so we're going to be focusing on them a ton! Other significant things - an eight-year-old got baptized in the ward yesterday and wanted me to speak at it... also the Elders made me speak at their baptism last week, so I'm just on a roll these days. Man, you guys wouldn't believe how calm I am about having to speak at things spur-of-the-moment these days! A major sign I've changed a lot, haha. 

It was a bit of a disappointing week, because the whole week we had had 15 people committed to church (two more families) and little by little they flaked out. But the good thing is that our best people did come yesterday, and Citlaly came with her mom (who can't get baptized right now but wants to). This is seriously such a golden area! I hope I stay here three cambios like my other areas, then I'll have one more area and that's it! Haha, I like staying in areas a long time. Also, I talked the Familia Martinez Maldonado, and they totally remember Elder Gardner! They LOVE him and say they're coming to Utah to visit in a few months. 

My companion and I had some cool experiences this week listening to the Spirit and avoiding some dangerous situations. I'd say that was the theme of the week - how to recognize the Spirit. I studied it a lot, and we focused on trying to bring the Spirit more than anything else when we enter a casa. We had some AWESOME lessons on the Atonement, which I just love teaching here using Jesus' experience in Gethsemane because seriously so few people know about that part. They have their cross and that's it. I love watching them come to realize just how much Jesus did for them. Our two other main families at the moment, Gustavo and Jasmin and Abril and then Viki and her three kids, are great, but they need LOTS of confidence. We'll get them to church next week! Thanks for your letters, love you all!

Beeeeeg Keeeeeees, Leeeeeeetle Keeeeeees

Hermana LeSueur

Gaby's baptism

Emma's "kitchen"

Emma's room

Emma's desk

Maria Guadelupe, Esmerelda, and Rubi

Mendoza Family

Franchini Family

4 cakes and a tres leches

Hey Guys!

Well, what can I say... my first and last birthday in Mexico has come and gone! I'm having a major problem uploading pictures slash videos of the two time that I got the whole "face-in-the-cake" thing pulled on me, but just know that it happened. I got lots of cute little presents and notes from members and investigators, even though I'm new here I already feel really close with the ward. My cakes were: a Ding-Dong cake, a chocolate cake that a member bought me, a white cake the bishop's family brought to me, the microwave cake momma sent me, and a tres leches cake with raspberries that the family we ate with yesterday made me! Suuuuper spoiled, I know. I still don't have the Mexico birthday song memorized, but it's really cute slash long and I've heard it so many times in the last weeks! In response to your question momma, other than my cakes it was a normal day, can't believe I'm no longer a teenager! Just want to thank you all for the birthday wishes, super nice, definitely made me so happy! Also, the best birthday present of all... we had a baptism on Wednesday! A little girl named Gabi with inactive parents, we taught them and they allowed her to get baptized. Super fun. This coming Sunday we're baptizing the jovencito Toni and then after that a jovencita named Citlaly. Also, we had a great miracle this week. I was having a bit of a hard time navigating the area, a little frustrated, and my zone leader (who's also my district leader) told me to just focus on contacting every single family we see and he promised us that we'd have a new family at church on Sunday. Well, we did what he said until Saturday night, and had no luck. Even that great family we brought last week called and cancelled and told us they'd left as a family and wouldn't be back til Sunday night. Well, a few minutes after that phone call (on Saturday night!) we ran into a family we had contacted a week before, a family of five, walking out to go eat. When we saw them they straight-up told us right away "We'll see you at church tomorrow!" and they all came! We had a great new guy named Julio come as well, and of course Toni and Citlaly and Max (pray for him please - his parents won't let him be baptized) and it all-around ended up being a good week at church. And we have lots of baptismal dates planned! We basically set a date with everyone this week, and our investigator Oscar and Jazmin and Abril also have tentative fechas for the 28th and the 5th. I'm getting used to this new area, it's so different, but I love it! I had an awesome personal study this morning, reading Jesus the Christ and just thinking about how lucky we are to be members of the true church in this time. Man, Heavenly Father trusts us so much! I love Him, and I love His church. As I always make a point of explaining, it is God's kingdom here on Earth. Thank you all again for sending me a birthday note, hope you have a great week!

Beeeeeeg Keeeeees, Leeeeeeetle Keeeeees,

Hermana LeSueur

20th Bday Celebrations

I just love being a missionary, okay?

Hey FAM

Sorry this will be short, I left my long email for last for some reason! 

But, here's the deal:

I live in Toluca, Mexico

My companion is a year younger but went to BYU a semester

We had lots of people in church this week, I think the most of my whole mission, and we're baptizing on Wednesday, a girl named Gaby!

We found a great family who came with us and we're hoping to baptize them once they've been to church the five times

My area is like Lomas Verdes in that we spend a lot of time walking from cita to cita because they're really spread out, not like Palmas at all

We have another baptismal date for the 14th, a teenager named Toni

Our bishop is the funniest person in the world (he calls everyone "sinners," literally in every sentence and loves to say "pure iniquity" and just says super funny things like "sorry Hermanas, I was drunk so I forgot about our appointment")

I love my new area, my ward is awesome and love to come on visits with us, getting lessons with a member present is easy 

Already made a super cute little future-missionary friend in the ward, Monica, and she's 18. She came to me on Sunday and said she received specific revelation that she should talk to me about some things she's going through, even though we don't know each other too well. She said she even fought Heavenly Father on it because she thought it would be weird to come to me, but He persisted and said "I already told you, talk to Hermana LeSueur!" We had a super good talk, we have things in common, and I directed her to read Joseph Smith History. You're all invited as well :)

LOTS of rain, so much rain. Rain, rain, rain! 

I'm expecting such a good cambio here in Morelos, it's a fun area and I feel content! Thank you for your prayers, I love you all! I'll see you soon... how many months more? Crazy. 18 months is a short period to serve the Lord with ALL your time, I'm trying hard to make the most of it, and I'm seeing a lot of permanent changes in my character. I just love being a missionary, ok? 

Beeeeeg Keeeees, Leeeeeetle Keeeees

Hermana LeSueur