God doesn't call perfection, He calls potential

Hey Family LeSueur!


So we had another awesome week, and Hermana Erickson and I had another miracle baptism! Enimia wasn't really progressing, but as she started reading the Book of Mormon something changed, and she accepted YESTERDAY as her date! This is the first time in my mission I've baptized a former Jehovah's Witness, and her son (who is still Jehovah's Witness) was really, really against her baptism- and from the second she said yes he was just yelling at her all the time and calling her a traitor. It was hard but she stuck it a out, and her baptism yesterday was super beautiful. We had a little miscommunication about filling up the font, and her water ended up being pretty cold... but she said that when she came up out of the water she couldn't feel it at all. She was so happy. She's been going through a lot of things, and the second she decided to be baptized I started seeing such a light in her eyes, a difference in her attitude. I'm so happy for her. Salvador is doing great, and his cousin came to church with us yesterday! He's psyched as can be with his new Gospel Principles book and is lovin life. We had a great week and we found lots more people who have already been to church a few times and are totally willing to start up listening again. Like every week, we had some rough times listening to people who just are so close to something so great but for some reason or another just won't open their hearts. It's such a heart-wrenching thing, that kind of situation, and you go home just so emotionally drained after something like that. Something small but cool this week was Saturday, running into this less-active guy on the street who basically started ripping on leadership in the church and a few other problems that were causing him to distance himself. As answers to his doubts just flowed into our minds, I realized/remembered so many things. Just like Elder Hales said, God doesn't call perfection. He calls potential. And sometimes that potential is not realized. Not even close. Or maybe something awful happens. But that doesn't mean a mistake was made in the calling, at all. Heavenly Father can't touch our agency, but He does know our character and exactly how we need to grow and the fact that we all have strong points that He'll put to good use in a certain calling. There's a lot more to it, but that's the basic idea. Also, our unworthy participation in sacred ordinances might make it look from the outside like everything's okay, but salvation is individual and it is our duty to prepare ourselves best we can to do things like take the sacrament or go to the temple, and we have to be completely honest with ourselves and Heavenly Father's worthy servants who help us. If not, we simply cannot receive the promised blessings, the ultimate blessing at the end of it all being eternal life. We definitely can't look at others and try to judge their worthiness either. I don't know, I've explained these things to people before but this time the same message reached my heart a bit more.


Also, this week I got that dreaded call...telling me that February 3 I will be going home, to the Salt Lake airport, and they asked me at what time of day I wanted my flight. I said "WUTEVVS" and the elder told me they'll get my ticket bought! Crazy. Let's see, what else... oh yeah, today this awesome member that's not actually from our ward but knows Hermana Erickson got us permission from the assistants to go take us back to my old area of Palmas but to do some sweet things, and we went to this museum called Soumaya (dad if you wanna look it up it's in this place called Polanco). I realized I've never really used my P-days to do things like sightseeing, I usually just eat and read if I have time, but today was super cool and needed. Super nice lady.


Guys, I love the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When I say it's TRUE I mean that it is the church God has established. If you want to know all of the classic points of view we encounter every day, just go take a look at the last talk by D. Todd Christofferson about WHY THE CHURCH. In fact, PLEASE go read it. It's something I didn't understand before my mission, to be completely honest. It makes all the logical sense in the world, yes, but what I've seen this week is that that answer straight from God is the most important evidence there is...and forgetting that answer is almost impossible. I watched a video of Francesco Di Francesca, the preacher who found the Book of Mormon without a cover, read it and received an answer, and then gave up EVERYTHING to find the church it came from. I talked to that less-active guy in the street, and realized that for all of his concerns, he has continued going for more than 20 years for his experience with the Book of Mormon, which has always ultimately transcended every other little problem. I saw Enimia withstand the harsh opposition of her family for days on end for her loyalty to what she FEELS is true. THIS IS REAL. This is salvation. I'm the most imperfect person and missionary, I have so far to go, and I owe Him so so much more than 3 1/2 months more of full-time service. But I'll take it. And I'll do my best to use it well.


I love you all a lot.


Beeeeeeeg Keeeeeees Leeeeeeetle Keeeeeeees


Hermana LeSueur

Apartment in Claveria

Enimia's Baptism

Hermana Erickson's grandpa found out that Emma and Hailey are actually distant cousins!!!