Hey!!
Mom thanks so much for the great email and I’m glad that Dad caught enough fish to hopefully last until I get home!
I am incredibly excited for Bob (Robert) and wish I could be there to see Dad baptize him! That’s also way great about Mitch Reber. I wish I could have been there for his talk, but I’ll be here when he gets home which is probably better, but I am so excited for him to get out here. The new area I’m in probably looks and feels exactly like the Philippines. And Allie possibly going to an island and helping the people there!!! I couldn’t be more happy if she had the opportunity to do that. That is so cool!!
Well over all hearing how great the family is doing is making my mission way worth the while let alone all the great things that are happening here. So I’ll start off with that great baptism I told everyone about well as we were filling up the font Saturday, the bishop called us and told us that her dad (her being Vitoria) got into some pretty serious trouble with the police so all day they were at the police station or somewhere that wouldn’t be the church/baptismal font. That may have been more depressing than is sounds through email, but life happens. We scheduled it for this next Saturday. We also have been teaching a great family that is sure to be baptized soon but it turns out a bunch of streets in our ward are getting demolished so a ton of people are moving out, including them (frowny face) but we were planning on teaching them a couple of lessons with the missionaries in their new ward to get them used to the other ward, so all will be well with them. Sunday was great. The bishop gave a great lesson on visiting less actives because the home teaching and visiting teaching percentage here is close to 0 if not 0, and lack of not visiting families is ultimately the reason so many of these people have fallen away. Sunday night we got 4 referrals and I felt like I gave the best lesson I have ever given to these 4 people in the house of a member. They all seemed to have a lot of potential to be baptized!
Well, during the lesson to these four people my zone leader called and I WAS TRANSFERED (big loud booming sound in the back ground)! What? Well I was super sad because JD American has been my home in Recife and for the last 4 months but of course life happens and what can you do. The mission may as well be called change when you don’t want it. Sunday night I got everything packed quick and Monday (yesterday) morning we headed to transfers. At transfers I got to see Elder Mullenaux for the first time since we got to Recife! Unfortunately also the last time I’d see him in Recife also. After talking and talking it sounds like his back is pretty bad and will take time to recover. Man I love that guy! It was hard, extremely hard to see him go but I truly feel he did a lot out here and his going is what had to happen with the condition he was going through. Everyone I talked to that knew him out here loved him a ton and saw him as a great Elder! And everyone mentioned how strong he is. I guess he won a lot of arm wrestles (ha ha).
Elders Apeland, LeSueur and Mullenaux
As for me, if I could have picked anywhere to be in the world, I feel like it would be here in Joao (John) Jose ( Hosay), my new area. I really feel like the hard challenging times in JD American were to prepare me for this area, because this area will be hard but a different kind of hard. A hard that I really feel like will strengthen me in every way. It’s pretty far from the city and the weather is a little better. We are super close to the beach and there is jungle all around us. It’s super beautiful!!! Our ward is held in a nice big house and we have around 8 active members, but normally around 20 are at church (I’m not exactly sure but that is what my comp told me). I am the 1st councilor and clerk. Our area is pretty new so we truly are building Zion here in Joáo José. We are pretty far from the mission office so letters and packages I think will take a while longer to get to me.
elder calvalcanti
My companion is pretty much the opposite of my last companion. He has 3 months left of his mish and is one of the best missionaries out (so elders have told me). He is the funniest guy I’ve ever met and super healthy! No more Coca Cola every day! He is 28 and was baptized 3 years ago. He was engaged and had a date set to get married in Sao Paulo, but his stake president talked to him and he decided to go on a mission first. Wow, what a sacrifice! So he is engaged and has a ring and everything! Yeah, but he is super awesome and our house is way good! I couldn’t be more blessed! I’m so excited for these next three months with Elder Cavalcante (caval-kanch). So that’s the news for this week! Oh and I have to give a talk and teach Sunday school each week and read the Bishop Manual every day. Ha ha, crazy, crazy! Life is great and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else than where I am right now. Elder Cavalcante is amazing and I’m so excited to be a part of this great Zion here in the South of Pernambuco.
Até logo for now!
When fear departs faith endures!
Com Amor,
Elder LeSueur
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