Friday, December 26, 2014

It was so great to talk to you yesterday! I love you and I love my mission! Merry Christmas!

 

This happens too often...

Mary and Joseph on Christmas morning

South 2 District 1

Our Christmas set up :)

 

White Christmas!

Sister Garcia is the best!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Dear Famry,

   Sorry if this email is kinda short I have been feeling rather sickly. My good friend Sister Tan has been hacking all over the apartment all week and lo and behold I am sick now :( but its all good. I am definitely not surprised to hear that Elise is sick I think I would be more surprised to hear if she wasn't sick. Why do you have such baby germs Leese? So it is kinda strange not being home during Christmas time but it is also nice because this is definitely a year that I have focused the most on the Savior. I know that I will only get 2 Christmas' to be on a mission and it is a blessing to be serving the Lord at this special time of year.

   Wow so only one more week until I get to speak with y'all! Woop! I will actually just be calling and I signed up to call at 11 so it will be 10 your time is that good? The call will be like 40-50 minutes so lets not get crazy. I have had a great week just adjusting to the new transfer. Sister Garcia is just the sweetest thing. Just 5 minutes ago she asked me dead serious, "What does it mean to be a straight up G?" I was dying laughing I love the questions I get here. She also thinks I am hilarious so I approve. We have been getting along great we just haven't got to spend too much time together because she is district leader so she goes on a ton of exchanges with Sisters for meetings and what not. Yeah, so there are three different apartment complexes that the church owns around Temple Square that all us Sisters stay in. I am on the same floor as Sister Cardus, Sister Sughroue, and Sister Rajah so we all exercise together in the mornings and it is the best, i love it.

   Our investigators are doing well. Unfortunately, Charles' date has been pushed back again. He is having a hard time with the coffee situation but we will keep praying that he will be strong enough to quit so he can be baptized asap. We were able to put another lady named Stephane from Texas on date. I met her when she called in a couple months ago to receive a Book of Mormon. We are looking forward to skyping her baptism on January 10th!

   So thanks again for putting those packages together for my companions. I would ask that you put something more special together for Sister Garcia. Just a few days ago she told me that she lost her mother 4 years ago to breast cancer. She was just 16 years old. Her father was left alone to take care of her and her 5 siblings. Her and her younger brother have blessed their family so much because they are both serving missions right now. She expressed to me how grateful she was for the one package she received last year from her father with a scarf and a note. She said how big of a deal that was for her dad to send a package because her family is very poor. When I heard this story I went into the bathroom and just cried for a while. The people that are here in this mission are humbling me and changing my perspective on so many things. I am so grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ and for the wonderful gift that he is to all of us. Let us all take some time to truly embrace the gift this Christmas. I love you and look forward to speaking with you soon. Mewwy Chwistmas (Dr. Brayden voice.)

♥ Sister Leavitt

P.S. Who wants the gizzard? Meeee! TOO LATE!! That would be mine...!

 

 

Temple Square Guest Services, this is Sister Leavitt

 

Selfie for the Christmas card

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Hi! Just a quick email I do not have too much to say since it has only been a couple days. I am glad I could resolve the disagreement though. It is comforting to know that at least one of my parents can recognize me.
     So Tuesday was my last day at Welfare. So sad! I will miss it but I am sure I will get to go back and cover and maybe I will be called there again. I learned so much from serving there it was truly a humbling experience. Yesterday was transfer day and it was crazy! I had to fly out of the nest and out of mama Cardus' tender wing ;( Both Sister Rajahs companion and mine were coming back from outbound so of course we seized the opportunity to go on exchanges with each other yesterday! It was the best. I just love her so much! We weren't able to be together for long though because we were asked sort of on the spot to "babysit" a few new sisters while they waited for their trainers to return from outbound. So it was similar to what a sister had to do for me while I was waiting for Sister Cardus to come...make sense? It was so fun! I just helped a new Sister from Texas move into her new apartment and get things situated. I can't believe I am in my third transfer now time is really flying. Sister Garcia got back from New Mexico around 4 yesterday! It was so nice to finally meet her! She is very very nice and I know that she is going to teach me a lot and how to be nice and stuff. It is going to be a grreeatt transfer I just know it :) She is our district leader and is going to do a really good job. Thank you so much for the Christmas package! Our apartment was definitely lacking in the Christmas decoration department so thank you so much. So are you all ready to hear from me on Christmas?! Wahooo only a couple more weeks. Would the house phone be best to call? I will get to talk for like 45 minutes. Anyways, not much to report today but we are still looking forward to Charles' baptism on Sunday! I love you all. Peace and blessins.

xoxo, Sister Leavitt ♥

Monday, December 8, 2014

Heeeyy!!

     So I feel like I need to address this first thing. I see what picture you are referring to on the blog and that is not me. I repeat that is NOT ME. It really does look like me and Sister Cardus though but unfortunately it is not.

     The second thing I need to address is the transfer changes. WAHOOO. We had transfer conference this morning and I felt like I was going to cry and throw up all at the same time. My nails are bitten down to nubs which makes it impossible to scratch my bed bug bites. So stressful. I already knew I was not going to be with Sister Cardus another transfer because we found out yesterday that she is a new Zone leader! Yay, shes so great. Thats my trainer everyone. Sooooo I have another foreign companion annndd she iss.........Sister Garcia from Spain! Mucho espanol. I have actually not met her yet though because she left to go outbound to New Mexico when I got here so on Wednesday will be our first time meeting. Everyone says she is super nice though and I am excited for this new transfer. Also my P-day has been changed to Thursday. Its a super random day I know but I get double P-day this week so that's legit. For the new transfer I will no longer be at Welfare Square :( but I do have a new assignment at guest services. My new companion and I will be assigned a couple days a week to basically be the receptionists for Temple Square. We will schedule V.I.P tours and stuff so it will be good. I am happy to have an assignment again. Sister Cardus is moving just down the hall so if I ever need my mom she will be close. I am also living in the same bed bug apartment haha but its okay I am glad I don't have to move and my Thai BFF Sister Tan is staying in the same apartment as me so its all good. So the new transfers will start on Wednesday and then I will get to email again on Thursday so I will let you know how everything goes.

     This week was crazy though. As you know, Charles had a baptismal date for last Saturday the 6th. We were all excited and were getting everything set up for Saturday when suddenly he dropped of the face of the earth. Noooooooooooooo! It was the worst. He would not answer our phone calls any more and he didn't show up to our appointment so by Saturday when we still hadn't heard from him we were super sad. I thought we were being punked by the whole situation because he really is too good to be true. His baptism was scheduled for 1pm on Saturday and at 12:50 we get a call from Charles when we were in the middle of the tour. This was the first call from him of the week. "Hey where are y'all? I'm at the church its almost time for my baptism." No way. I honestly cried. He said he was really busy all week helping out his old friends from the baptist church! Unfortunately because it was so last minute we were not able to baptize him this week but he is on date for next Saturday and Sister Cardus and I plan to go together. I have grown a strong testimony that fasting works! I have never fasted so hard in my life but I know the Lord blesses us for our efforts.

      On Thursday we had a special Relief Society meeting in the Relief Society building with all of the General Relief Society Presidency. So much Relief Society in one sentence. It was such a blessing to hear from them!  I admire these women and their powerful testimonies. They asked us, "What are some of the words that come to mind when you think of Relief Society?" Sister Cardus and I were whispering back and forth to each other words like shalls, back problems, casseroles, and vanilla scented perfume. But I was also thinking of words like love, charity, and service! It is such a blessing to be a part of the largest women's organization in the world and also the largest sister mission in the world.

     Speaking of our mission we broke the record last month for the highest amount of baptisms in one transfer in the history of the mission. The Lord blessed us with 160 baptisms last transfer! President Poulsen was happy. So naturally, we celebrated with pizza today.

       It is a great time to be alive. The Lords work is hastening and it is a blessing to be apart of it. I love you all and will talk to you in like 3 days! #sharethegift

Love, Sister Leavitt <3

 

 

Yesterday, I went on exchanges with Sister Toa (Vanuatu) and Sister Kang (Cambodia) to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional :)

 

Monday, December 1, 2014

Hey Fam,

aksfjal;sfkj

I never know how to start these letters but it has been another amazing week!

    I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving. Mine was really good. A stake in Bountiful was assigned to have all us Sisters for Thanksgiving. We didn't know it until we got there but we actually got assigned to the Stake Presidents house so I guess we were really lucky. His name is Dan Lake and his wife's name is Chris. It was their "off year" for Thanksgiving for all their kids were at the in-laws so they were really happy to have us. They said they were going to send you an email of a picture we took but I don't know if they did yet. It was just me, Sister Cardus and another companionship of Sister Steenhoek (Kaylee's roommate from college) and her companion Sister Chau. It was really nice and relaxing we just talked a lot and after dinner we watched Ephraim's rescue. We were there from 12-6 but I wish we could've stayed there forever it was so nice. I miss being in homes and stuff. I know that there is nothing that will make us happier faster than counting our blessings. "There is one thing we can do to make life sweeter...we can be grateful" -Dieter F Uchtdorf.
Here's a list of things I am grateful for:

1. my mission

2. Jesus Christ

3. my fam

4. home cooked meals

5. my companion

6. my investigators

7. Ben&Jerrys

       Last Tuesday we got the news about the "He is the Gift" promotion. "He" meaning Jesus Christ of course. It is such an awesome title and the apostles (Bednar and Nelson) who put this together were truly inspired. I am not sure if you have heard about it but so far it has been really awesome. It is all based around a video that was made by the church about how Jesus Christ is the true gift of Christmas. I'm sure grandma can tell you about it since she was here but it is kind of the theme this year in all the visitors centers around the world. If you haven't watched it yet you definitely should and then share it with the world! That is what we are trying to do. The church even bought out a portion of youtubes homepage for December 7th. The "He is a gift video" is expected to have millions of views by the end of that day. WHOOP. It is so exciting to be a part of it!

     This week we have been continuing to teach Charles. He is always like 40 minutes early to our appointments its hilarious. He is the easiest person to teach I will probably never get this lucky again in my mission he is just so awesome. Here are some of my favorite quotes from him

1."Love casts out all fear"

2."Life aint gonna be a bowl of cherries"

3."Thats true right there!!"

He is teaching me a lot actually. Like on Wednesday I was reading him a scripture in the Book of Mormon when right in the middle of me speaking he snatched my Book of Mormon out of my hand and said, "Now quote me a scripture Sister Leavitt." He said, "You can sit there and read me scriptures all day but it is not until you memorize them and lock them in your heart that you can truly apply them into your life." uhhh....wut. I just stared at him speechless like an idiot. Needless to say I have been trying to memorize scriptures every day since then. He is getting baptized this Saturday! I can't wait!

       Even brighter than the lights that are here on Temple Square are the people. Most people. I am talking about the people that sing along with us Sisters when we are trying to invite the spirit and the people who absolutely beam when they walk up the ramp and see the statue of Christ. However, I am not talking about the people who "romantically" dance with their significant other while the Christus narration is playing, and that actually happened by the way. I was trying so hard not to laugh when I saw that yesterday. One of our assignments is at the Christus and because of the massive amounts of people we have to let up about 40 or so at a time. We are there for about an hour and I can tell you that there is no greater experience than sharing your testimony of Christ over and over to large amounts of people! I am truly blessed to get to spend so much time here especially at Christmas time.

      I love you all and hope you have the best Christmas. Happy Birthday tomorrow dad, you old fart!

Love, Sister Leavitt <3

      

Thanksgiving with the Lakes in Bountiful

Sister Steenhoek. Kaylee's roommate from college

This is my district leader Sister Truscilio from Italy!

West 2 District 2!

Gabriella and Johnathon's baptism on Saturday. Check out how tall that elder is!

Our Thai roommates clogged up our sink with their stinky food. Soooo nasty!

Monday, November 24, 2014

Dear Family,

     NO WAY! GOOO PIRATES!!! Can I say, finally? That's so awesome Aust you have no idea how bummed I am that I missed out on that. It sounds like it was super intense! I was tossing and turning Saturday night not knowing the result and I was speed walking to the computer today to find out! I am so happy! WHOOP! CONGRATS! Hows the ankle dad? Hatin it? Hahahah.

      My week was good of course! I can't believe that it is already week 5 of this transfer and that I will be with a new companion soon. I am coming up on my three month mark, can you believe it? The time is flying it seems like pday every other day now but at the same time when I think about the last time I emailed it seems like forever ago. The days are just filled and I am staying super busy which I am grateful for.

     Speaking of gratitude.....I am so excited for Thanksgiving! Serving at Welfare Square during this time is an absolute blessing. It is packed all the time and I am filling a lot of orders which is really an awesome experience. I have so much to be grateful for. It might be hard being away from my fam this Thanksgiving but fortunately we get to go to members houses! We are going to a members house in Bountiful with one other companionship and I am very thankful for that! You have seen the dinners I make and I am so happy that I get a legit one at least twice a year (thanksgiving and Christmas.) So the lights come on this Friday and we get new schedules. I am so excited! We get assignments in our districts and 3 companionship's will be in one place. Also, because we will be so busy at night time our Pday schedule is changing. Right now my pday starts at 12:30 and goes until the rest of the night but next week my pday will start in the morning and end at 6 so I will be emailing earlier for the next 6 weeks. So just a heads up about that!

    So this week we have still been trying to get rid of the bed bugs :( They are all gone now though, hallelujah! Some of the Senior Missionaries have been helping us out a lot. They washed all of our bedding on really really high heat like 3 times so now all my blankets and towels are crispy and burned! Hahaha I just have to laugh in this situation. It has been an adventure for sure but thank goodness the buggers are gone!

     Our grandpa hick, Tim, was baptized on Sunday! We think he liked it? The guy does not say much and sometimes it is difficult to understand him because of his heavy accent but we are so happy for him. He said "Yup...it was fine." So it was fine! Haha people are so funny. Sadly we did not get to skype it because Sundays are really busy  His wife Cindy is not baptized yet she has a problem with the word of wisdom but we are continuing to teach her. We have been teaching Charles a lot this week and he is just the best. I want you all to meet him. He has church at 1pm and he gets so excited that he shows up to the church at 10am! I wish I had that kind of motivation. He truly has been lead here through the spirit and is so ready to be baptized. He does live here in Salt Lake so we will get to attend the baptism on December 6th.

     We will also be attending a baptism this Saturday in Layton Utah for a Hispanic lady named Gabriella. We met her a couple weeks ago when the local Elders brought her here for a tour. She has come a couple times since then and has invited us to go to her baptism! We are excited for that. She has shown a lot of faith within her family considering most of her family members are against her decision. I admire her for following the promptings of the spirit to be baptized.

       Anyways everything is great here! I just wanted to take a minute to say how grateful I am for all of you. I miss you very much and am bummed I will not be able to see the dog show this year! Record it for me maybe? I am so grateful for my mission and most importantly I am grateful for my savior Jesus Christ. Let us all take time to reflect on the many blessings we have been given this Thanksgiving season!

XoOoOxXxXOXxo

-Sister Leavitt <3

 

Bed Bugs Life! :(

Monday, November 17, 2014

Hey hey,

     How is every one? Everything is good here and really COLD! I am so sick of being cold all the time I feel like I was just in Winter in Rexburg. There is no escaping it!

     It has been a really busy and crazy week but once again it has been a week of miracles. Last Tuesday I think is when we found out that we had some unwanted visitors staying in our apartment. Who might those visitors be? Oh, just an infestation of BED BUGS that's all. So nasty!!!! We had to have these professional sniffing dogs come in and bark at them and stuff, then we have had to basically move out of our rooms so they can detox it. I am not a genius by any means but the root of the problem might be stemming from the fact that we get our mattresses from DI? Haha it has been interesting for sure but all is well in Zion.

      Things have been getting pretty busy at Welfare Square because of the Holiday season. I love filling orders there and hearing peoples stories, like I have said before it is extremely humbling.  We send people over to Temple Square and help them feel of the spirit there and that always lifts their spirits whether they be members or nonmembers. The lights and Christmas decorations are already up but the lights will not turn on until the day after Thanksgiving. We have been doing "Christmas Training" over the past couple days because apparently it is a zoo here from like 5-10 at night.
They say it can take an hour just to get from one visitors center to another and they have an average of about 17 lost children a night. Naturally I am super excited!

      So Nelly did not get Baptized on Wednesday because it was kind of a random day to request in the middle of the week but she did get baptized on Friday and we got to skype it! It was so so amazing. There were a lot of people in attendance and she has an awesome ward supporting her. It was so great to see her and once again put a voice with a face. I cannot describe it because I love these people I am teaching and some of them I have never seen face to face. Once I see them I just love them even more. She was so happy and she gave a beautiful testimony. Unfortunately we did not get a picture with her because the Sisters in NY abruptly ended the skype sesh but thats ok :(

       I need to tell you about Charles. We met Charles on Friday when he was walking out of the Joseph Smith movie. He is a retired black baptist preacher and he has the most tender heart of anyone I have ever met. We asked him about the movie and he said "It was okay" and he wanted to learn more. We got his information and set up an appointment with him on Saturday. It was the best lesson of my life. This man is so in tune with the spirit. He is one of those "golden investigators." Everything we would explain to him about the restoration he would just nod his head and say "thats true," and then explain it back to us better than we explained to him. He is blind in one eye and is starting to go blind in the other so he cannot read the Book of Mormon but we set up the app on his phone and showed him how he can listen to it. He is just the coolest person I can't explain it. He is so chill and in tune with the spirit its like he is seeing Lehi's vision 24/7. Long story short he committed to be baptized on December 6th. That makes 4 baptisms this transfer. The Lord has truly blessed us! Oh yeah I forgot to tell you that Tim another one of our investigators in getting baptized this Sunday he is from North Carolina and he is just the biggest grandpa hick but we have been teaching him since my first week and he has committed to be baptized.

       I have really learned the importance of obedience. I know that obedience brings blessings and exact obedience brings miracles! Sister Cardus taught me that :( So sad that there are only like less than 3 weeks left in this transfer :( time flies! I love you all and go pirates! Lets win this year, eh? Bye nowww.

-Sister Leavitt <3

:D

Everyone was making fun of me because they said I was dressed like Waldo and I was upset! ;( Haha

I am actually a really good companion. I made her a dinner of a half a muffin, a slice of cheese and some carrots! Muy delicioso!
 

Monday, November 10, 2014

Hey Everyone,

     First off thanks so much for the birthday love! It was a good day! I cannot believe I am 21 though....ew so old. I got spoiled by my companion, roommates, and other sisters here. My day went like this: missionary work, eat at tucanos, missionary work, eat cupcakes, missionary work, eat at kneaders, missionary work, eat cake. I think I gained 21 pounds.This birthday was much better than the last considering I got to do missionary work and I did not have to clean any toilets. Win, win.

     Guys, I am getting so cultured here. We had exchanges twice this week so on Thursday I was with Sister Xu from China, and on Saturday I was with my District leader, Sister Truscilio, from Italy. It is so interesting spending a entire day with somebody from a different country. You all should try it sometime. I am learning so much! My english is tested every day. "Sister Leavitt how do you spell _____?" "Sister Leavitt what are boogers? (no joke)" It is so hard not to laugh in these situations. Oh and when I was with a Mandarin tour with Sister Xu I had to get a picture with one of the guests because "I look like Eve." Every day here is an adventure even though I am on the same ol' square the people are what make the difference. These sisters here have the most incredible stories and I truly admire them. A large majority of the Sisters here are the only members in their families and they chose to serve missions simply because of the great love they have for the Lord. So inspiring!
      I am definitely learning the importance of being bold. This is something that is difficult for me at times because 1. I don't want to hurt any ones feelings 2. I don't want to offend anyone 3. I don't want anyone to yell at me 4. I am kinda a whimp. I have truly gained a testimony of being bold with people and letting them know about the truthfulness of this gospel! This is the most important thing they will ever hear and I have been called of God to be an instrument in his hands and to teach His children. We have been so blessed this week again and because Sister Cardus has been teaching me to just "open my freaking mouth" (tough love) we have been able to receive 12 new investigators this week and we have a baptism this Wednesday. I do not think I have talked about her but her name is Nelly and she is from NY! Sister Cardus was teaching her before I was her companion and she has sort of been an eternal investigator but last week we were able to commit her to baptism and she said, "Okay I will but I want it to be next Wednesday." We were like, "Sure, that works." Nelly is a really special lady. She has been in a wheelchair for the past couple years because she got like half her foot cut off? She said she had an accident but we are not sure how exactly? Anyways she is really neat and we are hoping we will be able to skype the baptism!

      Something I would encourage you all to do this week is read the conference talk that was given last conference by Jorg...something? I do not remember his name or what it was called but I do remember that it like changed my life, so read it! I love you all and I am so grateful for your support. Sick of hearing that yet? Bye now.

-Love, Sister Leavitt <3

"Act Drunk"-Sister Cardus. My first drink as a 21 year old! Brazilian lemonade!

Happy Birthday to me :)

Sister Tan made me a cake! She's just the best!

Monday, November 3, 2014

Heyyyy!

Wow another amazing week has already gone by! I hope everyone is doing well and had the best Halloween. Thanks so much for the package it has been fun as you can see from the pictures and my Thai roommates got to try cupcakes for the first time so that was cool! This week has been kind of crazy with transfers and all but I am just so grateful that everything is the same for Sister Cardus and I. The most exciting news for this week was Mary's baptism! We were able to get a hold of the local bishop there in Patterson, CA and they set up a skype account so we were able to see Marys face for the first time and we got to experience the entire baptism. "I looove technology"-Kip Dynamite. She was so nervous it was so cute. It was a really small baptism and that's just the way she wanted it. She actually moved the baptism to Friday so that less people would come haha. She is so wonderful we just love her so much! It has been a true blessing getting to teach her. She was confirmed yesterday and she already is counting down the days when she can go into the temple. We are already making plans for me to come visit her and for us to go inside the San Diego Temple together. The church is true!! On Friday we had a halloween dinner and we went to the Temple, all of us as a mission. What a beautiful sight that was! 200 sisters gathered together in the same temple session was incredible. The spirit was so strong. I know I probably say this a lot but I am so grateful to be in this mission. It is THE BEST, I LOVE IT. Sister Cardus and I did a really long fast yesterday for the new transfer and we have been seeing so many miracles since. Juan came to church yesterday for the first time and he said "it made me feel warm"...but he said it in spanish. I have a firm testimony that the spirit testifies strongly to people through the hymns. While all of us sisters were singing in sacrament he was just holding his heart and he had his eyes closed. It made me tear up. Our baptismal goal this transfer is 5. Our zone leaders think we are crazy but we prayed about it and we feel that the Lord will bless us if we are diligent! We will see how it goes but we feel really strongly that we can achieve it. Oh I also met Al Fox yesterday. The tattooed mormon girl? Do you know her? I love her she is so inspiring. We met in the cross walk so it was a short encounter but it was sweet. I am sorry I do not have a lot of time today. Just know that I love you all and I appreciate you support. Hey ps its my birthday on Wednesday, in case you forgot ;)

-Te amo mucho, Sister Leavitt <3

Happy Halloween! :D

We see this pose too often on Temple Square. So many people getting engaged...

The scriptures are life!

Mary's Baptism! Isn't she beautiful?



YAY! This is Mary and the Elders that taught her in California.

Monday, October 27, 2014

Helloooo!,

Well this was a great week full of many many miracles! It was the last week of my first transfer. What the heck? That 6 weeks went by so fast. I am still technically in training for another transfer though. This morning we had transfer conference and I found out that I am staying with Sister Cardus! YAYYY. Same companion, same district, same zone, same assignment, same mission, same life. Thank goodness. I am so happy about this and I know that this next transfer is going to be really great. So this was our last week of Welfare with Sister Bailey and Sister Brooks. Sister Bailey is going home :( This new transfer since things are slowing down for winter Sister Cardus and I are the only companionship at Welfare Square. We are excited to be staying there but we find that the best success we have is when we are actually on the square. We were on the square all day on Wednesday and got 7 new investigators in one day. It is really such a blessing to serve here because the people that come here are so prepared for the gospel. They say that something draws them to come to Temple Square and they love the spirit that they feel here so it is such a great opportunity to serve on sacred grounds every day. I have such a firm testimony in pass along cards you guys. On Wednesday I was on the phones and I got 3 callers in a row who had received pass along cards, wanted a Book of Mormon, and wanted to meet with the local missionaries and keep speaking with us. One of those ladies that called in was Stephane from Crockett Texas. She called because her boyfriend of 22 years received a pass along from the Elders and she said the holy spirit prompted her to call. She has a really strong southern accent and it is really hard for me not to laugh over the phone sometimes because she says the most hilarious things but I don't think she is trying to be funny. She is so prepared for the gospel. We have been talking with her every day since she called. She says she wants to finally get married so she can be baptized. We extended a baptism invitation to her yesterday and she accepted to get baptized later this month! Heavenly Fathers children are so prepared to hear the truth of the restored gospel it is a privilege to get to teach it every day. Like I said this week was full of many miracles. We had a goal this transfer to get three baptisms and before this week we only had one. We have been teaching Jesus all week here on Temple Square and he got baptized on Saturday and we were able to go! Saturday was probably one of the best days of my mission so far. The baptism was in South Jordan so it was like 20 minutes away. I had no idea where we were going and we had these crappy directions on how to get there haha. We showed up to what we thought was the right chapel but there was some kind of Halloween fiesta going on in there! We were so tempted to stay but we decided that we should ask someone if they knew where the baptism was. They said it might be in the chapel down the road so we tried that and found that there was another Halloween party going on at this church building but the baptism was there too so we made it on time! It was a very small baptism with about 12 people but it was the sweetest thing ever and the spirit was so strong. So crazy story, during the baptism not before but DURING the baptism service Jesus' uncle asked Sister Cardus and I if we would go up and sing a musical number....like right then. Like don't prepare, don't even look at the hymn book, like get up right now and sing in spanish okay, ready GO! Of course they chose a hymn that was not even in the English hymn book so I did not even know the tune. I am pretty sure it was a train wreck but it was still a great experience I am glad I did it. Y.O.S.O (you only serve once.) The baptism was beautiful and Jesus was just so happy we came! It was such a special experience. We are looking forward to Skyping Marys baptism this Friday! I will let you know how that goes next week. It was so good to see Grandma and Grandpa Leavitt yesterday they said that the funeral was really beautiful and that Grandma Austin left this world with a smile on her face. That made me incredibly happy. I am so grateful for the knowledge that we have that families are forever. One of my favorite things here on Temple Square is the Temple Model I love taking people there and explaining the sealing rooms. I love seeing the reaction on peoples faces when they hear that their families can be eternal for the first time. I am so grateful for all of you and your support. I love you all have a great week!

                                                  Love, Sister Leavitt <3

Sister Bailey and Sister Brooks last days at welfare square

So cute...

Okay this was the best thing of my life. On Saturday morning like 8 Asians came into the South visitors Center and each wanted to take 3 different pictures with me! Because I am blonde, I guess? This one was my favorite by far!! :) Hahaha I felt like a celebrity

 

Jesus is baptized! Best day ever!!!

They always ask me to play for MoTab!

Monday, October 20, 2014

Hello Errbody,

Sorry I am emailing so late I had to take a drivers test and I passed the first time unlike in the past. Yayyyy. This week has been great!! We have stayed really busy ending the transfer and trying to reach goals. Transfers are next Wednesday and Sister Cardus and I are really hoping we stay together. Well, I am hoping I stay with her I am not 100% sure that the feelings are reciprocated but I will pretend. The other day Sister Cardus made me mate', which is like some kind of Hispanic tea, and I told her that I felt like a horse because it literally tastes like liquified hay. SOO rough. I am definitely being cultured being the only American in my apartment. We room with a Thai sister and a Filipino sister. It is safe to say it smells like an Asian Market allll the time. I love it though I wouldn't have it any other way...not that I have a choice. But anyways our investigators are progressing nicely. We have been teaching Jesus this week. When I found out his name I was like "How are we possibly going to teach Jesus anything?" He just moved here from Mexico like a month ago and we met him because of some local Salt Lake City elders. He only speaks spanish so they wanted the help of Sister Cardus (and me too i guess, not really.) We have been teaching him here on the square and he is sooo golden. He is so golden in fact that he is getting baptized this Saturday! We are so excited because we think we will actually get to go because it is local. We are keeping our fingers crossed! It is so amazing to see how the Lord places people in your path who are so prepared. We have seen so many miracles this transfer and I feel incredibly blessed. Mary from California was supposed to get baptized this Saturday but she is actually getting baptized next Saturday (nov 1st). We are hoping we get to skype that baptism because although we have been teaching Mary for month now we still have no idea what she looks like! I love her so much anyways though it is such a crazy thing. I am pretty bummed I missed all of Austins senior year homecoming festivities but everyone looked so good!  Every one is telling me that Lindsey looks just like me now? Such a lucky gal she is :) Thank you so much for the package BTW we have been jamming out to Mercy River and all that good stuff! For future reference I guess you aren't supposed to just drop stuff off it has to actually go through the mail :( Lame, I know.  I just have 2 more requests for you to send me and I am so sorry I am annoying with this but if you could send my my brown boots that would be awesome and also P90x? Lets be honest no one is using it. I am so sad to hear about Grandma Austin but at the same time I am so happy! I am especially happy that she is one of the last people I said goodbye to before I came on my mission. She is such a special lady and I am so glad that she can be reunited with her husband again. What a blessing it is to know that our families can be together forever. I bear testimony of this to people every day. It is so amazing to see the light in those peoples eyes when I tell them that families can stay together forever through death and separation. Such a comforting thought! Send my love to all the family. I so wish I could go to the funeral but I will be there in spirit! I love you family and I miss you so much. Thanks for every thing! The church is true!

                                                      Love, Sister Leavitt <3

This is my zone last pday at Ensign Peak. Ignore the fact that I look like a pasty vampire!

Sister Brooks is the best!

Bow to your sensai

I am so ashamed of my unpointed foot

 

Monday, October 13, 2014

Dear all,

     Hello! I hope everyone is doing well. This last week has been so wonderful and I cant believe I have been on my mission like 2 months now? Right?? I am not even sure. We have stayed very busy and are continually being blessed. Last Monday we had our first Zone activity. It was in Park City at President Harmons it was weird getting out of Salt Lake but it was cool. (refer to ridiculous pictures in previous email) Welfare Square on Tuesdays are always just the best. We are able to get quite a few referrals from the members that come through there. We have been teaching Juan this week. We met him during the last few hours on Conference Sunday last week and he is just so great. He is the first progressing investigator I have had so far where I teach face to face so that has been nice. We have taught him twice so far and in planning to get baptized in November! Mary is doing awesome too she is still planning on getting baptized on October 25th still. We have 4 more lessons to teach her then she should be good to go!  She is the funniest person I have ever met. Her sass is unreal and I relate to her sooo well. She has family members who are members of the church and they are super supportive so we love them. I keep forgetting to email about Carlos but he is someone that Sister Cardus started teach right before she left her outbound mission in Houston Texas. Anyways we have been teaching him over the last month and so has Sister Cardus' companion from outbound and he got baptized on Saturday and his wife is going to get baptized soon too. We were unable to skype the baptism but he sent us a picture and we are soooo happy about it. We are seeing so many miracles here and it is a blessing to teach people from all over the world. At first I thought it would be strange teaching over the phone but I quickly got over that when I saw how many people we could keep in contact with. It is soo great!! So the best news of all is that yesterday we got a special little fireside from David Archuleta himself. WUT. They announced it at 7:30 at church and it was real difficult to focus the rest of the day that is for sure. WOW it was the best thing ever. I have never payed more attention to a fireside more in my life. He sang us three songs and gave a fireside talking a lot about his mission and his experience as an artist. I am trying to best to lock my heart on my mission but during that 2 hours it was not easy. He talked about all the miracles he saw on his mission and how much he grew as a person. He says it was the best experience of his life. I could go on and on but I feel so lucky that I came in the transfer I did. Speaking of transfers they are coming up in 2 weeks I think? I am hoping and praying that I get another transfer with Sister Cardus because we still have so much to do and I just love her of course! The mission is so fun. I laugh more here than I have ever in my entire life. The awkward situations that we encounter every day are what I live for. On Saturday we ran into John again, he is the homeless guy that I talked about weeks ago. He is seeing so many blessings in his life because of his faith. He has cadaracks? kaderaks? careraks? kaddieracks? I dont know how to spell it but basically he cant see? Yeah, that thing. He is getting an operation done tomorrow actually and had no way of paying to get there. He does not beg so he was hoping and praying for a miracle. On Saturday we got a call that he was looking for us and he said "I have good news!" He told us that "his angel of temple square" AKA some lady just came up to him and gave him $200 now he can pay to get his operation done. Prayers work. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are aware of all of us, even the homeless and I would say especially the homeless. Christ blessed so many of the poor and needy while he was on Earth and he continues to do so today. I love you all sooo much and I am so grateful for your support. I am so grateful for my mission and I am incredibly blessed. God bless ya'll. Have a good week.

                                                Much love, Sister Leavitt <3

Zone activity in Park City :)

Bang Bang!

Why yes, we have been called majestic in the past

David Archuleta! <3

THIS HAPPENED!!!!!!!

Carlos' Baptism. He is on the right. We are so happy for him!