Monday, January 26, 2015

Hi Fam!

     It has been too long! 11 days without a P-day is too long! A lot has happened since the last time I talked to you! A large amount of the mission left on Wednesday and one of those dear Sisters that left is my BFF Sister Tan. We have grown really close from living together my first 3 transfers and it was hard to watch her go but it is okay cause she already invited herself to be in my wedding so I will see her if/when that happens :)The Lord blessed Sister Garcia and I with the opportunity to teach and baptize 2 of our investigators before the transfer ended. Ryan got baptized on the 17th of January and German got baptized on the 18th. We met Ryan on Temple Square and the Elders in the SLC mission were able to work with us in teaching him and baptizing him within a couple of weeks. He is 16 years old and had a tough past but the Elders were really able to relate to him and help him quickly. He actually had a court case a couple days before the baptismal date and there was a large chance that he would go to Juvy but after much prayer and fasting the judge allowed him to community service instead. It was an incredible blessing to see his conversion and how the atonement can change every aspect of a person including their physical appearance and domineer. He is just such a great kid and it was incredible being able to teach him. I have such a strong testimony of the atonement and I have been able to see it working through people right before my eyes. I have also been able to apply it to my life every single day. This is something that I did not even really know was possible but it is something that my trainer taught me and it has made a huge difference in my life and within my mission. We were so blessed to be able to attend Ryans baptism it was a really great experience. German was baptized in Mexico! We tried to skype it but the connection was really bad so we only heard bits and pieces. It is so fun seeing these people that I teach for the first time cause a lot of the time they look a lot different than how I imagined! 
     It has been a really great transition though I am really happy! Sister Yunda is the bomb. She is the cutest little Ecuadorian we have a good time together. This transfer so far has just been really nice we are both fairly new in the mission and have a lot of learning to do together so we have just been taking it day by day and have been blessed with finding a lot of new investigators. We found 8 just in this past week and we put 3 of them on date yesterday. I have been lucky because I haven't had to move apartments at all so that is way nice. I am not at Guest Services anymore but I do have a new assignment as Supply Coordinator. So naturally I coordinate the Supplies that come in to Temple Square like all the pass along cards and maps and what not. Pretty exciting huh? No its fun we get to be gangsters and roll around a little wagon full of supplies for every one so its cool :)

      Austin is turning into a stud every Sister that sees the Christmas card says "Who is that?!" Sister Tan and Sister Cardus pretend to fight over him in front of me because I get really mad and they think its funny so Aust you should feel cool!!! Also, I have come the the conclusion that you got a dog to replace me. It is the only logical explanation. You have gone like 25 years without a dog and the moment that I leave you get one to try and fill my presence in the house? Did it work? Anyways I am really hungry so I am going to go now but I love you all so much! Peace and blessins.

 -Sister Leavitt ♥

A little piece of my heart went back to Thailand on Wednesday :( I love my sister Tan sooo much!!!

Sister Yunda and I :)

Ryan's Baptism!

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Hi Mom! This letter will be short because my pday got changed back to Monday but they said I could take a couple minutes today to let you know that I am alive! I have a new companion! Her name is Sister Yunda and she is from Ecuador! Another Spanish companion can you believe it? I think I will be fluent in Espanol by the end of my mission. She is a transfer behind me and she is really sweet and funny. I can tell it is going to be a good transfer. Anyways, I love you and I will talk to you soon.

love, Sister Leavitt ♥

Thursday, January 15, 2015

HI!
     I can't believe this is the last week of the transfer! Transfer conference is on Monday and I am kind of nervous because I know for sure that I am getting a new companion. We found out yesterday that Sister Garcia is going to be a Zone Leader! So cool, I am basically just a Zone Leader trainer. All my companions becomes ZLs :) She is going to be great though. I just wish we didn't find out so early cause now I'll be nervous all week. We also found out who is going outbound next transfer and all of the Sisters in the class above me except maybe 5 are going outbound so that means I might be next! I am excited to see what will happen but I know that it will be either next transfer or the one after that.
      I had a lot of great experiences this week as usual! When I said that we have no idea who we will take on a tour I was not kidding. A couple days ago we took three cute little Monks on a tour and it was a really cool experience. Monks are hard core in what they believe. They dedicate their entire lives to Buddhism and just travel and teach people all the time. It was really interesting teaching them because they are really religious people and yet they don't believe in Jesus Christ. It was hard for me to understand. One of my favorite things to do is take people to the Temple Model and testify that families can be together forever. When I was explaining this to these three little monks they had the biggest smiles on their faces and the spirit was so strong. All three of them accepted copies of the Book of Mormon. One of them said "thank you for sharing that Sister" and then he actually gave us his number and told us to call him in a couple days. Well we called him yesterday and he said "No, I can not, I am Buddhism," but it was a cool experience anyways.
   Update on Charles: I talked to John again on Wednesday and he fed me some malarkey about him finding out that Charles got stabbed. I believed him but then I called Charles yesterday and found out that was NOT TRUE. More importantly though, he answered! He is going to come back to Temple Square on Saturday and I can not wait to see him again. He is one of my most favorite people in the world. When we talked yesterday he said he missed me and Sister Cardus and that he knows he is going to get baptized someday.
    Some other good news is that we have a baptism on Saturday! His name is German and he is from Mexico. We found him on chat at the beginning of the transfer and he committed to baptism about a week later. He is really great we are excited to skype him this Saturday.

     One last item of business. My eyesight! I think I need reading glasses :( I talked to Sister Poulsen about it and she told me to go to Costo and get an eye test and maybe buy some glasses but I need monies for that. If you could help me out with that it would be much appreciated!

      Please tell the Shyface family thank you for me! They sent me a super nice package with some delicious cookies. I have the best support system back home. I love you all! Thanks for the Christmas card too. Sister Tan was looking at it and she says she wants to marry Austin so she can be a part of our family. Is that okay, Aust? She is only like 10 years older than you, hahaha!

      Anyways next week I have no idea what is going to happen or when my Pday is going to be because we find out all the changes on Monday and then we start the new transfer on Wednesday so if my Pday is changed to like Tuesday or something I have to wait a week and a half.....bummer. But it will be good! Great things are ahead! This transfer went by super fast and I have learned so much from Sister Garcia. She has more compassion than anyone I know. I love the Lord and I love my mission. I will talk to you all eventually :) Bye now.

Loves, Sister Leavitt ♥

This is really ugly but I got an eye infection so my dear, kind companion was putting drops in and I was being a complete baby & spazzing out!

    

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Dear famfam,

Things are slowing down a lot since the lights are down which is kinda sad but it has given us a lot more time to focus on our investigators and focus on those you are prepared for the gospel at this time. A lot of people are still coming though because last Friday we got Meet the Mormon in the Legacy Theater here so tons of peeps are coming for that and so we are staying busy.

I have to tell you about Julie. So in this mission we have our own personal accounts for people to contact us through the number that is on the pass along cards. It is confusing and I am not sure how it happened but on Saturday I opened up my account to find that I had a new voice mail. It was from a number from Ohio that I did not know. The voice mail was from a lady in hysterics asking if there was anyone that could help her find the missionaries. I called back and got to know Julie really well. She met with the missionaries before about a year ago. She is now going through a really rough divorce so she wants to meet with them again. It is hard to explain through writing but basically we are best friends now. She has the sweetest southern accent and she in constantly saying "Okay Erin, my darlin" (she calls me by my first name.) She is a very special person and we have been emailing and talking ever since that day. She is meeting with the missionaries and wants to get baptized ASAP. It is truly a blessing how our Father in Heaven places the people that are ready and in need right in our path. I have no idea how she even got to my extension but I know that it was guided by the Lord. So many miracles happen on Temple Square every day and it is awesome to be apart of it. We have been taking a lot of Spanish tours and I think I am picking up on the language a lot (thank you gift of tongues) at least I like to think I am. I know it is probably just the language of the spirit. This is a language that I am SO grateful for because it is a language that every person can feel and understand. I don't know if you know how the tour thing works but people will just walk on the square and go up to the desks and request a tour then the sisters there will text it out and whoever is available will take it. It is interesting because you walk to a tour having no idea who you are going to get. It is kind of fun. Something that helps me a lot when I am teaching these people is realizing that every single person on earth has already decided to follow Christ. Our responsibility as missionaries is to help them remember that decision that they already made. The mission president always encourage us to help others to remember Him through our example and by having the light of Christ in our eyes. 

So maybe you are wondering about the infamous Charles that broke my heart in two. We have been trying to get a hold of him for a while now and we have gotten very little response. About two weeks ago he sent us a sad sad text saying that he was not going to get baptized and that he no longer lived in the area and that he was now living in the "Road home." The Road Home sounded familiar but I could not remember where I had heard that before. So anyways, I was having my weekly chat with my homeless friend John yesterday. Do you remember John? (Refer to previous emails) We were just chatting it up like we plan to every Wednesday and he said something about his homeless shelter AKA the Road Home! Nooooooooo! Charles is in a homeless shelter :( On the bright side I immediately asked him if he knew Charles and he said yes that he was the "new guy" there and that they have talked a few times about their eye sight (they are both going blind.) So I asked John if he could do me a huge favor and have Charles come with him back to Temple Square. He was really excited that he could help and he said that we would definitely do what he could. So the lesson of the week is: Be Friends With Homeless People Because They Can Help You With Missionary Opportunities. I just can't believe it but I will keep you posted on how that goes!! 

I love my mission and the people that I teach. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and I love all of you. God be with you until we meet again next Thursday :) 

xoxo, Sister Leavitt ♥

 

 

Our district singing at Relief Society this morning.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Dear fam,

    Feliz ano nuevo!!! No I really can not believe it is 2015. I celebrated by retiring to bed a couple minutes early to bring in the new year right. This has been my favorite way of celebrating so far. I think I might do it from now on. This week has been good just wrapping up the holiday season. Today is the last night for the lights and I am kinda bummed. I will miss the crowds of people as things start to slow down. It will be good though because we will really get to focus on our investigators.

    I am really learning how important it is to have the spirit with me all the time so I can teach on the fly. On Saturday night Sister Garcia and I were informed that we were supposed to speak in a local ward on Sunday morning at 9. I printed off my topic that night, read like the first two paragraphs, said a prayer, and walked to the pulpit all while holding back tears and vomit. I was so nervous but I think it went good. My topic was based on the talk by Dieter F. Uchtdorf called "Your Potential, Your Privilege." I talked about how Mom would always tell me how much potential I had and how I did not understand it. I told about how one year at dance camp I received the award of "most potential" and how mad I was about it. To me potential meant, "You're not good now.....but one day you might be.....maybe" I talked about the privileges we have as latter day saints to share the gospel and to live the gospel ourselves. I know that as children of God we have so much potential to help others come closer to Christ. I consider it such a blessing to be raised in the gospel and it is such a blessing to be able to share this with people from all over the world. It reminds me of the hymn "Because I have been Given Much I Too Must Give."
    Exchanges are finally done. I went on exchanges with my zone leader, Sister Tui from Australia, on Saturday. It went really well but at the end we were evaluating each other and I kid you not she told me, "You have a lot of potential Sister Leavitt." I wanted to die. Hahah I can not wait for this potential to be reached some day :)
     On Temple Square we only have about 2-3 minutes to: 1. Get to know the person. 2. Discern their needs 3. Testify 4. Ask if they want to learn more. 5. Do this all before they run away. The thing I have been working on more is just getting to the point of the gospel instead of getting off on some tangent about their pets or the weather or something.

      I love you family, I really do. It was hard being away for Christmas and New Years but there is no where else I would rather be. I am already 4 months in can you believe it? Stay strong and try not to miss me too much.

-Loves,

Sister Leavitt ♥

 

I didn't take any pics this week. This is one from the MTC. Pday, going to do laundry.