Hello!

Hermana Ruvacaba & Hermana Leavitt

Well, not a lot has happened, and I don´t have much time, but all is well, and I love all of you guys. Hope that everything is going good! 

And then there were two

Well I´ll start with the sad news first... So today we got a call and had special changes, and Hermana Valenzuela went to a different area. We´re pretty bummed our trio was only for a couple weeks, but I know she´s going to do great with her new companion. 

This week has really been all over the place, and really challenging for me, but I´ve really learned a lot. Basically one thing I learned is how much lack of sleep really affects me. For about 3 weeks I wasn´t sleeping well. I´d wake up around 12 for an hour, then I would wake up again at 5 and be up for the rest of the day. I woke up because I itched, but I thought it was just a side affect from Chincagua or whatever... Well I checked me bed and dad you´re going to kill me for stupidity of not checking when the problem first started, but I had bed bugs. Don´t know how because I´ve had the same bed this whole time, and they weren´t there the first time I checked... but I was not happy to say the least. But we got it covered now... literally. President George brought a mattress cover for me and we washed all of my clothes and called the doctor and now I´m sleeping light a rock at night and let´s just say it´s wonderful. But really, it was a tough trial for me. We were talking one day because I was really frustrated why I was sick all the time, and Hermana Ruvalcaba told me that sometimes we have to ask Heavenly Father what we need to learn, so I did. And I learned that I needed to strengthen my faith in the Lord. So that´s my goal right now, and I really liked Moroni 7:33 that I found in my studies, and I have that as a reminder now. 

So Maria de los Angeles was baptized this weekend, and it was a great experience. Just to see her so happy, especially on Sunday when she was confirmed, it´s really one of the best feelings you can get, there´s no other way I know how to describe it. 

I´m really grateful to be here, I´m loving every learning experience, even if they are a little frustrating at times. Love you all!

Hermana Leavitt

Lots of Change

I almost forgot! 

1. New companions! Me, Hermana Ruvalcaba, Hermana Valenzuela

2. Hermana Dansie and I

3. We found a Utah license plate! 

Wow, I´ll be honest, this week has been a lot of stress, but I´ve learned a lot. 

So it started out with cambios, and Hermana Dansie left on Tuesday morning. We went to the bus station and she left around noon, then I waited with other missionaries for my companions to come. They came in around 4 that afternoon, Hermana Valenzuela and Hermana Ruvacaba. They´re awesome, they both have six months in the mission, and they were actually companions in the MTC. Hermana Valenzuela is from Guatemala, and Hermana Ruvacaba is from Monterrey. So I had this fear that pretty much I wasn´t going to talk much anymore, but I´ve learned that I actually have learned a lot and can talk a lot. They´re really patient with me too. 

Pretty much the coolest thing happened this week, we had another miracle. There´s one investigator that Hermana Dansie and I have been teaching since I got here, and her and her other companion were teaching her before I came too. There was a point that she had gained her testimony and was really interested, but then once again we went to visit her, about two weeks ago, and she basically said that everything was wrong and just fought with us on everything we taught (ten commandments, word of wisdom, keeping the sabbath day holy, etc.). After this lesson, we felt that we needed to leave her behind, that maybe it just wasn´t her time quite yet. But everytime that we tried to go visit her to leave her behind, she wasn´t home. As Hermana Dansie was preparing to leave I asked her what we should do, but she just kind of said that I´d have to go visit her and see how the lesson goes. Well after two weeks we (new companions)  were able to go visit with her, and it was a complete change. She said that the last thing she remembered us teaching her was about the sabbath day, and how she was so uncertain about it being on a Sunday rather than a Saturday. But then she said that one day she prayed about it and started reading her Book of Mormon, and that she read in 2 Nephi 33:10 where it says something like, this is my word. She said it just really hit her that it was right. She also told us that she hadn´t drunken coffee since that last lesson either. On our part it was bad, we didn´t even finish this lesson with her and invite her to do this, but she did it on her own. During this lesson with her the spirit was so strong, and it was really a testimony builder for me that Heavenly Father has a plan, and that things work out for a reason. I bore my testimony to her that I know this is true, and that I´m grateful to see the change in her life, and pretty much I was just crying the whole time... But it was good. 

Another thing that I have really built my testimony in these last 4 months is the power of fasting. I´m really learning how important fasting is. I can really only think of one time before the mission that I really fasted for a purpose and not just because it was fast sunday. But honestly, there is so much power in when we fast for a purpose. Everytime that I have fasted while here, I have seen a miracle happen, for and example, read the last paragraph ;) I know that the Lord has given us the commandment to fast for 24 hours once a month for a reason. We should really ponder about what we´re fasting for, and pray about it too. So I invite you that next time you fast, to really pray about what you´re fasting for. Whether it be for family, yourself, trials, or gratitude, do it with your heart. 

I love you all, it´s good to hear from you! 

Love, Hermana Leavitt

Overcoming Fear

pic: we´ve got some great people in the ward :)

This week was great, I don´t really know how to explain it any other way. 

So first last p day we played football, but only five people were there so really we just threw it around. But how sad is that, I played football before I played soccer in México, I think something is wrong there haha. 

A lot this week too has been trying to find people to teach. We´ve been working on finding new investigators, and a lot of the time when you stop by at the appointment we set they´re not there. But the people that we´ve been able to find, are actually really awesome and I´m excited to work with them. There´s one kid that Hermana Dansie found a couple weeks ago when I was sick and she was with a member, and he´s great. We´ve only taught him two times and he already came to church this Sunday. 

Then on Saturday there were a lot of trials, but everything worked out. So the ten year old I wrote about last week, got baptized! That was our event for the 4th of July! So it was supposed to be at 5 in the afternoon, but we ended up not having white clothes for him because of some miscommunication on our part. Then the church didn´t have any water, so the font wasn´t filling up either. But the bishop ended up finding clothes, and they were able to get a hold of someone that could bring water, and around 8 we started the service. So this kid has a fear of water, pretty much his face going under. He had his uncle baptize him, and the first time he got scared and didn´t go under. After another try they closed the doors so we couldn´t see, and we waited for at least 20 minutes. We had a group prayer for him and listened to primary songs. Then they opened the doors, and they tried again, but his hand didn´t go under. But he just said ok and they did it again. When he came up out of the water his face was just beaming and he just asked if it was good. It was really the coolest thing to see this little kid come over one of his biggest fears in order to be baptized. 

Well the other big news is it´s cambios today, and I´m staying in our area. But hermana Dansie is leaving to San Cristobal, which is pretty cold and she says she´s going to die. This is one thing I´m going to have to learn is change, but it will be good. And she´s going to do great in her next area. And it´s all  good, because she might come to the airport when I come home, so basically I´ll see my real mom and my mission mom haha. I´m going to be in a trio with Hermana Valensuela and Hermana Rubacabo. I haven´t met them yet, but tomorrow I will. 

But overall all is going good,

Love you all!

Hermana Leavitt