Hermana Staci Leavitt

I am so grateful for this chance to serve a mission. I never could have imagined to be able to learn so much for myself, and have this blessing to be able to serve others and learn from them. This has been an opportunity that I know that I will remember for all of my life, and that in the good and bad times, we can always learn. I´m know that God is our loving Heavenly Father and that He knows us personally, and always wants to help us. I know He listens to our prayers and answers them. I know that Christ is our Savior, and that he can help us in every trial that we have if we allow him to. I know that this church is true, and that by living the gospel of Jesus Christ, we can obtain a true happiness that nothing of this world can give us. I know that the church has been restored in it´s fulness, and I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that God has a plan for each and every one of us, and is always willing to guide us. 

Maybe everything didn´t play out how I thought it would in the mission, but I know that I have been called here for this time, and that Heavenly Father always has his purposes set.

Thank you for the support, especially from my family. I know that it´s for those at home that I´ve been able to know what I need to do. 

I love you all, and I´ll be seeing you soon. 

Love, Hermana Leavitt

Pictures!!!

Hermana"s Leavitt & Tlachi At The Tuxtla Temple

Hope you are all doing well, and I hope you enjoy the pictures! I love you!

Hermana Leavitt

Hermana Leavitt has been working really hard! Seriously she does have a lot more shoes with her. LOL

Two Beautiful Sisters

So Pretty

Happy June

Quick Pictures!

Sorry that there`s no story this time, but here are some pictures!Just some different parts of my area here in Chiapa de Corzo and our area of the family group in Soyalo. Thanks for everything!!

 1. Outskirts of our area in Chiapa

2. Main part of Chiapa

1. Soyalo

2. Nuevo Bochil, other outskirt town of Chiapa

Zone Picture

So we had cambios a couple weeks ago and almost every companionship in our zone was changed, minus ours and another. Sorry that there´s no time, but I hope you all are doing good.

Love you, and I hope your week is good!

The Little Moments

Sorry that it`s been so long since I`ve been able to write to everyone. I hope you`re doing well! I wanted to share an experience from this week with you guys!

Saturday evening we were able to visit a family here in Chiapa de Corzo, and it was super cool. We`ve only visited one time before, with the wife, Sandra. When we arrived on Saturday, her husband, Antonio, was there and we invited him to listen too. He told us he would, but then started to do some things with their kids (Rene, 3, and Sandy, 2). We decided to start, and after finishing the opening prayer, we opened our eyes and the four of them were sitting there together. It was a like a picture perfect moment. We invited them to come to church on Sunday, and they accepted. Sandra commented that this is the first time in their 8 years together that they`ve assisted the same church together, and they were both really excited to come together.

On Sunday they arrived and stayed the 3 hours, even with some little trials. Their kids are really rambunctious (I think that`s the word?), but they didn`t want to stay in the nursery and were crying, so they planned on leaving. We invited them to take their children to Gospel Principles too, and then ended up improvising a little. We found some crayons and paper for the kids and with the permission of the parents, we stayed out in the hall where there were some members, and let the kids draw. In the end we convinced Rene to enter into nursery, and with Sandy alone, we took her back with her parents in Gospel Principles. Sandra and Antonio were happy that Rene was in nursery, and it was good that they were able to focus during the classes too.

I`m grateful for the small experiences that we can have while in the mission. It`s really the little things that we cherish the most, I believe.

I love you guys, and I hope you have a great week, thank you for all of your support!

Hermana Leavitt

 P.S. I wanted to send some pictures, but they`re not loading, so I`ll have to wait to send them until next week. Sorry... 

Transfers, but no

I like the elementary schools here, they always have cute paintings outside. 

Zona Tuxtla Grijalva

Baptism Aurora

Baptism Aydee

Baptism Aydee, all the misioneras

Temple lesson with Aurora

Distrito Las Granjas 

Sorry that I haven´t been able to write for some weeks now, the time seems to just fly by, literally. Every week just seems so fast, we can´t believe it. Chiapa de Corzo is a great area, we´ve really been able to see some great things here, and we´re excited for what´s to come, especially because Hermana de Aquino and I are going to stick together for another 6 weeks here. Now here´s the crazy part, I only have 3 transfers left, this I can´t believe...

So last week and this week we could really see the some true conversion from a couple of converts. Last Saturday (23rd) our investigator Aydee was able to be baptized, and yesterday(1st) our other investigator Aurora, a friend of Aydee, was baptized. The both of their experiences are so inspiring. Aydee had been investigating the church for about a year now, but with so many problems with sickness, it´s been a battle. When I came into the picture, she was already ready, she just needed to come to church 4 more times to complete the necessary 5 church attendances. During this time we continued visiting her and helping her continue learning to be able to strengthen her (already strong) testimony. One thing that I noticed though was that she loved the other hermana that was here before I came, Hermana Cook (my awesome MTC companion!). Aydee had asked us many times if Hermana Cook would be able to come to her baptism, but we just told her we weren´t really sure. But I called the assistants to ask permission and they gave it, and Hermana Cook was able to attend. We were able to surprise Aydee, and honestly the spirit was so strong. It was really a tender mercy to be able to see her be baptized even though I really had little to do with her progress. 

My first week here in Chiapa de Corzo, Aydee invited her friend Aurora to come to church. When we talked to her, we were able to put an appoinment, and the first thing she said was that she already had her church, and this appointment was without commitment. I always love when they say that it´s without commitment, because really, this gospel is about commitment. But anyway, my companion just told her that there wasn´t any problem with getting to know more about the church. As we visited her, we could see that her attitude had changed, and that she was always wanting to understand. She came to church by herself even when we weren´t able to see her in the week. One thing she told us was that even though she didn´t know everything, she did know that it was true, because she could feel the difference when she came to church, and she wouldn´t have come back if she didn´t think it was right. We went to the temple with her this week to have a lesson, and everything was honestly so beautiful. She decided to be baptized on Sunday, and she´ll be confirmed this following sunday. Honestly, the Lord prepared her for some time, and I´m so grateful to have been able to see her progress from the beginning, and continue working with her for the following months to come. 

I´m so grateful to be a missionary, to be able to make these changes that I need to make to be how the savior wants me to be, and to be able to see how this gospel changes lives. I know that Christ is our Savior, and that God lives. I know this church is true, and that only by living by God´s commandments we can find true happiness. 

I love you all!

Hermana Leavitt

We did have a baptism and there´s a great story, just no time, I´ll tell ya´ll next week.

Hermana Leavitt Loves playing the guitar!

Let the Holy Spirit Guide

Hermana Leavitt & Hermana De Aquino

Well, another week has gone by fast. You´d think it would start to feel normal, but it doesn´t. This week we had a pretty cool experience that I wanted to share with you guys. 

So on Saturday we needed to go visit a family because we had an appointment, but it´s about 20-30 minutes and we have to take two transports, and they weren´t answering their phone. My companion wasn´t sure if we should go or not, because they always answer when they´re home, but we decided we felt peace and headed out. When we knocked on the door, well, the young couple wasn´t home, but their parents were and they allowed us to share something with them. After talking for a little while, we learned that they were members from another ward nearby in Tuxtla, but that they haven´t been active for some years. And I´ll be honest, I had no clue what we could share with them. But my compaion opened up to 3 Nephi 11 and we read a little bit from the beginning of the chapter. After sharing a message with them, the hermano shared with us (the both of them with tears in their eyes) that he could feel the spirit, and by hearing us, he wanted to make some changes and return to the church. 

This small moment with this couple is really on of many that are priceless, I don´t have the words to explain it. I´m so grateful to be able to be part of this while here in Tuxlta. But we don´t have to be a full time missionary to be able to have these moments, we just have to allow the spirit to guide us. I know that Heavenly Father loves us, and he has a plan perfect for all of us. 

I love you guys, and I hope that you too can do the little things to allow the spirit into your lives. Honestly, it´s difficult, sometimes we can feel His guidance, and then we don´t know what to do next, but this is where trusting in Him, and trusting in those around us comes in. If we do our part, He won´t let us fail. I know this to be true. 

Love, Hermana Leavitt

Saludos de Chiapa de Corzo

So we`re really short on time today, and even though this week was really good, we`re just going to have to settle with pictures. Honestly things are really good for my new companion and I and I`m really excited to work with her here in this new area. 

I love ya! 

Hermana Leavitt

Transfer Day!

1. Multi zone conference with President George!

2. I don`t know why we always wait until the end of transfers to take pictures, but here`s our district. But now it`s only going to be the four elders since they`re closing our area. 

So there`s not a whole lot that has happened this week, but we did have a little miracle you could say. We found out that last Tuesday we had to travel to Tuxlta for an appointment in immigration and we were pretty bummed because we`d lose a lot of time due to traveling (like 6 hours in all) and wouldn`t be able to work very much. But a small miracle was that our capacitadoras called and also wanted to do interchanges with us so the trip wasn`t in vain! We were able to change in Tuxtla and at least the other hermanas didn`t end up losing a lot of time due to traveling. I was able to work in Tuxtla a couple days which was pretty good, although I feel like I was barely in my area this week.

Well, today is transfer day and it looks like they`re closing our area. My companion is heading off to Tapachula and it looks like I`m going to Chiapa de Corzo. I`m pretty excited, everyone says that it`s beautiful there. Only 4 transfers left, it`s super crazy, but it`s the best experience I could be having right now. I`m so grateful to be in the mission. 

I love you, hope everyone`s doing great! 

love, Hermana leavitt

1 Year Down

I can`t really believe it, but it looks like 1 year down and only 6 months to go. It`s crazy, time here in the mission is so different. I really can`t believe that it`s already March again. There have been a lot of changes for me, and there`s still a ways to go, but I`m so grateful to be here. I was thinking a lot this week about a quote that our cross country coach always told us. "Run the first mile with your legs, the second mile with your mind, and the last mile with your heart." I have to admit that it`s been pretty true. The beginning of the mission was a lot of following my companions and trying to take everything in, and trying to just give it all of my energy... even though that usually meant nodding off in the lessons while my companion continued on... Luckily that`s one thing that has changed haha. The second part of the mission started off with a lot trials, internal and external. I still remember that the day I hit six months I spent in a clinic sick from Dengue. I still think the doctors were exaggerating and I could`ve just stayed at home to rest, but oh well. It really has been a battle of sickness, staying positive, try to change to be a better person, and rejection from a lot of investigators. Now we`re hitting this last part, and even though it should`ve been like this from the beginning, it`s time to work with all my heart. 

In this branch that i`ve been in it`s been hard. My companion and I have been trying hard to talk to everyone we can and do what we can, but there still isn`t progress. But, after a good talk the other night we decided that we still have things that we can change in ourselves to be able to Always have the spirit with us in our lessons. I`m excited to see what happens. It`s been really rough for me to be able to change and adapt to this area, but finally after a month I feel like we`re really going to make a difference here. 

Thank you for your support. Oh, and thank you for the Christmas Letters from the ward. Maybe I didn`t receive them for christmas, but I did receive them for my year mark so that was a great surprise! 

Love you all!

Love, Hermana Leavitt 

Feliz Dìa de San Valentin!

 Reunion with Elder Oaks and all the missionaries.

 Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentine`s Day... again...

Hermana Lopez and I

Happy Valentine`s day, I hope it was a great one!

So basically everyone here in Chiapas has been super excited this week because the Pope came here to Tuxtla to visit this weekend. But, as members, and especially as missionaries, we`ve been pretty stoked because this weekend, Elder Dallin H. Oaks from the Quorum of the 12 Apostles also came to visit, along with Elder Whitney L. Clayton, president of the seventy. And as missionaries, we had the special opportunity to hear from them both in a reunion of only missionaries. It was pretty cool to be honest. Especially because we also had the opportunity to shake their hand too. Our meeting was filled with the spirit, and it really is something special to have a room full of missionaries and listen to a living apostle in person. One of the things that I learned the most from this meeting is the importance of understanding and teaching repentance. Often we have converts who are baptized and soon after inactivate in the church, and they shared with us that one of the primary reasons that this happens is because our converts didn`t understand the doctrine of repentance. That it is not a one time event, it`s a process, and a change of heart. One other thing that really stuck out to me too was that Elder Oaks shared with us that we are not here to convert people to the church, we are here to convert people to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Are we truly converted to the gospel, or only the church?

After all of our meetings this weekend I was able to have a few miracles pass by for myself, and I`m super grateful. On Saturday after our meeting with Elder Oaks we were leaving from the church, about to cross the street, when I heard someone call my name. I turned around to see two members, but I thought they were elders. Only to realize when they were shaking my hand that it was my bishop and ward mission leader from my old area, Cacahoatàn. I was basically in complete shock. We were only able to talk for a minute and then they had to head into their meeting with Elder Oaks. I`m super grateful because my other area is about 8 hours away, and I didn`t think I would be able to see them even though I knew that they were coming to Tuxtla too. Everything literally passed in the right moment, and it really strengthened my testimony even more that Heavenly Father knows our desires and wants to help us. I miss my old area a ton, but I know that cambios are good, and I`ll see the people there again. After our meeting on Sunday I was suprised to have someone tap my shoulder and turn around to see one of my converts, Maria de los Angeles greet me. This is one great blessing of returning back to the same stake where I served before. It was great to see her and be able to talk with her and find out that she`s still so strong in the church, and even has a calling in relief society. It really is a blessing to be able to see the difference from when we were teaching our investigators and how they are now in the church. I was also able to see a lot of different members from la Salle, and it was pretty funny because I think the most common thing I heard was that I can actually speak spanish now.. Lots of progress still but I`m super grateful for this opportunity to learn spanish, and I know that the gift of tongues is real. 

There`s not a whole lot happening in our area, we basically don`t have anyone, but we`re just going to keep looking for new people to teach. This week in all though was really great, and I`m so grateful for the experiences that I could have.

I hope your week is great, and I love you

Hermana Leavitt

Short and Sweet

So last week I got transferred to a new area, Villaflores. It`s kind of inbetween a town and a city, it`s pretty good. I do miss my little pueblo though. And i miss the warmth! Ok, it`s not super cold here, just a little chilly, but Cacahoatàn was wonderful! It`s a branch here, it`s weird to not have so many people to see in the classes. My new companion is hermana lopez, she`s got 13 months in the mission, and she`s from Guatemala. She`s super sweet and always happy. 

So an experience that we had this week. My first night here we contacted someone in the street and ended up having a lesson with her. At one point my companion started to open her scriptures to share something, and a scripture came to my mind. I waited though and the scripture that my companion shared was what i was thinking to share in that moment. After a couple minutes at one point I was sharing something, and a scripture came to my mind and I shared it. After the lesson my companion said that she was thinking of the same scripture too. I`m really excited to work with her, and learn a lot from her. 

Not much else has happened, but things are going good. I hope you all have a great week! 

Hermana Leavitt

Happy 20th Birthday!!!

pic. from my birthday, this is hermana mechita

Testimony

photo 1. So we went to eat with a member yesterday, and to my suprise, she has a black cocker spaniel, so of course I had to take a picture with it! 

photo 2. it´s super green here, and I love it, and I´m gonna miss is 

This week we had an experience that I really learned a lot from and wanted to share with you. So we have an investigator (Jason) that we haven´t been able to see for about a month because he was on school vacation and he´s not from here, just lives here during the week while he goes to college. Finally though in this week we were able to see him and I´ll be honest, I was pretty excited to see if he´s progressed, read the book of mormon while he was away etc. But through the lesson we learned that no, and after we finished the lesson, he told us that for him, when we´ve come to visit he doesn´t feel anything, when he´s gone to church he doesn´t feel anything, and when he reads the book of mormon, he doesn´t feel anything. That there are other missionaries from a different church that visited him and his family while he was there, and that he wanted to go to the other church. To put it simple, I was pretty upset afterward. I couldn´t believe that he rejected everything after months of teaching him, and I started to wonder if maybe I wasn´t teaching by the spirit. To really hear someone say that nothing is true, it´s pretty hard, because for me, this gospel is everything. I couldn´t understand how it was that he didn´t feel anything when before he told us that when we started visiting him, he started to feel closer to God, but in this time with the other missionaries, he felt farther away from God. But I couldn´t form the words and I knew that that meant I shouldn´t say them, and that we needed to leave him behind. 

The next morning I woke up at 5:30 for who knows why, and the whole situation entered my mind again. I pretty much just felt empty inside, but then I started to think about my own testimony. I remembered an experience that we had in this lesson with Jason. He had told us that he prayed about the Book of Mormon every night and never recieved anything, and that when he read it he didn´t feel anything. I shared with him that if he would pray, and open his book of mormon to a random page and start reading, he would feel the truth. But that he had to be diligent and do it every day. As I was saying this, I was demonstrating it too. The page I fell on I only glanced at, but didn´t read it. But I knew what scripture was there, 2 Nephi 33:10 "And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good." As I remembered this experience, I knew that this only strengthened my testimony that much more that the Book of Mormon is true, and that this gospel is true. The feeling of emptiness left and I was filled with peace. 

I know that if we really strive to gain a testimony to know that this gospel is true, that we will receive and answer with study, prayer, and fasting. I´ve learned especially the power of fasting during this experience too, because I had been fasting to become a better person and missionary when all of this happened. I know the gospel is true, I know that our Heavenly Father loves us, and that He is with us every day. 

I love you, thank you for the emails every week. And sorry that I can´t always respond. I hope you have a great week, and that you can each think about your personal testimony of the gospel. 

Love, Hermana Leavitt