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

Aguas de Mormón

So basically this week has been one of trials and miracles for us, but we´ve definitely learned a lot, and we just love the people here. I´ll start with the end in mind. At the beginning of the month, our zone leaders gave us a goal that every companionship was going to have a baptism June 27, and we were going to have a stake baptism called the Aguas de Mormón. 

Ok, so now the begninning of the week. On Pday we got to go into central and bought some cool soccer jerseys and what not, it was nice to enjoy a day because basically we´ve always had something on a pday. Then on Tuesday we went to visit one of our investigators. We were actually preparing her to be baptized for this activity and were super stoked to visit with her and help her prepare more. But during the lesson she basically counterargued everything that we taught and we realized that she really isn´t ready, and we´re probably going to have to leave her behind for some time. At first we were bummed that we didn´t have anyone for this activity, but then we felt like it was ok, and that Heavenly Father was happy with the work we´ve put in. 

Then on Wednesday we were trying to find new people to teach and I started to feel really bad. Turns out I had a fever, and I was able to stay with a member for a couple hours while Hermana Dansie was able to work with another member. We´re pretty sure I caught chinkakuya, which is basically a fever and pain. Everyone´s been dropping like flies pretty much, so we´ve been waiting for it to hit one of us. Wednesday when I woke up it was way worse and we had to stay in the house. 

But then Friday was our day of miracles. Hermana Dansie actually told me that Thurdsday night she prayed that friday would be a day filled with miracles, and it sure was. For one, when I woke up I felt a lot better, and we were able to work. Usually people who have caught this are in their house for a week but I just had the bad part for a couple days. Another thing was that our water tank was getting pretty low and we were worried we were going to run out of water, but that morning when we woke up we could hear it filling up.

Then the really cool thing. We had been thinking that we shouldn´t give up for this activity, and we remembered that there´s a 10 year old in the ward that hasn´t been baptized because he´s afraid of water. We decided to go visit him, and he told us he wants to be baptized but doesn´t know if he can do it because of his fear. Then our district leader came to interview him and afterward he said he could do it. It was really the best feeling ever for this kid, that he really felt like he could overcome his fear. And it goes to show that if you really do want to see a miracle, and you put your faith in the Lord, he´s going to provide a way. 

Saturday when we went to talk to the family again they decided they´re going to wait a week for the baptism, so we ended up not having anyone for the activity, but it was still just a miracle. We were thinking about it, and if we had just decided not to look for anyone else, this kid wouldn´t be getting baptized next week either, I´m really just super excited for him. 

This week I was reading in 2 Nefi 5, and it´s talking about when they split up into the Nephites and the Lamanites, and how the people of Nephi are living. Although they had to start over their lives and community to get away from the Lamanites, in verse 27 it says, "y aconteció que vivimos de una manera feliz." so something like "and it came to pass we lived in a manner of happiness." Although times weren´t the best they still followed God so they were living in a this manner of happiness. I encourage you to look how you can continue on this path of living in happiness. 

Les Quiero 

Hermana Leavitt

Miracles

Well, there´s not really a whole lot to tell this week. Pretty much we´re trying to find new investigators because the one´s we´ve had havn´t been progressing. But pretty much we´re just crossing our fingers and having faith that we´ll keep seeing miracles. 

We´ve visited a lot of our less actives and recent converts lately, it´s been cool to see their progress. It´s cool how with every visit our recent converts want to learn more and know what the next goal is. So how about for us, what is our next goal in order to progress in the church? I think sometimes we may take for granted the things we learn at church, and don´t always realize just how blessed we are (at least that´s what I´m learning for myself anyway). Oh and plus this week, we had a less active that we´ve been visiting since before I got here, and that hasn´t come to church practically since he was baptized last year, come to church yesterday! I was pretty happy. Literally when he walked up to us I couldn´t even talk because I was so happy that he came. 

A miracle that happened this week was that we were walking in the street one day and a young couple with a son walked by. They stopped us and told us they just moved into the area but were listening to the missionaries before and want to be baptized but they need to get married. We haven´t been able to visit with them because they´ve been busy, but we´re keeping our fingers crossed. 

So our district leader has invited us every day to look for a miracle, or recongize a miracle, so I want to extend that invitation to you too. Every day this week look for miracle that has happened, and write it down so you don´t forget!

Love ya!

Hermana Leavitt

Flip Flop Week

Well this week was definitely all over the place for sure. It started out last p-day after we got back to our house from getting groceries and what not that I had the stomach flu. So pretty much all afternoon I was pretty miserable. But shout out to Hermana Dansie! She cleaned our house, washed my clothes along with hers (and that´s handwashing), and practically fought our flooding house, all meanwhile taking care of me too. So it also rained that day, and we have an enclosed patio that it all tile. There´s a drain but it´s pretty small so all the water built up like 4 or 5 inches, and it started coming in the house, it was definitely a sight to see. Tuesday I slept. For nine hours. Hermana Dansie was really bored. We pretty much got up at 6:30, I studied until 9 then slept. Then I woke up at 12 and we went to teach a lesson and ate at a members house. Then we came back and I slept until 9 that night. It was pretty funny, I walked out of our room and immediately hear, "Holy crap Sleeping Beauty is alive!" 

There were also special changes this week with our elders, and so we have a new district leader. We think he´s pretty awesome. Except for the fact last night he called us, to talk to us about our goals, but he first started out by saying that there were special changes and I was going to Tapachula, a different area. But then he laughed and said it was a joke, but I´m pretty sure our hearts were still racing for a while. This week too we also had exchanges, and I stayed in our area again while Hermana Dansie went to the other again. It was a pretty cool day in honesty. The cool thing for me was that I was able to understand practically everyone, not just one or two people. But then there were also some miracles that day too. For one, one of the recent converts came out with us for a couple lessons. Usually he´s not too excited about coming out, but ever since, he´s just said that he´ll come with us whenever we need him. It´s cool to see the change just after coming to two lessons. We´re hoping that he´ll decided to go on a mission, but he still has a long time because he was baptized in April, the week before I got here. The other miracle was that we were looking for a new investigator, and I looked in my planner for their address and I read a street name so we walked there. We walked up and down it but couldn´t find the house, and hermana Dansie wasn´t there so I couldn´t just ask her. Then it started to rain pretty hard and we didn´t have any umbrellas, but a family just invited us into their house so we were able to share a little bit and they said we could come back. After that I looked in my planner again for the new investigator we were looking for, and the street name was completely different than what I had read before. I´m pretty sure we were meant to find this family, I can´t wait to visit with them again. 

Then to top off the week we had a baptism! Our convert´s name is Genaro. It´s been really cool to see his progress and be able to help him to learn the gospel and understand it. He´s awesome! Pretty much with every commandment that we taught him, he just said he´d live it, and there weren´t ever any problems. He´s a wrestler, and a trainer too. He told us the other day that he can bench about 400 lbs and squat 660 lbs. So don´t worry, even if it was dangerous here, we´ve got a body guard. 

I hope you´re all doing well, and always trying to be better. That was one thing I learned in exchanges, is to never be content with your testimony. Sometimes as members we just feel like we´ve gained our testimony and we´re good, but we can always be strengthening it. 

Love ya!

Hermana Leavitt