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

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Guess who has a little bit of time por fin! I hope everything´s going well, and that everyone had a great Christmas. I can´t believe that it´s already hitting 2016, but it´s going to be a great year. So I know that in these weeks there´s a lot that´s happened, but pretty much my mind is blanked out, but everything is going good here in Cacahotán. I have a new companion, Hermana Méndez, she´s got about 5 months in her mission and she´s from Guatemala. She´s awesome and we get along super well. The funny thing is that we´re both pretty shy around new people, so it´s helping me to break out of my shell a little bit I guess and talk with the people here. 

A couple weeks ago I finished the Book of Mormon for the first time in Spanish, and I just want to say that I know that it´s true. The Book of Mormon has a power to help us with any problem in our lives. But we have to study it, every day, to really see this power in our lives. I know that reading it in spanish has helped me so much to be able to learn spanish quicker, and that the gift of tongues is real. I know that we need the Book of Mormon in our lives, it literally changes us to be able to be closer to our Father in Heaven. If you believe, well read it. If you don´t believe me, read it. This is my testimony of the Book of Mormon, but you have to experiment it for yourself to really know for yourself. I know that the church is true, and I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. I know that he forgives us for things that even sometimes it´s hard to forgive ourselves, because I have felt it in my life. Please never forget that we have a Heavenly Father who loves each and every one of us so much, and that the things we pass in our lives will help us to live with Him again if we have our sight set on Him. 

I love you, and I´m so grateful for each and every one of you in my life. 

Love, 

Hermana Leavitt

Surprise, no time, again...

Really sorry about that I have no time, but I hope all is going well, and here are some pictures from this week!

1. I agree with this message, Dengue is horrible and by experience I´ll tell you you don´t want it. 

2. Who doesn´t like to take a selfie when you´ve got a chance? 

Love you! 

Hermana Leavitt