Monday, December 28, 2015

I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas! The members here took care of us, especially the Richardson family. They had us over there all morning and let us take part in all their Christmas traditions. They have 12 kids and most of them are still in school so it was a full house, which kept it in the Christmas spirit. It was awesome talking to the family and it seems like all is well back home. We ate dinner over at an older couples home with all the elders and they were like," Want to watch some cool videos?" And then they whipped out these old home videos of them hanging out with David A. Bednar and his family back when they lived down here! Apparently they were in the Stake Presidency together and they are still super close friends. It was pretty interesting seeing an apostle water ski and coach basketball. Thank you to all that sent me stuff for Christmas. It was very thoughtful of you.

The past week has been full of street contacting and trying to get people to remember the true meaning of Christmas. One night we were walking around talking to people at the Christmas lights and we ran into the Dugger family. That's the family off of 19 kids and counting. I wouldn't have even known that if an Elder didn't say something. We heard that they live around this area. We got to meet them and we gave them a Christmas card and talked for a while. It was pretty cool.

Michael is having his Baptism interview tomorrow and if all goes well, we will be having his baptism this Saturday. We are so stoked for him! We haven't been able to get in contact with Jo lately and we are hoping it's just the holiday craziness. We are hoping he is still doing good. Anthony and Norma and their little girl Mickayla came to church yesterday. They didn't want to read the Book of Mormon but after we taught a surprise Gospel Principles lesson on the Scriptures, they asked for a Book of Mormon and said they would start reading. What a blessing in their lives and it all came from coming to church one Sunday.

Thank you for all the prayers and support in my behalf. I can feel the change happening in my life as I serve and continue to learn. Love you all and have a happy New Year.

Love, Elder Leavitt

The crew out contacting

Some of the Dugger Family. (19 kids and counting)

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Hey everyone sorry about the late email. I forgot to mention last week that I would be at a mission conference all day yesterday and wouldn't be able to email until today. So I'll let you know how the past week has been for us.

Michael is all set for baptism! We taught him the last couple of lessons this past week and with everything we said he just said, "If that's what I need to do, then I'll do it." We are beyond excited for him and all he needs is to have is his baptism interview and he's all set.

Jo has been off smoking since last week and he just needs to have it completely out of his system so that we can get him baptized as well. They have gained really strong testimonies of this church so we are praying that they will be able to over come their earthly struggles so that they can be spiritually blessed.

The other day I had one of the most amazing experiences of my life. So, us and the other elders went to lake Fayetteville to try and talk to some people and show the Christmas video. I went with Elder Constandse and no one would talk to us. We saw this lady out on a dock and we felt like we should talk to her. We went up and started talking to her and when Christmas came up in the conversation we mentioned the video and started to watch it with her. Halfway through the video she starts bawling. Afterwards, we have a really deep talk about the spirit and she said to us that she was about to jump into the freezing lake seconds before we showed up and talked to her. She gave us all her information, took a Book of Mormon, and said she would read it before the missionaries in her area came to see her.  I know that there are no coincidences in the Lord's work. We were there and she was there at the exact moment that God wanted us to be there. If we hadn't listened to that prompting to talk to her, who knows what would have happened to her. I'm thankful for this time I get to be a part of His work.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and I hope all is well with all of you. Always look for the ones who are ready. Love you all and wish you the best!

Love, Elder Leavitt

Monday, December 14, 2015

This past week has gone by so fast and so much has happened that I'm really excited about! It's been in the 60's for the past week and everyone has been telling us that if it's this warm now, then January and February are going to be brutal. I don't know how I feel about that.

I've got some good news on Michael! We visited him last week and we taught the word of wisdom. He said that he doesn't smoke or drink coffee or alcohol but he said he does drink tea. When we told him that he had to stop drinking tea to get baptized all he said was,"I've got some tea in the fridge and when I run out I just won't make anymore." So he is determined to stop that and we officially set his baptismal date to January 2nd. He came to church yesterday and was so excited to tell everyone about his date. He is practically part of the ward family now. Everyone loves him! We are hoping that the next couple of weeks go by smoothly and everything works out.

Jo Szot has also committed to be baptized on January 2nd too so we might have ourselves a double dipper! He was struggling with the smoking thing at first but he really wants it so we are hoping that he is able to quit the awful habit and be baptized.

We are teaching a little girl named Hazel Holt and I think I've mentioned her before. She came to church yesterday with a less active lady in our ward. She went to primary for the first time and absolutely loved it! We hope that we can get permission from her dad to start teaching her the lessons and we are hoping to set a date with her soon.

The work is so fun to be a part of and I'm thankful for it everyday. There are so many people hid from the truth because they don't know where to find it. It is my goal and hope that I can find those searching and I challenge all of you to keep your eyes open for those who are spiritually ready for this gospel. Love you all and have an amazing week!

Love, Elder Leavitt

Merry Christmas!

We found this confederate cemetery out in the middle of nowhere.

This is how crazy warm it has been! Don't worry I wasn't driving!

Elder Foster from the second quorum of the Seventy and his wife came to visit.

Monday, December 7, 2015

Things in Fayetteville are moving along great. We have been doing tons of service lately. The other day we spent almost all day moving a family out of their house and into a ghetto apartment on the top floor of the building. Needless to say it was the roughest move of my entire life. We get to rake a lot of leafs for people and it's a good way to meet new people because no one is going to turn down having there yard raked for free!

We got a new family of investigators this past week! They moved from 2nd ward into our area. The other elders said that they had trouble with them and that they probably won't progress anywhere because they are stuck in their beliefs. We went over and talked with them for a really long time.
We even got them a free couch that they desperately needed. Just from being friendly to them, they have agreed to come to church this next Sunday. We can't push people into church or reading the Book of Mormon. Sometimes we just need to be their friend and lead by example. The blessing will come into their lives and our life as well when we teach as the Savior taught. Through love and compassion.

Michael has been really sick lately so we haven't been able to see him but last time we talked to him, he was still on the right path. Love you all and if you haven't watched the A Savior is Born video yet, I challenge you to watch it and share it with someone who needs it. This time of year is the most wonderful time for missionary work and we can all be a part of it. Peace and blessing.

Love, Elder Leavitt

Elder Anderson and I helping an older couple set up their tree

The package with the decorations came before the one with the tree. We couldn't wait so we improvised!