Monday, October 26, 2015

Hello Friends and Family!

This past week has been crazy with the transfer and training and just everything that has been going on. Before the transfer, I had to say goodbye to a lot of people I have grown to love. It was sad but I know I will see them all again someday so that's a comforting thought. At the transfer point I got to meet Elder Chapman's new companion, Elder Coley. In the missionary family tree that would make him my brother. I got to spend the day with him and get a feel for how the people in Branson will like him and I feel like he will do just fine there as my replacement. I have my new companion now, Elder Anderson, and things have been great with us. He is from Pocatello, Idaho and President Poulsen was his Stake President. He is a great missionary and we get along just swell so it's going to be a great transfer.

I've been trying to memorize who is who in the ward and who's an investigator and what situation they are in and what they need as fast as I can. I feel like I'm the greenie again just in a new area. I've had the opportunity to meet a lot of the people in our teaching pool and have already started to love the people here so I feel like I will be just fine here in Fayetteville.

Well, thank you all for the love and support. My new address in 78 Aqua Crossing Apt. 11 Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701 so feel free to send me anything! Love you all and thanks for the prayers in my behalf. I pray for all of you and hope you all have an amazing week!

Love, Elder Leavitt

 

 

My new companion, Elder Anderson

Elder Chapman, Dye, Horsley and I with The Marcums

Chapmans new companion

 

Monday, October 19, 2015

Hello Everyone!

So we received transfer calls this past Monday and you can probably guess what's going on with me, I'm leaving Branson! It came as a surprise to everyone since Elder Chapman has been here forever. Everyone is super sad because they loved me and Elder Chapman together so there is going to be some hard goodbyes but I'm excited for what's ahead of me. I'm being transferred to Fayetteville, Arkansas! I'm really excited. I've heard nothing but good things about there and as a bonus, I'm split training a greenie!! I'm getting a little step-son. That makes me senior companion and puts me in charge of our area which makes me a little nervous but I'm ready for it.

I'm really sad to leave the progressing investigators that we have! We met with sister Matejcek this week and got serious about her baptismal date. She has committed to be baptized on November 21st and she has been smoking a lot less now so she is working towards being fully done with it two weeks before then.

Don't send me anything cause I'm going to be at a new address that I will give to you guys next week. Love you all. My next email will be coming at you straight from Fayetteville! Always place yourselves in a place where the spirit can communicate with you. Peace!

Love, Elder Leavitt

 

 

 

Zip lining on P-day

 

Because I will be transferring before my birthday, one of the members surprised me with an early party. So great!

 

 

 

Monday, October 12, 2015

Hello Everyone!

This past week has been amazing for the missionary work. We have received 3 new investigators this week! It's the first time that we have had some solid new investigators since I've been out here in Branson. One of them is a guy who has lived with a less active family for a really long time and when we just came out and asked him if he wanted to get serious about getting baptized and taking the lessons he said,"Yeah I'd like to try it out." So that was a miracle for us!

The other two are a couple that just moved here from Washington. The wife actually had a baptism date set there but moved before she could and the husband still has some questions about the church but we are going to start teaching them the lessons and hopefully baptize both of them pretty soon!

Thank you all for the supportive emails this week. I love hearing about everyone's life! Keep up all the good work you are doing. Don't ever be afraid to stand up for what you believe in.

Love, Elder Leavitt

 

Our last meeting with the Martin family before they move

We found a kitty! We named it Biscuit.

 

Monday, October 6, 2015

So how did everyone enjoy conference these past couple of days???

It was incredible to hear the testimonies of the newly called apostles and to feel the spirit testify that they are called of God along with all of the other speakers. I made sure to take good notes.

It was an amazing week this week! It was full of high points and low points. Let's start with the low. We got Anti'ed bad this week... The guy's name was Don and he seemed like a really nice guy and he invited us into his house and then just started ripping at Joseph Smith and The Book of Mormon. I have little patience for people who anti so I was doing my best to keep my cool but it was bad. He gave us all these papers that try to disprove Joseph Smith and The Book of Mormon and I told him straight up that I wasn't going to read any of it cause it was all garbage and I wasn't going to let my testimony be destroyed by that filth and he got super mad at me so I got up and told him we had to leave. So we left and went and burned all the anti stuff down by the river. That was cool.

High note is that we got to meet with the Martin family. The Martins are a family that have been investigating the church for the past 2 years and we met with them a couple times when i first got here. The mom and her two boys are interested but the husband is not. So the mom's mother passed away a little while ago and it was hard on them and she didn't want to meet for a long time. Just when she was ready to meet again, her brother was killed in a car accident. She shut us out for a really long time and it was super sad. I texted them this past week to see how they were doing and they invited us over. They were happy to see us and we were planning on just talking to them. At the end of the lesson I had a super strong prompting to invite them to be baptized on November 28th. I went with the spirit and they happily accepted the invitation! What a feeling that was for me. They are moving into a different ward so we won't get to teach them anymore but they are on the right path at this point and that makes me happy enough.

The church is true brothers and sisters. There is no doubt about that. I love this Gospel and I will defend it and proclaim it until the day I die. I love you all so very much and thank you for everything. As our Prophet Thomas S. Monson has stated,"Faith and Doubt can not exist in the same mind at the same time." I pray that you all may have faith in your mind and in your heart at all times.

Love, Elder Leavitt

 

Enjoying our conference breakfast. Just like mom makes!

Mini golf on Pday

King of the hill

Elder Dye and I sporting our new T's

 

Monday, September 28, 2015

Hello Family and Friends!

It has been an incredible week! On Tuesday, I got to go to my very first Zone Conference. I love our mission President, President Loveland, so much. We were asked to be seated and studying before President came in to be reverent and such so everyone was dead quiet and being good when he came in. He walked up to the pulpit and said and I quote," I thought there was a funeral going on in here! Everyone get up and come shake my hand." Haha he is a funny guy and it was so cool to get to hear him speak to us and I made sure to take good notes.

So we have just been teaching all week this week and trying to get lessons in at any opportunity. We have been teaching this family, the Matejceks. (Mat-a-chex) for awhile now. The husband is a less active and the wife, Jamie, has been investigating for awhile now. She just has a smoking issue that she is trying to get over before she gets baptized. She said that she quit for 2 days last week but then got super stressed out and went back. She can do it and she knows she can. We prayed about a baptismal date and for some reason November 21st was really screaming at me so we checked and it is in fact on a Saturday so we told her to pray about it.

Other than that, everyone else we have been teaching have been coming along just wonderfully. I love getting to help these people grow closer to their Savior. I would encourage all of you to look for missionary opportunities in your lives and to assist your local missionaries the best you can. Love you all! Peace n' Blessing

Love, Elder Leavitt

 

Elder Horsely, myself, and Bryce, a ward member with The Cartright's "dog bird"

Zone conference with Elder Dye and Elder Chapman

 

Monday, September 21, 2015

Hello Everybody!

We had a pretty crazy and amazing week this week. Quick update on those girls I talked about last week. We went and talked to them and they said they want a little more time to talk it over and to make sure that it's right for them. I know it's right for them and I'm praying that they realize that this is exactly what they need to do.

 

Other than that just normal Missionary stuff going on! We talked to these two guys who were playing basketball in the park. They are both going to school to become Pastors so they knew their Bible pretty well. We taught them about the Restoration and they both took a Book of Mormon and said they would read it and would like to meet up with us again to talk about it.

 

So things have been pretty much the same. Oh yeah, except for the fact that I had to give a talk yesterday in Sacrament meeting! The Bishop calls me an hour before church and said that the speaker who was assigned couldn't make it so he asked me to give a 10-15 minute talk on commandments! I was studying and praying at the same time just begging for the Spirit to be with me. I was the last speaker too so I had to make up for any left over time. I gave my talk and just threw out what ever came to my mind. I remember some of it but most of it was just whatever I felt like I should say. I talked for about 15 minutes and then sat down. I guess it was a pretty good talk because people kept on telling me that they would have never guessed I was a greenie based on my talk. This is a witness to you guys that prayer does work because I know I would have never been able to give that talk if it wasn't guided by the Spirit!

 

Thank you all for your supportive emails! I know that if you open and close everyday with a prayer, that you will see the hand of God more frequently working in your lives and you will be blessed for it. Have an amazing week and as everyone here says,"God Bless!"

Love, Elder Leavitt

 

Visiting a family who had a new baby

 

Monday, September 14, 2015

Sup Squad!

It's been another amazing week in the Branson 2nd area. I'm growing to love the people here and I've had some great memories with the members and non members. We ball up with these kids at a ghetto park every once in a while and we are hoping to start teaching them soon but right now it is just us schooling them in basketball. Being a missionary has it's perks. There is a new Ci Ci's Pizza opening up on the strip today and it's the biggest Ci Ci's in the world! Remember Brother Young, The cat guy that I talked about a couple weeks ago?  His sister is married to the rich guy who owns it and a bunch of other restaurants on the strip. On Saturday, we got to go with them to lunch there as a trial run for the employees. So, basically I went to the world's biggest Ci Ci's before it was even opened! It kind of makes us hipsters.

So a crazy experience happened last week. Every Tuesday we do service at this little Thrift shop called Selfless blessings and we talk with the owners there about just random stuff. While we were talking, out of nowhere one of the ladies that owns the place said, "So can you baptize my daughters?" We both almost had a conniption right there just from the shock! We talked with her some more and she is a less active and her parents are active and her 18 and 11 year old daughters want to get baptized into the church and start coming. We are planning on starting to teach them sometime this week they just need to speak with the husband.

Heavenly Father truly has been blessing me in my life and I hope y'all are recognizing the blessings in your life because they are so plentiful! Keep on serving and always be thankful for what you have now and be willing to share the blessing with others. Love and miss all of you!

Love, Elder Leavitt

Spending time with Jamaal Charles