Monday, July 25, 2015

It's been another great/hot week here in the ABM. We got to see some pretty amazing work going on in our area and we got to help out in some other Elder's area too.

This past week we went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders in their areas. I got to go out with Elder Strobel. We saw each other all the time while I was in Fayetteville so It was way cool to be able to go out and do some missionary work with him for the day. We had one of our appointments cancel in the middle of the day so we just started knocking on doors and the Lord truly blessed us with some amazing lessons. After each lesson we would ask,"Who else do we need to see?" and every time they would tell us someone they knew that needed a visit so it kept us pretty busy.

All the investigators we have been teaching and all the less active families we've been visiting have been progressing along really well. Having two areas really keeps us busy and I love that. This past week we were able to pick up a couple new investigators too! One of them is named Cody and he is a stud. He was a media referral so we scheduled an appointment with him and when we went over there we taught him the Restoration and the spirit there was incredible. He has truly been looking for the truth so it was so great to be able to promise him that he would find it as he prayed to know the truth and acted upon the promptings he receives. We will be seeing him again this next week to follow up.

We are being blessed here in Oklahoma. Thank you all for the prayers in my behalf. I hope y'all have a blessed week! Stay hydrated!

Love,

Elder Leavitt

These are called 'The praying hands' at a baptist college in Tulsa. This is Elder Sosa. We were on exchanges.

We went to a new place called 'The bowl and spoon'. It's a cereal bar where you can combine up to 3 cereals. It's awesome!

Monday, July 18, 2016

Hey Family a Friends!

This past week was the marking of the 1 year that I've been a missionary and it has been a crazy/exciting/amazing/fast year, for sure. I'm excited for another year of service but for now, here are the deets for this previous week!

So, we got to experience yet another Tornado here in Tulsa. Some other missionaries and us were enjoying lunch at this elderly lady's home when all of a sudden, the wind picks up super fast and it starts pouring rain! She turned the news on and it was saying how it was happening just a couple miles from where we were! No, we didn't get to actually see the tornado but it wasn't too serious of one. We still stayed inside and safe for a couple hours until it passed then we got to go out and do some service the next day for people that were affected by it. There was a lot of fallen trees everywhere so we had fun going from house to house and helping people clean up.

Let me tell you about Conluska ( Yep, that's her name) So, cool story. A member introduced us to this lady that needed help moving. They met off of Greg's list some crazy way and I would like to give all the details of the story but it's hard to type out. Anyway, we helped her move last week. It's her, her two daughters that are 10 and 7, and her parents. We taught her and her parents about the Restoration and they loved it. They were so impressed how willing we were to help strangers out of a tough situation. We gave them the Restoration pamphlet and gave them all copies of the Book of Mormon. Fast forward a couple of days. We go back to check on how they are doing. They start talking about the pamphlet and the Book of Mormon and there words were,"I've never heard any of this before in my life, but for some reason it all just makes sense. It's just clicking with me!" If that doesn't get you pumped about missionary work, I don't know what will! They weren't able to make it to church yesterday because of some stuff that came up but they are eager to come and find out more about the church!

This is proof that God uses members also to do his work. When he knows that someone is ready for the gospel, sometimes he is going to try and send a member to reach out to them. As members, we need to always make sure that we are in a position to run those errands for God whenever he needs them done. I encourage you to always yield to the promptings of the spirit because we never know when we are going to have a positive effect on someone else.

Much love to all of you where ever you may be!

Love,

Elder Leavitt

What is this Pokemon Go thing and what is it doing to the world??

Someone's a Star Wars fan

The Zone

Monday, July 11, 2016

So this week we got the good ol' transfer calls and  the title is a little deceitful because I'm actually staying in Tulsa for another transfer! Elder Udy got kicked out and he is heading out to do bigger and better things. I'm sure gonna miss that guy. My new comp is Elder Porter. This is his last transfer as a missionary before he goes home and he has been lucky enough to get to spend it with me so we are going to be killing it together for his last one! We ended up moving into a different apartment at the beginning of the transfer. That has been a hassle and we are going to be finishing it up later this week.

The other day, We were trying to contact this referral way up in North Tulsa and they actually lived pretty close to where our dinner was going to be. The referral wasn't there so we were in North Tulsa with a half hour to kill so I just start walking without any direction (or so I thought) and we came across these kids playing basketball outside in the driveway. I walked up and asked them if we could ball with them. They were the coolest kids ever! One of them asked about the book I had in my hand so I explained a little bit about the Book of Mormon to them. The kid asked if he could see it and after I gave it to him he said," I want this so I'm going to take it and read it." And then he just walked off! 

We were so shocked!

This past week was full of a lot of goodbye's and Hello's as we've been getting Elder Udy one last visit with everyone and now we are trying to get Elder Porter introduced to the areas. We went by and had another lesson with Janet. We found out that she wasn't able to come to church because she has this sickness where her legs stop working right every once in awhile and she couldn't get the shot until today. She said that once she gets it she will be at church the following Sunday so we are hoping and praying that everything works out so she can come this next week! She has such a desire to learn and find what is right in the world so it has been really fun teaching her.

I'm really excited to be spending another transfer here and I'm going to be learning a lot from Elder Porter. When you are doing the Lord's work, there is no obstacle that you can't overcome. When we are living the way that we have been commanded to live, there is no trial that we can't pass through. This has been promised to us and this is a promise that we should always hold on to tightly.

Love you all and I'll include my new address so all those packages and letters you guys are going to send me this week will get to me!

Love,

Elder Leavitt

1318 E. 41st pl.

apt. 401

Tulsa, OK

74105

Helping with a move, Elder Porter is in the highlighter shirt

4th of July festivities

$5 golfing for p-day

Monday, July 4, 2016

Hey Y'all

So this past week we were suppose to be getting our transfer calls but President Lovland decided to switch things up a bit and we aren't getting the news until tomorrow night. The whole mission is in suspense right now for what's going to happen so you are going to have to wait until next week for the transfer news. I might be in Kansas by then. Who knows?!?

Elder Udy and I have been doing a lot of work the past couple of days because we aren't sure who is staying and who is going! We went on exchanges this past week and I got to be a Spanish missionary for the day. All the Spanish I remembered from High school didn't save me from a whole lot of sitting there wondering what in the world was going on. It was nice to meet some of the people that they are teaching and I got to talk a bit with their broken English and my broken Spanish. You could say that the exchange was a complete success!

This past week we met a lady named Janet. She was a media referral that we felt like we needed to stop by as soon as possible. We went to her address and she was so happy to see us. She said she was literally just thinking about when the Mormon missionaries were going to come by and then we knocked on her door. She invited us in with her husband and we sat down and talked about the Book of Mormon. She said that she would love to read it because she is really looking for a way to get closer to God. She said that she was hoping to make it to church on Sunday but she wasn't able to this week but we are going to keep working with her.

It's been a great opportunity to really think about what this country means to me and what it means to have the freedoms we do. This truly is the promised land that Nephi and his family sought after. I'm thankful for those who sacrificed so much for us to enjoy the freedoms we have. This country is the birthplace of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I am forever thankful for a country where this Gospel could grow into what it is today. I hope you all have a blessed 4th of July. God bless America!

Love,

Elder Leavitt

We went on a hike this morning to celebrate the 4th

This is our boy, Ian. I made him a planner cause he wants to be a missionary too

An Indian lady in our ward made us dream catchers

T-town

Monday, June 27, 2016

I'm just going to get right in to it since we had a ton happen this week! First off let me tell you about Dhinal (D-in-all) So we go this referral a couple days ago for someone named Dhinal in our area so we went out searching for their address. We went to this apartment complex and knocked on the door and this little kid answered the door. We asked him if Dhinal was home and the little boy was like," Oh that's me! You must be the Mormons!" You could say that we were pretty surprised. He is 11 years old and he said that him and his mom have been looking at all different kinds of religions. He said that he was on the computer one day and an ad for a Book Of Mormon came up and he just knew he wanted one and he wanted to come to church. We talked to him more about it and we invited him and his mom to church but he said that they were going to be out of town for a couple days so they wouldn't be able to come this week but when they come back he definitely wants to come. It's amazing how innocent the spirit of little children are and how open they are to the direction that God is trying to move them in.

On Sunday, the Riverside ward had a missionary homecoming. His name is Steven Slater and he served in Argentina and just got back this past week. We talked to him a bit after church and he said that he had a non member best friend that he wanted to invite to take the lessons. Later in the day he texted us and asked if we could go to the church and teach his friend that night! We were excited to meet him and we taught him the Restoration right there and the spirit was amazing. We asked Steven to bear his testimony and it was amazing to see how his mission has changed his life and how much he wanted his friend to have the same joy that he has. He committed to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it and it was an incredible lesson.

Bearing your sincere testimony is one of the most powerful influences you can have on someone. The spirit will always testify of the truth of what you are saying to them. As we stand up as representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and show others how important our beliefs are to us, we can have a powerful affect on those that around us. Love you all and hope all is well!

Love,

Elder Leavitt

Monday, June 20, 2016

Last Tuesday was our Temple trip to the Oklahoma City temple and it was a trip that I will never forget. It was so relieving to be in the temple and I received so many answers that I've been seeking for a long time now. The Spirit that you can feel there and all that you can learn while in the temple is just amazing and I'm truly thankful for that opportunity.

In the Riverside ward, we were able to receive a couple new investigators from the Bishop's son! Nick Warner texted us one night and told us that he invited over two of his friends to talk with us after he gave them both a copy of The Book of Mormon. We went over there and taught them the Restoration and it was a really powerful lesson. The Spirit was there the strongest after we asked Nick to bear his testimony. He told them how happy the Gospel made him and he just wanted that same happiness for them too. They both committed to read and pray about what we taught and we set up to go and teach them again this week.

We also received three solid new referrals. One of them was an investigator in a different area that had a baptismal date but she had to move to Tulsa unexpectedly so now we are meeting up with her this week and setting a new date for her. The other two both said that they want to come to church and see what it's like so we got everything set up for them to come next week.

A lot of work going on in the wards that we've been given to watch over. It was awesome to be able to reflect yesterday on the impact my dad has had on my life. I aspire to be just like him in so many aspects. The countless lessons he has taught me and the example he has been for me in my life are too great for me to ever pay him back for. Hope you all had a great Father's day. Hope everyone has a great week!

Love,

Elder Leavitt

Oklahoma City Temple with Elder Udy

This plus 90% humidity is no bueno!

We saw this at an elementary school so of course we had to take a picture on it

Monday, June 13, 2016

It's been a pretty interesting couple of days. We had our Zone conference on Friday so we were able to receive some amazing instructions from President and Sister Loveland. This past Saturday and Sunday was our Stake Conference so the Lovelands have been staying here for the whole weekend. After the adult session on Saturday night, President Loveland walked up to all of us and was like," So are we going to get Ice cream or what?" So we went and President bought us all ice cream and talked with us for the rest of the night!

Sunday morning we got our new investigator, Cliff, to come to church with us and he doesn't really enjoy showing a whole lot of emotion so it's kind of hard to read him. He likes what we are teaching and he tells us but I'm not use to having someone telling me how much they love it with no expression I guess. 

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but tomorrow our zone and a couple other ones are going to the Oklahoma City temple to do work there all day! We are all super excited to go since it has been such a long time.

Since President and Sister Loveland are going with us tomorrow, they have been spending the day with all of us. President Loveland showed up to Rugby this morning all geared up and ready to go! It was one of the greatest things I have ever seen! He can move for a guy his age!

I'm extremely excited to be in the House of The Lord tomorrow. I know that it is a place where we can feel the spirit in abundance. If it has been a while since you've been, I encourage you to go. The Spirit there will strengthen your testimony and bear witness to you that you are in a Holy Place. I love you all so much and love hearing how y'all are doing.

Love,

Elder Leavitt

Our rugby game with Pres Loveland

3 Zone Conference