Week #29 - Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all had a great Christmas. Mine
was awesome. I got to talk to the fam for a couple hours which was
pretty sweet. It's crazy how much they have grown and changed (and
grown mustaches hahaha). It was so nice to talk to everyone and to
meet Louie. I loved all the Christmas gifts I got from everyone. I'm
so glad I have so much support from everyone at home.

This week we had a lesson with two of our now "new investigators". It
was awesome. We had planned to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ but
ended up teaching more about the restoration! They had a ton of
awesome questions that we got to answer. The spirit was so strong in
the lesson so we decided to ask them if they would be baptized. Regina
said, "I've been baptized 3 times already, but if God wants me to be
baptized again in this church, I'll do it!" It made me so happy to
hear that. It's amazing what people will do when they feel the spirit
of God confirming things in their life.

On Christmas Eve, the whole mission went up to the temple visitors
center to sing in a performance. I didn't sing though, I was able to
direct traffic flow in and out of the parking lot. It was quite fun
actually. We got to wear reflective vests and use lightsaber stick
things. I was having a lot of fun with it. Anything or anytime we get
to go up to the visitors center and do stuff there is an extreme
blessing. It's so peaceful up there and you can really feel that it is
heaven on earth.

I appreciate all the sweets and goodies that everyone sent me. I
actually appreciate it so much that I've set a goal for myself at the
new year to not eat any more sugar! I thing over the past two weeks
I've gotten and eaten enough sugar to last me the rest of my mission!
It has been awesome. But now time to cut back haha.

This week I've been studying a lot about the prophet Joseph Smith. Let
me tell you, I have so much respect for Joseph and Emma Smith. The
things they had to go through are motivation to me. One thing I love
about Joseph was that he wasn't this perfect man that a lot of people
believe him to be. He was just an average guy like us, trying to do
the lords will and restore his church. Man, that must have been
difficult. I'm so glad that he had imperfections just like I have.
It's comforting to know he and I have some of the same struggles. I've
have really come to strengthen my testimony of Joseph Smith so much
over the past week. I'm thankful that he restored Jesus Christ's true
church back on the earth today and those same ordinances that Jesus
Christ performed, we can perform today. I know Joseph Smith to be a
prophet of God and I know that he translated the Book of Mormon
through the power of God. I know without a shout of a doubt that this
church is true and I would lay down my life for it! I love this church
and this gospel so much.

Have a good week!

Elder Leishman

With Elder Beatty from Desert Hills HS at the Washington DC temple on Christmas Eve.  The missionaries performed a special Christmas program.  Elder Leishman signed up for "parking patrol" - lol!!

At the Christmas Program held at the Washington DC temple on Christmas Eve

With Elder Merrill (my companion)

Elder Evans, Elder Overstreet, and Elder Cline.

Elder Brady

Elder Cline

With Elder Ma and Elder Grace

With Elder Merrill

Elder Jones

Elder Evans

Week #28

Well, Merry Christmas! I cannot believe it's the week of Christmas!
This is hands down the best time of the year. I'm so glad I get to be
a missionary at this time. This week has been good. We were able to
have some lessons with a couple of our investigators and some less
actives in our ward. They all went well. Right now we aren't teaching
anyone that's super solid, we have a few solid potential investigators
that we are working on but other than that we are trying to find a lot
of new people to teach. It's going to be pretty hard to find people to
teach this week with it being Christmas but I'm hopeful that we will
find some! On a side note, I learned how to solve a rubixs  cube this
week!

I can't believe I get to see the fam on Friday. I'm so excited. It's
been a whole 6 months since I've seen everyone. I can't wait to see
dads goatee and the boys hair. I can't wait to see my beautiful momma
again! It's going to be awesome. And I'm excited to meet my new
brother, Louie. It will be a happy time!

I love this Christmas season. I'm glad I get to labor alongside the
savior in his vineyard. I wish I would have taken advantage of the
blessings of the gospel before my mission. I wish I would have
realized how much more happy I am when I am fully immersed in the
gospel. I'm glad that Heavenly Father has given us agency and let's us
pick for ourself what we want to do. There is so much more genuine
care that comes along with agency on our side as well as heavenly
fathers side. We care more and our decisions and he cares more about
the decisions we are making. I'm grateful for the birth of the savior
and the joy that comes as we remember him. My favorite quote that mom
used to put up during Christmas was the one that said, "Wise men seek
him still." I absolutely love that. We should always have the savior
on out mind and be striving towards him.

Merry Christmas everyone and Happy Holidays!

Love,
Elder Leishman

Week #27 - Fairfax, VA

Well, this week has been pretty crazy. We had transfers on Thursday
and I got transferred to a new area. I'm now serving in the Wakefield
ward. It's in the Annandale stake. I live in Fairfax, VA. I'm kind of
sad I left shirlington after only being there for one transfer but I'm
happy to be in the Wakefield ward. I can already tell that the ward is
pretty sweet! My new companion is Elder Merrill. He is from West
Jordan, Utah. He's been out for about 17 months. This is his third
transfer in the Wakefield ward. My new area is pretty close to the
mission office and the mission home which is pretty exciting. We are
on bike in this area. And it's not super small like the shirlington
ward. This ward is pretty big so we bike everywhere. I'm excited to
get a leg workout everyday!

It's so crazy that we are so close to Christmas. It feels like just
yesterday I was going in the MTC. Christmas seemed so far away at that
time and now it's here. I'm half way done with my first year of my
mission. I'm learning to love my mission. Not because everything I do
out here is fun, but because I know that the things I am going through
will benefit me in my future. I'm excited to be able to see and talk
to the fam next week. It's going to be pretty weird skyping you guys.
Im pretty dang excited though. It's crazy how these mission things
work, you send a teenage kid out and tell him to proclaim the gospel.
Something that he probably doesn't even know a lot about himself. It's
so amazing to think about. I'm so grateful to be out here serving.
I've been tested a lot on my mission and I've been pushed outside of
my boundaries many times. I've been placed in circumstances that are
uncomfortable and challenging and the Lord has helped me through them.
It's through the Lord that I've gotten through all my trials.

I miss you guys, especially during this holiday season. I hope
everyone has a great week! See you next week!

Elder Leishman

At the "6 month" mark on your mission the Elder's traditionally burn a tie.

With Elder Hudson

Week #26

Well, this week was good. We taught a total of 6 lessons this week
which is super good for our area. We were able to put one of our
investigator on date for the middle of January. It's pretty funny. The
guy who is on date is technically not even a progressing investigator.
He won't read the Book of Mormon until he finishes the bible, but he
wants to get baptized? Pretty funny I guess.

On Thursday, I went to this really awesome leadership meeting. It was
with all the zone leaders and district leaders and some other leaders
from the mission. We were able to be instructed on some key things
pertaining to missionary work. Over all it was a great meeting and I
learned a lot. It has been fun being a district leader this transfer
and I'm thankful for the opportunity I've had to teach some of the
other missionaries in our mission. There are transfers this week. I
find out if I'm staying or leaving either tonight or tomorrow night. I
will let you guys know how it goes.

I kind of run out of things to say during these emails when I'm not
prompted to say something specific. So I guess the point I'm trying to
get across is: I'm still alive, same story different day.

I love you guys! Have a good week!

Elder Leishman

P.S. *** An update *** Elder Leishman is being transferred to Wakefied, VA - about 3 hours away from where he is serving right now. We'll have an address later this week for Christmas letters and packages.

Week 23 in the field

This week has been super slow missionary wise but it has been great
with regards to the holiday and spending time with some awesome
members. It started with the turkey bowl on thanksgiving morning. We
played with a lot of other missionaries and some members from our
ward. It was pretty fun to get out there and be active. My team won
every game. It was missionaries vs ward members. I had a good time and
didn't suffer any severe injuries haha which is always good.

Then we went up to Falls Church on thanksgiving afternoon and had
dinner with the Stewart's because nobody in our ward signed up to feed
us on that day. I was so grateful I got to go to the Stewart's for
thanksgiving and spend time with family. The food was amazing and we
got to play some games afterwards. I loved being with family. It's
always nice being with family members for the holidays even if you
just met them recently haha. It was a great time and I'm so happy we
got to go up there.

On Saturday morning we got to go to the temple because a member of our
ward was going through for the first time. Her name is Hirut and her
fathers name is Bayissa. They are from Ethiopia and they were baptized
a little over a year ago and they invited us to go to the temple with
them for their endowment. It's such a blessing to have a temple so
close and to feel of the amazing spirit that is there. They are
putting up the Christmas lights for the visitor center soon so I will
have to make my way up there again soon to see the lights. We have a
couple people we are working with that we know could really enjoy the
spirit of the temple and visitors center!

On Saturday night while we were tracking down potentials, we ran into
a guy named Dave. When we knocked on the door we heard some guy from
the other side yell "Nah Fam we good", so of course I acted like I
couldn't hear so I yelled "what?" "I see you Jehovah's Witness, we
good" "we're not Jehovah's Witness" so then he opens the door and was
wondering about how we got his information, which was his number one
concern. He probably thought we were Feds to be honest. After talking
a little bit more to this guy, which was hilarious but I can't repeat
anything he said, I started telling him about the Book of Mormon and
before I could say anything he ripped it out of my hands and said "I'm
too evil to hold this thing, I feel like I'm gonna catch on fire. The
devil is too strong in me, but I'll tell you what. I can't promise
that I'll read it erryday, but I'll read it at least twice a week.
Sound Gucci?" I was pretty surprised because we didn't say anything
about it and he committed himself to read it and now we're meeting
with him on Tuesday.


Other than that we have just been trying to find as many as we
possibly can. I'm excited to share the new holiday video that the
church put out. It's going to be a good tool to use in our contacting.
It's been pretty tough finding people in our ward and getting the
support of our ward. It makes missionary work pretty hard when you
don't have a lot of support. It just sucks because you feel like you
are giving your all to this ward and area you are serving in but you
don't see any support at all. But I guess it's just another lesson
that a mission teaches you. Most the time in life, the circumstances
you are in aren't going to be the best but you're going to have to
make the most of them. Heavenly Father gives us tough situations to
test our faith and obedience. It's really easy to stray from the path
and b,are it on the circumstance you are in. We need to make sure we
are staying the course even through the ups and downs. It's a valuable
lesson I've had to progressively learn over the course of my mission.
I hope everyone has a great week! Much love!

Elder Leishman

Week #22 - In the Field

So this week has been pretty good. It's crazy that the holidays are
right around the corner. It's almost surreal. It feels like just
yesterday was June 10th and I was going in the MTC. I can't believe my
6 month mark is only like 2 weeks away. At the beginning of my
mission, I thought this time would never get here. This week has been
pretty normal. We had district meeting on Tuesday and I was able to
teach my district about the role of the Book of Mormon and how it
answers questions of the soul. It was really awesome and we got to
play a game to go along with it. Then, on Wednesday we had zone
teaching and I was able to teach In that as well about learning to
love obedience. It was a good topic to teach on and I feel like there
are a lot of different ways you can take that one topic so I hope
someone from the district/zone got something out of my lesson.

On Thursday I went on an exchange with Elder Schnek. He is goi home
this transfer and he's another one of the district leaders in our
zone. He's an awesome kid and super funny. I learned a lot from him.
It's always nice to go on exchanges so you can get a different feels
for how other missionaries serve their missions. It's pretty fun.

It's so much different not having a car. I feel like I have to plan
extra time every day to walk or bike to lessons. You learn the roads
and stuff in a different way when you walk around. The on
The other day we walked 10 miles. And we were just street contacting
the whole time and nobody wanted to hear a message. It was pretty
discouraging. But walking the 10 miles was a good workout.

I'm really excited for thanksgiving this week because we passed around
our meal calendar yesterday at church and nobody signed up for lunch
or dinner that day. So I texted my cousins (The Stewart's) in Falls
Church to see if my companion and I could join them for a meal and
they said yes! I'm super excited to be able to spend the holiday with
them. It's always fun being with family for the holidays! (Even if you
met them when you started serving in their ward! Haha)

Today we are going to the Pentagon with one of the members from our
ward. He is taking us to lunch in there and showing us around. I'm
really excited to go.

Let me tell you something, Satan is a mean dude. He tries to hit you
from every angle. He tries to discourage you every chance he can
especially when nobody wants to talk to you. It's pretty dang hard to
fight the adversary when you aren't having any luck teaching anyone.
It's really hard to stay positive. But I think that's the biggest
trick in life, is learning to stay positive. Everyday we make a
choice, it will either be a good day or a bad day. It's up to us. We
are the only ones who can control the outcome of our day and we need
to stay positive even if we have every excuse not too!

I hope everyone has a good thanksgiving and enjoys some time off of work and school! I don't get any days off!! Welcome to the missionary
grind. TNDO! (Take no days off)

Week #21 - In the field

This week has been decent. There isn't a lot of teaching going on in
our area right now. It's more or less a lot of finding. We go out
everyday and try to track down all the potentials that are in our area
book. There are a ton of them. A lot of them have been in the area
book since like 2009 and have probably since moved. It's just a matter
of tracks those people down. That's where most of the doors slammed in
our face happen or the people yelling at you. But I guess that's what
makes it interesting. It makes for some good stories, that's for sure.

On Monday, we had dinner at a recent converts house. She is from
Ethiopia. She fed us Ethiopian food. And to my surprise, it was
actually pretty dang good. If you get over the sheer fact that it's
super weird looking, it tastes good! The only way I would describe it
is like an undercooked pancake that's only cooked on one side, that
tastes like sourdough bread, but is gray. You then use that bread type
of thing to pick up the meat or the vegetables or beans or whatever
else you're having. You eat with your hands which is pretty cool. that
was another mission experience that was pretty cool. Who would have
thought you get homemade Ethiopian food while staying in the states?
Pretty sweet.

On Saturday, we spent a lot of time organizing our area book. We broke
our area up into sections (like A1, A2, B1, and B2). We then went
through every person in the area book and looked up their address and
next to their contact, we put the section that they live in. So now
whenever are planning where we are going to work for the day, we can
just go to one of the 10 sections that we have and there is a list of
all the potentials in that area. It's super sweet. It makes tracking
down all those potentials a lot easier.


This week during my studies I have been studying Captain Moroni. That
man is a stud. He is such a feat example of a leader. He knows that he
needs to be physically prepared with soldiers, supplies, and armor.
But then he also knows that he needs to be spiritually prepared as
well. In Alma:43, Moroni even asks Alma, who is the high priest at the
time, where the Lamanites are going to take their army. And the lord
reveals to Alma that they are going to Manti and Moroni is able to
take his army and meet them there and develop something like an ambush
for when they arrive. Captain Moroni is a prime example of the
scripture, "if ye are prepared, he shall not fear". He knows that as
long as he is physically prepared and he relies on the Lord, they will
be given enough strength to conquer their enemies. And one of my
favorite scriptures describing Moroni is Alma 48:17. It says, "17 Yea,
verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever
would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have
been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the
hearts of the children of men." I think that verse says it all. I hope
everyone has a good week!

Week #20 - In the Field

Well, it's been a sweet short week since the last time I talked to you
guys! Not too much has happened, just a lot of street contacting and
checking up on potentials. I had my first sacrament meeting in the
Shirlington Ward which was pretty sweet. Our church building is super
old and small so it's kind of like I go to church in a historical
site. Pretty dang cool!

On Friday I had my MRI for my knee which was pretty weird. It felt
super weird to have to lay there and have to be dead still for like 30
minutes. It almost felt like a little massage with all the waves
hitting my leg. Kind of peaceful actually. I almost fell asleep! I
have a doctors appointment this week to see what exactly needs to be
done. I'll let you guys know.

Since not too much has happened this week, I want to talk about
something I studied this week. It was in alma chapters 36 & 37. It was
Alma's commandments to his son Helaman. He recounts the story of when
he was visited by an Angel. He talks about how as soon as he
remembered the words of his father, he was freed from the pain and
anguish he was feeling. It's amazing how he just remembered the words
of his father. There have been so many instances in my mission where I
have been faced with two choices and the voice of my father comes into
my head and gives me council on what I need to do. Even if I remember
something he said a few years ago pertaining to a completely different
scenario. I'm so thankful that I had a father who gave me good council
and prepared me for the real world. I'm extremely blessed. I hope
everyone has a great week! Love you guys!

Week #19 (In the field) - Transferred - Lots of Pictures!!

I feel like I haven't emailed home in forever! It's been such a crazy
week and a half with transfers, a wedding, a baptism, and a general
authority visiting! There is too much to write about! I'll start off
with the wedding and baptism. Mike and Tamika's wedding was absolutely
amazing. It was so awesome to see them get married and start their
journey to an eternal family, then on Saturday it was an even greater
experience to see them get baptized. I was able to baptize Mike and it
was such an amazing spiritual experience. It made me so happy to see
all the progress and hard work that they have put into changing their
lives finally pay off. I'll have to try my best to keep in contact
with them especially now that I'm in a new area. I can't wait for Mike
and Tamika to be able to go to the temple and do baptisms for the
dead. It will be an awesome time for them and for their family.

On Thursday we had our transfer meeting. I ended up getting
transferred to a new area. I'm now serving in the Shirlington Ward in
Alexandria. It's right below falls church. So it's not really far away
at all. So far, I really like it here. My new companion is Elder
Hudson from Gilbert, Arizona. He's a pretty cool kid. It's been pretty nice, we get along really well. He played sports in high school which
makes it easier to relate to him.My new area is a bike area, so I will have

to get a bike soon so I have a way to get around town.

At the beginning of the week we had Elder Perkins of the Seventy come
and visit our mission. That is why we had to switch our Pday. I was
able to meet with him on Tuesday of this week and he was able to give
us some awesome instruction on how to be better missionaries! It's was
a super long day, it went from 8am to 4pm. It was super cool though. I
was able to learn a lot and we got to have a question and answer
session with him at the end and he answered a lot of really cool
questions. It was kind of just the topper to an awesome week!

So, this past week I went to the doctor after I kind of tweaked my
knee playing basketball at the mission home. They took some x-rays and
the doctor did some tests and he said I have a torn ACL. I have to go
get an MRI on it tomorrow to see exactly all the damage that has been
done. The doctor said I probably did it about a year and a half ago
just playing high school ball but I have just learned to kind of deal
with it and play through it. He said since I've had it for so long
that he doesn't think I'll need to get surgery right away and that I
can probably wait till after the mission to have surgery. I will let
you guys know what happens when I find out. One thing is for dang
sure, I'm not coming home. They will have to physically pick me up and
put me on an airplane to get me home. I'll keep you guys posted on the
results!

This week I've been able to do a lot of pondering on the fact that
Heavenly Father gives us trials to mold us into the person he wants us
to become. I feel like I say that to people all the time whether it's
an investigator, less active, or a member, I always tell people that.
I've never really thought about it on a deeper level. Everything we go
through is for our benefit. That's the hardest part about life is
seeing the good in every bad situation. I'm horrible at seeing the
best in the situations but it comes with practice. We may not know why
we are going through a trial in the moment, but after you go through
it and look back on it, you can see how it has helped you. That has
been a theme for me this week as I've thought about things I've

struggled with, missing home, having no investigators, tracting all day, not getting fed by members, etc. the list goes on. But as I look back now I can see how I NEEDED to go through some of

those things to make me into the person Heavenly Father wants me to
become. It's a beautiful thing! I hope you have a great week!

Love,
Elder Leishman

 

 

Week #18 (In the Field) - Let the wedding planning begin!

This week has been pretty busy! We have been visiting Mike and Tamika
everyday and teaching them a lesson everyday as well. They are
progressing super fast and are really soaking up everything that we
are teaching them! Every lesson we have with them, we commit them to
do something and when we come back they are keeping all of their
commitments. It's been amazing to see the change happen in them since
the time we put them on date, till now. But, Mike and Tamika aren't
married yet. They have been together for 10+ years and just have never
seen the point in getting a piece of paper that tells them how much
they love each other. Just recently Mike has really seen the
importance of getting married and starting his eternal family. So we
have been working crazy hard on getting Mike a new ID and a marriage
license, which have to happen before they get married. Then we have to
have the actual wedding ceremony. We are hoping to have the wedding on
Wednesday or Thursday. It all depends on when Bishop can get certified
to marry them. There have been a lot of ward members step up in really
fellow shipping Mike and Tamika and show them a lot of love. Many have
opened up their homes to them and invited them over for dinner. Some
even told them they could have a little wedding reception at their
house. I feel like I have had a million and five things to do since we
put them on date and my life has just been all craziness and running
around like a chicken with its head cut off. I'm go into continue to
pray my hardest that I can get everything done this week that I need
too.

On Tuesday night we were able to go up to the temple visitors center
with Mike and Tamika and their family. We were able to talk to them
about temples and family history and how our families can be together
for eternity! After we finished there, we were just walking around the
temple grounds and I got the idea to ask one of the people working in
the front lobby if we could just come sit in the lobby for a second.
He let us go in one of the side rooms in the temple lobby and we were
able to sit in there and feel the enormous spirit that comes with the
temple. We were probably In there for about 10 minutes and nobody
really spoke the whole time. Towards the middle of our time in there,
I asked Mike if we could say a prayer with them and he agreed. While I
was saying the pray I felt the spirit so strong, more than I've ever
felt before and I know that Mike and Tamika could feel it as well. It
was such an amazing experience. As we were walking to the car, I asked
Mike what he thought about the temple and he said, "that was a feeling
that I've never felt before in my life, a good feeling." It was so
awesome to see them feel the spirit so strong in the temple and really
come to know that Heavenly Father loves all of his children.

Oh, and there are transfers this week and I'm not sure if I'm going to
be staying in Falls Church. I have a pretty strong feeling that I'm
going to be leaving which I absolutely don't want to do. I love Falls
Church so much and I love all the ward members here. But, "come what
may and love it" will be my motto for this next transfer. I'll let you
guys know what happens!

This week I've been really reflecting on how thankful I am that I have
parents that really taught me how to buckle down and get a job done.
They really taught me how to work hard. They taught me all the things
that can't be taught just by working a regular job or going to school.
They taught me how to be personable and to love everyone that you meet
because we are all God's children. I have also been pondering the fact
that I am so grateful for my trials. I've learned that Heavenly Father
won't give me something that I can't handle and when I do handle my
situations and endure them well, I will be so much strong in the long
run. Yes, it's very hard to have that pint of mind in the moment.
Trust me it's hard enough to notice it after the whole situation, let
alone during it. But if you really reflect on it, there are so many
things that push you to your limits and our of your comfort zone. Many
trials that we have are made specifically so Heavenly Father can teach
us a lesson or help us grow. Im thankful for parents who taught me to
embrace opposition. Embrace the grind. Only when we experience
opposition can we grow. Face your trials head on and put your best
foot forward. It's impossible to fail if you are trying your best to
be like Heavenly Father. You only fail when you give up. Motto of this
email: Embrace the Grind!!!

I hope everyone has a great week and you see the Saviors hand in your
life! Peace and blessings!

Love,
Elder Leishman

P.S. We are switching our pday next week because a general authority
is coming to visit the mission. So I won't have pday next Monday. It
will be next Thursday, November 5th! Talk to you all then!

At the temple with Mike and Tamika and their family

I dressed up as Elder Clark Kent for our ward Trunk or Treat activity

Elder Haven's mom sent me a tie

Mike's sister's Pit Bull.  Cute little puppy named cinnamon.

Week #17 (in the field) - The real BEST week of my mission!!!

So, I thought last week was the best week of my mission, but this one
was definitely a chart-topper! On Tuesday night we had our usual
dinner at the Cram's but this time, brother and sister cram decided
they were going to invite Mike and his family over for dinner as well
as the Mason family (the old bishop). Mike and his family came and
sister cram made some awesome food! After dinner we taught the
restoration. Mike and his family have already been taught the
restoration but we decided that we were going to teach it again in a
sit down, formal setting. So we got teaching the lesson and I noticed
about half way into it that Elder Havens and I were doing most of the
talking and we were starting to lose their interest really fast. So I
decided I was just going to ask them questions. I started out with
Tamika who is Mike's fiancé and asked her a question about Jesus Christ.
That got her thinking and made her open up a little about her desire
to follow Jesus. Then Mike started to make some comments and he
expressed some of his worries and concerns. We got talking about
trials and faith. Elder Havens shared a good scripture about how only
when we experience a "trial of our faith", will we receive the
blessings Heavenly Father has for us! And so after he finished talking
about that, I decided to add some comments to the subject and while I
was talking I got the strongest impression I've ever had that I needed
to ask them to be baptized, right then! And so I did... During the
middle of my thought, I said "one trial of our faith is whether or not
we will be baptized. So with that said, I feel impressed to ask you
guys (Mike and family) if when you come to know that the message we
share is true, will you be baptized by someone holding the proper
priesthood authority of God?" After a moment of silence, Tamika said
yes. And then a moment later, Mike shook his head and said yes as
well. I've never felt the spirit so strong in my life. Never have I
ever received an impression so clear. It was so amazing to see the
hand of God working through me and touching the hearts of the people
we were teaching. I am nothing, I don't know the exact thing to say
that will convert everyone I teach. But I do know that if I am
attentive to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, he will impress on me
what I should say and what I should do in those times. I am weak, but
with God I am powerful beyond measure. We have decided that we are
going to try to meet with Mike and Tamika everyday until their
baptismal date which is October 31st. I have seen so many miracles in
their spiritual progression I can't even explain it.

Another amazing thing that happened this week was the fact that I got
to see my best friend, Ryan, get baptized on Saturday. I got special
permission from my mission president to Skype into the baptism and
watch the whole program. I can't express how happy I am for Ryan. Ryan
is my best friend and he made an amazing choice in being baptized and
it made me happy as well as our Heavenly Father! I still remember the
first time I met Ryan, freshmen year, in our Spanish class. I knew at
that time that I would have a friend for life. Ryan has been such a
great example to me in following the savior. I have seen him
completely change his life and it's only for the better. I can't wait for
the time when I come home and Ryan and I will be able to go to the
temple together and preform sacred ordinances. He is such a stud and I
love him to death. I know that he has a great life ahead of him and
the straight and narrow path that he is on now is the only way to go
through this life so we can return to live with our Heavenly Father
again. I'm so grateful for his example of a follower of Jesus Christ
and as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!

I've have been so spiritually blessed this week. I have seen so many
miracles happen and my life has been changed for the better this week
because of the savior. A few times on my mission I have thought to
myself, "is this really worth it?" It's the times like I had this week
that make every painful, anxious, nervous, sad, lonely feeling of the
mission worth it. This week alone has made my whole mission worth it.
I wouldn't trade any of these experiences, blessings, or friendships I
have for the world. I love this gospel and I love how it changes
lives. Let it change yours.

Love,
Elder Tanner Leishman

Last pday - at the National Geographic museum.

A picture that was sent to me from Ryan's baptism.

One of my favorite quotes.

Selfie with Jesus while waiting to skype into Ryan's baptism.