 |
| Visiting Great Falls National Park |
 |
| Elder Leishman with Elder Bigelow |
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| Falls Church Missionaries - Elder Leishman, Elder Bigelow, Elder Havens, and Elder Richards |
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| Elder Richards, Elder Leishman, and Elder Havens |
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
P-day trip to Great Falls National Park
What an amazing opportunity Elder Leishman has to visit such beautiful places on his mission!!
Monday, September 28, 2015
Week #14 - In the Field - "Patience"
So this week has been pretty good if I do say so myself! It was pretty
normal, nothing too crazy, out of the ordinary stuff. We had
interviews with President Huntsman on Thursday afternoon which was
awesome. It's always nice to sit down with him and just talk about
life and stuff and some of the challenges I'm going through and how to
work them out. He's such an awesome guy. Both him and Sister Huntsman
are like my mission mom and dad. There's always a sense of peace and
home when we are around them!
Every Wednesday a member from our ward opens the gym up in the church
and sets up volleyball nets and there are about 20 or so nonmembers
that come and play volleyball. So I have been trying to take advantage
of this great finding opportunity. It's been tough because elder
havens doesn't play sports but I can see there are a lot of people
there that are astonished that missionaries are actually real people
haha. That's one of the main things we do as missionaries is just
answer questions about stereotypes or misconceptions.
On Sunday we went and saw one of the less active members of our ward
who is actually in rehab right now. So we went out to visit him at his
rehab home with one of the members of our ward. He is doing very well.
It's so good to see that he is making progress in his road to
recovery. This week I've been watching the 12 Steps to Addiction
Recovery videos that the church puts out. Some of those addictions are
crazy. It makes me never was to fall victim to an addiction. It really
controls your life. It ruins a lot of the things you have going on for
yourself as well, your family, sports, friendships, etc.
Well, this weekend is General Conference. I'm so excited for my first
one out in the field. It's going to be awesome to hear from the
Prophet, Thomas S. Monson. I always love when we have conference
because we get to receive instruction and revelation from all of the
church leaders. It's such a great experience to hear their words. It's
going to be interesting with them calling 3 new Apostles. I'm excited
for the upcoming weekend!
Well, my spiritual thought for the week is going to be on patience.
You know what, patience is one of the things I wish I was just born
with. Because it's super hard to acquire. There are so many things and
people that test your boundaries. I've had to learn how to master that
feeling of wanting to punch someone in the face and I think I'm tested
with it multiple times a day. Just think how perfect the world would be
if everyone was patient? There would be nobody freaking out when lines
are too long, there would be a lot less contention in the world, and
everything would run a lot more smoothly. So, my invitation to you
guys is to just try and be patient. The Savior, Jesus Christ was the
most patient human being to ever live. If we try to mimic our life to
his, only good things can happen. I hope everyone has great week and
stays safe!
Elder Leishman
normal, nothing too crazy, out of the ordinary stuff. We had
interviews with President Huntsman on Thursday afternoon which was
awesome. It's always nice to sit down with him and just talk about
life and stuff and some of the challenges I'm going through and how to
work them out. He's such an awesome guy. Both him and Sister Huntsman
are like my mission mom and dad. There's always a sense of peace and
home when we are around them!
Every Wednesday a member from our ward opens the gym up in the church
and sets up volleyball nets and there are about 20 or so nonmembers
that come and play volleyball. So I have been trying to take advantage
of this great finding opportunity. It's been tough because elder
havens doesn't play sports but I can see there are a lot of people
there that are astonished that missionaries are actually real people
haha. That's one of the main things we do as missionaries is just
answer questions about stereotypes or misconceptions.
On Sunday we went and saw one of the less active members of our ward
who is actually in rehab right now. So we went out to visit him at his
rehab home with one of the members of our ward. He is doing very well.
It's so good to see that he is making progress in his road to
recovery. This week I've been watching the 12 Steps to Addiction
Recovery videos that the church puts out. Some of those addictions are
crazy. It makes me never was to fall victim to an addiction. It really
controls your life. It ruins a lot of the things you have going on for
yourself as well, your family, sports, friendships, etc.
Well, this weekend is General Conference. I'm so excited for my first
one out in the field. It's going to be awesome to hear from the
Prophet, Thomas S. Monson. I always love when we have conference
because we get to receive instruction and revelation from all of the
church leaders. It's such a great experience to hear their words. It's
going to be interesting with them calling 3 new Apostles. I'm excited
for the upcoming weekend!
Well, my spiritual thought for the week is going to be on patience.
You know what, patience is one of the things I wish I was just born
with. Because it's super hard to acquire. There are so many things and
people that test your boundaries. I've had to learn how to master that
feeling of wanting to punch someone in the face and I think I'm tested
with it multiple times a day. Just think how perfect the world would be
if everyone was patient? There would be nobody freaking out when lines
are too long, there would be a lot less contention in the world, and
everything would run a lot more smoothly. So, my invitation to you
guys is to just try and be patient. The Savior, Jesus Christ was the
most patient human being to ever live. If we try to mimic our life to
his, only good things can happen. I hope everyone has great week and
stays safe!
Elder Leishman
 |
| We stopped at a high school football game |
 |
| Random pictures |
Monday, September 21, 2015
Week #13 - In the field "I'm having a boy!"
Well, it was transfer week this week and I'm training a new
missionary!! I got the call on Tuesday afternoon saying that President
wants me to train and it was pretty cool to hear that. My main man
Elder McInerny went home this week. I'm happy to see him finish his
mission and I feel privileged to have killed him (be his last
companion when he goes home). It was pretty tough leaving him which I
guess is normal since he's the only companion I've known since being
in the mission field. Falls Church feels weird without him. But, my
new companion is pretty cool. His name is Elder Havens. He is from
Rexburg, Idaho. He's a sweet dude. Loves marching band and yearbook
stuff. Oh and he was on a ballroom dance team. Pretty sweeeeet.
So since I'm the senior companion now, I have to "lead out" the area.
And it's a lot tougher than I thought. Usually we have stuff to do but
it's hard to fill in the gaps during like the afternoon when nobody is
home and you always just resort to tracting. We are trying to find a
lot more people to teach so hopefully we can find some people that
have been prepared to hear our message and are receptive.
Before Elder McInerny left we were able to play some basketball on
Tuesday night with our investigator, Mike. It was super fun! We had
been trying to get him to come out for about a month now and he
finally came. We got to play some good ball and there were a lot of
good fellowshippers there for mike as well. On Wednesday, we spent a
lot of time visiting members so Elder McInerny could say goodbye to
them. Then Thursday was when I got my new companion!
On Thursday morning, we had to be at the Centreville Stake center at
9am for the trainers meeting. Then I got my new trainee, dropped elder
McInerny off and went back to falls church and got to work! It was a
pretty good day. We went tracting for a couple hours. We knocked on
this one door and this guy let us in and as soon as we sat down in his
house I got the strongest feeling that we needed to leave but we had
no way out. So the guy sits down and proceeds to rip us a new one and
tell us our whole religion is false. He then proceeds to pull out his
bible and just bible bash with us and I never get it why he did that.
Like I'm a MORMON MISSIONARY. I came out here for a reason and I have
a testimony of everything I'm sharing with people. You aren't going to
shake me or rock me. Im like a vault baby. Lock down. Hahaha people
are weird. He even tried to tell us we don't believe in Jesus Christ
and that's where I was like completely zoned out because this guy is
on crack. "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." But hey,
that's none of my business though. Hahaha welcome to Virginia.
There were a lot of spiritual impressions that I received this week.
I'm going to tell you about a couple of them. One was in our elders
quorum lesson this week on Pride. I'm can't really remember which
specific part of the lesson stuck out to me but, it all really just
hit home with me that when we are lofted up in our pride, we are not
able to feel the spirit or detect the impressions or promptings that
are being sent our way. The other time was when we were in a meeting
with our Ward mission leader on Sunday night and he asked us, "Why do
you get up every morning?" This one really hit me in the spot and made
me take a step back and spender the question he was asking. I came to
the conclusion that besides my love for the savior and for his gospel,
the reason I get up in the morning and do what I do is because of my
family. Not just my family right now, but also my future family. My
family and I have been blessed with the great privilege of having the
restored gospel in our lives and it brings us so much joy and
happiness that we want to share it with everyone. He then proceeded to
ask us, "What is one thing you would give up for 12 weeks or 2
transfers, to help move the work along?" I think this question can be
applied to any aspect of our lives. It's such a great principle of
sacrifice for our father in heaven. I mean maybe we should take the
example of the Catholics and how they give up something for Lent each
year. I think that's awesome that you learn to master your appetites
and learn self control and show Heavenly Father your utmost
discipleship.
Well I hope everyone has a great week!!
Elder Leishman
missionary!! I got the call on Tuesday afternoon saying that President
wants me to train and it was pretty cool to hear that. My main man
Elder McInerny went home this week. I'm happy to see him finish his
mission and I feel privileged to have killed him (be his last
companion when he goes home). It was pretty tough leaving him which I
guess is normal since he's the only companion I've known since being
in the mission field. Falls Church feels weird without him. But, my
new companion is pretty cool. His name is Elder Havens. He is from
Rexburg, Idaho. He's a sweet dude. Loves marching band and yearbook
stuff. Oh and he was on a ballroom dance team. Pretty sweeeeet.
So since I'm the senior companion now, I have to "lead out" the area.
And it's a lot tougher than I thought. Usually we have stuff to do but
it's hard to fill in the gaps during like the afternoon when nobody is
home and you always just resort to tracting. We are trying to find a
lot more people to teach so hopefully we can find some people that
have been prepared to hear our message and are receptive.
Before Elder McInerny left we were able to play some basketball on
Tuesday night with our investigator, Mike. It was super fun! We had
been trying to get him to come out for about a month now and he
finally came. We got to play some good ball and there were a lot of
good fellowshippers there for mike as well. On Wednesday, we spent a
lot of time visiting members so Elder McInerny could say goodbye to
them. Then Thursday was when I got my new companion!
On Thursday morning, we had to be at the Centreville Stake center at
9am for the trainers meeting. Then I got my new trainee, dropped elder
McInerny off and went back to falls church and got to work! It was a
pretty good day. We went tracting for a couple hours. We knocked on
this one door and this guy let us in and as soon as we sat down in his
house I got the strongest feeling that we needed to leave but we had
no way out. So the guy sits down and proceeds to rip us a new one and
tell us our whole religion is false. He then proceeds to pull out his
bible and just bible bash with us and I never get it why he did that.
Like I'm a MORMON MISSIONARY. I came out here for a reason and I have
a testimony of everything I'm sharing with people. You aren't going to
shake me or rock me. Im like a vault baby. Lock down. Hahaha people
are weird. He even tried to tell us we don't believe in Jesus Christ
and that's where I was like completely zoned out because this guy is
on crack. "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." But hey,
that's none of my business though. Hahaha welcome to Virginia.
There were a lot of spiritual impressions that I received this week.
I'm going to tell you about a couple of them. One was in our elders
quorum lesson this week on Pride. I'm can't really remember which
specific part of the lesson stuck out to me but, it all really just
hit home with me that when we are lofted up in our pride, we are not
able to feel the spirit or detect the impressions or promptings that
are being sent our way. The other time was when we were in a meeting
with our Ward mission leader on Sunday night and he asked us, "Why do
you get up every morning?" This one really hit me in the spot and made
me take a step back and spender the question he was asking. I came to
the conclusion that besides my love for the savior and for his gospel,
the reason I get up in the morning and do what I do is because of my
family. Not just my family right now, but also my future family. My
family and I have been blessed with the great privilege of having the
restored gospel in our lives and it brings us so much joy and
happiness that we want to share it with everyone. He then proceeded to
ask us, "What is one thing you would give up for 12 weeks or 2
transfers, to help move the work along?" I think this question can be
applied to any aspect of our lives. It's such a great principle of
sacrifice for our father in heaven. I mean maybe we should take the
example of the Catholics and how they give up something for Lent each
year. I think that's awesome that you learn to master your appetites
and learn self control and show Heavenly Father your utmost
discipleship.
Well I hope everyone has a great week!!
Elder Leishman
 |
| Elder Holdaway and I at Su Pollo |
 |
| Last district meeting at the past transfer |
 |
| RIP Mac |
 | |
|
 |
| Brother Jardine and D! Don't mind the honey stick in my mouth - hahaha |
 |
| Jumping on the tramp with my boy D! I swear I almost broke that thing in half! |
 |
| The last day of birthday celebrations for Elder Mac and I |
 |
| Went to the Cheesecake factory and it was heaven on earth. That fresh banana cream cheesecake! |
 | ||||
| My new companion, Elder Havens and I. With the other falls church Elders, Elder Bigelow and Elder Richards. | . |
 |
| The Jackson family. I absolutely LOVE this family!! |
Monday, September 14, 2015
Week #12 - In the Field
First of all, thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! I'm sorry I
couldn't thank you all individually, I just don't have enough time. I
can't even express how much love I have for everyone that is showing
me support and I appreciate all of the prayers on my behalf! You guys
made it a memorable first birthday in the mission field! It's still
pretty weird though having a birthday out here. I know of just felt
like any other day. Oh well hahaha.
This week was pretty much full of service and birthday celebrations!
We had a couple opportunities to provide service for our friend Kevin
and also at the baptist food pantry. We were able to have a full week
of dinners this week and I think I gained like 5 pounds this week
alone. Lots of cake and ice cream celebrating mine and elder macs
birthday. Mine was the 10th and macs was the 12th. I'm so thankful I
am serving in such a great Ward that really looks after the
missionaries! But, I'm going to have to fast for like the next two
weeks to get back to normal hahahah. Or maybe just workout harder in
the mornings and nights.
Nothin too crazy has happened in falls church this past week. We have
transfers this week and I know I will be getting a new companion
because elder Mac is going home. I COULD BE HAVING A BOY!!!
Hahahahahha on the mission, we refer to our trainers as our dads and
our trainers as our sons. So I could be training a new missionary
which means I would be having a boy!! Hahahaha. I find out tonight so
If I do I'll be sure to let you guys know next week!!
One thing my mission has taught me is to embrace change. With becoming
a full time missionary, living the mission life, leaving the mtc,
coming to a new Ward, our Ward being split, etc. all these things have
taught me to really love change because change brings new adventures
and challenges. Change is one way that Heavenly Father shapes us into
the person he wants us to become. I'm excited for what's ahead of me
in my mission and I'm so glad I get to be a full time missionary at
this special time. I hope you all have a good week and feel of the
love of our savior Jesus Christ throughout the whole week. Everyone be
safe!!
Love,
Elder Leishman
couldn't thank you all individually, I just don't have enough time. I
can't even express how much love I have for everyone that is showing
me support and I appreciate all of the prayers on my behalf! You guys
made it a memorable first birthday in the mission field! It's still
pretty weird though having a birthday out here. I know of just felt
like any other day. Oh well hahaha.
This week was pretty much full of service and birthday celebrations!
We had a couple opportunities to provide service for our friend Kevin
and also at the baptist food pantry. We were able to have a full week
of dinners this week and I think I gained like 5 pounds this week
alone. Lots of cake and ice cream celebrating mine and elder macs
birthday. Mine was the 10th and macs was the 12th. I'm so thankful I
am serving in such a great Ward that really looks after the
missionaries! But, I'm going to have to fast for like the next two
weeks to get back to normal hahahah. Or maybe just workout harder in
the mornings and nights.
Nothin too crazy has happened in falls church this past week. We have
transfers this week and I know I will be getting a new companion
because elder Mac is going home. I COULD BE HAVING A BOY!!!
Hahahahahha on the mission, we refer to our trainers as our dads and
our trainers as our sons. So I could be training a new missionary
which means I would be having a boy!! Hahahaha. I find out tonight so
If I do I'll be sure to let you guys know next week!!
One thing my mission has taught me is to embrace change. With becoming
a full time missionary, living the mission life, leaving the mtc,
coming to a new Ward, our Ward being split, etc. all these things have
taught me to really love change because change brings new adventures
and challenges. Change is one way that Heavenly Father shapes us into
the person he wants us to become. I'm excited for what's ahead of me
in my mission and I'm so glad I get to be a full time missionary at
this special time. I hope you all have a good week and feel of the
love of our savior Jesus Christ throughout the whole week. Everyone be
safe!!
Love,
Elder Leishman
 |
| Cool Shirt |
 |
| The new and returning member fireside with some other missionaries and Nancy, a recent convert. |
 |
| The Happy Birthday sign |
 |
| Birthday Selfie |
 |
| Celebrating Elder McInerny's Birthday on September 12th at the Ogden's home. |
Friday, September 11, 2015
Birthday Celebrations
 |
| Pre-Birthday dinner with the Stewart family. Elder Leishman shares a birthday with Porter Stewart and Elder McInerny's birthday is on September 12th. |
 |
| Birthday treats with the Jardine family. |
Monday, September 7, 2015
Week #11 - In the Field
This week was a pretty typical week in the life. Just your normal
missionary stuff. Checking on people, them not being home, people not
showing up to lessons. Just the whole 9 yards. On Tuesday night we
were able to play some basketball. We were supposed to have 3
investigators come but you know how it is, none of them came. So we
texted a member from our Ward who is a senior this year on the local
high school basketball team and told him to come play and bring some
buddies. They came! It was a lot of fun to be able to play some ball
with them. I hope we get to play again this week.
We got to go over to a family in our wards house two times this week
for a lesson. The Jardine family! (I made sure I mentioned their name
this time because Sister Jardine said she reads my blog(: !!!) they
are awesome! Probably the most missionary minded members I've ever met
in my life. Brother Jardine is the old Ward mission leader and is now
the stake high council member over missionary work. He is a stud and
there is an amazing atmosphere in there home that really invites the
spirit. Even with the kiddos and all! They have 3 kids. Jarrett,
Quinn, and Darin. Awesome family! They are always willing to open up
their home to missionary lessons which is always a plus!
We were able to do a lot of service this week. We helped a potential
investigator move stuff from his house into a storage unit, we did our
weekly service at the Baptist food pantry, and we helped out our
friend Kevin continue to haul the trees he just got cut down away. The
moving and hauling trees is brutal. We did that two days in a row last
week for probably two hours each day and I would say we aren't even
half way done. There is still a lot to do. Its fun though. Hopefully I
don't get a tick or something from being around all these tress and
landscaping stuff.
Oh, something else cool happened this week. We were at Applebee's the
other night. I think it was Thursday. And we were eating with one of
our investigators and the Utah vs Michigan game was on. And normally,
I wouldn't even watch a Utah game but I happened to glance up at the
same time they showed a #18 on Utah with the last name Covey. And once
I saw that I was like freaking out telling everyone around, "HEY I
KNOW THAT KID! THATS MY FRIEND BRITAIN COVEY FROM BACK HOME! WE HAVE
BEEN BUDDIES FOREVER AND NOW HES PLAYING AT UTAH!" When I saw Britain
on TV, it made me super happy! But then I started to miss home and
watching football and so I had to like snap out of it but it was
really cool! Man, the stuggle of not being able to watch college
football. Oh well, I'll live.
This week should be a pretty fun week, we have a lot of meals with
members and it's mine and elder mcinernys birthdays! Mine is the 10th
and his is the 12th! Crazy that our birthdays are so close together!
This week I've been able to do a lot of reflecting on topic of
persecution. There are so many things happening in the world right now
and so many different countries, groups, and societies persecuting and
belittling one another. It has really made me think about the early
stage of the church. It reminded me of all the trials and persecutions
that the early saints had to deal with, up until they moved west to
Utah. The strength and endurance that those pioneers showed while
traveling across the plains to get away from religious persecution is
so motivating to me. All they wanted to do was practice their religion
and live the commandments that God has set forth. Yet, the adversary
found a way to try to prevent them from doing that. I guess I kind of
went off on a tangent but what I'm trying to say is Jesus Christ
commanded us to "love our neighbor as ourself." I know I'm not the
perfect example of this nor will I ever be. My fuse is sometimes just
a little too short to be like that, but I can try the best I can to be
like that. Imagine that Jesus Christ was standing right there next to
you in everything you do, what would you do differently? Would you
treat people differently? Would you be a little nicer? Do. Little more
service? Why can't we just be like that all the time? Because in all
reality, Christ is with us in everything we do. I'm grateful for the
example Jesus Christ gave me on how to be a better person and to love
one another. I know I was kind of all over the place with that, but I
hope you guys understood what I am trying to convey. If not, just be
nice to everybody hahaha. I love you guys. Have a blessed week.
#Blessed
Elder Leishman
missionary stuff. Checking on people, them not being home, people not
showing up to lessons. Just the whole 9 yards. On Tuesday night we
were able to play some basketball. We were supposed to have 3
investigators come but you know how it is, none of them came. So we
texted a member from our Ward who is a senior this year on the local
high school basketball team and told him to come play and bring some
buddies. They came! It was a lot of fun to be able to play some ball
with them. I hope we get to play again this week.
We got to go over to a family in our wards house two times this week
for a lesson. The Jardine family! (I made sure I mentioned their name
this time because Sister Jardine said she reads my blog(: !!!) they
are awesome! Probably the most missionary minded members I've ever met
in my life. Brother Jardine is the old Ward mission leader and is now
the stake high council member over missionary work. He is a stud and
there is an amazing atmosphere in there home that really invites the
spirit. Even with the kiddos and all! They have 3 kids. Jarrett,
Quinn, and Darin. Awesome family! They are always willing to open up
their home to missionary lessons which is always a plus!
We were able to do a lot of service this week. We helped a potential
investigator move stuff from his house into a storage unit, we did our
weekly service at the Baptist food pantry, and we helped out our
friend Kevin continue to haul the trees he just got cut down away. The
moving and hauling trees is brutal. We did that two days in a row last
week for probably two hours each day and I would say we aren't even
half way done. There is still a lot to do. Its fun though. Hopefully I
don't get a tick or something from being around all these tress and
landscaping stuff.
Oh, something else cool happened this week. We were at Applebee's the
other night. I think it was Thursday. And we were eating with one of
our investigators and the Utah vs Michigan game was on. And normally,
I wouldn't even watch a Utah game but I happened to glance up at the
same time they showed a #18 on Utah with the last name Covey. And once
I saw that I was like freaking out telling everyone around, "HEY I
KNOW THAT KID! THATS MY FRIEND BRITAIN COVEY FROM BACK HOME! WE HAVE
BEEN BUDDIES FOREVER AND NOW HES PLAYING AT UTAH!" When I saw Britain
on TV, it made me super happy! But then I started to miss home and
watching football and so I had to like snap out of it but it was
really cool! Man, the stuggle of not being able to watch college
football. Oh well, I'll live.
This week should be a pretty fun week, we have a lot of meals with
members and it's mine and elder mcinernys birthdays! Mine is the 10th
and his is the 12th! Crazy that our birthdays are so close together!
This week I've been able to do a lot of reflecting on topic of
persecution. There are so many things happening in the world right now
and so many different countries, groups, and societies persecuting and
belittling one another. It has really made me think about the early
stage of the church. It reminded me of all the trials and persecutions
that the early saints had to deal with, up until they moved west to
Utah. The strength and endurance that those pioneers showed while
traveling across the plains to get away from religious persecution is
so motivating to me. All they wanted to do was practice their religion
and live the commandments that God has set forth. Yet, the adversary
found a way to try to prevent them from doing that. I guess I kind of
went off on a tangent but what I'm trying to say is Jesus Christ
commanded us to "love our neighbor as ourself." I know I'm not the
perfect example of this nor will I ever be. My fuse is sometimes just
a little too short to be like that, but I can try the best I can to be
like that. Imagine that Jesus Christ was standing right there next to
you in everything you do, what would you do differently? Would you
treat people differently? Would you be a little nicer? Do. Little more
service? Why can't we just be like that all the time? Because in all
reality, Christ is with us in everything we do. I'm grateful for the
example Jesus Christ gave me on how to be a better person and to love
one another. I know I was kind of all over the place with that, but I
hope you guys understood what I am trying to convey. If not, just be
nice to everybody hahaha. I love you guys. Have a blessed week.
#Blessed
Elder Leishman
 |
| My favorite picture of the Washington DC temple |
 |
| The Jardine boys in our ward. They are an awesome family!! Cutest little kids ever. |
 |
| Jardine Boys |
 |
| Fish head that we found at a Vietnamese grocery store. It winked at me. |
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