Not going to lie, this week felt like it took forever to get to pday.
With all the craziness that goes on with transfers and packing, I feel
like it's been 2 weeks since I've emailed. But, nonetheless, it was an
exciting week. I'm now serving in Arlington, VA. It's completely
different than my last area. There are SO many people! It's probably
going to be my final area because I only have one transfer left after
this one. We have a car in this area which is a blessing and a curse.
It's a blessing because we can get some much more done. It's a curse
because it's terrible finding free parking around Arlington. And to
add to it all, they are super tow-happy! For instance, we parked our
car and we were probably gone for 45 mins max and we came outside and
the tow truck driver had already lifted our car and was about to drive
off with it. I tried to get him to just drop it for us and we would be
on our way but he said he would only do it for $50 (I even tried to
give him my Chipotle gift card but he wouldn't take it). So I'm now
down $50 and have no money to get groceries today lol. Hey, it's
better than having to pay $140 after they tow it!
It's been fun getting to learn the area. We cover downtown Arlington
which is super confusing to try and navigate but I'm getting better.
I've been blessed to meet some awesome members here that love
missionary work. We also just got a new bishop yesterday so hopefully
we can get some great things rolling. My first day in the area we were
trying by some former investigators and met a new lady named Maria.
She is awesome. We taught her the restoration and she loved it. We
shared some spiritual experiences together. we stopped by later on in
the week to give her a copy of the Book of Mormon in Spanish. She was
very grateful! I'll keep you posted on what happens with with her.
My new companion, Elder Nielsen, is a funny guy. He's from Mesa, AZ.
He went to BYU before his mission for a summer term. He's a pole
vaulter. That's pretty unique. I'm excited to work with him. Hopefully
he can get some people dunked.
Yesterday, we went to a baptism of one of the McLean 1st Sisters
investigators. We brought our investigator, Jeff. It was an awesome
service. There were so many people, probably the most I've ever seen
at a baptism. Now we just need to do that in Arlington 😋
All in all, it was a fun week. I'm loving it here in Arlington so far
and I know the lord has so many blessings in store for us through our
diligence and hard work. Time to hit the grind💪🏼 have a great week!
Elder Leishman
Pa. I'll try and send a pic of my new comp and I after we go get hair cuts lol
Monday, March 27, 2017
Monday, March 20, 2017
Week #93 - "Isaiah 52:7"
If you would have told me on Monday that I'm going to be in the
scenario that I am in now, I would have told you that there's better
odds of the Warriors blowing a 3-1 lead..... well....shoot. That
basically sums up my week. Anything bad you can think of in missionary
work, probably happened to us this week. If I had to put it into
perspective, this week was about as disappointing as when we lost the
state semifinal in quadruple overtime and I got punched downstairs
TWICE! Yup, exactly. 👊🏼
It started with our investigator, Tuckie (who was supposed to be
baptized this week), dropping us via the Chinese elders. Apparently
she got pretty offended when we invited her out to church? I'm not
sure there was much else I could do there since coming to church is
one of the most important things we invite people to do. She told the
Chinese elders that she didn't want to meet with us anymore. Hopefully
someday she meets some missionaries again and is welcoming to them.
Then, we found out from a young woman in our ward that our most solid,
progressing investigator had started going back to church with her
mom. She had a Baptismal date as well for the middle of April. Talk
about a jab to the mouth, or two! Hopefully one day, they both can
remember when Elder Williams and Elder Leishman taught them about the
gospel of Jesus Christ and it will ring familiar to them. But for now,
sounds like it's just going to be back to square 1.
In all the chaos and negative of the week, there was some positive. We
had Harry and Delaine at church this Sunday as well as Elisabeth and
Basillio with the twins. Even crazier, we didn't think either of them
were coming. We thought we weren't going to have anyone at church but
there was a miracle and we had 4 investigators there! I asked Bishop
Burciaga if I could bare a brief testimony in Sacrament Meeting as my
"goodbye." I'm so glad i did because all 4 of them were able to hear
my final testimony in the ward. I told them that when they all get
baptized, I'm coming back for it 😊
We found out our transfer doctrine this past Saturday. Tomorrow I will
be leaving and going to the Arlington 2nd Ward. Even with as rough of
a week as Elder Williams and I had in Fair Oaks, I am devastated to
leave. I have been able to learn so many great lessons from Elder
Williams. He is one of the most loving guys I've ever met in my life.
I think back on all the talks during walks, movie quotes, and even
just pillow talk and it makes me so grateful we had those experiences.
He's definitely an uso for life. 🙏🏼 I'm going to miss the Fair Oaks
Ward. Isn't it surreal that you can be in an area for as little as 4-5
months, yet feel like you've known the members you've served for a
lifetime? I'm gonna miss this area, I'm definitely leaving a piece of
my heart in Fair Oaks. The Members in the the ward have been the
biggest blessing to my mission. They probably had a long stronger
impact on me than I had on them and for that I am eternally grateful.
I am excited to go to Arlington 2nd Ward though. I've heard great
things and it's right across the river from D.C. My new companion is
Elder Nielsen. I don't know much about him except for the fact he's
been out for about 6 months. We are going to be grinding my last two
transfers. Here we go💪🏼
You'd think as a mission goes on, this stuff would get easier and
easier. Well, it doesn't. Getting dropped still hurts your heart.
Getting transferred is like leaving home again. And getting a new
companion is always a little nerve-racking. But I wouldn't trade any
of this for the world. I love it so much, I have learned to experience
what "true joy" is over the past 21 months. I will forever be grateful
that I served a mission.
I love and miss you all! Have a great week!
Elder Leishman
scenario that I am in now, I would have told you that there's better
odds of the Warriors blowing a 3-1 lead..... well....shoot. That
basically sums up my week. Anything bad you can think of in missionary
work, probably happened to us this week. If I had to put it into
perspective, this week was about as disappointing as when we lost the
state semifinal in quadruple overtime and I got punched downstairs
TWICE! Yup, exactly. 👊🏼
It started with our investigator, Tuckie (who was supposed to be
baptized this week), dropping us via the Chinese elders. Apparently
she got pretty offended when we invited her out to church? I'm not
sure there was much else I could do there since coming to church is
one of the most important things we invite people to do. She told the
Chinese elders that she didn't want to meet with us anymore. Hopefully
someday she meets some missionaries again and is welcoming to them.
Then, we found out from a young woman in our ward that our most solid,
progressing investigator had started going back to church with her
mom. She had a Baptismal date as well for the middle of April. Talk
about a jab to the mouth, or two! Hopefully one day, they both can
remember when Elder Williams and Elder Leishman taught them about the
gospel of Jesus Christ and it will ring familiar to them. But for now,
sounds like it's just going to be back to square 1.
In all the chaos and negative of the week, there was some positive. We
had Harry and Delaine at church this Sunday as well as Elisabeth and
Basillio with the twins. Even crazier, we didn't think either of them
were coming. We thought we weren't going to have anyone at church but
there was a miracle and we had 4 investigators there! I asked Bishop
Burciaga if I could bare a brief testimony in Sacrament Meeting as my
"goodbye." I'm so glad i did because all 4 of them were able to hear
my final testimony in the ward. I told them that when they all get
baptized, I'm coming back for it 😊
We found out our transfer doctrine this past Saturday. Tomorrow I will
be leaving and going to the Arlington 2nd Ward. Even with as rough of
a week as Elder Williams and I had in Fair Oaks, I am devastated to
leave. I have been able to learn so many great lessons from Elder
Williams. He is one of the most loving guys I've ever met in my life.
I think back on all the talks during walks, movie quotes, and even
just pillow talk and it makes me so grateful we had those experiences.
He's definitely an uso for life. 🙏🏼 I'm going to miss the Fair Oaks
Ward. Isn't it surreal that you can be in an area for as little as 4-5
months, yet feel like you've known the members you've served for a
lifetime? I'm gonna miss this area, I'm definitely leaving a piece of
my heart in Fair Oaks. The Members in the the ward have been the
biggest blessing to my mission. They probably had a long stronger
impact on me than I had on them and for that I am eternally grateful.
I am excited to go to Arlington 2nd Ward though. I've heard great
things and it's right across the river from D.C. My new companion is
Elder Nielsen. I don't know much about him except for the fact he's
been out for about 6 months. We are going to be grinding my last two
transfers. Here we go💪🏼
You'd think as a mission goes on, this stuff would get easier and
easier. Well, it doesn't. Getting dropped still hurts your heart.
Getting transferred is like leaving home again. And getting a new
companion is always a little nerve-racking. But I wouldn't trade any
of this for the world. I love it so much, I have learned to experience
what "true joy" is over the past 21 months. I will forever be grateful
that I served a mission.
I love and miss you all! Have a great week!
Elder Leishman
 |
I got a pic with Elisabeth, Basillio, and the twins at church
yesterday. Love these guys! |
Monday, March 13, 2017
Week #92 - March Madness 🌨❄️🏀
It's that time of year. My favorite month-long holiday, March
Madness😎. So first off, let's get to the important stuff, can someone
send me a copy of the bracket? I mean, I have about the same odds as
everyone else when picking the games and I haven't even watched all
season!! 😜
You know what else is "mad" about march? The fact that we are supposed
to get a foot of snow over the next 3 days... what the? It hasn't
snowed all winter and now, when it's supposed to start warming up, it
snows? I'm so conflicted. Do I put the winter clothes away or not?
Someone help!
Well, Elder Williams and I had a better week. We pounded the pavement
HARD! After our week prior, we knew we needed to find some more people
so we decided to just go out and start knocking. We set a goal to
knock 100 doors a day for the rest of the transfer. On our first day
of 100 doors, we found 3 new investigators. It was awesome! The Lord
blessed us extremely. I'm convinced that because we showed Heavenly
Father our dedication to finding new people, and what we were willing
to sacrifice to find them, he put prepared people in our path. Another
miracle of our 'finding week' was that we got a call from this random
guy named Michael. He said that he had met with missionaries before
and wanted to meet up and talk with us. We met him later that day at
Dunkin Donuts and taught him the restoration. He is really interesting
in changing religions. We committed him to be baptized and invited him
to church. And guess what? HE CAME! He was an hour late because he
forgot to turn his clock up with day light savings but he still came!
It was amazing, a huge tender mercy from the Lord to us. More to come
on our new friend, Michael.
We had some good lessons with our current investigators this week. We
met with Anna again, she is AWESOME!! She has already read through 1
Nephi 14. The lesson we had was perfect. We read through one of my
favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon, Alma 32. We moved her
baptismal date back just a couple weeks so she can make it out to
church 3 times before then. She is now working for April 15th! I'm so
excited, she's one of a kind!
I've been learning so many great things lately in my studies. I'm
almost finished with the Book of Mormon. I play to start it again on
Friday for my 90-day challenge! Great things to come! I love and miss
you all!
Peace and Blessin's,
Elder Leishman
Ps. Last pday we were playing basketball with the zone. Needless to
say, I still got it. 🤑 Well, somewhat... my 👌🏼 ball was on point.
That's about it haha. ⛹🏻🏀
Madness😎. So first off, let's get to the important stuff, can someone
send me a copy of the bracket? I mean, I have about the same odds as
everyone else when picking the games and I haven't even watched all
season!! 😜
You know what else is "mad" about march? The fact that we are supposed
to get a foot of snow over the next 3 days... what the? It hasn't
snowed all winter and now, when it's supposed to start warming up, it
snows? I'm so conflicted. Do I put the winter clothes away or not?
Someone help!
Well, Elder Williams and I had a better week. We pounded the pavement
HARD! After our week prior, we knew we needed to find some more people
so we decided to just go out and start knocking. We set a goal to
knock 100 doors a day for the rest of the transfer. On our first day
of 100 doors, we found 3 new investigators. It was awesome! The Lord
blessed us extremely. I'm convinced that because we showed Heavenly
Father our dedication to finding new people, and what we were willing
to sacrifice to find them, he put prepared people in our path. Another
miracle of our 'finding week' was that we got a call from this random
guy named Michael. He said that he had met with missionaries before
and wanted to meet up and talk with us. We met him later that day at
Dunkin Donuts and taught him the restoration. He is really interesting
in changing religions. We committed him to be baptized and invited him
to church. And guess what? HE CAME! He was an hour late because he
forgot to turn his clock up with day light savings but he still came!
It was amazing, a huge tender mercy from the Lord to us. More to come
on our new friend, Michael.
We had some good lessons with our current investigators this week. We
met with Anna again, she is AWESOME!! She has already read through 1
Nephi 14. The lesson we had was perfect. We read through one of my
favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon, Alma 32. We moved her
baptismal date back just a couple weeks so she can make it out to
church 3 times before then. She is now working for April 15th! I'm so
excited, she's one of a kind!
I've been learning so many great things lately in my studies. I'm
almost finished with the Book of Mormon. I play to start it again on
Friday for my 90-day challenge! Great things to come! I love and miss
you all!
Peace and Blessin's,
Elder Leishman
Ps. Last pday we were playing basketball with the zone. Needless to
say, I still got it. 🤑 Well, somewhat... my 👌🏼 ball was on point.
That's about it haha. ⛹🏻🏀
Monday, March 6, 2017
Week #91 - Luke 23:26
What does a buffalo say to his son that's leaving for college? ..... "Bison"
🏼
There were a ton of tender mercies and miracles that happened this week. But I want to share one in particular. Elder Williams and I had a pretty slow week with teaching and finding so I got to Sunday a little down in the dumps. In Sacrament meeting I was thinking about our week and how it hadn't been the most successful. Then, in walked a man with his kids that sat right in front of us. He had a baby that was in a stroller that kept looking at me, smiling and giggling. So I spent a good couple minutes making faces at this baby to make him smile and giggle. And for some odd reason, that was a huge tender mercy to me. I was completely down on myself and this baby turned my attitude 180-degrees. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father knew what I was going through and he put this little guy in my path to lift my spirits. I'll attach a pic of the view I had in Sacrament meeting. I'm convinced next week will be better! 
🏼
We had a little stoppage in progression of most of our investigators this week. We have some appointments scheduled this week so I'm sure things are on the up and up! 
Every Sunday night we have a correlation meeting with our bishop. We usually talk about the work in our area and how we can help our investigators or less active members. But this week we just had a good talk about how we can "bear his cross." Bishop Burciaga shared some scriptures with us from the New Testament, including the one in the title of my email, about the Savior on his path to Golgotha, carrying his cross. We talked about Simon who was "compelled to bear his cross." He really gave me a lot of motivation and asked me how I am going to help bear the cross of the Savior for the rest of my mission. It was probably the highlight of my week. I'm thankful for experiences like that that have helped me over my mission. I don't know where I would be without them.
I hope you all have a great week!
- Elder Leishman
Ps. If you haven't emailed me my whole mission, now would be a great time to reconnect with me and fire me a quick message. 🤣
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