Alex's 70th email from Chile 12/19/2011

Alex included a fun video clip this week. Well, one of the young men he works with a lot actually sent it to me. Thanks Dari!! Look for the video at the end.

I stole this picture from Elder Mlazgar's blog. 

I believe this is their zone.

Hola Familia!

I probably have not been so tired in my entire mission as I have been this last week we had such an insane week! But first off on Monday we had a sweet family home evening with a family in our ward that invited their niece to share with us. It was awesome we shared a Christmas Jesus Christ lesson all focused on the Book of Mormon. I don't know if I explained that really well but it was cool. After we played a game and what not, well their neice loved it. Her name is Dalenka and I had the same feeling I had when I first met Rocio. I really feel like this girl is going to get baptized. It wasn't any normal feeling. I don't know how to explain it but we will be seeing her today as well. Oh before I forget, today is Elder Carcamos birthday!  He turned 25. I set the alarm for midnight and jumped on him :) I also set up a surprise party for him tomorrow with the Hna Denisse.

On Tuesday we worked like Pack mules. We had an awesome day. Me and Elder Carcamo work super well together. We really don't have a ton in common but we both work very well and like my blessing says that when I focus on the work the differences and faults of my compañero will be less noticible and really now I have gained an amazing friend that I will keep for the rest of my life.

On Thursday we had a capacitacion especial and interviews with President King. He has been so impressed with our numbers and asked how or what we have been doing to have so much success. He said I have grown a ton and have matured a ton since being on the mission. I would like to say I am the same. I just know when things are appropriate and when they are not hahaha but he said he is happy with what I have done and the example I have set for my district.

On Friday we spent the whole day doing the carnet stuff of Elder Carcamo ( basically his chilean ID).  But it was cool I got to chill with Elder Champion. Don't know if you guys remember who he is but it was cool to see him. On Saturday we had a choir practise. We are singing on Friday at our mission Christmas activity, and at night we had a talent show Christmas dinner thing with our ward. The missionaries planned everything. Well it was awesome! We have had tons of people tell us that it was the best activity that this ward has had.

And today like I said it is Carcamo's birthday and I planned a pizza party for him with our zone it was fun.

I have not gotten that package yet or the one with rocios jersey. I don't know what the date was with the last blog. I am sorry it has been awhile. They have about the same time off like 2 or 3 months. My neck is fine now. It finally popped yesterday and now I am doing great! Maria is doing awesome. She is reading the Book of Mormon. She will take longer but when she gets baptized she will be solid! I asked Elder Carcamo and Alex Jafek is in a good mission but its north and he is from the south. We are having Christmas Eve with the familia Ruz. The Hermana LOVES me. She says I am her favorite child hahaha. She is awesome. Sunday we have like 1 hour to an hour and a half. And mom don't be worried I have bought your nativity like 6 months ago :) If I see a cool small one I will get you 2 but the one I got was expensive haha no se preocupe I am on top of things :)

Well family thats all I got for you, I love you soo much and I cannot wait to see you on Sunday. I am getting soo excited.  Elder Carcamo is excited to meet you guys as well entonces nos vemos and I love you all so much!!

Con Mucho amor,

Elder Alex Leavitt

A young man from the ward who works with the missionaries a lot sent this video today. This is what he wrote:

"this is dari he always leaves with us so we made a handshake :)"

Alex's 69th email from Chile 12/12/2011

I think this may be one of the streets that Alex refers to in his email.

Hola Familia!!

This week was a good one. Starting with the biggest news of all on Tuesday Rocio was Baptized!!! I am So happy and excited for her. It was such a good day, her whole family came and it was awesome after everything she went to go share her testimony and she just said she didn't have words to describe her feelings and started crying and then went down and hugged her mom such an amazing experience. Afterwards we had a little food and get together after at her house. This week I did divisions with Elder Merchan and with him in my sector we set 2 more baptismal dates!! So now we have 4 investigators with baptismal dates!! I am so happy that after we have worked so hard everything is finally starting to pay out for us. We had some good numbers again this week and I am soo tired.

Elder Carcamo, Rocio & Elder Leavitt

Rocio & her family with Elder Carcamo & Elder Leavitt

My neck is killing me! The last three days my neck has just been killing and today I can barley turn my head it hurts so bad.  We will see if it improves. If not I will have to go to medico cause I can't work like this.

We have this one investigator I am particularly excited about. The first time we met with her she said make sure this lesson is good because it's the one we will have together. Well needless to say we have had more than one with her :) She has specifically told me she feels like I was sent to her personally from God to share this message with her. She is a hardcore devoted evangelica. Like she does everything for her church and was so set on it she only was going to give us one chance to teach her. Well she has started reading the Book of Mormon and says it seems so familiar to her as if she has been doing it for her whole life. She has progressed sooo much! And I am getting so excited. If she gets baptized she will make a huge difference her in chile. So we will see!

Alex painting for the service project.

On Saturday there was a huge service project for the stake to paint a few streets where there was still earthquake damage. It was way fun I had a great time.

Elder Leavitt & Elder Mlazgar

Yes Mom my missionary stocking is hanging up in our apartment and it is stuffed with candy from a package Kira sent me :) No they have the same Christmas songs here and in English too haha. The only difference here is that christmas Eve is bigger because they have a party all Christmas even and way late into the morning where they party, open all the presents at like midnight, and then sleep all christmas day! haha I don't remember what the typical Christmas dinner is I actually want to say it is turkey. Thanksgiving nothing special happened only that I called my district in the morning to wish them all a happy thanksgiving. Mom I did not get a buzz cut haha it may only be the picture just look at the pictures I am sending you now it normal. Oh hey tell Alycia I am getting her letters weekly now haha and say thanks and I am writing her back. I just have been so tired and swamped I am behind in writing :(

Guys I know this letter is super short but please forgive me. I really do not feel good right now.  My neck is killing me and its hard to focus. I will make up for it in pictures I am planning on sending alot. Just know I love you all. I am working hard and I will talk to you all in like 13 days or so on skype :)

Con Mucho Amor,

 Elder Leavitt

Alex sent us this fun video of him and Elder Carcamo playing with a traditional Chilean toy. Here's a description of it:

El Trompo (Top)

The traditional Chilean top is made of wood and has a metal prong sticking out of the end. String or twine is coiled around the top. Kids will play with their tops in the streets. Some games include trying to keep the top spinning in a defined circle. Others launch their tops and try to knock competitor's tops out of the circle.

 

Alex's 68th email 12/5/11

So Alex sent some pictures a few weeks ago after I had already done his post. He didn't include any this week so I'm including some you haven't seen as well as a video that Elder Mlazgar sent his Mom. There is a fun video at the end that Elder Mlazgar's Mom shared with me.

Elder Mlazgar & Alex at a zone P-day picnic.

Hola Familia!!!

I love this work especially when we are working good we had monster numbers this week. We had a grand total of 28 lessons! and we found 17 new investigators and had 198 contacts. All of them above the standard of excellence we have as missionaries and finally our work has payed off and we set 2 new baptismal dates with a couple that live in La Legua!! It was an awesome week but I am soo tired.

We had a hiccup with Rocios baptism. She was not baptized this weekened. Her dad is a cop and he said she could not get baptized if he was not there and he could not be there Saturday so it was postponed for this tomorrow so say a prayer please that all goes well.

Elder Carcamo, Luis & Alex

Part of our monster week goes to the young men of this ward. We have two young men who always leave with us. They are so tight and they will be amazing missionaries one day. We do divisions with them 1 or 2 times a week. I think I will try to make my kids leave with the missionaries one day. I know I did it a little but I should have done it more. This week we had a mission wide fast on Thursday. We fasted because our mission is at the point to take off and Friday we had zone council meetings to see how we can do better as zones and help the mission reach its potential (remembering we are the lowest baptizing mission in South America). It was a good meeting. Saturday Elder Carcamo and I left in the morning to do some contacts. I don't know if I have ever told you about Elder --- before. He is famous in the mission and even more in La Legua. It's thanks to him La Legua is so dead to the missionary work and why they normally hate us. Long story short lets just say Elder --- has 2 kids in La Legua. Well I met the first family that knows him!  They were like "Wow! we have not seen missionaries this deep into La Legua since Elder --- 10 years ago!!" So crazy. Well we have an appointment with that family tomorrow lets see how it goes.  Well it was that same morning we set our fechas bautismales with Macarena and Antonio. It was actually my first appointment with them. Well we taught them the most important thing which is eternal life, the holy ghost and baptism and then right there first lesson invitated them to be baptized January 14th! So lets pray that they progress and reach their date! I am so excited! President commented about how impressed and shocked he was with our numbers. We have been putting out the best numbers this sector has ever had. We have been working soooo hard!!!!!!!

Alex at the zone activity for their p-day. 

Also I got your advent calanders. My district says thanks and Elder Mlazgar says you can be his second mom jajaja. And yes I did also get your halloween one, maybe your thanksgiving one as well.

My ward has normally between 70 and 80 people in assistence but have 600 members so not very active. We are always finding inactives in the streets and what not. My district is good I just have those two missionaries who are not working which is hard because there isn't much I can do. They should work because they want to because if it isn't voluntary you are not gonna have the spirit with you. Like it says in Corinthians "God loves the happy giver¨." YES I FINISHED THE BIBLE IN SPANISH!!!!!!!! I am soo happy and the coolest part I understood basically everything. Revelations everything it was so easy to understand. I am so stoked and I have a seen so many blessings and it has been such a great tool for me as a missionary to have done it.

Ok well that's all I got for you guys this week. Oh Hey christmas is coming up I was thinking we can do our call Christmas day at like 8 my time here in Chile is that ok? ok we'll talk to you next week!

Con Mucho Amor

Elder Alex Leavitt