PLEASE HELP SPREAD THE WORD

PLEASE HELP ME SPREAD THE WORD!!!!! My daughter Kira is trying to raise awareness for SMA (spinal muscular atrophy), as her 4 yr. old son Evan suffers from this disease. She has a great idea and we need to help circulate this video through email, facebook, blogs, twitter, etc. We really would appreciate any help you can give us. Thanks!!! 

Alex's 79th Email from Chile 2/20/12

Hola Familia!!

Hey so here in Chile a new song has hit it big it’s called ai se eu te pego by michel telo. Now I tell you this because one I really like it hearing in the streets all day and it’s in Portuguese so I think Ben would enjoy it so you will have to tell me what he thinks of it. 

I looked up the video for the song he hears on the street. 

I don't even know if Alex can understand Portuguese. 

I hope it's an okay song and not inappropriate to have on here!

Now back to my week. Well on Tuesday I got my new companion. His name is Elder Tlatelpa he is from Mexico from a place called Pueblo a little out from Mexico City. Now he is awesome so we have no worries. He is tight love this kid. He has close to 7 months in the mission and we get along great. We actually have a lot in common. Elder Tognetti is with Elder Trujillo from Colombia and I am once again in the same sector that I originally had with elder Carcaamo and Elder Tognetti is in his original sector. I once again have six missionaries in my district and I gave an awesome class this week it was cool. I set up like mini tennis in the cultural hall and we played doubles tennis with hymn book and then after I related it to companionship unity and how we always need to be well planned and teach as one voice and help our companions with their weaknesses and them with ours type thing it was cool. Everyone liked it. I have been trying different things because I am sure everyone else is tired of just listening to classes and taking notes. I know I am jajaja.

This week Elder Tlatelpa and I did really well we found 11 new investigators this week and we set 2 new baptismal dates with this couple we found although it will be a tough fecha to make they have a lot to do to progress. But we will keep on top of them. So funny story this just shows the difference between the mindset of the youth here. Here there is an extremely high number of teen pregnancies like insane amounts. Well we were doing contacts and we are talking to this kid, and he says he will start looking into religion when he is 18 and has a kid and family! I was like what normal 15 yr old thinks or plans on having kids at 18? So crazy. Also there is a tree theft in our sector. Someone is stealing the trees here like the newer smaller ones where you can take them out of the ground easier. I have just been thinking who would steal a tree it’s weird. On Friday I was told I needed to go and renew my carnet. We woke up at 6 in the morning, left at 6:30, and got to Maipu at 7:30 and got the paper work. We got on the train again when the office called to tell me to come back because everything was closed. Needless to say I was not happy to have wasted like 4 hours of my morning.

I am tired of summer here. One it is blazing hot, 2 no one is home!!! 3 you just get so much more tired. Umm they celebrate Valentine’s Day here but not to the extent of it in the States. I haven’t gotten any packages yet but we didn’t have pouch last week. Elder Tlatelpa and I get along really well and we have some big plans for our sector.

Well family I love you guys a ton and I cannot wait to hear from you guys next week, also I will see if I can get you some fotos next week. Till next week.

Con Mucho Amor,

 Elder Alex Leavitt

Alex's 78th email from Chile 2/13/12

A feast after the zone football game. 

Alex's head & sunburned neck are 

second in from the right. 

Hola Familia!!

So I got some news! I am getting a new companion tomorrow! That's right they are seperating Elder Tognetti and me up into the two sectors again so I am excited to see who I am getting. That also means that I am going to be here for 6 months. I am excited to just get someone who hopefully is ready to work. Now that we are going with just the one sector we need to work hard and find a teaching pool. Before we had investigators from both sides. So we are going to have to work hard.

This week was not the greatest week numbers wise. We are starting to get hit by the summer monster. We had only 49 people at church! Not alot of our investigators were home it was not all that great haha. But it is insane, this change has gone by soo fast!! We still were able to teach a good amount of lessons. More than anything we have been able to work with the leaders in the ward. Our bishop just loves us.

My head is fine it was really for that day. I haven't gotten your package yet and there is no pouch this week. With the whole summer thing we have not been able to meet with Domingo, and when he fell off the radar we found out he was secretly living with his girlfriend for the weekend we lost conatct with him, lame. The missionary of Preach my gospel starts with soldier, you have to memorize scriptures from the first two lessons like alot, which for me was the easiest part. I just have always been able to memorize. We have to do activities from each chapter, write 2 talks on different attributes of Christ, send them to President, read the BOM in Spanish up to like Mosiah and then pass it off to your leader. Then for Teacher the next one up you do it same thing for lessons 3 and 4 of preach my gospel  read up to like Alma something and 2 more talks. Then for missionary memorize the last scriptures, finish the Book of Mormon, write two more talks, and do the last activities in preach my gospel. It's hard to explain. It's a lot of work.

Well family I am sure next weeks letter will be jam packed full of cool stories and information about my new companion. Little side note, crazyness, Elder Tognetti and I at the end of this next change will have lived together for 6 months! We got here at the same time! I love you guys so much and I will talk to you later.

Elder Alex Leavitt

Alex's 77th email from Chile 2/6/12

Alex writes "Elder Tognetti and I got bored so we decorated"

Hola Familia!!

This week was awesome! This week I had 2 days of straight divisions. First one was with Elder Demeyer and we tore it up. We had a ton of good lessons and over all it was good. Then I went on divisions with Elder Brow and we had an awesome time jaja, We have a good amount of investigators and there are alot that are progressing. With Elder Brow we set a baptismal date with Domingo the grandpa that we found last week. He is cool and super good, but I know it will take alot for him to reach his baptismal prayer. We need to be sure to just stay on top of him. He is just really lonely. Hopefully he can fully understand the importance of our message and its importance in his life.

Some awesome graffiti I like

During the week we were planning the baptism with Caroline and everything was going good and then she asked "who is going to confirm me?" I said "probably the bishop or is there someone in specific you want?" And she said "I want you to do it Elder Leavitt", now that was such a huge surprise for me. Like I know Elder Tognetti has known her longer and everything and she has some good friends in the ward and likes the bishop and everything. But I gladly accepted and I know it made her happy to see how excited I was. It was really cool. Saturday was perfect. It was one of the best baptisms I have had. We planned soo much so it would be perfect and it was. Her husband baptized her, Elder Tognetti gave a good talk about the Holy Ghost, and the spirit was sooo strong during the whole thing.

Elder Tognetti, Caroline, Marcos & Elder Leavitt

On Sunday she was confirmed a member of the church and I did it. It was soo cool. Doing that ordinance one can feel the Spirit just enter the room and in that moment so strongly. I love giving Blessings and doing things like that. It is just so strong the church is soooo TRUE!

A beautiful couple!

I am sorry this is going to be such a short letter but my head is killing me. You guys know I get migraines sometimes. I feel one coming on. I am sorry forgive me. I love you all so much I am still happy :) I love being a missionary. I hate thinking about how much time I have left. I still have soo much I can do here. I can honestly say that my time here has changed my life and has set me on a better path. I have so many goals and now know that I need to work a little harder to reach them but that I do have the potencial to do anything I want in life and that I will be the best at whatever I choose. We all have that potencial because we are sons and daughters of the most high God and King and that makes us Princes and Princesses we have the right to everything. So we can do everything we want and Be anything that we desire. I have never been so focused in my life. I just love this work and the things I am learning.

People here give us just way too much food! 

(That is quite the piece of watermelon)

Like I said I love you all so much and I will talk to you next week.

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder Alex Leavitt