Alex's 18th email from Chile 12/20/10

A live nativity at the Santiago Temple with members & investigators from Malloco

Hola familia!

Well this week has been way weird...But before I get into it I will let you know now that I have transfers tomorrow so crazy! I am finally leaving my first sector! loco. It just sucks a little bit because it is so close to Christmas and I will not know anyone there :( but I know it will all be fine.

Well there are some things from last week I forgot to write about because of the craziness with Elder Pedraza so in this email I will try to remember to include them. Well I don't know if I told you but last week I had divisions with a greenie greenie, like has less than a month here in Chile and so it was weird to be the man in charge of like everything. But it was way cool cause it was such a booster to my Spanish cause I like taught everything it was so legit.

One of the senior couples in our mission used to live in PQ crazy! and was in our ward. They gave us their table when we helped them move! They are the Dorius family. I sent a picture to you guys.

Hermana Dawn Dorius & Elder Leavitt

Imagine my surprise when I open this email and see a note to Alex from Hermana Dorius with this picture. I'm sure that if Alex had not been in the office while his companion was being checked out this wouldn't have happened. The Dorius family lived in our ward here in San Diego many years ago and Alex was much too young to even remember them. We helped them move when they left and they gave us a table and chairs that we kept and then some years later gave them to Kira & Justin when they were married. Another interesting connection, many years ago when Fred & I went to Scotland we attended church and met a Sis. Mills who was kind enough to give me some genealogy help. She ended up having a daughter serve a mission in Alberta, Canada and asked me if I would write her which I did more than once. Sadly she never served where we were living. Years later, even after the Dorius family had moved out, one of their older sons married that same Sister missionary - Tanya Mills. Crazy connections eh?

The Gonzales family asked me to baptize them but I am not going to be here :( they are amazing!! The hermana had a birthday and I bought them an awesome gift haha a colo-colo clock hahaha. Their son who is like 3 or 4 I guess has been asking them when the missionaries are going to come over. This kid is in love with me haha. His name is Gabriel and is always attached to my leg when I am there. It was when I was over at their house and I realized I finished 6 months! And when I say realized it was because Yair told me. Haha we was on my facebook. I guess mom posted something about it. It is crazy to think I have finished a fourth of my mission.

I think this must be part of the Gonzalez family with little Gabriel hanging on to Alex's leg. This is on their Temple trip.

Elder Pedraza told me the other night he couldn't sleep because I was sleep talking in SPANISH and he kept thinking I was talking to him. CRAZY!!! One of our investigators had their baby! His name is Diego and is awesome! When we were there they gave me an invite to their wedding which I won't be here for either :( but it is cool they have a date for baptism the day after their wedding :) so it is all good.

Elder Leavitt & Elder Pedraza on the Santiago Temple grounds.

Oh my gosh, it was soo sad. This 9 year old boy in sacrament meeting had a musical number. He played the piano and sang Silent Night, but he messed up, started crying, and ran out it was so sad. If anyone knows anything about music it is way hard to play and sing at the same time and he was doing awesome until he messed up.

OK I know you have been waiting to hear what happened with Pedraza. Well last Tuesday after another appointment with the psychologist we were allowed to go home but with the weirdest schedule ever. We are not allowed to leave until 6 p.m. and need to be back at 9 p.m. We only have 3 hours a day to work! And good thing too because I think Elder Pedraza might have a real problem. He is always saying he is fine but a lot of the time he can't even walk straight. He also would get mad at me because he lies a lot to our leaders about how he is doing and when I tell them the truth he gets really upset haha. But like he started crying on two separate occasions because of something somebody said to him. Like something that really is not a big deal. I have never seen such an emotional person like him. He really only had one bad attackish type thing this week where he couldn't remember what happened. It is weird he will talk through it all but the next day not remember. This one was funny because he gave away a shirt and didn't remember haha.

Our investigators were way happy to have us back for the little time we had with them. Things are not totally back on track but they are going. Carlos was baptized and was at church this Sunday and has had friends with him the last two weeks this kid is golden.

Elder Leavitt & Elder Pedraza at the Santiago Temple with members and investigators.

I have the pingo number. I dont know when I will call cause I don't know the plans with my new companion yet. I know sucky. I have not recieved anymore packages yet. I am worried too about grampa and Nana´s package. I am probably only going to be able and finish the Book of Mormon in Spanish not English :( but I thought Spanish was a little more impportant haha. We are having that big Mission christmas party and a giant secret santa type thing too pretty cool! In chile there are like zero christmas lights so sad. But about every house has a big fake christmas tree so that is cool. But as going all out like in the States, no, it is a little sad but it's all good.

Well I love you guys and I can't wait to talk to you on Saturday :) Here are pictures from the temple and what not.

Love, Elder Alexander Leavitt

On the bus on the way to the Temple in Santiago.

I blew this picture up to get a closer look at the nativity. Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus & the Shepherd all have real cloth on and the sheep has fake wool of some type.