Alex's 24th email 1/31/11

I think this is Alex's area. It's not quite how I depicted the City.

Hola Familia!

This Week Was Amazing!!!!! But let me start at the beginning. So remember when I told you I got poked in the eye? Well it was worse than I let on. The next day I woke up and my eye was killing me! Like every time I blinked it hurt and you really don't realize how many times you blink until something like this happens. But I went to the doctor and apparently part of the membrane of my eye got scraped off and it was a little infected. But he gave me some eye drop stuff and seriously it was like putting a drop of fire in my eyeball it was terrible. But now my eye is back to normal so nothing to worry about.


So apparently February is the month in Chile where everyone goes on vacation cause not only in my ward but the others everyone left. We have like no one here in Lo Ovalle anymore haha. Like our bishop is gone for a month and the first counselor and his family is gone for a month. It is ridiculous.

Also a random little thing is now cause of all the heat I am starting to get blonder and I have had a few people call me a Nazi... I guess its cause there are a lot of Germans here haha.

Ok I hope you are all ready for an AWESOME story. Like this is Ensign worthy I am serious. So awhile back I told you about this Kid we contacted name Alan right? We taught him once and then he left on vacation for a month. Well last week we decided to pass by for his house and see if he was home and sure enough over the intercom came his voice. He then told us that he couldn't talk with us right then but to come by on Friday. After he told us he has been looking for us because he wants to be BAPTIZED! I got soo pumped when I heard him say that. So we went by Friday and talked with him a little bit and then invited him to come to church. Sunday comes and sure enough Alan came to church. It was awesome since like our whole ward was gone we ended up teaching him a lesson with another youth so that was cool. At the end of the lesson he told us how he knows this is the church is true. Apparently he had been attending another church and just didn't feel anything special about it, so one day he was praying and asking God to send him someone or some kind of sign to bring him to the true church. Right when he finished praying was when we knocked on his door. How cool is that! Of course we still invited him to read the Book of Mormon and pray about Joseph Smith so he can strengthen the testimony that he has and of course he said he would. This kid is just so awesome. After church we invited him to come to the baptism in the other missionaries ward and he wanted to go to see how the whole baptism thing works. So he shows up and he asked me to show him the baptismal font. I showed him and he asked me if this was where he was going to be baptized. I was like "oh wow" haha I have just never had someone soo ready and eager like him before. I then said no he will be baptized in Lo Ovalle haha. Then a guy that was attending the baptism came over and started talking to us and asked if he was a member. Alan said no but I am working on it. The guy asked him when his baptism was and Alan said as soon as possible and then looked at me. I then said in like 3 weeks haha. This is just soo awesome and like the greatest miracle I have seen in my mission and possible my life. It is just soo crazy how the Lord is seriously in this work.

Also big news, Juan passed his baptismal interview and is going to be baptized this next Sunday :) It is just awesome to watch this ward and the work here in Lo Ovalle. We still have lots of problems and it is still really hard but we are making amazing progress and for a ward that was called dead by other missionaries now has 2 future baptisms is something cool to experience.

To answer your questions, the heat here is DRY, there is like zero humidity here and I feel like I am suffocating at times from the heat. This week it was 100 or close to it everyday! We now have permission as long as it is approved by president to wear hats. Unfortunately I have never been a hat guy and I hate wearing hats so that does not help me at all. Yes, we still have members do our laundry and we still have our one meal a day with the members. I will be honest though don't tell anyone in my ward but for the most part the meals were better in the Campo. But holy smokes! the fruit and vegetables here are amazing!!! Honestly ridiculous in the Campo and here in the city it is just ridiculously amazing.

Alex in his bed with the afghan that Nana made him. I kept asking him if he'd got it and when he did he said "I got the blanket from Nana. It's perfect because it's hot and the blanket has holes in it."

I am starting to get the youth in our ward mainly the guys to come out and work with us. Apparently before the other missionaries didn't sit to well with them cause the guys in the ward are just ridiculously stupid and crazy haha. They are (lelos) its a nice fancy word here in Chile that just means crazy stupid. So in that sense they are just like me and they love me so I get the young men to come out and work with us which is awesome because these kids are legit and need to get on missions cause right now they are just going to church and what not because of their parents. They have told me they have friend requested me on facebook haha. Also they are in love with Kira, Alycia, and Sarah so they told me they friend requested them too...ridiculous.

Today is the last day of this change so crazy to think I have been here in Lo Ovalle for one change now. In my pension the only person that is changing is Elder Worthin which is a big blow to me cause he is awesome and his comp and my comp have like some Spanish click going on and it is annoying. I still love Elder Diaz and he is awesome but he is just soo quiet. At times I don't know whats up and when I talk to him he gives me one word answers but he has been like that the whole time. We are still working hard and having fun as a companionship and he is starting to get a little more animated with the success we are having. So all in all it is still good. Ugh! I am just soo pumped! I LOVE THE MISSION!!!

I love you all and i will talk to you next week :)

LOVE,

Elder Alexander Thomas Leavitt

P.S. hey has Sarah gotten my card yet let me know when it gets there

I think this may be his zone. I talked to another Mom a couple of weeks ago and she as telling me that she attended a fireside held by President & Sister King before they left on their mission. There is significance with the thumbs up in the pictures. I guess Elder Eyering did this to President King when they met with him about accepting the call and getting things ironed out in regards to a school for their daughter (The King's were called to another mission but there was no American school there for their daughter). The King's have now adopted this sign for the mission. I still have yet to ask Alex if this is why they do this in all the pictures or if they just do it to do it.

I think this is Alex & his district

Sorry if this picture offends anyone. All I can say is that "boys will be boys." Alex writes "Elder Worthen had these pictures and I made him give them to me. Someone spilled juice on the floor ha!ha!"