Tools in His Hands

Hey Fam!

It's a chilly day here in Buenos Aires with the southern Artic winds blowing my crazy blonde hair in every direction. But I'm happy and well, and so excited to be writing you! (P.S. Mom, this Eddie Bauer coat is an absolute miracle because I am as cozy as a bug!)

It's been a week where I've learned alot about what I need to be doing as a missionary to help my investigators find the joy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and be baptized.  When I stop to think about it, it seems a little crazy that 19 year old boys and 21 year old girls have this responsibility to save the souls of Heavenly Father's precious children.  But thankfully, He's the one that's actually doing the saving, and we're just the tools in His hands.  This week, while the numbers don't really show that we're having success, has been a huge success in my mind.  I feel like Hermana Castillo and I are really honing in our purpose, this grand calling we've been given to "Bring the World His Truth."  I've gotten most of my complaining out of my system, we've gotten a good teaching pattern going, we're happy and energized, and we've hit the pavement to find, teach and baptize the wonderful people of San Justo.

So I first need to say that this companion of mine is amazing. You may be wondering about a language barrier between us because she speaks zero English, but there is practically zero barrier there. I understand her Spanish perfectly, and it's actually kind of funny because an Argentine will say something, I'll look at them with a blank stare, then look to her with a plea for help, she says the EXACT same thing almost just as rapidly, and I understand it perfectly.  I recently learned that it is a widely accepted fact that Peruvians have the most refined, beautiful Spanish among the Latin countries, which is why I understand her so well.  Anyways, I was talking about why she's so cool.  First off, with Hermana Castillo, I have learned to be perfectly obedient.  I thought I was perfectly obedient before, but we're talking "to-the-second" obedience.  But the amazing thing is that she is obedient with a sweet smile on her face and never complains.  She is the most charming little Peruvian in the world, and I've learned so much about how to talk with people and show genuine interest (I've gotten pretty good at showing genuine interest without understanding everything that people are saying.  Don't ask me how it's done, but it's possible.) She is focused on her purpose, and together our positive personalities make us feel unstoppable at times! We laugh together, learn together, and I'm loving every moment of being a missionary with her!

Man, the time's already out, and I didn't even get to Amalia or Gladys!  But I'll tell you more about them next time! Just know that I'm happy and loving being a part of this glorious work.  It's the greatest privelege I could ever imagine, and I love being a missionary!  Love you!

Hermana Leavitt

Reasons to Smile!

Hola from Buenos Aires my dearest family!

It's a cloudy, blustery day in San Justo so I'm happy and content. Apparently Argentina is just like Utah.  You never know what the It has been an amazing and extremely challenging week all at the same time, and I am amazed every day at how much my little spirit is growing and how much I still have to go!  I feel that my last letters have kind of been a craze of "touristy" info because to be honest I really am in love with this place.  But this week I wanted to tell you more about the spiritual journey that it's been so far to be a new missionary in Buenos Aires.  

First off, it's definitely been the greatest growing experience I ever could have imagined.  From the first day I stepped foot out of the taxi with my luggage in San Justo to get down to work, I began to learn that life would be different.  I'm sure it's nothing compared to what Ali is experiencing in Africa, but I was just knocked off my feet by how physically different everything was, not to mention completely new mission rules, a different culture and teaching style, and of course a little thing called a languae barrier.  I think I reviewed in my mind about 30 times every day the story about President Hinckley when his dad wrote and told him to "forget yourself and go to work."  There were times in that first week when I was selfishly thinking, "But hey!  My comfort and well-being are important too. What about this that I have to deal with? And this? And this?" And then funny enough it was in the hours and on the days that I really lost myself in thinking about, "What scripture are we going to share with Amalia?" or "How can we help the Duran family see the need for baptism?" that I became happy and carefree.  Go figure, the prophet was right! :) I'm definitely still working on it. Every day I work on reminding myself that this isn't about me!  And every day I see how Heavenly Father helps me to have the strenght and will power to turn outward and focus on what's really important. That is, OTHERS and their eternal happiness. 

I can't believe I didn't talk about the absolutely incredible weekend with the rededication of the temple and the visit from three of our apostales.  It couldn´t have been more timely, and the Friday night meeting where the apostales came to speak with our mission and the two other Buenos Aires Missions literally changed my life.  I remember sitting two rows away from President Eyring and hardly being able to take my eyes off him as his bright, brilliant eyes scanned the crowd of missionaries  during the other talks.  Elder Ballard gave an amazing talk about the wonderful legacy of missionary work here in Buenos Aires where his father Melvin J. Ballard dedicated South America for missionary work and the gospel began to grow as the seed of an oak tree, slow and steady and ever-strong.  Elder Christofferson gave an amazing talk IN SPANISH and then President Eyring stood and said, "The things I am going to say tonight, if you listen to the Spirit and open your heart, are going to change your life." And in all sincerity, that talked changed my life.  Fam, I can't describe to you the feelings that swelled in my heart as he shared his message which centered on this: We as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can wake up and live everyday of our lives with a smile on our face because we KNOW.  "We know about the plan of a loving Heavenly Father and we know what glorious things He has in store for us."  I left that fireside with a smile on my face, and it's been hard to wipe it off. Okay that might be an exaggeration, because we're human and allow ourselves to get discouraged.  But everything about the way I contact on the street, the way I teach, the way I study with my companion has changed as I remind myself, "This is a gospel of happiness! I can smile!"

Then the cultural event and the temple rededication itself were beyond description.  And yes, marching onto that futbol field singing "Called to Serve" in Spanish at the top of our lungs was one of the greatest moments.  

This week, we have been seeing so many miracles with our investigators.  Dear abuelita Amalia is still progressing towards baptism and every Sunday marches herself over to the chapel with her little wheel chair because she refuses to let anyone drop by to help her.  The other day, she was struggling with feelings about her family and friends judging her for "becoming Mormon," but then the subject turned to the Book of Mormon.  She was reminded of her tetimony in that little blue book, and all other worries flew away because she knew what she believed.  She is incredible and I learn so much from her.  

Well fam, gotta run.  But know that I love you so much and I'm so grateful for you!  I love being a missionary!

Love, Hermana Leavitt

WE MADE IT TO ARGENTINA!! HOORAY!

This wonderful man (the husband of our investigator Gladys) from Bolivia refuses to listen to our lessons, but adores us and insisted that we bring home a giant bag of lemons from his tree. 

I took this just for you mom!  So about 30 minutes after I finished telling you guys all about the charming little shops in Argentina, we left the internet cafe last Monday and my companion said, "Want to go to Walmart today?" And me, "Wait WHAT?? We have a Walmart?" Needless to say, I was a very happy little missionary that day. :) Even so, it was nothing like Walmart in the U.S. I tried to buy cleaning supplies to clean our apartment and got beyond frustrated because I couldn't understand if I was buying glass cleaner or shower cleaner.  The whole Spanish thing is definitely giving me a run for my money.

The Most Beautiful People in the World

Hola My Dearest Familia!  

Oh happy day that I have a keyboard with an exclamation point!  That literally was torture last time.  Well, there are a thousand things to tell you all, and last week´s letter was an absolute disaster.  So I´ll try and make it more organized this time!

Okay, well first I want to tell you about the amazing people we are teaching right now.  But before that, I need to tell you about ARGENTINES in general, so you can kind of picture the kind of people that I get to eat with, mingle with, and live with every day of my life.  So Argentines.  They are the most charming,  fascinating group of people in the world.  Physically, you can´t describe them because Argentina is just like the U.S. in that it´s an absolute melting pot.  Well I take that back. Almost EVERYONE is shorter than me, so I definitely stand out, plus my hair is pretty unusual. So there are lot´s of American looking people, lots of darker-skinned people, and the one thing they have in common is that they´re all delightfully flamboyant.  They are all kind of theatrical in the way they talk and tell stories (So you can see why the little story teller in me just absolutely adores these people.) and all of them have VERY loud voices. If you were here listening to them talk, you would think that you´re listening to Italians because their voices go up and down just like the Italians in the movies.  Buenos Aires really is like the South American version of some big European country.  Everyone is very proud to be Argentine, but at the same time, they´re not America-haters.  In fact, all of the youth, while they make fun of my Castillano and my American accent, totally love the American culture and think I´m somehow cool.  Little do they know. :)

Anyways, that doesn´t even come close to doing them justice, but I hope you´ll get a better sense throughout my next hundred letters.  So right now, we are teaching the most amazing woman named Amalia.  Amalia is 82 years old and moves around like she´s 25.  She´s absolutely determined not to grow old, and is somehow succeeding.  Hermana Castillo and her last companion found Amalia a week before I arrived as she was walking home with her groceries (everyone here walks)  and offered to help her.  We´ve been teaching her ever since, and it´s as if Amalia has been waiting all her life to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.  She LOVES the Book of Mormon and just pours over it every night.  She soaks up the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it was a special moment when we started teaching about the Plan of Salvation and before we could even get started, she asked, "Where´s my husband right now?" As representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ, we were able to testify to her that her husband is in the Spirit world right now and will have the opportunity to accept the same Gospel that she is accepting right now.  The Holy Ghost bore testimony to her that what we were saying was true, and she said, "I feel so happy right now.  I feel the truth in my heart. I can´t explain it, but I feel it in my heart." Amalia is going to be baptized on the 29th of September and I´m so excited for her.  

We have been blessed to be led to many more people who are willing to listen to our message.  Well, I should restate that. MANY people are willing to listen to us because that´s just how the people are.  They are kind and loving and would love to have two nice girls come in for some matte. ( I probably have to turn down matte 5 times a day) But not everyone is willing to make commitments, and so we keep walking, keep teaching, and keep inviting.  This past week we have had probably 4 or 5 lessons with families where the parents are living together but aren´t married. So I can already see that that´s going to be a challenge in helping people prepare for baptism.  The thing is that it´s just not seen as bad here.  It´s totally normal.  Anyways, Amalia is really the only investigator right now who is progressing towards baptism.  

The work here is so fun and SOOOOO different from the work back in Spokane.  And I had always imagined it as something like Dan´s mission in Paraguay. But it really couldn´t be more different. At least where I´m working right now.  Oh I never told you!  My area is called San Justo and we are within the greater region of Ramos Mejia (so relatively close to the mission office which is a bonus!) And we are in a city.  Not a city as in "Highland is a city" but a city as in I kind of feel like I´m in New York.  Except it´s like 20 thousand times better because everybody´s friendly and nice!  I told you, I was BORN for this place!  The driving is absolutely insane, and even though tons of people walk, the streets are always packed with cars and non-stop honking.  Everyone travels by colectivo (I'll get to THAT subject in a second) and then walks. So remember how I like crowds? Well every day is like a dream come true for me because there´s always crowds!  For example, right now outside the open door (it´s getting warm now, hooray!)  there´s just a huge crowd of people walking down the street, shopping in all the little stores (all the shopping here is done in specific stores for specific items. For example, we would buy our meat at a butchers, our bread in a panaderia, our fruit in a fruteria, our vegetables in a vegaduria and so forth.  It´s so charming and so different!) 

For a missionay, this atmosphere is totally different from what I´m used to.  In Washington it was a happy day to find 10 people in the street to talk to.  Here, there is no way on this earth that we could talk to everyone on the street.  But we still try, and it is so fun!  We invite everyone to come to church and here our message. So instead of 10 people each day, we end up talking to like 60 or 70.  It´s a totally different life here, but I love it and I most of all love being a MISSIONARY in Buenos Aires.  I really can´t believe it, it seems to good to be true.  

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ because it gives me hope and it brings hope to these beautiful people around me. And with this hope, no matter what trials come our way, we can smile.  The restored Gospel of Jesus Christ gives us reason to SMILE!  

I love you all so very much and I´m so grateful for your love and support!

Love, Hermana Leavitt

I was going to make a list of the ten things I love most about being a missionary in Argentina but alas, the time is almost up.  So I´m just going to have to do 1 each week, :)  So for this week . . .

What I love about Argentina: THE MEMBERS

I really can´t describe to you how amazing these people are.  But I´ll just let you know that I am beyond taken care of.  We never go a day without eating a huge lunch at a member´s home, and they´re usually other members complaining that they didn´t get on the list this week.  My first week, I didn´t have a pillow in the apartment and we went to this member family home and the dad was like, "Sister Leavitt, do you have a pillow? I make pillows for a living." It was like a miracle, and when I told him no, he ran into the back room and brought out a beautiful, fluffy, packaged pillow! This family is far from rich, and I felt  bad taking it, but these people delight in giving and sharing.  It´s a part of their culture.  He wouldn´t take no for an answer.  One woman in our ward insists on washing and IRONING our clothes. Basically, they are the kindest, most giving people on the planet who really understand the second great commandment.  Love your neighbor.  I love these members so much it´s almost bringing tears to my eyes thinking about it.  So Mom, you can rest easy at night knowing that dear Argentine moms who are just like you are taking good care of your daughter. :)

Preview for next week . . . What I love about Argentina: The colectivos! 

Buenos Aires & I were made for each other!

Disclaimer- this keyboard doesn´t have an exclamation point button or parenthasis.  So this letter is an absolute mess, but here we go.  Just imagine like every other sentence with an exclamation point.

 My dearest family

Wow, I can´t believe I´m finally here, writing you an email from Buenos Aires Argentina.  And it´s pretty much just like I imagined, in a dirty little internet café and there´s a big display of Argentine candy and Alfrejores  up front. This place reminds me so much of London, it´s crazy.  But here, I´m getting ahead of myself.

So there are a thousand things to tell you about and I have no idea how to do it, so I´ll just go through each day since this crazy adventure has begin and try to give you all the details.  So here we go.

Monday- As I walked onto the plane, I had to squeeze past this man, so I said something to him in English and he responded in the beautiful Spanish.  I looked up in surprise because he looked completely American.  It was at that moment that I finally looked around and realized that most of these Americans on the plane with me were actually Argentine. But let me tell you, these are the most beautiful people I have ever seen.  And Cam, you´d be interested in this.  Every person on that plane had this European Indie thing going on. They´re just like the most trendy beautiful people ever. Anyways, that was my first experience with Argentine People. Then Sister Cahoon and Elder Neilson and I sat on the plane with the other 15 or so missionaries waiting for take off.  We were so excited to be together again but then so sad that our dearest Elder Draper and Hna Fernley hadn´t made it.  Then came the best moment of our lives when we saw them running down the aisle, and it was the most glorious reunion that plane has ever seen. 

Tuesday- We got off the plane 8:30 Argentine time and I was beyond excited and nervous.  There was some crazy paper work in the airport and a funny incident that I had with the immigration man.  He was super grumpy and refused to speak English with me imagine your meanest DMV worker speaking ridiculously fast slurred Italian Spanish stuff and after a scrambled experience of papers I got through the gate.  But once through the gate, all the other missionaries were talking about how their helper person took out their visa paper from their passport, and when I looked I saw that my paper was still there.  After 8 months of waiting for that silly little piece of paper, and I had just managed to get through Argentina´s immigration system without giving them my visa.  Go figure. So we went back and fixed it all and then went through the gates for the glorious moment when we met President and Sister Carter.  As President gathered us all around us he said, You are an amazing sight.  We have waited a long . . . long time for you.  And then he broke down in tears.  It was a very special moment to finally be there together in Buenos Aires. 

So very first thing we got to do in Buenos Aires was go through the gorgeous Buenos Aires Temple.  The open house closed a few days earlier but President managed to arrange something with the architect and he gave us a personal tour. It was absolutely incredible, and I´m so excited to be part of the rededication celebration.  P.S. the Buenos Aires Temple is in our mission. So cool. Then we met the 11 other missionaries in the newbie group, the latinos, who just had to walk across the street from the Argentine MTC to go to their mission and we were off.  The North American missionaries went to the mission office in Ramos Mejia and there I ate my first Argentine food, fracturas.  They´re like a European, delicious version of donuts.  The rest of that day was spent in the office with the office Elders giving us an orientation while the latin missionaries were out with the Carter´s.  For lunch we had Argentine pizza, it´s amazing, completely different from American pizza, they use like huge slices of tomatoes and this fresh white cheese, and for dinner we had empanadas of every kind.  Ham and cheese, chicken, carne.  They are the most delicious thing ever.  That night, Hna Cahoon and Hna Fernley and I got to spend the night in a pension, that´s what they call apartments here, together and I remember thinking, Wow, this is a lot more primitive than what I´m used to, but at least it´s clean. I had not idea what was in store for me later on.  :

Wednesday: We got to go out with the Carters to tour THE Buenos Aires, like the stuff that you see in Google Images when you search Buenos Aires.  I´ll send pictures to do the talking, but basically, it´s the most beautiful city and reminds me of a Spanish version of Paris or London, and a lot more dirty.  For lunch they took us to this delightful little café where we had hamburgers, but these hamburgers were completely different from anything you´ve tasted.  They weren´t lying when they said that Argentina knows how to do their beef.  I also tried panqueques and dulce de leche for my first time, basically crepes smothered in carmel, and had my first taste of real Argentine Spanish with the waiter.  Seriously guys, it was the most beautiful insane thing I´ve ever heard and DEFINITELY not what I learned in Washington from my wonderful Mexican investigators. Then we went to the Mission Home which is absolutely beautiful and huge and had interviews and more orientation.  Now a moment to talk about the Buenos Aires West Mission.  Holy cow.  The missionaries here could not be more proud of the mission.  It´s do or die here and the excitement for being part of this mission is tangible in the air.  President and Sister Carter have this mission running like a well-oiled machine.  It´s impressive and a little bit intimidating. 

Thursday:  We had the transfer meeting, and it´s the craziest most exciting thing ever.  All of the missionaries in the whole mission who are getting transferred come to the office and gather in this giant gym.  They show a bunch of movies from the month and then have a slideshow where your face shows up huge next to your companion announcing the assignments and everyone goes crazy.  In my interview I begged President for a native companion, and my wish was granted.  My companion is Hna. Castillo from Peru, she speaks just a few words in English, and she is the most angelic, wonderful girl in the world.  Seriously fam, I don´t know how I got so lucky to get amazing companions . Needless to say, my Spanish has improved rapidly and although it´s frustrating at times, it´s like a fun game to try to communicate everything with her.  After the meeting, we packed my stuff into a ramis, it´s like an Argentine taxi, and were off to the wonderful city of San Justo my first area.

And now I´m running out of time, and I haven´t even gotten to the good stuff.  So enough of the day by day, here´s what life is like as a missionary in Buenos Aires. 

Apartment- I´ve had to do a lot of toughening up in the past few days and I´m sure I have a lot more ahead of me. 

The City-  It´s dirty and there are huge, gigantic dogs everywhere. Like hundreds and hundreds. It´s busy and noisy and glorious. The streets are insane, and people everywhere, a missionary´s dream.

The PEOPLE- The absolute kindest, most amazing people in the world. They talk with this incredible, flamboyant Italian accent and welcome you into their homes like nobody´s business.  They drink matte  and are the best members in the world. 

I´m so sad that I have to go, but I love you all so much and I can´t wait to tell you more later

Love Hna Leavitt