So much happens every week that I always feel like I'm going to forget some of the stories and experiences! So sorry if I'm all over the place. To start, I'll talk about Ferris Watson!! Ferris is our investigator that is 17 and from Camaroon. He came to America about 7 months ago! We've been teaching him for about 3 weeks or so now, but tonight was our final time to see him. He'll be moving to Ohio to live with his father and he will be getting baptized over there in the Cincinnati area! It's been so great to get to work with him the last few weeks. Many memories I'll never forget while teaching him! I always expected that on a mission you would teach in some pretty random places..and that's how it was with Ferris! Whenever we would teach him we would be in the laundry room of his apartment complex, sitting on washers and dryers and whatever we could find teaching the Restored Gospel, and that image I'll never forget. I'm grateful to have known Ferris and be able to teach him! We asked him if there was anything we could do for him but he said the only thing was to add him as a friend on Facebook!
Mary's baptism is on Sunday!! The last two weeks have been so great while working with her. We continue to make so much progress with her husband David. He sits in for the lessons now and loves talking to us and we've gotten to know him much better. He served in Vietnam and has three Purple Hearts! He's an amazing man. She had her baptismal interview tonight and is so excited for Sunday. Yesterday, we got to meet her son and granddaughter. Her son, Mark, is a police officer in Delaware! He's so great as well. He told us how he was very touched by a Mormon family about 8 years ago that treated him very well and gave him a Book of Mormon. He even said that when he heard his mother was learning about the LDS faith, he picked up his Book of Mormon and started reading. Mary was so happy to hear that! Mark and his daughter Sierra will be coming to the baptism soon! Within a few months, I can see the entire Cole family becoming members of the Church! Mary, David, Mark, and Sierra! We're so excited for the baptism on Sunday.
Mark Martin is on date for the 6th of August! He's come to church once so far and really enjoyed it . He has loved reading from the Book of Mormon! It's been cool to see the way his personality has changed the more the Spirit comes into his life. He has really opened up and has been progressing well!
Elder Fisher and I had a pretty cool opportunity this week to go up to Mount St Mary's University in Emmitsburg and teach a group of Young Men about Missionary Work! There were about 60 young men from the Frederick Stake that had come for a week long camp to prepare for missions. It was something similar to what I did a few years ago, we called it Kodiak Camp. I remember it being one of the most spiritual experiences that I've ever had! Elder Fisher & I told stories, told them about preparing for a mission, and bore testimony. I couldn't help but feel that I had just barely been in their shoes, preparing for my mission. I felt so excited for the experience that they were going to have! It made me even more grateful for every moment so far in my mission. It was an amazing opportunity to talk to them and bear testimony of the greatest work of all time.
While in the Frederick area, I got to see Axel Lara! It's been a few months since I've seen him. He was baptized last February and is still getting ready for his mission. Seeing some of the people that have been baptized and the progression that they continue to make is one of my favorite parts of my mission! He thinks he's going to get called to Utah...I hope so! We'll see!
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| An evening in Catonsville at DeEtte Peterson's home. |
A few nights ago, we had quite the experience! We were trying to contact a lady named Angel. One of her friends told us to go by and that she was looking for a church that she could attend. So, we stopped by and met her mother. Her mom said we could come back on Thursday. But, as we were walking back to the car, this guy from across the street came out of his house, walking towards his car. Instantly, he looked at us and said "Hey, are you LDS?" We replied that we were, and he came over to us saying "My Elder friends!" We were already a little bit shocked, we were in Baltimore County at this time, over in Catonsville, MD, about 15 minutes outside of Baltimore. First off, there is hardly anybody besides the Members that know the phrase "LDS" or even who the Mormons are. Second, he had come out at the perfect moment for us to be able to talk to him. We continued to talk, he told us about how he served as a missionary for an Evangelist organization a few years ago. He and his wife just had twins about 4 months ago. He then said "You know, I am intrigued by the Mormon church. I think it's incredible that they put so much emphasis on the family unit in a country that the family is deteriorating. I truly believe that Joseph Smith could've had a vision. I believe that the Angel Moroni appeared to him." At this point, we were even more shocked that he knew so much about the LDS faith. Then, he told us that his sister just graduated at BYU-Provo and that she wasn't a member either. He then kind of rushed off to his car, but told us to knock and talk to his sister. We got his number and he'll be inviting us back to talk more about the family unit and ask more questions! He drove off, but we then went up to his door and talked to his sister about attending BYU and got to know her. We also met his parents and his wife! They are the Cramer family! It was such an amazing miracle! For someone to be living in Catonsville that knew that much about the church was one thing. But the timing and the way it happened just made it even greater. I'm so grateful for the Lord's hand in all things!
Thank you so much for the support, have an amazing week!!
-Elder Leavitt
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