Magandang Araw sa inyo!

Dear Family and Friends,

This past week has been an exciting one! It was fun to head back to the mission home to be trained and pick up my new companion. My new companion is Elder Tating. He is from Laguna, Philippines. He is awesome! I am so excited to be his companion. He is so excited about the work, our investigators and area and really just about everything! He is very happy and our companionship is off to an awesome start! Right now there is a brand new program for Trainers and trainees. The curriculum in the MTC changed and so now starting this transfer around the world there is a new training program for the field. For the first 12 weeks for a trainee and trainer they have an extra hour of personal study everyday and there is a guide for what to study for that extra hour. The goal of the program is to have the trainee ready to train a new missionary by the end of 12 weeks. The program is awesome. I have spent time studying it and I know it's inspired of the Lord. I have already seen the benefits of it. I know that if we follow it with exactness Elder Tating will be ready to train a new missionary in 12 weeks. I am really excited about the next two transfers! We have had to do some adjusting to our schedule and have lost some proselyting time so our hours of work are fuller than before which I didn't think would happen. We are really busy right now which is the best way to do things!

This past week there have been two bagios so it's been raining a lot! Despite the rain the work continues and we have had great things happen in the work. Right now we have 3 investigators with baptismal dates on Aug 13 and more on the way. It seems that the closer that investigators get to baptism the harder Satan works on them. It's so important to follow up with investigators, strenghten their faith and be there for support and encouragement as they prepare to covenant with the Lord We have a new chapel being built in our are right now and it should be done this month. I am so exctied and so are the members. There are lot of new investigators by the new church and the work is really going to blossom when it opens!

This past week these scriptures really stood out to me Mosiah 27:25-27. When you have time read them. They talk about how we must be born of God and changed from a carnal state to spiritual state become new creatures. It says if we don't do this we can't inherit the kingdom of God. This helped me realize that to return to our father in heaven we have to have a "mighty change of heart". We have to literally beocme "new creatures" This is only possible through the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Only through the atonement can we experience this change. This change doesn't happen all at once, but it occurs as we repent everyday, and strive to become disciples of Christ. Let us all strive to become new creatures by become disciples of Christ, putting off the natural man and striving to be a little better every day.

I really am very happy and I Love being a missionary!

I love you all!

Love Elder Leishman,

The pictures are of Elder Tating and I, new zone Jerseys:), and Elder Calianga and I on a pogpog or hand tractor!

3 more months in Burgos!

Dear family and Friends,

Drumroll please....... we just had transfer announcements and I will be staying in Burgos, training a new missionary and will be a district leader! There is a new program for trainers because the curriculum changed at the mtc so I will have 2 transfers with my new companion. This means that I will be in Burgos for three more months! When we got a text telling us to call President Martino I had no idea what it could be about. I was very, very surprised when he told me I would be a trainer. I feel a little inadequate for training a new missionary but at the same time I'm really excited. It's going to be a great experience! Tomorrow I go to the mission home early in the morning for training and meetings and then sometime in the afternoon I'll meet my new companion and we'll head to Burgos. I really am so exctied that I'm not transfering! I love my area so much and there is lots of work to be done! I am so excited that I get 3 more months with all the people that I love!

This past week has been another great one! Great things are happening in the work. I see the Lord's hand in my life and the life of my investigators everyday. Miracles happen everyday. This past week I we found a LOT of new investigators! Among them are 4 families! I really couldn't be more excited. I have been praying to be able to teach a family and now we have 4 of them to teach and they all are very interested and most of them have already committed to go to church, read and pray. We found all of them through members, investigators and recent converts. One of the things we have been trying to do these past couple weeks is help all the people we teach recognize the blessings they have received from the Gospel and how they can help share these blessings with others. By doing this everyone has become more excited about missionary work (especially our recent converts) and we have received many more referrals. It's so great because members are so important in fellowshipping and supporting investigators and converts. Almost all the lessons we have taught this past week have been with a member present and it makes a big difference! Right now our next scheduled baptism is on August 13. We have three investigators who I pray will be baptized on that day. One of them is Mayann the cousin of the Dupitas family. Charlie and Jaymart Dupitas are two recent converts. Mayann is 15 and is being taught with her cousin Richieann who is the Daughter of Charlie. Mayann was blind for 5 years due to a cataract and doesn't know how to read so Richieanne reads to her. They both have had their prayers answered and have a testimony that this is the true church. The one problem is Mayann is very very shy! This is a problem because she needs to have a baptismal interview next week and she will hardly talk. I pray that she will be will able to overcome her shyness for her interview. It would be great if you could pray for her as well.

One of the things I love about church in the Philippines is the music. The people here love music and love to sing hymns. They can't always pronounce all the words right things, the notes are often very off pitch but they sing from their heart with all they got and you can feel their love for their Savior in their hymns. I have really grown to love hymns and they way that they invite the spirit!

This past week the scriptures that stood out most to me in my personal study are Mosiah 14:3-4 about Jesus Christ. I really want to talk about these scritpures but my two hour email time is up. It goes too fast! I tried to send pictures but the computer crashed.

I love the Work, I love the Lord, I love Philippines, I just love being a missionary!

Fight the Fight of Faith

Mahal ko kayo

Love Elder Leishman