Welcome to the Philippines!

We woke up this morning to our first email from Elder Joe in the Philippines!

Dear family and friends,
I finally made it to the Philippines! I am currently sitting in an internet cafe in Tarlac City. The Philippines are AWESOME!. I am Sooo excited to be here. So I'll try to tell you about my travels here and about a couple experiences I have had. So the flight from San Francisco to Manila was long and I slept almost the entire time. However I was able to give away two BOM to some Pilipino on our flight. From Hong Kong we flew to Manila. On that flight I was sitting next to an old nanay, who was very very kind. So we finally arrived to the Manila airport on Wednesday morning. The missionaries going to Angeles put our luggage in one van and all packed into another. We were picked up by some members from Angeles City. On our way to the mission home we stopped by Burger King which was number one! The roads in the Philippines are crazy!!! There really are no rules. Cars, trikes, people, cars, Jeepneys all share the road and it's pretty amazing how there isn't an accident every 2 seconds! We finally arrived at the mission home in the afternoon and we met President and Sister Puzey. They are amazing and so kind. we spent the night at mission home and went through some mission orientation. On Thursday at 12 our trainers came to the mission home to pick us up. My trainer is Elder Pioquinto from someplace in the Bacolod mission. He is awesome! I am very lucky to have him as my trainer. We then headed out to our area. Our area is called Burgos. As President Puzey says we are "out in the wilderness." Our area is a very humble place. I am out in the fields with the carribou(however you spell it). To get to our area we took a bus for an hour and a half, followed by a ride on a trike then we took a Jeep for 50 minutes to our apartment. Our area is very big. Our apartment is in the middle of our area and most of our investigators are a 50 minute walk in either direction. Most of the people in our area are very poor and humble. It's been very humbling to walk into their small houses made of bamboo or cement and see how empty they are and realize that you are looking at all their belongings. Many people here have hardly anything. However they are so friendly and so kind. The people here are amazing. Right now we are teaching about 5 lessons a day to investigators and a few recent converts. We stay pretty busy.
Going to church on Sunday was a powerful experience. It was powerful to see these humble people come to church in whatever way they good, in the nicest clothes they could(many in jeans and a polo) to worship the lord. We had 66 people at church which is above average in our branch. On of my favorite parts of church was feeling the spirit as we sang hymns. Many of the words were sang wrong and there were many pitches at times but the spirit was very powerful. Speaking of hymns I am now the branch pianist. If that isn't a scary thought I don't know what is. Oh yeah and I play on a keyboard which is pretty great. One of the most difficult things here with our investigators is getting them to come to church. It's not because they lack desire. It's because of distance and a lack of transportation. This has made me realize how blessed I have been to be in a place with church so accessible to me.
So the food so far in the Philippines has been masarap! My companion is a good cook and he is teaching me the ways of cooking Filipino food. The mangoes here are the best! Since my area is far away from the city we have to do most of our shopping on p-day. On p-day we come into Tarlac (which is the name of our zone) and we either to district development meeting or do a zone activity. Today we played basketball and some other game I don't know the name of. After that we made mango banana shakes at the zone leader's apartment. Our zone is currently the biggest in the mission with 24 or 22 missionaries. There is one sister from my batch in my zone so it was nice to see a familiar face today. After our activity we went to the SM. Yes we have an SM in our zone which is great! An SM is a huge mall with most things you could want in it. We ate at pizza hut which was great!
So far I have had some moments when I have felt very overwhelmed whether it is with the language, with being in a new place where nothing is familiar or just the fact that I am now really a missionary. However they don't last long and I have learned that I just need to focus on the work and stop thinking about myself. I am so blessed to be here in the Philippines. I am so thankful for this opportunity I have to serve the lord. I really do love it here – even the cold showers that sure wake you up in the morning!
Next week I'll send some pictures of my area, companion and apartment.
Love,
Elder Leishman

Safe in the Philippines!

The last few days have been exciting. Nate is in Japan working on disaster relief, and Elder Joe is finally in the Philippines.
On Monday, the missionaries heading to the Philippines departed around 4:30. We were hopeful to hear from Elder Leishman quickly upon arrival, but that was not the case. He finally called at around 7:15. He sounded awesome. Everyone had a chance to visit on the phone including Grammie Margie, minus Emma who was at rehearsal, and Nate in Japan (and Jeffrey was doing his shy thing). He seemed relaxed and happy to answer questions, but not offering a lot. He sounded happy. Nate was actually en route from Sendai to Tokyo when the first call took place, so we asked Joe to call in SF as well.
When the phone rang at 12:15 AM, everyone here was asleep. I kept the phone by my bed and quickly woke up Emma. She was so happy to talk to Joe. I think out of everyone, she misses him the most. I had a few moments to visit with him, but the phone cut off, and we never reconnected. However, Nate was able to visit for about 20 minutes in Tokyo and they enjoyed a nice chat!
Today is Wednesday, and when I checked my email this morning, there was an email from Elder Joe's mission mom, Sister Puzey. She said he had arrived healthy, happy, and ready to work. Sister Puzey also said he would be loved and taken care of.
We are grateful he is finally there, and probably on his way to his first apartment right now. We love and miss him, but most of all, we are excited about these next two years. How blessed we are!

Last Letter in America

I was surprised Elder Leishman had time to send off a letter on his last day at the MTC. Thank you to everyone who has written and supported him these last two months. We had a great phone call tonight from the airport. Elder Joe said he had seen E Gibbons, E Foster, E Lalli, E Hamilton, E Johnson and E Holmes over the last couple of weeks. He is thankful for great teachers and a wonderful experience there.

Dear family and friends,

I can hardly believe that I am writing my last email in the mtc! It many ways the fact that I am leaving to go to the Philippines tonight doesn't seem real yet. My experience in the mtc has been amazing! However I know that preaching the gospel in the Philippines is going to be sooooooooo much better! So my last week in the mtc was one of the best. The past two days have been my favorite. On saturday we had our last classes with our teachers. The last classes you have with your teachers are the best. Brother May and Brother Molina both brought out pictures from their missions, told us stories, and let us ask any questions we had about the Philippines. It was so much fun. For the first time in weeks our teachers spoke all english to us and to tell you the truth it was really weird.... I can't tell you how blessed our district was with our teachers. Brother Molina is the best Tagalog speaker and teacher in the mtc and the other teachers will tell you that. Brother May is really good too. Both of our teachers taught us the importance of things like obedience, dilligence and teaching to needs during our first weeks which made a significant difference for the rest of our time at the mtc. My teachers at the mtc did a great job helping us prepare to go to the philippines. I also was blessed with a great district at the mtc. We were a very obedient zone and it the effects of our obedience were great. We were able to focus better, learn more and just have a better time because we were obedient. Oh by the way my mtc district was 3D. Pretty great I know.

So really quickly I will address four square for my last time. Friday was our last day of gym. Despite the many efforts of the elder's in the spanish zone, when gym ended I was standing strong in the king square. Nothing like ended your 4-square career as reigning king! And so ended the great rivalry between the Tagalog and Spanish zones.....

I am so thankful for all of you and for my opportunity to be a missionary. Elder Tomasi is doing great and is very excited to go to the philippines. I think the most important things I have learned in the mtc are 1- Obedience 2- dilligence. 3- Magtrabaho Magtrabaho Magtrabaho. Work Work Work. All day everyday. 4- We need to the Spirit in everything we do 5- Pray your heart out everyday.

I cannot express my excitement in words for what I'm about to do. I can't say I don't have any feelings of nervousness, but I know that it's going to be so great.

Mahal Kita

Elder Leishman

Last Week at the MTC!

We can't believe the end of Elder Joe's stay at the MTC is near! They will be leaving the MTC on Monday afternoon and flying to San Fransisco. Then they take the redeye to Hong Kong and then to Manila, arriving around 11:30 AM. Sounds like some FUN travel plans...

Here's what he had to say March 14, 2011.

So as usual it has been a good week. there was one experience in particular that stands out to me from this past week. One or two times a week, we teach progressive investigators in the district that came in with us. elder Tomasi and I have slowl been moving through the lessons in Tagolog with them. this past week for the first time we took the time to really plan for our lesson and how we could teach to their needs. For the first time with them I felt like we were teaching pepole, not just teaching a lesson. The difference was huge! the spirit was very strong, we were able to engage our investigators in our lesson, and we were able to teach to their needs. Our tagolog wasn't perfect because we taught things that we have never taught in tagolog before but the spirit was so strong and I could tell that we all could feel it. the spirit dos the teaching, not the missionary. it's amazing to be able to feel the spirit so strongly when teaching other missionaries. I can't wait to see what it will be like when I'm teaching a real investigator.

I apologize for lack of sending scriptures. this past week I read the story of Enos. I love this story and the great example of prayer that it is. Vs 1-18 are great, but one of my favorite verses in the chapter is 15 "...whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of christ, ye shall receive it," how true this is. Prayer is essential in all that we do but the qualifier ifor receiving personal revelation is faith. There is a reason that faith is the first principal of the gospel. It is the first building block in the conversion process and no missionary can succeed without it. In the MTC my testimony of prayer has grown a lot. I say more prayers here than Iever have before in my life. Prayer has become one of my best friends and I have learned how important it is to everything that we do.

Elder Tomasi is doing great! Thanks for all the letters sent to him! In all honesty watching him read his letters is one of my favorite parts of the day. He never fails to amaze me with his strong testimony, heartfelt teaching, and desire to serve others. It has been such a blessing to be his companion. I can't believe that I'll have a new companion in a week. Time flies!

Mahal Kita

Elder Leishman

More on Love and 4 Square

Email from March 7:

Dear family and friends,

As the subject of this exciting email has said, it has been another great week here at the mtc. It's hard to believe that in fourteen days I'll be on my way to the Philippines! We should be getting our travel plans on Wednesday so I'll let you know when I have more details. This past week we had 2 new districts come into our zone for the first time since we have been in the mtc. It's been fun to finally have some new Elders and sisters. I actually was in the same 1st and 2nd grade class with one of the new elders in our zone. Small world. It takes me back to see them struggling with Tagolog and experiencing everything the mtc has to offer for the first time. It makes you realize how much you learn and grow in the short time you spend in the mtc. It really is amazing what the Lord does with his missionaries.

This past week I have learned some important things about work. To be a diligent missionary you have to work hard and stay focused all the time. I learned that to do this, I have to rededicate myself every morning when I get out of bed to giving my all that day. If you don't start out your day with that kind of determination you won't ever have it at any part of the day. I also learned that when you frequently set goals you study and work more effectively. The best way to work or study is to have a goal in mind.

Throughout my time at the mtc I have been continuously learning about the importance of love. Love is very very important in missionary work. We need to love our companions, our leaders, and all the people around us. When we really love the people we serve it's easier to take yourself out of the equation. I have seen this happen at the mtc and I can't wait to see how this principle will apply in the Philippines. Sometimes it's hard to love those around you, especially when there is a missionary who pushes your buttons like you didn't know possible. I have learned that I need to pray for help in this department every day. The best example of love is our Savior Jesus Christ. Everything that he did was an incredible act of love. Especially his atonement. I am so grateful for the atonement and the blessings it has brought to my life. I love the definition of charity in the Bible Dictionary. I definitely recommend reading it. charity is something that we all need to be working for so we can become more effective servants of the Lord.

Last here is a little bit about mtc gym time. After 7 weeks at the mtc, I have finally come to the conclusion that mtc 4 Square is one of the most frustrating games the world has to offer! It is impossible to get out with dignity, and no matter how good you are playing you will get out, and will get out quickly. Elders get into it too! to the point of making personalized four square tshirt. Some zones even have a crazy amount of 4 square politics including alliances, enemies, and positions of authority. It's crazy! Just an FYI.

Well thank you for the letters and all that you do.

Love,

Elder Leishman

Thoughts on Love...

Elder Joe's mid-week letter to DAD and here's a bit of what he had to say:

Thank you for the quotes on love. Love is something I have been thinking a lot about lately and I am beginning to realize how important it is, especially to missionary work! You need to love your companion. You need to love the people you serve. You need to love th Lord, you need to teach God's children about his incredible love for them, for the love our Savior has for us and for the love he showed us through his atonement. LOVE is essential! The longer I am away from our family, the more I realize how much I love them. Family is such a blessing and is the best place for love.

Aaaaaaahhhhhh. Love you too, Elder Leishman!