Hot and Happy :)

Dear Family and Friends,

I am pleased to announce, that I will be staying in Burgos this transfer will Elder Pioquinto. That means that I will stay in Burgos till at the the end of July because I will have my follow up trainer in Burgos too. What a blessing it will be to spend at least 4 1/2 months here! It's hard to believe that I've already done with my first transfer! It went so fast. I have a feeling that things will only get faster. This past transfer definitely wasn't an easy experience for me but it was a great one. Some of the important things I learned this past transer have been to trust the Lord. If we do our part the Lord will do his in his own time. For me I was really impatient with myself and my progress with the language and with my teaching skills through most of the transfer. I went through periods of being overwhelmed with all the things I need to learn. However through it all I learned that becoming an effective missionary is a process that doesn't happen all at once. The important thing is taking things one at time and striving to get better everyday. Having a smile through it all helps significantly! It has been a real humbling experience. The journey is more important than the destination. Even though this transfer was very difficult at first, I wouldn't trade the experiences I have had for anything.

This past week was a good week in Burgos. Elder Pioquinto let me lead the area in case he was to be transfered and it was actually way fun. We have 4 investigators that are waited to be baptized and we gained some great investigators. We found the Dupitas family who was taught by the missionaries back in 2001 but were never baptized. Despite not being baptized many family members have continued to read the Book of Mormon through all the years and already have a strong testimony of it and of Jospeh Smith. Jojo is 19 years old and his knowledge of the Book of Mormon is amazing. He wants to be baptized and is a potential missionary. The teaching experience very different with this family. Elder Pioquinto and I are striving to teach to their needs in this unique situation to help them come unto Christ. I am so excited to teach the Dupitas!!! Tatay Tanedo, Nico and Joshua Haro, and Rolando continue to progress at a fast rate and are very prepared for their upcoming baptisms. I love teaching Tatay Tanedo. Everytime we teach Tatay Tanedo he ends up teaching me something. He states the truths of the Gospel that he learns in ways that I have never thought of before. Watching others come unto Christ is a great experience! This past week we also were able to teach some great less active member lessons. Many of the less actives here have a strong testimony of the Gospel. Most of the time sharing a spiritual thought with them helps them feel the spirit and reminds them of the joys the Gospel brings to their lives.

So I love Preach my Gospel. It is the best. If you don't have a copy in your home I recommend getting one! It is an awesome reference for so many gospel things and the principles in it don't just apply to missionaries. Also I will probablly reference a few times in emails. Also mom and dad, I need a copy of my mission call letter. A note for the Davies- don't worry, there are lots of crackers in the Philippines!

Mahal Kita

Elder Leishman

Fight the fight of Faith