7 months, WOW!

Dear Family and Friends,

It's hard to belive that I'm here writing again and that 7 months have already gone by on my mission! Time really flies! As usually this past week has been another great one in Burgos. We had 2 baptisms which were awesome. We had to make a lot of last minute adjustments to our plans but the Lord answered our prayers and everything worked out perfectly. So far this transfer has been awesome. It has been such a blessing to be a trainer. I feel like I am learning more than Elder Tating. Right now we are the first transfer to use the 12 week program and it is awesome. It is the Iron rod to successful training. It helps you become a preach my gospel missionary and helps give the trainee opportunities to take the lead with teaching, finding, and planning. It's so important to let them take the lead even when they aren't 100% comfortable. It's through the act of doing that we really learn. It amazing to see the changes that are happening in missionary work right now. Things are a lot different now from the time I got into the field 5 months ago. It has made me realize the blessing of having Church Leaders who receive revelation to further the work of the Lord. Elder Tating is an awesome companion. He is from Laguna Philippines and his family are all members. He is really easy to get a long with and we learn things from each other everyday. Elder Tating has been such a great example to me of enthusiam for the work. He's always excited to the work. Even when it's pouring rain, when we walk 5 miles in Philippine heat, when he is trying something new or teaching a lesson for the first time he is always excited. It makes the work so much more enjoyable when you are excited about being a missionary and there is love and unity in your companionship!

This past week we had an awesome experience with one of our investigators. Her name is Nora. We have been teaching Nora for 3 weeks now and since the begging I have thought that she was really shy. It turns out that she doesn't understand Tagalog really well and really only speaks Ilicano. However before we learned she talked to her fellowshipper and told him that she had felt a different good feeling in her life and She didn't know what it was but she really liked it. Her fellowshipper (a recent convert) told her that it was a spirit and it came from living the Gospel. We now have a member act as a translator at all our lessons, and Nora's progress is awesome. Because she has felt the Holy Ghost she knows this Church is true. This helped me realized the importance of the Holy Ghost in Conversion. That a missionaries we aren't always perfect at the Language but the Holy Ghost can speak to anyone. Conversion only takes place through the spirit.

This past week we found what we thought was a Golden investigator. He was awesome! We oym'ed him on our way home once night and came back and taught him two lessons. However after two lessons he moved to a different city for his Job. We told him he can conctact the missionaries there and I pray that he does. This week we also had one of our investigators who was progressing towards baptism tell us we couldn't come back and teach her because she had gotten into a fight with her husband about her becoming a member. It was really hard to hear that. It's hard to see the people you love tell you can't continue. However the Lord has a plan for everyone and when one door closes another door opens. This week we had some great doors open with new investigators and with working with the members.

Right now the work is good and it's really busy! Our new meeting house should be dedicated in a couple weeks and it is giving us so many great finding opportunities. The work continues to progress in Burgos! This past week I really enjoyed Alma 26:12. It helped me realize that to be humble we have to have confidence, not in ourselves but in the Lord. "In the strength of the Lord I can do all things". We really are nothing without the Lord it is only through him that we are able to do what we do everyday.

As far as the pictures go. In the first one, my tie is wet from yes, sweat:) The second one is from the baptism of Mayanne and Richieanne.

Being a missionary is the greatest! I love this work so much. I Love my Savior and I know he loves us all. I love the people here and mahal ko kayo!

Love Elder Leishman

Frog Adobo

Dear loved ones,

As usual we had another amazing week in Burgos. On saturday Jennifer was baptized and it was perfect. Her brother Cesar (a recent convert) was able to baptize her. The morning was beautiful and the spirit was so strong! It made me so happy to see Cesar baptize his sister. The gospel really is for families. This saturday we have two more baptisms. One is Richieanne daughter of a recent convert and the other is her cousin Mayanne. I don't know if I talked about this last week but we recieved a portable dvd player to use in our companionship study and for the new 12 week training program. We only use it to watch the preach my gospel dvds. I have absolutley loved using it in companionship study. It is such a big help and has helped Elder Tating and I learn how to improve our teaching and how to become better missionaries. When watching the short segments I have received promptings about how we can help our specific investigators. I am thankful that we can use technology to help the work of the Lord move forward. This past week one of our focuses in our study was on finding. We focused on finding in our area this week and had great success. We have 5 new investigators 2 who attended church and many more potential investigators. We also received 3 referals from members. Right now our real enemy time. We don't have enough time to teach all the people we want to. This past week has strengthened my faith that God prepares his children to receive the gospel. He will lead us to them or lead them to us. We always need to be finding.

So this past week I ate frog twice. It's a lot like chicken with a lot of little bones. The second time I was the one who cooked it and not going to lie, my frog adobo was pretty amazing. Masarap to say the least! My cooking is actually getting pretty good. I am learning how to cook a lot of Filipino food and most of the time it's not half bad. I have had a couple epic failures but they were funny so everything was good.

As far as the pictures go two are from the baptism. One is of Elder Tating and I in the poring rain. Elder Tating's umbrella got locked in the church so we didn't have umbrellas and the rain started to pore just as we started our 1 and a half walk from from Labney. We were very wet, but it was a really funny walk home. The last picture is of a member and I in our branch president's tricycle on the way to the baptism. Don't worry my companion was in the tricycle too:)

Sorry this letter is so short. I love you all. I love Burgos and I really just love it all.

Mahal ko kayo

Love Elder Leishman

August 7

Dear Family and Friends,

It's that time again. It's amazing how fast a week goes. This past week was extremely busy and was full of ups and downs but none the less was a great one! This past week I taught my first workshop in a district meeting, and was able to conduct a baptismal interview for the first time. They were both awesome experiences. This past week we only had one day with a normal schedule. We went into Tarlac 4 times for meetings and interviews and we had baptismal interviews for our investigators. It was a challenge to balance all of our business and still fit in all of our appointments and study time with an extra hour everyday. However whether it was waking up early or coming home a little early we were able to fit everything in. One of the things I have really loved in my mission is the time I have to study. I love the scriptures! Through the scriptures we can receive revelation and answers to questions. Through the scriptures we get to better know our Savior. The scriptures need to be a part of our lives everyday. No matter how busy or crazy our lives are we need to find time everyday to read the scriptures. I have to say I that I am so blessed to have Elder Tating as my companion. He is great! We come from very different backgrounds but we get a long great and are really becoming a team in the work. Elder Tating is excited about the work, about our investigators, is very teachable and just great. We both are learning from each other and are developing a great love in our companionship.

This past week Mayanne had her baptism interview and she talked! My prayers were answered. However she didn't attend church yesterday (long story) so her baptism is being moved to august 20. However we still have 1 baptism this coming saturday. Yesterday we had a lot of investigators not attend church. It is difficult to not have your investigators come to church. I love them and know how important church attendance is in their conversion and I pray for them everyday. Satan really works on investigators to get them to not come to church but as they do they feel the spirit. Right now church attendance is the main concern of almost all of our investigators. They read and pray but when sunday comes around they don't come to church. This week we are going to focus on helping our investigators overcome concerns in order to help them attend church.

This past week I have thought about the tender mercies of the Lord. Our heavenly father knows each and everyone of us and is aware of all we are going through. This past week I have felt the tender mercies of the Lord in my own life and have seen them in the lives of others. The things is that the Lord usually works through others to bless our lives. I am thankful for all the people in my life that been the answers to my prayers. I hope that we can all be more in tune with the spirit to become the answer to someone else's prayer.

I love you all so much and I pray for you everyday. You all know know this but I really love being a missionary.

Mahal ko kayo

Love Elder Leishman

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!