PORTAL! 12/16

Dear Family and Friends, This past week has been a very interesting week. It has been an adjustment being back in the field especially being in an area that is having it's own set of missionaries for the first time. There have been Elders working in Portal for a long time but they only go out there about 1 or 2 times a week so the missoinary work is really slow there. Transfer day was this past Thursday. It was a busy day. I had a lot of travel and when we got to our new area we spent most of the day figuring out our new house because we are the first missionaries to live in the area. Friday our work really started and it was weird being in a place where you or your companion have know idea who anyone is or where anything is. The old missionaries left there area book but there was absolutely nothing in it so we were mostly on our own. On friday we started at are house and from there we just started talking to everyone and looking for members. It was a day with little results but we did meet david who was a searching soul. He is 17 is a high school graduate and doesn't really have any plans in life. We asked him if we could teach him and we said we could. He said he was catholic and his first question to us was "Meron bang talagang Diyos?" ("Is there really a God"). We then taught about our loving Heavenly Father and about prayer and it was an amazing lesson. We are going back to teach him tomorrow. Saturday went really similarly. Luckily when I was assigned in San Jose I went on exchanges in Portal one time and I remembered the houses of 2 members which was a help. We were able to teach a recent convert that i interviewed for baptism. That was a cool experience. But overall Saturday was another hard day. When Sunday Morning rolled around I was feeling a little bit down and little bit sorry for myself because things were hard an nothing was happening. While I was sitting at my desk the song "Count Your Many Blessings" popped into my head and i immediately sang it and then knelt in prayer to express my gratitude for all the blessings that I have received and to ask forgiveness for my ingratitude. From that moment I starting thinking more about other and things just started going better. Church was a lot like church in Burgos. We met in our small meeting house and our attendance was 42. I was our branch keyboardist and was an on the spot speaker. It really took me back to my first couple weeks in Burgos. Our 3 hours of church were so humbling and the spirit was wonderful. The members were all really excited to finally have their own set of missionaries. After Chruch our branch president told us he wanted to work with us and the first thing we did was look at the ward directory with him. He talked about indivuals we should focus on, his goals for the branch, and his vision for Portal. It was awesome. Our branch president, President Sarmiento, had Grandpa Lolo as a mission president for a month when we entered into his mission in Bacolod. President Sarmiento was excited to figure that out. After our meeting with president he took us around our area on his trike and introduced us to less-active and active members and showed us where some former investigators live. We didn't teach a lot of lessons but we were able to set return appointments and get to know the members. The few lessons that we did teach were to potential missionaries in our branch that President Sarmiento is working with. Yesterday was an amazing day! The members are so important to missionary work. Because of the help of our branch president we now have a good starting place for the work. This week is going to be an amazing week! President Sarmiento gave us a lot of assignments and things to do and we take this that we have gained his trust. We are excited to do these things and report back to him quickly. Information about Portal. It's very bukid. Everyone who lives in our area is a farmer. Right now is planting season which makes teaching challenging. The people here are very humble and there are some awesome members. I love this area already and there is lot of potential. I am so excited to see the growth that will come. I am just excited about this transfer. My new companion is Elder Soberano from Iloilo. He is only in his 4th transfer in the mission. He is quite and very serious but he really likes to work. I love having a companion who loves to work. We're going to have a good transfer together. All I can think about is our area and the few people we have met. I love this time of year. Christmas time is such a great time. I love thinking about Jesus Christ. I am so thankful for his atonement. While we celebrate his birth I love thinking also about his atonement and Resurrection. I feel like I have been able to get to know him so much better on my mission. This week we have Christmas zone conference and our branch Christmas party. I'm excited. I love you all so much. I love this work. I love the people in my area. I love Portal and I love my Savior. Maligayang Pasko! mahal ko kayo Love Elder Leishman The first 2 pictures I attached were from my last night in Sta. Ignacia with Elder Bellen. The 3rd picture I took while waiting for a trike this morning. The cow turned around right when I took the picture but I still think it's scenic non the less. It's what most of my area looks like.