Heebigeebies

Hello Everyone.

Another week down in Perú, and I can barely believe it! This week was really awesome. Hmm.... let me think of what I should share.... I suppose I´ll start with last P Day-

Well, the office elders "forgot" to invite us to their off-roading adventure in Chivay (Hey, hermanas are new in the office, I guess I can see how that would happen...) so we ended up going with President and Hna Zobrist to Pedregal! And we went in the mission van- a good ol´Toyota, which was just so comforting- and we bought snacks and everything, and took a road trip! It was about an hour and a half, and when we got there, we ate pizza with the elders and hermanas there, and then we went and looked at the local clinic there. It was....... not fit for medical care. I still get the heebigeebies just thinking about it. There was dirt everywhere, and they had all this old medical stuff that made it look like it was the scary hospital on Lost when they find it from the people who started the Dharma Intiative. I almost passed out when we walked into a room and there was a lady laying there on the bed. There wasn´t anything wrong with her, it just weirded me out. So I sat down for just a second, and then I was fine. I don´t know how I´m going to do this without Hna Pug. But anyways- I´ve got some cool pictures that I´ll try and send, but the internet is being kind of slow. So maybe another day.

This week, we worked a ton in the office, trying to finish all these binders that are going out to all the missionaries. It´s been interesting, trying to remember how to use all of my Adobe inDesign skills, but I´m actually working pretty fast. The book is looking legit, and I´m making an awesome cover with a picture of misti on it, personalized with every missionaries name. That´s only 278 covers to make! What a piece of cake. But i LOVE working with the computers, because, in all honesty, I get this twinge of nostalgia, like I´m drafting up an ad for the Progressive Dairyman or something, and I like thinking about Jerome and my home, and my work, and my school, and my family. That´s Zion. So I´m doing great. It´s funny, sometimes President will want a document that looks like it´s from the church, so the members take it more seriously, so I look at a church document and try and replicate it. It´s kind fun.

It´s actually awesome to be in the office, and to be able to do things from Prs and Hna Zobrist! They´re so fantastic, and I´m learning so much from them.

Well, that´s really all I´ve got to say. We worked in the office, we worked in our area, and we´re getting along great! Hna Pug is sucha  huge blessing in my life. I love her! I got letters this week- two from you all and one from Chase. So a GREAT week for letters!

I love you all. I´m sending you a picture of a skirt I got today for 10 soles. That´s like 4 dollars. Barrato y fantastico!

well, until next week!

Hna Leavitt

Happy Veterans Day!

Today we have the awesome opportunity to go to Pedragal with Persidente and Hermana Zobrist and some of the office elders, so my time to email will be a little shorter than normal, but I´m so excited to go there! Especially because I´ve never been outside of Arequipa on my mission, and if I end up being the mission nurse, I won´t ever get to go to Tagna (southern) or Ilo (coastal) I´ll only ever be in the city- which is kind of a bummer, but at the same time, we get to do so many cool things and have so many opportunities that other people don´t have, that it´s a small price to pay for being able to do things I wouldn´t be able to do otherwise.

This week was pretty rad (phrase borrowed from the mission journal of Alan Leavitt), we got to work in the office all three days we planned, and while hna P did mission nurse things and took out appointments in the computer, I worked on retyping our mission health book and our little mission book. And as I was working with Adobe InDesign, with my many pages and layers and outlines and plans, I couldn't help but get a whim of Progressive Dairyman nostalgia. I love working in the office and doing things like this! I made some awesome covers for the books and I don´t know how I´m remembering to do all these things, but I am. And I´ll have to send you some pictures of what I´ve been doing, but I love it! I also helped a few converts this week get started on their family history. That was fun. The Church websites really are so streamlined and beautiful, I love how they look and how easy there are to work with.

We´ve been working really hard. Like, really, really hard. I thought that I was walking a lot before, but I was wrong! We´re walking so much more. And my feet are feeling it- but I´m also feeling better than ever. That´s the great secret about missionary work I guess- the harder you work, the better you feel!

I´d like to take just a moment to hold with tradition and send a big THANK YOU to my Grandpa Palmer for his service for America! Veterans Day is this next week, and since I won´t be able to write before then- I thought that, even though you´re in Africa and I'm in Peru, I would let you know that I love you and appreciate you, and am so grateful that men like you exist in the world, to defend liberty and the standard of truth that we have received from our Heavenly Father. Thank you so much for your example Grandpa!

I was the most envied Hermana in the world, when to my surprise, I received 6 HUGE packages from home. I´ve got the best family ever!!  Thank you so much.

I love you all, and I´m doing so great. Hey! I get to talk to you in almost a month! Can you believe it? I´m so excited!!

Keep up the good work Leavitts and Palmers and Williams and Wrights.

Love-

Hermana Leavitt

Here is a picture of the road that leads down to our apartment.  A little snapshot of Hunter for ya´ll!

Our Apartment

Hermana P and I are dressed up for Halloween!

Me at the Plaza De Armas

Happy Halloween!

What a week! Well, actually, it´s only been a few days since I´ve emailed last- and that´s because our Pdays are now on Saturdays! Yep that´s right, we´re movin and shakin things up here in the PAM. This week-

-We were lucky enough to attend the leadership training in the mission home this past Tuesday, because my companion is awesome, and also she´s the nurse and she had to give a presentation on what exactly is an emergency, and when we should go to the emergency room, because, believe it or not- alot of the latins in our mission just want to go to the emergency room for really little little things. So we made something up real fun, and we had this dart competition to see who could hit these pieces of paper, and we thre out candy, and I pretended to call hna P and ask if I could go to the emergency room because I had a bloody nose and it was just great. We have to make them really interactive or the missionaries just zone out, because it´s a whole day of training.

-On Wednesday, we worked half a day in the office, because we had some more zone training in the morning, but I´m glad that we did go in, because there is so much to be done. It´s because there have never been hermanas in the office before, which means that things could have the appearance of being organized, but as soon as you opened up the closet doors, it all came pouring out. So, while Hermana P was doing all of her nursing duties, Hermana Zobrist and I started to clean house. We threw away so much stuff! We found a typewriter! It was just nuts. But I loved it. And I was totally okay with it too, because I equate Hna P and I to Batman and Robin, and sometimes Batman needs to go fight crime while Robin cleans the bat cave.

- Halloween!! Believe it or not- they celebrate that here! Yeah, not to the extent as us crazy north Americans, but celebrate it they do. And.... it turns out that if you´re companions with a gringa... then you can both kind of celebrate it as missionaries too! We didn´t do too much, but the things that we did do were awesome. We decided to be fictional characters, if they decided to go on missions. So she dressed up as Elfeba, from " Wicked" and I dressed up as Jesse from "Toy Story 2". And then we bought all these little caramel candies and gave then out to kids, and talked to their parents about the Gospel- which was just awesome! I love Halloween.

-Friday, we had our first full day at the office, and while my comp did her thing, I organized like crazy. And we really got a lot done. The office looks so much better, and we have a much better system for everything. Plus, I found the elders a coast rack that they didn´t know they had. We´re working on getting the computer all set up to make these notebooks we´re doing for all the missionaries, and then get a newsletter going. I also learned that I might be in charge of our mission facebook page (so go and like it mom) and put up fun pictures of the new missionaries, and missionaries leaving and service projects and etc etc. I´m also going to eventually be in charge of taking out appointments at the hospital, so I´m designing a more efficient whiteboard system to use than the one we have.... and since right now we don´t have one that shouldn´t be too hard. We just kept finding all this old stuff that the office elders, or president didn´t know that we had. It was pretty fun.

-Today! We tried emailing in the morning, but myldsmail was down for maintenance, so we just went right ahead and adventured on down to Plaza de Armas! It was great, we got to see the old architecture and we went inside this old catholic cathedral and it was pretty neat.

Then we did a little shopping, and I decided that maybe I should just wait for you all to come here to buy the stuff I really want for you, because it´s crazy expensive to send it home in a package and maybe for this Christmas I´ll just send you small things in an envelope. Is that okay? Also, the picture  I´m sending here is of a family in the plaza that wanted to take a picture with us. I guess it´s not everyday that you see white people.

I love my area, I love my companion, and I love you all. I´m doing great, I´m almost done with Jesus the Christ, and I´m reading the Book of Mormon for my 3rd time  but this time only in Spanish! Keep up the good work my favorite family!

(Also, I got the sweetest letter from Emily Olsen- tell her thanks for me will ya? I wish I had time to write her back, but as you know, I don´t!)

Also, also, I got to eat some Nutella this week, and it rocked.

Loves,

Hermana Leavitt

Office Sisters

My apologies- this is going to be a short one-

This week was awesome! I am just loving my time with Hna P, She´s just great and we get along swell. We worked really hard this week too. Like harder than I´ve worked in a long time. I´m pretty sure I´m going to wear through my shoes a lot faster than I expected. I don´t know how many miles it is every day- but we´re racking them up! My companion studied nursing at BYU-I for 4 years, so I guess you can say she has more experience than me. :) She is so awesome and we get along great and we´re working hard. She´s from Arizona- one of 11 kids

Some news- We are going to be working in the Office! We´re Office sisters! (I´ve always wanted to be in The Office- like the TV show- and now my dream is basically coming true!) Hermana P is going to not only be in charge of taking calls and telling people what to do, but she will be in charge of making the appointments at the hospital as well. Kind of cutting out the middle man, so to speak. Which means, when she´s not training me, I will be in the office too. And I´m also going to be helping people out in the Family History Center we´re having there. Kelsi- you would be so proud of me! :) We start Wednesday- and our P-Day will be changed to Saturday, so when you don´t get emails on Monday, don´t worry.

I´m not going to lie, I´m a little overwhelmed at times, when I think "In 4 months, when Hna P leaves, I might be the mission nurse." But I know that with Heavenly Father- I can do everything. :) Pray for me though- prayers never hurt.

I´m so sorry to hear about Kelsi- she´s going on my prayer list. Let´s get this girl some answers! Abby- I´m so proud of you for finishing Harry Potter 4!!! Way to go! Hannah! Way to turn 17- send me some of your clothes! Rachey!! Way to make it to STATE! Superstar! Allie- way to keep on being CUTE! ZACH! I HOPE YOU´RE ALIVE! Grandparents- I love you! Dad! Good luck with your eye surgery- think of me and my eye patch when you get it done! Mom! Keep being the best mom ever! Did you get my birthday letter? I wrote you a poem! Chase! Happy 21st birthday!!

I love you all!

Hermana Leavitt

Happy, Happy, Happy!

Happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy! If you can´t tell- I´m so happy! For lots of reasons-

-I got to have an interview with Presidente Zorbrist this Tuesday, and it felt so good to just lay it all out there on the line. I told him everything. Everything that I´ve been thinking and feeling and doing and why I never called and lots of other things, and I felt so good afterwards. It was such a good time. I´ve come to gain a testimony about leaders that have priesthood keys and who can receive revelation for you. Before, I think I thought I could only talk to him if I needed to confess something that I did, but honestly, I can talk to him just to get counsel about things as well. :) It was great, and much needed. He also asked me if I had any medical experience, to which I replied "Does Girl´s Camp Certification count?" and then I proceeded to tell him that I have passed out not once, but TWICE while getting an X Ray. Which is why I am surprised to be...

-The new companion of the mission nurse! Hermana P! She is so great! I came to love Hermana Z, but it was time for us to part ways. I learned a lot from my time with her though. Lots of kind of hard lessons to learn when you can´t communicate all that well- but I know my time with her will help me for the rest of my mission. It will also help me, should I have the opportunity to train. But right now- I´m with Hna P! A gringa! She´s awesome. The first thing we did when she moved all of her stuff in our room was use these dart guns that she bought. We have kind of the same sense of humor, and we kind of like different things, but we´re getting along great so far. I know, it´s only day two- but I am loving my time with her. I feel so much better, and the effects of being stressed out for weeks are starting to fade just a bit. :) We have a lot more responsibilities, because she´s the enfermeda, and people call her all the time, but I´m looking forward to it. I´m probably going to be her last companion, and I guess I´m supposed to learn as much as I can from her, so I can help Hermana Zobrist out when she finishes her mission in 4 months.

I´m so happy! I´m doing so much better, and I´m so optimistic about this time I have with my new companion. :)

A birthday shout out to my girl BANANERS! Happy 17th this 25th girlie!!! What do you want from Perú? That goes for all of you, start sending me ideas for what you´d like, cause I´m sending something home this Christmas. :) I already got something for mom.

I love you all, and thank you so much for all that you do. For all the prayers, all the letters, all the support. I really am so blessed to have you. Thank you for the many emails from both of my Grandparents. What a legacy! :)

More from your favorite Hermana in Perú next week!

Loves,

Hermana Leavitt

After further clarification from Melissa, this is what Alan thinks Melissa meant."What she means is that her new companion is like a (my own words here), kind of like an assistant to the president (AP)'s wife (Hermana Zobrist). Hermana P is the mission nurse, and it sounds like they want Melissa to learn all she can from her and if it works for her, to possibly be doing that when Hermana P leaves in 4 months. And she thinks she'll be with Hermana P for 4 months, until she leaves. So this could be a very enjoyable stretch of her mission I'm thinking. How funny and ironic it could be if she became "the mission nurse!!""

No longer a tourist

Mom! Hope that you weren´t too concerned to not recieve an email yesterday- because I had to leave Arequipa for Lima- to finally get my Visa! That´s right folks- your Hermana Leavitt is finally all legalized in Perú. I´m happy to no longer be a tourist, but an actual foreigner here. It´s exciting stuff.

Going to Lima was absolutely awesome, because I got to hang out with my hermanas from the CCM! I missed them all so much. And, I realized that I needed people to talk to more than I realized. Did I tell you that there are no other hermanas in  our Zone? None. And I´ve been through some hard things. And I have had some hard times. So, you can imagine, after 12 weeks of not being able to talk and JOKE- it was just awesome. I miss being able to joke around! I can´t joke aorund in Spanish! I went a little crazy, every sentence out of my mouth was either slightly sarcastic or a movie reference, or a song lyric or a LotR joke. I miss being able to make people laugh so much. I think that´s why I loved Duo with Hanna so much- I love making people laugh! 

It was such a great blessing, to be able to talk to Hermana V. again. She´s so great, and I love her. I can´t even express how happy I was with all of them yesterday! I felt like myself for the first time since the CCM- I didn´t feel like someone trying to be a perfect missionary and always falling short of expectations that someone else has set up for me. I felt like Hermana Leavitt. And I needed that so bad.

I finish my training this week- and we have cambios this Sunday. So- this next Sunday- I´ll either be somewhere new, or I might have a new companion.

A Tale of Fathers

October 7, 2013

-I was surprised beyond belief that I recieved a Cannon Chronicle in the mail this past Thursday! Surprised because I didn´t know they still did this, and also surprised because I´m in Perú, but the biggest suprise came when I saw that you sent in part of my emails for our family contribution! YOU CHEATERS! Hahaha, no, it´s smart, to get out of writing something, to send what you´ve already got. I´ve decided to not use as many exclamation points in my emails, should this happen again. Also, my Zone teased me mercilessly that my extended family apparently does ¨The most typically Mormon thing since the crossing of the Plains.¨(In the words of my LD) They couldn´t get over the interviews and the crossword puzzle. But I have to admit, it´s impressive. And I loved reading about my Aunts Laura (I thought you´d appreciate that grammar Dad). I also couldn´t help but feel a surge of pride when good ol´George Q. was quoted in this conference. What a legacy we´ve got.

-I learned a lot about heartbreak this week. It started with a new convert, who lives in the same building as us. We came home from emailing last week, to hear someone sobbing in her room. Tentatively, we knocked, and found her just devastated, on the floor of her room. Long story short, after promising her all sorts of things about taking her to the temple, and about adopting a child because they couldn´t have any, her husband left for a "business trip" but in reality, he cleaned out all their bank accounts and took all his valuable stuff, and he left her to live with another woman. We sat there and cried with her, and then we read scriptures and prayed, but I had no idea what to say to help this woman wth this broken heart. Wé´ve been checking up on her, and she seems to be doing okay, but talk about heartbreak. The only thing we can say, over and over again, is that her Savior knows her, and her pain, and her situation, better than anyone else in the world, and she can rely on Him, and the healing power of the Atonement, to help her cope.

-I also had the chance to learn about Fathers this week, we´ve been teaching a man for about a month now. Long story short, we thought he was ready for Baptism, we went for a visit, found his 13 year old son, began teaching him, and then his dad came home, and grabbed him by his ear, and threw him into their room, and then took a piecve of wood that was used to prop open the door, and began to beat him. He shut the door, so we couldn´t see, but we could hear. We left as soon as we could, and I just wanted to sit down and cry. But apparently this form of discipline is the most common form in Perú, and Hna Z couldn´t understand why I was so worked up about it. I think it´s because I´m from a home where my father hardly ever raises his voice, and never ever raises his hand. It was really sad, but it helped me appreciate what I´ve got.

I love you all, I´m happy, and healthy, and I´m going to try and send another letter this week. Be patient with me! :)

Hna Leavitt