May 16, 2011
Dear Family,
Well, guess where I am? Haha, I am in Kaunas again! I got transferred again! Oh my goodness... It's a good thing I am so easy going. :) I have been moved so much on my mission. More than all the other missionaries that I know. But I really like Kaunas and am really happy to be serving here again. I think Vilnius will always be my city, but Kaunas is close behind it. I am serving in a different area, so that is good. I was in the center area before, but I am now in the north area serving with Elder Hilton. He is a way awesome guy and I am really happy to be serving with him. He is from Idaho Falls and came out three months after I did. He is super mellow and way funny. He also snores like none other, but I'm so tired after the day that I just fall asleep. He always offers his companions’ ear plugs because it's that bad... :) And it is a constant all night thing that is super loud. But I don't need them. Haha, he is really funny about it. He's great. Elder Whicker became a trainer, so that is cool. I miss Vilnius and all the stuff that was going on there, but its fun here in Kaunas. I don't know what happened to Vida... I will call Elder Whicker some time. Last week we were trying to get a hold of her and some of the members too but he phone was disconnected. So, some members went to go visit her and so did we at a different time, but she didn't answer. We asked her neighbors and they said they thought she was in the hospital. We were way worried, so I hope that Elder Whicker figures it out. I'll let you know what I hear. When President Dance called to tell Elder Whicker that he would be training, he asked to talk to me too, which is kind of weird. So he told me that he needed me to go back to Kaunas to serve with Elder Hilton (which is also weird because usually the Zone Leaders call the District leaders and then the call the rest of the missionaries, so it was weird that President Dance called me directly). But he also asked me to do something for him. He told me that I was already a good speaker of the language; but that this transfer he wanted me to really work as hard as I could to become an amazing speaker of the language because at the end of these six weeks he needs my help in a leadership position. I figure as district leader here again, but who knows. But It was a pretty direct assignment that he wants me to do this transfer, and I am more than willing to do it. I will try my hardest! I just thought that was interesting. Kaunas looks so much different in the spring and summer! I am so happy to be here right now because it is almost like a different place with how green it is. It's so pretty! It was so sad and depressing here in the winter... That's how it is anywhere here I think, but I am glad that it is so much nicer. The weather has been really nice here too. Pretty rainy, but that's normal. Elder Hilton and I actually got a baptismal date over the weekend! Elder Hilton and Sherman were working with this way cool guy named Tadas and so I just replaced Elder Sherman. He is 20 right now and a way cool guy. They had talked to him about baptism a few days before I got here, but he came to the lesson I was in a few days later and suggested a date to be baptized himself. He is way solid and he even came to district conference yesterday! That was really good by the way. It was great to see all of the members in Lithuania and President Dance gave a really good talk on families. Anyways, Tadas is way prepared but he might have some troubles because he is living with his girlfriend. We talked to him about the law of chastity yesterday and that came up. He wants to do the right thing, but it will be hard because his girlfriend is dependent on him and has nowhere else to go. And marriage is kind of a far way off. But I have faith that the Lord will work it out. We just have to pray our hearts out that it will all work out! I'm really excited to work with him though. Oh, our apartment that we are living in is way nice too! That's really sweet.
Hmm... what else about this week. This morning we had a special district meeting and President Dance was leading it. It was sweet to learn from him. We talked about teaching from the scriptures and about planning for teaching appointments. It was good. It's amazing to me how much I have learned since I came out here. I am still the same person I guess, but I have become a lot better of a person too and I have learned a lot. I finally feel like I know what I am doing as a missionary. Though there are still some really hard times, like leaving Vilnius AGAIN and the everyday hard things, I feel more at ease about it all. God has really helped me to grow and get used to things. Anyways, that was my week. Oh and I had to go get my new living permit back in Vilnius the day after I left and I got to ride one of those fast, way nice Euro trains. It was sweet!
I really wish that I could have been there to hear the choir sing in the tabernacle. That would have been sweet. I really miss singing in that choir. I learned a lot in that choir and my testimony was strengthened so much there. I'm really grateful and I think it is such a good thing that they are doing. I hope that your last few weeks go well with school. It is so crazy that Rachel is graduating and that everyone is getting so old. Good luck! Good luck with everything this week! I love you!
Love Elder Leishman
P.S. It sounds like the cougs are doing great! Thanks for the update, dad. Go cougs!
