A couple videos for you...
lots of snow!
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Monday, April 27, 2015
"Spiritually Uplifting Challenge"
To the parents of Elder Nathan Craig...
Dear Brother and Sister Craig,
As you are probably aware Sister Leavitt and I will be released from our mission at the end of June this year. The three years have literally flown by and we will be sad to be saying goodbye to our beloved missionaries, members and non members in Atlantic Canada. The new Mission President will be President Pratt from Orlando Florida. We have had some communication with him and Sister Pratt and we are confident that the area and the missionaries are in good hands.
As you are aware we have had a pretty serious winter. High winds,, lots of snow, cold temperatures and the odd day of sunshine. I have personally declared my independence from the weather but it does affect the work. In many of our units church as been canceled about half the time.. The missionaries ability to travel around, talk to people and knock on doors is greatly hampered when there is a blizzard going on.
In spite of it all the faithful missionareis just press on. They shovel driveways, they shovel sidewalks, they shovel decks and on occcasion they even shovel off roofs. Our motto is that we cannot be stopped.
In this last six weeks we have had a series of 3 one day leadership meetings helping the leaders be prepared for the arrival of the new Mission President. The session have been wonderful opportunities for the mission leaders to improve their leadership, finding, teaching and organizational skills.
In order to help strengthen their testimonies and ability to teach from the Book of Mormon, our missionaries will be reading the whole Book of Mormon in the upcoming transfer. I find that many of the missionaries have studied parts of the Book of Mormon. They have read the whole book but often it has been over an extended period of time and it is hard for them to get the whole story.
In January of 2014 we invited the missionaries to read the Book of Mormon during that month. and it proved to be a wonderful experience for them. At that time we invited the parents of the missionareis to join us in this activity.
Many parents did so and I often got reports from them of what a neat experience it was to read the Book of Mormon at the same time as their missionary sons and daughters. Some of the parents got into it so much they felt they needed to send me emails reporting on their progress.
We invite each of you to join us in the spiritually uplifting challenge. The transfer starts this coming Monday and ends on June 7. It is 42 days and will require us to read 12 pages per day.
Sister Leavitt and I are going to have our first mission reunion prior to this years general conference. We will have one in Salt Lake City the Friday before conference and one in Calgary Canada on the Saturday before general conference.
I would invite any of you who might want to attend to do so. We will have some food and show some slides and video's of the mission. As well we will probably have a fun program with some of our talented musical missionaries performing.
We have felt so blessed to have had this opportunity to serve.. More than anything else it has been fun. We love the missionaries and we love the Lord. It is a joy to be in his service. Thank you so much for all that you have done and continue to do to support your young missionary son or daughter. They are precious souls.
Of course we will bump into each other over the coming years.....the church really is very small and we look forward to those opportunities.
With Warmest personal regards,
President Brian D. Leavitt
Dear Brother and Sister Craig,
As you are probably aware Sister Leavitt and I will be released from our mission at the end of June this year. The three years have literally flown by and we will be sad to be saying goodbye to our beloved missionaries, members and non members in Atlantic Canada. The new Mission President will be President Pratt from Orlando Florida. We have had some communication with him and Sister Pratt and we are confident that the area and the missionaries are in good hands.
As you are aware we have had a pretty serious winter. High winds,, lots of snow, cold temperatures and the odd day of sunshine. I have personally declared my independence from the weather but it does affect the work. In many of our units church as been canceled about half the time.. The missionaries ability to travel around, talk to people and knock on doors is greatly hampered when there is a blizzard going on.
In spite of it all the faithful missionareis just press on. They shovel driveways, they shovel sidewalks, they shovel decks and on occcasion they even shovel off roofs. Our motto is that we cannot be stopped.
In this last six weeks we have had a series of 3 one day leadership meetings helping the leaders be prepared for the arrival of the new Mission President. The session have been wonderful opportunities for the mission leaders to improve their leadership, finding, teaching and organizational skills.
In order to help strengthen their testimonies and ability to teach from the Book of Mormon, our missionaries will be reading the whole Book of Mormon in the upcoming transfer. I find that many of the missionaries have studied parts of the Book of Mormon. They have read the whole book but often it has been over an extended period of time and it is hard for them to get the whole story.
In January of 2014 we invited the missionaries to read the Book of Mormon during that month. and it proved to be a wonderful experience for them. At that time we invited the parents of the missionareis to join us in this activity.
Many parents did so and I often got reports from them of what a neat experience it was to read the Book of Mormon at the same time as their missionary sons and daughters. Some of the parents got into it so much they felt they needed to send me emails reporting on their progress.
We invite each of you to join us in the spiritually uplifting challenge. The transfer starts this coming Monday and ends on June 7. It is 42 days and will require us to read 12 pages per day.
Sister Leavitt and I are going to have our first mission reunion prior to this years general conference. We will have one in Salt Lake City the Friday before conference and one in Calgary Canada on the Saturday before general conference.
I would invite any of you who might want to attend to do so. We will have some food and show some slides and video's of the mission. As well we will probably have a fun program with some of our talented musical missionaries performing.
We have felt so blessed to have had this opportunity to serve.. More than anything else it has been fun. We love the missionaries and we love the Lord. It is a joy to be in his service. Thank you so much for all that you have done and continue to do to support your young missionary son or daughter. They are precious souls.
Of course we will bump into each other over the coming years.....the church really is very small and we look forward to those opportunities.
With Warmest personal regards,
President Brian D. Leavitt
Monday, April 20, 2015
"Hour of Power"
Boy has this week blown by! Actually, come to think of it, this transfer has blown by. It's unbelievable to me that I've already been in Amherst for s-i-x weeks! I just learned that Elder Woodbury and I will remain here in Amherst for another transfer. This is great news! We have been having tons of fun and doing a lot of work.
This area has a small branch, so we get to help keep things organized and take care of the members. I have to give my cousin Elder Spencer Wilkins (serving in the Birmingham, Alabama Mission) a SHOUT OUT!!! My companion and I, as well as the sister missionaries here did the "Hour of Power". Here is part of my cousins weekly update from last week:
"This week we headed off what we call the "hour of power". Basically its an hour where the entire mission is finding and being bold. We chose the hours of 5-6pm and during the hour of power this week over 1500 baptismal invites were extended. It was powerful to be a part of this because its something we were doing as a mission."
As we have implemented this, we've seen great success and have found some great people to teach. It's A-W-E-S-O-M-E! Thanks again SPENCER! I can't believe your mission is almost complete and you are heading home next month! Time flies out here!!!
I am grateful for all that you guys do! A handful of you out there must be praying on our behalf; I can feel it! I appreciate this as it truly makes a difference!
Love,
Elder Craig
This area has a small branch, so we get to help keep things organized and take care of the members. I have to give my cousin Elder Spencer Wilkins (serving in the Birmingham, Alabama Mission) a SHOUT OUT!!! My companion and I, as well as the sister missionaries here did the "Hour of Power". Here is part of my cousins weekly update from last week:
"This week we headed off what we call the "hour of power". Basically its an hour where the entire mission is finding and being bold. We chose the hours of 5-6pm and during the hour of power this week over 1500 baptismal invites were extended. It was powerful to be a part of this because its something we were doing as a mission."
As we have implemented this, we've seen great success and have found some great people to teach. It's A-W-E-S-O-M-E! Thanks again SPENCER! I can't believe your mission is almost complete and you are heading home next month! Time flies out here!!!
I am grateful for all that you guys do! A handful of you out there must be praying on our behalf; I can feel it! I appreciate this as it truly makes a difference!
Love,
Elder Craig
Monday, April 13, 2015
Baptisms and B-day Wishes
Hey everybody! I hope each of you are doing well! I don't have much time, but know that things are going great! Amherst is running smoothly. We had three baptisms on Easter Sunday! All three people that were baptized also got confirmed and it was spectacular.
A big THANK YOU to everyone who sent birthday wishes my way! I really appreciated hearing from the Dennis Brady family, Aunt Marca, G-ma and Pops!!!
Mom, Dad, Wesley, Dawson, Breeley, and Britley thank you for the bomb package and cards. I loved it! Breeley, you wrote me the most incredible letter I have EVER read. Thank you and I'll treasure it!
Thanks for the picture on my birthday! I felt loved!
I got the package! THANK YOU!
Monday, March 30, 2015
5th Rung Companionship
Well, this week whizzed by incredibly
fast! We tore it up and it was so much fun. I’m certain there are bags under my eyes; I’m pretty tired! Over all we got 31 key indicators this
week. Did I already mention how
fun it’s been?
We are still on track for a few baptisms
and we are consistently finding people to teach! Things are going great! Currently we
have five investigators. Each is working through their various challenges,
making specific goals, and working to stay committed.
Here’s what’s going on April 5th … We have baptisms, the sister missionaries have a baptism, it’s Easter Sunday, it’s General Conference, and it’s my Birthday. Sounds like a good day to me! :)
Here in Amherst the sisters have been doing a game or movie night every Friday night. They usually alternate activities each week. Last Friday night we left the activity, leaving the sisters in charge, after getting a call from one of the members asking if we could “help him shovel a hole in the snow”. We didn’t hesitate and headed right over. His sewage tank had backed up so we ended up bailing sewage water that had filled up in the bathtub and trekking it through the snow into a hole (the hole we were asked to dig) away from their home. It didn’t smell to good, but it’s always nice to serve!
Oh man, we have shoveled soooo much snow this week. Luckily for the last few days it’s been pretty warm. When I say warm I mean in the 30’s. This is great because it’s usually in the teens. We ended up shoveling snow off one guys roof on our p-day for four hours. That’s the most snow I’ve shoveled at one time. It was a lot of snow! I’m starting to get ripped. Ok, not really, but this service work is keeping me slim. :)
Due to the snowstorms recently, Sunday was our first official sacrament meeting in our new area. My companion and I blessed the sacrament and the Elders Quorum President passed the sacrament. I was sitting on the stand. There were five missionaries and 21 people were in attendance. The sister missionaries taught gospel doctrine and we were asked to come up with a lesson for the combined third hour. It’s pretty cool when you are put in a situation where you trust in the Lord and let the Spirit teach.
It’s nice having a companion that values work and know how to get
things done. This transfer has been a blessing.
There is no question that the Lords hand is completely involved! One thing
my companion and I had decided at the beginning of our companionship was that
we would be a 5th Rung companionship. There was a General Authority that
came through the mission several months ago. He taught something he referred to
as "The Ladder of Faith". Picture a ladder with 5 rungs on it. Each rung
represents a LEVEL of faith that one could exercise.
Level 1: I
can't do this; goes home.
Level 2: I
can do this(going through the motions=surviving)somewhat disobedient.
Level 3: I
can do this by myself; Lack of prayer. Leaning to thy own understanding (needs
numbers) pride.
Level 4: I
can do this with the Lords help; trust that the Lord will help you.
Level 5: Asks…
Lord what do you want done? How can I help the Lord?
This has been
our focus. It is practically impossible to stay at the 5th rung, but as our intention is to be
"perfect" we can be entrusted with adding in accomplishing HIS work
and IT IS THE LORD’S WORK! I love this Gospel! It’s so cool!
I get to go to the temple this week, which is beyond exciting. We will leave at 5am to make the drive.
SWEEEET!
Wes, get pumped for the temple; you will be going through soon! It’s awesome!
I’ve gained an even greater respect for it while being on my mission. You have the opportunity to think about
specific things as you are teaching people. You learn so much! You should be getting close to sending
your papers off! That is dope! It will be fun to see where you are going. I can’t wait! If you have any
questions, I’m here for you!
Bree I got the video of you singing. You did good job!
I’ve listened to it a few times and I appreciate getting that!
Well my companion and I have some awesome plans for this week, which
will have some great results! Good
things are happening! I get to go
to the temple (already said that I know, but it's exciting) and I get to continue to be a missionary! Life can’t get any
better!
Remember… ALL things are possible with the Lord!
Love,
Elder Craig
Monday, March 23, 2015
Blanket of Snow
It has been another good week! Last Sunday and Monday we got a ton of snow! We spent most of the day helping people clear a path from their front door to the street. Let me help try and paint a visual for you...People have a blanket of about 5-9 ft. of snow laying across their front lawns!
Funny story: We thought it would be nice to go to one of the members homes who were out of town and surprise them by shoveling and clearing a pathway for them. As we approached their home, to our surprise we noticed that they had come back from their trip early; they were out digging/shoveling a pathway to their back door. I ran up and politely asked the homeowner to stand to the side, assuring her that my companion and I would complete the task. Well, as my companion started walking toward us, he kept falling into the snow. The home owner said, while pointing in the near distance, "Walk to the right and you will find the snow MUCH more packed!" My companion anxiously followed the recommendation! The homeowner then said, "Well now you are standing on my car." ha ha!!! Her car had about 2.5 - 3 feet of snow on the top of it and we had no idea there was even a car there! Crazy! We both had a good laugh about that one.
We have been having a blast just getting to know the area, the people of the branch, and the non members. We have a few awesome people that we are teaching and three baptisms coming up. Things are looking good and the fuse has been lit! :)
My Mission President has recently created a "Leadership Meeting". He has created it for all the leaders of the mission. The first one was held on Tuesday and it was awesome! I learned so much about leadership (Mom, I'll send you my notes)! On our way back home from the meeting one of the other Elders had put in the wrong GPS coordinates and we ended up in Dartmouth Nova Scotia which is the opposite way of Amherst! Needless to say... we got home reeeaaallly late! We won't mention the Elder who was responsible for that one. hahahha
Love you all and you can contact my folks for my new address. I'm now serving in Amherst Nova Scotia
Love,
Elder Craig
Thursday, March 19, 2015
To Elder Craig's parents...
Dear Brother and Sister Craig,
Just a short note to inform you that your son was recently called to serve as the second counsellor, in the Amherst Branch, in the New Brunswick East Zone of the Canada Halifax Mission. We are pleased that he has prepared himself and is willing to accept this call. Leadership in the mission is very significant and can make such a difference in the life of the leader and those whom he leads.
We are grateful for his dedication and service. We are also thankful for the sacrifices you have made and are making so that it is possible for Elder Craig to serve the Lord in this part of His vineyard. Elder Craig has a strong testimony and is a devoted missionary who loves the Lord and this great work. We pray for the Lord's continued blessings on your family.
Sincerely,President Brian D. Leavitt
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