Monday, June 16, 2014

June 16, 2014 "Solutions for the rough patches in life"


Well I finally get a little break in the work to write home to you all! I love it here, but don't worry I love you all as well! This week I had an interesting learning that is more for the future but it is
an exciting one that I can't wait to apply. Scripture study and prayer with the spouse. You may say wow that's pretty cool to learn or you may say that I am weird and ask what the heck are you learning down there in Arizona. Yes I know that I am only 20 and that this kind of thinking is way out in the future but I learned it from an older couple we went to visit this week. The husband was Ron and the wife is Linda. Ron just found out a day earlier that he has cancer again and got pretty devastated about it. It lead to an argument with him and his wife and now he expresses that he thinks they are going to separate. It was really sad to hear about and I don't know all that was going on but the spirit taught me that yes there are rough patches in all relationships and some can't really be prevented but they can be overcome. Daily scripture study and prayer with a spouse helps unify and strengthen each side of the relationship and helps each other express thoughts and concerns in a loving manner where the goal is to come closer to God. In that atmosphere I feel ALL can be accomplished. But that is why I have to wait because I don't know much about that kind of relationship so I will put it in the back out my mind to bring up in the future.

We helped this family called the Hamblin's move out of their home and put their stuff in the neighbors garage as they were being evicted. They were given 3 hours to get all of their stuff out and clean the place. With those demands they became angry and soon cops pulled up and this big commotion started. I feel it first started with the family wanting to live outside of their means which brought debt. That lead to trying to cover up mistakes in the easy form which would seem all nice and daisy like at the beginning but late would bite you in the butt. I thought of it in a different way. When we live the commandments that God instructs us in it helps us learn and be prepared for future endeavors as well and we have his promised blessings too. When we don't keep the commandments we often try to cover the problems with self-doubt, justifying, pride or other types of avenues. But it doesn't take care of the issue. When justice comes and debt is demanded everything starts coming down. As it may seem hard at times, keeping the commandments helps prevents troubles down the road.

This is probably a weird email to you all but here is another life lesson I had learned this week. There is a family of recently baptized members of the church that are from Deli India. They have a son that
is 2 yrs old and has autism. In India their child would be looked down upon and thought of as explained to me "below livestock and unfit for society." Here in America we feel otherwise for the most part. Their son is awesome, happy, loud, loving, and wanting to be on the go. It helped me understand that though there may be an imperfection in the child and he may not be completely there, he is at least their son and here in earth for a specific and special purpose. He is young and has so much more in front of him and not to limit an individual right at the beginning.

On Saturday one of the missionaries that I live with got sick and needed to stay home for part of the day so my companion and their companion went out and I stayed at home while Elder Barrus slept. So I got to catch up with journal writing and cleaning of the house. It was great.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Father's Day yesterday! Thanks Dad for all that you do and the love you show towards me. You are a magnificent example to me and I love you!

Love Elder Leonhardt

                                              Elder Barrus, Elder Empey, Elder Murdock
                                       Backsides of  Elder Wainwright, Elder Lower, Elder James

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