June
3 2014
Hello
Family and Friends!
I
see Cactus of green, rocks of brown, and people too, its a big town,
and I think to myself What a wonderful world!
When
I often get down on a current situation or struggle I may be in I
soon find myself looking for not what is bad or wrong or frustrating
but switching that thinking to what is great, what is right, and what
makes me happy. We call it talking back to negative thoughts and it
helps a ton, not so much the actual talking to yourself because
that's weird....but its the switch of the mind from thoughts that
bring your spirit down to thoughts that are uplifting. We had a
situation where we were walking to a home of someone we didn't know
and on the way, there were some people making gestures and comments
that they have no time for the Lord. At first it hurt to see and hear
someone express that. We tried quickly to switch our thoughts to what
could be going well in their life, how could we help improve that or
help them sustain it? What can I do in the next 3 seconds to put a
smile on their face and help switch their focus? As we switched our
reaction we felt the negativity leave.
Last
night we were walking through a complex. We are in apartment
complexes a lot, going to see some people. We ran into this family
that was unloading their truck and moving in. We offered help and
they
responded
in a surprised way, "You serious? For real?" They were
shocked that someone had finally come to help as they had been doing
all the moving themselves all that day. Of course, they lived on the
3rd floor. As we helped them they expressed how much they appreciated
the help because they were getting very tired carrying everything.
One of the guys looked like he was a baller so I went over to talk to
him and see if he played anywhere. He said in high school he did a
little but not anymore because he is a recovering addict and is
trying to get his life in order. I asked what has helped him out in
making the change and he talked about his family. Being around them
and seeing them brings a refreshing feeling and renewal. We talked
about families and their importance and we think he would love to get
involved in Family History. The father of the family expressed that
he knew some people up in Utah as my companion is from there. They
talked about who they might know and mentioned a Bryan Russell. My
companion said he knew and is good friends with Bryan Russell. They
both talked about the famous Michael Jordan push off play for awhile.
It was a fun time and they want us to come back and talk about Jesus
Christ.
I
am getting transferred to a new area. Not sure where and I don't
really mind where I go but this I will say, it would be nice to go
north and get out of the heat. I am excited for change because it
brings many chances to change and to grow so I am looking forward to
what kind of personality my companion will have and how we will get a
long. Someone here once said you can get a good look at how well you
will get a long with your wife by how well you got along with all of
your companions.
Love Elder Leonhardt
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