November 6, 2010
Dear Family!,
It was, as always, WONDERFUL to hear from you :)! It sounds like things are both good and bad, good because it sounds like all there in Sac is well and that you and Danielle are being able to have some quality time together but tough with grandma - please send some love to dad and also to grandma!
Send congrats to Lauri, that is great!
As far as things here – they are good and bad, Elder Johnson is leaving Kortrijk, Belgium, :( i love him! We had a great run, but anyhow I will be staying here and I will be companions with Elder Kramer, I’ve heard a lot of good things about him so it will be great!!! The work, well, we will probably have three baptisms this transfer so that is awesome. Adrianna is coming this Sunday for sure! And then Sabrina will come very soon - she is having some stress with whether or not she will be able to stay here in Belgium with immigration and all so she should be baptized shortly, but we will see; then last, but not least Audrienna an old french lady about 70 or so, and she is very sweet, a little tough to communicate with, but she wants to be baptized so we should get her in the water this transfer as well! Great stuff! I love you very much, you too Danielle! BTW I’m waiting on a response boo boo :) i hope you have a great week and I’ll probably write some time this week! Until then,
Love Always,
Elder Leash
Ryan's Entire Mission
ryan is in the far right corner
Ryan at a Zone Conference...
Ryan and President Brubaker
eating raw fish -- eeewww
Ryan at temple - day before MTC drop off
handsome guy!
Ryan and President Smith
getting set apart as a missionary
Friday, November 12, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
September news from Kortrijk, Belgium
September 20, 2010
Hello there family and friends,
Boo Boo, I saw your picture with John Bytheway – cool. That’s cool…did you get to talk to him at all? I heard you had a great time at EFY, but no details – how was it? How is school going? What classes are you taking? Are you feeling overwhelmed yet? Junior year can be tough but I know you’ll do great? What is new with boys? Any dates recently? How about the license? Will that happen anywhere in the next couple of years? What are you studying in the scriptures – in seminary? I would kill to be able to get back and re-do seminary! Mark up those scriptures eh! Are you, mom and dad hitting the gym? What is up with the gym? Is Ian still stopping by and eating a lot?
Well, here is what is going on here. Elder Johnson is a very funny guy! He is definitely a ‘country bumpkin’ l.o.l. he is a goofy guy in my opinion and he thinks he is a good dancer. When he thinks I am not looking he will “bust a move” it’s very entertaining. He reminds me of Mitch Thackeray – big buy. He thinks Danielle is pretty judging by the family pictures.
The city is beautiful here in Kortrijk, Belgium. It is wonderful! We see miracles every day! The branch here is tiny but lively at the same time. We probably have as many kids under 10 as we do adults over 20~ Lots of babies! It is your dream ward Danielle. They speak Flams here which is another dialect. It sounds a lot like French, just that they are using Dutch vocabulary; it is tough to follow. There is oh so much history here! The awesome cobblestone roads are everywhere. You hardly ever see a house built out of wood anymore – they are all brick. There are a lot of cars everywhere and this country was not built for cars, but somehow they manage to squeeze around all the buildings etc. It is scary though. It be honest the people are not as open here; I try to ‘speed talk’ through all of my contacts so they don’t have a chance to tell me they don’t believe in anything, or that they are Catholic; definitely two of their favorite responses “well…I’m Catholic soooo…” and then I don’t believe in God. I ask, “do you believe in your family…?” Them “no” oh “do you believe in yourself at least?” at which point the answer is pretty much 50/50 yes or no, it’s kind of sad to be honest.
The, you get the foreigners who say ‘yes’ to almost everything! I love them!!! There are a lot of African immigrants here! They are wonderful! What we hear from them is “Yes, I love Jesus Christ!” This is a wonderful area, I love it!
Now, a little bit about me. Yesterday was church and we miraculously had 5 (wow!) investigators in church, but in spite of this there was just one thing missing…our Branch President. Turns out that he was in a bike race. The church in Europe at its best…no really the church is good here! Because the Branch President wasn’t there things were not organized at all and we had to scramble to pick up the pieces, my companion and I ended up teaching the Young Men class, teaching our investigator class and then giving literally last minute talks in Sacramento meeting, crazy to say the least. It was good though. I spoke about how the Lord blesses us so abundantly and His hands are in our lives in so many ways and yet we are often caught in our ‘worldly cycle’ and don’t notice the blessings. I also talked about how we have to do our part to be worthy of these blessings as well. I shared D&C 130:20, 21. Then I gave a very long testimony …my companion helped out as well too.
I love my mission, I love the scriptures, I love my Father in Heaven, I love you too! Can’t wait to hear from you!
Elder Ryan Leash
Hello there family and friends,
Boo Boo, I saw your picture with John Bytheway – cool. That’s cool…did you get to talk to him at all? I heard you had a great time at EFY, but no details – how was it? How is school going? What classes are you taking? Are you feeling overwhelmed yet? Junior year can be tough but I know you’ll do great? What is new with boys? Any dates recently? How about the license? Will that happen anywhere in the next couple of years? What are you studying in the scriptures – in seminary? I would kill to be able to get back and re-do seminary! Mark up those scriptures eh! Are you, mom and dad hitting the gym? What is up with the gym? Is Ian still stopping by and eating a lot?
Well, here is what is going on here. Elder Johnson is a very funny guy! He is definitely a ‘country bumpkin’ l.o.l. he is a goofy guy in my opinion and he thinks he is a good dancer. When he thinks I am not looking he will “bust a move” it’s very entertaining. He reminds me of Mitch Thackeray – big buy. He thinks Danielle is pretty judging by the family pictures.
The city is beautiful here in Kortrijk, Belgium. It is wonderful! We see miracles every day! The branch here is tiny but lively at the same time. We probably have as many kids under 10 as we do adults over 20~ Lots of babies! It is your dream ward Danielle. They speak Flams here which is another dialect. It sounds a lot like French, just that they are using Dutch vocabulary; it is tough to follow. There is oh so much history here! The awesome cobblestone roads are everywhere. You hardly ever see a house built out of wood anymore – they are all brick. There are a lot of cars everywhere and this country was not built for cars, but somehow they manage to squeeze around all the buildings etc. It is scary though. It be honest the people are not as open here; I try to ‘speed talk’ through all of my contacts so they don’t have a chance to tell me they don’t believe in anything, or that they are Catholic; definitely two of their favorite responses “well…I’m Catholic soooo…” and then I don’t believe in God. I ask, “do you believe in your family…?” Them “no” oh “do you believe in yourself at least?” at which point the answer is pretty much 50/50 yes or no, it’s kind of sad to be honest.
The, you get the foreigners who say ‘yes’ to almost everything! I love them!!! There are a lot of African immigrants here! They are wonderful! What we hear from them is “Yes, I love Jesus Christ!” This is a wonderful area, I love it!
Now, a little bit about me. Yesterday was church and we miraculously had 5 (wow!) investigators in church, but in spite of this there was just one thing missing…our Branch President. Turns out that he was in a bike race. The church in Europe at its best…no really the church is good here! Because the Branch President wasn’t there things were not organized at all and we had to scramble to pick up the pieces, my companion and I ended up teaching the Young Men class, teaching our investigator class and then giving literally last minute talks in Sacramento meeting, crazy to say the least. It was good though. I spoke about how the Lord blesses us so abundantly and His hands are in our lives in so many ways and yet we are often caught in our ‘worldly cycle’ and don’t notice the blessings. I also talked about how we have to do our part to be worthy of these blessings as well. I shared D&C 130:20, 21. Then I gave a very long testimony …my companion helped out as well too.
I love my mission, I love the scriptures, I love my Father in Heaven, I love you too! Can’t wait to hear from you!
Elder Ryan Leash
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Birthdays in Belgium
August 30, 2010
It’s official; I’m out of my teens – I’ve got to step up my game now I guess. Well, I am sorry I was a little short in my email lately, but with transfers and a birthday…I had a great birthday; one of the members who is from the Congo actually had his birthday on the same day and I did and he had a birthday party and invited us over. We had a good time, the food was interesting…we had ‘foo foo’ a pasty material l.o.l. like mashed potatoes that you eat with your hands, actually you eat everything with your hands. It was o.k. I got to the point where I was full and they brought me out another plate of equal size. Then, after dinner we played a little football with the kids and it was a miracle in and of itself that I was able to keep that food down!
Also, Haary, the older man from Eindhoven, called a few families in the ward here to let them know it was my birthday and they baked me a cake! I felt so spoiled. To top it off, the next day for church services the Branch President’s son was baptized and he invited a ton of friends and neighbors, it was awesome! I got two phone numbers and a D.A. out of it! They all seem very positive also! What a great birthday!!!!!!!
Now, about transfers, I was a little depressed and somewhat excited all at once. Eventually, just a little sad. Harry took me to the train station to see me off, walked me to the train, tucked me in and what not and as the strain started rolling away he pulled out a white handkerchief and started waving it and running (as fast as an 80 year old man can) along the train and by this point I am balling my eyes out and he is crying too…definitely a ‘Kodak moment’ I love that man!!!!!!!
In other news, I think that two or three of the people that I taught there in Eindhoven will get baptized at some point. I will keep you posted, but just being a part of that was an amazing experience!
Kortrijk Belgium – well, there is no Haary so there is no car, we bike everywhere! It’s good though. I think I told you most everything about the area, South Belgium, not very many investigators (our work is cut out for us), very nice ward. Hmmm Flams (Flemish) is very tough but I’ll get used to it. Anyhow let me know what is going on there. Danielle are you excited to be 16? Any dates yet? Remember to make room for Heavenly Father! How is scripture study for everyone? Any missionary experiences? What is the weather like? We have a ton of rain.
I love you three sooooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yours in the gospel,
Ryan
p.s. I should tell you about one other thing that was really special. The Sunday after my birthday, my mission President came and visited our branch and after church he and his wife came and pulled me aside and make a big production of singing Happy Birthday to me! I thought I’d share that – it was really special to me!!!
Much Love,
Elder Ryan
p.s.s. I look forward to hearing from all of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s official; I’m out of my teens – I’ve got to step up my game now I guess. Well, I am sorry I was a little short in my email lately, but with transfers and a birthday…I had a great birthday; one of the members who is from the Congo actually had his birthday on the same day and I did and he had a birthday party and invited us over. We had a good time, the food was interesting…we had ‘foo foo’ a pasty material l.o.l. like mashed potatoes that you eat with your hands, actually you eat everything with your hands. It was o.k. I got to the point where I was full and they brought me out another plate of equal size. Then, after dinner we played a little football with the kids and it was a miracle in and of itself that I was able to keep that food down!
Also, Haary, the older man from Eindhoven, called a few families in the ward here to let them know it was my birthday and they baked me a cake! I felt so spoiled. To top it off, the next day for church services the Branch President’s son was baptized and he invited a ton of friends and neighbors, it was awesome! I got two phone numbers and a D.A. out of it! They all seem very positive also! What a great birthday!!!!!!!
Now, about transfers, I was a little depressed and somewhat excited all at once. Eventually, just a little sad. Harry took me to the train station to see me off, walked me to the train, tucked me in and what not and as the strain started rolling away he pulled out a white handkerchief and started waving it and running (as fast as an 80 year old man can) along the train and by this point I am balling my eyes out and he is crying too…definitely a ‘Kodak moment’ I love that man!!!!!!!
In other news, I think that two or three of the people that I taught there in Eindhoven will get baptized at some point. I will keep you posted, but just being a part of that was an amazing experience!
Kortrijk Belgium – well, there is no Haary so there is no car, we bike everywhere! It’s good though. I think I told you most everything about the area, South Belgium, not very many investigators (our work is cut out for us), very nice ward. Hmmm Flams (Flemish) is very tough but I’ll get used to it. Anyhow let me know what is going on there. Danielle are you excited to be 16? Any dates yet? Remember to make room for Heavenly Father! How is scripture study for everyone? Any missionary experiences? What is the weather like? We have a ton of rain.
I love you three sooooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yours in the gospel,
Ryan
p.s. I should tell you about one other thing that was really special. The Sunday after my birthday, my mission President came and visited our branch and after church he and his wife came and pulled me aside and make a big production of singing Happy Birthday to me! I thought I’d share that – it was really special to me!!!
Much Love,
Elder Ryan
p.s.s. I look forward to hearing from all of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
August 17, 2010
Mom and Fam,
First off ive got some BIG news! But that will have wait, mom, im very sorry that you had to go through so much trouble to get me that pic! Im not sure if i said that or not but it did not have to be that specific picture, just a family wallet pic.....i feel...really... bad you had to go through so much trouble to get it off the thumb drive! Also about the pants etc. i too thought that it would be super expensive to mail things like that but another elder here mentioned to me that he had just got some new pants from his fam back home so i knda assumed that it would not be that bad, anyways it is completley neccesary that i get a new pair of pants i will make due just fine with the ones i have it just was a thought. Dont worry about teaching aid bookmarks, shirts or ANYTHING else, both were also just thoughts as well! Im very sorry you have been having to go through so much trouble! lol please dont buy, or send ANYTHING :).
Well now onto the BIG NEWS: TRANFERS!!!!
I am getting transfered to...............Kortrijk! lol Now you are asking yourself what the significance of this area will be; Kortrijk is the furthest south this mission goes! I will be as close to France as will ever be possible for the next two years! Its so close that what i have heard is the the church was either in France itself or that the ward there has alot of ppl from France come up for church services! Point being that it is very close! It is almost a surety thati will get into France at some point! I am a little nervous because i have heard a little bit of Flams by now and it is VERY different! I could not understand anything! lol, time for me to learn another language, Flams and also a little French for that matter! i will be companions with Elder Johnson who has been out over a year now so he will be the senior comp ofcourse. Lol life, just when you feel like you have things more or less figured out, you get something new thrown at you :) such fun!
The next piece of news which was kind of eclipse by your having L tom perry at st conference lol; we will be having Quintin L Cook coming to our mission in the very beggining of september! I am very excited!...... well those are the highlights, oh one more we have several ppl who have had baptismal dates namely; Cliff, Caroline, Ramses, Antoine very soon, Inti soon etc. but Ramses is getting VERY close, he hasnt smoked or blown in almost a month now and has been taught just about everything! I am just bummed i will not be here for that one :(. What else......i think ive hit just about all the high points oh one other thing. Latley we have been taking more interest in others and their beliefs which has been very enlightening because of the fact that i have not ever really been to another church service before! In the last two weeks we have been to the Jehovas Witness, a mosque, and to a Catholic mass was our latest visit; it is so very interesting to see what others belief and to see it from their perspective and what a blessing it is to have modern day revelation! I ofcourse just wish they could see things from our perspective and know what we know lol,well id better get going, i love you three very very much and hope all is going great!
love ryan
First off ive got some BIG news! But that will have wait, mom, im very sorry that you had to go through so much trouble to get me that pic! Im not sure if i said that or not but it did not have to be that specific picture, just a family wallet pic.....i feel...really... bad you had to go through so much trouble to get it off the thumb drive! Also about the pants etc. i too thought that it would be super expensive to mail things like that but another elder here mentioned to me that he had just got some new pants from his fam back home so i knda assumed that it would not be that bad, anyways it is completley neccesary that i get a new pair of pants i will make due just fine with the ones i have it just was a thought. Dont worry about teaching aid bookmarks, shirts or ANYTHING else, both were also just thoughts as well! Im very sorry you have been having to go through so much trouble! lol please dont buy, or send ANYTHING :).
Well now onto the BIG NEWS: TRANFERS!!!!
I am getting transfered to...............Kortrijk! lol Now you are asking yourself what the significance of this area will be; Kortrijk is the furthest south this mission goes! I will be as close to France as will ever be possible for the next two years! Its so close that what i have heard is the the church was either in France itself or that the ward there has alot of ppl from France come up for church services! Point being that it is very close! It is almost a surety thati will get into France at some point! I am a little nervous because i have heard a little bit of Flams by now and it is VERY different! I could not understand anything! lol, time for me to learn another language, Flams and also a little French for that matter! i will be companions with Elder Johnson who has been out over a year now so he will be the senior comp ofcourse. Lol life, just when you feel like you have things more or less figured out, you get something new thrown at you :) such fun!
The next piece of news which was kind of eclipse by your having L tom perry at st conference lol; we will be having Quintin L Cook coming to our mission in the very beggining of september! I am very excited!...... well those are the highlights, oh one more we have several ppl who have had baptismal dates namely; Cliff, Caroline, Ramses, Antoine very soon, Inti soon etc. but Ramses is getting VERY close, he hasnt smoked or blown in almost a month now and has been taught just about everything! I am just bummed i will not be here for that one :(. What else......i think ive hit just about all the high points oh one other thing. Latley we have been taking more interest in others and their beliefs which has been very enlightening because of the fact that i have not ever really been to another church service before! In the last two weeks we have been to the Jehovas Witness, a mosque, and to a Catholic mass was our latest visit; it is so very interesting to see what others belief and to see it from their perspective and what a blessing it is to have modern day revelation! I ofcourse just wish they could see things from our perspective and know what we know lol,well id better get going, i love you three very very much and hope all is going great!
love ryan
note from Sister Brubaker
Dear Moneen,
We are so grateful your son is in our mission. He is doing really well. It is wonderful that we have two countries in our mission. They are so different from each other. He will enjoy serving in Belgium. it is a beautiful country.
Elder Leash's new address is:
Jan Persijnstraat 20/B3 bus 1
8500 Kortrijk
Belgium
He arrived in Kortrijk last Wednesday. We look forward to talking with Elder Leash on his birthday. It is our tradition that we call on the missionaries' birthday and sing Happy Birthday and let them know how happy we are that they are in our mission.
Thanks for letting us have your son for two years. We'll do our best to take good care of him.
We are so grateful your son is in our mission. He is doing really well. It is wonderful that we have two countries in our mission. They are so different from each other. He will enjoy serving in Belgium. it is a beautiful country.
Elder Leash's new address is:
Jan Persijnstraat 20/B3 bus 1
8500 Kortrijk
Belgium
He arrived in Kortrijk last Wednesday. We look forward to talking with Elder Leash on his birthday. It is our tradition that we call on the missionaries' birthday and sing Happy Birthday and let them know how happy we are that they are in our mission.
Thanks for letting us have your son for two years. We'll do our best to take good care of him.
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