May 28, 2012

Hello Everyone!    Greetings from Largo in St. Pete, Florida! I can't believe that I am saying that, but it’s true! I am here again! It is so weird!!! I love it though. I can't tell you all how loved I feel right now. I have been squeezed and kissed so many times that it’s a miracle my upper body is still intact. There have literally been tears shed (on both sides). I'm so happy to be home. I have not felt this loved in such a long time. Another huge plus is that I am in the greatest quadranionship (quad-companionship) of all time! We hug each other all the time, and actually TALK to each other. I love it.    I am serving with Sister Beck (yes, when I say both our names I feel really weird, "Hola, somos las Hermanas Beck y Levanger" ('y' means 'and' in Spanish) soooooooo funny!!!). She is way cool. She is from Alpine Utah and has only been out for a little while but spoke Spanish before leaving on her mission so was only in the MTC for three weeks. She is really excited about being in St. Pete- hey me too! The other companionship, which is basically our companionship right now too, is also awesome! Hermana Franc is from Saratoga Springs Utah. She was adopted from Bolivia though, so she looks like a native. Hermana Guerra is from Chile and speaks perfect Spanish. She got to the mission field the same day as I did, but she didn't go to the MTC so she will be going home in September. I have wanted to serve with her since the moment I met her. Dreams really do come true!    I know that right now we are on clean-up duty, and might be for the next five weeks as well. That is ok though. I know God has a purpose for me being here and that I will figure out what that is as we go. I am so grateful to be a missionary and to be at this wonderful point in my life. I am so thankful for the people I am surrounded by and the joy that I feel each day. I am so grateful for each and every one of you and for the love and support I feel from each of you. Thank you for being in my life. Love you All! Hermana Levanger

May 21, 2012

Hello Everyone!    I honestly cannot believe that I am writing what you are about to read. My fingers are moving and the words are coming on the screen, but I am still in denial. Ok, here it goes, I am happy to report that I will once again be serving in the Largo Spanish Branch in St. Petersburg, Florida! That's right, I'm going back for my last six weeks! This means that I will spend a total of 13 out of 16 months in that blessed place. Unfortunately, since I left there have been a number of problems and illnesses with missionaries in that area. President Summerhays and the Lord have decided to call me back there so that I can train three missionaries on the area, all of whom will be serving there for the first time, and all of whom are sister missionaries! I will be serving in a traditional two-person companionship with Hermana Beck (I love her just for her awesome name!) and will be serving and working very closely with another companionship of sisters Hermana Guerra (a native who I LOVE) and Hermana Franc. Hermanas Beck and Franc both came out recently, only three transfers each. Hermana Guerra came out with me, but didn't go to the MTC so she finishes her mission in September. I am soooo excited to work with these wonderful sisters for the last six weeks of my mission, what an honor.    I am a little sad to be leaving Naples, I will admit. I was asked to bear my testimony yesterday and it was sad to look out on those beautiful faces and know that we have so much love for each other after such a short time. I was truly humbled and honored in my service here and know that the area and I are both better for the experiences I have had here. We have worked so hard to help this ward recover, and I truly believe they are moving in the right direction now. The Lord has determined that an extra boost of the priesthood will be exactly what they need, so they will now have four Elders working here. I am very happy for them. I begged the ward members to work with the Elders and discover the true love and joy that is in this great work, I know they will all see many miracles in the weeks and months to come. This picture is of the Relief Society in Naples:

   Right now I am a little scatter-brained trying to coordinate the work here in Naples, pack, ship my bike home, and re-start the work in the two Largo areas without actually being there or having those cell phones! The joys of being a missionary! I can certainly say without reservation that I will not be bored in my last six weeks! I fully intend to come home on my feet, but barely. There may or may not be a stretcher involved somewhere along the way! I look forward to recounting all of my wonderful experiences and miracles with all of you each week. I love this work so much, it is the greatest joy of my life. I love being a missionary with my whole heart and soul.    I love you all!        Hermana Levanger

May 14, 2012

Hello Everyone!    I have both a lot and very little to report on this week, funny how that happens huh? On Thursday of this week we had our Zone Conference. I had the impression that I would be giving a talk that day, and sure enough, I was asked to give a talk on a Christ-like attribute at the very beginning. I spoke on diligence and used part of a letter my Dad sent to me over a year ago about how a missionary determines their own happiness based on whether or not they are giving their best. I think it went really well. I felt unprepared, but that is what we do as missionaries, we preach the gospel with no advance notice!    After a very long zone conference in which I believe we all felt the need to repent and do better on several things, I was surprised with another opportunity to speak. Apparently this is the last zone conference we are going to have before I go home. As it is the last opportunity, I was asked to give my farewell testimony. Talk about a weird experience! I still remember when Cam gave hers. It feels like that was yesterday, and now here I am giving mine! It was truly an out of body experience for me. I didn't know what to think. I told my fellow missionaries that I love them, that I am proud to have them as my peers and that they are the best missionaries in the entire world. I talked about how I have discovered the family that I didn't know I was missing while serving my mission, and that I would be grateful for the rest of my life for the experiences that I have had here. I talked about how I had found wonderful friends during this last year-and-a-half, and that I was a better person for the examples and friendship of others. I talked about what an honor it was to wear my name tag every day and represent the Savior in His work. The whole time I was thinking, "This isn't real! I still have a TON of time left! This can't be happening to me!" How quickly the time goes. I can't believe it, but my mission is coming to a close, and I'm just not ready for that to happen yet. The other missionaries now look at me as the 'dying missionary.' I used to be the young missionary! Oh well, life goes on, and there is a new generation of missionaries to take my place. This work will not be stopped! Until they forcibly shove me on the plane though, I will be working my hardest to represent my Savior the best way I know how!    As for the rest of the week, I honestly have very little to report. I was very ill this week. Yesterday I had a fever of 103 and had to break the Sabbath for the first time in over a year to go to the pharmacy and pick up the three prescriptions the mission doctor prescribed. (I'm not going to lie, I am going to miss having a doctor that I can call at any time and get great advice and drugs for free!). Despite the severity of my illness, I refused to miss church, so I took a shower, put on a face mask, and went anyway. I know I'm stubborn, but you all still love me right? I am feeling a bit better today, I still have a fever, but the drugs I have are really good, and they are doing their job. Check out the greatest street sign on earth!

   Last night I took it easy and had a really great conversation with my Mom and Dad. It was pretty funny, because instead of talking like it would be forever until we got to talk again like the other times, we just talked about how soon we would be talking again! It was funny, but really nice. I didn't even get emotional. It was just a nice chat with my parents, almost like we had talked yesterday and would talk again tomorrow! I sure do love them, I have the best and most supportive parents in the entire world. The evening was spent in the home of the Thomassons, the senior missionary couple here in Naples. We had a wonderful BBQ and everyone pitched in and helped. Two of the Elders did have a moment when they were a little unhappy about Floridian BBQs (meaning going outside in a downpour to turn the meat) but they were good sports about it!

   Well everyone, I love you. I am looking forward to working hard this last week of the transfer. Next week I will know where and with whom I will finish my mission. I honestly have no idea what is going to happen, but I know the Lord's hand will be in it, and that I will love every second that I have left. Being a missionary is the greatest thing in the world. I am so lucky to be a missionary at this time and in this great place. I hope each of you takes a moment this week to notice something that you are grateful for, and take an extra moment or two to appreciate it. I love you all so much, and I am so grateful for the gift I have of having each of you in my life. I love you all,     Hermana Levanger

May 7, 2012

Hello Everyone!    Well, once again I made the mistake of responding to individual e-mails, writing my president's letter, and looking at a couple of things on lds.org before writing my family letter...and now I am exhausted from typing, and have almost zero time to write anything of substance! We have been working hard this week to get everyone ready for the ward-wide fast we had yesterday for the Family Mission Plan. I'm not sure how well it went, or how many actually did it, but I hope everyone was involved and has a new fire for missionary work. With all of the families moving out, unless we get going this ward could become a branch, and I would hate to see that happen.     In looking through my pictures I realized there was a very funny story from last week that I forgot to tell you. One evening last week we had a joint dinner with the elders and one of the Cuban families in our ward. This family lives in the estates, which is a nice word for the middle of nowhere, and really far away. When we got there we felt like we had walked into the setting for one of those scary campfire stories (which actually led to the telling of some such stories later on!) but we mustered up our courage and carried on. The family, of course, is awesome and I love spending time with them. They have incredible testimonies. They also have almost every kind of animal a person in the United States can own: cats, dogs, birds, ducks, chickens, turkeys, fish, and even a couple of peacocks! When I heard they had peacocks, I asked if we could see them...big mistake! To get to the peacocks, you had to traverse a miniature farm jungle and avoid the big, ugly, mean turkey! Luckily, we had a tiny Cuban lady, who happened to have a shovel. She mostly protected us! I'm not going to lie. I did not get through the experience without injury, but they were minor scratches and I'm not sure I have laughed so much in my life!

   I hope all of you are safe, happy and well. I love each of you and pray for you every day. I hope that wherever this letter finds you it brings a smile to your face. I would even be okay with it if you had a few chuckles at my expense. (I am sure, at the very least, my dad will!) I live to entertain you! I am so grateful for the love and support I feel from each of you. Thank you for being such a big part of my life. Please take the opportunity today to look for someone who needs a laugh, and do everything you can to be that for them. We all need a good laugh sometimes! Love you all! Hermana Levanger

April 30, 2012

Hello Everyone!,    Well the Choir extravaganza is officially over. I am so excited to be back in my area for the foreseeable future and not have to leave for any unknown reason. It has been a long three weeks. Although, I have had the blessing of seeing at least one of my converts from St. Pete all three weeks. The first week I saw Lazaro and Elizabeth (both getting their endowments in August), the second week Elizabeth came again, and yesterday I saw Elbis! It was such a tender mercy of the Lord to be able to see, hug, and spend a little bit of time with each of them. I truly do love and miss them.    We have a lot of work ahead of us here in Naples. We are having a big missionary push in the ward, mostly because somehow we have to make up for the 32-39 people who are moving out over the next three months. When all the moves are done we may be about the size of St Pete! It is sad to see so many leaving, but I keep trying to see the good in it and imagine who will come to take their place. I am looking forward to really rolling up my sleeves the next few weeks. I know that it will be a lot of work, but what better work is there?    I love you all and have thought and prayed about each of you often this week. I hope all is well with you and that you are safe and happy. Please let me know if there is anything that I can ever do for you. I love you all! Hermana Levanger

April 23, 2012

Hello Everyone!,    Another week in paradise (also known as the hottest and most humid place on Earth). It is a great place to be though, the Lord's vineyard. I have had a fairly interesting, and yet uneventful week. I'm sorry that I don't have much to report on this week, it will be hard for me to top last week. The ward down here is having a lot of families move out in the next couple of months so I figure I will probably be a professional packer by the end of my mission, not that I don't have heaps of experience with that already! It is sad to be losing so many people, especially strong families, but I know the Lord knows what he is doing.    I had another wonderful visit with Jose, Elizabeth, and Adreanna yesterday as they once again came to the choir production. As we had all already seen it we just went outside and talked for the whole thing. I probably should have stayed and watched it, but I really miss them, and I always feel like I am at home when I am around them. They are such an incredible family, they have come so far. They also told me that they are anxiously awaiting Elizabeth's endowments in August and hope to be sealed as an eternal family shortly thereafter. I am so happy for them. That is a complete 180 degrees difference from the people I met over a year ago.    The Summer rainstorms are beginning. I remember now why I wondered how people could live in Florida all year round. I think I am still wondering. The colors are beautiful though, I daily see flowers and bits of every color imaginable. It is such a beautiful place. However, I think I will probably be one of those people who admires Florida as a great place to visit when I am no longer a missionary!    Have a wonderful week my family and friends. Sorry no excitement or pictures today, I will try to do better next week. I love you all!    Hermana Levanger

April 16, 2012

Hello Everyone!    Wow...I honestly do NOT even know where to begin. I have had the most interesting and amazing week...and almost none of it has to do with missionary work in my area! First things first, last Thursday I had one of the most amazing experiences of my mission. So, background first. The mission is organizing a huge choir production that required three practices and three performances, all of which were over a hundred miles from where I serve. The first two practices I stayed in Fort Myers with two other sisters who were not singing and was able to continue the missionary work in their area. However, the transfer Gods came through and wiped out my untalented allies and I am now currently the ONLY sister missionary in the entire south half of the mission who is not in the choir. As there is no one for me to stay behind with, I now have to go to everything, including the practice in Sarasota last Thursday, the first performance yesterday, and the final two performances the next two Sundays. I'm not going to lie, I was pretty frustrated with the amount of time I had to lose doing missionary work in my area, especially since my area needs a lot of work.    Needless to say, I was not a happy camper this week with the prospect of losing two full days of missionary work. However, Tuesday I received a letter from my Dad that was extremely interesting. Inside the letter was a postcard that said "Suzanne (my Mom), I have recently completed a new work of family history on the Powers line, but I no longer have your e-mail address. If you could contact me I would be happy to e-mail it to you. Love Cousin Hollis." the note from my Dad said that he had seen from my previous letters that I am occasionally in Fort Myers and that my cousin actually lived in Fort Myers. He said that he had gotten the letter back in January and had meant to send it on to my Mom, but had never gotten around to it. He said that if I had the chance I should knock on their door and meet them. That was Tuesday, and I had a trip planned to Sarasota (Fort Myers is on the way) on Thursday, two days later. So, I called the other sisters and asked if we could go a half an hour early to try and find my long-lost cousin. They were of course excited at the prospect and were perfectly willing to join in on the fun. So away we went on Thursday morning with a mission. We arrived at the address at about 11:15 am (thanks to my trusty GPS) and I knocked on their door, trying desperately to battle down the butterflies that were flying around in my stomach. No one was home. There was a 'for sale' sign in the front. I was starting to think that I was too late, after all, he had sent the post card in January. However, being the good detective that I am I peeked through their window for indication of whether or not anyone lived there. I saw a paper sitting on the kitchen table and was able to make out the date, April 12th. It took me a good 15 seconds or so to realize that was the date that day (missionary life messes with your concept of time and dates a lot!). So I went back to the car where everyone was waiting and started to get into my backpack to leave them a note. Lucky for me, I was surrounded by great missionaries who immediately started praying that they would come back so I could meet them, when they said 'amen' a car pulled up behind us wondering why we were in their driveway. I ran up to the man driving and said, "Excuse me sir, but do you happen to know Hollis Powers?"  His response was amazing..."I'm Hollis Powers." I was so excited I launched into this explanation of who I was and how I had come there at this time and how excited I was to meet him and to hear about our family. I think he was mostly in shock and then really excited too. In the end I was able to get two big books of names, dates and places of the paternal line of my Mom's side of the family. It was amazing! I am so sorry that I did not get a picture with him, I was too excited and it didn't even cross my mind. However, I did gain a firm testimony of why I was there at that time and why the Lord had to work so hard to make sure I was the only sister missionary around that wasn't in the choir so He could get me in Fort Myers that day. Did I mention that my cousin Hollis is moving to Tallahassee in two weeks? Talk about timing. It was such an amazingly cool experience for me. I am so grateful for that moment I had.       The next story is from Saturday. So, as you all know, missionaries are NOT allowed to go to the beach. However, there are occasional exceptions, like baptisms and service projects. Lucky for me, this Saturday happened to be one such occasion as the Bahia ward joined in the "Keep Collier County Beaches Beautiful" beach clean-up project. So Saturday morning found me on the beach at 8:00 am for the greatest service project that has ever been thought of. The service project was scheduled from 8-11, most of the cleaners lasted only about an hour, but we were there the whole time...shocking I know! It was so much fun walking along the beach and feeling the breeze and talking with my friends. Elder Boud just got down here from St Pete, so we had a lot of fun talking about all of our favorite people from there and the crazy things that happened to us there. It was awesome. Also, we may or may not have picked up a few seashells along with all the trash, it was a good day.      The final story is from yesterday. We went to the English ward at 9am so that we could take the Sacrament (FYI: hymns sound weird in English, and there are way too many blond people there.) Then we started to drive up to Lakeland at about 12:30. We had to pick up several missionaries along the way, and so didn't arrive in Lakeland until about 4:30. It was a VERY long drive. Again, I have to say that my attitude was not what it should have been (I am none to happy about missing church three weeks in a row when I have so few left to begin with). Oh well. Again, God knows me, and He knows how to humble me with unexpected blessings when I think that nothing good can come from a situation. As I was killing time in the hall waiting for the program to start at 6:30 I was talking to a few of the other missionaries, when all of a sudden Jose, Elizabeth, and Adreanna come walking around the corner (my favorite family in the whole world). I was literally in the middle of a bite of apple when I threw it in a bag threw everything down and said, "That's my family!" I ran to Elizabeth and squeezed her for a good two minutes (I may also have cried a little as well.) Then about fifteen minutes later as I was trying to get us all to choose our seats I had another surprise, Lazaro walked in, my first convert. I have never been so happy to see the people I love in my whole life, I felt like I was allowed to spend the evening at home. I am so grateful for last night and the love that I felt.     To sum up this VERY long e-mail, I want to testify to each of you that the hand of the Lord is in the details of our lives. He knows our struggles and He knows what we need. So often He is just waiting to give us blessings and open the windows of Heaven upon us. I need to to remember to not only be more grateful for the blessings that I have, but also the struggles. I invite each of you to see the good in a situation that right now seems very difficult. Know that the Lord loves you and is aware of your situation. Know that I love you, and am praying for you. Thank you all for the love and support that I constantly receive from each of you. I love you all!    Hermana Levanger