Hello Everyone!
Wow, it is really hard to compete with a baptism, I feel like I don't have anything new to report! My life is heavenly; I'm happy, safe, and anxiously engaged in the work of the Lord (just like last week and all the weeks before!). The life of a missionary is unique: we are living in the world but completely cut off from everything worldly. I forget that my family and friends are living normal lives. People are watching TV, going to movies (Did anyone else know there was a new Pirates movie?), graduating from school, and moving on to their next adventure. Weird.
On my end, I can happily report that our Branch is doing incredibly well. Attendance is much higher each week, as we have really been working with the inactives, and even the strong families are feeling a stronger bond to the branch. Lazaro was sustained as a member of the church yesterday, and Hermana Dollahite and I gave him a baptismal remembrance book we put together with pictures. We also pasted a bunch of testimonies in it, because we had everyone at the baptism write their testimonies while Jose and Lazaro were changing. When we gave him the book he got really teary-eyed, and I was afraid for a moment that he was going to cry, but he just said 'thank you' in his sweet and always deadly sincere voice and sat down for sacrament. What a disciple of Christ the Lord allowed us to find and work with.
This week we also had a branch activity, which was a HUGE success. We had it on a Wednesday night and almost every single person in the branch came, which is quite a feat since half of them can't drive! We had a great lesson about the Armor of God (see above photo!), ate delicious food, and then played charades - the Scripture story edition! It was so funny to watch our branch president building Noah's Ark in the air, Hermana Eguiluz doing the butterfly stroke while jumping across the room to portray parting the Red Sea, and Jose Araoz shielding his eyes from the bright brilliance of the first vision! So funny!
We contributed brownies-ish to the activity. I say brownies-ish because we signed up for brownies and I wasn't paying attention when Hermana Dollahite bought them. She bought three snack-size brownies (because they were cheaper) when we needed three regular size brownies! So funny! So as I'm standing there in front of this pan that is only half covered in brownie mix, laughing my head off at the fact that our activity is the next day and we have no time to buy more, I remembered that she also bought a chocolate cake mix (for emergencies, she says). Now if any of you know anything about Hermana Dollahite, the first thing you should know is that she is a CHOCO-HOLIC!!!!! It was not a happy moment for her when she realized she was going to have to donate her precious chocolate cake mix to the cause! (I tried to calmly explain that she still had six Three Musketeers bars and that we could get another cake mix on Monday!) I made up the cake mix, poured it on top of the brownie mix, baked it, frosted it, and prayed that it was edible. Turns out everyone loved the gooey brownie-cakes! Another point for the Lord's side!
It is amazing what a difference the gospel makes in someone's life. I am surrounded by hundreds of examples of people who have and live the gospel, who had and don't live the gospel, and who have never had the gospel. The way their lives are going and the difference between them are absolutely astounding. God truly blesses those who live and keep His commandments, and I have seen this in the most wonderful (and also the most heart-breaking) of ways. Being a missionary is HARD, but I can absolutely testify that it is vale la pena (worth the pain). I am living a blessed life and I hope to stay here and do the most good I possibly can for as long as possible.
I love you all,
Hermana Levanger
PS My e-mail will be on Tuesday next week due to Memorial Day, and the Library being closed.
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