June 18, 2012

Hello Everyone!,    What a great week I had this week! I am starting to realize that serving a mission is occasionally dangerous to your health! I have never been more tired in my entire life. I love it. I love being a missionary with my whole heart and soul. I am so happy. I am having so much fun! I love the people I serve and the people I serve with. What a gift I have been given to finish my mission here at this time and with these people. I know how loved I am by my Heavenly Father and it is more than I ever dreamed.    This Sunday was a wonderful experience for me. I love Father's Day. When I opened my e-mails today I had a beautiful e-mail from my Dad waiting for me. He described what a wonderful Father’s Day he had at his home, what they ate and who all was there. I was so grateful to hear that for the first time in probably five years all of his children were there for Father's Day, all that is except me. I thought as I read that letter that I should feel sad that I wasn't there, but I wasn't. I spent Father's Day with my family. I spent Father's Day with my companions, with the Largo Branch, with the people who have become my family. It was a great day for everyone.    Yesterday Elbis taught the Sunday School lesson. It was the first time he had ever taught in his life, and he was incredible! The Relief Society lesson was taught by Elizabeth, and I beamed with joy and pride as she vehemently testified of the power of personal revelation and how she KNOWS this church is true. I felt overwhelmed with happiness as I was invited to the setting apart of Elbis to be a teacher in the Elders quorum, as Lazaro and Elizabeth went to their first temple prep class, and as Lazaro passed the sacrament. I knew that each of “my converts” was a wonderful child of God and that they would make a difference in the church as they entered the waters of baptism. Yesterday was a physical representation of that faith. I can't imagine the Largo branch without any of them and I don't think anyone else could either. Despite the fact that I refer to them as “my converts,” I know that they were, are and always will be the Lord's. I am so grateful for the trust He had in me to be the missionary chosen to help them find their way. They found it, and they are thriving!    Elder Dalin H. Oakes once said, "It is not even enough for us to be convinced of the gospel; we must act and think. In contrast to many institutions which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something…" I know that I have become a completely different person on my mission. I am so grateful for who I have become and who I am still becoming. I know that I still have so far to go, but that the Lord knows the destination. My trust is in Him, always.    I invite each of you to look for an avenue of growth that the Lord has prepared for you. Seek it, pray about it, and then act. Move forward. Move in any direction. Any direction is better than no direction at all. I am absolutely convinced that as we put our faith in the Lord and take a step of faith, even if it is into the dark, that He will light the way. I love you All!, Hermana Levanger