January 30, 2012

Hello Everyone!
    This week was crazy busy! We had our Sister's Conference in Sarasota on Tuesday. It was so fun to see all of the sisters together and to spend the day with them. We really felt of the love that both President Summerhays and the Savior have for us as sister missionaries.


   We also had stake conference this weekend. It was amazing! Jose Araoz was asked by the stake president to bear his testimony in English at the adult session on Saturday night! I was so nervous for him, but he did an amazing job. the spirit was incredibly strong when he was speaking and I loved hearing his perspective of all that happened with his family last year. I am so grateful to have been a part of it. The general session on Sunday was wonderful. Several prominent church leaders spoke including Elder Ballard. Even though it was a broadcast from Salt Lake, it still felt as though they were right there with us, and that they knew exactly what our needs here in the southeast part of the country are.
   After the conference, President Lopez gave one of our investigators a blessing. I won't go into details, but it was absolutely amazing; my skin had goose bumps based on what was said. I hope and pray he can find the strength to keep going on the path he has started on. He is a great man with a beautiful family. We have a goal baptismal date set with him for a few weeks from now. I know he will make that date if he exercises his faith.
   I was thinking I had a lot more to talk about, but realize I am out of things to say! One exciting milestone occurred four days ago when I hit my one year mark as a missionary. I can't believe I have been serving for a whole year already. It seems like I just came out! Today during p-day with the elders we are going to burn a couple of clothing items to celebrate. Don't ask me why. It is a missionary tradition.
I love you All,
  Hermana Levanger

January 23, 2012

Hello Everyone!
   Not much to report on this week! It isn’t that we didn’t work hard though. We did. We had a good turn out in Sacrament meeting, including eight non-members. Unfortunately, six of them are under the age of eight. I don't think I have ever had to work so hard to get two investigators to church than yesterday.
   We also had an amazing dinner with some investigators and Elizabeth and her family, whom I’ve written about before. It was awesome. Elizabeth and Jose totally clicked with them and led us naturally into a gospel discussion. Not only that, they even extended commitments to them! I was sitting there thinking, "Hey, that's my job!" It was really cool though. It definitely re-confirmed my testimony of member missionary work!
   We often get great meals from the wonderful members in our Branch. Here’s a picture taken after a great meal Sister Bustamonte prepared for us.


   I hope everyone has a wonderful week this week. I'm sorry this letter is so short. I think my brain is fried. I should have more to report next week though. This Tuesday is our annual 'sisters conference' and this weekend we are having stake conference. I know what you are thinking, "stake conference in January?" I was thinking the same thing, but apparently it is a special broadcast from Salt Lake only for the state of Florida, so it should be great!
Love you all!
    Hermana Levanger

January 16, 2012

Hello Everyone!
   Wow, I feel like maybe I should start singing a different tune, but the song is still the same, I'm staying here in St. Petersberg/Largo for another transfer! I can honestly say that when I got here at the end of March last year I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would still be here, and would remain here for at least eleven months. I have a feeling there will be a different song in six weeks, but until then the work moves forward here in this little piece of heaven the Lord has given me in His vineyard.
   In some ways this last transfer was one of the longest, if not the longest that I have ever had. Between Christmas, my birthday, the new year, saying goodbye to friends, moving into the chapel, etc, it just kept going and going and going! In other ways, I can hardly believe it is over. Here it is, 2012, the middle of January and I only have seven months left as a missionary. The time is flying and I can't figure out how to slow it down! Time is a really funny thing sometimes, and right now it is kind of working against me.
   This last week was a good one. We worked hard and had some truly wonderful lessons and growing opportunities. We had our monthly Family Home Evening activity, which was really fun. We decided to make it about missionary work and made '2012 Survival Kits' which had a Book of Mormon, pamphlets, a Proclamation on the Family, Articles of Faith, etc. Everyone loved it.


Our mission is really pushing for member referrals this year, and although we are already doing the majority of our finding that way, there is always room for more. I know 2012 holds a lot of really interesting events not only for our area and mission, but for the church as a whole. I am truly proud to be a part of it.
   As many of you know I have a love for Friday the 13th and it has been a very Lucky day for me in the past. This week we had a Friday the 13th, and while it wasn't necessarily a bad day, it was a bit of a scare. I think my luck may have run out! Last transfer, one of our Elders went home for medical concerns and we had another elder transferred here in the middle of the transfer to serve with Elder Boud and finish his training program. Well, on Friday, Elder Boud started having heart palpitations and ended up in the hospital for the day and night. I was not a happy camper. I have a hard enough time saying goodbye as it is, and I was not ready to say goodbye to my third friend in a matter of weeks. While for him to go home was a definite option for a few hours, in the end (meaning Saturday the 14th), he was cleared as all is well! I think it was a good learning experience for all of us, even though I was pretty stressed through the whole process.
   Elder Boud, Hna Duarte and I are all staying for this coming transfer and we will be getting a new Elder who has a little less time than I do in the mission (and he plays the piano which will be WONDERFUL for our branch). It should be a great transfer and I'm looking forward to seeing even more miracles take place in our branch. I'm hoping that we have a few baptisms in the next few weeks here, and that the leaders of the branch continue to guide it in the right direction.
I love you All!
   Hermana Levanger

January 9, 2012

Hello Everyone!
   We just finished an awesome week! Missionary work is truly the greatest work of all time. I am so grateful that I get to do this all day every day! I have very exciting news to report to you all today. I'm tempted to go in chronological order, but I'm all for having dessert first, so lets just get to the good stuff! Yesterday we had 65 PEOPLE IN SACRAMENT!!!!! We looked really good in the chapel and the testimonies were amazing. I was so grateful to not only have been there, but to have been a part of it. Not only did we have 65 people in sacrament, but six of those people were investigators.
   We have worked with one man who was there since last April. He has only recently started coming to church and actively listening to the lessons (his wife is a less active, and most of the time we could only meet with her). Not only did he come on Sunday, but as several members were bearing their testimonies he asked if he was allowed to go up there as well. I told him of course he was. (Although I was slightly trepidatious!) After one or two more people he stood up and made his way to the podium. He started by introducing himself and telling everyone about his history with the church. He then said how grateful he was for us teaching him. He apologized to the member who had gone to his very first lesson (an exchange with Hermana Dollahite back in October that did not go well, although I wasn't there so don't know the details) for his behavior. He told everyone that even though he had only been to church three times, he knew it was a special place, and that he felt something very special each time. I was shocked, amazed, and humbled at the pure love and humility that this man showed yesterday. He is a new person, and I can't wait to see what happens in the next couple of weeks. I promise if he gets baptized to share the whole long story!
   In addition to this amazing sacrament, we had a great meeting with our bishop. Also, two of my recent converts, Judy and Elizabeth, received their very first callings (actually Elizabeth got two!). It was simply an amazing day all around. We had the opportunity to watch the CES fireside that night to finish the day, and Elder Jensen gave an amazing talk on the power and unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost. I highly recommend watching it on lds.org if you didn't get the chance to see it yesterday.
   My birthday was wonderful, probably the best of my life. I got to e-mail my family, and almost all of them were actually on-line while I was, so I got practically live wishes of Happy Birthday from all of them. It was almost as good as talking to them. I also was invited to Elizabeth's house for dinner. They made us a traditional Peruvian dish called Aji de Gallina, which was really good, Inca Kola, which tastes like bubble gum, and Cheesecake, my FAVORITE!!! It was awesome.
   We did have one sad event take place this week. One of our most faithful members decided to move back to Mexico to be with her family after having some health problems. Virginia had been in the church a little over a year and a half, and if you remember, had finally worked up the courage to bear her testimony on Fast Sunday in December. We will miss her, but it was amazing to see the branch rally around her and support her through all that happened. Here we are telling her goodbye.


   Also, one thing that struck me personally this week was a letter I received from my dear friend B in Tucson. She talked about some of the heartbreaks she has had in the public school system, especially with the children of Hispanic parents, as they often don't understand English and are unable to really help their children succeed in school. I was shocked at some of the circumstances she described, and deeply saddened as well. I have to say once again how grateful I am to be a missionary. Instead of seeing that hopelessness and not being able do anything about it (Legally, there is nothing these teachers can do). I have the opportunity to teach not just the kids, but the parents and children together as a family. I get to see their lives change from bleak and hopeless to full of light and possibility. I get to see the happiness that comes into families and homes as each person feels the spirit and follows its promptings to the waters of baptism, the temple, and eternal life. Of course there is sadness, hard days, problems with companions and members. People still have their agency. However, I can honestly say that I have never been happier in my life, or seen people find such happiness in their own lives than I have on my mission.
   I think often on the great scripture found in Alma 31: 5 "And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God." I bear each of you my personal testimony that this is true. The gospel fixes lives. It brings a light into an utterly dark and hopeless existence. It is more powerful than any of the remedies that the World could ever hope to find. No doctor, psychologist, or teacher will ever have as much success as the word of God and his army of angels.
   How I love you all. How I love my mission and being a missionary. I truly have the greatest and most blessed existence of all the children of God on Earth today. I could not possibly tell you all what my mission means to me. I hope you can feel it with these letters. I apologize for each instance or comment that has been negative or less than completely grateful for the time and circumstances I have been given. I can't even begin to guess what I did to deserve the blessing of being here, but I am eternally grateful for it.
I love you all,
   Hermana Levanger

January 3, 2012

Hello Everyone!
   Wow! What a great 2012 I have had so far! It is hard to believe that it is already 2012. I spent most of 2010 deciding on whether to serve a mission or not, putting in my papers, receiving my call, and preparing to serve. I remember thinking back in 2010 that I wouldn't even finish my mission until well into 2012 and that it was FOREVER away...and here it is. I am so excited for the possibilities of this new year, for the adventures and experiences that I know I will have, especially for the rest of my mission.
   The Largo Spanish Branch started 2012 with a highlight as well! We met for the very first time in the chapel. We had 50 people there, since many are still vacationing for the holidays. My mission President and his wife came to support us. It was so cool to have them here. I have to say, that to some we probably looked kind of small, but to me, it was almost like a light was shining out of every empty seat just waiting to be filled! It is going to be a great year for the Largo Spanish Branch, and I am so grateful to have been here these past nine months. I can't think of a better place to start my year.
   As it was the end of the year, and there are plenty of parties and shenanigans going on, we had a rule as missionaries to be in the house by eight o'clock. We celebrated the New Year at approximately 8:46 pm with some paper shooters and some Mormon Champaign, also known as Martinelli's Sparkling apple cider! We went to bed at 10:30 to the sounds of minor explosions going off all around our apartment! I have to say it was probably the first time since I was maybe seven years old that I didn't stay up for the new year. This may sound like I am getting old...but I kind of liked going to bed at a decent hour and starting my New Year alert and ready to go at 6:30 am!
   As most of you know, today is my birthday. I have had a great day so far. I had excellent studies this morning, received a phone call from my district leader and another from one of the branch members we are working with. I also opened my presents at lunch time and was graced with several VERY NEEDED new shirts. In keeping with missionary tradition, I plan on burning most of the shirts I currently have on my one year anniversary. I also got some awesome new shoes, which were beyond needed, so much so that if I showed you my old brown shoes my mom would probably cry with shame!


   I have felt so much love and support from each of you, as well as my family here, so far this year. I want to thank you all so much for your love and dedication to this one missionary in Largo, Florida. The letters, packages and e-mails mean so much. More than anything though, I want each of you to know just how much I appreciate your prayers. I know that there are a LOT of people praying for me right now, and I can only say thank you. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for each and every one of those prayers in my behalf, as well as all the other things I know each of you have done. I'm sure I only know about a particle of the support that I have, and what I know about is more than I could ever hope for.
   I invite each of you to really take stock of what Our Heavenly Father has done for us. We have each been blessed with a full year of hope and possibilities. I know He wants the very best of and for each one of us. I’m setting some serious goals this year, physical goals, spiritual goals, character goals and intellectual goals. I’m also setting some goals to have fun! I am really looking forward to my Florida vacation at the temple and the beach at the end of August this year!
   Happy happy New Year to each and every one of you. Thank you so much for all that you are and do. Thank you for a wonderful 2011.
I love you All,
Hermana Levanger
 
PS Some interesting changes in the life of one Becky Levanger in 2011: I wore a skirt more than the rest of my life combined times about a thousand. The only things I wear are skirts and pajama pants - and those only slightly longer than I am asleep. I speak Spanish! (Not well, but a least enough to communicate). I drove 11,650 miles around Pinnellas County doing Heavenly Father’s work. I am a way better Becky Levanger than I have ever been, and can't wait to become the Becky of 2012!