An Unconquerable Spirit

Family and friends,

 

 

I can't believe that this is the last email that I will be writing as a full-time missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. As cliché as it sounds, these two years have truly flown by. But I can truly say, without any doubt in my heart or mind, that these two years have been the best two years of my entire life. I have easily learned more during these 24 months than I did in the previous 19 years. I have learned what love really is. I have learned that Jesus Christ truly is our Savior. I have learned that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith really was a prophet, that Thomas S. Monson guides the Church today. Saying these words time and time again to people that I have come to love has rooted them deep within my soul. It has become a knowledge that is inseparable from who I am. It is a knowledge that is who I am.

 

If nothing else, I now know that we are all children of our Heavenly Father. I remember asking President Turk what was the greatest lesson he learned on his mission. He responded in a simple, spiritual way: "The fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man". I know this to be true. I have not been perfect on my mission. I have not loved everyone as I ought to have done. But I have improved. I have become a better person, and through all of it, I have been blessed with the opportunity to help others become a little better too. Doing so has been the source of the greatest joy I have ever felt in my short life. I know understand the thrill that our Heavenly Father must get when He is merciful or kind.

 

I love each and every one of you. Thank you for always emailing me, sending me letters and packages, and encouraging me throughout these two years. I have not been able to always respond to each one of you, but your love and thoughtfulness has meant a lot to me. I appreciate the example that each one of you has set for me in my life and in my mission. You will be forever remembered and blessed. I love you all.

I suppose what is most comforting to me at this point is knowing that the mission will not end when I get off the plane. I will continue being a missionary forever, though I might now have a nametag on, as Elder Andersen said, I will have it painted upon my heart. I will continue sharing the gospel with others and help the missionaries in my own ward. That's the great eternal round of the gospel. We will never have a scarcity of opportunities to become more like our Savior and King.

 

Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of good things, and that say unto Zion: Behold, thy God reigneth! As the dews of Carmel, so shall the knowledge of God descend upon them! (D&C 128:19)

 

Please feel free to contact me at my parents home after 11/6.
Love to All
Elder Trace Owen Levos

Changing The Game

Hello all!

 

We had a great week here in Peru. We have been changing the focus a lot lately on how we work. A lot of the work now is focused on visiting less active members and helping them come back to church. We have seen various miracles following that method, and we are excited for the progress we are seeing in the ward.

 

Won't lie, all the members are making me trunky now! There are a ton of comments on things like: "Elder Levos, you're out of here soon. Your mission is already over," etc. Haha. It's all in good sport I suppose. They had us talk in sacrament meeting this past week, and it went well. I felt the Spirit quite strongly as my companion and I spoke.

Hope you enjoy the picture of me in the town plaza. Sorry that the group letter is so short.

 

Love you all,
Trace

It's All Fun Now

Hello all

Forgive me for sending you a blank email. Pretty sure I'm starting to forget how to even use computers. 

This week was quite rewarding spiritually, not just because we helped Celeste Giraldo make a covenant with God, but also because of General Conference! It was so interesting to see that so many of the talks were aimed at missionary work and also at how the members can help. I am excited to be able to be on the other end of the equation soon and help out as a member.

 

Everything is going great overall though. My companion and I are getting along great and finding lots of new people to teach as well. The ward loves us, and we love them. We've got attendance up to almost 160 now, which is a big deal. Members are starting to stuff me full of food now that they know I'm leaving soon. What's most exciting is that my pensionista is trying to get me some Peruvian peppers to be able to plant in the garden at home. They are ridiculously hot, so I'm not sure what we will be able to put them in, but it will be interesting.

 

I'm sure you're probably tired of baptism pictures, but they're all I have. I will try and take more next week. Course, I have said that almost every week of my entire mission...

 

Love Ya,
Trace

 

Joy

Hello all

We had a great week this week full of miracles and happiness. That sounds a little fruity when I type it, but it's true. First of all, my new companion, Elder Antuña, arrived this week from Trujillo. He is a really tall Argentine guy, and he is funny, let me tell you. Supe smart and really hard-working. All in all, a great companion, and a great last companion at that. We are doing well.

 

We also had the baptism of Brillit Villareal, as you will see in the pictures. She is a great young lady who's parents are both members, but went inactive for a little while. She was a dream to teach, simply because she knew everything and understood everything. There really are chosen people out there ready to receive the gospel. We just have to find them! That's where you guys as members can help out a lot.

 

Everything else is going great. The weather is finally warming up, so that's nice. It can get really cold being right here by the sea, but now that the sun's out almost all day I'm enjoying it a lot. Food's not so bad, lots of friends... I can't complain. The mission really is the best. Hope everyone is doing well. Enjoy your week!

Trace

No Longer On Deck. At the Plate Now...

Hello world!

 

Well, I can't believe it either, but it's official. I am now in my last change. Elder Hill deuced out of Chimbote yesterday and is going back to the USA today, so I am now officially the oldest missionary in the mission. I of course will be getting a new companion on Tuesday. His name is Elder Antuña, and he is from Argentina. As they say here in the mission, he will be the one to "kill" me. I don't know who he is actually, but the say he is pretty cool. I'm excited.

 

We had a baptism this week too, so we sent Elder Hill off right. Enhiel Jara was baptized, and he is officially the newest deacon in our ward. He is a great young man who, like I said last week, is a reference from another deacon in the ward. Just goes to show that you can do missionary work at any age.

 

Hope you guys like the pictures. I took one of the baptism, and also of Elder Hill's goodbye to the ward at the bus terminal in Chimbote. They were sad to see him go. Also snapped one of my pensionista's dog, Horus. I thought Mom would especially like that one.

 

 

Can't believe how fast the time has gone, but I'm going to push right up to the end! Love you guys

Trace

Goodbye, Friend

Hello all

 

Can't believe I'm writing you guys again. The weeks sure fly by now. I've never had time go by so fast in my life! I'm actually pretty bummed today because I'm realizing that it's going to be my last week with Elder Hill. He's going home this coming Sunday, and it's scaring me for two reasons: 1. He's been one of my best comps, so my new comp will have big shoes to fill, and 2. Once he leaves, I will be the next missionary to be outta here. Sad that we're already at that point, but I suppose that's life. Gotta just take what comes.

We are still working hard and doing great though. We have a lot of people set up to be baptized in these next three or four weeks, starting with Enhiel this week. He is a reference from another one of the deacons in our ward, so that just goes to show that even young people can sure the gospel with their friends. Enhiel actually reminds me of Garrett a lot. I feel like I'm going to teach and baptize my little cousin. The ward is starting to help us out a lot, and more people are coming to church too! We had a huge turnout at the stake conference this week, which was great since Elders David A. Bednar and Richard G. Scott both spoke to all of Peru via satellite. It was nice to hear their messages specifically to us.

 

I love you all and hope you are doing well. Don't have any pictures this week, but I'll be taking some with Elder Hill this last week and will send them along. Have a great week.

 

T

A Welcome Gift

Family!

Well, first of all I want to thank you guys and the Owen family as well for the amazing packages that I received this week. It had been so long since I had tasted Sour Patch, Cheez its, or any other sort of American treat, and let me just say, they were all delicious. Definitely gave me a burst of energy to finish the week strong. You guys are awesome!

 

In terms of the work, we are just trucking along as usual. We have found a lot of new people this week, and we have seen truly amazing results come from working with the ward. Elder Hill and I do divisions with the elders quorum every single Sunday now, and it has been a great way to get to know the brethren and also to meet lots of less active and inactive members. Most people think that a missionary's job is to solely baptize as many people as he can, but a very important part of our work is to strengthen the ward as well. It has been rewarding to help many less actives and inactives come back to church. In the process, one also finds lots of new people to teach.

 

Other than that, everything is going quite normal. Elder Hill ends soon, but we aren't even feeling it. Having so much experience together helps a lot. We both know what to do and when. We're going to need that with more sisters coming into the zone! There are a ton of sisters in the mission now...

 

Hope you are all doing well. Can't wait to see you soon. Enjoy the pic of me in the front room of our house.

 

Love Trace