You can reach Levi by email at levi.lamoreaux@myldsmail.net
Levi's Quest in Argentina will soon be coming to a close. Levi will be returning home on July 6, 2011 after serving an unforgettable journey throughout the countryside surrounding Cordoba, Argentina.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Update of the Week

Howdy,

Well I'm half way through this transfer and things indeed are going well. Like every area, every transfer, and every week there are ups and downs but I'm definitely enjoying my current situation. The work has its ups and downs, for two weeks we didn't find any new investigators who were progressing, but this week we found some solid people. We passed the mission goals for lessons taught this week (the goals are 8 with members and twenty others) but it's really hard to get people to the chapel. Sunday is kinda the test to see how well you did during the week, and we are only averaging three investigators a week in church. That's the only area where we're not meeting goals and where I feel we need to improve.

Highlights of the week. I taught three lessons in English (one to an a young man from Sierra Leon who has lived in Argentina for several months but speaks English better than Spanish, and one to Fernando on whom I'll have to update you on next week). And not so much a highlight but noteworthy, my Spanish is at a level where I can wing sacrament meeting talks when they ask five minutes ahead of time.

We eat lunch everyday with members and we do use the recent converts to locate new investigators, they are great to use because they love helping, but we haven't found anyone who is progressing yet through them. We find more investigators through tracking but we do receive references as well. And as for the children I spoke of last week, they are one brother and sister and their cousin, the mothers are members and the fathers do not want to listen.

That's sweet about the rain and snow for Arizona! I love rain...and cold...I miss cold. It's been summer since May for me, I'm tired of it. That's crazy about a tornado, I have to tell an investigator because that was the first question he asked me about the states is if I had seen a tornado haha.

Random - my companion likes soccer but his favorite sport is tae kwon do. I'm the best gringo in my zone at soccer.

Sounds like all of you are still busy and doing well. Thanks for the pictures. I'd write more but I have an appointment and I'm going to be late.

Love,
LMX

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Pan de Salvación - Plan of Salvation Lesson

Okay I have much too write and no time to do it (today was crazy). Well first off Imma sending a birthday shout out to Lizz, Breezey, Seth, and Sarah Sawtelle.

Now, meaning of the subject line. Pan is bread but is a letter away from plan, and salvación is salvation. We have three young investigators of the ages 11 12 and 13. Well we taught a wayy legit lesson using banana bread and all the ingredients, I'd paint a word picture but again I'm short on time.

Crazy story of the week: Tuesday night I woke up at 2:30 to crazy strong wind and a little rain. I closed my window and went around the apartment to close the others. We have a large sliding glass door/window. The furious winds managed to remove the top of the window from its railings. At 2:30 in the morning, neither my companion nor I were firing on all cylinders and had no idea what to do other than hold the window in place so it didn't blow all the way out. Elder Pacheco ruled out my idea of putting a mattress on the floor so if the window came all the way out it would fall on something soft, but he wasn't feelin it so we stood there longer before I finally looked for a flashlight (upstairs our lights do not work), then both of us with flashlights in our mouths started trying to fix the window. As there are two young men messing with a window in the middle of the night with flashlights in their mouths a cop parks on the corner and watches us. Finally after 30/45 minutes we finally made it back to bed. Fun night.

Other cool story, we were working with a member who eats plants off the ground and offers them to us and acts like we were missing out when we don't want to eat them.

And finally I have discovered the answer to one of life's great questions: does the water in the southern hemisphere flush counter clockwise? Well world, it does.

Sorry that's all the time I got but Ill be here next week chao.

LMX

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Great Transfer - Many Teaching Opportunities

Indeed I was and am busy with this transfer, I'm teaching more, working more, doing more but it's awesome. Cordoba is treating me with rain and heat, but she's being nice at the same time. My new area is in a word...awe...wait for it...some. My apartment is two stories, two bathroom, extremely hot and loud and when you first show up you think this place is way cool, then you live there for a week and it becomes less cool and then you remember you are a missionary and comfort is not part of the description, but it does have a pretty view out the second floor bathroom. My companion, Elder Pacheco, is awesome as a person and missionary, it is going to be a good transfer. He is the best yet and we're doing lots of work. With him, my everything will improve. My whole mission I will only cover one ward at a time, that's how we do things. Laundry...wait for it...machine! Yes we have our own washing machine, no dryer but I'm way happy I'll finally wash my pants. The difference between country and city: here is weird, everywhere I go I see these things called people. Other differences, here is prettier, but has less pavement so I'm dirtier, all day I'm walking on dirt/mud roads. The APs spend a lot of time with President so I don't see them much but it's better than I had anticipated. One AP is new this transfer so we have the same time in the area and he is pretty cool, the other is in his last transfer of the mission and bothers me but I can deal, and at least when he is doing the missionary work part of the mission he is a good example and teacher.

Speaking of teaching..I've actually been doing a lot of that. I'm teaching full time in a very awesome involved ward. We have seven people with baptismal dates coming up and it's awesome. I went from a branch of 20 active members to a ward of 130 active members. They also feed us everyday...sometimes twice a day. I'm going to leave Arguello a big boy. My chapel is on Vulcan street. I've recently given my first and several priesthood blessings in Spanish. And last random fact of the week, of the three companions I have had, all three have been district leader, interesting.

I did miss Dakar. [side note - Dakar is a world racing event involving cars, motorcylces, quads and big trucks. This year it is being held in Argentina and Chile. One day of the race they went right through Cordoba, where Levi is serving.] But I have talked to many people about Dakar, but a lot people don't really know what it is or that it used to be in Africa or that Dakar is even a place in Africa, so I've been doing some worldly as well as spiritual teaching. And as for real motorcycles I saw a CBR600 my last week in Oncativo (it was the same black and silver as the VFR).

Well, I love you all, and I am doing very well. I shall hear from and write you all in the coming week. Chao.

LMX

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Has Levi's Quest Taken Him Someplace New?

Well first off I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Secondly, I would like to apologize for not being able to write last week, things were crazy with mission conference and a bus ride back to area and everything.

Talking on Christmas mine went well, I did get some candy, some socks, and a pin of the Argentine flag (speaking of the Argentine flag, when I get back I am buying sky blue vans and having the Argentine sun embroidered, tell me what you think) from members. Christmas was fun, just hung out till one in the morning and watched people shoot off fuegos artificiales (fireworks).
Argentines for New Years stay up till 12 and at midnight they all toast to the New Year and shoot off fireworks..really similar. I love New Years it's such an optimistic time. And nothing but the calendar changes yet it always feels like we're beginning anew.

In other news I have a new companion who once again does not speak my native language, but I'll be okay seeing how I'm starting to get the hang of his. Last transfer he was with Elder Goodman, pretty interesting. His name is Elder Pacheco and he is from Chile (near Concepción). Now as I've been feeding you the details about who I am with, I would wager you find yourself questioning where. Oncativo again? Or has Levi's quest taken him someplace new? Well, being the kind hearted individual I am I will inform you with the utmost haste. I am now serving in HQ (Cordoba). I live in the same apartment as the assistants (decent place too, better than the house in Oncativo). The area is called Arguello and my zone/stake is Las Sierras. It will be different serving in the city but I'm excited. However, the whole living with the AP's is not quite as exciting. I see President Olsen on a weekly basis now, and I'm trying to think of what I did to have this placed upon me...I guess we'll see how it goes.

I miss good Mexican food soooo much :( I found a place in downtown Córdoba that kinda makes burritos, it helped a little but when I said I wanted the spiciest sauce they had they made me try it first, lol.

In other news, I completed six months!
In other other news I do not remember everything I wanted to tell you all because I left my agenda in the apartment (I take notes on what to write).
Oh, more news, I filled up my first SD card! w00t!

Anyways, love you all and I'll write next week I promise.

Chao,

LMX