Week 11: 10/31/22 Happy Halloween!

Hello family and friends! 

This week was great, I am still learning a lot about how I can be a better missionary, but I also have been growing and becoming more confident as we talk to more people and teach more lessons. This week we spent a good amount of time knocking on doors. Typically, we don't spend very much time doing this since it is not very efficient due to the area being so rural. Knocking doors is a good way to learn persistence and patience. Most people are not very open to learning about "the Mormon faith" but we always try to keep the conversation going as long as possible. 

We were talking to a gentleman one evening and we could tell he was trying to politely decline our message. His house was lush with Halloween decorations including a life size motion sensored werewolf. As soon as we asked about his decorations he became all excited and explained how he loves decorating for Halloween to try to spook the kids. We were able to set up a time to come back and visit him! 

There are a lot of animals that roam around, mainly cats. We hear people talk about how somehow they just end up with more cats that live at their house. There is a member in our branch that has a cat that she calls "Cat-dog" because he's really big. Apparently, Cat-dog needs to be on a leash when he's outside because he's evil. I thought it was funny when she said "you can see the evil in him can't ya". For the record he looks like a pretty ok cat.

Missionary work is the most fulfilling work in the entire world. It makes me so happy to share the perfect message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ!

"We'll now go up and serve the Lord,

Obey his truth and learn his word".

Hymn 5: High on a Mountain Top

Elder Kovacs

Fall Photo Ops 

10/24/22 Week 10: Another Great Week!

Hello Friends and family,

This week has been good! The fall colors have set in and it is very pretty out here! On Monday and Tuesday the temperature dropped to the mid 20's. Tuesday morning we woke up and began driving to the church to exercise like we always do. Elder Watson asked me if it seemed like the road was unusually bumpy, I was too busy trying to stay warm but we checked the car's tire pressure gauge on the dashboard. It said the back tire was at 0. We walked outside and sure enough, the tire was completely deflated. We were able to get home and lift the truck and get the spare tire out from under the bed. The only issue was that even after the lug nuts were off the wheel, the wheel wasn't coming off. We figured it was probably due to the fact that it was less than 30 degrees outside. We came back a few hours later and after some more convincing the wheel came off. By the time we got back from the nearest Firestone, the day was pretty much over. At least we got a new set of all-terrains(which we needed anyway) for the winter weather.

We have been doing a good amount of teaching! We have a part-member family who seems to be increasing their commitment and even asks us to prepare lessons for them on topics like eternal families and the priesthood! A non-member family invited us over for lunch one day and it was great! They don't really say outright that they are interested in learning about the gospel, but they were asking us a lot about the church and what life is like as a missionary. The husband was a police officer in the area and was surprised to hear about the lake community we live in just because "I'm a little too familiar with the area if you know what I mean".

Our journey with Samantha the Smoker continues! On Monday we made and smoked pizzas for our whole district. I was impressed with how delicious they were. We also smoked a rack of ribs for the weekly Gospel Smoke Session on Facebook. I will say, we set the bar pretty high with those.

I appreciate all the love and support!

"...And silently we pray

For courage to accept thy will,

To listen and obey.

We love thee, Lord; our hearts are full.

We’ll walk thy chosen way."

Hymn 169: As Now we Take the Sacrament

                              

                                                    Prepping for smoking pizza

                                                            Zone Meeting Smoked Pizza

                                            Me with our friend Jr.  The bike is totaled haha

-The Chiefsmobile, every time the Chiefs win they drive around honking for while

                                                            Finished product: smoked ribs

                                                                            Flat tire :(

10/17/2022 Week 9: 2 Months!!

 Hello everyone!

Last Friday I hit two months of being on the mission! The time has gone by so fast, I know I've still got 22 months so I plan on making every minute count. 

As time goes on I am growing more comfortable and confident in being a missionary. Whether it's teaching, using Facebook, or with talking to people, I can see small but steady progress even in the short time that I have been here. My companion Elder Watson is wonderful and we are continuing to become more united. Together we have saved the lives of armadillos and a snappy turtle as sometimes they like to hang out on the road. There isn't too much traffic out here but we figured we would keep them safe. 

We also bought a smoker! It was very cheap and the plan is to make it look nice and sell it when we leave the area. For now we are enjoying it and even started a new weekly video series called the Gospel Smoke Session. We basically put something on the smoker and talk about it a little and then share a quick gospel insight. Every single house or camper out here has a smoker sitting outside of it so the idea is that we will be able to relate to people with the smoker while spreading the gospel!

The branch I am in is so amazing! They love missionary work and are always willing to come with us to teach lessons or have us and a friend over for lessons at their house. We have a returning member who has been off and on about church, but after our lesson with him and his wife this week he asked to come and teach him all about the priesthood!

I have really been able to see how the restored gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives and it is so fulfilling to be able to be that messenger for people!

"There is gladness in my soul today,

And hope and praise and love,

For blessings which he gives me now,

For joys “laid up” above."

Hymn 227: There is Sunshine in my Soul Today

Love you all!

Elder Kovacs

                                                           An abandoned Cane's bus

                                            Garfield mural in a small town called Blue Mound

                                            Quick trip to Washington (the old school house)

                                                        Aquiring Samantha the Smoker

 Our friend the snappy turtle

                                Sunday lunch, chicken, sweet potato, cooked by the smoker (baked beans and                                                                         corn bread donated by a member).

First Cropie in Kansas. This morning we caught 8 fish at our branch presidents' pond.

10/10/2022 - Week 8 !Soy un Ranchero Ahora!

 Hello everyone!!

"I'm a Rancher now!"

I have officially completed an entire week in the field! It has been wonderful, and I have been able to get accustomed to the schedule of being a missionary. 

We do a healthy amount of service which is a great opportunity to build relationships with the members of our branch and also people within the community. We volunteer at the local thrift shop in town. While we are not actively teaching about the restored gospel, we see people as they come in and out of the store. Over time we know that we will be able to become familiar faces and people will be more open to talking with us.

 We also have been able to help out some members of the church. The Horne family is very gracious and has us over for meals and lessons with friends usually twice a week! On Tuesday we helped Brother Horne put in a cattle fence, it was awesome. I am grateful for the opportunities I had pre-mission to work and gain experience with projects like this. The Horne's ironically have a herd of 18 Big Horn cattle! They are proud of their Big Horn Ranch and really enjoy talking about it. We got to feed them which was something I'll never forget. When you get close to them you have to be careful because when they swing their head back to itch the flies with their horn, the other horn comes flying right in your face. I nearly got jabbed once. 

This week we had the opportunity to invite two of our friends to baptism! One of them is named JJ, he is a friend of family who recently joined the church. He said that his mom has only one requirement and it is that he gets baptized in a river just like Jesus. Elder Watson and I are pretty excited and optimistic about the potential of having a late October baptism in a river! 

The people here in Kansas are very kind. We were helping a community member load up materials from a Fall craft fair this week. As we were walking out, we heard someone shout "hey they look like they need a pie!" We turned around and a woman asked us if we wanted a couple homemade blueberry pies which they had been selling at the fair. We of course accepted them. We agreed to give one to a friend we were planning to visit later that evening. 

I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be here in the Mound City area! As I continue to serve the Lord I continue to feel that I am here for a reason. Hope you all have a great week!

"The Lord is my light; then why should I fear?

By day and by night his presence is near.

He is my salvation from sorrow and sin;

This blessed assurance the Spirit doth bring".

Hymn 89: The Lord Is My Light

-Elder Kovacs

If you'd like to send regular mail (or packages :), please send to the Mission Home:

Elder Levi Kovacs

Missouri Independence Mission

517 W Walnut St

Independence, MO 64050

Elder Watson and I visiting people in Blue Mound 

Feeding long horns

Me with the only bit of corn I have seen that isn't harvested

Fence building, Big Horn Ranch style

10/3/22 Week 7: Toto We're Not in Mexico Anymore-Mound City, KS

 Hello friends and family!

This week has been filled with so many blessings! First I made it to my mission assignment! The journey was long but during our layover we secured some Chick-fil-A --it was heavenly:-). My new companion and trainer is Elder Watson! He did a year at BYU before coming out so we instantly had the connection of going to school for a year before coming out on the mission. He is such a great companion and I have learned so much from his confidence and knowledge of the needs of the people.

I am currently assigned to the Mound City, Kansas area and I couldn't be more excited to be here! The acres of soybean and corn fields easily outnumber the population of Mound City. It is great to see what the countryside looks like! I probably won't have much of a chance to practice speaking Spanish here but my mission president said that I'll get assigned to an area with more Spanish speakers soon. 

I have been getting to know lots of people and also coming to understand how kind people are here. If you see someone in town they'll say hello. Elder Watson and I were at a thrift store earlier today and a woman who we've never seen before paid for our things!

We experienced a miracle today and it really got me excited. We went to a couple of our friend's houses in town and neither were home. Elder Watson felt prompted that we should drive to Blue Mound, we made the 20 minute drive and knocked on a door of someone they previously met but hadn't taught, they weren't home. We then walked down the street as another man we have been trying to teach pulled up to his house. We were able to make an appointment with him for later this week. As we left that house a car pulled into the house we originally went to. We were able to briefly speak to the kids that lived there. One was high school aged and a state champion wrestler and his younger brother wrestles in middle school. I was able to make a unique connection with them and we left them with a Book of Mormon.

We almost didn't go out to Blue Mound this evening because it is kind of far away and inconsistent but I know that Elder Watson was directed by the spirit, and God will never lead us astray.

Pictures

-Meeting my President & Sister Ames

-me with Elder Watson and his previous companion and trainer, Elder Connel

-a frequent sighting of tractors in the road

-some bomb seasoning

-My first fish (catch) of the mish