Eddie Nevitt

This is the Flag of Peru
and you are listening to the National Anthem Of Peru

Click for Peru Map

Click For South America Map

I served my mission during the years of 1974 through 1976. I came home one day and the letter from Salt Lake was there and opening it up I was called to the Andean Mission. I really did not know where I was going but I knew it was Spanish speaking and that is what I wanted. Before I arrived in the mission field the name was changed to the Lima Peru Mission. My mission president was President Russell Bishop.

I had a great time in the Language Training Mission. In part because I knew a little Spanish going there and I had Wendy and Adrienne close by attending BYU. We were under a lot of pressure to memorize our discussions every day. We worked hard to learn them and prayed hard each evening that we would be able to pass them off the next morning. Many times I went to bed thinking I had given my all but I could do nothing more than pray and felt I needed to study more. And the next morning the words were there. Great experience.

My first assignment in Peru was Lima 3rd ward. I learned a lot there then I was transferred to Lima 4th ward. Then on to Lima 5th Ward and then to Arequipa down South and then back to Lima 1st Ward with an office assignment. It was here that my mission probably changed. It was good for me to work with some good Elders and my mission president. We fasted together and I listened to a mission president really pray for his missionaries and the missionary work. I watched him be so loving and caring for everyone. I worked as the Financial Secretary for 5 months and really enjoyed the work in the office and the teaching we were able to do in the evenings. Maybe the single most important event that helped me be a better missionary was when Elder Larkin's 2 years were up and we had to take him to the airport. He cried. He did not want to leave. I remember thinking that it had been hard for me to leave each assignment but not like that. I decided that I wanted to work as hard as he had and love like he had loved the people. My last year was quite special because of that determination.

I left the office and went to Cuzco. To begin the experience there we began with a fast. At least I did. It was the longest fast that I personally have ever had. But I knew at the end that the sacrifice was accepted and that I had the Lords help. We taught like 30 hours a week. People were asking us to come and visit them. There was an older man in the branch named Hermano Abarcca who really helped us. He wanted to share the gospel with his friends and we had great experiences bearing testimony to his friends and many others. I worked with great missionaries in Cuzco. A few missionaries coming together to really work well and accomplish a great work.

I left Cuzco and finished my mission opening a new area up for the first time to missionary work. My last assignment which was another 6 month assignment was Chosica. The first family baptized was the Lozano family. And from there the work took off. I finally received my papers to go home. Saying good bye was tough in Chosica and arriving in Lima and before I left for the airport I received a phone call from the members of Cuzco. They had all gotten together and went to a local phone store to call and say good-bye. I then left to the airport to only meet once again the members who had come up from Chosica to say good-bye.

I left Peru knowing Spanish, leaving many friends behind that I probably will never see again until we meet in Heaven. I met and worked with many Elders and Sisters that will always be important to me. I learned to give of myself for others and felt the joy that comes from serving the Lord Jesus Christ. My own conviction and testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints grew. I would say that I have been greatly blessed and thanked for the service that I gave to Jesus Christ for those 2 years when those members from Cuzco gathered together and on the phone one by one thanked a 21 year old young man for having left his home, family and country at 19 to share a message as simple as Jesus Christ lives today and wants us to be happy. Within hours of that experience once again I had the opportunity to meet face to face with others, the members if the Chosica branch that I had grown to love and have them give me what was called an "abrazo" by the Peruvians and an "embrace" by us and tell me that they were grateful that I chose the Lord to serve Him versus continuing with my education and personal pursuits at 19. It very well could be the 2 best years of my life. It is not for I continue to live what I learned in the mission field.

Eddie Nevitt

favorite links:

come back again
I hope to have pictures soon of my companions and some good friends

Please Email to:threecamels@cs.com