Feb 17, 2014

sorry im late. today we had a meeting with the pres... for our 1 month in the mission field. what? hahaha who knew. its going by so fast. im just. on for the ride. still feel like  2 years is a long time. dont get me wrong. ive saved 10 mil for this week. its my birthday. this sunday. none of you even said happy birthday... thanks. hahaha jk... its all good. yeah. so... im going to buy a cake. im so freaking excited. cake. ah. cake. hahahah take joy in the little things.

 so inappropriate funny story. me and my companion were using the yernals in the church. he looks at me. and says... hey elder. i like your watch... hahaha how awkward. he is so funny and when we work we get along. but not in the mornings or nights.

 we have been fighting alot. because. i took too long to cook my top roman. hahahaha it was all fine. till he called the zls and than all night talked crap about me. so i was really strugling. i felt horrible. like the one person who is supposed to help me here. didnt want anything to do with me. it hurt. but i wont let it stop me from baptizing everyone. =D

 so i saw the first plant that i recognized today... crab grass. haha exciting i know. but honestly ive been. searching. hahaha met a guy. i nicknamed him sam banks. looks the same. only spanish. acts the same. hahaha wierd.

 So just so you all know i want to share this very important part of me life. in costa rica. they have national sloth day. and its oct 19th. so yeah. that day.... ill find a way to celebrate it. hahah maybe ill just walk slow.. or eat slow or not shave so im hairy. who knows. haha 

 pretty boring week. investigators not really progressing. itink its cause we are fighting. we have one. but thats it. trying hard. no results... oh well. just got to do my best. i love you all. tis week has been the hardest of my life. with valentines day. and my companion. i spent hours in prayer. and hours just breaking down. its so hard to be here. i worry about everything back home. haha i need to focus. and im good to go. i love you all. thank you for all you do.

 we have one investigator. jaunita... she is doing well. one more week and she can be baptized. i hope things keep going well for her. i gave a blessing on a house. that was so cool. loevd it. in spanish. haha yeah. my spanish. is getting there. i know the alphabet in spanish. haha the song doesnt really work for it. but i changed it a bit. hahaha

 so remember that guy i gave a blessing in the hospital from the states. we ran into them and they said. that the doctors are shocked. and they get to go home 2 weeks early... what. that was me. well. not me. but the power god let me use. isnt that amazing? im so lucky. to have this power in me and to be able to use it for good. and bless the lives of people. 

 this mission is exactly what i needed in every way. im learning so much. how to work. study. focus. and try my very best. im happy. i feel. happy. despite the hurt. the missing you and the wanting to go back hoem. i love it here. i love the people. i want to work. i want to be better. and i love it. god lets me be happy. and thats. what i needed. to be happy. i can do this. its hard but i can. i got all you behind me. and a giant push from god. haha how could i not. 

 i read the parable of the lost sheep. i found something i really liked. at the end. it says. he rejoiceth in the 1 that he hath found and helped return to the fold.

 jesus rejoiced in the 99 that didnt sin. and lived good lives. and were safe. but that one. that one that sined. the one that was lost. and needed to be found. when it was returned. jesus rejoiced in that one more than the 99 others all together. what an example of repentance. i related it to me. ive never been perfect. as you all laugh we all know it. hahah but i know that what im doing here god rejoiceth in. because i returned. i was so lost. and now im so found. i have found myself. my heart and my soul. i know where my feelings lie. and what i can do to be better. be sad when someone isnt doing the right thing. but support them. help them know its not good. but dont tear them down love them. and when they are ready to be found. help them come unto christ. 

 that was me for my mission. i didnt want to go. till i thought about one thing. marriage. you may think i am too young. haha i am. i need to serve for 2 years. hahaa got ya. but i thought to myself. i dont want to get married for time. but for eternity. 

 i had to go get lost. i had to sin. to fall away. to reject the gospel. before i realized why i needed it. and now. look where i am. in the most beautiful place in the world. because i trust in god. and his son. that i wanted to be a part of not only my family but a part of my future family too. forever. i lvoe this gospel. in every part i think. how can i help someone to realizes why they need this gospel. so when someone isnt perfect. dont worry. support them in their life. and god. will make a way. maybe through you or someone else. for me. it was brooke. i needed her testimony. and example. to want to be better. and now. im helping others. who can you help to know. you lvoe them. support them and that you want to help them return. be kind and gentle. say i dont accept what your doing. but i love you. and it will make such a huge difference. 

 i love you all. keep the spirit with you.

 love your almost 20 year old misionary. elder. evans. 

 haha i love youuuu

Feb 10, 2014

so this week. i have alot to talk about and a little time. hahaha sorry. i jsut had alot to say to people this week. haha yeah. i love it here.

lets break the ice. so sitting in church in the class that i have to teach. and this lady starts breast feeding. what!?! i heard stories but right here? hahahaha how strange. the best part is the kids name. its Kobe bryant! hahaha sheepy and dad will prolly get a kick out of that. the mom is 15 and the dad is 31. kinda gross. but here its totally normal so i dont judge. hahaha i just didnt talk to that half the class the rest the time ahhahahahahahahah i win.

 on that same note. we arent aloud to look at newspapers i guess. found that out the hard way. why is this world so gross. hahaha so yeah. warning for those who want to visit costa rica. haha

 so new rule of the mission. elders can not teach single women. with our without a member. so yeah. solomenty married or men. yep. so we lost alot of investigators. hahaha its a new rule. and its a good one for our protection. but we gave away 8 baptisms just for this month. hahaha so yeah. thats sad. but its for the best. the hermanas in our zone didnt give us any so we have none. hahaha time to focus on finding. im really good at that. haha i love talking to people about how im new. i am not sure when i ll need a new pick up line. haha i have to say this is my 4th week in costa!

 4 weeks!?! what. yeah. im in month 3 as of tomorrow. how easy. how fast. i lvoe this work. its such a blessing to be serving. so this is a bit for car. car. serving a mission. its scary. its hard. it makes you get over all your fears. but its so fun! its crazy how much god helps you and you dont even think about the fear you have cause its gone. i walk up to random people i cant talk to and i talk to them. in spanish. haha what. i love the ticos. haha thats costa ricans. hahaha car. serve. if you need to wait till i get home to talk you into to and help you see that you can. thats fine. just work and go to school. this is your life. if you need to wait till your 20 thats fine. i did. and im glad i did. i honestly am so much more prepared. but i know if you start praying now and talking to god about it. he will help you prepare now. with a new job. with new friends. with anything he thinks you need. i know youd be a great missionary. i think about you every day. i tought my companion a bad phrase that you used to say. and he says it all the time and i think its so funny. hahaha youd be proud. hahah car. i love you man. your life is your choice. just remember. god needs you. and you will be blessed for it. with happiness. for me playing video games was pleasure. but with pleasure comes a sense of wow. now what. or repentance or no accomplishment. here i am happy. i feel like i have done something. accomplished something. i am happy. its hard but im happy. i love you man. write me more. and we can talk about anything you struggle with. your my favorite brother. not becuase your my only brother. but cause your my best friend too. you helped me change my life. you help me stay cool. and i never forget my S.W.A.G when i leave the house. Self Spiritual Worthyness and glory. swag. i love that.

 so anyway. i love you all.  i keep showing off pictures of our family. sorry. hahaha they think its crazy how tall we all are. and how we all have teeth. something so simple. people dont have. hahaha

 so taught this lady she rocks. had to give her to the sisters which is ok. cause she just wanted me for my... testimony. hahaha but she lives at the top of the mountain. i didnt have my camera. but the day after my birthday . we are going on a hike. so youll get some good ones. she had the last house. very. last. haha crazy. so yeah. but i met two dogs this week. and they were nice. i got some good snuggles in. cause in the white handbook. doesnt say anything against it. hahaha win. it was AWESOME also met this cat. super cute. she loves me. so that was good. i wanna send pictures. but it would break moms heart. they are like the epitimy?  is that a word? of ASPCA hahaha get it? so i tried to pray in english. i cant anymore. so thats hard. hahha its auto spanish. hahaah yeah. i love spanish. its not very pretty language. hahaha maybe if brooke spoke it... hahah wha? who said that. jk jk its just like everyone sounds.. dumb in spanish. hahahaha oh well. i sound awesome.

 so im learning patience. so thats good. and i see ghosts before the mission right?= well. we live between two cemetaries. the creepy once. with the tombs above the ground. i dont open my eyes at night.

 so i got to do the coolest thing. so this family. americans on a cruise. the dad got a bad bacteria infection. into surgery. i was on splits with the gringo ZL elder price. and we got the call for a blessing. we had to suit up like on NCIS when they get in those suits and help tony. well i got to give him a blessing in english. the day before my companion gave one to a hermana in spanish so it was my turn. it was. amazing. another reason. why i know i need to be here. no time for fear. for fear is not of god. jsut do it. sweet mormon family. very old. we dont see many mormon gringos here. that speak only english. it was amazing

 so dad. here. we have what they call fresca. that means any type of drink ever. but! im talking about the fruit ones we have at every meal. i love them they remind me of you... ill make you some when i get home. its so good. its like a juice. kinda. and smothy. without the ice. ah. amazing.

 so i ate chicken heart. which is so so so good. throat and feet which is pretty good. and chicken stomach. that one was like. no thank you. hahaha but the others. rocked. at a house of inactives. except one that comes with us cause we are friends. he served a mission and is waiting for his girl. we get along real well. she serving in florida. so he practices his english with me. so taht yeah. he can talk to her. he rocks.  great example.

 i know why im here i lvoe it here.

 i got to baptise a woman named maricruz del carmen arevela montoya haha long name i know. in spanish it was awesome. it makes me know more. why i am here. and the importance of my work. everyone i talk to i am helping a little bit come unto christ. or get ready for a mission. or something. i love it here. i love this gospel. god blesses me so much. got another busy week ahead of me. i cant wait. the weeks are so fast. the days so slow. when you need someone to talk to email me. im here for you. i love you all. thanks for you support. happy valentines day. thats wierd to say cause... its like summer here. i forget its winter there. hahaha im so tan.

 but yeah. with god. anything is possible. i cant wait to come home. but before that. i cant wait to be here for two years.

 22 more months and not counting... i miss you all. i want hugs when i get back. alot. keep me updated. love you all talk to you in one week. be there =D


Elder Evans

Feb 3, 2014

so this week was so fast. and i have alot to talk about. in little time so pardon me for my grammer. ands stuff. so yeah. first off my companion doesnt like me hahaha i dont do things exactly the way he does. and he changes the schedule that i know is wrong so he gets mad. oh well. workin on that. but yeah. lets start with a postive spiritual note.

 I feel like in the past two weeks i have learned more aobut the savior. myself. my future. and how to be a better man. than the next 10 years could have taught me. i lvoe it here. its hard and i miss home. i miss my family. i miss my brooke. i miss my life. but this is more important. im greatful for all god does for me. and all he is helping me learn. haha im so much better off. this will benifit my family and future family for the eternities. i need this. everywhere i struggle god helps me. when im scared to talk to people god helps me. and the people love it. they love to talk to people. its not weird or awkward.

 now enough of the mushy gusy. liek the fried bannas here. gross. thats the one thing i dont like. i eat raw tomatos all the time. and i realized this is where dad learned to eat everything. haha i do too. it rocks. the people here boil bannans. which i was worried about when i saw it. the texture and all. but the texture is like. a potato. its. gross. but edible. hahaha that fried banna though. no.. no. no. ahhaha

 so i got bit by a dog. twice. yeah. she had puppies and we have to walk past to get to 3 meetings. there is no other way. hahaha so yeah. she is so nice. but she is a momma dog. haha i know better. mom. dont come pick me up. i dont want you to see the dogs. and animals. and the poverty. haha its so sad. it breaks my heart. 

 so yeah. 2 earthquakes in the same day 4.5 and i dont know the second one. so that was so freaking... cool!!! im a missionary. i always feel safe so i just thought it was. cool. ahahaha wierd. than right before that. we were teaching our investigator who will be baptized next week. and in her house was a spider. the size of my hand like if my palm was the body. and my fingers were the legs. yeah. and they just left it. no one killed it. i was far away but if i had a pistol i would have shot the thing. they let it just walk into the bathroom. i still refuse. to use that bathroom. hahahaha i thought i wasnt afraid of spiders. but wow. this is different.

 so the people here. ok. so i got mad at brooke. well not mad. but we got into a debate about the continents. and i guess. i am wrong. everywhere they teach that north and south america is one continent. but not in america. they think its so funny that we get taught wrong. hahaha whatever. who needs them. hahaha

 so i guess fanny packs. are like. the bomb here. hahaha and they say chow. i have to stop myself from yelling. GGAAAAYY hahaha im a horrible human. its so funny to me. 

so yesterday was election day. so everyone was outside. so hard to get anything done. hahaa lots of contacts though. so yeah. and the funerals. they carry down the middle of the street and they like the whole city. walk behind it. ahahaha wierd. 

 i got to help in a baby blessing. that was cool. the drinks here. are amazing its like not a smothie. but like close. its like fruit. without the ice. its amazing we have it at every meal. im getting so fit. hahaha im back down to a whopping 160 and im cut. i work out so hard. i lvoe it. this mission is such a blessing. so my companion. speaks bad english. its so funny. and he is allergic to pork. well. we had pork at a members house. we ran home and i just hear him on the toilet. elder. my butt. is burning. hahahaha so funny. the other day we were talking about women and who he wants when he gets home. he is almost done with his mission. so he said."my girlfriend likes... i dont know i dont meet her yet" hahahaha what a character. hahaha 

 So yeah. its so hot here. power outages. and no water for like 6 hours haha i lvoe it. i love the work i lvoe the poeple. i get to teach an advanced english class. so that. is different. ahhaha but eyah. its fun and i enjoy it. 

 finnaly yesterday was fast sunday. and i fasted to be strong to not be so truncky and not miss home so much. and i felt nothing all day. no difference. untill a member said. in spanish. it was wierd i recognized it. she said. the thoughts and feelings come after. i remembered right before dinner. looking back. god helped me so much! i dont feel as much. i do obviously. i mean i left my life. haha but i felt. good. i felt like i can do this. i love it. i love the lord. i love the gospel. im learnign so much. its amazing. its hard. and this two years seems like so long. but i know it will be short. and im trying to focus. to get the work done. haha i love it here. where i lack. god doesnt. he helpes me every step of the way. im not sick anymore. im strong. and i am getting stronger. mentally physically and spiritally. i know that this. is the most important thing i could do right now. i lvoe you all. thanks for the things you do. and how you change my life. i cant tahnk you enough for helping me be prepared. 

Love Elder Evans.

Jan 27, 2014

so im here in escazu the south side i believe. haha sorry its so hard to figure this place out. all the roads arre twisty and there are no addresses here. when you ask somewhere where something is they say. go 200 meeters till you smell cookies turn left than 400 metters till you see a red house take the second left after that. you get the point. its crazy.

 PERO i love it here. the first few days sucked they were the hardest days of my life. but i got to work. thats the only time i dont feel horrible. when i work. im happy i love it i am not thinking about much just focusing on helping others. but when i stop i hurt again hahaha yeah. so here is my time. we dont eat dinner. the people are too poor to feed us and our house is on the edge of our area. so we never go home. so i rarely eat. but we have a lady she is a member next to our house. and she cooks lunch and cleans our laundry. it is so nice! hahaha we havent had food so we went shopping in a place called pricesmart. its exactly like costco. that made mi muy truncky. or homesick. so we havent worked today so im struggling again. hahah i miss you all. i miss brooke. i miss utah. haha 

 so my language is getting good. i talk better than most poeople thats what my companion says. haha its hard to understand but its coming very fast. i love the work. we have 2 baptisms coming up so this month or feb i hope. they didnt come to church for good reasons so this week they should come. our goal is 25 people in the 3 months i will be here. i think we can do it. we are doing great. talking to alot of people and we have like 10 progressing investigators right now. the work is fun the fun is work ahhahaha my life doesnt make sense anymore.

 pero i love you all. i need you to know that. i was struggling last letter real bad. but im happy. i love it here. the lord blesses me so much cada diia so i just need to stay busy.so now im just going to talk about costa rica. so the drivers. yeah. my biggest fear is crazy drivers. that fear is gone. so that was nice. =D hahaha everyone here is crazy but they all drive crazy and have been driving crazy for their whole lives. so its not crazy. they are good at driving bad. so its suprisingly safe. =P hahahah kinda. the busses are scary. but i think of them as a rollercoaster. it really feels like one. the driveers slam on the gas and breaks. no in between. ahhahaha oh well. im used to it.

 so Elder quinton l cook came on friday! great time to start a mission ill say. he gave us a blessing. it ment the world ot me. he said. "you will come to know why your are here. that your ment to be here. and your purpose. you will come to know that the work here will bless the people you love more than being with them right now would" that struck my heart. cause i feel like i need to be with you. i need to be with brooke. but that was like. this is the best thing i could do for not only me and the people in costa but for my family. and future family. it ment the world to me. 

 so the people. yeah the people i think the obesity is the same in the usa. pero. the people here dont wear clothes. and if they do its super tight. so i want to throw up like twenty 4 7 hahaha yeah. sorry about my spelling and stuff i dont understand these keyboards. and everyword i write has a red line under it cause. this is a spanish computer. hahaha ooopsie. 

 the dogs want to eat me. that is muy verdad. haha not a fan. and its just whatever. 

 mycompanion has the worst smelly feet. i think could possibly exist. hahaha i ll post some pictures later. also i ahve and hour and a half to email every monday. so yeah. we try to go at 1:30 every week. next week we are going to the waterfalls. so it might be before or after. its a 3 hour walk. hahaha so excited. 

 so the people here are awesome so loving. they really dont have much and they all love everyone. i love it. talking to them is the best. there is a returned missionary sister in the ward who speaks english she is my best friend. hahaha my companion speeks alot of english so thats nice. but i have to talk in spanish for him to understand alot so it rocks. hahaha i learn he learns. he is the best. he prayes for me in our prayers together. he compliments me. he is so humble. i love him with all my heart. i could not ask for a better companion. 

 the weather. wow. it is kinda hot. its not too bad all day. but its enough to sweat pretty good. and at nights its so cold. well not really but it is in short sleeves after a day of hot. hahah yeah. oh and my acne is doing amazing in this weather! hahaha thats nice. 

 so yeah. the money is 500 per eveery dolar? cant spell. my companion thinks its funny that i cant speak spanish, and english now. hahahaha this boy who just got baptized his family is inactive. but he is 12 and he loves to talk to me cause i cant understand him. hahaha all the young men in the ward do. hahaha our area has 120 people attend church. so its ok. but its only 1 ward. sad. we are teaching a lady named luz and marticruz they are both going to be baptized in 3 weeks. so yeah. that will be my first! haha here you have to go to church 3 times before baptism. haha its hard for them because the chapel is so far away. there is one. in our entire areaa.

 speaking of chappel it doesnt ahve carpet. that was a huge shock. nothing does. the church is all tile. its so pretty. i love it. i am in the most american place in costa rica. so the members know alot of english. the bishops family and two more. speak only english so that is super nice for me. haha and most the members can understand and speak a little. the us embassy is here in our city. and thats awesome. 

this is the mission address. i can get packages once a month. but its so far away ahhaha but its the only way to get mail. i can also go get it when im in san jose. but that is not often.

 Elder Evans

Costa Rica San Jose Mision

Apartado Postal 249-2010

San Jose, Costa Rica

 so yeah. i dont need much haha im pretty set. and packages are too expensive. if you send them through the post office. ONLY USE the post office. its like 30-80 bucks for you. its free for me usually. so thats nice hahaha but its not worth it. everything here is expensive too unless its made here than its dirt cheep hahaha so yeah. 

 lets see not sure what else to say. ive been sick with the runs for days hahaha the food doesnt like me. hahaha so yeah. that sucks. got to work through it. and my companion called the hermana who is a missionary and the nurse and i had to describe it. awkward. hahahhaha 

 But eyah. i love the work i love it here. i love the people. and i love my mission. 

 i just struggle because i dont believe i can do this for 2 years. it seems so long. i miss you all so much. got to stick it out another week. the blessings are amazing and i love it. just got to stay focused and ill be fine. love you all so much thnaks for your words and the help you give me. they mean the world.

 Love your missionary. 

Elder Evans

Jan 22, 2014

so im here! yeah this is wierd.. not sure how i feel about it yet... still nervous and not much time today because we have 30 min to write our families. so here is the update.

this keyboard is different. haha 

so yeah. its so hot and humid.. but it is so beauiful here. its so crazy how beautiful it is. i love it! so yeah. im here and safe. the money here is crazy 1000 is 2 dollors and everything is kinda expensive. unless its fruit. so yeah. i got her late monday night. and that was so hard. i think i cried all night in the mission home just in this like barracks place. it was so different. and its so hard. the next day we sat in the mission home all day and tried to get our paperwork done. than after our interview with the pres. who is the best guy. our motto is baptizar y retenar. baptize and retain. haha if we baptize a family and they get sealed in the temple. no matter where we are. we get to go to it. anywho. so after a day sitting. we went out at like 5pm on exchanges i loved this guy he knows little english but it was good. we taught 2 families. and i helped a ton and the spirit. was so strong. and so powerful. than we recieved a referal. and the guy was drunk. and old. like spanish is hard enough to understand. hahah fail.oh well. so 

Pday is monday. so youll hear from me again then. this is just to tell you how i am. i forwarded you the email about letters. packages are too expensive dont send those hahaha its like 50 for the smallest. thats 25mil here.(mil is thousand) but yeah. its different. but that lessons and stuff were good. i havent eaten much in days. we had mcdondalds when we landed and pizza for lunch.the next day and than we had breakfast today. im always hungry here. 

 So yeah. i love you all. im struggling. keep me in your prayers. i feel like i cant do this. so just keep me in your prayers. this is hard. i dont recognize anything. oh and the worst part. there are no straight roads in costa rica. no speed limits and the police dont do anything. so yeah. its crazy ive almost died like twice hahaha oh and they dont watch out for pedestrians. so if i get hit. dont wory its inevetable. hahaha so yeah. thats hard. even the buses like  60  mph around turns. its... scary hahaha but im safe dont worry. god keeps me safe. and its crazy. they are all two feet drivers. they are all good. at driving bad.

 So yeah. thats costa rica. gorgeous crazy drivers. nicest people ever. just got my new companion. elder rodriguez. yeah. minimal english so that should be good for me. oh well. just excited to get to my new home for 3 months. not sure where it is yet. but im going. =D sorry not smilies i cant find the buttons to do it. spanish keyboards. well. i love the teaching part. i just am having a hard time. i cant understand i cant talk. but i try. im not coming home.  i can do it. god is lifting me so much. its crazy. i can see and feel it. also. i miss you all. letters get here in about a week. but for me to send them back it takes like 3 haha so fail. but its good here. the missionaries the people the serving. i think it will be better when i unpack. and have a home. here i just have worries and anticipations.

 i love you all. im here to serve the lord. he will make up my weaknesses. i can do this.  just need to push on. i love you all. i keep you in my prayers. i will help these people. i will adjust. and i will serve. i love god so much. i think i would have gone home if i didnt come here. cause the beauty is why i want to be here. i wnat to see more. and the lessons are so amazing. i am excited. well. i love you all. ill write yoou later. and my computer is super slow haha i miss home. hahaha oh well. it feels like june. not jan so i might forget what month it is. haha anyway i got to go now. i love you all. stay strong. for me. and work hard. 

 Love elder evans. 

Jan 16, 2014

So yeah. last week. thank goodness i dont know how people did this with like 9 weeks. so yeah. id run away. jk. its like prison here. hahahah they lock us all in and its all fenced off. they say its to keep people out. but we all know the truth. hahahaha

Couple points of buisness to conduct. Kaylyn your beautiful. 

 (that was my main point)

And i hope you do great at your dance. keep up the hard work your amazing! im loosing all my dance moves here. why? cause we arent aloud to dance. so fail. hahaha i hope everything is going good with you! 

=D so! this week. what a week. super hard. haha my neck is doing great. my volleyball skills are quite up there. =P i went and got my neck cleared so i can leave here! all good to go. it gets sore every now and again. but its just muscle no big deal. =D 

 Dad your talk rocked. it sounded... just like you =P hahaha i love when you use me as an example. hahaha its weird to hear that other times in my life ive been an example. i thought my mission was the first time hahahah =P who said that. =D 

 So i dont miss rocking. i miss zombies a litle. but. its nothing compared to the spirit here. so i think we are good. =D haha you all thought id lose it. =D but. my mind is still in my head.

 So my investagators. i will never again be able to spell that word. investagadors and investigators? hahaha it didnt get underlinded in red so i got it right in one language. =P My spanish is getting there. and i feel good about it. cause god has blessed me so much with it. camila is a stubborn woman. we have taught her the restoration for like 5 lessons! she knows the bible so we have to like go deep for her to understand it. and we thought we were done. when she was like! i cant pray about it. cuase we didnt need it. i believe the book of mormon is true. you wouldnt be here telling me lies. i just dont know why we need it. than my teacher stopped us. (yes she is the investagator as well) and was like whats wrong. hahaha it was awkward. pero. i love that teacher. she has helped me learn so so so so much. and i always feel the spirit when she teaches. she is just like a good friend to us. that is teaching us more than we could ever imagine about the gospel!

 or other teacher hermono serrato is great. =D his investagator is eric. and he! is a teenager that doesnt do anything with his life. and before you make jokes about me. i had two jobs. =P hahaha but he just is accepting and very cool. i love teaching him! he always wnats to know more. he came to church with us (metaphorically cause... he is our teacher and its fake!) ( but its not fake cause the lord leads us with the spirit cause he know its to help us practice for the future.) that part i think is so cool. pero. he has a baptismal date. and we are pressing on. i love him. hahaha but our teacher outside of our investagator. is super cool. he is super funny. and sometimes he just stopps and laughes at us hahaha what a brat. but he is teaching me alot about doctrine and how to get the doctrine out of anything. focus on the why and the investagator will figure out the how. 

 SO yeah. Elder Bednar came. again. to talk to us and continued aswering questions what an amazing man. he said an analagy about the the truth. of the gospel. its like a board. and the bible has truth. so its like a nail. so if you put the nail through the board you can twist and turn the truth. you can change it. but! if you add another nail. the book of mormon. the truth cant move. its constant. it stays the same. =D its so cool! 

 He also talked about the sacerdocio aka the priesthood. and about why women dont have it. his answer. we dont know why men have to carry it. just that they do. than his wife talked about. how men and women are like two half and have to create a whole. after my mission of corse. than elder bednar said. The priesthood is like an umbrella. it covers men and women. its just the males job to hold it. =D 

Its for everyone. its a blessing from god. and anytime anyone needs to use it they can! (if there worthy and stufff!) but you get my point. priesthood doesnt have a gender. its just our responsibiltiy.

 our branch pres wife. said. it makes me so mad when women get upset about this. she is like. I dont want the priesthood. i cant raise a family have kids and be a wife. AND hold the priesthood. 

 It made me think. God is perfect. we all know that. that my friends is doctrine. see. im getting good at this. (only  through good am i getting good. i do not boast of my own strength only the strenght of my god.) if god is perfect and he created man and women. dont you think he knows what powers and strengthes each one needs to help the other? yes ! god is all powerful. muy poderoso! i love him. he blesses me daily. 

 So yeah. my luggage. seems to be fine. im not even worried about it yet. hahaha hahahaha so. there is this elder named elder ridgly. we dont know exactly what his deal is. but he is the funniest man youll ever meet in your life. he just says the wierdest things. right now he is going through his email cause he found out if you type a letter all the emails that start with that come up. he is currently on the letter P hahahaha what a wierdo. he keeps us entertained. so my companion elder hoover has been reasigned to florida. so just me and parker have our visas and are going to costa!

 MOM I HAVE GREAT NEWS! i just realized. god has finally blessed me with a black friend! well brown. =P but he teaches me sports. and i help him with his girl problems. he is doing so much better. god blessed me with him so that i could know for myself through all my hard things how it gets better. he says he is greatful for me and all i do. but i think he blessed me more. =D cant wait to serve in costa with him. he is our District leader. its what he needed to step up and get through his problems. 

 I love you guys. i really miss you all! hahaha gosh. i love you each and every one. thanks for all you do. 

 Love your missionary.

Elder Evans

Hey another note! 

Just got back from the temple. wow. the new video is amazing. its brand new im sure you've heard. its another one after the new one we got 6 months or so ago. wow. 

The provo temple is so beautiful from up close. and so beautiful on the inside! (not a big fan of it from far away.. but its a temple!) it was amazing. going with my district and my companion. =D ill upload some pictures. =D so yeah. the new video. made me cry. the spirit is so different as a missionary. =D its so so strong. the video just helps you see. a little more about how much power god really has! its so freaking crazy. i loved it so much. so. 

as a missionary i committ you all to go to the temple asap! its amazing. its beautiful =D i cant explain too mas more. but ill upload pictures. maybe after dinner. i have email priviliges an hour a day till i leave. so ill  be keeping in touch. love you

Jan 09, 2014

Oh my dear mother i love you. its crazy  how long its been since pday. two extra days is just. so much harder! hahaha i broke down twice this week. but! its ok. i got this. =D hahaha just a couple of bad lessons oh well i have alot to say today! 

 First off dad. your letter. thnak you for them i love them always =D 

 guess what ive won the game of speed more than anyone here. so be proud dad! im draining threes all day! Cadia! =D My luggage is the same as it was when i left. im not worried one bit. ill let you know more once i go to costa and it takes a flight... =P: keep it in your prayers >.< can you do that? who knows.. im a missionary. i pray for everything.

So my teacher, and my investigator Hugo, (they are the same person.) hahaha switched with our schedules and i cant figure out this picture thing i have to go to main campus to use it. =P but. i miss him =P but we got a cool new teacher, hermono serrato, native from mexico and like that isnt hard enough to understand he has a lisp. so yeah. its cool to me. i like it but.new world to our lessons! oh yeah! so my spanish is at a point where im not learning im losing it. so we have to talk in only spanish now. which is hard cause our spanish consists of the restoration vocab. but... hey. thats how you learn! hahaha i love spanish now. =D

 so yeah. had a bad lesson yesterday. i didnt feel the spirit and i couldnt remember my spanish. not sure. why. but afterwards. hermana powell. the greatest teacher ever. sat down and she can follow the spirit so freaking well! well she taught us to listen to the spirit. and we practiced. asking questions and answering through the spirt. it was the best feeling in the world i was so mad after our crappy lesson. and how bad i did. than. i got to bathe in the spirit. i loved it so much. i love the spirit. =D

 Our new investagotor. is easy. she is open and knows alot. its throwing me off! hahaha we always have the tough investagadors and we havent taught an easy lesson. hahaha thats prolly why its not going well. 

Another new investagador is Eric, our new teacher, he is like a rock. its so hard to teach him. but the spirit is like a sledgehammer. well. a sword too! you know what is so cool!!!!!

 Well we had the presididng bishop in the general athourities talk to us. and he talked about the armor of god. but what is thee only thing we have to use. the only weapon. the only offence! well. its the spirit. the sword of the spirit. without it. we cant do much. against the armor of satan almost nothing! just keep that in mind. 

 Another cool thing i learn this week was from gordon b hinkly. in preach my gospel he saiid. if every one prayed for the members and not just for the missionaries. the gospel would have a much more profond affect on the hearts of the children of men! thats my own words but isnt that so cool! its so true. we need memebers and im not even in the field yet. =P 

 Keep members in your prayers cause thats how the work will move forward. >.< 

 another cool thing i learned was from an investigators quote, not sure where i heard it. and im paraphrasing again. =P my memory sucks. 

 "the First thing a new investagators see is two persons when they open the door. is it a coincidence that joseph saw two personages? our door approaches have to have that kind of affect we have to show them we are from god! and that he has sent us. =D

 back to my life. i think i broke down the other day. well. ill just tell you. Pearce and Birrir aka Peirce and beer our best friends in the district above us, well. they left. and that was hard. than! our other good friend elder farmer, (from idaho... yeah i laughed about it everytime i saw him for like a week ahahhahah elder farmer. from idaho.. classic.) and elder lane both went home. its so hard to see it happen but it does. we are the only district in our zone that hasnt sent anyone home. and we dont plan to. 

 so thats been really hard. but its ok. im doing good =D cause that same day god blessed me with a package from brooke. you need to see some pics of me in my PJS!!! hahaha i love them. she is just amazing! so that was just enough that i needed when i needed it. to lift me up. now im back on my spiritual high. like the spirit is a drug. i just want more hahahah (can i say that?) not sure. but yeah... =D 

 Cycle of the spirit. i invite you all to practice it. god wont let you down. it goes(hold on while i translate it back to english, naw... ill say it in spanish.) 

 i dont konw how to write the accent marks on this computer so.. lo siento or spell spanish...

 Inspirado preguta---- Eschuando----Pausar (at least 3.8 secondos) compartir por medio de el espiritu. 

 Its amazing! we practiced it and it just. the spirit speaks through you. we used it on a doubt and investagator had bout being baptized and i love that even when your practiceing god lets you have the spirit. if your trying to learn he wont be like. no. its not real. he will hlep you no matter what! thats so cool! i hope to get to practice it more, practice listing to the spirit cause its so amazing the things that it can do. =D well...

 THats all for me this week folks. and i hope to get on later. (oh and the temple opened but our time is so wack im not sure we will make it. but next week for sure) 

 I love you all... so much. i love this work, and this gospel. 

 yo amo nuestro salvador y redentor, Jesucristo. Solomente por medio de jesucristo y su expiacion puedemos ser limpio de nuestro pecados. Y Volver de dios. te amo todos personas, y mi famillia. yo se que el libro de mormon es verdadero. que jose smith es un profeta. en el nombre de jesucristo amen.

Love Elder Evans