Hi family! I guess it’s good I didn't get an e-mail from you this week because I'm at a computer that does not print.
My new companion is great! We actually have the same first name. This is only her 3rd transfer. I'm her second companion. She already seems to have everything down. She reminds me a lot of Natalie. She's self-confident, gorgeous without even trying and everybody loves her. She knows how to have fun and she believes strongly in being yourself. She has a boyfriend waiting for her at home. They basically have the whole wedding planned. Ring bought, wedding date set, reception planned, and first kids named. I need to be careful. It will be really easy to compare myself to her. She's so confident it would be easy to take everything she says to heart. She has a lot of advice for me but at the same time tells me I'm likeable and beautiful. She told me today that she realized something she's learned from me already: to be strong. I first thought, oh good maybe I've been an example of strength. But she got that from when I had a breakdown the third day here. She learned she needs to be strong when I have a breakdown. Great Sister Evans. You show your companion how not to be. In general she seems to have everything going for her. But I do know that the biggest mistake you can make is to believe someone is perfect. Absolutes are practically impossible in this life. She has her strengths and I do too. And what you believe about yourself shouldn't depend on other people. We are all children of our Heavenly Father who loves us all equally and unconditionally. The most important things in life are not to look good for other people or keep the next person happy.
We had dinner at a home where the husband had a collection of ukuleles! He let me try them. It was fun, brought back memories. :-) Their family has a band. I felt at home. :-)
One of my favorite Spanish words is Frijoles (Free-hoe-lays) meaning beans. We hear that word a lot. Especially starting with "Mas" and ending with a question mark.
Thank you Lila for your letters! I got 3 letters from you today and it made my week! I love the stickers! Where do you get them all?
I love you all! I hope you're all doing well and having a great week! I miss you!!!
Hi everybody! I'm now in Madera, California. I like it here. We're teaching all in Spanish. I'm understanding a lot more than I did my first Spanish ward but there's still a lot of catch-up to do since I've been in an English ward since then. My companion is a fluent speaker, luckily. I'll be able to learn a lot from her. She's very competent and outgoing and everyone loves her. We were supposed to have a baptism on Sunday but we couldn't find the person at home the whole week before so we didn't finish the lessons. Hopefully she'll get baptized soon. I'm still getting to know the ward and the people and there will be more details as I do. One of the Elders serving in the same ward was my district leader in the MTC. There are 4 sets of missionaries here. One set for each English ward and two for the Spanish ward which covers the whole city. It's interesting driving down the street. There will be one side of the street with a new development of houses. Right across the street will be run-down houses with goats in the front yard. There are a lot of goats here.
I'm also back to the staple of rice, beans, tortillas and chicken. Also KFC. Those are the two meals I've had the most in my Spanish areas. I don't mind, it's really good. The ward LOVES to feed us. They just recently put the Sisters back in after like 10 years with Elders so we're spoiled a little. This is the only area my companion knows so she doesn't know how lucky we are here.
I was reading this morning 2 Nephi 25. I LOVE that chapter. I don't know why some people think that Mormons aren't Christians. I love in chapter 25 how Nephi testifies so boldly of Jesus Christ our Savior. I love verse 26. We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ so that our children may know to what source to look for a remission of their sins.
I also like verse 23. It says by grace we are saved after all we can do. I realized something this morning when I read that. Sometimes when we're going through a trial, it takes awhile to find relief. We know we will be saved by grace after all we can do. So maybe if it's still hard, we have more we can do. It's a challenge that we can be strengthened by. Heavenly Father does not give us a trial that we cannot overcome and He sent His son so we can always have someone to turn to who will always be there as long as we want Him. But He will not take away trials. What He does is give us the strength to overcome them. This I know. If you feel like you're running out of steam, don't stop running because then you'll run out of breath and you don't want to stop breathing.
Random quote: "You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love." Henry Drummond
Have a great week everybody! Keep Smiling!
Hermana Evans
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