January 18, 2011

Hi family!  To answer the question, yes, the letters get forwarded to us so I think it depends on how much mail is coming in on how long it takes for us to get it.  If you would like, you can write me directly at my apartment in Atwater.  Just don't make the address publicly known.  It will change in a few weeks anyway probably but while I am here you are welcome to use it.  The letters would get here faster that way.  It's been a little rough the first few weeks with my companion.  She has a bad habit of complaining and criticizing which she fully acknowledges. She said she will try and do better. I got the letters from Lila.  Thank you for sending them!  I love you all so much and hope you're all well!  Take it easy until you get better Lila and Mom!   Good job Natalie for being firm!  I'm learning that too.  Yesterday my companion was kind of digging in her heels because she didn't want to wax the car like we had been told to do that day.  I told her if she won't do it with me she can sit in the car and watch me and I'd do it myself. She went along and did it so it turned out ok.  Grandma told me awhile ago that she was planning on moving to Arizona in the spring and I was hoping it would be with us for a bit.  That will be wonderful. 

My companion and I were talking about spiritual gifts this morning. I have heard a lot of people, especially on my mission, who have recounted amazing spiritual experiences they have had.  If you haven't had an experience like that it's easy to think that you're doing something wrong.  My companion pointed out something.  Try and look at it from Heavenly Father's point of view.  We know He gives everyone spiritual gifts, and everyone is different in the gifts they have.  This can be compared to talents.  For example there are some people that can sing and some that can't. The ones that can't sing have other talents which are just as valuable as singing even though they might not be as obvious.  Heavenly Father sees us in the same way.  He knows all of our spiritual strengths (and weaknesses) and is happy when we seek to develop them in our own ways.  And since His opinion is really the only one that matters, we should never feel discouraged when we don't seem to be having the obviously spiritual experiences that others seem to have.  We all have spiritual experiences, just some are deeper and more personal than others.  Not all are shared.

I know that Heavenly Father watches out for us.  He sends us little messages through others that we are still loved and are doing ok.  I was feeling a little down on Sunday.  Then a little 2 year old girl named Addison came running up to me after sacrament meeting and gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.  She doesn't do that all the time.  It was really sweet.

You only make one big decision in your life- to follow Christ or not.  Everything else hinges on that. There is no doubt after that.

It's been kind of a dreary week weather-wise.  Kind of like there's fog but higher up so it just seems like it's cloudy without all the beauty of the clouds.  Just a plain gray sky that doesn't change until it gets dark.  It starts to go down in temperature about 3. 

I learned how to make Horchata, a Mexican rice drink.  You soak rice in water overnight then blend it with water, a little milk, sugar, vanilla and  a cinnamon stick. You can strain it to take out the little pieces of rice.  It's pretty good. I like it.

 Amy is still pretty busy so we're going to teach her slower.  We moved her baptismal date to March 5.  We got to teach her about the atonement last week.  She's absorbing information a whole lot quicker now.  When she realized what Christ did for her she smiled and said "Wow, that's neat!"  We also had a church tour with a neighbor of a member.  She really liked it.  By the end she said this is like opening up a whole new chapter and she really wanted to think about this.  Her attitude was like "wow! ok." kind of in awe.  The Spirit was there for sure.

Everybody else is still pretty much the same, progressing slowly but surely.  We find new people to teach all the time. Hope everyone is having a great week!  Don't be afraid to be yourself!

                     Hermana Evans

January 11, 2011

Hi family!  Thanks for the e-mail!  Dad, I love hearing experiences from your mission.  That's one of the things I am learning how to do- just let things go.  There are SO many things that you could stress over but you just have to move on.  You're right, with your companion too. Everyone has their quirks and some are perfectly fine.

Hi everyone!  Hope you've had a wonderful week!  

I never have had a goal for the number of baptisms I want to have on my mission.  The number has never been that important to me.  I know that as long as I'm doing my best.  The biggest desire I have had is to just see someone's life change.  As long as I know that I have helped someone form a happier life for themselves and their families that I feel great.  I've seen that with a couple of people.  One is the Smith family.  The husband was heavily into drugs for 19 years.  Since we've started teaching him he has completely stopped.  He and his wife feel "on top of the world."  They're coming to church and trying to do everything right. They even have started a "cuss jar" that they have to put money in every time they say a bad word.  The transformation is amazing!  They have a 4 year old daughter who loves coming too.  They're so excited they don't know what to do with themselves.  Another miracle is with the boyfriend of Sandy.  He's the one that was living with her and for that she couldn't get baptized for awhile.  Since he moved out and she got baptized he has been coming to church and has a strong desire to do things right too. He even agreed to give a talk in sacrament meeting. His family are all active members and have been working with him for years to get him back to church.  The first while we would go over and teach summer he would hide in the back rooms of the house.  He's completely changed and it's wonderful to see. 

I'm learning a lot of basic Mexican ways to cook from my companion.  Lots of Spanish too.  I found out that "Ganzo" is "goose."  I thought it sounded like the name of the Muppet but no, my companion says that Gonzo is not a ganzo.  :-)

Something I learned about the Sabbath Day.  It used to be on Saturday to honor the creation of the world.  After Christ's resurrection it was changed to Sunday to honor that.  So the Sabbath day has always been to honor God's great works.  In reality every day should have a little bit of Sabbath in it.  There is one day that is 100% to the Lord but we should live in thanksgiving and worship every day of our lives because His great works have no end. 

It doesn't matter what anyone says about you, the only opinion that really counts is that of Heavenly Father.  If someone says something that makes you want to feel down on yourself, pray first.  Ask Heavenly Father if it really is something you should feel bad about.  Sometimes it is and we have to repent but other times there's absolutely nothing wrong with you.  Heavenly Father knows our strengths and our weaknesses more than anyone and He is the one we need to talk to to know how to best improve our lives.  I did that this week.  Before I passed judgment on myself I checked with Heavenly Father.  That really is the best way to go. 

I read Doctrine and Covenants 88:199 this week substituting the word "house" for "character" and it turned out really cool.  "Organize yourselves; and prepare every needful thing; and establish a character, even a character of prayer, a character of fasting, a character of faith, a character of learning, a character of glory, the character of God."  Those things should be who we are trying to become.  Just thought that was neat.

It's been bone-chilling cold this week. Don't know how that makes people want to avoid the missionaries but that's what it seems like.  We're still doing our best and having fun.  

Keep Smiling, Singing and counting your blessings!

                    Hermana Evans 

January 4, 2011

Hi James!  How are you?  Mom just told me that you mentioned you spend a lot of time on Facebook.  I know too, it IS addicting.  PLEASE remember how important your education is.  I don't know what you've heard from mom or everyone else and I really don't want you to feel like we're lecturing you.  I know it's just because WE ALL SEE YOUR POTENTIAL!!!!  You are an AMAZING person and really, the sky is the limit. (TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!!)   You've heard with great knowledge comes great responsibility.  You are very smart and have the chance of a lifetime.  Do you know how many people in the world actually get to go to college and have parents that will support them in this?  Not very many.  And remember when you look for a job (which is hard to do now) they look at college grades.  High school is completely forgotten.  Never doubt your ability.  With God all things are possible, I have learned that.  Seriously, you can do anything if you want to.  It's good to have fun and take breaks.  But make it an education with fun breaks not fun with education breaks. 

Don't be scared about your mission.  Just prepare the best you can and you'll be fine.  I'll give you a challenge:  write me every week and tell me something you're doing to prepare for your mission.   Doesn't have to be long, just report.  That's something you do a lot on your mission- it's called accountability. 

I love you so much James!  I can't wait to be the one writing you on your mission.   Have a wonderful week!

                      Sarah

Hi family!  Sorry last week was short.  I really just couldn't think of anything to write.   Yes, I could understand Buzz in Toy Story 3, that was cool.  Sister Alvarez said he was speaking Spain Spanish- a little different from Mexican.   I'm working on not being overwhelmed.  It's really easy when you have a change of companions and you're the "expert" who is supposed to know everything and decide where to go and who to visit.  When you feel like you have a lot to do, it's really easy to let the adversary in to tell you "You're not good enough" or "you're not doing it right."  I'm learning you should NEVER say those phrases to yourself.  You can't help other people if your strength is spent on beating yourself up. I know that as long as you're doing your best, Heavenly Father is happy.  I'm teaching that, now I just need to remember that.  Sister Rivera is really different from Sister Alvarez.  Not bad-just different.  It's a change to get used to just like it was a change going to college or anything like that.  I'm really working on taking things in perspective and not stressing. 

Hi everyone!  Well, it's a new week.  Doing good with my new companion. It’s different than last transfer.  Sister Alvarez liked doing everything together.  Everything was shared and everything was equal.  Sister Rivera is a lot more independent and likes to do her own thing-we usually make separate meals because she's really picky about things.  Before her mission she was the manager of a factory for 5 years.  She has a lot of strengths that will bless the people here. We've been very efficient.  We found 3 new people to teach since she came. We've gotten into a lot of houses for the first time- members and nonmembers. I hope Sister Alvarez will like Madera.  They will love her there. 

We got to work in the church vineyard again on New Year's Day.  We were doing the pruning portion.  I was helping hoe the weeds in between the vines.  It was really cold and raining on and off but it was fun.  We even had a few investigators come and help.

We had a church tour with a less-active member.  We got to the picture of Jesus Christ when he visited the Americas and asked her how she would feel if she got to be there, to see Jesus Christ and feel the prints of the nails in his hands.  She started crying and said "I would feel wonderful, like I feel right now."  I was really grateful that the Spirit touched her and she knew where she needed to be.  

No one is perfect.  Even Moses was not "mighty in speaking."  So God called a spokesman for him.  Moses was not perfect and he didn't need to be.  Heavenly Father takes into account our weaknesses and makes up for them.  It's ok if things are hard for you.   

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Mom and Dad, please don't worry about me.  I'm doing ok.  A mission is hard but nothing I can't handle.  The more we're doing what's right, the more Satan tries to attack us right?  Thank you for 'raisin' me right.  I have been saved more than once by the knowledge I gained growing up.  I love you!

        Sarah

December 28, 2010

THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU for the Christmas package!!! I can't believe you found another of my favorite shirt.  I wore the white sweater and the skirt to church on Sunday.  I wore the yellow shirt yesterday.  I love the scarf Natalie made too!  It's so cute and very warm!  I love you all so much!   It was wonderful to talk to you all on Christmas!!!

Sister Alvarez is being transferred to Madera, my last area.  Sister Rivera will by my new companion.  She's the oldest sister in the mission (33).  I've been on exchanges with her twice. She's from Veracruz, Mexico but she speaks English fluently.

"When a person is miserable, wretched and unhappy in himself, put him in what circumstances you please and he is wretched still. If a person is poor and composes his mind, and calmly submits to the providences of God, he will feel cheerful and happy in all circumstances, if he continues to keep the commandments of God."   Heber C. Kimball

A heart full of thanks is never without hope.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  Keep that spirit all year round!  The reason for the season never goes away even though the decorations do!

                Hermana Evans

December 21, 2010

Hi family!  Great to hear from all of you!  Excited to talk to you too!  I'll probably call around 10 am Christmas morning, California time.  I'll call to mom's cell phone.  I haven't gotten the package yet but we're having a district meeting tomorrow and I might get it then.

I was feeling a little down this week, not bad just not super perky. I think it has to do with the cold, cloudy weather, not enough sun.  I'm not a cold person.  It's also dark in the mornings now so we can't go running but I'm going to start trying to exercise more vigorously. This morning I alternated between running in place, squats and push-ups for the whole 30 min and I'm feeling better today. 

I sent Grandma and Grandpa a group of four letters that is really for the whole family that you can open together on Christmas Eve.  They have numbers on them so open them in order.

I love you all so much!  Talk to you later! :-)

Hi everyone!  Merry Christmas to you all this week! It's been raining and cold and expected to be so for awhile but we're grateful here, this area always needs rain. 

Nancy and Jose are still going strong.  They only need to be married to be able to be baptized- everything else is perfect.  Here's the whole dilemma with them. He has no photo ID.  All his identification was stolen a few years back.  SO we've been working with members who know what they're doing to try and get that because you need photo id to get a marriage license.  We first tried just a birth certificate which we had to get shipped from Mexico.  They said we need something with photo.  We have a member who works in the Mexican consulate who can help him get a photo id from there but you need some paper from Mexico. So we did some detective work and found the phone number of the church where he was baptized at as a baby and called them and they very graciously agreed to send a copy of his baptismal certificate which along with the birth certificate would get him the Mexican ID from the consulate. BUT the member called and she said she talked to her friend who works there that they just BARELY changed the requirements to get that ID AND you need to have some type of photo ID to get it! That is our whole problem.  SO he sent some pictures of him down to someone in Mexico to take to a public notary down there and make a document saying it is him and he is from Mexico which they will then send back.  As soon as we get that we can go get the ID THEN they can get the marriage licence THEN they can get married THEN (dah-da-da-daaaaaaaaa) they will be baptized!! Whew!  This has not been a complicated, stressful process at all as you can tell.  Welcome to the mission field.  But yes, they are still going strong, coming to church and everything.  They're even paying their tithing!

I know that learning by experience is necessary.  We cannot be protected from everything.  It is by going through hardships that we grow. 

I read an article in the Ensign that had a story I really liked:

 Sister McConkie, one of the early Relief Society Presidents was once engaged in helping a poor family.  She went over every day to help.  "One day [ Sister McConkie]  returned home especially tired and weary.  She slept in her chair.  She dreamed she was bathing a baby which she discovered was the Christ Child.  She thought, 'Oh what a great honor to thus serve the very Christ.'  As she held the baby in her lap, she was all but overcome... Unspeakable joy filled her whole being... Her joy was so great it awakened her.  As she awoke, these words were spoken to her, ' Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.' " 

No matter how tired we are at the end of the day, no matter what we have accomplished or not accomplished, if we have done our best to love and to serve, then we have done enough.  I think I've said it before, I hope no one ever gets so busy you won't drop everything for someone you love.  In the Spirit of Christ, I'd hope that you would never get too busy that you won't drop what you're doing to help anyone period who's in need.  Many are called to the kingdom of God but many take that as a casual invitation.  They will come only if it's convenient, which most of the time it's not.  They let personal things get in the way.  They don't recognize who God is and who they are and what an incredible honor it is to com to Him.

I just feel very grateful for my Savior and the chance I have to testify of Him and help others understand about His life.  I look forward to each day and the coming years and the chances I will have to share my testimony with my friends and my family.  I will always be a missionary.

Another quote I found that I liked:

"The world would take people out of the slums.  Christ takes the slums out of the people, and then they take themselves out of the slums.  The world would mold men by changing their environment.  Christ changes men, who then change their environment.  The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature." --- Ezra Taft Benson

Christmas is really fun with Sister Alvarez.  We have decorations up in our apartment.  We made a tree out of recycling and curled pipe cleaners.  A sister in the ward lent us lights to put up.  We also have other things that we've been given.

I hope everyone's healthy.  The biggest hindrance to the work at this time I think is the fact that everyone's got the flu or a cold or some other physical ailment.

Thank you for everyone who sent me a Christmas card!  I really appreciate that.  I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and may the Spirit of Christ be a part of your life forever!

                     Hermana Evans

15 December, 2010

The Cervantez family (Spanish speaking, taught them when I was here last, came back and they had gotten baptized) say hello.  Also we were teaching a lesson with Nancy and Jose about the priesthood and explaining about with it, the Father presides in the home and gives blessings and all the other ways it blesses our life.  I bore testimony of the priesthood in my home.  Jose told me my parents should be proud of me.  :-)  Love you mom and dad! <3

15 December, 2010

Hi family!  Thank you so much! I got the cd's I love those songs!

 I love you all so much!   Sorry to hear about Grandpa!  I'm so glad to know he's ok!  Tell him to take it easy if he'll listen. :-)  Knowing him, he'll still keep going 100 miles an hour.  How's everyone doing?  Sounds like you're all still pretty involved.  How's Natalie doing?  How are all the BYU cousins?   HUGS to you all!

We had a special Christmas zone conference.  President Gonzalez shared "Christmas scriptures" all about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  He brought up a good point.  When we celebrate someone's birthday we don't take out baby pictures of that person and focus on the day they were born.  We see where they are now and celebrate for that.  At Christmas time we do celebrate Christ's birth.  But it is most important to remember that the reason for him being born was his atoning sacrifice.  It is a lot easier for people to focus on the baby than the man he grew up to be.  There is a lot of responsibility and sacrifice that comes from being a true follower of Christ.  We shouldn't just celebrate Christmas.  We should live Christian lives. That's hard to do.

We have a 17 year old investigator named Amy.  She knows little to nothing about religion at all but she has a desire to know her purpose in this life.  We taught about God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost and we're working on the plan of salvation.  She committed to be baptized on January 23rd.  She came to church for the first time on Sunday then stayed after for ward choir then sang with them in the stake music Christmas fireside that night.  The members really welcomed her.  It was great.  We got to do the fireside too because we can go if we have investigators.  Every song was beautiful.  I love music, especially this time of year!  There was one arrangement of "I heard the bells on Christmas Day" mixed with "Carol of the Bells" with organ and piano accompaniment.  I loved that.

Remember our investigators Nancy and Jose?  I am SO excited for them to be baptized.  I know it will be something special because Satan is throwing everything he has at them. They are still going strong though.  We're not giving up hope.  The wrong shall fail, the right prevail!

We got to go to the temple today!  That was great.  The Bishop and his wife drove us.  As always it was a haven of peace and very enlightening.  It's the first time in like 6 months we've gotten to go.

A brother in our ward asked if I would accompany him in a musical number for church so I borrowed a violin and we did "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring."  It went well.  That's the first time in over a year I've played.

I got to go on an exchange with the sisters in Madera.  That was my last area.  We taught a lesson to an investigator that we were teaching when I was there.  Now she has a baptismal date!  That was fun. 

It's a lot easier to be obedient 100% of the time than 98% of the time.

Prayer is the key to receiving guidance.  We don't get direction unless we ask for it.

For everyone that thinks we're weird for not spending money on the Sabbath day, Nehemia 10:31.  We're not the first ones to do that.

I've been seeing lately the effects of gossip.  PLEASE everyone, don't touch that stuff with a 50 ft pole! Pay attention to who you're talking to and keep all negative thoughts to yourself.  Like Bambi, If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all, no matter how reliable the source.  We've heard things about people then go to the supposed "source" and it's completely false.  It's not necessarily anyone's fault it gets twisted so just DON'T PASS IT ON!!!! You can let rotten fruit just fall off the tree and disappear.  You don't have to pick it and throw it in everyone's face.  I want to share a quote my MTC teacher sent me:

“If you have anything good to say, speak it and comfort the hearts of the Saints. If you have that which tends to death, keep it to yourselves; we do not want it, for we already have plenty of it.
“Frame your lives according to the precepts of the Gospel. Let your deal, walk, and conversation be that upon which an angel can look with pleasure. And in all your social communications, or whatever your associations are, let all the dark, discontented, murmuring, unhappy, miserable feelings—all the evil fruit of the mind, fall from the tree in SILENCE and unnoticed; and so let it perish, without taking it up to present to your neighbors. But when you have JOY and HAPPINESS, LIGHT and INTELLIGENCE, TRUTH and VIRTUE, offer that fruit abundantly to your neighbors, and it will do them good, and so strengthen the hands of your FELLOW BEINGS...”
-Discourses of Brigham Young—Page 123 by John A. Widtsoe; Journal of Discourses Volume 7:268-269

I am learning so much on my mission.  I love it.  It is the best decision I have ever made.  You grow so much. You learn so much.  You build friendships that will last forever.

Merry Christmas everyone!

            Hermana Evans

P.S.  For Christmas we get to watch one movie.  (g-rated Disney.  We're watching Toy Story 3 at a recent convert's house.)