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
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