Jan 12 2015

Well, I'll start off by telling you guys I'm writing you all from Buenos Aires.

This week was my last week in Piura. I am pretty sad to have left my ward Jorge Chavez, the members are awesome and my companion Elder Mauricio is one of my best friends. And of course, my district was super. We had a great last week though. We taught this one lady Rosemary who accepted us really well and she knows a ton from the Bible so it was an awesome lesson. She said she would start to read the Book of Mormon and that she would pray about it because she has been in "looking for God" for many years. Her mother in law is a strong member who helps her out and supports her. 

We got together as a district after receiving the calls about the transfers and had a mini activity playing BANG and eating pizza. Elder Rodriguez (one of the zone leaders) and I are the only ones of the district who left. The whole district was super sad that he and I left. We made more Gushy mushy too, but my computer won't let me send the pictures. After one short transfer they sent me to Buenos Aires, estaca Sullana (about an hour north of Piura). Here it is even hottER than Piura. I had a rough week with head pains due to the heat but here it's even hotter. But I am all good. I am here with Elder Arce. We are the zone leaders in Sullana. I never thought I'd be one, I'm pretty nervous because it's a lot of responsability but Elder Arce is awesome and will teach me well. He was my zone leader when I was in San Pedro. He's from Argentina. We'll go out running a bunch here so I am pretty excited. 

Anyway, love you guys, hope you all have a great week!! 

Elder Evans

Jan 5 2015

Hey everybody! Hope you all had a happy new year!! News year here is pretty crazy. It is completely out of control and pretty awesome. My companion and I didn't want to stay the night in our room because of the party that was next door so the zone leaders let us stay with them. At midnight all silence broke. People started launching fireworks and burning giant "año viejos" (google it if you wish) in the streets and everything. Año viejos are like giant dolls of people stufed with hay (more like scarcrows but look like normal people). They burn them to burn all the bad spirits and bad things that happened to them in the year and start it fresh once again. There was so much smoke in the streets, we watched from the front door, pretty crazy stuff.

This week one day we walked out of the house where we had an appointment with some less actives and two sisters from the ward called out to us from the street saying they were then just looking for us. They said another sister and her family needs us and a blessing and they showed us where the family lived and we taught them and gave a blessing and they are doing better now. We keep teaching them because their are teenagers there who are less actives. It was a cool experience. The two sisters in the street would have passed us by if we had not exited the house at that exact moment. I'm doing great here, having a blast and working hard. The bishop wants my companion and me to teach piano lessons on saturdays to the youth and the YSA haha, so we will on saturday and see how it goes.

Love you all!! And have a great birthday Katie!!! 

Elder Evans

Dec 29 2014

Hey everybody! Hope you all had a great, and cold Christmas!! As the Elder Tommy Jones said here it has also been heating up quite a bit. Today especially is ridiculous. Anyway, it was awesome to talk to the family. It was the highlight of Christmas as the year before. President Rowley invited us to visit a b as many members as possible for christmas to share a mini Christmas message and so we did that on Christmas eve, passing by all the members that we know where they live and wished them a merry Christmas if they didn't have time for us and if they did we shared a short message. The day of Christmas we gave service and cleaned the  church building and visitng a few members and at night we had a district activity and made a bunch of deserts and played a game called "Bang!" So I made gushie mushie or however it's spelled and everyone joked arund and was nervous to try it but they all loved it. We are visiting the Fossa family a lot because a few of them are less actives and a few are investigatores that want to learn more about the church. Gino, one of the sons is super cool and is in the process of returning to the church and is determined to help us teach his siblings less actives and investigatores. We are working most of all with them and the Fernandez family, a family of recent converts and an investigator mother. She goes to all the activities and feels very comfortable in the church. And we found a less active named Deddamia this week that wants to come back to the church and her less active daughter and her nonmember grandkids are coming to live with her and she says that they all hope on returning to the church together so we are pretty excited to keep helping her and her family out. The mission life is good. I love it! I can't believe that in about 6 months I'll be back.

Love you guys, and have a great New Year's!!! I think my companion and I won't sleep till 5 or 6 that morning because of our neighbors who love to play their massive speakers at full volume and drink till the night turns to day...

The funny thing is about the picture I sent with me on top of the house is that so much dirt and sand has piled up at the bases of the houses that I was actually only about 4 feet ofr so above the ground. I barely had to jump to climb on top but the picture makes it look much higher. I have the spanish completely down and now I've been working on my gringo accent. My companion says I'm one of the best spanish speaking gringos in the mission. The dialect or accent of the Piuranos is very funny to those from Lima or other parts becuase they speak as if they were singing and everyone says I do that well. It's much more fun talking like a Piurano constantly speaking higher and lower and emphasizing certain syllables.

Elder Evans

 

Making gooshy mooshy

Dec 22 2014

The time is flying by, it's crazy. I feel like I just got hwere to my new ward but Ive got almost a month. Anyway, i'm sorry i have very little time to write. This week Sister maria, an investigator who's husband and kids are members went to church on sunday for the whole time and she was super happy it looked like. We were going to invite her to be baptized on sunday after the meeting but she and her family and left the house so we will do it this week hopefully. Everything is going great. Today we went to Sechura as a district and went to the beach and explored some ruins or something that was pretty cool. I took pictures but I forgot to send them. I will next week.

Hope everyone has a great Christmas!!  Here we will visit members just for 10 to 15  minutes to give a lesson about Christ and visit as many members as possible. Then in the evening, as a district, we'll go caroling and then each companionship is in charge of making a desert to eat to finish the day. 

Love you guys!!! Merry Christmas!!!   

Elder Evans

Dec 15 2014

This week was pretty sweet. We are teaching the Fernandez family and they are the best. Three of the kids are recent converts and the dad is returning to the church and the mom Maria is an investigator. They all went to church on sunday but the parents left early because they had something to do. We taught them the restoration and about the Book of Mormon this week and it was pretty sweet. The sisters in the other ward Ramon Castilla that attend church in the same chapel had two baptisms this week and that was really cool. There we missionaries and returned missionaries of the ward sang a musical number (regocijad, Jesus nació).

On Sunday we had a spacial conference with the ward councils of the 3 stakes of Piura and the Paita stake where Elder Uceda of the first quorom of the 70 addressed us and talked about the changes we are making in the area to improve the retention of the converts. He said that in this area of 5 countries we baptize one person every 15 minutes; however, of 100 people baptized, only 17 remain active (the statistics of the area). So we have a lot work to do to improve the retention. Elder Uceda taught us a ton and once translated for President Hinkley in Ecuador. In the conference I got to see and talk to people from Morropon my first area, and San Pedro where I just was 2 weeks ago.

On Friday, we had a stake talent show and we the missionaries sang a bunch of christmas hymns and showed two videos (He is the Gift, and Because of Him) and read scriptures. I directed the choir and Elder Eddington played piano. Later we did a theater act. I was the main character. I was a hard working missionary with 23 months with a family about to be baptized for christmas and recieved my dear john letter and I turned all trunky and refused to work. My 'ex' was going to get married on christmas as well so that helped haha. Then three fairies (think of the christmas carol) in the nighttime showed me the past, present, and future. And I changed my attitude for the christmas time and finished strong and baptized the family. President Rowley was there with his wife and loved it. He told me at the end that he thought he had gotten to know me in my 17 months here but he had never met the me he saw acting in the play haha. He said it laughing. One missionary has it recorded I think so I'll try to obtain a copy.

And today we played monopoly listening to christmas music with my district (Sister Martinez from Argentina, Sister Vasquez from California, Eder Rodriguez from Lima, Elder Eddington from Utah, Elder Mauricio my companion from Lima, and me.) And then ate in KFC. It was a good pday.

Anyway, enough for this week. Love you all, and have a great week!

Dec 8 2014

Hey everybody, this week was pretty sweet. It's been hard getting used to a new area when neither you or your companion know the people or where to go but we have had a decently successful week finding members' houses, the investigtores, and the less actives and new converts that are in our ward. We are the only missionaries in the ward and we have received help from a few of the members throughout the week. We live right outside the airport so we constantly hear airplanes coming in and leaving piura. Elder Mauricio is my companion. One of my trainer's best friends, from the same ward in Lima. He has 13 months so we've been working super hard this week and are getting along great. We play soccer about 3 times a week at 6 in the morning with 6 other missionaries from the San Bernardo ward, Los Pinos, and Ignacio Merino wards. I have been learning pretty well how to play.

The ward is awesome. The high priest group leader is super funny and called us from the street one time (we were looking a little lost) and we got to know him and more than anything we are trying to gain the trust of the members. This week we have plans to teach with members to be able to extend friendships to the investigatores that haven't yet gone to tthe church. Next sunday, Elder Uceda from the quorom of the 70 (area president here) will visit the mission and the members to train us about ward councils.

Today we gave service from 8am to 1pm cleaning up streets in Piura with the Castilla stake. Today is a holiday and all the missionaries in the city of Piura helped the 3 stakes that are here in Piura with the service project. It was pretty cool.

Anywyay, love you all. Have a great week!!

Elder Evans

Dec 1 2014

Hey everyone! Happy first day of December. This week was pretty cool. We had our ward activity on saturday and all organizations of the church participated (young men and women, relief society,etc.) and they all had their own rooms in the chapel to teach the first principles of the gospel, the plan of salvation, the restoration, and the Atonement. It was pretty cool, we a had a few investigators and many less actives that went. The goal was that everyone would bring at least one friend or family member that isn't a member of the church. Our investigators attended and a few non member friends of members of the ward so it went pretty well. Also, Elder Melo had his 26th birthday this week so we celebrated that in the ward mission leader's house with a few members and the other missionaries Elder Castro and Elder Humble.

Today was transfers. This times it was way different, last night the zone leaders only said that a few people had transfers(including me) and we had to go to the transfers meeting and receive our new companions and go to our new areas. But my new companion didn't even know that he had transfers because they made this change this morning so he and I will be two new missionaries in the Jorge Chavez ward in the Castilla stake in Piura. The two elders that were there left (but I'm with one because he will teach us the area) and I will receive my new companion Elder Mauricio later today in about an hour. Remember Elder Campo??? I trained him in Los Angeles, Tumbes in May, June, and July. He will be staying with me and my companion and another missionary in my apartment for 2 days as he waits to recieve his new companion whom he will train. He is serving 2 hours away in Talara so the assistants want him to stay here with us until wednesday when re receives his new companion. I'm way excited to be reunited with him for a day or two. I'll be a grandpa in the mission finally. I'm still district leader. It'll be my 7th transfer as such. I've been reading in Jesus the Christ and in Ether (of the Book of Mormon) this week. I love those books.

Hey Mom, wow I pretty much forget that stuffing existed. This week I missed the squash buns . I was talking to Elder Humble fromUtah about them. He and his family grow squash and he loves it haha. That's cool that there were a bunch of new faces at the thanksgiving dinner. Next year Ill go for sure.

Love you guys. Have a great week!

Elder Evans

Handing out refreshments

Elder Paul and Br Victor, who cooked for him

Elder Melo's birthday

RS presidency and EQ presidency