July 28 2014

Happy Independence day of Peru!

Today I had my transfers. I took the bus from Tumbes 5 hours to Piura at 7am and met my new companion Elder Encarnacion at noon. Im in the ward San Pedro in the stake miraflores (the same stake that has morropon and chulucanas) but I'm actually in the city. I'm pretty sad to leave Tumbes. I had the best district in the world. There were 8 in my district and now there are 4 here haha. I'm still DL and also received another asignment as english tuto since Im the only gringo in the district. I have to track their progress learning english and help them out and test them. My companion is pretty cool, seems like a hard worker. I'm hoping all goes well here. He says we will have a baptism on Saturday so thats cool. I don't have a whole lot to say this week. It's hard leaving my last area. I was best friends with the members and with the 8 missionaries in my district. We had the best time ever. Yesterday the grandpa of an investigator got lost walking home from church. He is a member from Trujillo and doesn't know the area well. He had thought that his granddaughter had already left so he started walking home. Luckily he has a good memory and was walking home when the bishop, his family, and the granddaughter found him (they were in a moto taxi thing). Elder Miller, Mamani, Campo and I had started looking down the streets for him and we thought of going to their house first. We found them all there and everyone was super worried about him but he had already gotten back. They thanked us for at least searching for him and stopping by the house with pop and we took a few pictures with them because it was my last day. The photos are the one with the 2 ladies and the older man, the grandpa who had started walking home alone. He only ever goes to and leaves church with his granddaughter.

After a few appointments yesterday, the 1st counselor in the bishopric Manual Olaya invited us to his place and we talked a while, ate dinner and said bye to his family (there are pictures that I sent), then reported, then said bye to the pensionista and her family (also in the pictures I sent), adn then said bye to the mission leader Mario Abarca (also pictures).

Oh and today is the independce day of Peru. 

Love ya all!!! Have a great week!!

Elder Evans

 

 

July 21, 2014

Well this week was pretty awesome and lame at the same time. Lets say I'll never be able to forget my 20th birthday. At first we started the day with a district meeting and my zone leader elder castro said I had to be done by 12:00 because he and his compainion the other zone leader had to go to tumbes. So I finished at 12:15 but they never left. The district surprised me with a cake in the other room. It was the best. Then, at night my companion elder campo said that we had a meeting with the bishop at 7:30 in the chapel so we went over there. He never showed so I said hey let's go, I dont want to wait. Elder Miller and Mamani said to wait til 8 or 8:15 so I did. Later I just was talking with them in the hall and we entered a room and there was another cake with the young single adults from the ward!! They completely surprised me. They had thought of the idea and bought me the cake. You can all see those pictures I sent. Then after that quick party we went to a ward family's place and they had another cake ready and gave me cologne as a gift haha. We celebrated my birthday 3 times in one day. I was way stuffed after that. Then the next day we got up at 6 to play soccer and get rid of all that cake we ate haha.

Anyway, we kept working super hard this week trying to prepare 2 investigators for their baptisms this saturday that is coming up but now neither of them willl be able to yet. One didn't show up to church (she needs one more attendance to church) and the other still doesnt feel ready. We were super bummed this week but we said its fine and we'll keep working a bunch with them. I am pretty sad I never will be able to baptize someone with Elder Campo in my 2 transfers with him. Our goal was 7 this month, but we will have finished july with 0. I know the mission is hard, but I got pretty bummed this week when we realized they won't be getting baptized. I told Elder Campo, who was super bummed and sad, that he just needs to keep working with them after I leave (I will be leaving tumbes on sunday).

I gave a 15 minute talk yesterday on the mission work. I focused a lot on the faith and the Atonement of Christ. If we really understand what Christ went through and what He did for us, then we will have the desires to share the gospel with our friends because as members we know that only people who have faith, repent, get baptized by someong with the priesthood, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure o the end are the only ones who will receive exaltation. I felt like it was a good talk for my last week here. The sister missionaries joined our ward this week because thier investigator could only go to church at 8 (which is my ward) and one of them had a talk in their own ward at 10 and she said she used a bit of my talk in hers haha. 

Anyway, my birthday was the best, and we keep working super hard but I won't be here to see the fruits, I 'm hoping that Elder Campo and his new companion will be able to keep going and do better than I did.

Hope you all have a great week! Love ya!!!

Elder Evans

District

Ready to eat cake? The birthday tradition in Peru is to....

..smash the birthday person's face into the cake.

second cake

ties thrown back in preparation for cake

more frosting face

Where's the fork? And a washcloth?

Elder Paul with his birthday present. Also, for cat lovers, find the kitty

Does Elder Paul see the eggs behind him?

Instead of cake on face, egg in hair

Birthday hair treatment

Futbol time

tres gringos

July 14 2014

This week was alright. I had to go to lima this week and so I couldnt work in my area until thursday. This week went pretty slowly according to the success we had. I honestly dont have much to write this week because nothing great happened, nor terrible. I did have a good time in Piura and then in Lima with Elder Tunney and Elder Prince from the CCM and a bunch of other american missionaries. We all spoke english for that day. But really we just switched between english and spanish. It was funny hearing some southern texas accents and a few laughed when I said 'pop' instead of 'soda' haha. In my trip we couldnt go to the temple but i did finish my visa stuff. They gave me my visa card thing. I look super mad in the picture, maybe its because we waited hours for it just talking haha. Hopefully I dont have to go back to lima for another year. Its nice to get a taste of chill weather but I like Piura, the hot humid desert.
I'm not looking forward to transfers in two weeks because I love this ward and my companion Elder Campo is the coolest companion in the world. This morning we went out and worked out at some pull up bars and then the other 4 elderes and a less active (who we have brought back to the church) and a nonmember joined us to play 4 on 4 soccer. It was sweet. I went really easy for my knee's sake but still put in the first two goals of the game.

Another reason why the work was hard this week was because of the final in the world cup and Puyango had governor ellections this weekend. I'm excited to get back to a full week of work this week. One investigator wants to move her baptism date from the 2nd of august to the 26th of july so we'll try helping her prepare faster to be able to get baptized. 

I hope you like my pictures this week. We found a live crab on the beach and played with it a bit and then let it go. Cool guy. This week will be pretty awesome!

Love you all! Have a great week!!

Some elders and a crab

dinner

Zorritos means little foxes

Elder Evans labeled this picture "Little Buddy"

Paul and the blue footed booby. Those really are some blue feet.

Elder Evans

July 7 2014

Hey everybody!! All is going well. We did nothing for the fourth of july here, just if you're wondering. Although we did have a multi zone conference all day from 8:30am till 3pm. Anyway, this week was the best. Elder Campo and I set 5 baptismal dates. A few of them ofr august fo I won't be here to see them but that's alright. The weird thing is that of all our many investigators, the only 5 that have a baptismal date set up are references from members of the church. That means something I think. References from members are going to progress a whole lot more than people that the missionaries themselves find haha. We were super happy when one investigator finally showed up to church this week. She and her older sister are investigatores and cousins of a member. Their grandpa also is a member and they always are there in the lesson with us to share testimonies and stuff. They've helped them feel welcome and loved in the church and have the baptismal date for the 26th. Hopefully all goes well.

Tomorrow I have a training meeting with the rest of the district leaders and have to stay the night in the mission office in piura so Elder Cortijo (a missionary in Zarumilla, Tumbes) and I took the 5 hour bust trip in the morning to be with Elder Stanley, Elder Roman my trainer, Elder Mulford, and a few other elders that I don't know. One is Elder Hunt from Los Angeles California. 

That's sweet that they were in town! How did matt like tomahawk compared to many point? Oh wow I miss potato salad and rainbow jello. I always asked to have rainbow jello for my birthday but I'll wait another year. Today for pday Elder Cortijo and I traveled in the morning to piura to meet up with Elder Mulford (he was in chulucanas when i was in morropon), Elder Roman (my trainer), Elder Stanley (he was in los angeles for two transfers and now is a zone leader in Capullanas, Piura). They were all wit their companions as well. We ate in Chillis. It was my first time eating there, and im in peru haha. we have one in burnsville and I never went until now. Tomorrow or wednesday I will be going to Lima to fill out more papers so I wont be in my area for a few days :( but I'll be going to lima with a bunch of americans so we'll have a good time speaking english for a day haha. 

Hope everyone had a great time for the 4th of July!! I saw the pictures so I'm sure you all did. Hope everyone has a great week this week!!! Love Ya all!!

Elder Evans

 

Reunited with his trainer

Chili's in Peru

 

June 30 2014

This week went pretty fast. My last transfer in Los angeles is going quicker than the rest. I'm already getting sad to leave. My companion and I have the goal of 7 baptisms this month and are working as hard as we can to do it. One oinvestigator said that her mom and dad said she could get baptised (she is best friends with the family of the pensionista so she has support in the church) but her extended family aren't very excited so we're really hoping all goes well. Another inveistigator that lives with the pensionistas's family wasn't progressing a whole lot but this week went to church for the first time so we are gonna work super hard these few weeks to resolve her doubts and all about getting baptized a second time. We have a few others that go to church and my english classes, yes I am teaching english here, and we have a lot of work to do but we are doing it and we have faith that we'll see at least some success before leaving here. 

Today I cut my hair super short because it was getting a little long. I'm super excited for the coming weeks, my whole district have people to baptize this month. It's like our baptism droubt might come to an end in July. I love my district and we're alll trucking it here. 

Tell hayley i would die for a cold and windy week haha. Today it is super hot and we're styarting winter haha. That's sweet that matt is going to tomahawk. I never did go there. But I loved manypoint. Tell Katie and Christian hi for me.Starting tomorrow, I am just going to tell peopple I have a year in the mission. The start of July is close enough. Yeah that's so true about the story of Abinadi and Ll that. One person or one family can make a huge difference. We reactivated a family, and I baptized the youngest girl in the family. Since then, they have presented us to 3 families and we are working with one and will startt working with the others this week hopefully. They go to my english classes. This week in my class I had them all present themselves in english, saying their name, where they're from, and what they like to do. It was super cool.

Oh yeah, and this week I went on splits with Elder Bradshaw for two days. he's my zone leader and it was super cool. It's so weird that almost a year ago we were together in the ccm hah. Oh and Elder Miller in my district was born in burnsville minnesota. The same hospital. He lived in Eagan for 3 years only and then moved to new mexico. He's the only one else here from mn that I know of! It feels good to have a brother here haha.

 

Love you all and hope all is well back home!!

Elder Evans