Feb 17 2014

This week has gone quite well. My companion Elder Villena are already greatfriends.If you remember my pictures from the christmas program he is the missionaryin the middle of the two santa clauses, I am on the right, Elder Lux is on the left and Elder Villena is in the middle. He was in my zone a while back.

My first weekbeing lider de distrito has been pretty cool. I led the district meeting even though the zone leaders are there since theyre in my district. They said it went really well and I did things that they never thought of that they really liked. I just did the same things Elder Chen did when he was mydistrict leader. tomorrow I have my first traing meetting as district leader.We have to travl to Piura again but I heard its a blastso I m excited.

Yesterday we went to church and it was weird cause its a ward, with about 61 or 70 active members. It felt huge cause I have been in my tiny branch in morropon for 6months.

The mission leader works with usa ton. He comes out with us to go to appoiments every 2 days or so. He is way cool and always wants to work with us.  We also hae a few priests who come outwith  us and they put on a "futuro misionero" nametag. The weather is actully nicer here it seems because theres a lot more wind. But people still tell me tumbes is the hottest part. I havent seen it very hot yet. We'll see. 

[Paul then sent another email answering some questions that I had for him]

I lead the district meetings, all the companionships, including the zone leaders, report their numbers to me every sunday, and then I write the totals and report to the zone leaders (they are in my district, that's why they report to me first). I also call the missionaries in my district every night or two to see how their day went and if they need anything and to help *animate them to work. 

The ward has about 60 or 70 active members, its a huge change from Morropn. 

We sang songs about mission work because every 3rd sunday the missionaries speak on la obra misional. It wqas good but the lady who diriects the music doesnt give an intro or anything, she just starts singing and the people start on the 2nd or 3rd beat. It's really awkward for me ha. And they dont use the piano but maybe ill play a bit, we'll see. 

Valentines sounds like a ton of fun!! Oh and I also have eaten cow stomach, cow tongue, and a few other things that I don't know. Oh, and horse hooves I think too. That was interesting.

This is all for now, have a great week!!!!

Love, 

Elder Evans

 

*[mom's note: "animate!" hahahaha!  Jim says "animarle" in Espanol is like "cheer up or excite." I'm thinking Paul meant "motivate." Or possibly "fire up" or something. Anyway, we are still laughing at "animate."]

Feb 10 2014

Well this week couldn't have been a bigger surprise. I kinda new I would be leaving Morropon but that was about it. We got the callSaturday night, my district leader Elder Mamani (the goofy elder in one of my new fotos on dropbox) called us and first said (in spahnish) "Elder Evans is leaving...You will go to Los Angeles, Puyango (near Tumbes, the hottest part of the mission) and your assignment is very big, you need to read the Leadership part of the manual misional, you will be lider de distrito." I kinda freaked when he said that. I definitely don't feel ready for it but at the same time I am really excited to start fresh in a new area and be district leader. He gave me advice and I am now with my new companion Elder Villena from Ecuador. He was in my zone a while back, he has 5 months in the mission. I am super excited to serve with him because we were super good friends in the zone miraflores. I'm also with ElderPinzon, one of my zone leaders. He is super cool too and says I'll do great. He will be with Elder Villena and I until his new companion comes, the other zone leader. So yesterday for my lwast day in Morropon Elder Vasquez and I went to the branch presidents house for an hour and a lhalf or so and he was really sad I'm going. We also almost set a record in church attendance yesterday with 25. Three investigators came, so I am excited for Elder Vasquez and Elder Holmes (he is in my group and he just left from where I am now, they changed flop flopped us haha). I will miss my old district Chulupon (Chulucanas and Morropon) but I am super excited for this transfer with Elder Villena and being district leader. I have to work even harder now haha.
It was a 5 hour bus ride. I'm in the hottest part of the mission but today is super nice because there is a lot of wind and that helps keep us cool. I have less time on internet today because of the transfers so I gotta go, but I'm glad all is well and Jimmy got back just fine and well.   Oh and yeah I'll be speaking a lot of spanish when II get home because its already wekird speaking english.

Love you all, have a great week! Share the snow please! Or save some for when I get home in July. I saw the picture of Jimmy laying down in the snow haha. I'm in the hottest part of the mission in the hottest time of the year! 

Elder Evans

Yes, he is near the ocean.

Feb 3 2014

Hey everybody, this week went pretty well. We had a lot more success this week. An 8 year old girlnamed Divina, a daughter of a member, has told us she wants to get baptized and so we have a date set up for her baptism and also 3 ohers, but they still need to go to chucrch. We had a few lessons on Sunday and a member accompanied us and in one lesson he said a lot of things that should not have been said. Things that the investigators weren't ready for and that reallly worries us. One of those investigators has been reading the Book of Mormon and explained 3 nephi 11 perfectly so that really excited us. We'll visit them again this week but with a different member so hopefully the lesson will be better. It was really uncomfortable.

Today, we went to Piura as a district to eat at pizza hut and stuff and it was super fun. I am there right now because the internet is way faster. 

Not a whole lot more happened. I may have had my last district meeting in this area. We have transfers next week. I have been told though by some leaders that my district leader, who has had less time in this district than me, is almost for sure going, and that I have a 50/50 chance of leaving. It all depends on what the mission president thinks of my work in Morropon. We'll find out on Saturday! The zone leaders told me that I have risen and improved the goals and reports a lot in Morropon, so I  don't know what'll hapepen. 

Ah I miss the colddd. And no I haven't conducted a sacrament meeting but I conduct a lot of the ward activieties, I conducted the New Years party, the Noche Misional that we have every few weeks. Yesterday the Branch President was sick so I let Elder Vasquez conduct it because he wanted to. Our companionship studies are 1 hour olong. A lot of the Peruanos talk about soccer, the heat, and the possible war that might start with Chile, especially when my companion says he is from Chile. Some drunk people have gotten pretty upset when they found put he was from Chile. They were n the street and they thought we both were american. Yes I think in spanish, I think of situations in the states or byu and we talk english in these daydreams haha. And the members don't know many hymns so we play the same ones. Elder Vasquez and I are tying to help them learn noew ones. And some times I play the piano to help them learn.

[Regarding the Super Bowl] I can't believe it was a blowout, I thought it would have been closer. And yeah that is so weird to think that Jimmy will be home tomorrow, I'm coming up on 7 months right now and it feels like I still have a ton left. And yes I am getting used to the heat. Im used to wearing sunglasses or my gorro every day and sweating inside the houses, especially right now in the internet building. I know you have cooked arroz con laeche before, but have you tried it with brown sugar? This family here made some and said they put some brown sugar in a frying pan and burn it a bit (without water or anything) and then pour it in the prepared arroz con leche. It was super good. I love arroz con leche, and the kind with the burnt/cooked brown sugar is even better. 

Say hi to Jimmy for me tomorrow. That's so weird that he and Ethan will be home agian. I can't imagine being back in the states cause Im so used to bein in the desert and in a very poor country but I sometimes think of things from the states. Like today when we ate in Pizz a hut.

Hoope everything goes well with Jimmy's return!

That's all I have for now! Have a great week everyone!

Love,

Elder Evans

 

Jan 27 2013

This week was pretty close to a disaster in regards to our success this week. My companion got sick again and so we coundln't work for a day because no one could help us go on splits because as I've said many times, we have very few preisthood holders here. Also, on sunday not a single investigator came to church. We called the ones that have phones and passed by the houses of the ones that don't and not a single one was able to go. Church assistence this week was 13 (including Elder Vasquez and I). We both gave talks because a few of the assigned members didn't show. I gave my talk on obedience and keeping the commandments and shared a bunch of scriptures from 1Nefi.

Earlier this week I went to chulucanas again to go on splits with my district leader Elder Chen and we had a blast as always.  The next morning we gave service at 6:30 in the morning until 8:30, shoveling and removing earth from his ´backyard.´ I was the one who carried almost all the earth in buckets and they were pretty heavy. I was sore for the next few days, and I formed a blister from using the pick a little bit and then it ended up ripping open and that made it a lot easier....haha. I got super dirty from all the work as you can see in the picture on the blog in my track shirt and yellow shorts.

That's all I have this week, have a great week everyone!

Love,

Elder Evans

This week in church the branch President shared some scriptures that I really liiked so I thought I would share them here, I hope you enjoy them(1Peter5:6-11):

 6 ^aHumble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

 8 Be ^asober, be ^bvigilant; because your adversary the ^cdevil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

 9 Whom resist ^asteadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are ^baccomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

 10 But the God of all ^agrace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you ^bperfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

 11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Elder Evans 2.0 is sitting on a bench on the left side of this picture, gray shirt and blue shorts

Jan 20 2014 My first lap of the mile complete, or 2nd lap of the 2 Mile

The mission is starting to pick up speed just like when I ran high school track, running my first two laps slow and kicking it for the second half. I'm getting into the groove and I'm getting ready to really kick it.

This week we challenged three investigators to be baptized, and we had a 100% acceptance rate. They still need to go to church so we set their baptismal dates for February, I hope to at least see one of their baptisms on the 8th. And then the other two (a father and son) for the 15th. Although we have exchanges oon the 10th so I'll be settng up Morrropon for a good month or two. We are finding 7-8 new investigators every week and of those only 2 or 3 progress but with the constrant stream of new investigatores we should be ablt to baptize at least 2 or three evrey month here. We are working our butts off. I want my last exchange here in Morropon to be one to never forget. A lot of people know Moropon and feel sorry for us for having to serve here. One zone leader a while back even told us that every area has the capabilities of having baptims every week if the missionaries work hard. He said ¨If Morropon can do it, every area can¨ and so this last six weeks I have been working as hard as possible to set Morropon up with baptisms every week for the month of February. And so far we have two weeks set. 

Amid this work effort, I fell sick agian with a stomach infection, throwing up every two hours on friday night, starting at 10pm. The last time I threw u, at 4am Satuday, I threw up and had a nose bleed at the same time so I freaked out and thought something bad was happening. The zone leaders knew I was sick so they told me to call if anything changed, so we called them and they called Sister Rowley and President Rowley and then Hermana and President Rowley called me and gave me instrucciones for medicine. I couldn't do anything on Saturday, I felt like my body had died but I wanted to get out to work so bad. But now I am better so its all good!

I teach principios del evangelio class every sunday to our investigators and youth of the branch. We had 3 investigators attend this week so we were really happy. Hermana Eva and her son, and then a guy named Johny Montenegro. Hermana Eva no esta casada but we are going to try helping her and her husband set up plans to get married so they can get baptized with their two sons.

So this week went realy well except for friday night and saturday. We have three baptism dates and are praying a lot for these investigators so that they will be ready. At first Roberto, one of the investigators, said maybe later, but I shared scriptures of the importance of the Gift of the Holy Ghost in Acts and the 2Nephi 33: 1-5 and testified of the Holy Ghost and that if he prays to know if our message is true he will receive an answer, that it really is. And I said ¨when you receive your answer, which we know you will, will you prepare to be baptized for the 15th of Febuary?¨ And he paused, then said yes, yes I will. Then his son of 10 years old said that he will too. It was a huge spiritual experience. It was weird hearing my voice being very bold, yet very loving at the same time and we all knew the Spirit was there.

Anyway, thats this week. Oh and I went on splits with Elder Morán in Chulucanas this week. It was great. Ill try sending pictures. Oh and random fact, Chulucanas might be the size of the Dufferin Park area at home in Savage, possibly a bit bigger, but it has 76,000 people. The enitre city of Savage only has like 30,000.That's how crowded the city is here.  

Love you all, have a great week!!

Elder Evans

Jan 13 2014

Wow. So much happened this week. It was definitely one of the best weeks of the mission so far. Last monday we had a  district activity and then this morning we had a zone activity in Piura (I forgot my camera cord so I'll send fotos next week). We had way more success this week than ever before. It's like our work is starting to produce the fruit we need to help Morropon grow. Instead of 15 or 16 going to church yesterday, 26 came!! (including the stake president and his sister or somebody). We had three of our investigators come for the first time, one of them is named John. He is 22 years old and he is the only nonmen¡mber in is family. His brother is about to serve a mision so John thought he would check out the church. His family lives in Trujillo and he is only here to work for a few months so that is the time we have to work with him and hopefuly he accepts the challenge to get baptized. He liked the church but still has some doubts but we can work with that. Also one investigator already said that she wants me to baptize her, she is 8 years old and her mom is an active member but her sister is inactive and refuses to listen to us so it's always interesting when we visit her and her mom. We found 8 new investigators this week that we are working with as well. Most are friends or relatives of my convert Hermano Clemente. 

Oh and one night I woke up around 3 or 4 in the morning and felt something on my forehead, I grabbed it, and it was un grio grandote (huge cricket) so I just threw it at the wall and went back to sleep. I have gotten used to the crickets.

On Saturday we went to a chacra (farm) for a few hours to give service and help this family pick fruit and we ate lunch there. It was sooooo hot. But it was really fun and we had a goood time with them and helping them out.

That's all I can remember for now, keep moving forward and say hi to Ethan for me when he gets back!

The heat is getting bad. I feel like Minnesota has days like this in the summer too but not often, just randomly. The intense heat here is constant, every day. And they say that ther is still more coming. And we are also waiting for the rain. Every morning and night there are a bunch of clouds and it might sprinkle but so far we havent had any major storms yet. We did have a few earthquakes this last week. I think on tuesday we were studying in the room on the 2nd floor and the floors starting moving. We stood up and we walked like we were really dizzy. I thought it was cool but some people got super worried. 

Yeah it's weird to think I am just 5 days from my 1/4 mark. I feel like I have a ton left still but I don't feel like Ive been here long. I stil feel new just cause I am still in my first area. My zone leaders and I are really close and I gave them ties, one of them Elder Mamani from Bolivia thinks I am a really good missionary even though I still feel reallly new and not that good. We had to stay the night with them this week because my comp had to go to piura and we went on splits with them in their area to work and I went with a futuro misionero. It was super cool.

Love you all!

Elder Evans

Chulucanas+Morropon=Chulupon

In Chulucanas

Elder Paul is the really white guy in the back

mototaxi

Jan 6 2014

We just finished the frst week of another tranfer in Morropon. By the end of this transfer ill have 6 months just in morropon, and it seems possible that I might stay another transfer, who knows. This week we got a lot of work done. This last week was better than all of our last 6 weeks. We visited less actives and new converts and found new investigators and in four days we contacted more than 40 people in the streets and have lots of apointments set up for this week with new investigators. It is like we are starting over here because all of our investigtors fell through. Oh and just a second ago I experienced my first earthquake. While writing this email there was a minor earthquake and we all felt the floors shaking and rattling. It was pretty sweet.

Our district changed a ton. They took out two elders from Chulucanas (there used to be 4) and put in hermanas. Hermana Garlick from Texas somehere outside Houstin and Hna Gozán from Honduras. They're pretty cool, I'll hve to get used to having hermanas around in the district cause I never have had any hermanas in the district before, although since I'm in Morropon I only see them once or twice a week so it's still not that different. Today we had a district activity in Chulucanas but I dont have good batteries right now so I dont have pictures. We just climbed a big hill with a cross and another with a big CHULUCANAS on it, like from my previous pictures. 

Oh and I am having major allergic rashes on my arms and face and neck, people think I ate something I'm allergic to but I dont know what im allergic to so that helps a lot. I have times where I wake up at night because Ive been scratching my face and eyes in my sleep. Im pretty red, Im taking allergy medicine I took from home as well as the excema lotion. Oh well.
Oh, and the santemontes are coming (the crickets). One night we found 15 or more massive flying crickets in the room and outside the room, so we kiled them all. They are disgusting.

Have a great week!

Love, Elder Evans