November 24, 2014

Happy Turkey Week!
Hey y'all! It sounds like all y'all are doing so well :) I am so happy to hear that! This week went SO fast for me! I can't believe it's already Monday! Anywho- this week we saw so many miracles! Both big and small- our branch went on our monthly temple trip and it was AWESOME! Last month... we struggled in numbers having only like 5 or 6 members at the temple... so this month we made it a goal to have at least 15 members to the temple- and we exceeded that goal! We had 17 members to the temple (not including the branch presidency or the missionaries) and 4 of them did family names! It was so neat! The temple was PACKED and we had about 60 people performing work in the baptistry that night! Sister Affleck and I have made it a goal to continue helping our members be involved and excited about missionary work, so this year as a branch, we are going to give someone the gift of the Book of Mormon this Christmas season! Tonight, we are in charge of Family Home Evening and are going to put this goal into action! Each member of the branch will receive a copy of the Book of Mormon to write their testimony in the front cover, wrap it up in cute wrapping paper, and give the ultimate gift this year... Christ! In a couple of days the church's new Christmas Video will be up! christmas.mormon.org #sharethegift CHECK IT OUT! Remember the reason for the season :)

Canyon YSA is booming! We have seen so much success in these past few weeks, it is unreal! I LOVE serving here! Young Single Adults are so open- minded and ready to receive the gospel! They have such a strong desire to come closer to Christ and are so teachable!

We had a great zone conference this past week where President Heap and the AP's taught us how to reach out to others and not only "teach" them, but how to "heal" them! We can only be healed through Christ and his perfect atonement. I am so grateful for my Savior and all that he has done for me and each and every one of us! I know that Heavenly Father truly does answer our prayers and is so involved in the details of our lives! This gospel has changed my life and I have such a strong desire to share it with everyone I meet! The hymn says it best: "Because I have been given much, I too must give..." I love you all so much! Have a great Thanksgiving and don't forget to count your many blessings! 

LOVE, 

Sister Evans

(This was our Temple Trip!) Love these peeps!  

 THIS WEEK WE HAVE BEEN SO BLESSED-With Food!!

November 17, 2014

Hey y'all! 
It sounds like everyone is doing well! Stay safe in the snow!! 
Well, this week was so great! We started off the week by going on exchanges with the STL's! Sister McFarland stayed with me in Amarillo and Canyon and we had a BUSY day!! Miracles always happen on exchanges! The weather dropped off quickly and we had lesson after lesson in the 17 degree weather! (We can't go inside unless there is another woman) But it was great! 
Mom- Thanks so much for FedEx-ing that music to Sister Affleck! It is perfect! I'm excited to listen to her sing at zone conference! She is so dang talented! It's not even funny! We have been working so hard here in our area! We work so well together and will definitely be life- long friends... did I mention that we have the same birthday? haha.  This week we taught "T" a few times. We felt so prompted to teach her the Word of Wisdom and it went so well- then we took her on a tour of the church and she felt the spirit so strongly! We ended our tour in the chapel where we talk about the importance of the sacrament and then sit in silence. She said she felt a little bit hesitant until she sat down and prayed to ask God if this is really his true church and she said the feeling that she received was so strong and could not deny that Heavenly Father answered her prayer! She will be baptized on the 6th of December! That's right- all of my sweet family will be in white in the temple for Brittnie's wedding and "T" will be in white that day too! We are so excited! She came to church and loved it! They announced in Sacrament meeting that the weather was getting pretty bad and that we all needed to go home! SNOW DAY IN WEST TEXAS! Woot Woot! We tracted through 4 inches of snow yesterday! It was... cold :) 

I love this work so much! Being a missionary is the best! I know that this is not my work, but is completely the Lord's work and he will hasten his work in his own due time! We are just the instruments in his hands! I love you all! Stay warm and don't forget to thank our Father in Heaven for all he has given us! 

Love, 

Sister Evans 

P.S. Happy 25th Anniversary Mom and Dad! (Tomorrow! Did I do the math right!? 25 yrs... correct!? LOVE YOU BOTH more than you will ever know!!) 

 4 inches of snow in Texas? ok...

This is my planner from exchanges! Check out that busy day! This has been our lives for the past few weeks! We are going crazy :) 
​

November 10, 2014

Hello!
Thanks so much for all the emails! Dad, I'm dying over the fact that the cops showed up this week at the house looking for me! I'm an innocent missionary serving in Texas! hahahaha...

Anywho- This week Sister Affleck and I shipped Sister Bresnahan off to her new area! We are super excited to be serving together again- we work really well together! We have pretty much been together since day 1 of our missions... so we've got some serious companionship unity going on! 

So this week we met and taught a girl named T- her boyfriend is a missionary and is serving in Brazil! He will be coming home in March and she has such a strong desire to know what he is teaching people every single day! We taught her three times this week and she is so prepared! She absolutely loved the spirit that was felt as we taught her the Restoration and the questions that were answered through the Plan of Salvation! I love teaching individuals like her! I love the gospel! We also had a very interesting-but good- lesson with a guy from Nepal. He wanted to learn more about Christianity and we definitely learned a lot about Hinduism as well! 

We visited a bunch of less- active members who are in the process of returning and coming back to church! We had a great rescue- visit with a visiting teaching companionship! Friends and family- PLEASE do your visiting and home teaching! Those people that you have been assigned to look over NEED you and your testimonies! 

I love serving in a YSA branch! It makes me never want to return to a family ward again haha! Just Kidding- I love family wards too, but working with people my own age has taught me so much and I love the people here! I had a great week and Sister Affleck and I are working so hard! Serving a mission has been one of the most rewarding things I've ever done! I've honestly never been happier! I wish everyone could experience what I'm experiencing! I feel like I have developed such a strong love for the people here and I feel so blessed to have been raised in the gospel with the knowledge that we have as members of the church! Never take it for granted! Share it with everyone that you love! I love you all so much! Have a great week :)

Love,
Sister Evans

November 3, 2014

I LOVE Y'ALL
Hello! Thank you so much for the emails and pics! Dang! It looks like y'all had such a fun Halloween party! I miss our crazy family's traditions! I loved all of the costumes- especially Brent, Leah, and Madie's insurance company costumes! hahaha-
 This week was awesome! We talked to so many solid people on campus.... we are working on setting up appointments to meet and teach them this week! The family ward had a Trunk- or- Treat that we got to go to before institute! It was fun and reminded me a ton of home! There is a family (she is the one who cuts our hair) that owns a mortuary business... so they set out a couple rental caskets to climb into and take pictures with... hahahaha I'm telling' ya... Texans are CRAZY about Halloween! 
Mom- THANK YOU for the cutest Halloween package ever!! I loved it!  Mom...the cookies...so good...I fell out of my chair on the first bite!  Your homemade peanut butter cookies were on point! There's nothin' in the world like my momma's cookies! 
Oh my gosh... guess who I ran into down here!? Casey Lish! Yep- that's right, what are the odds?! The one who "coached" my brother in baseball! What a small world!  
On Thursday we had back-to-back lessons from 11am to 9:30pm! It was a crazy day- but we are teaching an awesome girl named K! (There are 3 now in our teaching pool! Sometimes it's hard to keep them all straight!) 
On Friday we had our mission tour and it was so great!! Elder and Sister Pino both spoke to us in their native tongue and some of the spanish- speaking Elders and Sisters translated! It was kind of like General Conference all over again! So cool! Later that night, our zone had a Halloween party where we played basketball, pigskin, and ate pumpkin-shaped pizzas! It was a really fun day! 
Our transfer calls came and Sister Affleck and I will be staying here in Canyon YSA for another transfer! We are really excited! Sister Bresnahan is moving down south to Abilene YSA. It will be a great transfer! 
Fast and Testimony meeting was so good- one of our returning less active members got up in Sacrament Meeting and testified of the importance and blessings that he has seen in his life since he recently began paying his tithing again! Wow! I love this gospel so much and I want everyone to have it in their lives! I know that it is through Jesus Christ and his teachings that we can all have true and lasting happiness! I love y'all! Have a great week :) 

Love, 

Sister Evans

*half of the Texas Lubbock Mission!*