May 26, 2015

Hey Y'all!!!

Well.. howdy there! Sorry I left ya hangin' and wasn't able to email yesterday! The library was closed.. but I hope y'all had a great Memorial Day! Transfer Calls will be here at the end of the week, so I guess we'll see if both Sister Ludwinski and I are staying?? She has been in Dalhart for about 6 months now! I've learned a lot from her and I love her a lot- she's an awesome companion! We went on exchanges towards the beginning of this last week and we had a good ol' time! Sister Affleck and Carroll (two of my fav sisters) are the STL's (sister training leaders). 

We did a lot of service this week! It was much needed! We helped another church with their food drive, helped do dishes and serve lunch at the senior center, and were given the opportunity to give a devotional at the old folk's home! We played the last scene of The Testaments (where Christ comes and heals the people) and it was so powerful! It was so neat to see these people's reactions to the touching scene as they are the ones right now who are suffering with so many sicknesses and afflictions that can only be fully healed through Christ! 

We have been so blessed to have found 4 new investigators this week to teach in Spanglish!  They are a really cool family. It's crazy that nearly half of our teaching pool speak only Spanish ... not a lick of English! This week we have had a few really crazy "Texas Lightening Storms!" We also had President Heap's 1st Counselor in the TLM, President Lovett, come to visit our branch this Sunday! He and his wife are such cool people! I love them! The best part is that he is a chiropractor, or "chiro-cracker" (as my Mom likes to say!) and he was able to re-align my spinal column for me! Just what I needed...Heavenly! :)

This Sunday, our investigator, G will be baptized!! YAY! Her dad will be the one to baptize her, so that will be a really neat experience! Thanks for all the love and support you send my way! I appreciate it :) I love you all so very much! Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Evans

Did I mention that part of my area covers New Mexico? It was so windy!!

May 18, 2015

Hey Y'all!

Hello! It sounds like everyone is doing great! I'm sad I had to miss the DSDS dance shows 2 years in a row, but am so happy to hear that Macey danced so good!! Keep working hard, Sister!!

This week went by so quickly! I feel like I say that every week haha but the weeks really do fly by! We have been experiencing some crazy weather lately- lots of rain and wind... tornado warnings! Fun stuff :) 

We had Zone Conference this week and it was great! President Heap and his assistants were so bold with us, but they are inspired- so it's what we needed to hear! We learned a lot about the Savior's model and about planning, goal setting, and having a vision for the work and working towards it. I was able to see Sister Udall there and she updated me on all of my peeps in Canyon! ...everyone is doing great :) Allison sent Sister Udall to our meetings with a b-day present for me-the cutest necklace and earrings! She's always keeping me up to date with the latest styles found on Pinterest haha! I love her!

We were able to teach a lot this week, more and more frequently in Spanish! I gave my first prayer in Español this week in a lesson.. it was scary haha!

We had the opportunity to do some service at the Senior Center! They wanted us to serve the elderly peeps coffee and tea, but we avoided the situation and were able to do the dishes instead! We also had a really cool unforeseen service opportunity with a guy named M... we were walking around the park and saw him standing by his truck and looked stressed to the max! We found out that he locked his keys in the car and so we went knocking door to door to find a hanger! We ended up getting a member to come and help him- church members to the rescue! It was so neat to see how close-minded he was when we first talked to him compared to how appreciative he was after we helped serve him. We taught G this week- I love how humble and teachable children are! The scriptures teach us over and over to be like a child- I now know why. I love this work! Being a missionary isn't always easy, but it is so rewarding! I hope that y'all have a great week! Keep sharing the gospel with those around you each day and study the scriptures daily!! The church is true.

Love,

Sister Evans

(I tried to capture the breathtaking TEXAS sky!!)

May 11, 2015

Hey Y'all

Hello!! Thank you so much for all of the Birthday Wishes!! I am overwhelmed by all of the love that's coming my way today! Thank you, thank you! So far today has been really good! The Branch President's wife is treating us to free lunch at her bakery - "The Sugar Shack." So that will be fun! Sister Ludwinski made me pancakes for breakfast, so I'm feeling plenty spoiled! haha. Thank you Mom, Dad, and Macey for the birthday package! I opened it up this morning and loved everything inside! 

This week was... SOLID!

We started off the week by knocking what we thought was just an ordinary apartment complex... it turned out to be an Assisted Living apartment complex haha.. we went knocking at 8:45pm. It's safe to say we woke up a few old peeps...oops! We had a lesson with a little girl named G who is 11 and her dad is a member. She wants to be baptized so badly! She's so cute and it's so neat to see how close to the Spirit young children are! We felt prompted to go to a certain side of town this week and I felt really drawn to a certain house. We went to knock and found 2 vicious dogs wanting to attack us and protect the house. We said a silent prayer and the dogs settled right down, letting us knock on the door and pet them! We had a really good conversation with the lady on her doorstep and I absolutely know that we planted a seed! On Saturday, we were able to go to the temple for a session and the sealing of the Satterfields! They are such a neat couple and will be taking their children back soon to be sealed to them :) I love the temple more than any other place in the world! I can't even describe the way I felt there! No wonder we are counseled to go often throughout our whole entire lives :) Brother and Sister Borth (Branch Mission Leader and Relief Society President) drove us to Lubbock- they are the sweetest people ever. I loved getting to study and sleep for hours on end in the car haha! 

On Sunday, we had a really good Sacrament meeting! I had the honor to speak about Loving others as Christ loved and we had 2 investigators and a less active who speaks only Spanish come! It was a big step for many of them! I love this work and am so grateful to be a part of it! I am so glad I was able to FaceTime y'all yesterday! Sorry it was kept so short! I hope you had a great Mother's Day momma! I love y'all!! Have a great week :)

Love,

Sister Evans

May 4, 2015

Hola!

Hey Y'all!

Happy MAY! What in the world!? Where does the time go?

I'm so pumped to get to talk to y'all this Sunday! I'll be on around 5, 5:30, 6-ish TEXAS TIME! Woot Woot! Well, this week was... eventful!

We started off the week by visiting a less-active, part-member family... their dog held it's bladder for too long and peed on my foot haha... then, I was organizing our kitchen and all of the Tupperware containers and reached into the cupboard and found my hand in a spiders web with the furry spider running across my fingers!! EEW! Then, we were doing service for a member and a pigeon pooped on my arm.. then, I tripped on some cement stairs and now I have a nasty gash and brusies down my shins!! You could say it was a rough week! But... all is well :)

On the bright side, S was baptized and confirmed this week! It was a great service! My newly acquired talent.. (well kinda!) is leading the music! (My motto is "fake it till ya make it!") S didn't know he was supposed to bend his knees, so he just laid down in the water and the poor guy who was baptizing him couldn't pull him back up haha.. but it all worked out! It's so neat to see how his countenance has changed just within the past few days! The spirit is present in his life! 

I love being a missionary. The experiences that I have been given since being here in Texas have been life-changing. I love the Savior and his gospel. I pray that each of you remember and recognize just how blessed we truly are to have the knowledge that we do! I know that Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ love each of us beyond our comprehension! I love y'all! Have a great week :) Talk to ya Sunday!!

LOVE,

Sister Evans

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