Two for One!

[note-Since we have been out of town I have not been able to up-date Elder Evans' blog, so here are his letters from the past two weeks.]

Monday, December 20, 2009

Merry Christmas, family! I hope everything is going well.

Well, before I start off, transfer calls were today and here is the scoop…


I have been here in B-town for 3 months and Elder Pape has been here for 6 weeks. So we get a call today and Elder Norton said that Pape is going to Willard Bay, as he is opening the area, and I'm staying here with Elder Snyder. He is from Atlanta, Georgia.

He has been out for a year. I hear he is a Biking Elder. All I can say about that is, "HECK NO!!" There is no way I'm biking up all these hills!

Anyways, that's the down-low. So I get to be in B-town for another transfer. Yeah-yeah-yeah! Yeah!

Yesterday....Sunday, we went to four wards....and each one had a Christmas program.....and 2 of them had "Silent Night" as the closing song. We had a split that night as Janice and Kristi had lessons at the same time, so I went to Janice's and Elder Pape went to Kristi's. We taught Janice about the Holy Ghost and its role. Then she asked, "How can I gain a testimony?" So, we read with her Helaman 5:12 and talked about what we need to do to gain one. It was a way sweet lesson.

Well, I burned my tie on the 17th! [note-it is traditional for missionaries to burn one of their ties (hopefully an old one!) when then reach the 6-month mark on their mission. That is not Elder Evans in the picture.]

I forgot my camera, but thank goodness the Barkers took some pictures. And thank you SO, SO much for the new camera! It's so awesome! I wasn't quite sure if I would be staying so I opened your package early, but I still have Emily’s wrapped. Thank you so very much! It's a way awesome camera! Just what I needed, too. :D

We also had another lesson with Janice on that day. We taught her the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and she really liked it!

I look forward to calling you guys on Christmas. It's going to be exciting. The only thing is we only have 45minutes, just so you know. For Christmas we will be going to the Barkers and just hanging out. I hope my new comp is a cool guy.

Anyways, I love you guys, have a good Christmas and I will talk to you then.

Love,
Elder Evans

Tuesday, December 28, 2009

Hello family! I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. I had a lot of fun. Let me start off with the 24th...

We didn’t have much planned for that day, but that evening we had a Zone sleep-over. All the Elders in our Zone were there, including two greenies. We read from Luke 2...

...and talked about family traditions. Then we ate and had fun. We didn't get to bed until about 3am... :D But, we all still woke up at 6:30am. :D It was a lot of fun.

Then we went home, got ready and went to the Barkers. There were a bunch of Elders there. Brother Barker was a Ward Mission Leader for two years, and so he was able to get all the Elders that are still serving, that he has worked with, to come over. So there were twelve of us. It was a mad house, but so much fun! I loved it, and I felt right at home. The Barkers remind me so much of you guys, that's why I love that family so much.

Other than that nothing really has been going on. Kristi is way EXCITED for her baptism. Janice is having a little bit of a hard time, but we'll get her back. I know it. :D

On Sunday it was like "right place, wrong time" day. We went to the 27th Ward to be with Janice, but she wasn't there. :-( On top of that, the speakers were a newly married couple, and they spoke on “marriage”, and Elder Snyder and I just looked at each other, and said, "Oh boy." Then we spoke in a Young Single Adult ward....bad idea right there. Good Gosh! Then we went to the 18th Ward and it was a missionary home-coming! Sunday was a “trying” day! :D

For the last few days we have been going around and meeting people like stake and ward leaders. We did pick up two new investigators last week! One is a Hindu guy, and the other is a 10 year-old boy. Both of these are “member invites”. Yeah! Member invites are the best! So much more solid then us finding on our own. :D

Anyways that was my week.

Love you,

Elder Evans

PS. Emily and John, thank you SO, SO, SO much for the electric blanket! It's nice! I love it! I turn it up on “high” right as we plan for the next day (which takes about 30 minutes), so when we’re done, my bed is nice and toasty. :D

Thank you, I couldn't have asked for a better gift. And, Jonathan, make sure you send me the "Evans Tie” [note-this is a tie that I bought for Elder Evans' father 35 years ago. Both of his older brothers took it on their missions. It is a wide, green, 70s-ish tie so, of course, Elder Evans is excited to get and wear it!]. :D