Mission in West America...Ogden Utah

So here's a funny story...

2010-06-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

We had a speaking assignment in Etna, and Etna is about 40 minutes away from Afton, and we got started late, so we left our house at 8:40ish and we were speaking at 9am. So I book it............and got pulled over. :D

I'm not going to tell you how fast I was going, but I will tell you this, we made dang good time! (although I’m going to need some money to pay for the ticket) :D

Anyway, this week has been an alright one. Tons of stuff has been happening. Elder Weiland was made a District Leader, we got a flat on a new set of tires (which I changed in like 5 minutes…

...thank you Kory’s shop [note-where he worked as a tire-buster] :D), and we’ve been driving around like mad. We have a family in Alpine that we teach.....driving to Alpine and back to Afton is a long drive.

Anyways, to answer your questions....

-What foods have you learned to like while on your mission? ALOT!

-What is your favorite missionary lesson to teach? Why? The Plan of Salvation, because it's cool to see people who may have had friends/family pass on to finally know where they are.

-What is the most unusual thing that has happened to you while tracting? We don't tract, and here is why. We knock 10 doors....leave with 10 plates of cakes or cookies.

It’s true…that really happened to me in B-town.

By the way, I'm staying up here with Elder Weiland for another transfer, he says he needs my brain for ideas for his District Meetings, which is fine. :D

So guess what I found yesterday??? I didn't have my camera but I found a 1964 Chevy Chevelle, 2-door sedan.

Great shape. It just has a big dent on the driver’s side quarter panel, just like the Nova did. I about flipped!! But....it's not for sale. It's just sitting there. It's sad.

Anyways, that's all I’ve got to report.

Love ya,
Elder Evans

Hello Everyone

2010-05-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's pretty cool that Pres. Eyring knows who I am!

It's not everyday that a General Authority says your name at a Temple Dedication! :D [note-Pres. Eyring doesn't really know Elder Evans. I had just written and told him that at the 12:00 pm session of the Gila Valley Temple Dedication on Sunday that Pres. Eyring had accidentally announced that the choir would sing a hymn written by 'Stephen Evans', instead of 'Evan Stephens'.]

So this week has been a good one. Bob was baptized and confirmed. We also picked up a new investigator named Michelle. She’s a high school kid and her friend invited her to learn about the Church. We committed her to be baptized on the 12th of June.

We’re also teaching an 8 year-old who turns 9 on June 9th. So that's when he'll be getting baptized…talk about your “Golden Birthday”. :D [note-a "golden birthday" is when your birthdate and the age you will be turning are the same number.]

I wish I had more to say, but I don't. Oh, yeah I do...Okay, so it rained for like 3 days straight, then it SNOWED for 2 days straight!! It's freakin’ MAY!! I hate SNOW!! But today is a nice sunny day so it's all good. :D

Elder Weiland is going to try to get the president to let me stay one more transfer up here with him. Pres. Olson wants to make him a District Leader, and Elder Weiland says he needs my creative mind to make the District Meetings more fun. :D So whatever, I don't mind.

So, to answer your questions…

*What was the hardest thing you had to do this week? Probably get out of bed, when it was 5 degrees outside.

*Out of all those you have helped bring into the Church, who’s life do you think has changed the most? Why? Lenny. He was the most hard-hearted person ever. He literally went through HELL and back to be where he is today.

*What is your favorite town to work in in Star Valley? Why? Afton, cause that's where all the work is.

*Describe a normal day as a missionary. Get up, shower, eat, pray, study, study, pray, leave home, work, lunch, work, dinner, work, home, plan, shower, pray, bed. :D Yep, that's the life of an Elder.

Anyways, that's all I got for now. :D Take care.

Love,
Elder Evans

Fine in Fairview

2010-05-18T18:45:00.000-07:00

Well, howdy family! So how is everything going??? I hope all is going well.

Saturday we had a baptism. It was Josie the animal-lover! :D It was good, only 5 people showed up, but it was still good. On Sunday she asked me to confirm her, so I agreed, and it went really well.

We had Zone Conference, and it was kinda boring at first, then it got better.....why?... because Alex Boyé gave us a training...

He is a black singer for Mo-tab [note-the Mormon Tabernacle Choir], and holy-moly that brotha can sing! -Shoot.

You guys remember me mentioning Bob, right? The guy who made me a ring out of antlers? He is getting baptized tomorrow, so that'll be cool. We also had a bishop in the Slat River Ward call Salt Lake and they found Teri’s baptism record, so she doesn't have to get baptized again.

Nothing really has been going on. Well, we did move into our new place in Fairview. It's nice, but it's a little on the small side. :D But, who cares.

Okay, so let me answer the questions that you asked...

-What fun things have you done on your p-days [note -"Preparation-days" are when missionaries are able to do errands, shopping, writing letters, and some other activities]?
Bowling, basketball, sleeping, whatever really.

-Who is the most awesome person you have met so far on your mission? What made them so awesome?
I really don't know. I can't choose just one. I have met lots of awesome people.

-What is the best thing that has happened to you in Star Valley?
Eating lots and lots of meat...beef, elk, venison, buffalo! YUMMY!!! :D

-What was the strangest (or funniest) question you have been asked as a missionary?
Oh, where to begin... I have been asked "How many Mom's do you have?" and, "How do you know that the Holy Ghost isn't a Woman? It makes you emotional, and It makes you cry, that's what women do." And many more like that. :D

I'm telling ya, if you want to hear some funny stuff come to a fast and testimony meeting in Utah. You will hear it all. I'm not diss'n on Utah at all, but it's true.

Everything seems to be going fine, so that's really all I have to report. Sorry it's short, but that's all I got for today.

Love,
Elder Evans

A Funny Thing Happened...

2010-05-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

Well, there’s nothing more to report since I talked to you on Sunday, but since you told me to send some funny things that have happened out here I’ll do that.

Once, Elder Weiland and I were looking for a less-active person’s house and could not find it. So we pulled over to a member’s home and asked him where this guy lived, and here are the directions he gave.

"You'll go down Bitter Creek, in a South Direction...

...You'll pass a head of 70 cattle...

...then a head of 40 cattle.

Then go east...

...on the road with the pine trees...

... and it'll be there. If you pass a head of 50 cattle...

...you've gone too far."

All I could say was....."Sweet! -got it", even though I really didn't. [note-soon after that Elder Evans asked me to send him his GPS... :D]

Another time we were teaching an investigator and she was drunk. Flat-out smashed!! She told us to come back and have a party with her and her girlfriends. “We'll have drinks, music, I can leave the guest room open.....etc.” It was so funny. And, no, we didn't go, incase anyone is wondering. :D

The most embarrassing thing that has happened to me on my mission was that I was giving a talk in Church and I was talking about Ammon...

...and how the King told him to live there and he would give him a daughter to wife. And after I read that scripture I said, "As missionaries, we would love that", meaning we’d love to stay in an area for a long time, but the ward thought I meant that we wanted their daughters to wife! It was pretty funny. :D

You asked about the older couple that we live with and what I like best about Star Valley. We live with the Reinharts, and yeah we like them, and we do everything for them, but we just found out YESTERDAY that we’ll be moving to Fairview to stay with a single old man. Some of the things I like about Star Valley are the people, the open spaces, and the way-nice weather (now that winter is over, anyways).

We didn't have any lessons this week. We were going to but they didn't read the chapter in the Book of Mormon that we asked them to, and that chapter would cover all of what we were going to talk about. So instead we just talked with them, and really got to know them. It was pretty sweet, made them open way up, so hopefully that will help in the future. :D

Anyways, that's all I got. I wish I had more, but since I just talked to you....I'm out. :D

Well, I love you guys. Stay safe.

Love,
Elder Evans the 4th.

Hello from....Aspen?

2010-04-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

Howdy family. This has been another sick week for me. I have no idea what I have, but I'm sick.

My head hurts, my body is aching, my throat is really sore, and I have no voice, it's gone! I can get a few words in.....then nothing. It stinks.

This week has been a crazy one, we helped the ZL's blitz their area in Preston, and I saw tons of things from "Napoleon Dynamite". But Star Valley is even cooler! Why? Because this is where they filmed the "Aspen" scenes for “Dumb and Dumber”! When it shows them drive into town for the first time, that's Afton, and the house where Mary is staying at in “Aspen”, is in Alpine. Sweet, ey?

Well, the Mexican family dropped us. They just wanted to learn about God, they didn't want to be part of the Church. We picked up an investigator named Sandy and we may be having a baptism on May 1st for Teri. Mike, the 9 yr old, is doing good, and Josie, the lady with all the animals, is doing good, too. And that's it for now. :D

Anyways, I love you guys,
Elder Evans

Elder Evans, Greg & Elder Weiland

Elders Fairbanks and Evans

Cold...

Beautiful....

Star Valley, Wyoming!

Our pet mouse

Vote for Pedro

2010-04-21T15:56:00.000-07:00

So this week has been a good one, and a bad one. I was really, really sick a few days ago, throwing up and all that stuff…not fun. And we did a lot of traveling from Soda Springs, to Mount P., back to Soda, then back to Star Valley....ahhh, crazy!

We did pick up a new investigator, her name is Teri. She is 19 and married, and is going to be baptized on the 1st of May. So that'll be nifty!

The weather has been nice, very nice, actually. Unfortunately, we didn't get to help brand any cows as we ended up helping the Zone Leaders teach Seminary, instead.

So, guess where else we got to go… we were in Preston, Idaho, home of Napoleon Dynamite!!!

Sweet!!! I saw all the “highlights” like Pedro's house, the school, all that fun stuff. :D

Anyways, I need to get goin’ and get my hair cut.

Love,

Elder Evans

Howdy!

2010-04-13T18:19:00.000-07:00

Well, on Sunday we baptized Greg (by the way he is doing good) [note-sadly, Greg’s wife was killed in a car accident a couple of weeks ago], and next week he will get the Holy Ghost. Greg is doing awesome.

Last night Elder Weiland and I had an interesting discussion with a lady, it was awesome! She was talking about the whole gay thing, and how “that's how God made them”. So I asked, "Carol, would God make a murderer?” - No, she said. “Would God create a robber?” -No. “Then why would God make someone who was created after his own image gay?” She stopped and thought about it. Then I pulled out the Bible, and busted out Leviticus 20:13 and she was like, “No, that's not right.” Then I said, “Carol, you just said the Bible was the Word of God”, and so on. So anyway, she is going to be coming to church on Sunday with her husband (he reminds me so, so, so much of Danny Partington)!

Anyways, that's all I’ve got to report right now. Oh, on Friday we will be branding a cow or two...

...It'll be sweet. :D

Love,
Elder Evans

I thought it was Spring!

2010-04-06T11:17:00.000-07:00

Hello Family. Yes, I got your package, thank you. The GPS works so well! Star Valley is so huge compared to B-town.

I'm doing good up here although I'm really sick and tired of snow! I am so tired of seeing WHITE! I want to see GREEN! :D . It snowed last night. 4.5 inches....and it’s stinkin’ APRIL!! And it's been dang COLD, too!

Other than that, things are going good. Being with Elder Weiland again is great, I am really enjoying it.

We picked up a family of four on Sunday. They are a Mexican family and they speak dang good English, I'm really surprised. They all have good hearts, too. The dad, Hector, just wants his kids to be more focused of Jesus, and the Mom wants them to be just like us.

I need you guys to do me a huge favor. I need the address for the missionaries in Sierra Vista. I have a few member invites for them. Just remember MI's (member invites) are so much better then knocking doors. You know you guys should invite the neighbors into your home for a meal, then a lesson with the Elders. It wouldn't hurt. But don't be sneaky about it! Be specific, direct, and clear.

Love you,

Elder Evans

Big, Wide, Wonderful Wyoming!

2010-03-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

Hello Family. How is everyone? I hope all is going well, with your warm Spring-break. Here, it's really cold in the mornings, and some-what warm in the afternoons, then cold in the evening, then really cold when the sun goes down.

But, it's all good. :D

So you asked me where in Star Valley we are living. We are in Grover ...

...and we cover the whole valley, from Smoot, all the way to Alpine, or Jackson Hole. I think its right to the start of Jackson Hole.

Anyways, it’s a BIG area. It's the 2nd biggest car area in the Mission. The 1st is Montpeiler, Idaho, then us, then Soda Springs, Idaho.

I really enjoy it here. I really do. Way nice, down-to-earth people. It's just awesome. I wish I knew a little bit more of the area so I could tell you who all we are teaching. One of our investigators is Greg who is 26, was a hard-core drinker but went to a Bible camp and stopped his drinking. He has a baptism date for the 17th.

Josie... Ok, let me tell you about her. Nate, you might enjoy this, she may sound like some people you ran into in Tennessee. She's about 46 or so, and she loves, LOVES animals. She owns.....you ready? 20+ rats, 4 dogs, 6 cats. That's so gross!! And she is just straight-up red-neck. Oh, and did I say she lives in a one-bedroom trailer? Well, she does....with all those animals. :D

Those are our 'gators for right know.

Ok, so there are two words I hear a LOT around here, and they are Damn, and Hell. It is the funniest thing in the world to hear a Bishop say one of those words over the pulpit! :D

Well, that's pretty much my week.

I love you guys. Take care.

Love,
Elder Evans

Hello from Star Valley, Wyoming...

2010-03-23T11:35:00.000-07:00

...and Soda Springs, Idaho!

Howdy family. I hope all is going well. Everything is going good up here in Wyoming. We’re doing pretty good. We had 6 lessons in half a week. It's pretty sweet, ey?

So, I need a huge favor!!! I need you to send me my GPS with a plug-in for the car, the lighter thing, and a lot of other stuff too. Here in the Valley there is no Wal-Mart. There is nothing up here. So if you could send me some food, anything would be nice. Cereal, canned goods, I don't care, but nothing that needs to be cooked in the microwave. We don't have one, or should I say our people that we are living with don't. They are two older people, and I think they have a hard time knowing what is going on, so Elder Weiland and I might be moving out to a different home. Keep your fingers crossed.

Star Valley is HUGE. It's so big! We have 2300 miles a month. A MONTH! [note-missionaries are only allowed to put a certain amount of miles on their car per month, depending on how large their area is.] And that's still not enough. Crazy! The car I'm driving is a purple Pontiac Vibe...

...It is pretty lame. It’s a horrible car.

Anyways that's all I've got. Sorry it's so short, but there's not much else to report right now. :D

Love,
Elder Evans

I’m Being Transferred!!!!!!!!

2010-03-16T14:01:00.000-07:00

I'm going to Star Valley, Wyoming to be with Elder Weiland again [note- Elder Weiland was his second companion; they only served together for 6 weeks]!! I'm so excited!

And I get to drive [note-he has been in a "walking area" for the past 6 months, without a car]. Weiland can't drive (well, he can, just not on the Mission). :D So I get to drive from Ogden all the way to Star Valley. That'll be fun. :D

[Note-Star Valley, Wyoming is the most northern area of the misson and Bountiful is the most southern, so it will be a bit of a change. When he arrives it will probably still look like this...

But, hopefully will soon start to look like this...]

I'm really excited to leave B-town. I love Bountiful, but, its time to go. It's bitter-sweet, really. I’ve been saying goodbye to all the members. I have grown to love a lot of these people. I have even called some of them my friends. I hope to stay in contact with a lot of them.

Elder Snyder is staying and he's training. I really don't have anything else to say, just that I'm way excited!

This week has been a slow one, and a boring one. Nothing really exciting has happened. We do have 2 lessons tonight, one with Janice and the other with Mary, so hopefully those will be good.

Anyways...Star Valley, here I come! :D

Love,

Elder Evans

Hello Everyone

2010-03-03T16:57:00.000-08:00

How are you guys? I hope all is going well.

We had a baptism. Lenny was baptized on Saturday...

...then confirmed on Sunday, and next week he will be getting the Aaronic Priesthood.

I don't know if I told you, but last week we picked up a new investigator her name is Mary and she's 18. Anyways, her mom is a preacher for some other church, but Mary is really wanting to learn. Our 1st lesson we had was just us answering questions, one right after the other. We answered her questions for 2.5 hours!! It was crazy, and she still has tons and tons of more questions to ask. We taught her the Plan of Happiness, and she really enjoyed it. It answered a lot of questions for her.

Anyways, I wish I had more to write, but I don't. Sorry it's so short. I sent a memory card home with some pictures on it yesterday. Hope you like them. They include baptism pictures of Gary...

...and Lenny.

I really love Bountiful, but I’m feeling like it's time to go. I’ve been here for almost 6 months and the Pres says I will be leaving. I can't wait for transfers on the 17th. I hope it comes quick. Like I said in a recent letter, "something is telling me to prepare" I just wish I knew what that was.

Anyways, I love you guys. Keep me in your prayers, and ask my friends to write me. I need more letters. :D

Love,

Elder Evans

Quick Note and Pix

2010-02-23T18:51:00.000-08:00

Hello family! How is everyone? I hope all is going well. Everything is going good here.

The good news is that Gary was baptized. Finally. After like 8.5 weeks. It was a good baptism. Lenny, who we just picked up, is being baptized on the 27th of this month. So that should be sweet.

Jennifer, Janice, and Derek we’re not too sure what's going on with them. So we just kind of left them alone for a little bit.

Well, sorry this letter is so short, but I really don't have anything else to tell you about right now, but I did send some pictures, so I hope you got them.

Hopefully there will be more to tell you about next week. :)

Love ya,
Elder Evans

(Junior and Senior missionary-class youth group)

(Elder Evans and Elder Da Silva after breakfast at IHOP)

(Elder Snyder, Kristi and Elder Evans)

(Elder Snyder, Josh & Elder Evans)

(The Freshmen and Sophomore missionary-class youth group)

(Young Adult missionary-class group)

Transfer Calls...

2010-02-02T11:38:00.000-08:00

I've been in Bountiful for 4.5 months, so for the past week or so I've been telling everyone 'I'm gone'. But, today we had a Zone Breakfast at IHOP (yummy)...

...and they told me that I'm staying and so is Elder Snyder!! YEAH! Six months in B-town, I love it!! I'm so excited! I thought for sure I was gone. But nope… :D

Anyways, we picked up a new investigator, her name is Jennifer. She is about 22-23. She smokes and lives with her so-called "husband" who is a less-active member, but she really wants to know more about this church. We gave her a baptismal date for the 20th of this month and she agreed.

And for Derek we gave him a date for the 13th, and he agreed. So we have two investigators with a baptismal date. Yeah! It's cool.

We've been pretty busy this last week, making trainings, writing talks, preparing firesides, meetings....etc., but all in all it was a good week.

I'm so glad I get to stay here in B-town for another 6 weeks...

I love this place, I wouldn't even mind calling this place home someday. The people here are amazing! They will do anything for us, probably because we’re missionaries, but it truly is an amazing place.

Oh, one more thing…do you remember me talking about the 24 year-old multi-millionaire we met? Anyways, he offered me a job to work for him after my mission. All he does is go from place to place training people on how to be better salesmen. As a missionary that's pretty much some of the things we are trying to learn, how to improve, how to be better missionaries. So, who knows, maybe in a few years I’ll look him up, but that's definitely on the back-burner for now. :D

Anyways, I love you guys. Keep me in your prayers.

Love,

Elder Evans

Short and Sweet

2010-01-26T15:06:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I hope all is going well. :D

So we've had a good week. Josh was baptized on the 23rd. That went really well. He asked me to speak on the Holy Ghost, so I did. I tried to keep it as simple as I could since he is only 10 years old.

Our youth lessons are going great! It's been a lot of fun. There is one kid who reminds me of me at his age. He’s 16, and he's a sarcastic little punk!! It's so funny to see. I just laugh every time. :D

Our Young Single Adult lessons are going good, too. I love doing them, but it’s hard at the same time. There are either RM's, or really, really pretty girls. It’s tough! But I love it. :D

Gary and Janice are coming along. Gary may still get baptized on the 30th (fingers crossed), but Janice's parents are still holding back on giving their permission. I just wish I could tell them that if they don’t let her get baptized her sins will be on their heads, but I'm not going too. I like to have people like me, and not hate me. :D

Well, in my last interview I asked President if I could stay in Bountiful one more transfer, and he said, "Nah, you’re probably gone." So, I guess that means most likely I'll be boltin’.

I do want to leave you with my testimony, that I know that God lives, and that he is the head of this church, and that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and he did infact appear to Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon is true, those 531pages you can hold in your hands are powerful. That little book is what changes peoples’ lives. It's not the Missionaries, it's the Book of Mormon. The Holy Ghost is there, and he lives to lead and to guide us. If we listen to his promptings we will never fall away. Always live worthy to have him as your companion. Make him your best friend. I love each and everyone of you, just as God does.

So, that’s it for now.

Love,
Elder Evans

Hello from the Snow!

2010-01-19T13:28:00.000-08:00

As of right now it is snowing...

I hate snow....it's cold, dirty, slushy, and just sounds gross when you step on it. Anyways, enough about that… :-)

My week so far has been a really good one. Our youth lessons are a lot of fun, and more and more kids are starting to come. This week we taught the 1st lesson to them, and the Spirit was really strong when we talked about the experience Joseph Smith had with the First Vision...

I love teaching the youth, they are just so much fun, I love it. So that's why I’ve decided after my Mission I want to go work at the EFY (note - the “Especially for Youth” program is sponsored by Brigham Young University and is a summer program for youth ages 14-18) in Arizona.

I can't wait, it'll be so much fun!!

So, on Thursday we taught the Seminary class. Here in Utah the school system is weird. They have K-6 as elementary, 7-9 as middle school, then 10-12 as high school. ??? Doesn't make sense. So we were at the Middle School teaching the freshmen. It was awesome! We taught about Ammon from Alma 17-19...

It was really cool. We had some role-plays and all that fun stuff. I really enjoyed it.

But the best thing of this week was.........KRISTI WAS BAPTIZED!!! That was the best baptism I have gone too. The Spirit was more than strong, it was almost over-powering! There were like 40-45 people there. It was amazing. I was in tears when I went up and bore my testimony. I don't think I have ever cried harder in my life. It was pure awesomeness! Anyways, that was pretty much the highlight of my week.

Sorry this is so short, that's really all I have to report.

Love,

Elder Evans

Everything Is Going GREAT!

2010-01-12T12:29:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of our Zone with Elder Andrew Norton (my trainer and EAC friend) in the front-center and me on the right.

Well howdy family!

This week has been rockin’! We have 4 with a baptism date. Kristi is on the 16th, just a few short days; Josh is the 23rd, Gary is the 30th, and Janice is the 30th, as well!! It's awesome! We are so very excited for all of them. They are all excited too. It's amazing to see the change in these peoples' lives.

Elder Snyder and I have been doing some youth firesides, and they have been going so good. The youth are involved like crazy, and their seminary teacher even asked us to teach seminary for a full day, because he has heard so much good about us from our youth lessons. I'm so excited!

For Zone conference the AP's [Assistants to the President], Elders Kozak and McDaniel, trained on how to "plan for baptisms on every week". They called it "Think 4 weeks at once", and it was awesome! Our AP's are the bomb! I wish I was as good as they are. :D

And for District meeting tomorrow I will be giving a 20-minute training on how to become a better missionary using the AP's training. Wish me luck on that, I just now found out. –Thanks, Elder Norton [note-now his District leader who apparently gave him that assignment]. :D

Things in B-town are going great. We had a Bountiful North Stake Conference this Sunday and our Mission Parents [note-Pres. Olsen and his wife] were speaking. Sister Olsen said something that really struck me and Elder Snyder. She said, "The Elders in this Stake are meant to be here! They have been called of God to be the Elders in this Area." And Elder Synder and I were like, "YEAH! GO MOMMA OLSEN! WOOT-WOOT!" But we said that in our heads....we didn't really shout it. :D

This transfer is going by too fast, I hate it. But, it's all good. I'm hoping and praying that I stay one more, just one more transfer here in the amazing Bountiful with Elder Snyder. But, like I said before, something is telling me to prepare. So, I still don't know what that means yet, and I'm a little worried, too. If it means leadership I don't know if I'm ready. I don't know if I can train, or become a DL [District Leader]. Being a Senior-companion is easy, but the other things.....I don't know. Oh well, I'll do what God wants me to do.

That's all I got for this week. Sorry it's short. Hey, if you haven't sent me those ties, please send them now. :D

Love ya,
Elder Evans

Here are some pictures of my Christmas...

We had Christmas Eve Dinner with the Bowman family. As you can see we had LOTS of wonderful food to eat...

Elder Snyder and me with the Bowman's son...

After our Christmas Eve dinner we attended our "Zone Sleep-over" where we read Luke 2, talked about family traditions, ate and had lots of fun...

Then Santa came... "Santa!! I know him!!!"

Christmas morning we were invited to the Barkers home to celebrate the day with their family and several other Elders. Again we had GREAT food....

And then visited and played games.

The Barkers are a wonderful family. Here I am with them on the day Elder Pape (holding the dog) was transferred.

Even though Christmas was over I still had a few surprises, which included running into Felicia, a friend of mine from Eastern Arizona College...

...and getting to meet my oldest brother's former mission president and his wife, President and Sister Benson, who were speaking at a Mission Conference I attended. It was awesome to meet them, and find out that they still remember "Elder Nathaniel Evans". :-D

Happy New Year from Bountiful!

2010-01-05T13:00:00.000-08:00

Well howdy, family! I hope you all had a very dandy new year. I didn't, as I totally forgot about it. :D And we’re not allowed to stay up past 10:30 anyway, so it's all good. :P

Well, this week has been pretty sweet!

Kristi had her baptism interview and she passed. Yeah! So now all we’ve got to do is wait for the 16th of January. :D And then we’ll be having another baptism on the 23rd for Josh. So that's two so far for the month of January!

Yesterday, about 7a.m. or so, we got a call. This person was telling us about his friend who has been to church four times, and has read most of the Book of Mormon, and wants to be taught. So today we will be teaching him. :D

Janice is also doing really well. We haven't re-committed her for baptism yet. We don't want to go against her parents. Janice really wants it, but her parents keep saying NO. So hopefully, through time, their hearts will be softened.

I really enjoy being with my new companion, Elder Snyder. We have the same interests, and all that good stuff. I know that the next transfer isn't coming too quickly, but I have the feeling that I'll be leaving. Something keeps telling me to prepare for what's coming. Whatever that is....I have no idea. :D But, I hope it's something good. I can see my life changing right before my eyes. It's crazy. But the change that I'm going through is good.

I'm wishing and hoping that I'm here in B-town for 1 more transfer, so that will make it 6 months here. I love this place. I wouldn't mind living here. Maybe someday…

We've been getting blessed like mad these last few days. One older lady called us over and gave us 50 dollars a piece! 50 smackers!! Then some guy gave us a 20! Good Gosh! I Love it!! :D

Elder Snyder and I got to be witnesses for someone’s marriage...

...That was pretty sweet.

I went on a Zone Leader exchange with Elder DaSilva. He's from Brazil. And he is so funny! I had a way good time. He's going home at the end of this month, and he is scared out of his mind! hahaha.

I'm glad you all had a good Christmas. I wish I could have been there.

Oh, did you guys get my letter yet? It's got my pictures in it. :D [note-below are a few of the pictures he included]

[Elder Dill and Elder Evans at a Zone Conference luncheon.]

[Elders Evans and Pape in their apartment with a gingerbread house someone gave to them.]

[Elder Evans keeping warm.]

Well, that's pretty much all I have to say. I just want you guys to know that this is God's church, and He is the master behind everything. The Book of Mormon is true.

Anyways, I love you guys.

Love,

Elder Evans

Two for One!

2010-01-01T12:32:00.001-08:00

[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

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

2009-12-15T13:38:00.001-08:00

[note-This truck belongs to the owner of the music store over which Elder Evans lives]

[note-Elders Evans and Pape's Christmas tree...]

[note-At a recent Zone Conference with several of his MTC buddies...]

***********************************************************************

Hey family. I hope everything is going well!

This has been a pretty sweet week! I’m just going to talk about the highlights...

...because I don't have a lot of time to write a lot today. Sorry. :(

For the past week and a half Elder Pape and I have been praying to send someone our way who is ready to hear the Gospel. So, anyways, on Thursday one of our Ward Mission Leaders called us and asked if we were busy at 7 pm. No, we didn't have anything planned we were just visiting people. He told us about someone who wanted to learn the Gospel. So of course we said, "Heck yeah!" (:D )

We go over there and it’s a girl by the name of Janice. Janice has been hit with a lot of Anti stuff. Her Grandma hated the church, but she died. So Janice wanted to find the truth for herself. Janice is 17, and reminds me a lot of Ashlee Ray (same kind of personality). Anyways, we taught her the Restoration...

...and we committed her for baptism on the 26th, and she said YES! It was awesome!

We've been teaching her all week, and she's been coming to church.... all that good stuff, and she finally prayed at the end of the 3rd lesson. It was awesome!

Her Dad is hardcore less-active, and her mom is ...I don't know....lame, yeah there we go. :D But, Janice has come a long way as she has had Anti-CRAP! stuffed down her throat for 10 years.

It's amazing to see the impact that the Gospel has on people. It has changed her life for the better. She now knows the truth, and the truth is in the Book of Mormon.

That small book you can hold in your hands is the truth! I know that, and she knows that. How I love this Gospel. As a youth I really took it for granted. I was like, "Yeah, whatever, it's true, no big deal." But as a missionary of God, I now can say, "Yes, I'm a Mormon. Yes, the Book of Mormon is true!" I'm proud to be a member of His Church, and I'm so glad that I have been called to be an instrument in His hands to bring some lost souls to His gospel. I love that!

Anyways, that was the highlight of my week. Sorry it's so short, but we have a lot to do today before the time is over. I wish P-days were longer. :D

So after I write this letter, I'm going to go SNOWBOARDING!!

Yeah! It's going to be sweet! I'll take some pictures!!!

Anyways family, I love you guys.

Elder Evans.

Dear Santa...

2009-12-08T13:52:00.001-08:00

It's been snowing all week, pretty much...

...and it's been cold!!!

Well, I'm going off my memory here...

...so don't be hatin’ if I don't have a lot of detail. :D

We taught Kristi about the Book of Mormon and how to use the topical guide, and all that good stuff. She pushed her baptismal date back, and now we have it for the 1st week of January. So hopefully I'm still here. I asked the President yesterday if I could stay one more transfer and he said that he won't be moving too many people this transfer. So hopefully I stay.

We also taught a man who is less-active and has been since he was 9, so he knows nothing of the Gospel. His son is warming up to us, too. He would never sit in on the lessons, but after Elder Pape and I saw him walking by himself and talked to him, he now trusts us. It's pretty cool.

I just wish I could remember more things......ah yes. Today we are picking up a young man who was from Los Angeles. He lives with his uncle and his uncle has been taking the lessons for some time. I only taught his uncle twice but then we dropped him because he wasn't keeping his appointments. But Ken (the kid from LA) wants to learn more. He has gone to church and been to Temple Square...

...and just loves the spirit he finds there. So we’re going to commit him to be baptized on the 26th of this month! It's going to be sweet!

Kristi went to a baptism that the Zone Leaders were having, and she really liked it. During the time when the people were drying off, they asked Elder Pape and me to teach about the Restoration of the Gospel...

...so we did. I don't remember what I said or how it came out, but the Spirit was so strong, and that's when I knew it wasn't me speaking. It was awesome!

Our area is picking up!! Yay! After 4 ½ weeks of super hard work we’re finally starting to see results! President interviews were way sweet. President and I talked about a lot of things. He told me something that made me feel good. He said that everyone likes me, and loves to be around me. So that really made me happy. :D

I wish there was more I could tell you about my week, but I just can't remember, these weeks go by so fast! My Bump Day [note-what missionaries call their 6-month anniversary of being on a mission] is coming up, and it's just flying!

Anyways family, know that I love you, and I always have you in my prayers. The church is true. Jesus is the Christ.

This is His Gospel, and He is the head of his Church. President Monson is a true prophet of the Lord.

I know that. And how do I know that? Because the Spirit of God has testified that to me.

May God grant his richest blessing upon you.

I love you,
Elder Evans

It's All Good!

2009-12-01T18:07:00.001-08:00

Hello family. How is life treatin’ ya in amazing Arizona? Good I hope.

Well, before I get started I just wanted to congratulate Jon and Candace on their new little boy [note-Carter McRae Evans, born Nov 30th]...

That's exciting! My 1st nephew born on my Mission. Are there going to be more?? :D [note-Elder Evans has 5 other married siblings, so that is always a possibility.] That's really cool. I wish I could be there to see him, but since I have almost 18 months left I'll wait to see him then. :D

Alright, so on Tuesday the 24th…

…we had a half P-day. Our day was over at 1 pm because Thanksgiving was coming up and we would get the whole day to chill with members, and just relax. But we did have a Family Home Evening that evening with a family I fell in love with, the Barkers. I love this family! The Dad is our Ward Mission Leader, and the Mom is the Relief Society President. This family is so cool. Their son, Hayden, reminds me of Jonathan. He is just straight up hilarious!! And we get along so well. They have 4 kids in their family, 2 girls and 2 boys. I love this family. :D Sorry I keep saying that, but it's true. I'm so going to visit them when I come back after the mission. Anyways, our FHE was really good. We all really enjoyed it.

On Wednesday we had our District Meeting, then lunch as a District. After lunch Elder Pape and I took an hour to make a training for the youth of the 19th Ward. It was on how the Young Men can prepare to go on a mission...

...and how the Young Women can help. It was a lot of fun preparing it.

THANKSGIVING!!!!

Today was awesome! We hung out with the Barkers; played some B-ball, and other sports; then we watched "NACHO LIBRE" (President approved it)...

...It was so funny. Hayden and I were quoting it. :D Then we had dinner with the Rasband family, which was fun. We played games, talked, then we watched the movie "UP" ...

...and I loved it! So funny. We then went back to the Barkers and watched "Horton Hears a Who" ...

So that was our Thanksgiving.

Friday was good. We had our lesson with Kristi, and she is way excited to get baptized! She's been praying and reading, and she prayed at the end of our lesson!! YEAH! Just goes to show that God answers prayers. I was praying for days that her heart would be touched, and it was. It was a miracle, and I was able to witness it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NATE!! [note-his oldest brother who turned 32]

Hope it was a good one, I was going to buy you a card and send it to ya......but I don't know your address. Sorry. Saturday was full of meeting more Bishops and Ward Mission Leaders.

Sunday was crazy busy! We spoke in a Branch and then did our training with the youth in the 19th Ward, which was very good! Had lunch at the Barkers and then spoke in the Gospel Principles class on missionary work for about 10 minutes. Then add all that on top of our normal meetings.....and whooo....busy day!

Monday we had a Zone Leader exchange with Elder Williams. He’s a way cool guy and is so funny, and just a really good missionary, too. I had a lot of fun. Elder Williams goes home when I hit my year-mark.

So that's my week. I hope you all liked it. Have a good one, and tell all my friends to write to me. :D [note-his address in on the side-bar]

Love,

Elder Evans, the 4th.

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

2009-11-24T11:44:00.000-08:00

Hey, I hope all is going well. Everything is going fine with me. My companion and I are starting to pick things up here in wonderful B-Town.

Well, I don't have my journal on me, so today might not be a long letter. Sorry. But, I will try to remember everything, and every little “dumb detail” (:D) as I can. [note-I am always telling him that, as a mother, I want "more details"]

Oh, I got an email from Sister Partington, and she tells me that Danny is getting ready to go on a mission. Yay! :D So that's exciting. It'll be great!

Anyways…

On Monday, the 16th, it was another “meet people and get things moving” day. We had a FHE with a really cool family. They remind me a lot of the Fife family, and even kinda look like them. The FHE was really good. We watched a short video called "Tried in All Things", it's Pres. Hinckley talking about the three 18 year-old boys who carried all the stranded pioneers across the Sweetwater River.

The Spirit was really strong and I just fell in love with that video. It's really good. We tied all that to missionary work. It's pretty sweet.

Tuesday, the 17th. My 5 MONTH anniversary!!!

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! It was P-day. Normal P-day stuff happened.

We taught Kristi, and she loved it. We taught her about the 10 Commandments.

It was way sweet. Then for the rest of the night we met with more Bishops. Oh, and we had a Priest Exchange [note-where the missionaries each take a 16-17 year-old young man from the ward to serve as their companion for a few hours] which was fun.

Wednesday was Zone Conference and the main focus was the Book of Mormon. They want us to be Book of Mormon missionaries, and not just "Preach my Gospel" missionaries. It was way sweet, and President gave us a challenge to re-read the book of Mormon, cover to cover, in three months (five pages a day). So I have been doing that and I'm in Jacob right now. Jacob is amazing. Chapter 5 is so deep. Man, I love it! We also had a lesson with a less-active man, which was good.

Thursday..... was a pretty lousy day…the end.

Friday was our weekly-planning, as well as our District Study. We had a lesson set up with a lady, but she called at the last minute and told us she didn't want to meet with us, and that she was “set in her ways”. It was a little heart-breaking, but that's life. People just don't understand the joy this Gospel brings, because if they knew that they would be lining up to be baptized. But hopefully we planted a seed, and some other Elders will reap.

Saturday we just went around and met more Ward Mission Leaders and Bishops. It was a l-o-o-o-n-g day. It was cold, and it snowed.....twice.

On Sunday we taught the Primary in the 19th Ward. The lesson was on service and was a lot of fun. For the last 5 minutes it was a “Question and Answer” time and the kids asked us some of the funniest things. Oh, my gosh! It was so fun. Little kids are so cute.

Kristi went to church! Yeah! That was really good to see. After church we had lunch at the home of the people who are fellowshipping her and then we taught her again. She understood it, but at the end of the lesson she started to cry. She told us she is having major doubts about her baptismal date, and a lot of other things. So we lost our day, but she still wants to meet with us. I love Kristi, and I know that she knows that what we teach her is right. She has felt the Spirit, as we have during our lessons. I have cried twice in 5 lessons with her. I don't know if she will get baptized when I'm here, but I hope she does. At times I wish I was a convert to the Church, so I could tell her, “I've been there. I was in your shoes. I know how you feel.” I wish that, but that wasn't meant to be. If you could pray for her as well, that would be amazing. -Thank you.

Monday. Yesterday. Had an Exchange with Elder Coon, and I got to Drive!!!

YEAH!! That was our day. No lessons.

Today is a “half P-day”. P-day is over at 1pm because on Thanksgiving we have the whole day to rest and to hang-out with members; so that will be our “whole-day P-day”, so I'm excited for that. We also get to watch G-rated movies on that day, so I'm going to see "UP"...

...the new Disney-Pixar movie that came out on DVD a few weeks ago!

Anyway that's my week. I hope you enjoyed it.

Love,

Elder Evans the 4th.

Off And Running In Bountiful!

2009-11-17T17:47:00.001-08:00

Hello, family. How is everyone? Good I hope.

Anyways my week…

11/11/09-I GOT MY NEW COMPANION. Elder Pape is his name, and he is from Kentucky.

He reminds me a lot of Brendon Blau. :D We just went around and met some of the bishops and ward mission leaders. My new comp is really cool! He's been out 17 months and I like him a lot. He loves working, and going out and finding people, it's GREAT!!!

11/12/09-TODAY WE DID SOME MORE MEETING OF BISHOPS AND WARD MISSION LEADERS. Elder Pape and I are starting from scratch in this area. We call it "White Washing" so we’re doing everything that comes with that, like meeting all the Stake Presidents, WML, Bishops, etc. We have already set up a lot of things, like speaking in wards, doing Family Home Evenings, teaching Young Men/Young Women, etc. It's going to be a sweet Transfer!

Elder Norton called me and we spoke for a little, and he asked me if I was ready to be a District Leader. My reply was, “Nope-nope-nope-nope....” But he told me a few things, and said that he has the feeling that he needs to put me down to possibly be a DL. So, who knows, but I told him that would be fine. Then that night I prayed. I prayed that if I was to become a DL, that God would walk me through it. And the Spirit came to me, and comforted me, and told me, that he would be on my right and left hands in all my days as a missionary. So, who knows when or if I’ll ever be called, but I know that no matter what, God will be with me.

11/13/09-TODAY WAS WEEKLY PLANNING, as well as Zone study! Elder Swisher [note-Elder Evans' MTC companion] ...

...is in my Zone; he is Elder Larrabee's ...

...companion. They came out with me! It was good to see Swish again, I’ve missed him.

Elder Pape and I have been working hard in the 19th Ward. We both feel that ward has a lot of potential, so we've been setting up tons of stuff in that ward.

11/14/09-HAD AN EXCHANGE WITH ELDER NORTON TODAY! My Daddy [note-his 'trainer']!

And it was so much fun! We got a lot done, and we both just couldn't stop laughing. It was snowing like mad, and since we’re in a walking area.... yeah, we got snowed on pretty good. But that's okay, because it just means my wife is getting hotter and hotter. [note-missionary "folk lore" states that the more "adversity" (in the form of rain, snow, etc.) a missionary bears while on his mission, the better-looking his future wife will be] :D. But, as we were walking we were having a snowball fight...

...and it was so much fun! We were laughing so hard, we couldn't even throw snowballs at each other. It was the most fun I have had in a long time. I love Elder Norton, he is an awesome missionary.

11/15/09-TODAY WAS FREEZING!! I have finally decided that I hate snow and the cold...

That's why I live in ARIZONA!!

I can't wait, till my Year mark, why? Because it will be SUMMER! Hot! Bring on the HOT!! :D

Today was just “stop by and visit” day.

11/16/09-SAME AS YESTERDAY. :D

Anyhoo... that was my week. I hope you guys enjoyed it, because I sure did. :P

Everything is going well. I love B-town. I'm going to ask President, if I can stay here with Elder Pape for another Transfer. I really feel that we can get this place BOOMING! That's our goal, so pray for us that we can.

I love you all. I'm so grateful for the Gospel. It truly does bless our lives. I just want you guys to know that I love being a missionary. Yes, it's hard, and yes, there are days when I just want to pack up and go home, but I can't as I have been called of God. I often look back on the 15th chapter of John. I really love this Chapter. The one verse I love to read when I have those feelings of discouragement is verse 16.

"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."

I love that verse. It is one of my favorites, and now I share it with you, to bless your lives.

May God bless you and protect you. One of my favorite hymns is Hymn 100, "Nearer My God to Thee". God is there and he will always protect you, and he will never leave you comfortless. Always pray. Prayer is amazing! Prayer has gotten me through some of the toughest time. I just wanted to leave my testimony with you.

Love,

Elder Evans

PS-I found a way sweet scripture on testimonies in D&C 62:3...

"Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over you, and your sins are forgiven you."

Trying to Stay Dry in Utah!

2009-11-11T17:43:00.000-08:00

Well, howdy family! How is life treating ya?

...Awesome!

Well, I have some news…but I’ll get to that later. :D

Anyways my week…

11/3-WE WERE IN ODGEN. That was fun. When we got back to Bountiful we had our 3rd lesson with Kristi, and she loved it! She asks some really good questions. It's so cool to see her progress.

11/4-TODAY WAS GOOD. We had our District Meeting. We had a training by Bro. Goldberg, and it ROCKED! Then he took me aside and told me how to be a better missionary. So, I will follow his counsel and rock this joint! :D

11/5-ELDER WALKER WAS SICK...

...So I just studied. :D

11/6-MOST OF US GOT OUR H1N1 SHOT (aka.....Swine flu).

One of the elders in our district didn't. He was scared.....what a “girlie-man”. :-D That was pretty much the highlight of my day.

11/7-TODAY WAS OUR “NOTHING” DAY. :(

11/8-SUNDAY. Did all our Sunday stuff (note-meaning he attended LOTS of meetings!)

11/9-A GOOD DAY. We had a few lessons and visited people.

11/10-TRANSFER NEWS. We found out who is going where...

...I'm staying here in North Bountiful, and Elder Walker is leaving for North Brigham City. My new comp is Elder Pate. Don't know him yet, but he is excited to be serving here in B-town!

So that was my week. Hope you enjoyed it. :D

Love ya,

Elder Evans the 4th.

In Ogden...for today

2009-11-03T16:10:00.000-08:00

Hey all, I'm in O-Town [Ogden] right know. One of the Elders needed some meds, so that's where I'm at.

Alright, my week.

10/27-IT SNOWED...

We taught Miss Utah today. That was really good. She was really open to the gospel and to us. So that made it nice.

10/28- EXCHANGE WITH ELDER COON, my “brother”! [note-this is “mission lingo”. I think it means this Elder had the same trainer (“father”) as did Elder Evans.] That was really good. We had no lessons, but it was good to serve with him. I showed him what was up. :D

10/29 & 30-TODAY WAS COLD and we walked everywhere!

10/31-HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

We had a zone party and it was fun! We played soccer...

...and football.

To your surprise I’ll have you know that I played both…and I rocked! :D [note-Elder Evans has never been too excited about sports.] Today is the last day of day-light savings. Yeah!! :/

11/1-IT SURE FELT GOOD SLEEPING IN AN EXTRA HOUR! :D

Today was good, we taught Kristi the Plan of Salvation. She loved it! Her dad died on Labor Day, so it was a way good lesson. I told her about Grandpa, and we both started crying. Then I got this really strong feeling to say, "My grandfather may be teaching your father right now, just like how I'm teaching you." Oh, it was awesome!

I love teaching the Plan of Salvation. It brings major joy to my heart and soul. I know that I, we, can be with our loved-ones again, and not just “‘til death do us part”. I love the gospel for that! I do have a testimony that I cannot, and will not, deny of the Plan of Happiness. I know that God lives, and he loves us! Just like Nephi didn't know the truth of all things but he did know that God “loveth his children”. (1 Nephi 11:16-17) I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. One boy, one scripture, changed the World! The Church is true and I’m very glad to be a part of it!

11/2-NOTHING HAPPENED TODAY. It was a sad day. :-( Sorry.

Anyway, let me know how everything is going back home. I want to know. I love you guys and I miss you so very much. I'm always talking about you, and thinking about you.

I don't ever want this mission to end!

Love you,

Elder Evans

Good Times In Bountiful

2009-10-27T18:31:00.000-07:00

Here is my weekly update.

10/20/09 - P-DAY. Did all our normal stuff, but today was a little different. I got my hair cut and the lady shaved the back of my neck.....with a straight-edge razor!

When she pulled it out, I was like "Oh gosh!", but it was cool, and she didn't cut me. :D

We went to the DI and bought a HUGE, big old "Book of Mormon" for my morning studies. We had 3 lessons scheduled for tonight, but they all fell through.

10/21/09 - ALL OUR LESSONS CANCELLED.

10/22/09 - GUESS WHO WE SAW?? Elder Walker and I were walking down the street, and I hear, "Elder Evans!!" So I turn around and Lindsey Blau comes out of the car. It was so cool! I miss her and the whole Blau Family, but mostly I miss my boy, Brenden (note-his good friend who is serving a mission in South Africa). So after that, the day ROCKED!

10/23/09 & 10/24/09 -ALL OUR LESSONS CANCELLED AGAIN!! :-(

10/25/09 -SUNDAY. As always, the busiest day for a missionary.

10/29/09 - INTERVIEWS. Yea! It was sweet. That took up a really good chunk of the day. So we as a group went to Cafe Rio for lunch (they have amazing Mexican food)...

The President and his wife were there, too. Some girls came to our table and started hitting on us, and invited us to come to seminary with them. So Elder Chantry said, "Well, ask our President, he's right there." Well, they freaked and quickly left…it was so funny.

Anyways, that's my week. So yeah. Love you guys, and stay safe.

Love,
Elder Evans

P.S. It's snowing today.

Here In Bountiful

2009-10-20T22:31:00.000-07:00

Nothing really cool happened, but here it is…

10/13/09 - P-DAY. No lessons. Lameness. :-(

10/14/09 - ZONE CONFERENCE! I saw Elder Watts...

It was good to see him again. I haven't seen him since the MTC. Now the last one for me to see again is my old MTC companion, Elder Swisher!

Zone Conference took up a pretty good chunk of our day. It was an hour drive there, zone conference was from 8-3pm, and then an hour drive back. So, yeah. No lessons today.

10/15/09 -TODAY WAS ALRIGHT. Okay, so here is the “highlight” of this day. We had dinner with a family, and they have a daughter who is 21, and is thinking about going on a mission. So we started talking, then she asked us what our plans are for Halloween...

“Nothing,” we said, “as we have to be in our apt at 6pm.” So I asked, “What are you doing, are you going to dress up?” She said that she wants to be Jasmine from Aladdin...

Then she said. "Elder Evans, do you want to be my Aladdin?" (Awkwarddd) And my reply was, "Uhhh…yeah…sure…sounds fun." She laughed then asked if I had a girlfriend. (Oh dear) And it became really awkward really fast. :-P

10/16/09 - HAD ANOTHER BAPTISM TODAY. An older lady who was once a Jehovah’s Witness…but not no more! :D I didn't take any pictures since I never taught her.

10/17/09 - 4 MONTHS! Yeahhh! Wooot woot! 20 more to go.....wowzers. That's a long time. :D

Today was our "right place, right time" day. Elder Walker and I were walking around trying to get our 10 street-contacts. I said to him, “Hey, let's go this way”, not even really thinking about it, and we ran into a less-active lady who has been wanting to come back to church and wants to be taught again. So we told her what time her ward meets, and set up a time to meet and re-teach her. The other was a lady who was looking for missionaries to give her a blessing of comfort. She was going through a hard time and needed help. Again we took a different route and she found us. It was pretty sweet!

10/18/09 – SUNDAY. Busy as always. Meetings on meetings.....all that fun stuff. :D (note- Elder Evans and his companion cover three Stakes; which include a total of 21 wards!)

10/19/09 - NO LESSONS TODAY. Just visiting people, and helping them. Walked like 20 miles. No joke. (note-he is in the largest walking area of the mission)

So yeah, that was my week...

Anyways… I love you guys. Have fun, and stay safe.

I'm going to go hit up the D.I. (Deseret Industries thrift store). Yeah, it's going to be sweet. :D

Love,

Elder Evans

Howdy, From Bountiful

2009-10-13T11:06:00.000-07:00

How is everything going with everyone? How is Sierra Vista? How much has changed?

Anyways, here is my weekly report.

10/6/09- P-DAY. We made a training movie, with Elders Norton and Coon, for District meeting...

That was fun. It was showing some examples of good and bad "commitments" and was pretty funny.

10/7/09 – HAD DISTRICT MEETING and then went to Taco Bell...

We also visited a lot of people but had no lessons.

10/8/09- WEEKLY PLANNING and then Zone-study which was really good! We learned how to be better listeners...

Nothing really happened until later that day. We had a lesson, but our fellowship never showed up, so the lesson was pretty much pointless. But, it's all good.

10/9/09 –WE HAD THREE BAPTISMS TODAY. One wasn't ours, but the Zone Leader wanted us to be there. The other two were ours, a husband and a wife, so it was pretty cool. :D That was pretty much the highlight of the day. So I have been blessed with 6 baptisms in 4 months! Yeah!! :D

This is an amazing mission, I'll tell you that right now. Our District has a goal of 16 baptisms this month, and we have already had half. Thirty-one is the Zone goal and we’re doing really good. It's amazing!

10/10/09 - SUNDAY! The people who were baptized got confirmed. We had our regular meetings, and that was it. It was a trying day.

10/11/09- MY EXCHANGE WITH ELDER NORTON was so good!

It brought back some good old memories of when we were companions. It was good to serve with him again. We had a way sweet lesson with a younger couple—unfortunately not married and living together (oh dear). We read Ether 12 with them. I love that chapter as there is so much power in it—goodnight! It was just an amazing lesson.

So, that was my week. I hope all is going well with everyone. I miss you all, and can't wait to hear from you. You’re always in my prayers.

Oh, I need a few things. Some stamps and some letters from my old friends back home...

Well, I love you guys.

Love,
Elder Evans, the 4th.

Hey there, everyone!

2009-10-06T20:55:00.000-07:00

Well, before I get into my letter. I just wanted to let you know that I'm being transferred…which I will talk about later in the letter. :D

9/22/09-Best P-day ever!! We did our shopping, wrote letters, and all that stuff. But, it was like "district hang-out" from 11-4:30. We bought ties, had Burger King...

Jamba Juice...

...and just hung out. It was so much fun. I love our district!

9/23/09-David had his final interview....and he passed! YEY-YEY! That was pretty much my highlight.

9/24/09-Today was crappy. Our lesson fell through. But we did have a FHE with the Jones family…

9/25/09-Today was weekly planning, which took up most of the day.

This was also the day that Grandpa passed away.

That was pretty hard on me. But, thank goodness for the Plan of Salvation and that I know, I know, that I will see him again. Thank goodness for that, and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

9/26/09-Today was Homecoming!!

...so the work didn't go too well!! We talked to two drunk guys which was so funny as they were hammered!! But, we did meet a young man named Mark when we were talking to them. So we talked to him, and all that good stuff. He was really interested, but he lives in Salt Lake. So...we can't teach him. But check this out. He walked with us back to our apartment, and then we said our goodbyes. We took like two steps, and looked back and he was gone....he was no where to be seen.....Angel! :D

Oh, and David got baptized. Woot woot!!!

9/27/09-David was supposed to get the Holy Ghost, but ten minutes before church started we got a call. David was in the ER in Idaho...

He had something swell in his throat and he couldn't breathe. So we will do that Wednesday. (But I won't be there since I will be getting transferred, and he wanted me to confirm him…sadness.)

9/28/09 - 21 years old!!

WOOT WOOT! YEY-YEY! I had three.....three cakes today!!

I had a birthday party with the Althouse family, and that rocked! I love that family. I'm gonna miss them so much. So Elder Weiland got a call, and he will be Training. OH SHOOT! :D He'll be a way-good trainer.

9/29/09-I got my call this morning. I'm going to......(Drum roll)....

...Bountiful North, and will be serving with Elder Walker. And guess who my DL is....Elder Norton!! (note-his trainer) Woot Woot!

I'm way excited to leave, but I'm really sad, too. I love Logan, and I don't want to leave, but I do know that God has his hand in the work for me, and wants me to be in Boun-town North.

(note - On Saturday, October 3, Elder Evans had the unique blessing--with permission from his mission president--of attending his Grandfather's funeral, as the funeral was held in Clearfield, UT, which is in his mission, and is only about twenty minutes from Bountiful--where he had been transfered only four days earlier. Elder Evans' father, four sisters and I were allowed to pick him up at his apartment and his father was assigned, by the mission president, to serve as his companion during the funeral services...

...Elder Evans also served, along with some of his cousins, as one of the pall bearers (front right).

It was a beautiful service on a beautiful day, made all the more wonderful because Elder Evans was able to attend and pay his final respects to the grandfather he dearly loved and who, himself, was--and, no doubt still is--a great missionary!)

October 6 - Here in Bountiful, it is freezing!...but I love it.

I really don't have much to say for this week, since I just just saw you guys, but I do have a few things...

On the 2nd we taught a millionaire....and he's 23. He is a social networker, and is making bank!! -Oh Shoot! He is a way cool guy, very nice, very humble, loves to learn. Okay, here comes the cool part…we were teaching him and I noticed that he kept looking at me. Then finally he said, “Elder Evans, have we met before?” “No, I don't think so”, I said. Then he said, “I know I have met you before in the life before. I know it, and that you are here to teach me.” I was like “Holy Moly”.... It was such an amazing thing to feel because once he said that the spirit testified to me that it was true. That's why I'm here in Bountiful.

On Sunday we went to a member’s home for General Conference...

I guess here in Bountiful they don't show it at the church. The home we went to were the Mason's; a way nice family. They have five girls and one boy… poor kid, aye. It was awesome to be with a big family again for Conference, and Conference rocked! Oh man! Oh, and Elder Walker and I got ice-cream after the Priesthood Session...

...TRADITION!!

I want you guys to know that I have a testimony of the Plan of Happiness. I know that after we die we will be with our loved ones again. I know that! And I know that Grandpa is a missionary up there right now. He is teaching people about the Highest Glory of heaven, worlds without end, so that they can become gods to the most-high God.

I love you. You are my family and I couldn't ask for anything more.

Love,
Elder Evans

Hey Family, it's me again....:-D

2009-09-23T10:49:00.000-07:00

Before I get into my week. I just want to let you know.....it's freezing up here?

This morning was 32......32!! Good Night! I hate it! :D

Anyway…

9/15/09 - P-day. Had lunch with the son of the guy who baptized Elder Weiland’s dad. That was cool. Taught David again, which was good. :D We finally got a key for the East Stake Center.... about time, too.

9/16/09 - Exchanges with Elder Dill! In his area....USU (Utah State University) Campus! Yey-yey!

I had so much fun as Elder Dill is really funny! We committed 4 people for baptism, and they all said yes! I'm so, so, so glad I'm not a Campus Missionary. There would be no way I could focus as there area WAY too many pretty girls....good gosh! But, it's all good. So, no worries. :D

9/17/09 - 3 months!! Woot woot! It's gone by fast. We picked up a new investigator today. Her name is Stacy, and she's about late 50's early 60's. She’s a way nice lady. She has a baptism date for Oct. 10th. That was pretty much my day. Oh, and we had breakfast for dinner, it was way good.

9/18/09 - Weekly planning took up most of the day. We taught Mandy, and she kinda wants to get baptized. We had dinner with a part-member family…that was a little on the awkward side.

9/19/09 - Zone sports! Speed ball. Nothing really happened today. It was one of those slow days. We just set up a holy-huge load of FHE's.

9/20/09 - Spoke in the LP2 Ward on missionary work mixed with a little friend-shipping. It was really good, I didn't even have to write it out. :D Ok, here comes the part where Mom and Dad will be jealous… we had dinner at a member’s home and they cooked us 100% fresh Salmon!

It was the most amazing thing I have ever had! They had this layer of goodness on top. It was brown sugar with something, mixed with something....etc, and good night, it was so good! :D

9/21/09 - Stacy called us......and she dropped us. :'( I don't know why?? She was way excited for her baptism. Hopefully she didn't run into any Anti Crap! Stupid Anti's. Oh well, the work moves on. Today was crazy slow, no lessons at all! Nada! We had one at 6pm, but it was an FHE.

We had pizza for dinner, and it was way good!

The pizza was chicken with bacon and avacado. Sounds weird, but way good. So if there is a Papa Murphy’s in SV, go check it out.

Transfers are next week. Elders Pearce and Fairbanks put us down to both stay, but look what happened last time. :D I love Logan, if I could stay here for most of my mission....that would be fine with me. Maybe I could pull an “Elder Pendelton” and stay in an area for 9 months. :D Well, that was my week. Not as exciting as I hoped it would be, but....that’s alright.

Anyway. I love you guys.

Elder Evans.

So, How's it Going?

2009-09-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

Hey family! How is everything back home?

Well, here was my week.

9/8/09-P-DAY. Same old stuff. I took Joe the Navajo book, but he wasn't home, so I left a sticky note with the book on his porch. Also, we picked up some new investigators called the Balls family. (Not the Ball family, the Balls family. The Ball family we taught and baptized and they moved. :( )

9/9/09-HAD EXCHANGES WITH ELDER SCHANNER. It was okay. We rode bikes.....and I don't do bikes. It was an adventure and a half. We also had our District Meeting and Elder Schanner trained us on “street contacting”. We contacted 3 people; an RM, and 2 non-members (a “basher” and a gay guy--well, I’m not sure if he was....but he sure acted like it.)

Okay, here comes a sad story. Remember David, the one we were teaching? Well, he was put in Jail. He was caught with a suspended license. But, around 8pm that night they bailed him out! Ye-yeah! So it was all good, and he can still get baptized.

We had dinner with the Althouse family. I love this family!! They are soo funny. They have four kids, 1 boy and 3 girls. Their oldest son is 18, and just turned in his mission papers, and their youngest daughter is 12. They are so cool. They remind me so such our family. I kid you not. I love this family!

9/10/09–OUR DINNER CANCELED....so we asked the Althouses if they would feed us again....and they said yes! We also taught David again and that was good.

9/12/09–WE HAD ZONE SPORTS THIS MORNING. We played speed ball and Elder Schanner got plastered by Elder Bohne. It was funny....but not. That was pretty much the highlight of my day. We also did five FHE's.

9/13/09–TODAY WAS GREAT! We spoke in the 5th Ward, on “friendship in missionary work”, and we got 3.....THREE new investigators. Two of them, two Indian ladies, have set a baptismal date, but the 13 year-old girl hasn't. Her parents are a little “iffy”. We also had FOUR of our other investigators come to church! Yeah! It rocked.

Okay, for some odd reason I'm starting to speak with an Australian accent. I'm not joking. Every now and then I'll say something...and I sound like I'm from Australia. I don't know where it comes from.....

9/14/09–WENT ON EXCHANGES WITH MY ZONE LEADER, Elder Fairbanks. We did service pretty much the whole time. We painted this old lady’s house. Then here comes the kicker. Elder Fairbanks told me that there are going to be 21 new elders coming in at the end of this transfer and that I might possibly be asked to train. He said I have improved a lot since the last time I went on exchanges with you. But, of course, nothing is set in stone yet. So we’ll see. :D Oh, and it rained crazy-hard today. We were soaked!! Holy Moly.

That was my week.

Lots of love,
Elder Evans

Oops!!!

2009-09-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry about last week’s e-mail...I thought I sent it, but I guess not. :D So here are this week’s and last week’s updates. :-D

8/25-P-DAY. We went to the Wellsville slide. I didn't go down it; I just didn't feel like getting wet.

We then went to a youth activity for the HC1 and 2 wards. It was a lot of fun. That was pretty much it...no lessons, no nothing.

8/26-TODAY WAS A GOOD DAY. We had our District Meeting and it was really good. Elder Schanner is a way awesome missionary. What he went over really hit home for me.

Jonathan had his Baptism interview, which went well. All our lessons fell through today. :( Then, as we were walking back to our apartment someone drove by and yelled, "You're damned to Hell!!" We just laughed. :-D

8/27-ZONE CONFERENCE. It was good, especially since it was only 3 hours instead of 7! :D Elder Porter, of the Seventy, spoke.

None of our lessons went through today either, but we did have some baptisms! Bro. and Sis. Beck were able to be re-baptized into the church, it was awesome. After a long and very tough road...they were able to do it. The spirit was so strong. Everyone was crying. I can't believe how much of the Spirit of God dwells in a baptism! After they were baptized they received the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and you could just see the Light of Christ in their eyes. It was amazing! It breaks my heart knowing that they are moving in a few short weeks. Our last lesson with them is tomorrow. I'm going to give them my home and mission address. I really want to keep in touch with this young family.

8/28-WEEKLY PLANNING. Then we headed up to the East Stake and set up some FHE's with some young families. We had to re-set-up a lesson with the Beck family, they were packing and doing some cement work....so yeah. As we were walking home a 1970 Dodge Charger pulls into a drive way...

...and I said: "Elder, they need the Gospel" and we talked to them....they were the Petersons, and already members, but they were the nicest family I have ever met.

8/29-JONATHAN WAS BAPTIZED TODAY!

Oh Shoot! It was awesome! We taught David and Cindy again today, and we just found out that he CAN get baptized! Yeah-ya! So he is working toward Sept 26.!

8/30-TODAY WAS A CRAZY LOADED-DAY. I'm so tired! We spoke in the LP1 Ward then went to the FH1 Ward for Jonathan’s confirmation, then to the HC1 Ward, then back to our apt for a short lunch, then to correlation, got a ride, taught the Beck family. Bro. Beck gave us a free shirt and belt buckle (he owns his own clothing company).

Got a ride to dinner, then to Jonathan’s home, and got a ride to the youth stake fireside we had set up, then a ride home.... full day. :D

8/31-SET UP 10 FHE's in the Central Stake. ....that was my day. :D

9/1/09-TAUGHT DAVID AND CINDY, we gave him a triple combination, and he loved it! He can't wait to be baptized! He wants Rick (our fellowship member) to baptize him, and Elder Weiland and me to be the witnesses. So yeah!

9/2/09-MISSION PRESIDENT INTERVIEWS, which was really good! Pres. Olsen is a way awesome guy! And his wife is too. I call her Momma Olsen. :D We also had a FHE.

9/3/09-ELDER WEILAND WAS NOT FEELING TOO GOOD TODAY. So we went home around 7ish. Good thing we didn't have any lessons that night. But, we did teach David and Cindy, and he prayed at the end! It was way awesome! I was so happy! Anyways....

9/4/09-ELDER WEILAND AND I WERE BOTH SUPER SICK! We were just miserable...

...hard-core headaches, tummy pains like crazy.... yeah not a good day. But, we did pick up a new investigator. -BooYa!

9/5/09- TODAY WAS A SICK DAY and it was not fun. We also had our exchanges with the AP's. That was really tough on us, since we didn’t feel well, but we did good. I went with Elder Boyle who is a way cool guy! He is from Sydney, Australia, where Elder Bendall is serving!

I learned so much from him....well he is an AP.... :D

9/6/09-FAST SUNDAY. Another crazy busy day.

9/7/09-HAD EXCHANGES TODAY. I was with Elder Dill and I swear he looks just like Matty Bazany. He even acts like him too. :D We walked everywhere today (it felt like 20 miles) and every door we knocked.......nothing! Stupid Labor Day! :D But, we did have a FHE with the Peterson family. :D

So, there you go! I love being a missionary here in Utah.

I know that this is where God wants me to be. I love you guys and I pray for you all the time.

Love,

Elder Evans

Howdy Doody!

2009-08-25T11:38:00.000-07:00

Hey Family! I hope all is going well. This week has been a little of a rough one on me, with transfers, a new companion, senior companion.... yeah. :D

I hope the Haban family is doing well. That was really a sad thing to hear about Kamaron passing away. Thank goodness for the Plan of Salvation and knowing that death isn't the end, and that we will see our loved ones again. I love the Plan of Salvation, it is my favorite lesson to teach. I love to see people change just from knowing it.

8/18/09 - P-DAY. Wrote letters. Elder Norton packed. We cleaned our apartment and then taught Kevin and Julie, well Julie wasn't there, but Kevin was. They are a Chinese family and it's pretty freakin' sweet to hear them pray in their language......Don't know what they are saying, but that's why we have our WML (ward mission leader) there. He went to China on his mission, so he is our translator. The gift of tongues...I wish I had that. :D

8/19/09 - SAID GOOD-BYE TO ELDER NORTON. That was pretty hard, but it's all good. I got my new companion. His name is Elder Weiland and he is from Illinois...

...near Chicago. Way cool guy.

Remember that tattooed guy in the rice-burner I was talking about in my last letter? His name is David. We taught him the Restoration...

...and he loved it! Dave is GOLD! He was sitting on the edge of his seat the whole time, just wanting to learn more and more. It was so cool. It's amazing to see how much people can change when they are looking for the truth. I'm so glad that Elder Norton and I missed the bus that one day (we missed it by one minute), and if we wouldn't have missed it, we would have missed him. God does work in strange ways, I can testify of that. :D We also taught Jonathan and that went good, too.

Today was the most stressful day of my life, so far. I was doing everything...finding fellowships, rides, calling dinner....etc. We didn't have any lessons after 8pm, so I told Elder Weiland we were going home, and I was going to bed. I stressed myself out so bad, I felt so sick. It was not cool. But, we all have bumps in the road, and I was able to get through it.

8/20/09 - TODAY WAS A LOT BETTER than yesterday. After praying for 20 minutes, and crying like a 5 year old...I'm good. :D

Elder Weiland is a really good missionary. He is way laid-back, but he is a very hard worker, too. We had no lessons set up for today, so after Companionship Study we cleaned our apartment…looks nice! Then we went around the East Stake meeting all the Bishops. But, we did have a mundo sweet street contact. His name is Nathan, he is 15 and has been reading the Book of Mormon...

Oh shoot! It was awesome! We asked if we could meet with him, and he said he would ask his parents. So we traded phone numbers, and yeah. :D

8/21/09 - EVERY MORNING I WAKE UP WITH SERIOUS DOUBTS. Satan is working me so hard, and I don't like it. I know why he is, it's because there is someone here, in Logan, that I need to teach and where he or she is....I don't know. But I'm going to find out. I'm going to work so hard until I find this person, just to annoy Satan even more. :D

We taught Jonathan again today, and he loved it! He is way excited for the 29th when he will be baptized!

He asked if I, "Brother Evans", would speak on Baptism, and Elder Weiland give the closing prayer. We both agreed. Austin Bouchard [note-a friend from Sierra Vista] was there and he drove us around from 6-9:30 and was also my companion for an hour. Elder Weiland went to go teach Kevin and Julie, and Austin and I went to teach the Beck family. Oh, and I ate some Chinese food.... and I was not feeling good afterwards.

8/22/09 - DAVE IS GOLD!

He believes everything! We asked him if he believed in Christ, and he said: "I don't believe....I know." But, we don't know if he can get baptized....he is on probation. So yeah…but tomorrow is Sunday, so I will be fasting for him. Elder Mike Grover drove us around today. That was fun.

8/23/09 SUNDAY…Church was cancelled because of the dedication of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple (which was really good).

We also taught Mike and Barbara today. We watched the "Finding Faith in Jesus Christ " DVD. It has been raining crazy-hard these last few days. Holy moly!

8/24/09 - IT WAS RAINING SO HARD that our power went out in the middle of the night. So instead of us getting up at 6:30... we woke up at 7:24....NOT our fault. It was the power’s fault. :D We taught Dave the Plan of Salvation ...

...and he loved it! Man, Dave is so Gold! We also went over the baptismal questions with Jonathan. Yeah-ya! I'm way excited.

So, that was my week. I love you guys, and I pray for you every night.

Love,

Elder Evans

Hi All!

2009-08-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

Here’s something sweet...There is an older brother here in Logan, named Brother Stewkie, and he was one of the first missionaries to open the Tucson Mission...

...and his first area was Sierra Vista! Can you believe that?! :D

Drum roll, please...

Elder Norton and I....well one of us is being transferred....but, I'll talk about that at the end. :D

Anyway...

8/11/09-TODAY WAS OUR P-DAY. I wrote letters, took a nap, cleaned the apartment, and did laundry...the same old P-day stuff. But, check out this sweet deal we got… There's a suit/wedding store just across the street from the Tabernacle and they have sweet, sweet suits and ties. Their ties are $45.00 and up, but since we’re missionaries....we get them for $5.35! Yeah! I got one that is way sweet. It's pink with red and white dots that change color in the sun. It's going to be my Valentines Day tie. :D

8/12/09- EVERYTHING FELL THROUGH....

...the end. :-(

8/13/09-I HAD EXCHANGES with Elder Schanner today. Not everything went according to plan, but that happens. Normally we're not supposed to drive until we have been out for 3 months,but since Elder Schanner can't drive [note-probably because he is from Sweden and doesn’t have a Utah driver’s license]...I got too! I loved it. It felt so good. It was a good exchange. :D

8/14/09-TODAY WAS LIKE P-DAY, but not. We visited a few people in the morning. Then we had a 2-hour district meeting, an hour lunch, then a 2-hour weekly-planning, and then a service project with Elder Hale and Elder Pukepuke (pronounced pu'key pu'key), which was a lot of fun.

We taught Jonathan again and read Alma 7 with him. He told us that verse 26 was Elder Norton and me, so that was really heart-warming to hear. We also taught a family that’s....um, well…they are former members trying to become members again, and that's all I can say about that. But, they are the sweetest people ever. They have 2 kids and are in their 20's. It was a good lesson. :D

8/15/09-Today was another “GIVE-THE-ELDERS-THE-SLIP” DAY.

8/16/09-SUNDAY WAS GOOD! We spoke in the Hill Crest II Ward on missionary work, and then Elder Norton and I went on splits. I went to see Jonathan and Elder Norton went to another ward to see Maria and her family. Jonathan was at church, but Maria didn't show. (Elder Norton and I have been thinking, and if Maria doesn't keep her commitments we’re gunna drop her, and that's not going to be easy. I don't want too, but we might. :-( )

We taught Jonathan the Plan of Salvation and he loved it. Then we committed him to live the law of tithing...he said YES! After dinner we had a Missionary Fireside and Pres. Olson showed.

It was good to see him and his wife again. The fireside was packed! There must've been 200+ people there.

8/17/09-ANOTHER “DITCH-THE-ELDERS” DAY. We also had our last district meeting before transfers. We watched a movie about Joseph Smith...

...and it rocked! We then had dinner at the Golden Corral...

and it was yummy!

So, to continue my story from up top…We were at our apartment, waiting for the Pres to call us and let us know what was going on. :D There was a rumor going around that Elder Norton was going to be a District Leader and he had been freaking out about that. Anyway, Pres. Olsen called and ....Elder Norton is going to Bountiful, to become a DL, and me…I'm staying here in Logan! BooYa! I'll meet my new comp on Wednesday. So, yeah, Elder Norton is leaving
me. :-( It's going to be a little weird but I hear good things about my new comp (although I can't spell his name). :D

Oh, another great experience…We missed the bus...

...and as we were waiting for the next one this rice-burner [note-small Japanese-made sports car] pulls up, and this guy with tattoos all over his neck, arms, and legs is driving and his wife is next to him. She's a member but not active and she wants to come back, and her husband wants to be baptized! Elder Norton and I freaked out! So we just said, “Well, how does Sept 19th sound for baptism”, and he said yes! OH! It was so sweet! I tell ya the Lord works in very many ways. The lady was telling us that she has been looking for missionaries for some time now, and her husband has called around to find some, but then they saw us! It was awesome!

So, that's it for now.

Love ya guys,

Elder Evans

Howdy Everyone!

2009-08-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, before I get started with my week … Dad, can you send me that book of Great-Grandpa's life among the Navajo Indians?

I gave Joe that little short one you sent, and he loved it! He was trying not to show it, but I can read people pretty well. So, if you could send that to me whenever you get a chance, that would be just dandy. :D

Alright my week of up's and down's…

8/4/09 - P-DAY. We went to the Temple and enjoyed it very much. The Logan temple is so cool on the outside...

...but it's nothing like I thought it would be on the inside, but it's all good [note - I think he was expecting it to be more "pioneer-ish", but it has been updated and remodeled a few times since it was built]. I wrote 5 letters, which took me 2 ½ hours....holy moly! Then took a one-hour nap. (Yeah, one hour, not five! No more “mini-comas” for me. :D )

We had a short lesson with Maria and then visited people for the rest of the day.

8/5/09 - TODAY WAS TOTAL LAMENESS! We had set up another lesson with Karen and it fell through at the last minute. Then we had exchanges....again. I don’t like exchanges very much because if you go to someone else’s area you look like an idiot since you have no idea what's going on, or what to say to the bishop, or whoever, about a person in that area. Anyway, all the lessons we had that day fell through. :-(

8/6/09 - TODAY ROCKED! We had our lesson with Karen, and it was the most spiritual thing EVER! We were all in tears. She told us that she had a child, and gave it up, because she couldn't take care of it, and her husband was not a good husband.

She told us that that was the hardest thing she had ever done, but she did it because she loved her son and wanted him to have a better life. From that we were able to share with her that Heavenly Father made a great sacrifice for us, too, since He loves us and wants what’s best for us.... yeah, it was awesome!

Our lesson lasted almost three hours....and it was all about God's love for us (good thing we didn't have any other lessons that afternoon)!

It’s amazing how the last time we saw Karen she almost dropped us, but we asked her to have another lesson with us, which turned into this lesson, and now we have her back. :D

8/7/09 - Today...well every Friday is WEEKLY PLANNING....and that's always fun. :/

Say, do you remember Elder Grover? Well, I called him, and asked him if he could drive us around from 6-9pm. He agreed. The lesson we had fell through, but those things happen.

So, here comes that cool part… While we were with Elder Grover I saw a car I knew I had seen before, back home in Sierra Vista. The car drove past and I told Elder Grover to turn around and follow it.

We were able to flag the car down and guess who comes out of the car....Austin Bouchard! Yeah, it was him! And he was like, "What are you doing here?? You’re on a mission!" It was so funny. He lives in Logan now, so I got his cell number and told him we’ll call him to drive us around some time.... Ahh, it rocked! It was about 8:45ish and we had nothing left to do so Elder Grover took us to Cold Stone...

(I got the “Birthday-Cake Re-mix”, and it was yummy!) So that was my “sweet day” of pure sweetness.

Elder Grover is such a cool guy. For some odd reason I can't call him “Mike”, I just can't. :D Oh, and he told me that Elder Pendleton is coming to Logan, too. Ahh! Two great RM's from the Tucson Arizona Mission are in my mission! It's so cool.

8/8/09 - Today was DUMP DAY as everything fell through, except for our lesson with Karen. :D We watched “Finding Faith in Jesus Christ”, and it was good. Oh, it was raining all day...

...and was 55 degrees. I was freezing!

8/9/09-WE SPOKE in 2 wards today. The topics were Missionary Work and the Restoration, both of which went very well!

8/10/09-Today was a BUMPY ROAD THAT TURNED INTO A SMOOTH ONE. We had another lesson with Karen and she got on the subject of gay-rights. We tried to tell her the Church’s stand on it, and she got offended and walked out again. Her step-mom is gay... I don't know, Karen is really confusing at times. SO that put a major dent in our mood.

But....we had a referral for a man by the name of Jonathan Morgan. He's been to church many times and believes everything! So we asked him if he would follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone having that authority, and he said YES! AHHH!!! He even picked the person he wants to have baptize him! AHHHHHH! It rocked! So that was my day and my week.

Love you all,

Elder Evans

Hello, Hello!

2009-08-04T12:32:00.000-07:00

Well, before I get into my week, I just want to thank you guys for your letters, and, oh yeah, it's starting to get cold here in the mornings, could you send me a blanket? I've been sleeping with just a sheet, and I miss my blanket!

Could you also send me a copy of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing", and "Jesus Was No Ordinary Man" in the size of a pass-along card, so I can glue them in the back of my little hymn book? Thanks.

Alright, my week…

7/28/09-P-DAY and we got a lot done. We helped Karen move into her new home, which isn't in our area....so in order for us to keep teaching her we have a “fellowship” [note-a member’s home where they can teach her] in our area, and they are the nicest people ever. They've been married for about four months. They are the most amazing couple and remind me so much of Allison and Loren (that's probably why I connect to them so well).

We also met a “Dry Mormon” [note-someone who acts like a Mormon, but has never been baptized into the Church], named Bob. Bob is about 80+, and is awesome! He knew President David O. McKay!

He said that Pres. McKay was the nicest person he had ever met in his life. It was so funny, though, when he first started talking about him, he said, "Yeah, I know of prophets. My old friend…uhhh....damn it....what was his name.... !?” It was so funny! Anyway, he's an awesome guy.

7/29/09-EXCHANGE with Elder Schanner, our DL, and it was good. We taught Maria about the Plan of Salvation and that was good. Her kids are so crazy!

Now for the really sad part of the day... We had a lesson set up with Karen at our fellowship couple’s home. We were going to watch the “Restoration” video, and right as we started to play it Karen says, "I'm gunna go guys, I don't want to see, or hear about this," and she got up and left! All of us were in a state of shock. We didn't know what to do!

7/30/09-THE CRAPPIEST DAY EVER! Everything fell through. (KaBoom) But, we got 10 bucks, so that kinda helped. We also had Tom drop us… it was just crappy.

7/31/09-NOTHING REALLY HAPPENED today, so I guess it was a step-up from yesterday. :-D We taught this girl named Belinda, and she has some weird insights about Joseph Smith. Something about how he had an Amulet that could control Jupiter...

...and when the Sun was in the right spot with Jupiter God would show himself to him. Elder Norton and I were like "What the...?!?" So yeah, that was the highlight of my day. :D

8/1/09-WE HIT-UP ONE OF OUR STAKES like mad, today! We have like no activity going on up there, so for about half of the day we were talking to Ward Mission leaders, RS Presidents. EQ Presidents, etc.

We also talked with Ken again today and found out he's Mormon, and was baptized, and has been to the temple only for Baptisms for the Dead. He fell away when he was about 13, the reason why, I don't know. We also had Zone conference which was good, too.

8/2/09-FAST SUNDAY and President Morrill invited us to a BBQ!!!

I ate 2 burgers and 1 hot dog, and drank like a half a gallon of milk. Then for dessert I had ice-cream with chocolate chips, and I ate ALL of it! I was so hungry! Then it was the same for dinner…dinner was holy huge and I ate everything!!!

[note-Elder Evans has never been a very big eater, so I have had great hopes that all those LDS women in Utah would be able to “fatten him up” with their wonderful cooking…it looks like he’s on his way! :-D] Later, we had a youth fireside and that rocked!

8/03/09-I WAS SOOO TIRED!! I thought I was going to die! I have never been so tired in my life! Even though I was mundo tired, today rocked! We had 15 unplanned contacts, and they all rocked. We also taught a Jewish man today in one of the bishops’ homes. It was so good. The spirit was so strong, he told us he felt so warm inside. BooYA! But, he wouldn't set up a return appointment. So, hopefully he will later, as we gave him our number and all that.

We also had FHE with a family whose son just left about 6 months ago. We taught them about missionary work, and they all were crying, and the dad said to us, “If you need anything, anything, call us, and we will help you. If you need a ride, if dinner cancels, or just someone to talk to, you call us.” I love that family. I would marry their daughter just to be part of their family…but, she's 13, so that's not gunna happen. :D

So, yeah, that was my week.

Oh, they just re-opened the Logan Temple…

...so this morning all of us Elders in the area went. Come to find out, if we live within 45 minutes of the temple we get to go every P-Day. So if I'm lucky I'll get to go to the Temple 107 times…now that would be cool! :D

Well, let me know how things are going and all that good stuff.

I love you all,

Elder Evans, the 4th. :D

It's Picture Time!

2009-08-01T16:14:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed being in the MTC, but after three weeks I was ready to get out into the mission field and begin to share the Gospel...

Elder Swisher and I finally figured out where Ogden, Utah was, so that was a relief!!!

All of us that were headed for the Utah Ogden Mission got together for one last MTC shot with one of our teachers, Bro. Billings (who, I found out the night before we left, was good friends with my brother and sister-in-law, Jonathan and Candace, as they had been in the same branch when they were attending college in Silver City, NM!).

We arrived at the Utah Ogden Mission office on July 7th...

...and by the end of the day we were exhausted!!!! Luckily there were plenty of beds for everyone.

As you saw in an earlier post, I got to meet my awesome mission president, Pres. Olson, and his wonderful wife, and was then assigned to my "trainer" (and good friend from Eastern Arizona College!) Elder Andrew Norton. Then off we went to my first assignment in the beautiful Cache Valley town of Logan, Utah....

This is our apartment...

...our living room...

...our bedroom (I'll bet you can't guess which bed is mine :-D)...

...and our kitchen (all nice and clean...Mom would be proud!).

Logan is not only a beautiful town, but is also occasionally an "interesting" one, as well. For instance...what is that?

...and YIKES! We were invited to a Samoan dinner party and actually got to "meet" our dinner (although he appeared to be a bit "out of sorts")!!!!

But, nonetheless, I knew for sure that Logan was going to be a "cool" place to serve when I saw this....

Yep, it's all good!!! :-D

Hey All!

2009-07-28T14:01:00.000-07:00

How is everyone doing? Alright my week…

7/21/09- P-DAY! And we had a major "Faith" day. Elder Norton and I really got taken care of! We had someone offer to buy our groceries, then buy us lunch, and drive us wherever we needed to go. It was awesome! And the guy that drove us around was from Canada, and he was driving a 2002 Mustang GT Convertible. It was so sweet, and fast!!!

Oh, and I got six letters that day, too. All from my friends! BooYa!

7/22/09-I went on a 24-HOUR EXCHANGE with Elder Fairbanks, one of our Zone Leaders. It was so awesome! Elder Fairbanks is a stud, and he loves what he is doing. He's been out for 16 months, and doesn't want to go back home to Canada. He was telling me that he would trade places with me so fast. Shoot, I wish I was in his spot. Haha. Maybe in 15 months I'll be the same. :D But, I do love it out here! It's amazing.

So guess who Elder Fairbanks and I met??

....Harrison Ford

Ok, I lied. We taught a guy who looked just like, and I mean just like, Harrison Ford! When he came to the door I about freaked out. :D

I had a lot of fun on my exchange. I learned a lot from Elder Fairbanks. I really look up to him, as does everyone in our zone.

7/23/09-MY FIRST ZONE CONFERENCE was today. I got to see Elders Smith and Whitby, two buddies of mine from the MTC. It was good to see them again. We also taught Barbara and her future husband Mike about the Restoration, and we committed Mike for baptism on August 23rd, and he said "yes". Ca-ching!

I also gave my first comfort-blessing today, and it was awesome! I don't remember what I said, but afterwards she was crying like a baby. The spirit was so strong. She was concerned as to what to do next in her life, she was at a fork in the road, and didn't know what path to take. So she called us Missionaries. It was awesome!

7/24/09-PIONEER DAY! I have never seen anything in my life like I saw today!

It was pretty sweet. Fireworks, big old parades, BBQ’s everywhere; Elder Norton and I got fed so much!!!

We also taught Maria, and she wants to be baptized, as well as her two kids. She's a single-mother with six kids. It's really sad, but she knows that the church is true, and that, in turn, will bless her life so much.

Ok, cool story here... I told you about Karen, right? The 37 year-old single, hippy-ish lady? Anyways, we taught her and we talked about the Word or Wisdom and after we taught her that, she stood up, walked to the kitchen, and came back with her unused tobacco and her lighter that she gave to us to get rid of.

It was so cool to see her change that fast. Oh man, it was awesome!

7/25/09-SUCKED!!! We ran into four “Anti's”. Like hardcore. One was a Wicken. He had on his chest the most Satan-ized pentagram tattoo, and the wing of Satan on his leg (in the Wicken church they refer to Satan as the One-winged Angel). We just felt so evil and empty when we were around him. He cussed us out, and the Book of Mormon, and left. Yeah. So, for the rest of the day we were depressed.

But, then we went over to check up on Karen to see how she was doing. We went inside and talked to her for a little bit, and she brought up the question of coffee. Well, we told her about how coffee is....etc.

She got up, walked to the kitchen, pulled out her coffee, and dumped it down the sink! Elder Norton and I were like "Ooh!" It was so cool, and she....SHE asked for a blessing. So we gave her one. Yeah, it started out as a crappy day, but ended up a good day. :D

7/26/09-ROCKED! We spoke in two wards. One being a 35+ singles ward....which was depressing as all get out, but it's all good. We also had a Youth Fireside and that rocked! The subject was missionary work, and how to be a better missionary. It was so much fun. We did role-plays with them and little activities and just really got to know them. Afterwards we had root beer floats (note-Elder Evans LOVES rootbeer floats!)...

...and all the youth came up to us, and told us they had someone they were going to share the gospel with that week. I love working with the youth! It's so much fun, and so spiritual.

7/27/09-WE TAUGHT another family named the Murphy’s, and it rocked! We committed the 13 year-old for baptism....she said "yes". Ca-Ching!

Tomorrow, I have another exchange with Elder Schanner, the Swede. He'll be in my area, so that means.....I'll be the senior comp! Haha. It's going to be sweet! Elder Schanner is so funny, and probably has ADHD (note-Gee, I wonder how he was able to make that possible "diagnosis" so quickly? ;-D), but he's so awesome!

Oh yeah, is my plaque up at the Church? I wish I could have put a scripture on it. Since I have come on the Mission, my favorite scripture is 3 Nephi 5:13...

"Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life."

I taped this verse to my study desk, so every morning I read it out-loud, and it helps me know why I'm here and what I'm called to do. It's such an awesome scripture! I hope that I'm everything you guys want me to be, and that my example is helping those back home who are getting ready to go on a mission.

The world doesn't matter anymore when you are carrying the name of Jesus Christ on your chest. Every morning I read 3 Nephi 5:13, and after I read it, I put on my name tag and that gets me through the day. I look forward to the day that you and Dad get to go on a mission and are able to wear the name of Jesus Christ on your chest, as representatives of Him. There is nothing better.

I want you guys to know I love you, and think about you all the time. May God bless you, and keep you safe.

Love,

Elder Evans, the 4th (note-following in the foot-steps of his father and 2 older brothers)

Week 3...101 More To Go! :-D

2009-07-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

(July 21, 2009)

Hey everyone,

How is life treating you guys? Logan, is amazing! I love it!

Before I talk about my week, I have a question for Dad. Dad, is there anyway you can send me a copy of the book about Great-Grandpa trading with the Indians that I can have and give to an investigator? [note-Stephen's great-grandfather owned a trading post in Shiprock, New Mexico, where he traded goods with the Navajo Indians who lived in the area]. I told you about the Navajo man that we have been teaching and I really feel that if I give him that book he will open up more, and one day, become a member of this Church

Anyways, my week…

So, we got all the lessons set up that Elder Perry ask us to, all 18 with 6 pending.....they all fell through. :(

…Well, not all, like 15 of them, but check this out…

The 17th I was so tired! We must've walked like 20 miles, no joke. It was about 7 pm and we went and visited a PI (Potential Investigator). She is 37, single, and is really kinda hippy-ish, but, she's major nice. So we talked to her and set up a lesson with her on Monday. As we were walking away, Elder Norton suggested that we knock these apartments. So we did. At the first two there was no answer, the third door was the manger, the 4th door....

We knocked on it, and a man comes to it. The door is half-way open, and he has a look on his face like, "Great, this is all I need!" We introduced ourselves and he was kinda rude to us. He wasn't interested in what we had to say, but as we were about to leave I saw that he had the TOPPS basball card logo tattooed on his forearm...

(Role-Play time)

Elder Evans: So, I take it you like baseball cards?

Man: Yeah, I collect them. I had about 2,000 of them, but I had to sell them for rent, and whatnot.

Elder Evans: Really? That's awesome! I used to collect them too....

And Boom! We just started talking. It was awesome. He came outside with us and talked. He was smoking, but that didn't stop us. :D

He's 35, single, divorced, loves BMXing. It was so cool. I have Nate [Elder Evans' brother] to thank for knowing what to say in our conversation as he was talking about how he BMX's and all that. I asked him if he had ever seen the 80's movie "Rad". Yes, he loves that movie, and was so surprised that I knew about it. Then somehow we got on the subject of “Garbage Pail Kids”. I have Nate again to thank for that [as he used to collect the cards as a kid…yuck!]. :D

It was so cool to see him open up. So we asked again if we could share a message with him, and he agreed!! BooYa! We had a lesson set-up with him on Monday (yesterday), but when we called him to see if that was still on he had just found out that an issue with one of his ex's had come up that he needed to take care of. So he had to cancel..... interesting…so we had to reschedule.

On Sunday, we sang hymn #30 [“Come, Come Ye Saints”].....three times [apparently they must have attended three different Sacrament Meetings]!

We also met with an investigator again, he was drunk, but we still taught him. :D

Yesterday we had five lessons set up; four fell through, but the one that didn't was with the hippy-ish lady, and it was AWESOME! We talked about the Plan of Salvation, and she loved it! We committed her to be baptized on Aug 15th, she said yes. We committed her to live the Word of Wisdom (she smokes and drinks); she said yes, she'll stop cold-turkey. Then she told us that she has a boyfriend....oh dear.... We committed her to live the Law of Chastity....and she said YES! It was Awesome! Ahh, I love being a missionary in Zion. Just being here on my mission for three weeks, I have seen miracles, I have performed miracles, I have a testimony of miracles.

Anyway, that was my week.

Thank you guys for your letters. Oh, yes I did get the package. ....I got it Saturday [note-I sent it over TWO weeks earlier but it must have been delivered to the MTC after he left and then eventually forwarded to him!]. Thank you for the banana bread, even though it was mundo moldy, the thought was still there. :D

Anyway, let me know how things are going in Sierra Vista. Well, know that I love you, and I wish you guys could be here with me.

Love, Elder Evans

P.S. Oh yeah, one more thing. It's actually a funny story....my watch broke. The glass broke, then the watch itself broke. Me and watches just don't get along....at all [how true!…he and I actually have a running joke to see how long it takes a watch to break after he gets it! :-D]

So, if you could send me one, with 3 links taken out, that would be awesome. I don't care if it’s a cheap Walmart one, or a high-roller one. I just need a watch! :D

I'm Alive and I'm Loving It!!!

2009-07-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

(July 14, 2009)

Hey Fam! Sorry I haven’t written in a while. We only get to write on Tuesdays. I would hand-write it, but this is a lot faster. But when you write me, send it via mail. :D

Alright well, let’s start with the 7th of July. We all arrived in Ogden Utah, and we met the AP's and President Olson and his wonderful wife. Within the hour we were already street-contacting. Elder Swisher and I went out into the “Hood” of Ogden, Utah and taught people....it was sweet. :D We then had all these meetings, interviews, and had dinner with the President, and his wife. It was a long day.

The 8th I got my Trainer. His name is Andrew Norton! Yep, the Andrew Norton who I went to college with…the same Andrew Norton I made fun of for getting called to Utah! He's my trainer!! Isn't that Crazy?!!

Well, we packed up the car (Elder Norton had had a member drive him down because our mission is a “walking mission”). I'm in Logan, Utah, and I love it!

My first day in the Mission I taught someone who seemed really interested and told us to come back, but he lied, he didn't really want us comin’ back. :( (Then the rest of the day was me just unpacking and whatnot.)

The 9th I went on exchanges with Elder Schnanner. He's from Sweden and that was fun. His area is the College area. Yeah....! :D

Later that day (I was with Elder Norton) this older lady pulled up next to us, and asked us if she could call our homes and tell them how great we are. So we told her she could. It was awesome! Emily answered the phone. Then the lady gave us $20.00 bucks to go buy lunch for ourselves. Sweet! People here love us. We’re treated like movie stars out here. Everywhere we go we hear honking and people yelling "Missionaries!" "Elders you Rock!" "Hey Elders, want a ride?" (we always say yes). I love it! I love Utah!

Alright....the 12th. ( I'm going to skip the 10th, and the 11th because that was a day that everything fell through).

Alright the 12th! Elder Norton and I gave talks in the 43rd ward. My talk was on Missionary work and Elder Perry's talk, "Bring Souls unto me." I did a really good job on it, considering I only had a day to work on it.

Okay, I met someone....someone awesome. No, it’s not a girl. :D Actually I met two awesome people. Okay, I met.....Elder L. Tom Perry, and Elder Craig Zwick of the Seventy! It was so awesome!

Elder Perry shook my hand at 11:04am! :D He then asked how many lesson we have set up for the week. We told him four. Which isn't bad, it's just not good, either. He then looked at both of us and said, "Elders, that's not enough! You need to be having 20 lessons a week. That's 3 a day. I want you to go out and find 16 more lessons by the end of today and email me tonight." AGHHH! So he gave us his email address. I have Elder Perry's email address....nanner, nanner, nanner. :D

So we did what he asked us to do. I have never worked so hard in my life! We got 18, with six pending. So we had someone email him for us, since we can't email until Tuesday, and yesterday we got an email saying. "Thank you, a great response." YEAH!

By the way, I saw myself in the Church News. That was cool!

Yesterday! Yesterday was awesome! We had two amazing experiences. I wish I could share them with you, but I feel the need to keep them personal right know. Sorry. But I will tell you a little about them. We've been teaching a Navajo man. The spirit was so strong! We taught him the 1st lesson. I was crying, Elder Norton was crying, the Brother who was with us was crying, but this man wasn't. He then told us about how our lesson made him feel like a kid again, and how he almost died a few weeks ago; he fell 40 feet, and didn't have a cut, bruise, broken bones...nothing. Anyway, we talked about baptism to him, and he said that the only person that he wanted to have baptize him was a man in his tribe who had died. And that's when the Spirit came to me so strong. It said "Stephen, tell him, that when he is baptized he will see his friend again, and his friend will be there at the baptism in spirit, and he will be smiling."

The other experience was a woman, about mid 20's. She is less-active, and is living with her future hubby. She told us that she has been waiting for the missionaries to come to her house, and help her again. It was so awesome!

Yeah, so that was my first week.

Thank you for all your letters. From now on I will be writing to you by email. For one thing it's faster, and two.....it's faster. :D But, when you write to me, send it via regular mail. Thank you. Oh when you send me packages....um, they told us a special way to send them, I forget how to do it. So call the Mission home and ask them.

I love you with all my heart. You are my family, and I love you. Every time I talk about you guys in a lesson, I start to cry. What I have seen and done this last week has made a dent in my life for the good. I know now that God has put me here for a reason, and made me Elder Norton’s comp.

I wish I could have been there for the 4th. Sounds like an awesome time. Well, I need to go. Love you guys tons. And I hope to hear from you soon.

Love,
Your son Elder Evans

PS. One more thing… Tell all my buddies and friends my email. I can't email them back, but I can answer by letter. My address is: theamazingbeautifulman@myldsmail.org . The story behind my email address is a long one....maybe some other time. :D

Elder Evans in the MTC

2009-07-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

This is Stephen's mom. He asked that I update his blog so that those of you who are interested might be able to see how things are going for him on his mission. So here it goes...

June 17th, Elder Evans enters the Missionary Training Center (MTC)...

...and off he goes!

(June 17th)
Dear Mom and Dad,

Already being here for these few short hours has already made me homesick. I feel like a fish out of water. Everyone here seems to know what's going on, but that's ok. I had to get my T-dap shot, which is the tetnus shot, so I'll be sending you the paper with the amount on it, along with my address here. My first companion is Elder Swisher. I haven't met him yet, but that's what they told me. Well, I need to go to lunch, so have fun, and I'll write you guys later.

Love,
Elder Evans

P.S. Sorry it's not detailed, I just got here...

Then on the outside of the envelope (which he mailed the following day) he wrote...

P.S. Can you send me a copy of my mission letter? Thanks. Oh yeah, my comp is awesome we get along so well, and I'm the senior comp. Lucky me. And we have the room all to ourselves...BooYa!

His bedroom...

...and the first letter he received

His district studying hard!

(June 25th)

Dear Fam,

The MTC is a good and fun place and I'm learning a lot. I've been with the other Elders for about a week now, and I have just grown to love 'em. As I'm with these missionaries I feel like I have known them my whole life. I have seen these brethren in the life before, and I know it! And I know without a doubt that we were all called to be missionaries for the Utah Ogden mission, we were all called before we came to this earth, as was Abraham, and that testifies to me that this is the true church. I know that with all my heart. I now know what my purpose is for being a missionary, it's to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. That's why I'm here!

The 19th I don't think I have ever cried harder in my life. It was a hint of homesickness and the Spirit. I was praying for my friends, especially those who are not active or are non-members, and all of them, and the Spirit came to me so strongly and it told me that everything would be alright.

The food here is pretty good. I like it, but it is giving me mundo gas! Holy moly! Oh yeah, I weighed myself and I'm up to 120 lbs!! BooYa!

We had our first "RPI" (Role Playing Investigator) and it went Great! I felt the Spirit and everything.

I haven't heard or seen any General Authorities yet, but tonight I will :-). We have been having the Mission Presidents' training here and one of the Elders here saw Elder Uchtdorf! Sweetness!!

I'm glad to hear that the weather is nice back home, I've only seen the sun like four times since I've been here. It just keeps raining and raining!!! I want it to stop. Oh well, I don't care anymore.

That's all I can really think of right now. If need anything else I'll write ya again.

Have fun at home, I'm already missing it. Tell Nate and Jun to write me.

Love ya,
Elder Evans

His District in p-day attire (Elder Evans is at the top)

4-square for gym class

(a safer option, in my motherly-opinion, than basketball

as it seems so many missionaries injure themselves playing

before they even get out into the mission field!)

Elder Evans and his companion, Elder Swisher, at the Provo Temple

(July 2)

Hey all, so, so, so sorry I didn't write back. :( I've been really busy. And I mean really Busy! I've been studying hard, and I'm learning a lot. I love what I'm doing here. I'm so glad that I'm here. I can't wait to get out and teach people about this gospel. The gospel that has blessed my life in so many ways, and I want the world to have that.

Oh yeah, we are actually leaving on the 7th!! BooYa! And not the 15th. So we get to leave on our correct date. :D If you are sending me anything, like a care-package or what not, please send it to the Mission Office. Thank you.

How is life in Zion? Good I hope.

These 3 weeks have just flow'n by! I can't believe it. I've made some great friends. It's going to be hard to say good bye to them.

Oh yeah, we had our Mission President devotional thing, and Elder Holland spoke. It was awesome! I felt the spirit so strongly. Most of the General Authorties were there. It was awesome! And on Sunday they were all here! BooYa!

The 2nd counselor in our disctrict is Brother Stoddard and he served a Mission with Elder Holland. And his mission President was Marion G. Romney. He told us stories about Elder Holland and him, and it was so amazing! Brother Stoddard is such a cool guy. He reminds me a lot of Grandpa, that's probably why I feel such a strong link between us.

Yesterday, the 1st, I was sick. I ate something that didn't agree with my tummy, but I'm fine now, so no worries. :D

I love this church, and I just want to leave you guys with my testimony of Joseph Smith. Since I've been here I have learned to love him more and more. I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God and that he did find a record of old and translate it into the Book of Mormon. I know that he saw God the Father, and his Son. and that the same God he saw is the same Today, Yesterday, and will be forever! If this church or Book of Mormon wasn't true, it would have died with Joseph Smith. I love Joseph Smith. He is an awesome guy!

Well my times is coming to a close so....I Love you guys, and I pray for you everyday and night.

Love your son,

Elder Evans

Yes, Elder Evans is still "Stephen"! :-D

Incase you didn't see it, Stephen and part of his district were pictured in the July 4th Church News in an article concerning the Mission Presidents' training that was going on at the MTC while he was there!

This past Thursday (July 9th) he arrived in Logan, UT, his first area and today we received an email from a sister who grew up in Sierra Vista informing us that he is serving in her ward and that Stephen and his companion had had a short visit with Elder L. Tom Perry who just happened to be visiting their ward today! So he is already having some great experiences!

If you would like to write to him his address is:

Elder Stephen B. Evans

Utah Odgen Mission

2133 Washington Blvd.

Ogden, UT 84401-1434

2009-04-23T09:15:00.001-07:00

I'm a car guy. I love cars! I've been around them ever since I was little. My dad had a 63 Impala. My olderest brother Nathaniel had a 62 Chevy Nova. And my other oldre brother Jonathan had a 64 Chevy Nova, and a 57 Chevy Belair. And that's just my family. My brothers friends also had old cars. Like Chevelles, Mustangs, Barracuda, VW, Corvettes, etc.

So, yes, I love old cars. I know cars like the back of my hand. I can tell you the make,model, and year of any old car. I love cars! :D

2009-04-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

Best Video Game ever Made!!

I'm having amnesia and Deja Vu at the same time. I think I've gotten this before!

2009-04-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

I had a dream about a girl, last semseter, like November time. She was beautiful! She had Blue eyes, blonde hair, and a really nice smile. She was everything I wanted. And just so everyone knows, I've never seen this girl before. :D
One day I'm walking to my World of Music class. I remember that Ms. Jordall said there would be no class, but you can come for some extra credit. There will be some high schools there, and all that. So I thought "what the heck." Maybe Buena will be there. So I went over there. I walk into our class room, and sit down in the back. Scratch my nose, and pull out my notebook. I look around the class room to see if there is anyone I know......
.....And BAM! I see the girl that was in my dream!
Anyways that's all I wanted to say. I'll leave the rest to you to make up. :D