So here's a funny story...

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

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

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...

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?

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

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!

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!

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!

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...

...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!!!!!!!!

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

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

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...

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

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!

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!

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