Thanksgiving...NOT!

My Thanksgiving was about just as good as yours just minus being sick. That stinks that you have been sick, strep, sinus issues, and mono sounds like you got a tough three in a row to try to fight. I got a picture from Julie with Nat, Syd, and Bubba in it :) Wow, she (Kenna) is doing "The Gettsburg Address", that is crazy, is that the four score and seven years ago one? Or is it a different one... hahaha I have no idea. Doesn't sound like Jessica ended up going to the soccer tournament then, thats a bummer that she got hurt just before, or maybe it was a good thing she got a little hurt right now than really hurt down there. You are right, I dont really miss getting all the Christmas stuff out, when I am home, but I am really missing doing it right now... :/ Just tell Kenna that when Christmas comes it just means that I will only be gone for another year... hahah and then when the next Christmas comes I will be like 2ish weeks from coming home :). So thanks for letting me know that you are back from letting the dog out, hahahaha I was wondering where you went. ;) hehehehe I am still a bit of a smart-alec ;) Tell the lady that is bringing down the stuff to just drop it off at the mission home, It will be easier to get because we do have our party thing on the 15. So just tell her to leave it there and we will be able to have it two days afterwards. Oh, and I got my packages!!! wahoo!!! Thanks for all the stuff :) There was a ton hahahaha I love the ties, the treats, the notes, and everything else :) But there is definitely one thing I would like some more of that I didnt really think that I wanted, That would be pictures :) Those made me really happy, If you would, send some soccer one, some with Tally Riley and Kim, some with the family, and some just fun ones that you like :) I honestly don't remember what was in the package that I sent home... that was like 8 weeks ago hahaha I need to talk to the Elder to find out if he actually sent it...


1.  How is the work going?  Do you have any full member families yet?1. We do not have any full member families yet but it is coming along. We are teaching two more families that we need to marry and then we can baptize them :) So once we do that we will be able to baptize them :) They came to church yesterday and they liked it a lot :) 


2.  How is church leadership going?  Are they trying to find someone reliable to take charge?
2. We are still seeing about the leadership things... hahahaha We still need a President and pretty much everything but the Relief Society... hahaha But we have gotten really a lot farther in these last couple weeks trying to figure out who could be good to put in as leaders. Almost every member is going to have a calling. hahahaha That is still weird to me!


3.  Tell me anything that I don't know.  Going to work today really wore me out and I can hardly think straight to come up with questions this week, so tell me anything and everything.3. Ummmmm We are finally getting some stuff for our house (Tables, seats, and bed frames) so we dont have to keep going back to the church everymorning to study and to shower. The President actually came and delivered the packages to me personally on Friday, mainly because he was coming to do our interviews. So we had our interviews and it all went good. I didnt do anything special on Thanksgiving and it was actually on our worst meal day that we had it... hahaha I found a scripture that I really like in D&C 61: 36-39, I just think it is a really cool scripture that we all need to remember. Nothing big but just that we are his children he loves us and we will be o.k.


4.  Best and worst part of the week.4. Best part of the week was getting my packages and having the people in the church that we can baptize :) the worst part of the week is that it has been raining hard and I feel like I might be getting a sore throat. But it is still pending so we will see if my body can fight it off with the help of the Lord (which is very probable) hahahaha ;)

So thats about it for me, I am doing good, still having a good time, hope you guys are too :) Love you, have a great week.

Love Elder Evans

The members made him a birthday cake and stuffed his face into it to celebrate!

Happy Birthday Dad & Papa Doc!

Hey mom, sorry I didnt write you last week, I was trying to figure out my camera thing and I lost track of time and it didnt help at all that my e-mail wasnt working very well :/ That is funny that you got to talk to Elder Plummer. I really like him, oh and You should give me some ideas of things that I could send back for Christmas :) and did you ever get a package that I sent around 8 weeks ago. I forgot about it and never asked about it.


If you are  still there, Elder Plummer said that your Zone Leaders should have your packages and that he would call them and find out for sure.  Where are you meeting the President at?  At the mission home?  I don't think your packages are there.  Let me know.
Well we are supposed to be having divisions with one of our Zone Leaders tomorrow so I guess we will see. Hopefully they bring them. No we are having interviews at our Zone Leaders area in Zapata where the packages should be. hahaha This is crazy. hahahahahaha And kinda dumb but whatever, As long as I get them at least... hahaha Love you mom thanks for checking on them for me. Give dad a hug for me on his birthday :) a.k.a today right now when you get this hahahaha


1.  I am glad you found a place to live, but it sounds like it was better at the church.  How small is this house and what is it made of?  Does it have a fridge or freezer?  How do you cook things?  Do you ever have real milk?
The house is two of Dad´s offices put together but just a little bit smaller. We do have a fridge and it has a smaller freezer in the top of it. We dont cook food.... hahahaha and no we never have real milk, some of it is o.k. once you put the cereal in it but you cant just drink it plain.

2.  It sounds like you are in a very small area.  Is it mostly jungle type stuff or what?  What kind of animals do you see?
Very little of the area is Jungle. It is just a little town with really nothing in it. We see dogs, cats, cows, pigs, turkeys, chickens, snakes, spiders, flies, mosquitos, birds, and sheep. Oh, and this crazy looking half spider half scorpion thing that we found in the church last night.

3.  How did the baptisms go last week?
Well you saw the pics of the baptisms and they went really well, This last Saturday we didnt baptize anyone but this week we have two possibly three baptisms. :)
4.  Who are you teaching now?
We are teaching quite a lot of people, we just recently had three people recieve answers to their prayers and we are going to put a baptismal date with them for the second Saturday in December. 
5.  It doesn't seem like you have much leadership in this branch.  Is there a Primary or youth program or Relief Society at all?  How much do you do each week?
There is very little leadership in the Branch. We dont have a president of the branch, YM, YW, Elders, and Primary is inactive but getting better. So we end up giving the classes, blessing the sacrament, and usually do the sacrament meeting... hahaha
6.  Is this area poorer than the last area you were in? How far away from a decent city are you?
This is the poorest area I have been in but not by much. We are a good hour away from an o.k. city but a good 3 hours away from a good/normal city.
7.  What do people do for a living?
They are teachers, they have their own stores, the cut grass with a machete, and they do other stuff hahaha.

8.  Did you hear about the 2 missionaries that were killed in Allen Texas in a hit and run accident?  They were on their bikes.  It was very sad!  Made me glad that you are in a remote area with probably very few cars.
That is insane! and really sad. Where were the missionaries from that got killed. 
9.  How are you doing with your weight?  I can't imaging you are still gaining without having a store nearby to buy things.  Are you always hungary or are you used to eating small meals now?  How often are the members feeding you?
The members still feed us everyday except for Saturdays. My weight has stopped gaining I think, I think I am around 145-150 now... hahaha a good 15 pounds. I am good, I just miss not being just to snack on whatever we have in the house.
10.  O.K. now for a more spiritual question:  What has made your testimony grow the most?
When people get answers to their prayers. It is so cool to hear them describe their experiences and try to describe how they felt when they were touched by the spirit. It is awesome to just sit back and watch the spirit work.
11.  Best & worst part of your week?
Best part of the two weeks was the baptism of the three little kids. The worst part was breaking the Word of Wisdom..... hahahaha We bought some sparkling cider (with a member that said it was o.k.) and it ended up having 5% alcohol in it. hahaha IT TASTED ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE, how people can just drink that blows my mind. When we found out it had alcohol in it (after one swallow because it was sooo bad) we hurried and dumped it out in the sink. hahaha
I am still doing really good, we have an interview with the President this Friday so I should get my packages then. We also have our Christmas "party" on the 15th of December. Me and Elder Hartvigsen are still doing good, we are working hard and having fun. Hope you guys have a good Thanksgiving, eat something for me because I am perty sure I dont get anything. So thats about it for me, I love you guys and have a good week :)


Love Buddy!


P.S.
Make sure and tell dad & papa Doc Happy Birthday for me!

 Another Picture from Palenque.  I can't wait to get all these pictures for my 5th Grade unit on the Mayan's.

 These three little boys showed up an hour early because they were so excited.  It is hard to believe that they are older than 8.  LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!

Fun things that Elder Evans bought at Palenque.  I hope he can get them home in one piece.

No letter this week! :(

Hello Everyone,

We did hear from Kristopher this week so we know that he is fine, he sent a quick Birthday email to McKenna & his favorite cousin Jenni, and a Congrats to Jessica for making the JV/Varsity team at Alta.  However, the draft he was writing to me is only 3 lines and is still in his draft box.  I am wondering if he was having some computer issues.  It did say that they baptized 3 young boys last week that came an hour early because they were so excited and didn't want to miss it.  I guess that will have to do for this week.  I am sad that I didn't get more information but I am glad he was able to send anything at all.  It is hard not to be selfish as a Missionary Mom.  His letters are what make my day and get me through the week.

Kristi

10 Months Down!

I am having a pretty crazy week too! hahahaha and for the same reasons. HOUSE!!! We finally got one, but to be honest it is absolutely horrible! Go Jessica, you can do it! hahahaha I still havent gotten my packages by the way, I am learning to not put my trust in my leaders to get me things very fast. My zone leaders forgot them today at the zone activity but said if we baptize our 3 this week he will personally deliver it to me... I will believe that when I see it. It frustrates me a ton though.


1.  How are your living arrangements?  Do you have a kitchen & fridge and all that stuff?
So the living arrangements... They are not the best, we dont have a kitchen, we have a faucet that barely puts out any water. We have to mattresses (dont know how to spell that) but not any frames or anything. We have a fridge but can't really use it because we don't have anything else to use to eat. We can't shower in the mornings in our house because our faucet doesn't put out enough water, so every morning we leave the house around 7 so that we can go to the church and shower and eat and study. It is kinda really annoying and there are no other houses here either. I think we should just move back into the church but we shouldn't. hahaha It is very frustrating.


2.  Your companion said in his email home that the Mission Pres. bought you some mattresses.  Are you sleeping better?
I am sleeping a lot better. But still have the problems like I said in #1.


3.  Do you know Elder P_______ that went to Alta?  K___H___ knows him.  Also, do you know an Elder P___?  Kate knows him.  I know Elder P______ and I dont know Elder P___. Elder P is awesome, we have been in the same zone in Mina for 6 months and then we are back in the same zone. He is cool and a really good missionary. We played basketball today with the zone and there are some kids that played 3A and 4A basketball and he comes out and makes a team and says that we are going to prove the Alta cuts are better than the 3A and 4A starters hahahaha it was soo funny! 

4.  Is there someone in your area that has a computer or a good telephone for your Christmas phone call?  We are counting down the days!!!!!  That is all Kenna wants for Christmas this year is to talk to you.  I would love it if you could Skype!
The christmas call is going to be interesting. There is only one Sisters house that we could do it from and they leave a lot. So I dont know how we are going to be able to do it. Yes, that would be cool if we could Skype!


5.  Have you eaten anything else interesting?  A lot of missionaries are eating Iguana in Mexico.  Have you?
I havent eaten Iguana yet but we are planning on eating more fish, an Iguana, and maybe turtle.... I am really not excited at all for that last one :/ hahaha But it will be a cool story and picture so I am going to do it... hahaha


6.  How is the work going?  Your companion said that the church leadership in your branch doesn't always show up so he has to take charge and do everything.  How does that all work?
The church here is crazy! The president that was over our branch just got called to be the President over the branch where he lives. So now we dont really have a President because the 1st councilor that we have doesnt really come and doesnt do what he is supposed to. So for the last couple of weeks, yes we have had to get there after going and getting the investigators and hurry and set everything up getting everything ready and teach the lessons. It is crazy! The work is good though, we are planning on baptizing 4 people this Saturday so I will let you know how that goes hahaha But right now it is looking very good :)


7.  How many people are in your Branch?  Do you know it's official name?  You don't meet in an LDS building do you?
The branch is called El Triunfo. We are renting a building it has a plack outside that says The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on it. So we dont have a chapel but that is the goal before both of us leave this area.


8.  As always, what was then best and worst part of your week?
The best part is that all the kids passed their baptismal interviews and the worst part is definitely the house and branch situations. Oh, and not getting my packages..... again.


9.  Have you written that hand written letter you owe me yet?  You are much more detailed when you hand write.  Kim will say things and I won't know what she is talking about.
I have not written it yet, Oh and will you tell Kenna and Kim and Dad Happy birthday for me on their birthday. I havent been able to send their cards because I havent been able to find a mail place to do it :( Tell them sorry but they will get their just really late :/  Tell Kim that I am also behind 5 letters because I havent been able to send any... There isnt one where I live and there isnt time to go and send them where there is one because we have to get back to the bus before it leaves or else we have to wait another hour and a half.


10.  Is there anything you need me to send you?
I think I am good, and even if I desperetaly need it, I wont get it for another 4 months... hahahahaha


Well this week has kinda been slow nothing too big going on just the normal teaching and stuff. We are planning on going to the place called Agua Azul and las Cascadas next transfer and it sounds really cool. So I am going to send Tally´s letter to you and it is all ready. Love you guys, good luck with all the house repairing and everything else. GO JESSICA Wahoo starting varsity this year ;)


Love, Bud