Eu me sinto que.... (I feel that....)

Oi família!

Well, President Bonini changed the way we do transfers.  Instead of everyone meeting at the Montese Chapel, now we receive an e-mail that has all of the information to find our new area and companion.  So, I´m being transfered!  I have loved my time here in the Sumaré Ward and I´m excited to be off on another adventure.

Well, this week, I can´t say that I had any super mind-blowing experience.  But, I remembered an experience from a few weeks ago and then tie it in with what I felt this week.

A few weeks ago we were teaching a man who used to be a preist for the Catholic Church.  Eventually he decided that the life of a preist wasn´t for him and he became a pastor for an Evangelical Church.  One way or another it was an interesting lesson.  We began explaining the Restoration and he had good questions.  We responded and the spirit began to grow more intense.  As we neared the end of the lesson we mad the usual invitation of "Will you pray to know that what we taught is true?"  and he responded with the best response I´ve yet heard, "I know that what you´re teaching is true because I feel the Holy Ghost telling me it is"

Fast forward to this week.  This week, Élder Tamanho and I were seeking some new investigators.  Every single time we taught the Restoration, the Spirit whispered to me that what we were teaching was true.  It was an amazing experience.  That the church that Jesus Christ established was lost and restored was nothing new to me, as I´m sure that it isn´t to all of you.  I´ve prayed a number of times about the church and every single time, the answer is yes.  But that´s the beauty of what I saw this week.  Every single time I have prayed, every single lesson we have taught, every time someone testifies that this is the restored church of Jesus Christ the Spirit testifies. That is the beauty of the message we bear.  If it weren´t true, the Spirit wouldn´t testify.  And for the Spirit to testify only some of the time would make it partially untrue as well, because the Spirit always testifies of truth.  But, I can sit here throwing out proofs all day, but the only way to truly know is to ask of God (James 1:5).  So, I invite each of you this week to pray to know if the gospel really was restored.  Regardless of how many times you have previously done so, I know He will respond.

Our Father in Heaven lives and loves us.  Our Savior, Jesus Christ lives and has payed the price for our sins.  I know these things because I feel them in my heart in an indescribable way, much like many of you.

Amo vocês!  Amo a ala Sumaré, e sei que tudo vai ficar bem!

Élder Evans

A Restauração (The Restoration)

Oi família!

Well, things are going well.  In general I´m as happy as a clam.  It would be a lie to say that this week has been a bed of roses, though we´re working for that.  We had a number of difficulties, but we´ve also been very blessed.  We headed back to Canindé this week and once again, it was like the road to St. George.  I got to observe some awesome missionary work by the élderes in Canindé and in general, I´m thrilled with how the zone is progressing.  Being a zone leader is a taxing experience, but we´re seeing some awesome miracles.  I´m learning a bunch and we´re having an awesome time.

We´ve been having some super cool experiences with teachig over the past few days.  I remember one lesson in particular where I had the opportunity to feel the Spirit very powerfully.  I particulary felt so during one time when we were teaching the resotration to a family.  I always like to explain very carefully about the Joseph Smith story using our own surroundings to tell the story.  Here in Ceará, churches are more common than churches in Utah.  But the difference is that they´re of all sorts of denominations.  Every single one teaches something different and every single one claims to have the way back to our Heavenly Father.  So, as we explained this we put them in the moment.  We talked about how this young man, Joseph Smith was confused because of the many churches that he had seen, all claiming the authority of God, but not knowing which one was the true church that Jesus Christ had restored.  We explained how Joseph Smith turned to the Bible looking for answers and found scriptures that indicated to him the organization and structure of the church of Jesus Christ.  "One Lord, One faith, One baptism" (Ephesians 4:5)  "that upon this rock I will build my church" (Mathew 16:18) and finally "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God..." (James 1:5).  I remember keenly the feeling I had as I explained the first vision using the Prophet Joseph´s own words.  "I saw a pillar of light, exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.  When the light rested upon me, I saw two Personagens, whose brightness and glory defied all description standing above me in the air.  One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to the other, "This is my Beloved Son, Hear Him"" Wow.  How are you feeling right now?  As I was explaining this the Spirit filled me with the conviction that this is reality.  God and our Savior really did appear to the boy prophet Joseph and it was by him and through him that the gospel was restored.  I was filled with such profound joy and gratitude to Father in Heaven for this profound gift and I know that the investigators felt it as well.

The Book of Mormon is the proof of this in these our days.  We watched "The Restoration" with Vitória´s family (the young woman we baptized last week) and afterwards we asked her to explain how she knows that the Restoration is true.  She explained, "Well, He translated the Book of Mormon so it must be true!"  It was a very powerful moment.  The Book of Mormon is the powerful and living witness we have that these things are true.  I know that it is true and that it will help anyone "draw closer to God...than any other book"

I invite each of you to ponder on the message of the Restoration, and the profound happiness that it brings in our lives.  Think about the blessings that you all have received because of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  If you struggle to think of some, I invite each of you to pray and talk with Father in Heaven.  He will help you see.

Amo vocês.  Fiquem firmes!

Élder Evans

Semana de Milagres (Week of Miracles)

Oi família!

Wow.  This week was full of ups and downs and very few in-betweens.  I guess you could say that things are getting harder in the work as many of the people that were progressing lost interest and desire.  While the week was a little more sad, we had some amazing things happen with a family that we´re teaching that will be the theme of this e-mail, the Week of Miracles.

Let´s backtrack a little.  Two weeks ago, we were preparing a young girl named Vitória to be baptized.  We had initially be teaching the family, but all of them decided that they didn´t want to participate for now, except Vitória.  So, Vitória has been faithfully reading the Book of Mormon, stopped drinking coffee, and has attended church every single week for over a month.  We were talking with the family and everything was going well.  They said that Vitória could be baptized without any problem, even though they didn´t want to be at the moment.  We were so pumped.  The day of the baptismal interview, we passed by to go to the interview when the father answered the door and said "well, we´ve decided that we´re not going to let it happen anymore."  We entered and began discussing with them what was happening what they were feeling and for what motive they had suddenly denied their daughter the opportunity to be baptized.  It was a super powerful experience for me because as a missionary sometimes it´s hard to be bold and straightforward about some things.  But as we were teaching and explaining that Vitória wants to be baptized in the only church that has the authority of God, the Spirit was very strong. He testified that this was truly the way that Vitória needed to follow and that her parents needed to let her be baptized to obtain the fullness of our Father´s blessings.  One way or another, her parents decided that they would have to think about it and that we could return the next week.

That weekend, we did a fast with our zone that we could have more baptisms and that they people we´re preparing could be baptized during this month.  The day that we marked to return to speak with Vitória´s family, we (well, I) approached the door with aprehension, praying that we would have the Spirit.  We knocked and he father opened the door.  The conversation went something like this:

Us: Hey, do you have a little that we could talk to you guys some more?

José (Vitória´s father): Yes, is it about Vitória being baptized?

Us: Yep

José: We´ll allow it.  No problem.

I almost fell over backwards.  The week before had been a battle just to get a return appointment and now they would allow the baptism?  They sure did. 

This past Saturday was Vitória´s baptism.  The Spirit was so sweet as we were at the baptismal service.  The young women sang a beautiful number that filled the chapel with the Spirit.  What was even more amazing, all of Vitória´s family came to watch the baptism.  They all enjoyed it. We invited them to come to church the next day to witness the confirmation, but they all said, "I don´t know.  Probably not, but we´ll see."

The next day Élder Tamanho and I were walking to church.  We looked in front to see Rosa (yep, our recent convert) with Vitória walking to church.  I saw another woman with them too, that I though was a member that lives close to Rosa and Vitória.  Then as we got closer, I realized that it was Fransisca, Vitória´s mom!! It was awesome!  We had almost no investigators with us in chruch yesterday, but the simple fact that a mother and a daughter could be there together for that special moment was everything.  The meeting yesterday was so full of the Spirit and was very powerful.  We passed by their house afterwards and Fransisca said "one of these days I really want to stay for the classes afterwards, but if I have the courage next week that I had this week, I will go to chruch with you next week."

I´ve seen a large number of miracles on my mission.  Most of them were small, little things, like the tender mercies of the Lord.  But what I saw and witnessed this past week was nothing short of a miracle.  My God is a God of miracles.  He has never ceased to be one and will never cease to produce such wonders in our days.  As we exercise our faith, the Lord will work miracles in our lives.

Amo vocês.  Até o próximo milagres

Élder Evans

P.S. Have I already said that I love being a missionary?!?!?!?!?

Poder do Sacerdócio (Priesthood Power)

Oi família!

Well, it´s been a good week.  I guess you could say that it´s been one of those weeks that had ups and downs.  But, let´s be real, that´s life.  And especially missionary service.  I´ve been having the awesome opportunity to think a lot about our Savior and how the mission is kind of like what He went through, though in a condensed and edited version.  I truly love our Savior, Jesus Christ and each day I am so grateful to Him for His sacrifice for each of us.  It is such an honor and privelege to be his representative.

We had some awesome experiences this past week and I was truly able to see the power of the Spirit as we taught, testified, and called people to repentance.  But, what really touched me was something that I learned about the priesthood this past week.  We have a lady that does manicures and things like that here in the ward, and she also has a knack for removing ingrown toenails.  My companion, Élder Tamanho, had a toenail that was starting to become ingrown, so we headed over there Sunday to have her fix it up.  Afterwards we asked them how we could help them and serve their family and the husband said "I want a blessing.  I´ve been having migranes recently."  So, we gave him a blessing.  It was odd initially, because after I blessed him to have health and that his migrane would leave, I began blessing him with respect to his family and home.  Though I felt a little confused, I went with it and finished up the blessing.  We thanked them, said goodbye, and headed out.  Then, yesterday, lunch was at their home.  As we were finishing up, we asked them what we could do to serve their family.  They began to explain how their son was inactive and was having a number of problmes.  As they continued explaining to us what was happening, I couldn´t help but remember the blessing I had given just the week before.  I had no idea that they were experiencing family troubles.  I had no idea they were looking for extra divine help with their son.  I just felt inspired to say it.  As I´ve reflected more and more, I´m beginning to see a number of opportunities I´ve had as a missionary where the Lord has used me as a priesthood holder in ways I never thought possible.  I´ve seen and given blessings at the exact moment needed, when no one was aware it was nescessary.  No one, that is, except the Lord.  With these experiences I´ve truly seen how the Priesthood is REAL.  It is truly the power of God on earth, and the Lord has blessed me to have this power!  Think of that!  I am a bearer of the power of God!  And with it, the things I can do to bless people are amazing. 

I´m so grateful to be a member of the Lord´s only true and living church.  I know that the priesthood is real and is the power of God on earth.  What a blessing that the Lord has restored His authority once again.

Até mais!  Amo vocês!

Élder Evans  

O campo está branco (The field is white)

Oi família!

I hope you´re all enjoying my subject lines.  It´s fun because everyone gets to learn a little portuguese while they´re at home!  Why?  Because Portuguese is the bee´s knees.  I love it.  Even though I´m still basically stuck with the "missionary vocabulary" right now, I´m working to find more words.  I told my companion that one of my dreams is to come back to Brasil to be a translator for the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team and he said that his dream is to speak english fluently before he returns home.  So, long story short, we´re helping each other learn the native language of the other!  It´s kind of cool.  Não.  É super legal.  O Élder Tamanho está progredindo muito bem com inglês. (No, it´s super cool.  Élder Tamanho is progressing really will with english)  I´m really working lately with my accent, that Élder Tamanho says is slight, but still indicates that I´m an American.

But really, the field here is white.  We´ve got some good baptisms coming up and we´re finding new people every day.  As missionaries we hear a lot of the same phrases.  "If it works out, I´ll do it" and "I don´t want to commit to something I might not be albe to fulfill" seem to be the two predominant ones.  But, when we come across someone that is willing to fulfill our invitations, that´s when we know we´ve struck gold.  Take, for example, Junior, who we met with this week.  Junior was a contact that we did one day and marked to return.  When we returned, he was getting ready to leave, so we explained the Book of Mormon briefly, left the book and a pamphlet, and marked a return appointment.  When Élder Tamanho and I returned for the appointment, he was in his kitchen.  WE entered and on the table was his bible, the Book of Mormon, and the pamphlet we had left.  All open.  He had studied before we even got to his house.  This was awesome.  We began the lesson and he began to be a little confused about the importance of prophets and how they could see God.  The Spirit kicked in and reminded me of a scripture I hadn´t read since January. We showed him some scriptures about Moses that completely removed his doubt.  We continued teaching and he understood completely.  We hit the Restoration and I began teaching.  As I taught I felt as if I wasn´t doing anything, that the words were just pouring out of my mouth.  Then we hit the First Vision.  As I related using the words of the Prophet Joseph, the Spirit filled me until I felt like I would burst.  As I was talking I realized that my accent was completely gone.  I was speaking just like a native Brazilian.  It was an amazing lesson.  We invited him to pray and he said "you know élders, I already have.  I asked God in my prayer if what I read was true, and if it was that He would permit you guys to come back and meet with me.  Today I had a huge to-do list and I had doubts I would be home before 9.  Our appointment was for 5:30 and I managed to get her at 4:00.  I feel that this is true."  It was fantastic.  As we left Élder Tamanho and I both said "That was one of the most spiritual lessons I´ve had in my entire mission."  We saw so many promises fulfilled.  The Holy Ghost bringing scriptures to remembrance.  The gift of tongues.  The gift of testimony.  The gift to believe the testimony of others.  It was amazing.  Because the field is white in Brazil.  I love it here.  I love being a missionary.  I am sooo grateful to our Father that I can stay here.  This is truly the best two years of my life.

Amo vocês.  Tenham uma boa semana.

Élder Evans     

Well, to be honest, Brazil looks nothing like this.  We just have this one part of the area that is full of jungle-looking things and we had our cameras with us this day.  So, we took pictures.

mais uma

Sou missionário, sou feliz (I´m a missionary, I´m always happy)

Oi família!

Wow.  The World Cup was cool because I was in Brazil while it was happening.  Everyone was all decked out in yellow and green and every clothing shop had Brazil jerseys for sale.  There were chalk drawings and decorations over the streets.  But I cannot express how happy I am that the Cup is over and that we have returned to normal work. It[s a little funny because as we´re walking in the street everyone says "Congrats germany!" to me. People don´t seem super angry that they lost, but more than anything, I´m just glad to be back to normal work. 

That was one of the cool things I noticed this week.  We had one of those days that everthing fell through.  And I mean everything.  But, as we were walking in the street, I was just so pumped to be a missionary.  I was so thrilled to be out serving, and preaching the good message.  Seriously, being a missionary is the greatest thing that has every happened to me. 

But, I guess that was the cool dealio this week.  We had an exchange this week and I had stayed in the area with the new district leader in our zone, Élder Benitez (he´s american but his dad is from Porto Rico).  As Élder Benitez and I began the day the duty fell to me to lead out in the lessons, contacts, things of the nature.  As I did, I began to feel this intense happiness and joy for the gospel.  We taught the Restoration three times that day, and each time the Spirit helped me to see how true the message truly is.  I remember in one lesson in particular we were teaching a woman and her neighbor and during the lesson I was filled with this recognition of how great and grand the blessings of the gospel really are.  It was so cool to me to see how in every single lesson, the Spirit testified to me about this beautiful message and how it has changed my life.  We talked with a man named Elton who explained about problems in his family and how he hasn´t talked to his mother in quite a while.  We were able to testify about the healing power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how it truly brings families back together.  He was super touched by the Spirit and said "I will definitely go to church with you guys".  What was even better was how guided I felt during that whole lesson.  I felt as if every word I said was placed there by the Spirit.  It was truly a day of miracles that helped me to recognize the great blessings of the Lord in my life.  I love being a missionary.

But really, think about that.  Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, has called another prophet in these our days to lead us and guide us in this troubled world. Every day we hear of earthquakes, wars,sickness, and poverty that plague the world.  But with the restored gospel of Jesus Christ upon the earth we have the promise of the Lord that we will be safe.  I know this is true.  So, head out and share some blessings with people this week.  You´ll be glad that you did.

Até mais,

Élder Evans

Cara, o templo é ótimo! (Dude, the temple is awesome!)

Oi família!

I just want to begin saying that I love being a missionary.  Seriously, life is so good as a missionary.  You go through these super tough experiences almost every day but you feel on top of the world because you´re a representative of Jesus Christ.  I´m learnng a lot about Jesus Christ lately and just how much He has done for each one of us.  I was especially inspiried this week by a scripture way back in the Book of Mormon, that´s actually one of the last ones therin.  Moroni 10:32-33 is a scripture that I feel is well-known and underused.  As we really consider what it is saying, it´s really a scipture we can put along side of Ether 12:27.

But, the cool experience of the week was with a family (YES!!) we´re teaching, Cristiano and Helena.  We´ve been working for them for a really long time to get them to come to church.  We met them the very first week of last transfer and we didn´t get them to church until yesterday.  Normally, if people don´t come to church for 3 weeks we drop them, but we felt something special with Cristiano and Helena.  We had a family night with them and the family of the Relief Society Presient this past Monday and they loved it.  Then a few days later we passed by with our Ward Mission Leader and his wife.  When we got there they began saying "Wow.  Even since that family night we had with you guys, everything has been working out!  Everything is going super well!  Of course we´ll come to church this week!"  But then we went one step further.  Leading up to this visit, our plan was to review the Restoration with them so they could understand a little better still what our beliefs are.  As we were headed there Élder Tamanho said to Antonio and Marília, "We´re thinking about talking about the temple."  I had brought my temple book that the mission gave us and we began to talk about the importance of the temple.  We opened to the pictures of the temples and they said "Wow, they´re so beautiful..."  We read some quotes from the prophets about temples and the Spirit was super strong.  Then, we showed them the pictures inside.  The baptistry.  The ordinance room.  The celestial room.  The sealing room.  And then we explained, "We are here so that your family can be an eternal family"  Wow.  The Spirit was so strong.  They loved the lesson and Antonio and Marília were able to testify of the blessings of the temple in their lives.  It was so awesome.  They said, "We always thought that the ´until death do you part´ thing was sad.  We can really be an eternal family" And guess who came to church yesterday?  Yeah.  They loved it.  We´re having another family night with them tonight.  Miracles are going to happen.

I love this work.  I love being a missionary.  I work is true.

Amo vocês

Élder Evans