I´m still really white.... but the gospel is true.

Oi família! 

So, first week with Élder Muniz was awesome.  We´re working super hard every day and it´s going well.  He´s from São Paulo but speaks English fluently.  It´s funny when he says things in enlish because it catches me so off guard but it´s always something funny so I end up laughing too. Attached is a photo with the two of us, and yes, I´m still white as can be.  You would think that after a year in the Brazilian sun something would have changed.  No such luck. 

But the cool experience of the week was with a guy named Anderson.  Though the week was full of effective work, the Lord is trying us to see how strong our faith really is.  Our area is known for being a little tough (little isn´t an exageration, it´s smaller than our ward back home) but we´re working super hard.  One day we were doing contacts after a few days of rough work and we knocked on a door seeking after a referal.  We knocked to find a woman that wasn´t the person we were looking after.  We talked to her for a little and during the conversation she asked "Would you two like to come in and share a message with my husband and I?"  Score!  Her husband was asleep at the moment, so we set a return appointment.  We explained the importance of the Restoration of the Gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith.  They even thought it was interesting, though he refused to pray to know if it was true.  He demanded that we prove our message was true.  Then Élder Muniz said something extraordinary.  "The only person that can convince you that what we´re saying is true is you.  We´re here to invite you to find out for yourself if this is true.  I have prayed and I know that what we are speaking is true for myself because God answered me.  I have never been more sure about anything in my entire life.  I´m not here to preach this message because my mom told me to, I´m here because God told me to."  It was a super powerful moment and I left thinking "How can I obtain conviction like that?"

The next day I was reading in the book of Ether in the Book of Mormon.  I had landed on Chapter 12 that particular day which is Moroni´s explination of faith.  I was especially touched by verse 6 when Moroni begins:

 I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith. (Ether 12:6)

I realized that faith needs to be tested in order to be strengthened.  Though what he had said to us had shaken me a little, I returned to the fight with a stronger and stronger testimony.  In swimming we don´t know how good we are until we are in the race.  In the gospel it is the same message.  We don´t know how strong our testimony is until we are put to the test. What´s more the Lord will reward us according to our faith like he did with the Brother of Jared:

For the brother of Jared said unto the mountain Zerin,Remove—and it was removed. And if he had not had faith it would not have moved; wherefore thou workest after men have faith (Ether 12:30)

What power our faith can have!  But, we need to show our faith before the miracle will come.  This chapter explains that it was by faith that Christ showed himself unto the people of ancient america (Ether 12:7).  Why is this important?  Well, I´ve never seen Christ.  Therefore, I walk by faith.  Sure, there are a few hundred years of archeological evidence that the Book of Mormon is true, but that doesn´t develop trust in our Father in Heaven.  What I know to be true I know because I prayed and I received an answer from the Holy Ghost and no one can take that away from me.  Historical facts may fail.  The persuasions of men will not always win.  But the witness from the Holy Ghost is something that will never be taken away if we continue to nourish and grow it (Alma 32:42). 

I know the gospel is true.  Not because anyone told me.  But because God answered me.

Até o próximo queridos amigos e familiares

Élder Evans 

P.S. The other photo is from Sheisla´s baptism.  From left to right: Élder Espinal, Irmã Bia, Sheisla, Me

In front: Letícia (Irmã Bia´s daughter)

Conference... pretty much the coolest thing ever

Oi família!

Transfers tomorrow!  I´ll be staying in my area and getting a new companion, Élder Muniz.  Thank you all for your prayers for me and our great work.  They´re helping a lot.

Who liked General Conference? Though listening in English was once again an option for me, I felt that it was necessary that I listened in Portuguese.  I discovered why later, but one way or another it was awesome because I understood almost everything that was said!  I really liked Élder Godoy´s talk from Saturday Afternoon, mostly because he spoke in Portuguese. But the content of the talk was also good.  But I also really enjoyed President Eyering´s talk from Sunday Morning.  That was one talk that as he was speaking I felt, "Wow, this talk is for me"  I also really enjoyed the talk from Élder Lynn G Robbins, from Saturday Morning.  Okay, I liked the whole conference, but these were some in particular that I enjoyed.  If you missed the conference, you can find it at lds.org and watch, listen, read, eat, sleep, and enjoy conference there. 

One of the things I particularly enjoyed of the conference was how firm everyone was.  I felt that in the Saturday session that there was a very clear message: 

Truth is objective.  It does not change as trends in society change.  What God has established as truth is what was, what is, and what always will be what is right.  It is our duty to defend that.

We will face hard and trying times as the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior draws nearer.  As Élder Andersen said, things are going to get worse, a lot worse, before Christ returns.  And in these situations,we must remain firmly planted upon the rock of our Redeemer (Helamen 5:12). 

We had a super awesome experience with this just this past week.  Remember Sheisla?  Well, this week was super hard for her.  I think it was one of the hardest weeks I´ve seen in an investigators life.  You could see how the enemy had combined everything he had against her to make sure that she wouldn´t be baptized this week.  But, it was a super powerful week to see how converted she had really become.  I can´t say that we had any one even in particular that was amazing, but the whole week little things were falling into place to help her enter the waters of baptism this past week.  Though she was tested and tried she held firm and was baptized yesterday!  She said to us "The enemy is trying to do everything he can to make sure that my baptism doesn´t take place. But I´ve had so many answers.  This has to be true"  It was amazing.  She told us how much she loved conference (she attended all five sessions!) and how during the Saturday Afternoon session she felt that every single talk was written to her.  It was awesome. 

So, I know I didn´t have any one particular experience this week, but this was what I felt to write.  I´m loving this oportunity to serve and I´m rededicating myself to 120% service during these next 7-8 months that I have. 

I know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ on the earth.  I know that He lives and that He has called Thomas Monson to be His prophet on the earth today.  I am His representative. 

Amo vocês

Élder Evans

Wait..... what?!?!?

Oi família!

So, first a big shout out to Trev and Kenz on getting hitched eternally!  WOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!  The blessings of the Restoration are real and alive! Parabéns!

Things are hot here in Brazil.  We had a little bit of a scare this week but it was followed by a super awesome miracle.  So, I´ve already talked a little bit about Sheisla, who we met a few weeks ago. She´s from another city in Ceará but she´s living here for a while to do a surgery and maybe do college later.  Well, things have been going super well with her.  She was preparing to be baptized this week.  Then we showed up Monday night to walk to Family Night with her, and her aunt answered the door and said "She´s going back home and won´t be returning here until December."  My heart dropped.  She was going so well, and suddenly it was over.  So, we worked Tuesday and Wednesday normally.  Thursday morning we called our ward mission leader to see if we had the integration activity.  He responded that we did and that Sheisla would be there.  Sure enough, it didn´t work out that she went home and she was as firm and steadfast as ever.  We made an apointment to pass by on Friday.

We passed by with a member of the ward, Irmão Wandenberg.  He´s one of those members that´s just awesome.  He takes whatever chances the Lord gives him and just runs with it.  As we were talking with Sheisla she was talking about her thoughts and feelings about what we had been sharing.  She began sharing her doubts and her feelings about baptism in another church and what that could mean for her.  Then Wandenberg spoke up and explained about his baptism.  He began explaining how when he was 12 he had many of the same doubts that Sheisla has been having.  But explained that after his baptism he felt absolutely amazing, like he wanted to get up and proclaim to the whole world that this was the only true church of Jesus Christ on the earth.  Then Sheisla began to talk.  She explained how testimonies and conversations from members had been answers to her prayers. She said that she had received so many answers to her doubts in the scriptures.  The she said that when we said "this is the true church on the earth" she was shocked.  The she said something that I will never forget.

Sheisla: "This is the true church.  Joseph Smith was a prophet.  Thomas S. Monson is the prophet today.  This church has the authority to baptize"

Along with a few other things.  It was a super intense lesson.  She explained how much she loved every meeting, every activity, and that every time she calls home, she talks about the amazing things she´s learning in church! It was amazing.  She´ll be getting baptized during conference on Sunday.  She is so prepared.

So, the church is true.  I hope you all are pumped for conference, cuz I sure am.  It´s going to be awesome.  Where else will you find talks given by true and living prophets? Only in the true church of Jesus Christ.

Amo todos de vocês.  Fiquem firmes

Élder Evans

Bread Brings Miracles

Oi família!

First of all, big shout out to Trev and Kenz for getting hitched this week!!! Congrats for the awesome decision to be sealed eternally in The House of the Lord!  I would love to be there, but we´ll try to help other people become eternal families that day too.  I´m so excited for this amazing oportunity you will have to begin your own eternal family and help bring more and more of Heavenly Father´s children back home.

But, this week we had a cool experience.  A few nights a week we pass by this bakery to buy little breads, cookies and things because we don´t eat dinner until after we get home.  It´s cheap and it´s good.  Here in Brazil they have this cookie/bread deal called "Mariamaluca" (or something to that effect)  that is like a cookie (more or less) that has coconut.  I really like it.  Anyway, we pass by there ocasionally and the same woman is working there every single day. I had always thought "Maybe we should contact her..." but I don´t generally like to contact people while they´re working.  But one day she said to me "So, you two just go around the whole day preaching the word of God?" and I "Yes.  Have you already spoken with other missionaries?"  She explained that her daughters had but she personally hadn´t before.  We marked a day to visit Adriana and headed out to eat.

Fast forward to yesterday, which was when we had marked down to talk with here.  We  arrived at her house to find her distraught.  We entered and she began explaining everything that had been going wrong.  She began to explain about her family problems and the sadness she was feeling and how she had no idea what she could do to overcome these problems.  As she was talking I remembered the explerience I had with Clayton (see experience from May) and how what we taught resolved his problem.  Before I could say anything, Élder Espinal began talking about how God has prepared a means that our families can be happier by means of prophets.  We began teaching and everything that we taught just clicked with her.  As we explained prophets she began to light up and see hope for her torn family situation.  She recognized that a true prophet of God would be able to help her family have more peace and happiness.  Then we began explaining about how Jesus Christ as a prophet, organized His church during his earthly ministrty.  We began to ask her a few things about her thoughts about our message.  She agreed that if she found this church that Christ had organized, she would follow it.  Then she asked the question that every missionary wants to hear: "But, how can I find this church today?  There are so many!"  Perfect.  We explained the Restoration and she loved the message.  It was so fantastic to see how she went from seemingly hopeless at the beginning of the lesson to almost literally full of light at the end.  She loved the lesson and said that she would pray to know if it was true before we even invited her!  Then she closed the lesson with a prayer and said "Thank you Lord for sending these angels to help me when I needed it and help me to know that what they said is true..." it was an amazing experience.  

So, the gospel brings miracles into people´s lives.  Even in the simple form of bread.

Amo vocês!

Élder Evans

É tão simples... (It´s so simple...)

Oi família!

WOW!!! This week was AWESOME!!!  Like any week of missionary work, it was ups and downs, but it was all a good time.   We had some awesome lessons and some awesome experiences.  I gave a talk in church yesterday about inviting our friends and family members to hear about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ through the church, family nights, integration nights, and other cool stuff like that.  Some of the ward members seemed excited so I´m happy.  We´re really trying to get the missionary work going in this ward.  It´s a really small ward (geographically and numbers-wise) and we´re trying to take advantage of that and make some miracles happen.  In general, I´m pumped to be here.

But, the experience of the week was cool.  One of the missionaries in our house has been sick for a while and his companion was getting some cabin fever.  So, we´ve been doing in-house exchanges for a little while to give Élder K.Oliveira some breathing room.  I was out working with him on one of these days.  It was hot and everything that we were trying fell through.  As we were walking along a street, I happened to look up and see a woman in the window of a house.  We said hi and passed by.  As soon as we passed the house I felt the Spirit say "Go back"  So, what could I do?  We went back.  We introduced ourselves and asked if we could share a message with them about Jesus Christ.  They let us in and we began teaching.  We met two cousins, Elídina and James.  James was a little less open to the message than Elídina, but that´s what was so interesting.  James has a bachelors degree in Philosophy, so he´s decently well-trained in twisting your words and quetions around to confuse you.  He kept asking us these seemingly complicated questions to try and confuse us and see if we honestly knew what we were saying.  What impressed me is that with each question, a simple tesimony was enough to answer his complex questioning.  It was so impressive to me that everything we do, everything we have as church members is so simple in nature that even a child can understand the doctrines necesary for salvation.  The Spirit testified well in that lesson and I was very thrilled with the oportunity I had to teach them. 

I know that the gospel is true because it is simple.  The message we bear is an amazing message, because it helps each and every person regardless of prior education.  The gospel is simple.  Jesus Christ is our Savior.  He restored His gospel through the prophet Jospeh Smith.  This is His work.  I am His representative.

Amo vocês.  Até o próximo!

Élder Evans

Werd... The Scriptures are COOL!

Oi família!

Well, Élder Feliz is feliz this week.  It wasn´t exactly one of those weeks where you have huge numbers to report to the mission office, but it was a rewarding week.  For the first time in my life I talked to a Jew!  Okay, I met one jew once in Salt Lake, but beyond that I had never met one before.  We had Leadership Council on Thursday and afterwards my companion and I went to Burger King for lunch.  Not my number one choice, but afterwards I saw why it was inspired.  We walked in and I saw this guy wearing a yamika (?) and I thought "Wow, I always wanted to talk with a Jew before" and as we were waiting for our food he called me over and started talking with me.  He told me how a Mormon had saved his life and how he was eternally grateful to him for that.  Then he told us what a good influence this membr of the church had had on him and that according to all of the research he had done, the Book of Mormon has to be true. He said "It's simply too perfect.  Everything fits."  It was a super inspiring discussion that I´m super simplifying, but it was awesome.

But the experience of the week was with Sheisla again.  We taught her this week about baptism and the need for proper preisthood authority and she spent the week praying and seeking an answer if she should be baptized.  We arrived one day and she began explaining to us what she had been receiving as answers.  Generally, she prays, asks for an answer, and then opens the Bible.  She said that one day she had been praying and she began to cry.  She had the most amazing feeling as if she was been hugged super tight by our Father in Heaven and that he had aliviated all of her suffering and sadness.  Of course that was an answer to her prayer, but how could I explain that?  As soon as I had this thought a scripture came to mind, Matthew 11:28-30.  We read it together.  "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy leaden and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowley in heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" and she agreed that that was exactly how she felt.  It was soooo awesome to feel so guided.  We explained that when we are baptized we take upon us the name of Jesus Christ using Mosiah 18:10 and explained that she could feel the same aliviation and relief she had felt by being baptzied.  She said she would pray one more time and ask, but that she was feeling that she should.  It was an amazing lesson.  The next day, she said she would be baptzied!  So, we´re preping her this week and praying that this week will work out! It´s been an amazing journey.

I love being a missionary.  I know this is the Lord´s work.  He´s watching over us.

Até o próximo

Élder Evans

Élder Feliz (Elder Happy)

Oi família!

Things are going good here in the Conjunto Ceará 3 Ward.  It´s a small ward, but a good ward.  Yesterday everyone began to know me as "Élder Feliz" which is Portuguese for "Élder Happy".  We had lunch yesterday with a member and the food and everything was so good.  I told her "Sister, this food is amazing, the drinks are awesome, I´m loving this ward..." and things of that nature.  As it turned out, this sister was also one of the speakers in church that afternoon and she talked about gratitude.  She talked about how I was so happy and grateful for everything and called me "Élder Feliz" while she was speaking because she still hasn´t learned my name.  So now everyone knows me as "Élder Feliz". 

That wasn´t the experience of the week, but I thought it was cool.  But, this week we´ve had some super cool experiences already.  Our area is super small (more or less the size of our ward back home, if not maybe a little bigger) but we´re seeing some amazing things happen.  One of the things was a young woman we met named Sheisla.  She lives in the interior of Ceará, about 8 hours from Fortaleza, but she´s in Fortaleza to do a surgery, so she´ll be staying with her aunt for a little bit.  We talked with her one day on the street and we marked an appointment to return Sunday morning before lunch.  We headed out to teach her and I was excited.  Appointments before lunch are generally a little sketchy because people tend to be super busy making lunch (it´s a super big deal here) but we showed up and there she was.  Even better, she was excited to hear what we would explain.  We began explaining about the church and what it means to us and what it could mean to her.  She had some amazing comments about Jesus Christ and what He did for each of us. I was amazed to see the absolute love and admiration she has for our Lord and Savior.  She understood everything and the Spirit was super strong.  At the end of the lesson we invited her to pray about what she had heard and she said, "You know, there are some things you can just feel.  The whole time that you two have been speaking I´ve just felt the Spirit like a hammer saying 'It´s true, it´s true'"  Wow.  She agreed to pray and then we invited her to come to church with us that afternoon.  She wasn´t sure if she could, but said she would try.  We passed by later that afternoon to see if she would come and she said "Yes.  I already went and talked with Brother Lisboa (who she has never met) and he´ll give me a ride with his family.  Can my cousin come too?"  She came to church and loved it!  I´m super pumped to see her progress in the gospel.  But as we were walking we began to think about that.  We met here on Thursday night and made an appointment for Sunday morning.  Sunday morning two American strangers told her that our Father in Heaven has called a prophet once again on the earth and that she should visit the church with us.  She went and talked with a member she has never met to get a ride to a church she has never seen in a neighborhood she doesn´t know.  How amazing is that?!?  Élder Espinal and I were amazed by her faith.  It was a true testimony builder to me to see how powerful the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ really is.  It´s amazing to see how the Spirit is able to mold and shape people´s hearts so that they can see the importance of the message, even before they know it completely.  I´m soo grateful for the opportunity I have to teach people this miraculous message.

But seriously, with all of this happening, what reason do I have to not be happy?

Amo vocês.  Até o próximo.

Élder (Feliz) Evans

P.S.  This Sunday is Brasil´s Independance Day.  Who´s excited?  I´m excited.