from: DeWitt Evans <dewitt.evans@myldsmail.net>
Date: Wed, Feb 27, 2013 at 10:30 AM
Subject:
To: Rebecca Evans <rebeccabiggsevans@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Feb 27, 2013 at 10:30 AM
Subject:
To: Rebecca Evans <rebeccabiggsevans@gmail.com>
Familia!
This week was awesome! I had a ton of great experiences and I am really loving the time that I have been given here! This last Sunday a member from the Branch presidency stopped me and my companion and asked if we would accept the call to be zone leaders! He said that they have never called a companionship as young as us to be zone leaders, as young as us in reference to the time we've spent in the MTC. It is crazy because just a few weeks in the MTC makes a huge difference and it is a little daunting being the zone leader of districts who have been here for five, four weeks and speak much better Spanish than I do! But I know that the Lord will qualify me for the task assigned! This Tuesday M Russell Ballard came and spoke to the missionaries! It was an amazing talk! It was really encouraging he told us that we don't need to worry, that we have been learning the gospel for years and that we will be great missionaries. He said something that I really loved, he said "the best missionaries are the ones who know Christ" obviously exact obedience comes first but once that is accomplished the next step is sastisfying your relationship with the savior. It was an awesome talk. Remember how Dallin would say In letters home that he doesn't want to watch movies or any worldly things like that? well I am starting to understand that now! Missionaries don't follow the rules with such strict obedience because they are asked to its because they rely so heavily on the spirti! He directs our thoughts our actions and our teaching patterns he protects us. he inspires us on behalf of those we teach. He gives us amazing help with the language. Any risk of losing those blessings are in now way worth it! We rely so heavily on spiritual promptings I rely so heavily on spiritual promptings that I don't want to do anything to sacrifice that gift! I know exactly what Dallin means now! And if i can live that way even after the mission than sacrificing entertainment or things like that would totally be worth it!
As you know we have been teaching an "investigator" Isriala and after several lessons we committed her to work towards a baptismal date. That "investigator" has now also become our teacher Hermana Zullo! She is a great teacher and has really taught us so much about reaching out to people and understanding their needs! Our first teacher Hermano Gurets also starting acting as an investigator named Carlos. We taught him yesterday and committed him to a baptismal goal in the first lesson! It was crazy! They play the characters they taught in their missions and don't brake character while you are teaching! They don't roll over and make it easy either, they try to make it as realistic as possible! Which makes the thought that we committed him on the first lesson even more exciting! It has been awesome seeing the progression in Spanish! Every one here as been making leaps and bounds in the language! As a district we have mad goals to take days out of the week and only speak Spanish. At first I thought it was going to really hard and I was just going to resolve to not talking at all but it was a lot of fun! As well as that I have mad a personal goal to try and think in Spanish, it has been a challenge but it has helped me so much!
So here in the MTC they don't like the missionaries to listen to music because with all of us here it would be crazy! So I have fell in love with the hymns! We will always sing before class or meetings and I love it because it is really the only time that we get to hear music!
ummmm okay so fun fact about the MTC that dad will like the gym that was at the MTC when he was here is now an extension the cafeteria! if that helps you imagine how big it is! Each zone in the MTC is also a branch and has a branch president. each Sunday every missionary writes a talk and the branch president picks two out of the audience to speak in Spanish! they do this so we will all be practicing and we will have talks already prepared when we enter the field. Yes Ive already gotten a hair cut, and they vacuum the extra hair off of your head after the hair cut it is kind of weird but it is really fun! haha
I love you guys so much!
Elder Evans!
