July 30 2012

Hello everyone!
This week has gone by really fast.
Last week i got to go to AppleBees, yeah they have one here! It was a lot more expensive then back home. Or atleast i may just seem that way because everything was in pesos... so like Hamburgers for $130 and soda for $33. Oh yeah the sign $ is both dollars and pesos. The food was really good. I got a hamburger as usual.
This week we ate lunch at this familys house (Guzman familia). The whole family makes piñatas (sp?) the things you smash with bats at partys. The whole house was filled with different piñatas. Pinatas de batman, superman, cars, dora, the cholo dog (the mascot for the tijuana soccer team the cholos) it was really cool to look at them all. They say that it only takes them about an hour to make one.
Then we went with that family to visit another family that is inactive. We went talked to them, shared scriptures and testimonies and invited them to church this sunday. They came! they are a really cool family.
i will continue later and send some pics.
Love Elder Evans

July 23 2012

Hello again!
Ok so both you and dad have asked aboout the Temple so that is what i will first talk about. The Temple will be started on Aug 18th and no it isnt in my secter of ward baundrys but it is in the Stake. And it is my friends area in Insergentes. I have actually been to where they are going to build it. All the wards in my Stake have been asked to help out, but with what i dont exactly know because they wont be working on the actual constructing of it. Maybe is to help with preparing the area or preparing the event that goes one for the laying of the first stone. The people here are really excited about it, and apperently it should be dont in about 1.5years from the starting. sooooo it should be finished really close to when i finish the mission. Before or after idk. But if i am here on the 18th i will be able to go. Only my Zone has been invited to go. But.....transfers happen the 13th. And la verdad, i am probably going this transfer. All is well thought becasue i will be happy either way because i will either get to see the starting of the temple or i will have the chance to get to know a new area.
I had actually heard about the shooting in Colo. during lunch with this sweet old lady. But thats really sad that that happened. I cant imagine why someone would do that or what it would be like to be there when it happened.
Ok so recent news... i got a new comp or i should say another companero. I am in a group of 3. The new companions name is Elder Hanson from Utah. The reason behind this is that Elder H and some other missionarys were serving in San Cantin and got sick, probably from chicken, and were moved from the area and placed with other missionaries in Tijuana. The doctors think that they have Typhoid. So yeah my companion has typhoid. He says at times he feels sick but for the most part he is still about to work the whole day so yeah. He is pretty cool, he was actually at BYUI at the same time i was and knows one of my friends from MN, Logan Ingalls.
Oh yeah and we are looking for a new house. The house we live in is slowely breaking.... We dont have hot water, we have a broken window and so there are always fly buzzing around, the toilet leaks so there is always a puddle of staking water in the bathroom, and we have a pidgen problem outside of our house. haha i am kind of used to it all and dont find cold showers all that bad anymore, after almost 4 months of cold shower you get a little used to it lol. But anyways we all completely happy to go house hunting. I have a good feeling we might be moving soon.
OH! and i can comfortable read my scriptures in spanish! there are still things i dont understand but yeah its a really good feeling, both because i love reading the scriptures and because i can do it in spanish!
Well hey i got to go!
Love you all!
Elder Evans

July 16 2012

Dear Familia,

Ok so this week starting off with PDay, we went to the Macro Plaza. Its a pretty cool place and its not all that far from my secter. All of the stores there feel like american stores that you would find at a mall. They even had a mens wearhouse or basically the same thing but called Mens Factory. We spent a good amount of time there just chilling there. After that we went to go play some soccer.

Later in the week, me and 3 other elders were invited to a carne asada from a family that i got to baptize. The elders that went were me, Rose, Rubio, Alfaro.  Elder Rose and i were put in charge of grilling the meat. Its was pretty fun. The food tasted great! There was lots of carne, tortialls, chicken, and basically what ever else you could think of to put in a taco. While we were there they got me to eat some dried up pepper that was used to make the salsa. They all though i couldnt handle it. To be honest, it wasnt that hot. None of the others would try it. 

On friday i went on exchanges with my Zone Leader, it was pretty fun. Their secter is a lot bigger in size then mine, but mine is more populated. So when i worked with him we ended up taking buses all over the place which was different becuase in mine i hardely ever need to take the bus. While i was away with the other Elder, my companion was working with another elder in my secter and ended up spraining his ankle. Its all fat and purple but he says it doesnt hurt very much. But because of that we were allowed to basically take a break on sunday for him to rest. 

This saturday the stake had a culture night thing, basically talent show. It was really cool. There was a lot of dancing. The church members here really like to dance and are all really good at it. So i basically watched a whole bunch of dances. It was really cool, there was one where the guys used Machetes (sword like blades). Each guy had 2 and they would clang them together behind their backs, under their legs, ect.. in a whole bunch of different ways and the clanging of machetes went really well with the music. I wish i could sent to video but it is too big. 

Ok so this past week we have worked a lot with the Tovar family. The dad is pretty well read in the Bible and is pretty interested in everything that we have had to say. The family went to church this pasted sunday and really liked it too. The only problem is that they are not married. And to be baptized they need to get married first. Oh and the Familia Magali is returning from vacaciónes this week. That is the family of all members but the dad and the dad told us before he left that yes he wants to be baptized. So hope all went well with him during his time away from here and i hope his desire to be baptized hasnt changed.

Well got to go! 

Love you all.

Elder Evans

Ps the computer here is programed in spanish and is telling me that every word i type is spelt wrong. :/ 

 

July 9 2012

Thanks for mailing the suit! I will hopefully get it this week or next. Right now i still wear the other suit pants and all. The rip wasnt too big and i was able to sloopily sew and glue it shut with some sort of silicon stuff. yeah it wont hold up for too long and the glue stuff is dryed glue is causing it to wear down other parts of the pants faster but for now its better then having that rip in it.

Yeah it is really nicing getting to know the ward members more, especially because i have heard that this is the best ward in the mission. Members are amazing and there are a ton of them. 278 attended sacrament last sunday. Apperently 150s or less is the normal. For sacrament we fill up half of the
overflow and the decons constently have to go back from more water. Its cool, they have a pitcher of water at the sacrament table that gets blessed to so they have extra water. But, i will be honest, i do like change so i wouldnt mind going to some new areas to work. I was actually thinking it  ight be cool to go to mexicali for a transfer in the summer, that way i can say i have lived in the second hottest place on earth and the hottest place that missionaries are sent.

Well i am going to write the big email about my week in the reply to mom,
and tell Paul Happy birthday for me when the 15 runs around!
Love you all!
Elder Evans

Dear Family

How is everyone? It was cool hear about all that animals at mikes house. I get to see my share of animals here too, while just walking around my section of Tijuana the animals that i come by are: Lots of dogs (of all kinds) and palomas (pidgens), cats, there is a feild in my area that has cow, chicken, roosters, and sometimes pigs. The first time i arrived here i found it interesting that there are rood side stores of those main Blvds selling chickens and pigs, or going to a house and seeing chickens running around the yard and the kids are playing with them as pets. But maybe its just because i have never lived in a "farmy" area. But right now all that is normal. I barely pay a second glance to all the dogs on the streets too. It will probably be weird coming back home and thinking its so quiet on the streets and its clean and there are no random dogs walking around.

So my first week with Elder Alfaro has been pretty good. I believe he lives in Hidalgo Mexico and no he doesnt speak much english at all and i think that will be good for me and my espanol. I would definitely say i have seen an improvement in my spanish sense i arrived here. There was a Stake volleyball tournament for the Relief Sociaty at the Capilla in my area. Oh capilla is chapel. So me and my companion went for a little while. Well i saw a lady that goes to a different ward that i had ment on my first or second week here while on exchanges. My first encounter with here was at her house and when see would talk to me i didnt understand a word she said and so i would just do what i was told to do at the time and nod my head in agreement with whatever she is saying and say yep. And then she would ask if i understand what she is saying and i would always say no. Well this time i understood enough to converse and joke and all that stuff.

Ok well about what i have done work wise this week. Well first off we started working with this investigator that had been working with other elders before us. Well this guys is pretty interesting. First off he really wants to get baptized and do what he needs to fallow Chirst. The problem is he is always drunk! Some times less then others and sometimes way more. We are trying to help him cut that habbit but that is really hard for him. Its interestin to talk to him because he weaves back and forth from spanish to english when he talks. Right now hes in prison for being drunk on the streets. Idk when they will release him but idk how we are going to help him.

And right now we are also working with a family of members, the dad isnt baptized but all family really wants him to be some we are going to work along side the family to help him obtain that desire to be baptized. He is a really cool guy and he goes to church about every week. Well i should have more new about them in my next letter so for now, Love you all!

ELder Evans

PS HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL

July 2 2012

Hola Everyone! ok so first up with transfers and all, I am still in my sector de Los Pinos but i have a new companion. His name is Elder Alfaro. The other 2 that lived in my house also left, so i am back to having just two in the house and i have my complete sector back and everything. My guess is that a lot of people left recently for home recently and so the extra companionship was needed elsewere. Oh and i also got some fotos of the the cleaning at that families house that i mentioned in my last email. and another foto of this last saterday i got to baptize a mom and her daughter. Xochilt (mom) Grizelda (sp?) (daughter) it was really great. And then those fotos of the cake, well i made the cake and it tasted really good. Pues i will continue this letter after i move my clothes from the washer to dryer.
 

Ok im back. So thats awesome to here that Martez got baptized! And crazy how many people you say went, becasue with our baptizms we are luck if like ten other member show up.

It seems MN is really starting to heat up now. Here in tijuana it may not get much over 80degrees but it sure feels hot at times. The sun here feels soo much closer and i am always sweating.

Oh and tell grandma thank you for the letters and that i just reciently recieved the one from the middle of june.

So i am trying to think of what to write but my mind blanking on what i can say. I think i am just really tired because this past week we spent a lot of time cleaning and doing things this week that we need/want to do before the transfers.

Oh and you know that suit i sent home? Well if you could sent that back that would be nice. Everyone in the MTC told me that i wouldnt be wearing it a whole lot in mexico but i a actually have to wear it ever sunday at church and all the big meetings and this past week the pants ripped. I tryed sewing it but i dont think my sewing job will prolong its life for too much longer. 

Oh and i am pretty sure i forgot to tell dad HAPPY FATHERS DAY, being here as a missionary is like living in a bubble from the outside world. Like i just barely remembed the 4h of July, infact the day is probably going to come and go without even thinking about it. But yeah i really hope your fathers day was a good one!

Well Love you all!

Bye

ELder Evans