Last Letter From Mexico

I can´t believe that this is the last letter I´ll be writing home from Mexico. It has gone by all so fast. I am very excited but pretty nervous at the same time. It will all be good. This week went well. It was kind of slower but we did make progress with some people. I forgot my planner at home, so I can´t really remember much, but I will do my best. On Tuesday we visited Martha and talked with her about prayer. I think what makes me saddest about leaving is that I´m not going to be here when she goes to church and gets baptized. She was one of my first investigators here in Papantla and we have learned a lot together. It was awesome to see how much she´s changed and grown. We were able to find Alejandro on his way home which was awesome because our appointment with him last satruday fell through.

Contacting

Tuesday we started off the day well with a visit early with Alejandro. He is progressing awesomely. He reads, comprehends, and remembers what we tell him. We read 3 Nefi 11 and asked invited him to be baptized. He said he´d love to with more preparation and more study. We weren´t able to put a date with him, but now we are all on the same page with what we´re working for. We made come contacts and invited quite a bit afterwards. We were going to do divisions with the elders quorum, but they cancelled on us. It was not fun trying to find people to visit out of the blue. Thursday we had weekly planning in the morning, then later visited with some furure investigators and then Karina and her family. We went to find some other families, but they weren´t home either. I guess summer vacation could be part of the reason.

Blessings

Friday we went to an early appointment which fell, but then we finished contacting the street and found a lady that was interested in on of the Finding Faith in Christ videos. Too bad I won´t be able to visit with her. After lunch we went with Martha and I kind of realized something was bothering her. I guess she is having problems with her daughter that lives with her and her other kids don´t really have contact with her so she feels really alone and is worrying a lot about the future. She has been reading the Gospel Principles book and read that we can give blessings. She asked for one and I had the opportunity to give it to her. We started to talk to her and comfort with passages from the scriptures and she got better. It was a good lesson. I just hope the ward can do a good job with fellowshipping her and doing more activities and visits to help her out.

Carne Asada Again-YUM

On saturday we went and taught alejandro and his family. There is a lot of potential there. Later we went and helped the elders in the area next to us with their baptism. We went to visit others, but again they weren´t home. We ended the night eating carne asada again, which was very delicious.

Sad Sunday

Sunday was kind of disappointing. We were planning on having Alejandro and his family, 2 investigators and a less active, and another less active and her dad go to church, but only one less active came, but without her dad. We tried doing some visits and finding some families, but no dice.

I'll Be Seeing You!

This next week is going to be pretty busy, I am pretty much only going to be here on Tue, Wed, and Thur. I leave papantla thursday afternoon. I already have those days filled with last visits with investigators and to say goodbye to members.I love you all and I´ll see you next week. Peace! Elder Evans"

Time is Getting Short!

This week was good. Time is winding down. It is pretty crazy, because at times I don´t realize that i´ll be home so soon. I was talking with someone about baseball and all of the sudden it occured to me that i soon will be able to see games and that I´ll see the world series too. I think it just seemed to me that leaving wasn´t really going to happen and that I was just going to keep on serving my mission. It is going to come all at once at the end i think. We found a couple new investigators, I don´t think they´ll progress much, but it was nice to be able to teach while tracting. We visited martha and taught her about testimony. On Tuesday we had interviews with President Call. He is a great man and is exactly what the mission needs right now. Sister call is so nice. It´s too bad that I won´t be able to get to know them better, but at the same time it´s okay because it´s going to be a bit different with the logistics of the mission.

I'm Huge - Me with a Luchador mask on

Me in a big graveyard in Papantla

Invitations

We taught Briseyde and Zuli on Wednesday. We gave Zuli a book of mormon and she was excited to get it, and already wanted to start to read it. We read a chapter and talked about the importance of reading and praying and what it means for us. Later we visited a new investigator named Alejandro and it turns out he is a very strong investigator. He read various chapters from the book of mormon and prayed and feels like he recieved an answer. Wednesday was good. We planned on inviting the three of them to be baptized on August 12th on Saturday

Visiting

On Friday we tracted and later visited with Martha and watched a video called- *the introduction to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints* She liked it a lot because it explains many things very clearly and talks a lot about what the church as an organization does in the world. We went to Briseyde and Zuli later, but they weren´t there, we got there pretty late too. So we weren´t able to invite them to be baptized.

Knock, Knock, Nobody's Home!

On Saturday we went to visit a lot of people to visit them- but none of them were home. It was a pretty tough day. To top it off Alejandro wasn´t home so we weren´t able to invite him to church or talk about baptism with him. It was pretty sad because we had a really good day on wednesday but saturday was kind of the opposite. Now I won´t be able to see these people baptized, but It doesn´t matter becuase we will keep preparing them and if they get baptized after I leave all is well. I am fine with that.

Last Mexican Fast Sunday

On Sunday I gave my last testimony in a Mexican fast and testimony meeting. It was a good day and we were able to visit with some member families and find a couple of less actives for future reference. Everything is going good. It will be a quick 2 weeks I think. I´m just trying right now to get everything in order so that I can leave calmly and end right. It sounds like you all had a good week full of family and fun. I hope everything continues to go well for you all. I hope you have fun in Flagstaff. I love you, thank you for all your love and support. Elder Evans

Finding and Frustration

Things are going well. We have been finding new investigators which is always awesome, but the bad part about this week was all of the appointments that didn´t show up. On Tuesday we had our weekly district meeting and of course we hit up the tacos in the mercado afterwards. (Insert cool picture here)

We visited Sthephany and Briseyde, (the recent convert and her sis. that was going to get baptized with her a year ago) and they brought a friend who used to listen to the missionaries way back when. She seemed to pay a lot of attention and was interested. The only bad part was that we could never get to visit them after that Tuesday. Let´s cross our fingers for this week. Later we visited Martha and talked about Alma 32 and how the Word is like a seed. It seemed to fit her needs perfectly. Last week she went to the MoTab event and this week some members have been stopping by to talk with her, get her excited, and leave her old Ensigns. (Insert other picture here)

(Martha at her place of work-selling chickens)
She wants her daughter to listen to us, so we are arranging that as of right now. We haven´t been able to see Gaspar and Margarita all week, I think we´re losing them. This saddens me.

Planting Seeds

On Wednesday we did some contacting and found a nice lady from another city called Tuxpan. She said that she was going to be moving back and would like to visit the chapel there one sunday. It was a good seed planting opportunity. Later we did visits with the Elder´s Quorum and visited some less active members. The ward is looking pretty sad lately. There are zero Aaronic Priesthood holders, the three High Priests is the Bishopric, and 2 out of the 5 Elders that go are excommunicated members. Yep, it can only go up from there. Some weeks are better than others in regards to attendance. 30 to 60 Members go every week. . . .Anyways. . .Later we visited The Vazquez family and helped the sister out with her thoughts on adversity. It was great, every scripture that my companion shared in Comp Study worked out great for her needs. I also added some of my favorite scriptures on the topic and it seemed like we helped her out ok."

Downs in the Mission

Thursday was a pretty tough day. Not much went on appointment wise and had a tough time contacting. We did end the day with a Family Home Evening with a part member family watching Jesus Christ: The Great Mediator. Friday we visited with a contact that we mad on Wednesday. She seemed very nice and has family that are members in Mexico City. The lesson went well, but unfortunately we won´t be able to go back for a couple of weeks. We had yet more appointments fall, but went and helped the missionaries in the other ward with a FHE that they were doing.

Golden Investigators

It was Saturday when we found a couple of investigators with great potential. The elders before us had found and taught them and did a very good job. Alejandro remembered quite a bit about prophets and praying. We gave them a book of mormon and re taught the first lesson. They weren´t able to come to church this week, but this sunday we are hoping they´ll be able to come. That is the real challenge with us right now, nobody is coming to church. We go to pick them up, remind them via phone calls or text messages, but without any luck. It makes it kind of hard to complete the goal for baptisms that we set for this transfer. But there are still 2 sundays left before I leave to Tampico. . .

Good Eats

On Sunday we went to church, went to eat octopus at the bishop´s house, saw that USA lost to Mexico in the US for the first time in 10 years, went to some more fallen appointments, then celebrated Elder Avila Jr´s (my ex-comp´s little brother) birthday with a Carne Asada. It was very good. I´m going to miss Mexican Food. The good thing is that Reddin cooks the food here very similar."

Carne Asada for Elder Avila's Birthday

Home Comings

It was so good to see Aubs home and the pictures of the family at the airport. It is just a look ahead of things to come for me, I guess. Weird. The less time I start to have here, the more I am realizing that I am really going to miss it. I am really excited to come home though.

I'm an Uncle!

Yay! I didn´t even remember that Adele was going to be born last week! She sure is a cutie. I guess I won´t miss too much of her childhood like I have some of the other nieces and nephews. I love being an uncle again. It´s too bad I´ll miss Trav & Steph in AZ. I guess that gives me that much more reason to make a NY trip to see them and the little Collin. It´s good that you are all enjoying the whole family together. Sorry I couldn´t make it. Well, I can´t think of anything else too important to say at the moment. I love you all and hope you have another great week! See you in a few. . . Elder Evans

Random picture from way back when to show that there are alligators in Mexico

Under the Weather

Well, I recieved a short letter this week so I am going to try to write a shorter one. This week wasn´t the greatest. I was feeling a little under the weather for a couple days with a cold I think. It was the first time I had a cough and stuffy nose for over 2 years. It was a pretty weird feeling, especially because it´s pretty hot out.

Martha

Things are still going well with Martha- she was able to go to the transmission of the 80th anniversary of the music and the spoken word. I thought it was going to be a devotional, but it ended up being a concert. Who knows what she thought of it. The bad part was that here they said it started at 5:30 but it really started at 6:30. We had to wait an hour, then the program lasted and hour and a half. Oh well. At least she was able to get to know the church and I hope that she felt good being there. We will have to see.

The Work Goes On

We searched for a recent convert named Sthephany that has been studying out of town this last year. We found her and found out her sister Briseyde was going to get baptized last year but decided not to. We are teaching her now and hope she´ll get baptized before her sister goes back to school. They are a really nice family and it will be nice to have one more investigator to teach. Gaspar and Margarita haven´t been at their house lately. They still haven´t been to church since my first sunday. They have their problems still, but they aren´t wanting to go to church and let the lord help them in their problems. I hope we´ll be able to find them at home this week.

New President

Zone Conference was on Saturday. It went really well. The new president has already changed some things around, but it is for the good of the mission. I know the Lord calls people who are qualified to lead his work in the correct form at the correct time. It´ll be hard for me to get too adjusted to him seeing that I´ll only see him twice more.

My Goal

We are looking to have three more baptisms. It´ll take some work, but I want to end on a good note and end baptizing. I know I´ll need the help of the Lord to accomlish this goal.

Family from the Past

I found a family that got baptized right after Reddin left Papantla. And I realized that Reddin wasn´t actually in my ward, he was in the neighboring wards- Tajin and Xanath. but the family remembered Reddin´s second companion- Elder Morales and also the elder that took reddin´s spot- Elder Stuart. They wanted to know if reddin remembered the elder that baptized them- Elder Mosqueda.

Family Business

That´s good that Aubs got home safe and sound. All day that day I was thinking about you guys and how nice it must have been for everyone. That´s good that she was able to get released before heading off to snowflake. I get home at around 8. Do you think we´ll be able to make it to the stake center that night to get released? Sister Call´s sister is from mesa and works in the offices in the temple one day a week. I think her name was sister Cutwright? Cartwright? or something like that? They are from a Mountain View Stake. Hope Everything is going awesome still. Hopefully Aubs is enjoying herself. Say Hi to Trav and Steph. And if at all possible- tell Travis that he needs to bring all the clothes and stuff he stole from me to AZ so that I can have at least somethings when I get home. Hopefully he hasn´t already left. Well. I can´t think of anything else too special to write. I love you all. Thanks!! Bye. Elder Evans

Slow Week

This week was a little slower. I guess my companion´s stomach is not used to eating some of the food that I´ve been eating for 23 Months. It was a good week, but our tracting efforts didn´t come out too successful. Martha is continuing strong. She paid her tithing this week even though she can´t go to church until august and plans on paying every week. I am pretty content because she is pretty golden and will be a baptism for elder Lewis once I leave. We taught a new old lady that went to the baptism named bertha. She is pretty old but still capable of baptism. She acts pretty weird around my companion though, I think he thinks she´s pretty scary. Gaspar and Margarita are still having problems with their in-laws and so that is holding up the wedding I think. They have changed a lot to get to where they are, but they still lack a little bit of faith and obedience. We weren´t able to find them all week after Tuesday.

Montezuma's Curse

Wednesday and Thursday were pretty slow days. My companion couldn´t be away from the toilet for too long and to save an embarrassing situation we only went to the appointments we had planned and back and forth to the house. We are looking right now to find more less active members because our ward needs a lot of help. There aren´t too many members in the chapel on sundays. This sunday was good though, we had about 50 or so. But it is tough because we are kind of in the central part of town where there are poorer families and lots of people move in and out.

Spanglish...Gotta Love It!

Friday we met with Martha again and explained some things about scripture study and the book of mormon that she didn´t really understand. Oh I forgot, it randomly rained pretty hard on Thurs and Fri so that made the work a little more difficult without any citas. (citas= appointments by the way. I barely even caught that case of Spanglish. I´m going to miss Spanglish, sometimes I can just express myself better using the two languages together.)

Service Saturday

Saturday we were going to do service for an hermano, but it got cancelled for some reason. After ward it was pretty tough because we didn´t have many appointments planned and it also rained that day too. We did contact and find someone who seems to be pretty interested in what we have to say. His name is Victor, he´s about 50ish and we´re going back on Saturday.

Talking Again!

Church was good. I was assigned to talk again next week, but this time the topic is health. We´ll see how it goes. I think I spoke the last sunday in June. Maybe second to last. . . Our citas fell through sunday afternoon but later we went with a less active member and she made us homemade pizza. It is a lot like your potatoe pizza. I told the hermana how much i loved the potatoe pizza and she asked the recipe. I guess I just told her it was mashed potates, bacon, and cheese on top. Am I missing anything?

Just Stuff

I saw part of the movie ¨the errand of angels¨ - about sister missionaries in Germany. It made me think a lot about aubs. It is crazy to me that she´ll be home this week. That went by fast, and means my time will come that much faster. I´m feeling okay about calculus. There are a lot of people to help and normally the advanced high school classes I took are harder than real college classes.. ..sometimes. . . sometimes.

Just Stuff

I guess they assasinated an apostate group leader named LeBaron in Chihuahua, but that gives the news media a perfect reason to name him the ¨Mormon Leader in Mexico¨ and lead people to believe that the church is something it´s not. Oh well. That´s great to hear about the dbacks. and sad about the mesa pools being shut down. I hope the book shelves in my room don´t look too tacky. Speaking of things like that- all my pictures and music are still on the computer downstairs, right? I really hope nothing has happened to all that stuff. My greenie is doing good. I feel bad that he hasn´t progressed more in the month he´s been here, but it doesn´t help that I have to teach him correct english before spanish. (as in- what is an adjective, noun, etc) He´s doing great though and has not complained once.

No Pictures but....

Sorry, I don´t have any exciting pictures this week. I´ll try harder next week. Well, I don´t know if i´m forgetting anything, but I love you all, I love the church and all the Lord has blessed us with. Recently I´ve read Truth Restored (not knowing that it is no longer part of the missionary library) and Our Heritage- which are basically the same story, but I am soo greatful for the sacrifices of the early saints and leaders and am so greatful for the legacy that we have been left. We are so blessed to have the knowlege of the gospel in our lives and live it. Elder Evanst? I really hope nothing has happened to all that stuff. My greenie is doing good.

Pictures from Papantla-Then and Now

In the decade since Reddin served a mission in Veracruz, his first area, Papantla, is now in the Tampico mission. Trevor is now serving in that area. Here are some pictures that Trevor took and Reddin sent to Trevor.

Spreading the Word

Tuesday we had to go to a different area to eat with the hermana, but she lived in a pretty cool place, on a hill overlooking the baseball field. Afterwards we were kind of rushed so we had to switch around our appointments. First we went to Martha´s house and she asked us if we drink Coca Cola, when we told her yes later she asked if we drank coffee, which set us up perfectly to teach the word of wisdom. She understood really well and had a lot of good questions and comments. When ending, we mentioned 1 Cor. 3:16 about the body being a temple and related it to the Temples. We showed her a picture of the temple and she asked how we build them. That set us up perfectly to teach tithing, which she already has a testimony of. She won´t be able to go to church or get baptized until after august, but she already wants to pay her tithing because she knows of the blessings that come from that sacrifice. She was a Jehovahs Witness, so has a lot of knowlege about some scriptures and commandments. Later we talked to Gaspar and Margarita and due to problems with their inlaws (they want to baptized their son) Margarita is no longer going to work. They sid theat their situation would be tight, but knew they could do it with the help of the Lord. I just had to explain to them the blessing of tithing in our lives. Some think its a burden- but it really is a chance to show the Lord our faithfulness and recieve many many promised blessings.

Laundry Day

Wednesday we washed our clothes (in a sink with a brush). since last september I haven´t washed by hand. In Abasolo I had a lot of extra money because there wasn´t much to spend it on, so i´d use it to take all the clothes to the landramat lady. She´d give us a discount, so it was nice. In Cañada I took all my clothes to a laundrimat, but then in Poza Rica I´d wash shirts and garments by hand and take pants and socks to the laundrimat. In Valles, we didn´t have a sink to wash in, but an hermana would wash our clothes for a discount. In the offices we had washing machine. Today the family that lives below us fixed their washing machine, so we used it. It was nice. So that is the story of how I´ve cleaned my clothes on my mission. Did you realize I don´t know how to spell laundromat? Later we planned everything for the baptism and later went to a family home evening and watched those animated classics scripture movies. Pres. Moss also left that day. I still haven´t met President Call.

Saying Good-bye

Thursday I said goodbye to my ex companion E. Avila. He goes home today. He called me this morning to say goodbye. I was with him twice, for 3 transfers in total- more than any other companion. He is a great friend and I plan on staying in contact with him and visiting Cd. Juarez someday. It is closer to Mesa than anyone that lives in Utah. Later we visited Martha and taught her the law of chastity and later we went and taught a less active family about obedience.

Up and Downs of a Missionary

On Friday we started off the day contacting. We were going good for a while, then I started discussing the Virgen Mary with a couple of ladies. They didn´t like what I had to say. Later we found a lady who had already visited with the missionaries. She looks like she has prospective. Later we had the baptismal interview for Karina and later went and visited a less active family.

Primary Activity Day?

On Saturday morning the stake primary president asked our help for an activity they had. We opened and closed the curtains for every ward´s small play about the stories from the book of mormon. It was so funny to see the small children in their costumes not having any idea what to do and their primary leaders off to the side whispering directions to them. The scenery and the props were all really well done though. Later we had hotdogs and cake and then cleaned out the baptismal font and filled it again. We had to go eat, but afterwards finished preparing things until the baptism.

Karina's Baptism

The baptism went really well. A good amount of members went, the speakers spoke with the spirit and with was an all around good experience. I sang ¨When I am Baptized¨ again, and all the members really liked it. I forget sometimes that being able to sing is a lot rarer talent here in Mexico. After the baptism we had refreshments and they had me sing 2 more times so they could record it. Later all the missionaries from the district gathered at Elder Horton´s house and cooked hot dogs while listening to patriotic music as performed by the mormon tabernacle choir.

Familia Silva

Sunday was a pretty slow day. Church was good, then we went to eat, but the hermana didn´t have it ready. Afterwards, we went to another area with the companionship from the area and visited a family that Reddin visited when he was here. It was the Silva Family. I visited with the hermana and her son (located in the middle and on the far left of the picture, the man with the mustache). She remembered Reddin and thanked him for helping her husband listen to the discussions and decide to be baptized. She said the day he was going to get baptized, he died. Reddin didn´t tell me that I don´t think. Later on that night we taught two new families, so we´ll see what happens there.

Elder Evans with the Silvas

Elder Evans (Reddin on the top left) with the Silva Family

Uno Mas Transfer...or I did learn how to speak Chinese:)

It´s crazy to me that I only have one transfer left. I have been thinking about things from home, and it amazes me to think that in only 6 weeks, i´ll be there. I still don´t think I understand the reality of the situation. Love you, I hope everything continues to go well. Bye. Elder Evans

A Day Late

Sorry I´m writing a day late. Yesterday we went to Poza Rica and played soccer with the about 30 other Elders and later made some trips to Sam´s Club to buy some things and by the time we got back to Papantla we only had time to go to an appointment we had. But things are going great here. Did Carrie tell you about the change in schedule on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays? You might have to sign me up for a different Institute class, but at a later time. . .

My Greenie is Progressing

My companion is doing really well, he is understanding more and is more eager to try and talk but we still have a lot to learn together. One problem I have seen and he has explained to me is that he wasn´t the best English student- or his english isn´t very proper. Later that makes it harder to speak spanish because you can´t translate things correctly. One funny thing he asked me was after church he asked in spanish ¨Donde Con Ahora¨ and I asked ¨what?!¨ and he said yeah ¨where with now?¨ thinking that it was correct. I told him I had no Idea what that was supposed to mean. He told me that while he was working for his dad as an electrician when he would always say that phrase after finishing a job and asking where to go afterward. I guess he was just mixing ¨where to now¨ and ¨with who now¨. But he is doing well. He is humble and always willing to do what is needed.

Hot and Muggy

The weather is still hot and muggy. We get some random days where it rains a little bit in the morning or at night. At nights there has been some lightning but nothing big- nothing compared to an arizona monsoon. I have not had elder Perez as a companion and I have never really been to Ebano. I´ve only passed through it while going to Valles. It is dryer there I imagine. there aren´t too many places close to it, beides valles. It´s a smaller town, I don´t think the church is too big there. I think it´s a ward, but I´m not sure because I don´t think they have a normal chapel. Who knows. Whichever ward has elder moyer will definitely be blessed, because practically no one plays the piano.

Happy 4th of July

Karina is doing good, she is still excited to get baptized the 4th of July (I think) It is so hard to tell with her sometimes, she is super shy and barely talks in the lessons. Later we visited with Martha a little bit and talked to her about the Sabbath Day. She has to work on sundays to pay off a debt she has, but after paying it she wants to come to see how the church is to be able to get baptized. We visited quite a lot of less active members this week and have been trying to just get to know them and gain a good relationship with them. We visited with Gaspar on Wednesday and he was waiting for Margarita to get there so they could sort out their problems. He wants to get married and baptized and she does too, but sometimes they can´t stop arguing and fighting I guess. Later in the week we taught Martha about how Satan is trying to discourage her from following the truth. She knows the jehovahs witness isn´t the true church but says she feels like things have gotten harder since she left their church. We shared how satan tryed to destroy Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove and showed her the Restoration Video. It was a really good lesson.

The Work Continues

On Friday we tried tracting in the town Plaza because there are a lot of people, but it didn´t work out too well because everyone from there is from a little ranch outside of Papantla. We ate with the bishop and he told us michael jackson had died. Later he turned on the news and they were talking about him. Later we went to a different house and there they were showing all the music videos of his. Afterwards we went to a different member´s house and a talk show was discussing the whole situation. It was pretty funny. Saturday we went looking for recent converts and less active members. Later we taught Karina the importance of obedience to the commandments. We went to a youth activity and there the bishop asked me to give a talk in church. I prepared the talk the next morning but forgot my notes at home. I talked on missionary work and thought I did a good job. I told a story about Dieter F. Uchdorf´s grandma and how after WWII an elderly member in a food line invited her to Sacrament Meeting. Later she and Pres. Uchdorf´s parents went, felt the spirit, and were converted. I doubt that elderly woman knew what would come about from one simple invitation. I was thinking about how many people´s lives have been blessed from the two time stake president, member of the seventy, and now Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, and how it all came from inviting one old grandma to church.

Great Dad

I´m glad that dad is doing okay after getting his pacemaker changed. I meant to express to him last week in honor of fathers day how greatful I am to have him as a dad. I really appreciate everything he has done for me and am so glad that he is going to be there when I get home. I feel like I inherited a lot of character traits from him and I am honored to be like my dad. I love getting his slide shows and seeing all the pictures of the family and things. Thanks dad, I love you. Well, I can´t remember anything else I was going to say, or if I WAS going to say anything else. That means it´s time to sign off. Love you all. Bye. Elder Evans

Pictures from Papantala

150 stairs- something typical of Papantla (you can´t see the bottom in the pic)

The big tree atop the 150 stairs that says ¨Vote for PRI¨(political party)

On Monday me and Elder Eichelberg took the hike up to the statue of the volador and took some pictures. We later went with the hermano that lives in front of us and ate some tacos. Elder Eichelberg right now is either on a plane or waiting in an airport to make it home to South Dakota. It´s crazy that people actually go home, and that those people only have one transfer more than you. . . I have a feeling two months is going to go by way too fast. Especially when Carrie talks about signing me up for Calculus and Public Speaking. . . 1. I hate math and haven´t been in a math class since Junior year (aka 3 years ago) and 2. I´m going to be public speaking when i don´t even speak english correctly now. . . we´ll see how it goes.

The statue from my house

Me atop the volador (flyer) statue

My house from the statue (its the green one, top floor)

"Greenie" is "verde"!

I am doing great. Tuesday I went to Tampico and got there around 9ish. It was fun to be around/talk with all the office staff that is still there in the office houses. I got my haircut and started washing my clothes that I had brought up from Papantla. Wednesday morning I was in the offices getting things off of the computer that I had left and organizing other things that I needed from the offices for my area. The new guys were getting trained and then went off to immigration to get their papers in order. Later we went to the mission house and recieved the training from the Assistants and Pres. and sister Moss. It was pretty sad, it was the last time I´m going to see them here. They did give me a picture of them with a little note on the back though. It was nice. We got paired up with our new companions, mine is Elder Lewis from Eden, Utah. He is a really good guy, but fits the definition of ¨verde¨ perfectly. He really does not understand a lick of spanish and still has a long way to go to speak so that the people understand. He´s pretty quiet and not too outgoing, so that helps me with being more talkative with the people. At around 5 we got on the bus and made the journey back to Papantla. We got home at around 10:15, unpacked and hit the sack.

Me, My Hijo (Elder Lewis), Pres. and Sister Moss

On Thursday we went and visited some members, set some appointments with investigators, and bought some necessary items for the house. We ate lunch and later went to another town called Gutierrez Zamora to help the missionaries there with an activity they were having on the beach in Tecolutla. It was pretty crazy getting everything organized and sorted out, but it ended up being a good activity. I was in charge of water balloon volleyball, and we had a good time with it actually. We went to an hermano´s restaurant and ate some pretty good tacos. We got home pretty late and made it to bed.

The ride to the beach in tecolutla

My station, waterballoon volleyball

Me with a globo de agua

Sweet is the Work!

Friday we visited with some less actives before eating. Later we met with Karina, who was supposed to get baptized Saturday, but she was being really shy again and wasn´t too excited about it. We taught her the commandments and later she told us she would like to get baptized another day. We put a date for the Fourth of July. Let´s just hope that she sticks to the plan this time. Later we visited with Martha and taught her about the Gospel. When we invited her to be baptized she just said she would like to make it out to church before putting that goal. She is working on Sundays but says that the sunday after next will be able to go with us. Later that night we visited with Margarita and she said that everything was going well with her and her husband and said that their plan was to still be baptized. On Saturday we ate lunch and later contacted, one lady let us in to drink water, but left and so we taught her sister. Later we visited with some children who are members, but their parents need to get divorced, then married to get baptized. We found some more less actives and old investigators, then visited with Gaspar and Margarita to find out exactly what the missionaries before had taught them. They told us they were going to church and we were going to pick them up the next day.

Voladores

Sunday while we were getting ready we saw the voladores flying in the plaza from our window and I got some pictures. Later we passed by for them but his mom said they got in a little fight and left. We are going to visit them tomorrow, I hope everything goes ok with them. Later we ate and visited with an awesome Hermano from the ward. He is eager to help us with the work and also help my companion learn and speak spanish better.

The voladores flying in the plaza

Today we went to Tajin with pretty much the whole district. It was pretty fun going back. We even saw the voladores up close this time and got our picture taken with them. I saw a lot of gifts that I could bring home in August, but I was just wanting to know if there was anything special that anyone wanted.

Me at Tajin

The Elders at Tajin

Me Levatating

Knocking Doors in Tajin haha

More ¨voladores¨

Me and the Voladores

Que?

Well, things are going good. I feel like I have a big responsibility to help out my companion, so that will keep me pretty busy. It´s definitely different than I thought it would be. I would like to speak more spanish with him, but he doesn´t understand my spanish and I don´t understand his spanish, so its pretty bad. But he is trying so it can´t go anywhere but up from here. I love you lots and can´t believe that Aubs is getting home in less than 4 weeks. I don´t remember if there was anything else I wanted to tell you. If you have pictures of Reddin in Papantla send them to me please, or tell him to sent pics of him here in Papantla via email or something. I hope everything continues to go well for you. I love you lots. Bye. Elder Evans

Chillin

In a hammock at the Beach in Tecolutla

Me and Elder Horton drinking our coconut water

The Humidity is a Beast!

Things are going good here in Papantla. It is really hot and wet. I just heard yesterday that 6 of the 9 greenies are coming in tomorrow. I most likely am getting one of them. The companion I have right now is E. Eichelberg and he goes home in about a week. But he´s going to Tampico with me and not coming back. Right now he is a traveling elder and is helping filling holes in the mission where people still don´t have their companions and things. Humidity is just a pain. I long for the dry weather again. I always have to have the fan on me or else drops of sweat just fall from my face. I definitely got spoiled in the offices with the AC though.

ME, Elder Eichelberg, Elder Avila, Elder Avila (yes, they are brothers)

The Work Progresses

This week went really well. It was kind of calm, considering my companion goes home in a week and was kind of trunky, but we actually got a lot done. We visited a lot of less actives that he showed us, he was born in this area. Later a member showed us two referrals- Carlos, a retired teacher in a wheelchair and also Martha, a less active Jehovah´s Witness that is not content with her worship in that church. Her son is also a recent convert. My companion knows a lot of scriptures in the bible to prove wrong a lot of the JW´s beliefs, so he used those and she was really surprised to see so many new and different things. My comp takes pride in his bashing knowlege, even though he doesn´t like the word ¨bash¨. Carlos probably isn´t going to progress much, but I think Martha has already been converted. She is already planning on becoming a member of our church, we just haven´t rushed anything with her. She works on sundays but is going to ask for time off to be able to attend church. The last time we visited her she told us that she thought of us as angels because we found her and were teaching her new true things. I was suprised, normally it is only the members or recent converts that say that about the missionaries.

On thursday night we got permission from President Moss to go to the fair that is here in Papantla. There was a cultural program where they told the story about the history of the totonaco people and the ancient ruins in tajin. There were some pretty cool dances and there is a famous ceremony where 5 guys climb up a really high pole, 4 tie a rope to their legs and jump off of and spin around the pole down to the ground while the 5th one stands atop the pole and plays a flute. It was very interesting but towards the end the dances and music got really repetetive and they drew dances out longer than they needed to be. But in the end it was all worth it because there was a big fireworks display. It was very enjoyable.

The Stage

Fireworks

The End

Wrong Elder Evans

Saturday we went to eat breakfast with an hermana from the other ward because she said she had a picture of and Elder Evans and that she knew my brother. We waited around a while for her to get there, but then she showed me the picture and it was definitely not Reddin. It was some elder evans that served there 8 years ago from Salt Lake. But I did see Stacy King´s engagement picture with her husband Andrew Hoyt. I had totally forgotten that at work melanie told me that her bro. in law had served in tampico. Even though I don´t know much about him, it was fun to talk to her about it.

Baptism Set for Saturday

We are most likely going to have a baptism this Saturday. Her name is Karina. She is the last non member of her family and I think hasn´t gotten baptized just because she´s really really shy. We are also working with a couple that looked really excited to get baptized but only needed to get married first. It turns out they argue and fight quite a bit lately, so we´ll see what happens with that. They said they were going to go to church and we even went for them, but they never showed up. Their names are Gaspar and Margarita.

Stuff

It sounds like you are enjoying yourselves over there in Buffalo. I can´t wait to visit that place with them. Tell Trav & Steph hi and that I love them and liked the little letter and pic of collin that steph sent me. I hope everything continues to go well for you and them there in NY. It looks like fletcher got home a week or two ago. That is crazy that Brandon is coming home!! That means I am the next one to come home from the group. I have two months left! And even though it seems like a long time still, I´m sure it´ll go by in no time flat. It´s pretty crazy that I have to start planning things and preparing things for when I go home. . . .

Excited About the Greenie

I am excited to get my greenie on Wednesday. It´ll start the last chapter of my mission which I am really excited for. I´ll just have two months with him, but I´ll try to make it a good two months and be a good teacher. Maybe I´ll see Stephen Moyer too, if he is one of the 6 that got their visas in order. I love you a lot and will let you know how things are in a week. AdiosElder Evans

I'm In Papantla!

You are correct, I am in Papantla as of now and it is an interesting place. I am liking the vibe. The only thing that I´m not liking too much are the hills and the humidity. This is by far the most humid place I´ve been in thus far. I now know why Reddin told me I would be wet for 2 years straight. So far we have just gotten to know the area and have met members and investigators and things like that. My new companion still hasn´t arrived from the mtc, so what do they do? Give me someone who´s about to end their mission. It worked out really well though because his first area was Papantla in the same ward, so he´s showing me the ropes which makes it much easier. The ward is looking pretty skimpy, I guess the Bishop just has a difficult personality. But I have already met a lot of members that are really nice.

Still Hanging Out

Monday I just kind of hung out in the offices and helped with what was needed. The Zone from out of town stayed in the house because Tuesday was Zone Conference, so we bought all the food and cleaned the house in preparation. The conference was good, I didn´t see much of the training, but during the second half all the missionaries sang a song dedicated to President and Sister Moss because it was their last conference there with us. It got pretty emotional, especially after they both spoke to us and bore with us their last testimony. At night I started packing up all my things from the offices.

I Have Arrived! :)

Wednesday morning I finished up packing and actually did a good job fitting everything inside, although I did send a random package of clothes and other things home, so you could be expecting that I guess. We ate and got everything together and left Tampico a little later than I would have liked. We got to Poza Rica at about 9:30 but then had to wait another hour for the bus to Papantla. It got there half an hour late so we got to Papantla at about 12.

Busy Days in a New Area

Thursday we got settled in the apartment, bought some necessary items, ran some errands, got to know our landlord (who rents the apartment to us for free), visited the relief society pres, and other things. I have told quite a few people about reddin serving here, but nobody really remembers. In the ward next to us there were some members with pictures of him that remember him, I guess that was our ward before, but ended up getting divided. I´ll have to go over there with those elders and meet them. That night we headed back to Poza Rica because interviews with Pres and Zone Conference for the two zones in Poza Rica were the next day. It was good finally going to a zone conference and not being a zone leader or assistant. I went to 12 in the past 9 months not being a normal missionary. I really enjoyed it. We took a lot of pictures, but I totally forgot my camera. I need to try and get those from the other elders here.

Baptisms in the Future/Chillin at the Beach

Saturday we met with some investigators that have been waiting for the elders to teach them. It is a young couple that is excited about the church. They just need to get married. We are going to start from the beginning and teach them what they´ve already learned.
Sunday we visited a part member family and talked with Karina a 15 year old that for some reason didn´t want to be baptized even though she had been going to church every sunday for quite a while. After talking with her for a while we came up with a baptismal date for June 20th. So maybe if my new comp gets here to the mission he will have a quick taste of baptism. That´ll be good because I had to wait quite a while.
Today we went to Tecolutla to go to the beach. It was an enjoyable. There was baby sea turtles, ultimate frisbee, cocunut water, hammocks, and chillin.

I Like it A Lot!

I really like the feel of Papantla. There really is no other area like it in the mission. I´ve also really never experienced the pueblo type of area. I was in a rancho in Abasolo, but since there i´ve always been in the city. Good things are ahead in the area and in the companionship. I´m glad everything at home is going well and I hope it continues to do so. Love you lots. E Elder Evans

No Greenies Yet!

So it looks like the new americans aren´t going to be getting here on the 1st. Who knows when they are actually going to show up. I am still here in the offices still kind of hanging out. I´m helping with everything that is going on here still. It kind of feels weird not being the assistant anymore because I´m still here, and so are the same people- but the responsibility is no longer mine. It is cool. I hear people say ¨the assistants¨ and it sounds weird to me because I haven´t heard it called that way for a good 4 and a half months. I am really enjoying myself.

Worked like an AP

Although I was no longer assistant, on monday I sure felt like one at the bus station. The new mexican elders had gotten here late, so everything was backed up and the president nor the assistants could make it to the bus station to run everything. I was the one that was directing people, answering questions, and dealing with problems. It was kind of aggravating because I was getting annoyed when i shouldn´t have because it was no longer my responsibility. But I felt good helping because I would have loved having someone help me like that last transfer. After not eating all day I had a nice bite to eat in a good restraurant.

Waffles and Moving

The next day the new mexican elders and their companions went to eat waffles at presidents house and of course I snuck in and got myself some waffles. They were very good. I can´t wait to eat yours on saturday morning.

Afterwards we made a trip to walmart and bought items for a new house that we were opening for some elders up north. Later we drove up about 45 minutes to the house and moved them in. Afterwards we stopped by the 4 sister missoinaries house to move one companionship to a new house and area. They weren´t home so we left back to the offices. We went back later and moved them to their new house. Normally moving someone to a new house doesn´t entail much, but when it comes to moving a sister missionary, they want to bring their whole apartment. I was amazed that we did it in only two trips.

Elder Porter and Evans moving the sister missionaries--Great hats!

I Am a Gofer!

I don´t recall what I did on Wednesday and Thursday, I was pretty much the gofer of the offices. I went with people to the bank, the post office, downtown, and other places. It has been kind of nice just to follow orders and not being the one that makes them. Friday was concilio for the zone leaders and it was the first time not going in 6 transfers (9 months). It felt pretty strange not being there, but i did end up going to eat sloppy joes with the rest of the office staff. I´m sure going to miss eating at the president´s house. I only have 2 times left. One when my kid gets here and another when I leave. It is crazy how fast it is going to go by (I don´t know how many times I´m going to say that in the next few months). Kevin Powell is already home and Fletcher should be getting home on Monday I would guess. It is going to be so weird to see all these guys again. I can only imagine how the sons of Mosiah felt after 14 years apart.

I Love the Temple

Today we went to the temple and it was great. I love being there and I think the missionaries here need more opportunities to go. I think it would greatly affect the work for the better and give us extra strength to endure and do our best. We had a nice little talk with the Temple President, Pres. Bentley and it opened my eyes on a few examples of symbolism in the temple.

Itching to Get Away

I am enjoying my time here, but kind of just want to go to Papantla and get started finding people and getting away from all the extra ¨stuff¨ that happens here in the offices. I love you so much and hope you have a great week.

Elder Evans

The Mexican flag at the Laguna del carpintero (Carpenter {sp?} Lagoon)

Tampico Bridge in my area

Things are Going Good

Things are going good with me. I am still here in the offices. We thought we were done with making changes on transfers, but things have kept coming up and we are still not completely positive where some people are going. President is coming to the offices right now and we are going to finish things up. The good thing is that tomorrow, I no longer am the assistant and all the stress that comes with the job will be relieved off my back. From now on my p-day will be on Mondays. Starting tomorrow. I don´t know when I am going to papantla because my new companion still hasn´t arrived here from the MTC and they don´t have visas yet, so we´ll see how long it takes. (update- it looks like they are coming on June 1st. So I have another week here just chilling in the offices. P.S. I hope those razor refills get here soon, my face doesn´t like the one I´m using right now.)

Busy Week

This week was pretty busy. Overall it´s been a really good week. Monday was hard after eating lunch because it was really hot and we were really tired. But we went out tracting and the time went by really quickly. We had some good lessons and found some new investigators. We found a guy named Daniel that lives right next to Panuco river pretty isolated from anyone else, and he had already been reading the Book of Mormon.

Fransisco

Tuesday was kind of the same way. We found a less active member named Fransisco that we´ve been trying to visit with all month. It was good to talk to him. I told him it would be my last Sunday at church and he said he was going to go, but he didn´t show up. Later we taught another lesson and had a couple appointments not show up, but later we found a really good new investigator, the only problem is that he is a marine and isn´t in town much.

Elder Gordon and Divisions

On Wednesday my really good buddy Elder Gordon came for divisions here in Tampico. It was a horrible day work wise- every appointment fell through, but we enjoyed eachothers company and it ended up being a fun day. We did end up teaching a less active young man, which is one of the focuses of the Area Presidency.

Mission Stuff

On Thursday I sent off elder gordon and waited for my companion to get back with my replacement from Poza Rica. Elder Porter and Ramos got here right before heading off to lunch. We had some appointments later in the day but we were busy with president and some special interviews, so we weren´t able to go. The same happened on Friday, except we had a little lunch with President and Sister Moss because I was leaving the offices. It was enjoyable. Later we had some special interviews and worked on transfers a litle more.

Ramblings

That´s pretty crazy about the bees infesting our house. And Random. But it´s good that they´re all cleared out. It´s good to hear that dad is healing well and getting up the strength to go to church. Keep it up papi! I laughed out loud when you told me that Abigail ate her frozen chicken nugget. What a goof. It´s good to hear that the dogs made it back safe and sound. I´m jealous you are finally seeing Collin. And that Trav and Steph are visiting. I can´t wait to make a New York trip to see them. It´s good to hear the family is all together (except me and aubs). Well It´s taken me about 6 hours to get this letter finished up. I hope you understand it. I think I keep wanting to put the word ¨that¨ in the middle of my sentences but the grammar check on word keeps telling me its not correct . Love you all and I hope you continue to be great! Elder Evans

Tough Day

It was good to talk to everyone on Mother´s day. It is crazy to think that I´ll be home in exactly 3 months. It is going to go by so quickly. This week was good. Monday a group of elders came in for special interviews with president so we had to go babysit them in the offices pretty much all day. Later on Tuesday we shipped them off to their new areas and headed out to work in our area. It was a tough day. We didn´t have any appointments show up but we read the book of mormon with roberto and he really liked it and then visited Diana, the girl that goes to institute. She is being more difficult than I thought she would be, but her 15 year old brother looks golden. We talked with him about the book of mormon and baptism and he pretty much agreed to be baptized if he found out the book of mormon was true- now we only need to let the spirit do its work. I hope he gets an answer.

Transfers Are Coming

Wednesday we started working on the transfers with President Moss. It is so interesting to see how the mission is changing with new elders and newer elders being put into Senior Comp positions and things like that. A lot of times I forget that I am one of the oldest ones in the mission and have been for about 5 or 6 months. We also didn´t have any appointments after lunch, so we started knocking doors. We actually found and taught three new poeople. Although most of them won´t really progress, it was good to share the gospel message and be able to teach.

FHE

On Thursday we contacted again and didn´t find much success We had some solid appointments that fell through, but ended up having a good family home evening with the Salinas family- a family that Matt Komenda taught while here.

The Work Moves On

On Friday we finished the transfers with President (kind of- we only need to fine tune some things) I know my new area and my new companion. I am going to be able to see Stephen (now elder) Moyer at the airport next monday. We did divisions with some zone leaders after lunch. We followed up with one of the ladies that we had found on Wednesday- Gertrudis. Her daughter and husband listened in on the lesson about the Book of Mormon and really seemed to like it. They all committed to read it- we will see how things roll out. Later we visited a less active family and spent the rest of the day looking for people that we had contacted throughout the week. None of them were really there- but we had a good day. This week hasn´t been the smoothest, but I have been enjoying the work, mostly because I haven´t been able to work like this in a while. I guess I´m just getting prepared for the type of work that I´m going to see in my last area. That was my week. It was pretty basic, nothing too exciting. If I remember anything else I´ll drop a little note later on.

Happy Mother's Day!

It´s so good to hear that dad is back home and doing well. I am so excited to talk to you. This letter isn´t going to be too long. You can call at 12 az time, 2 here. That will work ok. This week was good, we spent a lot of time working in the area and have seen some progression with some people. We visited with diana for the second time and gave her the book of mormon. She already goes to institute- she just needs to read and pray. Her mom is christian but was soo happy to see us there and was very nice to us. We also found a couple people contacting, so that is always good. We are also visiting a lot of less actives, and hopefully this week they are going to come, seeing as last week there were no services. I´m doing good and am excited for tomorrow. Everyone is bugging me to go eat lunch so i´ll end. bye. Elder Evans

Ginormous Letter and Pics to Boot!

Things are going well. The major part of the craziness has all stopped and I am able to do normal missionary work again. I have a lot of stuff to catch up on, so I'll get right to it. Starting off on two weeks ago:

Four out of the nine companions that Elder Evans has had-Elder Ramos, Elder Salazar, Elder Callejas, and Elder Avila

Trunky Letters for 8 out of the 13 of Elder Evan's generation.

Monday April 20, 2009

It was a pretty busy day, passing numbers and going through some new changes with president. It seems like now that President is getting closer to going home a lot of elders think they can be disobedient and that pres won't do anything. Also three new elders were getting to the mission on Tue. So we figured that all out, and arranged everything. Then I had to call all the elders that were getting changed and moved and then headed off to lunch. We were planning on working, but it turns out that an elder was going home early so we had to be with him and take him to get his things packed and to the mission home. Later we went shopping for dinner for the 20 elders that were coming to sleep in our house for zone conference the next day. Ham and cheese in the 1 peso bread here called bolillos.

Tuesday April 21, 2009

We had zone conference. I had to take three trips in the van from the house to the institute building. We loaded about 26 elders that needed a ride in there. I was there for the opening, but then went back to the offices with our senior couple (Elder & Sister Batt) to update the list of missing baptismal records so that we could get the elders on the ball to turn them in. I got there at lunch and then we had the second part where the new elders bear testimonies and the President and Sister Moss speak. It is always soo good. Afterwards the three new elders that didn't arrive last week got here to Tampico. Two of my ex companions were getting them, so I had a chance to spend time with 4 of my 9 companions that I've had in the mission.

Wednesday April 22, 2009

Today was kind of calmer, I did my 3rd training for new missionaries this transfer and everything went really well. The elders that got here are really prepared and ready to work. We've seen a change in the type of elders that are getting here in the mission. It's a change for the good. We were going to visit the brother of a member/son of our recent convert/person that got baptized a year ago but not confirmed, but he wasn't there because we were a bit late.

Thrusday April 23, 2009

President got to our house at around 8:30 and we headed off for Tuxpan/Poza Rica for interviews. I drove a couple hours to Tuxpan- its always nice traveling with the president and his wife, I'm really going to miss it. I think I only have one road trip left. It is so cool to talk and spend time with them. Once we finished all the interviews me and my companion went to the zone leaders house and started preparing a special dinner. Some other elders that came in early to go to zone conference the next day bought shrimp, limes, onions, cucumbers, salsa and chili powder. Mix those all together and what do you get? A little something called Aguachile. It's not common here, what happens is that my companion is from Culiacan, Sinaloa and so is one of the elders that stayed there that night. I guess its very common over there and they wanted to make some. It was really good. The shrimp cooks in the lime juice and later you just cut up the onino and cucumber and add salsa and chili powder. Sooo good. I enjoyed it greatly. Afterwards we had a good time singing a mexican songs.

De-pooping the shrimp

Elder Evans having a little taste-YUM!

Elders Gonzales and Ramos chopping the cucumbers

Aguachile the finished product

The group enjoying the meal

This cannot be healthy!

Friday April 24, 2009

Welcome to Gutierrez Zamora

We had the Poza Rica/Palmas zone conference today- It went really well. The zone leaders down there are great and really put a lot of effort and planning into their training. I didn't see some of it because I ran into the exbishop of the 2nd ward I had there in Poza Rica 9 months ago and talked with him for quite a while. After Zone conference we traveled down to Gutierrez Zamora with president and the 4 elders from down there while President and Sister Moss checked out one of the tourist sites down south to take a little break. We did divisions that night and I went and taught a less active family with the bishop of the ward and later they gave us sanwiches and cut up hot dogs with cheese on the side. I don't know how they cooked the hot dogs, but they were really good. They just didn't agree with my stomach the next morning. I had a good time talking and spending time with the elders down there.