Hola familia!
Ahhhhhhh another week has passed and almost another month. I seriously can´t believe it´s like October... I have no clue where the heck this year has gone. It gives me a little anxiety thinking that there´s only like 3 months left of the year.
The weeks go by so fast that I'm struggling a little to remember what even happened since I last wrote you. Well this week we did have a zone conference with Pres. Kahnlein and his wife. They are so awesome! Presidente started with talking about where we have our ¨mira puesta¨ or where/in what is our view. To what are we looking. It should always be in Christ. It was very motivational. Another thing he spoke of was the need to be valiant. I thought that was kind of an interesting topic to choose but when he started talking, he told us that he felt very strongly that this was the message the Lord wanted us to hear. He talked about being valiant as an attribute of Christ and that many times in life and missionary work we can be put in situaciones where there is a need to stand for what is right. I really liked the topic of being valiant. It made me think about how much good examples are needed because though it may not seem like a lot, the very act of being an example and standing for what we believe is an act of valiance (is that even a word? Whatever. I guess I´m a true Chilean now because I´m making up my own words haha) It may not seem like a lot but I firmly believe that when we stand and set an example we are also inviting others to stand and to be an example. It´s a silent way of saying, there´s no shame in not following what the world teaches, there´s a better way. I came away thinking of what I´m doing in the lessons/contacts in the street that SHOWS I know the church is true. Am I loving? Am I assertive? Am I confident? Am I Christ-like? Am I valiant? I think valiant is a little more than being brave, but being diligent and true as well. It was interesting because right after the conference we were in a lesson with a new investigador who brought us a nice cold glass of coke. I love coke. But one of the rules we have in our mission is no caffeine, which means no coke. So it´s always a little awkward saying no, especially because the people always get offended... so I just thanked her a lot and said that as missionaries, we don´t drink coke. She just kept insisting that we drink it. I know coke is not a big deal at all but obedience is obedience right, and I learned that being valiant, though it is noble, is very uncomfortable... haha so we just said no and put it on the table at the side. The lesson was a little rough afterward because I don´t think that she was pleased with us but at least we left the house feeling good about ourselves and not weighed down by regret. It´s totally a parallel for life. Sometimes because of the world we live in, the gospel is not always a comfortable gospel. We have to step out of the comfort zone and sometimes stand alone. And we feel awkward and we could even think, aww, I might as well just do it, just this once, it won´t make a difference. But it will make a difference because afterward we´re going to feel the regret, we´re going to receive the consequences. But I don´t know about you, but I´d much rather be a little uncomfortable now and without regrets later than the reverse. The gospel saves us from being weighed down by the rocks of consequence and the burden of regret. I know that as we live valiant to the truths and the standards we know to be true we will always walk away with heads high and hearts happy.
Anyway besides from the conference this week nothing too exciting happened. We´re teaching this one guy, Franco, not to be confused with DJFrankyFly, this is another. When we first met him he had some really weird concepts of religion. When I asked him who is God, he told us that God is in all places but no place and that even at times he, himself, is God. Quite a character. When I asked him what he does during the day, he told me that he takes walks and looks at the sky and drinks mate alone in parks. When we asked him what is happiness to him, he in turn asked us what is happiness? I´m not sure I know what this is, he said. But he finally came to church yesterday! And we had a lesson with him Friday that was one of the lessons when the spirit was the most strong that I´ve had in all my mission. We´re really trying to help him understand who is God and Jesus Christ, because if he doesn´t have that base, nothing more we have to teach him will resonate. Anyway Friday we were talking about how to recognize our answers to prayers. I had this feeling come really strongly to me that I needed to share my testimony of the truthfulness and the need for the gospel in my life. I opened my mouth and I just spoke. I can´t even remember what I said but as I was talking to him I was looking him straight in the eye so he´d know I had no doubt, and I saw something change. I know now I probably sound just as weird as Franco, but there was a difference. I don´t know what, but there was a difference. And then for the first time in like over a month of inviting, he came to church yesterday and is going to institute classes and is going to attend conference. We have a lesson with him tonight and are going to invite him to be baptized! Keep him in your prayers that he can accept the invitaticion!! The gospel is amazing. We all need it. It´s truer than true.
Well I have to go now, but I love you all! Until next week!!
GO COUGS!
Con todo el amor en mi corazòn,
Hermana Evans
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