September 15, 2014
HOLA QUERIDA FAMILIA MIA!
I hope this email finds you all happy and healthy!
My week this week was super great! Last Monday I got an interesting phone call from our zone leaders asking me to play piano the next day at a funeral in the otro pueblo. They didn´t have anyone there that knows how to play so we went. It was a beautiful service. The man had like 92 years so it wasn´t like anything dramatic. The daughter gave a beautiful talk about her family and it was all really centered on eternal families. I felt especially grateful at this time to have a knowledge of God´s plan for us. I thought I was just going to play the opening and closing hymns but then the grandkids of the man asked me to accompany them in 2 musical numbers. I don´t know if I've ever prayed so hard to not make mistakes! haha But it all went well.
The Lord really is working his Milagros (miracles) here in little ole Limache. I don´t even know where to start. So the investigadores we´ve had for basically the past 2 months are doing the same ole same ole, not progressing. We set citas (appointments) and then they aren´t there. They finally are there but then they don´t have time. So I´ve been praying pretty hard to find people that will fulfill with their commitments and are ready to be baptized. So we´re walking down the street Tuesday and we walk by this girl with her cute baby and we say hi like always and continue on our way. And as we were walking I think why didn´t we contact her. She has a cute baby, that family should be eternal too. So I turned around and asked her if we could give her a card. (We´re using these awesome pass along cards right now that have questions like ¨How can I raise a strong, secure, and happy family?¨) So she was like yeah of course so then we just started talking with her and she was super nice so I asked if we could visit her in her house one day and she said yes so we put the day for Friday. Friday we went back and had the most pleasant chat with her. We introduced the Libro del Mormòn (Book of Mormon). She told us that her son is the most important thing and that she´s known a few Mormon families and they´re always really united and she wants that for themselves. And she lives with her mom and brother--do you know how amazing that is????? Because everyone here lives with their partners without being married. We invited her to come to church and she said yeah, she´d love to! And then we invited her to be baptized and she said yes!! And then get this. We called her the next night to remind her about church and she was like no don´t worry I remember. And then guess what! When we walked into the chapel Sunday, who was already there sitting in the front row?????? She was!!! Oh my gosh. Please keep her, Barbara, in your prayers. She is so precious!
Then last week we also passed by an antiguo investigador (past investigator) Margarita. She was in an accident of some sort so she has a little bit of brain damage still, for example she can´t read anymore and it´s hard for her to walk. But she has the most faith I´ve ever seen. She has this strong desire to follow Christ and she told us about some terrible things that have happened to her but when she´d pray she said she could feel Christ at her side. So of course we invited her to follow Christ´s example and be baptized and she said yes too!! And we invited her to church and she said yes! and asked if we could pass by for her. So we show up at her house Sunday morning at the time we said and she opens the door and tells us she overslept so she can´t go. I just thought ¨nuh uh, we did not just walk 25 minutes in the opposite direction of the church for you to tell us no. You´re going.¨ of course I just thought this. But she asked us if we wanted to come in for a minute to which I said yes! When we walked in I was like What do you mean you´re not ready??? You look perfect! Let´s go!¨ And she was like, like this?? Noo.. no.. but after a little more Chilean sweet talk we got her to agree but she wanted to get her jacket. So we´re waiting for like almost 10 minutes for her and I´m starting to stress right? Because I´m like I don´t want Barbara to get to the church and we´re not there and she doesn´t know what to do or where to go so she leaves and church starts in like 15 minutes and Margarita walks super slow and what if we can´t find a cab in time. So I´m like what the heck is taking so long and getting impatient. (Patience is the Christ-like attribute I´m working on developing right now..) And then sweet, sweet Margarita comes out in the most mixed matched outfit I´ve ever seen in my life. Bright red sweat pants with a pink and orange paisley shirt with this frumpy star sweater over the top and this hot pink floral scarf. And she has the most grand smile on her face. Literally she was glowing! I'm ready she says! She was just beaming. I don´t think I´ve ever seen a more beautiful sight. The fact that she put in all that effort because dressing herself can´t be easy with her disability, to look ¨nice¨ for the church was just touching. I could tell that she really wanted to wear something special and even though she maybe was a little off the mark for my personal fashion sense, I was so touched by the effort she made. How many times in my life have I just put something on quickly for church without a second thought? But she realized she was going to the Lords´house of prayer and wanted to do something special for that. I learned a lot from that frumpy sweater sweat pant combination.
AND ok so we have this other investigador, Franco. He´s the one who showed up at church by himself like a month ago. I call him DJ FrankyFly because he works as a DJ Saturday nights. It´s actually hilarious that that was his job because he´s like this awkward 58 year old man. So he got this job as a DJ right after he came to church that one time and because he works at a club Saturday nights he never came to church again because he doesn´t get home until like 6 in the morning Sunday. BUT Friday night at VAS (the old single adult family home evening) He told us that he quit his job as a DJ because it was preventing him from attending church with us!!! WHAT?????????? I was in shock! He was just like yeah. MIRACLE!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn´t believe it. We have an appointment with him tomorrow so we´re going to invite him to be baptized! Keep DJ FrankyFly in your prayers too that he´ll accept a date and will be baptized too!
So basically it was just a week of miracles here. Really I know that the Lord hears our prayers. We´ve been fasting and praying fervently to have investigadores that progress the past weeks and it wasn´t until finally this last week that we are starting to see fruits. The Lord really does listen to us. When He doesn´t seem to be listening I think really He is just telling us. Just wait. I was reading in the Book of Mormon his morning about the sons of Mosiah and Alma the younger who are like the most amazing missionaries ever to exist and there´s a part where the Lord tells them bear your burdens with patience and then I will give you success. And that made me stop and think wait. Here you have these guys that want to go out and save Your other children, why isn´t it more of a they´re helping you so you´ll help them by not having afflictions. Like I´ll help you, you´ll help me kind of deal. But really how is it that we grow? Through our hard times. Through our afflictions. Maybe it´s our afflictions that prepare us for our successes. It´s our afflictions that make the successes THAT much more sweeter. It´s the afflictions that give the success value and importance. Through their afflictions the Lord molded Ammon and Omni and Aaron and Himni and Alma into the amazing example of perseverance and diligence and faithfulness that they are. So I realized that as I was fasting and praying and it seemed that no one was progressing and that my efforts were being wasted that the Lord was preparing these other 3 people for the gospel AND preparing me to teach these people the gospel. I have no clue what´ll happen in the coming week but I am grateful for this lesson that I learned and I have a strengthened testimony that the Lord does listen and really He is doing His work here in Limache as in the rest of the world.
AND ok so we have this other investigador, Franco. He´s the one who showed up at church by himself like a month ago. I call him DJ FrankyFly because he works as a DJ Saturday nights. It´s actually hilarious that that was his job because he´s like this awkward 58 year old man. So he got this job as a DJ right after he came to church that one time and because he works at a club Saturday nights he never came to church again because he doesn´t get home until like 6 in the morning Sunday. BUT Friday night at VAS (the old single adult family home evening) He told us that he quit his job as a DJ because it was preventing him from attending church with us!!! WHAT?????????? I was in shock! He was just like yeah. MIRACLE!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn´t believe it. We have an appointment with him tomorrow so we´re going to invite him to be baptized! Keep DJ FrankyFly in your prayers too that he´ll accept a date and will be baptized too!
So basically it was just a week of miracles here. Really I know that the Lord hears our prayers. We´ve been fasting and praying fervently to have investigadores that progress the past weeks and it wasn´t until finally this last week that we are starting to see fruits. The Lord really does listen to us. When He doesn´t seem to be listening I think really He is just telling us. Just wait. I was reading in the Book of Mormon his morning about the sons of Mosiah and Alma the younger who are like the most amazing missionaries ever to exist and there´s a part where the Lord tells them bear your burdens with patience and then I will give you success. And that made me stop and think wait. Here you have these guys that want to go out and save Your other children, why isn´t it more of a they´re helping you so you´ll help them by not having afflictions. Like I´ll help you, you´ll help me kind of deal. But really how is it that we grow? Through our hard times. Through our afflictions. Maybe it´s our afflictions that prepare us for our successes. It´s our afflictions that make the successes THAT much more sweeter. It´s the afflictions that give the success value and importance. Through their afflictions the Lord molded Ammon and Omni and Aaron and Himni and Alma into the amazing example of perseverance and diligence and faithfulness that they are. So I realized that as I was fasting and praying and it seemed that no one was progressing and that my efforts were being wasted that the Lord was preparing these other 3 people for the gospel AND preparing me to teach these people the gospel. I have no clue what´ll happen in the coming week but I am grateful for this lesson that I learned and I have a strengthened testimony that the Lord does listen and really He is doing His work here in Limache as in the rest of the world.
I love you all so much and hope you guys have a fantastic week!!!!!!!
The church is true.
Con todo el amor en mi corazòn,
Hna. Evans
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