The Mission (March 30th)

This week me and my companion have suffered a bit from sicknesses.
Elder Jones has had stomach issues and I got something called
Chickungunya.

Having Chickungunya gave me an unique experience to reflect upon the
suffering of the Savior. When I woke up Saturday, I arose to such a
pain as I had never before felt in my life. Literally every joint in
my body was in immense pain. I could not even stand or walk without
great pain. It was truly the most painful experience of my entire
life. And feeling such pain, I imagined how could the Savior have
suffered so much more. It was unfathomable to me. But as I reflected
and prayed to the Savior for strength the words of D&C 19:16-19 came
to mind and gave me comfort. The pain that the Lord suffered,
especially in the garden of Gethsemane, was so great that He sweat
great drops of blood. He suffered our pains, afflictions, trials,
sicknesses, doubts, and any other thing that could hurt us. (Luke
22:44, Alma 7:11-13) The Savior suffered all so that in the last day
we wouldn´t have to; if it is that we accept Him and His teachings. I
prayed that my experience would help me have more compassion for
others in the future.

But, I´m so excited for general conference next week!! I hope all of
you are as well! Prepare a question, any question, and Heavenly Father
will help you answer it through the voice of His servants, the
prophets! It´s the best really. :)

Have a wonderful week!

Elder Evenson


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Chikengunya (March 30th emailing session)

Just so you know, I´ll be writing a bit slowly today, I´m recoving from a dreadful sickness I got friday evening called Chickungunya. I´ll write more about that in
a minute. I just finished wrtitng president Willard.

Mom: Did you receive a healing priesthood blessing?

Josh: haha like immediately! I was in so much pain. It was the most pain I had ever felt in all my life saturday morning. It usually lasts an  entire week, and its a miracle that I´m out and about. I´m still not totally better, but its a lot less for sure.

Missionary Life (March 23)

We have been working with a man called Joaquin Barba since about
December of last year, and this last saturday was baptized. He
suffered many many trials even before ever being baptized. He is a
taxi driver, and has 5 small children, age 7-0. His wife, Karin, is a
member, but was less-active. They are very very poor, and during all
this time suffered various health problems with himself, and with his
kids. About two months ago was when all the big trials started to
happen in his life. The car he drove wasn´t his; he paid rent, and one
day he had to take his boss to a meeting and his glove box fell open,
and there was his Book of Mormon that we had given him, and all of a
sudden his boss just started verbally abusing Joaquin for having it
there. ¨What are you thinking?? Why are you wasting your time with
religion?? Do you think God is going to give you money for your
family?? Work is all there is!¨ And other similar things. She ended up
threatening him that if he continued visiting with us that she would
leave him without work. So Joaquin was really concerned. There were a
couple of hard hard weeks for him, and the relationship between him
and his boss only got worse. We continued visiting him, trying to help
him see that this was a test of his faith. And the tests only got
worse! Right at the end of Carnaval, all the taxis of his boss´s line
of vehicles had some sort of party that was obligatory, and there
present was beer and alcohol and every type of horrible thing you
could think of. And they all pressured Joaquin to drink and do drugs
and just bad bad stuff, but Joaquin stayed strong and rejected all of
them, just drinking soda. In the end Joaquin lost his job, but he knew
that the church was true, and decided to be baptised. He now has a
new, and better, job! Yesterday he expressed so much gratitud that we
never left him through all the trials, and told us that he truly felt
peace, and happy now. Elder Jones baptized him, and I confirmed him.
haha i won´t even go into the craziness of this week preparing his
baptism. The Lord opened up all the closed doors and made a miracle
happen. How I love being a missionary!

Elder Evenson

March 23 emails

But hey just so you know, we had a baptism on saturday!!!!! It was such a miracle seriously. It was a crazy crazy saturday and sunday, but so wonderful. :) I´ll send some pictures!!

This week I got a new book, The teachings of the Presidents of the
Church: Ezra Taft Benson, and I have just been loving it. He was such
a great man and did so many great things. Also he´s from Idaho! He
loved the principles of prayer, hard work, humility, and the love of
God. We are studying this manual in Priesthood (elders quorum) this
year. I love studying the lives of the prophets; they inspire me, and
help me to see the vision that the Lord truly has for us in our lives.

As a missionary I have been really focusing on testimony this last
little while, and I have felt such a large change in the way I see
myself as a representative of the Savior. I truly feel like I´m here
to represent Him and His church and I feel great love of the work! So
I´d like to share me testimony with you today. :)

I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know He loves us and sacrificed His
life for each one of us, and that as we go unto Him, He can heal and
comfort us. I couldn´t say that before my mission, but now I know. I
know that He wants us to be happy, and that comes as we follow His
example; in everything. I know God hears and answers our prayers, and
that through faith miracles can be made. I know that this life is all
a great test, and that obedience is what will carry us to the presence
of God once again to live in eternal happiness. Obedience is SO
important! It is the great teacher of our souls. I know that Joseph
Smith was a prophet of God and that Thomas S. Monson is the prophet of
God today. I know the Gospel is true! And what happiness and love and
peace it brings.

District meeting and sweet experience helping to answer a prayer

Well this week for us we just worked hard! Hahaha…I had a meeting with all the district leaders in Santa Cruz with President Willard. It was very good. I was asked to conduct the meeting and had the privilege of teaching the other leaders about Ezekiel 34. We talked about how to be good leaders of course. Our heroes in the Book of Mormon, the mission manual, and how to give good correction. It was really good :)

I'm district leader, but it´s a little different here in Santa Cruz than out in Camiri; my district is bigger. There are 8 missionaries instead of 4. I also don´t participate in the leadership conferences with the zone leaders. Just the structuring of the mission is different. Hahaha…I don´t have to do finances :D The zone leaders are actually a part of my district as well, so we check on one another mutually.

I´m really bad at sharing stories, but I had a very sweet experience this week:

As we were leaving our house in the morning to go out and teach the Gospel, a lady with two young sons called out to us, and we recognized them as a family that we had taught about a month ago. She asked us if we could visit with them in the evening, but as we already had a full schedule, we told her if we could find the time we would pass by. As it turns out, our appointment at 8 fell through, and we decided to go and visit the Soria Family. They lived rather far away so it was about 8:40 before we were able to start the lesson. So as missionaries we should be in house at 9. 9;30 as the very very last deadline. So we were really short for time, but as we started talking a spirit of peace entered into our hearts as we shared about the restoration and the experience of Joseph Smith. The weird thing is that we shared the exact same thing a month ago when we first visited them, yet we felt inspired to share it again. Then we reached the moment that during Joseph Smith´s search for truth, he read a scripture that changed his life. James 1:5 which says, ¨And if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and is shall be given him.

But let him ask with faith...¨

 

In that moment the mother of family got really emotional, and began to tell us that she felt as though she had been escaping in her life from God. She told us how just the day before she had been reading the Bible for hours, and could never find the scripture she was looking for. But that we came by, and through us, God gave her her answer. She hadn´t been praying much, and her family was going through many difficulties, but she felt the love of God as she read the scripture. I felt very blessed to have been in tune with the spirit so that through me he could answer the prayer of one of His daughters. :) Experiences like that really strengthen my testimony that God truly does love us, and is aware of our needs. :)

This morning as I was reading the Liahona of March, (ensign in the states) I was really interested in a talk written by Elder Oaks about the antichrists that are so present in our days. Hahaha..well I read the whole talk in Spanish so I´m not sure how well I´d be able to translate it to English, but we live in times where there are every so many voices telling us where true happiness awaits. Some say in solely doing what makes us feel good. Some say it is found within fame, fortune, titles, gifts, and other material things. Moral relativism reigns supreme. All believing that happiness and salvation can be found on our own, doing what we feel is right. However, I know that that is not the truth. Our loving Heavenly Father from the very beginning already knew how we could be happy and gave that way in the form of the Gospel! It is through our obedience to the commandments and our love of God that frees us and allows us to find lasting peace and happiness. I love the gospel with all my heart. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He knows us. He loves us. He pleads that we can follow His example. I have seen in the lives of oh so many the truthfulness of the words of Alma, ¨wickedness never was happiness.¨ My own life is a testimony. As I have striven to keep the commandments in my life, and learned to love my Heavenly Father and Savior, I have found peace and purpose in my own mind and heart. I am truly happy. I´m not perfect, but when I do make mistakes I know how I can be forgiven, and how I can then change. The gospel of Jesus Christ is glorious! I know God exists, that He lives and guides our lives. I know that He answers our prayers. Any of us can know the same if we but humble ourselves and seek for the truth. God has given to each of us the marvelous gift of being able to choose for ourselves between right and wrong. And as a missionary it is my wonderful job to help others choose the right! I know this is true with all my heart.

Have a wonderful week!

Elder Evenson

 

When my mind changed then my work changed and everything changed

haha way to go Wade (Wade got a 4.0 this last trimester)! That's great. I do know Porter (Wade's best friend). He's a good kid. I've really seen here in Bolivia how great of a difference good friends make. It's the difference between serving a mission and being addicted to alcohol and having a miserable life. The friends we have are so very important.

I've had 9 baptisms altogether! 7 since christmas :) the week after I left camiri another person got baptized that I taught. What has changed? My faith. Before I had a hard time believing that I actually could baptize.. But then that changed. There in Camiri I received the faith that I needed to go out and do miracles. I now strongly believe and know that there are many many prepared people just waiting to be baptized. That was all that changed :) When my mind changed then my work changed and everything changed. The things that I havent been sharing as much are the reactivated families. I think that Ive reactivated about 25 or 30 people as well. Those count the same as a baptism in mission work now. Good thing I have until November right?? I have a ton of more people to help!

So this week I have gotten to learn a lot more about reaching out to the one. This is the of the most unique aspects of our Savior Jesus Christ. He came to save the world, but always made the time to change the lives of individuals through loving and caring, personal acts. My companion is struggling right now, he's newer here and is still adjusting to everything, and so I've had wonderful opportunity to see others reach out to him to help and strengthen him. haha I strive everyday to help him, but sometimes when you're with someone 24/7 they start to ignore you. haha ah so that's been a trial for me. But I, and he, have been greatly blessed as some of the leaders of the church here have lovingly reached out to Elder Jones to lift and inspire him to greater things. They didn't need to take the time to go and sit by him and give him advice and talk to him and get to know him, but they did. Even though no one asked them to, and it really isn't their responsibility. They were just acting as disciples of Christ. I love a scripture in Luke 22:32 that says something like, "When you are converted, strengthen your brethen." One small and seemingly insignificant act really can change the life of someone suffering or struggling with some inward battle. Reaching out to others can often be scary, I know, but it can make all the difference. I've been greatly strengthen in such moments as I've offered a small prayer in my heart for courage, and then opened my mouth. I've seen miracles happen! The Lord always helps us to have the courage to reach out and bless His other children. I love the Gospel. I know it's true. And I love my Heavenly Father.

March 2nd emails between Josh and me

MOM

So,  I've kept track and I believe you've had 8 baptisms now. Six since Christmas!  What changed since Christmas, do you think? 

JOSH

Oh good! Well actually 9! 7 since christmas :) the week after I left camiri another person got baptized that I taught. What has changed? My faith. Before I had a hard time believing that I actually could baptize.. But then that changed. There in Camiri I received the faith that I needed to go out and do miracles. I now strongly believe and know that there are many many prepared people just waiting to be baptized. That was all that changed :) When my mind changed then my work changed and everything changed. 

The things that I havent been sharing as much are the reactivated families. I think that Ive reactivated about 25 or 30 people as well. Those count the same as a baptism in mission work now

Good thing I have until November right?? I have a ton of more people to help!

So this week I have gotten to learn a lot more about reaching out to the one. This is the of the most unique aspects of our Savior Jesus Christ. He came to save the world, but always made the time to change the lives of individuals through loving and caring, personal acts. My companion is struggling right now, he's newer here and is still adjusting to everything, and so I've had wonderful opportunity to see others reach out to him to help and strengthen him. haha I strive everyday to help him, but sometimes when you're with someone 24/7 they start to ignore you. haha ah so that's been a trial for me. But I, and he, have been greatly blessed as some of the leaders of the church here have lovingly reached out to Elder Jones to lift and inspire him to greater things. They didn't need to take the time to go and sit by him and give him advice and talk to him and get to know him, but they did. Even  though no one asked them to, and it really isn't their responsibility. They were just acting as disciples of Christ. I love a scripture in Luke 22:32 that says something like, "When you are converted, strengthen your brethen." One small and seemingly insignificant act really can change the life of someone suffering or struggling with some inward battle. Reaching out to others can often be scary, I know, but it can make all the difference. I've been greatly strengthen in such moments as I've offered a small prayer in my heart for courage, and then opened my mouth. I've seen miracles happen! The Lord always helps us to have the courage to reach out and bless His other children. I love the Gospel. I know it's true. And I love my Heavenly Father.