short on internet

Hello sweet people!!!

My lesson this week is learning to love people and be patient with
them even if they disappoint you. Just set an example for them. Live
the way you expect them to live. And LOOOOOVE them. Oh love them so!
People have such magnificent potential, sometimes they just need help
uncovering it.

Had a week of adventures, super random rain, running down mountain
trails and trying to save a sick kitten. Just a day in the life.

Love you all! I'm happy and well!

Soeur eVans

OCTOPUS, Anyone?

Iorana!!! That's Bonjour in Tahitian, aka hellooooo!!!

Fun fact: There are a kajillion different islanders and languages
here. Oh so many Tahitians, and Caldoches (from New Caledonia...ok,
less foreign for here but still) and people from Walis and Futunia
(these teeny tiny islands, but there are tons of people from them!)
and Vanuatu and ok maybe that's mostly it, but it feels very exotic.
Everyday, we are greeted in another language or hear a prayer in their
mother tongue or just sit and soak it in as they speak to their
families in their local island language. It is so beautiful. I love
language. I've learned that in every language I think you have a
different personality. For me, I'm a lot funnier in English....haha
but I still try in French. But in French I think I'm much more bold
and direct. It's interesting. Someone once told me that you're called
to serve in the language that the Spirit speaks to you best in and
testifies through you in. If that makes sense. I can certainly say
that saying prayers out loud in English (we sometimes do that for our
English lessons) feels WEIRD. And Gospel words are now almost all in
my head as French. Oh it is just the coolest. I love this language. I
love all languages.

I was sitting in Church the other day, as in on Sunday, and thinking a
lot about my past church experiences. About how church has changed my
life. And I thought a lot about all my past leaders. The faces of all
of my past sunday school teachers, seminary teachers and especially
Young Women's leaders were running through my head and I got so choked
up thinking of how these amazing women (and some men too of course)
have impacted my life. How blessed I feel to know them. To have
learned from them and had their example to strive towards. Here's to
all of my leaders: Thank you. Thank you for EVERYTHING. For your
testimonies and love and tender words and understanding eyes and hugs
and tears. Thank you for truly changing who I am and who I want to be.
I'm realizing now how important leaders and examples are in our youth.
We need those beacons of hope and encouragement.

Had a WONDERFUL lesson with one of our adorable amies. She is 72 and
has cancer but never stops working. She works way harder than I ever
have. And with a sprinkle of the gospel, this already incredible woman
has turned into the cutest little thing. I call her my little glowbug.
Because now everytime I see her she is just all giggles and smiles and
eyes wrinkled up from smiling. Whereas before her face showed mostly
fatigue or annoyance or exhaustion, now it is a bright, happy
expression lingering there. And with the aid of our wonderful bishop
she is going to set a date for baptism. She has a hard time
remembering (hi yes, even more adorable), but if she does I think she
really will set a date!

Fun tidbit with her. She lives with some of our other amis.
Complicated situation, but that's not important. The other night we
walk in for our lesson with all of them, and there she is at the
kitchen sink doing something. I walk over and SHE'S PEELING AN
OCTOPUS. Yes. She's just going to town on the skin, cleaning it out,
cutting it up, throwing legs over every which way. hahahahaha it kills
me that this is real life. Well. You guessed it. I ATE OCTOPUS. It's
really not so bad. Just really really chewy. But there's no bones
(that I noticed), which is a great bonus! [context: they don't have
chicken breast here...they just thrown the chicken in a pot. So bones
are in every dish] I really think I'm at the point where I can eat
anything.

The amazing part is that I think Heavenly Father has somehow steered
me clear of fish up until now. I've always thought "i don't like fish,
what am I going to do when they give me a fish?" Well I've eaten bat,
octopus, lamb, shrimp with eyes and legs and everything, mussels, etc.
But as of yet I haven't had a full fish plopped in front of me. Tender
mercies!

Apologies for the lack of photos. I really want to send some, but I
can't figure it out on the computers here. Sad sad day.

Favorite scriptures this week: D&C 123: 13-17. Even the LITTLE things
are important. Smile at someone. Offer a compliment. Wave at that
stranger. Share a simple testimony. It's the little things that help
God to reveal His arm and work His mightier miracles. Oh how I'm
learning that. Life is a conglommeration of so many little acts of
good.

Much love!

..                                      Octopus, Anyone?

                                         Tahitian Salad made with Raw Fish-- A common food

Eeek and then there was no time.....

Greetings my lovelies!

My time is short (what's new...haha), but it was another adventurous
week out here on the iles.

I don't know if my sense of humor is completely corroded or if life is
just hilarious over here, but I have had so many funny moments. That
being said, many of those are because the most awkward of awkwards
happen out here in the mission life, but we just embrace it and keep
on doing the good work.

We had an incredible miracle of praying for the family of an
investigator to get interested, and then having them all sit in on the
next lesson! God hears our prayers, and our righteous desires and He
wants to answer them so badly! He wants us to be happy beyond
comprehension and when it's His will too, He will answer our prayers!

No time, but love you all. Love my family beyond anything expressible.
Families are such a blessing, such an amazing gift to us.

Loooove as always! I'll write more next week!
Soeur Evans

A little Skyping today.....

Just a shout out on SKYPE for Mother's Day 2014.

Soeur Evans with her companion Soeur Beages

He ALWAYS answers

Allooooo tout le monde!

Hahah oh my this week was so interesting. But first of all, I just want to tell you all the coolest thing ever. You know how in the Bible Christ tells his disciples not to worry about feeding themselves or clothing themselves? That He will always make sure they have food and raiment. IT IS SO TRUE. Literally every single time that me and Soeur Beagles crave a food...we get it for dinner (or dessert haha). And when we decide we want to make lemon bars for our amis (because every other dessert is trop sucre for them)...we get a dozen eggs from an inactif. And when we find out we don't have very much money for groceries...we are given tomatoes and cucumbers and cereal and bananas and cookies. HE ALWAYS PROVIDES! It is amazing. And that is just in terms of our "food orders". But I know for a fact that anything we ask of our Heavenly Father, if it's His will and if it's what's best for us, He will give it to us. He wants to give it to us. He wants us to be happy, to be joyful, to be peaceful. And we just need to pray and ask for the things we need and then have FAITH. Really believe in God and show that belief and love. Faith is both parts. Belief and action.

Speaking of that, I've decided that's one of the struggles of a mission. Listen up all ye future missionaries. All you people that hear a mission is the hardest thing you'll ever do. I never got it. It never made sense to me, no matter how many times people explained it. But that's because it's for reasons that are really hard to pinpoint and explain. Here's a few:

- We work all day every day to try to help people have the peace and joy of the gospel in their lives. We invite, invite, invite. And we know that the only way they can really feel and experience that is by acting, by trying out the things, by giving the commandments a chance to bless their lives. But it's up to them to do it. And then they don't. So the next day we go out and work ourselves silly trying to help them understand that and feel that and experience that all over again. And then they don't. Hahah so yes. I'm realizing more and more just what a gift Heavenly Father gave us when He gave us our free agency.

- Sometimes I just feel like a giant bucket. People just pour in their worries, their sorrows, their trials, their struggles, all of it. They empty their own bucket a little bit. And then by the end of our bucket, all those people later, we're feeling a teeny weeny bit heavy. A little full. But that's the beauty of the Atonement. Because it's the Atonement that empties our bucket. And truly it's the ATonement that can empty all of our "buckets".

The mission is tough. Life is tough. But we're tougher! Every day is full of happy blessings, spiritual highs and incredible moments of inspiration too.

Love forever! Praying for you always,

Soeur Evans