My Mission Just Got Wild.

The District-- transfers to remote areas

Bonjourrrrr and BRACE YOURSELVES.

Last Friday we got transfer calls. And I am leaving Paita. So is Soeur Gunn. Where might we be going? To the NORTH. Ok, I realize the rest of the world does not understand mission lingo, so I will try to fill you in on what exactly that means.

Delicious Roasted Bananas... MMMMMMm

The DUO

Me and Soeur Gunn both got transferred to Bourail. The last time there were missionaries there was 4ish years ago. And we are the first sisters to ever be sent farther north than Paita. 

Bourail is the branch for the whole north of New Caledonia above Boulouparis. Aka, before, I was in the Tontouta ward with Tontouta elders and us in Paita. After that, if you go any further north, there's just the Bourail branch. Which means that the branch is spread out all over the north half of the island. We don't really know that much, but we've heard there's 10-15 active members, 2 of which live in Bourail. Hahahaha unreal. 

Also we will be a walking secteur. 

WE ARE FREAKING OUT A LITTLE BIT. But in all the best ways!!!! 

That all being said, we're not sure when or if we will have internet. We'll go up next Tuesday or Wednesday we think, so hopefully we'll get to email next week. But after that we literally have no idea if we'll get to send emails. The Lord will watch over us, so don't worry about us if you don't hear from us. 

Mango season has arrived.. Breakfast of Cake & Mangoes-- Living the Dream.

Evening Planning Prayer with Baguette.  We love Baguettes.

Yep, that's pretty much been the central focus of our minds for ooooohhh the past week or so hahahah. Can't really focus on anything else. We are so happy to be going up together,
because me and Soeur Gunn I swear are the same person just 6-months-on-mission apart. Aka we have the same goals and drive and work ethic and everything and can't wait to work ourselves silly up there. 

Other highlights of the week:

-Ate my first New Caledonia mangos!!! Everything I've been dreaming of for the past 10 months. It's finally mango season at long long last.

Had a ward activity watching "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration" and it was just absolutely wonderful. That film is incredible and makes me teary every time. It is the truth. Some of our amis and less actives came too and all left saying how touched they were. By the mouth of many witnesses.

-Got served some cinnamon tea yesterday. She literally took cinnamon leaves and boiled them and then gave it to us, but it was deeeelightful! So yummy. 

Good Bye Paita.. It's been delightful making your acquaintance.

-Been experiencing some heartbreak over some amis this week. It just KILLS me seeing people come so stinking close to fulling accepting the light of Christ and the joy of His gospel in their lives and then turning their backs to it. I can't even comprehend it. I learn a little better everyday how the Lord and our Heavenly Father must feel watching us make mistakes over and over. Watching us be disobedient. He literally gave us the RULES OF HAPPINESS. So simple. And over and over we DON'T DO THEM. Why do we do that??? Well, all I can say is God is so incredibly loving to give us a million second tries and  to love us despite all the disappointment and heartbreak we cause Him. 

-Found out Paita is being turned into an Elders secteur. That will be different. 

Basically this was the most wild transfer call of all time. He sent us up North. He opened up another part up north. And He OPENED UP THE ISLANDS. There are two native sisters in Mare, elders in Ouvea and elders in Lifou now. WILD. This mission is progressing and expanding faster than I ever imagined it would . What a blessing to be a part of all of this progress and growth and hastening of the work. 

Be good by good people! Give God something to smile about this week. Multiple things to smile about. Hope you feel my love radiating across the oceans because I'm sending it as strong as I can :)

Much loves,

Soeur Evans 

French Keyboard and Conference

saaluuuutttt!!!!

ok. just a little discloser or whatever that english word is ahahah. This keyboard is french and for time's sake i'm gonna type like its english. so: q is a, z is w, and , is m. and : is a period: ok here i go::::

zqqqqhooooo ze hqd qn AWESOME WEEEEEKKKKK!!!!! (McKay's Mom has  tried to make it easier to read)

We got to have Zone Conference with President and Sister Brewer and it was just divine: They are such inspired; incredible servants of the Lord and it is truly an honor and a blessing each time we're with them, We love them so much, and oh ,my goodness , her stories are unreal: Their lives are out of this world: You want  to hear some crazy stories; talk to the mission president of this mission with 3 countries; tens of islands; at . least 7 languages and living conditions from  shacks and chickens to fancy French city::::such as  Noumea: haaahhahh unreal: 

We had an ami and his friend come to General Conference!!!! Quelle miracle! What a beautiful thing to know they were hearing the Prophet and Apostles' direct counsel and words: Can't go wrong with that :)

Taught the Word of Wisdom, to our 72 year old sweetie ami: At the end she just goes "before I didn't know about this: Now I do: So I guess that, means  I'll stop drinking tea and coffee and alcohol" Mind you that she drinks coffee once a month; tea once a week and a beer once every "5 to 10 years" Well easiest Word  of Wisdom, lesson of all time: True humility: True obedience:

Had the most absurd dinner appointment: It was t with a French couple; who speaks some  English; us; and their Fijian friendswho speak some English: So all of us are together speaking English (none of us very well ,I might   add) and eating past: It was just one of those surreal ,moments  only on a  mission when I realize  I can speak another language: We even shared a  spiritual thought in English and afterwards  Soeur Gunn said I talked so funny: Hahahahah oops: Losing my  touch with the English language; pas grave ahahaha

sorry this email is so hard to read. hope you can decode it. I'm out of time now, but next time I'll  try to talk a little about conference because oooweeeee i was just eating it up! Our leaders are so very very inspired. I'll follow them happily! ( McKay's mom tried to decode it for you to make it easier)

Love you all to a million miles and back!

Soeur Evans

I Believe

Bonjour tout le monde!!!

Well there's a cute little boy waiting to use the computer so I'm gonna keep this brief. 

Paita has been doing GREAT lately. We've been finding finding finding and knoooocking (actually knocking!) doors up the whazzoooo and it's working! We've got some new amis that I"m so excited about. And we've been teaching more lessons than ever which feels so stinking good. 

Had an interesting lesson yesterday. We were talking to a woman and she proceeded to tell us all the flaws in her church and her religion because there are loads of things in the Bible that they don't do. We proceeded to testify of the truthfulness of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints and how we really truly follow the teachings in the Bible and the organization that Christ set up-apostles, quorom of the seventy. prophet, priesthood power and authority, preaching the good news, respecting our bodies. It was a powerful moment for me to realize how much I believe in these things. That our church is truly the same church that Christ established on the earth, with the same teachings and the same power and authority and the same blessings for living His teachings. 

Also let me just say that my testimony of keeping the commandments has skyrocketed on my mission. We see firsthand the pain of so many people that comes because of their disobedience to commandments. Really hard family situations for breaking the law of chastity. Crippling addiction. Satan and sin truly makes us a slave. It holds us captive. And oh how sweetly does obedience make us FREE. The commandments are NOT boundaries. They are God's secret to happiness. Why do we make it so hard and unpopular to follow God's secret to eternal and earthly happiness? You would think that was pretty straightforward. 

We had a inactive member talk to us about his situation. And he continued in pleading with us to repent immediately when we mess up. Begging us not to make the same mistakes he did. It hits so deep. How grateful I am to know that through the Atonement of Christ these people can find hope again. THAT gives me hope too. We can ALL come back to the pathway to eternal life. That's the gift of our Savior to us. 

We are beyond excited this week to listen to CONFERENCE GENERALE!!!! And ZONE CONFERENCE. Spiritual highs all around! 

Summer has finallyyyy arrived and I think this super white missionary is finally bronzing a little. Sweet praises. 

My new favorite pasttime is reading Gen Conf talks and the scriptures. And then having the most delightful insightful discussions about them after. It is seriously so good. 

I feel like so much of me has changed. The things I care about, the way I think, the way I react to things. I'm still me, but at the same time I'm not at all. Everyday I thank my Heavenly Father that He told me I needed to serve a mission. I had no idea how much I did. But man I needed this. 

I love you all to pieces!!!

We're so happy! 

Soeur Evans

Photos:  Typical breakfast, chocolate bread, chocolate/almond croissant with MILO 

Me doing my BOM Thing

My house--in Paita

Photos of New Caledonia...finally--This is my life.

Me & Soeur Gunn

Me and Soeur Pulsipher

This is how we go.. with our companions

Me & the Local Totem

My District

Traditional New Caledonia Meal with Root Vegetables

Me in my Manu outfit handmade just for me

The beautiful clear waters of New Caledonia

Porte a Porte Adventures and More Miracles

Well hello hello hello!!!!

Ok, this is gonna be a wee bit more brief than usual because fiiiiinally I sent pictures! 

Highlights of a spectacular week:

We've been really trying to find new amis this week. I realized something crazy the other day. Out of my whole mission, I've never found someone and then had them stick with it. The ones I've found have puttered out, and all of our other progressing investigators at this point were found about a year or more ago. So. That is definitely a need in our secteur. 

Well we found a whole new apartment complex neighborhood! And we're siked about it because instead of just yelling at their gate "BOOOOONNJOUUUUUURRRRR!!! NOUS SOMMES LES SOEURS MISSIONAIRES.....", we get to legitimately knock on their doors and share a testimony face to face in real person volume levels where the Spirit can actually testify too. Hurrah! 

We've been seeing some huge blessings too! The other day we were sitting at the pizza place waiting for our pizza when a woman walked in and goes "bonsoir les soeur missionaires!" Oh. So I'm racking my brains trying to see how I know this woman, when she continues to introduce herself as an inactive woman who lives in the booooonies of Paita next to the ocean in a neighborhood I've only been to once with Soeur Pulsipher. We never would have found her if she hadn't introduced herself. Just another friendly reminder from Heavenly Father that we're missionaries ALWAYS. You never know when someone is watching or observing or listening. Friendliness works wonders and miracles.

Had some delightful run-ins with people on porte a porte: man still wet from the shower answering his door in a towel, door slammed in our faces (first time on my mission, happy to say that. But usually we're not by people's doors either so that may be a factor), man in just his underwear yikes, and the classic, running through my head on rerun at this point, line, "deeeesoleeee! J'ai vraiiiiment pas le temps, je suis vraiiiiment desolee". Porte a porte is fun :) Always a new face and a new story and a new need behind every door, and we have the one-size fits all solution for all of them!

We were contacting the other day and having no success. Lot's of no's. Well about 40 houses later we were about out of time. We're walking back to our house and are a wee bit drained from talking to everyone and trying to help them see how much they need the Gospel in their lives. But we walk past a house with a family playing outside and a man in the yard. And I feel like we should go talk to them. Families here are extremely difficult to find. But so precious. So we start talking to them and long story short they are married, super faithful and really interested to learn more. MIRACLE. And the HUSBAND is interested which is seriously like almost unheard of here. It was so so happy walking away from their home. 

Alrighty loads more fun stories, but not loads more time. Suffice it to say the Lord's hand is 100% in HIS work. If you're doing His will and His work, He will give you His help, and there's no better help out there. Definitely feeling blessed this week. 

Love you alls! Hope the photos work so you can see a little bit of what my life is like enfin.

loooove,

Soeur Evans

Smoke Truck and Miracles Encore

Well boooonjouuuuur tout le monde!!!

Favorite french phrases that slip out whether I'm speaking english or french:
"ca vaaaaa??"
"pas grave" aka no worries, no problemo, don't even worry about it
"bonjour les soeurs/bonjour les filles/bonjour les enfants" Basically
anything "bonjour les..." just warms my soul
" voila quoi" still not sure entirely what it means but our Ward
Mission Leader says it all the time and I just think it's hilarious so
we always throw that into awkward pauses or ends of stories.


MIRACLES. ARE. REAL. PERSONAL. REVELATION. IS REAL. We set ANOTHER
baptismal date!!! Background. This is with an amie who has a lot of
things in her life that need changing. She wants to be baptized so
bad, but has always said its a "long path' for her to arrive at the
gateway to eternal life. Well. Me and Soeur Gunn decided once again
that what she needed was a goal. A goal with her and the Savior
working together to attain it. We decided she needed to set a date.

In my head I was all, "ok, even if it's for July or October of next
year, pas grave, it's still a date"! Well we both took a moment,
prayed, pondered, counted to three and said the month. FEBRUARY. No
way. We had both felt really nervous about saying it out loud, and
both of us had looks of total skepticism like "really???is that really
what He's telling us??" But then we BOTH said it! Wowwww!! Then during
the lesson, the Spirit was crazy strong the whole time. At the end,
Soeur Gunn proposed the date and she said yes without the slightest
hesitation. Oh my the joy was so deep. Is so deep. I've been with this
amie since almost the beginning and to get to be there when she
finally fixed the date of when she's going to make this promise with
the Lord is just too good to describe. God is so good.

Another amie came to church!! She came with her older handicapped son.
We sat outside so that he could play with his cards, but all
throughout church she kept tapping her chest and saying "ca fait du
bien d'etre ici, ca fait du bien". She was close to tears. Every
lesson with her, she's glowing the second we walk in. And by the time
we walk out she's literally dancing and bouncing around with joy. When
she feels the Spirit she says her body feels "fresh". I love that. The
gospel makes us feel like new again. She's 72 by the way.

Soeur Gunn loves bread and says so, so everytime we leave a house
we're holding a baguette. Pretty much. People are givers here.

My current district leader is a Tahitian who trained to be a baker for
6 months in France. He already made us chocolate mousse that was to
die for. And next week he's making us bread from scratch. Elite,
french trained, boulagerie bread.

I've been in the same secteur my whole mission so far (my whole
mission in NC that is), but my love for these people just runs deeper
and deeper. And sometimes it's a love that's just there. Maybe it is
still a little awkward when we're not talking about the gospel. But I
still feel this pure joy being with them and just want to radiate the
love I feel for them onto them cause I know it's straight from our
Heavenly Father.

Have the best new porte-a-porte method! Thanks to Soeur Gunn and her
American mission experience. We just offer to say a prayer with
people. Right off the bat. It works! It's really sweet getting to pray
for strangers.

It's getting hotter and hotter here as the summer approaches.
With that the mosquitoes are out in full force and ooooweeee they love
our white skin.

They have this mosquito smoke truck here. It drives up and down the
streets spewing and i mean SPEWING a toxic smoke out the back end out
of this giant torpedo thingy. It's a smoke that kills the mosquitos.
That's how they fight the dengue here. Hahah kill the mosquitos...that
smoke could kill everything hahaha note to all do not breathe it in.

The stars are brighter and brighter. We can see the milky way by our
house. It's divine in every sense of the word.

Off to go preach some more of the good word! Love you my good sweet
lovely people! When the world gets you down, look UP! Christ can
always pick you back up.

Love,
Soeur Evans

Motherhood

Bonjour ma grande!!

Hahah words of an ami to be. Aka "hello my tall one!!!" It's the
little things like that that all add up to happiness.

Wowza motherhood is an experience. God is hilarious. I really was
pretty convinced He would send me my complete opposite to train.
Someone who's brain works in a different way than me. But ooooh nope
He basically sent me my baby self to train. Hahah it's unreal. Soeur
Gunn is great and such a hard worker. She's already a superb
missionary. She is going places. (shout out to Soeur Gunn's mom, you
did good!)
It's been a huge blessing for me to hear all of her opinions of things
and to reflect on the ways I've changed in the past 6 months. Because
she keeps reminding me of things I thought initially and things that
are hard and things that are new and goals, etc etc. And it is exactly
the thoughts I had in the beginning. And now I can see so much clearer
just how much the Lord has changed me, or tweaked me. How much I've
changed by applying the Gospel of Jesus Christ. By loving these people
and this culture and this country. By feasting on the words of Christ.
Of course, I've got my specific rough patches that needed and still
need sanding, but I'm so grateful that I've gotten to see a little bit
more the hand of the Lord on my heart.

We set a baptismal date last week!!!!! FIRST ONE!!!!! Oh my goodness I
am so excited for our ami! I know that if he really turns to the Lord
he can totally be ready by then. Miracle of that. We went into that
lesson with a date in mind that we were going to invite him to aim for
if the Spirit so prompted. Well we get to halfway through the lesson
and he tells us the date that he wants to keep the Word of Wisdom by.
And then casually says, "yes, so of course that will be my date de
bapteme aussi"....SAME EXACT DATE. He picked the same date that we
did! MIIIIRACLE!!! God wants him to be ready by then and so do weeeee
:))))

I now drive a fancy new automatic Toyota Yaris. Which is not important
except for the fact that I JUST got used to stick shift so now my left
foot and right hand are bored out of their minds when I drive. The
first few days I keep trying to shift and hit the clutch only to hit
air and well that was interesting.

Tontouta blessedly received it's Elders once again. So that is no
longer under our duty list and those people will get much more
attention, as they very much so deserve.

Had a deeeeelightful last week with Soeur Pulsipher. And can't
remember any of it because transfers happened and it feels like a
millenium since last Thursday with all the new changes.

It's turning into summer! Which means sweating like crazy, getting
eaten ALIVE and almost lychee and mango season!!!

Tried our first lychees. Texture of a jellyfish. Aftertaste of garlic.
Overall not my favorite flavor experience but not too shabby and
there's loooots more of those to come :)

Still loving Paita and learning gobs.

All my loving!
Soeur Evans​Soeur Pulsipher with Soeur Evans

District Meeting with Soeur Evans