Week #11 Lessons

Guten Tag everyone! I am so glad I get to write you guys today. It has been a slower week but still a lot of miracles. 

Speaking of miracles, I got to share a quick story. On Thursday, we had a lesson scheduled with Godwin. We got to Hauptbahnhof(the main train station) and the only train to his home was canceled! We were going to teach him Plan of Salvation but now we had no way to get there. We sat down and tried to figure out what to do. I had downloaded an app that navigates you through the public transportation system. It was a random app I found that I thought that might be useful. I typed in our destination and we found a bus that was going to leave in three minutes but it would go to Godwin's town. We had to ride for an hour and it was a bumpy ride but we made it. Something Elder Bednar talks about in an MTC devotional is often we do not realize spiritual impressions until after the fact. That was kind of how I felt about the app. It is so small and insignificant but it saved our appointment and we had a wonderful lesson! The Lord is in this work.

Godwin, Elder Evans, Elder Kaufasui

Okay, a few things about the things here in Germany

1. The language itself- German is a weird language. It is kind of like English but at the same time, not. Prounication is probably the weirdest part for me. For example:

eu= oy    

z=ts  ä=ay     ie= e

v=f  ei= i

Just weird rules like that make no sense and are kind of hard to remember. There are so many rules about verbs, adjectives, and prepositions but at the same time, it is a lot of fun! Kind of like solving a puzzle. 

2. Plastic Bottles- Germans love to recycle so a service they have is to bring collections of plastic or glass bottles to the grocery store and turn it for money. 

3. Public Transportation- The truth is that we cover a lot of miles as missionaries but we are not walking a lot. Street trams, buses, and the trains are making it so easy to travel far and meet new people. It is expensive but the church takes care of it for us. 

This week, to be honest, was slow but it was a week full of valuable lessons. A couple of them I would like to focus on really quick. First, questions are totally perfect for learning the gospel but what matters is that we go to the right source. For example, we deal with a lot of people who have tons of questions. It's great. As a missionary, it is wonderful when people ask questions but it is discouraging when they first go to Google or Youtube instead of the scriptures or prayer. I understand why; I have googled questions before. But when it comes to asking questions pertaining to the gospel, we can't use Google. We have too many people falling away because they have become dependent on answers they see online than the answers that come from the Spirit. I just had to say that really quick because it has bothered me to see these wonderful people fall away. To my loved ones at home, please ask questions. Please look for the truth but use the tools God has given us to learn.

Second, one reason I needed to come on the mission was to meet and learn from people. I love the members here in my branch.They are few but so strong! It is hard to be a member in Germany and they have their struggles with work, health, and insecurities but they continue on with faithfully and with joy! I look up to a lot of these members and I have already learned so much from them. Even though it is hard to communicate, I can feel their love for the Savior by just watching how they live. 

One more lesson and then I will be done. (Sorry everyone, this is a really long email). The final lesson is a little long so I will just start with the story. I wanted to do something for my branch so I did a musical number.  I sang "There is a Green Hill Far Away" arranged by Marshall McDonald. The message is how powerful the Atonement is in our lives. The words in the last verse go something like this:

Oh, dearly, dearly, has he loved/And we must love him too/ And trust in His redeeming love/ And try His works to do

The Atonement has become a powerful thing on the mission. When I struggle getting up or trying to work, I remind myself how much the Savior has done for me and how much I want to give something in return. The best way we can utilize the Atonement in our lives is always recommitting ourselves to Christ. We move past mistakes, we move past fears, we move past doubts. We always redirect our lives to match the Perfect life and, even though we struggle, we show our love for Him by being like Him. 

Thanks everyone for your support and prayers! It has been a priviledge to get to know all of you and I am forever grateful for the wonderful people I have in my life. 

Sincerely, 

Elder Evans

The Donau River (This is the river that seperates Ulm and Neu-Ulm. 

It is also a physical border for  Bäden Württemberg and Bayern)

Clear blue skies in Stetten (A small town in my area)

This was a pizza with Döner meat and it was so good!!!