Week #21 The Bible

December 05, 2017

Week #21 The Bible

Note from mom: It seems Mason may have used a few German words in his letter this week. I didn't change them but rather gave you the translation.

tausch: exchange

vorbei: past

Hi Family and Friends!

This week was very interesting. It started to snow and it really feels like winter. Which is weird because I left in the summer time. The last 4-5 months have flown so fast and it was the same with this week. Let's just get started.

Wednesdsy we were on tausch with Ellwangen. I want with Elder McMurtrey. He has been on the mission for awhile now and he had a lot of good advice. One thing about missionary work in the winter is less active vorbei. They already had an interest; we just have to rekindle it.

Thursday we met with a new investigator named Kennedy. He is a really nice guy and I have been able to stay in contact with him over Facebook messenger. To be honest, news feed on Facebook is not effective right now but it will change and messenger helps with daily contact a lot.

Friday we were on tausch with Goppingen. We were able to see Sister Kasch again; she is such a sweet lady. Later in the day, we had appointments scheduled but they fell through. We did some vorbeis and tried to reach out to potentials. Winter is making the work a little slower but we keep working!

Saturday we were able to see Godwin again. I am convinced Godwin was one of the top reasons I came to Ulm. I came out to the mission on his birthday (July 11th) and we both came to Germany about a day apart. He is asking a lot more questions and showing more trust. He is getting the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday and he has a lot in store for him.

Sunday was Fast Sunday and the first Advent! We spent Sundsy evening with the Lackners singing German Christmas songs and talking a lot about the gospel. They are solid members and love to serve us.

Monday was fun. We watched the First Presidency Christmss devotional and went on a long vorbei. It took us an hour and a half to get out there and sadly they were not home. It is okay though. Two members asked about them and sometimes we can only control so much. Sometimes I think the Savior comes such a long ways, does soo much to help us only to find us not spiritually present. A lot of these vorbeis has helped me understood how the Savior feels when he stands at the door and knocks but no one answers. Likewise, I felt the same kind of joy He must feel when we answer and follow him. It is two different kind of feelings but both have helped me understand my Savior even more.

Today was awesome. We took care of groceries and cleaning before heading up to Geislingen. We met with the Goppingen Elders and had lunch. We then went on a long hike in the hills and even saw a castle! It was awesome! It took a lot of P Day but it was so much fun. Before the Goppingen Elders showed up in Geislingen, we were hanging out in a book store and I found the Luther translation of the Bible. It was only 15 euros with a nice cover and it has a lot of cool pictures too. It was a sweet deal and another book to add to my collection :)

Speakng of the Bible, I took up a project recently to read the Bible all the way through. It struck me one day that I was telling so many people I believe strongly on the Bible but I have never really read it all the way through. I had done the seminary assignments but never really took the time to build my testimony on the Bible. After reading all the way through, I truly can say it is the Word of God but I can also say that the Bible would not be enough without the Book of Mormon. Both of them work together to testify of Jesus Christ. We need the Bible in order to prove that we connect back to Christ's original church, that we need prophets, and that a restoration was required. We also need the Book of Mormon to clarify, expound, and inspire. Together both of these books give us a better understanding of God and His Plan for us. How grateful I am for scripture!

Well, that is all for this week. A mission, to be honest, is hard and can be very stretching but I would not go without it. I am grateful for what my Savior has done for me and what He is doing with me. I love this work, I love this Gospel, and I love my Savior, whose work I am doing.

Love you all so much!

Elder Evans

Q&A for Mom

1. Maultauschen is my favorite German meal. We had it once for zone conference and we make the basic one from the store. It is kind of like ravoli in a way, I guess. It is a noodle stuffed with meat or vegetables or both. You can cook it with sauce, peppers, eggs, or just fry it.

2.The most interesting thing I have ate lately was a casserole that I thought was mac and cheese. It ended up being being stuffed with cauliflower and a little bit of cheese. The noodles were also not all the way cooked. It may have been with a member...;)

3. Right now we are trying to do a lot of retention work. Less people are stopping during finding because it is so cold and if you are outside, you are trying to get somewhere. We are trying to get in contact with more people and bring them back. Still working on making the list longer but there are plenty of people.

4. Favorite P Day activity would be going to the Mercedes Benz museum. It has a lot of cool exhibits and we got good food afterwards.

5. Something good that happened last week was a member who recently moved out came back to visit. She went to Switzerland for her masters degree. Anyway, she has always been really nice and before she went back, she left us a note saying how grateful she was for our service and how she felt the Spirit around us. I will send you a picture of the note. It was just nice to know that someone from our branch appreciated our service. I should say that the branch has always been grateful but it is always a nice experience to get a thank you.