Week #17 Oh How Great Will Be Your Joy

Hey everyone! It is great to hear from all of you. Glad to hear that everything went well with Grandpa Nielsen's funeral. I will miss him but I am sure he is so happy to be with Grandma. It is kind of weird to think that today is Halloween. It does not feel like it at all. Chile does celebrate Halloween. I actually had to buy candy today to give to the kids of our neighbors. I will let you know what else happens today when I write next week.

First off, Daniela was baptized!!! YEAH! It was such a good baptism. It was kind of stressful getting everything ready and prepared especially because we had the baptism at 9.a.m on Sunday so Elder Nava and  I were both really tired when it was all finished. Elder Nava baptized Daniela and I did the confirmation...in Spanish. It actually went really well. It was crazy how powerful the Spirit was in giving me the words that I needed to say. I was also able to speak clearly and confidently. All in all, it was a very good Sunday. 

Spanish....well my Spnaish depends on the day. I have learned so much about how our perspective and preparaton from the very start can affect the rest of our day. When I do not think positively about my Spanish or do not do my preparation in the morning as well as I could have, I struggle. Even when I do prepare I still struggle from time to time but often a lot of it is preventable. My needs in Spnaish are constantly changing as well. Sometimes it is trying to understand the Chileans because they speak so fast. Other time it is me trying to speak clearly so that they can understand me. It is tough but I am recognizing the blessings that learning Spanish is giving me now and the blessings and opportunties I will have in the future.

This week a lot of stuff happens. On Saturday I will have 4 months in the mission it does not feel like I have been here 4 months. Sometimes when I am in a bad mood I feel like the time is going by slow and that I will be here in Chile forever. But  these milestones are helping me reognize how time is running out. In January which is really not that far away I will have 6 months and that is 1/4 of my mission gone. And the more accostumed I become and the more responibilities I receive the faster time will fly.

I also finish my training at the end of this week. It is weird to think that I will be a regular missionary pretty soon but I am so excited. I have gone through the MTC and I have been trained very well by Elder Nava. Now it is game time.

 There will be transfers next Monday and I honestly do not know what is going to happen. It is posssible that Elder Nava goes but it is just as possible that he stays one more transfer. It is really up in the air. My only thought about it at this point is that whatever happens on Monday is what the Lord's will for me and that is what I will do. 

Love you all, 

Elder Evans