Sister Lindsay Ray Evans: Milestones

Aloha everyone!!

So last week on the 10th of March I hit my 9 months mark on my mission. That means I am half way!! I can't believe it! I am so thankful for the time that I have had here. I have learned more than I ever thought I would. I have grown more that I ever thought I could in 9 months. Someone once said you leave on a mission to pay back the great debt you owe to God for the blessings he has provided you. Then, you come back in greater debt to Him. It's true. I am so thankful for all that He has done for me. He knows me so well.

ALSO, on Friday I will be 20 years old! Honestly, it is so weird... But I can't tell you how thankful I am that I despite my imperfections through the years, I did all that I could. And all that I could do was choose to follow Jesus Christ. I haven't been perfect in my efforts, but every time I turn to Him I find new life. [https://www.mormon.org/easter] Along with all those in the video, I can genuinely say #Hallelujah (meaning "praise ye the Lord").

So being a Coordinating Sister for the Visitors' Center has been super busy. What do we do? We create the shift schedule for the Sisters. We figure out who of the 25 Sisters can use the 7 computers when. We drive people last minute. We answer questions. If any of you have been on a mission it is as busy as being an Assistant to the President. The only difference is that we assist a director. Being we [Sister Penales and I] are CSs we had the opportunity to attend a Mission Leader Conference with the Mission President, APs, Zone Leaders, and Sister Training Leaders. We learned all about asking inspired questions and got to roleplay with some awesome missionaries in another zone. I am glad we got to learn so much. That was yesterday which is why I am emailing today. It is also why Sister Penales and I took an hour long nap after shopping for groceries today.

My miracle of the week is that I was back on the computers working when I felt that I needed to go out to the VC and greet the guest who just came in from the Laie Tram Tour. All I had to do was walk to a certain area when one lady stopped me and started asking me questions. Then another joined her to listen. The first one left eventually, but the other was very interested. She left her information for me to stay in contact with her. It surprised me how simple it was. Follow a prompting and you will bless the life of another or perhaps your own life. I love the simple daily miracles.

Life here is wonderful. It usually is. Even the hard days are something that I feel blessed to be a part of. Let me just say that I really love being a Visitors' Center Sister too. There is so much going on in the church with the Easter Initiative and online work in general. I feel like I am on the front lines trying the new systems and helping to work out the bugs. Did you know 30% of baptisms in the church first heard about it in a Visitors' Center? Pretty amazing right? Not to mention that we get to work and teach on temple grounds. I am so thankful for these blessings. I am also so thankful for the crucial role that the non-VC missionaries play in this work. We honestly could not do anything without them.

The work is God's work. I am learning not to get in the way. I feel grateful to be a tool in His prefect hands. Please watch the Easter Initiative. Find new life! Help others find new life!

Have an amazing week!

Sister Lindsay Evans

Photo 1 - Getting ready for Mission Leader Conference.