Arrived!

I am no longer within the air conditioned, deliciously catered, closely supervised walls of the MTC!

NO WAY:

There were many instances where, before I had to do something, I thought to myself, NO WAY, Such as...

As I stood in our aparment bathroom. quaking a little bit, staring at a bucket full of water that I needed to pour on myself. Turns out, bucket showering is actually awesome! Much like missionary work, it just feels right as you are doing it,

As I sat staring at a plate of rice-like attieke, with a full on fish with it's eyeballs still in it on top of the attieke, being told I need to use my hands to squeeze the rice-like attieke and fish flesh into a ball with my hands and eat it, I love the food here, and oftentimes in our apartment, between 6 elders, we eat with our hands from a communal dish. I love the food here.

I washed my clothes by hand for the first time! Just like how the dinosaurs did when they roamed the earth. And wore t-shirts.

OTHER QUICK HIGHLIGHTS

Went to the beach today!

Eating a lot of rice!

Walking in the streets, and little kids crying out 'le blanc!' (white guy!)

(((I have been tying this email at about 15 words per minute, This keyboard has about 10 of the letters and symbols switched, and oftentimes, what a key says it will type is not what it will type. So I have tried to be effective with relatively few words)))

I will close by saying that my first couple days have contained all the extremes of all the emotions. Yes, I have had hungry and tired moments, culture shock moments, moments of feeling inadequate, a lot of unique and crazy experiences. But I also feel that sticking it out for this harder, earlier period is going to tremendously make me a better person. This is just the crazy beginning. I can make it, 10 minutes at a time.

I have felt the Spirit as I have tried to bear ,y testimony in my humble French, Like bucket showering, I have been impressed with the overwhelming feeling that what I am doing is right, and true,

I love you all. As does Heavenly Father. He will never ask us to do anything we cannot do. He gives us our experiences to shape us into the people He needs us to be.

Love you.

Elder Evans