Happy Easter !

Hola Familia! 

To start, Im so thankful for the savior in my life and how he has been blessing me/us immesnsely out here in Riberas (northernmost part of the city of Chihuahua). Here, they have the "Santa Semana" (holy week), where they recognize the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and so all the schools have 2 weeks off to celebrate what we know as Easter-sure wish Alpine School District did the same haha...but with all sincerity, I know that the Savior lives, that he loves us, and that because of His atonement, we can be cleansed from sin and return back to the presence of our Heavenly Father, and live with him and our families for eternity. That is why we have the Gospel and the church-to help us accomplish that. 

Thats just the basis of what we explain to people when we tell them who we are, introducing ourselves as missionaries, but more importantly who they are and who they can become. with that said, We had a great week and we ended up contacting 20 people in the streets/bus/etc! lots of work to do here in this part of the Lord's vineyard. 

My health has improved a lot. We have been in this area for 3 weeks now, and practically the whole time i have had really bad allergies due to the air here. I had to rest 2 days, not in a row, but after 4 injections, 408 pesos worth of medicine, a visit to the hospital (dont freak out, its just the clinic part, but the doctors are better), and more medication, but most importantly a blessing from my companion, i feel back at 100% again and am ready to keep working.

Oh man, yesterday Elder Womack and I had quite the experience. Not sure if i have mentioned this family before, but his name is Josue and his wife is Alexi. we have been to their house 4 or 5 times since we started the teaching, but we havent quite progressed like we thought we would. why?-because we want to focus on his needs and doubts. They are both "Adventistas", or members of the church "septimo Dia", which means seventh day. the root of their religion is based on the 4th commandment. "remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy". so we have been stuck for a while on what day the sabbath day really is. After showing him a few places in the bible that the apostles "broke Bread" on the first day of the week, he just didnt believe us. We have explained to him the book of mormon, and he basically accepts everything, up to a certain point. 

We know that God is the same yesterday,today, and forever, and as a missionary I bear testimony of that. So he doesnt change, and neither does his love for us. but what can change is the instruction he gives us. The children of Israel were not obeying the law they had, so God gave them a new law. Through his Prophet Moses, he gave them the 10 commandments, along with a very strict law for them to follow, known as the "Law of Moses". part of that law was to worship on saturday, and in due time, the Jewish Christians began to worship it more than the Lord himself. We know that Christ came to the earth, and in my studies i read that basically the law of moses was preparatory anyway to that 1st coming of Christ, so when he came he established His Law, His church, and His gospel. 

with all of that knowledge, we tried our best to help Josue, but he still hasnt really accepted it, but we know its because he hasnt read in the book of mormon. we got home last night after this particular visit, and at first we were a little frustrated, but i realized something, and this is my favorite part of the experience: that no matter what, noone can deny your testimony. I was strengthened because after this lesson, it made me want to teach better, be better, and it just strengthened the testimony i already had. Elder womack explained it like a fish trying to swim through a current: that constantly, there will be "forces" (the water) trying to push us backward, but we can keep "swimming" (enduring to the end, staying faithful) through the current. also, we cant stop swimming, cause if we do, we will just get puched back by the water. 

I know that what we are teaching is true, and Im grateful for everyone who has helped me gain this testimony of these things that i know to be true. I love you all and I hope everyone has a good week this week! 

Love, 

Jason 

-- 

**Elder Newman**