Natalie December 29, 2014

 A new year has come!.. Almost :)

I am excited to start another year! I can't believe how fast time goes and that exactly a year ago from last Saturday, I submitted my papers to serve a mission. A lot has happened in this last year- mistakes were made, difficulties were experienced, many friends were made, and many laughs were shared. But what I love most is that at the end of it all, the only way to live is the Gospel. I can't live without it. Without knowledge of my Heavenly Father or a belief that Jesus Christ is my Savior, life is meaningless and pointless. At this time of year, I love that it is a time of utmost reflection. 

Reflection and admiration of what we can do better to improve our habits and acheive our goals. Reflection of who we are and who we want to be and can become. I don't know about you, but this next year, I am going to work my hardest until I have no energy left but even then I keep going because I have the strength of the Lord with me. Like my Mission President! I am always in admiration of how strong he and Hermana Kirkham his wife are. I sometimes think to myself, how can they keep going and going hardly thinking of themselves and giving this mission their all? I am working on that, and really learning how to put my trust in the Lord. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed the season. May we never forget that we can keep this Spirit alive with us always. It's not easy but it's possible to really put ourselves out of the focus and be there for someone else with love and the most desired attribute of Christ: Charity. Charity which is the pure love of Christ. Moroni 7:41-48

This last week I have been noticing more and more why Hermana Gijon is my companion. I am so grateful that yes, she is very sweet and loving and her testimony is amazing. We are getting along great. True at times I am noticing how we might but heads or disagree but the beauty of a companionship that I love is that we can learn how to adhere to each others needs and serve each other. I thank you for the constant encouragement because that is one of the keys I have been learning-- we just need to keep going, keep moving forward. Thank you so much for who you are and for in some way, caring and being there for me. Talk to you next year! ;)

Hermana Newman

Enjoy the photos!

Jason December 29, 2014

 ...and a happy "almost" new year!!

hello everyone!

hope everyone had a great christmas! i sure did! it was so great to be able to talk to my family and spend time with the missionaries here, as well as the citizens of Cuauhtémoc. I am so grateful for the birth of My Savior, Jesus Christ, and for the love and affection he had for every single person he came in contact with, as well as the love he has for us today. I know that he lives and loves us, and that if we draw nearer to him, obeying his commandments and living his góspel, we have the assurance that we will be ableto live in the Kingdom of our Heavenly Father, and we will be co-inheriters of that kingdom with Christ.

it snowed here a few days ago!!!!! now i can check that one off the mission bucket list :) its been really cold here lately, though. its cause the city that we are in is a lot closer to the mountains.

I am still learning soo much in regards to being a leader. Leadership is pretty hard, because you are constantly reevaluating yourself, and just wondering what to do first out of so many things to do in  a day! but i am loving it because its even more of a way i am able to prove to Heavenly Father that I am worthy of his priesthood power and authority, and I am able top help so many people with it along the way. i am getting the hang of it, but it is still kinda tough. but its like my aunt teresa said: Newmans can do hard things!!

We have a lot of investigators, and many to contact, so this week we will mainly be focusing on "filtering our pool" of investigators, meaning really focusing in on the ones who are going to progress so that we are using our time adequately. I invite all of us to just evaluate what we are doing in our daily routines and "filtering" the things that arent necessary, out of our lives, and making the more important things more of a priority. examples of priorities that Disciples of Crist have are Families, Personal prayer and scripture study, service, and obedience.

Elder Johnson is doing great. he is getting better at spanish little by little, but as we have decided to wake up at 6 everyday to study the language more, i know he will get it and we will be able to teach better.

lots of good things are ahead, and though its gettin mighty cold here in cuauhtemoc, we are loving the mission and serving with all our heart, might, mind, and strength. I pray that we can all recognize the powerful hand that God plays in our lives, wether we are members of his church or not. Heavenly Father will always love all of his children, but may we all have that same love for him by following the Perfect example of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I am definitely ready for a new year, faced with new adventures, friends, fun, family, trials, challenges, and moments of triumph. I love you all and hope you all had a wonderful christmas, as well as a happy new year!!

Love,

jason

*Elder Newman*

Misión

November 2013 - 2015

Alma 26:12

Jason and Natalie

Christmas Skype 2014.  Hello from Mexico!

Natalie and Jason wish everyone a Merry Christmas.  It's cold for Jason but Natalie was walking down the street last night in 75° weather with her companion eating ice cream that a kind old man bought for them.  

Jason December 22, 2014

 merry almost-christmas everyone!

CHRISTMAS TIME!!!! i love you all!

how is everyone doing? I am doing a lot better than my first week in this area. As you all read last week, I got made a district Leader, trainer, and pretty much opening area, so it has been rouhg, but this week was a lot better. we had a bit more of success in finding new pwople to teach and contacted a ton, so this week we will be focusing more on contacting the contacts that we found, making them new investigators and hopefully a lot of baptismal dates. 

In terms of new investigators, we had one of the biggest miracles ive ever seen on my mission, and probably THE biggest for elder Johnson, since he doesnt have a ton of time. SO, we were coming home from a very busy day, full of work, and we got home a bit early. The Zone Leadewrs called, and when I told them that we got home a bit early, they told us to go back out and work. so, i said "all right, we will go back out and contact ne more person." and Elder TOlbert, ZL, is like "thats what im talkin about" haha. so, we went over to the owners of the apartments where we are living, and rang their doorbell. we were just a bit nervous, but what ended up happening was this lady came out, and we asked if she was the owner (weve never actually met them). She said no, rather she was a cousin of them living there. so, in sharing the gospel she then asks "so what are you guys doing here?" - IN ENGLISH!!! haha i was so happy for elder johnson so that he could understand. so we get talking and sharing more, gave her a restoration pamphlet and a book of mormon, and she had mentioned to us that she had been looking for a good church cause she just moved here, and that she not only loves to read and study, but she LOVES to pray. (ding ding ding--what every missionary wants to hear). Her name is imelda, and we are going to put a baptismal date with her this week. 

the other cool thing from this week was the mission christmas dinner. there was like 50 turkeys, 227 missionaries, and members of the stake/district presidencies. it was an all day event, and we had a lot of fun. It was good to see all my missionary friends and am just overall excited to see what the mission has in store for me and for all of us. my favorite part of this dinner was that there was a "candy bar", which were tables of candy/fruit, and chocolate fondue fountains. it was legit!! I am grateful i was/am able to spend this christmas season with friends here in the mission. 

well, my friends, as we all cant wait for it, it has finally come--CHristmas is in a few days!! may we all stay excited and grateful for not only what we have, but grateful for the circumstances we are in. I love you all and have the best christmas yet!! May the Lord bless you all in all of your endeavors this week. Feliz Navidad!

Love, 

Jason  

-- 

*Elder Newman*

Misión

November 2013 - 2015

Alma 26:12

Natalie December 15, 2014

Another week in the Work of Salvation... as my Mission President would say :)

Buenas noches to all :)

This week was kind of hard because hardly anyone could recieve us to teach them. So many people are a part of the Catholic church and they all have there novenas because of the Christmas season or in other words there nights where they recite prayers to the virgin Mary or Guadalupe. Eeek lol we have to remind them that we believe in the ten commandments and that we don't worship anyone or anything else other than God. But the most we can do is teach the doctrine and that Christ is the most important person this season. It's even harder when Jehovah's Witnesses tell us that we shouldn't celebrate the birth because His death was more important and because the bible doesn't say it was the 24th or 25th of December. 

I never imagined or more like I didn't even think about how Catholic it was here. I knew people were but wow there sure are many Catholics lol. That's why I am so grateful for this message that the church wants everyone to share: He is the Gift. 

Yes it is amazing what this message can do and is doing. It is so simple yet so powerful that Christ is our Savior and if we just accept Him and what he did, has done, and will do for us, we will be able to feel the power of the Atonement. This week we shared it with so many people but one I can remember so clearly, maybe because it was just Sunday but also because she truly was touched. I know she felt how I did when I first saw it. 

This less active member works every Sunday but I know that she felt the Spirit touch her heart. She had tears in her eyes as she told me that the Lord knows exactly what they need. She needed to be reminded that truly Christ has great meaning in her life. She was so grateful and said there is someone at her work who she knows she can share it with, she already was thinking of someone.I just loved seeing her feel the Spirit of the Lord work within her.

 Although this week wasn't the best as far as teaching many investigators and finding new ones, we were able to teach less active members and share this message, 'El es La Dadiva' with so many people! We are learning how to work together and I love Hermana Gijon. I know I will learn a great deal from her. She is a great example and I am so grateful that I can improve my Spanish even more.

 I know that it all starts with a desire and faith- that is probably the biggest lesson I'm learning that can be applied to anything. Because with a desire and faith, miracles can happen and we can be unstoppable. But we have to be the ones to make that decision, no one can make it for us. 

The work goes on and we must believe that Heavenly Father is there for us and that truly, Christ is our hope, the same hope and love and peace that came when Heavenly Father sent His son. My challenge to all of you is to this week, share this simple message 'He is the Gift' with at least two other people and remember to pray to have opportunities to do so. I promise you that with faith, sincerity in heart and the desire to do good, Heavenly Father will bless you the chance. 

He is the Gift

christmas.mormon.org

navidad.mormon.org

Love you all!

Hermana Newman

Jason December 15, 2014

Hello from Cuauhtemoc!

Family and friends, 

how is everyone? I hope everyone is staying excited and happy during this christmas season, for it truly is the best. I am so grateful for this chance to be able to spread the gospel in a formal way during christmas, and that I can let everyone know the real reason why we celebrate it: To celebrate the birth of Christ. 

So, as i mentioned briefly last week, on tuesday I had transfers. I had I am now in another city called Cuauhtemoc (coo-waww-teh-mukk). its a great city!! its pretty cold here, and some people have said it has snowed here already. woohoo!! there are 2 branches here, another branch in a little town like 20 minutes away, called Anahuac (uh-naa-wok), and the 2 branches in the Sierra are also part of our district. Its really exciting, because there are so many members willing to help us, so that together we may be able to see a skake here in Cuauhtemoc in april or so. Nevertheless, its been tough, because...(drumroll)... im kind of opening area. and training. and district leader. wow. no but its great! It has been the hardest week of my entire mission, but I know that If i continue to trust in the Lord, he will help me get through it. 

So with being a district leader, i have seen it ben done all through out my mission with my different district leaders, but its so much harder and can be stressful when youre actually doing it. it was confusing and veryhectic, because before i got here, the 2 zones were doing a ton of exchanges and the trainees werent being trained well, and it was just kind of a mess. but now that after the first week, i know my district better, I know my area, i know how to get to and froçm the chapel, and im starting to get to know a few members, its getting better. just keep me in your prayers, por favor. :) 

with opening area, its been a bit tough. although its a very small area, its tough because my companion only has 6 weeks and in those 6 weeks he went with al kinds of elders in different areas, really not being able to work in our own. so we only have 13 investigators, none of which were able to come to church, and while we did have a quick baptismal service for 2 people, Janeth and cesar, it was just kind of weird because really Neither Elder Johnson nor I knew them. but we were happy to see them get baptized and confirmed, of the which are the most important. so we are doing everything we can to work in our area and find people, and this next week we will be focusing on visiting the members in our area, and asking them for references. 

and last but not least, Training. My new companion is Elder Johnson. He is AWESOME!!!! he is from orem too, and guess where he went to high school...nope, not orem- Mountain View. haha enemy territory!! (Orem and Mountain View are rival schools). no,  weve had a good laugh about it, and actually know a few of the same people. we have a lot in common, and though he has only 7 weeks in the field and doesnt know the language quite yet, he has a big heart and is willing to serve the Lord with It. I know it will be hard trying to focus on these 3 new responsibilities, but i know at the end of the day (literally), i do my best to focus on training and making sure he feels happy and comfortable all the time. Im excited, though, to see how things go this cycle. 

And last but not least, the MISSION CHRISTMAS PARTY!! its this saturday, and we are very excited. It is always fun to be with other missionaries. from the city where we are, it takes about an hour to travel by bus to get to Chihuahua. but its all good...one of these days ill get to go back to Chihuahua. i just love that city.  

if anything, i learned this week that to be a leader, one has to take initiative, and be a step ahead of things, not a step behing. actually, it was great, last night we had a meeting with all the leadership in the entire district (branch presidents, district presidency, missionaries in leadership, high council, etc.), and as you can imagine this entire week i have been praying and asking "What am i supposed to do as a district leader, Heavenly Father? How can i fulfill this duty?", and I think the Lord made me wait a week in order to get my answer. a brutal week, yet endured with patience, I then recieved an answer yesterday in this meeting. our district president said, with tears and bearing testimony "The purpose of a Leader is to motivate and to edidy". It hit me to the core, and after being touched by the sirit in that moment, I know that things will be better now, and hopefully not as stressful.

I hope everyone has a great week this week, and I love you all! Keep Serving the Lord, and he will serve you in return. Feliz Navidad!

love, 

Jason 

*Elder Newman*

Misión

November 2013 - 2015

Alma 26:12

Jason December 8, 2014 PS

i have transfers!

hey everyone, just to let everyone know, I have transfers. just recieved the call from our zone leaders, and tomorrow at 10 am i will be in the offices. exciting news next week! love you all!!

Jason 

-- 

*Elder Newman*

Misión

November 2013 - 2015

Alma 26:12

Jason December 8, 2014

Much Prayer and Fasting...

Hola, buen dia a todos! 

just as a heads up, tonight, we will be recieving "that" phone call from the leaders to let us know if we have transfers or not (transfers aretomorrow)

Man, this week was different. Great, and unforgettable, but just full of different adventures. First of all, on Monday, we had a Zone activity where we were able to play a little bit of Basketball/Soccer (only 2 on 2, mission rule :P ), as well as made some smores and scones and what not. then, we all watched the movie "Ephraims rescue". it was a great time, as we were able to all enjoy the spirit during the movie. elder Womack and I were on the same team for basketball. it was a lot of fun. 

then, all the way until thursday morning, we had exchanges, where Elder Perez went to saucillo and our District Leader, Elder Smith, came to work with me in Camargo. It was a LOT of fun as we were able to get to know eachother a bit better, and work really hard. He is from lehi, UT, and we are definitely going to spend time together after the mission. Normally, we only have exchanges for one day, but he stayed until we were able to interview Abril for Baptism. 

Abril is (was) an investigator that had come back to church after not going for a while, and had decided she wanted to get baptized saturday, and that she wanted her friend, Jesus (member) to do it. so we made her the first priority this week. it was a battle at times getting to teach her and interview her, but all worked out in the end, miraculously, thanks to much prayer and fasting. she was baptized at 8, and confirmed at 9 yesterday. we are just amazed day by day the many miracles that there are present in ouir lives, and especially here in the field of labor. I bear my witness that when we fast and pray properly and in the way that Christ established, the Heavens are opened, and we recieve help fron on High that is needed to overcome any and all of lifes challenges. We are firsthand witnesses of it as missonaries, not only because of this past week, but from the many miracles and experiences we have seen/will see over the course of these 2 years. 

We are more and more excited for CHRISTMAS!! the mission dinner, the skype call, the loads of contacting we are gonna be doing, the lights on the Houses (although here in Mexico there arent too many)--love it all! just be sure, everyone, to visit the website www.christmas.mormon.org, and to not only watch the video but share it with others! it is a wonderful time of year (the best there is, really), and when it comes to the Love and Light of Christ, it is available to and designed for all. 

may we all focus a bit more on the REAL reason we celebrate Christmas, which reason is to remember and be thankful for the birth of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ: The Son of God. I love you all very much, and thank you for your prayers and support! till next week! 

love, 

Jason

-- 

*Elder Newman*

Misión

November 2013 - 2015

Alma 26:12

Natalie December 8, 2014

Todavia en Cozumel!

Hi everyone! So first big piece of news I'm still in Cozumel!!! We had transfers but I'm still here only with a new companion! My traning is over and my new companion's name is Hermana Gijon (Hee-hone) It's kind of difficult her name but she is really sweet and is from la ciudad de Mexico! (Mexico City) President told me that she is to help me with my Spanish even more so that I can soon train. He said they have a lot of confidence in me but my Spanish still lacks. Of course it could always improve lol because right now I can get by but I want to excel and I'm excited that she will help me with that and that I can learn other things. I'm so glad that we have so many people we can learn something new from. It's a new adventure even though it's the same place. I'm so grateful that we can always improve and be even more diligent and exercise our faith even more. 

Have you seen the new video from the church He is the Gift? I absolutely love the video. When I watched it for the first time and even the second I was in tears. I think it was mainly because it made me think about how it was a gift from Christ to us, His atonement. Not only that He was a gift from Heavenly Father. I want to learn so much more about Him. I want to be able to share that with others that He is the one who matters. I am learning so much and I know that this change of companions will help me a lot. Hermana Andersen helped me so much but I am happy to have Hermana Gijon too because I know we can learn so much from different people as I previously mentioned. I know she will teach me much as well and I can't wait to work with her and continue to grow. 

I want to testify that prayers and the scriptures are powerful. The other day I had a specific question in mind and I wanted to pray first so that I could really find an answer in the scriptures. I was saying my prayer and imagined actually opening the scriptures and thinking what I would turn to. A certain book came to mind and afterwards numbers and then with these numbers in mind I opened to the scripture and used the reverse numbers to look at that scripture as well. I found one more reference with the numbers that were in my head so all in all, I found 3 scriptures that I had in my mind no doubt inspired by the spirit and when I applied them to me, it was exactly what I needed. The next day I did the same thing with a different question and again I received an answer. I couldn't believe that it was a 'coincidence' not only that it happened once but twice. 

I am so grateful for the inspiration we can receive and I know that it's only possible if we have the faith, and if we are worthy to recieve it. I hope you all have yet another great week!

Love from Cozumel,

Hermana Newman 

Natalie December 1, 2014

Hey! Happy Thanksgiving hope everyone had a great time! 

Just a few quick words I just want to say that I am learning the aspect of losing myself to find my true self. I remember the talk from Elder Bednar in the MTC about how if you go and do something with the intention of finding yourself you won't but if you serve and learn to love others then you'll find yourself in the process. I can't recall the words exactly but he said something of that idea. And just the other day I found a scripture in my personal study that says the exact same thing! I had no idea there was a scripture that mentions that concept. Maybe Elder Bednar uses it in his talk but I was so happy to have come across it. And actually I can't remember now where it is at the moment but I know it was in the bible! lol I'll go look for the reference in my journal later and give it next week.

 So even though I am doing better, I'm still adjusting and trying to strengthen my testimony every chance I get. But I know that the more we are trying to be EXACTLY obedient we are being blessed. I know that the feelings I get are coming from the Spirit always helping me to recognize not only from right and wrong but what is good, better and best. It's still a challenge everyday. I never realized that as missionaries we have to work even harder to always be diligent and doing the right thing because we have to search for the Spirit.

 I am grateful for my companion who listens to me and truly is there for me and very understanding. I am grateful for the Spirit we are feeling more and more. I am grateful for the feeling or rememberence to diligently wake up and start exercise. (We weren't good at that before as we are now) I am grateful for the Spirit to enlighten my mind with the words of Spanish I need to recall and say. I am grateful for the scriptures. I love finding verses that speak to me and bring joy or feel that 'delightness'. It makes me want to learn more and build up my strength so that I don't feel down or confused. Everyday I am learning and continuing to strive and never give up because I still feel like I lack a little bit of confidence including in myself but Thank you for your support and prayers and love. I sure can feel it!!

Until next week,

Hermana Newman :)

Jason December 1, 2014

Happy December, everyone!

This week was miraculous, as we had a baptismal service for 5 children of God! 4 of which were investigators (Andrea, Andres, Karen, and Pedro), and one was the daughter of a member (isabel). it was a good baptismal service, with cupcakes afterwards :) i am deeply humbled to see just how much the Lord has NOT forgotten us here in his city of Camargo, and as we keep finding and teaching, he truly manifests his power in the work. I love the Lord, and for all that he has helped us to accomplish, as well as all that we have become. My testimony of this was strengthened very much this past weekend, and I love how much we can change thanks to the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

Some of the new investigators that we found this past week are Abril, Basilio and Gloria, and Sylvia. more details about their situations next week. stay tuned :) 

CHRISTMAS!! For me, the entire month of december is Christmas. but, for me, as well as the world, this christmas is gonna be a bit different; a bit more special. As we all know, we celebrate christmas in memory of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. but is that really a part of our hearts and who we are? i too have been able to bbe humbled in recognizing and redrawing my attention to the knowledge that Jesus Christ IS the Savior of the world, and he Lives and Loves us. But, nothing that he did in his mortal life wouldnt have happened without the event of his humble birth. Wrapped in cloth and lying in a basket, the Savior came into the world to one day pay the ultimate price. Think about it: The most humble of births, and yet the most magnificent of miracles accomplished, all thanks to the Savior Jesus Christ. And to help us all remember this, the church is coming out with a few things to help motivate us this season to accept this gift (Christ), as well as SHARE it. attached to this email is the document we recieved as missionaries to let us know of all the things/promotions the church is doing to honor this sacred event of the birth of Christ. invite you all to read it. 

well, I love you all, and hope you have a great start to this month of December. Always here for each and every one of you!

love,

Jason 

-- 

*Elder Newman*

Misión

November 2013 - 2015

Alma 26:12