Natalie January 26, 2015

Changes, Sneezes, and Revelation

Hey everyone!!! How's it going? Well I just want you to know that my new companion Sister Lopez is doing great! Well at least a big difference in when she first came. She had a super hard time adjusting and I was really worried about her because she was so weak and didn't want to eat anything, she was sick to her stomach and I can only imagine how she felt so lost constantly. She misses her companion so much. I mean I can only imagine, she was with her for 4 months BUT as I said she is so much better. I think she is adjusting better.

 When we work she forgets about her family and her companion and all of that. When we work, she is just fine. When we are in our studies or at home she tends to focus on those things and it makes her a little down but she sure is tough. She is super special I love her. I have been so proud of her these last few days- mmm maybe Friday, Saturday and Sunday she has eaten all her food and she has more energy. We had bought her some nutrition powder stuff because she didn't want to eat but all is well :)

 Towards the beginning of last week we were walking casually in the street and through our conversation the Spirit informed me that I should teach her English but do so in a way with phrases. So we have been talking phrases and I know for sure it is the Spirit that prompts me with each one. These phrases have been.. My name is Sister Lopez and I can do hard things.. I believe miracles can happen.. I am a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.. I am a daughter of God.. I love her I am so happy I get to work with her because she is amazing and teaches really well and has the spirit of sweetheart. 

As for me, I have been having major allergies.. guhh. Sneezing all the time (even though I talk medicine and have eye drops) It's not fun but I think I would rather have sneezes than freezing weather! lol also as for me, I had personal revelation this week that was just amazing. I cant recall exactly what i was thinking or talking about before but perhaps I was thinking about what Hermana Lopez had said in our meeting on Thursday.. She said that we should have a vision for our mission and I forgot that I hadn't really had a specific vision. I later was thinking about why I havent had the privelage of a baptism in my area and what am I doing wrong or not doing or maybe its not me at all... All of this I was thinking and recieved confirmation that my vision needs to be that I will have at least one baptism in every area that I will serve my mission. I am so excited for this it felt so good thinking about that and Hermana Lopez simply said, bueno, ahora tiene su vision hay que trabajar. (Now that you know your vision, you just have to work). Many other experiences I have been having with the Spirit I know it's real. It's where all my good ideas come from! And altough the simple words can never suffice or express all of your love and prays, thank you! 

PS
Oh and also I forgot to explain the last photo... On New Year's Eve since we had to return home by 6 pm to avoid all the parties and alcohol, we made a pinata Gijon and I lol Just a fun thought so now I have learned how to make an authentic Mexican pinata! That's all, until next week!

Hermana Newman <3

Hermana Newman

Jason January 26, 2015

Jason sends his love to all.  This week he needed to write some personal letters so no group letter today.  He had to stay home in bed a couple of days this past week but is up and doing much better.  Sounds like his mission mom is taking good care of him by insisting he take care.  He did send a few pictures that I will attach.  The pictures are...."we went to a pizzería for a zone activity. best pizza i have ever had in my life!"

-- 

o until next week....

Natalie January 19, 2015

Cozumel is now my Home

Hey everyone! Sorry I didn't write last week. I went to Cancun for migration to get my green card because I'm illegal haha.

We had exchanges today and I am still here in Cozumel! Haha wow can you believe it? I have a new companion again. Her name is Hermana Lopez. I'm the Senior companion of the two of us but unless a missionary is training someone else, I don't like the senior, junior titles because our work is equal. We both came in the mission at the same time and she was with her companion for 4 months so its a little hard for her right now.

I will have to find out exactly why it is we're together. When President called me on Saturday to tell me who was going to be my companion, it was someone named Hermana Romero and she just finished her training. Yesterday I learned from the Sister Training Leader that it got changed to Hermana Lopez. I can't help but wonder why it changed and was it revelation to do so. I know President is a smart an definitely inspired man so now I just have to trust that everything worked out for the best. So far I know that she super misses her companion and she is a little timid but I can already see that she is super strong. She knows she has to keep going no matter what... Kind of like me. Maybe that's the first thing we have in common.. even though we both struggle we know we gotta stay tough and keep going. 

As we were walking to the ferry to pick them up I had the feeling that I need to give all my love to Hermana Lopez and that I need to not think of myself and really heed to her needs and make her feel welcome. And I hadn't even met her yet. Later I found out that, as I said, she misses her area a lot and her companion. Its hard for her but I told her Im going to do the best I can. I know that this is my first task and Im going to serve her as best I can! 

The mission is hard but I am learning so much and doing a lot of soul searching and really trying to discover the meaning of 'which way my tent is facing' as we learn about in Mosiah during King Benjamin's discourse. 

I just wanted to say that I know for a reason I am still here in Cozumel and I am growing not only to strengthen my testimony but help others along the way. I give a challenge this week to you all about sharing your favorite scripture with someone and sharing the gospel in this small way because as Nephi says, 'small things bring about great things'. 1 Nephi 16:29 Have a great week and hope you make every moment count! Our time is the most precous gift. 

Love from Cozumel,

Hermana Newman<3

Jason January 19, 2015

We brought a church to church!

Wow, what an improvement from the weeks ive been having!

i dont even know where to start, we saww so many miracles and blessings this week. um...ok, well, first, we had in general a good week, because we contacted a lot of people, placed a lot of baptismal dates, and found lots of new investigators. really amazing wqhat kind of things the Lord can do with you as his instrument. i am a lot happier now, and I know that it is only gonna get harder, but its like i once Heard somewhere before: dont ask Him "Why me?", rather tell Him "Try me."

we had 2 baptisms/confirmations! Mario and Inez!! it has been a bit interesting, because when they took the sisters out of our district 2 weeks ago, they left a ton of eople who were ready for baptism, so each companionship kind of got assigned one to go look for and keep on following up on. I had visited mario and Inez before, but it was cool how about a week ago they officially became "ours", and so we visited them a lot, and interviewed them, and they were baptized on saturday! now they can join with their daughter, perla (who got baptized a few weeks ago) in saying that they are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. so happy for them and am proud of them...they realy feel like family members to me.

we had a great activity last night in the plaza, where we met up with the members and contacted lots of people (lessons with member present ;) ). in preaching to various people, we were also able to direct their attention to the main feature of our activity: bible videos projected on a White sheet! haha we got pretty creative, but it turned out great! i dont know exactly how many contacts we got in total, but it felt/feels so good to just be at the point where we can contact anything we see that breathes and has legs, because the Lord has humbled us enough to be able to talk to everyone without fear.

...which leads me to the subject title of the email. this is for sure the bigest miracle of my mission.  It was the coolest! so we were pretty bummed to see that, once again, no investigators came to church. we even went for them in a taxi, but they werent there or werent able to come, or said they would come later but they didnt. so you could imagine the frustration and sorrow (and if you cant, just pretend. haha...any missionary can attest to this that when investigators dont come, its the worst feeling ever.) so, if we dont have any, the zone leaders have us go out and contact and literally "bring" people in the church. i am not particularly a fan, because those kind of contacts never seem to recieve follow-up and never get baptized. nevertheless, in obedience and desire to have at least one soul in the church, my companion walked over to a nearby park and we both prayed our hearts out. individualy, yet powerfully. we prayed and then kind of just waited. we tried bringing some nearby people, but they didnt want to come. so we went back to church. still with 0. towards the end of our services, we left and were on our way to our área to try bringing our investigators again, when before getting to the bus stop, in front of the hospital, i saw a man Reading the bible. I immediately said to myself (or rather the spirit prompted me to) "im gonna go read him the 4th commandment in exodus and invite him to church". so I did, and it ended up being 3 guys together. they were members of another cristian church, but no matter! we started talking to them and then they told us that they were there at the hospital to visit the sick, but werent gonna start for another hour or so. we asked them "howmany of you are there" and they said "well, quite a bit", and as they were talking to us, we started to see more and more come up to us. 4, 5, 6, 10, 15...20 people in total! they were all gathered in front of us, and the spirit was so strong as we invited them ALL to church for a half an hour, while they waited. and they al accepted, so we walked with all of them to church, and all 20 of them - men, women, and a fewkids - all entered into the church. they all live in the sierra (indigenous part of chihuahua), but temporarily are staying close by in another part near the city, cuauhtemoc. I want to talk to president to see if we can get a trip together or something to go visit them all.

Doctrine and Covenants 100: 5-8

5 Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men;

6 For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say.

7 But a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall declare whatsoever thing ye declare in my name, in solemnity of heart, in the spirit of meekness, in all things.

8 And I give unto you this promise, that inasmuch as ye do this the Holy Ghost shall be shed forth in bearing record unto all things whatsoever ye shall say.

I know that the Lord lives and loves us, as well as our Heavenly Father. He ANSWERS PRAYERS! We, in faith, asked for jsut one soul and he gave us 20. I know that if any of you are struggling with anything, just be patient. Having Patience means that you accept things the way they are, and wait for the Lord to fulfill the promises that he has made, but in HIS due time. We will of course continue to work hard, and try to have investigators in the chapel. I am having the time of my life, and am loving the mission. adiós!!

love,

Jason

-- 

*Elder Newman*

Misión

November 2013 - 2015

Alma 26:12

Natalie January 12, 2015

No letter from our Natalie but....

Natalie sends her love and hopes you are all well.  She is headed out on a quick road trip today to go to the mission home.  In fact when I asked her where she was traveling, she said " Oh. Yeah.. We are going tooooooo CHIHUHUA!!!! Haha no cierto... We are going to Cancun to get my 'green card' for migration lol "  for just a minute I was excited that she world maybe get to see Jason.  Lol. Such a kidder.  She says that next week there are exchanges so who knows maybe she will be headed somewhere else. 
She promised a letter next week so check back then. 

Jason January 12, 2015

2 nephi 31:20
Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

hey everyone!

well, another week of exchanges! yay...haha. glad to be back in my area, really. we are having a great time here on the mission, Elder Johnson and I, and it is fun to be able to help him progress in the gospel, as well as our investigators. we had a little bit of a tough week, but my favorite thing is that we now have a good base of where to start working, a pool of investigators, and lots of member support. especially from hermano gomes, a recent convert of about 3 months. holy cow, i love that guy. he is a recent convert, yet is willing to help us with anything and even leaves every morning to go out and contact people! there are lots of good things about the area we are in. 

one of my highlights this week was finally getting to go and visit our recent converts. they live pretty far away, and we dont get to go out there very much, but i am so grateful we took the opportunity when we dd to go see them on saturday night. their names are janeth and Cesar, and we had a great lesson on the Holy Ghost. we are going to return tonight and teach them about the temple. so excited! 

this week i am excited to stay in my area and actually be able to teach with elder johnson. we shouldnt be having too many exchanges, because it doesnt help in the long run, but i know that whatever we do if its with our eye single to the glory of god, he will bless us and help us accomplish that which he hath commanded us to do. 

I love you all and am going to do my best to find the good in everyday, and share a lot more next week. thank you and have a great week, everyone! 

love, 

jason  

-- 

*Elder Newman*

Misión

November 2013 - 2015

Alma 26:12
Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

Natalie January 5, 2015

 Happy New Year! 2015

This is my year. What a greater way to spend it than serving a mission for the Lord. I can't believe I can have one full complete year where it is all a about a mission! Granted the entire year and a half for which I am serving is dedicated to the Lord but those other 6 months are broken up into two different years. I love new beginnings and this time of year as I expressed in my last letter. We were in a taxi the other day talking to the driver and asked if he was excited for the new year. He told us no its the same because every day is like a new year we can start over. 

That made me think at first psh he's crazy lol but you know he is actually right. Everyday is like a new year. Everyday we wake up we can make those new decisions and live better, change something. I want to put out there the question to you, what would you change about tomorrow that you didn't like today? Or rather, what are you going to do differently tomorrow that will help you to reach your goals? There is a song in the Spanish hymnal that isn't in the English I dont know why but I really like it. (At least I couldn't find it) It's title is, Another Year Has Passed. 

In this song the message is just that- how can I be better? How can the Lord help me change?.. oh there is so much more I'll translate it this week and post it next week because it is my new favorite hymn. In other news,

I have been able to see the difference and feel it more when the Spirit is literally with us in every aspect of the work. But this we have to strive for I know. It is not just given freely. I am working on it, striving for it.. to be the best version of me. The best version that Heavenly Father knows I can be. It takes practice and patience though. I am learning just how much we need to always, always be on our toes and not only moving forward but pushing forward. Pushing and trudging along no matter what comes our way, including the influence and power of satan and all that he wants us to feel. 

I am recognizing more and more that if I want to learn the language I have to live it and follow the counsel of one of my teachers from the MTC.. he counseled us to sacrifice our language. For the first time, last night I had the desires to write in my journal in Spanish instead of English. This morning was the first time I had the same desire to study in Spanish PMG. Normally I would've studied it in English but I am so grateful I am learning more and more to put forth as much effort as possible to learn new words and messages so that the Spirit can speak through me to the hearts of the people. 

I hope all of you are doing well and take this little message of courage for a great week! I am so grateful for your support and love.

Love from Cozumel,

Hermana Newman<3

I

Jason January 5, 2015

Happy New year everyone!!!

2015 - woohoo!!

WHat a great year! this year, I am grateful for the opportunity I had to be able to Preach the gospel to so many people, and really just give my whole self to the church and to the Lord. 

it is stinking cold here!! Cuauhtemoc is up in the mountains, and on new years day, it was so so cold, coupled with really high winds, and rain/light snow!! no worries though, we are toughing it out. 

We had a Baptism/confirmation this week!! it was literally by pure miracle, because, well, what happened was the sister missionaries who were in my district are no longer there (one ended her mission, one had transfers), and so that area has been "closed" for 2 weeks. (until more sisters come). with that said, the sisters left a ton of baptismal candidates, so we all last week went looking for them to interview them, along with the candidates in the other areas. we found one, Walter, in the sisters area, and he was able to be baptized on saturday, and confirmed yesterday. I felt really special with him, because he is a bit poor/humble and noone seemed to appreciate him or support him, except Elder Johnson and I. it was kind of a last minute thing too, so literally while walking by pure faith, we got him baptized with the other zones baptismal service. the one who baptized them had already changed when we were ready with Walter, and so i was just like "ok, well--wheres extra white overalls?" haha...so i baptized him. it was one of the more humble baptisms ill never forget, and I am glad that the Lord blessed us with the opportunity to baptize him, and I know that He is happy that one more of his sons now qualify for eternal life. 

(sorry if this letter is kind of short, its just that the baptism i think was the most important thing for me this week)

in other news, Elder Johnson and I are waking up at 5:45 every morning to study spanish, so that He can get the language down. (keep him in your prayers, por favor). He is doing well. 

Thnank you all for your support and prayers, and may we all remember that with a new year, that means we have the potential to become even greater and stronger, especially spiritually. I love you all and know that the Lord plays a great role in our daily lives, but only if we let him. have a great week, everyone!! 

love, 

Jason 

-- 

*Elder Newman*

Misión

November 2013 - 2015

Alma 26:12