Natalie June 29, 2015

I love me some good moments!

 

Hey everyone! Just two short pieces of news. Next week comes a long letter with lots of pictures because we have a baptism this week on Friday!!!!! Also I included a picture of my companion and I attached at a place called Freeze Fruit. We had what's called a Machacado. It was super good! Also, updates, transfers are next week, I might go to another city ahhh, my skin is getting so dark for walking in the sun so much and my companion Hermana Iñiguez is amazing I am learning so much from her dedicated, diligent example. Being a missionary is hard but I understand why they say it's the best ''two years FOR your life''. I hope you have a great week! I love you all. 

Best wishes,

Hermana Newman

Jason June 29, 2015

CAMBIOS!!!

 

wow, lots of changes this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so, i should start by sharing that I had transfers last friday morning. it was the night before, thr}ursday, that they called me and told me that i had to be in the offices with my luggage friday morning at 10 am!!!  i was so surprised, and excited at the same time as i was nervousa and bummed. So, i am no longer in Lealtad, and i am now in another part of Chihuahua. it was hard to have to say goodbye to the ward members (the few that i could), but i know that great things are ahead. whats interesting is that wqe had a baptism planned on saturday, the day after my transfers, and she asked me to baptize her. so we were able to make arrangements, my new companion and i, and we were able to go to the baptism in now what was my previous area. 

I LOVED teaching Erendira and her family. she is so converted and is going to be a great member of the church. She was so happy and standing there with her in the font was an experience ill never forget. the spirit was so strong!! i remember that she had been really excited about the temple, and i could see myself coming back to chihuahua to go to her sealing in the temple. she is a divorced 24 year old mom with 2 kids...the gospel has helped her immensely. 

so, back to the transfers news: i am now in another part of chihuahua, new ward and stake, and the craziest news is that they put me as a zone leader! upfront, let it be known that i have never aspired to being a zone leader in my entire mission, and wasnt desiring it or expecting it, but i accept to do it because i know the Lord has assigned me to be a Leader again for some reason. its very different being a zone leader...in the few days that i have being one, the main thing we do is go visit the candidates for baptism and confirmation in all the areas of the zone, and we hardly ever work in our tiny little area. its mainly trying to always keep the zone in check and make sure everyone is working. im grateful for my companion who although he only has 9 months in the mission and about 1 month being zone leader, we both are on the same page when it comes to knowing that being a ZL does not bring any glory, and it makes us no different than any of the other missionaries. we give all the glory to God and Christ in our companionship. 

My new companion is Elder Meyer. He is 6 foot 4, and is from alaska!! he may not see it yet, but he is definitely gonna be one of my best friends. we are getting along too well, i think, and we are happy to be misisonaries. i will send pictures of him just so that you can laugh at how short i am compared to him. the record remains!--ALL of my companions have been taller than me!! 

so, lots of new changes this week, and we are hoping on having lots of success this week. I love you all and am grateful for your support. thanks for everything, and though its ridiculously hot still (although we are in the month of rain), we are survivin out here in Beautiful Chihuahua. take care, and never forget that our Savior lives and loves all of us!!

love, 

Jason 

-- 

*Elder Newman*

Misión México Chihuahua

November 2013 - 2015

Alma 26:12

Jason June 22, 2015

Hola a todos!

 

wow, what a crazy week! 

so, this letter wont be very long because there wasnt too much to report that happened this week. My companion and I, but worse me, got sick this week. We ate some bad enchiladas and...well, lets just say after going to the hospital, priesthood blessings, and Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are healthy and happy again. we were practically in the house all week. It was crazy, i guess i was so dehydrated that at the hospital they gave me 2 shots: one was in the backyard (i dont know why they think thats the only remedy here in mexico), and another one in the vein of my arm--they injected me with suero!! suero is a liquid that has electrolytes, and we have to take it here a lot especially in the summer because it is boiling hot here! its great though, because i really learned this time in this time of being sick, just how important it is to rely on the Lord.

I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and for the restored knowledge we recieve through the Book of Mormon: that we will not be saved IN our sins, rather the Lord wants to save os FROM our sins. thats only possible through repentance, and we all need to repent everyday if we want to measure up to the Lords standard and Kingdom. kinda random, I remember a while ago that we ran into some Jehovas witnesses, and of the things they said, one thing blew me away the most, which was that "Jesus Christ is not the almighty god". .... i know who has called me, and I know that he truly is my King and my Savior, and that he is the Almighty of the Heavens and earth. Only through him and his name and his everlasting gospel, we will be able to dwell in the Presence of our Father and families eternally. Thats why im here, and I continue to learn that everyday-that I am here because he has called me, but in particular, i am still here because i desire the salvation of this people, and desire to be forgiven of my sins. I

I know that this is the only true church wherein we find the authority of the priesthood, and where we find the keys that connect those valuable ordinances that we perform on earth with the requirements of Heaven. I am grateful for the Lord, who is just and merciful. I pray that our Heavenly Father may bless you all this week and that we can all continue to have an enjoyable summer, even though imma meltin out here! 

with love, 

Jason 

--

*Elder Newman*

Misión México Chihuahua

November 2013 - 2015

Alma 26:12

Natalie June 22, 2015

A Humble Servant

 

Hello again! 

Well this week was a bit different lol We weren't here in our area for Thursday night, all of Friday and all of Saturday. We traveled again, to Playa del Carmen and Cancun! We had a conference in Playa with missionaries from the areas of Chetumal, the state's capital, our area, Jose Maria Morelos, the island of Cozumel and Playa del Carmen. In this conference Elder Valenzuela of the Presidency of the seventy of the area of Mexico, came to visit us! 

It was incredible and we learned so much and most importantly you could definitely feel the Spirit. 

I want to share my testimony that I know repentance is real and it is a gift. We can be relieved from the burdens we feel through the atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that we need to have faith and always be believing that He will forgive us of our mistakes and we can always improve. I hope that each one of you take the time to open your heart in fervent and humble prayer. The key to happiness is to humble ourselves and admit we need the help and Atonement of the Lord. This I am trying to do, trying to apply everyday of my life. I am so grateful for the chance to start over. I KNOW this is true and possible! In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

 

Love from Carrillo,

Hermanita Newman 

Jason June 15, 2015

great week!

this week was a great week! 

ill start with tuesday. on tuesday, it was ELder Womack (my second companion)´s last day in the mission field, and so he got permission for me to go with him all day to visit our converts. we had a blast!!!!! (see photos)

um, what else...oh, so we found a new investigator who is hopefully gonna get baptized this saturday! her name is Reyna. shes the sister of a recent convert, and she had accepted the missionaries before and almost got baptized but never did. but, we invited her to be baptized and she accepted! she committed to coming too to sacrament meeting, and came! we dont have a TON of investigators, but of the ones we have, about 3 or 4 are preparing to be baptized this month. yay!

so the elders from another ward thought this whole time that a part of our area was theirs, so when we met eachother in the street, it was pretty funny, and they said thaey have like 10 investigators in that area. also, we recieved about 13 references, so that will give us a lot of work this week, those 23 people. 

sorry this letter is kind of short, but know that all is well, and moving along here in Lealtad. (the name of my area /ward -- it means loyalty in spanish). But i know that this great work of salvation is so real, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church upon the face of the earth, which has the power and authority to seal families together forever here on earth, and the only gospel that will, if followed and lived, allow us to walk back into the presence of the Father, where we can live forever and in an eternity of happiness. I am honored that the Savior has called me to represent him and his church, and i love being happy here in the mission. p.s. just finished the book of alma and am now in helaman! 

thank you so much everyone for your support, and know that you ALL are in my prayers! have a great week!

love, 

Jason 

--

*Elder Newman*

Misión México Chihuahua

November 2013 - 2015

Alma 26:12

Natalie June 15, 2015

It's raining miracles :)

WOW!!!!! What a week. This week was just amazing. We have found 3 new families and at least 2 of the 3 are super prepared. One didn't make it yesterday to church but the other did and actually we had found the father, Eleazar a few weeks ago. We haven't been able to find him in his house and had an appt with him and his uncle on Saturday but it got canceled. Eleazar showed up to church last week and yesterday brought his family! They are so great! We finally have the chance to see all of them this week. The other family is so ready to learn about the Gospel and have so many questions! That second family Enriquez Garcia actually found with Hermana Ramirez because we had exchanges. That's who is in the picture and well the reason I said it was raining miracles because apart from finding so many people to teach it has literally been raining since Wednesday all day every day!
Well today is short but just wanted to give a little update on what a great week we had because Heavenly Father is literally putting people in our path. Oh and the other picture is of the meal a Sister gave us so we had something to eat when we got home, is was so good! Tender mercies are real. Look for them. Love you all!

Hermana Newman

Jason June 8, 2015

great weekend!!

MUCH better. 

This week was great! it was one of those weeks were adversity and opposition were present, but it wasnt too much. it wasnt too hard, but definitely not the easiest week. It is ridiculously hot here, and I felt like on sunday after church and ready to break the fast, i thought i was gonna pass out!! haha but it was all good. 

so, the entire week, we put our main focus on Monica to prepare her for her baptism, and I personally put all my focus on My companion, Elder Del Angel. having been recommended to find what helps him stay happy and going, i found out that he LOVES english and so this week i gave him a topic of the gospel and he would practice contacting me and preaching to me that said topic, in english. hes a great guy and i love him very much. 

Anyway, as i said, we focused everything on getting monica ready for her baptism, keeping her excited and what not. the time finally came where we had her baptismal service, which was very successful...except for one part. after the millions of phone calls to members and the mission leaders, we are all sitting in the room and ready to go. that "little part" that was quite funny, actually, was how the time comes to perform the ordinance and the level of water was too low!!! we stalled with hymns, waiting, i even gave a talk on faith to stall (to be honest, i dont even remember what i said)...it was kind of a funny moment. But, nevertheless, she got baptized, and I was able to confirm her on sunday. So, Because of Him, Monica will be able to have the sacred opportunity to progress in this life in the Gospel, to be able to see and live with her mom again, who is currently living on the other side of the veil. 

In church, we scheduled rides for the investigators, and it was so fulfilling to see the miracles Raul and his daughter, Judith, Erendira, Isaac, Jose, and Aurelia walk through the chapel doors. Raul and Erendira are preparing to be baptized on the 27th of this month. I LOVE this mission!! I know that there is still much work to be done before the Lord says "well done, thou good and faithful servant"....its actually gonna take, for ALL of us, an entire lifetime to do his will and prove ourselves. I know that this mission, these 2 or 1 1/2 years, is not all the Lord is gonna look at when we see him again, rather he is gonna look at our ENTIRE lifetime on this earth. I testify that with the Doctrine of Christ and Jesus Christ as our foundation always, we cannot fall or fail. Noone is condemned to fail.

I know that I am not perfect, but i also know that the Dostrine of Christ IS changing me every single day. I love you all and thank you all for your support!!

love, 

Jason 

--

*Elder Newman*

Misión México Chihuahua

November 2013 - 2015

Alma 26:12

Natalie June 8, 2015

Oh hey there :)

I can't believe it's JUNE!! 

Hi lol Well this week had some ups and downs but more than anything we have investigators who are progressing :D Idelfonzo is one of them who is amazing and really wants to find peace in his life. He and his two kids have gone through tough trials but he knows that he needed them so he could learn from them. He and his two boys 11 and 9 are so great! They are praying together and Idelfonzo is reading more little by little the Book of Mormon. He can feel the hand of the Lord working in his life and he knows that the Gospel is helping him. Before he seemed unsure of himself and a little timid but now its clear how he has decided to take control of his life and not let his trials control him. I love seeing him with more confidence and there's like a new light about him :)

Abraham is a reference from a preparing missionary in the ward. She said we apparently ''arrived'' in a critical time in his life. We have only taught him 3 times and he is like so ready to change and be baptized. He went to church with his friend, Pamela, the future missionary :), That was when we went to Cancun and then we saw him and accepted a baptism date and then we taught the Restoration and he practically already knew about Joseph Smith and the important not to mention sacred responsability he had in translating the Book of Mormon. He already knew! He has been taking the iniciative to investigate himself. And yesterday he brought his little sister with him to church :)

Well lastly I just wanted to also share the success we had on Friday with a ''Family Home Evening'' but as a branch. The topic was about the importance of studying the scriptures and then my companion and I had a Jeopardy type game that everyone loved with categories like ''Guess what hymn that is'' ''Old Testament'' ''New Testament'' and ''Book of Mormon'' lol it was so fun and we had about 35-40 people at our little event. 

I know that it is important to study the scriptures so that we can stand one day before God, our Heavenly Father and say that we chose to take just a little time out of every day to study about His Son Jesus Christ. Because that's what really matters is the knowledge we obtain. At the end of it all, when we are judged by our works it's just that.. God won't ask what type of car did you drive, how many hours did you work? No, he will ask, who did you help today who was in need, did you pray, repent daily humbling yourself, did you use your talents for good and to bless the lives of others... I know that that is what we need to strive for, to become converted and dedicated to the Lord willing to give up what we want now for what we want most later. 

I love you all, have a great week!

Hermana Newman

Oh also, the pictures are when we went to Cancun to see Elder Bednar and our bunkbeds of hammocks lol 

Jason June 1, 2015

Mercy: the spirit of compassion, tenderness, and forgivenes

Hello Everyone!!

Well, i got my new companion! His name is Elder Del Angel, and he has about 3 months in the mission. a newbie! haha, he is from Queretaro, which is a state in mexico right above mexico city. it hasnt been the easiest week of my almost 19 months (whoa, whered the time go?), but i know that the Lord will bless us as long as we are always obedient, and that goes for all of us reading this email. 

I am very ecited because we should be having a baptism this saturday, for one of our investigators, Monica. she seemed super excited too as we have helped her gain some really good friends at church, and in the young womens. we actually have the potential to baptize every weekend here in our area in june.  Some of the investigators who are preparing to be baptized this month are Monica, Jairo, Erendida, Raul, Janeth, and Lalo. they are all great and I have gained a huge love for them. Guys, this place has really changed my heart and the way I look at people. I mean, even this week was just a bit tough in regards to getting along with my companion, i realy felt an overall attitude of positivity and charity this week towards our investigators and the members. 

also, i think its kind of fun, that what i am doing is continuing to keep my journal, but i am gonna do it a bit differently. because there never seems to be time to write all my thioughts and feelings, and i can never seem to express myself in writing like i can in speaking, i am recording my voice with my camera and making i guess what you could say a "video journal". the idea is to record my voice, then over the next few years or however long it takes, i will go back and write down all the words from every video. thought it would be a good idea since i have been so bad with journal writing here. i am trying my best though, promise!

hmm, lets see...oh, and we also gave talks in church on sunday! the bishop asked me to speak on mercy. i learned quite a bit while studying the topic/principle of mercy. Mercy is the spirit of compassion, tenderness, and forgiveness towards another person. so for example i learned that there are two ways how there are two ways we can see mercy made manifest in our earthly lives. one is seeing the blessings of the atomement in our lives, and literally experiencing that compassion, tenderness, and forgiveness (of sins) from our savior, and I love that and am sure we have all experienced that kind of mercy. 

the other kind comes from US, showing mercy toward OTHERS. if we want to feel and see mercy in our lives, we first have to feel and show that compassion, tenderness, and especially forgiveness, towards all those around us. there are no grudges in the celestial kingdom! haha i really enjoyed, though, studying this principle, and am going to attach a great talk on mercy in all its forms. 

I love you all and will continue to be happy and love those who i am serving. I invite us all to do the same and to serve those around us with mercy, as the savior would. THAT is the way we can serve Jesus Christ himself, is by serving and being compassionate towards others. (matthew 25:40)

have a great week and I love you ALL! the work is so true, and will not end until the Great Jehovah shall say "the work is done". 

love, 

Jason 

--

*Elder Newman*

Misión México Chihuahua

November 2013 -

Natalie June 1, 2015

There's a first time for everything lol

Dear friends and family,

How was this week for you? This week was great we have so many people to teach that are agenda is jam packed full! I hope they progress and learn to love the Gospel. I'm fine but I got a little sick yesterday. It was weird I think it was food poisoning but I'm not sure because I have never had it before. I didn't eat anything in the morning and could hardly eat a little piece of chicken and vegetable broth for lunch I felt so nauseous and couldn't keep anything down including water :/ After a Priesthood blessing and not eating anything, drinking just a little water every once in a while and rest, I think we should be good to go lol. 

This week I think some of the best moments were with two young girls of 15 and 17 who we found in the street and have taught them 3 times now I think? Well the younger sister Heydi is super excited about the Book of Mormon and they both have a baptismal date for July. They attended a baptism on Saturday and went to church with us yesterday. They both want to go to EFY Mexico in Chichenizta but Minelia can't because.. she's 6 months pregnant and we trying to work on helping Heydi go. Chichenitza is amazing and I encourage you to research a little about it! 

I don't have anymore time today, we have to travel to Cancun for a training meeting but I just wanted to say I love you all and encourage you to keep pressing forward with faith and a brightness of hope for the unknown future ahead. We NEED to rely on the Lord. Lots of love!

De Carrillo Puerto,

Hermana Newman 

Jason June 1, 2015

Mercy: the spirit of compassion, tenderness, and forgivenes 

Hello Everyone!!

Well, i got my new companion! His name is Elder Del Angel, and he has about 3 months in the mission. a newbie! haha, he is from Queretaro, which is a state in mexico right above mexico city. it hasnt been the easiest week of my almost 19 months (whoa, whered the time go?), but i know that the Lord will bless us as long as we are always obedient, and that goes for all of us reading this email. 

I am very ecited because we should be having a baptism this saturday, for one of our investigators, Monica. she seemed super excited too as we have helped her gain some really good friends at church, and in the young womens. we actually have the potential to baptize every weekend here in our area in june.  Some of the investigators who are preparing to be baptized this month are Monica, Jairo, Erendida, Raul, Janeth, and Lalo. they are all great and I have gained a huge love for them. Guys, this place has really changed my heart and the way I look at people. I mean, even this week was just a bit tough in regards to getting along with my companion, i realy felt an overall attitude of positivity and charity this week towards our investigators and the members. 

also, i think its kind of fun, that what i am doing is continuing to keep my journal, but i am gonna do it a bit differently. because there never seems to be time to write all my thioughts and feelings, and i can never seem to express myself in writing like i can in speaking, i am recording my voice with my camera and making i guess what you could say a "video journal". the idea is to record my voice, then over the next few years or however long it takes, i will go back and write down all the words from every video. thought it would be a good idea since i have been so bad with journal writing here. i am trying my best though, promise!

hmm, lets see...oh, and we also gave talks in church on sunday! the bishop asked me to speak on mercy. i learned quite a bit while studying the topic/principle of mercy. Mercy is the spirit of compassion, tenderness, and forgiveness towards another person. so for example i learned that there are two ways how there are two ways we can see mercy made manifest in our earthly lives. one is seeing the blessings of the atomement in our lives, and literally experiencing that compassion, tenderness, and forgiveness (of sins) from our savior, and I love that and am sure we have all experienced that kind of mercy. 

the other kind comes from US, showing mercy toward OTHERS. if we want to feel and see mercy in our lives, we first have to feel and show that compassion, tenderness, and especially forgiveness, towards all those around us. there are no grudges in the celestial kingdom! haha i really enjoyed, though, studying this principle, and am going to attach a great talk on mercy in all its forms. 

I love you all and will continue to be happy and love those who i am serving. I invite us all to do the same and to serve those around us with mercy, as the savior would. THAT is the way we can serve Jesus Christ himself, is by serving and being compassionate towards others. (matthew 25:40)

have a great week and I love you ALL! the work is so true, and will not end until the Great Jehovah shall say "the work is done". 

love, 

Jason 

-- 

*Elder Newman*

Misión

November 2013 - 2015

Alma 26:12

Natalie June 1, 2015

There's a first time for everything lol 

Dear friends and family,

How was this week for you? This week was great we have so many people to teach that are agenda is jam packed full! I hope they progress and learn to love the Gospel. I'm fine but I got a little sick yesterday. It was weird I think it was food poisoning but I'm not sure because I have never had it before. I didn't eat anything in the morning and could hardly eat a little piece of chicken and vegetable broth for lunch I felt so nauseous and couldn't keep anything down including water :/ After a Priesthood blessing and not eating anything, drinking just a little water every once in a while and rest, I think we should be good to go lol. 

This week I think some of the best moments were with two young girls of 15 and 17 who we found in the street and have taught them 3 times now I think? Well the younger sister Heydi is super excited about the Book of Mormon and they both have a baptismal date for July. They attended a baptism on Saturday and went to church with us yesterday. They both want to go to EFY Mexico in Chichenizta but Minelia can't because.. she's 6 months pregnant and we trying to work on helping Heydi go. Chichenitza is amazing and I encourage you to research a little about it! 

I don't have anymore time today, we have to travel to Cancun for a training meeting but I just wanted to say I love you all and encourage you to keep pressing forward with faith and a brightness of hope for the unknown future ahead. We NEED to rely on the Lord. Lots of love!

De Carrillo Puerto,

Hermana Newman