Natalie August 31, 2015

All in the Lord's Time

Hey everyone! How was this past week for you? For us it was a little crazy! On Tuesday we had exchanges with some of the Sisters and it was a little nervewrecking because well, I forgot to mention the little detail that Hermana Carrasco and I are Sister Training Leaders this transfer.. Ahh for those of you who many not know what that is, it means we are like the leaders of our zone but for the sister missionaries ah! So we have more responsabilities including, doing 24 hour exchanges with the sisters to see how they are doing and setting the example of baptizing in the zone and making sure the sisters get home on time and things like that! 

So we had those on Tuesday and the same day we got on phone call from the Zone leaders telling us that miracles are happening in the mission and that President recieved revelation that as a zone we needed to have 10 baptisms that week!!!!!! Ah what? I thought, is this a joke? Actually I asked him that and he said no but that we needed to go and find the people who were ready in our area ya! I couldn't believe it and wondered how it was possible if they hadn't recieved many of the lessons or gone to church the full 5 Sundays etc. Well, long story short, we actually had found a couple the weekend before who had been seeing the missionaries over a year ago and gone to church various Sundays and everything the only thing left was for them to get married before they could get baptized but something always happened when they tried and then she had to recooperate from her pregnancy and long story short, last week all the pieces started falling into place and we actually got close to have them get married on Saturday! They got all the papers and we were running around like crazy and the only thing was that the closest date they could have was October 14! My mouth dropped but I still had hope. We talked to the judge, so nice, so kind, she was able to tell us that the earliest was September 8th! So we are working towards that so that next Saturday they can get baptized. 

In other news real quick, look what we made! I have attached pictures but we made scripture cigarettes for Hermano Mauro so he can completely give up smoking! And he finally accepted a baptism date! Wahoo!! 

Well I think thats all for now, I gotta go but just know that miracles do happen when it's in the Lord's time and not ours. Have a great week!

Hermana Newman

Jason August 31, 2015

man, that was some crazy workin!!

I love being a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, lemme tell ya. it is so fulfilling and the best experience one could have in anyway possible. im grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ and i know that he lives. 

This week was full of work. in particular and in reference to the subject of the email, we got more lessons with member and more contacts this last week than i have ever had in a week in my whole mission! we are working hard, and had some great lessons. With Kenia, all she needs is an answer and she will get baptized, but sometimes its the hardest as a missionary to help people realize that they already know that the church is true, they just didnt know that they knew...make sense? thats what kenia has, she has been investigating the church for a few years, went to EFY last year, and knows a ton of members. we had a spiritual lesson on how to recieve revelation, and she promised to go to church but she didnt go :( dont know why yet, but we will be going back most likely tomorrow. with Marcelino, he came to church! his family is all baptized, except for him, and its cool because he has straight up told us "i know this is the true church", but we just have to help him quit smoking forst, so that will be a lesson on the Word of Wisdom. with Jesus, we are hoping to have a baptismal service for him, now that he has been to church 3 times and knows the bishop. he is excited, im sure, and i pray everything will work out according to the Design of the Almighty. and, we had 2 miracles come to church as well, in addition to marcelino and jesus. they are Arturo and Luz. we contacted arturo in the street, and said that he is a member, but we looked in the registros on sunday and he isnt in the ward...anyway, he said that he would give us a ride to church and he did! and it was cool, cause his wife was there, luz, and shes like "the missionaries are here, hurry up! theyre waiting for ya!" and then he was like "well, if i go youre comin with me" and she was like "ok"! haha she was so cute, she is like 55, but i gave her my copy of the gospel principles manual, and she couldnt stop reading it. i am excited to teach them, and to find more miracles this next week. 

have a great week, everyone, and to remember that we are here in this life  "to have JOY" (2 nefi 2:25). He Lives!

love, 

Jason 

Elder Newman

--

*Elder Newman*

Misión México Chihuahua

November 2013 - 2015

Alma 26:12

Jason August 24, 2015

new area, new comp, new zone, district leader, and zero stress :)

hey everyone!!

honestly, i dont think ive ever been happier in my mission. really i am glad to be where i am and i have a positive attitude about these transfers. we had transfers last monday, and though i was only in cuauhtemoc for a short and sweet 3 weeks, they changed me again and now im a district leader (hence the less stress part) in a city called delicias. this is the second hottest city in our mission, and it is quite the feeling, the dry heat here. but no worries, i am loving it. 

My companion is so faithful and hardworking. i love him so much, and as something tells me that this is my last area and companion, we bioth clicked right away and are working hard. his name is Elder Loreto, and he is from Oaxaca (wa-ha-ka), mexico. its a state in the south of the country. he has about 8 months in the mission, and is a great missionary. i know hes gonna be a great leader. 

our area is nice, and i am adjusting quicker and quicker with every transfer. the ward is nice, but i dont really know too many members yet. one thing we are really focusing on right now is finding more investigators, because we always are needing to plant so that we can harvest in coming months. a few of our investigators are kenya, aide, and martín. they all have excellent stories, and them 3 id say are the ones who really are in need of baptism and confirmation right now. 

I LOVE MY DISTRICT!! (photos next week)

so yep, all in all, very happy and willing to work harder than ever in the time i have left here. thank you all for your support, and hope that everything is well. i know that as we keep the commandments of the only one and true living God, our Heavenly father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, we will recieve blessings in our lives and have a bigger desire to serve them and Gods Children on both sides of the veil (aka temple worship). love you all and have a great week! 

love, 

Jason 

--

*Elder Newman*

Misión México Chihuahua

November 2013 - 2015

Alma 26:12

Natalie August 24, 2015

Service is the Key to Happiness!

Hi everyone! This week will be super short but just so you all know I am doing well aside from the constant heat. I actually got to the point of missing the cold weather! I want some right now haha. I had a great birthday celebration! Three families of members did something for my birthday it was super sweet. One of the families less active even threw me a surprise party! We thought we were going to teach a lesson and we arrived and thought ''aw man, they have a party going on with family, how could they forget? The Sister even confirmed our visit when we were at church? Well, alright maybe we'll just say hi and go contact new people.'' My companion peeked her head in and the sister said with a gasp, ''Hermanas!!!'' she said the hour left her and they forgot to be prepared they were going to yell surprise! Haha the sweet gesture and thought of everything, the surprise, the people, down to the few balloons on the door and walls made me cry. I couldn't believe they did that all for me. Even more because I wasn't expecting it. They had a

Natalie Birthday Cake

Natalie Birthday with a Family that made her a cake

dinner and cake and everything! They even started with a prayer, hymn and spiritual thought. We thought it's a good thing it was the last hour of visits before we had to go home.

Another family had a cake for me too and even the candles! The Kuyoc family, the one who made my favorite food Panuchos. I don't have pictures of the other family, Chale Castillo because the photos were taken with my companion's camera. But here are a few!

In other news, I taught the lesson last week on Sunday about service and these acts of service made me realize how we can truly have an impact on the lives of others. I know that service is everything. It requires faith, humility, and prayer to put ourselves aside and thing of others. My challenge this week to you all is to find the acts of service you can do to help lift another. I know you will find peace and happiness in that because it is when we are serving the Lord! Love you all!

Hermana Newman

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

 Happy Birthday Natalie, We miss you and love you very much.  Hope you have a wonderful day.

Natalie August 17, 2015

Natalie sends her love and greetings.  She was unable to send a letter this week but she is doing well, happy and excited to serve the Lord. 

Jason August 17, 2015

Hola a todos!! 

Ok, so this week was a TON better, and i am very happy to know that my savior lives and loves me. we were able to give unto the Lord 8 baptisms/confirmations as a zone this week. woohoo!  I got the call last night telling me that i had transfers, sotoday at 3pm i will know where and with who, etc. But, i would like to mention that though these 3 weeks spent here in cuauhtemoc were pretty hard, i know that The Lord wil help us get through anything and everything, we just have to give it time. I love being a misisonary and will never stop doing so.

Yesterday, i was able to give a talk in sacrament meeting, and it was basically on the book of mormon and how i know all that i know about the church to be true, yea, even The Church of Jesús Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love that the Lord has given me this blessing to be among my brethren, the lamanites, and to preach to them, "baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost". (Matthew 28:19). Its simple, really--Jesús Christ established a church, founded upon prophets, apostles, revelation, and priesthood authority. Like in times of old, the people rejected the Prophet (crucified Christ), one by one killed the apostles, the revelation ceased, and the priesthood was taken again from the earth. But, in 1820, God and Christ called a new prophet (yes its posible - see numbers12:6, 8), he recieved instruction on where to find and translate new scripture, and today we have the true church of Christ organized upon the face of the earth. wether you are a mamber or not, after Reading tis email i CHALLENGE you to read the book of mormon, ponder its sacred teachings, and then to kneel down and cry out unto our God, pleading him to reveal unto you the truthfulness of the Book of mormon, of the restoration of the Church of Christ, and to ask if The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true and living church upon the face of the earth. If you do so with faith in the Lord Jesús Christ, with real intent, and with a sincere heart, i promise you as a representative of the Master that he WILL give you an answer, and you will know it when you experience it. i love the Book of Mormon. i thank all those in the process of revealing it to us, from ancient prophets to the publishers of Joseph smiths day.

I am excited to continue on in the misión, and know that i am one happy camper. please have a great week, everyone, and know that no matter what you do in this life, you will always be a son/daughter of our Father in Heaven. however, if we follow the Example of Jesús Christ, we will be able to gracefully walk back to the presence of our Heavenly Father. I testify of these things, in the name of Jesús Christ, Amen.

love,

Elder Newman

Jason 
-- 

*Elder Newman*

Misión

November 2013 - 2015

Alma 26:12

Natalie August 10, 2015

A little fun but mostly WORK :)

 

Hi everyone! So this week was a better week for sure. Mauro went to church again, yay!!! He is progressing and ALmost accepted a baptism date but said I know I will do it but he wants to be absolutely sure he won't slip into any bad habits again after he gets baptized so he wants to wait and thinks he has to know a lot and it's good he wants to learn so we're teaching him :) We'll hope, we'll pray and be patient but grrr he's so close and he is so awesome! 

We also started teaching a couple who actually the missionaries before us, the Elders started visiting but they didn't leave behind their direction or address or anything! So we didn't know who they were nor that they were amazing and super prepared people. Well, long story short, we found them because we received them as referral or reference from a member and actually like one or two other people or something crazy like that I can't remember and literally like pieces of a puzzle we found them and they are awesome! They're names are Edgar and Anayeli. They both are super excited about the gospel and they feel good, Anayeli is a little shy and timid and Edgar is little more upbeat and outspoken and he thought he couldn't get baptized because he was already baptized into the Catholic church and we said to him, ''claro que si!'' Which means oh of course you can get baptized again and we explained because it has to be by the Priesthood authority, the authority of God instead of by men and that it has to be by immersion like Christ was baptized. He was really excited, is excited and they almost went to church but at the last minute they asked him to work :/ But no worries I'll keep you updated how it all goes!

In other news.. umm this week I hit my year mark yay!!!! I've included pictures to celebrate the momentous occasion of before and after. I've changed a lot, physically and mentally, emotionally, spiritually etcetera lol And I've still got 6 months left! I've also included photos of our mini trip for our preparation day to what is called Mercado 28. 28th Market where they have a bunch of souvenirs, trinkets, and things and so we took a photo with a traditional sombrero. Man was it heavy on my head! lol

Have a great week and remember that I know this is His church and it's the only one that actually, truly makes sense. I keep learning more and changing every day! Enjoy these last days of summer and vacations but more importantly, always remember the Lord everywhere you go and in everything you do!

Much love,

Hermana Newman

Jason August 10, 2015

Not too much time

Hey everyone! so i think this may be the shortest group email of my entire mission, and i wouldve hoped we would have had more time, but what happened was last night we had an emergency. we had to go to the hospital for one of our companions (4 of us live together), and so we were there from about 11:30 pm last night to about 6:15 this morning. im short on time because we had to go home and get some shut eye, but i learned in this experience that it is really important to just forget ourselves and always be taking care of others. it was a great blessing to be able to be in that hospital all night, because the entire time i was there i wasnt worrying about myself. 

i know that as we do this, we will recieve many blessings. until next week, sorry its so short!! everything is good, and we are all alive and well. thanks!!

love, 

Jason 

--

*Elder Newman*

Misión México Chihuahua

November 2013 - 2015

Alma 26:12

Jason August 3, 2015

Proverbs 3:5-6.

Hello everyone! 

wow, what a crazy change and week. it was a very interesting week in terms of my emotions and how i felt, but in the end all was good. 

well, to start from monday...so we were in the ciber writing and all of a sudden the assistants called me and told me i had transfers, and that i had to get there as soon as possible. i was heartbroken! I honestly think elder meyer has been my favorite companion, other than my "dad" (elder Womack), and we only got to be together for a month exactly. but, i know i will see him from time to time, because he only has like 10 months in the mission so hes not going anytime soon. anyway, we get to the offices, and I get put with my new companion: Elder Valentin!! elder valentin was in my zone with elder meyer for about a week, and then he had changes to cuauhtemoc. and so, upon arriving to the offices, i find out that hes my new companion, and that i would be zone leader with him in the same zone that i was in only 3 months ago!! same house, almost same area, same chapel--its awesome!! 

My companion is from the Dominican republic, and on top of all the stress and low self esteem and nervousness i felt this week, it was hard to get used to his darn accent. he speaks so fast!! i love it though, i am slowly starting to speak like him, in regards to speaking spanish really fast. haha i have had to, various times, ask him to repeat what he has said. its all good though...he is i think one of my most converted companions. he is a convert, and i will have to share part of his conversion story next week. 

we had a great week this week, and despite all my moments of low self esteem and nervousness, i am now used to the new zone and will work harder than ever this week. more experiences and stories next week. Love you all and be strong!! (see subject of email
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding;
6 think about Him in all your ways,
and He will guide you on the right paths)

Love, 

Jason 

--

*Elder Newman*

Misión México Chihuahua

November 2013 - 2015

Alma 26:12

Natalie August 3, 2015

Only 6 months left!

 Things are great with Hermana Carrasco. Sometimes we butheads about some things but I'm trying to keep the peace because I don't like arguing and especially if it means we don't get along because that means we can't have the spirit. I feel like we're still trying to figure out how to coincide with how the other companion works. But like I said at the same time things are great :) she is super funny and we like to have fun together. she tries hard and this week was better in trying to contact more of the references. 

We still have so much work to do but our investigator Mauro is progressing, yesterday he went to church for the first time and it wasn't only the first time at church but the first time he had gone to ANY church in YEARS! He said he felt a little strange or weird but we told him thats okay  and normal to feel that way because he has distanced himself with the things of the Lord but wow he had so many questions afterwards and it was great how it worked out because we went to his house afterwards because his wife Yanette was going to feed us and it was nice while she prepared the food (she said she didnt want help.. They're very good about resisting) we talked with her husband answering all his many questions. He has so many good ones. You can see he is really interested and  finally after so many years is ''giving place in his heart'' for the gospel as Alma mentions in chapter 32 of the Book of Mormon. I encourage all of you to read it this week if you have not or it's simply been awhie.

Well it was short for today I know but on to this week of many more miracles!   

Hermana Newman

P.S. The picture of the family is the Kuyoc family, they're so nice and really humble, sweet members :) The other picture is of our house with our sympathetic tree Carlos and my favorite food in the whole entire world that  Hermana Kuyoc made for us... Panuchos. mch so good. It's like an open -faced taco if you want to put it that way haha