I am SO grateful for the pioneers. Holy smokes, they are amazing! This week, if you haven’t already, go read the Ensign. The stories about the pioneers are pretty awesome and helped me to be more thankful for the Saints who came before me. Though the things they had to go through and the things I have to go through are much different, we all have one purpose — to build up God's Kingdom on Earth! We are all pioneers in a sense! :)
How are you all doing? What is new in Utah, Idaho, Kentucky, and Texas... everywhere else? I hope you all know I LOVE YOU SO STINKIN' much. I am so lucky to have the best family in the world :)
I am still loving Maryland. No complaints here. Just funny, this week we have had record heat in the Columbia area and severe heat warnings. We get texts almost every day telling us to be careful, be smart and drink lots of water. So far so good :) I am healthy as can be.
This week has been a little bit crazy, but good. Training is going well. Sometimes it is hard, because I don’t feel like I know what I am doing, but with Heavenly Father's help, it all turns out okay. I got my new companion on Wednesday. Let me tell you a little bit about her. She is 19 years old, from Los Alamos, New Mexico. Her name is Hermana Crotzer (Hispanic people have a super hard time saying it. SO glad my name is easy. Thanks Popi :) ) She went to BYU-I for a few semesters before she came here and she is the oldest in her family. She is a little bit shy, but spending a few weeks with me, I will break her ;) I think she might think I am a little crazy because I am always laughing and smiling but, life is good, got to make the most of it right?
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| Hermana Crotzer and Hermana Newman |
Let me tell you a little bit about this week. I don’t have enough space or time to tell you everything that I want to, but let me first tell you, WOW... MIRACLES THIS WEEK! I have seen so many miracles that I can’t even remember them all. I will tell you about two this week.
One happened while I was in an English area, and the other when I was here with Hermana Crotzer in Columbia. I was with the English sisters one night, and it was just about time to head home, but we had time for one more visit. We decided to visit Robert, a referral from the Salt Lake Visitors Center. We all were a bit nervous, but excited to see Robert and learn more about him. We said a prayer and then knocked at the door. No answer. One more knock. No answer. We knew someone was home, so we gave it one last knock. As my hand left the door I heard footsteps coming to the door. Suddenly the door swung open. I looked up to see a middle aged man smiling at us. It was Robert. :)
We talked about him, family, church, and Salt Lake — lots of things. But the miracle happened when we asked Robert a question, he smiled and looked us in the eyes and said, "I am looking for faith. I am a Catholic. I believe in God, but I am looking to have more faith in my life." With tears in his eyes he looked down and said, "I want great faith like you sisters have, I just haven’t found it yet."
I was amazed by how soft his heart is and how ready Robert is to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ in his life. We left with a prayer, and the Spirit was so strong I can’t even describe it to you. Standing there in a hot Maryland evening on Robert's porch, the Holy Ghost testified to all of us of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Though Robert is not my investigator, and I probably won't know what happens with him here, I know with out a doubt he will be baptized. He is ready — he just doesn’t know yet what it is that he is ready for. I love seeing miracles.
The next is the miracle of timing. I have grown a huge testimony of the Lord's timing. Nothing happens just by coincidence, and this week, we had a lot of "perfect timing situations."
We went to visit our investigators Sulema, Angel and their 2 kids, Angie and Dominique. When we arrived, we found that they were not home. I was a little disappointed of course, but I looked on the stairs to see another lady sitting there with her children. I started talking to her and come to find out, she "happens" to be a referral I have been trying to get a hold of for a few weeks. We found her!
Coincidence? No.
She was there and God knew we would find her. We talked with her and got her information and set up a return visit. We were about to leave when another investigator drove up. Perfect timing! William got out of his car with a big smile on his face. "Hermanas, how you be? How you day? Come, sit. What you have for me today?"
This man is one of the most humble people I have met. He cannot read but listens to the Book of Mormon on Spanish CD's. As we were reading him some of the Book of Mormon, some of William's neighbors stopped by to see what we were doing. He invited them to sit down with us. You should have seen their faces when they see two 'lil white girls speaking Spanish. Priceless.
Before you knew it, we had William, his neighbor Domingo, Elder and Norma sitting on the steps outside listening to stories in the Book of Mormon. What a sight to behold. I couldn’t stop smiling the rest of the night. This may seem just a little miracle, but wow, it touched my heart. The Lord has perfect timing in all that he does. Sometimes it takes patience, but in the end, it is worth the wait.
Sorry this email is sooo long. I could just keep going and going but I know you all have other things to do, as do I. I hope you all know how much I love this Gospel. I love being a missionary and spreading the word to these people that do not have it. What a blessing it is to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. :)
What miracles have you seen this week? Pray for them and I know you will find them! Have a good one!
Te Amo
-Hermana Newman :)
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