Four Minutes

Luis Guillon - Argentina

Hope this letter finds you with a big smile. Wanna know why? Because I LOVE YOU!!!! AND I have some great news. I already sent the picture.... but as you know the family Velazquez got baptized. Well Nancy has been having some trouble with her work and has not been assisting every week. Hermana Mills (now Abbi), Me and Hna Vargas have been working hard to help her find the faith to quit. We have been praying hard and working hard. We sent her a scripture this week rooting her on and helping her feel the need to just do it and trust in the Lord. We asked her if she would be coming this Sunday and she said no but the kids would be coming. To my suprise at 9:20 walks in the kids and a very Beautiful Hna Velazquez all ready to go for church. As I am sure you can imagine I had a big grin from ear to ear, jumped up and hugged her to death and silently (because we were in church) screamed! I am soooooo happy. This truly is my miracle of my week! So excited and happy for her. She has soooo much faith it is amazing. She is a little nervous that she quit her job but she is totally relying on the Lord to help her out, I am excited to see the miracles that come after :) 

 Victory pictures... Hermana Velazquez Finally quit her job! WAHOOOOOOO! :) Couldn't be happier!

I have to tell you a funny story that just happened this morning. Now that you had your smile I hope you are ready for the Laugh part..... We were walking to get to the train station to come and do emails this morning. We walk a lot of the same routes and have some friends along the way that we always say hello to. Today one of our friends that we talk to was outside is fruit/veggie stand. He put out his hand and told us to stop. So, of course we stopped to see what he needed or wanted to say. He with a big smile turned to his son and said, ¨The Norteamericana. Thats her.¨He then continued to say to me ¨This is my son. He is very good looking and can speak some English ...you should marry him.¨ Awkward as awkward can be right? The worse part is that he was Very good looking young Argentine man and all my companion and I could think to say was. No, we are missionaries thanks. ¨He said, well he can be a missionary too. I am about died laughing and am sure I was red from embarrassment, but we said our goodbyes and went on our ways. Don’t worry I will not be marrying this argentine. Still a good ol Missionary! WOO thank goodness for that.  hahahaha Oh dear. gotta love adventures in Buenos Aires.  :) 

America Baby! Grilled Cheese and Soup Yum.

A view in the country

What else? OH... Guess what? More exciting news. I am going to the temple this week! We usually go the last week before you go home but the temple will be closed so we get to go this week. This week is going to be crazy but I am sooo excited.

Eat Fresh! Yum, Subway

Let me give you an inside scoop of what is planned to happen. Tuesday we have district meeting and then have to travel far away to train the new mission nurse.  Wednesday we have leadership meeting. Thursday we have exchanges with the sisters. Friday I go to the temple. Saturday and Sunday is conference. Wow. Crazy week but a great week for sure! I am most excited for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I am going to experience a little bit more of Heaven. Temple, and Conference all within three days? :) Cant wait! I will let you know how it goes. 

We are doing great here in Guillón. Still working hard to find new investigators. We have yet to find them but we are still searching and working with the Ward. The ward is awesome! They are very involved and love to help. They are the best and befriending the new people in the ward and helping them feel comfortable. Keep us in your prayers this week. I just KNOW there is someone waiting for us to find them and teach them. I am excited to find out who it is. 

Cheesy Grins!

Exchanges with Hermana Adama from Peru

I don’t have much more time. But I do want to end with another think I learned form the Liahona this week. 

-Noelle’s previous 2006 Olympic dreams were dashed when a terrible accident left her with a broken leg. In the 2010 Olympics her dreams fell short again when just over one-tenth of a second kept her from the medal stand. Can you imagine the anxiety she felt as she waited to begin her first run in the 2014 Olympics? Years of preparation would culminate in only a sliver of time. Four minutes total. She spent years preparing for those four minutes and would spend a lifetime afterward reflecting on them.

-It may seem unfair that Noelle’s entire Olympic dreams hinged on what she did during just four brief minutes. But she knew it, and that is why she prepared so diligently. She sensed the magnitude, the urgency of her four minutes, and what they would mean for the rest of her life.

Do you sense the urgency?

-My young friends, wherever you are in your “four-minute performance,” I urge you to ponder, “What do I need to do next to ensure my medal?” 

-Whatever it may be, do it now. Don’t wait. Your four minutes will pass quickly, and you’ll have eternity to think about what you did in this life.8

-Self-discipline is needed. Daily prayer, scripture study, and church attendance must be the foundation of your training. A consistent pattern of obeying the commandments, keeping the covenants you have made, and following the Lord’s standard found in For the Strength of Youth is required.

-The miracle of the Atonement can make up for imperfections in our performance. 

-“… It is never too late so long as the Master … says there is time. … Don’t delay.”

-This is your moment to perform. This is your four minutes! The time is now!

Now, these of course are the highlights of what I read I encourage you again to go read the talk yourselves. It is amazing! I know we are not Olympic medalist but we are in a race... a race for Eternity! The awesome thing about our race is that we have the Lords help and the Atonement on our side. Use it well! We need to use this wonderful gift we have. Like this Brother said It isnt too late. We just need to do it now. This week I want you to all pray about what you need to do to continue and do your best in this race. I promise you that as you pray and prepare that your answer will be in Conference this weekend. I am going to do it as well. We can do it together. I want to hear your miracles. Good luck! Have a great week and give it all you got. That is all He asks... The best that you can give!

Tear it up! Love ya like crazy!

-Hermana Newman :) 

Our other exchange with Hermana Ortiz. She is from Paraguay... she speaks Guarani

Following Up

Luis Guillion - ARGENTINA  Hello Beautiful Family of Mine :)

What a week it has been. We are working as hard as we can and trying to find new people but nobody was ready this week. We are hoping and praying to find some people ready to hear the gospel this week. I am sure there is someone waiting for us and I am excited! :) 

We have had some adventures this week. I sent a picture of it. But we went on Hermana Vargas first exchange as a sister training leader... hahah oh dear. Long story short. The place where we were trying to go was 2 hours away in train and bus. But we missed the first train to get to the second train. So we had to wait an hour for the second train. We got on and just as we were about to leave I thought.hmmm. maybe we should call the sisters. Turns out the next bus left at 6pm. We hopped off the train and went back home because we would have been waiting all day in the station. Anyway, it was quite the disaster/adventure. We just laugh about it and now we will being doing 2 exchanges this next week ;) WOOOOO! 

We missed the train

Hermana Vargas loves her water

I have been to nicer sections of town.

Another adventure was that we had a FHE in the ward this week. We are making a ward mission plan because we haven’t really had one. Part of it is that every other week we will be doing a FHE for the ward, and investigators. We had a great turn out. We played a game called find the treasure. Basically random objects around the church and then they had to tie it in with the gospel and how it could apply. (example. bar of soap.. repentance)  It’s hard to explain on email but it was fun. Then the elders talked about what the treasures of the gospel are and how we can share them with other people. The spirit was strong and I loved what they said. They said that whoever had a phone needed to get it out and send a text to a nonmember friend to invite them to church or the activity next week. awesome right? Gotta love technology! 

RS Activity

I have a goal to read the Liahona conference edition again before this conference in October. I am almost done. But today I was reading a talk that was amazing and I have to share. I am sure you have heard it or read it before. It’s called. ¨Following Up.¨ Any of you who were missionaries or know missionaries know that we LOVE to give commitments. But something important as well is to follow up. This is what Elder Ballard talks about in is talk and it was very powerful. I will only share the  highlights and then I want to leave you a personal commitment to go and read it this week. Will you do it? I hope so :) 

Highlights: 

-We can all be more consistently involved in missionary work by replacing our fear with real faith.

-If members learn to use the correct name of the Church in connection with the word Mormon, it will underscore that we are Christians, members of the Savior’s Church. Brothers and sisters, let us follow up and develop the habit of always making it clear that we belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

-I’m a great believer in the principle of follow-up. As it says in the missionary guide Preach My Gospel, “extending an invitation without following up is like beginning a journey without finishing it or buying a ticket to a concert without going into the theater. Without the completed action, the commitment is hollow.”2 Preach My Gospel teaches everyone not only how to invite but also how to follow up on our invitations. The purpose of missionary work is defined as inviting “others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.”3Inviting is certainly part of the process. But notice that there is much more to missionary work for members than simply extending invitations to people to listen to the missionaries. It also includes follow-up with the missionaries in the cultivation of faith, the motivation to repentance, the preparation for making covenants, and enduring to the end.

-In the spirit of Peter’s example, may I suggest that we can all be more consistently involved in missionary work by replacing our fear with real faith, inviting someone at least once a quarter—or four times every year—to be taught by the full-time missionaries. They are prepared to teach by the Spirit, with sincere and heartfelt inspiration from the Lord. Together we can follow up on our invitations, take others by the hand, lift them up, and walk with them on their spiritual journey.

-To help you in this process, I invite all members, regardless of your current calling or level of activity in the Church, to obtain a copy of Preach My Gospel. It is available through our distribution centers and also online. The online version can be read or downloaded at no cost. It is a guidebook for missionary work—which means it is a guidebook for all of us. Read it, study it, and then apply what you learn to help you understand how to bring souls to Christ through invitation and follow-up. As President Thomas S. Monson has said, “Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him.”

-It is my testimony that as we work together, seeking the one, inviting, and following up with trust and faith, the Lord will smile upon us and hundreds of thousands of God’s children will find purpose and peace in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Velasquez Family

Family and friends... whoever is ready this. I just want to testify of this Apostle’s words. For 3 conferences straight he has been talking about missionary service. That must mean it’s important. I know that it is part of the Lords plan to share this gospel with everyone. Before my mission I never really knew how but now... I do and know its our responsibility. Dont beat yourself up because you haven’t been doing it. Simply make a goal now, get down and pray and figure out who you can help out and how you need to do it. There are TONS of ways to share the gospel and be a missionary. Go out there and get em! Hope you are doing well. I am loving life! I am praying for you. Thanks for your love and support. Have a wonderful week! Tear it up!

Con Amor,

Hermana Newman :) 

What Are You Willing to Change?

Luis Guillon, Argentina - I think I just sneezed and we are already half way through September. What? haha HAPPY MONDAY family. I hope you are all doing well and enjoying your day there up North.

Its a beautiful sunshiny day here in Luis Guillon. We are going to enjoy some time outside in the sun playing soccer and hopefully basketball. But I think I am one of the few who likes basketball so probably will just make a fool out of myself and play some soccer! haha WOOO!

Hermana Vargas and I. You think i do crazy buns on top of my head.... her hair is even cooler. HUGE!

This week was great. A little slow and weird but that is always how it is in a new transfer with a new companion. Everyone has to adjust and learn how to do things in a new way. It’s funny because before my mission I remember not like change at all. Brittany would always laugh at me because I couldn’t even change my room around. Now? Changes all the time! Bring it on! ;) 

Hermana Mills should be back in the states by now I think. Weird to think about. But  I know her family was happy to see her. It was weird to see them here in Argentina. Her Dad gave me a hug and I about wet my pants. haha Hermana Mills had to tell him not to touch the Hermanas. haha He is awesome. Love the Mills family. 

-This is a house but I thought there gate was funny so I snapped a picture... nothing special but it made me smile.

Hermana Vargas and I had an adventure this week trying to find new people and working with the people we have now. Sadly our baptismal dates fell through for September but we are hoping they will work out for October. Keep them in your prayers please. Hermana Vargas is great. We find ourselves laughing all the time. Missionary work is the best when you have a fun companion. She is helping even more with my spanish which is a blessing and in turn... I am helping her learn English. She learned how to pray and sing this week. This next week we will focus on some key verbs. She is a little timid to speak English but she can read like a pro! 

 

Thanks for the Peanut Butter. We are in Heaven!

Another short letter this week, but I want to share a little quote before I send this.

¨The gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to change. “Repent” is its most frequent message, and repenting means giving up all of our practices—personal, family, ethnic, and national—that are contrary to the commandments of God. The purpose of the gospel is to transform common creatures into celestial citizens, and that requires change.¨

Elder Oaks

What are you willing to change? What are you will to give up? What are you willing to DO... To come unto Christ and be perfected in him? Moroni 10:32. It is not easy but it is worth it! Make the change, be the difference! Have a great week. Smile and shine that light of Christ for everyone to see! 

Love you! Besos!

-Hermana Newman :)