COLUMBIA, Md. — I don’t even know where to start. I am sitting
here trying to write with lots of thoughts and emotions. I am leaving my
mission here in Baltimore... my family. But I am going to my other family who
is waiting for me in Argentina.
How incredible.
I know the Lord needs me there, too, so I am also very excited to get down there. :)
We have
been letting our branch know we are leaving, and it kills me every time.
Everyone has such a sad face on, but then after they take a picture with us,
give us some hugs and kisses, they are fine and wish us well. We were asked to
bear our testimonies at church yesterday. It was a fun opportunity for sure.
There was a twist as well: two of our investigators were there who we hadn’t
told we were leaving. They were quite surprised I think. Whoops :) Our schedules are quite booked for the next two days because everyone wants
to feed us and say goodbye.
This week was great, weird as well knowing it was my last
here in Maryland for a while. But Hermana Crotzer and I were working hard to
leave with a bang! We had lots of miracles and crazy moments too.
The weather
here is crazy and we get lots of ice, so sometimes the cars are
"grounded" and we have to walk. Which is fine by me. But we are
located centrally and our area is the entire stake so nobody lives close. We make it work and make the best out of it and have quite the adventures.
I
want to tell you about one of the small miracles we saw. It was one of the days
we were grounded because of an ice storm. Hermana Crotzer and I grabbed our
boots and rain jackets and started walking up the road a few miles. We stopped
at a less-active member's house (Long story short she is not in our branch but
is Spanish and so the other ward asked us to work with her). When we
first met her, she was very grumpy and not warm and fuzzy at all. She said we Mormons
just visited her and she was just a statistic. It made me want to cry. Hermana Crotzer and I decided to visit her every other week so she didn’t feel
like a statistic and that she knew we loved her and cared. She is not a warm
person to begin with, but slowly and surely she has warmed up to us. Well, she
let us in her house (I think because we were soaking wet and cold) but we just
talked for a bit.
When it was time to leave, she offered us a ride home (first
miracle!) then after she dropped us off she said, "Hermanas, thanks for
not giving up on me. I know I can be snappy sometimes. But I appreciate your
visits."
WOAH! Miracle number two! I hope the missionaries keep working
with her and slowly and surely I know she can come back to the church. I LOVE
seeing miracles. They are all around us. Keep your eyes out... open... whatever
that saying is because you can find miracles all over the place.
I am not sure what else to say today except that I love you!
I am praying for you. I will talk to you next week except this time.... from
Argentina!! :) Have a great week
COLUMBIA, Md. — I am sitting here in the library with
tears rolling down my face.
I just got an email that I cannot even
believe is real. To make sure, I called my mission President. He looked
in his email and sure enough I have my visa to go to Argentina. President
cried with me on the phone. Both tears of joy and sadness.
I can't
believe I am leaving Baltimore. This truly is my mission and it is hard
to think I am leaving. But I am willing to go where the Lord needs me.
Watch
out Argentina, here I come!
------
EDITORS NOTE: Hermana Newman will be leaving Baltimore for Buenos Aires via Miami Wednesday, Dec. 18. We will post more information as we get it, but if you're thinking of sending her a letter, do it by Friday, Dec. 13.
COLUMBIA, Md. — How are you doing? From what I hear, it sounds like you are all
doing pretty good.
Mom: Thank you for your fun little package. Sister Crotzer and I had fun with the stuff for sure.
Juli: Loved your
letters and blog and pictures. Gracias. I especially
loved the picture of your baby belly. Ha soooo cute! So weird to think
that I will have another niece or nephew by the time I get home.
Thank
you everyone for your letters and support every week. You are the best
and I LOVE hearing how everything is going.
Everything in Maryland is going well. We are having lots of
success with our less active members. We have one whole family who have
been to church 4 times in a row and are receiving callings! Happy day
for sure.
We are still working with a few investigators
as well. Some are more prepared than others, but they know the Gospel
is true. They just have to take it step by step and gain that conversion
and testimony for themselves.
It sounds like you are all doing great
with missionary work as well! Wahoooo! Keep
it up! I love hearing all the stories.
We have been having some weather
that can't decide what it wants to do. It was super hot and then the
last couple of days have been rather chilly. But you won't hear me
complaining, I am loving chilly... very nice change
for sure! :)
I am still here in the good ole' Columbia 3rd Spanish Branch
and I am loving every second of it. No word on the visa, so I think I am
still needed for someone or something here in Maryland. It's weird to
think I have been here so long. I sometimes wonder
why I am still here but, I just have to trust in the Lord. Everything
in his timing for sure! Best way to go, no doubt. He knows what he is
doing!
We had a man from the high council come speak in our branch
yesterday, and it kind of went along with what I just said. He was a
great speaker and I — as well as many people in the meeting — needed to
hear his message! He was talking about how
everything in his life never went according to plan. He liked having a
plan and was frustrated that everything never worked out. He gave some
examples from his life, like not getting into medical school his first
try, or not getting the residency he wanted,
etc. Long story short: Nothing went according to HIS plan. But it was
according to the Lord's plan.
He had an experience in Haiti, doing an
operation on a young boy's femur where he discovered how amazing the
Lord's timing truly is. If all the things he wanted
to do went according to his plan, he would have never had the
opportunity to go to Haiti and help this young boy.
It got me thinking a lot. I know we all do it. We get frustrated or bummed out when things
don't "work out" but, I promise that things will work
out. The Lord is just making it work out the best way possible. He
knows what needs to happen, who you need to help, who you need to meet,
who you need to say hello to or give a smile to. Don't ever doubt that
the Lord knows what He is doing. He definitely
does! I know that I am supposed to go to Buenos Aires, Argentina! And I
am SOOOOO excited to help my brothers and sisters there. But I also
know that someone needs me here too!
What a blessing to have Heavenly
Father's hand in our lives. If you are confused
or need some reassurance, just get down and pray. He is always willing
to answer and listen to you. He is our Father, and we are his
Children. Like the saying goes: "when life gets too hard to stand... kneel!"
We had some interesting experiences this week for sure. Hermana Crotzer and I were going to
visit one of our investigators. We started walking towards her
apartment when, in the distance, I saw some Hispanic ladies
sitting on the sidewalk. We started to head over to them, and it turned
out to be our investigator and her friend. They welcomed us and invited
us to sit down. We gabbed for a bit and then the friend asked if she
could paint my toenails. HA! What? That's random
and ridiculously awesome all at the same time :) Of course you can
paint my toes! So, yes, I had the opportunity to get a pretty awesome
lil' pedicure and talk about the Restoration of Jesus Christ. Ya, don't
have that happen everyday, that's for sure.
That's
a silly little example, but it kind of helped me realize something. You
can bring up the Gospel to people always, no matter what you are doing.
Sometimes it seems a little easier as a missionary because we have the
name badge and that is our job 24-7, but anyone
can do it. You can bring up the Gospel at church, at school, at the
grocery store, in the neighborhood, or even while you are getting your
nails painted. ;) The Gospel is for everyone. God will help us know who
is ready. If we are willing to open our mouths,
He will fill them! D&C 84:85!!!
The work is moving forward here in Maryland Baltimore Mission, as
well as all over the world!! How cool is that to think about!?! I have
people ask me all the time. "Is your church only here in Maryland? Oh,
then only here in the U.S." You should see
their faces when I tell them there are missionaries and members all
over the world spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All so different
too: young, old, black, white, Asian, Hispanic, tall, short, English
speaking, Korean, Finnish, French — the list goes
on and on. We are all SO different in everything! But the cool thing
is that there is one thing that unites us as one. WE ARE CHILDREN OF
GOD AND WE ARE ALL THE SAME IN THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST! We are
followers and disciples of Him. And we are here
to help ourselves, our families and everyone else we meet and share the
message we all know to be true.
We have a saying in my family: "We are
Newmans, and we can do hard things!" Well I would just like to rearrange
it a little and say, "We are Mormons and
we can do ALL things!" Or again, in the words of Sis. Dibb, "I am a
Mormon. I know it, I live it, I love it!"
Don't forget who you are, who
you represent and whose help you have! We are soo blessed to be
members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Keep being awesome and working hard! Have a great week! Give em a little bit of Heaven!
COLUMBIA, Md. — Another wonderful week in Maryland has passed. I can’t believe I have been in Maryland for 2 months. It’s not very long, but time is flying for sure! The weather here is still hot, but thankfully not as hot as a couple weeks ago. It is bearable and I don’t mind it at all.
I would now just love to get rid of the yucky mosquitoes. I don’t have eczema on my legs anymore, but they are infested with mosquito bites. Dumb bugs! All is well, though, as long as I don’t get mosquitoes in Argentina and get dengue, I think I will be good.
This week has been great. Guess where I got to go?!? Don’t be too jealous.
Yes, got to go to the DC Visitor Center. The temple is beautiful just like everyone has told me :) I wish we could have gone inside! I miss going to the temple. I haven’t been in 2 months, which is the longest time I have ever been without going to the temple. It is killing me. But it’s okay because I am a missionary and get to help the people here in Maryland instead. But one day, I am coming back to Maryland and going to the DC temple. It is way pretty! We went with a member in the branch and a family from Mexico. It was really nice, and I think they liked it a lot. They were really shy and didn’t talk too much, but we are going to start teaching them this week. I am really excited!
It has been a little hard to find new investigators and visit members and less actives because it is summer. And apparently, people like to leave and go on vacation in the summer. What? Who do they think they are? Don’t they know that we need them here and we have a message to change their lives? ;)
I can't think of a particular story to tell this week, but I have definitely learned a few things. One big lesson I have learned again this week was the easiest and best way to do things is just by following the Spirit. We found one family and two ladies this week to teach because we went by the Spirit and were not afraid to open our mouths. I Love it!
We were walking around trying to find a potential investigator's house. That’s when we happened upon a lady named Sara. I had the impression to say hello and talk to her. I was scared for some reason though. I kept fighting with myself while we were walking up to her what I would do. Finally we caught up and it was go time. What am I going to do? Talk to her or just smile, say hi and keep walking?
What kind of question is that, Hermana Newman?
Luckily, I had my head on straight and I listened and I talked and walked with her for a bit. Asked her how she was doing and who we were etc. I asked if she lived close and if we could share a message with her and her family. She smiled and me and said, "Claro, Hermana. Pasen." (Of course sister, come in) My heart stopped for a split second.
What? Did she really just say yes? That doesn’t usually happen.
A lot of times they are not interested, too busy or ask us to come back a different day. I was so happy. We met with her family and got to know them better and started teaching them about the Restoration. Long story short, we have a new family to teach. I know it is not because of me: totally the Spirit guiding two 'lil sister missionaries. I know that when we forget ourselves, not worry about it and just go and do what Heavenly Father needs us to, we can see miracles and have blessings.
Another cool blessing I have noticed this week was my Spanish. Trust me, I am nowhere near fluent. I have quite a ways to go, but I can definitely get around and talk to people. I mess up sometimes and people love to help me. A lot of the times I am so scared and just have to pretend I am not. But this week, as I put my fear aside, the Lord helped me open my mouth and speak.
My Spanish is slowly increasing and getting better. I love leaving appointments and thinking back, "Wow, we just taught that whole thing in Spanish." Or just walking around outside talking to everyone and having conversations in Spanish. I really do love these people already. They are awesome!
By the time they get to Argentina, they might not need these coats.
My absolute favorite thing is when people look at us with weird faces and are just staring. It’s the best. They are staring because they see two lil white girls speaking to them in Spanish. I love when people ask, "Where did you learn to speak Spanish?" Or "How long have you known Spanish?" It’s the best! Testimony to me of how much God really can help us. I have only been out 3 months and my language still needs a lot of improvement, but from going from zero Spanish to where I am now? I am grateful to my Heavenly Father every day! What a blessing.
The cool thing is that Heavenly Father wants to bless us all every day, but we just have to ask. This week, ask for specific blessings — do your part and I know that God can bless you with what you need if it is His will. God is so loving and wants to help us. Don’t think if you don’t get it right away that He doesn’t care. I absolutely know 100% He does care! God is a God of miracles and blessings. He loves me and He definitely loves you. Be good, do what you are supposed to, strive everyday to be a little better and you will see blessings, and your life will change for the better.
I love you with all my heart! Have a fabulous week! Until next time: Give em Heaven!
How are you?!?! I don’t know why, but today I am super excited to email today. I wish I could see your faces and give you all a great big hug. But, since that’s not gonna happen, just imagine me giving you a great big cheesy grin.
Holy cow, I was spoiled this week. I got a letter from Grandma, Aunt Lisa, Brittany, Nick, Juli and then birthday packages from Erianne and Juli and the Girls! Thank you thank you! I love hearing how everyone is doing. Sounds like everyone seems to be doing well. I have been praying for Chris with his test. How did it go? That smarty-pants probably aced it like a boss! Thank you for all your love and support! I have the best family and friends ever! Lucky me! Thanks for putting up with me for so long! ;)
This week was great. Lots of miracles again. One being the weather. We had 2 whole days of beautiful weather. Low humidity and not hot. I was in heaven! Now, the weather has returned to the normal hot and humid but it's okay, I definitely enjoyed it while it lasted.
Sara finds her favorite dog: a Boxer!
I am not fluent by any means, but my Spanish has improved, which makes me so happy. I was nervous when Hermana Brown left, but the Lord won't let you fail if you try. I hadn’t really noticed my Spanish until all the branch members kept telling me I had improved. And then I realized.... wow. I am talking to people in Spanish. HA! That sounds weird. I can’t even explain. It is definitely a blessing to be able to speak and understand a different language. And of course there are those awesome times when you and your companion look at each other with "that face" and neither of you know what' s going on. Gotta love it. My accent and pronunciation is getting a lot better, too. Just need to keep working on the grammar rules and conjugation. Okay, I will stop rambling about that because I am sure you have better things to read about than how my Spanish is.
Hermana Newman learns how to make tortillas from scratch
This week was full of all sorts of different kinds of days. My companion is still getting used to being out here, so days that are not super awesome are hard for her. We had one day this week where we talked to a lot of people, but taught zero lessons. Yes, zero. Those days are hard because you wonder what you are doing wrong. I could tell my companion was concerned so I just smiled at her and said "It's all for a reason."
It is true. If we are being exactly obedient, then it is all for a reason. I don’t know why we weren’t able to sit down and teach people. But what I do know is that we were doing what the Lord wanted of us that day. We were meeting people, learning, getting practice; the list goes on and on. It doesn’t matter what part of the work we are doing, just as long as we are willing to do the part that God needs us to do. So, when He asks you to do something, don’t hesitate and wonder why, just do it!
Getting those Argentine sleeping bags ready
This week we were able to meet with five families that we have been trying to meet with for the whole last transfer. I don’t know why this week they finally opened their doors, but they did. God's timing is perfect. I know I say that every week but it is true! Several times we would show up to people's houses, just as they were getting home, or they would be outside in their yards or they didn’t want to talk to us but would let us in to use the bathroom or get some water and then start talking about the church. A lot of these people we met with have been less active for years. Their hearts are hurt, or hardened but our job is to love them. Love them like Christ would love them. Let them know that we care about them and they are missed. It is amazing what can change with a little bit of love.
Okay, I feel like I am rambling again. So, I will get off. Sorry there was not a big story or happening this week, but the little things make the big things happen. This week for your missionary moment, go out and find someone to love. Choose a person and be their friend, love them like Jesus Christ would! Let them know you care. You will make a difference in their lives, and I promise you will notice a difference in yours! I know because I have noticed it in my life. I have been trying to develop the Christlike characteristics in Preach My Gospel. I am working on Christlike love. Seeing people like He does changes your perspective and changes you. Let the change happen!
Have a great week. Be good, make good friends, don’t let South Jordan get ya ;)
COLUMBIA, Md. — It sounds like you are all doing well. I haven’t heard from my family in Ohio or Texas. My prayers are being sent to you. I know you're busy with stuff, but if you get a chance, send me a quick email or letter so I know how you are doing. Love you all soo much!
Dad, the Burns' are doing an Argentina day, huh? Lucky! Are you going to try some food? Let me know how it is. Everyone tells me it is delicious and that I am gonna be a "gordita" or fatty when I come home. My Relief Society president keeps saying if you don’t remember any Spanish just remember "yo quiero empenadas". Made me chuckle.
Wahoooo! Yay for Sister Missionaries! Sister Christensen, Sister Thompson, Sister Newman, Hermana Newman, Sister Yates, Sister Watko and Sister Rawlings. Wahoo for the 3rd Ward! And yeah for the Elders too! :) Happy day! AND Erianne got home?!? I love that girl! Best Missionary ever! Send her my love please :) I am sure her talk was great.
Holy smokes, does time fly. I cannot believe I am done with my first transfer already. Has it already been 6 weeks? I guess so. I dropped my companion off this afternoon at the mission office, she is heading to Argentina. Bittersweet. We were a good companionship but I am happy for her!
Good bye to Hermana Brown
I will get my new companion on Wednesday, so for now, I am with the Sister Training Leaders in an English area.
I am sure most of you know, but for those of you who don’t: I am training this transfer. BAHHHHH! What?!? Me training, in Spanish? Ha. Wow, Heavenly Father must be testing me or something. I know I can do it, but it still scares me half to death. I haven’t even completed my full training yet. Oh well. Guess we will both finish learning together, right?
This week has been great. Pretty busy, but awesome. We had 24 lessons, which is so good for our area, AND 3 investigators at church and 15 less actives! There sure are miracles happening in Columbia 3rd Spanish Branch! Gotta love it :) Hermana Brown was speaking on Sunday, so lucky me, I got to coordinate all the other things and make sure everyone felt welcome and had someone to sit with, etc. Not too hard, right? Well, when your stress level goes up and you are nervous, turns out that your Spanish declines! I figured it all out, but man, it was funny trying to speak and help our investigators out during sacrament meeting. Good memory, for sure.
The Sanchez Family
It's crazy to think just 6 weeks ago, Hermana Brown and I opened up this area. It’s doing pretty well right now and hopefully it keeps progressing. I am the only missionary staying in the branch. We are getting new elders and sisters in the Spanish branch, so I am the one who has been in the area the longest, which is really funny.
Our Branch President told us something really neat today. He said he has been praying for Spanish sisters for this area for a long time, and now here we are. He said that he has never seen so many people excited and coming back to church before. Sometimes we don’t see the miracles but he reminded us that just because we don’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t happening. It made me feel great and that I really am here for a reason. I know that I need to go to Argentina, but I also know people need me here in Maryland right now, so I am happy to be in this little branch!
We have had a lot of fun happy times this week, and of course, some bummer times as well. It is so hard for me to see people choose to not listen. We had to drop one investigator this week, and the Rivera Family that we have been working so hard with are on a decline right now. We are still working with them and hoping for the best, but for some reason they have stopped progressing. :( I have faith they can turn around but there is only so much we can do as missionaries, they have to use agency and choose for themselves.
The Rivera Family
Can I just say Satan is ridiculous! He always seems to get in the way. I always know when something "randomly" goes wrong, I know who to blame. He is very sneaky. I have learned that just as real as Heavenly Father is, Satan is real, too, and he definitely is out to stop the work from progressing. But the cool thing is that he will not win, he will not conquer!
I love the happiness the Gospel brings to families. I love the light in people's eyes when we teach them lessons. This mission is changing many people’s lives, including my own. Not a day goes by that I don’t learn something new. It’s amazing what can happen when you devote your whole self to God and the Gospel. I wish I had done it more at home! Life is so much better when you have your priorities in line. :)
Soledad, their investigator
Well, family, my time is up again. I don’t know if my letters make sense or anything. Hopefully they can help someone, but if not, the most important part is I LOVE YOU! I am sooooo happy and grateful to be a missionary! I am very needed here in Maryland and I am grateful for your support.
Have an awesome week! Keep me updated. Do some missionary work.
COLUMBIA, Md. — Maryland is great but holy cow, can you say hot?!?
This whole week has been high 80's almost 90's and high humidity. I was talking
to a mail lady and was asking her how her day was. She said good and she was
enjoying the weather. I said oh man, I am not used to it yet. She told me I
better enjoy it while it lasts.
Apparently, its going start getting into the 90's and 100's with high
humidity the rest of the summer. I am doing fine amazingly with the heat but
wow, it is a different type of hot than Utah that is for sure. In fact, I am
sweating just sitting here typing this to you.
So, what is new with you family? What are you all
up to? I hope summer is great and you are having fun and smiling lots.
This
week was quite a busy week, but weirdly enough, one of the harder weeks with not
very many lessons. Funny thing about Hispanic people, they usually don’t answer
the door, even though you can hear them or see them. It’s quite a regular thing
here and every time it happens, I want to give them a big smile and say I HAVE
WHAT YOU NEED!
This week, Hermana
Brown and I developed a new game plan for the door. We stand there smiling and
waving, so when they look through the peep whole they see how nice we are and
they have to answer the door. Oh dear, the things you do as
missionaries. Let me tell you a little about my week here:
Hermana Brown got her Visa!!
Bahhhhhh! So excited for her! They wanted her to leave tomorrow morning but
President convinced them to let her stay 3 more weeks since she is training.
Do
you know what that means? Either, A-) I
am going to be training a new Spanish sister next transfer, or B-) I am going to
be switched with the other sisters in an English area. Crazy. I don’t
know what the plans are yet, but I will let you know when I know more. Hermana
Brown heads to Salta Argentina on July 15! :)
Learning How to Eat a Mango
I am pretty sure I wrote to you about the Rivera
family earlier. The mom, Alma, is a less active and her daughters are
nonmembers. Her daughters were on date to be baptized on my birthday (how cool
would that be). But sadly, they are off date now because they are not coming to
church. They like the messages and they understand a lot, but they are just not
understanding the changes they need to make in life and why church is so important. That is a common thing with a lot of
people we visit. They are living the Gospel, minus the going to church part. No
Bueno!
But, on a happy note, we got to teach just Alma this week and we
definitely "won her heart." She opened up to us a lot. We had a great
lesson with her about the Book of Mormon and prayers. The Spirit was definitely
present and she could feel it. It was really neat to see her smile and talk
about the Gospel. She doesn’t remember a lot because she went less active when
she was 11. But we are working with her and her daughters a lot. They have a
lot of potential! I would be so happy to see them baptized and dressed all in
white.
We are also teaching Alma English, which is
interesting. It is fun, but I never realized how hard English is to explain.
English is weird! We were trying to tell her how to say estoy emocionada
in English (I am excited!) but she couldn’t pronounce excited until we wrote
it out phonetically in Spanish (exaithed). Then she got it! It's going to be an adventure for us all, and a
great learning experience. She is also helping me with my Spanish, which
is great.
This is for My Dad
Spanish is going well. Some days are better than
others, of course. Some days, I let fear get in my way, which is not good, but
the days I just try and use the Spirit and open my mouth, my Spanish is good
and I can communicate. That is what I am working on now: trusting and
speaking the language and not being afraid. The people are really nice and love
to help and correct you. They love it when they see white girls speaking
Spanish — its great!
Our mission is focusing on bringing a lot of less
active members back along with new investigators. We have a lot of people in
our branch that are less active and so a big focus is on them, so right now we
only have a few investigators. The work is definitely moving forward! It breaks
my heart to see people who had the Gospel, and then just walk away from it. I
have seen it so many times this week, and it makes me want to cry. That is why we
are looking for real growth and conversion, not just testimonies.
Not everyone wants to hear our message, but that
is okay. God expects us to share it anyways, until we find those who are
prepared to receive it. I know he is preparing people because I have already
met some of them. I know he is preparing them here for me in Maryland as well
as in Buenos Aires. The Lord's timing is amazing!!!!
We had a missionary broadcast yesterday, which was
great. There are 70,000+ missionaries out right now! Can you believe it?
Missionaries are definitely needed, that is for sure. As more are coming out,
the Lord is preparing more people. The Gospel is spreading and reaching
many people all over the world. It is amazing to think about.
The broadcast
really focused on unity of members and missionaries. Members are truly how this
work gets to people, the missionaries are just tools to help! I know that the
members in our branch are the reason we have people to teach. Make sure you are helping the missionaries in your area. The Lord expects all of us to be
missionaries. We were predestined for this work!
As part of Abraham’s seed, we
are called to the work! Make sure you are doing it! Invite people to
activities, or over for dinner or whatever means you need to do. Make sure you
are being a servant of the Lord even if you aren’t called as a full time
missionary. I know you can do it and I want to hear how it goes for you all.
Alma 8:31-32 (Use the spirit, God will direct you!- We are all missionaries
called to this work! Don’t forget)
I can't express how much I love this Gospel and
missionary work! It is blessing my life, and many people here in Maryland. God's plan is perfect and He wants all of us to know it and follow the plan. This
week I want to commit each of you to choose someone (less active or non member)
and do missionary work! Serve them, love them, teach them, whatever takes. Will
you do it? Make sure to tell me about the miracles you see. I know if you
ask God for miracles and watch for them, you will see them!
Have a wonderful week! I love you so much!
:) You are amazing and such good examples to me! Keep smiling, do what is
right. Life is good!
[Editor's Note: Hermana Newman has been temporarily reassigned to the Maryland Baltimore Mission until she is granted a visa from Argentina. She arrived in Baltimore on Monday, June 2nd. We received a message from her mission president that she arrived safely] PROVO - Oh my goodness, fam bam , I can't believe that it
is my last preparation day at the MTC. There have been a lot of
"lasts" this week. I cannot believe how the time has flown by. I am
super excited to leave the MTC and head to Baltimore, but I am very nervous as
well. I know "MTC" Spanish, but I know when I get out in the
field it's going to be like what to quote The
Best Two Years... "That’s notthe language they taught me in the MTC!" The Lord will bless
me and help me with the language I am sure.
I don’t know hardly any information about
Maryland or mission info, how long I will be there, etc. I guess I will find out when I get there, and
I will let you know. Please pray that I am in a Spanish area or that my
companion speaks Spanish. It would be super helpful with language study. I don't
want to decline in Spanish,but continue to progress and learn more each day.
It was SO fun to get to call home and talk to
Mom, Dad and Brit last week, even if it was only 5 minutes. I have missed your
voices a lot! But no worries it was good to hear them and made me very happy.
Dad, I got the Fazerinas[Finnish
Chocolate] from Leslie. I accidentaly threw away her address, but would you
please tell her THANK YOU! They are the best :) Also thank you for the Lakerols
and Patkis[Finnish Candy and Chocolate] --
totally made my week. I even shared with my roommates and they are in love with
Finland now.
I want to hear how Europe was this go around. Send me pics
or stories when you get a chance! We need to go back one day... deal? Europe is
such a cool place.
I am very excited to get to Argentina though because
I hear it's pretty awesome too Sounds like its as busy as ever at the Newman
household!
Woooo! I hope Nick and Juli and the girlies are
having TONS of fun in California. Good luck to Hannah and Chris with moving and
Chris taking the test. You got this buddy! You are a smartie :) When does Brit
take the NCLEX? Like what day? She is going to do great too! I am so stoked for
her to be a nurse finally!
I have been praying for you all like crazy. And
what the... I still can’t believe my sis
is getting married! I am really excited for her though! How awesome! I am
excited to see pictures and hear how everything goes. I feel like I am busy
here as a missionary but it sounds like you all are running non-stop.
Today is going to be a crazy preparation day
because I need to pack for Monday. I head out at 6 a.m., which is super nice because
most of the other missionaries are leaving at 3 am. Counting my blessings for
sure!
Just for fun I thought I would tell you where are district all is
going to. Hermana Hillstead is going to Louisiana; Hermana Tanner, Elder
White and Elder Dawson are all going to Texas. Elder Schumacher is headed to West
Virginia; Me, Maryland; Hermana Watson Salt Lake South and Elder Hyer
and Jackson got their visas and are heading to Peru! Crazy business! I
have come to love these Elders and Sisters we have grown really close the last
few weeks. I am sad to see them go but excited for us all to get out there
and spread the Gospel. Our district is a pretty stellar group... just
sayin' ;)
This week we had the cool experience to meet with
some Muslim people from an interfaith group from Southern California or
something. Elder Oaks set it up,
and we were the only missionaries that got to meet with them. They told us we
would be representing all the missionaries: around 67,000+. No pressure, right?
;) It was a really neat experience. We just got to talk with them and they
asked us some questions about why we were serving and how missions work, etc. I
had no reason to be nervous. They were very nice and interested in the MTC and missionary
program. We took a picture with them and then they left and went to visit with
the MTC president. I didn’t make a huge difference in their lives or probably
any difference but, I hope that as they met with us they were able to notice
and see something different. I hope they could see the light of Christ in
our eyes and feel the Spirit.
It makes me excited to teach all sorts of people
with different backgrounds from all over the world. I am excited to share the
message of the Gospel that I know to be true.
God loves us all, he wants us to
return. Jesus Christ made it possible to return. We can return if we have faith, repent are baptized have the Holy Ghost and endure to the end!!!!
It’s
that simple. God doesn’t make things hard. We do. We just have to listen, and
obey. My purpose is to invite my lost brothers and sisters of Argentina (and
now Baltimore) unto Christ! What a blessing that is in my life! What a great
opportunity to be a missionary. Missionary work is good. It is moving forward.
We are strong- We are an army here at the MTC getting prepared to help
bring people happiness and salvation.
How great the work is! I love it and I
know you all do as well. I know Brittany always told us this and sometimes I
took it for granted but please family, be a missionary in Utah, in Texas, in
Ohio, wherever. You can do it! It takes courage but if you open your mouth, the
Lord with fill it! I have come to know that to be true. (D&C 84:85)
I love you so much! Have a great week. Be good,
make good friends, Choose the Right and keep smiling because LIFE IS SO GOOD :)
