Our Christmas tree!!
We have grapevines in our house!
Baptism!!
Hello my dear friends and family!!!
We had a fantastic week this week!! Lots more rain, but full of great moments that make you so happy to be in the service of the Lord!!! The first one was the baptism of Zulma Calderon!!! She is an awesome young daughter of God, and definitely showed her faith in our Heavenly Father in the process of receiving the lessons this week, as we taught her about the Word of Wisdom. We told her about the fact that she couldn’t have coffee or tea, and before we could even invite her to live the Word of Wisdom, or promise the blessing that come from our obedience, she said, "Ok, I won’t have it anymore." Talk about faith!!!
Then, on Saturday, we had her baptism. There’s something truly special as you watch an investigator take those first steps into the font, and then go under, being reborn, spiritually clean.. The feeling is like nothing else... All of the heartache, frustration, miles walked in the rain, doors slammed in your face, people yelling at you in the street... None of it matters. It’s all so, so worth it. All you can think about is that investigator, and you see the joy in their eyes as they come out of the water, and all you can do is sigh, and smile. It’s those feelings that this work is all about!!
We had another cool experience this week, as we searched for some investigators that had been taught by missionaries before, but for some reason or another, had stopped. We were able to set an appointment, and we went to visit them. They had received a picture of the Cochabamba Temple, but had some questions about it. We taught them a little about eternal families, and the covenants that we make in the temple. I received a prompting from the spirit to share the hymn, Familias pueden ser eternas (Families can be Forever). I’ve learned from experience, that when you receive a prompting like that, never ignore it. I pulled out my Hymn book, and Elder Maravilla and I sang the hymn for them. In the middle of the hymn, their three year old son came over and began to sing with us!! We looked up at the mom, and she had tears in her eyes! The Spirit testifies through song, and I’m so happy we had the opportunity to share our testimonies through song with that family!!
We have a lot of investigators that are super awesome, but there’s one thing holding back a fair number of them..... Nobody in this country is married, and everyone is too lazy to do it... So that’s our issue that we are working on tackling with a fair number of our investigators.
Alright, interesting story of the week! We have a new tradition here in Senac. Our Bishop loves basketball. We don’t have tons of time on our Pdays, due to activities and such, so we wake up early on Saturday, and we go play with our bishop, some members, and we are working on inviting some of our investigators to come play!
Alright hope you all are enjoying the Christmas season!! Remember the reason for the season, and to share the light of the world this Christmas!! Love you all!! Have a great week!
Con amor, Elder Christian Duvall Newman
Dad, How awesome!! Coach Newman getting back into the game!! That 3-2 magic is awesome!! Glad to hear that the ward christmas party was awesome!! Love you Dad!!
Mom, Glad to hear that you were able to have a good time at the temple!! And the Christmas tree is super awesome!! Looks very good!! Some of our investigators gave us a little tree, so we have a little tree in the house! I will attach a picture. Love you mom!
Sarah, I was sick for a bit when I first got here! Hope you are feeling better! Good work with the games!! Dad has been telling me all about it! Love you Bear!!
Callie, Good luck with your tap dance!!! Hope you had a super fun time at your birthday party!! To answer your question, the Christmas decorations are about the same, there’s just not as many of them. Love you Callie!!
Emma, Transfers definitely happen for a reason, we definitely saw miracles this week!! Holy cow, nice job with drill!!!! Solos??!! Awesome!!! and cool experience with your prayer for confidence, I definitely have offered my fair share of those kind of prayers, and you know as well as I do now that our Heavenly Father answers those prayers!!! Love you sis!
Mom’s Questions:
1. Is it beginning to look like Christmas? How do people decorate and celebrate in Bolivia?
We had a fantastic week this week!! Lots more rain, but full of great moments that make you so happy to be in the service of the Lord!!! The first one was the baptism of Zulma Calderon!!! She is an awesome young daughter of God, and definitely showed her faith in our Heavenly Father in the process of receiving the lessons this week, as we taught her about the Word of Wisdom. We told her about the fact that she couldn’t have coffee or tea, and before we could even invite her to live the Word of Wisdom, or promise the blessing that come from our obedience, she said, "Ok, I won’t have it anymore." Talk about faith!!!
Then, on Saturday, we had her baptism. There’s something truly special as you watch an investigator take those first steps into the font, and then go under, being reborn, spiritually clean.. The feeling is like nothing else... All of the heartache, frustration, miles walked in the rain, doors slammed in your face, people yelling at you in the street... None of it matters. It’s all so, so worth it. All you can think about is that investigator, and you see the joy in their eyes as they come out of the water, and all you can do is sigh, and smile. It’s those feelings that this work is all about!!
We had another cool experience this week, as we searched for some investigators that had been taught by missionaries before, but for some reason or another, had stopped. We were able to set an appointment, and we went to visit them. They had received a picture of the Cochabamba Temple, but had some questions about it. We taught them a little about eternal families, and the covenants that we make in the temple. I received a prompting from the spirit to share the hymn, Familias pueden ser eternas (Families can be Forever). I’ve learned from experience, that when you receive a prompting like that, never ignore it. I pulled out my Hymn book, and Elder Maravilla and I sang the hymn for them. In the middle of the hymn, their three year old son came over and began to sing with us!! We looked up at the mom, and she had tears in her eyes! The Spirit testifies through song, and I’m so happy we had the opportunity to share our testimonies through song with that family!!
We have a lot of investigators that are super awesome, but there’s one thing holding back a fair number of them..... Nobody in this country is married, and everyone is too lazy to do it... So that’s our issue that we are working on tackling with a fair number of our investigators.
Alright, interesting story of the week! We have a new tradition here in Senac. Our Bishop loves basketball. We don’t have tons of time on our Pdays, due to activities and such, so we wake up early on Saturday, and we go play with our bishop, some members, and we are working on inviting some of our investigators to come play!
Alright hope you all are enjoying the Christmas season!! Remember the reason for the season, and to share the light of the world this Christmas!! Love you all!! Have a great week!
Con amor, Elder Christian Duvall Newman
Dad, How awesome!! Coach Newman getting back into the game!! That 3-2 magic is awesome!! Glad to hear that the ward christmas party was awesome!! Love you Dad!!
Mom, Glad to hear that you were able to have a good time at the temple!! And the Christmas tree is super awesome!! Looks very good!! Some of our investigators gave us a little tree, so we have a little tree in the house! I will attach a picture. Love you mom!
Sarah, I was sick for a bit when I first got here! Hope you are feeling better! Good work with the games!! Dad has been telling me all about it! Love you Bear!!
Callie, Good luck with your tap dance!!! Hope you had a super fun time at your birthday party!! To answer your question, the Christmas decorations are about the same, there’s just not as many of them. Love you Callie!!
Emma, Transfers definitely happen for a reason, we definitely saw miracles this week!! Holy cow, nice job with drill!!!! Solos??!! Awesome!!! and cool experience with your prayer for confidence, I definitely have offered my fair share of those kind of prayers, and you know as well as I do now that our Heavenly Father answers those prayers!!! Love you sis!
Mom’s Questions:
1. Is it beginning to look like Christmas? How do people decorate and celebrate in Bolivia?
Here, there are a couple houses with decorations, but nothing like the States
2. How is #lighttheworld going this week?
It’s going good!! We have a ton of little business cards, and we give them to everyone.
3. How did you serve your comp this week?
With some sweet assists on the basketball court!! Nah jokes haha, but I shined his shoes this week!
4. What is your living arrangement like? Do you live with just your comp or another pair of missionaries too?
It’s only me and my comp. That’s how it is for the whole mission right now, President prefers it that way.
5. Do you have a favorite Christmas hymn in Spanish?
All of them!! I love Christmas music in spanish :)
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