Weekly letter, Elder Newman, the other one.

Hello Friends and Family!!

I hope you all had a fantastic week!! This week was a really solid one, with lots of answered prayers!!

We were pretty concerned about our investigator Carla, she has a baptismal date for the 21st of July, but we were unable to get in touch with her all week. We called, passed by her house, but nothing. I was pretty concerned, because she still has a few things she needs to learn before she can be baptized this coming week. After several days of this happening, I decided to pray that she would be able to come to church and we could set up a cita. Well, Sunday came, and so did she! We were able to visit her that same day, and help her learn more, and get the final details set up for her baptism this coming week! It was definitely an answered prayer.

We have been teaching Sebastian's mom recently. She is fantastic! She is a school teacher, and loves to learn. She accepted a baptismal date during our first official charla, and she has put in the work necessary to receive an answer to her prayers. She has been reading and marking her Book of Mormon, and came to church for the second time this Sunday! She was taking notes during the sacrament meeting and writing down the scriptures referenced during the talks. The Relief Society has done a fantastic job of befriending her, and I know that will be a big factor in her decision to be baptized.

This past week, we were informed on Sunday that we would be giving talks this week. We were told that we could give it on whatever topic that we felt prudent. We coordinated with the other Elders, and we got to work on preparing our talks. Sometimes being out here in a little tiny branch, people don’t really prepare talks, they just hop up, and ramble for 15 minutes until our branch president taps them on the leg and tells them they need to finish up, so we really wanted to invited the spirit to the sacrament meeting. My companion gave a great talk about the sacrament and the importance that it has for us throughout our whole week, and then I gave a talk about reverence, and the way that we can invite the spirit to our church meetings and our own homes. The spirit was really strong during the meeting, and I know the Lord blessed us for our preparation and effort that we put into it.

A cool experience that happened this week! We have a Noche de Hermanamiento each Thursday, where we invite investigators, members, and anybody who feels like coming to come to the church, sing hymns, listen to a short message, and then enjoy some refreshments. This week, the Primary was in charge of the lesson. Usually, one of the presidency gives the message, but this week, I was very surprised to see 9-year old Sheila Espinoza up front with her notebook and Liahona to give her message. She gave an excellent talk about faith, and then left us with a fantastic invitation to act. She said, "I invite you all to read the scriptures and to pray to know how you can live the gospel better." I was extremely impressed by her spiritual maturity! She gave us a great example to follow!!

Well, I hope you all have a great week, enjoy the summer heat, and remember to put Christ first in all things!!

Romans 1:16

Con Amor, Elder Christian Duvall Newman

Dad, sounds like a crazy week up ahead! Enjoy every minute of it. Sounds like the film business is going to be up and running this weekend! Good luck, I know it will go awesome! So happy for Chandler! I know he will be a fantastic missionary, the people of the Philippines are very blessed to have him!! Love you Dad!!!

Mom, wow, talk about a miracle with John. That’s incredible that he was able to recover and he is doing ok. Miracles have not ceased!! Prayer and faith definitely precede miracles. Don’t worry about me Mom, I’ll try not to think about it to much, I wont be trunky. Give Jackson a big hug for me and tell him I love him and miss him tons! Love you Mom!!

Callie, that’s so awesome that you went off the diving board this week!!!! Congrats! Sounds like you have been doing lots of swimming lately!!! Love you Callie!!

Sarah, good luck in your tournament and enjoy your first girls camp!! I know you will have a super fun and spiritual experience. Hope your hand heals up fast! Love you Sarah!!

Emma, Hope you have a great girls camp!! Thats super fun that you got to go to Newsies with Grandma and Grandpa! Sounds like it was super awesome!!  Water Dodgeball? Sounds like a blast haha. Love you Emma!!!

Mom’s Questions:

1. Was Carla able to get baptized this week? 

She has her baptism all set up for this coming Saturday.

2. How is Alejandra and her husband progressing? 

Really well, came to church again, understanding everything. She has been reading the Book of Mormon as well.

3. What was the best/worst thing you ate this week? 

Hmmmmm, best thing I ate I think was a lasagna that our pensionista prepared, worst.... hmmm, not really anything bad this week. Stay tuned for next week.

4. How are your clothes/shoes holding up?

Clothes are holding up well! Shoes.... Well, I’m down to two pairs of proselyting shoes. My brown shoes ate the dust a week or two back. But the boots and my black dress shoes are still in good shape

5. As you reach your one year mark, what goals are you setting for your second half of your mission? 

Im still thinking about some goals, but I do have a couple in mind. The first, BE BOLD IN ALL SITUATIONS. I’ve learned that the worst thing somebody can tell me is no, and the blessings of the gospel should be presented to everyone. I don’t want to miss an opportunity to teach or serve.

The second, is to read the whole standard works. Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, and the Old and New Testament.