Knocking Doors all the Blessed Day

Hello Friends and Family!!!

I hope you all had a great week! It’s been a really fun week, returning here to Tarija!! We have seen lots of old members from my first two wards here in the city, so it’s been super super fun to talk to them and catch up. President actually gave us permission to go and eat with some of the members out in Senac on Saturday to celebrate one of their birthdays, and it was so good to catch up and see how they are doing. The friendships you make in the work of the Lord are eternal!!!

Well, a little about my new companion!!! His name is Elder Archer, he is from Sandy, Utah! He is my first American companion, and it has been a total blast!!! We have had a lot of fun this week. He is super funny, laidback, and a total stud in the lessons. He only has about 7 months in the mission, but he teaches with power and has really good spanish too! We have just been enjoying it and working as hard as we can as we open up this area!

So it’s kind of an interesting situation this transfer. So here in the ward, there used to be 2 elders (the zone leaders) and 2 hermanas. Now, they took out the hermanas, put the ZLs opening the other area, and me and Elder Archer opening their area. It’s been kind of a crazy week just trying to learn the area, get to know all the members and investigators, and find new people to teach.

We have just been contacting tons looking for new investigators. We found lots of good people and lots of weirdos. We found a kid who told us he was scared of dwarves, another person that showed us an audio of a pastor talking about a child born with a rock in his hands that said "cristo viene pronto" (Christ is ready), a guy that shut his door ever so slowly in hopes that we wouldn’t notice. And that’s just to name a few. It’s been really funny, it’s a good time getting to know Tarija's weirdest people.

Hope the best for all of you this coming week!! Have a great week, love you all!! :)

Elder Christian Duvall Newman

Mom, sounds like a great sacrament meeting! I hope you enjoy the trip, send lots of pics of my favorite place on earth!! I’m sure Callie will pick up basketball fast!  Love you Mom!!

Dad, Wow, the boys took it to Hillcrest!!! Have a great trip, Dad!! It’s really been the best these past couple of days seeing some of the members of the old ward. It’ll be really fun at General Conference to see all of them. Love you tons Dad!!

Jackson, Looks like you had a great time on the date! That makes me super happy that the PG boys are playing really well!!! I like the meme alot, hahah. Have a great week, Jackson!! Love you!!

Emma, sounds like a lot of running and lots of uno as well! Way to be getting out to the games and spending time with your friends! Keep having fun! Love you Emma!!

Sarah, nice job in your games,  stud!!! Love you tons! Keep being awesome, and having fun with Emma

Callie, we played basketball today as a zone! That’s super fun that you are playing, and I know as you keep practicing, you’ll get better and better!! Love you Callie!!!

Mom’s Questions:

1. What is your new companion like? Is it nice to have a gringo for the first time since the MTC? 

It’s super fun! We enjoy talking about some of the stuff that the Latinos usually have never seen or heard of, like The Office, haha.

2. What can you tell us about your new area, ward and the people? Is it like deja vu being back in your first area again? 

It’s a lot like my second area, and yes, it’s dejavu being back here.

3. Now that you’re back in the mountains, is it colder? 

Yes, thank goodness haha.

4. How is the teaching in your new area since both you and your companion are new to the area? 

Lots and lots of contacting haha.

5. How many elders and sisters make up your district? 

4 elders, 2 sisters. Elder Yzquierdo, Elder Mortensen, Elder Archer, myself, Hermana Ayac, and Hermana Eyestone.

Familia Tejerina, Tarija I'm coming back!

  

Hello Friends and Family!!!

This is going to be a pretty quick letter because I have almost no time to write today. We had a crazy week, so I’m just going to try my best to sum it up quickly, and if I have more time later today, I’ll try to explain more.

The Familia Tejerina got baptized!!!! We basically spent the whole week working our tails of to get their interviews and getting the service all put together. It was such a humbling experience to see them enter into the baptismal font, even though they were really nervous. After the service, they both expressed their feelings of nervousness before, but a lightness like nothing they had felt before afterwards.

I have been teaching this family since I arrived here in Villa Montes, and one by one, starting with Gean, then Sebastian, and now the parents Rufino and Felipa have each entered into the baptismal font. I remember when I arrived to Villamontes, I was trying to figure out why I was here, and I prayed and the answer I received was, there’s a purpose, work hard and find it. I now know that the Familia Tejerina was why I was sent here to Villamontes.

Transfers have arrived, and today I will be heading back to Tarija (the city where I started my mission). I will be opening an area with a missionary who recently finished his training. I am really excited for the new opportunities the change is going to bring, but also really sad to leave Elder Davila and Villa Montes.

All the best! Have a great week and Keep the Faith!!!

Con amor, Elder Newman

Mom’s Questions:
1. We heard the news today from our Bolivian FB friends that you are leaving Villamontes and  transferring back to Tarija. How are you feeling about transfers? 

Excited and sad at the same time. Sad to leave Villamontes, but excited for what the cambio has to bring

2. Do you know who your companion will be? 

His name is Elder Archer.

3. Will you be in the same areas as before? How many areas are there in Tarija? 

No, there are 2 zones in Tarija, with something like 15 wards. I’ll be in a different ward.

4. I got a picture today from Elina Maraz Gareca of a baptism? Was that this weekend and who got baptized? 

The Familia Tejerina :)

Anti-Mormon Doctrine Sucks

Hello Friends and Family!!!

Well, this was an interesting week, with lots of ups and downs, but that’s the life in the mission. I’ll just get right to the highlights for the week!

Well, this past Tuesday, we brought the Teachers Quorum president to the lesson with Familia Ochoa to help befriend them and help them feel comfortable with the transition to Aaronic Priesthood following baptism, and we practiced the baptismal interview questions. They crushed it, and we were super excited after the lesson. Then, Thursday morning, the day of the interview, we received a text message from Juana telling us that they wouldn’t be attending the interview, and they would be attending a different church. We were heartbroken... We couldn’t even believe it... It honestly felt like a dropkick to the stomach. We (Elder Davila and I) talked, and we decided that we would pass by in the night time to visit, but until then we weren’t able to do much so we just had to press on and not be super depressed. We worked hard, and arrived to their house to visit. We chatted, and Juana told us she had seen an article on the internet, and she didn’t feel very sure about baptism. Fernando and Igor still had big desires, but were a little confused. We decided to postpone the baptism, and we passed by again on Saturday to see what the article said. When we passed by, she showed us the article, and it talked about polygamy, and slandered the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. We explained that polygamy wasn’t a new thing, that it was practiced in the Old Testament and only with the authorization of God through his prophet. We testified that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that the Book Of Mormon was the word of God. Fernando and Igor seemed really excited, but Juana still seemed unsure. We testified again that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. We showed her the way to see. We read Moroni 7:13, talking about how everything that invites us to do good is inspired of God, and then read 2nd Nephi 33:10-11, which contains some of the last words of Nephi, and his final testimony. I invite all of you to give it a read. We have an appointment with them today, so we will see how things go. If all goes well, they will be baptized this weekend.

So to explain why I’m writing on a Tuesday: we had a special conference with Elder Teixera from the Quorum of the Seventies. He gave a great training, and I was really impressed with his wife, who gave her entire talk in English, her third language! Lots of great scriptures and stories shared, it was really uplifting. We weren’t able to go to Santa Cruz to see it in person, so we had to watch in Yacuiba with the district out there, about an hour and a half away from Villamontes. Even with being in a sauna of a chapel with sound that wasn’t all that great, it was a really uplifting conference where we talked about the spirit of conversion. Each time our investigators feel the Spirit testify that something we have taught is true, the missionaries feel it as well. I know this to be true, and because of this, I have had the blessing of growing and strengthening my testimony of the first principles and ordinances of the gospel. I love this church so much!!!


Some scriptures I loved from my personal study of the New Testament :)

Acts 20:24

Romans 8:38-39

Love you all so much, hope you have a fantastic week, keep the faith and remember to put God first!

Love Elder Christian Duvall Newman

Dad, wow, lots of travel!!! Hope you are enjoying it, those pictures are super cool!!!!! Good to hear about the PG boys, sounds like they are getting rolling!! That is an awesome catch by my Boy J Hill!!!! Love you tons dad!!! have a great week.

Mom, Sounds like a great week!! Im grateful that you were able to make Emma's birthday special, and for all of the spiritual experience you were able to have this week. Thats cool that you got to see Mrs. Hays, and that she still remembers me! Love you so much mom, have a great week.

Sarah, Nice job in your games, and good luck against Celtic! Have a great week Sarah, Love you tons!!

Callie, woohhoooo basketball practice!!!! That’s super fun!! Good luck performing at the Football game!! Love you Callie!!

Emma, Hope you had a great birthday!! I was a little bummed out I wasn’t able to tell you happy birthday in person, but it makes me really happy that you were able to have lots of fun experiences. Sounds like you will have a great time at Homecoming with Dustin! Love you Sis!!

Jackson, Sounds like craziness with the college classes and homework! Glad you are enjoying it though! Love you tons Jackson, have a great week! Also, remember who you are and who you stand for, GO UTES!!


Mom’s Questions:
1. How was the baptism? 

No baptism this week, we'll see about this week.

2. What did you learn at your mission conference yesterday? 

Be an active part of the sacrament meeting with our investigators, and teaching simply and clearly.

3. Were you able to ease Jimena’s concerns about her family’s objection to baptism? 

Yes, we had a great FHE with the young women's president, and she helped out a lot.

4. Are the Familia Tejerina still progressing well? 

They haven’t had a lot of time to meet with us, but they have come to church 3 weeks straight now!

5. Did anything out of the ordinary happen this week? 

Conference weeks always bring their craziness, but outside of that, not a ton.

Book of Mormon, Familia Ochoa, Miracles of Fasting.

Hello Friends and Family!!!

For starters, I wanted to start off my weekly letter wishing a very happy birthday to my sister, Emma this Thursday!!! HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY EMMA!!!!!!!!

This week was full of ups and downs, so we are just going to get right to it!

Sooooo, Jimena decided to not be baptized this week... She told her family about her desires to be baptized, and they did not react well. Her whole family is Catholic, and did not respond well to her desire to leave their catholic traditions, and chewed her out for it. That kind of discouraged her, and made her doubt the answer she had received to her prayers. Kind of a bummer, but we are still visiting her, helping her to recognize the answers God has given to her prayers, and to help her develop the faith to take that step towards the baptismal font! She'll get there, I just hope I get to be here in Villamontes to see it.

This Wednesday, as part of my goal to read all of the standard works (Old and New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price) during the second half of my mission, I had the blessing of finishing the Book of Mormon. Something I usually do finishing the Book of Mormon so I don’t rush to the finish is I read the last 4 chapters out loud. Those last chapters of the Book of Mormon are so powerful. Full of warnings, blessings, and invitations. I’m so grateful for the Book of Mormon in my life, I don’t know where I would be without the guidance and peace that it brings to my life. I’m grateful for the wonderful blessing I have to share it with the people of Bolivia.

We had our companionship fast this week, and we fasted for our investigators, specifically the Familia Ochoa, Jimena, and the Familia Tejerina. We were extremely blessed to have all of them come with us to church this Sunday! The Familia Ochoa is all good to go for there baptism this coming Saturday! This week we will be doing the final preparations and baptismal interview, and this Saturday is the service! I’m really excited for them. It’s been really amazing to see their progress since the first time we talked with them and their turkey pooped on me. They have an enthusiasm about the Gospel that I admire a lot. Lots of answered prayers this week, and as always, Fasting was a powerful tool to bring miracles to our area.

Scriptures that I really liked this week!
Helaman 5:47
Mormon 5:21
Moroni 10:27
Luke 9:62

Love you all tons!! Have a great week, keep the faith!!!!

Love, Elder Newman

Dad, That’s awesome to hear about the PG boys getting the W! That’s awesome that you got to meet President Porter, and to hear 2 Newman testimonies during the sacrament meeting! Love you tons Dad!!

Mom, Back into the swing of things! Sounds like an eventful week, full of fun activities, and that’s a great analogy about snickerdoodles!!! Love you Mom!!!

Jackson, Sounds like you are getting back into the groove of things with the Math course haha. That’s so crazy that you are getting all moved in to your apartment!!! Sounds like a super fun date! Love you Bro!!

Emma, That’s awesome!!! Back into the game with studies, early morning drill, and late night movies with Sarah! Have a great Birthday this week!! Love you Emma!!

Sarah, Sounds like a great week! Viking win, sleeping in, burgers, and a long weekend!! Love you Bear!!!!

Callie, I’m sure you guys will get to go shooting soon :). It’s ok, don’t be sad that Jackson is moving. He'll still be close to you guys and you will see him tons!! Love you Callie (My twin)!!!!