Back in the Gran Chaco :)

Hello friends and family!!!

I’m really excited to be back here in what is known as the Gran Chaco. It’s a zone of our mission that is very VERY spread out, but its cultures and traditions stay pretty much the same from place to place. It consists of three pueblos (or like small cities) and lots of tiny little villages in between. The three cities are Camiri, VillaMontes, and Yacuiba. Previously I was in VillaMontes, and it was quite honestly one of my favorite areas. I am now here in Camiri, which is about an hour and a half north from VillaMontes. It is super similar in a lot of ways, but I will go ahead and say, Camiri is much prettier than VillaMontes. The city is right in the middle of the mountains, everything is so green, it’s absolutely gorgeous! I’ll be sure to attach some pics.

One thing about the Gran Chaco, is it's the hottest region of our mission. And this week has been SUPER hot!! My goodness, I’m very grateful for the fan each time we arrive back to the house in the night. But, the good news is, the people recognize how hot it is as well, so they find it very impressive that we are out teaching and knocking doors and climbing mountains not just in the heat, but also in a shirt and tie. We have had lots of people say to us, "How are you even outside right now??" Our response is always, "This message is something that’s really important, and it will change your life. And that’s how we are out in this heat." I love this place so much!!!!

So, I’m going to take a quick second and talk about my new companion Elder Amasifuén. He is a total stud!! He is from Lima Peru, and has about 9 months in the mission! He has a totally clear vision of his missionary purpose, has tons of energy, and knows how to direct in a productive manner. He is the second of five children. He has one older sister who is 24, and a younger sister that just left for her mission in Columbia this past week! He is super cool, we get along great, and I think we could have lots of success together. We had a very productive first week together, and we are looking to keep it up with these coming weeks.

Here are a couple of scriptures I really liked from my studies this week.

Mark 10:27, Anything is possible with God.
Romans 8:18, Maintain an eternal perspective.
Alma 26:36-37, The Joys of beings a missionary.

I love you all tons! Hope you all have a fantastic week! Keep the faith!!

Love, Elder Christian Newman

Dad, ICE IS BACK!!! Sounds like a fun time going shooting with the work guys. I want to try that .50 Cal handgun. Love you dad, have a great week!!

Mom, sounds like you had a great week! Lots of fun moments for the girls, and a great weekend with the drill moms and in church. Love you tons mom!!

Jackson, wow, what an awesome FHE activity, breaking out the soccer skills from the mish, and getting onto the basketball court! I’m sure you guys had a great time on the blind date, and you are ministering super well. Love you bro!!

Sarah, that’s so awesome that you got the braces off! Mom sent me some pictures, you look so pretty and grown bear! I’m sure that it’s much easier to brush your teeth now haha. Love you bear!!

Emma, what a crazy week! Sounds like it was pretty fun-filled and packed full of things to do! Those videos of Save Ferris were WILD! Looks like you had a killer time! Love you Emma!!

Callie, nice job doing your family history work! That’s so cool that you got to perform at halftime! Have a great time at the Jazz game! My new companion is super awesome! He is really funny, he plays soccer and he boxed before the mission. Love you Callie!!


Mom’s Questions:

1. How was your first week in Camiri? What is the city like? How big is it geographically and population wise? What’s your favorite thing about Camiri? 

My favorite thing about Camiri would be the view. It’s absolutely amazing!

2. How was your first Sunday in Camri? What is the ward/branch like? 

Its a bigger branch than Villamontes, and seems a little more organized.

3. What are some interesting things about your companion? Is he a convert or life-long member? 

He is a convert, he was baptized with his family when he was 9. He loves soccer, and also boxed before the mission. He is super funny and has lots of funny stories, so it keeps things interesting!

4. Does your companionship and the other companionship live in the same house or different houses? 

We live in separate houses, but it’s an awesome house (bless up for a washing machine for the first time in my whole mission).

5. Do you have any investigators in your new area? 

We do. Cristian is one of our best investigators right now. He is 14, accepted a baptismal date last week, and recently received an answer to his prayer about the Book of Mormon.