Goodbye Camiri

Hello Friends and Family!!

Well, this week was my final week in Camiri. One of the cool things that we got to do was go and give a presentation in the local university. We got the chance to talk to the students about the blessings pertaining to the Church of Christ, especially for the youth of our society, about the guidance and peace we receive in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was a really fun opportunity, and we were able to find some great people to teach through it.

Elder Pantano had to return to Santa Cruz this past Wednesday for visa paperwork, so I was in a trio with the other Elders. We got to go and visit some of their investigators, and it was really fun to work with them for the day.

It was not easy to say goodbye to Camiri. I was hoping to finish my mission out there, but it wasn't the will of the Lord. I am now in my last area and transfer of my mission. I am here in Santa Cruz once again! I am in la Zona Merced, my area is Suarez 2. I will be serving as a Zone Leader with Elder Farnsworth. I am honestly super super excited to be with Elder Farnsworth! We have been in the same zone before. He was my Zone Leader while I was serving as a District Leader in Cortez, and we got to do exchanges. He is a super super cool guy, and we are really excited for the opportunity to work together, and to teach and serve our zone here.

Here is a scripture I really liked from my studies.

Luke 21:19, "In your patience possess ye your souls" I love the message that this scripture gives us. Patience is so so important. I have always had a need to develop this attribute in my life, and the Savior teaches us the clear need for patience in our lives.

Well, I hope you all have a great week, huge congratulations to all those graduating this week, and to PG baseball for winning state!!

Love you all tons!

Elder Newman

Dad, hope you are enjoying the rest after your travel. Enjoy Emma's graduation and Lake Powell!!! Love you Dad!!

Mom, wow, lots and lots of rain!!! Sounds like a fun trip for you and the girls for Sarah's basketball tourney! Love you so much!!

Jackson, well, I'm just glad that you are ok after the accident.. Even if Ginger isn't. Have a great week, enjoy Powell!! Love you!

Emma, oh those glorious last few days of senior year. I bet you have been enjoying these last few days. Have a great graduation Em!!! Love you so much!

Sarah, nicely done in your basketball tournament! Way to come back and get the W! Enjoy your trip! Love you Bear!!

Callie, I bet you have had a great trip with mom and Sarah! How fun to go shopping and swimming! Love you Callie!!

Multizona

Hello Friends and Family!

Well, this week we had multizone conference with Presidente Rodriguez in his final multizone conference of his mission. This June we will be having the transition to President Stanford. President finishes up June 29th, so only 2 weeks before I finish up.

Conference weeks for us here in Zona Gran Chaco are exhausting! It's a week full of travel, which means lots of sleepless nights. It also usually eats up almost the entire week, so I don't really have lots to talk about this week. But I will share some of the things I learned in the conference!

President talked to us about change. Change is something that we all face in life. Sometimes its something we choose, and sometimes it just kind of sneaks up on us. Change can be for good or for bad, sometimes we hope and pray for it, and other times we absolutely dread it. President Rodriguez asked us to think of synonyms for the word change. The answers were pretty broad, "Something new", "raise up", but President chose to analyze a certain aspect of change that is absolutely essential in the Plan of Salvation, "Progress". In order to truly progress in life, we must learn how to accept and adapt to changes. If we can truly use the trials and changes that life throws at us, we will become more like our Savior.

During the conference, we always do a small division in which we separate into our respective zones, and receive training from our Zone Leaders. They talked to us about Sacrifice. Each of the missionaries in our zone made sacrifices to come to the mission, and each of us has things that we are still holding back. Whether that be distractions, fears, obedience, or any other thing that may inhibit us from giving our full potential to the Lord. Elder Florence and Elder Benitez gave each of us an image of Christ in Gethsemane with the print, "Not my will, but thine be done." They invited each of us to pray and ponder for a moment and to write on the back of the picture what we were going to sacrifice to the Lord this transfer. I felt the Spirit so strongly during their training.

This is the last week of the transfer. Next week, I will begin my final transfer of my mission. I wrote on the back of my image of Gethsemane, "I will give everything I have to the Lord these final six weeks of my mission. He gave everything for me, and now I must do the same."

With transfer calls coming this Saturday, we will see if I receive my wish to finish my mission here in Camiri, or if the Lord will be sending me to a different place to finish. Regardless of where or with whom, I just pray that I can have the strength and energy to continue giving everything I have to the Lord these last few weeks. We will see what happens, but I feel content. Content with staying, and content leaving the area in the hands of Elder Pántano. He is finishing his training this week, which means it is almost certain that we will be separated this weekend. He has progressed so much in our time together, and has been a fantastic companion and friend to me. I feel so proud of him, he is going to have an amazing mission.

Something I really liked in my studies this week.

Luke 12:32. I love the tenderness implied by the Savior's usage of "Little Flock". He is our Shepherd and loves each and every single one of us so much.

Love you all so much! Have a great week!!!

Love, Elder Newman

Dad, I can imagine that you are ready to be home and have a moment to breath and relax. Lots of travel lately!!! Those Seminary Graduation pictures were awesome! Love you Dad, get some rest.

Mom, what a fun filled week! Last real week of school, that's crazy! That's so awesome that Breanna got married! The pictures look so good, the family looks great! Thanks for sending all those pictures! Love you Mom!

Jackson, wow, lots of rain! Same here in Camiri. Endgame again huh? How many times have you seen that movie now? Sounds like a good mix of a great spiritual and fun week! Love you dude!!

Emma, looks like you had a killer time at Morp!! You already know that we will go and get some ax throwing in here in a couple weeks!  How fun that you got to go and help out at Breanna's wedding. Those were some great pictures from Seminary Graduation! Love you Sis!!

Sarah, Mom told me that you played awesome at state cup! Well done, good luck in your tryouts!! Have a great week in your choir concerts! Love you tons Bear!!

Callie, wow, look at you learning lots of languages! I'm glad that you enjoyed primary today and the "Senior thing", sounds like you really enjoyed the brownies! Love you Callie!!!

Mom’s Questions:

1. Any news on your investigators? 

Well, One of our newer investigators (Valeria) received an answer that she should be baptized! Now we just gotta get her to come to church. Oscar Peña came to church for the first time this past week, so that was super exciting!

2. When are transfers? Aren’t they coming up soon? 

This Saturday we get the call.

3. What was your favorite message you shared with someone this week? 

During the conference, I shared the Plan of Salvation with each of the taxi drivers that took us around, and that was really uplifting for me.

4. Have you been able to play any basketball lately? 

Yes, we play almost every  Monday, mostly because we can't round up enough people to play soccer

Another Week in the Work of the Lord

 Visit back to Villamontes

 Last Mother's Day call home

Hello Friends and Family!!

Well, we had a full action packed week full of lessons, edifying studies, and exchanges with the Zone leaders. It was a really awesome week, we will go ahead and hop into the weekly update.

We had a really good lesson with Paola Soliz this week. At the beginning, we were asking her about her homework that we had left her in the Book of Mormon, and about the invitation to pray about all we had been teaching her, specifically the Book of Mormon. We asked her if she was able to pray, and her response was, "Yes, I feel like everything you guys have been telling me is true." The sincerity of her heartfelt response made me super super happy. I am grateful for the Holy Spirit and for the way it bears witness to our hearts and minds of the truthfulness of the gospel.

In my personal study this past week, I finished the Book of Mormon in Spanish again. The scripture that really caught my attention as I was finishing was Moroni 10:29. I remembered the scripture well, one that I really liked that an older missionary had shared in an exchange during a lesson that we had, near the beginning of my mission. It says, "Y Dios os mostrará que lo que he escrito es verdadero." or, "And God shall show unto you, that that which I have written is true." How accurate that scripture is! I have felt the convincing power of our Father in Heaven through His Holy Spirit show me time and time again that the Book of Mormon is true. I love the Lord for giving us that divinely inspired book!

This past week, I had the blessing of doing Intercambios (or exchanges) with our fantastic Zone Leaders, Elder Florence and Elder Benitez. I got to travel to Villamontes to work with Elder Benitez, and Elder Florence came to Camiri to work with Elder Pántano. It was so much fun to go and visit Villamontes, I had an area there about a year ago, and it was a blast to work with Elder Benitez (He is from Montevideo, Uruguay, from the very ward where Elder Jackson Newman finished his mission). The best part was we had the chance to go and surprise my converts, the Familia Copaja Tejerina. We went with the other Elders, and I stood in the corner where they couldn't see me from their door, and after one of the Elders said, "we actually brought you a surprise..", I popped out from around the corner. The looks on their faces made the long trip to Villamontes all worth it! It was so good to visit them again and share a brief message with them. I love that family so so much!

The zone leaders came to my district meeting after finishing the exchange. Unfortunately, due to the travel and the exchange, I had almost zero time to plan the training. I looked at my notes, opened my scriptures, took a deep breath and decided that we were going to let the Spirit guide. I shared two of my favorite stories from the scriptures, the first being when Peter healed a lame man sitting at the door of the Temple in Acts 3, and the other in Alma 22:12-16, 22 when Aaron teaches the Lamanite king, and upon discovering the need for the gospel that he had, humbled himself before the Lord as Aaron had instructed him, and was then lifted from his unconscious state by Aaron. We talked about how the invitations and teachings we give to our investigators enable them to be lifted up by the Lord. We felt the Spirit strongly. I am grateful the Lord helped me during the meeting even though I didn't do a great job of planning ahead and preparing well.

We saw a cool moment as we were sitting in the chapel waiting to start our English class. We have a young 8 year old girl that comes literally EVERY WEEK named Sofia. She is super funny and smart. Honestly, she reminds me a lot of my little sister Callie. She doesn't live in our area, and upon talking with her mom, we found out that she attends the Catholic Church with her parents, who are completely ok with her coming to the English class, but aren't interested in the Gospel. Even with all this, last week, I felt impressed to give her a copy of the Book of Mormon. Well, last Friday, I asked if she had read, and she responded, "Yes!! I read every night! I am about halfway through it." I was super surprised!!! What a miracle we saw with that little girl! I hope we can have the chance to talk to her parents again and that we can send the other elders over there to teach her.

Well, here are a couple of scriptures I really liked from my personal study.

Ether 12:2-3, Ether was an example of diligent preaching.
Ether 12:41, We must seek out the Savior each day of our lives.

Well, I hope you all have a great week! Love you all tons and a very Happy Mothers day to all yesterday! Keep the faith!

Love, Elder Christian Duvall Newman.

Dad, thanks for your words of advice. All of the big moments from before were a prep for this one. Time to put the hammer down and finish what I started. Love you Dad!!

Mom, it was so good to talk to you as well! It was exactly what I needed. The family looks so happy and that made me so happy as well. More trips for dad! You are right, Lake Powell 2020 is going to be a killer time! Love you Mom!!

Jackson, lots of work for sure! I bet you are going to enjoy getting some savings and go have some fun! Looking like a fun week!! Love you dude!

Emma, sounds like a real good time at the senior dinner dance! I remember the good times at senior dinner dance! So crazy that graduation is in 2 short weeks!!! Enjoy it! Te amo hermanita!

Sarah, Well, good job this soccer season!! That's fun that you got to go boating with Dad and Mom and Callie! I bet you had a good time being with Jackson on Wednesday! Love you Bear!

Callie, I felt super happy too, I felt the spirit and cried too Callie. Don't worry you weren't the only one. I bet you had a fun time playing with friends. Love you my twin!!!

More Moments of Divine Design

 Zone Activity

Hello Friends and Family!!

This week was a blur so I am just going to hop right into the update!

So, on Monday, a lady from our branch invited us to come to her Family Home Evening to share a message. We arrived, and we ended up sharing the FHE with several of the young men and young women of the branch as well. We shared about the story in Jacob 7 about an anti-christ named Sherem. We talked with the youth about how today, there are many people that will attack us for our beliefs, even seek us out as Sherem sought out Jacob. What was his defense? It was the spiritual experiences he had. We invited them each to develop a habit of daily scripture study and prayer in order to have spiritual experiences to combat the adversary.

One of the challenges we face here in our area is that there are many people that have jobs that have a grueling schedule. 21 days inside the factory or work site, many living on the job site, and then 7 days of rest. It makes it hard to do a lot of followup with those people, but we try to plant seeds where we can. One of the seeds we planted this week was Sergio. We taught him about the Restoration, and we gave him a Book of Mormon. He told us he was going back to work the next day, but he thanked us. He said, "Thank you for the Book, and for reminding me that Christ loves me before I go to work again. I will be sure to read in my free time."

We went to visit the Familia Monasterio a couple days ago after they had to cancel our appointment because Helen was in the hospital. We knocked on the door, and not 2 minutes later, she arrived in a taxi. She welcomed us even though she was still a little sick. We explained to her what Priesthood blessings were, and she accepted a blessing. After finishing, we testified of the Priesthood authority that was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Talk about Devine Design!!!

We had a lesson with one of our investigators, Yolanda Vargas. We invited her to be baptized, and she declined saying that she "didn't want to be the black sheep of the flock.." I felt the Spirit so strongly as I told her as we read Alma 5:33 and 38, "There is someone that will always want you as a part of His flock, and as part of His team, that's the Savior. He will always want you to be with Him." She teared up as she expressed some of her challenges, and we promised to help her. I am grateful for a Savior that will always want even the black sheep as part of his flock.

Here are a few of the scriptures I liked from my study this week!

John 9:38, FAITH IS A CHOICE
Mormon 9:27, Work out your own salvation through the Savior.

Love you all! Have a great week!!!

Elder Newman

Dad, well, I'm sure you enjoyed being home for a week and enjoying some time with the girls! Have a fun and productive week before another week of travel! Love you Dad!!

Mom, whoa, that's weird seeing my class schedule! Thanks for helping me out with that! That's awesome that you got to see Nat for a bit, and that's awesome that Maika is heading to the mish! What an exciting week! Love you Mom!!

Jackson, lots of movies for sure!! That video of Sarah with Reese is absolutely priceless!!! Lots of work and play, sounds like a productive week my friend! Love you tons dude! Have a great week!!

Emma, whoa that's lots of girls! Enjoy the permanent retainer mayne, that's lit! Have a good time at your girls camp, but not in the tents, hahaha. Love you Emma, looking forward to going to UVU with you! :)

Sarah, well done in your games! Dad sent me some videos, looks like you had a good time going shooting too! Love you Bear!

Callie, how fun to go to the retention basin with Reese! That's so fun that you got to go to Penney's baptism! That's fun you got to see Nat Tebbs! Interesting facts about river otters! I am sure you did a great job on your report! Love you Callie!!


Mom’s Questions:

1. How are the Familia Monasterio and Paola Soliz doing this week? Any other investigators? 

They are doing well! Elder Pantano has really stepped up his game this week, and we are really getting into a powerful rhythm. It helps all the investigators lots.

2. When were you able to bear your testimony this week? 

During the lesson with Yolanda

3. When did you feel the Spirit the most this week? 

The lesson with Yolanda as well, hahaha.

4. What mission habits would you suggest would be beneficial for us at home to incorporate into our lives? 

I think its being ready to share about our beliefs in any moment, and a habit of gospel study. :)

Intercambios y otras cosas.

 Elder Newman can still dunk!

 Beautiful Camiri

 One of the recent mudslides

Hello Friends and Family!!

We had a solid week! Busy week with district leader duties, such as baptismal interviews and companionship exchanges, but business is a good thing when you are in the work of the Lord!!

I had intercambios with Elder Miller this week! He is an excellent missionary. He is from Las Vegas, and has about 7 months in the mission. He speaks pretty good Spanish, and has a vast gospel knowledge, well, actually, vast knowledge in general (He got a 35 on his ACT)! He is a really reserved guy, doesn't usually talk much. My one goal going into the exchange was to establish a good trust with him, and help him to open up a little bit. We didn't have many appointments but we contacted pretty much all day, and that gave us lots of time to talk. He expressed to me a bit about his mission, and we were able to converse openly the whole day. I was able to give him some pointers during the day. We finished off the day and he began to tell me his funny scout camp stories. Total transformation in just one day!! It was a great success, and I really enjoyed working with him for the day.

Elder Pántano is progressing lots! This week, we worked on refining the teaching, and explaining everything clearly and simply. He has been improving lots, and recently has begun leading me around the area, taking me from appointment to appointment. He has also been answering most of the questions in the lessons as we had previously planned. Very soon, he will be directing everything. I feel very comfortable leaving the area in his hands as I go and do my district leader duties, and even though I would like to finish my mission here in Camiri, I feel very confident in leaving the area in Elder Pantano's hands.

I have been turned into the music director of our branch (well not officially, but I have been doing it for 3 weeks straight.) It's fun especially since I don't know how to direct hymns, or sing, or really anything that has to do with music outside of singing hymns at the top of my lungs in the shower. But I try my best. Its also fun because I have to try to keep a straight face as weird things happen during sacrament meetings.

I really feel grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary. I love this work and the opportunity to study and live the gospel like I never have before. I love the Lord, and I feel so grateful for the chance to be one of his chosen representatives.

Have a great week everyone! Love you all tons! Keep the Faith!!

Love, Elder Newman

Dad, traveling once again! Have a good time in Nashville! Love you so much Dad, I would love to have a copy of your talk. Time to sprint to the finish. Fist forward, Love you.

Mom, what a fun and busy week with Sarah's games and the temple and all sorts of fun activity! I bet its fun to have Jackson home again! What an inspiring Sunday with Ward conference. Love you Mom!!

Jackson, wow, I know how you feel with fast weeks! I feel like every week passes by so fast. Way to work tons and go to the temple! Enjoy the date! Love you Jackson!!

Emma, Nicely done in your last dance co performance. and on getting that back to back spirit bowl champ! Nice job in the Alpine District photography contest! Proud of ya! Love you sis!

Sarah, nice job in all of your games!!! Keep playing hard! I'm super proud of you! I can't wait to watch you play when I get home! Love you bear!

Callie, good week! That's super cool that you got to meet President Porter. I would like to meet him too, he sounds like a great man! Have a great week! Love you Callie!!!

Mom’s Questions:

1. What have been the results of all your contacting you talked about in your last letter? Any new people to talk about? 

A couple. We have a new family that accepted a baptismal date! The Familia Monasterio, and a teenager who also accepted a date, Paola Soliz

2. Whose kitten was in your pocket in the pictures on your google drive? Callie about died when she saw it. 

That was a member's kitten, hahaha.

3. Do you study Come Follow Me as missionaries? And if so, what insights do you have this week from it? 

I really liked the part where it talks about Mary and Martha. Martha was busy serving the Lord, but the most important thing we can do is listen to him.

4. What is the best thing you ate this week? 

Picante de Pollo, oh it was super super good!!

5. Was there a mudslide in one of your pictures? 

Yes there was, there has actually been several here in Camiri lately.