Power of RM's

Hello friends and family!!

I hope you all had a great week!! This week was pretty normal, but definitely a great week here in the service of the Lord.

This past week, we have had the blessing of the company of some of the returned missionaries here in the branch. One of which being Juan Miguel Ichuro, who actually served in Elder Pántano's home ward in Columbia about 2 years ago, which has been good for Elder Pántano! They get to talk a little about his family and ward, and a lot about the food from Columbia. He also is a powerful teacher, and has an incredible testimony.

But the real miracle came from Kevin Abasto, a returned missionary of about 2 weeks. He told us of a referral that he had for us, and invited us to come to his home for a family home evening. He presented us to a Partial member family, with Alex Polanco as the center. Alex is 9 years old, and his parents are members. His dad is inactive, but his mom is still active, but due to the inactivity of his dad, Alex hasn’t been baptized yet. Alex told us that he wanted to be baptized during the Family home evening! We set goals with him, and Kevin is going to help us out with the lessons. Alex will be getting baptized on April 13th. It was a big miracle that I know we received because of our diligence.

Well, kind of a funny story from this past week. A member here asked me to help him with a promotion on a TV interview for his english institute. We had just finished our English class in the chapel, and he kind of asked me out of nowhere, and I had no idea if it was allowed or not haha. I asked my district leader who was right next to me if I could do it, and he looked at me and shrugged, and said, "call President, I don’t know either." So, I called President, asked for permission, and he said that I couldn’t go on TV dressed as a missionary with a tag to promote the business. He told me that as a representative of the church, I couldn’t go and promote a business... and then... He said, "but if you go and change and take off your nametag, you can go. Just look like a gringo tourist and you can go."

Honestly, I was floored, mostly because my Mission President gave me permission to go on TV dressed as a totally normal person. But then I arrived to the news station, and saw a camera that looked like it was from the 80's, and a news station that probably has less followers than my Twitter after nearly 2 years of silence, so I guess President was inspired to know that nobody was going to see one of his missionaries on TV anyways.

Well, I’d like to share something I really like from my personal study. It’s found in Moses 6:31-34. Enoch, upon his call to be a prophet, felt extremely, extremely underqualified for his call. I think we all have moments in which we feel so lost and so incapable to complete what the Lord calls us to do. The Lord's words to Enoch are so so comforting and so uplifting for us all. The words, "walk with me" just inspire me so much.

I hope you all have the best week!!

Love, Elder Newman

Dad, that focus on temple and family history work is awesome! Missionary work is happening on both sides of the veil. That’s so cool that you got to see the Taeoalii's! Love you Dad!!

Mom, finally done with the Glow play!!! Congrats Mom, you did it, only had to do it 5 times, but you made it. I keep telling people to shut it when they try to tell me about Captain Marvel, but I’m staying strong, sounds like its super good though!!! Way to be an example on going to the temple! Love you Mom!!

Jackson, dude thats crazy that Oliver's friends are going to Uruguay and Bolivia! Nicely done on the workouts too! Get some sleep my friend. Love you Jackson!!

Emma, you broke the streak, man. Come on. Oh well. I liked your prom answer, well played! Atta girl staying on the down low at dixie rock. Love you sis!

Sarah, Nicely done on the scrimmage! Good luck in your games this week! I will be sure to pray for you. Love you bear!!

 Callie, looks like you had a great time in your Glow play! I love your costume!! My favorite food here in a plate called Pique Macho. I am having lots of fun, and I miss you lots too. Love you Callie!

Mom’s Questions:

1. How are your investigators progressing?

They are doing well, some have some problems with some issues, but they’ll get there.

2. Is the weather starting to cool down at all?

Yes, the rainy season hit.

3. How do you decide what to teach your investigators each time you meet with them? Do you take the lead or is Elder Pantano starting to lead out?

Elder Pantano is starting to direct the lessons :)

4. Since Elder Pantano is so musical, do you ever use his talents in missionary work?

Not yet, but we are planning on doing so :)

The Power of the First Vision

Hello Friends and Family!

We had a great first full week of work together here with Elder Pantano. It's been super fun to see his progress in this short time that we have had together! It makes companionship studies super fun. We have lots of time to study doctrine and practice different teaching techniques with him. He has lots of good insights and great questions, and it's super fun to open up the scriptures and see his reaction each time we find the answers. He is transforming into a truly fantastic missionary with a powerful testimony of the truth, and is gaining more and more experience in teaching and testifying clearly of what we believe as members of the church.

We had an interesting experience this past Thursday with Fermin Lara. He invited us to visit him on Thursday. We arrived, and he quickly briefed us that he had invited the "Anciano" (basically the pastor) of the Jehovah's Witnesses to come and explain a topic that Fermin was NOT in agreement with, and had invited us to come at the same hour to discredit the anciano's argument. We told him that it was ok for this once, but that we normally don't Bible bash. Well, the anciano arrived, we listened to the scriptures that he had to present for the case of that blood transfusions were not Biblical. We analyzed the scriptures that he presented, and took them in context, and concluded with Fermin there present that there was nothing in the Bible that stated the impurity of blood transfusions, seeing that the scriptures he had shared spoke only of sacrifices and old testament practices. To press that point further, we shared John 6:63, which says, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." 

After sharing that scripture, the anciano could only try to defend his standpoint with personal interpretations and opinions, which we quickly identified as not Biblical, and we politely excused ourselves. We truly saw the completion of the promise read in Doctrine and Covenants section 71:7 "Wherefore, confound your enemies; call upon them to meet you both in public and in private; and inasmuch as ye are faithful their shame shall be made manifest. 8 Wherefore, let them bring forth their strong reasons against the Lord. 9 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you—there is no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; 10 And if any man lift his voice against you he shall be confounded in mine own due time. 11 Wherefore, keep my commandments; they are true and faithful. Even so. Amen."

The Lord makes manifest of truth! I felt the reality of this divine truth as we testified of the Restoration again and again this week. Each time we relate the words of Joseph Smith describing his first vision, I have felt the confirming witness of the Holy Spirit testify that it is true. Everything that we believe as members of the Church of Jesus Christ depends on the reality of the First Vision. I know that it is true, not because I was there, not because somebody has shown me physical evidences of the reality of this world shaping event, but because I have received an answer from Heavenly Father through His Holy Spirit that it is true.

Here are a couple of scriptures that really called my attention during my studies this week.

Doctrine and Covenants 42:6 The pattern established by the Lord to preach his word.

Doctrine and Covenants 61:36 Be of good cheer, I am with you..

Well, I hope you all have a great week! Put the Lord first and keep the faith, and you will be blessed!

Love, Elder Newman

Dad, sounds like a great week, spending some time with Steve and Jeremy. Thank you for your words of encouragement, and counsel dad. I love you so much, hope you have a great week!!

Mom, wow, looks like you and Emma had quite the week! What a great trip, and those are some great pictures! Love you so much Mom!

Jackson, juggling all sorts of responsibilities this week! Well done filling in a bit for mom and staying on top of classes and work too! Sounds like things are going well! Love you bro!!

Emma, I was looking at the pictures and it looks like you guys had quite the week! Nicely done talking in Spanish out there! That's super cool! Te amo hermanita!

Sarah, that's so cool that you had a good time out in Vegas in your Basketball camp! Well done!! Way to ball out with all the high schoolers! Love you Bear!!

Callie, sounds like you had a great time at Grandma's with the scavenger hunt! I would have gotten pinched yesterday if they celebrated St. Patrick's Day here because I forgot to put on green!! Can't wait to see your glow costume! Love you Callie!!

Mom's Questions:
1. Tell me three things about your new comp.

Elder Pantano is from Bogota Columbia, He is the second of three brothers, is extremely talented as a musician, and understands English pretty well when I don't talk fast.

2. What is the best thing about training a new missionary? What is the hardest thing? 

Best thing about a new missionary is their pureness in every thing that they do. Their testimonies are so heartfelt and sincere. The hard thing is that sometimes I have to take more of the load in some of the administrative stuff like the area book and working with the branch, But Elder Pantano is learning really fast.

3. Who are your current investigators and how are they doing? 

Rosa and Jimena Sanchez are super awesome, they have come to church three times, and the Familia Sanchez Renaga is a solid family that we recently found that is very receptive and yesterday accepted a baptismal date.

Carnaval and Training

Hello friends and family!!

Well, with the transfer call came some pleasant surprises, one of which was that my Carnaval prison time was not going to be as boring as I thought! Saturday night, I received the news that I would be training a new missionary!

The whole Carnaval weekend we were calling the members of the branch to take us to the bus station to pick up Elder Varona's new companion, Elder Miller, to take me to the bus station on Tuesday night to get on a bus to head to Santa Cruz to pick up my new companion. It was a pretty long trip in a not very comfortable bus, but the important thing was that I arrived safe and sound.

My new companion is Elder Pantano. He is from Bogota Columbia, and he is super cool! He is an extremely talented musician. He taught himself how to play the piano and the guitar, and can play by ear! Hermana Rodriguez told us that she would be calling us soon to do a musical number in the multizone conference! It’s also very easy to see that Elder Pantano took advantage of his time in the MTC, he already has a great ability to express gospel concepts and share testimony. We are just working on refining his teaching ability, but I can tell that VERY soon he will be a great leader in our mission. He is very humble and is constantly looking for opportunities to improve, I can tell we are going to have lots of success together!

One of the cool experiences Elder Pantano and I had together was a great bonding experience. We were called by a member to go and give a priesthood blessing to a family member that was sick in the hospital. We went, and Elder Pantano told me he had never given a blessing before. I explained to him how to do a blessing, and we gave a spiritual blessing. On the bus ride back to our house to do our companionship study, I felt prompted to teach him about blessings a little more. After explaining the blessing, I told him he would be performing his first priesthood blessing that day. He asked me who it would be for, and I passed him a contact card with my full name on it, and told him that it would be for me. He nervously laughed and then said alright! He put his hands on my head, and gave me a divinely inspired blessing of what the Lord needed to say to me.

Before I finish up, I wanted to share a scripture I like from my studies this week. D&C 11:13. It talks about how the Spirit brings joy to our hearts and minds. I love that thought. I was writing back and forth with Sister Cassidy Cutler this Monday, and she said, "The Gospel is truly the good life. Everything we teach only makes us better people." How true that is! The Gospel and the Spirit truly bring joy to our souls!

I hope you all have a great week! Love you all!

Elder Newman

Dad, well, I hope you can meet up with Mom and Emma at the end of the trip! But I hope you have a great conference there in Madrid! Love you tons Dad!

Mom, sounds like you and Emma are having quite the trip! Must be nice to have some one on one time with Emma out there in Amsterdam and London! Love you Mom, enjoy the trip!

Jackson, well done on the lifts, and sounds like you got to have some good times watching Inception and going bowling! Love you dude!!

Emma, wow, those pics from your trip look amazing, looks like you are having a blast!! Love you Emma, have a great trip!

Sarah, have a great time in Vegas in the basketball camp! I bet that was fun to eat at Grandma's house. Love you Bear, have a great week!

Callie, how fun that you got to have a sleepover with Grandma! I bet the cinnamon roll was very yummy. Love you tons, Callie!!

Mom’s Questions:
1. Any news on transfers? Do you have a new comp? 

I do, Elder Pantano.

2. How did Carnival end up going? Were you stir crazy? 

Not too bad due to the fact that we got to go out and pick up companions, so it wasn’t too bad.

3. What is the most effective contacting method is working in Camiri? 

Mostly knocking doors and talking about the Family. We also have our English class

4. What are the members doing to help move the missionary work forward?

We have been visiting members to help Elder Pantano get to know them and asking for referrals, and we've gotten a few!

You can never smile too much :)

Hello Friends and Family!

Well, I hope you all had a great week! What an exciting time to be here as a servant of the Lord! It was amazing to be able to talk to my beloved sister Sarah yesterday for her 13th birthday, it absolutely amazes me how much she has grown up during my time here in Bolivia. One of the things that impressed me most during my call with her was the fact that on her birthday, she chose to get up early and go to the temple with her friends. What a stellar example she is of putting the Lord first and doing His work first, even on her birthday :).

Not a lot to talk about this week! It was a pretty run of the mill week, lots of contacting and looking for new people to teach. One of the most effective ways that we have had to look for new people to teach is our English Class that we have been putting on. Last night we had almost 20 people in the class, and lots of people who passed by the chapel right afterwards and said, "Dang, I missed it! Next week I’ll be here!". There are lots of ways to find people to teach, and we are trying to find a good balance of all of the ways there are to find, and use the talents that the Lord has given us to help His children here in Camiri.

One of the things that we try to do in those first moments with a person in a contact is just show the happiness that the gospel can bring. In Missionary Handbook, it talks about that our appearance is one of the first messages that a person receives about us and His message. We try to make sure that the first thing that the people see when they talk to us is a smile. A smile and a bright countenance say so much about what the Gospel has to offer. On Thursday, after almost 2 hours of straight contacting, my face was pretty sore from smiling so much, but I’m pretty sure that’s one of the best problems you can have in life.

Well, starting tonight, until Wednesday morning, we will be in Carnival, or in other words, imprisoned in our house while all of Bolivia is out partying it up. It’s going to be a good opportunity to study the Scriptures lots, clean the house, and rest up for this coming transfer. Tonight we receive the transfer calls, so we will see if one of us is going to have a change, or if we stay together for another transfer. It’s truly been a blessing to work with Elder Amasifuèn here in Camiri. This transfer has gone by SO fast. I hope we have the opportunity to stay together for another transfer, we have had lots of success together, and I have learned a lot from him.

Well, I hope you all have a great week! Love you all, and remember that the Lord is with us, in good times and in times of difficulty, he will always be there to lift us up and sustain us.

Isaiah 41:10

Love, Elder Newman

Dad, that’s so cool that you got a new motorized tower. I’m sure that it will be super cool for HD sports. Love you tons Dad! Have a great week!!

Mom, lots of lasts, I think that’s the definition of Senior year! That’s awesome that Emma had a great showcase! Love you Mom!

Jackson, it was great to talk to you yesterday! Love you man, hope you have a great week!

Emma, WELL DONE IN YOUR SHOWCASE!!!!! Way to hit both of your aerials, the Lord answered your prayers and mine. Love you Sis!!!

Bear, I hope you had a great Birthday. It was so good to talk to you yesterday. Nice job this Basketball season! Love you tons Sarah!!

Callie, that’s so funny that Reese barked at the dog on TV! I hope you teeth don’t hurt too bad with the new spacers! Love you Callie!!

Mom’s Questions:
1. How is Carnival going? What will you being doing while you are stuck in your apartment until Tuesday? 

Studying, cleaning, resting up :)

2. Have you heard about transfers yet? Will you and your comp be staying in Camiri?

We haven’t heard yet, tonight we receive the call.

3. What is Elder Amasifuen’s family like back home? 

Elder Amasifuen has an older sister, a sister that just began her mission in Colombia, and 2 little siblings that are 13 and 11. He lived in a city called Iquitos until he was about 16, then moved to Lima (the Capital) and has lived there ever since.

4. What is the best or worst thing you ate this week? How much do you cook for yourself in this area? 

The best thing I ate this week was a dish called Guiso de Fideo. It’s pretty much pasta with lots of cheese and a piece of chicken in the middle, but its super filling and super yummy! I don’t cook a lot for myself here haha, I mostly just buy fruit for breakfast, and occasionally make myself smoothies.

The Lord's Timing

Hello Friends and Family!!!

I hope you all had a great week talking to your missionaries (and for my missionaries, talking to your families haha). It was truly an invigorating experience having the opportunity to talk to my family this past Monday, the Lord is truly hastening his work!!

I was pondering this past week all of the adjustments and changes that the Lord is making in His church. As I was thinking about it, I was reading the book Saints (or the title in spanish Santos). One thing that called my attention was that the Church was not restored in one sweeping movement, rather, little by little. As the saints were ready to receive more and obey, the Lord blessed them with additional knowledge, and gave them more commandments and more light.

The Restoration of the Lord's church has not finished. He continues to give us more as we are ready to receive it. We can clearly see this in the revelations that we have been receiving, and in the increased agency that the Lord gives us in our day to day lives, and in our religious observance. The Lord will continue to hasten his work as we are ready to receive more light and obey.

We saw a big miracle this week. His name is Fermin Lara. He is been investigating the church for a LONG time. Recently, Elder Amasifuen and his previous companion had left him for a time. He had some bad experiences with some of the members, and "didn’t believe that this could be the true church with people like that" were his words.. Now, with that being said, he continued coming to church, and we always said hi to him and talked to him at church, but we have never had the opportunity to teach him. This Tuesday, we finally had the opportunity to visit him, and we truly saw a different person. Who we saw was a submissive, humble seeker of truth. He told us that he had some time to think, and that "I go to church for my salvation, and not for the people that are there." We extended the invitation to pray about baptism, and he accepted. I am very very grateful that the Lord touched his heart, and prepared him for us. We will see how he continues progressing in these coming weeks.

Thank you so much for your continued love and support! I love this work, it’s the most important thing in the world; bringing the light of the gospel to all!

D&C 58:28

Love, Elder Newman.

Dad, Sounds like a good time being DJ bishop!!! I heard about the picture that Zai sent, that’s so so awesome! It’s true, we all have trials, but those who fight on will always triumph. Love you Dad!!

Mom, Thank you so much for helpíng us out finding the apartment! It’s going to be so, so awesome!! What a good time doing the campus tours with Emma, I remember when we went to go and do campus tours! Love you mom!

Jackson, Sounds like a good/stressful week! Way to keep a journal! I am Impressed that you keep up on that, I need to be better about that haha, I write like two or three times a week, but not every day haha. Love you dude!!


Emma, what a fun week! Way to party it up in your Vikette Formal! Sounds a great week sis. Keep enjoying your senior year!! Love ya!!

Sarah, Its hard when you get out of the routine huh? After Monday and Wednesday of no school, I bet it was hard to be at school! You'll get right back into it. Have a great birthday on Friday! Looking forward to talking to you to celebrate your 13th birthday! Love you Bear!!!

Callie, I’m glad that you are feeling better! Look at us! we are twinners with the moccasins! How fun that you got to play with your friend, and get a cookie in Primary! Love you Callie!!

Hello friends and family!!

I hope you all had a great week, we are all pretty floored with the new announcement on the new communication rules!

This week we had some big successes, and some great spiritual moments with some of our investigators, so I’m just going to get right to it!

This past week, I carried a small notebook with me to record my spiritual impressions that I receive during the day. Its helped me to notice that the Spirit really is constantly helping us as we move forward His work! One of the cool experiences we had was with one of our investigators, Vida Valle. She comes from a very Catholic background, and she has some problems with praying in public... We were teaching about prayer and the blessings we can receive by praying and expressing our feelings to Him. She expressed to us worries that she isn’t good at expressing herself vocally, and I related to her my feelings at the beginning of my mission is spanish. I told her, "God understands the feelings of the heart, even if we can’t find the words to express them."

We were teaching Mariela this week about the Plan of Salvation, and she was understanding really well. As we were telling her about the Resurrection, we told her, "Every person who has ever lived upon the face of the earth. will be resurrected, and we will see our families and loved ones again." And the smile that came to her face was unmistakable. I love the happiness that the Plan of Salvation brings to all the people we teach!

We had the baptism of the Familia Villarroel. We had filled up the font partially, planning to come by Saturday in the morning to finish filling it up before the service at 11 am. We arrived to the chapel, and the water had been cut off in the whole city. We were pretty panicked, with only 30 cm of water. So, we called President, and he gave us permission to go to the river and do the service there. We started the service all normal in the chapel, with the talks and Elder Amasifuén and I did a musical number. After, we piled all the people in the four cars, and we headed to the river to do the baptismal ordinance. It was a really cool experience.

A scripture I really liked from my study this week:

Mosiah 24:10-12

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

Elder Newman


Mom’s Questions:

1. The biggest question of the week: When did you find out about the new rule about missionary communication with families and what was your reaction? 

I found out on Saturday right before the baptism, and we were all super excited!

2. How was the baptism this weekend? 

Really cool, one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had.

3. Do they celebrate Valentine’s Day in Bolivia? 

Not really, hahah.

4. What do you do on P-day in your new area? 

We play soccer in the afternoons.

The Book of Mormon does its job!

Hello Friends and Family!

I hope you all had a fantastic week, we sure had a good one this past week as well!!

We saw TONS of miracles using the Book of Mormon this past week! We have a Family that we are teaching, the Familia Sanchez. We have taught the mom (Rosa) a couple of times, and Jimena and Sandy, her two daughters only once. We taught them about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon the first time, and invited them to read and pray to know of the truthfulness of the Book, and we arrived to teach Rosa this week, and she told us that she hadn’t prayed yet, but that Jimena had, and she received an answer! We were pretty surprised, and thrilled at the same time! Right then, Jimena arrived home from school, and we asked her about her experience. She told us that she went into her room after reading, she prayed. She told us of an overwhelming peace that she felt. We testified of the peace she felt, and she is now being prepared for baptism! Just needs to come to church and she will be good to go with the rest of her family!!

Another cool experience that we had was with Mariela Guzman. We were teaching her about the Book of Mormon, and as we were testifying of the divinity of the Book of Mormon, she told us that she had seen the Book of Mormon two times before, and this was the third time in her life that she was seeing it. She asked if it was a sign, and then answered her own question saying, "I think God wants me to read this book if this is the third time seeing it" She then accepted a baptismal invitation, and came to church this week! Just needs to get married and she will be totally ready to be baptized!

We have a baptism this weekend for The Familia Villaroel, and partial member family that was baptized a month ago, but one of the daughters and the dad (Elida and Jorge) weren’t baptized yet. We have been preparing them, and this weekend they will be baptized! We are truly seeing lots of miracles here in Camiri!!

Here are some of the scriptures I liked from my personal study!
Matthew 28:5-6
Alma 29:9-10
Psalms 118:24

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love, Elder Newman

Dad, Those are some super awesome pics of the Jazz game! Looks like you and Sarah had a great time! Thats crazy that Eli is home! I want to see a picture of the missionary board back home. Love you Dad!!

Mom, WOW! 10 inches of snow?? Thats crazy!!! Well done on your midterm and thank you for sharing your studies! Love you mom, have a fantastic week!

Jackson, well done this week! Sounds like a very full and very productive week! Well done on your Spanish midterm, and sounds like a great spiritual weekend! Love you Bro!!

Callie, how fun that you got to go to the BYU basketball game and see Malli!! But not so fun the headache afterwards! Look at you! You are very good at saving money!! Love you Callie!!

Sarah, nicely done in practices, and sounds like a very fun week with the Boat show and the Jazz game, getting to talk with the players and everything!!! Super cool, love you Bear!!


Emma, sounds like a super good time at sweethearts! That’s super cool that you got to go with KK! He’s super funny! Nicely done on giving a talk! Love you sister!!!

Mom’s Questions:
1. Was Cristian able to get permission from his parents to be baptized? 

Unfortunately we were not able to get in touch with Cristian or his parents this week, so no baptism yet. We will be talking to them this week.

2. Do you have other investigators right now? Tell us about them. 

Sergio is another one of our investigators. He is super great! He is from Paraguay, and he just ended up right where he needed to be! God put him right into our path!

3. What was the hardest challenge you overcame this week? 

Probably not being able to get in touch with Cristian or his parents this week. Little frustrating, but we will get it figured out.

4. What made you laugh this week?

Elder Amasifuen and I announced our English class to people in the street by me pretending to not speak spanish, and then Elder Amasifuen "translating" me.