Born to Bake Cake, Sin Luz, and Shooting the Breeze

 Elder Poulson who has joined the Chuy district after Elder Fonseca left

 The new Chuy District

 Toddy Time in its finest. Post-district meeting tradition​

 Studying old school​ (power was out)

Birthday time

​Elder Poulson: Born to Bake Cake​

 ​Red Velvet Cake for my birthday that I actually baked myself! (dust off shoulders) ;) 

 New birthday tie

Elder Guillerme Durangt, you are assigned to labor in the Canada Montreal Mission, French Speaking! (And he already knows Portuguese, Spanish, and English) What a stud!​

We are now without power because a pole that was on the fritz from the crazy windstorm finally fell. And great was the fall thereof!​

So, I killed a frog the other day.... On accident. Oh well.

¡Hola mis queridos amigos y familia! ¡Me hace felicísimo para hablar con vosotros otra vez! ¡Muchísimas gracias por todos los mensajes de Feliz Cumpleaños! ¡Ha sido una semana duro pero tambien bueno!

So we have made contact with Rocío! Turns out she was up in Montevideo for the birth of her granddaughter! But she does seem less enthusiastic to meet up with us. My hope is that it’s just because she hasn`t felt the Spirit in a little while. High hopes for her! We`ve also received a few awesome nuevos as well, and are up to 5 baptismal dates! But we will need to change those dates because nobody showed up to church this past week. And it’s really tough to get investigators to church for some reason. But we`ll find a way!

So there was a rumor that there was going to be a huge tornado in another part of Uruguay. Well, I think it hit us; we had a MASSIVE windstorm on Thursday that knocked out the power and water in most of Chuy (except our block) and put our lightpole on the fritz. (And today it fell and we now have no power) We could hardly walk at some points against the wind, and when the wind was at our backs, we thought it would take us into flight. CRAZY!

We also have met this menos activo named Katherine. She`s a young mother of three in her 20`s that hasn`t been to church for 2 years. However, she has strong desires to come back; she said she will be at church this week, asked us to pray for and visit her menos activo mother, and she actually set up a charla with us, her, and her nonmember marido! She warned us that he usually wasn`t interested in religion, but we will give it a go anyways, for eternal families are always worth it!

One last thing: I got my first haricut from this awesome dude on Wednesday; he looks like Larsen Price if Larsen had tattoos or earrings. This dude was AMAZING! He gave me the best haircut I have ever had, and you could see he was invested in his work: he used tools I`ve never seen and closely watched and scrutinized his work to perfection. He had a Beatles poster and other England stuff on the wall, which was sick. And the final price: 150 pesos. $5.36. INCREDIBLE!

Thank you all once again for what you do and who you are! I feel your prayers and support in tough times, and it helps me conquer each day! ¡Os quiero! ¡Para siempre Dios esté con vosotros! ¡Tened un buen Día de las Brujas! ¡Ciao! 

Elder Newman

Mom’s Questions:

1. Where did Elder Fonseca end up going? Who is the new missionary in your district? Is he Latin or American? What's he like and how long has he been in the mission?  

    

E' Fonseca went to Rio Bronco, another Brazilian frontier more northern. We have received E' Poulson, another gringo from Smithfield Utah who will be going home after this change. He is freaking sweet! ;)

2. Did you get to use your birthday package to have a party? Did you open your present?     

Not yet the party, but I did open my presents! Actually wearing the tie you gave me, ¡muchísimas gracias! ¡Es buenaso!

3. Were you able to listen to our audio files? 

Nope, didn`t work on mp3 player. Going to try different method.

4. How did the first two recipes work out? What type of recipes would you like me to continue to send? Are there certain foods that sound good or that are easier for you to come by?   

I actually haven`t been able to use the first two yet, been really focused on the work. If anything, I would love to receive desserts or meals without canned food; canned food is hard to find here.

5. Have you experienced the whisperings of the Holy Ghost prompting you to act or speak? 

Yesterday I was prompted to bear testimony to the girl Katherine about how Heavenly Father loves her and is ready to help her come back. Also that the Book of Mormon can solve any trial she is facing in her life.

Asados, San Miguel, 14 hours of bus travel, and "Joe Puddin!"

Pictures of the Fortress of San Miguel on P-day

Asados with the members on Sunday 

​

 Interviews with President​ Eddy

 

Mexico MTC group reunited at the Oro Conference in Montevideo after a long bus ride

I was not happy to see E`Fonseca go during Changes

¡Hola, mis queridos amigos y familia! Como siempre, ¡me hace

felicísimo para hablar con vosotros otra vez! ¡La obra del Señor de

cierto es buenísimo! Gracias por todos vuestros mensajes de

cumpleaños; ¡me hizo muy feliz!

So this week, our investigator list has been in turmoil! Nilida has

dropped us because she`s become less and less interested and doesn`t

want to get married or separated, we haven`t been able to contact

Karen, and Dinora hasn`t been answering the door or the phone. But we

have 6 nuevos this week, and 4 overall investigators with baptismal

dates, and 2 we are ready to extend the invitation to! So the work is

still going strong here in Chuy!

Funny story: we had lunch with the Ramos family, and up until we had

visited and found their house (we don`t know where most of the members

live), we had only known the mother and the daughter. (they`re

members, btw) But during lunch we got to meet the father, and he looks

just like Bill Cosby! He even kinda acts like him, so we have

officially found the Spanish speaking Bill Cosby! If we ever get a

picture with the family I`ll send it to you, and you`ll know what I

mean. It`s kinda freaky, actually!

Welp, that`s about all! Como siempre, ¡os quiero mucho! ¡Qué andéis

bien!, y ¡Dios para siempre esté con vos! ¡Ciao!

Mom’s Questions:

1. In your last letter you said there are 600 members and only 50 or so are

active. Are the missionaries involved in reactivation of less active

members?           

More or less. Most of the less actives were

baptized long ago without really being fully taught and converted, and

a lot of them have bad experiences with members, so reactivation is a

big problem here. Most of the inactive members here don`t want anything to do

with the Church or even don`t know almost anything about it. It`s a

mess.

2. Did you mention in your last letter that you had a visit with President

Eddy? How did it go? Are there any challenges he gave you as far as the

work goes? Did he come visit for transfers or something else?

Yup! We had interviews with him in Rocha on Monday and then all the

oros came up to Montevideo on Tuesday for an Oro Conference. We

learned a lot on how to ask for references and make contacts with the

Book of Mormon!

3. Did you get your birthday package yet?         

I believe so! If it was sent in September, then yes!

4. What miracles happened this week?

Definitely the family of Lucia (In his audio clip to us, Jackson talked about how they were able meet Lucia and her sister at church through Lucia’s boyfriend, Roberto. Roberto is a member who really wants his girlfriend to join the church so he can baptize her himself. They have high hopes for Lucia and her sister!)

5. What are you most grateful for?           

That the Lord has been with and strengthened me despite my many weaknesses. He never leaves

His servants alone

Dad’s Questions:

1. Is it ok for us to send you any short video clips? 10-15 second type

stuff of stuff going on in our lives? Just want to make sure it is

allowable in the rules.             

Elder Anderson told me yes, so go ahead!

2. The Spanish is sounding really good in your voice clips! What are you

doing in your study? It's working!             

I have been reviewing 5 new words a day and reading the Scriptures in Spanish. Also,

Elder Anderson and I strive to talk more and more together in Spanish.

3. Are you playing much soccer there? Anything else on P-days?

Lately, not as much. On P-days we normally go fishing, shopping,

or sightseeing.

4. Have you been to a churrasco?     

I honestly have no idea what that is xD

The Chronicles of Perdidos and Nuevos and Tales Cosas

 The members here are the absolute greatest​

 Decided to organize my desk a little. Feel a lot better now

 Cuddling with a huge bear at Adrianna´s (member) house

Lunch at Adrianna´s

Family and friends! So good to be talking with you once again this beautiful Monday! Quickly wanted to let you know something coming up: due to time restrictions starting to be enforced more, most of the huge content in my emails will start transferring over to my voice recordings so that I can fit in all the material and stay under time.

Pap, I have been reading my scriptures in Spanish every day; I´ve already finished the BoM and am in D&C! After that, I plan to read the Old and New Testaments, and then the Pearl of Great Price! I continue to receive complements from every one about my Spanish already, but I know I´ve still got a LONG way to go! You said it yourself: A person can be everything that they want to be, through work. You guys are putting in the work to be better and it shows, and I continue to try to better myself every day. Work and the Lord transform us into incredible beings!

So this week was kinda quack! Eduardo is no longer an investigator of ours, and it´s a very strange story. While we´ve been teaching him in his house, there´s always been this older woman (like her 50´s) named Selma, 3 kids of about high school age, and a 4 year old girl. Initially I though Selma was Eduardo´s mom because he´s about 20. Nope. His wife (but not married). She already had the 3 kids when Eduardo moved in, and then they had the 4-year old together. I was beyond shocked as I´m sure all of you are. And then one day we came over and learned from Selma that Eduardo had separated from her and fled for the Castillos, leaving his daughter behind with Selma, never to come back. So we lost an investigator but got 4 nuevos that day! So we returned yesterday to start teaching Selma and the kids, and notice that Selma is not there. Then we hear this voice beckoning us into the back room, and lo and behold! Eduardo! In his shorts alone, watching TV, back from the dead! E´ Anderson handled it pretty well, but as soon as we left the house, he told me we were dropping them. I can´t say I entirely blame him, because it was a messed up, quack story!

We do have other nuevos though! I will have to send the voice recordings next week because I don´t have much time today, but we have our golden investigator Rocio, two other promising investigators names Gislaine and Dinora, and Lucia, the girlfriend of a member, as well as her sister Veronica! So our hard work is still paying off, and I have faith that these are elegidos that the Lord has provided for us!

¡Os quiero mucho! ¡Para siempre Dios esté con vos! ¡Ciao!

Elder Newman

Mom’s Questions:

How big is Chuy? Are you four the only missionaries in Chuy or are there others as well?

Just us 4. But it is a pretty big area

Are there buses in Chuy that you take sometimes, or is it all walking? 

Never for proselyting. Sometimes on P-day we take buses to go to certain areas, and also for conferences

Have you received your birthday package yet?   

Nope. But I have faith it will come!

What is your ward like? Are there kids and a primary? What about youth? Is the ward helpful in the missionary work?   

The ward here in Chuy has about 600 members and around 50-70 active, but the people that attend are spectacular! There are kids and primary, as well as youth, but the majority of the members are adults. There are a few members who love to accompany us in charlas, so I´d say yes!

Is your foot continuing to feel better this week?  

Yup!

The Sweet Smell of Smoke, Banana Pancakes, and ¡Nuevos!

The ovens here are kinda quack (weird, strange, random), and this is what happened to our first batch of brownies.​

 The brownies we made for Fernanda y Gloria (2nd batch)​

 Milagrito: some members randomly stopped by yesterday and gave us pizza and dessert! Count your blessings!​

Hermano Yaco is one of the coolest, nicest, humblest guys I`ve ever met. He was our chauffer today in La Barra (the Bay), and even provided us lunch at his place! Truly incredible man. Pap, he served in Paraguay Asunción Norte and so did his wife! (at the same time, actually) And Christian, I thought you`d like this shirt ;)​

 La playa en La Barra​

 The park on the hill above la playa.

 Titanic​

 El Mano

Los oros​

¡Hola familia y amigos! ¡Estoy felicísimo para hablar con vosotros otra vez! ¡He experimentado muchas cosas, buenas y duras, y he crecido mucho esta semana!

So our investigators have hit brick walls this week. Ade has dropped us, Olga doesn`t want to be baptized because she`s already been baptized 3 times, Dennis and Vivianna are moving and can`t meet with us much, and Nilida and Viktor are not willing to get married. Will take a quick paragraph each to explain what happened in some cases.

Olga was a heartbreaking experience this week. In our charla, we had asked her about how the Book of Mormon was for her, and how she felt. She had felt something, but wasn`t sure why we needed it when we had the Bible. We talked about how the Bible had passed through the hands of man and been altered many times and how the Book of Mormon can help clarify unanswered Bible questions. This went on to the power of the priesthood and how only member of the Church of Jesus Christ had it through the laying on of hands through the Restoration. This power gives us authority, not just knowledge, to perform ordinances, and we invited her to be baptized by that proper authority. She told us about how she had already been baptized by a pastor and thought that was enough. With all the tenderness yet boldness of my heart, and with the Spirit coursing through me, I testified to her about the authority of the priesthood and to whom it pertains and how she would only need one more baptism if we did it, for we have the authority. I then re-invited her, and with all the tenderness she possessed, she declined once more, saying 4 was too many. We will continue to visit, teach, and strengthen her that maybe she might change her mind, but my heart was torn that night. True trial.

Turns out that marriage here is a huge struggle. You have to apply like 6 months in advance, pay some money, and fill out a lot of forms; and it`s even harder to get a divorce. For this reason, Nilida and Viktor don`t want to get married, and Dennis and Vivianna are still wrestling over it. Hopefully we can help them to take a step of faith in this regard!

However, we also have received 4 nuevos this week: Gislaine, Carlos, Rocio, and Diñora! Gislaine is a true Brazilian (refer to Uruguayan Culture audio to understand better) that is sooo open and friendly and tries out her limited English with us. She is a huge believer in God and might be our most promising investigator right now! Carlos was a contact that, when we knocked, cut us off and went on a rant about how we bothered people and knocked on their doors and didn`t help them at all, and "if you really want to serve, I have two shovels back here and some dirt that needs to be moved." He clearly didn`t expect us to accept, because when we said, "Let`s do it!" he was shellshocked. We moved dirt for about 5 minutes and then he stopped us, and in a completely different, friendly tone, he invited us back to work and lunch with him on Wednesday! Rocio is a barber on the Brazilian side that couldn`t immediately meet with us but seemed excited and whom we are meeting tonight! Diñora is a Uruguayan who was a little hesitant at first but seems deeply invested in what we`re saying. I wish I could say more but I`m out of time, but the Lord truly blesses the patient!

¡Os diré como està andando en la proxima semana! ¡Os amo mucho! ¡Ciao!

Elder Newman

Mom’s Questions:

1. Are you using the seasoning packets I sent with you when you left? What about the crystal light mix ins? Do you want me to send more with your Christmas package this week? Can you get seasonings down there?   

I forgot about the seasoning packets! Will try to use some. But I have used and enjoyed the Crystal Light!

2. Tell me one thing that set your heart and mind on fire this week. 

We have 4 nuevos (new investigators) this week and 3 of them seem REALLY promising! The work is good!

3. What aspect of missionary work are you feeling most confident about? 

Being able to communicate the gospel and bear testimony.

4. I know you’re resting a bit with your foot right now, but how have you served the other Elders this week? 

E' Anderson forgot his money today, and I paid for his bus ticket to La Barra.

5. Is your foot feeling any better with rest, ice and ibuprofen? 

Yup!