Tackling Beatris' lawn, took two days of service to tame the "Amazonian"
Wow. Just wow! This week had been absolutely incredible. My dearest friends and family, so good to be able to talk with you! We truly saw the hand of the Lord in our labors this week; absolutely incredible! Truly amazing to see such profound changes in the lives of our brothers and sisters here in the land of asado, dulce de leche, and mate.
Callie ¡¡¡1st Grade!!! How exciting! You need to send me pictures of your kindergarten graduation! Yesterday in church, I learned about the priesthood and how it is organized, and also about the blessings of attending the temple, being self-reliant, and finding delight in the Sabbath Day. On Mother's Day, the gift I am going to give Mom is... a Skype call! That's right, you are going to get to see my face again! My favorite holidays are Christmas and Easter, because I get to celebrate what Jesus did for me, and do it with family. Thanks for praying for me; I also pray for you and the family every night. I love you, Callie! I miss you!
Bear! Nice win against the top dogs! Recently, I've done very well at goalie in futsal here and whenever the Uruguayos compliment my game, I always say, "Aprendí de mi hermana menor." (Translation: “I learned from my younger sister.”) Good luck in basketball! Never let up or ease off; play your aggressive game and you will dominate. Well, you were able to plant the seed in your friend, and that will affect her for the good from now on, even though she has moved. Love you!
Emma! ¡Feliz Prom; ¡estoy muy animado para ti! ¡Buena suerte con AP Física! ¡Estaré orando para ti! (Translation: Happy Prom; I'm very excited for you! Good luck with AP Physics! I will be praying for you!) Haha, so glad that you had a ball with Spirit Bowl! And you better win in 2 years, we need to keep the Newman tradition strong! Service is truly sweet; I love reaching down from my own struggles to lift up someone even more burdened than me. I felt a strong spirit of love serving Beatrís this week and am so happy that you had the opportunity to serve too. ¡Te quiero muchísimo! (Translation: I love you so much!)
Bro, nice work. Spirit Bowl champ! What was the theme this year? Haha, nice eyebrow; you got even more stitches than I did! Just make sure to not bust open your chin too, because you can't exactly hide that one... Ughh, you're bringing back so many of my fond senior memories. Live it up man, it's all coming to an end. Only getting faster and faster; I know how that is. Love you Christian!
Mom, they have released details for Mother's Day; we can use the computer in the chapel or a member's computer. I was thinking of calling y'all around 8:10 my time (5:10 your time). Let me know how that works out for you. I absolutely love the Sabbath Day; it has truly become a delight to me, and sends me into the new week refreshed. Love you Mom!
1 mile shot! Holy cow, I'm gonna have some catching up to do! Such a sweet prayer by Callie. All is well and looking upward! Love you Pap.
Solange has received her answer! She was studying the Book of Mormon on her own and came across Alma 18. Later she opened up her BoM again to... Alma 18. The next morning she went to the scripture we had marked and left for her (which was not Alma 18), but somehow the bookmark had shifted to - you guessed it - Alma 18. Thus, she decided to read it thoroughly. Upon reading it, she felt the Spirit and began to cry, and then called Kevin and related her experience, and Kevin read the same passage and also began to cry. All this was told by Kevin, and then Solange told us, "Me quiero bautizar." (Translation: "I want to be baptized.")The Spirit that filled that room took my breath away, so much that after setting a date and attempting to testify, the joy I felt choked out any more words, and Elder Souza had to speak up. Since that point, she has participated MUCH more in the lessons and came again to church and understood and absorbed everything.
The Amaro family has had some struggles, but are looking forward with faith and hope. Dario and Fernando gave in to smoking again because 1) Dario is getting his teeth removed and replaced, and the cigarette calms the pain for him, and 2) Fernando lost his job in a very unjust way, and smoked to calm his frustration. They were probably expecting a cane drop from us and were a little bashful, but upon us showing our love and support for them, something miraculous happened. Dario said, “I will make the changes I need to. This is different than the baptism and church that I had in my mind, and I will get baptized in this church with my family. It might take time, but I’ll do it.” This coming from the man that was offended when I asked him to quit smoking and challenged us in our first lesson!
Sr. Diablo, cállese - Recently I read an interesting article in the Ensign/Liahona about the war against Satan and ways we can counterattack his tactics. One way that we can use is simply tell him in the name of Jesus Christ to go away, and quote commandments and scriptures. We have that right, and not only does it make the devil tremble and flee, it invites the Spirit. Matthew 4:10-11; Moses 1:12-22; and James 4:7. Heber J. Grant, when he was young and recognized the whispered temptations of Satan, simply said, "Mr. Devil, be quiet."
Venganza de los Mosquitos - Normally the mosquitos come in heat, but this cold week, they came out of nowhere, de la nada. They are literally everywhere, and are absolutely relentless; only killing them will stop them.
Tackling the Amazonain - We saw the large grass of Beatris and put in action a plan to serve her. No small task: 2 days of cutting and sweeping. But the end result: pleasure to serve, and a happy Beatris.
Con amor, Elder Newman :)
Mom’s Questions:
1. Which package did you get? The one from Grandma (also had sunscreen and jelly beans from me) or the one I mailed?
The one I mailed when I track it still shows as being in Uruguay customs so…not sure if you’re going to get that. I didn't see sunscreen, but I did see jelly beans, so I'm not entirely sure...
2. What is the most unusual thing you have eaten so far? I ask this because Elder Dibb in Bolivia sent home a picture of him holding a headless, three foot crocodile which they ate for dinner. Crazy!
The most unusual thing I remember was cow intestine. And even that was pretty darn good.
3. How are your investigators doing? Are they still on target for their baptism dates? How is Solange? I saw a picture on FB with her and Kevin both wearing CTR rings.
Solange is doing absolutely fantastic; 100% committed. Amaros all fell through for their baptismal dates but are progressing really well.
4. What are some of the fun zone activities you have done on pdays lately?
Fútbol, basketball, volleyball, Signs group game, other group games. Very fun.
5. How many missionaries are in your district? And in your zone?
6 in district, 18 in zone
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