Merry Half-Christmas; Línea por Línea; e Estar Doente Não É Divertido

 Mission Pic with Elder Bragg

 Pics with my grandson and my tiny GREAT-GRANDSON Elder Acuña!

The generational photo with the adopted great-grandson Elder Harrison! 

 Fellow valientes Elder Hunt and Elder Johansen

 Honey and lemon tea is the greatest. And I made it myself, Mom! ;)

 Water problems in our house.

Pday visit with Victor and Patricia

My Trunky Packet! Whatt....​

Hey peoples! Merry Half-Christmas to you all! (shoutout to Elder Ryne Christiansen for reminding me in his group letter).

Wow! What great conferences we have had this week! Lots of revelation for us! We had zone conference and interviews with President here in Las Piedras this Wednesday, and I gave my valiente testimony in front of the entire zone. That was SUCH a special and spiritual experience. Then we had a mission conference in Malvín with Elder Bragg of the Seventy! Revelation upon revelation, line upon line!

Kind of a bummer that I was sick the first half of the week and couldn't do as much as I would have liked to, but we still had a good week as we helped Debora make her final preparations for her baptism this week!

Other fantastic experience: randomly before the beginning of sacrament meeting, the ward secretary asked me to share a quick experience and testimony with the ward after the second talk. I used the experience of Kevin and his family being reactivated and Solange being baptized in El Pinar as a result, and as I bore my testimony, I felt the impression to do the same thing that Elder Roquemore did in his new ward that normally did not support the missionaries very well: tell the members that I loved them, that they are the best members ever, and that we're at their service. The result? After I sat down, the Gospel Principles Teacher Teresita - who has a non-member husband who received a blessing from Elder Levrino, an Area Seventy - handed me a slip inviting us to a Family Home Evening tonight! Our DOM (WML, ward mission leader), who is normally a capo, took it to a whole 'nother level as he announced Debora's baptism in Gospel Essentials and Elder's Quorum, and got two witnesses on the spot and coordinated with the Relief Society for the snack there. We didn't even ask him to do it. Debora was VERY warmly fellowshipped by all the members. A true miracle. 

¡Les quiero montón, y espero que estén disfrutando su verano! ¡Faltan 24 días, no más! (I love you a lot, and I hope you are enjoying your summer! 24 days left, no more!)

Con amor,
Élder Newman :)

Wow! Sounds like Strawberry Days was on fire this year! Haha good ol' Coach Moore.  Glad to see the girls are doing well. And super cool you got to see the Domans! Tell them hi for me!  Haha and poor little Callie in Salt Lake, that must have been very eye-opening (and ear-opening) for her. Love you Mom!

Pap! Service is absolutely awesome, you got that right. Haha Callie is sure dedicated to the parade; I would have gone home early too.  Man, what a fantastic pic with the Doman boys. Capos for sure! Love you tons.

Callie! I'm so glad you enjoyed Strawberry Days: I really miss it! And you stayed for the whole parade! WOW!  No worries! Keep practicing, and you'll be able to swim one day in the deep end with no problem. And look at you riding all the big rides at Lagoon! Have fun with hip hop and tumbling! I love you!

Haha what a capo Daniello; I will help you learn Portuguese and Spanish one day!  Glad you enjoyed Keeper Camp! Haha Coach T is a CAAPO, and how funny that everyone was surprised at your age. Perhaps you'll play for him in high school!  Are there any new rides at Lagoon? Love you tons!

Emma! Glad you enjoyed the parade! I will definitely have to watch Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom when I get home! Incredibles 2 as well!  Wet kickball sounds absolutely epic, and what a capa who dodged in Matrix-style!  Can't wait to see your hip hop dance!

Mom’s Questions:
1. How fun you were able to visit El Pinar! Are you able to visit other areas on pday if they are close? Are you doing that because you only have a few more pdays left? 

Yes, I had to ask permission from President beforehand, but it's something that he sometimes allows us to do in our final transfer. In fact, I just did it today with Victor and Patricia.

2. How are your investigators doing? Any committed to baptism? 

Doing well, Debora is getting ready for her baptism this week! We haven't been able to get a hold of Cinthia, so I would appreciate it if y'all back home would pray for her so that she'll be okay and that we can find her.

3. What miracles did you experience this week?

The one from church described above.

4. Only a few more weeks left. What are you doing to make these last weeks count? 

I am going to strive to be the boldest I can be and invite more people to baptism. And I am going to express my love more to the Uruguayan people, because time is sooo short.

Return to El Pinar; Siguiendo Impresiones; e A Paciencia Traz Resultados

 Visiting Kevin and Solange in El Pinar

 District Pic

 Elder Chandia

¡Hola gente! I'll try to be brief, because we ended up with very little time today to write home. Just a few quick highlights:

• No news again this week, but we are searching out old investigators in the Area Book and have a charla set with one this week, so we're pretty pumped.
• Cinthia and Erwin went to the stake conference and heard President Eddy's invitation to be baptized and find true happiness! #CAAPO Erwin was huge because we had told him that if we were going to give him more charlas, he would have to go to church. And guess what? He came, with a member family. Back in business! 
• I got to visit Kevin Cela, his family, and Solange in El Pinar today! (That's why I have so little time now to write) Super awesome to eat with them, reminisce on old times, and give Kevin some consejos (tips) before he heads out on his mission to Brasil Río de Janeiro on July 10th! I also, on the bus ride home, found an old investigator of mine from El Pinar, and after talking with him a bit and catching up, I invited him to take the charlas again and he said yes!  Divine design.
• After praying for Cinthia one night, Elder Chandía felt that he should send a message to Cinthia saying that we loved her, God too, and to not be discouraged. To which she responded that we were the greatest messangers that God could've sent in her path, that we gave her so much peace, etc. Seems like she really needed that message when we gave it.  Always follow spiritual impressions.

Yup, when Pops starts building stuff, you know he's doing good.  Wow, Emma killed it at drill camp and Bear's working out at the high school! ¡CAPAS!  A very powerful story for sure with the wise and foolish men; our testimony of Christ makes all the difference. BTW, Elder Chandía is wondering how he can get into BYU; what can you find out about how foreigners can sign up? Love you Mom! 

12 hour shed project! Not bad! Thanks for the reminder, I will definitely put the pedal down this week. Love you Pap! 

Emma! Quite the performance there; you girls killed it!  Looks like you're quite famous; all of Asia will be rooting for PG come state time!  Glad you're having a blast with drill, live it up. Everything ends much quicker than you expect. ¡Te amo!

Bear! I've heard that the World Cup is crazy this year! Many soccer giants tying or even losing!  Glad you had a blast at the soccer party; great prank.  Haha how did Saucy come up?? Super cool that you get to work out at the high school! Have fun and take advantage!  Love ya!

Callie! Way to pull that sucker out!  Wow, level 3 already, you're killing it! It took me much longer to get there.  I would love to have the opportunity to play college football, but I would have to work REALLY hard to do so! And my favorite treat in Uruguay has always been ALFAJORS. Forever.  Love you!

Lots of love! I promise I'll have more next week! 

Con amor,

Élder Newman :)

Mom’s Questions:

1. How is Elder Chandia feeling? Any better?

Better; he had another sick day and we realized that it was a certain dish of food that the members like to give us often that always did him in. But he's all good now.

2. Were you able to get out more?

Happily, yes.

3. Do the members feed you much?

TONS. We never go hungry.

4. Who are your investigators right now?

Cinthia, Erwin (as of yesterday), Debora, Raúl and Rosana.

5. What is the funniest thing that happened this week?

The capo pizza man that protected us.

The Lost Plates of Newman; Grandes Cambios; e Serviço Pagado Com o Churrasco

Hey peeps! Another week in the Lord's service. Kind of a tough one, to be honest, with no new investigators and few in church. But we had opportunities to serve and to coordinate with the ward going forward.

We did service this week for Raúl and Rosana, cutting down some trees and branches on the roofs of their sheds that were blocking water flow. They rewarded us by turning all those branches... into an asado!!  They are the absolute best. And while the meat was cooking, Rosana did a little photo shoot for us (they work as photographers). Good day, and they are getting close to selling that property and being able to get married and then baptized. Awesome!

Well, I got my journal back! After a week and a half of not having it, I felt like an old piece of me was back.  And I've thought about it a lot, how Joseph Smith must've felt to have lost the 116 pages of the original translation, and what life would've been like if Mormon or Moroni had lost the entire Book of Mormon. How different would our lives be? I'm definitely hanging on to my journal a little bit tighter.

With lots of missionaries going home this past change and the next one, there are some big changes happening in the mish. There are areas closing and areas being combined as the number of missionaries has decreased. Lots of movement as missionaries are moved around to cover for the missionaries that completed their missions this last week.

We had ward council this week and have a correlation on Friday to talk about how the members can help in finding investigators. Should be awesome!

¡Les quiero a todos! ¡Que tengan un verano buenazo! (I love you all! Have a great summer!)

Con amor,
Élder Newman :)

What a small trip for sure! And how fun that you and Dad got up skiing together!  Super crazy that all my buds are getting home before me! Love you Mom! :)

¡Opa! Haha sinus infections are not fun.  But I'm glad the Powell trip went so well. And it's not every day that your neighbors set up the ski course! #TheFewTheProud Love you Pops.

Callerist! Look at you going down the slide! I think it took me longer to be that brave. Way to go!  I'm glad you enjoyed Lake Powell! And you danced so well!  Love you so much!

Home alone. Haha I bet you had lots of fun with you, yourself, and thou. Lots of luck with drill camp! ¡Te amo, Emma!

Bear! Haha, how I miss surfing and skiing. Glad you had fun! You'll have to show me your skillz when we go boating together! Love you!

Mom’s Questions:

1. How are the Mendez Gomez family doing? Are they still responding well to the lessons? 

We haven't been able to have a charla this past week, but we're going to set something up this week!

2. How many investigators do you have this week? 

Not sure, but no more than 10.

3. Were you able to get more done this week since Elder Chandia is feeling better? 

Not really; he had a couple more sick days, and it was kind of a tough week. But we're going to hit it harder next week.

4. How cold is it getting? 

It keeps switching off between warm and freezing. I think Uruguay weather is even more unpredictable than Utah weather.

5. Any more opportunities to play the piano this week? 

Nope!

Dogs are Crazy in Las Piedras; "Nunca Sentí Eso Antes;" e o Retorno de Alfajores Fritos

Hey fam bam! Kind of a crazy week, and I will try to sum it all up quick, but first things first, some news about Cambios. I will be staying in Las Piedras with Elder Chandía for my final change in the mission. Kind of saw that coming, and I'm super glad too, because we got work to do here.  And my grandson, Elder Harris, is training this change, so I'm gonna be a great-grandpa and see my great-grandson before I go home!  The rest you will see in the sneak peak videos of how changes normally go down here. You're welcome.

A super high-low week for sure. We didn't get much time to work because Elder Chandía was sick a few days this week. I lost my journal in Malvín the day of the Holland conference.  (But the Financers found it!)  A gigantic dog almost hopped a fence and almost bit me in the face doing night contacts. My head accidentally collided with an electrical box as we were walking.  Debora and Erwin came to church! We had one of the most spiritual fast and testimony meetings I've been a part of in my entire mission! Counsel in Elder's quorum was that spiritual as well as the president had us silently put our chairs in a circle as a hymn was being played from his laptop, and the Spirit was so strong. Our new Ward Mission Leader taught a fantastic Missionary Work Gospel Essentials Class and challenged the Elders' Quorum to think of referrals to give us! #CAAAPO A mushroom grew on our bathroom door.

The biggest miracle was probably experienced this Saturday in a charla with the Mendez Gomez family. Part of Elder Holland's apostolic blessing said that the Uruguayan people would feel something special just by meeting us. As we taught the Restoration, something special happened with them. The mom, Carmen, had received many missionaries before and loved receiving us but wasn't ever interested in going to church or anything even though two of her daughters that no longer live with her are members (less active). But as we taught the Restoration, the youngest daughter, 13-year-old Alexandra, was making super inspried comments and just getting it, and as I bore my testimony, Carmen stopped us and siad, "You know, I noticed how you got emotional when you said that to us. You truly feel that what you're teaching is the truth. This has never happened with any of the other missionaries we've met with. I've never felt this before." Wow. Such a powerful moment to see that part of the blessing start to be fulfilled.

We had a very inspiring and spiritual district meeting in which we discussed what we felt in the Elder Holland Conference and set goals to change ourselves and the mission. One of my goals is to be bolder in my finding and teaching, and to search for the descarriados (people who have gone astray), those who perhaps might not look like candidates. 

My good buddy Elder Estouco is going home this week, and to commemorate, we introduced Elders Chandía and Cook to something that Elder Estouco taught me in Chuy a long time ago. Fried alfajors. Yup, they're back, and better than ever.  Good times.

Coming into the last change. 6 weeks left to give it all I got to the Lord! Love you all, have a fantastic week of summer while we turn into iscicles. (Yep, it's rainy and super cold). ¡Les quiero a todos!

Con amor,
Élder Newman :)

Bear, that must be super tough to be overlooked like that in tryouts, but I am super proud of your maturity and positivity through it all, especially how you took it to the Lord to know what to do. :) That is a fantastic habit that will serve you very well for the rest of your life. And congrats on making the Bantam team! Enjoy Lake Powell! Love you!

Callerist! I do not know Mrs. Herman, I'm guessing she's new. But she looks super nice! Wow! That bubble gum is longer than I am tall! :O I hope you enjoy 2nd grade! I love you! :)

Pap! Look at that, a member of the quorum of the 70 that's into waterskiing! That'll be you someday. Hope to enjoy church in Page when I get back, and what a cool story by that man! We also had a man that's been coming back to church who had his baby blessed and then bore his testimony. Super powerful! What a great helper Sarah is!

Quite some fun with the girls, Mom.  I joked with a member this week that I had no idea how you were able to feed Christian and I with all we ate. Must be super tranquilo so far. One change left! Love you!

Salt Lake tours are always fun! Haha oh my, how crazy y'all are with trucks and chairs.  ¡Te amo, Emma!



 Mom’s Questions:

1. How did the visit with Elder Holland affect the way you want to serve your mission for your last transfer? 

Gave me a lot more enthusiasm for sure, and it helped me understand even better the sacred nature of my call. :)

2. Do you have any new goals for this last transfer of your mission? 

Be exactly and cheerfully obedient, be bolder in finding and teaching, and search for the outcasts to teach.

3. How are your investigators doing? How is Cinthia? 

Cinthia is struggling right now. She didn't come to church because she was wiped out from work the previous night. (Yep, it's that one job we hoped she wouldn't take) We're going to keep working with her to help her overcome that. But she's kept her cigarette level low. And everyone else is good!

4. How much did it cost to get your package out of customs? Have you had any other packages get held up in customs? 

Around U$S15.00.  Nope, that was the only one out of all you sent me that got held up. W