Pictures. February 29, 2016

February 22, 2016

Brand New Moments

Hello everyone!   

Wow, dont know why but this week went by real fast.  Moreso than others.  Wasnt I just here writing to you all?  Anyway, right to the point.

We were surprised by a visit from Elder Corbridge of the Seventy on Saturday, in which his main message was "Why?"   I shall explain of course.

Remember, the message we carry is more important than anything else that will have importance in our lives.  That of course the Gospel of Jesus Christ has indeed been restored from heaven to the earth.  And the proposito of missionaries is to bring that message and guide others to cultivate that faith in Him daily and excersize that faith to repentance and baptism and receiving one of the most precious gifts that your God and my God can give us, being the Holy Ghost.  We do this throughout the rest of our lives and keep the commandments and live as Christ lived and do as He did.   

"Now why on earth would I want to go through all that?  Im perfectly fine where I am here."

Sadly,   We here this all the time.   But really, why is what we need to teach and share.   With the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation, and our progression here on earth.  What is our destination?  Eternal Life, our Exhaltation.  How do we get there?  Obedience(big one!!)  The Atonement, The Book of Mormon, the other scriptures.  Conclusion.  By knowing where we are going and how to get there, the fault lays on us if we are not moving forward.  

Again, why do we do this?  Why would we? 
 
"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. "

Boom.  Simple, but direct.  We want to live with God again, we cannot do so without the help of the Savior, but we MUST do our part always, faithfully.  Sigue adelante, reciben las ordenanzas sagradas, y hallaran sus mismos en su presencia

I love you everyone! 

Elder Newman

February 15, 2016

hello everyone! 

Sorry this letter is short again, i know, super fun to read short letters. haha  =)   But seriously, I am doing great, this gospel and church are true.  Another week gone by real fast here in Donna.  We have 3 baptisms scheduled this week on Sunday for the 3 De La Cruz kids, Jorge, Danna and Pilar!  Theyre so awesome and humble, fun kids.  Theyre a family of 6 that we found through a member and theyre also returning back to church from being absent for a long time.  I do know that there are blessings that come through the members of the ward that ask the missionaries for help with their friends that have struggled and stayed behind.  Remember, the church will always move foward towards the Second Coming of the Savior.  We cannot leave them behind.  But we can do all that we can to help them remember who loves them and help them to remember the Atonement that Jesus Christ gave us to stand back up and keep going.  

So I cant do pictures this week because at this moment, my camera is missing its battery.  Go figure that I accidentally left it at home charging.  So thats my fault   Lo siento mucho.  But I really miss everyone and please, do all you can to keep going amidst the war between us and the adversary.  "Stand ye in holy places, calling upon the name of the Lord daily."  I know that Jesus Christ lives and will defend us in Heavenly Father's presence if we follow Him in all things.  Never shall my mouth deny these things!  He does live!  

Elder Newman  

February 1, 2016

The purpose of missions, bringing joy to others

Hello everyone!!  

I feel really different in a good way.  Some small cirumstances have changed, nothing to worry about but simply requiring me to change how I enjoy my mission.  This last week we had transfers and Im staying in my area, again!  what?  Still living in the same house and we have new Elders living with us.  Their names are Stanley and Mason, two giant goofballs and lovers of Pokemon and Star Wars; ahh, now I feel at home now, haha.  Just kidding, always did, but I love getting to know them, working alongside them, and really growing in the mission.  

Again, I mention and talk to you all about how our Heavenly Father can always see everything in front of Him all at once, and because we are His children, He knows our potential and what we can become.  If you have ever walked around with a blindfold, you feel pretty nervous youre going to fall and crash and hurt yourself.  But then there is someone holding our hand and whispering to us to come this way or that way.  It is very hard to hear sometimes if we arent letting ourselves listen or if it is loud everywhere.  We had an experience with this with our zone on saturday where some missonaries were blindfolded and kept following the loud noise that was being made.  At the same time, there was another, more quiet and harder to hear amongst the loud.  While 4 of the missionaries remained in confusion, one heard another more quiet and decided to follow.  Eventually he was led to the waters of baptism, signifying that he had made it!  

Out here, our mission is more than to preach the word of God.  Our mission is very specific.  We inviteothers to come unto Christ by HELPING THEM receive the RESTORED Gospel through faith inJesus Christ AND His Atonement,repentance, Baptism, Receiving the GIFT of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.  Thats all, inviting them to make those changes in their lives that while they cant see the outcome, we promise the blessings to them, they excersize their agency and we guide them to start receiving their salvation.  Notice how it is the START, not the end.  There is always more that Heavenly Father has for us with the understanding of the Plan of Salvation.  I love my call to do this, and really invite everyone to align their will to the Lord's to help their lives more and see those blessings.  

I dont have anymore time but I love you all and let us work together all to find our brothers and sisters who do not have this knowledge.  

Elder Newman