26 December 2011
Tanner Thanks for the letter. It really made my day. I love you too!
And I loved hearing your voice yesterday. Your play table and dinosaurs
sound really cool.
Carrie, sorry I didn`t write you a note last
week. I forgot to respond individually. Thanks for writing me and
making Christmas dinner for my family. :) An unusual experience? My
companion has been showing me her dirty handkerchief after she blows her
nose and she gives commentaries on color changes.
Kevin, thanks for the letter! I was really excited to hear that you two
are doing adoption papers and that your proposal got accepted. Your
personality comes through so clearly when you write. I`m glad you have
had a project to keep you busy up there. Tile floor! woohoo!
Cheryl, I loved hearing from you yesterday too! I liked your Christmas
letter... very nice. I`m really glad to hear your voice. You sound
happy :)
Kyle, it was really nice to hear you too. You know just
how to make me feel good. I miss you, but my companion really reminds
me of you a lot in good ways. :)
Douglas, it was nice to hear from you too, but I didn`t hear much. Dani
tells me that you`re doing well. Thanks for teaching your kids to say
Nicaragua. I thought that was really cute.
Grandma Tew, I love
you! I hope you had a happy Christmas! I`ve been enjoying life,
especially since it`s Christmas time. We`ve seen lots of lights and
Christmas trees. I hear you don`t like the food much where you`re
staying. We had red beans, rice, a fried egg with onion, and fried
cheese for lunch today. Christmas Eve we had the most delicious salad
ever with cooked vegetables and lettuce and tomatoes. I was so happy to
see all those vegetables!
Dani, Thanks for your letter. I got your pictures that you sent with
the Christmas tree last week. I put a picture on my agenda today of Dad
and Scotty. He`s pretty cute. I love hearing from you.
Pablito, How`s it going? It sounds like you have a good plan. Study hard! Tell me what your work is like.
Dad, I`ve really missed you lately. It was so nice to hear your voice
and to get a little loving advice. Happy retirement and WRITE YOUR
BOOK! You`re a really good writer.
Mom, thanks for being such a
faithful writer. I really appreciate every letter you send me . I got
your talk and it was awesome! I really enjoyed it.
Well, Hna DeHoyos and I were laughing about what happened yesterday
right before the phone call, how we were waiting outside the door,
looking in at the desk where the phone was ringing and we couldn`t
enter. It was funny yesterday, but it`s funnier now.
I realized I only answered half of Mom`s question. A usual day in
Masatepe? There really isn`t one, especially since Hna DeHoyos has been
sick and we`ve had to run errands in the morning to buy or find stuff.
But, we wake up at 8:30. Just kidding. We wake up at 6:30 and I lay in
bed or sit up in bed for about 30 seconds and then I roll onto the
floor into kneeling position and pray for about 10 minutes because I
feel like I need a lot of help and I also get really distracted. Then I
go out into the other room and put my contacts in and sit at my desk
and organize it a little and write in my journal and miracle book
because I didn`t have time before. I eat hojueles (I think) de maiz
(cornflakes), milk from a box which is good but a little different, and
raisins. I don't have a bowl or a spoon so I just eat a couple flakes
and raisins and drink a little milk. I shower with HOT WATER except the
thing pretty much exploded today, so... yeah. There are literally black
marks on the wall, like you see in cartoons after something explodes.
So, I had a cup shower today...fun times. I do my hair (gel and let it
go curly) and sit down at my desk to read letters or write or get
organized. I study at 8:00 and read from the BOM. Then we have comp
study. We sing a hymn, get distracted and Hna DeHoyos talks about
something random and then we pray and read 3 pages from the Manual
Misional. We share whatever is important from what we studied during
personal study like something we feel like we should apply with an
investigator or in our own lives. Then we plan what we`re going to
teach...little lesson plans for every investigator. Fun! Estudio de
Idioma. I read out loud from the LDM and study a grammar book they gave
me at the MTC which is really good. I`ll try to let you know the name.
We eat lunch at Hna Xiomara`s house. We leave and go teaching. We
contact families. If they are coming out of a church, if they`re
walking, sitting. We might take a moto to get somewhere more easily.
Oh boy. Times up. I guess I should try to be more succinct. :)
I loved talking to you all. It was great just to hear your voice. I love you all a lot!
Love, Marybeth
Monday, December 26, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Hey I`m still in the best city in the world, MASATEPE!!!!
19 December 2011
Hey family.
Here`s a few notes really quick. I`m writing another email that I`ll send in about 15 minutes.
You`re going to call me at 7:00 PM on Christmas day. I know that`s kind of late, but hopefully that works out okay. We don`t have daylight whatever time going on down here. Here is the number: 25232714 It`s at Hna Ziomara`s house. The phone call is supposed to be from 30 to 40 minutes. So, we`re going to talk for 40 minutes! Yay! If you can figure out some sort of 3-way call with Doug and Dani and Kyle that would be great. If not, it`s okay I`ll just talk to you all in WY.
I haven`t gotten another package yet. I haven`t asked my comp to look through my package. I did take a sneak peak and the presents are not wrapped. ... Thanks for the peanut brittle (I think it`s peanut brittle) :)
Apparently this address is a lot better for writing me.
Hna tew
Mision Nicaragua Managua Sur
Apartado Postal 3527
Managua, Nicaragua
Love you all a lot! Ok Bye!
Marybeth
E. Woodruff, H. Campos, H. Tew, H. Castro, H. Martinez, E. Talla
Hey Family!
Hey I`m still in the best city in the world, MASATEPE!!!! I was so happy when I found out. I had told Elder Talla that if I had to leave Masatepe I would cry. We were waiting at Hna Xiomara`s house when he and Elder Woodruff came out of their house with news about the cambios. He started out by lying to us (solo Hna Tew tiene cambios en toda la zona) and then told us the truth. We called the Zone Leaders just to make sure. Anyway, Hna Castro was the only person in our zone to have changes. She`s reopening an area in Managua. I`m still here!
La reunion de cambios was on Wednesday. President Monestel gave us a really awesome message about being osados! [bold!] He rewrote the verses that tell the story of David and Goliath so that it was about Elder David, the junior companion. His leaders were chambones [lazy bums] and people told him to stop being a flechon (someone who keeps the rules) It was a really good message. He gave us a lot of scriptures about it too. Cool. So, when the cambios started I was looking around at all the sisters and trying to figure out who would be my companion. I knew pretty much who was training. I was hoping that my companion would be Hna DeHoyos...and she is! She`s really fun and happy and cool. She reminds me of Kyle because she has a pretty strong stupid detector. Shes`s from Texas. Her parents are from Mexico. This is her last change. Estoy matandola. muahahaha She was one of the first, maybe the first person to talk to me when I got here to the mission. She`s really great. She is bold. She is osada. She gets to the point in contacting which is good. She`s obedient. She likes things done a certain way. She gets things done. Really she`s a lot like Kyle.
So we`ve been doing a lot of contacting. It`s been interesting teaching the area to Hna. DeHoyos. She`s been pretty patient. She`s getting a lot of things in order and teaching me how to do pretty much everything better than I have been doing it.
Every Friday morning we meet as a zone and have companion study and then language study (in two big groups...really, there is an English Class and White people time. haha) Then it`s district meeting and a zone meeting. I was really happy this Friday because Hna. DeHoyos actually wants to be obedient and wants me to be obedient. It`s really nice!
I`ve been a little sick but not much. Just a sore throat and an ear ache. Hna. DeHoyos is still recovering from a nasty virus she got about 2 and a half weeks ago.
Yesterday we were walking to the church after trying to gather our investigators and Javier passed us on his bike in his dark jeans and white shirt (from his school uniform). It was a beautiful sight! Yay Javier! Way to be awesome!
I love my district and my branch. I love my companion and my area.
The first foto is Javier and Milton. Milton is Javier`s tio and he`s a recent convert.
Then It`s me and Hna Castro and Yeri. (I think that`s what foto I chose) Yeri is the son of Hna xiomara and Pres. Mercado. We eat at their house.
Then I don`t remember which one I chose. It might be Jamilet and Hna Castro. Jamilet has a purple shirt and her daughter is Samantha. Hopefully she gets baptized this weekend. I love you all thanks for the letters. I forgot to respond personally until now and it`s too late. But thanks for writing me dad and mom, Kevin and Bishop Kertesz and Carrie. I love to hear from you all
Love, HNA TEW Talk to y'all in less than a week. Look up the weather for Jinotepe,
Hey family.
Here`s a few notes really quick. I`m writing another email that I`ll send in about 15 minutes.
You`re going to call me at 7:00 PM on Christmas day. I know that`s kind of late, but hopefully that works out okay. We don`t have daylight whatever time going on down here. Here is the number: 25232714 It`s at Hna Ziomara`s house. The phone call is supposed to be from 30 to 40 minutes. So, we`re going to talk for 40 minutes! Yay! If you can figure out some sort of 3-way call with Doug and Dani and Kyle that would be great. If not, it`s okay I`ll just talk to you all in WY.
I haven`t gotten another package yet. I haven`t asked my comp to look through my package. I did take a sneak peak and the presents are not wrapped. ... Thanks for the peanut brittle (I think it`s peanut brittle) :)
Apparently this address is a lot better for writing me.
Hna tew
Mision Nicaragua Managua Sur
Apartado Postal 3527
Managua, Nicaragua
Love you all a lot! Ok Bye!
Marybeth
Hey Family!
Hey I`m still in the best city in the world, MASATEPE!!!! I was so happy when I found out. I had told Elder Talla that if I had to leave Masatepe I would cry. We were waiting at Hna Xiomara`s house when he and Elder Woodruff came out of their house with news about the cambios. He started out by lying to us (solo Hna Tew tiene cambios en toda la zona) and then told us the truth. We called the Zone Leaders just to make sure. Anyway, Hna Castro was the only person in our zone to have changes. She`s reopening an area in Managua. I`m still here!
La reunion de cambios was on Wednesday. President Monestel gave us a really awesome message about being osados! [bold!] He rewrote the verses that tell the story of David and Goliath so that it was about Elder David, the junior companion. His leaders were chambones [lazy bums] and people told him to stop being a flechon (someone who keeps the rules) It was a really good message. He gave us a lot of scriptures about it too. Cool. So, when the cambios started I was looking around at all the sisters and trying to figure out who would be my companion. I knew pretty much who was training. I was hoping that my companion would be Hna DeHoyos...and she is! She`s really fun and happy and cool. She reminds me of Kyle because she has a pretty strong stupid detector. Shes`s from Texas. Her parents are from Mexico. This is her last change. Estoy matandola. muahahaha She was one of the first, maybe the first person to talk to me when I got here to the mission. She`s really great. She is bold. She is osada. She gets to the point in contacting which is good. She`s obedient. She likes things done a certain way. She gets things done. Really she`s a lot like Kyle.
So we`ve been doing a lot of contacting. It`s been interesting teaching the area to Hna. DeHoyos. She`s been pretty patient. She`s getting a lot of things in order and teaching me how to do pretty much everything better than I have been doing it.
Every Friday morning we meet as a zone and have companion study and then language study (in two big groups...really, there is an English Class and White people time. haha) Then it`s district meeting and a zone meeting. I was really happy this Friday because Hna. DeHoyos actually wants to be obedient and wants me to be obedient. It`s really nice!
I`ve been a little sick but not much. Just a sore throat and an ear ache. Hna. DeHoyos is still recovering from a nasty virus she got about 2 and a half weeks ago.
Yesterday we were walking to the church after trying to gather our investigators and Javier passed us on his bike in his dark jeans and white shirt (from his school uniform). It was a beautiful sight! Yay Javier! Way to be awesome!
I love my district and my branch. I love my companion and my area.
The first foto is Javier and Milton. Milton is Javier`s tio and he`s a recent convert.
Then It`s me and Hna Castro and Yeri. (I think that`s what foto I chose) Yeri is the son of Hna xiomara and Pres. Mercado. We eat at their house.
Then I don`t remember which one I chose. It might be Jamilet and Hna Castro. Jamilet has a purple shirt and her daughter is Samantha. Hopefully she gets baptized this weekend. I love you all thanks for the letters. I forgot to respond personally until now and it`s too late. But thanks for writing me dad and mom, Kevin and Bishop Kertesz and Carrie. I love to hear from you all
Love, HNA TEW Talk to y'all in less than a week. Look up the weather for Jinotepe,
It's fun to say "they call us Mormons, but do you know why? It's because we use this book..."
19 December 2011
FAMILY!
Well, I'm still in Masatepe. :) And I'm going to talk to you all in less than a week. crazy. I'm really excited for this change, and I'm really glad to be in Masatepe for Christmas.
26 December 2011
And that's all I wrote last week. Well, it was really fabulous to talk to you all. I loved just hearing your voices. That was probably the best part. I think I might just like to talk to you two, Mom and Dad, next time. It was great to hear everyone though. I really felt happy. I thought I would write you a few cool things that are happening here.
I'm learning how to be a lot more focused on my purpose. Before I wasn't as direct in anything. Now it's more like...Hey how are you. Buenas Noches. Soy Hermana Tew. Nosotras somos misioneras de la iglesia de Jesuscristo de los Santos de los ultimos dias. Conoce la iglesia? Alguna vez ha entrado? Pues, nuestro proposito como misioneras es invitar a todos a venir a Cristo... I still need to work on going more to the Book of Mormon. It's fun to say "they call us Mormons, but do you know why? It's because we use this book..." Our purpose really is to invite everyone to come unto Christ - the members, our contacts, our converts, the 11-year old, the Catholic couple. It's a lot more fun and a lot more rewarding when that's what my focus is. In PMG in the first chapter it says that our success is measured by our commitment to our purpose. There's a lot of ways to measure that commitment.
2 January 2012
It's been fun to spend Christmas in Nicaragua. We went Christmas caroling with some RMs and jovenes. Yay! Oh boy a lot of time has passed. This is my third p-day with Hna. DeHoyos. I'll try to give a quick run down of a normal day. I wrote about a usual morning in my last email. So here's the after lunch bit. We leave Hna Xiomara's house by saying "thanks for the food" and clearing up the dishes. We shake hands or hug or give kisses. Then we're out the door. We walk to some appointments and take motos to others. We contact the moto drivers. Hna DeHoyos likes to always have caramelos (candies) in her backpack to give away. So we give a caramelo to the taxi drivers. That's usually really fun. The most fun is to give the caramelos to people who obviously Do Not Like Us. Hna DeHoyos likes to give those people hugs too. :) She just walked over to a lady who had walked away after we had started contacting her and the rest of her family. And Hna DeHoyos gave her a hug.
9 January 2012
We have appointments and we have other just planned times to visit people - like just my companion and I plan and hope that they're there. Well, today I'm going to write you about the craziness that was last week. It actually was a good experience for me. No fun, exactly, but good for me. God's definitely in charge. I've learned a lot from Hna. DeHoyos and I tried to put in practice everything I learned. We watched a movie called Jarron Azul.. It was the story of a guy who had to buy this blue vase from a store and there were a million obstacles in his way. He had to make hundreds of phone calls to people he didn't know, he had to hire an airplane, run, do lots of crazy stuff. It was really cool. He wanted to get the vase so badly that he did anything he could, but he was given the opportunity to break into the store and he wouldn't do it. He didn't do anything he shouldn't have, he just didn't take no and he kept on working, even after the deadline he missed. At the end, he gave the vase to his boss, who had asked for it in the first place. He had spent his own money, paid a huge price and asked a lot of people to help him. At the end, the vase got dropped and broke. His boss just told him that the vase didn't really matter, he just wanted to see how dedicated the man was and how much he could be trusted. We watched the movie on Friday as part of district meeting. That was after I had called eleven people to see if they could go on splits with me and my companion. So, that was a good movie for me to watch because it gave a longer term perspective on my situation. How badly do you want to do God's will? What are you willing to sacrifice? How will this experience help me be a better missionary, and mom and person?
Well, we're waiting in the hospital in Managua. Our choir practice today went well. We had to change the song to be a hymn. We're singing I know that my Redeemer Lives, arranged by Amy Webb. It's pretty. We only have one practice more: next Monday. I saw some missionaries I knew from the CCM - they're both in the North mission. One of them was a roommate. I could understand them---that was so awesome.
FAMILY!
Well, I'm still in Masatepe. :) And I'm going to talk to you all in less than a week. crazy. I'm really excited for this change, and I'm really glad to be in Masatepe for Christmas.
26 December 2011
And that's all I wrote last week. Well, it was really fabulous to talk to you all. I loved just hearing your voices. That was probably the best part. I think I might just like to talk to you two, Mom and Dad, next time. It was great to hear everyone though. I really felt happy. I thought I would write you a few cool things that are happening here.
I'm learning how to be a lot more focused on my purpose. Before I wasn't as direct in anything. Now it's more like...Hey how are you. Buenas Noches. Soy Hermana Tew. Nosotras somos misioneras de la iglesia de Jesuscristo de los Santos de los ultimos dias. Conoce la iglesia? Alguna vez ha entrado? Pues, nuestro proposito como misioneras es invitar a todos a venir a Cristo... I still need to work on going more to the Book of Mormon. It's fun to say "they call us Mormons, but do you know why? It's because we use this book..." Our purpose really is to invite everyone to come unto Christ - the members, our contacts, our converts, the 11-year old, the Catholic couple. It's a lot more fun and a lot more rewarding when that's what my focus is. In PMG in the first chapter it says that our success is measured by our commitment to our purpose. There's a lot of ways to measure that commitment.
2 January 2012
It's been fun to spend Christmas in Nicaragua. We went Christmas caroling with some RMs and jovenes. Yay! Oh boy a lot of time has passed. This is my third p-day with Hna. DeHoyos. I'll try to give a quick run down of a normal day. I wrote about a usual morning in my last email. So here's the after lunch bit. We leave Hna Xiomara's house by saying "thanks for the food" and clearing up the dishes. We shake hands or hug or give kisses. Then we're out the door. We walk to some appointments and take motos to others. We contact the moto drivers. Hna DeHoyos likes to always have caramelos (candies) in her backpack to give away. So we give a caramelo to the taxi drivers. That's usually really fun. The most fun is to give the caramelos to people who obviously Do Not Like Us. Hna DeHoyos likes to give those people hugs too. :) She just walked over to a lady who had walked away after we had started contacting her and the rest of her family. And Hna DeHoyos gave her a hug.
9 January 2012
We have appointments and we have other just planned times to visit people - like just my companion and I plan and hope that they're there. Well, today I'm going to write you about the craziness that was last week. It actually was a good experience for me. No fun, exactly, but good for me. God's definitely in charge. I've learned a lot from Hna. DeHoyos and I tried to put in practice everything I learned. We watched a movie called Jarron Azul.. It was the story of a guy who had to buy this blue vase from a store and there were a million obstacles in his way. He had to make hundreds of phone calls to people he didn't know, he had to hire an airplane, run, do lots of crazy stuff. It was really cool. He wanted to get the vase so badly that he did anything he could, but he was given the opportunity to break into the store and he wouldn't do it. He didn't do anything he shouldn't have, he just didn't take no and he kept on working, even after the deadline he missed. At the end, he gave the vase to his boss, who had asked for it in the first place. He had spent his own money, paid a huge price and asked a lot of people to help him. At the end, the vase got dropped and broke. His boss just told him that the vase didn't really matter, he just wanted to see how dedicated the man was and how much he could be trusted. We watched the movie on Friday as part of district meeting. That was after I had called eleven people to see if they could go on splits with me and my companion. So, that was a good movie for me to watch because it gave a longer term perspective on my situation. How badly do you want to do God's will? What are you willing to sacrifice? How will this experience help me be a better missionary, and mom and person?
Well, we're waiting in the hospital in Managua. Our choir practice today went well. We had to change the song to be a hymn. We're singing I know that my Redeemer Lives, arranged by Amy Webb. It's pretty. We only have one practice more: next Monday. I saw some missionaries I knew from the CCM - they're both in the North mission. One of them was a roommate. I could understand them---that was so awesome.
Monday, December 12, 2011
The gospel makes people brighter and lighter!
Feliz Navidad!
12 December 2011
Family!
Kevin Good luck in your proposal tomorrow. I know that you will do great!
Cheryl Thanks for your letter. It made me really really happy. I`m glad you are enjoying Christmas time! I can`t believe Tanner has loose teeth and that he can read! He`s a smart kid.
Dani How are you feeling? How is your mom? Are you excited to go to DC for Christmas? Hopefully we can have a three way call and I can talk to the Wyoming and DC folk.
Dad Thanks for your letter. I like hearing about the successes you are having in the Stake! I hope you get to retire soon :)
Mom thanks for the mail. Thanks for the packages...I have just gotten the one which is good. I`m going to find out about transfers later today. I hope we go Christmas caroling here too.
Grandma Campbell I got your Christmas present. It`s under my Christmas tree!
Kyle, tell me whats going on in your life. Tell Carrie hi.
Doug Good luck with your tests! Work hard and have fun! I hope you enjoy this Christmas!
Pablito I can`t believe how often they use diminutives here. It`s crazy. How are you doing? What are your plans?
This week we had a lesson with Jamilet. She passed her baptismal interview but she still doesn`t want to be baptized. She wants to wait. We had a lesson with her and asked her about her lectura del Libro de Mormon. She told us that she really liked a scripture in 2 Ne 2. We read the verses with her and when she was talking to us about the scriptures I could just see the light coming from her face. I felt really happy for her. The gospel makes people brighter and lighter!
We had a baptism yesterday. Javier is his name. He`s thirteen. He came to church for the first time four weeks ago. We went to pick up his brother, but his brother had left and Javier told his dad,
"I want to go with the hermanas." This was the week that I was waiting for my other investigator and we got to the church late and had to run to catch the bus that was going to Jinotepe for stake conference. This is my entry from my miracle book from yesterday. Javier got confirmed. We went to Chirinos to get him this morning and he got sent by our other pilas investigato (Jamilet) to buy something. It was late and we were at his house and didn`t know what to do because he wasn`t there. We decided to head to the church. As we were walking he passed us on his bicycle going towards his house. We yelled but he didn`t respond. We walked back to his house and he said, Caminen! He put on his white shirt over his grey polo because he said he was cold without the polo shirt. Anyway, he got to the church. YAY!!!!! As we were walking back to Javier`s house I was a little sad because I didn`t know if Javier was going to come or not. But we passed one of our RC with one of his friends and they were walking to the church. That made me smile. Javier got baptized by one of our Recent Converts, Milton, who is his uncle. He just got back from a mini mission!
Today we went to San Marcos and played futbol. I just watched and talked to people.
Last week our pday was fun. We ate ice cream, wrote our families and then we went to Presidente Mercado`s house and picked up a frisbee. We played frisbee in the church with our shoes off. The 6 of us basically live in the same block.
We had a lesson with a reference from the Elders this week. His name is Francisco Herrera. We taught him the whole first lesson. He listened, answered questions, and said he would read the first chapter of the LdM. We`ve passed by his house but he isn`t there. A lot of people have trouble understanding us, but he got it. It was fun.
I read a scripture that I really liked this week. Ether 12:4- 1 We believe in God. 2 Because we know who God is we have faith in him and in his work. We have hope in the Atonement and in the reality of the Plan of Salvation. We have hope in the Atonement of Jesus Christ and in his power. 3. This hope that we have makes itself an anchor for our soul. We have peace, we have a home, We aren`t easily moved by our difficulties. The anchor of hope makes us sure and steadfast in the church, in the gospel, and in our lives. 4 This hope helps us to focus on OUR purpose. To keep the commandments of God, abounding in good works and bringing him our gifts, our efforts to glorify him.
MK can you forward this to Regan? Hi Regan! I hope school is going well and that you are enjoying or are about to enjoy your break! Tell Amy hi too!
Sobeyda Como esta? Estoy muy bien. Hna Castro ha estado enferma pero està mejor ahora. Cuando va al templo? Quiero saber como estàn todos en su casa!
12 December 2011
Family!
Kevin Good luck in your proposal tomorrow. I know that you will do great!
Cheryl Thanks for your letter. It made me really really happy. I`m glad you are enjoying Christmas time! I can`t believe Tanner has loose teeth and that he can read! He`s a smart kid.
Dani How are you feeling? How is your mom? Are you excited to go to DC for Christmas? Hopefully we can have a three way call and I can talk to the Wyoming and DC folk.
Dad Thanks for your letter. I like hearing about the successes you are having in the Stake! I hope you get to retire soon :)
Mom thanks for the mail. Thanks for the packages...I have just gotten the one which is good. I`m going to find out about transfers later today. I hope we go Christmas caroling here too.
Grandma Campbell I got your Christmas present. It`s under my Christmas tree!
Kyle, tell me whats going on in your life. Tell Carrie hi.
Doug Good luck with your tests! Work hard and have fun! I hope you enjoy this Christmas!
Pablito I can`t believe how often they use diminutives here. It`s crazy. How are you doing? What are your plans?
This week we had a lesson with Jamilet. She passed her baptismal interview but she still doesn`t want to be baptized. She wants to wait. We had a lesson with her and asked her about her lectura del Libro de Mormon. She told us that she really liked a scripture in 2 Ne 2. We read the verses with her and when she was talking to us about the scriptures I could just see the light coming from her face. I felt really happy for her. The gospel makes people brighter and lighter!
We had a baptism yesterday. Javier is his name. He`s thirteen. He came to church for the first time four weeks ago. We went to pick up his brother, but his brother had left and Javier told his dad,
"I want to go with the hermanas." This was the week that I was waiting for my other investigator and we got to the church late and had to run to catch the bus that was going to Jinotepe for stake conference. This is my entry from my miracle book from yesterday. Javier got confirmed. We went to Chirinos to get him this morning and he got sent by our other pilas investigato (Jamilet) to buy something. It was late and we were at his house and didn`t know what to do because he wasn`t there. We decided to head to the church. As we were walking he passed us on his bicycle going towards his house. We yelled but he didn`t respond. We walked back to his house and he said, Caminen! He put on his white shirt over his grey polo because he said he was cold without the polo shirt. Anyway, he got to the church. YAY!!!!! As we were walking back to Javier`s house I was a little sad because I didn`t know if Javier was going to come or not. But we passed one of our RC with one of his friends and they were walking to the church. That made me smile. Javier got baptized by one of our Recent Converts, Milton, who is his uncle. He just got back from a mini mission!
Today we went to San Marcos and played futbol. I just watched and talked to people.
Last week our pday was fun. We ate ice cream, wrote our families and then we went to Presidente Mercado`s house and picked up a frisbee. We played frisbee in the church with our shoes off. The 6 of us basically live in the same block.
We had a lesson with a reference from the Elders this week. His name is Francisco Herrera. We taught him the whole first lesson. He listened, answered questions, and said he would read the first chapter of the LdM. We`ve passed by his house but he isn`t there. A lot of people have trouble understanding us, but he got it. It was fun.
I read a scripture that I really liked this week. Ether 12:4- 1 We believe in God. 2 Because we know who God is we have faith in him and in his work. We have hope in the Atonement and in the reality of the Plan of Salvation. We have hope in the Atonement of Jesus Christ and in his power. 3. This hope that we have makes itself an anchor for our soul. We have peace, we have a home, We aren`t easily moved by our difficulties. The anchor of hope makes us sure and steadfast in the church, in the gospel, and in our lives. 4 This hope helps us to focus on OUR purpose. To keep the commandments of God, abounding in good works and bringing him our gifts, our efforts to glorify him.
MK can you forward this to Regan? Hi Regan! I hope school is going well and that you are enjoying or are about to enjoy your break! Tell Amy hi too!
Sobeyda Como esta? Estoy muy bien. Hna Castro ha estado enferma pero està mejor ahora. Cuando va al templo? Quiero saber como estàn todos en su casa!
Monday, December 5, 2011
I have discovered a quick fix for how to obtain more of the Spirit. Walk up to a stranger (preferably two people that appear to be a couple or a bigger, more intimidating group) and, in a foreign language, invite them to come to church with you. Works every time.
5 December 2011
Dear dear family,
Thanks for your emails and letters and Dear Elders. It`s really really really nice to hear from you all. Dad, your letters always make me feel loved. I love to read what you write. How is the College branch doing in Gillette? I`m glad Grandma liked my letter. It is cold down here. I sleep with the fan on, sometimes with a sweatshirt, and my blanket. This past week we`ve been reading the LDM as a district at 6:00 AM and I wear my sweatshirt. Never thought I would buy a sweatshirt in Nicaragua. I could probably do without it... but it`s nice to have.
Kyle, your trip sounds awesome. I`m trying not to be jealous that you`ve seen all those awesome musicals. I`m glad you liked Wicked. I haven`t seen any of the musicals you mentioned. I`ve only heard about how awesome they are. How`s your internet site going? Tell Carrie to write me a letter....every week...for the rest of my mission. Send me some pictures of your trip!
Dani thanks for the letter. I`m pleased that Scotty and Adam can say Nicaragua. Thanks for being a faithful writer. I really am impressed that you have written me so much. Siga Adelante!
Grandma Campbell Thanks for your letters. I love reading about what`s going on in your life, in the family and in the world.
Grandma Tew! How are you doing? We`ve decorated our house with lights around one of the windows. I taped another string of lights to the wall in the form of a Christmas tree. There is a gold star on top. Also, I hung some thick ribbon from the ceiling so we`re feeling the Christmas Spirit. Today we will take a picture of the district in Santa Hats. Woohoo!
I have discovered a quick fix for how to obtain more of the Spirit. Walk up to a stranger (preferably two people that appear to be a couple or a bigger, more intimidating group) and, in a foreign language, invite them to come to church with you. Works every time. This week we got strongly encouraged to have 6 contacts with families every day. On Wednesday we tried to do it (we were in splits) and I searched and searched and searched. Everyone was primos or brothers and sisters.... AAAAHHH. We got to the church and Elder Talla asked me how it went and I just wanted to cry because I really tried to find families but no habia ninguna! We left the church at about 7:00 and we found four families on our way to our cita. After the cita we found two more!!!!! It was a miracle!!!!!!!
We went to the Christmas devotional last night and I loved it. We had to go with investigators. We went to the church to see if any of our investigators had shown up and no one had, but a family I had visited that afternoon had brought a friend. So we could go. Right before the bus left, our investigators showed up!! Jose and Javier. Javier is super pilas. We were having a lesson with him and his mom and he macheted his mom because she told us she didn`t have time to go to church. He comes to church early by himself. He`s thirteen. He`s awesome. I loved Pres. Uchtdorf's talk about loving our experiences even though they are imperfect. It was awesome. Also, Joy to the World and The First Noel were awesome. In the mission they sing La Segunda Navidad when it`s your second Christmas in the mission. haha
This week I felt a lot more grateful for Hna Castro. I have learned a lot from her in these months. And I know I have a long way to go, a lot more to learn from other companions. But I am trying to appreciate the imperfections in all the experiences. We had a lesson this week with Isela that was awesome. It was about Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. We both taught the lesson and it went smoothly. I felt like we were a strong companionship. I felt like we were an equal team. We asked questions and she listened, and she`s reading the BOM!!! I felt the Spirit really strongly. I`ve developed a testimony for Dia de Reposo and baptism more on my mission. I was reading about Dia de Reposo one day and it was exciting to me. I knew it was a true principle.
Cambios are the 14th of December. Everyone is telling me that I`m going to leave. I am telling everyone that I want to stay here. I keep on telling myself that I am trying not to think about it, but really I am thinking about it all the time. Ay Dejalo!
Dad I have a new work for you. It`s portarse. No one says comportarse (that`s like behave yourself, right?) just se porta bien! I want to talk to you in Spanish at Christmas, Dad. I understand a lot more, but I still struggle.
I love my district. There are 4 hermanas and two elders. I talk more with the Elders. Elder Woodruff talks to me in English a lot which is good. The hermanas are cool too.
I love you all! Be good!
Dear dear family,
Thanks for your emails and letters and Dear Elders. It`s really really really nice to hear from you all. Dad, your letters always make me feel loved. I love to read what you write. How is the College branch doing in Gillette? I`m glad Grandma liked my letter. It is cold down here. I sleep with the fan on, sometimes with a sweatshirt, and my blanket. This past week we`ve been reading the LDM as a district at 6:00 AM and I wear my sweatshirt. Never thought I would buy a sweatshirt in Nicaragua. I could probably do without it... but it`s nice to have.
Kyle, your trip sounds awesome. I`m trying not to be jealous that you`ve seen all those awesome musicals. I`m glad you liked Wicked. I haven`t seen any of the musicals you mentioned. I`ve only heard about how awesome they are. How`s your internet site going? Tell Carrie to write me a letter....every week...for the rest of my mission. Send me some pictures of your trip!
Dani thanks for the letter. I`m pleased that Scotty and Adam can say Nicaragua. Thanks for being a faithful writer. I really am impressed that you have written me so much. Siga Adelante!
Grandma Campbell Thanks for your letters. I love reading about what`s going on in your life, in the family and in the world.
Grandma Tew! How are you doing? We`ve decorated our house with lights around one of the windows. I taped another string of lights to the wall in the form of a Christmas tree. There is a gold star on top. Also, I hung some thick ribbon from the ceiling so we`re feeling the Christmas Spirit. Today we will take a picture of the district in Santa Hats. Woohoo!
I have discovered a quick fix for how to obtain more of the Spirit. Walk up to a stranger (preferably two people that appear to be a couple or a bigger, more intimidating group) and, in a foreign language, invite them to come to church with you. Works every time. This week we got strongly encouraged to have 6 contacts with families every day. On Wednesday we tried to do it (we were in splits) and I searched and searched and searched. Everyone was primos or brothers and sisters.... AAAAHHH. We got to the church and Elder Talla asked me how it went and I just wanted to cry because I really tried to find families but no habia ninguna! We left the church at about 7:00 and we found four families on our way to our cita. After the cita we found two more!!!!! It was a miracle!!!!!!!
We went to the Christmas devotional last night and I loved it. We had to go with investigators. We went to the church to see if any of our investigators had shown up and no one had, but a family I had visited that afternoon had brought a friend. So we could go. Right before the bus left, our investigators showed up!! Jose and Javier. Javier is super pilas. We were having a lesson with him and his mom and he macheted his mom because she told us she didn`t have time to go to church. He comes to church early by himself. He`s thirteen. He`s awesome. I loved Pres. Uchtdorf's talk about loving our experiences even though they are imperfect. It was awesome. Also, Joy to the World and The First Noel were awesome. In the mission they sing La Segunda Navidad when it`s your second Christmas in the mission. haha
This week I felt a lot more grateful for Hna Castro. I have learned a lot from her in these months. And I know I have a long way to go, a lot more to learn from other companions. But I am trying to appreciate the imperfections in all the experiences. We had a lesson this week with Isela that was awesome. It was about Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. We both taught the lesson and it went smoothly. I felt like we were a strong companionship. I felt like we were an equal team. We asked questions and she listened, and she`s reading the BOM!!! I felt the Spirit really strongly. I`ve developed a testimony for Dia de Reposo and baptism more on my mission. I was reading about Dia de Reposo one day and it was exciting to me. I knew it was a true principle.
Cambios are the 14th of December. Everyone is telling me that I`m going to leave. I am telling everyone that I want to stay here. I keep on telling myself that I am trying not to think about it, but really I am thinking about it all the time. Ay Dejalo!
Dad I have a new work for you. It`s portarse. No one says comportarse (that`s like behave yourself, right?) just se porta bien! I want to talk to you in Spanish at Christmas, Dad. I understand a lot more, but I still struggle.
I love my district. There are 4 hermanas and two elders. I talk more with the Elders. Elder Woodruff talks to me in English a lot which is good. The hermanas are cool too.
I love you all! Be good!
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