31 Diciembre 2012
hey family, it was nice to talk to you all on Christmas. hope you are having a good day.  write me a note!  love, hna tew

Questions:

   When are you going to tell Peabody that you´re going to retire? 

   When are you going to tell the Stake or everybody else? 

   When do you find out where you are going? 

   Do you know how many options there are in each place?  Like, what´s the likelihood that you´re going to Chile vs. Argentina?  I don´t know how many missions there are and how many openings there are.  

   

I am really excited for you all. yay!  

What is Paul´s surgery? 

We´ve been working a lot with members lately.  It´s fun and it´s a lot better than working by ourselves.  Yesterday we had two families in church!  And Carlos Garay!  Yay  

Henry is to complete a family.  Yesterday was his first time in church and he really liked it, especially principles of the gospel.  Mauricio, who got baptized about a year ago is the ward mission leader and he gave the class.  It was excellent.  Henry has a lot of questions and it´s really interesting to try to teach him.  But he´s reading his Book of Mormon and going to church.  We found him Christmas morning haha.  We were contacting and we yelled buenas and I saw a sign that said "Fam Rodriguez Ire y hare lo que el Señor mande."  And I was like... hna de Leon... I think that Mormons live here.  And sure enough.  I recognized Maria Elena, asked her if she lived by herself and she said no, her husband, who has lived in the states for 31 years came back to Nicaragua a month and a half ago.  Is he a member?  no.  Is he here? yes.  Can we talk to him. sure.  He accepted a baptism date.  That´s why I was late on the Skype call.  We were talking to him.  So that was great that he went to church.  We are going to teach him in the house of a member.  :)  

  Carlos Garay went to church for the second time.  Last week he was ready at 7:15, outside of his house with his BoM.  This week too!  Yay! He was an evangelical Pastor for 20 years.  He´s reading the BoM like crazy and is super excited.  His family bugs him a lot but he´s like, whatever.  He has a ton of friends in church now.  yay for a friendly ward!  He always asks us why we are late or why we missed an appointment.  He´s about 70 years old.  He talks a lot.  We´re going to visit him tonight with Mauricio.   

   Jessica is the sister of a member that goes to the other ward.  Her husband is from Costa Rica and they both have gone to church many times.  She has a testimony, but he´s still working on it.  They have to get married first, and he needs to get some papers from Costa Rica so they can get married.  They are planning on the 26th of January.  Their kids always go to church and they are so cute!  They aren´t members, but basically yeah, they are. 

   Hna de Leon is great.  She´s probably my favorite or second favorite companion.  

I'm going to write a little more later.  

write me a note.  

love you all, 

good luck with everything.  Feel better Nani and Tanner! 

hna tew

Just wanted to say hi to my grandparents too.  Tell Grandma and Grandpa Tew that I love them and I hope they are doing well.  That I think about them and pray for them and I hope they have a happy new year!

Grandma Campbell, thanks for all the letters and the encouragement.  I´m really glad to receive the letters!  Love you grandma! Happy new year!  

24 Diciembre 2012
Hey family,

   um... Wow.  Congratulations Mom and Dad.  You will great!  That´s awesome news.  To be honest, the thought has crossed times on my mission that you might be called to be mission presidents, but it was still kind of surprising a lot.  But that´s great.  Felicidades!  I can´t tell anyone?  Not even my companion?

   Um...  you all need to buy 3 tickets to be here Tuesday night. and I think that we´ll leave Tuesday morning.  Can you buy the tickets?  Dad, I think it´s best to stay in Managua every night.  Nicaragua is really safe, but I want to sleep in a American hotel.  

   Not that I ever think about ending my mission.... :)  No I´m excited to see you all but I´m really enjoying my mission now more than never.  My companion is awesome.  Hna de Leon, de Guate. 

Love you all.  Thanks for the letters.  

hna tew 

Kevin did you get the job at BYU?  

Tell me tell me  tell me

Dad,  Congratulations!  That´s great that you get to be a mission president.  

Mom, Congratulations!  That´s great that you get to be a missionary!   

Kevin, Congratulations!  I am so happy that you got the job.  Cheryl said that you were moving to Provo, but I wasn´t sure.  But that´s so great!  I hope that I´ll be able to talk to you and Cheryl and the kids tomorrow.  But if not, happy Christmas and I hope everything goes well for you!

Cheryl,  Congratulations for being awesome!  Sounds like you are excited to go to Provo.  I thought that was cute that Tanner was reading books to Adam and Scotty.  

Kyle, How are you doing?  I hope you are doing great and are enjoying Christmas too.  love you!

Doug, Hey your gingerbread house is awesome!  I love it.  Hope you have a good Christmas.  Say hi to the cold for me.  

Dani, thanks for the pictures and the updates.  I love getting emails.  Adam is a Campbell kid.  He looks really Campbell-ish. 

Pablito, Feliz Navidad hermanito.  Espero que estés feliz y que estés disfrutando la navidad.  Te quiero un montón!  

Well, I am with hna de Leon.  She´s from Retalhuleu (como se escribe???) anyway she´s awesome.  She´s excited to work and she is up with working with members so we´ve been having lots of mini lessons (10 minutes) with member.  Also we´re trying to pull up the retention because our converts are not going to church.  They´re great, but they don´t go to church.   

Dani, you are right; today is Christmas.  Our plans... at Midnight we´re going to leave to house to go hug our neighbors.  just kidding.  We´re going to eat dinner at midnight with a member.  just kidding.  Dang.  All the traditions are contrary to the missionary rules.... Speaking seriously, we probably will stay up late tonight because of the fireworks.  We made no bake cookies today.  margarine plus milk plus nesquik plus oats equals no bake cookies Nica style.  We´re going to visit our converts tonight and take them cookies.  When we gave away some cookies before lunch it finally felt like Christmas.  and Jaime and Jimmy were happy to have cookies.  yay!   

I´ll probably open my packages tonight with my companion.   :)  

Hna de Leon talks a lot.  She is really fun but with´it (pilas, chispas).  She has lots of good ideas and she´s patient.  I have REALLY enjoyed this week.  I am glad that she is going to be my last companion.  :)  Yay!  We are getting a ton of missionaries in February when I go home.  I have really loved being a missionary, especially this week.  I hope I can do everything i have to do in the time I have.  

Also, Nani looks really cute with and without teeth :)  

So yeah... Skype tomorrow at 1:00.  I think I´m going to have to create an account so don´t freak out if I don´t call exactly at 1:00.  Also, I haven´t confirmed with the zone leaders and they have to be there in the stake center when we call.  

But I love you all a lot.  I´ll be praying for you Mom and Dad.  Thanks for your letter.  I won´t tell anyone until you tell me to tell someone.  But that´s great that you´re going to be mission presidents.   It´s like 101 dalmatians. you already have 5 children and now you´re going to have 500 more.  When do you find out where you´ll be going?????? 

Thanks for all the letters and everything I love you all a lot.  Talk to you tomorrow. 

love, hna tew

17 Diciembre 2012
hey!
write me a letter. 
who else has gotten mission calls.  I heard about Tiffany and Jessica.  Any more news??  pictures from the CCC?  Thanks for the letter, mom and the pictures, Dani.  We had a baptism this weekend and it was the crazy.  But miraculous. 
love, hna tew

Hey!
   Mom, sounds like the Christmas celebration went super well.  Congratulations!  I hope you took lots of pictures.  I love what you wrote about the room with pictures of Jesus.  Sounds like a really special experience. 
   Dad, hope you´re doing well.   I got a letter from Jed Jensen this week that said that it´s a real pleasure to be able to work with you.  Two or three people have sent me letters thinking that I´m in Guatemala, and they get here, just a little late.  But if you can tell him thanks.  I really appreciated the letter and I´m grateful for all that he did to help me what he was my bishop. :) 
   Kevin, hope you are doing well. Tell me what you´re up to.
   Cheryl, hope you are feeling good from your surgery.  Give the munchkins a hug for me.
   Kyle, what are you up to?  I´m looking forward to talking to you at Christmas.  Thanks for your note last week :)   Also I had a dream that I was hugging everyone and I was giving you a hug when I woke up.
   Douglas, how is work going?  Your children are really cute. 
   Dani, I hope you are great!  Merry Christmas!  Send me some pictures of your gingerbread house por favor.
Pablito Lindo, hey how are you doing.  Write me a letter in Spanish!  or in English!  Hope you are happy and are enjoying life.  Love you a lot.
    
This week was so crazy there is no way I can write everything that happened.  But it was INSANE.  Some spiritual experiences...
  We planned to teach repentance to Ricardo and Patricia using Alma 36.  So we practiced in the morning and it went really well and then we taught them in the evening and it was a really spiritual lesson.  We asked a lot of questions and They understood really well and we committed them to repent. Ricardo had been having nightmares and I think he felt a lot of guilt.  When Elder Blandin went to interview him he asked how his prayers were going.  Elder Blandin told us that Ricardo said, me fui y me escondí, y me puse a orar.  y como se sintió.  Sentí un gran alivio, que todos mis pecados se habían ido.  WOW  That was so cool.  
  This weekend we had about 10 billions pruebas of our faith.  and also of patience.  There was no water to fill the font.  Then the bishop left, locked the font as it was being filled and we couldn´t turn it off.  The lawyer that was going to marry Ricardo and Patricia came and hour and 45 minutes late!   Ricardo and Patricia left and we could not find them.  We were walking around the streets with out 10 little kids following us wherever we went and they were kind of driving us nuts, but afterwards Hna Real said that she realized that they were trying to support us and help us find them.  Anyway, we ended up telling the ward to go home, and that we would have the baptism at 7:00 on Sunday morning.  So the ward went home and we went to Ricardo´s house and sat in front until they came home, at about 8:45.  And then we had a really spiritual lesson, and they said everything is good for tomorrow at 7:00.  So, they got married and baptized and Ricardo had such a huge smile on his face. 
   There really are angels.  And there really are miracles.  
Love, love, love, hna tew

10 Diciembre 2012
hey family,
  Mom, thanks for the recipes and everything. Um, I still havenñt gotten the debit card, unless it´s in one of the packages you sent for Christmas that I still haven´t opened. 
Love you a lot!  
   Dad, I think that you need to be here Wednesday morming in the chapel at like 8:00 so maybe you should fly in Tuesday night.  That would be the 5th I think. 
   I´m thinking that we can leave Managua on the 11th or 12th.  I just want to see KEvin and Cheryl and Kyle and Paul and Grandma and Grandpa and Grandma Campbell in SLC and then go home.  So, I think you all come the 5th and we fly out the 11th in the morning. 
Love you

thanks mom,  you are the best. en serio.  Como le va en el Español.  Si habla cada día con mi papa y siempre escucha bién va a poder entender lo que dice la gente aqui, cuando venga.  Espero que este bien y que la actividad CCC sea exitosa la quiero mucho,
hna tew

Hey folky folks,
  Grandma, thanks for all the letters.  I really do appreciate every single one that you send and I am grateful!  I just don´t always write it.  But thanks a lot you are a wonderful grandma!  Hope you are enjoying Christmas!!  Love you a lot! 
  Grandma and Grandpa Tew!!!  I hope you are doing well and are enjoying Christmas too! 
   This week was the Purisima.  Let me share the recipe.  Take one Halloween.  Throw away all the costumes.  Put a statue of the virgin Mary in your house with a ton of decorations and Christmas lights.  Then the people pass by singing to the virgin and the people in the house hand out food or candy or toys.  We live in a really catholic part of town.  It was crazy. 
Mom, thanks for everything.  You really are the best.  I love you a lot.  Thanks for everything you do and everything you teach me.  The CCC sounds fabulous!  Who all is involved from the community?
SKYPE  Kevin and Cheryl, I´m sad you are not going to be there.  Maybe Skype has new technology... three way?  If not you call at least and I can talk to you all a bit.  Kevin Congrats again for your dissertation I am so proud of you.
  Kyle thanks for the note.  I will try to enjoy todo!  Hope you`re doing good.
Paul, hope you are doing well Love you!
Doug, I want to see your fale.  Sounds awesome!
Dad, thanks for the letter.  Sounds like the retreat was a big success.
   We have had a busy week.  It´s been great and kind of stressful.  We are inviting everyone to get baptized.  and we are contacting a lot.  We´re planning some activities with the ward.  We need to work with the members more because there are a ton of powerful people in the ward, but they aren´t visiting.  And the ward has been without an Elders quorum president for NINE MONTHS!!!!  So,  yeah home teaching is not a strong point right now.  And our converts are really struggling.  Carlos and Francis are out of town or something.  They haven´t answered their phone and they aren´t home.  But we have faith.  
We have a family that is progressing, Ricardo and Patricia.  Ricardo is quitting to smoke (I don´t think that´s how you say it...) quitting smoking.  I don´t know how to speak English... 
Anyway.  Life is great.  This will be a great week.  We had a ton of lessons and A TON of new investigators.  So, hopefully they can progress, go to church, repent, get baptized, go the temple, teach their children the gospel, die, go to paradise and preach to the spirits imprisoned, be resurrected and enter the celestial kingdom.  It´s easy. :) 
Love you all!  Help someone enter the celestial kingdom today! 
Love, hna tew

3 Diciembre 2012
Hey,

Mom I think it was the second package that got broken into.  YOU made the tree!  Thanks for making it.  It really means a lot to me.  I hung up the paper chains and the popcorn and the nativity set is out.  Thanks a lot.  You are the best!   Can you send me a chocolate chip cookie recipe and also the recipe for no bake cookies (the ones with oatmeal)

Dad, thanks for the letter.  I`ve been thinking about you a lot too.  All the missionaries say that you get used to being away from your family, but I still miss you all a lot.   I`ve been thinking a lot about all of the family and how great it will be to talk to you all.  hey..!  

WE CAN USE SKYPE THIS CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So, that`s great that everyone or almost everyone is going to be home!  

Kevin, congratulations on passing your defense!!!!! that is so great!!!! I was praying for you.  You have worked so hard and I am really proud of you 

Kyle, how`s it going?  I`m glad you enjoyed your trip and I hope you are doing well with school and finding your internship or job... I forgot which it is.  But it sounds like you`re doing great. 

I`m going to send this now but I`m writing another letter.  Kevin, I want to hear more about your defense and everything.  

love, hna tew

Mom, also the peanut brittle is delicious!  Thanks so much.

Doug and Dani, hope you are all doing well!  The pictures of you and your kids are really cute!  

Cheryl, hope you are feeling okay with your surgery and everything. I`m thinking about you and praying for you. :)

Pablo, Hola hermanito.  How are you doing?  I hear that you`ve been feeling a lot better lately.  I hope you are doing well! 

Update on the investigators...  Carlos went to church again this Sunday.  yay!  When he gets baptized he is going to be a big strength for the church.  While we were waiting for the gospel principles class to start he started talking about one of the testimonies that a long time member had shared about how we need to work in order to make the church grow.  He said, yeah, I have a ton of Mormon friends and none of them ever invited me to go to church and I`m only here because the missionaries visited me .  The members only visit me when the missionaries come to my house.  We have to go invite people we have to go to work in order to help the church grow.  And I was like.... um thank you Bishop Carlos.  

 He and Francis are the family that I always wanted to find and teach.  They are so special.  This Sunday we went to their house to bring them to church and no one responded.  We called their phone and nothing.  The door was shut too and that usually means that no one is home.  but we kept on yelling and finally we heard someone say, "ya voy!"  Carlos came out dripping wet because he had been taking a shower.  He was shivering as he unlocked the door.  haha.  Yay!   He is such a cool guy. 

   I think the most heartbreaking moments on my mission have been when I`ve seen my investigators get drunk.  This week one of them got drunk and when people are drunk a lot of times they start speaking in English.   He said, "help me, help me please."  There are so many problems with alcohol here in Nicaragua.  

   Joselyn is 15 and she went to church this Sunday too.  Her uncle is a member.  We invited her to get baptized and she said that she would pray about it.  The next time we asked her about her prayers and she said that she has felt good and that she feels that she needs to get baptized.  Yay!  

   Danilo is doing great.  He is always at church and he has friends and is going strong! 

   The devotional was great last night.  When Pres. Uchtdorf started talking about when he starts to feel that Christmas is coming... when he feels the cold air... Hna Real and I laughed because we felt the cold air from the air conditioning in the stake center.   Yep,  sure is cold.  The devotional was great.  I really liked the message about receiving gifts and loving EVERYONE.  and of course the music was great. 

     Well, Hna Real goes home on Dec 19.  So she only has like two weeks left.  We`ve had a few moments of tribulation but she`s really great and we have learned a lot from each other.  Algo mas, algo mas...   

   This week we went with a recent convert and asked for water.  His daughter went to the fridge to get us water and Jaime said, no get the other water because it`s colder.  So he got us the coldest water and poured it into our water bottles.  My bottle didn`t get filled all the way so he took out another bottle that was partway frozen and filled up my bottle the rest of the way.  The water dripped out slowly because it was 3/4 frozen.  But the people here are so good.  They are so kind.  Sometimes I tell Hna Real, I don`t know if I`m going to like Americans because they aren`t very nice.  But I know I will like Americans. :)  I miss American culture.  Like the way we live.   Yesterday in the devotional when they showed the video of the girl that was delivering cookies I was thinking about how much those cookies cost and how much rice and beans you could buy with that money.  The people are so poor here.  Sometimes I forget how poor they are until I see videos of little girls offering cookies to their neighbors.   

  But anyway.  Hope you all are doing well and that everyone is happy. Hermanos, Escribidme y seréis bendecidos. Hermanos, adios.  

I´ve been reading the LdM  a lot lately.  Central America is supposed to finish the BoM by April.  I´m trying to finish by Dec 31.  I´m doing okay.  I´m like 3 or 4 days behind, but hopefully I´ll make a little progress today.   

   Pray for Carlos and Francis.  Carlos has a non profit org. that makes wheelchairs.  It´s pretty cool.  

Love you all!    Get cold for me!  

Love, hna tew

26 Noviembre 2012
Hey family.

   I hope you are all doing well.  Love you a lot! pray for me please and write me a note if you have a minute.  Good luck with your dissertation thing tomorrow, Kevin.  Thanks for the letter mom and dad  

Hi Mom and Dad,

   Thanks for your letters.  They always encourage me.  

First is a picture of Alex and Valeria, they got baptized two weeks ago.  Isn´t it a nice picture?  It turned out a little dark, but they really liked it and I like it too.  Here 

 

Hna real is decorating the tree.  We still haven´t put up the lights but it looks really beautiful.   

hey family,

   Mom, I just have a little bad news... I think the packages got broken into.   One of them only has one thing in it and the list that you wrote outside has several things listed.  But that´s okay.  I think the other packages are intact.  Just one of them.   Our bishop is great Um... I love you all a lot. 

  Keep praying for me.   I actually feel more homesick now than before.  I think that it`s the christmas season and everything.  

Anyway.  Love you all a lot!  Kevin, I know you`ll do great! 

Love, hna tew

19 Noviembre 2012
hey everyone!

 Hope you´re doing well.  

Mom sorry I forgot to wish you happy birthday last week.  I remembered on Thursday.... too late :(  Hope you had a good birthday! 

Nani happy birthday to you too! 

Tanner, thanks for the email. 

Email me please!  :)  I only got one email.

love, hna tew

Thanks mom.  I love you a lot!  I wrote you a letter more than a month ago and I still haven´s sent it, so I´m going to type it up.

Dear mom, 

I know that I´ve written various letters to you on my mission, and in this letter, I mostly want to say thanks.  I liked what Elder Perry shared in his talk about the letter he sent to his mom, and I wanted to do something similar.  Maybe for your birthday? I don´t know when you´ll get this (sorry I'm a chambona, mom)   

   Thanks for teaching me all things with patience. I´m kind of amazed at how much patience and love you have.  thanks for not getting mad whenever I did something dumb.  Thanks for waiting for me to learn some things on my own. 

  Thanks for your example of love.  You really love people and serve them.  Thanks for teaching me not to judge others or say bad things about them,. (Your name is safe in our house)  That has been a big influence for me.  Thanks for always including other people and never being offended by what others might have said or done.  thanks for always saying that those who seem to deserve it the least need it the most.  

thanks for always having love in your heart.  I ALWAYS felt that you loved me.  I NEVER doubted it.  And you probably don´t think that´s a big deal, but it is a big deal, because a lot of daughters don´t always feel love from their mom, but I always did. 

  Thanks for all the laundry, games, meals, everything .  I am grateful for everything you did and do for me.  And I hope I can be as good of a mom as you are.    Well it´s Nov 5th now.  I just want to say thanks.  I love you a lot, Mom. 

Love, your daughter

Okay, love you a lot mom.  Don´t get too trunky.  Practique su Español!  Hable con mi papá! 

Love you a lot mom, 

Hna tew  

Hey family, 

Kyle, have fun in Colombia.  Sounds like you´re having a great time.  

Kevin, Good luck with your dissertation!  It sounds like you are doing great!  Congratulations on everything! 

Cheryl, sounds like you´re enjoying life!  I hope everyone gets to feeling better.  and good luck with gall bladder surgery.  I didn´t know you were sick from that.  

Mom, hey hope you had a great birthday and that everything is going well with the Christmas plans for the activity and all.  Tell Irma that I eat pupusas Salvadoreñas here and that I always think of her. :) 

Dad, hope you are doing well and that work is good and that the stake is doing well.   

Dani, hope you´re doing good!  

Dougie, hope you´re doing good! 

Pablito, Seguí adelante!  Y que bueno que vos estás comiendo bién.  Te me cuidás.  That´s my practice for speaking in vos for the week.  Hope that´s right.... Love you! 

There are way too many things to tell you all.  Carlos is doing great.  He´s reading the BoM and he really liked Alma 7.  He was just a little confused about the word Zarahemla. :)  We´re going to have an FHE with him and his wife in the Arroliga´s house tonight.  So that should be great!  The ward was so nice to them.  Yesterday the classes were so good and spiritual and it was a good Sunday. It ended kind of low but that´s why you have a companion  to help you feel better when the families are getting torn apart by Satan and they don´t even realize it.  

   Jefferson, our RC started to drink.  He comes home on Saturday and goes off to the Billiards parlor.  We talked to him on Sunday (he spent the night on the floor in his brother´s house.)  He´s kind of adopted by a part member family we´re working with, and the mom told him to leave if he was going to start drinking again.  And Jefferson is the adopted brother of Henry, who is the Catholic 15 year old that hopefully is getting baptized this Saturday... with FAITH!   So we told Jefferson that we would be at his house on Sat at 5:00 and that we´re going to watch a church movie or something with him at the church.  We visited with Henry and Henry started crying because Jefferson was getting kicked out of the house.  And Henry loves Jefferson a lot but he´s never told Jefferson how much he loves him... It was so sad because their family really struggles.  Henry finally has the desire to get baptized but he´s afraid to get baptized because of what his family might do to him because they want him to be a Catholic Priest.  Anyway, we cried a little with Henry and told him to tell Jefferson que le quiere, and oh está, todo bién.  Jefferson didn´t end up getting kicked out.  Also, Brother Molina went to visit Jefferson with us and told him that he would pass for him on Sunday to go to church.  AND JEFFERSON, who is shy and doesn´t feel love from anyone and has a lot of difficulties, told Brother Molina to come on Saturday at 5:00 too.  

   One effect of being a missionary is that when someone talks about their problems, Jesus always come to mind.  There is always a good answer to every question if he center our thoughts on Christ.  Brother Molina shared with Henry the story of when Jesus was leaving his apostles and how he left the comforter.  Now when I think about my problems and the problems of all the people here I think a lot more about Jesus.  

   Last night after all this had happened we went to visit the Bishop.  Bishop Espinoza.  He´s such a good bishop! :)  We shared a message about charity and telling people that you love them and we told them that we love them (the whole family was there). It was a good experience.  We always learn a lot. ´

   Um...Everything is good here.  Every companionship is getting 250 cordobas this Wednesday to spend on something special for THANKSGIVING, I mean, Dia de la accion de gracias.  250 is live 10 dollars and you can buy quite a bit with 250.  I was just talking to Hna Real about what we are going to do, but we just ate 3 pupusas and fresco de cacoa and jamaica so we decided that we can´t think about food right now.  haha 

By the way, I never told you all about changes.  Hna Vasquez got transferred to Masatepe, but to a different area than the one I was in.  So now it´s just Hna Real and me.  And this is the last transfer for Hna Real.  Transfers are 26 of December, but the missionaries are going home a week early.  There are three hermanas that go home in December, and one is in the neighboring area, so I´m guessing that I´m going to be with her companion for the week before transfers.  It´s a lot better to just have one companion.  We speak English in the house all the time.  Hna Real worked in a Call center before her mission.   So... it´s almost for certain that I´m going to stay here in Miraflores!!!  yay!!! I really love this area.  it´s a great place to be.   

Inspired analogy of the week to Henry who is using crutches.  A broken foot is the apostasy.  Crutches... the reformation. It´s great, but it´s not the same.   Healing... the restoration.   

Mira...flores  Mira...cles. 

Love you all!  

12 November 2012
hey folks.

  No one said anything about the elections, but I heard that Obama won.  Bummer.  But.... Alex and Valeria got baptized this Saturday with Danilo.  this week was the trial of our faith.  Seriously.  Alex told us he wasn´t getting baptized like 7 times during the week.  But when he was all dressed in white and hugging Valeria (all in white too)  my heart kind of melted.  They are such a beautiful family.  A lot of members helped us to go visit them .  The elders and a member from Texas who served here went with us.  Danilo was really happy too. After the baptism a recent convert, Javier, walked Danilo home.  It was so sweet.  The bishop went to pick him up for his baptism.  Everything´s so much better when the members love the investigators.  Alex and Valeria came with Alex´s mom.  She went to church with us on Sunday.  There were so many miracles and so many angels this week that I can´t count them all.  But it´s because God loves his children and wants them to get baptized.  also, we had a lot of faith, even when Alex told us a billion times that he wasn´t going to get baptized.  We prayed so much for them.  Prayer is powerful.  

   Um... this Wednesday is transfers.  We have no idea of what´s going to happen.  I think I´m staying here because I´ve only been here three weeks, but who knows.  Since we´re in a threesome, and we don´t know how many hermanas are coming we don´t know if we´re going to stay together or not.  But I´ve enjoyed being in a threesome.  It´s kind of weird, but great.  The Bishop here is fantastic.  He is really smart, and has a lot of faith.  Hna Real always says that we´re the bishop´s consejeras.  haha.  Basically.  he trusts us a lot.  maybe too much... but he´s wonderful and VERY supportive.  And VERY RELIABLE.   

   We are teaching a kid named Henry.  Hopefully he gets baptized this Saturday or the next.  He´s really with it.  He loves church, he finally agreed to read the BoM.  He loves the missionaries. But he says that every time he asks God if the BoM is true he gets a bad feeling.  So we´ve talked about that a lot.  We´re going to have an FHE with his family tonight.  Pray for him!  Yesterday the RM that teaches Gospel Doctrine was surprised to hear that Henry isn´t baptized.  He was just called to be the YM president.  And he was like, I want to baptize him!  Let me baptize him!  It was cool.  Most of Henry´s family is members.   

  Um... it´s super hot here.  I sleep in shorts and a t-shirt.  No covers.  not even a sheet.  And the fan hits me (I put it about 1 foot away from my face) and one night this week I woke up because I was so hot.  So, enjoy the cold!  (I guess I should enjoy the heat!) :)  

   Dad, thanks for the update.  Sounds like the church is moving on.  Do you think that they are going to open new missions? When do they call new mission presidents?   

   Mom, thanks for the update.  I hope everything is going good in Gillette.  How was it to have a missionary in the house all the time? 

   Kevin, hope you´re doing well and that you´re getting everything finished for school. 

   Cher, thanks for the note.  I miss you and love you too!  

   Kyle, thanks for the note.  Have fun in Panama. I forgot what the word for cool is there. But I hope it´s great! 

   Doug, hope you´re doing well. your house looks cool from the picture Dani sent.  

   Dani, thanks for the note and the pictures (Thanks for thinking of me, Scotty :)) 

   Pablito, hope you´re doing well.  How is your Spanish going?  Do you practice with Kyle sometimes? 

   

Love you all, Take care.  I´m going to try to send pictures of the baptisms and everything next week

love love love, hna tew

5 November 2012
Hey family,

  just wanted to ask a few questions.  

I got my trunky papers last week and I have to put down if you are coming to pick me up or not.  Also, the airport nearest to my house.  But, I think that we could just put Salt Lake.  I don`t know what you all think.  I would like to go home, but I would also like to see Kevin and Cheryl and Kyle and Paul and Grandparents...  So I need an answer by next week. 

I´m writing a letter right now.  We went to the beach today and got back super late.  So... yeah... Pochomil. 

love, hna tew

Hey Family,

How is everyone doing?  I hope that everything is going well and that you are all enjoying some Christmas music! :) 

Cheryl, thanks for the note.  The kids look so cute.  I miss you all a lot!  We`ll be sure to hang out when I get back!!!! 

Kevin, sounds like there are a lot of job options.  Good Luck!

Dani, the kids look so cute!  And I loved the pictures of the munchkins.  They look so cute!  And Adam looks big!  I am excited to get to know David. 

Mom, thanks for the update.  I miss you a lot.  Don`t get too trunky. ;)  I`ll be beating you in Boggle before you know it. 

Tanner and Nani, thanks for the note.  Love you both! 

Dad, thanks for the note and thanks for always writing me!  Sounds like the politics are pretty tight. 

Um... it`s great to be back in my area.  I am really enjoying being with my companions.   

Some things I learned this week... 

    Every lesson can be spiritual if we meet the investigator`s needs and testify of Jesus Christ.  WE have an investigator that is going to be baptized this Saturday, Danilo, and we had to teach him the word of wisdom.  He`s a very humble man that has a lot of problems.  When we got there he talked about all the problems that he has had and it was kind of sad.  We started the lesson talking about how Jesus Christ gives us strength the overcome our problems.  Sometimes we pray for him to take our problems away, and that`s a possible solution, but sometimes we need to develop more strength.  So then we talked about how living the gospel gives us the strength, and we started into the word of wisdom.  Usually, teaching the word of wisdom isn`t a great spiritual experience.  (the wife complains about how the husband drinks, they ask about coffee...) but this time we had a very spiritual lesson.  And it was neat.  I`ve been feeling the spirit a lot more in the lessons lately, and I love that.  It happens when we testify of Jesus Christ.   

   We put four baptismal dates this week with families!  yay!  Hna Real puts fechas like crazy.  One cool thing that happened is that we were walking down the main street and passed by a less active`s house, and the sisters had been teaching the husband before.  We stopped to say hi and the husband was reading the bible.  He said, you know what, I`ve been thinking about when I get baptized if I`m going to wear some shorts or what I have to wear.  He was going to get baptized before but then he stopped letting the sisters come visit him.  So we were like, um... Can we share a message with you right now?  And his wife was actually pretty supportive.  His name is Ramon, and his wife is Daysi.  That was kind of crazy miraculous. :) 

   Alex and Valeria had a baptism date for this weekend, but they went on vacation for a few days and Alex`s family said a ton of things about how they have to baptize their 3 month old baby or Satan will have power over her.  We are praying a lot for them. 

   Lately I`ve been trying to develop charity.  And PMG says really awesomely how we can do it.  I am trying to work on diligence too.   I don`t take advantage of all the opportunities that there are sometimes. 

   Georgina and Martin are another family.  Martin wants to change.  he wants to stop drinking. And Georgina (member) is really supportive. 

   One night I was writing in my miracle book and the phrase came to my mind...These are days never to be forgotten.  During the day I think about all the beautiful experiences and feeling that have occurred, and I wish I could remember them all.  At night I`m tired, I have to write in the area book and wash a shirt or something, and I just don`t have time to write in my journal.  I hope God helps me out a little and lets me hold on to all the things that are happening.  

   This is a wonderful area. There are a ton of houses. 

Adios, 

Love you all, 

hna tew

29 October 2012

Dear Family,

The first picture is of me and my companions and hna Creel.  Yesterday we had an activity of hermanas.  There are like 34 sisters in our mission.  That´s just an approxamation. 

The second is hna Real and me making tortillas.  yay tortillas.  So delicious...

I have more pictures but it took me like ten minutes to load two. So... 

I have a picture of myself by the grounds where they are going to build the temple whenever they decide to let us have a temple! 

It´s in Las Colinas. 

Um... I´m really glad to be back in my area.  I spent half the transfer in Las Coinas.  There are some really neat people in Las Colinas.  I would love to see them again.  I want to see Janis, he´s the one that said there´s an emptiness we feel that can´t be filled with water or food that there is something more that we have to do here. I want to see him baptized!  Yay!

  Here we are working with Henry, a 15 year old that loves the church and everything, he´s just super Catholic and LOVES maria.  He´s a really fun kid. His dad just got baptized. 

  Alez and Valeria they are a young couple that have gone to church twice, I think.  They want to get baptized and everything but Alex is a little afraid of messing up after his baptism.  He´s trying to stop smoking. 

I talked to Hna Martinez and her companion Hna Reuel yesterday.  Everyone is doing well in La Borgoña.  The people in Masatepe are good too.  It was great to talk to Hna Silva again yesterday.  When we´re in the moment, we don´t realize how greatly we are blessed and how much God is helping us.  But talking to Hna Zapeta before she went home and with Hna Silva yesterday made me remember how much God really participates and how families can completely change. And how many miracles, big and small I have been able to see. AWESOME!

    I´m not going to lie.  I´ve been thinking about the elections.  Thanks for the update.  I´ve been thinking about how elections are tuesday and I´m going to write on Monday.  Honestly, I´m not sure if the people here will know who won the election.  The news here is mostly how people have gotten killed or hurt in car accidents.  But, yeah I think they´ll probably annouce something about the election on television... I´ll have to ask around a little...

   Dad, thanks for the letters.  I liked your thought about John I´ll have to think a little bit more so I can internalize the grace for grace frase. I mean... phrase.  Sounds like fun to have Alice and Elizabeth there.  

Mom, thanks for the notes and the packages.  It takes about two weeks for a letter to get here . 

Everyone else, there isn´t enought time to write.  But I love you all and I hope you are all doing great.

We are going to baptize a lot here!  yes! 

Paul, that´s great that you´re doing the diet

Dani I hoppe your back feels better.

 Kevin, and Cheryl, hope you and the munchkins are doing well

 love mb

22 October 2012
Hey family,

  how are you all doing?  Thanks for the letters, mom.  Write me a note!  I`m still in Las Colinas with the other trio. 

love, mb

 

Hey family, 

  We have had a ton of awesome experiences this week.  Cool.  We were also almost eaten like three times.  First, by dogs, then by dogs, then by ants, then by dogs again.  That´s why I used to walk around with a rock in one hand and a bom in the other.  haha 

 Mom, I loved the letters and what you said about the trip.  Sounds like you had a great time and that grandma and grandpa enjoyed it a lot.   The Christmas event looks awesome!  I love the idea of an orchestra!  

   Kyle, thanks for the BYU update.  Good luck on the job search.  Sounds like school is going well. 

   Kevin, thanks for the update.  I hope the job search goes great and that you end up being really happy!  I´m sure you´ll get a great job! 

  Cher, thanks for the pictures, I LOVED them.  Tanner and Nani are so cute it´s ridiculous.  Something funny, whenever I show the family picture everyone says oh you have a morenita!  (a little brown one).  And they think it´s exciting that we´re not all chelitos. Tanner looks soooo grown up.  And Nani!  I was like whoa.  She has grown up! Her hair looks so cute! I hope you keep on keeping on! :)  Sounds like you are doing wonders!

  Tanner thanks for the letter.  You are so smart and kind!  I love you too! 

  Pablito, congrats for keeping up on the diet.  That's really impressive!  Woo hoo!   Do you have school plans or are you going to keep on working? 

  Dad, I love you!  Thanks for the update last week. As for work... Just say no.  :)  son bromas  But are you going to retire pretty soon? 

Um... I´m still in Las Colinas.  Hna Anderson is almost better.  She only took a two hour break yesterday, but her foot swelled up again a little so we have to take it easy I guess.  I was going to send pictures but 

Jose, who went to church yesterday, loved church.  His wife is super catholic and he´s helping to build the catholic church, donating time and money and work. But he loved how they explained everything in church yesterday.  There was a talk on the Book of Mormon during sacrament meeting that was just beautiful, and it was exactly what he needed.  The people here are so awesome because they love to hear about God.  They really love it.  And in the church they actually explain the doctrine, and people love that. Jose came out talking about the sabbath day and how he has to change his work schedule. Another investigator, whose dog almost ate us like three times, was interested to hear that we have to repent everyday.  He was like, wow, I didn´t know that.  And the people love to learn.  It´s great. 

If you want to know where I am, look up Santo Domingo.  There´s a super famous catholic church in our area.  It´s really beautiful.  I´m on the highway that goes from Masaya to Managua.  In Miraflores, my real area, I´m more in the center of Managua.  There aren´t many dirt roads there. 

Um... thanks for all the letters and the love.  

Grandma Campbell, thanks for the letters!  You are wonderful!  I did use the balloons but not in an FHE.  Thanks!   

Grandma and Grandpa Tew, I hope you all had a great time and that you are resting now!  That must have been a great time, but I would be tired afterwards! 

Katelyn Sneed,  I haven´t forgotten you!  How are you doing?  and are you in California?  Love you!

Okay family.  I love you all a lot and pray for you always.  

Love, hna tew

 

oh yeah mom, for Christmas sweets, just traditional stuff we eat that won´t spoil.  Peanut brittle and I don´t know what else will stay good... But yeah.  Stuff we eat at home.  Thanks for asking :) 

I love you a lot!  

Thanks, hna tew

 

 

15 October 2012
Hey family,
How is Paul doing?
How are Kevin and Cheryl doing?  How did the interview go and the presentation?
How is Kyle doing? Have you revised your plans to come to Nicaragua instead of Panama? :) 
How is Dani doing?
How are Grandma and Grandpa Tew doing?

  here´s my letter to President Monestel below.  I am in Las Colinas.  It´s the same zone that I was just in when I was in La Borgoña.  I´m just visiting for a while because one of the sisters that just got here, Hna Anderson, is sick and so I´ve been with her and Hna Barrera.  I came here last Tuesday, and they said it would just be three or four days, but we went to the hospital for her checkup and she has to rest completely!  So, she sticks around with a member in the house and Hna Barrera and I go work.  I feel bad for Hna Anderson because she only has two weeks in Nicaragua, but she has a good attitude.  I´m going to be here probably for another week or something...  vamos a ver...  I´m tell you a little about Las Colinas and everything in the other letter I send.  But we´re all doing fine...
love love love
hna tew

Hey family, 
   So, I´m back in Zona Las Colinas, just for a week and a bit.  This is a really different area because this is where all the rich people live.  There are a ton of embassies here.  We ate dinner in the house of someone from the American Embassy last night.  The house is sooooo big and sooooo beautiful and I felt pretty weird there.  interesting points... we eat way better here. They serve fruit and vegetables.  I ate a grape yesterday for the first, maybe second time in a year.  Lots of people work here in houses as maids and guards, but they don´t actually live here.  The house where we live doesn´t have water after 6:30 in the morning.  We have to wash our clothes.  
   In Miraflores Jefferson and Ramon got baptized on Saturday!  Jefferson is the guy that was reading his Book of Mormon at his work.  His birthday was Saturday and he turned 20 years old.  He is a really nice person.  Ramon is kind of almost his step dad and his wife is a member.  In Miraflores there are a ton of less actives, so we are trying to complete a lot of families.  I really like Miraflores and I miss the area.  I actually know this area, Las Colinas, better than I know my own area in Miraflores.  I also miss my companions, Hna Real and Hna Vasquez.  
   I thought I would tell you a few cool things.  From two weeks ago, one week ago, and this week. 
This week we went to visit a new investigator with Hna Barrera and Hna Anderson.  He had read the pamphlet about the gospel of Jesus Christ, but we were going to teach the restoration.  And Hna Anderson had to start the lesson.  She´s a little timid, but really great!  She started talking and asking questions about what he liked about the pamphlet, and what he thought.  She did so great.  We could really feel the spirit and the investigator, Antonio, was so open to everything we taught.  He is definitely prepared to hear the gospel.  He kept on talking about how much he liked the part about baptism and he understood really well.  It´s awesome to hear a new North American teach and bear testimony.  We taught the restoration. and then hna Barrera whispered, put a baptismal date.  And Hna. Anderson put the date!  It was awesome. 
   Also, we taught about the gift of the holy ghost to an evangelical that feels like she´s failing God right now and for that she can´t feel the peace that she´s felt on a few occasions before.  It was a really spiritual lesson and it made me realize how much we need the GIFT of the Holy Ghost.
   Well, there´s not enough time for the other experiences... oh well.  I wanted to say hi to everyone. 
I hope you´re all doing well.  I LOVED the pictures of the trip mom.  Everyone looks so great!  Mom, you look skinny.  I hope you are enjoying the trip, Grandma and Grandpa and Jeanine.  I am glad you all are getting to spend a lot of time together and are getting to see a lot of neat places. 
   Doug, we haven´t done exchanges yet in Miraflores.  I guess I´m kind of in my third trio:  the MTC, Miraflores, and now in Las Colinas for a week or two.  That´s really cute about Scotty in the primary program.   haha 
  Mom, thanks a lot for the letter.  I haven´t received the package you sent yet but the office elders that helped us today (I had to go to Miraflores to get more clothes) told me that I have a ton of letters and packages waiting for me. :) You are the best mom in the world.  My testimony of that has been strengthened as well. :) 
Ah.. I just got the email, Dani and Dad.  Thanks!
Love you all,
hna tew

hey ya´ll.  write me a note real fast.  I´m going to be here for about 50 more minutes.  I hope everyone´s doing good.  Kevin, let me know how your family is doing!!!  Thanks for the letters Doug and Mom!
Love, hna tew

8 October 2012
hey family,
   I´m writing early today so send me an email now if you´re going to send one. 
I want to hear how you all are doing!
yes I did get transferred.
love, mb

Hello Family,
   Thanks for your notes.  I liked hearing from you Mom and Dad. 
To respond to your questions... yes I got transferred, yes I saw conference, but most of it was in Spanish.  My favorite part was the hymn Does the journey seem long.  It was sooooo beautiful.  I loved it.   The song at the end that they sang is a hymn in Spanish, Si la vida es penosa en la lid.  And Dad, I haven´t talked to President Monestel about you all coming to pick me up but a bunch of parents have come so I imagine that it´s just fine. 
Thanks for the emails Dani and Kyle.   It´s great to know that we´ll only be separated by one country, Kyle.  Why don´t you come to Nicaragua for Thanksgiving instead.  You can eat gallo pinto and queso frito and drink pinolillo.  What more can you ask for?
My favorite conference talk was probably the talk by Elder Ballard.  about the bees.  I watched that one in English. 
I am now in Managua!!!!!!  In the city.  and....I´m in a trio!!!!!!  I was really surprised.  President was announcing the transfers and he said in Miraflores la hna Real recibe a la hna Tew y a la hna Vasquez.  And I was like... what?  Everyone was kind of weirded out by it.  Hna Real is from Guatemala City and Hna Vasquez is from Huehuetenango, Guatemala.  I think that´s how you spell it.  They are both great missionaries and nice people.  It´s pretty different to be in a threesome.  It´s fun to teach with three. 
   My area now is all city.  The housed are all right there in a row, pegadas. The area isn´t very big but there are a ton of houses.  At the edge of the area you can see the mountains and the lake!  It´s pretty.  It´s very hot here.  Masatepe and La Borgoña are both kind of cool areas and it´s seriously really hot here in Managua.  In La Borgoña I slept with my blanket and here I don´t even use a sheet.  But the people here are great, of course. 
   Hna Real is a really great missionary.  She contacts a lot and doesn´t let people pass her by on the street.  She teaches very slowly and only the most important points.  I´m really grateful that she´s my companion and I´ve already learned a lot from her. 
  Hna Vasquez is a really great missionary too.  She is very kind and loving.  She worked as a preschool teacher before the mission.  She teaches with a lot of love and I know I´m going to learn a lot from her too.  They both share a lot and serve a lot and that´s ben a great example for me. 
   President Monestel warned us to have a lot of communication.  He said, you´re all good missionaries, and you´re going to hae some differences in  opinion.  So you have to talk about it.  
   Kevin, how did everything go at BYU?  I was thinking about you on Friday and praying for you.  I hope Tuesday goes well too.
   Cheryl, how are you doing?  Thanks for the letter last week.  It sounds like Tanner is doing great in school.  I thought of Nani when the choir sang my life is a gift...
   Kyle, when are you going to have your internship or whatever it is?  Why did you decide to go to Panama?  Are you going with someone else?
   Doug, I hope work is going great.  I love you!
   Dani, thanks for the update.  I hope you all are doing well in Gillette.  Have you made any presentations for the stake yet?
   Pablito, how are you doing?  I think that it´s great that you´re living the diet and I hope you are feeling good.
Mom and Dad, thanks for the email and I hope you are doing great and that the trip goes really well.  It sounds like a great time.  I´m just imagining the air conditioning.... haha.  No it sounds like Grandma and Grandpa will have a great time.  Good luck with the lobsters and everything :)  Tell them all that I say hi and I hope you enjoy it.  Mom, I love you a lot and miss you too.  I love you Dad!  
   We are teaching a 19 year old and we passed by his work one day and he was sitting outside reading his book of mormon! We were all really excited about that.  cool.
Oh and we´re all super excited about getting 18 year old missionaries and 19 year old sister missionaries!  Woo hoo! Alright folks.  Hasta luego.  Have fun on your trip and write me during the week because I´m going to be writing earlier in the day los lunes. 
Ok, Bye!
Love,love,love,love,love,
Hna Tew

1 October 2012
hey family,

  how´s it going? 

Cheryl, thanks for the letter.  I have no fatted calf to kill, but I´ll see what we can do.  Sounds like you all are doing great.  I loved hearing about the family from China and how Tanner and Nani are doing with school and everything.  Thanks for the pictures too.   The kids look so beautiful! and so big!  Tanner looks a lot like Kevin.  Sounds like they are two smart cookies. :)  I hope you all are doing great.  

Kevin, Thanks for the letter.  It sounds like you had to do a lot of work just to get considered for the job!  I´ll be praying for you that everything goes well for you!  It sounds like a great opportunity! I know you´ll do great! 

Kyle, thanks for the update. I hope all the interviews go well!  

Doug, sounds like you´re doing good with work, I hope the family is doing good. 

Dani, thanks for the email, It sounds like you´re going to be busy!  Give the munchkins a hug for me! 

Pablito, congrats on staying on the diet.  I hope you´re happy and feeling good! 

Dad, thanks for the letter and everything.  The Christmas plans sound like a great opportunity to share the gospel in Gillette.  It sounds like the stake is doing well and that you´re plugging along at work.  When are you going to retire? 

Mother dear, I love you so.  I´ve had primary songs about mom and dad stuck in my head this week.  It´s been kind of weird. Thanks for the letter.  I´ve been getting lots of letters and dear elders and stuff.  The Christmas stuff sounds excellent!  That´s too bad that there aren´t spanish elders right now but the class sounds wonderful. 

I got a letter from Charlotte capron and Charity Kemp this week too.  That was fun to hear from them.   

Well, for the moment I´m here in La Borgoña.  But, transfers are this Wednesday, so I´m probably out of here.  All last week I was thinking about how I wanted to leave and start over again with the members and investigators and everything.  But this morning I woke up and I started thinking about leaving and I might have cried a little bit. The people that I´ve taught here are really special to me.  Today I felt sick just thinking about changes, but whatever happens will be what the Lord wants, so, we´ll see what happens.  

I don´t have a lot of specifics to share. There are always awesome and funny and spiritual things that are happening but I can´t remember them right now. I´ve been recording my journal entries at night instead of writing them because there just isn´t much time.  

   The mom of a kid we´re teaching (the whole family is member except for the kid, who has MAJOR drinking problems) found a pamphlet we left with the family under his pillow.   

   Our district leader always calls us Testigos (Jehova Witnesses) because we carry our umbrellas.  All Jehova Witnesses carry umbrellas.  But he says it in a really annoying voice.  He´s kind of crazy.  But nice. 

   We sang in Sacrament Meeting as a district.  It sounded great. 

   It´s just cool to be a missionary and talk with anyone at any time about Jesus. Thins morning in the taxi I talked to the driver. And he was kind of excited about it.  It´s fun because you have to be friendly, and kind, and you have to talk about the gospel.  Cool!    

   Well, not to get trunky or anything, but the mission is passing pretty quickly.  I´m excited to see you all but it´s still about 4 months away!  

Love you all, 

hna tew

24 September 2012
Hey family,
   How are you all doing?
Mom, how is the garden doing?  Tutoring?  Spanish class?
Dad, how is work with the other three mines down south?
Kevin, write me!  I hope school and family is going great!
Cheryl, how are you doing with everything?  Is it weird just to have Nani at home sometimes?
Kyle, your bike ride sounds cool.  What did you do once you got there?  How is BYU going?
Doug, are you getting used to work now?
Dani, are you getting used to Doug going to work?  How do you feel to be back in Gillette?
Paul, How are you feeling?  How is work or school or both going?

Mom, the creche display thing sounds fabulous!  I wish I could be there to see and hear and sing it all.  That just sounds awesome.  This week I completed one year in Nicaragua.  One year ago I was in Nagarote, getting confused. haha Well, I´m thinking that this is my last week in La Borgoña.  I´ve gotten the letters that you´ve sent me from Hannah, my friend from BYU that´s in Russia, and I just can´t imagine being in the same area for 8 (or was is 9) transfers.  The Borgoña is small and I´m kind of ready to leave.  Hopefully I´m not jinxing myself, because I could stay here for another transfer.  But I´m ready to leave. It´s a special place and I love the people here but I want to start over.  New place, new adventures.  I guess we´ll see next week.  Hna Martinez is really fun to be with.  We made pupusas today.  The first one didn´t work out very well, it just broke into little pieces.  I was interviewing her and making a video and she told the camera that la pupusa se hizo pupusitas.  It was really funny. They turned out pretty delicious. 
   Highlights... Friday we visiting a less active father and his family which is active.  We decided to teach faith in Jesus Christ.  In the pamphlet there is a picture that I always love to teach with because it is Jairus´ daughter.  And I talk about how Jesus can heal us.  This time when I was sharing the story it came to me that the whole family was part of the story, not just Jairus.  In the picture you can see the dad and the mom and we talked about how they probably felt, judging by the picture.  The dad got kind of interested and started talking about how the dad looked happy but almost a little surprised. And he kept on looking at the picture and kept on talking about how we need to show our faith.  It was a cool experience because I had never thought of sharing the story about a family but it seemed to hit home with him.  Something I´ve learned here is that we should always strive to teach with the spirit, but even when we teach with the spirit, some people are going to choose to sin.  
  Yesterday we started teaching one of our investigators to read.  He loved it and I loved it too.  I was thinking about the special ed classes and how they really have helped me to teach.  It´s not that the people aren´t smart, it´s that they are so poor that they couldn´t go to school when they were younger because they had to work. It´s sad that there are so many people that can´t read.  Giovani, the investigator that we were teaching, was writing a and e.  After we had him read a line of a´s and e´s.  a a e e e a a e  something like that.  And he was LOVING IT!!!  Then we talked about how he has two types of homework, he has to write and he has to pray.  It was cool. 
  Well, it´s been a good week.  I hope you all are doing good.  Don´t get too crazy up there. 
Love, hna Tew

17 September 2012
hey family,

    a few questions... 

did you all get my pictures and voice recordings that I sent like two or three weeks ago? 

is tanner going to school?

also, I don´t know if it´s possible but I would like to get a new debit card.... 

love you all!

thanks for the emails Dale and mom and dad.  

send me a note, the rest of you 

love, hna tew

 

hi family, 

   Yesterday we had stake conference.  We went to Managua.  One of our recent converts told us that she had received many answers to some questions she had had.  Questions about why some things hadn´´t worked out in her life like she felt God had promised.  And she said that she realized that it´s because she hasn´t been responding to the promptings of the Holy Ghost or keeping the commandments completely.  She said that she has to fast more and that she has to keep the sabbath day holy and that she always has to pay her tithing.  And that was awesome to hear because she really has a humble heart.  The conference was great We got instructed that we shouldn´t say "everyone shut your little eyes" and "let us pray", when we go up to the pulpit to pray.  That was probably my favorite part.  No, seriously it was really good because they talked about how the Nicaraguan members will never get out of poverty until they keep the sabbath day holy.   

President Monestel talked about how we need to be like Amulek.  He shared the story of how Alma preached to the people with the help of Amulek. He talked about how Amulek was probably a less active.  He also talked about how Zeezrom preached the gospel and how King Lamoni preached too.  It was cool because a lukewarm church member, a wicked lawyer, and a wealthy king all changed and started to share the gospel.  People were amazed when they listened to Amulek because there was a second witness to all the words of Alma.  

   We found out that one of investigators actually DID show up to church one of those weeks when we thought we had no investigators.  He said, yeah I sat next to Don Victor.  And then we talked to Victor (Hno Narvaez) and he was like, it´s true he did sit next to me.  So that was cool.  

  We also went to El Eden and it is so beautiful there.  It´s up in the mountains.  SO BEAUTIFUL.  And everyone we met was outrageously nice.  We met someone the elders had been teaching before and he just said, welcome to my house over and over.  We read Alma 7 with him and he really liked it because he had been confused if we based our faith in Joseph Smith or Jesus Christ so he really liked what we shared.   He has gone to church twice.  He´s a cool guy.  His name is Melquiz. 

   Hey Dale!  Thanks for the letter.  I´m glad that you´re up there in Gillette, and I wish I could visit with you!  Tell Andrew that I say hi and that the mission is the best thing that I´ve chosen to do in my life.  Love you!  I hope you are doing great!   

  Mom, thanks for the letter.  It sounds like you´re doing fabulous.  I love you! 

  Dad, don´t get too crazy up there in Gillette and all over the place.  I love you!

  Dani, thanks for the letter, that´s great that Doug got a job offer. 

 

10 September 2012

Is Tanner going to school?

Kevin, that´s awesome that you´re interviewing with BYU. 
I got the Dear Elder letters from hannah and Ben.  Thanks mom. :)
Also I received the letters from youth conference.  They got sent to Guatemala first. 

I hope you´re all doing well.  Thanks for writing me.
love, mb

Hey there family,
How´s it going? 
   Mom.... thanks for the letters and everything. I liked the Spanish letter.  If you stop talking to Dad in English you will feel a lot more comfortable when speaking Spanish. Your Spanish is going good.  Felicidades! :)

A few phrases or words that are really common that I never learned until coming to Nicaragua
Darse cuenta
Tener pereza
Estar rendido(a)
Cansarse
Felicitar
Alegre
Buenísimo

 I would really love some music to listen to for before Christmas.  I can listen to inspired music by the church or by church members.  I would like some motab porfa.  My wish list in pocas palabras would be....
1. Chocolate
2. Peanut Brittle
3. Christmas stuff to decorate and music to listen to 

yep, that about sums it up.  But could you send me a package that I could open before christmas with decorations or music.  I don´t want very much.  I can make paper chains here, but maybe something to put on the table or something.

Also, could you send me like 5 or ten cards that aren´t girly?  I really like the cards I have, but I can´t really give them to any men that get baptized.    Thanks for everything mom.  All my district leaders and all the office elders always tell me that I get a ton of mail (the mail comes through their hands)  They always say, it´s a competition between you and hna cottam.  haha

Also, thanks for the pictures of the miracle tree (thanks Dani).  I love that tree. :)

Dad, thanks for the letter.  I love you!
Douglas, thanks for the letter.  I´m glad work is going well.  don´t get stressed.  Just don´t do it. Sounds like you and Dani are doing great out there.
Kevin, write me!  Are you getting busy with everything?
Kyle, be good.  I hope BYU is going great and that you´re enjoying everything down there.
Pablito, hows it going.  I hope you are feeling good.
Dani, thanks for the fotos and the letters! 
Cheryl, Hope you´re doing great and that the kids are being good!

Tell Robert I say hi.  That´s crazy that he´s back from his mission.  Wow.  

Um...La Borgoña is moving along.  We need help from the members.  Noel came back from Costa Rica and started drinking. 

Paul... yesterday something hilarious happened.  We were teaching a lesson and I noticed that it kind of smelled bad but I didn´t know why.  A few minutes later I realized that there was a weird noise.  I looked back and there was a pig that was vomiting about 3 feet away from us.  Oh.... that´s why it smells bad.

We had some great lessons with Ernesto and Jessica.  We introduced the Book of Momon and then read to them about repentance and baptism.  It was awesome because hna Martinez led the lesson and we had planned it during comp study.  We talked about how Jesus heals us when we go to him (3 nefi 9),  Then about how we can go to Jesus 2 Ne 31) and when we should go to Jesus, or in other words when we should repent and be baptized (Alma 34)  Jessica said, yeah because we never know what will happen.  Maybe we don´t go to church on Sunday and on Monday we die. and I guess that´s true.   After hna Martinez invited them to get baptized and they said yes.   They committed to go to church on Sunday.  But they didn´t go. 
She works a ton and doesn´t have time to wash except for Sunday.  Sunday morning I noticed that there wasn´t water.  And I thought, oh no, our investigators are going to use that as an excuse.  So I said a prayer... please let the water come.  And seriously in less that five seconds the faucet started dripping again.  But.... it wasn´t until later in the day that I realized that if the water hadn´t come, Jessica wouldn´t have been able to wash, and she might have gone to church.  So, I guess I shouldn´t have prayed for the water to come?  I don´t know.   But I like them because they listen and we feel the spirit really strongly with them.

Love you all! 
love, hna tew

3 September 2012 
Hey family,
  thanks for the letters mom dad and dani.  I hope everyone is doing okay.  I love you all! 
Write me a note
 love, hna tew

Hey Family,
  Thanks for the letters, 
The first picture is hna martinez dying.  I mean.... being silly.
The second is today after playing basketball out in the sun. 
The third is what we did after playing basketball.  
I hope you can open the recordings.  They aren´t very prepared.  But it was fun to record a little bit.

Um... well I´m going to be honest.  I´ve felt really stressed out lately and we haven´t been having very much success.  I don´t know why it´s so hard for me just to trust God that everything will work out.  I don´t feel like I´m progressing very much spiritually, I just feel like I´m going and going and going.  
  But...yes I have still seen the hand of the Lord in my life.  I guess I just am not very grateful for everything that he does for me.  Because he really does help us, especially as we strive to be obedient.  I´m an obedient missionary, but I am not perfectly obedient.  So, that would be a good goal, I guess.  Strive to be perfectly obedient.  I think another good goal would be pray more ea
   Let´s start now.
I´m really grateful for the chance I have to be in La Borgoña because it´s a special place. 
I´m really grateful for the opportunity to know Enrique and his family because I feel like they are my family.  I care a lot about them.
I{m grateful to be companions with Hna Martinez because she has excitement to do things well and she always enjoys life.  She´s a good example of how to be happy.
I´m grateful for the chance to talk with everyone about the gospel because that´s cool. I can say hi and start talking about baptism or repentance or Jesus or the plan of salvation.

I really don´t have very much time today.

Noel is coming this week and we are praying that he won´t go off drinking like he did last time he came.
The new family that we found, Ernesto and Jessica seem really positive.  They both prayed with us and I definitely felt the spirit.  I like finding. 

Enrique is doing great.  His family is so happy.  I love them so much. 

I´m glad to hear that Kyle is enjoying school. 
I love you Paul!  Be good!
Douguito, hope work is going good.
Kevincito and Cherito thanks for teaching your kids to pray for me.
Love you all!!!  Love you mom! 
hna Tew

rnestly: express more gratitude and ask more specifically for the things that I need.  I feel like these are the same goals I have had for all of my mission. 

27 August 2012
Hey sorry, I guess I forgot to actually send the letter last week... whoops.
Happy Birthday Dad, I didn´t remember until Wednesday or Thursday that your birthday was this week. Sounds like it was a good one
Write me!
love, mb

Hey Family
How is everyone? I hope everyone is happy! :)
  Happy Birthday Dad!  I hope it was great!  It sounds like you got spoiled a little.  I bet the missionaries enjoyed decorating.  And that´s great that Doug and Dani came over to cook.  Cool!   Oh man, I´m a little jealous that you all get to be together a lot.  And Kevin and Paul and Kyle are together a lot too I imagine.  Not that I´m trunky or anything...
   Well, we are still working.  Good news... we have one family progressing.  Bad news... the family is in Costa Rica for the moment.  haha. Something I really like to see is how the spirit can guide us.  In 3 Nephi it says that the thing that the nephites wanted more than anything else was the spirit, and I understand why.  The spirit is everything.  It´s happiness, direction, comfort, warning, testimony. 
  Training is kind of fun.  I hope that I´m a good mom and that Hna Martinez isn´t counting the days until we part ways.  She´s really funny.  I really like her.  She´s trying to learn English and is doing really well.  It´s fun.  Yesterday she gave a talk in church and I taught Principles of the Gospel.  The last time I taught it was a disaster but this time I didn´t prepare as much (Elder, who´s giving the class today?  ¿Yo?  Déle pues...) and it went better.  haha.  I really like the class because we feel like family.  No one ever wants to go the class.  they all want to to the big kid class but once they are in there they like it, I think.  The converts and investigators are all pretty with it so they have good questions and good comments.  My district leader is training a North American so that´s fun.  The district is all really new.  
   The Borgoña is great.  I think we need to start exploring a little bit more.   We´re finding new investigators but we don´t have enough families.
   Noel accepted a baptism date.  Enrique is ridiculously happy.  Everybody is doing good.
   We are always looking for new investigators.
   Important information....my credit card got stolen...last week.  Can you cancel my card or whatever? 
Thanks for the letters and the emails.  
Kyle, I hope you are enjoying your classes and being at BYU again.
Doug, I hope you´re getting used to work and that you like it.  I hope the people you work with are nice folks.
Dani, I hope you´re feeling comfortable with life.  Do you and Doug have callings yet? 
Dad, thanks for always writing me.  I love reading your letters.
Mom, thanks for always writing me too.  I really enjoy everything you write.  It´s very newsy.
Kevin, good luck with school love you!
Paul, tell me what´s going on in your life! 
Cheryl, hope you´re feeling good and doing good!  Good luck with everything

Alrighty folkys, hasta luego.
I´m going to quote a group of drunks in Masatepe... Oren por nosotros!   o  Pray for us!
The gospel is true.  God is our loving heavenly father and the gospel blesses families.  I´m glad to know that you all are doing good.  And I pray for you all too!  I love you all!
Love, love, love,
 hna Tew

20 August 2012
hey family,
   How`s it going? 
A few questions...
  how is Paul doing?
   Mom are you feeling better?
   Kyle, did you go to Spain?  and if you went how did it go?  are you excited for school?
   Dad, how is little Philmont planning going?
   Do you like your work Doug?

Hey family,
  how´s it going? 
Dad, thanks for the letter.  I always print off all the letters and read them throughout the week.
Mom, thanks for the letter.  Thanks for all the pictures too.  I really liked the pictures of the garden.  It looks beautiful. The picture of you and the munchkins is really cute!  Scotty and Adam look so white.  And Tanner and Nani look so big.  Tanner especially looks like a big kid now!  cool!
Kevin, I hope you are doing good and enjoying having Kyle and Paul nearby.  I hope you are doing great!
Cheryl, I hope you are feeling good now with your foot and everything.  Thanks for the letters that you´ve sent me. 
Kyle, I hope you are feeling good about school.  I hope you really enjoy the program
Doug thanks for telling Dani to write me.  I hope you are enjoying your work.  I´m sure you will like it more and more as you get used to it.  But I know that you´re doing great!  I love you a lot!  :)
Dani, thanks for writing me.  I love to hear the mission advice.  How has serving a mission helped you in your life as a mom/wife? Thanks for the pictures.  David is adorable.  I loved the picture of Adam.  Maybe someday he´ll save lives in the wild west as a train conductor....?
Pablito, Well, sounds like you´re still alive.  Keep on keeping on!  Today I played ping pong and I was thinking a lot about you! :)  Be good!  I hope you are doing okay healthwise.  I´m always praying for you.  

 Well, we´re still here.  Everything is going good.  This weekend was one miracle after another.  It was great. Sunday morning everyone said no, I can´t go to church today.  But the last person that we visited was getting ready to go.  He had his black shoes shined and everything. And he told us that he would show up and so we got to church early and just chatted with people.  Before he came, one of our other investigators came.  and he hadn´t wanted to talk to us at all for the last 3 days. But he showed up and chatted with us and everything.  He brought a really beautiful vase and gave it to the church.  I was like.... what?! But hey, whatever.  I´m okay with it. 
   Everything´s better when we have faith. and love.  Alrighty folks.  Thanks for the answers to the questions.  I love you all and I love to hear from you.  I´m fine.  Don´t worry about me at all.  

Also, I forgot to write about it last week, but tell Bro. McKown´s wife that I´m thinking about her and that I hope she´s keeping up okay. 

Love, hna tew

13 August 2012 
Hey family,
    how´s it going?
   How is Paul doing?
   Is there anything new in Gillette?
   love, mb
Hey family,
   There are still miracles in Nicaragua.  I really enjoyed everyone´s letters.  It´s very easy to hear everyone´s personality in the letters.  Dad´s sense of humor is still very dry.  I like it. 
  Sounds like everyone had a good time up in Gillette.  I guess there are a few more rocks in the river now thanks to Adam.  haha.

Well, the church attendance is up to 83.  Yay!  A few nifty experiences...
    Saturday night we had nowhere to go and I´m pretty sure that it had been raining so it was really dark and there was no one in the streets.  So we ended up going to visit a member.  We knocked on her door like 4 times and she finally answered.  We shared a message about love :)  and asked for references.  We had asked her for references like 15 times before so my faith was pretty low/nonexistent, but she gave us 11 references!  Yay!  I wanted to give up knocking about the second time but my companion kept on knocking until she answered. 
    Josué and Daisy came to church.  I met them when we first came to la borgoña and I always wanted to teach them, but they lived in the elders area.  They were going to move to our area, but for the moment only Josué is living in our area.  Daisy is being taught by the elders and we´re teaching Josue. But they came to church together yesterday!  cool!  Wednesday we went to teach Josué at his house and we had planned to teach about the atonement and forgiveness.  We had left a passage from Mosiah about how God has given us everything and we have to give to others.  We only left 3 verses for him to read and told him to think about how the passage applies to forgiveness.  He understood really well.  Tuesday before teaching our lesson we asked him about his reading and then we asked if he had a question about something, or if there was something that we hadn´t explained very well.  And he said, I would like to learn about the atonement, I don´t really understand it.  And I was like... WOW!  that´s exactly what we had planned to teach: What is the atonement.   
     Training... is fun but it´s pretty hard.  I feel like I have to do everything.  And I need to rely more on the Lord.  I feel the Spirit a lot more now.  I feel a lot more guided by the spirit.  I really do feel where we should go and what we should do.  It´s cool.  There´s always a lot more to do, but it´s nice/good to recognize that we´ve come along. 
   We also taught someone that was really interested in our message.  He asked a ton of questions.  when we talked about the bom he said, you know what, I would have liked to have had a copy of that book.  And we talked about the church, I would like to be able to go.  And when we were going to end.  I would have liked for you to come back and talk a little bit more.   well, hermano, it´s a sacrifice, but we´re going to let to read the bom, go to church, and we can even come back and teach.  He was studying to be a pastor. 
   Um... I miss you all.  I am going to receive my trunky papers in a few weeks.   
Love, hna tew

6 August 2012
Howdy folks.
Happy Birthday Dani!   I hope you have a good day today!  I love you!
Thanks for the letters everyone.  I liked your letters dad.
Thanks to Doug and Mom too. 
I needed a pick me up today.
Did you all get my pictures that I sent?
Love, mb

Hey family,
   So, like I wrote before Enrique got baptized.  It was a really great service.  There is a baptismal font in La Borgoña but it´s not very pretty and he wanted to get baptized in the chapel in San Juan.  So we went to Managua.  He got there an hour late, so we combined with another baptismal service.  All five Cardenal children participated.  Tami gave the opening prayer and it was so sweet.  I was at the back and couldn´t hear all of it but her prayers are always awesome and she prayed for her mom and her dad. bendice a mi mamá y a mi papá.  And the week before in all the prayers she and all the kids prayed that their dad wouldn´t change his mind about getting baptized. Eduardo, Angel and Erick gave talks.  Eduardo volunteered but the other two had pena and didn´t want to do it at all.  But using my cat like persuasive skills they chose to do it. They all did really great.  I was really proud of all of them.  And Enrique jr. baptized his dad.  I went behind to give them a towel as they were leaving the font and they had such big smiles on.  It was great.  Enrique jr. was trying not to cry.  It was really special.  I really love this family.  They are wonderful.  I hope that they can keep progressing all together.
    Saturday, the day of the baptism, was hna Martinez´s birthday.  Yay!  It was her first baptism!  We brought soda and bread to Enrique´s house and shared with them.  Afterwards we went to the Narvaez´s house to eat cake (and dinner). I´m starting to get a little sick of rice and beans and platanos. I mean.... I looooove eating rice two times a day every day. mmmm...... rice. 
   Thanks for the worldly updates.  I did realize that the olympics were going on but I never hear anything about politics.
    Doug!  I hope that work went well today!  Felicidades! It sounds like you all are really happy there.
    Pablito, how are you doing? Write me my friend.  are you still in your spanish class?  How is it going?
    Kyle, I´m glad that you are okay.  Be careful!  You should be starting at BYU in about 3 weeks, right?
    Kevin, I heard something about your rockets.  Sounds like fun.  Be good and exitos with your schooling!
    Cheryl, I hope your foot heals up okay!  Thanks for the letter in the tube.  I got it last thursday when we had interviews with President Monestel and all the Elders made fun of me and my bazooka, I mean package.  I really liked it.  I´m thinking about taping around the wall of my apartment.... vamos a ver... It was really fun to see.
    Dani, don´t get too crazy up there in the celebrations.  Have a good day! 
    Tanner, Nani, Scotty, Adam, thanks for praying for me.  I love you guys!
    Mom, sometimes people ask me about how I feel in Nicaragua and what it´s like to be away from my family.  And especially when they know that I´m the youngest and the only girl they ask me and how does your mom feel?  And I tell them that you all are happy and are blessed that I am here.  Sometimes I think that you probably miss me the most from anyone.  You write me all the time and I´m really grateful for all your letters.  I love you a lot.   I like it when you write me three times a week.  :)
    Dad, it sounds like you are doing great things in the stake.  I really like the idea of spending the whole day in an area. That´s great because you get to visit people.  Thanks for writing me three times this week.  I really like to hear your letters.  
  Alrighty folks. Take care.  Keep praying for me.  So I can help people and be better! 
Love, love, love Marybeth