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.