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