With Hermana Nunton

So this week: 1.) It was really exciting, but 2.), it´s been really hard.

The biggest news is that I have an hijita! Hermana Nunton. She is from Chiclayo, Pero. And she is 23 years old. She is very sweet. She is great. But it´s been hard. Hermana Lopez was amazing and I miss her. Hermana Nunton is great, but I’m a talker and she´s not.

A lot of the days I spend walking and thinking in my head or talking to myself because she doesn´t talk. She is probably just nervous and who knows what, but it´s been hard. I know I need to be strong and that it is all for a reason but I’m not sure of how I feel right now about being together for the next 3 months... haha, we will see how it goes.

On Sunday something really special happened, for me at least, our investigator, Enrique, told me that his wife, Maria Ester, never accepted the missionaries before I got here. She told him that she doesn´t know why but she just feels like she could trust me and Hermana Lopez. She says she has felt the spirit and that she now accepts us. And is reading the Book of Mormon and praying now. Honestly, everyone says that we are where we are at the right time to be able to help someone in particular, and I am here in Tacuari for her. 

This past week we helped out with the new missionaries and we slept in a hotel! I missed that, haha. 

Today for P-day we went to Encarnacion, Paraguay! Hermana Nunton had to buy clothes and change money. I love Paraguay. It reminds me of Mexico! 

All is well, things are good and for the most part tranquilo. Thanks for everything! 

Hermana Newell

Traslados! I'm training!

Traslados!!! So, I’m nervous! Today we had transfers, and Hermana Lopez is going to Encarnacion in Paraguay. It´s been a rough day. We´ve become so close in such short time. God needs her there, though. And I am staying here in Tacuari, still as a sister training leader, and I’m TRAINING [a brand new missionary]! I don´t feel ready nor smart enough to be training this early on... but Heavenly Father knows what he is doing. Her name is Hermana Nunion. She is Latina but that is all I know. I will meet her tomorrow night as Hermana López and I will be going to help with the new missionaries. We come back to the area on Thursday. Pray for me, please! 

This past week: Well, first off the not so spiritual... I got asked out on a date by an investigator... haha. Remember Marcelo? The chico that came to the open house. Well, during the week he was sending messages, which was kind of suspicious. But we weren´t sure so on Wednesday we had a lesson and it was fine. He was asking questions about the gospel, and then he said, ¨Well I’m just going to be forward with you. Are you allowed to have a boyfriend in the mission?” We talked about that I couldn´t. He then started to ask that maybe after the mission he could come to the States and we could date and see where things went. AWWWKWARD! And remember the chocolate from last week? Well Hermana Lopez shared a scripture about how through small and simple things great things come to pass, and Marcelo was like, ¨So with things like chocolates, other things can come to pass?¨ 

Yeah, let’s just say that that will be the last lesson with Marcelo! hahaha

But this past week we found so many new investigators. We found 13, which for this mission is a lot! And some of them are really good, too! And they are super excited about the church. Ramon and Alva are very interested in learning about the Mormons and we are excited. Adrian, Gabriela and Jose belong to a family where the mom was a member but they didn´t want anything to do with the church. But the mom died a couple years ago and now they are super open and want to learn. We have started with the Plan of Salvation and it has been so good!

And then we found Jose and his daughter, Yosslin; she is 9. They have been looking for a church and have gone to many but aren´t satisfied. We started to teach them about the Restoration and they are super excited! 

For Halloween, Hermana Lopez and I carved pumpkins, decorated and made pumpkin pancakes! It was honestly super fun and made it seem a lot like Halloween.  

       Carving Pumpkins for Halloween. We had to do it! 

It was Hermana Lopez´s first time. It was so much fun.

The clothes had to be Halloweenish as well. This is the best that I could do.

My lovely Hermana Lopez

At church we usually have around 55-65 members but yesterday we had 78! Including a ton of less actives! Life is exciting! 

I have been studying a lot about the spirit world, the resurrection, and the judgement and have been having really spiritual moments and learning a ton. 

Uhm, I think that that is it. I love you all. Pray for me this week please! 

Hermana Newell

Open House at the Church

This week we had a Capilla Abierta el Sabado [Open House at the Church on Saturday]. A lot of members came. They were all the converts; I swear the long timers don´t do anything, haha. We all went out and contacted. We gave away tons of folletos [pamphlets] and talked with a ton of people. It was so fun to see all of the members contacting and their animo [enthusiasm]. It was a ton of fun.

These are the members that helped out at the Open House.

No one really actually came through the church that whole time, only a few youth to see the football field. But God works in his ways because after all our efforts when we were about to end and go home Marcelo came. He is like 27 years old and was SUPER interested in the gospel. We gave him a tour and talked with him. He met the elders a while ago and is super excited for Hermana Lopez and me to start teaching him!  He is like one of those golden investigators!!!(:

He wants to take English lessons so we are going to start to do them twice a week. My English is awful and my spelling is even worse. The univesrity afterwards is gonna be rough! haha

At the end of the tour Marcelo gave me a chocolate, ¨For the teacher,¨ me dijo. Now all the members joke about it and tease me all the time about my chocolate, haha. We hope that Marcelo wants the lessons for the right reason! But it was super spiritual to see how God works at the very end of things after we have given our best! 

I have been reading Jesus the Christ. Can I just say that every morning I am in awe of how much I learn and the spirit that I feel! And honestly I am learning some pretty awesome things! Did you know that God lived on an earth and went through all these same things we are going through before he became God? Like whoa, like I think I had heard that before but it never struck home.

We are dejando [dropping] a lot of our investigadores but are finding new ones, so the work continues. There has been more stress from being a leader now and in charge of hermanas that aren´t doing so great together but I am trying to help them and trust God. I had a Noche de Hogar with the sisters that I am in charge of this past week and it was amazing. The spirit was so strong. 

Some weeks I feel like my testimony is stuck and not going anywhere but then you just have to continue because weeks like this happen and you gain so much more to your testimony! Life is amazing! It is soooo weird to think that I have almost been out 6 months! Hermana Lopez and I are going to carve Zapallo for Halloween. You can look it up in google. I’m super excited! 

Today eating with the Caseras family. They are like my family here in Tacuari.

Answer to your bug question; the bugs here aren´t bad at all!! But it has been winter, so we will see how summer goes. There are some cockroaches, and ants but other than that it´s been really nice! The mangos here are coming on!! We have the yellow ones and Brazilian ones! In a couple months they will be ready!

I love you all. Stay happy and follow Jesus. (: 

Hermana Newell

Zapallo: A large winter squash that resembles a pumpkin.