Familia, 

Pretty busy week for you guys huh? First week of school, aniversary, firesides, dances, games, sound like Alyssa had a great time with her first week of school. I am glad that you are all doing well.  Happy Anniversary! I thought about you during the week. And Happy Birthday Nate!! 25!! 

Wow what another great week. The weeks just seem like the blink of an eye. They go so very fast. This week was so busy, but it was great. Through the week we  were super busy with preparing all of our investigators for baptism and getting them ready for this weekend with planning the services and everything. 

So Elder McCusker and I teach an English Class. And it has been going pretty well. Lately we have had around 15 people come so it is starting to become really popular. Also one of the members from the ward brought her niece to the English class and we started to talk to her and become friends and then the Sister missionaries from our ward started to teach her and she was baptized this last weekend. She had a complete change and yesterday it was cool I saw her hug one of the sister missionaries and tell her that she wanted to be just like them.

Also one of the referrals that we have been working with is coming to the english class with her son this Wednesday so we have seen some great fruits from our class. We have a good time we teach the class and then at the end we will do some time of game with all of those who come. They come and laugh and have a good time. 

Thursday we got up at 4 am and got ready to go to Antofagasta. Our bus left at 6 am sharp and we told everyone to be at the bus terminal at 5:30. We told the sister missionaries that they could be there at 5:45 thinking its the hermanas and they will get there on time. So we get to the terminal and everyone is there except for a sister companionship. So they ended up missing the bus, and Elder McCusker and I traded our tickets with some people who had a later bus ticket and then we went and bought 2 more tickets. Luckily we still made it to Antofagasta on time. 

However we take a micro (bus) and I know Antofagasta pretty well but I wanted to make sure which bus we should take from the terminal to get to the chapel where the meeting was. So I make sure with this worker at the terminal, and we get on the bus with 20 missionaries on that bus. It was packed with all the other people ha ha. Anyway the bus ends up taking us to a wrong part of town and Elder McCusker and I have to get to a meeting with all of the zone leaders and Elder Viñas at 11:10 am and it was about 10:40. So then we had to book it all the way to the chapel.

We were walking and it was so humid and warm that morning and by the time we got there it was like 10:58 and I was just soaking in sweat and my legs were burning because the muscle where the shins are were so tired. My feet started flopping like a duck as we speed walked because the muscle in my shins was on fire. Haha Elder McCusker asked me if I was alright I responded ya fine bro. Anyway we got there and I was just all sweaty and soaked and we hurried and went to the bathroom washed off my face from the sweat and tried to dry my face off with a paper towel. Hahaha it was super funnny. Elder McCusker didnt even really sweat that much. Then about 2 min later Elder Viñas got there with President Dalton and their wives. It all worked out in the end and it was awesome.

In the meeting with the zone leaders he just let us ask questions and he talked to us a lot about when the people understand the doctrine they will change, our investigators, and our missionaries too. It was great. 

The conference was awesome. We talked about many things. We talked a lot about the atonement and real conversion. I learned so many things and i was amazed by the ability of Elder Viñas to quote the scriptures and use them. Almost everything we talked about he supported it with quoted scriptures the whole time but it was super powerful. 

Friday was super busy. Elder McCusker got to the church at 11 am and we didn't leave until 9:00. It was crazy. But we were there preparing everything for the baptismal service for José and Javier, the sons of sister Alina Muñoz. Elder McCusker and I prepared a musical number. We sang "Brillan Rayos del Clemencia" (Brightly Beams our Father´s Mercy). It was great. Our piano in the chapel can record, so I played it on the piano, and recorded it. And then for the baptismal service we just pressed the play button and then we sang along. It went really well.

The baptism was awesome. Elder McCusker and I baptized them and it went super well. It was great to feel a portion of the Spirit and that joy that comes with it. Their dad who is wasn't real receptive about the whole idea was very happy after the baptism.  He is our next project. We hope that the spirit will continue to soften his heart and with time change. That family has changed so much. Sister Alina thanked us so much for everything, tears of joy came to mine and Elder McCusker´s eyes as we listened to her. 

Saturday we also were preparing for the other baptisms. The baptismal service was at 7 pm. It was super busy and crazy but Everything worked out. Enrique was baptized by the bishop. It was so awesome. And Kattya and Karla were baptized by a preist in the ward. It was so great. 3 other people were baptized in the ward by the other 2 companionship's in the ward. It was so awesome. Such a great service. I love everyone of our converts and the people that we have worked with so much. The Lord has been blessing us so much in our ward. We have seen many great miracles as we have been working with our bishop and great things are happening down here in Calama. As we strive to help the people in a way that they can become converted through the spirit we see miracles. 

Anyway we are doing super well here. I have never been so happy. I am sad that Elder McCuker and I only have 2 more weeks together. I am loving being a missionary and serving among my fellow brother and sisters here in Chile. We have become dedicated to this work and there is nothing that makes me so happy. I know the savior lives. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and plays a key part in our own conversion and stability in these last days. I hope you have a great week. I love each and every one of you. 

Elder Newman

Family, 

Funny to see all those pics from your Duck Dynasty party. Looks like this show is the real deal. Haha from the picture those donuts looked really goood.. mmmmm donuts. Did Alyssa start school today?? First day of Senior Year!! Elder McCusker reminded me the other day that was 3 years ago for us! Holy smokes how the time flies. Jason and Dad- You were supposed to kill Bambi´s dad what happened? Did ya choke and miss him? Come on Smalls your killin me!! Alyssa-Good luck with your dance this Friday at the game! Hope that ya have a cool time. Sounds like your summer finished up and now you will all be busy with school and what not. 

Another great week with my buddy Elder McCusker. Monday we taught Enrique and the talk that the hermano Rojas had given about the restoration last Sunday really had an impact on Enrique and he received his answer and is continuing to prepare for baptism. Oh man i was so happy to hear that and was so grateful to the Lord for that miracle. The Saturday before that hermano gave that talk Bishop asked who should give the talk in that sacrament meeting and Hermano Rojas was the first person that jumped to my mind and the bishop asked Hno Rojas? It was inspired and it worked out perfectly and Enrique will hopefully be baptized this Saturday. He is very integrated in the ward and he is someone super special. I could easily see him being a future leader in the church. 

Elder McCusker and I went to Tocopilla on Thursday afternoon because we needed to to a baptismal interview. Tocopilla is 2.5 hours away from Calama and its this little sleepy beach town. It is an awesome place. The weather was perfect there. It felt so good to go there and to feel the ocean breeze in my face. I went and did the baptismal interview and then worked on a exchanges with one of the companionship and then Elder McCusker went with the other companionship. It was a great time to go to Tocopilla. It was the very first time that I had been there. We got back on Friday night late and then Saturday we were able to work in our sector. 

Saturday we met with Alina and it was a cool experience. She talked to us about a lot of things, mainly about most of the hardships and difficult things she has had to pass through came from her not living the gospel and being active in the church and her own sins. But she also expressed her gratitude for us and the help that we have given her and her family. It was amazing to see how thankful and grateful she was for the Lord sending us to her house.

It was one of those eye opening moments in life that we have. Sometimes we really can't comprehend or see the miracles that happen and the wonderful things that come to people as they find the gospel and it later changes them forever. She is recommitted to the gospel and is so happy that she will be able to raise her other 3 kids in the church and she is excited to have the priesthood in her home.

As i reflected about some of the things I was so grateful for parents who stuck to the gospel and had lived it through their lives. I really pondered about how many of the difficult things that we go through we bring upon ourselves as of consequence of our decisions. How important is obedience and living the gospel daily in our lives. 

We are hoping to have 6 baptisms this Saturday. Alina´s sons Juan, Javier and José are getting baptized, Enrique and then these 2 other girls of a a family that is reactivating. We need some miracles for Enrique and the 2 girls (Katina, and Karla) but we have the faith that everything will work out. 

Thursday we have a zone conference with Elder Viñas from the Seventy and then another Area Seventy. We are super pumped. There is a meeting for an hour with the zone leaders and the sister trainer leaders of the mission, and then after that we have conference for like 4 hours and then in the end we are going to be able to take pictures with them. I am really excited to see them and to hear what they will have to say to us. 

The transfer is already half way over. I really cant believe it. It has gone by so fast. I am really working so hard and striving everyday to help these people receive the restored gospel. We have really seen miracles, and the Lord has been guiding me by the hand and helping me learn every single day and it is the most worthwhile time of my life. I love being a missionary. I love serving the Lord.

We taught a less active couple and the husband was saying that church is only a part of what he has to do, he has work, and he has other things, but church is only a portion. That is somewhat true but I thought to myself, hermano you may have forgotten the law of consecration and the joy that comes when we dedicate ourselves to the things that matter most. Everything that we do here on earth is to enjoy life, learn and build the kingdom of God. I hope to be able to serve the Lord all of my life and never lose that vision.

I am grateful for you all and your support and prayers. I love you all so much. I am grateful for the examples that each one of you are to me. I know our Savior lives and is fully aware of each of us and our struggles and situations. He knows how to help us because of the Atonement and if we search his help he will always be there to help us arise. Have a great week!

Elder Newman

Family,

How are you ?  Well I Teared up a bit when dad wrote me the
news about Max. Just get rid of the remains like leash, kennel etc.or  I'll
be a mess when I get home. I was sad to hear that, but I knew that it
was coming at some point. I loved that dog. He taught me a lot. But
the wonderful memories we have stored are still there.

Sounds like you were all pretty busy. Crazy to hear that your summer
is winding down and its starting to get cooler in the nights up at the
cabin etc. We are just in the opposite we are entering into spring and
it has been nice. Still cold sometimes in the morning, but we have a
basketball court like a 3 min jog from the apartment and so sometimes
if its not too nippy outside we go and shoot a few hoops. Elder
McCusker has helped me a lot with my shot so I can whoop dad, Jason,
and Krista when I get home. Ha ha we have a good time together. Not
sure if you´ve noticed that.. Hope that Dad and Jason get lucky hunting
this weekend so you can eat some elk sandwiches mmm... tasty. I
imagine Alyssa has been super busy with drill and stuff. Is she going
to dance at the scrimmage or just the first game?

Well the week was a blink of an eye. Serious don't know where it went.
We had a great week as a zone. Tuesday we had a zone training meeting
where Elder McCusker and I teach the zone all of the things that we
learned in the conference. There was tons of material to cover so it
lasted about 3 hours. We had breaks and everything to keep the
missionaries attention. But they all received it very well and are
implementing everything that we have covered and taught them.

During the week we struggled to find new people to teach. One night as
we were planning, I looked at my planner for suggestions to find
people and I looked down and it talked about using family history as a
resource to find people to teach. I felt a strange desire to read more
about it in Preach My Gospel and see and think of ways to apply it in
our area. There was a video that we watched in the MtC about using it
but I never thought in a million years that I would use it  being
down here in Chile. However we learned about it and studied up on it
and made a few phone calls and got in contact with the stake family
history consultant, the guy who is in charge of the center. The family
history center is in our building which is the stake and there are
about 5 computers there and some tools for indexing etc. Yesterday we
met with the consultant and we got a plan for some of the things that
we could do so that our ward gets pumped in this. The bishop is 100
percent on board because it will help people prepare for their temple
trip as a stake next year. So we will see how this works. We are doing
it in our sector because it is quite rich and we believe that with
time and a lot of effort we will see miracles and great results.

Our amigo Enrique is doing quite well. We are really trying to help
him understand the restoration and accept the book of Mormon. We have
shown him scriptures from the bible to try and help him but we have
told him that the only way that he will receive this conviction that
he wants is if he reads the book, kneels down and humbly asks our
heavenly father if the book is true. I gave him one of my short
sleeved shirts, and a tie. We found him some shoes in the apartment to
give him and he came to church all dressed up he looked awesome. He is
a lot like my convert from Antofagasta Mariluz. But they are very
committed and dedicated.

The elder that was struggling has improved so very much. He is doing
great and is going to stick it out. We are so very happy that we could
help him and that he is doing better every day.

We had another great day in church yesterday. We brought Enrique,
Juan, Javier, and then a new investigator named Sebastian. We are
still working with the other girls too and their mom. They came to a
mutual activity this last week and integrated so well with the kids
from the ward. We are still preparing all of them for baptism. We had
31 investigators in church yesterday as a zone. It was awesome. We are
so happy with all of our missionaries and we are being so very
blessed.

Ha ha so down here in Chile they find about any reason to celebrate a
holiday. They get out of school for Columbus day and stuff like that.
So yesterday was "Children´s Day". Ha ha yep like mothers and
fathers´day. So after church they had all of these treats and food to
give out to the kids. We had some members give us a candy bar I
thought it was so interesting. A member family that we have been
working with gave us some chips and Tostitos Spinach Dip. Wow it was
so tasty. It was the most flavorful thing that I have eaten in a long
time. It was like an explosion in my mouth!!!!!! Ha ha the food isn't too
flavorful here. Kinda bland.

Next week Elder Viñas from the seventy and the South American
presidency is coming to our mission. We will have a conference with
him next Thursday. That will be really cool I am excited for that.
Yesterday President Dalton was in Calama and while they were here they
dropped off the pouch mail to us. There was a scale and a picture from
Elder Smith (my trainer) haha it was really funny. Elder McCusker was
pumped because we are now going to be able to measure my weight progress
each day it was funny.

Anyways we are doing fantastic here down in the beautiful desert. I
hope that you are all doing well it was great to hear from each of
you. I love you all so much and am so grateful for the support and
prayers that you give in my behalf. I love this work and I know that
it is true. Have a great week.

Elder Newman

Family,

This week was so very great. Monday we were picking up
missionaries that were arriving from other places in the mission.

Tuesday was such a crazy day. We found a great new investigator. A
brother of a sister who wants to come to church and be baptized. His
sister is a member but inactive, but she also wants to reactivate and
become active. We were really excited.

Then as we finished the night on Tuesday we were walking to the apartment. As we were walking we hear someone yelling from far away and then we realize that he is saying Mormones!! Mormones!! Elder McCusker and I weren´t really sure what we should do, because we thought it was possibly a drunk man coming at us because in the streets the drunk people always yell at us and say Elders como estan?

But we waited for him and then he came to us and it was a black guy and he was winded from running over to us. Ha-ha he apologized for the way he came to us, but he started to say that he was from Columbia and that he and his family were receiving the missionaries there, His name is Enrique. He then starts to tell me yeah do you guys know the other elders there in Colombia? Elder Lopez and Elder Mussleman. Elder Mussleman was playing through my head. I remembered that Billy Mussleman (the one I played football with at Lone Peak) is in Colombia serving a mission!

Elder Mussleman was teaching Enrique in Colombia! It was so cool!! So
now we are teaching Enrique and preparing him for baptism. He accepted a baptismal date for the end of this month. He came here to look for work, and the missionaries in Colombia told him to find us when he got to Chile. What a small world eh? Enrique is awesome, has a sincere desire to serve God and follow him. We taught him a few times the week, brought him to a baptismal service and then church.

Elder Galvez is from Mexico and is training a new missionary. They
live with us in the same apartment. I got up on Wednesday morning and
then met the new elder and started to talk to him for a bit. He is
from Heber, Utah. I could tell that he was in a little bit of culture
shock. I had impressions that whole morning that I was going to need
to help this elder. So I asked him if he was hungry and made him some
breakfast. He was really quiet throughout the entire day. That night
when we got to the pension I asked Elder Galvez how this Elder was
doing. He said that he was not doing very well at all and wanted to
call President Dalton to go home. Elder McCusker and I looked at each
other and we decided that we would need to pull him into our room and
talk with him. The Elder was really struggling and wanted to go home
and he expressed his challenges. Elder McCusker and I shared our
experiences with him and talked to him for about 30 minutes or so. He
decided that he would continue on. Elder McCusker and I were the
perfect people to be able to help this struggling missionary from the
experiences that we have had.

He is doing a lot better now. He looks like he is going to stick it out. What a blessing it was to be able to be in the right place at the right time to be able to help this missionary. It is amazing how the Lord puts people where they
need to be. We are continuing to look for ways to help this missionary
and serve him. He improves every single day.

Thursday we went to Antofagasta for the leadership council. It was a great
meeting and we were all edified and uplifted. President Dalton was
able to teach us many new things and tomorrow we are going to have a
zone meeting and Elder McCusker and I are going to teach the things
that we learned to the zone. It’s called a zone training meeting.

Friday we found a great family! We received a reference from
Antofagasta and then we went to teach the family. The mom is a member,
but she has 3 daughters that aren´t. When they go to Antofagasta they
go to church with their grandparents and they have been loving church.
So they want to come back to church. They are the cutest little girls.
They are Katia(12), Karla (11), and Kiara (6). They came late to
church and they almost didn’t come because the mom said we are late we
maybe just shouldn’t go. But the girls started to get mad at their mom
and they showed up. We were so happy. I will get and send some pics
soon.

Alina and her family are also doing so well. She and her 3 boys came
to church. We were so excited. Also her sister who was inactive also
came to church with her. We taught the restoration to the boys
yesterday after church. It was a great lesson. They are also preparing
for baptism. The ward is doing so well up here. We have seen so many
miracles and blessings. The ward attendance jumped up to 117. When I
got here it was around 80, with all of these efforts of the 6
missionaries and the members we have seen many blessings.

So right now we have 6 investigators that we are preparing towards
baptism. The zone is also doing extremely well. I am so happy. I am
loving being here as a missionary. The Lord has blessed us so much, we
are so very grateful for the wonderful blessings and miracles that we
have seen in the last week. I know that this work is true. I know our
Savior lives. This is the best thing in the world. Declaring and
sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is nothing that brings me
such satisfaction and joy. I love you all. Hope you have a great week.

Elder Newman