Dear Family, 

This past week was very busy with end of transfers and with the end of the month. I cannot believe that another transfer has come and gone so quickly. It honestly seems about 2 weeks ago that I was picking up Elder Stratford. We are doing very well up here in Arica and are excited for the potential that this next transfer holds. I will stay here with Elder Statford as District Leader for this next transfer. I believe this will be my last transfer here in Arica

This week I had to do so many interviews. As a zone we had 16 baptisms this last week and I did 9 of the interviews. It took a lot of time and traveling all over Arica but we were able to get all of them done. It was a big sacrifice as we were not able to work as much in our sector but i know that the Lord will bless us for our sacrifice. 

Elder Stratford is doing a lot better. His leg is pretty much back to normal. There is a tiny mark left on his leg, but the rest looks really good. He told me that he has felt that the blisters are coming back a little bit so we are taking extra precaution to clean and watch his feet. Ha-ha  I guess I will need to be like the savior and serve my companion and wash his stinky feet. Elder Stratford is of good spirits and is doing a lot better. 

Zone Conference this last week was wonderful. It is such a blessing to be in the presence of President and Sister Bruce. Truly they are called of God and have done such a great work here in Chile. It makes me sad that they will leave us July 1st as I love them so very much. President announced that our new mission president will be President Craig L Dalton. Apparently he has been serving in the Area Presidency in Argentina. I will be very sad to say goodbye to the Bruce´s, However on the bright side, I will be able to get to know another great man called of God. I know the Lord has a plan for all things. 

Adela and her daughter Tirsa are doing very well. This past week we put fechas with them for the 9th of March. They accepted the fechas and we are working with them so that we can secure them more and help them progress towards baptism. Adelas two other kids of 20 years old and 16 years old get home this week. The 20 year old son Nahum told his mom that he really liked that we come to the house and wants to share more when he gets back. It is nice that the Familia Iriarte lives right next to them so they can also be really supportive to this family. But the problem is that on Sunday, Adela told us that she was going to go to the evangelical church to take out her name and tell them that they wont be coming back, She wasn't able to come to church yesterday which was a real bummer. Satan is going to try and do anything he can to keep Adela and her daughter from progressing this week but we are just going to work twice as hard with them so we can get the spirit into their lives so that they can keep progressing. We need all your prayers and help for Adela and her daughter and two other kids. 

We received a wonderful blessing from the Lord the other day. So that reference that I talked about last Sunday, we went to go pass by on Thursday and I ended up finding the Mom and the son together. They are going to Iquique for a week but will be here next week. The boy is 9 years old and wants to get baptized, and the mom is less active and wants to reactivate. We were talking with them and everything is going to work out very well. He was going to get baptized last summer with other missionaries but the missionaries left and lost contact and then the kid left for a little bit. But he has now returned and is ready to be baptized. We talked with him about the 9th of March and we will talk more with Him when he gets back next week. 

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and letters and everything. This month as a zone, we broke the record of baptisms in a month in Arica. We baptized 26 people this month of February. We are all extremely happy and are working hard. Elder Martin our Zone Leader left Saturday night. He lives in Cedar Hills and went to Lone Peak. Maybe you can find where his church is and go see Him. His name is Michael Martin. Elder Sunderland left about 40 minutes ago to Copiapo. We will be getting another Latino in the pension. His name is Elder Bernal  his trainer was actually Elder Smith too. He is from Colombia. 

I am glad to hear that you are all doing so well. I love you all so very much. As I continue as a missionary my appreciation for the Atonement of Jesus Christ grows, and I can begin to see the affect that it has had in my life more and more as I grow on my mission. As we rely on Him throughout our lives, He will make us strong in the face of adversity. I have come to learn patience and reliance upon the Lord continually trusting in Him. I love you all. Have a great week. 

Elder Newman