pancit & lumpia

Ggooooddddd mmmooorrrrnnnnnniiiiinnngggggg!!

Hope y'all had a great day so far, and that you're awake. I know I could use more sleep, but we all know as a missionary....hah that's something that you don't get while on your mission. But it's all good.

This week was killer!! We had some pretty interesting events happen.

Sooo, in short, sister Agnir was sick, and had this really bad pain in her chest. Me and sister Miller thought it was because of her asthma, and she was shaking to. But our ward mission leader is a doctor, so that night he came and did a checkup. Me and sister Miller got a chance to go and try some less actives and also recent converts.

We met with a less active, and she's awesome, and really into crafts and doing little crafts. She also makes handmade invitations to weddings and birthdays. She's making these little paper houses, super cute.

The square in Franklin had a tree lighting thing, and a bunch of people all packed tight like sardines  in one place. It was good, we saw a few faces that we know. Heh

Sunday was good, it was also sister miller's last Sunday as a missionary. She's going on Thursday. It was good. I've been asking her questions on what to expect when I go home. Just so I can prepare myself for saying goodbyes.

Sso, we ate dinner at a our ward mission leaders home the other day, and we ate some traditional Philippine food....on banana leafs. Hehe it's call pancit (noodle stuff) lumpia (egg roll things) it was super good, and we had to eat with our fingers. hehe it was really Good, and it was super fun to eat.

We had lunch with an old friend, Allison from Springhill, she took us to lunch and one last goodbye to sister Miller. We also had district meeting, and interviews with President Stone. Fun fun fun!!!

OK, so we had this real good lesson with one of the members friends from school. Jo went tracting with us a couple of days ago, and we ran into his friend. Anyways long story short, his lesson was yesterday, and at first, he was not there... And jo was really excited, he even fasted for this lesson. It made me think, am I taking lessons too light hearted? Here's this teenager, planning on going on a mission, and first lesson with his friend, so excited, and he fasted. I didn't fast, I didn't see it as that big of a deal to fast, it was just another lesson. That day, jo taught me a vary important lesson, ever single person, no matter who, is worth Fasting for, is worth that extra attention, and love. And not a missionary on auto pilot.

This week went by fast, to the closing of it, sister Miller had the chance to go around to some ward members and say goodbye. Vary emotional day yesterday. But good.

Well y'all, that's it for today, thanks for tuning in!!

Love y'all
Sister Newmeyer 🌵

6/11/2015 - Home

Welcome Home Hermana Newmeyer

Emma, Hermana (Rebecca) Newmeyer, Rachel, Elizabeth, Anna (Cell)

Emma, Hermana, Mom, Rachel, Elizabeth

Emma, Hermana, Mom, Dad, Rachel

The Fam Selfie

Last Photo before the Release

Family with Pres' Jones & Lewis

6/9/2015 - Culiacan Letter & Pics

The Last Letter

Hey Everybody,

  So this week has gone by all to fast and filled with emotions from one end to the other, i have been filled with so much love for the people here and just saying goodbye broke my heart. I didn't want to leave them, this is one of the hardest experiences in life leaving people you love, people you have served and possibly people you will never see again.  I know it is hard to leave the people, the companions, the Elders and the mission, but the memories and experiences will always be with me and i know that one day we will all be together again. 

   I know that this church is true, there is no other truth than to know that we are sons and daughters of Heavenly Father and that he will always, always, be there for us and show his love, I have been so blessed through out my whole mission, in know that this gospel is true and if we LIVE it, LOVE it and ENDURE to the end, we WILL be HAPPY. For this day i am truly happy, for this moment i am filled with joy, for this time i am grateful, for this opportunidad i am blessed, for the next day and forever i know that there is happiness.  Thank you for all that have written me i am truly grateful, you have been boulders for me in my mission, someone that i could lean on and trust and accept your counsel, thank you. I love you all and hope to see you soon, well i come home tomorrow so real soon. Thank you. 

Love with all my heart,

Hermana Newmeyer

Felicidades Newmeyer

Hermana Newmeyer with Presidente and Sister Velez

Missionaries returning home

Missionaries in Hermana Newmeyer's District

Farewell Poster

Farewell Party

6/8/2015 - Culiacan Letter

Only one letter from Hermana Newmeyer this week, She arrives home Wednesday evening.

Everything is going by too fast, i can't really explain the sensation that i have right now. Although i believe that my flight will be shorter than 20 hours. more like 3, i wont have time to cry. I love you very much and i am thrilled, excited and eager to see each and everyone of you soon. Hopefully i will be able to write a bit more later, for right now everything is just amazing. We are eating with the president tomorrow and then Wednesday I come home. i love you, i see you soon.

6/1/2015 - Culiacan Letter & Pics

If you had one more week.........

Hey Everybody,

    Oh this week was amazing, we walked a whole bunch and we were able to contact a whole bunch and our district helped us and we were able to receive a good amount of referencias from them. I am so thrilled we have some new investigators and one really is a surprise for us, we passed by her and she literally said i only have 10 minutes and so we sat down and talked with her for ten minutes and we asked her if she would be baptized if she knew that it was true, and she said yes! so that was the first lesson, the second lesson she said that she wanted to go to church and know more, so we are pretty excited to teach her. 

    I love the mission work, there really is no greater satisfaction then to preach the gospel and tell people that Heavenly Father exists and He loves us. It is so beautiful! I am truly grateful that i have been able to work the whole time of my mission, the Lord has blessed me with health and with good companions that i could grow personally and that we could help our investigators grow as well, I am happy, content, and ready to continue to work, If I only had one more week....... I would work, love every minute of it and help others understand more of Jesus Christ. I love you all thank you for your letters and encouragement, thank you. 

Love you all,

Hermana Newmeyer

Relaxing in the Hammock's

District Luncheon

torta ahogado! (sooooooo goooooood)

5/25/2015 - Culiacan Letter & Pics

Hey Everybody,

  This week was great, we walked a lot and i do believe that we are out of shape. I was huffing and puffing when we walked up one hill to visit with our investigators its was wonderful. Anyway, we had a baptism in our ward this Sunday in the area of the elders, it was beautiful, the young man decided Saturday evening to be baptized and they put together the whole baptism so that he could be baptized the morning of Sunday and then confirmed a couple of hours later, it was an amazing experience. 

    We have also contacted quite a few people that are interested to hear more about the gospel. We also lost quite a few people and they are just not ready to accept the gospel but the missionaries that are coming will have about 5 families ready to be baptized. Anyway, So many things to do, so little time, and definitely don't know what else to write. I know that God loves us and that he wants the best for his children, whether its waiting for another 5 years to be baptized or in the moment like Paul with the Eunich in the very hour that he explained the scripture they went down in the water and was baptized. 

   I love that with all of the knowledge in the world today with degrees and masters saying how much we understand the gospel or the life of Christ, no one can help you understand the meaning of pure testimony than the Holy Ghost and experience. The sweet assurance and just knowing that its true burns within us and helps us to understand just a little bit more. I am happy to say that I know it to be true, I love you all have a good week!

Love,

Hermana Newmeyer

Log Man

Street Fire

Sunset

Playing Pool with the District

Hermana Lopez & Newmeyer

The District

5/18/2015 - Culiacan Letter & Pics

Scorpion again, Ward Choir, Bolichi!

Hey Everybody,

 This week was great, so every time we have a new companion in our house we always find a scorpion, this time it was a lot smaller but still scary, my companion took a boot to it and was attacking it very vigorously, if you could imagine that. Anyway, the last one was way bigger and i found it crawling on my arm, so thank goodness it was on the floor this time.

  Also we were asked to be a part of the ward choir and the choir director had her daughter in law make us skirts and flower corsages it was great! everyone was all matchy! and the men brought their suit coats and black ties. it was great, We had fun. Also this week we were able to find a lot of people and ask them to be baptized they all said yes so now we are just teaching them and little by little we start to see the progress and the light of Christ enter their lives, its so beautiful!

  I know that this gospel is true, its so beautiful and there is no doubt in my soul that i know it to be true, ask me to read any line from the Book of Mormon and i will ask you if its from God or from the devil, and only through the holy ghost will we know if it's true. I know it's true and like the 8 witnesses in the Book of Mormon the very last line of their testimony says "we do not lie, for God is our witness".  I know it is true.

Always Happy,
Hermana Newmeyer

Scorpion

Missionaries

Sunset

Missionaries in the Ward Choir

Ward Choir

Hermana Newmeyer with members of ward

Hermana Newmeyer & Lopez

5/11/2015 - Culiacan Letter

Museo de Ciencias

Hey everybody,

  This week was good and sad. We lost another investigator this week, she texted us a message saying she couldn't listen to us anymore.  So she won't be getting baptized next week, but we are still hoping for others to continue on. We found someone new and it was pretty cool, we passed by her the other day and she was outside smoking and me and my companion had the thought to pass by her and we didn't, but then the next day we passed again and i couldn't ignore the feeling we stopped and began chatting with her she asked if we wanted to step in and share we said yes and the spirit was so beautiful we were teaching her about baptism and what it means to make a covenant and she asked us at the end before we did, if we could come back this next week. We were so happy and just ready, it was a beautiful sweet experience.

  Today we went to the Museum of Science it was great! we had a whole bunch of hands on experiences and i was having so much fun we played with everything. We also ate pizza again and this time i only ate 3 slices, it was too much for me. I love that we had time to go to the museum to have fun as a district it was great.

  Well only a few weeks left, what would you do if you only had a few weeks left, work hard, do your best and never give up! (quote from my dad) This has been an amazing experience and we have been able to do all that we can and more, serving our Savior to the end, I am so happy that i have this opportunity. Thank you all for your support and letters i have enjoyed every single one of them. love you all.

Always Happy,

Hermana Newmeyer

5/4/2015 - Culiacan Letter & Pics

Zoo

Hey Everyone,

 This week was great, and today was wonderful ill let the pictures explain all, because i don't have much time.

  The work of the Lord continues and we all have the opportunity to be apart of it, and whether or not if we see the difference in our own lives. I am truly grateful for the experiences and blessings that i have had here in the mission and that i could be apart of the work of the lord. This week we are excited to continue to work and do our best that we may be able to help others come unto Christ!

 I love you all thanks for your letters and support, i know i would not have done it with out you. Thank you.

Always Happy,

Hermana Newmeyer

4/27/2015 - Culiacan Letter & Pics

6 Weeks, Trainer

Hey Everybody,

 So this week was amazing we had a capacitation (training?) that i helped put together about helping the sisters and getting them excited about missionary work. We talked about to Lift, to Excite, to Inspire and to Bless it was a good theme. We also talked about Health and we did some workout exercises afterwards and i was able to do a small presentation of Kenpo, it was a blast everyone was having so much fun! 

  We also had our ultimate junat de distrito and it was super great, we had some great missionaries go and just having fun. My companion went to Mazatlan and I received a new Missionary, i am her trainer and so excited and nervous at the same time, she is amazing full of energy and just thrilled to be here in the mission. We are happy and it has been amazing. I'll write more next week but I love the mission and its so true. 

Love you all,
Hermana Newmeyer

Trainer - New missionary

Fun District Meeting

Hermana Missionary Activity (capacitation)

4/20/2015 - Culiacan Letter

Hey Everybody!

   Oh what joy i found when i opened my email today, so many friends and family have written and i feel so grateful.  I never knew what the effect was for a letter or something for a missionary to read. Its incredible! I feel so grateful and full of love and just ready to conquer the world. It is something that i look forward to every week and the chance to share my experiences that have happened. Thank you for all who are reading I am truly grateful for all. 
   
   This week was good, not as great as some of the other weeks that i have had but still good. We worked and looked for people, and we still walk every day i think i will be an expert walker by the time that i come back. Newmeyer walks will be nothing compared to this. So we went to a baptism this week that was for the other ward in our building and it was so beautiful you could feel the love of the ward for this family that is going to get baptized, the whole ward practically showed up and some from our ward as well! It was beautiful and you could feel the spirit the whole time. I wasn't feeling too well that day, just walked around with a headache and then it later became a migraine, oooh i despise those days, everything seemed liked a blur and i was just dizzy and wanting to throw up. Well, let me just tell you how awesome, how sweet, and caring my companion is. She said we are going home. I laid down and she just looked after me, it was really sweet of her and i cherished the moment even though i was feeling rotten inside and i wanted to die. I was truly grateful for all the times that were hard for us, we have been through a lot and we are both growing and learning still from our challenges and problems.

    I always think of the Disney movie, Peter Pan, when they are trying to fly, Peter says "all it takes is faith and trust, oh and a little bit of pixie dust." That really is all you need in a companionship, faith in one another and trust, and yes pixie dust, whatever you say it is, for me its love. I have learned to love each one of my companions with weaknesses and trials the whole package, its a wonderful experience. I hope that this week all will be well, and that we will all be able to trust and have faith in our Heavenly Father and Love for Him as well.  Thank you again for all the letters, it truly has made my week. I love you all.

Always Happy,

Hermana Newmeyer

4/13/2015 - Culiacan Letter & Pics

Don't Give Up

Hey Everybody,

   Oooooh This week was really hard for me. I know i don't say that much, but really every week is really hard but this week was spiritually and emotionally hard for me. So i do have some time on the mission and i do understand Spanish fairly well to talk with people and say how's it going. But this past transfer i have had almost everyday, someone comment on how my Spanish is not good at all, and they don't understand me. Ouch. I am pretty sure there has come a time in every person's life that they feel that they are doing alright and they understand and they have worked hard and still are working hard, and then someone says, no you are not.  At first you don't believe them or you just don't understand, and you keep walking down the road, again someone calls out ''that's the wrong way!'' this time you notice them and you feel something, then they call out again, ''hey, you don't know where you are going.''  Then you stop in the road only to find yourself alone and not sure where to go.  Why is it so hard to understand, why is it so difficult to just do what we feel is right, or know to be right through diligent scripture study, prayer and going to church.  All i can say is, i don't know. In life there are challenges but we will never go anywhere if we just stop in the road. Doctrine y Covenants 24:8.

   So that was one of the things bothering me, my Spanish, i guess i am glad that i still sound American so when i come home no one will think how funny my accent is. So we have been working with a young man for about a month now, and he has been reading out of the Book of Mormon and he stopped drinking and he was just excelling in his boxing, he was going good. But he still had a problem with knowing for sure what he was to do in life. We had shared with him a lot of finding your personal answers through prayer and he was praying, but he was also talking with his friends, and they were still drinking, and just not doing great things. They told him that church = responsibility, baptism = commitment, and its true, but he looked at it as, ''i don't need anymore commitments or responsibility'' He said he didn't want to get baptized anymore and his family didn't want to listen to us. My heart just broke, i felt awful, did me and my companion do everything for them? did we teach them right? was the spirit there? we later went to another investigator and she had the same answer, she didn't want to get baptized.

  This morning our alarm went off, and it was Josh Groban ''You Raise me Up'' we thought it would be hilarious because we have to get up in the morning so why not have someone sing to us to get up. But i was listening to the words and they are beautiful:

When I am down and, oh, my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

There is no life - no life without its hunger;
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;
But when you come and I am filled with wonder,
Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up to more than I can be.

You raise me up to more than I can be.

  If we trust in our Heavenly Father he will be there for us, we just need to believe in him and keep going on. Never doubting, never losing sight of who we can become. It is hard but we will be able to do it. I love you all, thanks for believing in Him.

Always Happy,

Hermana Newmeyer

Cevichurros

Chimichangas

Fish

Swimming?