Week 6

I should be all set. I can’t wait to go out into the field, even though my Spanish stinks. It will probably be totally different there too. I met a Hermana going to Japan that was from Neuquen, and her Spanish was pretty cool. It has a lot of "ssshh" in it.

Not much happening here, same as usual. They are setting up lights here for Christmas... I’ll get a pic tonight and send it home when I can.

We were able to see [Jose] once more for a short time, but that was it. [Hermana Alexandria] is doing better as far as I know, but I’m not zone leader anymore, so I don’t know what’s going on anymore.

I can’t wait to leave and get out there and serve.

Love you all. Send me news from home.

-Elder Newman (the best Elder Newman)

El Distrito!

El companero!

El templo de esta manana!

Week 5

Well not much to report on this week. We almost had another kid leave, but somehow we were able to convince him to stay. We have a Hermana from BR here. Maybe you remember her, her name is Alexandria. I feel bad for her because the day she left to come out here her grandpa died. She is doing good right now. She is in my zone, so I was able to give her a blessing. She is being taken care of by the Sister Training Leaders.

Rusty told me that he had someone sic his dogs on them. Don't worry. He just said he tried to sic his dogs on him, so I'm betting they didn't chase them.

We've been having fun here. I miss music. Me and Olsen are trying to do a parody to a rap song. Hopefully we will finish it soon so I can send it.

That’s cool B got his first deer. Was he excited? I miss hunting here too. I’m already itching to pull a trigger.

I can’t wait to get out into the field, but I’m a travel leader and I’m in charge of 4 elders. I have not a clue what I’m doing. And I guess I have to pay 60 bucks for the 2nd bag that I’m taking. I might have to leave my pillow here at the MTC. No worries, I won’t miss it that much. I have not a clue what’s happening after I get to Buenos Aires. We'll just take it as it goes.

My Spanish is ok. I can somewhat communicate about gospel principles, but if I need to ask an armless person where the bathroom is, it won’t be good because he can’t point, haha. Everyone here is ready to leave, but a lot of us are far away from where we want to be in the language. Oh well, I’ll learn it eventually. I’ve forgotten most of my French, so there is basically 4 years of French gone.

Jose [in the picture below] is a member basically replaying his conversion while we teach him. He is an awesome guy. I will go and talk to him before I leave one last time because I love the guy.

There have been some hard days where life just sucks at night when I think about home. But I just have to go to sleep after I finish prepping for the next day. Learning Spanish is probably the most fun thing here. I wish I had my punching bag to take some stress out. The best I’ve got here is 4-square because no one wants to go lift [weights]. At least I’m not fat yet, haha.

I met a guy here from Argentina [another missionary], and he said that I am going to love it down there.

Well, that’s all I have for now.

LOVE YOU ALL.

-Elder Riley Newman

I'm literally climbing the walls here in the MTC.

Some late night "studying".

One of the other elders got a package with 5 mustaches in it, so we all put them on for the day. We could barely get a picture in because it was so funny!

 Skype for the first time with Barbara in Neuquen, Argentina.

Jose after our last lesson. He is pretty cool!

Week 4

Well, just to start off, we are learning a lot here. Spanish is somewhat coming along, and I'm learning to teach a lot better. Thanks for all those pics. It looks like you are all having a lot of fun. I feel super sick. Yesterday I finally got rid of my cold, but now I just got a pleasant gift from my district members. They decided to give me a sore throat. It could be strep, I'm not sure.

This week we had an elder that was struggling really bad. He was super close to going home. But he was able to talk to his mom, and she convinced him to stay. Friday night he asked me to give him a blessing of comfort, and after the blessing I about passed out. I was super dizzy, very sweaty, and I felt like I was going to puke. I might have locked my knees and wasn't getting enough oxygen. I'll focus more next time. haha.

Elder Olsen and I were able to go to the outside world because he was having an allergic reaction to something, so we had to go to the pharmacy down the street. It was great to get out of that place for a short time.

Thanks for the boots and the packages. Everyone here calls me the witch doctor because of the oils. There are some other people here that know about oils too, and some actually have them. I love the pics, btw.

Me and Olsen are working on a missionary rap that I might be able to send back. It will be fun.

Love You ALL.
p.s. I've only gained 5 and a half pounds.

-Elder Newman

Haha, the crutches are a Hermanas she hurt herself in gym and I was having fun with them while she wasn't using them.

 "Merica" "One Nation Under GOD"

 Yes, he is really asleep. We did a bunch of stuff to him while he was asleep.

 I ran into Elder Newman a few times before he left.

Me and Elder Olsen at the temple.

A Poem

I read this poem yesterday and I really loved it so I definitely think you guys should read it! If you don't have enough time to read it during your email just print it off or something, its kinda long. -Riley

The alarm bell rings at 6:30, I stumble to my feet
I grab my companions bedding and pull off his sheets

A groan fills the room, is it already time to arise?
It seems like just a second ago, I was able to shut my eyes
The morning activities follow- study, prayer and such
When it's time to leave the apartment, you feel you haven't accomplished much

"We have a super day planned,"
My comp. says with a grin
I lowly utter a faithless breath,
"Yeah, if anyone lets us in."

With the word of God and my faithful Schwinn, we ride off in the street prepared to
Face another day of humidity and heat
It's 9:30 in the evening, the day is almost through
My champion and I are riding home not accomplishing what we thought to do

We ride up to the mailbox, hoping to receive a lot
Only to look inside and hear my echo reverberate "air Box"
We go up to our apartment, the day is now complete
The only thing to show for our work is a case of blistery feet

It's past 10:30 p.m. My companion is fast asleep,
Silence engulfs me all about and I begin to weep
In the midst of sadness, I kneel down to pray
I need to talk to father, but I'm not sure what to say

"Oh, Father" I begin, "What happened to us today?
I thought we'd teach somebody, but everyone was away
My hands, my aching hands- worn, hurt and beat;
If our area was any smaller, we'd have knocked every street"

"Why on missions are the days so much alike?
The only difference about today was the flat tire on my bike
Will you send some cooler weather? The heat is killing me
I sweat so bad, it gets in my eyes, it's very hard to see"

"Why do I have to wear a helmet, isn't your protection enough?
People always laugh at me, and call me stupid stuff
Please send us investigators so I may give them what they lack
I want to give them Books of Mormon, the weight of them hurts my back"

"And what about my family: They don't have much to say
I'm sick of not hearing from home day after day after day
Oh Father, Why am I here am I just wasting time?
Sometimes I just want to go home, I'm sorry but that's on my mind"

"My companion, Heavenly Father, what are you giving me?"
The way he rides his bicycle, I don't think he can see
Now you have it, I can't go on, I don't know what to do
That, my Father in Heaven, is the prayer I have for you"

My prayer now finished, I stand up, then jump right into bed
I need my rest for tomorrow, we have another long day ahead
Sleep starts to overtake me, I seem to drift away
Then it seems a vision takes me to another time in another day

I'm standing alone on the hill. The view is very nice
A man walks towards me and says, "My name is Jesus Christ"
Tears of joy well up inside, I fall down to His feet
"Arise," He states, "Follow me to the shade. You and I need to speak"

My attention's towards my Savior, total and complete
He says, "Your mission is similar of what happened to me
I understand how you feel, I know what you're going through
In fact, it would be fair to say I've felt the same as you"

"I even know how you felt when no one listened to you
At times I felt not quite sure what else I could do
I know you don't like to ride a bicycle, for you a car would be sweet
Just remember the donkey I rode wasn't equipped with 21 speeds"

"I understand you don't like sweating, in fact it's something you hate
I remember when I sweat blood from ev’ry pore, oh the agony was great!
I see you don't like your companion- you'd rather have someone else-
I once had a companion named Judas who sold my life for wealth"

"It's hard to wear a helmet and have people make fun of you
I remember when they put thorns on my head and called me King of the Jews
So you feel burdened down by the weight of your pack
I recall how heavy the cross was when they slammed it on my back"

"Your hands hurt from tracting and knocking on doors all day
I guess when they pounded nails into mine, I ached in a similar way
It's hard not to hear from home when your family's not there to see
I lost communication on the cross and cried, "Father, why hast Thou forsaken me?"

"We have a lot in common, but there's a difference between us you see
I endured to the end and finished my mission, so follow and do like me"
He embraced me with His arms and His light filled me with His love
With tears in my eyes I watched as He went back to the Father above

I stood with awe and wonder when a beep rang in my head
I listened and heard the alarm, then realized I was in my bed
My companion let out a groan, "6:30 already, no way!"
I sat up and said, "Come on, I'll even carry your scriptures today!"

No matter what we go through,
When we feel we can't take more
Just stop and think about Jesus Christ,
He's been there before!

Week 3

All is well here. I am sick right now, but it's on the back end of it. It really sucks being sick. Thanks so much for the packages and the jerky and all that good stuff. We got 4 new districts, so I gave away a lot of the sugary candy that is making me feel really sick. We do get gym, but it's not often enough. We also have some late nights trying to get stuff done, like studying and helping out the new kids that are homesick. 

As zone leader, I basically just make sure everyone is ok and that they are doing what they are supposed to be doing, so basically what dad does at work. The language is still hard, but I'm learning. I love studying my scriptures, I probably spend too much time in there instead of learning the language.

I am glad Rusty is having fun. Thanks for the email addresses. I'll try to write them as soon as I can. Dad can go ahead and buy the boots that he was looking at and send them here. When he does that, could he send my Giants hat? For p days you can wear a hat, and I want one. It doesn't even have to be that hat. I just want a decent hat that i can work in;) 

Everything here doesn't seem real, it almost feels like a dream. But it is pretty cool the things that I'm learning. Hermano Savio is a great teacher. He taught us about his experience with prayer and shared with us how we could make our prayers more meaningful. First, don't sit on your feet. You are kneeling to a king, and you are praying to him. Really think out your day, and be grateful for the life he has given you. He then let us go in our own separate rooms and pray for 15 minutes straight. I thought it was going to seem like forever, but it didn't last very long. I wish it could have been longer. It was truly a great experience, and I would challenge all of you to make your prayers more meaningful. 

Thanks for all the letters and pictures. That is really the highlight of the week. Packages are also great, even if they are silly stuff. I LOVE YOU ALL and wish you the Best. 

-Elder Riley Newman

My District:

My companion (He's awesome!):

My first tie trade:

Elder Rasmussen (from home) and I:

Week 2

Thanks so much for the package. I got it yesterday. I love my contacts. Thanks for the cinnamon rolls, but I'm afraid they are too  sugary. I feel like crap as is, so I'll probably only eat a few. But thanks so much,  I'll share with all my district. Life here is ok. It's really boring, and the hacky sacks are fun to play with when we have a little down time. I was lucky to find a computer to write home because this is the only hour and a half we have today that we are able to send emails so everyone is flooding the computers. I Love YOU all and I miss YOU all. 

Oh and Elder Olsen is pretty cool, and he is the guy Grandpa Andersen was talking about. El Hermanas in our district are pretty cool too. We all have fun, and they make sure we are studying. We are in the choir, it's going good, we've only had one practice. No general authorities have spoken here yet. Mom, you have a lot of questions;). Yes, I've seen Rusty a few times, but I've never had my camera when I've seen him. I emailed him, but he didn't email back. Yes, I've seen other people I know: Kade (super nerd) Rasmussen, Carson Gibbs, Matthew Phillips, Travis Seamons, and a few others. The food is ok, but we get no exercise so I feel lethargic haha. Thanks for the sewing pick, but it was the wrong one. I'll just use my knife. This is all the questions I can handle right now. 

Love You all. Miss you, I'll send a letter in the middle of the week sometime.

-Elder Newman (Riley)

Oh, and I didn't tell you that after one week of being here Me and Elder Olsen are the new zone leaders! ;0

My District: