Week 33: Seeing Clearly

Good afternoon!

What’s this? A scenic view of Kentucky as we drive along? Groundbreaking.

There are so many trains in Bowling Green, and they seem to be loudest right when we need to be going to bed.

Can you believe we’re already halfway through this first transfer in Bowling Green? But I was only referring to myself, so I guess this was a use of the royal we.

Happy to report that all the hermanas I live with are all so beautiful and lovely!

Anyway, May is drawing to a close, and summer is here! It’s been in the high 80s and low 90s all week. I can’t believe how fast time is moving. My most avid readers will remember back when I had barely made it through a transfer, and now I’ve been a missionary for almost eight months. Truly astounding, and truly so much more to learn.

Hermana Aguilera and me after giving our talks!

I feel like I say this every time, but seriously: So much happened this week. Hermana Aguilera and I hosted one of the live events, We Believe Live, for the page, because Hermana Reddish needed to get mouth surgery. I went to Buffalo Wild Wings for the first time in my life and learned that sports bar trivia is astonishingly easy. I gave my first talk as an official missionary, and it was really fun! But you’d think you would have much more time to work on a talk than you actually do. Apparently missionary work is very busy.

Franklin South reunion with Elder Myers!

Zone conference was this week! And it was truly one of the best times of my life. Hardcore fans might remember Elders French, Nelson and Myers. Well, they were all this zone conference, along with my beloved Hermana Petersen! It was so exciting and happy. I’ve also felt so blessed that even though I’ve been put into a completely new zone and basically flung across to the other side of the mission, I still had so many friends to say hi to and show my love!

Look at me and Hermana Petersen!

Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis came to speak for this conference, and I think that the word powerful is still an understatement. Elder Aidukaitis has a spirit that completely dominates. I sincerely believe he’s one of the most Christlike people I’ve ever had the pleasure to be in the same room as. I learned so much about how to become the missionary that I want to be, and the entire experience made me so excited to improve! I felt encouraged to do and be better in every aspect of missionary work, instead of hopelessly writhing around at my lack of ability, which sometimes happens when I’m trying to take advice to heart.

A typical day in missionary life.

There were so many things that I needed to hear from this zone conference, but one of my favorites was found in a thought that stems from this verse in Ether 12:

6 And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.

“Dispute not because ye see not.” As a missionary, you have to work all the time. Especially on yourself. And sometimes the fruits of our labors aren’t evident right away. As I try to improve the way I teach, serve, and love, it isn’t automatically clear. But that doesn't mean it’s not there.

Life is so much about trust. In God, in other people, and in yourself. I’m growing in that, and as I do, my mission and my life get better. And it can do the same for you, too.

— Always and forever,

Hermana Newton

Week 32: Cross My Heart

Hello to all!

This week’s definitely one for the books! First off, it’s Hermana Aguilera’s birthday! She's a whole 22 years of age! Those of you who still have access to Taylor Swift songs, please listen to her title of the same name and enjoy by way of celebration. Additionally, this means that my birthday is in two weeks (and one day). Any suggestions as to how to commemorate my last days of true teenagedom? Is the idea to share the message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? If so, the Bowling Green sisters are on the case! But on to what we actually did.

This was before our lesson with Liam, the coolest guy ever, whom we have to pass off because he lives in the other mission, but it’s OK.

First off, I love the people! They are seriously the best! The missionaries, the members, the people we’re teaching. It’s been awesome. We got to attend the baptism of the youngest kid in a member family that was so tender. Their daughter who’s 15 gave a talk on the gift of the Holy Ghost that was super powerful. Shoutout to Moira. Also, the opportunity to attend a baptism is one of the sweetest experiences to have ever, especially as a missionary.

The Primary children decorated copies of the Book of Mormon for us and wrote their testimonies inside. It’s so tender.

Our friends have been progressing so well! I’m excited about Angel and Liz in particular, who are two of the sweetest women on the planet! They have such awesome member friends in the ward who are starting to strengthen their involvement in the gospel, and I’m so happy just seeing them progress and become happier with what they’re learning.

A couple of cuties on a walk

Even though this week has been beautiful, there are hard parts to it. We’ve been rejected, frustrated, and grown physically, spiritually and emotionally tired. It’s part of missionary work. Something that was especially difficult is that we had to cancel the baptism for someone we were teaching because they aren’t ready for various reasons. They had chosen this Saturday before Hermana Aguilera and I even came to Bowling Green. It’s definitely not fun to see someone's actions not align with their desires. But the day we put this person off date, someone who was previously taught reached out to us. He’s been having a hard time, but he told us that he opened his Book of Mormon and turned to this scripture in Helaman 3:

28 Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God.

He then wrote:

“I’m glad Heavenly Father reminded me the gate of heaven is open. 

It isn’t closed. 

His blessing, grace, peace are open to me. Not closed.”

It reminded me of a scripture in Alma 37 that I really love:

17 For he will fulfil all his promises which he shall make unto you, for he has fulfilled his promises which he has made unto our fathers.

Heavenly Father loves us. I say that to people all the time. But it’s real. It’s eternal. It’s personal. And it applies to you.

— I promise,

Hermana Newton

Week 31: So Much to Do, So Much to See

Hey now!

Here’s my greenie the day I got her! Hermana Aguilera is from Fresno, California. She’s a native speaker and is so pure and bubbly and lovely (:

I’m coming to you, for the first time in the history of these weekly emails, from the city of Bowling Green, Kentucky! It’s such a happening town that we have at least two of everything, as well as one precious Target. What a blessing to live near a typical middle-class department store. I will surely cherish it during the months I am here.

Bowling Green is radically different from Columbia, and I absolutely love it here. I miss many things from the equivalent of my hometown during my mission, but I’m also happy to see and experience new things. If anything, BG reminds me a lot more of West Valley than Columbia. It’s not really famous for anything*, but the people are kind and amazing, and by and large, I feel extremely loved.

New quad! L-R: Hermana Reddish, yours truly, Hermana Aguilera, Hermana Reidhead

The process of starting the work here has been an equal extreme in terms of stress. For those of you who aren’t caught up! I am whitewashing in this area, which means that my companion and I are both new to the area. And I’m training her, which is a lot of responsibility that intimidates me way too much if I think about it too hard. Oh, and I forgot to get the SIM card for the area, which meant we had to rely on the other companionship if we wanted to call anybody, and then Hermana Aguilera’s Facebook wasn’t working on her phone, so in a word, the first week has been hard.

Goodbye to Franklin South and some of my favorite people ever.

I think what I’ve been learning this week is that I really have to give everything to Heavenly Father. Which is something I’ve learned and relearned the entirety of the seven months I’ve been doing this. 

In Alma 17, the sons of Mosiah and other Nephites are about to start missions serving among the Lamanites, who are their generations-old enemies. Unsurprisingly, there’s a lot of anxiety for them in this moment. They’re unsure about their future, whether their message will be accepted, whether they’ll be safe and well. Not much is certain as they begin their journey. But it goes on to say:

10 And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted. And they were comforted.

…

12 And it came to pass that the hearts of the sons of Mosiah, and also those who were with them, took courage to go forth unto the Lamanites to declare unto them the word of God.

I think if my experience in adulthood has taught me anything, it is that there is a lot to have fear over. But that gives us the opportunity to have courage. And I hope that all of us will be able to be brave going forward, whatever challenges we're facing. Because, dear reader, I know that you have it in you.

A fan favorite, Cathy Newton, cheering all of us on!

— You’re an All-Star,

Hermana Newton

* To be fair, Bowling Green is the home of the National Corvette Museum.

Week 30: Bare Bones

This is being written a day in advance.

Now, this isn’t a big deal on its own. Most people try to write their weekly emails ahead of time, so it’s not exactly strange. But I always write my weekly day of, which raises the question: What’s caused me to change my ways?

All of us hugging Hermana Likes while I cry

But before we get into that crazy news, let’s address the saddest fact, which is that we had to drop Hermana Likes off at the mission office, and it was so hard, and I’ll be crying about the whole endeavor for a while. She’s somebody I’m so grateful I came to Tennessee to meet. She has helped me to become more of the person I want to be, and I’ll love her forever.

Me hugging Hermana Likes and crying

Because Hermana Likes is leaving, the quad is a temporary trio (for only a day), and because of that, Hermana Stevenson planned with Hermana Fellars this morning while Hermana Likes finished packing. As we sat in the STLs room talking about our day, one of the office elders called Hermana Stevenson. We were little confused, and it turned out he was asking her if she’d be willing to train! That’s such happy news because it’s something Hermana Stevenson has wanted so badly, and this transfer will be her last one. As we were congratulating Hermana Stevenson, the elder called back, and we assumed it was because had forgotten some information, but then he asked to talk to me, and it turns out that I’m training too! In an entirely new area called Bowling Green, which is in Kentucky. So that will be an absolute trip. I need many, many prayers. So does this hermana I’ll be training!

This moment of us just laughing at each other was 87% of our time together

But, something stressful: Normally, transfers happen the morning after P-Day, or Thursday. That way, there’s time to pack. But for some reason, transfers are happening ON P-Day at 3:00. I’ll have half the time people normally do to pack. Suffice it to say I’m more than a little bit terrified. I won’t know the members, our teaching pool, the most effective finding methods for the area. I'm going into this area with only the Lord to rely on. Which might be what I'm supposed to learn.

In Doctrine and Covenants Section 11, it says:

12 And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit.

How true this is, especially about missionary work! There is little that I can do on my own. It's pretty embarrassing. But if I'm accomplishing anything out here, it is only through God. And it takes being stripped down to the most bare of bones to accomplish that.

My bones might be bare. They feel battered and broken and buried under centuries of sedimentary deposits. But I know that Heavenly Father will make something useful out of them. And He will do that with you, too. He is our Maker.

We watched “Coco” en español with the people we’re teaching!

— In the making,

Hermana Newton