Week 46: I know our Savior understands us perfectly in the easy and difficult moments.

Hey how is everybody doing!? iI am sorry but this letter will be super short! i dont have much time today! 

Today we have changes and my comp, Elder Delgado, finishes his misión mañana! He was a super good Elder and it's a sad day when the Elder has to turn in his placa! My new comp will be Elder Chucho...Ithink it's how it is spelled. I have no idea where he is from, so I will let you know next week. I only know that he has about 6 months in the misión, and i am pretty sure that he is latino so the streak continues! haha

This last saturday we had the baptism of angel! It was an awesome day! He truly is my brother, he calls us his brothers and we a great big happy family! I'll send the pic! I am also super excited for Mother's Day! This sunday! Mom!!! The best the existes! Pres still hasn't said anythhing about the time we can talk or anything, but I will let you know. For now it will be at 5 on Sunday my time, I think 8 pm your time.

We also had an awesome miracle of a woman who was looking at the church sign outside, and we bolted out and said hey would you like to come in, and she said yeah! So she came in your her 3 kids and participated in the classes and everything. We later found she was looking for a church the would be right for her, but that she was from Mexico! Noo! But hey I'll send the reference to Elder Dunn!! haha

So this week I was reading 3 nefi 11 and I was thinking what is the purpose of the marks the Christ decided to keep. More than to show that he really had come to world, I believe he kept the marks to show and to give hope to all those who had passed through hard times and to give hope to all those who will pass through hard times...that they will be able to overcome, because he did, and he will help us to do the same. I know our Savior understands us perfectly in the easy and difficult moments. 

Also this video is awesome! watch it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdN8rfwW3SI

I love you fam!

Elder watts

Week 45: The spirit is real, may we all follow it.

How is everyone one in the big ole fam doing!? 

I heard that is snowed in the SLC! Super loco! It's almost May right!? I guess everyone can get there last snowball fights and sleigh rides in. Ha but here the weather is going up and down. Some days it is super windy and super cold and other days it is calm as can be and a bit caliente! But to begin like always we have the funny sad story of the week. 

So this week we had the stake conference and we missionaries were asked to sing a musical number. So we being all busy and stuff only practiced 2 times before the conference arrived.. yikes. So toward the end of the conference the time arrived for us to sing in front of everyone, and even worse I was the one chosen to conduct.. So we all get ready and right when we start I realize that the only two sisters that our in our zone are going to be singing right in front of the microphone, and they were both a little sick, so we´ll say their voices werent so pretty. While they sang the first verse their voices went up and down unable to control the pich, everyone in the congregation was a little startled, but at least were able to finish strong. 

Also in the conference it was awesome to hear our President speak in the both sessions! I love listening to President because he speaks from the heart, and even better both of his talks were centered on helping and supporting the missionaries and the missionary work. He had everyone laughing from jokes and crying for spiritual experiences, and by the end everyone was super pumped to jump into the work. He said 30,000 more missionaries have been called for this reason, they have been called in order to strengthen the wards and stakes all around the world. And that does not only happen through bautisms, it happens throught the rescue, the retention, every one member that helps in the work will have his testimony stengthened, and by that way the ward will be strengthened. GO PRES!

Angel, our dear friend, is going strong for bautism! He will be baptized the 3rd of May. He had a tough week last week, but he was able to persevere. Satan always attacks harder when a child of God is close to bautism, it's incredible, happens everytime without fail. Another evidence of the true church. Juan Carlos is progressing well. He is getting to know all the members because he came to one of the dance classes with his wife last week haha. He was tricked into thinking that there would be soccer haha.

We were also able to find some other awesome investigadors and families this last week by knocking doors and doing divisions with the members, miracles always happen when the members come to work with us. 

To finish, I want to talk about how to follow the spirit. When we live worthily we are constantly receiving impressions from the spirit. The other day I received a super strong impression to talk with this family at a bus stop, so i followed it. They rejected our message, not even wanting to shake our hands. After I thought what was the purpose of that spiritual impression? Pres told me something I won't forget, he said sometimes our Heavenly Father just wants to see if we were going to follow the impression or not. When the thought enters your mind you are now responsible to follow or no. The more often we follow impressions the more our Heavenly Father will trust in us, knowing that when he sends the thought we will act upon it. 

I love you all! The church is true! The spirit is real, may we all follow it. 

con amor 

elder watts 

Week 44: TESTIGOS DE JEHOVA

Hey how is everything going this wonderful Monday?! 

One thing I just remembered is that mothers day is coming up! Asi que vamos a poder hablarnos cara a cara!! Yeah! Haha sé que es un poquito temprano pero me hace feliz! I heard also that it was Pop Pop's birthday a little while ago so HAPPY BIRTHDAY POP POP!! I sent you off a letter! 

To to begin the letter we have the funny story of the week which has to do with the title of this letter. 

This week we were going over the list of menos activos and we went to a house where a menos activa told us that she had changed religions and that she is testigo de jehova. Haha and she lives with another girl teenager that is testigo de jehova tambien, and immediately they both tried to convince Elder Delgado and I to change religions and go to their church haha. We listened to them for awhile and we had a nice conversation about prophets and about the Book of Mormon and they didn't know that either even existed!! So we're going to give a BOM to them both, and I know that if there is one thing that can change a person, is it the BOM! But yeah it was a little weird being preached to. 

Also this week we found a Mcdonalds and I was able to eat a good ole american hamburger! haha i´ll send the pic.

The work here in Montevideo is going good! We had a big choque de fuerzas, that is when all the misioneros and members of one ward meet up and we hit the streets and contact and vistit menos activos and investigadores! It was good to get everyone involved and were able to help out the area of the misioneros, with about 50 referencias! Also this week I had the chance to do divisions with the zone leader Elder Mella, he is an awesome elder!! He is from ogden with about a year and a half in the mish, but we did work in his area!! I learned a lot from him, and it was weird being with someone all day who spoke english, after about 6 months staight of latinos haha. 

The bautismo de nuestro investigador Angel is oficial for the 3rd of May because it was announced yesterday in the church while he was standing up being proud as can be. We also had an awesome investigador named Juan Carlos come to church. He is the dad of family that is all member! To help his recieve an answer to his prayers, we left him a sticky note that says pray on your knees before going to bed, and we had him stick it right above his bed haha. Also I told all his little kids to remind him about his note everyday, looks like it is working cause it was his first time in church after a long while. 

To finish i will leave you all with 2 nefi 2:7, I love this scripture because helps me understand the role of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Justice demands perfection and our loving Savior met this demand by living a perfect life, and now he has the right to ask something from us. He doesn't demand that we are perfect, but he asks that we are at least willing to be. And when we are willing, he will make up for the rest. I just want you all to know that I am grateful for a merciful Savior who I love and that I love you all of you! May we all try to be heading in the right direction. 

con cariño 

elder watts 

Week 43: We have the choice to decide what type of member we want to be.

Hey, how is every doing after the best week of the year!?! Are your batteries still charged!? If not, watch conference again! Ha but this week was awesome, I am finally started to know exactly where I am in the crazy city, with all the back streets and all! Still getting used to the big city! I have heard also that this coming week is the Semana De Turismo, so it should be fun! But like always we will start of the letter with the short little funny story of the week. 

The first little funny story has to do with our ward building haha. In our sacrament room in the back there is a glass case that has something that all the world wants to see... the GOLD PLATES OF THE BOM! Haha it's pretty funny all the members say the plates were moved to Montevideo for protection haha. But it's a pretty good lookin replica. Other short little funny story happended when we were walking on the main street and there is a lot of homeless people (pretty sad), but there was one sitting down with a big puddle in front of him, and while I walked over her puddle she screams 'Heyy!! dont touch my pool!!!' Haha she had a pretty good sense of humor haha.

But this week with our boss investigador Angel didn't get baptized, we moved his fecha to the 3rd of May, so that he will be super prepared and so that he can stenghten his testimony in the BOM, so all is good with him. Also this week we found an awesome couple knocking doors. I had a super strong feeling to knock on the door when I saw it and we found Abraham and Mercedes with their baby right after. She invited us in right when we knocked! We later found out that she got baptized when she was little in Peru, but stopped going to church a long time ago. She was super happy that she we had found her, and she couldn't wait to go to church, and she wasn't lying because she came this week with her sister and her kids! It was super awesome! I have a feeling that she was praying so that the missionaries would find her. It's cool how the spirit works. 

Also this week we have been working with our bishop and the members, our bishop really is a boss! He is the first bishop that presented himself to all the new people that came to church and then later introduced them to ward so that everyone would greet them! He is awesome! We have a bunch of return missionaries too, and we put them to work by attacking streets with them. We all split up and give them about 10 folletos for each person, and then we just talk with every one in sight. It works out pretty well, missonary for all your life! 

To finish I want to say I love and apreciate you all! Something I have noticed this week is that we have the choice to decide what type of member we want to be. A telestial member, a terrestial or a celestial member. Our goal in this life is not only to return to our Heavenly Father, because if that was the case, why would we have left in the first place? The real goal is to become like him, and this is only possible through Jesus Christ and his infinite atonment. I am so grateful for my Savior and Redeemer, because through Him we can all progress and be changed into the people that we were created to be.

I love you all again fam and friends,

elder watts

Week 42: CONFERENCIA FUE LA MEJOR COSA QUE ESTE MUNDO HA VISTO!

Title translated: CONFERENCE WAS THE BEST THING I'VE SEEN IN THIS WORLD!

"Gringos" watching conference in English

Hey! How is everyone doing after the super conference?! 

I am pretty sure that everybody should be floating right about now from having spirtual wings! Speaking of  wings…lets jump right into all my favortite parts of conference! After you guys can tell me all of yours!!

First we will begin with the awesome quotes! 

STEVENS 

"The gospel is not weight, it is wings. It is what carries us through this hectic life." 

HOLLAND

"Defend the gospel no matter the circumstance, defend it." 

"Pure christ like love is the most needed thing on this planet, because righteousness acompanies it now and forever." 

"If you even think about breaking the commandments, you have already broken them. Those who break even the smallest commandment will be the smallest in heaven." 

"Choosing the right will not always be the most popular decision."

REEVES 

"The biggest filter is a strong and loving testimony." 

"It doesn't matter if the house is a mess, as long as you doing your family home evenings, and scripture study."

ANDERSEN

"Be in the world but not of the world." 

"He made your spirit strong, and when your spirit is strong, the adversary is not." 

"Families are the treasures of heaven."

ERYING

"The path back to our heavenly home is not one big choice, rather many small ones, he allows us to feel the effects of our choices"

"If you let him be the leader of your home, things will work out."

NELSON

"Faith is the antidote for fear." 

"Truth can not be set aside."

SCOTT

"The first challenge is to trust God." 

"Share the gospel simply and with love."

HALES

"Did satans followers know the consequences of their decision, if so why did they choose? Why do we choose sin, when we know the consequence?"

ZWICK

"He cares what you are thinking".

COOK

"Don't underestimate the blessings from the deceased."

RIDD

"Think of your premortal valiant self, he needs you." 

"If you chase two rabbits you wont catch either one."

UTCHDORF

"The restoration was not an event rather a process, are you sleeping through it?"

"Take up your cross and follow me."

Those are just a few of my favorites and sadly I have ran out of time. This week was super awesome thanks to the living prophets and apostles that we have in the true church of our Heavenly Father. Right when it ended I said 'Nooo! Six more months!' But times flys by, especially when we are living our 4 minutes that we have prepared for since the beginning.

I know the church is true because it is the only church that is lead by a living prophet and this leadership makes us unique and true from any other church this world will ever know. Be hungry to learn, Be hungry to share. 

I love you fam and friends! Hasta el promixo lunes! 

con cariño elder watts

Share your favorite parts of conference with Zach!

--> zwatts@myldsmail.net <--

New companions

Week 41: New Area, Independencia y Cuidad Vieja

Hey how has everyone been this week! I have arrived safely to the great city of Montevideo! After a long bus ride of about 7 hours! 

My area is called Independencia y Cuidad Vieja, and it is right on the coast line! It has been a super change of surroundings! it is pure sky scrapers and apartments! Everyone here lives in things called pensiones or apartments in buildings of about 25 floors! The pensiones are buildings that have about 10 different familes living in the same house. It gets pretty cramped, but they are pretty cool. There are also a ton of huge estatuas and huge plazas where we see a bunch of tourists. I have heard pretty much about every different kind of language there. English, spanish, german, french, portuguez, and japonese! Haha also the people here move at about 100 miles an hour!! It seems like everyone it running back and forth from work! I feel like I am in the middle of a horse race! I have been having to get used to looking before crossing the street, because in all my other areas, there wasnt hardly any traffic. I already owe my life to Elder Delgado for telling me to stop, right before a bus would have pile drived me in the concrete. Ha the city is pretty crazy!

The short little not so funny story of the week would go to my new comp, Elder Delgado, from peru! He is dying this change! Soy su asesino! But something that has given him new life, is the combination of peanut butter and jelly! Thanks to my wonderful mother, that sent some good ol' peanut butter, we have been eating peanut butter jelly everynight! And my comp has been trying to buy it off from me all week! haha.

I also had the chance to present myself to the ward by giving a talk! On Saturday I was told I would have to give a talk, so I put something real nice together and it went well. I got the people laughing a lil bit while at the same time getting them pumped up to unite in the work of salvation! 

The church here is like an apartment building of 6 floors, the bottom floor has the sacrament room, and the other have the classes, and the bishopric, and the insitute, its a pretty church, right in the middle of the city. Also the ward has a bunch of youngsters, because they all move to work and study here, so its full of return missionaries to help us in the work too! We also have an awesome investigator named Alex! He is about 45 and he already has a super strong testimony of the church, he is going to get baptized the 12th of April! 

To finish, I just want to leave you with a quote that I like, that says, "He that reads, forgets, he that watches, remembers, but he that does, learns." I know that hoy es el dis! And that there doesn't exist such a time as the right time to begin something. I know our Savior doesn't wait for us at the finish line, rather he starts with us at the starting line and is with us until the end. I love you fam! 

muchos saludos! 

elder watts

Week 40: When I carry His name, He carries my load.

Hola queridos!! How is everyone doing!! 

So this week we have changes! And I have been told that I will be going to big city of Montevideo! Que loco!

It is going to be a super change for me because my first 2 areas have been little neighborhoods and full of fields and vacas haha. The trees will be replaced by buildings and the vacas will be replaced by cars and motos haha, but i am super excited and bummed out at the same time. I have been having to say goodbye to all the awesome members and investigators this week, and it was a little bit sad, but I know I have left them in the good hands of Elder Vargas. I have learned a lot from my chileno, we would always push each other to work harder and even sometimes we would butt heads, but I love him like a brother. We had some of the funniest, strangest, most spirtual moments together.

My new comp will be Elder Delgado! He is from Peru (4 straight latino comps)! And this is his last change in the mission, so I will be killing him (mission talk) haha. I have heard he is a super awesome elder, so I let you guys know in a week hehe. I have also heard nothing but greats things about my area, they say the bishop and mission leader there are super awesome, but after having the best mission lider in the mission (Hermano Camargo) it will be pretty hard to beat. Almost all of my area is pure city and playa (beach) and the church is found in a big building, so that should be pretty interesting.

A little short cool experience that we had this week happened while we were walking in the streets contacting. We were talking with a family in front of a house and while we were talking the vecino (neighbor) across the street said heyy! when your done over there, could you come by my house to talk?! This only happenes like never, but in the mission it has happened twice (watts luck.) So we went over to talk with him, and he was super awesome and nice and he couldnt stop saying 'I was evangelico for 25 years, is it okay that I am talking with you guys!?' We said yeah there's no problem! Then we asked what made him want to talk with us, and he said I have always wanted to talk with the missionaries, but my wife never let me. And then we asked, so your wife knows you are talking with us now, and he said no, she died….I guess the lord works in many ways. We also had the second lesson with him and he loved the Book of Mormon and then prayed about it the way we had taught him in the first lesson, he is super golden.

I just want to let you all know that I love you all you guys and for all the support you give me! I couldn't be happier carrying the name of Jesus Christ on my chest. Because when I carry His name, He carries my load. And not only for those missionaries, because last sunday we all took the name of Christ upon us. The promises of being faithful and obedient are endless. I know our Savior lives and that He lived not be served but to serve.

con mucho cariño 

elder watts