Hola!

I want to be with you but I know this is where I need to be. This week went really well. The new elders are good and we are happy to have them here. I don’t have much time to write, therefore this message will be short. But I’m sending a tape for you to listen to.

HOLA MI FAMILIA! COMO ESTAN!? Los amo tan! Quiero estar con vosotros pero se que este is donde necesito estar. Este semana fue muy bueno. Los Elderes nuevos son bien, y estamos animado a tener ellos aqui. No tengo much tiempo para escribir, entonces este carta va a ser muy poco. Pero estoy envio una tape para ustedes a escuchar. We're going to be recieving our travel plans today! HOPEFULLY! There are some rumors floating around that Mexico is withholding visas for a while, so we might get reassigned for a few months until we get our visas. Hope not! Thank you all for your packages and supporting letters! Seriously! Thank you so much! I can't honestly think of much that I haven't said on the tape, so I hope you have the opportunity to listen to it soon. Did the pictures ever get there? And the disc? I sent them both in the same envelope so...I guess they should have both gotten there or not. Let me know what you want to hear more of! What do you want to hear less of! Mas espanol o no? It's been really interesting serving here. I have been humbeled...alot...and I am starting to see how much farther I have yet to go. I realized that I really don't help anyone. Even the investigators, I don't do jack. They get helped by the spirit, on their own time. I have learned that by myself I can't do anything. It's when they ponder on the word, when they exercise acts of faith that they will gain a surer knowledge of the gospel. Or of the importance of obedience, long suffering, patience, or other attributes of Christ. Anyways, just to let you know, the tape has much more humor. It's hard to type good jokes...but I would just like to end by saying that I know this Church is true. I know that this is the Lord's work that we are embarking on and that it is the Spirit of God that guides us. Without it there is no point in being here, but with it we are doing the work of the Master, and it is the most important thing we could be doing right now. It is Eternal Salvation, and eternal happiness as well. That is what this gospel is all about. Pointing people back to happiness. Anyways, I love you all so much! Please keep writing letters, I love getting them every day! LOVE YOU! Elder Joseph Newell