MERRY CHRISTMAS

Hola Todos,

This past Thursday we celebrated a wonderful Christmas in July with hot chocolate, Christmas carols, and gifts given around a Christmas tree. It was a lot of fun and I loved the opportunity to celebrate with the elders in our house. I also had the opportunity to go on interchanges with my district leader, an incredible missionary from Brazil. It's always awesome to get to work with different missionaries because with each companion I learn new and interesting ways to be a better missionary.

On a more spiritual note, I recently read in my personal study the story of the fall of Lehonti to the wicked king Amalickiah. The first thing Amalickiah tries to use to bring Lehonti to the bottom of the mountain is straight up writing to him asking him to come down. Three times Lehonti petitions and three times Lehonti refuses to leave the safety of the top of the mountain. Amalackiah then tries a craftier approach. He goes almost all the way to the top of the mountain, stopping just before the top and then asks Lehonti to come down, if only just a step. Lehonti does so, to his ultimate downfall. Satan uses a similar tactic in trying to bring us down to his level, inviting us to just take one step in the wrong direction. If we are to be steadfast and immovable, we cannot budge on our values, not even a step. I know that the greatest safety in our lives comes from centering ourselves on Jesus Christ. I love being here and I'm loving the work.

Thanks for all the love and support,
Love you guys tons,
Elder Watts

Conference in Carasco

Hola Todos,

This past Friday we had a conference at the temple for all the new missionaries, or"oros". We were supposed to arrive at the conference at 8 am in the morning in order to get some medical tests for immigration. Following the excellent navigation of my trainer, we boarded the 306 bus which should've taken us right to where we needed to be. However, after about 45 minutes my trainer announced that we were not on the right bus. Furthermore, we were not even in our mission having taken the bus in the wrong direction. We switched buses and made it in one piece, 2 hours after the time we were supposed to get there. The worst part was that many of the missionaries had woken up at like 1:00 in the morning and made it on time, and we, who live super close, were late.

In other news, Alvaro came to church, the first time one of the investigators I've been working with has actually come. It was a little strange because when he came in, we were singing the opening hymn and he knelt in the aisle prior to sitting down, but he really loved it and was excited for us to come back tomorrow.

On a more spiritual note, this week I've been thinking a lot about the scripture in D&C 6:36. A lot of times I panic that I'm not good enough or in some way I'm going to make a mistake at the cost of someone's salvation. The beauty of D&C 6:36 is that we are instructed to "doubt not, fear not" because we have Christ. I know that I'm imperfect but that with the help of Christ I don't need to fear, and that as long as I do my part to serve with faith and diligence I can be an instrument in his hands. This is His work, and this is his glory. I testify that with Christ we have no need to fear because he is there to support us.

Anyways, I love you all,
Elder Watts

Pics: We got heaters in the apartment and decided to pack up Elder Jimenez

Fourth of July celebration

Zone activity

Día del Padre

Hola Todos,

This week has been pretty cool. Yesterday was father's day here in Uruguay and the streets were filled with music and parties. We've been teaching Alvaro this week and he is progressing well. He has been reading the Book of Mormon and already has a testimony of Joseph Smith and the restoration. He is always super excited to see us and talk with us and he really understands the things we are trying to teach him. We set a baptismal date for him and are working hard to prepare him for that day.

We also met a pretty cool family, a husband and wife who were really interested in our message. I shared a scripture with her about Jesus coming to the Americas, and the wife got really excited and invited us to come back and teach more. We also learned that one of our street contacts to whom we gave a pamphlet had read the pamphlet and wanted to know more. Neither me nor my companion remembered the contact but we happily offered to come over and teach her more.

We also had the opportunity to teach a less active family. The mother crochets and she had made me a hat, which was super sweet. We taught them about temples and eternal families, and asked the parents what they thought they needed to do. They said they needed to come to church, and promised to do so. The spirit was super strong as we offered to help them to come to church to make it to the temple. They are super awesome.

Anyways, that's about all for this week.

Love you guys,
Elder Watts

Pictures of my comp, my roommates, and another elder in our zone.

“O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your minds are firm, forever.”- Jacob 3:2

Hola Todos,

This week has been very cold. I'm sure that I look more like a marshmallow than a missionary as I walk down the street bundled up in coats, sweaters, gloves, scarf, and hat. With no heater in the house, there is little relief from the persistent chill. At least this is the worst it gets, as I talked with a missionary on his second to last transfer and he said this is the coldest week he's had in the mission.

Cold aside, we've been very blessed this week to have found many new investigators. One of them we met yesterday named Agustin. We shared the first vision with him and talked to him about the restoration of the church, and then, much to our surprise, he asked us if we could come back and teach him more on the subject. He seems really awesome and we can't wait to talk to him again. Another new investigator we taught was an immigrant from Cuba. He happily listened to our message and told us he would come to church. I hope he comes.

All things considered, it´s been a really good week, albeit a little cold.

Love you all,
Elder Watts

"Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word"- Alma 5:7

Hola Todos,

This week has been pretty excellent. We welcomed a new mission President yesterday, a Chilean named President Escobar. He is pretty awesome, though in one of my first encounters with me he asked "How much did you feel," but I thought he was asking how did you feel so I answered "Good." He laughed and I turned red and he gave me a big hug. It was awkward, but in a good way.

On Sunday, me and my companion did divisions with the assistants, which basically means we traveled to their area and did splits with them for an evening. I worked with Elder Mella, who has been in the Mission for over two years having extended a transfer to assist with the change in mission presidents. It was humbling to me to get to work with him, as he is an incredible missionary with a passion for the work and a ton of experience working as a missionary. I definitely have a lot of room to grow, but it was awesome to get the opportunity to work with him. We taught three lessons to three awesome investigators. One of our investigators was a family whose oldest daughter had some doubts about her baptismal date this Saturday. We testified of the blessings of following the will of the God and promised that if she would get baptized she would be blessed for her decision. Her doubts weren't immediately resolved, but the spirit was there as we invited her to pray and decide for herself whether or not the decision was right.

This past week we also had the opportunity to teach a man named Alvaro. He graciously invited us into his house and we taught him about the plan of salvation. As we taught him about the Book of Mormon his eyes lit up and as we gave him the book he said "I am so grateful to be able to hold such a sacred book." He invited us to return and teach him more. We also had the opportunity to teach a young man who said he didn't feel worthy or ready to be baptized. We told him that part of our purpose was to help people prepare for baptism, and offered to help him prepare. He accepted and we made plans to come back in another moment.

Thanks for all your love and support. I love you all,

Elder Watts

My house in Uruguay

Pictures from the CCM

Elder Watts with BYU roommate Josh

Elder Watts with Elder Spencer Maloy, a good friend from Reno

Parrot at the CCM