I'm Going to Brazil!

Hey Everyone!

So this week I came down with strep throat and spent three days on house arrest, but on the bright side I am now half way through the second volume of Saints! Quick shout out to Saints, it's a great book that gives a lot of context and history to the early saints. It's really impressive to see the faith and sacrifice the early saints had to build the church we have today.

This week we have cambios, and I will be giving a sad farewell to Lezica and heading out to a little town called Chuy (pronounced Chewie). It sits right on the border of Uruguay and Brazil, and many people here in Montevideo make a living buying things cheap in Chuy and selling them at an increased price in Montevideo. The ward is in Spanish (I think) but from what I've heard they speak a lot of Portañol, a mix of Spanish and Portuguese, which means I'm probably going to have to brush up on my Portuguese:). My new comp will be Elder Hoskins, a gringo from Idaho starting his last change in the mission and I've heard nothing but good things about him.

The other day I was listening to a Hank Smith talk and he said something that caught my attention. He said, in effect, "loving your friends means being willing to stand between them and a bad decision." It made me think of the Savior and his perfect example of love to us. Sometimes we wonder why Jesus asks us to change or seemingly stands between us and freedom. But really it's because he loves us that he wants us to be better, to change and become who the Lord wants us to become, to become like Him. As we strive to emulate his love, we will become better ourselves and help lead our friends and families down the same path.

Anyways I love you all, hope you have a great week,

Elder Watts

Elder Uchtdorf and Moving

Hey everyone,

Wow a lot of things have happened. Where to begin. We spent a large portion of this week moving and our new house is super nice. After the two hottest nights I have experienced in Uruguay we were blessed by the installation of an air conditioning unit for our bedroom. It makes a huge difference, and I'm grateful to be living in better standards.

Elder Uchtdorf came to Uruguay!! We got to shake his hand and listen to him and his wife speak. To quote the elder sitting to my back left after the conference, "That was spiritual." It was truly an incredible experience to listen to an apostle of the Lord teach and minister to us as missionaries. It's strange but some of the things he said felt like they were directed specifically at me. I left edified and uplifted. He talked about a lot of things, but one of the things he talked about that caught my attention was about repentance. He said, in effect, "a lot of young people today struggle because they expect to have perfect repentance. We will all fall short, but in the end the Lord will accept your sacrifice." I thought a lot about that and how sometimes we confuse full repentance with perfect repentance, forgetting that it is by the grace of God and his infinite atonement that we are saved.

Last Sunday we had a really cool miracle. About three quarters of the way through our fast and testimony meeting a non member friend stood up to bear his testimony. He then shocked the ward as he testified that though he had been to many wards this one was the real thing, and he felt something that he had never before felt. As he finished he began to cry and said he wanted to get baptized, and though he didn't know what he was feeling he wanted it more in his life. I was stunned. We didn't even know him as he came with a member. The whole atmosphere in the chapel changed and the spirit for the rest of the meeting was super strong. Definitely one of the coolest experiences I've had on the mission.

In conclusion I'd like to add my testimony that I know this church is true. As Elder Uchtdorf bore his testimony I felt the spirit bear witness that this church is true and that Christ sits at its head. These past few weeks have been some of the happiest of my life and I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to be here in this divine work at this time. I love this work and I love my Savior.

Love you guys!

Elder Watts

A recent convert who's also a magician, psychologist, and rock star!

some street art

Zone activity last week

Asado (BBQ)

Service Project!

pictures of our new house