Protests Continue

So, the Nicaraguan rise against their communist leaders has begun to heat up again. Yesterday's transfers were cancelled, and they have re-assigned all new missionaries that were planning on coming here to other missions. While the transfers were cancelled, many missionaries were evacuated from more dangerous areas. Elder Gomez and I are housing two of these missionaries: Elder Henriquez (my old companion from La Concha) and Elder Guerrero (who was trained by Elder Gomez, and was in my district when I was in La Concha). Elder Henriquez is from El Salvador, and Elder Guerrero from La Republica Dominicana. We are very grateful that despite everything, we are able to preach the gospel unrestricted on this side of the city. We are also grateful for the knowledge that God protects His missionaries. We are not afraid in the least.

Our beloved investigators have made great progress this week. Luis's wife gave birth on Saturday to a precious baby girl, and they are still deciding on a name for her. Luis plans on attending church for the first time this week, but has already showed a desire to be baptized. We are very excited for a potential party of four baptisms this Saturday (an 8-year-old in the ward, two of our converts, and a convert from the other missionaries in the ward). Our converts are the 11 year-old-brother of a recent convert, Steven, and the 9 year-old daughter of a formerly less-active family, Ashly. Steven's mother, Jenny is preparing for her baptism the 29th of this month. I love being a missionary!

Love,
Elder Stephen Watts

Progress

Hi all!

We had an awesome week last week. We have rejoiced in the progression of many of our investigators, one of which is Jenny, the mother of the boy who was baptized last week. Everybody would tell us that it was "difícil que se bautiza," but she came to church for the second time to support her son who received the priesthood and was ordained a deacon. She said that she loved the gospel principles class and began wondering if she wouldn't like to "make this church her church." She still didn't accept a date, but she said she would read the Book of Mormon and pray. Her other son should be baptized soon, too!  He is eleven years old and his name is Steven. :)

Another sweet investigator to work with is a member reference named Luis. His wife has been pregnant for 9 months and one week, and we are very anxiously awaiting the arrival. It will be their first child. The pregnancy has made it difficult for them to make it to church, but Luis has read a fair share of the Book of Mormon and accepted our invitation to be baptized before the end of the month. 

The country passed another full week completely peacefully, but last night, and today, tensions have begun to rise again. The buses are not running today, and there are many people who did not show up to work either. President Brown mandated that no one leave their areas for P-day, but we have been permitted to leave the house. He also mandated that everyone create an emergency kit, and make an emergency plan to get to the airport, which startled many missionaries, but I feel like we will not be near needing to use those plans. 

Love,
Elder Stephen Watts

Calm week

For those of you that were a little bit startled after last weeks email, this week has passed perfectly calmly. There are those that are still on edge, but it will continue to cool down with time.

We saw a lot of miracles in our area. We only worked Tuesday, Wednesday night, half-day Friday, and Saturday, and were able to bring 6 investigators to church (double our previous best in this area). I also witnessed my first baptism in the area! A 13 year-old named Carlos was baptized. He is really good friends with the deacons quorum here, and they referred him to us. We have also been teaching his 11 year old brother, who will be baptized shortly, and his mom, who also has accepted the invitation to be baptized too, but will probably need a little more time to work through some habits that aren't OK in the eyes of God. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers.

Love,
Elder Stephen Watts

Turmoil in Nicaragua

Below I'll include an in-depth analysis on Nicaraguan politics, but to be brief I'll just say that there were some pretty violent protests all over Nicaragua this past week. On Thursday, we had to be in the house early. On Friday, we were able to leave in the morning, but were not allowed to leave in the afternoon. We obediently stayed inside our house until Tuesday, when the mission president finally declared the scene safe to work again. I suffered a lot during those days in the house. As we have no technology, our days consisted of intense scripture feasting, heat hibernating (as it's hotter inside the house than out, naps are impossible, so we just lie soaking in our heat hallucinations), journal writing, and eating (until we decided to do a nation-wide fast Monday).

The miracle is, yesterday, we were able to resume our normal labors. And, I guess, that nothing happened to us. Three people were killed within our neighborhood. One of the tragedies of it all was a young LDS husband, who had been home from his mission only one year, and married only a couple months. He was killed by cross-fire while administering medications to an injured protester. It's a pretty big relief that the violence has seemed to calm down a little, though most people believe we'll be seeing a lot more similar protests in the near future.

With love,
Elder Stephen Watts

Nicaraguan Politics:

Tensions had been raised ever since the re-election of communist leader Daniela Ortega in January. It was supposed by many that the election was rigged because the number of votes in favor of Ortega was more than the total number of people who voted... Last Wednesday, Ortega mandated that people would have to pay 5% more in social security, and receive much less. There was a video released Wednesday of the police beating the crap out of a grandpa-aged protester that seemed to trigger everyone. On Friday, the biggest, most prestigious Nicaraguan University was burned down by student protesters. By Saturday, every market and supermarket had been robbed and left totally empty by mobs of protesters. Saturday night, the army of Nicaragua was given permission to shoot and kill anyone who was seen doing something illegal. By that time many people had begun to describe the situation as a civil war, though there was never an organized revolution of any sort. Sunday, violence continued, the President spoke out, but the people didn't really seem to like what he said. On Monday, the president finally revoked the changes of social security. The government released the hundreds of people that they had been holding captive in the Universities and Catholic churches that had served as refuges for the protesters. There was a massive, peaceful march asking Ortega to step down as president, but he didn't step down, so everyone just went home and began normal life again. Through it all we heard all sorts of rumors, including that Trump was going to send aid to the revolution to free the people from communism, but I'm glad that didn't happen because it would've made everything a lot worse. After all was said and done, there were more than 30 deaths, the majority head-shots by the Nicaraguan police and army. Oh yeah, and on Thursday all news stations were shut down, but the videos uploaded on Facebook were uncensored and gruesome.

Finding New Investigators

The last two weeks have been pretty hectic, and draining. Life is pretty difficult for zone leaders when their zone doesn't have baptisms. However, we are pretty excited to welcome a large increase of baptisms this weekend. In our area, we've spent a lot of time finding new people to teach, and have had a few successes. The most exciting were two boys (ages 14 and 13) that are good friends of some of the young men. They went to one mutual activity, then asked us what they had to do to be baptized. They were able to come to church last Sunday, and even asked their parents for permission to be baptized. Their parents signed the form without too many questions, each saying that they are very happy to see their boys seeking good things. Who knows, maybe next week, each boy can bring their family to church. In the meantime, they are both super excited to be baptized together on the 28th of this month. 

Other finds were a girl that had been excommunicated, but recently had her rights restored that wanted her boyfriend to get to know the gospel. And a man that we found tracting that read the first few pages of the Book of Mormon and enjoyed it. The office missionaries passed me the joyous news that the Concha (my last area) baptized 3 converts last week. They were three people that I had prepared and were with me during general conference when the temple was announced here in Nicaragua. It was about the best news ever!

Love,
Elder Stephen Watts

Pictures!

Hey, no time to send a weekly, but send everyone my love!

Lidice's baptism

Volcán Mombacho

El Lago de Apoyo

Alexander's baptism

Jose Miguel's baptism

An Easter tradition of wearing masks and beating up someone dressed as Jesus Christ in the streets

My new comp, Elder Gomez, and I

A Temple for Nicaragua

A lot of people screamed and shouted with joy as President Nelson announced the construction of the Managua, Nicaragua temple. At the same time, most people (including President Nelson) began to cry. Instead of hustling out of the building as they had done at the conclusion of every other session, we all stayed behind reverently meditating the incredible news. The people here have been awaiting the announcement ever since the temple land was purchased 25 years ago, and axiously awaiting ever since President Nelson himself promised the temple during a visit in 2012. Currently the members have the decision of paying a lot of money for a Costa Rican visa, or risking the gang violence of Honduras or El Salvador. Either way the trip is difficult enough to prohibit even the most faithful members from attending more than once or twice a year.

The other big news is I was transfered yesterday. It was a little hard saying goodbye to everyone in La Concha. I really loved that area and those people. I received the news at 4:00 in the afternoon, spent up until the night saying my goodbyes, then packed my things before the bus picked me up at 4:00 AM Tuesday morning. I got to my new area to find that my companion and I would be re-opening. That is to say, we don't know anyone and we will be getting lost frequently for a while. I am back in the city of Managua, and let's just say the warm, humid welcome I recieved is nearly unbearable. My area is called Batahola, it's actually super close to where I began my mission in La Trinidad, but I will not be able to go back and visit as it is in a different zone. On top of all that, I recieved responsability over 20 missionaries as zone leader. It was a lot to take in on very little sleep.

My new companion is named Elder Gomez. He's from the Dominican Republic and has a super Carribean accent. It's kinda like if the dudes off of the movie Cool Runnings spoke Spanish. He's tall and black and good at basketball, so we'll get along in that way. He's been zone leader in this zone for 4 months now, but they decided to switch up the area of the zone leaders, but at least he kinda knows his way around the zone. I'm a little stressed right now, but I know that God will help us learn the area, find success, and effectively lead the zone. All I gotta do is put my trust in him, and find ways to stay hydrated and not overheat. The Lord's work is moving onward and ever accelerating. I love and sustain the Prophet and am thrilled to see the world steadily draw closer to the day when the gospel shall sound forth in every country and in every ear, in all the world.

Love,
Elder Stephen Watts