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

Jose Miguel

I'm so sorry for yet another week without pictures. Don't worry, one day I'll send you all of them all at once. We were blessed to witness another baptism this week. A 15 year-old kid named Jose Miguel. Most people (including us) refer to him as Jose Negro due to his dark complexion and the fact that every other male here is named Jose. We only knew the kid for 2 weeks, which is the fastest baptism I've had. He had begun living with some of his member friends due to problems at home and had felt super attracted to their lifestyle. When we were asking him when he wanted to be baptized, he was wearing a Kobe Bryant jersey. We got him excited by saying that he should be baptized on the 24th to honor the legend. At his baptismal service, he asked if he could share a few words after he was baptized. He then bore one of the most powerful testimonies I had ever heard. He talked about how reading the Book of Mormon helped him realize that the church was true, and that there was a better path to follow than the one he was on. He said that he'd been a punk his whole life and doesn't want to be a punk anymore. It was pretty cool.

Last Sunday was the fullest sacrament meeting that I have attended here in La Concepción. It made me so happy to see so much success in re-activating due to incredible effort from a few of the members, coupled with a ton of recent converts. I'm sure going to miss it if it ends up being my last Sunday in La Concepción.

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

Elder Stephen Watts

Lidice and Alexander

Hey family and friends!

Sorry for such short emails recently. I wanted to share a little on the story behind last week's baptism, Lidice. Here in the mission, every area has a lunch lady that we pay every 15 days to give us lunch every day. Our lunch lady decided to take a trip to Costa Rica for 3 months, so she arranged for us to eat lunch with her sister, Lidice, for the meantime. Our normal lunch lady, Ivania, is a member that was a little bit less active, but has reactivated with the conversion of her sister. In the beginning (December time) we offered to give the lessons to Lidice, but she politely refused. She had met previously with missionaries as well, but never felt the need to be baptized. The weeks went by, and one day, she began asking questions about what we believed, and whether or not we could baptize her daughter. We, of course, jumped on the opportunity and began sharing all about baptism, what her daughter needed to do, what she needed to do, what doubts she had, etc. Slowly we realized that she was also interested in something else. Through the weeks, as she had had us in her house every day, she began to pick up on the Spirit that we brought with us. She asked why it was that we always seemed so obedient, so willing to serve, and so happy. When Ivania returned from Costa Rica in February, the two of them began going to church together, and 3 weeks later, she was baptized.

This week, we once again had the privilege of seeing someone take the step of baptism: Alexander. He is the Husband of my convert Liliana. You might remember that apart from teaching them the gospel, Elder Pocasangre and I went as far as hosting their wedding so that they could abide by the law of chastity. When the area split, and I handed them off to the sister missionaries, he confessed that the only reason he didn't decide to be baptized with his wife, was because he never found time to sit and read the Book of Mormon. He told me that although he had prayed and believes the church is true, he didn't feel good about being baptized without fulfilling that commitment as well. The very week he finally opened the book and read the first few pages, he made the decision to be baptized that Saturday.

The pictures are still not cooperating, but they do exist. One day you'll get to see them!

Love,
Elder Stephen Watts

Meeting an Apostle

Hey Friends and Family!

I do not have a lot of time to write this week, nor upload photos, which is a bummer, because I have a few. The good news is that we had another baptism. A super sweet, middle aged woman named Lidice, who's husband was a less-active convert of about a year and a half. They said that they would really like to see their family together in the church every Sunday for the rest of their lives. In the process of teaching Lidice, we witnessed the reactivation of her husband, and her sister, which has been really great.

On Saturday, we met together with the other Nicaraguan mission to hear from Elder Quinton L. Cook, from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was accompanied by Elders Zeballos and Gong from the Seventy. It was an incredible meeting. It was a pretty great experience to be able to shake the hand of an apostle and hear his testimony. I hope everyone is getting excited for general conference!

Love,
Elder Stephen Watts