Elder Winn and the Super-Incredible-Very-Good-Day

December 1, 2014

Thanksgiving in Peru, Elder Winn and the Super-Incredible-Very-Good-Day

Well as I'm sure you're well aware, this past week was Thanksgiving. I didn't even realize that it was Thanksgiving until 6:00 Thursday night when I was told that we would be fed by the members in a different ward! It was fantastic!!! 2 members who were very wealthy (comparatively that is) invited all the gringos in the zone, and their companions  (about 20 missionaries) to come to a Thanksgiving dinner! They prepared a turkey, potatoes, and fruit salad (made mostly of apples and mayonnaise, about as good as it sounds), accompanied by generous amounts of cake and Inca Cola. Everyone in the room said what they were grateful for. I said I was grateful for moments like these, that I would get to take home with me, the moments that are just so incredible you couldn't forget them if you tried..... haha it was just so ridiculously spiritual...... anyway, definitely the highlight of the week!!!

I'll have all you know that while I completely meant what I said that night, More than anything I'm grateful for all of you praying for me back home. I'm grateful for the memories that I have of all of you that I could take all of those memories with me on my mission!  And of course I'm eternally grateful for this wonderful gospel that has been restored to us.

Aside from the Thanksgiving, I had another incredible day this week.

This past Friday I went on interchanges with Elder Brown, our district leader, in his sector. I started off the day knowing 1 thing.

1. He had repeatedly told me that his sector is the worst. Nothing ever happens there.

But, I didn't really have a choice so I went anyway.

The day started off normal....studying, practices, praying, But then we left to go teach (Something that doesn't usually happen with Villarruel because we have language study and the first 12 weeks study in the mornings. Anyway, we went to a less active who hadn't gone to church in 10 years because her husband cheated on her with a different ward member who still goes there. (Yikes!). He said his hope was just to try and see if she still had a testimony.

She reluctantly let us in and we started talking, when her husband came in, and we were assaulted by waves of awkward. Clearly she had not forgiven him, they sat on complete opposite sides of the room and tried to berate each other with insults whenever we weren't talking......after about 5 minutes of this, Brown turned to her and said "Sister, We're going to pray, and after that prayer, we're either going to leave you two to continue arguing, or you will stop shouting long enough to let us teach you something". They stopped arguing and we proceeded to teach. Towards the end of the lesson, Elder Brown said "Look, the members in this ward are terrible (which they are, you wouldn't believe half the things that go on there). But that shouldn't stop you from partaking of the sacrament. If you don't take the sacrament and renew those baptismal covenants in all reality, you will be condemned......I affirmed what my companion had said and told her that we cared about her and we just wanted to see her there this sunday. That she should come for her desire to live according to how god wanted.

She agreed, and this Sunday after 10 years of inactivity she came to church.

We had 3 other lessons that day, each as spiritual and life changing for the investigators and less actives as that one had been.

It was probably the best day of my mission so far.....

Well, I'm grateful for all of you. Thanks for everything. I love you more than you could ever know.

Elder Winn