This weeks letter

June 22, 2015

Ok! I hope you're all ready for a big e-mail!!!

 

So, this week I got a call Monday night that I would be leaving on Tuesday and that I should pack my bags. It was a pretty bittersweet feeling, because I loved the ward and Elder Slade, but at the same time I wanted to get out of there, and move on.

 

We had another big change meeting like we used to have, with the ENTIRE mission there. They announced the changes, and then President and Sister Borg said their goodbyes. I'm going to miss them, but it's going to be exciting to get a new president too.

 

Anyway, the President announced that I would be going to Condevilla and my new companion would be Elder Ango. Which I was totally fine with!!! Elder Bates and Cluff are in Condevilla, it's a great zone and last week alone they had 18 baptisms! It's insane! So I said goodbye to Elder Slade and headed for my new home in the Jorge Chavez ward.

To start off, the sector itself is about as big as my old one in Rimac, but it looks a lot more like Palao. Also my apartment is about 3X the size of my first one and 5X the size of my last one! It's WAY nicer! Elder Ango is from Junin, it's a province right next to Lima, so he's not that far from home... Also I think I got demoted to junior companion because he's been out here for 19 months now!

 

Other than that......We have a pensionist again! She cooks breakfast and lunch for $3 a day! It's great! Her family is the best! Although I haven't met many other members yet (mostly because church was cancelled this Sunday for the dedication of the Trujillo temple).

 

And lastly, since I'm still getting to know the investigators, members, and less-actives and don't know much about any of them.

 

I'll just tell you a few of their names that I enjoyed.

 

Sister Jesus,

Sister Lenin,

Brother Mary (keep in mind these are first names people, FIRST NAMES)

And Brother Ezra Brigham Taylor.

 

Although I have to say my personal favorite is a recent convert named Stibe (pronounced Steve)

 

And lastly, but certainly not least. We, as missionaries, were able to attend all 3 dedicatory sessions of the Trujillo temple this Sunday. Probably one of the most spiritual experiences of my life. It was incredible. Elder Bednar talked about the importance of doing temple work for OUR dead, and furthering the Family history work we do for OUR families.

 

Although it was Uchtdorf who ultimately dedicated the temple. It was a truly magnificent experience to not only see, but to Feel that another house of the lord was being established in this country.

 

Well that's all folks! I hope this letter finds you well!!! Love you guys!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last weeks letter/Steve and I were out of town so it's a week late

June 15, 2015 

Well this week just flew by!!! We had Maria's baptism Saturday night at 8:00 PM!

It was amazing!!! We could tell she was worried about it and was feeling pretty nervous but the moment we walked into the chapel it seemed to just melt away. The service went perfectly and she left just beaming! It was great to see Elder Slade stand in the font with her, as her family sat and watched. It was an amazing experience.

Other than that this week just kind of passed by uneventfully! Just normal teaching appointments, normal visits......"normal" lunches.....hahaha really though I don't have a ton to talk about!

I feel like I've learned a lot here in Rimac and I'll be sad to leave it....but on the other hand it will be good to head out and experience something new.

I came into Rimac to a few progressing investigators and a few references. And I'll be leaving it with 8 people set up for their baptisms, a ton of references to contact, and a great deal of other investigators in varying stages of progression. While I may not have baptized like crazy, I feel like my sector is certainly a lot better off than when I left it, but I know that I'll be leaving it in good hands!

Elder Slade was by far my favorite companion I've had so far! While I've learned so much from every one of them, I'll miss him the most for sure!!! It was such a pleasure to train him and I know he'll be a fantastic missionary (not that he isn't already).

Anyway. I'll be heading out soon! I'll let you know where I end up next week then!!!

Love you guys!!!!

-Elder Winn

     
   above          Sector playing soccer on "P"day.
   below         "Trash Mountain" as it is known by.....thought I had taught him better than this.

Hey guys!!! So we've had a roller coaster of a week since we last left off.

At the start of last week, we had 7 people who (with a bit of nudging and with some extra help) would have been ready for their baptism this Saturday.

Anyway, I'll spare you the details, but, ugh......at least we're getting 1 baptism this week!!!

It will be Maria.....which is funny, because if you had asked me 2 weeks ago, which of those 7 would be the last to get baptized, I would have said her.

When we first met her, she just rambled and cried for about 20 minutes, talked about giving birth and how she had only ever wanted to be a nun, and then asked for a picture of Jesus.....so we didn't exactly have a ton of faith to begin with.....but....after talking to her a few more times, she eventually let us in......then came to church.....then decided to get baptized.

It's the greatest!!!

Also we made french toast. I know that doesn't sound extraordinary, but to us, it's pretty much a luxury.

Other than that......I got in my first car accident this week!!! Our taxi driver rear ended the car in front of us pretty bad......and then we just drove off!

Aside from all of that, we did have one other cool experience this week. We went to a scheduled meeting we had at Maria's house, and when we went inside, we were introduced to David, a member from her (soon to be former) church. She wanted us to convert him. 

He did NOT want to be converted.

After about 15 minutes of him insulting Joseph Smith, The prophets, Adam and Eve, The book of Mormon, Religion in general, and the way I laced my shoes (that's 100% true).

We kindly told him that we would hate to cause contention, and would just like to leave them with a prayer. This further angered him, and he proceed to challenge our knowledge of the bible.....after condemning our knowledge of the bible as "laughable" and "in all actuality non-existent" he invited us to read it, just as we had invited him to read our book.

I then referred him to a political group known as the Pharisees. Turns out....they had a lot in common!!! We told him that it was apparent he knew the letter of the law, but not the spirit. We invited him to think about what he had said, and invited him to pray about it. I think he rejected our invitation, but I really wouldn't know because after that he didn't say much of anything at all......

The Gospel is true!!!! I love you guys!!!!

 

Well, this week ended great with a completely unexpected (and very stressful) baptism!

Javier had been talking to us about his baptism for a while now, and really wanted to do it. Unfortunately, his wife was still opposed and didn't want her kids to be baptized. So.....after a lot of coaxing on our part (and even more by our district and zone leaders) he agreed to be baptized on Sunday. It was a great until Saturday at 6 when he called us and said that 8:00 that night would be better. So we changed all the plans, call the Bishop and the ward members to invite them, and make sure the font is ready. Then he gets there and we realize we don't have baptismal clothes, so we have to run back to the room get another elders baptismal clothes so that Javier can use mine.....In the end I ended up using pants about 34 sizes too small, and just about had to ask Slade to do it so I didn't lose circulation to my legs.

So that was great.

Then we had a multi-zone conference with Elder Sanchez's new zone. It was great and I feel like I learned a lot about how I teach and what I can change to be better.

And then it gets weird.

Remember that Eric kid I talked about last week? Well apparently he used to be a devil worshiper. He says for a long time he was trying to bring souls to Satan, and just recently has realized that that probably isn't a good thing......

He's going to need more help than I thought.

And yesterday at 12:00 in the morning we were woken up by the worried screams of the Elders on the floor beneath ours. 2 priests from their ward had been playing with an Ouija (is that spelled right?) board and vaguely remembered that that was a bad thing and proceeded to go directly to the Elders room to ask for help.

So, we came down to a whole mess of confusion, screaming, and blessings......in the end we had to cast the demons out of one of the priests, and gave a blessing to the other. Then re-blessed the room.......it was a very odd night.

Although; I look back on the experience with so much gratitude for the power of the priesthood. I have certainly gained a powerful witness as to the divine power that Christ has, and the truthfulness of his restored priesthood line of authority.

Well.....Augh, that's it!

There should be pictures in my other e-mails! Love you guys!!!!

-Elder Winn

pic #1  Soccer field they played on by the beach

pic #2  Cool church in Larco Mar

pic #3  Javier's baptism- Dave in pants that are according to him "34 sizes too small"

pics #4-5  Cool car they saw today