AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Saying goodbye was incredible....I'd tell you more but,

Wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mission stats:

New Investigators Found: 287

Lessons Taught: 1,423

Street Contacts: 2,648

Pounds Of Food Eaten: 1,000,000(Approx.)

Well, it’s been great! Normally I'd write about my whole mission and everything but…...........  2John 12

I love you all, I'll see you soon.  I will leave you with something though:

"Father, where shall I work for thee?"

And my love flowed warm and free,

He pointed out a tiny place and said:

"Tend that for Me"

"Oh no not that", I answered quickly,

"Why no one would ever see"!

"No matter how well my work was done,

Not that little place for me".

Now the word he spoke, it was not stern,

He answered me tenderly,

"Ah, little one, search that heart of thine".

"Art thou working for them or for Me"?

"Nazareth was a tiny place,

And so was Galilee"

It has been my honor and privilege to represent that Great Man of Galilee for the past two years, it is something I'll never forget.

Each one of us has out own Nazareth, our own Galilee to which we have been called. Our efforts though unseen by mortal eyes will not go without their reward.

Strive to represent the Savior in all that you do. As members of His church, your lives will be your greatest testimony you will ever bear.

For one last time:  I testify to all of you that Jesus is the Christ, that his blood has paid our ransom. I bear witness that God's authority given to man has been restored in these, the last days.

God lives, and God loves. Families are forever.

Of these things, I testify, in the name of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ,

Amen

July 4, 2016

You replied on 7/4/2016 4:29 PM.

Well due to some technical difficulties...*coughs* U of U....

I'm shorter on time than I'd like to be.

Well next week will be a very special e-mail, so it will make up for this weeks...

Also these lovely computers won't let me send photos, and I've got some great ones, so there's something else to look forward to next week.

As for this week:

I had two things stamped on my missionary agenda this transfer the first was the 7th verse of "How firm a Foundation

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose

I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I'll never, no never, I'll never, no never,

I'll never, no never, no never forsake!

I can say that throughout the past two years I have leaned on Jesus for repose. That I will not that I cannot desert to his foes. That my soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I'll never, no never, no never forsake.

The second is a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,...

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For tho' from out our Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.

Finishing a mission's......hard. There's a lot I'll miss.

But there's a lot more I'm just grateful for!

Ahhh I've got to go.....more next week!!! I'm happy! We're almost there guys!!! I love you all!!!

Dave's Wonderful Week

I've got a wonderful week to write you about, and a terrible keyboard. I can promise you'll be seeing spelling errors.

Ok. So starting off with Thursday:

This week Elder Slade and I accompanied Lupe R. to the temple so that she could be endowed. It was incredible. She saw us just before entering into the temple doors. I figured she would say "Elders, It's so good to see you"! or "Oh! It's been so long"!.....instead she just clasped my hand and whispered "Thank you....Thank you so much. I can't wait to see what other blessings God has in store for me". The joy we felt was something unique, a very special spirit dominated us most of that day.

 Of course that was an incredible experience, but the real blessing came afterwards as we ate lunch.

As we talked with her and the other ward members that came with her, we talked about the baptisms the ward had seen since we left. As they began to list off names I realized that many of them were investigators that we had found, or that we had prayed for, hoping one day that they would progress. They talked about those whom we had baptized and their current activity in the church. Touching upon one convert they said: "She hadn't been to church in about 8 months, but then, just like that, she came back about 3 weeks ago".

3 weeks ago I had sent her a letter, telling her that if she ever found herself straying from the church she should think about her baptism, about the covenants she made, and about the spirit she felt. I promised her that greater blessings awaited her in that chapel than anywhere else on earth.

I learned 2 great lessons this week. 1- No missionary effort goes to waste 2. A letter of support to a convert is a lot more important than we may think it is.

So that was awesome! And.....well thinking about it that's most everything!

We've been knocking doors a lot lately. It's not that bad actually, so we'll see what the rest of today has in store! Tomorrow's the real p-day. We'll be going to the water fountain park....eh...I've seen it before so it shouldn't be that exciting!

I love you all!!!

Looking forward to another week of work,

Elder Winn

So. Here's what happened.

Sunday afternoon we're on our way to lunch with the zone leaders (about 2:00) and they get a message from Sister Larson, saying that Elder Castillo and I will be going to the mission home from 5:00 to 6:30, and they just wanted to give the ZL's a heads up. I thought they faked the message, so they ended up calling Sister Larson (then we believed them, although we still didn't know why we were going).

About an hour later the assistants call, letting us know that we will be eating dinner with the president and his family, them, and another companionship and that we needed to be at the offices at 5:00.

After much excitement and confusion we arrived.

They live in a very nice apartment on the 19th floor. The elevator opened right up to their house. We talked for a bit as Sister Larson finished cooking and the kids finished setting the table. Elder Jarvies and his companion were the other guests. It was the perfect Sunday dinner, Just like Aunt Jan makes. Plus they had blueberries, raspberries and kiwi, which I haven't eaten in at least 2 years, and really, really, really good rolls.

And at some point in the dinner I gave President Larson the "Hey, why did you guys do all of this for us" look. To which he responded:

"Well, we missed Elder Perkin's (the assistant's) birthday a few days ago, and we wanted to greet the new Elders (Elder Castillo, and Elder Quispe, Jarvies companion). But mostly, we wanted to thank you two (Elder Jarvies and I). You've graciously stepped down from a leadership position and have stepped into some very difficult sectors, in some cases with difficult companions and have never complained. So, thank you. Enjoy!

Wow. It was amazing.

Also Lupe R. from Rimac will be getting endowed this week. Thursday I'll be going to the temple with Elder Slade.

I bought awesome stuff today.

I'm quite happy.

Well, Unfortunately I don't have a lot of time, but here's a quick re-cap of this week.

-We've found about 15 new investigators these past few weeks, it's been cool, but kind of disappointed, not many of them are married and they cohabitate, which is a big problem here, and they few that remain are a bit unmotivated.

-I got word from the assistants that Lupe R. (from Rimac) will be going to the temple this Thursday and Elder Slade and I will have the privilege of going with her!!!!

-I went on Interchanges to "la Chalaca". It was a Peruvian slum. It was awesome. I was there for about 3 working hours and we found 4 new investigators. What!?

Those were pretty much the highlights. We had a stake conference and the president of the Lima, Peru temple spoke. He's Italian and was hilarious!!!

I've got to go....and I feel bad for not writing much..

Oh dear, how will we ever live up to this???

BLOG

June 13, 2016

Happy Birthday Mother Dearest, I thought I'd write something special.

(No subject)

This week we met several new investigators. Although none of them are married, and they all live together so....It will be pretty hard for them to progress.... We're striving to see miracles so...the work goes on!

Well, nothing much happened this week workwise, so I'd like to take the opportunity to share some reflections I've made lately.

I'd like to share what I learned in my personal study today:

Proverbs 22: 15:

Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

The rod of correction sounds quite painful.

Hahaha, on a more serious note, I did find one scripture that stood out amongst all those approving child discipline.

Proverbs 17:6

"Children’s children are a crown to the aged,
    and parents are the pride of their children"

While I don't have grandchildren, I can affirm that I am proud of my parents, for twenty long years they have done everything within their power to make sure I could have the brightest future possible. I have had two years to remember all the lessons they taught, all the love they shared, and all the sacrifices they made.

Even while not physically present, I feel their love every day while I'm out here. It's in the sacrifices made to pay for my service. It's in the testimony I bear whenever I speak of eternal families, or the power of sealing ordinances. But most of all it's in the love that I am able to freely give to this people, having been able to feel so much from two loving parents.

My parents have been near-perfect examples to me (hahaha, whether they believe it or not). Never have I met two people more dedicated to providing a loving atmosphere for their children. Never have I met anyone as hard working as my Father, nor anyone with an intellect and determination as fierce as Mother's.

What moves me more than anything else is the knowledge that through hard hard work, and much determination they have attained heights known to few men.

Mother and Father epitomize the words:

"The Heights by great men reached and kept

were not obtained by sudden flight

but they, while their companions slept,

were toiling upward through the night."

All that I am, and all that I have done I owe to both my earthly and heavenly parents.

I testify that God lives and loves us. We are His children, and as such we have a divine potential. Let us strive to make our parents proud, just as we are proud of them.

I'm doing really well. I'm as happy as can be, and I hope all of you are as well!

Love,

Elder Winn

P.S.
ALSO I GOT TO MEET ELDER RASBAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'LL make sure to include my notes in next weeks letter! What an amazing man

 Dave learned to make a mean omelet

 Dave's new hair cut

 Working during a power outage

 His companion cleaned his desk

He might need to bring him home!!

Hey everyone!

I hope you are all doing well!

Well, I'll start off by letting you all know that I'll be staying here with Elder Castillo!!!

And that's the last update you'll be getting from me about my companions!

In case you missed something here's the list:

MTC- Elder McPhie

In Field- Elder Glassford (finished October 2014)

Elder Villarruel, Santa Fe, Argentina (finished November 2015)

Elder Merino, Piura, Peru, (finished February 2015)

Elder Slade Murray, Utah (Currently serving in La Libertad)

Elder Ango Chanchamayo, Peru (finished November 2015)

Elder Aroni Cuzco, Peru, (finished October 2015)

Elder Ramirez Tarija, Bolivia, (finished December 2015)

Elder Diaz Cali, Colombia, (Currently training in Limatambo)

Elder Tonga Highland, Utah, (finished March 2016)

Elder Villarroel Mendoza, Argentina, (currently serving in Limatambo

Elder Castillo, San Luis, Argentina.

So it’s been a blast!!! I can honestly say I've learned more from my companions than I ever could have in any class, any fireside, or any other way. You'll spend more time with them in a day than you will with anyone else.

Each one of them is a son of the Living God who knows and loves them perfectly. In spite of their imperfections, I have always strived to see them as He would. It's been amazing.

And, as for the work side of things.....everything’s going great! We've got a family of 4 all with a baptismal date for the 3rd of July! Which would be even cooler if I knew their names!!! Hahaha Elder Castillo was on an interchange when he found them, so I haven't actually met them yet! Although while on that interchange I also had the privilege of meeting Henry Anton. While we only spoke for about 10 minutes in his house, we taught a really powerful lesson on faith! He's looking forward to church on Sunday and a visit this Tuesday!!!

Sorry I can't send pictures!!! This internet cafe is lame!!!

I love you guys!!! I'm really happy and I'm doing great!!!

-Elder Winn

P.S. As always P-day was playing soccer for a couple of hours!!!

Final Testimony, take II

This week's been great.....same old same old.....not many new investigators. So I'll just tell you what I was going to say last week....

Well, Sorry about the abrupt end last week.

What I was getting at was an experience that honestly put my whole missionary service in perspective.

A couple of months ago I was still in Maranga, and in case you're unaware of how much visible success we had. It was minimal. More often than not, we were walking in the streets, knocking doors, talking to people in the street, visiting every member in the ward, or doing just about anything we could to find people to teach, so that we could fulfill our purpose as missionaries to "invite others to come unto Christ".

Even when we got into a house, our visits to active and less-active members alike proved fruitless. Even the "progress" of our investigators was dubious. 

I vividly recall one family, the “ L”  family. We had to have visited them about 10 times in my short 3 months there, and not once did they go to church. A few of our teaching appointments were cancelled due to the fact that the father was inebriated. I remember distinctly the feeling of complete uselessness every time they promised to come, and never showed up.

On a Sunday morning, much like any other we passed by several investigators so that we could accompany them to church. About a block from the church, who else should we see but the L.  family? Although, it wasn't anything new, frequently they were out and about Sunday, buying ice cream, or going to the beach.....but this week something was different. The men all had Shirts and ties, and the mother and daughter had dresses on....

We approached them, and I hesitantly asked where they were going today. They laughed and said "Church of course"! I must have had my mouth a bit agape, because they all laughed, and said "for reals this time, let’s go".....

Along the way the father, Ricardo, said something to me I'll never forget.

He said: "Elder, it really does mean a lot that you kept visiting us. I'm going to talk with the bishop today; I know I've got to get some stuff in order if we ever want to get sealed."

"Elder, I want you to know. Your visits weren't in vain. Thank you".

Oh, if I could always feel like I did that day....

So. That's what changed my mission. That's what I bore my final testimony about in my last zone conference, and that's the testimony I'll be taking home with me.

I love this gospel so much. I love my mission so much.

That's something they don't tell you when you start....everyone who's served a mission loves it.....but that love doesn't come all at once, but now that it has, I can affirm every cliché statement there is about missionary work!

I love it!!!

I love you all!

I'll let you know about transfers next week!!! Love you!

-Elder Winn

 Temple Trip

 Market outside their apartment

 He might need new socks

 Brian's baptism

Glad to see he's eating healthy

This might be the shortest letter we have receive so far.....

BLOG

May 23, 2016

Hey everyone! I'll start off by telling you I'm doing great!!! And while the work here is going well, I just heard it's going even better back in Maranga...

Now, let’s rewind a bit.

April 11th.

I wrote to you detailing the experience I had sharing the gospel with a young family in a gas station.

Well. It is my pleasure to inform you that they are now members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Sunday morning after the sacramental services I received a phone call from the elders in Maranga. Elder Villarroel told me that someone wanted to talk to me. I waited, wondering who it could be, when I hear "It's me, Gisella. Elder Winn, thank you for sharing the gospel with us, we’ve all been baptized and have just received the gift of the Holy Ghost. Thank you so much".

I was dumbfounded. I asked her about their conversion, about the missionaries, about the family. While there were certainly trails, there had never been a lack of faith on their part. From what I heard, nearly the whole ward attended their baptism, and President Larson himself affected one of the baptisms.

And while that may be one of my favorite experiences as a missionary, I think there's one more that tops it. One that illustrates exactly what I've done here....

And It looks like I'll be sharing it....along with pictures next week.....I'm sorry!!! I promise a super great e-mail next week!!! Love you!!! Bye!!!

BLOG

May 16, 2016

Well the internet here is dumb, so it appears as if you will not be getting pictures this week!!! Sorry!!!

Apart from that; I just received news that Elder Rasband will be visiting our mission June 10th! That'll be awesome!

Also my $60 suit came in today, it's quite the purchase if I do say so myself! Although the sleeves were a little long and it wasn't as slim as I would've liked (Don't worry mom. Even though it's a $60 suit I didn't settle. It's getting sent back to get tailored again).

Today we went to the center of Lima!!! I found out I can pretty much navigate the whole city now.....like....really. Which is saying something because like 10 million people live here and it is not tiny at all.

This week we contacted; knocked doors, received 50 references, and planned out Bryan's baptism on Saturday.

The noteworthy events there are Bryan's baptism, and the fact that we received 50 REFERENCES THIS WEEK. A normal week for us would include about 2.

Bryan is Kiooshi's younger brother. And in case you don't know who Kiooshi is, he's Victoria's grandson. And in case you don't know who Victoria is.....that's perfectly understandable. I really haven't spoken much about any of them.

Hahaha Victoria is a little old lady who we reactivated last week. Elder Castillo and Elder Adams baptized her grandson (Kiooshi) before I got here, and we will be baptizing Bryan this week. He's 12 and is excited to pass the sacrament. So he's leaps and bounds ahead of me when I was his age.

Hahahaha so I'll be making sure to let you know how that goes.....and in relation to the references. They all came from missionaries in this zone.

For two hours all the missionaries in Callao came over and contacted people in our sector. After all was said and done we have 50 potential new investigators, so this should be a very busy week!

I'm doing quite well and am really excited to keep working with Elder Castillo. We get along great, and he's got lots of energy for the work!

Hmm....I can't think of much more to say....but I'm doing great!!!

Love you guys!!!

Hey everyone!!!

This week's been great!!!

We've been kind of all over the place, but here's this week's rundown.

Monday: P-day, we went to the zoo, and ate at Chili's!

Tuesday: Full day of work, lots of meetings, lots of dropped meetings, lots of street contacts

Wednesday: Service for Mario and Marino. I put in a roof....Now I know what you're thinking ¨Oh wow. Elder Winn and his Companion helped fix a roof¨.....no no no. I built a roof. It was hard. It was quite difficult. But while my companion helped clean up trash and junk from the back room. I tore off the old roof, and put in a new one....If you don't mind having a roof made of plywood and cardboard, I could totally build you a roof for less than $10.

Thursday: We went to the temple! The temple's kind of a ways out of our mission, and our session was at 2:15, so we got home about 8:00 at night. So that was about our whole day.

Friday: Another full day of work. Pretty sure the average age of our investigators is 70. We have one youth who's 12 years old, and then Great-Grandparents who are like 85....so....lots of love, lots of patience. Lots of speaking very loudly into one ear so they can hear, but lots of progress.

Saturday: Another good day, lot of contacting in the street, because, while we started the day with 9 planned meetings, all but 1 fell through.

And Sunday!!! SKYPE!!!!!

It was great talking with my family!!!! Hahaha they made it pretty clear that I would be home in about 2 months.

Hahaha life is good! I'm loving how things is going here!!!! It's kind of hard to find people to teach, but we're trying to do everything we can to find new people to teach!

I'm loving life here!!! This week we've got a multi-zone conference! So I'm excited for that!!!!

That's all for this week!!!

Love you all!!!

Well this week has been great!!!

We've been contacting just about everything that moves, and we're seeing results!

Highlights include:

-Carlos V., who: Warmly welcomed us into his home, listened to our message of the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ, and accepted the invitation to be baptized  by one holding the authority to do so.

-Ericka (and family), who: is actually a less active member. Along with her husband, she was baptized about 16 years ago. Her two children ages 12 and 11, have recently been asking  many gospel related questions, causing her to ponder her current direction  in life, and pray to God wanting to know his will for  her family.

-Severino, who: Is a firm Christian believer, who is simply looking for a way him and his family can improve their relationship with God.

-Pedro, who: After asking for a contacting card about "The Big Beard in the sky" frankly told us that he was drunk and that he just wanted to know what religion we were from

-And Andy who: Is incredibly racist; although only against those from South America, despite the fact that he is from Peru....He's actually a great guy. He just hates everything from Argentina, which is kind of a bummer for Elder Castillo!!!

Hahahaha This week has been moving along smoothly!!! Life is going great!!!

We've been teaching plenty of people, and have been really busy! This week Mario and Marina came to church early and stayed all 3 hours! It was pretty miraculous!!!

I honestly don't have that much else to say!!! Love you guys!!! I'm doing great!!!

Drum roll please.

After two short changes as a zone leader I.....

Have been transferred.

To Callao.

To Train.

WOOOOO!!!!!!

Hahahahaha you should be happy and not scared!!! Because my sector and my companion are really awesome!!!

Well....this week has been interesting to say the least.

So Monday night, we get the call for transfers. And to my surprise I was one of the few that had a transfer!!!

They told me I'd be heading to Callao, and I'd be finishing the training of Elder Castillo!

So Tuesday morning I grabbed my bags (They were still packed since we had moved earlier that morning) and headed out!

I'll be honest. I wasn't too keen on coming back to Callao. Less so when I knew it was the heart of the city...but I've got to admit. Coming back felt like coming home!

Everyone here knows the missionaries, and the majority respect them. Which means I always hear some form of "Hey Elders"! "How're you doing"?

Also. The work is moving faster here than in any other sector I've ever been in.

We've had a solid 25 lessons planned out this past week (as a point of reference in any other sector (Even Rimac) I only got to about 15 (Maranga was the worst with like 5 a week)). We find new investigators every day! It's great!!!

Also my new house is awesome!!! It's like....100 years old....but it's way big, and actually pretty clean (from a mission apartment standpoint. Not a United States standpoint).

So far that's about all I could tell you.....We live above a market in a street called Colon. It always smells like dead chicken.

Hahahaha so that's my life right now!!!

We're currently working with a couple named Mario and Marina. They're going to get married the 7th and baptized the 14th. We hope.

And there's a convert of 10 months in this sector! He's awesome! Elder Tasker (an elder who was in the MTC with me) baptized him. He's awesome, and leaves with us to preach like 3 or 4 times a week, despite the fact he's like 50 and has a full time job.

So, I'm great! The work's going great. And I'll leave you all with the recommend to read Elder Holland's talk 'Because of your Faith'.

I absolutely loved it.

Much love,

Elder Winn

Goodbye to a good friend, Elder Bates.

And Hello to my new companion, Elder Castillo!

Here's a scenic view from my new house.....oh wait....what's that?

Where we study.

Also the bathroom's gross. I'm well aware.

Big fridge. Entrance and Couches!

Kitchen

New bedroom

Oh.....This is what Europe is like....

Well, unfortunately this week’s subject line has to do with this week’s key indicators.....They were awful European.

I honestly have walked more this past week than I have any other week in my life!!!.....although it’s good exercise I suppose.

I can't really tell you about any great lessons or anything....although I can share with you one of those treasured "I can't believe that actually happened" moments.

- We were on our way to visit a less active family, when up ahead in the street we see two gentlemen having a heated discussion one in a wheelchair, and one with crutches....As we get closer, we still can't make out what they're saying, but it's apparent that the man in the wheelchair has had enough, and is now trying to run the man with crutches down.....and....oh wait....the man with crutches seems to realize he's got a much longer reach than the paraplegic....In horror we watch the man with the broken leg place his crutch on the paraplegic's chest, laugh like a madman, and push him over....We run over, help the man up, and before we can get a word out, the man we have just helped out has picked up a shard of glass and is going in for round two.........I'm pretty sure someone called the police.

So that was fun......

Jorge continues preparing for his baptism, which will now be taking place the 30th of this month! Woo!!!

We're currently working with Gisella and her family (they couldn't come to church this week, because Gisella and one of the kids were sick). With Danika (who unfortunately slept in this week, and also couldn't make it to church and with Claudio (who's really cool, and I would tell you more, but we don't really know him that well).....

We're currently in the process of weeding out true investigators from "investigators". So we're not in houses that much as of late.

But things are still going well!!!

Other than that, this week we moved into our new house!!! I'll try to send photos!!!!

#1-3 New apartment--It's the 3rd floor, with the spiral staircase!!! It's great

#5  I had the opportunity to go back and visit the Reyes family today!!! They're still doing great!!!

#6-7  We have Star Wars shirts in our zone.  Be jealous!

I'm doing great and still loving the work!!! I love you all!!!