Tender Mercies from Zone 18

This is Jack's first area,
fresh out of the CCM (missionary training center)
It is in what is called the Peten.
He looks so young.
His skin is not yet tanned and toughened by the elements,
His shirt and tie and belt look fresh and clean.
He looks excited but with maybe a hint of apprehension or confusion being in a land where he doesn't yet understand the language.
I never noticed these things until I looked at this picture again tonight.
I was reminded of it by a message that my good friend missionary mom Leslie sent me.
It is her sons first week out in the mission field,
And as fate would have it (or our prayers answered)
Our sons are serving in the same zone.
They actually played ultimate frisbee and ate pizza together.
I haven't even had the privilege of meeting Leslie face to face but they had lunch today.
I'm not sure if that is fair. lol
She expressed a little fear over his being assigned to Zone 18.
ZONE 18!
All the Guatemala missionary moms know that it is spoken with a whisper. It is the one that everyone is a little apprehensive about. It is the zone where if you look Guatemala up on the internet that you can read scary things about. I know this because when Jack first left the CCM I prayed that he would not go there. I was not yet ready to take the leap of faith that Zone 18 implied.
After every transfer Jack would joke that I must be praying very hard to keep him out of the capital and out of zone 18 and so for the first year of his mission he served north of the capital in Peten and then in Coban. With every transfer reported I breathed a little sigh of relief.
There was even one transfer that he was sent to the capital only to be turned back around after a 7 hour bus ride,
back to Coban for an emergency transfer
and another 7 hours on the bus.
I started to believe that my praying was really having an effect.
Silly me.
The day finally came.
He was headed for the capital.
Not zone 18 but the capital nonetheless.
Of course he was happy to go and assured me that he was in a safe area and not to worry.
After being in the capital for 6 months he got sick. Really sick. He told me he was ok but I knew that he wasn't. He had fever and body pain. We talked about whether he had dengue fever. He said that everyone there got sick like this but I was skeptical. I spent the afternoon discussing with anyone who would listen what I should I do.
Should I call the mission office?
Should I call my daughter's in-laws who live there to check on him?
He told me that he was ok but I couldn't let it go.
I couldn't sleep much that night When I found myself still obsessing about it the next day I knew that I had to do something.
So I prayed.
I was alone so I knelt in my living room and prayed.
I prayed about as long as I have ever prayed,
That I would know what to do and would have peace about the situation.
And of course I prayed for Jack to be made whole.
And then it happened.
Peace.
Jack would be fine.
I didn't need to do anything.
It was already being taken care of.
I could stand down. My heart was filled with joy to know that he was going to be fine
and relief that I could let go of that burden.
But that is when the whisper began,

It really wasn't a whisper as much as it was a thought that keep coming to my mind.
"He is going to be transferred to zone 18 but he will be alright there"All throughout the next week when things were quiet, I would hear,
"Remember he will be alright when he is transferred to zone 18."
"Don't forget the feeling you had after your prayers when he is sent to zone 18"
When I got the email from Jack that Monday,
He told me that he had been transferred and not to worry because he was in a safe area, much safer than the last area. (that's what he always says)
He didn't mention that it was zone 18.
He didn't have to.
I already knew.
In fact I told him that I knew it was in zone 18.
I think I might have surprised him.
I told him I have Mom ESP.
(Extra Special Promptings)
So no worries Leslie. Jordan is in the best of care....but you already knew that.
Here's to lunch in August where we can swap more pictures and stories of good ole Zone 18.

Here is the latest from Elder Winn who is currently serving in wonderfully protected zone 18:

Hey everyone!

Thanks for all the emails. Like always, it’s good to hear from you.

                This week has been pretty good. It’s been fairly normal, but the normal weeks are sometimes the better ones. We’ve been trying to find new people to teach. I’ve been realizing this week that i pretty much know all of my area, and have knocked almost all the doors. That’s okay though, i’m used to knocking doors that have been knocked already. Almost always somebody new answers the door.

                We found a few promising investigators. Almost everyone here needs to get married, which is hard here. The system of getting papers and identification is pretty archaic, but we’re in the process with some of our investigators.

                Recently we’ve been working with this one lady named Luria. She has prooved to be a little difficult. She has a strong evangelical belief, and knows the Bible fairly well. We’ve been trying to teach her about the Book of Mormon, and have her pray about it. She reads it alot, and agrees with everything it says, but she wont pray about it. She says she doesnt understand why there’s a need for the Book of Mormon when we already have the Bible. She claims that the Bible is all we need. We’ve tried showing her things that the Book of Mormon has to offer that isnt in the Bible, but she doesnt seem to accept it. It’s a little frustrating, becuase i know that if she would just pray and ask God about it she would have an answer. Well, much to our surprise, she went to church yesterday, and i think she enjoyed it. Hopefully she will get around to praying about the Book. That will be the only way she will progress.

                Other than her, we have some investigators that are progressing slowly. Some of them we have had to drop this week, either because they dont keep thier commitments, or they hide from us. It’s sad to have that happen, because I know that what we have to offer is of great importance to them, but I also know that there are people out there prepared to recieve the Gospel.

                These past few weeks i have been really working on how i can be a better missionary, and how i can develop some habits that will help me throughout my life. I’m trying to follow every rule exactly, and am also trying to live the Gospel to it’s fullest. I think i’m noticing a change. That’s the great thing about the Gospel. It’s all about progression. I feel like i am getting better each and every day, and i am glad for the opportunity that i have to be able to change. I fully believe that I am a different person than who i was 18 months ago, and i am confident that i will be different than who I am now in the next 6 months. I enjoy getting better and progressing.

                Recently in my studies I have been reading the Book of Mormon like crazy. I just finished the Book of Helaman this week, and am extited to get to the eartlhy advent of the Savior in the Americas. The Book of Mormon is great, and i feel like i learn more from that book than any other book. I am also reading Jesus the Christ for the second time. I really like that book as well.

                Okay It’s question time! This may be a short email because i have to write about where we’re going to go when you come up, but anyways. Question time!

1.       Did you get a new missionary from the CCM named Elder Smith in your zone? If so then take good care of him. His mom is one of my favorite missionary buddies.

Yes we did, and we will take good care of him. He seems like a good kid.

2. Did you hear about the man who died that I talked about in the email? Did you know who he was?

Yes, he was an ex mission president, but i havent heard alot about the story.

3. Do you visit all of the missionaries in your zone in person or is most of the work done over the phone?

Well, we see them each Monday and Wednesday, but most of our work is done over the phone.

4. Do you know when President Torres will let you know the rules for the mother's day call? Do I need to get a plan so that I can call from our home phone? Where would I be calling to?

I dunno. If he doesnt say anything, i’ll probably be calling you guys, because it’s easier. But if you guys call me, you will have to use a phone card. I think it comes out to be 12 cents a minute, which is double what it costs for me to call, but oh well

5. Do you ever dream in Spanish?

Every once and a while, but i never really remember my dreams. If i dream about the mission it’s usually in spanish

6. Do you and Elder Dunkley ever talk Spanish to each other or just English?

Lol, just english. I speak spanish pretty decently, but it’s soo m uch easier for me to speak english.

7. What was the best thing that you ate this week?

Um. Probably taco bell. That usually wins. =)

8. After eating tripe soup last week does your amazing mother's red beans and rice sound like heaven?

Yes! But you stopped making them for us!

9. Do you need anything?

not really. Just to figure out the college thing. I’ve been thinking about that lately

10. Do you still think that you would like bacon cream cheese chicken?  

YES! That should be the first meal we eat when i come home!

Would you have any interest in working part time as a teacher in the MTC? 

That would be pretty cool. I’ve heard it’s really hard to get a job there, but i would love working there.

Are you still playing piano for sacrament meeting?  Is it every week?  Or do they have anyone else in the ward who can play?  Do you feel like you are improving your sight reading skills?

Yes, every Sunday. I am getting alot better. I cant play them perfect, but i use a mix of reading it and playing it by ear.

Tell us a little bit about President and Sister Torres.  Is he a pretty strict disciplinarian?  Or is he pretty easy going?  Does he have an interesting sense of humor, or is he pretty serious?
He’s getting a little more strict, but he is a really nice guy. I have alot of respect for him, and have enjoyed working closely with him these past few months.

You mentioned a little bit of difficulty with some in the mission in being diligent and completely obedient.  Is that still a problem?  What are you doing to try to encourage the elders and sisters to follow the rules?
Yeah, that’s still a problem. We’re trying to help some of our Elders be more obedient and dilligent, but it’s difficult. There’s not a whole lot we can do other than express our love towards them and our interest that they be succesfull.

Do you enjoy doing baptismal interviews?
Yes, and no. I like doing them when they are well taught, and when they pass the interview. I do not like doing it when we have to fail them. It’s a little awkward.

Well, thanks for all your prayers and love. The mission is great, and i enjoy what i do. I hope you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Winn