Defender of the Faith

This picture was taken 20 months ago today.
We had dropped his luggage off
And were headed into the room where I knew we would say goodbye
for awhile.
2 years
24 months
104 weeks
730 days
17520 hours
1051200 minutes
I was walking slow behind them mentally calculating time.
trying to figure out which way sounded the shortest.
which method of counting off
would bring me the most comfort.
As I snapped this picture I realized
that no matter how it was calculated
this would be tough.
for all of us.
We were going to have to decide what type of
sacrifice we were willing to make.
And it felt that day like a sacrifice
I was not sure I could handle.
But I have....
for
1 year 8 months
20 months
87 weeks
606 days
14544 hours
872640 minutes.
And it has been a blessing.
Elder Winn would probably say that it is going too fast
this block of time.
But we Moms mark off every bit of it
As a victory and
an offering.
Happy 20 months Elder Winn
Love you, Mom

Hey everyone!

Thanks for all the emails. It-s great to hear from you.

            Well, first item of business, I don’t have a change. Elder Dunkley left to Peten, and my new companion is Elder Richardson. This will be his last change. I don’t know him really well, but he seems like he will be a good companion. I’m excited to work with him here in Llano Largo.

            This week was pretty good. Do you guys remember Julian, who I was teaching in Lomas? Well, this last week we went to Lomas to interview him for his baptism. I was pretty excited, and I took the opportunity to visit the Castillo family. Anyways, he passed his  interview, and was to be baptized the next day. So, the next day Elder Dunkley and I travel to Lomas again to see the baptism, after all he was my old investigator. When we got there the Elders there told us that he was nowhere to be found. Elder Dunkley and I went to go and look for him only to find that he went to work! That was a little frustrating. I-m thinking he might have forgotten about his baptism. Oh well, hopefully he gets baptized this next week.

            Lately we've been working with the Rico family. They didn’t come to church, which was a little disappointing, but I think they will go this next Sunday. They also have to get married, which is an added challenge.

            We are also working with another family- Carlos and Alejandra. They were looking really excited about learning the Gospel. We haven’t been able to find them lately, but we’re going to visit them tonight. They live far away, and it’s a bit of a hike to get there. Elder Richardson will have fun with that. I’ve gotten a lot more in shape here in Llano Largo.

            The leadership changed a lot here in our zone, which is a good thing. We have a lot of really good district leaders, and I think the zone will do well this change.

Let’s see, what else is new? There’s never a lot to write about the first week of the change. I’m sure there will be more to say next week.

So now it’s question time!

1. WHERE ARE YOU?? (If you have changed...give details!!)

I’m still here in Llano Largo!

2. Who is your companion?? (remember....DETAILS)
I gave all the details I had! I’ve only talked to him for about 10 minutes. Lol

 3. Do they watch American TV there?  What is the favorite TV show? (Not that YOU watch tv but does anyone talk about shows?)
Not really, mostly because they don’t speak English. They watch a lot of movies here though. Other than that I don’t really know.

 4. How many years or grades do kids go through there and is it mandatory to go to school? Is the education system very good?

It depends. I would say about 10 or 11. The education system is really bad here. School lasts only 4 or 5 hours, with an hour of PE every day. The teachers only need the equivalent of a high school education to teach, and from all the homework that I’ve seen them do it seems like they don’t do much.

I would say that the lack of a good education system is the reason this country is in its poverty.

  5. What was your favorite food eaten this week?

Elder Dunkley and I have a new diet of eating a peanut butter and jelly sanwitch, a fruit, and a pack of cookies for lunch. It’s a really tasty and light meal. I enjoy it a lot.

6. Have you mailed the letter yet to your favorite mother?

Lol, and if I fax it?  Jk I will mail it

7. How is the new bed?

Amazing. New beds in the mission are great.

8. Are my questions getting lame or WHAT?? nerent nerent nerent!

Lol =)

 Do the youth go to early morning seminary there?

Yes, and it starts at 5! Even earlier!
Do you remember any particular scriptures you learned in seminary that you are able to use in your mission?  Which ones?

I cant say I remember a lot from seminary, but I remember the scripture mastery scripture in Doctrine and Covenants that talks about obedience. We use that one a lot here.

We saw some pictures of you on the Pres. & Sister Torres' website.  It looked like you all were eating lunch in the gym of a chapel.  What was that meeting? 
That was for a zone conference that we had with Elder Fallabela. It was a really good conference.

I saw basketball goals in the ward meeting house.  Looks just like our chapels.  Do the kids down there like to shoot baskets on youth activity nights like they do here?

That was a the stake center, and it’s the nicest one in the mission, and the only one with an indoor basketball court. Most of the chapels have outside ones. And yes the youth get together frequently to play soccer. Basketball isn’t really big here.
Have you gone on exchanges with the ward members lately?  Have you had any good experiences with going on exchanges with members?

Not exchanges. We have been leaving with a future missionary. He likes to work with us, and does pretty well at teaching.

Well, it looks like that’s all for this week. Thanks for the emails, and the Line of Authority. That’s pretty cool. Well, the Church is true. I frequently get the chance to defend it here, and I love being able to teach the truth. I really like in the mission packet towards the end where it says that we are to be Defenders of the Faith. I like that title, and hope to be worthy of it these last 4 months of my mission. I love you guys. Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Winn