I will be a witness (and I have a stomach of steel)

This is one of the first pictures I received from Elder Winn on his mission.
It was taken in his first area of the Peten.
He looks so young and so fresh and clean.
A contrast to the scenery behind him.
It meant so much to me to see this picture...
To see where my son was visually and to see that he looked eager and happy.
It is still one of my all time favorite pictures of his mission.
(Don't you love the dog all curled up and looking at him in the background. It actually looks a little like his beloved dog Sadie who I am trying to keep alive until he comes home)
Jack was so excited to email today..
to tell us that he is going back to his favorite place.
Peten..
He has been asking the mission president for this for awhile now.
In his sweet gentle Jack-like way.
I am happy for him.
I hope he will take a picture standing in that exact spot.
A picture to show the changes I know have occured.
A dingy shirt, sunburned skin, tattered tie and worn out shoes,
And the smile of two years worth of spiritual experience.
(and maybe the dog will be there too.)

Hey everyone!

                Thanks for all your emails. Like always I love hearing from you guys. Yesterday I didn’t write because we had interviews with President, and we also went to the Temple today, which makes today our p day. Today we had to get up at 3 50 to be able to make it to the first session. I am a little tired, but I love going to the Temple. Somehow being here in this country makes going to the Temple more special for me, considering the danger and evil that often prevails here. The Temple is a very literal refuge from the world here, and I feel most at home when I am able to go there.

                Well, are you ready for some exciting news? Yesterday in my interview I learned that my last area will be San Jose Peten! That was my first, and by far, my favorite area. I don’t know why, but I am really attached to that place. President asked me last change where I wanted to end my mission, and I explained that I wanted to go to San Jose to activate some of my converts there, and to and baptize some of my older investigators. Yesterday he told me that I would be ending my mission there, and that I had much to do there before I left. I am ecstatic. I can’t wait to get up there. I will be there next Wednesday.

                This week in Llano Largo was challenging! A lot of our appointments fell, and some of our investigators told us not to come by anymore, and we were limited in our working time, because we had ZL council and zone conference. I’m enduring to the end here in Llano Largo. I like the area, but it is really hard. It’s been my hardest area, and I have worked very  hard here. All i can say is that alot of people have had the chance to accept the only true and everlasting Gospel here, but have denied themselves the opportunity to be saved in the Kingdom of God, and I will be a witness. I know that I have been here for a reason, and that may have been a reason. I have 2 converts here, Esperanza and Jasmin. They are still active, even though they have been going through some financial problems lately. Esperanza started working Sundays and wasn’t able to go to church for awhile, but we taught her, and helped her understand the commandments again, and last Sunday she decided to come to church instead of going to work. That made me happy. I care a lot for my investigators.

                It´s raining right now. It rains all the time here. Ive gotten wet many times.

                Let’s see, what else can I write about. The highlight of my week was knowing that I am going to Petén to finish my mission.

                Well, lets do Question Time as I think.

Are you teaching any new families this week?

We had a hard time finding families this week, because we didn’t have too much time to work. We keep trying though.

What is your favorite lesson to teach?
                That´s a hard question. I really like teaching the Plan of Salvation, but I also like teaching the Restoration. Both are really good lessons.

Is there a particular lesson that you find seems to touch the hearts of people any more than the others?
                I find that some of our most effective lessons are reading in chapters of the Book of Mormon with our investigators. That seems to help them a lot, and you can feel the Spirit very strongly.

Do you teach English lessons to people?  Seems like that might be a way to get in the door with some people.
                We were doing that for awhile, but there was very little attendance, so we had to stop. Sometimes it works though. It depends on where you are, and how close the Church is to people.

Are you still running each morning?  Does Elder Vasquez like to do that?
                Elder Vasquez isn’t much of a runner, so I run stairs in the morning along with my sit-ups and push-ups. That’s my normal routine.

You have about 7 more weeks in your mission.  What's your gut feeling about where you will serve in your last area?  Stay in the Guatemala City?  Are you still hoping to go back to Peten to finish up?

Peten!!! =)

How's your goal of memorizing 1 scripture per day coming along?  How do you select the scriptures?

                It’s going quite well. I really enjoy doing it and I have a system to help me. Right now I have over 40 verses memorized, and even though I am memorizing them in English, it helps me when I teach, because I have the reference in my mind, and I can pull out scriptures much faster. The goals of the activity are to learn more about the scriptures, and to be able to have a better memory, which will really help me as I study, and I plan on studying for quite some time.

1.       Is it change week this coming Saturday?

Wednesday is change day now. That’s the reason they extended my mission. I’m serving for almost 2 years and 1 week now.

2. When will you be told? Do ZL's know sooner than everybody?
I only know my change. We figure out the changes about 5 minutes before everyone else. =) what a privilege

.

2.       How do you feel about this being your last change?
In some ways strange, and in some ways I feel the same. Sometimes it makes me very happy to know that I will be home soon, and in other ways it makes me very sad that I will be leaving this country that I love so much. There are lots of mixed feelings.

3.        

4.       I need a name of a hotel in Peten. I don't want to wait until we are there. Remember Muleshoe?
I stayed at a really cheap one once. Lol I don’t think you guys would like it. =)

5. Do you and the other Elders talk about or know about all of the Guatemala North Moms blogs?
Nope. =)

6. Is there anything that you need?
Not really. I’ll be home soon. =0

7. Did you know that Rick Stone was on business in Guatemala last week? He said it rained the whole time he was there. Do I need a rain poncho or a bunch of those disposable rain baggie things. Can I just buy an umbrella there?
Well, we can probably buy umbrellas there. The rain season wraps up right when you guys get up here.

8. Is your awesome mom possibly excited at the prospect of seeing her son?
Prolly. =)

9. FOOD!! Best/worst?
Best food was Carnitas, wich is a Guatemalan dish here. Its basically chuncks of fried pork meat. Its really good. The worst was… Some meat we had in our refrigerator that I think went bad. Lol.  I didn’t get sick though. I have a stomach of steel.

10. Knowing that I ask that question every week, does it make you try to eat something great or bad so you can answer that?
Lol, sometimes. =)

Well, it looks like my time is running out. I’ll still be in the capital for my next email. But soon enough I will be in Peten! I hope you guys have a great week!

Love,

Elder Winn