So we started to sing hymns.

The final 6 weeks..
The last change.
On my good days I dreamed about and planned for it.
On my bad days it seemed as if it would never come.
And ironically and beautifully it will end where it began.
With people that Jack has reserved a special place for in his heart.
When a beloved family in our ward who are from Guatemala and own land in Peten
went there this month, they were introduced  as
a family  from Elder Winn's home ward in the United States.
Our friends told the bishop that Elder Winn's mom and dad would be coming to visit them.
They said they are very excited to meet us.
I can't tell you how excited I am to meet them.
To meet the people who Jack has grown to care so much about.
I cannot believe that it will really happen in just 6 short weeks.
And they do seem short now.
I never thought that I would EVER say that.

Hey everyone!

            Well, this should be my last email from the capital! I say should, because you never know about the changes thing. Sometimes President says something, and then changes it, so I have kind of been preparing myself for that. I think I will be going though, after all, he did tell me.

            The thought of going to Peten again makes me very happy, but almost a little nervous. I have so many memories from that place, and so many people that I love very dearly, but have inactivated from the church. That makes me a little sad, so I think it will be a very interesting experience to see them again, and to work with them again. My goal is to have them all active before I leave.

            Well, this was my last week in Llano Largo. I have officially been there for 6 months. I’m not going to lie, they have been a challenging 6 months, but I have learned a lot, and am very grateful for all the experiences that I have had here. I have had some great companions and some great lessons with our investigators.

            This week we contacted a lot by the church, even though it isn’t in our area. We figured that if people have a hard time going to church, why not contact the people who live right next to it? We found a few people that were mildly interested. This week we’re going to try and teach them while the whole family is there.

            This week my companion has been pretty sick. I think he has parasites, because he has the same symptoms that I had when I was in Coban. Remember that? I sure do. That was a fun experience. Today he is feeling better.            

            Yesterday we had an interesting experience. We were teaching a new family that was a reference of the Gonzalez family. The mother recently got hit by a bus, and broke many of her bones. They halfway operated her, and then put her on hold for a few months, until they find time to finish. Anyways, she is in a lot of pain. Well, yesterday we were teaching, and she began to have a lot of pain, and began to panic. We tried to explain that she needed to keep calm, or it would just be more painful, but she didn’t really listen. I said a silent prayer, as well as my companion, and he turned to me and said. ´´you know what we should do right now?´´   and I said ´´yes, we should sing her some hymns.´´ That was the same idea that my companion had. So we started to sing hymns. We sang a lot! And as we started singing she was able to calm down. We didn’t get to teach much, but the Spirit was felt.

            My scripture memorizing activity is going well. I am now up to 51 scriptures.

            This morning I spent some time packing. I am going to leave a lot of my stuff with Sister Cristy. That way I don’t have to bring soo much stuff up with me to peten. This week I made her lunch. I cooked chicken and rice, or at least I tried to. I think it came out pretty well. She really liked it. She gives us meals almost twice a week, and they are always very tasty. Last Sunday she gave us a steak lunch, for my farewell Sunday. She is a nice lady.

            Well I think it is question time.

Is it still raining down there?  I heard from Brother Stone, who was down there a few weeks ago and from the Vanegas's who were there last week, that it has been raining like crazy in Guatemala.  Is the rainy season coming to an end?
            It is still raining, and will rain untill the end of September. I think. It rains a lot here.

Is there danger of mudslides or flooding during the rainy season?
            Yes, but not too much. The ground is used to all the moisture. Only when there are tropical storms.

Did you have any particularly spiritual teaching moments this week?  Tell me about it
            We had an interesting experience with my convert Esperanza. She had accepted work on Sunday, and was not going to be able to go to church for quite some time. We talked about sacrifice, and putting our trust in God. She listened attentively, but didn’t commit to leaving her work. However, to my surprise, we saw her walk in to church yesterday. I think that lesson really helped her to put the important things first in her life. That made me happy.

When will you be leaving for Peten?

Wednesday night, like at 8 or 9.

I assume you will be traveling by bus on the 8 hour ride there.  Do you ever have to travel by yourself during transfers?  Or are you always with another missionary?

We always travel with another missionary. There´s always more than one leaving for peten.

I soccer the most popular sport in that country?  Do you see kids playing soccer a lot?

Yes, it is. All people play here is soccer. You guys should have been here when it was the World Cup. The country went crazy.

Do you know of any LDS taxi drivers who we can arrange to pick us up at the airport and drive us to the mission home?  or do you think we'll be just as well to pick a random taxi driver at the airport?
             Well, I might be at the airport to meet you guys. Ill have to ask and see how that works.

As we go around the capital with you, we were thinking we could just go by taxi.  Maybe if you know someone who we could hire, you can get his phone number, and let him know we will be calling him after we pick you up.  Just try to get his phone number before you leave the area.  What do you think of that?  Or shall we just call any random taxi driver?

              I know a few guys that can take us. To rent a taxi driver for the whole day is very expensive.

2. Can you get much sleep on the bus ride or is it pretty uncomfortable?
I can sleep pretty well. It’s a double decker charter bus, and I think there’s even a first class. I can look into that. Because 15 dollars each is a lot cheaper than 600. =0

2.       How long should we plan on staying in Peten?

Good question. You should send me a revised travel plan.

4. Final vote!! Bus or Plane to Peten?
I think a plane would be cool. But 600 is a lot. It all depends on if you guys think you can sleep on a charter bus.

5. What is something that you missed about being in Peten that you did not get in the capital?
All the nature, and the people, and the lack of crime, and… well the list goes on. =)

6. DID YOU GET YOUR DEBIT CARD???

Yes!

7. Best food/worst food....had to ask it...HAD TO! nerent
The best would be the steak dinner, and the worst would be a juice that I bought today for 12 quets. Its supposed to be grapefruit juice, but it tastes like baking soda. Bad purchase.

8. Did you know that your awesome mother is so proud of you that it is nauseating?

Nerent to her!
9. What will you miss most about Llano Largo?

Well, there's a lot of people here that I love, and the buses are incredibly cheap.

Well, it looks like time is almost up.

Thanks for the emails! I love you guys, and cant wait to be in Peten.

Love,

Elder Winn