December 30th 2013

Hey everybody! It was good to talk to you all on Christmas! 

First random thought, our new branch mission leader was John the Baptist in the new Bible videos on LDS.org. Check them out!

Second random thought, we are teaching an Irish guy right now who says he wants to get baptized! He has been taught for a few months now by the missionaries, and the thing we really need to help him overcome at this point seems to be issues with the Word of Wisdom. 

Christmas was fantastic for us! After studies in the morning we biked over to the other Elders' flat in Warwick to play some team building/dividing monopoly. We got picked up there by some members and went over to their home for the rest of the day. Santa dropped some things off at their  house for us, and we each got some pens, some really warm socks, a bar of chocolate, and a woopy cushion! 

 

Thanks so much for all of your emails! Short day today because I had to wait like an hour at a barber shop to get a hair cut. . . I will have to take pictures and you can tell me next week if it was worth it. I love you all! 

-Kyle

December 16th 2013

A lot has changed in the last few days since I have emailed you all! I apologize in advance for this email, because my head is just spinning right now.

First off, the Warrick B flat I am in right now is pretty new, so no cool "flat finds" like Christmas trees. (see pictures.) The only Christmas decorations we have up are some cards we have gotten from the members here! That doesn't bother me too much though.

My district just has one other team besides myself my companion.  The other two Elders are absolute nutcases! I'm really excited to begin working with them though. They live in Warwick, and we live in Leamington which is a 5 minute train ride away. We are getting on a train a lot more frequently here than I have in any other area! Speaking of trains, on Saturday we got the chance to go up to the chapel and meet some of the members at the branch Christmas party. My companion and I made sure to get a picture with Santa. A lot of the members here seem really cool, and hopefully we are going to be able to help the branch become more missionary minded. Anyways, I got on a tangent. On the way back from the Christmas party we walked into the train station right as a train arrived. I knew that our train wasn't supposed to get to the station for another ten minutes, so when my comp jumped onto the train I hesitated for two seconds to ask if it was the right train. Two seconds was two long, and the doors to the train started to close. They didn't start to open again which I stuck my arm in to stop them from closing, so I pulled my arm out and my companion was off! I had to call the mission president to let him know that I would be unavoidably separated from my companion for ten minutes while I waited for the next train. The story doesn't get any more exciting, I caught the next train and my companion was waiting for me at the station. I'm just glad that I didn't miss the next train because there wasn't another one for an hour!

Being District Leader has been fun because I haven't really gotten any training yet! I kind of assumed that there would be some sort of meeting where I would be told what my duties as District Leader are. Nope! Right now I am just doing what I have seen other District Leaders do in the past. My first District Meeting will be on Wednesday, and I will probably begin doing exchanges in the next week or so! I tell everyone that District Meeting will just be us playing hangman. NOT!!! 

I will have to tell you all more next week when I can think a little better. We are working very hard, and we have been able to find a few people who we may be able to begin teaching. Only time will tell if the appointments we have been setting up are going to hold!

 

I love you all!

-Kyle

 

 

December 10th 2013

Well, I had better write something to everybody because we got news about some . . . changes last night. First off, I am being transferred to Warrick (I am not certain about the spelling there. :) I am told that it is in the middle of nowhere. Yay! That's a bit crazy that my first three areas are going to be in the middle of nowhere. I kind of like it though! The second bit of news is that I have been asked to be a district leader. For those of you who don't know what a district leader is, (I didn't know until I got out into the mission field,) a district leader is kind of in charge of 2-5ish sets of missionaries and provides training for them each week. When I got the call to tell me that I am going to be a district leader I was thinking "No way! I don't know enough to be a district leader! I'm not a good enough missionary yet to be one!" They I realized though that it doesn't matter how good a missionary I am, because I am not going to be doing it on my own. The Lord is going to be there to help me! It will be interesting to see how he does that, and I am excited to have the chance to serve more people and to learn more.

 

We decorated the flat for Christmas this week! We found a Christmas tree we didn't know we had, and a couple other decorations as well. In addition to that, the ward has been working to help the missionaries have a great Christmas as well! There is a box for each set of missionaries in the entryway of the church building which the ward members are filling with presents and food (mostly sweets!) Unfortunately I won't be here to enjoy all of that, but oh well!

 

0352- Our flat all decked out for Christmas and flat inspections!

0358- Unfortunately, that is me. Looking really weird. Dad will be happy to know that I am now swishing my hair. (Not quite a part, but hey!) It's the only way I can keep it looking somewhat tidy while biking all the time.

Our flat all decked out for Christmas and flat inspections!

Unfortunately, that is me. Looking really weird. Dad will be happy to know that I am now swishing my hair. (Not quite a part, but hey!) It's the only way I can keep it looking somewhat tidy while biking all the time.

I love you all!

-Kyle

December 3rd 2013

They are a week late, but here are some pictures from Elder DeFriez's camera of walking around in Hoarwithy looking for the AUF.

Sorry I wasn't able to send a real group email today, but all of you are awesome! I hope you enjoyed thanksgiving and ate yourself sick. I didn't quite eat that much, but it was nice. Talk to you all later!

Love,

Kyle

 

 

November 19th 2013

We did a quick Q&A session with Elder Winters this week.  Hope you enjoy...

How many members are in the ward/branch that you attend on Sunday?

I am in the Hereford Ward, and right now about 90-100 people attend church each Sunday.

How often does it rain?

It seems to generally rain at least once a day. right now it pretty much always rains during the night, and we wake up to wet roads. The weather is weird here. . . you can have a massive down poor that lasts for 15 minutes, and then a few minutes after that there are blue sky's and the sun is shining. :) We had an unusually fair summer, and if I remember correctly there were several weeks where it didn't rain at all!

Are you allowed to chew gum?

We are asked not to chew gum in public, and I am not a big enough fan of gum to buy it just so that I can chew it in the flat!

What  do you usually eat for breakfast?

When I don't have much time I generally have cereal and an apple. Otherwise I may eat eggs, hash browns, or French toast.

How far do you bike every day?

That's a tough one! It depends on the day, but I think the average is probably about 4 miles, maybe more. The church building is a 2-3 mile bike ride away, so if we have some sort of meeting we need to attend at the chapel it adds quite a bit.

Do the members help you by giving referrals?

The members do occasionally give us referrals, one of which we are teaching right now. Referrals are wonderful! When the members are really involved in missionary work, the work goes forward much more effectively. Right now we are helping each family in the ward to develop a family mission plan which involves them picking someone they know and friend-shipping them. Eventually as the members focus on praying for and loving a friend, that person will ask a question which will give the members to share their testimonies. This plan may take a number of weeks before we are able to see the fruits of it, but hopefully it will help the members to find more solid referrals for the missionaries.

Do you eat with the members very often?

We tend to have 3-4 dinner appointments each week. 

Describe your morning personal study.

When all goes as it should, my personal study is planned the night before. Personal study starts at 8:00, and I study what we plan to teach investigators that day, concerns and questions people have asked, chapters from Preach My Gospel, and gospel topics which I want to understand better so that I can become a better missionary.

What time do you get up and go to bed?

I get up at 6:30am, and go to bed by 10:30pm.

 How many missionaries are there in your mission?

There are about 240 missionaries in the mission right now.

What is the name of your mission president and where is he from?

Our mission president is named President Rasmussen, and he is from Idaho.

What is your least favorite English food?

I like most English foods, especially since they tend to cover everything with gravy! I may have to say hot dogs or steaks. Both are quite disappointing.

What things you did prior to your mission prepared you the most for mission life?

The most important things would probably be living, not just knowing, the gospel of Jesus Christ, learning to work, and studying the scriptures. I wish that I had done more of all of these things before I got on my mission! As far as I can see nothing you can do will totally prepare you to be a missionary, but if you really do these three things they will be a great strength to you.

What is your favorite part about being a missionary?

My favorite part is being able to see someone change their life, repent, and be enlightened by the gospel. It is wonderful to be able to see that happen with people you care about. Unfortunately that does not happen all the time, so my second most favorite thing is when I can look back on a day and say that I have done all that I was supposed to; that I have fulfilled my purpose.

How are your shoes and clothes holding up?

I brought two pairs of shoes, and so I figure I can't start on the next pair until I hit my year mark! :) My heels are working on wearing through the back of the first pair of shoes, so I patched them with duck tape and I found another pair of shoes in the Hereford flat which I have been using for all my heavy walking. Other than that, my shirts and trousers are getting a bit frayed and some are getting a few stains, but they are still usable. The one thing staying really nice are my suits! I only use them for meetings, so they still look like new :)

Are the roads in your area cobblestone, or more like our roads here?

The roads are cobblestone only in city center. The rest of them. . . have a lot of potholes and bumps. They are a bit nasty on a bike if you aren't careful.

Describe your flat.

Our flat has a huge room right in the center with a high ceiling and the kitchen to one side. We use this room for study, working out, and relaxing. Coming off of the main room we have a bedroom, a bathroom, and a room for our clothes, drying racks, and ironing board.

 

I love you so much!

-Elder Winters

Double-Duty Missionary!!!

October 24th 2013

We had an incredible miracle last week!!! It seems like a lot of our miracles happen right after we finish emailing. Maybe it is the fact that I always feel pumped for the work right after I get to read emails from my family, friends, and mission president!

 

So within a few minutes of getting off the library computer last week we bumped into one of our investigators. He loves to chat, so we had a seat with him for a few minutes to find out how he was doing and how he was feeling about the messages we had shared with him. I don't remember when I got the prompting, but as we spoke to him all I could think about was inviting him to be baptized on November 16th. I began to try to steer the conversation in a direction so that we could invite Him to be baptized, and then I leaned over to my companion and whispered "November 16th." A minute or two later my companion asked the investigator if he would prepare himself to be baptized on November 16th, and He said that if by that day he knew that what we had told him was true, he would be baptized. As if the Lord hadn't been good enough to us, we were able to set up a lesson with Him for the very next day. The next day he told us that ever since our last lesson with him he had known that it was the Lord's will for him that he should be baptized. he said "alright, I know I need to be baptized so lay it on me. What next?" We immediately taught him that the Father and the Son are separate and distinct beings, and that they have bodies of flesh and bones. He accepted that willingly and told us that it was in line with what he had learned from the Bible. We hope to see this investigator today and teach him more so that he will be prepared to be baptized on November 16th. He is a very tough person to get ahold of, so we have just been praying for him and hoping that he will be able to continue to progress.

We went down to Cheltenahm for Stake Conference on Sunday during which the Stake Presidency was reorganized. There were two members of the seventy there to conduct the business, and so we had the wonderful opportunity to hear them speak. I feel bad because I don't remember which general authority gave the talk, but one of them spoke about a fundamental principal by which God works in our lives. That is that miracles are not worked with what we don't have, they are worked with what we do have.

On one occasion the Savior was teaching a large group of people. After ministering to them he had compassion on the people and commanded his disciples to give the multitude something to eat. They asked how they could feed such a vast multitude? They did not have the food or the money to do so! Instead of making food appear out of thin air, Jesus asked how many loaves they had. The answer came that they had "Five, and two fishes." The Savior Blessed the five loaves and two fishes and they fed 5,000 people.

The Lord loves us and he is willing to help us in every situation. He does so however not by making our trials go away, but by working with what we have. If we need the help of the Lord, and we all do, he will ask us to give him all that we have and then to have faith. When we don't have the strength to finish the race, the Lord will ask us to take the next ten steps which we do have the strength to take. Only then will he strengthen us as a result of our faith to continue on. When trials come your way, I would invite you not to think of all the reasons you cannot succeed. If you focus on the negative, miracles cannot occur! Rather, offer the Lord EVERYTHING you have to give and "then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed." (D&C 123:17.)

I love you all and I can tell you that your prayers on my behalf are answered!

-Elder Winters

October 16th 2013

This week has been crazy busy, but we spent a lot of the time on a bus! Over the course of last week we went to Gloucester for zone meeting, Birmingham for a follow up trainer's meeting, Gloucester again to meet with other missionaries to travel to see Gadfield Elm and Benbow farm, and then to Gloucester again for a district meeting and to have interviews with the mission president. I just want to share one cool experience that occurred on the train ride back from Birmingham. The train was too full to sit down, so we were standing for the first chunk of the journey. We noticed that one of the gentlemen standing next to us was looking at us a little strangely, and when he saw my companion pull out a Book of Mormon he asked "you two are Mormons aren't you?" We told him that we were, and asked him where he recognized us from. He told us that he was actually taught by two missionaries in Scotland, and that he had now moved to Birmingham. He was on his way to Hereford for a couple of days. What are the chances? We asked if he would be interested in having missionaries come over to his home to teach him again, and he said that he would like that. We took down his phone number and gave it to some of the Elders serving in Birmingham. It just goes to show that if we pray for opportunities to share the gospel, the Lord can and will put people in our paths who are willing to listen!

 

I mentioned that we went with a group of missionaries to see Gadfield Elm chapel and Benbow farm. Soon after the orginization of the church, the apostle Wilford Woodruf was called to go on a mission to England to preach the restored Gospel. At great sacrifice, he answered the call and traveled to England. Soon after arriving, the spirit lead him to Benbow farm where he met the John and Jean Benbow. He taught them late into the night of the incredible events which had taken place to usher in the restored gospel. The Benbows were impressed, and invited the apostle to speak to the congregation of which they were a part. The congregation was composed of men and women who decided to do their very best to follow the teachings of the bible, but who felt that there was more to it than that. We had the opportunity to sit in the Gadfield Elm chapel where Wilford Woodruf bore powerful testimony to that congregation. Almost every member of the congregation was baptized shortly thereafter in the small pond at Benbow farm. In addition to these, several constables sent to arrest Wilford Woodruf were also converted and baptized. It was very cool to sit in that small chapel and think about what incredible things had taken place within those walls!

 

It has been good to see the work in this area move forward since I have been here! The work of the Lord cannot be halted! Even though it is beginning to rain buckets and it is getting colder! :)

 

-Elder Winters

 

Gadfield Elm Chapel

It's Pretty Small!

 

September 11, 2013

We have seen some huge miracles last week!

First off, we were finally able to get in touch with one of our investigators. We were worried that he had lost interest because we hadn't been able to get ahold of him for so long, but thankfully that wasn't the case! We were able to have a lesson with Him last week end, and then he brought his two daughters to church on Sunday! He really enjoyed it, and he told us later that he felt like church really was good for his daughters as well. He has a couple of concerns which we hope to be able to help resolve for him in the next little while, but we are excited that he really seems to be progressing towards being able to enter the waters of baptism!

 

Another wonderful miracle occurred when we met another man last week. He has a strong belief in Jesus Christ, and he isn't at all shy of letting those around him know it. He always greets us "Hello fellow Christians!" loudly enough for everyone on the street to hear. We have had the opportunity to teach him twice now, and I am really hoping that he will be willing to take the steps necessary for him gain his own personal testimony of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

Ok, now for the embarrassing part of the week. It rained a bit on Sunday, so when our church meetings were over the sidewalks were a bit slippery. I didn't think of this as I got on my bike and began riding down the sidewalk in the parking lot. I decided to try and take a turn in the sidewalk a bit more quickly than usual, and when I leaned left into the turn my tires just slipped out from under me. The three other missionaries there with me were most supportive as they almost died laughing. My entire left side was covered in the green vegetation slime that I slipped on, and I put a rip in my white shirt that was pretty much un-repairable. Needless to say we headed straight back to our flat so that I could get changed. The worst part of it was, when I took my trousers to the dry cleaner's the next day the best promise I could get out of them was that they would "do their best" to get the stain out. Shocking.

 

So, a little bit about Hereford. I have no idea how to judge how many people live in a town, but it seems like a fair sized town to me. It is probably 10 or 15 (or more) times bigger than Lake Point, with a couple of stores the size of Wal-mart in it. Maybe that will give you an idea. On a bike it feels like we go up and down a lot of hills, but in reality it is pretty flat. As far as towns go Hereford isn't what we would call "dodgy." It is a pretty safe place although there are a couple of streets where I prefer not to spend too much time at night. I haven't had any problems with people trying to steal or damage my bike, although you have to take into account that I am locking it up with a motorcycle chain. All of the architecture seemed old fashioned to me at the beginning of my mission, but I am not noticing it nearly as much now. I will have to get some pictures of the buildings here.

 

Our flat is awesome! I haven't gotten around to doing a walk through with the camera yet, but as far as missionary flats go ours is pretty good. We have a good sized main room where we study and spend most of our time when we are inside, so I am happy about that.

That's all for now! Cheers!

Elder Winters

A Spider we found in our flat!

Me right after I took a spill on my bike ;)

As much of our zone as I could fit in the Frame!!!

August 22, 2013

Pictures of the week...

August 14th 2013

Well, for everyone who doesn't know, it's official. I have been moved from Aberystwyth to Hereford.  I was a bit sad to receive news of the transfer because my comp and I were getting along so well and we were beginning to see some incredible miracles in Aberystwyth! It's ok though, I'll go wherever the Lord wants me to go.

 

My new companion is from California, and he really likes to work hard as a missionary which I really admire about him. I have only been on my mission about 6 weeks longer than him.  I think that we will be able to work really well together!

 

Hereford is a town/city right on the border between England and Wales. It seems to be quite a bit bigger than Aberystwyth, and everything feels so much farther away (probably because I now have to bike everywhere instead of driving a car.) Some big miracles have been happening the past few months in Hereford, and as a result 3 people all from the same family are planning to be baptized before the end of August. That is a great situation to be transferred into! The only thing is, once these three get baptized we won't have any investigators any more so we have been spending a lot of time searching for new investigators.

 

We had a really cool experience a couple days ago when we were out knocking on doors. It was in the evening, and although we weren't finding too many outright rude people, we were having a tough time finding anyone who was interested in learning about the incredible message of the restoration of the Gospel. We were knocking along a row of houses, when my companion stopped and suggested that we go and knock on some houses on the opposite side of the street. We walked over and knocked on the first house and a man opened the door and said "Well, I've only got five minutes but you can come in if you like." We were so surprised! We went into his house and began to talk with him. We ended up teaching him a lot about the restoration, and we gave him a Book of Mormon to read from. We were surprised again when he asked us if we could come back after he had had a chance to read a bit from the Book of Mormon! We set a return appointment and then left. You never know when a miracle is going to happen!

 

I love you all!

-Elder Winters

 

The Text that changed my life!!!

My New Companion

Investigator Family

 

August 5th 2013

Heaps of miracles this week!

 

First off, a classic story that sounds like it came right out of Preach My Gospel. We were out visiting a lady who we are teaching, and it began to rain. We finished our visit and got in the car to drive back to our flat for lunch. As we began to drive out of the town I felt like there was somebody in that town that we needed to find. We turned around, parked, and got out of the car. We started walking down the street knocking on the occasional door, and the rain started coming down harder than I have ever seen! Within a minute we were completely drenched. We decided to knock on one last door before leaving, and the man who opened the door said "I may not be a believer, but I'm not going to leave anyone in rain like that! He let us in, and gave us each a towel to dry off with. The man introduced himself, and after chatting for a few minutes he told us that the last six months of his life have been incredibly tough for him. He has gone through a number of trials including the death of his father. Rob told us that because of what he has been going through he really wants to know if there is a God! We set up a time to come back and answer some of his questions.

 

The biggest miracle this week happened on Saturday morning at 6:22. We received the best text a missionary can receive from a investigator saying "GOOD MORNING! PLEASE WHEN IS THE BEST TIME I CAN GET BAPTISED?" I thought that I was asleep or that someone was pulling a prank on us! I still can't believe it! We called her up and set up a time that night to go over and talk to her.  She told us that she read from the Book of Mormon on Friday night and prayed about it. She went to sleep expecting to have a dream or something to answer her prayer. Instead, she just had one of the best night's sleep she has had in weeks. She  woke up at 4:00 thinking about the Book of Mormon and what we had taught her. She told us that she felt the spirit bare powerful witness to her that she has known all along that the Book of Mormon is true! She thought about an experience she had thirteen years ago when she had a similar experience where the spirit told her to do something. She had not followed that prompting thirteen years ago, and she had seen a number of consequences from her disobedience. She said that she didn't want to see a repeat of that experience, so she had written the text to us right away. She sat there for a while trying to convince herself not to rush into things, but she said that she couldn't keep herself from hitting send! She committed to be baptized on the 31st of August, and she brought her three children to church on Sunday. This experience strengthened my faith that the Lord is indeed preparing people to receive the gospel! (Alma 13:24.)

 

To top things off, a less active member and a former investigator accepted our invitation to attend church and we were able to see them there on Sunday! The Lord has been very good to us!

 

-Kyle

 

We are SUPER excited to hear that Despicable Me 2 is coming out, even though we won't be able to watch it.

Finally, I can FLAGPOLE!!!

 

Boil-up

We looked up what boil-up is...

In New Zealand a boil-up is a colloquial term for a method of cooking used by Māori people. A simple method of cooking, a boil-up is literally the boiling of different foodstuffs in a large pot (usually a stockpot) together to create a sort of crossover between a soup and a stew. Traditionally ingredients used are pork bones, Sonchus, potato, pumpkin, watercress, and dumplings.

This makes sense considering that his current companion is a New Zealander!!!

July 29th 2013

We had a couple of great things happen this week! First off, we had an incredible zone conference where the Mission President and a Stake President spoke to us. Our mission president spoke about coming closer to Christ, and the Stake President talked about the parable of the Good Samaritan. He suggested that the Savior chose every word carefully when he gave a parable, and that this one is full of symbolism down to the oil and wine used to bind up the wounds. Try studying the parable assuming that the good Samaritan represents you, then that the man who fell among thieves represents you, then that the "beast" represents you. It is quite interesting!

 

On Saturday I got to attend my first baptism since I entered the mission field! He is the 8 year old son in a family in the branch.

The missionaries have been a big part of his preparation to be baptized as his family is returning from inactivity, so it was a really cool day for me.

 

A couple of interesting things happened this week, one of which was us burning some boilup. My companion told me that it is impossible to burn the stuff, and that you can just throw it in a pot and eat it whenever you are ready. Maybe our planning session that night was too long, but when we went to eat our boilup the kitchen was filled with smoke and all the water in the pot had boiled off. The flat still stinks a little bit.

 

Another interesting thing that happened is that Elder Webber smashed his bed. I'll send the pictures.

Have a good week everyone!
Elder Winters

The other day I parallel parked in a really tight spot. It was brilliant!

My Companion trying to salvage our boilup.

Baptism Photo!

Another one.

My Companions broken bed!

July 22nd 2013

I got to spend some time with my trainer this week which was great!

My current companion and I traveled a few hours to pick up my old trainer and his companion to bring them back to Aberystwyth. He had to come to Aber for an appointment he set up before he knew that he was being transferred. We hit some brutal traffic on the drive to Aber! We passed one old guy who was running up the hill, then we got stuck in a line so long that the guy ended up passing us. It was quite embarrassing.

 

We met two awesome people this week who we are beginning to teach! We saw a woman walking down the road a few days ago and asked her how her day was going. She told us that it was going awful, and we asked what we could do to make it better. She said that she needed shelter, food, money, pretty much everything. We told her to wait a minute, and we ran into our flat and filled a bag with food for her. It turned out that she was a previous investigator who we had tried to make contact with only a week or two earlier! We were able to meet both her and her husband on Sunday and get a bit of their story. I'm here to tell you, some people have had incredibly tough lives! We shared a bit about our message with the two of them, and they said that they would like to hear more of what we have to say and that it would be incredible if they could know that they have a loving Heavenly Father.

I am so excited to begin teaching these two and to see how the gospel will be able to fill their lives with joy!

 

Right after we experienced this miracle on Sunday we went over to a man we are working with and found a bit of a crazy situation. He really wanted to give up smoking, and so we did the missionary stop smoking program with him which allows you to stop smoking in 7 days. He finished the program on Saturday, and then didn't come to church on Sunday. We went over to see what had happened, and he told us that he had had a panic attack only partially related to giving up smoking and had had to go to the hospital. The doctor there told him that he shouldn't try to quit smoking "cold turkey," and that he should drink a little coffee and use an e-cigarette a little bit every day. I was gutted! We will be trying to figure things out over the next little while.

I love you all!

Elder Winters

Hanging out with a Frog!!!

Our District!

 

July 1st 2013

We had a number of awesome experiences this week! First and foremost, we were able to invite two people to be baptized when they receive a witness that what we have been teaching is true and they accepted!

That has never happened to me before on my mission, and two people accepted the invitation in one week! The Lord has been so good to us!

 

Let me tell you a little bit about what happened with one of the people who actually requested a visit from the missionaries online. We had our third lesson with her on Friday, and we brought a member who I haven't had the chance to go teaching with yet. We went into her home, and we got to know her a bit. Then the member with us said "it seems like you know an awful lot about Mormons, why aren't you one?"  I was a bit surprised at first, but then I realized that it was a really good question! Why wasn't she a Mormon? If we could understand that and address those concerns, then she would have nothing holding her back from being baptized! We listened to her and then taught and testified as the spirit directed us. The spirit was in the room, and I know that she felt it because she told us afterward that we had planted a seed in her and she would read from the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it is true. She then told us that when she knows that the Book of Mormon is true, she will be baptized into the church. It was one of the most powerful lessons I have had the privilege to be a part of so far in my mission!

 

Another cool experience happened on Saturday when we were able to teach the missionary stop smoking program to a man we have been seeing for a few weeks. He has a great desire to stop smoking, and his sister came over to provide support as we taught the lesson. I am so excited to see the program begin to work! The Lord blesses us when we do our best to keep his commandments!

 

Let me finish off with something that made me laugh. On Sunday my companion and I drove about 20 minutes out of town to bring the sacrament to a member who has been feeling very poorly. We decided to just head out to his home without bringing any bread, planning to just use something that he had in the house for the sacrament. We were a bit disappointed when we got to the member's house and he told us that he didn't have bread or anything that could be used for the sacrament in the house! He told us not to worry about it and that he would just take the sacrament next week, but we promised him that we would get back to his house some time that day to bring the sacrament to him.

My Companion then had the brilliant idea to just walk across the street and knock on someone's door to ask for a slice a bread! We knocked on a lady's door who took one look at our badges and said "Latter Day Saints? Not interested!" We explained that we were just wondering if she could do us a favor and give us a slice of bread. She looked very surprised and a bit angry! I explained that we had a friend across the street who had been unable to come to church that day and that we wanted to administer the sacrament to him. She said ok, went and got us a slice of bread, and we walked straight over and gave the sacrament to the member. It was great! Elder Webber and I are thinking about bringing cookies or a thank you card over the lady when we are in the area next.

I love you all!

Elder Winters

June 24th 2013

Quick email to everyone. I can tell already that it is going to be random, so bear with me.

Last week I had my first Lemon Meringue Pie since forever ago. It was completely lush! (Sorry, welsh term.) We went and had a meal with some great members, and when they brought out the pie I almost fell off my chair.

We had another great miracle last week! A man had spoken with missionaries several times over the years, and we have tried over and over to get in to talk to him.  Yesterday we stopped by however, and were surprised when he let us in!  We talked about religion for a bit (he is currently a Buddhist of some sort,) and then we taught him about the restoration of the gospel! He thought that it was really cool that we have a way to know whether or not what we believe in is true (prayer) and he said that he would read from the Book of Mormon and pray about it! It was great!

Dodge night tonight! That means that tonight we will know whether or not we will be staying another transfer! If I am leaving, I will do so on Wednesday. Exciting!

-Elder Winters

 

June 10th 2013

Last week we were able to see some incredible miracles! First off, on Friday we took a member for the first time to a lesson we had with an investigator.  He often tells us that he is too old to change and he has a hard time making commitments, but the member we brought was fairly elderly and she told it to him straight! We had a really great lesson, and for the first time since I have been here he made a commitment to come to church! When we went on Sunday to let him follow us to the building he told us that he wouldn't be able to come because he was experiencing some really nasty neck pain. I still count the experience as a definite miracle however because we were able to set up another appointment with him, and he told us that he was planning to come to church next week. It was great!

 

Another miracle that we had, is that the Relief Society in our branch really took off with the idea we had of creating a feed the missionaries calendar. After the calendar made its rounds on Sunday (and with a bit of prodding from some wonderful sisters) we were told that we had 8 dinner appointments set up for the week!  We are going to capitalize on these by using the appointments to help the members find ways that they can do missionary work.

 

In our last zone meeting I was introduced to a scripture which may prove to become my favorite for a while! It is D&C 123:17 "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed." I love the imagery here! If we will do all that is in our power (and cheerfully no less :) we can then sit back an watch the Lord reveal his arm and move heaven and earth for us. This may not always happen in the way we want or expect it too, but the Lord will be there to help us!

 

I appreciate all of your prayers for me!

Elder Winters

 

One of the couple missionaries knits dolls and hats for missionaries! Here are the ones that she made to look like my comp. and I!

Making strange faces with some hats

 

June 3rd 2013

One of my best friends told me last week that from the blog it doesn't look like I am doing much teaching, so here is a report on how the missionary effort is going in Aberystwyth Wales! When I entered the area we had two investigators, neither of which were progressing rapidly towards entering into the covenant of baptism. As a result, my companion and I have been putting a lot of effort into finding people to teach! Since I entered the area we have been blessed to find three more people to teach, one of which has unfortunately moved as of last week :( In addition, we have had the opportunity to talk with a number of potential investigators who may very well become investigators in the very near future!

 

My experience thus far has been a bit unique because for the most part all of the investigators I have taught have been at roughly the same point in the conversation process at the same time. I had the opportunity to teach about the restoration several times before I ever got to teach about the plan of salvation and so on. As a result, I have taught the first 2-3 discussions a number of times, but I have never taught many of the commandments! I still have so much to learn!

 

I'll wrap things up because my comp. and I are going to travel to Swansea for a P-Day activity with a few members of our Zone.

 

Cheers!

Elder Winters

May 20th 2013

We had lots of miracles last week, but one in particular was really fun! We were knocking doors going down a street, when out of the blue one guy opened the door and invited us right in! Should have guessed it, but he was a Jehovah Witness. They tend to be really nice to us when we knock on their doors because they know what missionary work is like.

 

Anyways, this gentleman talked to us for about 45 minutes! He told us a bit about his beliefs and why he was a Jehovah Witness. I asked him if I could tell him why I was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and he said that he would love to know. We then launched into a full Restoration lesson, and we offered him a Book of Mormon along with a challenge to read and pray about it. He declined the book because he said that he knows how expensive it is to print one, but he asked for a website where he could read the Book of Mormon online! We told him about lds.org, and he said that he would try and read from the Book of Mormon and pray about it. (Not a very solid commitment, but he seems to genuinly be searching for truth so we should be able to work with him.)

 

In the introduction to the Book of Mormon we find a promise that anyone who will sinceraly read the Book of Mormon and pray about it will recieve a witness of its truth! That promise is true! After our visit the man asked Elder Nelson and myself to tell our parents that they did a good job raising us! He said "Tell them that a Jehovah Witness said that . . .that should make them happy!" The gospel is so true!

Love,
Elder Winters

They have some beautiful trees here!

My camera just couldn't do this sunset justice!

May 13th 2013

Last week I went on a great exchange with one of my zone leaders in Swansea! I learned a number of things, not the least of which was that you shouldn't speed. We got up early on Friday morning to drive another team of Elders to the train station. I was driving, and we came into a city area where the speed limit bounced back and forth between 30 and 40 mph. They have these annoying little things called speed cameras hear in the UK. I was driving somewhere between 30 and 40 mph talking to the other Elders and not really paying attention, when suddenly there is a huge flash of light . . . If I did in fact get caught speeding on the camera, I should get a ticket mailed to me in about a month. I felt really bad about it, and I haven't sped since! Lesson! We sometimes think that in life we can just watch for speed cameras and THEN slow down. This happens when we have a sin now repent later attitude. The thing is, you just don't know when you are going to hit a speed camera! Priesthood holders, you simply do not know when you are going to be called upon to exercise your priesthood and pronounce a blessing upon the head of someone badley in need of help! Keep the commandments at all times and you will be prepared for the times when you suddenly need to exercise your faith.

 

Love

Elder Winters

 

Our district + Zone Leaders

One of the remaining pieces of the Aberystwyth castle

 

May 7th 2013

Yes, you know exactly what it is!!!

My Comp performing his District Leader duties.

April 29th 2012

So I was talking to my companion about patience just last night. We have an investigator who is about 80 years old. He has been taught and dropped a number of times by previous missionaries.  He has had a really tough time receiving an answer to his prayers because he is so stubborn.

In the MTC we had a very effective object lesson on patience. The teacher sat down in a chair, and asked a missionary to stand at the other end of the room and represent God. He then told us that he didn't know anything, and our job was to get him to God without touching him. We told him to begin by standing up. "Stand up?" We demonstrated what we meant. "No, I couldn't do that, I would fall over!" We told him to begin by putting his hands on his chair and pushing off. "Hands? Chair? Push?" We had to explain simply what we meant and each step in the process of standing up. It was frustrating because standing up and walking is something we all do so naturally, and here we were trying to explain it to someone with a limited vocabullary! Eventually we were able to help the man lean forward, stand up, and slowly shuffle over to God. We are teaching people something that is completely new to them. Most of the gospel vocabulary is unknown! To them, standing up must seem an impossible process. Is it any wonder that investigators take a bit of time to progress?

Anyways, that's my little spiritual blurb for the week.

Cheerio,
Elder Winters

I don't have my own bike yet so...

April 22nd 2013

I survived my first week in Wales! My companion and I are working hard, and we are looking for ways to work harder :) As we strive to become better servants of the Lord, the Lord has directed us in the work. Last week we found a man who had been taught briefly by previous missionaries. We knocked on his door, and he let us right into his home to teach the entire lesson on the Restoration of the gospel! He is going through a whole lot of challenges right now, and we are hoping that he will make and keep the commitments he needs to in order to gain a testimony of Jesus Christ and find joy in his life. In our first lesson he told us that he really wanted to quit smoking. He had done so for several months previously, but he had begun to smoke again in an attempt to deal with the stress in his life. We explained to him that the church has put together a fantastic stop smoking program which we could teach to him in the future. When we went to visit him 5 days later, he told us that he hadn't smoked since our last visit! I respect him so much for his will power!

 

Although I have experienced many miracles in the short amount of time I have been here, one really stands out to me. A couple of days ago we went out to talk to a potential investigator. He wasn't home, but as we walked back to the car we stopped to talk to a young man who looked about 14 years old. He told us that his parents discouraged religion and he didn't know much about it, but I gathered that he really wanted to know more about Christ. We gave him a Book or Mormon and explained that it would help him come closer to Christ. He asked if we had a church somewhere in the area, and we gave him the address of our meeting house. He told us that he might come to church on Sunday, and he asked if he could bring some friends! WOW!!!!! We didn't see him at church on Sunday, but I am praying that he will make it in the next couple of weeks. In any case, we were definitely able to plant a very big seed! (It might even qualify as a bulb:)

 

The gospel is true! Pray for the missionaries, and pray for opportunities to share this glad message with your friends!

Elder Winters

Our Flat!

A sister in the ward gave me a birthday present!

Aberystwyth, Wales

April 15th 2013

Hello from Aberystwyth Wales! If you look on a map, Aber is right on the West coast of Great Britan. The ocean is about a 5 minute walk from our flat!

 

Because I was unable to do any blog posts during the MTC due to time constraints, let me briefly describe my experience. The MTC was the hardest, most frustrating (at times) and the most incredible experience of my life! It was unbelievable to see how much my fellow missionaries and I changed and grew in a few short weeks! We felt the Spirit, and learned how to love and teach our investigators. The food was a bit unhealthy, but there was lots of it! I was able to see a number of my friends who were in the Provo MTC at the same time as myself, which was pretty cool. There is the MTC experience in brief.

 

After a long plan ride over to Birmingham, I was introduced to my trainer! He is from Utah, and he has been out on a misson for almost a full year now. We are getting on very well together, and we are very much alike in many respects! For example, we both sing which is good because he told me 5 minutes after I met him that we had been asked to sing in church next week . . . ;) I am beginning to get used to things here in Wales, and it is seeming less and less strange to see cars drive on the left side of the road. On that subject, I had my first driving experience last Saturday! (April 13th) I didn't crash which is great, but I still need to get used to all the roundabouts here! The Aberystwyth area in which I am serving right now is one of the most remote in the mission, so it took a good 2 1/2 hours to drive from the mission home in Birmingham to our flat in Aber.

 

We are working hard, and we are begining to see results!

 

In case you were wondering, here in the UK a garbage truck is known as a bin lorry.

 

Cheers!

Elder Winters

My MTC Comp.

My room mates, all going to Birmingham.

Our MTC district out for a Sunday morning walk in front of the Provo temple!

MTC Map picture

. . . I don't really know

My Trainer and first Companion in Wales

I met one of my good friends from my ward in the MTC.