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.

Pre-MTC Pictures

Family photos before we took with Kyle to the MTC...

With the family after being set apart

All packed and ready to go.  Sign courtesy of local young women.



One last hug from Baby sister.