it´s the most wonderful time of the...day :)
Hello my dear family, I was so happy to hear from you this week! It sounds like everyone is keeping super super busy!
Today marks the end of my fourth transfer, and I can´t believe that Ive already been here that long....sort of disturbing to tell the truth. I´m have not yet been informed as to what will be happening next transfer, so telling you about the next transfer will have to wait until next week.
Here in Santa Fe, it is beginning to get, digamos, HACE CALOR...o sea, es cierto que voy a morir en algunos dias. It´s supposedly supposed to get the most hot in Santa Fe out of anywhere else in the country due to humidity, so i may or may not be hoping that the Lord´s plans for my work will take it´s course somewhere more.....bearable? Ha, I´ll let you know about that.
This week Elder Bryce and I worked hard, and thinking about a phrase in Preach my Gospel that says that "no effort goes wasted" we continued to spread the gospel, and it appears that for now we are mostly planting the seeds instead of harvesting. It´s been a trial for me the last couple of weeks, not having many people progressing towards baptism, but it has also humbled me to caused me to focus on doing the Lord´s will and realize that the work moves forth at his pace and in his time.
One of my "fun" experiences of the week is that we went one day to a less active members house and removed two trees that were in her backyard. For two of us, it seemed like it would be a simple task...but as we began i came to realize of many horrorous factors - the ground around the tree was rock hard, due to layers and layers of garbage under the earth ha, it was 2 billion degrees, the equipment we were using was removing more skin from our hands than dirt from the ground, and the trees were quite stubborn. but as we labored hard through the difficulties, we eventually removed the trees :) and we were happy and got to drink some soda after (just 2 of the...many benefits) Now, i´ve decided to make an analogy (haha) of this event. As members of the church, we´ve all been called to labor in the Lord´s vineyard, whether in our callings, missionary work, giving to the poor and needy, or other forms of service. Many times when called upon to fulfill such duties, we come to realize that it may be a little harder than at first glance, and we think we are receiving more hardships than blessings sometimes ha. As we trust in the Lord and continue laboring diligently, we will be given the strength to complete any task and receive the blessings of having learned from the experience, and continually having our thirst quenched from the fountain of many waters :) (just as i did with the soda) I hope any of that made sense, and I'm not really sure why i decided to make an analogy out of that anyway.....just trying to find optimistim to combat the fact of having super sore hands :)
Anyway, scripture of the week is James 2:10. Keeping ALL of the commandments at all times is the only way to become a true disciple of Christ. As in Revelations 3:16-17, the Lord doesn´t want those that are "lukewarm". These two scriptures have really helped me dedicate more effort into being obedient to all aspects of the gospel, and continually learning and progressing to become like the Savior. We all have our weaknesses, but as we but All of our trust in the Lord, nothing is impossible.
What else to say.....still loving the work! I absolutely love Spanish (even when i hate it), and I know this church is true.
I´m glad to hear that everything is continuing to go well at home and in all the various places where our family is currently. I´m happy to hear that the storytelling festival was the best one yet! Also Dad, keep doing work over there in Miami! And i´m happy to hear you have plenty of work ahead of you with those ziplines. I wish i could be there to help you build the "motherboards" like we used to do, but i´ll make sure to be lending you a hand in 16 months. Also, I´m super excited to hear that the baby of Casey and Kari is soon due! My prayers are with you, and i can´t wait to see pictures (hint hint). Also mom, I haven´t gotten the package yet, but i´ll keep you posted on that....it´s very possible that i receive it here with transfers. I´m also impressed that you were able to harvest 9 pumpkins from one plant. booyeah. Also, i´m glad to hear that Elder Henriksen is still....alive after that experience of being robbed. Sounds pretty intense, but i´m glad that he´s doing well. Tell Allison and Todd that I love them as well and am praying for their comfort and well being. Also, wish Jamison the best of luck for me! He´s a stud and I know he´s going to do well out here in the work, especially serving in the best country in the world! (2nd best......united states is home.)
well, i´ll end this letter for the reals now. Thanks for all your support, love, and prayers. The work is amazing, and time is flying by super fast. almost 8 months already. wow. Love you all, have a splendidly week.
Elder Winger
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
hey family! 09/19/11 Week 32
Hey family!
So this week was quite an interesting one for us. We unfortunately didn´t have quite the success that we were hoping for, but I´ve really learned a lot of diligence, patience, and hope during times that we aren´t "harvesting" in the vineyard, but sure doing a lot of "planting" haha. Door to door contacting definitely became our favorite thing to do this week. We lead the mission this week in "contacts" by 80, us having 240 with a goal of 140 haha. So, we don´t have any super solid investigators right now that are close to being baptized, but we are determined to find those that the Lord has prepared to accept the Gospel.
My testimony of the Savior is continuing to grow and I´m absolutely loving the work. I have many weaknesses still, but the Lord has helped me perform his work. It´s the last week before the transfers end, so we are going to work super hard before I (most likely) get transferred to another area! Anyway, I love you all and thank you so much for your support and prayers. The Church is true.
I´ll leave you with a little glue-in that I found in my scriptures this week. a quote from C.S. Lewis:
"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently, He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace."
oh, here´s a solid scripture. 2 Nefi 31:20
Con amor,
Elder Winger
So this week was quite an interesting one for us. We unfortunately didn´t have quite the success that we were hoping for, but I´ve really learned a lot of diligence, patience, and hope during times that we aren´t "harvesting" in the vineyard, but sure doing a lot of "planting" haha. Door to door contacting definitely became our favorite thing to do this week. We lead the mission this week in "contacts" by 80, us having 240 with a goal of 140 haha. So, we don´t have any super solid investigators right now that are close to being baptized, but we are determined to find those that the Lord has prepared to accept the Gospel.
My testimony of the Savior is continuing to grow and I´m absolutely loving the work. I have many weaknesses still, but the Lord has helped me perform his work. It´s the last week before the transfers end, so we are going to work super hard before I (most likely) get transferred to another area! Anyway, I love you all and thank you so much for your support and prayers. The Church is true.
I´ll leave you with a little glue-in that I found in my scriptures this week. a quote from C.S. Lewis:
"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently, He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace."
oh, here´s a solid scripture. 2 Nefi 31:20
Con amor,
Elder Winger
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
WOOOOOOT 09/12/2011 Week 31
Hello everyone!
Another week has passed us by! It´s crazy that I just passed my 7
month mark!! The first exciting thing, yet not so super exciting
thing, that I want to mention is that I just finished my first journal
a few days ago! Over 200+ pages of
I-hope-ill-be-able-to-read-my-penmanship-in-the-future-inscriptions.
Jaja, but yeah, its pretty crazy to be able to flip through it and see
just how many days i´ve been out here. It´s unreal. Anyways, here in
Parque del Sur we are still doin work. I had an amazing highlight of
the week this past week, but it soon became the lowlight of the week
as well...but i´ll explain it to you anyways. Last Sunday, a lady
came to church that we didn´t recognize with her granddaughter (and by
not recognizing them, we were, of course as missionaries "all over
that".) We found out that the lady was a less active that has now
decided to return to the church, and she brought her 14 year old
granddaughter, who´s assistance was the first. She wanted us to begin
coming by and teaching Milagros (which is her name). So we came by a
couple days later and taught them together. Milagros accepted a
baptismal date with no problems for the 17th of this month! (also
Elder Bryce´s birthday....he would want me to mention that). Anyways,
we were super stoked, and i even made her a cute little calendar to
mark her progress (which wasn´t so cute......it could have taken a 5
year old 5 minutes to do it to the same quality, and i ended up
spending over an hour.) anyway, we were still lacking being able to
talk with the actual parents of the girl, but the grandma said they
were AALLL GOOOD. So, we thought it was just going to be a beautiful
little dealio. To make a long story short, it turns out that the
parents were all so enthused. When we met with them finally before
teaching Milagros for the second time, they said they had no idea any
of this was even going on...and of course we missionaries were both
shocked. Anyway, the parents were really nice after we settled them
down a bit and it turns out that they just think she´s too young to be
baptized into the church (which the dad is an inactive), especially
when she´s going to catholic school, doing sports, school, and a bunch
of things to do every day. Anyway, it doesn´t look like she´s going
to be baptized now, but i think she will in the future definitely
because she really likes everything about the church. Anyway, God
will continue working with those that he has prepared. Not the most
exciting in story in the world, but it was an uppy downy adventure.
In other news, remember the baby that I told you about last week that
was in the hospital? I found out yesterday that she (or he) is
getting better! I was so happy! Also, a part-member family that we
have been teaching showed up to church on Sunday! Woo hoo for random
sentences!
Anyways, everything is continuing to go well here in the Argentina. I
was not robbed this week, so that was a blessing as well :) . I´m
absolutely loving the work that I have been called to assist in, and
there´s no doubting that this church is his church.
My scripture for you this week is Moroni 10:30. (maybe even all of
Moroni 10, why not?) I was reading in the LIahona this week and it
was talking about the dangers of the Internet, music, and worldly
things where Satan is creeping in and polluting things that can be
great when used righteously. It´s important for us to stay focused on
good things and not on cosas impuras and to be careful! Anyways,
trashy stuff here is way too accessible to obtain here, and i find
myself always having to look down at the ground (which is a good idea
anyways to avoid jaggedy sidewalk that can trip me and dog poo),
because trashy entertainment is on almost every street corner and
every newsstand around. I know that as we remain faithful to the
covenants that we have made and always strive to be lights of the
world, the Lord will continue to guide us and bless us.
I know that God lives and that he is actively performing miracles
among his children everyday. He loves us and gives us much more than
we can every repay, but simply keeping the commandments and serving
our neighbors is what he asks of us.
Thanks for all of your support and for taking 5...or 10.....or 20
minutes (depending on your reading speed) in order to read this. I
continually pray for all of you, and I want you to know that I love
you all so much.
P.S. I'm glad you all had a great time at storytelling!!!!!!! BEST
THING EVER. And I´m definitely looking forward to hearing the good
news about the next baby :)
Love you all!
Elder Winger
Another week has passed us by! It´s crazy that I just passed my 7
month mark!! The first exciting thing, yet not so super exciting
thing, that I want to mention is that I just finished my first journal
a few days ago! Over 200+ pages of
I-hope-ill-be-able-to-read-my-penmanship-in-the-future-inscriptions.
Jaja, but yeah, its pretty crazy to be able to flip through it and see
just how many days i´ve been out here. It´s unreal. Anyways, here in
Parque del Sur we are still doin work. I had an amazing highlight of
the week this past week, but it soon became the lowlight of the week
as well...but i´ll explain it to you anyways. Last Sunday, a lady
came to church that we didn´t recognize with her granddaughter (and by
not recognizing them, we were, of course as missionaries "all over
that".) We found out that the lady was a less active that has now
decided to return to the church, and she brought her 14 year old
granddaughter, who´s assistance was the first. She wanted us to begin
coming by and teaching Milagros (which is her name). So we came by a
couple days later and taught them together. Milagros accepted a
baptismal date with no problems for the 17th of this month! (also
Elder Bryce´s birthday....he would want me to mention that). Anyways,
we were super stoked, and i even made her a cute little calendar to
mark her progress (which wasn´t so cute......it could have taken a 5
year old 5 minutes to do it to the same quality, and i ended up
spending over an hour.) anyway, we were still lacking being able to
talk with the actual parents of the girl, but the grandma said they
were AALLL GOOOD. So, we thought it was just going to be a beautiful
little dealio. To make a long story short, it turns out that the
parents were all so enthused. When we met with them finally before
teaching Milagros for the second time, they said they had no idea any
of this was even going on...and of course we missionaries were both
shocked. Anyway, the parents were really nice after we settled them
down a bit and it turns out that they just think she´s too young to be
baptized into the church (which the dad is an inactive), especially
when she´s going to catholic school, doing sports, school, and a bunch
of things to do every day. Anyway, it doesn´t look like she´s going
to be baptized now, but i think she will in the future definitely
because she really likes everything about the church. Anyway, God
will continue working with those that he has prepared. Not the most
exciting in story in the world, but it was an uppy downy adventure.
In other news, remember the baby that I told you about last week that
was in the hospital? I found out yesterday that she (or he) is
getting better! I was so happy! Also, a part-member family that we
have been teaching showed up to church on Sunday! Woo hoo for random
sentences!
Anyways, everything is continuing to go well here in the Argentina. I
was not robbed this week, so that was a blessing as well :) . I´m
absolutely loving the work that I have been called to assist in, and
there´s no doubting that this church is his church.
My scripture for you this week is Moroni 10:30. (maybe even all of
Moroni 10, why not?) I was reading in the LIahona this week and it
was talking about the dangers of the Internet, music, and worldly
things where Satan is creeping in and polluting things that can be
great when used righteously. It´s important for us to stay focused on
good things and not on cosas impuras and to be careful! Anyways,
trashy stuff here is way too accessible to obtain here, and i find
myself always having to look down at the ground (which is a good idea
anyways to avoid jaggedy sidewalk that can trip me and dog poo),
because trashy entertainment is on almost every street corner and
every newsstand around. I know that as we remain faithful to the
covenants that we have made and always strive to be lights of the
world, the Lord will continue to guide us and bless us.
I know that God lives and that he is actively performing miracles
among his children everyday. He loves us and gives us much more than
we can every repay, but simply keeping the commandments and serving
our neighbors is what he asks of us.
Thanks for all of your support and for taking 5...or 10.....or 20
minutes (depending on your reading speed) in order to read this. I
continually pray for all of you, and I want you to know that I love
you all so much.
P.S. I'm glad you all had a great time at storytelling!!!!!!! BEST
THING EVER. And I´m definitely looking forward to hearing the good
news about the next baby :)
Love you all!
Elder Winger
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