Tuesday, July 26, 2011

July 25th 2011

July 25th 2011
HAPPY PIONEER DAY EVERYONE!!!! (and for those people who have NO CLUE what I'm talking about, I hope you had a nice Sabbath day yesterday :D)

So I have to apologise for the lack of pictures this week. Only one picture, me and my new companion Elder Goodner. Ooops, I lied last week...I think I told everyone that Elder Goodner is from St.George, that's not to accurate :/ He is actually from South Jordan, UT (I knew there was an "S" in there somewhere :D) He has been on his mission for 5 months so we are both pretty new. I think I mentioned last week that we are part of a whitewashing of the Ntinda area. This means that all the missionaries who were here last transfer have been moved and we have all new missionaries here now. On Wednesday during our District Meeting we sat down at the table and split up the area by looking at GoogleMaps of the area. I will admit that the first 2 days of the transfer were the most frustrating days I have experienced so far. I didn't know the area, I didn't know any members, I didn't know my companion, I didn't have any investigators, and I didn't have any food in the house!!!!!!! This was a lot of load on my shoulders and I wished sooooo bad that I could be at home with my family and friends where everything is familiar and I don't have such a heavy burden to find God's children here in Ntinda who need to hear the gospel.

I feel much better now being about 6 days into the transfer. We have walked around our area (which includes Bukato, and Nguru Hill) about a million times and I am pretty confident with knowing my way around now. Ntinda is a lot hillier (if that is a word ;D) than Walukuba was. I think that if I eat right I will be able to lose a little of the weight I put on my last transfer. I know that a lot of missionaries lose weight on their missions, but I was already so skinny I had nothing to do but gain weight, which wasn't that hard because everything here is fried. One of my favorite things to eat (I think I mentioned it previously) is Rolex. This is a thick tortilla with a couple eggs fried up inside. It is pretty much a big breakfast burrito but is different somehow from anything I have seen anywhere in the states. We have about 21 new investigators we found from Wednesday to Sunday so this week and the next couple weeks will be spent progressing them towards baptism. Bukato is the slum area of Kampala, so there are a lot of poor people living in dumps really. These people are easy to teach (they are willing to listen) but getting them to understand the importance of changing their lives and coming to church is really difficult. We contacted about 140 people from Wednesday to Saturday and only 5 of them actually showed up at church. I hope this gives you an idea of how hard it is to get people to keep commitments.

So, working with Elder Goodner has been interesting. He is from Utah so we have been able to talk about our families and our favorite past times back home. We have also planned the next 3 Summers after we get home full of things we want to do, (scuba dive the Bahamas, Disneyland, Lagoon, SWIM!!!, Water ski, WENDY'S FROSTEE!!!, etc...) I don't know when I am going to have time to get a job, find a wife and raise a family :D

I want everyone to know how much God has blessed us in our lives. He truly loves us and wants what is best for us. I know that when we obey his commandments we are blessed. Stay strong, read your scriptures, love your families. You/We truly don't know how much we have until it is taken from us. I love my family and friends so much and I appreciate the efforts you are all making to write me through DearElder.com. This last week I was happy to receive letters from: Grandma Vance, Sister Fridley, Stephanie Weber, Erin Stewart, and my little sister Emily who drew a picture for me and sent it through the pouch. I know that I am doing the right thing in serving the Lord here in Uganda and whatever trials I go through here they shall only be for a moment.

Best wishes to each and every one of you,
Elder Winters

My New Companion


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