11/29/2015 Taking the Challenge & Setting Goals

Hello everyone!
     How are you all doing? Sorry it's been a while, our last two P-days have been a little crazy. Two weeks ago, we spent the whole day with one of my companion's recent converts from a previous area. We had lunch, and then showed her around the city for the rest of the day until she had to go home.

     Last week was even crazier than the week before. Among missionaries, there is a famous challenge in our area called the Muroto challenge. Muroto is a city about 80 kilometers (~50 miles) from our city. The challenge is to bike all the way to Cape Muroto and back in a single P-day. We decided pretty late in the week that we wanted to attempt it, but once we decided, there was no stopping us. We started our journey at 6:30 in the morning, and took frequent stops along the way to enjoy the scenery, take pictures, and play games. Our trip there was pretty uneventful, but it turned out to be further than we originally thought. It was 80 kilometers to the edge of the city just like the map said, but we were going to the cape, which added about 20 kilometers onto our trip. I felt pretty good considering we had just biked over 50 miles, but of course we were tired and hungry when we finally made it to Muroto. That was when we learned that there were hardly any restaurants in the city. The only place we could find was too expensive, and would take too long. We ended up just buying some snacks at a convenience store and planned to start the long trip home.

     While we were in the convenience store, we were the recipients of an amazing act of charity. A woman walked up to us, and explained to us (in English) that she had been at the first restaurant we had stopped at. She heard us discussing about what we were going to do, and she followed us to the convenience store almost 30 minutes away. She handed us a bag with a loaf of bread and a bunch of Costco rolls! We couldn't thank her enough, but she quickly left and continued on her way. It was so funny that even on a long bike trip we can have experiences that strengthen our testimonies and teach us gospel principles.
     We started out with renewed strength after lunch, but it didn't last forever. One of the other Elders got a cramp in his leg, and we had to stop for a while until he was ready to go again. He pushed himself really hard, and we were able to barely make it home in time for our dinner appointment with an investigator. I was so exhausted, but I had a really great time. We found out after the trip how far we went, and it was nearly 200 kilometers (125 miles) in just over 12 hours, including stops.

    There are too many awesome experiences to share from the past few weeks, but I recently went on missionary splits with Elder Matsumoto, the Japanese Elder in our apartment. He helped me a lot with my Japanese, and really got me excited to go out and work. We set a goal to teach seven lessons in one day, something that neither of us had done yet. We worked so hard all throughout the day, but at the end of the day we had only taught 6 lessons. We had contacted every single potential investigator, investigator, and less active member that we could think of, housed a ton of apartments, and especially prayed a LOT for success. I was really disappointed that we didn't reach our goal, but I looked back on all the good we had done that day, and I was amazed. Because we had a specific goal in mind, we worked harder than I normally would have. We ended up teaching the six lessons, finding seven potential investigators, and learned a lot about teaching.
     This reminded me of a quote from Elder Ballard about setting goals, something that I wholeheartedly believe. He said "I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life." I am seeking to improve my ability to set goals, and I hope that you will all join me in this endeavor. I know that when we set specific goals and work towards them, we can amaze ourselves with the progress we have made. But please, always remember to set your goals with God, "pray[ing] unto the Father in the name of Christ, that He will consecrate thy performance unto thee," (2 Nephi 32:9). I love you all so much, hope you have a great and eventful week!

Winegar長老より (Elder Winegar)

Elder Winegar is showing where they start their ride from, Kouchi;  Elder Bahr and Elder Madruga pointing to their destination, Cape Muroto.

Panoramic view of Cape Muroto

125 miles in 12 hours! 

11/22/2015

11/9/2015 Choose attribute of Christ.

Minasan konnichiwa!

Sorry everyone (or maybe you're welcome), it's going to be a short one today. We spent a lot of this past week biking, as we made it a goal to visit some less active members that live pretty far away. One of my favorite visits with Yasuhara Kyodai, an older man who hasn't been able to come to church for the last few months because he is no longer able to drive. It was so sad to hear him tell us that he would come to church, but no one lives close enough to him and he doesn't want to be a burden to anyone. My companion and I were so determined to help him find a way to get to church, and we are still working to find that way. I was so glad we decided to visit with him, because we never would have known what his situation was, and how we could help him. That long bike ride was definitely worth it.

Another family we tried to visit wasn't home, but we realized that as we were coming home we were near another member's house. We dropped in on her unexpectedly, and asked her what she knew about that family. She proceeded to give us the entire life story of the family, it was incredible how much she knew. She even committed to sending the mother of the family an email asking if she would come back to church. At times like these, I am so thankful for the members and the work that they do. They know so much more than us about the area and people, and there is no way we could be successful without their help. It makes my heart leap for joy when I see a member walk up to one of our investigators at church without being invited and introduce themselves. They probably don't even realize the impact they have, but that simple introduction and outpouring of love often leads the investigator to want to know more about our church and why people act the way they do.

We also had the opportunity to have dinner with the Branch President and his family. We had a really good visit with them, and we shared what we have been learning as a mission. President Welch has been teaching us that if we want to see progression in ourselves and in our lives, we should choose an attribute of Christ that we feel is lacking in our life. After choosing that attribute, we are then to study, pray about it, and act upon the things we learned. I know that this is truly inspired counsel, and if we want to see progress in our lives, who could be a better example than the Savior and Redeemer of the world. My testimony of Jesus Christ has been strengthened so much through teaching his gospel, and I am so grateful for the opportunity I have been given to serve my Heavenly Father. I hope all of you will join in this activity of striving to become more Christlike through prayer, study, and action. I know it will change your life, and you will feel the light of Christ radiate through all at you do.

Winegar長老より (Elder Winegar)

10/26/2015 "Greatest rewards come from our greatest trials."

Hey everyone,

I'm going to have to be quick today, I didn't leave myself much time to email. I just want to share a few things that have happened this week that were great experiences for me. The first was zone conference, which is held about every four months. Welch kaicho and Welch shimai come with the Assistants to the President and they give us a little bit of missionary training. My district had to begin traveling the day before the conference because we are kind of far away from Matsuyama where it was held. It wasn't like a formal training, though, we basically just discussed the section of scriptures we had been assigned to read, and what we had learned from them. It was an eye-opening experience for me, because it showed me that I don't have to go anywhere special to receive missionary training. I can pick up my scriptures anywhere and learn by the examples of the prophets that have come before us.

We were assigned to read from Alma 5 to Alma 40 before the conference, and during the conference we each shared a scripture that stood out to us the most. I shared Alma 26:27. I'll let you all look it up on your own, but the scripture is about Ammon and his brothers as they go out to teach the Lamanites. Their hearts were depressed because so many people were unwilling to hear their message, but they were told by the Lord that if they will have patience in their afflictions, they will find success. This scripture has brought me great joy, and I have learned that it is true. If we give up in hard times, we gain nothing. If we continue through our trials with a positive attitude, God blesses us with success. As missionaries, we usually don't find success behind the first door we knock. It seems to come after a long day of hard work, and we feel the need to try one more door or talk to one more person. As we follow that prompting, we often find someone that God has prepared for us to teach. It is amazing to submit our wills to Him and follow where He leads us.

One of those occasions was last night. We had tried to visit a few people we had scheduled appointments with, but no one was home. On our final house, we knocked on their door only to see them turn the light off inside, signaling that they weren't in the mood to talk. It was really disheartening, but we tried to keep a positive attitude about it. On our way out of the building, we stopped to say hi to an older lady who was outside her apartment, and before we knew it we were sitting down next to her listening to her entire life story. After about an hour and a half of talking (mostly by her), we said our goodbyes and were about to leave. I wanted to give her a Book of Mormon, so I showed her the book and tried to introduce it to her in my broken Japanese. Most of the time, we get rejected or refused right as they first see the Book of Mormon. People come up with some excuse about how they couldn't take our book, it looks too expensive, they are buddhist, etc. She simply asked if it was really alright if she took it, then gladly accepted it. We made an appointment to meet again next Sunday, and then she called again today to see if we could meet tomorrow for lunch too. I hope she is open to receiving our message, but it was awesome just to see how God opens doors for us if we are willing to walk through them. We never would have met her if we had given up after so many failures, and we would be in the same situation we had been in before. Just like in the scriptures, our reward or our success doesn't come until after a trial of our faith. I know that God will always help us, but we have to be willing to do our part too. Always remember that from our greatest rewards come from our greatest trials.

Winegar長老より (Elder Winegar)

Waiting at the bus stop.  Elders are wearing matching ties.

District all "pink" for Zone Conference.  This district is definitely united!

Zone Conference in Matsuyama.  Mission President Welch and Sister Welch, front row, third couple from left.

10/19/2015

This week has been filled with fun experiences, and punctuated by one amazing miracle. I want to save the best for last, so I'll start with the fun stuff. We had two opportunities to kokan (go on missionary exchanges), first with our zone leaders and then with the other elders in our apartment. Our zone leaders are amazing, I wouldn't hesitate to say they are the best zone leaders in the mission. Their names are Dos Santos chourou and Ahmu chourou. Dos Santos chourou is Brazilian, speaks like 6 or 7 languages fluently, and is the iPad technician over the entire mission. Ahmu chourou is one of the most lovable missionaries ever, he just has an awesome personality that everyone talks about. He served in Kouchi almost 5 months ago, and the members still talk about him. I got to kokan with Ahmu chourou, and we basically got to spend the day visiting with members and old investigators that wanted to see Ahmu chourou again. I had a lot of fun, and I also learned a lot about loving the people we serve.

Later in the week, we went on a kokan with the elders in our apartment, and I was with our district leader this time, Bahr chourou. Among other things, we visited a huge apartment complex that was way sketchy. It was a huge white, sprawling building that looked like every once in a while a new layer had haphazardly been added on. None of the layers were straight, or even in line with one another. There were ramps that led from layer to layer, and some that led into a deep basement garage that looked like it was used more for serial killers' hideouts than cars (it only looked like it though, obviously there weren't any serial killers there). There were strange dark alleys between rooms, and junk everywhere. I think you get the picture, but it basically looked like something straight out of a horror movie. I was wondering why there would be anyone here that would want to hear our message, but by the end of the night we had found 3 awesome people that wanted to hear more about what we had to say. There was a mom and her son who live alone,'and the mom has her own stain-glass window "company". The "company" consists only of her, and takes up a small table in their small one-room living space. It was obvious that she loves her son very much, and works hard to support the two of them. We had a good talk with them, and got a return appointment. The next man we visited was a devout Christian, but was way open to us. We both pulled out our scriptures, he with the bible and us the Book of Mormon, and we spent some time talking about God and our favorite scriptures. We ended up giving him a Book of Mormon at the end, and from his response, I actually think he is going to read the entire thing. If he allows it into his heart, I know it will change his life- the Book of Mormon is absolutely amazing, and I've heard countless stories of conversion through it. The last guy was just a quick contact. He said he was busy right then but asked us to come back tomorrow at the same time. These three people were testaments to me that God is preparing His children everywhere- there are no requirements of money, fame, or any other worldly standard. He desires to share His love with each one of us not because of what we have, but because of what we are. We are His children, and He would do anything to help us.

Besides the kokan, we also got to do something special for P-day today. We woke up at 3:30 this morning to bike/hike up a mountain to have a great view of Kouchi and the rising sun. It was way early, but well worth it. Our dendou shunnin kaicho (ward missionary leader) even woke up to come with us. It was great to spend some time with everyone as we enjoyed the amazing scene of God's creations. I don't know how people can look at the beauty of the world around them and say that no one is responsible for creating it. After hiking back down the mountain and doing a few chores (shopping, cleaning, etc) we all crashed for a few hours for a nap. (Actually, the other three elders are still asleep right now)

Now comes the best part of the week. On Tuesday night we taught Yan san again. This was only our second lesson with him, but we could feel his desire to learn of God and Jesus Christ, and to follow him. We decided to ask if he would follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized, and he immediately agreed! We still have a lot to teach him before he can get baptized, but his faith is a great example to me. I am so excited to see the joy that this gospel will bring to his life. I also know that he was another person that was prepared to hear our message long before we met him. We didn't do anything to instill in him the desire to follow Jesus Christ, nor can we. We can only follow the power of God's spirit and open opportunities for people to feel that spirit as well. I have come to know that this is absolutely not the work of men, but the work of our Heavenly Father. I am so thankful to be an instrument in His hand, and to serve these amazing people of Japan.

-Winegar長老より

Our morning hike to see the sunrise

Kouchi is actually a dangerous place - this week alone I got chased by a dragon and almost eaten by a shark

The Lord works in mysterious ways - 10/12/2015

Minasan konnichiwa,

First of all, I have to apologize to everyone I haven't been able to email. These last few weeks have been crazy, and it seems like there is always something that needs to get done. I will try to keep this email short so that I can have more time to catch up on my other emails.

This has been a great week for missionary work (obviously every week is good for missionary work, right?). We have done a lot of contacting on the street and through housing, with very mixed results. There are the people that immediately refuse our message, those that politely decline, and then there are those who are genuinely interested, and want to learn more. My heart almost jumps out of my chest every time we find one of these people, or when we get a return appointment. In just a few short weeks, we have taken a newly opened mission and filled it with a few solid investigators. We are always striving to find more, but we are feeling like we have a good base to work with now.

One of our new investigators is Yan San. I can't remember if I already talked about him, but I'll tell his story again anyways because it's amazing. We were handing out fliers for english class one day when a man pulled up in front of us on his bike. Without any invitation from us, he asked us if we had a church and if he could come. We told him that he could definitely come! He didn't show up the next week, and we were disappointed that he actually might not come. But then he came to General Conference this past Sunday. We met with him afterwards, and he said that he loved the atmosphere at the church, how everyone seemed like a family. He also told us why he had wanted to come to church. He had some Protestant friends that he was talking to, and they brought up the idea that he should start going to church. He didn't think much about it, but the next day he saw us and was excited to talk to us. Who would have thought that our first referral would come through a group of protestant friends? The Lord truly works in mysterious ways!

Speaking of General Conference, this last conference was truly amazing. I received so much counsel and so many answers to my questions. I know that all of the men and women that spoke are truly called and inspired by God. This is definitely the most I have ever gotten out of a General Conference, as my preparation and focus have been somewhat lacking in the past. I think staying awake through the whole thing might also help, too! All kidding aside, i am realizing now how amazing our opportunity is to hear from God's servants and receive their advice and warnings. I also feel like it is becoming more and more important to heed their words as the standards/morals of the world continue to digress. I know that I need to return to the fundamentals of the gospel. Through prayer, scripture study, and church attendance my life has improved so much, and can improve even more. These things give me the strength to keep going when I feel like giving up, give me direction for my life, and provide opportunities to grow and attempt things I never would have done on my own. I can see them change my life, and I have the added blessing of seeing them change the lives of those I am teaching right now.

It is so hard to be away from my family and friends, people that I have grown to know and love, but it has changed my perspective on what is important in life. I testify almost every day to people how families can live together forever, and I know that I want that for my family. I miss seeing my family after only 3 months, and I know that I will see them again in two years. I can't imagine not being able to live with them for all eternity. That is the joy of our message, that we can all live with our families together forever, and we can all be saved through Jesus Christ and His infinite Atonement.

That's all for my (not so) short email. As always, I love and miss you all!

-Elder Winegar

Veteran missionary! - 10/5/2015

Hello everyone!

     Now that I've been in Japan for almost two weeks now, I'm starting to feel like a veteran! (Just kidding, I still don't know anything). One of the elders in my apartment is going home in December, and we figured out that if we put both our missions together, we would make a whole mission. It really put my mission into perspective, both how much I have left, and how short it really is. All I can do is just try to enjoy it as much as I can.
     I did a lot of that today, and I got to try so many new things. My companion and one of the other elders in our apartment wanted to take a nap today, so Bahr choro took me out to see more of Kochi city. We went to the shotengai first (kind of like an outdoor shopping mall), and had Indo curry. It was way good, I'll attach a picture of it. They give us a bowl of curry and start us out with a huge piece of bread/scone-type thing to dip in the curry. The best part is that the bread was all-you-can-eat, and Bahr choro and I both ate five pieces.
     Then we went to Kochi castle, which was even cooler. Japanese castles are amazing, Bahr choro explained a lot about how they would defend their castles in ancient times, and it sounded way effective. I know I would never have tried to attack one of those castles.
     While seeing the castle was really cool, it couldn't even begin to compare to the people we have been able to help and teach. We are making a big effort to strengthen the members of the church, and even though it's only been a week and a half, I already feel like they are growing in their faith. With six missionaries in one area, it feels like Kochi is being prepared for something big. There are so many people that we have found that have never learned about our church, but have been prepared by God to hear our message. A lot of young people seem to be especially receptive of the spirit. Our most solid investigator is still Okada San, the 15 year old boy that is an absolute genius. He talks about really complex ideas he has had during our lessons, and he already seems to have figured out a lot of the stuff we teach him.
     We are also trying to help a lot of less-active members. We haven't started our efforts yet, but I'm excited to help them return to the covenants they have made to follow God and Jesus Christ. Our teaching pool is still small, but growing every day. One of the most amazing things I saw this week came as we were out housing. We hadn't planned to go housing, but on our way to visit a less-active member, my companion felt we should go knock on some other doors. He made me do the contacting for every other door we went to, and I was pretty nervous. I could barely say more than a few simple phrases about who we were and that we wanted to share a message, but we found a lot of success. In about an hour we had found seven new potential investigators to teach. It was an amazing experience, and it helped my confidence a lot. I learned that it doesn't matter whether we can speak well, as long as we try our best the spirit will do all the important work.
     There were so many other awesome experiences I had this week, but I don't have time to write them all. I am having an awesome time in Japan, it's changing me so much and I am learning lots about myself, this gospel, and my Father in Heaven. I love my mission and this area, and I am so lucky to be here. Thank you everyone for your love, emails, and prayers!

-Elder Winegar

Kochi castle

statues of samurai next to train station

Indo curry