1/24/2016 "If we want to see success..., we first have to imagine that success."

Minnasan konnichiwa,

This week we had a mission tour with a member of the Asia North Presidency, Elder Choi. He spoke to us on a number of different topics, but the biggest message he had for us was that we needed to elevate our mindset as missionaries. If we want to see success on our mission, we first have to imagine that success. We must set our goals with God through prayer, and then report to Him on how we are following through with that goal. He also told us that we always need to strive to be more obedient than we are now. He promised us a lot of different blessings if we can do these things, but the biggest promise was that if we can elevate our thinking and become the most obedient of missionaries, we can begin to see baptisms every week! He told us that it would definitely not be an easy thing to do, but that it is possible if we learn to completely rely on the Lord. I came out of the meeting feeling so energized, ready to change whatever it takes to achieve this promised success.

One of the things I have been working on this week is stopping everyone we meet in the streets. Elder Choi told us that it doesn't matter whether the people are on their way to some activity or if they are in the middle of a conversation. It is our duty as missionaries to open our mouths to everyone we meet, and invite them to receive this restored gospel of Jesus Christ. If I wasn't a missionary, I don't think I would ever have the courage to stop a random person in the street, but as I have done so over the past few days, we have found surprising results. The first few people we talked to were polite and took time out of their busy schedules to talk to us for a few minutes, even though they didn't have much interest in our message. I just hope they were able to be touched by the Spirit for just a short time, and that they will remember that feeling in times of trials and disappointment. The most surprising contact we made was yesterday in a flurry of snow. There was no one around as we biked to an appointment at a member's house, and then we saw a single young man walking down the road opposite from us. We decided to go talk to him, but since it was pretty cold outside, I wasn't sure how he would react or how long he would want to talk. To my surprise, he warmly greeted us, and spent the next 10 minutes talking. When we asked if he had heard about our church, he told us that he had learned a little bit about Jesus Christ in school, but that he didn't know much about our church. He agreed to meet again sometime, so we will have to see where it goes from here!

Other than that,, it"s business as usual. I gave my first talk in Sacrament meeting, and I just pray that everyone was able to understand a little bit of what I said. I was only able to talk for a little over 5 minutes. Also, transfers are happening this week, but with the new change to transfers, we will only have about one day's notice before we travel to our new area. I won't find out until tomorrow or Wednesday if I am going to a new area, but I hope that I will be able to stay here for a little while longer. The members are amazing, and we are working hard to help the branch continue to grow stronger. Love you all so much, and I hope you are all doing well, I can't believe it's been 6 months since I've seen you all!

Winegar長老より

Sleepover in Okayama

Matsue district!

We got snow in Izumo! My companion looks a little cold, though.

1/18/2016 Turning our hearts toward God.

Minnasan, konnichiwa!

I don't know if I have a lot to say this week, other than that we are still working hard to bring the people of Japan unto the kingdom of God! Our mission has been focusing a lot of trainings on changing the culture and the beliefs we have as missionaries. Right now we simply aren't fully tapping into the divine potential that lies within all of us, and we are all working to become more obedient, more open to the promptings of the spirit, and especially being able to find and teach more people in order to prepare them for baptism and making those sacred covenants with their loving Father in Heaven. As I realize how far I need to go in order to become that powerful, spiritual missionary, I am reminded how thankful I am for the chance I have to repent each day and move closer to the person that God wants me to be.

One of these things that I need to change and improve was made poignantly clear to me during a visit with a less-active member. This member has a few of his own problems and doubts he has to overcome as well, but he showed us something that expressed very clearly his love for God and Jesus Christ. He first started to explain about his job, working in a factory for 12 hours a day, with an additional part-time job on the side. Almost everyone around him complains that the work is monotonous and incredibly boring, but he doesn't think of it that way. Each month when he changes his work gloves, he writes around the base of the gloves scripture references and names of people he wants to pray for. By reciting these scriptures and praying for these people while he works, his heart is turned towards God, and his spirits are lifted. After he shared this experience, I started thinking about whether my thoughts are turned to God as often as they should be. We talked about the same subject in Priesthood meeting during church, this time from the manual "Teachings of the Presidents of the Church- Howard W. Hunter". Within the manual, President Hunter states that we must unconditionally surrender ourselves to the Savior in order to receive the peace and happiness He can give us. I know that this is true, and that when we give ourselves and our talents up to the Lord, He can make so much more out of our lives than we can on our own. 

I am so grateful for the prophets and teachers we have been given to guide us in this life, and I know that we are all so blessed to have the knowledge that God lives and loves each one of us. I know that it is also our responsibility to share this knowledge with those that haven't had the same opportunity to learn what we have learned. This truly is God's work and will, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:39). I love each and every one of you so much, and I hope that you will join me in taking time to thank God in prayer for the wonderful things He has given us, our families, homes, friends, and possessions. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Winegar長老より

I went on a mission to Japan, but I think I ended up in Brazil somehow.  This is a restaurant owned by Brazilians, and this lovely thing is called a Pastel.  I highly recommend it, but it might be kind of hard to find in the U.S.

This isn't Brazilian food, but still fantastic!!

First sunrise of the year with Machado chourou- how cute!

Met a samurai.

Izumo Taisha- no one but the emperor and his family are allowed to enter, so this is as close as we could get.

And finally- a bonus picture: today's p-day trip, Matsue castle.

1/10/2016 A God of Miracles

Hello everyone,
I will try to be quick this week because we are going to a famous temple in our area today, Izumo Taisha. I'll actually be able to send some pictures next week! (unless I forget, of course). This last week we had interviews with our mission president, President Welch, and it was awesome! I learn so much from our leaders every time they speak to us. In my interview, Welch kaichou asked me what I had been learning about the way Jesus Christ taught from my study of the first four doctrines in the New Testament. I was able to summarize my simple understanding of the doctrine into a few sentences, how Jesus Christ always taught using parables in order to allow those he taught to apply the teaching to themselves and only receive the knowledge they were prepared to receive. He also frequently taught through questions, again allowing others to come up with answers for themselves rathe than teaching them something they weren't ready to receive and wouldn't apply or use. Finally, I noted how Jesus went around performing miracles for al those that believed on His name.

After I had finished my simple summary, Welch Kaichou expounded upon the things I had said, teaching me much more than I had learned on my own. It would take too long to write everything, but one thing that stuck out to me related to the final point, that Jesus performed so many miracles. The miracles were truly amazing, but it doesn't mean much to us now unless we can understand how those people qualified for those miracles. In order to teach this principle, Welch kaichou shared a story in Luke 18:35-43. Jesus came upon a blind man sitting by the road, and the first thing he did was to ask the blind man to come to him. This gave the blind man an opportunity to exercise his faith in Christ, even though he could not see him. Then, Jesus asked what the man desired. The man responded without delay, "Lord that I may receive my sight". Jesus knew that the man was blind, just as He knows all of our struggles and trials, but He first asks that we verbalize or make known the help that we need. After the blind man exercised his faith by coming unto Jesus and made known the desires of his heart, Jesus was able to heal him through his faith.

I know that God still performs miracles in this day, just as He did when Jesus lived on the earth. If we can understand how these miracles are performed, we can truly begin to call upon the powers of Heaven. I have seen this to be true time and time again, and I know that anyone that exercises faith through prayer and then acting on the promptings they receive can see these miracles in their own lives. If any of you have a challenge in your life that you want to overcome, or a question that you want answered, I challenge you to try these things and see if they are not true. Bring your concerns before God, and see how through your faith, He can begin to change your life. I love this Gospel so much, and I testify that it is true. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Winegar長老より

1/27/2015 Christmas

Hello everyone!
 
  I hope you all had a great Christmas! I enjoyed my first Christmas in Japan, but the white Christmas I thought I would be getting never came. It snowed the first day I got to Izumo, but we haven't seen any snow since then. Oh well, better luck next year, right? The Christmas parties we had were definitely the opposite of disappointing, though. We first went to Okayama for our mission Christmas party, and I got to see my past companion, Madruga chourou, as well as Pagel chourou and Jones chourou, who came to Japan with me. We had an awesome time seeing all the missionaries perform their various talents. There were some awesome performances, but I have to say the night was highlighted by two performances, one with our mission president singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", and the second one a missionary playing her "nose trumpet". (you'd have to see it to believe it, quite an enlightening experience).
   
    After that, we returned home and immediately began to prepare for the branch Christmas party. Everyone brought some type of food for dinner, and we had a giant potluck. It was absolutely delicious, one member even made eggnog from scratch! At the end of the party, Santa made an appearance, and everyone got to see him but my companion, who had to "go to the bathroom" right before Santa appeared. Santa brought a small bag of treats for everyone that came to the party, but then had to return to Finland (I guess that is where Japanese kids think that is where Santa is from).
   
     It was fun to celebrate Christmas with these parties, but it was even better to remember the reason why we have Christmas in the first place. I know that it is because of Jesus Christ that we are able to look to the future with joy and happiness. I know that He is our Savior and Redeemer, and that He loves each and every one of us. If we will only follow Him and strive to become like Him, we can become more and progress more than we ever would have thought possible. I know these things are true, and I love this gospel so much.
Love,
Elder Winegar
Winegar長老より

12/21/2015 Izumo!!!

Minnasan konnichiwa!
   
 I've been in my new area Izumo for almost a week now, and it has been awesome. The branch is amazing, and there are actually a lot of young families, which is pretty rare for Japan. We ran into one member as we got off the bus for the first time, and the very first question he asked me was "do you ball?" It was one of the most beautiful questions I've ever heard, because it's been a few months since I've played basketball. He promised that we would go play soon, but it probably won't be until the end of this week or next week.

The biggest difficulty of the new area is that most of our teaching is in Portuguese. I can't say anything yet, so my companion usually just translates what I say into Portuguese. He is an awesome missionary, the same transfer as my last companion. He is a really good teacher, which is good because he will probably be doing a lot of the teaching for the next little while. I've already had some Brazilian cooking from a few of the investigators. They use a lot more meat in their cooking, and it is always delicious!

 A lot of our lessons have been focused on Jesus Christ specifically, since we are in this wonderful Christmas season. It has really strengthened my testimony of the Savior, and I am so grateful for Him. I know that because of Him, we can all return to live with our Heavenly Father. This truly is the greatest gift that could ever be given at Christmas or any other time. This incredible gift was given freely, and all we have to do is follow the teachings of Christ in order to receive these blessings. I hope that all of you will take some time to remember the Savior this Christmas!

Winegar長老より

12/14/2015 Baptism and Transfer

Hello everyone!
     I love you all so much, but today is going to be extremely short! New transfers came in today, and I figured I might stay in my area while my companion transfers to a mostly Portuguese-speaking area. When we read the transfers, though, it was the other way around. My time in Kouchi has come to an end, and my new companion will be... OF COURSE, another Brazilian, Machado chourou. My new area is Izumo, and we will definitely be teaching some Portuguese lessons. Too bad I don't know any Portuguese. I guess that is what the Gift of Tongues is for, so wish me luck everyone, I'm going to need it! The rest of today is probably going to be spent packing and preparing to transfer, thus the short email.

     Now that that's out of the way, on to the really exciting news. Yan san was able to be baptized yesterday! We had the baptismal service at 9 in the morning, then went straight to Sacrament meeting to confirm him a member of the church. It was truly a miracle to see everything fall into place with his baptism, and it all went smoothly even though we had very little time to prepare for it. The Lord has blessed us so much in these two transfers working in this area, and we were able to end it with a baptism! I was also blessed to see how powerful the gospel is in changing the lives of those that truly wish to follow it. I know that God is our Heavenly Father, and that He speaks to us through prayer. I also know that Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer, and only through His love and sacrifice are we able to make the necessary steps to return to live with our Heavenly Father.

Winegar長老より

Baptism of Yan san!

12/6/2015 Diligence

Hello everyone!

This week has been amazing, and has really strengthened my testimony of goal-setting and vision. Since we opened a new mission area in Kouchi a transfer and a half ago, we have steadily built up a teaching pool of investigators. We still have very few solid investigators, and we haven't ever been able to achieve the mission standard of excellency of teaching 20 lessons per week. We have planned, worked, and especially prayed a lot over these past few weeks, and it finally paid off this week! We worked especially hard to find people this last week, and when we finally counted up the lessons at the end of the week we had taught 24 lessons, doubling what we had been able to do just the week
before. I know that this was definitely a blessing from God, and that we would never have been able to achieve our goal without His help. He placed specific people in our path and prepared them to receive our message.

 One of those people that have been prepared by God is Yan san. I have talked about him before in my emails, but we are really excited for the progress he has made. He has received almost all the lessons, and his baptism is scheduled for this next Sunday. We are really hoping and praying that he will be able to be baptized this Sunday, but I know that even if he doesn't get baptized on Sunday, he definitely will be baptized someday. His faith is getting stronger all the time, and we can see the physical changes he is making in his life to follow the commandments of God and walk in the footsteps of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Christmas time is such a great time to be a representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, because we can share with everyone the true meaning of Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, the church just released the new Christmas video on their website, and it was really good! If you haven't had the opportunity to see it, I would invite all of you to do so (https://www.mormon.org/christmas). This Christmas season truly is an amazing time to ponder and learn more about the life of our Savior. Right now as a mission we are all reading the first four doctrines of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) along with chapters 11-30 in 3 Nephi of the Book of Mormon. We are reading with a focus on the Doctrine of Jesus Christ, (if you want a hint about what the doctrine of Christ is exactly, look in 2 Nephi 31) and how we can apply that doctrine to our lives. I would invite all of you to join with us in this study, reading each day and pondering on what Christmas means to you. I'd love to hear any insights that you are having as you read and apply the doctrine!

   
That's all from me, I love you all and hope you have a great Christmas season filled with family, friends, and charity!

Winegar長老よ (Elder Winegar)