Week 52

Do you remember the 21st night of September?

Elder Dailey and I

Because I don't... Aside from what I have written in my planner this week has been quite a blur. I know I said last week was unexciting, but this week is probably a much more boring email.

Church wasn't nearly as exciting as last week. Noah (The Drunk Guy) did obstruct the meeting. We kicked him out, and he only came back once (though he did lay down near the entry to eat a handful of peanuts which he decided to throw at us as we peeked over the balcony). 

Aside from that I can't really think of anything significant to share. I am grateful to be involved as a missionary here in Lugazi. It has been an amazing opportunity so far, and I am excited for the future of this branch. I am out of things to say, but I hope you guys have a great week... We'll talk later!

Love,

Elder Winn

Week 51

Wake me up when September ends

Our District

With how fast this transfer is flying by it won't be long before September is gone and passed!

This week was pretty uneventful. In fact, the most interesting stuff happened right after I hit sign off last week. We finished emailing and headed for the taxi stop to get a ride home. There we found a large crowd of people fighting for taxi space. With such high demand, the taxi conductors were refusing to take anybody that wasn't headed all the way to Kampala (The most lucrative route). After about 20 minutes of waiting I joked with Elder Dailey saying that maybe we'd have to go stay the night at the Jinja Elders apartment hanging out with Elder Antolin and Elder Kirkpatrick. Little did I know that about two hours later my joke would prove to be our most viable option, as it is way out of walking range. We went and bought some food for dinner and breakfast, then made our way to the Jinja Apartment to get some sleep. It was fun getting to be with the Jinja Elders, I haven't been near either of them for a while. We headed back to Lugazi early Tuesday Morning. That put the week off to an interesting start.

Andrew... Our Security Guard, Washing Machine,
 and Elders Quorum President

The rest of the week really wasn't interesting though, just the usual day to day grind.

Sunday had a bit of an event too. Noah, The town Drunk, is a regular at our sacrament meetings. We are usually pretty welcoming to him and things can go on without a hitch; that is, until he does something that merits the bouncers (missionaries) to escort him out. This week he got up in the middle of the meeting and tried to steal someones baby out of their arms. Of course, we had to escort him out. Usually if we just walk him down the stairs and tell him he needs to leave he goes away (or at least stays out of the sacrament hall). This week he was persistent in coming back so we had to stand and watch him, and make sure he didn't come back. Eventually he decided to cry and fall asleep in front of the entryway before continuing his attempts. He continued trying for about an hour and a half before scampering off. 

That's about all I have to update. Maybe next week I'll have a spiritual experience to share. I love Lugazi. I love the work. I hope you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Winn

Noah. Sad we wouldn't let him take someones baby.

Week 50

Whoa! Half way there! (Bon Jovi)

Elder Dailey and I

Whoa-oa, livin' on a prayer! This week marked the monumental one year as a missionary. It's crazy to think that it really has been a year out here.

This week we had an interesting experience. We had fifteen minutes to wait for an investigator to arrive at his home. It was a bit out of the way from any of our other people so we decided to do a little contacting. In that fifteen minutes we felt prompted to talk to a certain man. He seemed pretty interested in our message so we set a return appointment with him right there. When we saw him the next day he brought some friends who were also

Me reading at the mission tour
 (courtesy of Sister Collings)

interested, and each time we go to his area there are more just waiting to learn. From this one street contact we have found upwards of ten investigators, including one solid couple who brought two more friends of theirs to church. I am grateful for the promptings we receive daily whether big or small. Following them truly does make the difference.
 

We also had our Mission Tour this week where we had Elder Joni L. Koch (of the seventy) visit. It was a powerful meeting. I was asked to lead the music (a capella of course), and after Elder Koch heard me do that I was made the designated scripture reader for his portion of the meeting (which soon became the whole meeting). We learned a lot, much of the meeting focused on working with the branch to set goals so they take ownership of the work. The principles should work wonders here. 

Anyway,I hope you guys have a splendid week!

Love,

Elder Winn

The Whole Mission Tour group.

Week 49

Sugar, Yes Please!

Sugarcane for miles

I spent the first half of this week saying my last goodbyes to Masaka. On Thursday we got

With Sister Lizzie

up pretty early in order to make it to Kampala by 10:00. Traffic was super good so we had a little time to spare. The office Elders took me to Lugazi and we arrived in the late afternoon. Lugazi is the Sugar capitol of Uganda. You can look around and see miles upon miles of just sugarcane, and there is a huge refinery nearby. My first Impressions: This is a pretty sweet area!

I was able to meet a few members that evening. We went by the branch meetinghouse, and happened to find the Branch President there. President Charles invited us into his office and we were able to chat for a few minutes. He reached under his desk and pulled out a few sodas for us to sip on (left over from some activity). 

With Jonothan (left), and Joviah (Right)

I looked up at the meeting house (the top floor of a building in town), and quickly had a flashback to before my mission: I remembered browsing the mission Facebook page and seeing a post with a picture of this building. I had the specific feeling that I would be serving there. Fast Forward a couple months and I found myself going to my first area. I was slightly dissapointed that I wasn't serving where I thought I would. I quickly forgot about the whole thing, after all... of all the areas in the mission why would I end up serving in that specific branch? Well, there I was standing in front of the Lugazi meetinghouse realizing that the strange adventurous feeling that I would be serving where that picture was taken was more than just that; I felt a confirmation that once again, I am right where I am supposed to be!

The Lugazi Meetinghouse

I was also able to meet Brother and Sister Ochitii (O-Chee-Tee). They are the pioneers of the church here in Lugazi (and very proud of it!). They are fun to be around, and definitely have a strong testimony!

Elder Dailey and I have already found some powerful new investigators, so I am pretty excited for the transfer ahead! It's gonna be great. I hope you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Winn

Elder Weight just sent me a picture of Jarom and Jonothan's Baptism. Good News!

Our House