August 25, 2015

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

I want to first start off with happy Birthday mom!!!
The best example with mothers in the scriptures deals with the 2000
stripling soldiers. they give an accounting on how important their
mothers were to them in growing them up properly and the role the
played in their life. Alma 56:48, 57:21
and I want to add my testimony to theirs. I would not be the person I
am today without my mother and her guidance she has given me in the
gospel. Thanks mom and I love you. Have a great rest of the day!!

Every area I have served in has been different in the way missionaries
are to serve. Lampasas was strictly finding because of how new the
area was. Hurst we were teaching all the time because our teaching
pool was so large and I was so blessed to be apart of that amazing
harvest. Now I am in Flower Mound and the work that is going on here
is mainly getting less actives back involved with the church. I can
now say that I have been apart of every form of missionary work. I
pray that I may be able to do my part in this work and even be able to
find people to teach. Its hard to find people to teach cause has you
know we are in the bible belt and it seems like everyone already has a
church they go to and they don't want anything else. Plus it is a
wealth area so the people feel like they already have everything and
don't need anything more. don't get me wrong this is a great area and
the members here are very nice. Just from them past 4-5 days I can
tell that I will be really close to the ward and the members here. The
bishopric have encourage the whole ward to read "The Power of Everyday
Missionaries: The What and How of Sharing the Gospel." We have also
got permission from president Ames to read it as well that why we can
talk to the members about it. The Bishopric is trying to increase the
missionary efforts in the ward and I pray that this book will inspired
them to do so. An on top of my reading that I invited y'all to do (The
Book of Mormon), I invite you to read that book as well.

My new companion is Elder Harris-coons and he is from Tulsa Arizona.
He has been out for 18 months and knows his way around this area.
There is never a dull moment with him. I am always laughing and I go
to bed with my stomach hurting because I've been laughing all day. By
the end of this transfer I will have the ripest abs ever because I'm
always laughing. He is a great missionary. Living with members is very
weird and I'm not to sure if I like that but I need to stay positive
with the blessing that I have.

Love
Elder Winterbottom & Harris-coons
Serving In Flower Mound
The Lord's Vineyard

August 18, 2014

 Birthday Week

Two souls come unto Christ and one through the temple

This week was sweet! (Missy) and (Debbie) both were Baptized on Saturday (Birthday Baptism) and I was able to preform both of the baptisms! It is such a privilege to have the ability to baptize and allowing me to bind on earth and in heaven Matthew 18:18. I'm so Glad God has allowed me the opportunity to be in these peoples life's. The is honestly no greater joy then seeing one of God's children come closer to him! And their is no greater gift then a baptism on your birthday!! And I was able to be apart of two of them! I Love this work! (Sadie) also went to the temple on August 15th and she loved it! She almost didn't go. When you talk about adversity and everything that could go wrong did go wrong and it hit her that day! She was having a terrible day and about 3 o'clock she said to herself that nothing was going to stop her from going and said a prayer and then things got better. She went and had a great time and when the temple started to close she didn't want to leave. She has made so much progress! There is also no better way to leave a area then ending off on a baptisms and someone going  through the temple for the first time. God was able to give me one baptism in Lampasas and now one in Hurst before I left. My new area is Flower mound Texas and my new companion will be Elder Harris-coons. Give you more info about him next week. President Ames has also extended and invitation for the whole mission to read the Book of Mormon before October 16th. We have a member of the quorum of the seventy coming to us that day. We have been invited to do so and I have excepted the invite because i know it will bring me closer to the Savoir and open more mysteries that my father in heaven has for me and I invite y'all to do the same! 

On my birthday we went and taught 4 lessons in the morning and had the baptism at 4 and then went to dinner at the Jackson's home. I love that family so much! They gave me presents and treated me like I was there own kid. Then went back to the church for two more baptisms that the zone was having. then went back home and opened my presents and card from back home. It was a good day and thank you the love and support. 

 

I Love this family to death!! They are so good to me and this is just some of the memorize I have made with them. they also gave me 75 dollars, a stuffed animal turtle and a tie.

August 11, 2014

In those days, I often recalled a childhood memory. The Ed Sullivan Show was one of the most popular programs  on television in the United States. As a variety show, it featured performers with widely divergent talents. One man appeared regularly. A number of poles, perhaps a dozen or more, were set up on stage, with stacks of dinner plates be side them. This agile individual would spin a plate on top of one of the poles and then move to the next pole and spin a second plate and then a third and a fourth. As he proceeded down the line of poles, the rotation of the plates on the first and second poles would begin to slow, and the dishes would be in danger of falling off and crashing to the floor. Seeing this, the man would quickly run back to those poles and with a gentle spin increase the motion that allowed the plate to keep spinning. The excitement of the act was to witness the ability of the performer to expand the number of rotating plates while not letting any fall.

Invariably, a point would be reached where he was not able to keep up. There was a limit to his ability to increase the number and yet properly care for the plates already in motion. The sight of dishes sliding from their precarious perches and the cacophony as they hit the hard floor vividly proved the point that even the most skilled performer has his limits. 

-Seeking a Balanced Life by Elder Donald L. Hallstrom  

We all know this story but our mission is done spinning plates. We are now focusing on "a golf swing or a free throw shot." We get so caught up on spinning one plate that we forget the others and then those plates, fundamental of teaching, becomes weak and suffers. Like any sports team, you are only as strong as your weakest link. Or like the principle of the "golf or free throw shot" if one fundamental is off then the whole swing or shot is off. This is just like missionary work! You could even apply this to your life. Think about how you can apply this in your life because I have seen the blessing of using this in my life and in missionary work. President Ames has come put with a diagram of fundamentals of this mission and build a house out of it. and inside this building of fundamentals we have oxygen which is: P,C,D P-purpose C-contentment D-doctrine and we do this for every lesson. We have been doing this for about 4 months now and it is been the most effective this mission has been so far.  We are also finding by the spirit and finding the elect. We have been asked to teach people that are progressing and to have honest conversations with them to see who is really looking for the Gospel at this time. I love the principles I have learned out here! 

We also had two investigator get interviewed yesterday and the past! their baptism is for August 16th!!  Sadie is also going to the temple august 15th and we are so excited for her!! We wont be able to attend with her because it will be at 8 at night but she is in good hands with this ward!

Elder Winterbottom & Elder Argyle                                                                                                                               Serving in Hurst                                                                                                                                                           The Lord's Vineyard

August 4, 2014

Holy Ghost talk

You have taken upon yourself to follow the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized by proper priesthood authority (act in Gods name).

-through this you have made your first convent (promise between you and God)

-that convent is baptism

But its not quite finished yet and the Apostle Paul understood this

-Acts 19:1-6

I want to talk about who is the Holy Ghost and what his role is

-3 member of the Godhead

-personage of spirit and doesn't have a body of flesh and bones

-able to dwell with us and be with us

He is called:

-the Spirit

-the Holy Spirit

-The Spirit of God

- the Spirit of the Lord

-the Comforter

he works in perfect unity with the Father and Jesus Christ to help you live a righteous life and to receive the blessings of the Gospel. His purpose is to:

-testify of the Father and the Son

-to reveal and teach the truths of all things

   -John 14:26

through him you can gain a testimony the the Father is the father of our spirits, Jesus Christ is the savoir and redeemer of the world, and that this is Christ true church on the earth today.

Power of the Holy Ghost

-everyone who is an honest seeker of the truth can feel the influence and power of the Holy Ghost

-this power comes upon someone before baptism

(experience we had with Sadie)

-Moroni 10:5

-now if we do not act on this still small voice/ feeling then this witness will go away.

The Gift of the Holy Ghost

-now this is different the the power of the Holy Ghost.

 This wonderful gift is give to members of Christ church by the laying on of hands like Paul did.

 The gift is the right to have the constant companionship as you live worthy life. This means doing the things that got you to your baptism, Enduring to the end, or what (Sadie) says, "walking the walk and talking the talk."

As you live worthily you will be able to receive revelation and the spirit's guidance in your life.

Now most of this talk was bullet points so you have to use your imagination to understand what I was talking about.

This week was great to see her in that water! One of my Sisters is on that straight and narrow path! Everyone who attended was talking about how great it was to be there and to feel of the spirit! She is defiantly apart of this ward already! There is even a temple trip the ward is doing on the 15th and she is going to be able to go to it! She even is doing missionary work already. She invited 5 nonmembers to her baptism and even 3 less active members she works with and they all came!! God has a work for her to do!

Elder Winterbottom & Elder Argyle

Serving in Hurst

The Lord's Vineyard

July 28, 2014

All your work in the whole week seems like it comes down to your Sunday sometimes. I know its bad to think that but that's how I feel sometimes and this week I feel like all my work and effort payed off and we saw the fruits of our labors. The Lord was definitely blessing Elder Argyle and I. We had 6 investigators at church this week!!! What a great blessing. Right when you start to feel like there is little hope the Lord gives you strength when you need it the most.

Sundays are stressful too because you do everything you can so that your investigators have an uplifting experience and feel the spirit. this week I entertained two little boys so that their moms could pay attention to the speakers. I missed everything in sacrament but the women really, really loved it!! Elder Argyle said that the speakers talked on women hood and it was one of the best sacrament he has been to. I will glad make that sacrifices for our investigators to feel the spirit. All are investigators that we had were women so it was perfect meeting for them.
We also got the baptism program planned out for (Sadie)!! She is so ready and we are so excited!! I will be speaking at the baptism and Elder Argyle will preform the baptism! I'm so happy for both of them because (Sadie) has changed her life for the Lord and this Elder Argyle's first baptism. How great shall be your joy! D&C 18:15-16 She has been really welcomed into the ward. She has even been considered a member already. We are expecting a lot at her baptism!!
I'll let you know how it goes next week!!

Elder Winterbottom & Elder Argyle
Serving in Hurst
The Lord's Vineyard

 Elder Argyle with Elder Winterbottom

 When its 90 plus outside and your apartment is 60 it feels like its winter.

 got caught biking in a rain storm

 World Cup Shirts!!

Elder W in the Netherlands Jersey

Elder Argyle in the Portugal Jersey (P Man's loves it!)

 

 

 

July 21, 2014

Adversity is all around.
I would like to start off this email with the story of Joseph Smith in Liberty jail Missouri. D&C 121:1-4, 7-9
Joseph's plead:1 O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?
2 How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries?
3 Yea, O Lord, how long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful oppressions, before thine heart shall be softened toward them, and thy bowels be moved with compassion toward them?
4 O Lord God Almighty, maker of heaven, earth, and seas, and of all things that in them are, and who controllest and subjectest the devil, and the dark and benighted dominion of Sheol—stretch forth thy hand; let thine eye pierce; let thy pavilion be taken up; let thy hiding place no longer be covered; let thine ear be inclined; let thine heart be softened, and thy bowels moved with compassion toward us.

The Lords answer to Joseph Smith:
7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.
9 Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.
The words, “if thou endure it well” are key words. It is not the adversity itself that defines us, it is how we respond to that adversity that makes the difference.
If we are not careful, we become our own worst enemy and allow adversity to bring us to defeat. We look down, away from God, and begin to wallow in our own misery. We forget that looking up is the key. We forget that “enduing it well” means to just stand back up after we take a bad fall, brush ourselves off and find our courage to smile again. We might be a bit bruised; maybe even broken, but if we stand back up, smile and look to God – that is when we begin to heal. That is how we begin to “endure it well.”
At times we will each have the opportunity to deal with adversity. That is just part of the plan. Adversity will come in many forms. It can come as physical sickness, disability or injury. It can come in the form of emotional pain, discouragement, disappointment or depression. These forms of adversity are often caused by the loss of loved ones, frustrated plans, lost hopes, accidents or the actions of others. The reality is that we cannot avoid adversity but we can control how we deal with it! And this week I dealt with one of those things, Sickness. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and some of Thursday It hit me and hit me hard. I didn't want to do anything and didn't want to go out. But Sister Ames famous quot in the mission is, "Fake it until you make it." and that's what I did. I had to keep telling myself that quot and What would the lord have me do. I went on an exchange with Elder Munoz and in one of the lessons he pulled out D&C 121 and read that experience to less active that is struggling. Elder Munoz meant it to be for the member but it also hit me. My sickness was just a little adversity compared to what the Saints were going through and I did not endure it as well as I could have. But I was great for it! I learned what I really could do with adversity.
On Sunday (Sadie) had her baptism interview and she passed with flying colors!! Her date is set for August 2nd and she is looking forward to it. She is a testimony builder to me that people are being prepared at this time (Alma 13:24) Honestly I had no part in her conversion because she was already there. She just needed someone to guide her. I'm so glad I got to see her find the church and she loves it! she hasn't missed a week since we found her. Everything we teach she accepts it and then wants more. she is participating in RS and has made lots of friends. She is in good hands and the lord has provided a way!! How Great is Your Calling!! My Missionary Commission

Elder Winterbottom & Elder Argyle

Serving in Hurst

The Lord's Vineyard

July 14, 2014

Mission life is always fantastic!
This week I was assigned to speak in sacrament on being a loyal
servant. It was really good and what a great opportunity I had to
speak to the ward on how we all are servants of the Lord and need to
magnify our calling as church members. It was a wonderful opportunity
to realize the magnitude that we all have as members and what role we
play in hastening the work. I forgot how much I love preparing and
giving talks. I realized from giving the talks that's its more for the
person speaking then for the people listening.

The biggest eye opener for me was the parable of the talents. When I first read this I
thought what a harsh judgement for a servant who tried to keep that one
talent. But I realized that the Lord expects a difference in our
callings and service. We will all have to stand before God and give an
accounting of our service. Have we been faithful and loyal servants?
The scriptures references I used: John 14:15 and 23, John 21:15-17,
Matthew 22: 36-40, and the parables of the talents Matthew 25:14-30
hymn #223 Have I done any good? and Mosiah 2:17

We also had 3 investigators attend this week as well! We also went to
President Ames's fireside he does every month to strengthen the recent
converts and less active members. It was really cool because he
focused on the questions of the soul and answered them. He truly cares
about all our investigators and members of the church. We had a less
active go to that and he loved it. They are always uplifting and very
spiritual.

The heat is finally here! I officially have to go home at lunch or
dinner and change my clothing and I am still working on my sweet
missionary tan...

Elder Winterbottom & Elder Argyle
Serving in Hurst
The Lord's Vineyard