Well, another transfer has come and now gone. Elder G. and I are both staying here in Craig so hooray for that! We will be leaving early to go up and go fishing tomorrow but I figured that I needed to get this email off before C. is set apart. First off, I loved the talk. I thought it was excellent. Always remember what you spoke on because it truly is revelation given to you by Heavenly Father to help prepare you for the people you will have the opportunity to meet on your mission. Just remember what the Lord says in D&C 29:7 "Ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts". You really don't know and won't know until you invite them to act. That is why they will focus so much on inviting, and following up in the MTC.
Your MTC experience will be drastically different than mine, but if I had only one suggestion it would be to journal it up. Write down everything you can. I guarantee that you won't remember all those funny things if you don't. Have fun. Take earplugs. Get everything laminated, especially your Preach My Gospel manuals, and if they have the mini PMG buy one! You won't regret it! I love you tons! Study while you have the time because you won't have as much in the field. You will do great!
Dain, I did get your postcard, I have just been very slow in replying, I hope I catch a fish that big tomorrow.
Well, I still couldn't find my watch or my camera... :(. So I will need to replace those eventually.
Is bro going to efy? Because he should be.
Elder Kyle W. is getting transferred from Ketchikan to Anchorage so that is sad. He is going to be a zone leader. I'll miss him! Transfers are always strange.
Oh yeah! Don't forget to send me C.'s MTC email and address. Seriously. I need it. You better make sure that boy has as many awesome packages as I got!
Don't buy wax type highlighters C., they make it harder to read the text.
That is really all I've got for today. I'm not really in the mood to sit and type. :) I love you all bunches! I miss ya tons.
Love, Elder Winterrose Sr.
P.S. DUDE! YOU'RE GONNA BE A GREENIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
P.S.S When you are in the MTC and you see a plane in the air, ask the rest of the group how far away they think it is, and after they reply just say "Nah, it's two years away... :)"
P.S.S.S. The MTC is as fun as you make it. It is one thousand percent about attitude. So just know, it's gonna be awesome. Oh and don't forget to take little nicknacks that you can stick in the ceiling tiles and in the little boxes in the walls for other people to find after you get out.
Be pumped. It's gonna be the ride of your life!
Love, Britton
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Andrew, My Brother
Where to start....
OH I KNOW!
Elder Britton Winterrose
Alaska Anchorage Mission
PO Box 221649
Anchorage AK 99522-1649
This is the mission office's new address. They had a permanent one built inside one of the church buildings in Anchorage. So if you want to send me anything please make sure you are sending it to the new address as written.
To answer the question of what is in the box. Here's a list: 10 Lbs of vacuum-packed King Salmon provided by Elder Kyle W. and Elder J. in Ketchikan, some 5 lbs of Smoked Salmon from our freezer, around 20 lbs of Silver Salmon, and around 20 lbs of Halibut, provided by the B.'s.
Other things before I get to writing whatever comes to my head.... I lost my camera. I think I left it in the Library last time I loaded pictures onto my hard drive, but I'm not sure. I can't find it anywhere. Luckily it was right after I loaded all the photos. It was a nice camera while it lasted.
And my watch got stolen. I was doing service on the 4th at the City of Craig festivities. I was in charge of making cotton candy. Talk about blessed service. Anyways. I went to wash off my hands, so I took off my watch for a second, went and washed my hands, and when I went back it was gone. I'm kinda ticked because it was pretty nice. So that was a bummer. But I guess we just have to live and learn.
Really though it has been a crazy week.We did service with the ward where we cut a few cords of firewood from old clear cuts that the forest service opens up for firewood. Then we split it and loaded it. The Priesthood quorums will deliver it to families who need it to supplement their supply to help them make it through the winter. A lot of people heat their homes with wood stoves up here or at least supplement their heat with the wood stove.
Then Thursday we went to our mission conference held in Juneau for our zone on Thurs-Sat. We had to catch the ferry on Thursday to Ketchikan so we could make our 5 p.m. flight, but when we got to the ferry terminal I started looking for my Drivers License so I could board the ferry but it wasn't in my wallet. That's when I remembered that on Monday we had been over at the P.'s house and one of the boys had bo-jacked my wallet and scattered the contents around the house....... It's not like I could really be angry with any boy doing anything of this sort because I was a little bum-head myself and I guess it just comes back around.:) So his little prank ended up with us missing the ferry, driving back into Craig, going to their house, finding the drivers license in his little brother's bed sheets, and then us narrowly catching a 10 a.m. flight off the island into Ketchikan. We still beat the ferry! Flying was really nice. I wish we could fly every time. We were in a Cessna and the weather was kind of stormy but the flight was great. We saw whales and it was cool to see the island from the air. Hundreds and hundreds of miles of logging roads...
We arrived in Ketchikan and got the fish to the shipping place and I chowed down on some McDonalds! Then we went and embarked on my quest to find Andrew R! We headed down the Tongass Highway but the other Elders were a little skeptical because we had to head past all the other housing and we just kept driving. We weren't sure really where he was living or if the address you gave me was for his home or work. Nevertheless we continued. Finally we drove past this building and down to the end of the Highway. Finding that it wasn't the right address we just flipped around and went back to the building we previously passed. Elder W. and I went down to investigate. The place looked like a big tourist lodge... and it turned out that it was a big tourist lodge! Haha. It was way nice. When we walked down the first person to greet us was the boss and just happened to be a potential investigator that the Ketchikan Elders had been trying to get in contact with. She told us where to find Andrew, so we walked into the big dining room of the George Inlet Lodge. He was in there serving up some guests so I just walked up and stood next to him. He broke off his conversation momentarily as he looked up at me, looked back down, and then the face registered and he looked back up at me with his side smile/what the H look and said something along the lines of "Really? All the way up here? I thought you were in Anchorage still!" He told us to follow him and his cousin(?) told him to have us stay and eat. So we got our other two companions, Elder G. and Elder J. and enjoyed a dungeness crab feast, courtesy of Andrew! They had a competition to see who could eat the most crab and Elder W. and I tied two tourists, (let's face it, we won but we can't afford to tip : ) so we got to stand up with the other two people and do a crab dance in front of everyone. It was pretty funny and the crab was wonderful. They also had some awesome cheesecake after for dessert. After all the food wrapped up, and the tables were bussed and set, we got to talk with Andrew for a little bit. Now I cannot even begin to explain the beauty and complexity of the logistics that had to occur for Heavenly Father to bring Andrew and I to the same place with the perfect timing, but the perfection of it is far beyond serendipitous, it is miraculous. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to bear testimony of the power of the Atonement to one of my good friends, to my brother that I have prayed for nearly every day of my mission. I hope that he takes the initiative to seek out the truth on his own and sincerely question and find out if the book of Mormon is true. I am most overwhelmed though just from getting to be part of it. How great is a God that helps us help not only ourselves, but one that allows us to be His hands, to work with His precision - even in the lives of those we hold most dear.
We can become the change that the world needs, if we yoke ourselves to him.
The visit with Andrew and the excitement of Channing entering the MTC has me filled with gratitude. I am grateful most of all for the Atonement and for loving parents, and all of those who have strived to help me be a better, kinder, more responsible, more Christ-like ... me. I just want to help others now. That is why I am here. That is why I am serving a mission. Because I know that if I spend my time in the service of God, helping others' brothers and sisters, that Heavenly Father will bless and help mine.
No empty Chairs in Heaven.
We were able to make it to the conference and we had a wonderful time. We got to speak very, very briefly with President Beesley, but they spent most of the time telling us about themselves... I mean helping us to get acquainted with them. They are both way awesome and Sister Beesley loves to fish. Someone mentioned fishing and her eyes lit up! They are way different than President and Sister Dance but I am sure that I will grow to love them. Read more about theme here: http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/50122/Maiden-flight.html
Well I am pretty much out of time. I love you all and I hope you enjoy eating the fish as much as I enjoy catching it.
Just remember, always pray for your brothers and sisters, even if you think their lost.
Love Elder Britton Winterrose!
PS. I love ya all!!
OH I KNOW!
Elder Britton Winterrose
Alaska Anchorage Mission
PO Box 221649
Anchorage AK 99522-1649
This is the mission office's new address. They had a permanent one built inside one of the church buildings in Anchorage. So if you want to send me anything please make sure you are sending it to the new address as written.
To answer the question of what is in the box. Here's a list: 10 Lbs of vacuum-packed King Salmon provided by Elder Kyle W. and Elder J. in Ketchikan, some 5 lbs of Smoked Salmon from our freezer, around 20 lbs of Silver Salmon, and around 20 lbs of Halibut, provided by the B.'s.
Other things before I get to writing whatever comes to my head.... I lost my camera. I think I left it in the Library last time I loaded pictures onto my hard drive, but I'm not sure. I can't find it anywhere. Luckily it was right after I loaded all the photos. It was a nice camera while it lasted.
And my watch got stolen. I was doing service on the 4th at the City of Craig festivities. I was in charge of making cotton candy. Talk about blessed service. Anyways. I went to wash off my hands, so I took off my watch for a second, went and washed my hands, and when I went back it was gone. I'm kinda ticked because it was pretty nice. So that was a bummer. But I guess we just have to live and learn.
Really though it has been a crazy week.We did service with the ward where we cut a few cords of firewood from old clear cuts that the forest service opens up for firewood. Then we split it and loaded it. The Priesthood quorums will deliver it to families who need it to supplement their supply to help them make it through the winter. A lot of people heat their homes with wood stoves up here or at least supplement their heat with the wood stove.
Then Thursday we went to our mission conference held in Juneau for our zone on Thurs-Sat. We had to catch the ferry on Thursday to Ketchikan so we could make our 5 p.m. flight, but when we got to the ferry terminal I started looking for my Drivers License so I could board the ferry but it wasn't in my wallet. That's when I remembered that on Monday we had been over at the P.'s house and one of the boys had bo-jacked my wallet and scattered the contents around the house....... It's not like I could really be angry with any boy doing anything of this sort because I was a little bum-head myself and I guess it just comes back around.:) So his little prank ended up with us missing the ferry, driving back into Craig, going to their house, finding the drivers license in his little brother's bed sheets, and then us narrowly catching a 10 a.m. flight off the island into Ketchikan. We still beat the ferry! Flying was really nice. I wish we could fly every time. We were in a Cessna and the weather was kind of stormy but the flight was great. We saw whales and it was cool to see the island from the air. Hundreds and hundreds of miles of logging roads...
We arrived in Ketchikan and got the fish to the shipping place and I chowed down on some McDonalds! Then we went and embarked on my quest to find Andrew R! We headed down the Tongass Highway but the other Elders were a little skeptical because we had to head past all the other housing and we just kept driving. We weren't sure really where he was living or if the address you gave me was for his home or work. Nevertheless we continued. Finally we drove past this building and down to the end of the Highway. Finding that it wasn't the right address we just flipped around and went back to the building we previously passed. Elder W. and I went down to investigate. The place looked like a big tourist lodge... and it turned out that it was a big tourist lodge! Haha. It was way nice. When we walked down the first person to greet us was the boss and just happened to be a potential investigator that the Ketchikan Elders had been trying to get in contact with. She told us where to find Andrew, so we walked into the big dining room of the George Inlet Lodge. He was in there serving up some guests so I just walked up and stood next to him. He broke off his conversation momentarily as he looked up at me, looked back down, and then the face registered and he looked back up at me with his side smile/what the H look and said something along the lines of "Really? All the way up here? I thought you were in Anchorage still!" He told us to follow him and his cousin(?) told him to have us stay and eat. So we got our other two companions, Elder G. and Elder J. and enjoyed a dungeness crab feast, courtesy of Andrew! They had a competition to see who could eat the most crab and Elder W. and I tied two tourists, (let's face it, we won but we can't afford to tip : ) so we got to stand up with the other two people and do a crab dance in front of everyone. It was pretty funny and the crab was wonderful. They also had some awesome cheesecake after for dessert. After all the food wrapped up, and the tables were bussed and set, we got to talk with Andrew for a little bit. Now I cannot even begin to explain the beauty and complexity of the logistics that had to occur for Heavenly Father to bring Andrew and I to the same place with the perfect timing, but the perfection of it is far beyond serendipitous, it is miraculous. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to bear testimony of the power of the Atonement to one of my good friends, to my brother that I have prayed for nearly every day of my mission. I hope that he takes the initiative to seek out the truth on his own and sincerely question and find out if the book of Mormon is true. I am most overwhelmed though just from getting to be part of it. How great is a God that helps us help not only ourselves, but one that allows us to be His hands, to work with His precision - even in the lives of those we hold most dear.
We can become the change that the world needs, if we yoke ourselves to him.
The visit with Andrew and the excitement of Channing entering the MTC has me filled with gratitude. I am grateful most of all for the Atonement and for loving parents, and all of those who have strived to help me be a better, kinder, more responsible, more Christ-like ... me. I just want to help others now. That is why I am here. That is why I am serving a mission. Because I know that if I spend my time in the service of God, helping others' brothers and sisters, that Heavenly Father will bless and help mine.
No empty Chairs in Heaven.
We were able to make it to the conference and we had a wonderful time. We got to speak very, very briefly with President Beesley, but they spent most of the time telling us about themselves... I mean helping us to get acquainted with them. They are both way awesome and Sister Beesley loves to fish. Someone mentioned fishing and her eyes lit up! They are way different than President and Sister Dance but I am sure that I will grow to love them. Read more about theme here: http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/50122/Maiden-flight.html
Well I am pretty much out of time. I love you all and I hope you enjoy eating the fish as much as I enjoy catching it.
Just remember, always pray for your brothers and sisters, even if you think their lost.
Love Elder Britton Winterrose!
PS. I love ya all!!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Baptism in Craig!
Hello Mom, Dad, brothers, extended family and Friends,
This week has been good. We were able to visit more people because we were in town the whole week so that was good. The definite highlight of my week was M. C's baptism on Saturday. We were able to get the programs made and printed, we boiled enough water to heat up the font, and a large group of members were there to support M. C.
The baptism was beautiful though. Super strong spirit. We had 2 musical numbers, 2 talks, 2 hymns, the ordinance, and M. even built up the courage to bear her testimony. By far though my favorite part was witnessing the ordinance. I had the privilege of being one of the witnesses so I got to stand right at the top of the stairs. It was amazing as M. came out of the water she just had this look of amazement on her face. I wish I could have captured it with a photo, but she was just beaming, her smile ran from ear to ear. And then came the deep gasp of air. That moment is the sweetest part. I remember when Sister Dance was talking about this little boy who's baptism she was at, and how when he came out of the water he just said "Wow!" I think the spiritual power that the Holy Spirit of Promise can bestow upon those participating in and witnessing a baptism by proper priesthood authority is amazing. It was a truly fantastic experience. Later on Sister K., M.'s mom, got up and bore her testimony of how she saw what M. had just experienced and then she testified of how she remembers just wanting to shout or sing and just let the joy burst from her heart (paraphrased).
We were also able to visit nearly all the people that we had planned on visiting this week although we were only able to teach a few of them. No worries though. Such is life in the Alaska bush. We will just keep working hard to find more people.
So yesterday I had an epiphany. I was laying in bed thinking about a lesson that we had with a very nice older lady named N.. I felt like I needed to ask her if she had ever read the book of Mormon. And she said no, so I asked her why not. Long story short, she was irritated with me asking, but I told her very straight that it is my duty to invite all to come unto Christ. Now I was freaking nervous at this point, because the last thing I wanted to do is anger some really nice person and get us banned from their house, but I kept going. I kept asking questions. I testified. And the Spirit helped her to stay calm.
It's not easy to be bold. One of the missionaries in our mission, Elder B., defined bold as follows. B is for blatant. O is for Obvious. L is for Love. D is for Direct.
Last night I was thinking back on some encounters that I have had on my mission. Some on airplanes, others in discussions with people just in passing. Many of which ended when the person began to become irritated and simply refused to talk about religion. I feel that many people become irritated about religion because they simply do not have a solid testimony and fear that any discussion may cause confusion or conflict within their beliefs and testimony.
I also remembered the flight to here from Anchorage... I sat next to 4 different people. I tried to talk to every one of them about the Gospel. One of them said "I really don't want to talk about religion and if you continue to I will become very upset." Once I moved past a grown woman's threat to throw a temper tantrum if we discussed the taboo topic of religion, I just had one question that continued to eat away at me.... Why! Why would someone be so opposed to hearing the beliefs of another that they would shut down their mind and harden their hearts towards a message without even trying it for themselves first? Honestly, it really still breaks my heart to see people reject the Gospel without first turning it over to God and letting Him answer them. It is frustrating. Thank goodness for the Spirit World! As I continued onward with my visits I began to remember the quote from Jeffrey R. Holland found in Preach My Gospel, page 185.
“More important than speaking is listening. These people are not lifeless objects disguised as a baptismal statistic. They are children of God, our brothers and sisters, and they need what we have. Be genuine. Reach out sincerely. Ask these friends what matters most to them. What do they cherish, and what do they hold dear? And then listen. If the setting is right, you might ask what their fears are, what they yearn for, or what they feel is missing in their lives. I promise you that something in what they say will highlight a truth of the gospel about which you can bear testimony and about which you can then offer more... If we listen with love, we won’t need to wonder what to say. It will be given to us—by the Spirit and by our friends”
So I just began to listen. And then I would testify with Boldness on whatever subjects they would bring up in our conversation. I love the part about asking them what their fears are, what do they yearn for, or what do they feel is missing in their lives.
So back to my epiphany. So as I lay in bed last night I was thinking, "Well did I say too much? Did I go too far?" And as I was thinking about it I recalled what happened to Nephi. Some of the times when he spoke with boldness... the people started raging on him! Sometimes the people's hearts were right and they accepted the message and were willing to change. Other times they just shut down. I just have to operate out of love and if they choose to reject the loving council of the Lord as delivered through a servant by the Spirit of Prophesy and Discernment, well that will allow the Lord's judgments to rest upon them. And most of the time it's just that they aren't the Lord's elect. The elect hear the voice of the Lord and harden not their hearts.
I think with C's talk he should talk about judging unrighteous who will or won't receive the Gospel. Also, forgiveness is a big part of judging. D&C 64.
Remember that righteous judgment is necessary, and along with agency, is a critical part of the Plan. Use lots of scriptures. Remember that love and trust are two separate and different things. One is conditional one is not.
Well I think that is pretty much all I can think of right now. My mind is on all the fish I'm going to catch today so we will see what happens.
I love you all! Miss ya!
Elder Britton Winterrose
This week has been good. We were able to visit more people because we were in town the whole week so that was good. The definite highlight of my week was M. C's baptism on Saturday. We were able to get the programs made and printed, we boiled enough water to heat up the font, and a large group of members were there to support M. C.
The baptism was beautiful though. Super strong spirit. We had 2 musical numbers, 2 talks, 2 hymns, the ordinance, and M. even built up the courage to bear her testimony. By far though my favorite part was witnessing the ordinance. I had the privilege of being one of the witnesses so I got to stand right at the top of the stairs. It was amazing as M. came out of the water she just had this look of amazement on her face. I wish I could have captured it with a photo, but she was just beaming, her smile ran from ear to ear. And then came the deep gasp of air. That moment is the sweetest part. I remember when Sister Dance was talking about this little boy who's baptism she was at, and how when he came out of the water he just said "Wow!" I think the spiritual power that the Holy Spirit of Promise can bestow upon those participating in and witnessing a baptism by proper priesthood authority is amazing. It was a truly fantastic experience. Later on Sister K., M.'s mom, got up and bore her testimony of how she saw what M. had just experienced and then she testified of how she remembers just wanting to shout or sing and just let the joy burst from her heart (paraphrased).
We were also able to visit nearly all the people that we had planned on visiting this week although we were only able to teach a few of them. No worries though. Such is life in the Alaska bush. We will just keep working hard to find more people.
So yesterday I had an epiphany. I was laying in bed thinking about a lesson that we had with a very nice older lady named N.. I felt like I needed to ask her if she had ever read the book of Mormon. And she said no, so I asked her why not. Long story short, she was irritated with me asking, but I told her very straight that it is my duty to invite all to come unto Christ. Now I was freaking nervous at this point, because the last thing I wanted to do is anger some really nice person and get us banned from their house, but I kept going. I kept asking questions. I testified. And the Spirit helped her to stay calm.
It's not easy to be bold. One of the missionaries in our mission, Elder B., defined bold as follows. B is for blatant. O is for Obvious. L is for Love. D is for Direct.
Last night I was thinking back on some encounters that I have had on my mission. Some on airplanes, others in discussions with people just in passing. Many of which ended when the person began to become irritated and simply refused to talk about religion. I feel that many people become irritated about religion because they simply do not have a solid testimony and fear that any discussion may cause confusion or conflict within their beliefs and testimony.
I also remembered the flight to here from Anchorage... I sat next to 4 different people. I tried to talk to every one of them about the Gospel. One of them said "I really don't want to talk about religion and if you continue to I will become very upset." Once I moved past a grown woman's threat to throw a temper tantrum if we discussed the taboo topic of religion, I just had one question that continued to eat away at me.... Why! Why would someone be so opposed to hearing the beliefs of another that they would shut down their mind and harden their hearts towards a message without even trying it for themselves first? Honestly, it really still breaks my heart to see people reject the Gospel without first turning it over to God and letting Him answer them. It is frustrating. Thank goodness for the Spirit World! As I continued onward with my visits I began to remember the quote from Jeffrey R. Holland found in Preach My Gospel, page 185.
“More important than speaking is listening. These people are not lifeless objects disguised as a baptismal statistic. They are children of God, our brothers and sisters, and they need what we have. Be genuine. Reach out sincerely. Ask these friends what matters most to them. What do they cherish, and what do they hold dear? And then listen. If the setting is right, you might ask what their fears are, what they yearn for, or what they feel is missing in their lives. I promise you that something in what they say will highlight a truth of the gospel about which you can bear testimony and about which you can then offer more... If we listen with love, we won’t need to wonder what to say. It will be given to us—by the Spirit and by our friends”
So I just began to listen. And then I would testify with Boldness on whatever subjects they would bring up in our conversation. I love the part about asking them what their fears are, what do they yearn for, or what do they feel is missing in their lives.
So back to my epiphany. So as I lay in bed last night I was thinking, "Well did I say too much? Did I go too far?" And as I was thinking about it I recalled what happened to Nephi. Some of the times when he spoke with boldness... the people started raging on him! Sometimes the people's hearts were right and they accepted the message and were willing to change. Other times they just shut down. I just have to operate out of love and if they choose to reject the loving council of the Lord as delivered through a servant by the Spirit of Prophesy and Discernment, well that will allow the Lord's judgments to rest upon them. And most of the time it's just that they aren't the Lord's elect. The elect hear the voice of the Lord and harden not their hearts.
I think with C's talk he should talk about judging unrighteous who will or won't receive the Gospel. Also, forgiveness is a big part of judging. D&C 64.
Remember that righteous judgment is necessary, and along with agency, is a critical part of the Plan. Use lots of scriptures. Remember that love and trust are two separate and different things. One is conditional one is not.
Well I think that is pretty much all I can think of right now. My mind is on all the fish I'm going to catch today so we will see what happens.
I love you all! Miss ya!
Elder Britton Winterrose
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
