Yes......another amazing week in the life of a missionary!

Hellooooooo fam!

Well, I'm not gonna lie, I'm having a hard time right this second concentrating in this internet cafe because there's this guy on the phone talking to some reporter. Sister B and I can't help but listen in and it's actually quite interesting. Long story short he was arrested for robbery or something but it's a setup and they're building this case against some bad cop and the press is getting involved and there were guns and he's trying to lay low and they're building this story. And of course, he has this "business partner" he needs to get a hold of and he's a "cab driver" during the days. Wow totally a mob leader. Living in NY is WAY better then TV.

Okay, back on to spiritual things! Basically this week was one of the best weeks I've ever had as a missionary and definitely in the top 20 of my life. Good stuff! I have felt the Lord closer with me every minute of every day.......which is hard when you're living in Sodom and Gomorrah, I mean NYC (speaking of the world, the "cab driver" just switched to a phone call in Spanish. He would. Unlucky for him, I understand everything he's saying. He cousin has some information to add to some police report that no one else knows about. And he had a dream 2 days before the robbery that cops were going to steal his "rent" money. Boom baby.)

One quote that I loved this week talked about what one sister said to her companion when she was discouraged.

"Every dispensation for 6,000 years has ended in apostasy. Not this one. We are preparing for the Second Coming and we are not going to fail." That pretty much sums up how awesome my week has been. But if you're still not convinced, I'll give you a top 10 :)

1. Package and letters! This week was like Christmas! I got Mom's package on Saturday and a letter from Beth and from Grandma and from Danielle and from Lyndsey and from Aunt Di! Can you say spoiled? Beth, I'm gonna email you a in sec, Danielle and Lyndsey, I wrote you this morning. Grandma, I LOVE you and I will try and write you this afternoon if I have time. I just always know you're patient with me and are happy with whatever I have time to write :) Aunt Di, I LOVED the picture and it's up on the wall in my study room! Hopefully I'll write you back soon as well.....thanks for being patient with me. And tell Ab's I loved her poem and she is right on about NY! Mom, you're getting your own separate email so be patient :)

2. Dude, another interruption for cab driver. Hopefully they leave the cafe soon. They're meeting the reporter in his cousin's restaurant to sign an agreement in 30 minutes. Then it's going all over the news tonight I think. I'll probably be a famous witness, no big deal.

3. Piano and Singing. Well, the piano went eehhhh. I rocked the first song and the sacrament hymn went better than expected but the closing hymn crashed and burned. Heavenly Father just wanted to leave me on a humble note :) The singing was fun. Saturday night for the reception we sang a combination of Families Can Be Together Forever, When There's Love at Home, and I Am a Child of God. The Elder that played the piano for us is AMAZING and the spirit was so strong. I really felt like angels were singing with us and I saw a lot of nonmembers really paying attention. Sunday I had a solo party for I Believe in Christ, which the notes are different in Spanish, so that was kind of embarrassing but everyone pretended it was good and was nice to me about it.

4. The other day I noticed that Sister B had an empty zip lock bag in her backpack and she said, "Oh yeah, that's for when people feed you too much. You just shove food in there when they leave the room." HAHAHA apparently she's used it before. I probably need to get one soon.....especially when a member made pig feet yesterday. I just don't roll like that, sorry.
                                                   Sis. B and I....I love her!
5. We went to a baptism for someone in the English ward on Saturday before the reception and it was so good. The guy's wife is already a member and she gave a talk and could barely get the words out. The only other people there were the missionaries. It was so simple and humbling and really made you recognize what's important. I LOVE it when people follow Christ. Christ lives and loves us!

6. The wedding reception was for a couple in our ward that were sealed on Saturday. They had a fireside for everyone and then just ate afterward. They got up and bore their testimonies about the gospel and literally invited everyone to talk to the missionaries and learn how they can have the joy they have. Wow. Most of their family is nonmembers. The members here just cherish every church experience and make it so meaningful. I will never again take for granted what a blessing it is to make covenants with the Lord and be an eternal family. I am so glad I get to be with all of you forever!
                                                                  At the reception!

7. This point gives props to Sister Cronin. We've been working with the Mite family (not sure if I've mentioned them before). Their 17 yr old daughter is a member and neither of them are members but they've been going to church for a year and had a million sets of missionaries working with them. Hermano Mite has a baptismal date for this Sunday but his wife just has something holding her back and we have not been able to help her. So we'd really been praying about what we needed to do and I had the thought come to my mind to do a silent lesson. Sister Cronin did these in seminary and I loved them. So we planned a silent lesson all about the Savior and afterward she gave me a huge hug and said, "Thank you so much that was beautiful. I loved it." She's a very quiet person so it shocked us. And when we saw her at church yesterday she asked when we wanted to come over this week. The Lord truly is aware of our needs and the needs of others and if we are willing to listen He can tell us how to help those around us. Thank you Sister Cronin! And girls, pay attention in seminary!

8. So Sarah* is one of my favorite members in the whole ward. Her husband is awesome and so are all their kids. But Sarah's dad is a horrible person apparently. He left her mom but wouldn't divorce her and now has 2 other kids with Jane*. And Jane has been going to church for a year and has been with this man for about 20 years but he refuses to get divorced from his first wife because then he'll lose the land he owns in Honduras. So she can't get baptized because she's breaking the law of chastity because her husband won't get a divorce. And then we find out the other day that he now has gotten some other woman pregnant. And he's probably 60 or 65ish. Ew. But anyway, Jane is AMAZING and we love her. We've been visiting her and maybe now she's ready to move out away from her husband so she can get baptized. She's really been opening up to us and we just sat and cried our eyes out with her the other day. Sister B and I were talking about how you really can't judge people based on their circumstances. Here is someone that isn't keeping the commandments and she knows she should. But she's trying and her life is so hard and Heavenly Father knows that. We can never know what people are struggling with inside when we judge them from what we can see. I love her so much and we're praying Heavenly Father will help her make the best decision for her life.

9. Well, this point counts for 9 and 10 because it's scripture related and that's always twice as important! This week, as I said in the beginning, has been one of the best weeks but one of the most exhausting. Sister T that lives in our pad told me this things her trainer once told her: "Sometimes the Lord, through our trials and challenges, allows us to hit rock bottom just so we know that the rock at the bottom is Him." This week, I have been so grateful for our Rock and Redeemer Jesus Christ. He truly is the reason we can rejoice during our trials.

And there was another quote I read in a talk today that I liked as well. It says, "Joy is not a stranger to pain. We may not feel deeply enough to know joy unless our hearts have been hollowed out by sorrow. A heart may not be big enough to know real joy until it has been stretched and pulled by trials and hard things. In 2 Nephi 2:23 we find this phrase: “having no joy, for they knew no misery.” Our capacity to feel joy actually increases as we righteously endure our pain." Given that statement, I would welcome trials! The harder things appear, the more opportunity there is to improve our relationship with the Savior and be happy now and in the future!
I can say that I know true joy as I've seen others come unto Christ. I am SO thankful for trials and when we have Christ, they really turn into blessings!

And for those of you that are struggling, don't give up! Every good thing the Lord has in store for you will come to pass. I have seen that happen in my life and I know that the Lord will keep every promise He has made to us. And if you can't my word it, take Mormon's word:

16 Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes? Yea, and who can comprehend the marvelous aworks of God?

17 Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his aword the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word man was bcreated of the cdust of the earth; and by the power of his word have miracles been wrought?

18 And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many mighty amiracles? And there were many bmighty miracles wrought by the hands of the apostles.

19 And if there were amiracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he bchangeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.

21 Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, awhatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this bpromise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.

25 And whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto him will I aconfirm all my words, even unto the ends of the earth.

27 O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. aDoubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and bcome unto the Lord with all your cheart, and dwork out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him.

Christ lives, He loves us, and He will bless us, today and forever. I testify of this and pray for you all every day. Have a great week and God be with you until we talk again!

Love the mish. Be the mish.
Hermana Winfield
*names have been changed for confidentiality :)

WOW!

Well, I don't even really know where to start! This week has been crazy but I think I good crazy.....I'm still deciding! lol

1. Alyssa got baptized! It was actually a train wreck but she got under the water and that's all that counts! It was hilarious because in her baptism interview with our zone leader, he was asking her all the questions and one is if you've commited a serious crime. Apparently she got all upset and said yes. He was shocked and said, "Oh, would you like to tell me about it?" Haha she stole some of her friends money to buy ice cream. We told her to repent and she'd be fine.

2. Uncle Wally, thanks for the money! My companion and I have been living the high life. And funny enough, right when I had the envelope in my hand it flew out of my hand into the street. I just looked at my companion, and then I ran for it. It was worth risking getting hit by a car. Totally worth it. My companion was laughing at me that I would risk everything for this envelope. THANK YOU!

3. We were invited to PEC this week and it did not really go smoothly......long story. But we were trying to be optimistic so on the walk home we didn't really say anything. Then finally Sister B says, "So, what did you think of the meeting?" and not wanting to be a downer I said, "Oh, I'm still processing, I'll tell you in a minute." And then she says, "Well, I don't think it went well at all." I started laughing and we admitted how horrible it went. So we bought ice cream and tried to cheer each other up.

4. The Mite family is commited to be baptized on the 24th. We'll see how that goes because they have a lot of problems to work through until then.

5. The other day we were walking home and all the sudden Sister B said, "Oh man, do you see that!?" We have an elevated train in front of our apartment and behind it. And we were walking under the bridge for the elevated train behind us. So I looked back and all I could see were two cop cars. Well, apparently there was a body bag and the police were taping everything off. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my first death outside my apartment. I'm sad they died but also glad to see that stereotypical New York City has not let me down.

6. We like to make really corny church jokes. For example, Saturday night Sister T (who lives in our apartment) was asking me a question and for some reason my answer was, "Well, I believe in Jesus Christ." and she gave me a surprised, "No!? Really?! When are we going to celebrate?" And I said, "Tomorrow. For 3 hours. It's called church." Haha well maybe you just had to be there......or maybe you just have to be a missionary. But we thought it was pretty funny :)

7. The English Elders called and told us that a member had called them and said, "Oh, I have friends I want you to meet." So they went over and it was a lady and her 5 kids. And she told them, "When can we set a date for us to be baptized?" WOW. The Elders were dumbfounded. Miracles do happen and Heavenly Father loves all of His children!

8. On Sunday we had no one to play the piano for sacrament meeting. Sister Unga always played last transfer and now there's no one that nows how to play. So we sang acapella. So after the baptism yesterday Bishop came up to me and said, "Sister Winfield, we're going to need you to play the piano next week." And I said, "Oh, but Bishop, I don't play the piano." And he said, "Well, you're a missionary. Can't you do anything with the Spirit?" So yep, I'm now the ward pianist. Pray everyone. Pray hard.

9. I've been missing Mr. Cats lately. He is this guy that gets a million cans of cat food and feeds tons of cats by the chapel. And I haven't seen him in a while. I hope he's okay.

10. Besides being a pianist, I'm also a professional singer. A member in our ward and her husband are getting sealed this Saturday and she called me last night and asked if I could sing at the reception. Uh? I don't sing. But apparently, now I do.

Shout outs this week go to: Mom, Dad, Grandma, Unlce Wally, Aunt Di, Braytons (I LOVE you guys!), Chantel, Uncle Don and Fam, Kaly (wow, your note could not have come at a better time.....thank you!), Em, Beth, Brenna, and last but NEVER least, Bug!

Love the mish. Be the mish.

Hermana Winfield

Count Your Blessings

Wow, what a week! I'm going to start off with the boring things (aka the world) and then I'll finish with the miracles of this week and General Conference (aka the good stuff)

1. My new companion......is AWESOME! She is a super duper hard worker and she is so loving. Her name is Hermana Banaswevski and she's from Chicago. She graduated from BYU-Idaho in psychology. She came right in working like a maniac and for that I love her. It feels so good to give everything you have everyday. To go to bed at night and feel so exhausted.....mentally, physically, spiritually. Feeling like you gave your all that day. And Hermana B. helps me feel that way everyday! In the short time we've been together, I've already seen miracles brought about because of her faith.....she is a power-house!

2. Well, sometimes when you have that mental exhaustion as explained above, you do crazy things. What did I do this week? I cut all my sleeves off my shirts. I was so hot, I couldn't handle it! I only cut the sleeves off of my downeast shirts, cause they're going under sweaters anyway! But nevertheless, Mamon was laughing at me for quite some time. I was SO hot. I just went crazy with the scissors, in a frenzy to find anything cutable. But no worries, I feel a lot better now.

3. Regular life in NY #1. I was going to eat some toast the other day. So I popped two pieces of bread into the toaster. Then when it was cooked, I popped them out. With the toast, out crawled about ten cockroaches. But I was hungry. The dilemma: eat the cockroach infested toast or waste 2 pieces of bread which is all the food you have. I ate the toast. And I never looked back. And I've continued eating toast from that toaster everyday. I mean, it can't be all that bad for you.....I bless the food.

4. Well, J-Lo predictions are correct.....we may have bed bugs. Why do I say "may"? Because I get eaten alive outside by mosquitoes so much it's hard to tell which is which. So in another moment of rage that is unique to H Winfield, I sharpied all my bug bites before going to bed the other night so I could tell which ones were new in the morning. So I had black dots all over my legs......yeah, I got some weird looks at the church when I forgot to wear one of my longer skirts. But don't worry, we threw out our bed and have a new one now. And we've sprayed permethrin everywhere (see picture) and we've heat scorched everything. They don't stand a chance.

5. Claudia and Karen update. They are doing SO great and really growing in the gospel! Claudia is getting ready to go do baptisms at the temple and we're going to go with her. Partay! And Karen reads the children's Book of Mormon like no one I've ever seen. One day we came over and she said "Oh yeah, I read 10 chapters last night. Want to know what I learned?" And continued to expound on how to apply it in her life......she knows more than most adults.

6. We're working on learning this new curriculum and organization system that makes missionary work simplified and easier. It will be taught in the MTC next summer so we're adapting it here first. I LOVE it and it really helps everyone get back to the basics in teaching and focusing on the Savior.

7. Miracle of the week: 10 year old Alisa is someone we've been teaching the last few months and she has never been baptized although she's been taught by missionaries off and on for the last 2 years. Her mom always says that Alisa needs to learn more before she can get baptized; she wants her to wait until she turns 11 in March....but who knows even then. So on Thursday night Hermana B and I saw her at the church building with her 16 yr old sister Bernice and we asked her how she felt about baptism. And we told her 10/10/10 would be a super cool day to get baptized (this sunday). She said she really wants to get baptized that day (she's always wanted to be baptized so no big surprise).

Well fast forward to yesterday (Sunday). We were mixing and mingling with ward members in-between the session and I saw her mom and went up talked to her. I asked her if she'd talked to Alisa about being baptized and this is what she said: "Oh yeah Alisa told me she'd talked to you about getting baptized this Sunday. I told her she really should wait til her birthday at least but she told me she didn't want to wait any longer. So I guess you're right, she can get baptized on Sunday. I mean, I guess it's about time since she's wanted to for ever." Oh my goodness! I almost cried right in front of her! So, Alisa will be getting baptized this Sunday! I am SO happy for her and the decision she's made to follow our Savior Jesus Christ; it will change her life.

8. General Conference. AMAZING. Oh man, being a missionary and watching general conference is the best! I love it so much, I can't even explain it in words. I loved everything about it and every talk.....I can't even choose a favorite. But one highlight I will share is the immense amount of gratitude I felt, even before President Monson's talk.

And when we were singing one of the hymns, I just started bawling thinking about how much the Lord has blessed us with. Even if I had no family, no money, no house, no food, and no clothes I would be abundantly blessed because I have the gospel of Jesus Christ. So whatever else we don't have doesn't matter. Because we have the one thing that can soothe every heart and dry every tear. The one thing that can fill every hole and heal every heart. Jesus Christ is in reality Our Savior and as His representative I testify that He lives and that He loves us. With Nephi I give thanks that "My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness...He hath filled me with His love, even unto the consuming of my flesh...Behold, He hath heard my cry by day, and He hath given me knowledge my visions in the night-time." He is the Savior of the world. Not only the Savior of those who know Him, or the Savior of those who are worthy of Him, or those who are esteemed among men. He is the Savior of every person on the face of this earth, even those who don't know they can be redeemed through Him. And He is especially the Savior of those who don't think they are worthy of his redeeming power. There is no problem He cannot conquer, no weakness He cannot strengthen, no heartache He cannot cure. We are so blessed to know Him and His gospel. And I feel so blessed to be His disciple for these 18 months. This mission, as short as I've been out here, has changed my life. I do not say that lightly; I will never be the same again. Like Eliza R. Snow, I can say that my heart is fixed in the Lord. I will not waiver. How blessed we our to be children of a Heavenly Father and have a Brother that loves us enough to take all of our sins and pains upon Him!

9. With that said, I want everyone that ends up reading this email to put your gratitude into action and share the gospel with someone around you. All of you know one person that does not know of the happiness they could have in their lives. What right do we have to withhold such blessings from them! When you've done this, I would love to hear about your experience!

10. I LOVE you all! Thank you so much for your support!

Shout outs this week go to- Grandma as always, Maggie, Dad, Mom, Brenna, Aunt Di, Cait, Em, and Anna! Thank you all so much!

Mom and Dad- You have no idea how thankful I am for you. And for all the years you prayed for me and taught me. I may not have acted like it, but I was listening! Besides the Savior and Heavenly Father, no one has had a more lasting and eternal impact on my life than the two of you. And Mom, we were totally besties in the pre-existence! Woot woot! Dad, I am so sorry for all the trouble I caused and for how mean I was. Sometimes we don't realize how completely blessed we are until later. But your dedication to the gospel has helped me lay a foundation that I will build upon for the rest of my life. You are the best father anyone could ever ask for and exactly the type of man I want to marry. I've got to stop now cause I'm bawling in an internet cafe and that's embarrassing!

Girlies- I love you SO much and I am so thankful we're all friends AND sisters! Partay for eternity!

Anna- I love you so much and I think about you often and how your mission experience must have been. Thanks for being my favorite older sister!

Cait- Oh, be still my soul! I love you so much and I loved your life update! You are right, I never would have seen that romantic turn coming......but I like it! Keep me updated!

Aunt Di- Don't give up! Your mission experience sounds like every 5 minutes of my life so I agree with you that it can be discouraging. But you're a great example! I'm so blessed to have you as my aunt! Thank you so much for your emails every week.....I wish I could write you long long letters!

Grandma- My love for you is pretty undying....you could say it's eternal! Thank you for being such an amazing grandma and for raising such an amazing daughter!

Kori- Oh man I miss you. Please write me a letter in the mail. Seriously you brighten my day. Maybe give me one of those pep talks you're so good at. Tell Rhen I said hello and I LOVE you both!

Maggot- I got both of your emails, sorry I haven't written back! I LOVE your life right now, it's like a fairy tale I would love to live in! I am sad you're moving, but in a way you'll be closer to me :) Plus, I can come visit you when I get back.....in my yacht. I can't even explain to you how happy you make me....but it's a lot. Please continue to email me cause I'd be super sad if you didn't. I love you!

Brenna- You are by far and hands down my favorite Brenna in the whole wide world. Oh man, I'm so glad we get along now! Good things those teenage years are behind us.....they were rough! I LOVED your dearelder and I LOVE you! You brighten my day whenever I get something from you. I love the person you are and how hard you are working. Way to be the big sister the girls need! I did some scripture research for you as requested and here's what I got:

Prayer. Great topic and lots of scriptures. Start with....

Mosiah 24
Alma 22:15-18,
Alma 27:5-8
Alma 28:5-6 and 30:2
Alma 31: 8-10, 13-35, 38
Alma 32: 3-11
Alma 34:17-27
Alma 37:36-37

Em: I miss you SO much! You're like a mini me but 100 times better! Keep being strong and being the awesome woman you are! I love you so much!

Beth: I miss you too! Awwww! I am so excited to be with you forever! So keeping being good and being all the amazing things you are and working hard. I LOVE you so much. Write me!

Buggy- Hands down my favorite Hayley and Bug in the whole world. Wow you are the sweetest person alive and always make everyone happy. Continue being the angel you are and be a good example to your friends.

Love the mish. Be the mish.
Hermana Winfield

WOW...LOVE the support!

Well hello everyone! Once again, I feel SO loved and supported and I LOVE everyone's emails and letters. This weeks top ten will have to include some business items that need to be taken care of.

1. Em, I LOVE you. I will be writing you a long letter because you definitely deserve it. And it is normal to feel the way you've been feeling spiritually right now. But, until you get my letter, please read your scriptures EVERY day and pray before and after reading, on your knees. I love you so much Emmie, you can do it! You are my little twin so I know how you're feeling......it'll be okay! Please read the talk Believing in Christ (Mom can help you find it....Mom, it's the one with the parable of the bicycle). Also, way to keep those boys off of you.......goodness we've got too much hotness in that house to handle!

2. Nancy! Disculpeme pero no se como hacer los acentos con esta computadora, entonces, voy a tratar pero.......si :) Pues, sus preguntas. Me dijo mi madre que ya recibio los photos, espero que si. Lo siento de sus sentimientos rotos, escribire una carta para ti. Puedo hablar mas de nuestra apartamento, tal vez en esta carta, y no, desgracia, no tengo una mesita cerca de mi cama. Pero, voy a cambiar las camas y dormire en la otra......entonces puedo guardar mi alarma en el suelo. Tienes mas preguntas?

3. I LOVED the pictures of em and beth! I have the best sisters ever! Beth way to wear a modest dress.......hands down you were the most beautiful one there!

4. Bug......a mormon teacher! Lucky! And I am sure your solo was amazing! What song did you sing!? And getting asked out twice.......Dad, how are you handling all of this!? Everyone's going to have bf when I get home (I sure hope not).

5. Mom, your questions. Yes, I watched the broadcast. It was awesome! I LOVED all the talks, but I do have to say that President Monson took the cake. We don't even realize how much other people are struggling, and gosh darnit, they're doing the best they can! So we need to stop judging! But I agree, I don't know if I could be as good as Sister Monson......I would want my husband home! We had it in English and I would have watched it in Spanish but there was some complications with headsets.....but it was awesome.

Yes, Claudia is married......not a big fan of her husband cause he's not that supportive. It's interesting, Unga and I were talking the other day about how most of our ward is made up of strong women and there aren't many men. Or if there are men, the women were the converts and the husbands were alcoholics and abusive or such. It's super sad and it makes me a little apprehensive about marriage, not gonna lie. Thank goodness I don't have to think about that for 2 years! But when the men do stop drinking and get baptized, they are REALLY good. We have two amazing men in our ward that I love and their wives are amazing as well.

Conference. So excited. It's like the Superbowl for missionaries. So yes, I've been making my bracket of who will be speaking in what order. I'm definitely going to win. We get to watch all 4 sessions. Boom baby! Also, congrats to sister mechim and whoa baby to ramona. Loves it!

6. Wow we interrupt this email for a special announcement. I was just sitting here in the internet cafe and we heard a thud. I look out and a bird just flew into the window and is spazing out dying on the ground. I think I'm going to cry.......it's breaking my heart.

7. I have the best parents in the world. Dad for fixing that car and being so super uplifting and spiritual and Mom for just being the amazing bomb.com that she is. Wow. I seriously wish I could tell both of you how thankful I am for you and how awesome of parents you are. Girls, give them lots of hugs for me!

8. Crazyness this week.....don't even know where to start. Transfers are tomorrow and Unga is leaving. It shocked everyone, first of all me and Unga. Apparently this never happens to Spanish......they usually stay with their trainers for longer. So I'm sad she's leaving and I am scared to death to be the "experienced" one in this area.....I have no idea what I'm doing! But I'm sure my new companion will be awesome! Pray for me.......I am seriously scared to death. Wow.

Me and Sister Unga!

9. Mom, you can just take this out if it's inappropriate but send it on to Steve and Cheryl. This is the baby mama drama. Apparently this 50 year old guy in our ward fell in love with me. I didn't even do anything! We visited him because he's a recent convert.....but I was only missionary-ish the whole time! So it's caused a BUNCH of ward drama and President said we couldn't talk to him anymore, but then he found out that we found out and got all mad at us (long story), and now he won't come to church. Ugh! So if any of us was leaving, Unga and I for sure thought I would be the one getting transferred out. Haha life/President/the Lord is funny like that.

10. Okay, this is the missionary soap box for a moment, so excuse me but it's important. I can't even explain how important it is that we read our scriptures every day and pray every day. Any problem, concern, or sadness can be healed through the atonement of Jesus Christ. We access this wonderful gift and learn more about it through prayer and the scriptures. It is SO important. If I could only get every person in New York to understand one thing, it would be that the atonement of Jesus Christ is real and that we do have a plan. There is a God and He did send His son to sacrifice for us so that we can be clean in this life and return to live in His presence forever. So, everyone PLEASE listen to all of general conference and don't sleep during it. Nothing else is more important than the gospel of Jesus Christ and the prophet of God will be speaking in his behalf this weekend. Be there!

Shout outs this week go to: Brenna (I haven't gotten your letter yet but mom says its on its way!), Grandma (aka highlight of my week every week), Aunt Di (I'll be writing you this week hopefully.....I LOVE the family updates), Ginger (miss your face too girl!), and everyone else that is reading this.....LOVE you all!

Love the mish. Be the mish.

Hermana Winfield

Great Week!

Wow, amazing week!

But first off, GRANDMA, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW! You are my favorite person lately, I just LOVE your letters every week. I hope your birthday is amazing and I'm glad you partied it up on Sunday. Go out and eat a Burgerville milkshake or something for me!

Talia! Yay baby Lucille is here! Tell her I said hello and I love her of course! And give my cute little Lily a hug!

Mom, don't you EVER send an email to the mission office again! Oh my goodness! No, I did not receive it and now President probably thinks you're crazy......whew! I love you for trying, but next time just don't worry about it......it wasn't that important. But of course from my amazing mother I shouldn't have expected any less. Haha I almost peed my pants laughing when I read your email......emailing the mission.....you would. And sadly, I have not seen Fred again yet.

Okay enough of this, top ten!

1. This week I have included pictures, and we will first talk about my ghetto alarm clock situation. This week I got tired of the alarm clock falling off my bed every night and now some of the buttons don't even work so I went ghetto style and just taped it onto my bed frame. Unga was laughing at me.....but now I don't have any alarm clock problems so look who's lauughing now!

2. We had zone conference and President and the APs taught and it was amazing! We also had costco chicken bakes and it made me think of home lol. But yeah, zone conference was amazing and I asked President that if we were good at the end if we could watch a clip from District 2 about the law of chastity (word on the street is that it's hilarious). Anyway, President loves me so of course we watched it at the end and it was SO funny. They're teaching the guy the law of chastity and talking about Corianton and the Elder says, "So he broke the law of chastity. Yeah......he just..........broke it." Man we were rolling. Apparently the kid didn't understand because the next time they met with him he told them, "Yeah, I've really been trying to keep the law of chastity and I saw this friend of mine and normally I would have asked her out on a date but I tried really hard and I didn't even talk to her." AHAHAHA he thought you couldnt date. Good times.

3. I learned how to make tortillas this week......like legit homemade ones. And homemade enchiladas......prepare yourself accordingly fam.....it will change your life.

4. It's so sad because people here just don't go to church. They get upset by something that someone says and then they just stop going. For years. It seriously breaks my heart. And another thing is that sometimes commandments that are hard for some are easier for others. For example, we came downstairs to the Priesthood room yesterday after church to talk to the Elders and the Priesthood were all eating pizza......fresh pizza that the Primary had brought for the kids. What? How can you teach your children to keep the Sabbath day holy doing that!? Blew my mind in the beginning but now I'm just used to seeing it. But, everyone learns at different rates and all these people are trying SO hard. I love them all.

5. Well, the water is murky from the tap and I guess I didn't really realize it til the other day that I've been drinking that lol (laugh out loud Grandma). I usually just wait for it to all settle and then guzzle it down! Yum yum yum!

6. The train (aka metro) goes below ground like everyone thinks of when they think of NYC but it also goes above the streets. And the other day we were sitting on one of the above-the-street platforms waiting for the tren. And then the platform started to shake. No, nothing out of the usual. It shakes all the time. Just thought I would mention that the next big natural disaster here is going to kill the metro......it's barely making it as it is. So we just sway on the platform above the busy street. No big deal.

7. Best pick up line from this week: "God bless your mothers for giving birth to you, both of them." Unga and I got this on our way to an appointment after church yesterday. It's really nice to see some people still believe in God and motherhood. Thanks Mom for birthing me!

8. I gave a talk on Sunday. It was a little rough but a lady in the ward looked over my talk for me before and I was only missing a "few things"....aka my Spanish is horrible. Haha no biggie, people afterwards told me they understood what I was saying and that's all that matters. I talked on charity and used the talk "The great commandment".....I think that's what it's called in Enlgish. It's by Elder Wirthlin from 2007. Good stuff. Elder Burk spoke too and he was amazing.

9. The tornado. Wow, made me super happy. Prayers are answered! Mom, where were we? Muahah outside of course! We were with Elder Yancuba and Westover (english elders) walking to grab them some pizza (needy little boys) and seriously it came out of nowhere. One minute Westover says, "Wow look at the sky, it's super green. That's how the sky looks before a tornado." And the no joke about 30 seconds later it goes crazy outside! Rain, wind, you name it. We ran inside Alfie's pizza and on the tv in there was a tornado warning on the news and told everyone to get inside. But Unga will not be stopped by a tornado. So we walked to our next appointment. It stopped after a while but millions of trees were pulled out from their roots and cars were lifted off the ground, the metro and buses all stopped, and windows were shattered. But, the Lord's work went on!

10. The baptism. Dang I'm out of time but the baptism was AMAZING! The spirit was so strong and they're both doing great! I made cupcakes and but them on the cupcake holder I made (see picture). It was amazing. The church is true. Wow, everyone go read your scriptures right now!

Shout outs this week go to: Matt and Lee (I already mailed a reply letter this morning!), Maggie & Mal (I'll be writing both of you today), Uncle Don (tell everyone hello!), Grandma, Aunt Di, Dad, Mom!

Love the mish. Be the mish.

Hermana Winfield

Life is Great!

Hello from Hermana Winfield and Unga!

Hermana Unga says "Hola". We're splitting the hour between the two of us today cause her card isn't working. And this man just told me my typing is annoying......I'm going to give him a pass along card.

1. Claudia is still getting baptized on Saturday and now.......her 9 year old daughter Karen is too! We're super excited and they're both getting baptized together. Which reminds me, Mom will you dearelder me the recipe for the bran muffins cause im going to make them for the baptism.

2. When on exchanges with Barchi this week because Unga had training with president on Tues, Wed, and Thurs. It was super fun cause Barchi is in Jamaica.....partay!

3. Also went to Manhattan with Barchi this week cause she had an appointment. It was weird cause I didn't think of the hussle and bussle I normally think of.......I just saw how sad and kinda of robotically everyone is living their life. It made me sad......they just don't look very happy.

4. We played bingo with retirement home people this week which was also a blast and kind of funny/annoying when I caught the elders watching Maury and Jerry Springer n the tv.

5. I've been SO tired every morning and a few nights ago I prayed that I could have more energy to wake up. And that next morning, and every morning since then, I have woken up on my own 3-5 minutes before the alarms go off, with total energy. Christmas miracle.....the Lord loves me.

6. We went to Target to buy me a new suitcase because one of the wheels on my is broken and it won't even roll. So hence the charge on my card mom. Anyway, it's so New York-y cause they're all in high buildings and Target is off the escalator right next ot Best Buy.

7. We had CapriSuns today. The church is true.

8. We also saw a portable US mail office. My life is complete. I gave a moment of silence for you Dad.

9. The subway line was out of service on one side and so we had to switch on to another one and I thought the world would probably end and the aliens had taken over the metro. Nothings happened yet.,......but it always comes when you least expect it.

10. One recent convert won't answer his phone so I left him a message the other night, "Francisco, this is Sister Winfield. I just want to talk to you about your life and your doubts and your problems. Please.....please....call me when you get this message". It was a lot funnier in spanish and Sister Unga was laughing at me while I left it........he still hasn't called us back.

Shout outs this week to: Grandma, Aunt Di, Dad, Mom, and Laura and Jackson Baker! THANK YOU. I just printed out the emails so unga can use my time but ill read them asap and im sure theyre great!

I LOVE you all. Have a great week! The church is true!

Love the mish. Be this mish.
Hermana Winfield

Pray for the storm.....um, I mean the will of the Lord

Hola!
As Mom didn't have any questions this week, we'll just start right off with the top 10! (I found an Internet cafe that was open today.....it only took a little hunting)

1. The Hurricane. I don't know if anyone on that side of the country heard about it, but there was a huge hurricane, Hurricane Earl, that was supposed to hit NYC this last friday. It was pretty likely to hit and immediately we all thought of all the movies about the world ending and how it starts in NY. The Day After Tomorrow, some movie with Tom Cruise, and tons of others.....you know what I mean. And some of the missionaries were being evacuated. Of course I wasn't evacuated cause President knows I can take it like a man. But we were told to go buy more canned food and water.

So we started discussing how the hurricane is exactly what we need.....all the missionaries were talking about how after the earthquake in Chile tons of people got baptized and how natural disasters and trials have a way of humbling people.....like in 3rd nephi. So Hermana Unga and I started praying for the hurricane to hit so people would be humbled and we could find more to teach. Not in a bad way, we didn't want anyone to die, just enough to scare them a little bit.

Friday morning, I woke up and went to take a shower and there were WAY more cockroaches in the bathroom than there normally are. So I spent a while killing them so I could shower in peace (thanks ginger, i didn't know that about killing the babies.....I'll be more careful not to spread the eggs lol). But do you know what that means? Animals always have this sense when something bad is going to happen.....and they run for shelter. And the bathroom is probably one of the safest places in our apartment cause it's in the middle and there aren't any windows. So logically the hurricane was coming and the sweet little cockroaches were warning us. But alas, the will of the Lord prevailed as it always does and the will of the Lord seemed to not want the hurricane to hit......it only got a little windy and a little rainy. Sad day.

2. I got on the bus the other day and was still walking to the back when the driver said "Can I ask you a question?" He was this intimidating big black guy and I didn't know who he was talking to but when he repeated it again I said "Are you talking to me?" and he said "Of course I'm talking to you. Can I ask you a question?" I wish I could adequately portray the thug language he was using but unfortunately I can't.
So I walked up to the front while he was driving and he said, "Are you one of the mormons?"
And I said, "Yes I'm a missionary from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"
and then he said "Well then how come you never say hi to me? What's wrong with you? Us bus drivers are nice people and you never say hi". Wow. First off I do say hi, but it's usually as I leave because it's always crowded getting on. But nevertheless he gave me a lecture my whole bus ride and told me I'd better spread the word cause he didn't want to see another missionary not say hi to him. Whew. I asked his name and said, "Fred, I will never again not say hi. I'll see you soon Fred!" Word to the wise......don't make a big black man angry......and gosh darn, just be friendly!

3. Sunday I was asked to lead the music in sacrament meeting while Unga played the piano. Well, lets just say it was a disaster and I totally butchered the first hymn. I figured it out by the closing but I had already ruined my reputation. How do I know this? Yesterday we went and visited members after church and they all told me how funny and horrible it was that I messed up the music. One lady even started reenacting how I had led. Yeah, I was humiliated. But next Sunday I will come in as if I'm leading the Mo-Tab. They won't know what hit them.

4. We went to visit a sister in our ward and her 20-something year old son was over visiting her and he's just starting to come back to church. He collects rare Nike shoes and showed us over 30 pairs he had in her closet......and he has even more at his place. He even had back-to-school shoes that looked like Elmer's glue. So yes, we're pretty much best friends now and he'll be coming to church on Sunday.

5. Claudia update- she came to a baptism another district had on Friday night and she brought the girls too (she has 4 daughters). It was actually horribly organized and I wanted to hurt the Elders for it but it didn't ruin her too much cause she came to church yesterday......I think she's gonna make it!

6. I got on the bus the other day (fun stuff always happen on public transportation here :) And as I was standing and holding on to the bar the man sitting down by me said "Hey! How are you!" as if he knew me. But he speaking english aka not from our ward so I was totally confused. He then is like "Hey don't you remember me? We sat by each other on the bus a week ago right over there" Wow creeper. I then remembered he was one that asked for my number AFTER he found out I was a missionary.....weirdo. So we talked for a while and I invited him to come to the english branch with the elders any time and he invited me to come eat dinner with him at his restaurant down the street. I told him no thanks and gave him the "It's not you, it's me.........you need to repent and come to church and recognize that living the gospel of jesus christ is the most important thing you can do in your life.....far better than hitting on someone dressed like a nun". You know, the usual line. I don't want you to think I'm prideful.....everyone gets hit on here, I'm not special at all. The only requirement is to be a woman under 45ish.

7. Yesterday was fast sunday and no one in our ward fasts.....it's actually really funny. So after church 2 different people invited us over to share a message and they both ended up feeding us.......one lasagna and one spaghetti. I think they were trying to make us feel at home cause we're american but I really just wanted some latin food lol. Oh and side note: Bishop wore tennis shoes with his suit to church yesterday.....and the stake president visited our ward. I LOVE it here.

8. We went bowling last week for a district activity on preparation day. It was fun and I broke 50 so the elders gave me a high five......I was pretty happy about that myself. They wanted to go again today but we boycotted.

9. Glenda and Walter. Glenda is inactive and Walter, her husband, is a nonmember and has a problem with drinking. But we've been trying to work with them and this week we tried something new......I gave them a homework assignment. Not just some reading assignment......something better! President assigns us homework every week that includes reading, answering questions, and using a process of praying, reading, praying etc. So I translated it into spanish (scary thought) and handed it to Glenda and Walter......and told them I would be reminding them during the week before our next meeting. So pray that they do it!

10. We did a street sweep Saturday and it was really fun. It was our whole zone (so 16 or so of us) and we hit the street in Jamaica. My favorite excuses this week "Oh, I'm Catholic" which is always a winner and "No i don't have time" In my mind my response is "Oh I'm so sorry. I had no idea. You poor thing. I'll just worry about your salvation another day when I have more time." Boom! In your face! Okay ahaha jk I'm not rude like that but actually my favorite approach is to ask them, in spanish, if they speak spanish. They look at me like "yeah of course. i'm latin" and then I pretend to get all excited and say "Oh, I'm learning spanish!" and then they give you a little more attention because they want to see how dumb you sound in spanish. Works like a charm muhahaha

11. It's actually safer here than you would think. I reazlied the other day that I haven't really worried about much since I've been here. We even have our little friends that we know. Like Alfie that owns Alfie's pizza across the street from us. He always asks if we want to go to the beach with him........he's like 60 and has a walker. And the guy who owns the store below our apartment. He always asks us how much we'd charge him to do his laundry. Or like the crazy man that dances on the corner around our house......he's actually a pretty good dancer. Life is good.

12. Last but certainly not least, are the Mamon stories for the week. I LOVE her. We're gonna ask President to do a zebra and open up East NY for us (zebra is putting an english and spanish sister together).

Today we ran to the bakery next to the laundry place while we were washing our clothes so we could grab a crossiant. There was a lady cop in there and of course Mamon can't help but say to her, "So, how's the cop stuff going?" And she said, "Oh it's pretty good, just like normal." and goes on for a minute. And then Mamon spends the next 2 minutes trying to convince the cop to join the swat team. In the end the cop has convinced Mamon to join the swat. Good times.

Then, while we're drying our clothes, Mamon tells me she made up a quote and it's really good. It happens to be a paraphrasing of a scripture and she really had no idea. So i was peeing my pants laughing. But then Unga tells me Mamon actually had a really good original quote one day. Apparently they were asking Mamon if she was going to date her ex-boyfriend again after the mish and she said, "When I throw my trash into a garbage can I don't go back to the garbage can to dig it out and pick it up." LOVE HER.

Well, I think that's its for this week. #11 and 12 were to make up for the 2 I missed last week.

Shout outs: Ginger (love you! come soon!), Mom of course, Dad what happend to your email?, Grandma got your letter and LOVED LOVED LOVED it, Aunt Di (THANK YOU! Good luck with school stuff and BOM and sem!)

Mom- I got your letter on the 3rd. I am glad the truth has finally been brought to light.....curse you brenna :)

Uncle Ross- Pres. Nelson said he got a letter from you and that you said hi or something. Hi back! I forgot to tell him you were my uncle and that President said "Yeah, don't worry, I wouldn't claim him either" He's hilarious! I claimed you :)

Steve and Cheryl- I've got some HUGE baby mama drama for you.....expect a letter in the next few weeks

Love the Mish. Be the Mish.
Hermana Winfield