Taipei Taiwan

Taipei Taiwan

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Tou Fen # 21

This week was awesome!! We had so many miracles... as usual!... Haha it's not like it's any different. I'm only like one in 88,000 of the Lord's chosen, set apart servants, to go out into the World and share the most marvelous message of all eternity!!! :) Yeah I'm pretty happy being a missionary. John Adams Westover. Happy Birthday Bro!! Hey if you get some time to take the hour flight over here while I'm in Taibei today, I would treat you to some Gonggua Niunai :P Man I love that stuff!! I love you and hope you have a wonderful... Goblin Birthday :) This week was great!!! We had several awesome miracles, but I would say that the best part was that we got two member referrals!! It made me so happy. We are seeing the hands of the Lord in our work everyday. Guo Dx, our High Counselor gave us a call and set up a friend. The lesson was held at his house and it was good. It was an awesome miracle because it is so good to see leaders, actually leading out! Guo Dx is so strong and I absolutely love him. He met this man about a month ago at a work engagement and got to talking about how the gospel of Jesus Christ helps us be happy. This man's name is Shen Dx and he definitely is willing to go forth and do what he needs to do to change his life and get around to knowing what eternal happiness can feel like. Shen Dx was very nice and willing to set a baptismal date and fortunate for Miaoli he lives about 200 meters from the chapel there! We got "fang-ed" and were talking with Xi JM our peike (member present in a lesson) (Chinese is so much more simple!!) when she told us of a family that they had invited to come to the Halloween party this weekend. She told us their names and told us the time to go and "Tract" in their area :P It works!!! Always ask for referrals. I now have a testimony of that truth. Consistently reminding members to think about people in their lives will turn out some time. We were waiting to meet with a potential investigator and got there early. We decided to go knock doors, but the only thing was... I needed to use the bathroom. We tried a few houses to see if they would let me use their bathroom, and unfortunately there were no people willing to let a foreign Jidu Jiao missionary into their house to go to the bathroom and the last one just told us to go to the nearest 7-Eleven, which wasn't really that close... so we started to make to walk out of the housing complex and I had to go really bad! But we found a man and his wife who were coming home and started to talk with him. Shared how the Gospel of Jesus Christ could bless him and his family. He invited us in to sit down and talk!! After sharing that we had a meeting with one of his neighbors really soon but that I really needed to use the bathroom. He let us use it, we got his number to set up another time, and were off to our other lesson. Unfortunately the other potential was very argumentative, and was not willing to listen, we found a family willing to listen :) the Lord works in mysterious ways! The Church is true, the book is blue, and I love Taiwan... Sorry time is short. :) Love, Jordan
He labeled this "Picture of the Day" :)

Monday, October 21, 2013

Tou Fen # 20

So just so you don't freak out next week, I'm going to be going to the temple next week so the next time I write will be on next Friday. :) Happy Belated Birthday Grandma Adams!! :) I love you!! This week was good! A lot better than last week. I am so humbled to so say that I am a representative of Jesus Christ. The Asia Area Stake Conference Broadcast was this weekend and in Elder Hales's talk he spoke of the power of His name (3 Nephi 11:10-11). I really want to become a more effective ambassador of the Lord, my Master and King, the Redeemer of the world. The Lin JT is not progressing as much as I wish they would be, but we met with them twice this week. They fed us on our first visit and then on our second visit was a little more serious and good. We completed sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so next week, we get to share the commandments!! They were down south visiting family this weekend so they couldn't come to church. We recently recontacted a former potential who just really needs the gospel in his life. We were at the market handing out English Tracts, and I saw him. We set up with him and he came. He came 20 minutes late, but he came. He has been on Binlang for a while because it gives him the energy to stay awake to provide for his family, but we shared with him about the Word of Wisdom, and about his Heavenly Father, asked him to spit it out right there and never do it again. It's been a week almost and still hasn't eaten it!! I'm so happy. His wife and son come back from Taibei this week so hopefully we can meet with them all! The Lord has blessed us with finding two golden investigators for the missionaries in Jinlong, and in Gaoxiong. They were great contacts and great lessons. We are praying for Huang Dx, and Guo Dx. Team Jesus!! I was reading in Alma 36 this week and as I read, I was reminded... The scriptures are so true!!! Alma shares his conversion step by step through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My testimony has been strengthened and I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is so simple and so clear, and so true. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know that those words are the things that will keep us on the straight and narrow path in our eternal progression, and I know that prayer is also an essential factor. I know that through daily study of the Book of Mormon and sincere prayer are the two most essential and basic things that we must do to continue on in Faith. To have strength and power through our Savior to Endure to the End. Specifically in doing the Lord's Work of Salvation. A personal daily study of the scriptures is so essential. I would like to give you all an invitation. One that I extend to people all the time but I'm going to change a little bit to fit you all and your efforts sharing the gospel. "Are you willing to develop your relationship with your Heavenly Father to bring to pass the salvation of souls by daily praying and studying the scriptures?" Take the time to ponder afterwards and set one goal of how you will help someone (one of your brothers or sisters) come unto Christ. I know that my Redeemer lives. I know that He is our Master, our King, and our Brother. Choose you this day whom ye will serve. Seek the Lord humbly, and faithfully. I know that as you will do this, you will see miracles in your life. I love you all! Love, Elder Westover (Jordan)

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Tou Fen #19

Oh my goodness. This week was awesome! :) Conference was absolutely awesome!! I can't believe how much I learn from General Conference and how much of a faith builder it is to literally listen to the voices of the living prophets and hear the same truths that have been taught throughout time. The Lin JT this last week scared me really bad. In our first meeting with them this week they told us that they went online to do some research about the church and they had ran into some Anti-Mormon information. They started asking us questions and I have to be honest... I really was afraid we were going to lose them, but as the time went on as we relied on the scriptures and the Spirit, I felt a comfort in my heart when Cai JM said that she knew and knows that all those things that she saw were not good. This was a trial that they were given, and because of their faith, they have been strengthened in it. We went over the next day and ate a wonderful dinner, and shared with them about Faith and Repentance. Lin Dx came to General Conference and all the questions they had, were in one way or another answered perfectly. They really have a great desire to have this gospel in their lives and are making the small and necessary steps to accomplishing those steps. The Lord has a great purpose for them here in Toufen. Oh!!! I just thought of another miracle!! I'm still in Toufen!! I'm really so happy about this! The Lord answered my prayers. I have been in Toufen for 4 1/2 months. I am starting to focus on using the Book of Mormon to find questions a very common part of my personal studies. I am finding that by the Spirit, a reader of the book can literally find an answer to any question. I feel a need to increase my knowledge of the scriptures so that I can better help those I come in contact with and those who I am teaching. So, I am memorizing all of the scripture mastery scriptures in the Book of Mormon this week :) I am so happy! I really am! I have set more goals for this transfer to help me develop that happiness into a greater level of love and Charity for my companion, future investigators, investigators, recent converts and less-actives, and members. I am striving to be like Jesus and to remember that I'm always on exchanges with the Savior. He is always at my side. I need to rely on the strength of my Father and my Redeemer and together, I can do anything. I just need to look up and see what He thinks I should do :) I have decided that I could stay here in Toufen for the rest of my mission. I absolutely love the branch here and I love the town. This place has so much potential and with the amount of wonderful missionaries we have here, we should be able to help these members in their efforts in bringing our brothers and sisters unto salvation. I would like to second everything that was said in General Conference about the roles that we all have in the Work of Salvation. I love you all and I want you to know, that I know that my Savior lives. I know that we are all Children of a loving Heavenly Father who will help us if we ask. This work is only possible through His way. Seek Him out. Ask Him what your purpose is in the Work of Salvation. I know that as you seek that out, and do the small and simple things, you will be helped, and loved. He loves you. Invite others to come and feel of the love! love, Elder Westover

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Tou Fen #18

Hello!!! I love you all so much :) Here are my miracles from this week: Oh. How. I. Love. Being. A. Missionary. ----------- This week was a hard/good week. Had some great times and also some very hard times, but when the work is going slow... I get excited because it means that the time of plentiful blessings is that much closer. Kevin- The youngman who came to church last week set a baptismal date and really is progressing. He is striving to understand who his Father in Heaven is and is doing all the things necessary to develop a great relationship with Him. I know that he feels the Spirit and that it is having an effect on him. I love him and really want to see him get baptized! Comp Exchanges- With Elder Liu on Wednesday we were going out to a teaching appointment with Chen Dx at his house and unfortunately... he "fang"-ed us. So after praying about the next decision we should make as to where we should go next to proselyte we both felt good about staying in the area and tracting. We did so and had no success what so ever. Tracted for 1 1/2 hours and no one wanted to hear the great message we had, and by this time I was really getting discouraged. Then I remembered one of the invites for the month that I had not done yet. I had not used my talents to find. :) It was about time to go to our service appointment and it was the last house... Chen JM an old auma!... She couldn't read or speak much mandarin, so we could not teach her much, so we sang. I had had that prompting the whole time and here it was the last house and we had an opportunity to sing for her. We sang "Families Can Be Together Forever" and made her day :) The Spirit was so great and I felt like I was a true minister, a representative of Jesus Christ doing what He would want me to do. Finding on Friday- We spent 4 hours looking and looking for one person willing to listen to us and it wasn't happening. We got to the park and Elder Broeder offered us a great prayer before we went into the big park to find someone to share the Gospel with. The first person we talked to was the one. His name was Henry Wu and as we walked up he was sitting on the bench next to the lake thinking. We sat down next to him and started to get to know him. He was awesome. We started to share the truths that we know of our Heavenly Father and the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. We taught him how to pray and about the Book of Mormon. Helped him start to understand the Spirit and how he works in our lives. His friend had a wedding this weekend, but he said that he would give us a call to tell us when he had time to meet again and share more. We got his number and parted. Being out here is such an incredible thing. I love absolutely every minute of being out here sharing what I know to be true. I know that God lives and I know that he loves us. He knows us perfectly and wants us to be successful. So he has provided us with a living prophet to lead us and guide us back to his presence. So many other blessings that we receive through the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so happy to be a messenger of this message here in Taiwan and I would not be anywhere else :) I love you all so much. Have a wonderful week. Love, Elder Jordan Westover

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Pictures from Judy, a member living in Jordan't ward who is leaving in a week to the Canada EDMONTON MISSION!!! :)

"Here are some pictures we took. Hope you will like them. Elder Westover is doing really well. He is such an awesome missionary. I can tell he enjoys the work very much. The only but most important thing that he had me tell you was that he really loves you very much!!" - From Sister Judy Chao.