Taipei Taiwan

Taipei Taiwan

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Tou Fen # 24

I woke up this morning and it was freezing!!! I miss having to wear a sweater :) I have a miracle... last week I lost my planner and I went a week without it, but I found it!!! Losing a planner as a missionary, is a very scary, sad, and frustrating thing. I am so blessed :) This week was good. I think I have had many experiences that have been eye-opening for me and I hope that they are able to improve and progress. Our investigators are doing well and just need to strengthen their faith! We met with the Lin Family this week after a week and a half of not meeting with them and... They said they didn't want to come back to church, but that they would rather just read the Book of Mormon, and have us come over and share with them. We just listened as they talked at us for a while and shared their feelings. I am so sad. It is so sad to see that they don't want to come to church because it's too noisy. It's a lack of faith, but we will be meeting with them tonight and keep on preparing them for baptism by the end of this month. Please pray that their hearts will be softened and be able to listen to the Spirit as they read the scriptures and pray. Tang Bebe is doing so good!! He came to the baptism on Saturday, church on Sunday, and committed to quit smoking!! We are going to get him baptized!! He is already a Christian and he is just eating up everything we give him. Everyone in the branch loves him and though his baptismal date is next month I hope we can get him baptized by the 30th :) I hope you all are doing well, and I hope you know I love you. I have a very high chance of moving this transfer, so pray that the Lord will give me strength to be able to do whatever He has in store :) I am in love with this work and I'm gonna go out, plant knew seeds, and reap the harvest of seeds planted earlier. Thank you so much. Love, Elder Westover

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Tou Fen # 23

This week on Exchanges with the Elder Liu (Zone Leader) We had two great miracles! First, we had just finished dinner and were going to the chapel there in Zhunan and I just waved at a guy in a car and it ended up being one of Zhunan's investigators. We had the chance to just follow up with him and his reading, and then said a prayer. He apparently must have been really happy because right after Elder Liu's prayer he just started his own prayer. Oh man it was so heart felt. It was great :) I love being with these people that are just developing their faith and relationship with their Heavenly Father. Second, right before our exchange ended, we went finding right around the train station. Elder Liu just looked around and saw a kid sitting on his motorcycle and eating. This kid had pink and blue hair and surprisingly could really pull it off. He was 18 and going to school for civil services to work with special needs. Turns out he was very willing to listen, and hear the message of Jesus Christ. We shared that Heavenly Father loves it when we serve others and he loves to see us happy. We gave him a Book of Mormon and set up another time to share with him. Such a great miracle. Jiang Dx, our less active brought his wife, who recently moved from Mainland, to church!! Our Gospel principles class was on Family history, and she just ate it up. She has a pretty good understanding of her relationship with God, and is excited to learn more! We gave her a Book of Mormon, and invited her to start reading it. She is super interested in hearing the Plan of Salvation. This week alot of our investigators didn't have time to meet, but other than that, I felt this week was good! We have a whole branch full of specific prayers for us and our investigators on top of all the ones coming from back home and from around the world. I'm praying that the last two weeks will go great for Toufen in the last two weeks of this transfer. I had a great week of studies I think. I had the opportunity to give a training in Zone Conference, and that was a great experience. I loved doing that, and honestly, I feel like it was so beneficial to me. I learned so much. I trained on "Striving to speak with the language of the Spirit" --- Emphasis on exact obedience, and praying for investigators by name. I learned alot and was reminded about the authority and power that we have, and the Lord has given us missionaries more ways to be lifted up by His Spirit to see at a higher plain and be able to do the work that we have been called to do. It all comes down to why we are here. Something else I loved was as I was thinking about what reasons I had for coming out here to serve, I was reminded of the Lehi's Dream. We are all in the mist of darkness. Some of us are looking forward holding fast to the rod, others are being distracted by the bright lights from the Great and Spacious Building and our grip is loosened, and others are completely lost in the darkness because they just went to the closest light that they could find, but in reality, it was just a mirage. As a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ, I have been lifted up to a higher point. I can see a little bit farther and clearer because the Lord has lifted me up in his Spirit. I am able to help His children come back to Him and see a little bit clearer to help them through their mist of darkness. The Savior is the light that can help them go home. To see the big picture, and I am so blessed to have this calling. The Lord trusts me, and I must trust the Lord. I love you all and I hope you have a great week! I am pretty sure I'm going to be transferred in two weeks because I have been here for so long, so I would like to ask you to pray that my companion and I will be able Preach the Gospel by His Spirit and see many miracles :) Love, Elder Westover

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Tou Fen # 22

This week was awesome! Huang Dx (Kaider) actually came!! This is an investigator who had ran into missionaries several times before we met him last week late on Saturday night at the park. He was about 40 minutes late, but he came. He wants to change, and quit smoking .We had a great lesson with him and shared with him about the Word of Wisdom. We set a baptismal date for December 14, and we are going to work our hardest to get him prepared to get in the water and start obtaining the blessings that the Lord has in-store for him! Lin Family didn't get to come to church, but we finally got them into a member's home for dinner and a lesson. It was so good!!! The Guo Family and them are a great match. It was great to see them interact and talk. It was really a great thing for them. In my studies I read a part in Alma 44 that really got to me. As the armies of Moroni had taken advantage of the armies of Zerahemnah and had surrounded them Moroni called a halt to the killing and after testifying of the greatness of God, and the strength that was with them for the righteous cause for which they were fighting, he wanted to work out a righteous exchange. If they would give up their weapons and covenant to never come up to battle against the Nephites, then they would let them go in peace, and they would live. Captain Moroni... one of the most righteous men I can think of in the Book of Mormon, in the name and by the authority of God, and his sincere desire to not shed the blood of his brethren, commanded them that they take up this oath. Even then, after all that, Zerahemnah still uses his agency to decline the offer and go on fighting to the death. We are all disciples of Christ and have a duty to invite others to drop theirs weapons of destruction, and enter into a covenant with the Lord. Come unto him and be perfected in him. It's a wonderful invitation, but sometimes, these people, our brethren, use their agency contrary to the will of the Lord. We must not lose faith, hope, charity, and love. Keep moving forward, and invite again, and again, and again. Sometimes, all it needs is time. That time will be a trial of our faith, but it will ultimately lead to happy endings. That is truth. I love you all. I just want to encourage you to all go out and be a friend to everyone. Talk with everyone. Share with everyone the love, and the great happiness that comes through the Savior Jesus Christ. You will see miracles, and you will have the Lord always with you. Love, Elder Westover