Taipei Taiwan

Taipei Taiwan

Monday, June 30, 2014

Taoyuan # 56

Family and friends!!! Ashlyn Bishop is going to Chile!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) (Dad, you can call her up!) Happy Fourth of July!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) My favorite holiday of the year... please eat alot of Watermelon for me!!!!!!!!! This week was awesome!! It's a little more busy in it's own way being a zone leader, but today it's going to get a whole lot better, because we are going to clean our apartment!!!!!!!!!!!!! We're going to make it a house of order, and follow the instructions in D&C 109 to establish a house of God. And after we do it this week we are going to invite everyone in our zone to do it next week :) I'm super excited. We met a young man (Chi Dx) who recently broke up with his girlfriend and has been wanting to really know the Christian God, and it was really great!! He has started to pray daily and read the Book of Mormon a little, and even though he was late to sacrament meeting... the good thing is that he came!! :) It's so wonderful to see how great God is when we, his children, are willing to act on simple things, how much better His way is. He can give us more peace and happiness if we just do! :) We are excited to see him progress. He's going to China soon for the summer, but we will work with him to be baptized in August! :) Yesterday we were attended a meeting with the Stake President and it was really great! Elder Clyde and I were thinking it would be really good if we could meet with him and see what it is that we can do as a zone to get on board with what plans they have here in the Stake and it was exactly what we wanted. We got a copy of every ward's mission plan and set some good foundations of trust with the Stake Presidency. Something I really love most about President Cai is that he has a vision of doing missionary work through the Spirit of Elijah. He was sharing and I was reminded about the "My Family" pamphlet that we have all been invited to do, and I just thought about how that would be able to help me and my zone be able to come more like the "one-eyed missionary". I've set a goal to complete it this month and as I do so and seek to know my ancestors, I'll have their help, and I'll be able to have more ability to work through the Spirit of Elijah to find those who will receive the Savior, through their ancestors, and Hasten the Work of Salvation of helping investigators, RCLAs and members go to the temple :) I know that there is a loving Father in Heaven who loves us. He has restored the priesthood upon the earth in this age for us to return to him and it is only through that power by which we are able to return to our heavenly home and live together forever. :) The Church is true, the book is blue, and ta shi women de jiu shu zhu HURRAH for ISRAEL Love, Elder Westover Ps- Joseph... Rudy Lin says hello! :)

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Xinzhu # 55

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY :) I love you all. This week was super great! Just like every other week :) It was pretty hard to start out because our phone was stolen and really as far as like lessons and all that... we got "fang-ed" (stood up) a lot through out the week, but we were able to see some wonderful miracles. Shi Dx came to church again this week!! :) He sacrificed watching the World Cup- England Vs. Italy game with his family to come to church :) We're excited to see him prepare to get baptized on July 5th. Probably the most wonderful was our very last lesson of the week. It was with a lady (Cherry) that we met on the side of the road and set a baptismal date then, but because of work she had no time to meet, but we finally set up with her and she is so great!! She had some wonderful questions and the best part was just that when my companion was sharing the First Vision and she said that it sounded like poetry...my baby's (Elder Willes') Chinese is so good!!... after we asked our peike (member present at the lesson) to share their testimony, she asked, "How can I know if it's true?" :) Super cool. She is a super prepared soul that knows what is truth when she hears it and is willing to seek. Then on Friday night we had gotten "fang-ed" again and we were just having a hard time because of the lost phone and just super stressed, but we decided that we were going to say a prayer and just follow the Spirit to help us know where to go. The night before we has felt like we should look for two new souls and we specifically prayed that as we just listened and followed the promptings of the Spirit that we would find those two prepared souls. Well... We just rode and really prayed the whole time and asked continually who was prepared and finally we were riding on a side street and saw a dad (Leo), a mom (Sandy) and a son (Jeffery). I felt really good about them and just had a little clear though that just said, "this is the two prepared souls." We used the English Class approach and found out that the father had been a former about two years earlier and had just not let his family meet with the missionaries... he actually shared with us how he kinda didn't really like his job, and Sandy asked some other really good questions. We shared with them about how their family could be together forever through baptism and asked if we could come to their house and share with them about the Plan of Salvation and answer their questions. So great!!! :) They're ready!! We didn't have any time to share with them right there because the Sisters were waiting for us to go do a baptismal Interview for one of their investigators , but we're really excited to get them to know some members and come to church :) I love this work. I'm super sad that I will probably move this transfer, but we have a ton of member visits set up this week! I'm so sad to hear about the passing of dear Sister Bracamonte. I send my love to Brother Bracamonte and the family. I'm praying for you all. I loved her so much!! She sent me so many little notes and cards regularly. I'm so grateful that through the Savior and His Atonement we can be together forever. All of us!!! We'll be a big happy family!! Oh man. That will be such a happy day. :) I love you :) HURRAH for ISRAEL!!! Love, Elder Westover

Monday, June 9, 2014

Xinzhu # 54

Oh boy!! I don't even know what to do. Please forgive me because I really don't know whether anything that I say makes any sense or not, because I some times just think in Chinese and things just don't make any sense. Haha :) I feel like I'm getting so old... I have been in Taiwan for over a year now, and now I've been here in Xinzhu for 7 months and I'm pretty sure that the next transfer in two weeks I am going to leave my "baby" (Elder Willes) and I'm gonna be really sad because I absolutely love Xinzhu!!! The Ward is super awesome and the people... I just love them here in this part of the Island... I don't know that I can move anywhere else!! Well, that's in like two weeks. I'll wait for my sobs then :P I'm going to give you an update on the people that we're working with: Shi2 Di4 Xiong1- Has completely quit tea and coffee!!!!!!! (Thanks for prayers) Taking a class that is on Sunday, so he is not able to keep the Sabbath right now, but the great thing is that it ends in two weeks. He's reading the Book of Mormon everyday and is converted to it! He actually shared with us that his father appeared to him in a dream one night after he prayed about the Book of Mormon and told him to read it! He said that his father was just dressed up in white and was super happy :) We are looking forward to seeing him be baptized on July 5! Huang2 Di4 Xiong1- Still working on the cigarettes with him... Actually Elder Willes and I feel that we really aren't going to push him to get baptized now, because he is about to start his mandatory military service (I've heard alot of people just go less-active after they go into the military) but we are still working with him. We feel really good about the way that he is progressing. He slept in this week after we called him for church, but he can still do it! Please pray for us as we seek the best way to help him have faith and start acting on quitting the smoking. (RC) Zhou1 Chang2 En1- He came to church wearing his white shirt and tie for the second time in a row, and this time he brought his little brother to church!! :) His little brother wants to meet with us and take the lessons!!! :) So excited about that because Chang2 En1's mom and sisters are all members but Less Active, so I am so happy that they will have each other to stay on the path of Righteousness leading to the Tree of Life :) (RC) Habip & Chen2 Ya3 Yi1- They are doing super great!! :) Habip has a member teaching him how to write a computer program and helping him look for a job (Pray that he can find a job!!!) , and Chen2 Ya3 Yi1 had a wonderful experience. She really has been wanting to obtain an answer about whether she should be baptized for a while and hasn't been getting an answer, but this week more specifically they have run into some family challenges and some things with work and she just prayed that she could get an answer to help her and she opened the Book of Mormon to Mosiah 3 and read verses 1-8 and had an overwhelming feeling come as she read King Benjamin's testimony and prophesy of Christ's purpose and mission. :) Super great! We are praying that Habip can find a job so that she can quit hers and find another one that will allow her to go to church and keep that commandment. :) There is so much to be grateful in this world. I specifically want to just say that I am so grateful for my two wonderful parents and 11 awesome older brothers and sisters whom have set inspiring examples for me and have taught me of the Savior. I am grateful that I can come here and proclaim the message of a loving Father in Heaven who has provided a Plan of Happiness to give us peace and joy in this life and to have those blessings through out eternity. I have a testimony of God answering prayers. 3Nephi 18: 19-20. Draw upon the powers that our Heavenly Father is just waiting to give us. I'm praying for all of you and am so grateful for the love and prayers that you send my way and in the way of my investigators. Love, Elder Westover Yeah... We went Golfing with Wu2 Baba (High Preist's Group Leader) ***pictures to come.

Xinzhu # 53

This week is just a little more short. I really don't have much time because we went to Costo...... :) but I just wanted to show you a picture of our baptism this week!!!!!!! We baptized a Turkish brother in Taiwan!! Only in this work and through a Loving Father in Heaven can this happen. Because no matter where we live, what kinds of needs we have or what questions we have, it's all answered by the steps of faith and the testimony of the Holy Ghost. The Lord will do anything for His children.