Tou Fen #6 & #7

Hello!! Hey! Yes, I'm alive! haha I am so sorry I didn't get a letter off you you last week but we went to the temple the temple on Wednesday last week and.... I forgot to tell you that I would not be writing you... :) hahah not that ya'll cared or anything I just thought I would tell you. And my excuse for not writing you on Wednesday is............. My companion and I took a little trip................... to Tai Chung. Hahaha Next week I'll send a video of our little experience, but we took the High Speed Rail and missed the last stop in our mission.... Super funny. President Day heard about it and laughed!! WE have repented. I promise. :) We got Sisters in Tou Fen!! They are super great and we are super excited to work with them. One is a native and the other is from Sacramento California. My companion gave me the phone, so my Chinese will improve. I am completely amazed all of the time at how great my God is and the power he has to change people. Here are just two experiences from these last two weeks. "We had just been our appointment fell through so we went out to find. We came down the stairs from the chapel and right in front of us was a man who looked like he had some physical ailments. I had earlier in the day chosen a scripture to share about the resurrection (Alma 11:44) I felt a feeling so strong to talk to him that I was stuck where I stood. I could not move. I felt the feeling so strong that he was the one that needed to hear that part of the message that we bring. Elder Hopper was about to go contact a younger boy, but as he started to leave my side I said, "Wait!, we need to talk to him." (motioning to the older man) We started talking to him (Liu Dx), and eventually got to talking about his ailments. I shared that scripture with him. I bore testimony that what it said was true, and my companion had my back. We had a prayer with him to help and bless him as he went to the hospital for some treatments, gave him a Book of Mormon, got his number and then he had to get on the bus. I don't know that he will honestly have interest, and when we call him, if he will want to set up with us, but I do know that there was a truth shared, and that means a seed planted. It's amazing to have that feeling. To listen to the promptings of the Spirit... and ACT. I know that I felt the spirit and I know that he felt that same spirit. I know that he is my brother, and I really did see him as he can become... I saw him dressed in white, looking strong and firm. Young and full of life! I know that he is my brother, and whether that vision was of my premortal life, this mortal life, or in the life to come, I don't know either. But I know I will see him again." "We found a lost sheep. The Spirit lead us to a lost sheep. In a way, the Spirit lead him to us. A couple of weeks ago we were leaving the church building to go to another appointment, when a man came up to us. He was really hard to understand, because my Chinese is still not that great, he had a lot of teeth missing, and he was drunk. I can't remember much more about that visit. Then this Thursday we were on our way to eat dinner coming from an active member visit and a man sitting on the side of the road at the opening of a house started to yell at us. This place had no door, a floor that had the tile taken out, a chair, a mattress, and a small blanket I couldn't quite understand what he was saying but then I realized it was that man. My companion wanted to stop. I protested but followed. I was thinking too much of our schedule and what we could be doing, but when I finally realized that I was being prideful and selfish. I tried to listen... listen to the words that he was speaking, and listening to the spirit. We found out that he had gone to church, and he used to have some nice clothes like ours, but obviously doesn't have it any more. Earlier this week at work, he had stepped on a nail and it had gotten infected. Super bad. We asked him why he hadn't gotten it looked at but he said that he just didn't have enough money. We shared with him about how much Heavenly Father loves us and what we need to do for him to help us. We encouraged him to quit drinking and smoking and set up a time to come back and meet with him. He gave a sincere prayer pleading for Heavenly Father's help. We met with him two days later and committed him to quit drinking in two weeks and invited him to come to church with us the next day. On Sunday 8:55 A.M. came, he wasn't there. We went down the stairs to check the bus station (where he often is) and he wasn't there. We went out on the street to look for him and we couldn't see him. We decided to pray for him in our hearts. We returned and right before the Sacrament Hymn started, he walked in! I got to sit next to him and when the Sacrament Hymn was over, he leaned over and said, he felt so good. I could see it too, I could see the happiness radiating from him! We went to Gospel Principles (Sacrifice), and Elders Quorum (According to our Faith) and the lessons were absolutely perfect for him. The members were great! We found out he had been baptized and confirmed! He had shared with me that he had been baptized and I shared that, but we weren't too sure if he was saying he had been baptized or had just mistaken the Sacrament for baptism, and it turned out he had been baptized. We went over with some other members yesterday to give him some church clothes and a little food and shared with his mother. Also a very special experience. She prayed and said one of the most sincere prayers that I have ever heard. She weeped as she truly shared with her Father in Heaven the desires of her heart, and pleaded for His help. Sweet tender mercies like that make all the rejections worth it. " I love this Work. I am so blessed to be a missionary and have the calling from a prophet of God to proclaim the most important message. The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ among the people of Taiwan. Hurrah For Israel!!!!!

Tou Fen #5

Hey all!! This week has been great and I can't wait to tell you all about it, but first off... HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!! (That's my favorite holiday) I hope you all saw plenty of fireworks, ate plenty of watermelon, and listened to tons of country music! Happy Birthday to: Adelynn, Sister Talbot (Mom2), and Elder Travis Talbot! I love you all and I hope your day is so awesome today!! .... Hahah I get to celebrate your birthday before you do!! ;P Ok! So back to my week this last week. Last Monday was Elder McKay's Birthday, so they came up from Miaoli to Zhunan and we all ate pasta rice (just like I used to do with Sarah, Tarah, and Rebekah), and ate some.... MANGO bing qi ling (ice cream).... Taiwanese Icecream is different. Shaved ice, with whatever fruit or topping you want, and lian ru (condenced milk) :) Sooo good! I cleaned the bathroom, and we finally bought a shower curtain!!!!!!!! Hahaha that is some thing that I have been bugging Elder Hopper about, becuse in our bathroom there is no room and the water from the shower goes everywhere and it's super gross.... :/ hahah I'm a clean freak. This week we have recieved many answeres to prayers and many blessings in our area. We are working with 5 progressing investigators right now. We set two baptismal dates and are super excited! Jeff (Yu Dixiong- 63) just came out and asked us...!!! hahah I couldn't believe what I was hearing when he asked! Set it for October 10! The other is Zhou Jiemei (15). Elder Davidson and Elder Hopper found her before I came in and she has been progressing for a while. She has a great desire to get baptized. She's keeping commitments and is coming to church every week! Super excited to get them in the font! :P hahah (but seriously...) We have been so blessed with having miracles with our tracting. It's usually after knocking on about 20 houses before we get someone who is willing to atleast listen to us. The Lord is leading us to speak with potential Melchizedik Preisthood Leaders. We really need them here in Tou Fen and really hope build this area into a Ward. We are trying new Finding Ideas!! Hahah My favorites are: Going to the park to sing, "Build and Investigator", and asking people where the best place to eat is! The last is probably my favorite, because all we need is an opportunity to let people talk to us... Elder Holand said that with everyone we talk with, there is always something that will lead into the Gospel and how it can bless them personally. I'm really trying to develope that skill to listen. Listen to the Spirit and listen to the people I speak with. Taiwan is so amazing, and as much as I wish I could be back in America with you and could have celebrated the Fourth of July with my fellow Americans, I am absolutely inlove with Tou Fen and all the people that are just searching for the Light and Truth that the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am just starting to really realize it. This time really is going to fly by. My time here in Taiwan is so short, and I don't want to give anything less than my all. After a discussion with a man we found at the park (Wang), I realized how bad it hurts to have someone reject a message of happiness. A message that is brought by young men and women to share with their fellow brothers and sisters, because we want them to know of the Joy and Love that can come from this Gospel. It really does hurt. But you... my family (and friends), and the Lord, our Saviour Jesus Christ is my motivation to go and to it all again, hoping and praying in Faith, that the next person I speak with will feel the Spirit and want to know more. Even though my Chinese is not good at all, and there is so much that I have left to learn, I know that God is my Loving Heavenly Father. He sent His Son Jesus Christ to Earth to perform the Atonement to allow us to return to God's presence. I know that the Book of Mormon and the Gospel of Jesus Christ are the way that we can have EVERLASTING life and happiness. There is no other way than through Faith. And our Faith leads to Actions (baptism), which will lead to a testimony, developed into a full conversion to obtaining all the promised blessings through the sacred ordinances of the Temple. I love you all. I love this Work (fun), and I love my Father. Hurrah for Israel!!!!! Love, Elder Jordan Westover

Tou Fen #4

Hey! wow. It's been almost a month on island and I can't believe it!! Hahah We are doing awesome here in Tou Fen and the work is progressing! Just as it always is :) But we are really being blessed here. I recently have been praying for more experiences to develop the Christlike attribute of Humility... I have always known that Heavenly Father answers prayers, but I did not realize that if you pray for Him to help you align your will with His... It's a faster process! I have had many experiences this week and I am very happy for those. Keep the prayers coming! I really do love you and appreciate them! The people here in Taiwan are all so nice. They really are. And I am so happy to be here sharing this message of happiness and joy with them! My Taiwanese brothers and sisters. We are busy all the time! Tuesday night to teach the Lin Family that we tracted into two weeks ago and they are really interested! (My first time leading a lesson) Very humbling. I really learned that the work that I am doing can not be done on my will and strength alone. This is the God's work, and I have been called by His prophet to share the Message of happiness and salvation to the people of Taiwan in their own tongue. In order to do that, I must humble myself and rely on the strength of the Holy Spirit. The next lesson that I lead went a little better. His name is Lance and we started sharing when we asked him if he had had any experiences with our church. He then shared with us that when he was 12 he had been "Ma"-ed (mocked) by some missionaries and he was still pretty bitter about it. We told him that we were sorry that he had had that experience and kept on teaching. The Spirit was super good and he committed to pray. We are meeting with him at the church building this week! He will soften and will be happy he keeps meeting with us. There is more, but my time is up. I love you all and really am so grateful for your prayers. I pray for you all also! The Church is true, God is our Father, He loves us, and I am about His work... Hurrah for Israel!!!! Love, Elder Westover

Tou Fen #3

Tou Fen #2

Hello!! We don't have much time today, because the place that we usually email at, shutdown and we had a hard time finding a place to email, and I'm almost out of time, but I hope you know that I love you. I want to tell you a couple cool things that I wanted to do last week but didn't have the time... I met Elder Watson! John's old mission president! He was the General Authority at our mission tour conference this week and it was great to see him minister to all of us missionaries and help the Spirit edify our souls and prepare us to more effectively bring about the salvation of souls. I have three people in my branch that all served with John in Taizheng! hahah it's really fun :) They love me and I love them! They speak pretty good English too... one of them is actually from Rexburg, ID! He came back and married one of the sisters he met on his mission. Super cool small world thing. Next I want to tell you how awesome the food here is! hahah..... I have already eaten some pretty cool stuff! They are as follows: Chicken foot, chicken head, bitter melon, cookies ( they are super wierd here...), Oh my goodness!!! The Mangos are to DIE FOR!! We just bought 3 today for 50 NT... Super awesome :) Also they have this stuff called, Yogo Fresh that is awesome. It's a super cheap yogurt drink that I love :) Anyway, I just wanted to tell you how awesome the things here are.... and Joseph... I had the Shaved Noodles. They are awesome. Ok. Well I will tell you that this week has been great! I am absolutely in love the people here. My ting de dong (understanding what I hear) is getting much better, but still has much to improve. The Lord works miracles through obedience. I know that now. I see so many miracles and I realize how blessed I am. This last Saturday night, my companion and I were heading back from a branch activity and I noticed we were going to get in early if we didn't stay out a little longer. The Spirit reminded me of what I have heard Sarah and Tarah tell me countless times... "don't let anything stop you from being exactly obedient."... I suggested that we stay out and try to find one more person. We looked and we found. Elder Hopper felt impressed to go into a "7" (7/11- They have a ton of them here!!) and talk with a boy who was eating noodles. We went in, found out what he believed, shared our testimonies with him and he said he would like to learn more. We got his number and left. I can testify that Exact obedience, brings miracles. This was a miracle. We had had a very unproductive week it felt like, but because we chose to be exactly obedient, the Lord chose to bless us with a miracle. I know that his Church is true. I know that the message that we have brings clarity and light to all those who choose to listen to it. I know that to be true. I love you all and really do miss you tons. But please do know that you are a great motivation. because I know that through the work that I am doing right now, can and will allow us to live together... forever. HURRAH FOR ISREAL!! Love, Elder Westover

Tou Fen #1

Hey Ya'll! Oh my goodness, I can't even tell you how incredible it is to be here! It's everything I ever imagined and more... sweat and all :P President Day and his wife are really awesome. So great to be here with them and serve the people of Taiwan. They are from the South and have an accent :) not a bad one, but it's there :) Anyway, They are awesome and the country of Taiwan is amazing. My first 4 hours with my trainer were spent running from train to train, subway to subway, and bus to bus... with luggage... :) hahah it was a great experience. I've been called to serve in the Tou Fen area, which is on the west side of the island, almost at the very bottom border. It's apparently "rural".... hahahah... yeah. I'm definitely from Cornville :P Ther church here is pretty small. We have a little branch that is just so great! Xu Huizhang (President Xu) is the branch president and slowly, but surely getting his confidence. I got up to introduce myself and bore my testimony in sacrament meeting, and it was great! I pray for the confidence of the members and for their love. Riding bikes is just great! hahah My trainer's name is Elder Hopper from Santaquin, UT. He played middle-linebacker in highschool, has a bruised cervical nerve, has a satchel, and was prom king.... ;P He is the oldest of 5 and he has been out in the field since January. I stinkin' love to work with him and he has a great desire to do the work of the Lord. He is very obedient and diligent. I'm so happy that he is my trainier. There is so much that I am learning from him and want to become as a missionary. I've already seen a ton of miracles with him. Following is the two main miracles that I reported to President Day: 1.) We got to Tou Fen Elder Hopper and I were out contacting and we got a call. It was a youngman by the name of Peter of Lin Dx, who has attended english classes in the past. He called us to set up an appointment to hear our message! I love it! He received everything well and is reading and praying. He couldn't come to church this week, but I am very confident he will come next week. 2.) Last night we were out visiting a less active and right after we finished with her and invited her to come to church next week, we said hello to a man riding by on his bike. He stopped abruptly and came back to talk with us. We started a good conversation with him and found out he spoke pretty good english. We then started to find out what his beliefs were and asked him if he knew how to pray. He said that he prayed for help in his schooling and with family and other things and that he believes that God does hear, but he said he didn't know how to get answers to his questions. He sared with us how he prayed and it was incredible how similar his prayers were to the ones that we say... We have set up an appointment with him on Tuesday at the church, so we'll see how that goes! PRaying for them all, and hope!! I am so blessed to have Elder Hopper as my trainer... I think we are doing a good job of learning from eachother... I know I'm learning a ton from him. I love his desire to be exactly obedient and to continue to build his faith. Those have been the really cool experiences and I've felt the love that God has for His children so much in the short time that I've been here. So AMAZING!... I'm a missionary. Haha.... Everyone who is considering serving a mission. Whatever anyone tells you about sleep on the mission, it's true. Sleep is so amazing, but there is just one thing. You never feel like you get enough. Hahah The work feels so good that you just feel it all the time! :) Love it. I love the people here. They are so incredible and my job is to share zhege xunsi (this message). I love this work, and I know that the more I lose myself in it, the more I'll receive happiness and find Joy in the Journey. It really is HARD WORK, but it's totally WORTH IT. I love you all and hope all is well! I appreciate your prayers and ppray for you. Hurrah For Isreal! Love, Elder Westover (Wu Zhang Lao)

MTC Week 9

Oh. My. Flip!!! I can't believe this time is actually here!!... I'm less than 24 hours away from flying out to get on with the rest of my mission. I am so excited to meet my trainer. I'm so excited to go to Taiwan and grow my love for the people and help them realize that they have a "Qin'ai de Tianfu" (Loving Heavenly Father)! I have learned so much at the MTC. I've learned...: I'm a missionary and I have been called of God. I have the ability to discern the thoughts of and receive inspiration for my investigators. I am a literal son of God and I have been fortunate enough to be born in to the church and know the truths I do through loving parents and siblings. I am a boy from Cornville, AZ learning Mandarin Chinese and I know that there is no way that that is possible except it be through the love of my Savior Jesus Christ, and the purpose for which I am learning it. I know that I have a purpose here on earth. Nage mudi shi, "yaoqing taren guixiang Jidu, jiezhe xiezhu tamen peiyang, dui Yesu Jidu jiqi Shuzui de xinxin, huigai, xili, jieshou Shengling enci, he chishou daodi, lai bangzhu tamen jieshou fuxing de fuyin." (That purpose is to, "Invite others to come unto Christ. By helping them receive the restored gospel through Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, Repentance, Baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End.") I know that this gospel is so much bigger than me, and I know that it is not me, or my companion, or anything that we do that teaches... it is the Spirit of God. I know that my purpose is to help them! They have the knowledge of the truth... they are children of God. They made the Choice to come to this earth and be tested and experience every thing that we do here, but my purpose is to HELP them remember. That is how the Spirit speaks to us. things that we already know, which are true. That is the beauty of the Gospel. :) I hope all of that was somewhat understandable... :) hahaha I know that what I am doing out here is such a great work... and I know that Jesus Christ for us, died. And he died in order to have us return to our Father in Heaven, who truly does want us to be with Him! I know that they give us the trials and pains that we have, to give us the opportunity to become like them. Perfect. A good scripture to read when you're feelin' down and out is D&C 122:6-9. I love this. I know that The Savior of the world has gone below all things... and wants us to reach our hands our for Him. He is on the high ground, and He has already done everything He can. All you need to do is reach up for Him. I love you all! I know that this Church is true and that Joseph Smith did restore the gospel of Jesus Christ upon the earth in this, the final dispensation. There is nothing that can stop this work :) Thank you all for your prayers for me to learn the language and to grow closer to the Lord. Thanks for all the letters and packages and love. See ya!!! Hurrah For Isreal!!! Love, Elder Westover