Taoyuan # 70

Hello everyone!!!!!!!!!!!! This week has been so great. Really. I feel like this week was just super awesome. I am super happy. I love serving with Elder Clyde. I really feel like he and I are doing really well here. The relationship that we have established with the ward and stake members here is great!! The Lord has been really merciful to provide us with so many opportunities to serve, minister with (unto), and love them. Update!!!!! Brother and Sister Jiang: No opportunity to meet with them but we are developing a better relationship with the members that introduced us to them. Brother Lu: We met with him on Saturday afternoon and taught him the commandments because right after conference he himself came up to us and said he wanted to learn what commandments were. That lesson went great, and then our member invited him to attend a YSA activity that night and he went. He loved it!!! Unfortunately we couldn't go with him because we had to go do a baptismal interview, but it was probably best that way. Anyway, I'm not even to the best part yet. He came to church the next day and was just awesome. We learned about Eternal Marriage, and the Celestial Kingdom... haha those are two really deep subjects and it was just awesome because there was a brotherin our Priesthood Meeting that shared for us to obtain that celestial glory it is absolutley necessary for us to make a covenant (baptism) with Heavenly Father, and after that class he came up to me and said... "I feel like I need to make a covenant." hahaha I had to ask him again because I thought I heard something wrong!! Hahah he had a baptismal date before, but he found out for himself that he should be baptized!!!!!! Sister Jackllyn Tang: Good, she is reading the Book of Mormon. She really wants to repent and change her life, but she feels hesitant because she still believes in Buddah. Brother Burt Huang: Super great!! He has come to church 3 weeks in a row... hahaha, we finally got to meet with him, and he really wants to learn! Hopefully his wife will be willing to meet with us and him and that we can find some time other than right before church to meet with him so we can help him progress faster!!! Thank you so much for your prayers!!!!!! I really do feel and see the strength that you pray for these people and me. I love you!!!!!!!! Hurrah For Israel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love, Elder Westover

Taoyuan # 69

Dear Family and Loved ones, Thanks for the pictures everyone!!! It looks like Conference was awesome. Laci!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are so PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) hahahahah Today my report is going to be a little short, but I can say that I loved General Conference, and it was a total miracle week!!! Brother and Sister Jiang, Brother Lu, Sister Jackllyn Tang, and Brother Burt Huang all came to General Conference on Sunday!!!!!!!! The Spirit was so strong for them and they loved it. Thank you so much for your prayers. The power of prayer is so incredible. Seriously. Thank you so much. Just like I said last week. I can feel the prayers and I can see the miracles that come because of our faith in the Lord and His work. D&C 88:73 says, that the Lord will hasten his work in his time, and as we have been commanded to work in the hastening of The Work... He is doing it. I'll give you an update next week on the investigators and their status, but Thanks so much. I love you. This Conference I got alot of inspiration for my future family and I just want to thank mom and dad for doing everything you have ever done to teach me to use my priesthood, and become more like the Savior. “When all is said and done, the home is the ideal forum for teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.” -Tad R. Callister Hurrah For Israel!!!!!!!!!!!! Love, Elder Westover

Taoyuan # 68

Hello!! Happy birthday to all of you October babies :) I love you!! You're so great! This week the Taoyuan Zone went to Yang Ming Mountain just north of Taipei for our mission annual Outdoor Zone Conference, and it was super great! Beautiful. Our Heavenly Father is so wonderful. We received some special training from President Uctdorf (a recorded talk given in Hong Kong's recent Asia Area Mission President Conference) ;) on the bus ride up to the trail head. Fear No Man!! (3 Nephi 5:3) It was wonderful. The other training we gave and received was really great!! President Day talked to us about becoming fluent in the Language of the Spirit, the Language of Love. Super great week!! We didn't get to meet with the Jiang Family this week, but we will this Friday. I'll get back to you on them, but this week we found really great people and got to help some people start progressing. I'll give a quick report. I'd like to tell you that I feel the Spirit often remind me of you praying for me and my investigators, and I felt like I should give you a quick update on them and ask you to pray for them specifically and keep their needs in mind. Right now we are working with: Brother Jason Jian- come to church and be able to quit smoking. Brother Lu- is listening to the lessons again and is learning. Pray that the Spirit will soften him. Brother Burt Huang- Cool dad that we met this week on the road!! haha He is awesome. I met him at a stop light and asked him how he was, then after thinking about it he responded, "I'm really tired." and then that led into us pulling over and sharing the Restoration. He is really great!!! He came to church this week and loved it!!!!!!!!! Sister Jackellynn Tang- Met her one night right before we were going to go do an emergency exchange, but Elder Clyde listened to the Spirit to stay and share with her a little more right there. She is really wanting to change, and was really touched by the Spirit as my companion shared Moroni 10:32 with her and bawled as she said, "I am so imperfect, how can I become better?" Brother Zheng- he is the really golden guy that just stopped answering our calls after sharing the Word of Wisdom, but he set up again!!! We have had members calling him and encouraging him. I know that the Savior lives. I know that there really is no other name on this Earth that has power to change a man that His. I pray that you know that I love you. I love this work. He lives and has restored the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a living prophet for us in this age. Read the Book of Mormon. Daily!!!! You're missing out on so much if you don't!! I look forward to General Conference :) I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! alot. Hurrah for Israel Love, Elder Westover

Taoyuan # 67

Hello family!!! Today is also a lot more short because of some busy stuff, but I'm alive :) The work here is going great!! We have finally met same neighbors of a member family (Jiang Family) here and invited them to start learning about the message of the Restoration and they accepted!!! They are middle-aged, have no children (yet), have a cute little dog, the Husband (John) likes to bike, and they are Awesome!!!! Sister Jiang came to church (John couldn't come because of work) this week and the topic was Eternal Families... :) She liked it and we are going to meet with them on Saturday, so please keep them in your prayers as well as the members of our ward that we can work with them to help the people in their lives recieve the Gospel. Enjoy Conference!!!! I won't see it for another two weeks, but... you all enjoy!! I love you all alot. like a lot, alot. :) Love, Elder Westover

Taoyuan # 66 with great pictures this week :)

Dear family and loved ones, I love being here. We had an awesome exchange with Elder McKay, and we had alot of "fanged" (stood up) appointments, and rejected as we went out with one of our members, but right as we were heading up to the train station to exchange, we had a quick time that we could find. We prayed about where we should go and asked for the Powers of Heaven to come down and lead us to the prepared. After that prayer, we went and talked to everyone, until we stopped and talked to one of the guys that was doing advertisement on the side of the road. His name was Yang Dx, and as we shared with him about the Savior and the baptism of remission of sins, he asked us, "If I wanted to get baptized, where would I go?" Hahah so amazing!!! He set a date for November, and was touched by the Book of Mormon. We shared about the Loving Heaveny Father that he has and the Plan that He has for us. I love Elder Clyde 'nuff said..... :) I love being a missionary. Specifically here in Taiwan. I have been thinking about it.... This week in one on my studies I studied how Christ ministered One by One, and it made me think of President Monson's talk this last Conference (Love-- The essence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ) The first and greatest of the commandments of God is to Love Him and then to love our fellow men. As we love our Father in Heaven through Obedience to His laws and the covenants we make, we will be able to naturally love our fellow men, whom just so happen to be the Children of God also.... It's an Eternal Circle of LOVE that never ends :) Love, Elder Westover

Taoyuan # 65

This week I'm just sending a picture, and Mission President's email, because I liked it alot... this was just our ward picnic and my companion caught a snap of me :) We have a golden investigator who just returned from China last week!! I'll share with you more next week, but pray for him... Brother Zheng. President's Email: Every person we see every day is not merely another human being. They are all immortals. They lived before they came to earth. They live here on this earth. And they will continue to leave after they depart this earth. Consequently, everyone we deal with is a fellow immortal in merely a mortal shell. Consequently, 0ur every interaction with each immortal can potentially have consequences far more reaching than what we see in this life. In our dealings with these fellow immortals, are we taking an eternal perspective of our daily actions? As we consider our individual immortality, do we weigh the consequences of our actions today and the influence it has on our salvation tomorrow? As we take this more profound perspective, we will become much more aware of and alive to the many possibilities for doing good that are present in life’s daily situations. Even the moments that seem ordinary are full of possibilities. In this regard, Elder Neal A. Maxwell provided some deep insight when he said: “We must look carefully, therefore, not only at life’s large defining moments but also at the seemingly small moments. Even small acts and brief conversations count, if only incrementally, in the constant shaping of souls, in the strategic swirl of people and principles and tactical situations. What will we bring to all of those moments small and large? Will we do what we can to make our presence count as a needed constant in such fleeting moments, even in micro ways? Do you and I not sometimes say appreciatively of individuals who have helped us, “They were there when we needed them”? Will we reciprocate?” In daily interactions which impact immortals and possess potential eternal consequences, we need to be even more sensitive to the Holy Ghost. Promptings for us to do good come from the Holy Ghost. These promptings nudge us further along the straight and narrow path of discipleship. The natural man doesn’t automatically think of doing good. It isn’t natural. Yet, these promptings enlarge our awareness of other people’s needs and then prod us to act accordingly. It takes faith to persist in doing good, especially when it is an action or effort perhaps only noticed by our loving Heavenly Father and his angels. Are we willing to remember our true identity—as immortals—as we seek to magnify our stewardships as divinely called disciples and representatives of Jesus Christ? Consider this example found in the New Testament: “And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go. … “And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, “Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. “Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.” Notice the significant language: “And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? “And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him” (Acts 8:26–31; emphasis added). How many times are we too busy, out of touch with the Spirit, or distracted to “come up and sit” with someone who needs our help and who the Lord has actually prepared? You and I have divine promptings all the time encouraging us to do good, but we often ignore them instead of doing like Phillip, who “ran thither.” While we may not always be free to choose just when and how all of life’s interactions will occur, we are nevertheless free to choose our responses. We should base these choices on eternal principles that will bring God’s immortal children back to Him. Let us revise our thinking. Let us refocus our efforts. Let us have an eternal perspective in our earthly interactions which affect fellow immortals. Let’s assist more powerfully in bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. Hurrah for Israel Love, Elder Westover!! the poem is a poem his companion wrote

Taoyuan # 64

Hello my loved ones!!.... Yeah... That's everyone. I don't care what color you are, where you are from, what you smell like, or what you do... I love you ( I <3 U) :P I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for His wonderful work. This week I got to go on exchanges with my trainer (Elder Hopper), and we saw so many miracles. The Spirit was super strong as we had many opportunities to serve the members and Testify of Christ. Elder Clyde and I are working really hard to find people to find, and we are working with the ward alot. Hahah our Ward Mission Leader came out tracting with us and it was super fun because he was just talking about how not easy it is to find someone to teach. The Lord really blessed us with the work we are doing with the Ward. We have a LA family (Liu Family) came to Church with their 16 year old LA son and it was good. : ) He is doing really good. Thanks for your prayers because Lu Dx came to church this week and the Lin Family came too, they rejected the invite to be baptized right now, but they still want to learn :) There is a light that is coming into their lives! :) Thanks for your prayers... It's going great here!! Missionary work is not easy. There are lots of stresses, and trials, but I have come to know some wonderful things that have brought me peace and hope to me in the times that I am low. It's two words... HE LIVES. I know that I have said that before, but I know that He Lives and there is nothing that can stop us from going forward. If He didn't live... there would be no purpose, but I know by the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus is the Christ. He is the center of it all and through following his perfect example and striving to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we can all get HOME. I'm going to the Celestial Kingdom, and I'm going to take as many people along with me. :) Have a great week this week. I love you all. I'm praying for you. Hurrah for Israel!!!!!!!!!!!! Love, Elder Westover