Earnest

Hey Everybody!

This week went by so fast, I can hardly believe it. I think Korea is starting to feel like real life. For a while it didn't quite seem like reality but now it feels normal and time is flying by. We are on the downhill! EEEEP! 

Wow y'all... there was so much a learned this week. And one this I especially wanted to share with you, and that is, love is the foundation of everything.

As we meet people, we are conversing with all walks of life. But we all have the same basic needs and goals: to be loved, to be happy, and to be uplifted by the savior. At the end of the day, as we have heard from our good friend George Watson, and again yesterday by our Stake President here in Korea, the ultimate end of all our work is seeing the people we meet go to the temple. 

I've learned more than anything, the it's the unselfish love of the savior that invites to good spirit only the Lord can give, that helps people respond to our message in a way that they desire to act upon it.

Yuna will be recieving the gift of the holy ghost this week, one of our cute little members did yesterday, and our lovely grandma Lee Gangnam is on her way there so Sister Uhl and I have been studying the gift and roles of the Holy Ghost a lot lately. While studying and chatting one day a footnote told us to look up Earnest in the Bible Dictionary, super strange but we went for it. And it was the most interseting thing.. it basically tells us that the Holy Ghost is a gift from God that gives us a foretaste of what the Celestial Kingdom, Heaven, will be like. 

We've all been in those moments that just feel like Heaven on earth, like everything is good and we don't want it to end. Especially when those experiences are tied to something spiritual they can be really powerful- and that's what God wants us to feel and recognize and desire to have always. The gift of the Holy Ghost is His investment in us. And when we help people feel that way for just a moment, especially through loving them, they desire to come unto Christ. And that's just the most amazing thing.

Today was super missionary and a little sappy but I wanted to share my mind with you all, because I just love being a part of this experience more than anything ever. It's incredible- and I hope in some way you all get to feel this way when sharing your heart with others, and seeing them how God see's them. 

I love you so so so so so much I can't even explain! I hope and will be praying that you have the best week! 

Love,

Sister Weston

 

Christmas Miracles or General Conference Miracles....Same Thing

HEY EVERYBODY!

Wow, I'm so excited to be e-mailing y'all this week. I have to tell you, every single day we see miracles out here. Every single day. But this week was especially miracle filled because it was general conference for us in Korea, and that basically means Christmas for missionaries.

There's one story that I specifically wanted to share that absolutely melted my heart.

A few weeks ago Sister Oh and I were going to meet our favorite Grandma Bong Imsoon at here home when we met another grandmother on the street. Her name is Lee Gangnam. She invited us into her home right away, and sister Uhl and I ahve been visiting her about twice a week since then.

She has always had the most sweet, humble spirit. She's 79 years old and had open heart surgery in May but still wakes up at 6 every morning to walk for an hour and pick up nuts along the road. She wants to follow all the Lord commandments and this past week when we taught her about the word of wisdom and how the Lord promises us health as we keep it, she resolved right then to not drink coffee (which she lovesssss) and when we follwed up the next day, she told us about how she prayed to the Lord every meal to take away her desire to drink it. She even explained to her husband (who doesn;t like churches) why she wasn't drinking it and totally stood up for herself. She's a little spirfire and I love her!! 

Anyways this weekend, because General Conference is on Saturday as well, she was able to come to the morning session without her husband knowing. She got all ready, put on the pants she made for herself, and we rode a taxi together to the church. she sat in the chapel and watched the whole two hour session, and when she came out (we watch it in a different room in english so we had to meet up after) she had the biggest smile on her face and just reached out to grab my hand and tell us how happy she was! She said it was so peaceful and amazing, she loved it! 

When we walked outside, there is a tree in front of the church that has a strange fruit on it that know one knows what it is. It looks straight out of a Dr. Seuss book. She turned to me and asked me what it was, I told here I wasn't sure. And she proceeded to go and pick up all the fallen fruit and make it into a little bouquet. 

She held her bouquet and looked at me and said, "when I see beautiful things, my heart just feels like a child again." You could see how filled she was with Christ's love for her after the conference. She was looking at everything like it was the most beautiful thing she had every seen. She was so joyful. The is a transformation that only happens through the pure love of Christ. And I consider it a miracle that I was able to wacth it happen.

I would love to ask y'all to continue to pray for her. That all may go well with her husband and that she will continue to feel the same love and joy that she did on Saturday. She has because so precious to my heart and I just love her!

Thanks for listening to the whole story! It's my sincere testimony that the Lord guides each of us in our lives. He loves us. Exactly where we are, He loves us. More that anything this past week I've learned that that Lord's work requires faith that allows you to jump off a cliff of unknowns, and we sometimes scream the whole way down, but if we jump it's always fun and we always land in the water. 

Hope all this made sense! I love y'all and am so thankful for each and every one of you in my life. You've all played a role in making me who I am :) Have a wonderful week! Can;t wait to talk to y'all again!

All my love and prayers,

Sister Weston

P.S. Keep your eye out for miracles

Yuna

Hello Everybody!

I hope you have a really wonderful week and are drinking lots of apple cider! Koreans are really curious about what it tastes like and I always just tell them it's the best!!!! go ahead and drink a lot for me!

I've about hit my half way mark this transfer, which has caused me to reflect a lot on the miracles I've seen thus far while serving the Lord. The greatest thing that always comes to my mind is the people that I've been able to meet and grow with as I've gone throughout this experience. Each companion, is person we've taught, they in turn have so much to teach me and it's been such a blessing to begin to understand and see others as the Lord sees them. 

The person I specifically want to talk to you about today is Yuna! She was baptized yesterday (sunday) after church, and so much of the ward came it was just an amazing time!!! Yuna has been through many hardships in her life, but she has always been steadfast in doing what God would have her to do. She loves the commandments! You don't hear that everyday, but that's always been her stronghold! Her heart is so pure and Sister Uhl and I know that our Heavenly Father was smiling down on her as she entered the waters of baptism yesterday :)

It was so funny when we asked her how she felt, she said she wished she could be baptized everyday! All of our members just poured their love on her, and through her smiles and tears I was able to remember once more why I am here. And that love is the most important thing in all of the work that we do. I know our Savior loves us and each person, and He is so proud of every single one of us for exactly who we are. 

I love all of you so much!! I'm going to try to send actually a lot of pictures this week so I'll leave you here :) Sister Uhl and I are staying together in ChoongJang for another transfer! So excited to see the miracles the Lord has in store!! 

All the Best, 

Sister

Korean Thanksgiving

Hello Everybody!

I hope you have a really wonderful week and are drinking lots of apple cider! Koreans are really curious about what it tastes like and I always just tell them it's the best!!!! go ahead and drink a lot for me!

I've about hit my half way mark this transfer, which has caused me to reflect a lot on the miracles I've seen thus far while serving the Lord. The greatest thing that always comes to my mind is the people that I've been able to meet and grow with as I've gone throughout this experience. Each companion, is person we've taught, they in turn have so much to teach me and it's been such a blessing to begin to understand and see others as the Lord sees them. 

The person I specifically want to talk to you about today is Yuna! She was baptized yesterday (Sunday) after church, and so much of the ward came it was just an amazing time!!! Yuna has been through many hardships in her life, but she has always been steadfast in doing what God would have her to do. She loves the commandments! You don't hear that everyday, but that's always been her stronghold! Her heart is so pure and Sister Uhl and I know that our Heavenly Father was smiling down on her as she entered the waters of baptism yesterday :)

It was so funny when we asked her how she felt, she said she wished she could be baptized everyday! All of our members just poured their love on her, and through her smiles and tears I was able to remember once more why I am here. And that love is the most important thing in all of the work that we do. I know our Savior loves us and each person, and He is so proud of every single one of us for exactly who we are. 

I love all of you so much!! I'm going to try to send actually a lot of pictures this week so I'll leave you here :) Sister Uhl and I are staying together in ChoongJang for another transfer! So excited to see the miracles the Lord has in store!! 

All the Best, 

Sister Weston

Miracles for the Win

Hey Everybody!

This week was absolutely mind blowing. Some things came full circle and some new things have begun! All is exciting and all well.... let's get started...

While I was serving in Onyang, there was a family who hadn't come to church for about 10 years that we were constantly trying to visit. The Elders had been trying to work with them for about a year but the dad was never home so they couldn't stay to teach. They really encouraged us Sisters to get over there but the mom wasn't a huge fan of Sister Missionaries for whatever reason so it was difficult to see them for most of my time serving there. However, there was one day we were in a chocolate store, and we felt that maybe if we went to visit with the elders, and brought chocolate, it could open their hearts a little bit more to hearing the gospel again, and to allow their two young sons to hear it for the first time. So two weeks before I left Onyang we stopped by their house and shared some really nice chocolate and a short message with them, and were able to set up a time to do Family Home Evening every week. Even though they still seemed a little hesitant, it was a huge milestone!

The following week, my last week in Onyang, we went over to their house, their door was open and we ended up staying the evening with them playing cards and teaching about how our Heavenly Father loves us and how we can pray to him. You could see the joy on the moms face, Sister Yun, as she spent time with her family for what seemed like the first time in a long time. Her two young boys had never prayed before, but as we taught them, their mom helped us and asked her sons questions and prayed with them at the end. It was like a dream come true, and everything you ever hope for as a missionary to see a family come together like that. And it was this past weekend those two sons were able to be baptized. 

I can't help but be thankful for the opportunity the Lord gave me to meet them even just a couple of times and see a huge change take place in just one night. I love that mom and seriously miss her so much. I'm also very thankful to my own mom for her example to me and because I had to use my personal card to buy the chocolate that opened her heart (thanks mom:)) 

The new things now just beginning, came about at mission conference this last week. Elder Choi, a Seventy, came to visit Daejeon for a mission tour! And he set some really inspired goals for us this next year... the biggest being.... drum-roll please.... baptize once a week!! It's a big step up from our previous goals as a mission, but if there's anything I've learned while being out here it's that God does not fit in a box and we should not put any limitations of dimensions on Him based on what we as people think He is capable of. We are super excited for the new doors this opens to see so many more miracles!!!! and holy cow, moving forward it's just gonna be nuts!

Thank you always for your prayers, we can feel them! It's so amazing so watch the Lord work out here and to feel his love for the Korean people. I'm so excited to go back to Onyang and get reunited with our Yun family!!!!!!! LOVE THEM SO MUCH! Ah gosh, what a miracle. Sorry y'all. It's just been a really good week! I love all of you so much and am thinking and praying for you always! 

love,

Sister Weston

Birthdays and Things

Hey Everybody!

Wow, this week was wonderful y'all- thank you for making my birthday one of the best and craziest ever!!! 

It started off in the morning with sister Uhl making me pancakes which we topped with the frosting my mom sent me (shoutout to my mom, so delicious!). Then we went with one of our members to a senior health center that they go to everday to hang out with their elderly friends and they helped us get some new contacts! It was so fun to meet a bunch of happy old people (mostly grandpa's) just loving life and picking up some new hobbies at Koreas world famous senior health center! haha There were even people there from China coming to check it out-crazy!  Then we visited our other favorite senior friend, Bong Imsoon, and sang hymns and help her accept taking the sacrament at her home  She hasn't been able to take the sacrament for so long because she can't get to church but some of the young men from the ward have been organized to take it to her every sunday! so good! Then we had a lesson with Yuna :) She is having a little bit of a hard time is building a relationship with the Savior, but because she is no longer moving to Seoul we will be able to meet with her more and she is planning on getting baptized on October 4th! Again, all prayers are appreciated! :D And to finish of the night, we met an amazing new girl named JK. As she told us a little bit about her life and past experiences with missionaries the hand of the Lord was so evident, and it was very clear that meeting her was God's way of giving me a birthday miracle. She's just awesome, will write more next week!

But wait... that's actually not all. WE stopped on the way home to get Korea's yummiest chicken cups and upon returning home, there was a BIG birthday box on the table from good old Michigan :) It arrived exactly on my birthday at that's just nuts because you never know when things are going to get here. Everyone in the house loved getting some new American food! Especially cheese-itz!! So thank y'all so much :) It was the best birthday ever and even though I was far from many of you, I felt your love and the Lords and just feel blessed beyond belief. 

It's cooling down this week which makes all of us very excited for fall! Korea feels so much like the midwest it's kindof scary but I love it at the same time. I've learned a lot this week about trusting in the Lord. Sometimes we try to take things on all by ourselves and we wonder why it's so hard, when we are forgetting that we have a bottomless well of support and love in Christ. I know that when we take the time to pray, really pray and listen, to align our will with his, we can recognize all the good He does for us and see that He's with us every step of the way. Sister Uhl and I had a really awesome experience just sitting down and reading from the Bible on Friday night. It was a good reminder to slow down and let God and Christ do what they do best, and just trust them. If y'all get the chance, Romans 8:28 and the final three verses in Romans 8 are a good read :)

Love y'all so much and I'm so excited to hear about all of your fall adventures! Have fun in school and know I'm praying for you!

Love,

Sister Weston

Yuna and Sunshine

Hey Everybody!

I really have about 5 minutes to write this email so It's going to be short! I just want to tell you a little bit about our friend Yuna and the amazing change we've seen in her this week.

She has been struggling with a testimony of why we need Christ, and who is is, and what he personally means to her lately. Yesterday we had our last official lesson with her before her baptism which is scheduled for next sunday, and we talked a lot about temples and enduring to the end- or living according to our beliefs throughout our life. She was so touched by the hope that her family, and future family could go to the temple together someday that when she said the closing prayer after the lesson she couldn't stop thanking God for being about to meet with the missionaries, and be baptized, and go to the temple, and help her family. She loves the plan of salvation and the hope it brings to everyone and she is coming to understand what a help and light God can be in here life. 

The picture I'm sending with this is from after that lesson that we had yesterday. when we drew the sunshine on the board to represent the celestial kingdom she wanted me to put a face on it, and then she called it Yuna :) It was just super cute and I had to share it with y'all.

Heavenly Father loves every single person and it is never too late for anyone to change their life and accept the hope that Christ can give them. I know that's true and I'm so thankful to be able to experience it for myself and watch others as they do the same. I love y'all so much! and I'll be praying for each of you tons this week! 

Hope you enjoy the weather as it beings to turn into fall, I know I am :) Please pray for Yuna this week, that would mean the world to us! 

All my prayers and hugs! 

Sister Weston

P.S. Thanks for the birthday wishes, I'll be sure to eats LOTS of Korean food for y'all!