Week 74

Hey there!!

Happy Halloween!!!! They don't celebrate halloween here in korea, but the foriegn missionaries usually throw a halloween party at the church, so we are having a party on the day after halloween...should be fun :)

This week we had another great busy week. We met some new investigators and our investigators are progressing!! We all fasted as a mission last monday because our mission was kind of in a slump...there hadn't been any baptisms in a few weeks in a row, so we all decided to fast together and this week there ended up being 6 baptisms...so it was a week of miracles all across the Daejeon mission!

One of the miracles for us this week is that our investigator accepted a baptismal date for November 23rd!! She is the neice of a member in our ward and she used to meet the missionaries when she was in elementary school, but then her aunt moved to america and I guess they lost contact with the missionaries, but now she is in middle school she is 15 years old and she has been coming out to church with her aunt for the past month. So we are really excited for her!! Her name is Hayree so you can pray for her :)

Also we met 2 new investigators through our English advertisements. They are 13 and 11 years old (brother and sister) and their mom wants them to study English and thinks it is good for them to learn about church. The mom herself is Buddhist, but she thinks that her children should choose for themselves and the kids really like going to church. We asked the kids if they thought that their mom would let them come to our church on Sunday and they said probably not, but then we got a call from their mom that night that said she was kind of worried about having her kids go to church, but she liked us so much that she thinks it will be good and gave permission for them to come to church!! So if they come next week and have a good experience, it could work out really well for them!! Our goal is to help them make a happy family at home. They are really cute. Their names are Minsung (boy) and Reeyoon (girl). So you can pray for them and their family as well :)

We had another investigator come to church this week and had a really great lesson with her during the sunday school time with a member so that was exciting! We are going to try to invite her to be baptized this week. Pray for Sister Bay!!!

I feel like there are a lot of prepared people being sent into our path and I am so grateful to know them and to share my testimony with them. I love this gospel because it fills me with hope. I know it is true. I love you all and hope you have a great week!! See you in a few weeks!!

Love

Sister Livingston

Week 73

Hello all!!

Another week has flown by...seriously can't believe how fast time is going! But we had a good week here. We were busy with meeting new investigators and ones we've been meeting with for a while. Yesterday 4 investigators came to church so that was exciting!! One of the people that came to church is from Mongolia. She called us because she wanted to learn English, but she was also excited to come to church. We haven't been able to meet her recently because of work, but kept inviting her to church and she came yesterday!! She could only stay for Relief Society, but she said that she wants to keep coming. (She is really good at Korean btw).

We also witnessed a miracle this week...so last monday my companion and I were fasting for our investigators and to know how to help them because there are lots of people that are so close...just not quite there yet and we want to help them! so we were fasting and going to break our fast at 5 on monday evening. We had 2 appointments set up for monday night, but they both canceled throughout the day, so we were going home to break our fast and we weren't sure what to do for the rest of the night when we got a call from our English adverisement. It was a 15 year old girl who said that she wanted to meet and she happened to have time that night. So we met her at 7:00 at the church on Monday night and she is awesome!!! Literally an answer to our prayers. She loves America and wants to learn all that she can about it because she wants to work in touristry later. We met her 3 times this past week and taught her about the restoration and the plan of salvation and she accepted everything really well. She will hopefully be able to attend church next week. Her name is Hanur, it means Sky in Korean. It was a blessing from Heavenly Father to be able to meet her. I hope that she will continue to be able to progress!!

This week I've been thinking a lot about family history because we heard a lot about that in General Conference and we were teaching some investigators about family history work. So it got me thinking about our family and I reread the family history stories about Myrtle Amelia Thorpe Malstrom and Marie Malstrom Weilenmann and LOVED it! :) It's so cool to think of family members that have already passed away and we are all working together to do this missionary work. I felt a little more connected to them this week. I loved reading about how Great Grandma Malstrom went on a mission in the Western States. This is how she described her mission, "My mission was one of the very most interesting chapters in my life. Next to bearing my children, it was my happiest experience." I haven't had any children yet haha, but I would have to agree. This has been a very interesting chapter of my life and probably will continue to be one of the happiest experiences. Super grateful.

Thank you for all of your prayers and thoughts and help for getting me set up for school! I love you all and am so thankful for you!!

Love,

Sister Livingston

pics

we went on the roof of these little girls' house and took pictures...they are cuties:)

picture with 2 girls that we are teaching, the one by my companion is the one that wants to get baptized, but we don't have her mom's permission yet.

Week 72

Hello all!

We had a great week here!! The highlight was definitely General Conference!! I love getting to hear from our dear Prophet and apostles. I know that they are called of God and share inspired messages. I felt like everyone was super straightforward in their talks and I just felt the need for each of us to individally prepare for the future...especially spiritually. We need to make sure that our testimonies are firm in the gospel and that we go to the source of all truth, our Heavenly Father, if we are to ever have any doubts or questions. I especially loved Elder Eyring and Elder Bednar's talks. Elder Bednar's talk is what I want to tell all of our investigaors. We honestly are just trying to share what has made us happy and what we believe will make us all happy and better people. Thankful to take part of it as a full time missionary and also a member missionary when I get back home.

Our investigators are doing well...there are about 5 people that really have a lot of potential to continue to progress and be baptized...they just need some time I think. There is the 13 year old girl who we are teaching and this past week we asked her mom for permission for her to be baptized and she didn't say no...but she definitely didn't say yes either. We are praying and fasting for Sister Hawm's heart to be softened. But it's exciting to see the potential and see people progressing. There is a 16 year old girl who's aunt is a member and she came to one session of conference on saturday. She is awesome!! And then the parents of a member in our ward and a referral from another lady in our ward. So we are trying to work a lot with members to make this happen :)

We had to send out testimony to the APs this week because they are making a Christmas present with all of the missionarie's testimonies...here is the testimony that I sent. I figured you would enjoy reading it as well:

Over the course of my life and especially my mission I have learned many precious truths. Most of the time they are hard to explain with words because these truths come only through the Holy Ghost "which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy" (D&C 11:13). These are things that I have come to learn and feel through experience and study. I know that Heavenly Father blesses us with witnesses from the Holy Ghost so that we can come to know these precious truths for ourselves. One precious truth that I have gained a witness of on my mission is about love. I have come to know that love is sacrifice. Our Heavenly Father loves all of His children so much that He wants us to become like Him--but it would take sacrifice on all of our parts. Heavenly Father sacrificed His Son for us to return back to Him (John 3:16). Jesus Christ sacrificed His life--He sacrificed His will by not only dying for us, but by living a perfect life for us (Romans 5:10-11). The atonement is the greatest of all sacrifices--the greatest expression of love. We in turn have been commanded to love, which means we must sacrifice. I have come to know that sacrifice is painful and hard, but it's worth it. God requires that we sacrifice our will to follow His because He loves us enough to see our potential and what we can become, if we will follow Him. "[God] hath filled me with his love even unto the consuming of my flesh" (2 Nephi 4:21). I have felt God's love to the extent that it makes me want to be a better person--to overcome my "natural man" tendencies. I know that we can do that through the atonement of Jesus Christ. His atonement is an enabling power that allows us to turn our weaknesses into strengths (Ether 12:27). I know that because of Christ's sacrifice and love, I too can sacrifice, repent and love. I am so thankful! I know that Heavenly Father loves us so much and He knows us individually. He will require us to do hard things because that sacrifice will in return exalt us. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is His church and it was restored through Joseph Smith. I know the Book of  Mormon is true. It fills me with hope! (Romans 15:4) Christ's love and sacrifice is real. I love Him and I share these things in the name of our Lord and Savior, even Jesus Christ, Amen.

I love you all!!! thank you for your love and support!! see you in like 9 weeks :)

Love

Sister Livingston

pics with our recent convert sister Song and my old companion sister lee came back to visit us :)

Week 71

Hello!!!

We had a good week here...it was busy...filled with lots of travel, but good nonetheless^^

I had MLC this week and it was in Gwangju this time, so I got to go back to gwangju again this week, but first we went to Cheongju so we could meet up with some other sister missionaries to travel together and our companions stayed in the area, so the sister leaders just went down for the meeting...it takes about 2 1/2 hours to get to gwangju from where we were, so we took a bus down there and then went to the MLC meeting where we talked about how to help missionaries and make our mission even better and able to reach our goals. It was a good meeting. Always love getting to see President and Sister Shin. We went back to meet our companions and then Sister Ha and I made it back to our house at like 10:30 Tuesday night. On wednesday and thursday we did our normal missionary work...met with members and investigators. We have some awesome members in our ward that have been so good at helping with referrals and lessons and things like that...so grateful for them!! Just like I'm sure the members in your wards are super grateful for you all :)

Then On Friday we had combined zone meeting, so two zones met together in Cheong ju (about an hour west of where I am serving) and it was a really good meeting. There were 2 doctors that are serving in the asian area with their wives that came and spoke to us about staying healthy physically and mentally as missionaries. I love senior couples...they are always the sweetest and so kind. They always make sure to come up and give us a big hug, which is sometimes just what a missionary needs :) President Shin also spoke about the importance of our companionship unity and loving our companion. It was really good. I'm sure grateful for all of the companions that I have had and that I have now. Sister Ha is the BEST!! We love serving together.

Then after the zone meeting I went on  a split to Seosan area with one of the sisters there and her companion came to cheonan with my companion. It was really fun. I always enjoy getting to see another area and to learn from other missionaries. So I got back to cheonan on saturday night. It was lots of travel this week, but good.

We had an investigator come to church yesterday that I feel really good about. She is 16 years old and her aunt is a member in our ward. We plan to meet her on saturdays to help her with english and to teach her the lessons. Her name is Hayree, so you can pray for her.

We also visit this less active woman in our ward that has 2 daughters and they are sooo cute!! they are 6 and 8 years old. Their mom isn't really in a state that she is capable of taking care of them by herself, so we will often visit  and help them study and play with them and sing hymns with them. We want to help the older one prepare to be baptized when her birthday passes. But they are such sweet girls. Whenever they pray at the end of our visit I can just feel their tender love for their family and us. It is a blessing to get to help them. I will try to send somepics of them because they are sooo cute :) Their names are dajeong and dahee.

I'm excited to watch general conference this week!!! I love you all and hope you have a great week!!!

Love

Sister Livingston