Tony the Tiger Joo

...the name of our VC miracle this week. To be read below :)  

Love you all SO MUCH. So so much :)

 P.S. I also put the letter I sent to President on the 14th...I don't think I ever attached it, but if you wanna put it on the blog post, you could...

Hello President,

I just got the letter regarding safety accountability. We've completed our safety minute 7/7 days this week. 

I need to thank you again for your wonderful compliments yesterday. It was needed. This last week, we have needed to drop 3 out of our 6 investigators (including two that were to be baptized in the next 2 weeks), and we're transitioning another to the YSA ward later this week. In so many ways, I recognize this as a needed extra dose of time to find the truly elect of Mar Vista--as well as time needed that Heavenly Father "might show forth his power" as our members exercise their faith in their own finding efforts. I have so much hope and faith for Mar Vista! I want the members here to experience and witness the power of conversion that comes with participation in this great work, and I want to help Heavenly Father bring them miracles. SO. We're working hard without worrying (because worrying=lack of faith). Though I'll be honest in saying that there are sincere moments when I wonder if I've been doing it all wrong all along...which is why I appreciated your compliments. I know I need to ask for validation & correction from my Heavenly Father. For now, I'm just trying to live up to the kind words and compliments from you and our good bishop. But He's the only one that can fully guide and measure our efforts here. I know that. I promise I'll pray about it soon. Maybe tonight even. 

Our ward is doing wonderfully well! We just had coordination last night, and it was amazing to hear about the personal missionary efforts and goals of the ward missionaries. They are living the ward mission plan beautifully, and they have improved incredibly. I am so proud and joyful to be a part of this. Each of the ward missionaries (there are 10) have a different set assignment--from doing active member visits and trainings to starting a blog to organizing the sharing of success stories in RS & EQ. We now have an agenda in coordination, which has made it 10 times more effective. 
...On a personal level, I am trying to live our ward mission plan as well. I prayerfully created a giant list of all of my non-member friends back home and then narrowed it down to 5 that I will pray for by name and write to on P-Days (and coordinate efforts with other member friends back home). I realized I need a stronger personal testimony of member missionary work if I'm going to expect referrals from our members. 

Other accountability: 

We are almost right on track with 12-week! It's odd to think that we're approaching the end of Sis ******s' training, and yet very obvious as I think about how much both of us have grown. She is a solid, confident missionary. She gets discouraged when it comes to her Spanish, though we have made good effort in making language study and practice a priority...and I believe that she has improved quite a bit. 

We have practiced a good handful of times this week, though I think we could definitely step it up. We are going to enhance our street contacting and "talking to everyone" skills this week. It feels so good to street contact. It's one of the ways I feel most fulfilled as a missionary, oddly enough.

In the VC, I'm trying to get more organized in the my teaching center and visitors' center goals and planning. 

MIRACLE:

Well, first of all, all of Stake conference was a miracle. Hastening of the Work of Salvation. I literally can't express how wonderful it is to be a missionary right now! My heart gets all twitterpated when I think about how blessed I am to be here.

Second of all, our investigator, ****, met with Elder Higham and Pres Heath on Saturday morning before our lesson. It made a significant impact on ****, I believe. He was very impressed and touched. I know that **** will be baptized. He has to figure out how he'll live the law of chastity (He's been dating a woman for 27 years. They don't live together and I believe he wants to marry her...but he's worried about making all of the changes that marriage would require...and worried that she'll question his intentions in marrying her at this point), but I know that he'll be baptized. And I'm pretty sure he knows it too :)

Third of all, TONY THE TIGER JOO. Yes, that's a real person. He's a Korean personal trainer. And our Visitors' Center miracle. You have already heard the news about him from Elder Parsons & Hawthorne. It was their first meeting with him, but he was just so prepared! At the beginning, he told us he wasn't looking to be baptized. He just wanted to learn. And then he recognized the beauty and the Truth in so many of our beliefs, and he agreed to read and pray about the BOM. They set the date with him after we left the tour, but it felt so right. We can't wait to follow up with him!

President, there are always miracles. And I am glad you enjoy reading about them as much as I enjoy writing them. I know you know that not all of them end in baptism or even reactivation (and I'm sorry if I've ever misled you in that. I never intend to!)...but I fully recognize them as miracles and I find strength and confirmation from the spirit as I do so. Heavenly Father's hand is in all that we do. I know that and I love this work.

Thank you for all you do! You and Sister Weidman are in our prayers!

Love,

Sister Wells 

Hello President,

We finally got our transfer vision typed up. I've copied and pasted it below. 

Miracles First. Then Accountability. Then Questions. 

Miracles:

Our tour with *** yesterday! He is amazing! But I don't need to give you the details...

*** came to church for the third time! With a pure white shirt and a suit and a tie. He said he hasn't bought a pure white shirt since he was 20 years old. We take it as a good sign. *** coming to church is always a miracle, by the way, because he never verbally commits to do it in our Saturday lessons with him. But when he comes, he is literally the most popular person there. He decided to go to Gospel Doctrine yesterday because he wanted to attend with the new friends he made. He is praying about marriage to his girlfriend so that he can be baptized. And he told us he's trying to be an example for her and that he wants to invite her to some activities so she can see how great all of this is. We have some solid fellowshipping ideas ready, and we're hoping to meet her soon!

...the most miraculous part of that was the timing. We're at a very pivotal point with ***, and apparently his attitude in Saturday's lesson was a little discouraging. So in the middle of my fast and testimony meeting notes (before *** had shown up), I had written "Heavenly Father, please give me enough faith for ***." Five minutes later, I look behind me and there he is! ...This is just as the man on the pulpit says "Nothing is impossible." ...so then, after my body regained feeling, I wrote, "Okay, Heavenly Father. I get it. Thanks :) "

In that same fast and testimony meeting were a handful of non-member friends that one of our ward missionaries brought with them. 

The other miracle of the week took place in coordination with our ward mission leader, bishop, and assistant wml. I know I always say this, but our ward really is AMAZING. We now have 10 ward missionaries! So, in this meeting, we discussed how we would be utilizing and training them. It was productive and inspired. The ward mission leader and assistant ward mission leader will be taking over the Active Member Trainings--just as an experiment to see if we can get all of the ward missionaries in people's homes. We also have a few online initiatives and family history initiatives going on. And he is finally going to extend his focus to less-actives as well. It's going to be amazing! I prayed so hard for that meeting, and I feel so grateful to be serving here with these leaders who really GET IT.

Accountability:

12-week is going well! We aren't as behind as we had thought we were, and now that we have a new DVD player, we're able to better-utilize the PMG training DVDs. 

Language could be better. Our companionship goal is now to have at least a few hours of Spanish-only time a day. 

Our focus on the fundamentals is paying off. We feel much more secure about the two baptismal dates we have now as we renew our/their focus on those four fundamental things.

Pics! 'Cause there just isn't time for much else these days...

Know that I'm happy! And that miracles are happening everyday! 

Like for example:  We're getting Farsi missionaries next transfer! (this may not be publishable quite yet...)  I can't even express how thrilled I am.  And how amazing it was to be apart of this. We are only the 2nd mission in the world to have Farsi-speaking missionaries. Yeah. This is a big deal :)   

Below are pics of the Trunk-or-Treat! And Sis ****' b-day (see pics of gourmet grilled cheese @ Bishop's house below)! It was a party-packed weekend. But I promise we're doing real work too. (I'm starting to get self-conscious about how much of the fun stuff I share with all of you. Don't judge, aight?)

I'm on a bike!

...but just for a day. Exchanges were AWESOME. I adore Sister R******(Our Sister Training Leader), and I adore biking!  It made the work feel so REAL, you know?  I mean, don't get me wrong. The work feels read and wonderful everyday--even as I watch myself backing in the touch screen panel of our brand spankin' new 2014 Toyota Corolla everyday...but on a bike...it was good too, you know? 

On that horribly spoiled note: I met like 4 famous people this week!  Woot!

1) The Butlers http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=2700253803001

...they live in our ward. So I see them every week. But still. Now they have a Mormon message. Which is a whole new level of fame, you know?

2) Lindsey Stirling http://youtu.be/5jOhOB8MD7g

...walked into our ward building w/ her non-member friend the other day. So nice. So cool. 

3) Brother Later, who helped film The District. 

...I picked his grapes for service on exchanges. 

4) Allan Gordan. Winner of 6 Tony Awards. Producer of Rent and Hairspray. 

...Came into the VC with his RC employee. Walked out with a BOM and an appointment w/ the missionaries at his home in NYC.  #livin'thelife 

...so, for those of my friends who are living w/ dirt floors and freezing cold showers...sorry 'bout that. You're in my prayers. 

See attached pics. Marvelous things are happening all the time, but there just isn't time to document. I'm backed up beyond reason on this whole correspondence thing. Sorry for those of you who haven't gotten a response in a year...but it'll happen eventually, I promise :)

Also sorry I'm missing everyone's birthdays!! I LOVE birthdays and I LOVE YOU! Don't doubt that, k?

So much love,

Sis Wells

P.s. Other pics:  P-Day activity with the C*********!

A Fat Kid @ a Food Festival.

=Missionaries @ General Conference. 

If you haven't seen it, stop reading this e-mail RIGHT NOW and get yourself to conference.lds.org and begin your feast.  

More to come luego. 

Love ya'll muchisimo!

-Sister Wells

Hello President,

Wasn't conference wonderful??? It, like everything else in this marvelous work, was full of miracles.

Our bishop invited our investigator, *** (who just finished the Book of Mormon and is now living the Word of Wisdom fully) to have a lesson and watch a session at his house yesterday. We fasted and prayed that this session of conference would directly address his needs--specifically his need to come to church more regularly and to live the Law of Chastity. We discussed both of these things briefly in the lesson we had before the session began--in which we showed Elder Bednar's "Patterns of Light" Mormon Messages and discussed the Gift of the Holy Ghost, as well as how he could expect to receive more answers (i.e. by living the commandments, attending church, etc). As usual, he avoided the commitment to attend church regularly. We may have pressed the issue further, but he distracted us by announcing that after reading the Law of Chastity pamphlet, he was now considering marriage to his girlfriend of 27 years. ...But it's okay because Heavenly Father has our back! Elder Hamilton's talk was an explicit answer to our prayers to deepen his understanding of the doctrine of revelation through church attendance. I had to keep myself from laughing with joy as we watched it. I have full faith that *** will be at church on Sunday. 

(There is a picture of this miracle documented below. As well as a delicious "gourmet s'more" that Sister ***** made for us while we watched. Try raspberry dark chocolate Ghiradelli squares on a fancy vanilla wafer thing and you'll never be the same)

Another non-conference-related (at least not directly) miracle:

*****, an almost-former investigator, was finally able to meet with us again! We went out to lunch with him and the **** (your favorite Japanese fan!) on Saturday. Unbeknownst to all of us, Brother **** and ****** are old high school buddies! And on top of that, both have had really similar life trials and experiences. It was a beautiful experience teaching them together, and hearing the humble and quiet Brother **** bear his powerful testimony and conversion story. It turns out that ***** has been reading and studying quite a bit during the last month since we have met with him. He retained a lot of information, and he seems to comprehend the importance of the First vision and the Priesthood (the 2 essential doctrines we decided to emphasize in the lesson). He accepted the baptismal invitation for "the future" as he studies more, but we haven't extended a date yet. Don't worry. You'll be getting a text next week! :)

12-week report: We are right on track-ish! We studied the importance of the Book of Mormon and how to best introduce it to investigators, and both of us have applied our learning within the last 24 hours. Hooray for applied learning! We just need to get caught up in the segments of the District that we need to watch.

Language report: We have faltered, but our dedication was renewed this week. We had a half-day English fast that worked out pretty well. We'll try another one this week. We're also devoting an extra hour outside of the VC each day as "catch-up study time" to ensure we get a full language and companionship study everyday.

Here is how we are progressing with Elder *******'s promise:

I am getting better at talking slower, less, and pausing more. It is one of my four personal goals. Practice has really helped with this. Though we really need to try practicing with other companionships so we can develop more unity in teaching with this method. Sister Ellis is already good at talking slow and pausing, so I've been learning a lot from her. 

Sister Ellis is blossoming. I feel that she is becoming more and more of her best self everyday. I have been praying for the ability to see that, and Heavenly Father has blessed me inch-by-inch. I love her more than ever. And I think it's safe to say that she is really beginning to fully love this work. 

I love my mission, president. I have had a few random panicked moments over the last week about what I'm going to do with "the rest of my life." I'll be honest in admitting that it was rather distracting and I prayed to get rid of it. However, I'm grateful for the specific answers that came to me throughout this blessed conference weekend. The minute details are still unknown, but what I do know is that Heavenly Father is preparing me for an even deeper, greater work later in my life. I promise that this realization has caused me to renew once more my devotion to where I am now. 

God bless you, President and Sister Weidman. I have so much love, respect, and appreciation for both of you and your roles in this marvelous work. 

With love and prayers,

Sister Wells

The rest of the report on Elder *******s' promise:

We are discussing the four essential doctrines in just about every planning session, and making the necessary adjustments to our lesson plans. It has enlightened our perspectives in the most helpful way, and is making us more powerful teachers. 

Here is how some of our investigators (those with baptismal dates) are progressing and what we're doing about it:

*******: Has lots of faith in Christ and the Atonement. Though we've taught Restoration, we don't think she fully gets the 1st vision or the priesthood. She is starting to get the Book of Mormon. Our next lesson will focus on the 1st vision and the Restoration of the Priesthood in a much more simple, focused way. 

******: He has faith in Christ and the Atonement, though he needs a deeper understanding of Repentance. He gets the priesthood. He is starting to get the Book of Mormon, though we need to connect it back to the First Vision in a more powerful way. 

We Are All Enlisted

The subject line has nothing to do with the content of this e-mail, but I hope it inspires you.

I took forever writing to President today, so there's not much more to report on. He probably gets so sick of my novels, but I feel so much better when I write to him first...and whoever I write to first generally gets the novel. Entonces. Whatchya gonna do?

Just to explain the references: We had zone conference this week with Elder and Sister *******. It was inspired, and super cool. 

 Love you all SO MUCH! You're in my prayers. 

Love,

Sister Wells

P.s. Pics:  Sister ***'s going back to Cambodia!! I am heartbroken, and wish I had more time to write an ode to her. She has taught me so much.  Also, Sis ***** and I with this super cute Peruvian girl that came in on Sunday.  She's working for an NGO...it's just cool. No time to explain.  Insanity workout classes in the morn with Sis B***** leadin us. My favorite! Us and *** and Pres ***** at the VC. ****! the one in Lynwood who's going on a mission next year! Active **** is so much cooler than Less active **** :)

P.S. For mom: Thanks for teaching me how to be a strong woman in the Gospel. Read more about that below. Something Sis R****** said in our conversation (referenced below) is that the new temple video validates/emphasizes what strong LDS women already understood. I love you so much. There aren't all that many hard things right now. But I'll try to be more open about them when there are.  I feel blessed that Heavenly Father helps me to remember the joyful things much more than the hard things.  Right now, I'm just desperately wanting to rid myself of pride. I'm not a very good trainer I'm realizing. I'm nice. I'm a good example and I'm positive, etc...There are a lot of things that make me a good trainer. But I don't think I empower my companions to be their best selves. b/c I think, as horrible as this sounds, I subconsciously always want to be "better" than them...it's weird. I don't like it. It makes me sad. But, I'm working on it :)  So I'm also hopeful in this process of repentance and grateful that I'm figuring out more of my weaknesses. Read 1 Nephi 8--right before Lehi has the vision.  As you get closer to Light, you see more of your weaknesses, and sometimes life gets more painful in that way. But Ether 12:27 makes it all better :) ...Oh, and I have mineral veil. I found some I had forgotten about! If you wanna buy me some more powder, just wait until I can find out what shade I need...

Hello President,

Happy Transfers!  Sister ****** and I are thrilled to be here together for another 6 weeks. 

We are slightly behind on 12-week because our DVD player has been malfunctioning and our language study has faltered. (...we'll get better. I promise.) However, we have gotten better and teaching together more fluidly, and I have loved watching her desire to be here grow.  She's amazing! 

Zone Conference Highlights & Revelations:

First of all, I WILL NOT PLATEAU. Mar Vista is seeing some success and some positive changes, but I can now see so much more in its future. We just had another combined fifth Sunday lesson that focused on Hastening the Work of Salvation. The guest speaker was phenomenal, and the spirit was strong.  Follow-up with members has to happen.  We're trying to figure out how to go about splits w/ members so we can make that another focus while still taking care of our investigators. 

Faith in Planning:  Faith is a hope for things with are not seen which are True. I need to have more faith and be more prayerful in creating a VISION of my area--not just for this transfer but for a few years down the road.  I love what President B**** said about envisioning 7 stakes within the stake he currently serves in.  I want that kind of vision and energy to fuel our ward council.  

I also had an opportunity to chat with Sister R****** one-on-one while Sister ****** was in her interview with Elder R*****. She is a powerful teacher, and her moments of candid counsel to me and my generation were priceless.  We talked about how a strong Latter-day Saint woman understands the priesthood and her role in supporting it, and how her covenants strengthen her and empower her in those roles.  It was wonderful to witness up close the strength it takes to consistently support and sustain a righteous priesthood holder. It made me so grateful for my mother and her example to me as well.

The final invitations of zone conference--regarding teaching simply and emphasizing the 4 essential truths--were refreshing.  

We began applying that training just an hour afterward in our lesson with *** at the Visitor's Center. We decided to focus on the 1st vision in an attempt to evaluate his understanding and testimony of it.  President Heath (of the Santa Monica stake) was present, and was wonderful.  President ***** was great at answering ***'s questions and explaining things in a way that only a lawyer and a mechanical engineer would understand. (i.e. How faith is really an exercise of logic.  If the missionaries promise that reading, praying, and coming to church will help you to feel more of the spirit and a closer relationship with God...and all of those things happen just as they promised...then their next promises about baptism, etc. will also be true.) ...The lesson went long and could've been simpler, but overall, it went well.  (Companionship goal: Shorter, simpler, more frequent lessons!)

Another Word of Wisdom miracle:

Last week's lesson with ****** was a bit nuts. (As lessons with ***** can sometimes be...***** is 86 and tends to go on tangental rants).  We were trying to teach him the Word of Wisdom and it just wasn't sinking in. He didn't seem to remember anything that we had taught him.  So, a few days ago, we went into a lesson with him prepared to drop him unless things went better.  As we began the lesson, I immediately became emotional. I have really come to love *****, and I knew that dropping him would just be one more sad event in his already sad life.  I went into the bathroom and prayed for a miracle, but entered the lesson again prepared to drop him if that's what the Lord needed to happen.  As we began to review the restoration and priesthood authority, **** began asking a handful of really coherent questions about priesthood duties, etc.  And then as we tied that follow-up into a conversation about the Word of Wisdom, a miracle happened!  ***** not only seemed to understand why we live the Word of Wisdom, but he agreed to live it, and he handed us a giant box of black and green tea (of which he drinks 10 cups a day). ***** is now preparing for baptism on October 20th!

****, our other investigator, also expressed her desire to be baptized, and said that she would like to fast and pray about the date this next fast Sunday. She is thinking January because she wants her very Christian family (who lives in Virginia) to be a part of this change, and maybe even to be present for her baptism. What are you thoughts on that, President?  Pushing back baptismal dates to wait for family, etc? 

Another question I have had more of late is in regard to boundaries. I gained a testimony of ward/area boundaries toward the beginning of my mission, but I've become rather confused of late. With the mix of the Farsi language issues/Sis. ******* as well as the fact that there are missionaries who teach investigators online/over the phone/through Skype...are these policies becoming more fluid?  

I write you long e-mails. I hope it's not a bother. Let me know if you'd like me to be more concise. Thanks for all you do!

Love,

Sister Wells