Monday, April 7, 2014

I love my Savior and I will serve him forever as his dedicated disciple.

So when I was thinking and pondering and praying as to what I could say I just thought back to my farewell and the quote that I LOVED and shared:) From non other than the great Winnie the Pooh- How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.
That is how I felt leaving to Korea. And that is how I feel leaving Korea. 
Like...  I am so filled with words.. and thoughts I don't know where to start. I think I am stressing this out way to much. So what I'm going to do is just send you my usual e-mail:) no need to make this one any special:) 

Anyways... sorry... ha ha ha. So this week was amazing. I want to tell you of this amazing member, Sister 박웅비 Park Onug Bee. HOLY COW I LOVE THIS GIRL!!!!!! She has a bit of a mental handicapped  and I have seen more of the savior in this one sister than any other person, place or thing. She is just FILLED with the spirit of God. She is the one who last week told me "Sister Ensign you need confidence. Don't be afraid. You are Sister Ensign". I think I held her hand for 4 hours yesterday and just hugged and kissed her to death. Heavenly Father LOVES his children. All of them. And I know that we can feel that love through other people. I have felt that love through Sister Park. 

Also our amazing investigator Mr. Kim is just amazing. AGAIN when we taught him he couldn't stop talking about how good he felt when he was with up. And when investigators feel that spirit there is no greater time to ask them to be baptized. So we asked him to be baptized on the 13th. He said he will talk with his wife and let us know. We didn't hear from him for 3 days which I was FREAKING OUT and praying like no ones business!!!! And come to find out that he was just out of town referring  for volleyball:) So he wants to meet us tonight and we will find out if he wants to be baptized next week:) I love this man. He is so in tune with the spirit and HE LOVES OUR GOSPEL. No wonder he does, its Jesus Christ's message. 

So my thoughts have been really focused on the temple lately:) And mom, your amazing example and testimony of family history work has really helped me and I have been able to talk about you in my lessons where we talk about family history and the temples. Maybe its because I just miss the temple so much and cant wait to go to the bountiful and salt lake temple and be able to fell Gods love and spirit. It truly is the house of the lord. I know that. And I cant wait to go. The temple is our celestial kingdom. And I cant wait to be home. 

I honestly have NO idea what I will do when I get home. But I do know a few things for certain: I'm going to the temple. I'm going to kiss Samantha and Bubba's cheeks off.   No matter how much they hate it. I'm going to pray. and pray again. And I will just go to the temple again. Those are my plans. And I like them a lot.

So let me talk about missionary work... and cry my eyes out. I think about this last transfer and my heart is just warm. So warm. So so happy. I have a testimony that this is the work of the Lord. God loves his children and so he send us  on missions and while we are out here learning things for ourselves, we get the amazing blessing of helping people on our way. I have learned that that is life. We go through experiences and we get to help  people so that our experiences are GOOD. 

So I think of everything about this mission and everything in the past, to come, and now and my thoughts are turned to Christ. 
And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.  2Nephi 25:26. 

All of my efforts have been for Him. He is the one who died for us. I don't need to die on my mission to help people receive salvation. I just need to teach them about the one who did die, who did suffer, who did make it possible to receive eternal life:) No greater message. No greater work. I love being a missionary. I love talking of Christ and bringing others to Christ because it is in Christ where we find our purpose, love, happiness, joy, fulfillment, peace, comfort, rest and answers to prayers/ life. I know that Christ lives. That he loves us. And like it reads in Jacob 5, that I am the servant in the vineyard. I love in Jacob 5 when it reads in verse 72: And it came to pass that the servants did go and labor with their mights; and the lord of the vineyard labored also with them; and they did obey the commandments of the lord on the vineyard in all things. 75: And it came to pass that when the Lord of the vineyard saw that his fruit was good, and that his vineyard was no more corrupt, he called up his servants, and said unto them; Behold, for this last time have we nourished my vineyard; and thou beholdest that I have done according  to my will; and I have preserved the natural fruit, that it is good, even like as it was in the beginning. And blessed art thou; for because ye have been diligent in laboring with me in my vineyard, and have kept my commandments, and have brought  unto me again the natural fruit, and ye shall have joy with me because of the fruit of my vineyard." No I am no prophet and the second coming has not happened yet, but I am so blessed to have been able to work in the vineyard. This truly is the work of the lord. 

Advice for missionaries: that includes you Bubba:) part of this was some great advice I got before my mission from a friend, Elder Marsden. And I want to share it with you all.

1: Charity never faileth. LOVE IT ALL. AND LOVE IT ALL THE TIME.  Let that love of Christ fill you up and give it to others. That is what will make you successful. Mom sad some amazing words to me- They (investigators) may not remember what you said, but they will remember how you helped them feel". So give them the greatest feeling, the one they will remember. And that is love.

2: Decide now that you will be 100% obedient. It is the lords way. You did not ask God to help you do your work as a missionary. God called you to do HIS work and you have to do it HIS WAY. Obedience. is Love. Obedience is what God asks for us. And it is obedience that brings blessings and miracles. 

3: There will be times when you will feel sorry because people wont accept this and you just love them so much and so you will feel sorrow. THAT IS OKAY. That sorrow is what God feels and it is a godly feeling. You will feel VERY close to the Lord during those times. Sorrow was the only thing that Christ would not take away from the 3 Nephites.

4: LIVE IN THE MOMENT and EXPECT BAPTISMS!!!!! Expect them. And LIVE IN THAT MOMENT. Don't move on to the next thing running like a chicken with its head cut off. LIVE IN THE MOMENT. Even the hard ones. Live it up. Live each moment, each person, each experience and live them. Don't rush them by.

5: This is the most important. Remember and never forget that it is all about CHRISTS ATONEMENT. All of it. It is the MOST IMPORTANT. The MOST!!!!! I know that to be true. I love my Savior. And I will serve him forever as his dedicated disciple. 

I love you all to the moon and back. Catch ya on the flippidy flop:)

Sister Nicolle Ann Ensign

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Celebrating the Women in the Church



.....how thankful I am that I know, and even more grateful, that I can share that testimony with others!

Another great week:) Goodness mom your e-mails are so good. thank you for always sending me updates and just.. your love. I love you!!!!!! Sammy is getting so big.. like i have a feeling she's taller than me.... ... And Bubba looks like he could squish me with 2 fingers... I hope his games go well this week!!!!

So this week was so great. Me and my amazing companion made some great goals this week with God. We are really trying to focus on our top investigators who can be baptized. We are really trying to help our investigator, Mr. Kim Jong Hun. I love this man. He is the next area president. He is interested in English and that is why he called us. We actually were talking to one of his friends on the street by our house and have his friend our number. His friend knew Mr. Kim was interested in English and gave him our number. MR. KIM LOVES THE GOSPEL!!!! Amazing experience this week was when we were teaching him and we were reviewing what we talked about last week (restoration) and he was just so impressed at how we don't try to convince him through scriptures or through our knowledge that this is true but that we encourage him to ask God. The one who knows all, if this is true. He really respected that. By the way, this is the famous Volleyball ref. Well we prayed and we got done with the prayer and he said "you know, I feel really comfortable when I come to this church. It is a good feeling. I would like to meet more". Yes SIR!!!! You've got it:) So we met him again and talked more about the plan of salvation. HE EATS IT UP!!!! I am so excited for this 53 year old man!!!! He said his family is not interested in English or the gospel right now but "maybe later". Well we talked again and we were explaining a principle of the gospel and he clapped his hands and said "I like your church". We asked him to be baptized and he said when he comes to know if this is for him, then he will.  Well he came to church yesterday and said he wants to come again. This gospel truly is for everyone. I love Mr. Kim. I know he can be baptized on April 13th. Which is our plans for him. He can do it:)

Yesterday at church was an amazing experience for my mission. We celebrated the relief society/ women in the church yesterday and it was amazing:) we all wore our Han Boks:) It was so amazing. The amazing 15 grandmas in their 80's and 90's got up and bore amazing testimonies that will change my life forever. This 500 year old grandma got up and sang the song "Truth reflect upon our senses" and it changed me forever. I will miss that. I will miss my Korean grandmas. I love their un-shakable testimonies and their bad breath and I will miss it when they shove food in my mouth and miss it when I say hello to them and they think its HILARIOUS that I speak Korean so they laugh and smack my back. Goodness I love this. 

The spirit as really taught me this week. I have again been reminded of my savior this week. Studying his life and death has really helped me be able to have an even stronger testimony of him. And then when I get to share that testimony with others it grows even more. I love my savior and I am so thankful for him. and...I KNOW MY SAVIOR LIVES. I read a great quote by a 70 that said "I know-as I know that I live- that HE LIVES. And I know that my savior lives. He has a body of flesh and bones and he lives. I know it. And how thankful I am that I know and even more grateful am I that I can share that testimony with others. Like it says in 2 Nephi 33:10-11 "And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words BELIEVE IN CHRIST. And if ye shall believe in Christ, ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good. And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye- for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day...". I love the scriptures because they teach me of Christ. 

Mom, I have to run. But I love you. I love you to the moon and back. Can wait to see you. In just a few days:) 

Love you mom, dad, bubba, Sammy, and Shmee:) Kill it Shmee. You are in my prayers. God is with you. So is Chelsea. I promise our angle is with us:) DI4C:)

Love Sister Collie Ensign