So my day was... AMAZING!!!! And now I'm hungry for more....

Oh my goodness oh my goodness! When God gives you what you need he always seems to add on a little sugar to make it sweeter. Agh. This week was a GEM! Shmee challenged (my little challenging missionary;)) to work extra hard this week... MIRACLES HAPPEN. Oh my goodness. So I want to start off with the sad news.... My loving friend, Sister Yuoo has not been answering our phone calls or answering the door when we visit for the past week.... So that was depressing. But we don't feel like we should drop her or give up, so we are going to search for times this week where we can find out what is wrong... ha ha ha ha. Gotta love missionary stalking.... Its the greatest;) so we had a good cry over her yesterday because we just love her and desire so badly for her to get baptized and come unto Christ. So we are working on that.... please pray for her. 

Now for the good news....

So remember that Korean holiday that was last week... well during this holiday all Koreans go back to their home town... so like it is CRAZY busy and there are a bunch of new people in Mokopo and in every area of Korea.  Well during the holiday this frantically hurried woman comes up to me while I'm on the phone, asks me to give her my number. I get of the phone and try to talk to her but she leaves quickly. I did get her phone number but before I could even think she was texting me in English. She said she is looking for English friends to speak to in English...... I HATE ENGLISH. ha ha ha. SO I didn't think anything about it because I thought she was just going to use me for my English abilities. Well we kept texting and on Friday she wanted to meet and go out to dinner. By the way her English Name is Sister Juliet and her Korean name is Sister Wang. So if I call her Juliet, its because it's easier. So anyways... We met... Umm ....okay she is the cutest 31 year old in the world. She is not married and loves learning.She's really good at English and is now like my other half. I love her. Well we met and we got to know each other. She met once with the missionaries in Seoul and she thought they were English teaching missionaries.... and she said they were horrible at teaching English... ha ha ha h a. We explained that we are not here to teach English. But she said when she found me she did not know I was part of the same missionary group. So we talked. She said she believes in God but only when times are rough does she ask for help.She does not have a special religion but believes. She doesn't have a bible, but believes.

With that said, she said after that lesson that she felt really good about meeting us and wanted to meet again. already long story short, we met her again yesterday.... BEST LESSON OF MY LIFE!!!!!!! Oh my goodness. I start out by saying "so can we start with..." she cuts me off and says "we should pray"... umm yes, exactly.... So She asks Sister Wadsworth to pray and says in English so sister Wadsworth can understand,  "please pray for us". SO CUTE!!!! Then we start with the first lesson (LOVE THE FIRST LESSON) I start teaching God is our loving father and she stops me again and says " I feel really warm... I like this feeling". WE explained it was the spirit. So by this point I am DYING of happiness because she is feeling the spirit and the room is on fire! We watch the restoration DVD, she loves it and says all on her own " I want to know if this is true. I will read and pray about this ".  Umm okay,.... way to give yourself your own commitment. She is amazing. Then my amazing companion talked about following Jesus Christ and asked her to be baptized. She said... YES!!!!!!!!!!! for October 27th. She says she still wants to pray about it and to come to church but she will prepare to be baptized:). Then the spiritual lesson is coming to a close and I say "Before we go eat (because she wanted to make dinner together at the church) can we..."  She stops me again and says,  "I will pray".  During the prayer I was asking God to please help her feel the spirit. She prayed to know the truth and to know what to do. She ends the beautiful prayer and says "I don't know why, but I think I will cry.". So of course we were feeling the spirit burn in us and I was just so thankful God touched her open, soft heart. After we ate and talked about the Korean language we were walking out of the church and she said all cute as she hopped down the stairs  (in English) ""I want to be a member of this church". I said "well Sister, we can help you do that because God wants you to be a member too". AGH I LOVE HER!!!!! So my day was... AMAZING yesterday,  and now I'm hungry for more. 

Tonight we meet Louisa who is still planning on being baptized on Oct 20th. And I am just ecstatic. I love this. I know it s all true. Someone who has never "noticed"the spirit before felt the feelings we always explain; peace, warmth, and love. She felt it. She didnt' even know what it was until we told her, but she felt it. I feel it too. Its real. They are real feelings from our loving father in heaven. He loves us so much that he has given us the opportunity to feel the spirit. To lead us, to teach us, to guide us, and to love us. It's true. I know it. And like Joseph Smith, I will never deny it. I love being a missionary. 

Also a little update on Sister Pack..... Agh, she knows it's true, she wants to be baptized, she has made friends with the members... BUT SHE WONT COME TO CHURCH. She tells me every week she will... and then I call her Sunday morning and she says she cant because of her kids.... AGH. I will be having a good talk with her about promised blessings that come from coming to church and from KEEPING THE COMMANDMENTS!!!. I love her but I feel like a mother and she is my child... Well... thinking about it... that's how I feel about all my investigators... I feel like I'm either dating them or babysitting them...ha ha ha. Gotta love it:) I do:)

 I see all these miracles and I am so thankful that I know they are miracles sent from God. And to some, not believing friends, these might not seem like miracles... But I know they are. In Ether 3:5 it reads " ... we know that thou art able to show forth great power, which looks small unto the understanding of Men". We are to look for the miracles that "men" can not see. Because they are there.

Well family... We are all missionaries right?:) Right:) well Christ tells us in Mormon 9:22 " For behold, thus saith Jesus Christ, the son of God, unto ALL his disciples; Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature". Lets be a gospel preaching family. Like Elder Holland says "in this family we serve missions". Well also in this family, we peach, love, teach, and testify.

 I love you to the moon and back!!!!!!!!

Love Sister Cole Ensign

the most spiritual, life touching lesson I have ever been a part of..... It changed my life

Wow!!!!! I am so in love with your canning! I would die to sink my teeth into a tomato... they only eat rotten ones here.... delicious.... or at least I have only eaten rotten ones that grandmas shove into my mouth. h ha ha. Gotta love Korea.. Mom I am so glad you are reading that book... ha ha funny thing too because for the last 3 months our ward was challenged to read that book 3 times and then to find ways to do missionary work. our stake president swears by that book, our ward mission leader has read it 3 times and our ward members are reading it. Chapter 14 about sister Fulcher was actually introduced to our mission back when President Furness was with us. It has been a model for our mission. That man who wrote that book actually served in Korea. If I am correct. That is what every one is telling me. But I wanted to get that book. Our mission is trying to order it for all the missionaries. amazing stuff. But I am so glad you are reading it and trying to find little ways to do missionary work. Those "baby steps" are anything but baby.

So this week was good. every week is just miracles week in Mokopo!!! I love Mokopo!!!!!!

Monday miracle; we met an investigator and decided to refer her to the elders. So in order to introduce them to the elders we all met.... we had the most spiritual, life touching lesson I have ever been a part of. It changed my life. I cant explain everything, but just imagine a room full of missionaries crying explaining how the Atonement has changed and blessed their lives, to a woman (investigator) who just cried and said how she cant be strong any more and how she needs someone to rely on and to help her. It was the most touching experience that me and the missionaries have ever had. It changed my life. The Atonement changes us, picks us up, and gives EVERYONE HOPE!!!! The Atonement is real.

The rest of the week was filled with miracles but I will skip to yesterday.

Sunday miracle; AGH!!!!! So all day yesterday I kept thinking about Sister Pack Kyung Me. She is the investigator we met and she said she wanted to be baptized but that she wanted to come to church first. Well we met her on wed and something was just off. She usually is really excited to pray but she refused to pray.....I knew something was up. She has been having a lot of problems with her husband and wants to divorce him.... sadly..... so all day yesterday I was debating with myself if we should go drop by... and drop by I mean take long bus ride across the bridge to the other island... which means that she would be the only thing we would do after church... I was wondering if it would be a waste of time because we would take all this time to go out there and we would only be able to talk to her for about 5 minutes and then have to turn right back and come home in order to get home on time..... I didn't want it to be a waste of time... And it was not. It was totally inspired of the lord to go see her. To make it worth it, I made banana bread and a really cute message card with D&c 78:17-18 on it. Oh don't worry we only met the new greatest investigator of our lives which makes us now have 13 investigators. And when we visited sister Pack she just blew up with happiness. She is a shy woman so it was not literally blowing up, but the light in her eyes just grew and she was SO thankful that we came by. I really hope she will be baptized. Every time I am with her I feel like I have known her forever,... Like she is the whole reason I came to Mokopo.... or even Korea. I love this woman. So ya. Miracles happen. In Mokopo... because it's miracle Mokopo:)

So Sister Yuoo.... AGH .....break my heart... she was drunk again when we went to go visit her.... so we couldn't teach a lesson... but she wants to be baptized that little stinker. We are working on her. And sister Louisa. AGH ....I love her. She said last week that she really just wants to go to the temple to do the work for her family. we talked about baptism and she said she needs to have a testimony of the Book of Mormon first. So we decided to read with her every day. So we called her today and shes reading from the beginning. And she said she will pray about it. Please pray for her.

I love missionary work. I agree with Dee!!!! I cant believe the time that has passed since I have been a missionary. I feel like God has done more for me than I have for him and that is NOT why I came on a mission. I came to help God, but he is just making it even harder for me to catch up. I now owe him more and more....:)).. ha ha ha. But I just love this work. I love the miracles I have seen, the people I have been able to teach and the miracles I have been able to witness. God lives. I know it. I gave a talk in church yesterday about how God and Christ live and how when we share the truth we know, our faith in them turns into a sure conversion. Others need what we have. Others NEED it. Not just that it will be cute to have scriptures by the night stand, or that it will be fun to get dunked under the water, or that we get to go to church with our friends. Those things are fun, but we NEED this gospel, and as lucky members of the church, we have it. So what do we need to do.....? Share it. That's what God asks of us. Just like God commands us to read the scriptures, go to church, not drink beer, serve others, and to keep other commandments; He also commands us to share this gospel. I love this message. I love that I get to share it with the children in Korea. And I am so blessed that I get to do it with 3 of my favorite people; Sister Wadsworth (comp), The spirit and my Chelsea. My life is pretty darn good. I love you mom. Tell Bubba , way to go in Lax. Tell Sam good luck in horse back riding and soccer. Tell dad I love him and thanks for supporting me on this mission. And tell  Dee (well shmee your reading this ) But Thanks for doing this with me and for being my friend and sister , my back bone. I love you. And thank you mom for your endless love and e-mails. I love you to the moon and back.

Sister Cole Ensign

so like... I don't want to talk about the fact that it's already been a year since I have been on my mission.... the worst feeling in the world!!!!! I HATE  how fast TIME is going!!!!!!!!!!

Everyone needs the gospel right ?

So lets just say I think I have a referral for shmee.... the elders were walking from the church last week and this crazy foreigner came up to them and started off about how she has been looking for the Mormon missionaries EVERYWHERE. .... umm okay... that's a miracle. Her name is Louisa McMillian. She is from New Zealand and her fam lives in Perth Australia right now.... um okay tender mercy.  Well Louisa has been researching the church for about 5 years now and knows more about our church than I do. Literally when we met I asked her why she was not a member yet. Apparently one of the members in Seoul Korea said some bad things about her and it just hurt her. but then she said "but I guess this gospel is about Christ and not the members right?".... umm "YES EXACTLY". seriously the whole time she was talking she was just sharing her testimony about our gospel and I was throwing up because I couldn't believe what I was hearing. (not literally throwing up... hey dad I think I still exaggerate a little... just a little;) love you). So she said she wanted another copy of the BOM and that she would read it and pray about it and then she would talk with her boyfriend about not living with each other anymore and that she wanted to come to church. She said all of this with out us asking for one single commitment. She gave herself her commitments. We were all dying. Like us missionaries didn't say a word. We just kept saying "ummm YES". ah ah, ha ha. Amazing miracles. Lousia is moving to a new apt with other foreigners and needs ours and the elders help moving and she said "I'll introduce you to my house friends. Everyone needs the gospel right?"..... "UMM YES LOUISA". She is amazing.

The other miracle was sister Yuoo. she came to church yesterday and set another baptismal date for the 28th. She is wanting to change. She said she was in an accident a few years ago and so when she gets stressed she just drinks. So when she called us she was drunk. But so funny, yesterday she called me and was like (in Korean) "Hey I need to go to church today, I'm getting baptized right?". a ah ha. Ya... that was interesting. Didnt' think I would ever tell someone they COULDNT be baptized on my mission.

 

There are other miracles but I'm out of time.  I just wanted to thank you for your prayers and the e-mail. Mom your e-mails are so uplifting. And Dad, thank you so much for your e-mail. It is so good to hear how proud we make you. I am so thankful to have 2 amazing parents who showed me the path. I bore my testimony to my investigators yesterday about praying as a family and how it truly blesses us. Thank you for helping me receive those blessings. The gospel is for families. I love you to the moon and back.

 

I found some AMAZING SCRIPTURES this week. 2 Cor 10:3 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh".  We are at war. Not a war of the flesh, but of a spiritual battle. I may walk in the flesh, but I'm fighting for something a lot bigger than that.

 

Love you to the moon and back

 

Sister Cole Ensign

 

 

 

I Hate Satan

Hey mom!!!! Sorry this e-mail is super late getting to you. I went with my comp and some other sisters on a boat to an island for the day and we had to leave early in order to get back on time so I am e-mailing late. Sorry.

 

So.... Sister Yuoo is not getting baptized.:(((.. aka my week has been titled...  I HATE SATAN.  Seriously. He has been killing the work lately. When we called to meet sister yuoo she was a little weird but we met anyways.... and ya she was completely drunk...... like it was dangerous. She was getting upset and mad. Well come to find out her x husband would not let her see the kids... again and she was heart broken and so she drank her pain away... but it didn't go away..... She called us today and said she missed us and was sorry and that she wants to meet again!!!! So we were happy about that but there wont be a baptism. But its okay. It's more important for her to be okay and worthy and ready to be baptized than to hurry and get her baptized.

But of course more miracles happened because guess what.... I serve in miracle Mokopo:) On Monday we met 2 new investigator who said they want to learn English and that they want to know if God exists.... umm yes we can help you with both:) They are 2 really amazing investigators and tonight we are giving them a baptismal date:) So we are excited about that. Please pray for us:)

 

then.... AGH I love Sister Pock Gyoung He!!!!!!!!!! Agh.  I wish I could explain how I feel about his woman. I feel like I was sent here for her!!!!!!!! My heart just bursts every time I see or talk to her or even think about her. I asked all of the relief society to pray for her this week!!!! Miracles happen. She was not able to come to church but she called me on Sunday and said "when we meet on Tuesday I want to pick a date to get baptized"... UMM OKAY!!!! we can definitely help you with that!!!!! Then we met with great less actives this week and a member gave us 2 referrals. It is amazing. So listen to this.... in this year so far our whole zone has gotten 10 baptisms... well our stake president prayed, fasted and received revelation and asked every ward, every month  to get 10 baptisms. My comp and I,  prayed, fasted and we want to help accomplish this goal. It came from God and with God all things are possible. So this month of September we are setting our goal of getting 10 friends baptized in Mokopo. Please pray for us. (mom, please put MOKPO on the names for the temple). Thank you. We are scared to death as to how we will accomplish this goal, but we have the faith. We just want to do the work and so that is what we will do. DO THE WORK!!!!!! God sent us here not to do our work but to do his and so we will. I have the faith that if God wants it to happen, and we are obedient and work hard, Gods will, will be manifested. Please pray for us.

 

Other miracles this week (which made me so happy and made me think of Shmee and Grandpa ensign). We found 3 potential investigators. 2 of which lived in New Zealand and one lived in Fiji and LOVES Australia.  They all want to meet. Miracles happen.

 

God lives and loves us. I know it. I am so thankful to be a missionary. I am so sorry this weeks e-mail is short and not detailed but I do just want to tell you how much I love my savior. He lives. I know he does. God loves us. god wants us to return to him. So we could return to him, he sent his perfect, only begotten son, Jesus Christ, to earth to give us an example to follow and a way to return. That was a sacrifice for our God, to allow his Son, Christ, to suffer for our sins. But because of that, we have an example to follow. It's a perfect example that we can follow so we can make it back to God. I am so thankful to know that god has a plan and that Christ came. He fulfilled the plan and now it is up to us to choose whether or not to follow the plan. As a missionary I get to show people how to find and follow this plan. I get to show people how to obtain TRUE happiness. I couldn't be happier. I never want this to end.

 

I love you to the moon and back.

 

Love Sister Cole Ensign