~September 25, 2012~

Hello Everyone!

How are you all doing? I hope this week has treated you well! I have a miracle that I want to share with you about Fred! So, Fred is our investigator who is Jewish but then turned Christian and now claims to be Catholic but feels something special about the LDS church. He is quite the hoot! So, when we taught him this week we talked about a lot of things that he was concerned about and at the end he just made a side comment says, "Well who knows maybe I will be baptized before I finish the Book of Mormon"! And then he made another one that went like this,"Well, maybe when I get baptized and am a member of the church..." Holy Cow!

 

We kept feeling like it was not time to give him a date for baptism and then this last week we found out why! He told us that he feels that we have really invited him to come closer to Jesus Christ and that we don't just want him to get baptized. Which is true we really want him to come closer to Jesus Christ. I know that baptism is and essential step to eternal life but that is not why I am on mission. I am here to invite others to come unto Christ and if they choose to get baptized because of that then I have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Fred also went to church and found the missionaries! Of course there was traffic and so he didn't actually get to stay for church but he is bound and determined to do it this Sunday!

I wanted to share with you all the challenge that my mission president gave to us this week! It is that we will read 6 pages of the Book of Mormon everyday and mark different things in it. Well, I want to extend the invitation for you to read 6 pages of the Book of Mormon everyday and mark all the references to the God head in it! I know that as you do this that you will see just how amazing and true the Book of Mormon is and just how much it compliments the Bible. The Book of Mormon is truly the word of God and the only way that you can know this for yourself is if you read, ponder and pray.

I hope you all have a great week!

Love Always,

Sister Armstrong

~September 18, 2012~

Hello Everyone!

How are you all doing? Well, I don't have much time this week but I do have  a miracle to share with you! So, we have this great investigator named Fred who lives in New York! Now he was raised Jewish and has now gone Catholic; yes he is an interesting character, but we still love him!

 

So, anyway he has been telling us that he is not going to go to church until the missionaries contact him and what not. Well, the missionaries did not contact him but then he told us that he was going to go to church anyway! We asked him what changed his mind and he said that he was just too darn curious! He is so funny!

 

So, we are praying that he went and that he found the missionaries! I just know with all my heart that he is going to find his answers soon! I know that he will get baptized! I just feel it! When we were setting a return appt. with him between our two schedules we won't be able to call for a week and he said, "I don't know if I can go for a whole week without talking to you two!" I feels that something has come into his life that he can't let go!

 

Well, I hope that you are all doing well and have a great week! Here is a scripture that I really love:

Romans 8: 24-25 - 24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Love Always,

Sister Armstrong

Sister(s) Armstrong and Shamanga (from Africa)

Sister Shamanga and Sister Armstrong
Music and the Spoken Word

On a personal note, Sister Armstrong wrote:

So, today for pday we are going to go to this Polynesian restaurant that feeds missionaries for free! I have never been but the sisters always talk about it. But, next week we are going to the home of someone in the mission presidency and we are going to go bowling and eat Chinese food. President Seppi, is his name, and he has offered to pay for everything! So, we have gotten some money together from our zone and are also going to Walmart this week to get things to make a date basket for him and his wife to thank them for paying for our zone activity! (that may or may not have been my idea! :))

 

~September 11, 2012~

Hello Everyone!

How are you all doing? Hopefully you have had a great week! Okay so first I have an update on Nick- the miracle from last week- for you! We taught him again and he was actually in the airport but he still read scriptures with us! He said he was going to church which was a few days ago and we call him tomorrow to find out!!! He is solid as a rock! When we shared with him about Christ visiting those in the ancient American continent he said that it just makes sense. And it does!!! I mean why would Christ only visit those who lived in Jerusalem when God loves all of His children no matter where they live or what race they are- 2 Nephi 26:33 " For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he ^ainviteth them ^ballto ^ccome unto him and partake of his goodness; and he ^ddeniethnone that come unto him, black and white, ^ebond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the ^fheathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile. " We love Nick!!!

So, a miracle this week is that we found a new investigator on mormon.org! He came on and was just so interested in learning more! He said that he had met with missionaries before but that he never took the step to get baptized! So, we have been calling him but we are kind of playing phone tag right now. I am sure that we will get to talk with him soon! He already left us a message saying that he started reading the Book of Mormon again! The church is true!!! Thank you all for being so great! I want to invite you to start reading the Book of Mormon if you have not already and really take your time to go through and know what it is that the Book of Mormon is telling you. I promise that as you do this you will see so clearly the gospel of Jesus Christ! Have a great week!

Love Always,

Sister Armstrong

Sister Armstrong also wrote the following when we asked about her new leadership opportunity:

"Well, yes I am a Zone Leader which is way more responsibility then District Leader. This means that my companion and I work together as Zone Leader's because there is so much work to do. We have been given stewardship over 20 other sisters in the mission. We are one of the biggest zones! And this week our zone had 4 baptisms!!!! Awesome!!!! The goal that we have set is to have 15 people enter the waters of baptism this transfer and I know that we can do it! It is great to be able to serve the sisters in our zone and motivate them to do the Lord's work. The Lord is really stretching me this transfer and really molding me for something more... not sure what it is but I am really being tested. So, thank you for all the leadership skills that you both taught me and always encouraging me to take those leadership opportunities it has completely helped me in my missionary work."

Leadership Opportunity~Sister Elizabeth Armstrong (Zone Leader)

~September 4, 2012~

Hello Everyone!!

How are you all doing this week?! I hope all is going well and life is treating you good. Well, I am dying to tell all you of the amazing miracles that have happened this week! First of all I have a new companion, her name is Sister Shamanga and she is from Zambia, Africa! That is miracle number one! I have been dying to have an African companion and now my prayers have been answered! She is awesome! She speaks a really cool Zambian language, but I am not sure what it is called. All I know is that Natasha means thank you! Okay miracle number 2: We have a new investigator named Nick!!! You won't believe how we found or should I say how he found us. So, we were leaving the North Visitor's Center (on T^2 of course) and this man is walking by and then he turned and looked at us and said " I think you two can help me." Then he proceeded to tell us that he has been to many churches and studied many religions and the more he studies the LDS faith the more it feels right to him and then he said, "What do I do now?" CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?! I had to hold back my tears and excitement so I didn't scare him away! So, he had told us many times that he had not been to church yet and so finally I just asked him if he would like to go to church and he that he would love too. Then we taught him about the Holy Spirit and how that is what he is feeling right now. Then shared with him how to get a copy of the Book of Mormon because he travels a lot and so he may not be home if we mailed it to him. Then we got his info and set an appt. to call him the next day after church to see how it went. I mean how does that happen?! And I mean there is no other mission in the world that could teach someone who is always traveling and never home! Well, then we called him on Sunday and he told us about how he found out that his boss is a member of the church and they tried to go to church when their work schedule got changed on them. But, his boss took him to the YSA ward at BYU for break the fast. He LOVED it! He said that everyone was so nice and that he just could not believe it. Then we just happen to call right when he got back from break the fast and we taught him the entire restoration. He told us that it is definitely possible that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Then we invited him to be baptized once he came to know that all of this was true and he said that he looks forward to the day! So, then we invited him to be baptized on September 29th and he told us, "You know I have a lot to learn and I know it will take some time but I know that I can be ready on September 29th!!!!!!!!!!!! My companion and I were just in shock! In 24 hours he found us and then committed to be baptized in less then a month and bought himself the Book of Mormon! This is one of the biggest miracles that I have witnessed on my mission. There are many more wonderful things that have happened this week but this is the best one! Hope you all have a great week and never forget that God loves you and knows you and will always be there for you!

Love Always,

Sister Armstrong

~August 23, 2012~

Hello Everyone!

I hope that this week has treated you well! This has been another great week on Temple Square! I love being a missionary! Especially in the best mission in the world! Where our biggest problem is that there are so many people to teach that sometimes we don't even have time to eat! What greater blessing can you ask for?! Well, last Friday we were covering one of the desks here and we prayed that we would be able to find someone who had sincere questions and really wanted to learn. Well, low and behold in the mist of all the craziness this great man named Gary came up and just told us that he has never been to Utah before and that he is really wanting to know about what we believe. He particularly said that he is not sure why many claim that we are not a Christian church since he sees Christ everywhere in the visitor center. So, Sister Lee and I got to teach him all about the Book of Mormon and why it is so important. We committed him to go to mormon.org and research some more and then request for his own copy of the Book of Mormon and he said that he would and that he is so excited to share this with his wife! How great is that?! 

On Saturday we were able to attend the baptism of a lady who we took on a tour here on Temple Square. The first miracle is that we invited her to meet with missionaries she said no and then we saw her again a few weeks later and she was getting ready for her baptism!!! The second miracle is that she is from Mainland China where missionaries do not exist. The third miracle is that my old room, roommate Katelyn Ray or Sister Ray is now serving in the Chinese ward in SLC even though she wasn't called Chinese speaking and I got to see her because she was at the baptism. How amazing is that to be able to be missionaries with the roommate that you were preparing for  a mission with?! To be able to teach the same lady and see her enter the waters of baptism together! I absolutely love this gospel and see God's hand and love in all of our lives everyday!

Those were just a few of our miracles that I wanted to share! I love you all and hope that you are doing well and keeping a smile on your face! 

Have a great week!

Love Always,

Sister Armstrong

~August 16, 2012~

Hello Everyone! 

How are you all doing this week? I hope this has been a good week for you! I know that sometimes things can be hard but all in all if we keep holding on we will get through it. An Apostle once said "Things as they are now are not they always will be." Good advice, don't you think?!

Well, it has been another great week here on Temple Square! We have seen so many miracles and have taught so many people! I feel so blessed that our problem on Temple Square is that there are not enough Chinese sisters to teach all the Chinese people that are coming, even though it is calming down a little bit. So, this week we had zone conference and so they need help at the Beehive House (the home of Brigham Young, second prophet of the church) where we served last transfer. I told the zone leaders once we get there all the Chinese are going to come. Well, low and behold as we were walking up the hill to the Beehive House we see Chinese people walking in. We get there and realize that it is not just a few but 60! That is right 60 CHINESE PEOPLE! ALL AT ONCE! And of course they didn't have much time so we took them all through the house at once which I think is a new record for how many people have been taken through the house at once, ever before! 

Last night we took an emergency bus tour of Chinese people and at the end I felt really prompted to share my testimony with them about God and Jesus Christ and it just as though many of these people felt the Spirit for the first time. I feel so blessed to be able to teach them that there is something more in life. There is something more then what we can see right here. Something more that is watching over us and keeping us safe! I love that God trusts my companion and I enough to teach these wonderful people together. Well I love you all and hope you doing well. Keep going! God won't give up on you so don't give up on Him!

Have a great week!

Love Always,

Sister Armstrong

~Ottis from Africa's Baptism~

This is a picture of Ottis! Our investigator who got baptized in May! He finally sent us a picture of him on his baptism day! He is the one in the middle and he lives in Liberia, Africa!!! 

The second one is of him and all the others that he got baptized with that day! There are so many people that want to be baptized that they have to have baptism classes to be able to teach everyone! 

Love, Sister Armstrong

~August 9, 2012~

Hello Everyone!!

I hope that you have all had a great week! This week has been another busy one on Temple Square! But Sister Lee and I are still trucking along, doing our best to save China! I have so many miracles that I want to share with you! I think that three stand out the most.

First, I don't know if I have talked about our investigator Austin before but he is someone that we have been teaching every once in a while. So, we teach him and it is the best lesson ever and then we call him for a while and then he stops answering the phone so then we keep texting and eventually he says we can call again. This is the cycle that we have been in with him for a while. Well, this is because he will tell his other church friends about us and what we are teaching and they tell him that it is a cult and that he should not be talking to us. So, he gets confused and frustrated. I just love him and his little family so much!

Well, we got a hold of him the other day and you won't believe it they are actually moving to Texas today!!!!!! Why is this a good thing you ask? Well, this is the perfect time for them to meet with missionaries and read the Book of Mormon without the influence of their friends. He promised me that he would meet with missionaries once they move to Texas! I am so excited and know that as we continually make an effort to never give up on anyone that God will provide a way!

Okay miracle #2: We took around 8 Chinese that were just studying in Seattle and were on vacation! Totally meant to be! At the end they all took a Book of Mormon and I was able to bear my testimony and invite them to read and pray. They accepted and we taught them how to pray right on the spot! They made sure they knew the steps of prayer and thanked us for everything. The Spirit was so strong and I knew that God was preparing them. I know with all my heart that this gospel of Jesus Christ is true and I would give anything for all of China to know it and to know God and Jesus Christ.

Miracle #3: Since there are no missionaries in China we cannot call them and teach them over the phone. But, just yesterday we met a Chinese woman that was studying in America and wants to learn more. At first she wasn't sure about meeting with missionaries and so we talked a little more and she told me she grew up in the States and that she was Catholic and I told her that I was too! She instantly let her wall down and she agreed to let us teach her more over the phone! I know that I was meant to meet her! She said she wants and needs to get back in touch with God. She was so sweet and we are so excited to start teaching her!

Brother and Sisters I promise you that no matter what you are going through in your life at this time that God is aware of you. He knows exactly what is going on and Christ knows exactly how you feel. How great is it to know that the two greatest beings know you and care about you. Have faith and trust that everything will work out! Love you all! Keep smiling!

Love Always,

Sister Armstrong- Currently from China! :)

~August 2, 2012~

Hello Everyone!

How are you all doing? Well, I am happy to report that China has not killed me yet! We have only taken Chinese lessons this week! Maybe two English. But I love all the Chinese so much! They are such precious people and they really are just hungering and thirsting for God and Jesus Christ. The sad thing is there are no missionaries in China and so we must do all we can to teach them when they are here.

I had an experience with a group of about 40 or so and I was sharing with them my testimony of God and Jesus Christ and my companion was translating for me. There was a man who could just not wait for us to go and get the Book of Mormon. Well, my companion told me after the tour that after sharing my testimony that he said that he believes me. Here is a man who has been told his whole life that God is not real who felt that what I just said was the truth! The great thing was that the Holy Spirit is the one who told him that I was just merely and instrument in the Lord's hands. Also, we had a group of 15 and as we took them around I just had an overwhelming love for them and again shared my testimony. At the end 7 of them requested to learn more and 8 of them took the Book of Mormon. One lady came up to me and said "it was an honor to hear your speech (testimony) I promise you that I will read this book and find out if it is true." I was in shock!

I love this work so much and there is not other place in the world that I could teach those in China when China is not even open for missionaries. Keep up the great work and never forget that in order for things to happen we must get to work! Have a great week!

Love Always,

Sister Armstrong

Sister Armstrong also wrote: "Say hi to everyone for me! I love you all! I will have to send pictures of the parade next week because we ran out of time today! We have to run to the post office before Walmart because we are sending a Book of Mormon in Amharic (native language of Ethiopia for an investigator in WA!!). Have a great day!"

~Happy Pioneer Day!~

Sis. Lee and Sis. Armstrong (missionary companions)

Sis. Lee, Viviana (after she was baptized) and Sis. Armstrong



Ready to go to the Pioneer Day parade on Pioneer Day

~July 26, 2012~

Hello Everyone!

How are you all doing? Hope this has been a great week for you! Temple Square has been so crazy! I am convinced that all of China visited Temple Square this last week! Well, I am trying to think of which miracle to share with you. I feel blessed that we have had so many! But, I think that I really want to share with you about Joy. I met Joy yesterday and she called saying that her niece had passed away a few years ago and as she was going through her things a pass-a-long card from the church fell out. She feels that it is a sign from her niece.

I told her that it absolutely was! So, I told her about the Book of Mormon and what it is all about. She said that she would like one. Unfortunately right now she cannot meet with missionaries because she is basically on bed rest since her accident that she had.

So, Sister Lee and I will be teaching her over the phone until she gets well enough to have the missionaries over to her house. I shared with her that everything we have to teach her well with change her life for the better. Then she said something I will never forget she said, " I believe you. I feel that I have been missing something in my life and I have tried to fill that hole in my heart for years in many different ways. But, there is something telling me that you are telling me the truth." How amazing is that?!

She is so prepared for the Gospel and I just feel so blessed that Heavenly Father has entrusted me to take care of her and to help her find the truth. Well, I hope that you are all having a great week and that you will keep on smiling! I know that everything happens for a reason and that things as they are not will not forever be. Love you all!

Love Always,

Sister Armstrong

Oh PS Viviana got baptized!! And she asked Sister Lee and I to speak at her baptism-We were so very honored!

Sis. Armstrong also wrote us (on the realities of the mission):

"Okay well,  this week has been the longest week of the mission! We have taken so many tours and taught so many people. Mostly in Mandarin. So, yes I am learning Mandarin and it is so fun to speak it and then all the Chinese people freak out! It is hysterical! A lot of them understand or speak English and so I get to talk to a lot of them. The greatest thing about the Chinese people is that they only want to know about the gospel. They have just recently been able to come and travel in the United States and they are actually taught in school that God is not real. The teachers actually tell them that! So, every time we take a tour with them all they want to know about is everything we have to teach. They could care less about the history. Of course we always share pioneer stories with them because they love those. But, I have this great love for the Chinese people! We give away so many Chinese Books of Mormon it is not even funny.

We just learned that the only place in Salt Lake City that even has Chinese Books of Mormon is Temple Square! They are like gold right now! This is our only way of doing missionary work in China since there are no missionaries in Mainland China! It breaks my heart when they ask if they can have missionaries come or they ask where the church is and we have to tell them that we don't know. Even though we know that the church is in Hong Kong we can't even say that. But, we always tell them to look it up online and there are apparently so many little branches that can only be known by word of mouth. Once China opens up for missionaries it will be exploding with baptisms! These people are just waiting for someone to tell them that God is there. Last night we took around a bus load of about 30 people and at the end I bore my testimony of God and Jesus Christ and at the end one man told me that he believes me and that he would like a Book of Mormon. It is just so amazing that God has placed these great people in a place where they can receive a piece of the restored gospel.

Also, this week was Pioneer day! So, our Mission President let us go to the parade! This parade was like something that I have never seen before! It was two hours long! It was so fun and when we got there and were looking for seats, there was this sweet lady and her husband who had stayed over night on the grass and then left the tarp there for others. As they saw the sisters coming they kept telling us to sit there! They were just the sweetest! So, I have taken many pictures of the parade but of course I forgot my camera so I will have to send the pictures of the parade next week! Pioneer day here is not a joke! It is very serious and almost everything was closed! It was very interesting.

What else I think that is about it we are just working super hard. I felt bad because we have been taking so many tours and after a Mandarin bus tour, that didn't go so well, my sweet little Chinese companion broke down in tears and I just held her. This mission is not a joke! So many people say that it is just a beauty pageant. We teach more people and are on our feet more then any other mission. I just feel bad that I worked her so hard. I mean I think I have always been a hard worker but I am working even harder here. I mean it is salvation that is on the line. But, after all the tears she got up and we took another tour- all by her saying lets do it. If there is one thing that I want to teach her it is that we are on the Lord's time and we must work as hard as we can to bring as many souls unto Christ as we possibly can."