Sister Moore with Brandon's Mission President,
Elder Kunz

Hey!!

This weekly is going to be a miracle one. We have witnessed so many miracles which is unbelievable before my own eyes! After a discouraging and frustrating week last week, I knew we must go on with faith and with hope that God had something great before us. I felt it in my heart that it's gonna be amazing and it was.

Last week I felt prompted to give one of our investigators, Lisa a chapter in the Book of Mormon to read. We gave her Alma 32 about faith and that we will discuss it with her the next time we meet. On Tuesday, we met with her again. She told us she only read to verse three because she had a question and was confused. The power of the spirit was so incredible that I was able to explain the meaning in Chinese. Her question led to another question and to another question..... She trusted us so much that she asked us deep thoughtful questions. All the sudden Lisa asked us when she can get baptize! Sister Johnson and I thought we were both deaf.... We asked her to repeat her question. She said the same question and she will be getting baptized in the end of the month. We are super excited. It was crazy to think that 8 weeks ago she felt forced and stressed with being baptized and now she is super happy and excited. It's amazing to see the changes we saw in her. The gospel can change lives. After the lesson I got a sweet email from one of my investigators from Terryville telling me that she will be getting baptized on January 10. Then we went home and checked the mailbox and received another amazing letter from another investigator in Terryville and she will be getting baptized at the end of the month! Miracles are happening!!! I love them all!

The next day, we had a mega zone conference which mean 3 different zones combined and so that meant we had a specialized training with President Reynolds, his wife, and his two assistants. It was such an amazing meeting. They talked a lot about the atonement and how it can personally change our lives. I truly testify what they taught us is true. It's never too late to change no matter how many times we fail at a certain thing or how many mistakes we have made, the Lord is right by our side and He wants to lift us up. Oh, they asked me and few other missionaries to give our departing missionary testimony. That one was hard.

That night, I went on an exchange with Sister Beecher out to Bensonhurst. This was my 4th exchange with her and can I tell you how much I love her. Every time I am on exchanges with her, I always receive revelations and inspirations from her through the spirit. She is such an amazing person. I always have concerns and questions and Sister Beecher always answers my concerns and questions even without telling her about it. We had miracles that occurred on our exchange. As soon as we left the house to do some work, I felt prompted to wave hi to a lady. She stopped and we both talked. We explained that we were missionaries and she asked if it was the church nearby and we said yes. She was so happy. She went to that church last week when it was over and explained that she is interested and really wants to come to church. We exchanged phone numbers and off we went. I talked to 3 Chinese people and that was fun. Since Sister Beecher was new to Bensonhurst, she had to try and lead us to places. She went the wrong direction and I saw a lady sitting against the wall and she looked like she was struggling. I kept walking ahead but something tells me to go back and after the third time feeling that strong impression that I must go back, I turned around with Sister Beecher and walked back. I knelt down and asked, "Hey, how are you?" She struggled to talk and then the more we talked with her, the more she opened up with us. She was struggling and asked why we were there. She told us that she had met with missionaries before, then she told us that she saw her husband kill himself and then her son kill himself. She became a drug addict, drunker, and was put in jail. She asked us why we are not running away from her. I saw in her eyes that she was feeling she had no hope. Sister Beecher and I shared a message of love and hope. We managed to make her smile. We were sitting with her for a good hour. She kept saying that nothing will help her and we just testified often and she looked at us and said, "How can I keep in touch with you?" We exchanged numbers and gave her a big hug! She is such a sweetheart. I am grateful that God prompted me to go back to her. It was such a great feeling to know we have something that can truly heal someone! We helped her up and it was such a great reward to see someone who thinks her life is over to knowing that she has a great hope in her eyes. She started to open her eyes to see there is something great waiting for her. Guys, we have something that can automatically change someone's life!! Share it!! Love it!! Live it!! If Sister Beecher and I didn't talk to her, imagine where she would be right now? We gave her hope and love that she needed. It was amazing!

We met with two new investigators on Saturday and those two are super amazing!! Those two were actually referrals given to us. Christy and Diane.  Christy had such a hard life and her friend was a member of the church in the New York North Mission area. When her friend knew Christy was struggling, she told her that we would be able to help her. We got the referral from the New York North Mission. We called Christy and set up an appointment and met with her. She is a beautiful young intelligent lady with a hard past. She told us what she was struggling with. She said she didn't know who God was but she knew there is a higher power. Through her struggles she had questions and she told us that she know there is someone who is always there for her but doesn't know who it is. We were excited as we taught the first lesson and Christy started to cry. We taught her how to pray and she had the biggest smile on her face. She wants us to come back on Saturday and teach her more so we are so excited.

Later we met with Diane and we had Lulu come and help us teach Dionna. Her friend also introduced Diane to the church and met with us. She was so happy to meet with us but so sad she will be heading back to Signapore on December 18. We told her that there are missionaries where she is at and promised her that we will help her. She knows the gospel is true and powerful! We taught her how to pray and she cried through the whole prayer. Lulu cried which made me what to cry. Diane gave me a long hug and you could tell that she was grateful! We will be seeing her this week. Super bummed she is heading back to Singapore but she will be more prepared when she goes back to Singapore.  

My sweet companion loves to ask questions about a lot of things. On Saturday she asked me questions about "separation." So yesterday after stake conference, the elders and us were on our way to the subway. Elder Wu passed through the gate , then Elder Jheng, then Sister Johnson, then me, then Elder Switzer. Everyone started to run to the subway since it just arrived. I turned around and saw Elder Switzer still stuck in the gate and finally he passed through and Elder Wu, Elder Jheng, and Sister Johnson got on the subway and the door shut and left me and Elder Switzer behind. Soooooo..... Elder Switzer got frustrated and I am standing there laughing off my head off and then Elder Switzer decided to laugh with me and we ended up talking about our amazing investigators. Subway came and we got on and met up with the other missionaries, they were all frustrated and I'm still laughing! One for the books though! 

On Saturday, we had stake conference and we went to a room where it was reserved for missionaries. So we sat there watching the big screen and then President Reynolds came in and wanted 20 missionaries to come and sit on the stand with Elder Rasband. 20 missionaries left and the other 20 missionaries were still in the room. Elder Rasband asked President if that was all the missionaries and President Reynolds said, "No, we still have 20 more." Elder Rasband said, "Have all of the missionaries bring their chairs and sit up on the stand with me." And that is what we did. When we got on the stand, I saw Elder Kunz who accompanied Elder Rasband on the trip. I was like what?! Brandon's mission president was there! That was so cool! The Saturday night conference was so amazing. Elder Rasband talked alot about missionary work. He talked about Pakistan and how they have churches and missionaries there! It was incredible. He was so pumped about sharing the gospel. After conference Elder Rasband wanted to shake everyone's hands and Elder Kunz was standing next to him. Is it really bad that I wanted to see Elder Kunz more than Elder Rasband because he was Brandon's mission president? They had to go so I wasn't able to shake their hands. 

Yesterday, We went to downtown Brooklyn to attend the stake conference at the Marriott Hotel. We honestly felt rich and fancy being there. It was eloquent. Since we were there early at the hotel, I saw Elder Kunz standing. I walked up to him and he saw me, and put out his hand and said, "I'm Elder Kunz." We got into a conversation about Brandon and he was so happy to talk about him. He complimented Brandon on many things. He asked me if I was just like Brandon? I laughed maybe. He asked if we could have a picture. We got a picture together on his phone and he told me he will send the picture to Brandon. He is such an amazing guy. Afterward we saw Elder Rasband standing, we went to him and introduced ourselves. We had a short conversation about the work and he is such a happy guy!! The Stake Conference was about missionary work and I love how they were trying to help us get excited about the work! I love missionary work!! Share it with someone you know and love!!! 

Last night, We met a member's mom, Zena. The elders couldn't teach her anymore because her husband stopped investigating the church. The Elders told us that she doesn't open up much and thought Sisters would do better. So they introduced us to her and then went  into another room to teach her son who was just recently baptized two weeks ago. Zena and her daughter, Lexi opened up so much with us and told us how grateful she is that we came and taught her. We are super excited to see where she heads in the future. She knows the gospel is the only way she can receive peace and happiness in her life. 

It's true that attitude is everything! I love how we can all still change and progress! I know I am not perfect and I don't have to be perfect but I know I can do better. I love how Heavenly Father has given us tools to help us progress and to change. It's our responsibility how we responds to the tools he has given us. It's our responsibility how we respond to our trials, our opportunities, how we interact with those around us, work, school, family, and especially the gospel. What's your attitude toward church, scripture reading, and prayer? If you feel forced to, stressed out, too busy, or tired to go or to do, I want to invite you to figure out a way to change your attitude about it because I know that we will feel the love Heavenly Father has for us and I know He will help us to succeed in life. Attitude changing is the first step. The gospel is the only way it can help us get back to Heavenly Father! That's the best gift ever!

Love you!

Sister Moore

Are you Esther and are you as courageous as her? Or are you afraid of the  world and what they think of you? We met with a member, Sister Yau.  She is the branch president's wife. Sister Yau had such an amazing  life story. She and I are pretty tight. I love talking with her, she  is such a testimony builder to me. Sister Yau was converted to the  church at age of 19 (I think) it was not an easy process for her. I  asked her about how her parents felt toward her decision to serve a  mission. She said it was hard. I love her, I love seeing her testimony  through her tears of how much she loves her Father in Heaven! She said  she was going to BYU-Hawaii at the time and she decided she wanted to  go on a mission. (She actually served in St. George so she knows  LaVerkin). She told her parents and her parents didn't want her to  serve. She talked with her bishop and the bishop talked to her parents  and they completely hung up on the phone on the bishop. Sister Yau  knew she must go. She had a group of friends and they decided to fast  together. Sister Yau felt that God had softened her parent's heart and  she called them. Her parents said, "We talked last night, we wanted  you to do what makes you happy!" Sister Yau left for her mission which  forever changed her life. Sister Yau is like today's Esther. Her parents  didn't agree with her decision of going on a mission, but Sister Yau didn't  give up. She learned to rely on her Heavenly Father to help her  through all things because she knew that He is the only one that can  make it possible for her to go on a mission and have a successful and  bright future! There may be times where we have be courageous in our  effort and decision to become more like Christ. Have that mindset of  knowing where you want to head in life that will help you reach  eternal life.
 
 We have had a lot of struggles this week. Our investigators are  lacking desire to keep their commitments, I have been praying and  fasting for them. The answer didn't come the way I thought it would  but it came in a better way. The better way was that one of our less  actives that we have been working with went to church and YSA (6 hours  of church) and told us how happy she was to attend church. I am so
 grateful to help change one person's life than all of our  investigators or less actives' life. It's been hard because we don't  have that many successes in the field but noticing that when we focus  more on the simple miracles of life, things become different. I know I  helped change one person's life and I know I changed my own life through this  amazing mission! We met an investigator who has been coming to English  class. She came twice and gave us a card saying how grateful she is of  us. Her name is Frannie and she came to the thanksgiving party with her  husband and her husband loves us. They were gonna come to church  yesterday but Frannie got sick and stayed in. We are meeting with her  tomorrow so we will see how that goes!

Chelsea and Julie are amazing  but sadly they told us they don't like the church. The teacher wasn't  helping them feel welcomed or involved so that's hard!  Lucy wants to keep meeting with us but it's hard because she doesn't  keep the commitments!  Cathy is doing amazing like always! She is one of my favorite people to  work with! These are the main people we are focusing on and praying  for. Please pray for them.

Well we had a zone activity Thanksgiving morning and played ultimate frisbee. Then we had a Thanksgiving party with the branch from 12-5 with lots of food, games, karaoke, basketball, and etc. from 5-9 we worked like normal missionary. It didn't feel like Thanksgiving but that's okay, I liked working as a missionary.

I am feeling better. I went to bed on Monday at 6:30pm- Tuesday morning at 6:30am so I had 12 hours of sleep. I still wasn't feeling that great on Tuesday, so I had the elders come and give me a blessings and it was amazing! Elder Switzer told me to keep being strong in the field and that Heavenly Father will never let my health fail in the mission and that he is proud of my work and effort. I can't remember the blessing..... I should start writing them down too. I remember the feelings were strong too.

Well my 2nd companion, Sister Wang who went home in July just came back and visited Dyker so we were able to spend time together. 

 
 Sorry it's not the best letter ever! Nothing too exciting happened!  But here is the best news: Zhang Yan got the confirmation of the Holy  Ghost! We will help her prepare for the temple! Wendy Lian as well!
 Zhang Li Yun and her family will have an interview with the Stake  President for their endowment and sealing! So that's exciting!! Oh!!!!  Ronald A. Rasband is coming this weekend!!!! It's awesome!!!
 
 Love you!!
  Sister Moore

                        I decided to test out my photography skills :)  Welcome to Dyker!

Hey Mom,

Sorry this email is so late.  The elder's apartment is being shut down so we helped clean all morning.

Taken by Sister Johnson, edited by me

I wanted to say that sometimes we can all relate to Peter at some point of our lives. Peter was an apostle/a prophet of God. He had witnessed so many miracles Jesus had performed. He had seen how Jesus taught, how Jesus acted, and how Jesus loved. Peter loves the Savior and was willing to do anything for Him. 

One stormy day on the boat, Peter and the other apostles saw a man walking on water. They were afraid, Jesus spoke with a calm voice, "Be not afraid, it is I." Peter saw the Savior and asked if he could walk on water and go to him. Jesus told him to come. Peter confidently got out of the boat and kept his eyes fixed on the Savior. He was filled with faith until the wind became boisterous and he was filled with fear that he started to sink. The storm can be our distractions and our pride in our mortal lives. The storm can also become our temptations or weaknesses.

There is so many different ways to relate to Peter and his experience. I realized that I am a missionary who is not perfect but I know I can do better each day. I was allowing my pride and my weaknesses to get in the way of many things and have found myself full of discouragement and focusing on what I wanted. I wanted to be diligent to the end of my mission, I wanted to progress and do better, I wanted to speak Chinese perfectly. I realized that I was focusing on my own progression and not other people's progression.  Before I knew it, I found myself sinking in the water like Peter had. As soon as I realized I was sinking into despair and negativity, I cried out in prayer, "Lord, Save me!" This week, I have found myself praying more sincerely to the Lord. As I pray, I ask my Heavenly Father to help me become more humble and become the person He wanted me to become. I knew this was a general question/idea. So I asked my Heavenly Father to help me make plans to become more Humble. I reviewed my day with Him and as I was praying with real intent, I saw things that I was doing wrong and Heavenly Father has shown me what I needed to change..... Heavenly Father had talked with me. He had given me a direct revelation, He had shown me that if I continue to forget myself and go to work, the progression of other people will grow fast. I saw many miracles. I saw a great change in other people's lives because I was willing to sacrifice my wants and needs for them. When I saw that I was sacrificing my wants and needs, I was becoming the person Heavenly Father wanted me to become because I was willing to give. I started to act on the answer/revelation I had received from Heavenly Father, I noticed that as soon as I had the desire to help other people, my own progression improved too. I started seeing the blessings Heavenly Father has for all of us. It was incredible! It's amazing when we change our attitude and our behavior to become better, we recognize God's love even more! I just love it! 

Peter was saved by our loving Rescuer, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ knew Peter wasn't perfect but expected Him to do better. Jesus never gave up hope and loved Peter. The Savior would do the same for us because He loves us so much and He was willing to die for each one of us. Jeffery R. Holland said, "However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines."

My companion and I teach 4 Advanced English classes each week. Last month, my companion and I felt prompted to read a story to help them practice their listening and reading skills. Since we are not authorized to use the Internet, we use gospel library from our IPad. We chose the story, "Bear Up Their Burdens with Ease." By Elder David A. Bednar. There was a point where the main character in the story started to pray. We had everyone discuss the story with their partner. There was an 18 year old young man. He had a question for me and asked about prayer. I explained to him. After class, I told the elders to teach him since he was a male. He had started meeting with the missionaries. Almost every class, he had volunteered to pray for us. He has been coming to church every Sunday. Each English Classes we had, I started to see the changes in his life. The quiet boy who sat in class changed to a man who had  bright eyes and a big smile on his face. He will be getting baptized on December 13.

This week, we also asked if anyone wanted to volunteer to pray for us in English Class. I have gotten close to one of the English class students. She is only 14 years old. She had asked me questions about the church before but we have never sat down with her and taught her the lessons. She looked at me with her big eyes when I asked that question if anyone was willing to pray for us. I asked if she knew how to pray and she said no. I asked, "Would you like to learn how to pray?" She nearly screamed, "Yes!" After English class, we sat down with her. I said, "Prayer is a communication between God and you because He loves you!" She put her hand over her heart and said that she was feeling something. We taught her to pray and she was willing to pray with us and after the prayer, she felt a chill that went down her spine. She said she was feeling something that she has never experienced before. She felt she had a lot of strength after her prayer and wants to learn more about the gospel. When we had our 2nd lesson with her, she told us that she has been praying daily. Our other investigator came in the middle of the lesson and asked what we were talking about. We answered, "The gospel!" He got so excited that he dropped his stuff down and sat down with us. He talked so much in the lesson. He was like a member present for us but wasn't baptized yet. It was so amazing! We talked about church and he was so excited that he couldn't contain himself, he said, "I love the Hymns. Oh the sacrament is amazing! The speakers are wonderful!" He started to testify how it changed his life. He told her how much he loves the gospel! He had that huge smile on his face. He told us he wanted to be a missionary because he knew it was true! Because of his testimony and our simple invitations, her and her little sister came to church yesterday. Doing simple things can bring to pass great things! It's incredible how Heavenly Father is touching the hearts of the youth these days! Two teenagers who had the desire to learn and are changing their lives. Heavenly Father has been preparing us with the most amazing people I have ever met! I love them so much!

Yesterday was the Children's Program. Can I tell you how many investigators and less actives we have been working with that came to church yesterday? 6 investigators and 3 less actives! The Lord has been so merciful to us. The kids were a little bit wild yesterday so hopefully the investigators liked it. Lucy finally stayed all three hours of church. Her son hates church. Lucy normally leaves after sacrament because of him. Last week, she got more convinced that she needed to stay at church. Last week, we saw her dragging her son to primary. He was on the floor, it was funny.

We also have another new investigator. We met her last week with her boyfriend in English Class and we just hit it off. Her boyfriend is out of state working so we got to meet with and teach her, and she goes to a different church but she wants to learn more. She is so pure in heart. She was one of the investigators that came church yesterday and was laughing through the whole time because of the children. She is so sweet! Oh she came 30 minutes early! How prepared is she?

We also had a baptism of one of our investigators, Zhang Yan. It was pretty incredible. One of the elders' investigators got baptized with her too. Zhang Yan was so nervous but was so cute. The elders forgot to turn off the water and it filled up to the floor and the water wasn't warm..... But Zhang Yan had the biggest smile on her face. I am so proud of her and how much she has changed. She will do great things. Now it's time to help her husband prepare for his baptism as well. Pray for him that he will be worthy enough to receive baptism! 

Afterward, we had a goodbye party for one of the elders who is leaving to go home this week. So guess what?!? A lot of my Flushing people came!! It was literally one of the best days ever! After the baptism, when we left the the room.... I saw everyone from Flushing in the hallway and I just literally cried. My heart was filled with joy and I have missed them so much! I haven't seen them since April. It was incredible to see the difference they have made in their lives and hear that they are doing good with their lives! I just love them!  Brian is a member that I used to work with in Flushing.  He is the young men president. Whenever I struggle, Brian knows  and comes to me and talks with me. He always tells me this, "You're my sunshine Sister Moore." Or says stuff to make me happy. He is literally one of my favorite people from the mission.

First time I saw Brian after almost a year!

Chen Ling

My peeps!

We didn't have time to do our dishes this week so we had to be creative!

Overall, it has been a good week! I can't believe that I am starting my last transfer today. It's crazy how time flies by so fast.

 

                                               We are with the Spanish sisters.  It was a rainy day!

 I love ya with all my heart!

Sister Moore

Dear Mom,

Yes I have no more dizzy spells anymore. I am still lightheaded and still have a headache and I think that comes from stress. I am glad you're feeling better!!

Wow Thanksgiving sounds amazing and then having a long break and before you know it your little girl, your best friend will be home!!! I am excited for you!!! I can't wait to meet Danny, it will be weird to see my hot mama with a man but I will get use to it pretty quickly!

Yes I heard about France.... So many people told me. I can't believe that happened? Why did it happened? Why would people do those things? I know there is a plan along the way. There was a Chinese couple that came into English class and we hit it off pretty fast. We got pretty close to each other. They told me about France. They cried and asked us to pray for them. I got the strong impression to ask them if they know how to pray. They said no. I told them that we will teach them the next time they come. They are excited and they are pure in heart!

Today is so warm for some reason. I am sweaty like a pig and don't need my jacket. I hopes its stay like this till I go home haha.

 

This week I struggled so much but I know that I can keep going.   "There is opposition in all things." The lessons I have learned this week was that sometimes we get put into a maze. Should I turn left or should I turn right? Should I go forward or should I go backward? Most of the time the answer is, "I don't know." Sometimes we keep going and find ourselves in the dead end or moving ourselves further away from the the destination. My question is, "Have you inquired of the Lord which way you should go?" The choices we make now will affect our future. I must admit that I did pray oft and did fast oft. These two are so powerful together. A few weeks ago we had a district meeting and we talked about how we can build that relationship and trust with church leaders. I decided to fast and pray this week and we called the relief society president and branch president and made appointments with them in their busy schedules. The young women president called us and we had lunch with her. It all happened on the same day I was fasting and it was incredible to see. We talked about their goals, plans, and visions. It will be hard work but I know with faith we can continue to improve the work in this branch. I am excited to see where the next 6 weeks takes us. I also pray and fast for a lot of things and it was awesome to see how the spirit can truly open my eyes to a new perspective. 

We did two maze activities with two people we have taught. First lets talk about Lucy. She was a less active we brought back to church. The elders told us that so many missionaries have tried to get her to come back. We said it is because we love her and remind her of the covenant she had made in her baptism. We did a maze activity which we set up all the chairs and the end destination is Christ. We blind folded her and she had to find her way to Christ. She kept bumping herself into the chairs and getting further away from the destination. I was having a hard time watching her, I jumped in and grabbed her hand and led her to Jesus Christ. We asked her how she felt being alone and she said she felt scared and didn't have anyone leading her. We asked her that when I jumped in how did she feel. She responded, "peace." We talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ and how it helped us receive eternal life. A member called and invited her to church and she came. She is slowly coming back! 

Then we did it with Lila. Before we started the Spanish missionaries were practicing singing for transfer, Lila wanted to hear them sing and she felt the spirit. We had her go through the maze on her own and she was going through different directions. Sister Johnson jumped in and started speaking to her the right direction and I jumped in as well as leading her the wrong direction and she was confused as to what voices to follow. We sat down and blended the lesson with how Heavenly Father has never left us alone. He has given us tools along the way. The lesson was so powerful and the Spanish missionaries music was in the background. We know that Lila felt the spirit so strong! We can see it in her eyes! She came to church and so many members welcomed her in and it was amazing to see. 

Zena, one of our investigators should be getting baptized this Sunday. We will see what happens with her husband, Zack. Her husband should be getting baptized with her. He might have to work so pray that everything will work. I am excited! They are so ready!!

I know the gospel is real! I know that God lives and loves us forever. I am so grateful for everything my Dear Heavenly Father has given me. I know whatever I am going through, with the Savior Jesus Christ by my side, I will endure it well. Let us all help God keep His promise by doing all things He asked us to do so we can return to live with Him again.

I love you,

Sister Moore

Trusting in The Lord's Plan for Me

This is my personal testimony of the Atonement. 





I was on my 5th transfer and I was sitting across the desk from President Calderwood. He asked how I felt if I were to leave the Chinese program. I told him that I will go and do the thing the Lord asked me to do. He smiled so big. Transfer came and I was leaving the Chinese program. Even though I did say that I will go and do the thing the Lord asked me to do, It was still hard because I couldn't understand why I was leaving. I was called to be a Chinese speaking missionary and why am I leaving. The work started to hasten and why now? Many questions appeared to my mind that started to discouraged me and frustrated me personally.





It was hard being out of the Chinese program. President Calderwood said, "Sister Moore you're only out of the Chinese program for 2 transfers." I worked with Sister Passey by my side in the ASL program. It was so fun serving with her. 2 transfers went by and I was asked to stay another transfer to be in a trio companionship. I got the call that I was training a Chinese speaking sister missionary in 5 weeks. After being in a trio for a week, the new mission president, President Reynolds called me and told me that I was moving to a different area that night. He simply explained that there was a sister missionary going home early on a medical release and that I was assigned to another sister in a different area that was English speaking. I packed up my stuff and left for Terryville. My companion was Sister Larsen. Yay!! Another area to serve! But it had never crossed my mind that this companion and this area would forever change my life.  Background information: My entire mission I have focused so much on my personal weaknesses and the things that I couldn't do. I was allowing them to be a great burden to me. 





Later I have come to find that I would not be training anymore and was staying another transfer with Sister Larsen. President Calderwood said two transfers and I have been out of the Chinese program for 4 transfers. I have come to accept the fact that this is what the Lord wanted me to do. Sister Larsen and I both have our personal struggles and spoke them out with each other because we relied on each other and we wanted to help each other so much. I have always heard the word Atonement and have never applied it into my life. I never truly understood the meaning. Everyone spoke of it and testified of it and I had a huge desire to understand it but never could. Sister Larsen and I realized that the Atonement is essential to real healing. We just didn't know how to apply it. The first step we both felt we needed to do was to  pray to our Father in Heaven and that was the start of recognizing the Atonement's enabling power. Because we talk about the atonement and submitting our will to our Heavenly Father through prayer we were able to understand the true meaning of it. David A. Bednar said, "As we come to better understand this sacred power, our gospel perspective will be greatly enlarged and enriched. Such a perspective will change us in remarkable ways." We started to work hard in the field. We had a huge desire to serve those around us. We started to open our eyes and started seeing that the members are struggling and that we are able to help them strengthen their faith and love them through their time of trials and difficulties. When members had committed a sin that was a burden to them or going through hard times, the first thing Sister Larsen and I did was hug them and love them, sometimes we even cried with them.  Whenever Sister Larsen and I struggled, we never pushed each other away. We never "preached" to each other. All we did is just hug each other and tell each other that we love each other. Toward the end of our companionship, Sister Larsen and I noticed the real meaning of the atonement . She and I have healed each other through recognizing the real divine power of  the Atonement. Sister Larsen and Terryville was the reason why I changed the most.



Now looking back to my whole mission especially the 5th transfer and meeting with President Calderwood. When President Calderwood told me that I was leaving the program, he didn't just think about the area and the people that I was to serve. He thought about me and what I was to become. President Calderwood smiled because he knew the Lord's plan for me. He knew that I would be able to find my testimony, my experience with the Atonement, and the changes I would make in my life. How could an originally Chinese speaking missionary get transferred to an area that has no Chinese people in the ASL program and then get pulled out of that area to an English program mid-transfer to be with Sister Larsen? Heavenly Father knew this plan was perfect for ME! He knew who I was to become! It is incredible how through all these changes and things didn't make sense..... I was able to find who I am. I was able to recognize how powerful the Atonement was. I felt like I was finally free from my weaknesses and burdens that I have carried with me. I recognize that it was okay to have weaknesses as long as I rely on my Father in Heaven. 





This lesson taught me this: How can I gain faith without experience? How can I have love without experience? How can I develop hope without experience? How can I have christlike attributes without experience? When going through hardships and trails, I would like to invite you to kneel and pray. Talk to Heavenly Father of your feelings. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are ultimately the only one that can truly understand us and help us.  Seek the Savior and submit your will to Him. Because the Love Heavenly Father has for us, He had sent His beloved Son, Jesus Christ to die for us. Toward the end of his death, Jesus Christ had to walk this lonely path so He can understand how we feel through our afflictions and through our pains. He didn't have a comforter to help Him. He did this, so we do not have to do this alone. The Savior loves us, died for us, and now it's the time to seek for Him and allow Him to strengthen us and uplift those around us. The Savior is my Redeemer! Thinking this brought me to a true reality of Heavenly Father's perfect plan for each one of us. The Gospel and The Savior's Atonement is the only way we can progress and live with our loving Heavenly Father again.





This is my testimony.

This week was a stressful week but I am glad I went through it to learn and to grow.  We have found so many new investigators, I just love how happy they were to listen to our message and were willing to meet with us and when we called them they dropped us before having a lessons with them. My heart breaks when they don't give us a chance to teach them. I just want to find people to teach and it's hard when we face rejection after rejection.

On top of that, we committed our first investigator, Lisa to baptism and she said YES! In the lesson, Sister Johnson and I shared our experience with the gospel and how much it blessed our lives. We taught her lessons and she has changed. She loves the church. I felt strongly to extend a baptismal invitation. I asked Lisa these  questions. "Lisa, do you know that this gospel can bless you and change you?" Yes. "Do you know what we are teaching you is true?" 100% Yes! "Lisa will you be baptized by someone holding that priesthood authority?" Yes! It was an incredible lesson. She came to church and more members became friends with Lisa and supported her. It was awesome to see.

We also have an investigator name Zena! She is so amazing! She knows everything and just recently had a daughter last month. She was taught by the other sister missionaries when they were here and then she had a baby and then now is back to church. She has a super solid testimony and I just love her! We have been working with her and she is now assigned to be baptized on November 22. I feel like I can understand her the most out of everyone. It was awesome!

We have been working with Frances and we mainly focused on her concern. She is struggling so much! We taught her the importance of us extending commitments to her will help her because she hasn't been keeping them. We taught her the lesson at the tennis court. There were cars driving by, teenager screaming, ball bouncing, wind blowing, and leaves moving around. We told her to pray and tell Heavenly Father everything the way she told us. We prayed and everything went dead silent. The noise around us quieted and the spirit of peace came in and Frances cried. She said she felt relief. She could feel the love Heavenly Father has for her. It was amazing and I hope she remembers this experience. 

Lucy finally came to church, here is what happened. We have been teaching her but she refused to come to church. We had a lesson with her on Saturday about going to church and why it's important. She still didn't want to come. We convinced her by saying we will walk with her to church. She say okay. Next day, we waited outside her house. We see Lucy walking toward the house with food. She was so surprised to see us. We asked if she was ready. And she said we can go to church and she'll come later. We told her that we promised her that we will walk together. She invited us in, ate her lunch, and off we went to church. Yup we are two persistent missionaries....Members welcomed her back so I am happy about that. Hopefully she will start to feel comfortable.

Chinese has improved so much! I am starting to understand again and communicate with them. So that's the work here :)

It's funny that you are having a vertigo.... Maybe I am having the same thing too. I start having dizzy and lightheaded problems since Thursday. It's has been getting worse. Last night I woke up 5 times due to feeling like I was getting thrown off the bed because of how bad the dizziness got. I struggled going back to bed because the room was spinning around and around and it's been getting worse. I don't know if it's related to stress. I have let the mission nurse know and she said she will call you. She feels it's related to my implants.  I told the nurse and doctor that it is not the cochlears but they still want to try and contact them and see if it causes problem. Yes I am eating good. Lots of fruit and vegetables! Proteins and carbohydrates. I got the food you sent me and love it! I eat healthy, I exercise (I haven't done it lately because of my dizziness, I keep hitting myself to the wall haha) and lots of water and enough sleep.  It's just weird. Maybe it's the season. My nose hasn't be running or anything. Remember how I had problem like that few years ago and it lasted for a few months?  I feel worse when I am lying down or sitting down. When I stand my brain gets tense and my eyes gets tense. It doesn't hurt but it's like the feeling when you hit your head hard and then you are there but you're not there at the same time.  

Thank you for telling me about the fireside! That's sound so inspirational and amazing! It touched my heart! I will keep Kendal Levine in my prayers! I am happy to hear that she is improving. I do remember that story. That's incredible!!!

I love you!

Sister Moore

The elders went out and came back soaking wet!  It wasn't raining when we went to get Subway and on the way back...pouring rain!  All I wanted was a sandwich!

Dear Mama,

First let me tell you about goals. Each week we set up weekly goals for the following week. I was trying to teach Sister Johnson how to set weekly goals. Her vision of setting goals is getting bigger numbers than the week before. She keeps setting high numbers but I am trying to teach her to be realistic as well. She wanted to have 18 lessons. I was taken aback because the mission has an average of 15 lessons per week per companionship. We never went beyond 15 yet. We also have four English classes per week to teach plus meetings, plus having a Halloween party on Saturday afternoon and have to be in at 6pm on Halloween. We were discussing the goals. Sister Johnson and I knelt in prayer and asked if this is what our Heavenly Father wants? The answer was yes. This week went by and we did accomplish our goals. Well we went beyond our goals and taught 19 lessons.

On Tuesday Sister Johnson and I were trying to figure out how we could help one of our investigators. We came up with a few member's names to call to help us. We felt inspired to call Linda.  I remember President Reynolds in my last interview telling me that I need to use my common sense more. Whatever Heavenly Father tells me to do, I must do it. Linda didn't answer the phone. One hour later, I got this strong impression that we needed to call Linda again. She picked up the phone. Again I got another impression that Linda shouldn't be a member present for our investigator, I felt that she was needed for a different lesson with another investigator. Linda said she would be happy to help us out. She showed up and we FaceTimed with our investigator. I cannot tell you how powerful the lesson went. It was incredible! LM was an amazing investigator but was not recognizing God's love for her. She was not recognizing God's answer. She felt a lot of stress about baptism and she doesn't know why she needs to get baptized. She never asked us questions. This time was different. Linda asked inspired questions, shared her experience and shared her testimony. For the first time, LM asked a question, "Why do I need to get baptized?" Linda explained and shared her testimony. We could tell that LM was feeling something. Linda said, "We want to invite you to kneel in prayer and ask God if you should get baptized." LM asked why we kneel. Linda once again explained. We testified often and then we asked if we could say the closing prayer. LM automatically wanted to say it and said it for the first time in front of us. We know she felt something in the lesson. We could tell that she is recognizing something so powerful that she had never recognized before. Members change everything! I am grateful Heavenly Father helped me recognize that spiritual prompting. We texted LM yesterday and she was so excited to talk to us. We are meeting with her tomorrow. 

We haven't met with Lisa this week because she just recently delivered her baby. We texted her over the phone that we prayed for her and we congratulated her as well. Lisa loves talking with us and the texts are getting longer and longer and she expressed her love and gratitude for us. To Sister Johnson and me, that never happened. Remember the first time we met with her and she hated us. Now she loves us and wants us to go to her house and visit her to teach her about the gospel. We are so excited! 

We have another new investigator, Helen. She had the elders' number and gave the elders a call saying she wants to learn more about the Bible. So the elders gave her number to us, we called her yesterday and asked if we could meet with her before church. She said yes. We waited for her at the church and she never showed up. But then in the middle of sacrament we saw a lady come in who was sitting by herself. We went over and sat by her. We came to find out that it was Helen. She asked us a few questions and we felt prompted to go into a quieter room. We talked with her and she talked about trying to find the right church to go to.  The lesson got led to the Restoration. She asked a question and I responded in Chinese and she was so surprised that I could speak Chinese. We taught her how to pray and invited her to pray and she said the prayer out loud.  She cried. She said it felt good to speak her burdens out. She opened up so much to us. She is a very intelligent woman. She is a professor for traveling at the college. She has great potential and I am excited to see where this path will take her.

Amy is super amazing. One struggle is that she works in PA and she comes to NY every three weeks. She only speaks Chinese and we FaceTime with her during the week. She knows the gospel is true and she wants to get baptized but the church situation is a bit difficult. We are going to work on finding a Chinese branch she can go to in PA. She is so pure in heart.

Lena is a bit of a struggle. She loves hearing our message of the gospel but won't keep any of the commitments. We decided to invite a member to the lesson and this member kept looking at us and talk and talk and talk and talk. She literally talked for 15 minutes straight and we cut in and then she interrupted and talked for another 15 minutes. Lena wasn't feeling comfortable that as soon as we finished the closing prayer she got up and left immediately. She didn't come to church yesterday which was sad. We couldn't get a hold of her and finally yesterday she said she can meet with us and we have a lesson with her on Wednesday. We are excited!

We met with a strong member, Carolyn on Saturday. When we met with her for the first time, she was struggling big time and we told her of how the atonement can help her and we told her to rely on the Savior's strength. We had a Halloween party on Saturday and she was there and pulled us aside and talked with us and she told us how much she has changed since the last time week we met. She said she relies on the Savior so much. She said that she had never told anyone of her struggles and that the Lord had prepared her for us so we can help her. Yesterday she shared her testimony in church of how we helped her so much. She is such a sweet person. I am grateful we have helped her progress. In the lesson with her,  she said, "I want you to know that you are making a difference here." That just hit me. I am grateful to be here at this time.

We have two people going to the temple tomorrow. Because of the mission rules changing only one set of a missionary companionship from branch/ward can go to the temple. So we are letting the elders go instead of us because they deserved it and we felt right that they should go. Wendy Lian is doing baptisms for the dead for the first time and Chen JM is getting her endowment too. We are so excited for them. They are really sad that we couldn't attend with them but we will be there in spirit!! This a great opportunity for them! We will be working with one family and another person to prepare them for the temple in the near future. It's a miracle that many of the members are attending the temple tomorrow. Many of the husbands weren't at church yesterday because they were working so they could get tomorrow off to go to the temple. We are so excited for this amazing miracle. The temple is such a powerful blessing.

So on Tuesday we had our President Interview. Mine was pretty quick because I have my departing interview in 8 weeks but the longer I think about the interview the more I started to see what president had meant. He listed a lot of inspirations for me to do. Mainly he wanted me to master on goal setting because it will affect my future. He also told me to learn how to have short powerful lessons and I have been keeping myself accountable for that and the lessons have been powerful and amazing. President also wants me to learn how to find more people to teach the gospel to by using my iPad or the pamphlet. I'm doing better at talking to strangers on the street now. I feel comfortable telling them about the gospel. We have talked to many people but found one investigator, Joleen except she lives in Manhattan so we will have to contact the NYNY North mission to contact her. It will be good for her. President Reynolds is such an amazing man! I love serving with him. I love his sweet wife too. I talked with her for an hour and she is so incredible!! 

Can you send me the lyrics to Homeward Bound?  It was Sister Larsen's favorite song. We listened to it all the time. It became my favorite song too. It became our companionship song but I never knew the words. Sister Larsen said, " Sister Moore when you hear this song, you will think of our companionship." Haha

Hey!!!! Happy Belated Halloween!!! The pictures looks fantastic! Where did you get the heads! That's creepy!!! I just freaking love you!  We had 2 lessons and then a Halloween party with the branch. We went home at 6 and just cleaned our house and wrote in our journals. Thanks for the package! We just loved it!!

     For Halloween we switched each other's clothes and tag. I was Sister Johnson and she was Sister Moore.  

            We had the Elder's dress up with things from the care package you sent me.

Even with the time change we still have to work from 12-9 everyday. President Reynolds has advised me to use my common sense and protect my companion when working. So we do have to work during the night.

That's exciting for Nathan to leave for his mission. It's a start of a life changing experience for him. He will be such an incredible person!!

Thank you for your strong testimony! I love you mom! I am so proud of you! You are such a light and example in my life.  

I honestly love training but it's hard. I want to be diligent and work hard and know I did enough.  I also have to learn patience and take a step back and let Sister Johnson learn and grow. Helping her progress will be an amazing thing for me. She is actually progressing a lot! I'm so proud of her!

This letter is getting too long. I am going to be bold here. This week I have noticed  how many less actives we have been working with. We noticed how many of them don't have friends in the branch or no support from the branch. We talked with members on helping but they are so busy with work, school, family, and etc. they are so caught up in their problems too. I just want to open their eyes and see that church is FAMILY. It should be a place of comfort, or love, of peace. It's a place of imperfect people. I noticed when we serve others, we are serving God. God knows what we are going through but if we truly forget ourselves and serve the Lord, then the Lord will help us and bless us even more! Our busyness in life will calm down, our problem will go away, and the Lord will take care of us with family and school and work. This lifetime is about hastening the work of the Lord. The time is now! Reach out your hand and help others! Do simple things by sitting someone who is by herself/himself in church. Or bring food to a family who is struggling, just love them and smile at them. What we do here on earth affects our eternity! I promise all of you and me that if we continue to serve others, we will receive the fullness of joy and peace.

I love you mom!

I am grateful to be here!

Sister Moore