I feel blessed to have had 2 Christmases on my mission :)

Hey everyone!! 

It was another week of miracles!!

The first one was 곽지원's baptism on Monday! It was a beautiful service and her whole family came--including her father! It was his first time coming to church. He usually strongly opposes anything having to do with church, but he came!! 

After the baptism I asked the little sister when she wanted to be baptized and she said, "as soon as possible." We hope the family can get baptized together!

Christmas day was great! We spent the evening at our recent convert, 조은정's jo-un-jeoung's house. We sang carols and before we left we asked the daughter, kim yun ju to pray. She prayed and her mom cried because she was so happy--it was a special experience. 

We had a Christmas party on Christmas Eve and lots of our investigators came! It was super fun. After it ended and it was time to get home, my companion and I called tons of people and sang Christmas hymns--so fun and people were so happy! I love being a missionary. I feel blessed to get to have had 2 Christmases on my mission :)

             Since we have a lot of investigators and new members, we have had to try to be really smart and productive with our planning and prioritizing. On Saturday our whole day was filled with appointments, but on Friday night, jo-un-jeong called and wanted to meet. We told her we didn't have time, but would meet her as soon as we could. The next morning during studies my companion and I both planned to study for the people we would meet that day, so we started our studies and my mind kept shifting to jo-un-jeong. So I studied and found tons of things I wanted to share with her. We ended personal study and I told Sister Park that I think we needed to meet   jo un jeong. Sister Park said she had the same feeling and kept thinking of her too. So we called our appointments to confirm again and one of them cancelled right at the time jo un jeong could meet! We met and the message we prepared was just what she needed. She was in tears as she listened. It was such a cool experience. It testified to us again that this truly is the Lord's work and that we are just His instruments! Super cool!

        I love being a missionary. I know that this is true. I'm learning so much everyday. There are so many things I have to improve and I feel weak all the time, but God uses weak me to do His great work. I love my Heavenly Father and Savior and am so grateful for all of the blessings they give me everyday!

Love you all!


Sister Naatjes :)

So many happy moments!

Merry Christmas!! I can't believe it's already Christmas! Time flies! 

It has been an incredibly busy week with transfers, a mission Christmas party, leadership training meetings, zone conference preparation, and lots of appointments! Because we lost a pair of sister missionaries, we now have double the investigators, new members, and less-actives to focus on and care for. It's been pretty stressful! haha. But we're seeing tons of miracles and there are so many happy moments! 

Today 곽지원 kwak jee won is getting baptized! Woo!! So exciting! She is so pure and accepts this gospel with so much enthusiasm. She is 16-years-old and started coming to church with her mom about 2 months ago. They both listened to the lessons together and are so cute and amazing! The mom doesn't quite feel ready to be baptized yet, but kwak jee won wanted to get baptized as soon as possible, so we set a date. She is 16 and has an 11-year-old younger sister who came to church yesterday! They all hope that their dad will start coming to church with them soon! He will be coming to the baptism tonight, so we're really excited! It will be a very special experience for her and her family! We are praying that her family will see her example and follow :) Her dream is to get married in the temple and for her parents to be able to come. 

When I teach them and see them I think of Bailey and Mikki! They are the same ages :) It's fun to see them find happiness through this gospel. 

Our new members all came to church on Sunday along with 5 investigators! It was the craziest Sunday ever in the best way! We're excited for all of them! 

This week I have felt pretty inadequate with all of the responsibilities and things I have to do, but each time I feel like that I need to look to the Savior and His Atonement. My companion and I are really coming to realize more and more that this is the Lord's work and that we truly cannot do this alone. We need Him every moment. Without the spirit and without the power of the Atonement, we are nothing. 

I am so grateful for my Savior. He is my best friend and I love Him. He is the all-knowing, all-powerful son of God, but chose to come to this earth as a babe and chose to suffer the pains and afflictions of all mankind so that He could succor us in our times of need and so that we could return to our loving Heavenly Father again. I am grateful for Him.

I know that this gospel is true. I know that God is aware of each and every one of His children and loves them all perfectly. I am grateful to be able to share this joyful message with these wonderful people. 

I love you all! Have a Merry Christmas!! 

Sister Naatjes

I love speaking Korean! :)

I have little time, so this will have to be short! Sorry!

We got our transfer calls today and I'm staying in 농성 ward. My companion, Sister Lee ended her mission today-- crazy! we served together for almost 5 months, so I cried when she left, but my new companion Sister Park is super great! and a very hard worker! I know we will keep seeing miracles together. She's from Busan area and super cute and fun! I'm happy to be with a Korean again--I love speaking Korean! :)

Our ward had 4 sister missionaries because 2 wards were combined in May and the area is huge, but because Sister Park's companion and my companion both ended their missions today and because of a lack of sister missionaries, we got combined, so our already busy schedule got tons busier!! It's going to be crazy! I also got called to be sister training leader, so I'm feeling a little stressed haha, but everything will work out great! We spent our pday today moving my comp and everything out of her house! :)

This week was super busy! Everyone wanted to say goodbye to my companion, so we met a lot of people.

Miracles!! This week our investigators, 곽지원 and 윤성이 came to church again. They are a mother and daughter who are a member referral. The daughter is getting baptized next Monday and the mom said she's still not sure, but thinks she will get baptized later. The dad hasn't come to church yet, but will probably be able to come to his daughter's baptism! We're super excited about this family!! So great! They have so much pure faith! We're meeting them again tonight :)

jo un jeong and kim yun ju came to church again and kim sang hyun came too! (the son!! It was such a miracle! It's so happy to see families coming to church and being strengthened through the gospel. Jo un jeong was crying because she was so happy. I sure love them! 

Because my companion finished her mission, I was able to reflect again on my mission and all of the wonderful things I have learned and experienced and all of the people I love so much! I'm just so blessed! I love being a missionary. A lot of times it's really hard, but there are truly moments that feel like Heaven every week that make it 100 times worth it! I love this work. I love my Heavenly Father. I love my companion. I love Korea and the wonderful people who live here. I'm the luckiest girl in the world!

I love you all tons! Have an amazing week!

Sister Naatjes :)

I think that's what heaven feels like!

What an amazing week! There were countless miracles!

First of all, 조은정 and 김연주 got baptized! The baptism was beautiful!! It was on Monday (our Pday), so we spent the day with them and helping them with English homework (조은정 is going to English grad-school), so they could be stress-free at their baptism! 

A huge miracle was that 조은정's son came to the baptism! He doesn't like being in places with a lot of people, but he came and really liked it! At the baptism the spirit was so strong. There were great talks, musical numbers, etc... Right before getting baptized 조은정 and 김연주 bore tearful testimonies and were just glowing! After being baptized they said they felt different and just so good! They wish they could be baptized again haha! We're excited for them and all of the blessings the gospel brings!

We saw them later in the week too and they were just still happy and glowing! They received the Holy Ghost yesterday :)

After the baptism we walked out to a beautiful snowfall. 조은정's favorite weather! We walked home with shin-deong-hyun, kim min sun, and jo un jeong and kim yun ju! Some of the people I love most in the world! I was just so happy! I think that's what heaven feels like! 

This week we got to start meeting with a mother and daughter who have a lot of interest and have been coming to church! They are so great and the daughter wants to be baptized! 

This week Elder Aoyogi came to our mission and spoke and it was so good! He spoke in Japanese and one of our members who served a mission in Japan translated into Korean...and then in the back there was translation from Korean to English for the greenies (new missionaries)! 

We saw a lot of miracles on the street too as we spoke to people. When we have the courage to open our mouths, there are so many miracles!

I just feel so blessed and grateful! This is really God's work and I'm grateful to be a part of it! I'm so grateful for my knowledge of the restoration and the plan of salvation. It changes lives! 

I know that God lives. I love Him and His son, Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful for His Atonement and the role it plays in my life everyday. 

I love you all tons! 

Have an incredible week! 

Sister Naatjes :)

Don't worry, be happy!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

I feel so grateful for so many things! I know that God has blessed me so much and I'm so grateful to be here in Korea doing His work! 

On one evening when our appointments didn't work out we ran into a grandma on the street and greeted her. She immediately got excited and gave me a big hug! She said that some missionaries had knocked on her door in the past and she really liked them. She was the happiest person I think I have ever met. She was in her late 80s and talked to us for a long time about the importance of being happy no matter what happens and about being grateful. She had the biggest smile and said that there's never anything to be sad about because God is real and is always holding her hand! It was a great lesson to me and I felt blessed to meet her! I need to live more like her!

This week was full of miracles!

Our investigators 조은정 (jo-un-jeong) and 김연주 (kim-yun-ju) are getting baptized tonight! 

조은정.has been an investigator for over 2 years and has gone through tons of missionaries! She started meeting for English interest and gained a testimony of our church as she kept meeting with missionaries. She has had plans to be baptized for a loooong time, but has a really hard time making decisions. When I first came to this area we thought about stopping meeting with her because she wasn't making any progress and kept meeting us for only English and didn't want to listen to our message, but then her daughter came home from Busan and we started teaching her. 김연주 started meeting with us and told us she felt that it was really her time to find God and start a relationship with Him. After meeting for just a short time, she had a desire to be baptized and keep the commandments. Before we even taught her about the Word of Wisdom, she heard about it from members and her mom and stopped drinking with her friends and also stopped drinking coffee. I was amazed at her simple, pure faith. We set a date for 조은정 and her daughter to get baptized together, but we weren't sure if 조은정 (the mom) would be able to get baptized because she didn't want to give up coffee or keep some of the commandments, but miracles happened! 

We met with her on Friday and taught her and she was so sincere. Her heart had changed. She said she felt that it's finally time. She still had a few concerns until we taught her about the temple and then she said she felt at peace--so cool! She felt that this is true and finally showed a real, sincere desire to be baptized. She said the closing prayer and it was one of the most powerful moments I think I have ever had. She tearfully poured out her heart to God and asked for His help.She prayed about her family and thanked God for all that she has been given. 

We're so excited for tonight! It will be an amazing, spiritual experience! God sure loves them so much! I'm so blessed to have gotten to be a little part of their conversion. They're so great!

I just feel overwhelmingly grateful in my heart. I know that God lives. I know that Jesus Christ lives. I am so grateful for Christ's Atonement and the role it plays in my life each and every day. I love being a missionary. I love Korea. I love my companion. I love this work. I'm so grateful for the gospel. I know it's true. I feel it everyday. 

I love you all! Have an amazing week!

Sister Naatjes :)

Children are so pure

This week was full of miracles, as always! This is truly the Lord's work!

On Tuesday night we met with our investigator who has been an investigator for a long time, but can only meet very rarely and didn't seem to have too much interest. She has two cute little daughters who are 5 and 2. A couple weeks ago we gave the family a gospel art book with pics from the bible and book of mormon and the 5 year old daughter who is usually noisy during lessons sat and asked a million questions about Jesus. We were all amazed, especially her mom. Last week we got a call from the 5 year old. She asked us why we need to confess our sins to God--super deep question! Her mom had no idea, so she called us. Then she told us that her daughter had been talking about God tons and asking questions and praying every night! When we visited again we spent almost an hour answering questions about the pictures of Jesus. Children are so pure. They know and recognize God and are so close to Him. We think that her mom will start actually coming to church because of the example of her cute little daughter. Miracle!

This week was Stake Conference and our recent convert spoke! She did an amazing job! She talked about her conversion and how the gospel has blessed her life. She was super nervous about her talk, but she did great and inspired many. She shed tears as she bore her testimony. I feel blessed to have gotten to see it. 

Today we are going to meet her older sister and I'm so excited!

At Stake conference something that the Stake President kept mentioning was something that was also really prevalent in General Conference--nurturing our personal testimonies. Doing the little things--praying, reading our scriptures, and going to the temple end up being the most important things. Strengthening our personal faith and testimonies puts us in a position to be able to overcome trials in our lives and to be able to help others also. 

I know that this is God's work. I know that this church is true. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that God is a god of miracles and that He loves His children so much. I know that through Him we can do all things!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Sister Naatjes :)

Don’t give up when the pressure mounts

So first of all I need to tell you about my experience in Seoul! It takes 3 hours to get there by train, so we left at 5 in the morning, went to a member of our church's office so that my companion could get training for her visa interview, and then went to the interview. When we got to the door my companion showed her I.D...etc...and then I showed mine and they said I couldn't come in! I was time for her interview, so there was nothing we could do! I was told the interview would take about an hour. She went in and there I was, alone in Seoul! I freaked out! As missionaries it's a rule that we should never be without our companion...wahh! So I called my mission president and his wife and they didn't answer! So I called the AP and he had no idea what to do, so there I was! haha...a while later President and Sister Shin called back and laughed and said not to worry. I ended up going back to the member's office and studying until my companion finished her interview. It was quite the experience!!

This week lots of miracles happened! And a lot of funny things too!

This week several times as I tried to talk to people on the street--especially at stop lights, they run away from me~! The light turns green and they bolt away! haha...But there are also people who listen and have some interest!

This week we have met with a lot of people having a really hard time, especially our recent converts. Life is hard! 

A quote that stood out to me this week was one by Elder Holland

“Opposition turns up almost any place something good has happened. It can happen when you are trying to get an education. It can hit you after your first month in your new mission field. …

“With any major decision there are cautions and considerations to make, but once there has been illumination, beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don’t give up when the pressure mounts.”

Especially our investigators, recent converts, and less-actives seem to experience many hard things as they begin to know about or start coming back to church. I know that through these things they will become stronger and be able to have stronger testimonies. I also know that the Lord is with them, especially now.

My heart felt super heavy because of all of the hard things I saw, but I felt again God's love and gentle assurance that everything is in His hands. He loves us so much and is always ready to help us anytime.

A miracle happened this week! A few weeks ago I met an inactive member from the U.S. who was visiting her family in Korea on the street and got her sister's number so we could contact her. She told us she was having a really hard time and I invited her to conference then. But we kept not being able to get ahold of her, so I figured she went back to the US. 

This week we ran into her randomly on the street again! She immediately came up to me with tears in her eyes and told me about how hard things are for her right now. I was able to give her a Book of Mormon and invite her to church. On Sunday morning we called and she came! She cried many times and said that she felt like she got needed strength from church and will come again next week. What a miracle! God loves her so much and is aware of her. 

This week we randomly got tons of new investigators, which is a huge blessing!

Our investigators, 조은정 and 김연주 set a baptismal date for 11.30! We're excited for them! 

 I know that this is God's work. I'm grateful to be His weak servant. I know that He loves His children. I know that this gospel is true. I love the Book of Mormon and the Bible and know they are true and from God. I receive guidance and light through them daily and see my investigators do the same. 

I love you all!

Have a wonderful week!

Sister Naatjes :)