Fwd: Vietnamese POW, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Squirrel Droppings

Date: Tue, Sep 2, 2014 at 2:12 PM

Subject: Fwd: Vietnamese POW, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Squirrel Droppings

Y'all,

I have some fun stories for yall this week! Stay tuned for a vietnamese miracle, the magic of member missionary work, squirrel "droppings", and awkward "and so we meet again"s. 

Listen to this miracle we had last night! It was with a kind Vietnamese man, Trung, that I met about a month ago. Our evening appointment fell through, and we both felt right to go bring him the Vietnamese Book of Mormon we'd promised. The timing was perfect-- he came out to greet us before we got to the door. We gave him the book, and as he skimmed through the introduction, his face lit up and he said, "Hold this, one minute!" He dashed inside, then came out holding a lengthy LDS vietnamese tract about Joseph Smith he'd been given four years ago. He had underlined several portions of it, written in notes, and kept it neatly all this time. Apparently he had searched online after we met him the first time, because he then started to describe the Salt Lake Temple. "Byooteefoh, byooteefoh!" He said. When Sister Hawkins showed him a picture of it, he said, "Yes! Yes!" Then with a determined tone to his voice, he said, pointing at the picture, "I will go there before I die. I will go there."

He then told us that in the 1970's, he'd been a lieutenant in South Vietnam when communist North Vietnam invaded. He'd been in a concentration camp for six years in horrible conditions. He hadn't believed in God, but he saw God protecting him during those six years; so when he finally got out, he read the Bible, loved it, and became a Christian. We know his story doesn't end there- we feel so privileged to be yet another part of his miraculous spiritual journey. We will help him towards the temple!

I had one of my mission bucket list dreams come true this week. It was pretty epic.

We were tracting, and met a nice Jehovah's Witness lady who wasn't interested in our message, wouldn't take a card, but shared some of her beliefs with us. We left and went on our way.

NEXT MORNING,

there is a ring at the door. I looked through the peephole and, seeing two black women in skirts, motioned to Sister Hawkins to grab a pamphlet so we can exchange literature. I answered the door, and who was there? The SAME LADY we'd tracted out the day before! She started to introduce herself, then she looked at my nametag, my face, and said, "I...I know you! You knocked on my door!" She quickly handed me a pamphlet and went on her way. I've ALWAYS wanted a JW to tract into me, and it was awesome to have it be someone I'd already met. Good to know we're both acting on our testimonies of Christ!

We taught Edwin a great lesson on prayer and faith. There are two parts to any testimony-- a physical, or logical, knowledge (based on physical evidence and logical conclusions), and a spiritual knowledge (only obtained by prayerfully seeking answers and studying it out in your mind). He says he is physically convinced that the Book of Mormon is true (he read five extra chapters than what we asked!), but not yet spiritually convinced. He said he knows he isn't doing his part to know spiritually, so he committed to pray and ask God if it is true. Can't wait to hear his answer!

We had a few rough days tracting this week-- met a rather unkind baptist minister, we were mocked and laughed at a few times, we were ignored, and got a good, solid door slam (my first one in almost a year of being out! I don't count my real first one because that lady came out, apologized, and talked to us for an hour afterwards). But we had a few tender mercies along the way, one of which was when we felt little pebbles dropping on us from above while walking up a driveway. We looked up, and there was a squirrel, noisily chewing on an acorn...the "pebbles" being crumbs he carelessly dropped as he chewed. It made us laugh! 

We had dinner with Jeff & Georgina at a member's home! They became great friends with the members and stayed there another hour or two after we left. And, a fantastic member couple referred their neighbors to us, a young couple with a toddler son, and we taught them the first lesson this week. Their names are Kasey and Weston. I felt the Spirit strongly when we testified of eternal families and Joseph Smith, I hope they felt it too. They committed to start reading the Book of Mormon together. We set up a night to have dinner and a lesson at the members' home in two weeks. I feel so blessed and privileged to be working with several families!!

 Members are so important and wonderful! Our work with Jeff & Georgina could not have gone this far without members of similar background sharing their conversion experiences and friendship with them. Likewise, we might never have been able to teach Kasey and Weston had the Purdy's not sent us over. (Neat sidenote, we had knocked doors on their street a few weeks before, but decided to skip Kasey and Weston's house. Had we not skipped their house, they might not have been interested without knowing their neighbors sent us and we may have not been able to teach them! God set up the timing perfectly.) 

I challenge all of you members to renew your commitment as member missionaries, starting today. Be an example! Tell someone about Mormon.org, share a Mormon Message video with a friend! Invite someone to a family home evening, fireside, or temple openhouse! The possibilities are endless. My testimony has grown in knowing that when you invite, the Spirit will touch hearts and prepare them for the gospel. 

Enjoy your week!

Sister Taylor

P.S. We take preaching the gospel to ALL the world pretty seriously.