Fwd: UGA, He is the Gift, and Wearing Green

Date: Mon, Nov 24, 2014 at 1:15 PM
Subject: UGA, He is the Gift, and Wearing Green

All y'all,

     I went on exchanges with the sisters serving on UGA (University of Georgia) campus this week, so I joined another sister at UGA. Contacting on campus is a whole different animal than street contacting or tracting! You walk around campus and stop students and share the gospel with them. It's very bold, but totally worth it when we have a Spirit-led conversation with genuinely interested people. Stopping people was a little intimidating, but once we started talking it was easy for me. Lots of students ignore you or give you strange looks. I don't mind, but it was certainly strange to have that kind of reaction among people my age! It's part of being a missionary. Someday somebody will be happy to see me approach them! ;) 

     We had a fantastic miracle with an investigator, Lyssa, this week! Lyssa is the granddaughter of a recent convert, Sister Miller, and has a hard life behind her. Her mother and sister died in a fire when she was young, and it still pains her. Up until recently, she would say hello then quickly excuse herself during lessons. But on Tuesday, she and her boyfriend Manasseh, another recent convert, joined us for a scripture study at Sister Miller's home. The Spirit was powerfully present as we talked about baby steps, and about how Christ invites all of us to come unto Him, no matter how far away we are. We asked her what she thought the next baby step was for her in coming to Christ. Without hesitation, she said , "Coming to church." She's been inside a church once in the last fifteen years, and that was five years ago. Coming would be a huge step. Toward the end of the lesson, we extended the invitation. 

     "Lyssa, will you come to church with us this Sunday?"

      She paused, took a deep breath, bit her lip, and said, "Sure. Yes. I can try that." 

      It was one of the most powerful moments in a lesson I've ever felt before! At the end of the lesson, we each went around and said a prayer. When it came to be her turn, she said nervously, "Look, I'm really not good at this." We assured her that even a ten second prayer would be valued by Heavenly Father because it came from her. Then she prayed, and it was beautiful, sweet, and sincere. Afterwards, she smiled and said, "That was my first prayer." We didn't know that! The Spirit was so strong, and teaching was so easy because the Spirit led us along the whole way. That was a moment I wouldn't trade for anything. 

     Then Sunday came, and we got a call from Lyssa's grandmother. Lyssa's aunt, a less-active member, having heard that Lyssa had promised to come to church, came too to surprise Lyssa!  Lyssa loves the color green, so we promised we'd wear green to church for her.  So Lyssa, Manasseh, and her aunt Barbara were all at church together yesterday, most of us wearing green. What a sweet sight that was! 

On Saturday I gave haircuts to Sister Strickland and her two kids. They're living on basically nothing in a one room extended stay, so this was much needed and a great help to them. I'm so glad I have the ability to serve in that way!

Starting November 28th, the Church is releasing a month long initiative called "He Is The Gift". It's about remembering Christ, the true meaning of Christmas, and discovering, embracing, and sharing The Gift with everyone we can this Christmas season! The Church made a beautiful two minute video (view at christmas.mormon.org), is purchasing ad space in Times Square, New York City, for all the month of December-- as well as the header space on YouTube all day December 7th. Challenge for you, share christmas.mormon.org with friends and family members. Share the gift, because He is the Gift. :)

Happy Fall Y'all! And Happy Thanksgiving! 

Love,

Sister Taylor

PS

How I did Sister Bedke's hair yesterday

Rainy day

Somebody put a pair of tights on our windshield wipers....?? Mystery prank!

Fwd: Leaves are Red, the Boys in Blue, and Stories for You

Date: Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 11:57 AM

Subject: Leaves are Red, the Boys in Blue, and Stories for You
To: Lindy Taylor <lindyjtaylor@gmail.com>

Yall!

Georgia is BEAUTIFUL. We drove through a tiny town, Maxeys, and I could not put my camera down. I'll share a few of my favorite pictures.

This week, we've been cleansing our teaching pool. We've been working with a lot of people, for a long time, who were doing really well. Then they all stopped doing really well at the same time. It seems the Lord has cleared our plate and has others for us to find! So this week, as much as we are able, we are dedicating time to tracting and prayerful finding so we can find those prepared by the Lord. We did have some wonderful people come to church and great people are everywhere in this rich, gospel-ready area. :)

I had a neat experience with the gifts of the Spirit this week. There is a promise in a scripture found in D&C 84:85 (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/84.85?lang=eng#84), (a compiling of scriptural revelations given to modern day prophets), that basically says that if you prepare with the Spirit, God will give you the words you need to teach. We were visiting a man, Brother Boerstler, who joined the church twenty-something years ago but has been inactive for a few years, except for a brief spurt in which his wife joined the church. She also slipped into inactivity. We were sitting on his screened in porch, just saying small talk, when he asked, "Well, what you got to teach me?" 

Immediately, I opened my scriptures and shared a verse with him I had studied that morning. It spoke of the Savior and His Atoning sacrifice, and the need to repent. When I looked up from reading the scripture, his countenance had changed. I could tell he'd felt the Spirit. He sincerely thanked me for sharing the scripture. A few minutes later, he walked us across the street to meet his neighbor, Miss Shirley. "These are the sisters from my church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You should invite them over sometime!" He said. "They teach about the Book of Mormon. It's another testament of Jesus Christ. Have you read it?" He was a great member missionary! I know the Spirit helped me know what to say, so that the Spirit could testify to him. 

We had a slightly embarrassing, but pretty comedic moment with the boys in blue this week. I was on exchange with a new sister, and we were going into a Walgreens to make a quick stop. A young man next to a sales table stopped us outside, and we talked for about 25 minutes. He and his friend were recovering meth and drug addicts, among other crimes, there asking for donations for recovery programs. We had a good talk about favorite verses, and the Atonement...great, right? Then a police officer approached and, finding these men without a soliciting permit, told them he was calling other officers right then and they had better leave, etc. Wookay! We excused ourselves. That got awkward REAL quick. It gave us a good laugh later on! 

Please pray for Takisha. Takisha eagerly accepted a baptismal date of December 13th (my birthday!), but something came up and we've been out of contact for a few days. She has a bright light in her eyes and with her mother's recent death, she needs the gospel now more than ever in her life. 

Have a great week!

Sister Taylor

PS I don't know if I gave this out yet, but in case yall need it, send mail and delightful packages to:

Sister Taylor

4315 Lexington Rd Apt 6C

Athens, GA

30605

Fwd: Newbie STL, Dimple, Athens on Fire!

Date: Mon, Nov 3, 2014 at 11:08 AM

Subject: Newbie STL, Dimple, Athens on Fire!

Yall!!

I am absolutely LOVING the Athens 1st Ward!!!! We are teaching a LOT. Our week totaled twenty-eight lessons, eighteen of which were with investigators, and we found six new investigators in five days. And we have a baptism this Saturday. I feel incredibly fortunate to be in an area on fire!!

Leaving Lawrenceville pulled some heartstrings, but I know it was my time to leave. We visited the Allens before transfers (two moms who were baptized as kids and want to bring their families back into the church), and the Spirit  was strong. I don't know why I clicked and felt so connected to them, we are completely opposite-- but there is something very special about their family. I felt prompted to invite them to be active in the church. I was nervous, but they accepted. One said "Of course!" almost before I could finish saying it. I can't wait to hear what happens with their family. :)

Sister Bedke is wonderful, and our companionship is off to a great start. She's 22, from Pleasant View, UT. We're the pleasant companionship because we're from the two Pleasants in Utah. :) We came to the mission at the same time so we've both been out thirteen months. She's soft-spoken yet bold, serves with so much Christlike love, and so pure in heart. To welcome all the new sisters to the zone, we wrote a get-to-know-you parody to the tune of hymns describing each sister, then sent it out as a voicemail. It was hilarious and way too much fun to write. :) I couldn't be happier with her and with this area!

I don't have much experience yet in the Sister Training Leader department, but I am enjoying it. It's an adjustment from training, where I always had the lead, to here, where I'm the newbie in my calling. But I'm doing my best to love these sisters and serve them the way Christ wants me to. One thing that has changed, is that there is no down time ever!! None. Zip. Nada. Zero. Usually you have from 9:30-10:30pm to get ready for bed, write in your journal, etc...but I've had three to four minutes to get ready for bed each night, and we still have things on our to-do list. One day I literally had to make PB&J sandwiches on my lap in the car while we sped down the highway to our next appointment. It's a blessing to be so busy!

Athens is awesome!! It's geographically huge, compared to my last area. Athens is very poor. Lots of duplexes, looootts of duplexes...trailer parks, and small neighborhoods, and lots of highways. It'll probably take a minute to learn my way around. I literally have felt like I'm in a movie, walking through a gravelly duplex lot in the 1990's, with folks sitting in plastic chairs on porches,all wearing withered denim and old t-shirts. We stand out a lot in such a poor area. The other day we were in a trailer park checking on an investigator, and two police cars were parked next to the trailer we were going to. The two cops greeted us and watched us as we walked. No one was home, but as we were leaving the two cops called me over. "What are you doing here?" they asked. "We're missionaries!" I said. "Well, you stick out like sore thumbs around here," they said. I told them a little about what we did, then we went on our way. We do stick out! I like it though. There are more opportunities to share the gospel when people want to know who you are. :)

We're also close to UGA campus, which is interesting (you know the frat and sorority houses with greek symbols on them that look like mansions?? They exist outside of movies!!). The people here are incredible. They are so real, and love talking about the gospel with you. 

Another tender mercy! A family that I loved in Canton, the Stricklands, moved to Athens while I was still in Canton...and now I'm in their ward again! Sister Strickland was baptized 1.5 years ago, and she, her husband, and two kids live in a one-room extended stay motel. We visited them Saturday, and Sister Strickland said that Autumn (her 5 year old) talks about me and Sister Alvey all the time. "We've had a lot of sister missionaries, but you were the sister missionaries for us," Sister Strickland told us. I love their family, so it was nice to hear them say they loved me too. :)

Dimple, age 20 from India, is getting baptized on Saturday. Her story is amazing! Her LDS professor was lecturing on evolution, and when she approached him after class insisting that there must be more to our purpose than animal origin, he smiled and said, "You're right." He referred her to us, and that was just a month ago. Now she's getting baptized! She is so pure and loving. She accepts the doctrine so easily and loves to learn! I feel privileged to be here during her conversion.

A miracle this week is that while we've had little to no time to tract, almost half the people we did talk to became new investigators! Yesterday a lesson fell through, but a young mom across the street was outside and expressed interest in the Book of Mormon. Another day we checked on a referral and met his mother instead, who had some questions about the afterlife since her father's recent death. People here are so receptive. It's wonderful. I want to focus on finding families to teach.

Challenge this week: Read the Book of Mormon every day. A verse, chapter, page, whatever you can make time for. I felt impressed to read the Book of Mormon cover to cover in the next transfer (six weeks), so I'll be doing this right along with you! It brings a sense of direction and peace to your life. That's what it's done in mine.

Have a lovely week!

Sister Taylor