Fwd: Rapunzel, Hastening the Work, & Spider in my Shirt. AH

​​From: Christa Taylor <christa.taylor@myldsmail.net>

Date: Mon, Mar 30, 2015 at 3:53 PM
Subject: Rapunzel, Hastening the Work, & Spider in my Shirt. AH

Hey yall!

I need to start out with something completely non-spiritual and completely GROSS and unsettling. I hope it never happens to anybody in the whole world ever. Because it was gross.

Mild mannered me was innocently planning with my companion when I felt a slight tingly thing that was definitely not me under my shirt. I looked down and beheld, to my immediate hysteria, A SPIDER IN MY SHIRT!!!! Just hanging out, crawling on me! I screamed and killed it and changed my clothes. Ew. I have bragged about how this is the only area where I have literally not seen one bug in the apartment the whole time I've been here. Well, of course that trend needed to end with a spider in my shirt. EW. 

Okay. Anyway. As a solo sister training leader, I get to do exchanges with each sister in my zone. I thought I'd tell you a little about one of the exchanges I went on this week!

Sister Russell is a brand new missionary, and if Rapunzel from the movie Tangled had small, fair features and long, straight brown hair, that would be Sister Russell in a nutshell. She's rather quiet, at first, and was nervous about being awkward with starting conversations or carrying one on. But every time she was given a clear opportunity to bear her testimony, she did so stunningly. Her testimony, and her whole countenance, is beautifully pure, simple, and completely heartfelt. No one could doubt the sincerity of her testimony and why she's here.she'll become one of the most powerful missionaries you could find anywhere. She is so pure and humble. She asked me for suggestions on how she could improve. I told her to just keep doing what she's doing-- working hard and trying her best-- and she'll be just fine! We got to teach a lot and she loved that. She'll blossom beautifully.

Angela is still on date for April 11th! She's progressing beautifully-- she's just got to give up her 1/2 cigarette a day and coffee before her baptism. She's working hard at both. She's already started planning her baptism program on her own-- she picked one of the elders to sing a musical number and she's picked out her favorite hymns already. :) She's actually moving into a member's home this Tuesday, which will greatly improve her living situation and also be great for fellowshipping! We're excited for her. 

Julia is the miracle referral we found last week by contacting her daughter. This week we dropped by and taught her the first lesson, and her member neighbor drove both her and us to church on Sunday. She loved church. We'll be teaching her again tonight. Apparently she's also been reading from the Book of Mormon. We plan to put her on date this evening. We're grateful when people like her just drop into our laps! 

On Saturday, an appointment fell through and our teamup was driving us to a potential's home we'd planned as a backup. At the last minute though, we had her take a different route to a different potential family's home-- that of Damion and Rochelle. They have a couple small kids-- the oldest is seven, I think. Damion was home, and we taught him the 1st lesson. He really enjoyed it! He said he'd read from the Book of Mormon, and that if he knew it was true, he would be baptized. We're seeing him again this week. That was a miracle on the fly-- the Spirit directed us to go there on the way to his house! 

I'm trying to apply the things I learned from Elder Zwick about working more powerfully and effectively with members to do missionary work. We've been asking more members for referrals when we're in their home for dinner, and while that hasn't directly resulted in new investigators yet, we have seen success in members reaching out! One member recontacted two of her acquaintances and invited them to learn more. Another couple thought of a part-member family we should contact. One member even said he would bring his non-member brother to church! Several other families have been very receptive to inviting friends and family to learn more, which is great! It really comes down to being willing to follow the promptings of the Spirit. He puts the opportunities in our paths if we're willing to see them.

I loved the General Womens Conference this weekend, and can't wait for General Conference this week. We're hoping to have several investigators there!

Have a BLESSED day!!

Sister Taylor

Fwd: Zeal with the Zwicks, Four new Families, & Celestial Connect-The-Dots

Fwd: Zeal with the Zwicks, Four new Families, & Celestial Connect-The-Dots

From: Christa Taylor <christa.taylor@myldsmail.net>

Date: Mon, Mar 23, 2015 at 3:21 PM
Subject: Zeal with the Zwicks, Four new Families, & Celestial Connect-The-Dots

Hey y'all! 

How is 72 degrees, sun, a slight breeze, and blue skies in March? Splendid. In case you were wondering. :) 

Angela is doing great in preparing for baptism! She's been working hard to find alternatives to her coffee and tea. She shows us each box of herbal tea she buys to make sure it's okay. :) Since we fasted last week, she's been praying to find a good new home for her dog, Gusty, since he can't come when she moves. At church, a member who's been praying for a dog offered to take him! Despite poor health, she was also at church again. That was a great blessing.

We had the privilege of having Elder Zwick, from the First Quorum of the Seventy (that means he works closely with the prophet and apostles), and his wife Jan Zwick teach our mission this week. I attended a leadership council with them all day Wednesday, and Thursday we had about twelve hours of meetings with them, including a member fireside. We learned the importance of working effectively with ward councils to find-- via member referrals-- families to teach. He essentially said that it is imperative that we change the culture of this mission. Okay! Off to the next adventure! Our mission will also be receiving iPads-- one per missionary-- in May. I won't be here for that, but I'm excited for the great changes that will come with the new tools in technology. Elder and Sister Zwick brought the Spirit powerfully during their stay. I'll always remember some of the experiences I had with them. It's been a great learning week! 

Remember how last weekend, after setting goals to find and teach families, we found two families? Since then, we have found and started teaching FOUR more couples! Three of them have small children. All of them were miracle finds!

#1 David & Mandy -- Teach when you Find, Find when you Teach

David was a referral from other sisters. When we taught him, we invited his fiance, Mandy, to join us for the closing prayer and for the next lesson. She agreed. She's now participating just as much as David is in the lessons.

#2 Destry & fiance -- Find the Reason You're Here

We'd received a referral with no working phone number, just a name and address. Earlier in the week, we had tried that address with no success and just left. Elder Zwick talked about using every opportunity to find new investigators-- for example, knocking nearby doors when a referral or less active isn't home. Sister Rowley and I took it to heart and tried it. We went back to contact this same referral, but this time, we prayerfully looked around for other doors or people we could approach. We felt drawn to a bright blue door across the street. We knocked it, and had a front-porch lesson with Destry, a young father in his twenties. He stopped going to church after his church didn't reach out to his family during some severe family issues. We shared the Book of Mormon with him, and asked if he would be baptized if he knew it was true. "You know...I..I honestly think..I would," he said. We have a return appointment with him this weekend. 

#3 Nancy & Douglas --Talk to Everyone

A few weeks ago on P-day, Sister Rowley and I were walking through our complex when we saw Nancy and stopped to talk to her. She's a young mom, and wants to be more religiously involved for her young son. We'd set up a couple return appointments, but they had both fallen through. 

On Saturday morning, as we were getting into our car to leave the apartment, we saw a man about ten cars away walking towards his car. We decided to get out and talk to him. As we scurried over, we saw Nancy sitting in the passenger seat! She got out and said that she's been reading the Book of Mormon, and wants us to come over. We ended up having a fantastic lesson with her last night. She asked questions like, "Is God really there? Does He know me? What happens after we die?" We taught her to pray, and she said one out loud for the first time. Her fiance Douglas joined the end of the lesson. It was a beautiful experience. Had we not decided to talk to that man, we wouldn't have run into Nancy again and had a lesson. 

#4 Cathy & Ron -- No Effort is Wasted

During weekly planning Sunday afternoon, we received a phone call from an unknown number. A woman introduced herself as Cathy, the housekeeper at an extended-stay motel we visit sometimes. The Spirit had led us to talk to her a couple times, but we hadn't gotten her information or anything. What she said next surprised us. 

"Could we meet up in the next...hour?" Of course! 

"And I'm picking up my husband from work....is it alright if he comes, too?" Of course!

"We don't have anyplace we could meet you...do you have a place we could go?" Of course! 

"I really felt like I should call yall. I know yall came into my life for a reason."

We called up a member and arranged to meet in their home. An hour and a half later, we were all together in a member family's home. They confided that they are currently homeless, living in their car, and they need help. We gave them the bishop's number and taught the first lesson, and Cathy was very interested. She's planning to come to the Women's Conference Broadcast  and Relief Society dinner this weekend. Miracles happen!

Another blessing of talking to everyone resulted in some celestial connecting-the-dots this weekend! While trying to contact the same aforementioned referral, we met Brittany while she was carrying in groceries and set up a time to come back the next day. When we came back, Brittany was not home. But on our way up to the doorstep, the other door of her duplex opened and we talked to the girl heading to a car full of friends waiting in the driveway. She said her mom would be interested.  Sister Rowley asked what her mom's name was, and she said the name of our referral! We FOUND our referral by contacting two other people on her street! We'd been given the wrong address, but we found her because we talked to everyone in our path. The timing was flawless. God can connect the dots really well! :)

 

Have a blessed day! 

Sister Taylor

1) Easter candy... only in the South

2) I, the Zwicks, and some other sisters

3) My companion Sister Rowley, me, Sister Holden 

Fwd: Jayne's Jump, Families, & Fasting

Date: Mon, Mar 16, 2015 at 12:20 PM

Subject: Jayne's Jump, Families, & Fasting

Hey yall! 

I've gotten to experience some great miracles this week in the mission field. There has also been some opposition. I've had a cough and congestion for two weeks, and I ran a fever for a couple days. We've had some important appointments fall through. A recent convert I dearly love told us she doesn't want to come to church or see us anymore, so we're trying to help her with that. We've struggled to know we're using the Lord's time most effectively, sometimes. But, in the midst of growing and learning and hurting and blowing noses, I've had some truly miraculous experiences I want to share.

#1 Finding Families

We've had an emphasis recently in our mission on planning and setting goals by the Spirit, so this week in our weekly planning session, we set goals for this upcoming transfer (the next five weeks). We started by talking about our visions and dreams individually-- what we hope to accomplish on our missions. We found that both of us have a strong desire to teach families. So, in faith, we set the goal of finding, teaching, and putting one family on date, among other goals. We then broke down each goal into weekly goals, and incorporated those into our weekly plans. We felt strongly that these goals were inspired.

We saw a miracle, particularly regarding families, the day afterwards! We had blocked out two hours Saturday morning to go tracting, because that's an excellent time to find families at home.We went to the first of three streets we'd felt good about on our map the night before. We headed out to the first street, only to find about four houses on the whole long stretch, several blocked off anyway. No good. 

We drove to street two. Same thing. Two houses-- one blocked off, and the other didn't answer. 

Between a few coordination phone calls we'd had to make, and driving time, it had been nearly an hour and we'd knocked only one door and with no reply. 

I was getting frustrated. I wanted to make good use of the Lord's time, especially on a Saturday morning, and we hadn't talked to anyone. We headed to street three close by, which was just a dinky little culdesac with five or six duplexes in it. "This won't last us very long. Maybe we should just go somewhere else," I said to Sister Rowley. She, with more faith and patience than I, suggested we stay and tract it anyway since we'd felt good about it the night before. I'd forgotten that I had felt particularly good about this little street. So, we prayed, and started knocking. 

In that little culdesac, we found two engaged couples who were ready to hear the gospel. First we met Vince. He was thoughtful when we shared the Restoration with him, and he's been looking for a church to go to with his girlfriend. He's a sweet, homegrown, country bumpkin sort of fellow-- with good morals and a humble heart. He and his girlfriend read devotionals daily together. Before we left, he said, "Are you sure I haven't met yall before? I swear I've seen yall around...it just feels like I just ran into old friends." 

"That's quite possible," we smiled. Hopefully we'll teach them this week!

The second couple, Kiki and Alex, both came out on their front porch after we knocked. When we said who we were, they said, "We're lost." They continued, "Today is just one of those days for us when you wonder how God could really be there with all these terrible things going on. We need all the help we can get." When we testified of the reality of God and His love, Kiki started crying and they both listened attentively. The Spirit was so strong. I know we were led directly to their homes to share the gospel with them! I believe that the timing was precise, too-- we had set goals in faith the day before to find people like them. Then the Lord answered our prayers because of our faith and His goodness. 

Last night, we taught yet another family who was referred to us by another set of sisters. David and Mandy just moved to the subdivision behind our apartment complex. We taught David last night about the Book of Mormon, and how God will answer prayers and lead him in the right direction. At the end of the lesson, we invited him and Mandy to kneel down and pray with us. David offered a sweet, humble prayer. He asked Heavenly Father to give him a sign to help him understand if the Book of Mormon is true or not, and if this is the direction he needs to take his family in. There was a spirit of peace in that room. They're engaged to be married too, and David has two kids-- ages 7 and 14-- who live there, as well. Coincidence that a family moves in and we teach them, right after we set goals to? I think not! I love Heavenly Father! He's so good at answering prayers! 

#2 Jayne makes the Jump!

If that isn't enough, we had a HUGE miracle with our Jewish investigator, Jayne!!! She has severe anxiety, the last time we extended a date to work towards for baptism, it was too overwhelming. But this week, we felt impressed to invite her to be baptized on April 18th. I was nervous, but when we prayed, we felt reassured that it was the right thing to do. 

We had a good lesson, and at the end, we told her how much we loved her and had been praying for and about her, and we had felt like God was telling us that she was ready to accept a baptismal date. She simply said, "Sure." That took us by surprise! "I know this is the right path, and April 18th is as good a day as any," she said. She has a long way to go with understanding and believing all the doctrine, but she has made remarkable progress over the last several months. God is healing her illness slowly and giving her the strength and courage to move forward. She came to an activity last night, and is planning on church this week. I KNOW Heavenly Father knows perfectly the hearts of each of His children. I saw that in action with Jayne this week!

#3 Fasting Works

Last week was fast Sunday, and we had invited our investigator Angela to fast with us. She's trying to get a better living situation and has been struggling to quit smoking. She agreed to fast with us, even though it would be difficult with her health issues. 

The next day, she texted us and said her head was pounding from not eating, and she didn't get the insights she was looking for. Sister Rowley and I had planned to fast for her again on Wednesday, so we encouraged her to keep looking for answers to her fast that may come in unexpected ways. When we fasted on Wednesday, I tried to have the best attitude ever about it! I know fasting works, but complaining about how hungry I am can't be contributing to my faith. So I made sure my attitude was a good one. We found ourselves feeling just fine the whole day. We even had extra energy to teach and tract and whatever else we needed to do. 

Angela's blessings came a few days later. A wonderful member couple, the Rodriguez's, had a room available to rent in their home-- and Angela will be moving in by the end of the month! The real miracle is that at first, her son-- who's financially supporting her right now-- originally said no to the arrangements. He didn't want to pay the asking price. But later that night, he called Angela and said, "We can make it work. Go ahead and tell the Rodriguez's we can take their room." Her son's heart was softened, and I believe it was due to our faith in our fast. 

Because of her health, she hasn't been able to attend in several weeks, but she was able to make it to church yesterday! During sunday school, a member asked a question-- and Angela was able to answer it for him. That was something special to see! She also made some insightful comments in Relief Society. She fits in beautifully at church. :) I'm so glad to see miracles like this happen so often!

Those are just a few of the miracles I've seen this week in the misson field. I know this is the Lord's church. I know Heavenly Father has a plan for every single one of His children-- each of us-- and I know as a missionary, I get to share that with people every day! I love what I do! I know that miracles don't just happen in Georgia (even if we do get a little extra than everyone else ;) ). I know when we have gratitude for our circumstances, whatever they are, then God can open our eyes to the miracles around us and we can participate in them, too. 

Have a wonderful week!

Just peachy,

Sister Taylor

Fwd: Change in the Wind, Faith to Plant, and Miracle Gro-wth! :)

From: Christa Taylor <christa.taylor@myldsmail.net>

Date: Mon, Mar 9, 2015 at 3:49 PM
Subject: Change in the Wind, Faith to Plant, and Miracle Gro-wth! :)

Yall,

The theme of this last week is Faith. It has been tried a few times, with some difficult transitions and sad goodbyes and bouts of inadequacy--but I know the Lord knows me perfectly, because He's given me exactly the growth and faith I need every time. I'll share a few examples with you of how I saw that this week. :)

Wednesday came, and the winds changed as yet another transfer took place. Sending off dear Sister Porter was hard. We became best friends in our three months together.The first couple days after transfers were really hard. I felt unsure that I could carry on the good work we've been doing, and I really missed the close friendship I'd had with Sister Porter. But I'm glad to have Sister Rowley. Over the last couple days, Sister Rowley has opened up more and more, and we're becoming good friends. She's a great chef, likes to work hard, and she's got a great sense of humor. I sense a great transfer ahead of us! :)

This week we had a goal of finding three new investigators, which is becoming urgent since we haven't found any in a few weeks. Our urgent need turned into a miracle. On Friday night in my prayers, I promised Heavenly Father that I would invite five people the next day to be baptized. I asked Him to help us find three new investigators through that effort.

On Saturday, I extended three baptismal invitations, and we found some promising potentials-- but no new investigators yet. "Looks like you'll just have to ask two more tomorrow," Sister Rowley said. So, I did. While out contacting, I extended two more baptismal invitations-- and Sister Rowley did one, too! It was great! By the end of the day, we had several return appointments and two new investigators. Both of these are men with families who can hear the gospel, too. I know the Lord blessed us because of our faith! 

Lots of miracles on my end. It's the Lord's work :) I had a neat spiritual impression where I felt like I needed a shift in my attitude towards life. Instead of "I'll do the right thing because I know God wants me to and I know it's right and will make me happy", I want to shift my attitude to "What more can I do to serve God because I love Him?" I'm doing the right things right now, but the difference is a desire to give more of myself. I don't want to just wait for a calling and then do it dutifully-- I want to seek it out, magnify it, and figure out how I can pour the most love and thought into it that I can. I want to be proactive in my desires to serve God-- I want to serve to serve, not just to do the right thing. I don't know if that makes sense. But it was breakthrough in my mind. :) It came during a meeting with Stake leaders, of all places. The Lord can speak to us at any time, in any place, whenever we need it. I'm grateful that He does, because it means everything to me. 

The Lord is in His work! Hurrah for Israel! :)

Love,

Sister Taylor

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

Fwd: You speaking at stake conf

Speaking at Stake Conference. :)

Fwd: Goodbyes, Blessings, & Speaking for the Stake

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Christa Taylor <christa.taylor@myldsmail.net>
Date: Mon, Mar 2, 2015 at 11:38 AM
Subject: Goodbyes, Blessings, & Speaking for the Stake
To: Lindy Taylor <lindyjtaylor@gmail.com>

Hey yall! 

Here's a story you don't forget! :)

This weekend was Stake Conference (so several local congregations come together for the conference), and a member of the quorum of the seventy-- Elder Hymas-- came to speak. Prior to the adult session on Saturday night, the Martin family took Sister Porter and I out to get a quick dinner at a sub sandwich place. We'd had a funny conversation that included how much Sister Porter and I would really love to speak at Stake Conference! 

Well. When Elder Hymas got up to speak, he started talking about missionary work as members. Then he asked, "Is the young lady Alexa that just got baptized here tonight?" (She wasn't. She's in Florida going to the temple for the first time with her boyfriend!) Silence. He said, "Well, darn. Are the two sister missionaries that met her in Walmart here tonight?" Sister Porter and I stood up. "Then you get to come up and share her story," he smiled. 

Sister Porter and I giggled the whole way up to the stand. We'd called it! We shared our story, and everyone laughed when we re-enacted the faces we'd made when Alexa had asked us for a Book of Mormon. A member took a picture of the screen in the back...so I'll attach it. :) It was quite the experience! :)

The time has come yet again for transfers on Wednesday. I'm grateful for the opportunity to grow through change with transfers, but I do face this transfer change with a lot more sadness than I've ever felt before. Sister Porter and I have become best of friends; we have so much trust, openness, love, and gratitude for each other-- it will be difficult to let her go home. While tracting this week, we just enjoyed every moment. We asked silly get to know you questions, sang hymns in harmony together, shared funny quirks about ourselves and growing up stories, discussed spiritual thoughts...I am really going to miss that girl. But I am grateful we had our time together, and I know our friendship is one that will last. 

Usually, there is one Sister Training Leader companionship per zone-- but with so many sisters going home, we're having some interesting changes. In our zone they're taking sisters out of two of the five areas, and my new companion won't be a Sister Training Leader-- I'll be the only one for our zone. It'll be interesting flying solo! I think it will be a good experience because with my companion as one of my zone sisters, I'll have a constant reminder to reach out and to be a good example of exact obedience and wholehearted service. 

Because of several previously cancelled exchanges (24 hours where we switch companions with another set of sisters), we went on three this week! It was a crazy, fast paced, all over the place week!

One was when Sister Webster joined me in Athens 1st. She is an incredible example! Sister Webster prayed before we knocked doors that we would have opportunities to share the message of the Restoration and of the Book of Mormon with others. We were invited in two or three times, and each time were able to powerfully testify of those things. I loved that her heartfelt prayer was answered so clearly and immediately! She taught me a lot about exercising faith and truly loving the people we meet. 

We had a miracle while tracting in the icy rain on Wednesday. A hispanic woman, Rosa, answered the door and motioned for us to step inside. As we briefly shared the message of the Restoration with her, she nodded and then asked if we could pray with her. We did, and she asked us to pray for a special blessing on her son, who's going through a lot. There was a special light about her. As we were about to leave, she looked in our eyes and in her broken english, said, "Before you knock on my door, I was praying in my kitchen to the Lord. Then you came to my door. I think this is a sign from God." We agreed! 

My last exchange was honestly difficult for me. I visited another area, where the sisters have been struggling for several months to have people to teach. Basically, my experience there left me feeling a little angry and frustrated and depressed. 

I had a humbling experience in prayer, because I had chosen to let things offend me and make me frustrated. As I prayed and repented, I felt love and patience for these sisters and their situation enter my heart where my frustration and anger had been. I felt so much better. I let those things go and simple reached out in love to them. I was then able to do and say the right things to be an influence for good.

Sister Porter and I received priesthood blessings last night-- which is something I treasure about the Church. Worthy men holding the priesthood-- the power and authority to act in God's name-- can give blessings to those who need it, which is essentially the priesthood holder speaking the Lord's words, as he is inspired, to the receiver. I always feel a sense of peace and comfort, and knowledge that God knows me better than anyone else does when I receive a blessing. Last night was no different. Mine talked about how my new companion and I would be able to find commonalities and work well together, and that our work would not be hindered by our companionship. I found out today my new companion is Sister Rowley-- she's a good sister just coming from a struggling area. I'm grateful she gets to come to an area that has been flourishing, and I pray that through our faithfulness and diligence, we can help it continue to be that way. 

Angela is on date for April 11th-- and that date was prayerfully set by her and the sisters together. She came to Stake Conference on Sunday and loved it. 

Pam is still praying about a date. We're teaching her tomorrow, and we may take a similar approach to what we did with Angela in helping her pray for a baptismal date. She's facing a lot of opposition, but she is still faithfully seeking truth.

Jayne is doing her homework and progressing towards baptism. Due to her anxiety and depression, setting a date has thus far been much to overwhelming of a goal-- but we're going to pull out her baptismal calendar and at least set some goals for how we'll progress with the lessons over the next several weeks. She's excited to be baptized. I'm praying for it! 

Have a wonderful week!

Sister Taylor

Pic:

Sister Porter and I's fudge cookie/icing sandwiches. We're super healthy. 

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.