Build upon a sure foundation

Hello Hello,

I learned more about the Temple open house coming up. Woohoo! Being informed is great! From April 8th through April 23rd I will be living in Lilburn with two other companionships. Six girls in an apartment...makes me think of college at BYU-Idaho, except we might only have one bathroom. I will be at the temple everyday during those two weeks. There are three different shifts during the day...morning, afternoon, and late-afternoon/evening. The majority of the time I will be working in the morning. Which means I have to be at the temple at 7:30am ready to go. Yikes! Try and get six girls ready by 7:30 when we normally wake up at 6:30. It should be interesting to say the least. I'll let you know how it goes;)

You may be wondering what is going to happen to our investigators in Loganville while we are away (or maybe you're not interested, but I'd like to think you are :)...well, the Elders will be taking over the area. So all will be well, and we have nothing to worry about. We will be quite busy ourselves, talking to people as they come out of the temple. It is estimated that 600 people will be walking through the temple each hour. That is A LOT! I guess that's where the 40 baptisms per area will come from.:) I am really excited for this. The temple is a wonderful place, Heaven on Earth. I can't wait to walk through and be able to see it myself.

We spent a lot of time tracting this week. We are trying to fill our teaching pool. The weather was thankfully really nice out when we were tracting. Unfortunately, by the end of the week the weather got sour. Storms in Georgia are CRAZY! A few weeks ago we were driving through a scary rain storm. The traffic lights went out on a very busy highway, and we got a text saying there was a tornado watch/warning (I can't remember which, but it is the worse of the two and is when a tornado is spotted) so if it started to hail we had to stay inside. Luckily, there was no hail and all was well. A few nights ago we had a down pour, and a huge thunder storm. I have never heard thunder so loud in my life. In short, it was keeping both me and my companion up at night. It's raining again today, and it just looks nasty out. On the bright side, everything is turning green. Spring is in the air :)
On Friday Sister Eversole and I were asked to go to early morning Seminary. They are studying the Doctrine and Covenants and are currently studying Liberty Jail and Joseph Smith's experience. My companion was asked to share her own "Liberty jail/'Oh God, where art thou?'" experience. A couple of other people from the ward went and were asked to share their experiences as well. One talked about how they were recently diagnosed with MS. His story was very touching. The other talked about how her son was born with heart problems. His heart was backwards and even in the wrong spot. He's had multiple surgeries in his life (he's now 5) and he's miraculously still alive. That was also a very touching story. I'm so grateful to know that even though I may have trials in my life, Heavenly Father will always be there for me. I am so thankful that I have never had a time in my life where I've had to ask he question "Oh God, where art thou?" I think it is mainly because of the foundation that has been set before me. Helaman 5:12 says "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." My foundation has and always will be set on Christ. I know that because of Jesus Christ, and His infinite Atonement, my burden is made light. Satan may try to beat me down with temptation and trials, but because of my faith I can overcome that. Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are my source of strength. Now and forever.

Mission life can be difficult. I'm not going to lie and say that it's easy, because it certainly is not. It truly is the hardest thing I've ever done. But I can say, that even though I have only been out for 3 months, It has richly blessed my life. I have grown and seen my testimony strengthen so much. I am here to suffer in my Redeemer's name, and that is what I will do. I have come to a knowledge of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's not something that someone can just give you. It is something you must develop on your own. I know that through sincere scripture study, sincere prayer, and faith in Jesus Christ, anyone can gain a witness of the truthfulness of this gospel. The Book of Mormon is true. Jesus Christ came to the earth, performed miracles, organized His church, called apostles, and did what He had to do. He fulfilled the Atonement and, by so doing, has made it possible for every individual to make it back to Heavenly Father's presence. The Atonement is real. I know that I have a Father in Heaven who loves me very much. I hope that each of you will gain a testimony, if you don't already have one, of the truthfulness of Christ's gospel. It has brought me so much peace and joy in life, and I count my blessings each day that I get to share that with others.
I hope all is well. I love you all.
Love,
Sister Taylor