Transfers and V.I.P.'s

Hello Everyone,

We got transfer calls this morning, and I am happy to say that I am not being transferred. My companion and I are both staying in Suwanee. Yippee! About half of our district is changing. One Elder is done with his mission, one is being transferred and becoming district leader (he'll be good at that), and one is just being transferred to another area. I am excited to see who will be coming in to the district/zone. It's always fun and exciting when transfers come around. It's also a bit stressful because you never know if you're getting the boot or not. We don't have to worry about it or stress for 7 weeks though. This transfer is longer because the mission President is changing at the end of June. They are giving the new mission President some time to adjust before he has to figure out who gets transferred. Plus the next transfer is going to be HUGE! A lot of Elders and Sisters go home in July, including my trainer...craziness! It will be very interesting to see how the mission changes.

This week has been full of ups and downs, but it has been great. At the beginning of the week our appointments kept falling through, and our back-up plans were not working out for us either. It was extremely frustrating and disappointing. Once we decided that we were going to be more productive and diligent in our work, Satan decided to throw a party and invite all of the people we were working with. I hate how he works harder and harder when we are trying harder to be better and do better. I guess it's all part of the plan though. But we conquered Satan and had a very successful day on Saturday. Every single one of our appointments went through, and the day was productively busy.

Now to give some updates on our V.I.P's (a.k.a. Very Important People)
Mirian Jr.- We got in to see Mirian a couple times this week, and she is scheduled to be baptized this Saturday. We talked to her mom again about having permission to baptize her, and she gave her permission. Now all we need to do is meet with her every day this week so we can have her fully prepared. All of our lessons have to be taught at the Carlisle's home just down the street. It works out great because we get much needed lessons in with the members, plus there are less distractions.

Jackie- When we went over to get Mirian for a lesson, Jackie decided to come too. She is Mirian's cousin and has been just as interested in talking with us as Mirian has been. She has come to church activites and church meetings the past couple of weeks. On Friday we had a lesson with the two of them where we watched "Finding Faith in Christ." Both of them really liked it, but I think Jackie was more into it. We invited them to come to a baptism of an 8 year old in the ward and Jackie was able to come. She loved it. When my companion asked her how she felt after the baptism, she described feelings of the Spirit. Sister Groneman then asked her if she would like to be baptized, to which she said yes. We are hoping she will be baptized this week with Mirian.

Roger- When I first got to Suwanee, Sister Groneman and I tried several times to get in touch with Roger. He is someone that my companion and her previous companion tracted into before the temple open house. We left multiple notes for him to which he never responded. So we decided to drop him. Then on Thursday as we were going to bed we got a text from him. He told us that he was in trouble and needed our help, so we set up a time to meet with him the next day. We met with him and the appointment went really well. He agreed to come to church (Stake Conference) on Sunday. He did end up coming and we set up another time that night to see him. Last night we went over and taught him another lesson and talked to him for a while. My companion then invited him to be baptized, and he said yes! We have a date set for June 18th for his baptism. He is a great guy, very humble and kind.

Kathy- It is not a coincidence that we met Kathy. Earlier this week we were tracting and we knocked on Kathy's door. The first thing she said when she opened the door was "Oh crap, they've found me." Sister Groneman and I looked at each other and chuckled a little then responded "oh, you know the Mormons?" She then explained to us that her mom is a convert to the church and that some Elders where they lived before were teaching them the lessons so they could better understand what her mom believes. She didn't have very many nice things to say about the Elders and she doesn't really have that great of a view on our church. However, she was very interested in talking to us and having some of her questions answered. She did have some over the top questions, but most we were able to answer and she invited us to come back to teach her and her fiance. She said it was more for her fiance, because he would be more interested than her. But when we went over to teach them, we realized we are really there for her. We have another appointment with them, and hopefully it will go well. She is a sweet lady.

This will be a good transfer, and I am really excited for it! I hope all is well back at home. Don't forget to read your Book of Mormon!

Live, Love, and Laugh often!
Sister Taylor