Tis Strong and Bright and True

Hello Everyone,

It's another hot day in Georgia. But all is well on this end. I am still meeting some fantastic people, in the ward and out. It's amazing how many different people you get to talk to throughout the day/week. As for some updates on our investigators/members...

Roger- We have been unsuccessful with getting in to see Roger this week. Unfortunately, we had to make the decision to leave him alone, and if he wants to learn more he will have to contact us again. We had set appointments with him all week, but when we went over he was either not home, or wasn't answering the door. This was the low point of our week. I have grown to love Roger, and I loved watching him progress and move towards baptism. He will not be baptized this Saturday, but maybe he just needs more time. I am hopeful that we will hear from him again. Until then, we must press on with the work.

Jackie/Enrique and FAMILY- The high point of the week was when we got to teach the entire G family. I absolutely adore this family. We met Jackie, Enrique, and Alex when I first arrived in Suwanee. Then a couple weeks later I was introduced to their oldest brother, Aldahir. We met their mom, Maria, at some point between then and now but have been unsuccessful at getting in to teach her. She works most days as a nanny, so it's not often that we see her. We had also seen their dad, Julio, quite a few times but the most we had ever talked with him was just saying hi in passing. But we went over last Monday to try and get in with Maria. We had already committed Jackie and Enrique to baptism, which they are so excited about, but unless their mom is on board, it's not going to go anywhere. As we were walking up to their house we see Enrique literally pushing his mom out the door telling her that he wanted her to talk to us. The first thing he says to us is "I prayed last night." Our response "Oh you did? What did you pray about?" He said that he prayed to know if the Book of Mormon is true. We then asked if he got an answer, to which he responded yes and that it is true. Wow! A 9 year old has been reading the Book of Mormon, and not only that, he has prayed to know if it is true. This kid never ceases to amaze me. His mom was right there listening in, and so we figured we would ask him some questions about what we've been teaching him so that his mom could see how much he has learned. He had an answer to every question we asked, and I could tell his mom was impressed at what he knew. Enrique then brought up baptism. Holy cow, we don't even mention it and he's bringing it up in front of his mom. He really really wants to be baptized.

Anyway, we set up an appointment with Maria to teach her whole family that coming Friday. We arrived on Friday and were invited in to teach them. That was amazing in and of itself. We have never been able to get inside. For the past 2 months, whenever we have gone to teach the kids we have had to do it outside on the porch or at a members home down the street. It was becoming quite difficult because of all the outside distractions. But we got in and there were no distractions. The entire family (both parents and all 4 kids) were present for the lesson. It was amazing! We taught the Restoration, which all of the kids except Aldahir have heard before. Then we watched the Restoration DVD. The spirit was so strong in that home, and I could tell by looking at Julio and Maria that they were touched. Julio is this tough looking guy and he didn't look at all interested when we first arrived, but after seeing the video he had a smile on his face and looked like he was really paying attention. He accepted a Book of Mormon in Spanish (his native language) and his wife accepted one as well. At the end of the lesson we invited them to be baptized. Enrique actually brought it up again during the lesson. Maria told Jackie and Enrique that they could be baptized when they understand the commitment they are making. She then said that she has already been baptized (into another religion) so we'll have to work with her on that. But we then invited the family to church on Sunday, and they said that they would be there. They all showed up at church, and seemed to enjoy it. It was wonderful having them there. The ward was very welcoming as well, which was fantastic! Amazing family that I just love!

Brother Landers- He is the husband of a member in our ward, and I'm pretty sure I've mentioned him before. We have been going over every week to have breakfast with them and teach a lesson. They have gone really well. This last time we watched "The Testaments" with them and I could tell it really touched Brother Landers. By the end he was almost speechless. It really is a great video that everyone should watch. We asked him what he thought about it, and he said that he didn't see why Jesus Christ wouldn't have appeared to the people in the America's. So we know that he believes Christ did. And it is so true. Christ appeared to the people in the Ancient America's, just as he did to the people in Jerusalem. During our weekly planning this past week, Sister Groneman and I were discussing our investigators and the lessons we were going to teach in the coming week. When we started teaching Brother Landers we chose to just go through the lessons and not commit him to baptism until we knew he was ready for it. We knew that if we tried to commit him too soon he would shut down and completely close off to us. So we have been taking our time with the lessons, and have been enjoying it. We are reaching the end of the lessons and decided we needed to pray to know if we should commit him. So we prayed, and as Sister Groneman said the prayer she asked Heavenly Father to let us know, in whatever way, what we should do. After the prayer Sister Groneman opened up her scriptures to a random page, and I opened my hymn book to a random page. We started reading, and both received the same answer. The scripture she opened up to was the sacrament prayers and the hymn I opened up to was talking about the sacrament. We knew then that he is ready for the commitment. So next time we teach we will be talking about the Sabbath and the Sacrament, and extending the baptismal commitment. The Lord's hand truly is in this work. He knows His children, and has them numbered. I am so grateful to know that I can pray to Him anywhere, anytime, and He will answer my prayers.

It has been a difficult week, but a wonderful week at the same time. I have seen the Lord bless so many lives, and He continues to bless lives. This church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's kingdom on the earth today. Joseph Smith was an instrument in the Lord's hands in bringing about the Restoration. I am so grateful for the testimony I have gained. The Atonement is real. Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer. He lives! The Book of Mormon changes lives. Read it, learn from it, love it!
I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Taylor