It's been a happy, terrific, so good, very great week

Hello family/friends,

This week has been amazingly wonderful. Sister Smith and I have really tried to do our very best, and we are seeing the benefits from it. We had Family Home Evening with the M family on Tuesday. We talked about Temples. Sharon asked if you had to be baptized to go to heaven. We answered her question, and then Carla (the mom) asked her girls why they wanted to be baptized. She was trying to get an idea as to if they were ready for it or not. Unfortunately they didn't give good reasons. One of the girls responded that she was the only one in primary who was not baptized. Obviously the wrong answer. The other two girls froze I think because we were there and that made them nervous. After the girls left the room we asked Carla if she would allow them to be baptized, and she said that she will when they are ready for the right reasons. We now know that we just need to work with the girls gaining their testimonies. (which really they have, we've heard them before. They just need to know how to articulate them) But we did make a break through with Carla. She asked us a lot of questions (mostly about the Book of Mormon) and we committed her to read it. It was an amazing lesson.

We also really opened up when contacting this week, thanks to the trainings we received at our Zone meeting this week. I feel myself improving a lot. It is hard to just go up to a random person and share with them the things you love. But rather than quickly giving them a Mormon.org card and walking away, we have tried to talk to them more and share our beliefs. I know that we gained the strength and confidence to do so from the Lord.

In our Zone meeting we were challenged to make a sacrifice for double the baptisms. I thought a lot about this challenge, and chose my sacrifice. Less than a week later we are seeing blessings from it. Last night we went to go see a less-active family in the ward. We have a ward Fall Festival coming up and we are trying to invite as many people as we can to it. My companion has been wanting to go visit this family for several weeks now, and I had always been doubtful about it and didn't see a point. (Shame on me) I finally gave in and we went to see them. We both expected to just drop off the invitation and leave, but they invited us in. Woohoo! We'll take it. We talked for a while with Sister S. Then Brother S and their son, Sam came in and joined the conversation. Eventually we got to the topic of why they hadn't been to church, and they mentioned that Sam hadn't been baptized, and he is 15. He said that he wanted to be baptized. Then Brother S said that he wanted to be the one to baptize him. So completely unexpected, we got a baptismal date. He agreed to prepare to be baptized on November 27th. It was a complete miracle and answer to my prayers. The entire time I've been in this area, we have struggled to find even one person to teach. This week, when we finally decided to open our mouths and really do our best, we have seen the benefits from it. I know the Lord is willing to bless those who try. His hand is in this work. He knows His children, and where we will find them. I learned a great lesson this week...listen to your companion when multiple times she says she wants to see someone.

We also got a couple other new investigators. Actually, one is a former which we got in touch with again. The other we have known for a while because he works at the nursing home we serve at. Finally, I gained enough courage to open my mouth and ask him if we could share our message with him. He was quick to say yes. Oh my gosh! Why have I waited all this time?! Seriously, you'd think I would have learned this by now. But I did hear from someone that the first six months of your mission you are learning, the second six months you are applying what you've learned (that's where I am now) and the last six months is the time to shine! Wondering what it would be for the Elders? Add six months to the learning ;) I have learned more this week than I have in a three month period of time. I am grateful that the Lord is blessing this area and giving me courage and strength. I love the gospel with all my heart, and I love sharing it with others.

I hope ya'll have a blessed week! Don't forget to read the Book of Mormon. And look up the talk "True Friends that Lift" by Elder Scott. It is an amazing talk. Oh how I love it! And you will too!



I love ya'll!

Sister Taylor