"Plow in hope"

Hello,

It is a beautiful day, not too hot and not too cold (THANKFULLY). I hope the weather in the West is nice. There's no telling what the weather is going to be like here. One day it is warm enough to just wear a light sweater and the next it is so cold you can hardly stand to be outside for one minute. I think I've mentioned before that Idaho cold has nothing on Georgia cold...and that is because of the humidity. It is horrific! My companion and I are going to have to get creative if we want to be able to survive this winter. Burrrr!

We had a wonderful appointment with our investigator, Brielle. She is super sweet! The sisters that were here before had taught her once, and now we are working on preparing her for baptism. We soft-committed her last week, we just need to set a date with her tomorrow. She is very open and enjoys learning. Star, our other investigator, has no religious background whatsoever-she is atheist. We have met with her two times, the first time focusing solely on faith. It honestly was not the best lesson ever. In fact, it was super rough. But I am very happy with how last night's lesson went. It's actually kind of interesting how we came in contact with her and started teaching her. She goes to UGA and a member from one of the family wards around here was her TA in some class she had last semester. She noticed how outgoing and happy he always was and randomly asked him one day if he was Mormon. After he said he was I guess that kind of sparked her interest, so she went on to mormon.org and requested a copy of the Book of Mormon. She thought that it would be sent to her via mail, so she clicked the option to receive it immediately. Two hours later, the Sisters in her hometown went to her house to deliver it. Her mom was the only one home at the time and turned them away, but somehow they were able to get in contact with Star later on to give it to her. These Sisters then called us up to pass her onto us since she was going back to UGA for the new semester. Now we are teaching her. She is not extremely open, but she is learning and trying to develop faith. I know that if she opens her heart and desires to come to know God that she will. She is very friendly and already pretty much lives the principles of the gospel.

Each week during my studies I pick a Christ-like attribute I want to study and work on developing, and for some reason I can't seem to get past hope. I enjoy studying all of them, but I just keep getting drawn back to this one. I think it's because I have studied the other ones so much in the past, that I am finding more joy now in learning about hope. Elder Snow in last April's General Conference said "Hope is an emotion which brings richness to our everyday lives. It is defined as 'the feeling that...events will turn out for the best'." I have also learned that hope is demonstrated in several different ways. It is confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and (my favorite) patient perseverance. The past few weeks and more specifically the past few days I have been pondering on the things that I hope for. As a missionary I hope for success, people to teach, true conversions, etc. As a person I hope for happiness and health. As a daughter of God I have hope in the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Hope that if I do what is asked of me now that I will have never-ending happiness in my future. 1 Corinthians 9:10 talks about "plowing in hope." No matter what obstacles or challenges life may bring us, it is important to always have hope and to constantly "plow in hope." I am personally grateful for the time I get to spend studying each morning, because I am able to learn and become a better person. I am grateful that I have Preach My Gospel and the scriptures so readily available. I encourage y'all to take time this week to really study a topic that interests you. Whether it be a Christ-like attribute or something more broad. I know that the Spirit will teach and uplift, because it has for me.

Life as a missionary has its ups and downs. But for every down there seems to be an even bigger up. It's a good thing Heavenly Father is patient, because He probably would have given up on me long ago. I continue to learn and grow each day. The Lord has truly blessed me, and I hope you can find blessings in your life, however big or small they may seem. Keep reading your Book of Mormon!

with much love, Sister Taylor