"It's a wonderful day in the neighborhood"

Hello Everyone,

Well, I am sad that I won't be coming back to the same ward but it will be fun to see what the new ward is like. It will also be good to see old faces, i'm sure. This has been quite the week. Very long, but also pretty good. We had a couple of really good appointments with some new investigators. We are starting to fill our teaching pool, which is great! I met Fei at our booth at the student center, and we are going to be having our second appointment with him this afternoon. Our first appointment went really well. He has faith in God and the power of prayer, but he doesn't really have a faith in Jesus Christ. So we thought it would be good to watch "Finding Faith in Christ" with him. He loved it! We then just talked about Jesus Christ and the things He has done for us. Today we will be teaching the Restoration, and aiming for setting a baptismal date.

We also have a couple of other appointments this afternoon. One with a former investigator that the past sisters were teaching. The other is with Sarah, another student here at UGA that we met at our booth. She called last week and said that one of us gave her a card and she checked out the website and wanted to talk to someone who could answer her questions. It will be fun to meet her and see what kinds of questions she has. She sounded super sweet on the phone, so I'm hopeful that this lesson will go well.

Chrystal, one of my investigators from Loganville got baptized this past Saturday. Unfortunately I couldn't make it to it, but I heard it went really well. She was all smiles the day of her baptism, and then again the day of her confirmation. She was apparently just glowing. That's one of the best things a missionary can witness on the mission...the change that takes place in individuals. I'm so happy that she was finally able to enter into this covenant with her Father in Heaven. Satan was working really hard on her and the Loganville Sisters to keep this from happening. Despite a fender bender and getting their tires slashed while on their way to teach Chrystal, the Sisters were persistent and didn't let that stop them. It's great to see the fruit of their efforts. Yay!

Monday we had a half mission conference/zone conference. Three zones came together to receive instruction and trainings from Elder Gavarett (some general authority), his wife, President and Sister Wolfert, and some fellow missionaries. It was long, but really good! The meeting was completely guided by the Spirit. The program went out the window when Elder Gavarett started calling on random missionaries to give 3 minute talks right there on the spot. Poor Sister Young. I thought she was going to collapse when he called her up there. The look on her face was priceless, and she turned to me and asked "what do I say?" I told her to follow the spirit, and she got up and did fantastic!

Elder Gavarett talked a lot about how we need to be increasing our numbers. The number of baptisms we have, the goal for baptisms, and the number of people we talk to in general. He showed us a scripture in Luke 5 where Christ is talking to Simon Peter and telling him to "launch out into the deep, and let down [his] nets for a draught". Simon replied by saying "Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing; nevertheless, at thy word I will let down the net." It goes on to say that when he did this he had success in catching fish. So much so that he needed to call in the other ship to help. Then both ships were filled. Simon was surprised at what had just happened, and he cried repentance. Jesus then said "fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men" and Simon, James, and John "forsook all and followed him." This story from the scriptures can very much be applied to missionary work. When we, as missionaries, have gone out and done what we think is our best and yet we still have seen no fruits of our efforts, we need to press on. Our mission leaders are always telling us new ways to do the work, and it is when we are obedient in following what they say that we will see blessings. There is always something more we can do. My companions and I have been trying really hard the past couple of weeks to open our mouths and talk to everyone, to contact former investigators, and to do everything that we can to see success in our area. We are beginning to see the fruits of those efforts and it is exciting. The Lord knows His sheep, and He will lead us to them when we are being obedient and showing our efforts.

After the meeting Elder Gavarett wanted to do some interviews. So he (by the Spirit of course) chose 5 missionaries to talk to. Out of the 80+ missionaries that were there, I was chosen as one of those 5. Talk about nerve wracking. It was actually really good though because it got me thinking about the past year on the mission and what I have learned and accomplished, but also what I still want to learn and accomplish. He asked me about how I felt about the mission so far and one thing that I've learned. I would have to say that one thing I have learned is to really trust in the Lord and His timing. Coupled with that is being patient with the Lord and His timing. There have been many times on the mission when I have wanted things to happen...now! But I have come to realize that if things were to always happen in my timing I would not learn the things I need to. I have grown so much through my patience (or attempted patience) in the Lord's time table. Things ALWAYS work out. Maybe not the way that I expected, but always for the better. It's amazing how much the Lord knows each of us and what we need, but how often I quickly forget that. Good thing I have time to improve.

The work is going great here in the South! I hope y'all are doing well and enjoying life. Keep sharing the gospel with your friends and family. It truly will and does bless lives. I have witnessed this for myself! Jesus Christ lives and loves us. He is our Savior and Redeemer, and has provided a way for us to return to live with our Father in Heaven. It is up to us, as individual sons and daughters of God, to accept and act upon that. I am grateful for my life here on Earth, and for the opportunity I have to share the joy of the gospel with others.

with love, Sister Taylor

P.S. Pictures... 1. Me with one of the many Uga bulldogs you will find on campus 2. Sister Young, Sister Williams, and myself on campus 3. Part of the best district EVER (from Loganvile) at Zone Conference! Sister Teisina, Sister Taylor, Elder Ball, and Elder Phillips!