Monday, April 22, 2013

Happy Birthday Taylor!!


Hey Family!!!!!!
     This week was really great! So to answer a couple questions that I read in a couple of your emails, yes I am still in a threesome and I am training Sister Wilcox AND Sister Nelson!! It's so exciting but at the same time it's so crazy to think that they are looking to me as an example of how a missionary should be.  Like I don't even think about that but then during lessons when they don't know how to answer something or don't know what to say, they both look at me!! So anyway, I will tell you about my week now!
     Monday we went to the history museum and it was pretty cool!  Also, Robert LOVED church and he called us and told us over and over how much he loved being there and the vibes he got and the people there and it was so great.  On Monday, he called us and told us he had been reading the Book of Mormon for hours the night before and then asked how he could get baptized! Pretty sweet huh?? It was the best ever!!! Like seriously.  We are so excited for him!
     Tuesday we had a lesson with Eugene and he said he has cut back on his smoking but he's still really trying.  The only thing holding him back from being baptized is his family.  Since the first time he was "baptized" didn't work out to well and everything that went wrong, went wrong, his family was really angry and is already concerned with his health so they are hesitant to let him try it again.  But I think he really is trying and so we are just going to continue on being forward with him and encouraging him.  That night we had dinner at the Baileys - I think they are one of my favorite houses to go to for dinner.  She is from Switzerland and is like an AMAZING cook because she has all of these recipes from Switzerland.  Her daughter Sarah makes and sells bread and this one kind of bread she made was SO GOOD! It's called zopf break - you should totes look it up and make it.  Anyway, the husband is a neurosurgeon and he said we could come and watch a surgery sometime on pday if we wanted!!  I decided that Erin should come and live in my ward here for a couple months because like every other person is some type of incredible surgeon or doctor and I'm sure they would let her work for them or something and she could get a ton of awesome experience! Anyway!
     Wednesday we had district meeting and I met my new district since we had transfers and all and I love it so much!! It's just us 3 sisters and then Elder Toki is our district leader and then Elder London, Nelson, and Locklear.  They are all really hilarious and you can tell they are good missionaries but still have fun which is nice.  After district meeting, we had a lesson with Robert and we made a baptism date for May 4th! We talked about studying the scriptures rather than just reading them and then baptism and receiving the holy ghost! I don't think his reading comprehension is very good at all so we gave him a pencil and told him to underline what his favorite scriptures were in what he read and then at our next lesson we would talk about why he liked those ones.  We are so excited for him!! EXCEPT!!! UGH so he has to come to church 3 times before he is baptized and he DIDN'T COME ON SUNDAY! He promised he would and since he liked it so much before we thought he would for sure be there but he didn't come! We were seriously so bummed.  We are going to try and call him today and see why he wasn't there.  We had another lesson with him on Friday also about tithing and fasting and fast offerings and stuff and it was really cool because he gets all his income from social security and you could tell that for him, paying 10% of that was going to be hard, but he was like "Well, if it's a commandment and the Lord wants me to do it then of course I will do it".  I thought that was a really good answer! But hopefully paying tithing didn't scare him away - I will keep you updated!  We also went tracting and we tracted into this athiest couple that let us in for a long time! They ended up not being interested but we left them with a plan of savlation booklet.  I just think it's so sad to not believe in anything at all and they believe that their "worth' is just like any other animal on the earth.  Like we are born and then we die. I think that's so sad!  That night we had the RS birthday party and they had decorated the whole gym with all different quilts that different women had made from the ward and then had a short story with them.  Then, one of the sisters talked about quilting and told a story about this lady that was at a park or something unfolded this BEAUTIFUL quilt that was really detailed and just really nice and big and then she just laid it out on the grass and she had dirt on her shoes and so did all of her children but they all sat down on it like it wasn't a big deal.  So she went over to the lady and was like your quilt is so beautiful, how can you just get it dirty like that! And she answered by saying, when her kids grow up, it's the soccer quilt or the picnic blanket or the movie quilt that they are going to want to take with them, not the quilt that was hung up on the wall or folded neatly in a box.  Anyway, I really liked that story. 
     Thursday we had a lesson with Fran (she goes to Unity church) and Gracie.  Fran is pretty set in her ways with her Unity church, however, she still wants to learn more about our church.  She believes that everyone has their own path and that God doesn't have ONE path that he wants everyone to follow so even though she thinks what we believe is nice, I don't think she really plans on changing her ways so we will probably drop her soon.  Gracie’s lesson went really well! She has been taught all the lessons now so we just go and review things or make up a lesson basically.  We talked about the youth theme, standing in holy places, and she really enjoyed that.  She has talked to her family about getting baptized and her grandpa is going to baptize her, so it looks like May 4th is going to work! It rained literally ALL day on Thursday, it was crazy!
     Friday, we went and visited a referral we got from a member; the Crockett family.  They have seen the missionaries multiple times before and love them, but they just don't agree with all of our beliefs.  To start, they said that the gold plates are a stretch for them.  However, they are "taking a break" from religion/church right now.  They were Methodist before but the politics of it pushed them away.  So they are looking for a church right now which is PERFECT! They said they are not interested in learning about our church.  BUT another reason they didn't like our church is because they feel like women aren't equal with men, and I remembered a talk from conference that talked about how they are equal basically and they said we could come back and share it with them this week! SO that's a start! Right? That night at dinner, the members house we were at have a daughter going on her mission to Croatia - that seems pretty cool!
     Saturday we went and visited a family, the Morris', that had been tracted into and they had TONS of questions which were great.  We talked in their driveway for about an hour.  They are Christian and they like the church they go to but they seem really open about learning more about our church.  They have 3 little kids.  We gave them a plan of salvation pamphlet and they said we could come back! My companions and I are getting a lot better at teaching in unity.  We were struggling for a little bit there, and we still have some things to work on, but it's cool for me to see my companions speak up and just answer people's questions - it makes me feel like I'm doing something right! haha. It's been so interesting to me how you have to change how you teach depending on your companions.  Like with Sister Johnson, we were both really talkative and our conversations just flowed with investigators and we would politely interrupt each other when we had something to say and it just worked! But my new companions don't work like that which is totally fine! But I think that's how you become a better teacher when you are able to adjust your teaching styles and stuff - so ya! 
     So as far as Anton goes...we are super duper bummed.  He's not in our area!! We had to hand him over to the Elders and they were more than happy to take him (obviously).  So that STINKS!!!!!
     Also, I got my first mosquito bite this week.  A couple of days ago, I thought I lost my nametag and I was really sad because it's a) the only one i have and b) it was my first one ever and I have worn it everyday and I was really sad so I prayed about it and I found it under my seat in the car! Sounds dumb but it meant a lot to me!
     Yesterday we had church and we FINALLY have a Ward Mission Leader! He has already made a ward mission plan that is simple but REALLY, REALLY good - so I hope it starts to be used soon! After church, we went to visit Shu Fang and Mi.  Last time we were with them, Shu Fang didn't understand why God allowed people to suffer.  Her mother has Alzheimers and she is frequently in pain and is suffering and she doesn't understand why that has to happen.  So we found a talk about it and printed it off in Chinese.  Anyway, so we went to visit them and Shu Fang wasn't home but Mi was! She said that they had researched a little more about our church and found that it conflicts a lot with their Buddhists beliefs and they were just more comfortable with that.  BUT she said we could come back this week and teach them - so we will see!
     Today, I requested we go to lunch at TGI Fridays so that I can get a dirt cup! haha I don't even know what else is on their menu besides that! But then we are going to the zoo with our district so that will be fun!  And then tonight, the office sisters are having us over for dinner to celebrate my birthday. Our district leader changed district meeting from wednesday to tuesday this week so that we could celebrate my birthday! Nice huh? 
    Also, yes I got your packages!!!! I opened the one and it was seriously the cutest ever!!!!! haha that was so nice of you!  The card is soooo perfect - I loved it!!!!!!!! And I love Resess (obviously) and we are going to make the cake tomorrow and the silly string and everything is just great!! Thank you SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!! The other box is sitting patiently next to my desk and I CANNOT wait to open it!!!! YAY!!!!!! Ahhh seriously THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited!!!!!!!! Also, shoutout to the greatest neighbor ever!!  Sister Colley is so sweet.  She sent me a package with some protein  bars and a couple of CD's and Book of Mormon reading charts and a card and those stickers you put in your scriptures and it was just really thoughtful!! AND I got Alyssa's birthday card this week - you are so nice!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
     Okay, I think that's all?? I still can't believe I'm going to be 20 YEARS OLD tomorrow - WEEEIRRRDDD!!!!!! Well, thank you so much for your emails and letters - I loved reading them all!!!!!!!! Have an AWESOME week and I can't wait to hear about Alyssa's WEDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOLY COW - that is so crazy.  Alyssa - you are getting married this week! I am so excited for you!!!!!! I can tell you are so excited and happy and I better hear about all the details from everyone!!!!!!!!! Along with pictures - I want lots of pictures.  Okay, well I love you all soooooooooooooooooooo much and you are in my prayers!!!! Be safe and have a fabulous week.  I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love,
Taylor
XOXOXOXO

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