April 1, 2013

This last week we were able to pull in another baptism. Her name is Amy and she is a little 9 year old. It was great! I would have a picture for you all, but I don't have my camera on me and the present time. I still have my camera and its up and working great, I just forgot to take it with me this morning to go emailing so it’s still in the apartment. We had been teaching her for about a month and she was someone who just basically fell into our laps so that was a tender mercy from the Lord. We are actually starting to work with this family of three that we found last week. They ended up coming to church and so the only thing that might be a hold up is that the parents aren't married. We have a lesson scheduled for tonight. They have a daughter who is about 15 who was the main reason why we found them. She had been coming to mutual for about a year now and finally Elder Wood and I stopped her a few weeks ago and talked to her, so we finally stopped by her house this last week, and taught them. We are looking forward to good things coming from them.

Tonight after our appointment we actually have to drive all the way to Louisville for an all day meeting tomorrow with President Woodbury. Monthly Zone Leader Councils are always fun. We are trying to rush and frantically put together numbers and our report that we will report on tomorrow. Basically what the report is, is how the Zone did last month as compared to the month before and why that is. Also what we are going to do as leaders to help the missionaries 

Elder Anderson is a good missionary. I can't remember if I have told you this or not, but he comes from a family of lawyers and so he is really good with words. Sometimes he just sits there a picks my brain, at first it was annoying, but now it’s pretty fun because it makes me think and really helps me understand more. It makes me really think before I answer so I would be dang near right to say now I'm actually starting to think before I speak... hahaha finally! ;). Well anyways, we have a lot of stuff to do, but just so you all know, yes we did get taken care of yesterday. The Stake president's wife cooked us dinner and we ate with them. 

Love ya!! Elder Taylor

March 25th, 2013

Hi family! To answer a few of the questions first, Elder Anderson is from Monticello, Utah (All of my companions except for one has been from Utah). He is a really good missionary and both of us are zone leaders together. He has been out about 15 months. So that’s good that we can share the responsibility. So why I'm hoping for is I stay a zone leader for 3 more months and then after that I get sent to a bike area and become a regular missionary for the last 3 months of my mission. Being a Zone Leader is fun and it stretches me, but it gets frustrating sometimes because there is so much work, other than proselyting, that demands our attention. We only get like 3 days out of the 7 to fully proselyte. Even those three days are kind of hindered with some meetings that we have to go to. But I will do what the Lord wants me to do and go where he wants me to go. So that was fun to hear about the little family visit that took place, and I'm happy that Grandma and Grandpa are still alive and kicking

Mom,  I really do love that chapter, Alma 26. It truly shows that we can find joy, happiness, and success in Lord if we lean on him for everything. We truly can do all things, and I think that sometimes we get independent and want to do it all that we forget about the Lord and his loving and matchless love that he has for all of us. I started to think about President Woodbury's favorite scripture Proverbs 3:5-6. I often feel like I'm overwhelmed being in this position, but after President told me about that scripture it really made me start to think. I have weaknesses, as everyone does, so why not rely on the Lord for the extra strength that he has promised he will give if I'm humble about it. So I really like that scripture that you brought up mom. 

Yeah Elder Perry is a good one, and most definitely he has moved up on my radar of favorites, probably top 5 now, but my top 3 are pretty set :). President Monson, Elder Holland, President Utchdorf. Those are the three that blow me away every time. Now its probably Elder Perry and Elder cook is up there, but I also really have grown fond of Elder Oaks and how bold he can be. They are all good ones though. My dream would be to meet Either President Monson and or Elder Holland though. I just love Elder Holland and how bold and up front he is. He is the "bull dog" and I have this talk from him that he gave to the missionaries in the MTC and every time I listen to it, it fires me up. It’s actually pretty similar to the general conference address he gave last GC. 
So it’s actually pretty crazy because we have so much that we need to accomplish before this Friday. Apparently we are getting a new set of missionaries here in E-town and since we are the zone leaders, it is up to us to find an apartment for them, and also to draw their area boundaries. It’s pretty crazy and there is a lot that has to go into it. We get to see a whole new side of missionary work other than just talking to people. Hopefully this Saturday we will have another baptism, so that will be good though, the Lord does truly make up and cause miracles to happen.

Love you all!!

Elder Taylor

March 4, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

The missionary program is growing so fast and we have only seen a few sisters from the great influx of missionaries coming in, but the next transfer is going to be a big change. We have 29 new missionaries coming in and 20 of them are sisters. Only 5 missionaries are leaving and 29 are coming in, so that is going to be a big influx that is felt here in the GKLM. About 15 new areas are going to have to be opened in two weeks. 

This last week was an up and down roller-coaster. I would expect nothing less from my mission, and I have come to know and enjoy whatever comes my way. We were on such a spiritual high being able to hear from two apostles (Elder Perry, and Elder Cook) and it was really a spiritual experience  I truly felt the Holy Ghost stir my heart and my whole body was just ready to go out and work. Then yesterday after it was all said and done after we were high on a spiritual experience Satan was able to throw exactly what was needed to test me. Its nothing to big, but it was enough to know that there is a good and a bad working. It was something that just hit me and made me realize that I do have some holes in my testimony, and so I need to go back and make them stronger so I can make my weakest links stronger. So I have been doing a lot of prayer and reading the scriptures. I know I will be able to make them stronger if I do whats right. I have also been reading my patriarchal blessing as well and that really helps me out. So I have been working on my weak links but also at the same time I can't neglect my strong links so that they are forgotten and become weak. I need to continually nourish every tender mercy that I'm given. I really enjoyed this last weekend knowing that I was able to hear from an Apostle of the Lord though it was really an amazing experience  Elder Perry is so funny and he kept on cracking jokes and kept on making everyone smile and laugh. I couldn't believe that he is 90 years old and yet he was getting around like he was a 70 year old. He explained to us how the process of a Prophet is chosen and it truly is inspired of God. The surprising thing is that . Elder Cook also was just a great speaker. 

So the Lord has been blessing us with people to teach right and left. We have been spending a lot of our time in the apartment trying to plan and pull together trainings that will be beneficial for our zone, so as a consequence we don't have nearly as much time to proselyte, and I don't like it. I feel like I am really rusty when I finally do get to talk to people on the streets because it rarely happens because we are planning so much. So anyways this last week we were able to have 4 member referalls and two of them we set baptismal dates with. So it was amazing to see how this truly is the Lords work and he blesses us with success. So lately I have been making more of an effort of recognizing the Lords hands in my life and it really does make one just a little bit more aware of how much he gives us.

Love ya family!

Elder Taylor

February 25th

Hi family!

So a little update on me, this last week went by fairly well. The thing that stood out to me the most was I was finally able to put my studies to the test the day that I decided to study it. Lately I have been studying Power and Authority (because that is what we are going to train our district on this upcoming week and I want to be prepared) and so on Saturday in the morning I was studying it and what really stood out to me was that as a missionary it is a commandment to teach and preach with power and authority. It hit me pretty hard because I had been thinking that power and authority was something that is achieved over a long period of time and it takes a lot of effort to acquire. Which is true, but its a commandment that the Lord wants us to have right now, so I was able to quickly fix that misconception.

 Then that day we went out tracting and we tracted right into a Jehovah's witness (I have had many bashes and some good, and some bad, but this one was a little different). As soon as we knocked on the door, he comes out with his bible. Before we even introduce ourselves he just starts quoting all of these random scriptures from the bible to try to prove us wrong. Some of the scriptures he used sounded good in theory, and some of them sounded like he needed to be locked up in a looney house, but needless to say he was just rambling off trying to confound us. He wasn't really making sense, but the first little bit we tried to let him see what the truth was through the bible but that got us no where because he wasn't listening. What was weird, however, was that as soon as he started to quote scriptures to us he started to shake a little bit. I didn't think anything of it until about halfway through when I thought to myself, "Why is he shaking so bad?" then the answer came to me. The reason why he is shaking so bad is because its three of us against one of him and he knows that he is getting no where. Right at that moment I remembered what I had been studying and I remembered what I was and who I was called by and I put down the bible and just called him out for being hard-hearted and basically said that the spirit of the Lord has no place in him. Basically I threw down, and I did it in such a way that it even astonished me. I felt like the spirit was there so strong and we were backed up because we had a pure intent, not to disprove his religion like he tried to do us, but to let him see that this truly is the truth in a non prideful way.  It  was a testimony building experience that helped me to see and remind me that I really was called of the Lord.

This upcoming week is going to be a week full of being spiritually jacked. First of Wednesday, we get to go to Louisville for zone conference where we get to hear from President Woodbury as well that is where we have to put on our training. Then on Saturday we will be privileged to go to Louisville again to hear from 3 G.A.S! Its another mission wide conference and we get to meet and listen to Elder Cook, Elder Perry, and Elder Clayton. Elder Clayton is in the presidency of the 70 and Elder Cook and Perry are apostles. I'm so excited. Then on Sunday we are having another opportunity to go to Louisville for a special stake conference where we will get to hear from Elder Cook again. So I'm super excited for this week.

Love ya family!!

Elder Taylor  

February 11, 2013

So I found out how Rashad died. I found out from the missionaries who are now serving back in Lexington so I'm thinking that it’s pretty accurate information. It started with the flu that has been going around, then he went into the hospital to get it checked out and while he was there in the hospital he was diagnosed with diabetic and his sugar level was extremely high, so they kept him over night in the ICU. On Sunday night he started to do a lot better, but then randomly on Monday morning he ended up having a heart attack. I was able to ask a few questions and stuff, and it turns out that his mom and girlfriend are extremely friendly and open to the missionaries now. They kept thanking the missionaries for being there for Rashad and the difference before and after he started meeting with us was incredible. Also his mom said that she was going to look up the missionaries in Washington D.C when she goes back home. So there is still some silver lining in all of this, but I am doing much better now. Change happens but you can't change the past, so only have hope and embrace the future.

This last week we were able to go to Louisville again and participate in the Zone Leader Council. It’s basically a 7 hour long meeting and we have to give reports on how our zone did this last month and what we are going to do this next month to help resolve the problems. It’s pretty hard because it’s like the problems that keep coming up are reoccurring ones and the ways that we are trying to fix them, isn't working, or else the problems wouldn't keep coming back. So we gave our report and our ways to fix it, but I still don't feel like our solutions are good enough. Anyways it was a good time is Louisville and I learned quite a bit.

 I have been thinking a lot lately about the good leaders that I have been able to serve with and around. They had something that just made them a leader and they had "it" the natural ability to lead. I believe I can achieve that but it’s also much more than just that. Elder Wood was telling me of a story of Elder Shaffer, Elder Mason (I replaced Elder Mason when I came here), and Elder Wood all sitting around discussing leadership stuff and Elder Shaffer and Elder Mason were just going off on different Zone Leaders who had "It" and those who didn't. He never found out what "IT" was but as soon as he told me that story, all I have been able to think about was how I can get "IT." 

Love, Elder Taylor

February 4, 2013

So not to put a damper on things, but I want you to know just a little bit of how my week went. I found out that Rashad actually died on Monday of last week and I found out on Thursday. I didn't ever find out what from, but his girlfriend let me know in just a quick letter that he had passed. It went through my heart like a javelin. That was probably the hardest death I have had to deal with since Tyson. I was so close to him and I really considered him as one of my brothers. I learned to love him and care for him tremendously. He was like my best friend and we had plans to hang out after the mission and he was actually going to come down and go to my homecoming talk is what he was telling me the week that I left. I haven't really told anyone how bad it hurt, but it hurt pretty badly. The Thursday night that I found out feels like a big ole nightmare. I didn't sleep hardly at all, and I spent about 3 hours out of the night just tossing and turning and wanting to cry, but not really sure what to do except to pray. I was in a bind and I was trying to pray, but I just felt like there was no one there. Like no one was listening, but I do know that he heard my prayers because eventually I felt a calm assurance that everything will be alright and I was able to finally lay my head down on the pillow and fall asleep. A lot more has happened, and last week I felt empty, but at the same time I have also been able to feel the love and strength that he gives me. Today I feel much better than I have the last few days, but it’s still a healing process and there is nothing that I can do about it now. I did, however, make myself the promise that sometime after my mission, somehow I was going to get in contact with his family and get their approval to take his name to the temple and do his ordinances for him. He was so close to getting baptized and since I wasn't able to get him baptized before he died, I will have to get it done in a year. It was so hard and I just felt weird and empty for the last half of the week almost like I was in a dream. I am grateful for Heavenly Father in sending me this trial, because I learned to rely on him more now than ever. I hope this lesson will stick with me and I can use it for good. When they say that you experience it all on the mission they were right. Also I know that the mission is designed specifically for me. I know that we ran into Rashad for a reason, and even though we weren't able to baptize him, he had said over and over again that he didn't know why he let us come back the first time because he had tried out religion and hated it. I know however that he didn't ever regret it. The Lord had set things up, and hopefully things are working out on the other side, and I would like to think that Tyson is tag-teaming him over there. That would be really neat. 

Anyways things here in Elizabethtown are going great and the ward is doing well, and feeding us pretty good. We average about 3 dinner appointments per week and so it’s nice not having to cook everything. Well family I have to finish up here, we are going to go play some ball at 11, and a missionary whose name is Elder Garrity is coming to play. Usually he doesn't play with us because his area is so far away, but today they came down and supposedly he is really supposed to be good. Like good enough that he went and scrimmaged and played with UK basketball team at a practice and he did so well that the coach wants him to come and walk on after his mission. So I'm really excited to see him play.

 Love you all!!
Elder Taylor

Picture of Elder Taylor and Rashad

 

 

January 28, 2013

Having Fun with Alex and Charlie

Ice cycles hanging from the mission car

Baptism of Alex and Charlie

Yikes, Ice Skating on the front step

Dear family,

This last week was awesome! We were able to get two out of the three baptisms.   It was amazing to see what the Lord can do and how he truly blesses us. The gospel truly can change people’s lives and give them a hope of a future. Alex and Charlie are their names, and they have had the roughest lives ever. It broke my heart and still breaks it when I heard about what they have gone through, but because of them being baptized they now have a hope of leaving it all behind and becoming something greater than the circumstances to which they were placed in. They really have good hearts and are truly amazing. They asked me to baptize them and then Elder Wood to confirm them. I was so honored that they asked me, it was a testimony building experience. Their mom was found and baptized by Elder Shaffer, but since she doesn't have full custody, we weren't able to baptize the two that were of age. So things finally aligned themselves up and Juliet filed for full custody and instead got temporary custody and so we just went ahead and did it.( haha take that satan)!  It’s a really good family, and I am excited to see both of them progress, and really excited to see Charlie go on a mission in like 10 years. 

This last week we were able to go down to Sulpher Well and blitz them. I was able to go out with Elder Hildenbrandt and Elder Wood worked with Elder Berube (my MTC Comp :) but Elder Hildebrandt and I literally had so much success in that day it completely blew me away. That day we only talked to 10 people and 4 of them because investigators and 3 of them became potential investigators, and then we were able to teach 7 lessons. That is almost a day unheard of because it usually takes like 10 rejections before you finally find someone who will at least give you the time of day. It was almost as if everyone we talked to was so nice and friendly and just wanted to hear the gospel. It blew me away from how much the Lord had prepared those individuals. So that was a small miracle, but the biggest one came that night when we found out that everything had been prepared so Alex and Charlie could get baptized.

Also while we were up to Sulpher Well there was a big ice storm and the entire ground was covered in 2 inches of ice! it was crazy!  After the ice storm, we all walked/skated down to the well where sulpher water is springing up out of. It took us so long because we had to be careful and we were like clenching our hips the entire way so we wouldn't fall. It was almost like snowboarding, so I think we may have broke a rule "No winter sports aloud." woops! but  anywho, we were able to taste it, and it tasted and smelled like rotten eggs!!  But apparently it is really good for you.

The place that we are staying is 262 Metts ct apt 4. Elizabethtown Ky, 42701, actually just right around the corner from my last apartment.

Time is running short, Love ya!! 
Elder Taylor