Oh man oh man has this week been something else I tell you! I have so much that has happened that I don't know if I will remember it all. To start of this week I have to tell you about all the spiritual experiences that have happened lately. I will sadly admit that at the beginning of this week I was a little homesick and was not as focused on the work as I should have been, but a member set me straight! We went by her house to check on her because she was sick. As we were getting ready to leave after the prayer she asked how my family was out of the blue. It caught me by surprise and I said they were fine. I don't think she believed me when I said that. I told her we had to go and that I would tell her about it next time. The next morning she called me at 9:00 which for her is super early. She said I needed to come over right away because she needed to talk to me. I was on an exchange so I was with a sister that I barely knew. We went over there and immediately I was crying because I missing home and thinking about them. The sister asked me why I didn't trust that Heavenly Father would take care of my family while I was gone. She continued to talk to me about my mission and why I am here. She then asked me about my patriarchal blessing and then started telling me things that is says. She told me I need to learn to trust in the Lord. I was so shocked by what she said. It was exactly what I needed to hear to focus myself on this work. It gets better though! The next day at church I was talking to a member about his Christmas vacation. In the middle of me talking he cut me off and said don't worry about your family they are doing great. They are getting blessed for you being out here. I was blown away!! I didn't know what to say besides thank you. That night I had to lead a lesson at Sister Stortz house. She said I was to teach her brother and that Sister Blume wasn't allowed to help me prepare. She said I was teaching because I needed to water my plant while plant a seed in her brother. The lesson went great. I definitely think I learned more about forgiveness than he did.
The next crazy thing was when a man that I never met before called me out on not showing my love and letting people love me. I was talking to Sister Blume a night or two before about how I needed to learn to love out here. Even President Ashton says that is what I need to learn out here. I was blown away when Marcus (investigator) wouldn't accept my answers. He said if I really wanted to be a missionary that I needed to open up and let people into my life and stop being so reserved. It was just one thing after the other. Things like this make me know that the Lord is out there. He loves for us and knows what we need to hear. The Holy Ghost was with me at those moments I could feel him and I can't deny that He was the one leading those conversations.
Some other things that happened this week oh just a baptism!! The Soto kids got baptized! Oh man was that just an amazing experience. The elders were the ones that finished teaching them, but we went to the baptism anyways. All the missionaries that taught them sang. I got a cold the day before, but I sang my heart out. Thankfully no windows were broken. We sang our mission song which is Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. I love that song and it is my dad's favorite so I get to think of him every time we sing it. The baptism was great the spirit was so strong. I am so happy for those 4 kids. I know that they will do great things in the church through the rest of their lives.
I ended the week with getting a miserable cold, but did that stop me... No!! I worked through it the best I could. Sunday night after a lesson we went home and Sister Blume didn't let me leave or do anything the rest of the night. She said I need to rest so that it won't get worse. At the lesson the members gave me medicine and said if I didn't take it myself they were going to shove it down my throat. I took it right after that! We borrowed a thermometer from a member in the ward that lives next to us. The other sister were there and came by right before curfew to check on me. They are so sweet. I felt so dumb wasting time not teaching so I filled it with watching mormon messages and basically talking about the gospel with Sister Blume. She made me take Nyquil so I would crash, but I made the mistake of taking it right before nightly planning. I don't remember anything that we planned, but I do remember wanting to be productive and read some of Jesus The Christ before bed. Sadly I fell asleep with the book in my hand. Sister Blume told me in the morning that I had a firm grip on it when she went to take it away from me and tuck me in. I don't remember that haha. I slept forever the next day and felt a little better. I didn't want to waste anymore of the Lord's time so we left around noon to do some service for a member. We rode maybe half a mile down the road and BAM all my energy was gone, but I was determined to do something. We helped take down all the Christmas decorations. We were there for 5 hours!! We helped clean the kitchen as well. That was awful. I was doing dishes for over an hour. The smell was awful thankfully my stuffy noise took care of most of that. The one smell it couldn't mask was the chicken soup that was a week old that sat on the stove that whole time!! I started singing the lyrics to brave so I would have the courage to empty the pot and not throw up. The smell was awful. I may or may not have said a few curse words while taking care of that one. I know that I am getting blessings for cleaning those dishes! This week was great. I worked through the times with no appointments and having no idea what to do. This was one of the first weeks that I didn't cry from being homesick!! YAY! I know that is because I threw myself into the work. If you stay focused good things will come. I know that I have to keep that in mind when the work is slow. This area will grow and I am excited to be part of it. I love you all and hope all is well where ever you are. Know that God loves you and knows who you are. He is always there for you and you just have to trust that He is doing what is best for you. I know that is gospel is true with all of my heart. I am so glad that I am able to be a representative of Jesus Christ and to bring people unto Him. I miss you all, but I am needed here. So deal with it and just watch some sports for me! I love you!!
Love,
Sister Marie Taylor
Oh man oh man has this week been something else I tell you! I have so much that has happened that I don't know if I will remember it all. To start of this week I have to tell you about all the spiritual experiences that have happened lately. I will sadly admit that at the beginning of this week I was a little homesick and was not as focused on the work as I should have been, but a member set me straight! We went by her house to check on her because she was sick. As we were getting ready to leave after the prayer she asked how my family was out of the blue. It caught me by surprise and I said they were fine. I don't think she believed me when I said that. I told her we had to go and that I would tell her about it next time. The next morning she called me at 9:00 which for her is super early. She said I needed to come over right away because she needed to talk to me. I was on an exchange so I was with a sister that I barely knew. We went over there and immediately I was crying because I missing home and thinking about them. The sister asked me why I didn't trust that Heavenly Father would take care of my family while I was gone. She continued to talk to me about my mission and why I am here. She then asked me about my patriarchal blessing and then started telling me things that is says. She told me I need to learn to trust in the Lord. I was so shocked by what she said. It was exactly what I needed to hear to focus myself on this work. It gets better though! The next day at church I was talking to a member about his Christmas vacation. In the middle of me talking he cut me off and said don't worry about your family they are doing great. They are getting blessed for you being out here. I was blown away!! I didn't know what to say besides thank you. That night I had to lead a lesson at Sister Stortz house. She said I was to teach her brother and that Sister Blume wasn't allowed to help me prepare. She said I was teaching because I needed to water my plant while plant a seed in her brother. The lesson went great. I definitely think I learned more about forgiveness than he did.
The next crazy thing was when a man that I never met before called me out on not showing my love and letting people love me. I was talking to Sister Blume a night or two before about how I needed to learn to love out here. Even President Ashton says that is what I need to learn out here. I was blown away when Marcus (investigator) wouldn't accept my answers. He said if I really wanted to be a missionary that I needed to open up and let people into my life and stop being so reserved. It was just one thing after the other. Things like this make me know that the Lord is out there. He loves for us and knows what we need to hear. The Holy Ghost was with me at those moments I could feel him and I can't deny that He was the one leading those conversations.
Some other things that happened this week oh just a baptism!! The Soto kids got baptized! Oh man was that just an amazing experience. The elders were the ones that finished teaching them, but we went to the baptism anyways. All the missionaries that taught them sang. I got a cold the day before, but I sang my heart out. Thankfully no windows were broken. We sang our mission song which is Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. I love that song and it is my dad's favorite so I get to think of him every time we sing it. The baptism was great the spirit was so strong. I am so happy for those 4 kids. I know that they will do great things in the church through the rest of their lives.
I ended the week with getting a miserable cold, but did that stop me... No!! I worked through it the best I could. Sunday night after a lesson we went home and Sister Blume didn't let me leave or do anything the rest of the night. She said I need to rest so that it won't get worse. At the lesson the members gave me medicine and said if I didn't take it myself they were going to shove it down my throat. I took it right after that! We borrowed a thermometer from a member in the ward that lives next to us. The other sister were there and came by right before curfew to check on me. They are so sweet. I felt so dumb wasting time not teaching so I filled it with watching mormon messages and basically talking about the gospel with Sister Blume. She made me take Nyquil so I would crash, but I made the mistake of taking it right before nightly planning. I don't remember anything that we planned, but I do remember wanting to be productive and read some of Jesus The Christ before bed. Sadly I fell asleep with the book in my hand. Sister Blume told me in the morning that I had a firm grip on it when she went to take it away from me and tuck me in. I don't remember that haha. I slept forever the next day and felt a little better. I didn't want to waste anymore of the Lord's time so we left around noon to do some service for a member. We rode maybe half a mile down the road and BAM all my energy was gone, but I was determined to do something. We helped take down all the Christmas decorations. We were there for 5 hours!! We helped clean the kitchen as well. That was awful. I was doing dishes for over an hour. The smell was awful thankfully my stuffy noise took care of most of that. The one smell it couldn't mask was the chicken soup that was a week old that sat on the stove that whole time!! I started singing the lyrics to brave so I would have the courage to empty the pot and not throw up. The smell was awful. I may or may not have said a few curse words while taking care of that one. I know that I am getting blessings for cleaning those dishes! This week was great. I worked through the times with no appointments and having no idea what to do. This was one of the first weeks that I didn't cry from being homesick!! YAY! I know that is because I threw myself into the work. If you stay focused good things will come. I know that I have to keep that in mind when the work is slow. This area will grow and I am excited to be part of it. I love you all and hope all is well where ever you are. Know that God loves you and knows who you are. He is always there for you and you just have to trust that He is doing what is best for you. I know that is gospel is true with all of my heart. I am so glad that I am able to be a representative of Jesus Christ and to bring people unto Him. I miss you all, but I am needed here. So deal with it and just watch some sports for me! I love you!!
Love,
Sister Marie Taylor
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