Monday, January 27, 2014

Week 35 - Nyssa 02/03/14

Week 34 - Nyssa 01/27/14



Family!

Last week I told you about  M., who has been inactive for quite awhile and didn't want us to try to reactivate her, but was very friendly and open to our company.  Well........  M. attended church again this week!  Woo! Hoo!  She even met with the Bishop and got everything set for her Patriarchal Blessing and a personal plan in place to prepare for the temple.  After her interview M. came into Relief Society absolutely beaming!  She had a whole new light about her!  We're hoping the Bishop will extend a calling to her soon and get her involved serving.  She'd be great in the Young Women's organization - the Young Women's Presidency totally agrees that M. would be great working with the girls.  We'll see what the Bishop decides.

I was asked to speak in Sacrament meeting yesterday.  I was asked to focus on a conference talk titled, "Put Your Trust in the Lord", by Elder M. Russell Ballard.  I'd send you a copy but I don't actually write down my talks anymore.  I just study, and make a few notes (prompts), then give my talk.  Crazy, right?!  I'm a pro now!

Love you guys so much!

Sister Lindsay Taylor

Here's the link to Elder Ballard's talk:

Become engaged in doing what you can in sharing the great message of the Restoration of Jesus Christ.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/put-your-trust-in-the-lord?lang=eng



"I quote from another successful member missionary, Clayton Christensen: “Every time you take someone figuratively by the hand and introduce him or her to Jesus Christ, you will feel how deeply our Savior loves you and loves the person whose hand is in yours” (The Power of Everyday Missionaries: The What and How of Sharing the Gospel [2013], 1)."

Week 33 - Nyssa 01/20/14

Week 32 - Nyssa 01/13/14

Week 31 - Nyssa 1/06/14

Week 30 - Nyssa 12/30/13

Week 29 - Nyssa 12/23/13

Week 28 - Nyssa 12/16/13


Hello Family!!

I’m short on time again,  but I wanted to make sure I told you that we’ve been working with an investigator and things are going very well.  At our next appointment we’re going to extend the baptismal invitation! Woohoo! I'm so excited!

We played basketball during our exercise time at one of the ward buildings in Kuna.  Some of the members that would come and play saw that I didn’t have basketball shoes so they bought me an awesome pair of Nikes and sent them to Nyssa!!!  Aren't they sweet?!?!


Thanks for all the uplifting words of wisdom. Keep the emails and letters coming!  You guys rock!!




Awesome Nikes!

Week 27 - Nyssa 12/09/13



About Nyssa, Oregon




About Kuna, Idaho



Week 26 - Nyssa, OR 12/02/13


12/02/13

Hello Family!

I knew this day would come, but I didn't expect it for another month or so.  On Friday after Jacob's baptism I was told I was being transferred to Nyssa, Oregon.  Sister Bishoff was a visa waiter called to serve in Argentina and temporarily serving in Nyssa until her visa was approved.  She was serving with Sister Hernandez in the Spanish area of Nyssa.  Sister Zavala opened the English area of Nyssa with a brand new sister, Sister Duncan.  Sister Bishoff received her visa last week and left this morning for Argentina and is so excited to be on her way.   Sister Zavala is a native Spanish speaker so she is going to be Sister Hernandez's new companion and I've been assigned to take over the English area.  Did ya get all that?

Well, In the two short days before I drove to Nyssa, I quickly made my rounds to say goodbye to as many people as I could and it wasn't easy.  When we stopped by to tell Shari Ladd that I was leaving and say my goodbyes, she ran into another room and came back a few minutes later with card and said, "Since you won't be here for Christmas."  I opened it when I got home, and she had stuck $50 in that card.  Isn't that so sweet?!

Sister Anderson, Sister Feinauer, Sister Taylor
Farewell to Sister Taylor
From Kuna, Idaho to Nyssa, Oregon



Goodbyes with the Darrington Family.


Sister Taylor & Sister Callahan
(Lindsay has lived with the Callahan family from June through November 2013)


Sister Taylor & Sister Hubert



Alright dad, now to answer all of your questions from your last e-mail. I was definitely surprised that I was being transferred to Nyssa! It came out of nowhere! Sister Anderson was really surprised too. Yes, Sister Anderson will be training Sister Feinauer. 
I do have a car in my area! Its another brand new 2013 Chevy Cruise! I love those cars! We are the only English speaking missionaries in town. The Spanish Sisters we’re staying with cover Nyssa, Vale, Ontario, Parma, and I think maybe New Plymouth. That’s a big area! I was able to stay for Jacobs baptism! It was great! Sister Anderson and I did sing and it was beautiful. The spirit was there for sure. One of the ward members asked us to sing it in church and we said yes....but that was before President sent me out to Oregon.

Oh, and the food that the Sister from Ukraine made for us was really good! We had Pork and Borsht (I really don't know how to spell it).

So the area is really great! I love the people here even though the majority of the population is over 70 years old. The members are still adjusting to having their own missionaries. We don't have any investigators at the moment, but we will soon! We just have to get out there and find them without freezing in the snow! We live in a trailer with another companionship. 

I love you and miss you a lot! I can't wait to skype you on Christmas! YAY!

Well I love all of you and miss you guys a ton! 

Love ya loads!


Sister Lindsay Taylor



11/27/13

Our new companion is Sister Feinauer (sounds like fine hour).  She's from Houston, Texas and ready to dive into missionary work!  We had a tracting activity that was really fun.  We got to go out with Sister Gray from Samoa.  She is the happiest person ever!  I've learned that about Polynesian people, they always seem to be so happy!

I'm so excited for Thanksgiving tomorrow at the Hubert's!  It's going to be a lot of fun.  They're such a fun family.

Jacob's baptism is coming up fast.  We got the keys to the baptismal font today and are making the final preparations.  Hopefully our song turns out well - we still haven't found someone to play the piano, we better figure that one out soon!

Our new house has some issues.  I was the last one to take a shower this morning and there was no water/water pressure left, so basically it was like taking a shower in the rain, the ice cold rain.  So what I think we need to do is take turns going first, second, and third.  This way we can each have a hot shower at least twice a week.

The mission has been really good for me.  I've made a lot of mistakes, but I've also done so many good things.  Things that will change my life forever.  I feel like my life actually has direction now, and that I have a purpose.  I want to serve a mission again someday with my husband.  I'd love for my husband to be a mission president so that I can be a missionary mom to all the missionaries in that mission.

Time to go now.  I'll update you on everything this Monday.  I love you so much!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Love,

Lou (Sister Lindsay Taylor)



Sister Anderson, Sister Taylor and Sister Feinauer


Dear Parents,

We thought you would enjoy receiving a photo of sister Taylor and her new trainee, Sister Feinhauer as well as sister Anderson, posing with President and Sister Cannon.  It is a pleasure serving with such wonderful young missionaries in the Idaho Nampa Mission.

Regards,
Sister Short
Idaho Nampa Mission


President and Sister Cannon, Sister Anderson and Sister Feinauer

Week 25 - Kuna 11/25/13

11/25/13

So transfers were this weekend and I'm staying here in Kuna again with Sister Anderson!!  Woo hoo!! I love it here, but you already know that!  If I leave after this transfer I will have spent seven months in Kuna.  Isn't that crazy?  That's almost half of my mission!  I've enjoyed every minute I have served and will enjoy every minute until it's time for me to move on.  I'm so happy to still have Sister Anderson as my companion, but we'll be joined by a new sister so I'll be double training.  It's going to be crazy getting ready in the mornings with three girls and only one bathroom.  I'm sure we'll figure it out.  I'm really excited and it's great to know that President Cannon has confidence in me.

Also, today we're moving out of the Callahan's because their time for housing missionaries is up so we packed our bags and will be moving into a home of members in the fifth ward.  We've been told it's really cramped since they had to add the third bed for our new Sister.  Oh well, as long as I have somewhere to crash when I get home at night!  I'm so sad to be leaving the Callahan's, they've been so wonderful.  Sister Callahan let us decorate her home for Christmas with her.  It made me think of home.

The weather her has turned cold, cold, cold!  There's so much frost on the houses and grass that it looks like snow.  I guess it doesn't snow much here but the ice is brutal.  I keep forgetting that the car pretty much ices over every night so when we go out in the morning the entire car is covered in ice.  We need to add "defrosting the car" into my morning routine now because it takes so much time.

The work here is going great, and things are really picking up again.  Our ward mission leaders are really on the ball.  I'm really excited to get this third Sister because then we can go on splits and visit even more people!  We are going to start teaching the discussions to families in the wards so that they can know better what missionaries actually do and not be so scared to refer their friends to us.

I love you all so very much, and I'm grateful to have been raised in a home that has the gospel.  Y'all are such an example to me.

Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Lindsay Taylor


Week 24 - Kuna 11/18/13

11/18/13

I don't have a lot of time to respond to your email today because everyone all of a sudden decided to email me, YAY!!  But to answer your question of, what is the best advice I've been given that's helped me get through tough times....  hmmmm.  I don't really know about advice I've been given, but for sure I've learned that when we're going through tough times it's really important to put into practice what I preach.  I teach people how to apply the principles of the gospel in their own lives during hard times, but then when I am going through something difficult I forget about how I can use it to help myself!  Sometimes it's really easy to get discouraged and disheartened, but then I talk to some of the members I'm really close to and they remind me of the Atonement and how the gospel is there to help us in every aspect of our lives.   I don't believe that Christ's Atonement is fully comprehended by most people.  If we only understood how we could use the Atonement in every part of our lives, then our lives would be so much easier and we could have so much more hope in situations that seem completely hopeless.  I have such a strong testimony of the Atonement and it's healing powers.  There was an article in either August or September's Ensign titled "The Healing Balm of Hope" it was truly inspiring and has kept me going through some tougher times.  I've also learned to make use of my Mission President.  He is such an inspired man, and really is like a dad away from home.  He is so caring and loving and is completely qualified in every aspect of his calling.  He has really helped me in so many ways since I've been out here on my mission.

I'm driving a Chevy Cruise right now.  It's a very nice car and should be able to handle the snow and ice that will surely come our way.  Now, hopefully I can handle driving in the snow and ice!

Until next week.

Love you all,

Sister Lindsay Taylor


Week 23 - Kuna 11/11/13





Another busy week has come and gone.  I'll have to get a letter off to you in the mail because we've called to attend a zone meeting in Nampa.  I just logged in, and now I have to say goodbye before I even get to tell you about my week.  At least I can tell you I love you guys and miss you tons!

Love, 

Sister Lindsay Taylor



Week 22 - Kuna 11/04/13

11/04/13

I love Training Sister Anderson!  We get along so well and have so much fun together, which means we are getting a lot of work done.  We're teaching a young man right now that was Buddhist when we first met him.  He has been particularly interested int he Plan of Salvation, which has completely changed his view of the gospel.  He called us last night and told us he wanted to be baptized tomorrow, but unfortunately he hasn't gone through all of the lessons yet so we explained that once we do that we can schedule a date for his baptism.  That was exciting!  We're also working with a married couple that are working very hard to eliminate some bad health habits as they work towards being worthy for baptism.  This Tuesday we're meeting with them and setting a goal to work on one thing they are going to give up for the next two weeks.  I really admire them.  It's not easy to give up lifelong habits, but they have the desire to do so, and we're going to help them every step of the way.

The members have been amazing, and we've received several referrals this week that we're planning to visit.  The members here are fantastic missionaries!

A Ukrainian family in the 5th ward has invited us to dinner on the 22nd, and yesterday at church the sister asked us what we would like her to fix us for dinner.  I asked her to make perogies like mom makes, and she said they are actually called something else in the area of the Ukraine she's from.  I can't remember what she called them because it was a complicated Russian word, sorry.  But apparently her version of perogies are made with read dough that is filled with meat and veggies.  But the sister who is feeding us said she would call them perogies because that's what I'm used to calling them, ha, ha.  She's going to prepare potato filled and chicken filled perogies, an she's also going to make borcht (a beet soup that's really popular in Russia and the Ukraine).  She also will make other traditional Ukrainian foods that her family enjoys.  I'm excited, but wish you could be here to enjoy the meal with us dad.  Maybe I can ask her for some of the recipes and you can try them out at home.

Tomorrow is my 5th month mark as a missionary, isn't that crazy!?  Time really does fly by.  I'm loving every second being out here.

On Halloween all missionaries in the district were together at the Hubert's home.  Many of the people we visited earlier that day knew we couldn't go out trick or treating so they gave us bags of candy.  We brought those bags to the Hubert's and we gave them away to the kids that came knocking.  You can imagine how big their eyes got when we gave them an entire bag of candy instead of just a handful.  I'm sure their parents appreciated it greatly!  We only kept one bag of candy for ourselves and the Elders.  I only got two pieces of my favorite, reece's peanut butter cups.  Elders and their appetites......

Our trip to Linder Farms with the Taylor family was so much fun!  The farm is owned by a member family, and when we arrived the owner, Sister Linder, ran up and gave us each a huge hug.  Her daughter is serving in Japan and it was her birthday that day.  She said it made her day to see us and she gave us some hot chocolate and a bag of really good homemade mini donuts.  Then she took a picture with us and I had her send it to your e-mail.  Hopefully you guys got it!

Well, I believe that covers the weeks happenings.  Thank for all the love and support you guys give me!  I love being a missionary and sharing the gospel with other.  It gives me such joy!  I love you guys!!

Your favorite sister missionary,

Sister Lindsay Taylor




Sister Anderson and I at Linder Farms - best donuts ever!!


District pumpkin carving activity - yes, the Elders were a bit crazy!



The Hubert's go all out decorating their yard for Halloween, it was pretty amazing!!






Week 21 - Kuna 10/28/13

10/28/13

I'm loving life for sure!  Unfortunately, this week was pretty uneventful.  Sister Anderson was sick with the flu ALL WEEK.  Poor thing.  She kept apologizing for being sick, and all I could do for her was to keep reassuring her it was okay.  She was pretty much bed ridden Tuesday through Friday.  It was kind of nice staying put for the first two days because I was able to catch up on my studying and several letters I've needed to write - I did sneak in a couple of naps too!  But after day two I was going stir crazy!  Luckily the members we live with had their grandchildren over for a little while, so that made day three go a bit faster.  On Saturday, Sister Anderson's fever was gone and she was finally feeling a little better so we ventured out for a few visits, but after the second visit Sister Anderson was begging me to take her back home because she was so exhausted, I felt so bad for her.

Today for P-day we're going to Linder Farms, which is a pumpkin patch and corn maze.  It's going to be so much fun!

We're getting lots of exercise through our service opportunities during the weekdays.  For example, this week we're helping three families rake the leaves in their yards, and hauling a bunch of dirt for another. If anything I'll have killer arms when I return home from my mission!

We had Haitian/Creole food for dinner last night, it was yummy.  The father of the family that fed us served his mission in Montreal, Canada and spoke French for a part of his mission.  It was such a good dinner and their company was even better.

Tonight we are invited to Family Home Evening with members of the 8th ward.  I'm really excited, they're such a great family and make us feel so welcome in their home.

Well, that's all for this week.  The Family History Center is closing and we're being asked to finish up.

Love you guys so much!  Have a wonderful week!

Sister Lindsay Taylor





Week 20 - Kuna 10/21/13


10/21/13

Another busy week has come and gone.  I love Sister Anderson.  She is working hard to learn and is a great missionary already!

It's a good and bad thing that our area was split.  It has given me a little taste of what it'll be like when I leave Kuna.  I really miss everyone in the two wards we lost even though they are only a few miles away.  I've grown close with so many, but I know that changes help us grow in so many ways and I'll always carry them in my heart.

We were invited to attend a BBQ with the other missionaries in our district last Thursday.  It was awesome!  We had so much fun and it was nice to relax for a little bit with my fellow missionaries.

The weather is getting colder at night and we've had to scrape the frost from the windows of our car every morning.  I really need to invest in some cozy tights because my legs freeze whenever we are out early or late.  Brrrrr....

My roommates, Corianne and Regan from BYU came up to visit Corianne's family in Kuna this past weekend so I got to see them at church yesterday!  Regan just got engaged this past week and brought her fiancee along too.  He's very nice and I'm so happy for them.  It was so good to see them.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that we're going to learn to bottle applesauce this week - I can't wait!




Me "blindfolded" with Sister Anderson's scarf, ready for the obstacle course activity at our last zone meeting.




10/17/13

She's here!  My new companion, Sister Anderson has arrived,  and as her trainer it is my pleasure to drive her to the public library so she can email her parents to let them know she has arrived safe and sound.  So while sister Anderson is emailing her family, I get to email mine - bonus!  Sister Anderson is from South Carolina.  She has the cutest accent, is super sweet, and I might just be half an in taller than her, hah! Since Sister Anderson's arrival we haven't had a normal day yet due to some unexpected changes, which meant several meetings to bring us all up to speed.  Despite being assured that our area wasn't being split until next transfers, the AP's (Assistants to the President) called yesterday morning and told us that our area was in fact being split sooner than anticipated.  This means we've been scrambling around working through the logistics of the changes.  The two new Elders are taking over the responsibilities of two of our wards, and right now they don't have a car, a cell phone, or the slightest idea of what to do.  So I've been trying really hard to set up dinners for them and finding rides for them to some of the appointments we had already scheduled.  So since the area is splitting, Sister Anderson and I spent the day yesterday visiting the families int he wards I'm losing and saying goodbye.  It made me feel so good when som

e of the members told Sister Anderson that she has a really good companion and that I would be a great trainer.  Then when we went to visit the new Elders this morning, the sister they are living with said, "Sister Taylor, you can't leave!",  and she turned to the Elders and said, "You two have very big shoes to fill.  Sister Taylor is an incredible missionary!", I'm so sad to leave those two wards, but it has been really cool to see how much influence I've had on people because I really had no idea! It was unexpected and humbling.  Sister Anderson and I will still be visiting the families with single moms as head of household since the Elders cannot be in their homes without another male present (at least 16 years old).  The people here are so wonderful and loving.

President Cannon told Sister Anderson that she is blessed to  to be trained here in Kuna because it is the most coveted area in the mission.  Our district is absolutely huge now!  Our district meeting today was 12 people strong, and one companionship was missing because they already had a lesson planned.  Usually a district is made up of 4 to 6 missionaries.

Well, Sister Anderson has finished up her email and so must I.

Love,
Sister Lindsay Taylor



My new companion, Sister Anderson with President Cannon and me!

 Dear Parents,

We thought you would enjoy receiving a photo of Sister Taylor and her new trainee, Sister Anderson, from Rockhill, South Carolina.  It is a pleasure serving with such wonderful young missionaries in the Idaho Nampa Mission.

Regards,
Sister Short
Idaho Nampa Mission



Sister Anderson and Sister Taylor


Week 19 - Kuna 10/14/13

10/14/13

Hello Family!

CRAZY WEEK!!!  Guess what today is?  Transfer Day, and guess where I'm going?  Nowhere!  Woo Hoo, I'm Staying in Kuna!  But Sister Stevens is leaving me and I'm so sad because I wanted to stay with her longer.  She's being transferred to Enterprise, Oregon where she and her new companion will be opening a brand new area.  This is very exciting because this area has never has Sister Missionaries before.  Enterprise is the complete opposite edge of the mission and is about a three hour drive from here.  Sister Stevens will do an awesome job!  I will be training a brand new Sister, how cool is that?!  I'm so excited that President Cannon is trusting me with this kind of responsibility!  I won't get my new companion until tomorrow since all the newbies fly in on Tuesday's, so Sister Zavala and I will be temporary companions while we await the arrival of our new companions.  Sister Nickolaisen will be here this evening for a big dinner meeting being hosted for the new trainers.  I'm looking forward to seeing her again.  We're all excited to meet our new Sister companions tomorrow.  There are five new Sisters joining our mission and they all look so sweet - very exciting!


My current area will remain as is until the next transfer in six weeks, which means I'll still be covering the five wards here with my new companion.  I'll probably be staying here in kuna until January or February, which is fine with me!  Elder Diaz, Elder Tuia, Elder Agle, and Sister Stevens are all moving on to new areas so Elder Hatefi, Elder Eagleston Elder Hendricks and I are all getting new companions.  
A new set of Elders are also flying in tomorrow to join our mission.  So this transfer will bring the most changes since I came to this mission.  My companion and I will still be the only Sisters in our district, but that's okay because everyone spoils us rotten.  I love it!


The red roses in the pictures from our last Sisters Conference were from President Cannon.  He wanted us to know that he loves us all and thinks we are the most wonderful sisters in the world.  I love President Cannon!

This weekend the Huberts took us to Swan Falls, it was beautiful, but out in the middle of nowhere.  There is a short stone wall to keep folks from falling over a huge cliff.  At the overlook there is an amazing view of the Snake River.  Just over the stone wall there is a ledge, so we climbed over and pretended like we were falling - see the pictures of our antics!  We also went to the old dam, which was once used as a prison.  A must see for anyone coming through this area.

Sister Stevens and I had a really cool experience the other day.  We were cleaning our car outside (In our service clothes, not our dresses), when an older gentleman passed by.  Sister Stevens waved at him and said hi, and the gentleman waved back.  Then his eye caught her name tag and he stopped and and said, "You're a missionary aren't you.... Well, I've been inactive for over ten years.  Maybe you could help me with that?"  Of course we said yes!  We found out that he had actually served as an area Seventy back in the 50's and 60's.  We talked a bit longer and invited him to join us at church the next Sunday.  He sat with us yesterday at church, which was Fast and Testimony meeting, and he got up and bore his testimony.  He is such a cool guy and it's awesome to have a little miracle like that happen.

I seriously love this mission so much, and I especially love serving here in Kuna.  I love all of the people and I don't ever want to leave!  Thank you for all of your support and all of the love you send me.  I feel it for sure!  Make sure you don't skip out on the small stuff - daily scripture study and personal prayers are so important!


As you know, I found my camera shoved deep in the abyss of the couch in our living room.  Yay!  So here are some pictures of our trip to Swan Falls, enjoy!


Love,

Sister Lindsay Taylor

Sister Taylor cheesin' it up for the camera!


Sister Stevens!

Cute Companions.

Sister Taylor and Sister Stevens

 .... and stretch 2, 3, 4


"Who's idea was this anyway?  I'm afraid of heights!!!"

The District and Sister Huber.
Thank you Brother and Sister Huber for a fantastic day!



Sister Stevens & her cool pumpkin!



Me and my pumpkin!  I Love Kuna!!!!

Week 18 - Kuna 10/07/13


10/07/13

Sister Stevens and I have been going full throttle for the past six weeks!  This has been the fastest transfer I've had so far.  It seems as if it was just yesterday that I was picking Sister Stevens up at the transfer spot - where did those six weeks go?

This week we met another investigator, her name is Yesenia.  She lives with her husband at his parents house, who are active members of the church.  We're going to teach them the first discussion tomorrow. This week Sister Stevens and I went with one of our families to the church orchards and picked red delicious, golden delicious, and granny smith apples.  Apple picking is hard work.  If anything falls on the ground, you can glean it and take it home with you.  We helped the family we went with glean a bunch of apples and she is going to teach us how to can them and make homemade applesauce and apple juice.  We are also going to be canning tomatoes with her.  I'm excited to learn.  Everyone has been feeding us their homemade applesauces at dinner, and it's soooooooooo good!

I had one of the most spiritual experiences of my mission last Saturday during Rheanna's baptism.  Rheanna is only 21 years old, and although her husband is less active he was able to baptize her.  It was  very touching to see him so moved by the spirit as he entered the waters with his wife.  The spirit was so strong in the room.  It was beautiful.

We celebrated Sister Stevens' birthday yesterday with the Huberts.  We watched conference, then had a little birthday celebration.  It's tradition here that the birthday missionary's companion gets to smash their face in the cake.... so I had the honor of exfoliating Sister Stevens face with rainbow cake!!  It was so much fun!

I've been learning a little more Spanish and practicing more of what I learned in school since this areas Hispanic population is 30 percent.  So here's a little something in Spanish for you to decipher:

! Yo se que la iglesia de Jesuscristo de los ultimos dias es la iglesia verdadera en la tierra y que gracias a Jose Smith y por el poder de Dios el pudo restaurar la misma iglesia y misma doctrina que Jesuscristo ensernaba cuando el estaba en la tierra.  Yo amo a mi salvador y se que gracias a el yo puedo mejorar como persona y vencer cualquiier problema que me enfrente en mi mision y mi vida.  Los amo mucho familia ! y los extrano mucho !

Oh,  I found my camera,  YAY!!!!

Love,

Sister Taylor




Sister Stevens & Sister Taylor after a long day of apple pickin' fun!



Rheanna's Baptism









Sister Taylor & Sister Stevens



Sister Taylor & Sister Stevens


Sister Conference
Smile!


Week 17 - Kuna 09/30/13

9/30/13

I don't have a lot of time to write today, but I wanted to tell you that I received a package from Heather last week with all kinds of treats in it!   She included a very nice letter too - thanks Heather!!  It was so good to hear from her.  Heathers friendship and support over the years has always meant so much to me.  I really miss her.  I also received a package from Sister Hicks!  Please tell her thank you and give her a great big hug for me!

We had a new investigator come to church with us this week and he said he really enjoyed it and wants to come back because he really liked the feeling he got there and he wants to feel it again!!


Dad, I really want to thank you for being a worthy priesthood holder. That is such a wonderful gift we have received from God, and for you to be worthy to exercise that power to help our family and others too, is such a precious thing. I was really struggling this week. I was feeling overwhelmed and sad and I couldn't pin point why. I asked one of the Elders in my district for a blessing and in the blessing he told me exactly what I needed to hear. Afterwards, the spirit confirmed to me that everything would be alright, and I got such a feeling of peace. And I am feeling so much better now! 

Thank you for all of the notes from home.  I really appreciate your support and words of wisdom.

Love,

Sister Lindsay Taylor

Week 16 - Kuna 09/23/13

Hello family!

It really has been a busy week! But a good one! We saw so many people this week! 

On Monday, we went to the Welker’s home. They’re an older couple that aren’t able to go to church due to poor health. We taught FHE with them and read that awesome conference talk I mentioned in my last email, which I hope you’ve read by now.  Brother Welker is a spiritual giant and always has the best stories to tell! He reminds me of a mix between Thomas S. Monson and Grandpa Lee, so you can see why I love him! Sister Welker is so sweet just like Grandma Kitty! So they’re kind of like my grandparents away from home! 

We’ve been visiting several families on a regular basis that need a little extra help for one reason or another.  One of our visits is to Sister G’s house, which is right behind the house we live in, so we share a back fence. I saw Sister G’s youngest, M. outside playing so I peeked through a little hole in the fence and said "Hi M.!".  He stopped in his tracks and looked all around for me. When he finally found me, he got the biggest smile on his face and baby babbled to me for five minutes. His older brother, G. eventually saw that we were chatting it up and came over and said, "Hi, wanna come to my house right now?" I told him we couldn't but we would come over the next day. He said "Okay that will probably be fine. I'm going to go tell my mom!" He bolted in the house as fast as he could and we could hear him yelling "MOM! MOOOOOOM! SISTER TAYLOR IS COMING TOMORROW! SISTER TAYLOR IS COMING TOMORROW!"  Funny kid! When we arrived the next morning, Sister G answered the door and said "Thank goodness! G. has been asking for you non stop ever since last night!" I love littl man G.! He is such a sweet kid! After we saw Sister G. on Tuesday, met with a new investigator Jacob, he is only 14 years old. We taught the Restoration and it went really well! We challenged him to read a part of the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it is true! So hopefully he will keep his commitment and be ready for our next appointment. After Jacob, we went and saw Sister M. I love her so much! She broke down crying and kept telling us how much she appreciates us coming over to visit her! We are going to have the Elders over this week to dedicate her home. For dinner we went to the Driesel family's home. They invited a less active friend over to join us. Their friend has a super sweet and fun 12 year old daughter! She doesn't want the church to know where she lives so no one tries to "re-convert her". We totally respected that and tried to refrian from too much church talk, but at the end (as always) we shared a spiritual thought! The message was well received and we said our goodbyes and went on our merry way. We later found out the the scripture we shared was one that helped her in her conversion to the gospel. After we left she asked Brother Driesel for a Priesthood Blessing. We then saw her at church this past Sunday! How awesome is that? A lot of the time, when we follow spiritual promptings and do missionary work, we don't get to see the fruit of our labors. But this time we did, and it really got us pumped to work hard this week! After the Driesel’s, we went to see Troy and Tanya Miller. They are one of our families that are like our "parents away from home". They are so wonderful to us! Troy was scheduled for back surgery the next Thursday in Boise so we stopped by to wish him luck. We had a really nice gospel conversation and a little fun too of course! Troy loves to joke around, and is always good at lifting our spirits when we've had a tough day!

On Wednesday we saw a recent convert that we’ve been working with.  She actually used to live in Fairfax! So she loves to talk with me about all of the places she’s been in Virginia.  We always read from the Book of Mormon with her. This past week, we read 1 Nephi chapters 17-18. I love reading the stories with her because it helps me remember some things that I have forgotten about! This week P. is going on a tour of England! She is going to bring us back a little souvenier. She's so sweet! After we saw Penny, we went and saw J. S.  J.  she's a wonderful lady who is just becoming active in the church again! She was struggling with her testimony of Joseph Smith because of some negative information she had read awhile back.  But this Wednesday she announced to us that she was over her block and she now accepts him as a prophet of God! We were really excited! After J.’s we went and visited the B. family. This family is really struggling. But they wanted us to  teach their 8 year old daughter the lessons so she can get baptized! The family is mostly less active and we have been trying to help them get back to church. For dinner, we went to the Fulmers house. Brother Fulmer is our new Ward Mission Leader in the Kuna 4th ward. He and his wife are awesome! They have captured the spirit of their calling right away and are so ready and willing to help us. I'm really looking forward to working with him more! That night we went and visited the B. family. The dad and he is less active. He served his mission is Los Angeles and talks about it all the time! The rest of his family aren’t members. The mom used to be really against the church, but now she welcomes us in with a hug! We still aren’t able to teach any discussions, but we always share a spiritual thought with them. I love that family so much! She’s a couponer so she always sends us home with extra coupons and treats that she picks up from the store!

On Thursday we had interviews with the mission president! It's always nice being able to talk with President Cannon. He is so nice and listens really well. He asked how things were going in my area and with my companion. And then I asked him if I could stay in Kuna for a few more transfers. He told me that Elder Zwick had told him to keep missionaries in the same area for at least 9 months, so yes I could stay! Hopefully I get to stay here, but sometimes, Heavenly Father has a whole different plan! After we got out of interviews, I sang a song I made up about Kuna to Sister Schloegel (the lady who works the front desk at the mission office). When I had finished, I looked behind me and all the office couples and the mission president and his wife were standing behind me watching! Apparently Sister Cannon had taped it! I would send you a video of me singing it, but 1. you can't send large files via e-mail and 2. my camera is still lost. :( On Friday we went and saw Shari Ladd and taught her the first new member lesson! We taught her about the Priesthood and the importance of being worthy to exercise it!  After Shari, we went to see the Neilson family who are recent converts. We shared a spiritual thought and celebrated with the mom because she was finally able to find a job! After that we went to visit with J. A., who has been investigating the church for a few years and doesn't understand the important of Christ and the Atonement. Sister Stevens did a great job of answering his questions.  For dinner we went to the Whiting’s house! They are such a fun family! They made super delicious Navajo tacos for us! Their son is in Uruguay on his mission and is coming home in three weeks. The 19 year old sister wants me to write him and for me to meet him when he gets home so we can get married. Everytime I'd say something she’d say  "Oh you like to sing! My brother Cameron likes to sing!" "Oh you love the scriptures? My brother likes to read the scriptures!" She is really funny. They are having us over for breakfast on Tuesday and making us crepes!  They are so nice! On Saturday we went and visit Cam and Rheanna Lewis. Rheanna has been investigating the church for three years. We extended the baptismal invitation to her and she accepted! She is getting baptized in two weeks! We have 3 baptisms in the next 3 weeks. Its going to be crazy! We went and visited Sister Taylor after that. She is a sweet older lady who had open heart surgery and has been bed ridden since. That night we got to see the Trents! Sister Stevens finally got to meet B., our eternal investigator. We talked a lot about, Jesus the Christ, because Sister Trent just finished reading it. Then she sent us home with Tangerine Fruit Bars! Yuuuummmm! On Sunday it was meeting after meeting after meeting! Believe it or not, Sunday is our busiest day! The only Sacrament we got to stay the full 1 hour for was for the 6th ward. Funny enough, it was in that ward that the bishop called up Sister Stevens and I to bear our testimonies out of the blue! (and it was perfect because we had a lot of investigators and less actives attending that ward!).  Next, we went to E. L’s. We hadn't visited him for a long time, and Sister Stevens hadn’t met him yet so no better time than the present!  During our visit, E. commited to go to church with us the next Sunday, on the condition that he could buy us lunch some time. Sounds good to me! After that we went to dinner at the Quigleys home. They have really cute kids that asked question after question. Finally,we went to Sister Huberts for the rest of the night, whew! Sister Hubert and her family are converts of 6 months. She’s from Russia and takes such good care of all the missionaries! She isn't in our area but we go over if we ever need a break or need help with something. I had some clothing that I wore holes in them and a couple skirts with rips and she sewed them all back up! 

So that was my week! And I’m out of time!  

Love you all,

Sister Lindsay Taylor

Week 15 - Kuna 09/16/13

9/15/13

I had quite a wonderful week despite having the worst cold in the WORLD.  I completely lost my voice for few days and had to rely heavily on the spirit while teaching lessons.  But somehow, despite runny nose and piercing headaches, Sister Stevens and I were able to set two more baptismal dates this week.  The work is awesome here!

We taught the first part of the Plan of Salvation with the Rogers this week and spent a long time discussing the Atonement.  We talked about how the Atonement isn't just for repenting of our transgressions, but also for us to find comfort and healing during difficult times and how guilt we may have carried with us for a long time can be taken away by our Savior Jesus Christ.  The spirit was so powerful, I know everyone was feeling it.  Our two investigators, K & C started crying and wow, it was just an incredible experience.  They both are so receptive.  I really hope they pray to know for themselves that what we're teaching them is true through the Holy Ghost.  I would be completely lost without the Holy Ghost especially here on my mission.

My companion is seriously the best, she is so thoughtful and caring, and bold!  She isn't afraid to go up to people and talk to them about the church.  I want to be more like her!  We've been visiting with less active families and at one home we introduced ourselves, "Hi, we're the Sister Missionaries and we're trying to meet everyone in the ward.  Can we come in?"  The invited us in and we talked for a bit and got to know them a little better and I asked, "So, I don't think I've seen you at church before.  Where do you  sit?"  They got this sheepish look on the faces and said, "Oh, well we don't really go, you know life is so busy, we have a hard time fitting church in."  So we invited them to church this Sunday and told them they would really enjoy it because the Primary children would be presenting their program during Sacrament Meeting.  Hopefully they'll be able to make it.

I've been trying hard to connect with each of the wards we are working with.  I asked each of the Bishops if Sister Stevens and I could attend their ward councils and they all said yes!  This will be so much more efficient for us since the leaders of all the ward auxiliaries attend this meeting.  Three of the wards we serve have new ward mission leaders and we are so excited to start working with them.  Yay!

We had a great Sunday, but it was extra long.  We were in church from 9:00am until 5:00pm, whew. We attended four Sacrament meetings and I believe I can say I am thoroughly cleansed of sin (not that I'm doing any sinning! :-))

Today we’re teaching family home evening to an older couple whose health prevents them from going to church. We’re going to share an article from the October 2010 General Conference by D. Todd Christofferson called Reflections of a Consecrated Life.   I particularly love this quote from the talk,  "The man who so walks in the light and wisdom and power of God, will at the last, by the very force of association, make the light and wisdom and power of God his own - weaving those bright rays into a chain diving, linking himself forever to God and God to him. This is the sum of Messiah's mystic words, 'Thou, Father, in me, and I in thee' - beyond this human greatness cannot achieve."

I love this gospel so much. And I am grateful for the sacred opportunity that I have to watch it change peoples lives. I know that we are so blessed to have the gospel in our lives. I love being a missionary so much, and this really will be the best 18 months of my life! 

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!!

Love,
Sister Lindsay Taylor