Hi everyone! It sounds like you've all been getting into the back to school groove. Sad that summer is ending, but I hope you all enjoy the upcoming fall season. I can't believe it is September already! Transfers are only a week and a half away! I'll probably stay here in Warrenton to finish training Sister Alcántara, though. She is awesome, by the way. Her English is SO good! I can't believe she only started learning it less than two months ago. She is such a brave and bold missionary and so fun to have around. We went grocery shopping today and spoke in Spanglish most of the time. She's trying to teach me Spanish, and I'm not doing as well as she is with English!
We had a couple of really great lessons this week. One was with Paul, our online referral investigator. We were going to talk about obedience, praying often, scripture study, and keeping the sabbath day holy, but mostly we just answered his questions. Then he told us he wanted to know about our "prohibition thing," so we taught the Word of Wisdom instead! We weren't super prepared for it, so we'll probably go over it again sometime, but it was still a good lesson. We had a woman from the ward named Sister Budd come with us to the lesson. She has such a great testimony. Whenever we bring her to a lesson, she says, "The Church is true. Fifty five years ago I found out the Church was true," and then she talks about the blessings that knowledge has brought to her and her family. Paul said to us in our lesson this week, "What's wrong with me just sitting out in my front yard with a Bible and trying to figure out what God wants for me? Why do I need your Church or any church?" This is a question I've heard so many times before in one form or another--people always question the need for organized religion. I still have yet to discover a good way to answer. But Sister Budd knew exactly what to say. She told Paul, "because it's the Savior's church and it's where He wants you to be." Paul sat back in his chair and said, "Yes. You're right. I think you're right." It was such a amazing moment!
Our other awesome lesson was with the Woodsens. Melissa Woodsen is a less active member who married a non-member and has 4 sons. Sisters have been teaching the older two for several months. One is 10 and the other is 12 and they are pretty goofy sometimes. They really want to get baptized, but Melissa wants to make sure they understand the gospel and what baptism means before they actually get baptized, which is fair. They have already been taught all of the lessons, but Sister Alcántara and I have decided to teach them all again to a) solidify the boys' understanding; and b) to help Melissa feel more comfortable with them getting baptized. When we went over this week to teach the Restoration, they had just gotten home from football practice and they were all hyped up and all four boys were acting crazy! Poor Melissa was trying to get them to calm down and eat their dinner and then sit down for a lesson. When they finally settled down, we started teaching. When we taught about the Atonement, and how Christ suffered everything for us, it clearly was very powerful for them. We finished by showing the 20 minute Restoration video and bearing our testimonies. The Spirit was SO strong and so we just immediately asked the younger boy to say the closing prayer so we could leave on that spiritual high as the last part of the visit. It was a great lesson.
Last week we had a zone activity on preparation day at the mission home. It was super fun! We had a barbecue and played games. I played 4 rounds of ping pong with one of the elders. I kicked his trash three of those four times. The one time he did win, it was only by 2 points. It was kinda awesome. I wasn't going to tell too many people about it, because I was feeling generous and didn't want to destroy his pride any more than I already had, but he announced the next day at district meeting that he "got his butt handed to him three times in ping pong by Sister Taylor." So I guess everyone knows now! Haha.
Also last week we did a "zone finding fury." We all exchanged companions and went tracting all day last Saturday. I was sent to....Manassas! Yup! Back to my birthplace. But instead of tracting, we decided to track down the Giordanos. They have practically disappeared. They don't come to church and the sisters haven't been able to meet with them for weeks. I hoped that I would be able to say or do something to help. First we went to their house. Antonio and Raphaella were there, but so were some other family members. Raphaella was excited to see me and gave me a hug, but Antonio told us it was a bad time. I was very upset and started to cry as soon as he shut the door. Sister Liddell and I then decided to go find Patricia at work. We drove all over trying to find the Panda Express where she works, and FINALLY found it. We went in and asked for her, and she came out and talked to us. She was VERY happy to see me, and that made me feel so much better. She said that she had been working a TON, which was why they hadn't been coming to church or meeting with the missionaries. When Sister Christiansen and I were teaching her family, we never had to be very bold with them. They just readily accepted whatever we taught. Now, though, I knew I had to be bold. "Patricia," I said, "your family is so special. I know you want to be sealed in the temple with them, but that won't happen unless you go to church. I know you have to work, but I promise that no sacrifice you make is too big to become an eternal family. Nothing is more important. You need to go to church." She smiled and me and thanked me and reached across the counter to squeeze my hands, and then we left so she could get back to work.
I asked before and I'm asking again-- please please send me letters or emails with testimony and encouragement that I can forward to them. It is so so so needed right now.
I hope you all have a wonderful week. I love you all SO much and I pray for you every day. The Church is true and I'm so grateful to be one of the Lord's missionaries.
Sister Taylor
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