On Monday this past week we had preparation day, and then in the evening, we taught Connie and Peggy how to do family home evening. Peggy was in charge of the treat, and she made us a whole dinner! It was fried chicken, green beans, and potato salad. It was pretty good! We taught a lesson on the Atonement, which went super well. Connie's granddaughter, who turns eight on Sunday, participated in the lesson and really enjoyed it. It is so clear that she recognizes the good feelings of the Spirit, and she wants to have them more. She has asked her mom if she can take the lessons from us, but her mom wants her to wait until she is gets older. She is with her dad on weekends, so she hasn't been able to come to church yet, either. But she had a great time on Monday! After the lesson, we played charades, and it was hilarious! Peggy had to act out "being a missionary," so she picked up her large print Doctrine and Covenants, skipped up to her front door, knocked on it, and then acted out teaching a lesson. It was so funny!
Tuesday we had district meeting and then picked up Sister Price and went to see Sister Norris. Those two can really talk when they are apart, but put them together.....we were there for hours! It was really good for both of them, though, since Sister Norris doesn't get a ton of visitors and Sister Price loves taking care of people and being a friend. We did manage to squeeze in a lesson!
Wednesday we met with Angel Davis in the afternoon and our investigator, Paul, in the evening. Our lesson with Angel went well. She is the kind of person who really enjoys having a good discussion, so we went we ended talking about all kinds of things. We talked about a lot of the things that are wrong in the world- like racism, people drifting away from God, pornography, and the disintegration of the family- and how living a Christ centered life and the principles of His gospel help anyone face anything. Christ suffered everything for us (Alma 7:11-13), and He overcame everything for us because He loves us, so we don't have to be alone in our trials. He already went through it, and He know how to get us through it. He knows "how to succor his people according to their infirmities." Our lesson with Paul was AMAZING. Sister Alcántara and I met Paul and Brother and Sister Shannon at the chapel for our lesson. As always, he had questions to start out with. The nature of his questions has changed over the last few weeks. They used to be skeptical questions, asked almost for the sole purpose of argument, but now they have become much more sincere. We taught about the importance of prophets, which is something he has struggled with a lot as we have taught him, but somehow it finally seemed to click this week. Sister and Brother Shannon's testimonies and answers to his questions really seemed to help him. The Spirit was very strong during this lesson. Throughout it, I kept feeling prompted to say a certain thing, or to ask a certain question, and every time I did, what I said seemed to really strike Paul, or cause him to think a little harder. It was such an amazing experience of having the Spirit work through me. Even when I don't know what to say or what an investigator needs, Heavenly Father always does, and He helps me become an instrument in His hands. In the past, we have invited Paul to be baptized, and every time he had said he would if he found out what we are teaching is true, but he believed that could take months or even years. At this lesson, we invited him to be baptized on November 21. After sister Alcántara asked the question, he sat quietly for a moment, and then said, "it could be possible." We were SOOOO excited! Even if he didn't totally agree to be baptized, his response was better than anything he's said before! It was such a great lesson.
Thursday we went to visit Connie. We taught her about missionary work and challenged her to give some pass along cards to her friends, neighbors, or family members. We role-played with her so she could practice giving a card to her neighbor, and she did a great job! After she had done it, she exclaimed, "that was so easy!" Haha. It is wonderful to see how the gospel has helped her and made her life so much richer and happier. She has a glow around her and she is excited to share the gospel with others. Her 2 year old granddaughter was also there, and she started screaming because she saw a frog. So I caught it.
On Thursday evening we visited a less active woman named Victoria. Victoria is a live-in nanny, and because the parents of the children she takes care of work on Sundays, she hasn't been able to come to church. She was very discouraged when we got there. She was afraid she was about to lose her job, because the parents were cutting back on their hours at work. We didn't really know what to say to help her. A Mormon Message video, called the Refiners Fire, came to my mind, so we played it for her. After watching it, she told us about how she knew that Heavenly Father was there and that she knew He would take care of her. She bore an amazing testimony of faith, and it looked like a burden lifted off of her shoulders as she reminded herself of God's love for her. We didn't even have to say anything. She told us at the end of the lesson that she was determined to come to church this Sunday, no matter what, and asked us to arrange a ride for her. On Sunday, she was there at church, with two of the children she takes care of. She told us that their mother, who isn't religious, had taken the two oldest girls, but purposely left the younger two with her. So she took them to church too!
Friday we had weekly planning, and we spent some time with Kelsey Budd, a member in the ward who is about our same age and makes friends with all of the sisters who come into the ward. We had lunch at her house, and then she let us try her brother's no-handed segue. At first, all I could do was spin in circles, but eventually I got the hang of it. It was SO FUN. I wish all missionaries could have one. We could ride around and go tracting on them! Forget bikes! Haha.
Sunday we had church! (Duh.) Sister Alcántara and I sang during sacrament meeting in the ward choir. After church we went to dinner with a family in the ward named the Boyces. They are so funny! I can't even remember why, but we were laughing almost the whole time. We shared a message on the Atonement, and how Christ helps us to not just overcome sin, but to have the strength to overcome the trials we face. It went really well. After dinner, we went to visit the Prices. Brother Price gave Sister Alcántara a ukulele last Sunday, and she has been playing it nonstop ever since. She's gotten really good already! She is always playing and singing songs from the children's hymn book--in Spanish. Brother Price and Sister Alcántara messed with the ukulele, and Sister Price talked with me. It was a good visit, and we talked about how Jesus Christ is the center of the gospel.
Sister Taylor
