Oh man was it a great week in Mariana! One of those weeks that makes you realize why you are a missionary and do what you do! So i was very blessed this week, most likely from all the prayers I receive from you at home so thank you so much!
2. Mark and Brenda Clements came to church! It was so great. They have been hesitant in deciding to go or not but they finally decided it was something that they thought they had to do! A little back story before i get too deep, Mark's mom is super active, Karen Clements,her husband hasn't been active for about 30 years and her son Mark hasn't been active for about 20! They all decided to come to church together! I have never seen a woman so happy as her walking into the chapel giving us a big thumbs up with a smile on her face and two grandchildren in her arms! That was such a great experience. They loved church and luckily most of the talks were on temple and how they bless families! They loved church! So that is just so great. I heard a guy ask Mark if he was a visitor he said no but I think we will be here full time now! It was just such an awesome experience! Families bring joy! Ask Karen Clements about that one! she beamed all day!
3. I got to have interviews with President Smith which was so great! I really love that man and his wife so much, they are blessings to me and all other missionaries. Ae talked a while about my mission and my companionship. He told me that i was the perfect companion for Elder Farris. That he knows I grew so much from this experience, which I really think I did! I told him that training was such a blessing and that I learned so much from it and i grew so much from it! He said that from our last interview I was a changed person. Ihat i was now humbly confident with myself, I really liked the way he worded it. I used to think people calling me humble was a cop out since they had nothing better but as I study the humility i realized how great it is to be called humble, so i am grateful for that amazing compliment from President Smith!
4. A few days after the interview I was talking with the sisters and they said that President Smith was talking me up in their interviews! They both told me that he said that he was so proud of me and the great missionary I have become and that i would do great things! I thought it was totally random but great to think that he thinks so highly of me!
5. President Smith told me some really sad news though. He told me after my now 7 months in Marianna I will be transferred... I told him that it would be like leaving home and he said that the Lord has many things out there to help me to learn and grow! That the next thing would be another great adventure and that I would grow even more! He then told me he would look up where I was going but it would "ruin the excitement!" Oh man he likes to be a tease!! He really does! But i am excited for the next big challenge ahead of me! New people, place, and ward to love!
6. We taught Rachelle a great lesson this week. She is an investigator that we have been working a lot with lately. We taught her about Joseph Smith and it was a super spiritual lesson! But for some reason during the lesson I had the feeling to ask her to be baptized the whole time! I knew she was no where close to baptism and she had said no before so I was super hesitant. But as I did it the spirit filled the room, she said she is still not ready but she said it was because her own fault that she had not been reading the Book of Mormon like she should be! That she needed to do that and then she would know what to do. So it was great she re-committed herself to reading the Book of Mormon so she can know if this is what she is supposed to do!
7. I got to go on a tradeoff to Bainbrige, Georgia! That is a cool little town there! (don't judge me for the next comment) It reminded me of Gilmore Girls-- the town they lived in had a city square park with a big gazebo, the only thing missing was Luke's diner! And the only reason i know all this is Hannah, my sister, always watched it and i would happen to be in the room but it was a great little town what you think a country southern town would look like. A lot of brick buildings and trees overhanging the streets. The only down side is I was with Elder Kapp who is the craziest driver ever! I am grateful for the spirit of protection because he almost killed me in that car 8 times! Oh man, prayer works! I am alive and in one piece!
8. Cameron is a guy we meet, man does this kid have an interesting story. He has been through a tough life, drugged parents, friends die, being homeless. But through these trials he has come full round and to Christ. As we talked with him i read him 1 Ne20:10 "For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." He said that it was so true that after all his trials his one thing he had left was his relationship with God that he rediscovered I just thought it was such of a great example of learning from trials!
9. We talked about our spiritual backpack in church and it got me thinking. We talked about how we put all our responsibility and work into this backpack and sometimes it is too heavy even for the best of us! Sometimes it can pull us over backward! We then talked about how we rely on Christ AFTER all we can do! We have to look at it differently, we need to work with Christ every step, not just the end! We need to realize we are yoked with Christ the whole journey, not just at the end when we need him! But home much further can we go if we have his help the whole way! We then went back to the backpack! We should have one arm in it and christ should have his arm in the other side and as we do this we will be so much stronger and it will be so much easier.
10. One of the other highlights of my week was we got to teach the few young men in the ward about mission prep! More temporal stuff like tying a tie and stuff but it was great. We then talked about how essential the Book of Mormon is in missionary work! But the best part is I got to break out my rugby ball and show them how to play! And man did it feel good breaking that ball out and throwing it around! I had to explain the game to a young men's president and the bishop! They thought it was strange. oh Americans...
Love you all and hope you had a week as great as mine!
Praying always for you,
Elder Taylor
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