...and of course we had to stop at the chapel to view the progress. :) We've got a roof now! Monday, July 28, 2014
Sam Came Knocking With Us :)
...and of course we had to stop at the chapel to view the progress. :) We've got a roof now! 
Utah Mormons - in Salisbury!!!
We went to get a drink from Nando's with Carly and someone tapped us on the shoulder, "Hey Sisters!!" Oh, it was so good to meet them: Brother and Sister Cox. They bought us some frozen yogurt and were so lovely and encouraging. 
My Heart Turned
My last full week in Salisbury has been great. I have felt so much love and have received so much support from the members - I just love them so much. They are my family away from family. It was tough to say goodbye, but I know I will see them again... I'm also excited for the new adventure in Chichester.
Cleanin' up and clearin' out. Next stop, Chichester. :)
Unfortunately, Wayne isn't quite ready to be baptized. He told us he wanted to take a step back for a while. He miraculously ran into some other missionaries while he was in Bournemouth and told them he thought it was a sign for him that he's been travelling the right path. I hope the sisters here will be able to continue teaching him.
To preface the miracle of the week, I need to share some background info. The past couple transfers, our mission has focused on getting investigators to the temple as well as involving them in family history. We were given "My Family" books to complete and share with others. We don't have a big supply to hand out and it was something that took us a while to prepare. There were many promises given an zone conferences and MLC's that as we used family history, we would see success in our work... I believed this promise and hoped that it would work. At home, I was never into family history and thought it was for old people. Consequently, as I've offered the family history site to others, I haven't been able to speak from personal experience. It hasn't meant as much to me. Despite my lack of enthusiasm, I committed myself to consistently work on the "My Family" book in order to have it ready to share with people. As I worked on it, I felt a new love and admiration for the people in my family. I have all my ancestors to thank for the many blessings that I have and for my immediate family now. I wouldn't have the gospel and be a missionary if it wasn't for their faith and sacrifice. I truly felt the Spirit each time I worked to complete my book. So the stage is set.
My testimony of family history was solidified during our knocking session Saturday evening. We went up and knocked a development really close by the new chapel. Amazingly, for the first time ever, one of the members in the branch was able to come along with us. What a great opportunity and perfect scenario to find new people to teach. The first few doors we knocked we didn't have much success. We decided to say a prayer and, with renewed hope, began knocking again. A mother answered the first door we knocked on after the prayer and was interested as we told her about how our family history can bring us closer together as a family. We explained more about why families were so important and how the gospel of Jesus Christ could help her family. She gave us her phone number and accepted our invitation to learn more about our message. We hope to be going back on Wednesday to teach her more about family history and the gospel. I was amazed. What a blessing it was to meet her!! I know that the gospel message seemed relevant to her because we first started talking about her family. I have a firm testimony of family history and missionary work together. They are one in the same and I know that we will continue to see success as we use to find more people to teach.
Scripture of the week: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord; And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers..." -3 Nephi 25:5-6
Monday, July 21, 2014
Good Times Rollin'
It has been a fun week. We've had YSA activities, trips to see the new chapel being built, youth activities, service opportunities, munch & mingles, and great time spent with the members. I absolutely love Salisbury - what new. Gratefully, Sister Nelson is also feeling better and is back to her normal self! That's another plus.
FHE with the YSA at the Legges!! :)
Wayne is progressing well and we're excited for him to be baptized soon! Hopefully this weekend, if not the very near future. He's always so great to keep commitments and we especially love when he comes to church.
One of the greatest things about missionary work is the answered prayers we receive. The different situations we encounter often don't seem to have an easy solution, but Heavenly Father always provides a way. He is there for us no matter what the situation is and He is mindful of our needs. I know that to be true and I feel like I see that on a daily basis in our work. Things happen for a reason. Our days and weeks go by with the Lord's hand helping us along the way.
Friday was one of my favorite days this week! We went up to Tidworth (1 hour north of Salisbury on the bus) after visiting a recent convert, and helped a man weed his front garden. Last week we just knocked into him and he wasn't too interested in the gospel - but he did invite us back to help him do the weeding. Never have I loved service so much as I have on my mission. He was so grateful for the service we rendered and I'm grateful to have the time set apart just to serve the people around me. That's a blessing in itself.
Scripture of the week: "O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you? Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me." -3 Nephi 9:13-14
Monday, July 14, 2014
Temple Trip!!
This week's been a good one. I have been savoring each moment in Salisbury because "all good things must come to an end." I found out on Friday that on the 30th of this month I'll be moving to Chichester. Everyone here says, "Oh, that's a nice place..." So that's a good sign and I'm excited for a new adventure, but I'll be sad to leave little Salisbury and Sister Nelson. Bittersweet.
The highlight of the week was definitely the temple trip with Carly!! Oh my goodness, it was fabulous!! Not only did we get to go to the temple and feel the special spirit that is there, but I ran into so many great people from all different times of my mission. In town, before we left, I ran into Pam, who I haven't seen in months!! She's doing well and I felt so blessed to see her. Then, we got to the temple and guess which sister was giving us a Visitor Center tour... Sister Berati!!! The crazy thing is that she leaves this Wednesday to go home!! It was a tender mercy to see her just before she left. I'm so grateful for that. I also go to see Sister Brooks at the temple as well just before we left!!! All of these people coming out of the woodwork was such an amazing testimony to me that Heavenly Father is mindful of each of our individual situations and experiences. It ended up being an amazing day. And not only did I get to see so many great people I love along the way, Sister Nelson, Carly, and I all had a spiritual and heart warming experience as we talked about the importance of the temple and were privileged to watch the hour long Joseph Smith Movie. I'm so grateful for the temple and the gospel. It was a great reminder to me of my purpose as a missionary and the importance to share these truths with everyone I meet. I love being a missionary and I'm grateful for the tender mercies the Lord shows us.
Scripture of the week: "But great and marvelous are the works of the Lord, and the mysteries of his kingdom which he showed unto us, which surpass all understanding in glory, and in might, and in dominion...Neither is man capable to make them known, for they are only to be seen and understood by the power of the Holy Spirit, which God bestows on those who love him, and purify themselves before him." -D&C 76:114&116 
Sister Nelson, Carly, and I in front of the Christus statue in the Visitor's Center. Love these two.
Sister Nelson, Carly, and I in front of the Christus statue in the Visitor's Center. Love these two. Monday, July 7, 2014
The One & Only - TAYLOR FAMILY
Salisbury YSA after Church
This is a great group of people that I love. From left to right: Carly, myself, Sister Nelson, Julie, Shelby, Elder Onedo, Elder Robinson, Dan, and Sam.
Happy 4th of July!!!
Good Times in Bournemouth
I love Salisbury. It's no secret. The members, nonmembers, and missionaries that I get to serve with here are absolutely incredible. I don't know if missionary life could get much better than it is here, but transfers are next week. We're all on the edge of our seat, waiting to find out (hopefully on Saturday) where we'll go. I'd love to stay, but my say doesn't matter much. The great thing about being a missionary is knowing that no matter where I go or how long I stay, it's in the Lord's hands and He'll put me where He needs me.
This week we got to teach Wayne again after a week of not seeing him! We're so happy to be teaching him again and he's excited to be baptized. We really admire his desire to change and turn his life around. He's a regular at church now and the branch loves him. :)
We got to go on exchange with the Bournemouth sisters this week: Sister McLeod & Sister Sargsyan. I went down to Bournemouth and Sister McLeod came here to Salisbury. We both saw lots of miracles in our areas! I forgot how small Salisbury is until I went to Bournemouth because it's a proper tourist destination right on the coast. There were so many people!! And they were from so many different places. It was incredible because we'd be walking down the street and someone would be talking in a different language that'd I'd never heard before and Sister Sargsyan would just start talking with them because she knows about 6 languages! She's amazing! The best part about being in Bournemouth was learning and working with Sister Sargsyan (who's apparently Miss Armenia!! which is amazing!!) but also that we met a lost sheep!! His name is Cliff and on Friday morning we felt like we needed to stop him as we walked toward the beach. We told him who we were and he said, "Yeah, I was baptized in to that church when I was 10!" I love it when this happens. Honestly, it's my favorite thing. We talked with him for about 5 minutes and he committed to come to church on Sunday!! We were so happy and I know Heavenly Father places people in our path for a reason. This is definitely an inspired work and I'm grateful to be a small part of it.
Scripture of the week: "And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—" -Moroni 7:45-46
Getting waffle desserts for dinner in Bournemouth. #healthy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)