Elder Taylor: June 20, 2011

Hello everybody! So this week was amazing! I hope you all had great weeks as well. I know that it is easier to have a good week as we are obedient to the Lord's commandments and that is why I was able to have a great week, because I tried my absolute best. I have noticed that when we give our absolute best as missionaries the Lord gives his absolute best for us.

Monday was a good day. I played basketball a little bit but stopped when my ankle started hurting. We had dinner with a couple in which the wife had just been baptized about a year ago. It was really fun and they were very cool. We had to hurry towards the end because she is a big hockey fan and the Stanley cup was on. We then went to see some recent converts. This is a family that was baptized about 2 or 3 months before I got here. It was really good to see them because the husband needs some help and the elders quorum is not stepping up. I wish members could see how important they are to missionaries and their converts. Without the member's support we couldn't be effective missionaries.

Tuesday we went and helped at the Zoo again. It was pretty fun. I just dug holes for some grass stuff. It got old quick though. The guy who works with us came to lunch with us though. It was good for him to come with us. I can see him changing a little bit by little bit. We then went and saw our RLDS investigator and I must say that this meeting wasn't our most productive one. She just gets her doctrine mixed up so much. We read 1 Nephi 3 with her and she says that it isn't talking about Joseph Smith. We didn't get into a heated argument or anything but it was defiantly a debate. She still invited us back though. We then went to see one of our members who wanted a blessing. He was going in for surgery on his back and he was pretty nervous. As I gave him the blessing I felt the Lord there and he told Cliff that he would be ok and that He would be with the doctors so they would operate with skill and percision. It was really cool to be able to feel that. I was very thankful for the opportunity to give the blessing. We then went to dinner with a counsellor to the bishop and Bishop Madsen. It was really fun but we had to leave rather quickly because we had a team up to teach our baptismal candidates, Davis family. We got there and we were going to talk to them about moving their date up but they told us they wanted to move it up to June 25th before we said anything. They are so ready and it has been a blessing to teach them.

Wednesday was good we had district meeting. We were then suppose to go on exchanges with the assistants but they were runnig late so Elder Harmon needed some stamps so we went to the post office. We were walking in and we ran into the former elder Struthers. He was back to the mission visiting with his parents. It was really cool to see him. We then went on exchanges with the assistants and I went with Elder Lesuma again. We had a good exchange, we had all 4 of us in Topeka and it was really productive. We taught a total of 8 lessons and found 3 new invstigators. We had a dinner with the Davis' at one of our member's houses. It was really good and the Davis' loved it. Elder Harmon and Nicholes also got one of our part-member family's 10 year old girl back on date.

Thursday we had a meeting with Bro. Corillo and it was really nice. He told us how much missionaries had helped him and how much we ment to him. I was very touched. I didn't think I would be able to come out here and actually help people but as I have been out here I have seen people change. I have also come to know that it isn't me but it is the Holy Ghost which is changing people so when I say "I" I mean the Holy Ghost. We then had lunch with our recent converts and that was really fun. They fixed us some HUGE hogies! They are the best! We then had an appointment all the way up in Auburn fall through. It was a little frustrating. We tracted in this small town of Auburn and didn't have any success. We then went back to that appointment and she was there but we set up to come over the following Sunday. We had a sweet dinner and then a amazing team up! We went to see a recent convert who hasn't come to church since she was confirmed. It is really hard to see. She is just lazy. I can't believe people let their laziness compromise their salvation and their family's salvation. It is just really frustrating to see people be that selfish. If I am ever that selfish you all have permission to slap me.

Friday we had to go to Lawrence for a district meeting. It was good and it was the district leader's last one before he goes home. It is weird to see people leaving around me. Then we went down to Emporia to do some baptismal interviews. Well we did 5 of them! I had to do 4 because E. Harmon had taught those 4 already. The first one was this 11 year old girl she was funny. She told me something that was just crazy. She said her boyfriend was already putting pressure on her to have sex. At 11 years old! She told him no! I gave her major props for that! The other interviews went well. We then had a dinner with our ward mission leader and he told us how much he liked us. He said that there would be a Taylor/Harmon model of missionary work here for a long time. We then went to visit people but had no luck. We had a cupon for some ice cream so we used it. They lady who served us asked about us and we gave her a card and she said she would call us.

Saturday we taught Moi, a 19 year old recent convert who doesn't go to church. He is good at inviting friends over and he had 2 over that day. It was cool. They all said they would come to church but they didn't :( We don't really know what to do for him. We then were able to go see Cliff, he just had surgery, and he is doing pretty well. We had a sweet dinner and we were playing pool for a very long time and nobody won. Dinner was so good! We then went to teach Melissa and she and her son Donavon still want to be baptized. She talked to her boss about switching shifts so she can come to church.

Sunday was good. We helped pass the sacrament and said the prayers. Elder Harmon was saying the closing one and he forgot so we sat there in silence at the end for a while. It was pretty funny. We the went to see this member who called us but he is in a different ward. So we are going to refer him to his missionaries. We had dinner with a family who is going to pick their son up from his mission next Sunday. They said it was weird he was coming home but their were ready. We then went out to Auburn and taught a family and found 5 new investigators through it! It was exciting! They all want CTR rings. We then were invited over to one of our member's houses up there in Auburn. They are really cool. They are the ones who invited us over for Easter. They wanted us to come to try some of their fish. It was BOMB! Their kids also challenged us to a basketball game. We... destroyed them again. Its good though because they are getting better.

So that was the week. It has been fun and great to be a missionary. I love it and wouldn't trade it for anything. Thank yo to all who helped me get out here!

Your Friend,
Elder Zachary Taylor