Saturday, January 2, 2016
Christmas 2015
Happy day!!
This week has been wonderful as usual. We had a ton of fun with
Christmas and all the activities that come along with it. We had our
south zone mission Christmas devotional on Tuesday this week. I saw
sister Johnson and Sister Sorensen at the meeting- it was a little MTC
reunion. There was lots of singing and a beautiful testimony meeting
after. President and sister Marston recited the living Christ. It's
been great trying to memorize it over the past month.
For Christmas Eve we went to the Vargas' house for dinner- they served
tamales (this is their Christmas Eve tradition dinner). They were
super yummy! After we went over to President and Sister Marston's
house for more food and other Christmas fun. Lots of the missionaries
in the south part of the mission came over to sing songs and catch up
with other missionaries. At the end of the evening the Marston's
placed all their German Christmas decorations on the living room table
an lit the candles underneath. The heat from the candle spun the
wooden fan at the top. With all the lights out and the Christmas
decorations lit up it really was a beautiful sight! We sang a few
Christmas songs together, it was wonderful. I couldn't have thought of
a better way to spend a Christmas Eve.
Later that night around 11 pm we found out our trio was becoming a
quad for a period of time. It was fun having sister Duncan around for
Christmas Day. On Friday evening we got our transfer calls early! My
transfer predictions were correct except the timing of everything was
way off. Transfers are set for the fist week of January so this was a
bit unexpected. There needed to be a switch up in companionships so
our trio was split up (becoming a duo) and two other sister
companionships in our zone changed. Sister Canann ended up being moved
to the Rocklin YSA ward with sister Chicos. I was so so sad!!!! It's
quiet in our apartment without her. I'll be with sister Sheffield for
her last transfer in the mission or in mission lingo I'm killing her
off haha!! President said he needs me to stay in GB2 because I'll know
the area pretty well by the end of next transfer when sister Sheffield
goes home. Sometimes there needs to be changes in companionships for
the work to move forward. I'm sad to see sister Canann go but she will
be a great help to the YSA ward.
We did a lot of present wrapping for service this week. You will be
happy to know that my awful wrap skills are slowly improving. It's a
blessing to have two Christmas seasons in the mission because I'm sure
that by Christmas 2017 I'll be a pro. The Marston's let us help them
and they do present wrap to the extreme - bows, ribbon, string and
fancy name cards. I didn't know what to do with it all at first. A few
days later we wrapped for 2 hours with one of our less active members.
I've had my fill for the year ha!
Christmas Day was amazing! I loved having the opportunity to be in
lots of different homes. We couldn't go out door knocking so we just
visited people in our ward. I wanted to be out working- it was weird
sitting and visiting for so long.
The Hansen's had us over for breakfast. I loved being in their home,
all the kids were so excited. Their family reminds me a lot of a
family I love from back home, the Lehr's. Sister Hansen made Christmas
morning special for us by preparing stockings for us. She spoiled us
with lots of little presents. They gave each of us a beautiful gold
California necklace, a sparkly journal, a Christmas book to read to
our future kids, lip gloss, nail polish and lots of other little
things. Y'all know I love presents! I was in heaven haha! We got to
see the Manzers, and then went to the Furguson's for dinner in the
evening. The members spoiled us. I have felt so much love from our
ward over the past month. Granite Bay 2nd really supports the
missionaries. I'm grateful for their efforts because I know not all
wards are like this.
Even with all the presents my truest joy came from taking time to
reflect on our Saviors birth. I am beyond grateful for his sacrifice
and love for each one of us.
My highlight was talking with my family! I was so happy to Facetime
with them- I felt so excited - kind of like the feeling you get before
a first date. Nervous excited haha! I was super happy to hear their
voices and see their faces. I cried tears of joy! It's hard to believe
that almost 3 months have passed.
Last week was so busy on P Day with bowling, shopping for sweaters and
groceries I had to send my last few emails to the outbox because the
wifi was hit and miss where we were. I thought we would make it back
into a strong wifi connection before 6 pm so they would send. Our
plans changed and we hit wifi again after p day was over. So don't you
worry- I'm being an obedient missionary ha! Hope you all got them :)
P Day is supposed to be a time to recenter you for the coming week. I
always have fun but it usually turns into a crazy busy day.
A simple joy of this week was our weekly planning session- it was the
best one I've had while on the mission. We have a solid week ahead!!!
Okay I have to get going. I'm super excited for the new year coming
up. May 2016 bring you great adventures!
Ponderizing scripture for this week is alma 41:10
"Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration,
that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto
you, wickedness never was happiness."
I like this scripture! After we die and are resurrected we know that
event won't change our hearts and desires. People talk about
reincarnation and restoration but those two things are so different.
To be reincarnated is to become something else but restoration refers
to renewing what once was. Wickedness never was happiness. It's true -
bad choices lead to unhappy consequences... Not always right away but
eventually. Choose to be good today!!
All the best!
-SIster Taylor
This week has been wonderful as usual. We had a ton of fun with
Christmas and all the activities that come along with it. We had our
south zone mission Christmas devotional on Tuesday this week. I saw
sister Johnson and Sister Sorensen at the meeting- it was a little MTC
reunion. There was lots of singing and a beautiful testimony meeting
after. President and sister Marston recited the living Christ. It's
been great trying to memorize it over the past month.
For Christmas Eve we went to the Vargas' house for dinner- they served
tamales (this is their Christmas Eve tradition dinner). They were
super yummy! After we went over to President and Sister Marston's
house for more food and other Christmas fun. Lots of the missionaries
in the south part of the mission came over to sing songs and catch up
with other missionaries. At the end of the evening the Marston's
placed all their German Christmas decorations on the living room table
an lit the candles underneath. The heat from the candle spun the
wooden fan at the top. With all the lights out and the Christmas
decorations lit up it really was a beautiful sight! We sang a few
Christmas songs together, it was wonderful. I couldn't have thought of
a better way to spend a Christmas Eve.
Later that night around 11 pm we found out our trio was becoming a
quad for a period of time. It was fun having sister Duncan around for
Christmas Day. On Friday evening we got our transfer calls early! My
transfer predictions were correct except the timing of everything was
way off. Transfers are set for the fist week of January so this was a
bit unexpected. There needed to be a switch up in companionships so
our trio was split up (becoming a duo) and two other sister
companionships in our zone changed. Sister Canann ended up being moved
to the Rocklin YSA ward with sister Chicos. I was so so sad!!!! It's
quiet in our apartment without her. I'll be with sister Sheffield for
her last transfer in the mission or in mission lingo I'm killing her
off haha!! President said he needs me to stay in GB2 because I'll know
the area pretty well by the end of next transfer when sister Sheffield
goes home. Sometimes there needs to be changes in companionships for
the work to move forward. I'm sad to see sister Canann go but she will
be a great help to the YSA ward.
We did a lot of present wrapping for service this week. You will be
happy to know that my awful wrap skills are slowly improving. It's a
blessing to have two Christmas seasons in the mission because I'm sure
that by Christmas 2017 I'll be a pro. The Marston's let us help them
and they do present wrap to the extreme - bows, ribbon, string and
fancy name cards. I didn't know what to do with it all at first. A few
days later we wrapped for 2 hours with one of our less active members.
I've had my fill for the year ha!
Christmas Day was amazing! I loved having the opportunity to be in
lots of different homes. We couldn't go out door knocking so we just
visited people in our ward. I wanted to be out working- it was weird
sitting and visiting for so long.
The Hansen's had us over for breakfast. I loved being in their home,
all the kids were so excited. Their family reminds me a lot of a
family I love from back home, the Lehr's. Sister Hansen made Christmas
morning special for us by preparing stockings for us. She spoiled us
with lots of little presents. They gave each of us a beautiful gold
California necklace, a sparkly journal, a Christmas book to read to
our future kids, lip gloss, nail polish and lots of other little
things. Y'all know I love presents! I was in heaven haha! We got to
see the Manzers, and then went to the Furguson's for dinner in the
evening. The members spoiled us. I have felt so much love from our
ward over the past month. Granite Bay 2nd really supports the
missionaries. I'm grateful for their efforts because I know not all
wards are like this.
Even with all the presents my truest joy came from taking time to
reflect on our Saviors birth. I am beyond grateful for his sacrifice
and love for each one of us.
My highlight was talking with my family! I was so happy to Facetime
with them- I felt so excited - kind of like the feeling you get before
a first date. Nervous excited haha! I was super happy to hear their
voices and see their faces. I cried tears of joy! It's hard to believe
that almost 3 months have passed.
Last week was so busy on P Day with bowling, shopping for sweaters and
groceries I had to send my last few emails to the outbox because the
wifi was hit and miss where we were. I thought we would make it back
into a strong wifi connection before 6 pm so they would send. Our
plans changed and we hit wifi again after p day was over. So don't you
worry- I'm being an obedient missionary ha! Hope you all got them :)
P Day is supposed to be a time to recenter you for the coming week. I
always have fun but it usually turns into a crazy busy day.
A simple joy of this week was our weekly planning session- it was the
best one I've had while on the mission. We have a solid week ahead!!!
Okay I have to get going. I'm super excited for the new year coming
up. May 2016 bring you great adventures!
Ponderizing scripture for this week is alma 41:10
"Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration,
that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto
you, wickedness never was happiness."
I like this scripture! After we die and are resurrected we know that
event won't change our hearts and desires. People talk about
reincarnation and restoration but those two things are so different.
To be reincarnated is to become something else but restoration refers
to renewing what once was. Wickedness never was happiness. It's true -
bad choices lead to unhappy consequences... Not always right away but
eventually. Choose to be good today!!
All the best!
-SIster Taylor
Good Days Great Days
This week has been fantastic! So many wonderful things have happened
over the last 7 days!
Best news of the week......
WE ARE HAVING OUR FIRST BAPTISM!!!!
Yahhhhhoooooo!
For about a year Lauryn has been working with missionaries off and on.
All of her family joined the church last spring but Lauryn wanted to
wait a little longer to make sure it was right for her too.
The rest of the details of Lauryn's story are very similar to mine.
She is 15 almost 16, has been actively participating in church for a
while now and lives the gospel standards. She basically is Mormon -
just hasn't been baptized yet!
We stopped by on Thursday this week for a visit and she said she wants
to be baptized... next week! So next Sunday - December 20 the we are
having the baptism!
This week I learned some new skills during a service project. Each
week we have a compassion planet afternoon at the church. Lots of
people from the community come together for quilting, sewing and other
crafty activities. I was helping out in the pillow section, stuffing
and hand sewing pillows closed. I now know how to complete an
invisible stitch. Hopefully this week I'll perfect the art!
I'm sending out a shout out to my lovely father Dan who is having a
birthday this Sunday! I have always admired what a hard worker he is.
He works long hours outside in the freezing cold Edmonton winters and
the blazing hot summers to provide for our family. He also has amazing
mental math abilities...a skill I have always been jealous of! I don't
know of anyone else who can calculate numbers as fast and accurately
as he can.
We had our ward Christmas party on Friday! It was a Nauvoo theme so
everyone dressed up in their pioneer clothing and enjoyed some olden
time games and yummy food. It was decorated so well- you didn't even
feel like you were in a church building. So much effort went into the
party, making it a fantastic evening!! It was a great missionary
opportunity as well.
We had the chance to go to the Marston's house this week to have a
lesson with Ben and Dennae about the restoration. We showed a short 20
minute video about Joseph Smith and how he was able to restore the
gospel, as Christ taught it while He was on the earth. I know that
Heavenly Father used Jospeh Smith as an instrument in bringing back
the fullness of the gospel. I'm grateful that he gave Joseph Smith the
ability to translate the Book Of Mormon from the golden plates. I have
grown to love that book so much more in the past 2 months. I'm
grateful that Heavenly Father does guide and direct us and that we can
have the gospel now. The spirit was so strong in Ben and Dennae's
lesson! Ben said he is so glad we came around and that we have been
like angels for them as they are learning about God.
I have been so grateful for President and Sister Marston. On the
mission they become like your parents. President Marston kind of
reminds me of my dad. Every time we go to the Marston's house
President Marston sends us home with a carton of raspberries (my
favourite)!! This is something my dad does for me back home. Anytime I
come for a visit he packs me up a little treat to take home. I feel
like California is my home away from home!
This week I also earned a new nickname ....Sister Toyota. Michael (a
little boy from church) keeps calling me this. He is convinced that it
is easier than Taylor. Ha!
Another highlight from this week was the opportunity we had to go to
the Sacramento temple for the Christmas nativity. It's technically out
of our area but we got special permission from President Marston to go
because we had investigators coming along!
It was SO BEAUTIFUL!!! I have loved the Sacramento temple since I was
16 & never thought I'd see it. Opening my mission call in May was
surreal. The temple is a holy place! They put on a live nativity from
Thursday to Sunday - it was wonderful! The baby who played Jesus was
not happy. He cried the whole time! Ha! Lots of people showed up, they
even had to turn people away because it got too late and the line up
was still insanely long.
We had our Zone meeting this week as well. Once a month all the
missionaries in this part of the Roseville mission get together for
training. It's a great learning experience and a fun chance to seethe
other missionaries.
One last thing...I LOVE PERSIMMONS!!!! They are nothing like I
remember them back home. A member gave us a bag of them that she grew.
I can't stop eating them!!! They are so great in salads, smoothies,
with cinnamon, as a bed time snack... This feels like an elf movie
moment or forest grump with all the shrimp haha! They are simply
amazing and have now become my favourite fruit. I guess they are a
different variety called fooyou or Apple persimmons... Not even mushy
and no seeds. I'm getting my fill while they are in season!!
Also I met this hilarious woman this week. Her name is Regenia but we
have to call her 'miss Regenia' because 'by all do respect she has
been around longer than us'. She is this middle aged African American
woman with a southern attitude. She started telling us her life story
and had the most outrageous mannerisms. I was dying inside!!! In the
middle of her sentence she stopped talking and asked us ' do you like
fried chicken?' And then she ran inside and came back out with 3
pieces of fried chicken. Haha!!! 11 am and we are eating fried
chicken. She said ' give me back those bones girls... If you can part
with them! Yeah that is finger lickin' chicken.' She was the best! I
hope we can teach her. I can already tell that lots of great stories
will come of visits with her.
My ponderizing scripture this week is John 1:3 'All things were made
by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.'
I wanted this to be my weekly scripture because it's one of the versus
in the living Christ that I'm trying to memorize. It's such a great
passage from the bible. Christ is the center of everything.
The mission is full of good days, great days.
I hope you have a fantastic week!!!
All the best!
-SIster Taylor
over the last 7 days!
Best news of the week......
WE ARE HAVING OUR FIRST BAPTISM!!!!
Yahhhhhoooooo!
For about a year Lauryn has been working with missionaries off and on.
All of her family joined the church last spring but Lauryn wanted to
wait a little longer to make sure it was right for her too.
The rest of the details of Lauryn's story are very similar to mine.
She is 15 almost 16, has been actively participating in church for a
while now and lives the gospel standards. She basically is Mormon -
just hasn't been baptized yet!
We stopped by on Thursday this week for a visit and she said she wants
to be baptized... next week! So next Sunday - December 20 the we are
having the baptism!
This week I learned some new skills during a service project. Each
week we have a compassion planet afternoon at the church. Lots of
people from the community come together for quilting, sewing and other
crafty activities. I was helping out in the pillow section, stuffing
and hand sewing pillows closed. I now know how to complete an
invisible stitch. Hopefully this week I'll perfect the art!
I'm sending out a shout out to my lovely father Dan who is having a
birthday this Sunday! I have always admired what a hard worker he is.
He works long hours outside in the freezing cold Edmonton winters and
the blazing hot summers to provide for our family. He also has amazing
mental math abilities...a skill I have always been jealous of! I don't
know of anyone else who can calculate numbers as fast and accurately
as he can.
We had our ward Christmas party on Friday! It was a Nauvoo theme so
everyone dressed up in their pioneer clothing and enjoyed some olden
time games and yummy food. It was decorated so well- you didn't even
feel like you were in a church building. So much effort went into the
party, making it a fantastic evening!! It was a great missionary
opportunity as well.
We had the chance to go to the Marston's house this week to have a
lesson with Ben and Dennae about the restoration. We showed a short 20
minute video about Joseph Smith and how he was able to restore the
gospel, as Christ taught it while He was on the earth. I know that
Heavenly Father used Jospeh Smith as an instrument in bringing back
the fullness of the gospel. I'm grateful that he gave Joseph Smith the
ability to translate the Book Of Mormon from the golden plates. I have
grown to love that book so much more in the past 2 months. I'm
grateful that Heavenly Father does guide and direct us and that we can
have the gospel now. The spirit was so strong in Ben and Dennae's
lesson! Ben said he is so glad we came around and that we have been
like angels for them as they are learning about God.
I have been so grateful for President and Sister Marston. On the
mission they become like your parents. President Marston kind of
reminds me of my dad. Every time we go to the Marston's house
President Marston sends us home with a carton of raspberries (my
favourite)!! This is something my dad does for me back home. Anytime I
come for a visit he packs me up a little treat to take home. I feel
like California is my home away from home!
This week I also earned a new nickname ....Sister Toyota. Michael (a
little boy from church) keeps calling me this. He is convinced that it
is easier than Taylor. Ha!
Another highlight from this week was the opportunity we had to go to
the Sacramento temple for the Christmas nativity. It's technically out
of our area but we got special permission from President Marston to go
because we had investigators coming along!
It was SO BEAUTIFUL!!! I have loved the Sacramento temple since I was
16 & never thought I'd see it. Opening my mission call in May was
surreal. The temple is a holy place! They put on a live nativity from
Thursday to Sunday - it was wonderful! The baby who played Jesus was
not happy. He cried the whole time! Ha! Lots of people showed up, they
even had to turn people away because it got too late and the line up
was still insanely long.
We had our Zone meeting this week as well. Once a month all the
missionaries in this part of the Roseville mission get together for
training. It's a great learning experience and a fun chance to seethe
other missionaries.
One last thing...I LOVE PERSIMMONS!!!! They are nothing like I
remember them back home. A member gave us a bag of them that she grew.
I can't stop eating them!!! They are so great in salads, smoothies,
with cinnamon, as a bed time snack... This feels like an elf movie
moment or forest grump with all the shrimp haha! They are simply
amazing and have now become my favourite fruit. I guess they are a
different variety called fooyou or Apple persimmons... Not even mushy
and no seeds. I'm getting my fill while they are in season!!
Also I met this hilarious woman this week. Her name is Regenia but we
have to call her 'miss Regenia' because 'by all do respect she has
been around longer than us'. She is this middle aged African American
woman with a southern attitude. She started telling us her life story
and had the most outrageous mannerisms. I was dying inside!!! In the
middle of her sentence she stopped talking and asked us ' do you like
fried chicken?' And then she ran inside and came back out with 3
pieces of fried chicken. Haha!!! 11 am and we are eating fried
chicken. She said ' give me back those bones girls... If you can part
with them! Yeah that is finger lickin' chicken.' She was the best! I
hope we can teach her. I can already tell that lots of great stories
will come of visits with her.
My ponderizing scripture this week is John 1:3 'All things were made
by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.'
I wanted this to be my weekly scripture because it's one of the versus
in the living Christ that I'm trying to memorize. It's such a great
passage from the bible. Christ is the center of everything.
The mission is full of good days, great days.
I hope you have a fantastic week!!!
All the best!
-SIster Taylor
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