Flip-flip-flip-a-delphia!

I know I say this a lot, but this time I really mean it...I have no clue where to start! So much to say and so little time. We don't have a lot of time to write but a picture is worth a thousand words so I sent you a ton! :D 

I SPENT TWO DAYS IN PHILLY! Conclusion...not sure if I could actually serve there...I think it would wear me out real quick! But, I'd better keep my mouth shut because transfers are coming up next week! I rode the subway, went to Reading Terminal Market and went to the temple construction site! The sisters there live right on 17th and Spring Garden! It was awesome (: 

SISTER HOWARD BROUGHT ME CAFE RIO BACK FROM WASHINGTON D.C.!!! Best companion ever. Obviously. My taste buds almost exploded with joy. 

We also had Mission Leadership Council this week and it was so spiritually uplifting! I can't wait to do Zone Training this week! Please pray for us! We want the missionaries in our zone to have a great experience with the spirit! I'm so grateful for President and Sister Anderson! They do so much for us and they love all the missionaries so much! They work so hard. 

Keep on and pray on. Remember that you are not here on this earth to prove your worth, that was set eons ago. You are here to determine where you will spend the eternities. Your individual worth cannot and never will change. I love this Gospel and my Savior more than I can tell you.The Atonement is real. Lean on it, don't let His sacrifice be in vain. Don't do all that you can, and then expect Him to make up the rest, walk with Him every step of the way. Thank you for your prayers, they have been felt. 

All my love, 

Sister Kadee Elise Taylor 

I'm on top of the world, yeah!

This was a jam packed week of awesomeness! 

We made some Chinese friends/investigators. (I just really want Chinese friends).  They are exchange students and will be here until August. We invited them over for dinner at a member's house who lives down the hall from them. They brought some chinese food...it looked wierd, but of course I muscled it down. Upon further inspection we came to the knowledge that it was black tree fungus. yay! But they did bring some shredded potato stir fry and that was good (: We showed them one of the only Mormon messages translated into Chinese and it was about our divinity as daughters of God. These girls did not even know the meaning of the word "religion". They are so receptive and after their 10 day vacation to Disney World we are going to have another lesson with them! Please pray for Ashley and Fiona. More commonly known as, Yang Qui Liang and Feng Jing Ting... (: 

Us four Dover sisters put on a "Dover Community Cultural Night"! Yes, we single handedly organized, planned and carried out the entire thing. WITH help from Victoria of course, she helped us make ALL the decorations and centerpieces! :D She's incredible. The event was a wild success and there were 16 non-members there! :D HOORAY! 

Okay, here's three facts that need to be reviewed before I tell you this story. 

1. I can't sing. I just don't. You know this. 
2. For months we've been hearing about a music festival that would be here in Dover this past weekend. It's a hipster music festival called Firefly that's basically trying to re-create Woodstock. 
3. Two weeks ago our bishop asked us (both companionships of sisters in the ward) to sing a "prelude song" before sacrament meeting started. Kinda awkward, but sure! (: We decided to sing Brightly Beams or Father's Mercy to the tune of Come Thou Fount. 

Drum roll please...

Next thing I know, I find myself singing acapella on the stand in Sacrament meeting realizing that Dan Reynolds from Imagine Dragons is on the back pew with his family...The champ took a picture with us but asked us not to use it for social media purposes because it causes the church negative attention :( Yes, the sister missionaries were the only ones to snag a picture with him and yes, I still manage to meet famous people on my mission. 

I had an amazing study about the "mist of darkness" spoken of 2 Nephi 8! I received a blessing last week and was counseled to study 1 Cor.10:13. It talks about overcoming the temptations sent our way. As I studied all the cross-references I ran into this, "And the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into broad roads, that they perish and are lost." - 1 Nephi 12:17. We are infinitely more than our trials and afflictions, but we have to beware of the mists od darkness that the adversary throws our way! They are all around us, and the adversary is getting trickier and trickier! He's making good seem bad and bad seem good. Whenever the scriptures talk about temptation it is coupled with prayer. We must always be pleading for Heavenly help if we are to get by. Any good that comes from us comes because of Him. We mus always be relying on Him. And not only that, we must thank Him for every seemingly small miracle we receive at His hand. I love the Lord! I am not the source of the Light, but I can reflect it! 

I love my mission more than you'll ever know. Thank you for all your love, support and prayers. You inspire me to work hard! I love you more than I can put into words. 

Love, 

Sister Kadee Taylor 

"My mission belongs to the Lord. With all my heart, I give my energy and my time to the Master. Therefore I'm going to look at every day not as mine, but as His. And I will treat each minute of His time with respect and focus on the dedication that it deserves." Elder Russell M. Ballard.

I'm seriously about to shave all my hair off.

It's official. I hate summer more than winter. 

This week was amazing! I learned so much that I will cherish for eternity. District meeting was all on Humility. It absolutely changed me. I learned that if my Savior, through the help of His Father in Heaven, performed the Atonement, then there's nothing I can't do without His help too.  I think I see the world through different eyes. My perspective has changed and I'm learning about my individual worth, and how that never changes in the eyes of God. We need to see each other's similarities before we see our differences. We are all of equal and important value to our Father in Heaven. Temporal things do not effect our worth, and the adversary will always try to distract us with "vain imaginations" and "self made issues". Your individual worth is permanent. When we remember our origin, it's easy to reach our destiny. When you feel your confidence waning, remember your divinity as a child of the Almighty God.

Our investigator Victoria, that Sister Argueta and I started teaching at the beginning of May, has picked a baptismal date! Her husband is deployed in the Navy right now, and she was originally going to wait until he got home in November to be baptized. We tried to understand and didn't push the issue. As we continued teaching her and as she kept keeping commitments her heart changed! She said that she feels like she needs to be baptized sooner and has chosen July 26th! I am so happy for her. It has been such a tender mercy to be able to teach her. She is more prepared than anyone I have ever met. She even  got upset when she realized she couldn't have a calling until she was baptized, and has helped us entirely plan and prepare for an upcoming ward party! She's incredible.

This week was full of miracles that I don't even have time to type up! Fret not, they're all in my journal! I want you to know that I know the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. If we allow Him to, and if we are willing to put in the work, He can change our very natures. I'm not sure how, but I know that He can, because I've experienced it. If we have a desire to change and to become better, then we need to humble ourselves in prayer and ask for help, then get up and work for the change. This is a Gospel of transformation! It will transform YOU!  Pray for the strength to influence your surroundings, don't let your surroundings influence you! Be a thermostat, not a thermometer! :D 

Thank you for all the love, support, and needed prayers! 

Love, 

Hermana Taylor

Mon petit chou chou: The adventures of Barbie and Miss Mexico.

I am serious. At least 3 times a week, some new person thinks I'm Spanish. It's glorious. Last week at YSA volleyball someone asked Elder De Moors who the "Spanish girl with the red glasses" was. THAT'S ME!  We even went to a Mexican restaurant this week, it looked pretty good and we'd been wanting to try it out. Apparently I've acclimated to all the real Mexican and Guatemalan food I've been eating, because I liked my beans better than theirs. THEN, this guy added me on facebook, and after some investigation I discovered that he was from Mexico, a returned missionary and currently attending BYU. I thought it was odd, but added him thinking that he might have a referral for us. Wrong. He immediately started messaging me in Spanish.Are you flamin' me?!  Don't worry, I have since deleted him.  

On to more important things than my ethnicity,or the lack thereof...

An elderly couple in the neighboring ward hosted a Family History fair this weekend! People from the genealogical society in Philadelphia came! AND a lady from Ancestry.com even came and taught classes! I can't wait to do family history and take names to the temple! I've definitely felt the spirit of Elijah and I've gained a love of Family History on my mission. This week I found three relatives on census records that were not on our tree on familysearch.org!

Yesterday in Sunday School something amazing happened. The teacher asked this question, "Who is the happiest person in the universe?" after a few moments of silence and all of us wondering if it was a trick question he asked again, "Who is the happiest person in the universe?" Then, Foster, recent convert of 6 months said, "Me, I am..." I think we chuckled a little bit before we realized he was serious. He continued, "I have the Gospel in my life, and I know God. Why wouldn't I be the happiest person in the universe?" The room was quiet and we all learned a very valuable lesson. Brothers and Sisters, should we not be the happiest people in the universe? "...if the bitter cup does not pass, drink it and be strong, trusting in happier days ahead." Chin up! The only thing you should rely on for happiness is your Father in Heaven and His perfect plan for you. You have the Gospel, so pray for courage, dust yourself off and carry on! Engage in the work of the Lord by serving others. Always look outward. Light will flow into your life, I promise. 

I know that our Father in Heaven loves each of us. I know that He is infinitely aware of the details of our lives. If we turn to Him in all things, if we look outward in every situation, we will have peace. He has given us the recipe for success. Wake up every morning and read the scriptures, then go out into the world and live them. 

I love you all!

Love, 

Hermana Taylor 

p.s. - It's that time of year, the fireflies are back! It's truly magical.

tamales

Time flies when you're having fun. HOW IS IT JUNE?! I swear it was January yesterday... 

My new companion is Sister Howard from Gilbert, Arizona! She is the BEST, and we get along so well. I'm super grateful for her. 

This week Hermana Cruz made over 500 tamales! So, SO good! AND Hermana Reina taught me how to make beans! You know...the good kind you get at La Frontera?! I know how to make them. :D Bishop Harrison is amazing. Everyone on earth should have Bishop Harrison as their bishop. He lives, breathes and eats missionary work. We could not be more blessed! 

Our investigator Angeles (Angelis) who is 12 years old has a baptismal date for June 29th! PLEASE pray for her! She is so ready and willing to change! I've never worked with anyone who had such a desire to live up to their potential! I see so much goodness in her. She feels it will be hard to change, and it will. She has been raised in a single parent home in a very "rough" environment. I know prayer is a real power. Please keep her in your prayers. She's amazing. 

I love my mission. I can't imagine life without my mission. I'm learning so much about my Savior, my Father in Heaven and myself. I'm learning that the greatest joy in life really does come from serving others and turning outward. I can't believe that I get a lifetime to apply the things I'm leaning here! It sounds too good to be true. 

I'm so full of joy. Yes, I have ups and downs, but I'm learning how to be resilient, I want to give ALL of my will to Him, being able to put my trust in Him-nothing wavering. Learning to give 100%, 100% of the time! His work will never stop, which means I can't either.  I'm so grateful for His patience with me. I'm so grateful for His love for me. An awesome missionary taught me that I need to live my mission in a way that when it's time to go home, I'll be ready. I don't want to ever feel like my work isn't done, or that I need more time. I want Him and I to be satisfied with my work, and then I want to go out and serve the world around me!  

The Church is true. Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. He was called to restore the Gospel and the Priesthood to the earth. We are so blessed because of his great and lasting sacrifice. I know He saw God and Jesus Christ, the Spirit has  born witness of this to me- and for that I am eternally grateful. No one can take my testimony from me. I increase in conversion daily. God is our Father. He is infinitely aware of us. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He is the greatest friend you could ever have. Rely on Him. If you think you can't make it on your own, you're right. You weren't meant to. If you can't learn to rely on Him, "you face a lot of long nights and empty nets". I testify that Jesus is the Christ, and the living Son of the living God.

All my love, 

Sister Kadee Elise Taylor