Disaster Strikes in Stroudsburg

Hello my friends,

This week was rather discouraging. Almost every single investigator that we have has told us that they no longer want to meet with us. We have one really solid investigator who was progressing VERY quickly,
and her husband will not give her permission to be baptized. I think Sister Earl had a harder time with all of this than I did. You have to understand, I don't know the difference. I've never had a baptism. I
am however starting to wonder what it is that I am doing wrong. I know that we are striving to be exactly obedient in all that we do. I think I have found a new sense of determination to get out there and work
hard. We always do our best, but I think we were getting into too much of a routine. This is going to be a hard week.

Once we learned that Mary's husband would not give her permission to be baptized, we pretty much just had a break down. Water works and everything. We call in to the Elders every night to tell them that we
are "in and safe" and our phone call on Saturday night sounded a bit like this, "We...*sob*...are...*sob...in and safe...*sob*..." Poor guys, I wish that I could have seen the look on their faces when they heard the pitiful sound of our crying voices. Much prayers and fasting would be appreciated at this point. Well, we got blessings the next morning and I learned a few very important things:

1. My Heavenly Father gives me trials because He loves me.
2. I am grateful for worthy Priesthood holders.
3. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

We had a mini-missionary with us this week. I have to say, it was rather interesting. It helped Sister Earl and I to see our strength and unity. It also helped us to see where we could improve. Most of all, it helped me to see how much I've learned since I arrived here 12 weeks ago. I can't believe it's been THREE MONTHS! I've learned that I really DO have a clue about what is going on! It was helpful to ask for advice on where to improve as far as the training aspect goes. It was also helpful for me to see how much I have grown since arriving in Philadelphia! I just always need to remember who's name I wear on my chest! My Jesus is SO good!

Love,
Sister Kadee Taylor        

13 Going on 30?

Hellooooooo!

Okay, first of all...since when was I old enough to be 21?! I swear that just yesterday those birthday candles said 17! Weird.

I've learned something, life is better when it's not about you. When you focus on meeting the needs of others, your needs are met. I'm almost positive that it is a law of heaven.

I've also learned that I miss dancing, and I didn't even know that I liked dancing! We were given permission to go to a wedding this week, and boy were we missing out on all the dance floor action! I never thought I'd miss the Cha-cha slide...or whatever it's called haha.

This week we have the incredible opportunity to have a "mini-missionary" with us! Some of the stakes around here set up a program where YSA members who are considering going on missions can come on a mini-mission and stay with the missionaries for  a week! It is quite a compliment to our companionship that we got suggested! So, yesterday we met up with Sister Earnshaw from a neighboring stake, and she will be with us in a trio until Saturday!

You should all read the conference talk Mountains to Climb by Henry B. Eyring:
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/mountains-to-climb?lang=eng

or at LEAST watch the correlated Mormon Message!

I know that we are each asked to bear different burdens in this life for a reason. In our lives there will be challenges. They will either bring you closer to God and therefore make you stronger, or they can destroy you. But you make the decision of which road you take. Alma 29: 4-6 touches on this. I know that we each "ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto us." I think that some of us get caught up in wishing that we were called so some great thing in life, when really all we need to do is exactly what we have been called to do. The trials, heartaches and struggles that you have are the tasks that you have been called to perform in this life, so do them well! The Lord will ask nothing more, nor nothing less of you. Your best is good enough, are you doing your best?

I know that as we each struggle about our imperfections, the Lord will give us suggestions on where to improve. Seek for His guidance and counsel.

I love you all!

Love,
Sister Kadee Taylor

You would not believe your eyes…

I saw FIREFLIES for the first time in my entire life! I have never, nor will I ever be so excited about a bug! They make my life complete, and I get to see them every single night. I. LOVE. THEM.

 

Speaking of bugs... there are SO many here that I've never seen or heard of in my entire life! And I'm pretty sure that they all FLY! Ew. Just ask Sister Earl about how much I hate bugs. She loves it. This has been one crazy week! We had interviews with President Anderson, he's amazing. We had Zone Training in Nazareth, it was awesome. I LOVE the Elders and Sisters that I serve with! They're amazing and I am so blessed to serve with them.

THEN, we did an exchange with the Whitehall Sisters and Sister Hall came with me and I took over Stroudsburg! It was crazy. Then we did an exchange with the Reading Sisters and I was in charge again!

We also had a service project, this week was amazing! I've learned something very important...you can't rely on the GPS to get you anywhere out here. So just follow the Spirit. THEN....our power went out on Friday! And will be out until tomorrow haha. The wonderful Laura Skagen in our ward is letting us stay with her, and we are so grateful! She's made us Vernor's floats and blueberry pancakes, this is the life.

 

This week was amazing though. Mary came to church again, and the Spirit was so strong. It's so interesting to put yourself in the shoes of an investigator while you're at church. After Sacrament meeting we took her on a church tour and showed her the baptismal font. The Spirit was so strong and when we were explaining everything to her we all just felt so happy. Watching someone find what they've been looking for and seeing the light in their eyes when they learn about the Gospel is an amazing gift that our Heavenly Father has allowed us to have.

 

Alma 12:24 "...this life [is] a probationary state...a time to prepare for [an] endless state..." Brothers and sisters, do you realize the magnitude of that? We have this short time here on Earth, to prepare ourselves for the rest of eternity! This tiny moment we have to determine what our life will be like for the rest of FOREVER. It is so important that we have patience with others and with ourselves, that we develop Christ-like attributes and always contribute to the hastening of the work in these latter days. I know that we will be blessed in our righteous efforts and that when we rely on the strength of the Lord (Philippians 4:13) then we will be helped in our journey back home (Mosiah 24:14).

 

I love you all dearly and pray for you always. Thank you for your support, it means the world to me. I know that we each have a part to play in the hastening of the work of the Lord.

 

Love Always,

Sister Kadee Taylor

P.S.- They don't have Otter Pops here...it's weird. They have "Ice Pops" and if you say Otter Pops, people look at you like you're nuts. Also, I'll be getting "Gelato wasted" for my 21st birthday (:

I Believe in Miracles!

I love you all!

This week was amazing! Sister Earl and I saw many miracles due to our determination and faith. The last few weeks of last transfer were a little discouraging for us...okay, a LOT discouraging. With the start of this transfer we decided that we needed to change our attitudes. We did our weekly planning, and told Heavenly Father that we were going to work very hard, but that we expected miracles in return! Bold, we know. But we were willing to work for it! And we did just that!

Our Zone Focus was to have three new investigators. I think we had three new investigators TOTAL last transfer! But, we knew that we had promised to work hard and we expected miracles. On Monday, we stopped at Wendy's (obviously) to get a bite to eat, and found a wonderful older couple- two new investigators on day one! We were so grateful and could not wait to continue working hard. Later in the week, we received a phone call from a number that was not saved in our phone. I answered the phone and the sister on the other end of the phone told me that she lived in Eugine, Oregon and that she has a friend who lives in our area, Mary. She told us that Mary was interested in investigating the Church and that she had been reading many Ensign articles and familiarizing herself with mormon.org. She explained that Mary was currently Catholic but that she was unhappy  with the beliefs and practices of the religion. then she told us that Mary would be coming to church the very next day! She literally called us and gave us an investigator! Mary did in fact come to church yesterday. She stayed all three hours and felt the Spirit very strongly. She even cried during Sacrament Meeting! We have an  appointment to meet with her this Tuesday, and cannot wait to begin helping her come closer to her Savior!

My favorite  part about all of this, was that we didn't find ANY of these people ourselves! We promised to work hard, and Heavenly Father kept His end of the bargain and put these people in our paths. I know that as we continue to forget ourselves and go to work, that we will continue to see miracles. I know that as we set goals that are realistic, but that stretch us, we will continue to see the Lord's help. This is His work and He will not leave us alone in it. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a missionary at this exciting time. I am so humbled by the trust that the Lord has placed in me, and I hope to never lose that trust.

Brothers and sisters, loved ones!  We need to learn to trust our Heavenly Father! He knows us better than we know ourselves, He has known us since before we came to this earth and received our bodies!  Because of this, we NEED to trust Him. Do you realize what that even means? It means being completely okay with submitting your will to His, and knowing that things will still work out for your good. It's like doing the "trust fall", but with God. I'm pretty sure He'll catch us! He would never ask us to do an impossible thing! He would never tell you to do something that you could not accomplish without His help, and I know this to be true.

This may be difficult at times, because "...the Lord may not see fit to deliver you from your trials." (Mosiah 21:15) Why would that be? Because He wants to torture you? NO. Because He is refining you. He is giving you the opportunity to be the best that you can be.  Do not let that opportunity to grow and learn turn into you complaining and wasting the valuable time that He has given you here on earth. All we are asked to do is the best that we can with His help. And be of good cheer, the future is as bright as your faith! Your best is good enough, are you doing your best? You have a divine, eternal potential that you cannot even imagine. Of this I am sure.

[Go read Forget Me Not by Dieter F. Uchtdorf!]

I love you all so much and am so grateful for your love and support! 

Keep up the prayers!

Love,

Sister Kadee Taylor

I love the Lord, in Him my soul delights

First and foremost, shout-out to my little sister Savannah! It was her birthday yesterday!!! Whoot WHOOT! :D

Well folks, since the Elders' lease was up, us Sisters got to move into a new apartment and the Elders moved into our old humble abode.   Bless their souls.

New Apartment
252 Learn Rd. Apt #201
Tannersville, PA 18372

Well for P-day last week we went bowling as a district! It was hilarious and fun and awesome. I serve with the BEST Elders and Sisters! They're hilarious, so that's an obvious plus. It was weird being "in the world" and hearing "normal" music....just weird haha.

The Earl family took us out to eat at Ichiban...or however you spell it..and i LOVED it! I think the longer I live the more I love oriental food. And I know I have about 5 oriental food loving friends that are jumping for joy right now. We even had fried ice cream for dessert!  ...Even though that's not oriental at all haha.

I learned many valuable lessons this week, a few in particular which I shall never forget...

Lesson #1: If we are faithful and obedient, we can be tools in the Lord's hands and He can enable us to answer the prayers of others. 

We were having a rough day last week. After traveling many miles into the Poconos to make a visit, and then realizing that the individual was not home, we intended to make the most of the situation by going to visit a less active couple nearby. We called to make sure that they were home and then headed on over. I was really excited because I hadn't met them before, and I knew they had a pet hen and many snakes... :D

When we got there, we visited with Allen out on the porch for a few minutes before his wife Pat came outside to talk with us (They don't like us to call them Brother and Sister ha). After we'd been there for a while, and met ALL of the chickens we left with a word of prayer. Sister Earl offered it and when she closed, Allen said, "Wait, I'm not done. P.S. God- Thank you for sending the sisters here today, to give me an uplifting message and the encouragement that I needed. And to make my day just when I really needed it. Please send them to their next destination safely. Amen."

I have never felt the love of my Savior more. We had unknowingly answered this man's prayer.  And it wasn't until then that we realized that he had asked us at least THREE times, why we came to their house that day, and what made us choose to come to their home. And he asked us at least twice if someone from the ward had sent us over. I love being on the Lord's errand. Good ideas are often fruits of the Spirit. We don't need grand revelation to do the Lord's work, He often makes the idea our own when He knows that He can trust us to accomplish His work.

Lesson #2 - Never postpone a prompting.

We have a potential investigator who lives in very humble circumstances. We have tried to visit her many times, but she often will not open her door to the outside world, for fear of just one more thing going wrong. I had the opportunity to finally meet her later last week! After she explained some of her struggles to us, we offered to go by earlier this week and help her around the house. She knew that we were coming, and we couldn't wait to get back and help her as much as we could. 

Yesterday, we went by her home, and she didn't answer the door. It's okay- we are persistent. We went by three times.  The 3rd time was unique. We're not actually stalkers...we sort of wound up at her house by accidentally taking a wrong turn. We immediately took it as a sign that the 3rd time was the charm, and that she would now open her door to us! As we were knocking on her door, I got the "idea" to knock on her neighbor Tony's door, who we had met briefly a few weeks prior. I ignored the thought and we continued knocking. The thought to go to Tony's had not left my mind.  

After a few minutes, we got back in the car and headed home, seeing as how our time was running short and it was to be our last visit for the night. On our way home we were discussing how odd it was that we both felt the impression to go for the 3rd time, when she didn't even answer the door. Halfway home I said to Sister Earl, "We were supposed to knock on Tony's door. We were supposed to be at that home, at that time...I feel horrible." PLEASE! Never postpone a prompting! When Heavenly Father trusts you enough to tell you to do something, DO IT! (: I shall not soon forget that day.

Lesson #3: We are SO blessed.

I know that this one may seem obvious, but I want you to really ponder it. I have seen and met people in the most humble of circumstances, who are probably far happier than we often pretend to be. Be of good cheer, the future is as bright as your faith. I promise you that as you seek to recognize all that our Heavenly Father has blessed you with, that your heart will be opened to how truly blessed you really are. Pray, and ask to be helped in recognizing all of your wonderful blessings. You will see them everywhere you look. Take nothing for granted. Look for the good in everything, I promise you it's there.

Brothers and sisters, we know the way back to our Heavenly Father's presence, and we need to share that. There is nothing that should get in the way of our sharing the gospel with those we love. When we share it with love, it will never come across offensive or judgmental. We are so blessed to know that when we are in the service of our Heavenly Father, we are entitled to His help. Call upon it and it will bless your life and the lives of those around you more than you can possibly imagine.

I love you all!

Sister Kadee Taylor!

I know that my Redeemer lives!

My dearest friends and family!

I cannot believe that another week has come and gone! I'll be honest, the days drag on but the weeks just FLY by! I sure hope that the blazing heat of the summer is treating you all wonderfully! Haha we've been pretty lucky with some cooler weather and the accompanied rain!  But...this week looks like it'll be heating up. Bring on the humidity :D

Well for starters...We went to the Crayola Factory last Monday!!! It was AMAZING! I'm sure that you can picture it...4 missionaries and 1,000 two year olds and their parents. It was awesome haha. 

I also got to go an an exchange this week with Sister Hall (from my MTC district)!!! I got to go down to Whitehall for a day. Oh man is it different than Stroudsburg... There were suburbs, and blocks, and people! Let's just say that stroudsburg is a little more...spread out?  You could take a wrong turn down a long windy street and end up on the opposite side of the county. It's fantastic. I LOVE OUR GPS!

Also, we are moving this week! Just about 10 minutes away to Tannersville. I'll keep you posted on my new address, so even though I hate to say it.....Don't mail me anything after about Wednesday this week :( Wait until I get my new address.

I learned so much about the Atonement this week, both in my studies for investigators and in my own needing to rely on it. I was having a little home-sick spell this last week, and the last thing I wanted was for it to distract me. I really had to pray to my Father in Heaven and plead with Him to let the Atonement take away some of my grief. The Atonement is real. When we turn our lives over to The Lord, He can take our pains away. When we focus on others and plead for His help, He will be there. His loving hand is outstretched, just waiting for us to ask Him for help. He will always be there. It is so important that we each learn for ourselves how real the Atonement is, and how it can take our pains away if we allow it to.

I also want to take a moment to send out my love and condolences to the Nauahai family. I'm sure I'm not the first, and won't be the last to have shed tears over the sad news of Phil's passing. However, some of my tears come from the joy and tenderness that I feel towards the Plan of Salvation. My testimony and knowledge of it grow every single day. What a blessing it is to know that we can see our loved ones after this life! What a blessing it is to know that our family relationships can and will extend beyond the grave if we make and keep the sacred covenants that we are so privileged to have and partake of as members of this Church. I know that the only way to return to live with our families again is through living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  What joy we should gleam from that sentence! We know the only true way to return to live with our families again! What a blessing it is to know that our Savior can buoy us up in these times of trial, if we will but ask for His help in all things.

I love my family very much. My love for them grows every  day.

I love you all and I'll talk to you next week! :D

Sister Kadee Taylor

MIRACLES HAPPEN WHEN YOU BELIEVE!!!

Loved ones!

It's been an amazing two weeks! I had "Golden Retraining" which was AMAZING! We got to watch a talk by Elder Holland so obviously it was pulpit slamming out of this world! One of my favorite things about being a missionary is when the missionaries gather together. It doesn't matter for what, but when you get a group of missionaries together...there is nothing like it. It's my favorite. (Also, there are FIVE Elder Taylor's in this mission and I'm the only Sister Taylor, and that's pretty awesome.)

I got mail like FOUR days in a row this week! You guys are the best.  (: And yes, I still have the best friends in the world! (Shout out to my Rexburg peeps for that AMAZING package full of love and chocolate! I LOVE YOU GUYS!)

A story that I'm sure all of you will appreciate...We were driving to go look at an apartment that we are hoping to move into this next month, and we had a member friend named Melissa with us. She's awesome. Well, we forgot to pray before we left the house so we asked her to offer a prayer for us while we were on the road. And  I quote, "...And as Sister Taylor is driving we pray that we make it to our destination safely and with minimal complications..." Wow. It has been confirmed by an outside source that I am indeed a horrible driver. I obviously thought otherwise. ;)

You ALL need to read OurWonderful Journey Home from the YW broadcast of April conference. It's by Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Go. Now. Read.

MIRACLES HAPPEN WHEN YOU BELIEVE!!! A member of our ward has a cousin who just moved in. Her name is Kristie. She immediately began to ask questions about the Church! She couldn't wait to meet with us and "has a completely open mind, and wants to hear all we have to teach her about the Church." I AM SO HAPPY!!!!  We are setting our second appointment up tonight! She came to church on Sunday with her daughter! She has also been reading the Book of Mormon! It is such a blessing to know that anyone can prayerfully read it to know of the truthfulness of it for themselves! She is so open to learning more! I don't know how we got so  blessed! I love her so much and hope to continue to watch her grow closer to 

her Savior!

ANOTHER MIRACLE! We live on the 3rd floor. Heat rises. We have no A/C, you do the math ;) We have been so blessed because the past couple of weeks it has been slightly rainy and cool outside. Well this past week, there was a particularly hot and humid day, probably the hottest we've had so far. There is a man named Todd who lives at our apartment complex and we are convinced he has been sent here to help us. On this particularly hot day, we pulled up to our apartment one evening and Todd was outside and said "Hello!" to us as we came in. Then, out of nowhere, he says to us, "You girls need an A/C unit don't you?" We were stunned, because we had not mentioned our air conditioning-less environment to anyone. We told him that we indeed had no A/C. He then told us that he'd go get one and he'd be right up with it. Not more than 10 minutes later, he is at our door with an A/C  unit for our window and a giant fan for our kitchen. SO AMAZING! God is aware of our every need! And then...he sends others to be our angels (: Always follow promptings from the Spirit, you never know when you might be the answer to someone's prayers. And guess what? My companion also likes green bananas. That my friends, is a HUGE  blessing.

We had a "Special Stake Meeting" yesterday! Elder Bednar came and spoke to the Scranton stake! IT WAS AMAZING! Elder Hamilton from the seventy also came, and all of the talks were exactly what I needed to hear. Isn't it amazing how if we spiritually prepare, we can receive personal revelation at ANY church meeting?! I know this to be true!!! For starters, he took 30 minutes of his talk just to speak to non-members that were present. HOW AMAZING IS THAT?!?! Everyone there pretty much got every missionary discussion in 30 minutes. And to quote a couple of things that Elder Bednar touched on while addressing the saints...

• We don't have agency to do whatever we want, we have agency to choose to follow Christ or suffer the consequences.
• We will never stop inviting those we love to hear the glad message of the restored gospel!
• We no longer live in obscurity. We cannot go back to the darkness, we are sitting in the spotlight and this is the Mormon Millennium!
• Don't be afraid to give a reason for the hope that is in your heart!
• The 13 Articles of Faith can answer every gospel question someone will ask you!
• We are not better than other people, but we know better.
• Agency  =  the ability to act and not be acted upon
• Our agency is elevated as we are baptized. It is merely the beginning of taking His name upon  us. You now have representative agency.
• The temple is where we take His name FULLY upon us. What He wants now trumps what we want after we've made temple covenants.
• Make your home the MTC.
• Stop praying for the missionaries to find people to teach, that's YOUR job! (ward members)
• RISE UP and stand as a witness of Him at ALL times, and in ALL things and in ALL placesand in ALL that you do! You are a member of His church!
• Stop praying for people to show up to church next week...GO GET THEM! NOW!

What more is there to say?! Take heed my friends! (:

We had Zone Unity today! It's where a bunch of missionaries get together and play softball and eat Rita's. It's pretty awesome. We serve with amazing missionaries! And I cannot hit a ball with a bat to save my life. I made it to second base...once. It was miraculous.

Sister Earl and I were able to do a lot of service this week! Sister Scavnier is an older lady in our ward who can't get around very well.  We went over and weeded her flower beds! She was hilarious and awesome! She fed us Chinese food and cake for lunch, and then kept rambling on about some IRS scandal? Beats me. She's awesome. THEN we went to Sister Wheelis' house and helped her do some gardening! It was so much fun! :D She grows EVERYTHING! If it comes up out of the ground, this lady plants it. And she has 1 million helpful hints on every subject. I told her that she needs to write a book. I also told her that someday, 10 years from now when I'm married, I would call her up and ask her for all of her recipes. She's the coolest.

We started a Book of Mormon class in Tobyhanna (a nearby town) for all of the members that live out there! Our ward boundaries are about 900 square miles total....crazyness. It was so much fun! Partially because we don't have to teach the class *thumbs up!* We had way more people there than we thought we would! Especially for it being the first week of the class!

We are moving soon! Not sure where though...The Elders' lease is up on the 30th so we have to be out by then because they're moving to our apartment. And...We're getting a set of Spanish speaking Elders!!!!
(GREATLY NEEDED!!!!) We are SO excited! We're not sure if anyone really knows that yet...but the office Elders told us :D

We drove to a town called Blakeslee today, which is about 45 minutes away from where we live. AND NO ONE WAS HOME! You can't just call and make appointments with people, they'll tell you that you can't come over, so obviously you need to sneak attack them and just show up at your house! Poor Melissa, she came out teaching with us and we didn't get to teach anyone!! :( BUT! Sometimes, courage is saying, "I'll try again tomorrow!"

I love you all. I know that as we strive to fulfill our Heavenly Fathers will, we will be set free. When we lean on the Savior's Atoning sacrifice to help make us stronger, He will lift you up. I know this to be true. In all things strive to represent the Savior. It is only because of Him that we can return home to live with our Heavenly Father. Study the Atonement and come closer to your Savior every single day. He is your brother and your friend.

I love you all! The Lord lives and loves you!

Sister Kadee Taylor