Hi,
I realized that I didn't write last week. I decided that before I get involved in all that needs to be done today, I would take a few minutes and share a few thoughts.
First let me say that we love and miss each of you. But we are meeting many wonderful people here to help to fill that void.
I am honestly as busy as I was when I was working full-time and serving as the stake president. But I am loving the work. Things in the office are beginning to settle down a bit. But in the next 18 weeks we will have an additional 103 missionaries arrive here in Chicago. Obviously there is much that needs to be done to be ready for them. For me, it is making sure that we have cars for them to use and cell phones for them to be able to communicate. In this timeframe we will double the number of vehicles that I will be responsible to make sure are operating properly, etc. Remembering that most of the missionaries here are 18-21 years old, most of them have not had much experience either operating or maintaining a vehicle. So I get phone calls all day from 7 am to 10 pm asking me what they should do. Some are: "We ran over a nail and need to get the tire fixed. Where do we go and what do we tell them?" or "When parking we got too close to the curb and scratched the wheel and the front bumper" or "We hit a raccoon but the car is fine. Obviously the raccoon is not." Fortunately since we arrived, I have only had to deal with one serious accident. The missionaries ended up fine, but the car did not.
I have to log every oil change, tire rotation, repair, etc. to every car. I also have to remind them when it is time for their oil, etc to be changed. Fortunately the church has a program that we use that tracks most of that information. I love being able to interact with the young missionaries either on the phone, text of as they come into the office. What incredible young people.
We had 3 less-active people come to church last week. None of them had been to church for some time. We work in the office all day Monday to Friday and then spend our evenings working with those who are less-active as well as helping the young missionaries teach, etc. The handicapped sister who rode to church with us last Sunday wants us to pick her up for church again this Sunday. We are hoping to be able to make a positive difference in her life.
Last night our stake president here asked if he could meet with us. He wanted to know how our mission is going and how the work we are doing in the evenings is going. He then asked us if we would accept an additional assignment. He asked us if, in addition to attending the 3 hour block of meetings in he ward we are assigned to, we would also attend the hour block of the other ward that meets in the building. He indicated that this other ward needs the presence of a senior missionary couple to help strengthen them. He then asked us if we would home teach (visit and love) a single sister in that ward who is struggling with life. He asked us if we would sit with her every week and help her to feel loved and welcome. Obviously we said yes. So now every Sunday we will attend one ward from 9-12 and another ward from 1-4. There goes my Sunday nap that I have grown to love and look forward to.
Claudia has been repairing pants for young missionaries; things like seams that have come apart, seats of pants that have split out, etc. As the word gets out that she has her sewing machine with her and is willing to do this, I think she will find herself quite busy helping missionaries to get a few more miles out of their clothing.
She is learning tons on the computer. I am so proud of her for facing her fears of technology and being able to master various programs, etc. to be able to do what she has been asked to do. Occasionally she will come into my office and ask me to come help her with something. But she is learning so much. Those of you who know how much she has hated computers would be really proud of her.
I love sharing this experience with the woman I love. I couldn't ask for a better companion. We are both being stretched and are learning skills we didn't know before. We come home every night worn out and ready for bed. We are both sleeping like babies so that hard work, long hours and stress must be a good thing for helping one to sleep. But we get to do all of this together and that is a huge blessing.
We were able to teach with the young sister missionaries in our area one night this week. We visited with Saad. Saad is probably in his mid-30's, single and is from Pakistan. Initially he had his guard up and was hesitant to open his mind to what we were talking about. But as the Spirit touched his heart, he softened and we had a wonderful discussion. He has a difficult time grasping the thought that we are all God's children and that Heavenly Father is really our father. He felt like that would put constraints on God. By the end of our discussion, he was more open, agreed to read at least one page in the scriptures each day and remember to pray to Father in Heaven. he agreed to meet with us again. These young missionaries are wonderful teachers. The Lord knows what he is doing when he calls young 18-21 years olds to be the primary teachers. They aren't as experienced but they are definitely receptive to the promptings of the Spirit and have learned how to invite it into their lessons.
We love the work; we love the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are so thankful for the Atonement and it's power to heal broken hearts and lift souls that are hurting because of sin, addiction, etc. Take time to thank your Father in Heaven for your many blessings and the gift of His Son in your lives.
I must close and get busy. We need to pick up another car today and got to a car wash in one of the wards. Two young missionaries asked us if we would come to their free car wash. These are two young men who we have been blessed to be surrogate grandparents, etc. to. Have a great weekend.
Love,
Elder Taggart
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