I Love General Conference

Hi,

We were thrilled to be able to watch all sessions of general conference this past weekend. What inspiring messages and insights. With all of the talks about hastening the work of salvation, I am very glad to be on this side of the badge right now. We are beginning to see far more members begin to realize that they need to step up their game if they are not going to get pummeled by the wave. What an exciting time to be alive and to be a part of this great work!

There were several testimonies shared today from individuals who stated that they had made a personal commitment this week to become more engaged in the work. If, in fact, the members will simply pray every day for opportunities to share what they know and love and then be willing to act when the Lord provides those opportunities, we will see an explosion in the work. We had two investigators in each of the two wards we attended today.

I had a stressful experience this week relating to cars. Actually we had three vehicles involved in accidents this week. But those didn't necessarily cause the stress because no one was injured. We have 7 brand new cars parked at the stake center. One morning I decided that I needed to go put a cleaning kit into each of those cars so that they would be ready to assigned out. When I got back from doing that, I realized that I was missing one set of keys. So I drove back to the stake center and searched the parking lot everywhere I had been. But alas, I didn't find the missing keys. So then I was really stressed and worried that someone else would find those keys before I did and perhaps a brand new car might disappear. So putting into practice what I have preached for so many years, I offered a sincere prayer asking Heavenly Father to help me find those keys. I then grabbed a set of keys to everyone of those cars and headed back to the stake center. I popped open the trunk of every car hoping that perhaps they had dropped into one of the buckets I had just placed in every car. At this point, I had my trusty companion with me knowing that two pair of eyes would be better than one. In answer to my prayers she found them in the bucket of one of the cars she searched. So, yes God does care about all things and he does hear and answer our prayers. That's true even for an old guy like me.

We only have two weeks before another 31 new missionaries arrive. I am hoping that before then the additional 4 new cars that I will need will arrive or they will be walking or using the bus to get around for a few weeks. This will likely be the last large group of new missionaries we will receive. But this next batch will put us at over 200 missionaries with almost 100 of those arriving within the last 3 months.

We have been enjoying beautiful, fall weather which has been warmer than usual. We have continued to have highs in the 70's but the nights are now getting down into the 40's so we know that winter is right around the corner. The leaves are beginning to change which is later than usual because it has stayed so warm. Personally it could stay just like this for several more months and I would be a happy camper.

For the curious, here are answers to some frequently asked questions:

• What is the most common road-kill? That would actually be skunk. They are everywhere.
• What is the most seen wildlife, other than dead skunk? That would be squirrel. We have even seen black squirrels which is a first for me.
• How much does it cost you to be on this mission? So far it is averaging about $2,500 per month. We pay our own rent, utilities, gas, groceries, etc. So that means we will spend almost $60,000 by the time we return home. But we have been amazed at how much we have been blessed to have our funds stretch.

For those business associates who are reading this, we are going out to dinner with Jon & Kim Starke this coming Friday night. He is a great friend from the industry who lives about 15 miles away from us.

Ok, I have now rambled, but just let me say that we love what we are doing and we are being blessed to have a positive influence on the lives of many of the people we meet. Life is great in our humble apartment because we have each other to share it with. Tell those close to you just how much you love them. Have a great week.

Elder Taggart