Hello my wonderful family and friends!!!
thank you for all of your emails this week. they have been indeed uplifting and inspiring to the max. :) this week was a difficult one for me. aside from having a large amount of pressure to meet the expectations of the ward council, give a talk yesterday in sacrament meeting, and worry about transfers which are only a week away, i continued to be sick, and for the latter part of the week, was largely confined to the flat. ya. remember how i used to sick for weeks and even months on end? well it seems the heart surgery didn't exactly do much to help it like the doctors said. however, i had some really great experiences this week because of it.
as i said before, i had to give a talk in sacrament meeting. they do it a bit differently here. there are only 3 speakers, of 5, 10, and 15 minute speaking times. i was given the topic of "unity in missionary work" with 15 minutes to speak on it. i was absolutely at a loss as to how to apply this extremely obvious principle in full-time missionary service, to the members in the Forest Lake ward. i had no idea how it applied, and even less of an idea of how i could make it last for 15 minutes. beyond this, i was coughing up a lung- which made for some comic relief- Elder Subritzky said i could just tell a story and then cough for the rest of the time. which made me cough and laugh at the same time-- not the most pleasant experience. however, as i prayed and asked for guidance, i received enough inspiration to apply this principle to the ward members, and to speak about it for 15 minutes. as it turns out, it was actually 16 minutes. :P i even practiced it the night before to make sure it was the right length. i know, what a surprise. thats literally the first time i have actually practiced a public speech of any kind fully before i actually gave it. i was proud of myself. anyway, the morning of my talk, i prayed hard that i wouldnt cough too hard during my talk, and not into the microphone at all. i found that my prayer was answered as i spoke. yes, i coughed a bit, but it wasn't too hard, and only a couple times. AND i didnt cough into the mic. so that was nice for me. and if i do say so myself, it was a fairly decent talk that i wish i recorded. but i felt the spirit working through me, and i felt that i was able to give some freshness to the meeting (yous know how my talks can be... i put my personality into them. :)
unfortunately, due to my sickness, we didn't do much teaching this week, but we did teach sam again, answered some of her questions, and attempted to set a baptisimal date with her, which turned out to not happen, but next time, we're setting one. i think that because she had her friend over, who is catholic, she felt a bit of pressure and didn't want to commit to much with him there, so this week we'll work it a bit differently. also, we taught a lesson to Adrian at church again, and i have to say, i was on a spiritual high from my talk, and it was probably one of the best plan of salvation lessons i have ever given. :D anyway. that was basically my week. pretty laid back, pretty sick, but a GREAT learning experience.
Dad, thanks for your email, it put a lot of things into perspective for me, and gave me some much-needed encouragement.
mom- i cant help but think that you are a prime example of service, and magnifying your talents. its amazing what you are accomplishing. and as for your concerns about me, as they say here in Australia- fair dinkam. or in other words, its all good. i'm staying focused, and outside distractions arent much distraction anymore. prayer works. God Answers. he hears me, and he helps me. and its awesome. anyway, thats the week. i sent off a letter to cara and collin last week, yous should be getting it soon- there are some pics in it. enjoy. :)
i love you all!
have a good week!
love,
Elder Tayler Christensen
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