Wonderful Missionaries having a good day!

Zambia and the White van that Taggart drives.

September 16, 2013

Hello everyone. This letter will be pretty short, so don't take it personal. The week was good, and I am still living. I hope my driving habits will stay legal when I get home =P circumstances. . .

I have thought a bit this week, among other things, about insects. A caterpillar will, when prompted to do so by nature, spin a cocoon in which it will change.

met·a·mor·pho·sis  

/ˌmetəˈmôrfəsəs/

Noun

1. (in an insect or amphibian) The process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form in two or more distinct stages.
2. A change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means.

I had this come to my mind, so I will share it.

I close my eyes- now darkness prevails

I try to move, but the function fails

I feel the embrace of a well made shell
I wonder what secrets my Maker will tell

From within, I see nothing- but a difference I feel

And oft times I wonder: "Is this truly real?

Am I still myself? The same blood? The same name?

Am I growing and changing, or is this a game?"

The world doesn't know me- it sees not the change

That's happening within me- for now, I am strange

No more will I walk among filth and through grime

Now challenges sought for mountains to climb

The shell starts to weaken- I'm now breaking free

I've become a new creature- I've become a new me

The time is behind me, now lost in the past

The change understood now- emerging at last

I break through the sunlight and breathe in the air

Take flight into new life- astounded I stare

My eyes have been opened- I see what He sees

His work was successful: a Chrysalis for me

Mission is my chrysalis

--

Start Strong: Finish STRONGER!

~Taggart Williams

Taggart's coming home!

Taggart's got his flight information!  He will arrive at the SLC airport on Oct. 1.

hooray!

Got the License! 2013 Aug. 5

Okay, that last part may have been an exaggeration, but I am driving. . . We went and got my license on Friday, and boy was it annoying! But, long story short, I am going to have a legit Zambian License in 3 weeks, and atm I have the temporary paper. I am also doing actually very well in driving stick (especially considering I learned how in the last month, with a total of 4 times driving before getting my license). The funny part, I never even had to take a real test to get it. We kind of just threw paper work and titles around for a few hours and got a conversion off of my stolen American License. funny stuff, eh? 

On a different note, we are baptizing sister Niza this coming saturday, and things are crazy because my companion's group is going home this week. Their release is on 12 Aug, and from about thursday till then, we will have about 9 extra missionaries here in Lusaka who will be doing who knows what while they wait to get their interviews with President Erickson. This will be all 3 of my companions in Zambia going at the same time. . . and today was the release date for my trainer. . . time is creeping up, but nonetheless, LIFE'S GOOD!

Well, I love you all and am happy that you are all alive and well (so far as I know at least), so I hope that you stay that way.

Love you all tons!

~Elder Williams

--

Start Strong: Finish STRONGER!

~Taggart Williams

Letter to Mom and Dad from Mission President in Zambia...

2 August, 2013

Dear Brother and Sister Williams,

    Your son, Elder Taggart Williams, is now serving as one of our Zone Leaders.  He was called after prayerful consideration and because of his obedience, hard work, teaching skills and leadership capabilities.  I have watched him develop these abilities while he has been faithfully serving as a missionary in Zambia.

    Zone Leaders help direct the missionary efforts throughout their assigned Zone.  They carry significant responsibility for training and motivating missionaries and serve as role models for all missionaries assigned in their Zone.  They communicate and enhance relationships between myself and other missionaries.  Their efforts are essential in building the Kingdom of God in the Zambia Lusaka Mission.

    I thank you for your role in preparing and guiding such a fine young man.  I appreciate the sacrifices you have made to help support him in the mission field. 

(As an added note, Elder Williams just earned his Zambia driver’s license today!!!)

  Warm regards,

  President Leif J. Erickson

  Zambia Lusaka Mission

Of things in Africa and Zambia... 7-29-2013

Excerpt from Domonique's letter...

As far as china goes, CHINA IS GOING TO TAKE OVER AFRICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am only half-joking. They take care of a TON of the building projects go for malls, sports stadiums, etc. They kind of have tons of stuff all over africa. . . one day I think they may legitimately take over africa. . . like hostile takeover, but we'll see =P 

I am glad to hear that Grandma Harper is doing better. I will also keep you in my prayers for your job. 

Well, as for learning stick and such, I am doing well, just starting up the habit. I am enjoying it. The terrain here in Zambia is flat, and almost desert like. It isn't humid like Zimbabwe is, and it is hotter. I will be taking a driving test on Thursday probably to get a Zambian License. 

love, 

Taggart

Wait, Where is the clutch pedal on the computer? July 29, 2013

My hand keeps looking for the stick to shift. . . but the keyboard is flat.

I am still learning stick, but it feels weird right as I am getting going and right after I am done practicing. So, I will be getting a Zambian Driver's License probably this Thursday, at which point I will be legal to drive here!

We were able to see Peter (the Chinese man) this week, and it was fun despite the chaos of having two randomly insterted, newly set apart missionaries working with us for the day. Well, although I haven't trained anyone before (nor will I at this point), I have been with someone to teach their first lesson as a missionary. . . The difficulty with Peter's friend, Phillip, is that he wants to know the difference between the catholic church and the other churches, but he doesn't yet have a fundamental understanding of Christianity itself. We are going to be starting from square one, and will be using the church videos such as 'finding faith in christ' so that he can understand and be able to re-watch.

We also have the granddaughter of one of our members that we are going to be baptizing on the 10th of August. It is going to be exiting, because Niza is really enjoying church.

I also interviewed someone for the first time for baptism yesterday. It was an interesting experience. He is not fluent at all with english so I had to have a translator. We sat down, started with a prayer, and went over the questions. His understanding of all of the doctrines was unsure, because of the difficulty in language, unsurety of the translator, as well as his shy nature. I wasn't sure if he was ready to be baptized, so after we finished, I waited behind them for a minute and knelt to offer a prayer. I told about what I had felt, but asked if he was ready to be baptized. The warm assurance of the Spirit told me that despite my surface analysis, he was ready. After I finished the second interview, I went and told the sister missionaries that both candidates had passed. They expressed that they were very happy to hear that. The first one (the one who I was unsure about) had been coming to church now for 3 months, and had had his baptism pushed before so that he could be ready. Despite his shyness, from what I had felt and what the sisters told me, he does sound ready. The amount of clarity personal revelation brings into our lives is amazing to me. That is something that I have been able to come to understand over the course of my mission, and I continue to have it reaffirmed day by day.

Questions:

MOM

I am told that your Zone Leader is a big job/calling.  I am excited for you.  What does it entail and do you still do proselyting?

Mostly, as Zone Leaders, my companion and I make sure that the missionaries in the Zone always have drinking waters (we use dispensers), as well as materials such as pamphlets, copies of the Books of Mormons (hehe haha), We also are in charge of Zone Meeting once a month to go over training that we feel is needed for the zone. Mostly, we proselyte as normal, just with errands thrown in the mix. In all of Lusaka, there are also areas that are too far for missionaries to go to to teach while on foot without spending ridiculous amounts of transport money. We assume teaching responsibility for such areas if investigators there will progress. That is about it. 

Well, I love you all. God bless and keep you on your way.

~Elder Williams