Sorry I've been a little flakey!

this week in the CORBIN NEWS:

1. We got dumped on this week with 8 inches of snow (causing me not to email last week) followed up by rain...followed up by freezing. Many people lost power, or had frozen water pipes. Luckily Sister Holt and I were all good in terms of all that! We only stayed inside one day and then we got out and worked the rest. Good thing all the snow up in Maine prepared me for this historical storm here in Corbin Kentucky. People did not know what to do. AT ALL. No one was prepared at all. See I love snow. and I don't mind it...however it is a little crazy when you get snow...and then even the city doesn't know how to get it off the roads so you are driving through slush and mess....and then there is the humorous when  you got around with a snow shovel helping clear people driveways who are attempting to shovel it with a dirt shovel...Here come the Snow sharks <Holt&Wagner> with the skills to get all y'all unstuck. #usedtosnow

2. a house BLEW UP.
This house im talking went sky high people. Blew the roof straight off and left parts of the walls on the neighbors houses and the front door blew straight across the street landing in that persons yard causing half the town to shake. There was a man inside who is now covered in burns and is in the recovering process. They said it was a natural gas explosion... It was crazy. How did Sister Holt and I find out about it... we walk to see A... an investigator of ours and we see all these fire trucks..A... lived about 3 houses down...WOAH. we had been on the other side of town so we didn't experience it but it was apparently quite loud.

3. A drunk guy ran into some gas pumps. Luckily this time nothing blew up. They cut the gas soon enough so no damage was caused.

4. A local family was MURDERED. It was all CSI at one point. I wont go into too much but apparently the son went crazy fled the state, got in a shoot off with a cop...then the cop killed him..the kid was from Corbin, so they go to his house to find that he had killed his mom, dad, and sister a few days before he skipped town. It was so saddening to hear.

SO all of these things are craziness. But no worry Sister Holt and I were not directly involved or near anything that happened. We are being safe y'all! But as you can see.. The town has been in an uproar the past couple weeks! I am just so grateful that I have the gospel in my life. Something that can give me such comfort in times of trial and discouragement. That i know that no matter what happens I can turn to my savior and he knows what I am going through, and as I talk to my father in Heaven I can find relief from the things that are saddening. The world, I have found, Is an ever worsening place to be. It is scary and dark and is continually going down hill. But that doesn't mean that there isn't light. Because there is. The Light of Christ is real. No matter what happens there is always light. Our Heavenly Father loves us so much that we are NEVER alone. We are never abandoned. Even when times get hard and scary and we don't know what to do..we can always find hope as we look towards Jesus Christ.

On Valentines day Sister Holt and I..and all the other missionaries in the GKLM had the opportunity to listen to an apostle of the Lord. Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the 12 apostles came to see us and to talk to us. You could really feel the spirit from the moment he walked into the room. We all got a chance to go up to tell him where we are from and SHAKE HIS HAND. It was AMAZING. It was so special to be able to do that. Not to mention he looked at me and said "ah you are getting a break from the snow" :) So that was special! :) He was so humble when ever someone asked him a question he would always ask President Brough (mission president) if he wanted to answer the question. You could feel the love in his voice. And the best part was when he bore his testimony of the Savior your grew instantly. It was amazing. I cant even fully describe what it was like. To close the meeting we sang God be with you till we meet again, and we made eye contact and he smiled at me....so that was just the bonus of the whole day. What an experience.

Because of the snow...we didn't have church this week...or last week....HOLY SMOKES....you dont realize how much you love church till you are kept from it. Church is better as a missionary anyway...and then they just take it away...and you are left trying to know what to do all day because your plans were to go to church. It has been so hard to not take the sacrament, to renew the covenants I have made with the lord and get the renewal of energy. But even though it was hard... I now have a greater appreciation for the sacrament and for the spiritual strength that comes from going to church every week. Luckily last night, sister holt and I went to one of the bishops counselors house and bishop and some ward members came and we had the opportunity to take the sacrament right there in their home. What a blessing! because man it was getting hard to move forward not having partaken of it.

C... and H... are doing so great! and they are coming to know our savior so much better and as a result they are changing their lives it is such a blessing to be able to be a part of it.

AMY! I haven't talked to much about her because she has been progressing a little bit slower, BUT! She has recently made some giant leaps! Her prayers used to be a little distracted and off topic and now they are getting more focused and she is now praying with greater purpose. We taught her the Word of Wisdom this week and we didn't know how she was going to take it because she LOVES her coffee...but when we taught it to her, and asked her what her plans are to stop and she said..well..I guess I wont be drinking it anymore..and we asked her if she was going to cut down or what...and she said...if I cut down I wont be able to stop..I just have to do it! Her faith is growing so much and we felt prompted to tell her that she would have more energy without it than with as she relied on the Lord. It was such a cool experience to see her make that change because she has a desire to be baptized and come closer to our savior.

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY. I know so much more has happened these past couple weeks.. but my mind is blank! I hope you all are staying warm and are happy! I love and miss you all!

Quotes in Corbin
"Diabetes causes you to loose toes."
"no she isnt crazy.,.she is insane."

ALSO!!!!

****IMPORTANT****

HOLD MAIL******* there is a good chance...99% chance that I will be transferred on Tuesday March 2nd so anything you want to send...please wait! :) THANK YOU!

SHOUT OUT!

THANKS MOM AND FAM for the Valentines package!

And thanks Nana and Papa/nana and papas church for the card!

Much LOVE to you all!

--Sister Wagner

  We got so much snow last monday ...we couldnt email...and we couldnt leave....

Winter wonderland!

SIX MONTHS? Say WHaat?!

That is right...I have officially been on my mission for 6 months....That is just mind blowing. I cant even believe that it has been that long....in some ways I can...but most of the time is just flying by.....In just one year I wont be on my mission anymore and I am already freaking out! It is such a different life here on the mission. One where the spirit is strong and the people are nice! I live in a bubble undisturbed by the turmoil of world events and the destruction that is happening all over the world. It is so nice to honestly not have a care in the world! Okay we do have cares...but compared to living a so called normal life...we don't worry about anything! It is nice not having to worry about anything besides sharing the Gospel with everyone you can! Blessing! and the thought that it is flying by is just craziness.

On a more positive note! Sister Holt and I have met another Skater! E.. is kind of off the radar at the moment.. who even knows! All sister Holt and I know is that we felt prompted to go to the skate park that one time and we keep going back until we find whoever it is that needs the gospel. So we went and we got talking to someone and then this guy skates up and was like SO YOU GUYS ARE MORMON? yeah.....Then he goes on and on and we find out he speaks like 6 different languages and is from California and is super knowledgeable about religion but hasn't settled on one. So we are now teaching him! AND turns out he lived with Eu..., one of the members who goes out with us all the time and watches us like he is our dad, KNOWS THIS KID. Apparently awhile ago this kid practically lived at Eu...'s house because he was friends with his son... I don't know much...but I do know that God has a plan for all of us!

This week was my first time getting sick on the mission....man does that just ruin your day! No feeling is worse than feeling well enough to be awake....but not well enough to go and teach people because if you stand up for too long you feel like throwing up... You feel useless people...being sick as a missionary is just plain terrible and should be outlawed. Thank goodness it just lasted a day because if it had lasted more than that I would have died from being cooped up for too long.

So this week Sister Holt and I faced a crisis. I wont go into much detail! no one was in danger! BUT! It involved someone we were teaching and he was really struggling with a situation he was in and as missionaries sister Holt and I can't counsel people on personal matters and he was freaking out and calling us crying and we didn't know how to handle it. We ended up having just gotten off the phone with M... P..., the recent convert! He luckily dealt with people in crisis for work and we called him back and told him what was going on and he came right over to see us and see how we were doing. He went and talked to him got him all calm and then left for awhile and the person we are teaching began struggling just a few hours later M... P... stopped by his house and brought him a pizza and just sat at talked with a guy! He seriously SAVED us. We had no idea what to do or what to say to this guy but M.... just swooped in and took care of it. Here is the kicker: M.... P.... was in Georgia earlier that morning visiting his grandmother...he woke up at 3am and had a urgent feeling he needed to come back to  Corbin a few days earlier than what was he planning...he got right up and left. If he hadn't he wouldn't have been in Corbin able to help us. I am so grateful for the spirit and how it prompts us to do things and help people...and I am so grateful for people who listen to the spirit.

The Spirit of the Lord is real. And I am so grateful that I have the chance to experience it so strongly every day with the feelings of the spirit which are love peace joy long suffering temperance ... GALATIANS 5:22 Reading the scriptures and studying, praying are all things that will bring those feelings into our hearts more completely...and honestly who doesn't want that? Peace is one of the things that are sought after so earnestly these days and it is as simple as praying and reading and looking to God for the difficulties that we face everyday. Life is hard. But it is a million times harder when we don't have the gospel on our side.

I hope you all have an amazing valentines day! And an amazing week! Know that love is coming your way from Kentucky! Be safe! Enjoy the snow! I will be enjoying 65 degrees and sunny!!!

Just one quote this week:
"My mom and I are going to a Musical...it's called Kinky Boots.."

SHOUT OUT!

THANKS NANA AND PAPA for the valentines day card!!! LOVE IT!
THANKS DAD AND BRENDA for the valentines day package!

--SiStEr WaGnEr

 A freaky looking bird...

 

Favorite Mexican restaurant ever.

  Sister Harms took us to Dinner! And the workers thought we were funny so they let us wear sombreros

 Cha Cha Cha

 love the southern marquis

The Maguets also took us to a Mexican restaurant this week! yum.

Pictures from February 2nd

 Mr. M. C. A British dude who we contacted into...and he just happened to come here....

 Late Christmas gift from Adam! he knows my love for super natural. man can he draw!

Rochelle and her family prepared us....SQUIRREL. I am holding squirrel...and YES I ate it..that is a leg that I am holding
.. It was like turkey and Chicken combined... Hardest thing about eating it was not the taste...but knowing it was one of our furry little friends.

HOWDY STRANGER

This week.... I need to get better at writing down what happens because I think that I will remember and then I never do......however my subject heading/title of this email ALWAYS has something to do with my week.

 Sister Holt and I have ran into some very interesting people this week. I don't really understand exactly where these people came from but it made our week very interesting to say the least..They make things more fun even when we don't really start teaching them. It is so cool to have the chance to meet all these people and learn a little about their lives!

This week we ran into this group of 3 young people. And started sharing the Gospel with them. Then one of them, within the first 3 minutes of talking to them started running down the street....until he was out of sight. His sister then goes. "I'm sorry about him...he is a bit skiddish...he got hit by a church van once and broke his leg." WHAT?! I don't really know much...but apparently y'all should all watch out for the southern church buses...they are all going CRAZY. you all better watch your backs! However! We did end up giving the girl a book of Mormon! Also! A funny thing about that whole situation the girls boyfriend walked 5 hours just to see her...they are about 15...the maturest people I ever met...Sister Holt and I were trying to be cool by talking to them at their level...by making some jokes....and they just stared and thought we were freaks..very uncomfortable situation..

We also decided to knock this one door! And this little old lady came to the door! Turns out she was deaf! And that I, when faced with a deaf person, looses all 3 years if ASL that i took..I froze and didnt know what to do and Sister Holt just started talking louder..Most uncomfortable thing. She gets a piece of paper and writes to come back on sunday when her husband is home...we dropped by and her husband told us that they were all good. Every minute if it was really uncomfortable and awkward. WHAT DO YOU DO IN THAT SITUATION?! They answered the door...soooo you just cant run... you are stuck in a situation that you cant get out of.. trying to share the gospel...

This week when going all the way across our area to the little down of Barbourville we saw a group of people who gave us a creepy vibe so we started walking past them..only to feel prompted to turn around and talk to the people. They turned out to be really nice! this girl that was in the group was soooo nice! and really funny! Her hair was bright red it was so funny! she Rocked it! She wasnt interested but she was really nice! Her father was also in the group and he was smoking a pipe.. A REAL PIPE. Like the ones you see in movies that old men always have, It was a really cool situation to see because he had a white beard and everything! he was nice too! Also in the group was M.. C..WHAT A CHARACTER.! he was really funny I am not really sure what was happening with him but he was an interesting fellow. He is from England. And had just put his finger on the map and it landed on barbourville and so he bought a ticket and came...then he was having a hard time and wanted to leave England a second time and came back...first thing he said when we walked up to him "What the *** are you are doing here" Turns out he thought we were too normal to be there...Thanks??? But we talked with him for awhile and we cracked some jokes and then the girl and her dad left and we kept talking to M... and we ended up having a mini musical on the street in barbourville which was really funny because that is the town that was once a ghost town...it still was and it still felt like a horror movie..this time we just had someone to sing about it with...very interesting situation. But he was nice! not too interested in the gospel but a nice person. During our little musical a lady came out of the tattoo shop we were in front of and we asked her to join in with us and we started to sing to her she just laughed and said that we made her day! At least that was good!

This week we also knocked on this door once...and then twice... and then we figured no one was home. so we started walking away.. as we did we heard the door open so we turned around! just to see the cutest old lady you have ever seen! she was soo sweet. She sat and talked with us and we shared stories in the Bible and talked about how Jesus Christ has strengthened us and helped us in our lives. She was so nice! she has kids and grand-kids and great-grand-kids and she is still rockin' it! She was so nice!

Update on the skaters----it's going slow. Sister Holt and are are keeping ourselves on the down low..let them come to us....see how interested they really are...

So...apparently I have an accent. Sister Holt just decided to bring it up to me a little over a week ago...THANKS. So Apparently...I say "pup"corn....not popcorn...and "pup"tart...not poptart...and I say rum instead of room...and van-ella not van-illa.....but she sayyyyyssss she loves me the way I am...im not too sure.

And here is the highlight of my whole week.

I ATE SQUIRREL..
Squirrel is the most interesting thing I have ever had in my life. It wasn't too bad! It was like turkey and chicken combined. I also ate deer...which is like steak really. I don't see too much of a difference...maybe a little richer...but that's about all..I never thought the day would come...but I couldn't serve in Kentucky without eating squirrel....I can now die knowing that I have eaten squirrel.

This week had been a lot of fun. I have found out, for the millionth time on my mission that getting out of your comfort zone and just doing it makes everything you do so much more fun! I just love it! It makes you feel more productive too. Sister Holt and I had been feeling a little lazy, not because we weren't doing anything...but because we felt as though something was mission...this week we talked to more people and really went out of our way to walk and talk and knock, we felt more productive and happier in doing the work of the Lord. I know that the more effort we put in as missionaries the more room there is for the Lord to bless us. That goes for anything really.. I think whatever we do in our lives, the more effort we put in...the more we will get out of it. and that happier we will become. There is a reason it is called missionary WORK...but it isn't as much work when you enjoy it as much as I do! It is more like missionary fun effort...It's great!

This week we found out that on valentines day we will have a mission wide conference...and who will be the speaker? D. TOOD. CHRISTOFFERSON. One of the APOSTLES. and one of my favorites if I do say do myself..so stay tuned for that email!

quotes in Corbin-
"you tell that to the girl in barbourville that has herpies in her eye"
"if this was the wild wild west id hide from behind a rock and hoot 'em...i'd take 'em out"
"i'd pull guns on people just to shoot"


SHOUT OUT TO MY MOM thanks mom for sending me a package with some goodies! MUCH appreciated! and to steve for throwing in the sharpie and ear plugs!

Thank you all soo much for your prayers and your love! I miss you all and hope all y'all in Maine are staying warm and safe with the million feet of snow you all have... We got an inch this week,....they cancelled school...it started to snow a little today...and they are having school get out early....sooo needless to say...I am missing the snow a little. and am getting a good laugh!

HAVE AN AWESOME WEEK! Keep smiling and doing what you all do these days...enjoy the snow for me!

LOVE YOU ALL

Sister Taylor Wagner