Last day of 2007...!

Taylor Family and Friends,
So it´s the last day of the year...how cool is that?! I´m pretty excited. I expect you to all behave yourselves well tonight and watch the ball drop for me! I think this will be one of the first times where I won´t watch the ball drop...weird. But it´s all good. I think the four of us are just going to hang out at home tonight. We have permission to go and chill with a member until 12:30, but I think we´re just going to kick it at home. We´re going to make that banana cream pie and whatever else we can find to whip up. :o) For my birthday/Christmas present to me, I bought a blender; it was/is a very good investment. Fruit is really cheap, and a fruity milkshake or smoothie really helps to cool down during afternoon studies!Anyways, talked to the family on Tuesday; that was fun. Mary-Anne said I sounded WAY different, why is that? I don´t think that I sound that different, but I guess I can´t really notice the difference. Why do I sound so different? Mary-Anne asked if it was weird to talk to you all on Christmas. That´s a tough question. It´s not weird, it was just difficult to know what to talk about. My first call, in May, it was easy, because I just had to talk about the country, culture, people, work, etc. but now you guys know what it is I´m doing, how I´m doing, and all that jazz. It kind of felt just like my weekly email, but instead of typing, talking. Elder Maughan and I both felt the same way; Elder Maughan goes home the week after Mother´s Day, so he has one call left. But it was the first call for Elder Larsen and Elder Roxas, so it was fun to see how excited they were and to see how much they just talked and talked. So yeah, not weird, just different. It was a lot of fun to hear everyone´s voice, though. I´m glad to hear that you guys had a fun week. Christmas is just a lot different here in the ´Guay. They don´t put as much emphasis on it as we do in the States. New Year and El Día de Los Reyes, which is January 6th, are a lot bigger. The Day of the Kings(?) is basically like our Christmas, but instead of waiting for Santa Clause, they are waiting for the Three Wise Men. Kinda different, but fun anyways. Had a cool experience this last week. We received a reference from one of our investigators, Daniela. She told us to go and visit her daughter, Laura, and her boyfriend/husband, Juan. She knew the name of the streets that make the corner, but she didn´t know the number of the house. So we decided to go and try and find the house. As we turned on to one of the streets, we passed a younger guy, and the thought came to my head, "That´s Juan." But I didn´t stop him to ask or anything; instead, we just went to the neighbor and knocked. When the lady came out, I asked her if she knew a young couple named Juan and Laura; she said she had lived in that house for years, and she didn´t know them. She told us to go and ask at the neighborhood almacén, because they would probly know. We thanked her for her help and left. But instead of going to the almacén, we walked over to the house where I had seen the man go inside. I had previously made the comment to Elder Larsen that I thought it was him. We knocked, and the guy came to the door. We told him we were looking for Juan and Laura, and he asked why. I told him that Laura´s mother had told us to pass by and such. He told us to wait for just a second, went inside to ask his wife, and then let us in. They are a young couple with a daughter of about a 1 and a half. A while ago they were studying with the Jehovah´s Witnesses, but they stopped because...well, because. They asked us a bunch of questions about what it is that we believe and the Church in general. It was a sweet "charla." We shared a part of the proclamation of the family with them and they were very interested in learning more. We have a return appointment for later this week. When we at first don´t pay attention to the whisperings of the Spirit, don´t be scared to correct that decision and do it...NOW. Haha. That was a very good lesson for me. Anyways, I hope you all have a Happy New Year! I´m excited to set some sweet New Year´s resolutions and even more excited to put them in practice. I hope you all feel the same. :o) As they say here... "¡Que terminen el año bien y que lo empiecen mejor!" I would love to hear how all of you are doing, and your activities during this holiday season.
Take care!
Elder Taylor

!Cerro!

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well hey there! So I´m writing my email from the middle of Montevideo-that´s so cool. Arrived safe and sound, and I am LOVING this city! It´s just unbelievable. It´s completely different than my other areas, obviously, but I´m definitely enjoying. First of all, living with four gringos is a dream. Haha. We make an extra emphasis on obedience, but we have a great time together. For example, last night we had P-Eve. (Peeve) That´s where we pull out our four mattresses into the big middle room, of course in bed by 10:30, and then we just chat about life. It was way fun. Not to mention, the house is awesome! Right in front of the chapel, right on the edge of our areas, and pretty spacey. Oh, and another AWESOME fact...WE HAVE A PIANO! It´s old-school, and the b-flat in the lower octave is way out of tune, but it´s SO nice. I love it. If anyone has any sweet music they want to share...I´d be willing to wake up half an hour early. :o) My companion, Elder Larsen, and I are getting along SO well. He is a really quiet guy, usually, but we hit it off really well. He is from Boise, but his family moved to Wyoming while he was in the MTC...he´s still kind of touchy when we tell him he´s really from Wyoming. Haha. He´s a few inches taller than me, and loves working out. It´s pretty funny, actually. He goes crazy if he can´t work out. He speaks Spanish very well, a fact that I was very pleased with! Like I´ve said before, being with a gringo is just a very different experience than being with a Latino; for those of you who have experienced it, you understand what I mean. We live with Elder Maughan, from Mt. Home, Idaho (who I knew previously from Salto) and Elder Roxas from Concord, California. We all get along super well, and have a lot of good laughs. This morning we spent the morning doing our "spring cleaning." We got a strict command last week in the announcements that every house in the mission would be cleaning this morning. Haha. I was planning on doing a pretty intense cleaning anyway. That is one change I have seen on the mission that I am grateful for. I don´t mind cleaning and I LOVE living in a clean house. Don´t get any ideas, Mom and Dad...I have my apartment to clean. Haha. Just playing. I don´t know, I just enjoy cleaning and living clean. I don´t know why it changed, but I´m sure grateful it did! I left Bella Union Tuesday night at 8:30, got to Salto at 10:30. Left Salto at 12:30 and arrived in ´Deo about 6:30. It wasn´t too bad. The sleep was terrible, but that´s to be expected. So anyway, the work is going GREAT here! I´m in the 16th ward, which we share with the other Elders. Our part of the ward is called Nueva París. On the map it looked kind of small, but it´s actually pretty good sized. It has a wide-variety of neighborhoods and classes of people. I love it. Anyways, Elder Larsen and his old comp had a baptism last week, so that´s cool, but means that finding is necessary. I got here and we just found like crazy the last 5 days. The Lord is really blessing us. They had previously been teaching a family who had never been to the Church, and we had a very powerful with them on Saturday afternoon about the Sabbath Day. The Spirit was felt, and they said they would go to church the next morning if Juan didn´t get called into work. He works on the drug team for the police department, and he was told they were leaving on a bust that night, but still hadn´t received confirmation. We told him we would call him on Sunday morning just to verify, which we did. We called about 8:45 on Sunday morning, and he was still home, which meant they were coming! He told us just to wait for them at the chapel, and we said ok. I was at the door waiting anxiously when I see Juan and Patricia walking up the street with their two youngest boys Rogelio and Brian! (12 and 8) That was a GREAT sight, and to top it off...Juan, Rogelio, and Brian were all in shirts and ties, accompanied by Patricia in a skirt! It was just the icing on the cake. I was a little nervous about how things would go, because I had never been in the ward, but the members worked fantastically! After Relief Society, I was waiting outside the door to take Patricia to Gospel Principles, and she came out with her face just beaming. At the end of the block, the Da Costa family and two gringos were all smiles. I got the two packages last Thursday; it appears that they didn´t even get touched! Mary-Anne, that shirt is AWESOME! Haha. It´s so much cooler in real-life instead of in a drawing. :o) Thanks a ton. I´m guessing Mom and Dad sent the new, sweet tie. And the American goodies...well I´ll just say that you have made four Americans very grateful for the blessings we enjoy. :o) Mary-Anne, I also got your card last Thursday. Dad, you said the internet shows a lighthouse and fort on the Cerro, I´m a tad-bit more north, but yeah, that´s the zona. Our Zone Leaders live right up there by the fort. The chapel is on Luis Battle Berres and Camino de Las Tropas, right about La Ruta 5 (Highway 5) I don´t know if that information will help you locate it. We then live right in front of the chapel.Sorry to disappoint you all, but I didn´t do a whole lot to celebrate the birthday or the year-mark. Just missionary work. But the Lord blessed us for that and I couldn´t have received a better present! We had lunch with a member on Saturday for my first time, and it was super good. It was red peppers filled with meat. Never heard of it or eaten it before, but it was great. We then started a fast as a mission, so there was no cake or pizza or anything at night. But hey, fasting is good!The fast was because we finished our reading of the Gospels on Sunday morning. We started reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as a mission in November, and we finished it Sunday morning. It was a great opportunity to think about what we have learned about the earthly ministry of Christ, and strengthen our testimony of the mission He came to fulfill. On Christmas, I don´t know what we will do to celebrate yet. Christmas Eve, the zone is getting together and we´re going to take a Christmas message to the local prison. I´m really excited for that, it will be a great service opportunity, Christmas Eve we are allowed to stay out with members until 12:30 AM, because at midnight the tradition is fireworks and stuff like that. I am way glad I´m here in ´Deo for the fireworks, ´cause I´ve heard they´re way bigger and better here. :o) And then Christmas Day is our P-Day, as well. Now to a very key part...the call. Dun, dun, dun....Alright, so here´s the deal. I believe we are five hours ahead of you guys. I am living in a house of 4, so it was fun trying to figure out when all of us are going to call this morning. Haha. I will be calling at 1 PM, Montevideo time, which I believe is 8 AM where you guys are at. I hope that is correct. If not, know that i WILL BE CALLING THE HOUSE AT 1 PM MY TIME, OR A FEW MINUTES BEFORE. I will call the house number, and THEN YOU GUYS WILL CALL ME just like you did on Mother´s Day. That way you guys can choose the phone you want to use. I do not know the country code for Uruguay, but here is my number. (02) is the area code for ´Deo. My house number is 315-2052. So YOU WILL CALL (02)315-2052. I will explain any miscommunication when I call on Christmas. I hope you guys will find the country code before hand, or remember it from Mother´s Day, because I do not. Ok, I hope that was clear, because it´s the only time I´ll have to explain. Haha. It´s hard to believe that we will be talking next week. Crazy. Because of the telephone call, I will not be writing a letter next week. Our p-day is Christmas, and everything will be closed, for one reason. For another, we will be talking on the phone, so there is no need. I hope that´s not a problem. If it is...talk to the Prophet. Haha. Dad, who is Brother Rice? That´s pretty cool, I´ll be looking forward to his letter. Well, I hope all is going well back at home! Enjoy the snow for me! Melanie, sounds like you had a good time with the musical and CONGRATS ON YOUR LEAD PART IN THE WINTER PLAY! That´s so cool! I wish I could see it. You´ll be awesome. Work your tail off, kid. :o) And keep me updated on the dates! I want ot hear about the first kiss. Who, when, where, address, age, mother´s maiden name, etc. Just kidding, no worries. It´s just hard to think that my little sister it dating and driving. Wow. Alright, time to bounce. Know that all is going SUPER WELL and that Elder Taylor is a very excited kid this Christmas. I´m stoked for this new change and this new opportunity. I hope you are all enjoying this holiday season! I would love to hear from all of you-send me a shout! ¡MERRY CHRISTMAS y FELIZ NAVIDAD! Elder Taylor

Changes...!

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well hey there! I hope that this letter finds you all well and happy in this special time of year. It´s still kind of weird for me to think that you are all in various inches of snow and trying to stay warm while I am worrying about getting fried in the sun. Cool, uh? Haha.
So anyway...changes are today. Right before the birthday and Christmas...that´s cool. Makes it easier to stay focused. :o) Elder Taylor is being moved to his third area here in beautiful Uruguay! I am headed to Montevideo. A part of Montevideo that is called Cerro (which means hill) Why is it called Cerro? Because that´s exactly what it is. It´s just a big hill right on the outside of Montevideo. I can´t remember exactly what neighborhood or ward I will be in, but yeah, I´m headed to ´Deo! I´m pretty stoked! It´s going to be a VERY radical change from my area here in Bella Union. Bella Union is tiny and very slow-paced; so basically the opposite of what I´m headed for. Haha.
And another cool thing...I´m going to be with a gringo!! As a matter of fact, with three of them. I was informed that I will be living in a house of 4 missionaries, and we are all American. Sweet! After 4 1/2 months straight with a Latin, I´m super excited. Elder Larsen is my new companion´s name. I heard he is from Idaho, so that´s a good thing, I think. :o) He will be headed into his fifth change, which means he has been in Uruguay for 6 months. I´m kind of anxious to see how he speaks. But in any case, I have heard that he´s a stud.
Elder Marroquín is staying here in Bella Union and Elder Vallejos (from Paraguay) is coming. I think Elder Marroquín is a little nervous, but he will do really well. He will still be junior companion, which is fine. He is really excited, however, to stay and work with our investigators here. This last week, we had a very successful week-the most successful since we´ve been together, probly. We are very excited about the new people that we found this last week, and I will be looking forward to a lot of good reports from my little Peruvian! Haha.
As I said last week, I am actually pretty excited to be heading to a new area. New area, new people, and a very different experience. Changes are like a new year every six weeks-you get to set new goals and make new commitments with your Heavenly Father in how you are going to help Him carry out His work among His children. I will miss Bella Union and how tranquilo it is, but I have always enjoyed big cities, so I´m not worried. It´ll been interesting to see how different missionary work is in a big city like ´Deo, though; everything moving very quickly and people who keep to themselves. I´m trying not to take any prejudgments into my new area, because I have heard a fair share. I´m just focusing on the fact that I have been called to serve the people in that area with all my heart, might, mind, and strength, and that´s what I plan on doing.
Mary-Anne, those were some pretty intense pictures that you set of that storm. Thanks for letting me know before some Uruguayan told me about it and I started to worry! :o) So Nathanael´s motorcycle got a little messed up, but everything else is all good? No damage to the apartment or anything like that? Sounds like you all were very blessed. Sorry about forgetting to forward my letter to your address last week, I just forgot. My bad. I did get your card just this last week. Thanks a lot! It´s a lot of fun to get stuff like that.
So Nathanael is finished with his first semester of law school, uh? How´d you do, Swift? Still keeping your head above water? Haha. I´ve always heard that the first year is the hardest so they can weed out the slackers...how ya doin? :o) Could it be that way with the mission too? Hmmm. I can´t believe that I´ve been out a year. Well, ok, I still haven´t. Only 363 days...ish. I hit my year-mark on Thursday...that´s weird.
Dad, sounds like things went pretty well with the interview, thanks for letting me know. I hope that things work out. So the static firing was pretty sweet, uh? What did the Lt. Col say when you gave him a high five? ¿Mansa? Haha. That´s what all the little kids say here in Bella Union. A thumbs-up with, "Mansa!" Kind of random, but hey, it´s Bella Union.
Melanie, how did your tryouts go? How did the school musical end up, anyway? You never let me know....! I expect a one-page report, due by next Sunday night. :o) Have you had any hot dates lately?
Megan, how you doin, Goose?! What have you been up to these last couple of weeks; I haven´t heard from you. Keepin´ up on your schoolwork, kid? How is SoJo, anyways? I never went there...just had to deal with the aftermath at Bingham! Just kidding, Snow Leopards, settle down. Go Wapitis! :o)
Anyways, I think that´s going to be about it for this week. I hope you are all having a great holiday season and keeping in focus the meaning of it all! Know that you are in my thoughts and prayers often. Elder May, I´m glad to hear that you are doing all right. I saw all the articles in the Church News and stuff-pretty intense. I kept my eyes open for pictures of you, but no luck. Take care of yourself, Boykid. :o) Alright everyone, have a good one! ¡Chao!
Elder Taylor

Wait...December?!

Taylor Family and Friends,
So it´s crazy to think that we´re in December! You are all up there
enjoying the cold weather and the snow, while we are down here looking for
ANY shade that we can find. It´s been pretty ridiculously hot this last
week. Dad just sent me a few pictures of the piles of snow on the deck and
trees and stuff...that´d be nice. All I can do is take a COLD shower at
night after planning. And no worries, we do that just about every day.
Haha.
So things are going really well here. This could quite possibly be my
last full week in Bella Union. Changes are next week. Which means I will be
writing my letter on Tuesday next week, just so you know. I have been here
in Bella Union for 4 1/2 months, and with Elder Marroqua­n for 3, so it
would be REALLY rare if we stayed together. I´m pretty sure that I will be
heading out. I´m not gonna lie, I kind of want to. Not that I don´t love
Bella Union, but I´ve been out a year and I´ve had two areas. That´s a
long time in each area. Haha.
That´s another crazy thought-I pass my year mark next week. I´ve been
trying to keep it out of my head, but Elder Marroqua­n kindly reminds
me about every 15 minutes. Haha. He is a really funny kid. He´s got some
interesting quirks, but it´s been a great learning experience with him in
these last 3 months.
Oh, Mom, you asked about the telephone call on Christmas. We received an
announcement last week that we should start arranging that through our
emails, but I really have NO idea where I am going to be, so it is hard for
me to say. If by some crazy chance I am still here in Bella Union, it would
be great if I could call about mid-day here. (9AM your time) That would
just work well for the short time we have to proselyte. But, as I said. I
have NO idea where I will be, so I can´t really say anything for certain.
Do you guys still remember the process you used to call me on Mother´s
Day? I´m thinking we could just do the same. As soon as I get the number
for where I´ll be, I´ll let you know!
As for the packages you sent; after they arrive at the mission office,
the office elders send them to us with the bolsa. It will be interesting to
see if they get here without being opened or anything. Letters and packages
get opened very frequently here. A lot of times they won´t take things,
but I think they just open it for fun. Haha.
The Christmas Season is just a lot different feeling here. Yesterday we
sang "Away in a Manger" in sacrament meeting and it just kind of surprised
me. It doesn´t feel like Christmas to me at all. But I guess that could be
a good thing, too, right? Haha. No trunky feelings for Elder Taylor!
So my birthday´s next week. I´m with Mary-Anne on this one- "Is that
even right?!" I´m no longer going to be a teenager...sad. It will be an
interesting birthday, like last year, in many ways: a few days before I
will be headed to a place where I know absolutely nobody. But hey, it´s
all good. Elder Marroqua­n´s birthday is December 16th-I can´t remember
if I told you that. But yeah, he turns 20, as well. He´s my first
companion that has been younger than me...and he´s younger by about 24
hours!
As for a Nativity scene, mom, I haven´t seen any, but I will keep my
eyes open!
The traditions for the holidays here are different. The big deal is
fireworks at midnight on the 24th/25th. We´re starting to see and hear
fireworks pretty often; it´s pretty fun. No, Mom, I haven´t bought
any...yet! :o)
Anyways, now to the most important part of this letter...the missionary
news. Haha. There´s not a lot to report in means of big news. Elder
Marroqua­n have been focusing on having the faith necessary to drop those
investigators that aren´t progressing and putting that faith in knowing
that the Lord will bless us in order to find those who are prepared. That
might means more time in the sun, but it will be worth it. We have become
very used to just opening our mouths in any situation and offering a small
invitation. When we buy bus tickets, give them a pamphlet in return for the
receipt, and just little things like that. It´s not something huge, but
the important thing is to open your mouth and plant the seed. Just show the
Lord that you are willing to be an instrument in His hands. And at this
time of year, it is SO easy for ALL of us to be missionaries. We are
putting a lot of emphasis in getting the members involved in our work here
in Bella Union. The ward in that regard has been kind of difficult, but we
are starting to see the changes. Take the time to let the missionaries know
that you have half an hour during the week to help them out, I know that
they would really appreciate it.
Just remember to always be open and looking for opportunities to share
the knowledge you have about our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Alright, well that´s gonna be it for this week, I believe. Don´t forget
that next week I´ll be writing on Tuesday! I love you all! Take care!
Elder Taylor

Buen dia...

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well hey there! How are you all doing this week? I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend and ate plenty of banana cream pie for me. :o) I missed that more than the turkey. Haha.
So I woke up here Thursday morning, did my exercises and what not, got showered, studied and was getting ready to head out the door at 9:00, when I looked at the awesome calendar that I have on my wall and saw that it was Thanksgiving Day. That was weird. I had kind of thought about it during the week, but seeing as how I´m at least 2 hours away from any gringo, there wasn´t really any thing to catch my attention about it. We stopped by a member´s house that morning to see how they were doing, and I made the comment that it was Thanksgiving; the Hermana asked me what that meant. I didn´t know whether to laugh or cry for her. Haha. I then explained to her the whole deal about Thanksgiving and what we do and what not. It was a good cultural experience for her.
On Thursday we ate lunch with the Hermana Alvez, who is probably the oldest active member in Bella Union. I think she´s like 88 or something, and she´s in church every single week. It´s very admirable. She´s been a widow for about 10 years, but she loves the missionaries and looks out for us; her husband was the ward mission leader for about 10 years, she said. Anyways, I didn´t make any comments about Thanksgiving at lunch, obviously. We had a really good stew with peaches for dessert. To be honest, I don´t think I´ve even seen a turkey here in Uruguay. I know there are, but I haven´t seen one. Pretty crazy, uh? Anyways, so that was my Thanksgiving. When Elder Bankhead, my district leader, caled on Thursday night, we said Happy Thanksgiving to each other and got back to work. Haha.
It sounds like you guys had a great Thanksgiving with the family. And even had a good missionary opportunity! That´s so cool. Way to be, Aunt Trina. Did you guys have the chance to mention to them anything about the gospel? That´s pretty sweet that they saw the sign and showed up to hang out with you guys. Did Nathanael get his football game in? Did the Lions win their Thanksgiving game? :o) Yesterday there was a big game here in the ´Guay...Nacional and Peñarol played, which are the two most popular soccer teams here. Neither of them are doing very well this year, but still. They ended up tying, so there weren´t any riots or anything. Haha.
Speaking of riots, it´s possible we could see some tonight. No, just playing Mom. But yeah, the President of Uruguay is coming to Bella Union today! Presidente Tabaré will be giving a speech at 8 PM in the Plaza 25 de Agosto, which is the plaza right across the street from our house. Pretty sweet, uh? We are having a Family Home Evening with a less-active family tonight, so I doubt we´ll even pass by, but maybe on the way home we´ll walk around the block. The Plaza has been taped off since yesterday with two policemen keeping an eye on things. There is a little stage set up with a bunch of speakers. It´ll be interesting to see how this little city reacts to having the President of the country here. Anyways, thought that was pretty cool.
Oh, mom, you asked me if there was anything that Elder Wall would want or need here in the ´Guay; I was thinking about it a little this week and one thing that I´ve been really grateful for is my Leatherman. In the houses here in the ´Guay, it´s something that´s VERY handy to have. Next to my scriptures and my shoes, it´s probably what I´ve used most.
Hey Dad, that letter from NASA was pretty sweet; thanks for sharing it with me! Doesn´t surprise me at all; just reaffirms what a stud my old man is. :o)
This week was a pretty normal week, just trying to do the things the Lord wants us to do here in Bella Union. Elder Bankhead was up here with me on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday, doing divisions. That was a lot of fun. It´s been a LONG time since I could talk English with my companion; it was really nice. Elder Bankhead is from Mt. Sterling, Cache Valley. Really good guy. He´s been on the mission one more change than I have, so we´ll be kickin´ it here together for another year or so.
We had an awesome lesson with Roberto Albarenga and his family on Saturday night. They had read 3 Nephi 11, so we reviewed some of the key parts and went on to explain more about the Book of Mormon. Jessica, his daughter, set it up perfectly with the question "Where does it talk about Joseph Smith in the Bible?" We explained to her that his name isn´t found in the Bible, but prophecies about what he would do can be found, such as Ezekiel 37:15-17. It was like a light turned on for the whole family. They understood really well, and Roberto even got teary-eyed. The family is going through a trial right now. They have been working on the papers to be able to go back to the US for about a year, and they just barely found a way to be able to do it, but they have to come up with the money for the visa´s before January. Here in the ´Guay, that´s not something that can be done very easily, if at all. He´s trying to sell his car, their moto´s, clothes, anything, in order to be able to come up with the money. He always tells us, "We are finally SO close, and yet so far." We told him that God knows that this is a hard time for the family, and for that reason, He has sent this message of hope and truth to his family. Things are going well with them, to say the least.
This week is going to be another week with a lot of time away from our area. We have our district meeting tomorrow in Salto and then we have interviews with President Peterson on Wednesday, so we will be staying there on Tuesday night. We´ll either get back here Wednesday night at about 12:30, or Thursday morning at about 10:15. Well I guess it´s Thursday morning either way, technically. Haha. So that´s a little rough, but it´s all good.
Anyways, I think that´s about it for me this week. I hope everything is going well for all of you, and that you are enjoying this special time of year. I hope that we can all take advantage of the special opportunities we will have to help others feel of the spirit of the season, and especially the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Just take that extra 20 seconds to share the blessings that we all enjoy, you never know when someone´s heart is ready to receive. ¡Cuídense y pórtense bien!
Con Cariño,
Elder Taylor

Another Week...

Taylor Family and Friends,
So another week has gone boy. *Sigh* I'm glad that this week is just
going to be a normal week. We were running around the country last week.
You know those stories that are in the Ensign and stuff that talk about the
wards that make crazy trips just to get to meetings in crammed busses in
110 degree weather? I always read those stories and wondered what it would
be like. I guess I thought too loudly, because the Lord put me in that
situation yesterday! Haha. The bus wasn't too crowded, but I'm almost
positive that yesterday was one of the most humid days I've had in Uruguay
yet. We left here (Bella Union) at like 7:30 yesterday morning and got to
the chapel in Salto at about 9:30; had an AWESOME general session of
conference until noon; and we got back here to Bella Union about 3 in the
afternoon. Elder Marroquan and I got off the bus, changed out of our
suits, and headed back out into the heat. What a great idea. Haha. It was a
good day.
Sounds like Megan had a great birthday; I hope she could understand the
Happy Birthday that Elder Marroquan and I sang to her during our studies
on Saturday.
So the musical is in the middle of it's run; well, I guess it would be
at the end. Tonight would be the closing show, right? Man, those were some
good memories. Melanie, just tear it up tonight! Do it like you麓ve never
done it before! And tell the boys to do some yelling and jumping for me.
:o) Stephen Nelson is home?! Holy cow, I remember when he left. That麓s
crazy. Tell him I want one of the first copies of his cd when he puts it
out! Seriously. And a signed copy would be appreciated...haha.
Francisco is doing well, Mom. It麓s funny you asked about the old guy in
the plaza whose mother and sister we were teaching...because that麓s
Francisco! Haha. We went to our next lesson with his mother and sister and
afterwards took about 15 steps to the back patio and had an amazing lesson
with him. Since that time, we have stopped teaching his mother and sister;
they are great people, but lack the desires to act according to the
knowledge that they receive. Francisco, on the other hand, reads and prays
like crazy. The only thing that麓s holding him back are little doubts and
concerns that he has; the biggest one being that about 7 years ago, he was
baptized in another church and afterwards found out that it was all a
fraud. He had done it really believing and with true intent, so it really
shook him when he found out it was all just a scam. It hurt me so much
when he told us that; for the selfish and lucrative actions of some, this
amazing son of God is hesitating to accept the truth. It's just unreal to
think that people take the hopes and dreams of people and twist them to
accomplish their own desires. So what I have told Francisco is that despite
all of his little questions and doubts, he can still know that the Church
has been restored on the earth; he just needs to ask our Heavenly Father
with faith and true intent. If he continues to do that, I have no doubt
that one day he will take that ever-so-important step of faith. He always
says that maybe it's just not us who needs to baptize him, which is true.
But it doesn't matter if I'm here when he gets baptized right, just as
long as he takes that step. Maybe the next Elder that gets here will say
the magic word and the next day is the water. I hope that that's what goes
down.
So ya'll are headed to Moses Lake for Thanksgiving, uh? Well, tell one
of our old Assistants hello for me! He was actually a friend of the
Boyce's: Caleb Stones. Maybe Matt or Meredith will remember him. He was a
machine of a missionary. Unbelievable. Tell all of the family that I say
hello! How long has it been since I went to Moses Lake? A few years. I
think the last time you guys went up I didn't go because I was working.
Hmmm, that's too bad.
So Pops, you're on the missionary committee. Do you deal with the
missionaries directly? 26,000 spanish speakers moved into SL county last
year?! Wow! That麓s awesome! So are the missionaries there bilingual, or
only a few? I'm going to be able to keep my Spanish up, it sounds like. I
love this language SO much. I was never a big fan of Spanish before the
mission, but now I just LOVE it. It's just such a pretty language. For
those of you who understand it, you know what I mean. When you don't
understand, it just sounds like a bunch of "s"; or at least that's what I
always thought.
Sweet, well I think that's about it for this week. We are going to head
to our lunch appointment now! I love you all and I hope you have a
fantastic Thanksgiving this week! Eat some turkey and banana cream pie for
me! I don't think these people even know what Thanksgiving is. Haha. Oh,
Mom, I thought of something I would like in my package, if you haven't
sent it yet. Lemonade mix! I am craving my good ol' lemonade from the
states. Mmmm. Thanks! :o) Love you all!
Love Always,
Elder Taylor

Beautiful Day...!

Taylor Family and Friends,
Mom, to give you an answer right away to your first question, I have gotten a few of the letters through the mission address; I don´t know if you´re sending them through the mission address every week, so I don´t know if I have gotten every single one of them. But no worries, even if I don´t get a hard copy of them, it´s ok. I can print them off here in the cyber if there´s something really important that I want. Mary-Anne got a job! YAY! That´s awesome. But don´t stop looking for other opportunities, especially if it´s only a temporary spot, or if you don´t know for how long it will last. But I´m way stoked for you; way to be, kid. :o) Just recently the bishop here in Bella Union was looking for a job because he was without work, and when he finally got a job, his father-in-law stood up in testimony meeting and said that Heavenly Father must have gotten tired of hearing all of us praying for the bishop, so that´s when he finally sent the blessing. Haha. I thought that was an interesting outlook. Maybe blasphemy, but it was funny igual. Mom, you asked if we have eaten anything weird lately-not really. We ate pigeon the other day, as well as a thing that looks like a groundhog with Jimmy Pio and his family, but that´s about it. I watched him skin the groundhog thing a couple of days before, so that was pretty...interesting. Haha. And justamente (I don´t know if there´s a word in English that has that definition, and that´s the one I want to use, so look it up in a dictionary..haha) that day I didn´t have my camera. Incredible. We are fed the same types of food VERY often. When there´s some type of meat, we eat rice with it. And the other days we eat noodles with some type of sauce. We probably eat that 5-6 times a week is my guess. I still haven´t gotten super bored of it, but variety is nice every once in a while. But we usually get our variety meal when we eat with Jimmy and his family-they always cook something weird so we can try it-they know how the system works. Jimmy and his wife are preparing to go to the temple here in the next couple of months, so that´s cool. They were baptized the 3rd of December last year, so it´s coming up. They are just an amazing family-have two kids- Juan Ignacio, 10, and Silvia Selena, 4. But yeah, that´s the food plan. Our apartment is 1/2 a block down the street headed south, on the east side of the street. The vivienda is pretty old, and kind of deteriorating, but it´s still pretty nice. It´s a lot bigger than my house in Artigas, so that´s good, I guess. It doesn´t need to be big, because we as missionaries don´t have a lot of stuff, but still. The sink in the bathroom is broken, but we make do. We´ve only seen a couple of cockroaches, every once in a while, but spiders are pretty frequent visitors. Not to mention our dog. Did I ever tell you guys about Negro? He is our dog. Haha. Mom, you never let me have a dog in the house...who would´ve that my first dog I would have on the mission?! From what everyone tells us, Negro has been around for quite a few years with the Elders. I guess his old owner used to live where we are living, and passed away. So when the Elders moved in, the dog just stuck around, because (of course) the Elders started giving him food! Haha. Not dog food, mind you, rather left-over pizza, rice and noodles. Not the healthiest diet for a dog, but he seems to be doing just fine! Haha. When we leave the house, he usually follows us for about 2 blocks in any direction and then heads back home to do his thing. We we come home every afternoon and every night, there he is waiting for us. What a great feeling. Haha. So we had an interesting experience yesterday. We had a lesson with Francisco, and when we got there, he was talking with another man. We all said our hello´s and Francisco said, "If you guys don´t mind, he´s gonna sit in and listen today." Nope, not a problem at all. Come to find out, Delsito is some kind of professor of philosophy-what luck! Haha. He teaches in an institution called Gnosis. I had never heard of it before getting here to Bella Union, and I still know basically nothing. It´s not a religion, but they conduct studies of the Bible, and help people be good people. Sweet. So anyway, justamente (that word again) we had planned on talking about the last past of the Plan of Salvation-what happens to us after we die. So we started talking about the Resurrection-a great topic for a charla with a philosopher, right? Haha, could have fooled me. No sooner had the word come off my lips than Delsito began to talk...and talk...and talk. It was a really enlightening experience, to be honest. It really helped me understand and simple and perfect God´s plan for us really is. Delsito went off on tangents about reincarnation and dual personalities and all this crazy stuff, with some probing questions from Elder Marroquín and I. It was cool, because Francisco would ask a question, we would give a simple 2 sentence answer, and Delsito would start to go off on some crazy tangent with words that none of us had ever heard (not only the gringo. Haha) Francisco would finally stop him and say that either he did not agree, or he wasn´t answering the question. So at the end of the charla, we set up an appointment to visit Francisco again, and I gave Delsito a folleto about the Plan of Salvation. It is amazing how simple the truth really is.This week we have a really busy, traveling week. Tonight we leave for Salto and tomorrow the whole zone leaves for our sector conference in Paysandú with Elder Claudio M. Zivic, from the Area Presidency. That´ll be cool. We´ll get back to Bella Union wednesday afternoon. Sunday morning we go to Salto with the members here because we have Stake Conference. That´ll be cool. I believe Elder Zivic is going to be there, as well. A long week, with little time here in our area, which is really sad. Hard to help your investigators when you´re not there. But that´s where the power of prayer and faith comes in. Anyways, that´s about it for this week. I love you guys! Can´t wait to hear from each and every one. ¡Cuídense y pórtense bien, por favor! :o)Love, Elder Taylor

Hey There...

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well hey, what´s up? How are things going over there in the beautiful
United States of America? Everyone here keeps asking me if I´ve heard
about some huge fire in California or something, so you don´t need to tell
me about that!
Anyways, so it´s now November; how crazy is that? Time is such an
interesting thing. But we´ll leave that subject right there. Haha. Things
are going REALLY well here in Bella Union. Elder Marroquín and I had a
fantastic week last week! Now the test is to prove that it wasn´t just
some random fluke. But we have really stepped it up a notch...or at least
that´s what Elder Taylor says. Haha. I know that we both feel a lot more
satisfied with the work we are doing. Not that we weren´t working before,
but it´s just that once you REALLY push yourself and you go beyond what
you thought you could, you ask yourself why you didn´t just step it up and
do it before. That was last week. Found a lot last week, and we´re really
looking forward to the opportunities we´ll have this week.
We had one of those lessons that missionaries always dream about on
Saturday night. We taught Roberto, his wife, and his two kids ALL together!
It was amazing. We went over on Friday night to set up the lesson and asked
him if 8 on Saturday was ok. Yeah sure, he says, and we´ll bring the whole
family together and talk. That was the best answer ever! Haha. We went over
and he was just finishing up working on the muffler of his car. Washed his
hands, we had a glass of soda, and then we all went into the front room to
talk about how prayer can really bring us together in our families. At the
end of the lesson, we invited them to kneel down every night and say a
prayer together, and they accepted! Then I told them that we would like to
be a part of the first one...we kneeled down and I asked Roberto if he
would say the prayer...he did, and it was amazing how much the Spirit could
be felt in that home! We have another lesson tomorrow night with them and
we are super excited. Oh, forgot to mention, this is a family that lived in
West Palm Beach for 9 years...so all of them speak at least a little
English! So that is exciting!
Anyways, I think that´s going to be about it for this week. Sorry for
the short letter, but if you want a couple of other bits of info, ask
Mary-Anne for parts of her letter! Haha. Know that I love each and every
one of you! Take care!
Elder Taylor

Another Week

Taylor Family and Friends,
I don´t know if you all feel the same way, but these last six weeks have
just flown by. I can´t believe we´re already at the end/beginning of
another change.
But more important than that, I got to give a shout out to Pops! Happy
Birthday Dad! I don´t know if you heard me singing this morning bright and
early, but it sure was taken care of. :o) I hope you have a FANTASTIC day!
I thought it was cool that I get to have a p-day on your birthday-i­t´s
almost like I got invited to a party...I guess? Haha.
Anyways, so about changes...any guesses? Alright, I´ll just tell you:
I´m staying here in Bella Union with Elder Marroquín. I pretty much
figured that´s what was going to happen. Elder Marroquín is only my
second companion here in Uruguay that I´ll have been with for more than
one change. I was with Elder Stoddard (trainer) for two changes, but after
that it´s been one after the other. Pretty crazy, uh? I´m not gonna lie,
there was a part of me that wanted to bounce to another area, but I know
that this is where the Lord wants me. There´s people here that need to
hear the gospel from Elder Marroquín and Elder Taylor. I think I just
wanted to go to get to know other parts of the country. I´ve been out
almost 11 months and I´ve had two areas. I know Elders who´ve been out 4
months and they´ve had more areas than me. But hey, I´m grateful to know
that this work is directed by our Heavenly Father and so we don´t need to
question or doubt anything.
This last week was awesome. Well, weather-wise it was ridiculous. I think
the weather is more unstable and unpredictable here than in any other place
I have been in my entire life. We have had days of almost unbearable heat
and then two hours later it is POURING rain. Pretty intense stuff.
Yesterday is rained ALL day and today it is still overcast and drizzling
off and on. Not the most beautiful p-day in the world, but prolly not the
worst, either!
Last weekend, I had a special visit that made me SUPER trunky; but not
trunky for home. What am I talking about? Saturday night, Elder Marroquín
and I were planning and at about 9:15 somebody burst in our front door and
yelled , "HEY GRINGO!" Elder Marroquín and I just looked at each other,
not knowing exactly what to do; yeah, basically just freaked out. After a
couple of seconds of silence, I stood up and headed out of the room to go
to the front door. As I got close to rounding the corner, I heard footsteps
in the front room. Right as I rounded the corner, so did a huge
silhouette...Hermano Juan Carlos Martinez from Artigas, Rama 5! We both
just kind of yelled and laughed as we hugged. Hmo Martinez used to live
here in Bella Union a long time ago, but is now living in Artigas. He had
come on Saturday afternoon for work (he drives a bus/taxi) and was going to
be heading back to Artigas late Sat night. He had called tons of the
members here throughout the afternoon trying to locate those darn
missionaries, but to no avail. But one thing about those darn Mormons in
shirts and ties-everyone knows when they´re going to be inside. Haha. The
members told him where we were living and he came to visit. We chatted
about the Rama 5 and what has been going on in the 3 months since I left.
It was SO good to see him. He stayed for about 20 minutes or so and then
had to head out. When he left, my companion looked at me and said, "You´re
trunky now, aren´t you?!" And I said, "Yes, but only for Artigas." Haha.
It was so weird. If I could´ve, I would have gotten on a bus and headed to
Artigas right then. It was a lot of fun to get news about people with whom
I lived and worked for 6 months. So that was my special visit from Saturday
night!
Anyways, now about the whole missionary work thing...! Things are going
really well for Elder Marroquín and I. We are teaching a lot, but the
investigators haven´t been progressing much, so what do we have to do?
Find those who are going to progress! It may mean that we are going to
spend more time in the rain, but if we put our confidence in the Lord, He
will bless us. This last week, we decided to do just that. We stopped
passing by some of our "old" investigators (explaining why beforehand) and
started knocking. The Lord really does bless us if we put our trust in Him.
We were able to find more people to teach last week than in any other week
of the change. Only time will tell if they are those who the Lord has
prepared, but it was definitely a testimony to us.
The other day, I was doing my morning study and I read a scripture that
I´ve decided to put as my ´theme for this change. Philippians 4:13. I´m
not going to tell you what it says, because that would deprive all of you
of the opportunity to open your own scriptures and mark it for yourselves!
:o) But it´s a good one. It´s in the New Testament, for those of you who
forgot. Open it up and think about how each one of you can apply it as we
begin this new change...! Send me thoughts and ideas, I would love to hear
what ya´ll think!
So anyways, that´s what´s going on in the life of Elder Taylor. The
mission is fantastic. It´s hard, for sure, but I love it. This last week
we have had a couple of Family Home Evenings with members here in the ward,
trying to spark some excitement here in Bella Union. We have been reading
with them in Alma 24, about the Anti-Nephi-Lehites, verses 21-27. In these
short verses, it gives us as children of our Heavenly Father an idea of
just how powerful our example can be. So far, it has gone really well. I
hope that it helps the members catch a little of the vision that we have.
Melanie and Megan, how did the quarter end up? I hope that you both
stayed up on your studies. It is amazing the difference that can be seen
here between the people that have taken advantage of the opportunity to
study, and those who didn´t.
Mom and Mary-Anne, what did ya´ll end up doing last weekend? Did
Nathanael get to spend any time with you, too, or was he in the library all
week?
Swift, how are the studies going? Are we going to have another lawyer in
the world, or not? How are things looking in Salem? Should I head up there
and study with you? Haha. Yeah right. I have NO idea what I´m going to do
with my life. But I´ve still got time to think, right?
Dad, what is this new position you´re looking at? I hope all goes well.
Keep me udpated. How are things going with the calling? You should take a
picture from our deck and send it to me. Or should I wait and just be blown
away when I come home? Hmmm. You guys decide.
So what have you guys decided to send me for my birthday? Haha. One of
the members here is telling me to ask for peanut butter, so if you guys
could manage a bit of that, that´d be good. Just an idea. I´m not picky.
I´ve thought of new English scriptures...big ones like my spanish
set...what are your thoughts?
Anyways, it´s about that time. I love each and every one of you, and
I´m looking forward to hearing from you! Take care!
Elder Taylor

I´m healthy. Haven´t bought new shoes yet. My feet got SOAKED yesterday. I
think next week I´ll buy some.  I hope that things are going well. But hey,
I
think we´re going to head out and try to go to Brazil before the end our of
Day. I love you, Mom, more than anything. Give Dad a big hug and kiss for me
today! Take care of yourselves!


(The last little bit was a quick couple of emails back and forth between Liz
and Aaron.)

Another Week...

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well hey there! How ya´ll doin? Things are going well here in beautiful Uruguay! Before I forget, changes are next week, which means that I will be writing on Tuesday, I think. Haha. They changed the day that the new Elders arrived and what-not last change, and I´m pretty sure it´s the same now, so I´m pretty sure we´ll be writing Tuesday. About 95%. Just so ya´ll know and don´t worry!
Things are starting to heat up in Bella Union; we´ve busted out the short sleeves and sunscreen. It´s still not "HOT," but it´s well on it´s way. And then that brings us to last Saturday-woke up in the morning to a BEAUTIFUL day; did service in the morning for a member in the ward and took fifteen minutes to play soccer with their grandkids. Then we went to lunch and as we left to go home, huge, dark clouds started to gather. Clouds were just coming together for about 3 hours. Then, right as we finished the closing prayer in the first lesson of the afternoon, it hit. It reminded me of one of those crazy Utah summer storms. It was SO cool. We were outside on the patio of this investigator, and that was where we stayed. Haha. No way were we going to leave...and even less when it started to HAIL! It was sweet. Good egg-sized balls of ice. Everyone says that that was the biggest hail they´ve ever seen here in Bella Union. The wind was so strong that the rain was coming "down" sideways. It was cool because this investigator has a big front yard (VERY rare) with huge trees-so that was entertaining! It lasted for about 20 or 25 minutes, and then just stopped. After a couple of hours, the clouds were gone and the sun was hot. Pretty sweet day. Reminded me of the weather at home.
I don´t think I have told you guys yet about Francisco. If so, oh well. Elder Gee and I were on divisions in Bella Union and as we were walking across the plaza, we did a contact with an older man seating on one of the benches. We presented ourselves and our message, and asked him if he would like to hear more. He said, "Yes. As a matter of fact, I have the Book of Mormon already." We asked him what he thought of it... "Well, just like it says on the cover: it´s Another Testament of Jesus Christ." We got pretty excited when he said that. Haha. A lot of people have Books of Mormon, either because they´re ex-investigators, or members gave them one, or whatever, but nobody has ever said that when I asked them what they thought! Then Elder Gee asked him where he lived, so we could pass by. When he told us the address, I realized that we were already teaching someone at that address! We were teaching his mother, and his two sisters! Ambrosia is probably about 88 years old, and his sisters Berta and Benta are like 60ish. We had invited everyone in the house to join us in the lessons with them, but he kind of lives apart in the back. So anyways, I made the connection and asked him about it. Yeah, he says, you have passed by to talk to my sisters, but I would like to talk to you guys by myself. Ok...not a problem!
This man is amazing. In our first lesson, we talked about the Book of Mormon and how we can know it´s true. I say amazing because he was quoting to US scriptures from the Book of Mormon. HE knew the "story" and who was talking in Moroni 10 (It´s Moroni, right, the son of Mormon? Yup, that´s right!) Every morning Francisco STUDIES the scriptures, prays, and just takes time to think. He is FULL of questions. As we began to explain the Plan of Salvation he asks us what we believe about ´original sin´ because he doesn´t think that it´s right for everyone to be judged for what Adam did. I flipped to the 2nd Article of Faith. After reading it and talking about it, he looked at me and Elder Marroquín and thanked us for answering a question/doubt that he had had for years.
He has asked about what happens to children that aren´t baptized and pass away, he´s asked about the difference between the spirit and the soul, and a ton of other questions that you only expect to hear in a practice lesson between missionaries in a district meeting. It´s great because our lessons are not us trying to pack information into his head; he asks questions and is eager to learn and accept the answers. On Saturday, we went to a lesson with him. As we finished the opening prayer, I asked if he had any questions he wanted to start with. He said, "No, I just want you two to teach me today. I´m not going to take you out of your ´routine.´" Elder Marroquín and I had decided previously that we wanted to talk about the Book of Mormon and invite him to get baptized. So we did. We talked about how once we have a testimony of the scriptures, we need to act; that part of understanding the scriptures is shown through the application in our lives. We then invited him to accept the Savior´s invitation and be baptized in His church. Francisco looked at us and said, "The only thing I ask you is to not rush me." He said, "I can´t give you a specific date, yet, but I can say that I will get baptized."
So that´s Francisco! He is an amazing example of how we all should be in our search for more understanding. Man, I love meeting awesome people!
Mom, you asked if the people are Bella Union are better off than the people in Artigas...I would say as a whole, no. The part of Artigas where I lived wasn´t amazing, but it was a very nice part. And the living is different as well. There´s a lot more people in Artigas, so there´s more apartments and condos and whatnot. In the center part of Bella Union there are some really nice houses, but as you move farther away from the center, you start to see how the majority of the people live. Yesterday we taught a lesson in a house about as big as our kitchen, made of mostly cardboard, to a family of 8. It really helps you have an appreciation for the blessings we enjoy.
The plaza about 5 blocks from the river is right across the street from me. From the southwest corner of the plaza, cross the street going south and half a block is our house.
We haven´t gone all the way to the community over by the Brazilian border to do proseltying, yet. We went to do service one day with the ward, but yeah. We have gone to the little branches of Bella Union that head out that way, though. Like yesterday, we walked about 45 minutes to get to that lesson...
Bishop Molina passed all the tests to get in to the firefighter training. He was the only one out of four guys from Bella Union that passed. He is back here with us, waiting for them to tell him when he needs to go down to ´Deo to start the training.
Mom, when you see Mary-Anne this week, give her a HUGE hug for me! And hit Nathanael for me. Haha.
Melanie and Megan, how´s school going? It´s weird to think you guys just started when everyone here is getting ready to end. Mel, what´s happening with the musical? Have you gone on any hot dates recently? :o) Goose, you just focus on your studies...you don´t need to think about boys yet! Haha.
Alright, well I think that´s about it for this week. Know that I love each and every one of you and that you´re in my prayers often! Don´t forget to write me. Haha. Just in case ya´ll forgot, you can write to the mission email address (urugoest@gmail.com) and they print it off and send it to me! So it´s a lot easier and free to keep in contact. What a blessing. :o) Well....see ya later!
Elder Taylor

Letter from Salto

Taylor Family and Friends,
 Well hey there. How ya´ll doin this beautiful day? Things are going well
here in Uruguay. It´s about 10:30 in the morning and I´ve already been up
for about 5 1/2 hours. Pretty intense, eh? We woke up this morning and
hopped on a bus to come down and hang out with some of the zone today.
We´re going to go play GOLF! I´m WAY excited. Can you believe that? I,
Elder Taylor, am crazy excited to play GOLF. Haha. The things that change
on the mission. This is probably the one and only time we will come down
here on a Preparation Day, because it takes up our day and money, but it´s
all good. We got special permission to do divisions here tonight, so we
won´t have to head back to Bella Union for our three hours of proselyting
tonight. We have interviews with President Peterson tomorrow morning and
then tomorrow about noonish we have our district meetings like every week;
then we´ll head back to Bella Union.
 So that´s what´s going on today. Sounds like fun, eh? I sure thought
so. Last week was a pretty long week, but it was great at the same time. A
couple of years ago, Elder Ballard gave a challenge, or better said, a
commandment for the missionaries to do at least 10 contacts a day; that
means 70 per week. Over the last year in the mission, the average has been
39.8 per missionary, per week. That´s barely over 50%. Wow. The President
really pushed this topic in our Zone Conference that we had like two weeks
ago, so Elder Marroquín and I decided last week that we were going to quit
being dumb as I put it. Haha. We both got our contacts last week. I
ended up with 73 and he got 71. We were both really happy and felt good.
Ten contacts a day doesn´t sound like a lot, and it´s not, but sometimes
it´s not as easy as it sounds. Especially when it rains for three days
STRAIGHT like it did last week, and no one is in the street. But when the
Lord gives a commandment, He provides the way. Even if it means we have to
walk into corner stores and invite His children, He will provide the way:
we just have to be willing to do what is required! So Elder Marroquín and
I decided we were going to do what is required. I´m not going to say that
we saw any AMAZING miracles last week for being obedient, but I can
honestly say that we feel a lot better and we are VERY optimistic for this
week. As Brother Matt Sellers told me this week, the Lord will bless us as
fast as we are able to receive it. I believe we showed the Lord that we
really do want to invite His children to learn more about Him this last
week, and we are willing to do what it takes! It´s going to be a great
week.
 Got my first dog bite this last weekend. Saturday night, I think. No
worries, it was just a quick grab-and-release on the ankle. Only bled a
little bit. But it was kinda funny. :o)
 My cold´s pretty much gone. I haven´t checked my tonsils in the last
couple of days, but I´m feeling ok. I told the Hermana Peterson at the
Zone Conference and she gave me a paper that said the medicine I needed, but I haven´t stopped by to get it yet. Up ´til now, I´ve
been ok. Haha.
 Investigators are doing well. The hard part of the work in Bella Union
is different than the hard part in Artigas. In Artigas, it was hard for us
to find people to teach, but once we found them, they usually progressed.
In Bella Union, it is easy to find people, but they don´t progress:
mostly because they don´t go to church on Sunday. We are really focusing
in on that area. Ricardo was working like 12 hours yesterday, so he didn´t
go to church, but his wife and 3-year old daughter went. It was GREAT to
see them there. She is the returned-missionary that went inactive. But it
can be seen she has the desires to come back. We were talking with her, and
she said that Ricardo has been asking a lot more questions about the
church, the temple, and the priesthood in this last week. We are pretty
excited about that! Questions are always good. We are having lunch with
them on Wednesday, so that´ll be fun.
 Things with Elder Marroquín are going really well. He is a lot different
than Elder Huaman, but at the same time, they are very similar. It is just
a lot different to be with a Latin. Not better or worse, just different.
Out of my 5 companions in the field, 3 of them have been Latins, and 2 of
those 3 have been Peruvians. I think that I´m supposed to head to Peru at
some point in my life. Elder Marroquín says that I´m going to have each
one of the Peruvians in the mission as a companion. Oh boy. I think that
would mean a Peruvian for the rest of my mission. I think I would go crazy.
Haha. He is a great Elder and he knows why he is here. It is very easy to
work with him. His birthday is December 16th. What a coincidence, eh? The
day after mine. I doubt I´ll still be here for our birthdays, but who
knows?
 People always comment on how young we are, right? And usually they ask us
how old we are, so we ask them to guess first. With Elder Marroquín they
always say 19 or 20, but with me it´s always 23 or 24. Yesterday, one guy
said 29! I almost died. I don´t mind looking older at all, but 29?!
Sheesh. I guess need to do some more intense exercises in the morning.
Anybody have some kind of age remedy? Haha.
 Mom, you noticed his tie, too?! Haha. That´s awesome! I was in the room
all by myself, right? Oh, but don´t worry, I still commented on the tie
OUT LOUD. Haha. After I realized what I had just done, I couldn´t help but
laugh at myself. That´s what happens when you´re with a Latin for 3
straight months, I guess!
 As for things I need in a package, I´m not sure. Those Pilot gel pens
that you sent last time work REALLY well for contacts, because I can click
them open and shut quickly. Dumb little thing, but hey. Haha. I don´t know
if I have told you yet, but I have officially put a hole in my Ecco´s,
too. Just in the left foot. I have no idea what happened, to be competely
honest. I´m thinking about buying another pair of shoes from Brazil like
the ones I bought a couple of months ago. I like them a lot, and they only
cost like 700 pesos. I think that´s like 30 bucks. Not too bad. I don´t
know-what do you think? I think shoes are too risky to send in a package. I
don´t know if I´m really going to buy new shoes yet, but the thought has
crossed my mind. What else do I need in a package, or want? I don´t know.
Give me some ideas, and if it sparks any ideas, I´ll let you know. Oh, one
thing. Tell my best friend to write me! Haha. I know I wasn´t the best
writer to him while he was gone, but that´s because he told me NOT to
write emails! He can write me emails, at the mission address. C´mon
Skyler, I know you´re not stock full of dates...nice try! :o)
 If you can´t tell, I´m just trying to buy a little bit of time. Haha. I
wrote quickly today. Maybe I´ll try and send some pics. Good idea, Elder
Taylor.
 Ok, know that I love you all. Take care of yourselves and do your
scripture studies! The scriptures really have helped me have the desires
and motivation to do this work even on the hardest of days. There really is
a power to be found there. Look for it! And I would love to hear insights
and thoughts from all of you. Thanks Bro. Sellers for your thoughts-I
REALLY enjoyed it! ¡Cuídense y pórtense bien!
Elder Taylor

300 days

Taylor Family and Friends,
Just so everyone knows, the subject line is NOT because I am counting days! My mom and sister both kindly informed me that today is my 300 day mark, so I thought I´d comment on it. That´s a pretty crazy thought. 300 seems like a lot, but at the same time, it´s not; time is a pretty confusing thing on the mission.
So Conference is over. Sad. But what an amazing conference it was! We witnessed history, you guys. I thought it was very impressive the way that President Hinckley did not make any show or presentation when he read the sustainings of Pres. Eyring and Elder Cook. They are callings that come from our Heavenly Father and any earthly presentation would not be sufficient. Very well done.
We received a lot of very impressive counsels this weekend from our Heavenly Father. A lot about being member-missionaries and studying Preach My Gospel; I hope that we were ALL listening to that counsel given to us from our Father in Heaven. He wants us to reach out to His children; Preach My Gospel is here to help us do so effectively. I loved the first two talks on Sunday morning by Elder Hales and Elder Scott about personal revelation and finding truth, respectively. They were both very impressive talks packed with insights and invitations.
Was anyone picking out their favorite ties like I was? Haha. I say that Elder Uchtdorf and Elder Kopischke win for this conference. If you want ideas for ties to send me...look at pictures of those two! There were many impressive ties this weekend. Haha
You may be wondering what Elder Taylor was doing while watching conference if he was so interested in the ties of the General Authorities; if so, I´ll tell you. There´s not much else to do when you´re sitting by yourself in a little room for eight hours! Haha. I had my own private "suite" for conference this weekend, seeing as how I´m probably the only person in at least 2 hours in any direction who speaks English. It made for a different experience, but I enjoyed it. I say 8 hours because Sunday morning my companion and I watched the recording of the Priesthood Session together...in Spanish. I could understand everything in Spanish just fine, but it´s just a different experience to watch it in English. The translators do an AMAZING job at what they do, but, as hard as they may try, they cannot translate the emotion and love in their words. And that´s one of the best parts of watching conference, isn´t it? We can all read the counsels in a month´s time, but this was our chance to hear the counsels with the love and the emotion that the Lord´s servants put in to them. What a blessing!
I didn´t get waffles and ice cream arranged for this conference. Oh well. Maybe next time.
Last week was a crazy week. District meeting in Salto on Tuesday, divisions here with Elder Gee on Wednesday, Sector Conference in Paysandú on Thursday and General Conference on Saturday and Sunday. A very long, but amazing week. I had the opportunity to receive many counsels from my leaders and to have many prayers answered. A great week.
Family, I got the package this last week. Thanks! The second I opened the package, I put the hat on. Mmm. Haha. It was great. I took a couple of recordings of Uruguayan´s eating Warheads-that was pretty funny! It was really nice to hear from the cousins and what not on the tape. I don´t know if you guys realized, but the tape had a couple of problems as well. Anyways, I was informed of some super exciting news- Greg and Ann Jones were sealed! I can´t believe you guys didn´t tell me beforehand! That is SO cool! I don´t know if you are sending these letters to them, but send them my love and congratulations! Man, that was a good piece of news to receive!
Melanie, tell Ms. Hatch that I dig the new hair-do. Haha. It was pretty fun to see her during conference. She´s the first person I´ve seen from home "live" in ten months. An interesting thought. Haha. Oh, and Ms. Beus from Elk Ridge.
Dad, what happened with the Sentra? You broke it again? Haha. Good to hear you got it fixed. What´d you decide to do with the Dodge?
So Robby, Troy, and Tommy are all in Brazil, huh? Crazy! I could be in Brazil too in about 15 minutes. Haha. That´s cool. When you see their families, tell them I send my best!
You guys are gonna head to Oregon to see Mary-Anne and Nathanael? That´s cool. I´ll head up that way in a "few" months. Haha.
Dad, thanks for sending me the tease on the Indians series. Haha. Did they pull it out and beat the Yankees? I sure hope so! If they go to the Series, you guys had better buy LOTS of souvenirs and record the Series so I can watch it! Thanks, love ya. Haha.
Well, I think that´s about it for this week. An interesting thought: President Hinckley spoke for just a couple of minutes in the last session, and what was his invitation? To read and discuss the proceedings of General Conference in our Family Home Evenings-think it might be a good idea? I sure think so! I´m so grateful that I have a "mother who knows" and parents who were always willing to spend one-on-one time with me! Those are moments that I will never forget.
I love you all, and I can´t wait to hear from ya! Send a shout, eh? Take care!
Elder Taylor

October 1st, are you serious?

Taylor Family and Friends,
 Well hey there. How ya´ll doin? Things are going really well here in
Bella Union. This week brought a couple of changes, starting with the
weather; it seems like we´re going to skip spring here and go straight to
summer. Yesterday it got up to 31 degrees (Celsius) I´m not sure how much
that is F, but I think it´s about 80 degrees. All I know is that it´s a
lot warmer. Haha. But notwithstanding the heat, somehow I managed to catch
a cold this week. Remember how before I left my tonsil had swollen up a
little and then went back to normal? Well, on Wednesday I woke up with a
cold and swollen tonsil. I´m feeling a lot better now, but my tonsil is
still bigger than it should be. Haha. But the headache and all that jazz
has left. I opened up my bag on Wednesday and found the pharmacy that I
hadn´t even touched yet. Haha. Thanks Mom, love ya!
 This week we started a new schedule. Now we have 9 hours of proselyting
every day. 9-12 in the morning, and 3-9 in the afternoon. It´s pretty
sweet. President Peterson reviewed the schedule we had and compared it with
Preach My Gospel, and then made the changes accordingly. We are all pretty
stoked about it.
 Things with Elder Marroquín are going really well. We both have the
desires to do the things we need to do, so we get along. Haha. He´s really
a pretty funny kid. Weird, but funny. He reminds me of a gringo trying to
learn Spanish-he´s always asking me how to say stuff in English. He
actually speaks pretty well. Ok, well a lot better than Elder Huaman. Not
meaning he could carry a conversation by any means, but he understands a
lot of the basics. It´s fun.
 THIS WEEKEND IS GENERAL CONFERENCE! Crazy. We get the satellite here in
Bella Union, so we don´t have to go to Salto. I still haven´t made the
arrangements for waffles...we´ll see if we can scrounge something up
before the weekend. If not, there´s always April. I´m way stoked for
Conference. I do believe that I will be the only one watching it in English
this time. Haha. That will be interesting.
 Ricardo went to church this week! I don´t know if I´ve told you about
him, but I believe so. His wife is the returned missionary who is now
inactive. They got married and she gradually went inactive. He was a
reference from the Ward Council. He has ran off a lot of companionships,
his wife said, so she was surprised when he invited us back for a third,
fourth visit, then a fifth...etc. We are taking it slow, as he requested,
but we are pretty excited. Yesterday was the Primary Presentation here in
Bella Union. Elder Taylor was asked to accompany them on the piano. That
was a first. It was fun.
 Anyways, time is running short; the computer was having problems today.
Dad, why would you fix the Dodge?! You´re crazy, man. My opinion. Haha.
Love you. Mary-Anne-you´re already looking for a new job? Sheesh kid. I
haven´t changed ties yet. Haha. It snowed in Salt Lake? That´s
ridiculous! Usually it waits until about Halloween. Weird. So how is mom
pronouncing the names of all these cities? That would be interesting to
hear! Haha. I forgot to bring the information for Elder Stoddard, but I
already made a reminder to bring it next week. Sorry. Sweet, that´s about
it for today. Tomorrow we are in Salto, Wednesday back here, and Thursday
in Paysandu for zone conference. Fun week! I love you all! Sorry for the
short letter, but it´s not my fault. Haha. Don´t take it personally.
Chao!
 Elder Taylor

Well Hey There...!

Taylor Fam and Friends,
 So how ya´ll doin? Things are going really well here in Bella Union.
Elder Marroquín got up this morning, studied, and went back to bed. Haha.
It was great! For the next couple of weeks we´ll probably be writing in
the afternoon, because his family writes him on Monday mornings, so we have
to give them time to be able to write. Just a heads up. So this morning we
slept and cleaned. Afterwards we went down to the park by the river, took
some pictures, and played frisbee. I think I´m going to be buying a
basketball after we write. It´s been WAY too long since I played. Haha.
 So Elder Marroquín is from Lima, Peru. He´s been a member his whole
life. His mom´s a convert of about 20 years and his dad was baptized about
7 years ago. He is the oldest of 5 kids; 4 boys and a girl. His family was
sealed in the Lima Temple in April, so that´s pretty cool! As I think I
said last week, Elder Marroquín has been in ´Deo for the last 4 1/2
months. Elder McFarland (one of my first Zone Leaders) trained him, and the
last two changes he has been with Elder Bankhead, one of the first Elders I
met here in the ´Guay. He´s been here one change longer than me and is
from Logan. But that´s just for your info. Haha.
 Elder Marroquín and I are doing really well together! He has come with
the desires to work, and work is what we are doing! We finished up the week
wonderfully, and we are really looking forward to see what this new week
brings.
 Elder Huaman left at 8:30 on Tuesday night and until about 10:45 I was in
the house of one of the members here. At 10:45, Daniel (a
recently-returned-missionary) got out of his class and came to get me. We
went to my house, planning on going to bed and sleeping. At about 11:50, I
received a telephone call from Elder Huffaker, the zone leader in
Paysandu. He says, "Elder Taylor, sorry to wake you up. We have an Elder
that´s going to be in Bella Unión in about half an hour on his way to
Artigas. We need you to go get him and get him on the next bus to Artigas."
Sweet, thanks Elder Huffaker. Haha. So we forgot about sleeping, went and
got Elder Allen, and he and I went to my house to crash. Daniel went home
to get some sleep before work on Wednesday morning. So yeah, Elder Allen
was with me until Elder Marroquín got here, and then we put him on a bus
for Artigas. He was headed for Barrio 4 in Artigas. I told him to send a
shout out for the Rama.
 Last weekend had a great experience. Friday night, a lot of the young
adults from Salto came to have an activity with the young adults from Bella
Union. Elder Echegaraí (spelling-NO idea) who is an Area Authority came
and spoke at a fireside. He gave an AWESOME talk on prayer. It was SO good.
I´m glad that the young adults invited us to go. Haha. I´m not sure why,
but that talk was prepared with Elder Taylor in mind. Prayer is such a
powerful tool and blessing that our Father in Heaven has given us. Are we
putting it to use, or is it an un-opened gift on the mantel?
 We also went and participated in the service project with the youth on
Saturday morning. It was a lot of fun. We went and painted, cleaned,
organized and all that fun kind of stuff at a school here in Bella Unión.
 Mom-you´re going to sing for President Hinckley?! That´s so cool!
Don´t mess up. Haha. Just kidding. I can´t believe that General
Conference is almost here again. Crazy. I remember heading to General
Conference with Elder Stoddard in Artigas. Man, that was fun. Speaking of
Tyson (Elder Stoddard) have you guys heard from him yet? He´s been home
almost 2 months now. He´s probably using the excuse that he´s busy with
school, but that´s no excuse. Haha. I hope he gets in touch soon. I´ll
send you his info next week, if I can remember.
 Dad-how was the Titan? Everything you hoped and dreamed? Haha. I hope you
took a picture when it was sitting there in the garage! I have to know how
well my Tacoma is going to fit. :o) Looks like they did a pretty good job
on fixing up the van. Did it cost an arm and a leg, or just the leg? Did
the insurance help at all? Have you found the blessing or lesson that
we´re supposed to learn in this experience yet? If not, keep looking,
it´ll show up...it always does!
 Here´s a weird idea-our bishop here left yesterday after church and if
things go well, he won´t be back for 3 months. That´s kind of an
interesting thought, huh? Our bishop has been without work for some time,
just doing odd-jobs here and there for a couple of weeks at a time. He got
the opportunity to sign-up to take the fireman course like two weeks ago,
so he did it. He´s in ´Deo this week to see if he passes the tests. If
things go as we hope, we won´t have a bishop until about Christmas; if
things don´t go well, he´ll be here to preside in Sacrament next week.
The ward will be fine. The counselors are very capable men, and the members
know how things run. The Elders will be doing their part. So yeah, we hope
things go well for Bishop Molina.
 Well, I think that´s about it for this week. The work of the Lord is
moving forward here in Bella Union. I am so grateful for the opportunity
that I have to be a part of this wonderful work! He really does have great
things in store for each one of us, of that I have no doubt. I love and
pray for you often; don´t ever forget that!
 Love Always,
Elder Taylor

Changes...!

Taylor Fam and Friends,
 Well hey there!  How ya´ll doin? Things are going really well here in
Bella Union. This "beautiful union" has been a soaked union for the last
week. It has rained like every single day, all day. I don´t mind walking
in the rain at all, but the people here don´t think too much of it. It
makes the work a little more difficult, but hey, that´s what we do!
 So I think that last week I forgot to tell you all that this week is
change week-that´s why I´m writing today. Usually we write on
Wednesday´s change week, but they´ve now changed it. Apparently on change
week´s we´ll be having our P-Day on Tuesday´s. Who knows? I just sleep
when I´m told. Haha. So sorry about forgetting last week...! My bad.
 So I´ve been here in Bella Union for about a month and a half. The
changes brought with them at least another month and a half of Bella Union
for me! Elder Taylor is staying, with an Elder from Peru; but that Elder is
not Elder Huaman. Elder Huaman is headed to Mercedes, and Elder Marroquín
is coming to join me. Apparently the Lord knows that I need to learn
something from the poeple of Peru! Elder Marroquín has the same amount of
time in the mission as Elder Huaman, so he´s not NEW, but he hasn´t been
here too long either. I don´t know where he´s been here in the ´Guay,
but he´s coming from Montevideo. That´ll be a little bit of a change for
him. Haha. Montevideo is A LOT different than Bella Union. But he´ll do
fine. Elder Huaman bounces out tonight at 8:30 and Elder Marroquín gets
here tomorrow morning at 7. So that´ll be cool. We weren´t taken by
surprise at all by the changes. It was basically just waiting to find out
where he was headed and who was coming. Elder Huaman has mixed feelings
about leaving, which is understandable. This is his first area change in
the mission; he´s been here for 4 1/2 months. Things have really improved
in the last few weeks with Elder Huaman and I. Once we really start rolling
the way we should, the Lord sees fit to bounce him. But hey, He knows what
He´s doing, and He´s good at it. Just got to put our faith and trust in
Him, right? Ok, no problem!
 This week was a great week. We had a lesson with Maria Correa, a lady to
whom we had taught 3 lessons, and in those lessons we talked about the Plan
of Salvation. It was something that she needed, so we began with that. So
this week, we taught her the message of the Restoration. As Elder Huaman
was talking about the life of Jesus Christ, the thought came into my head,
"Invite her to get baptized." It kind of took me by surprise. She hasn´t
gone to church yet, and we still hadn´t given her a Book of Mormon. My
companion finishes, and I start talking about Joseph Smith and the Book of
Mormon. After a couple of minutes, the thought comes again, "Invite her to
get baptized, now." So I stopped and said something along the lines of,
"Maria, if this really happened, and I testify to you that it did, it is
the greatest thing that has happened in nearly two thousand years. The
power of God is here on the earth, restored through a prophet, and we can
have the blessings of that power in our lives. Maria, we want you to be a
part of that. We´re planning a baptismal service the 20th of October. Will
you be baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints on that
day?" At first, she was hesitant it seemed. My companion and I both bore
our testimonies of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and of the Church. I then
extended the invitation again, and she accepted! We left that lesson
grinning from ear to ear. It was one of those lessons that you always want
to have! I´m so grateful for the promptings of the Spirit. It is SO
important that we listen and obey when we are blessed with those
promptings.
 Maria did not end up coming to church on Sunday, because her husband had
an operation in Artigas, but we are still confident with this opportunity!
The Lord will provide the way.
 We also extended another baptismal invitation Sunday afternoon to a
16-year-old named Diego Dacol. He is a teenager who has had some really
tough times in his life, and it´s hard for him to open up to people, but
he also accepted the invitation to be baptized. He still hasn´t been to
church, so this week is the key. I know the Lord will help us get him to
church, because He wants Diego to be able to enjoy His blessings as much as
we do! I´m so excited for this week!
 Had a great sacrament meeting on Sunday. The 2nd Counselor spoke about
sacrifice. It was an AWESOME talk. I don´t know why, but it just hit me
right in my soft spot on Sunday. It seemed like Hermano Molina had prepared
that talk for Elder Taylor. One of those little tender mercies of our
Heavenly Father!
 My little sister went to Homecoming?! Wow. I´m getting old. Haha. That
is SO cool! Mel, those pictures better be in my inbox next Monday when I
come to write! I want this kid´s full name, address, and any other
information you can get! Haha. No, I´m just kidding. It sounds like a
really fun date. I hope you had a GREAT time! Thanks for telling me about
it. And congrats on making the ensemble for the musical! That is SO cool!
Make sure somebody records it! I want updates. :o)
 Mary-Anne just couldn´t take it anymore, uh? Haha. I was trying to
figure out how long she was going to last. I knew she wouldn´t make it to
Christmas for sure! No Mary-Anne, I´m not making fun of you in any way.
That´s just the way you´ve always been! And I´m definitely okay with
that, because I got to see you like every week! I know what you mean about
missing the mountains. I´d much rather live by mountains than by the
beach! As for your question about my dates...my release date, as you saw in
the picture, is December 26, 2008. Which means that I´d leave Montevideo
on the morning of the 26th. But who knows?! That´s still PLENTY of time
away-we don´t need to worry about that at all! You just take care of what
you need to do, and I´ll do what I´ve been called to do; the Lord will
take care of the rest! Haha.
 Mom, what kind of souvenirs do you want me to pick up? I have no problem
spending money, if you give me permission. Haha. I´m still looking for
thimbles, by the way. The problem is that I´ve been in two pretty small
cities, and finding a souvenir like that is a little difficult. But don´t
you worry about it, I´ve still got plenty of time! :o)
 Dad, I´m glad to hear that your reviews went well. I knew they would.
What the Captain said about your review being an example does not surprise
me! You have always been an amazing example to everyone who knows you!
Thank you so much for all the love and support you have given me.
 Well, I think that´s about it for this week. I´ve now been out for over
9 months, in case you didn´t look at the calendar this last week. Haha.
That´s so weird. On Thursday it will be a YEAR since I received my call.
Wow. I remember it like it was yesterday. Ok, maybe two days ago. Haha. I
know the Lord has brought me here for a reason, and I will work as hard as
I can to make sure that that reason is fulfilled! I love you all!
¡Cuídense y pórtense bien!
Elder Taylor

Finally...!

Taylor Family and Friends,
 You wouldn´t think that skipping one P-Day would be a big deal, but you
could´ve fooled me. The second we got done planning last night, we were
changed and in bed. Out like a couple of lights. And we have big plans for
this afternoon...3 hour nap, here I come. Haha. It has been a long, good
week. Not to mention, the heat has started to show up again. I can´t
decide which I like more, the heat or the cold. They both have their
advantages and their disadvantages. But hey, we work anyways, to the
surprise of many. Haha.
 So this week was a week full of work, but there´s not a ton to report.
We are teaching a lot, but our investigators are having a rough time
grasping the concept of the importance of going to church. But hey, that´s
why we are here as missionaries, right?! What an opportunity we have to
help them learn. Haha.
 Couple of cool little events...I have now eaten some "weird" stuff in the
´Guay. A recent convert named Jimmy Pio has made us two unusual dishes.
Cow udder and stuffed intestines. Sounds good, uh? Haha. The cow udder was
kinda different, but the intestines were actually REALLY good. I had like 1
1/2 servings of the cow udder stuff, but I had 3 1/2 of the intestines. I
was almost disappointed that that was all I could fit in. It was really
good.
 Mary-Anne, it seems like you change jobs faster than I change ties!
Sheesh kid. So now you´re working at a Day Care. Whatever happened to that
insurance company place or whatever? Did you ever check more in to that?
You could have hooked a brother up if you had taken that job! Haha. And you
found the ghetto Oregon version of Desert Star. That´s awesome. So it´s
like a movie theater place, not a live play? That´s cool. The other day I
was actually thinking back on Desert Star-that was a fun job. Most of the
time. Haha. You said you thought it was weird to go to your stake center
that is half an hour away? Get this: we belong to the Salto stake; Salto is
where we go to plan every week-a two or two and a half hour bus ride to get
to the stake center! I don´t know if I will ever ride to church in a car
again! Yesterday as we were walking to church, I was thinking about how
nice it was outside and how nicely it sets the mood for the Sabbath to walk
to church. Just an interesting little thought.
 Mom and Dad, are you guys still going to the chapel up on 40th? It seems
like there has been so many changes, I can´t keep them straight anymore!
Haha. Speaking of the changes, how is the neighborhood behind the house
looking? Can we still see the mountains? If we can´t, I´m building a room
on top of the house. I miss the mountains. People say mountains here, and I
just laugh when I see the rolling hills. Good times. Ignorance is bliss. Or
so they say...right?
 Robby White got his mission call?! Holy cow! That is SOOO cool! That is
so weird to think that Robby is that old. I can still remember when he ran
straight in to our tramp when we were playing soccer in the backyard! Haha.
He did a lot of crazy things, and always got up laughing. You make sure to
tell him before he leaves that the Lord protects us from danger, but not
from stupidity. Haha. And then give him a huge hug for me!
 So I want to hear all about this Aida thing that Melanie and Megan did.
What theater was it? Was it like one of those community theaters, or what?
All I´ve heard was Aida and lead role. Come on, people, I´m 6,000 miles
away and hanging on one sentence. Haha. Melanie tried out for Bingham´s
musical, right? Isn´t it Oklahoma this year? How did she do? All you´ve
gotta do, Mel, is just put the nerves behind you and bust it out, kid! I
know you´ve got it in you! They all know it, and you know it too. Now just
let them see it!
 Megan, how´s your new school going? Keeping up with all the stuff
you´ve gotta do? Keeping away from all those South Jordan boys? Yeah, I
know how they are. Haha. Oh yeah, that reminds me...how did Melanie´s
first date go?! I didn´t even get an update on that! Sheesh. You think my
cute little sister or my best friend would keep me updated on something
like that...! Keep dreaming, uh? Haha
 Dad, I know how you feel about the whole talk thing. Sometimes we have
something great in mind to say, and then something completely different
comes out. It can be frustrating. But even in times like that, I´ve found
that the Lord´s hand is in it. Sometimes it´s hard to think that He would
want something like that...but why do you think that is? I expect a 500
word response by next Monday. Haha. As long as we have done our part in the
preparation, we can rest easy, no matter what comes out of our mouth; even
if we think that we butchered it. But the key is to make sure that we are
prepared.
 Last week it happened again. I was sitting at the piano playing prelude
for sacrament, and the first counselor comes up and ask me if I can give a
10 minute talk during the meeting. "Absolutely."  Great answer, Elder
Taylor. Haha. I went up to the pulpit with my Book of Mormon and Bible,
praying for the Lord to fulfill His promise of filling His servants´
mouths. He did. He always does. The counselor had said that the topic was
preparation...funny, uh? But it was a testimony to me. The Lord was able to
put into my mouth the scriptures and principles that I have learned
throughout the course of my life. Through personal scripture study, we are
showing the Lord that we want Him to use us in His work. He can´t put into
our mouth something we are not familiar with. He cannot tell us to share a
scripture that we have never read or studied. Kind of an intimidating
thought; but at the same time, what an amazing blessing. The Lord wants to
use us in His work, but He won´t deprive us of the opportunity of learning
and growing according to our desires. It was a nice reminder.
 So anyways, that was a fun experience. I know that the Lord is always
there to lead and guide us, even at times when things seem to go wrong.
Through small and simple means, the Lord will bring great things to pass. I
don´t remember how it goes in English. Alma 37:6-7 if you want the correct
wording! Haha.
 So I think that´s about it for this week. Sorry that it´s kind of a
bland letter, but there´s not a lot that you guys can do about it. Haha.
The work of the Lord is moving forward in this part of the world. And from
what I hear from Elder Homer, in the Philippines as well. I got a letter
from him this last week. I would love to receive updates and notices from
every one of you; even if it´s a wedding announcement. By the way, Mom,
did you send congrats to JoHanna and Brandon for me? Shayla´s wedding is
in just a bit too...make sure that you get a hold of her for me! Well, know
that I love each and every one of you and I can´t wait to hear from you!
¡Chao!
 Elder Taylor

Hey, Hey!

Taylor Fam and all the rest,
 Wow, it´s been a crazy week. I am SO tired; well, physically. We had an
amazing time yesterday in Montevideo!
 Elder Huaman and I left Bella Union on Thursday night at 8:30 and got to
Salto about 10:30 to meet up with the rest of the zone. We then left Salto
at 12:30 (AM) for Montevideo. We got there at about 7 in the morning. From
the bus terminal, we took taxis straight over to the chapel in Flores,
where the conference was going to be. We were probly the second or third
zone there. It was SO fun because the ENTIRE mission was there. It was cool
to see a lot of familiar faces and catch up with everyone. This is probably
the only time in my mission that all of us will be together. So we spent
about an hour to an hour and a half just mingling and chatting and what
not. Then as the word came that Elder Perry had left the hotel, we started
a mission study on Ether 12. It really helped set the mood.
 About fifteen minutes later, Elder Perry along with Elder Robbins (Area
President) showed up, accompanied by their wives. It was a pleasant
surprise to see Elder Robbins-we didn´t know he was coming. I´ll lay out
the scene: if you´re looking at the pulpit, I was sitting on the left side
of the chapel, the second row, on the very end of the bench towards the
center. So I was like 10 feet from Elder Perry for like 4 hours! It was
awesome! He came in, we all stood, and they went and put their stuff on the
stand. Then, before doing anything else, he told us all that he wanted to
greet us individually. "Tell me your name and where your from." We went row
by row until all of us had met the four of them. Elder Perry was very laid
back and comical. Cracking jokes the whole time and commenting on weird
names or cities. It took around 15 or 20 minutes, I would imagine. Then we
began the conference.
 Hermana Peterson bore her testimony as did President Peterson to begin.
We then heard from Hermana Robbins for a few minutes and then heard from
Elder Robbins for about an hour, I think. It was an amazing talk. He talked
about having the faith to expect miracles, how God knows every one of our
individual circumstances, and how He and the Savior know each one of us
personally. He stressed the importance of helping those we teach and meet
develop faith in the Savior Jesus Christ, more than anything else. We will
be successful missionaries and can rest easy if we help others develop
faith in Him. It was a great learning opportunity.
 There was then a special musical number, "I Believe in Christ." There was
7 or 8 Elders that sang. Mostly in Spanish, but with the last verse in
English, with Hermana Peterson at the piano. It was very powerful.
 We then had the opportunity to hear from Hermana Perry and she talked
about 9 things that we must do in order to be successful missionaries. Good
talk.
 And then the moment arrived...dun dun dun...Elder Perry came to the
microphone. He is a lot taller than I remember. But same amazing character.
I don´t know if you remember Elder Arrieta, but he´s the Elder I flew
down here with. (he´s from Miami) Anyways, he was translating for Elder
Perry. He was SO nervous. It was pretty funny. Elder Perry just stood up
and said (basically) "Alright, what are your questions?" And then he spent
the next while just answering questions and telling the Latins to learn
their English. Haha. After a long while, he gave his "talk." It wasn´t
what I was expecting, but it was great. He just talked about the importance
of learning all you can from your companion and growing together. He talked
about some of the companionships he´s been in as well as other
companionships in the Quorum of the Twelve. One thing that I had no idea
about was that the Quorum studies together every week. That´s a part of
their temple meetings on Thursdays. How cool is that?! How amazing would it
be to just sit and listen to that study of the Gospel? Wow.
 I learned a lot from that advice. My companion is really quiet, I don´t
know if I´ve told ya´ll that yet, but when he talks it´s usually because
he has an opinion about something. It has been an adjustment for both of us
because he has only done the work in the way that his trainer did it, and
he´s now realizing that I´m not his trainer; and it´s an adjustment for
me, because I´m learning how to work with someone who knows the language
and knows the responsibilities of a missionary. I was with Diego, who knew
the language great, but his knowledge and desires weren´t all there; and
then I was with Elder Holmes, who has all the desires in the world, but was
still struggling with the language. Now I´m with someone who knows the
language and who knows why he´s here. It is fantastic! We could be such a
powerful companionship if we could just hurry and make the necessary
adjustments. We do well together, but I know our potential is so much more.
We had a good talk on Thursday, so hopefully things will snap into place
now! I´m pretty stoked!
 After the conference, we took a picture with the whole mission (Elder
Perry wasn´t there-they left to eat with Pres. Peterson) and then we just
chatted and caught up some more. GREAT NEWS-I found out yesterday that
Eduardo has recieved the Melquisedec Priesthood! I don´t remember how to
spell it in English, so that´s Spanish! :o) I was SOOOOO excited when I
found that out. I had no idea that he had. I sent a letter with Elder
Holmes yesterday, so hopefully I´ll be hearing from him soon! But yeah,
that was just fantastic news.
 Then we left and ate at a buffet called Coco´s. When I got there, there
was maybe 16 of us there. When I left, there was close to 100 missionaries
in this restaurant. Haha. It was awesome! I felt bad for the workers, but
they did well! The food was amazing. First time in 9 months I´ve had
Chinese food. Wow.
 Anyways, then we went and shopped a bit, just kind of hung out in ´Deo.
We then went to the bus terminal and found out there was a bus strike
yesterday morning (after we had arrived), so everything was backed up.
Wonderful. Haha. We were trying to figure out what we were gonna do, when
we decided to check one more time on our bus. The guy at the counter said,
you´re in luck-that bus is gonna leave like RIGHT now. All 22 of us ran
out to the platform and jumped on the bus. Good timing. So we took the 7-8
hour bus ride back to Salto; but by the time we got there, the last bus for
Bella Union had already left. Elder Huaman and I stayed with the zone
leaders and our district leaders (the 4 live together) last night. Elder
Huerta (ZL) and I slept on the floor, and Elder Huaman took Elder Huerta´s
bed. That´s the second time the two of us have "slept" on their floor. I
actually got a little sleep this time, though. Then we got up and took the
7 AM bus back to Bella Union, which is about a 3 1/2 route. But after all
is said and done, we are back here safe and sound in Beautiful Union!
 Had a once in a lifetime experience on Wednesday. I cut sugar cane! One
of our investigators has a field with some of his co-workers and we offered
our help. He accepted, so we went and helped them cut for a couple of
hours. It is a hard job, but I loved it! Maybe I´ll have the chance again
before I leave, but I doubt it. Bella Union is the only place in the ´Guay
with the climate for sugar cane, and I´m here in season, with an
investigator who has a field-a pretty good string of luck. Haha. Good
times.
 So I got Melanie´s letter yesterday...LEAD ROLE IN AIDA?! Holy cow! I am
SO excited for you! That is SO cool! You´ll have to let me know how it
goes, kid! I wish you all the best! And you tell Skyler to behave himself
on your date...! Haha. Thanks for writing me and letting me know about all
your fun experiences, Mel. It was good to hear from you!
 So a wreck with the newly fixed van, uh? Wow. I´m glad no one was hurt.
How bad is the damage? Does the guy that hit you have to pay for it, or
what is insurance saying? Hmm. Well...it´s going to be interesting to hear
what blessing comes from this experience!
 Mary-Anne, I´m stoked about your new job. Sounds like a great chance to
share the gospel at the same time. :o) Just ask your local missionaries for
a pamphlet or two, and stick them on the desk. Then be ready for questions!
Haha.
 Yeah, Mom, I have been traveling a lot. It seems like it to me, too. The
Elders here in Bella Union used to just plan alone in the house every week,
but for some reason they changed it. I don´t know when, I don´t know why,
but it´s no big deal. "Por sacrifico se dan bendiciones." :o)
 Sorry about my letter from Monday being somewhat confusing. My bad. I´ll
clear things up-I´m writing today, September 1! Monday is not going to be
P-Day. The next time I´ll write is the 10th. We used our P-Day yesterday
to go to ´Deo. Well worth it. So yeah. You all have a whole 9 days to get
your letters written and sent! I´ll be waiting anxiously.
 I love you all! Thanks so much for your support and your prayers. There
are days when you really can feel the prayers from home pushing you along.
Thank you! ¡Cuídense y pórtense bien!
 Love,
Elder Taylor