Well hey there...

Family and Friends,
Maybe I should just say friends since my family is playing in Goblin Valley without me this weekend and won´t be getting home until later today anyway!-but don´t worry, I´m not bitter. Haha. Not gonna lie though, part of me wishes I was there to go with all of you. Especially since I´ve never been there with Nathanael-can you imagine how much fun we would have?! Oh boy. But I really hope that ya´ll enjoyed your time in Goblin Valley this weekend. I´m sure it was a blast. When I get home, that´s where we´re headed. Well, either there or Uruguay-let me know what you think! Haha.
This morning we played soccer (watch out Nathanael) and in about an hour, we´re going to meet up and eat at the buffet place in Quarai, Brazil which is right across the bridge. It´ll be fun. Today I´m writing in a new cyber place with Elder Talbot, because we had to come and tell the other Elders, and our companions wanted to head over to Quarai early with the others. Elder Talbot is a stud. Well duh, look at the last name. (Mom, that was for you!) He´s from Clinton, Utah. Which is right next to Brigham City, for those of you who failed Geography. Haha. He is my new district leader this change and we get along really well. He played basketball for Northridge and we´re almost positive we played against each other before the mission. Cool, uh? His comp´s name is Elder Davies and he´s from just outside Chubbuck, Idaho. I already asked him if he knew the Jones´s or the King´s. but he doesn´t. He´s super funny though. Has a drawl and everything. I´m excited to do divisions with both of them. Elder Talbot was here last change with Elder Villa, but was in the other district, so we never did divisions.
Elder Taylor and Diego and doing better this week. The teaching is still few and far between, but that just means that the only direction we can go is up! Haha. We have really been focusing on finding, and I´ve got a feeling that this next week we will be seeing the fruits of our efforts. So the update on Eduardo and Pablo...Eduardo hasn´t touched a drink in over a week! How cool is that? He didn´t come to church yesterday, because he was working, but he´s doing a lot better with the Word of Wisdom-one step at a time, uh? We have a lesson with him tonight, so we´re going to be reviewing the importance of the Sabbath Day. Haha.
Pablo is doing SO good! It´s a little rough, because we don´t have set lessons with him. He works a ton, and he also teaches a class, so we just have to pass by his house to see if we can catch him at home. Saturday night we had such an opportunity...we passed by the window before knocking on the door and he was reading something...oh don´t worry-IT WAS THE BOOK OF MORMON! What a stud! Haha. He´s in Alma now, by the way. That´s definitely been an example to me. Whenever I think I don´t have time to read the Book of Mormon I´ll remember Pablo Sarasua, the lawyer AND teacher. Wow. Anyways, so we taught him the third lesson, which talks about Faith, Repentance, Baptism, the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. It´s so fun to teach him because he understands EVERYTHING! It´s so cool. Anyways, so we had an awesome lesson with him, even Diego opened up a little bit. At the end of the lesson, I gave him the invitation-"Pablo, when you know that these things are true, that the Book of Mormon is true, will you get baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." "Taylor," he says, "When I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon, I will get baptized." YES!! Wow, those were some of the bests words I´ve ever heard in my life. So then we talked about the crucial role that prayer plays in receiving an answer. I asked him if he had been praying and reading, and he informed me that he had only been reading. Then Diego opened up-he told him about his own conversion. He said a prayer, the first REAL prayer on his own, asking if it was true. Two days later, at like 5 in the morning on his bike to work, he just had this overwhelming peaceful feeling. At that precise moment, he remembered that he had prayed about the Gospel and knew that this was his answer. That´s exactly what Pablo needed at that moment. Then I gave him an invitation-"Tonight, at 10:30, we are going to pray together. You here in your house and us in our house. At 10:30 we will kneel down and ask our Heavenly Father to class you with a testimony of the Book of Mormon." He accepted without even flinching. Then, as we were walking out the door, he says to me, "10:30, Taylor, don´t forget!" Oh don´t worry, Pablo, I won´t forget...haha! And you´ll love this next part....remember the cliff hanger at the end of Lord of the Rings 1? This is even better. You get to wait ´til next week to find out what happened! Sorry. :o)
So that´s the update for right now. The weather here has turned chilly. In the mornings and evenings I need my jacket, but mid-day I can get away with just a long-sleeve shirt. It´s nice. The mornings are a killer.
Oh, family, I got the package this last Thursday-thank you! The ties are sweet. I think you sent a couple that you expect me to trade, but my taste in ties has broadened a bit, so I will be keeping them! Haha. There´s a couple that I will still prolly let go....Haha. Wow, Skyler...I don´t even know what to say...that tie is...beautiful. Haha. To tell you the truth, I received it on Thursday morning and wore it the rest of the day. I don´t know if I´ll ever wear it again, but we´ll see. Haha. No, it´s pretty sweet, actually. Huge, and ugly-perfect! I loved the tape-I felt like I was back at home-Skyler talking and talking and the rest of the family listening! Haha. It was so nice to hear him just go off again. I haven´t heard that in way too long! Mom, thanks for singing my song to me! I was trying to remember it a couple of weeks ago, and I couldn´t. Elder Stoddard and I would sing the part of it I could remember. Haha. And Mary-Anne-your song was awesome! I wish I could just sit down and play like you. Maybe some day...! Oh, and here´s my next big announcement-I think I finished my next song. I still don´t know if I´m satisfied with the words, but if not, it´s close. Wait anxiously...! Haha.
Well, everyone, know that I love you and think of you often. The Lord is behind this work, and I wouldn´t trade this opportunity of learning and growing for anything. We really are so blessed to have the comfort of the Gospel in our lives. There are a lot of people in this world who feel like they are missing something, and don´t know where to find it. And then there are others who don´t even think they are missing something, until they find the Gospel. What an awesome privilege and responsibility that we have to share these blessings with everyone. I love you and may the Lord continue to bless you! Take care!
Elder Taylor

Yet another rainy p-day in Artigas!

Fam and Friends,
What´s up? Not a lot goin´ on down here, just chillin´with my new comp from Uruguay who doesn´t speak or understand A WORD of English! Pretty sweet, uh? My comp´s name is Diego Rodriguez and he is from Colonia, Uruguay. Well, actually, he´s from a little town outside of Colonia, but that gives you an idea. It´s amazing how much the mission life can change in like 2 days. This change is going to be COMPLETELY different than the previous 2. But, the change is always good.
Diego is 22 years old. He´s been a member of the Church for a little over 1 year. (he was baptized in April of last year) He has been a Corto Plazo 3 times before, but only for a couple of weeks when an Elder got sick or something. So, in total, we have about 4 months of mission experience between us. He and his mom are the only members in their family. He baptized in mom August of last year, so that´s cool. But, the rest of the family still doesn´t want anything to do with the Church. They support him and everything, they just don´t want to follow him....yet! He still doesn´t understand everything that a missionary is supposed to do, but I guess that´s a given, right? It´s interesting because as we teach some of our lessons, he is learning right along with the people. I´m having a hard time trying to get him excited to have our studies, but with time, it will come. It´s kind of funny, because when we are in the streets, he is excited to talk to people until the time comes to actually open his mouth. Sometimes he´ll stop the people and shake their hands, but he won´t say anything-so then I introduce who we are and then just turn and look at him until he feels awkward enough to start talking! It works like a charm every time. Haha.
This last weekend was interesting. At the end of last change, the work started to head in to a slump, and then it hit this weeked. We didn´t have many lessons, and the ones we had set up fell through. Yesi (pronounced Shessi) found work in Montevideo, so she´s going to be moving this week. Which means that Richard wants to wait until she gets back to keep receiving the lessons. That was a rough bit of news.
Friday we had a great lesson with Eduardo. He hadn´t drank since our Word of Wisdom last weekend, and was feeling really good. When we left, he was stoked to head to the church on Sunday. Saturday we passed by just to give him some encouragement and make sure all was well, and it was. Then Sunday morning comes around, and Eduardo didn´t show up to church. We went over there first thing in the afternoon, and his mom told us that he left Saturday night and came back drunk. Then he left with some of his buddies Sunday morning and hadn´t been back since. That was a blow. His mom doesn´t want to receive the lessons right now, but she is excited for the change in her son, so she encouraged us to keep trying. We are going to pass by today to see if we can talk to him. Pablo (the lawyer) was really busy with work and a birthday last weekend, so we haven´t been able to have a lesson since...wait anxiously with us. Haha.
I´ve heard from Uncle Mike, Grandma J, and Bishop Christiansen recently, but other than that, everything´s been really quiet from the States. Is there some really long post office holiday that I don´t remember? Mom, your questions, no I haven´t gotten the package yet. I thought it would come this last Thursday, but I´m betting that with changes they decided to wait a week until everything settled down in the offices. That jacket/coat that you talked about last week in your letter is the one I was talking about. It goes down a little more than my hands hang, right? From the description you sent, that´s the one I was talking about. It´s perfect because it´s not too heavy, and not too light. I´ve had to wear my trench the last couple of days because it´s been cold enough to need a jacket, but it´s still not cold enough to wear the trench; so I´ve been doing a lot of holding of the trench during the afternoons. The last two changes, I just used the outer part of Elder Stoddard´s jacket it when it got a little cold. Haha.
Sounds like the family had a nice little reunion last weekend. I hope all is well with everyone. I´m pretty excited for Steve and Julie, that´ll be cool to head back up to Washington. And mom, I´m not sure how much rain Artigas gets a year. If it ever comes up in a contact, I´ll let you know! Haha. When does Kyna get home? It sounds like it´s close, from all that you were saying, and from the letters I´ve gotten forwarded. I can´t believe she´s almost done. That´s crazy cool. How much time does Ty have left? He´s still got a while, right?
Well, that´s the news from down in on this end of the world. I would LOVE to hear what´s going on up there with all of you! You can send emails to the mission email address with "Elder Aaron Taylor" in the subject line, and it will get to me. It´s a quick way to let me know that you´re all still alive and kickin. I love you all, and I hope you know that you are in my prayers constantly. The work is moving forward-the only way to go is up! ¡Vamos Arriba!
Elder Taylor

Hope you're sitting down...!

Friends and Family,
 I can´t believe it. Another change already come and gone. It´s so crazy
to think I´ve been here for 3 months already. The time really does go by
faster in the field-thank heavens! Haha. So talking to the family on Sunday
was really cool. Talking to Skyler was probably the most awkrard, as
retarded as that sounds. But then again, it had been a year since we had
talked! That´s a long time to not talk to your best friend. But yeah, then
it was back to work again on Monday. They sure don´t give you time to
ponder over all that-which is probly a good thing! Haha.
 Alright, so about the subject line...I won´t keep you waiting in
suspense any longer. We found out the changes. We had already found out on
Sunday that Elder Stoddard was being called as a zone leader for his last
two changes, we just didn´t know where. He´s headed to Fray Bentos, which
is way down south, on the west border of Uruguay. So that´ll be cool;
he´s pretty excited to head down there-he´s been in our area for 6 months
straight and in Artigas for a total of 9 months of his mission. Alright,
now for my change....Elder Taylor is staying in Artigas, Branch 5. BUT...he
is receiving for his companion a Corto Plazo. Which means that it´s a
member from Uruguay who is "acting" as a missionary for a change. So I was
right when I said I had a feeling I was going to get a Latin, but I did NOT
think that I was going to be made senior companion. Elder Stoddard and I
couldn´t believe it. As a matter of fact, neither could the zone leaders.
My third change, second companion and I´m senior companion with a Latino.
 Wow. Needless to say, I was a bit overwhelmed last night. Still am, sort
of. But I take comfort in the fact that this is the Lord´s work and He is
at it´s head. The week previous, for some reason, in my prayers I had been
praying that the leaders of the church here in the mission and the local
leaders receive and be receptive to the inspiration needed in order to
guide this work. Kind of like Joseph Smith and the First Vision, the answer
I received was NOT one I expected, but it is one that I am willing to run
and work with. For some reason the Lord has seen fit to place His
confidence in me to help advance the missionary work here in this area, and
I will do all that I can to fulfill that role adequately. Appropriately,
right before we found out the changes last night, I read a quote that said
something like-I´m paraphrasing- This is the Lord´s work and, as such,
you are entitled to His help. Hopefully the Lord has plenty of time set
aside in the next 6 weeks to help Elder Taylor in this end of the world,
because he will be searching for it! But as overwhelmed as I may feel, I
would be straight up lying if I said I was SO excited for this new
opportunity. It will definitely be a different experience than being with a
gringo from the Mormon capitol, but I couldn´t be more anxious to embark
on this new adventure. I don´t know my companion´s name, or even where
he´s from: all I know is that he arrives at 7:40 tomorrow morning, and
from that moment on, we are going to work this area to death! ¡Vamos
arriba!
 I don´t know if I have said anything or not, but Elder Stoddard and I
have been teaching a man named Pablo Sarasua. He is a lawyer, and he is
awesome. He was very willing to talk with us and share his ideas, but he is
being very cautious about his investigation into the church. We have only
had 2 legit lessons with him, but they have been awesome! We gave him the
article Profile of a Prophet, out of one of the Ensigns, and he LOVED it.
It presents the facts of why we believe Joseph Smith is a prophet as case
of law. It´s really cool, and it really interested him. We invited him to
church last week, but he said, "For know, let´s just keep going like
this-nice and slow. I like to really know what I´m getting into before I
make a decision." And that is just fine with us. He is reading in the Book
of Mormon like a crazy man. He started like 3 weeks ago, and he´s already
in Mosiah-and he´s a lawyer who works all day, everyday. What an awesome
example, uh? He´s a good friend of one of the counselors of the stake
presidency, who lives in our ward, so that will be a big help. We know that
his dad was a Mason, because he told us, but he never said anything about
himself being one, and we couldn´t decide for sure. Last night, he
basically confirmed it himself. He said some things, that he didn´t
expound on, that strongly hint of the Masonery. "The light comes from
Egypt" (while we explained where the Book of Abraham come from) and that
Joseph Smith knew that very well (Joseph Smith was a Mason, as well). So
that was really cool. We have high hopes for him and his progression.
 Eduardo is still doing well. We had a scare last week. He took a step for
the worse as a result of what had happened with the mother of his daughters
and everything, but we talked about it afterwards, and he seems to be doing
really well. It can be seen that he has a lot of desires to change and
learn more about the gospel. He is a really good guy, he just doesn´t know
ANYTHING about the gospel. Before we came along, he had never stepped foot
in any church, so it´s been cool to see the change that´s taking place.
 Well, it´s about that time. I want all of you to know that I love you
and pray for your well-being everyday! The family has informed me that
stamps are well on their way, so letters will be coming soon! Don´t let
the fact that you haven´t heard keep you from dropping a line-I´ll step
it up. Haha. The work of the Lord is moving forward on this side of the
world, and I am so grateful to be a part of it! I love you!
  Elder Taylor

¡Montevideo...!

Family and Friends,
I´ll go ahead and apologize now for the short letter...but I´ve got a good excuse this week-we´re leaving for the temple in like 1/2 an hour! How cool is that?! Yep, that´s right. Artigas has invaded Montevideo. But just for today. Our zone met our baptismal goal last month, and so are "reward" is that we get to go to the temple! Which also includes getting to like hang out in ´Deo for a day!
We left last night at about 9:30, and drove on like a 16-seat bus all night. Got here at about 5:30 this morning. It wasn´t too bad of a ride. Granted, a bed is always better to sleep on (or in my case, a couch) but it was good. This morning, Elder Stoddard, Elder Talbot, Elder Villa, Elder Damairu, Elder Klingler, Hermana Aranda, Hermana Mamani, and I went and cruised around ´Deo. We went over to the ocean and took some sweet pictures. Went and visited some members that who were in Elder Stoddard´s area here-who live in a HUGE, OLD house. It was cool. We went and saw the ashes of Jose Artigas, who is basically like the George Washington of South America, but especially Uruguay. It was way cool-you´ll love the pictures. And then we ate-amazing buffet. And then we went bowling! It was so fun. Especially with the latinos who´ve never bowled in their lives. Haha. Good times.
So there ya go, Dad-that´s why last night we didn´t answer the phone with that new number you found-we weren´t there. So use that new one you found and either call tomorrow (Wed.) or Thursday. Between 9:45 and 10:30 our time. It should work. If not, I´ll just call you on Sunday around 3ish your time.
Mary-Anne said I sounded weird on the phone-why?! I admit, I was trying to keep it kind of quick, because we were just supposed to be setting up with our fam´s, and I don´t want to break any rules. If I want the help of the Lord with the language and all, there´s no breaking rules for me! So I´ll try not to be so WEIRD this Sunday, Mary-Anne. My bad.
MELANIE MADE JAZZ CHOIR!!! Elder Stoddard and I celebrated on Sunday-he made ARROZ CON LECHE. I leave the translating to you, because it sounds way better in Spanish. CONGRATS MELANIE! I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU! You´re going to be awesome! We´ll chat more on Sunday.
NEIL GOT HIS CALL AND HE´S SPEAKING SPANISH?! YES! Wow, I love this week. Haha. That´s way exciting. Try to find out what´s going on with Jer before Sunday, if you can. How´s Elder McCarty doing?
MARY-ANNE´S DONE WITH COLLEGE! YAY! Your pictures were so cool! I might print some of them out when I get back to Artigas. Ah, my cute sister!
I´m still waiting for stamps, so those of you who are waiting for letters, please don´t hate me. You´re in my thoughts, at least! Haha. The intention´s gotta count for something!
Mom, did ya´ll get my package yet? I guess it´s kind of pointless asking, since I´ll talk to you on Sunday, but what the heck. It´s weird to think I´m calling again already. The mission is going so fast. The days go by like weeks and the weeks go by like days. It´s weird, but it´s SO true. On Sunday when I call, it will be my 5-month mark. That´s crazy. The Spanish is really coming along. I can understand just about everything, and I´m doing alright with speaking. We´ll see what Elder Stoddard tells you. Haha.
Changes are a week from Thursday. Already?! Crazy. We´re about 99% sure that Elder Stoddard is leaving and I´m staying. He´s been here in the same area for four changes now. If he stays it would be ridiculously rare. So I might be getting a new companion...any bets? Do I get a Latin, or a Gringo? One of the Assistants told me this morning this morning I´m zone leader next change-haha. That would not be cool. Just heard that the President and Assistants are doing the changes right now as I write. That´s cool. So be waiting anxiously, as all of us will be.
Once again, I apologize for the short letter-I know I´m going to get an ear full, but I wanted to see all of M-A´s pics before I wrote back. Can you blame me?! I promise details on Sunday and a juicy letter on Monday when things settle down!
I love you all. Know that you are in my prayers and that I think about you often.(but not too often!) The Lord lives and loves us. Ya´ll don´t know how lucky you are to get to go to the temple as often as you want-GO AND DO THE WORK! I am so excited for the chance I have to go. The Lord has invited us to help Him in this wonderful work-now let´s do it. I love you and I love this opportunity! ¡VAMOS ARRIBA!
Con Todo De Mi Amor,
Elder Taylor