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
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