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