Elder Huber...!

Taylor Family and Friends,
This morning the zone got together to play soccer and basketball at the chapel in front of my house. Elder Centurión took me off to the side before we started and told me the news of Pres. Hinckley´s passing. President Peterson had called the Assistants at 3 AM and let them know. The Assistants called the Zone Leader´s this morning. We started our P-Day by singing "Praise to the Man" and a prayer often by Elder Acuña. It is a sad time, but what a blessing it is to know that this is the Lord´s work. What a blessing we have had to receive the counsel from this servant of the Lord. The best way to honor his memory is to live according to what he taught us.
I don´t know if I ever told you while I was in the MTC, but Elder Richard G. Hinckley came and spoke to us. One thing that has always stuck with me is something he mentioned in his talk. He told us that his father was doing very well with his health, but he told us to keep in mind that he was almost 97 years old (at that time). He said, "I´m not making a prophecy, but I believe that you will all see a change of prophets while in the mission field." I have never forgotten that, and now I know I never will. May we all move forward and work in the way that he always encouraged us to do. What a blessing it has been to serve under his direction and counsel.
While speaking of changes, I had a big one this last week. My new companion is Elder Daniel Lee Huber, from Bainbridge, Indiana. Just to give you an idea, he is 6´5", 230 lbs. No one will touch me in the streets. Haha. He is SUCH a stud! We get along really well. He has just hit the ground running this last week and seems to be loving it. His vocabulary is limited, obviously, but his accent is super good and he is doing very well with grammar. More important than that, he just has the desires to be a great missionary and he´s anxious to work. He´s the oldest of 3 kids; has a brother who´s 13, and a little sister who´s 4. His mother has been a member her whole life, but his dad was baptized a little over 2 years...by Elder Huber. What a stud. We´ve had a great time getting to know each other and trying to start this change off the way the Lord wants us to.
I am officially the smallest Elder in our house. Haha. Elder Johanson is 6´7", Elder Huber is 6´5", and Elder Roper is like 6´2". Ridiculous. I´m the youngest, as well, but I´m the oldest on the mission. "The first shall be the last, and the last shall be the first....!" :o)
Mom, you said that Pete Lundberg is in the bishopric?! That´s SO cool! I love that man! Who else is in the bishopric? I don´t even know. Crazy. How´s the ward doing, anyways. I heard from Sister Mangum a little while ago, but that´s about it. Besides from the Mays, obviously. And when I say the Mays, I mean Jewels. I believe Skyler has still not written me a letter....! How are the other missionaries from our ward/stake doing? My Zone Leader here in Cerro is Elder Ludlow, who I graduated with from Bingham. This morning we were talking about people we know and where they are at. He said his stake sends them all like a newsletter every 3 months letting them know where everyone is at....Dad, you should bring that up in High Council. :o)
The attendance in our ward here is probably about 60 or 70. I´ve never really asked, but I imagine it´s about there. By far the hardest-working and best-organized ward I have been in here in Uruguay. The Bishopric is awesome and the members are super cool. They don´t feed us a lot, but that´s the downfall to being in a ward in ´Deo. Oh well. I still love them. Nope, no new Uruguayan (how do you say that in English?) mother. She´s still kickin´ up in Artigas: it´ll be difficult for anyone to replace the Hma. Martinez. You should send them a hello for me. Tell them I´m in Susana Mendez´s ward down here in ´Deo. They´ll probly go crazy.
Dad, thanks for sending me that thing about that book in Bulgaria...that´s pretty sweet.
The work´s going well. We had our first real lesson with Liber on Saturday night. The employment office had given him the pamphlet that talks about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He read it, and when I asked him if he had a question or a doubt, he told us he didn´t really understand repentance. So, in order to give him a base, we talked about faith and then went on to repentance. Super good lesson. He was so focused and was just anxious to learn. At the end of the lesson, asked him how his plans were for going to church on Sunday. He said, "At 9:00, I´m there!" So I told him, "Well, we probly won´t be there til about 9:15, but if you want to go early, that´s fine. Haha. He showed up about 9:20. But after I asked him about his plans, he said, "I would also like to talk to you guys about baptism...I would like to get baptized." No problem, Liber; no problem at all. He has a long ways to go before his baptism, but he has the desires, and that is where it must start. We left him with 2 Nephi chapter 31, which we will go over with him tomorrow night in our lesson!
Do you remember me telling you about Juan and Patricia-the family that went to church my first Sunday here? They moved to Salto last week. I got their new direction and called the Elders in that area...we´re anxious to see what happens.
Anyways, that´s about it for this week. I am just loving the opportunity I have to be here and serve others. It really is such a blessing. Know that I love you all, and I can´t wait to hear from you all!
Elder Taylor

P.S. Your package is being put in the mail tomorrow...which means I will probly be pulling out some money today...Love you!