Taylor Family and Friends,
So the weather has been pretty crazy here in the last week. There were days when the thoughts of shorts and a t-shirt seemed to taunt us, and the last few days when we´ve been bundled up drying to stay warm and dry with all the rain, wind, and hail. Sweet. Today has turned out to be a very nice day. Nice jacket weather. I love it.
Last week we had a great week here in P-dú. A few challenges along the way, but what´s a mission without challenges, right? Haha. Saturday morning I woke up with a fever and stomach pains. I decided to not do my exercises, but just watch the other three instead. :o) We all studied and got ready for the day. Before we left for our morning appointments, I asked the three Elders to give me a blessing: give him the health and strength he needs in order to help thee bring to pass thy work, and in a way pleasing unto thee. We left that morning and had a very successful day, even with the wind and rain. And the best of all was the look on Dennis´ face when she came up out of the waters of baptism! I definitely felt better at that point.
This week will be another busy week with the Sector Conference being held here in P-dú for the zones of Salto, Mercedes, and Paysandú. That will make it so this week goes by like a blur. This afternoon Elder Maughan and I have to finish making the arrangements and organize everything. As of right now, everything will return to "normal" next week. But it´s all good, we got a nice little nap in this morning to prepare us for this week. :o)
Elder Maughan and I will be focusing a little more this week on finding new investigators to teach. We have some really neat families that we are working with, and that are looking forward to their baptism in May, but we are anxious for some new opportunities. We found one of them last night. After only one lesson, Elizabeth and her two sons, Francisco and Angel, now have a baptismal date for the 24th of May....! The Lord is anxious to further His work here in Paysandú!
So Mom´s graduation ceremony is this week...are you excited?! Don´t trip over that long robe. :o) Make sure you take pictures and send them to me. (I´m more worried about the sending of them, I have complete confidence that Pops will be taking about 200 pictures!) You also have the choir concert tomorrow night, right? How´s that looking?
Melanie, how did your Jazz Dinner Dance go? I miss that SO much. It seems like so long ago! Have they announced who the new choir teacher is going to be, yet?
Goose, what´s up, kid? I´ve missed your letters the last couple of weeks...! How´s school going? Keeping all of those cute boys away? :o)
So Dad test drove my Tacoma last week...said it was too small for him...good thing it´s for me, huh? :o)
Well, that´s gonna be about it for me! Sorry about the short letter this week. I´ll make up for it next week...maybe. Haha. I love you all! Take care of yourselves!
Elder Taylor
Monday, April 28, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
P-dú...
Taylor Family and Friends,
How are you all doing? Things are going really well here in beautiful Paysandú. It´s really nice to be back to a "normal" city. I really enjoyed my time in Montevideo, but I´d almost forgotten how different it is to be in a laid-back city. Don´t get me wrong, Paysandú is a good-sized city, about 80, 000, but it´s definitely no Cerro, Montevideo.
I arrived here about 5 AM on Wednesday morning on a bus with Elder Stobbe, who was coming in from Colonia. We talked for a little starting the bus ride at 12:30, but then decided we should sleep. Not the best night´s sleep, but that´s ok. About 5 minutes after we pulled into the terminal here, Elder Maughan and Elder Ballard walked up and we headed our separate ways. Elder Maughan and I live with two other Elders, Elder Villa and Elder Arrieta. They are both from Peru. Elder Villa is one of the two Elders that I arrived to the mission with, so it´s fun to be on this close-term basis. We live in an apartment building called PayTorre, on the 11th floor. Needless to say, the view is something to see; no, I haven´t taken pictures yet, because my batteries ran out, but I´ll send some next week. The house is pretty spacious. Two bathrooms, which is VERY nice in a 4-Elder house. We live in the middle of town, so that´s fun. Elder Maughan and I have to walk about 10 blocks everyday to get into our area, but that´s no big deal.
Our area is actually not too big, geographically-speaking, but we´ll have plenty to keep us busy. We have a little part of the city and along the river bank, which tend to be poorer neighborhoods. The ward is decent-sized; about 50 people in church yesterday, with some of the "regulars" being absent. Right before church started yesterday, I said hello to the bishop (not for the first time) and he asked me if I could give a short little talk in Sacrament Meeting while "introducing" myself. Sure Bishop, no problem. Don´t you just love surprise talks? I´ll never complain about talking again with a week´s notice. :o) Not to give you any ideas, Bishop Mangum...!
We had our first District Mtg. on Thursday; it went well. There are 12 Elders in our zone and 2 Hermanas. The Hermanas are actually in a little city called Young about an hour outside of P-dú. We have a good zone, with a lot of potential...now just time to develop it. We had the highest amount of people in church yesterday than this zone has seen in over a year...that´s a good start!
Elder Maughan and his previous companion, Elder Gray (from Riverton, UT) had been working really well, so the teaching pool is looking good. We definitely have to go out and find some people to teach, but we have a couple good ones. We went to teach a recent convert, Silvia, on Saturday afternoon, whose friend, Denise, has also been listening to the charlas. Denise has denied an invitation to be baptized a couple of times, though, on the pretense that she wasn´t prepared. Anyways, we taught the two of them on Saturday afternoon, and it was an EXCELLENT lesson; after we finished and asked if they had any questions, Denise said, "Yeah, I have a question: when is my baptismal date?" That took Elder Maughan and I by surprise, but we were both grinning like a little kid on Christmas morning. So Denise Ayala is getting baptized this Saturday! A good start to my stay in Paysandú.
As for my Mother´s Day call, Mom, I´m not sure at what time we´re going to be doing it yet. I´ll talk to my comp and the other Elders in our apartment this week and see what they think. An interesting side-note: last time I talked to you guys (Christmas) Elder Maughan was living in my house and now, 6 months later and in a completely different city, he´ll be there again. Sweet...
Melanie, I heard that you did awesome in your Musical Theater audition! Congratulations, kid! And you know what? By the time you guys do your review next year...I´ll be home. That´s crazy. But don´t worry, I´m not trunky! I´ve got too much work to do. It´s just a cool thought! :o) You´ll have to let me know when you find out about Mads. But hey, you made A´Cappella, too?! Good job! What is this about Ms. Hatch leaving? That´s not cool. Is she gonna teach somewhere else, or is she just going to focus on studying? Crazy. Tell her I say hello!
Megan-you got your wisdom teeth out! How do you feel? I can still remember getting my teeth out...neato. Two days before Christmas...whose crazy idea was that?! How is school going, Goose? Keeping up on those grades of yours? Hey, you better watch out, the zone got together and played basketball this morning...your big brother´s still got his game...I hope you´re practicing! :o)
Dad, I have an assignment for you...are you ready? I want you to start practicing your homemade cinnamon rolls again! I can´t remember the last time I ate Pop´s cinnamon rolls. I sure hope you´re back up to your old level by the time I get home...! Just thought I´d give you a little advanced warning. Haha.
Mom, how are the choirs coming together? Has Elk Meadows already been open 10 years? Wow, I am getting old. And your arrangement for the ward choir...how is/did that go? I can´t remember if you already performed that one or not; something tells me that you did...? Anyways, good luck witht the upcoming events!
Well, that´s gonna about do it for me this week! Elder Maughan and I are headed to Montevideo tomorrow morning at 2 AM for Zone Leader Conference, so we´re gonna go get some beauty rest right now to make up for that. :o) Have a great week! Looking forward to hearing from all of you!
Elder Taylor
How are you all doing? Things are going really well here in beautiful Paysandú. It´s really nice to be back to a "normal" city. I really enjoyed my time in Montevideo, but I´d almost forgotten how different it is to be in a laid-back city. Don´t get me wrong, Paysandú is a good-sized city, about 80, 000, but it´s definitely no Cerro, Montevideo.
I arrived here about 5 AM on Wednesday morning on a bus with Elder Stobbe, who was coming in from Colonia. We talked for a little starting the bus ride at 12:30, but then decided we should sleep. Not the best night´s sleep, but that´s ok. About 5 minutes after we pulled into the terminal here, Elder Maughan and Elder Ballard walked up and we headed our separate ways. Elder Maughan and I live with two other Elders, Elder Villa and Elder Arrieta. They are both from Peru. Elder Villa is one of the two Elders that I arrived to the mission with, so it´s fun to be on this close-term basis. We live in an apartment building called PayTorre, on the 11th floor. Needless to say, the view is something to see; no, I haven´t taken pictures yet, because my batteries ran out, but I´ll send some next week. The house is pretty spacious. Two bathrooms, which is VERY nice in a 4-Elder house. We live in the middle of town, so that´s fun. Elder Maughan and I have to walk about 10 blocks everyday to get into our area, but that´s no big deal.
Our area is actually not too big, geographically-speaking, but we´ll have plenty to keep us busy. We have a little part of the city and along the river bank, which tend to be poorer neighborhoods. The ward is decent-sized; about 50 people in church yesterday, with some of the "regulars" being absent. Right before church started yesterday, I said hello to the bishop (not for the first time) and he asked me if I could give a short little talk in Sacrament Meeting while "introducing" myself. Sure Bishop, no problem. Don´t you just love surprise talks? I´ll never complain about talking again with a week´s notice. :o) Not to give you any ideas, Bishop Mangum...!
We had our first District Mtg. on Thursday; it went well. There are 12 Elders in our zone and 2 Hermanas. The Hermanas are actually in a little city called Young about an hour outside of P-dú. We have a good zone, with a lot of potential...now just time to develop it. We had the highest amount of people in church yesterday than this zone has seen in over a year...that´s a good start!
Elder Maughan and his previous companion, Elder Gray (from Riverton, UT) had been working really well, so the teaching pool is looking good. We definitely have to go out and find some people to teach, but we have a couple good ones. We went to teach a recent convert, Silvia, on Saturday afternoon, whose friend, Denise, has also been listening to the charlas. Denise has denied an invitation to be baptized a couple of times, though, on the pretense that she wasn´t prepared. Anyways, we taught the two of them on Saturday afternoon, and it was an EXCELLENT lesson; after we finished and asked if they had any questions, Denise said, "Yeah, I have a question: when is my baptismal date?" That took Elder Maughan and I by surprise, but we were both grinning like a little kid on Christmas morning. So Denise Ayala is getting baptized this Saturday! A good start to my stay in Paysandú.
As for my Mother´s Day call, Mom, I´m not sure at what time we´re going to be doing it yet. I´ll talk to my comp and the other Elders in our apartment this week and see what they think. An interesting side-note: last time I talked to you guys (Christmas) Elder Maughan was living in my house and now, 6 months later and in a completely different city, he´ll be there again. Sweet...
Melanie, I heard that you did awesome in your Musical Theater audition! Congratulations, kid! And you know what? By the time you guys do your review next year...I´ll be home. That´s crazy. But don´t worry, I´m not trunky! I´ve got too much work to do. It´s just a cool thought! :o) You´ll have to let me know when you find out about Mads. But hey, you made A´Cappella, too?! Good job! What is this about Ms. Hatch leaving? That´s not cool. Is she gonna teach somewhere else, or is she just going to focus on studying? Crazy. Tell her I say hello!
Megan-you got your wisdom teeth out! How do you feel? I can still remember getting my teeth out...neato. Two days before Christmas...whose crazy idea was that?! How is school going, Goose? Keeping up on those grades of yours? Hey, you better watch out, the zone got together and played basketball this morning...your big brother´s still got his game...I hope you´re practicing! :o)
Dad, I have an assignment for you...are you ready? I want you to start practicing your homemade cinnamon rolls again! I can´t remember the last time I ate Pop´s cinnamon rolls. I sure hope you´re back up to your old level by the time I get home...! Just thought I´d give you a little advanced warning. Haha.
Mom, how are the choirs coming together? Has Elk Meadows already been open 10 years? Wow, I am getting old. And your arrangement for the ward choir...how is/did that go? I can´t remember if you already performed that one or not; something tells me that you did...? Anyways, good luck witht the upcoming events!
Well, that´s gonna about do it for me this week! Elder Maughan and I are headed to Montevideo tomorrow morning at 2 AM for Zone Leader Conference, so we´re gonna go get some beauty rest right now to make up for that. :o) Have a great week! Looking forward to hearing from all of you!
Elder Taylor
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Changes...
Taylor Family and Friends,
So here I am, sitting in the cyber in my coat. Íve been in my coat for the last couple of days. Friday it cooled down a bit and it́s stayed cool since then. Today is actually pretty nice, but the coat is good for the shade and the wind. But hey, I wońt be in Montevideo for the winter...
Yup, that́s right, Elder Taylor is heading out of the Cerro! Do you remember a couple of changes ago when I was with Elder Larsen that I mentioned Elder Maughan and Elder Roxas, the other companionship that lived with us? Well, I have a feeling I will be mentioning Elder Maughańs name a little more often this change-hés my new comp! Ím SO excited! He was my District Leader while I was in Bella Union, we lived here in Cerro together, and now we are Zone Leaders together in Paysandú! How cool is that?! Elder Maughan finishes this next change, so that will be weird. Hés only my second senior companion on my mission-my trainer, and now my ZL trainer! Sweet. I head out for Paysandú tonight at 12:30 and I get there tomorrow around 5 in the morning.
Elder Huber is staying here in our ward, along with the other two Elders with whom we share the ward. Elder Hubeŕs new companion is Elder Gee, who was also one of my DĹs in Bella Unión. Elder Huber was a little nervous about the upcoming changes, but hés doing just fine.
We had an awesome week last week. Ivan, the Muslim we have been working with, went to Church, along with the Silva family, who we found last week. They are all progressing VERY well. Fabian and Mariana (the brother of Nahuel and his gf) told us this week that they are working towards the goal of marriage so that they can be baptized! Angela, a lady we have been working with for a week and a half, accepted an invitation to be baptized, and we (Elder Huber and Elder Gee) will be giving her a date this week. The Lord has really been mindful of Nuevo París here in Cerro. I will be waiting anxiously with all the rest of you for good news in the coming weeks...!
So, anyways, that́s the scoop from Cerro! Hey, Bro. Mo, thanks for the letter; send me your snail mail address so I can write you back legitimately! Me encantó leer la parte de su email en español; ¡menos mal que no te hayas olivdado! ¡Ahora yo sé dónde encontrar alguién con quién hablar después de la misión! ¿Qué te parece? :o) Well, I think that́s gonna be about it for me this week. I hope everything is going well up there in the good oĺ US of A. Dońt forget to write me and let me know what́s going on in the life of YOU! Have a good one!
Elder Taylor
So here I am, sitting in the cyber in my coat. Íve been in my coat for the last couple of days. Friday it cooled down a bit and it́s stayed cool since then. Today is actually pretty nice, but the coat is good for the shade and the wind. But hey, I wońt be in Montevideo for the winter...
Yup, that́s right, Elder Taylor is heading out of the Cerro! Do you remember a couple of changes ago when I was with Elder Larsen that I mentioned Elder Maughan and Elder Roxas, the other companionship that lived with us? Well, I have a feeling I will be mentioning Elder Maughańs name a little more often this change-hés my new comp! Ím SO excited! He was my District Leader while I was in Bella Union, we lived here in Cerro together, and now we are Zone Leaders together in Paysandú! How cool is that?! Elder Maughan finishes this next change, so that will be weird. Hés only my second senior companion on my mission-my trainer, and now my ZL trainer! Sweet. I head out for Paysandú tonight at 12:30 and I get there tomorrow around 5 in the morning.
Elder Huber is staying here in our ward, along with the other two Elders with whom we share the ward. Elder Hubeŕs new companion is Elder Gee, who was also one of my DĹs in Bella Unión. Elder Huber was a little nervous about the upcoming changes, but hés doing just fine.
We had an awesome week last week. Ivan, the Muslim we have been working with, went to Church, along with the Silva family, who we found last week. They are all progressing VERY well. Fabian and Mariana (the brother of Nahuel and his gf) told us this week that they are working towards the goal of marriage so that they can be baptized! Angela, a lady we have been working with for a week and a half, accepted an invitation to be baptized, and we (Elder Huber and Elder Gee) will be giving her a date this week. The Lord has really been mindful of Nuevo París here in Cerro. I will be waiting anxiously with all the rest of you for good news in the coming weeks...!
So, anyways, that́s the scoop from Cerro! Hey, Bro. Mo, thanks for the letter; send me your snail mail address so I can write you back legitimately! Me encantó leer la parte de su email en español; ¡menos mal que no te hayas olivdado! ¡Ahora yo sé dónde encontrar alguién con quién hablar después de la misión! ¿Qué te parece? :o) Well, I think that́s gonna be about it for me this week. I hope everything is going well up there in the good oĺ US of A. Dońt forget to write me and let me know what́s going on in the life of YOU! Have a good one!
Elder Taylor
Monday, April 7, 2008
April...!
Taylor Family and Friends,
Well another General Conference has come and gone-how crazy is that?! We had an awesome opportunity this last weekend to listen to the Lord́s chosen servants; I hope we all took advantage of that privilege and blessing! Oh, before I forget, we have changes next week, so my P-Day will most likely be Tuesday; just so yáll know.
Anyways, who won the coolest tie contest? We had quite the showing this last weekend, but I think the prize has to go to Elder Uchtdorf, for a second consecutive conference. Not only did he have some sweet ties, he had a different one EVERY session! Nice work! But, other notable contestants were Elder Oaks, Elder Scott, and Elder Perry-all very impressive. Haha.
Yes, for all of those who are wondering, I DID actually pay attention to the talks as well! My companion and I have dubbed Elder Holland as the spiritual bulldog of the Church; that was an awesome talk! President Uchtdorf́s talk was also really good. There were some super good talks in Priesthood Session, along with President Monsońs timeless ear-wiggle. He gave us all a very good laugh. Overall, a great opportunity to learn and grow, and the best part lies ahead-put in practice and see the blessings. We were all especially excited about Elder Bednaŕs call to the members of the Church to fulfill their vital role as missionaries. Upon heeding that counsel, we will see unbelievable blessings in the progress of missionary work.
Mom, did you cry when MoTab sang Called to Serve on Sunday?! :o) That was a really cool arrangement. I was wondering why I didńt see Craig Jessop with the Choir this weekend! That́s SO crazy! Is he really going up to Utah State?! Sweet! That́s pretty cool. It́d be fun to sing with him as a director again!
Anyways, yes, my house is in front of the chapel-Pops was right. May not happen often, but it does happen. Haha. Just kidding, Dad.
The tonsil thing is ok. Theýre still a little inflamed, but I talked to President in our interviews last week, and he said I probly dońt need to worry about it. No worries.
We had a really great week last week. The Lord is really blessing Elder Huber and I. We have found some really neat families and we are excited to teach them the Gospel. That always happens-at the end of the change, you begin to find really cool people! Ím pretty sure I will be heading out of here this change, but who knows? Íve been here 4 1/2 months, 3 of those with Elder Huber. Íll go where you want me to go...!
We still have a couple of baptisms set for later this month, so we are excited for that. We are also working with these new families anxiously and carefully-we have a lesson with one tonight-the Silva family. As we were chatting before the last lesson, I found out they are from Bella Unión and he is the uncle of a returned missionary that I knew really well! What a small world. That helped with the connection and the confidence...now we just need the Spirit! Good family. Luis, Claudia, and Jose Luis, who is 13.
I was watching conference on Saturday and saw Spencer Anapol in the BYU Choir. That was really cool. Good to see a familiar face. Speaking of familiar things...
DAD-President Drakés grandson is my AP! Elder Drake! That́s why I asked you. Hés from Cullman, Alabama. Do you remember Kuenn Drake? Well my AP is his son. The family was Charles F. Drake, Gaileen Gray Drake, with their kids, David, Elaine, Kuenn, and Shane. It́s weird-I have a lot of crazy connections with a lot of the missionaries here. Fun to find out! Elder Drake told me to ask you if you helped baptize anyone there in Cullman-can you remember? :o)
Alright, well Ím gonna try and send some pics, so Ím gonna cut this one a little short. Sorry if I left questions unanswered! Have a great week and say hello to everybody for me!
Elder Taylor
Well another General Conference has come and gone-how crazy is that?! We had an awesome opportunity this last weekend to listen to the Lord́s chosen servants; I hope we all took advantage of that privilege and blessing! Oh, before I forget, we have changes next week, so my P-Day will most likely be Tuesday; just so yáll know.
Anyways, who won the coolest tie contest? We had quite the showing this last weekend, but I think the prize has to go to Elder Uchtdorf, for a second consecutive conference. Not only did he have some sweet ties, he had a different one EVERY session! Nice work! But, other notable contestants were Elder Oaks, Elder Scott, and Elder Perry-all very impressive. Haha.
Yes, for all of those who are wondering, I DID actually pay attention to the talks as well! My companion and I have dubbed Elder Holland as the spiritual bulldog of the Church; that was an awesome talk! President Uchtdorf́s talk was also really good. There were some super good talks in Priesthood Session, along with President Monsońs timeless ear-wiggle. He gave us all a very good laugh. Overall, a great opportunity to learn and grow, and the best part lies ahead-put in practice and see the blessings. We were all especially excited about Elder Bednaŕs call to the members of the Church to fulfill their vital role as missionaries. Upon heeding that counsel, we will see unbelievable blessings in the progress of missionary work.
Mom, did you cry when MoTab sang Called to Serve on Sunday?! :o) That was a really cool arrangement. I was wondering why I didńt see Craig Jessop with the Choir this weekend! That́s SO crazy! Is he really going up to Utah State?! Sweet! That́s pretty cool. It́d be fun to sing with him as a director again!
Anyways, yes, my house is in front of the chapel-Pops was right. May not happen often, but it does happen. Haha. Just kidding, Dad.
The tonsil thing is ok. Theýre still a little inflamed, but I talked to President in our interviews last week, and he said I probly dońt need to worry about it. No worries.
We had a really great week last week. The Lord is really blessing Elder Huber and I. We have found some really neat families and we are excited to teach them the Gospel. That always happens-at the end of the change, you begin to find really cool people! Ím pretty sure I will be heading out of here this change, but who knows? Íve been here 4 1/2 months, 3 of those with Elder Huber. Íll go where you want me to go...!
We still have a couple of baptisms set for later this month, so we are excited for that. We are also working with these new families anxiously and carefully-we have a lesson with one tonight-the Silva family. As we were chatting before the last lesson, I found out they are from Bella Unión and he is the uncle of a returned missionary that I knew really well! What a small world. That helped with the connection and the confidence...now we just need the Spirit! Good family. Luis, Claudia, and Jose Luis, who is 13.
I was watching conference on Saturday and saw Spencer Anapol in the BYU Choir. That was really cool. Good to see a familiar face. Speaking of familiar things...
DAD-President Drakés grandson is my AP! Elder Drake! That́s why I asked you. Hés from Cullman, Alabama. Do you remember Kuenn Drake? Well my AP is his son. The family was Charles F. Drake, Gaileen Gray Drake, with their kids, David, Elaine, Kuenn, and Shane. It́s weird-I have a lot of crazy connections with a lot of the missionaries here. Fun to find out! Elder Drake told me to ask you if you helped baptize anyone there in Cullman-can you remember? :o)
Alright, well Ím gonna try and send some pics, so Ím gonna cut this one a little short. Sorry if I left questions unanswered! Have a great week and say hello to everybody for me!
Elder Taylor
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