Hey There!

Taylor Family and Friends,
The weather here is driving me crazy. It can´t decide whether to be winter or stay in summer forever. It´s been crazy hot the past like week. Well, not CRAZY hot, but way hotter than it should be! This morning the zone took advantage of the nice weather and we all went to the beach to play ultimate frisbee and soccer in the sand. It was SO nice. Then most of us went to the chapel to make tacos-MMM!
So this last week was a really good week! Both Elder Maughan and I were good health-wise, besides a couple of stuffy noses. We had interviews with President Peterson last Thursday that went really well. He is VERY pleased with the work that is being carried out here in Paysandú-the zone has done an excellent job this change. Now the trick is to find out what made the change and get it done next change as well!
This weekend, there´s going to be 13 baptisms in the stake, 5 of which are going to be here in Barrio Ombú. Elder Maughan and I are pretty stoked for these 5. They are almost all teenagers, and they are just awesome kids; really an example for the rest of the ward, and to teenagers anywhere. Very impressive. Last Monday, Ruben (16) when out to a lesson with Elder Maughan and I. Needless to say, he was super nervous, but he LOVED it! And he´s not even a member yet! What a stud. I´m glad we have these 5 baptisms this weekend, because it helps to keep Elder Maughan focused. Haha. He has done really well this change, but after he talked to his family last weekend, it has been a little more difficult. Obviously. But hey, I don´t blame him. He knows we still have a lot of work to take care of.
Last Friday I went on a little road trip with Elder Bean. We took an hour bus ride out to where the sister missionaries are in our zone to interview a few baptismal candidates. Young (the name of the city) reminded me a lot of Bella Unión. It´s a little bigger than B.U. was, but it was a fun reminder. I interviewed a 12-year-old named Jesus David who was an absolute stud. We talked about how he wants to be a missionary and all when he gets older. After we finished the interview, we had a little question-and-answer about the mission. It was a lot of fun to see his excitement and hear his questions. The Lord is preparing His children in order to find and help those who are waiting.
On Sunday, Bishop Savchuk came up to my comp and I right before sunday school and asked if one of us could give a talk in sacrament meeting; absolutely, no problem. Elder Maughan claimed he´ll probly have to give one next week, so I volunteered. Haha. It went really well...I think. Afterwards, Elder Maughan and I were talking (again) about how ridiculous it was to give talks before the mission because we got SO nervous and needed like 3 weeks to prepare, even though we ended up writing it the night before anyway. :o)
So it sounds like the family has been kept pretty busy. I don´t know if I´m gonna recognize the house without that huge bush in front! Haha. That bush has been there FOREVER. Any other drastic changes I should be ready for? How´s the weather there right now, anywho? The garden coming along well? That was a worthless question, but hey, it´s all good.
And Melanie had her debut on national television, uh?! That´s awesome! How did this Archuleta kid do? Did he win it all Who was the other finalist? Sweet stuff. How did Pops Concert go? What was the best part of the performance? Where´s Hatch headed, again? Is she just going back to study, or is she going somewhere else to teach?
Mary-Anne had her hands full with her first full week of school. That´s so crazy. But I would advise you to be grateful you don´t have to teach in the schools here....WOW. That´s all that can and should be said. It´s crazy. Every child in the country got a new laptop this last week, though. Some humanitarian thing or something that Bill Gates did? I don´t know, you guys all probly know more than I do. They´re pretty nice, considering EVERY kid got one, and they´re FREE, but mine is going to be cooler. :o)
Anyways, this week I really am going to try and send some pictures, so I´m gonna bounce out now. The USB port on the comp last week didn´t work, so I hope the one this week does. I hope you all have a FANTASTIC week! Thanks to those of you who wrote me, it was nice to hear from you! Aunt Kathy, send my love to the family! Take care!
Elder Taylor