¡Buenos días!

Taylor Family and Friends,
It´s June 30th, and it´s a beautiful day! That´s a nice change. The last few weeks we´ve just had clouds, rain, and COLD. Everyday when we wake up all we can see is fog! Yesterday you couldn´t even see a block ahead of you as we walked to church. But this morning, the sun decided to come up and all I need is a jacket instead of my two-layered coat! It´s funny to think that I never thought it would get cold in Uruguay...!
We had a really good week last week. Yesterday was kind of disappointing in terms of having investigators in church, though. We were expecting a pretty big amount of investigators, but a lot of them were sick because of the weather the last week. Not cool. But hey, that´s just more incentive to work harder this week!
We also had interviews with President Peterson on Tuesday. I love that man! He and I talked quite a bit about the zone (obviously) and the things that he expects from the mission. I´m so grateful to know that he is the man that God has called to lead this mission at this time. I have seen a great change in the mission over the past year, and it´s very exciting. Sometimes I wish I could stay longer to help keep it going...! But...
"I´LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!" I asked President before he left on Tuesday what he was going to do with my group, and he told me that we´ll at LEAST be home a week before Christmas, and most likely two weeks. Which means I might be home for my birthday, as well! Pretty sweet, eh? I would be leaving here (most likely) the 11th of December and arriving home on the 12th. That´s the plan for right now! So there ya go. Enough of that talk, I´m going back to work...! :o)
Elder Shupe and I went back out to Casa Blanca on Thursday afternoon. When we got off the bus, we ran into Yanina who said she was sorry, but she had to go in to Paysandú for a meeting at her daughter´s highschool. She felt bad, but there was nothing she could do. So Elder Shupe and I looked at each other and just said, "Well, the Lord has brought us here for some reason...let´s go find out what it is." Two and a half hours later, we knew. On Thursday afternoon, we found 8 people, comprised of three families! We found three married couples, two of which had children of baptismal age. The husbands in two of the three lessons participated in and enjoyed the message; the other participated, but very cautiously. It was interesting, because by 6:30 it is already really dark now, and even more so out in this little pueblo. At 7 o´clock, after we had found two of the families, Elder Shupe and I were trying to decide if we should keep knocking around in the dark (not very effective-ask any RM you know) or if we should start heading back to P-dú. The bus didn´t come until 8:30, so we´d have to walk-and a very considerable distance. We decided, no, we need to stay. We knocked to door on the corner...no, we´re busy, sorry. Ok. We looked to the other side of the street and realized that we were looking at the first house we had knocked in the afternoon, but no one had been there...now there were lights on. We knocked the door and Enrique came out. He couldn´t talk a lot, because he had just arrived from having two molars pulled out at the dentist. We asked him if we could come in for just ten minutes and share a message with him and his 9-year old daughter. Sure. As we got into the 9th minute or so, we hear someone coming to the door, and he says, "Should be my wife and my daughter." And in walks Rosario! My mouth dropped open, and Elder Shupe says, "¡No me diga!" We had talked with Rosario the week before while looking for a non-active. Really nice lady, with lots of questions about the mission, but who didn´t want us to come by her house another time. When she saw us at her kitchen table, she just laughed and said, "Well, you found me!" We sat and talked, laughed, showed each other pictures, and shared a message that will bless their family. We have a return appointment for this Thursday evening! The Lord wanted us there for a reason...I´m so grateful for the guidance of the Spirit, even when it means knocking the same door twice!
Yesterday I gave a surprise talk in sacrament meeting, so that´s always fun. I talked about the importance and the power of prayer, and I learned a lot as I spoke. Those are the best learning moments; as you share your testimony or your feelings, and the Spirit whispers something to you that makes you look at it or think about it a different way. What a blessing!
Anyways, I think that´s gonna about do it for me today! We´re gonna go play basketball, soccer, and frisbee with some of the youth. On Wednesday, we´re headed to Mercedes for Zone Conference where we will meet President´s son who just returned from his mission! Sweet! I hope this letter finds that all is well for all of you! Have a great 4th of July, and shoot off some fireworks for me! Can´t wait to hear from you and everything that´s going on in your life! Take care!
Elder Taylor

Some fun pictures from last week!

-Elder Taylor pretending like he´s rich with the rent money for the apartment!

-Elder Taylor and Elder Shupe playing around the cauldron of Buseca that we ate for a priesthood activity

-Elder Taylor looking off into the distance and contemplating the eternities...!

Enjoy! I wouldn´t mind getting pictures...especially if there´s any new cute girls in the ward! :o) Take care!

Pictures

Here´s a couple of pics...
-In front of a wall painting in my area...
-With my Bishop´s TURKEY!
-Pointing to a "dollar bill" that says "The United STATE of America"...gave us a pretty good laugh!
Enjoy! More are coming...sometime!
Elder Taylor

Hey There...!

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well, here we are yet again. The weeks just fly by, it seems like. Tomorrow we have interviews with President Peterson and next week we will have the Zone Conference of this change; we´re having it in the 5th week instead of the 2nd because President´s son gets home from his mission in Brazil this week and he´s going to come meet us all at Conference next week. That´s why they postponed it...so that´ll be cool to meet him!
The weather took it´s toll on the zone last week-a lot of the Elders got sick and one of the Hermanas, but Elder Shupe and I have stayed healthy, luckily! The majority of the week was cloudy and sprinkling; I think we only saw the sun twice, one of them being yesterday. But, all the missionaries are feeling better now and looking forward to gettin back to work this week!
Elder Shupe and I had a SWEET experience last week! Are you ready...? Are you sure? ´Cuz it´s REALLY cool....alright, I´ll tell you. We received a reference from a member in another ward about a week and a half ago, but the reference lives out in Casa Blanca-a little pueblito about half an hour outside of Paysandú, but that still belongs to our ward. Neither of us had ever been out there, but we organized the week so we could go out there on Thursday afternoon. We left P-dú at 4:15 and had to get on the bus back at 8:30. By the time we got there, we had about 3 to work. We got out to Casa Blanca, stepped off the bus at the first stop, and watched the bus pull away. We looked around a second, and I said, "Well, let´s go." We walked across the street and a little field to the first house, our plan was to knock and ask if they knew where this reference lived, and at the same time invite them to listen. The house was yellow, and as we walked up, I looked at Elder Shupe and said, "Yellow for golden" with a little smile. We knocked the door, and Yanina came to the door. I introduced who we were and told we we would like to share a message about the family. She accepted, and invited us into her home. About 35 minutes later, she had tears in her eyes as she listened to how God began His communication with man in our day and accepted an invitation to read in the Book of Mormon. After the lesson, we asked her if she knew the reference, and we found out they were co-workers in a factory and she lived just down the street. Once again, the Lord is preparing His children...are we doing our part to invite them?
So, that was a really exciting part of the week. We are headed back out to Casa Blanca this Thursday, so we´ll see what happens!
But that´s about all the big news from this week. Dad, thanks for taking the time to write that big email and fill me in on last weekend´s events. It sounds like you all had an enjoyable weekend; I hope you remembered to give Matt and Amanda my congratulations! If not, Matt and Amanda....CONGRATULATIONS! I can´t believe I didn´t get an invitation...! Don´t worry, Matt, you´ll get what´s coming to ya. :o) Love ya, cuz!
Well, that´s gonna about do it for me this week! Melanie, I got your email...thanks for writing! Who is the new choir teacher? Congrats on your theater awards! That´s awesome. And Hello Dolly is the musical next year? Sweet! Too bad I´ll miss it...by a few weeks. Oh well, it´s for the best cause there is! :o)
I hope ya´ll know that I love you and think about you often! Mom and Dad, I hope you had a happy Father´s Day, and a Happy Birthday! We sang to you, Mom...about 4 times! Haha. I love you! Take care!
Elder Taylor

Big Week

Taylor Family and Friends,
Hey there! How ya´ll doing? Things are going really well here in Paysandú. I´m writing a little later today because we spent most of they day with a family that Elder Shupe had met over a year ago here in Paysandú. He served in Barrio Obelisco a year ago, and now he´s returned to P-dú to serve in Barrio Ombú. It´s not very often that an elder serves in the same zone twice in his mission, so he got lucky. The family that we went to see was one in which Elder Shupe baptized the daughter, and started to teach the father, who later got married and baptized as well. It was a really neat experience for him, so it was worth sacrificing my weekly nap! :o)
The time is flying by. It´s crazy to think that we are already in the middle of June! Last week I hit my 18-month mark, that´s pretty intense. This week is a pretty full week for us. On Thursday, we´ll have interviews with President Peterson. They did the interviews at the beginning of the change this time because President´s son finishes his mission in Brazil in the next week or so, so they postponed the zone conferences until he got here so he can come and meet all of us in the conferences. So that´ll be fun.
Elder Shupe and I had a pleasant surprise yesterday at Church. We had been teaching this little old lady named Yospeh for about a week, but we had decided to drop her last Monday or Tuesday; so we basically hadn´t even gone by in a week. Much to our surprise, she showed up yesterday at 9 AM at the chapel! We gladly lead her in to the Relief Society and as we opened the door, she walked in saying, "Hola! Soy una nueva hermana!" while flailing her little hands. Right away, about 10 hermanas from the Relief Society surrounded her like a swarm of bees, giving her hugs and kisses. Elder Shupe and I shut the door and just started laughing in the hallway; it was a good start to the day!
With the cold weather, a lot of the people who had said they were going to come to church yesterday didn´t make it, but we have high hopes for this next week. Cristina and Juliano are doing very well, and in our last lesson, asked a lot of questions about baptism, which we were glad to answer! Elder Shupe and I have been teaching quite a bit, so now it´s just time to get them all to church!
Sounds like Dad and the girls had a really busy week up in Moses Lake. I hope they took pictures so I don´t miss out on too much of the action! Make sure you tell Matt and his WIFE (weird) congratulations. I always told him he would get married before I got home. Couldn´t he have just waited 6 months longer? Sheesh.
So I still haven´t got that picture CD sent off yet...my bad. The last couple of P-Days have been really busy with activities and whatnot, so I haven´t even gone to develop pictures yet. But don´t worry, they will be on their way soon.
Well, I´m not really bursting with information or news this week. Just the same story- we are working hard and enjoying every minute of it! I finally got the letter from Caleb. It was really nice to hear to him. Hopefully I´ll get a reply off to him next week! But, I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying all there is to be enjoyed! I can´t wait to hear from you. :o)
Elder Taylor

Rainy Monday

Taylor Family and Friends,
So here it is, yet another cold and rainy P-Day in beautiful Paysandú. But, no need to worry, the zone still got together this morning and played ultimate frisbee out in the cold rain while Hno. Mederos cooked an asado! After the zone was cold and wet enough, we went inside and played the sign game! Good times.
Last week was a really good week. On Tuesday, Elder Shupe and I went to ZLC in Montevideo and learned a lot about setting goals and the work required to meet those goals. All of us in the mission are in the process of learning that principal. Our mission has changed A LOT in the last year and a half, and I am SO grateful for the chance that I´ve had to be a part of that.
Elder Shupe and I worked very hard last week. At the end of the week, I felt as though it had been one of the best working weeks of my mission. The results weren´t exactly what we had expected, but we´re just keeping our heads up and we´re going to make this week even better. We are really enjoying the opportunity to be together in a companionship. The Lord has blessed us with a powerful companionship, and we both know that He is expecting to see that by our works. Just in the last week, we have learned to rely on one another, but even more importantly than that, to rely on the Lord. He is the one directing this work, I have no doubt of that. He has led us to some of His elect children. His timetable may not be the same as ours, but that´s part of the learning process.
So Jason Aurich is married and Matt gets married this weekend. That´s crazy. How is the Boyce family doing? Wow. Last week I receive the notice that Uncle Tom was sick, and this week I receive his funeral schedule. Please send my love to his family. I can´t even imagine the trial that this must be. Let them know that they are in my prayers.
Elder Shupe and I have been working with a couple whose names are Juliano and Cristina. Their living conditions are very humbling, but they are awesome people. They have had some real extreme challenges and are looking for that peace that they lack. Cristina told us that she used to be very blunt and unpleasant to the missionaries that she saw in the streets and that passed by her home; she was very cold and wanted nothing to do with the subject of religion. Then, she had an experience where her husband left her and took her four children with him. She was hurt, and began asking questions and looking for answers. A couple of months ago, Cristina and Juliano talked and decided they wanted to hear the message that those young men in white shirts and ties had always tried to share with them; the next time they saw them on the street, they were going to stop them and give them their address. A month passed without seeing ONE missionary! They had passed by them everyday for years, but not passed during the following month. Then, one afternoon, two missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints came walking down the street. Before Juliano could say hello, they had stopped and presented themselves as Elder Larsen and Elder McGann. They told him they were sharing a message about the family and how the teachings of Jesus Christ can help us in our families. He gave them his address and went his way. Elder Larsen then passed this address to Elder Maughan and Elder Taylor, who belonged to the area where the address was located. Now Cristina and Juliano are reading daily in the Book of Mormon and strengthening their relationship with a Heavenly Father that they had barely ever heard of through sincere prayer. The Lord knows each one of us, and provides the opportunities for us to learn of His perfect plan...are we ready to accept those opportunities, or to be instruments in giving those opportunities to others?
I am grateful for a Heavenly Father who knows me and answers my prayers! I know that He loves us and wants to bless us; He´s just waiting until we do what is required to receive those blessings! I love being a representative of my Savior, Jesus Christ. To all those who are thinking about serving a mission, I only have six words: Decide now and never look back! I have learned SO much, and I still have a long ways to go. You will not regret your decision, as you taste of the blessings for yourself.
I am glad to hear that things are going well on the homefront. Nathanael, how´s the new job? I heard that Boston and LA are in the Finals...thanks for keeping me updated. :o) Some guy asked us the other day in the street who we thought was going to win-I told him that the scriptures tell us who´s going to win what really matters! Haha. Good times. Well, I love you all, and I hope you all have a fantastic week! I´m looking forward to those letters!
Elder Taylor

Cold...

Taylor Family and Friends,
Hey there! So things have finally gotten nice and chilly here in Paysandú, and it is pretty darn chilly. But it´s nice to have the change. Well, changes came and went pretty smoothly, I guess. I was in the terminal for 23 hours straight...it made for quite the night and next day. The comp of Hermana Díaz left Tuesday night and her new comp didn´t get here until noon the next day, and she couldn´t find a member to stay with her that night, so we had to stay with her all night long in the terminal. We had a good 3-hour game of Phase 10! Haha. Needless to say, Elder Shupe and I were DEAD the next day. We´re still trying to catch up on our sleep; but we´re heading to Montevideo tonight at 2 AM for Zone Leader Conf. tomorrow, so we´ll just get backed up again! Good times!
Elder Shupe is from Ogden, UT. He went to Weber High and graduated 2006. He is a STUD! A gymnast, by the way. He competed internationally and is amazing. He has been fascinating the Uruguayans by doing a standing backflip. Makes for easy contacts. Haha. We get along really well and are having a blast together. Barrio Ombú doesn´t know what hit them! When I met him in the offices last year, he was just starting his first change as statistical secretary of the mission, and was later changed to executive sec. He heads home the very beginning of October. Elder Arrieta is having a great time with the three of us. His English is getting better, little by little. Yes, some of the investigators I had in Cerro got baptized! Two of them got baptized the weekend I left and another woman got baptized the same night we had the baptism here. It´s so nice to know that some of the people with whom you put in a lot of time finally took that big step. Some plant and some reap, but the growth comes from God!
Elder Shupe and I are really excited for this new change. We haven´t even been together a week yet and we have both shared things that we have learned from one another. I have no doubt that the Lord surrounds us with others who we can learn from. We all have something to share, and we all have something to learn; the trick is finding what it is, and accepting it! I am SO grateful for the companions I have had throughout the mission and the things that they have taught me.
Something that Elder Shupe and I have been talking about the last couple of days- the best thing about being a missionary is just being able to get to know people! Everyone has a very unique and intriguing story; the thing we/I love is just finding out who people are, and showing how the Gospel of Jesus Christ is going to bless them in their lives. On Friday afternoon we were walking down the street and decided to knock a door; we knocked and Myriam, an older lady, came to the door. Elder Shupe told her that we were in the neighborhood sharing a message about families and how God has a plan for our families. I asked if she had a few minutes so we could explain a little more-she said yes, and invited us in. We got to know her quickly and in the process learned that her husband passed away 5 months ago. While he was in the hospital, the missionaries had passed by her home, but she was so stressed out, she asked them to swing by in a couple of weeks. Apparently, the Elders forgot to pass by. As we talked to her about the plan that our Heavenly Father has prepared for our families, a familiar spirit entered the room and bore testimony to each of us that the plan of our Father is real. I am so grateful for that knowledge, and I am grateful for the guidance of the Spirit to find those who are prepared to receive this wonderful message. We have no need to be ashamed of sharing our testimonies!; it is a very simple act, but it can LITERALLY touch someone´s heart and change someone´s life.
I know that my Heavenly Father lives and He loves me. He knows who I am! What a wonderful blessing that is. Through simple and sincere prayer, I have felt that love. I have received answers to my prayers, especially when searching the scriptures. I truly know that they have been written for our time; they have been written for you; they have been written for me. I hope we each take advantage of that blessing and put Moroni´s promise to the test. We WILL receive an answer, if we are sincerely looking for His help. These things I know.
Tomorrow I am going to have another opportunity to learn a ton. We have ZLC in ´Deo, and I am so excited. I love being with other missionaries and learning from them, not to mention President Peterson and the Hermana. Take advantage of your opportunities to learn!
Who is Jason Aurich getting married to? That´s so crazy. I remember going on campouts and playing night games with that kid. Man, I´m getting old. :o)
Mom, banana cream pie stuff would be a GREAT idea! Mmm. I haven´t bought socks yet...I´m trying to put it off for a while so they´ll still be nice by the end of the mission. Haha. Those taffy cookies would also be a beautiful thing! I still have to convert Elder Shupe. :o) Which CD´s are you sending?! Oh, PS, did you ever find out if Caleb and Jordan had received my letters?
Well, I hope that all is well! That´s gonna about do it for me this week. I hope you´re all enjoying the summer break-Melanie and Megan, you have no excuse to not write me now! :o) I love you all and can´t wait to hear from you!
Elder Taylor