Happy Independence Day! (or something like that)

Taylor Family and Friends,
Are you all amazed like Dad to know that internet exists here in this little town? Not gonna lie, I had my doubts. Haha. So it´s been about 5 days since I arrived here in Tranqueras, and I´m in love! It´s so much fun. There´s about 8,000 people that live here in the city, so it´s pretty small. If you count everyone that lives out on their ranch, it gets up to about 10,000. Pretty small, but it´s awesome!
I´m here with Elder Mitchell Davidson from Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. He goes home in 6 weeks, but we don´t talk about those sort of things. Haha. His mom is actually coming down and they´re gonna go around the country for about a week. He´s actually doing really well, hasn´t gotten too trunky yet. But we´ve got a lot of work to do, so I´m not too worried.
Elder Davidson has been out here for the last six weeks with Elder Lewis, who just went home to Oregon. They were working really well, and we had a baptism last week as a result. So a little about Tranqueras...it´s a tiny branch. We live in a house that doubles as the chapel. We have sacrament meeting/relief society in our garage, primary in the "family room," and priesthood/gospel principles upstairs in the room next to our bedroom. It´s so crazy, but I really enjoyed it. I was going to take a video this morning and send it, but it was all foggy when we left, so it wouldn´t have been as cool. Be anxiously waiting for next week! :o) Our branch president, Pres. Díaz, and his wife are from Rivera; they drive out here every Sunday for the meetings. They´ve actually been called as service missionaries for this time, their calling ends at the end of the year. The branch is super small. Yesterday there was probably 30 people in church, ten of which were investigators and two recent converts.
We are teaching like crazy. At times it seems like there´s not enough hours in the day to teach all of our investigators and find new people to teach. People here are really receptive to the message. Just in these five days, we have found 12 new investigators, including 2 complete families. The Lord has prepared and is preparing this city to hear His message. We have a couple of couples who we are helping get the papers ready for weddings and then their baptism.
Every week Elder Davidson and I head in to Rivera for District Meeting. We´ll probly go in a couple of preparation days, too, for some kind of zone activity. After nine months, I´m back in a two-Elder house. I like it. Nice and peaceful, easy to keep clean, etc.
On Thursday morning, Elder Davidson and I went to look for a reference that he and Elder Lewis had received, but had never been able to find at home. We knocked (clapped) and out came Jose, who stood on the other side of the gate/fence to talk to us. He told us that he and his wife were believers, but they didn´t like to participate in any religion. He was pretty frank and adamant, but we kept talking to him and he then asked us, "Well, what is it exactly that you teach, I MIGHT like to hear it. No promises." We told him we shared a message that blesses the family, that helps it become stronger and more unified. He said, "Okay, come on in. But without any commitment." No problem. We waited outside the door as he and his wife set up the chairs and loveseat. We went in and sat down in front of Jose, his wife, and three kids. We started to talk about the family, and they then told us that they were going through a pretty tough moment in their marriage, and that they needed help. "However," said Jose, "we don´t believe that going to a church will help us. We believe in God, but we don´t like going to any church." Bueno. We kept talking about the family, based on faith, repentance, and forgiveness. After about 5 minutes, Jose told us that if this message helps his family, that he WILL be in church, with all of his family. In 15 minutes, the Lord softened a man´s heart who did not want to hear ANYTHING, to helping him see that going to church will bless his family. Amazing. I´m so grateful for being able to participate in the Father´s miracles.
So that´s what´s going on on this side of the world. I can´t believe that the next time I wrote you all it will be September! Incredible. Elder Shupe and I were talking about it, and it´s so frustrating that when you feel that you finally understand what missionary work is all about and how to do it, the mission is coming to an end. I´ve still got time, but it´s coming too quickly. Definitely a bittersweet feeling. Ok, enough of that talk! :o)
Well, now everyone is back in school. I hope that the year started well for all of you! Work hard, and stay focused, because the time goes by too quickly!
Okay, that´ll be it. I hope you can all find a bit of time to send me a line! Take care of yourselves!
Elder Taylor

Here´s a couple of pictures from our morning adventure! Happy Birthday shoutout to Mary-Anne and Skyler! Have a great day tomorrow!

Changes

Taylor Family and Friends,
I don´t know if it was the same for any of you who have served a mission, but when the phone rings on Sunday night before cahnges and the caller ID says "Casa de la Misión" (Mission Home) my heart definitely starts pumping. It´s not like I´m nervous to talk with President or anything, but it´s always interesting to see what he has to say.
Well, President asked me how I was doing and how our week had gone; not too shabby. That´s good. "Elder Taylor, I´m extending to you a new calling, is that ok?" "Yeah, no problem." "Well, as you´ve noticed, I´ve been doing something new the last couple of changes with a few missionaries who have served as Zone Leaders. I take two of them, and I put them together as normal, proselyting missionaries in order to give experience and energy to a young zone. That´s what I would like to do with you. What do you think?" I think that´s great. So Elder Taylor is leaving Paysandú and he´s heading back to the north....! Zone-Rivera, Area/city-TRANQUERAS! Tranqueras is a little city about an hour away from the department capital of Rivera, and it is an area that has only been open for a little over 6 months! I will be serving with Elder Davidson, a great missionary and a good friend of mine, who will be finishing his mission in this next change. I still haven´t had the opportunity to talk with Elder Davidson yet, but I hope he´s as stoked as I am! I guess we´ll have to ask him, huh? Haha. So yeah, I´m heading out this afternoon at 5 PM. I´ve already got all of my stuff packed; we´re going to go say goodbye to a couple of families before I leave.
President always manages to surprise me with changes, without fail. Like all missionaries, Elder Shupe and I were talking about the possible changes this last weekend a little bit, and what actually happened didn´t even come across our minds! But obviously, it is so perfect. The Lord knows us, our needs, and our abilities better than we could ever imagine. It is very consoling knowing that a Being such as He is guiding this work and watching over us in every moment.
We didn´t have a baptism last weekend like we were hoping, Diego had some problems with his step-father, and we decided it would be better to hold off for a little bit. But he´s doing well, and I´m sure we´ll get notice of his baptism soon. Everyone in Casa Blanca is doing GREAT! Rosa is feeling a lot better with her back, and she´s reading the Book of Mormon like crazy. Last Friday, Elder Shupe and I taught her and Viviana more about the Book of Mormon, and what exactly it means. Towards the middle of the lesson, Rosa said, "Listen, I can´t make it to church on Sunday because we have a commitment with the family, but don´t worry, next week, I promise you that my mother and I will be at church. Viviana can make her own decision, but Elsa and I will be there!" What a sweet parting gift, knowing that they are about to take another great step of faith. Viviana also said that she will be there, as long as her work schedule doesn´t interfere; she works with animal skins, and the season is just about over. I´m going to write them a letter today and leave it with Elder Shupe so he can take it out to them this Friday. That´s the worst thing about changes-goodbyes. It´s amazing the love that you can feel for someone after knowing them for such a short amount of time!
Oh yeah, Mom, I forgot to tell you that I already got the package. I think it was two weeks ago, if I remember correctly. We already made/ate the pie, the Taffy Cookies, and the Goldfish. Haha. What can I say, we´re growing boys and we need to eat! :o) P.S., the graham crackers and frosting....GREAT idea! Not gonna lie, got kind of trunky eating it, but hey, that´s ok.
Sector Conference just went really well. Learned a lot and felt the Spirit. Elder Shupe, Huber, Garns, the Hermana Litchfield and I sang "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need" as a musical number. It went really well. I don´t know if you all remember that song, but we sang it for choir once at Bingham. Great song. For ward conference, Elder Shupe and I set up the activity of Human Foosball. I don´t know how many of you have played it, but if you haven´t, you definitely should! Especially with a bunch of Latins who know how to play soccer...it was a BLAST, and everybody loved it, which is the most important. A good chance to get together and laugh. Afterwards we had tortas fritas, which are basically scones, and a barley drink. Good times.
To answer the question, no we don´t get to watch any of the Olympics. But we have heard a lot about them. It´s so cool that Phelps broke the record! Attaboy. Uruguay was resting it´s hope on one guy, from what I understand, to bring home some kind of medal. Winston or Winton or something like that. He´s a cyclist, but it didn´t come out too well for him this time around. He took 16th. People were/are sad, but it happens. It´s funny being with Elder Shupe during the Olympics, he gets frustrated when people talk about them, because it makes him trunky. Haha. But hey, I can´t blame him...if I was fourth in the world in my event in gymnastics, I would be trunky too! I´m so grateful for the last two changes I´ve had to be with Elder Shupe. He´s definitely one of those eternal friendships that are made only on the mission. What a stud. He heads home the first weekend of October.
Mom and Dad, I hope you have a very happy anniversary tomorrow! Know that you will both be in my thoughts! Enjoy your day!
Well, that´s gonna do it for me this week. Megan and Melanie, enjoy your last week of summer! I can´t believe school is starting again already. Crazy. Glad to hear that Mary-Anne and Nathanael had a good time for his birthday. And my nephew, Jackson, is already two? From the pictures and all his gray hair, he seems a lot older. Haha.
I love you all, and I hope you´re all doing well! I´m waiting to hear from you!
Elder Taylor

Sorry, not much time...

Taylor Family and Friends,
This letter is going to be SUPER short. Elder Shupe and I just spent two and a half hours in court...no, not that kind of court! Diva Ceballos asked if we could go with her to talk to the judge about the divorce that they´re trying to get. They told her to be there at 2 o´clock, so we were....and at 4:30 the judge FINALLY talked to her! She talked to her for about a total of three minutes. Blugh. She said that she is going to send for the necessary papers from Montevideo because Diva was married in Montevideo. At the end of the month, we go back to check and see if the papers are in and see how things go from there. Just to let ya´ll know, everything is going really well. My back´s doing fine. Last week went by even faster than we thought it would. Sector conference went really well as did ward conference. I´ll try and remember to put details in my letter next week. This week is promising to be a good, we´re excited to have a normal week again. Next week we have changes, which means I will probably be writing on Tuesday, just so ya´ll know. This may be my last week here in Paysandú...where will Elder Taylor be headed next change...or will the President surprise us all and leave me here? Only time will tell. Haha. Well, sorry the letter is so short, but for sacrifices blessings are given! We felt good going and supporting Diva. I hope everyone is doing well. Enjoy whatever is left of summer.
Hey Swift...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW! You´re getting old, bro...just in case you didn´t know.
Ok, I love you all! Have a good week and take care!
Elder Taylor

¡Buenas tardes!

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well here it is, the first letter of the month of August. I´m still waiting for that part of the mission where it seems like time doesn´t fly, but it´s taking it´s time getting here! I can´t believe we´re already in August. Speaking of which....HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELANIE! Well, on Friday! :o) Know that you will be in my thoughts all week! Have a GREAT week, and, por favor, ¡PORTATE BIÉN!
Last week went really well. Thursday night I threw out my back, but we won the soccer tournament, so it´s ok. Haha. Elder Shupe and I conducted our weekly planning session Friday morning in various places-our study room with me in the chair and then on the floor, with a later appearance standing against the wall and, to wrap things up, in various positions on the bed, trying to get comfortable. But now all is well, no worries! The Hermana Peterson was definitely inspired when we made rice bags last zone conference. I should write her and thank her for that! Note to self....!
Things are going really well. Diego Rodriguez has a baptismal date for the 16th of August, and we are getting ready to give one to Yosep either this week or next. The families out in Casa Blanca are all progressing VERY well, we are very content with what´s going on out in that little pueblo. Rosa Romero, one of the first we found out there, was admitted to the hospital on Friday for back problems (go figure) so Elder Shupe and I paid her a visit on Saturday. She´s been operated on a few times already, so she´s used to it. She said that she chastised her daughter for not bringing her her Book of Mormon when she came to visit, so I gave her the one I had in my backpack. Haha. All of them out there are taking big steps of faith by not only reading but striving to study the Book of Mormon and pray about it. Many of them have already commented on the desires to come to church to at least see how it is; Rosa already said that when she gets out of the hospital and feels better, she´s there. That´s what I like to hear...!
We have a SUPER busy week this week. Ward conference this weekend, so Elder Shupe and I are helping with two ward activities and a big service project for the ward, on top of the things we get to prepare for our Sector Conference on Wednesday. It will be a busy week, but that will be nice. It will be Monday again before we know it!
The zone had a GREAT week last week. We did a couple of Choque de Fuerza´s, which is where all the missionaries in the zone go to one area for a couple of hours and work. Tuesday morning in Barrio Centro and Elder Shupe and I went with Elder Quiroz and Elder Machuca on Saturday morning in their area to help them out. It went really well!
Mom and Dad, the fridge and oven look AWESOME! I was SO surprised when I opened the picture, because I hadn´t read the letter beforehand! It looks SO good! Just so you know, the color of the fridge is about the color I want for my Toyota Tacoma...just so you can make the match! :o) Haha.
Mom, thanks for making that call up to USU. So I don´t need to send them an email or anything for scholarship details? Everything´s ready to go in that regard. My science professor was Dr. Wolf, I believe. Thanks for taking care of that for me! Love you!
Melanie, your audition sounded like a GREAT experience! Thanks for the letter and letting me know how it went! I´ll give you some belting lessons in the car when I get home. Haha. It sounds like you had a great time up at EFY, too! What was the cute boy´s name? :o) Don´t forget to write me this weekend and let me know how your party goes!
Goose! So the thing you liked most about EFY was all the cute boys, uh? Haha. I knew it. :o) Did you actually dance with the guys at the dance, or were you too scared of their cooties? It would be fun to be and EFY counselor when I get home, we´ll have to see if it´s a possibility with work and studies. I still play basketball quite a bit, no worries. I´ll still give you a good whippin´ when I get home! Better get out and practice some more, Goose!
Well, I believe that´s going to be it for me this week! It was great to hear from all of you! Thanks for the pictures, Dad, that was a lot of fun to see! A lot of them came out kind of dark because of the sun, so I couldn´t see who everyone was at the funeral and whatnot, but I got a pretty good idea. Say hello to everyone for me and have a great week!
Elder Taylor