¡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