Elder Aaron Taylor

He's Home!

2009-11-07T12:23:00.000-08:00

Welcoming Aaron home at SLC Airport
December 18, 2008

2008-12-17T08:44:00.000-08:00

Dear Family, Friends, and Loved Ones,

By virtue of the twenty-four months (mind boggling isńt it?) accumulated of toil, work, SUN, bug bites and incredible joy in the service of the Lord, the Missionary Committee has decreed that the time has come for these calloused, blistered, tired and DIRTY feet to take a rest. The un-assigned Elder, clothed in out-of-style rags, tanned on his neck from the collar up, but full of love for the gospel, will soon take his place again in the wicked Gentile world.

In making preparation to welcome the aforementioned Elder into the organized society, it is advised to keep in mind the different environment that has influenced his life for the past two years.

One would be advised to stock his kitchen with an abundance of the following: chocolate, ice cream, soft sandwich bread, 2% milk (not 32%), Doritos, salad (with crunchy Chinese noodles and ranch dressing), microwave anything, Big Gulp/Slurpee (anything cold), M&Ḿs, Snickers.... well, I think you get the idea. Dispose of any sign of rice, pasta with tomato sauce, dry hard breads, RICE, greasy soup, hot milk, RICE, and all undistinguishable meats. While you are at it, just dispose of all grease. Try to be understanding when he refuses half cooked eggs or greasy spaghetti. Do not take it personally if he looks through all food for flies, ants or animal hair. Above all, do not ask him to cook native dishes for you for the first few months.

Please do not be disturbed when he wears thongs in the shower, forgets to flush the toilet paper and instead throws it in the trash can, wears the same shirt and tie for a week, and eats with both arms on the table to be polite. Offense should not be taken when he looks for ants in the sugar, washes the dishes in cold water, carries toilet paper wherever he goes, or eats his food in 30 seconds flat to run off to an appointment. This poor exhausted man will probably run and scream should anyone mention Gamma Globulin shots, skin lice, fleas, heat, mud, dog packs, or crowded buses.

For the first few weeks until he finds himself and gets over jetlag and culture shock, be understanding of his broken English. If he slips into Spanish, a simple request for a translation will be sufficient.

Take into consideration his “condition” when he calls you “Elder” or “Hermana” and insists that it is a rule not to tell you his first name. Do not be bothered if he says “permiso” before entering or leaving a room, sticks his arm out to stop a bus and carries his scriptures with extra copies of the Book of Mormon everywhere he goes.

Do not ask why his only topic of conversation is Uruguay and missionary work, or think him a religious fanatic when he preaches to utter strangers in the street. Do not be embarrassed when he says “chao” to everyone he sees, hugs every man he meets, and even kisses the women on the cheek every once in a while.

You are hereby warned and duly cautioned to treat the newly delivered missionary with great care, courtesy, and affection. Humor him in every way. Remain calm when he jumps out of bed at 6:00 am to study and to beat his companion to the shower. Please have the bathtub ready with lots of hot water, bubbles, and a large, soft downy towel for his first bath in two years (also soft toilet paper would be appropriate). He is used to being with a companion 24 hours a day so do not be alarmed if he follows you around and wants to have comp study and prayer together. He will definitely show a great tendency to shake hands when meeting and parting.
He will surely be suffering from “Latinitis” (an extreme love for the Latin people). So please, try to understand when he gets that far-away look in his eyes and tears brim and he quietly excuses himself from the room. He will be thinking of that far-away land and people that he has grown to love, who have changed his life. But, broken hearts can mend with lots of love, hugs, and broiled bagels with cream cheese. And with a little patience, kindness and time, he will once again resemble the pre-mission specimen that you once knew.

Send no more mail to this address, THIS IS IT PEOPLE.........
HÉS COMING HOME!!!

Wow

2008-12-08T09:38:00.000-08:00

Can you believe this is his last letter for a full week as a missionary?

What a memory!

We are looking forward as a family to seeing each of you and sharing the joy
we have of welcoming home our son.

Thanks so much for all your support, prayers, thoughts, it really takes a
village to raise a child.

Thanks for being a part of our family and being the ones that make up the
village.

Liz is decorating the house and getting everything just right.

We are all in for a surprise and the joy of a very special Christmas Season,
may the spirit of Christ be with all of you.

Merry Christmas, with love and respect to each of you.

Craig, Liz, Mary-Anne, Nathanael, Melanie and Megan

Taylor Family and Friends,
I really just don´t even know how to start this letter. It still seems unreal, but everyday it seems to come closer. Haha. Obviously, right? We had interviews with President last week; his first question was, "So is it setting in on you yet?" We just both started laughing. I couldn´t believe that was his first question! But the interview went really well. He told me some of the unknown details for what´s going down next week and everything, but other than that, we were just talking about how Tranqueras is going and what he can expect from the area in the future.
Had a good week last week. This last week and this one are tough because we are out of our area for 2 or 3 days, but what are we gonna do? Tomorrow we have zone conference in Tacuarembó, so that will be fun. It´s the Christmas conference, so everyone´s looking forward to it. It´ll also be cool because the four of us that are ending this change will all be there. Another fun bit of info-my first testimony and my last testimony in a zone conference will have been given from the same pulpit. My first conference was also in T-bó. I can´t believe that was almost two years ago.
It´s good to know that you got a hold of Elder (Tyson) Stoddard! What a punk, I haven´t heard from him at all since he left. Oh well, I´ll have to find a way to forgive him. Haha. I better, because if he´s living that close to me, we might have problems if not. :o)
Anyways, this Friday Nestor Mendez will be baptized by Elder Aaron Taylor! I´m SO excited. He stopped smoking last weekend, and we´re getting everything set up for the baptism on Friday. He was handing out invitations at Church yesterday, and on Saturday, he asked me if I would do the honors of baptizing him. He asked Elder Hughes to be a witness, and President Diaz as well. Victor was also confirmed yesterday in sacrament meeting. He´s doing great. After his baptism, I gave him one of my favorite ties. Remember the blue, yellow, and white one? Yup, that´s the one. It was hard to part with, but it was his birthday on the 23rd, and he got baptized...c´mon. Haha. President Diaz looked at me right before the confirmation and asked me to do it, so I was blessed to be able to participate.
Other than that, things are just rolling along. Elder Hughes and I are working to prepare a couple of investigators to be baptized Dec. 25th-a white Christmas. It looks like there will be a couple of them. Busy week ahead. Traveling, baptism, and also some goodbyes.
Mom, just so you know, Elder Shupe´s email is tshupe@gmail.com. I emailed him last week to let him know about my homecoming, but you might want to pass him a message just to make sure he got it. Thanks a bunch.
Well, I´m going to print up some address cards and stuff now, so I think that´ll be it for this week. I don´t know if I´ll be writing next week; if I do, I couldn´t really tell you when it will be. Sometime after Sunday and before Wednesday. Haha. So there you go! I love you all, and we´ll see you soon!
Elder Taylor

Pictures!

2008-12-01T09:35:00.000-08:00

Hey there!

Here are some pics from our adventures the last couple of weeks. Fishing trip last Monday (sunburn and frisbee catching included), Thanksgiving restaurant, using the "mirror" in our new vivienda, and in our living room. Enjoy!

Elder Taylor

December...

2008-12-01T09:28:00.000-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Man, this last week went by really fast. We had a lot to do this week and it kept us busy. We officially do not live in the chapel anymore! Yay! We moved out on Saturday morning. We could´ve waited until today to move all of our stuff, but we wanted to be out before Sunday. Some of the young men from the ward came to help us move our stuff and clean up the new apartment. It´s nice, we´re happy with it. For right now it´s pretty empty, but they´ll get some furniture in there pretty soon. But then again, we don´t need much-just the beds, a place for our clothes, and the bathroom! Missionaries aren´t too picky.
Victor Barreneche was baptized on Friday night! There was definitely a last minute push by the adversary to try and knock it off course, but it was done. On Tuesday morning, we were heading to Rivera for our district meeting and Victor was on the back of the bus. We waved, and he motioned for me to go back to him. I worked my way back and he told me that he was on his way to the hospital because his dad had had a heart attack and was in the hospital, but he said he would be back for sure by Friday for the baptism. For the next couple of days we couldn´t get a hold of him. On Thursday, I was in Rivera to do some interviews and Elder Hughes and Elder Jones found Victor and met his father. He was doing much better, and Victor was as excited as ever. They set the interview for Friday morning, before we switched back from divisions. Elder Johnson and I arrived from Rivera and they still had not had the interview because Victor hadn´t shown up; Elder Johnson and I went over to his house, and he had slept in. Haha. And that´s not the end of it. The baptism was set for 7 PM Friday night, and Jesus Furtado was going to baptize Victor. Turns out that the machine at Jesus´ work broke and they got stuck late trying to fix it. We pushed back the baptism in hopes that he would be back, but he couldn´t make it. Victor asked me to baptize him at the last minute. On Sunday morning, a huge rainstorm came through Tranqueras. Victor lives in one of the farthest neighborhoods here in Tranqueras and the streets are horrible, so he didn´t make it on Sunday for his confirmation. Actually, Elder Hughes and I didn´t even make it to sacrament meeting on Sunday. Ok, let me explain. We were in Sunday School with everyone and we received a message from Nestor and Élida asking for Pres. Diaz´s number because Élida´s house was full of water and they needed help. Pres. Diaz took Marcos, Elder Hughes and I to get changed and we ran over to Élida´s house to help them. The roof is in really bad condition, and we´ve been working on getting materials in order to replace it, but we haven´t been able to do so yet. After the rain stopped and the leaking wasn´t as bad, the four of us headed back to the chapel in our jeans and t-shirts to take the sacrament. That was a first.
Yesterday afternoon we went back over to Élida´s house, but this time in shirts and ties in order to have a lesson with Nestor, Belén and Lorena. We have been teaching Nestor since I got here, and he´s just been struggling with smoking. Belén was invited by Yenifer to come to church two weeks ago, and has come the last two. Lorena is another friend who is also starting to show interest. We talked with all of them about the Restoration and it went REALLY well. The best part about the lesson, though, came at the end when I asked if anyone had any questions or comments; Nestor said yes, and asked me what date I will be leaving. I told him the 15th or the 16th, and he said, "Well, then we´ll have to set my baptismal date for the 13th, won´t we?" We all just kind of looked at him, speechless. Haha. We said yes, and talked about his resolution to stop smoking by this weekend. So Nestor Mendez is going to be getting baptized on December 13th! Super excited!
Tomorrow we have District Mtg, and Wednesday we have interviews with President. It´ll be interesting to see how this interview goes. Haha. I can´t believe it´s going to be my last "missionary work" interview. There´s four of us ending the mission this change: Hermanas Gutierrez and Gonzalez, Elder Temechuk and I. All four of us will be in the same zone conference next week in Tacuarembó, so that´s exciting!
Well, I think that´s about going to do it for me this week. I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving! I was in Rivera on divisions, and we went to a buffet on the Brazilian side of the border. Mmm. No turkey, but plenty of food! Love you all, and we´ll see ya soon!
Elder Taylor

Hey Hey!

2008-11-25T17:48:00.000-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Hey there! How are you all doing? I´m doing just peachy. Well, today it would probably be more like a tomatoe. I got fried today. Haha. Elder Hughes and I went fishing this morning with Maiko and Cecilia...lamanite style. For those of you who served here in the ´Guay know what I´m talking about, so explain it to those who haven´t. I forgot my camera cable, so I can´t send the pictures I took until next week. But anyways, we left this morning about 10 AM and we got back about 4 PM. It´s about 10 km outside of Tranqueras, so we walked a ways. We hitchhiked on the way back, so it wasn´t too bad. It was a blast. Cecilia and Maiko are just waiting for Maiko´s divorce to go through so they can get married and then Cecilia will get baptized. This morning while we were fishing, she got in the water and said, "I´m just gonna start practicing for my baptism now!," and dunked herself under the water. We all laughed pretty hard.
Really good week last week. Victor is really excited for his baptism this weekend, as is the rest of the branch. On Wednesday night, we had some surprising news. Marcos and Paola came over to the church while we were planning and Marcos told us that he and Jesus had gone to the house of a less-active member to meet her, because her son had come to a couple of young men activities. They asked her if she would have anything against her son receiving the discussions and getting baptized in the Church, and she said not at all! She even expressed interest in coming back to Church with her son. We were shocked. Haha. It was like having another companionship of missionaries in the city. Talk about member missionary work! What´s more, Yeniger invited her friend Belén to the birthday party we had on Saturday night for some of the youth and then brought her to Church on Sunday morning. She went around showing her the chapel, and presented us to her friend. We had challenged Yenifer to find and bring someone to Church and present them to us. She´s 15 years old, and was stoked for the challenge! What an example!
This weekend in my district we have 5 baptisms! I´m doing divisions with the ZL´s on Thursday so they can come out and do our interview while I go to Rivera and do the other 4. We also have a couple of other investigators who we are working to get ready for the 12th or 13th of December. We´ll see how things go!
Today the President is signing our house contract and tomorrow we take it back to the escribana. (How do you say that in English again? Haha) It looks like tomorrow they´ll be giving us the keys. Saturday we planned a priesthood service project-we´re gonna go fix an hermana´s roof that leaks and then we´re going to go to our new vivienda and clean up the yard. Afterwards we´ll have a little barbecue. We´re all pretty excited. It´ll be nice to be in our own place!
I can´t believe Bryce is home! Crazy! I´m super excited to talk to him in Spanish. It´s so weird to think that two years ago we wouldn´t even dream of talking to each other in another language. I´m glad to hear Zach is doing well, too. When is Spencer getting home? He should be getting close, as well. Sheesh, time flies by! This next week is our last "normal" week. Next week interviews, the next conference, and then changes! Bah! And this week will fly by because of the interviews and baptisms. Ah! Crazy! But don´t worry, I´m not trunky. We´ve decided that while we´re in the streets it´s not hard to focus, but while we´re in the house, it´s a little more complicated. So it´s a good thing we´re in the street all the time!
Mom, that´s cool that you gave the class from Pres. Monson´s talk...because I gave the same one! Sunday morning, I decided to prepare a class just in case the President forgot it was his turn, so I grabbed the Liahona and prepared with that talk. Turns out the President forogt, and I gave the class in Priesthood. It was an excellent class (not because of the teacher, but because of the participation of everyone) and we all learned a lot. Great minds think alike, eh?
Melanie, I´m anxious to hear about how the musical went...! How was your dance last weekend? I believe it was last weekend...? Who was your hot date? :o)
Oh, Mom, I forgot to mention that I had received the Bishop´s email about my homecoming. I have absolutely no problem with doing it on the 21st. Just tell him to let me know when he has a specific topic!
Alright, I think that´ll do it for this week! I love you all! Hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving! Eat a lot for me. Who knows what I´ll be doing for Thanksgiving, because I probably won´t even be in my own area. The mission...what a beautiful thing. Haha. Well, have a good week; I´m looking forward to hearing from you all! Chao!
Elder Taylor

Homecoming!

2008-11-23T21:29:00.001-08:00

Elder Aaron Taylor
is finally coming HOME!

He has been serving the past two years in the

Montevideo Uruguay West Mission.

He will be home on

Thursday, December 18th.

He will be speaking in Sacrament Meeting on:

Sunday, December 21st
at 2:45 PM

The address for the church is

10227 South 4000 West

South Jordan, Utah.

You are invited to attend the meeting and to

also join us for an open house at the Taylor home after church.

Thank you to all who have supported Aaron throughout his mission.
We look forward to seeing you at his homecoming!
Love,
The Taylor Family

2008-11-17T09:09:00.000-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well, first of all, I have to wish a Happy Birthday to my little sister! Megan, I cannot believe you are turning 15! That´s so crazy! I hope you know that I love you SO much. I´m so proud of all that you´re doing and the decisions you´re making. It´s too bad I can´t be there to celebrate this special day with you, but we´ll be seeing each other soon! Everyone here sends their love and says Happy Birthday; turning 15 is a really big thing here.
We had a really good week last week. Jose Bentaberry came to sacrament meeting on Sunday for the first time in like 7 weeks or something like that. We hadn´t seen him in a couple of weeks because everytime they were home, we were traveling, and when we were there, he was working. But this last week he changed his job, and now he doesn´t work on Sundays! Good things are going to happen. The rest of the family didn´t come because a few of them were fighting the stomach flu.
Today I´m writing you all from Rivera. I´m in a trio today, with two of my old companions- Elder Marroquín and Elder Larsen! All of our comps had to go to Deo today in order to take care of some paperwork, so we´re all hanging out today. It´s been fun to catch up on what they´ve been doing the last few months.
It seems like we found a new house. Last week we went and looked at a vivienda, which is about a mile or so away from the chapel. It´s a nice little place, with a big backyard. I took a bunch of pictures and sent them to the offices on Thursday, along with a copy of the contract. One of the office Elders said that President approved it, so all they had to do was get it approved or looked at by the mission lawyer. I told Elder Hughes to try and get whatever we need while he´s down there today. Who knows, we might be moving in to a new house this week- I sure hope so! It´s been cool living in the chapel and all, but it´s starting to get more complicated because the branch is becoming more organized. Last week they had a meeting/activity with the young men, and the Relief Society also had an activity. I´m glad that things are rolling well, but it will just be nice once it´s not in our house that things are rolling. Haha.
Our zone did really well on the goal to get 10 new investigators in each ward last week. We didn´t quite make the goal, but we had like 35 more investigators in church compared to the week before! We all felt like we have seen many miracles in our areas over the last few weeks, and we´re excited to keep seeing them. Those two inactive members that I told you about last week were both in church again on Sunday; they´re coming back strong!
Victor is getting baptized on the 28th of November. He turns 14 this weekend, and he´s just a little stud. I gave him one of my white shirts and I´m planning on giving him a tie before I leave. The young men have done a great job friendshipping him and making him feel comfortable.
The weekend of the 29th will be pretty busy for me. It sounds like I will have about 4 or 5 baptismal interviews to conduct. I´m not complaining at all, but it will just take me out of the area for the last couple of days before Victor´s baptism. Whatever it takes to help people take that important step!
Mom, when is it that you want me to talk about Christmas and whatnot in the ´Guay? How much time will you want me to take? As I said before, Christmas here isn´t as big as El Día de Los Reyes (The Day of the King´s?). I´d be glad to explain them a little bit and we´ll try to get some of pictures to show them as well, if you want. But yeah, I have no problem talking to the two groups. I might need a translator, though! Everyone´s began to razz me for my English errors, lately. It´s not TOO bad, but it´s noticeable. Haha.
My debit card says "Valid Thru 12/08," so I´m guessing that means I´ll be good up until New Year´s.
Thank you so much for taking care of registration for me! I´m super excited to get back and study. What day do classes start in January? The Spanish test I have to take is on the 19th, right? At what time? So much for sleeping in, eh? :o) Yeah, go ahead and get my books for me, too. That´s where I got them last time, right? I believe so.
I can´t believe that Bryce gets home on Friday! That´s so crazy! I remember talking to him in the MTC. Make sure you give him a big hug for me...and tell him that I´ll give him my own in a couple weeks! Haha. Hey Dad, thanks for the update on Brendan. I haven´t heard from him at all in the last 2 years; but I guess I haven´t written him either, though. We´ll call it even.
Hmmm, I´m trying to make this letter longer (making up for last week) but I think this is all I got. I hope you all have a fantastic week, and I look forward to hearing from you! Take care!
Elder Taylor

Resting Place...?

2008-11-11T07:54:00.000-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well, the mysteries are basically all gone now-we know where Elder Taylor will be ending his mission. I´m staying here in Tranqueras! I´m actually really relieved, I did not want to go to another area for only about a month. Elder Hughes and I are both staying here, as we expected. There was one surprise that came with this change, though; Pres. Peterson assigned me to be a District Leader again for this last change. He probably just did it to help keep me focused. Haha. So that´ll be kinda fun.
Things are getting pretty warm here in Tranqueras; we had some really hot days last week. But things are going really well. Last week we had Zone Conference in Tacuarembó, and it was great. I was able to see Elder Tibbetts, Elder Centurión, Elder Gomez, and the Hermana Diaz, who are all finishing this week. Of course I saw Elder Ludlow, too, because he´s in my zone. I don´t know if you all remember me mentioning Elder Ludlow, but we went to high school together. Jason Ludlow, lives down on 90th in the neighborhood behind SoJo Elementary School, or in other words, around the corner from Alison. It was a lot of fun to see them all again, but I can´t believe they´re going home. It just seems so unreal. But hey, it´s all good.
We received an interesting challenge as a zone last week from our Zone Leaders, which provided for a great experience. On Tuesday night, after Conference, they called each companionship and challenged each of us to work a miracle in our areas, to have at least 10 investigators in the chapel on Sunday. Everyone accepted the challenge and the excitement in the zone was really high. We had a morning-side on Saturday morning on a hill in Rivera, and then started a zone fast on Saturday afternoon. We´ll find out today probably how everyone else did. Elder Hughes and I were able to see quite a few miracles here in our own area. We had been working with a couple of inactive members for a few weeks, and they had mentioned the chapel, but never accepted the invitation to come. On Sunday, both of them were there. Also, a couple of investigators who had kind of gone cold on us were present again. Victor, one of our investigators has a baptismal date for the 28th. We had a great lesson on Saturday night with Nestor when we talked about all the blessings that the Lord has prepared for him as soon as he makes the decision to quit smoking. The last week was definitely a testimony to me about how the Lord is willing to bless us as long as we are willing to sacrifice and give everything we have.
This change is going to be a quick one. Usually changes are six weeks, but this one is only going to be five for some reason....it seems they are sending some people home for Christmas or something...I don´t really understand it! :o) I´m really grateful to be here with Elder Hughes. We are really excited to keep things going this change, and we´re looking forward to a lot of success this change.
It´s been a couple of weeks since I heard from Melanie or Megan. How are you two doing? I imagine that Melanie is pretty busy with musical rehearsals. When is opening night? I would guess probably next weekend. Tell everyone good luck for me!
I heard that someone´s going to be having a birthday next week...who could it be? Wow, my little sisters are growing up! What happened? Haha.
Well, I know this letter isn´t very long, but I think that´s going to do it for me this week. I had some really special experiences last week, but I won´t have time to write it all if I try right now. I have no doubt that the Lord knows each of His children and that if we are willing to heed the impressions of the Spirit, He will guide us in what we need to say. Our job is to make sure that we are seeking His guidance, and living in such a way that we can hear it when it comes.
I love you all, and I hope you have a fantastic week! Mary-Anne, I haven´t gotten your package yet, but maybe I´ll get it in District Mtg this week. We´ll see. Take care!
Elder Taylor

Hey hey...

2008-11-03T08:22:00.000-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well hey there! Here we are on another P-Day, but there´s a new month on the top of the calendar. Crazy! In a little over an hour we are headed to Rivera again, because tomorrow morning at 5:30 we leave for Zone Conference in Tacuarembó, so that´s fun.
We had interviews with President Peterson last week. I always love getting to talk with him! Our interview was mostly focused on the growth of Tranqueras and what he can expect from the branch in the future. He asked me to help him and start looking for places where we could move. As of right now, we are still living on the second floor in the chapel, but as things get more and more organized and we start having meetings and activities during the week, he said he would be better for us to look for another place. So this morning we went and looked at one option; it´s a nice little place, but kind of a fixer-upper. I took some pictures, but we´re definitely still in the market. Haha.
Last week was kind of a rough week, because we didn´t actually get to work in our area until Wednesday, and on Thursday I was feeling pretty crummy. We left on Thursday afternoon anyway, though, because we had some really important lessons. Feeling fine now, though, so no worries! This week will also be tough; we have Conference tomorrow, then we have District Mtg. on Wednesday and we´ll get back to Tranqueras about 6 PM on Wednesday afternoon. The Zone Leaders mentioned something about doing divisions on Wednesday and Thursday, so we´ll see how that goes! Things are going really well here in the branch. We´ve found some inactive members in the last week or so, and we´re excited to get them back in church. The relief society president was changed last week. It was Pres. Diaz´s wife, but it´s now Karen Furtado, so that will be nice, because she lives here in Tranqueras and can organize things during the week. Yesterday we set up a time to start the home teaching visits this week with the quorum. Things are starting to move nicely here in Tranqueras!
Halloween came and went without any special news. Elder Hughes and I were half expecting a knock on the door on Friday night, but we were pleasantly disappointed. (Does that make sense? Haha)
I´m glad to hear things are going well at home. Sounds like you had a nice little surprise for Dad´s birthday! No, Mary-Anne, I haven´t gotten the package, but I might get it tomorrow or on Wednesday in District Mtg. Oh, question. What were the last pictures on the CD I sent you? I´m going to delete them off of my camera, but I can´t remember what the last ones were that I took! No, Mom, we changed the hour on Conference weekend, so a few weeks ago. I thought that you had all changed it that same weekend, weird.
Anyways, not a lot of news today. Know that all is well and we´re still working hard. I was studying the other day and found a scripture that had a lot of meaning for me, especially at this time. James 1:8. "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." (Or something like that. I don´t have my scriptures with me.) So that´s my goal-not be double minded in this last month or so! Elder Hughes and I do really well about focusing while we´re working; while we´re at home, we talk about the family and whatnot.
I hope you all have a fantastic week, and know that you´re in my prayers! Take care!
Elder Taylor

Rain, rain...sun!

2008-10-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well hey there! How are you all doing? Today I´m writing you from the main street in Rivera, Uruguay, about six blocks away from the border with Brazil. Cool, uh? Tomorrow we have interviews with President Peterson, so we decided to take advantage and come in today to play some soccer and eat with the zone. We´ll be back in our area working tomorrow after interviews.
This last week brought a lot of rain and a lot of mud. I think I have seen more rain in Tranqueras than in any other area in my mission. I´m not exactly sure why, but that´s the case. Maybe it´s because the region has more hills than any other place I´ve been. Who knows? There were on and off showers starting Wednesday and Thursday, then it rained ALL day Friday and Saturday, and up to about 3 PM on Sunday. I don´t mind working in the rain, but it always makes things difficult on Sundays for the investigators and even for the members. Tranqueras really only has one paved street, so if it´s raining too much, most people don´t even leave their houses. That was almost the case yesterday. Élida Bravo was supposed to get confirmed yesterday (because we had Stake Conference last week) but she was not able to come because her roof leaks in various places and they were trying to keep as much water out as possible. As soon as the meetings ended yesterday, Elder Hughes and I went over there to help them with what remained. When they get the materials to do so, we´re planning a branch service project to replace the roof.
We had a really good week, even despite the rain. We didn´t have as many investigators in the chapel as we have in past weeks, but we had a few. The members really stepped up in helping us this week. We had a lot of great lessons with members present, and even had a couple of finding lessons where members invited friends or family to their house in order to meet us. We´re excited to get back to our area tomorrow and get things ready for this Sunday.
Yes, Mom, they have Primary programs here. I believe I told you last year when I played the piano for the program in Bella Unión, didn´t I? If not, I just did! :o) Yes, I would appreciate it if you would set up a dentist appointment for me before I head up to school. As of right now, I don´t believe there is any necessity for me to see a doctor before I head up to Logan, but I´ll let you know if anything comes up! Okay, the 21st of December sounds fine. Let me know what the specific topic is, if/when Bishop Mangum tells you-thanks!
Time if flying by. Anyone know any secrets to slow it down? This week we have interviews, next week we have Zone Conference, then the next week is changes. After that...sheesh. Elder Hughes and I are really excited for the prospects we have for November, so it´ll keep us plenty busy!
Glad to hear you got the pictures ok. Now I can delete them off my camera and take more!
So Skyler´s getting operated on the 16th of December? Haha. That´s awesome, first time in four years that we see each other and he´ll have cotton up his black nose. Nice to see you! :o) Are he and Tyson still down at SUU together? Don´t worry Mom, my hair is not thinning! Haha
Well, I think that´s gonna about do it for me this week! I hope you all have a happy Halloween! It´s so crazy to think that we´re about to start November. Whew. But yeah, I love you all! Take care and let me know how things are going!
Elder Taylor

Hey Hey...

2008-10-20T10:11:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
So, here we are at the close of another great week, with a new one just beginning. The last couple of days have brought a lot of sun and heat...looks like summer is just around the corner!
We had a really good week last week, with a couple of highlighting events. Friday afternoon at 6 PM, Élida Bravo was baptized by Elder Aaron Taylor. It was a great baptismal service. When 6 o´clock rolled around, there was hardly anyone there, but by 6:10 there was quite a few-Mormon Standard Time even exists in Tranqueras. Haha. Everything went really well in the baptism, and I will never forget how Élida looked at me as she came up out of the water and said, "Muchísimas gracias, Taylor." A truly unforgettable experience.
Sunday morning we got on another bus headed for the Stake Conference in Rivera. There wasn´t as many members in this trip as there was for General Conference, but there was still more than in years past. The Stake Conference was a conference transmitted to 26 different stakes in Paraguay and Uruguay. Elder Zwick conducted the meeting, which was presided by President Henry B. Eyring; Elder Richard G. Scott and Sylvia H. Allred were also present and spoke. It was a great conference where the Spirit could be felt in abundance. The members were encouraged to build their foundation on Christ through prayer and daily scripture study. The young men were challenged to prepare to serve full-time missions, and the youth were warned about the dangers of immorality. I am so grateful for inspired leaders who are called to teach us of our Father´s plan.
Mom, to answer some of your questions: we haven´t had a lot of opportunities for service here in Tranqueras yet, but we´ve talked to a few members and are planning projects within the coming weeks. Right now there are about 5 in the Elders quorum, with 1 priest, 2 teachers, and 1 deacon. Heber, who was baptized last month becomes a deacon next April. There are probably about 10-15 sisters in the Relief Society and 10ish kids in Primary. That´s not counting the investigators we have attending as well. Relief Society is usually taught by the branch president´s wife, who is the RS President. In priesthood it is usually President Diaz, or one of us missionaries. In Sunday School, the first counselor´s wife is the teacher as far as I know. Elder Davidson switched off teaching Gospel Principles every week, and that´s what I plan on doing with Elder Hughes, if he´s ok with the idea. He is doing really well. Like I said, he understands basically everything, but sometimes gets tripped up trying to speak, just like any new missionary. But he´s doing great, and starting to teach a lot more.
So you all got my itinerary...crazy. Don´t worry, I´m not trunky. There´s way too much work to be done. This last week, we found some AWESOME new investigators that we are really excited for, and we saw some great progress in others. We were with Ingri and Anivel on Friday night, and at the end of the lesson, Ingri told us that she was going to be in her mother´s house around 1 PM on Monday if we wanted to swing by and meet her. Monday is our P-Day, but after looking at each other, Elder Hughes and I both decided to do it. So about 2 hours ago, we said a prayer before leaving the house and prayed for the companionship of the Spirit in order to know what to say in order to help this family understand the importance of the message we have been called to share. We went over there and found Ingri waiting with her mom, Graciela, and two of her younger siblings, Evelyn and Julio. Come to find out, they all went to church before, but when the area was closed to missionaries, they stopped going. We had a great first lesson, and answered some of their questions about baptism! As we left, both Elder Hughes and I agreed that it was well worth the 45 minutes; with sacrifice come the blessings!
That is how the work has been going here in Tranqueras. The Church is so new here that the members are still excited and anxious to share the truth with their neighbors. Sometimes, after an area has been open to missionary work for a long time, the members become apprehensive about sharing their beliefs with others...don´t fall in to that! The Lord can´t use us as instruments in His work if we are apprehensive. That doesn´t mean be impolite and pushy, but it means actively look for opportunities to share restored truths. I have received more references here in Tranqueras than in any other area in my mission; this little branch is a GREAT example of member missionary work. I am so grateful for the members, and for the example they have given to me. I hope to always be as diligent and faithful to my responsibilities as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ.
So there ya go, that´s what´s going on here in Tranqueras. I hope everything is going well for all of you! I can´t believe Sterling May is home, that´s so crazy. Elder May (Bryce) is probably heading home within the next couple of weeks, too, isn´t he? Wow. Don´t worry, as I said, I´m not trunky! Haha.
Love you all, and I´m anxious to hear from you!
Elder Taylor

It's Official!

2008-10-16T11:45:00.001-07:00

We have officially received Aaron's itinerary for his flight home!
He will leave Montevideo on Wednesday, December 17th at 11:05 PM. After many long flights he finally arrives in SLC on Thursday afternoon, December 18th.

We are so excited to finally have a date set in stone and to know when the end will be here! Thank you all for your support throughout his mission, and we will keep you updated on when the homecoming will be!!

Lots of Love,
Mary-Anne
(and the whole Taylor family!!)

22 months...!

2008-10-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well, in the last line of Mary-Anne´s email, she let me know that today is my 22-month mark in the mission. That´s so crazy. There are days when it seems like I just got here. But I won´t lie, there are days when it seems like it´s been longer than 22 months, too. Haha. No worries, I´m making the most of the time I´ve got left. No regrets.
We´ve had some special visitors this weekend; Elder Davdison and his mom have been in town. They got here Saturday night and they´re leaving tomorrow morning. It´s been really fun talking to her and getting to know her a little better. I´ve heard about her for the last year and a half, and even more so in the last 2 months, so it´s been cool to actually get to meet her. Elder Davidson´s face has changed even in just the last week and a half. I think he just looks more relaxed and at-ease. He told me he´s just anxious to get home now. His mom arrived Saturday (the 4th) and they fly out on Wednesday afternoon.
Just to let you know, before I forget, I sent the DVD with the pictures on it this last week. They said it takes 7-10 days in order to get there. Let me know when you get it, so I can delete the pictures off my camera and thus have more room on my cards.
On Friday morning I received a call from the offices. Elder Bigham said, "Elder Taylor, I have a question. Do you think your family would mind if we sent you home a week "early"? Or in other words, a week before Christmas?" I laughed and I said, "Ya know, I´m pretty sure they wouldn´t mind." You all don´t mind, right? Haha. He told me that they don´t have the flight itinerary or anything yet, but the projected date is the 17th of December. Whether that is the date I fly from Montevideo or the day I arrive in Salt Lake, I am not sure. But yeah, just so ya´ll know!
Elder Hughes and I had a great week last week. We found quite a few new investigators and had progress with some of the older ones. I don´t know if you remember, but I believe I have commented on Daiana, who was baptized on Sept. 13. Anyway, she has a sister-in-law named Ingri who has come to church a couple of times. She went with us to General Conference last week, as well, and had a great time. We asked Daiana and Walter afterwards what Ingri had thought of it and they said that she had mentioned that she wanted to be baptized. The next afternoon we were at her house! Haha. We had a great lesson with her and her husband, Anivel. We found out that Anivel has heard a little from the missionaries (years ago) and that he was reading the Joseph Smith sunday school manual that we had given Ingri a few weeks ago. We invited them to get baptized at the end of the lesson, and Anivel said, "Well it depends on what day it is, because I work Monday-Saturday." We chuckled and said we could work around his schedule. The challenge will be getting him to church because he´s also a soccer fanatic and often plays on Sundays. Ingri could be baptized this weekend, but we are going to see if we can help Anivel catch the vision and start progressing.
On Thursday, we had a lesson with Élida Bravo, who the missionaries have been teaching for a while. She is Marcos´ mother, the man whose family was baptized a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, she´s fantastic, but couldn´t progress because she couldn´t get a divorce in order to get married with the guy she´s living with now, who comes and goes from Artigas because of work. To make a long story short, they decided that things weren´t going to work out, and he´s staying in Artigas to live his own life so she can live hers. She said she needs God in her life more than she needs any man. When she told us this new news, I almost didn´t know what to say, because it was so unexpected. After stammering for a second and looking at my comp, I asked her, "Well okay then, what day do you want to get baptized?!" Haha. She said, whenever you two think I am ready. The baptism is set for this Friday. The whole branch was excited when the baptism was announced yesterday and she handed out invitations after church. It has been 10 years since she first met the missionaries in Artigas, and after watching her son, daughter-in-law, and 3 grandchildren be baptized, it is finally her turn! When the Lord gives a commandment, He always prepares the way for it to be obeyed, even if it takes a while!
This weekend, we have Stake Conference in Rivera, with a special transmission from Salt Lake. I wonder what it´s gonna be about, or who it´s gonna be....interesante!
This morning we went and had lunch with Marcos, Paola and their family along with Elder Davidson and his mom. We killed two of their chickens and about an hour or so later, we ate them. I´ll send pictures. :o) It´s a pretty nasty day out; it´s been REALLY humid the last couple of days, and it started raining yesterday afternoon-hasn´t stopped since.
Yeah, Mom, we can go onto the Brazil side, because it´s just a street that separates it. We only go over on P-Days though, mostly to eat or maybe shop. I´ve been over once or twice is all, when we´ve gone into Rivera for changes or something.
I believe I know the Bueno family, from Artigas. Well, I know a couple of them. One of the families has been members for years, and the other one I met was baptized last year right after I went to Bella Unión. Maybe it was them. I don´t remember the names, because they were in a different ward.
Well, I believe that´s gonna do it for this week. Thanks for the letters, and for letting me know some of what´s going on. I love you all, and pray for you often! Take care and enjoy the week!
Elder Taylor

Sweet Weekend!

2008-10-06T09:24:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,

I´ll just start by saying how truly grateful I am to know that God has a living prophet on the earth today. What an amazing opportunity we all had to be instructed by His servants the last two days. Ok, I´ll get back to that subject in a minute. :o)

Last week was a very busy week for us, and it started out in an interesting way...! Elder Davidson and I went in to Rivera on the noon bus on Tuesday, because he was leaving from Rivera at 00:30 on Wednesday morning. We had a good afternoon over in Rivera. At 10 PM or so, we went and helped get some of the other Elders on their buses and whatnot, and then another group along with Elder Davidson at midnight. Elder Gillis and Elder Davidson were both finishing, and as I stood there with them, the feelings started to creep in. They both commented on the butterflies and the nerves. No tears, though, because both of them are going on a little trip with their parents this week. I stayed with the Zl´s on Tuesday night, because the offices said that Elder Hughes would be getting to Rivera at noon the next day...

The next morning at 6:30 we went and picked up some of the new Elders in the zone, and then went back to the house for studies. At noon, we got a taxi and started over to the bus terminal. The taxi driver asked me what area I was serving in, and I told him Tranqueras. He then said, "Oh, there´s been a Mormon in the terminal for the last three hours who is also headed out to Tranqueras." No way. Haha. He said the blonde kid and put his suitcases in a taxi, got in, and then got back out as he realized that the taxi wouldn´t take him to Tranqueras. As we pulled in the terminal, I jumped out and started looking around for Elder Hughes; nowhere to be seen. I went and asked Jorge, a guy we know who sells drinks and candy at the terminal if he had seen a lost Elder. He said, "Yeah, he was here for a couple of hours, and then the other guy helped him get on the 11:15 bus to Tranqueras." By "the other guy", he meant the member of the Church who sells empanadas and milanesas in the terminal. I couldn´t believe it. I ran on to the next bus that left right then for Tranqueras and started calling the members in order to have them stop the bus. You see, as the bus goes into Tranqueras, there are various places where you can get off, but you have to know where you want to get off, or tell the driver. My comp had NO idea where to get off. I got ahold of one of the sisters, and as she went out her front door, the bus passed by! She went back inside and called the agency, telling them to tell the Mormon to stay on the bus until they brought the bus back to the garage, which is a block away from our house. Haha. I got there an hour later, and as I went up the stairs in our house, Elder Hughes stuck his head around the corner with the most relieved face I have seen in a LONG time! I felt SO bad, but the offices had told us he got there at noon. Well, the most important thing is that he arrived safe and sound!

Elder Hughes is from Boise, Idaho. He has been in Uruguay for about seven weeks now. He´s actually doing really well with his Spanish. He understands a lot, and he can speak pretty well, too. We´ve already set some specific goals to help him get better, and he´s progressed a lot even in just these last couple of days.

The baptism was done in the garage, in a thing they use to clean the cattle here. At least that´s what they´ve told me it´s used for. I´ll send a picture. The picture with Marcos and Paola by the cake is in the front room of the house, which is just like the foyer. The one of everyone outside before the baptism is behind our house, yes.

Had a sweet experience yesterday. The branch rented a bus so everyone here could go to the sessions yesterday. I locked up the house, and was the last one to go over to the bus. I made sure everyone was there, and then I asked the driver if I could sit up front with him so "I could see the view." Hehe...! We chit-chatted for two or three minutes, and then he opened the door...."So do you guys have some kind of convention in Rivera today, or what?" Well, just let me tell you where we´re headed...! We had a fantastic conversation over the next 45/50 minutes about the importance of prophets, Christ´s church and it´s restoration, as well as the Book of Mormon. I told him, as we were entering Rivera, that that´s why people call us "Mormons"-because we give that book to everyone we meet so they can know of the truthfulness of our message for themselves. Freddy´s eyes lit up and he asked me, "Do you have one of them with you?" "Yeah, my companion has it in his backpack." "Would you give it to me?" "I would absolutely love to. As soon as we get to the chapel, we´ll get it out of his bag." The countryside of Uruguay is beautiful, which could be seen very well from our seas, but the knowledge of God´s plan for us often times surpasses that beauty. How grateful I am for having been where I needed to be, when I needed to be there.

Mom, I went to send the pictures between sessions on Saturday, but it was closed. I will send them tomorrow. I hope. :o) Well, my time is up for this week. Know that I love each and every one of you! I´m looking forward to going over the counsel we all received this weekend again. I´ll send highlights and thoughts next week. Take care!
Elder Taylor

Fotos...

2008-09-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

Hey! A couple of pictures from the baptisms, one of the reception, and the chapel/house! Enjoy!

Cambios...

2008-09-30T09:11:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well here we are on another change day. This change seemed to go by really fast. I think it has something to do with all the traveling that we do here, but who knows? It seems that it always has to rain on change days; it rained when I left Paysandú, and it´s raining today. ¿Pero que se va a hacer? :o)
Great week last week. Super busy week. Monday-p-day, Tuesday-District Meeting, Wednesday-Baptismal Interview, Thursday-Wedding, Friday-Baptism, Saturday-Birthday Party for recent convert, Sunday-Meetings! Yup, Marcos and Paola got married last Thursday and then Paola, Heber and Maria (their two kids) were baptized on Friday by Marcos, their husband and father. It was a great service. After the wedding on Thursday, we threw a surprise reception for them in the chapel. Karen Furtado, the wife of the 1st counselor, set most of it up and got everything rolling. It was great. We had a pretty good turnout for the baptism, as well. President Díaz, the branch president who travels every week from Rivera to be at the meetings, came out especially for the baptism with his wife in order to support the family. The whole branch was excited for them.
On Sunday, the three of them were confirmed by President Díaz, Elder Davidson and I. Marcos had never confirmed anyone before and said his hands and legs shook bad enough in the baptism, so he asked the three of us to do it. Haha. We gladly accepted. After the confirmations, as Elder Davidson and I were sitting at the sacrament table and we had started to sing the hymn, we had a very pleasant surprise. Jose, Nury, and their three kids stuck their heads in the back door! We had been with them on Saturday night, had a GREAT lesson, and they said they´d be there at 2 o´clock for the meetings. Two o´clock came and went, three o´clock came and went, so we figured something had come up. When we saw them stick their heads in, we were stoked! We were already singing the hymn, so we couldn´t get up, but the members did a FANTASTIC job at going back and helping them feel comfortable, introducing themselves, and sitting at their sides. It was awesome. We went and had another great lesson with them last night where we explained a little more in depth about the Book of Mormon. We had told them to read the introduction before the lesson, and when we got there, Jose said, "I read what you told me to read, but I liked it so much, I kept reading. I read the testimonies of the three and eight witnesses, as well as the testimony of Joseph Smith. I hope that´s ok." Haha. Elder Davidson and I were speechless. This is the man who BARELY let us in to his home that first Thursday morning, and was a little hesitant about us saying a prayer. He then proceeded to tell us EXACTLY what happened with the Prophet the night that Moroni appeared to him and told him about the plates. He told us, "I may not remember everything, but I´m just starting to find out about these things now. You will keep coming over to teach us, we´ll keep going to church, and we´ll keep learning things. With time, I´ll be able to remember." Haha, no problem, Jose! We talked more about the Book of Mormon last night, and then about the importance of prophets, with the invitation to go to Conference this weekend. They´re super excited about going to listen to the prophet. The branch is renting a bus for the two sessions on Sunday, and we´ll all go together. I love General Conference! So yeah, a sweet, tender mercy on Sunday and Monday.
Well, now to changes. Elder Davidson is leaving...who woulda thunk? :o) He´s pretty stoked. I´m excited to meet his mom in a couple of weeks, that´ll be fun. I´m staying here in Tranqueras, obviously, and I´m going to be with an elder named Elder Hughes. I don´t know him. He´s only been here in Uruguay for 1 change, in other words, six weeks. He´s coming from Salto, and he gets to Rivera tomorrow at about noon. I´m really excited. He could very well be my last companion. Crazy! We´ll see what happens, though, because President always manages to surprise me somehow. Haha.
Mom, I´m doing pretty good about writing in my journal. Not GREAT, like I was at the beginning of the mission, but I do pretty well. I just hope that you´re all keeping these letters, too, because that will be a nice back-up journal.
Yeah, I pulled out some money last week, and I´ll be pulling out some more here in a little bit. It´s for a good cause, no worries. Haha. But hey, don´t try and ruin the surprise. :o) The exchange rate is about 20 pesos per dollar right now. Hey, so what happened with the bank in NY? Our landlady said that some bank went bankrupt, but that´s all we have heard. I know I don´t need to worry about it or anything, but I´d like to have a little more info....
About this Conference weekend, I don´t know exactly what we´ll be doing yet. I have to talk to the ZL´s today, because we´ll probably be staying with them in order to go to the sessions on Saturday. We´ll see.
I have now trained two missionaries and sent two home. Last night I called Elder Holmes and found out that he is going to be training this change! I´m going to be a grandpa. Haha. We were both pretty excited. Elder Huber is heading back to Cerro, but a different area. He´s doing really well.
As of that goal of 100, I like the sound of it, obviously, but we´ll see what can be done. Right now, we have an attendance of about 35. If we get up to a steady 60 with enough priesthood and faithful tithe payers, the Church will start seriously considering the building of our chapel. They already have the lot, so they´re just waiting for the people to fill it. We´re doing really well, and I´m excited to do my part!
Hey Pops, thanks for the letter and the counsel. It´s a topic I have thought a lot about throughout my mission. I think it´s something I have learned a lot more about, but that I will continue learning throughout my life.
Mary-Anne, it´s good to hear that you´ve finally got some kind of break! I hope everything worked out with that job. It may not be the dream job, but it´s definitely a learning/growing experience! Take advantage!
Mel and Goose, thanks for your letters this week. I hope you both know that I think about you all the time. Well, not ALL the time, but you know what I mean. :o) Keep up the good work in school, and tell everyone that I say hello.
No, Mom, I haven´t asked President about a specific release date yet, but I imagine that within a short period of time, you will all receive my itinerary and whatnot. You will know before I do, I believe. They usually send the stuff to the family before telling the Elder. I don´t know, I´ve never ended the mission before. :o)
In the last couple of weeks, I´ve eaten ostrich egg and pig leather. The interesting experiences never end. Haha. I was going to mention that last week, but I forgot. Anyway, I thinks that´s going to about do it for this week. Know that I love you all, and that you´re in my prayers! Take care, and I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Elder Taylor

Buenos Dias!

2008-09-22T10:25:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well, here we are, at the beginning of yet another week. Nothing too crazy happened this week. We had interviews on Tuesday afternoon with President Peterson, so that´s always fun. He asked me, "So, Elder Taylor, what do you think of Tranqueras?" with a big smile on his face, because he knew that I would love it. We just talked about some of the people we´re teaching, Daiana´s baptism and how it happened, and he just told me to keep working hard and having fun. I love President, it´s always such a great opportunity to get to talk to him and listen to his counsel.
Other than that, the week just went by really quickly, with a lot of work. I can´t remember if I told you, but we had a change in the mission schedule. Remember how before we had that two hour block in the afternoon to study? That´s been changed. Now we follow the schedule exactly as it´s found in Preach My Gospel. It makes for an interesting couple of hours during the siesta, (the nap time) but it´s not too bad. I imagine that in the cities it´s a lot more difficult, but here in Tranqueras the people are pretty laid back. So that´s been fun.
We have a really busy week this week. Tomorrow we´re going to Rivera, like every week, for District Meeting. Oh yeah, I´ll be sending my picture DVD tomorrow, just so you know. Then Wednesday we have a baptismal interview, Thursday is a wedding and reception, Friday we have 3 baptisms, and Saturday we are having a party as a ward for two recent converts who turn 15 this week. Before we know it, it will Sunday again! Sheesh, I´m already tired. Haha. Next week will be change week, I can´t believe it. Elder Davidson is still doing really well, but we´ve talked a little bit more about his family and school and whatnot this week. I´ll be meeting his mom on the 12th and 13th, because that´s when they´re heading back this way. We´re thinking about doing a barbeque or something...
I´m so excited for Conference! We will be traveling in to Rivera for the sessions on Sunday with the branch, I imagine, unless we just stay with the Zone Leaders of Saturday night. The branch will rent a bus for the members here, but only on Sunday, so if we want to go on Saturday, we´ve got to go on a normal bus and stay the night or something. I´ll have to find out what they want us to do.
I´m glad to hear that you had an enjoyable weekend, Mom. I hope the fam´s all doing well. Hey Melanie, you never told me about your musical tryouts...what happened? I´ve been in suspense for like 2 weeks now! Sheesh kid. Are you hanging out so much with your boyfriend that you don´t have time to write your brother? Haha. And Megan, there´s no excuse for you, Goose. You can´t have a boyfriend still. :o)
Mary-Anne, that was a pretty good experience! Welcome to missionary work. Haha. It sounds like he was a pretty intense one, too. I good one for your first time out! Just don´t let it stop you from going with them again...they´re not all like that! Tell the missionaries that you´re willing to go again! At least until you get a job...!
Well, I think that´s going to about do it for this week. Like I said, not a lot happened out of the ordinary. Haha. We´re excited for the marriage and baptism this weekend and excited to keep finding new people to get to church next week. Take care, know that you´re in my prayers, and have a great week!
Elder Taylor

Well Hey There...

2008-09-15T12:27:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well, this was a pretty busy week. We only did a little bit of traveling, but it was WELL worth it. On Tuesday afternoon, we went to Rivera for district meeting (like any other week) but instead of coming home Tuesday afternoon, we stayed with the Zone LEaders and did divisions. We slept on their floor Tuesday night because we, as a zone, left for Tacuarembó on Wednesday morning at 5:30.
We had a special visitor for zone conference, Elder Aidukaitis, the new 2nd counselor in the Area Presidency. It was a GREAT learning opportunity. President Peterson asked us to go fasting as a mission in order to know what it is that we need to do as a mission in order to duplicate the baptisms, in order to fulfill President Hinckley´s prophecy. In 1999, Pres. Hinckley said that the number of convert baptisms could be doubled if 1) we had a more focused, combined effort between the missionaries and the members, 2) if each member recognized the importance and gravity of their responsibilities, and 3) with sincere prayers to our Father in Heaven. Since Pres. Hinckley offered that challenge, convert baptisms have actually DECREASED, which surprised me. The entire focus of the conference was how we can duplicate the baptisms. President Peterson actually talked very little, in order to give more time to Elder Aidukaitis. He was a very motivating speaker, with a good mix of dropping the cane and inspiring to do better. Haha.
We talked a lot about how the same God that worked the miracles in the scriptural canon is the same God that will work the miracles today. We must have the faith sufficient (which includes a variety of things) in order to expect those miracles. Needless to say, we all left the conference anxious to become better in a variety of ways!
Last week, we didn´t have a lot of time in our own area for proselyting, but we had a successful week. On Sunday night, we were with Daiana, an awesome investigator who didn´t have a baptismal date just because she is a timid person. We challenged her to pray, choose a date, and let us know. On Tuesday afternoon, while we were in district meeting, Daiana sent us a message telling us that she was going to be baptized on Saturday...no problem! We set up the interview and Loriana Daiana Gonzalez da Silva was baptized on Saturday, September 13 at 5 PM by Elder Taylor. It was a really neat experience. She will make an immediate impact in the branch. Now we´ve got to keep woking and get all the rest of the investigators ready to take that step. Paola, Heber, and Maria will be baptized on Sept. 26th, and Nestor has just got to decide. Things are going really well, and we´re excited to help things get even better. Jose and Nury are doing well. We didn´t see them at all last week because we were traveling and whatnot, but we stopped by last night after church to see how they were doing. Great family, and we´re going to really start focusing on them. We have a lesson with them on Wednesday night.
Tomorrow we have interviews with Pres. Peterson, so that´ll be cool. I love talking to and learning from him. I have been very blessed throughout my mission with great leaders, teachers, and companions.
Tell everyone I say hello and send my best, especially to Bishop Stoker. I didn´t get to know him REALLY well, but I am so grateful for his service and I am glad to hear he is doing better. Well, that´ll do it for me this week. Love ya!
Elder Taylor

Howdy!

2008-09-08T10:06:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well hey there! How are you all doing? Things are going well here. Yesterday after church the sun decided to come out again and chase away the rain clouds that we had been playing with for almost the whole week. It´s been wet, muddy, and pretty chilly. But we´ve had a good time.
Lots of work this last week. A couple of trips to Rivera; once for district meeting, and one because we did divisions with our district leader. Good times. I was here with Elder McClellan, from California. It was fun, but I just like working with my "normal" comp. Just makes things easier. Haha.
Marcos and Paola finally got all the papers they needed and they got a date for their wedding! They will be getting married on Sept. 25th and then Paola, Heber, and Maria will be getting baptized on the 26th! We´ve all been pretty excited about that the last couple of days. Elder Davidson and I sold some ties and old gadgets to other missionaries in order to help them have enough money to get the papers and everything they needed for the wedding; they were very surprised and grateful when we gave it to them. 1 Nephi 3:7.
Nestor is going through a pretty tough time; he´s been without work for the last couple of weeks and is struggling to keep going day by day. However, he is a trooper. He will be getting baptized next weekend. Also, Daiana might be getting baptized this weekend; if not, it will be next weekend, most likely. She´s an amazing investigator (she memorizes entire CHAPTERS of the Book of Mormon) and she loves church, but she´s very bashful; or at least that´s what she calls it. She´s 24 and has 2 kids, the cousin of a recent convert. We had a lesson with her last night and went over the requirements for baptism, which she has met. I then gave her the little calendar I carry around and told her to choose one of the next 3 or 4 Fridays for her baptism. She said she would and she´s going to let us know today.
Tonight we´re going to be going out with Walter, Daiana´s cousin who is the recent convert. He turns 15 the 26th of Sept., and he is just a stud. He went to the temple 2 weeks after his baptism and loved it. He asked us last night if he could go out and do visits with us, so we told him to come with us tonight! The Lord is preparing a great future leader.
Tomorrow we head to Rivera for district meeting, and we won´t be back until Wednesday night or Thursday morning. We´ll be staying with the Zone Leaders on Tuesday night and Wed morning we all head to Tacuarembó for zone conference. I´m excited. I haven´t seen Tacuarembó since I went for zone conference when I was in Artigas. How the time flies.
Sounds like everything is going well back at home. What audition did Melanie have this week? Good luck, kid! Mom, how´s your leg doing? Dad, have you bought your truck yet?
Don´t worry, Mom, I haven´t forgotten about your Nativity, but this is not the time of year to find one. I´ll keep my eyes open. Bombachas are the type of pants that the gauchos wear here. I bought a couple more soccer jerseys last week in Rivera. I´ve also got some bigger expenses coming up here in a little bit...no details allowed. But just so ya know!
Well, I think that´s about going to do it for this week. This morning we tried to wash our clothes...we got halfway done and they cut the water. That was after the power had gone out. Haha. We´re going to head back now and finish washing. Fun stuff. Know that I love ya, and that you´re in my prayers!
Elder Taylor

¡Buenos días!

2008-09-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well, I´m not as sore as I thought I would be, so that´s a good thing! Haha. But both Elder Davidson and I are a little more red today! On Sunday we had the idea of just borrowing a couple of bikes and going for a little ride to see the countryside. We went out on the Highway 30 and arrived (12 kilometers later) to Buen Unión, where the highway meets up with the freeway. We looked at the sign and it said RIVERA 41; we had just done 12 kilometers in 45 minutes, with a stop to scare some cows and take a couple of pictures, so we decided we could make it in a little over two hours. What we didn´t realize is that we took a sharp left turn to get on the highway....and to go straight into the wind. It´s a good thing we had bought a couple of apples and bananas before leaving. We were super tired afterwards, but it was a fun memory. Not many can say they biked from Tranqueras to Rivera!
One of the funniest parts is that when we got home, we found out that the water had been cut on our block! Unbelievable. We studied all sweaty and nasty, but then right before we had to leave for our first lesson, the water came on for about 20 minutes, so we could shower. While we were doing our hair, the water cut out again. A tender mercy that it came on at all! Haha.
I don´t know, Mom, if we are that close to the highest point in Uruguay. I can tell you that there are more hills here than any other part of the country that I have seen. There are quite a few gauchos here and in the roundabouts. I´m looking into some boots right now and some bombachas. :o) It´ll be interesting to see if this is my last area or not. I´ll for sure be here until November, but who knows if Pres. will move me for my last change. I kind of hope not; I´d like to finish here. I´m going to start looking for some more souvenirs because in Rivera you can find stuff pretty cheap.
I´d love to go and talk to your class this December about stuff here in the ´Guay. My last couple of days in P-dú I asked about some of the Chistmas traditions and whatnot, found out some stuff that I didn´t even know yet. Cool cool. But yeah, sign me up.
Jose and his family didn´t come to Church yesterday. Well, Jose came to tell us that they weren´t going to come because his wife was sick. But we had a great lesson with them on Saturday night, so we´ll see how things go. We have a baptism next week: Nestor. He is a really good guy who has had a big change. Just last night he told us that he hadn´t smoked since Saturday; that was going to be his biggest challenge before being able to get baptized. He´s going to get baptized the 12th and be confirmed the 14th-his birthday. Also, Marcos and Paola are going to pull out a date for their wedding this week. After they get married, Paola and her two oldest kids are going to get baptized. Marcos is already a member. Sandra and her three kids (Richard, Sandra, and Claudia) have also accepted the invitation to be baptized. It will probably happen the week of the 20th. So yeah, things are going well. Teaching a lot, and doing our best to find more people each day to teach. I´ve been really blessed with great companions throughout my mission who are willing and anxious to work. Even though Elder Davidson is in his last change, he is doing really well. We talk about school and stuff every once and a while, but we don´t let it pull us away from the work. His mom will be coming down to get him the first weekend in October and they´re going to swing by all his areas, so I will have the chance to meet her.
On Sunday, we were pleasantly surprised when the high councilman announced that a member of the branch had been called as branch counselor; Jesus Furtado, who moved here from Rivera about 4 weeks ago with his wife and two young children. We are grateful to have a priesthood leader here in Tranqueras, and we are anxious to support and help him.
No, Mom, I still haven´t sent the CD of pictures. My bad. It´s in my bags. Haha. There´s no post office here to send stuff internationally, so I´ll have to take it to Rivera with me one of these days. We go every week for district meeting (like today) but we don´t have a lot of time to run over there. We might be heading over there next Monday for P-Day, so I´ll see what I can do. I´ll think about what it is that I could need/want in a package, and I´ll let you know! I had some thoughts the last couple of weeks, but I forgot to write them down...!
Alright, I think that´s going to be about it for this week. I hope you all have a fantastic week and I hope you write me about it! :o) Take care and know that I love ya!
Elder Taylor

Notice...!

2008-09-01T11:43:00.001-07:00

Hey there! Just wanted to drop you all a line so you don´t worry and let you know that we will be writing tomorrow afternoon! Elder Davidson and I took a "little" bike ride this morning to Rivera. Little meaning around 53 kilometers and 3.5 hours! Haha. We´re going to go catch a bus right now to head back and we will be writing tomorrow afternoon while waiting for our bus. So there ya go!
Elder Taylor

Happy Independence Day! (or something like that)

2008-08-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-08-11T13:25:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-08-04T11:47:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-28T13:10:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well hey there! How´s everything going? Things are going just dandy here. It´s still pretty chilly; this morning we woke up to fog and a cloudy sky-great weather on P-Day. Haha.
This week was a pretty normal week, as far as the work is concerned. Last night we ended the week feeling content with the work that was done in our area and we are also seeing a big push from the zone, so that was great to see. On Tuesday, we had interviews with President Peterson and the Hermana; it was a lot of fun. They started at our house. First they inspected the house and let us know if it was clean enough, nice enough, etc. The Hermana said she´d already told 9 companionships to find new houses. Haha. She said they´re trying to raise the "standard of living" in the mission. After we had our interviews, we sang a hymn and President said a prayer, during which he blessed our house and both of our companionships-a neat experience. Then Elder Shupe and I accompanied the Assistents and the Peterson´s to each of the houses in the zone and while President was in the interviews, we went on splits with the Assistents to do contacts in the street and try to find new people. Neato. After we finished the interviews around 1 PM (we started at 9 AM), the Peterson´s took us out to eat with them. It was fun to just sit and get to chat with them and get to know them better. I had a really good garlic chicken with mashed potatoes and Elder Shupe and I shared a banana split for dessert. Mmmm.
Health wise I´m doing just peachy, no worries Mom. We are planning an activity for sometime in mid-August for the ward; we´re going to play human foosball. I´m super excited. We´re really pushing it to make sure we get a lot of the less-active members involved. We´ll see how things turn out. This ward is awesome! I love the people here. I´m really going to miss this area whenever it is that I get transferred. The members, the investigators, and just the people we meet are awesome people.
I don´t know if I told you, but we are reading Preach My Gospel as a mission this change. I have read it before, obviously, but it is amazing to see how different things stand out and catch the attention this time around. It has been a great learning experience.
So things are sounding busy on the homefront. I hope Melanie and Megan had an awesome time at EFY last week and learned a lot. I´m looking forward to their report next week....hear that, Mel and Goose?! Haha. Dad, that organization chart was pretty sweet, I hope I understood it well. My dad´s a pretty important guy, apparently. Haha. Why are you getting a new boss? Is it over the whole branch out there in Magna, or just in your department, or what? Mom, how are you enjoying your break? I hope things are going well!
Sorry for the bland letter, but that´s what´s going down this week. Have a great week! I can´t believe we´ll already be starting August. Crazy. Take care and I can´t wait to hear from you!
Elder Taylor

Howdy!

2008-07-21T09:04:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Buenos días! How ya´ll doin? Hope everything is going just dandy up there! Things are going well here. The weather has gotten a little chilly again-this weekend we actually had to put on our jackets in the streets and sweats in the house. They said it was supposed to rain this weekend, but it never did. Not complaining by any means, don´t worry!
Last Tuesday we went down to ´Deo for ZLC, with the District Leaders as "special guests." Haha. It was a lot of fun to get together with some of the Elders of the mission, as always. It was a great learning experience, we talked a lot about the importance of goals and what we can do as individuals, as companionships, and as a mission to reach them. After the conference, we had lunch at the mission home, and I got the chance to just sit around and chat with the Hermana Peterson and President with some of the Elders for a little bit. It was a fun, casual chance to just get to know them a little better and ask them questions. I am so grateful for them and their counsel to us as missionaries. I have no doubt they have been divinely called to preside over this mission for a reason!
We had a nice little surprise this weekend. On Saturday night, we were planning for Sunday and, all of a sudden, we hear the apartment door open. Elder Shupe went around the corner to find Elder Hansen and Elder Centurión (the assistants to Pres.) in our door! President and the Hermana are on a trip to visit each house in the mission to make sure it is in suitable conditions, and at the same time, President is conducting interviews; they told us our interviews are tomorrow morning, but they just came to stay the night at our place for a couple of days. The President and the Hermana are staying in a hotel. We´re basically the launch pad-yesterday after church they drove up to Bella Unión and came back, and this morning they went to Salto and this evening they´ll be back.
Yesterday, President and the Hermana came to our sacrament meeting before leaving for Bella Unión. Just to make sure I was awake, or for some other reason, the bishop asked me to give a talk about 5 minutes before sacrament meeting started....! Thanks a lot, Bishop. Haha. I was up on the stand already, because I play the piano for the ward, so when the Bishop announced that I was the closing speaker, Pres. just looked over at me and smiled a "tough-luck" kind of smile. It was pretty funny. It was just a quick, simple talk about scripture study and why it is so important for us. Simple and sweet. :o)
Things are going really well for us work-wise. We´re still going out to Casa Blanca once a week and visiting the three or four families that we are teaching out there. Rosa wasn´t able to be there on Thursday, because she had a meeting for work, but we had a good lesson with her mom, Elsa, and her daughter, Viviana. They are doing really well, and our goal is to get them to church this week-we´ll see how it all goes! We also found a really neat lady named Patricia out there on Thursday. She is a widowed mother with 5 kids under the age of 17, and she´s probly about 35 years old herself; her husband died of cancer at a VERY young age. But she is an amazing woman with unshakable faith in her heavenly Father. She is Adventista (I believe it´s 7th Day Adventist in English) but she says that sometimes she just gets confused because of all the different religions that exist today. We had a very nice introductory lesson and we´re excited to go back on Thursday and continue!
So yeah, everything is going well! Melanie and Megan, I don´t know if you´ve already left or not for EFY, but if not, HAVE A GREAT TIME! I had SUCH a good time up at EFY. Just get involved and don´t be scared!
Mary-Anne and Nathanael-HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! I can´t beleive it´s been three years since you guys got married. That´s so crazy. I hope you had a great weekend and are enjoying the time together. What are you doing to stay busy, Mary-Anne? Swift, what do you do in your new job? If you give a good enough description, maybe I´ll come join you up in Oregon. Haha. Yeah right!
Mom, enjoy your break! Any big plans for the next few weeks? Matt is headed up to USU? That´s awesome! Do you know where he is going to live? That´ll be cool to have him up there. How´s the rest of the gang doing?
Well, I think that´ll just about do it for me this week. We have interviews tomorrow, so that´ll be fun. Other than that, just finding more people to teach and helping them make the necessary changes in their lives to come closer to their Father! I hope you all have a FANTASTIC week, and I´m looking forward to hearing from all of you!
Elder Taylor

Hey there...!

2008-07-14T10:37:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well, this letter might be kind of a short one, because the internet is being SUPER slow today, but we´ll see how it goes! Things are all going really well here. Changes came and went, no problems. The new zone is a great one, we´re really excited for this change.
Tomorrow morning/tonight Elder Shupe and I head down to Montevideo, but this time we´ll have two guests-Elder Stobbe and Elder Larsen, our two district leaders. This change President has invited all of the district leaders to come to ZLC so we can help train them and things can be more unified. It´ll be pretty sweet. Elder Larsen is my old comp from Cerro-he just got here to P-Du this last week, where he replaced another Elder Larsen. So here in the zone I have 3 comps-Elders Shupe, Huber and Larsen-that´s pretty cool!
This last week wasn´t as "great" as the last few, but it still went really well. We went out to Casa Blanca again on Thursday afternoon and had a GREAT lesson with Rosa and her family. We arrived and chatted for a minute, sang a hymn, and then I asked if we could start with a prayer. Elsa, Rosa´s 70-year-old-ish mother, said, "Well I read that pamphlet you left me last time, and I have a question I want to ask." I said, "That´s great! Could we start with a prayer first, and then you can ask your question?" Sure. We said a prayer, and then she pulled out the pamphlet of the Restoration that we had left her. She turned to the back, where the index of words is located, and started to read the definition of "Restoration." As she came to the name Joseph Smith, she stopped and asked, "So this means that this Joseph Smith is a prophet? Ok, but where how did he know he was a prophet; where did he get the authority?" What a GREAT question, Elsa. We proceeded to talk about how God had previously set up the Church on the earth through his Son, how it had fallen, and how he had restored it in our day. Just a fantastic lesson with lots of great questions and at the end, a conditional invitation to be baptized: When each of you know that this message is true- that God has restored the authority to baptize to the earth and that authority is found in this church-will you be baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ? Rosa IMMEDIATELY said, "Yo sí!," followed by her daughter who said, "When I receive an answer for myself, yes." What a sincere and prepared family! On Thursday we are headed back out there to teach them about the Book of Mormon and prayer-definitely looking forward to that!
Sounds like you all had a great week! Mel and Goose, I´m glad to hear you had a fun time up at girls camp-I´m looking forward to your email that tell sme what you learned! Have a GREAT time at EFY. I´m so jealous! But hey, everything has it´s season, right?
And Mom got to see them put the angel Moroni up on the temple-sweet! Does that mean the temple is basically done? Dad, did you tell me the open house is going to be like next April or May? It´s going to be so crazy to get home and see a temple up on that hill and lots of houses behind the house.
Haha. Here I am thinking that the package was going to get here this last week or this week, and it´s still sitting at home! But hey, it´s all good, I understand. PS, I took some money out of my account last week so I could buy a sleeping bag from one of the missionaries who was headed home. I´ll use it for a bit and then sell it to someone else before I leave; I already have a buyer. Haha.
Anyways, I think that´ll be it for this week. Sorry for the short letter. Just remember that you love me! Have a good one!
Elder Taylor

Pictures!

2008-07-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures from our Zone Conference in Mercedes! After the Conference, we had a couple of hours to wait for our bus, so we went and hung out by the river! Good times!

Buenos dias...! Changes...

2008-07-08T09:57:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,

So here we are, at the end of one change and getting ready to begin
another! Time is going so quickly! So where is Elder Taylor going to be for
the next six weeks, and with whom? Drumroll please.....
Elder Taylor is staying in Paysandu and he´s staying with Elder Shupe!
I am SO excited! I was really nervous that I was going to be heading out,
but all is well in Barrio Ombu!

Last week had another SWEET experience, and yes, it was in Casa Blanca,
yet again! Elder Shupe and I went out there, and had a good lesson about
the Restoration and the Book of Mormon with Carina, which she accepted to
read. We left that lesson feeling great and headed over to a lesson we had
set up with a family we found a week earlier...nobody´s home. Oh well,
sometimes it happens. We decided to start knocking, which is what you have
to do in a little pueblito where you don´t know anyone. We walked down a
street and Elder Shupe looks at the house NEXT to the Catholic
church..."Let´s knock this one." Sure, why not. As we walk up the tiny
little walkway, we can see a couple of people sitting around drinking mate
and watching tv. Well, they can´t say they´re busy....! We clapped, and
out comes Lorena. Elder Shupe tells her who we are and tells her that
we´re here to share a message about/for the family (as we see their two
daughters in the house). She looked at us hesitantly for a second and then
invited us to come in.

Inside, we met Luis (her husband), Rosa (her older sister), and her two
daughters (12 and 4). We sat down, showed some pictures, and then the first
question out of Lorena´s mouth-"So what is the difference between your
church and the Catholic church?" What a LOADED question! Is this a trap or
is it a sincere question? Elder Shupe and I kind of paused, he looked at
me, and I started to talk about the authority of the priesthood. The Spirit
quickly filled the room as the family learned of God´s plan for them, and
how it is made possible through the power of the priesthood. Rosa, the
older sister, then commented that her father had recently passed away, and
that her mother was going through a hard time. She asked us why God allows
that sort of thing to happen; we explained that the purpose of this life is
to learn and grow, which takes place as we face and overcome trials. Tears
welled up in the eyes of the two sisters. As we are getting ready to end
the charla, Rosa asks us if we have somewhere else we have to go, or if we
would be willing to go over to her mother´s house with her; of course
we´ll go! We ended with a prayer, and went over to Elsa´s house.
At Elsa´s place, we found her and Rosa´s two children, Viviana and
Nicola¡s, waiting for us. We got to know them a little bit, laughed, and
showed some pictures. As we´re showing pictures, Elder Shupe finishes with
the one of his uncle´s sealing to his three children. We began to talk
about how it is God´s plan for families to be together forever and how
that can only take place in the temple with the correct authority. We had
an AMAZING lesson with this family, and the Spirit was SO strong! We ended
with a prayer, and we have a return appointment for this Thursday, where
all 7 people will be waiting for us in Elsa´s house...! I have no doubt
that I am where I need to be, and I am so grateful that the Lord allows me
to take part in His miracles!

Conference last week was fantastic. President talked about faith and
symbols of Christ-amazing! We met his son, Chris, who just returned from
Sao Paolo. And I learned something REALLY cool- I can understand the
majority of Portugese! It´s been a long time since I´ve heard it (since I
was in Artigas) but it is REALLY similar to Spanish, and I could understand
most of what he said! How cool is that?! I´m going on a vacation to
Brazil!

Well, I think that´s going to be about it for this time around! I hope
this letter finds you all well and content after your holiday weekend! Know
that you are in my prayers! Love you all !
Elder Taylor

¡Buenos días!

2008-06-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-23T15:43:00.000-07:00

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...!

2008-06-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-10T10:25:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-06-02T15:59:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

Hey, these are more pictures from the baptism on Saturday! Sweet, eh?

Cambios...! (Changes...!)

2008-05-27T10:52:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Waiting for changes this time wasn´t as intense as it has been for the last year and a half; maybe the fact that my comp is heading home has something to do with it! Haha. Elder Maughan leaves for Montevideo tomorrow morning at 2 AM. He´ll be at home with his family on Friday evening. Crazy.
As for Elder Taylor, I´m staying here in Paysandú, obviously. And I will be accompanied by my new companion...Elder Shupe! I met Elder Shupe about a year ago in the offices when I went to go pick up Elder Holmes and we become good friends really quickly. We are both stoked to get together and hit the ground running! I think Elder Shupe has been out about 3 months longer than me, so we´re both pretty close. This will be his first change as a ZL, so we´ll see if I learned everything I needed to. :o)
Another cool thing about changes....ELDER HUBER IS COMING TO PDU! And more than that, HE´S GOING TO BE LIVING IN MY HOUSE! I am SO excited! Elder Villa is heading to Mercedes and Elder Arrieta will now be Huber´s senior comp. Last weekend I called him to find out the baptismal date for one of the investigator´s I left in Cerro, and I told him (jokingly) to get ready because he was going to be bounced up to P-Dú with me...and now it´s happening! Haha. A very pleasant surprise!
Last week was a busy week. We had lots of stuff to take care of, especially the ward activity on Friday night and the stake baptism on Saturday. The ward has been really struggling with activities, so the bishop asked us to help the Young Men with an activity for the ward. We called it "La Noche del Evangelio" or "Gospel Night." We talked about the 5 steps in the gospel and had an activity to go along with each one. Young Men were in charge of faith, we were in charge of repentance and baptism, Relief Society was the Holy Ghost, and the Primary was enduring to the end. It went REALLY well and the ward LOVED it. The bishop was very content. We´ll see if he asks us to help with an activity for June...!
The stake baptism-what an awesome night! In the zone, there were 9 baptisms, and we did 7 of them in our chapel. (The other two wards are pretty far away- half an hour and an hour.) Elder Maughan and I had planned 8 baptisms for Saturday, but last week we talked about it with the bishop, and we decided that 3 of the Rodriguez family need a little more preparation, and the other 3 want to wait and be baptized with the others. So on Saturday, we had 2 baptisms in Barrio Ombú-Estefany and Belén Benitez. Elder Maughan baptized Estefany and I baptized Belén. Their parents are working on the paper work for their marriage so they can join their daughters as members of the Church. It was an awesome baptismal service; three wards combined and tons of member support! I haven´t seen so many people in white outside of the temple-it was sweet! Hopefully it won´t be the last!
Elder Maughan gave a talk on Sunday; it went well. Last night and tonight has been going around to different goodbyes and picture events for him. He has left a mark on this ward.
So Mary-Anne-are you baby-hungry yet? Haha. Those pictures showed up well. Send Megan and Ashley my congrats! And now Nathanael is off on one of his crazy adventures, eh? That´s cool. Is it some kind of contest, or did he and Jordan just decide to do it? I wouldn´t be surprised...! :o) PS, about your dream-Forget about it! That´s ridiculous! I thought you knew me better than that...I´m going to need at least 8 months....! Haha. Just playing!
Hey Melanie, so how did that American Idol thing turn out? Did that one LDS kid win? How´s the last few weeks of school going? When do you guys get out, anyway? Any hot dates lately? :o)
Goose! What´s up, kid? How´s school? Are you behaving yourself? Haha. Don´t forget to write me, and don´t forget what we talked about on Mother´s Day...!
Pops-thanks for those quotes! You know me so well. Haha. You went and vacuumed in the Conf. Center? That´s sweet. Was it a huge vacuum? So it´s looking like I´m going to be home for the temple dedication? Sweet! How´s your truck shopping going? Hurry up, man! :o)
Well, I think that´s about it for this week. I´m going to go take a nap, because I´ll hardly get any sleep tonight. I´ll be up in the bus terminal almost all night long...oh goody. But I hope you all have a great week and I hope to hear from ya soon!
Elder Taylor

Two of these are from Zone Leader Conference and then the next
 one...well...isn´t!Haha! Elder Maughan and I! I´ll make a cd
and send some more in the mail. It takestoo long to download
them on here. Dad, if you know of a faster way, let me know! :o)

Hey There!

2008-05-19T16:39:00.000-07:00

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

Hmmm...

2008-05-12T19:12:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well, another telephone call come and gone. That´s crazy. That may be the last phone call I make home, but I guess only time will tell. Who knows if I´ll be home before Christmas? Any predictions? Haha. But, like Mom said, don´t get trunky.
So Mary-Anne has informed me that I don´t sound as weird as I did the last phone call. Elder Maughan and I decided it´s because the phone connection here is better. :o) If you don´t remember, Elder Maughan was also with me the last time I called home, but not as my companion, just as a housemate...? Haha. But I´m glad that I sounded "normal" this time. I must say, this phone call wasn´t as weird as the last one. On Christmas, it was just kind of awkward. Well, at least I thought so. Yesterday was just normal. Good thing. It was really good to talk to Skyler; sheesh, I can´t believe how long it´s been since I saw that kid. Come to think of it, I haven´t even seen a picture of him since he´s been home...! Hey slacker, get on top of that! :o)
Everyone seemed to be doing pretty good, so that´s always nice to know. After my phone call yesterday, Elder Maughan called his family and basically just said, "Hey, see you in two weeks." He was feeling a little trunky yesterday, needless to say, but I snapped him out of it. Haha. We had a pretty good week this week. Like I´ve been saying, we´ve needed to focus on finding. We had a pretty cool experience on Friday afternoon. We left after lunch focused on just that-finding. We decided to go by a ladies´house whom we had talked to in the street; went by, and no one was there. Knocked a couple of houses down and just talked to them in front of their house-nothing; but while we were there, we saw Leticia (the lady who we had talked with) return to her house. We went over there and just talked to her in front of her house, because she was home alone with her baby. We explained a little bit of the plan of salvation and she seemed to gain interest. At the end of our little chat, we asked her if she had any questions, and she said, "Yeah, I have one, but it´s kind of off the subject...what´s your baptism like?" Elder Maughan and I just kind of looked at each other and then explained that our baptism is like the baptism of Christ, by inmersion and by the priesthood. Then she says, "In the Bible, there´s a scripture that says that when Christ comes again, He will return to His church...how can we know which church that is?" With a smile, we explained that that is exactly what we teach, how people can know with a surety where the true church of Christ is in our day. We set up a return appointment, and we´re excited to head back tomorrow and answer her questions! The Lord is preparing His children, we just have to be willing to open our mouths and help them find what they are looking for!
Mom, you asked what we have been studying in our studies...it really kind of depends. One of those three hours is dedicated to language study, one to personal study, and one to comp study. I rotate between the BoM, the Bible, Patriarchal Blessing, and other books from the missionary library. Right now I´m in the process of re-reading the BoM, I´m in 1 Corinthians in New Testament, and I´m almost done with Moses in the Pearl. A lot of reading. :o)
I haven´t really eaten any "new" foods lately. That´s one thing that I´m not too crazy about in the ´Guay-there´s not a lot of food variety. Every restaurant or store you go to has the same things on their menu. But hey, it´s all good. For zone meetings, we usually take stuff to make sandwiches, or we order a milanesa, hamburger, or pasta, usually. Just depends on the day. :o)
I´ll think about stuff that I need/want and make a list so I can tell you next week. You could also make a list of ideas to help, if you want. Haha.
Well, I´m gonna end this letter and try and send off some pictures. I hope all of you mothers enjoyed your day yesterday! Take care!
Elder Taylor

Asado...

2008-05-05T11:36:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well here I am, tired and worn, but with a full stomach! This morning we had a zone activity with the whole zone. We went over to a member´s house in our ward and had an asado. (BBQ) While the food was cooking, we went over to the nearby field and played ultimate frisbee, soccer, and tossed around the football. It was a lot of fun, but doing a full-out exercise like that just makes me realize how long it´s been since I ran around on a field! I´m looking forward to a nice, warm shower and a little nap before studies. :o)
Last week was a great week. We had the Sector Conference here in Paysandú on Wednesday, so that means Elder Maughan and I were running here and there on Monday and Tuesday making sure everything was ready. Food, tables, chairs, audio, etc. Everything turned out really well, and the conference was a success!
Things are going really well for us here in Barrio Ombú. Elder Maughan and I are working with a couple of families really closely. The Rodriguez family, whose parents are inactive members, and the Zaballos family, where all 5 are nonmembers. The 4 Rodriguez kids who are of baptismal age are excitedly preparing for their baptism on the 24th, where they wil be accompanied by the 3 children of the Zaballos family. Mario and Diva Zaballos, the parents, will follow shortly thereafter, after everything goes through for Diva´s divorce from her husband in Argentina and they get married here in Paysandú. The longest delay will be waiting for the divorce to get through the courts, because the husband is in Argentina and has already remarried there. But they both have very strong testimonies of the Book of Mormon, and seeing their children progress encourages them to continue despite the delay. Their youngest daughter, Belen (9), got up and bore her testimony yesterday in Sacrament Meeting; the look on the faces of her parents said it all. Sweet!
This week will be a week of finding new investigators to keep the work moving forward at this quick pace. The zone of Paysandú is doing better than ever before-20 people have baptismal dates for this month already. The Lord is mindful of His children here in this part of the vineyard!
Mom, all is well with the question of health. I got over the little fever I had in a day or so. Yesterday my comp was fighting with a fever and congestion, but he´s doing better today. Congratulations on your graduation ceremony, Mom! That´s awesome! Don´t forget to send me pictures of you all dressed up in your cute little gown. :o) I´m glad that your concert went well.
Mel and Goose, what happened?! I´m still waiting for my letters...! Mel, how did your solo go in the concert? How are your guys´ grades looking for this last quarter? I hope they´re doing well...if not, I´m gonna drop the cane. :o)
So Mary-Anne´s gonna be subbing at Mom´s school...that should be fun! I want to hear about this wonderful growing experience. Haha. I don´t think I could teach; I like little kids and all, but the lack of focus would kill me! More power to ya.
Nathanael, when do you find out the results from your finals? How was this first year? Am I going to survive through my first year of law school? Haha, yeah right. That´d be interesting!
So Dad, what color is my Tacoma? Is it my metallic silver one, or is it the black one? I´m not feeling too picky. I can always get a paint job later, right?
Well, I think that´s gonna be about it for today! I hope everything is going well for all of you up north! Don´t forget to drop me a line and let me know how things are going...yes, that means you. Have a good one!
Elder Taylor

Vamos arriba Paysandú...!

2008-04-28T11:04:00.000-07:00

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

P-dú...

2008-04-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

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

Changes...

2008-04-15T09:09:00.000-07:00

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

April...!

2008-04-07T09:52:00.000-07:00

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

End of March...Wow

2008-03-31T08:51:00.001-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
So I think Íll start this letter by saying I cańt believe that it is already the end of March/beginning of April. That́s so crazy. It seems like yesterday that I was watching fireworks on Christmas and New Years. The time has flown by these last three months. And now it́s time for Conference again! I am SO excited! I dońt have to sit and watch Conference all by myself this time around; Íll be with the rest of the gringos in the zone. I guess that could have it́s advantages and it́s disadvantages. But we are super stoked to continue the Taylor Family Conference Tradition here in this side of the world! Those of you who know what that tradition is, you understand; those of you who dońt, just ask...but I warn you, you will be converted! That́s why Nathanael married my sister....! :o)
We had a really good week last week. The change of weather got to me a bit, I was sick for a couple of days, and still am fighting congestion. But hey, it́s all good. My tonsils are inflamed again, for about the 4th time on the mission; but wéll just rub some dirt in it and keep going. Worry about it later. Haha.
We found this really cool lady named Angela last Wednesday. She was sitting out in front of her house playing with her grandson, Facundo, whós turning one this Friday. Anyways, we were across the street, and decided to go talk to her; as soon as we started to cross the street, she was just smiling...not a usual occurrence! Haha. We introduced ourselves, asked about her grandson (to break the ice) and told her we were sharing a message especially about the family. As soon as we said that, she said, "Well would you like to sit down and talk for a minute?" as she opened the gate; why yes, Angela, we would LOVE to...! We sat there in the front of her house and talked with her about God́s plan for our families and how we can be with our loved ones forever. At the end of the little chat, SHE ASKED US if there was a church close by and if it was ok for her to go. We told her the address of the church, and invited her to come. She said she wanted to talk to her daughter first, to see if she would accompany her. We told her wéd call on Saturday night to set everything up. Cool.
We called her on Saturday night, and she said shéd meet us at the Church. Sadly enough, she didńt make it yesterday morning. She woke up with back problems, but we visited her yesterday afternoon and had a great charla. We talked about how God calls prophets to reveal his truth to us, and how he has done so in our day. Anyways, at the end of the lesson, after she said a GREAT prayer, she said to us, "I dońt know why it is that you guys came and talked to me that day, but it must be for a reason. I dońt usually sit out in front of the house like that. There must be a reason for it all, right? Maybe I dońt understand it now, but I hope that after praying I will be able to understand." Needless to say, Elder Huber and I walked away smiling and speechless. We have really been blessed in our efforts. Three of our investigators now have baptismal dates in April, and we have a few others who are REALLY close. The Lord provides the way, He just asks us to be the instruments.
This week is a full week- District Mtg tomorrow, interviews on Wednesday, and Conference this weekend. A great week to learn and grow! Elder Huber is awesome. Ím so grateful for the chance I had to be with him these last few months. Lots of desire and a powerful testimony; "Oh, the places (héll) go..."
Well, that́s gonna be about it for my time today. The letteŕs kinda short, sorry, but I had to say hello to my cute little sisters! If anyone speaks to Mary-Anne this week, tell her I love her and I missed her letter this week. :o( I hope you all have a fantastic week and Ím excited to see what you all learn from the Conference this weekend! I expect a good report and some good notes next week. Keep your eyes out for who has the best tie of the Conference...that́s always fun! Chao chao!
Elder Taylor

P.S. For the record, if anyone is reading this, Mary-Anne DID send Elder Taylor a letter...he just didn't receive it. :(

¡Feliz Pascua! Ayer....

2008-03-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
I hope you all had a WONDERFUL Easter weekend and ate lots of good candy. I was pretty lucky...my family´s Easter package got here last Tuesday! I was probably the most excited/content missionary in the world when I opened it up....well, except for maybe my companion. Yes, Elder Taylor has now converted another helpless soul to Mother´s Taffy Cookies. What a beautiful thing. :o)
Last week was a really good week. Federico Rebollo now has a baptismal date! The date is set for the 19th of April; so we´ve still got a ways to go, but that´s no problem. He went to Church yesterday for the first time in this ward (remember, he had been with his older brother in Fray Bentos) and seemed to really enjoy himself. Now we just have to help make sure that it continues!
I went on divisions with Elder Johanson last week and Elder Espínola went with Elder Huber in our area. They went to a lesson with the Godoy family and invited Rosana to be baptized on the 5th of April-to which she responded that she doesn´t think she is ready. Elder Espínola said he thinks she might have just been a little uncomfortable because there were a lot of people around (cousins, aunts, uncles) for the holiday weekend. So tonight we have a lesson with the Godoy family, and we are going to talk about what it means to be prepared for baptism; all the family visitors left last night, so the lesson will be a lot more tranquilo!
We had an interesting thing happen over the course of the past couple weeks...ready? A couple weeks ago, Ivan stopped the Zone Leaders on P-Day and asked them if they understand Spanish; of course, they said yes. He said that years ago, missionaries had given him a book and told him that if he ever wanted to know more about it, to just contact the missionaries. "Well," he said, "I want to know more." They were more than happy to write down his address and inform him that two missionaries would be passing by. I received a call from Elder Centurión during studies on that P-Day...a very welcome interruption. He passed more the information, and the next day Elder Huber and I tried to find the house...which didn´t take place. He lives in a pretty rough neighborhood, and the addresses there aren´t very efficient. So we couldn´t find the house. A few days later, walking down the street Santa Lucia in the morning, a man calls out to us from the bus stop on the other side of the street. We stopped, and he came over to talk to us. He said he had spoken with missionaries about a week earlier but no one had come by his house; I asked him if his name was Ivan and he confirmed that it was. I quickly explained what had happened and asked him to explain to us how to arrive at his house; he explained, and we set up a time to go by. Ok...I´m gonna try and make this a little shorter...
Ivan is about 63 years old. At the age of 16, he began backpacking South America, arriving all the way to the border of Venezuela. He says he was looking for peace; a peace he could never find. Not in music, drugs, or any relationship. He considered himself atheist, but because of curiousity, he investigated just about every religious group he could find. Evangelists, Mormons, Catholics, Masons, Jehovah´s Witnesses, and any other that comes to your mind. But, nothing "filled" him. He returned home, after many years, where he became very ill. While he was in the Intensive Care Unit for 15 days, some Muslim "missionaries" came to visit him and explained to him that real peace cannot be found in this life, but only in the next. After being released from ICU, this self-believeing athiest/hippie became Muslim. Now, 7 years later, he had come to find that while they talk of peace in their temples, outside they talk only of how true peace can only be accomplished with war. He has become disilusioned with the teachings, and has began his search yet again, beginning with the message that he remembers more than any other, the one that left an impression in his mind and heart...a message about a young boy who saw God the Father and the Resurrected Son, Jesus Christ.
It is going to be a very interesting teaching and learning process, for all of those involved, but I strongly believe that Ivan has started the beginning of the end. I am so grateful for the peace which is offered through the knowledge that God and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, in a demonstration of His infinite love for us, His children. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to help the people here in Uruguay find the peace that they are looking for. It´s our responsibility and privilege as members of the Church and as Christians.
Well, it´s about that time. I hope you all have a fantastic week and remember to write me! :o)
Chao chao!
Elder Taylor

So...

2008-03-17T21:01:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
¡Buenos días a todos! Digo, buenas tardes- ya es la una y media, pero está bien. Capaz debo escribir toda la carta en español...¿qué dicen? Estoy demásiado cansado para tratar a pensar en inglés hoy. Interesante, no? A veces es más facil a hablar o pensar en español. Antes de la misión, yo siempre quería siempre cómo pensaban las personas que podían hablar dos idiomas...y todavía no sé explicarlo. Elder Huber siempre se burla de mi porque cuando estoy hablando en inglés, muchas veces una palabra me sale en español. Es chistoso, pero a la vez puede ser frustrante.
Ok, enough Spanish. How yáll doin? I hope everything is going well on this beautiful St. Patricḱs Day. Yep, I still got the "American" holidays down...thanks to my AWESOME homemade calendar! I informed everyone this morning at our zone activity that today was St. Pattýs Day-they were all very grateful. Haha. This morning we got together at our chapel and played soccer, and afterwards we played football. We had some good laughs. Elder Huber received a football in a package from home last week, so he was pretty excited to put in to good use. Actually, he and I have been waking up early the last week or so to go play sports in the morning; one day wéll play basketball, and the next football, and so on. A good way to make the morning routine not so boring.
We had a pretty good last week. Not too much outside of the usual. Yesterday was cool, though. Pablós family (Nahuel, Rosana, Fabian, and Mariana, along with Rosanás 3 kids) all went to Pablós ex-wife house for the weekend, so they wereńt going to make it to Church; we were kind of bummed about that, but when Pablo showed up on Sunday morning, he brought a surprise with him-two of his nieces that he had talked to about the Church and were interested. Hés such a good example of how a missionary should be. He talks to EVERYONE about the Church; and hés only been a member a little over 3 months! It́s so cool. Anyways, his nieces dońt live in our ward, but we got their direction from them and wére going to pass it to the other missionaries. Pretty sweet.
Yesterday in church I also gave my first talk here in this ward. This Friday, the four of us missionaries are going to start a weekly training on Preach My Gospel, and Obispo Sampayo asked me to kind of introduce/give a pitch for the training in sacrament meeting. It went really well. A couple of members came up to us afterwards and made sure on the schedule and asked about where they could buy a copy of Preach My Gospel-so hopefully that́s a good sign!
Whitley Davis is getting married? That́s crazy! To who? If you see her or her mom, give her my congratulations and tell her I want an invitation! Haha. Oh, speaking of which, what ever happened with Shayla Troff́s (Bentleýs) invitation? You guys got one, right? Send me a copy. Or maybe you can scan it and send it in an email. That́d be good. Íd just like to see this shady character that stole her heart! (Just kidding Shay!)
Wow, that́s crazy what happened to Sister Nelson. Next time you see her, make sure you tell her I say hello.
Carson Homer is such a stud. I need to write him again, but with the new rules on the pouch mail, it made it a little more complicated. Some excuse, uh? Get over it, Elder Taylor and write that kid! How are the other Elders doing from back home? Ward/Stake/Bingham. Have you heard from/about any of them? Such as Jeremy or Brendan, for example? Just a question.
Hey Melanie, are Bro. Montoya and Bro. Christensen still at Bingham? If they are, tell them to quit being lazy and write me! :o) Man, I miss seminary. Those were some good times. *Sigh*....haha
Hey Melanie, what́s all this about all these trips?! I want to go! Haha. That sounds like a blast. What is the group that Ms. Hatch chose you for? You are going to be a Senior next year, right? Sheesh, that́s crazy. Yoúre getting old, kid!
Hey Mary-Anne, that́s a pretty sweet missionary experience! Congrats! Haha. Now you just have to follow-up and tell the missionaries yoúd love to be present in the lessons! :o) Theýd be very impressed, as would I! The sister missionaries had mono?! That sucks-we just had an Elder who had to go home early because he had mono. That́d be tough.
Alright, well that́s about it for this week. Ím gonna go home and take a nap. Well, wash dishes and then take a nap! That sounds just beautiful. I hope all of you are doing well. Have a happy Easter this Sunday. Eat lots of candy for me. :o) I love you!
Elder Taylor

Uh...

2008-03-10T17:58:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Good morning to all from a once again sunny and beautiful Uruguay! The weather has finally cleared up a bit, and we are enjoying the sunshine. We had about a week and a half without seeing the sun...just rainclouds. I love the rain, love it, but enough was enough. Haha. Last week I was sick two (and a half) days. I was in bed with a 102 degree fever. But, wére all good now! Elder Huber just took advantage and rested up a bit, too. Sunday morning at Church, I just had a killer headache, and then that ache started working it́s way into every part of my body; the fever came on late Sunday night/Monday morning. No worries, no one died, and wére back to work! We now have a Latin in the house with us, so that́s been a fun change. Elder Huber is definitely cracking down on his Spanish, now. Haha. Elder Espínola is a really fun guy, and a good, hard-working missionary. Hés still young in the mission, but sets a good standard for all those old guys. :o) Elder Johanson and Elder Espínola are in my district this change, as well as the zone leaders, Elder Centurión and Elder Bankhead. On Friday night, I gave my first baptismal interview. One of the ZĹs investigators, Fernanda, was baptized. She is probly the most intelligent 11-year old Íve ever met in my whole life. Super cute kid with a bubbling personality. It was a good way to ease me into this whole interviewing idea! As Elder Huber, Elder Centurión, Elder Acuña, and I headed back home in the bus, we asked the driver if we could sing a few songs; he said, "Sure, Ím Christian." The four of us stood in the middle of the bus and sang "Nearer, My God, To Thee," "Abide With Me," and "The Spirit of God" to a full-bus audience at about 9 PM on Friday night in the middle of Montevideo! It was a fun, memorable experience. Hailey Nichols is working at your school, Mom? That́s awesome! Who did she marry? And shés pregnant?! Holy cow. Tell her hello and congrats for me! And I actually did hear that Sarah Johnson got married, but that́s not the girl who was ÁCappella pres with me-that was Angela Johnson. Close, though. Any other marriage or mission news that I dońt know about? Mary-Anne, I think that́s a great idea to start studying Preach My Gospel just so you are more comfortable when those questions are asked. The four of us are going to start teaching a Preach My Gospel here in our ward on the 21st of this month. We are super excited for it. If all the members in the Church studied Preach My Gospel and put in practice what it teaches, missionary work would be completely different! So start that study! And then send me all your cool insights...! :o) We just had Daylight Savings Time here. The night of the 9th. So we got to sleep an extra hour. What a beautiful gift! :o) I only change the time one more time on my mission...therés some food for thought. Haha. Hey Melanie! Ím still waiting for my report! Ćmon kid, yoúve got me on edge w/ all the suspense! Haha. I know yoúre probly super busy with all your homework, boyfriends, and driving, but you can spare 5 minutes to write your brother about your play...please? (Insert puppy dog face here!) The Lumbergs had their 5th baby a few months ago? Ah man, I wanna see that her. Their kids are some of the cutest kids ever! Speaking of cute kids, we have one of the cutest girls Íve ever seen here in our ward. I think shés 2 years old, and she looks exactly like Melanie did when she was little! Super curly hair, and a to-die-for smile. Shés not as dark as Melanie was, but just a little doll. Íll have to take a picture and send it to you guys. Dad, I asked about Coleman, Alabama, because that́s where one of our Assistants, Elder Drake, is from. He used to be my ZL in Salto. We were talking a few weeks ago, and I mentioned you had served in that mission. He asked if you had served in Coleman, and I said that I thought you had mentioned that name before. His grandpa was Branch President in that branch for like 20 years. And Elder Johansońs dad also served in that mission, but from ́69-́71. So maybe he liked trained you or something. Haha. Who was your trainer, anyway? His son is probly here in my mission, cuz it seems like everyone has a connection with your mission! Well, I think that́s going to be about it from this side of town for this week. I hope all is going well and that you are all taking care of yourselves. Mom, did you get that list of "needs" I sent last week? :o) Hoẃs that coming along? Haha. I love you guys! Take care and wéll hear from you next week! Elder Taylor

Pictures...

2008-03-05T16:55:00.000-08:00

Hey,
These are two shots from the baptism. The couple standing
next to me is Mariana and Fabian. Pablo and Nahuel in white. Lucia is
the little girl, Matias the biggest of the other two and Nicolás is the
other kid. Rosana is the other lady next to Huber.
The third picture is Elder Ludlow and I. He went to Bingham with me...
yes, that´s right, we are doing the pick and the shovel
on a beach in Uruguay!
Go Miners!
(This is the Elder that´s coming back with us next Spring Break...!)

Elder Taylor

Changes

2008-03-04T17:10:00.001-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
> This one is probably going to be a little shorter. If you have any questions, comments, or complaints, please direct them to Mary-Anne Taylor Swift. :o)
> Changes are upon us! But not a lot of changes. Elder Huber and I are staying together! I´m stoked! We have some really good things going on here, so I´m really glad that I get to stay. Elder Roper, from the other companionship, is the only one that is leaving. And Elder Espínola is coming to be w/ Elder Johanson. He´s from Paraguay, and I love him to death, He was in my zone while I was in Bella Union. So yeah, that´s our changes. Oh, and I was called as a District Leader, so that´ll be fun. It´ll be another opportunity to be able to serve the Elders here in my zone! Saweet!
> Well, Nahuel went swimming on Friday! Elder Huber was a witness in his first baptism here in the ´Guay. It went SUPER well. There was a very small turnout of people, but that´s because it had been raining every day, nonstop, for the last week. I don´t know if you have heard about the flooding in Argentina...we haven´t had any flooding, just lots of rain. Pablo, Nahuel´s dad, was able to do the baptism. He is a recent convert. He was super emotional and super nervous- reminded me of dad. :o) The first time he dunked him, he forgot to say the last name! But the second time, he did just fine. After Nahuel came up, Pablo just gave him a huge bear hug, right there in the font. It was a very touching moment. I was there waiting with the towel at the top of the steps. Nahuel went in the bathroom to go change, and Pablo just stood there, looked at me, and said, "Tengo ganas do llorar por alegría." or "I feel like crying I´m so happy." I just gave him a hug, in my suit and all-I can dry it off later, right? So yeah, we had a good baptismal service. The other Elders and I sang "Dime la Historia de Cristo" a´cappella. I don´t remember the title in English, sorry. It went really well. The Bishop asked us where he had to sign in order to contract us for a sacrament meeting. Haha.
> Mom, I want maple extract! :o) And peanut butter. :o) And taco seasoning. :o) AND PICTURES OF OUR HOUSE! Other than that, let your heart guide you. Haha.
> Dad, did you ever serve in Coleman, Alabama? Or did you ever know and Elder Johanson? It seems everyone has a connection with that mission! Pretty sweet!
> Well, I think that´s going to do it for me this week. I hope you all have a FANTASTIC week and I can´t wait to hear from each one of you! Melanie, the pictures of the play looked awesome! I can´t wait to get a review from you! :o) Hey, ¡no se vayan a olvidar que les quiero a todos! ¡Pórtense bien y cuídense mucho! Hey Matt Boyce, I´m expecting an invitation!
> Elder Taylor

PICTURES!

2008-02-25T18:48:00.000-08:00

Here's some of the pictures from the CD that
Aaron recently sent home...

Getting bored w/ subject lines...!

2008-02-25T18:45:00.000-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
> Starting these letters is always weird. I know I´ve commented on it before, but just so you guys understand, I´m mentioning it again. Anyone got any good ideas for starting a weekly letter?
> This week was a pretty sweet week. We had Stake Conference yesterday, that was cool. Elder Huber and I had 9 investigators there for the general session. But that wasn´t even the best part; the best part was that President Peterson and his family were there! Pres. got up to speak for only about 5 minutes, but I think even person in that room could feel the power behind that man´s testimony. Pres. Peterson also gave me the chills...when he invited everyone at the conference who wasn´t yet a member of the Church to get baptized! He basically just invited around 20 people to get baptized! It was awesome.
> Nahuel is getting baptized this Friday night, and we´re working with the rest of his family, as well. We are going to invite Rosana, his older sister, with a date this week. We watched the Restoration last night and had an awesome lesson afterwards; mostly because we ate cookies that Elder Huber and I had made. :o) No, just kidding. But we compared the Restoration of the Gospel to cookies. How did we do it? Send me your ideas, and I´ll tell you how close you are!
> Anyways, Rosana got really in to President´s talk, especially when he gave the invitation. Last night, we invited her, along with the rest of the family to pray and ask if the message of the Restoration is true, and upon knowing, to be baptized. They all accepted. The Lord is really pouring out His blessings upon Elder Huber and I, and our investigators. It makes me kind of nervous, because changes are next week...I don´t want to change a good thing. Haha. But, that isn´t really a decision that I make! So, make sure you got that note, NEXT WEEK IS CHANGE WEEK, WHICH MEANS I´LL PROBLY BE WRITING ON TUESDAY. Ok, moving on.
> I don´t think I told you guys about Frederico last week, so I´ll do it now. I got a call from the offices of the mission about a week and a half ago, and they gave me a name and a address of a reference received from a member in Fray Bentos. Anyways, we went and contacted this reference, and it turns out that Frederico´s older brother sent Frederico´s name in as a reference. Frederico went and stayed w/ his older brother for a couple of weeks in Fray Bentos a couple of months ago, went to church w/ his older bro (who is a member of the Church) and he really liked. Frederico is 14, but he´s SUPER smart, and SUPER nice. He made us cake on Thursday or Friday...of course we´re going to like him. :o) The first lesson we had with him, we were just trying to get to know him a little bit, and he told us that he wanted to be sure of what we teach before he gets baptized; Frederico, there is no problem with that. Haha. We gave him a conditional invitation to be baptized, and he accepted. We have a lesson with him tonight, and we are super excited.
> Elder Huber is doing awesome. He understands basically everything, and he´s starting to open up more in lessons and whatnot. The other night he got kind of frustrated because he couldn´t express what he wanted to, but on the way home we had a good chat, and then looked up the words together when we got home. Just an awesome kid with great desires and an even better potential.
> That Spanish translation was pretty funny...all the missionaries got a good laugh at it. Maybe you should just take it to someone who speaks Spanish. ;o)
> Speaking of people who never answer questions...you guys left like all of mine unanswered! C´mon now. I have somewhat of an excuse-I only have one hour to read and write, but you guys have a whole week! Haha. Have you heard from or tried to contact Elder Stoddard? Did you tell Matt Lamunyon hi for me? How is Spring Break looking for next year? Good? Good. Hmmm...can´t remember what the other questions were, but that´s ok.
> Melanie, how was your show?! I was telling people here about it all week last week. Haha. One of our investigators, Ricardo, basically fell in love with one of the pictures I have of you! Mary-Anne sent me one of you sitting in the old computer chair when you had your extensions in, and Ricardo almost didn´t give me the picture back! Haha. Everyone here loves seeing your hair, especially!
> Alright, well I think that might just about cover it for this week. If I missed anything, please forgive me. My bad. Take care of yourselves this week! Next week will be March....weird. Have fun!
> Elder Taylor

Another Anniversary...!?

2008-02-18T07:53:00.000-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Hey! ¿Cómo se están portando todos? Espero que todos anden bien. Quizás debo escribir esta carta en español...¿qué tal? Todavía no lo he hecho, y ¡hace un año que estoy aquí en la misión! ¿Qué lo tiró? El tiempo está pasando muy rápido-no sé lo que dicen los demás, pero para mí, es así. Los que han servido una misión saben cómo me siento. Pero bueno, para que todos puedan disfrutar de esta carta y para que mi madre no me baje la caña...voy a escribir en íngles ahora.
So how many of you could understand that?! I´ve been in the mission over a year, and I´ve never tested your spanish skills, so I figured I would give it a shot. How´d ya´ll do?
I´m super tired. Haha. This morning, the zone got together and we went up to the fort on El Cerro. That was pretty fun. The museum up there was closed, but when Elder Huber and I were taking a picture pretending to knock on the fort door, one of the military guys asked us how big our group was...I told him 14, and he said that they could open it up special for us, if we wanted. Of course we said yes. We went in, saw what there was to see, and left him with a pamphlet as a thank-you. :o)
Elder Huber and I had an AWESOME week this last week. We taught more lessons this week than I have in any other week while here in Cerro. We also found a ton of new people to teach. Some are just alright, but there are some others that we are really excited for. Also, a couple of the less-active families that we have been working with came to church. Overall, una semana exitosa.
Nahuel, Pablo´s son, was supposed to get baptized this next weekend, the 23rd, but we have stake conference, so we are postponing it until the first of March. That whole family is doing really well. We watched "The Testaments" with them last night, and the oldest daughter, Rosana (who has three kids) was really touched, because we had talked extensively about Jesus Christ throughout the week. Before we watched the movie, as we were waiting for something, I told her that when she gets baptized, I´m going to do it; if it means I have to come back from the States, so be it! We both laughed afterwards...but hey, you never know! :o)
Mary-Anne, I got your package last week! I think it got through untouched, too, so that means that you can´t get mad and stop sending packages. Haha. The music is awesome! Thank you SOOOO much. I didn´t expect you to put it all nice in a folder and whatnot, too-what an awesome sister I have. :o) No, Mom, I haven´t gotten your package yet, but if you just sent it a week or so ago, I should probly get it next weekish. I´m glad you all got my package. I tried to send some of the best alfajores with the package, but they told me that it wasn´t permitted. Remember what alfajores are? The SUPER good cookie-type thing that you guys said tasted like a dry alfajor? I still can´t believe that blasphemy. :o) When we come to visit the ´Guay, you will all recognize the beauty of an alfajor.
Speaking of coming to visit the ´Guay...how are those plans coming? Everyone getting next Spring Break set apart? Sure hope so! Elder Ludlow, who also went to Bingham, and I have been talking about coming back next April...if ya´ll care to join us! He´s one of my ZL´s here in Cerro. It´s been a lot of fun.
Megan, you look SOOO good! I´m so stoked for you! How does it feel to have your braces off? Did it feel kind of weird at first? It might have felt weird, but that´s one of the best feelings ever. Haha. Thanks for sending me the pics, Goose!
Melanie, was your play this last weekend, or next? How did it go, or how is it going? What is the play called? I forgot. My bad. Have you gone on any hot dates lately? :o)
Who are Bishop Mangum´s counselors? Bro. Lumberg and...? That sounds like a sweet bishopric! Bishop Mangum is an amazing guy, and I´m basically in love with the Lumberg family! I´m sure the other counselor is a good guy, too. :o)
No, Dad, I haven´t heard from Eduardo in a super long time. The last thing I heard was that he got the Melquisedec (I don´t know how to spell it in English) Priesthood and just doing fantastic. I wrote him another letter a few weeks ago, so I´m hoping to hear from him soon. Who is your home teacher that translated the video? That´s awesome! Quizás debo escribir totalmente en español para que él les pueda servir! ¿Qué le parece? :o) Matt LaMunyon gets home this week?! That´s super weird. Make sure you tell him hello for me!
They don´t really celebrate Valentine´s Day over here, but at least every one knows it´s a holiday. Oh, speaking of the holidays...this week I hit my year-mark in the ´Guay. Pretty sweet, uh? And my comp hits his month-mark. :o) Yeah, you guys are a "tad" behind on the scrapbook...Elder Stoddard was my TRAINER! Haha. Have you guys heard from him, ps? I haven´t heard from him since he left in August-what a punk!
Anyways, so that´s about it. Dad, did you ever look in your journal for an Elder Garns? That´d be pretty sweet! You should probly hop on that. Well, I hope you all had a fantastic week! I can´t wait to hear from ya!
Elder Taylor

Howdy Y'all...

2008-02-11T16:41:00.000-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
> Yes, Mary-Anne, I did get your email. Sorry for not mentioning it! I thought it was pretty funny that Nathanael had to send your email because you forgot and fell asleep. :o)
> Anyways, today I am writing you all from a cyber in Playa Pascual. We are doing an activity as a zone, so we all got together in this area. We bought like 16 pounds of meat and then 2 sausage-type things for each missionary for lunch. Mmm. Elder Espínola, from Paraguay, volunteered to cook us the asado today, because apparently they make it pretty sweet in Paraguay. I´m super excited to eat. Haha.
> Last week was a really good week. We had Sector/Zone Conference last week, which was fantastic. The mission is really taking on a different look with President Peterson, I love it. Before Pres. and his family arrive at the conferences, they always give us a chapter to study in the scriptures to invite the Spirit before the Conference. This week the study was 1 Corinthians 13 and Moroni 7:33-48. We study for about 15 minutes or so until Pres. gets there. When he gets there and we start the Conference, he chooses and Elder or an Hermana to give a 5-minute talk on the study. We he shook my hand on Thursday, I knew I was going to be called-and sure enough...! It went well. I think it was one of the first times I was nervous to talk in front of missionary´s in my whole mission, or close to. I don´t know why I was kinda nervous, but I was. It went well, though. So that was fun. Elder Huber also had the opportunity to speak, because in every Zone Conference, the new Elders bear their testimony and also those who are ending this change. My comp is just a stud, that´s all that can be said. He´s doing super well.
> Last week, as I said, was a great week. We are working with Nahuel to finish getting him prepared to be baptized. We weren´t going have time to teach him all the principles before this Saturday, so we pushed the baptism back a week. Anyways, last Friday we went over to talk about the Word of Wisdom. As of late, his WHOLE family has been listening and participating with us. That would include his 28-year old sister (Rosana) with her three children, his 20-year old brother (Fabian) and his 18-year old girlfriend/fiancé. So Fabian is a "social-drinker" and his gf, Mariana, smokes, so we knew that this was going to have to be a great lesson. And a great lesson it was. By the end of the lesson, both had committed, by themselves, to stop drinking and smoking. It was amazing. The Spirit definitely testified to the whole family about the truthfulness of the message. At the end of the lesson, we invited all of them to come to Church on Sunday. All of them had been at least once, except for Rosana. She kind of looked away when I invited them all, but I made eye contact with her, and said, "You too, Rosana." She said, "Oh, I don´t know. I might go...some very distant day. We´ll see." So I re-extended the invitation and left it at that. Sunday morning comes around and the whole Godoy family was at Church...including Rosana. She LOVED it; she participated more than almost anyone else in the classes. We are going to have a FHE with them tonight, and we´re super excited to talk about their experience at Church.
> So that was good. Another great thing, Ricardo came to church with his son, Liber. It´s obvious that they both still have their doubts, but getting them to Church was a HUGE step. So basically, Church was a fantastic experience! Well, more than usual, of course...! :o)
> Last week we had a few rainstorms; it was nice to have a break from all of the heat. We only got drenched a couple of times...no big deal. It actually reminded me of Utah rainstorms, because it would be super hard for about 5-10 minutes, and then it would just drizzle for a while. Good times.
> We went to the Leadership Training Broadcast on Saturday night; that was good. The family must be a pretty important subject, eh? A two-hour leadership training on how we can protect and strengthen the family. If only there was an easy, effective way to just let everyone know all at once that THAT is what the Church is all about-providing the questions that we all have about our families. If people could just see past the shirts and ties and listen to the message that we share about the ETERNAL HAPPINESS of THEIR family...things would definitely change. They never said it would be easy, right? Just that it would be worth it.
> So Mary-Anne got a new job, Megan is getting her braces off, and Mom is back in school. A pretty full week. And Melanie...? Haven´t heard from my soul-sister in a while-what´s that all about, kid? :o) Nathanael, thanks for keeping me up-to-date on the important stuff. Haha. I had heard about the outcome, but that´s about it. When I come and live with you guys for a while, it appears we´ll have quite a few games to watch!
> Mary-Anne, I haven´t gotten your package yet, but if you just sent it two weeks ago, I´ll either get it tomorrow or next Tuesday...that would be normal. I´ll let you know! I´m wearing the shirt that you sent me today...everyone loves it. Haha. :o)
> Mom, you asked if there´s anything that I want or need. Here´s my Valentine´s Day list...
> -Mother´s Taffy Cookies
> -Pictures of my House (My family would be good, too; Friends, "conocidos", it´s all good!)
> -Maple Extract (so I can make syrup)
> Other than that, I´m not quite sure at the moment. Those are the things I thought of in this last week. So if you can help me out with that...that´d be fantastic.
> Well, I think that´s gonna be about it for this week. Sorry if I left anything out that I should have included...don´t get mad at me. Haha. I hope you´re all doing well and enjoying the cold weather! Have fun, and don´t forget to drop me a line!
> Elder Taylor

Well hey there...

2008-02-04T08:38:00.000-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Hmm...where to start? A very interesting week. The main event was the funeral service of President Hinckley. We received permission to go and see the satellite broadcast at the Stake Center. I don´t know how long the program was at home, but we had a four hour broadcast; about 2.5 hours of the funeral and then about 1.5 of documentary type stuff. I did really well emotionally until the last song, "My Shepherd" which was accompanied by the slideshow of Pres. Hinckley. I don´t know if any of you remember, but Bingham´s Acappella choir my junior year sang that song...that was a tender mercy. I don´t know if it´s possible to put into words the feelings that we all have about such an amazing leader and example. I agree with Bishop Burton when he said it´s a especially hard loss for the youth of the Church; Pres. Hinckley was a role-model and an icon for the youth. He will be deeply missed.
Towards the end of last week, Elder Huber was feeling a little under the weather. I think it´s just that his stomach is trying to get used to the different diet. But he´s doing ok now. We´ve been doing really well together; we get along really well, so that´s definitely a good thing! He´s just a cool kid. I say kid...but he´s older and a LOT bigger than me. Haha. He could probly lay me flat with one swing. Needless to say, no one messes with us in the streets. :o)
Yesterday, we ate lunch with one of our investigators, Ricardo. (We are also teaching his 23-year-old son, Liber, if that helps you realize who it is.) Anyways, they couldn´t go to Church because they had family coming in from out of town, but to "make up for it" they invited us to come over and eat with them. We went over and had a very nice meal with them. His sister-in-law, two nieces, and a soon-to-be-nephew were there, along with Ricardo´s wife and son. Right when we sat down at the table before we started eating, the nieces and the nephew starting firing questions. It was an awesome lunch. I just love helping people correct their misconceptions about the Church. Not that they had "misconceptions," they just had NO idea who we are or what we do. They even thought that we were a branch of the Catholic Church....umm, no. It was a lot of fun, because they were kids around our age and it´s usually a more interesting conversation with kids your own age, because it´s easier to relate. Anyways, that was a fun experience.
This week there wasn´t a lot of big events, so I´m running out of things to say. Haha. Oh! One of the Elders that lives in our house, Elder Johanson, (from the Tri Cities, Washington area) hit his year mark on the mission this last week. We made a microwave cake, bought ice cream, and he burnt a tie. It was fun, because he did what I didn´t do at my year mark. :o)
Anyways, it sounds like you guys had a really cool experience at Pres. Hinckley´s viewing. In all, how long were you there? That would have been a really neat experience. I´m super glad that Megan wanted to go. Way to be, Goose.
Ok, so to make up for my short letter, I am sending pictures! There´s one of my son and I, Elder Huber, about 1 minute after we met each other; one of the house where I am living, which I love; one of my Christmas Eve dinner with the Baez family; and one of me with the Peterson family at our Zone Conference in December. Oh, and I´ll throw in one of Elder Larsen and I eating watermelon last change! Mmm. Be jealous. :o)
I hope that makes up for my short letter this week. If not...well... there´s really no other option. I´m excited to hear from you all. Take care of yourselves and drop me a line to give me an update an what´s going on! ¡Chao chao!
Elder Taylor

Elder Huber...!

2008-01-28T09:38:00.001-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
This morning the zone got together to play soccer and basketball at the chapel in front of my house. Elder Centurión took me off to the side before we started and told me the news of Pres. Hinckley´s passing. President Peterson had called the Assistants at 3 AM and let them know. The Assistants called the Zone Leader´s this morning. We started our P-Day by singing "Praise to the Man" and a prayer often by Elder Acuña. It is a sad time, but what a blessing it is to know that this is the Lord´s work. What a blessing we have had to receive the counsel from this servant of the Lord. The best way to honor his memory is to live according to what he taught us.
I don´t know if I ever told you while I was in the MTC, but Elder Richard G. Hinckley came and spoke to us. One thing that has always stuck with me is something he mentioned in his talk. He told us that his father was doing very well with his health, but he told us to keep in mind that he was almost 97 years old (at that time). He said, "I´m not making a prophecy, but I believe that you will all see a change of prophets while in the mission field." I have never forgotten that, and now I know I never will. May we all move forward and work in the way that he always encouraged us to do. What a blessing it has been to serve under his direction and counsel.
While speaking of changes, I had a big one this last week. My new companion is Elder Daniel Lee Huber, from Bainbridge, Indiana. Just to give you an idea, he is 6´5", 230 lbs. No one will touch me in the streets. Haha. He is SUCH a stud! We get along really well. He has just hit the ground running this last week and seems to be loving it. His vocabulary is limited, obviously, but his accent is super good and he is doing very well with grammar. More important than that, he just has the desires to be a great missionary and he´s anxious to work. He´s the oldest of 3 kids; has a brother who´s 13, and a little sister who´s 4. His mother has been a member her whole life, but his dad was baptized a little over 2 years...by Elder Huber. What a stud. We´ve had a great time getting to know each other and trying to start this change off the way the Lord wants us to.
I am officially the smallest Elder in our house. Haha. Elder Johanson is 6´7", Elder Huber is 6´5", and Elder Roper is like 6´2". Ridiculous. I´m the youngest, as well, but I´m the oldest on the mission. "The first shall be the last, and the last shall be the first....!" :o)
Mom, you said that Pete Lundberg is in the bishopric?! That´s SO cool! I love that man! Who else is in the bishopric? I don´t even know. Crazy. How´s the ward doing, anyways. I heard from Sister Mangum a little while ago, but that´s about it. Besides from the Mays, obviously. And when I say the Mays, I mean Jewels. I believe Skyler has still not written me a letter....! How are the other missionaries from our ward/stake doing? My Zone Leader here in Cerro is Elder Ludlow, who I graduated with from Bingham. This morning we were talking about people we know and where they are at. He said his stake sends them all like a newsletter every 3 months letting them know where everyone is at....Dad, you should bring that up in High Council. :o)
The attendance in our ward here is probably about 60 or 70. I´ve never really asked, but I imagine it´s about there. By far the hardest-working and best-organized ward I have been in here in Uruguay. The Bishopric is awesome and the members are super cool. They don´t feed us a lot, but that´s the downfall to being in a ward in ´Deo. Oh well. I still love them. Nope, no new Uruguayan (how do you say that in English?) mother. She´s still kickin´ up in Artigas: it´ll be difficult for anyone to replace the Hma. Martinez. You should send them a hello for me. Tell them I´m in Susana Mendez´s ward down here in ´Deo. They´ll probly go crazy.
Dad, thanks for sending me that thing about that book in Bulgaria...that´s pretty sweet.
The work´s going well. We had our first real lesson with Liber on Saturday night. The employment office had given him the pamphlet that talks about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He read it, and when I asked him if he had a question or a doubt, he told us he didn´t really understand repentance. So, in order to give him a base, we talked about faith and then went on to repentance. Super good lesson. He was so focused and was just anxious to learn. At the end of the lesson, asked him how his plans were for going to church on Sunday. He said, "At 9:00, I´m there!" So I told him, "Well, we probly won´t be there til about 9:15, but if you want to go early, that´s fine. Haha. He showed up about 9:20. But after I asked him about his plans, he said, "I would also like to talk to you guys about baptism...I would like to get baptized." No problem, Liber; no problem at all. He has a long ways to go before his baptism, but he has the desires, and that is where it must start. We left him with 2 Nephi chapter 31, which we will go over with him tomorrow night in our lesson!
Do you remember me telling you about Juan and Patricia-the family that went to church my first Sunday here? They moved to Salto last week. I got their new direction and called the Elders in that area...we´re anxious to see what happens.
Anyways, that´s about it for this week. I am just loving the opportunity I have to be here and serve others. It really is such a blessing. Know that I love you all, and I can´t wait to hear from you all!
Elder Taylor

P.S. Your package is being put in the mail tomorrow...which means I will probly be pulling out some money today...Love you!

Changes!

2008-01-22T16:46:00.000-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends, 
This week has just been anAMAZING week! That´s all I can say.
 I know that that statement might raise questions, but I´ll try to
 explain the best I can in the short time I have to write this letter.
 But I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! For those of you who have
 served, you will understand this type of feeling.
For those of you who haven´t...it´s basically undescribable. Sorry.
Haha. 
 So apparently I do have an accent...Mary-Anne was just
the only one who had enough guts to tell me. Haha. I asked all the
other Elders in our house this week what they thought, but we came to
the conclusion that their opinions don´t count because they don´t know
how I sounded before the mission. Anyways, just an interesting note;
now to the important stuff...
 So last week I was kind of
frustrated because I just felt like we had been working like crazy and
we weren´t seeing the kind of "fruits" we expected. But, God never
forgets to bless us for our efforts, we just need to be patient and
trust Him. We had an AMAZING weekend! We gave the son of one of the
recent converts a baptismal date, we talked to a guy on Saturday night
who then went to church on Sunday morning without ever having received
a single lesson (who LOVED church), and we also just taught some of the
sweetest lessons of my life. 
 We have been teaching a young
couple named Gabriel and Sandra: I believe I have mentioned them in a
past email. Anyways, had a great lesson on Sunday afternoon with them.
We had previously left them to read Alma 32 in the Book of Mormon. We
had arranged to go by on Thursday afternoon, but they had to run an
errand, so they were not there. Anyways, long story short, we decided
to go by on Sunday afternoon. We got to their house, and the Book of
Mormon was sitting on top of the kitchen table, waiting for us. We
sang, prayed, and I asked them if they had read the part we left them.
Gabriel said, “ALGO leí.” or “I read SOMETHING.” Which usually means
that the people forgot to read, or just read a couple of verses. That
made me nervous...until he finished the thought. “I only had time to
read it throught twice.” WHAT?! That´s so sick! Haha. Again, long story
short, they LOVED the reading. They ate it up. And then Sandra proceeds
to tell us about how she was never a person that prayed until we
started coming. During the week, they had a little problem with the
payment from Gabriel´s work, they didn´t want to pay him. Sandra said
that she said a prayer just asking God to help them have the funds
necessary to put food on the table for their 4 kids. The next day,
Gabriel got a call from his work and the payment came through. She
hasn´t stopped praying since. After that awesome story, they started to
tell us about the complete change they have noticed in their lives
since we started visiting them. They said that their relationship is
better, they are happier, their house is more tranquil, and there´s
just a feeling that they´ve never had before. As they were telling us
this, I think there were 4 pairs of wet eyes in that little kitchen.
God really does hear our prayers. We are His children, and He loves
each one of us SO much! 
 Ok, next cool story. We are teaching
a man named Ricardo who lived in the States for like three years. Just
a super nice, cool guy. He turned 61 yesterday, which was also Elder
Larsen´s birthday! Elder Larsen turned 20. Ricardo invited the four of
us Elders to his house last night to have birthday dinner with him and
his family. We had stroganoff with rice, and a cake with peaches and
ice cream for dessert. Super good. Anyways, Ricardo has a son who is 23
years old named Liber. We´ve talked to him casually a couple of times,
but as he is coming or going. A couple of weeks ago, we gave him the
direction and the phone number to the LDS employment office here in
´Deo. We went over to teach his dad on Saturday night, and he greeted
us with a huge smile. He thanked us for giving him that information; he
went to the office last week and LOVED it. He was just super excited
about everything that goes on in that office. Haha. He started taking a
course/workshop there yesterday that takes place 3 days a week.
Anyways, so we invited him to take part in the lesson with us, but he
had just arrived from work, so he had to shower and whatnot. It was
late, so we had to haev the lesson without him. At the end of the
lesson, we invited his father to come to church; he had a previous
engagement, so he told us he would not be able to make it, but then HE
extended the invitation to his son and told him he wanted him to go.
Liber said, “Ok, I´m there. No problem.” Sunday morning at 9:30 he was
sitting next to me in opening Priesthood Meeting singing the first hymn
of his life. After Gospel Principles, on our way to Sacrament Meeting,
he asked me if we have the meetings every week-I told him yes. “Oh
good,” he says, “because I want to start coming.” No problem, Liber.
:o) I gave him a pamphlet about the Restoration and told him to read
it. With pleasure, was the answer. I love being a missionary. Haha. 

Anyways, this letter is getting long, and I haven´t even arrived to
some of the most important news for this week. As I told you all last
week, this week is change week. I have been living with 4 Elders this
change, and it has been a fantastic change. Elder Larsen and I REALLY
wanted to stay together for this next change...but the Lord has other
plans. Elder Larsen is headed to Salto to open an area and be Senior
Comp. I am SO excited for him! He is going to tear it up. Out of the
four Elders in our house, I´m the only one who is staying. They
white-washed the other area in our ward, meaning they took out the two
missionaries who were there, and brought in two others. As for Elder
Taylor...are you ready?.....ELDER TAYLOR IS TRAINING! I am SOOOOOOOO
excited! I can´t even describe how stoked I am to train again. I was
told that all of the Elders who are coming this change are gringos, so
that is SWEET! I really enjoyed this last change with Elder Larsen, and
I would have LOVED to stay with him, but this is the next best thing.
Training is just such an awesome learning and growing experience, for
both the trainer and the trainee. I´m stoked. I´ll meet my second
“hijo” tomorrow morning...! 
 Anyways, so I think that´s all the super intense news for this week. Haha. 
Now a couple ofquestions/comments. Dad, I want to know if you knew an
Elder Garns on your mission. There is an Elder in my zone whose father
served in a mission in the 70´s that included Georgia, Florida, and
Alabama. I´m pretty sure that´s yours. What years did you serve?
Rack your brain and your journals and let me know. We found that cool
“could-be” fact while we were on divisions last week. The Elder Garns here
is from Mesa,Arizona...I´m not sure if that´s where his dad is from as well. 

Mary-Anne won the contest from a couple of weeks ago...the
“¿mmm´Howdy?” question. That´s what dad always says when he answers
the phone. I don´t know why it came to my head, but it did. Mary-Anne, I
don´t really have any specific requests for music, but I just want
music. Haha. I will love you forever. Well, I already do.... but you
understand! 
 Dad, that´s a pretty sweet missionary opportunity
you had. That´s how it all starts; just a simple comment that turns
into a simple conversation. Pretty soon it will lead to simple
questions and simple answers. It´s just so easy to be a missionary! It
doesn´t require any huge efforts or opportunities. It just consists in
having the ability to recognize the opportunities that God gives us
every day to share His plan with His children. 
 Melanie and Megan, this is the start of a new quarter...just do all you can to
stayon top of your homework and grades! You will both tear it up. Just work
like crazy first, and then you can enjoy everything else! 

Dad, did you get your new truck yet? :o) Mary-Anne got a new digital
camera, so that means you get to get a new toy, too. Haha. No, I
haven´t sent the pictures off yet, but I´ll send it on Thursday, no
worries. The box is almost ready, so I´m pretty sure I´ll finish it
today. Mary-Anne, are you still making a list of songs and movies that
are must-sees and must-hears? If I come home “weird” and don´t snap out
of it quick because I don´t know what´s cool, it´ll be your fault.
Haha. Love ya, sis! 
 Alright, I think that´s going to be all
for today. I love you all so much! I think about you often, and you´re
in my prayers even more! Take care, be safe, and write me. :o) Love ya!

 Elder Taylor

Well hey there...!

2008-01-14T15:59:00.001-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
So, 13 months and 1 day, uh? That´s pretty sweet. To be honest, I didn´t even realize it was my ´anniversary´ until after church yesterday when we were in a lesson getting ready to set our next appointment. But when finally realized it, it was a pretty sweet moment. Haha. Oh before I forget, changes are next week, so I will be writing on Tuesday. Just so ya´ll know!
I have a question...did anyone else notice any weird accent when called for Christmas. Mary-Anne claims that I have a thick accent and a lisp-type thing going on; but she was the only one that mentioned anything, so I´m wondering if she´s still ´all there.´ Just kidding, love ya, M-A! But of course I could understand having an accent...after talking Spanish for over a year, what do you expect? Haha.
It´s kind of interesting to recognize changes in yourself on the mission, though. Some of them (obviously) aren´t as blatant to you as they are to others, because the life you are living is completely different from that of before; but there are still quite a few that are fun to recognize. For example, I´ve noticed that I´m just a more patient person than I was before. It´s interesting to meet someone in the street and afterwards talk about how you might have reacted differently before the mission. It´s quite the learning experience. You meet people from all different walks of life. That is another thing I´ve noticed... I really just like meeting people. I was a pretty social person before the mission, but I think that has grown. I still have no idea for sure what I´m going to study after the mission, but I´m basically positive that it´s going to have to be something where I have contact with the people. So we´ll see. I still have a long time to think about it. :o)
So I´m kind of depressed about that package that Mary-Anne sent me. It got through all good...except for the Detroit Lions stocking. That would have been SOOO sweet! Even the beef jerky got through untouched, which is very rare. Why people would steal a Lions stocking, I´m not sure. They probly just have no idea about how good my favorite team is...! :o) Oh well, I´ll just be depressed for a little while. Haha.
Mom, you asked about our food/laundry arrangements here in ´Deo. Well, the ward I´m in is split between the two companionships in our house; and, as luck would have it, I got put on the side where most of the less-active members live. Which means if we want more lunches with members, we have to do some missionary work and reactivate them first. Haha. But it´s giving me a chance to practice my cooking skills. Although the cooking is very different here, because all we have is a microwave and a gas can with a frying pan on top. Good times. As for laundry, the lady that lives behind us (who owns the house we live in) does our laundry. She charges 70 pesos a load, which isn´t super cheap, but not super expensive. They´re not members, but they´re really good people. Nice old couple.
No, I didn´t get my package sent off last week, but I did get the pictures copied onto a CD. I just have to make sure I have enough stuff in the box to make it worth it to send. Maybe if I buy some stuff today I´ll send it tomorrow when we go to District Meeting, which is close by the post office.
Megan´s giving a talk in church this week? That´s so cool! What is the topic, Goose? Don´t mess up. Haha. Just kidding.You´ll do great, kid!
Finding in Montevideo isn´t as bad as I thought it would be. But finding people who progress has been the challenge. We can find people and have a couple lessons with them, but it´s harder to find people here who really progress. They are here, we just have to find them, and it makes it all the sweeter when we do.
For example, we are teaching Gabriel and Sandra, who are 26 and 34. Really nice young couple. Gabriel´s parents used to be members of the Church, but for a problem of which I´m not sure of all the details, they left the Church. That was over 20 years ago, so when he was about 6. As a result, he knows basically nothing about the church; heard a couple of things here and there, but nothing for sure. Anyways, we started teaching them and the change has been amazing. At first, they “just wanted to talked” but now the desire has changed. We gave them a Book of Mormon yesterday. At the end of the lesson, Sandra prayed for the first time with us. After she got done saying an awesome prayer, she looked up, put her hand on her chest and said to us, “This is that feeling that you were describing.” I asked her if she remembered what it was. She nodded, “The Spirit.” Exactly. “When you read this chapter in the Book of Mormon and ask God if it´s true, you will feel that same feeling.” God truly does prepare His children. I have no doubt that the message of the restored gospel is a message that God has prepared for the happiness of His children. Eternal happiness.
Mary-Anne, you put my song online?! You didn´t even tell me! I got a letter from Alison last week, who told me that she had heard my song and explained that she found it on the blog, or something like that. Just make sure you copyright it. Haha. I really need to take advantage of the piano in our house here. Maybe next week I´ll just stay inside all p-day and write music. I started another song a couple of weeks ago, but I just can´t find the time to work on it. Hmmm. Taking a theory class would have helped speed up the process, as well. Oh well, next semester!
Anyways, I think that´s going to be all for today. I think there was some other stuff I had written, but with the power going out (twice), I can´t remember all I had written. My bad. Can´t wait to hear from all of you! Take care of yourselves and have a great week! Love ya!
Elder Taylor

No interesting title...Sorry... :o)

2008-01-07T17:46:00.000-08:00

Taylor Fam and Friends,
Who am I?... "MÂ´Howdy?" Ten points for anyone that can tell me. Haha.
That just came to my head, so I figured I´d put it down! But anyways...how
are you all?! Hope you all had a good New Years! We just hung out in our
house, playing chess and Uno between the four of us...it was a lot of fun.
New Years morning we played basketball and just hung around. Good day.
Haha.

Good week last week; trying to get back into the missionary mode after
all the holidays! It wasn´t too tough...my comp is a stud! It was a little
difficult because a lot of our investigators went out of town for the
holidays, so we´re excited to have them back this week!

This morning, we (about 8 from the zone) went to La Ciudad Vieja...the
Old City. It´s the touristic part of ´Deo. Or one of them, at least. It
was a lot of fun. Just picture taking and window shopping. Good times. Oh,
tambian, there was a cruise liner here, so there were a LOT of people from
the States down here...we were able to talk to quite a few of them. Taking
pictures, helping with directions, etc. We also talked to a member of the
Church and his wife in McDonald´s that are from Logan! When I went to Utah
State, I lived like 4 blocks from my house. They gave me an update on good
ole´ Aggie Basketball: I love Americans. Haha.

Last Friday, I witnessed a wedding for the first time in my life. The
other Elders in our ward had an investigator get married to her husband,
who is a member of the church. They invited the 4 of us to the wedding, so
we all went to give our support. It was pretty cool, actually. Then on
Saturday evening, she was baptized. It´s just amazing to see how the
Gospel can make a happy family, happier. We talk with many people who care
about their families A TON, and when we tell them that the message that we
share is something that will only make our families stronger, and that the
foundation of the church IS the family, it catches their attention. A lot
of them already have their beliefs, and that´s fine, but they are always
grateful for the time we took to share with them what has strengthened our
families. How can people say no to 5 minutes or 30 seconds of time that
could bless their family for eternity? Not very easily. The message we
share is a message of happiness and a message to bless the
family...there´s no mystery to what "the Mormons" share!

Anyways, my comp was robbed last week. Haha. New Year´s Eve, actually.
We were walking down the street, and some guy came up and just grabbed his
scripture case. As he ran off, the Book of Mormon and the picture of his
family fell out, so we just picked those up and went on to the rest of our
lessons. When we went home that night, a member of the ward called to say
that one of his neighbors had brought him Elder Larsen´s stuff. Haha.
Someone tried to sell it to him for 20 pesos! (about 1 dollar) The guy told
him to quit being dumb and took it from him; he then took it to his
neighbor and good friend, who is the Young Men´s President in our ward. So
we got it all back very quickly. Maybe it would have been better if the guy
had kept the Bible he stole and read it...just a thought. :o) But, it makes
for a good story!
Anyways, that´s about it for this week. The day is ending too quickly,
and I've got to go copy my pictures onto a CD, so I can send it to all you
guys! Sorry it´s taken my so long to do it, but...there´s not a lot you
can do about it. :o) Just kidding. But there´s good pictures, so it´s
worth the wait! Know that I love you and that I´m looking forward to
hearing from you! Sister Mangum, thanks for your letter! It was really nice
to hear how you and the family are doing! Send my best to your husband and
the kids! Anyways, take care, and have a good one!
Elder Taylor

Last day of 2007...!

2007-12-31T08:59:00.000-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
So it´s the last day of the year...how cool is that?! I´m pretty excited. I expect you to all behave yourselves well tonight and watch the ball drop for me! I think this will be one of the first times where I won´t watch the ball drop...weird. But it´s all good. I think the four of us are just going to hang out at home tonight. We have permission to go and chill with a member until 12:30, but I think we´re just going to kick it at home. We´re going to make that banana cream pie and whatever else we can find to whip up. :o) For my birthday/Christmas present to me, I bought a blender; it was/is a very good investment. Fruit is really cheap, and a fruity milkshake or smoothie really helps to cool down during afternoon studies!Anyways, talked to the family on Tuesday; that was fun. Mary-Anne said I sounded WAY different, why is that? I don´t think that I sound that different, but I guess I can´t really notice the difference. Why do I sound so different? Mary-Anne asked if it was weird to talk to you all on Christmas. That´s a tough question. It´s not weird, it was just difficult to know what to talk about. My first call, in May, it was easy, because I just had to talk about the country, culture, people, work, etc. but now you guys know what it is I´m doing, how I´m doing, and all that jazz. It kind of felt just like my weekly email, but instead of typing, talking. Elder Maughan and I both felt the same way; Elder Maughan goes home the week after Mother´s Day, so he has one call left. But it was the first call for Elder Larsen and Elder Roxas, so it was fun to see how excited they were and to see how much they just talked and talked. So yeah, not weird, just different. It was a lot of fun to hear everyone´s voice, though. I´m glad to hear that you guys had a fun week. Christmas is just a lot different here in the ´Guay. They don´t put as much emphasis on it as we do in the States. New Year and El Día de Los Reyes, which is January 6th, are a lot bigger. The Day of the Kings(?) is basically like our Christmas, but instead of waiting for Santa Clause, they are waiting for the Three Wise Men. Kinda different, but fun anyways. Had a cool experience this last week. We received a reference from one of our investigators, Daniela. She told us to go and visit her daughter, Laura, and her boyfriend/husband, Juan. She knew the name of the streets that make the corner, but she didn´t know the number of the house. So we decided to go and try and find the house. As we turned on to one of the streets, we passed a younger guy, and the thought came to my head, "That´s Juan." But I didn´t stop him to ask or anything; instead, we just went to the neighbor and knocked. When the lady came out, I asked her if she knew a young couple named Juan and Laura; she said she had lived in that house for years, and she didn´t know them. She told us to go and ask at the neighborhood almacén, because they would probly know. We thanked her for her help and left. But instead of going to the almacén, we walked over to the house where I had seen the man go inside. I had previously made the comment to Elder Larsen that I thought it was him. We knocked, and the guy came to the door. We told him we were looking for Juan and Laura, and he asked why. I told him that Laura´s mother had told us to pass by and such. He told us to wait for just a second, went inside to ask his wife, and then let us in. They are a young couple with a daughter of about a 1 and a half. A while ago they were studying with the Jehovah´s Witnesses, but they stopped because...well, because. They asked us a bunch of questions about what it is that we believe and the Church in general. It was a sweet "charla." We shared a part of the proclamation of the family with them and they were very interested in learning more. We have a return appointment for later this week. When we at first don´t pay attention to the whisperings of the Spirit, don´t be scared to correct that decision and do it...NOW. Haha. That was a very good lesson for me. Anyways, I hope you all have a Happy New Year! I´m excited to set some sweet New Year´s resolutions and even more excited to put them in practice. I hope you all feel the same. :o) As they say here... "¡Que terminen el año bien y que lo empiecen mejor!" I would love to hear how all of you are doing, and your activities during this holiday season.
Take care!
Elder Taylor

!Cerro!

2007-12-17T10:16:00.000-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well hey there! So I´m writing my email from the middle of Montevideo-that´s so cool. Arrived safe and sound, and I am LOVING this city! It´s just unbelievable. It´s completely different than my other areas, obviously, but I´m definitely enjoying. First of all, living with four gringos is a dream. Haha. We make an extra emphasis on obedience, but we have a great time together. For example, last night we had P-Eve. (Peeve) That´s where we pull out our four mattresses into the big middle room, of course in bed by 10:30, and then we just chat about life. It was way fun. Not to mention, the house is awesome! Right in front of the chapel, right on the edge of our areas, and pretty spacey. Oh, and another AWESOME fact...WE HAVE A PIANO! It´s old-school, and the b-flat in the lower octave is way out of tune, but it´s SO nice. I love it. If anyone has any sweet music they want to share...I´d be willing to wake up half an hour early. :o) My companion, Elder Larsen, and I are getting along SO well. He is a really quiet guy, usually, but we hit it off really well. He is from Boise, but his family moved to Wyoming while he was in the MTC...he´s still kind of touchy when we tell him he´s really from Wyoming. Haha. He´s a few inches taller than me, and loves working out. It´s pretty funny, actually. He goes crazy if he can´t work out. He speaks Spanish very well, a fact that I was very pleased with! Like I´ve said before, being with a gringo is just a very different experience than being with a Latino; for those of you who have experienced it, you understand what I mean. We live with Elder Maughan, from Mt. Home, Idaho (who I knew previously from Salto) and Elder Roxas from Concord, California. We all get along super well, and have a lot of good laughs. This morning we spent the morning doing our "spring cleaning." We got a strict command last week in the announcements that every house in the mission would be cleaning this morning. Haha. I was planning on doing a pretty intense cleaning anyway. That is one change I have seen on the mission that I am grateful for. I don´t mind cleaning and I LOVE living in a clean house. Don´t get any ideas, Mom and Dad...I have my apartment to clean. Haha. Just playing. I don´t know, I just enjoy cleaning and living clean. I don´t know why it changed, but I´m sure grateful it did! I left Bella Union Tuesday night at 8:30, got to Salto at 10:30. Left Salto at 12:30 and arrived in ´Deo about 6:30. It wasn´t too bad. The sleep was terrible, but that´s to be expected. So anyway, the work is going GREAT here! I´m in the 16th ward, which we share with the other Elders. Our part of the ward is called Nueva París. On the map it looked kind of small, but it´s actually pretty good sized. It has a wide-variety of neighborhoods and classes of people. I love it. Anyways, Elder Larsen and his old comp had a baptism last week, so that´s cool, but means that finding is necessary. I got here and we just found like crazy the last 5 days. The Lord is really blessing us. They had previously been teaching a family who had never been to the Church, and we had a very powerful with them on Saturday afternoon about the Sabbath Day. The Spirit was felt, and they said they would go to church the next morning if Juan didn´t get called into work. He works on the drug team for the police department, and he was told they were leaving on a bust that night, but still hadn´t received confirmation. We told him we would call him on Sunday morning just to verify, which we did. We called about 8:45 on Sunday morning, and he was still home, which meant they were coming! He told us just to wait for them at the chapel, and we said ok. I was at the door waiting anxiously when I see Juan and Patricia walking up the street with their two youngest boys Rogelio and Brian! (12 and 8) That was a GREAT sight, and to top it off...Juan, Rogelio, and Brian were all in shirts and ties, accompanied by Patricia in a skirt! It was just the icing on the cake. I was a little nervous about how things would go, because I had never been in the ward, but the members worked fantastically! After Relief Society, I was waiting outside the door to take Patricia to Gospel Principles, and she came out with her face just beaming. At the end of the block, the Da Costa family and two gringos were all smiles. I got the two packages last Thursday; it appears that they didn´t even get touched! Mary-Anne, that shirt is AWESOME! Haha. It´s so much cooler in real-life instead of in a drawing. :o) Thanks a ton. I´m guessing Mom and Dad sent the new, sweet tie. And the American goodies...well I´ll just say that you have made four Americans very grateful for the blessings we enjoy. :o) Mary-Anne, I also got your card last Thursday. Dad, you said the internet shows a lighthouse and fort on the Cerro, I´m a tad-bit more north, but yeah, that´s the zona. Our Zone Leaders live right up there by the fort. The chapel is on Luis Battle Berres and Camino de Las Tropas, right about La Ruta 5 (Highway 5) I don´t know if that information will help you locate it. We then live right in front of the chapel.Sorry to disappoint you all, but I didn´t do a whole lot to celebrate the birthday or the year-mark. Just missionary work. But the Lord blessed us for that and I couldn´t have received a better present! We had lunch with a member on Saturday for my first time, and it was super good. It was red peppers filled with meat. Never heard of it or eaten it before, but it was great. We then started a fast as a mission, so there was no cake or pizza or anything at night. But hey, fasting is good!The fast was because we finished our reading of the Gospels on Sunday morning. We started reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as a mission in November, and we finished it Sunday morning. It was a great opportunity to think about what we have learned about the earthly ministry of Christ, and strengthen our testimony of the mission He came to fulfill. On Christmas, I don´t know what we will do to celebrate yet. Christmas Eve, the zone is getting together and we´re going to take a Christmas message to the local prison. I´m really excited for that, it will be a great service opportunity, Christmas Eve we are allowed to stay out with members until 12:30 AM, because at midnight the tradition is fireworks and stuff like that. I am way glad I´m here in ´Deo for the fireworks, ´cause I´ve heard they´re way bigger and better here. :o) And then Christmas Day is our P-Day, as well. Now to a very key part...the call. Dun, dun, dun....Alright, so here´s the deal. I believe we are five hours ahead of you guys. I am living in a house of 4, so it was fun trying to figure out when all of us are going to call this morning. Haha. I will be calling at 1 PM, Montevideo time, which I believe is 8 AM where you guys are at. I hope that is correct. If not, know that i WILL BE CALLING THE HOUSE AT 1 PM MY TIME, OR A FEW MINUTES BEFORE. I will call the house number, and THEN YOU GUYS WILL CALL ME just like you did on Mother´s Day. That way you guys can choose the phone you want to use. I do not know the country code for Uruguay, but here is my number. (02) is the area code for ´Deo. My house number is 315-2052. So YOU WILL CALL (02)315-2052. I will explain any miscommunication when I call on Christmas. I hope you guys will find the country code before hand, or remember it from Mother´s Day, because I do not. Ok, I hope that was clear, because it´s the only time I´ll have to explain. Haha. It´s hard to believe that we will be talking next week. Crazy. Because of the telephone call, I will not be writing a letter next week. Our p-day is Christmas, and everything will be closed, for one reason. For another, we will be talking on the phone, so there is no need. I hope that´s not a problem. If it is...talk to the Prophet. Haha. Dad, who is Brother Rice? That´s pretty cool, I´ll be looking forward to his letter. Well, I hope all is going well back at home! Enjoy the snow for me! Melanie, sounds like you had a good time with the musical and CONGRATS ON YOUR LEAD PART IN THE WINTER PLAY! That´s so cool! I wish I could see it. You´ll be awesome. Work your tail off, kid. :o) And keep me updated on the dates! I want ot hear about the first kiss. Who, when, where, address, age, mother´s maiden name, etc. Just kidding, no worries. It´s just hard to think that my little sister it dating and driving. Wow. Alright, time to bounce. Know that all is going SUPER WELL and that Elder Taylor is a very excited kid this Christmas. I´m stoked for this new change and this new opportunity. I hope you are all enjoying this holiday season! I would love to hear from all of you-send me a shout! ¡MERRY CHRISTMAS y FELIZ NAVIDAD! Elder Taylor

Changes...!

2007-12-11T16:08:00.000-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well hey there! I hope that this letter finds you all well and happy in this special time of year. It´s still kind of weird for me to think that you are all in various inches of snow and trying to stay warm while I am worrying about getting fried in the sun. Cool, uh? Haha.
So anyway...changes are today. Right before the birthday and Christmas...that´s cool. Makes it easier to stay focused. :o) Elder Taylor is being moved to his third area here in beautiful Uruguay! I am headed to Montevideo. A part of Montevideo that is called Cerro (which means hill) Why is it called Cerro? Because that´s exactly what it is. It´s just a big hill right on the outside of Montevideo. I can´t remember exactly what neighborhood or ward I will be in, but yeah, I´m headed to ´Deo! I´m pretty stoked! It´s going to be a VERY radical change from my area here in Bella Union. Bella Union is tiny and very slow-paced; so basically the opposite of what I´m headed for. Haha.
And another cool thing...I´m going to be with a gringo!! As a matter of fact, with three of them. I was informed that I will be living in a house of 4 missionaries, and we are all American. Sweet! After 4 1/2 months straight with a Latin, I´m super excited. Elder Larsen is my new companion´s name. I heard he is from Idaho, so that´s a good thing, I think. :o) He will be headed into his fifth change, which means he has been in Uruguay for 6 months. I´m kind of anxious to see how he speaks. But in any case, I have heard that he´s a stud.
Elder Marroquín is staying here in Bella Union and Elder Vallejos (from Paraguay) is coming. I think Elder Marroquín is a little nervous, but he will do really well. He will still be junior companion, which is fine. He is really excited, however, to stay and work with our investigators here. This last week, we had a very successful week-the most successful since we´ve been together, probly. We are very excited about the new people that we found this last week, and I will be looking forward to a lot of good reports from my little Peruvian! Haha.
As I said last week, I am actually pretty excited to be heading to a new area. New area, new people, and a very different experience. Changes are like a new year every six weeks-you get to set new goals and make new commitments with your Heavenly Father in how you are going to help Him carry out His work among His children. I will miss Bella Union and how tranquilo it is, but I have always enjoyed big cities, so I´m not worried. It´ll been interesting to see how different missionary work is in a big city like ´Deo, though; everything moving very quickly and people who keep to themselves. I´m trying not to take any prejudgments into my new area, because I have heard a fair share. I´m just focusing on the fact that I have been called to serve the people in that area with all my heart, might, mind, and strength, and that´s what I plan on doing.
Mary-Anne, those were some pretty intense pictures that you set of that storm. Thanks for letting me know before some Uruguayan told me about it and I started to worry! :o) So Nathanael´s motorcycle got a little messed up, but everything else is all good? No damage to the apartment or anything like that? Sounds like you all were very blessed. Sorry about forgetting to forward my letter to your address last week, I just forgot. My bad. I did get your card just this last week. Thanks a lot! It´s a lot of fun to get stuff like that.
So Nathanael is finished with his first semester of law school, uh? How´d you do, Swift? Still keeping your head above water? Haha. I´ve always heard that the first year is the hardest so they can weed out the slackers...how ya doin? :o) Could it be that way with the mission too? Hmmm. I can´t believe that I´ve been out a year. Well, ok, I still haven´t. Only 363 days...ish. I hit my year-mark on Thursday...that´s weird.
Dad, sounds like things went pretty well with the interview, thanks for letting me know. I hope that things work out. So the static firing was pretty sweet, uh? What did the Lt. Col say when you gave him a high five? ¿Mansa? Haha. That´s what all the little kids say here in Bella Union. A thumbs-up with, "Mansa!" Kind of random, but hey, it´s Bella Union.
Melanie, how did your tryouts go? How did the school musical end up, anyway? You never let me know....! I expect a one-page report, due by next Sunday night. :o) Have you had any hot dates lately?
Megan, how you doin, Goose?! What have you been up to these last couple of weeks; I haven´t heard from you. Keepin´ up on your schoolwork, kid? How is SoJo, anyways? I never went there...just had to deal with the aftermath at Bingham! Just kidding, Snow Leopards, settle down. Go Wapitis! :o)
Anyways, I think that´s going to be about it for this week. I hope you are all having a great holiday season and keeping in focus the meaning of it all! Know that you are in my thoughts and prayers often. Elder May, I´m glad to hear that you are doing all right. I saw all the articles in the Church News and stuff-pretty intense. I kept my eyes open for pictures of you, but no luck. Take care of yourself, Boykid. :o) Alright everyone, have a good one! ¡Chao!
Elder Taylor

Wait...December?!

2007-12-03T16:41:00.000-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
So it´s crazy to think that we´re in December! You are all up there
enjoying the cold weather and the snow, while we are down here looking for
ANY shade that we can find. It´s been pretty ridiculously hot this last
week. Dad just sent me a few pictures of the piles of snow on the deck and
trees and stuff...that´d be nice. All I can do is take a COLD shower at
night after planning. And no worries, we do that just about every day.
Haha.
So things are going really well here. This could quite possibly be my
last full week in Bella Union. Changes are next week. Which means I will be
writing my letter on Tuesday next week, just so you know. I have been here
in Bella Union for 4 1/2 months, and with Elder Marroquan for 3, so it
would be REALLY rare if we stayed together. I´m pretty sure that I will be
heading out. I´m not gonna lie, I kind of want to. Not that I don´t love
Bella Union, but I´ve been out a year and I´ve had two areas. That´s a
long time in each area. Haha.
That´s another crazy thought-I pass my year mark next week. I´ve been
trying to keep it out of my head, but Elder Marroquan kindly reminds
me about every 15 minutes. Haha. He is a really funny kid. He´s got some
interesting quirks, but it´s been a great learning experience with him in
these last 3 months.
Oh, Mom, you asked about the telephone call on Christmas. We received an
announcement last week that we should start arranging that through our
emails, but I really have NO idea where I am going to be, so it is hard for
me to say. If by some crazy chance I am still here in Bella Union, it would
be great if I could call about mid-day here. (9AM your time) That would
just work well for the short time we have to proselyte. But, as I said. I
have NO idea where I will be, so I can´t really say anything for certain.
Do you guys still remember the process you used to call me on Mother´s
Day? I´m thinking we could just do the same. As soon as I get the number
for where I´ll be, I´ll let you know!
As for the packages you sent; after they arrive at the mission office,
the office elders send them to us with the bolsa. It will be interesting to
see if they get here without being opened or anything. Letters and packages
get opened very frequently here. A lot of times they won´t take things,
but I think they just open it for fun. Haha.
The Christmas Season is just a lot different feeling here. Yesterday we
sang "Away in a Manger" in sacrament meeting and it just kind of surprised
me. It doesn´t feel like Christmas to me at all. But I guess that could be
a good thing, too, right? Haha. No trunky feelings for Elder Taylor!
So my birthday´s next week. I´m with Mary-Anne on this one- "Is that
even right?!" I´m no longer going to be a teenager...sad. It will be an
interesting birthday, like last year, in many ways: a few days before I
will be headed to a place where I know absolutely nobody. But hey, it´s
all good. Elder Marroquan´s birthday is December 16th-I can´t remember
if I told you that. But yeah, he turns 20, as well. He´s my first
companion that has been younger than me...and he´s younger by about 24
hours!
As for a Nativity scene, mom, I haven´t seen any, but I will keep my
eyes open!
The traditions for the holidays here are different. The big deal is
fireworks at midnight on the 24th/25th. We´re starting to see and hear
fireworks pretty often; itÂ´s pretty fun. No, Mom, I haven´t bought
any...yet! :o)
Anyways, now to the most important part of this letter...the missionary
news. Haha. There´s not a lot to report in means of big news. Elder
Marroquan have been focusing on having the faith necessary to drop those
investigators that aren´t progressing and putting that faith in knowing
that the Lord will bless us in order to find those who are prepared. That
might means more time in the sun, but it will be worth it. We have become
very used to just opening our mouths in any situation and offering a small
invitation. When we buy bus tickets, give them a pamphlet in return for the
receipt, and just little things like that. It´s not something huge, but
the important thing is to open your mouth and plant the seed. Just show the
Lord that you are willing to be an instrument in His hands. And at this
time of year, it is SO easy for ALL of us to be missionaries. We are
putting a lot of emphasis in getting the members involved in our work here
in Bella Union. The ward in that regard has been kind of difficult, but we
are starting to see the changes. Take the time to let the missionaries know
that you have half an hour during the week to help them out, I know that
they would really appreciate it.
Just remember to always be open and looking for opportunities to share
the knowledge you have about our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Alright, well that´s gonna be it for this week, I believe. Don´t forget
that next week I´ll be writing on Tuesday! I love you all! Take care!
Elder Taylor

Buen dia...

2007-11-26T16:38:00.000-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well hey there! How are you all doing this week? I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend and ate plenty of banana cream pie for me. :o) I missed that more than the turkey. Haha.
So I woke up here Thursday morning, did my exercises and what not, got showered, studied and was getting ready to head out the door at 9:00, when I looked at the awesome calendar that I have on my wall and saw that it was Thanksgiving Day. That was weird. I had kind of thought about it during the week, but seeing as how I´m at least 2 hours away from any gringo, there wasn´t really any thing to catch my attention about it. We stopped by a member´s house that morning to see how they were doing, and I made the comment that it was Thanksgiving; the Hermana asked me what that meant. I didn´t know whether to laugh or cry for her. Haha. I then explained to her the whole deal about Thanksgiving and what we do and what not. It was a good cultural experience for her.
On Thursday we ate lunch with the Hermana Alvez, who is probably the oldest active member in Bella Union. I think she´s like 88 or something, and she´s in church every single week. It´s very admirable. She´s been a widow for about 10 years, but she loves the missionaries and looks out for us; her husband was the ward mission leader for about 10 years, she said. Anyways, I didn´t make any comments about Thanksgiving at lunch, obviously. We had a really good stew with peaches for dessert. To be honest, I don´t think I´ve even seen a turkey here in Uruguay. I know there are, but I haven´t seen one. Pretty crazy, uh? Anyways, so that was my Thanksgiving. When Elder Bankhead, my district leader, caled on Thursday night, we said Happy Thanksgiving to each other and got back to work. Haha.
It sounds like you guys had a great Thanksgiving with the family. And even had a good missionary opportunity! That´s so cool. Way to be, Aunt Trina. Did you guys have the chance to mention to them anything about the gospel? That´s pretty sweet that they saw the sign and showed up to hang out with you guys. Did Nathanael get his football game in? Did the Lions win their Thanksgiving game? :o) Yesterday there was a big game here in the ´Guay...Nacional and Peñarol played, which are the two most popular soccer teams here. Neither of them are doing very well this year, but still. They ended up tying, so there weren´t any riots or anything. Haha.
Speaking of riots, it´s possible we could see some tonight. No, just playing Mom. But yeah, the President of Uruguay is coming to Bella Union today! Presidente Tabaré will be giving a speech at 8 PM in the Plaza 25 de Agosto, which is the plaza right across the street from our house. Pretty sweet, uh? We are having a Family Home Evening with a less-active family tonight, so I doubt we´ll even pass by, but maybe on the way home we´ll walk around the block. The Plaza has been taped off since yesterday with two policemen keeping an eye on things. There is a little stage set up with a bunch of speakers. It´ll be interesting to see how this little city reacts to having the President of the country here. Anyways, thought that was pretty cool.
Oh, mom, you asked me if there was anything that Elder Wall would want or need here in the ´Guay; I was thinking about it a little this week and one thing that I´ve been really grateful for is my Leatherman. In the houses here in the ´Guay, it´s something that´s VERY handy to have. Next to my scriptures and my shoes, it´s probably what I´ve used most.
Hey Dad, that letter from NASA was pretty sweet; thanks for sharing it with me! Doesn´t surprise me at all; just reaffirms what a stud my old man is. :o)
This week was a pretty normal week, just trying to do the things the Lord wants us to do here in Bella Union. Elder Bankhead was up here with me on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday, doing divisions. That was a lot of fun. It´s been a LONG time since I could talk English with my companion; it was really nice. Elder Bankhead is from Mt. Sterling, Cache Valley. Really good guy. He´s been on the mission one more change than I have, so we´ll be kickin´ it here together for another year or so.
We had an awesome lesson with Roberto Albarenga and his family on Saturday night. They had read 3 Nephi 11, so we reviewed some of the key parts and went on to explain more about the Book of Mormon. Jessica, his daughter, set it up perfectly with the question "Where does it talk about Joseph Smith in the Bible?" We explained to her that his name isn´t found in the Bible, but prophecies about what he would do can be found, such as Ezekiel 37:15-17. It was like a light turned on for the whole family. They understood really well, and Roberto even got teary-eyed. The family is going through a trial right now. They have been working on the papers to be able to go back to the US for about a year, and they just barely found a way to be able to do it, but they have to come up with the money for the visa´s before January. Here in the ´Guay, that´s not something that can be done very easily, if at all. He´s trying to sell his car, their moto´s, clothes, anything, in order to be able to come up with the money. He always tells us, "We are finally SO close, and yet so far." We told him that God knows that this is a hard time for the family, and for that reason, He has sent this message of hope and truth to his family. Things are going well with them, to say the least.
This week is going to be another week with a lot of time away from our area. We have our district meeting tomorrow in Salto and then we have interviews with President Peterson on Wednesday, so we will be staying there on Tuesday night. We´ll either get back here Wednesday night at about 12:30, or Thursday morning at about 10:15. Well I guess it´s Thursday morning either way, technically. Haha. So that´s a little rough, but it´s all good.
Anyways, I think that´s about it for me this week. I hope everything is going well for all of you, and that you are enjoying this special time of year. I hope that we can all take advantage of the special opportunities we will have to help others feel of the spirit of the season, and especially the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Just take that extra 20 seconds to share the blessings that we all enjoy, you never know when someone´s heart is ready to receive. ¡Cuídense y pórtense bien!
Con Cariño,
Elder Taylor

Another Week...

2007-11-19T09:30:00.000-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
So another week has gone boy. *Sigh* I'm glad that this week is just
going to be a normal week. We were running around the country last week.
You know those stories that are in the Ensign and stuff that talk about the
wards that make crazy trips just to get to meetings in crammed busses in
110 degree weather? I always read those stories and wondered what it would
be like. I guess I thought too loudly, because the Lord put me in that
situation yesterday! Haha. The bus wasn't too crowded, but I'm almost
positive that yesterday was one of the most humid days I've had in Uruguay
yet. We left here (Bella Union) at like 7:30 yesterday morning and got to
the chapel in Salto at about 9:30; had an AWESOME general session of
conference until noon; and we got back here to Bella Union about 3 in the
afternoon. Elder Marroquan and I got off the bus, changed out of our
suits, and headed back out into the heat. What a great idea. Haha. It was a
good day.
Sounds like Megan had a great birthday; I hope she could understand the
Happy Birthday that Elder Marroquan and I sang to her during our studies
on Saturday.
So the musical is in the middle of it's run; well, I guess it would be
at the end. Tonight would be the closing show, right? Man, those were some
good memories. Melanie, just tear it up tonight! Do it like you麓ve never
done it before! And tell the boys to do some yelling and jumping for me.
:o) Stephen Nelson is home?! Holy cow, I remember when he left. That麓s
crazy. Tell him I want one of the first copies of his cd when he puts it
out! Seriously. And a signed copy would be appreciated...haha.
Francisco is doing well, Mom. It麓s funny you asked about the old guy in
the plaza whose mother and sister we were teaching...because that麓s
Francisco! Haha. We went to our next lesson with his mother and sister and
afterwards took about 15 steps to the back patio and had an amazing lesson
with him. Since that time, we have stopped teaching his mother and sister;
they are great people, but lack the desires to act according to the
knowledge that they receive. Francisco, on the other hand, reads and prays
like crazy. The only thing that麓s holding him back are little doubts and
concerns that he has; the biggest one being that about 7 years ago, he was
baptized in another church and afterwards found out that it was all a
fraud. He had done it really believing and with true intent, so it really
shook him when he found out it was all just a scam. It hurt me so much
when he told us that; for the selfish and lucrative actions of some, this
amazing son of God is hesitating to accept the truth. It's just unreal to
think that people take the hopes and dreams of people and twist them to
accomplish their own desires. So what I have told Francisco is that despite
all of his little questions and doubts, he can still know that the Church
has been restored on the earth; he just needs to ask our Heavenly Father
with faith and true intent. If he continues to do that, I have no doubt
that one day he will take that ever-so-important step of faith. He always
says that maybe it's just not us who needs to baptize him, which is true.
But it doesn't matter if I'm here when he gets baptized right, just as
long as he takes that step. Maybe the next Elder that gets here will say
the magic word and the next day is the water. I hope that that's what goes
down.
So ya'll are headed to Moses Lake for Thanksgiving, uh? Well, tell one
of our old Assistants hello for me! He was actually a friend of the
Boyce's: Caleb Stones. Maybe Matt or Meredith will remember him. He was a
machine of a missionary. Unbelievable. Tell all of the family that I say
hello! How long has it been since I went to Moses Lake? A few years. I
think the last time you guys went up I didn't go because I was working.
Hmmm, that's too bad.
So Pops, you're on the missionary committee. Do you deal with the
missionaries directly? 26,000 spanish speakers moved into SL county last
year?! Wow! That麓s awesome! So are the missionaries there bilingual, or
only a few? I'm going to be able to keep my Spanish up, it sounds like. I
love this language SO much. I was never a big fan of Spanish before the
mission, but now I just LOVE it. It's just such a pretty language. For
those of you who understand it, you know what I mean. When you don't
understand, it just sounds like a bunch of "s"; or at least that's what I
always thought.
Sweet, well I think that's about it for this week. We are going to head
to our lunch appointment now! I love you all and I hope you have a
fantastic Thanksgiving this week! Eat some turkey and banana cream pie for
me! I don't think these people even know what Thanksgiving is. Haha. Oh,
Mom, I thought of something I would like in my package, if you haven't
sent it yet. Lemonade mix! I am craving my good ol' lemonade from the
states. Mmmm. Thanks! :o) Love you all!
Love Always,
Elder Taylor

Beautiful Day...!

2007-11-12T09:02:00.000-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Mom, to give you an answer right away to your first question, I have gotten a few of the letters through the mission address; I don´t know if you´re sending them through the mission address every week, so I don´t know if I have gotten every single one of them. But no worries, even if I don´t get a hard copy of them, it´s ok. I can print them off here in the cyber if there´s something really important that I want. Mary-Anne got a job! YAY! That´s awesome. But don´t stop looking for other opportunities, especially if it´s only a temporary spot, or if you don´t know for how long it will last. But I´m way stoked for you; way to be, kid. :o) Just recently the bishop here in Bella Union was looking for a job because he was without work, and when he finally got a job, his father-in-law stood up in testimony meeting and said that Heavenly Father must have gotten tired of hearing all of us praying for the bishop, so that´s when he finally sent the blessing. Haha. I thought that was an interesting outlook. Maybe blasphemy, but it was funny igual. Mom, you asked if we have eaten anything weird lately-not really. We ate pigeon the other day, as well as a thing that looks like a groundhog with Jimmy Pio and his family, but that´s about it. I watched him skin the groundhog thing a couple of days before, so that was pretty...interesting. Haha. And justamente (I don´t know if there´s a word in English that has that definition, and that´s the one I want to use, so look it up in a dictionary..haha) that day I didn´t have my camera. Incredible. We are fed the same types of food VERY often. When there´s some type of meat, we eat rice with it. And the other days we eat noodles with some type of sauce. We probably eat that 5-6 times a week is my guess. I still haven´t gotten super bored of it, but variety is nice every once in a while. But we usually get our variety meal when we eat with Jimmy and his family-they always cook something weird so we can try it-they know how the system works. Jimmy and his wife are preparing to go to the temple here in the next couple of months, so that´s cool. They were baptized the 3rd of December last year, so it´s coming up. They are just an amazing family-have two kids- Juan Ignacio, 10, and Silvia Selena, 4. But yeah, that´s the food plan. Our apartment is 1/2 a block down the street headed south, on the east side of the street. The vivienda is pretty old, and kind of deteriorating, but it´s still pretty nice. It´s a lot bigger than my house in Artigas, so that´s good, I guess. It doesn´t need to be big, because we as missionaries don´t have a lot of stuff, but still. The sink in the bathroom is broken, but we make do. We´ve only seen a couple of cockroaches, every once in a while, but spiders are pretty frequent visitors. Not to mention our dog. Did I ever tell you guys about Negro? He is our dog. Haha. Mom, you never let me have a dog in the house...who would´ve that my first dog I would have on the mission?! From what everyone tells us, Negro has been around for quite a few years with the Elders. I guess his old owner used to live where we are living, and passed away. So when the Elders moved in, the dog just stuck around, because (of course) the Elders started giving him food! Haha. Not dog food, mind you, rather left-over pizza, rice and noodles. Not the healthiest diet for a dog, but he seems to be doing just fine! Haha. When we leave the house, he usually follows us for about 2 blocks in any direction and then heads back home to do his thing. We we come home every afternoon and every night, there he is waiting for us. What a great feeling. Haha. So we had an interesting experience yesterday. We had a lesson with Francisco, and when we got there, he was talking with another man. We all said our hello´s and Francisco said, "If you guys don´t mind, he´s gonna sit in and listen today." Nope, not a problem at all. Come to find out, Delsito is some kind of professor of philosophy-what luck! Haha. He teaches in an institution called Gnosis. I had never heard of it before getting here to Bella Union, and I still know basically nothing. It´s not a religion, but they conduct studies of the Bible, and help people be good people. Sweet. So anyway, justamente (that word again) we had planned on talking about the last past of the Plan of Salvation-what happens to us after we die. So we started talking about the Resurrection-a great topic for a charla with a philosopher, right? Haha, could have fooled me. No sooner had the word come off my lips than Delsito began to talk...and talk...and talk. It was a really enlightening experience, to be honest. It really helped me understand and simple and perfect God´s plan for us really is. Delsito went off on tangents about reincarnation and dual personalities and all this crazy stuff, with some probing questions from Elder Marroquín and I. It was cool, because Francisco would ask a question, we would give a simple 2 sentence answer, and Delsito would start to go off on some crazy tangent with words that none of us had ever heard (not only the gringo. Haha) Francisco would finally stop him and say that either he did not agree, or he wasn´t answering the question. So at the end of the charla, we set up an appointment to visit Francisco again, and I gave Delsito a folleto about the Plan of Salvation. It is amazing how simple the truth really is.This week we have a really busy, traveling week. Tonight we leave for Salto and tomorrow the whole zone leaves for our sector conference in Paysandú with Elder Claudio M. Zivic, from the Area Presidency. That´ll be cool. We´ll get back to Bella Union wednesday afternoon. Sunday morning we go to Salto with the members here because we have Stake Conference. That´ll be cool. I believe Elder Zivic is going to be there, as well. A long week, with little time here in our area, which is really sad. Hard to help your investigators when you´re not there. But that´s where the power of prayer and faith comes in. Anyways, that´s about it for this week. I love you guys! Can´t wait to hear from each and every one. ¡Cuídense y pórtense bien, por favor! :o)Love, Elder Taylor

Hey There...

2007-11-05T10:36:00.001-08:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well hey, whatÂ´s up? How are things going over there in the beautiful
United States of America? Everyone here keeps asking me if IÂ´ve heard
about some huge fire in California or something, so you donÂ´t need to tell
me about that!
Anyways, so itÂ´s now November; how crazy is that? Time is such an
interesting thing. But weÂ´ll leave that subject right there. Haha. Things
are going REALLY well here in Bella Union. Elder MarroquÃn and I had a
fantastic week last week! Now the test is to prove that it wasnÂ´t just
some random fluke. But we have really stepped it up a notch...or at least
thatÂ´s what Elder Taylor says. Haha. I know that we both feel a lot more
satisfied with the work we are doing. Not that we werenÂ´t working before,
but itÂ´s just that once you REALLY push yourself and you go beyond what
you thought you could, you ask yourself why you didnÂ´t just step it up and
do it before. That was last week. Found a lot last week, and weÂ´re really
looking forward to the opportunities weÂ´ll have this week.
We had one of those lessons that missionaries always dream about on
Saturday night. We taught Roberto, his wife, and his two kids ALL together!
It was amazing. We went over on Friday night to set up the lesson and asked
him if 8 on Saturday was ok. Yeah sure, he says, and weÂ´ll bring the whole
family together and talk. That was the best answer ever! Haha. We went over
and he was just finishing up working on the muffler of his car. Washed his
hands, we had a glass of soda, and then we all went into the front room to
talk about how prayer can really bring us together in our families. At the
end of the lesson, we invited them to kneel down every night and say a
prayer together, and they accepted! Then I told them that we would like to
be a part of the first one...we kneeled down and I asked Roberto if he
would say the prayer...he did, and it was amazing how much the Spirit could
be felt in that home! We have another lesson tomorrow night with them and
we are super excited. Oh, forgot to mention, this is a family that lived in
West Palm Beach for 9 years...so all of them speak at least a little
English! So that is exciting!
Anyways, I think thatÂ´s going to be about it for this week. Sorry for
the short letter, but if you want a couple of other bits of info, ask
Mary-Anne for parts of her letter! Haha. Know that I love each and every
one of you! Take care!
Elder Taylor

Another Week

2007-10-30T10:25:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
I don´t know if you all feel the same way, but these last six weeks have
just flown by. I can´t believe we´re already at the end/beginning of
another change.
But more important than that, I got to give a shout out to Pops! Happy
Birthday Dad! I don´t know if you heard me singing this morning bright and
early, but it sure was taken care of. :o) I hope you have a FANTASTIC day!
I thought it was cool that I get to have a p-day on your birthday-it´s
almost like I got invited to a party...I guess? Haha.
Anyways, so about changes...any guesses? Alright, I´ll just tell you:
I´m staying here in Bella Union with Elder MarroquÃn. I pretty much
figured that´s what was going to happen. Elder MarroquÃn is only my
second companion here in Uruguay that I´ll have been with for more than
one change. I was with Elder Stoddard (trainer) for two changes, but after
that it´s been one after the other. Pretty crazy, uh? I´m not gonna lie,
there was a part of me that wanted to bounce to another area, but I know
that this is where the Lord wants me. There´s people here that need to
hear the gospel from Elder MarroquÃn and Elder Taylor. I think I just
wanted to go to get to know other parts of the country. IÂ´ve been out
almost 11 months and IÂ´ve had two areas. I know Elders whoÂ´ve been out 4
months and they´ve had more areas than me. But hey, I´m grateful to know
that this work is directed by our Heavenly Father and so we don´t need to
question or doubt anything.
This last week was awesome. Well, weather-wise it was ridiculous. I think
the weather is more unstable and unpredictable here than in any other place
I have been in my entire life. We have had days of almost unbearable heat
and then two hours later it is POURING rain. Pretty intense stuff.
Yesterday is rained ALL day and today it is still overcast and drizzling
off and on. Not the most beautiful p-day in the world, but prolly not the
worst, either!
Last weekend, I had a special visit that made me SUPER trunky; but not
trunky for home. What am I talking about? Saturday night, Elder MarroquÃn
and I were planning and at about 9:15 somebody burst in our front door and
yelled , "HEY GRINGO!" Elder MarroquÃn and I just looked at each other,
not knowing exactly what to do; yeah, basically just freaked out. After a
couple of seconds of silence, I stood up and headed out of the room to go
to the front door. As I got close to rounding the corner, I heard footsteps
in the front room. Right as I rounded the corner, so did a huge
silhouette...Hermano Juan Carlos Martinez from Artigas, Rama 5! We both
just kind of yelled and laughed as we hugged. Hmo Martinez used to live
here in Bella Union a long time ago, but is now living in Artigas. He had
come on Saturday afternoon for work (he drives a bus/taxi) and was going to
be heading back to Artigas late Sat night. He had called tons of the
members here throughout the afternoon trying to locate those darn
missionaries, but to no avail. But one thing about those darn Mormons in
shirts and ties-everyone knows when they´re going to be inside. Haha. The
members told him where we were living and he came to visit. We chatted
about the Rama 5 and what has been going on in the 3 months since I left.
It was SO good to see him. He stayed for about 20 minutes or so and then
had to head out. When he left, my companion looked at me and said, "You´re
trunky now, aren´t you?!" And I said, "Yes, but only for Artigas." Haha.
It was so weird. If I could´ve, I would have gotten on a bus and headed to
Artigas right then. It was a lot of fun to get news about people with whom
I lived and worked for 6 months. So that was my special visit from Saturday
night!
Anyways, now about the whole missionary work thing...! Things are going
really well for Elder MarroquÃn and I. We are teaching a lot, but the
investigators haven´t been progressing much, so what do we have to do?
Find those who are going to progress! It may mean that we are going to
spend more time in the rain, but if we put our confidence in the Lord, He
will bless us. This last week, we decided to do just that. We stopped
passing by some of our "old" investigators (explaining why beforehand) and
started knocking. The Lord really does bless us if we put our trust in Him.
We were able to find more people to teach last week than in any other week
of the change. Only time will tell if they are those who the Lord has
prepared, but it was definitely a testimony to us.
The other day, I was doing my morning study and I read a scripture that
I´ve decided to put as my ´theme for this change. Philippians 4:13. I´m
not going to tell you what it says, because that would deprive all of you
of the opportunity to open your own scriptures and mark it for yourselves!
:o) But it´s a good one. It´s in the New Testament, for those of you who
forgot. Open it up and think about how each one of you can apply it as we
begin this new change...! Send me thoughts and ideas, I would love to hear
what ya´ll think!
So anyways, that´s what´s going on in the life of Elder Taylor. The
mission is fantastic. It´s hard, for sure, but I love it. This last week
we have had a couple of Family Home Evenings with members here in the ward,
trying to spark some excitement here in Bella Union. We have been reading
with them in Alma 24, about the Anti-Nephi-Lehites, verses 21-27. In these
short verses, it gives us as children of our Heavenly Father an idea of
just how powerful our example can be. So far, it has gone really well. I
hope that it helps the members catch a little of the vision that we have.
Melanie and Megan, how did the quarter end up? I hope that you both
stayed up on your studies. It is amazing the difference that can be seen
here between the people that have taken advantage of the opportunity to
study, and those who didn´t.
Mom and Mary-Anne, what did ya´ll end up doing last weekend? Did
Nathanael get to spend any time with you, too, or was he in the library all
week?
Swift, how are the studies going? Are we going to have another lawyer in
the world, or not? How are things looking in Salem? Should I head up there
and study with you? Haha. Yeah right. I have NO idea what I´m going to do
with my life. But I´ve still got time to think, right?
Dad, what is this new position you´re looking at? I hope all goes well.
Keep me udpated. How are things going with the calling? You should take a
picture from our deck and send it to me. Or should I wait and just be blown
away when I come home? Hmmm. You guys decide.
So what have you guys decided to send me for my birthday? Haha. One of
the members here is telling me to ask for peanut butter, so if you guys
could manage a bit of that, that´d be good. Just an idea. I´m not picky.
I´ve thought of new English scriptures...big ones like my spanish
set...what are your thoughts?
Anyways, it´s about that time. I love each and every one of you, and
I´m looking forward to hearing from you! Take care!
Elder Taylor

I´m healthy. Haven´t bought new shoes yet. My feet got SOAKED yesterday. I
think next week I´ll buy some.  I hope that things are going well. But hey,
I
think we´re going to head out and try to go to Brazil before the end our of
Day. I love you, Mom, more than anything. Give Dad a big hug and kiss for me
today! Take care of yourselves!


(The last little bit was a quick couple of emails back and forth between Liz
and Aaron.)

Another Week...

2007-10-22T14:37:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well hey there! How ya´ll doin? Things are going well here in beautiful Uruguay! Before I forget, changes are next week, which means that I will be writing on Tuesday, I think. Haha. They changed the day that the new Elders arrived and what-not last change, and I´m pretty sure it´s the same now, so I´m pretty sure we´ll be writing Tuesday. About 95%. Just so ya´ll know and don´t worry!
Things are starting to heat up in Bella Union; we´ve busted out the short sleeves and sunscreen. It´s still not "HOT," but it´s well on it´s way. And then that brings us to last Saturday-woke up in the morning to a BEAUTIFUL day; did service in the morning for a member in the ward and took fifteen minutes to play soccer with their grandkids. Then we went to lunch and as we left to go home, huge, dark clouds started to gather. Clouds were just coming together for about 3 hours. Then, right as we finished the closing prayer in the first lesson of the afternoon, it hit. It reminded me of one of those crazy Utah summer storms. It was SO cool. We were outside on the patio of this investigator, and that was where we stayed. Haha. No way were we going to leave...and even less when it started to HAIL! It was sweet. Good egg-sized balls of ice. Everyone says that that was the biggest hail they´ve ever seen here in Bella Union. The wind was so strong that the rain was coming "down" sideways. It was cool because this investigator has a big front yard (VERY rare) with huge trees-so that was entertaining! It lasted for about 20 or 25 minutes, and then just stopped. After a couple of hours, the clouds were gone and the sun was hot. Pretty sweet day. Reminded me of the weather at home.
I don´t think I have told you guys yet about Francisco. If so, oh well. Elder Gee and I were on divisions in Bella Union and as we were walking across the plaza, we did a contact with an older man seating on one of the benches. We presented ourselves and our message, and asked him if he would like to hear more. He said, "Yes. As a matter of fact, I have the Book of Mormon already." We asked him what he thought of it... "Well, just like it says on the cover: it´s Another Testament of Jesus Christ." We got pretty excited when he said that. Haha. A lot of people have Books of Mormon, either because they´re ex-investigators, or members gave them one, or whatever, but nobody has ever said that when I asked them what they thought! Then Elder Gee asked him where he lived, so we could pass by. When he told us the address, I realized that we were already teaching someone at that address! We were teaching his mother, and his two sisters! Ambrosia is probably about 88 years old, and his sisters Berta and Benta are like 60ish. We had invited everyone in the house to join us in the lessons with them, but he kind of lives apart in the back. So anyways, I made the connection and asked him about it. Yeah, he says, you have passed by to talk to my sisters, but I would like to talk to you guys by myself. Ok...not a problem!
This man is amazing. In our first lesson, we talked about the Book of Mormon and how we can know it´s true. I say amazing because he was quoting to US scriptures from the Book of Mormon. HE knew the "story" and who was talking in Moroni 10 (It´s Moroni, right, the son of Mormon? Yup, that´s right!) Every morning Francisco STUDIES the scriptures, prays, and just takes time to think. He is FULL of questions. As we began to explain the Plan of Salvation he asks us what we believe about ´original sin´ because he doesn´t think that it´s right for everyone to be judged for what Adam did. I flipped to the 2nd Article of Faith. After reading it and talking about it, he looked at me and Elder Marroquín and thanked us for answering a question/doubt that he had had for years.
He has asked about what happens to children that aren´t baptized and pass away, he´s asked about the difference between the spirit and the soul, and a ton of other questions that you only expect to hear in a practice lesson between missionaries in a district meeting. It´s great because our lessons are not us trying to pack information into his head; he asks questions and is eager to learn and accept the answers. On Saturday, we went to a lesson with him. As we finished the opening prayer, I asked if he had any questions he wanted to start with. He said, "No, I just want you two to teach me today. I´m not going to take you out of your ´routine.´" Elder Marroquín and I had decided previously that we wanted to talk about the Book of Mormon and invite him to get baptized. So we did. We talked about how once we have a testimony of the scriptures, we need to act; that part of understanding the scriptures is shown through the application in our lives. We then invited him to accept the Savior´s invitation and be baptized in His church. Francisco looked at us and said, "The only thing I ask you is to not rush me." He said, "I can´t give you a specific date, yet, but I can say that I will get baptized."
So that´s Francisco! He is an amazing example of how we all should be in our search for more understanding. Man, I love meeting awesome people!
Mom, you asked if the people are Bella Union are better off than the people in Artigas...I would say as a whole, no. The part of Artigas where I lived wasn´t amazing, but it was a very nice part. And the living is different as well. There´s a lot more people in Artigas, so there´s more apartments and condos and whatnot. In the center part of Bella Union there are some really nice houses, but as you move farther away from the center, you start to see how the majority of the people live. Yesterday we taught a lesson in a house about as big as our kitchen, made of mostly cardboard, to a family of 8. It really helps you have an appreciation for the blessings we enjoy.
The plaza about 5 blocks from the river is right across the street from me. From the southwest corner of the plaza, cross the street going south and half a block is our house.
We haven´t gone all the way to the community over by the Brazilian border to do proseltying, yet. We went to do service one day with the ward, but yeah. We have gone to the little branches of Bella Union that head out that way, though. Like yesterday, we walked about 45 minutes to get to that lesson...
Bishop Molina passed all the tests to get in to the firefighter training. He was the only one out of four guys from Bella Union that passed. He is back here with us, waiting for them to tell him when he needs to go down to ´Deo to start the training.
Mom, when you see Mary-Anne this week, give her a HUGE hug for me! And hit Nathanael for me. Haha.
Melanie and Megan, how´s school going? It´s weird to think you guys just started when everyone here is getting ready to end. Mel, what´s happening with the musical? Have you gone on any hot dates recently? :o) Goose, you just focus on your studies...you don´t need to think about boys yet! Haha.
Alright, well I think that´s about it for this week. Know that I love each and every one of you and that you´re in my prayers often! Don´t forget to write me. Haha. Just in case ya´ll forgot, you can write to the mission email address (urugoest@gmail.com) and they print it off and send it to me! So it´s a lot easier and free to keep in contact. What a blessing. :o) Well....see ya later!
Elder Taylor

Letter from Salto

2007-10-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Well hey there. How ya´ll doin this beautiful day? Things are going well
here in Uruguay. ItÂ´s about 10:30 in the morning and I´ve already been up
for about 5 1/2 hours. Pretty intense, eh? We woke up this morning and
hopped on a bus to come down and hang out with some of the zone today.
We´re going to go play GOLF! I´m WAY excited. Can you believe that? I,
Elder Taylor, am crazy excited to play GOLF. Haha. The things that change
on the mission. This is probably the one and only time we will come down
here on a Preparation Day, because it takes up our day and money, but it´s
all good. We got special permission to do divisions here tonight, so we
won´t have to head back to Bella Union for our three hours of proselyting
tonight. We have interviews with President Peterson tomorrow morning and
then tomorrow about noonish we have our district meetings like every week;
then we´ll head back to Bella Union.
So thatÂ´s whatÂ´s going on today. Sounds like fun, eh? I sure thought
so. Last week was a pretty long week, but it was great at the same time. A
couple of years ago, Elder Ballard gave a challenge, or better said, a
commandment for the missionaries to do at least 10 contacts a day; that
means 70 per week. Over the last year in the mission, the average has been
39.8 per missionary, per week. That´s barely over 50%. Wow. The President
really pushed this topic in our Zone Conference that we had like two weeks
ago, so Elder MarroquÃn and I decided last week that we were going to quit
being dumb as I put it. Haha. We both got our contacts last week. I
ended up with 73 and he got 71. We were both really happy and felt good.
Ten contacts a day doesn´t sound like a lot, and it´s not, but sometimes
it´s not as easy as it sounds. Especially when it rains for three days
STRAIGHT like it did last week, and no one is in the street. But when the
Lord gives a commandment, He provides the way. Even if it means we have to
walk into corner stores and invite His children, He will provide the way:
we just have to be willing to do what is required! So Elder MarroquÃn and
I decided we were going to do what is required. I´m not going to say that
we saw any AMAZING miracles last week for being obedient, but I can
honestly say that we feel a lot better and we are VERY optimistic for this
week. As Brother Matt Sellers told me this week, the Lord will bless us as
fast as we are able to receive it. I believe we showed the Lord that we
really do want to invite His children to learn more about Him this last
week, and we are willing to do what it takes! It´s going to be a great
week.
Got my first dog bite this last weekend. Saturday night, I think. No
worries, it was just a quick grab-and-release on the ankle. Only bled a
little bit. But it was kinda funny. :o)
My cold´s pretty much gone. I haven´t checked my tonsils in the last
couple of days, but I´m feeling ok. I told the Hermana Peterson at the
Zone Conference and she gave me a paper that said the medicine I needed, but I haven´t stopped by to get it yet. Up ´til now, I´ve
been ok. Haha.
Investigators are doing well. The hard part of the work in Bella Union
is different than the hard part in Artigas. In Artigas, it was hard for us
to find people to teach, but once we found them, they usually progressed.
In Bella Union, it is easy to find people, but they don´t progress:
mostly because they don´t go to church on Sunday. We are really focusing
in on that area. Ricardo was working like 12 hours yesterday, so he didn´t
go to church, but his wife and 3-year old daughter went. It was GREAT to
see them there. She is the returned-missionary that went inactive. But it
can be seen she has the desires to come back. We were talking with her, and
she said that Ricardo has been asking a lot more questions about the
church, the temple, and the priesthood in this last week. We are pretty
excited about that! Questions are always good. We are having lunch with
them on Wednesday, so that´ll be fun.
Things with Elder MarroquÃn are going really well. He is a lot different
than Elder Huaman, but at the same time, they are very similar. It is just
a lot different to be with a Latin. Not better or worse, just different.
Out of my 5 companions in the field, 3 of them have been Latins, and 2 of
those 3 have been Peruvians. I think that I´m supposed to head to Peru at
some point in my life. Elder MarroquÃn says that I´m going to have each
one of the Peruvians in the mission as a companion. Oh boy. I think that
would mean a Peruvian for the rest of my mission. I think I would go crazy.
Haha. He is a great Elder and he knows why he is here. It is very easy to
work with him. His birthday is December 16th. What a coincidence, eh? The
day after mine. I doubt I´ll still be here for our birthdays, but who
knows?
People always comment on how young we are, right? And usually they ask us
how old we are, so we ask them to guess first. With Elder MarroquÃn they
always say 19 or 20, but with me it´s always 23 or 24. Yesterday, one guy
said 29! I almost died. I don´t mind looking older at all, but 29?!
Sheesh. I guess need to do some more intense exercises in the morning.
Anybody have some kind of age remedy? Haha.
Mom, you noticed his tie, too?! Haha. That´s awesome! I was in the room
all by myself, right? Oh, but don´t worry, I still commented on the tie
OUT LOUD. Haha. After I realized what I had just done, I couldn´t help but
laugh at myself. That´s what happens when you´re with a Latin for 3
straight months, I guess!
As for things I need in a package, I´m not sure. Those Pilot gel pens
that you sent last time work REALLY well for contacts, because I can click
them open and shut quickly. Dumb little thing, but hey. Haha. I don´t know
if I have told you yet, but I have officially put a hole in my EccoÂ´s,
too. Just in the left foot. I have no idea what happened, to be competely
honest. I´m thinking about buying another pair of shoes from Brazil like
the ones I bought a couple of months ago. I like them a lot, and they only
cost like 700 pesos. I think that´s like 30 bucks. Not too bad. I don´t
know-what do you think? I think shoes are too risky to send in a package. I
don´t know if I´m really going to buy new shoes yet, but the thought has
crossed my mind. What else do I need in a package, or want? I don´t know.
Give me some ideas, and if it sparks any ideas, I´ll let you know. Oh, one
thing. Tell my best friend to write me! Haha. I know I wasn´t the best
writer to him while he was gone, but that´s because he told me NOT to
write emails! He can write me emails, at the mission address. C´mon
Skyler, I know you´re not stock full of dates...nice try! :o)
If you can´t tell, I´m just trying to buy a little bit of time. Haha. I
wrote quickly today. Maybe I´ll try and send some pics. Good idea, Elder
Taylor.
Ok, know that I love you all. Take care of yourselves and do your
scripture studies! The scriptures really have helped me have the desires
and motivation to do this work even on the hardest of days. There really is
a power to be found there. Look for it! And I would love to hear insights
and thoughts from all of you. Thanks Bro. Sellers for your thoughts-I
REALLY enjoyed it! Â¡CuÃdense y pÃ³rtense bien!
Elder Taylor

300 days

2007-10-08T10:50:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
Just so everyone knows, the subject line is NOT because I am counting days! My mom and sister both kindly informed me that today is my 300 day mark, so I thought I´d comment on it. That´s a pretty crazy thought. 300 seems like a lot, but at the same time, it´s not; time is a pretty confusing thing on the mission.
So Conference is over. Sad. But what an amazing conference it was! We witnessed history, you guys. I thought it was very impressive the way that President Hinckley did not make any show or presentation when he read the sustainings of Pres. Eyring and Elder Cook. They are callings that come from our Heavenly Father and any earthly presentation would not be sufficient. Very well done.
We received a lot of very impressive counsels this weekend from our Heavenly Father. A lot about being member-missionaries and studying Preach My Gospel; I hope that we were ALL listening to that counsel given to us from our Father in Heaven. He wants us to reach out to His children; Preach My Gospel is here to help us do so effectively. I loved the first two talks on Sunday morning by Elder Hales and Elder Scott about personal revelation and finding truth, respectively. They were both very impressive talks packed with insights and invitations.
Was anyone picking out their favorite ties like I was? Haha. I say that Elder Uchtdorf and Elder Kopischke win for this conference. If you want ideas for ties to send me...look at pictures of those two! There were many impressive ties this weekend. Haha
You may be wondering what Elder Taylor was doing while watching conference if he was so interested in the ties of the General Authorities; if so, I´ll tell you. There´s not much else to do when you´re sitting by yourself in a little room for eight hours! Haha. I had my own private "suite" for conference this weekend, seeing as how I´m probably the only person in at least 2 hours in any direction who speaks English. It made for a different experience, but I enjoyed it. I say 8 hours because Sunday morning my companion and I watched the recording of the Priesthood Session together...in Spanish. I could understand everything in Spanish just fine, but it´s just a different experience to watch it in English. The translators do an AMAZING job at what they do, but, as hard as they may try, they cannot translate the emotion and love in their words. And that´s one of the best parts of watching conference, isn´t it? We can all read the counsels in a month´s time, but this was our chance to hear the counsels with the love and the emotion that the Lord´s servants put in to them. What a blessing!
I didn´t get waffles and ice cream arranged for this conference. Oh well. Maybe next time.
Last week was a crazy week. District meeting in Salto on Tuesday, divisions here with Elder Gee on Wednesday, Sector Conference in Paysandú on Thursday and General Conference on Saturday and Sunday. A very long, but amazing week. I had the opportunity to receive many counsels from my leaders and to have many prayers answered. A great week.
Family, I got the package this last week. Thanks! The second I opened the package, I put the hat on. Mmm. Haha. It was great. I took a couple of recordings of Uruguayan´s eating Warheads-that was pretty funny! It was really nice to hear from the cousins and what not on the tape. I don´t know if you guys realized, but the tape had a couple of problems as well. Anyways, I was informed of some super exciting news- Greg and Ann Jones were sealed! I can´t believe you guys didn´t tell me beforehand! That is SO cool! I don´t know if you are sending these letters to them, but send them my love and congratulations! Man, that was a good piece of news to receive!
Melanie, tell Ms. Hatch that I dig the new hair-do. Haha. It was pretty fun to see her during conference. She´s the first person I´ve seen from home "live" in ten months. An interesting thought. Haha. Oh, and Ms. Beus from Elk Ridge.
Dad, what happened with the Sentra? You broke it again? Haha. Good to hear you got it fixed. What´d you decide to do with the Dodge?
So Robby, Troy, and Tommy are all in Brazil, huh? Crazy! I could be in Brazil too in about 15 minutes. Haha. That´s cool. When you see their families, tell them I send my best!
You guys are gonna head to Oregon to see Mary-Anne and Nathanael? That´s cool. I´ll head up that way in a "few" months. Haha.
Dad, thanks for sending me the tease on the Indians series. Haha. Did they pull it out and beat the Yankees? I sure hope so! If they go to the Series, you guys had better buy LOTS of souvenirs and record the Series so I can watch it! Thanks, love ya. Haha.
Well, I think that´s about it for this week. An interesting thought: President Hinckley spoke for just a couple of minutes in the last session, and what was his invitation? To read and discuss the proceedings of General Conference in our Family Home Evenings-think it might be a good idea? I sure think so! I´m so grateful that I have a "mother who knows" and parents who were always willing to spend one-on-one time with me! Those are moments that I will never forget.
I love you all, and I can´t wait to hear from ya! Send a shout, eh? Take care!
Elder Taylor

October 1st, are you serious?

2007-10-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

Taylor Family and Friends,
 Well hey there. How ya´ll doin? Things are going really well here in
Bella Union. This week brought a couple of changes, starting with the
weather; it seems like weÂ´re going to skip spring here and go straight to
summer. Yesterday it got up to 31 degrees (Celsius) I´m not sure how much
that is F, but I think itÂ´s about 80 degrees. All I know is that itÂ´s a
lot warmer. Haha. But notwithstanding the heat, somehow I managed to catch
a cold this week. Remember how before I left my tonsil had swollen up a
little and then went back to normal? Well, on Wednesday I woke up with a
cold and swollen tonsil. I´m feeling a lot better now, but my tonsil is
still bigger than it should be. Haha. But the headache and all that jazz
has left. I opened up my bag on Wednesday and found the pharmacy that I
hadn´t even touched yet. Haha. Thanks Mom, love ya!
 This week we started a new schedule. Now we have 9 hours of proselyting
every day. 9-12 in the morning, and 3-9 in the afternoon. It´s pretty
sweet. President Peterson reviewed the schedule we had and compared it with
Preach My Gospel, and then made the changes accordingly. We are all pretty
stoked about it.
 Things with Elder MarroquÃn are going really well. We both have the
desires to do the things we need to do, so we get along. Haha. He´s really
a pretty funny kid. Weird, but funny. He reminds me of a gringo trying to
learn Spanish-he´s always asking me how to say stuff in English. He
actually speaks pretty well. Ok, well a lot better than Elder Huaman. Not
meaning he could carry a conversation by any means, but he understands a
lot of the basics. It´s fun.
 THIS WEEKEND IS GENERAL CONFERENCE! Crazy. We get the satellite here in
Bella Union, so we don´t have to go to Salto. I still haven´t made the
arrangements for waffles...we´ll see if we can scrounge something up
before the weekend. If not, there´s always April. I´m way stoked for
Conference. I do believe that I will be the only one watching it in English
this time. Haha. That will be interesting.
 Ricardo went to church this week! I don´t know if I´ve told you about
him, but I believe so. His wife is the returned missionary who is now
inactive. They got married and she gradually went inactive. He was a
reference from the Ward Council. He has ran off a lot of companionships,
his wife said, so she was surprised when he invited us back for a third,
fourth visit, then a fifth...etc. We are taking it slow, as he requested,
but we are pretty excited. Yesterday was the Primary Presentation here in
Bella Union. Elder Taylor was asked to accompany them on the piano. That
was a first. It was fun.
 Anyways, time is running short; the computer was having problems today.
Dad, why would you fix the Dodge?! You´re crazy, man. My opinion. Haha.
Love you. Mary-Anne-you´re already looking for a new job? Sheesh kid. I
haven´t changed ties yet. Haha. It snowed in Salt Lake? That´s
ridiculous! Usually it waits until about Halloween. Weird. So how is mom
pronouncing the names of all these cities? That would be interesting to
hear! Haha. I forgot to bring the information for Elder Stoddard, but I
already made a reminder to bring it next week. Sorry. Sweet, that´s about
it for today. Tomorrow we are in Salto, Wednesday back here, and Thursday
in Paysandu for zone conference. Fun week! I love you all! Sorry for the
short letter, but it´s not my fault. Haha. Don´t take it personally.
Chao!
 Elder Taylor

Well Hey There...!

2007-09-24T10:54:00.000-07:00

Taylor Fam and Friends,
 So how ya´ll doin? Things are going really well here in Bella Union.
Elder MarroquÃn got up this morning, studied, and went back to bed. Haha.
It was great! For the next couple of weeks we´ll probably be writing in
the afternoon, because his family writes him on Monday mornings, so we have
to give them time to be able to write. Just a heads up. So this morning we
slept and cleaned. Afterwards we went down to the park by the river, took
some pictures, and played frisbee. I think I´m going to be buying a
basketball after we write. ItÂ´s been WAY too long since I played. Haha.
 So Elder MarroquÃn is from Lima, Peru. He´s been a member his whole
life. His mom´s a convert of about 20 years and his dad was baptized about
7 years ago. He is the oldest of 5 kids; 4 boys and a girl. His family was
sealed in the Lima Temple in April, so that´s pretty cool! As I think I
said last week, Elder MarroquÃn has been in ´Deo for the last 4 1/2
months. Elder McFarland (one of my first Zone Leaders) trained him, and the
last two changes he has been with Elder Bankhead, one of the first Elders I
met here in the ´Guay. He´s been here one change longer than me and is
from Logan. But thatÂ´s just for your info. Haha.
 Elder MarroquÃn and I are doing really well together! He has come with
the desires to work, and work is what we are doing! We finished up the week
wonderfully, and we are really looking forward to see what this new week
brings.
 Elder Huaman left at 8:30 on Tuesday night and until about 10:45 I was in
the house of one of the members here. At 10:45, Daniel (a
recently-returned-missionary) got out of his class and came to get me. We
went to my house, planning on going to bed and sleeping. At about 11:50, I
received a telephone call from Elder Huffaker, the zone leader in
Paysandu. He says, "Elder Taylor, sorry to wake you up. We have an Elder
that´s going to be in Bella UniÃ³n in about half an hour on his way to
Artigas. We need you to go get him and get him on the next bus to Artigas."
Sweet, thanks Elder Huffaker. Haha. So we forgot about sleeping, went and
got Elder Allen, and he and I went to my house to crash. Daniel went home
to get some sleep before work on Wednesday morning. So yeah, Elder Allen
was with me until Elder MarroquÃn got here, and then we put him on a bus
for Artigas. He was headed for Barrio 4 in Artigas. I told him to send a
shout out for the Rama.
 Last weekend had a great experience. Friday night, a lot of the young
adults from Salto came to have an activity with the young adults from Bella
Union. Elder EchegaraÃ (spelling-NO idea) who is an Area Authority came
and spoke at a fireside. He gave an AWESOME talk on prayer. It was SO good.
I´m glad that the young adults invited us to go. Haha. I´m not sure why,
but that talk was prepared with Elder Taylor in mind. Prayer is such a
powerful tool and blessing that our Father in Heaven has given us. Are we
putting it to use, or is it an un-opened gift on the mantel?
 We also went and participated in the service project with the youth on
Saturday morning. It was a lot of fun. We went and painted, cleaned,
organized and all that fun kind of stuff at a school here in Bella UniÃ³n.
 Mom-youÂ´re going to sing for President Hinckley?! That´s so cool!
Don´t mess up. Haha. Just kidding. I can´t believe that General
Conference is almost here again. Crazy. I remember heading to General
Conference with Elder Stoddard in Artigas. Man, that was fun. Speaking of
Tyson (Elder Stoddard) have you guys heard from him yet? He´s been home
almost 2 months now. He´s probably using the excuse that he´s busy with
school, but that´s no excuse. Haha. I hope he gets in touch soon. I´ll
send you his info next week, if I can remember.
 Dad-how was the Titan? Everything you hoped and dreamed? Haha. I hope you
took a picture when it was sitting there in the garage! I have to know how
well my Tacoma is going to fit. :o) Looks like they did a pretty good job
on fixing up the van. Did it cost an arm and a leg, or just the leg? Did
the insurance help at all? Have you found the blessing or lesson that
we´re supposed to learn in this experience yet? If not, keep looking,
it´ll show up...it always does!
 Here´s a weird idea-our bishop here left yesterday after church and if
things go well, he won´t be back for 3 months. That´s kind of an
interesting thought, huh? Our bishop has been without work for some time,
just doing odd-jobs here and there for a couple of weeks at a time. He got
the opportunity to sign-up to take the fireman course like two weeks ago,
so he did it. He´s in ´Deo this week to see if he passes the tests. If
things go as we hope, we won´t have a bishop until about Christmas; if
things don´t go well, he´ll be here to preside in Sacrament next week.
The ward will be fine. The counselors are very capable men, and the members
know how things run. The Elders will be doing their part. So yeah, we hope
things go well for Bishop Molina.
 Well, I think that´s about it for this week. The work of the Lord is
moving forward here in Bella Union. I am so grateful for the opportunity
that I have to be a part of this wonderful work! He really does have great
things in store for each one of us, of that I have no doubt. I love and
pray for you often; don´t ever forget that!
 Love Always,
Elder Taylor