Vamos arriba Paysandú...!

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...

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...

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...!

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

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....

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...

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...

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...

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

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!

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

Getting bored w/ subject lines...!

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...!?

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...

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...

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...!

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!

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...!

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)

Taylor Fam and Friends,
Who am I?... "M´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