Hey! A couple of pictures from the baptisms, one of the reception, and the chapel/house! Enjoy!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Cambios...
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
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
Monday, September 22, 2008
Buenos Dias!
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, 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
Monday, September 15, 2008
Well Hey There...
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
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
Monday, September 8, 2008
Howdy!
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
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
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
¡Buenos días!
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
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
Monday, September 1, 2008
Notice...!
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
Elder Taylor
Monday, August 25, 2008
Happy Independence Day! (or something like that)
Taylor Family and Friends,
Are you all amazed like Dad to know that internet exists here in this little town? Not gonna lie, I had my doubts. Haha. So it´s been about 5 days since I arrived here in Tranqueras, and I´m in love! It´s so much fun. There´s about 8,000 people that live here in the city, so it´s pretty small. If you count everyone that lives out on their ranch, it gets up to about 10,000. Pretty small, but it´s awesome!
I´m here with Elder Mitchell Davidson from Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. He goes home in 6 weeks, but we don´t talk about those sort of things. Haha. His mom is actually coming down and they´re gonna go around the country for about a week. He´s actually doing really well, hasn´t gotten too trunky yet. But we´ve got a lot of work to do, so I´m not too worried.
Elder Davidson has been out here for the last six weeks with Elder Lewis, who just went home to Oregon. They were working really well, and we had a baptism last week as a result. So a little about Tranqueras...it´s a tiny branch. We live in a house that doubles as the chapel. We have sacrament meeting/relief society in our garage, primary in the "family room," and priesthood/gospel principles upstairs in the room next to our bedroom. It´s so crazy, but I really enjoyed it. I was going to take a video this morning and send it, but it was all foggy when we left, so it wouldn´t have been as cool. Be anxiously waiting for next week! :o) Our branch president, Pres. Díaz, and his wife are from Rivera; they drive out here every Sunday for the meetings. They´ve actually been called as service missionaries for this time, their calling ends at the end of the year. The branch is super small. Yesterday there was probably 30 people in church, ten of which were investigators and two recent converts.
We are teaching like crazy. At times it seems like there´s not enough hours in the day to teach all of our investigators and find new people to teach. People here are really receptive to the message. Just in these five days, we have found 12 new investigators, including 2 complete families. The Lord has prepared and is preparing this city to hear His message. We have a couple of couples who we are helping get the papers ready for weddings and then their baptism.
Every week Elder Davidson and I head in to Rivera for District Meeting. We´ll probly go in a couple of preparation days, too, for some kind of zone activity. After nine months, I´m back in a two-Elder house. I like it. Nice and peaceful, easy to keep clean, etc.
On Thursday morning, Elder Davidson and I went to look for a reference that he and Elder Lewis had received, but had never been able to find at home. We knocked (clapped) and out came Jose, who stood on the other side of the gate/fence to talk to us. He told us that he and his wife were believers, but they didn´t like to participate in any religion. He was pretty frank and adamant, but we kept talking to him and he then asked us, "Well, what is it exactly that you teach, I MIGHT like to hear it. No promises." We told him we shared a message that blesses the family, that helps it become stronger and more unified. He said, "Okay, come on in. But without any commitment." No problem. We waited outside the door as he and his wife set up the chairs and loveseat. We went in and sat down in front of Jose, his wife, and three kids. We started to talk about the family, and they then told us that they were going through a pretty tough moment in their marriage, and that they needed help. "However," said Jose, "we don´t believe that going to a church will help us. We believe in God, but we don´t like going to any church." Bueno. We kept talking about the family, based on faith, repentance, and forgiveness. After about 5 minutes, Jose told us that if this message helps his family, that he WILL be in church, with all of his family. In 15 minutes, the Lord softened a man´s heart who did not want to hear ANYTHING, to helping him see that going to church will bless his family. Amazing. I´m so grateful for being able to participate in the Father´s miracles.
So that´s what´s going on on this side of the world. I can´t believe that the next time I wrote you all it will be September! Incredible. Elder Shupe and I were talking about it, and it´s so frustrating that when you feel that you finally understand what missionary work is all about and how to do it, the mission is coming to an end. I´ve still got time, but it´s coming too quickly. Definitely a bittersweet feeling. Ok, enough of that talk! :o)
Well, now everyone is back in school. I hope that the year started well for all of you! Work hard, and stay focused, because the time goes by too quickly!
Okay, that´ll be it. I hope you can all find a bit of time to send me a line! Take care of yourselves!
Elder Taylor
Here´s a couple of pictures from our morning adventure! Happy Birthday shoutout to Mary-Anne and Skyler! Have a great day tomorrow!
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!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Changes
Taylor Family and Friends,
I don´t know if it was the same for any of you who have served a mission, but when the phone rings on Sunday night before cahnges and the caller ID says "Casa de la Misión" (Mission Home) my heart definitely starts pumping. It´s not like I´m nervous to talk with President or anything, but it´s always interesting to see what he has to say.
Well, President asked me how I was doing and how our week had gone; not too shabby. That´s good. "Elder Taylor, I´m extending to you a new calling, is that ok?" "Yeah, no problem." "Well, as you´ve noticed, I´ve been doing something new the last couple of changes with a few missionaries who have served as Zone Leaders. I take two of them, and I put them together as normal, proselyting missionaries in order to give experience and energy to a young zone. That´s what I would like to do with you. What do you think?" I think that´s great. So Elder Taylor is leaving Paysandú and he´s heading back to the north....! Zone-Rivera, Area/city-TRANQUERAS! Tranqueras is a little city about an hour away from the department capital of Rivera, and it is an area that has only been open for a little over 6 months! I will be serving with Elder Davidson, a great missionary and a good friend of mine, who will be finishing his mission in this next change. I still haven´t had the opportunity to talk with Elder Davidson yet, but I hope he´s as stoked as I am! I guess we´ll have to ask him, huh? Haha. So yeah, I´m heading out this afternoon at 5 PM. I´ve already got all of my stuff packed; we´re going to go say goodbye to a couple of families before I leave.
President always manages to surprise me with changes, without fail. Like all missionaries, Elder Shupe and I were talking about the possible changes this last weekend a little bit, and what actually happened didn´t even come across our minds! But obviously, it is so perfect. The Lord knows us, our needs, and our abilities better than we could ever imagine. It is very consoling knowing that a Being such as He is guiding this work and watching over us in every moment.
We didn´t have a baptism last weekend like we were hoping, Diego had some problems with his step-father, and we decided it would be better to hold off for a little bit. But he´s doing well, and I´m sure we´ll get notice of his baptism soon. Everyone in Casa Blanca is doing GREAT! Rosa is feeling a lot better with her back, and she´s reading the Book of Mormon like crazy. Last Friday, Elder Shupe and I taught her and Viviana more about the Book of Mormon, and what exactly it means. Towards the middle of the lesson, Rosa said, "Listen, I can´t make it to church on Sunday because we have a commitment with the family, but don´t worry, next week, I promise you that my mother and I will be at church. Viviana can make her own decision, but Elsa and I will be there!" What a sweet parting gift, knowing that they are about to take another great step of faith. Viviana also said that she will be there, as long as her work schedule doesn´t interfere; she works with animal skins, and the season is just about over. I´m going to write them a letter today and leave it with Elder Shupe so he can take it out to them this Friday. That´s the worst thing about changes-goodbyes. It´s amazing the love that you can feel for someone after knowing them for such a short amount of time!
Oh yeah, Mom, I forgot to tell you that I already got the package. I think it was two weeks ago, if I remember correctly. We already made/ate the pie, the Taffy Cookies, and the Goldfish. Haha. What can I say, we´re growing boys and we need to eat! :o) P.S., the graham crackers and frosting....GREAT idea! Not gonna lie, got kind of trunky eating it, but hey, that´s ok.
Sector Conference just went really well. Learned a lot and felt the Spirit. Elder Shupe, Huber, Garns, the Hermana Litchfield and I sang "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need" as a musical number. It went really well. I don´t know if you all remember that song, but we sang it for choir once at Bingham. Great song. For ward conference, Elder Shupe and I set up the activity of Human Foosball. I don´t know how many of you have played it, but if you haven´t, you definitely should! Especially with a bunch of Latins who know how to play soccer...it was a BLAST, and everybody loved it, which is the most important. A good chance to get together and laugh. Afterwards we had tortas fritas, which are basically scones, and a barley drink. Good times.
To answer the question, no we don´t get to watch any of the Olympics. But we have heard a lot about them. It´s so cool that Phelps broke the record! Attaboy. Uruguay was resting it´s hope on one guy, from what I understand, to bring home some kind of medal. Winston or Winton or something like that. He´s a cyclist, but it didn´t come out too well for him this time around. He took 16th. People were/are sad, but it happens. It´s funny being with Elder Shupe during the Olympics, he gets frustrated when people talk about them, because it makes him trunky. Haha. But hey, I can´t blame him...if I was fourth in the world in my event in gymnastics, I would be trunky too! I´m so grateful for the last two changes I´ve had to be with Elder Shupe. He´s definitely one of those eternal friendships that are made only on the mission. What a stud. He heads home the first weekend of October.
Mom and Dad, I hope you have a very happy anniversary tomorrow! Know that you will both be in my thoughts! Enjoy your day!
Well, that´s gonna do it for me this week. Megan and Melanie, enjoy your last week of summer! I can´t believe school is starting again already. Crazy. Glad to hear that Mary-Anne and Nathanael had a good time for his birthday. And my nephew, Jackson, is already two? From the pictures and all his gray hair, he seems a lot older. Haha.
I love you all, and I hope you´re all doing well! I´m waiting to hear from you!
Elder Taylor
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
Monday, August 11, 2008
Sorry, not much time...
Taylor Family and Friends,
This letter is going to be SUPER short. Elder Shupe and I just spent two and a half hours in court...no, not that kind of court! Diva Ceballos asked if we could go with her to talk to the judge about the divorce that they´re trying to get. They told her to be there at 2 o´clock, so we were....and at 4:30 the judge FINALLY talked to her! She talked to her for about a total of three minutes. Blugh. She said that she is going to send for the necessary papers from Montevideo because Diva was married in Montevideo. At the end of the month, we go back to check and see if the papers are in and see how things go from there. Just to let ya´ll know, everything is going really well. My back´s doing fine. Last week went by even faster than we thought it would. Sector conference went really well as did ward conference. I´ll try and remember to put details in my letter next week. This week is promising to be a good, we´re excited to have a normal week again. Next week we have changes, which means I will probably be writing on Tuesday, just so ya´ll know. This may be my last week here in Paysandú...where will Elder Taylor be headed next change...or will the President surprise us all and leave me here? Only time will tell. Haha. Well, sorry the letter is so short, but for sacrifices blessings are given! We felt good going and supporting Diva. I hope everyone is doing well. Enjoy whatever is left of summer.
Hey Swift...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW! You´re getting old, bro...just in case you didn´t know.
Ok, I love you all! Have a good week and take care!
Elder Taylor
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
Monday, August 4, 2008
¡Buenas tardes!
Taylor Family and Friends,
Well here it is, the first letter of the month of August. I´m still waiting for that part of the mission where it seems like time doesn´t fly, but it´s taking it´s time getting here! I can´t believe we´re already in August. Speaking of which....HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELANIE! Well, on Friday! :o) Know that you will be in my thoughts all week! Have a GREAT week, and, por favor, ¡PORTATE BIÉN!
Last week went really well. Thursday night I threw out my back, but we won the soccer tournament, so it´s ok. Haha. Elder Shupe and I conducted our weekly planning session Friday morning in various places-our study room with me in the chair and then on the floor, with a later appearance standing against the wall and, to wrap things up, in various positions on the bed, trying to get comfortable. But now all is well, no worries! The Hermana Peterson was definitely inspired when we made rice bags last zone conference. I should write her and thank her for that! Note to self....!
Things are going really well. Diego Rodriguez has a baptismal date for the 16th of August, and we are getting ready to give one to Yosep either this week or next. The families out in Casa Blanca are all progressing VERY well, we are very content with what´s going on out in that little pueblo. Rosa Romero, one of the first we found out there, was admitted to the hospital on Friday for back problems (go figure) so Elder Shupe and I paid her a visit on Saturday. She´s been operated on a few times already, so she´s used to it. She said that she chastised her daughter for not bringing her her Book of Mormon when she came to visit, so I gave her the one I had in my backpack. Haha. All of them out there are taking big steps of faith by not only reading but striving to study the Book of Mormon and pray about it. Many of them have already commented on the desires to come to church to at least see how it is; Rosa already said that when she gets out of the hospital and feels better, she´s there. That´s what I like to hear...!
We have a SUPER busy week this week. Ward conference this weekend, so Elder Shupe and I are helping with two ward activities and a big service project for the ward, on top of the things we get to prepare for our Sector Conference on Wednesday. It will be a busy week, but that will be nice. It will be Monday again before we know it!
The zone had a GREAT week last week. We did a couple of Choque de Fuerza´s, which is where all the missionaries in the zone go to one area for a couple of hours and work. Tuesday morning in Barrio Centro and Elder Shupe and I went with Elder Quiroz and Elder Machuca on Saturday morning in their area to help them out. It went really well!
Mom and Dad, the fridge and oven look AWESOME! I was SO surprised when I opened the picture, because I hadn´t read the letter beforehand! It looks SO good! Just so you know, the color of the fridge is about the color I want for my Toyota Tacoma...just so you can make the match! :o) Haha.
Mom, thanks for making that call up to USU. So I don´t need to send them an email or anything for scholarship details? Everything´s ready to go in that regard. My science professor was Dr. Wolf, I believe. Thanks for taking care of that for me! Love you!
Melanie, your audition sounded like a GREAT experience! Thanks for the letter and letting me know how it went! I´ll give you some belting lessons in the car when I get home. Haha. It sounds like you had a great time up at EFY, too! What was the cute boy´s name? :o) Don´t forget to write me this weekend and let me know how your party goes!
Goose! So the thing you liked most about EFY was all the cute boys, uh? Haha. I knew it. :o) Did you actually dance with the guys at the dance, or were you too scared of their cooties? It would be fun to be and EFY counselor when I get home, we´ll have to see if it´s a possibility with work and studies. I still play basketball quite a bit, no worries. I´ll still give you a good whippin´ when I get home! Better get out and practice some more, Goose!
Well, I believe that´s going to be it for me this week! It was great to hear from all of you! Thanks for the pictures, Dad, that was a lot of fun to see! A lot of them came out kind of dark because of the sun, so I couldn´t see who everyone was at the funeral and whatnot, but I got a pretty good idea. Say hello to everyone for me and have a great week!
Elder Taylor
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
Monday, July 28, 2008
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
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
Monday, July 21, 2008
Howdy!
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
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
Monday, July 14, 2008
Hey there...!
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
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
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Pictures!
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...
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
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
Monday, June 30, 2008
¡Buenos días!
Taylor Family and Friends,
It´s June 30th, and it´s a beautiful day! That´s a nice change. The last few weeks we´ve just had clouds, rain, and COLD. Everyday when we wake up all we can see is fog! Yesterday you couldn´t even see a block ahead of you as we walked to church. But this morning, the sun decided to come up and all I need is a jacket instead of my two-layered coat! It´s funny to think that I never thought it would get cold in Uruguay...!
We had a really good week last week. Yesterday was kind of disappointing in terms of having investigators in church, though. We were expecting a pretty big amount of investigators, but a lot of them were sick because of the weather the last week. Not cool. But hey, that´s just more incentive to work harder this week!
We also had interviews with President Peterson on Tuesday. I love that man! He and I talked quite a bit about the zone (obviously) and the things that he expects from the mission. I´m so grateful to know that he is the man that God has called to lead this mission at this time. I have seen a great change in the mission over the past year, and it´s very exciting. Sometimes I wish I could stay longer to help keep it going...! But...
"I´LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!" I asked President before he left on Tuesday what he was going to do with my group, and he told me that we´ll at LEAST be home a week before Christmas, and most likely two weeks. Which means I might be home for my birthday, as well! Pretty sweet, eh? I would be leaving here (most likely) the 11th of December and arriving home on the 12th. That´s the plan for right now! So there ya go. Enough of that talk, I´m going back to work...! :o)
Elder Shupe and I went back out to Casa Blanca on Thursday afternoon. When we got off the bus, we ran into Yanina who said she was sorry, but she had to go in to Paysandú for a meeting at her daughter´s highschool. She felt bad, but there was nothing she could do. So Elder Shupe and I looked at each other and just said, "Well, the Lord has brought us here for some reason...let´s go find out what it is." Two and a half hours later, we knew. On Thursday afternoon, we found 8 people, comprised of three families! We found three married couples, two of which had children of baptismal age. The husbands in two of the three lessons participated in and enjoyed the message; the other participated, but very cautiously. It was interesting, because by 6:30 it is already really dark now, and even more so out in this little pueblo. At 7 o´clock, after we had found two of the families, Elder Shupe and I were trying to decide if we should keep knocking around in the dark (not very effective-ask any RM you know) or if we should start heading back to P-dú. The bus didn´t come until 8:30, so we´d have to walk-and a very considerable distance. We decided, no, we need to stay. We knocked to door on the corner...no, we´re busy, sorry. Ok. We looked to the other side of the street and realized that we were looking at the first house we had knocked in the afternoon, but no one had been there...now there were lights on. We knocked the door and Enrique came out. He couldn´t talk a lot, because he had just arrived from having two molars pulled out at the dentist. We asked him if we could come in for just ten minutes and share a message with him and his 9-year old daughter. Sure. As we got into the 9th minute or so, we hear someone coming to the door, and he says, "Should be my wife and my daughter." And in walks Rosario! My mouth dropped open, and Elder Shupe says, "¡No me diga!" We had talked with Rosario the week before while looking for a non-active. Really nice lady, with lots of questions about the mission, but who didn´t want us to come by her house another time. When she saw us at her kitchen table, she just laughed and said, "Well, you found me!" We sat and talked, laughed, showed each other pictures, and shared a message that will bless their family. We have a return appointment for this Thursday evening! The Lord wanted us there for a reason...I´m so grateful for the guidance of the Spirit, even when it means knocking the same door twice!
Yesterday I gave a surprise talk in sacrament meeting, so that´s always fun. I talked about the importance and the power of prayer, and I learned a lot as I spoke. Those are the best learning moments; as you share your testimony or your feelings, and the Spirit whispers something to you that makes you look at it or think about it a different way. What a blessing!
Anyways, I think that´s gonna about do it for me today! We´re gonna go play basketball, soccer, and frisbee with some of the youth. On Wednesday, we´re headed to Mercedes for Zone Conference where we will meet President´s son who just returned from his mission! Sweet! I hope this letter finds that all is well for all of you! Have a great 4th of July, and shoot off some fireworks for me! Can´t wait to hear from you and everything that´s going on in your life! Take care!
Elder Taylor
Some fun pictures from last week! 
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!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Pictures
Here´s a couple of pics...
-In front of a wall painting in my area...
-With my Bishop´s TURKEY!
-Pointing to a "dollar bill" that says "The United STATE of America"...gave us a pretty good laugh!
Enjoy! More are coming...sometime!
Elder Taylor
-In front of a wall painting in my area...
-With my Bishop´s TURKEY!
-Pointing to a "dollar bill" that says "The United STATE of America"...gave us a pretty good laugh!
Enjoy! More are coming...sometime!
Elder Taylor
Hey There...!
Taylor Family and Friends,
Well, here we are yet again. The weeks just fly by, it seems like. Tomorrow we have interviews with President Peterson and next week we will have the Zone Conference of this change; we´re having it in the 5th week instead of the 2nd because President´s son gets home from his mission in Brazil this week and he´s going to come meet us all at Conference next week. That´s why they postponed it...so that´ll be cool to meet him!
The weather took it´s toll on the zone last week-a lot of the Elders got sick and one of the Hermanas, but Elder Shupe and I have stayed healthy, luckily! The majority of the week was cloudy and sprinkling; I think we only saw the sun twice, one of them being yesterday. But, all the missionaries are feeling better now and looking forward to gettin back to work this week!
Elder Shupe and I had a SWEET experience last week! Are you ready...? Are you sure? ´Cuz it´s REALLY cool....alright, I´ll tell you. We received a reference from a member in another ward about a week and a half ago, but the reference lives out in Casa Blanca-a little pueblito about half an hour outside of Paysandú, but that still belongs to our ward. Neither of us had ever been out there, but we organized the week so we could go out there on Thursday afternoon. We left P-dú at 4:15 and had to get on the bus back at 8:30. By the time we got there, we had about 3 to work. We got out to Casa Blanca, stepped off the bus at the first stop, and watched the bus pull away. We looked around a second, and I said, "Well, let´s go." We walked across the street and a little field to the first house, our plan was to knock and ask if they knew where this reference lived, and at the same time invite them to listen. The house was yellow, and as we walked up, I looked at Elder Shupe and said, "Yellow for golden" with a little smile. We knocked the door, and Yanina came to the door. I introduced who we were and told we we would like to share a message about the family. She accepted, and invited us into her home. About 35 minutes later, she had tears in her eyes as she listened to how God began His communication with man in our day and accepted an invitation to read in the Book of Mormon. After the lesson, we asked her if she knew the reference, and we found out they were co-workers in a factory and she lived just down the street. Once again, the Lord is preparing His children...are we doing our part to invite them?
So, that was a really exciting part of the week. We are headed back out to Casa Blanca this Thursday, so we´ll see what happens!
But that´s about all the big news from this week. Dad, thanks for taking the time to write that big email and fill me in on last weekend´s events. It sounds like you all had an enjoyable weekend; I hope you remembered to give Matt and Amanda my congratulations! If not, Matt and Amanda....CONGRATULATIONS! I can´t believe I didn´t get an invitation...! Don´t worry, Matt, you´ll get what´s coming to ya. :o) Love ya, cuz!
Well, that´s gonna about do it for me this week! Melanie, I got your email...thanks for writing! Who is the new choir teacher? Congrats on your theater awards! That´s awesome. And Hello Dolly is the musical next year? Sweet! Too bad I´ll miss it...by a few weeks. Oh well, it´s for the best cause there is! :o)
I hope ya´ll know that I love you and think about you often! Mom and Dad, I hope you had a happy Father´s Day, and a Happy Birthday! We sang to you, Mom...about 4 times! Haha. I love you! Take care!
Elder Taylor
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
Monday, June 16, 2008
Big Week
Taylor Family and Friends,
Hey there! How ya´ll doing? Things are going really well here in Paysandú. I´m writing a little later today because we spent most of they day with a family that Elder Shupe had met over a year ago here in Paysandú. He served in Barrio Obelisco a year ago, and now he´s returned to P-dú to serve in Barrio Ombú. It´s not very often that an elder serves in the same zone twice in his mission, so he got lucky. The family that we went to see was one in which Elder Shupe baptized the daughter, and started to teach the father, who later got married and baptized as well. It was a really neat experience for him, so it was worth sacrificing my weekly nap! :o)
The time is flying by. It´s crazy to think that we are already in the middle of June! Last week I hit my 18-month mark, that´s pretty intense. This week is a pretty full week for us. On Thursday, we´ll have interviews with President Peterson. They did the interviews at the beginning of the change this time because President´s son finishes his mission in Brazil in the next week or so, so they postponed the zone conferences until he got here so he can come and meet all of us in the conferences. So that´ll be fun.
Elder Shupe and I had a pleasant surprise yesterday at Church. We had been teaching this little old lady named Yospeh for about a week, but we had decided to drop her last Monday or Tuesday; so we basically hadn´t even gone by in a week. Much to our surprise, she showed up yesterday at 9 AM at the chapel! We gladly lead her in to the Relief Society and as we opened the door, she walked in saying, "Hola! Soy una nueva hermana!" while flailing her little hands. Right away, about 10 hermanas from the Relief Society surrounded her like a swarm of bees, giving her hugs and kisses. Elder Shupe and I shut the door and just started laughing in the hallway; it was a good start to the day!
With the cold weather, a lot of the people who had said they were going to come to church yesterday didn´t make it, but we have high hopes for this next week. Cristina and Juliano are doing very well, and in our last lesson, asked a lot of questions about baptism, which we were glad to answer! Elder Shupe and I have been teaching quite a bit, so now it´s just time to get them all to church!
Sounds like Dad and the girls had a really busy week up in Moses Lake. I hope they took pictures so I don´t miss out on too much of the action! Make sure you tell Matt and his WIFE (weird) congratulations. I always told him he would get married before I got home. Couldn´t he have just waited 6 months longer? Sheesh.
So I still haven´t got that picture CD sent off yet...my bad. The last couple of P-Days have been really busy with activities and whatnot, so I haven´t even gone to develop pictures yet. But don´t worry, they will be on their way soon.
Well, I´m not really bursting with information or news this week. Just the same story- we are working hard and enjoying every minute of it! I finally got the letter from Caleb. It was really nice to hear to him. Hopefully I´ll get a reply off to him next week! But, I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying all there is to be enjoyed! I can´t wait to hear from you. :o)
Elder Taylor
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
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