Oh what a beautiful morning...! Haha

Family and Friends,
 What´s up?! How are you all doing? I´m just dandy down here, living the
missionary life. There´s nothing better, and at the same time, I´m
convinced there´s nothing harder! Haha. That´s the way it should be
though, right? If it´s not hard, it´s not worth it.
 First of all, I´ll have you all know, I´ve been adopted yet again down
here in the ´Guay! So now I have my beautiful mother, Jewels, my birthmom,
and Hermana Martinez from my latino side! Haha. Hermana Martinez and her
husband are awesome members here in the branch. In July, they will have
been members for 31 years. He has been Branch Pres. 3 times, along with
various callings in the Stake, and Hma Martinez has probly held every
calling a woman can in the branch. Recently, she was called as Relief
Society Pres, again. So there ya go. She is taking good care of us-always
telling us to behave ourselves, and making sure someone is going to feed us
everyday. So, no worries, 6,000 miles away from home and I still can´t get
away from the seemingly-ever-present personage of a mother. I love it.
 Eduardo is doing awesome! He came to Church again yesterday, in a white
shirt and tie that Elder McFarland and I provided. In a lesson we had with
him while we were on divisions, he said that he felt a little awkward or
out of place with his jeans and blue shirt the last sunday. Pres. Lorenzo,
who was with us, told him not to be worried, that the Lord would provide a
way for him to get the appropriate clothing, if he continued to put Him
first. Don´t let it stop you from going to church, he said. Oh, I´m going
anyway, is what Eduardo responded. Elder Stoddard and I gave him the white
shirt and tie Saturday night. His face lit up. And then we taught him how
to tie it. Haha. It was awesome. He has a great spirit about him, even with
the hair to his shoulders and the tattoos! We found out that he has 2
daughters that live in Montevideo with their mother, and he has another
daughter that passed away about 20 days after being born, just over a year
ago. That still hits him really hard. We changed our lesson plan on the
spot and taught him the Plan of Salvation. What a blessing it is to know
that little children are ''alive in Christ.'' He was so grateful and
excited to learn about our Father´s plan for us. What an awesome
opportunity we have to share that message with our brothers and sisters.
 Last week it rained for about 3 days straight. Needless to say, it
chilled down a bit. Today is a beautiful day, short sleeves, but at nights
and in the mornings, we wear our jackets. It´s really nice not to have to
fight the heat.
 Questions from Elder Taylor-well, just a couple- Has Neil Draper gotten
his call yet? Elder Stoddard and I are anxious to hear! What about Dan Han?
Has he started on his papers? Anybody else who I should be waiting to hear
from? Oh, speaking of Dan-Dan, I got your letter a week and a half ago, and
I wrote you a letter last week, and then realized I had no stamp to send
it. So be patient, letters are coming. That is the status of letter writing
right now.
 Speaking of letters, I got an out-of-the-blue letter from Shayla Troff
this week. I don´t know her email, mom, so if there´s a way you could
figure that out and send this to her so she knows, I´d appreciate it.
Also, mom, I didn´t get the email you sent last monday, the 23, on
Thursday, the 26, so that means it´ll prolly come this week. So there´s
your report. Also, another request-If you plan on sending another package
sometime soon, maybe with Elder Damairu´s parents, could you send my
Christmas eclipse CD? I´m confident it would be appropriate, and I´m
going through a non-MOTAB-christmas-craving, so I´d appreciate it!
 I´m sending my pictures today, for sure, in a package, so you´ll have
to let me know if or when it gets to you, so I can delete them from my
card. There prolly won´t be a letter in it, so don´t hate me. Just be
grateful that you get letters each week. Haha. I´m calling in like 2 weeks
anyway, so it´s all good.
 Sorry if this letter is short, but know that it is sent with all my love!
Know that all is well in the work, and that the Lord´s hand is involved! I
love being a missionary and all the things it entails! The Lord knows us
and is aware of our needs! Let us be instruments in His hands, so He can
touch the hearts of His children! Christ lives and is the Savior! I love
Him, and I love all of you! As Hma Martinez says, Pórtense bién y
cuídense! Love you
 Elder Taylor

Beautiful day in beautiful Artigas!

¡Buen día a todos!
Yeah, that´s right, I speak Spanish. Haha. Not really, that was a straight up lie. But if you asked my Branch President apparently he would say yes, because he asked Elder Stoddard and I to speak in church AGAIN yesterday! That´s twice in like a month. No one wants to come to church and listen to the gringos try to speak Spanish again. Haha. But it went really well. I talked about finding and Elder Stoddard talked about retention. So yeah...good times...
¡PORFILIO GOT BAPTIZED! It was awesome! I love the mission! Haha. Thursday was a crazy day. We had planning in the morning, zone conference right after in the afternoon, and our baptism RIGHT after that. It was a full day. AND it was Porfilio´s birthday, so that was cool. After the baptism we had a small cake and just chatted until we had to run home to get in on time! Ah...the life of a missionary. Elder Stoddard baptized Porfilio. Afterwards we had a small little testimony meeting type thing, and we invited him to bear his testimony. He said he´s going to try his best to help his family follow his example. We have a really good relationship with his family, so we are hoping for the same...we will see! And, he was confirmed yesterday in church. He´s officially a Mormon! Yes! Seeing the change the Gospel brings in to people´s lives is amazing. I love it.
Ok, now some sad news. We found out like Tuesday night or something like President Bankhead is not coming back. Because of his health problems, he is being released. We do not know what the problem is, but yeah. As of right now, one of his counselors is our President and our new one comes the first of June or July. His name is Pres. Peterson and he is like the director of temporal affairs in Mexico. I think. We don´t really now much about him. Like at all. But I thought you might like to know.
We found an awesome guy named Eduardo. He´s never had much interest in any church, he said, but for some reason when we came by, the topic interested him. Saturday night we invited him to church, and he jumped at the opportunity! He came yesterday and loved every minute of it. We are really excited about him!
Fam, I got the package you sent this last Thursday-and I´ll have you know I made the very first shot on my hoop! And no, I wasn´t anywhere close, Nathanael! Haha. It´s been fun. The food-wow, I miss the goods from the States. But then again, they have stuff here that I´ll miss when I come home. I want the best of both worlds. Haha. And can I just say-I love how the tape you sent covered everything from Christmas day, to the beginning of April! Haha. Elder Stoddard and I had a good laugh at that! It was really fun to hear everything that´s been going on, though. Keep ´em coming! Especially if they have songs from my beautiful sister who sings like an angel! Yes mom, you sounded wonderful too! Haha
Ok, well we´re supposed to meet the rest of the zone over in Brazil in about 15 minutes for food, so I think that just about does it for this week. I love you all, the Church is true, and the work of the Lord is moving forward-don´t get left behind! Haha. I can´t wait to hear from all of you! I´m getting stamps soon, so I promise letters are headed out from here to all of you too, no worries!
Elder Taylor

P.S. What is this about a massacre at some college? We´ve heard bits and pieces, but not anything solid...

Well hey there!

Here it is, another week gone by. Time seems to go by so fast here. Maybe it's because I'm in a different hemisphere? Who knows... haha.
Well, at least I know that one family member loved me and thought about me last week- thanks for writing me Uncle Mike! I enjoyed getting your letter on Thursday! I hope my parents are still sending my emails to you!
This week has been good. We have a baptism this Thursday that we are really excited for. Porfilio is finally getting baptized! We have just been making sure he is ready and getting things set. He is almost done with the Book of Mormon already! He's basically inhaling it. Ha ha. Every time we go over there he has read like 50 chapters and has a million questions. Ok...that was a little bit of an exaggeration, but not too much!
Our main focus right now is finding new people to teach. It has been our focus for the last couple of weeks, but the area is really hard to find in. We talk to EVERYONE, sometimes multiple times, hoping that they'll be the one. We found one guy last week who we were really excited about, but we haven't been able to get back with him again because of work. Today is supposed to be his day off, so we're going back today. Yesterday we also found a mother who we have a hope for. Her parents and two young daughters are members of the Church, but she and her husband are not. We're hoping that through their example she will be able to see the importance of it. Have a lesson with her tomorrow.
Oh yeah, my girlfriend got baptized on Saturday. She's probably the 5th cutest girl in the entire world, behind my sisters and my beautiful mother! But no worries, she's 8 years old and the daughter of my Branch President. Ha ha. Had you scared, didn't I? Her name is Valentina and she is a doll, along with her two brothers. Her dad asked me to be one of the witnesses for the baptism, along with a brother from the Branch. I was so excited. It was the first time I've ever actually participated in a baptism. Cool experience. I think hekr dad forgot to tell her that right after the prayer she was going under, because it took her by surprise and her feet came off the floor. Her dad caught them in time, but it was kind of funny. She came up and started to cry...but we'll blame that on the awesome Spirit that was present!
Jose Luiz update...we went by to talk with him and his mom about La Obra Misional. It was way cool because before we even started alking he was telling us about this awesome responsibility he feels to share the Gospel with everyone!So we've found another member to go with us to lessons...!
I heard from one of the Elders from my zone in the MTC. Elder Adamson-he's in th eother mission here in beautiful Uruguay. So that was exciting. I LOVE TO HEAR FROM MY FRIENDS...! Hint hint. Ha ha. But really, if you ever find a spare minute, I'd love to hear what ya'll are up to and what's going on back in the crazy US of A and good ol' Utah.
Mom, I'm getting close to the end of my journal-what do you want me to do for a new one? Jus tfind one here or do you want to send me one like it so it "matches"? Just a question I had. I've been way good with my journal-I haven't even missed like 5 days. Why couldn't I do it before the mission? I was slackin...!
I got my pictures on CD's last week, so I'll send them to ya'll either today or, most likely, next week. We're probably going to go do some shopping today to see what there is to see, so I might be sending a little something home. Nothing too crazy big, I promise. I made a backup of the picture CD's to make sure we get them there ok, so just let me know if they don't make it. Ha ha. I"m almost positive we won't have a problem, but we'll see.
I didn't even knkow Julianne was engaged! Did I? I don't even know anymore. Ha ha. Make sure you give her a congrats for me. A hug too, if that's appropriate...? Ha ha. And make sure you threaten the fiance, Nathanael, since I can't. I'm counting on you...!
Well, know that I love you all, and the work of the Lord is moving forward! If you don't know the missionaries in your area, I give you a challenge to at least get to know their names! The work is a lot easier when you have the support of the members!
Christ lives, loves us, and He will come again! There is a power in the Book of Mormon-find it!
Elder Taylor

¡Felices Pascuas!

Fam and Friends,
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! What an awesome opportunity to celebrate the Resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ along with the rest of the Christian world!
Well, first of all, to set your minds at ease-I´m still up north in beautiful Artigas. Every companionship in our zone had a change...except Elder Stoddard and I. We are together for at least the next six weeks! Three months-that´s a long time to be with one person for every minute of every day, but we get along great, so it´s not gonna be a problem!
Easter here is definitely different than Easter in the States. The week before Easter Sunday is called the Semana Santa (Holy Week) or La Semana de Turismo (The Week of Tourism). It´s like spring break, ´Guayean style-which means no one does anything. Haha. No, a lot of people travel or go see family and what not. But the city was basically dead, especially on Friday. Wow. It was like a ghost town. Everyone definitely takes advantage of the holiday.
I miss the good ol´Easter Bunny. Apparently Uruguay isn´t on his map. Or maybe just the missionaries. Haha. I didn´t really here anything about the Bunny from any of the kids or anything, but there are chocolate bunnies and stuff, so I don´t know.
Easter was just a normal Fast Sunday. Had a great fast and testimony meeting. I love the Branch we are in. The members are awesome. It´s so nice to be here with them and feel of their Spirit. It´s so cool here because the people are (mostly) SO converted. Of course, there are those who aren´t, but they make such awesome sacrifices to live the Gospel.
The people here in Artigas are such an awesome people. Very humble, and very kind. Most of the time. On Saturday, we talked with a very devout Catholic, probably the most faithful Catholic I´ve ever met, and it was just such a great experience. His name is Nelson, he´s 80 years old, and when he saw us he basically bolted to the door (as much as an 80 year old can) to let us in. He loves English, so he tried to speak some with us-it was way funny. We simply had a talk about the Savior, our beliefs about the Plan of Salvation, and just some other questions he had. It´s fun to talk to people like him because they respect your beliefs, just as we respect theirs. It was just an opportunity to talk about something greater than us all. He said he loves basketball, so he and I chatted about that for a minute. Haha. He loves the fact that we do missionary work, and he said he wished the Catholic church would do it. Really, he made me remember Grandpa Talbot for some reason. Mom, don´t cry. Haha. He was just a super nice man with an amazing spirit about him, just like Grandpa. We are not going to end up teaching and baptizing his family, but I am certain that he is going to be SOOOO excited when he passes to the next life and discovers the plan that has been laid before us. He will be embraced in the arms of our Savior as a Son of God who did all he could in this life to live the best he could. I am so grateful for the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation that I have. Without it, this life would be so difficult. Granted, this life is difficult at times regardless, but we know that this too will pass and one day we will be embraced in the arms of our Savior to hear the phrase "Well done, thou good and faithful servant" as long as we do our part in this life. What a marvelous blessing that knowledge is. I pray that we will be willing to open our mouths and share it with all, so that we can see the hand of God work through us.
Saturday night, Elder Stoddard and I decided to sleep up on the roof. We wanted to do it all last change, but we never did. So, we decided to quit talking and act! Haha. We took up the beds: frames, mattresses, and all. There´s a wall that we climb on and then you can climb on to the roof from there. It was awesome. We had a clear night sky above us, and a storm on the horizon. So we could see the bright stars and lightning: SO cool! About four in the morning it started to drizzle a little bit, but we stuck it out anyway. Haha. We hardly got wet at all. A fun memory.
Mary-Anne, I got the letter you mailed on like the 20th of March this last week. So March 20th to April 5th...that´s not too bad, right? I don´t think so. But Dad, I feel the same way you do-if I was to write a regular letter to the fam, what would I put in it? A copy of this letter? Haha. It just doesn´t seem logical. At all. But when I send a package home, I will put an actual letter in it, I promise.
Speaking of packages, if you send me a package sometime in the next 20 months...would you mind sending some US Postage stamps with it? I want to write some of my good buddies back in the States, and it´s SO much easier if I can just put a US stamp on it and put it in the mission bolsa. But i can´t do that with Uruguay stamps. Just a note. Oh, and Mom/Dad, could you let me know exactly what mission Carson is going to? I´m going to write him a letter today, but I can´t remember what mission it is in the Philippines, so I can´t send it yet. I´m not worried about it getting there in time, because he just barely went in to the MTC and he´s there forever, but yeah. I´d appreciate it.
Anyway, I think that´s about it for this week. I love you all, and think about you often. You are constantly in my prayers. Take care of yourselves and take advantage of opportunities to share the Gospel, even if it´s just planting a seed! Give it a chance to grow! I love you, and can´t wait to hear from EACH of you! :o)
Elder Taylor

Conference was AMAZING, no?!

Dear Family and Friends,
I figured I had better start with Conference. I absolutely LOVED it! Wow. I have tried to really focus and pay attention the last few years during Conference, and even take notes, but I have never been as attentive or had my hand hurt from writing notes! Just the first session alone I took like 4 pages of notes-I love it! Conference in the mission is definitely a different experience, but it is awesome. Almost all of our efforts last week were trying to get people to go to the Conference. Saturday there wasn´t a lot of people there, but there was quite a few on Sunday.

Ok, awesome story for the week. Yesterday, Elder Stoddard and I went to Conference and we were headed to the room set apart for us gringos who want to understand Conference, when we turned the corner and were greeted by...can you guess?...prolly not...ok, I´ll tell you...an ear-to-ear grinning, white-shirt-and-tie wearing, polished-shoes and pressed-slacks sporting, bright-faced JOSE LUIZ! I almost hit the ceiling with excitement. I cannot even begin to describe to you the change on his face. When he saw us turn the corner, his face lit up and he didn´t leave our side
for the next 20 minutes, when the Conference started. When we finally parted ways to go watch Conference and we got in our room, I just started crying. I cannot even begin to express how happy it made me to see Jose Luiz there, where he needed to be, when he needed to be there.

The Gospel truly brings happiness into people´s lives, and Jose Luiz is a testimony to that.

Alright, enough sentimental stuff...just kidding Mom! Friday I was on divisions with Elder Metcalf, one of our Zone Leaders, and we were over at their place. They live with the Coca. She is SO funny. She does everything for them, it´s kind of ridiculous, but amazing. I had talked to Elder Metcalf and Elder McFarland to see if they wanted to try and keep the Taylor Conference Tradition alive, and they were eager to accept. So Friday, Elder Metcalf and I asked the Coca if we could do it. She was eager to comply, and just drilled me with questions of what we needed and what I wanted. So Saturday, the tradition continued 6,000 miles away from home!

Yes, it had to be on Saturday, but that´s fine. We had pancakes (cuz waffles don´t exist down here) with bananas, apples, pears, pineapple, and syrup. It was ridiculously good. I took pictures, no worries. We watched the sessions live at 1-3, 5-7, and Priesthood from 9-11. we had to get permission, and we almost fell asleep in it anyway!) It was an amazing experience. The importance of prayer, a great way to start off the Conference.

The "afternoon" session of Conference was a little interesting. It was great, just felt like I was back in my Utah History class where we learned about those weird Mormons. It was quite the surprise for all of us, when right when they showed the first shot of the session, all of us just pointed and said, "Wait, that´s the Tabernacle!" It was nice. They are men truly called of God to lead and guide this Church. They are inspired to teach us and counsel us on the things we need to work on. The basics were emphasized in this Conference. Prayer, faith, repentance, forgiveness, gratitude, and gaining a testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I think the challenge we received is one we should all determine to take upon us-regardless of whether we have before, read the story of Joseph Smith and ask in sincere prayer for a testimony or a confirmation if he truly was a prophet of God. I know that God will answer our prayers, because He has answered mine, and I have seen Him answer the prayers of the people here in Uruguay.

Ok, now to answer/ask questions. No, Mom, I wasn´t being sarcastic when I said I love the rain. It´s fantastic. It´s not the greatest support to the work, but neither is the burning sun, and I´d rather have the rain.Haha.

The BBQ went well. Porfilio was there, and a lady whom we had met and had a first lesson with the day before, with her 11-year old son. Members were there and anxious to make sure they felt comfortable. About 30-35 people in all. Elder Stoddard and I shared a thought on the importance of having a prophet and apostles and then we had a short testimony meeting. Family and friends, the Church is true, even in Uruguay. The Spirit can be felt so strongly when the members of this church stand up and live what they believe. We as members can do SO much to move this work along. Help the missionaries in your area in whatever ways you can, including helping them find people to teach! It is such a blessing for them, and you will be blessed in return. Elder Stoddard has been here for like a year and a half. He´s headed
home August 10. He says he´s going to go visit the fam when he gets back-I´ll keep you posted.

Changes are this week. We´ll find out tomorrow night whether we stay or go, and who with, and then Thursday, if here´s a change, we head to our new area. Elder Stoddard and I are both pretty sure we are staying here, and together. Not sure why, but we just feel that way. But really, doesn´t matter either way, the Church is true in any area! I´m getting the pictures put on a CD today, so prolly next week I´ll get them sent off. I was worried about not sending them before, but since you guys are so far behind with my scrapbook anyway, I won´t worry so much! Haha. There will be a ton of pictures, I´m warning you...

Oh, Mary-Anne, I don´t know about the nintendo controllers. I can´t remember if I took them to Logan or not. Sorry. You could call Neil Draper and ask him, he might remember. Haha.

All in all, know I love you and the work is moving forward! The Spanish is definitely coming, but I could definitely still use your prayers!Especially with the understanding part. If I could just understand better, it would be easier to catch all the little rules. But everyone has their own way of speaking, or their own accent or something, so it´s tough. But, with patience, diligence, and prayer, all things are possible that are convenient for the Lord-so hopefully it´s convenient for Him that I share the Gospel here in Uruguay! Haha.

I love you all, and you are in my prayers constantly! Oh, funny story real quick-When I show people a picture of my family, about 90% of them say that I look a lot like my dad. I think that´s cool! But anyways, we are gonna go show the ´Guyans how to play soccer, so yeah! I want to hear from my little sisters. Haha. I still didn´t get Mel´s email, so yeah. Oh, and I want pictures! From the fam, from my friends, from everyone! One of the Hermanas has been razzing me because I still haven´t gotten a package and I´ve been here for a whole change! She got a 30 pound package of sugar last week from home...so if any of ya´ll want to help me out with that...!Haha.

Love you all. The Church is true!

Elder Taylor

Well hey there!

Dear Fam and friends,
 I can´t believe another week has gone by already. I´m almost done with
my first change in the field-that is so weird. But this week really has
felt like it has flown by. I´m not sure why, exactly, but it does.
 All is well here in beautiful Artigas. It´s overcast today, as it was
yesterday, so that is super nice- we´re not dying from heat. It sprinkled
off and on yesterday, too, so that was cool. I love the rain!  It´s prolly
the best thing ever. Haha
 Well, to get on with things...Jose Luiz came to church again yesterday!
It was fantastic. And he even stayed for all of the meetings. After
priesthood, which we have last, he asked Elder Stoddard and I if we could
give him a blessing of counsel. Of course we said yes. I gave the blessing,
and at some point in the blessing I said something about the desires to
read the scriptures and ponder over the things that he learns. After the
blessing, he mentioned that it was "justo" that I mentioned that. I think
the word in English for that is just, but I´m not sure. Haha. He said he
has been having a hard time getting up the desires to read the Book of
Mormon, so we gave him a couple of suggestions. For example, he loves the
Book of Mosiah, not sure exactly why, but he does. So we told him instead
of going from beginning to end, to just study the chapters in Mosiah until
he just starts to form the habit again. He said he would. Also, Presidente
Lorenzo (our branch president) had an interview with him last week in which
Jose Luiz said he wanted to come back to the church, and come back for
good! Presidente said he gave him a blessing at the end of the interview as
well. It is so exciting to see the changes that Jose Luiz is experiencing
as he starts to return to the church.
 So I think I told you a little bit about the young family we found a
couple of weeks ago- Richard and Yessi. (The "Y" is pronouned like a soft
"sh") They are doing so well! We had a little bit of a scare with them
yesterday, though. Saturday night we passed by to make sure they were still
going to come with us to church. They said yes, so all was well. Sunday
morning we went by to pick them up, and they were still sleeping. They were
really embarrassed and said they weren´t going to come. So we went to
church pretty bummed, hoping that we hadn´t lost them. We spoke in
sacrament, which I´ll talk about in a minute, and right at the end of the
meeting, Elder Stoddard leaned over to me and said, "Did you see who just
walked in?" I looked up, and Yessi was sitting down with her baby girl! I
almost jumped out of my seat. Richard had been called in to work, so he
couldn´t come. But Yessi came for the end of sacrament and stayed for the
rest of the meetings, which she said she really enjoyed. We had another
great lesson with them last night. Yessi is just super excited about the
gospel and is just eager to do everything we ask. Richard seems a little
more hesitant, but he has a ton of questions, which is fantastic! He gave
the prayer with us for the first time last night, and it was amazing. He
truly was talking with our Heavenly Father. What an amazing blessing we
have to communicate with our Father in Heaven. Also, we had invited them
the last time to start having family prayers every night before going to
bed. We asked them about it, and they had done it! Yessi offered the prayer
Saturday night, so last night was going to be Richard´s turn-we are
anxious to see how it went. Ok, I think that´s all the scoop on them for
now.
 Porfilio is still doing amazing. Haha. I wish he would just change his
mind and get baptized this week, but oh well. He already has an assignment
in the branch, and he is so excited to come and help set up chairs for
conference this weeked! Haha. His wife and his daughter (who is like 30,
has 1 kid and another on the way) are starting to come around and ask more
questions. They´ve only sat in on a couple of lessons, but they have been
great lessons. Porfilio is such an amazing example for them, I hope they
can feed off of his bonfire!
 Speaking of bonfires, we´re having a ward activity this week for La Obra
Misional. We´re going to this little park, having hot dogs (we´re going
to show them how good they are when they´re grilled as opposed to boiled),
a spiritual thought, and a testimony type thing. I brought up the idea to
Elder Stoddard, he liked it, and then we talked to our Ward Mission Leader,
who loved the idea. So this Thursday we´re going to do it. It´s going to
be a great opportunity for the branch and the investigators to get closer
together and enjoy the Spirit of missionary work.
 Hmmm, what else? Oh, we had interviews with President Bankhead last week.
That was fun. In our interview, we had to start teaching the first lesson
as a companionship, w/ Pres. acting as an investigator, and then he gave us
suggestions and tips. It was a great learning opportunity. Then I had my
interview with him. Very short. How ya doin? How´s the Spanish? Is Elder
Stoddard taking care of you? Good. Any questions? (And this is the best
part) "Well, Elder Taylor, you have a great smile and we´re excited to
have you in the mission." It was all I could do to not laugh. Haha. I
didn´t know how to take it. Later on, I found out he told Elder Stoddard
that he has a twinkle in his eye! Wow, I don´t know about you, but I think
that with a great smile and a twinkle in the eye, we should be baptizing
about 100 people a week! What are we doing wrong? Any suggestions? Haha. I
love President Bankhead. Every time he opens his mouth, and even when he
doesn´t, I learn so much from him!
 Oh yeah, my talk. I was pretty nervous, not gonna lie. Presidente Lorenzo
wanted us each to take 20 minutes and talk about the importance of
missionary work. My topic was the purpose of missionary work, or something
along those lines. I did pretty well, I think. I spoke for about 15
minutes, which must be a record for me. (Well, in Spanish!) Nobody raised
their hands and asked me to explain what in the world I was trying to say,
so it must have been ok. Haha. No, really though, the Lord has really
blessed me with the ability to express myself. I have come to appreciate
the promises of D&C 84:85 and D&C 11:21 more and more every day. If I just
do my part to be obedient, to study the scriptures, Preach My Gospel, and
the language, the Lord will definitely bless me with the ability to speak.
At times it can be frustrating when I don´t understand others, but I know
that patience is an attribute of Christ for a reason.
 Dad, how was the basketball game?! I am SO jealous. Ah. I had a great
dream a couple of nights ago, though. I came home, (after my two years) I
finally saw Skyler, and I played basketball with the likes of John
Stockton, David Robinson, Charles Barkley (Where did those two come from?!)
Magic Johnson and others. It was fantastic. I didn´t want to wake up.
Haha.
 Mom, you said Melanie wrote me an email, but I didn´t get it! I was so
excited to get it, but then it wasn´t there. See if you can help them
figure it out. Unless she sent it to the mission address, then I´ll get it
on Thursday and all will be well!
 I am super excited for Conference this weekend. We go to the church with
all the rest of the members here in Artigas, but they have a room of
English for us missionares- thank heavens! I am still trying to figure out
how I´m going to do waffles, but it´ll happen. It might have to be
pancakes, but that´s close enough. Yes, Dad, they have ice cream here and
it is AMAZING. If they had ice cream like this in the States, I would eat
it everyday.
 JEREMY GOT HIS CALL?!!! FINALLY! Oh, I was SO excited when I read that.
"Jeremy got his call to California. No details yet." Even though that was
the shortest announcement of my life, I was stoked! Send Jer my congrats
and let him know he is in my prayers! And find out when and where he is
going-details are important!
 Bro. Montoya emailed me this last week. Mel, make sure you tell him
thanks for me, and that a letter will be on the way shortly! Tell them
(Bro. Montoya and Bro. Christensen) that they can email me anytime they
like! It was so nice to hear from him. And tell him he better keep in shape
so I don´t work him on the court, like usual!
 Attended my first baptism on the mission last week. It wasn´t one of my
investigators, but it was cool nonetheless! It was the baptism for the
Sister missionaries. They had two ladies get baptized, who are awesome.
Elder Stoddard, Hma. Aranda, and I sang "Divina Luz"/"Lead Kindly Light"
for the musical number while Hma. Carter played. It was really cool.
  Someone tell Mary-Anne that it´s NOT the sister missionaries who do our
laundry! Haha. It´s one of the sisters in our branch. So no worries! I
laughed so hard when I read that.
 Oh, and there´s someone else I want you to send these emails to- Ammie
Fackrell. I couldn´t remember her email, but I got a letter from her this
week that had it in there. amme "at" infowest.com  I don´t know how to
write the "at" symbol on this keyboard, so I hope you can figure it out.
 To my friends-I´m sorry I haven´t written any "real" letters yet, but I
promise they are coming. I´ve still got to figure out how to get stamps
down here and send them out. Please forgive me, and keep the letters coming
nonetheless! I love hearing from you, it makes me feel like I still exist.
Haha. You can all write to the mission email address, which then prints off
the emails and sends them to me. If you have any questions, ask my parents.
Haha. I love you all, and you are in my prayers!
 Mom, Dad, Mary-Anne, Nathanael, Melanie, and Megan- I love you all and
think about you all the time! You are constantly in my prayers. Know that I
am LOVING this opportunity. The church is SO true and we are so blessed to
be a part of it! I love you SOOO much!
 Elder Taylor

l vino a la iglesia!

Hey fam!
So I´ll start my letter out this week with the exciting news from
yesterday...Jose Luiz came to church! (Subject line=He came to church) I
was so excited! We walked in right before the meeting started so I
couldn´t talk to him before, but I was stoked.
We walked in right before because we went and picked up an investigator
and walked with her to church. She lives in the complete opposite direction
of the church, but that´s not a problem at all. Elder Stoddard found this
family on Tuesday while we were on divisions. The dad, Richard, is 24 and
the mom, Jessi, is 18! They have a baby girl who is 1 and a half. I know
what you´re thinking- ridiculously young! That´s what I thought too.
There are a lot of young mothers here. But then once I stopped and thought
about it after our lesson with them-my birth mom would have been even
younger than her when I was that age. Kinda gives an interesting
perspective, huh? I certainly thought so. But at any rate, she seems to
have a lot of interest in the gospel. Richard is a little more hesitant,
but he has a lot of questions, which is great. We´re about 99% sure that
they´re not married, so that will be a fun obstacle, but it won´t be bad.
Also, Elaine came to church yesterday. She is another one of our
investigators who is just awesome. We found her just by talking to her
outside of her house, and we set up an appointment with her to come by
later. We had two lessons with her last week and invited her to go to
church with us, but she said she needed to talk to her husband first, who
works out in the country. I´ll talk about that in a minute. But anyways,
she talked to him to make sure it was ok that we were teaching her and
whatnot and he said it was fine if it´s what she wanted to do! She´s a
little on the quiet side, but she is starting to open up more, and the
lessons with her are awesome. We took the Relief Society President with us
to the last lesson, and that helped a ton. We invited her to church again,
and Hma Duarte (Pres.) told her she would come by and pick her up and that
Elaine could go with her family. It was awesome! Commitments always go so
much smoother with a member there to bear testimony and offer support.
Porfilio is our golden investigator. He´s like 55 and they had already
been teaching him when I got here, but he is awesome. He´s been to church
like 7 weeks in a row, he´s had all the lessons, and he´s almost done
with Alma in the Book of Mormon. I know what you´re thinking...why hasn´t
he been baptized? We think the same thing. Haha. He just wants to wait for
his birthday, which is April 19. We wish we could just trip him into the
font, because he is SO ready, but the important thing is that he gets
baptized, not when. Every time we talk with him he has read like 3 more
chapters and is so excited to tell us what happened and ask his questions.
He bears his testimony about the Book of Mormon and the Spirit all the
time. We had a Family Home Evening with him over at the Branch President´s
house, and after we finished our message about the Spirit, bore his
testimony about how he knew this was the true church because of the witness
of the Spirit. He´s awesome.
I already told you about Ricardo, the little stud. Haha. He went to his
grandparents house this weekend, so he didn´t come to church with us, but
we have a lesson set up with him tomorrow. So all is well.
There, the watered-down version of the situation at the moment! Feel a
little more involved? Hope so.
When I first walked in to our apartment, I was like, "No way, are you
serious?" But I totally love it. At first it seemed small, but it´s not at
all. Pictures are coming, I promise. I have to talk to Hma Carter to find
out where I can burn my pictures onto a CD for cheap and where she sent
them home from, because they got there, safe, in like a week.
I haven´t had any crazy food yet, unfortunately. When we went to the
buffet in Brazil I ate chicken hearts, but that´s it. They weren´t too
bad, actually. A little salty. Elder Stoddard says he has eaten armadillo a
few times-I want to SO bad. I´ve still got time. Haha.
We buy bottled water every week. Two six-packs of 2 liter bottles. The
mission reimburses it, so all is well. I´m being wise mom, I promise. I
only drink out of the toilet twice a day....! (Dad, calm her down now and
make sure she knows I´m kidding! haha)
I´ve used the umbrella a bunch. All the missionaries are jealous and
want to steal it. It´s a very sturdy and effective little piece of work.
Thanks for letting me take it. I use the rain jacket thing too. Not the big
one, cuz it´s still hot, but the little slick one from good ol´Mac. We
put our scriptures in plastic bags and such to make sure they don´t get
wet. It works pretty well.
Oh, I found out how many blocks my house is. Ok, right by the bridge
there is a little fountain thing in the middle of an intersection, right?
Right. Not counting that one, go S/SW 7 intersections and over 1 (I think
east-ish). My house is in between that 7th and 8th intersection. There is
gas station on the block next to us. I don´t know if that helps, but yeah.
Hopefully it gives you an idea.
How is/was Nathanael´s trip to Oklahoma? How many schools are there on
the thinking pad? Where are they? Close enough that I can drive to them
when I get home? Haha. I´m so excited for these road trips in my Toyota
Tacoma that dad´s working on for me! Haha. Aren´t ya dad? You know I´m
you´re favorite...
Whatever happened with Melanie and track? I really hope she did it. She
would be SOOOO good! You told me she´s doing the stage manager thing-does
that mean she´s not doing track? I´ll keep my fingers crossed.
What´s going on with Megan? How´s my goose doin? Are the girls staying
on top of school? And staying away from boys? They better be!
Dad told me about your trip to the drive-in and how everyone was looking
at you. I know exactly how you feel! Every single person here just stares
at us! It´s so funny. But just like dad said, you have to make the best
out of it. We take the people that stare and just start up a conversation
with them that eventually leads to why in the world we are here, and the
message that we share. There are so many opportunities to share the gospel
if you´re just not afraid to talk to people. It´s especially intimidating
for me, because I don´t speak Spanish bien de dien, but it´s coming. As I
speak with people, the Lord definitely blesses me to know what to say. Even
if they don´t accept the message, or don´t want us to go by their house,
it´s a great chance to plant a seed. To let them become familiar with the
message. And it´s a great opportunity to make friends. So Mel and Meg,
people might stare, but you can always have a fun time with it!
What rules did the Pres. Bankhead remind you about in his letter? Haha.
That´s funny. I love Pres. and Hma Bankhead.
What is the time difference? Are you three hours ahead, or three hours
behind?
I wish I could tell you exactly when I write on Mondays, but it´s always
different. Sometimes we have an activity with the zone in the morning, so
it´s in the afternoon, but today we didn´t, so we´re doing all of our
"have-to´s" in the morning.
Oh, Mary-Anne, I got one of your letters on Thursday. It was the one you
wrote after I talked to you in the airport or something. On the cool, girly
paper. Haha. Did you send all of them just straight here, or did you send
them through the pouch? Maybe try and send one through the pouch to see if
it´s faster.
Mom, I want to be in a Theory class SOOO bad when I get home. Please
please please do all that time permits to look in to that. I just feel like
I could do so much more with music if I knew more of the Theory. If it´s
supposed to be, it will happen, if not, that´s ok too.
Ya´ll are already talking about coming to get me? Haha. I´ve still got
21 months! Mary-Anne does have a point, it may be the only time you would
ever come down. I prolly won´t be able to come down for a while and the
next time I could be bringing a wife...woah. Anyway, so she´s got a point
there. But I´ll let you guys worry about it, I´ll just focus on the work!
Deal? Deal.
The river has gone down, so all is well. I want it to flood more, though.
What an awesome service opportunity it would be! Haha. Last night, while we
were talking to someone on their porch, all the lights in the whole city
went out, and everyone just started screaming. It was hilarious. I guess
they do it every time the lights go out, just for fun. It was the first
time since I´ve been here, but I hope it happens again. Haha. It made me
think of what it must have been like when Christ was killed, and the crazy
darkness they were in. Because it got SOOO dark last night. It only lasted
about a minute, but yeah. Cool little idea.
Anyway, tell everyone I say hello, especially Bishop Christiansen. That
man is awesome, and he is such a great example and friend! Tell Alison I
got her tape. It was SO nice! I´ll write her a letter about that later.
Haha. Tell Bro. Christensen and Bro. Montoya hi for me. They´re my
seminary teachers, remember? Haha. They helped me prepare for this SO much!
I´ve never been so grateful for seminary.
Oh, I think Hallie´s email is hmbroadway at hotmail.com; send these to
her too, since I haven´t been able to write her yet.
I love you all, and I think about you everyday! Remember that the church
is true and that each one of you can do SO much to help this work go move
forward! Open your mouth and share the wonderful truth we have. Help the
missionaries. Read your scriptures, say your prayers. Haha. Ok, I´m done.
Love you all!
Elder Taylor

Another week...?!

From: "Aaron Taylor"
> >To: taylor0638@msn.com
> >Subject: Another week...?! Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2007 19:25:45 +0000

Dear Fam and Friends,
Well there it goes, another week gone by. It´s so hard to know how to
start these things. There´s so many different directions I could
go...hmmm. First of all, you STILL didn´t say anything about my song in
any of your letters-what´s that all about? Is it really just that bad? Talk
about not answering questions...you´re all worried about me answering that
you forget to answer my questions! Sheesh. Haha
Ok, I´ll begin my list of answers now: We have an address directly for
our apartment, but you can´t send letters there. You can send them in the
"pouch" or just through the regular mail. If you email to the mission
address, and put my name in the subject line, they will print off the
letter and I´ll get it on Thursdays (ANYONE can write to that address)
I´ll look in to getting stamps and writing letters, but understand that we
don´t have a ton of time on Preparation Days and we have a lot to do most
of the time, so don´t expect anything grand. As far as packages go, most
Elders say they have never had a problem. If you send a package, don´t do
it through like FedEx or anything special or something because then the
Mafia (seriously) will think you put something EXTRA special in it and
they´ll for sure open it up. One Elder says he just finds out what
missionaries parents are coming to pick up their elders and has his family
send packages down with their families. Like his family sends the package
to those coming down, and then they´re usually willing to just bring it
down. I´ll keep my ears open. Ok, that will be the longest answer,
hopefully.
I am speaking Spanish. I have learned a few Portuguese words here and
there, but they speak Spanish here. Some are bilingual, but yeah. Spanish.
In my apartment it is just Elder Stoddard and I. The other Elders and the
two Hermanas aren´t very far away, but I only know exactly where two
companionships live because I´ve been to the Zone Leaders house for
activities and I went on divisions with another.
You guys really want to know where I live that badly? Haha. I haven´t
counted the blocks from the bridge, but it´s probably 8-10 streets away from
the bridge and 2 streets over. Maybe I´ll count one of these days. I saw
your house on a computer yesterday. One of the members pulled up Google
Earth and asked us where we lived, so we showed him. It was weird to see
the house. I didn´t even know that Google Earth existed, it was cool.
Sunday meetings are in the Chapel. haha. Probably two streets up from the
bridge and one street the opposite direction of our house. It´s big, you
can see it on Google Earth.
I took pictures of our trip to Brazil. I´ve taken a lot of our area, our
apartment, the other Elders on P-Day and what not. I´m doing my best to
keep the camera rolling. The river has kind of flooded, so I´ve taken a
bunch of pictures of that. One of the streets in our area is covered, so
that´s cool. One of the VERY less actives in our ward got water in their
yard/house. I took a picture. Our area is very diverse. Some houses are
quite nice, and others are wood and tin, maybe as big as my room at home.
Maybe. It´s crazy how the perception of "nice" changes so drastically so
quickly.
I have a couple of things to tell you, so I´ll try and rush them in.
First, I had a really cool experience on Saturday. One of our
appointments fell through, so Elder Stoddard asked me what I thought we
should do for the next little bit. We have been working with a less-active
lady in our Branch, so I said we should go visit her and make sure she knew
about Stake Conference yesterday. We went down there, but she wasn´t
there. Her son, who´s like 35, is also a member, but VERY inactive. He has
been there for a couple of lessons with his mom, but hasn´t really said
anything. We started talking to him Saturday, and asked if we could just
have a quick lesson. At first he was really hesitant and said no, but then
he was like, "Well, why not? " So we sat down with him, sang a hymn, said a
prayer and opened up to Alma 32. Elder Stoddard said he didn´t know where
we were going to start...then Jose Luiz (the guy) pointed out a scripture.
Alma 32:13, I believe. It talks about those who are compelled to be humble.
It hit him really hard, and he started to get a little emotional. It was
exactly what he needed. We continued to look in Alma 32, where it talks
about planting the seed of faith. Jose Luiz works with plants, so it was
perfect, and he really understood. He was still being a little resistant to
what was going on, so I decided to just bear my testimony. It was amazing
the change that happened in the room. I bore my testimony about how I knew
that sometimes life can be hard, and we get discouraged, but that Christ
has felt all of that for us already. That it is only through Him and the
Church that we can get through those hard times. It was awesome, because it
was the first time my testimony hasn´t been interrupted, or that I felt
like I couldn´t express what I wanted to. The words just came. It might
not have been perfect Spanish, but it was what I needed to say, and we were
all able to feel the Spirit together. Afterwards, Jose Luiz said that he
knew the things that he needed to do to get through the hard times he was
having: prayer and really studying the scriptures. That´s the key. So that
was a great experience. I didn´t know why we needed to go down there at
first, especially since his mom wasn´t there, but it turned out to be a
great learning and growing experience for all of us.
Melanie and Megan, we are teaching a boy right now who is 11 years old.
His name is Ricardo, and his dad passed away about 5 months ago. The second
lesson we had with him, we gave him a Book of Mormon and asked him to read
3 Nephi 11. We went backed and asked him if he had. He said yes, but that
he couldn´t remember much about it, and that answer usually means they
didn´t read. So we asked him a couple of questions, and he basically
proceeded to tell us EXACTLY what happened in that chapter. It was awesome.
Girls, I cannot even begin to tell you how important the scriptures are.
It´s great to read them everyday, but we need to pay attention to and
understand it as well, or it doesn´t do any good. That is one way that we
can strengthen our testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ. Please, read with
mom and dad, pay attention, and ask questions! The scriptures are so true
and there´s so much we can learn from them!
Everyone, I love you and am so grateful for this opportunity. Know that I
am well and loving every minute! Mom... Tu hijo le ama muchisimo! Your son
loves you VERY MUCH! Substitute "mom" in for son and you´ll have it. Love
you!
Elder Taylor

P.S. Send Carson my love. I won´t get a letter off to him before he
leaves, most likely. Let him know he is in my prayers!

A hello from ridiculously hot, and ridiculously wet Uruguay!

Dear Family (and friends)
I don´t even know where to start! Here it is, already my second preparation day. Where does the time go? Some days it feels like I´ve been here for 6 months and others it feels like I got here yesterday. I am loving being here in Artigas. It´s SO different from the MTC. They both have their pros and cons. One of the pros in the MTC was that I could understand everybody! Haha. Here, it seems like I can only understand the Americans trying to speak Spanish. No, it´s coming along. Very slowly, but surely. I just have to be patient, trust in the Lord, and work like crazy!
This week has been some crazy weather. I´ve decided there´s only two choices in Artigas- ridiculously hot with a ridiculous amount of humidity, or RAIN! Not kidding. Yesterday it was SO hot before, during, and after church. But then after our study time, and we were out walking, clouds and RAIN came out of nowhere. So again, we were soaked. I love it. Most of the time.
Our eating arrangement here is really nice. Elder Stoddard says I got lucky with my first area. We have had lunch with the members everyday. We don´t really eat breakfast most of the time, because we aren´t hungry or we just want to study; and dinner is basically non-existent here. Lunch is the big meal everyday. Sometimes we´ll cook some rice or something after planning when we get home, but not too often. The food has been good, so far. Not too different. Lots of pasta, potatoes, and bread.
One of the Hermanas in our branch does our laundry for us. It is SO nice not to have to worry about it. She´s a gem. We just drop it off on our preparation day (monday) and then go and pick it up on like Wednesday or Thursday-already neatly folded and such. Pretty nifty. I haven´t had someone fold my laundry for me since I was like 12! (Mom!)
The bus ride up to Artigas wasn´t in some shabby piece of metal. Haha. It was like a tour bus. Really nice. There are taxis all over the place here, but usually we just walk everywhere. No bikes, no cars, no rollerblades, no skateboards...just our feet.
Mom, you asked if I knew which way the mission home was from the airport, I think....I have NO idea! I miss the mountains. Haha.
The name of the street I live on is Berreta. That´s about all I know. Haha. It´s by a gas station, a school (I think). Classes for the kids start either today or tomorrow, so I don´t really know where the schools are yet.
Yeah, We can walk to Brazil in about 15 minutes. Actually, we are going over there in about 20 minutes! I guess there´s this awesome buffet over there, so the Zone Leaders, one other companionship and the two of us are gonna go eat. Yes mom, it´s legal, I promise. Haha. We just walk across a bridge and we´re there.
You asked about the water...we drink bottled water in our apartment. Brush our teeth with the tap-no big deal. As for lunch at members homes, usually we have like juice or pop or something. (Carbonation-grrr) A couple of times, though, people have offered us water and we are so thirsty that we don´t really care. Hopefully we are doing our job, so the Lord will bless us!
Oh, by the way, you said you got my package, but you didn´t say anything about my song-what´s up with that?! Haha. I´m just curious as to what you all though? Not too shabby for 10 minutes after meals, I thought. Oh yeah, I played prelude in sacrament meeting yesterday. I think everyone was amazed that this gringo elder could play the piano. It was funny.
I can´t write "real" letters right now, because I don´t have any stamps. I didn´t even think about it before I left the States. If you could find it in your hearts, do you think you could buy some stamps and send them on down this way? I haven´t been able to write...anyone...yet because I don´t have any stamps. So if you could pass that message along to...anyone...I´d apopreciate it. Haha. Oh, and I received a letter from Daniel Hansen this week, so if you could send these to him too, that be great! Yes Dan, I got your letter, but, if you read above, I don´t have any stamps to write you back. Dan´s email is danhan55@hotmail.com ; I can´t remember what Alison´s is, so you´ll have to call and ask. I can remember her number, though- (801)558-3349. And no, that´s not because I texted a lot. Haha.
This letter might be kind of short, but I read all of yours before, so time is running out. Lorie, thank you for your letter-good luck with the training and what not! I look forward to hearing more!
I love you all, more than I can even say. I know that the Lord has sent me here for a reason, and I just hope that I can accomplish all I have been sent here to do! But first, I need to understand what the heck these people are saying! I´ve heard that this is one of the most difficult areas to understand, though. So I´ll just keep plugging along. The Lord lives, He loves us, He knows us each individually, and He wants us to come closer to Him! This church is SO true! You better not forget that. The scriptures are amazing, I wish I could read them all day. I just finished the story of Ammon and the sons of Mosiah in Alma-that was pretty encouraging. Again, I love you! Take care
Love,
Elder Taylor

¡Estoy en Uruguay!

Dear Taylor Family,
So it´s official-I´m here in Uruguay! (Subject line=I am in Uruguay) It
has been a crazy week, to say the least. I don´t know if President
Bankhead has sent an email, letter, or anything, so I´ll just start from
the beginning, deal? Ok, sounds good.
What do you last know? Hmm...oh, Miami. Ok, well the flight from Miami
was nice and LONG. While E. Arrieta and I were waiting at the gate,
everyone around us was looking at us, and we saw one guy say to his wife,
"Ellos son Mormones." Which means, "They are Mormons." That was pretty
funny. I sat by myself on the way to Montevideo, which was just fine with
me! E. Arrieta was one row up and across the aisle, but he was talking with
people in Spanish, so I just tried to sleep the whole time, which kinda
worked and kinda not so much.
I woke up in the morning to the stewardess asking me if I wanted "a light
breakfast." Of course I said yes. I then looked out the window to see
Brazil a few thousand feet below. Cool, uh? When we flew over Jamaica, it
was all lit up, so that was cool too. Then, a few minutes later, I got my
first glimpse of Uruguay. Lots and lots of open field. Don´t worry Mom, I
got lots of pictures from the plane! We landed at the Carrasco Airport, or
at least I think that´s what it is called. We didn´t pull up to a gate,
we just sort of parked. So that was fun. Again, don´t worry, I got
pictures. We then wasted about an hour of the Lord´s time in order to get
past "Migraciones." Oh joy. Picked up our baggage-the handle on my big
suitcase was kind of bent, so I have to like hit it down now, it´ll break
sometime.
We walked out and President and Hma. Bankhead were there, along with the
Assistants, E. Caffaro and E. Stones. E. Caffaro is from Orem and will be
playing football for BYU-keep an eye out for him. E. Stones is from MOSES
LAKE and he knows the Boyce´s! So that was really fun to talk about! They
are both great Elders, and I enjoyed the time I got to spend with them. We
then went to the mission home and had a light lunch of sandwiches and some
good juice. The mission home is on the same block as the temple, and the
mission home of the other mission. The people here call it "Manzana de
Mormones." Or the Mormon Block.
E. Arrieta and I then took a half hour nap (request of Pres. Bankhead)
and then we had our interviews w/ Pres. Bankhead. We are going to get along
great, he and I. Haha. He is big on obedience and trust, two things that I
have come to really value already on my mission. We then had a short
orientation about mission rules and programs and what not. Around 6, Pres.
and La Hma. left to go get two Latino Elders who were arriving at the
airport. A Peruvian and a Mexican-the first time they have had either here
in the mission.
So here I am, the only one in the house who can´t speak Spanish, besides
La Hma! Oh well. It was easy to understand the Assistants, the Pres., and
even sometimes E. Arrieta, but I have found that it´s a lot harder to
understand the natives! We then took a walk up to the temple, the 8 of us.
(4 nuevitos, 2 Assistants, Pres. & La Hma.) There at the temple we sat down
a a little wall inside the grounds and the President talked to us about the
mission, what he expects, and what we need to do to be successful. Again,
obedience and trust. Our mission theme is "Un Nivel Más Alto." Which
means, "A higher level" or "A level much higher." The President spoke in
Spanish the whole time, because the two Latinos don´t understand any
English. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could understand almost
everything.
Ate dinner, talked, and left for the mission offices. We slept at the
mission offices. Fun night sleep. Really hot. In the morning, E. Flores
(one of the Latinos) and I met up with two of the other Elders from the
mission who have been here for a couple changes and we all went to the
doctors and migraciones. It was the first time I´ve ever had a doctor
appt. and not understood the reason they were doing ANYTHING! Great fun.
that took all morning. Went back to the offices and had lunch, a hamburger
of sorts that wasn´t very good, and then some more orientations. Finances
and mail stuff. I can only email family, but anyone can email me through
the mission email. urugoest@gmail.com or something like that. I´ll find
out and send it to you next week. They said the mail system is pretty good,
they haven´t had many problems. FEDEX would be worse, because then the
Mafia figures that there´s something extra valuable inside, so they take
it. Anyways, yeah.
After all that, the 4 of us Nuevitos, along with the Assistants and the
President, went and did a session at the temple. It was really cool, but
ridiculously overwhelming. One of the scariest things I´ve ever done. When
I got in the Celestial Room, I just wanted to cry. I love the temple, but I
just couldn´t understand, it wasn´t very comforting. Haha.
The next morning, we met our trainers. They took us up to the roof of the
office building and we were overlooking Montevideo when our trainers came
up behind us and started to sing "Called to Serve" in Spanish. I teared up,
not gonna lie. After they were done, we turned around. My companion´s name
is Elder Tyson Stoddard. He went to Bingham! How crazy is that?! When I
turned, we both were like, Wait, I recognize you. It was awesome. His
family lives in Kaysville now, but yeah. Small world, even 6,000 miles away
from home.
We´re serving in Artigas, the most northern area of the mission. It took
a bus ride of 8 hours to get here. We can walk to Brazil in 15 minutes.
It´s great. RIDICULOUSLY hot. I was like 40 degrees Celsius yesterday-I
don´t know what that is Fahrenheit. Plus humidity. Blugh. It rained on
Friday-the most rain I have ever seen. I was SOAKED. I love it. Aside from
the overwhelming fact that I can hardly understand anything. That´s hard.
But if it wasn´t hard, it wouldn´t be worth it. It will come.
We are teaching some awesome people. Porfilio, Nati, Javier, and Elisa.
Extremely humble, and eager to learn. A lot of walking, and a lot of being
extremely tired. Cold showers every night before bed. The hot water
doesn´t work, so in the morning showers are dreaded.
The members here are awesome. We are in a branch. I think there was only
like 25-30 people at church yesterday. We passed the sacrament with the
only deacon. I love the people. They are very patient with me, and love to
hear me try and talk. Haha. E. Stoddard says I speak very well, without
many mistakes. The big thing I have to work on is vocab. But it will come,
I´ve only been here a week. With the Lord on my side, I can´t fail.
This morning we played soccer with the zone, there´s 10 elders and 2
hermanas. We played soccer and then we watched Curious George. Then we went
to La Coca´s house and had asado, which is like a barbecue. It was
fantastic. By far the best meal so far. The food´s good so far. Lots of
Mayo on everything, that´s weird. Lots of potatoes and bread. Anyways,
yeah.
We have a lesson with Porfilio tonight, so we´re gonna go prepare for
that. Know that I love you all, and that I am loving the opportunity that I
have to serve the Lord and the people of Uruguay! I am truly blessed to be
able to be here. It is hard, but I wouldn´t have it any other way. The
Lord is watching over me. You are forever in my prayers. The Church is
true. I love you!
-Elder Taylor

P.S. I don´t remember Mary-Anne´s email address, so send it to me. My
P-Days, if you haven´t figured it out, are on Mondays. I love you!

Letter #11 MTC

!Hola Familia!

Well, here it is - my last P-Day in the MTC! That's so cool! We are definitely ready to get out of here. This hasn't exactly been the most productive week of our MTC stay. It's been really hard to stay focused. Pres. Trost said the Lord can't be too mad at us if we're just anxious to serve His children, right? Haha. Pres. Trost is so chill. We really lucked out with our Branch Presidency here, Pres. Trost, Bro. Harper, and Bro. Anderson are all amazing men, and we are very blessed to have them.
Richard G. Hinckley came and spoke on Tuesday - that was pretty cool. One thing he said was sad, though. He said that "Pres. Hinckley will most likely not be here when you return." He said he's not forseeing or predicting, but that he'll be pusing 99? by that time, so by the natural flow of things ... you get the idea. So that was sad to think about.
We got a new district of 10 Elders, but we won't really get to know them, so that's too bad. Although one of them went to Elk Ridge with me - Elder Daniel Hammond. He's way cool. But I think he moved to Missouri or Kansas or something after that, so it was fun to see him again.
Don't worry about the line that has me coming back on the 27th - I didn't get reassigned to Miami! No worries. It's just something they have to do for scheduling, but it doesn't affect us, so it's all good. If I have time, I'll call from Salt Lake, we'll just have to see. I'll most likely call Mom's cell first, so Mom make sure you charge your phone! I don't know how long we'll have to talk, but we'll see. I can call both from SL and Miami if there's time, so yeah.
Dad, thanks for all the flight advice, I was hoping you'd hook me up! I'll do my best to not flirt with the stewardess. Duh! It's been really nice to not have to deal with girls, actually. Maybe I'll just be a bachelor my whole life! So you designed the new Conf. room? Was that your job, or did you just do it?
Thanks for updating me on elder McCarty! That's so cool. Our experiences are definitely going to be quite different, aren't they? Go find Jeremy and tell him to get moving - the Lord needs him out here! He has such a strong testimony, and he will be key in many people's ability to feel the Spirit and be converted. But he can't do that at home!
Yes, I finally got a letter from Alison yesterday. It was the shortest one so far, but I'm not picky! She sent me a couple of pictures - the one with a Tacoma probably being my favorite!
We are getting ready to go get haircuts and then I'll probably get a box ready to send home, so that's all for now! I know this is short, but I will talk to you on Monday, so it's all good! Love You!
Love Always,
Elder Taylor

ps Carson goes throug the temple Saturday (the 17th) - send him my love !! Thanks!

Letter #10 MTC

!Familia!

Aren't these the most beautiful printed words you've EVER seen?! Ah! This totally makes up for Christmas! Haha. If you couldn't tell, these are my FLIGHT PLANS! Two of the greatest words in the English language!
I don't know if the times are in Salt Lake time, or if they've been translated to the times of the area. Dad, maybe you can tell me.
I'll probably be calling during my lay over in Miami, so plan on that!
I can send you and actual plan because I received 2. One said I was flying solo and the other said I had a comp., but it didn't have his name. So I went to the travel office to check, and it turns out they were working on the other Elder's plans at that moment. He is in the advanced group (he's a native speaker) so they were just making sure that's when he was leaving. He was actually there to get his plans, so I got to meet him. His name is Elder Arrieta and he's from Miami, FL, so he speaks English as well! He seems like a pretty chill guy, so I'm not worried at all. I;m actually REALLY excited because it will give me a chance to practice my Spanish before I get down there!
OK, well I just needed to write you and tell you the plan, so there you go! I love you all and I can't wait to hear from you!

Love Always,
Elder Taylor

I'M LEAVING THE MTC! THERE ACTUALLY IS A MISSION OUTSIDE OF PROVO! THANK HEAVENS!

Letter #9 MTC

!Hola Familia!

Well hello there! It's been along week because I just barely got your letter this morning! So I've been waiting to hear from my family all week and from Alison as well - still haven't heard from her. Although I did beat E. Trane. We hadn't gotten a letter since last Thursday until I got yours this morning - thank heavens. I was going crazy! Haha. E. Trane and I were starting to make plans to blow up the mail truck - now only E. Trane is...
Today is a beautiful day! The walk up to the temple was really enjoyable! The last couple of days we have gone outside for our study time, so that has been a really nice change. I love the MTC, but I am definitely ready to get out of here!
Cool story - are you ready?! Tuesday night (Feb. 6) elder Richard G. Scott came and spoke to us about prayer. It was an awesome experience to hear how an Apostle of the Lord feels about prayer! One of the things he said that REALLY stuck out to me was, "We have the privilege, we are encouraged to talk to the most powerful being there ever was or ever will be!" He is a man truly called of God to help lead and guide this church today. And that's not even the coolest part... after this, he shook every missionary by the hand! I shook the hand of an Apostle of the Lord! It was such an amazing experience! The look he gave me was one of the most sincere and kind looks I have ever received! Not to mention it felt like he was looking into the corners of my soul! Haha. It was a truly humbling experience. So that's my cool story for the week!
No, we don't get up once a week at 4 am - just when the district has to leave at 5 am. haha. E. Heniger and E. Anderson received surprise travel plans last Friday, so they're headed out on Tuesday, but they don't leave until 10 am. or so. E. Trane also received flight plans last Friday, but they turned out to be fake. How bad does that "stink"? It's like taking away Christmas!
We are expecting our flight plans tomorrow. So I will probably write you tomorrow and let you know when I'm headed out and when you can expect to hear from me! So that's exciting! We're all pretty anxious.
Mom, I'll draw you a sketch here, if I can find the time and ability to do it - I make no guarantees! No, I'm not wearing Grandpa's bracelet at the the MTC because Pres. Trost has asked us to have no jewelry besides watches and CTR rings. So as of right now it is sitting on my dresser with Elder May's name tag. When I get to my mission, my Pres. might feel differently, so hopefully I'll be able to there. I can't get another name tag to send to you unless I break one of the ones I have. Once I get to Uruguay, though, I might be able to through the mission. you also may want to check at the distribution center. I have heard rumors you can get them there...
Melanie, Dad told me you did really well on your vocab test last week - keep it up! I have lots of vocab to memorize too, only it's all in Spanish! Haha.
Megan, keep up the good work in school. It will be easy if you keep up and do your best! I read your essay often, it is a great source of strength for me - thank you!
We can't get the Martinelli's here, but it's not a big deal. We don't do cute, creative things in the MTC, Mom! Haha. We're a bunch of 19-20 year old kids, remember?!
I used the new card at the ATM today to check the pin and pull out cash for stamps. It is the same PIN #, so I'll cut up the old one. Thanks for taking care of that for me! I will write Grandma J next week and tell her thanks, along w/ an update. Thanks for passin' on the info!
Oh! More news to share with the family. One of the new Hermanas we got yesterday is form Rexburg, so of course I asked her about Peggy and Mel. She was in their ward! She was really excited, as was I. Her name is Hma. (Aubrey) Rammell. Thought you might want to let Peggy know. Apparently she's a big fan!
Dad - have you heard anymore about that new job and what not? Has the application gone in, or is it still in the works? I don't think I'll be wanting a sleeping bag, but if I end up wanting one, I'll probably just get it down there.
I haven't thought of anything else I need before leaving. I'll probably be sending some stuff home, though. What would the best way to do that be? Just me pay for and send it? I heard if it's staying in Utah we can just send it and have the fam pay for it when they pick it up. Which would you prefer?
If you have a few minutes, I wouldn't mind a few more of my ties, for trades and what not. If you see any nice ties on store runs - snag them. Green ties and brown ties would be nice. Just and idea!
I have now seen E. Peterson twice, but not much more than a greeting could be said. Too bad he's going hungry, but he has no room to talk. Two months, and then he can talk!
Ah, tell Caleb Lumberg I say hello! I'll have to send some pictures to that stud! He is going to make one awesome missionary! And tell him to keep up the piano, it's a winner! I've almost got my song done, by the way. I've just had a minute, here and there after meals to dink around, and it's not very long, but it provides a pleasant distraction at times!
Well, I think that's all the news for now! I hope that this letter finds you well! Know that I love you and think of you often! This Church is so true and I'm so grateful for the chance I have to share that message with the people of Uruguay! I love you all and can't wait to hear from you!

Love Always,
Elder Taylor

Letter #8 MTC

!Hola Familia!

How are things going in the good ol' Taylor home? Things are going really well for this Taylor! This has been a really busy week, but then again, which week hasn't been? I don't know if Mary-Anne has told you yet, but Elder Trane and I were called as Zone Leaders last week. So this week we have been in "training." Which basically means that we are doing everything, but the current Zone Leaders just make sure we don't screw anything up. Tuesday morning was kind of our first official duty. We had to wake up at 4 A.M.. (Yes, 4 A.M.) to check the district that was leaving out of their rooms and make sure they got to the bus and everything. We could usually go back to bed, but Tuesday we couldn't. One of their Elders was having some health concerns, so they had to send him home to Boise for a few weeks to get him on some medication. So, he was on a different flight and didn't leave 'til later, which meant E. Trane and I were his comps from 4:30-8. And then after we had class and what not, so it made for a long day! I just hope and pray that Elder Oakes will have the determination to get back out here. The Lord and the people of Argentina need him.
Last night, we got a new district of 8 new missionaries. Elder May, E. Packer, E. Trane and I were responsible for giving them a tour of the MTC and helping them get comfortable. They are really quiet and kinda weird, but then again, who wasn't their first couple of days in the MTC?! Haha.
Yes mother, I was able to translate your Grandpa Talbot formatted letter aall by myself. I had to double look to see what was happening, but it didn't take too long. It was a little difficult to continuously read it, though, I'm not gonna lie! Elder Trane thought you were just crazy, and I kindly reassured him you are!
Melanie, I heard you had a cool experience in seminary on Mon, Jan . 29. Could you share it with me? I would love to hear about all that you are learning! And you have Bro. Christensen for Seminary!? That is SO cool! I really do love that man! Tell him I say hello, along with Bro. Montoya. The things those men taught me have helped me become who I am, and have helped me make it where I am today; and I couldn't be more grateful!
Mel, I wish you all the luck in the world in your audition! I am so excited for you. Just don't be scared and make sure to say your prayers!
Goose - it's about time you found that IPOD! I was gettin' worried. Sheesh kid. You better hold on tight to that thing or you'll lose it when I come home! I am so jealous that you got to go to the Jazz game; did you yell extra loud for me? You better have! Congratulations on the YW's b-ball game, that's sweet! You'll have to let me know how you do. I've been playing a lot of basketball here. There are some really good guys and it's really fun to paly with them! So maybe you won't beat me when I get home...!
Yeah, I heard about Abby and Mike about a month or so ago from Hallie! I'm really excited for them, that's so cool. I hope they at least send me an invite, seeing as how I know both of them. Haha. Make sure you send them my best wishes!
I wrote to Carson a minute ago and told him to let ya'll know when his farewell is. Please go and show your support to him. He is/was such an amazing example to me. I love that kid and he is going to be an AMAZING missionary! Give him a big hug for me!
I haven't tried the new card yet, but maybe I'll go do that today, just to check.
As for the "heavenly" package - thank you so much! After 19 years, you know me so well! As for our last night in the MTC, I think we're going to do Martinelli's... so if you find them @ a good price, send a few because I don't know if like Zink's family will send any (he's the only member in his family.) so yeah. That would be great!
Make sure you let the ward know I'm doing great and am loving this opportunity! Tell the bishop I say hello. Bro. Sellers and Bro. Lundberg. They have had such an amazing impact on my life. Others have as well, but them especially.
I've only seen Elder Peterson once, and it was in passing, and I don't think he saw me, so I'll try and snag him before I leave.
Yo Amo Ustedes = I love you all! (usted = you, singular; ustedes = you, plural; not ya'll, but to a group)
The pictures/videos were great! Thank you SO much! Now we just need to get the girls to open their mouths!
I love you all and I pray for you often! Yo se que La Iglesia es verdadera. Yo se que Jose Smith vio a Dios y a Jesucristo. !Se que Jose Smith fue llamado ser us profeta de Dios y el restavro la eglesia verdadera en estes ultimos dias! !Jesucristo vive y nos ama!
Love Always,
Elder Taylor

Dad, I'm not dreaming in Spanish yet, but I am thinking in Spanish a lot, which is a good sign!
Mom, good luck with your diet! I'm eating better too. I've only gained like 5 pounds, but yeah. Some Elders in our zone have gained 20! E. Trane has gained 15!

LOVE YOU

PS That poem I think is the only thing in the book that it's in. I thought we got it for Christmas or something. Maybe I saw it someplace else, I don't know.

Letter #7 MTC

! Hola Familia!
This isn't going to be the longest letter of my life because I have a lot to get done today, but I'll do my best! Mom, you did a wonderful job translating the beginning of my last letter, 100%.
Today I had a really cool experience going to the temple. While we were on our way up, we stopped with Elder Vonasek and Elder Christian, who are in our zone, and were just talking by the fountain. A sister came up to us and asked if we could give a blessing to a man who was sitting over on a bench with another man and woman. She explained that he had a court case he was feeling uncomfortable with and asked if we could do that for him. We eagerly said yes, and walked over. The man's name was Sergio. The other Elders just looked at me, so I stepped behind the bench and proceeded to give him a blessing. It was a really neat experience and a great way to start off the day at the temple! So I've officially given my first blessing as a missionary! Dad, right when they asked me, your saying flashed through my head - "Be where you're supposed to be when you're supposed to be there!" It was such a great blessing. We didn't have a reason for not going right in to the temple, but I know that it's because the Lord needed us there.
In answer to your question, the three steps to personal revelation are: Receive, Recognize, and Respond. I feel like I am doing a lot better and have come a lot closer to my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ.
It's good to hear that Megan got her homework done. Now the important thing is to stay caught up! I don't think that South Jordan would be such a bad idea for Megan. Maybe it would help her focus and run with a better crowd.
What kind of car are M-A and Swift looking in to? So is Melanie actually going to be driving when I get home? That's weird.
Dad - this new job at work, is it a pay raise along with and hour raise? What would you be doing on the line? I'll keep my fingers crossed.
So my debut with Maren's group was at age 11, uh? That's so cool. We'll have to keep that one handy so I can see it when I get home. We have some pretty good singing sessions here, especially in the showers. Oh, what a beautiful noise. Haha
Our Zone leaders, Elder Wilson and Elder Jemmett, left this last week, along with the other companionship in their district. Elder Edwards and Elder Dawson. It was REALLY hard to see them go. We all have become so close because of being together every minute of every day and because of the Spirit we feel together. I think I cried more that night than when I said goodbye to you all. It was just really hard. That night, elders Wilson and Jemmett conducted an awards ceremony for us. Elder Wilson's mom had sent some ribbons to hand out. Not everyone (companionship) got one, but it was fun for all. Elder Trane and I were awarded the title of "Star Students." We are speaking better Spanish than most of the district's that have been here two weeks longer. That may not sound like much, but when you are in class for 12+ hours / day for 6 days a week, you learn a lot, or you can. Elder Trane and I have just tried to be obedient and to use our time effectively and the Lord has greatly blessed us. Alma 26:12 has made itself manifest through this endeavor.
I was able to get a picture with President Trost last week (I read your mind) so that will be coming soon. Well, or when I get my other card back. Haha.
Mom, to answer your questions, the red and green Christmas presents were from Ammie Fackrell. It was little pictures of the Savior and a Lifesaver storybook. I have received letters pretty consistently from Alison, Ammie and Hallie. I have also heard from Carson Homer twice - he got his mission call! He's headed to the Philippines! I'm really excited for him!
Where did M-A get a job? When do they expect to hear back from more schools?
Yeah, the traditions here in the MTC are pretty cool! There aren't a lot, but we've come up with a few! Haha.
So far, I haven't met any missionaries going down to Uruguay with me. There has to be some, but I just haven't' bumped into them, I guess. The newest district in our zone, that's been here two weeks, are all going to the east mission in Uruguay. 4 Elders and 3 Hermanos. I've heard the two missions have combined conferences sometimes, so maybe I'll see them at some point.
I haven't run into Elder Peterson yet, but I'm sure I will, and I'll be sure to get my hug!
Oh, by the way, is the PIN # for my new card the same as my old one? Can I just cut up my old one now? Also, do you think you could find a poem for me? I think we have it in a book somewhere... it's the one about the boy in the race who falls but gets up every time because of his dad... if you could, that'd be great!
ENTONCES...
I love you all. I miss you very much, but I would not trade this experience at this time for anything. This is exactly what I needed and i couldn't be more grateful. Keep the letters coming, they really do brighten the days here. Melanie and Megan, that goes for you too!

!Yo Amo Ustedes!
Elder Taylor

Ether 12:27 and "Grace" in the Bible Dictionary
-The Lord will not take away our weaknesses, but He will give us the help and strength needed to overcome them!

Dad -(and everyone else) - Keep the quotes coming - you know I love them!

Letter #6 MTC

!Hola Familia!
?Como Estan? Estoy muy, juy bien! Yeah, I'm basically fluent. Haha. I hope your Spanish is far enough along to understand that! It is actually coming along very well. There's only a couple of tenses (Past Subjunctive and another) that we haven't learned yet. I can understand a lot when I talk to people and I can actually say quite a bit of what I want to say as well. It's amazing how fast you can learn when you're doing what the Lord asks!
Mom - what happened to your resolution? I still haven't received your Sunday letter... maybe I'll get it at dinner mail.
Everything is going well here. We are all learning a lot and making the changes necessary to become the best missionaries we can! I was blessed with a tender mercy this week. Monday night I was reading my Patriarchal Blessing and had some questions about learning the process of personal revelation and what not came into my mind. Guess what our devotional on Tuesday night was on?! The steps of receiving personal revelation and how we can become better! The speaker was Gerald N. Lund, who wrote "The Work and the Glory. It was a great opportunity and blessing.
Dad - how did you get Pres. Trost's email? Neither of us can figure it out. I play the piano like every week here. I guess lessons are sorta paying off. Haha.
I'm gonna go shower and then we're going to lunch and our temple session, so I'll finish this a little later...
OK, I'm writing a little more before the temple. Haha. Elder Trane's still getting ready. I hope you are all doing well. Mom, how are the classes comin' along? Are you keepin' up on your homework?
Dad- what is this couch table going to be? I'm trying to picture it, but I'm "drawing" a blank! (Get it? Haha) Yeah, my car would someties not start. I would just twist the terminal and it would work. It only happened a couple of times. How did the clamp break all the way through? That's weird. What have you decided to do with the truck? Are you gonna get a new one yet? What is this new position you're going for? When does it all "go down"? (Ask Nathanael for meaning.)
I was not happy to find out about the Seahawks game. I was hoping for a win. Oh well, maybe next year, when the Lions make the playoffs Trane's family and a few of the others do some ports updates, but not much. So if you ever feel like it, drop off some scores or something.
The lemonade is now officially gone. I savored it as long as I could. I'm now thoroughly convinced that's what we'll be drinking in heaven. If you ever run across any extra lemonade, you know where to send it!
Has anything happened with Meg's IPOD yet? That's not cool. I hope it will turn up. Megan - stay up in school! It's too hard if you get behind! I know you can do it Goose, just focus!
Melanie - that goes for you too! Stay caught up in school! Are ya liking it more? It's fun. Stay involved and make usre you hang out with the "good kids". And NO dates til you're 16.
Girls -I'm still waiting anxiously for Book of Morman news from you. It's been a month and I've got nothing. Have you started?
I'm sorry for the missed week-it won't happen again!
Wow, I love the temple. We just got back from our session. The Spirit is so strong in the temple. It truly is the House of the Lord.
Mary-Anne and Nathanael - I love you both very much! I probably won't have time to write, because we have class, but if I have a minute I'll try and sneak you in!
Mom, Dad, M-A & Nathanael - look at facsimile #2 in Abraham item #7 and let me know if you see anything AMAZING! The Church is SO true! I love you all and I can't wait to hear from you!

Love Always,
Elder Taylor

ps Don't erase the pictures on the card! Put them on the computer and send the card back to me full so I still have the ones I want. I'll delete some when it comes back.

Letters about MTC Branch President Phil Trost

Aaron's MTC Branch President is a President Trost. When we lived in Magna our bishop was a Phil Trost. Craig was writing to see if they were the same person.

Craig to Phil Trost,
A message from Craig Taylor, Magna Spencer 5th Ward
Good Morning,
It has been awhile since we have talked.
Our son Aaron Taylor is in the MTC and says that his branch president has the name of Trost.
I was wondering if that is YOU?
If not, hello anyway.
We are doing well. We are still in South Jordan. We adopted four children, three firls and a son. Mary-Anne is married and has just graduated from the U. Melanie is in 10th and Megan is in 7th. grade.
Thanks for your time. Hope to hear from you.
Thanks,
Craig

From Phil Trost,
Yes it is me! Jan and I were called to preside over the Lisbon Portugal Mission from 1999-2002; when we returned we were called to the MTC where I have been serving for the past 4 years; we worked with Portuguese missionaries for 3 years and about a year ago I was trasnferred to preside over a Spanish brance; your son is an outstanding missionary; he currently serves as a district leader; he also has blessed us with his piano skills; I can see that he has been a model son for you and that you and Liz have trained him well; his companion is an Elder Trane from Idaho Falls - he is also an obedient missionary.
We were with Elder Taylor on Tuesday night and I introduced him to Jan; she was thrilled to meet him and she asked him about his family.
I will be up tonight to see him and to see pictures of his family -I'm excited to see you again (via family pictures). We think the world of you!
Tell your sweet wife "Hi" for us.'
Phil Trost

Letter #5 MTC

!Hola Familia!
?Como Estan? !Yo estoy muy, juy bueno! I hope this letter finds you all well! I was really excited to receive the package from Mary-Anne and was even more excited when all the letters were inside! I don't have a ton of time before we need to head for lunch and the temple, so I'll try and answer all the questions, but if I forget some, please forgive me!
On Tuesday, we had the great privilege of having two of the Quroum of the Twelve Apostles here! M. Russell Ballard and Richard G. Scott were here to train the new MTC Presidency wo they spoke to us. elder Scott only bore his testimony, but it was extremely powerful and sincere. Elder Ballard spoke mostly on the need to set weekly, achievable baptisimal goals! It's kind of hard to do that here in the MTC, but we can apply it to our own goals here. It was great to hear their counsel and feel of their Spirit.
Yes, I have seen Spencer Frandsen, but only very briefly. I will try and get the three of us together ASAP. I only sent a few pictures with this letter because they were from other Elder's cameras. I am developing some of mine today. I will sent the card at a later time. The Spanish is coming slowly, but surely. I can understand A Lot, but speaking is another story. We teach in Spanish on Monday for the first "real" time, so that will be interesting.
Right now a lot of my study is devoted to Spanish and just becoming a familiar as I can with the content of the lessons.
I am very sorry to hear about Steve Crookston. That is really rough. But that's one of the great messages of the gospel - we can live with our loved ones again! What an amazing blessing!
Oh! By the way, Pres. Torst IS the same guy! I asked him in my district report last wee and he came up to me after sacrament and said, "So are you Craig and Liz's Son?" It was really near. And his wife (Janet?) spoke to me after the devotional on Tuesday so that was really cool! What a tender mercy the Lord has blessed us with!
Oh, and I deep forgetting to mention this - they have pushed us back a week to my original departure date - the week of February 19th - We won't get our final travel palns for probably another month or so, but just so you are aware!
Dad, how did the HAR go? Did you have any other cool missionary experiences? What ever happened with Olly, anything?
Just so ya'll know, I've started actually working out in gym. Running and lifting - it's great. Ya'll better get on that. or I'll be running circles around you when I get back!
Melanie - keep up the good work in school! I know you can get better grades, you've just got to work for it! The Lord will help you! How is your Book of Mormon reading? I haven't heard and I really want to hear what you're learning and reading!
Mom - how is the class coming? What filming did you have to do? I'm so proud of you for continuing your education and being diligent - it sets a great example for all of us!
Alright, well I better go shower so we can go to lunch and then get up to the temple! know that I LOVE YOU ALL and that I pray for you multiple times daily. Tell Mary-Anne that I'll try to get her letter written, but if not, I love her too! It'll make us even for last week when I didn't write you guys! Haha. Nathanael - cheer loud for the Seahawks this weekend! There's a kid from Chicago in my district and I would really like him to stop talking about the Bears! Haha. Love you all! Take Care!

Love Always
Elder Taylor

"Shall we not go on in so great a cause?" - Joseph Smith

Elder Trane's Home Address -
1370 Merrett Drive
Idaho Falls, ID 83404

Letter #4 MTC

Dad,
So I don't even know where to start. I have officially been homesick for the first time on my mission. But I never expected it to come the way it did. I think I'll jsut copy what I wrote in my journal... Dec. 31, 2006 - Sunday, It was after a fireside where Sheri Dew spoke about missionary work, which was great!
"After the fireside we were given the opportunity to watch "The Testaments" which most of our Zone did. I have seen this movie multiple times before and loved it, but it has never hit me like it did tonight. I truly felt the love of my Heavenly Father in my life. As I said before, I didn't expect the homesickness to come the way it did; I honestly expected to miss my mom or Mary-Anne first, but I didn't. The truth is, it came through the recogniton of my father's love for me. One of the story lines in the movie is that of the relationship of Helam and is son, Jacob. It truly touched and pierced my heart because it spoke of the love which my dad has for me. One part that hit me especially hard was when Helam was praying for his son. I con't help but think of all the times that my father must have knelt in earnest prayer for me. I am so grateful for my dad and for all that he has taught me. I haven't always been receptive to his counsel when he has offered it, but I hope that somehow he will know that I am always listening and am looking to him for an example. I would not be half of the person I am today without the love and counsel of my father. I am so grateful for him and for the relationship we have. I love him so much!"
Dad, I just want to say thank you for all you have done for me. I have so many great memories of us and I'm so grateful for that. A lot of laughter and smiles have plagued our time together. Some of the elders in my district have fathers who are not member of the church, or are not active. This has just deepened y gratitude for you. Today I went to the temple for the first time, and I couldn't help but think of how sad/weird it was to not have you there. I've been to the temple without you multiple times, but I just missed your presence there today.
Dad, I love you. I love the example you set for me as to what a diligent and worthy priesthood holder should be. So much of my knowledge of the gospel and the goundation of my testimony is based on what I have learned from you. Thank you.
I don't know if I;ll have time to write another letter to the family, because we have class tonight, so send them my love. Tell mom I will make up for it! You all mean so much to me, and I cont' wait to hear from you! I love You! 3rd John 1:4 - I'm doing my best!
Love Always, Your Son,
Elder Taylor