Bom stinkin' hot dia!

This week has been one of the hottest weeks of my life. Its been 95 degrees or more every single day. One day this lady told us that on the news they said that it was 36 dgrees C which is about 97 degrees F. Well, she said that with the humidity and everything that the feeling outside was as if it was 51 degrees C which is 123 degrees F!!!! They said that it was the hottest place on the earth if you can believe that. I dont think I have ever sweat this much in my life. But its good :)

FELIZ ANIVERSÁRIO MÃE!!!!! I hope you have a great day and that you still feel like youre 29. Even though your waaaaaaay older than that ;) i love you so much mom. I really cant even tell you how much. You mean the world to me.

We had our monthly zone leader counsel this week and it went really well. Its fun to be one of the top dogs now and to get to know everything that is going on in the mission. Pres. Cordon said that in the next transfer we will be getting 18 new missionaries and the one after that we will get 20 more. Our mission is probably going to split next year. That would be so cool. The work really is growing and things are getting crazy here. The leaders have a lot to do and we are always running around like chickens with our heads cut off. I dont think I have eaten at night in the last two weeks haha but I love it!!

We are singing in a choir for Christmas and our first performance is tomorrow night! Wish me luck. Friday we get to sing at the Temple and its going to be amazing. I love Christmas!!

Nat, I still havent gotten your package. Im starting to think that you never sent one.....Just kiddin :) I think someone stole it. Thats not good. I need to teach this person a lesson. The lesson I would teach him would be the 10 commandments haha

I really want to use Skype to call home for CHristmas. Yes Nat you are invited :) I dont know what time I will call you but I will let you know next week. Our P day was changed for Christmas week so it will be on the 25th. So the 24th I wont be able to send you an email. Just be ready for me to call on CHristmas haha

I love you all and I hope that you have a wonderful week. I know that Christ was born to save us all.

Love,

Elder Big T.

Welcome December

Bom dia!!!

I am having a hard time today with all of the people that are passing away. We learned of one more that I will tell you about a little later in my email. But their families are all in my prayers and I hope they all know that I love them.

This was a very crazy week. I am still trying to get used to being a zone leader and all of the things that we have to do but it is going well and I am happy. The area is very different. We are right in the center of Curitiba and we take care of two wards so our area is huge. We dont have a lot of investigators so we do a lot of walking a talking to people in the streets. Its been kind of a hard week for me but I know that God answers prayers. Thursday night I just felt like giving up. I wanted to be home and not have to be here in this area where I dont know anyone. So that night I knelt down and just poured myself out to the Lord. I prayed for about 40 minutes. I needed help and I needed it fast. I knew that He was the only one that could help me and I think that was the first time that I have really let out all of my feelings to the Lord. Well, I went to bed and just trusted that the Lord would help me to get up and going in the morning. I woke up in the morning and had more energy and spirit than ever before on my mission. I know with all of my heart that God answers prayers. I know that he loves each one of us and that He wants us to be happy.

I dont have a lot of time but I just wanted to share one thing that happened this week. We were visiting some less active members yesterday and we went to this one apartment building and the lady said that we could come up. Neither of us knew who she was but we went up and she opened the door and it was a family from my first area! Their aunt lives there and they were there visiting her. This family is very nice and me and Elder Clift visited them two or three times a week to help them to come back to church while we were there. Well, the first thing that the girl told me was that she had some bad news. She is about 20 and she has been married for almost two years. The first blessing that I ever gave in Portuguese was to her daughter. Well, she told me that three weeks ago her husband fell on the train tracks and was hit by the train and died. I couldnt believe it. It was very hard for her and we talked about the plan of salvation and everyone was crying. After, we gave her a blessing and I was able to give it to her. I cried through the whole thing but I had the biggest feeling the she would see him again one day. I just want you all to know that I know that the plan of salvation is true and that we really can be together forever. 

I love you all so much and I hope Abbey as a great birthday this week! I will write to you today abs :)

Love, 

Elder Big T

                                                            Eewww!  What is it?

                                                              Elder Taylor & Elder Poe

No comment!

Transfer!

This has been the craziest week of my mission. We had to do everything this week to get ready for our baptism on Sunday. We baptized a boy named Wellington who is 10 years old. I had been teaching him when I first got with Elder Lima and we finally baptized him! The baptism went really well and his whole family was able to come. He has really short hair in this picture but it used to be as long as both of his sisters! They used to look like triplets haha but he cut it and sold it for about $40. He was so happy in his baptism.

Well, Sunday afternoon we got a call and found out that i was being transferred! I am now here in Ala 2 which is in the very center of Curitiba. I am actually right next to Ahú. Its a very rich area and its way different than Jardim Mercurio. The other news is that I was made a zone leader! I was pretty suprised and when President Cordon said that I was a zone leader I heard someone say, Already? Haha but I am excited. Nervous, but excited. It was so hard to leave Jardim Mercurio and we had a big family night with a lot of our converts and members last night and a lot of people were crying. I really felt like I made a difference in their lives. My new companion is Elder Joás. He is from the north of Brazil and I am actually taking the place of none other than Elder Keaton. He left and I came haha. Elder Joás has been out for a year and 6 months and is really really nice. We have a zone of 16 missionaries and I am way excited.

I cant believe that this year is almost over. It has gone by so fast. And this next year will probably go by even faster. Crazy.

I am so sorry that this email isnt very long. We have to send a lot of things to Pres. Cordon and Im not really used to it yet. But my emails will get better as the weeks go on. I love you so much and I had a good Thanksgiving. Not really but it was good for being on the mission haha

I love you all and I know that this is the work of the Lord. I love being a missionary and being able to serve with all my heart, might, mind and strenghth. I love you all!

Love,
Elder Big T

Wellington's baptism!

Giving Thanks!

This week was really good. We were able to find new investigators and prepare others to be baptized. Yesterday Lincoln was able to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost and he chose me to give it to him. It was the first time that I have been able to do that and it was such a great experience. Then after church, bishop grabbed me and said that Lincoln wanted me to be the one to confer the Priesthood upon him. It was the first time that I have done that too. I was pretty nervous but as soon as I started speaking the Spirit took over. I cant remember a word that I said but I do remember the feeling that was in the room. The Priesthood is real and I am so grateful to be able to hold it. After church, we walked home with him and he just kept saying that he didnt have words to describe how happy he was. It was amazing. This gospel really makes a difference in peoples lives. 

I cant believe its Thanksgiving already. Time is passing so fast. But I just wanted to write and tell you all how thankful I am for you.

Mom- Thank you for all the things that you did for me when I was home. I know that my football and baseball games werent the funnest things to go to and that you always got stressed out but they meant everything to me at the time. Thank you for teaching me how to have a sense of humor and to be able to make people laugh. I love you so much mom.

Dad- Thank you for being the greatest example of a husband, dad, and priesthood holder. I really couldnt have asked for a better dad. Thank you for teaching me how to work and how to be able to work with other people. Thank you for coming to my games during high school. I know you were so busy with work and bishop things but you always made time to come to our activities. I love you so much Dad.

Syd- I love you. Thank you for your willingness to serve and share your testimony with the people of Denmark. Thank you for your always happy attitude even when things arent going well. Thank you for being the best big little sister ever. I love you so much Syd.

Scott- I got through everyone above without crying but you got the tears out of me. I love you man. Thank you for being the person I could always look up to. Thank you for being so funny and pulling all night FIFA parties with me. THank you for your testimony and for always standing up for whats right. I love you so much Scotty.

Abbey- Thank you so much for your little emails from my Itouch  :) Thank you for putting up with my sad babysitting skills and being patient with me. Thank you for your letters. Thank you for watching Psych and the Biggest Loser with me. Thank you so much for the bracelet :) I love you so much Abbey.

Hailey- Thank you for always making me laugh. Thank you for giving me the chance I had to baptize you. I think about that all the time. Its one of the highlights of my life. And thank you so much for coming to Walmart with me when we had nothing else to do. I loved those days. I love you so much Hailey.

Annie- Annie I love you. Thank you for being my best friend. Its impossible for me to think about my life before you were born. I know that it was hard for mom to get you into this world but I am 100% sure that you are a blessing sent from God. Thank you for going everywhere with me and for all the little hands that you have drawn and sent to me. I love you so much Annie.

I just want you all to know how much I love you and how thankful I am to be a part of your family. I love this gospel and I am so grateful to be able to preach it to the people or Brazil. I am so grateful for Jesus Christ and everything that he did for me. I love him and I know that he is our Savior. I am so grateful that mom and dad were sealed in the temple so that we can be together forever. I love you all so much.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

Love, 

Elder Big T.

Lincoln's Baptism

Lincoln's baptism!

First, we just got an email that we are having a hard time getting packages for the missionaries here. So, make sure to send an email with a list of the things in the packages that you will send. And DONT send them by Fedex or UPS. Thats just what president Cordon told us. And we must obey.

I cant believe that you have that much snow already. Thats nuts. I dont miss it at all haha its been so hot here. My swum is getting pretty bad. But its soooo much better than freezing in the snow.

We found out on Wednesday that Obama won. I was pretty sad but the Lord knows what he is doing and he is in charge. We just need to keep doing whats right so that one day we will be ready for Christ to come again. That day is coming soon.

Lincoln was baptized yesterday!!!! It was so good. He is the only member in his imediate family but his mom came to watch the baptism and to support him. He also has an inactive aunt and she was there too. While Elder Poe and Lincoln were changing clothes after the baptism, they were talking and Lincoln was so happy. First, you have to know that he is the shyest person that I have ever met in my life. Anyway, all of a sudden he yelled, THAT WAS AWESOME!!!! We were shocked to hear that come out of his mouth. That just made my testimony grow that this gospel really is awesome and that it brings true happiness to peoples lives.

There were some pretty funny things that happened to me this week. i think I got yelled at more this week than ever before on my mission. I would just talk with people in the street and they would start threatening me and swearing at me. It was crazy. I guess people really dont like me here. I really noticed how much more patient I am now than i was a year ago. I normally would yell something back like, CALM DOWN OVER THERE OLD MAN! (Scott better remember that) but now I just ignore it and move on. Some people are just rude and make the dumbest threats and it just makes me laugh.

i also got a present this week! Sorry Nat, I still havent gotten yours. But we got one from one of our investigators. Remember the lady that wanted to adopt me? Well, she gave me cologne this week haha it smells really good but i dont think i am going to use it or I will attract all the girls in the area haha

I am glad to hear that Bolt is still alive and doing well. He stinks though. We need a new hampster that will let us hold him. like Rajon. He was the man.

Well, thats about it from Brazil. Thank you Alyssa and fam for the oreos, balloons, and card. I loved it! I got the package on Tuesday at district meeting and shared the oreos with my district. Brazillians love oreos!!!

I love you all so much.

Love,
Elder Big T

Ps. Scott youre the man. i wish I could see your play. But I will watch it on the movie in Heaven. keep working hard and being a stud. I love you man. Dont let dad kick your bum anymore. THats embarrassing. Hes old. Just pull his chest hair.

 

Testimony

Bom dia!!!         November 5, 2012

I am so glad to hear that you all had a great Halloween! To tell you the truth, ours was really lame. We had a HUGE storm that day and it knocked all the power out. We spent the whole day at Johns house helping them to get the water out of their house. Its a good thing that we were there or they would have lost a lot of things. Then we came home and planned in the dark. It was pretty sad. But we did buy costumes and candy. You will receive pictures.

We had another miracle happen this week! We went to Lincolns to watch Finding Faith in Christ and we got there and the DVD didnt work. We just sat there trying to think of something to do when his mom came in and told us that he was going to be baptized! I was so shocked that I had to turn to him and ask him if it was true. And he said yes! He said that now is the time. I am so excited for him and it will be so good. We will have his baptism next week. Its really cool that I get to baptize someone that has the same name as one of the people that I love the most. Youre the man Linc! (Holt)

We had lunch this week with the Stake President and since I have been in this area forever I know everyone here pretty well. He asked me to bring him the recepie of my favorite thing from home so that he can make it for me. So mom, can you send me the recepie for your famous Pasta Salad. Thats all that I think about these days haha

We are teaching this guy named Guilherme and whenever we teach him, his whole family is there. Well, we taught them on Saturday and his mom was there. She just kept staring at me the whole time and then at the very end she gave me a huge hug and said that she wanted to adopt me hahahaha I told her that we arent alowed to hug girls and she got really embarrassed. Its amazing how much of an impact you can make on peoples lives. This family is crazy but they are so nice. Guilherme just needs to marry his wife to be able to be baptize. Im probably going to be transferred in 3 weeks so most likely I wont be here for it but its ok. As long as he is baptized I will be happy.

How is Bolt doing? He probably died a long time ago and no one told me haha I was thinking about our pets this week and was just wondering how he is doing.

Mom, my district was kind of having a hard time this week with staying focused on our purpose and working with all our heart, might, mind and strength so I gave a training on D&C 4 for district meeting. Why I am telling you this is because I told about you telling me to go out and play with vigor and vim when I was playing high school baseball. I used that to tell them that we need that same attitude to preach the gospel. In my patriarchal blessing it tells me to use the lessons that I learned at home on my mission. So I did just that. Thanks mom. Youre the best. I know I didnt earn that $50 dollars for saying that to the baseball team but I used it for something even more important. I love you.

I told myself at the begining of my mission that I wouldnt bear my testimony on fast Sunday the whole two years because I just wanted to hear the members testimonies. But yesterday in Sunday School we talked about the Spirit World and how we are going to see our ancestors there. I kept thinking about my family and how blessed we are to be sealed for time and all eternity. Well, in Sacrament Meeting I just kept having this feeling that I should share that and so I did. After the meeting a lady came up  to me and told me that she loved my testimony and that she had a cousin that she really wanted us to teach. I am so glad that my testimony was able to touch her and that through that we have someone new to share the gospel with. And I really am so grateful that we can be an eternal family.

Well, I love you all. I am so grateful for all of the blessings that I have in my life. I have the best family ever. I love you!!!!!

Love
Elder Big T

                                                            Masked Missionary!

                                                                Missionary Matey's!

 

Happy Halloween

Bom dia!!

Wow you all had a crazy week! I cant believe that it already snowed there. Its getting so hot here. Today is crazy hot and I am sweating like a sinner at church. Funny thing is that everyone at church is a sinner....

This week was crazy. It rained and rained and rained all week. We have to do 140 contacts in the street per week and the rain always messes that up. Well, we got to Saturday and we had only done 16. We thought we were gonners. We did about 40 Saturday and were left with 80 to do on Sunday. Sundays are the hardest because there is usually no one in the streets. Plus i needed to do an interview in a different area about an hour away. well, all we could do was pray and leave it up to the Lord. So we asked for a miracle and we got one. We went out after church and just tried to talk to everyone that we could. We were pretty much running around. It got about to the time when we needed to leave for the interview and we werent even close to being done. Then I just got the feeling that we needed to call the other missionaries. So we did and the interview was cancelled and they forgot to tell us! Good thing we called. So that was our miracle. We were able to finish our contacts yesterday. It was pretty cool.

We found out yesterday that the sisters area in my district is closing. They both got transferred this morning. Its so sad when the members dont want to help the missionaries. Please help the missionaries at home as much as you can. We cant do this work without the members.

I got your conference package this week! haha it was a little late but me and Elder Poe still enjoyed the Skittles! Ps. I would love a bag of skittles for Christmas. I forgot how much I love those.

We are working a lot to help Johns sister to be baptized this coming week. She has a date marked for Sunday and we are pretty confident that she will be baptized on the 4th. The same day that I was baptized 12 years ago! I am so excited for her. Please remember her in your prayers.

We taught this man about the Word of Wisdom this week and it was very interesting. We taught him about the 5 things that we cant use (cigarettes, coffee, alcohol, drugs, and black tea) and he said, Oh I use all of those. ALL OF THEM. He smokes marajuana everyday and also a pack of cigarettes. I just want to say that I am so grateful that I never got involved with any of those things. I am so grateful for parents who have protected me from those nasty things. Thank you so much. But I also want to say that I know that if someone is using them that they can stop. With faith and Gods help, anyone can stop. There is always hope.

Well, I love being a missionary. I love when people drive down the street and yell, Elder! Its the best. They know that we are representatives of Jesus Christ and so do I. I love you all and I hope that you know that I know that this is the only true church on the earth. Jesus is the Christ. He loves us so much. THats why he died for us. I love Him.

Scott, youre the man. I love you bud. Keep bearing your testimony and helping everyone around you.

I love you all!

Love,
Elder Trevor Taylor

Another day in Brazil!

Wow, you all had a crazy week!  I just want you to know that Grandma will be in my prayers and that I know that everything will be ok.  I love you, Gandma!

This week was so good!  First, we had a baptism!  Her name is Kateline and she lives with Izilda who was baptized a month and a half ago.  The baptism went really well and she prayed out loud at church for the first time ever!  It was really cool.  We had to wait a little while to baptize her cuz the water was boiling hot!  ha ha but it all worked out.  John finally came to church again and was confirmed and is now a member of the Church.  He was really embarassed but he was happy about it.  We had a training with Elder Carlos A. Godoy from the Seventy this week.  We were told before that he was really strict and he wouldn't let us in if our hair was too long.  So I went and go my hair cut.  BUT the lady put on the wrong number for the machine and gave me a buz!!  I look so ugly!  ha ha but it's ok and I was let into the training.  It was so good and he is actually really funny.  We were laughing the whole time.  It was for the whole mission so I got to see all of my other companions and give them a huge hug.  I loved it.  All of the zone and district leaders got to go an hour early and have a special training from Elder Godoy.  It was really good and I learned a lot of things that I will be able to use in my mission and in my life too.

I'm not sure what all is happening with the elctions or anything.  What day will it be?  People talk about it all the time here but I have no idea what's going on haha!

I just want to tell you all that I nkow that this is the Lord's work.  There are ups and downs all the time but I love being here and I am not coming home until these two years are done.  It seems like the time if flying by for me and I just want it to slow down a little bit.  I love serving the Lord.

Sei que esta é a Igreja de Cristo. Sei que sou um representate Dele. Sou muito grato por tudo que Ele fez por mim. Amo vocês muito!

Love,
Elder Taylor

                                                            Kateline's baptism day!

Birthdays!!

Hi fam.

Im glad to hear that everyone is doing well at home in Utah. That really stinks that BYU lost again. (it would be nice to know who they are playing cuz I have no idea what the schedule is haha) Go Cardinals!! They are the best. Wild Card World Series Champs!!

This week was hard. John didnt come to church on Sunday because he went to the center of Curitiba with his dad and they stayed there the whole weekend. So we will have to wait until next week to confirm him. We had a baptism for this week but he said that he needs more time to wait and to learn more. Our other solid investigator started drinking coffee again so we need to work harder with her. So over all this was a pretty hard week. But we are still working as hard as we can and we wont lose faith. Things are still going well and we have good things to look foreward to. The highlight of this week was that we had 8 investigators at church yesterday. That was amazing. That made all of this hard stuff worth it in the end.

My birthday was good. We had district meeting in the morning and at the end, the Zone Leaders took me into the bishops office and told me that they caught the two elders in my district on dates with two girls. I was so mad and nervous for these two elders. The zone leaders said that they were waiting in another room and that we were going to go talk to them and then call President Cordon. I was so nervous the whole way there and then they opened the door and they had a surprise birthday party for me! It was so funny. The sisters made cake and there were balloons everywhere. It was a surprise so I dont have any pictures but someone has some and they will send them to me soon. That night we went to a members house and they had a birthday party for me too. Thats what the pictures are. Lots of pizza, brownies, and cookies. It was a pretty good birthday.

We had transfers today and me and Elder Poe are staying here! That means I will have been in this area for almost 1/4 of my mission. Thats crazy. But I am so happy. I love this area and I know that we will have a lot of sucess in this next transfer.

We should have a baptism this week and I am so excited for that. Her name is Cateline and she lives with Izilda. She is loving church and the Book of Mormon. We will be working hard with her to make sure that she is baptized this week.

Well, I love you all and I hope you have another great week. Cheer louder for the Cougars and make sure to let me know when the Cardinals are back to back World Series Champs. I know this is the work of the Lord. I know this is the hardest thing that I have ever done in my life. Thats what makes it so worth it. I wont ever give up. I love you all so much.

Oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY SYD!

Love
Elder Taylor

                                                 My birthday celebration foods!

 

What an announcement!

Bom dia!     October 8, 2012

What an announcement!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i actually got really sad at first thinking that I wont see Scotty for about 3 and a half years but that one is up to you big Scotty. i know this change was made for a reason and that it was inspired of God. If it was up to me I would go right after high school. This is the greatest work that you could be doing and now you dont have to wait as long to get out here and help with the battle agaist evil. i love you Scotty.

What a crazy week. Conference was great. It was hotter than heck here. And JOHN GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had the baptism inbetween the sessions of conference on Saturday. It was so good and everything worked out perfectly. He was so happy. we have been working with him for over 3 and a half months and i didnt think this day would ever come. But it did and I am so happy.

I cant believe I am going to be 20 tomorrow. Thats freakin me out. Today is my last day as a teenager. I think I will do something crazy. Like go to bed at 10:30. Or not kiss my girlfriend. Oh wait. Ive been doing that for the last 10 months. But its all good. I dont want to be anywhere else. we had a zone bbq today and it was so fun. i love my zone. Tomorrow will just be a normal day but whats better than preaching the true gospel? Nothing! I love you all and i am so excited to open the wheat thins tomorrow. Nat, I havent opened your package yet cuz I havent gotten it......Itll be a good late birthday present. :)

Dad, I loved President Eyrings talk in Priesthood. i loved when he talked about his sons. It was funny cuz he talked about the shy one that wouldnt even talk to the people at the store.....that was me!! But, like his son, I have changed. i hopé I am becoming the missionary that the Lord wants me to be. He also talked about his son that always had a huge group of friends. Thats totally Scotty. Scott just has that Spirit and it will be such a blessing for him out here in the mission field.

Well, I am passed the point of Swum and I am on the verge of Swody (sweaty body) but I am loving it. I love being a missionary. its the greatest thing in the world. Even if Im not with the ones that I love on my birthday. Its still the best.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me :)

Love,
Elder Taylor

PS. I have been scared to buy anything with this extra money cuz i didnt know if you guys just made a mistake or something. But now i am just going to go hog wild!!!!!!!! Haha just kidding. i will be very responsible with it :) Thank you to all who gave this to me. I love you all so much.

                                                                       John's baptism!

Excited for conference!

Happy Birthday, Natalie!!

Bom Dia!!       October 1, 2012

Wow you all had a pretty good week watching BYU kick some buns and meeting Apostles. That sounds so cool. Dad, the really cool thing is that now we have both shaken his hands while I have been on the mission. I dont know if you remember but he came to the CTM while I was there and I got to shake his hand. They really are men of God and I cant wait to hear them speak this week.

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY NAT!!!!!!!!!! I cant believe how stinking old you are. Youre gonna start getting wrinkly and loose your vision soon..... But i hope you have an amazing day. Iam so blessed to have FELIZ ANIVERSARIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  EU TE AMO.

Lincoln, Im crying like a baby right now. Thats so awesome man. You are going to be a great missionary. I cant wait to get a letter from you telling me all about it. I love you man. This really is the Lords work and its going to be amazing to do this at the same time.

Well, this week was a tough one. Lincoln (our investigator) didnt pass the baptismal interview so we didnt get a baptism this week. We are going to keep helping him to be ready for Oct. 13th. We did a lot of walking this week and not a lot of teaching. It was hard but at the end of the week, John (Vitorias little brother) told us that he wants to be baptized! I have been praying for this day for the last 3 and a half months. We already have everything planned and his baptism will be inbtween the morning and afternoon sessions of conference on saturday. Elder Poe will get to baptize him and I am so excited for him to get to do his first baptism. This weekend is going to be amazing.

Speaking so much of conference, I am so excited!!! I just hope that they will have it in English again haha but either way the Spirit will be so strong. These men really are men of God. They are our leaders and we need to listen to their words. I love being able to hear them even though I am on the other side of the world. What a blessing!!

One funny thing that happend this week was that I almost got robbed. This drunk guy came up to us in the street and just took the pen right out of my shirt pocket haha then he took the lid off and gave me the pen. I just stared at him and he gave me the lid back. He then gave me a hand shake and tried to slide my ring off my finger (dont worry Nat, I didnt let him take it) I thought he was done taking my things and he looked at me and said, `I dont know how to read` and tried to steal my book of mormon. I just yanked it out of his hands and asked him if he needed help. He gave me a huge hug and said that I was beautiful. It was the weirdest thing that has ever happened in my life.

Well that was my exciting week. I hope you all know that I love you so much and that I love being a missionary. I hope Nat knows that I love her and I hope she has a great day today. This is the greatest work on earth and now Big Linc is going to be a part of it. That just made me cry again haha. I love you Linc. Youre the man.

Love, Elder Taylor

Change of p-days!

Bom dia!         September 24, 2012

Wow you guys had a crazy week. You all need to just relax and be sad because Im not there. Just kidding :) Im so glad that you are having fun. That football game sounds like a bummer. You guys need to cheer louder.

This week was really good. Really good. We have this investigator named Lincoln and he keeps telling us that he wants to be baptized but that he wants to wait until the end of the year. Like December. Well, we went there thursday and we had a way good lesson with him and he finally said that he wants to be baptized now! The Spirit was so strong and he almost started crying. We will have his interview tomorrow and the baptism should be Saturday!

We also found this new investigator. He was one that went to the talent show that we had. Well, we got there to teach him and there were about 20 people there waiting for us. So we taught them all and then his dad (who is a preacher in a different church) started asking all of these ridiculous questions. It was so weird. But I just looked him in the eyes and told him that I know that these things are true because I know that the Book of Mormon is true. And he ended up coming to church on Sunday! We have another meeting with them on Friday so we will see how he liked it. But it was really cool and their family is huge!

As you can see from the pictures, we went to the temple today! It was so good. There were tons of missionaries. I love going to the temple. No matter what country im in. It was so good and I felt so good just being able to pray in the Lords house. I prayed for each one of you specifically so I hope you felt it and I hope you know how much I love each one of you. Know that your prayers for me are being felt and that I love being a missionary.

As you can also see from the pictures, I got your present!! I couldnt wait to open it until my birthday though...sorry. I tried. (It lasted about 7 minutes or so haha) Thank you so much. We are still enjoying the Reeses and I am saving the Wheat Thins until my actual birthday :) Abs, I love the bracelet. We cant wear them here on the mission but I have it hanging up on my desk and I will definately wear it when I get home! Tell Linc that he is in trouble cuz I just barely got his letter. Some one go egg his house or something...

The other missionaries in my district were really sad and depressed this week because a lot of baptisms are falling through. They were all complaining to me all week and a few of them just said that they didnt want to work. I worried about it all week and I had no idea what to do. I was praying so hard that the Lord would show me how to help them. Well, Monday morning I was studying and I had the feeling to read Alma 26. I had no idea why but the Spirit told me to. So I did and it was exactly what I needed to say to the district. I want each of you to read that through the eyes off a depressed missionary. Its perfect. So we read that as a district and I switched some words around to apply it to us and it was so good. One of the Sisters even called that night just to say thank you because that was exactly what she needed to hear. I know that the Lord answers our prayers through study and prayer.

Well, I love you all. I love the gospel. I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I love being a missionary and being able to help bless the lives of my brothers and sisters here in Curitiba. I love my mom. Shes the best.

Love, Elder Taylor

PS One of the guys in our ward asked if you could send an oil vile like mine for him. He is very jealous.

Nao Bom dia!

                                                                  Ward talent show!

                            Dad, these girls did a hula dance at the talent show and I thought of you in your lava-lava.  haha!  Sorry I use to make fun of your cute little dress!

Scott the picture of the jersey is for you.  Remember how I use to kick your butt with the Netherlands on FIFA?  Well, I found their jersey this week:)  it brought back some good memories!

Wow. I thought that I wouldnt be mad or anything about BYU losing to Utah but that just makes me sick. Why cant we ever beat them? But oh well. Its just a football game. Wow did I really just say that?

Well, Im glad to hear that other than the football game the week was good. Im sure the kids are loving school :)

This week was hot and we just walked a lot. Im pretty sure that i am going to kill Elder Poe from all the walking that we do. He has the biggest blister on his foot. Its so gross. But thats the life of a missionary haha. We are still working with Luana who is Carla´s mom and we are trying to get her to stop smoking. Well, I heard that if you put 4 cigarettes in a cup of water and leave it there for 3 days and then drink the water you will stop smoking. So we did that with her this week and it worked! She hasnt smoked this whole week. We also talked very seriously with her about her kids and Carla started crying and said that she wanted her mom to stop smoking. Everyone was crying and the spirit was so strong that night. I really saw how much of a difference kids can make in their parents lives. Mom and Dad, I hope I am making a good influence in your lives. Thank you for the way you raised me. I dont think i will ever be able to pay you back for that. I love you.

I did a couple of interviews in Bairro Alto this week. Neither of them were quite ready to be baptized so i will go back there and talk to them again this week. Its sad when they arent ready but its good to see how far these people have come and how close they are. It gives them hopé and I hope that they will be ready when I go back there next week.

We had an activity that I actually planned Saturday night. It was a talent show and it was the best activity that I have seen on my mission. We had so many people there and everyone was laughing and having a great time. I asked the bishop a couple months ago if I could plan it because whenever our ward mission leaders plans them its always so boring haha so this time I wanted a fun activity that people would enjoy. It was so cool. And we met so many new people that we are going to visit this week. Im very excited. I didnt plan for us missionaries to do a talent but right at the end this lady got up and asked us to come sing I am a child of God in English. A few ladies sang it in French, Spanish and some other crazy language and then we sang it in English and then the whole ward sang together in Portuguese. It was amazing and it was a great way to end the activity.

Well, I hope you all know that I love you so much. I know that this is the true church of Christ and that we are on the straight and narrow path. We are on the only path that leads to eternal life. I dont know about you guys but I want that. I want it so bad. Just think. Eternal life with our family and with our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. Theres nothing better. Even BYU beating Utah doesnt come close. I love this gospel.

Love
Elder Taylor

Brazil Independence Day

Bom dia!       

What a crazy week!!! I dont even know where to start! Well, tuesday I got my new greenie! His name is Elder Poe and hes from Washington. He is a very good worker but he doesnt speak any Portuguese so we are going to have to work a lot on that. But I really like him. 

I did three interviews this week! It was so cool. The spirit was so strong and I could really tell that these people were repenting and that they wanted this. Only one of them was baptized but it was really cool.

Izilda was baptized yesterday! And she chose me to baptize her. I told the missionary that did the interview to tell her that she could choose a member to baptize her but she said that she wanted the first missionary that she talked to to do it. It was really good and she is so happy. There werent very many members at the baptism and i was so ticked about that. We had it scheduled for saturday cuz we knew no one would stay sunday but the members made us change it. I will definately be bringing that up in ward counsil this week. She is such a great person and she needs the support of the ward. Something has got to change is this ward. And Im not afraid to say it.

On friday it was independance day here in Brazil and all the missionaries in Curitiba got to walk in the parade! It was huge! We walked right through Ahu and i saw a ton of people that  I know. I got to be right at the front. Like the only people in front of me were the sisters. Thats how close I was to the front. And we were on tv! A lady in my ward told me that she saw me on tv and she yelled, ´thats the missionary from our ward!` haha it was so cool. Independance day isnt as big here as it is in the USA but it was still pretty cool.

This week was one of the hardest weeks of my mission. I feel like I am doing everything on my own because my companion doesnt speak the language. But thats why President Cordon picked me. He told me that he knows that I can do these things on my own. So I just have to keep it up. I am learning and growing so much and I love it here.

I hope you are all enjoying school! Enjoy this time. Itll be gone before you know it. Just like the past 9 months of my life. I cant believe Syd is halfway done with her mission. That really freaks me out. Where is the time going? I dont want this to end. I want to stay here for so much longer. 

Well, I hope you all have an awesome week and cheer for the Cougs extra loud for me. 

I know that this is the work of the Lord and that we can all make a change in peoples lives. I love being here and I love you all so much.

Love 

Elder Taylor

   Izilda's baptism

Independence Day Parade!

Elder Taylor and a tank!

Bom dia!

Well, I am here in a different area! But its only for today. Elder Lima was transferred so he is on his way to his new area right now.  I am here with the zone leaders because I wont pick up my new companion until tomorrow. Now, you may be asking, why tomorrow? I will tell you why. Its because I will be training again! We got the call last night and this time it will be a new new new missionary. Like at this moment he is still in the CTM. I dont know if he is american or brazillian. I will find out tomorrow. But i am very excited for the chance to train again. I like being able to be an example for others and to help them. And I am grateful that the Lord trusts me with this responsibility. I will go to President Cordons house this afternoon for a training. Oh and I will stay in Jardim Mercurio.

This week was a little slackish. Elder Lima new that he would leave and just wanted to say goodbye to everyone. So we didnt get a lot of work done. But that will change :) We did have a great lesson with this family and marked baptismal dates with all of them! It was so good. We also have one other investigator who has a baptismal date. Her name is Izilda and she will be baptized this week as long as everything goes right. She loves going to church and she has gone over a week without smoking and we havent even taught the Word of Wisdom yet! Shes amazing. She said that the Book of Mormon has given her the power to stop smoking. Its amazing. 

Since I am in a different area right now I forgot my pictures but I will send them to you next week! 

I am so glad to hear that the Cougars won! On thursaday night I sang the cougar fight song for Elder Lima haha he didnt like it too much and said that I am retarded but it felt so good to belt that song out again. Cheer extra loud for me and make sure that Jake Heaps doesnt return to BYU. He stinks. 

Thank you for your packages and pictures. I love them. But Jolly Ranchers dont do well here because its so humid. They just melt and become nasty. If you could switch those for reeses that would be awesome. They will melt but then I can put them in the fridge. Thanks :)

  

Please tell Scott and Hailey thank you for their testimonies and that the worm has left the building! I am feeling a lot better now :)

This week I read a scripture that I really liked. D&C 68:2-4. It says that our words are scripture if we follow the Spirit. Thats pretty amazing stuff. I love feeling the Spirit and being able to know that he is helping me. I also studied this week a lot about Nephi. I love him. He is a great example of being obedient. He knew what he needed to do and he trusted in the Lord. Lesson: Trust in the Lord and do what you are told to do and everything will work out. Things will be hard but the Lord will never let you down. Never.

I love you all so much and I am so thankful to have such a stinkin amazing family. 

Love,

Elder Big T.

I think I might be pregnant!

New Fiat soccer jersey!

Yum!  Granola from a kind member!

Bom dia!            August 27, 2012

Wow you guys had another crazy week! Mom, I hope you are feeling better and able to get out of bed this week. I will pray for that. Thank you so much for all of your letters and the packages that you sent me this week! I really do know that I am loved and I am so lucky to have a family like you guys! I love you!

This week was good and bad. Just like every week haha. I had to go to the doctor because my stomache was still killing me and i found out that I am pregnant! JUST KIDDING!!!! But i do have a little creature inside of me. I have a worm. Its crawling all around in there and eating everything that I put into my stomache. It hurts so bad to eat but I am always hungry because of this little guy so this week I was lacking a little bit on energy. But we worked our buns off none the less. We had zone conference this week and Elder Sandoval was there! I got to talk to him for a long time. He is having a really hard time there in Ahu .  I thought to myself that the area would close until President Cordon announced that we will be receiving 70 more missionaries here in this mission! Its already the biggest mission in Brazil and now its going to be even bigger. We will receive enough missionaries to fill every area. So now none of the areas will close. And a ton of missionaries here are going to train these new missionaries. I have a feeling that I will be training in the next transfer. Im excited for that. Elder Sandoval also said that Oswaldo, Marina, and Eliane are still going strong! That made me so happy.

I still have yet to do an interview. I went to Tarumã 4 times to do interviews for the sisters in my district and every time the person wasnt there or didnt want to talk to me. I was so mad. I know Satan is working his hardest to stop this work but we just have to keep being consistant and doing our best. Its hard. But its the Lords work.

I started the Book of Mormon over this week and this time I am going to read it very slowly. i was reading in 1 Nephi 2 this week and I remembered something that Zack Call said.( I think) He said that in verse 16 of chapter 2 Nephi says that he is young but large in stature. Then in 1 Nephi 4:31 he says that he is a MAN large in stature. Then Zack asked, What did he do in these two chapters to become a man? He compared it to the mission and that we have two years to become men. What do we need to do? I have been thinking a lot about that this week and I feel like I am becoming a man. I still have a long time out here but I feel like I have changed a lot. I am so grateful to be a missionary.

Parker Jensen wrote me this week and just told me thanks for being such a great example and friend to me in high school. He told me about the challenges he is having and how he thinks of me when he is having a hard time. I love Parker. I am so grateful that I was able to help him without even thinking that it would help him. He is doing great in Sweden and he loves being a missionary. This was the second letter that i have gotten from him.

I hope you all have a great week this week and enjoy this last week of freedom! Transfers were changed to monday so a week from now I will let you know who my new companion is! Crazy stuff.

I just want you all to know how grateful I am for my friends. I am so blessed to have friends that are willing and worthy to be out here serving the lord. Its amazing to think that almost all of my friends are all over the world preaching the gospel right now. I always get goosebumps just thinking about it. I know this church is true and that Jesus Christ is our Savior. 

I love you!

Love

Elder Taylor

Never eat meat from street vendors!

Bom dia!!

wow you guys had a really crazy week! Its weird to think that life just goes on even when Im not there. But i am so glad to hear that you are all doing well and having fun!

This week was not so good. I really learned that we only recieve the blessings of the Lord if we do our part. When president threadgold set me apart as a missionary, he said that I would be able to do the work of the Lord everyday. Well, i have learned that I have to do my part to receive that blessing. When we left the CTM, they told us not to eat any of the food that people would be selling in the street because it would make us sick. They were right. I ate some meat that this guy was grilling in the street and it just about killed me. I ate it Tuesday night and I didnt leave my bed until friday. It was terrible. Throwing up, the runs, yeah it was bad. It was the hardest thing in the world to have to stay at home and not go out and work. But now I know not to eat anything from the street. i have learned my lesson.

One good thing that happened this week was that Vitorias whole family went to church today. Even her mom. That was a miracle. It was so cool to see her whole family there and we are going to have a family night with them tonight and invite all of them to be baptized. I am really excited for it. Her mom is having some financial issues and she got some help from the relief society president yesterday and it was really good to see that everyone enjoyed going to church. I know for sure that it is the house of the Lord.

Well Scotty, I havent heard an update from you in a long time about the Book of Mormon reading so Im just gonna take it that I won! I finished the Book of Mormon this morning! I have now read it more times is Portuguese than in English haha but scott if you havent finished keep reading. Read every day. I know that it will give you the spiritual boost that we all need to get through the day. keep going bud. And go buy that David Freese shirt :)

Im not sure what all you have already sent to me but the ZLs said that I have a lot of stuff at their chappel to pick up! I will get all of your letters and things tomorrow at district meeting. Thank you for all that you have all done for me.

I still havent gotten to do an interview yet but we have 2 marked for this coming week. i went to do one in another area friday but the lady ran away before we got there. i guess she got scared and didnt want to talk to me. But someday I will do an interview. I am praying that it will be this week.

Well, I hope you all have a great week and that you enjoy this last little bit of summer! And im not sure when BYU football will start but cheer extra loud for me at the games! Go COUGARS!!!!!!!!

I love you all so much!

Love Elder Taylor

Beware of dogs! and men with beer!

Bom dia!            August 13, 2012

What a crazy week! I did get to see a little of the olympics because our investigators were watching it. But it was only like 30 seconds haha. But go USA!!!!!

This week was really different. We had a `gold week`. President Cordon said that a lot of missionaries are just working for the numbers and once they meet their goal they stop working that week. Well, this week we didnt have goals. We just worked as hard as we could. And at the end of the week everyone counted up their numbers and they were so much better than the rest of the weeks this year. His main focus was to show us that we need to work hard because we love the Lord and the people that we are serving and not for the numbers. It was really good. We also saw miracles because of it. We marked 4 baptismal dates this week! Only one is really firm but we are going to work a lot to make sure that all four of these people get baptized.

Thursday was a crazy day. We were walking in the street and I got attacked by a dog! He bit my leg and then I kicked him in the face and he ran away. It didnt hurt very bad but he did break skin and I had to call Sister Cordon and had to go get a shot so that it didnt get infected. It was pretty intense. Then later that same day I did a contact with this hoodlum in the street and he got way mad and swore at me and walked away. I just brushed it off and we kept doing contacts. Well, he returned and dumped beer all over me. I was so ticked. It took everything I had not to  beat the living snot out of him. Then that night Elder Lima told me that there is a law against kicking other peoples animals and if someone would have seen me kick that dog then I could be going to jail. It was just a crazy day. But even after all of that I still love being a missionary. Every time that something like that happens I  just laugh and tell myself that its another story that I will be able to  tell my kids haha

This week I read 3 Nephi 11-3 Nephi 30 which is the part when Jesus Christ was here in the Americas. We had a lot of people tell us this week that the Book of Mormon is from the devil and that only the devil would write it. Well, I want you all to read this part of the Book of Mormon and then tell me what you think. Could the devil write something like that? No. He couldnt. Those are the pure words of Christ. I know it. I know it with all of my heart.

Way to go with the Garden!

Well, i hope you all have a great week. Please keep praying for me to be safe and to come home in one peice ;) I love you all so much and I know that this church is true. This really is the work of the Lord.

Love,
Elder Taylor

Ps. Scott- I am on 4 Nephi 1. Where are you?