Good day loved ones!

I love you ALL!

 Elder Taylor and Elder Sandoval

Elder Lima

What a crazy week! First I just want to tell dad that I love you so much and i hope you had a great fathers day. They dont celebrate that here but President Cordon spoke in our ward and told himself happy fathers day haha it was so funny. But really dad. Thank you for everything that you have done for me. i love you so much.

Well....I got transfered! I am now here in Jargim Mercúrio. Its about 30 minutes from the Botanical Gardens. Yes we will be visiting that 2 weeks from today. My companions name is Elder Lima. He is from Fortaleza Brazil and has already been in the field for 6 weeks so I am only finishing his training. His first trainer finished his mission last week. But its really good. Its different to now be the leader in everything but I am holding up just fine. The area here is amazing. Its the exact opposite of Ahú. There are no tall apartment buildings and the people here are very poor. But they are also very humble and actually listen to us. We have about 25 investigators and we marked at least one baptismal date every day that I was here the past week. We should have a baptism this sunday and I am very excited for it. The members here are great. We taught 6 lessons with members yesterday. We taught 6 lessons with members the whole last transfer in Ahú. Thats how great the members are here. I actually feel like I am fulfilling my purpose as a missionary. It has rained all week and my umbrella broke so I am a little wet but I will buy a new one today.

I got your easter packages!!!! Lets just say that Elder Lima really likes Laffy Taffys. Haha they are almost gone already. I am so glad to hear that you are all doing well and that you found the Honda! Scott, forgive them. They are old and they still think they are funny.

Nat, I didnt get a chance to talk to Claudiane again but maybe I wrote it wrong. Sorry. But please add Felipe Grob Tomaz. He is the son of Eliane and I didnt get to say goodbye to them. I did get to say goodbye to Oswaldo and Marina and lets just say that these eyes didnt stay dry for long. The minute I told them that I was getting transferred, Oswaldo started to cry. He calls me his batizador or baptizer haha I love that man and I will miss him so much. But i will see them when this life is all said and done :)

I would love to send Annie a letter. I will do that today. I am so glad that she hasnt forgotten about me.  Annie, I love you so much. Dont forget about your best friend here in Brazil.

Dad, I am getting your letters through mission ties. Not gonna lie, your hand written letters in chicken scratch on scratch paper meant the world to me but I love getting your letters no matter how they are written or typed. Thank you for your words and for your love and encouragement. I think about you everyday and I hope you know that you are my hero. I really mean that. I am crying as I am typing this haha i love you dad.

Well I hope you all have a great week and enjoy the summer sun! Dont forget to say your  prayers moring and night. your Heavenly Father loves you and he wants to talk to you. I know that He is waiting to answer our prayers. We just need to be humble enough to get down on our knees and ask.

Amo vocês!

Love Elder Taylor

PS we will be going to the temple on the 27th so I wont have a Pday next monday. It will be on Wednesday so be ready!

Hello peeps!

Wow you guys had a crazy week! It sounds like so much fun!  I really can't believe that Jake is already home from his mission.  The time goes by so fast.  I think i am going to cry!  haha.  Well, I got your packages this week!  Thank you so much.  I love you all so much.  Elder Sandoval really enjoyed the American candy and the woopie cushion - haha.  We had some good times with that. 

We also had the dedication of the Manaus Temple yesterday.  It was so cool.  We went to the chapel and watched a broadcast of it.  I know that the temple really is the house of the Lord.

So this week was another hard one and we only found one new investigator.  It seems like no one here wants to hear the gospel and when they do, they don't want us to come back again.  Its really sad.  but this week I was praying to much that I could stay here with Elder Sandoval one more transfer because I love him and I know that we will baptize.  Well, right before the temple dedication yesterday, our zone leaders took us into a different room and told us some crazy news.  WE ARE GOING TO TRAIN!!! Yes, Both of us.  Its crazy.  I had a feeling that Elder Sandoval was going to train but I definately dind't expect that I would too. It's not very often that an American learning a language trains with onlky 6 months on the mission.  I am way nervous about it but I know that htis is a calling from the Lord and if He thinks that I am ready, then I am ready.  I will just have to continue to work as hard as I can.
We have a training today at 2 so we don't have much of a p-day and then we will pick up our new companions tomorrow.  I think that Elder Sadoval will stay here in Ahu and that I will leave, but we haven't heard yet.  If that is the case then I will be opening a new area that doesn't have missionaries right now.  We also dn't know if our companions are Americcan, Brazilian, or from somwhere else.  I could really use some prayers this week. 
It's crazy but I know that I can do this.  elder Sandoval told me that I am fluent in Portuguese so I don't have to worry much about that.  Please pray for me.

Well, I love you all and I hope you have another great week!

Love, Elder Taylor
p.s. Mormon 9:15-19  I know that God is a God of miracles

Hello my loved ones!

    June 4, 2012

Things are good here in Curitiba. It has been raining nonstop for the last 3 days so my shoes are soaked and my umbrella has a leak. But I am so happy to be doing the work of the Lord! I am glad to hear that you had a great week with the end of school and everything. I miss those good old days. But Im a big boy now :)

We struggled a little bit this week. Elder Sandoval had surgery on his mouth last monday and he couldnt work for a few days. So our numbers were low and i feel really bad about that. We will make up for it this week. I cant believe we are already on the last week of this transfer. Time seems to be flying by. We found 5 new investigators this week and one family that is really good. We havent marked a baptismal date with them yet but we will soon. We did have one investigator in Sacrament meeting. His name is Tiago and Elder Clift and i taught him before but he told us that he wasnt interested. Well he called us this week and said that he wanted to see the new chapel. So he came and felt really good there and we will visit him again this week. I know that he felt the spirit there. We have been visiting a lot of less active members and two of them said that they want to come back to church! I have been reading about King Benjamin this week and I know that he is a man of God. There are so many lessons in his speach that if we would just obey, we would have eternal life.

How are the elections coming? Everyone here tells me that Mitt Romney is doing really well but my family doesnt say anything about it! Whats going on?!

So.....you know you are a focused missionary when you wake up and your companion tells you that you were bearing your testimony in your sleep. Well this morning i woke up and Elder Sandoval told me that i was doing exactly that haha the funny thing is that I remember that I had a dream that me and Riley Watts were going down a huge slide haha it was so weird. please dont judge me.

This week I was also reading in Mormon 6:17-19. Almost all of the Nephites have died and Mormon is asking them how could they have fallen? Jesus had his hands outstretched to you the whole time. In english it seems like he is yelling this but in Portuguese it seems like he is sad and crying. That is how I picture it. He is sad and crying for his people. Fam-please dont ever forget that Christs hands are outstretched to us always. How can we fall?

 

Well, I just want you to know that eu sei que essa é a Igreja de nosso Salvador Jesus Cristo. We talked to so many people this week and all they wanted to do was Bible Bash. well, thats not how we roll. I know that the power of testimony is so strong. We dont need to argue with people. Just bear testimony of what we know and the Spirit will do the rest.

I love you all so much and I hope you have a great week. 

Love Elder Taylor

PS read Ether 14:23. Its about a missionary in the bathroom ;) muah ha ha ha

Bom dia my loved ones!

Bom dia my loved ones!       May 28, 2012

Well, I will just start out by saying that this week was full of blessings. Just blessings. Elder Sandoval and I have been studying about faith and doing everything we can to have more faith in this area. Well, this week we found 2 new people that seem to be really solid and we will visit them again this week. We had a lot of good lessons this week and we really felt the Spirit. On saturday we visited the people that we were expecting to go to Sacrament meeting with us but none of them could go. So we got home and just prayed that a member would bring someone or a miracle would happen and we would have someone at church. We got to church and Felipe brought one of his friends to church with him! It really was an answer to our prayers and his friend really enjoyed being there. We visited Oswaldo and Marina this week and they are doing great. We still arent sure what to do about Gustavo. We visited him on saturday but then he didnt come to church Sunday and no one was at his house when we went to get him. But this week was really good and we will continue to have faith in the Lord and work as hard as we can to help the people here in Ahú. We also did a division with the Elders in Almirante Tamandaré. I went there with Elder Costa da Silva and Elder Smith came here with Elder Sandoval. They told me that they visited a less-active member and she was very nice and wants to return to church! We will visit her again this week. While I was in Tamandaré, we were teaching a lady about the Word of Wisdom and she said that she will never stop drinking cofee. We were talking with her about it and she said that even if she did stop, there are other things that would be harder than that. She wouldnt tell us what ´things´ they were for a long time but finally she said that when she goes to the beach she wants to wear the tiniest bikini that she can find. Lets just say that she is not the skinniest lady that I know and I totally thought she was kidding. But no. She was dead serious. It was hilarious but at the same time really sad. The one thing that would be keeping her from being baptized is a stinking bikini. Its sad how some people put the things of the world before the things of the Lord.

Happy Aniversary Mom and Dad!!!!!!!!!! 22 big ones. Man you guys are old. ;) I love you so much and I hope you got my congradulations letter!

Thank you to all of the people who wrote me letters :) Larae: I would love that cd. My first companion had that same song and I loved it. I dont have a cd player but I have an ipod and I can transfer the songs at the internet house on p-day. Thank you so much.

Yesterday i think I ate something bad and lets just say that last night was not pretty. Good thing its p-day and i can sleep for a few hours later. 

This week I was reading in Jacob 7. I know that Jacob was and is a man of God. He was so in tune with the Spirit that no one could confuse him with their cunning words. I felt the Spirit so strongly as I read about him testifying of the Savior. We are so blessed to have the words of the prophets. Past and present. I am so grateful that we have a living prophet who leads and guides us. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God and that he speaks with him face to face. I am so grateful to be a part of Gods kingdom here on Earth and I am so glad to be out here helping others come unto Christ. 

Well, I hope you have a great time at the reunion! I still havent gotten your package but I will get it soon. Tell the family that I say hi and that I love them!

Love,

Elder Trevor Jeffory Taylor

P.S.

Dad: youre the man. I love you. Thank you for your letters and your advice. I always feel the spirit so strongly when I read your letters. I love you.

Bom Dia!

Bom dia!       May 21, 2012

I am glad to hear that everything is going well in good old Kaysville. Good luck with baseball and the family reunion and try not to let the family miss me too much! I hope you have a great time. :)

This week was better with finding new investigators. We we able to teach 4 new ones this week and that was really good. Our work with the leaders of this ward is going very slow. We went to talk to the Bishop about some things but he just shot down all of our ideas. Its hard to work with the ward when the Bishop wont listen to us. Gustavo wont come to church and we really dont know how we are going to handle his situation. But we just have to do our part and pray and have faith. We studied and talked a lot about faith this week. I think the Lord is just testing our faith right now. Our prayers have been more sincere and we are just trying to do everything we possibly can to be obedient and to have faith. We know that there are people here in Ahú that have been prepared by the Lord to hear this gospel from us and we are going to do all that we can to find them and to help them. I know that my faith is being tested but I have found many answers through scripture study and through sincere prayer. I know that our Heavenly Father is listening and that He answers prayers. 

So you want details? Well, this week a bird pooped right on me, a crazy asian screamed at us that we dont have spirits and we taught a man about Joseph Smith. The thing is that this man was drunk as a skunk. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen in my life. 

A member told me that the Indiana Pacers are strokin it up! Where did that come from? I thought the Pacers were terrible. And he said that the Spurs knocked the Jazz out of the playoffs. I hate that guy. ;)

Scott, Have fun on the CHT!!!!!!!!!!! Youre going to love it. I know you are nervous to room with people that you dont know but this will prepare you for transfers on the mission :) Have fun and enjoy the spirit there. Write down your feelings in the places that you will go. I wish i would have done that. Have fun! Oh and i am on Jacob 1. Looks like I have some catching up to do....

So yesterday we visited this couple and it was really good. Their daughter died when she was only 5 years old from cancer and it just ruined the family. They have a lot of doubts and are just having a hard time. We taught them about the plan of salvation and they still have a lot of doubts but you could tell that it really helped them to be more happy. But while we were teaching i could just feel how true this plan really is. I am so grateful to know that Heavenly Father has a perfect plan for us and that if we do the right things that we can live with together forever. I dont know what i would do if I didnt have this knowledge. I love you all so much and I am so grateful for mom and dad and for your temple marriage. Which by the way will be 22 years on Sunday! Yes I remembered :) thank you for chosing the right so that our family can be an eternal family. There is nothing in this world that makes me more happy than knowing that I get to be with you forever. I love you all so much and i hope you have a great week!

Love Elder Taylor

Ps. We will get our beds today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!