First baptisms!

Bom dia família!                         March 19, 2012

This week was so amazing. First i just want to say thank you to everyone who sent me letters! We got mail this week! Thank you dad, bishop hansen, nat (3), and syd. I also got two letters from Elders that were in my district in the CTM!

I am glad to hear that everything is going well at home. I pray so much for all of you. Scott, dont you dare play church ball. Coach leo will kill you. Good luck with the games this week. I heard that byu won their play in game but then lost the next game. Thanks for keeping me updated.....just kidding ;) 

Well, this week for me was pretty uneventful....NOT!! I am so glad to tell you that Oswaldo and Marina were baptized yesterday! It was such an amazing experience. Elder Clift baptized Marina and I was able to baptize Oswaldo. Before Oswaldo and I went into the font, he stopped and gave me a huge hug and started to cry. He is such an amazing man and his testimony is so strong. I am so blessed that i could be a part of that experience. It was interesting this week while we were helping them prepare to be baptized because one day Marina would be firm and than the next day she wouldnt want to be baptized. On thursday we had their interviews and i went with Elder Lopez to do those. When we got there, Marina told us that she needed more time to be baptized. It broke my heart. But Elder Lopez still had an interview with her and after that she came out and prayed for a while during Oswaldos interview and said that she received an answer and would be baptized with her husband. It made my testimony of prayer grow so much. They will be confirmed this coming Sunday during sacrament meeting. My first two baptisms!!!

Earlier this week we ate lunch at a members house and i gave the message after. I told them about how its frustrating to not be able to say exactly what you want to but that i read 1 Nephi 3:7 every morning to pump myself up because i know that i was called here by a prophet of God and that God has prepared a way for me to learn this language and do this work. We all face challenges in this life but God has given us a way to overcome them and do what he has commanded us. After i said this the wife said (in English), ´Thank you. I can feel your Spirit and thats all that matters.´ When she said this i thought, shes right. I might not be able to say exactly what i want to but i have the Spirit with me and as long as the people that i am teaching can feel it, then i am doing what i need to do.

Nat, good luck with all of your tests this week! I got three of your letters and they are great. Thank you so much. Thank you for all of the great quotes that you write in them. I love those. Keep working hard and have fun in St. George!

Scott i hope you were the one that started all of the moshing at the dance. Thats my little bro ;) I think you might be the one person besides our investigators that i pray for the most. I have already seen so many guys here whos older brothers served missions but then the little brother went off the straight and narrow path and isnt living the way he is supposed to. Please please please dont do that to me. Keep living the way you are. you are such an awesome kid and you are an example to everyone. Especially me. Keep doing what youre doing and you will be an awesome missionary. Study the Book of Mormon. Study preach my gospel. Every day. Every single stinking day. I promise that it will be so worth it. Make time in the day to read the scriptures. I love the Book of Mormon. More than any book that i have ever read. Yeah all 3 of them haha just kidding. 

I love you all so much and i hope you have an awesome week! Oh and happy St. Patricks Day last week! Eu sei que esta igreja é verdadeira. Eu sei que nós estamos vendo milagres aqui em Ahú. Eu sei que nossa família vai ser eterna e nós vamos viver juntos para sempre. Eu amo vocês muito e eu oro cada dia por vocês. Essa Igreja é verdadeira!!

Grande embraço. Pequeno beijo. (Big hug. Little kiss.)

Love, 

Elder Taylor

Baptism of Oswaldo and Marina - March 18, 2012

News of Curitiba

Bom dia!               March 12, 2012

Scotty! Im sorry man. That really stinks. Make sure to do everything that the doctor says. I was terrible with that and it took longer for everything to heal up. Good luck with baseball though! I want to hear all about every game! I will definately keep you and your ankle in my prayers. Ankle injuries are the worst. Im sure youre enjoying using crutches in school though ;)

This week was really up and down. I think i told you about Oswaldo and Marina. They are an older couple and they had accepted to be baptized on the 18th. Well we went by there on Friday night and they said that they arent ready to be baptized. It broke my heart. Serioulsy. I almost cried right then and there. It was so sad. So we told them to have faith and keep praying about it. Well, we saw them in church yesterday and they said that they had prayed a lot about it and they will be baptized on the 18th!! I am so happy for them. They are the kindest people in the world and this sunday is going to be amazing. This area is one of the tougher ones in the mission so they are really our only investigators that are really close to being baptized but we are doing our best to help the others.

One thing that i want to say is thank you for reading scriptures and praying as a family. We have a few less active families here in our ward and the thing that is the same with all of them is that they dont read and pray as a family. I testify that reading and praying as a family is the number one thing that keeps a family together and active in the church. Mom and Dad, thank you. You really are the greatest parents in the world. I love you so much. Everything that we are teaching these people are the same things that i learned at home with you.

Elder Clift was feeling really tired and exaughsted this last week and would sleep the whole time during study time. So he asked for a blessing and i gave in one with another elder. He is doing a lot better now. The priesthood is real. Scott, honor your priesthood. We have the power of God with us. Que bênção! What a blessing!

Mom, you should be very proud of me. I think i have eaten more fruits, vegies, and STROGANOUFF here than in my whole life. We have stroganouff almost every day with the members. I know that i was sent here for a reason haha i love the fruits here. They are so delicious but they are expencive. We have a mission credit card and they put  140 reais on it every two weeks. so its 190 dollars per month. I was kind of upset about that at first because we pay 400 dollars but this is the Lords work and i will pay anything to be out here serving Him. We normally eat a tiny breakfast, a huge lunch, and a tiny dinner. Its taken me a while but i am finally getting used to it.

I have one little bit of advice. READ THE BOOK OF MORMON. I look forward every day to the hour that i get to just study the scriptures on my own. I love the Book of Mormon. It truely is the greatest book ever written. I love the feeling i get when i read it. I was terrible with reading my scrptures before i left. I will never go back to that. I missed out on so many good feelings and blessings. 

Abbey, Hailey, and Annie, I love you. I have the best little sisters in the world. Dont ever forget that we have the most amazing parents in the world. Really. We have been so blessed.

The picture that i sent you is great. The sign says, Mr. Dog, teach your owner to pick up your poop. Its probably more funny in portuguese. I enjoyed it haha

Well, I love you all and i hope you have a great week. Keep me posted on baseball and the cougars! This church is true. Jesus Christ is our Savior. He suffered for us so that we can repent and live with Him and Heavenly Father after this life. That is such an amazing blessing.

I love you!

Love,

Elder Taylor

Trevor sends photos!

Ola from Brazil!                  March 5, 2012

Scotty you are such a stud! Thats so sweet that you made the team. You are going to have to tell me how all of the games go and tell all of the guys that i love them and that they better all serve missions because its the greatest blessing in the world. I love you Scott. I think about you all the time. That glove works miracles so dont let it down ;) you are going to love being on the team. Those guys are awesome and you will fit right it. Practice hard and take practice seriously. The only way to improve is to give it your all. I miss those days so live it up for me!

Mom, wife points. Every time i get stuck in the rain my wife gets more beautiful. So right now my wife is gorgeous!!!! Haha its a missionary thing. Thank you for the letters i got this week and the valentines!!! Thank you family, Dad (2), Nat, and Ben and Audrey. I love getting mail! I havent gotten syds emails yet but we only get mail like every two weeks so itll probably come next week.

I had my first zone conference last week. I was way nervous for it but it was really good. And we got to watch 17 miracles. That is such a good movie. Sister Cordon did a really good job of tying it into missionary work. It was a really good conference. President and Sister Cordon told me multiple times that my portuguese is really good and i was very happy about that.

Last week I was able to be part of two blessings. One was one of our investigators who is going to be baptized on March 18th. He is an older man named Oswaldo and i love him so much. He is like a grandpa to us. He had to have surgery on his mouth so we gave him a blessing the night before. The second was our Bishop. he has been having really bad pains in his neck so he asked if we would come over and give him a blessing. it was really good.

I know i ask for something every week and im sorry but i would really like more pictures of our family. i got here and didnt have a single family picture! Sad. Could you please send some this week? I would love that. 

I am absolutely sick of blisters on my feet. THey are covered in them and it hurts so bad. BUt the work is going well and i love it here. Its really hard but thats the way it should be.

Last, but definately not least......HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNIE!!!! (Tomorrow) I cant believe my little best friend is 4. Youre so big. I sent you a letter last week with a little present inside so i hope you like it :) I love you so much Annie Kate. Please please please dont forget about me.

I sent some pictures! One is me and my companion Elder Clift. And some of the Curitiba Temple! I will send more next week!

I love you all and i hope you have a wonderful week. I know this church is true and i love being a representative of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Love,

Elder Taylor

Curitiba Temple

Elder Taylor and Elder Clift

Elder Taylor at Curitiba temple

Pondering at the Curitiba Brazil temple!