Transfer to Boa Vista!

Bom dia!                                   March 25, 2013

Well, I thought I was going to stay in Ala 2 with Elder Veiga for one more transfer but we got the call Sunday afternoon that I was going to be transferred! So now I am here in my new area: Boa Vista! I am with Elder Eddington. He is from Spanish Fork and hes hilarious. Im going to love this time here. I havent gone very far from where I was before. I am still in Curitiba and I am just north of Ahú. My last area was just south of Ahú. This is a great area because there is not a single apartment building. I love the country!

Last week was pretty normal. We had to run around getting things done and trying to find people to teach. We found these two Mexican girls and I was so excited to teach them but then I got transferred. We were planning everything and we had all the material to teach them in Spanish. But oh well, the Lord has prepared people in Boa Vista for me. I am still a zone leader and now I have a whole new zone. I am so excited!

It was so hard to say goodbye to Ala 2. It was a hard area but I learned a lot and I grew to love a lot of the people there. The sad thing was that Eduardo and José were both on vacation this week so I couldnt even say goodbye to them. I will write them and tell them that they need to endure to the end! I said goodbye to Bishop Heber last night and he just about cried. He said that when I got to the ward, the spirituality went way up. He said that I need to keep being the great young man that I am. Then came the best part, his wife wrote in my rememberance book and said that the Lord must be preparing a wonderful young woman for me and that we will be awesome parents. Haha it was so funny. But its so true. The Lord is preparing one for me. Her name is FLF. And only she will understand that ;)

I learned this week that we really dont need to know ´everything´ to be a great missionary. We just need the Spirit and a desire to serve with all that we have. The bishop didnt thank me to teaching everything that I know or for having fun activities. He thanked me for bringing more of the Spirit to the area and for helping the people to feel that. The Spirit really is the most important thing in this work.

Well, I love you all so much. I had a dream this last week that Annie got hurt really bad and Elder Veiga said that I was yelling in my sleep. Yep. I love that little goob. And all the rest of you. I know that this really is the work of the Lord. And that this time is flying by. This is probably my second to last area. I cant believe that. But I just gotta keep giving it all that I have and pray that the Lord is happy with my work.

I love you!

Love,
Elder Big T

New comp - Elder Eddington!

Changes in Curitiba

Bom dia!!                                  March 18, 2013

Scott, Im so proud of you for getting your patriarchal blessing. I know that it will be a blessing to you for your whole life and especially on your mission. I will admit that I didnt study it very much before the mission but now I really know that God knows each one of us personally and that he expects a lot out of us. Keep being the great kid that you are. You have a lot of potential and God has given you a lot of gifts. Use them the best that you can to bless the lives of others. I love you man. Youre the best.

Today marks the 1 year mark that Oswaldo and Marina were baptized! I have already gotten permission from Pres. Cordon to go to their sealing but now I am just waiting to hear when they will be sealed. Its so crazy to think how fast time has gone by. I love that family so much and I know that Im going to bawl like a baby when I see them in white. (For the second time) ;)

We are really starting to work better with the members here. During lunch we always give a short message but now we have changed our focus and we are starting to make them make a list of 10 people that they know that they can share the gospel with and we are getting referrals! The work really is going foreward! We had a good week and found a knew family to teach. Their names are Eloisa and Euzébio. They live in Matto Grosso which is a different state but they are here because Euzébio is getting treatment for a disease that he has. We found them doing contacts and taught them the Restoration this week. We marked baptismal dates with both of them for April 7th! Right during general conference. Nothing better. We have transfers next week and I have a feeling that Im going to be transferred. But we will see. You never know whats going to happen with Pres. Cordon.

Things are really changing here in Curitiba. I think that our stake is going to change completely. Yesterday we went to the church early to get a ride for one of our investigators and in came Jairo Mazagardi. Hes a general authority and in the Brazil Area Presidency. He watched both Sacrament meetings and spoke in Jardim Botânico. It was way good. But General Authorities dont just come here to hang out. I think there are going to be a lot of changes. I got to talk to him before the meetings started and he asked me if I was a good missionary haha then he gave me a huge hug and thanked me for the work that I am doing. It was really cool and he said that we are blessed to have Pres. Cordon. Amen to that. When he spoke in church he said one thing that hit me hard. He said, ´Parents, teach your children to pray. Their prayers are stronger than yours´. Its so true. Children have true faith. He talked about a lot of examples of how his children prayed and received answers. Mom and Dad, thank you so much for teaching me to pray when I was little. I know that it has blessed my life. I know that God answers our prayers and that he is always listening.

Well, I love you all. Its starting to get really cold here so Im guessing that its heating up there. Enjoy it! I know that this is the work of the Lord and that He is protecting me. I feel it every day.

I love you!
Love,
Elder Taylor

Bom Dia ! March 13, 2013

I'm sure you're all wondering why I didnt email you on Monday. Well, we got up and were getting ready for good ol P-day and we got a surprise call from the assistants telling us that we would be going to the temple! So we went to the temple and are having our P-day today. It was so good to go to the temple again. I really do know that the temple is the house of the Lord. And now I still have gone with every single one of my companions. I think I just set a record. 

Im not going to lie, this was the hardest week of my mission so far. Not because of my health or even my area but because of our zone. We spent 3 days in a row this week in other areas trying to fix the problems that are going on. It was ridiculous. This last month our zone baptized the second most in the mission. It was awesome. But the bad thing is that Satan knows that we are doing well and it seemed like he threw everything he had at us this week. I have never been so exhausted in my life. We still havent gotten everything fixed but we are getting there. We also had the zone leader counsel this week so our area has not had very much work. We have been working so hard to make this area better and we just gotta keep going. We had zone meeting yesterday and we decided that what we need is a zone fast. So we will be doing that this week to stay strong and to keep our eyes on the prize. We are actually doing really well. There are just little things that are going on that, as zone leaders, we have to put a stop to. But I am doing great and the work is going foreward.

I still havent gone to the doctor yet. He hasnt called me but I will call him today to see what I can do. Thank you so much for your fasting and prayers. I know that everything will work out.

One thing that I learned this week is that nothing can stop this work. We had a hard week and yet we still found new people to teach and we are still doing well. Nothing can or ever will stop this work.

Well, I love you all. I hope that you all know that I know that this is the work of the Lord. I know I am where I am supposed to be. I love you all so much.

Love, Elder Taylor

PS. Thank you so much for the packages. I loved all of the Valentines treats!

Bom dia!

March 4, 2013

What a great week! First, Eduardo was baptized! It was a great baptismal service and his girlfriend was crying the whole time. I was able to baptize him and while we were changing clothes he kept saying, Im so happy. It was so so so so good. The bishop here already planned his interview to receive the priesthood next week. We had lunch with Eduardo and his family after the baptism and it looked like he was shining. This is what its all about. He changed his life and now he is so happy. This week he asked us why God made him wait so long to hear the gospel. He said that he would have liked to serve a mission. But we talked to him about it and told him that it was his time right now and that he can still serve a mission by telling his friends and family about the gospel and then teaching them with us. He is such a great man.

This week we had an incredible lesson with a new investigator. Her name is Klisie and we contacted her last week. Well, she lives alone so we took a less-active member to teach her with us. The lesson was amazing and she had tears in her eyes when we said the first vision. But the best part was that she told us that she usually doesnt give her name or address to people. She almost always lies about it. But she said that when she talked to us, she felt so peaceful that she couldnt lie. She said that it was the first time that she has felt like that in her life. We marked a baptismal date with her and she accepted very quickly. She really wants to follow Christ and she even said that she has a cousin who is a member in the USA! 

Well, Annie, youre gettin big. It makes me so sad. But I hope you have the best birthday ever. We are going to make cake today because a sister in our zone will have her birthday tomorrow. But secretly I am making this cake for you....I love you so much Annie. Dont you dare forget about me. 

I love you all so much. Scott, sorry the mullet has to come off. But it will rest in peace. Just remember that in the ressurection not a hair on our head will be lost. It will come back!

Dad, good luck with the new calling. You will be great. Tell all of the young men that I love them and that they need to prepare to serve missions. The lord needs them out here!

I love you so much and I know that this is the work of the lord. Theres nothing better than bearing your testimony about the truth of this gospel. I love it. 

Love, Elder Big T.

                                            Batiiiiiiiiismo!     Eduardo's baptism

Bom dia!

Bom dia!

Well, my surprise was totally ruined this week by the leaders of the church haha Just kidding. I was so excited to tell you all about how the mission is going to split but you already know! But I will tell you how we learned any way. We got home Tuesday night and got a phone call from President Cordon. He said, Elder Taylor call your whole zone and put them on a conference call with me as soon as you can. We have some important things to talk about. I got way nervous haha but i did as he said and then he announced that the mission is going to split! We still dont know the boundaries or who will go to which mission but its an exciting time and I cant wait. After everyone hung up, President Cordon told me to stay on the line for a minute. He talked to me about how I need to keep being a strong example to not only the zone but to the whole mission. Im not sure what lies in store for me but I am praying for strength to be the best leader that I can be.  I love this work so much. Its hard, tiring and sometimes we get ice cubes thrown at us haha but its the best. I know that this is the work of the Lord and that I am one of his many representatives on this earth. I only have 9 months left and I need to make these the best 9 months of my life. One thing that really helps me to keep going strong is that before we left we had everyone write on those 3x5 cards in the book. Well, both of the Mouritsen girls wrote, No regrets. At first I thought that was just cliche haha but I am now realizing how important it really is. I cant leave any regrets out here. 

We will be having a baptism next week! My asian! Eduardo is finally ready to be baptized! We were talking to him about it and his girlfriend said that he could choose who he wants to baptize him and he looked at me and said Elder Taylor of course! haha I love him. He is so excited and so ready. He is even starting to read D&C. Josè blessed the sacrament yesterday for the first time. He had to repeat it 3 times but it was so cool to see him up there blessing it. The work in Ala 2 is really going forth.

I want Scott to know that I am so proud of him. Mom and Dad, he has taken a while to get his patriarchal blessing because he knows how important it is. Thats something that I admire in him. I remember when I got mine that I didnt really know how important it was. But now I do and I can promise that it will guide your life Scotty. I have already seen how it has blessed my life and that it really is a blessing from God. 

Working with Elder Veiga has been great. He is a hard worker and we have decided that what this area needs is a weekly fast. We have already seen miracles with the new people that we have found and the people that we are teaching. Our zones baptismal goal for February was 12 and we got our 11th yesterday. We only need one more. The month will end this week but we have two people in the zone that are getting ready to be baptized on Wednesday. It will take a miracle for either of them to be baptized but I have already seen enough miracles to know that God can do anything. I know that he can help these two people to be ready.

Well, I love you all so much and I know that this is the work of the Lord. The Bishop here in Ala 2 said that I cant leave this area till the end of my mission so it looks like I will be here for a while but thats fine with me haha I know there are people in every area that are being prepared to hear the gospel. Some by missionaries and some by angels. I really believe in that. I know that when we work hard and do our part that the Lord will do the rest. Its the same way with the Atonement. Do your best and the Lord will do the rest. 

I LOVE YOU!

Love, Elder Big T.