Letter from Elder Taylor's Zone Leader

The following is from Elder Taylor's dad, Kurt:

I am attaching a PDF of a letter we received last Friday from Elder Ephraim Nielson, who is Zach's zone leader. You may recall that Zach has written about going on exchanges with Elder Nielson and has told us how great Elder Nielson is and how much he admires him. We were taking our family out of town on Friday and happened to see the mailman at our neighborhood mailbox. We waited for the mail and one of the letters was this letter from Elder Nielson. So, Rene'e tried to read it to our family as we drove out of town. She eventually made it through the letter, but shed many tears of joy while reading it aloud.

We are so impressed with Elder Nielson and his thoughtfulness in taking time to write to the parents of one of the missionaries in his zone. We are also so very grateful to receive such a wonderful commentary on Zach. I truly believe that our family is being blessed as a result of Zach's service. I love Mondays now, because I know we will get an email or 2 from Zach. I thank each one of you for the influence you have had on Zach (and his sister and brothers).

Love,

Kurt


Here is the letter:

Dear Brother & Sister Taylor,

My name is Elder Ephraim Nielsen and I just wanted to write you and tell you of what a great blessing it is to serve around your son, Elder Taylor.

He hasn't been around for too long but he is already making an impact here in this zone. I got to go on exchanges with him last week and I can tell you that he definitely doesn't seem like a "greenie." I was just writing my parents and told them how it seems that we just keep getting better and better missionaries. They don't need people like us when they keep sending out missionaries who keep getting better that the last ones. Haha. I don't think I could do half of what your son can do when I first came out on my mission. It was a great experience. He definitely has a love for the gospel.

One thing that I like and admire about Elder Taylor is the way he can connect with people. You can just tell that he doesn't teach the gospel for the honors of men, but because he wants the people to have those same blessings. He is genuine and sincere. He knows how to communicate with others in such a way that they can tell that this isn't just something he is doing just because he has to. If all missionaries were like him, it would be a different place. If all the members were like him, man, I think our 11 stakes would double in no time! :)

So I just wanted to write and thank you for raising such a great son. He talks a lot about you and I know that he wasn't this way "just because." Thank you for your faith and diligence. I hope you also have a Merry Christmas.

Love,
Elder Ephraim Nielsen