June 21, 2010

Hello everybody! How is everybody? Good I hope.

So it has been really hot and muggy lately. It has been not the most enjoyable weather to be out in. As soon as you walk outside you are instantly sweating because it is 90 degrees with 75% to 90% humidity. Pure joy is what this weather brings.... NOT! I really hate the humidity I can handle the heat but the humidity kicks my butt. Well enough complaining from me.

We had a really good week! We got to help a recent convert prepare to go to the temple! It is so rewarding to see what missionary efforts have done for her in her life. She has been completely changed, she wasn't a bad lady before but now she wishes and is striving to live on a higher plane, which is what we all should do. I love her she takes care of us like we were her grandchildren or children. My parents should be very thankful to her.

Last Monday we had a bunch of missionaries come from a ways away. We played basketball from 12:30ish until about 5:30. It was extremely long and tiring. I was exhausted when I went home that night and was happy to hit the sack. We had a good lesson with our baptismal candidate. He is so ready to be baptized. I found out last Sunday that he wants me to baptize him. I couldn't believe it but was very honored. I feel so blessed to be able to baptized another person it is a very special experience.

Elder Gustafson is a funny guy. He and I are really different from one another in a lot of ways but that is what makes it interesting. I love him and he cracks me up all the time. He also is a very skilled teacher. I was worried because some people said he had struggled with that but I think he is great! He is only one transfer older than I am. He is going on 10 months out.

I talked to my mission president about being able to see my sister Brittany while she is down here. He said that I could see her. I can't spend the whole day with her but I can go to lunch with her. I am so blessed to be able to see her. I love her and have missed having her in my life.

I love being out here as I always tell you. Why do you think I love it so much? I love it because I get to share true joy and happiness with people that will be with them through all eternity. There is no "until death do you part" here we preach that through the proper authority you can be together for ALL OF ETERNITY, that's a long time and why wouldn't you want to spend that long with someone you love. I love it and love the change that the restored gospel brings to people's lives.

Carry on everybody! A scripture I read when I am down is Isaiah 41:10. Look it up and it will help you get through you challenges in this life. I love you all!

--
Sincerely,
Elder Zachary Taylor

Pic of me Elder Lesuma and Patti (our apartment manager) on E. Lesuma's last day in Kearney


Pic of the district before transfers


Us and the Lawters


Some boys in the ward. The one in the black shirt is set to be baptized this Saturday and I get to baptize him!


Me and Elder Gustafson, a.k.a. G-doggy dog


Our baptism. Her name is Sarah!

June 14, 2010

Hey everybody!

Well it is the beginning of a whole new transfer and it is weird that I am on my 6th transfer. I say it every time but the time is flying by. I got a new companion.... which I was sad to leave Elder Lesuma because he was SWEET! I will miss him but we both still have a lot of time left on the mission. My new companion is Elder Gustafson. He is a interesting guy but I love him. He is from Rawlins, Wyoming. I hope things will go well this transfer. I will do my best to make everything work well.

Ya last P-day was so cool! I couldn't believe that I got to see Price. So this is how it happened. Me and some elders were eating at a restaurant called Steak n' Shake (I actually ate at the exact steak n' shake while I was on the tour). We were eating there and I saw a big group of kids outside of the window. I remembered that it must be the tour. So after we ate we went looking for Price. I walked into a Panera Bread and he wasn't there. As we were walking away this girl came running out yelled Elder Taylor! She said Price was coming. So he ran over to where we were so it was sweet! I got to see Khol, Chase, and Churro. I loved it! It really wasn't hard at all to go back into missionary mode.

So we are teaching this youth he is 17. He is really cool and would be an awesome missionary. I feel he is going to be baptized soon and he is very open to it. He has some good examples for friends so that is good and he spends a lot of time with 2 boys who are preparing to serve missions. It really is apparent how much examples effect how we act. Our friends really have a big influence on us. I realize now why that is and I feel pretty dumb not seeing it before. Oh well we all learn our lessons later on in life. I was lucky enough to have some great friends that stood by me through thick and thin.

We also met this really cool lady that has been prepared to receive the restored gospel. She came to dinner with us on Monday. She is our apartment manager's friend. Our apartment manager, Patti, is really great! She helps us out with food all the time and she refers everybody to us. I would love to keep in touch with her after the mission.

We also are working with a Recent Convert who has been offended. He got offended at a temple prep class and he is going to the temple in August. He got offended and said he would never come to church but then the missionary that baptized him talked to him and he came to church Sunday. While he was there he got offended by those people again and so he said that he is now staying away. The people that offended him are meeting with him on Tuesday so I hope that it goes well. He is so close to going to the temple and receiving those blessings that will bring him great joy. This is true JOY not that temporary happiness that comes from instant gratification. We tried to explain that to him but he was so mad that he wouldn't listen to us. I'm really happy that he is going to talk with the people who he had a problem with. I really just want him to go to the temple so he can feel that love from Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father that I felt, it is indescribable.

Well other than that things are going really well. We hope to have a couple of people committed for baptism by the end of the week which I think is the most rewarding experience. I love you all and would encourage you to stay close to the Lord. The devil is smart and knows our weak points and attacks them so we need to be strong and push on. I love you all!

--
Sincerely,
Elder Zachary Taylor

Price & Elder Taylor

June 7, 2010

Hello everybody!

I would like to say that I love it out here. I would guess you all are getting sick of hearing me say that every week but I don't know how else to describe it. All I can say is that I love it.

Well this week was really busy. We had to prepare for our baptism that we had all week long. Getting everything set for that was cool and a great relief.

So today we are suppose to go to one of our member's house and "dress"a turtle. We are suppose to help him prepare it to make a turtle stew out of it. He is famous in the ward for making turtle stew so I am really anxious to try it. I don't know what time we will go but I really wanna go. He is a cool older guy who also asked us to shingle his chicken coup.

We had exchanges this week. Nothing crazy happened this time which was kinda of a relief. After exchanges our ZL came to our area and interviewed our baptismal candidate. She is doing so good. She said something very touching to us the other day. She told us that she feels like we are family. She says she doesn't think we will ever know how much she appreciates us. It made us feel very special. We told her how missionaries feel about the people that they teach. We love them and feel like they are our kids and we have had to raise them. I know its weird but I love it and am making life long friends/family while I am out here.

We had some crazy thunder storms one night. They were a long way away from us but the were still cool. There were also a couple of tornado's further up north so it was pretty exciting.

On the day of her baptism she came and the whole thing went well. On the way home things didn't go quite as smoothly. One of our elderly couple from the ward got in an accident right in front of the car we were in. As we parked Elder Lesuma and I ran over to them. The Brother was ok but the Sister was in some serious pain. Her chest and back were hurting. We stayed by her but we didn't dare move her. We both kinda froze and didn't know what to do. I felt really scared because she wasn't in the best condition before the accident. We went to the hospital with them and they came home later that night with a couple bruises. The guy that they hit was in a hurry and tried to turn left before they came. We knew the guy they hit and he is not a very patient or nice person but he was ok. They didn't attend church because they were pretty sore.

The next day on Sunday our bishop's wife went to pick up the lady who got baptized so she could get confirmed. She didn't answer the door. So they sent me and my comp over. She had told us to bang on the door really loud on Sundays because sometimes her alarm doesn't go off. For those of you who know me well you know that this made me excited when I got the opportunity to do it. Me and Elder Lesuma banged on the door for a long time. She didn't answer so I decided that I wasn't taking no for an answer and I went and banged on her bedroom window and Elder Lesuma tomahawk slammed the door. Needless to say she answer the door and was a little frightened until she saw it was us. She got dressed and came to church. Later that night she came to our presidents fireside and she loved it. She is so happy now and I love it.

Well that was the most exciting things that happened during our week. I love you all and remember to keep close to the Lord.

Sincerely,

Elder Zachary Taylor

June 1, 2010

Hey everybody!

I say this every week but I really do hope that everybody is doing well. I am having a great time. Ya I get frustrated at times but that is for the better. I grow in those frustrating times and can change for the better. Everybody just keep your heads up and think of what you can learn from all of your trials.

So this last week was really cool! Our investigator that is getting baptized this Saturday is on fire! She is so ready to be baptized and is ready to make changes in her life that will forever influence he and her family. I am so happy for her and she is really happy for herself. I know that as she keeps on striving to grow closer to the Lord, as she has done so well, that she will find happiness beyond her dreams.

So last Tuesday we had a pretty crazy experience. We went up to this city called Plattsburg and it is not my favorite city I've ever been to. Whenever we go there we feel different but not in a good way. I don't know how to explain it. All I know is that it won't stop me from going there. We did go to this house and as a lady opened the door about 10 roaches fell from the door. It was nasty. On top of that the lady who opened the door wasn't in the best shape, she had a black eye and her teeth were not functional. As soon as we left the porch me and Elder Lesuma realized why we couldn't serve in foriegn missions because we are wimps when it comes to bugs.

The next day was pretty good. We helped build a chicken coup for somebody in our ward. We did the shingles on top and the trim on the side. So now I have done drywall, mudding and taping, and roofing on my mission. I am ready to build a house of my own when I get home lol.

We had interviews the next day. They were great! I really love going to interviews because I can feel President and Sister Van Komen's love. I know that they love us and are a great example of love to us. I hope to be able to portray that love to my investigators. I forgot my binder that had my training I am supposed to give ever district meeting so I was stressing. It worked out though because everybody ended up having to leave before the district meeting could start.

We really have been able to bond with our ward recently. And transfers are coming up so I hope we both get to stay here so we can continue to build from where we are at. I love it out here and would never change it for anything. I love the Lord and that is why I am out here. Elder Lesuma and I have been talking a lot about the difference of obedience because of fear and obedience because of love. We are both working to develop our love for the Lord. Will everybody take some time in their lives to see why they are obedient? I love you all and just want you to be happy.

Sincerely,
Elder Zachary Taylor

This is of me and Elder Lesuma on Memorial Day with our memorial ties.

This is another picture of our apartment manager's grandchildren they are awesome!