{Week 23} La Perla - May 19, 2014

Hi everyone!

So still no baby, huh Chelle and Logan. I knew it was possible that it had already been born, and I was getting so excited I had almost convinced myself that you had already had it! So when I logged on and found out that still no, I was actually disappointed lol! Pero esta bien. It will come when it's time - and I guess really it doesn't make much of a difference to me right now since I won't get to hold it anyway!

And dad! I forgot to mention it last week, but I loved your little poem! I even printed it off and I read it every now and then. I love you dad! And I love getting to talk to you 'once in a while'

So funny story! I made the biggest Spanish mistake I've made in a lesson so far. I was trying to say that 'God knows us really well' - but I accidentally used the wrong word, and apparently pronounced some stuff wrong, so it came out that 'God doesn't taste so good'... oops! Our investigators laughed for about 5 min, and then after that they almost couldn't look at me for the rest of the lesson or they would just start laughing again. It was pretty funny!

And our branch mission leader, Hno Carlos has this huge white van - kind of like the Broadhead bus. And the only seats are for the driver and the passenger. But he and his family give us and our investigators rides every now and then to church, activities, and so on. It's always a lot of fun, because usually there are about 12 of us in the back - some sit on the tire wells, some sit on a spare tire he keeps back there, and the rest all sit on tiny plastic chairs - the kind they have in the nursery. It's always hilarious when there are a bunch of us. And the other day, Hno Carlos had to slam on the brakes, and this one lady, Hna Yolanda, fell off her little plastic chair. She's 52, and slightly round in her figure, so when she fell, she just rolled from the back of the van right up to the front, and none of us were able to catch her or stop her. She was fine, and we all just laughed the rest of the way to the church. It was one of the funniest things ever, and she was a great sport about it.

And we had an investigator in church! (por fin!) Gerardo is 18, and he said he liked it, but he wasn't too impressed that everyone was in suits and dresses. He stayed for sacrament meeting and the first class, but then left before priesthood. And it was awesome, because sacrament meeting was this Young Men's program - all the young men and some of their leaders gave talks about different aspects of the priesthood - I'm hoping that seeing all those boys around his age bearing their testimonies helps Gerardo. We've been teaching him and his sister for about a month before he came to church, and he's not doing great with his commitments - still smokes and drinks, and rarely reads el Libro de Mormon, but he keeps saying he wants to get baptized, and he's always making appointments with us - we live in the same street, so we're always running into him. I'm hoping church will give him the boost he needs!

And sad story. Remember how I told you that there was someone who randomly came to church last week? Well her name is Cynthia. She's 15, and 5 minutes into our lesson with her, she said that she doesn't like being Catholic, she felt something amazing at church, and could we baptize her please! She was honestly so prepared! And then when we finished and asked if she had any questions, she said 'I still don't understand prayer very well. Could you help me with that please?' And then she said the closing prayer. Usually when our investigators do that, they say very basic prayers, and you can tell they feel awkward, and sometimes that they obviously don't believe anyone is listening. But her prayer was so sincere, you could tell she was actually talking to her Heavenly Father. She thanked Him for what she had learned and felt, and asked for His help so her family would understand. And this is where it gets sad. She lives with her Grandma - we don't know why, and her Grandma is very Catholic - she was mad about Cynthia talking to us. And then two days later when we came for our next appointment, Cynthia told us that her Grandma had forbidden her from listening to us more or coming to our church and if she did, she would be kicked out of the house. So for right now, we can't teach her, and it's so sad because she was amazing! She was so interested. We're praying for her and to know if we should try talking to her Grandma. I really hope she gets the chance to be baptized some day. It's so sad when Satan works against those people who are ready and willing to be baptized.

We have this other investigator, Rosio, and after the second lesson, she told us her husband just lost his job, and she and her family are doing really badly financially, so they can't come to church because she has to work. We had just finished teaching her about keeping the Sabbath day holy, so I pulled out D&C 59, which talks about how if we we keep the sabbath day holy and go to church, we will receive the fullness of the earth. It was a really great lesson, and she agreed to come, but then Sunday came and she didn't show, and didn't answer when we went to her house to get her. It's so sad when the people don't trust in the promises the Lord has made for us. I know that when we are obedient, those promised blessings come! He will help us, we just have to have the faith to take that step and be obedient to his commandments.

BUT! By knocking doors, we found this really great family - Rosio and Gonzalo, and their 3 kids (18,11 and 6). When we first knocked, Rosio told us they were busy, but come back tomorrow. So we did, and they let us in! And we were instantly intimidated. Most of the people we teach live in tiny houses and are super poor, but their house was huge! and beautiful! Granite counter tops, a kitchen bigger than some of the houses here, really nice furnishings. So we were intimidated. But they sat us down and were super nice and instantly helped us feel at ease. They are very friendly, and very interested in knowing about us - tons of questions. Unfortunately, we had barely started when some customers came. Turns out they are in the music business. All of them sing, and have been on and won shows that are like American Idol here in Mexico. So they are super well off, and very busy. We sat there waiting for awhile, but eventually had to leave because of another appointment. We tried to bow out quietly, but Gonzalo stopped everything and came over to make another appointment with us. So we're going back tomorrow! They're super nice, and we hope they turn out to be interested.

And I was sick this week! It all started on Monday night, when Hna Zambrano got sick and had to go to the hospital. Turns out she had Typhoid and Salmonella! Then for the rest of the week, Hna Williams, Hna Bravo and I all felt under the weather - diarrhea, headaches, lack of appetite, and almost threw up several times. But we all feel better now! But for a couple days, all I wanted to do was sleep.

And on Saturday, a couple of our street contacts said some pretty horrible stuff to Hna Bravo - thankfully I didn't understand it, and then later on some drunks in a van threw beer at us - got my skirt pretty good. And then one of our members who is ancient and a little crazy was telling Hna Bravo 'her future' and it was pretty dreary. Obviously we didn't believe it, but it was a bit of a downer for her. So Saturday was difficult. Usually is, because there are the tianguis all day, so no one is home and all our street contacts are from different places. And then at 5ish they take the tianguis down, and the streets are filthy with garbage and rotten fruits, and everyone gets drunk, so there are borrachos everywhere. Saturdays are difficult. And dangerous! A few Saturday's ago someone was trying to kill someone in the tianguis and missed or something and killed a 3 year old on accident. Apparently the Mafia is big here... so yeah...

But yeah! That's my week! The good, the bad and the ugly. But I do love it here. Sometimes I have to tell myself that over and over until I believe it, but it's the truth. Despite the difficulties, it's great! I love the members. And I'm learning a lot about myself, and about the Lord and His love for me and all His children. I'm reading in 3rd Nephi right now - I love Chapter 11, when Christ comes to the people. First he tells them who he is, then he calls 12 apostles, and then he teaches baptism! Baptism is truly so important - I feel like sometimes we forget that, and why we take the sacrament every week, but it really is so essential.

I love you all! I love talking to you, and I hope you all have a lovely week back home in Canada. The other day someone asked me to describe Canada, and if we were influenced by that earthquake in Japan a couple years ago... I was like 'no... Canada is on the other side of the world from Japan, so... no, we didn't have any problems...' it was pretty funny!

But that's all for now! Chelle - good luck! I wish you and Logan the best! I know you two are amazing and will be great parents. I'm hoping there will be some good news for me next week informing me that I am now a tia! And everybody else, you're all awesome too. Be good, say your prayers, and take a bazillion pictures of the baby for me!

Love you all

- Hermana Taylor

{Week 22} La Perla - May 12, 2014

Happy Birthday Mom! I love you so much! This week was a little bit different and some of the things that happened made me miss you lot this week.

But first of all, I want to talk about skype so I don't forget later. I should be calling around 5:30 - 6 my time (4:30 -5 your time) on Sunday. I can't wait to talk to you all!!

We didn't have much success this week - none of our investigators are really progressing, and none of the new ones we found came to church. So that's a little disappointing... but this morning we had a junto with our zone, and they talked a lot about the prayer of faith, and really motivated us all to go out and work super hard. The Spirit was super strong.

My zone has three districts, and only 4 Hermanas. Elder Torres and Elder Hammond are my Zone Leaders, and are great. And Elder Evans is in my zone - it was funny because we chatted for a bit and were talking about all the people from home who are on missions right now, but we almost couldn't remember who they were, and we even forgot a few people's names. Another Elder was like 'wait... did you two know each other before?' It was funny and nice to talk about home.

And yeah! I got letters! Jordy, I finally got your Sadie Hawkins story - thanks for sending it. I could hear your voice as a I read it, and it was so nice to know what's happening in your life. And I got two batches of stories from you mom - thanks! and I got one from Diana - thank you so much! And I got one from our new mission president! That was super fun. But his name wasn't on the envelope, so I was like 'who's this from?' And my district was all like - It's your novio! (boyfriend) But it was so nice to get a letter from Brother Stutznegger. Thank you!

So the other night we had 20 minutes before we had to be home, so we stopped by the Herbal Life club of one of our members to set an appointment with her to visit her friend, who was a potential investigator, and she gave us free Herbal Life milk shakes (like she always does). But then this super fat dog walked past outside. (The club is open to the outdoors with nothing more than a green lacy curtain for a door.) So of course we went outside to admire the fattest dog that has ever lived. But then, his owners showed up ... two super drunk guys. So we retreated into the club, and they followed us! They were doing the usual crazy flirting in a mixture of Spanish and English, but seemed relatively harmless. But they kept getting closer and closer, so Hermana Bravo and I went and hid in the bathroom while the member chased them away. It was more funny than anything.

But there were two rather large things that happened this week that made me miss you mom. 

 I'm not sure I want my sisters or the people of the blogging world to know about this first one mom. Just you and dad. It was bad. But I promise I'm ok and a lot more careful now.

We were walking down the street when a guy drove past on a motorbike... and as he passed me he grabbed my butt!! I yelped in shock and fear and disgust... then noticed that in the process of assaulting me, he dropped his cellphone. I picked it up, with all the intention of hurling it as hard as I could. But then I remembered Jeffery R Holland's talk about the missionary with the mashed potatoes, and I knew there was no way I could throw it. So I put it back down and we left and watched as he came back and got it. I was honestly so upset I cried for a lot of the day. I couldn't get it out of my head. I really wanted a hug from my parents that day. One of the other Hermanas shared a scripture though as part of the spiritual thought after our dinner and I can't remember where it was, but it talked about faith in our trials and trusting in the Lord, and that helped me a lot. Before a lesson that we were going to have with an investigator, I said a prayer in my heart, and it really helped, and we had a great lesson about the restauration. But I still couldn't forget about is until that night, when the second big thing happened. 

Our Branch President is about 35, and his wife, Hilda, 34. They have a son, Ismael (15) and a daughter, Karen (12) and Hermana Hilda was pregnant. She had her baby just fine, they named her Camila, but then she was having an operation, and something went wrong and she died, leaving her husband and three kids behind. So for the next few days, we taught all our members and less actives about the plan of Salvation. Hilda was one of those amazing people who does everything in the church. The type that shows up first when you're sick and visits all the less actives trying to help them come back to church. So she had touched a lot of lives, and a lot of people missed her. Teaching about the Plan that God has for us for about 3 days was amazing. Every lesson was different, as different people brought up different parts and different questions. My testimony of the Plan of Salvation was seriously strengthened. I know God has a plan for us, and sometimes we don't understand why things happen, but if we trust in Him and always strive to follow him, we truly can have peace and joy in our lives.

Friday night was the funeral for Hermana Hilda, so we went (and found some new people to teach while there!). The first speaker, believe it or not, was her 12 year old daughter Karen. I'm fairly certain that every single person there was crying as this little 12 year old girl bore such a powerful testimony of the Plan of Salvation, and her knowledge that she would see her mom again. After she spoke, Ismael spoke, and his testimony was just as powerful. He's a bit of a rebel, and his mom has had a lot of worries because of him, and he told us that the last advice his mom gave him was to be faithful and serve a mission, and that he was going to change his ways and do just that. One of the last things he said was directed at his friends. He said (roughly translated and loosely paraphrased) 'Give your moms a hug, and tell them that you love them, because you never know when things are going to change.' I missed you a lot right then mom.

The next day was Fast Sunday, and once again these two kids bore their testimonies. Ismael was in a white shirt and tie - apparently he hasn't dressed like that for church in awhile. And then, in Relief Society, we talked about Mom's! People were going around the room and describing their moms, and the lessons they had learned from them. And of course, the testimonies and strength of these two young people who are now without their mom was fresh in all of our minds. We were almost all in tears again. And mom, I missed you so much right then that I almost wanted to come home. But at the same time, because I love you so much I knew I never would come home early, because you always taught me to do my best, to be obedient, and to not give up. You taught me to always do what is right. You taught me, through your example, to always magnify my church callings, and right now my calling is to be a missionary. Today on your birthday and the week before Mother's day, I am so grateful to you. I love you so much mom! And I can't wait to give you a huge hug in 13 months. But until then, I am going to do as you always taught me and give my all to this work. Thank you mom. Sisters you better all give mom a hug for me!

I love you so much mom. I love the rest of you too:) You're all amazing and I can't wait to talk to you this Sunday. Thank you for your prayers and your love. The church is true, and I am honestly so glad to be here.

Be good, say your prayers, and give your mom a hug.

I love you!

-Hermana Taylor

I almost forgot, but I wanted to tell you about the pleasure I had of eating mole (mo - le ) for the first time. It was absolutely disgusting! It's like a type of sauce, that can be either really runny or like a paste, and it's made from chocolate and chili powder and who knows what else. It's pretty much the most disgusting thing that exists on this planet. And they eat it here all the time! Apparently it's their traditional Christmas meal! I've heard all the stories from the missionaries who had to suffer through it, and the other day was my first chance to try it. I luckily wasn't served too much, and I almost vomited after the first bite. The trick all the missionaries told me is to eat it with a lot of tortilla, but that really didn't help that much. Luckily, the lady who was feeding us left for a minute, at which point I scooped up all the mole into a napkin and hid it in my lap until we left. It was pretty much horrible. May you never have the torture of being fed mole.

Love you!

{Week 21} La Perla - May 5, 2014

Happy Birthday Mom! I love you so much! This week was a little bit different and some of the things that happened made me miss you lot this week.

But first of all, I want to talk about skype so I don't forget later. I should be calling around 5:30 - 6 my time (4:30 -5 your time) on Sunday. I can't wait to talk to you all!!

We didn't have much success this week - none of our investigators are really progressing, and none of the new ones we found came to church. So that's a little disappointing... but this morning we had a junto with our zone, and they talked a lot about the prayer of faith, and really motivated us all to go out and work super hard. The Spirit was super strong.

My zone has three districts, and only 4 Hermanas. Elder Torres and Elder Hammond are my Zone Leaders, and are great. And Elder Evans is in my zone - it was funny because we chatted for a bit and were talking about all the people from home who are on missions right now, but we almost couldn't remember who they were, and we even forgot a few people's names. Another Elder was like 'wait... did you two know each other before?' It was funny and nice to talk about home.

And yeah! I got letters! Jordy, I finally got your Sadie Hawkins story - thanks for sending it. I could hear your voice as a I read it, and it was so nice to know what's happening in your life. And I got two batches of stories from you mom - thanks! and I got one from Diana - thank you so much! And I got one from our new mission president! That was super fun. But his name wasn't on the envelope, so I was like 'who's this from?' And my district was all like - It's your novio! (boyfriend) But it was so nice to get a letter from Brother Stutznegger. Thank you!

So the other night we had 20 minutes before we had to be home, so we stopped by the Herbal Life club of one of our members to set an appointment with her to visit her friend, who was a potential investigator, and she gave us free Herbal Life milk shakes (like she always does). But then this super fat dog walked past outside. (The club is open to the outdoors with nothing more than a green lacy curtain for a door.) So of course we went outside to admire the fattest dog that has ever lived. But then, his owners showed up ... two super drunk guys. So we retreated into the club, and they followed us! They were doing the usual crazy flirting in a mixture of Spanish and English, but seemed relatively harmless. But they kept getting closer and closer, so Hermana Bravo and I went and hid in the bathroom while the member chased them away. It was more funny than anything.

But there were two rather large things that happened this week that made me miss you mom. 

 I'm not sure I want my sisters or the people of the blogging world to know about this first one mom. Just you and dad. It was bad. But I promise I'm ok and a lot more careful now.

We were walking down the street when a guy drove past on a motorbike... and as he passed me he grabbed my butt!! I yelped in shock and fear and disgust... then noticed that in the process of assaulting me, he dropped his cellphone. I picked it up, with all the intention of hurling it as hard as I could. But then I remembered Jeffery R Holland's talk about the missionary with the mashed potatoes, and I knew there was no way I could throw it. So I put it back down and we left and watched as he came back and got it. I was honestly so upset I cried for a lot of the day. I couldn't get it out of my head. I really wanted a hug from my parents that day. One of the other Hermanas shared a scripture though as part of the spiritual thought after our dinner and I can't remember where it was, but it talked about faith in our trials and trusting in the Lord, and that helped me a lot. Before a lesson that we were going to have with an investigator, I said a prayer in my heart, and it really helped, and we had a great lesson about the restauration. But I still couldn't forget about is until that night, when the second big thing happened. 

Our Branch President is about 35, and his wife, Hilda, 34. They have a son, Ismael (15) and a daughter, Karen (12) and Hermana Hilda was pregnant. She had her baby just fine, they named her Camila, but then she was having an operation, and something went wrong and she died, leaving her husband and three kids behind. So for the next few days, we taught all our members and less actives about the plan of Salvation. Hilda was one of those amazing people who does everything in the church. The type that shows up first when you're sick and visits all the less actives trying to help them come back to church. So she had touched a lot of lives, and a lot of people missed her. Teaching about the Plan that God has for us for about 3 days was amazing. Every lesson was different, as different people brought up different parts and different questions. My testimony of the Plan of Salvation was seriously strengthened. I know God has a plan for us, and sometimes we don't understand why things happen, but if we trust in Him and always strive to follow him, we truly can have peace and joy in our lives.

Friday night was the funeral for Hermana Hilda, so we went (and found some new people to teach while there!). The first speaker, believe it or not, was her 12 year old daughter Karen. I'm fairly certain that every single person there was crying as this little 12 year old girl bore such a powerful testimony of the Plan of Salvation, and her knowledge that she would see her mom again. After she spoke, Ismael spoke, and his testimony was just as powerful. He's a bit of a rebel, and his mom has had a lot of worries because of him, and he told us that the last advice his mom gave him was to be faithful and serve a mission, and that he was going to change his ways and do just that. One of the last things he said was directed at his friends. He said (roughly translated and loosely paraphrased) 'Give your moms a hug, and tell them that you love them, because you never know when things are going to change.' I missed you a lot right then mom.

The next day was Fast Sunday, and once again these two kids bore their testimonies. Ismael was in a white shirt and tie - apparently he hasn't dressed like that for church in awhile. And then, in Relief Society, we talked about Mom's! People were going around the room and describing their moms, and the lessons they had learned from them. And of course, the testimonies and strength of these two young people who are now without their mom was fresh in all of our minds. We were almost all in tears again. And mom, I missed you so much right then that I almost wanted to come home. But at the same time, because I love you so much I knew I never would come home early, because you always taught me to do my best, to be obedient, and to not give up. You taught me to always do what is right. You taught me, through your example, to always magnify my church callings, and right now my calling is to be a missionary. Today on your birthday and the week before Mother's day, I am so grateful to you. I love you so much mom! And I can't wait to give you a huge hug in 13 months. But until then, I am going to do as you always taught me and give my all to this work. Thank you mom. Sisters you better all give mom a hug for me!

I love you so much mom. I love the rest of you too:) You're all amazing and I can't wait to talk to you this Sunday. Thank you for your prayers and your love. The church is true, and I am honestly so glad to be here.

Be good, say your prayers, and give your mom a hug.

I love you!

-Hermana Taylor

I almost forgot, but I wanted to tell you about the pleasure I had of eating mole (mo - le ) for the first time. It was absolutely disgusting! It's like a type of sauce, that can be either really runny or like a paste, and it's made from chocolate and chili powder and who knows what else. It's pretty much the most disgusting thing that exists on this planet. And they eat it here all the time! Apparently it's their traditional Christmas meal! I've heard all the stories from the missionaries who had to suffer through it, and the other day was my first chance to try it. I luckily wasn't served too much, and I almost vomited after the first bite. The trick all the missionaries told me is to eat it with a lot of tortilla, but that really didn't help that much. Luckily, the lady who was feeding us left for a minute, at which point I scooped up all the mole into a napkin and hid it in my lap until we left. It was pretty much horrible. May you never have the torture of being fed mole.

Love you!

{Week 20} La Perla - April 28, 2014

¡Hola mi familia! ¿Como estan? Espero que todos estan feliz y que pueden encontrar una guyaba un dia, porque son tan ricos! Les ama mucho, y estoy muy animada para hablar con ustedes.

Guess what! I speak Spanish! Well... almost. Seriously though, changing areas was a huge boost for my confidence. People are always shocked when they find out I don't have much time in the mission, because they say my Spanish is really good! One guy told me he thought I had a year here! Honestly people, the gift of tongues is real! There is no way I'd be able to speak Spanish without some major help. And thanks for your advice dad - I don't want to become complacent in the language because I can mostly communicate everything. So I have big plans to keep studying hard! And my accent is still pretty bad - it was funny because we contacted this one lady, and after I gave a 2 minute spiel, testifying of the power of the gospel to change lives and the restoration and stuff, I asked her if she'd like to hear more, and she said "Sorry, I didn't understand. Were you speaking English?"! So my comp stepped in, but it was funny! Afterwards, Hna Bravo told me that my Spanish had been great, just the accent stinks... so I'll keep working on that!

So Hna Bravo is my new comp! And she's great - super relaxed, doesn't get stressed, we just keep working! She's got a great accent - kind of Italian or something. I think she sounds like Angelina Jolie with an English accent speaking Spanish... if that makes any sense. But she's helped a lot of people here, and I love her!

So my area is tiny - it's a long skinny rectangle, about 2 blocks by 20 blocks. And on Saturday's the two long streets that stretch through the whole area are filled with tinangis! (the outdoor market) It's hilarious and huge, and takes us forever to get anywhere because there are so many people. And the members are great. There is this one family, - la familia Velasco - and they have a whole bunch of people living in the same house, and we go there a lot, because they feed us, they accompany us on lessons, and we stop by sometimes just to use the bathroom! They're great. And there is this other family that is hilarious. They have one daughter, Monse, who is 24 and so funny, and her cousin is always there too - Eric. He just got back about 3 weeks ago from his mission in Chile, so he comes with us a lot for lessons. And our Lider Missional! (ward mission leader) He actually works with us! Comes with us on lessons and stuff! I'm pretty sure the awesome members are why this area has had several baptisms in the last few months. I love them! And we're a branch, not a ward, but I feel like there were more people in church on Sunday than in Aculco, my old ward. Strange!

So yesterday evening, they called all the missionaries in the stake - La P - and their mission leaders together, and we had a fireside type thing about the importance of working with the lider misional. It was great! The person in charge of missionary work in the stake is 21 and just got off his mission 4 months ago. He had some great advice about obedience and bore a powerful testimony. My comp and I had a nice talk after and we've set some goals to be more exactly obedient.

And David! David is one of my favorite people ever, and he was baptized on Saturday! Technically my first baptism. He's 28, and is such a nice guy. He came to a baptism a while ago, and when he saw it, he turned to my comp and Hna Benson and said that he wanted to be baptized, so they taught him! I got to teach him for a week before his baptism, and he is so eager to learn the gospel. He really wants to change his life. It was so inspiring!

David on his baptism day! And us :)

But the baptism was a funny story. It was originally scheduled for 5 on Saturday, but at 4:45 he called us and asked if we could do it at 7 instead, because he was working and wouldn't be done for a bit. So we said yes, but a bunch of the people who were there for the baptism were a bit disgruntled, and left and didn't show up again for 7. So then again at 7 we were there, with several members,and we waited...and waited...and waited... and David didn't show. And he wouldn't answer his phone. So finally, at 7:50 he and his friend Augustine (who is actually an old investigator who introduced us to David) pulled up on their motorcycles. Then Eric (the member who just got home from his mission in Chile) and David went off and changed into white clothes. Eric came out again, but after about 10 min, David still hadn't come out, so someone went to check on him, and he was just standing by the font waiting patiently! He's so sweet! So we brought him out to take pictures, and he told us he was expecting his family to come - and he was worried they wouldn't. But while we were taking pictures, about 10 people came - his family! Parents, siblings, aunts, and cousins. Then we had the service and he was baptized! It was super special and really awesome. I was so happy for him.

Augustine, David, Eric, and Hermano Carlos - our Lider Misional.

Us again at the baptism.

But my favorite part was the following Sunday when he was confirmed in church. When they said 'Receive the Holy Ghost', the Spirit was really strong. I am so grateful for the Gift of the Holy Ghost in my life, and how we can always have guidance and help and comfort - we truly are never alone.

I still don't know if Ismael was baptized - I know he passed his interview, but I'm waiting to hear from Hna Cruz. If he was baptized, I consider him my first and David my second.

But yeah! Life is good! I love Mexico! Sometimes I wake up and look out the window and see 'Mexico' and think, what in the world am I doing here, but the truth is that I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be here and to help the people. I love this gospel!

And I love you all and am excited to skype you! We'll be skyping from a members house - do I need an account to skype you? and if I do, could you make that for me and email me the info? Thanks!

Cuidese mucho, y nos vamos en una semana, cuando vamos a hablar por medio de skype!

Be good, say your prayers, and be obedient!

Love you all

- Hermana Taylor

Now for some pictures of my new home . . .


Our rooftop.
(I'm wondering if those black barrels are their hot water tanks - solar heated?)



The view from our rooftop.

Another rooftop view.

And the final rooftop view.

The view looking down from our roof - we live on the second level, and the bottom level is the courtyard.

The view of the second level.  Members live through the door you can see, and our door is across from them.  Members live downstairs too.

Our 'living room' study.

Our study desks - my desk has my backpack on my chair. (This backpack was Hna Aguilars, but I use it now. It's so hard on our backs to use shoulder bags, so most of us use backpacks.)

Our kitchen.

Our bathroom - it's really wierd to shower without glass or a curtain or anything...

Our bedroom! My bed is the blue one. This quilt was Hna Aguilar's too.

My corner of our closet.

The other corner of our closet. We don't have a lot of plugs that work, so we cook in the closet on the ironing board. And Hermana Bravo :)



We do our laundry - by hand! - here in a type of laundry room that's on the roof of the house  of the other Hermana's. We don't get to use the lavadoras, and instead get the sinks on the wall. My wrist are sore from washing my clothes by hand!

And the view from the roof of the the house of the other Hermana's.

The houses here are crazy - when you come in the door, you are in a type of courtyard, and then there are 2 to 10 different houses that are crammed in there, with 2 - 10 families living in one house. It's crazy! Some, like Hna Zanbrano's and Hna Williams' house are more apartment style, where there are stairs with different people on every level, and some, more like ours, are just houses stuffed wherever they can fit. It's crazy but I love it!

And mom, I was wondering if you could send my another white half tee-shirt, like the one we got at MisH. The one I have is not going to last another year - I use it practically every day. If you can, I'd love another one in size medium. I haven't seen any here, or I'd just buy it myself. Thanks!

Carlee! your letter was so funny! I like your jokes :) And I have one for you! What does a fish do all day? Nada! ....That's Spanish for both 'Nothing' and 'It swims'... hahaha.... :l And I have a word for you! Supercalifragelisticexpialadocious! What does that mean in English? Lol just kidding - Look up hijole - or horale. They say those a lot. I'm not sure I spelt them right.

I believe that's all for today! Love you all and take care!

{Week 19} La Perla - April 21, 2014

HI!!

So this morning, my comp and I got up, cleaned, washed all our clothes and hung them to dry, and then were lying on our beds reading scriptures, when we got a phone call at 8:30 - It was Presidente Morales, and he told us that I had cambios especiales! And I had to have my bags packed and be in the Nessa stake center (45 min away) by 12! So we flew into a frantic frenzy, packed my bags super fast, stuffed my still half wet clothes in a plastic bag, and rushed to Nessa by taxi, and traded comps! My new comp is Hna Bravo from Ecuador. She is 21, and has 7 months in the mission. And her comp, Hna Benson who was Hna Ingram's comp in the MTC went off with Hna Cruz! So now here I am in the Stake La P - pretty much the most dangerous area that they have Hermanas in this mission. We have to return by 8:30 instead of 9:00. My area is called P 1, and we share the ward with Hna Williams and Hna Sanbrown (or something like that). My old area was in the Federal District, but now I'm in Estado de Mexico (Mexico state). I'm super excited to be here but also a bit sad. These last few weeks with Hna Cruz have been amazing. It's like we suddenly clicked and were the best of friends. We had so much fun and I'm going to miss her so much! We both cried a bit. I gave her my CTR ring to remember me by, and she gave me a bracelet. I'm going to miss that area. It's sad because I was there for exactly 3 months today, and I didn't have a single baptism, but this Sunday we were going to be baptizing for sure, and I had cambios!!  None of us are quite sure why there were special changes, usually that means someone did something bad or has a stalker or something, but that didn't happen... But either way, here I am in La P!  It's a lot poorer here, and it's all streets - no edificios and plazas and parks. The house is nice - we live above members again, and it's a lot bigger. I like it!

But now for my final stories about my first area, the beautiful Aculco 2.

On Friday morning at about 9:30, I learned a new word! Temblar! That means Earthquake!! We were sitting there studying, when all of a sudden, the house started moving! At first I thought I was just really dizzy, but then my comp was like '¡Temblar!' and I said ¿En serio? ¡Que Padre! (really? cool!) And then it got stronger, so we ran outside on the balcony, and could see all the people leaving their houses and crowding in the streets. It lasted for about 30 seconds and was pretty strong. It was the weirdest feeling - like the house was blowing in the wind in a circle. Then it ended so we went inside! It was crazy - my first earthquake! We weren't scared or anything - we were actually discussing the earthquakes and storms at the time of Christ's death, and how all the Nephites who survived were huddled together saying things like - If only we had repented... It was cool!

And yeah, Easter here is huge. They have this celebration not far away in Itztapalapa, where a man that has been preparing for a year is chosen to represent Christ for the whole week. They start with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, then the last supper, the betrayal, and the crucifixion, and then the resurrection. And they have people who act like all the people for the whole week - and they actually beat and crucify the guy! Well, they don't kill him and they don't use nails, but everything else is real - carries his cross and everything while a crowd of 'Romans' mock and jeer. It was on the television in one of the houses we were in, so we saw a little bit... It was really... I didn't like it. And the day of the 'Crucificion' was the day of the earthquake.... interesting. But yeah it's a huge party here, but we still worked every day.

And I had my first (and only) scary experience in Aculco! We were leaving the house of a member, when this guy with long hair came up to us and started talking. At first we thought 'contact!' but then he started like singing and dancing around in weird yoga poses, and brushing his hair from his face... and we realized he was high or drunk or just naturally strange, so we tried to leave, but he was following us. Then this other guy who had been talking on his phone came up. At first we thought he was coming to rescue us, but then he started talking in what he said was Japanese, then a mix between Spanish and English, and telling us that he loves the temple and the book of Jacob, and could we get him a copy please of the book of Jacob, and was saying something about the 6:30 session at the temple, and we realized he had problems too! And the whole time the other guy is singing and dancing and throwing his hands up at the sky like he was praising the sun. We tried to get away, but the two of them kind of backed us in between some cars, and then the long haired singing man pulled out some brass knuckles and put them on! We thought they were going to beat us or rob us or kill us or something. Somehow we squeezed past them and were pretty much running away - and they were following - and then a lady came running over to us, and when they saw her they left. She turned out to be a Christian and gave us both hugs to help us feel better. Hna Cruz was almost in tears. But then she also gave us her name and address and an appointment! But I don't know what will happen cuz I'm not there... But it was really scary and pretty cool. The Lord protects us and sends his angels to help us, and through very strange means, we find potential new investigators!

And Armando... remember him? We went to visit him with our District Leader, who at the time was on splits with our Zone Leader Elder Robinson, so that they could tell us if we should keep teaching him... and he was super drunk. It was hilarious the way he talked, calling Elder Robinson 'Senor Joven Guerro' (Mr. young white boy) and me Hermanita Linda (beautiful hermana) and making kissy faces at me. And he kept telling stupid jokes and falling over... It was funny, but at the same time super sad. He doesn't want to change. He had been doing so well, but now... it's sad :(

And Ismael!!! He's getting baptized this Sunday (if he passes the intrevista tomorrow). He's about 25, and has some problems so he's like a child in the mind. But he's so smart and I love him! We have to teach him things like 3 times before he'll understand, but he honestly wants to be baptized. I love teaching him. Hna Cruz told me that I helped him a lot, because he generally understood better when I taught, and I'm super sad I'll miss his baptism. He's honestly amazing. His only problem was * , but when we taught him the ley de castidad, he went home and immediately threw away all *. I love him!

And on Sunday, we spoke in church! Hna Cruz, then Elder Arcia, then us four sang "Did you Think to Pray", then me, then Elder Sibrian. I spoke about the Book of Mormon, because a lot of people here are converts and a lot have never read it. And afterwards, I received so many congratulations on my Spanish! People told me it was excellent! And Hna Cruz told me this morning that my Spanish has honestly improved so much. I was so happy to hear that! I've been studying so hard, and this was the first time people told me I was doing good. That was so nice to hear. And Hna Bravo asked if I knew Spanish before I came, and when I said no, was pretty impressed! She told me my Spanish was pretty good! Yay! she speaks English - like 70%.

And I want to tell you about the fruit. I love mangos. Best thing ever. And naranjas, manzanas, y platonos son muy rico aqui tambien. (It's so hard to talk to you in English! I said oranges, apples, and bananas are really good here too) And Guyabas! They are small and yellow - about the size of a plum. And so good! They don't have a core, the middle is just a pile of deliciousness and seeds - so many tiny seeds. At first I tried to spit them all out, but that's too hard, so you just eat the seeds too. But they are seriously amazing. I don't know if they exist in Canada, but if they do, find them and eat them. I love them!

And Tamales! My favorite food in Mexico are the tamales verdes in tortas. I don't actually know what they are, but they are good! It's like rice... or something and pollo and salsa verde that are cooked in the wrappings of an ear of corn, and then served in a bun (torta - kind of like a hoagie.)

So yeah! Here I am in La P, and I'm going to miss all the people in my old area - Hno Flandez, Hna Preses, Hna Veronica, Hna Carmon, Hno Jesus, Fam Varela, Fam Escobar.... I love them all! And Hna Sam! My landlady! She's on vacation right now so I didn't get to say bye :(

But things are good, I like my comp (all 2 hours we've been together) and this area should be an adventure!

Love you all! Be good, say your prayers, and find some guayabas and eat them!

Cuidese Mucho...

-Hermana Taylor

Book of Mormon: My advice is read it! Seriously that book is amazing. I've been reading it in Spanish lately, and it's cool because sometime I won't understand exactly what it says, but because I've read it so many times and know stories and scriptures, I can remember what it is in English, and translate from there. And sometimes the selection of words in Espanol actually helps me understand better! But I have a huge testimony of the book of Mormon. When we read that book daily, our lives change. There is always something more we can learn from that book, and when we read it, ponder it, and and pray about it, we will know the truth through the Holy Ghost (second last paragraph in BOM introduction and Moroni 10:4-5) I love the book of Mormon and I KNOW it is the work of God.

My district the Monday before transfers. We did a gift exchange.

Turns out Hna Cruz got my name for the gift exchange. She gave me this lovely bunny.

I named it Conejo (rabbit in espanol).

And sorry, but not a lot of photos this week. Next week there should be more! Of my new house and comp and stuff.

Dad! I loved your letter from last week so much that I printed it off and I read it all the time! And mom, just so you know, I always love your letters. Thanks so much for being awesome. The families

of Hna Gutierrez, Aguilar, and Cruz hardly ever wrote. Thanks for being so awesome!

Mom, thanks for working on getting me the contacts and the shoes, and... I'm not sure about the coral ones. If you want to, go for it! It would be fun, but isn't necessary. And the sheet... sure that would be nice too. And the pasta - I would love some! I don't care what kind. We have spaghetti here... but it's different. They do have a really good white sauce that we eat some times.

And Dad: no, I have not been praying for snow. I wouldn't mind some though... Maybe you can send me some in the package.... My comps love the pictures of snow you send me.