{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!

Mothers' Day - May 11, 2014

We got to Skype with our missionary on Mothers' Day!!!  We knew the call would be coming some time between 4:30-5:00pm our time.  Around 4:30 she sent an email saying "Hi - are you there?"  She said she was just waiting for her companion to finish up skyping her family and then she would be on.  Her call came through at 4:45.  We didn't hit the Receive button though until everyone was in the room.  And then, wham-oh!  There was our beloved missionary's face on the computer screen!

 

 

We all made a bunch of noise at this point - kind of a combination of "hellos" and "there you are" and "how are you doings" and "oh you look so good" - from nine people all at the same time, interspersed with lots of laughing and giggling through the tears.  Most of the tears came from Jazzy - she was wiping at her eyes for a couple of minutes.

 

It was funny to listen to Hna Taylor laugh at her big sisters pregnant belly.  The baby that will make our missionary an aunt for the first time is due in 12 days.

 

Seven sisters together again for an hour - love technology!

 

We took some pictures but I forgot to take pictures simply of her on the computer screen, so these are some screen shots of some videos we took.  {So don't try to press play!}

 

 

She introduced herself to us as she would to investigators and babbled on for awhile. None of us understood anything, although we got the gist of it - but only because we knew what she was saying!

 

Her lovely companion came on the screen for a few minutes.  Hna Bravo speaks about 70% English so we were able to communicate with her.  It was so cute - she was standing behind Jazzy and playing with her hair while telling us that she loves our daughter and that she's such a hard worker.

 

We also met the lady of the house who was letting the missionaries use her computer to skype  home.  All we could do was wave and say Hi because we don't speak Spanish.  But we sure appreciate her for sharing her computer.  We only lost contact once but it was quickly re-established.  The sound and picture would freeze from time to time, but generally is was pretty good.

 

Jazzy told us lots of details about her daily routine and details that don't make it into the weekly email.  She works out every morning for 30 minutes - she showed us her bulging biceps.  She usually has cereal for breakfast, but once in awhile she cooks pancakes - she's a closet pancake cooker.  It was fun to watch her struggle sometimes to remember the English word for what she was trying to say.  Like when we asked her how you knock on the doors when all homes have locked gates/fences or big garage type doors closing them off - she couldn't remember the word for door bell. 

 

We asked her about the last earthquake on Thursday.  She said that actually they have had 3 recent earthquakes, but they slept through one of them.  She was at the church for the last one - up on the second floor.  She said it was really weird to try to run down the stairs to get out while the stairs were moving.  They had just been handed out mail from the DearElder pouch.  She said the ZL was handing them out to the missionaries, saying, "A page for you, a page for you, and one, two, three, four . . . eight, nine pages for Hna Taylor." She was pretty excited to get so much mail.  So when the earthquake struck, she grabbed her letters and her scriptures before getting out!

 

The room she was in had a corrugated tin roof.  Those houses get really hot.  She said they're so hot when they go to bed that they don't use covers.  But in the middle of the night they wake up freezing and need their blankets.  Dad suggested that we might all like to go see her mission areas some day and she said that she wouldn't want us to.  It wouldn't be safe for her blond sisters.

Missionary Mom and Dad - we loved seeing our happy girl!

 

The first twenty minutes went by nice and slow, but the last half-hour flew by, and then it was time to say our good-bye's until the Christmas skype.  We each took about 30 seconds up close at the screen with her to say our personal farewells.  This was the most emotional time, but as my Grandpa used to say, "You can't have the joyful reunions without the tearful good-byes".

 

 Best Mother's Day gift ever!!!

{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.

{Week 18} Aculco - April 14, 2014

I love you all so much! Thanks for the letters everyone. And Dad thanks too. I love hearing from you and I felt the Spirit and your love when I read your letter. (yeah, I cried)

  

So tomorrow is transfers, but my comp and I don't have cambios. We'll be together for another 6 weeks! I've decided I'm happy for that. We have another 6 weeks to learn to talk to each other and get along better. She was sick this week (doesn't that sound familiar?) and on Thursday we went to the temple to see the doctor, who ordered her to bed rest for all of Thursday. It's the favorite joke of my district and my ward that I 'kill' all my comps. It's pretty funny. Everyone is always telling Hna Cruz to be careful with me.



Me at the Mexico City Temple

The temple was so beautiful. I love going there. The feeling is great. And we took a taxi to get there, and ended up having a great talk with the driver about the gospel.

(Unfortunately, she probably won't be able to go in this temple. 
 It closed for renovations in January and isn't expected to reopen until late 2015.)

On Friday I went on splits for the first time! Hna Mendoza - the sister training leader for our zone who only has 6 weeks left - came to our area with Hna Cruz, and I went to her area with Hna Williams (who has 6 more weeks than me)!  So there were two tall blond white girls together in an area where the guys just looove to catcall. So that was fun. We taught some lessons and contacted and chatted! It was really nice to be with her and I learned some stuff from her in the one day we were together. She's super sweet, but has cambios. Tomorrow she'll no longer be in my district.

My district. Left to Right - Arcia, Sibrian, Cruz, Me, Nance, Mendoza, Williams, Cardenas, Bennett, Mercedes, with Hunsaker in the back and the DL Elder Perrea in the front.

And on Tuesday we had to go to the immigration offices to finish visa stuff. So we had to be at the mission offices by 7:30 am, so we had to leave at 6! Then all the Americans, one elder from the Dominican Republic, and one Canadian (me!) all said adios to our comps, who hung out in the offices all day while we all went to immigration! That was fun - a herd of white people. There were about 18 of us. And Elder Hixen was there! I was so happy to see him again. He's a great elder, and has baptized almost every week. In case you don't remember, he was in my district in the MTC and was one of my zone leaders there. So it was Bennett, Lopez, Hixen and me - half our MTC district. Hna Gurley was scheduled to go the next day so wasn't with us. And then when we went to the temple, Elder Hixen was there too! I got to see him 2 days in a row!

Something that made me pretty sad this week was our investigator Armando. He's about 38 and a sweet guy. We've been teaching him for a while, and he was supposed to get baptized yesterday. He passed his baptismal interview, he was excited, and then Saturday night he told us he wasn't sure. Sunday we went to get him to bring him to church, and he wouldn't open the door. That was pretty sad. The church is true, and it's so sad to see people who know it's true, not want to change their lives. And then our other 2 investigators didn't come either. And another just left on vacation until May. So that's been kind of depressing. But somehow, I now have a renewed determination to work harder than ever. Hopefully I'll be able to communicate it to my comp, and we'll work harder than ever!

And Mom, about the shoes - I would love another pair of the Kadee crocs in black. They're the comfiest shoes - the clarks rub the side of my foot funny, and aren't great for all day walking.

Have I told you about Hno F? He's the old bishop, and is now the first counselor. He's one of the 4 men in my ward that have served missions, and he's awesome! He's funny and really smart, and he helps us out a lot. He was the one that was going to feed us tacos de tripe on Thursday, but my comp was sick so we missed out. Rayos. (that means 'lightning', but they use it like 'dang it' here)

But things are looking up! Obviously there is something that we can still do in this area to help the people, or we wouldn't still be here. There was a rumor going around for awhile that they were going to close our area because there hadn't been baptisms in so long. But we're still here, and I'm determined to work harder than ever. We taught some members about patience the other day, and I'm doing my best to have patience and faith in the Lord's timing, and until then just keep working as hard as I can. We've had some amazing experiences here, and I know that God is on our side. Did I ever tell you that I read Jesus the Christ about a month ago? That was amazing. I highly recommend it - but if you don't have time, just read the beginning, the end, and the part about the sermon on the mount - particularly the Lord's prayer. Seriously amazing.

Me at the Visitors' Center

I love you all!

Be good, say your prayers, and have patience in all things! Mom if you're still reading Preach My Gospel, the part in the attributes of Christ about patience is pretty awesome. I recommend it!

Love you!

-Hermana Taylor



And now for some more pictures . . .

My kitchen. We have a blender, a fridge, and a stove.

The other side of my kitchen. Food!

Hna E - a less active convert of 4 years, who is the sweetest old lady you'll ever meet. She has cancer :(

THis area is called Aguamiel, and is pretty typical of my area. Big edificios and large plazas

  

The view from the top of one edificio - the green tents are the tiangis - the outdoor markets that are there everyday.

 The tiangis again.

  



This little girl is my favorite! Pretty sure she's the Mexican version of Katia. Her name is Sophia.

We were in an investigators house and she had a coconut monkey! I had to take a picture. Were your coconut monkeys like this mom? and yes I did get your FB letters from Hawaii and the mission experiences. Thanks!

 

It's hailed twice.

Daniela,Hna Cruz, Andrea, and me! I love this family - the V's. They are amazing and their kids are all really sweet. I sent this because we fit 5-6 people in the back of a car on a regular basis. Seatbelts don't exist here.

 Love you all!

{Week 17} Aculco - April 7, 2014

Hi Family. And everyone else. How's it going?

I received a letter from Brent and Janice, and Denyse. Thanks so much! It was fun to see what's going on in your lives :) AND I got one from Jennafer! Penny! Thanks so much! I'm so happy to hear from you and I'm glad basketball is going well! I can't picture you with holes in your ears and gunk on your face, but whatever. I'm sure you look beautiful.

The scariest thing that has happened was... I can't think of anything. My area is pretty tame. Apparently I'm in the safest zone and one of the safest areas. The most I get is everyone calling me guerra or guerrita (White girl) and some guys will say things like 'oh look at the precious guerrita. Que bonita guerrita.' It's more funny than anything.

I haven't eaten anything really strange yet, but I have an appointment this Thursday to eat tacos de tripe - intestines (I'm not sure of which animal). Apparently it's really good... I have my doubts.

I haven't been sick at all, but I have been pretty tired lately...

And Hermana Cruz.... She's been having a tough time because she misses her old area where she was for 7 months, and because she feels like we can't talk, and apparently she's used to joking and laughing with her comps. Unfortunately I barely understand Gospel Spanish let alone jokes, so she feels pretty alone, which has made it difficult for her to focus on those we teach and feel the Spirit. She told me that I'm her toughest comp so far. And I don't know... we just don't click. She won't give me any advice for weeks, even when I ask for it, and then she dumps all the things I need to do better on my head all in one evening, which makes me feel overwhelmed and sad... It's all good advice, but all at once it's pretty overwhelming. And basically we just don't talk. We walk in silence.... everywhere. So obviously, it's difficult at times to have unity in lessons when we're both mad at each other. But the other night we had a huge talk, and things have been better since then. She's really good, she's just having trouble with focusing on the work, and my lack of Spanish doesn't make things any better.

But on a happier note, wasn't conference amazing? The English speaking Missionaries all went in a side room to watch on our own TV... but when it started it was in Spanish! but we figured out how to change it. But then, after Elder Holland's talk, our TV cut off, as well as the feed to the chapel. They were able to get the Spanish going again, but not ours. But ironically, we were rescued by a disobedient missionary who had an Iphone... he tuned into the internet, we plugged into a speaker, and then listened to the first session in English. The second session went without a hitch. Sunday morning, we didn't get a TV and all crowded around a computer in the family history center... but the internet was too slow, so we just listened again, and the same for the Sunday afternoon session. But the internet died with about 30min left in the session, so we missed the last speakers. But other than the technical difficulties, wasn't it awesome! I especially liked Holland, Uchtdorf, Bednar, and Pres Monson's remarks in the Sunday morning session. I was so sad when conference was over. I loved it. I was so happy to get to hear it in English - and I can scarcely wait for the Liahona to come out so I can study the talks. We get Liahonas every month which is nice. And 2 of my investigators came to the Sunday morning session! I was pretty ecstatic about that. Although apparently they almost fell asleep... yikes.

The language is coming along... I can say pretty much everything I need to in lessons, but apparently my accent is pretty bad and people have trouble understanding me sometimes...I'm working on that. And I'm still pretty lost in everyday talk. I can do the basics... but I think that's going to take some time.

And the other day we were walking, and Elder Sibrian nudged my foot funny so I stumbled and my shoe fell off. So I promptly grabbed my other shoe and chucked it at his head. (Don't worry people - they're croc flats so they are super light. It didn't hurt him. much.) It was pretty funny. Maybe not exactly appropriate but... yeah.

I love it here. This last week has been pretty hard with my comp... but we have 3 investigators who are progressing, and it looks like one will be baptized this Sunday!

My comp was super excited to see the Stutznegger's photo, and so was I. She thinks he looks Mexican. (this was a picture of their future mission president and his wife by the map at the MTC) 

And the house looks so good! You're awesome Dad! Nice job!

Mom, thanks so much for your letters. I love reading them every Monday.

Richelle and Logan, love you both! be good parents for my niece-nephew (why isn't there one English word for your nieces and nephews? Like grandchildren... that's not gender specific. niece and nephew... it's a mouthful)

Jordy and Smalls, be awesome. That is all.

Penny, I haven't forgotten about our movie night!

Katia and Mackenzie. I wanted to tell you both how much I love you and I hope you're having a ton of fun back home. Do something awesome for me and send me a picture!

And Dad. How was your mission? How many baptisms did you have? What was it like living in a different country so far away from home? How was the language for you? Did you have some difficult comps? What helped you? I want to know EVERYTHING! Thank you so much for your example to me. It's because of the stories that you've told us that I've always wanted to serve a mission. With time, my reasons for wanting to be here have changed, but your stories are what planted the desire. I love you!

I don't know what else to write... Things are good. I'm trying to work hard and study hard. I think conference inspired my comp to want to work again, and I know it helped me a ton. I finish my training this week. I've been learning a lot about faith in the Lord's timing, and not our own. D&C 63:9-13 and D&C 24 have been really inspiring for me lately. I love the work and the people, and I love you all! I look forward to talking on Mother's day - how are we going to do that? do we still have skype? and Saturday or Sunday? And Richelle, you need to have your baby before or after Mother's day. I'd prefer before, but you're not allowed to be stuck in the hospital when I call home, ¿Sale? (ok)

But honestly things are good. Like Uchtdorf said, be grateful. I have a comfy bed, my Spanish is slowly getting better, the food is good, we got to listen to conference, I'm getting a tan, I feel the Spirit tons, I'm learning a lot, and we have hot water again! (we've been showering in cold water for the last 3 weeks). Tons to be grateful for :)

I love you all. I love Mexico, and I love my companion.

Be good, say your prayers, and love everyone. And Jenna get another 3 pointer for me!

Until next Lunes,

-Hermana Taylor