{Week 62} Oriental - February 16, 2015

So this has been a pretty eventful week! Lots of fun stuff going on, and I love being with Hna Ramirez! She's super sweet and has a really big heart filled with lots of love. We've been having a lot of fun together.

So to start, I have to tell you about our adventure! This actually happened last week, but I forgot to tell you. When we arrived in the area, we didn't have a cellphone. So Wednesday in the morning we had to go to the Mission Office to get one. When we were coming home, I messed up and we got on the wrong metro train. We were sitting there, waiting to take off when I realized my mistake. So we got up quickly and rushed for the door to get off. Hna Ramirez left, but the door's slid shut behind her, with me still on the train! I had thrust my hand through the doors at the last second to try to open them, but the doors just closed on my hand! And I couldn't pull my hand through because it was holding a packet of pamphlets that I couldn't get through the door. Hna Ramirez and I were both trying to open the door (and a guy in the train was trying too) but to no avail. As the train took off, she took the pamphlets from my hand, I pulled my hand back in the train, and made motions to her to stay where she was, and off I went in the train with her left on the platform! It was super strange to be alone, and my heart was pounding like crazy. I was terrified that she would try to board the next train to come after me. I had to go to the next station to switch trains to come back to where she was. We were probably separated for about 15 minutes. I finally arrived back at the station, and she was there waiting for me! We hugged and it was like a scene from a movie lol. But all is well and I haven't lost her since lol!

And Paquita and Rodolfo got baptized! That was so special. I don't know why, but investigators almost always show up late for their baptisms here. But not Paquita and Marci! They were there 30 minutes early! The problem was that everyone else showed up 15 minutes late lol. 

Paquita and Rodolfo and us!

There were a ton of missionaries there. The elders that found and taught them came to baptize them. They're the secretaries, so while they were here in O--, they were often busy doing secretary type things, so the other missionaries in the zone would help them out and go to their appointments. All the missionaries that met Paquita and Rodolfo fell in love with them, and they all came to the baptism. During the program, Hna Ramirez and I had planned to sing ''Nearer my God to Thee'', but at the last second we invited all the missionaries present to come sing with us. It was super sweet and powerful. The spirit was strong. Paquita cried through the whole thing. The last verse got a little intense when Paquita was crying so hard that she fell off her chair, but her husband and a sister helped her up and all was well. They were both so happy when they got baptized. Then afterwards, they both bore their testimonies. And Rodolfo's testimony was so sweet! Paquita is always talking and crying, but when Rodolfo bore his simple testimony, he got choked up and couldn't speak. It was so sweet to see how happy they both were. 

Paquita and Rodolfo and Elders Vallejo and Bryce.

Hermanas Ramirez, Gurley, me and Cardenas with Paquita.

Then on Sunday they were confirmed - and Rodolfo also received the Aaronic priesthood! They gave it to him a bit faster than normal because on Wednesday the ward is going to the temple in Veracruz (because the Mexico City one is closed) and Rodolfo and Paquita both have several names that they're going to take to the temple to do baptisms. They're both really happy, and it's been great to see the gospel change their lives. And after their baptism, they invited us all to their house for pozole! (which is pretty much my favorite Mexican food)

And we've started to teach Michelle - the granddaughter of Paquita and Rodolfo. She's 17 and really sweet. She's got a really tough situation. Her parents are divorced. She lives with her two younger sisters, her dad and her dad's girlfriend, which live on the second floor of Paquita's house.  We've been working with her a lot this week, and in just one week she has progressed so much! She's praying, she reads the Book of Mormon, she came to a stake activity and her grandparents baptism, she came to church, and we took her to the visitor's center at the temple! Poco a poco she's learning to put her trust in the Lord. Her baptism date is for March 15th (Hna Ramirez invited her to be baptized and put the date - her first time doing it! Wooo!!).  Then on Sunday, after they gave her grandpa the Priesthood, I told her that if she'd like, her grandpa would be able to baptize her. She said ''Wow... okay.'' Then she looked at me with tears in her eyes and told me that she feels like all of this is a huge gift and that she's not worthy of it or doesn't deserve it. I told her that that wasn't true and testified to her that she is a daughter of God and has a divine potential. It has been amazing to see how much she has progressed in less than a week. And we're going to work a lot with her to help her even more. Nicolee and Jessica (2 recent converts in the ward) have been great friends to her and are helping her a lot.

Us at the temple! With Nicolee, Michelle, and Jessica.

This is a picture that they take in the Visitors Center. Hna Ramirez, Jessica, Nicolee, Michelle (our investigator) and me!

Funny stories!

- there's a kid that always asks me how to say things in ''Canadian'' lol

- another kid asked me how I learned to talk with an accent. She didn't believe me when I explained that this is my voice - I didn't learn it, this is just how it is!

- Paquita has been giving us bags of clothes as ''gifts''.  All of the clothing is old and 10 sizes too big though. And the last bag was filled with nothing more than underclothing (bras etc. lol) She's hilarious.

- Paquita and Rodolfo said the opening and closing prayers in church on Sunday... they both started with ''Dear Heavenly Father'' then proceeded to bear their testimonies, then ended in ''the name of Jesus Christ, Amen''. It was hilarious and was hard not to laugh. They say great prayers in our lessons, but I guess they didn't really understand what they were supposed to do in sacrament meeting. lol

It's been a great week. We've been working hard, but haven't had much luck finding new investigators. But we keep working and giving it all we've got! Hna Ramirez is great and has progressed a lot too. It makes me remember my first days in the mission when I often had no clue what was going on lol.

I love you all tons. I hope you all have a great week. Be good, say your prayers, and share the gospel!

-Hna Taylor

New house photos . . . 

Our house!

Our kitchen.

My companion in our study room.

Our bathroom (there are two bathrooms in our house! One for us and one for Hnas Gurley and Cardenas!)

Our bedroom

Our apartment building.

{Week 61} Oriental - February 9, 2015

Mackenzie! Congratulations on your lost tooth!

Jordy, don't worry, about a thing, cuz every little thing is gonna be all right! :)

And say Hi to Kennedy for me!

In the picture, we're eating churros. I love churros!

And I never got the letters from the Activity Day girls...

As you already know, I am now training! It was crazy to arrive at the changes meeting and see the new missionaries - and 3 new sisters! We arrived in style in the back of a member's pickup truck with all my stuff, and had fun meeting the new sisters and chatting with all the missionaries until the meeting started. I always love the changes meeting - super funny to see the reactions of people when they find out that they're going to be comps and who's going to be the new leaders. Hna Luque and Hna Ingram are now comps in my last area, and are the Sister Training Leaders. And my new comp is Hermana Ramirez! She is from Mexico and is 22. She moved to the States at age 6 and returned to Mexico at age 19, so she speaks practically perfect English. She is a convert of 3 years - she learned about the church when she returned to Mexico. She was originally called to serve in the Provo Utah mission, but her visa was denied due to the fact that was in the States illegally for so many years. So now she's my comp! And she's super sweet - she has a big heart and lots of desires to work hard and help the people. She's constantly asking me what she can do better - she has a big desire to be the best missionary that she can be. I love her, and it's going to be great to be companions!

Hna Ramirez and I!

I loved Hna Luque! I'll miss her! (and I believe that's Elders Anderson and Bryce in the background lol)

Hna Bravo finished her mission!  (4th companion)

Hna Cruz finished too!  (3rd companion)

These were my zone leaders in N-- - Elders Juarez and Esplin.

And we're in a new area! We are in a ward called O--, in the O-- Stake (this was my first stake). This was the area that Hna Aguilar was in when Hna Gutierrez was in the hospital, and when we did divisions for a few days, this was the ward I came to. So about a year ago I was in this ward for about 3 days - and every now and then we go in a house or walk down a street, and I recognize it. And several people remember me! Our first day we walked past a street, and I looked down it and knew I had been there before! I remembered teaching some investigators there, and I knew that they had been baptized, so we walked down the street and I remembered which house it was! So we knocked, but it turns out they don't live there anymore, but the person that lives there let us in and let us teach her! It was a great lesson - we taught the Restoration, and the spirit was super strong - she's named Guadelupe and is 18. We had huge hopes for her, but later when we came back the next day, her mom had forbidden her to keep listening to us, so we've had to drop her. But we're planning to pass by again later and see if we can talk to her mom.

It was funny when we got here. When we arrived the Elders gave us a map, but they messed up and gave us a map of the wrong ward. We wandered around, completely lost for about an hour, when we ran into a member that told us our map was wrong. So in desperation we went to the house of Hna J - because I remembered what street she lived on. We got to the street, but I couldn't remember in which direction she lived, so I said a prayer, and the next thing we know, someone shouted ''Hermanas!'' It was Levi, the son of Hna J. He got back from his mission in Argentina about 6 months ago, and is the 2nd counselor in the bishopric. So he helped us get the right map, and showed us where a bunch of members live. So that was a tender mercy of the Lord to put him in our path right when we needed help the most!

This ward is amazing! They are so missionary minded! EVERYONE has a big desire to share the gospel, and they always want to come with us for appointments. I love them! And our Bishop is amazing! On Saturday he came with us to visit some people and it went great. This ward is amazing! I'm hoping I ''die'' here. I love it!

The area is small, but pretty safe, with lots of weird winding streets. The Elders that were here didn't do anything to keep up with the paperwork, so we don't have any records of anything that they did here. But, the members are super helpful and are always helping us know where less actives live.

And we have 3 investigators! Francisca ''Paquita'' and her husband Rodolfo are so amazing - they are 65ish and are getting baptized on Saturday! They LOVE the gospel, and although we didn't find them, we have the great privilege of teaching them. Paquita talks and talks and talks and Rodolfo sits there silently with a smile on his face. They are the sweetest people ever. Today we went over the baptism interview questions with them, and one of the questions is if they've ever committed a serious crime. Without hesitation they both said yes, with their faces very solemn. We were surprised and didn't really believe them (they are so sweet and innocent I couldn't imagine them doing something bad) and so we explained exactly what counts as a serious crime, and they said ''Oh we've never done anything like that. We just feel so bad for our sins that we feel like they are serious crimes.'' It was so sweet to see how much they want to repent and become like Jesus Christ. I love them!

Rodolfo, Paquita, Hna Laura (the stake president's wife) and Asenat (the stake president's daughter), and me!

And our other investigator is our ''niño magico'' - Magic Child. That's what we call the 9 year old less actives that missionaries always want to baptize lol. His name is David, and we didn't know how we were going to help him come to church every Sunday, because his grandma works, his mom is less active, and his step-father isn't a member. Saturday night we went to visit him - and his mom was there! It was the first time we'd met his mom. His step-father had taken his 6 month old little brother in the morning and left, and hadn't returned all day - and was drunk when he took the baby. So the mom didn't go to work because she and the grandma had been trying all day to find the baby. When we arrived they were both in tears and told us that they had been praying for help when we knocked on the door. We prayed with them that the baby would be returned safely, and sang a hymn, and talked a lot about obedience. Later that night the mom called us to say that the baby had been returned, she had broken up with the step-father (he's actually just her boyfriend) and that tomorrow first thing she would come to church. And she came! And we are planning to baptize David on March 7! It's amazing to see how the Lord guides us to the place we need to be in exactly the right moment. The people have such confidence in us as missionaries - sometimes we get there and they look at us, and they say ''The missionaries are here. Everything will be all right now.'' It's very humbling to know that we literally are representatives of Jesus Christ, and we have the great responsibility and opportunity to help everyone.

We live in a big apartment building (sorry, no pictures) and we share it with Hna Gurley and her comp Hna Cardenas! Hna Cardenas will be finishing her mission in March. They are in a different ward. We share the ward with Hna Valdivia who also goes home in June, and Hna Ortiz, who arrived with Hna Ramirez. We don't have a washer, we don't even have a scrub board, so we have to take our clothes to the member's houses to wash them. And Church starts at 9! But we have Priesthood and RS first, then Sunday School, then Sacrament Meeting.

Hna Valdivia and Hna Ortiz - (we found a pink wig in a members house lol)

I'm loving the changes. It was sad to say goodbye to P-- and N--, but I'm happy to be in O--. It's a good area, and I know that we're going to see miracles here. And Hna Ramirez is great.

Love you all - have a great week. Be good, say your prayers, and count your blessings, because we have so many.

Love you!

-Hna Taylor

Gustavo gave us some gift baskets when he found out I had changes :)

{Week 60} Polanco - February 2, 2015

Thank you so much for all the letters! I got a ton and I love hearing from you all! Now to answer all the questions you asked me...

The first time they fed us mole, I ate it all. And every time since then I eat just a bit less - I eat until I know that I'll vomit on the next bite and then I tell the member that I'm full. The people here are always offering food. In almost every house that we visit they offer to feed us. We generally say no because we came here to preach, not eat, but some of the people do get offended when we say no. But if we say yes then we'll be eating about 8 times a day and we'd honestly be wasting time. And sometimes they don't take no for an answer, and they'll serve us a plate of tacos anyway. That almost always happens when we're fasting. Then we have to refuse the food and then they get offended... and then we have to tell them we're fasting so that they don't feel bad, and then we feel bad because fasting should be a secret and we shouldn't be telling people... it's a struggle lol. And if they offer you seconds and you say no, they think you didn't like the food, so we almost always take seconds...

Jordyn, I know you'll get the art award. You're amazing!

Basketball! Carlee and Jennafer, you two are my heroes. It makes me so happy that you're loving the game, and that you're playing tons. Keep up the good work!

Carlee, I haven't the foggiest idea what ''bae'' means.

Richelle, your Christmas card hasn't arrived yet.

I know for sure that my new comp will be Spanish speaking. There are only four sisters coming, and 3 are from Mexico and 1 from Guatemala. Thanks for the training advice dad. I'm going to just work as hard as I can and love her, and I know everything will be great. And I'll try not to walk too fast for her. Remember how I told you that last week we went on divisions? Well Cynthia, the girl I went with, told me yesterday that she got blisters from walking so fast and so much with me, but she didn't want to tell me in the moment. She struggled through huge blisters as I dragged her from one end of the area to the other walking super speed! She's amazing! So I'll try to watch that with my new comp. And I have changes - we'll be opening an area. I know for sure that I'll be headed back to my first zone O--, but I'm not sure what area I'll be in yet. We'll find out tomorrow!

Cynthia and Me - she's going to be a great missionary!

And Addison! Richelle, you have no idea how happy it made me to hear from you and see the pictures and videos of your beautiful baby. It made me cry from happiness. You look like an amazing mom, and I can see how much you love your baby. I can't wait to meet her. I love hearing about her.

So these last few days I've been saying goodbye to everyone - taking lots of pictures and shedding just a few tears. It's crazy to think that many of these people I'll never see again. I'm for sure going to come visit, but it'll be impossible to see them all. This is the first time I've had a chance to say goodbye - my last changes were really sudden and I didn't get the chance to say goodbye to anyone. So I'm enjoying this chance to say goodbye to P- - I was here for 9 months. There are some people I've met here that I will remember forever - it's been so amazing to see the faith of the people in action. I love them all so much. Thanks for those cards you sent me mom, they've come in really handy. This morning we went to have breakfast with the Maldonado Family - my favorite family here. Hermana Maldonado just cried and cried as we hugged and said goodbye. I love them so much. And it's been hard to say goodbye to Adolfo, Edgar, Ana Maria, Gustavo, and Josefina. I love them all tons and it's been amazing to see them progress in the gospel and develop so much faith. Ana Maria finished the Book of Mormon the other day, and is now reading the New Testament. Josefina is preparing to go do baptisms for the dead for her dad and her sister. Gustavo should be getting the priesthood next week. Edgar hasn't smoked in ages and bought himself a suit the other day for church (before he always came in jeans). And Adolfo is preaching the gospel to the whole world - another of his friends was just baptized Sunday by Elders Evans and Chok. It's been amazing. I love them all so much. And Sunday, 15 of the less actives that we teach came to church. That also made me super happy - several of them shared their testimonies with me and told me with real conviction that they came back to stay. I love the gospel so much. It has been amazing to see the changes that people make in their lives when they feel the Spirit testifying of the truthfulness of the gospel. Often when Hna Luque and I see miracles or someone feeling the Spirit and truly repenting and changing, we will look at each other and say ''the gospel is perfect''. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect. I love this chance I'm having to be a full time missionary and dedicate every moment to serving him.

Me with the Familia Maldonado

Ana Maria and I. I love her so much!

And I'm going to miss Hna Luque. Every now and then we'll be walking down the street just laughing. We're trying to figure out how we're going to see each other again - it'll be hard since she lives in the South pole and I live in the north pole lol. She keeps looking at me and saying ''I don't want you to go'' and then we cry. I've learned tons from her - especially how to truly love the people. She has such a love for everyone.

I only have 3 cycles left! That's 4.5 months! I honestly can't believe how fast it's flying by...

Hope you all have a great week. Ustedes son maravillosas y siempre estoy jactando de ustedes a todos. Trust in the Lord and be obedient. I love you all

Be good, say your prayers, and say your family prayers too. Prayer is so powerful and I know that our Padre Celestial hears us and answers us. You should all watch the Mormon Message ''Heavenly Father, Earthly Father'' (something like that) it's amazing.

I love you!

-Hermana Taylor

I got a hole in my shoe... but they lasted me about 7 months!

{Week 59} Polanco - January 26, 2015

Hi Family!

That's really sad about Teina - she was always super positive on our basketball team and was always really supportive and helpful. It's sad she's gone, but if there is one thing I have learned here it's that the Plan of Salvation is real, and that we really will see and be with our loved ones after this life. I've always believed it, but I've gained such a testimony of God's plan for us - I know that He loves us and really does have a plan for us. And if we put our trust in Him and do as He asks, everything will be okay.  Alma 40:12

Dad, thanks for working so hard for us. I'm always praying for you all and that you'll all be safe. I honestly don't miss you all that much...only on Monday :)

I've still got a cough... they tell me that the sun and the cold make me worse... so I'm pretty much hooped because I'm in the street all day long and in the morning and night it's chilly and in the afternoon it is super hot with a ton of sun! The other problem is that the houses here are cold - no heating. A lot of the time it's colder inside than outside. And sleeping all night in the cold doesn't really help...

The craziest thing I've eaten... we ate some pig tongues the other day. It was good, but... weird lol. And I've also eaten champulinas (I think that's what they're called). They're basically roasted crickets... yum... They taste like salty chips, but I really don't like the texture of cricket legs and bodies in my mouth... nasty.

I still don't have a sombrero, but I'm working on that. I also really want to buy one of those twirly skirts that they dance with here :) But I haven't got a clue where I could find one of those.

And as for changes... those will be next week, and I will be training a greenie! So that means I'll be having changes for sure.... the only question is if I'll be training here in P-- or if I'll open an area with my greenie. If I stay in P-- to train, I'll have ONE YEAR in this area! Who knows! But ''I'll go where He wants me to go!'' I'm excited :) and just a little bit nervous!

So this was another rather difficult week... we taught Antonio, but he's pretty Catholic... we'll see what happens. And we found one girl - Adriana. She's another friend of Adolfo. And she's great - a single mom of 2 kids and she loved our message. And then on Sunday after church, we went on splits with two girls from our ward who are preparing for the mission, and we found 5 NEW INVESTIGATORS! The only problem, is that they're all super busy this week (work, vacations, children's events... etc.) So it's going to be a bit difficult to visit them all this week... but we'll work on that! I went with Cynthia and we found: Leopoldo is a 70ish year old doctor that talks a lot and reads more. He's pretty thrilled about the Book of Mormon and is planning to read it all! Marisa is 46 and Carlos is her 24 year old son. They are both super excited to be learning about the Restoration and told us ''We're going to work on this - we want to know if it's true''. And Marta and her 10 year old daughter Jimena are the other ones we found. I haven't met them yet because Hna Luque found them with Isabel, but she says that they're great. So yay! Miracles!

I'm going to miss Hna Luque. She's been amazing to work with. I've learned lots from her - she has such a love for everyone and has this way of seeing the best in everybody. I love her! She's my best friend from Argentina :)

I love you all and hope you have a great week! Good luck with your exams girls! My prayers are with you :)

Be good, say your prayers, and read your scriptures!

love - Hermana Taylor

We had a ward bonfire in our church parking lot. Nobody here knows what a S'more is and they had already cooked the hotdogs instead of roasting them over the fire. lol Too funny.

{Week 58} Polanco - January 19, 2015

So I have good news! The mail works! I finally got that Christmas advent calender that you sent me. It's beautiful! I love it :) It got here a bit late, but whatever!  (It was sent Sept. 22)

Jordy, thanks for your letter! Picture this... you and me in our new house together eating popcorn! lol And I have to tell you! YOU ARE AMAZING! When I saw that picture you did, I just about cried it was so beautiful. Can't wait to see the real thing! And Luque thinks it's amazing too. And she studied art and says that you are amazing. Actually she said ''¡su hermana es una genia!''

The picture Jordyn drew in Art class.

So you wanted to know how hard my mission is physically... at the beginning of my mission I was completely exhausted all the time. But now I've gotten used to it. I'm not nearly as tired now at the end of the day. The only days I feel really tired are the days when no one's home and we walk in the street all day. My area right now is really long and skinny. It's a rectangle - 3 blocks by 40 blocks. So we're walking from one end to the other all day long. And we've learned to walk really fast - I think I always walked fast, but here we're practically running lol. Sometimes when members come with us and walk at a normal speed they get left in the dust. So then we try to walk slow to accommodate, but we feel like we're being lazy or something when we walk slow!

The other day, we were singing a hymn (''El fin se acerca'') with a less active family. I don't remember what it's called in English, but it talks about how the end is near and we have to be prepared - and it's a faster song. We were about halfway through, when Hna Luque accidentally tried to change the melody - she forgot what hymn we were singing or something. It was only for a split second that she did it, but it sent both of us into peals of laughter! We were laughing so hard we were crying! It was so funny! Finally we calmed down and tried to start singing again, but three words into the song we busted up again. The family didn't get the joke but just laughed along with us.

And we had interviews! That was fun - interviews are always fun. I love President and Hermana Stutznegger - they are amazing and have helped us all so much! We can all feel the love that they have for us. Hermana Lopez went home. That made me sad, but it's ok. And several months ago, Elder Gilbert from the MTC (he's serving in the North mission) went home too. So that's two from my MTC district that went home. But when we went to the pyramids a couple weeks ago, one of the elders that we met there is also from the North mission and was one of Elder Gilbert's companions, and he told me that Elder Gilbert will be coming back on the mission in March. So that's awesome!

And on Sunday we went to temple with a couple recent converts in our area - Elders Gerken and Martinez baptized them, but they're in our area now, so we went to the temple and they loved it! And they brought the grandma, who is VERY Catholic, but she liked it too, and we could see that she felt the spirit. We've been trying to teach her, but her schedule hasn't given us a chance yet.

No one came to church on Sunday... and we had to drop almost everyone due to different circumstances. So that's sad, but we're working hard at finding new people right now. Elder Evans and I teach English classes every Friday, and we've been handing out flyers to all our contacts so that they'll come, and one of them actually did and then gave us an appointment! We haven't taught him yet, but we have an appointment this week with Antonio. And we just keep contacting a lot and looking for references. And we'll continue to do so!

Honestly, it's been a harder week... not a lot of people accepted us this week. But sometimes that happens and all we can do is work as hard as we can and have faith that there are people out there waiting for us. I know that there are, we just haven't found them yet.

I love you all tons. I'm loving every minute of my time here. I'm learning lots. I've still got a long way to go, but I've never felt so strongly the Lord's love, or seen so many tender mercies in my life. I know Christ lives, I know He loves us, and I know that He will always help us. Alma 26:12

Be good, say your prayers, and put your trust in the Lord.

With lots of love,

-Hermana Taylor

{Week 57} Polanco - January 12, 2015

Dear Dad, Mom, Richelle, Logan, Jordyn, Carlee, Jennafer, Katia, Mackenzie, and Addison, and whoever else reads these letters:

I cannot believe I've been a missionary for 13 months! That means I go home in 5 months! I feel like I just got here... and I'm going to keep working like I still have 18 months to go. Last night I had a dream that I finished my mission and went home, but I couldn't remember how to speak English and was speaking Spanish in my dream and you all couldn't understand me. And in my dream I missed the mission so much that I decided to serve another one! And this time I was called to Ecuador! And I woke up in the middle of my second mission - and for a few seconds I thought I was in Ecuador, not Mexico lol.

Cambios are February 3 - and 5 sisters are going to come! They are the first new sisters to come to the mission in 11 months! So we're all pretty excited. Two of my companions, Hna Cruz and Hna Bravo, will be going home in February.

Jordyn, I could barely see your drawing in the picture, but from what I could see, it was amazing! Hna Luque thinks so too. And we both think that you are so grown up and beautiful!

Dad, sorry you've been sick. I've had a nasty cough lately. I feel fine, and my throat doesn't even hurt, but every 10 seconds I have to cough. And it sounds like a fake made up cough, but it's real. It's been rather annoying.

And Mom, I did get a new backpack! My last one broke - it was Hna Aguilar's and now Hna Luque is using it. Hna Luque is funny - she doesn't like to buy stuff, so most of the stuff she has people gave her or she saved from the garbage and then fixed it. My new backpack I bought in the tianguis for 80 pesos and is really nice - I'm planning to use it for hiking after the mission.

So this Sunday was stake conference - it was really good! Pres Stutznegger and his wife spoke, as well as the temple president. I really enjoyed it! I remember my first Sunday in Mexico was Stake Conference, and I didn't understand anything. It's amazing how much the Lord has blessed me. Learning Spanish so fast was definitely a gift from Him, and I am so grateful for all the ways He's helped me during my mission.

Stake Conference (photo creds to Hna Stutznegger!)

That's so exciting that Janae's off! You'll have to get me her email so I can write her. I love her so much and I know she'll be a great missionary.

January 6th was 3 Kings day... the 3 Wisemen come in the night and leave toys in the shoes of the children. And everyone eats this bread called Rosca - it's bread formed in a circle, with several little plastic dolls baked in it. Everyone takes turns cutting a slice out, and whoever gets the doll apparently has to buy tamales for everyone lol. Apparently it represents when they hid baby Jesus in Egypt to keep him safe from the king. It was fun and the bread was good! But I forgot to take a picture of it :(Hna Luque and I bought one and the loser had to shower first every day that week. I lost. And the sad part is that we had run out of gas and we didn't have time to buy more all week, so it was COLD water. But we just bought gas again so all is well.

Rosca (photo creds to Elder Smith, who didn't forget to take pictures!)

Plastic doll representing Baby Jesus.

On Wednesday we had to go to Immigration to do some visa stuff for Hna Luque. (She goes home in April!) That was fun, because Hna Gurley had to go as well with her comp, so while they were busy doing the visa stuff we got to chat for a bit. Immigration is downtown Mexico, and it is way different over there. Really pretty and clean... There were missionaries from the North mission and the South mission there as well, so we got to chat with them for a bit.

So our investigators are doing really well... Jorge is progressing really well, but we can't put a baptismal date with him because he has to clean up some crazy stuff from his past first. Estefania and Jesus couldn't come to church, but they're reading and praying and are planning to get married this week or the next so that they can get baptized. And Adolfo introduced us to another friend - Margarita (Maggie). She's amazing and smokes a ton, but is super excited to get baptized. We're working of the Word of Wisdom with her, and I know that she can do it! She's super sweet and LOVED church on Sunday. Thanks to Adolfo, 1 of his friends has gotten baptized and 5 more are taking the lessons right now - we're teaching 2, the Elders are teaching 1, and the other 2 are in another ward. It's been so great to see Adolfo sharing his testimony with the whole world! And Josefina also loved Stake Conference. She's been doing so great and loves everything about the gospel. I love her so much!

We recently read 2 Nefi 4 as a zone. I've read it tons before, but lately we've been sharing it with tons of our investigators, new members, less actives, and actives. It's really powerful and I love the message that it gives. When Nefi wrote it, his dad had just died and his brothers were very rebellious. I love how he says that the Lord has been his support, and has helped him to overcome all of his trials. I have seen the hand of Lord here in the lives of so many people. When we put our faith in Him and do as He asks, we honestly see miracles in our lives! It's been amazing to see the Lord help the people who trust in Him. It's also been really sad to see the people who decide to put their trust in their own knowledge and ideas. It never works, and they always end up worse off. The Lord doesn't ask us much, just obedience and faith. And when we do our part, He WILL come through with His part. Elder Holland said that ''some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don't come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come.'' I know that to be true. Trust in Him, and he will never let you down.

And yeah! That's about alll! I don't have any pictures this week... Hope you all have an amazing week. Good luck with your exams girls! I'll be praying for you! Espero que disfruten su dia y que lo pasen muy bonito. Be good, say your prayers, and study hard for those exams!

Con mucho amor,

-Hermana Taylor

{Week 56} Polanco - January 5, 2015

Our church was at 10:30, but this year we go to church at 8! That means that we leave the house at 7:15 to give us time to pass by for all the investigators! (The majority of them didn't answer/were sleeping on Sunday.)

I have very little time, because once again, we got permission to go to the pyramids! Teotihuacan! They are super cool, and this time was a lot better. We went with Hna Ingram and her comp Santos.

The last time I went we took so long to get there that when we arrived we only had time to climb the Pyramid of the Sun and then we had to go. This time we left super early (7:30) and took a more direct route. We got there around 10, and first went to the Pyramids of Quetzacoatl - the feathered serpent. While there, we ran into 4 missionaries from the north mission (they know Sonntag and Gilbert and Koahler from the MTC) and they were being guided by a member of the church who was giving them the normal tour, but comparing all of it to the Book of Mormon - so we joined in and loved it! He explained that the church has archeoligos that came and studied, and they and some seventies came up with a few conclusiones and that's where he based everything he told us. They believe that the Jaredites built Teotihuacan, but it was actually known as the city of Moron. And the pyramids are the remains of their temple - one giant outdoor temple. And then later, the Lamanites found it and that's when they did the human sacrifices there. And then the Aztecs arrived later and continued on with the human sacrifice tradition. And it was so cool how he explained it! The Pyramid of the Sun is apparently where they did the sealings, and the Pyramid of Quetzocoatl is where the Holy of Holies was. And all the little ruins that they thought were houses are actually the ordinance rooms of the temple. It was the coolest thing ever and completely changed my perspective of the place. He finished the whole thing with a clever reminder that we shouldn't think about it now, but that we need to get married after the mission. It was fun and we all enjoyed it a ton.

With our tour guide.

Then we climbed the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon - and they were both really cool too. Then we bargained a bit with the vendors there and bought some souveniers! That was fun - I bought a ring for 100 pesos - originally it was at 200 so I got him to drop the price a ton! We had a blast!

New Years we had to return to the house at 6, and we couldn't leave. On the first we could leave but only for the food. We slept, studied, chatted... lots of fun!

AND!!! Edgar is progressing really well... and he's got a girlfriend! Lorena is his girlfriend and is a member and is the president of the primary, and is helping him a ton. So that makes us happy :)

And did I ever mention that I got bitten by a dog? The good thing is that it was Pday so I was in jeans - but I almost never wear jeans on Pday. But for some reason I did this time and so when the dog bit my calf, he couldn't really get through my jeans! So I just had a tiny bit of a scratch and a drop or two of blood rather than a mangled calf. It was a member's dog.

I love you all a ton. Sorry that once again it's a shorter letter... but it was a good day and we enjoyed it a ton! Be good, say your prayers, and eat some mashed potatoes and gravy for me!

Love, Hna Taylor