So Summer has been way busy missed like 16 weeks of posting during that time Taylor has been in the Mission Office as the Financial Secretary so not a lot I will post some of his "cool Stories and pictures from there but he is now back in the field.
Hey,
This week was so good. It has been long though
haha. I didn't have a P-day for more than a week. I have been really
tired hahaha. We have been working so hard. We had a lot of people to
baptize this last Sunday and like they all fell through. It was really
sad. we tried so hard, but I know that the Lord is just testings us.
This week will have baptisms for sure. one really cool thing that
happened is that we stopped a man in the street the other day. Then we
went to visit him. He use to be a pastor of the baptist church. He was
really deceived by the church when he started to study more about the
history of Christ. Then he fell away from the church and his life went
south. He left the state for a while and then when he came home his
house had fallen. Like all the houses here are made from bricks and when
he got home his house was in a mound of bricks. He is now living under
some stairs while he rebuilds his house. He said that he would have
never accepted the Book of Mormon if he wouldn't have been in the
situation that he is now, but because he doesn't have anything else he
started reading it. He received an answer and he wants to be baptized.
He made a promise that he wouldn't enter in another church after he was
deceived. Well he is going to break that promise. I know that the Lord
has big plans for him since he had to humble him so much so that he
would accept the gospel.
My new companion is named Elder Ilustre. He is from Rio Grande do
Sul. It is a state in the very south of Brasil. Its where all the white
people live. He is way cool. He was the sec before Elder Freitas. We get
along really well. I am really excited for this transfer. I love you
guys have a good week.
7/5/13
haha I miss the long drives. Sure i usually made them like Ryder hahah
sleeping. I tell people sometimes about the time that me and you
switched drivers while we were still driving. hahaha. Only our family
would do that haha. At
least here in the city you don´t even think about seeing a horse. Last
week was good. we worked all week and got to Sunday and we had a couple
people that we thought could be baptized. Me and Elder Bueno went to
visit them and nobody was at home. Elder Freitas went with a member to
another part of our area and we got a text message. ´´ I think that
Filipe will be babtized!´´ He got there and Felipe was just like I am
getting babtized today. It was so cool. I know that it was all the Lord
because we hadn´t passed by there in like 2 weeks. This week we found a
family that is way awesome. Look at this. We were in the field all day
and our plans had all fallen through. We were like lets nock on some
doors in that apt. building. We were walking there and Elder Bueno out of
no where entered into a different building. Then we got in there and I
was like hey go all the way to the top. The very first door that we
knocked on they let us in. It was Reinata and Martá. Their father got
really sick in the last 6 months and now cant do anything by himself.
His muscles don't work so he hears and stuff but cant talk or move. He
was doing some exercises so we marked to come back in 1 hour. When we
went back. Reinata had left to go to the cemetery. On that very day 4
years ago she had a newborn baby that had passed away. We waited for a
little then decided that we would have to leave the message without her
because she hadn´t gotten home yet. We started teaching the plan of
salvation to Martá and her mom and dad. When we got to the part about
after this life. Reinata got home. We taught then a lot about families
and how they would be able to live with them again. I told Reinata that
her daughter was all ready saved in the celestial kingdom and was there
just waiting for her to make the right choices so that they could live
together again. Almost everyone was crying. It was so amazing how God
had prepared everything to happen on the day that it did. I am so
grateful for the blessing of the Gospel in out lives. I Can´t imagine
what it would be like to lose a member of your family like that and
think that it is all over and that you will never see them again. Thank
you so much for being a great example in my life and all ways helping me
to do the right things, Even when I didn´t all ways want to do them.
Today we are going bowling with president Hart. Sister Hart went back to
the states, because her father passed away this week. It made me really
think about the plan of salvation. I hope that you have a good weekend.
Never never give up and when in doubt drop the BOMB. hahaha. I love you
guys.
8/16/13
Hey this last week was really cool. We didn't baptize
anyone, but I had one of the coolest experiences this week. I was doing a
baptism interview for the assistants, so Elder Jensen and Elder Bueno
went out in our area and left me with the assistants. They had one person
to baptize who was the brother of one of their recent converts. They
had als three other young men at church who were all friend with members
of the church, like they all ran around together. The recent convert of
the assistants is named Tiago. Tiago planned with elder Amormino that
after the sacrament was passed we would get the other three and split up
Amormino, Lund and Me with three members and teach the three young men,
our purpose was to baptize them. Sacrament was passed and we all went
out into three different rooms. Then Tiago called the three out to meet
with us. I went in a room with Lima and Alan who is the young mens
president and his son. We took Kel in the room with us. I started
teaching about the atonement and how without being baptized there is no
way that we can use the atonement in our lives. The young men president
said some things and we asked Kel what he thought about baptism. He said
he was all ready thinking about being baptized next week. He said that
he wanted to talk to a pastor of a church he was going to first, just to
tell him that he was going to be baptized in another church. The funny
thing is that the assistants had all ready met this pastor and he lives
in my area. I have taught him one time and this week I will teach him
again. I read Alma 34:31-32. I asked him when it said that we should
repent. He responded ´´now´´ Then I invited him in the name of Jesus
Christ to be baptized on that same day. He thought for a second then
responded, ´´ I accept´´. His friend Alan started crying and also Lima
got all choked up. The spirit was so strong with us in that very moment.
Kel gave the last prayer and in his prayer he asked God to touch the
heart of his friend that were talking to Elder Lund and Elder AMormino.
When we walked out of the room the entire hall filled with the spirit.
His two friends left the other rooms with tears in their eyes. Each one
of them felt the same answer at the same time. Instead of one person
being baptized their were 4. Tiago, the recent convert had done one more
thing really cool. He had called the Pastor of the other church where
they all had gone and invited him to the baptism of his brother. He
showed up and saw all three , members of his church, crying holding
white cloths. He asked what had happened? We told him that they had felt
the Holy Ghost and were going to be baptized. he said Yeah its true I
can feel it. We are probably going to teach him today or tomorrow. I
have never felt the way that I felt when I was teaching and interviewing
those three young men.
This week will be a week of miracles. We set a goal three months ago to
baptize 22 people in three months. This week is the last full week we
have. We are behind by 15 baptisms. I want to ask you guys to pray and
fast with us this week so that we can see the blessings of the Lord here
in our ward. Help us reach this goal.
That is so crazy that Kycen is 16 I cant even believe that . I feel a
little safer though that I am here in Brazil. Now that Elder Jensen is
here there is some height in the staff, but before we were all not very
tall hahaha. Elder Jensen has one year and 4 months on the mission. I
actually went and visited Barbalho last sat. It was really good to see
a lot of people again. I saw Gloria and Lucia too. This week I also
talked with President Hart about when i would go home.... you are going
to like this He is going to send me on the 23 of December so that I will
arrive in Utah on the 24, Christmas eve!. I am a little excited about
that. I hope that it all works out right and is what the lord wants. I
love and miss you guys. Hope you have a good week. Hope you do good at
the rodeos. Let me know how they go.Love you
