Jun 18, 2012

Helloooooooo, Phew! pday finally haha. It looks like it will be a pretty good day today. Not too hot not too cold. After emails and lunch we are going to a place with the young adults called Montaigne Singe haha or monkey mountain! Woot! I guess it is this forest on a mountain where monkeys run wild. And you just buy a ticket and you can walk around the place with live monkeys not in cages all around you haha. Should be interesting. I’m pretty excited for it haha. Transfers happen this Wednesday. The official transfer starts today but we don’t change up cities and comps until Wednesday. I think this transfer will be a really good one. My comp is pretty cool. we will work well together I hope ;) Haha I definitely think I have gained a ton of patience so far on my mission. Something I needed to work on haha. Last night I made some calls to a couple potential investigators and set three rendezvous for this week. So that already is way more than we have ever had set at the start of a week haha. Valerie is doing well. Getting a little nervous for her baptism though. It will still go through. But I can tell Satan is working on her. We have seen her as much as possible lately so that’s good. She asked elder Bequette to give her a blessing yesterday and that was really cool. She’s doing great. She has already bought some missionary clothes haha. Another young adult in the ward just got her call to go to Ukraine. Yesterday in church the whole bishopric changed. The bishop gave a really powerful testimony. I can’t imagine being released as a Bishop. I guess kinda like being released as a missionary... scary! It made me think about our bishop Morgan :) Love him. He sent me a letter by the way last week.

 I’m super happy to stay in Strasbourg! It will be a good transfer. I can see us baptizing Valerie and possibly one other. The cool thing is that Elder Stringer and I will be combining our teaching pools so we will be busy! I always try to remember that everything that I do is just preparing the people. And bishop told me too that even if we go out and work all day and don’t see any results that the lord is just preparing us in a different way for something else. He has a perfect plan for us.

I’m doing well. Happy and healthy haha. This next transfer will be interesting too because Elder Stringer shops for himself and cooks for himself only... So I’m on my own this transfer in that departement. I’ll have to figure out what to buy and how to manage how much it costs haha. It will be an experience. I really can feel your love and prayers out here every day. Sometimes I have a hard time but when I do I get a feeling of comfort. Thank you. Love you guys so much. Thank you for everything! Love you and miss you, Teelor. 

Jun 10, 2012

Well this last week we only taught one lesson and didn’t find a new ami... But that’s alright. We worked our butts off and so at least we know that we did all that we could. It’s just tough when you work so hard and don’t see results. But you never know who is being affected by it. And really I’m not out here for stats or personal gratification. But all for others. I have to keep that in mind. But this week looks like it will be a good one. We taught Valerie on Saturday about missionary work, She wants to help us out by giving us people to teach and wants to serve a mission! Plus she passed her baptismal interview yesterday so we just have to wait till the 30th now. So excited for that! Hopefully I will stay in Strasbourg. I’m pretty sure I will but you never know. I think they will close one set of elders here though. Because a ton of elders are finishing their missions this transfer and only five are coming in. So they will prolly take a companionship out of here. I think me and Bequette will stay though. Fingers crossed. Yesterday was stake conference. We took a charter bus 2 and a half hours to Nancy with the ward haha. It was fun. Stake conference was great. It was a broadcast from the conference center where we heard from a 70, the primary president and Elder Russel M Nelson and Henry B Eyring! Super cool. It was all about the family haha. Really good stuff. We received a referral from the elders in Paris. She just moved here and is Chinese. She has been taught a lot and is open to baptism but says she isn’t quite ready. We will have our first rendezvous with her on Wednesday. We also set up some rendezvous with a couple other people. Should be really good! We are excited about this week. 

              Thank you guys so much for all of your love and support. I think about you all every day and miss you so much. I will hit my 6 month mark on Thursday! haha. It is going by fast sometimes. I love you and miss you a ton! I know that I need to be here and I have seen that Heavenly Father is taking great care of you guys. I love this gospel so much. It really is the best thing ever! haha. Love you and talk to you soon! You guys are the best!

Love, Taylor

Jun 4, 2012

Ohlo...I mean hello! Hey guys! How the heck is Disneyland?! I bet super awesome! haha. Pday has been pretty good so far. We basically slept in till 9. Got ready and ate some fruit haha. I have discovered how delish kiwis are... yum. And now we are emailing haha. Not too wet so far but there are some dark clouds. I am super thankful for the rain this last week. It has cooled off a ton. Yesterday it poured all day. It definately reminds me of Washington here sometimes :) I miss Washington. We are going to get some rest today haha. I’m feeling pretty good and taking care of myself haha. The people here are still closed as ever haha. But it’s all good. This last week was rough. President was right when he told us that this transfer would be a trial of our faith. We still haven’t found a new ami this transfer... And we only taught one lesson this week. Ouch. Valerie is doing well. So grateful to have her! Proof that there are people ready for us haha. Zone conference was super good. President and his wife gave us a training and then elder Teixeira of the 70 and his wife gave us a training too. It was a long day haha. We left the house at 530 and didn’t get back till 10 at night haha. The training was so good. It really has motivated me and gave me the things i need to have success. Elder Bequette and I have made a good plan to turn the work around here. We have rededicated ourselves and have worked so hard since then. I’m working on being 100 percent obedient and doing everything by the spirit. It is hard when we work super hard each day but at the end of the week have nothing. But i just know that i am doing what is right and that it will come sometime. I really do think that Heavenly Father is testing us to see if we will continue to work hard even when nothing is happening and people wont talk to us. And that as we show our desire and faith that he will trust us and give us people to teach. And I still feel good at the end of the day knowing that I worked my hardest even if we didn’t get anything. So we just keep working :) I love the pictures of Cali in her recitals! haha. SO awesome! She is so talented and so amazing! Awesome that Eric put in his mission papers! Mission really changes people. It has pulled a 180 on my life :) Glad bishop got the letter haha. I miss him a ton. The bishop here reminds me of him a bit haha. He invited us over for lunch yesterday after church. He made tacos! haha So good. It was a ton of fun and he is really cool. He’s got a sweet motorcycle too haha. Maybe I’ll get one when I get home... hehe. His wife also made tiramisu haha so flipping good. Glad Dave got the letter too! haha. Its good to here that people miss me and ask about me haha. I miss everyone. I feel so disconnected haha. oh well. I love you guys so much! You’re the best! Almost at my 6 month mark! Woot! I guess missionaries burn things at every mark haha. And at 6 months it is a tie haha. Should be fun. Love you and miss you. I love technology but not as much as you, you see but I still love technology always and forever. Your sandy hair floats in the air so high just flying by like a kite in the sky. :) 

Catching Up!!!

 Sorry to those of you who have checked in and found nothing there to read! I am going to post the past 3 weeks emails. 
Happy Reading!!!

Transfer #3!

We got our transfer repertoire today, And I'm going to........stay in Strasbourg!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Haha. But my comp is leaving which I am pretty bummed about. I will be with the other Elder in our appartement. So there will only be one set of Elders here now. Try to increase the workload I suppose. It should be good. His name is Elder Stringer. A little different but it should be good. I will get to see Valerie get baptized!

Zone Conference I'm on the top right!