BIG WEEK!

So ...  a lot has happened this last week. 

First off I have sad news... and that is that Elder Schneider and I will not be companions anymore after Tuesday. He is getting transferred because my training is now over . He is so awesome though because he just got called to be a Zone Leader. Basically he's a leader over like 20 or so missionaries. He's going to do so awesome even though it will be a lot more time and work. 

Also this last Wednesday I went on exchanges with Elder Magalei ... the guy in the pics I sent from the temple. He's a big Samoan from Cali (the Bay area) and we,  of course, were like brothers already!  Ha!   So we got to teach Institute that night again and had 3 minutes to prepare a lesson.  Earlier that day I took him to go see this referral we had and as we were talking to people I checked my phone and had a missed phone call from the mission president.  I look at Elder Magalei and he says, "Its for you I bet," and I was like, "there's no way."  I call back and President Miller said he feels inspired to call me to a leadership position and wants me to be a trainer for a brand new missionary!!!  I, of course, said "yes" but was freaking out and still am!  Ha!  I feel now more than ever that the Lord will help me. Even though I am still a brand new missionary myself with the Lord's help I can still help train a new one. I'm very humbled to have been asked to do this and am very excited to pick up my trainee on Tuesday. 

The sad news is that Elder Schneider is going up north. Words cannot express how much I love that guy ... he's truly my brother/ companion/ eternal friend. I would not be as ready as I am to train or to be a successful missionary if it weren't for him. Something that Elder Schneider brought to my attention when I was ranting to him that I wasn't ready to have this calling and to train he reminded me of what the mission president said ... "one of the greatest showings of trust and leadership is being a trainer" and that the Lord called me for a reason. I can't wait to stay in this area and continue to serve in El Paso.  I love it here and the people more and more each day. 

Also, the first people I told about my call was Jake and Mary Salgado ...they are like my family from home.  They are the coolest recently married couple ever and i consider them my lasting best friends and family.  They have helped me so much with their love and strong spirits and have taken care of me.  They are the ones who post instagram pictures of me! Haha!   Last Saturday both of us and 2 spanish elders went to see this lady who was taught by the missionaries 8 months ago but moved. We went in and could tell something was wrong but she had a smile on her face the whole time. She told us stuff like that she has been to prison 3 times already and had to leave her 3 children, (2 years each time) and that she will be returning soon. So told us about her drug addictions and shoplifting problems and how she literally has no money and no one would hire her. After the end of our conversation each of us bore testimony that God loves her and wants her to rid of all her addictions and to be on the right path. This women was in tears felt the spirit and the love of the Savior and felt hope. It was one of the saddest stories I've heard from someone since being on my mission but I saw the Lord's hand in using us to comfort her. Things like this are real... everyone needs to be more grateful for what they have and remember who they are including myself. Please find someone this next week that you know you can help and give them joy. Keep going strong and next week I'll tell you about my trainee and send a picture :) I pray for all my family and friends.

 

Yours truly,

Elder Taylor

Email from April 22nd

This past week has been kind of hard with getting member present and lessons with investigators but we were still able to get a few. 

The more we teach and answer peoples questions the more I learn. We had a referral from the Salt Lake  City Temple Visitors Center but he was not at all interested when we stopped by and saw him. We continued talking with him about his job, and why he stopped by the temple visitors center he began to open up with Elder Schneider and I.  By the end of the conversation he told us that a friend gave him a Book of Mormon with highlighted pages to read but he hasn't read it yet but will do it now.  He said that when his truck is out front to stop by and see him. It showed me that we should never give up when someone "thinks" they are not interested but we should continue to care for them and show our interest in them and they will feel that love you have for them and how badly you want to share a message with them.

Elder Schneider is amazing... the best companion/ example/ district leader. I truly feel blessed to be with him and I know that the Lord put me with him to learn so much from him and apply those things to myself. I remember when I first got out he said that by the end of your training you should know the basics of everything, and at the end I should be able to tell him everything a missionary does and what to do.  I thought that was totally crazy but that's been a motivating factor to help me ask questions on things I don't understand or how things work or numbers and everything... its been awesome to have such a great trainer who teaches me and who knows the importance of all the many things we do. I feel blessed to have wonderful missionaries around me who I can learn from and zone leaders who really care for our zone and want to improve it. 

Though this week wasn't one of our best I feel privileged and extremely blessed for what I've been given and it has really humbled me. Thank you for all that you do for us missionaries. My personal goal next week is to work on Christ-like attributes ... one per day and then at the end do the assessment of attributes in PMG.  Elder schneider and I are planning on teaching a lot of lessons as well next week so I have faith our numbers will be a lot better!

Have a great week!   Hope all is well with everyone and know that this Church is true and will bless everyone you share it will. Transfers are next Tuesday so most likely my companion and I will be split up and one of us leave the area! I'm grateful for all the emails and letters I get from everyone ... it gives me strength! 


Love, 
Elder Taylor

Hey guys!

This past weekend was just wonderful. I love having General Conference!!  For those who don't know what General Conference is it is when our church leaders speak and it is broadcasted via satellite so it is viewed across the whole world. EVERY member of the church watches this on a Saturday and Sunday and it's truly amazing. We hear from the apostles, the prophet and other members of the church. Of course my favorite talk was by Elder Holland ... I have to meet that man someday!!  As I watched I heard things that I needed to hear at this time and I had answers to the questions I had. Also, we had 4 investigators tuning in to watch it as well... so that was awesome.  I recognized L. Whitney Clayton... it took me a while but I finally remembered that I head him speak when I was at the MTC ... so it was so cool to know that I was watching him speak live just a few months ago!  haha 

There is a deaf lady in my ward so it is so cool that I can do a little bit of sign language with her and she LOVES that I can sign just a little bit ... she's an amazing follower of Christ and is very kind and patient with people. 

YESTERDAY I got a call from my mission president and, of course, my luck is not the best.  He told me there are only certain websites that I'm allowed to go on.  I went onto Deseret Bookstore's website to look for 3 DVDS that I wanted my dad to order for me and I didn't know I couldn't.  The mission president found out and called me and told me the reasons we are only allowed to go on certain sites.  He also found out about my blog and thought it was ME who updated it every week!!  haha  So, I had to clear that up but that's a call I hope I'll never have to get again ... but something like that would happen to me out of all people!

This last week was a good week but could of been better. We were hoping to teach a lot more this last week but I feel that my relationship through prayer with my Heavenly Father has been increasing and that has been a HUGE blessing.  I've also been reading the scriptures and gaining more and more knowledge.  If any of you who are reading this need help/ advice/ or anything please don't hesitate to shoot me an email or letter and I'll do my best to help :) 

Love , Elder Taylor

p.s. Shout of to my lil' baby cousin who just had her baby blessing this last week. Her name is Macy Claudine Christensen. Middle name after my mother ... so beautiful!

Aren't these the coolest glasses ever?

A picture from at CTR class from home

A picture of me out finding people ... doing work!  haha

Humbling

So, last week was a learning process for me and was very humbling. 

We had 8 investigators say that they were going to come to church on Easter Sunday but ZERO of them showed up. :(  It was tough but it was still a great service.  Elder Schneider and I both went up and bore our testimony completely on the Savior and each shared a scripture on Christ. Then we had a lot of our apointments fall through again this last week and people not keeping commitments but that is what we signed up for!  ha  Gotta' keep pressing forward! 

We had exchanges with the Zone Leaders (2 missionaries that are over us and we report our numbers too).  I stayed in my area and Elder Schultz was my companion for the day. It was all on me to plan for the day, and drive everywhere and see and do what I thought we should do. It was hard because no one was home so we ended up knocking on doors for a few hours in the blazing sun! ha  It was really hard for me... not just getting rejected by literally EVERY door but because these people were so closed minded -  they didn't want to hear any truth. It's hard because I try to view them as the Savior would and I know that every one of those people are children of God and that what we can teach them will change their lives and bless them and their family and make them so much happier but NO ONE cared at all. But it had to happen ... I know it happened for a reason.  We just got a taste of what the Lord went through as He taught the gospel when he was on the earth and he was rejected. Keep pressing forward!! 

Two weeks ago I went to a hospital emergency room and gave a blessing to a less active member in our ward. He had a heart problem and was close to death and they didn't know what or why it happened. When we walked in the room he started saying it's not his time... he still has to finish the Book of Mormon and the Bible, get sealed in the temple with his wife, get his family's work done for the temple, and get the Melchizedek Preisthood. Right away I felt that he was going to be ok, and that the Lord is using this to JUMP start him back on the right path and to get him back to church and do all that the Lord wants him to. I was VERY nervous and felt down in a way because the last time I saw someone sick on a hospital bed and gave a blessing to someone that sick was my Mother. I could feel the Adversary working on me - giving me fear, doubt and those memories to keep me down BUT I prayed that I could have courage and strength.  I gave him a priesthood blessing and the Lord told me a lot to tell him to help his life and his health. Yesterday this man was at church and he mentioned that two days after the blessing he was out of the hospital and the doctor was MAD because he could not explain what happened or how he recover so fast ... NO explanation. But we know it was the blessing, and that he had faith that he would be healed and did all that the Lord told me to say in the blessing and now he's totally fine and back working and taking care of his wife but with a new glow... realizing how important the Gospel is as well as life. It was amazing to me and testified to me again how important that priesthood authority is. 

On my mom's birthday this last Tuesday I listened to God Be With You Til' We Meet Again once in the morning and once right before bed.  It brought me so much joy and comfort knowing that "till we meet, and Jesus feet". I often times bring her up or remember what she's taught me. The Lord blessed me with having her as my mother <3 

The Gospel Of Jesus Christ is real and it WILL bless your life IF you stay faithful and do all the Lord asks of you. Tell the World He lives!!! 

Love always, 

Elder Taylor