June 18, 2012

Hey mom. . . 

How was the week???

This was a good week, except for the rain.

We didn’t have as many lessons that we would have wanted.  We are having some trouble in the branch with the branch president and we have been fixing some things.  The branch president does not know how to keep secrets and all of the interviews he does the whole branch knows about.  And there are some people who are not very happy about it.  Elder Keller & I are only 2 of them.  Mostly because he has been making problems between our recent converts.  We called president Callan to tell him about it and ask what we could do, he told us to just do some damage control and to help the president out a bit...President Callan told us he was going to call the area 70 to come and help because this is not the first time it has happened in the branch or in this district....He’ll be here next week.

But anyways on to some good things. . . Andres, our convert passed the sacrament yesterday and I was sitting next to Ruth, the other recent convert and she was so focused in on the sacrament.  It was nice to see them taking things seriously.  They are doing really good as members now.  Ruth has a calling to be the secretary in the primary now, and I’m not sure if Andres has a calling, he had an interview yesterday with the branch pres, I think it was about that.  

So like you already know, we have changes this week.....and I am not in the same area as Elder Richards anymore....I wish I was, he is better than any of the other zone leaders that I have had haha.  But we have 2 elders in our district that are going home too,,, the letters from their moms this morning were so trunky....I’ll bet you will be more trunky than me also haha.  But this is the start of my 10th change...I only have 15 in total.  Spencer will have 16 cuz that lucky guy only has 3 weeks in the MTC.  But it’s going by really fast right now mom.   I don’t even care about other things right now, like being home and stuff...yeah it would be fun and stuff but whatever, I’m in fetchin Paraguay ha.  I did see this week that Madagascar 3 is coming out...can’t wait.

This week we had one investigator go to church but she is only 11 and doesn’t understand really anything.  We have been getting a ton of references which is new for us, since we never get them.  But we do have 2 others that are progressing.  Jose can get baptized now, and he is reading and praying everyday with Sister Achucarro.  He just needs to commit to a day.  And then we have Andrea, she is half Brazilian and WAS a coffee drinker.  She stopped drinking coffee completely last week, but had a downfall, she is pregnant.  Elder Keller & I  were so sad when we heard that.   She got pregnant before we started to teach her but still we are worried that she might stop progressing.  You can pray for them :)

Love ya Mom

Poor Shoes!  This is another pair that we sent him in February!

What a mess that red dirt is!

June 11, 2012

Dear mom. . . 

It’s been a good week, a little tuff because it’s getting really cold and that makes it harder to talk to people but it’s all good.  This week it got way cold and Elder Keller & I both got kind of sick.  I just have a stuffy nose and a cough and he does too.  But whatever, it’s only like 60 or 654 degrees here but the humidity makes it feel even worse.  Last winter for me until next December, I hate the winter.  

It rained yesterday and so we only had 2 investigators come to church instead of the 5 we were planning on.  There were more people than last week but it was still little.  We went over to a member’s house to watch the restoration movie with one of our investigators.  She is progressing a little but it’s hard because we can only visit her once a week, twice if we are lucky.  We taught her the word of wisdom, and she doesn’t like the part about coffee but she hasn’t had any for 2 days so that is good- Then we have some other investigators who are just sort of floating around.  They can be baptized today but they are afraid of the decision.

Mom, I need you to send me some stuff.....I need you to send me some pen refills.  I would like refills for my pilot pens, I want a refill of blue red and black.  I have the pens, so if you could get the refills of the 0.5 size so I can continue to mark my scriptures.....also I need some tabs.....they are like plastic sticky notes they are about half an inch wide and inch and a half long.  They come in a pack of blue pink yellow green and orange.  I put a pic in this email with my bible and how I mark my scriptures now and it is really helpful.  I could really use two packs of them mom....if you could just send that in a yellow bubble mailer.  Or send me pics next week of what you have found so I can confirm:)  I would sure appreciate it!!!

Love you mom!

June 4, 2012

Dear Mom

This was a good week...I’m glad it is over because it was just way too stressful. Spencer is going to have it easy in Florida as far as help from the members. We have to drop the cane on them so much. Anyways, we had the wedding and the baptism. It was nice, even though she wore a dress that was pretty racy with a still in the front that went all the way up her leg!!!! It was good though. Ruth asked me to baptize her so that was exciting. We did have to pay 300,000 for the wedding though, that like 15 boxes of Trix that we could have bought, but it’s a new month so we should get 150,000 back from the office and we pulled our money out today for the new month so I’m gonna eat something good.

So I have a scripture that i want on my mission plaque...Moroni 10:32. I sent you a letter last week, so Spencer should get one in like a week and you in 2 weeks.

So tell Spencer to get some shoes that do not have fabric on the inside like mine do that you sent me,,,,it wears away really fast, and get shoes that have more rubber on the bottom, nice thick ones. Also, you don’t have to be plain Jane. You can have cool fun ties, you can have a belt with a cool belt buckle, and your backpack does not have to be logo free...if he wants a back backpack that has a dc or a fox logo...it’s ok, he won’t get sent home.

Sunday it was raining really bad and there were only 20 people in the church. And Elder Keller and I were just mad at the branch president because he seriously has no clue what he is doing. They started the sacrament meeting like 25 min late. But then we confirmed Ruth and when they said amen, she was just crying, and when I saw that, I just forgot all that had happened and just felt really good. Just felt, well I fulfilled my purpose this week. Of the 6 people that I have baptized, 3 of them are converts. Ruth is going to be a strong member for a long time!!!

I have started the Old Testament....Genesis isn’t that bad but the next 2 books are going to be a little harder!!!! HAHA I was studying about fasting this week, and how to really do it, and then I read in Isaiah 58. After reading that I was excited for fast Sunday. I was going to eat dinner Friday night and then fast for the baptism and other stuff, and I was going to end it Sunday for lunch. That didn’t happen....so much stuff happened. We had food all day, plus food at the wedding and I still haven’t fasted, only paid my fast offering. SO I’m going to do it this week. You should all read Isaiah 58 for next fast Sunday.

I think the winter is here now for good, its cold but not really...all the Paraguayans are freezing, and it’s been raining not cool :(

 That’s about it for this week

Love you mom

May 28, 2012

Dear Mom. . 

So it has been a good and hard week.  This week we didn’t find any new investigators.  We had some good lessons and stuff but, it was hard.  I have really been trying to focus more on being a missionary and not think about the things that i want or want to do.  There is a talk that is called the 4th Missionary, it talks about 4 types of missionaries and how they are changed on their missions.  One of the things that the 4th or the best missionary does is gives not only his time and talents or might and strength but also his heart and his mind.  Like in Helaman 3:35  This was a tough week for me with this. 

So Elder Stevenson is in my district.  He is the other red head from Nampa.  Last Tuesday we were on divisions for like 2 hours while we waited to do the interview for Rut.  I can’t wait to hang out with him when I get home too . . . me him and Elder Heiner will all be living together at school ha-ha.  So we did the baptism interview for Rut and we gave our branch president one little homework to call the judge so that we could do the baptism and the wedding on Saturday.  We should have known, he didn’t do it like always.  So they are going to be married and Rut will be baptized on this coming Saturday!!!!!!!  It’s about time, they want to do it so bad!

Yesterday was Stake conference, our branch president didn’t go.  But I did see Elder Hardy ha-ha...he has a good companion...he lucked out.  He smelled fresh!!! HAHA.

Sad that you sold the house ha-ha, maybe that will be a good thing.  HAHA that’s fine, as long as when i get home, my room has all my stuff on the walls!!!

When Elder Holland gave that talk, he dropped the cane and ripped everyone a new one....did you do the same ha-ha, I hope!!! (This is in response to me telling him that I spoke in church yesterday using Elder Holland’s talk entitled “We are All Enlisted”)

So this week I am really trying to focus on not getting in the way of the Lord, and to just let his magic work through me.


Ok mom, I’m going to go get some food, I haven’t eaten anything today or last week, my pants barely fit me...we have been penny pinching to save money for the wedding...so I will write you next week mom...love you

Love ya tons mom

Taylor

May 21, 2012

Hey mom, we had a good week....we finally reached our goal of 20 lessons with members - - well we had 21.  It sounds like the family is all good, and that Spencer is so excited to be done with school and that Grant is 16 ha-ha.  We had changes, Elder Keller & I are still here.  I’m glad, I haven’t stayed with a comp for more than one change except when I was trained and when I trained elder Segovia...but we are good together.  SO Rut is going to have her baptism interview tomorrow.  She can be baptized this Saturday but this weekend is stake conference so she will have to wait a week to get confirmed. Last time that happened here, the guy never came back to church or got confirmed, we don’t doubt that Ruth has problems with that but we are just going to wait until next week to do it.  Also we had 3 people in church yesterday, one of them was another part member family.  SO that makes it way easier for them to accept the gospel.  He really wants to be able to baptize his little girl, so when he heard that he could get the priesthood it made him excited.  We don’t know if they are married or not though...we are already pinching pennies now for the wedding next week...hope that these people are married!!!

Now on to the parties, guess you have a lot to do...hope lots of people come, then Spencer can get lots of money like Ii did and it will be less hassle for his mission.  So Mitch and Hunter are in the MTC right???

Oh yeah almost forgot, we saw a dead guy tossed out in this field on the side of the road this week.  Some people we were visiting told us about it.  Just a dead person wrapped in a sheet, shoved into a bag and tossed onto the side of the road out in the middle of who knows where.  We don’t know what is going to happen with it......

The teacher didn’t show up yesterday for gospel principles so I had to teach that class...it was good, it was about prayer and how to  do it and why and to who.  I managed to take up the whole 50 min...Kind of strange, I taught that class and I’m the one trying to have better prayers.  I don’t feel that my prayers are really doing anything for me, I have been trying to be the best I can and do my prayers but I just don’t know.....I’ll just keep trying. . . . 

That’s about it for this week mom...love ya

May 14, 2012

Hey mom how’s it going.....hope you had a great mother’s day!!!  This week we had was good but not numbers wise...they took away our best day to do zone conference, we still had ok numbers but we should have done better.  We are teaching Ruth right now, she has a baptism date for the 26th still, she came to church yesterday and just loved it.  Today we are going to have a FHE with Andres our convert and with Ruth.  We are going to watch the restoration with them and then we only have 2 commandments left to teach her.  This one is like a sure fire baptism!!!!!

It was so great to talk to you all Saturday....I can’t wait for Christmas ha-ha!!!  I bet you can’t wait either, then you’ll get 2 big Christmas presents!

Well hope grandma can get over the last few days or weeks ok, and I’m sure she is just wanting to see grandpa great so much.  It will be good for her...she has done what she came here for.  But it’s sad that she is leaving us for a small time.  

So grandpa is going all out on his calf ranch that means that they got the permit I guess....10,000 more cows?  Well that’s what Darin told me in a letter ha-ha. Yeah so talking of getting home, I don’t know what I am going to do....I don’t want to get home and then a month later have to start school.    But I would like you to send me info on some schools.  Send me stuff from BYU and BYUI and ISU and BOISE STATE....well BSU can be the last resort!!!

I have talked to President Callan a little about what I need for dental school, not much just some basic things.  But look up stuff on pre dental at those 3 schools....to be a dentist I have to graduate from a good school(4 years) then dental school(another 4 years).

So since you didn’t really understand what I said in my testimony in Spanish, I said that I know that we have eternal families and that even though the boys and McCall don’t know as much about the plan of Heavenly Father, I said that I know that one day I will be with him and I will do what He does.  That’s what I want mom, to have my own network of eternal families, I want to create worlds.  I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that it has changed my life...I can see where I was a while ago and what I wanted or thought but now I can say that I am a different person.  The gospel is true mom....sure do love you and am grateful having it in my life!

Love

Elder Salinas 

Getting to Skype with Elder Salinas for Mother's Day!

May 7, 2012

This week was so great....we had tons of miracles.  SO I went on divisions with Elder Griffin on Tuesday so we could do the baptism interview.  He passed easily....he isn’t just answering questions he uses scriptures to back up his testimony.  Also he is studying the Book of Mormon and the Bible....also the gospel principles book and the ones about the priesthood.  HE is a baller...so on Saturday we had the wedding and the baptism of Andres.  Now he can help his wife get back into the church and be baptized someday!!!!  We also almost reached most of our goals this week.  We had 19 with member and a bunch of other stuff....that’s almost the mission goal, the one that everyone thought was impossible.  We are almost getting it.  We also got some new investigators from the ward mission leader and his girlfriend....this one is progressing a lot and came to church on Sunday.

SO exciting for Spencer to get his mission call....Jacksonville Florida....that will be fun.  He won’t really have much of a winter ha-ha. 

Man i don’t really know what else to write....the week went by fast, we had a baptism and Spencer got his mission call. 

Still am trying to get my camera to connect to a computer here, but they all are just so cruddy that I don’t know when I will be able to send a picture or two.

SO the shells and cheese saved me last night when I had no food....they were delish.  The jerky is gone, the Easter candy is gone, the seeds are almost gone, and the rubix cube has been solved tons of times.  I haven’t used my shoe inserts yet, I’m waiting for mine to blow out....not gonna be too long.  The inside is going to be gone in like 2 weeks, they are already destroyed.  Tell Spencer to get some good shoes cuz he will need them, fetch, I bet he has car in his mission :)

Love you mom