French Toast-makes a whole day go better

10/17/11


!Hola Familia!

What a nutty week! It was totally weird and awesome and milayroso y tragic and powerful and things - Whoa, So here we go - I’ll start with a revelation I had on the bus that I need to put into practice. I always considered myself different. For example, other people struggled in life, other people couldn’t change or help these people - but I can - cuz I’m different, But that attitude is totally false - unless - I align it with God and humble myself and focus on them - not as things I’ve got to accomplish - but as people - It’s not that I’m different but that they need me - as I am - the best I can be for them - So there ya go.

This week started with finding out one of our 19 year old girls was pregnant. And she was sad and scared and it was bad - obviously not married and the boy was not going to marry her but said - I support you - and they were about to break up.

We arrived at the house one day, (more of a shack) but big - and she was leaving for the hospital in a taxi - she had taken a pill for parasites that the missionaries used to have to take and her blood went nuts - the next morning we called her and she told my comp she was pregnant, and didn’t want to be - (I’ll have you know we taught the Law of Chastity over a month and a half ago and she said she’d live it - Dang it )- but it turns out this pill messed with her, and she lost the child the next day - it was intense - I thought of the difference the Gospel makes in all this - like when Jess told us she was pregnant we were all like !YAY! but with this investigator it was a nightmare - ?Que differncia? But these people just haven’t been taught. This story is so common here. We have another investigator who had a kid at 12 years old. Nuts. I couldn’t believe it - but they are just not taught and have to learn the hard way - and the hard way STINKS. After all that we were talking with her - she told us she lost it and all that tragicness and we gave her a blessing - I really hope she learned her lesson - she is an awesome person but just stupid and surrounded by bad examples - like this is SO normal here it’s disgusting - almost like the dogs in the street. And “I support you?” What the heck kind of commitment is that? What an idiot! It is his Kid! So bugged - Worse - she told us she did not want to do anything with him but he talked her into it - So BAD! Anyway - I will definitely keep the law of Chastity all my life long - My comp said he felt the Spirit way strong when I gave her the blessing - my comp thought it was cool. I hope so.

I also got my teeth cleaned on Saturday - it was awesome - not really an awesome cleaning but they did flouride and stuff from an investigadora y una miembro - it was totally exciting - I went to the Dentist! And right now I’m watching this same member put braces on my comp, Elder Jorge, and I watched him get a minor surgery on his tooth - kind of an orally fun week.

I had a cool experience in my reunion de districto - It was going pretty bad - pretty boring - but I started talking about we are one with God in our purpose and how everything happens for the immortality and Eternal Life of man. It got all quiet and intense and was awesome but then I lost it - but for a moment it was cool.

The next day was Saturday - we went to the dentist - then to lunch and then we got ready for the baptism that fell. I didn’t believe in it at all. I was almost positive it wasn’t going to happen - we get all ready and set and my comp is telling a member how I refuse to translate the rap songs he has - I don’t know why he has them - to “Learn English” - so dumb - so I won’t translate them cuz I hate rap and he’s trying to drag me into an argument that’ll try to get me to do it and I just refused to talk and all of the sudden he’s storming off from the church. I just stared in disbelief and he just kept going - I had no idea what to do so I just stayed with the member. After like 2 minutes I went around the corner to find him and I couldn’t and I was LIVID - the member and I waited on the corner and I debated calling the president right away - he came back saying “Now you can talk to me?” - O I was Furious - I just started walking towards the Church. And I could hear the member - Richard - “You are immature and useless Elder Jorge.” I was on the verge and opened my mouth and words started flying out ... - You are a Missionary! GROW UP! All in English - I was SO MAD -“Taylor - everyone’s looking “ -- “I DO NOt Care! Finally I stopped talking and we went back to the church and he was way surprised - I basically told him I can deal with crappy missionaries - but you are not! You just don’t care - You know everything and how to do it all. You just gotta wake up! And it was so awesome cuz he told me I was right - that he didn’t blame me for exploding and he’s starting to wake up - He committed to working harder and yesterday he told me he’s feeling better with this harder work. It’s funny that an hour after yelling at my companion, I had my first baptism in 6 months. IRONIC. I know I shouldn’t have unleashed - but he’s definitely more awake now - he’s only got 3 months left and Richard was like “Good Job! Do that Every morning!” So it was sweet, but wrong, but I really really really enjoyed it and the results have been awesome.

So the baptism - miracle - he didn’t show up - we found him at TIS walking along a highway and we said - Pedro - do you want to do this? You don’t have to just tell us the truth. “O ya,” he had forgotten - he told us to meet him on the corner and I didn’t think he’d show. He did - Sweet! And We baptized him - He’s just so slow! Then I brought him a white shirt and tie to be confirmed in the next day and he really changed - he laughed more and said the prayer in church and after he seemed really pleased with himself - so there ya go.

So this week was super eventful. we started running in the mornings and that has helped a lot - there’s an awesome lake by Our house and I love it but they do not take care of it at all - so much wasted potential - like my companion was being - but I woke him up - even if it wasn’t a good way - (Thought I can’t make myself feel bad about it) and I’m way excited for this week - especially with the new attitude de Elder Jorge and running - the world is better.

Facts of Mission Life:

• No investigators with Pecha
• Hormigas y mosquitos - I hate them
• The tables that support my bed are too small -
• I will not be getting any mail for a while
• My companion now has braces
• I don’t fit in my bed and I let everyone know
• The water leaves and we bathe out of our reserve tank.
• A garbage can full of water
• I still talk bad, but understand decently well
• I walk everywhere, or take a bus or Jeep or Colectivo -
• Don’t fit in any of them
• I eat ride everyday and listen to ballenato every night - real loud.
• They call me !Tabluo! osea - !Board Like! Tall Guy-
• Most of all I am just seeing the processes of learning of everyone here - some take a lot more time and experience to learn what I already know - Tons of really good people that are just learning the hard way - what a shortcut the gospel is - we are so rare and lucky.

-- love you tons.

Love,

Elder Taylor

P.S. I made French Toast for my district this week and it was AWESOME - makes a whole day go better.