October 19, 2015 New Comp from Idaho

well this week went well. i got my new companion! his name is elder Luke. he is from idaho! so he is my very first gringo comp in my entire mission. so thats interesting. its a lot different being with a gringo. but its cool too. its crazyt ho becuawe he ends his mision in 6 weeks! so well just be together this one transfer and then hes gone! crazy. well this week wa the babtism of Patzy and Aisha!! they are so awesome!! they both were babtized and comfirmed members this week and it was such a special service. it has been amazing to see their progress and see how the Lord had prepared them truly for this moment to learn and accept the gospel. the Lords time is perfect. i feel like thats an important lesson to remember for the whoole life! well im like out of time now, but i hope you all are doing great and i love you all so much!!

Elder Taylor

October 12, 2015 "Would You Have Looked?"

well once again i have about no time to write. today has been crazy! well lets start with lst night. last night the assistants got here to portoviejo and stayed with us. and then one of them calls us into a room and sits us down and says we need to talk seriuosly. and we were (my comp and i) like ah oh what did we do?? and then he looks at my comp and says youre my new companion! so my old comp elder ogando is the new assistant!! and then he looks at me and says and now you are in charge of Portovejo! so wow. two changes in one. but it is esciting. but my comp was kindof freaking out. and then so today we had a conference with president and sister dennis, which was amazing!! i just love capacitations (idk if thats actually a word in english??) and when pres talks to us and teaches us. its always so inspired and i learn so much. one part i really like, was when sister dennis started talking about moises and the children of isreal and the story with the serpents and how all the had to do to be saved ws look at the staff. and she asked ¨how many of you would have looked?¨and well obviously we all raise our hands that we would have looked. and then she aplied it to the sabath day and how profets have talked about the importance of the sabth day, and all we have to do is follow the profets and keep it holy and we´ll be blessed. well when she said it it flowed alot more smoothly and it was really good. but i think its a great question we should ask our selves ¨would i have looked?¨ ïm i looking now at the signs the profets are telling us?¨ well that among many other things was something that i really liked.

also this next week we have the babtism of Patzy and her daughter Aisha! they are so awesome!! but next week i will talk more about them. well thankyou you all for writing and i love you all and hope everyone is doing great!

Élder Taylor

September 28, 2015

well this week went well. we spent a few days in guayaquil. we got to go to the temple and then also had a meeting about family history. it was really good! family history is definetly something really important that can help a lit of people! and of course getting to go to the temple is always the best. i always learn so much new everytime a get to go to the temple! and alright so one frase i wanted to share with you guys that said president, that he was refering to the mission but i feel like its aplicable to all situacions is this ¨dont count the days, make the days count!¨ so i really liked thatand thought it was powerful and makes you reflect. so make everyday count!

also this week Gabriel was babtized! hes such a good kid. got babtized on his birthday! so he was pretty excited about that. also we got a new investigator and she already has a bautsiaml date for the 24 of octuber! she was a reference from a member. i know that really refernces are the best wayto advance this work! so if you have friends that are interested, present them to the misionaries!! well i lov you all so much! hope you all have a great week!

love,

Elder Taylor

September 21, 2015

well, this week went quite well. this saturday we had the babtisms of Kelvin Murillo, and sunday he was confirmed! it was great because his older brother, whos a member and whos preparing for the mision, was able to babtize his brother. it was a really great experience. Kelvin is such a good kid who has changed a ton. both his brother and mom are members, but he didnt want to get babtized for the longest time. then one day he started coming to church, and then he talls us he does want to get babtized now! so that was great to be able to help him. Gabriel, who has a date to get babtized this coming sunday, is also doing really well and super excited for his special day!

also, Patzy and her daughter Eisha, two of our investigators tha are scheduled for babtism the 10th of octuber, are doing super well! they live about an hour away, so its harder to teach them, and also harder for them to attend, but they are faithfully attending and preparing for their babtisms! its so great! its really amazing how the Lord prepares his children to accept his gospel when the time is right! i know this church is true and that God loves each and every one of us more then we can even imagine! i love all of you and hope you all have a great week!

love,

Elder Taylor

August 17, 2015

well, this week was crazy busy. the assistants and president were in town. wednesday we had a zone conference with 2 other zones here in portoviejo in our chappel. but monday night the assistents got here and stayed with us in our house. our assistents are awesome. not gonna lie, before i was a little scared of them, but now that ive hung out with them more i see they are just misionaries too. and it was super fun being with them for a few days. and most of all i got to learn A TON from them, and also from the multi-zone conference with president. very inspired. one quote that they showed usin the conference that i really like was this: ¨free agency is only a blessing if we choice to live by the gospel of Jesus Christ¨-Elder Holland. well thats not verbatim, but its the same meaning basically. that we have our agency, but if we dont use it wisely, then we are going to get the unwanted consequences. but as we chose to live by the gospel, we get blessing and good consequences. it was very interesting, and somethin i had not thought of before in that way. besides that there wa so much other great wisdom they taught us, but thats all ill share for now. this week did go really well, just super busy helping with president and the assistents. one of the great things though, is even though being a leader we really have less time to work, but the Lord blesses us so much, and just gifts us people that want to progress. like this week we only worked in our sector 2 days, but then sunday a sister comes up to us and tells us shes not a member, but has been investigating the church for a very long time, and wants us to help her prepare for babtism... so we were like okay great we can definetly help you with that!! its amazing how the Lord is preparing people for us to help! well i love you all so much and hope you have a great week!!!

love,

Elder Taylor

August 10, 2015

well this week the email is going to be super short, becuase i dont have very much time, and also honestly i dont even remember what happened this week...

Jordy Silva, our recent convert is doing great!! i love that kid. this week he went on visits with us again, and is super good at sharing his tetimony and talking with the people. he´s also attending mision prep and is super excited for the mission! its so rewarding to see the progress he has made!

also, i dont know what me and my comp do, but the poeple love us here. actually i dont think we do anything, the poeple are just super loving here in generall. but this week we got invited to birthday parties and to barbecues and all sorts of stuff. its great! obviously we cant go to most of the stuff because they just love playing music here, but its nice to get the invite and see how the poeple care. 

well, like i said this is going to be short. this week has gone pretty solid. im learning so much evryday, i cant even try to explain it all here. but i love you all and hope you are all doing great and have a great week!!

love,

Elder Taylor

August 4, 2015

well, this week has gone super good! first off, saturday we had the bautism and sunday the comfirmation of Jordan Silva!!! he is so awesome!! before this week he left with us to do visits; before he was even a member!! he´s super excited also to go on a mision!! and it was so great that his cousin got to babtism him, which was his cousins first babtism! super happy. and he invited a family that came to his babtism and also to church sunday, so he´s already helping a ton in the mission work, and just barely is a member!! he´s so aesome. really a great friend. hes part of the whole family that got babtized the week before. so in total 5 people from that famioly got babtized. suepr great. i dont even have the words. 

and yesterday, we were in guayaquil all day, for the leadership council. that was super good too!! its always an enriching experience when we get to listen to presidnt and the ap´s and meet up with all the other zone leaders. i always learn so much. and this time was no exepcion. i have a ton of new stuff i got to do and put in practice, but im excited for it!!

well i love you all so much. hope you all have a great week!!

love,

Elder Taylor

July 27, 2015 Transfers

well, today was transfers. yes allready. it goes by quick. but so after being here for 9 months, my companion elder Torres fianlly got transfered. how sad. he really had gotten attached to the ward here. and really the ward here is awesome. but i guess 9 months ws long enough. so i have a new companion! his name is Elder Ogando. he´s from the Dominican Republic. and he aesome. we´re getting along really well.

also, this week we had the babtisms of the familia Silva! 4 people got babtized, plus 2 others from the other missionareis on the ward, so a total of 6 people were babtised and comfirmed this week! so that was a super cool babtismal service. it was also the very last babtism of Elder Benavente, an elder who lived with us here, who just ended his mission. it was a really powerful experience for him too babtising on his very last saturday as a missionary. well i dont have much time to write, but this week was really good and i learned a ton! i love you all and hope the best for all of you!!

love,

Elder Taylor

July 20, 2015

this week has gone quite well. well i didn't really have much time, but we had 2 babtisms this saturday! Aracely and Paula, sisters, both were babtised and comfirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. ¡que dicho es! they are both so awesome and were so ready and excited to be  babtized. 

this next week we have the babtism of Gema Silva, Kelly Silva, Nicole Silva, and Enrique Silva, a family. they are so aesome also and are super excited for their babtisms. then the next week there otehr brother Jordan will be batised, the 1st of august! they are all amazing and have changed so much! its so amazing  to help people change their lives in such drastic ways!!

well thats all i got time for today. i love you all so much!!

Elder Taylor

July 13, 2015

well, se fue otra semana. this week me and my comp had to go to Guayaquil for the leadership council, so that was a fun 4 hr bus ride there and back. we left wednesday afternoon and slept there in guayaqil, then had the reunion thursday and got back thursday night. it was exhausting. but i always learn a TON when i get to hear president dennis talk. one quote that he said that i love and i wanted to share with you all is this: ´´words are the reflection of our testimony; but actions are the reflection of our conversion.´´ deep. this coming saturday we have 2 babtisms! hna Araceli and hna Paola are going to get babtized! so thats super exciting! they are so great! im so happy for them! also, me and my comp went to a babtism this saturday of another sector, and it was really good. the woman that got babtised, after the ordinace, shared some feelings, and what she said is that before the babtism, she had some feelings of fear, of anger, and feelings like that. but the moment she entered the water, and was babtized, all those bad feelings were erased and replaced by a feeling of peace and love. what a change!! it was powerful. i know that babtism changes lives; because i know this gospel changes lives. ive seen it so many times. i love you all so much and hope you have a great week!

love,

Elder Taylor

July 6, 2015 1 ano

wow. time flies when youre having fun. and when youre serving the Lord. this week i completed 1 year in the service of the Lord. its crazy.

well this week went super well! this week we had a mini conference  with president dennis and his WHOLE family! so that was cool. hes son that just got back from the mission was there along with his other children and  grandchildren. then all spoke to us and it was super good. and it was fun hearing  things in spanish and english and understanding them both perfectly. its  a  cool feeling. jaja but it was also super stressfull because the conference was in our chapel so me and my comp were in charge of having averything ready and set up  and helping president with anything he needed during the conference. at the very begining he had forgoten an hdmi cord so we had to go on a real quick hunt to find one; which luckily there was one on the church safe. we also went and helped some of the missioanruies in the zone with some of there lessons, and it was super fun and spiritual to be able to help them.

well, i just want to see, that in this year  i have grown more in so many ways then i ever thout i could. i know the Lord knows ME, whio i am and what i need to progress. i k now every experience, good or bad ive had has been for my benefit. I love the Lord, and i am eternally grateful to him. i kow the gospel blesses EVERYONE, you just have to let it bless you. i k now im not perfect, but inspite of all my errors the Lord loves me and wants me to  move forward.  I love you all. i love this gospel. i know this church is true. i hope you all have a great week!

love,

Elder Taylor

heres a picture i took to try  and epitomize the 1 year of walking working sweating laughing and have the time of my life

June 29, 2015

well, first off for the really good news...i got to play soccer today!! jaja and not only did we play, but we got to play on grass!!! the first time playing on grass in a year! it was marvillous.

and well for this week...yesterday we had a family home evening with the whole ward. the ward here is so awesome. seriously the best ward i have been in here in ecuador. but we had a family home evening and we watched the movie Meet the Mormons! that movie actually isnt here in ecuador, but as missionaries, we got connections ;) jaja But its a great movie. everyone really enjoyed it. you should watch it if you havent yet. besides that this week we´ve been working here and also we´ve been going to some of the other sectors to work with them too. its been good.

well, thats all i got for this week. i hope you all are doing super well! i love you all!

love,

Elder Taylor

June 22, 2015 Portoviejo

well, this week has gone by super fast. but it has been a really good week! first off, me and my comp were able to put a new babtismal date this week! and also we had a babtism this past saturday. and have 7 more people with babtismal dates! so thats pretty exciting! also, really coo, part of this week is when my comp and high went to help the sisters withsome lessons, and had some really spiritual lessons with some of there investigators there. so that was awesome. also i already love the people here! i feel like the people here in manabi are more open and loving then they were in my other areas, and they are all so nice! and the cook super good! im probably going to be gaining weight... but me and my comp are doing super pretty hard core work outs to try and not get fat here. so we´ll see how that goes. well i feel like this week was super busy and yet i dont know what to say. things are going good as a zone leader. just a little bit more stressfull. well i love you all and hope you all have a great week!

love,

Élder Taylor

June 15, 2015 Cambios

 alright, so this has been quite the interesting week. first off, this wednesday, we went to guayaquil, for a conference with president and then to go to the temple. it was awesome. president is so inspired and always teaches us the best things and we always leave the conferences so excited and animated to work! and even better when right after we go to the temple! so wednesday night after the conference we went to the temple which was amazing. i learned some much new stuff. its incredible. and then we took some pictures and slept there at the temple. so another great thing is the temple hausing has air conditioning and heated water!!! so i actually slept well and didnt die of heat!! so theçat was a blessing on its own. and then taking a warm shower in the morning instead of a cold one, ooph was so nice. and so while i was there after the shower i was thinking ´´wow, the temple is the closest place here i got to home´´(or the commodoties) and then as i was pondering that thought, i thought again, ´´isnt that how it should be really? shouldnt the temple be the place where we feel comfortable and that we are the closest to home?´´ and its true. in the temple we are closer to our Hevenly Father, and closer to our heavenly home. i encourage you to all make the temple youre ´´closest thing to home´´.

  also had a cool experience, so because of having to go to guayaquil and all that, me and my comp were broke. but i mean broke!! like i had 2 cents to my name.. so that means we were stuck to walking everywhere and no busses or taxis. which is tough. but so end of the day saturday we just got done with a lesson and its late and time to go home, but we are super super duper far from the house. without money. but so we start walking. and at this piont theres no way we get home in time. so as we´re walking i say a private prayer, asking that some miracle happens, that we find a dolar in the street or something so we can make it home on time. and then just as i finish my prayer, a member that lives behind us drives up and says hop in to his truck! so we gldly jump in, and he takes us home, and we arrive exactly one minute before we have to be home. really a miracle. so i know that God loves us and that he hears and answers our prayers, even if its simple as getting home on time.

  also for the last news, today is transfers and i have been transfered! its bitter sweet. sad to be leaving these people who i have really grown to love; but exited for the new adventure that awaits. so now im in a zone called porto viejo, which is in the province of manabi, which is about 3 or 4 hours from guayaquil. and also, im now the new zone leader here! so that is pretty exciting and stressfull.

  well i love you all so much and hope you all have a great week!!

love,

Elder Taylor

#39 The Curtain

   well this week has been good. first off, id like to share a thought i had. i call it me ´Curtain Analogy´. so, where i study, i sit right infront of an open window but with the curtain down to block the sun. my back to the window. as im sitting there in the chair, my back blocks the curtain from raising up when the breeze blows. but, as i kneel down to pray, my back no longer hinders the curtain, so when the breeze comes the curtain freely moves up, and sunlight floods the room. i feel like life is the same way. sometimes we are sitting(not acting) and blocking that the light enters the room. but as we kneel down(action) to pray, and get out of the way, the Lord can work freely(like the breeze) and move the curtain so that we are flooded with light. so moral of the story, get on your knees and pray. well i hope that made sense to you guys.

   also, for a cool sttory, yesterday night i was walking down the street with a member when we see these cop lights and here vroooomm and we see these two guys on a motorcycle come flying down the street and the cop car behind chasing them! it was like fast and furious in real life! it was pretty awesome.

   also, this week we went to guayaquil, because we had a conference with Elder Uceda, a 70 from our area. hes awesome!! so powerful. it was great at first we all got to go up and shake his hand and say our name and where we are from. and then we took a picture with our zone and him. and then we had the meeting. and it was great. he taught us something really cool and useful stuff! it was way interesting hereing him and his wife and president and sister dennis. they areall awesome!

   also yesterday we were able to have 7 investigators come to church! though  2 of them left early after 1 hour. but we passed by them and they are really good and enjoyed it and said they are going to come back. and this morning we stopped by and hada super good lesson about the plan of salvation of we put a babtismal date with them! heir names are danny and angelica. they also have 3 kids, 2 of which can be babtized! but they are super awesome and accepted the date to be babtized! so for now they are scheduled to be babtized on the 27 of june! so be praying that they can keep coming to church as a family and be ready for that date! besides that we have some other investigators that have attended and will be working with.

   well hope you have a great week! 

love,

Elder Taylor

#38 Chain Affect

  well, where should i start.. so this week we were able to find quite a few new investigators! one of them is a family of 5; the mom, shirley, is a less active from more then 15 years back, with her husband, mauricio, and their 3 kids, jordan, sharik, and jeremias. they are an awesome family. we found them this week and taught them a few times and commited them to come to church, and the whole family came this sunday! so that was way aesome! 

  also, this week we did a family home evening and my comp and i made tacos (okay more my comp then me, but i was good moral support!) and they were awesome! it was a super fun family home evening, and we taught about the plan of salvation, and it was a super good lesson.

  also, this saturday was the babtism of Viviana´s daughter! Danae. so that was super cool to see and be there for that, that the daughter of our convert now is babtized too! cazy how it works, starting with her husband that got babtized in new jersey, to her investigating and getting babtized, to her brother getting babtized, and now her daughter! its awesome!

  well, i dont know what more to say this week, just that i love you all, and that i know the church is true. i know that no matter what trials or challenges or whatever you are going through, that the ggospel is the answer, the gospel is the way to happiness and peace. well i love you all and hope you have a great week!

love,

Élder Taylor

#37 La Chocalatera

So, last monday we went to the chocalatera... which to my surprise and dismay actually doesnt sell chocolate! how disleading. haha but no the chocolatera is the piont most west of all of ecuador, and like most of South America i think. its pretty cool. we didnt have a lot of time though so we couldnt see all of it, so we are going to ave to go back. but it was still fun.

  Also, this week we were with the familia Sosa, the family that we babtised the grandpa Silvio last week, and well first  off they are just so aesome. i love that familia so much! theyre the bomb. but so we were with them and the dad Henry said that his neigboor there were some less active members and also some investigators that had heard the misionaries before but nothinghappened. but we were like well could you come with us and introduce us to them. and he was like of course! so we went over and they let us in and we taught them and it was a super good lesson, and they all commited to coming to church! and this sunday, Magdalena the mom, Damaris, Marisol, Sussana, and Ismael all came to church!! Sussana and ismael are less acvtives, but the rest are investigators. and they are aesome! they all said they really like church, and tomorrow we have a family home evening with them and the Sosa´s, which is going to be awesome. we´re going to make Tacos! jaja but they are awesome and we are super excited to be working with them!

  we´ve also been able to get a few other referals this week which is awesome, because we have had a super hard time getting any refereals. but when you ut your mind and might to it and trust in the Lord anything is possible! and i know that refereals is one of the best way to get new investigators that will progress! well besides that everything is going well here in Libertad. hope you all are doing great!

love,

Élder Taylor

#36 Bautismos

  alright, so the highlight of this week was the weekend. this saturday, we had the babtisms of Gina Rodriguez and Silvio Sosa! i love these people so much! it was such a happy day!! its just one of those feelings you cant describe but just makes you smile super big. i wasable to babtize gina, and it was such a great experience to be the one to affect the ordinance for her. and silvios son babtized him. and that was so special to see the love in the family as everyone was there to support their grandpa, and especially the son was able to babtize his own father, after waiting soo many years for this day. it was really special. now Silvio has the goal to go to the temple, and in a year be sealed to his wife for all of the eternities. thet day will also be so special!

  the other highlight obviusly was yesterday, when i got to talk with the family. i dont think theyres words to express how much i love my family. it was especially special to also be able to talk with my sister whos in New Jersey on her mission. i love my family so much and miss them, but its this very thought annd feelings that helps me be motivated to help families have this same love and unity. ive seen so many families thatsadly just dont have this love or just arent close as a family, and i know that if the just had the gospel how much difference it would make in their lives. also i encourage you everyone to always be looking for missionary oportunities. there are so many people in this world just waiting to hear the gospel, and you could be the one to bring it to them. well i love you all sooomuch and hope everyone had a great motheres day and that you all have a great week.

love,

Elder Taylor

#35 Vaccinations

  well first off, sorry for not writing anything last week. i had to go to guayaquil monday for a leadership council and spent the whole day there, and didnt have anytime during the week. and now i dont even know where to start.

  well this past week all the missionaries here had to go to the ospital and get vacinations. so that was NOT fun. i dont like needles. or shots. and especialy when they are a suprise. but it turned out all good and i didnt die or faint. 

  also cool story, on my way back from guayaquil, which is a 2 hour trip n bus, i sat next to this guy, named elias, and we started talking. and well basically he told me his whole life story. but its a very interesting story so i didnt mind. but to make a long story short, there is this frute called pitajiya, that supposedly is super healthy and good for the body and the use it on asia. and this lady from ecuador went to asia and found this plant and liked it and smuggled it into ecuador. and started growing it. and then this guy elias saw the plant and liked it even more and baught it from the lady and started growing it and now has plantations and is the main guy in all of ecuador for this frute and is doing contracts to export it all over the world. so it was really interesting hearing all about that. and i also got to teach him a shortened version on the restoration, so hopefully one day that will cause him to have more interest in the church. 

   also, one of our investigators, named Silvio, who was going to get babtized on the 23rd of this month, the other day told us that it would be better to do it sooner, and so now he is getting babtized this saturday!! he already had all the lessons,so it wasnt a problem, and he had his interview yesterday and is all set for saturday! love that guy.

   also Gina had her babtismal interview yesterday also, and so she is all good for her babtism this saturday! so this week we will be having 2 babtisms! so we are super excied about that! 

   we also have been working still with dayanara and her mom, and her mom said she prayed and now knows that joseph smith was a prophet!! she is super awesome. and so we put a babtism date for them both for the 30th of may. the mom still has some challenges, but we are working them out and are really working towards here babtism for the 30th! we have also found some really good new investigators taht we are excite to be working with.

   well, i think that all for this week. i hope you are all doing super well and have a great week!!!

love,

Élder Taylor

#34 Sick for 3 days

  alright, so ill be honest, i never really know how to start these letters. creo que sería mas fácil en español. jaja okay so this week was interesting. both me and my companion fell sick for about 3 days, so 3 days we only worked for about 3 hours per day. so that was a little rough and frustrating. the worst thing on a mission is to not be able to work. but thankfully we are feeling better now. but this tuesday we had a lesson with a referal, the father of a member here, and he wants to be babtized! he is a little older and doesnt here too well so its always fun teaching him because we are almost yelling the whole lesson. but he is super awesome. his babtism is scheduled for the 16th of may, and he is super animated for it.

  also we are still working with dayanara. she  attended this week and wants to get babtized, but her mom says its too quick. but what is awesome is that at first we have only been teaching dayanara and her mama didnt want anything. but me and my comp wanted to teach them both obviously, and so we made plans to get the mom involved, and we have been trying to talk to her every time we go to visit her daughter. and then finally this week she accepted to listen to us!! so now we have tought her 2 times with her daughter and comitted her to come to church this next sunday! so thats super exciting and we´re praying that she can come and that her heart will be touched and then that she can be babtized with her daughter.

  Gina is doing well. she couldnt attend this sunday because she had to go to quayaquil. but she is still super excited and wanting to be babtized, so her and her daughter will be babtized now the 9th of may! they are both super awesome and excited and doing really well! just pray that nothing comes up to hinder them from being able to atttend this sunday!

  well we are working with some othr people also that we are excited to see how things go. well i love you all and hope all is well with everyone!

love,

Élder Taylor

#33 He Lives!

 well this week has been awesome! first off, i met a guy who speaks greek. he lived in greece for like 4 years. also he has been all araound the world. this guy is awesome. well so you know he is a grandpa now, but he is super cool, and has been teaching me some greek in exchange for teaching him some english! so ya, basicaly im fluent in Greek now.. jana

  also, we have an investigator, her name is Dayanara. we have been teaching her for about two weeks now, and this past week, we put a babtism date with her! she had been reading all the scriptures we had been leaving her, and said she had prayed and felt good, and believes that this things are true. so me and my companion talked and decided that ya we should invite her to babtism, and she accepted! so her babtism date is scheduled for the  25th of april. also, we were able to bring her to confrence this week, and she assisted the last session on sunday! so we are super excited to keep working with her

  also, it was so great, because this week we had really been working hard to get people to conference. the past week, we didnt have anyone in church, so we were a little worried about the same thing happening again. but we worked and prayed and worked and prayed some more, and every single one of the people who we had planned to come to conference showed up! it was such a miracle! i know that God really does answer our prayers, though its also necisary that we put in our part! but Maria attended with her son Josue, and also monica and Gina. this was the first time we were able to get Gina to come, and she said she really enjoyed it and felt good. we are super excited to keep working with her, because she is so awesome, and has a real desire to know the truth.

  also, another cool thing, is that we were talking to one of the members yesterday, and she told us that one of our recent converts was struggling, and had decided to not go to conference. but then that me and my companion had decided to call her to see how she was and if she was coming. the member told us that the recent convert almost didnt pivk up, but she answered and because we called right in the moment she decided to go to conference. and that it was a great experience and that it helped her a ton! its seriously the best feeling to know that i helped someone whom ive grown to love in her time of need, even with something so small as a little phone call. Well i know this is the Lords work, and that our Savior Jesus Christ lives and helps each and every one of us if we call his name with faith. he is always willing to help us. so let him in. i love you all and hope you all enjoyed conference and could learn something new. i hope you all have a fantastic week!

love,

Èlder Taylor

#32 Parade

well, this week me and my companion found ourself in the middle of a parade! we were just walking going to one of our appiontments, at around 7 at night, and all of a sudden we notice there are a ton of people in the street. they had flags they were waving around and there were some people dancing and there was music and all sorts of stuff. it was crazy! we were so confused tho, so we asked what was going on, and apperently here in Libertad every year they have this party/parade where they dance thruogh the streets and even have some floats and stuff. so that was pretty cool to see.

this week we have had some new investigators and some really good lessons. we had one with a man named Cristian. he is super awesome, and said he prayed about joseph smith, and believes he is a profet! he said he felt super good when he prayed ad asked! the only problem is with his work he hasnt been able to attend church yet. so we are working to ry and find a way to keep him to attend; hopefully he can attend General Conference!

also, this week, i had a super cool experience. as we were heading to one of our lessons, we were passing by a house, and i saw a lady sitting in her doorway. a said hi to her as we passed, and she waved back, and i had the thought to talk with her. but we were in a hurry so we kept going to the leson we had scheduled. but after the lesson we passed by her house again, and she was still there, and this time yes we did stop and talk with her. and shes awesome! she aid usually she doesnt talk to people when they come and stop by like we did, but said for some reason she did with us. and she let us in and we were able to teach her the restoration, and it was a really good lesson! she is super awesome, and im excited to see how things progress with her!

well, i love you all, and hope you have a great week!

love,

Élder Taylor

#31 Guayas

well, this week felt super short. and even crazier is that today starts a new transfer. time flies so fast! but this week was aesome becasue we were able to go to guayaquil! tuesday afternoon we left on the bus (its a 2 hour trip) and got there that night. slept there at the temple, the same place i stayed when i very first got here to ecuador. and the best part though, hot showers!! first hot shower in like 7 months. that was nice. ha but then wednesday morning super early, we got to go to the temple and do a session! so that was actually even better then the hot shower. haha it is always so awesome to be able to attend the temple with all the other missionaries and with president. then after the temple, we had a confrence with president, that was amazing, like always. president is so wise its ridiculous. i seriously just wish i could download all his knowledge. that would be so useful. or pull like a Spock and see everything. but even not being able to upload intelegince, i learned so much from him. then after the conference it was pouring, so we got wet waiting for a taxi. and my shoes i was wearing have holes in them, and i stepped in a puddle and the water went right through and soaked my socks! haha so that was fun, but it was all good i the end, as we took the bus back to Libertad. the rest of the week went well, we{ve been able to find some new investigators, and were able to have a few of them at church! but they couldnt stay the full 3 hours which was a bummer. but me and my companion are excited to start this new transfer and are sure that this transfer is going to be even more succesful then the last! well i love you all and hope you all are going well!

love,

Elder Taylor

#30 Un loco en calle

well, first off sorry that i didnt get to send a email last week, we had Carnaval here, which apperently is crazy, and so we were locked in the house for 3 days. but hey, at least we got to do a lot of studying...

but for this week, saturday Viviana got babtized, and yesterday comfirmed as a member!! my comp got to babtise her, which was his first babtism on the mish, so that was way awesome!! and then i actually was the one to confirm her as a member, which was my first comfirmation, which also was awesome! she is so awesome and is going to be such a great member! she already wants to have a calling and help out in any way that she can! and her and her husband have the goal set to go to the temple and be sealed! how awesome is that!! and even more, her little brother, Esteban, has been listening to our lessons too, and told us that in our lessons he felt something he has never felt before, like a peace or something. and it felt good. and now he is going to be babtized too, on the 14 of march!! its amazing how the Lord works to bring ALL of his children to the truth and the happiness found in it.

yesterday we were able to bring 8 investigators to church! though only 6 stayed for all three hours. but it was still awesome to have all of them there and after have them tell us how they were able to feel the spirit. one of our new investigators, Milton, attended and said he almost started crying during the hymns, from the spirit! also he came to church wearing ear rings, and after the 2nd hour said he just felt bad having ear rings and right there took them off!! so cool.

also, the other day as me and my comp were waiting for the bus, there was this man that came out of no where, waiving his hands around in the air yelling like the world was ending. then he started chasing down this bus waving his fists at it. when he realized he couldnt catch it, turned around and started going off at some cars, still standing in the middle of the street. it was so crazy, me and my comp couldnt help but start laughing.

as for my comp, his name is Elder Villaseñor. he´s from Mexico, and we are getting along great! im so glad for the opportunity to train again and that my new comp is so willing to work. its great!

well i love you all and hope you are all doing great and enjoying life, because there is so much to be happy for!!

love,

Élder Taylor

#29 Cambios

So this week is transfers! and like always, there will be some changes. but first for this week. this thursday we had to go to guayaquil for a conference with president. which is a 2 hour trip by bus, so we had to wake up at 4 am! it was early. but the conference was so good! president is so smart and inspired, its amazing! one of the things we talked about was the sacrament. the importance and real significance of the sacrament. its amazing. i would encourage all of you to take some time and study about the sacrament, and i promise that as you do so it will take on a new meaning and importance to you. there are some great talks on it on LDS.org. also, we got to watch the movie ''meet the mormons''! so that was way cool. its amazing how the church is spreading; or how the work is spreading. and its wonderful to be a small part of it!

Fam Maldonado were able to attend again this week, which is so awesome! they are progressing so much and its so cool to see them change and become closer to God. Viviana was in a different part of Ecuador, but still attended and is still super excited for her babtism! she is awesome!

well for the changes: my comp is transfered, but im staying in Libertad! and also ill be training again, which is way exciting! well i love you all and hope you all are doing great!!

Love,

Elder Taylor

#28 Baptism

 this week we had the babtism of Blanca, which went really awesome! it was so cool too that her nephew got to be the one to babtize her! and then yesterday she was confirmed as a member of the church! she is great!

 also, Viviana is seriously such a golden investigator! we taugt her monday, and she accepted a date to be babtized the 21 of Feb! she is seriously so prepared its amazing! and she is so fun to teach and work with

  we have some awesome new investigators that we found this week that we are going to be working with this next week. also cant believe that this is the last week of transfers already! i feel like i just got here to the peninsula and yet ive been here over a month! crazy! 

 well things are going really well here! miracles happen everyday, you just have to have the eyes to see them! 

 also, for a quick story, this week we had a rat in the house!! i walk in to our study room, flick on the lights, and see this thing scurry into the corner behind our bookcase. i wish i could say i bravely went and took care of the problem... but to be honest (and as a missionary i got to be honest) i yelled for back up and then stood behind the other missionaries as they took care of it. but hey, i feel like i still played a vital part in taking care of the rat problem..

 well i love you all and hope everything is going well! take care!

love,

Élder Taylor

#27 Golden Investigator

  this week has been awesome! so first off, this coming saturday will be the babtism of Hna Blanca! im so excited for her babtism! she is so excited to be babtized and be a member in the church! its amazing hearing how much she has changed, and i love seeing how she acts as if she has been a member her whole life already--but really has only attended like 3 times! she is great! and its awesome that she has family that are members and they are so supportive and help her out so much!

  also, our golden investigator, Olivia attended church this week! she stayed the full 3 hours and said she really enjoyed it! she is so receptive to everything we teach and she learns, and its just amazing! she really is a testimony to me that the Lord has people prepared for us; people who are ready and just waiting for a guide to lead them to the door of happiness and everlasting life. im so humbled and grateful i have that oportunity to be this guide in her life. 

  also, crazy story, this sunday at church, me and my companion where stading there after sacrament meeting saying hi to people and helping them get to the next class,when a sister came up to us, and presented us to another sister, who apperently is married to a member, but she is not babtized, and came to church, and she really wants to get babtized! both me and my comp where almost in shock! to have an investigator basically come up and ask to get babtized.. doesnt happen everyday. haha but we talked with her and will be meeting with her today to talk more. but how awesome is that! and then after church, the sister that is a member of our ward who presesnted us to this investigator who wants to get babtized, told us how sh has been praying for someone that she can meet and present to us the missionaries that we can teach--and well she found someone! its so cool the way the Lord answers prayers!

  well this week we will be staying super busy prepping for the babtism and working on helping the other investigators we have accept babtismal dates. im so happy i get to be here and for how much ive learned and how much im learning everyday! i hope all of you are doing well! love you all!

Elder Taylor

#26 Classic Ecuador

this week went by way fast... again. this week we had the babtism of Jose Pillasagua! that went reallywell. the bishop babtized him and it was awesome.

also, we found a new invetigator that is so ready!! we went up and contacted her house, and she emmeiately let us in before we even said anything, told us to take a seat, and we talked, and shared a lesson with her. just a month ago her brother passed away, so we talked about the plan of salvation, and how even though he passed on, its not the end, and that she will have the chance to be with him again. it was a super good lesson. she told us that she felt a peace and calmness in the lesson, which we explained was the holy ghost. she isso aesome! we also commited her to pray about the things we taught, and she said she would. and when we came back she told us that she did pray and again felt this calmness and peace and tranquility. she said she will come to church with us this coming sunday, as she wasnt able to this past sunday.

she is so prepared its amazing to see how the Lord puts these poeple in our path. but also ive learned we have to act and do our part. because for example if we never would have gone up to contact that house, we never would have found her, atleast not for who knows how long. well thats my words of wisdom for this week, act and the Lord will bless you. Be Active! jaja well i love you all and hope all is well!

oh, also attached is a picture i took on one of our morning runs to the beach. classic ecuador wit all the fishing boats and the fishermen up early working. well love you all!

Elder Taylor

#25 Fish head...

alright, so first off with the interesting foods of Ecuador that ive gotten to try this week: caviar for my first time, which is really good. Fish head (which includes the eyes. yumm). and turkey foot (okay that ones not my favorite). but i love ecuador. the people are so nice and the food is good and there is always something new!

So first off, we have an investigator named Blanca, who is awesome! we started teaching her the first week i got here, and extended her a fecha which she accepted, so she is going to get babtized this 31st of january! she is so prepared. her sister is also a member, which is aesome. So Blanca has known about the church for a long time, but never was interesed and never thought she would ever have anything to do with it. but then some things went down in her family and in life, and now she is soo accepting of the gospel and loves to learn and knows that its true. its amazing how the Lord prepares his children for the right time when they will accept the gospel in their lives. its just another testimony of how the Lord knows each and every one of us and what are exact needs are and when we need them and everything! it really is amazing.

well thats all i have time for. love you all!

Elder Taylor