Christmas Call!

1. The best part of this week was Christmas and being able to call home! It is always good to see family! And we also had a surprise visit from a bearded man! Not santa but Brady Jestice, my cousin! I love my family so much and am so grateful for all their influences in my life. It was crazy hanging up that call and thinking i would never skype them again on the mission but i would see them pretty darn soon! Little things keep showing up about how much time i have left and it's pretty crazy! But I'm working hard till the end!

2. I am super grateful for all the love and support i got from my family and friends. Thanks so much for all the christmas cards/ packages and swedish fish.. i still have a few fish left... not many though!!! 

3. Christmas Eve! We got to see President and Sister Smith for a few minutes. They were dropping off supplies!!! Which was awesome! And then we got to see Elder and Sister mills who are an awesome senior couple that go home next week! Sister mills is the sweetest lady in the whole world! I love her! But we got to say good bye to them so that was super nice and they delivered a package so i was not complaining at all! 

4. we had Christmas dinner at Danny Sims' house! It was way good! Nothing like some good southern food! His wife made both of my favorite deserts, pecan pie and banana pudding! So I had to have some of both! You can never go wrong with too much sugar!!!!

5. Mark and Brenda Clements! They invited us over christmas eve and Christmas night and we had a good talk with them and established our expectations and talked about what they need to do! It was way good. They think they are so far but they are soooooooo close they just need a little faith and they will be there! So that our next project!

6. Christen, Brenda's nephew, is also taking the lessons and is super close. It was way cool, he was texting us and telling us how he wants to get baptized! He just has to work out a few things and he has read the whole gospel principles book! So that is awesome! 

7. Tyler Marks' almost 9 year old son wants to get baptized really bad also! The one thing he wants is his dad to do it! His dad is super nervous about getting the priesthood (he's a deacon) but its' been really good motivation for them to go forward. #yeahforkids!

8.  Lego party! Christmas day we were at the Clements and Evan, Mark and Brenda's 4 year old, was trying to get his 1000 piece lego set set up! So we were enlisted into a lego army! It's hard to tell a 4 year old no! But we built some space ships and a museum in the process of being robbed complete with robbers, cops and a helicopter!

9. I got a sweet watch that is definitely a highlight! Pictures soon hopefully! love you mom and dad!

10. I'm just grateful to be serving the Lord this Christmas season! it is such a blessing! the lord has blesses me so much and I'm am so incredible grateful to have spent this time serving. It makes me realize how much it means, especially as I near the close. But i know there is no place in the world i would rather be than here serving the Lord, only here could I make the friends I  have and done the things to make me the man that I  am this day. The mission is such a blessing! 

I love you all, 

Elder Taylor

Sam & Elder Peel with Sister Smith's Car: 

Inspired Homecoming!

1. got to say a lot of byes to a lot of good people! Fairhope was a fun place and there are a lot of super legit member there! i also got to say bye to a bunch of the missionaries i got close with while serving in Fairhope so that was a double plus! Goodbyes are always sad but that's alright

2. We left in the middle of district meeting to drive Elder Miller all the way to Tallahassee so that was crazy! It was a super long drive! Elder Miller was going home but because of the holidays he had to leave a day early. But we got to see a lot of the friends that he made on the drive so that was cool! I got some food so i didn't complain

3. I dropped Elder Miller off, said some byes to friends that i had that were going home, sister dyches and elder cooper two missionaries i love and respect a lot! So that was sad but i was happy I could say bye to them! 

4. Then I was companions with Elder Swenson for the day! That was way too much fun! I love Elder Swenson. we went to Chipotle and then met up with some tally missionaries and did splits! Because of the time change we couldn't go to bed till an hour later and then at 524 am Central time i get a text saying i have to call a set of missionaries who need to be transferred! so that was crazy!! They were not happy when i called them because they thought they got to stay together after the mission... sad day... I also woke them up super early! But it had to be done! oh well! 

5. I was hanging out at the mission home with Sister Smith, the mission presidents wife and I heard she loved j-dawgs so I still had a huge bottle I couldn't use the whole thing in 3 months so i made a small bottle for her! She was pumped and gave me a super big hug! It was way funny! I wasn't expecting her to hug me but hey its tough being the favorite!

6. Got to transfers and it was super nerve wracking because everyone saw that both set of mobile zone leaders got whitewashed... everyone was nervous! Elder Riddle one of the good friends of my mission came up to me he was the mobile north Zl and i was the south and he was super stressed because it looked like we would be comps... but we didn't! We liked each other too much to be comps! So thats good it didn't Happen! But i was excited because the ZLS got moved up to Atmore, super small town where there is nothing going on... but i would have gone where the Lord needed me!

7. President in a meeting Wednesday morning made some Mariana jokes to me so i got super excited about it. President Smith stinks at keeping secrets. But guess where i got transferred to.... MARIANA FLORIDA!!!!! Back to my first area! I was so excited i jumped up and ran right over and gave my new companion, Elder Peel a great big hug! 

8.  After transfers I went up to talk and to say thank you to President and Sister Smith. She told me a cool story, told me how i was put in Mariana because of inspiration. She told me when they started transfers president moved me to Mariana and said i think elder taylor would love to finish in Mariana, and sister smith quickly said that we couldn't be nice and give missionaries what they wanted all the time! But she said she was amazed as i quickly floated across the trasnfer board to Mariana, she would say we can't do that but by the end of the day i would be back! She looked at me and said Elder Taylor i know for a fact it's inspiration that you are back in Mariana. 

9. Wednesday after transfers i went to the church and everyone was going crazy when they saw me! It was sooo funny! I almost gave Danny Sims a heart attack when he saw that it was me! He was so excited but its cool to go back and see how many people actually liked me! 

10. The one i was most excited to see was Brenda Clements, someone I taught about 16 months ago, she fell off after I left but now she is totally active, just not baptized! So we will work on that the next few weeks! I'm excited and I think its a big reason why i am back here! I'm so grateful! 

11. i sang in the christmas program! it was horrible me elder peel and elder lay the senior missionary are horrible and singing! the sisters sister matihson and dyer were pretty good! they saved the day! everyone in the ward sang and no one can sing so it made it really fun!

love y'all and merry Christmas!!

Elder Taylor

1. elder palu he is the best! elder palu loves rugby! we played when we went to tally!

2. elder lovell was his comp for 5 transfers! he is a boss! 

3. sister coleman nailed me in the face with that volleyball a few weeks ago!

4. the amare family! they are great!

Transfers and Christmas Cheer!

i have a lot to write and little time so here we go!!!!! 

1. Sam got confirmed this week! it was super good the spirit was super powerful it was a great feeling! i'm grateful i was able to be part of his conversion!!!

2. half mission. I got to see a lot of  good friends and it was awesome! lots of people that are going home soon so that was a plus also! i'm grateful for that one!

3. we got to watch Meet the Mormons. It was soooo good it was crazy. I loved it! great movie and if you haven't seen it, go see it!

4. we had a christmas stocking exchanges and my best friend elder whitney got me! and in it he gave me a snow globe christmas ornament with him and me in it! i loved it! he is so cool! #friendsforlife

5. im getting transferred! merry christmas to me right! found out just a few hours ago! it will be good ill be sad to leave daphne but not super sad like some of my other areas so its all good! president smith personally called me to see if i was up for a challenge and told me i'm exactly where ill need to be! so i'm very excited! i love president smith! you can feel love ooze out of that man

6. elder shali trade off it was super fun! elder shali is a convert of 2 years and has a crazy story! he was disowned when he joined the church but he is stud! he has a crazy testimony and is here because the lord needed him! he is also super funny and super down to earth! it makes for an interesting time! ill have to send you the trade off picture next week! BECAUSE IT WAS EPIC!!!

7. Daphne christmas parade! we were in a parade it was super fun and we handed out over 1500 cards. Preaching the gospel with candy never hurts!

8. Sarah Mitchell and Resendia, two investigators came to church and it was epic! Gospel principles was totally full because of all the investigators! super big blessing! but it was a full house this sunday! 

i could go on but i have 7 minutes love you all!

1. naryan family

2. christmas float! 

3. me and elder whitney with my present from him! which was a snowglobe oranement with us in it!

4. me cooper and whitney my favorites!

SAM KINGS BAPTISM and losing a tooth :'(

1. Sam King our super solid Investigator was baptized this week! it was a super good service it was right after church and the spirit was there and it was strong. It was so awesome & such a powerful meeting. Everyone there said that Sam would do big things in his life; it was awesome! Great baptism! 

​

2. Sam also bore his testimony about the truthfulness of the gospel and how it blessed his life! It was so good! He is a power house! After that everyone talked about how grateful they were to know Sam and see him with so much faith! I am so grateful I got to be a small part of his conversion!

3. Sam's dad attended the baptism and it was perfect! Brother King was totally touched by the spirit! He cried the whole time and every speaker cried. It was just amazing how strong the spirit was and how much it meant to everyone there!

4. I lost a tooth this week! Or more correctly, it was stolen from my jaw! I had a tooth that was broken so I went to the dentist and he ripped it out of my face! Nothing like having a huge gaping hole in your face, right?! But it was super cool, I told him I was the son of a dentist and he was like yeah it would be pretty crazy for you to have dental insurance right? I said yeah and he's like well I'm the son of a dentist also so don't worry about it I'll cover you because I know how you feel! So that was super cool of him! #dr.harrell is a boss!

5. I hope you all saw the 1st presidency Christmas devotional last night. It was super good! Remember the true meaning of Christmas and how this time of year we should focus on the Savior! 

6. We had MLC on wednesday over in Crestview. Nothing too exciting but next month is going to be crazy! Huge surprises coming but I'm not allowed to tell you guys, sorrry:( But you will find out in January! It will be awesome!!!

7. Two trade-offs this week! #1 was theodore with elder Huntsman! It was super fun elder Huntsman is a great missionary and has come into an area with no success and has helped bring 4 BCDS! He is just on fire it is awesome! It's so awesome how much a good attitude and work ethic can influence an area! 

8. We had a meeting in Mobile so we got to eat at Chipolte! I love food! Except when you have a giant hole in your mouth and rice gets in it! 

9. Tradeoff # 2 was crazy with Elder Howard it was super random and all over the place and it was down in Foley! Foley is just a bunch of trailer parks apparently or at least that's only where we went. It was a little sketchy but it was fun!!! 

10. Sister Debbie! She is great she had a stroke and lives in a nursing home but she gave us  a Christmas present yesterday when we went to see her. We both got a satsuma! It was super nice of her because she has almost nothing but it was super sweet of her!

i love you all!

Elder Taylor

#sharethegift

1. He is the gift! you all should know about it if not look it up! #sharethegift! http://www.mormon.org/christmas 

its is super good and super powerful and helps us all remember what the real reason for Christmas is!

2. Turkey bowl! nothing like some good football to start off your Thanksgiving day! It was super good had a few touchdowns! Just wished it was rugby instead! 

3. Thanksgiving dinner number 1!! w]We had dinner at the Atwoods It was crazy! 3 types of turkey, smoked, deep fried and then just baked! Everything was super good! I love food! haha but that was way good but we headed straight to dinner number 2

4. Dinner 2 at the Amares. There were only 6 of us and they had a full turkey and a full ham.... so lots of food! Brother Amare made the turkey and was very adamant about the herbs he put on the turkey. I think he just likes the word herbs cause he said it 100 times! It drove sister Amare crazy but it was a little funny! After dinner we gave  one of their kids a blessing and then sister Amare talked about what she was grateful for and she talked about her conversion and her opportunity to be sealed to her family

5. Sister Amare's condensed conversion story- She was like the meanest investigator ever, if you were 1 minute late she would lock the door and not let you come. She was super cynical about her approach and was trying to disprove it, however something kept drawing her back to it! So she kept going back. finally after some concerns were discovered blessings given she opened up and was just on fire after that. Her husband not so much, he threatened to divorce her if she got baptized! But faith won! A few weeks later he was baptized also and then a lttle down the road they were sealed! Happy day!!! 

6. Bishop Nimmer game the lesson this week. He talked about the 80/20 diet and how some people think you can eat good 80% of the time and eat bad the other 20% of the time. he related it to the gospel and asked us all to think about if we are 80/20 members of the church. Do we do good 80% of the time and sin only 20%. It's a good average but is it what the lord expects of us? 

7. Bishop Nimmer baptized his daughter after church! It was super good and super powerful! the spirit was there. I love attending baptisms! 

8. After church we also had a linger longer! I love food, like stated earlier! But boy they had some banana pudding... yeah it was awesome! There was a tub full and was gone when I went back for seconds..:( 

9.  We found two new investigators this week which was super good! Don Abbit and Issac Huston so hopefully they progress! They both have super good potential but i guess we will see right! But we biked like 100 miles this week! Which wasn't bad when I was back in pace but we haven't biked at all here so i almost died! 

10. Last is Chris Avera! haha he is a less active and he's a little crazy. He thinks he's a ninia and also that he will be in the zombie apocalypse! Yeah he's a little out there but it makes visits fun right! what's life with out a little crazy?

love you all

Elder Taylor

Goodbye and Sleepovers!

1. This week was super crazy I only spent 3 days with my actual companion! It was a week full of tradeoff but thats alright I love tradeoffs!

2. Elder Young tradeoff! It was a stress relief for him! Last week he was made a spanish elder and he just barely finished being trained as an english missionary! So he has been going crazy! But he is awesome though! He loves rugby!!! And we talked about everything! He's like my twin, its super weird! But it was a super fun tradeoff and a super good teaching opportunity! 

3. Funny story: as we dropped Elder Young off he drove away with our phone! Not cool! He serves in Pasagoula, Mississippi so we drove to catch up to him! All the way to Pascagoula, Mississiippi! Turns out they realized it and went to our home in Alabama!! haha It just complicates it even more since we had to meet the aps in Crestview, Flordia! So it was a three state and 300 mile day so that makes life enjoyable I guess! Lots of car sitting but we got our phone!

4. Tradeoff one went straight into tradeoff two! I was with Elder Sorenson, an assistant to the president and Elder Riddle, a Mobile north zone leader! And that was a super fun few days! So we worked both in Mobile and in Fairhope so it ended up being a 36 hour exchange! So it took forever!

5. We found a new investigator, Shirly while tracting on an exchange! She knows Sam King, one of our super solid investigators! It was super cool as soon as we started talking about Sam she was super excited she opened up took a Book of Mormon and set up and appointment! Just a great example of being an example from Sam who isn't even a member yet!

6. The next day of our tradeoff we went to mobile! Mobile is an odd city. It looks like it was a super cool city a long time ago... it;s not any more, it's super sketchy! But we survived our Mobile stretch! Oh and the traffic is horrible! Worse than LA for real!

-----7. I got sick again! I think I'm the sickest missionary in the world! I always get a cold! But don't worry mom, I'm up and going again!

8. This was a sad week. I said bye to probably one of the best friends I have made my whole mission. Elder Jakeb Bochenek. He is going home on Wednesday and since we were his zone leaders we got to drive him out to the half way spot between here and Tallahassee. I was super grateful I got to be one one to drive him! But i learned so much from him and I know I still have lots of lessons to learn from him. I'm excited since he said I can live in his basement and marry his sister!

9. Virtue! Great quote " Virtue or even the attempt of virtue brings light into our life; indulgence brings fog" I really liked that by CS Lewis! 

10. Have a great week I love you all!

Elder taylor

Cranky Old Ladies, and Getting Yelled at by a General Authority!

1. MLC again! so we had a crazy week we had another mission leadership council which was great! These meetings are sooo good and it was really cool because Elder Soares of the presidency of the 70 was there and gave some awesome inspired instruction!!! It was so cool to see a man love us so much and then call down a blessing from heaven upon us! It was way cool and the spirit was super strong! 

2. Elder Soares talked about planning  and he quoted some super good scriptures. moses:3:5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew. For I, the Lord God,created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth. For I, the Lord God, had not caused it to rain upon the face of the earth. And I, the Lord God, had created all the children of men; and not yet a man to till the ground; for in heaven created I them; and there was not yet flesh upon the earth, neither in the water, neither in the air;" This scripture shows us that God is a planner! He plans everything before he does it and that is how we should be. We need to be planning effectively so that we can tell the lord we did our best!

3. Elder Soares called me out in my planning! He was saying that we need to be better at planning so I thought oh man this isn't good, I don't have my planner with me! I had my planner for the next 6 weeks not the last 6 weeks so the new planner was totally empty!!! And of course just my luck he looked at it... and asked my what i did at 1 o'clock on a day that was fully blank! (that day was actually tomorrow so we hadn't planned for it yet) but it was just an awesome experience getting in trouble from a general authority! But it was alright 'cause he gave me a big hug once the meeting was over and I explained everything and he was a little embarrassed! But thats alright. He was a great guy, very powerful!

4. Last thing for Elder Soares! I could probably write this whole letter about him! But he talked a lot about attitude! Attitude determines our altitude.  That was super good, he said that as we realize and teach missionaries about the divine nature of our calling we will be more consecrated and realize why we are here and what we need to be doing! 

5. Not the best part of MLC was it was Saturday and only a 3 hour meeting which meant we woke up at 5:30 and got home at 9:30 so it was a long day! Lots and lots of driving! It's rough being one of the farthest zone away but i love road trips and we had some super good conversations!

6. So on that drive we were in a mini van! The Mobile North zone leaders have a mini van! And it was us 6 elders talking. The conversation came to a point talking all about what was said and now how do we do it! How do we reach the level of consecration that Elder Soares and more importantly the Lord expects of us! We brainstormed for a while and raelized we just need to do our best and be examples and as we do this then the enabling and strengthening power of the atonement comes in that is when we realize that we did the best and we ask the lord to make us better! I'm so grateful for the atonement!

7. Elder Fortin was one of those missionaries in that car. He has been a zone leader for 1 transfer so the same amount of time as me! Me and Elder Riddle and Miller were all trying to figure out his personality. but on the ride home he opened up and was so smart about the stuff he was talking about it was crazy. He knows the gospel and he is such a good missionary! He's also 26 and talked a lot about how its never too late to get your act together and serve!

8. Transfers. They were way fun and I got to say goodbye to a lot of good friends... it was sad to see a lot of them go! but sadly I'm not too far behind them

9. Cranky old ladies!!! We taught a family history class at the library this week! It was awesome! Except some of the old ladies had some very bad attitude problems! One in particular but besides that it was super fun! Yeah for family history!

10. Roosevelt! He's a new investigator we found this week! He's a super old black guy! The one down side is he needs to buy a magnifying glass to read! Oh, old people! 

Love you all, 

Elder Taylor

Me and Elder Person. He's a good looking stud muffin

Me and Elder McPerson

A departing AP and DM! 

Training, Book of Mormon and Road Trips! Oh and Peanut Pickers!

What a crazy week! I think I drove 800 miles! but it was an adventure!

1. First off, we road tripped to Tallahassee which is about 300 miles one way! It was super fun! It was 4 of us in a mini van named isabelle the harolet! Yeah, missionaries are super crazy!! But it was super fun! And the trip back we got to make a stop in Marianna! 

2. Yeah for Marianna! We got to see good old Bishop Sims! Although he isn't bishop anymore I still call him that! He will always be Bishop Sims of Marianna ward! Even though the current bishop is Bishop Sims, Danny Sim's cousin! Wow, that's just confusing! But he took me on a peanut picker ride! That was way fun and super slow. 1.6 mph but it was good to sit and talk with him for a while! I'm so grateful I got to spend time with him! He also fed us his homegrown burgers, they are the best!

3.  Mission leadership council was why i was in Tallahassee! It was way cool and way fun! The first night we played games it was a nice relaxing evening!~ I brought my rugby ball and we played a good hour long game of two touch rugby! It was so much fun I love it! I miss the sport so much! We ended the night with a bonfire songs and a testimony meeting. The next day we had a big long meeting with a lot of the leaders in the mission! It was so darn good! It's great seeing so many great missionaries

4. We listened to a great talk by President Uchtdorf which very few people have seen. it is a talk from a mission presidents seminar where he talks about Peter and his conversion. He talks about missionaries and what it takes to be a successful missionary! I wish I could tell each and every mission friend i know to look it up but only mission presidents get accesses to it so it's a big deal! He talked about the transforming power of the sacrament and after the Lord instituted the sacrament the apostles remembered what everything meant and remembered what they had to do. the sacrament needs to be a weekly spiritual experience. a little ironic because we went to pick up an investigator and missed the sacrament... but next week! 

5. Another part of this talk he talked about missionaries he knew in England. One was Elder Strong was a good hard working missionary and one of the best elders in the mission. he followed the spirit and did much good! But he was never a zone leader or an assistant, he saw much success though!  Then President Uctdorf made a observation, the thing elder strong did was train many missionaries. after MLC I had an interviews with the mission president. We talked about that talk and Elder Strong. He talked about how much a responsibility training is. Then he asked me how many missionaries i trained which i told him 5. Just then i realized how much the Lord has trusted me and letting me have the privilege if training 5 missionaries. It's the most important responsibility and i feel humbled that the Lord would allow me to do it and think of me to do it

6. Interviews with president were awesome! He said I have his full and complete trust no matter what I do. I asked him what I could do with my last 5 months left. He told me SPRINT give it my all the last little bit and we can see what happens! So here we go! I'm in the straight away on the home stretch! 

7. President said something super crazy about marriage in MLC! He said that many men are not called to leadership positions that could fulfill Them. the reason they aren't is because they did not marry a women as strong in the gospel as them!  Interesting he then talked about how a mission presidents wife's job is a lot harder then it seems. She has to do A LOT which is super true! She is always working! We have a great mission mom! Sister smith is awesome!

8. We went over to our investigators Cody's house and there was a big blow up! His mom is a little crazy and there was a lot of yelling and profanity used! But we were able to sit with Cody outside and read the Book of Mormon with him and you could tell he was feeling the spirit It was so strong and so good! It just calmed him down and it was a total change! There is power in the Book of Mormon!

A top 8 is good enough for this week I love you all!

Elder Taylor

Me with Bishop Sims and the peanut picker

Tradeoffs, Baby Slobber and Jubilee!

1. I got to go on a trade-off with one of the assistants to the president. So those are missionaries that help the mission president run a lot of the mission and they also come on trade-offs with all the zone leaders to make sure we are doing our job! So that is nerve wracking! Elder McPherson was the missionary assigned to be with me, and he is a legend . He was trained as a zone leader, he only spent 4 months not as a zone leader and has been an assistant for the last year! I was expecting him to be super crazy but he's totally down to earth and super cool! He is an awesome missionary and I' glad i got to see him before he goes home in two weeks!

2. We talked a lot about the problems in the mission one of the biggest being just our work ethic. he challenged me to find a way to inspire the missionaries especially those in our zone! So that's something i have been thinking a lot about. I'm trying to find a way where I can show all these great missionaries how important it is to work hard and be diligent! I'm just glad we have a pretty darn good zone!

3. We had a zone training! So once every six weeks all the missionaries in the zone get together and we have a 3 hour meeting and talk about what we need to do or how we can improve. so being a zone leader I was in charge of this meeting! Oh boy it was a big deal! but it was great, as i settled in and the spirit was there everything went just swell! 

4. We started our zone training with what we call a set the tone. we made all the missionaries go out and look at the picture of the Savior in the garden of Gethsemene and then watched the 'Because of Him video!" watch it right now if you havent see it in the last month! http://easter.mormon.org/ there is the link! its sooooo good! then we asked the zone how the Savior could do all he does and we can't simply be obedient, diligent trustworthy... on and on it was super good and brought the spirit super duper well!

5. After the meeting i drove to Pasagoula Mississippi! I have officially slept in every state of the mission:  Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia! That's a big deal! But it was an interesting place! Super duper ghetto! especially compared to Fairhope! It was way bad and way sketchy! But it wasn't the worst i have seen! apparently the city got leveled by Katrina and they just rebuild slowly from there! But it was a good day. I was with Elder Stroupe and it is always an adventure!

6. Gerald dean! so we knocked on this ladies door a few days ago and no one answered so as we were walking away she yelled at us, she was about to get in the shower and told us to come back another day! So we went back and taught her the restoration and she loved it! It was awesome! It's nice to have someone just let you in right off the street!

7. I got to go up to Mobile stake conference! It was pretty good! Besides the blown out speakers it was a good meeting! Elder Munns of the seventy spoke and talked a lot about angles and how mush they influence our life! some are heavenly and some are mortal but we are constantly surrounded by angles! That's the truth! 2 kings 6:16! 

8. I also got to see lots of people form Monroeville, which was super cool! It was good seeing old friends! I actually got to sit by Steven and Desray Coombs, a couple that I taught that got baptized not too long ago! Dessray wiped Michah's slobber all over me and said there you go he loves you now! Steven leaned over and said man you knew this baby before he was even born! Which is weird because I taught here while she was pregnant and never got to meet him!

9. Fairhope jubilee.. interesting thing right there. A jubilee is when all these fish just come to shore and don't swim away. It happens when the water is super low in oxygen and they just can't function so you just reach down and grab fish and crab! Super weird though! It only happens in two places in the world, 1. Fairhope, Alabama, 2. Tokyo bay Japan! 

10. I love you all have a great week!

1. FIrst off- Sam King, the super ready 17 year old, was supposed to get baptized on Saturday... but his dad wants him to wait a little longer so he isn't so impulsive. Which is good, but kind of a bummer. It's been good though since I have gotten to get to know him a lot better. He likes me now so that is good! 

2. We had a lesson with Sam's dad and that was crazy good! Brother King came and told us his concerns and Brother Atwood (the family that has been fellowshipping Sam) answered them great! It was a little crazy in the fact that we were there for 2 hours! They just kept talking and neither me or Elder Miller knew what to do! But it was good and at the end we challenged Mr. King to read and pray about the Book of Mormon because that will be the only way that all his concerns will be resolved! #thatsthetruth!!!

3. Mr.King is reading the Book Of Mormon and wants to meet with us so who knows, we might end up baptizing Sam and his father. That would be so cool! But it's good to have an investigator be sincere and actually put forth the effort needed to progress! 

4. A little on the Atwood family! They are awesome! Because we teach Sam there 3 times a week we are always over there and they always feed us which is super cool!!!! I wont complain at all about food! But they are awesome, Brother Atwood is a scriptorian but has just enough sarcasm to keep you humble! He is great! It's funny because it is what I invision Papa my grandfather,  to be like, so it's been odd! But I think Papa was a lot more humble and soft spoken! But still its odd casue i have this connection with him with out ever knowing him! 

5. I had my first Sunday at the Daphne, Alabama ward and it was pretty good! It's a good size ward with a lot of younger families and a good sized elders quorum, which is really good! It's kind of odd though since we are in Fairhope most members are in Daphne and live a distance so we never get to see them:( Kind of lame but thats alright. I'm still excited to be in this ward!

6. I got to go on a trade off with one of my old companions which was way cool! Elder Bochenck is a great guy and serving in Theodore which is a super tough area, there hasn't been a baptism there in 2 years! So its having a little bit of a dry spell! But Elder Bockenek came with me for the day and it was a good day of memories and a good friend! He told me that I'm moving to Rexburg and living in his basement and dating his sister because I'm the only guy he trusts! "Oh Elder Bochenek," that's all you can say! 

7. Cody Pruett - He is a great kid. He is our second closest to baptism. His mom actually told us this week she would let him be baptized! But crazy thing is he is 12 and the only active investigator in his family. His mom is a little crazy and super ADD and can't ever focus but Cody does so well and learns so much! It is amazing  how well he retain stuff! I was super confused because he normally doesn't show very much emotion but then at the end of the lesson he normally tells us it all back and how awesome it was! So thats super cool! He is a good kid and I'm excited for him!

8. Be happy. I shared this before but my favorite scripture comes from good ole buck lane out in monroeville D&C 78:18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along." BE HAPPY thats what I've been applying! And happiness is a choice!!

9. Brother Atwood said something profound and then related that to families being together forever. He said, "We are not afraid of the dark but we are afraid of being alone in the dark" It's so true though, we are naturally normally alright in the dark when we have someone to rely on, someone to be with us! But it is much more worrisome and scary when we are walking alone!

10. Let's end with a football quote since I'm in the south and missing a great college football season! By good ole Vince Lamardi he said "PERFECTION IS NOT ATTAINABLE, BUT IF WE CHASE PERFECTION WE CAN CATCH EXCELLENCE!" Love it and it is so so true

I love y'all!

Elder Taylor

Me & Elder B! 

That's the Mobile South gang sigh... we are hard core here :) 

Perfection, The Kings, and Old Memories

1. FIrst off- Sam King, the super ready 17 year old, was supposed to get baptized on Saturday... but his dad wants him to wait a little longer so he isn't so impulsive. Which is good, but kind of a bummer. It's been good though since I have gotten to get to know him a lot better. He likes me now so that is good! 

2. We had a lesson with Sam's dad and that was crazy good! Brother King came and told us his concerns and Brother Atwood (the family that has been fellowshipping Sam) answered them great! It was a little crazy in the fact that we were there for 2 hours! They just kept talking and neither me or Elder Miller knew what to do! But it was good and at the end we challenged Mr. King to read and pray about the Book of Mormon because that will be the only way that all his concerns will be resolved! #thatsthetruth!!!

3. Mr.King is reading the Book Of Mormon and wants to meet with us so who knows, we might end up baptizing Sam and his father. That would be so cool! But it's good to have an investigator be sincere and actually put forth the effort needed to progress! 

4. A little on the Atwood family! They are awesome! Because we teach Sam there 3 times a week we are always over there and they always feed us which is super cool!!!! I wont complain at all about food! But they are awesome, Brother Atwood is a scriptorian but has just enough sarcasm to keep you humble! He is great! It's funny because it is what I invision Papa my grandfather,  to be like, so it's been odd! But I think Papa was a lot more humble and soft spoken! But still its odd casue i have this connection with him with out ever knowing him! 

5. I had my first Sunday at the Daphne, Alabama ward and it was pretty good! It's a good size ward with a lot of younger families and a good sized elders quorum, which is really good! It's kind of odd though since we are in Fairhope most members are in Daphne and live a distance so we never get to see them:( Kind of lame but thats alright. I'm still excited to be in this ward!

6. I got to go on a trade off with one of my old companions which was way cool! Elder Bochenck is a great guy and serving in Theodore which is a super tough area, there hasn't been a baptism there in 2 years! So its having a little bit of a dry spell! But Elder Bockenek came with me for the day and it was a good day of memories and a good friend! He told me that I'm moving to Rexburg and living in his basement and dating his sister because I'm the only guy he trusts! "Oh ElderBochenek," that's all you can say! 

7. Cody Pruett - He is a great kid. He is our second closest to baptism. His mom actually told us this week she would let him be baptized! But crazy thing is he is 12 and the only active investigator in his family. His mom is a little crazy and super ADD and can't ever focus but Cody does so well and learns so much! It is amazing  how well he retain stuff! I was super confused because he normally doesn't show very much emotion but then at the end of the lesson he normally tells us it all back and how awesome it was! So thats super cool! He is a good kid and I'm excited for him!

8. Be happy. I shared this before but my favorite scripture comes from good ole buck lane out in monroeville D&C 78:18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along." BE HAPPY thats what I've been applying! And happiness is a choice!!

9. Brother Atwood said something profound and then related that to families being together forever. He said, "We are not afraid of the dark but we are afraid of being alone in the dark" It's so true though, we are naturally normally alright in the dark when we have someone to rely on, someone to be with us! But it is much more worrisome and scary when we are walking alone!

10. Let's end with a football quote since I'm in the south and missing a great college football season! By good ole Vince Lamardi he said "PERFECTION IS NOT ATTAINABLE, BUT IF WE CHASE PERFECTION WE CAN CATCH EXCELLENCE!" Love it and it is so so true

I love y'all!

Elder Taylor

Me & Elder B! 

That's the Mobile South gang sigh... we are hard core here :) 

Conference, New Responsibilities, and Redheads!

Great week this last week!

1. So it was sad since i knew i was getting transferred, I got to make my rounds and say bye to a lot of great families! I'm so grateful! There are so many families I got close to in Pace so it was tough saying bye to a lot! Like the Sedrick family! Brother Sedrick is a big tough marine but gave me a hug! It was super cool! I love the Pace ward! 

2. So the two Sedrick boys, Logan and Porter, loved my scripture case! It was just cardboard and duct tape but they believed not a thing could have been cooler than that! So they kept trying to make their own! so i went out and got some sweet Avenger duct tape and made them a box of their own! Porter disappeared and wrote me a letter about how much he loved me and I was the best missionary he has ever had! And then he gave me two dimes to show his love! Love only an 8 year old understands!

3. The Rodgers form Monroeville were coming through town and we got to have dinner with them! I love those people so much! I'm grateful i got to see them! And now I'm in the Mobile stake so I get to see all my Monroe friends at stake conference in two weeks! #tendermerciesofthelord!

4. Transfers were so much fun! It's the first time I got to see a lot of my friends in a super long time! Elder Peterson, one missionary I trained, got made a zone leader! But... i did also! So now instead of being over 6 missionaries, I'm over 24, which is a pretty small zone! But it's going to be interesting and a lot of fun! 

5. My new companion is Elder McKay Miller! He is so awesome! And wait for it!!!! a.... REDHEAD Yeah when the assistant announced it he said its the redest companionship in the mission! It was so awesome. Also because i know Elder Miller and already love him! I'm so grateful I got to be with him!  

6. Fairhope Alabama is where I'm serving! It is soo interesting. It's a small country town that has lots and lots of money! It's super odd. It's not too big but has tons of super nice clothing stores and other nicer places. It's just very interesting! But the ward is awesome! We are part of the Daphne, Alabama ward! So it is a great ward and I'm just excited to be in it! 

7. Being zone leader is stressful! It has been a huge adventure though and has been a lot of fun! I actually have a missionary companion in the zone that I will be able to work a lot with and its extra cool because he is going home in Decemeber! so it will be way fun! I actually get to go on a tradeoff with him tomorrow! The first few days have been busy we had to drive through Mobile to go to a stake meeting since we work a lot with stake laaders as zone leaders. And Mobile is sketchy! It reminds me of LA! 

8. Sam King! Sam is awesome. He is an investigator that I met yesterday.. he is so awesome! He is actually getting baptized this Saturday so that is super cool and I'm excited for that! He is a great kid and wants to do nothing more than serve a mission!!! He is solid! I' excited for him and his future! His dad is opposing it a little bit but he is pushing though. And his mom just died a month ago form huntingtons.. so its a sad time for him but he has found light in the gospel of Jesus Christ!

 

9. Conference was so good and I could talk about it for hours! It was so powerful! A member pointed out a super big underlying theme! OBEDIENCE. That is so true, I saw it in almost every talk. The prophets must be trying to tell us something! I received so much personal revelation it was awesome. I love conference!

10. This one is for my mom! I enjoyed Tad R. Callister's talk about teaching the gospel in the home! Especially about his mom telling him he needed to pray daily to be led to the right girl to marry! Don't worry people! I am focused on the task at hand, not getting married!!! Oh thats scary! hah 

I love you all! 

Elder Taylor

Donohoe fam!

Logan Sedrick! i made him and his brother an avengers scripture box and got the best letter from them!

carrol fam

cologrossis!

my favorite family the Sedricks!!!!