Keep Thou My Feet; I Do Not Ask To See

1. New favorite hymn if you couldn't tell by my subject line. Lead Kindly Light! It's great.. I love it! When I hear it I think of a repentant sinner; someone who recently came back to Christ and is now trying to walk by faith rather by sight! It's so me! Not that I'm a horrible person but that's what I try to do. not repent and work so much harder but with faith I don't always know where to go just that the Lord is guiding me! P.S. if you want to hear a good version look up lead kindly light by vocal point! And if anyone has a vocal point CD other than 'lead thou me on' send me a copy! Because I love it! They are so darn good it is crazy!!!

2. Oh ya I'm 20. I had a great birthday party! We had a nerf war! Slowly becoming a favorite in these neck of the woods! And a bunch of less actives came to play basketball so they played with us! It was intense! So much fun! And one of the sisters made a better then anything... cake! So it was a good day! It's good to have a little fun, right? 

3. After that we tried to go see a few less actives and Elder Beahan said it was my birthday! so she dropped everything and had her son go get a pie and then decorated the living room! I felt so bad but she was just excited to have a reason to celebrate and get a pie! She's awesome! I'l try to get a picture of the party if i can! But nice members always brighten your day! 

4. We only taught 1 lesson this week but out of it we got 3 new investigators! Yeah! iIt was way cool and they had a BCD and are looking to get back in church! Super exciting stuff. They are the Gaines. They were coming to church for a good while but then got in a bad car wreck and could not come anymore. This was all about 6 months ago. But they are excited to learn again and we are excited to teach!!!! It is always awesome! 

5. I read a great talk this week by Henry B. Eyring. It's a BYU devotional and its just awesome. it talks about using the Atonement, true repentance, and the desire in us to grow. He quoted David O Mckay and says "Man is a spiritual being, a soul, and at some period of his life everyone is possessed with an irresistible desire to know his relationship to the Infinite. . . . There is something within him which urges him to rise above himself, to control his environment, to master the body and all things physical and live in a higher and more beautiful world." He goes on to say there is a difference between our daydreams and our desire to be better and do better. THat is our divine lineage coming out to push us to be better! I'm trying to listen to that small voice and do what I can to be better each day!

6. Going hand in hand with that, preach my gospel tells us to ask every evening to the Lord, What more can i do? That is something I have been doing each night and have realized how much better that day goes as I try to do one thing better each day! So there's a challenge.. each night ask the Lord what else can I do!!! 

7. The sisters in the area had a baptism on saturday! Dang these sisters are on fire, it is crazy! They are baptizing everyone! They are dang good! But anyways Lois got baptized and it was an awesome service besides the A/C not working. That stunk a lot!!! It was super hot! But it was great. I also got to help confirm her! What a blessing! 

8. I got to use my priesthood a lot this week. I gave 2 blessings and helped in a confirmation. Im so grateful for the priesthood! It's such a blessing the lord gives us sooo much responsibility! I'm grateful he entrusted us with so much but the spirit that is involved in priesthood ordinances is always great and a reassurance that all is going right and we are doing what we are supposed to! I love using the priesthood and seeing it work through me! 

I have two more in my top ten but i don't think i have time! Sorry but they were going to be awesome! I love you guys so much and am grateful for you! 

Elder Taylor

1. I found a flower that was super cool so i decided to try and eat it... my companion wouldn't let me! You get hungry biking around!

2. The Cloagrossi baptism last week.

3. Pirate pictures! My sister sent me eye patches so we had fun

4. Some nerf war action... kind of. At least you can see the set up

Baptisms, Serial Killers and Birthdays??

crazy craziness

1. 1st off... I'm 20 what in the world???? I thought I wasn't supposed to grow up!!!! Well thanks to everyone for your birthday cards/emails and letters. I have enjoyed them all and I love you all! 

2.  We had a baptism! It was a 9 year old, Mia Colagrossi! BUT STILL IT WAS AWESOME AND SUPER STRESSFUL! IT WAS THE 1ST BAPTISM I WAS IN CHARGE OF AND EVERYTHING THAT COULD HAVE GONE WRONG WENT WRONG BUT LAST MINUTE WE GOT IT ALL FIGURED OUT! Our pianist quit and said she couldn't come so we were freaking out! But we found a CD player with all the hymns on it so it all worked out well! But a lot of stress! But a lot of rewards! HER DAD IS RECENTLY ACTIVATED AND IT WAS SO FUNNY AS HE WAS WALKING TO THE WATER HE STEPPED OUT AND ASKED ME TO COME AND SHOW HIM HOW TO HOLD HIS DAUGHTER TO  BAPTIZE HER!  Oh man it was so funny but it all worked out! #blessing

3. Brother Colagrossi, Mia's father was ordained to the melchizedek priesthood on Sunday! It was super cool. He was worried about it and he got to confirm his daughter a member of the church also! It was a super happy and exciting weekend for that family! Now they have their eyes set on getting sealed in October on their 10th year wedding anniversary! Sorry i forgot my pictures! There will be some next week!  But a great birthday weekend right? #blessing 

4. We have a book thats called "adjusting to missionary life to deal with stress". A group of sisters pointed out a funny thing in it. It's in the section about getting along with others it says " Write in your journal. It helps to at least feel understood by yourself" That quote just sounds pretty darn sad! It just makes me laugh! It might just be my sad missionary sense of humor but i guess we will see! Oh and i also write in my journal my daily blessings and then put #blessings after them to show i recognize my blessings. Yeah its sad, I twitter in my journal... 

5. I had an interview with President Smith. He wanted to check up and see if i wasn't tooo stressed out!  But i really think its part of his job description to flatter us! But he said I was his go to guy! He also said I do a great job training! I said he was crazy but then he went over my last few trainees and how i have helped them! He is just such an awesome guy! He could make a dog turd feel good about itself... Sorry, not missionary-like just the only analogy i could come up with! 

6. We taught a lesson to some recent converts. They are awesome. It's twin 8 year old girls and a 9 year old boy. They are a ham and a half! they are so funny!  the two little twins made me bracelets. They are adorable! and then they were super excited because my birthday is the day before theirs! Oh, and one's name is Heaven the other is Neveah (heaven backwords) So cool!

7.  It's been sooo hot! It's been crazy. It's the dog day so everyday at 2-3 it rains and thunders like a mad man! It's way cool but then its super duper humid all the rest of the time... I don't like humidity.

8. We were talking to a member and apparently he was the guy who caught Ted Bundy, the Mormon serial killer.. but that's not the weirdest connection in the ward. #2 a lady who live in Tallahassee got her car stolen by him! But that's not all... connection #3 a guy from Utah used to drive him to church every Sunday because he didn't have a car! What are the chances that we have 3 connections with the craziest Mormon ever??? Just odd

9. Donahoes are an awesome family in the ward but have the weirdest how we met story ever. Brother Donhoe was a cop in Pensacola and his partner was married to Sister Donahoe. The partner was killed in the line of duty, they met and a year later were married... odd story but kind of cool! 

10. I bought my self a bike odometer! Happy birthday to myself! It was an awesome purchase! So worth it! 1st day we biked 22 miles... yeah we bike a lot in this hot area!

Love you all!

Elder Taylor

Cockroaches, Service, and The Cure to Weariness in Well-Doing

1. Alma 53:20 is now a favorite scripture! I try to live to that standard all the time! I wish I was a son of Helaman! It would be so darn cool! This scripture came up like 8 times this week! There are no such things as coincidences! "And they were allyoung men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all—they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted."

2. I got to go on a tradeoff to Navarre and it was awesome! Navarre is super cool, it is kind of a resort town but also a lot of military so its an odd mix! I got to see the beach for the 1st time on the mission... just a drive by :( probably a good thing in the summer though! But the beaches are way prettier here than in California! White sand and clear water! 

3. I was in Navarre because i was on tradeoff with the zone leaders. I got to go with Elder Riddle from Layton, Utah and that was so much fun it was crazy!!! He is crazy cool and we are both super similar so I would love to serve with him! We also worked hard! He was on the phone with someone and I was just sitting there bored so I walked across the street and started to talk to some random guys about the gospel! It's getting so much easier to do it! I love it!

4. We had a meeting with all the missionaries in the zone so that was awesome! way fun! It's always good to get together with the other missionaries. 

5. Crazy Tom! This guy is a character! We met with him in Navarree on the tradeoff , we had to clean his house because he was having a cleaning check if he didn't pass he was going to be evicted! So we got some gloves and went to work! The whole time he and his sister yelled at each other as we threw stuff away! Thankfully gloves were provided! With them I caught a cockroach and had to throw away about 100 pairs of soiled underwear.... ya.... when you are in the service of your fellow man you are in the service of your god right??? I guess it's true even when you have to do that nasty stuff, you just have to remember it brings #blessings! 

6. We had stake conference so all the local congregations got together and had one big meeting on Saturday and sunday! i realized how spoiled we are where we live in California having to drive 10 minutes. People drive for 2 hours to come to theses meetings! We sometimes don't go and we live right around the corner! 

7. President Bradshaw the 1st counselor in the stake presidenency gave two great talks this weekend. He is no joke, superman! He only sleeps 4 hours a night! The 1st one was getting over weariness in well-doing. That is when we are so tired we can't go any further, we have been serving the lord for a long time and need a break. He gives us a 3 step cure. 1. Turn outward and serve others! Pick up some cockroaches for crazy Tom! 2. look upward, we must truly feast on the words of Christ, it doesn't count to watch some bible cartoons with the kids we must constantly be in the scriptures ourselves! 3. Enjoy to the end! This is the gospel of good news it is meant to enjoy! True happiness comes from service to the Lord! 

8. He gave an awesome talk on sunday about the example of his father! Tt was great because it was Fathers Day! I'm grateful i have a great example of a dad! I love my dad so much and am so grateful for him! Happy late Father's Day! 

9. We had a stake primary choir and it was great! They sang a new primary song I have never heard! It was super good! We were sitting with a marine and he had two kids in the choir and it made him cry! You know it's something good if it makes a marine cry! 

10. The stake president gave a great talk on anti mormon literature! A common topic lately. I think this area will be dealing with it in great abundance some time soon unfortunately! But he said all that is good invites us to Christ and come closer to him, exactly what the church does! But anti wants us to leave the church and distance us from Christ! Remember to stay with Christ!

Love you all and am grateful for all your prayers thank you!

Elder Taylor

Me rocking some shades. I'm bringing glasses back them greenies don't know how to act!

me with elder riddle the ZL twice he's a stud muffin a short version of me! 

me and elder beahan

Glasses, Lizards, Super Hero!

1. I'm blind!!! yes I've officially joined the club and have glasses. Well, not officially yet but I will have them in a few days hopefully! I'm near sighted so I was worried while driving so i went and got a prescription! Getting your eyes dilated huge is not good when you are in the Florida in the summer! It stinks! But I'm going to survive rocking some sweet glasses. Call me elder 4 eyes! 

2. We got to go to a super cool class on the archeology of the Book of Mormon, that was super interesting. It's amazing how many people can say the Book of Mormon has no evidence but that's not true at all! It was an interesting class but it made me realize how important a testimony of the Book of Mormon is. You can get all the evidence in the world but it doesn't matter unless you know by the power of the holy ghost it is true! That's the great thing about it, all you have to do is pray!!!

3. Update on Cornbread from Monroe! He is almost completely off chew and has payed off all his probation! So hopefully in the next few weeks he will be baptized! Thanks for all the prayers you have sent his way! They truly made the difference! 

4. Our ward mission leader has a daughter they adopted from Guam and I asked about the story behind it and its a heart wrenching story! The short version is that this girl Kelsea was living with 10 people in a toyota corolla. They had no money and nothing. The summers basically supported their family! Eventually they found it in the best interest to become legal guardians because this girl became part of their family! She went from living in a car to living with a great family and in a few months she will be at BYU-I so pretty cool how one family could change a life so drastically! Crazy also is that she will be up there next spring! And so will I! The crazy thing is that I'll be up at school this time next year!!!! That's way too fast! 

5. We rescued the sisters from a lizard! The lizard almost killed one of the sisters! It was pretty darn funny! Hopefully pictures will be attached and you can see the killer! 

6. We have a member of the stake presidency in the ward and he is amazing! He is busier than a bee! He travels the world and at the same time works, writes books for the church and holds a calling that takes up huge amounts of time! He is like super man! He only sleep 2 hours every night but he can do it! He is awesome. I have not heard one person say a thing bad about him! Everyone loves him! If you heard the talk last conference in the priesthood session by Eyring about being a priesthood hero, that description is President Bradshaw! He will drop everything to help us out! Crazy cool guy and crazy inspired guy! 

7. A quote by him which I really like is "You can always measure the spirituality of a ward by the testimonies of the men that stand on fast and testimony Sunday" It is the men's responsibility to lead families so why is it the women and children always bearing their testimonies on the 1st sunday! Our elders quorum president used that as a gentle rebuke to all the elders! 

8. We called up a less active the other day and the phone call started like this "me: hello is this brother dent?' 'No its Santa Claus, who do you think it is?" I knew right there this would be a fun relationship! So far he's taken us out to dinner twice! Awesome guy! He reminds me of an old version of my dad! Or even grandpa Taylor at times! Or maybe when my dad and his brother todd get together! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, be grateful! Scott and Todd Taylor can only mean trouble!

9.The Carrols are a family that is for lack of a better term, falling apart. They are are members but sister Carrol is about to fall apart because she just has so many trials. Her husband left her and now is totally against the church , her son is going off the deep end, her health isn't good, she is losing her job since the school year is over, both of her cars are broken, and they have no drier! Yeah she is having a hard time and I feel so bad for her but all we can do is pray sometimes! 

10. Last but not least is a quote i loved by CS Lewis on prayer "I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God. It changes me" There is true power in prayer!!!

So it's my birthday is soon! So write me a letter about how you became converted to Christ! Im just curious because it happens all different ways to different people! Love you lots! 

Elder Taylor

THE KILLER...