Dear Family,
So my computer is again in French...so, please, bear with me....
This week was hard. And it was good. At the same time. Missionary work will never get easy, Satan hates it way too much to let it get easy, haha. It's like...once you figure out his tactics, he has already planned the next one...and he is going to try and bring you down. One of these days though he is going to run out of ideas...and I'll have all of them figured out!:). That's going to be a sweet day.
It is absolutely crazy to me that I have been here 16 months!
The time seriously is flying by! Elder Larsen (Taylor's awesome 2nd companion) goes home in two weeks!
It feels like just yesterday I was picking him up at the mission home,
crazy! Anyway funny thing is, when you have been here 16 months...some
weeks you just really don't have anything to say....? I am sitting here
just trying to think of what to write about and I am drawing a big
blank... It was a fine week, but there just wasn't anything that crazy or
awesome. So my computer is again in French...so, please, bear with me....
This week was hard. And it was good. At the same time. Missionary work will never get easy, Satan hates it way too much to let it get easy, haha. It's like...once you figure out his tactics, he has already planned the next one...and he is going to try and bring you down. One of these days though he is going to run out of ideas...and I'll have all of them figured out!:). That's going to be a sweet day.
We had a baptism for P, that was great. He is the grandson of the Stake Patriarch. We didn't really have to work all that much to get it. I don't know...some of your investigators you just have an awesome connection to, you delight in seeing them grow and are overjoyed when they reach the waters of baptism. Others...you teach them, they progress and they are baptized but for some reason...you don't have that special connection that you sometimes have. I think with P., he just didn't really appreciate or understand what was happening all that much? He comes to church each week, but I don't know if it's him or his grandparents making that decision. He is great and I love him, it just wasn't as spiritual as some of my other baptisms have been. Elder Nondala did the baptism and he did an awesome job!
Ha ha! I was sad to hear that the psychedelic
Christmas tree has flashed its last flash...haha that thing was sweet!
I'll be excited to see the new one though...it sounds awesome:).
To answer Mom's question...my 'standing up for what I believe' wasn't ever a
huge challenge for me. I made mistakes and I know I still do. I
think honestly the reason it wasn't ever that difficult for me to stand
for what was right because I had made that decision when I was so young. I decided when I was fairly young
that there was certain things I just wouldn't do...no matter what. That way...when those hard times came...the decision was already made. Yes, I grew up in Alpine Utah...the safest place in the world...but no matter where you are, even in Alpine...you still need to stand up for what you believe. When I went to college, I stayed true
instead of wavering like some did because they hadn't made that decision. Then, when decision time came...it was too late...and they were
gone. It's almost like being inoculated...given a small experience of bad so
that when the real bad comes you know how to fight back. I would just
challenge each of them to set their own rules: places that they will
never go and things they will never do. Draw a line and never cross it. No one needs to just sit in a house and never go into the real world because that's not what our life is meant to be...eventually they will need to venture out...and
if they have never had opportunities to make decisions...they won't know how to handle a
lot of freedom. At least, those are my thoughts!
So...for the weekly questions!!
Most Spiritual part of the week?
-This week I again realized what makes me happy in life.... Last year for Thanksgiving we did an amazing dinner! It was just like home! But, not going to lie, we didn't do what we were supposed to. Instead of being out teaching all that day, we were in the house cooking. The dinner came and it went. I was happy, but there was something missing. I didn't realize what that was until almost exactly a year later, which was this Thursday, Thanksgiving. We did make an amazing dinner this year...but we started cooking when we came in after a full days work at 9pm. And then, we were done and in bed before we knew it. I was happier than I was the year before...it was a joy that is hard to explain. I sat there eating and realized what was missing the year before. Last year...we had not done anything close to what we should have been doing. We had wasted an entire day of the Lords time to celebrate a stupid holiday of a country that was miles away. We thought we were happy but we were missing the spirit in our apartment...and that is why we couldnt truly be happy. This year I felt that true joy and I know that its not the food or the money, the cars or the snowboarding, that make me happy but the Spirit of the Lord.
Thanksgiving?
-So confession time...I just realized something really funny. I thought Thanksgiving was last week...so we already had our Thanksgiving...ha ha. It was good though, we all really enjoyed it. I am the only American in the apartment, so I was the only one who knew what Thanksgiving was, but the others thoroughly enjoyed it:).
Most Spiritual part of the week?
-This week I again realized what makes me happy in life.... Last year for Thanksgiving we did an amazing dinner! It was just like home! But, not going to lie, we didn't do what we were supposed to. Instead of being out teaching all that day, we were in the house cooking. The dinner came and it went. I was happy, but there was something missing. I didn't realize what that was until almost exactly a year later, which was this Thursday, Thanksgiving. We did make an amazing dinner this year...but we started cooking when we came in after a full days work at 9pm. And then, we were done and in bed before we knew it. I was happier than I was the year before...it was a joy that is hard to explain. I sat there eating and realized what was missing the year before. Last year...we had not done anything close to what we should have been doing. We had wasted an entire day of the Lords time to celebrate a stupid holiday of a country that was miles away. We thought we were happy but we were missing the spirit in our apartment...and that is why we couldnt truly be happy. This year I felt that true joy and I know that its not the food or the money, the cars or the snowboarding, that make me happy but the Spirit of the Lord.
Thanksgiving?
-So confession time...I just realized something really funny. I thought Thanksgiving was last week...so we already had our Thanksgiving...ha ha. It was good though, we all really enjoyed it. I am the only American in the apartment, so I was the only one who knew what Thanksgiving was, but the others thoroughly enjoyed it:).
K sorry, about out of time. Love you all so
so much. Can't tell you that enough! You are all amazing:). Thanks for all
the help on your end. I'll tell you the same thing you tell me...be safe, work hard.
Love you,
Love you,
Taylor
P.S.- If you could send some insoles to my Eccos that would be great, not dead yet but close;). size 44 |
| Taylor trying to prove that he really does need some new in-soles for his shoes. |
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