September 27, 2010

September 27, 2010

Hey everyone!

     I can't believe I'm almost at the end of my first transfer! Time
is flying by so quick, and I'm scared of the day that I wake up and
this chapter of my life is over. One thing they focus on on with us is
the eternal perspective, and in the eternal perspective 2 years is not
a long time.  haha I've gone just over 1 1/2 months and I'm already
scared for when they tell me to leave Africa haha.
     This week was good. I ended up going on splits with elder
Jenkins. He has gotten sick a couple of times since coming here, so I
was happy to see him in good health and that he has been for quite a
while. His area is further into the interior of the country than my
area. It's still in Monrovia, though. So every time he saw the ocean
he lit up like a little school girl (haha jk).  The change in him is
crazy, definitely not the same kid I knew in school.  He has always
been good, but wow... He has been here only 4 months, and he says his
whole view of the world has changed and that he is so happy with the
man that he's turning into.  Every missionary in this mission is so
motivated and has such an amazing attitude.  I hope at some point in
this mission I get to serve with Elder Jenkins as a companion.
     So one of the things I was most worried about before I left was
when I hear the common dish that is eaten here is rice with leaves;
and they just do different leaves for different meals.  I'm glad to
say that is no longer a fear, because, well...that what they eat, but
it is GOOD. So far my favorite is the Potato Greens (Potato leaves)
and rice. It looks terrible but the taste is awesome. It's definitely
a lot easier to eat healthier when you don't have a Burger King or
McDonald's on every corner; no wonder America is fat. Also no wonder
why 50% of Americans' necks look like a pack of hot dogs...haha. (Hope
that doesn't offend)  But for real, it's crazy to think of what I used
to eat and how much! One of my new favorite things to get when I'm
hungry is a "young" coconut and lime. You know that song "you put the
lime in the coconut and then you mix it all up" turned out to be
REALLY good advice. :)
     Me and my companion are very different, but we get along so well. He's
only got a year left... haha. His name is Elder Kenner, and if you
have any question about music this guy can answer it; I mean ANYTHING.
He wants to be good enough to be a college professor for choir or even
just a high school teacher. One thing I really love about my companion
is the amount of scriptural knowledge he has. I'm constantly asking
him questions about doctrine or scripture references. I'm very lucky
to have him as a trainer. He is truly helping me learn and grow.
     One of the things he helped me discover today was that during the
Atonement Christ was alone, he truly had to bear not just our sins,
but our sorrows, our pains, and heart breaks. The more I study about
Christ the more amazed I am at the pure divinity of that man. All it
would have for Satan to disqualify him as the Savior was to have
Christ think even one bad thought. Also, though scripture study I've
found that Satan does try, but fails time and time again. Now this is
where I found out about Christ being alone. During Gethsemane even
Heavenly Father  himself withdrew from Him, and also the Holy Ghost.
He truly had to do it ALONE. He didn't even have the comfort of the
Holy Ghost to help Him with the burden. A man that has been pure from
sin and filled with the Holy Ghost all His life, had to take on all of
the sins of the world by Himself, and He of course did it. He died on
the cross alone, He alone ad to make that decision to give up His
life; that says so much to me about him, about His character, and His
obedience and love. He suffered so much, and He suffered it all by
himself. All of this was out of love.
     Too often we forget our self worth; we see  ourselves as the
world sees us, and not how Christ sees us, how Heavenly Father sees
us.  The day we see ourselves as sons and daughters of God is the day
we see the eternal perspective.

Love,
Elder Taylor

Wow, What a crazy Week!

E-mail from Elder Taylor Dated 9/20/2010

Man this week has been crazy!

So Much amazing stuff has shown its self to me this week, but for every good thing God helps you discover,  Satan is always sure to find a way to stick his ugly nose in it, ugh

On the first day out this week there was a dead body just laying in the middle of the road, I don’t know how long he had been there, all I know is that they found him in dead in the market and no one claimed him so they dragged the body into the street to be out of the way. Just another way that Africa is so different than good old America.  I’m still having a hard time with the language but that’s ok I’m to the point to where I can understand half of what is being said to me, and they can understand most of what I’m saying to them, they like making fun of my “Siris”  that’s what they call the English accent, I’ll pick it up sooner or Latter.  Its been such a great experience so far, we have a few lizards that live in our house so I have to check my shoes every morning, the last thing I need is a freaked out lizard running up my leg. Haha It was very unfortunate but we had to drop one of our investigators this week, he is a pasture of a Pentecostal church, and we shared the message with him he loved it, it was so amazing to see two young men both under the age twenty teaching a very educated pastor, he knows its true I could see it in his eyes, but he cant accept it, he cant believe it takes more than just the grace of god, and he stated a phrase that goes completely against the Bible and every thing it teaches, “I Can not believe there is only one True church”  What! Wow…. When he said that we could not believe it after spending hours talking about the parables of Christ, the lessons on the Authority and priest hood Christ gave his apostles, It shattered my heart. So we shared article of faith 11 with him and let him know he was entitled to his own belief,  and to worship as he wishes and if he every decides to act on what was taught to him by two American kids to give us a call. And we departed.  I know he felt the Spirit I could see it in his Eyes I could here the change in his voice.  Maybe some day he will pick up his phone and Call I can only Pray.

Don’t worry here comes not just the good but the AMAZING part of the week! My first baptism is Saturday I’m so nervous but this man is rock solid, he… I cant even begin to describe him. But every time we go to teach him we have to ether take canoes to the island he lives on or wade through the swamp, we get to his house his million granddaughters just run out and tackle us, his hole family is embracing Christ slowly but surly, we have never just taught him, its always Him his Brothers his children and his grandchildren, imagine the most warm and loving grandfather, that is this man He shines the light of Christ, he always has even before we met him.  And Saturday is going to be his day, the day he will follow Christ example and be baptized, and stand as a witness of Christ till the very end. I am so proud of this Man he has such righteous desires, one being he wants his family, he wants that eternal family.   This is truly such an amazing mission, right now we have 663 investigators with baptismal dates, and there are only 60 missionaries in this mission.  Its difficult to see why it is so important to be a worthy priest hood holder in a place like Star Valley Wyoming when there’s so many around you. It’s truly our responsibility to guide and direct the church, and it’s a little rare to find a good, worthy priesthood holder to do that here. It’s difficult to find people who take their priesthood responsibilities seriously. The more I study my calling, the more important I find out it really is. There are about eight million people in this mission and only us few missionaries to get the gospel to them all. It’s our responsibility to represent the church, and maintain our worthiness so that when there is a call for help we can respond with faith that God will help us fulfill our duties. How great is our calling! I’ve never been given this much responsibility, and I’m so glad that I don’t have to bear it alone. With the help of an awesome companion and the Holy Ghost I know that God has prepared a way for the few missionaries that are here to reach out and touch the lives of every soul in this mission (1 Ne. 3:7). I know that God does love all His children; I see it every day. 

     Now the highlight of the week: I have a new best friend. His name is Jake and he’s a baby Chimpanzee! Yesterday while we were at an investigator’s house, his pet chimp was running around and they let me hold him. During the lesson I had to really focus because he was climbing all over me and was being awesome. When I wasn’t paying full attention to him he would turn into a toddler fighting for attention. He’s definitely as needy as any two-year-old, because if you even put him down he freaks out, runs to you, and latches onto your leg and won’t let go. He’s pretty strong for such a small monkey. He’s about the size of a nine-month old baby, and just as loud.

Love,

Elder Taylor

E-mail from Elder Taylor dated 09/13/2010:

     I'm doing well, I've been out about a month now in Africa, and talk about culture shock! The first day here was completely overwhelming, and I just had to take it all in at the same time. It's a strange mix of swamp, city, bush(jungle) and just about everything else that would terrify the living heck out of you. You are completely right and the mosquitoes do come out en masses at dawn and dusk, and don't worry; I sleep with my net most of the time...jk.
     I've gotten everything that I've prayed for; I've already used a machete a couple of times, I get to cross rivers in my bare feet, we have to take canoes to islands in my area, and I'm about as far from the mission home and President as I can possibly be. It was literally a three-day driving trip over jungle back roads to get to my area in Liberia (don't worry, I have some good photos).
     The apartment is pretty nice, at least, nicer than what I was expecting. I really do have running water...most of the time. I've had to bucket shower a couple of times only though. We have electricity for about three hours of the day when the generator is running and has gas. But good news! They're working on connecting our house to 24 hour
electricity. I love cooking out of what's called a coal pot, where it's like an iron fire pit that the natives use to cook.  So we're literally cooking our food over a fire (by choice). It's really fun and enjoyable.
     The food is really...interesting. Most times they eat rice with a sauce that's usually fried leaves or boiled nuts or something and fish. Also, the food is SPICY! I've been running for the past week because I'm not quite used to so much hot food.  I bet pretty soon I'll be pounding that spicy food like a pro! Eating fish heads really isn't as gross as it sounds; actually, it has some pretty good meat inside.
     Taking all of this in really shows what I'm doing here is truly for the right reasons, and that I'm supposed to be here. It's a huge testimony builder to truly devote my whole time, thoughts and actions for the Lord and His work. The people here are wonderful, and they have so little of what they actually don't need and have soooooooooooo much of what they do. It's wonderful. President says that it's the
Garden of Eden of missions, and he's right. The people are literally starving for the gospel. We are constantly stopped in the street and greeted by people who want a Bible, to learn more, etc. Or...they think we're Jehovah's Witnesses. Ugh...every time I think I see a Witness, I try to convince my companion to try to teach him with me.  Hahaha So far my favorite is teaching pastors. They're EVERYWHERE! I
wonder if this is how the world was when Joseph Smith was confused about the true church. There are different churches, beliefs, people preaching, sects everywhere. Like Amos said in the Bible, people are trying to find the truth but can't find it. Well, I'm so grateful it's my job for two years to help them find it. I have yet to have someone
tell me no when asked to be taught or to share the gospel message with them.
    So I was lucky enough to have a baptism only two days after I got into the field. Her name is Amelia and she is one of the most spiritually strong person I have ever met. I truly wish I could have been there while she was being taught and have taken part in her conversion process, but I'm lucky to be here and see the change the gospel has given her life. We still see her to reteach all of the lessons and one more lesson, though, so I have the opportunity to help
her stay strong and truly find joy in the gospel. I can tell it makes her happy. And I know that this gospel touches the lives and brings joy to everyone that we teach. And I know this because it's true, our message is so true. Even though I'm only a month out I'm already wishing I had more time to do this amazing work.
 I love all you guys and I miss everyone and I'm having a blast!  Only 23 months left, and I'm in good hands. My trainer seems pretty  cool and knows his scriptures. I'm learning so much from him. I'll talk more about him next time. Tell all my friends Hi for me and let them know I'm great. Thanks so much and I'll talk to you guys next
week.
Love Elder Taylor

Elder Taylor w/ President & Sister Roggia

Elder Taylor Actually met President Roggia at, Fort Sam Houston, while he was completing his Medic Training!  Wow, small world!