March 6, 2013

Oh man Mom, I AM SO HAPPY HERE!!!!!!!!!! Sometimes my cheeks just ache from smiling so much! I seriously have never been happier in my whole life! I am so blessed to serve the Lord for these 18 months, and thank you so much for making that possible! It is hard to believe that I have only been here a week, and at the same time it has flown by. We have gym periods 4 times a week and that is the only time (besides in the residence/bathroom) that I do not have to be right next to my companions. Oh, yes I am in a trio and crazy thing is that I knew one before the mission and the other one is the girl I randomly facebook friended because we were going to the same mission!!! Crazy!!! Yes, so in gym I just run around the little track, lift weights, or play knockout. Yesterday I ran the whole 45 minutes and it felt so great!!! My companions are way awesome! We are all very different with different interests, but we get along great. It is also helpful to be in a trio during lessons because I do not know very much Spanish and they know at least a little more than I do. So we help each other out and work together well. My district is 44B (there are going to be almost 70 zones in the next week or two) and I love them already! There are 5 hermanas and 4 elders, so YES THE GIRLS OUTNUMBER THE BOYS!!!! haha, there are 2 or 3 guys that are 18 and the rest are 19. One of my companions is 20 and the other is 4 days older than me, so she is 19. The other hermanas are 22. One of my zone leaders graduated early from high school so that he could serve a mission right now!!! It is amazing how the Lord prepared my generation so that so many could get up and serve right as the announcement was made! I have seen a lot of people I know here and it is kind of weird. I have seen a lot of people from either EFY, or my old wards. I also feel the Spirit so strongly every single moment of everyday!!! I have taught 4 lessons in espanol already, the first was Friday. It is crazy, but we actually taught (or the Spirit really taught) our investigator, Gabriel. The gift of tongues is real!!! Many times I have gone into the lesson and have spoken and words I have only heard once or twice I just say! My espanol is still not very good, but I can bear a simple testimonio and say a simple prayer. I LOVE learning a new language!!! I know that this is where the Lord needs me at this time. The biggest thing that has gone through my head this week has been how grateful I am that the Lord prepared me before I came here. The last year or so that has been SO INCREDIBLY HARD, has strengthened me more than I realized!!! A big part of why I am SO happy is that I have faced incredible opposition and have gotten through it. Everyone tells you when you get here that you just need to make it to Sunday and you will be fine, but I honestly have loved every second here!!! I have learned some humility because everyone else in my class has taken Spanish or studied it in some way before except me, and for about an hour I felt a little discouraged, but then I remembered the Lord's promise in (I forget at the moment) that the Lord is in charge and that my tongue will be loosed. THe gift of tongues is real!!!! During this last lesson Our investigator asked us a question about the chapter we told him to read and immediately a scripture (scripture mastery) popped into my head and we were able to answer his question. Tell brother Hales and Sister Colby thanks for being great teachers!!! I am so happy for Kenny and Texas, that is so exciting!! and Tell Penny and Ben congrats in soccer and tennis. I think it is great that Ben gets to go to two proms this year!!! I know this church is true and that the opportunity to serve a mission is so maravilloso and such a HUGE blessing!!! I am just in a state of euphoria!!!

Love Hermana Taylor