I want to be a missionary now!!!: April 3, 2013 (5 days until Chile!) plus pictures!

My birthday in the CCM was absolutely FANTASTIC!!! It was the best birthday ever simply because I am doing the best thing ever!!!! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!! There is nothing else that could bring me this much happiness at this time! Thursday was also fantastic because I received a package from Aunt Nancy, Danielle, Cameron, (and another one from Springville but I assume that was Lindsey and Danielle??). It was super fun!!! I opened up a couple of the cards in the middle of the day because I knew I wouldn't have very much time that night and they made me laugh!!! One of the best surprises was from my district though. Our district leader picks up the mail after lunch and dinner, and we knew our travel plans were supposed to come that day and we were anxious. We didn't get them with the other mail and figured they were coming tomorrow. Right before class the elders said, "well we have one more surprise for your birthday," and pulled out our travel plans!!!!!!!!!!! It was so awesome!!! So I leave Monday, April 8th. My flight is at 1pm utah time, and I am meeting at the travel office at 10 am. I will be calling home at some point before my flight so be prepared. It is a 16 hour flight from SLC to Santiago. Oh hombre, oh man I am not quite sure what I am going to do to 16 straight hours, but OH BOY AM I EXCITED!!!!!!!!! Also, I got to give a tour of the MTC to our new district that night, which was way fun!!! Easter, or pascua, was so amazing here!!! My district did a musical number in our testimony meeting, and then right after we had a MTC wide sacrament. 3,000 people all taking the sacrament at the same time. What was even COOLER was that since I needed special bread, I simply held my piece of pan in my hand and held my hand out during the sacrament prayer. IT was pretty awesome!!!! The Spirit in general was super strong all day, and I felt so close to the Savior. Easter truly is the best day of the year, and the most important. I know that My Salvador lives, and I know that I owe him everything! Sometimes I just sit here amazed that Christ was willing to suffer for ALL of my sins, pains, weaknesses, and infirmites. I cannot grasp the love he has for me, and for everyone who ever lived!!!

Things sound super fun at home!!! Thank you mucho for the package!!! I will send some pics. I don't have a picture that is really good of just me. Maybe you can crop me out of some others? or wait a week or two and I will get a single pic. My favorite scripture is proverbs 3:5-6, but Alma 29:9 is right there with it now!!! Alma just perfectly describes my desire at this point in my life!!! "This is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy!" Oh, a cool aha moment I had during class was two days ago. We read Moses 1:39, and it read completely differently to me. The character of Christ is to always turn outward, and I am striving for that. But with that scripture, I realized that it is a permanent change. To become like God, we have to change our nature to always be for others. God's whole work and glory is US and nothing to do with him. WOW!!!! That just hit me so hard. I know that HE loves us and wants us to be happy. I know that my Redeemer lives!!!! Stay close and focused on the Lord, and the Lord will shape you into the person he needs you to become!!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Taylor