Week 51: Volcanos, Hurricanes & Baptismal Dates

hi family!

sorry about the email last week. it must have been the connection. its a good one though. and thanks to the new email system it was saved!

happy birthday mom!
sorry its two weeks late.

well first off. im fine. nothing happened where i am. the most that happened was a light dusting of volcanic ash on the ground and lots of rain. we heard that the volcano erupted and that ash was flying and we highly doubted it would get to the polochic. but elder parry went out to the bathroom in his garment top and when he came back in he had big grey spots on his shirt. and thats how we found out that we had gotten "ashed." i collected some of the ash. its very cool. way small-smaller than sand-and super black. i can see why we werent allowed to leave cuz if that got in your lungs it would probably hurt.
we came walking back in the dark the other night from meeting with our baptismal possibility and it started raining hard. we got soaked. and there was tons of fog. i was really looking forward to the hurricane but it never came. i wasnt worried at all. we live in a fortress of a church. its not going nowheres. i swear i am in the dream mission. mmmhhmmm. there really is nothing like it in the world.

well i baptize in la tinta because the district leader lives in tucuru and thats along ways away. sorry if there are no spaces or my grammar is wrong. the keyboard sticks very badly. and also, all the people in la tinta know who i am. we are there every pday and we go down for a lot of baptisms and they all ask for me to baptize them. its funny but im honored to do it.

mosiah 23:21-22. i like.

well this last week was hectic with all that happened. we went with emilio and challenged him to baptism. he is reluctant-saying he has already been baptized and married in the church nuevo jerusalen. (new jerusalem). but we are going up there with the members this next week. i dont know though. they tend to talk. aalllooooottttt. so we may have to go visit them before we go. but im hoping to have a baptismal date with him this next week. he has also two sons and their wives with a couple children. we`ll see if it works out. it will be very cool if it does.

so we are in el estor today. i gotta buy a qeqchi bible and my companion has to buy shoes. its way cool here. not just because its civilization. its got a cool culture.
there is lots of english here too. i was just in a store and some guy came up and said "man youre tall, how tall are you?" haha i told him and asked where he was from. apparently hes from rhode island. he lives here i guess. bet he left then came back 30 seconds later and invited us to go play basketball with him later today. "if you got game come play" he says. we cant though danget. gotta go back to santo domingo and its against mission rules. which is really depressing. i dont remember voting for that.

it feels way good to get out of la tinta for pday.

what the heck is up with the mormon world haha. how does everyone know everyone? its kinda scary to be honest haha. are we really that social?

i have an emergency pack and i am ready to go. eagle! congrats to austin by the way.

oh and elder schone called me yesterday and said that he had gotten an emergency change back to a qeqchi speaking area. he is very excited. stoked rather. elder legua is still waiting to come back though. apparently a new zone or group of areas is opening soon. a place called cahbon. i could get a change to somewhere around there and so could elder legua. we shall see! im excited.

all the elders that are my friends are fine. which are a lot. elder turek talked to me too. hes doing fine and missing the mountains much like me. we are planning on going on some cool camping trips.

i love you and miss you. one and all!!


take care


ELDER TAY

(From last week)

helloooo family-

ok well first of all im pretty sure i dont have a few extra pounds on my body haha. just so you guys know. im starting to lose weight again.

Where are you? Did you transfer?
nope. five changes in the same place. nine months. almost a year. and my new companion is the same one-elder parry from washington. and he lives close to forks he says. the girls should like that!

How was your week? Did you travel anywhere?
well this last week we went way high into the mountains. even higher than actela. its called canal. i have no idea why. but it was gorgeous. ill get pics this next week. i have other pictures to send today. better ones.

How were your lessons this week?
they were great. we found an old man that says he wants to get baptized and married in the temple. he lives in Actela. i think this guy could be the window for the gospel in that area. everyone knows him. i think hes the reason i had the feeling we needed to work there. i think we are going to set a baptismal date tomorrow. he has a lot of family too. Ramiro we didnt teach this laast week. hes working all day and all night apparently. doesnt really have time.

I haven't asked in a week or so...how is the language?
its good. talking to other missionaries they have told me that they hear i have great qeqchi. but i dont feel like it. its hard to explain. i understand a lot. its just hearing what exactly they are saying that is the problem. like specifics. most of the time i will understand the context but specifics are hard. and the thing with qeqchis is if they ask me a question and i answer what i think i heard (and isnt right) they wont ask the question again. i dont know if its humility or patience on their part. it just puts more pressure on me.

Tummy trouble?
a little bit. im fine though

Favorite scripture this week?
john 8:12

How is the branch organization coming? (If you are still in Santo Domingo) its better. this week though we had the district conference with all of the polochic valley. president and sister torres were there. it was a good conference. pretty short.

Did you get pictures of the corn planting?
i got a picture of the place. ill send it. all they do is stick a stick in the ground and throw four corn seeds in it. thats it haha. good report huh? then after they drink toasted corn water called q'em ha.

You mentioned mango season, but what other fruits are you eating? Veggies? Where do you get them?
well in la tinta they have a market where they sell all kinds of vegetables. even giant carrots. thats where i get my fruits and veggies for the most part. pineapples are almost ripe. that will be soon. mmmm. cant wait haha.

Are the church meetings structured the same way ours are? (Like sacrement mtg, etc.) Do you help with blessing the sacrement, etc?
yep they are the same. except here the organization is a little diffferent. the president doesnt really do relief society or priesthood. so thats next on the list. and my companion and i bless the sacrament every week. soon it should be alfonso (who was my baptisma and elena-his wife-is and was a member) and a recent convert rolando.

Are you surviving the heat? Do you know what the temperature is? Does it cool off at night? Can you purchase a portable fan to plug in to the wall at night? We'll put money in your account. :)
its hard. its soooo dang hot. every day its about 95 and 100% humidity or so. so its way hot. where i am its a little bit cooler. down in the valley its incredibly hot. what a blessing im in the mountains. it cools off to like 85 at night. and if i buy a fan its reimbursible by the mission. so ill probably just do that. dont worry about money in my account. :)

well last week i found a big red snake. like pure red. a deep redish purple to be exact. i tried to get a picture of it but it went under all the grass and disappeared and i couldnt find it again. it was like 2 to 3 feet long.

the man we found that wants to get baptized and married is like seventy years old. his name is emilio chen. very cool old man. has a huge family too. we found another family of 8 that was way interested too. they dont have a church either. which is rare for here. well see how it goes. they live pretty far away from the church so we'll see if they come.

well we had a couple lost days this last week. my companion and i were both pretty sick. diahreea. again. i was pretty sick and he gave me a blessing and it hasnt come back again...or yet. im fine though. no worries. it was a good blessing. he told me i can teach these people something that nobody else can. but i got better right after it. :)

well i miss you and love all of you so much. keep asking questions. gotta cut this one a little short cuz of the pictures.

love,

ELDER TAY

Week 46: The Good Path & A Huge White Kid

(For those of you that don't know, we ask Tayler questions, then he answers them every week in his email. You'll see our question, then his answer.)

How was Zone Conference? What did you do in Coban?
it was good. elder falabela came and talked to us. he is in the first presidency of the seventy and way cool. he talked a lot about families. funny how that theme has come up a lot lately. hmmmm. we basically just hung out and ate GOOD junk food and then we all went and played pool. i won. haha.

Did you get sick after you ate your birthday pizza?
nope. its all good now. :)

Did you meet Elder Dave Mays?
take a look at the attachment!

Did you know Elder Snell is now up in that area? He will now be in Coban for P-Days!
i saw him too. as well as elder clark and elder ....shoot. i forgot his name. ill remember it. hes way cool and a great friend. they are all from my group though. do you still talk to elder snells mom?

Anything amazing happen this week?
i do have a good experience. my companion and i had just gotten done teaching lesson one to two new investigators. well one of them after the lesson looked at me and said "hermano Larsen, how do i know where the good path is? how do i find the truth? and why do all the churches want money?" i told him the prophets know the good path pretty well. and that the prophet will be on the right path. but more than anything ask of God.

his question hit me. hard. he took me, a huge white kid half bald, and put all of his trust in my hands and humbly asked me how to know.

it helped me realize just what my sacred commission is. i am here for him. im not here for me to learn. it will happen. but i am here to help them. and they are my brothers and sisters and more importantly my Father's children. his sincerity and his integrity-not to mention humility-touched my heart.

currently he is going to the adventist church. we will see if we can find him again. he wasnt there sunday for our appointment. i feel like he could progress though. now i just need to work on my qeqchi to make sure its enough to teach him the way.

Are you feeling better after taking the pills Hermana Torres gave you?
like im back home again! all good baby. i feel fine :) you actually sent me the same stuff. just with different directions for taking it. she didnt tell me the side effects though. i did get way tired on it but im fine now.

Do you know your mom loves you?
yeth

Do you think you will stay in Santo Domingo or change the next time?
to be honest im hoping for a change. i wrote the weekly letter to president and mentioned how ive been here for awhile. well see what happens.

DID YOU GET OUR PACKAGES? :) Find anything good? Who else did you get packages from?
yes i did. thank you so much. but please stop. i love them but i have enough here. well i got a package from megan and nana too. thank you so much though. you guys rock. and the shoes are soo comfortable. much better.

Where is Elder Goodwins area? Do you get to see him?
elder goodwin is in the office and no i didnt get to see him. supposedly he is here in the polochic today but i dont think i will be able to see him danget.

How is Elder Legua this week? Please tell him we are so sorry about his uncle. Are you still writing Beth?
yes we are still in contact.

Have you sent a memory card home?
next monday. i gotta transfer everything. its gonna happen for shizzle though :)

CALL DETAILS! Your mom is FREAKING OUT already. Yep, I said freaking.

well im thinking i may be calling this sunday. perhaps. i will see. ill call you before hand to make sure. where will everyone be? what is the best time? ill make sure to call you guys to set the time. now vorrees.

so right now its very hot. i mean very hot. i dont have a thermometer or id tell you. but its soo hot. i lose weight i think while im sleeping. alright im probably exxagerating (and i didnt spell that right). but still its way hot. haha we took our beds out of the room and put them in the sacrament room. thats the only place there are fans. i just threw my bed on the ground under the fan and didnt sleep with the blankets on. its dang hot. "freaking" hot. :)

when is this lexi girl gonna write me? i wanna talk to her. and hows aunt jodi doin?

well the pics slowed me down a lot. i love each and every one of you. i will talk to you on sunday. miss you!!!!

love

ELDER TAY

Week 45: Wedding, Baptisms and My Birthday!

weeeelllllll hi. :)

Details on the wedding/baptism? Everything go ok?

everything went perfect. we were all looking forward to it and at the last minute the branch president had to go to coban. we had given his name to the alcalde or mayor type guy as a witness to the wedding. and when the branch president left we had a little scare and thought it wasnt going to work out. well turns out the two guys who came to do the weddings were both members and we were able to do it. my companion and i just had to sign as witnesses. it was a cool experience cuz when we got there the whole town of actela was basically there and to start the meeting the two guys welcomed us and recognized our presence. it was cool cuz these people look up to mayors and governmental authorities a lot, and when they welcome the missionaries there is obviously something the missionaries have to offer. so well see if the respect level goes up in actela. the wedding was on friday. saturday were the baptisms. it was very cool and they both wanted me to baptize them.

What's with the ties lately? Where did all your other ties go? Do you need more?

nothings up with ties. i dont need more. i was just saying cuz i asked for a couple ties a long time ago. so i was saying if you were going to send me ties to send me paisleys and ugly. they are trading power with other missionaries haha!

We love the picture of you and other missionaries next to the water...with you in a superman pose. Anything you'd like to add to a caption underneath this picture?

not really. whatever you guys want. it was lake izabel in el estor if that helps. haha.

Did you travel anywhere this week to do any teaching?

not really. we just stayed in the area pretty close. i did do a division with an elder lusty from utah. hes way cool and we are really good friends now. i went to tucuru with him so elder tzunux could interview our baptizees.

How are things with the dad and son in law? Still coming to church?

hmmmm, not sure who youre talking about. im assuming the old man that reactivated. yes they are coming to church. the son in law is the one that got baptized on saturday!

How do you feel about the Kekchi now that you are speaking it all the time?

its cool. its coming quicker and quicker.

Did you share your food with Elder Goodwin from your package?

haha no. i offered him some though-for going to get it-but he declined nicely. hes the man. and a great dang friend.

Are you able to send snail mail letters still? Cause we haven't gotten any. Hint hint.

ya im working on one. with a memory card. sorry. it is way hard. and this coban trip fell right at the end of the month when we dont have money. so i may borrow money from my personal account then redeposit it out of my mission account after.

Do you know where your dad and I were 20 years ago today and how grateful we are to have you in our lives? :)

haha i remember it very well.

Do you know what time we are supposed to call on Mothers day? What is the phone number again?

i will figure that out and let you know. have you bought a calling card?

How are your pants holding up? Socks? Garments?

all good to go. like taco bell.

well i had my interview with president this last week. which was good. he congratulated me for the baptisms and the good work. we were more than two hours late because of the weddings and he joked around with me about it and said he didnt know why everyone had to be there at the same time. he said he would rather have me doing that than anything else. after all it is why i am here.
so in my interview he started talking about the date i entered and when i leave then paused and said..."your in elder jensens group huh?" so that is why i think elder jensen is going to be assistant. he also told me how great my group is. :)

elder legua had a tough week this last week. i guess his uncle died. i finally got a hold of him over the phone. still the best friend in the mission. elder schone got a hold of me too. hes doing good. wants to be in the "chic" still though. elder jensen is doing fine too. i talked to him also.

we taught a lot this last week. lots of lessons. and lots of new investigators. we found a family whos family are all members. they were very receptive and listened and understood everything. which makes them very good investigators cuz they understood my qeqchi! we didnt see ramiro this last week. he works alot. i would say hes our next baptismal possibility. so we are working hard with him. he says he knows joseph smith was a prophet and is reading the book of mormon.

people here are very strange. they believe almost anythng they are told but are stubborn at the same time. strange combo. but they believe in the book of mormon. heck some churches even preach from it. they also know joseph smith was a prophet-but because of responsibilities in other churches they "cant leave." whatever.

we also taught a lesson this last week on the sabbath day. the adventists say people worship on sunday because of ancient paagan sun worship. hence the name sunday. but i like to hear "sonday" when i say the name of that day. it is the lords day (says in the bible) and we should do all worship and remembering him on his day.....right?

so i havent got my packages yet. apparently they are in teleman and i wont get them until wednesday or thursday. they say there are like seven though. woohoo!

well hmmmmm.......thank you for all the birthday congrats :) wish i could be eating a nice delicioso cake right now.

i miss you one and all :) and love you too

ELDER TAY