Monday, January 12, 2009 - Life is Good!!!

Hi, Mom!Well this week I have plenty to say! First off I hate keyboards that have a broken ´backspace´ button, that always makes this harder. Second, I was and am pretty sure the other elders are lying to me and we can´t write friends and I´m going to get the companion stuff over. This week was bad...and good! Im´ going to go in order so I can include some stuff. Last Monday was a growing experience, the whole day sucked; but I prayed and prayed that I´d do what I was supposed to do. Then at District Class we learned alot and I found a new resolution to work. I´m glad I have a moment to recount all these things, bcause I´ve written in my journal once this change, and that was Wed. That, and I didn´t even finish the entry.... anyway, Monday finished off good for the work. Tuesday started off good, well the whole day was just another day, but overall no problems, worked hard. If I remember correctly. We ate lunch with a family whose daughter in law is getting baptized this Saturday... again I hope. She has a date scheduled for this Saturday, well last Saturday but we´re going to see about this week. We go back tonight for a family home evening and teach her! Wednesday was a day of miracles and a day of nightmares. I´m going to recount this story to you guys, because it would be very out of place for me to share it with those here. It started out great. I got an email too from Bishop Bodrero, very nice! Made me smile, but he... oh no... it was you, nevermind. Lol, to write a list of the miracles I´ve gotten, maye it was dad... in a letter he sent me. Lol, I forgot who... But Miercoles was a day of miracles. We´ve been bumping into alot of people lately that have already talked to the missionaries but were eventually dropped. Yesterday, last Saturday, and Wednesday. But we started talking w th one guy and he was taught most of the lessosn by the sister missionaries.... 4 years ago. We found him and we´re going back Tomorrow. Then we started off towards our lunch appointment with the familia Acosta. We had a little time before the appointment, give or take a half hour, so we decided to knock doors, Elder M. pointed at the one next to us. Pretty ghetto. We knocked, a few moments later a younger man of so-so 28 maybe 30 or so years answered the door. Typically we explained we were missionaries and we share a message of Christ and asked if we could share it. He kind of nonchalantly said sure come on in (In Spanish). We sat down and his Mom (or Mother in law) joined us. We started to get to know them and taught the first lesson. Afterwards we learned two things. They´re REALLY Catholic. Well, used to be... The man who let us in has been praying to God and Christ to help him find his faith. He´s always been Catholic but he wants to really find his faith somethings lacking from where he was. (In other words... we were his answer from God). Then his mother (in law) said something. She said any other day any other moment if you knocked we would have said no. But he´s been looking for this so we let you in. That was cool. We finished the day with pretty much nothing. Lol. Unfortunately, Elder M left the key in the house, so we had to ask the neighbors if we could pop onto their second floor and slip down into our ´backyard´ which is just a 3 by 7 slip to hang the laundry... with a washboard... Well, we walked over to the neighbors and while we were waiting, a car pulled up next to us. The man in the car said ¨elders, hey elders come over here¨. I walked over and he asked me if I remembered him, I couldn´t see a thing, there was no light. I told him I couldn´t see, sorry, and then Elder Martinez popped over. Same question. Elder M remembered, ¨You´re the guy with the white hair?¨ The man removed his hat, there was the white hair, if I had seen that, I would have remembered. Our first week here, we were walking to an appointment and we contacted this guy, we were talking and he told us he drinks but really wants to stop and we told him we could help. We set an appointment for the next day, Sunday, that we´d pop by and talk. Well, the next day, I don´t remember extreme details, but it was before or after the time for the appointment with him, and I mentioned lets go. Something along those lines. Elder M. responds, no he's just a drunk we´re not going. Probably not so blunt, but he´s a drunk, etc. We didn´t go. Wednesday while talking he told us he had prepared a nice dinner and set everything up for us with shrimp and other stuff I didn´t understand and he waited all day for us to pass, but we never showed, he had to throw everything in the garbage. He thanked us for the way we treated him. Elder M again responds. Hey we´re not machines we can´t go to every appointment................... ´,= / ................Guy responded, no thanks for all you do thanks that I´ve lost all confidence in you have a great night. Then he drove off. When he first told us what happened when we didn´t show I looked at Elder and almost, almost almost said, ¨I TOLD YOU IDIOT!¨ I remained silent. That depressed us for the night. We got on the roof and I slid down into our ´backyard´ shattered the window to our door and reached in to unlock it. I opened up the front door and Elder M slipped in. Again 30 minuts later, or sooner Ivan showed up. I had no desire to contest his appearance then. We talked and Elder M went in to the room, Ivan and I continued. About 11:00 I told him we´re going to bed. We walked outside and I told him ¨I have to tell you why we´re in such a bad mood¨ I recounted the same story to you. That was the mistake. I didn´t have a chance to write it in the journal and while I was sitting I had the distinct, unmistakable impression that I should go into my room and say my full prayer, not just to bless the chocolate milk and choco krispies I had. I waved it off... and continued ot talk. That was the mistake. After Ivan left I walked in to the rrom and the light flipped on and Elder M sat up and said we need to talk. We had ANOTHER emergency companionship inventory. The guys sitting next to me are listenening to metal music with the screaming and AGHHH, DUH DUH DUH!!!! it´s pretty annoying... The conversion eventually ended with we don´t like the way each other works. We have a week and a half. Work hard think about the work. WEll, that was MY resolution, I don´t know what he ended at, but I decided to just think about the people I´m teaching. That and we decided to just talk bout Christ, like you had recommended me. That died REAL fast! The next day we tried it. He started off, remember this picture? It was the picture of Christ at the well asking the Samaritan woman for water. I said I don´t remember all the details but this is what happened. He responds, well actually, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. It was so demeaning. Again later, he asked me if I knew who Sahm-soon was. In English it´s Samsun. The man of the old testament that was really strong as long as he didn´t cut his hair. Again, well this is what I remember. Well actually, blah blah lbah lah blah blah blah. Oh, man. We stopped that. That day as I have written here too, he HONESTLY does not WANT to ask for references. He does not want to. When we talk with people, members or investigators, it´s like ¨Oh you´re interested in our message?¨ Ok, see you later.¨ Then when we knock doors or contact, we find someone. No, thanks, I´m really not interested, I´m busy, bye. And THEN he´ll ask, well do you know anyone who might be interested in our message? What do you think? Friday was good. We started the day by going to the stake center to meet with the assistents to the President. It was basically an opportunity to practice teaching the lessons with asking basic questions to check for understanding and such. It was also known as a BBQ because we got roasted! The first 2 were good, but the second two got fried! They didn´t talk again the rest of the time we were there. Absolutely slaughtered their confidence, the assistents did. Elder M and I were next. All they said was really good, and they only gave one thing to do better and they didn´t even say it to me! They said it to our ´investigator´. Elder M got a few things. But wow. We ended that session by passing out letters and packges and such. Which was AMAZING! First off, I got your singing card, lol. It´s really cool, and thank you so much. I listened to it probably 5-6 times. It was good to hear your voices. I love you a bushel and a peck, bet your pretty neck I do! Merry Chistmas Jake! Then the awesome music. Lol. I got 34 letters, Lol. And a package from Cindy CLemmer. Tell her as of now she´s my favorite cousin. What she sent me was as if I had called her and asked her to send it. An English Hymn book which I was regretting having not bought before I got here. Oreos chocolates, nutter butters and pistachios. It was incredible! I like Debbie alot too still, but wow, Cindy, lol... Good job! The rest of the week was blah, Sunday was missionary Sunday, we both spoke, well I did, he didn´t have time, lol. And two others Missionary leader and a man who´s leaving on his mission the 21. The first word I said, I started cying. I didn´t prepare anything, I just prayed and the words came I spoke on the last dispensation and that means that never again will the children of men have the opportunity to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ and it s our duty and responsibility as members of the Church to share it. If they understood me, it went over well. If not, well ok... Anyway. Miracle. We´ve been visiting one Inactive Member for almost 2-3 times a week since we´ve been here. This is whose phone I used to talk to you at Christmas! One day we were passing for Ivan, and the inactive member (Hma. Raquel), well her brother had come to stay with them for a while. While we were knocking the door of Ivan her brother came by, different street, not to far but a little ways off just out of the way. He was just passing by to do something, but told us that Hma. Raquel was in pain, had a few teeth (wisdom i think) yanked, something with her mouth, lol. But she wasn´t feeling too good. We decided to pass by after Ivan who we stayed with for almost 2 hours, like 1;45 or something, and still asked why do you always want to leave so fast! Uhh... we´re missionaries... We stopped by and I asked her if she wanted a blessing. She nodded Mhmm, Mhmm. Lol. She chose Elder M to annoint and me to bless. I gave her the blessing I don´t remember what I said, but afterwards she sat still for a minute and then she said how beautiful. We stopped by again Saturday night and she wasn´t home but we told her daughter to invite her to church. Her daughter's active, goes with another family. Next day I was on the piano and I saw a guy come in with a tshirt and jeans. I was thinking off a bit and then asked myself, is that Pepe? (her brother) Then I saw her saddle. It´s been YEARS since she came to church. Members that passed by and she had rejected them. There she was, she told us, later, that when we gave her the blessing, she had the impression, something told her, you need to go to church, and she made the decision right then and there to go. Every week from now on. Pepe came too and he reminds me of Billy, he looks like Billy and has the same problems. But he wants to change his life, we gave them both another blessing on Sunday and now Pepe´s one of our investigators. Anyway, I have to roll. But that´s the jist. Some pretty cool stuff. The days each go by as if they don´t exist, but this last week took forever. Completely flip flopped. Lol. Well I have some pictures of me I´m going to maybe send next week. We hopefully have 2 baptisms Saturday and 4 more next week. Next Monday is changes. Either he or I will leave. I´ll let you know! Yes I got the Jordan sandals, I thought they were the coolest thing ever too, lol. We cleaned ALL of the house today, and the landlord is going to come paint it. Finally... holy crap... I want to get a letter from the guys before I hire a bum here to head over and kill em.... I love you both so much, I started reading a few letters again and remembering the gifts and love that you have sent and show me and everything. More tears, I´m in the Lord´s work and I´ve grown alot, have alot more too and I´m a little blah, right now. Kind of just talking but all is well. I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-Jake D. Taylor! P.S: And I have to go to the bathroom really bad!---