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Buenas Familia!

Well first off I am so stoked for JB Olsen! Thats so awesome that he's going on a mission? And are the Karzens in our ward now?! I am really so stoked! I love hearing about all these guys going off to serve!

Well this last week was really awesome! On saturday we were blessed with 2 baptisms! Martha Oliva and her friend Yasarys Lacayo! They were so cute during the baptism, and they really were so happy that they were finally able to make this covenant with the Lord. It was funny to hear their testimonies after. 

So Martha lives with a less active member, Isabel Gonzaes and her family. So one day we passed by Isabel's house and Martha was there so we invited her to the lesson. We casually invited her to come to church and she actually did, but we really didn't think anything of it, and we didn't really focus on teaching her. But then she kept coming to church so we put a baptismal date with her and she was so stoked to be baptized! She had been hearing the missionaries on and off for about 2 years, but she feels like now was finally the time to take this importnat step in her life. It was so sweet because at her baptism, Isabel and her family didn't even show up to the baptism, and we asked Martha why and she said because they had been invited to a huge party off in Guapiles (that's right next to my first area Guacimo). She said when we challenged her to be baptized the 17th that was a big stumbling block, but she said that it was only one of Satan's attempts to stop her from changing her life! She is amazing and she has already shared the gospel with all of her family in Nicaragua, and she was baptized Saturday!

Yasarys was also a tender mercy of the Lord. One day we had absolutely nothing and no one to teach, so we were looking through our Area Book at all the Old Investigators, and we came across Yasarys' teaching record. It said that she had come to church, but was too afraid to be baptized. We called her that day and visited her, and we challenged her to be baptized and she accepted for the 17th! It was awesome, because we used the story of Esther to help her overcome her fear of being baptized, and it really helped her through this process! P.S. I love the Old Testament so much! It has so many great stories and examples for our investigators!

Well this upcoming saturday we will also be blessed with 3 more baptisms! We will be having the marriage and Baptism of Daniel, Brenda and their daughter Angie. They are an amzing family, and they really are those golden investigators that every missionary wants. I love them so much, and they really are going to be strong members. It's too bad because their whole family is attacking them right now, and telling them things like, "Oh, the Mormons trapped you huh?" and "You are only getting married to get divorced..." and other lies like that. But they are staying strong and Daniel really has a strong testimony that this is the true church. It's funny because he was a reference from his brother-in-law, an investigator from the sister missionaries here, and he is actually going to be baptized before his brother-in-law! I love them!

We also had a sweet experience this week with an investigator, Karina. Her mom passed away about 4 months ago, and we taught her the Plan of Salvation and she told us that it just made everything "click" in her mind and she knew it was true. Well yesterday we decided to teach her about Family History and Temple Work (it was different because it was only our 3rd lesson with her) and we could see the Spirit working so strongly in her. I told her that she could be the one that saves her mom, and helps her to progress in the plan of salvation, and she just paused and whispered, "Wow, it all makes sense now!" It was an awesome lesson, and she will be getting baptized the 14th of September!

Well, I love the mission. I love the Spirit I can feel here. I love what I am doing, and I love the hope that we can feel through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that he is my Saviour, and I know that only through his infinite sacrifice, we can find peace in this life. I love you all, take care, and I am always praying for you!

Pura Vida,
Elder Taylor

photos: Martha and Yasarys' Baptism!