November 4, 2013 E-Mail

Buenas Familia!!!

First off to answer Mom's questions...

1. Hmm... well I have seen a ton of huge bugs down here... when I was starting my mission, I was in the jungle with our zone and we saw a 5 cm ant. It was huge like 2 inches long and it had a huge stinger! But  have seen a ton of huge spiders and stuff here, and a ton of huge centipedes and stuff like that.
2. Has anythng ever flown in my hair, no I don't think so!
3. I got sick a couple of weeks ago becuase I ate a really nasty microwave burrito at a members house, and because I was still flushing out that bacteria that I got a couple of weeks ago!
4. I really miss eating french fries, and I miss Chicken Divan haha, I also really miss eating real meat, and not just chicken all the time. (They don't like eating red meats here...)
5. I am so latin that I throw my used toilet paper in the trash now!!! Haha I know it's bad but it has become a habit.
6. I never get to play volleyball. Here all we play is soccer, soccer and more soccer. I don't like it because Ticos are super good at soccer because that is all they do!
7. No I think I am good, I'll let you know if I need anything.
8. On Halloween this year we worked! They don't celebrate Halloween here, so we just worked and it was like any other day haha

Well here's the big news... I am staying in Tres Rios! I am going to have like 8 months here by the end of this next change, but I love it! I will still be here with Elder Schweinfurth, so we will have 6 months together at the end of this change. Crazy huh!

Well things ae going well in our area, and in the zone. We have a few people that could be getting baptized in the next couple of weeks, A family named Alicia and Ricardo (who are super awesome and super humble) and a few other people. I really love this area because the members are helping us a ton, and they are just great people.

This past friday we had the Leadership Council with President Wilkinson, and that is always a great opportunity to learn. He talked to us a lot about leadership because we are going to be seeing a ton of new Zone Leaders in the upcoming months. (President asked everybody that was going to be leaving between now and January and 12 of the 26 zone leaders raised their hands haha) So we are really focusing on trying to help make more leaders here in the mission!

Sorry this letter isn't very exciting. This past week I have been studying a lot about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I love the Atonement so much. I really was focused on how Jesus Christ accepted the will of the Father in everything he did. Before this life Christ accepted to follow the will of the Father, and throughout his life he re-iterated that fact. Then in the Garden of Gethsemane, he being a God, was surprised by how much anguish he was experiencing, and even asked God to allow him to do this great task in any other way, but nevertheless he chose to suffocate his will in the will of the Father. That is why we are here on earth. Sometimes it is hard, but we must always choose the will of our Father in Heaven, and that is when we can find real peace of conscience in this life. I love the Atonement, and I love repenting haha, I feel so good after I choose to follow the will of our Father in Heaven!!!

I love studying the scriptures also. I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up though, so I will still have to ponder and pray about that haha, I wish I had antoher 2 years to do that! Well mom, I have been talking with Randy, I think I want to do summer term when I get back, so I don't know if you could look some of that stuff up. I am also going to talk with President Wilkinson to see if I can start using BYU.edu to start preparing for that!

Well I love you all. I know that this is the true church, and I love Costa Rica, and all the people here. They are so blessed and there are so many miracles happening here in this country. I love you all, take care!

Pura Vida,

Elder Taylor

P.S. say hi to Daniel Dekker for me! Love you all!