Stressed Out-Keep Calm

This is Ben's letter from March 30, 2015

Hola familia,

I'm doing a lot better. Still having a little of a hard time breathing, but I'm getting better every day. I unfortunately wasn't able to rest like I should have at the beginning of the week. I've been out of function for a week straight. I'm super sick of being stuck in the house.  I'm taking the medicine  they have given me, but the asthma is way out of whack. 

I had my first serious asthma/stress attack where I had to go to the hospital. I was in a meeting with the Stake President and the High Council and I started to loose my breath then my hands and feet started to go numb. I had one of the members drive me to the hospital when I couldn't get it under control. By the time we got to the hospital, I had completely lost all feeling in my hands and from my knees down and the cramped up all weird as if I had palsy. They hooked me up to oxygen for about an hour and it got a lot better. I was still a little numb when I left the hospital but they changed my inhaler and I haven´t had a problem since.

They told me that it wouldn't have been so bad if I wouldn't have gotten so stressed out. It had been a mildly stressful week since my companion had gotten called to be the new assistant and I was alone to take care of everything before the changes (and deal with a few disobedient missionaries and other various problems). So now I just need to control my stress a little better and keep taking my inhaler frequently and it should all regulate out.

I only got to leave this week to go to church and for district meetings. It was so nice to see the recent converts and less actives we've been working with and I can't wait to get back out to go visit.

The zone is quite new. There are quite a few missionaries that have very little time in the mission and who have recently arrived to the zone. I'm extremely excited to see what we can do as a Zone. We are going to work even more with the members than we have in these last two changes. And we are going to try to be even more consecrated than ever before. It's awesome, lots of the less obedient/ less motivated missionaries are no longer in the zone and we have receive alot of newer missionaries who are completely willing to work as hard as it takes. So we are extremely blessed as far as the zone goes.

The house has 3 new missionaries. Elder Hobbs, Elder Massey and Elder Álverez. Elder Hobbs (Idaho) was my zone leader when I was in La Paloma, Elder Massey (California) was a Zone leader in a zone called Durazno last change and is now training Elder Álverez who recently arrived a few days ago from Bolivia. I don't have any pictures of them this week, but next week I'll be sure to send some.

To answer your questions:
How is your new companion?He is doing well, super excited to work here in Belloni. He is finishing his mission this change so that's crazy. They put me with a Valiente. We're going to the temple in a few weeks with some his converts.

How are things going?Well. With lots of mucus and shortness of breath, but well.

 We love hearing all about you and what is happening. Did you get some new shoes? I got new shoes and I hope on using them more this week.

Anything you need? Prayers and for everyone to give each other a big ol´ hug from me.

Anything you need us to do? Keep being awesome. Pray for opportunities to share the gospel and act upon the opportunities that the Lord will give you. And if it doesn´t seem like He's giving you opportunities, that means he's waiting on you to make your own.

Love you all so much,

Élder Benjamin Taylor

Don't Freak Out-never the way a letter should start!

This is the letter from Ben on March 24, 2015
Hola Familia,

Lots of changes over in the Plainfield Ward. Congrats to Ashley Gootee for her mission call. Everything here is doing great. We're enjoying wonderful chilly weather here.

Now, don´t freak out, but I got a little sick about a week and a half ago and it spread to my lungs (sort of like what happened about 6 months ago). I went to the doctor yesterday and they did some breathing tests and an ultra sound thing and they told me that I have Pneumonia and Asthma (which makes me more susceptible in the future according to them). Thankfully they caught the pneumonia pretty early on, so they gave me a treatment with some medicated oxygen mask and some medicine. It should be better in a few days. I feel way better today, but regardless I'm only leaving the house to write you guys and to cut my hair. They got me an inhaler for the future.

I'm way better so don't worry please. The medicine is working really well.

So the changes are...

I am staying and my old companion Elder Gutiérrez is the new Assistant to the President. My new companion is Elder Hobbs. He was my zone leader back in Rocha. He is coming here and he will be finishing his mission here in Maroñas because this is his last transfer cycle. There are quite a few missionaries going this change. We will have 3 new district leaders and 1 new district leader in the zone. I am the only one who is familiar with the plans and issues of the zone so we're going to have to do a lot of training with new leaders. I'm really excited about this new transfer cycle, It's going to be great!

I love you all lots. That's a sweet bike dad. Congrats, You completely deserve it. Drive safe please! (John got a new Harley-Davidson motorcycle)

Sorry I didn't write more but I just want to go back home to lay down. Love you lots!!!

Élder Benjamin Taylor

Temple Days-Lots of Family History Accomplished

This is Ben's letter from March 16, 2015

Hola Familia,

Good to hear that everyone is doing so well. Everything is doing well here in Maroñas. This week we got to go to the temple as a Zone. We had interviews with President Cook and some workshops by the assistants. It was an awesome experience. Obviously going to the temple is something we get to do every day, so it was even more special. 

I got to do baptisms and confirmations for 5 family members and two sisters were able to do from baptism to endowment for two family names. Everyone else in the zone was either able to bring their own family names or was able to do family names for other missionaries. There was a wonderful spirit that day. It was amazing to "re-live" every covenant we've made from baptism to endowment.

This month for the ward mission activity, we went to the temple with the recent converts and the members that we've activated. We were able to go with 4 recent converts and with 3 less active families we've been working with. We were in the temple for about 2 hours and were able to do lots of family names (from the family history we'd been doing with them. =) 

I was the recorder in the confirmation room. We got a lot of names in the temple and over 20 were names from Indiana, and like 40 from the Netherlands (the two places where we have quite a few ancestors), so that was really cool. It was a great activity and even cooler because we got permission to enter in the temple with them. (The established standard in the mission is that you can only go to the temple when we have conferences where the zone is planned to go, or when you are accompanying a convert to get their endowment or to be sealed).

I got to go to Libia (my first area) on an interchange and got to 

visit my two converts there. One is going through a hard time and the other is doing fine. It was super awesome to see them. I hope they can both continue strong. They both have testimonies and know that the church is true, but some of the trials they've gone through have been pretty difficult.

The week has been amazing. We're having a lot of blessing by way of finding less-active members that are wanting to progress and return to the church. It's also been a wonderful opportunity to find new people to teach. I'm really enjoying my time here with Elder Gutiérrez. We're working really well together. Changes are coming up next week. I will probably be writing on Tuesday.

Love you all lots!

Élder Benjamin Taylor