New Investigator-Heart Prepared for the Gospel

February 24, 2015 Letter

Hola Familia!

What crazy weather you all have had lately. I really miss the snow, I hope the winter that I get home has a lot of snow. Wow! I can't hardly believe that Emma is already home, and that she's engaged. Congrats!At least for now I don't have plans get engaged in at least the first month of returning, but we'll just see won't we. 

This week we were blessed to have many beautiful experiences. Our unity as a companionship has improved so much and I feel like we are teaching with more power and we are learning how to rely more than ever upon the spirit.

We are teaching a new investigator who we found last week. We have been working a lot with the ward directory looking for less actives/inactive that were at one point Endowed but have expired recommends. We were looking for someone, but they had moved and no longer lived there so we went next door to ask the neighbors if they knew something about her. 

A lady and her mother (the mother´s name is Clara) in a wheel chair were outside of the house next door so we talked to them about the person and in the end ended up sharing with them about what it is we teach. Clara is about 65 and has bone cancer and other spinal problems. About 4 years ago other missionaries made contact with her after she was nominated for a wheel chair from the churches wheel chair fund (LDS Philanthropies). She used to listen to the missionaries but we think both the missionaries were taken out suddenly and they could never find her again because she lives in a very hard to find place very far from the majority of the area.

She has so much faith, she has lost her daughter recently, but despite that she continues trusting so much in God and is getting ready to be baptized the 7th of March.

Since we found her at the end of the week, we couldn't find anyone that could go pick her up. So we left early Sunday morning from the house at 7:15 to go get her. She lives about a 45 min walk from the church, but I didn't think her wheel chair would make it all the way without breaking through the dirt/rocky roads. 

We were able to take her to the closest bus stop and take the bus (which recently in the last 2 months have received hydraulic ramps for people in wheel chairs) to the church. 

Everyone was so kind to her when we got there. Everyone said Hi, gave her a kiss (that's how they say hi here) and tried to get to know her. She was there for all three meetings and almost every leader approached us and asked us what they could do to help her.

She loved the experience, even though it was physically exhausting for her, but she was so excited to come back she told everyone on her way out "see you next week!"

We talked with the President of the Young men and with the elders quorum and they are already organizing for at least one youth and adult to go by to pick her up. They were so excited for the opportunity to serve.

It was such a blessing to first of all meet her because my faith has been strengthened so much; and second of all to serve her and make it possible for her to go to the chapel. And I'm so excited for the Charla we have with her tonight. We're going to bring some members so they can get to know her.

I know that this is a true work, and that the Lord is always preparing the hearts of the people to be able to receive the gospel, we just need to be diligent and look for them.

Well, I love you all and hope everything is going well for you all back home. 

Chao,

Élder Benjamin Taylor

Trip to Cancun (not really) Ward Event

February 16, 2015 letter

Hola Familia,

So good to hear from you. Sounds like it's been a pretty busy week for all of you. It was fun to hear about drumline. Thanks mom for all the work that you and the other parents do. Sounded like that was quite a bit of hemming. 

Congrats durmline on 3rd!!! What class are they in in IPA and in WGI???

Today we went to say goodbye to Gustavo at the Airport (with president´s permission). He's a young adult recent convert of Elder Eraso, who always hangs out with us on Pday and accompanies us to lessons. He got baptized about a year and a half ago and now he is on his way to the Spain Madrid MTC to learn Italian to serve in Italy. So that was cool to be with him for that moment.

This week was awesome and we were extremely busy. We had the baptisms of Santiago and Allistair this Saturday. It was an amazing service. It was then followed by a ward activity put on by the missionaries. 

It was called a Trip to Cancun. It starts out with every missionary making a little carnival game where people can win or loose fake money. You play for a while and at the end you have the people buy their plane tickets with that money. Those who have a lot of money can buy a ticket in 1st class, those who have some money get a Family Class Ticket, and everyone who lost all their money gets an economic ticket.

We start the plane ride towards Cancun with plane sounds, lights, flight attendants, and captains. Then later, the plane has problems in the flight and it crashes. The lights go out and an Angel/missionary dressed in white appears from the Chapel with lights behind him and reads the parable of the talents. 

We then divided into three groups with an angel at the head that takes them to the three rooms we had decorated to represent the 3 kingdoms Celestial, Terestrial, and the Telestial. The Celestial is decorated in White, has soft music, food, flowers, and nice soft chairs. The Terestrial is like a normal room with the lights turned off but the window open for light (you can't talk in this room). The Telestial was the smallest room we could find. We turned on the gas stove to make it hot, left a radio in the corner with white noise (static) playing, and the windows and lights were covered with black trash bags so it gave off a very small amount of light, and they needed to sit in the little kids chairs.

It was super fun and was a great way to teach about the plan of salvation. There were a good number of investigators there and lots of less actives. It required so much work but it was completely worth it. I think it would be really fun in Plainfield. If it worked here so well with just 4 Kid Missionaries organizing almost everything, imagine how a gigantic ward with lots of people, resources, a bigger building, and well functioning organizations could make it a huge success.

My game for the carnival section was learning the piano. I taught three songs- Hot Crossed Buns (easy), Mary Had a Little Lamb (med), and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (hard). I had it all written out on little poster board for them to use. Elder Gutiérrez did something with a nerf gun and stuffed animals. Everyone enjoyed and then we all had a great time playing.

One more thing. We are going to the temple in a few weeks, so if there are any names that I could do for our family (from Baptism to Endowment), we are going to be able to do all of them. I already went to FamilySearch and printed off the cards for a super distant family member, but if there were someone else, closer I would love to do it. So send me the Sheet that I can scan in and I'll do it.

Love you all lots!

Elder Benjamin Taylor

Here are some pictures from this last week. Our Lunch, Sleep over the last night of the change, Leadership meeting: Me, Elder Espinoza, Elder Morales, Elder Eraso, and Elder Gutiérrez.

Baptism & Lessons in Leadership

February 10, 2015 Letter

Hola Familia!

So good to hear from you. Life here is great! We had the baptismal service of Andrea Baraldo. She was the lady that Elder Muñoz and I were teaching in Buceo (the offices), who was going to get baptized there until we realized that she lived an hour away in Belloni. We had to pass the reference to the missionaries here in Belloni. But there were some things that happened and in the end she had never been baptized. 

So, when we got here, one of the first things we did was call her and set up an appointment. It took a few weeks for her to feel ready but now she is doing super well and was baptized this last Friday (02/06/15). 

She was actually the first person that I baptized (all the other converts that I taught have been baptized by a member from the ward, or by my companion.) 

It was a very cool experience.

Because of some family problems Allistair, who was going to be baptized with Andrea, was not able to be baptized but will be getting baptized this Saturday along with Santiago. So... prayers for their well-being would be much appreciated if possible.

Last night we received the transfers and I am staying one more change here with Elder Gutiérrez. The work here is amazing and I am loving every minute being in this ward. The members are so willing to work and are helping so much.

Concilio was great and we learned a lot. We talked a lot about leadership. The Administrative and Ministry sides. It was really interesting and I feel like it will serve me for the rest of my life. In a short explanation: I learned a lot about Ministering when I studied the word Stewardship. Stewardship is when I have been trusted with someone’s land, business, or possessions and I am expected to take care of it as if I were the legitimate owner. 

When you are a minister or someone who ministers something, you are charged with a responsibility or task and are expected to carry it out in the same way that a steward would care for his masters possession.

This helped me recognize the importance of the ministry that has been trusted to me as missionary.

•   the spiritual and physical well being of the missionaries in my zone

•   the work here in the zone as well as in my own personal area

•   the conversion of the members, and non members here in my area

•   my own personal conversion

•   Etc..

And I must fulfill every one of these responsibilities that I've been given in the exact same way that the Lord would do it. With love, charity, mercy, patience, righteousness, and with a willing and submissive heart.

I think this lesson will help me for the rest of my life in every calling that I have; be it Nursery Teacher or Gospel Doctrine Teacher, from Greeter to Ward Mission Leader. What ever it is, I need to complete with it in the Way the Lord himself would.

I love you all so much,

Chao,

Elder Benjamin Taylor

Pictures from this last week, intercambio with lunch in the gym set up for the wedding of some converts and the last Zone conference.