ATTEMPTING LAUNDRY, ANOTHER COMPANION AND THE SPIRIT SO STRONG HE WAS ALMOST IN TEARS

I don't know if this will ever happen again, but I am thrilled to hear from him on back-to-back days!!!  And now I know when his p-day is.  Yesterday's letter came snail mail and today I got an email.  I am going to just copy and paste it, so if you notice a difference in style that would explain it!  I have to say that Taylor did a pretty good job of answering questions.  He got to a lot of them.  I know it is going to be tough for him writing to so many people.

I have told Taylor numerous times (I think I have sent him four letters and two emails) how proud I am of him and the example he is setting for his younger brothers.  All of those were before receiving anything from him, but right now I don't think there is a mom in the world that is/could be more proud of her son!!!

hello madre!

currently in the laundry room attempting to do my laundry. this past week has been hectic to say the least. glad to hear the boys are doing well. well, since my letter, i have become district leader, my companion elder harris was moved to advanced english. i now am companions with elder edwards. he is from orem utah and we are getting along real well. my district has seven elders including me. we all like each other and have no problems. i am told i have a pretty awesome district and we will be great. my branch president it president craig. he is a great guy. sunday was my favorite day so far. i had so many spiritual experiences. at the fireside, president swenson of missionary services spoke and he was phenomenal. i was almost in tears because of the spirit i felt. my spanish is coming along real well and i am really improving. i learned how to pray in spanish and right now my favorite hymn is mas cerca Dios de ti. its amazing. we also got to go on a temple walk on sunday. it was nice to be able to go to the temple and just sit on the grounds and take pictures with my companions. i may print off some pictures and send them home if i have time. the food i kind of like. but i had a bad experience in the bathroom last week. but its past!

onto the questions. my teachers are hermano milne and hermana smith. i like hermana smith because i can understand her more easily. we are supposed to speak spanish all the time during class and its pretty hard but i am improving quickly. i am supposed to teach lesson one this week in spanish with my companion. we are preparing and it will be sketchy but great. my verb tenses are iffy but getting better as well. almost all the elders in my district are going to argentina. but none of them to my mission unfortunately. i have seen elder nielson a couple of times, andrea twice, elder grossen twice and my roommate steve brown from college twice. my p-day is on tuesdays and i love to get dear elder letters as well as real letters. por favor dont send me a lot of emails because i only get 30  mins to email everyone back. writing letters is easier to do. i am not allowed to meet anyone when i go to the temple which is on tuesdays. so if travis does have my stuff, he should just send it. i will be writing more letters because i have almost no time left and when time is up it automatically shuts the email down. well i love you all and i will tell you more next week!

Elder Jones

THE FOOD IS GOOD SO FAR & PRAYERS IN SPANISH

It's been five days since Taylor went in, an emotional five days.  But, I'm glad that Taylor's first four days in the MTC are over.  You see, when I got back to my brother's apartment after dropping Taylor off at the MTC, Travis told me that if Taylor makes it through the first four days, he'll be good.  He wasn't saying that because he doubted Taylor would make it, he was just saying that those were the hardest days because you were missing people, you had to be in a suit 100% of the time, and it was meeting after meeting after meeting while you learned the ropes.  Travis said that once Taylor got past Sunday everything would be great!  Well, now it is Monday and I got a letter today and a little bit of peace!! :)  Have a great week everyone!

October 28, 2010

Dearest Mother,

Thank you for the letter.  I was the first to get a letter!  Well, the MTC is pretty sweet!  The food is good so far.  My companion is Elder Angell and he is from Georgia.  We get along real well.  I feel as though he will push me hard because he took 4 years of Spanish and remembers all of it.  I on the other hand remember very little and am having trouble keeping up.  But I have learned new words and we are starting to say prayers in Spanish.  I'm struggling with that part.  I saw Elder Neilson today.  He was surprised to see me.  Well I can only write this for so long.  Oh, and email, I am only allowed 30 minutes a day so tell everyone to only send me letters.  The computer will shut the email down in exactly 30 minutes. Te amo!

Elder Jones

TAYLOR IS A MISSIONARY!!

Taylor was set apart as a missionary last Monday night by President Briggs.  Russ and his parents, the boys and I, and my parents were all able to be present when President Briggs did the setting apart and gave Taylor his blessing.  It was a special occasion!  What an example Taylor is setting for his four younger brothers!

Tuesday morning Taylor and I left for Provo.  I enjoyed the ride very much.  There were quiet times where I could just reflect on things (Taylor was enjoying his last naps) and there were some great conversations about different things past, present and future!  I wouldn't have missed the time with him for anything!  When we got to Provo we got him a new CTR ring and then visited with some long-time family friends before heading to my brother's apartment.  Taylor went to play basketball with my brother for a little bit and then back home for "lights out."

Early on Wednesday morning we got up and my sister-in-law said her good-bye to Taylor before heading off to work.  My brother, Taylor and I got ready and went our separate ways (my brother to class and Taylor and I to run errands) with plans to meet back at his apartment to take Taylor to the MTC.  I gave Taylor his choice as to what he wanted for breakfast and he chose Chick-fil-a (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I guess), so we headed to the mall and had Chick-fil-a for the second straight day.  We bought me a sticker for my car that says "I <3 My Missionary" and then we headed to the distribution center for some thermals.  Then it was back to the mall because we forgot to have him try on a raincoat that I wanted to make sure of on size for when it was time to send to him, and by then it was time to head back to Travis's apartment.  We had about 20 minutes at Travis's before we had to leave for the MTC.  Travis used that time to talk to Taylor and give him some advice and pointers and insight to the MTC, as Travis has only been home from his mission about 14 months.  I suggested we have prayer and Taylor asked Travis to say it.  I think that was because I am known for giving long prayers, but it backfired because Travis gave an eloquent, lengthy prayer that I appreciated very much!!  Then it was time to go.

The whole process only takes about two minutes at the curb to drop the missionaries off.  Some have wondered whether it is worth it to make such a long trip for that two minutes?  The answer is a resounding YES!  Both for the missionary (even if he doesn't know it at the time) and for the mom!  I am now anxiously awaiting the first letter from Elder Jones.  As soon as I receive it I will post it for all to read.  But as my last post said, and as he reminded me several times on our way up, "I am not a writer, Mom!"  I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that he answers the questions I've asked in my letters to him!

"I'M NOT A WRITER"

So last week Taylor says to me, "Mom, you know, I'm not a writer."  I just had to shake my head, because when I asked him if he wanted me to do a blog for him, I specifically told him, it would mean he would have to give me some decent letters to post and he said he would. My intent, all along, has been to have the blog be a combination of my thoughts and his so that at the end of his mission I can have a book made for him as a special remembrance.  I'm hoping Tay will pull through and surprise us!!

OPEN HOUSE AND FAREWELL

There will be an Open House for Taylor on Saturday, October 23, 2010 from 7:00-9:00 pm at the Perry home, 7 Freesia, Las Flores.  We would like to thank the Perry's for opening their home and hosting this, and also thank Rose Putnam for helping to plan the food.  Taylor speaks the next day in church and then we leave for Provo!! My, the last two months have sure gone by fast!!  Taylor is going to be a FANTASTIC MISSIONARY!!!!

TAYLOR'S DAY AT THE TEMPLE

Taylor went through the temple last Saturday, September 25.  His dad was his escort.  I also went through the temple with him that day, as did my parents (Grammy and Popo), my brother Matt and his wife Rachel, Bishop Loy, Jenny Chamberlin (who was my visiting teacher for years and has been a great family friend for many years) and Enia Castillo (the mother of Andrea Riggs, one of Taylor's best friends).  It was a beautiful day!

EXCITING TIMES!!

It took awhile but here is the video of Taylor opening his papers back in August! What an exciting time for the whole family!