Email Letter - 28 January 2009

Hey Fam,

This week has been a good one. We are still working hard of course and seeing results.

On Sunday I wasn’t able to be at the confirmation of my baptism because I had to speak in another branch with one of our zone leaders. It was rather sad for me because I think he wanted me to be the one to do it but it didn’t work out that way. I guess maybe I’ll be the one to give him is priesthood this week!

We had our zone conference on Monday in Resistencia and yes I got my package. The conference was awesome! I really love listening to President talk about doctrine. I guess it always helps to have a President that was in the Seventy before this calling. He talked to us about how important it is to have the spirit with us and how it affects those that we teach. When he teaches it’s like a race through the scriptures and I love it. He always speaks with such power so that we know he’s serious about how it can help us. He is awesome.

On Sunday when I spoke it was about charity and about how we need to serve others that are in need. I tied it into missionary work as well. I like to think that it really hit the people in the meeting but I’m just not sure. I love speaking in meetings as you know and it’s really been a blessing to be able to speak so much here.

On Sunday President Castillo will be coming here to give a capacitation on helping members financially because we have lots of problems with that here and he’s sick of it so he’s coming to “drop cane” as we like to say. It should be interesting. He’ll also be taking care of doing Temple Recommend interviews for the members that are traveling to the temple next month because they just installed the Recommends with barcodes here. After all of that he will be doing our regular missionary interviews.

I’m hoping that he will have some good news for me like I’m leaving to go to another area or something but I don’t think that is going to happen. Not much else has happened this past week other than I finished my year and burned a shirt...ill sent the video sometime and it’s been really hot. We should be putting a baptismal date with the mom of my first baptism this week so we will see how that goes.

I love you guys! Take care.

Tay

Email Letter - 21 January 2009

Hey Fam,

Things are going well here and we had our baptism on Saturday. We have been working hard and we are seeing the blessings in the work that we are doing. Seeing the change that this brother did in his life to accept the gospel is amazing. He stopped drinking and smoking which is no easy task. He has gained a strong testimony of the gospel and with the help of his wife he overcame all odds and was baptized. It is amazing the way the Lord works to touch the people that are ready in that moment.


After the actual baptism we invite the converts to share their testimony and I don’t think that there was a dry eye in the room while he spoke. It was very powerful for us and for the four investigators that were there to see this special ordinance take place. We watched the video that the church made for family night with the poem “The touch of the Master’s hand” what an amazing video that was. It was something very special and I’m glad that I was there to share that moment with Hno Dimartino and the members and investigators that were there. I never thought that I would have such strong witnesses that this gospel is true but just like the poem says that when you can see, hear, or feel the touch of the master’s hand it makes all the difference.



This gospel changes lives and it for sure has changed mine. We will continue to keep working as hard as we can to keep the Lord’s work progressing.

It’s crazy that on Friday I will finish one full year in the mission. The time has gone by so fast and it feels like just yesterday that I was at home with you guys. I don’t think that we will do anything special to celebrate. I might burn a shirt which is tradition but an old shirt that isn’t mine. Ha-ha. And maybe we will get some ice cream or something.

We have an activity for all of the Priesthood planned for that night and we also have mutual for the young women that night as well so it should just be a normal day.

Not much else has really happened since last week. We have our zone conference next week which I always love and so we will be going to Resistencia but other than that we are just working like always. I love you guys so much! Take care.

Tay

Email Letter - 14 January 2009

Hey Family,

This week has been an interesting one with lots of ups and downs. I will be staying here with Elder Alarcón for the next six weeks again. We are staying just us two because of the lack of missionaries. That’s a little sad to say but it’s the truth. We will continue to work with faith and try to do our best with the big area and our responsibilities in the Branch.

Even with all of the work we have found time in our busy schedule to have a baptism this Saturday! We are going to be baptizing a guy named Hugo Dimartino. He is about 50 and his wife is a member. We had a lesson with him on Friday night and finished up everything which included tithing which on Sunday he paid! It is a blessing to have someone so willing and ready with such a great testimony and to be here to see his baptism happen.

I guess having to work in this huge area with just the two of us has its blessings for not only us missionaries but for Hugo as well. It has been great to watch him grow in faith and to help him get to this day. We have been working hard with everything we do and we are receiving many blessings for the work that we are doing and I can see it every day.

I love being here...yes even with the heat and even though it’s been a bad week. This one is a short one because nothing really cool happened this week but I love you guys and I hope all is well with you. Take care.

Tay

Email Letter - 07 January 2009

Hey Family,

So this week has gone by really fast. I think that it’s because we have been so busy with our three areas and our duties as the branch presidency. I can honestly say that this week has been one of the best of my whole mission.

Last Thursday I went out in the afternoon with Elder Johnson on divisions and the afternoon started out slow and I didn’t have much hope for it to be a good day but then after a few contacts I decided that we should go see one of our investigators. His name is Gabriel and he is the husband of one of our members. We went to the house and I told Elder Johnson that I wanted to teach about eternal families so we went in and we started talking about families and how we can live together forever and he said that he wanted to believe like we did but he just couldn’t so Elder Johnson testified and so did it and the spirit came into the room and then Elder Johnson looked at Gabi and asked if he really wanted to believe like really really wanted to believe and Gabi said that it would be nice to know that he could be with his family forever so Elder Johnson asked Gabi if we could kneel down and pray and asked him if he would do it. Gabi said that he didn’t want to so Elder Johnson looked at me and said “well can Elder King do it then?” Gabi of course agreed so we knelt down and the spirit was overwhelming.

I don’t think that I would ever be able to explain how powerful it was. I knelt down and had no idea what to say, my mind went blank but somehow the words just came out. When I finished the prayer and opened my eyes everyone was crying. It was amazing and it’s something that I could never forget. I learned so much that day and I can feel myself progressing every day.

Then on Saturday we went out to Vera which is another area in our zone for divisions with Elder Johnson and Elder Martin because we wanted to be there for their baptism. We had a lot of good contacts but the best part was of course the Baptism. It was and older guy that had a stroke when he was younger so he can’t really express himself but he wanted to be baptized so they taught him and the branch president did the baptism. This man can’t really talk but you could just tell from the smile on his face just how happy he was. The smile says everything. This gospel brings happiness!

On Sunday we had our testimony meeting and I felt that if I didn’t get up and share those experiences with the members than it’s like I’m ungrateful so I got up and bore my testimony about my experiences from the last week. I cried and so did many others. I would obviously brag about that because I cried but I just want you all to know how grateful I am for this opportunity I have to serve right now. I love you guys so much and I think about you often. Take care and enjoy the snow...BECAUSE YOU HAVE IT!!!

Tay