Our neighborhood friend, Alex Hill and his wife, Victoria and their little Liam live in Brazil right now.
Scott recently met one of Alex's sales men and they sent us this great picture! It's just fun to see him with a friend of a friend!
Monday, July 28, 2014
A friend of a friend!
July 28, 2014
Our neighborhood friend, Alex Hill and his wife, Victoria and their little Liam live in Brazil right now.
Scott recently met one of Alex's sales men and they sent us this great picture! It's just fun to see him with a friend of a friend!
Our neighborhood friend, Alex Hill and his wife, Victoria and their little Liam live in Brazil right now.
Scott recently met one of Alex's sales men and they sent us this great picture! It's just fun to see him with a friend of a friend!
Smoke. Funk. Muleques.
July 28, 2014
Ha. Welcome to Brazil. I'm sitting here in the internet cafe where someone somewhere is smoking and it stinks. the majority of people here are teenage boys (Muleques, it's kind of offensive to call people that. but not really... It's like punk.) and they're just playing video games and listening to funk. If you've never heard Brazilian Funk, be grateful. Ha. If you have, I'm sorry.
But this week was pretty good! It started raining on Wednesday, and didn't stop until Sunday! It was really good because Aracatuba doesn't get a whole lot of rain. Remember how everyone thinks Brazil is all jungle and rain? Hope. That's just Manaus. I'm basically in the Arizona of Brazil. Ha. It gets REALLY hot. And yes, mom, it was cold this week. That picture of me in the sweater, I was SOAKED. Ha. but it's still not very cold. It probably was about 50 degrees. That is FREEZING for the people here. Haha. When I tell them that it gets about 10 degrees during the winter they ask me why I would want to live there. They've never seen snow in their lives.
But anyway, sadly, the two baptisms we had this week didn't happen. We ran into some problems, but both of them will be baptized soon. We actually are having a lot of really spiritual experiences with them and they are really getting to understand the Lord's timing and the Atonement. I've been studying the atonement a lot to help them. I still don't comprehend it totally. I don't know that any of us do. But just take a moment to think about all that the Savior did and still does for us. It's incredible. It's more than incredible. It really is without words. I know that he is our Savior.
We were privileged to find 3 families this week and we are praying and fasting and working to see more families live the gospel. I love my family and I can't imagine not being with them. So I want these blessings for everyone.
I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week.
Choose the Right,. Even when it's hard. Remember that Jesus Christ was killed for choosing the right. It's always worth it to choose the right.
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
PS Sorry no pictures this week, this computer struggles.
Ha. Welcome to Brazil. I'm sitting here in the internet cafe where someone somewhere is smoking and it stinks. the majority of people here are teenage boys (Muleques, it's kind of offensive to call people that. but not really... It's like punk.) and they're just playing video games and listening to funk. If you've never heard Brazilian Funk, be grateful. Ha. If you have, I'm sorry.
But this week was pretty good! It started raining on Wednesday, and didn't stop until Sunday! It was really good because Aracatuba doesn't get a whole lot of rain. Remember how everyone thinks Brazil is all jungle and rain? Hope. That's just Manaus. I'm basically in the Arizona of Brazil. Ha. It gets REALLY hot. And yes, mom, it was cold this week. That picture of me in the sweater, I was SOAKED. Ha. but it's still not very cold. It probably was about 50 degrees. That is FREEZING for the people here. Haha. When I tell them that it gets about 10 degrees during the winter they ask me why I would want to live there. They've never seen snow in their lives.
But anyway, sadly, the two baptisms we had this week didn't happen. We ran into some problems, but both of them will be baptized soon. We actually are having a lot of really spiritual experiences with them and they are really getting to understand the Lord's timing and the Atonement. I've been studying the atonement a lot to help them. I still don't comprehend it totally. I don't know that any of us do. But just take a moment to think about all that the Savior did and still does for us. It's incredible. It's more than incredible. It really is without words. I know that he is our Savior.
We were privileged to find 3 families this week and we are praying and fasting and working to see more families live the gospel. I love my family and I can't imagine not being with them. So I want these blessings for everyone.
I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week.
Choose the Right,. Even when it's hard. Remember that Jesus Christ was killed for choosing the right. It's always worth it to choose the right.
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
PS Sorry no pictures this week, this computer struggles.
ARIZONA IS OFFICIALLY GONE!!!
July 21, 2014
So you see that Arizona is officially gone right? That includes the MTC. Why? Because when I started my mission I was a certain weight. Then I gained 30 pounds and was FAT. And this week I weighed again, and it was exactly what I started with. I love Brasil!!
Sounds like you all had a crazy week. I'm glad that the reunion went well! And the picture of Big D was the best. Oh, how I miss my grandparents. Really. I lived with a missionary from Nephi and told him all about my Grandparents in Richfield. And I tell everyone about my Grandma in Las Vegas. And they all get really surprised when I say my Grandma lives in Vegas!
And, Abby Gibbs. I'm a horrible friend. I still haven't written her back. but tell her good luck and giver her a big hug for me (because I'm still not allowed to do that. ha) But that's so cool. she'll be an awesome missionary. Tell Nat not to be too sad. Ha. She just got married!
This week was awesome. The highlight was Aline and her daughter Luana, sadly Luana doesn't count numbers wise for us, but she counts in my mind. Ha. She turns 8 in two months. So, Aline received some anti from her uncle who "read the Book of Mormon". Yes, I put quotations because it was a lie. How do I know? Because he said it's about the Devil and not about our Savior. But she told us that she just got tired of him talking and tuned him out. So that was good. And guess what??? SHE FINALLY CAME TO CHURCH!!!!!!!!!! And who was speaking? That's right, the missionaries. Want an awesome Sacrament meeting? Ask the missionaries to speak. Yep, I'm totally bragging right now. Ha. But seriously. It was good. We had a lesson with her last night to follow up on how Church was. And SHE LOVED IT!!! She talked about how she felt a peace that she hasn't felt for years. so we read Galatians 5:22 and invited her to be baptized and I felt I should ask, "How long do you think it will be before you are prepared?" AND SHE SAID SHE IS READY NOW. So, she will be baptized THIS SUNDAY. It was so awesome. I'm so happy right now.
I also did something really cool this week. I finished the book of Mormon for the first time in Portuguese. Yep. Cover to cover. I decided once again to take Mornoni's challenge and said a quick, personal and heartfelt prayer. I've been feeling A LOT of anxiety lately, but after that prayer was the most calm I have felt on the mission. It just felt like everything was right. I know the Book of Mormon is true, because the peace that I feel now can only come from God.
I also said a prayer this morning. And a couple day ago. IN SPANISH! Me and my Chilean companion switch every night between English and Spanish. It's awesome.
We also had another awesome experience. We had had a really tough time finding new investigators. And until Saturday, we didn't have any this week. We were knocking doors to say a prayer with people, but everyone was too busy...so we decided to say a prayer, and we asked specifically for a new investigator. We passed 2 houses and decided to knock. And we entered. Said a prayer. Taught a lesson. And found 2 new investigators. Prayer works.
I love you all and hope you have an incredible week. I want you all to know that I know this church truly is the church of Jesus Christ. The one and only.
Have a great week!!!!
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
So you see that Arizona is officially gone right? That includes the MTC. Why? Because when I started my mission I was a certain weight. Then I gained 30 pounds and was FAT. And this week I weighed again, and it was exactly what I started with. I love Brasil!!
Sounds like you all had a crazy week. I'm glad that the reunion went well! And the picture of Big D was the best. Oh, how I miss my grandparents. Really. I lived with a missionary from Nephi and told him all about my Grandparents in Richfield. And I tell everyone about my Grandma in Las Vegas. And they all get really surprised when I say my Grandma lives in Vegas!
And, Abby Gibbs. I'm a horrible friend. I still haven't written her back. but tell her good luck and giver her a big hug for me (because I'm still not allowed to do that. ha) But that's so cool. she'll be an awesome missionary. Tell Nat not to be too sad. Ha. She just got married!
This week was awesome. The highlight was Aline and her daughter Luana, sadly Luana doesn't count numbers wise for us, but she counts in my mind. Ha. She turns 8 in two months. So, Aline received some anti from her uncle who "read the Book of Mormon". Yes, I put quotations because it was a lie. How do I know? Because he said it's about the Devil and not about our Savior. But she told us that she just got tired of him talking and tuned him out. So that was good. And guess what??? SHE FINALLY CAME TO CHURCH!!!!!!!!!! And who was speaking? That's right, the missionaries. Want an awesome Sacrament meeting? Ask the missionaries to speak. Yep, I'm totally bragging right now. Ha. But seriously. It was good. We had a lesson with her last night to follow up on how Church was. And SHE LOVED IT!!! She talked about how she felt a peace that she hasn't felt for years. so we read Galatians 5:22 and invited her to be baptized and I felt I should ask, "How long do you think it will be before you are prepared?" AND SHE SAID SHE IS READY NOW. So, she will be baptized THIS SUNDAY. It was so awesome. I'm so happy right now.
I also did something really cool this week. I finished the book of Mormon for the first time in Portuguese. Yep. Cover to cover. I decided once again to take Mornoni's challenge and said a quick, personal and heartfelt prayer. I've been feeling A LOT of anxiety lately, but after that prayer was the most calm I have felt on the mission. It just felt like everything was right. I know the Book of Mormon is true, because the peace that I feel now can only come from God.
I also said a prayer this morning. And a couple day ago. IN SPANISH! Me and my Chilean companion switch every night between English and Spanish. It's awesome.
We also had another awesome experience. We had had a really tough time finding new investigators. And until Saturday, we didn't have any this week. We were knocking doors to say a prayer with people, but everyone was too busy...so we decided to say a prayer, and we asked specifically for a new investigator. We passed 2 houses and decided to knock. And we entered. Said a prayer. Taught a lesson. And found 2 new investigators. Prayer works.
I love you all and hope you have an incredible week. I want you all to know that I know this church truly is the church of Jesus Christ. The one and only.
Have a great week!!!!
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
CHURRASCO!!
Holy cow the barbecue here is the best. 5 bucks for all this.
I didn't eat it all. 2 of them were for my companion. SO GOOD!!
The tags and the mission languages.
Elder Fernandez is a visa waiter for Equador.
GERMANY
July 14, 2014
Ha. So much about Germany this week. So, white people here are from Germany. Alemano. So people think I'm German. Tuesday that was a bad thing. Now it's really good.
This week was good. But tough. It was really good until yesterday. We had some really good lessons with Aline and she finally committed to go to Church. But when we went to pick her up, she sent her daughter to tell us that she was sick. That was really hard. So we were sitting there and we thought that we didn't have any investigators at Church. so we were sad. I almost cried. It was hard. but then when I went to count how many people were at Church, one of our investigators had popped in without us noticing! It was awesome!
I also had a really cool study this week. I noticed that, for a missionary, my prayers were a bit weak. So I decided to study prayer. In Preach my Gospel there is a nice little section about the prayer of faith. I also read the talk of Elder Eyring in Conference. He had an awesome quote. I'm translating, so it's not exact, but he said, "All of us pray, but the Priesthood holder (or person) you ought to be prays frequently and with real intent. At night, you should kneel down and thank the Lord for the blessings of the day. You should thank him for your teachers, your excellent examples, and your parents. You should describe specifically in your prayers at night who blessed your life that day and how. This will require more than just a couple of minutes and more than just a little effort to remember. It is something that will change you. As you ask forgiveness, you will begin to forgive others. As you thank God for his kindness, you will think of other, who needed your kindness. Again, this experience will help you every day, and with time, will change you."
so how bout that.
This week was awesome.
I love you all.
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
Ha. So much about Germany this week. So, white people here are from Germany. Alemano. So people think I'm German. Tuesday that was a bad thing. Now it's really good.
This week was good. But tough. It was really good until yesterday. We had some really good lessons with Aline and she finally committed to go to Church. But when we went to pick her up, she sent her daughter to tell us that she was sick. That was really hard. So we were sitting there and we thought that we didn't have any investigators at Church. so we were sad. I almost cried. It was hard. but then when I went to count how many people were at Church, one of our investigators had popped in without us noticing! It was awesome!
I also had a really cool study this week. I noticed that, for a missionary, my prayers were a bit weak. So I decided to study prayer. In Preach my Gospel there is a nice little section about the prayer of faith. I also read the talk of Elder Eyring in Conference. He had an awesome quote. I'm translating, so it's not exact, but he said, "All of us pray, but the Priesthood holder (or person) you ought to be prays frequently and with real intent. At night, you should kneel down and thank the Lord for the blessings of the day. You should thank him for your teachers, your excellent examples, and your parents. You should describe specifically in your prayers at night who blessed your life that day and how. This will require more than just a couple of minutes and more than just a little effort to remember. It is something that will change you. As you ask forgiveness, you will begin to forgive others. As you thank God for his kindness, you will think of other, who needed your kindness. Again, this experience will help you every day, and with time, will change you."
so how bout that.
This week was awesome.
I love you all.
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
There's literally no one in the street when Brasil is playing!
Celebrating the victory with Irmao anor!!!!!!!!!
Pizza de alemanha (Germany)
Yep. We don't have an ironing board.
So, we iron our shirts on our beds....ironing beds.
Me and Elder Barlow. District Leader.
Eating ice cream.... YUM!!
Well......
July 7, 2014
You did not forget me again..................
So I made a goal on my mission to focus more on my email to my family and not as much to my friends. sorry friends. I love you all but I have to be with my family forever. ha.
THAT WAS UNTIL THEY DIDN'T SEND ME AN EMAIL.........AGAIN!!
Last time I was worried. This time I'm bugged. But I still love you guys.
This week has actually been really good. We worked a lot. We decided it was time to doa cleaning of the area. Meaning invite people to baptism and if they didn't want to commit we needed to give them some time. The awesome news. We marked 2 solid dates that day. The first one is named Danielle. She's pretty cool. Her boyfriend was a member who went on a mission, so she knows A LOT that normal investigators don't and it's causing her to get a lot of things confused. So we taught the basics. If the book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith was a Prophet. The Church has the Authority of God, and we have a prophet today who guides and leads the church through revelation from God. Meaning everything is true. She committed to the 26th of July and She actually keeps commitments like reading. What a blessing.
We also visited an investigator that has had a lot of time with missionaries. Her name is Aline. We reviewed the Restoration, watched the 20 minute DVD, and invited her to read and be baptized on the 26th. SHE SAID YES. It was awesome. She also is very chique.
Sadly, they were both sick on Sunday and didn't go to Church. But, they will. Danielle has already been going for 6 months and the missionaries never really taught her.
We also found 2 more Alines. They are both way cool. One went to church for about a month with a recent convert friend, and the missionaries never taught her too. But we did. And also marked a date for the 26th. She's really cool.
The other we met last night and had a quick lesson. It was one where they know something is different about you, and they can feel the spirit, so they do everything they can to keep you there a little longer because they don't know what they're feeling. Or maybe it was just gas! Just kidding. It wasn't. We had to go but we will return to teach her this week.
That's the news. I love you all and hope you're alive. thanks for forgetting me again. I still love you.
Work cup is INSANE!! Brazil is in the semi finals. But Neymar fractured a vertebrate. So people are worried here. I'm worried that they and Argentina will both win, and all the Argentine missionaries here will die. Seriously. Take BYU vs. UTAH and literally times it by 1000. YEP, And that's still not how much they dislike each other!
BUT CHEER FOR BRASIL.
And watch it for me. Because we're still not allowed to. But we hear the fireworks.
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
You did not forget me again..................
So I made a goal on my mission to focus more on my email to my family and not as much to my friends. sorry friends. I love you all but I have to be with my family forever. ha.
THAT WAS UNTIL THEY DIDN'T SEND ME AN EMAIL.........AGAIN!!
Last time I was worried. This time I'm bugged. But I still love you guys.
This week has actually been really good. We worked a lot. We decided it was time to doa cleaning of the area. Meaning invite people to baptism and if they didn't want to commit we needed to give them some time. The awesome news. We marked 2 solid dates that day. The first one is named Danielle. She's pretty cool. Her boyfriend was a member who went on a mission, so she knows A LOT that normal investigators don't and it's causing her to get a lot of things confused. So we taught the basics. If the book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith was a Prophet. The Church has the Authority of God, and we have a prophet today who guides and leads the church through revelation from God. Meaning everything is true. She committed to the 26th of July and She actually keeps commitments like reading. What a blessing.
We also visited an investigator that has had a lot of time with missionaries. Her name is Aline. We reviewed the Restoration, watched the 20 minute DVD, and invited her to read and be baptized on the 26th. SHE SAID YES. It was awesome. She also is very chique.
Sadly, they were both sick on Sunday and didn't go to Church. But, they will. Danielle has already been going for 6 months and the missionaries never really taught her.
We also found 2 more Alines. They are both way cool. One went to church for about a month with a recent convert friend, and the missionaries never taught her too. But we did. And also marked a date for the 26th. She's really cool.
The other we met last night and had a quick lesson. It was one where they know something is different about you, and they can feel the spirit, so they do everything they can to keep you there a little longer because they don't know what they're feeling. Or maybe it was just gas! Just kidding. It wasn't. We had to go but we will return to teach her this week.
That's the news. I love you all and hope you're alive. thanks for forgetting me again. I still love you.
Work cup is INSANE!! Brazil is in the semi finals. But Neymar fractured a vertebrate. So people are worried here. I'm worried that they and Argentina will both win, and all the Argentine missionaries here will die. Seriously. Take BYU vs. UTAH and literally times it by 1000. YEP, And that's still not how much they dislike each other!
BUT CHEER FOR BRASIL.
And watch it for me. Because we're still not allowed to. But we hear the fireworks.
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
Sunday, July 27, 2014
New Area
June 30, 2014
First, thank you Mom and Dad for passing down the anxiety gene. I've had plenty this week being in a new area and adjusting to everything being new.
But it's also been a good week. I got to know the area pretty well and teach quite a few lessons. We've got a lot of work to do in this area and I'm excited. This ward is a lot smaller than any I've ever attended. Ha. It's about half of Vila, and I thought Vila was small. It's interesting and It'll definitely be a learning experience.
This week we had a pretty cool lesson. Yesterday we taught a couple who is really firm i their church. But allowed us in and we tau
ght the restoration. They're a really young couple who are planning to get married and they are very smart. But it was really cool. When we shared the first vision, he got really excited. He talked about how cool it would be to have the privilege of being visited by Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Apostles. He talked about how amazing that is and if ti's true then it has to be big because God wouldn't send them for something small. I don't know that he really realized what he was saying, because he didn't commit to baptism, but he committed to read and pray. but I realized what he was saying. It reminded me of Elder Uchtdorf's talk about sleeping during the Restoration. Do we realize how big it is? What happened and what's still happening? It was so cool to realize that. We also had a lady who talked about how awful the world is. We also had a man like this in Arizona. It's interesting, they talk about how they don't know how to help in this world. But we do. In fact, we have 90,000 youth out in all parts of the world sharing how we can have goo in the world, and sharing hte only way to have pace and happiness in the world after.
It was pretty cool. It's the first week in a new area, so I don't have a whole lot to say because my head is ready to explode with all the new stuff.
But I love you all.
That's what I have to say. I love you all. I hope you miss me. :)
Love, Elder Scott Jackson Taylor
First, thank you Mom and Dad for passing down the anxiety gene. I've had plenty this week being in a new area and adjusting to everything being new.
But it's also been a good week. I got to know the area pretty well and teach quite a few lessons. We've got a lot of work to do in this area and I'm excited. This ward is a lot smaller than any I've ever attended. Ha. It's about half of Vila, and I thought Vila was small. It's interesting and It'll definitely be a learning experience.
This week we had a pretty cool lesson. Yesterday we taught a couple who is really firm i their church. But allowed us in and we tau
It was pretty cool. It's the first week in a new area, so I don't have a whole lot to say because my head is ready to explode with all the new stuff.
But I love you all.
That's what I have to say. I love you all. I hope you miss me. :)
Love, Elder Scott Jackson Taylor
Me and my new companion!!! Elder J. Fernandez
Three parrots sitting on the antenna right outside our window. Brasil!
Our balcony here in Aracatuba.
I converted. Vai Corinthians!!
The Voyage
June 23, 2014
Well, sorry I am emailing so late today. I had a long voyage.
So we got transfer calls on Friday!! Elder Jackson....FOI!!! (that means I got transferred) So today I was traveling ALL DAY. Literally.
I am now in the city of Aracatuba. In the area Boa Vista B. Aracatuba is literally on the other side of the mission. It's like getting transferred from Kaysville to St. George. It was a bus ride of 7 hours. SO LONG. But I'm here and I'm alive. so that's good.
My new companion is Elder J. Fernandez from Santiago, Chile. He has already been here is this area for 4 months. but I am now the Senior companion for the first time in my mission. There will be more info coming. I just got here, so I don't know all that much.
AND I LEFT WITH A BAPTISM!
It was incredible. We visited Josenita last Monday and she had had a wonderful experience. she still wasn't quite sure about her baptism date, but she met a woman that said she should get baptized. She doesn't know this woman, and neither do we. But the baptism was fantastic. She invited friends that we started to teach. Elder Souza is still there and will train again. I will miss Vila and Elder Souza, he was awesome. But I'm excited for Aracatuba.
That's the big news. Last week was really good. I'm now in a new area and it doesn't feel real. I'm really nervous right now.
And it's nice to know that Trev and Nat actually got married!!! Mom, yes it was a little early, but we can get on the earliest at about 7:30 am Utah time. So be ready by then. Haha!
I hope you are all well. I hope the honeymoon went well.
I love you all!
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
Well, sorry I am emailing so late today. I had a long voyage.
So we got transfer calls on Friday!! Elder Jackson....FOI!!! (that means I got transferred) So today I was traveling ALL DAY. Literally.
I am now in the city of Aracatuba. In the area Boa Vista B. Aracatuba is literally on the other side of the mission. It's like getting transferred from Kaysville to St. George. It was a bus ride of 7 hours. SO LONG. But I'm here and I'm alive. so that's good.
My new companion is Elder J. Fernandez from Santiago, Chile. He has already been here is this area for 4 months. but I am now the Senior companion for the first time in my mission. There will be more info coming. I just got here, so I don't know all that much.
AND I LEFT WITH A BAPTISM!
It was incredible. We visited Josenita last Monday and she had had a wonderful experience. she still wasn't quite sure about her baptism date, but she met a woman that said she should get baptized. She doesn't know this woman, and neither do we. But the baptism was fantastic. She invited friends that we started to teach. Elder Souza is still there and will train again. I will miss Vila and Elder Souza, he was awesome. But I'm excited for Aracatuba.
That's the big news. Last week was really good. I'm now in a new area and it doesn't feel real. I'm really nervous right now.
And it's nice to know that Trev and Nat actually got married!!! Mom, yes it was a little early, but we can get on the earliest at about 7:30 am Utah time. So be ready by then. Haha!
I hope you are all well. I hope the honeymoon went well.
I love you all!
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
Weddings, Baptisms, and cold showers!!
June 16, 2014
Where you at??? No email this week??
WOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!!
So, apparently Trevor and Natalie got married on Saturday. But, I still don't know for sure because my family forgot about me. yep!!
AND The US national soccer team has their first game today. I expect all of you to be watching and cheering. 7:00 (that's 4 o clock Utah time). They also play Sunday the 22nd against Portugal and I will gain a cake if they win. so cheer loud.
Brasil's first game was crazy. We were in our house, but the fireworks were crazy. And we could hear neighbors yelling and cheering. Ha. It was awesome. We did our weekly planning during the game.
And this week was good!
THE DROUGHT IS OVER!
Vila Virginia baptized for the first time in about 4 or 5 months this week. 1 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday. Yes, they were all in the other area, but we have one this week!!!
We are working a lot here. We found a new investigator named Keila who is very smart and has a lot of really good questions and seems to be a solid investigator. I love msart people.
So I hope all is well. I hope you're all alive. and I hope the wedding went well.
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
Where you at??? No email this week??
WOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!!
So, apparently Trevor and Natalie got married on Saturday. But, I still don't know for sure because my family forgot about me. yep!!
AND The US national soccer team has their first game today. I expect all of you to be watching and cheering. 7:00 (that's 4 o clock Utah time). They also play Sunday the 22nd against Portugal and I will gain a cake if they win. so cheer loud.
Brasil's first game was crazy. We were in our house, but the fireworks were crazy. And we could hear neighbors yelling and cheering. Ha. It was awesome. We did our weekly planning during the game.
And this week was good!
THE DROUGHT IS OVER!
Vila Virginia baptized for the first time in about 4 or 5 months this week. 1 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday. Yes, they were all in the other area, but we have one this week!!!
We are working a lot here. We found a new investigator named Keila who is very smart and has a lot of really good questions and seems to be a solid investigator. I love msart people.
So I hope all is well. I hope you're all alive. and I hope the wedding went well.
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
BEM VINDO COPA
June 9, 2014
Yep. This week is going to be INSANE!! A Copa Do Mundo (World Cup) starts Thursday with Brazil playing Croatia. I won't lie, in the beginning I was disappointed that the closest game was in the city of Sao Paulo, but after seeing how crazy things have already gotten, I'm really glad. The Area Presidency of Brazil has said what missionaries are to do. We have to be IN our house AT LEAST 30 minutes before start time of eacah game of Brasil, and we are to leave to work again 30 minutes after it's over. That's actually the rule for all of Brasil. so if you hear of missionaries that watched a game of Brasil.....yep.
This week was pretty good. Ah. We found and "eleito" (elect). Josenita in incredible. She came to Stake Conference and everything and is set to go for day 21. We had a lesson earlier this week about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We hadn't taught the Word of Wisdom yet, but she said "Ever since you guys arrived I have had the urge to not put cigarettes in my mouth." So then the next lesson we taught the WOW with a member. Turns out she drinks a lot of coffee, and so did the member before baptism. And it was AWESOME to have the testimony of a member.
We had Stake Conference yesterday. It was a broadcast from Salt Lake, but in Portuguese to all the stakes and districts in Sao Pualo, Rio de Jeneiro, and a couple others. Claudio Costa and the rest of the area presidency spoke. along with Elder Scott and Elder Ballard. Elder Ballard spoke in English with a translator, but Elder Scott just spoke in Portuguese. I love Elder Scott, but his Portuguese wasn't too great. It was really hard to understand. But it was really good. He encouraged more sincere prayers.
AND BOA SORTE to Nat and Trev. Oh my gosh. I can't believe my brother is getting married on Saturday! That's pretty crazy. Don't worry, you don't need to send pictures (yep. That's a hint). Syd said she would send plenty. (PS she's the champion).
I love you all and hope all is well there in Utah (And D.C. and Argentina and the rest of the world). Good luck with the wedding. Salt Lake Temple. ah. Que Saudades para o templo. I love you all.
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
PS I forgot my camera today. Sorry.
PPS I get to buy a new suit today!
Yep. This week is going to be INSANE!! A Copa Do Mundo (World Cup) starts Thursday with Brazil playing Croatia. I won't lie, in the beginning I was disappointed that the closest game was in the city of Sao Paulo, but after seeing how crazy things have already gotten, I'm really glad. The Area Presidency of Brazil has said what missionaries are to do. We have to be IN our house AT LEAST 30 minutes before start time of eacah game of Brasil, and we are to leave to work again 30 minutes after it's over. That's actually the rule for all of Brasil. so if you hear of missionaries that watched a game of Brasil.....yep.
This week was pretty good. Ah. We found and "eleito" (elect). Josenita in incredible. She came to Stake Conference and everything and is set to go for day 21. We had a lesson earlier this week about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We hadn't taught the Word of Wisdom yet, but she said "Ever since you guys arrived I have had the urge to not put cigarettes in my mouth." So then the next lesson we taught the WOW with a member. Turns out she drinks a lot of coffee, and so did the member before baptism. And it was AWESOME to have the testimony of a member.
We had Stake Conference yesterday. It was a broadcast from Salt Lake, but in Portuguese to all the stakes and districts in Sao Pualo, Rio de Jeneiro, and a couple others. Claudio Costa and the rest of the area presidency spoke. along with Elder Scott and Elder Ballard. Elder Ballard spoke in English with a translator, but Elder Scott just spoke in Portuguese. I love Elder Scott, but his Portuguese wasn't too great. It was really hard to understand. But it was really good. He encouraged more sincere prayers.
AND BOA SORTE to Nat and Trev. Oh my gosh. I can't believe my brother is getting married on Saturday! That's pretty crazy. Don't worry, you don't need to send pictures (yep. That's a hint). Syd said she would send plenty. (PS she's the champion).
I love you all and hope all is well there in Utah (And D.C. and Argentina and the rest of the world). Good luck with the wedding. Salt Lake Temple. ah. Que Saudades para o templo. I love you all.
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
PS I forgot my camera today. Sorry.
PPS I get to buy a new suit today!
OOPS!!
June 2, 2014
So in my haste to send pictures to you filthy animals, I didn't realize that I only have about 5-10 minutes left. So here it goes.
This week was good. We found a new investigator this week named Josenita. She's awesome. she talked with missionaries before but they never came by her house after so she was really excited to see us. We taught her Wednesday and Friday. She came to our activity Saturday night and Church on Sunday and told a member herself of her baptismal date. It was legit. Elect.
We also had some problems with one couple we're teaching and a miracle. It's been a couple weeks since they went to Church and the husband lost his job and was really sad. And didn't really want us there any more. so we talked for a while and things are great. We left with new commitments, new excitement, and a blessing on their house. It was cool.
Sunday was the biggest roller coaster day of my mission. It was up and down and up and down and sideways and upside down and a little bit of vomit. But in the end it all worked out and I survived!
I love you all! Have a fantastic week!
So in my haste to send pictures to you filthy animals, I didn't realize that I only have about 5-10 minutes left. So here it goes.
This week was good. We found a new investigator this week named Josenita. She's awesome. she talked with missionaries before but they never came by her house after so she was really excited to see us. We taught her Wednesday and Friday. She came to our activity Saturday night and Church on Sunday and told a member herself of her baptismal date. It was legit. Elect.
We also had some problems with one couple we're teaching and a miracle. It's been a couple weeks since they went to Church and the husband lost his job and was really sad. And didn't really want us there any more. so we talked for a while and things are great. We left with new commitments, new excitement, and a blessing on their house. It was cool.
Sunday was the biggest roller coaster day of my mission. It was up and down and up and down and sideways and upside down and a little bit of vomit. But in the end it all worked out and I survived!
I love you all! Have a fantastic week!
We had an activity Saturday called 'noite do bolo macho' (night of the manly cake). The men had to make a cake and were judged. We made one as missionaries. Here it is!
Do I really need to explain this one??
Me and E. Souza. We kill it! And yes, I gave him a BYU shirt.
Convert the world while converting the world!!
FHE in the Favela with all the criancas.
Orange juice - me and my new best friend. Del valle Nectar da laranja (orange juice for you English speakers!) and the first jersey. Naymar. Barcelona. I also got a green Brasil .
Viva Vila!
May 26, 2014
Bom Dia!!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO MOM AND DAD TOMORROW !!!!!!!!!!! 25 years people, 25 years! And I thought 2 was a really long time. 25 is a lot of years. Thank you for your incredible example of love and faithfulness. I can't tell you how thankful I am to have 2 parents that love me and love each other. But most importantly love the Lord.
Things are just great here in Vila Virginia. Our new missionaries that we live with, Elder Jones and Elder Madrid are incredible. They've helped us out in getting the work here rolling. We met new people this week and set 5 more baptismal dates.
We had a lesson this week with a lady who is staunch evangelical. Very firm in her Church. We actually had a lesson two doors down and we were writing the address of the new lady down while standing in front of her house. (The houses are a little different here, so we were still only like 15 feet from the house.) and she, Maria, said "what you writin down?" So we started talking and asked if we could share a message. She said any message from God is welcome and we taught the Restoration. Sadly, I invited her to baptism and she didn't understand me. So I tried again to no avail. But the third time she understood. And asked if she really needed to be baptized again. So we explained the authority. she said she would. So we left 2 Nephi 31 with her and a date for the 14 of June. We returned the next day to see how it went, and she was already in Jacob 2. What's up??
We also had a wedding on Saturday!! Our investigators, Luciano and Janaina got hitched. So we got to go to Sertaozinho, just outside of Ribeirao and see them get married. Elder Souza was actually the best man. They asked us to pray and decide who would be between us two. but Non-Brazilians can't. so that prayer was answered pretty quickly.
Also, the World Cup is going to be insane. Saturday Night. Noe one would talk to us about Church. Ha. Why? Because Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid were playing for the Champions League final in Spain. IN SPAIN. Now imagine how it will be in brazil when it's IN BRAZIL! Than Sunday afternoon, same thing. Why? Because Corinthians and Sao Paulo (2 of the biggest in Brazil, both in Sao Paulo) were playing. It's gonna be insane.
Sounds like it's a party there in colorado with the family reunion! I hope all is well!
I love you all! Have a great week!!
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
Bom Dia!!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO MOM AND DAD TOMORROW !!!!!!!!!!! 25 years people, 25 years! And I thought 2 was a really long time. 25 is a lot of years. Thank you for your incredible example of love and faithfulness. I can't tell you how thankful I am to have 2 parents that love me and love each other. But most importantly love the Lord.
Things are just great here in Vila Virginia. Our new missionaries that we live with, Elder Jones and Elder Madrid are incredible. They've helped us out in getting the work here rolling. We met new people this week and set 5 more baptismal dates.
We had a lesson this week with a lady who is staunch evangelical. Very firm in her Church. We actually had a lesson two doors down and we were writing the address of the new lady down while standing in front of her house. (The houses are a little different here, so we were still only like 15 feet from the house.) and she, Maria, said "what you writin down?" So we started talking and asked if we could share a message. She said any message from God is welcome and we taught the Restoration. Sadly, I invited her to baptism and she didn't understand me. So I tried again to no avail. But the third time she understood. And asked if she really needed to be baptized again. So we explained the authority. she said she would. So we left 2 Nephi 31 with her and a date for the 14 of June. We returned the next day to see how it went, and she was already in Jacob 2. What's up??
We also had a wedding on Saturday!! Our investigators, Luciano and Janaina got hitched. So we got to go to Sertaozinho, just outside of Ribeirao and see them get married. Elder Souza was actually the best man. They asked us to pray and decide who would be between us two. but Non-Brazilians can't. so that prayer was answered pretty quickly.
Also, the World Cup is going to be insane. Saturday Night. Noe one would talk to us about Church. Ha. Why? Because Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid were playing for the Champions League final in Spain. IN SPAIN. Now imagine how it will be in brazil when it's IN BRAZIL! Than Sunday afternoon, same thing. Why? Because Corinthians and Sao Paulo (2 of the biggest in Brazil, both in Sao Paulo) were playing. It's gonna be insane.
Sounds like it's a party there in colorado with the family reunion! I hope all is well!
I love you all! Have a great week!!
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
O Trabalho esta acelerand. (The work is hastening!)
May 19, 2014
Boa Tarde!!!!!
This week has been INCREDIBLE!!! For reals. We've worked like crazy and we've been blessed to see fruits of our labors.
So, after only marking 1 baptismal date, and not having anyone at Church all of last transfer, we worked, fasted, and prayed. We were blessed to find 13 new investigators. We were able to mark 5 baptismal dates, and we were blessed to finally have someone at Church.
So we had a pretty cool experience. Monday, all of our appointments were falling through, so we decided to do some prayer contacts. So we prayed and went to a house and told them that we wanted to bless them and their house through prayer. The Spirit was incredible. Veraldir, the man, told us that at work that day, a man had said that someone would come to his house to bless the family that night. And lo and behold, we showed up. It was cool!
Then Wednesday, we prayed about where to knock doors. After a whole street of no and maybe later, the last house on the corner let us i. We taught the restoration and set a baptismal date for 21 of June. Yep. The blesses us when we work.
Then Friday, we felt that we needed to visit people on Rua Franco Da Rocha. Well, one of our members owns a store on that street and told us that if we went right then we would find his referral at home. Lo and behold Luciano and Janaina were there. They are awesome. They are getting married this Saturday. We taught the restoration and set a date for June 7. and Guess what? We went to pick them up for Church, AND THEY WERE READY!! They went to Church!!
This week was awesome!
I love you all!!!! Good luck with everything in life.
Love Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
I tried to send pictures but they're too big and I'm out of time. Next week.
Boa Tarde!!!!!
This week has been INCREDIBLE!!! For reals. We've worked like crazy and we've been blessed to see fruits of our labors.
So, after only marking 1 baptismal date, and not having anyone at Church all of last transfer, we worked, fasted, and prayed. We were blessed to find 13 new investigators. We were able to mark 5 baptismal dates, and we were blessed to finally have someone at Church.
So we had a pretty cool experience. Monday, all of our appointments were falling through, so we decided to do some prayer contacts. So we prayed and went to a house and told them that we wanted to bless them and their house through prayer. The Spirit was incredible. Veraldir, the man, told us that at work that day, a man had said that someone would come to his house to bless the family that night. And lo and behold, we showed up. It was cool!
Then Wednesday, we prayed about where to knock doors. After a whole street of no and maybe later, the last house on the corner let us i. We taught the restoration and set a baptismal date for 21 of June. Yep. The blesses us when we work.
Then Friday, we felt that we needed to visit people on Rua Franco Da Rocha. Well, one of our members owns a store on that street and told us that if we went right then we would find his referral at home. Lo and behold Luciano and Janaina were there. They are awesome. They are getting married this Saturday. We taught the restoration and set a date for June 7. and Guess what? We went to pick them up for Church, AND THEY WERE READY!! They went to Church!!
This week was awesome!
I love you all!!!! Good luck with everything in life.
Love Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
I tried to send pictures but they're too big and I'm out of time. Next week.
Mission Tour
May 12, 2014
Bom Dia Familia!
Words can't tell how good it was to see you all yesterday. I love you all. I wish we could skype like once a month. That'd be legit. Ha!
You all look fantastic. And it sounds like you are all doing well.
This week was awesome. We had a mission tour. Where a general authority tours all the missions. Elder Moroni Torgan, a native Brazilian, spoke. He talked about the difference between a Terrestrial, telestial, and a Celestial missionary. It was incredible. He was really funny but threw down. He laid it down on a lot of things and talked about not being a fubeca. He talked about the mission being the greatest University we can attend. Better than Harvard. ha. But he made the comparison. You would not get accepted to and pay for Harvard, just to party, skip class, and not learn. So why do some missionaries do that? It was cool.
We are working with a family right now. The family of Odair. He is way cool and wants to come to Church with his family really bad. But couldn't yesterday because of Mother's Day plans. But we marked this Sunday to walk to Church with him. He lives pretty close.
We also had transfers today! We received two new Americans. Not new. they are actually the zone leaders. I found out that only one is from Utah. The other is California. the one from Utah is from Nephi. I'm really excited because they are a lot harder working. they already have ideas for Bishop for activities to work with the ward more.
ABBEY. PARABENS! That means congratulations. I'm so happy for you Ab. SBO. Live it up. It's so fun. And you're getting a phone. Weird. But I got one at 14 also, so ti's all good.
Well family! I love you all! It was so nice to see you!
I forgot my camera chord so still no pictures. Sorry.
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
PS I had BBQ sauce this week! American BBQ sauce!
PPS I also had my first warm shower here this week. Ha. Our shower head is what heats the water, and it was broken. But we finally bought a new one this week and I took my first warm shower!
Bom Dia Familia!
Words can't tell how good it was to see you all yesterday. I love you all. I wish we could skype like once a month. That'd be legit. Ha!
You all look fantastic. And it sounds like you are all doing well.
This week was awesome. We had a mission tour. Where a general authority tours all the missions. Elder Moroni Torgan, a native Brazilian, spoke. He talked about the difference between a Terrestrial, telestial, and a Celestial missionary. It was incredible. He was really funny but threw down. He laid it down on a lot of things and talked about not being a fubeca. He talked about the mission being the greatest University we can attend. Better than Harvard. ha. But he made the comparison. You would not get accepted to and pay for Harvard, just to party, skip class, and not learn. So why do some missionaries do that? It was cool.
We are working with a family right now. The family of Odair. He is way cool and wants to come to Church with his family really bad. But couldn't yesterday because of Mother's Day plans. But we marked this Sunday to walk to Church with him. He lives pretty close.
We also had transfers today! We received two new Americans. Not new. they are actually the zone leaders. I found out that only one is from Utah. The other is California. the one from Utah is from Nephi. I'm really excited because they are a lot harder working. they already have ideas for Bishop for activities to work with the ward more.
ABBEY. PARABENS! That means congratulations. I'm so happy for you Ab. SBO. Live it up. It's so fun. And you're getting a phone. Weird. But I got one at 14 also, so ti's all good.
Well family! I love you all! It was so nice to see you!
I forgot my camera chord so still no pictures. Sorry.
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
PS I had BBQ sauce this week! American BBQ sauce!
PPS I also had my first warm shower here this week. Ha. Our shower head is what heats the water, and it was broken. But we finally bought a new one this week and I took my first warm shower!
I will see you soon!
May 5, 2014
Boa Tarde!
First off, I will be calling you on Sunday. We will be using Skype. We are going to try and call at about 4 o clock here. So around 1 o clock there. Or around 1:30.
IF YOU MISSION THIS CALL.....
Seriously though, if you miss this call....
This week was good. Tough, but good. We did A LOT of walking. I'm pretty sure I've shed some poundage. ha. We made a lot of contacts as well. We are working right now on working better with ward members. We don't really have any solid investigators in this area right now. They don't really have any connections to the church so it's all pure curiosity. But we have an awesome member who likes us and is giving us some referalls today. So it'll take some work, but the work will progress! Our ward members are good and now we just need to work better with them.
We tracted into an AWESOME couple this week. They are each about 80 years old. They met with missionaries in the past, but they didn't really progress. But the husband still has his Book of Mormon, with a message from the Elders in 1999. It doesn't seem like he really read any of it. We shared a message on faith that was super spiritual and they told us that we are welcome in their home any time. We are praying that the spirit will touch them to read the book of Mormon and really have a change of heart.
Yes, Elder Jackson is still REALLY weird. We had a street contact the other day where I said, "My name is Elder Taylor and this is my companion, Elder Souza. I mean Elder Jackson." Yep.....
I'm sorry this is so short this week. I really don't have a whole lot ot say.
BUT I LOVE YOU ALL!!
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
Boa Tarde!
First off, I will be calling you on Sunday. We will be using Skype. We are going to try and call at about 4 o clock here. So around 1 o clock there. Or around 1:30.
IF YOU MISSION THIS CALL.....
Seriously though, if you miss this call....
This week was good. Tough, but good. We did A LOT of walking. I'm pretty sure I've shed some poundage. ha. We made a lot of contacts as well. We are working right now on working better with ward members. We don't really have any solid investigators in this area right now. They don't really have any connections to the church so it's all pure curiosity. But we have an awesome member who likes us and is giving us some referalls today. So it'll take some work, but the work will progress! Our ward members are good and now we just need to work better with them.
We tracted into an AWESOME couple this week. They are each about 80 years old. They met with missionaries in the past, but they didn't really progress. But the husband still has his Book of Mormon, with a message from the Elders in 1999. It doesn't seem like he really read any of it. We shared a message on faith that was super spiritual and they told us that we are welcome in their home any time. We are praying that the spirit will touch them to read the book of Mormon and really have a change of heart.
Yes, Elder Jackson is still REALLY weird. We had a street contact the other day where I said, "My name is Elder Taylor and this is my companion, Elder Souza. I mean Elder Jackson." Yep.....
I'm sorry this is so short this week. I really don't have a whole lot ot say.
BUT I LOVE YOU ALL!!
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
YEP... It's still weird!!
Mission President letter
May 2, 2014
Dear Taylor Family:
We are excited to have you son, Elder Jackson, is our mission. This will be a great opportunity for continued growth and development as he serves faithfully here in the misison field. He will meet, teach, convert and touch the lives of many people who are seeking to know, understand and live the truths of the restored gospel. Your son will have the opportunity to grow closer to the Lord and better understand how to recognize the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Through his continued study and application of gospel principles, we pray his testimony will increase and his love and obedience to Heavenly Father's revealed truths will forge a pattern for the rest of his life.
Your son has already been assigned to his first area. He will be working i Vila Virginia Ward in the city of Ribeirao Preto, and will be trained by Elder Souza. The area is very blessed, and your son's trainer is a reliable and responsible misisonary. your son will certainly have much success and great spiritual experiences.
Along with missionary service comes many new and interesting demands and challenges. your son will continue to learn and adapt to new and interesting customs, cultures and foods, as well as a new language and schedule. As parents, you play a very important role in the well-bring of your missionary. your continued love and encouragement will give him the support and help he needs. p Please write him regularly, sharing your testimony and love of this great gospel plan and help him stay focused on this sacred work.
Trust the Lord's watchful care as you pray regularly for all the missionaries throughout the world. Remember the Lord has said:
My wife and I are very grateful to have your son serving by our sides in this great missionary effort. The lives of many will be influenced and blessed because of your son's great service and dedication. We will do our besttot help your son succeed in his service to the Lord. Thank you for preparing a son that is willing and ready to be of service in this part of the Lord's vineyard. may the Lord bless you for your sacrifice and help in this important and eternal endeavor.
With Love,
Mauro Tupinamba Brum de Oliveira
Mission President
Dear Taylor Family:
We are excited to have you son, Elder Jackson, is our mission. This will be a great opportunity for continued growth and development as he serves faithfully here in the misison field. He will meet, teach, convert and touch the lives of many people who are seeking to know, understand and live the truths of the restored gospel. Your son will have the opportunity to grow closer to the Lord and better understand how to recognize the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Through his continued study and application of gospel principles, we pray his testimony will increase and his love and obedience to Heavenly Father's revealed truths will forge a pattern for the rest of his life.
Your son has already been assigned to his first area. He will be working i Vila Virginia Ward in the city of Ribeirao Preto, and will be trained by Elder Souza. The area is very blessed, and your son's trainer is a reliable and responsible misisonary. your son will certainly have much success and great spiritual experiences.
Along with missionary service comes many new and interesting demands and challenges. your son will continue to learn and adapt to new and interesting customs, cultures and foods, as well as a new language and schedule. As parents, you play a very important role in the well-bring of your missionary. your continued love and encouragement will give him the support and help he needs. p Please write him regularly, sharing your testimony and love of this great gospel plan and help him stay focused on this sacred work.
Trust the Lord's watchful care as you pray regularly for all the missionaries throughout the world. Remember the Lord has said:
President and Sister Brum
Elder Souza and Elder Jackson
Sao Paulo MTC group
With Love,
Mauro Tupinamba Brum de Oliveira
Mission President
Favela Cara. And Bem Vindo Elder Jackson
April 28, 2014
OH MY GOSH. I GET TO SAY HI TO MY FAMILY AGAIN!!
It feels like it's been forever. The CTM was supposed to email a picture of us at the temple. Sounds like they didn't. My mission President was supposed to send fotos of us when we arrived. Sounds like that didn't happen either. So I'M SORRY. It wasn't my fault.
So I also have some really weird news. Our Mission President doesn't allow duplicates names. He gets people mixed up. There are already 2 other Elder Taylor's. One is now Elder Peterson. So, when they asked me what I would switch to, I said a quick prayer and chose Elder Jackson instead of Elder S. Taylor. So, I am now Elder Jackson. I should get new name tags this week. So Trev, I'm sorry that our name tags aren't the same anymore, but I will always have the one that is the same.
I am here in my mission! Ha! Presdente Brum opened our first training by saying, "welcome to your mission. Yes, your reassignments were good, but this is your mission. The one you were called to." It was kinda funny. I am here in The Ribeirao Preto Sudoeste zone. So yes, I'm in the city of Ribeirao Preto. My area is Vila Virginia B. I live here with the zone leaders and my companion, the district leader. I don't think I told you, my companion in the CTM was the district leader too. That makes 4 out of 5. My companion is Elder Henrique Souza from Manaus. Yep, a native trainer. And he doesn't speak any English. It's a good thing my Portuguese really was as good as I thought. (I don't mean to brad, but it's good.) I thank our Heavenly Father that it is, because I'm having some narly culture shock. I don't know if I could handle it if I couldn't speak. I speak really well, everyone keeps saying that. But it's really hard for me to understand people. I got my first haircut in Brazil today and I couldn't understand the cabeleireiro. BUT< it looks dang good!
Now, I just need to drop some pounds. I lost 10 pounds in the CTM. Ha. In case you can't tell in pictures, I've gotten fat. I left on my mission at 190. And got to Brazil at 220. Yep. It was BAD. My nickname to everyone is Gordinho. Ask Trev what it means.
But I love my area! I love my ward. Our are is brand new. The Vila Virginia ward was just one area, but they split it with this last transfer. I arrived mid-transfer, so my companion had some things going. We've been doing a lot of contacting and had 8 new investigators this past week. Que Chick!
And I had a birthday party! I am now 19 years old. Here's a SUPER weird thought. I almost have 8 months on my mission, but without the age change, I would still be home. Crazy! And guess what! My birthday party was in the middle of a favela! ha. every Thursday we have a family night with all the members in the favela at Irma Digna's house. It was only my second day in the area. But my companion called Irma Digna the day before and they made a cake for my birthday! I didn't have my camera, so all the pictures are with Elder Souza. So i will try and send them next week. It was AWESOME!!
I love it here. BUT, keep me i your prayers. I am just feeling really stressed out and feeling A LOT of pressure. I know that's normal considering they don't speak English, but please just keep me in your prayers.
I love you all! Have a great week all over the world!
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
PS Tell everyone I'm sorry I was unable to email them back personally. I had 28 emails today to read. 2 weeks and a birthday will do that. And today I'm kind of crunched on times.
OH MY GOSH. I GET TO SAY HI TO MY FAMILY AGAIN!!
It feels like it's been forever. The CTM was supposed to email a picture of us at the temple. Sounds like they didn't. My mission President was supposed to send fotos of us when we arrived. Sounds like that didn't happen either. So I'M SORRY. It wasn't my fault.
So I also have some really weird news. Our Mission President doesn't allow duplicates names. He gets people mixed up. There are already 2 other Elder Taylor's. One is now Elder Peterson. So, when they asked me what I would switch to, I said a quick prayer and chose Elder Jackson instead of Elder S. Taylor. So, I am now Elder Jackson. I should get new name tags this week. So Trev, I'm sorry that our name tags aren't the same anymore, but I will always have the one that is the same.
I am here in my mission! Ha! Presdente Brum opened our first training by saying, "welcome to your mission. Yes, your reassignments were good, but this is your mission. The one you were called to." It was kinda funny. I am here in The Ribeirao Preto Sudoeste zone. So yes, I'm in the city of Ribeirao Preto. My area is Vila Virginia B. I live here with the zone leaders and my companion, the district leader. I don't think I told you, my companion in the CTM was the district leader too. That makes 4 out of 5. My companion is Elder Henrique Souza from Manaus. Yep, a native trainer. And he doesn't speak any English. It's a good thing my Portuguese really was as good as I thought. (I don't mean to brad, but it's good.) I thank our Heavenly Father that it is, because I'm having some narly culture shock. I don't know if I could handle it if I couldn't speak. I speak really well, everyone keeps saying that. But it's really hard for me to understand people. I got my first haircut in Brazil today and I couldn't understand the cabeleireiro. BUT< it looks dang good!
Now, I just need to drop some pounds. I lost 10 pounds in the CTM. Ha. In case you can't tell in pictures, I've gotten fat. I left on my mission at 190. And got to Brazil at 220. Yep. It was BAD. My nickname to everyone is Gordinho. Ask Trev what it means.
But I love my area! I love my ward. Our are is brand new. The Vila Virginia ward was just one area, but they split it with this last transfer. I arrived mid-transfer, so my companion had some things going. We've been doing a lot of contacting and had 8 new investigators this past week. Que Chick!
And I had a birthday party! I am now 19 years old. Here's a SUPER weird thought. I almost have 8 months on my mission, but without the age change, I would still be home. Crazy! And guess what! My birthday party was in the middle of a favela! ha. every Thursday we have a family night with all the members in the favela at Irma Digna's house. It was only my second day in the area. But my companion called Irma Digna the day before and they made a cake for my birthday! I didn't have my camera, so all the pictures are with Elder Souza. So i will try and send them next week. It was AWESOME!!
I love it here. BUT, keep me i your prayers. I am just feeling really stressed out and feeling A LOT of pressure. I know that's normal considering they don't speak English, but please just keep me in your prayers.
I love you all! Have a great week all over the world!
Love, Elder Scott JACKSON Taylor
PS Tell everyone I'm sorry I was unable to email them back personally. I had 28 emails today to read. 2 weeks and a birthday will do that. And today I'm kind of crunched on times.
EU AMO O BRASIL
OI FAMILIA! April 16, 2014
First I just want to tell
you how much I love Brasil. Well, South America in general. I don´t care how
hot and humid and stuffy it has felt this week, I love it here. Being back in
the MTC is SO weird. But so cool. It really does feel like I´m starting all
over again. This time with a Sister Mission. Is this what the sisters feel
like? haha
I hope all is well up
there in North America! (and Argentina. Don´t worry John Boy. I got you.) Guess
what! Everything is so cheap here! haha I got 5 pairs of garments for 5
dollars! Legit.
Family-have you gotten
the picture of us at the Temple yet? We got to go to the São Paulo temple this
morning. It was awesome. I can´t believe how close to the street it is. It
doesn´t look like it in the picture. But it is beautiful and so peaceful. It
was also the FOURTH temple I´ve done a session in on my mission alone.
That´s insane! and if we ever get to go to Campinas, five. Most people barely
get 2 and sometimes 1.
Things are AWESOME here
in the CTM. Remember that time I was in Provo and we were supposed to speak
Portuguese with each other and no one knew how and even our teacher barely spoke
in Portuguese? Yeah, well, one of our teachers doesn´t even speak English. The
others speak a little. But all 3 are from here in São Paulo. We have 3 here
because we are here solely for Portuguese. So we have class all day and not
just different studies. I think it´s so cool that we can talk with and
understand all these people who don´t speak English. I speak really well, but I
can´t understand very well. I can understand all the people in the CTM, but
they see that I´m white and speak slower. #gringostatus
So with the language
immersion thing. It was reviewed and approved by the Brazil Area
Presidency. Missionaries were literrally getting sick because they were so
stressed out with not understanding anyone going straight into the
"campo." (it just means field, but campo sounds so much cooler.) So
we are only like the 4th or 5th group of "twelve day Americans" and
because this only happened about a month ago. Meanin if I would have gotten my
visa last transfer I wouldn´t have been here in the CTM.
This week has been really
good. It´s really weird not to be out on bikes with the sun beating down on us.
It´s rained every day and I LOVE IT. Rain is a good thing. (it makes
corn........name that song. ha.) I really can´t tell you how much I love it
here. South American Mormons are my favorite. They are the most loving people
in the world.
Well Familia, sorry it´s
short! haha I don´t have a whole lot to report because we´ve been in the same building
for a week! (yes friends that were in Provo, The São Paulo MTC is only one
building.)
Love, Elder Scott Jackson
Taylor
BRAZIL
Dear Parents, April 11,
2014
Sister Swensen and I are
very happy to let you know that your missionary has arrived safely at the
Brazil Missionary Training Center. What a great joy and privilege it is
to greet each missionary as they begin their missionary experiences with us. We
will surely take good care of your missionary.
The missionaries now
have companions and are settled into their rooms. They are assigned to a
district with capable and caring instructors for language and lesson
study. Their branch presidents and wives, will meet them this
Sunday. These wonderful couples are richly blessed as they work with,
motivate, and interview the missionaries assigned to their branch.
The MTC has a full-time
live-in physician to care for their health needs. He is assisted by his
able wife who is a nurse. We are also happy to report that the cafeteria food
is plentiful, healthy and very good.
Your missionary will be
able to e-mail home on Preparation Day after a morning at the Temple.
This will be either Wednesday or Friday, depending on
individual assignments.
Your missionary is about
to make an eternal difference in the lives of many others. President Lorenzo
Snow said: “There is no mortal man that is as
interested in the success of an elder when he is preaching the Gospel as is the
Lord who sent him to preach to the people who are the Lord's children".
We love these missionaries as if they were our own. We will watch over
them carefully to ensure they are ready for a wonderful missionary experience
after the rewarding time they will have in the MTC.
We thank you for
preparing such a wonderful representative of the Lord.
President Robert Swensen
and Sister Julie Swensen
PS...I'm in Brazil!!
April 9, 2014
Oi minha familia!!
I am finally here in
Brazil. It´s still so surreal. I look out the window and BOOM! There´s Sao
Paulo. It´s so cool. we have made it safe. the flight was super long. but we
finally made it. There were 8 of us missionaries on the flight from Atlanta to
Sao Paulo. I sat by a lady from o estado de Parana! I thought Trevor would like
that. I believe she said Maringa...it was close to Curitiba.
I am super excited for
the two weeks here in the CTM. I pray that this language immersion will help
immensely, because when I got on the plane, almost everyone was speaking
Portuguese, and I could not understand them.
I don´t have much time,
but I just wanted to tell you all that I love you! I hope you got the note that
I had Hailey write. and I hope dad got my message. there was a very nice member
that was headed to Sao Paulo that let us use his phone. I swear I said
something about calling but it´s all good. I will be out of the CTM by then and
be able to call you on Mother´s day.
I love you all!
Have a fantastic day!
Love, Elder Scott Jackson
Taylor
P.S. I´M IN BRAZIL.
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