Guayaquil Hill

Guayaquil Hill

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

March 21 2016

Hey familia!!
Long time no see jaja
11 months tomorrow!
Anyways, like always I'm a bit short on time. This week it's because we came to Guayaquil. That wouldn't mean too much but my comp decided to buy a new suit and we have to wait. They are sewing it.. Anyways, life here has been pretty good. Last week I ate something bad, and was sick all Friday, with the stomach ''flow'' as they say here. I'm all good now though. After eating in the restaurant, almost all the members have said, 'DONT EAT THERE ITS BAD!!'' A little late but thanks...
I will tell you we finally got a new cell phone! Soo happy! Long story short, every companionship has a cell, but ours had been here at least 5 years. You can't even read the keyboard the numbers are all erased. The screen cracked. I asked the office today for a new one and we finally got it.
Well I want to congratulate Will for performing AND singing!! I didn't know he could sing. In the store today, I heard the hakunamatata song, and it made me happy :)
Other than that, another boring week here. We walked a lot. But this upcoming Saturday, we have one baptism! Also, tomorrow we are going to the temple. Then, presidente is going to machete us with the word of wisdom (lots of sick missionaries). It'll be a great day and I will get to see a few old friends. We gotta be there at 6 in the morning. We'll see how it goes. Well, I gotta go, hopefully next week we won't have any surprises and I will be able to write.
I bought pancake mix and cool whip ($7.00!!!!) to make good breakfast this week :)
Love you guys!!
Elder Taylor

P.S. We have a FHE planned tonight to bake the cookies you sent mama!

And, you guys should buy the bible videos for the house and watch them. You learn a lot about the character of Christ.

March 14 2016

Hey familia!
Well, I think it is a bit funny that you ended with a quote from up because I just wrote to Abby and started with a quote from up! (fhew, I thought you were dead)
Anyways, sounds like you guys are staying spuper busy this week. I as well have been extremely busy this week. Starting with Monday.
Monday, ate KFC and it was bad. The last week I told you a bit about it but the food made me sick later in the week.
Tuesday, RECIEVED POUCH!! I bought cake mix today, I'm gunna try to make the cookies soon. Tuesday night rolled in the house exhausted, knowing that the sickness was coming.
Weds. Woke up sick but still worked all day.
Thrs. Woke up really sick. Like, in Ecuador, I put a blanket on and a sweater and I was still cold. Took medicine, and got better.
Friday woke up without problems.
Anyways, the moral of the story, DON'T EAT KFC!! Lesson learned.
Apart from that, it was a good week. We worked this week. Next week I think there will be a few baptisms. I really enjoyed the candy. Well, gotta go. I'm late already
Love,

Elder Taylor

Pouch!!

Pouch from my old YSA Ward! Good old zach

March 7 2016

Hey Familia!
No he did not bite my butt. It was my ankle, and we have to pass the dog every couple days still.
It really sucks, but I'm always prepared with rocks now haha!
I'm glad to hear that the family it well and that dad gave birth haha. I've been praying pretty hard about that one :) I also would like to say I didn't know William was gunna be in a play!! Maybe you said something a while ago but I forgot. It sounds like you guys are still living the crazy life, running place to place without rest.
Well, this week I walked some more haha. The rain is actually the better days because the heat goes away! I am on my 4th umbrella but I think this time it will last haha! But I will tell you when that strong sun finally gets around those rain clouds, the water instantly absorbs into the air and it is the most terrible heat in the world!  You just sweat, nonstop. In houses, at night, it doesn't matter. That's why the rain is soo nice. It rained like 2 days straight and it was awesome! I loved it! It got super fresh outside. I was using a crappy umbrella however that Elder Johnson gave me and I got wet. But now I'm good.
I got something cool to tell you. Elder Mendoza had Insanity on his flashdrive and I copied them. Every morning we follow the instructor on the little screen and do exercise. It is intense! It kills me every morning, only 30 minutes and you are literally soaked in sweat.  It is super cool.
Sunday night there was another earthquake, but I didn't feel it. Sad.
We were walking, and I guess outside, you don't feel it as strong. But everyone is talking about it. This is the third in like 3 months.  Pretty cool.
Well, I better get going, Love you guys


Elder Taylor



Feb 29 2016

Hey Familia!
Well another week has absolutely flown by! I don't really know what I did this week. I feel like I just wrote. Well, I'm glad to hear that the family is well and that my stuff is protected. I feel bad that I couldn't help move the stuff to the house haha. Maybe next time.
I'm glad to hear that the scouts are still a big part in the family, they made me who I am today. I love the picture you sent me with my uniform. I show it to everyone I can, even though a few laugh. I'm very prideful of what I did in boy scouts. Today Elder Johnson had changes, he is going to Vinces! He had to travel alone! I would be soo nervous! Especially to go to such a small town.. Anyways, we went to the terminal of Guayaquil with him to say goodbyes and receive the new missionary. Elder Mendoza came from Ventanas. He has 1 year 2 months in the mission, he's a good guy. He has the insanity videos on his usb and I copied them! Tomorrow, I will begin the insanity workout program!! I'm pretty excited about it.
This week was the cumpleaños of our mission leader of the ward. We bought a small cake and with a few members, went to his house and sung. He was pretty moved, said this is the best thing that has happened to me in my 65 years of life. It was pretty cool.
Other than that, a pretty boring week, mainly walking, sweating all day and rain. Pretty much the same routine. We did finally get a few new people to church. We are hoping to have a lot of baptisms this next month! I will keep you updated on that, ya?
Oh, sidenote, my convert, Gisselle, is in Wisconsin! Haha no hay nada en Wisconsin!


Elder Taylor


Feb 22 2016

Hey Familia!
Wow, how time just flies! 10 Months!! Double digits baby!!
Haha but seriously, it is a blessing just how fast the time moves in the mission.
You guys had a homecoming, we had a farewell. haha! But the Hno who gave his farewell talk is going to Bolivia, the mission where my companion is from! Pretty cool. His parents aren't members, they are waiting to get married still. The dad had to get divorced and it is a lot easier said than done in Ecuador. They have attended church, paid tithing and fed the missionaries every night for 3 years without fail but aren't members. And now they will have a son in the mission as well. Loco, no?
It's good to hear that Zach is well and also that you had the opportunity to enter the temple. In my last sector, an Hna worked in the temple and whenever we went she took a minute in the celestial room to teach me. It was really cool. I learned a lot from her.
Well, the mission life is good, I got a little burned today again. I was still recovering from last weeks burn too! Last week was really bad. I bought sunscreen which is SUPER expensive here, just so you know. But I don't always put it on. If there's no sun why use sunscreen? But the thing I have recently learned is the sun can burn through clouds.
Anyways, the dog bite is no worry, Hno Carlos asked the owner and it has its shots and it is still living so I'm alright haha.
Other than that a doctor came from Australia as a missionary with his wife. They are serving in Peru but came and taught us about stress.  It was a really good lesson. I learned a lot from them. He taught us how to deal with stress but he didn't speak Spanish very well. It was kind of sad because he was very powerful and wanted to share with us a lot but couldn't. It reminded me of my first weeks in the mission.
Anyways, gotta go.
Oh one story, my companion the other day goes, I am Jesus. I was like what? He goes let me show you a scripture. The scripture sais, Jesus is the fount. Lafuente means the fount. He was pretty happy haha
Love you guys


Elder Taylor

These are patacones in the making. You take a green plantane, cut it up, fry it, then take them out, and smash them, then fry them again.  It tastes like french fries, but I add creole so it is suuper good :)



Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Feb 15 2016

Hey family!
Wow sounds like a lot of fun in the Taylor house. Mice and sickness.
The missionaries downstairs have a mouse as well haha. But the difference is our house is concrete so it wont be able to get upstairs.
Gross story time! Saturday morning, we had to go help the zone leaders fill up the font. As we walk out, I put my shoes on. So I figured there was a rock in my shoe a little later but kind of just ignored it.. we went to the Bishop's house, then the chapel, then back home. I took my shoe off and there was a small leaf looking thing but I recognized it! It was no leaf, IT WAS A COCKROACH WING! I turned the shoe over and a few other parts fell out. I killed the cockroach in my shoe and then walked around with it for 2 hours! It was gross. I changed socks and tried to clean my shoe, then we left again.
Later that day, I got bit by a dog!! My first time!! It was a very big and scary dog too haha. I'm not too worried about rabies though, he didn't really break the skin with his teeth, just ripped it. Plus he knew what he was doing, he has bitten people before. If he had rabies he'd be dead by now. But it was still pretty exhilarating. I'll keep an eye on him to be sure he doesn't die though.
Anyways, it was a pretty good week. To start, today we went fishing!  But we didn't catch anything. The river is too high and there is too much water. It made the current really strong, so the fish weren't there and our lines were getting thrown around all day. That is all thanks to the stupid rain! We only went for 3 hours but I got fried!! And the sun wasn't even out! 
Walking down the street later, some guy selling brooms looks at me and goes, YOU ARE BURNED! USE SUNSCREEN!  It was funny.
Speaking of rain, Thursday was bad. It rained SOO HARD!! We were walking, my companion without his umbrella, and it hit. So hard it started breaking my umbrella! We ran to the chapel and waited 40 minutes until it calmed down. The church didn't have water and I had to poop, so I had to put a bucket outside to fill up, to flush the toilet. I thought it was pretty smart :) The bucket filled up in no time.
Anyways I gotta go, love you guys. Good luck with your mouse problem.
Oh and how much would it cost to buy, and send the board game Risk? My companion really wants to know.  Oh and I know one other thing I want for my Bday :) ties from DI. I don't care how good they are, just to trade and give away.
 Ya love you guys


Elder Taylor



Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Feb 8 2016

Hey familia!
This week has been another good week full of walking and burning in the terrible Ecuadorian summer sun! And rain. So to explain how it works, it gets really hot. Like I can't breathe kind of hot. Then after like 4 hours of the extreme hot, a little wind kicks up and in come the clouds full of water. Then it pours rain. Then it gets extremely hot because all the rain is evaporating and making it even more humid.  Then you rinse and repeat. That's the schedule here. Its not an every day thing, more like every other. But it is bad.
The people here in Duran buy blow up pools and stick them outside to deal with the heat. But EVERY house pulls the pools out for Carnival. The holiday Brennan talked about when they have a giant water fight. It technically starts today but they do a pre-party so since Saturday it's been going on. Everyone buys foam in a can, basically shaving cream and fights with it. It is literally the shaving cream wars all over again. It should only be today and tomorrow but today it is raining so not may people are playing. I think the big day will be tomorrow.
Oh! The baptism did happen. Hno David was baptised. To explain really quick, we invited Hno Carlos and his family. He is a recent convert who used to sell beer but dropped it all when the missionaries taught him the word of wisdom. His wife isn't a member or his kids. He is 65 so his kids all live away. After David was baptised we had a few minutes while they were changing. I invited Hno Carlos to bear his testimony. His wife and one daughter were there. He bore one of the most powerful testimonies I've heard here in Ecuador. He is a stud too.
Other experience, Hno Bryan from the ward here got his mission call. They did a big ceremony in which his mom talked about Bryan falling away and returning to the church. It was very powerful. Then he opened his call. Chile, but I dont remember the mission... But it was funny, he was reading it and reads, you will report to the Chile MTC the 30th of March, but the word March was in English! He just kinda pauses and looks at it and moved on. He basically read, you will report the 30th of..... blah blah blah.. Everyone was freaking out, When do you leave!?!? He finally called me up to translate March to Marzo to be sure haha. I'm super excited for him though. He has a strong testimony and will be a good leader. 
Other than that nothing new other than rain, mosquitos, and sun. I did buy a new bag with my name and the mission and the flags. I will send a pic the next week. Love you guys
Elder Taylor


Feb 1 2016

Hey mama!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I've been thinking all week about how I forgot to wish you Happy Birthday, I feel bad. But por lo menos(at least), I did say Happy Birthday!
I told you guys about the service we did a few weeks ago? Well, we did it again. This time they did have a wheel barrow but it was raining so the mound was mud and stuck to your shovel. It made the shovel heavier and I got blisters haha. 5 big ones that all popped.
That's what I get for not working for 9 months. I was pretty happy to work.  Elder Johnson took the wheelbarrow and me, the shovel. Basically Elder Johnson and Elder Taylor did a service project. I will say there was one other kid shoveling who was working hard. Us three were soaked in sweat. It was fun.
Other than that, we have a baptism this week! His name is David and he is 24 and is reading the BOM and is super good. Saturday is the day. Super exciting. Other than him, we have been working with a recent convert, Carlos, 2 weeks ago he received the Melc. Priesthood and last week we helped him give a blessing to his granddaughter. He is 65 btw. His son isn't a member but now we are teaching him. But the blessing was suuper cool. He was super nervous, he forgot her name, we walked him through the words and then when it was time it got really silent. I think he was expecting my companion to continue helping him but after the first part a blessing is by the spirit. So after about 30 seconds he started to bless her and it was soo powerful. Having never given a blessing before he did it better than I could have. It was really cool. He is such a stud, he used to sell beer in his house, basically like a pallet a day but when they taught him the word of wisdom he said, ya no problem. His wife was really upset for a while that he didn't drink but he never had the desire again. He is a stud.
We didn't go fishing again and next week Hno Danny can't so in 2 weeks. But we did go to Guayaquil and I bought more watches!! I think I'm addicted to fake Chinese watches that look real. I'll send pics don't worry. We also ate at Wendys. It was alright. Then we came back and rested a bit and nothing else. My comp likes to sleep. With his last comp, they'd sleep like 2 hours every week. I work him good pdays so the least I can do is let him sleep 45 minutes haha. I like to be a tourist pdays and bargain with people on the street. I'm getting really good too! I paid 5 dollars for one watch and talked the other one down a bunch. I talked him down to his wholesale price, it is really easy. He wanted 25 dollars but I paid 16. It is a REALLY NICE WATCH!
Love you guys gotta go!

A part of my sector is very bad during the rainy season. This is 2 days without rain and it is still sitting water. The mosquitoes are the worst part of the rain. We have to burn spirals every night.
 
And a random beach cruiser. I asked the people if we could take a picture haha
MY WATCH COLLECTION!
And a dog. I like to play with dogs and cats haha


Jan 25 2016

Hey Mama!
I don't really know what to say after the whole baby thing.. I was gunna start the letter with the announcement of 9 months but now I just keep thinking about how I could have given birth by now.. wow..
Well it has been a good week, I'm no longer sick, I think the trick is Trix. Yes the cereal. It is super expensive here and it is made in the old fashioned shapes but it does something to your stomach. It also turns your poop bright green! The best of both worlds!
This week, more like yesterday, it is my companions turn to be sick.  We did a service project and he now has stomach problems. The doctor said he probably strained his muscles but they are doing a scan tomorrow to make sure it's nothing serious. We went to the Kennedy though so that was fun! We didn't really do anything else today. It was kind of a pain to travel in the rain and I lost my new umbrella!!  I'm super upset! We were in Guayaquil calling a taxi and a member gave us a ride from Duran north. I left it in her car! But I know what ward so I'm gunna try to get her number because it was expensive. She is in the ward Primavera which is actually the ward of Hna Stucki! I did finally see her a few weeks ago. It was kind of fun to speak Spanish with someone I knew before haha.
Other than that, this week was another week of mission work. We have a family that is going to try to get married today to be baptized this weekend, hopefully it all goes well. He had a slight problem with divorce which always slows the process but I think they will be able to get baptized this week.
I gave dad advice on his kidney stone, then explained that that's the Ecuadorian way of life haha. Whatever problem you have, they always have advice no matter what. Yesterday, my companion asked someone if they knew about medical stuff and they go, no. Then they gave him a list of things to do haha. ¡así es ecuador!
Oh and the rain is terrible. It is apperantly really bad in parts of Guayaquil with buses flooding. The people say they look like submarines in the streets haha. Anyways, ya gotta go. Love you guys, I'll send pics!
Elder Taylor

I found this cd case in the house and I recognized RON SALTMARSH!! I thought it was pretty cool. My comp actually had it, but he found it here.
We did service. You can definately tell I worked haha. Shoveling dirt into buckets to put under a house.

Jan 18 2016

Hey Mom!
Well I'm really low on time today but sounds like you've had a rough week. 
I forgot to tell you I got grandmas package like 3 weeks ago! I got two SWEET TIES!! Other than that, it hasn't been a very exciting week. Fishing fell through today, so next week haha. But today was fun. We went to Guayaquil to a mall to go bowling, to buy an umbrella and to buy new shoes! I went to the Payless because I didn't want to deal with latin sizes and Payless is organized by american numbers!!  I did buy some new shoes, they should last me a while. They are comfy and hopefully waterproof. The water does heavy damage on shoes by the way, lots of missionaries the bottoms are missing in their shoes.
Other than that, we worked, we went to church, we have interviews last week with President and Hna Riggins. I asked them about my stomach and if it doesn't get better they said let us know so we can get some tests done. The next day I felt better so I haven't done anything yet.
Last week sounded like a typical week for the taylor family.  Basketball, Will succeeding in school, working on the house and plans for the next week. Just keep repeating to yourself, at least it's not raining.. haha, I don't know how but it gets sooo hot even when there's no sun!! I'm kinda used to heat but summer here sucks even worse.
Before I forget, I know what I want in my next package.. rootbeer extract to make rootbeer her, and a handful of smarties. And other candies as well haha! Well, I gotta go, sorry I didn't write too much I love you guys!

Bowling, a drawing of me.. The comment is something like, thanks to the BOM, I've been humbled from how much money is in my favorite sport.. Something like that, ask Dylan, although he might not understand pelucon, that's Ecuador Spanish.


Jan 11 2016

Hey Mama! Hey Family!
Well, I will start by saying I love you too Will!  Haha he's a good kid.
To start, this pday we did do something. We went to downtown Guayaquil and it was pretty fun. Went to the beach more or less.  It's like a shoreline of part of the river I think but we took a few pictures. We also went to the marcado artesenal, art market, where I bought my blanket. Just to look. Then we went to basically 52nd Street in New York, where they sell cool stuff. I bought a car speaker. It is super cool, lights up and makes car noises! We also went to see some turtles from the Galapagos. It was a good day. I still didn't buy shoes because next week the Bishop is gunna take me somewhere to buy good mission shoes he told me. Other than that we dont do much here for pday.
Last week was good, we had stake conference and had 8 investigators that attended. 2 of which is a family that has been waiting 3 years to get baptized. Everybody thinks they are members but they have been waiting on a marriage problem and finally can get married! We are planning to have them baptized this month. Other than that we have a few other families that are progressing and a few single adults. The work is pretty good here though.
Sounds like Emily is really getting into the basketball life, no? And finally getting time to show off haha. I'm also proud to hear Will is snowboarding again.  I'd do anything to go snowboarding. HEY I just remembered, next week we are going to go fishing! A member offered to take us. There's a little river really close! He has some wierd pictures of fish he's pulled out. Spiky, long, short, fat, thin. It'll be super cool.
My companion is about my height, he wears a white shirt every day, he has a nametag like mine, except with his name, dark hair, from Bolivia, uses black shoes. There you have it. He was my buddy in the MTC and is really nice. He is the District Leader.
Gotta go, love you Family!
Elder Taylor

My new car speaker and a new case I bought for my camera.
Here is my favorite plate, Churrazsgo. It is  meat with onion and pepper, rice, a fried egg, and french fries.  Also a dinner my companion ate, the fish head and some of the guts were all that remained. This was the same day and I was still stuffed after the HUGE plate of churrasgo they gave us (they brought out another egg to add after I took the picture.)


Jan 4 2016

Hey family!
Well, I'm still alive so that's good. I'm gunna start with a story that I know will worry you mom but just know I am absolutely fine. I feel great now.  Well, last week, Wednesday, we woke up and did our studies. I felt a little uneasy like I knew something was gunna happen.. Like butterflies in my stomach kind of thing.. We left the house and I figured out what was up. The so called butterflies I had, those were my parasites acting up again haha. I was suuper sick. We went to this house to eat, and I look at the Hermana and ask for a tiny portion of food. I got like a tiny handul of rice with a little pasta. The first funny part of the story, my companion beat me. He eats soo fast! Anyways, we ate, somehow I finished and we kept going.  We did a few visits and we were walking down the street and I felt it coming. I look at my companion and say, ''where can I throw up?''  Pretty good question right? haha, Anyways, he points to the side of the road and says, ''there.''  I look, shrug and threw up. I don't know why but he watched.  Anyways, we went to the house I fell asleep then I woke up a few hours later and called the nurses. They told me to go buy something like pepto bismol. We walk outside and around the corner, I look at my companion and go, here it goes again! Anyways, I threw up twice in the street, drank like a whole bottle of pepto bismol and was better the next day. Missionaries get sick here every change, it is just normal.  Just the whole change and all.
Anyways, then Friday night came along, I'll send a picture of that one, but the rain came. We were running home in like a foot of water.  We got home and there was a river coming down the stairs to the roof.  The door doesn't seal and the water puddles on the roof, so we had a good 2 inches of water in the house. We stopped the water for the most part and pushed as much out as we could, then went to bed. Bad day.  My shoes are pretty hammered. Oh and my bed was by the window so it was soaked again. My big blanket still isn't all the way dry.
And last, in the house here, we had the attachment of a electric shower head. So today, I bought some pipe and some wire and now we have hot water in our house! I'll send pics, although it might worry mom haha, It works fine though. Basically cold water comes in the shower head and the wires heat it up and hot water exits :).  I wired it to a plug so you just plug it in when you want hot water and unplug it after. It is a lot safer like that.
Well, my new sector is great, my companion is a stud. He is the new district leader. He is a little timid but he is being trained by the Lord. I have no doubt that he will be a future leader in his wards when he returns. He's a funny guy. We are also having a lot of success. We both came from wards in Guayaquil where no one is home. So to come here, I feel like we can conquer the world!
Ya I got to go, Love you guys!
Elder Taylor

Hot shower head
New Year

Rain and the flood


Dec 28 2015

Dearest Family Taylor,
I would like to thank you for the 20 letters I received. I used the first 30 minutes printing them, so I will have to write fast haha. I'm super feliz that I had the opportunity to talk with the entire family last week. I would also like to inform you all that I had transfers. I am now in Duran with Elder Lafuente. He is one of my more favorite missionaries, so I'm super happy actually haha. Last week, I talked with him and said, when we're companions, I'll help you with your English.. and here we are. Pretty funny how that worked out haha. But Duran is pretty cool. It is right outside of Guayaquil, it's like 30 minutes away, so it isn't super poor. There are more dirt roads, and stray animals so far though. It is like a mix of guayaquil, and Vinces.
So the upcoming week will be super fun. The año viejo muñecas are going to be lit off. Basically that means old year dolls, but they are giant paper mache that are filled with explosives that they pour gasoline on, and light off. The old ward had planned on burning a whole ton painted as missionaries outside of our house, but now no. So I don't know how crazy it'll be but I'm still pretty excited.
Well, out of time. I love you guys, and next week I'll write more ya?
Elder Taylor

Dec 21 2015

Hey Mama! (and fam)
Haha this letter's gunna start out fun but only cuz my day started out fun. Woke up this morning with a run to the bathroom. Yep it's back and it's bad haha! Been almost 5 months since I had it this bad.
Anyways, the package was actually something I figured out last Wednesday. Basically, the laws here are stupid. Stuff that they can make here is illegal to send here. Such as shoes or food of any sort.
They are trying to be self sufficient. So there are 2 options. Customs sends it back to you guys (the better option) or some guy goes through the package and takes out anything illegal and sends the rest to me (the bad part is this option will cost around 100 dollars).  Basically, Elder Gemmel said it's best to send it back, I think it is free. But as for future packages, as long as it's under 4 kilos (8 pounds) it'll make it, shoes or candy or whatever else. So next time, stay under the limit and the stuff should make it haha.
But don't worry too much, Elder Melzer's mom sent him 2 helicopters and they are sooo cool!! They have a plastic cage, so they are basically indestructible. Also, I took out 50 dollars last week and today bought a few presents. A tiki man for my incense and a 25 dollar alpaca blanket. It is huge and super comfy! I also bought 2 temple ties last week for 10 dollars each. Some guy from Peru sold them to us, kind of a once in a life time moment.
One other thing, Dad said that you gave a talk for the funeral, just wondering if I could get a copy of that :) And I loved the grand kid picture! Although Andrew was facing the wrong way haha. Seems like it was a pain for you guys to set that up.
Well, I can't think of anything else to say haha. I guess we'll speak in a week haha. Love you guys super duper much!


Elder Taylor


Dec 14 2015

Hey Familia!
I have a lot of thoughts on the pictures and the last week you all had but only like 10 minutes to write.. Sorry..
Well last week has been fast but good. To start off, I got super sick Monday night and the next day. I kept working but I wanted to die. My stomach was killing! Like I had been stabbed in the stomach and the knife was still there being turned. I felt it in every step. That is called a stomach infection I guess. I was a little skeptical at first cuz I thought diarrhea was necessary to be an infection but Hno Peña came to visit. Let me explain that conversation. He is a doctor..
Elder Taylor, your lips are shiny. Thank you Hno, just trying a new color. Elder Taylor are you sick? Yes, how did you know? Do you have diarrhea? NO HNO! What about stomach pain? I want to die... Let me go buy you this medicine my wife takes when she has painful periods..
That is pretty much what happened in a short conversation.. It was super weird.. He did laugh at my first joke though so that's good haha. Anyways, after that, my stomach hurts but not like it did. Yesterday it hurt a lot again but today no.
Other than that, tomorrow is my comps birthday so the family Peña took us to their house and gave us cake. They live far away, that is actually why we are late.. sorry about that otra ves..
Other than that, all is well here. I really enjoyed the pictures of the kids in the truck, I can't wait to come home and replace Will (no offense but that's my spot) It looked like I missed a good family reunion and a good funeral for a great man. Anyways, I really gotta go.. We are already late. Love you guys so much, and I'll be better next week!


Elder Taylor :)





Dec 7 2015

Hey Dad
Well, I wasn't sure what to expect today honestly haha. Mom didn't get a letter out but I understand completely. A funeral is kind of a big deal and I can't imagine the stress she is going through. I hope all goes well today and that the family can have some closure. Honestly I see it almost as a celebration. Don't take that the wrong way but he is more than 10 times happier now. I only see it that way because I have been raised in a house that taught the plan of happiness and I believe 100% that it's real.

I am happy to hear that the storage unit is going well and that the building is done. Wait, is the building done or are you still waiting on that 12 inches bottom? Either way, the storage units can now be emptied. Which brings me to a side thought.. what are your plans for all my boxes? Haha now I feel like Dylan in his mission asking about my stuff but I know they will be moved soon and I'm curious what are your plans for that.

As for the dogs, you know, you could have her sent to a doggy training place.. I know Roscoe went and now he doesn't care but it'd be worth a shot haha. Every week I hear about her accidents. But at least you're not renting anymore haha. Are you planning on putting in new carpet too? We just had a family put in new floors here. Just a nicer looking tile was all though. Carpet doesn't exist here. Only in hotels and the Temple. It is super sad.

Here's a question, did you guys watch the devotional last night? It was pretty good but there was a bit of a miscommunication... Everyone here was told at 7 it started which is 1 hour behind you guys. But, daylight savings changes that... so it started at 8. Everyone was thinking it was starting but the screen came on with a timer. But it was alright because everyone was running late anyways. That's Ecuador for ya. So we sat till 8, then watched then went home a little late. We had to take a bus so that was fun.

We also had a few meetings with President this week which are always super good. We have to prepare for the niño phenomenon though which means we had to buy emergency food. Cans here are super expensive. It was 4 dollars for a can of fruit, 2 dollars for beans. I also saw Cambells soup clam chowder and it was 8 dollars for 1 can!! Super pricey!

Anyways, make sure mom doesn't worry about writing me this week, not a big deal, I'll talk to her on skype in 18 days :) Love you guys! Don't have my camera today, next week ya?


Elder Taylor

Friday, January 22, 2016

Nov 30 2015

Hey familia!
Well I guess I'll get the hard part out of the way. To be honest the passing of Grandpa is no harder for me than the passing of Otis. Please don't take that the wrong way but simply I teach the people in situations a lot harder about God's love for us. I help others understand that this world is only a brief challenge and the result of me teaching that is that is becomes written in my heart. I understand 100% that this life is not all, and honestly, that grandpa is a lot happier now than before. I feel more than anything for Grandma, who jut lost her life partner,and for Mom, Aunt Leslie, Aunt Janine, and Aunt Debbie who lost their father. Death has been one of the bigger challenges here. When someone tells you they have brain cancer and they are not going to make it, I have the special opportunity to teach them where they are going and of the mercy of God. I guess in short, you guys are in my payers.
You are right mom, I have two bigger memories of grandpa. Riding in his truck to school every day and having him say, ''Ask me a question''. I learned about how a car works but honestly I don't remember much. The other I have is his attitude for working. Always was working in his ward, even after he lost his memories. He loved to work and have a perfect yard. When we put in gravel in the backyard he was there with his truck helping out. Just picture the same willingness to work up there in Heaven. He's doing all he can now to help others find the gospel.
Now for the week. I feel bad for my little bro now. Being sick is the worst. Especially throwing up. Luckily I haven't had the all night experience here but I did have a night when I was sick. It sucked because I wasn't about to go sleep on the nasty Ecuadorian bathroom floor. I had to stay in my bed. But it only lasted one night and that was a while ago. Now I abolutely love our new house. People say we went from the worst house in the mission to one of the best. I will send pictures this time, last week we were in a crappy cyber and the USB didnt work, sorry.
My Thanksgiving was actually pretty sweet. We ate turkey with the family Surita and it was delicious. With real mashed potatos. Later, hno Peña bought us a giant hot dog with a drink, then took us to his house and gave us another huge plate of spaghetti, with 4 GIANT mangos to go. My stomach hurt so bad!!
Last week we also had inspections. We passed with flying colors. We had to go back to the other house to inspect it too but it was all good. President walks into our bathroom and goes, ''You guys win the prize for the best smelling bathroom!'' haha it was funny. I love our new house. With green tile walls in the bathroom and a nice shower.  And a nice bedroom and kitchen and loft.  And balcony thing.. with hammocks and ping pong and a drum set. It's really nice.
About skype, I think you can do 3 way calls but you have to buy an account. Not sure though. That's still like 3 weeks away though.
Well, I'm gunna send some pics now, Love you guys!


Elder Taylor
The house

This is the view and this is the typical corner store.  They have them everywhere here.

A cool caterpillar we saw and a couple of cool birds.

This was just lunch. (Thursday)  I already ate my soup and popcorn.

This was dinner Thursday.

The the huge hot dog and Thursday as well.

Nov 23 2015

Hey familia!

Another week down here and again, faster than I can imagine! Haha I love it though, never having time to think, that's what makes it fly by. Sounds like it has been a pretty good week for you guys. The building looks great and you got eggs and a dog with a wierd net on it's head. What I wouldn't give to play with my dogs. But I can wait haha. The mission is too short as it is. I can just tell in 17 months, I'm gunna miss it like crazy. The random stuff that happens, the people you meet, the companion.. and the food. Food here basically means rice haha but I love rice. And I love lunch. A big dinner just sounds weird now.
Random story, we were knocking doors on this street and we had an appointment, so we started to leave. As we passed this completely random guy, he yells, DO YOU WANT JUICE? and without missing a beat, my companion yells YES! So the guy goes inside, and my companion looks at me and said, We are going to die Elder Taylor. It was pretty good though. Lemonade. But Ecuador is confused, lemons actually don't exist here. They call limes lemons and lemons lime. So technically it was limeade. But it was still good. Usually they make it with the peel but this one wasn't bitter. It was delicious.
Anyways, we started moving today. Hno Surita is the only guy in the ward with a truck and his truck is in the shop so we paid some random guy on the street to drive us. It was fun. We brought our beds and a few suitcases. We gotta go back later to get the rest. The old owner was a little unhappy because nobody told her we were moving but she'll get over it. She is charging double what is fair anyways.
Don't worry too much about Thanksgiving, we eat with the familia Surita and they are gunna cook us turkey that day! Super Pumped!!
They are a good family. Even if they forget, it won't make a big difference to me. Well got to go. Love you guys


Elder Taylor

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Nov 16 2015

Hola Familia!
Buenas como estáis? haha that's Spanish from Spain. We have an Hermana in our ward that recently returned from Spain, and always talks in vosotros. Basically it is the Spain form for you guys. It is kinda complicated, but ya. She has a little daughter thats like 6 and she talks that way too. It is really funny. Now I understand why Dylan wanted to talk to Ben so bad that one time haha.
Speaking of speaking, we are about a month away from that and they just had transfers and I'm still here! That was honestly the only thing I wanted is to be in Guayaquil city during the holidays. It will be a lot better. We have already had a family offer us their house to call home which is super exciting and mucho mejor. There is somewhat decent internet here in the city, so it'll be a lot better.
Ya I got to change my train of thought because now I'm super excited.
Bueno, last week was a quick and fun week. We had splits again and I stayed here, thank goodness. We had a somewhat successful week, but like always, it was super fun. My companion póints out a car and can tell you make, model year and motor. It is funny and fun at the same time. We also play a game with rocks. You have to kick the rock in between your companion's legs while you are walking. He is kicking my trash but it is fun. I'm getting better haha.
Anyways, we are also planning on moving houses next week. The office is coming this Wednesday to inspect the new house we bought and then the next Monday we can move. I am super excited. It is a third floor house with a couple big windows for air at night. The higher the better at night because there's no other houses blocking the wind.  Also they have a ping pong table so thats good.
I just remembered this, the family that gave us spaghetti and pizza and took us to the black market, the dad is passing a kidney stone. It is 9mm, and here, when this kind of stuff happens people call the missionaries. So we have been visiting him and it is hard to see. It reminds me of the scout camp when dad had kidney stones. Not fun. He can't drink without puking so he has a IV in his room.
Anyways, I can't remember a thing else that happened last week. Oh I guess here is a funny story, I was talking with the Elders Quorum Pres and he is living in the house of an eternal investigator so I always give him crap about how he isn't baptised. I say, in English, why isn't he baptised? And he goes, ''I don't know, I told him it was free!'' It was pretty funny.
Well I love you guys. I'll sent some pics of my weekly adventures, such as the english karaoke...


Elder Taylor

This is a banana split.. but here canned cool whip is 8 dollars, and syrup is 4 dollars. The people absolutely love the missionaries here.
 Also a super cute dog at a members house.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Nov 9 2015

Family...
Well thanks for the Hi from the dogs, tell them hola como estan I guess.. haha well, life here is all good. All good in the hood. haha But seriously it has been another quick week that has just absolutely flown by! I don't know how but it is gone. I love it though, the mission is the best.
 This week was pretty slow didn't do much out of the ordinary. I'll try to go day by day here.. Tuesday was pretty normal, Wednesday we had our zone meeting and then did splits. I left my sector for the first time in like 3 months and it was weird. Most people would think it is easier to go but I like staying so I can lead haha. I went to ward sauces and I was with Elder G. We started right after the meeting so we went to lunch. Elder G is having stomach problems so we had to eat in the office. He ate rice soup, (poor thing) and I ate lasagna! It was super good! After that we went and worked.
Nothing special. Thursday we worked. Friday we had a service project in the morning, we went to a random park and cleaned. Basically we swept and picked up trash. Elder G, he was trying to pull a bag out and goes, oh no, thats bones I'm out! We go over and look, luckily they weren't human but they were dog. It was really sad.
There were two dogs buried in that park that we stumbled upon. It was sad. I also found a cool turtle shell! It is white. I didn't touch it though it is probably full of diseases haha. But for some reason it was in a tree..
Saturday we worked. haha We were teaching this guy at 9:15 we were leaving and he says, I'll give you a ride. He is a less active who served in this mission. We also brought Hno Suleta because they served in the same time. We got in his car and he starts going towards our house. I say, you can let us out here, when suddenly he does a Uturn, and took us to a sushi restaurant. We asked him to get it to go but that didn't happen either. The restaurant was really cool though, owned by an old mission president. He wasn't there but his 3 sons were who are all return missionaries. We ate sushi and it was alright. I don't like sushi. But he insisted on paying. For this one plate we split and with a huge discount he paid 47 dollars!!  Anyways, remember how I said we were leaving at 9:15? Ya we got home at 9:40 ish. This is against mission rules... The return missionaries told our zone leaders about this and we got in trouble yesterday.
Remember that first, this is me. I don't break rules. And second, we were trying to hurry them up! Third, we were only 10 minutes late! Anyways, the zone leaders called us for an EMERGENCY MEETING and came and chewed us out. It was pretty stupid the whole ordeal but I didn't mind. I know the leaders are just doing their job.
Anyways, I do have a picture of us breaking the rules haha
Also, we might be moving houses soon. We might live above some members who have a ping pong table. We will be playing every day if that is the case haha!
Answer number 1: My companion is from Mesa, and he loves Arizona. He is convinced that Arizona is the best state, but that's because he's never lived in Idaho haha.We talk about cars all day. He is a fanatic and I like to learn.  He can look at any car and tell you all about it. We get along great.
Number 2: I don't want to be transferred. I love this ward and these people. My language is fine, I'm like 100 percent confident with my language. It's called the gift of tongues. It might happen next week but I think it'll happen in January after the holidays. It is pretty normal to have 6 months in 1 sector here.
Number 3: I love the food, I love the people, I love the fruit, I love it all.  The best plate here is callled currazgo. Basically rice with steak and green peppers with sauce (like fajita sauce) with french fries and an egg. In a month there will be soo many mangos! I am super excited.

Well I think that is it this week, love you guys


Elder Taylor



Friday, January 8, 2016

Nov. 2 2015

Hey family!
Well, I'm basically out of time. I blame it on the unexpected letter from the new bishop. It was nice though. He told me how you guys are studs. I told his that you were studs as well haha. He is a great guy. Emailing a random missionary he doesn't even know, and writing almost as much as my mom. I can't wait to meet him and the ward. 
My mind is still on the picture, (of Emily's foot) I wish I would have read this first but curiosity killed the video star right? Oh how I miss music haha.
This week was fun. I guess you already know about me singing last night, so thats that. But we did also do other stuff. We took our mission leader out for food. It was fun. We kinda spent 50 dollars on one plate, the place was super expensive. We split it between 4 of us which wasn't much food for us but we were happy. It was basically 2 steaks, 2 pork chops, 2 giant sausages, 2 gianter blood sausages (don't ask), 4 kidneys and 2 intestines. The intestines were disgusting but I tried them for the experience. My comp told me about a time in his last sector when he saw a family making them. The parents were squeezing out the stuff inside and my comp says, ''whats that?'' The little girl yells, ''SH##'!' haha in english and everything
Anyways there was also a funny discussion we had in ward counsel yesterday.. something like this.. Encomtramos una nueva familia. se llama cabesa.. Bishop, Ya tenemos una familia cabesa.. second counselor no eso es la familia cabeza de vaca.. OOHHH! (we found a new family, the familia head.. we already have a family head! No thats the family cow head.. OOHHH) It is a lot funnier in spanish but yeah.Well, I think that was about it.
SMARTIES! That is what I want in my package is a handful of smarties, but like in the rolls of course.
About the picking me up I heard we aren't allowed to do that the other day so I wouldn't worry too much about it. I will be coming back to visit this ward though, they are some of the most loving people ever.
Love you guys
Elder Taylor
The meal with Villavicencio (thats his last name)
The menu, prices.  It was expensive.
The meat.  The yellowish thing is the intestines.

The familia peña gave us spagetti last monday, a huge plate...
Also Friday dinner.. They feed us soo much!!