yeah the goodbyes at Christmas were rough, i was good and didnt shed a tear until you all started cryin then i shed a few ha but it was AWESOME to talk to you all and didnt make anything harder at all. its not gonna be long until mothers day and then next thing ya know it will be christmas again. yeah i called grandma and grandpa it was good i didnt talk to them long but i thought they deserved a call too, they sound awesome. i hope everything is good with them i know i kept them company alot so i hope someone is takin my place. i didnt call anyone else ha your probably thinkin id call morgan but no i want to follow the rules and idk i didnt want to make it harder for her. we played basketball, called, ate and talked at smiths and thats about it it was fun. my baptism was definately an experience ha so first we get there and turn the water on but it wasnt fillin up very fast so the baptism starts and someone went and turned the water off so when we went in for the actual baptism the water didnt even touch my knees.... UGH so we tried standin up anyway but his foot came up anyway 4 times later him sitting on the ground and me kneeling we finally did it. it was a cool experience but not gonna lie kinda embarassing. we are workin with their parents now but we shall see what happens im pretty sure the mom will get baptised but the dad we still arent sure about he will kinda listen to us now but we are still workin. best and worst part, idk honestly best was the baptism forsure ummm worst idk there really wasnt a bad day this week.words of wisdom ha idk just tell him to have fun, put all his trust in the lord and to love what he is doin. really thats all i got besides start studyin the book of mormon and what not. so comin and pickin me up idk if we will be able to do that cuz of school... i guess it depends on when it starts. as soon as you can i want you to sign me up for school ha cuz i know im gonna want to extend my time but if i do i wont get to school for another semester and i will go crazy and i definatly feel like im gonna need to start ASAP haha. i knew elder francis would be a hard worker and i know elder klien is too. they are awesome elders. whats happened with joses fam? i can see elder klein bein all crazy bout winning haha he is like me with that kind of stuff, its kinda funny. we are gonna have to keep in touch with them and their families for ever. ha im glad your card finally came i was kinda worried it wouldnt the mail is kinda crazy. im sooooo excited for jose and i hope the temple will be open. he is sooooooo awesome, tell him i am sooooooo proud of him! here is about the same we are teachin a few families and got a new one recently. there is a 16 year old girl that read 3 chapters of the Book of Mormon the first time we left her with one it was awesome and the rest of her fam which is her mom brother and little sister are doin good too. thats really all thats new here i only have like one pic for you tho sorry... i love you all and cant wait to hear from you again.
LOVE taylor

Baptism for Christmas

yeah hahaha that was crazy about Sister Macintosh! she was like one of your moms friends baptized me, he went to mexico is what she said. i was freakin out hahah so was she and then at the christmas party she was like i wanna take some pics for your mom ha so we did and idk if dad has gotten his letter yet but i think i explained that i got a new comp cuz haha long story but yeah got a new comp his name is elder hainsworth he is from columbia missouri and yeah he has been out 19 months. oh good ole russ yeah i talked to him and what not and we are havin dinner with them! im pretty excited, idk about the whole spirit radiating thing cuz i feel pretty normal ha but yeah it was neat. thats cool you talked to troy, how was he doin i feel like its been YEARS since i talked to him. christmas idk the plans were gonna try and call around one but honestly we dont have a place to call yet. if i have to do something il try and use marshalls phone some how but im super excited. the baptism is at 7 that night so that should be way awesome, whats a better christmas present than that? bringing someone to the gospel and helping them make that first step to making it to heaven with their family.COLE BRASSE that is sooooooo awesome im so proud of him! gosh i wont lie that like brought tears to my eyes thats soooooo awesome!!!!!! well idk about all the good bad stuff ha its been a pretty ok week. i did unexpectedly get a new comp but thats fine ummmm we found this lady and her family that we set dates with and they came to church on sunday. idk its been a crazy week. so it rained pretty good one day and haha i loved it like it reminded me of home sooooo much cuz it was foggy to ha it was great and idk ha i love the heat and stuff but like i really do like the snow and rain to i decided. yeah everything is goin good here. I love you all and miss you a ton!
love taylor

Arizona temple lights are amazing!

hahaha lots of questions!! so idk, about our investigators, it was a crazy thing cuz this week we got dropped by a couple people and one of our investigators said she wasnt sure about gettin baptized on jan 8th cuz of alot of things. That was probably the worst thing that happened this week, but then that same night which was last night, we went over to some new people named jesus and rebecca and they were AWESOME! the spirit was so strong through the lesson and it was so great like wow they are definately ready! I tried to call Dyers once but they didnt answer il try again though. ummm 2 of the 3 Christmas baptisms fell through but we do have one for sure. his name is Josh and his sister is a recent convert and yeah he wasn't quite sure in the beggining and what not but now he is all for it. He had a word of wisdom problem but he has completely stopped. I see elder scherbel cuz they our now in my zone but I dont see Elder Rice or Valentine like at all anymore. I have been to the temple lights 3 times but i still have 4 more haha they are great! After the mission I'm bringin you all and Morgan back for them cuz they are beautiful and the spirit there is sooo strong! oh yeah! One thing from the temple lights. I was talkin to this girl and well i wasnt quite sure cuz she had a mohawk and yeah i shouldnt judge but i didnt think she would talk to me but, she did and she had alot of questions and so i answered them. Alot were about the temple and stuff, but i had a book of mormon with me and she said "so where can i get one of those?" and i said "well we can go get one right over here" and then another missionary actually came over and gave me one and she asked some more questions and she brought up baptism and i explained it and what not and how it was important to get baptized by the proper authority. She then said that she feels like what i have been tellin her is true and that she will read and stuff. ha! Then the crazy thing happens, she says if i find out this is true can you baptize me? ha i was shocked i wont lie! i said that i probably could ha and i put my name in the Book of mormon and told her the missionaries she had could get a hold of me at that point, so yeah cool thing that happened! knockin doors wasn't bad we just knocked a apartment complex cuz we had a referal but no apt. # so we were like what the heck and started knockin and we found them and they didnt want us so yeah haha. The weather hasnt been bad here actually pretty nice. I did get your packages they are awesome thank you! We put up the tree and put my presents under and the 12 days pretty clever haha with the scriptures. The food is great, but yes i have had some interesting stuff but it was good so ehhhh, oh well lol im still alive! The language isnt bad but its still rough i cant memorize words to save my life so its tough but im not gettin down on myself. thanks for the address I'm glad your still goin to the temple thats awesome, i know it may be hard but your getting so many blessings for doing it! i gotta run but I'll put some pics on here. love you all!!!
taylor

Look who I ran into @ the temple!! Taylor Smith
Christmas in Arizona

I cant belive that Vaughndavid would get married as soon as i leave! Im happy for him, though! I need some pics of this girl tho, what the heck he can't do that without my approval! Elder Scherbel would say that he is such a "tard" Ha! I love that kid. That's soooo funny elder klein can't cook lol! He is a goof! Man I miss those guys. I hope your takin care of them. They are awesome! I love how they still come over and hang out. Thats funny that KaLee is cuttin hair still she is awesome! I'm glad Morgan came over ha the more the better lol. Thats cool you talked to Scott i was actually gonna have you send me his address and stuff cuz ummm yeah im gonna write him a letter. The 40$ I had to buy a sweater and some stuff and i didnt have the money for it on the other card. I havn't heard where Jose is goin yet!!! ugggghhhhh! I'm goin crazy! You can send my stuff straight to the house though. I don't need any blankets or anything I'm fine at night and what not I was just gettin chilly when we were ridin and yes I know I am a baby haha. I don't need a heavy coat either. So not much happened this week, we do have 3 baptisms set for Christmas day sooo hopefully those will stay. I'm super excited ummm other than that nothin else. Ii did have a mom and a daughter yellin they loved me out their car window as they veeeeerrry slowly drove by and they were blowin kisses too it was rather hilarious. Well I'll send some pics. I love you all sooo much and miss ya, let me know if I can do anything for you! love taylor

A baptism, Thanksgiving and baseball!

I LOVED your package thank you ha i totally thought of hunting cuz thats all the things we usually get when we go =) it was awesome! Teaching is goin ok its slowin down people arent progressing. Aa for allowances, we get 115 a month for everything. Tell mom to make the elders bread alot it saves us haha! We ride our bikes everywhere ha its crazy, i love it! So baptisms, I did have one that went through. His name was JOSE haha! Awesome, I know, but all the others fell through cuz of people goin to mexico for holidays... no exciting stories this week but il definately let ya know if i have one. DAD, IM SOOOOOOO JEALOUS!! Canada would be soooooooo fun. You will definately have to tell me how it goes! well cant wait to hear your stories. As for music, i listen off the speakers and we have a cd player so you can send cds if you want ummm morgan did send me the ipod ha and then i sent it back so she could put some more music on it. thanksgiving was good but weird not being home and what not. well we went to Lupes house who is a recent convert for lunch and then we went and hit some baseballs =) that was great and i have pictures haha we ate dinner with the morans and i have a pic of all their boys and stuff. Yes, i write in my journal everyday, i never really promised dad that I would but I kinda promised him in my heart I guess haha he said he wrote every single day and thats what I am doing too! we survived the transfer also ha Elder Paredes is the new district leader too! we eat great ha! Dinner with members every night. ha I make pancakes and all sorts for breakfast and lunch im doin good ha! thats funny that one of the morans added you. bro morans name is franscisco but i doubt it was him it was probably one of his sons, franky jeff or andy. well I'll add some pics for you all haha hope you enjoy. You'll see my buzz, I love it, that way I don't have helmet hair after riding! I love you all sooooo much and cant wait to hear from you again.

love taylor

I've already forgotten snow!

so i get to email today and do our shopppin and stuff but then we go back out later. ummm we are going to the Morans house which is sweet i love it there, that would be sweet if E' Klein and francis went with you to grandma's too. thats soooooo crazy Jose's papers are in im sooooo excited for him!!! you had his fam over for dinner? thats awesome. i love that you talk with pat and dale ha they are super awesome i miss seein them too. thats so crazy that the snow is that bad like i dont even remember what snow is like anymore hahaha. lol yeah bub and them told me they were gonna come over in their outfits so i already knew lol they are crazy and havnt changed a bit i remember doing all sorts of crazy things like that! ok soooo teachin has been off and on people are bein weird all of a sudden but we find a few here and there. best and worst day honestly i have nooooo idea! there was a day that i was with a couple other elders that sucked cuz we had one elder that was a month older than me in the mission and so he thought he ran the place ugh it was sooo annoying and we got NOTHING done that day it was a joke. best day wasnt really a full day it was more just the 2nd half of the day but we went out and talked to a ton of people and we ended up talkin to a memeber on the street and like idk i shared a story with her and stuff and she kinda started cryin and said that she really needed to hear that and some other stuff and yeah that made me feel super good and the rest of the night was way awesome too. well transfers will be next tuesday but i dont think i will be transfered and neither will elder paredes. ummm christmas i dont really need anything. if you want to all like pitch in and put some money on my card i kinda wanna get a guitar and start practicing again so you could send me my books ummmm no were really all good here umm investigators are good too. soooooo the language.... well it improves everyday but its still rough i wont lie, but its ok ha im gettin there. running we went this morning but hadnt been in a while cuz of different reasons but yeah. thanksgiving is gonna be weird but oh well im doin the right thing, il be gettin up at 630 and it wont be to go huntin this year ha. i miss you all sooooooooo much and i love ya with all my heart i pray for you every day! oh yeah i have a baptism saturday... his name is JOSE! talk to ya next week =)
love taylor

here are some of the Moran family!!

New Pictures!

Well, this picture is taken at 6:30 am, I'm just fixin some pancakes for breakfast! It's either that or cereal! So, its a bummer that i cant go back and forth with emails anymore but its fine like yeah its tough but oh well after 2 years im not gonna have to worry about it. i will talk to you all everyday and when im at utah state i will come home every weekend! i have finally figured out how much you all mean to me.

man thats no good about the huntin! what the heck! where are all the ducks? so some hopefully good news our stake mission leader is into elk hunting and i got to talkin to him and he was sayin how i should come back after the mission and hunt and he would come to IF and duck hunt, so im pretty excited about that. The haircut went fine ha there was no after pic cuz i was in a hurry and had to shower and leave haha IDK whats goin on on thanks giving but i email on tuesday but i get like the actual Pday on thursday. so yeah thats really all thats goin on ha everythings good and im hangin in there ha. i miss you a ton and love you a bunch cant wait til the day i get back and i can shoot somethin with my buddy again!

So, i figured you guys were ready for some pics! haha yeah my lil gecko was fun. the branch served us a "greenie" breakfast. The breakfast was actually good ha didnt taste any different then normal food. It was great! I see Elder (Addison) Rice, from IF, here once in a while! That's pretty cool. This is a picture of our hike with me, my companion Elder Paderes, and the reservation elders, Elder McCole and Elder Davis. we hiked whats called camel back mountain ha which was more of a hill compared to the mountains im used to like deer and elk huntin in haha but it was fun. yeah the cockroaches are nasty ha not a ton but there are some yeah ha i have takin my boy scout days back up and use matches and mesquito repelent to torch them hahaha its pretty funny.the memebers we live with are fine ha we dont really talk to them much cuz we are always out and about but they are good when we see them. well there really arent any fun stories this week ha i did kill some gophers in a guys garden for him though which was fun cuz well you know me. baptism dates UUUUGGGH we were supposed to have one this saturday with hector but his mom cant make it and then he is goin to mexico for a while so he cant until the 8th of january. we have one next week with a boy named jose who is 18 ha and then lets see a lady named marta who is 53 and she has a smoking problem but we set a date for the 8th of january too. the kids mom rodrigo and edgar said no for now but she said she wants us to teach her why its so important and why we want to baptize them so bad. i havnt seen any sites really ha ummm we only get to go to the temple once a transfer so i wont go again until next transfer.i see elder valentine right now hahaha i see him tuesdays cuz he emails here at the library too. funniest thing that happened bahhahahahha ok it was the other night when we were at the moran families house and someone farted and like it stunk so i was like ohhhh come on andy who is one of thier boys and he was like it wasnt me and then his mom was sayin somethin and i heard her say something about ears being hot and so i like reached up and felt my ears but she said who ever touches their ears and they are hot thats who did it andi was the only one to touch my ears hahahhahaha it was great but ummmm worste was probably when we found out we couldnt baptize the boys. no there are spanish wards too but we are in a branch. oh man do i eat enough they feed us a TON! yeah i feel good ha for the most part. the weather is AWESOME does get kinda chilly at night tho ha like 50s maybe. on pdays we clean shop and write letters. sometimes we go do something but the day goes by way to fast haha.i bought a bike from a missionary. i get to see scherbel every so often but not much. thats soooooo crazy about kyliegh ha next time she sees us she better stop or honk or somethin hahah we run at westwood like every morning from about 6 to 7 715ish. but yeah everything is good here hope everything is good there love you all!!!
taylor

Families are so important!

So i will just kinda give you a run down. Well, Monday morning was pretty crazy last week cuz well i cut my own hair. Wow! Sketchy huh? ha! I never in my life thought that i would ever cut my own hair like that. I barely let anyone else cut it! So nothin really cool or crazy happened most the week. Just same old stuff lol! Funny story tho, we were riding down the street on our way home for lunch and there was a guy walking with a bag and so well we're supposed to talk to everyone so i stopped and asked, "Hey can we help you with anything today?" he turns, looks at me and then sticks his hand in my face and flips me off... Wow haha! I wasn't quite sure what to say so i was getting ready to ride away and he like starts yellin at me and gettin in my face droppin the f bomb at me like idk 20 times or more and says a ton of stuff! I thought he was gonna hit me. It was crazy! I don't understand how people can hate us sooooo much I mean really, come on, we are young boys that give up 2 years of our life to help people and share an awesome message. Especially this guy I didn't even say anything about the church, I asked if he wanted some help like come on! haha Some people in this world are ridiculous. Other than that nothin else crazy happened. We have 6 baptismal dates which is super awesome! so we just gotta wait and see if they hold up. Most of them seem pretty good so I'm excited. The kids we are teaching are doin good. They actually are asking their parents if they can be baptized on the 27th of this month. The parents still aren't interested so that is a challenge. So we don't teach the pitcher anymore cuz he moved which is a total bummer but hopefully I'll get to teach him later on. haha to tell you all the people i meet would be absolutely impossible ha I talk to soooooooo many people everyday. The Moran family to be honest, idk why i like them so much they just have helped me out alot ha they help me with my spanish too they are just awesome! yeah i got dads letter tell him thanks. It helped sooooo much! Spanish members are like the only people that feed us and the food is great except they feed you as much as they would feed a family of 12!! It's absolutely ridiculous! ha its a good thing we run and are on bikes. I didn't bear my testimony on Sunday cuz there was a line the whole time but i wanted too. The library is a ways away so we ride with the reservation elders who one of them got here the same day i did and he is from victor Idaho and knows Stuart Marshall. his name is Elder Davis. I learn alot from my trainer, he is pretty good yeah he helps me with the language and its slowly comin. oh I see Addison, i actually saw him this morning at the temple. I got to do endowments for the first time today here it was so awesome. That's so awesome Stuart is doin that for Jose man he is such a great guy! I'm so excited for Jose. I'm SOOO glad you go to the temple every week. Is dad going? If not get him going. I also want you to know that I pray for you all everyday and I put your name on the prayer role at the temple today and I will every time I go. I want you all to know I have a testimony of what I am doing. I know that this is the true church and that only through Jesus Christ and his atonement can we go to the celestial kingdom. I know that in the temple we can be sealed together forever as families by the priesthood. I have finally have found out and know that families are SOOOOO important and that everyone needs to spend more time with theirs. I want you all to know that I love you soooooo much and I miss you. I hope everything goes well this week!

Love, Taylor

Workin' hard!

the weather here is awesome its 80s usually ha and i love it but it makes me think about the whole summer and what not. im working as hard as i possibly can, everynight i come home and im soooo tired i lay down and im asleep. ha the other night i fell asleep kneeling down during my prayer. things are really good here this is strengthening us all and our relationships. like idk im so glad im building those bonds. so families were teaching well we are teaching 2 girls one is 10 and 14 but there mom is less active and were tryin to activate her and then baptize the girls and they are very slowly comin along. were teaching a little boy name rodrigo who is 12 a boy named edger who is 10 and a boy named hector who is 10 too and we are hopefully going to set a date with them tomorow. ummm we are teachin a guy named alberto who we set a date for the 27th with sunday night so things are pretty good we dont really knock doors we usually just work referals and street contacts no the kids arent related and none of the parents are members but the kids love it and want to be a part of it. they come to church every sunday and know alot. alberto is 25 i think and he has some kids but they live with his mom and he works here and she lives in phoenix. im glad klein and them are havin success. on halloween we did what we do every other day haha contact and teach people lol but i actually saw addison yesterday.hahaha yeah its fine bub has my email i can write back but it takes for ever to get there and what not. i miss him and i got his letter, he is such a good kid and im proud of him. I don't have much time so i want you all to know i love you and that this is an important work. i miss you all sooo much. again i love you! have a good week and be safe!

Love, Taylor

Love the weather and the people!

Dear Fam,

well its warm here ha 70s 80s and I love it and i love the people! my favorite family was baptized a month or so ago. the moran family ha they are sooo awsome I'll send some pictures probably next week cuz i havnt taken many cuz we are super busy. The moran fam is hispanic and they speak very little english so i have to talk in spanish haha they have 5 children, 2 little girls and 3 boys but i have only met 2 of the boys. we are teaching alot of people thats what keeps me busy we have appointments all day. I help when I know what's going on hahaha! i will get it. gosh like idk sometimes its soo hard tho cuz like im sittin there and i have no clue what anyone is saying. It's going good, though, I have a lot of help from the Lord. im in the papago? area haha idk how to spell. idk the address, but we live with the whites so look them up in the phone book on heritage lane ha its just a basement with a kitchen bathroom and bedroom. it is super close to West wood highschool ha we go run on their track every day. but yeah idk if it will help but there is a pool in their backyard that kills me everyday haha not bein able to hop in! i like my comp he is funny! he is from provo utah but originally from ecuador.

so yeah the pitcher like i dont really understand much but he is from the dominican republic pitches for the cubs and he is huge. ha he is probably 6'3" totally chill. idk if i ever told you this but i knew that there was someone that i was supposed to teach and as soon as i met him i had a feeling i had to figure out how to teach him but idk how im gonna do it yet ha. well im not gonna do it anyway the lord will but yeah ha. well we have other investigators with 3 set dates for baptism buuut they weren't at church sunday so idk how its gonna work out yet. its crazy

thanks for the greeny package ha where are all the ties comin from? we go to the mesa grande building ummm but there isnt much to tell really.

i cannot believe that e klien and francis were at our house... hahahha yeah 4 square was fun man i love those guys. but yeah it gets pretty competetive and my skate shoes oh goodness it was hard to do much in those! like wow i am so glad they went to IF cuz i would trust them with anyone i know and i know that they are supposed to teach joses family so definately pray that their hearts will be opened.

my spanish is probably about the same as elder francis's. elder klien is amazing!

so yeah how is everything there?

Well, I'm out of time. idk i just had to tell you all sorry for not being better. I just havn't been the brother or son i wanted to be. I love you all soooo much and I miss you a ton. Tell everyone I love them and I hope that everything is good. I pray for you all everyday. I hope you can all feel them!

Love,
Taylor

I made it to Arizona and things are great!

sooooooo here is the run down hahaha its been an interesting couple days. so i got on the plane and it was kinda hectic cuz well i didnt know how to feel ha i was super excited to finally get out in the field but it was super hard to leave all my friends at the mtc. also it was hard sayin bye to everyone on the phone like wow. anyway i hopped on the plane and i was sitting next to a lady that wasnt a member and another missionary that was in my district from the mtc was on the other side of me anyway we got talkin and it was just a normal conversation and then she asked like what we were doin. oh boy were we excited cuz we were told not to like try and teach people and contact them and what not in the airport unless they asked or you felt directed to do so. well we explained what a missionary does and all that sort of stuff and she was really impressed that we would do that she said that she had seen missionaries before but never really talked to them and what not. so we told her a little more about the church and stuff and she said that she tried to see the mormon tabernacle choir sing once but it fell through cuz she thought their music was beautiful so i took that oppurtunity to give her a pass along card for the church website and told her that she can listen and buy music from them on there. she then asked if we helped poor people and like victims of natural disasters and what not. i told her all about like bishops store house and fast offerings and all that kind of stuff and how memebers house people that need it and she was really impressed and like she said that she was gonna find a church house and go this sunday and just see a little more of what we are about and stuff! gosh i was soooooooo excited like it was soo amazing. so we get off the plane and im headed to get my luggage and i start walking out and there is elder DOUG VALENTINE wow it was sooooo awesome to see someone i knew and stuff it felt so great. also an elder from my zone at the mtc his mom was at the airport with a bag of goodies for me and a couple other elders that were in my district it was awesome. we went to the mission home and had lunch and some meetings and stuff and boy was i tired we got up a little before 4 that morning so i was tryin to stay awake all day but anyway after our meeting we got put with some elders and we went on exchanges aand we went and taught some lessons and what not they showed me thier apartment and how they did everything. but back to the lessons we taught 2 and we show up to the first one and i go in thinkin ok maybe i can help some and what not il be able to understand a little... yeah no. haha everything they said sounded like absolute gibberish like i could pick out a word or two here or there but not very often. i wont lie it was very discouraging but just made me want to be better. so after all the lessons and what not we went back to their apartment where i stayed until the next morning when we went back to the mission home for more meetings and what not and i got to meet my companion. his name is elder paredes and he is originally from ecuador so he speaks spanish fluently but he lived in provo for 10 years so he knows all english too. he is super awesome. yesterday we went and contacted people and what not and we are actually teaching a pitcher from the CUBS!!! how sweet is that?!?!? so yeah we talked to him and a few other people. we talked to a guy that was higher than the airplane i came in on and all he could really say was God bless. it was kinda funny, but we set up an appointment anyway. but yeah idk thats really all that has happened. we live with members and i am on a bike which i love and im super excited for. yeah thats all thats happened so far. the weather has been crazy ha it rains then its sunny, its totally remindin me of idaho ha but what ever im excited to be here haha out of the mtc. i gotta alot to work on but it will come. thats all i got for ya ha.
love taylor

NEW ADDRESS!!!

Elder Taylor Stosich
Arizona Mesa Mission
6265 N. 82nd St.
Scottsdale, AZ 85250

Last E-mail from the MTC

So everyone, this is my last email from the mtc!! I'm so excited to get to the field but at the same time really nervous. So I decided that I would throw in something with importance cuz, well, as a missionary I'm told to bring everyone closer to Christ. During my first year of varsity baseball we were in the game to put us into state and we were playing IF, our rivals. We were down one, 2 outs with guys on 1st and 2nd and I was up to bat. I battled til it was full count. Then I finally got a hold of one and it was a line drive the 2nd baseman who jumped up and barely snagged it! I felt like it was the end of the world and I won't lie, I cried. Not because I felt bad for me, but because I let down the seniors that were on the team, Wally and B-nap and all them. I cried to them and said I was sooooo sorry and they said something that has really stuck out to me lately. They asked me if I tried my hardest and if I had prepared before hand. I answered, yes, of course to both questinos and then they said that that was all that they asked of us and they wouldn't have had anyone else in my position. I feel like that is how Christ is and that's what he would say to us, to prepare and try our hardest and do your best. So remember that as long as we do that, He will do the rest if we let him and that he loves us a ton!
Elder Stosich

I loved the temple today!

I loved the temple today! i got the names and package thank you. i did all the names in initiatory today and next week we are doin the endowments. I listened to the blessing i love it. it gives me strength, so do your prayers so thank you. ummm yeah the shoes are awesome thank you! yeah i actually have 2 new companions and i sent pics but its elder francis and elder klein the ones goin to idaho. its super awesome i love them. the drink was great ha everyone was super excited. im so excited to get to arizona the language is still slow... well i think it is but i know that i know more than i think i do if that makes sense. i am pretty hard on myself well you know how i am so yeah i am not expectin much but i can share my testimony and i will share that with everyone i see. not much else i can do. ha i sent the pics today so they should get there soon. i havnt done the investigator thing yet. yeah i heard about greg thats crazy i put him on the prayer roll at the temple... haha the funniest thing that has happened to me was this week was that i was sooooooooo tired yesterday morning we had gym first thing and me and another elder in my district took our blankets in the gym and went back to sleep on the ground it was hilarous. Well, I have to go! I love you soooooooo much and i pray for you all everyday. i miss you all soooo much like its not even funny im soooooo sorry i didnt spend more time with you.... thank you for everything. i hope you heard elder hollands talk cuz thats how i feel. i love you soo much!
taylor

Things I miss already - my FAN!

Hey Everyone! its soooooooooo hot without my fan its kickin my butt but oh well! Well we get up and have personal study at 7 then breakfast at 815 and a little bit of comp at about 9 and temple starts at 10 so we go at about 930. Yes, we get to go to the temple every Wednesday so if you send me some names we can do the initatory and endowments! I love it! The language is coming slowly. We have speak your language day on Saturday but we can't go all day yet. The classes that we take aren't set classes. They just teach you language and the things they feel like you still need to study from the gospel. My back is fine its the same thing as it usually is plus my hip flexor but they did this thing called a myofascial release and my hip is better but back is normal i guess. i didnt want you freakin and i didnt know they would send that stuff home. Sorry. And no, it isn't something I can do on my own!! It was painful!! Ask Matt, he probably knows that it is. He didn't say much about the back pain, just that about all I can do is stretch good. I'll be careful though. My hip i dont even know it just started killin and poppin in and out of place so i went in and yeah. ummm the pic was a joke i was takin my tie off and my collar popped and someone tossed me their glasses and so i put them on and said what the heck il take a pic So dad, did you go hunting with Uncle Vaughndavid? g-ma adeana said no luck tho thats a bummer! im doin pretty good. ha the language is pretty tough tho I know it will come but it is so frustrating! I got your letters i loved them!!! keep sending pics hahah yeah i have noticed mom's letters and the spanish es muey bueno. Well, I'm almost out of time! I LOVE YOU ALL SOOOOOOOO much gosh and i miss ya a ton im glad morgan comes and hangs out with you. love you talk to ya next week es muey bueno. i will talk to you next week. Love, Taylor

I love the temple!

Everything is pretty normal here same old thing everyday. I did teach a mock lesson to an investigator in all spanish ha. I had to use some notes but it was way good for our first one it was about 45 minutes long. It wasnt a real investigator haha they come in and volunteer but yes haha i was with my COMPANION that is kind of a requirment for the next 2 years haha he asked normal questions about like the word of wisdom and stuff and even tho he was a fake investigator we asked him to quit smoking and get baptized and he said yes it was way good it was the 2nd lesson about el plan de salvacion but yeah it makes me suuuuuuuper excited to get in the field. Spanish is comin ok i mean its hard but its comin but the mtc is fine im happy. My favorite part is goin outside for gym time hahah and playin 4 squaure and class is the worst cuz you sit there for ever. We wake up class, breakfast, class, gym, class and study through out the day ha and wednesdays we go to the temple its great so if ya wanna send names for initiatory or endowments we can do them. I LOVE the temple it is soooooo great! Elder Francis hasnt left he is in my district he is spanish speaking and yes they all leave when i do. The packages are awesome ha not squished at all fell free to send them as often as you want haha we all love them. yeah i am workin out and idk about weight i will weigh and let ya know next time. Its not a teacher it is an elder that is here right now that was at Utah state before here. no i havnt got the pics yet?!?! i cant wait! wow tell jose that is awesome about his patriarchal blessing!! I'm so excited for jenny to be getting married in the temple!!! that is sooooo great for their fam. you need to get me their address so i can write them a letter. Tell dad he should send me his mission journals i would love to read them if its ok with him. Glad everything is good there. Elder Neely is pretty cool. Another big thing and its ok if you cant but ummm i need some like real like running/basketball/soccer shoes i almost broke my ankle playin soccer the other day. I didnt realize how much soccer i would be playin. but its fine if not. oh yeah ummm send "In the hollow of thy hand" sheet music and words and what not to me we are singin it in sacrament meeting. if you have the one with the spanish that would be awesome! I miss all of you. I love you! Dont forget to ask dad about the journals!

love you all
taylor

Care packages!

hahaha ok I won't open anything unless it says "I love you, from MOM" in case of a virus. I'm pretty good. Yeah every day it fluxuates and its good somedays and super boring other days. ummm I feel fine. Everythings pretty good i keep makin friends here soo im going to let ya know what classes and teachers i want at utah state cuz I met a guy here that was in admissions and stuff and knows all the good teachers and classes. The package was awesome buuuuut i was hopin my glasses were in there cuz i have been gettin bad head aches cuz of readin and stuff. I want a baseball cap either that black one i was wearin before i left or a new one haha all my others are trashed ha! ummm we always like food, I do need more stamps I've been writin alot of letters believe it or not. Ya, it is ok if you send those letters but i don't have much time to read them. Ya, Oct. 18, thats when i go! im so excited cuz when i think about it its pretty close cuz im gettin close to half way but it still seems like forever if that makes sense. I'm super anxious to get there but i still have a long way to go to know enough language to be able to go haha. Tyler left today but i got to see him 4 times while he was here. im glad you guys are readin the book of mormon... I know that if you have questions and that if you pray and read the book of mormon you will recieve an answer, so definately remember that. I thought the frog in the house was pretty funny and there is a letter in the mail. I gotta run tho so i can email grandma and gramps keep up the packages and letters i love gettin all the letters from everyone.
Love Taylor

Share your testimony!

FAMILY
yeah im gettin dear elders ha but that is soooooo crazy he is only 65% in weight the kid is a tank for sure. ummmm you should send that black hat and a sweatshirt we go to gym in the mornings and it gets super chilly ummm you should definately make me some of those return address things cuz writin that over and over gets old especially cuz it takes half the envelope to write it hahaha. sooo i love the dear elders its nice to have somethin to read everynight it definately makes the day go better when i know that i am gonna have one. i can email all family. so im gonna try and write a new person in the family every week cuz i cant answer everyones letters.... so sorry i know you guys understand. tell Kalee im so proud of her for the decisions she has been making she is a great girl. tell madi to share that testimony with everyone it will bless her life even if she cries. i know that it has blessed my life even sharing my testimony with just all these missionaries. im so glad that i was blessed with such a great family. keep up the good work i love you all and you are in my prayers keep up all the letters and dear elders. feel free to send me candy gatorade and some dew or dr pepper all my district wants it haha. love you!!!!!!
Taylor

The run down!

Dear Fam,

Well first KaLee, I can't believe that you wrecked the Durango but I'm super glad you're OK. I know the Lord answers prayers cuz every time I pray I ask that my family is kept safe. Remember, you ARE a great kid.

Well, my companion is from Alma, Arkansas. Umm I don't remember where Stone is going but Stone has been here for 3 or 4 weeks already and Neely came in the same time as me. Holland's devotional was on the importance of missionary work.


Ha Yes I'm takin pics, and we have gym everyday and yeah kickball and volleyball and 4square. I excercise every night with Elder Scherbel who is from Star Valley. He is legit. Ha, the girls can write him if they want or they can write Elder Francis who is cool too and he is going to IF ha so you gotta feed him. I eat meals at 8, 1 and 6 so it's not bad. I can only write on P-days even if it's a birthday, at least here. So yeah give Camden a hug and what not for me. So you should make me some of those sticker things for the return address ha it would save a lot of time but yeah I gotta run, can't wait to hear back.
Here I am mailin' my 1st letter!


Here is the District and the cafeteria lunch line :)
Love your son and big Bro,
Elder Stosich

The Lord Answers Prayers!

its super crazy that Kalee and Madeline got in a wreck, all i have to say about that is the Lord answers prayers.

thanks for all the mail i love gettin it but i can only write on wednesdays and sometimes monday morning.Soooo yeah you all want to know how this is going haha well its pretty good the days are kinda long but its ok. ummm the food is good but i havnt gained yet. spanish is comin super slow but its comin and thats what matters. i am no good at this writin stuff so sorry my letters suck. im so glad all my friends came out to the house thats soo awesome. i hope you got my letter? i have seen tyler like 3 times.

so cool thing Elder Holland came and spoke to us at our devotional yesterday it was soooooo awesome! i gotta run cuz im writin while my laundry was goin so yeah. i want all of you to know i love you and i pray for you guys every day too. also im so glad for all your testimonies and love getting the letters all the time keep it up it makes the days a little better knowing whats goin on at home. be careful with the horse haha no gettin stepped on.

Love taylor

My first week in the MTC!

Dear Family,

First, I wanna thank you guys for all the letters and what not, it was super awesome to hear your testimonies. Second, I want you all to know I love you. Ha, now I will tell you about it here. No, mom, I didn't just unpack, I went to my room, dropped off my luggage and went to the classroom to meet my district and companion. My companion's name is Elder Neely. It's cafeteria style and yes, I have choices haha. I did see Tyler and also Ryan Stone is in my Zone so I see him ever day. I sleep fine. It's not too bad. Yes, they had sheets. I'm gonna need my patriarchal blessing. Tell Jose, Keg & Bub thanks for the letters they were great!

Yo se' que esta iglesia es verdadera. Yo se' que Jesu Cristo nos ama y vive. Yo se' que por media Jesu Cristo podemos Ser limpios de pecado y volver a vivir can nuesto padre celestial. Yo se' que Jesu Cristo es nuestro Redemtor y hermano. Yo se' que Dios es mi padre y restauro' su evangelio a trave's de Jose' Smith. Yo se'quel el evangelio es verdadera. En el nombre Jesu Cristo Amen.

You can have Jose come out and translate that for you. Ha! That way he has to come out once and awhile. I got stuff to do so I'll email you on Wednesday.

Taylor