Baptisms!!

Wow crazy email! So Patrick was telling me about the dinner and he said it was really awesome. He thinks very highly of Scott and Kari. He talked a lot about how it was good to see how a Mormon home should be and he mentioned multiple times about how good of parents they are and about how good her cooking is. He showed me a few pictures too! one of which Avery did not look very happy at all. It was really cool to have that work out though. I hope that he did strengthen their testimonies, he definitely does that to people and has definitely done that for me. he did mention that he wants to come out for conference so I said he should go with you guys and he said that would be great so we will see what happens with that. I will talk to him again later this week. and yes, if I am not still here for the baptism I will be able to attend.
That is really cool that the Panokes were at church! I cant believe that! that is really cool that they did that. they are really nice people. she would always feed us, we had a lot of fun there. they are definitely very energetic people, they are awesome. I asked her to feed us one more time before I left and we went over and she fed us spam sushi stuff and it was pretty good I guess. it was a stretch for me. I have actually had salmon a lot out here and I think I actually kind of like it now so I am sure that will be a surprise to you. yes there was a bike stealing incident but I didn't get anything stolen so don't worry about that. it was the other missionaries that got them stolen. I will tell the rest of the story when I get back. haha. I am sure they will be at my homecoming and wedding and everything they definitely would.
yes I did get the package. thanks so much for it and for the money! that was too nice. I really appreciate it. as for the missionary report letter deal, I think you can probably stop worrying about that. I pretty much communicate with all the friends I want to so that thing isn't really necessary. so you don't have to worry about sending it to me anymore. thanks for sending it so far though. and I am glad to hear the package got home safely. and quickly I guess. a member here gave us those books so I figured dad would like it.
Anyway, yes the baptism went very well! she was very ready to meet with the missionaries so it was pretty easy for us! the first time we met with her we said she could get baptized august 19th and she was like ok ill think about it, not too committed so we told her to pray about it and stuff and she said that like the next morning she woke up and was thinking about it and really felt that it was true so she just stuck with august 19th and never looked back. it was really cool. and I get to confirm her this Sunday so that's exciting.
Anyway, its all going pretty well. Still learning a ton, like you said. and its going really fast. I am really enjoying it though. our roommates are the french missionaries(in the picture). One of them is from Belgium, one from Utah, and I have been having a lot of fun with them lately.  I have been reading like the end of 3 Nephi and its been really awesome I have really enjoyed that part of the book of Mormon a lot.
I hope that you have a great week! love you!
Taylor

Transfers, 6 months out and doing GREAT

Yes today was transfers. The saddest one yet. Elder Wells got transferred to go be a zone leader in college park and I was really sad to see him go. it really feels like 2 days ago that we got put together. it was a really great transfer and i hope that i can have better ones in the future but i am not too sure if that is possible. I am pretty sad but i will be ok. i was sad when elder Goodman left my district in capitol hill but i got over it so i am sure i will get over this eventually. He is a really great guy though, i definitely hope to stay in contact with him after the mission. My new companion is Elder Nisson. Not like the car brand, its pronounced n-eye-son. He has been out for like 18 months, from st George, he is older too, like 24. I have heard mixed things about him though so i am kind of worried. don't forget to pray for me the next 6 weeks. he has some health problems because of a car crash a few years ago so he takes medication that supposedly makes him tired so hopefully he can get up in the mornings. i hear hes good with the members though so that should be good. it isn't going to be too bad. probably just a little harder than my other companions. i have been very lucky so far. don't worry about the mail though, i am definitely still here and i knew i would be so i didn't say anything about the mail.
the zone conferences are good. they are very long. from 9 to like 3 but we do a lot of different things so it goes fast. we learn a lot though its good. they treat us well. as far as i know they just have members from a ward feed us, im not sure who pays for it or anything.
we do have the opportunity to go to all the firesides and stuff at the visitors center but we have to take a less active, investigator or recent convert and unfortunately they have all canceled on us every time. so i haven't been yet. some day though.
I am glad you liked the pictures. i am surprised you said i look skinny that's kind of funny. we get fed every night really well but for some reason i haven't put any weight back on after i lost it in capitol hill. i got fat at Utah state and lost it in capitol hill but it hasn't come back yet surprisingly.
Last night we saw our golden investigator, Patrick, again. he is so awesome. he likes to see us at the visitors center so we went there and had the sisters teach him the plan of salvation. and we brought a member with us so he was a little surprised that there was 5 of us there just for him but the funny thing was that pretty much he ended up teaching us. he is so crazy. he said that since he picked up the book of Mormon he has completely changed. he said that he has even lost 50 pounds. he is like the definition of how people should react to the book of Mormon and the gospel but unfortunately not very many people get it like he does. he was supposed to be baptized august 5th but he said he has a friend that he wants to be there and cant come till September so now he is praying and pondering about what is more important. i really hope he gets baptized in august because chances are that i will not be here in September. oh well though. its not about me. he is a really great guy though i am excited to keep working with him and learning from him. We should  baptize at least one person this transfer. Kiros. the part member. he is planning on august 11 for sure. also another investigator i may have mentioned, Abraham, he is planning on august but he has some health issues and stuff so we will have to see what happens there.
its going well though, i am learning tons and trying to learn tons more. i never ever thought it would happen but i am enjoying reading and learning now so yes the mission is doing what its supposed to do.

And lastly my favorite talk of late is The power of covenants by D. Todd Christofferson. He has some good talks. Hopefully you can read it.Thanks for everything and i hope you have a great week! Love you!
Taylor

Mission Update

So this last week has probably been the best week of the last six months. By the way can you believe today is my 6 month mark? So last Wednesday was awesome. President decided that it would probably be a waste to go out and proselyte on the 4th of July so he gave us a full p day! and we were also given permission or actually suggested to not wear proselyting clothes on that day. So we went to the ward pancake breakfast in the morning and then went down to the national mall for the big celebration. We went down and the mall was packed with people and tons of little things to do and there were two concerts that we could go to.  It was really a relaxed day and a lot of fun. We went down to this army jazz concert and sat there with 6 other elders and we played cards and just relaxed for a little while waiting for the fireworks to begin. We were told to be home no later than 10:30 and the fireworks were supposed to start at like 9 or something and there were thousands of people on the mall so we decided to move off the mall pretty much onto the White house lawn and watch from there cause it was closer to the metro. We celebrated the 4th on the mall and by the White house in DC.  No other mission in the world was doing that right then it was pretty fun.  It was a little tough to get back into it on Thursday but it was ok after that.
Then on Saturday night was when we had a real miracle. We were just getting home for the night when the visitors center called us and said that a guy had just come in that wants to be baptized and he lives in our area. We were surprised and went over to meet him. We talked to him for a minute and he said that he had come in contact with missionaries like 36 years ago but just brushed them off like everyone else but he said they planted a seed. Then like 4 months ago for some reason he felt like he should get a book of Mormon so he did and it completely changed his life. He said that it was like reading the bible with 3d glasses on. that it clarified everything in the bible. he said that he has actually come to love Jesus for the first time in his life because of the book of Mormon and that for the first time he actually can feel the spirit. We were in complete shock at this point. He came to church Sunday and loved it and then yesterday we met with him again to teach the first lesson.  It all went really well and he just kept saying i know that's true,  I know he was a prophet.. it was awesome.  Then at the end of the lesson he goes quiet and gets all nervous and says ok guys i need to ask a favor. We got nervous thinking this was all a joke or something and then he pulls out this envelope and says I need to pay my tithing right now. and we had never even mentioned tithing. so we probably just sat and stared at him for 10 seconds in pure shock and said ok you can do that. so we walked up to the church and got the slip and he paid his tithing. and it was defiantly 10 percent of his paycheck. All of this came from reading the book of Mormon. He has completely changed his life because of it. It was so cool. We are really excited about that. his name it Patrick and he is probably in his 50s, and he is a computer scientist for the BLM. He is an awesome guy. This has changed how I look at the book of Mormon. I will not continue to teach investigators now if they haven't been reading. I will just sit and read with them. cause without that they will never get it. This has also strengthened my testimony a lot its really cool.
We had a great week and now I am studying even more. After having this experience and reading D&C 131:6 and Peters advice about how important knowledge is in 2 peter 1 I have realized the importance of studying the gospel. I just wish that everyone realized that cause I feel like most people in the church don't really understand how important it is.
Anyway, short on time, i am glad to hear that the trip went well I was worried but hopefully you got home ok and everything was good! Also, I need an update on Kristen's deal with this dude. I haven't heard nearly enough about this.
love you!
Taylor 

Some birthday pictures

Avery turns two! I love this picture

Avery loving the horse she got from Ma and Pa.

The birthday girls and their Mom.

The cake! Oh, the cake!

Little girls don't come sweeter than Avery.

Sunrise over DC

We woke up at 5:20 and went to the mall to take sunrise pictures which was really cool and then we went and played laser tag with some other missionaries and it was really fun.

Last Day of Preschool

Kadence had her last day of Preschool for this school year.  All of the kids made these cute shirts that they got to wear on the last day.  We got to come for an hour and watch them receive their certificates and sing songs.  

 Kadence and her teacher.

 Kadence and Daddy.

 Kadence and Mommy.  Love you bug!

Back to the Zoo

We needed to go back to the Springs last week for Dentist Appts. so I decided I would take the girls back to the zoo for a couple of hours because the ponies were closed when we went for Kadence's birthday.  They loved it and Avery didn't hesitate the invitation to ride her first pony!

 We went to the chicken's as well while we were there and got to feed them too!

Birthday at the Zoo

Kadence wanted to go to the Zoo for her Birthday so we did!  I think she really just wanted to ride the horses, but they were closed when we got there.  Oh well, we still had a blast and saw lots of animals.  Kadence wanted to keep her distance from the Giraffes and Avery wanted to stay there forever and feed them.

 Kadence was kind and gentle in the Aviary with the birds...

 While Avery got in trouble for man-handeling them....

 Over looking the Springs.

 Hanging out with the Wallabies.

 Kadence trying to get this one in the stroller so we could take it home.

 When we got home we opened her present.  Ma, Pa and Kiki joined us on FaceTime so they could watch her open her gifts.  She loved all her presents!  She got a bigger bike that she loves and she asks everyday if she can wear her Kiki shoes and has tried multiple times to pack her new suitcase for at trip to Ma Pa Kikis!  Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Kadence!

 Happy Birthday to sweet Kadence, 4 years old!  Kadence has a beautiful smile that makes everyone around her smile too!  Kadence's biggest accomplishment this year has been learning to ride her bike, she absolutely loves riding her bike and asks to go out riding every day!  Kadence has lots of energy and loves spending all her time running, jumping, biking or at the park.  Kadence loves preschool!  She loves to make friends and loves to learn.  She loves her Primary Class and all of her friends in primary.  Kadence has a tender heart and is always concerned about other people.  I am learning that I have to be careful what I say around her, because if it is about someone else that is struggling or hurt she gets upset and worries about them.  She has an amazing memory and can remember anything!  Kadence loves her sister Avery.  She takes care of her everyday, playing with her, checking on her and most of all being her best friend.  They love to give hugs to each other and I find them holding hands watching a show or in the car at least once a day.  She loves helping her Mommy at home and is the best housekeeper I know.  She loves making her bed and picking up toys, I've trained her well!  She loves her Daddy and looks forward to the time each day he walks through the door from work.  She loves when Saturday comes because she knows he will be home all day.  She loves her Ma and Pa and has to talk to them daily or she gets upset.  She has the most loving connection with them.  She loves her other "3 sisters" and loves to tell everyone she meets how her Uncle is a Missionary.  We love you Kadence Happy Birthday Bug!

 On Saturday Kadence invited her Church Friends over for a little Garden Party.  They ate lunch, played games, made crafts and had cupcakes.  It was such a blast and so much fun!