I AM SO HAPPY AND I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! 

Hola Everyone!

So we got our travel plans on Friday! I'm actually not as excited as I thought I would be. I'm sad to leave everyone =( The MTC is my home now and I have to say goodbye all over again! But I leave for the airport Tuesday at 3:30 in the morning. My flight doesn't leave until 7:00. So I'm hoping I can call that morning but it'll be early! And then I have a 2 hour layover in Atlanta so hopefully I can call again but I'm not sure. So anyway I hope your okay to get up early and talk to me for a minute! 

I've met more people going to Arkansas this week! Finally! I'm the only Spanish speaker I believe. But they are super nice and I'm excited to fly out with them. 

I also saw Weston Goodro a couple times! When I bumped into him I didn't have my camera but he did so maybe he will send it home and his mom will put it on facebook (mom maybe you can check). 

I broke the free throw record again this week and beat the boys! I got 39 now. I guess I didn't clarify what it actually is, but you just make as many free throws in a row as you can. I may try to break it one last time. I was pretty excited about that. 

THANK YOU Robin Jaramillo for the package! It was a fun surprise!

Yesterday was fast Sunday, and yes we fast all day long and then indulge in Sunday ice cream for dinner. The weather is SO nice so our Sunday walk to the temple was beautiful. Since next week is General Conference we had our last Sacrament meeting with our zone and had testimony meeting. Before a district leaves they sing a song in sacrament so our district sang "Armies of Helaman" in Spanish. The spirit was so strong; I LOVE my district so much. 

So this week we had a cool discussion on the Atonement.
Atonement: reconciliation of man to God. Sin causes disconnection and the atonement reconnects the relationship between man and God. 

We often think of the Atonement as one big mass atonement and we forget that he suffered individually for every one of our pains, sins, and sorrows. We do everything "one by one." We don't do mass baptisms for the dead or mass endowments. It's all done individually. And in 3 Nephi it talks about after Christ’s resurrection blessing the kids "one by one" and allowing everyone to feel his hands and feet "one by one." Christ suffered for each of us individually. 

He didn't know what regret, sin, or guilt felt like until he felt them for me.

Mosiah 14:5

Before he died on the cross he said "it is finished." His promise to God was completed. When times are hard, when life doesn't go my way or maybe on some days when I just want to go home. I think of him. He didn't give up until he was finished, and because of that we are saved. No one suffers more than he did.  

I can just picture all of us in Heaven watching our Brother, cheering him on and anxiously waiting to see if he had completed the event that would save us all. So cool to think about. 

Some of my favorite scriptures this week:

D&C 66:8 "he that is faithful shall be made strong in every place; and I, the Lord, will go with you. 

It's pretty crazy that I'm 19 years old, first time away from home, I'm given 6 weeks to learn a new language and am going out to a place I've never been before to preach the gospel. But it doesn't matter because He makes me strong and is with me always. 

My life is better because Christ is in it. 

D&C 6:34, 36-37

We all have an older Brother who SAVED us. He LOVES us. Invite him into your life and he will not let life bring you down. I can overcome any obstacle in my life because he already knows what it feels like and can help me through it. How do I know? Because He already has helped me countless times. Fear Not, He Lives.

I'm so excited for General Conference! Next week we have Conference, Women’s Conference, Departure Devotional, and Sunday night movie. So we will be sitting in seats watching the TV screen basically all of next weekend. But it's such perfect timing, right before I leave! I'm so happy I get to be here for conference! 

I'm still doing really good! I'm so settled here it’s crazy, I can't believe I have to resettle all over again in a week. 

My days are pretty repetitive. Time is starting to speed up lots. But I am so happy and I love being a missionary! 

Love you all! 

Hermana Moore

ANOTHER DISTRICT PICTURE IN FRONT OF THE TEMPLE!

This is Joshua from CA. He is going to Mexico. He is 26! He was converted at 16 but just recently reactivated. He left his career and switched his whole life around to come out on a mission. So cool! He has helped us a lot with our Spanish!

"INVITAR A LAS PERSONAS A VENIR A CRISTO"
(I INVITE YOU ALL TO COME A LITTLE CLOSER TO CHRIST!)

Hola!

This scripture describes exactly how I feel about Pdays ---> Ether 6:12. (Change Promised Land to P-day or Day of P-day)

Okay so I have to tell you all about Tuesday’s devotional. Don R Clarke of the 70 came and spoke to us. He gave us a list of the "Top 10 Things Every Missionary Should Know." One of his points talked about faith. He told us that in the pre-existence we all were people of incredible faith. We did as God asked, went into the world, risking our return. As he was saying this I couldn't help but think that I'm sure as we all took turns coming down to earth we all embraced and cried and pleaded with each other saying "come and find me" if I'm not born into the church or if I fall away. It gave me a new perspective of things. I can't help but think some of my friends from the pre-existence are now in Arkansas and I'm going to find them like I promised before coming to earth.  

So as far as investigator progress, we still were struggling with Ivanleisse. She was kind of harsh with us and we felt like we couldn't connect with her. We prayed a lot that she would open up to us and that we could love her. We spent lots of time on her lesson and prayed for her and asked for the spirit to be in the lesson. On Thursday we went to teach her and walked into the room to a completely different person! She was so funny and happy and so involved in our lesson! The spirit was present and we left feeling so thrilled! We both thought that someone must have told her that we were struggling with her because she was so different! Then we both remembered someone did! God did duh! We had been praying for her all week that she would open up in our lessons and be comfortable with us and that’s exactly what happened! It was so cool, and now we look forward to teaching her again tomorrow. God answers prayers if anyone was wondering. He really does. Even if your praying for a pretend investigator at the MTC. 

Elder Pigott had to get his wisdom teeth removed on Friday. Since he lives in Salem he got to go to his home dentist and see his family and say goodbye all over again =/ But since they were gone all day and got to eat outside food they brought us all back Burger King. So we sat in the grass outside in the sun and enjoyed some good ole fast food. It was awesome.

It's funny because now that it’s getting warmer all the protesters start gathering around outside of the MTC. We've seen a couple of them and they even have followed a couple of missionaries as they walk up to the temple and yell at them. Kinda creepy. Some of them have a couple lose screws if you ask me but whatever. Let them worship how where or what they may right?

 

OUT FOR A SUNDAY WALK!

Hymn #112 <-- It’s been performed in devotionals here lots of times. It’s a different version though that’s a little prettier than the hymn but I really love that hymn. Go listen to it! And then go read 2 Nephi 1:15.

Hermano Clarke gave us some really cool advice. He said when he was in the field when he knocked on the door, no matter who it was whoever answered he would see them in white. He saw who they could become not who they were. The same way God sees us. I really loved that and want to apply the same thing in my mission. D&C 64:33.

D&C 101:16 The reason I'm here is because God wanted me to be. He made it clear that this is where I need to be. I love it here and he knew I would. We are in his hands just like the scripture says. He's got us. He loves us so much. I know he sent his Son Jesus Christ to Atone for us so we could return with our Him. In Choir we are singing "Behold the Wounds in Jesus' Hands." The lyrics are so powerful! My favorite line says "We cannot see the love of God which saves us from the fall, yet know that Christ from wood and nails, built mansions for us all." 

He has mansions ready for us. But we have to be ready for them. D&C 81:16.

Be faithful. Know that He lives and if you don't know that...find out. 

My purpose as a missionary is to invite all to come unto Christ. (Invitar a las personas a venir a cristo) So I invite you all to come a little closer to Christ. Read through the scriptures and hymns I've mentioned above! 

Love you all. 

Hermana Moore 

 For service, we got to use the "Ghost Buster" vacuums!

 St. Patrick's Day stuff that Grandma Diane sent!

 Elder P. from Serbia. (Can't say his name.) He moved to Las Vegas 2 years ago and was asked to play basketball the second he walked off the plane. He talks funny and will be serving in the Salt Lake mission so look for him! He'll be hard to miss- ha ha!

 

 Elders Weston Wilson (St. George) and Weston McCardell (SLC) from our Zone.

 Brother and Sister Ellis from our Branch Presidency.

*Note from Mom:  Taylor told me some other things in my personal email that she said I could share on her blog.  She said she listened to the piano version of Taylor Swift today and cried tears of happiness!  I know she misses her music so much!  Also, she is already getting tired of her clothes.  That's Taylor for you!  She has sent requests to send more skirts, dresses and basketball shorts!  She was super excited to finally be wearing her rain boots today!  

But the best part of her email was when she expressed how happy she is there!  Some of you may know that she has struggled with panic attacks in the past and was prescribed some medication in case she ever needed it to calm her down.  As a mom, I wanted her totally prepared for whatever came her way, so I secretly packed it in her first aid kit.  Well, she secretly unpacked it and didn't tell me.  Today she said that she had faith that she could do it without the medicine and that she only needed God's help.  She has found that to be true!  She said (and apologized) that she hasn't even been homesick.  She also said, "I seriously DREAD the day I have to be released.  I don't ever want to take my name tag off.  I cry when I think about it!"

Well I cry "tears of happiness" when I see how strong my little girl is!  I am so proud of her and absolutely love hearing her testimony.  It's amazing how much we can learn from our children! :)   

IF ANYONE WAS WONDERING...
"EL EVANHELIO ES VERDAD!"
(THE GOSPEL IS TRUE!)

(My companion was sick, so I had to study in the hall of our dorm.)

Hola! <-- I promise I know more Spanish than that.

Okay I'll start with some bad news then the rest of my email will be happy!

So earlier this week our Branch President stopped by and told us that one of his Missionaries over the summer, Sister Scadlock was serving in Argentina and passed away from sickness. We all were incredibly sad, along with our Branch President who knew her so well. He said she was from Layton area, and the last name sounded familiar to me but I wasn't sure who she was. Come to find out it was my good friend Chelise Richardson's boyfriend’s sister! Chelise was incredibly good friends with her! It is heartbreaking! My entire district is so sad. 

No more sad news! 

As of right now there are 50% SISTER Missionaries at this MTC! AHH! So cool! 

On Tuesday Quentin L Cook came and spoke at our Devotional! It was SO exciting! Of course he gave a fabulous talk and I got tons of great advice, but something I wanted to share and that stood out to me was when he explained how they assigned calls. He said once they see our picture they almost immediately know where should we go, whether it be the language we need to speak, the people or culture we should be surrounded with, or even in lots of cases they assign according to the mission president in that area. I'm almost certain I have been called to Arkansas because of my Mission President. I can't wait to meet him. This Devotional was also broadcast to other MTC's. My district sings in the choir and we performed that night, I made sure I was in the middle somewhere so maybe they would show me on the screen so Liv could see me from Mexico! And they did! And I heard she saw me! That makes me so happy! I was thinking about her the whole time!

So speaking of choir...We have practice on Sundays and Tuesdays. The teacher is Brother Egget and he is amazing. Not only can he make a group of bad singers sound incredible, he also gives us lots of cool information and background about the songs we sing. He really is so great and the main reason everyone goes to choir is because of him. It’s weird we feel the spirit so strong during choir! haha. At the devotional we sang Praise to the Man. Last week in the news paper there was an article on the Top 100 Most Influential Religious Leaders in America. Guess who was #1?...Yep Joseph Smith =)

Out of the 100's of scriptures I read each week my favorite this week was Mormon 8:34-35. It basically is evidence that the Book of Mormon was written specifically for us. That he was speaking to us "as if we were present." You all should go read it and think on it. It's really cool. 

So investigators....

Ivanleisse...She stresses me out. Our last lesson with her she painted her nails and played on her phone for most of the time. We don't know how to nicely ask her to put away distractions in Spanish. We will work on that this week ha. 

Lucio (Hermano Rowley, our teacher) is my favorite investigator right now. We taught him a lesson on the spirit and man I felt the spirit like crazy in that room. It was my favorite lesson I've taught so far. We invited him to be baptized and he said he would work towards it! It seriously is so cool how words just come to me and I can explain exactly what I want to. I walked out of that lesson walking on clouds. We are learning how to prepare better lessons and I'm super happy about that.

We also will begin teaching Benjamin (Hermano Clarke) this week. 

I've said this before but Hermano Clarke is AMAZING. I don't think there is a better teacher here in the MTC. We also have another teacher Hermana Ferrell (from Morgan) and she is equally as incredible. They both are single and we are trying to get them to go on a date. haha. I look forward to class when they are teaching. They are so smart and so passionate about missionary work. They've been a huge inspiration to us. It'll be sad to say goodbye to them.

HERMANA FERRELL FROM MORGAN. LOVER HER SO MUCH! I WANT TO BE HER WHEN I GROW UP!

I have officially memorized the 1st vision, baptism invitation, and missionary purpose in Espanol! woohoo!  

 

Oh and yes I broke the girl’s free throw record this week =) I'm going to do it again this week so I can beat the boys too. 

Something that won't be funny to you guys but is absolutely hilarious to me and Elder Tidwell...Pelota tan fuerte <-- means "ball so hard" an expression in basketball. It's so funny in Spanish hahaha we use it all the time when we are playing.

Elder Piggot is one of the elders here, he is originally from Columbia, was adopted and lived in Hawaii and then came to Utah. He was converted and baptized just 2 years ago. We have become really good friends lately. I feel like I've known him my whole life. He has picked up the language really quick and was going to leave early to the field this week but decided to stay! I'm so happy! Converts have the best testimonies and we learn a lot from him. He is super sarcastic so we get along really well. 

 

ELDERS TIDWELL AND PIGGOT

There was like 7 birthdays in my family this last week so Happy Birthday everyone!! 

And thank you all for packages!! I LOVE THEM. 

 

MY ARIA PILLOW!

If anyone is wondering..el evanhelio es verdad. 

When Christ served and ministered while he was on earth he left people in complete awe because of his power and the miracles he performed. I want to do that too. Leave a lesson with my investigators in complete awe at how incredible the gospel is. That’s my goal. 

Love you all.

 Some of the native speakers that are down the hall from us. We always say "Hola!" to them and then they go off in a bunch of Spanish. They think we are lots smarter in the language then we are. We just kind of shuffle off all awkwardly because we don't know how to reply to them. I'm sure they laugh at us plenty, but we are all good friends!

OUR SCHEDULE

OUR DISTRICT

OUR NEW ZONE (ALL ELDERS)

Some Cool Things I've Learned...

So I wanted to share some cool things that I learned this week…

Hermano Clark showed us the scripture Malachi 3:3.  He was taking a class at BYU and they were studying this chapter.  Someone in his class wanted to research more so she went and took a tour about refining silver.  Without telling her tour guide this was for a gospel class, she asked how it works.  He told her the refiner holds the piece of silver over the fire and watches it super carefully until it’s done.  She asked how he knows when it’s done.  He told her, “When he can see his reflection in the silver”.

God holds us over the fire sometimes, but He is always watching us carefully.  Watching us overcome and endure through that trial patiently and with faith.  Once he can see His reflection in us, He takes us out of the fire.  He’s got us!

We were asked “What makes you enjoy being in this church?”  I gave it some thought and realized there are lots of reasons!  But my studying and thinking lead me to conclude that I love being in this church because I have a God I can trust.  I’m told from scriptures if I pray, God will answer my prayers - and He does!  I’m told in the scriptures when I stay close to God and His gospel, Satan has less power over me - and that’s true!  I have lots more examples.  I’ve applied what the scriptures say and what I’ve learned of this church and it’s never failed me.  God is 100% trustworthy!  Although I have not experienced it yet, I know I can live with my family forever.  I know I have the opportunity to become a Goddess to my future husband.  I know my Grandma Kathy is waiting on the other side for her family.  How do I know these things are true?  Because God says so!  And He always keeps His promises!  He has NEVER failed me!

Look up Mosiah 4:6 and Mosiah23:22  

Hermana Stevens

Taylor has this friend.  The kind of friend who makes you feel welcome when you are the new girl in fifth grade.  The kind of friend who every Friday in sixth grade, dresses up with you in matching outfits; including striped knee high socks, fake glasses, crazy hair, suspenders and super hero t-shirts.  The kind of friend who cheers you on at your basketball games.  The kind of friend who finds you a date to the dance so you're not left out.  The kind of friend who brings you treats when you are sad.  The kind of friend who is still your best friend even though you share different interests.  The kind of friend your parents not only trust, but encourage you to be with.  Well that friend is Olivia, AKA Hermana Stevens.
Hermana Stevens got called to the California, Sacramento Spanish speaking mission.  She left two weeks before Taylor, but she was sent to the Mexico MTC.  We were all so sad that they wouldn't be together.  Just knowing they were in the same place at the same time would have been awesome!  I got this text from Olivia's mom today and had to share.

  
I'm pretty sure that even though they are apart for now, they still draw on each other's strength!  These girls are amazing and are going to do incredible things in their lives!

CALLED TO BE A SISTER TRAINING LEADER!
OH AND...
BROKE THE "FREE THROW" RECORD IN THE GYM! :)

HERMANA BROWNING AND ME IN OUR DORM

Hello everyone!

I'm really struggling what to write because I feel like I do the same thing every day all week. So I've been trying to remember a few things that stood out.

First off THANK YOU Grandma for the package! And thank you everyone else for the letters!!

 

So our old investigator was "Marcos." And we committed him to baptism and set a date and everything! Obviously he is not really an investigator but we still were really excited! He progressed with us really well. So the day after we committed him to baptism we show up to class and he was the teacher! Ha! So now "Marcos" AKA Hermano Clarke is our teacher and he is probably the best teacher in the entire MTC. He seriously is incredible. He went on his mission in Paraguay, and got back last year and it is so obvious how much he loves this work. He really gets us excited about missionary work. 

We have a new investigator named Ivanleisse (I don't know how to pronounce it either) and it’s a long story but basically we had to put together a lesson on the spot. We literally had 60 seconds to decide what to teach her. It was rough. She wouldn't even look at us for a good 20 minutes. It’s frustrating but we meet with her again tomorrow and hopefully it goes a little better. 

I got called to be a Sister Training Leader this week! Yay! I'm really excited about that. They also gave me a little flip phone thing. I was actually kinda bummed because it's nice to not have to worry about a phone. I can only call the front desk and 911 but I thought that was kind of funny. 

Our Zone left this morning for Argentina. It was way sad to say goodbye to them but we get a new zone this week! We get to meet them Wednesday! They are all Elders! (Which is fine because these girls are started to drive me crazy a little bit, I prefer the Elders) hahaha. 

 

HERMANAS IN MY ZONE

Something exciting, yesterday before Relief Society we have some Music Devotional thing and in the middle of it 2 bats started flying around! Hahaha everyone was freaking out. 

My favorite Elder is Elder Tidwell from Oregon. He has made me laugh so hard I've been in tears. He reminds me of Rustyn a lot because he quotes The Office and Talladega Knights all day. He keeps me sane. I love my district so much. When I leave the MTC it'll be like saying goodbye to family all over again. I love these guys. 

 

"COMEDIAN" ELDER TIDWELL IN FRONT 

I've been struggling a little bit putting lessons together. My companion and I write our lessons in English and then as we give our lessons we translate it to Spanish. It’s hard because I don't feel like I am being super sincere because I am so worried about translating. But it's so cool because when I bare my Testimony I can feel the spirit so strong and the words just come and I feel 100% sincere with everything I say. I love it. It’s my favorite part about teaching. 

The language is coming along well and my companion and I are progressing pretty quick. I understand every word the teacher says now. My comprehension is good, it’s just the speaking part that I struggle with. 

I wish I could share all of the spiritual things I am learning but I certainly don't have time to type them all. Just know I am learning a lot and you all can look through my "spiritual notebook" when I return.

Fun little side note, in the Gym they have a bunch of records you can try to break and I've broken the free throw record a couple times, I just have to have a judge watch me then they will put me up on the wall =) Kinda cool. 

I meant to record my companion and me reciting the Missionary Purpose in Spanish this week but I'm just remembering now that we forgot to. I'll send one next week =) 

Anyways...Thanks again for all your letters! 

Love you all!

-Hermana Moore

THE HERMANAS IN CLASS

SUNDAY WALK WITH HERMANAS IN MY DISTRICT

SHE'S ALIVE AND HAPPY!
We finally heard from Taylor today!  Monday is her P-Day and so we were able to email back and forth for a little while!  She sounds like she is doing amazing!  Oh Happy Day!

Hola Familia!

I'm alive and happy! The first few days I felt like I was walking on clouds! I was so overwhelmed with the spirit and so incredibly happy! This is such a happy place! My first day was easily the longest day of my entire life. Actually this week has been the longest. Ever. Everyone kept saying "Wait until Sunday it gets better" but I wasn't sure if I would ever make it to Sunday! ha ha And today is P-Day which is the best day of the week for sure. I just woke up from an hour nap =) 

I wish I could put down everything that has happened but I really couldn't possibly sum up this week in one hour but I will do my best to answer everyone’s questions and let you know what is going on.

So my companion is Hermana Browning from Vancouver, Washington and she is the best! We get along so well I really couldn't have picked a better companion. The other girls in our district, who are also our roommates, are Hermana Webb from SLC and Hermana Thompson from Idaho. Our district has 4 hermanas and 6 elders. Our Zone adds another 4 elders and 4 hermanas. We all are one great big family. Seriously it is so incredibly nice to have such a great support system out here. The elders certainly look out for their little hermanas. They are like brothers. 

COMPANION HERMANA BROWNING

MTC ROOMIES!

DISTRICT = NEW FAMILY!

BRANCH PRESIDENT AND HIS WIFE

We have different teachers depending on the day. We spend most of the day in the class room studying. I've never worked so hard in my life, but it’s funny because I actually really enjoy the work! It’s interesting because I think I expected to have a teacher most of the time but really we only see a teacher for a few hours a day. So most of the work we do we have to do on our own and muster up the motivation to find time to do it. There is so much to do its insane! There aren’t enough hours in the day to do all we have to do but somehow we find a way to get it all done. 

On Friday we taught our first lesson in Spanish!! We had another lesson on Saturday and tomorrow morning we have a 45 minute lesson with a new investigator and a 25 lesson one with our original investigator. It’s hard to teach a lesson and have so much to say but you don't know the words in Spanish to get your point across. It’s frustrating but we are doing good! And we can teach lessons without using our notes or having to look down at our paper for Spanish vocab. The spirit is so strong even when we are speaking really broken Spanish. 

There are so many incredible devotionals here I wish I had time to tell you all about them. But if you ever get time or need a video to watch for FHE watch Character of Christ by David Bednar. We watched it last night and it’s my new favorite talk ever. 

I've been playing basketball lots! Don't worry I'm beating all the elders in Lightning. The food isn't good which is okay because then I'm fine to eat healthy because I know I'm not missing out on any good food. Oh and last night at our Sunday night devotional we sang a new version of Sisters in Zion/Armies of Helaman by Janice Kapp Perry. The lyrics were changed for missionaries and it’s so good! Mom, go look it up!

It’s been really cold and snowy and rainy. I wanted to take a picture of the cute little asians freaking out about the snow but I didn't want them to see me. haha they were so excited.

Thank you to everyone sending me mail and Dear Elders! It is so so so nice to get things from home. 

MY FIRST PACKAGE!

I really am so happy! Today it is sinking in that this is home now and I'm ok with that! I'm so busy but like I said I love the work. I wish I could tell you all more because there is so much more to share but I guess I will end with the thought I had yesterday.

The normal Taylor Moore could not do this. Could not be here working this hard, being away from home, learning a new language. But Hermana Moore can because I have Christ’s name on my chest and am set apart for this work.

Thanks for your prayers! I can certainly feel them.

I'll email you all again next week!    

FAIRFIELD JUNIOR HIGH FRIEND MICHELLE SKONNARD