Week 34 a lot of interruptions

Hey family!! 

This last week wasn't as good, we had  a lot of interruptions throughout the week!! hahahahahahahahahahaahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahhahahahhahahahahahahahhahaha Saydi got a ticket!!! Did she cry when she got pulled over? How long is she grounded for? This week was a below average week but mainly because we had zone conference and interviews with president and other interruptions but we are still working hard!

Monday: last Monday we just chilled at the other elders house and then went to work!!

Tuesday: dont remember but we taught lessons and did contacts!

Wed: we sat with this super nice family their names are Nordino and Dina!! They are three kids and they are a funny family!! They really have a desire to get baptized!! We had a good lesson on how to build a testimony!!

Thursday: We had interviews with president it went good and then went on splits after to have our district leader do some baptismal interviews for us!

Friday: Zone confrence it was good we talked about how we need to help people go to the temple and so now we have a goal to help one famiy per month go to the temple or be prepared to go and we got some good food!!!

Saturday was just a normal day!

Sunday:  morning we went to pick up our family for church Nordino and Dina and the husband got called that night to go over to his sisters house because his sister and her husband got in a fight so he went to resolve things and was way bummed that he couldn't go to church and the wife was pretty sick but she told us to just take her 3 kids so we walked about 2 miles to church with their three kids it was pretty funny their kids loved it and they said they wont miss next week!! but that was my week i love you and im out of time!!

love you lots!!

ELDER ROBERTS

Week 33 "Emails back and forth and questions answered"

This week I happened to be up very late and I caught Taylor online so these are a few of the questions that went back and forth between us:

Mom:  How are you?

Taylor: I am doing good!  We had a successful week!

Mom:  What made your week successful?

Taylor:  Well we just worked hard and got  40 lessons this week and found 13 new investigators! I don't know it was just a good week! 

Mom:  That is really awesome!!  40 lessons that is a ton!!  Are a lot of them really interested in the gospel?  I was showing my friend Rory your blog and she wanted to go back and read your letters.  She signed up to receive your mission blog update. Sounds like you are being a good missionary!!  Do you find teaching people is getting easier?  Can they understand you good?  Have you had to do a lot of teaching or speaking at church? Do you still have your chameleon?

Taylor:  yes teaching is easy just sometimes I need to say a word that I cant find in my head but its coming along great! and I think they can understand me and I have only spoken at a baptism and we let our chameleon go just so it wouldn't die.hahah 

Taylor:  I took out 100 dollars of my account just to have extra money because you just put my 500 in!

Mom: I put your $500 in your savings account not your US Bank account!!  Also Grandma Carol gave you $25.00.  Have you been working hard?

Taylor:  Yeah we have been working hard and almost all of our people have an interest but its getting them to act is the problem! but we try to visit all of our families every day to help them stay strong! and oops i thought the money you put in was in my US Bank account! sorry! but tell grandma larson I said thanks!!  I got the Christmas card this week!! took long enough!!

Mom: How is your companion and how are you getting along?  Holy cow that took a long time to get the Christmas card?  Have you gotten any other mail or packages? 

Taylor:  My companion is good we get along great! Well the office elders say I have 3 packages or three things and I will get them on Friday!! 

Mom:  Have you been emailing Josh?  Parker Moss got his mission call I can't remember where and Trey Branningham is going to Costa Rica!

Taylor:  Yes, I have I was just about to email him actually.  That is sweet that Trey is going on a mission.

Mom:  How is church is it different than here?

Taylor:  It's about the same its 3 hours and we have 3 classes just like home but its a little louder because of the kids?

Mom:  I guess what I was trying to say is does everyone come to church on time and do their calling.  So when are transfers?  What place do you want to be transferred to?

Taylor:   yes actually everyone does their calling here and they try to start church on time but all Mozambicans are late so sometimes we start church with like 20 people and by the end we have like 150.   Transfers are in 4 weeks!! and yes i want to go to a place called Tete, its the hottest place on the mission but its a dry heat not wet haha that's where i want to go!

At this point I had fallen asleep with the phone in my hand so that was my conversation with my son.  Here are the other questions and answers that I asked him in my letter.

Copy, Paste & answer Questions you know the drill

Your face always looks red are you sunburned? Sunburned

How are the mosquitoes?

there are alot of them!

Malaria Pills?  You know what I am asking?

no they give me headaches

Have you gotten sick at all while you have been there?i have gotten sick once and it was 2 sundays ago

Did you get Grandma and Grandpas R. bday card or a letter from Grandma Carol?

not yet

Besides teaching investigators what else does your week consist of?  Zone conferences, other meetings etc?

we meet with the brach mission leader once a week and we will have zone confrence this week

Why is the branch President your favorite part of your mission? he is not my favorite part of my mission but he was the 1st missionary out of Mozambique and he is great to take to lessons

If people don’t have toilets do they have outhouses?  Where do they go to use the bathroom? some have outhouses or they use their neighbors out house or kids just poop on the road in front of everyone

Any Monkeys yet?

NO

Do you eat at Members Homes?

somtimes

How often does your mission president come to see you?  maybe once a transfer

When is your next trip back to the mission home?

when i go home

What exciting thing happened this week?

40 lessons was pretty cool

Coolest thing you have seen on your mission besides the chameleon?

the crocodile that we fed the chicken to!!

week 32 Focusing on the needs of our investigators!

I'll start with the questions:

How was your P-day? What did you do today? well today I'm going to play soccer with the other elders

Did you have your baptisms this week?  Yes we did we had one this week and 8 last week 

How has your power been this week?  The power situation is fixed!! thank goodness

How much money do you get a month and is that all for groceries or do you have to pay for other things?  We have about 190 dollars but its used for everything not just food

Whats the grossest thing you have had to eat?  Goat stomach

What was the most exciting thing you have done this week?  We found a chameleon and he is at the house in my room!!

Tell me your spiritual story for the week?  WE FOUND A TON OF NEW PEOPLE TO TEACH THROUGH REFERENCES!! MY TESTIMONY GREW THAT IF WE WORK THREW MEMBERS WE WILL HAVE SUCCESS

How many new contacts this week?  yes we found 15 new investigators

Are you being obedient?  For the most part yes!!!

Are you taking lots of pictures?  YES

Did you get the video of Audrey's mission call?  NO

Do you have regular toilets?  YES

Do you have to bury or burn your trash?  NEITHER WE THROW IT ON THE ROAD AND THE TRASH MEN PICK IT UP

Do most people have indoor toilets?  NO

Does your mission president let you watch movies? CHURCH MOVIES BUT I HAVE SEEN ONE AT OUR BRANCH PRESIDENTS HOUSE

Whats your favorite thing to eat there?

COLVEY OR WEDDING FOOD WHICH IS CHICKEN, FRIES , POTATO SALAD, SALAD, GOAT, BEANS, RICE

Did you get your package yet?  NO

Favorite thing about Manga?  OUR BRANCH PRES.

Are all the elders in your house good hard working elders?YES

ARE YOU OBEDIENT and hardworking? YES

Do you miss your mom like crazy?  NO...... YES

How is the power situation?  GOOD

Any new investigators?  15

Scariest thing that has happened to you so far?   I DON'T GET SCARED

Ok this week was a good week we found a lot of new people and we are working hard!!! My comp and I have started worrying more about our investigators than getting numbers and we are trying to focus on their needs!!!  We have started working with the members more to find more people!!  I know that this is the Lords work that we are doing and I know this church is true and I am supposed to be here!! I have a challenge for you and the family to do, I want you to pray and think of a family or friend that the missionary's can teach and I want you to pray hard and really focus on the spirit so that the missionary's can teach someone!!! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!

Week 31 I did not get your letter!!

(Here is my as promised long letter from Taylor  haha, he did not get my letter so I'm sure he thought I will just send a short letter.)

just to let you know i did not get your letter!!!
 but this week was a good week we had 8 baptisms!!!! whoo hoo!! It was
one family and a few other people but its really cool to see how
the gospel changes lives!!Tthe family we were teaching at the start
they had a decent relationship he drank  a lot and he had other women he
would mess around with but as we taught them they began to grow
closer together and closer to god!!and now they are happily married and
they don't have any more problems!! Its great to get the chance to see
gods hand shaping the lives of others!!
I love you guys hope all is well!!!

Week 30

This weeks letter was questions and answers from Taylor.  I actually caught him online and was able to chat with him back and forth for about an hour.  He said he is happy and he loves his mission.  The power is still going out at night so they have to use their generator to get cooled.  He promised me a good long letter for next week as you can see by that post it wasn't very long:)  He said he should have lots of baptisms next week and was excited about that.  He is having a hard time sending pictures because of the power and the internet is not very good.

Week 29 Today I am doing good!!

Today I am doing good!!! and this week was good we had a lot of success we found 15 new people to teach!!! and we opened a marriage process for a couple! The power is more stable this week but the last two night we haven't had power until 11:30 so that kinda stunk!! Teaching is going good we have a lot of people we are teaching right now we hope to have a baptism of 13 people on the 7 of march but all depends on the other family that we should open the process this week and hopefully it will be on wed!! So that will be a good day!!! and that picture was from my first area Carlos and Joanna, they are my favorite family ever!!! I was so sad leaving them but I have found more and there sons name is Wesley, he is a crazy kid he is only one year old and is huge!!! He likes running and falling on the ground!!!  Yes, I am taking pictures but this computer I'm on today wont read my card so you will have all of them next week!!!  I still haven got your package yet but I will let you know!!   I don't have a lot of money this week because we spent it all on gas for our generator so I don't have much time today!

Ill write more next week Love you guys