IT'S NOT MISSIONARY WORK, IT'S MISSIONARY FUN!

Kumusta pamilya!!!

Okay, so maybe that's a really cheesy line from a missionary I overhead.  But.  That is so true.  I have never had more fun and felt more fufilled in my life.  Wierd that I would ever say that about reading scriptures all day and planning lessons, but for some reason it is so so so great.  To begin, there was that suuuuper amazing broadcast on Sunday for the mission presidents, missionaries, and some other random people, AND I WAS THERE!!! I was so close to all the apostles and I know from watching them and feeling their spirit that they are 100% called by God to lead and guide us.  Even though we didn't see the prophet during the devotional, my distrcit was walking up the stairs to class when WE SAW THE ACTUAL PROPHET GETTING INTO HIS CAR OUTSIDE THE BUILDING!!  Crazy stuff, and so many bodygaurds, and like 5 metallic, mercedes cars around him too.  Anyway.  NBD.  And no, I wasn't on the screen because I wasn't in the choir and those are the only people they showed (I was jusssst to the right of the Elders singing) BUT (as crazy as this sounds) my kasama and I joined the choir last week (MY IDEA, and not even so we can get on TV)!!  And anyone that knows me knows I.  Do. Not. Sing.  But it's funny now that there is absolutely no music to listen to, singing is the only way to hear it.  And a choir of missionaries sound amazing.  As you heard on Sunday obvi. 

More details on the MTC here.  It's packed.  So many misisonaries and a really little campus.  There are 6 girls in my dorm and that's not even that many.  Just so many people wanted to serve Heavenly Father I guess.  Sacrement meetings are almost funny.  There are 2 meeting times, 2 chapels for each, and for each meeting in each chapel, they have like 6 tables and 50 missionaries to pass out the sacrement so it goes semi-fast.  SOoo crazy.  But it also means that we have the best people come and speak.  Sacrement meeting included the general RS board and presidency and the MTC presidency.  Their talks were so amazing, maybe when things slow down and I'm not so new here, I can expound.  Be excited.  Then on Tuesday for devotional (at the mariott center, BTW, think of almost 5000 missionaries walking there from both wywiew and the mtc, funny)  Janice Kapp Perry came to speak to us, if there's any way to find that devotional, look it up!  Everyone was saying it was one of the best devotionals they had seen in months.  We sang some of here songs and she said amazing things.  Amazing.  Did I mention I love being a missionary.  Special benefits for the winnn.  But I do have to include, she changed the words to one of the songs she wrote when we sang it on Tuesday:

We have been born as Nephi as old

to goodly parents who love the Lord

We have been taught and we understand

that we must do as the Lord commands

We are as the Army of Helaman

we have been taught in our youth

and we are now the Lord's missionaries

to bring the world His truth

I bawled.  Because that song talks about me.  And everyone going out to serve Heavenly Father out of pure love for Him and His gospel. 

Some more funny things here.  I teach yoga now.  HAHA.  What started as me doing it in the hallway of our dorm during gym time one day has turned into about 10 of us who I now direct outside on the grass.  It's hilarous.  Everyday now during gym time we all meet on the grass and it's like old people areobics class.  I'm famous for more than my aerobics though.  Yesterday I was walking to class and these girls behind me start talking really quietly about me.  "Hey, that's the girl with those shoes that Sis. --- was talking about.  Those are the jelly shoes.  Where do you think she got them?  I don't know you ask.  That would be wierd..."  And then we walked into our building.  YOU GUYS!!!  Me and my jelly shoes are famous in the MTC!  Haha random people search the campus to see them.  Joke'lang, joke'lang.  But my kasama and I laughed about it for awhile.  And then the next day a girl in my distrct told me her mom bought some for her and asked me if that was okay.  Then I really died, in a good, really funny way. 

My class.  My teacher- Brother Cook.  Hands down the best teacher here in the MTC (and that is coming from everyone, not just me).  He's patient, taught for like 4 years, just so awesome and so nice and so humble, and on and on.  I love him.  He is the reason I can speak Tagalog and feel like I actually have a grasp on the language.  We finished teaching our first investigator on Tuesday, and SUPRISE, she turned out to be our other teacher.  Haha so what started out as us teaching her to pray has now switched to her teaching us pretty much how to be missionaries.  And she knows how bad it all was.  After our first lesson was a wreck, as mga kasama we definitely stepped it up and our lessons are the bomb.com.  The spirit is there, we pray about what to teach, and we aren't trying to just shove information down here throat.  Our last lesson we had to try to commit her to baptism and she said yes (it actually isn't that hard to do).  We taught 4 lessons total to her and learned so much.  Next week we start teaching 2 investigators (that are people played by our teachers, it's going to be trippppy!) and I am soexcited.  I love the spirit that comes from teaching people the doctrines of Christ.  We continue to learn and teach in Tagalog, and I love this language.  Our companionship goal for this week's lessons is to only take english notes with us to teach and try to use only our brains to come up with sentences in Tagalog.  Watsup crazy foreign language. 

Funny story of the week (they just get more awkard every time):  The bathroom in Tagalog is called the CR.  And ako means I.  So everytime I leave to use the bathroom, I always just tell my kasama or teacher, CR ako, which until barely I thought meant "I'm going to the bathroom."  But my teacher told me yesterday that this whole time I've have actually been saying "I'm the bathroom....."  Nope, I am definitely not the bathroom.  I now say, "ako si Sister Taylor" AND "mag CR ako."  Yep definitely a difference....

Well, I hope everyone is having a fantastic week.  Thanks so so so much for the letters, prayers, and support.  I couldn't do it without that and am so blessed to be surrounded with so many amazing people!  Until next week!

Kapaypaan,

SISTER TAYLOR

Sarah and Elder Brockbank in the MTC

Sister Taylor & Elder Brockbank

WELCOME TO THE MTC SISTER TAYLOR! (6-23-13)

Seriously guys, best day ever.  I've changed my mind.  I just LOVE the MTC!  SO.  I'll just run through my first day here, before I forget.  I had the cutest sister take me around at the beginning, and everyone is ridiculously nice to you (probably they can just tell who are newbies), seriously, never felt so welcomed.  I dropped off my stuff, got my name tags/books (AND SAW SIS. SCHULTZ!!!) then got right in the classroom.  Bro. Cook speaks only in Tagalog.  ON-LY.  It was ridiculous.  And I can already carry a (short) conversation:).  Okay...maybe a couple sentences...So after class we had dinner (4:15 and I was sooo not hungry) and then a giant combined group teach-pretty much 8-10 districts and 1 investigator.  It was a cool way to start this whole thing.  And then I realized we have to teach a discussion...in Tagalog...tomorrow.  Yikes.  Oh, and I live in the MTC!  I love it!  My district=awesome-well at least the girls, the boys are always lost and don't talk ever.  6 of us sleep in a room (no one on the floor) and we're all i the same district AND going all to Olongapo together!!!!  So grateful for that one.  My companion is Sister Hes.  Low maintenance, super chill, relaxed, I love her!  Well.  This letter will probably get here after my first email, but hopefully when it gets to you everything will make sense.  It's bedtime so peace out!

Love,

Sister Taylor

Sister Taylor's First Email While in the MTC...

Kumusta Pamiliya!!! (ohhhh I hope that's right...)

The Family

The Kids

Okay, so this place rocks.  Hard core rocks.  The MTC is such a happy place and a great environment to be able to learn in.  I wish everyone could have a chance to come here for a little bit, being here has changed my learning habits, increased my desire to grow and learn, and has made me get up at 6am every day.  Seriously, such a good thing.  So I wrote the family a letter after the first day (it should be there today- pretty sure today is saturday btdubs) and it goes into more detail about my first day.  Honestly, don't really remember it anymore, just a lot of smiling missionaries yelling hello in their various languages and people telling me lots of things I should remember (and obviously don't).  Also, feel free to post that on the blog too.  MY DISTRICT!  The sisters rock.  So do the elders but they're just reaaaally quiet (and all but one are 18... it shows).  There are 10 of us, all the sisters are going to Olongapo too!!!!!  In my zone there are like 15 people going to the same place as me, isn't that crazy??!!  It made me so excited that there are so many of us serving in the area (all girls though, strange) and that we'll get to see each other from time to time while we're there. MY KASAMA!!  She's loves animals, from Oregon, and goes by Sister Hess (I just don't know any first names here, it's not worth it).    I live in the residence halls in the actual MTC (not in Wyview like we all were thinking) and so the bathroom are nassssty.  But they probably have become me favorite place because I CAN BE BY MYSELF!!!!!  Funny story- the first night we thought that we had to go everywhere together (like most people think), so even to the bathroom at night and in the morning and whatever.  So the first night I sat on the sinks for like half an hour while sis hess showered.  i got wayyy wierd stares, like why are you just hanging out in the bathroom.  But I was like whatever, I'll just study my language packet while I'm here sitting on the sink like the obedient missionary I am.  Turns out the next day we found out we actually don't have to wait and sit there while our kasamas do their business.  So now I love love the bathroom.  Sometimes I take an extra 10 minutes in there just because I know no one (meaning my kasama) is waiting (hopefully paitently) for me:) 

The first thing I realized while being here is that obedience may bring blessings but exact obedience brings miracles.  And miracles rock!  It's hard to remember all the different rules here and sometimes I don't understand why in the world we have to follow a certain rule, but you guys, it pays off!!!  I have seen so many awesome things happening when I try really hard.

Also we taught our first investigator yesterday.  ALLLLLL in Tagalog.  So awful.  I don't even remember it.  The language is crazy.  For some reason though Heavenly Father is nudging me along and I am getting it!!!  This week we learned how to start a conversation with somebody, pray, and bear our testimonies.  It's definitely not an easy language and I always thought I could ne.ver learn a language but with heavenly father I can!!  Okay anyway, so back to our investigator.  All I'll say on that one is that it consisted of about 5 minutes of awkward silences, poorly constructed sentences, and lots of opo (yes) and hindi ko alam Tagalog (I don't know Tagalog- actually I don't even know if I said it right during the lesson).  And now I've forgotten it but learned so much about how to do the whole teaching thing better.  There is no way I'm going to be able to teach without the full capacity of the Spirit and lots of praying and faith that Heavenly Father will literally put words in my mouth to say.  ANNNNDD so we are teaching her again tonight, about God and the restoration.  Pray for our lesson!

People say to make it until Sunday and it will all get better.  I'm holding on to that with both hands, trying to figure things out!  I know that God is in this work though and He will not let his missionaries fail. 

Well, hopefully some of this letter makes sense, I'm so scatterbrained and so this letter probably is too.  WRITE MEEE!!!!!!  Letters are the greatest, I live off them, PLeAaaAASSE. 

Alam ko po na totoo Aklat ni Mormon!!!!!

PS. I saw Elder Brockbank and sooo many people from BYU (it's the best feeling to see people you know)

SISTER TAYLOR