Finally Putting Some Milage on my Bike!

Well here in Braun Heights we roll differently than other missionaries. We be rolling on bikes.

They see us rollin, they hatin and we be rollin cuz we are missionaries! Elder Gray was trained by Elder Morrin as well so we are brothers! He knows this area really well and has helped me learn a lot.He has had great desires to better himself so that he can help others and has been a great example these last few weeks!

This week we have had a few great lessons with our main man Travis Anderson. He loves coming out with us and teaching with us, it is great!! We had a lesson with Jacob this week and  he has concerns about his father(member) and he is concerned about what everyone else thinks. We talked to him about the story of the Prodigal son and it seemed to help a little bit. It is super hard because his wife is against it( for now at least) and so we are slowly working him towards baptism. As well we had a great lesson with a guy named JR who has parents who are members, but he can not be baptized till he takes care of some parole issues. But he is going to watch general Conference so we are excited for that!! On Sunday I got to teach gospel principles to 16 other people (4 were non members, no pressure haha) and It was on the Word of Wisdom. We then had a lesson with a excommunicated member who wants to come back. She has a son who is a Deacon and is so spiritually in tune it is so cool!! We just have to get permission to teach her and help her quit smoking. But otherwise she is willing to work for it :) 

I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve here in Texas and to have the knowledge that I have. I can not wait to here the Prophet speak this upcoming weekend and to here what our leaders have to say :) I love y'all and I hope this week is great!

sorry no pictures again :( the computer at the library stinks.

New Area!

Well I am now in Braun Heights riding a bike every day.. :) so much fun!!! My new companion is Elder Gray and he is pretty cool, soft spoken and is from Montana. The last few days since I have been here have been really interesting to say the least. To start, first day I get sent up to Austin for transfers because Elder Mclean was getting his companion there. Then I drive all the way back to San Antonio to get picked up haha Elder Gray has a lesson set up with a potential investigator and  so we get back to the apartment and get on our bikes. We find him raking leaves outside and we start talking to him and then he starts focusing in on me and we get into what salvation is and it started to get really frustrating to say the least. Then he stops and says "well are y'all hungry?" and I am so confused and then he shakes my hand and tells me he is the Elders Quorum President and and then he goes and gets changed to take us to dinner. So I got played my first day haha!!

 Another experience which involves the bike. We were going to get our bikes tuned up by a guy that said he would do it for free and on our way there we were going down this hill that Elder Gray had warned me about and that there is this low hanging branch that will hit you if you don't get low enough. Not only did I not get low enough but it was a foot thick trunk.  So there is 4 of us going down the hill and I duck and I thought that i was low enough, but it clipped my backpack and so I get pushed down to my right side and I slide across the side walk and scrape my hand a little bit and get my shoulder all dirty. Thankfully the dirt came off and that I only got a scrape haha :)

Now for the spiritual part. We had a lesson with a man named JR whose parents are members and so we read Mosiah 4 with them and talked about General Conference coming up (so excited!!!) As well we had a man named Jacob come to church and he wants to be baptized. His parents are also members but he was never baptized and so he wants to change and do that. As well We had a lesson with a lady whose parents are members and her son is, but she removed from the church. But she has the desire to be baptized and we read Joseph Smith History with her and she really liked it. Her son is 12 and is really in tune with the spirit, it was incredible :)

I love y'all and hope this week is awesome!!!! Hasta luego!!! :) P.S. I sm trying to figure out this apple computer so I do not know how to upload pictures. Next week though!!

Here's my new address: 

8711 Bowens Crossing #2208 

San Antonio, TX 78250

One and done...

Well I will be leaving New Braunfels this Thursday :( I have loved my time here and I am sad to leave but I am thankful for all the people I have met and built relationships with.

So the biggest thing that happened this week was being able to meet with Dillon and teach him. On Friday we received some much needed rain, and we were teaching Dillon underneath some metal roofing and it just started pouring for the whole duration of our lesson. We had to yell to even hear each other! As well Dillon was able to come to church yesterday for all 3 hours and he really enjoyed it. A lot of members came and introduced them selves to him and he felt very welcomed. Dillon was then able to come to a 8 year old baptism and he enjoyed that as well. I hope things continue to progress with him. He told us that he wants to make a serious change in his life and be someone productive. :)

Christy here:  In the six weeks Taylor has been in New Braunfels, I've gotten several pictures via text message from members who live there.  What a tender mercy for a missionary mom...especially when our missionary doesn't send many photos home of himself.  So here are some random moments caught by the local members in Texas, to whom I am eternally grateful!

Hurrah for Israel!!!

Well this week was the week were I have been out for a year!!! Elders tell me it is all down hill from here and that it goes by SO fast. Anyways last Monday we were able to meet with Arby's man haha and read the beginning part of The Book of Mormon with him. He has already made notes and done research and has a lot of questions and things like that. Tonight we are meeting him at the church to have a lesson so that will be exciting!! As well we had a great lesson with a man who is the friend of someone we are teaching and he has a great desire to change his life right now and and was asking us a bunch of questions about what we believe and a lot of what he thinks is exactly what we believe. So we are very excited to get to work with him the upcoming weeks!! I love y'all and have a great week!! Hurrah for Israel!! 

And through it, all who believe and obey the glorious gospel of God, all who are true and faithful and overcome the world, all who suffer for Christ and His word, all who are chastened and scourged in the cause of Him whose we are—all shall become as their Maker and sit with Him on His throne and reign with Him forever in everlasting glory. - Elder Bruce R. McConkie

Working Hard in New Braunfels...

This week we had an awesome lesson with a man who knows some members in our ward. He really wants to get into it and study the Book of Mormon every week so it is really cool. Last week he had a question that he got while reading the Miracle of Forgiveness about unpardonable sins. And he was reading and saw the story in Alma 24 and he did not understand what that was about and we were able to explain the story and what happened. And as well the story of Daniel in 2nd Samuel 12. He has a Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. He is really cool. As well we had a lesson with this black lady; Jordan. We taught the Restoration to her and it all seemed to make sense, The only issue was her 4 year old niece who was really hyper and took away from the lesson. Tonight we are going to teach the man again at Arby's (we are going to try to change that) I love y'all and I hope y'all have an awesome week!!!