The Lord knows us each individually

Last night we had a great training with the leaders of the stake and wards/branches with President Smith and it was awesome!  There were two things that President Smith shared with us that I'd like to share.  He first shared how God showed his love by sending us to this earth and giving us the opportunity to learn and grow.  The way we show our love to God is by the decisions we make. I really liked that... it is so true!  The other thing we talked about was the sacrament and the importance of taking it every Sunday. He talked about how it doesn't matter how many times we have taken the sacrament throughout our life... we only progress if we take it each week...recommitting and renewing those covenants. Only 10% of all the members in Uruguay attend sacrament and take the sacrament.  That is why there is a push to emphasize the importance of the sacrament.  I just thought it was really profound and I wanted to share. 

President and Sister Smith

We learned at our zone conference that our zone would be breaking into two... Cerro and Cerro Norte.  President assigned Elder Devashrayee to be the new Zone Leader.  It looks like I'll be headed somewhere new when the changes take place. 

 

Uruguay Montevideo Temple

We had the opportunity to go to the Temple. It was awesome!  It is crazy that I know the temple better in Spanish than in English.  The temple was a really great experience.  We got up a little earlier than normal to catch the bus to get there. I spent most of the day on the bus.  However, we are not too far from the temple.... only about an hour and a halfish.  When we arrived to the temple, it was absolutely pouring.  We all huddled underneath this little bus stop and decided to make a run for the temple doors.  Our group of missionaries were all soaked, but it was a sweet experience. ( I had my umbrella but that just wouldn't have been as fun right?) (: 

The moment you all have been waiting for.. the BAPTISM. So we met with Gladys a few days before the baptism and asked her who she would like to have baptize her. We told her that this is a really neat experience and that she can pick one of us or a member of the branch.  She then pointed to me and said ¿Quiere? (You want to?) I then told her that I would love to. Then it occurred to me.. I need to learn the baptism prayer in Spanish.. this aught to be fun!  I was really nervous. We had a musical number during the service by us missionaries singing "Jesus es mi luz" (The Lord is my light) and that helped calm the nerves a little bit. Then the nerves were right back up when I walked down into the font and helped Gladys down to the font as well. I then raised my hand and said the prayer perfectly. It was really neat. I can't even remember how I said the prayer or what happened in that moment.. it is all a blur but it was incredible to watch her come out of the water. Soooo amazing.  We then wrapped up the service with her sharing her testimony.  I was very grateful for the opportunity to baptize her, and grateful everything worked out. We had some issues with the font in the Delta Church.  We had no gas to warm the water and so we had to go to the next town over to do the service. It was amazing even though it was in a different location.  We are excited to make her part of our Mission Team and have her go on visits with us!  The Lord is so great!  He knows each and every one of us individually and he knows our needs. I am so grateful for the Lord and for this wonderful work...especially in Delta Del Tigre.

Gladys and her two boys

I love you allllll sooooo much and hope that you all have a wonderful week! 

Love, Your happy elder.. Elder Taylor Abel

ps.. Doctrine & Covenants 108:7 (: