Hoy es dia!

Hoy es dia!
Updates while serving in the Uruguay Montevideo West Mission taylor.abel@myldsmail.net
Current Mailing Address:
Elder Taylor Abel
Uruguay Montevideo West Mission
Enrique Martinez 1167
11800 Montevideo, Uruguay
Uruguay

Monday, September 28, 2015

I know God Lives and He loves us!

Hey Everone!

How are you all doing? I am so grateful for the emails and the love that you guys send me. I am so grateful for the things that you are all doing and for the experiences you are having with the only true gospel of Jesus Christ. 

I just want to start this email off with my testimony.. I am 100% positive that this is the true church. I know that God loves us.. that in fact is the only way that people will be able to understand our purpose as member missionaries. As we invite others to come unto Christ, they need to know of God´s love. I know that He loves you all and that he knows each one of us. I know that He answers our questions and helps us through our trials. I am so grateful for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and I know that the Plan of Salvation, that we chose from the beginning, favors our success and our happiness! I love you guys soo much and hope you know that I think about you all daily and want the best for you!

It is interesting actually.. thinking about our purpose.. Invite all to come unto Christ. It isn´t.. Invite all to go to Christ.. why is that? You ever thought about that? I have come to realize that we invite others to come unto Christ because we are already on Christ´s side. Unlike sports and the many teams that there are.. there are only 2 teams. You are either with Christ or you not. May we all be with Christ and help others to come unto Him! 

Bautismo! Wow, fue tan bueno. De verdad, estoy muy agradecido por Ana y por su decisión de ser bautizada. Yo sé que ella va a ser un miembro excelente. Me siento muy bendecido por poder tomar parte en su progreso a la felicidad y al templo! #práticadeespañol




Seriously though, man it was so awesome. As you have seen in the pictures, Elder Naylor got to baptize her and it was amazing. He did so good with the prayer and it was just a one dunk baptism which always makes it better. It was my first baptism in the morning and I loved it.. no better way to start off the day. We went and visited her later in the day and she told us of her experience. She told us that the water was cold when she first got in but as she was baptized and came up she didn´t feel cold.. she felt warm and nothing else really matter.. only the fact that she was baptized. What a stud. 

Sunday came along.. and church here starts at 9:30 and it was around 9:25 and she still hadn´t shown up.. We went in and sang the song, prayed, the bishop did his ward business and we were just about the sing the sacrament hymn. I know as soon as we started the sacrament hymn that she was not going to be confirmed which would cause a long process with General Conference.. however, right before we started to sing a group of people walked in and among them was Ana. I was so grateful. Bishop then got back up and talked about the baptism and told the ward that they would do the confirmation. I had the opportunity to do the confirmation and it went really good. I will be honest, I sat down and felt like the confirmation was a mess.. My mind was blank and my spanish just didn´t come like I wanted it to. I then talked to Elder Naylor afterwards and he said that the confirmation was perfect and that he loved it... I felt really grateful and knew that Satan will do anything to make us feel down or miserable like him.Don´t let him get you down. I am grateful for the priesthood that I hold and for the opportunity to exercise it daily! God is great!




I hope that you all have a wonderful week! I am so proud of my little bro for being the King of the school and for the race that he ran! What a great kid right?! Not to mention the smooch in front of everyone... (; I love you all! Be sure to look for some fun and some smiles this week! ♥

Love, Elder Taylor Abel.. a very happy fellow

Elder Neilson, Elder Eiker, Elder Naylor and me

 Ward Friends

Ana Rocks!


Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Guided by the Spirit

This week I felt the Spirit guide us.. I know without a doubt in my heart that the Spirit guides missionary work. The other day we had 2 charlas fall through within 15 minutes of leaving the house.. #uruguayprobs.  We didn´t know what to do.. we were honestly just walking around aimlessly. Just then I had an impression that we should go visit Lourdes and Marcelo. I couldn´t deny it. I put it off for a second as we went to another house and then I told Elder Naylor that we need to go visit them because they are going to be there. (side note: beginning of the change we went like every single day trying to find them because they were such a family of gold. We continued to do that for about 2 weeks and we decided that they were never home, and besides that, their home was off the beaten path). Elder Naylor was down to make a visit so we made the long walk over there. As we showed up to the house they were outside. We were invited in and we had an absolutely beautiful charla with them about the Restoration. I don't why we were supposed to go other there... who knows maybe they won't be baptized by us, but I know that our Heavenly Father is preparing them to baptized. I am so grateful for the Holy Ghost and for the way that it guides us. 

This Saturday we have the opportunity to watch one of God´s daughters enter the waters of baptism.. Ana is so ready!  We still don't know who is baptizing her, I hope she picks Naylor... it would be awesome for him. We couldn't be more excited for her and we are soo happy to see her change her life and become a member of the only true church! Missionary work truly is a blessing! Love it!

We received changes and we got another change together! Wahoo! It is going to be a sweet change. I am super excited for all that we are going to do. I am so grateful for Elder Naylor and for the fun that we have as we work our tail ends off. We definitely are very blessed here in Cerro 8. 



Well peeps.. I sure do love you all! Time is going by way too fast.. next P-day we will be preparing for general conference.. like what?! I can't believe we are already here again! I hope that you all have a wonderful week! Keep smiling and know that the Lord blesses you daily!

Love, Elder Taylor Abel.. a smiling missionary!



In celebration of my 15 months out....we made a cake that Taylor Hancock sent me for my birthday last year.  It was a blue velvet cake with yummy yellow frosting... which is so Uruguayan and adorable!  We had fun making the cake, but it was even better when we each ate half of it in one night.... so much cake but so worth it!



Enjoying an "Alfajor" treat.  Now you see it.....


Now you don't

Monday, September 14, 2015

"Lift up thy head and rejoice..."

How are you doing? 


Things this last week went pretty well. I am super grateful for this area and for the people that are here to help us. I am grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord that we are able to notice in our day to day activities. I am grateful for you and for the trust you have in me, and for your help in making me the man I know I can be. I am full of gratitude this morning as I received an email from a friend on a mission who is thinking about going home. He has a lot of time in the mission and I couldn't help but think of the many blessings he has received and the many blessings that the Lord has in store for him as he continues his missionary service. I hope he continues to serve because this is such a great work. I am so grateful for my mission and for the many things that I am learning, and for the love of our Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ. The gospel is true and I am so grateful to share the good news with the people of Uruguay. What a blessing! 

This past week I have been having some rougher days. I have felt pretty inadequate as I try to train Elder Naylor.  I have been praying to find out what I need to do to help him become the missionary the Lord needs. As I helped my friend who is going through this hard decision of staying in his mission or ending it short, I found my answer... Alma 8:15 "Blessed art thou, (Elder Abel) (insert your name here); therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great cause to rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God."  I need to just lift up my head and follow the other counsel in Doctrine and Covenants 6:36, "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not."  I need to stop doubting myself and I need not fear.. the Lord is with me. I need to put my confidence in Him because I am nothing without Him. I am so grateful for this sweet answer that I was able to find. I am grateful for the scriptures and for the answers they truly give. The Book of Mormon is true and really does help us in times of need.  How blessed we are as missionaries of the Lord God Almighty.  How blessed are all of you as members of the only true church on the face of the earth!  

This week went pretty good other than the rougher days. We had some more cool stories with Ana and I will only share one with you today because I mean, I have to have some stories that you haven't heard! Her dad recently passed away....he was pretty old and pretty sick from smoking for most of his life. They had given him like 2 to 3 months to live, but he only made it a week after that.  We we had a charla with her and just answered her questions that she had. We set up another day to go by and share The Plan of Salvation.. the last part of it where we talk about where we go after we die. The last time, we had taught the Plan of Happiness but only to the Atonement and so it was the next thing to teach anyways.. the Lord works in mysterious ways! However, after talking with her for quite some time, she began to describe this rocks that her dad loves.. you find them in Artigas and Rivera (Northern Uruguay).. they have purple diamonds. As we finished up the lesson she told us that she had something for us.. we went out into another room and she let us choose a rock from her collection so that we would always remember her.. what a sweetheart. She then told us that we have done so much for her and that we don´t even know it.. as she said that, all I could think of is how much she is doing in my life. She blesses our lives with rich experiences every time we are over there.. such a blessing for us. (Picture of us and the rocks for next week.) Ps... she went to church and loved it as well! ¡Vamos Arriba!

Well my dearest family, I hope that all is well and that you may "lift up thy head and rejoice" and remember that the Lord is always with you. Elder Naylor shared this with me and so I would like to share it with you.. 

Footprints in the sand

"One night I dreamed a dream. 
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You'd walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you."
- by Mary Stevenson 

I love you ♥


when bad weather comes and you can't hang clothes outside 
#wetclothesprobs



La Iglesia.. hermoso no?



Down the street from our house.. welcome to Cerro!


Monday, September 7, 2015

Gathering the House of Israel

How are you?  Things this week went super good. We were able to meet up with Ana a few times this week and she is as good as they get. We feel so blessed that we were able to find her. This past week she attended stake conference.  She is still strong in preparing to be baptized on the 26th.  Last night we taught the Plan of Salvation. Every Sunday or weekend, she goes and visits her son in jail. She usually comes back super down and very disseminated.. but yesterday she was smiling and happy after going to the conference. As she went over to the jail and through the scanner, the scanner started to go off because of her HLJ ring and the guards asked her to take it off.  She told them that it means a lot to her.....  the guards let her through and just told her not to wear it next time. As she was talking to her son, she told him that this was the way to freedom and gave him the ring telling him what it meant. Haz lo justo.  She said it was a very tender moment for her as she gave her ring away to her son who recently entered jail 3 months ago. Last night things just kept clicking for her through the lesson and her testimony is growing stronger and stronger as we explain things that she has never heard before. Every time we go to her house we just leave feeling so good, with a new love for the mission and the people. As we help her grow, she has no idea what she is doing for us. We have grown tons just from visiting her and seeing some of the troubles that she faces and her determination to learn, change and continue smiling. Definitely the highlight of the week in the work.  p.s. We took Ana a new ring because she asked for another, she said she felt naked without it.. golden right?

Stake Conference went super good. We heard from President Guarteche (stake pres), some people with testimonies about reactivating in the church, President and Hermana Ventura (Temple Pres and wife), President and Hermana Smith, and Elder Svec and his wife.. he is a member of the area 70 I believe. The conference went super good and Ana listened very closely to the messages. Two of the messages that I would like to share with you guys. One comes from Hermana Ventura.. she talked about baptism and how it is only valid if we go completely under the water, she likened it to missionary work and the work of salvation all together.. we must completely immerse ourselves in the work for it to be valid. May you all do what is need to immerse yourselves in the work of salvation. The other comes from President Smith.. it is another analogy. He talked about how when he was 5 years old, he was playing with his friend and they went into the backyard and played and played for around 4 hours. He was having a blast but his worried parents were frantically looking for him.. he had no idea but when his parents found him, they stressed how worried they were.. he likened this to the house of Israel.. we have many of our friends lost.. they don´t even know that they are lost, because they don't know that they are part of the house of Israel. Why are we not frantically looking for them? I invite you to begin worrying for those who are lost as if they were your own kids.. let's gather the house of Israel together!

I love you guys. I know that Christ and Heavenly Father love you all soo much. I hope that you are able to enjoy this week.  Share the Gospel and you will be blessed. Have a wonderful week!

Love, Elder Taylor Abel a proud son, brother and missionary.. a missionary who loves his family with all his heart.


"Go UTES" all the way from Uruguay!


Bowling today with the zone! Super fun!