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, March 28, 2016

God Loves YOU!

How are you doing? 

Things here have been going good.  We had a little scare the other day when Elder Huamali and Elder Medina separated from each other due to miscommunication between them.... classic mission calls telling us that they are alone and don't know where their comp is.. can´t beat it  Ü  Other than that it was a awesome week! Yesterday was amazing, I was able to travel down to Montevideo for a fireside with Elder Huamali. (Those who hadn't participated in one yet had the chance to go down and participate.) We sang songs, there were videos and some really good testimonies from recent converts. I loved the opportunity to participate. I felt the Spirit so strong in so many parts of it. The part that I was just overwhelmed by the Spirit was during the first testimony. I believe that her name was Candela.  She bore such a powerful yet simple testimony and I had another confirmation that the church indeed is true. It was a feeling that I can´t deny.

To add to a great Sunday, after the fireside on Sunday we got a text from a young women in our ward that has been helping us with her boyfriend as he investigates the church. He is Mathyas. The message asked how many charlas we still needed to teach him so that he can be baptized. I definitely wasn't expecting a message like that because he has been kind of up and down lately and hasn't really had the desires to be baptized due to some doubts that he had.. however, I responded to the message and it turns out that he has the desires to be baptized. I then talked to Elder Saldivar about it today after getting home and he told me that yesterday at church he had a change of heart, the Spirit testified to him and helped him solve his doubts.  I am so grateful for that beautiful gift we receive after being baptized, what a blessing it is in my life and in so many others. 
 
This week I would like to testify of your divine potential. I know that each of you have divine potential and that God loves you. I know that our Heavenly Father is loving because I have felt His love. I know Him to be a very merciful God as well and that mercy is due to His perfect son Jesus Christ. I know that Christ died for us so that we may live. This last week I found some time on my hands and decided to decorate around my desk a little bit.. I cut out some pictures of Christ and found a line/quote that I love. I put the quote in the middle and taped the pictures of Christ around it. The line is "Para que tengamos gozo". I know that Christ lived, died and rose from the dead so that we may be full of joy. I know that Christ lives today and that one day we will find ourselves in front of Him to be judged according to our works, what a blessing it is to know these things. I hope that you had a wonderful Easter and I wish you all a very happy week. May you find yourselves on your knees in prayer this week searching for guidance and may you find it as we listen to our church leaders is my desire for each of you. I love you! 

Elder Taylor Abel 








Monday, March 21, 2016

Anchored by Faith

How are y'all doing? 

I really enjoyed this last week it was full of opportunities to change. We had our leadership meeting with President Smith, the assistants and the rest of the zone leaders, along with the Hermanas who are leaders. I had a moment to talk with President one on one and we talked about everything that was going on.. he then said, well it has been a problem in other areas as well so we are going to address it today. The Hermanas left and did their own thing and we had a big boy talk with President Smith. He "dropped cane" as people say it here in Uruguay but he did it with love. We then all committed to raise the bar of obedience in the mission and be the leaders.... pretty great talk! It was exactly what we needed here for Fray Bentos and for Mercedes and to add to it the divisions with Elder Chuyes and Elder Guevara.. the assistants. After concilio we went back to Fray Bentos in Hermana Smith's car.  The divisions were great, I had the opportunity to be with Elder Chuyes in the studies and the afternoon and he helped me out a lot, we had one of my most spiritual companionship studies in the mission together and we just laid everything out on the table and he gave me advice of what I could do. Very inspired divisions for sure because I know that Elder Guevara was exactly what Elder Saldivar needed too. Lots learned! The leadership meeting was awesome Ü

Between the leadership meeting and the divisions I learned a lot about being very clear and direct but also doing so with love. We are going to do divisions this week with Elder Medina and Elder Huamali. I believe that I am going to go with Elder Huamali and try to help him reach his full potential by being straight forward and loving.. I mean there is a reason that we have spent so much time together in the same zones. I will let you all know how that goes.

Our zone training here was amazing and we were able to be edified by each one of the zone members. We set some high goals together and set little short term goals to hit the high goals. We are going to start a zone fast today after lunch and end it as a zone tomorrow after district meeting. We are building faith to see miracles here..(see 2 Nephi 27:23) I just finished up a study about miracles and faith and I now know that faith is truly needed in order to have miracles.. one line that President said that I loved was.. "Miracles don´t require time, they require faith".. amen to that. So many great scriptures that testify of it as well. I also received a testimony as I shared mine.. that a day without the Book of Mormon is a day in darkness.. so grateful for my daily study of the Book of Mormon. I gained this knowledge through something Elder Bednar taught us.. The world is darkness and the Book of Mormon is the light. Some people get so confused in life about church doctrine and things they find on the internet and there is a simple question.. "Are you giving the same time to the sources that destroy your faith as you are to the Book of Mormon?" "Then why are you surprised to find yourself in the dark when you turned off the light?"

Things here in Mercedes have been better and we are going to amplify the spiritually here in this zone. I know that all things are possible in Christ and I thank the Lord for the challenges and difficulties that He gives me so I can grow and learn. Thank you for all you do! I sure do love you all so much and I know that God loves us.. and that He loves YOU!

Elder Taylor Abel.. a missionary anchored by faith.




Arrived in Mercedes


Look who I found in Mercedes....Elder Vargas




Monday, March 14, 2016

A Beautiful new area....Fray Bentos

Hola!
  
This week has been amazing and quite difficult. First things first, I love Fray Bentos. I had told you all that I was going to Mercedes and I am in the zone Mercedes but I am actually in the city of Fray Bentos.  It has been so great to re-open the area (which means that they just sent the two missionaries that were here to another part and we came in. Elder Huamali and an Elder Medina are opening the other area in Fray Bentos but we don´t share a ward with them) The ward here is called Commercial. It has been a very humbling experience nonetheless it has been wonderful. It is weird leaving the house with little plans but somehow we always find someone to talk with and the members have been a huge help. 

We were able to talk with Bishop Selius and he has been great, love the man already. He is a lot like an Uncle Jason or Dr. Prince with the way that he jokes but once he began to be serious it was great. (read my journal entry picture for me.. )(Let me know if you like the idea of sending journal entries to read as well) We also had the opportunity to talk with President Patrone, and he was the reason that we are in this area now. He is a good friend of President Smith and he asked that we be here in this area. What an excellent stake president. I am super impressed with him, he gave a few references and told us that we could have a charla in his house whenever we wanted, lots of blessings here in Fray Bentos.

As for the zone, I have a few worries. This last Friday when we had district meeting I realized that the zone is super close.. which isn´t a bad thing but I feel like we are a little too close that I am not sure what went on here last change. I talked to an Elder Alvarado (who was here last change) a little bit and he said it was pretty normal for everyone to mess around. I also have some worries for Fray Bentos, I have been obedient for 21 months.. not just gonna throw it away like that.. this may be a very lonely 2 changes. I talked a little with Huamali today because we are pretty good buddies since we have been together for a good part of the mission.. I feel like if I can get him to be obedient with me we will be fine. Other than that, it has been great here, love it! It has some real potential to be my favorite area.. so beautiful.

Things here though have been good so no worries just got to get back into the hang of things.. like I said this just could be a very lonely change.. let´s hope not (:

Well my cute family, I sure hope that you guys have a wonderful week! Keep smiling and find time to pray lots and read them scriptures.. I know that if you guys do you will see that you are happier and are more at peace.. I promise! I love you soo much! Until next week Ü

Love, Elder Taylor Abel.. an elder not giving up that easy!


Beautiful bike ride this morning! It is sooo beautiful here. 


Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Twelve Weeks to GO....but who's counting!

Well.. I can´t believe how fast time is flying. I only have 12 weeks left. To put it into perspective for you.. the time I have left would be my time with either.. Elder Vargas, Elder Studebaker, Elder Devashrayee or with Elder Naylor.. take your pick! Pretty nuts if you ask me, but hey I still have plenty of time! #nottrunky solo para que sepan como me siento (;

So you are all probably wondering what happened with changes.. they actually came relatively early yesterday. We finished our personal study and we were both praying when the phone rang..I was thinking that it was a missionary from the zone asking for their changes.. like normal even though we don´t ever get changes early haha.. anyways.. so I didn't worry about the phone and I noticed that Elder Emrich either.. just as the ringing was about to stop Emrich got up and it was already too late.. missed call.. I heard under his breath.. "ah.. President!" I thought.. well that sucks, the one time he calls we are praying! Emrich gave him a call and I finished up my prayer and I heard that Elder Emrich was getting a new companion.. Elder Blair from Indiana. I didn't know what to think.. I then had the chance to talk to President. He told me that I am headed down to Mercedes! I finally get a 3rd zone! I will be opening an area as zone leader with Elder Saldivar a good mission friend. He is from Elder Huntsman's group so he has right around 17 months. He is from Paraguay and he is a super stud! He was in Salto a change ago.. great kid!

I am very excited for what lies ahead for me in Mercedes with Elder Saldivar. It will be awesome to be with him, he is a great friend and I look forward to working with him. Super excited to open the area and work with the stake president there. I was sure what to think of the change when I first got it just because things were finally clicking here in Ceibal but I know that it where I need to be and more importantly where the Lord has called to me to serve so vamos arriba! Also parents it looks like we have another stop to make before getting to Salto Ü

Things here in Ceibal this past week went super well, I really enjoyed my last week in Salto. It was definitely one to remember and I can say that I went out with a bang. We worked really hard this week to have a better attendance and get our investigators back to church and it worked out. The Lord blessed us with a beautiful Sunday and it couldn't have better. We were able to have 5 investigators in the church. Margarita, Monica, Lauro, Mikaela and Juan.... and an attendance of 105 all together. The best week I have had in my time here in Ceibal.. lots of good things to come for Elder Emrich and Elder Blair. I am excited to see all the great things that they do! 

This basically sums up the good ole week.. today we had a zone activity. We played Volleyball and 21 Tip-in. Volleyball as a zone. Pretty good time, lots of good missionaries here in Salto! Other than that today we just have some packing to do and some more "see you later's".. the two things I am not too fond of doing.. but do what you gotta do right? Blessings of staying for a lot of time in one area Ü

I hope that you all have a wonderful week and are able to enjoy some time reading the scriptures! I have been reading in the war chapters of Alma and I know that we have these chapters for a reason.... other than great war stories we can find many great things for our life. Check it out (: I love you all so much!

Love, Elder Taylor Abel Ü




I spilled some milk eating some cereal the other day and it totally made a Mickey Mouse!


Beautiful Salto!



With Monica.. she is definitely getting baptized next change!