Taylor’s Email

#12 June 7, 2010

Well my family... thanks for your prayers : )

I am doing great... we are going to work it all out, we found a specialist today and he’ll be able to do it... the only frustrating thing is the wasted time...so it seams, but God has a purpose does he not? He does : )

Thanks for all of your uplifting thoughts, I love hearing from each of you and I’m sorry I can’t write back individually to each of you, be assured that I want to! Time Nâo dar por isso. I do not have time. About that package someone mentioned... I really don’t NEED anything! Promise. But if you do send something... pictures are great : ) and . .. American treats are rare here. haha. I love you all. The Lord is watching over me, and our family.

I hope you all thoroughly enjoy Island Park without me! I have thought about Lake Powell a time or two. I’ll admit it! haha

Love you all - Elder Johnson

Friends - So the cat is out o the bag for my family already, but my face became monstrous this week. I had a tooth go crazy and I look like Alvin. To summarize things up, the Lord is in everything and I’m being taken care of : ) I'm not in pain, just waiting for treatment. AND, we were able to get a reference from my dentist here, and the missionaries in their area were able to teach them already. Turns out there are 8 dentists living together, there used to be one that was LDS and they always looked up to her, but they were quite sure why she would party or do things on Sunday with them...Well, now they know why there was something different about her, and they’ll have the chance to accept the gospel! If this was the ONLY reason for going through some mouth pain... then it was absolutely 100 percent worth it.

I wanted to share a quote that I read, "The happiest people in the world are the people who love their neighbors and manifest their gratitude for the Lord’s blessing by their conduct in life" - George A. Smith. The first few words should grab your attention...THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. Is that not why we are here? To be happy? Now we just have to love our neighbor’s right? Almost. There is no love without action, as we learn from the second part of the quote. If we don't SHOW (Act, DO, Make, Demonstrate, etc.) our love in the conduct of our lives, then who are we? Love never has been and never will be something we can just speak, just profess; it is what we do that matters. The phrase is SHOW love for other not, TELL love for others right? I’m convinced that a mission is just that... All our lives we learn how to talk the talk(of the gospel)...how to give a talk in church, bear testimony, offer thanks... a mission is the time when, whether we want to or not, we learn to walk the walk (of the gospel, of Christ). We have 2 years, simple, to put into action all the things that we have ever learned.

I know 100% that I could have done better to walk the walk before my mission rather than just talk the talk. I guess that is my challenge this week... Walk the walk a little more this week.

I love you all - Elder Johnson

PS's. I’m going to look at the stars tonight.... the same ones you will see...AWESOME!