Happy New Year!

  

 I hope everyone had a good Christmas!  It was really nice to be able to talk with you guys.  Definitely didn(t feel like an hour - that's for sure.  Sorry if this e-mail is kind of lame.  I just got home from hiking and coconut finding/drinking and I(m pretty tired . . . anyways - so Dominicans kind of have Christmas pretty mixed up here.  It(s like they saw an American New Years, and they thought that was what they were supposed to do for Christmas.  But it(s not . . . (sorry, the apostrophe key is giving me the wrong sign). The Dominicans Christmas dinner is spaghetti, empanadas, chicken and potato salad (weird combo right) - and then after dinner, they go drink until they are just destroyed.  The kids run around the streets like yahoos and light off fireworks.  Oh! and music from the club next door was playing until 6:45 that morning.  But it was a good time.  That morning, all of the Elders in the District came over and we made pancakes and eggnog and watched the First Presidency Christmas Conference and then we all got to call home.  I think that day I ate 6 or 7 epanadas.  People just love to feed us.  They kind of see it as an honor to feed such high and mighty people in their home ha ha.  I know it sounds ridiculous, but that's kind of how they view us.  Kind of humbling trying to live up to the perfect standard they have set up in their minds for us.  To them we're not humans.  We're angels or some kind of higher being . . . don't worry, it's not getting to my head.  If anything - the opposite.  Then that night, our neibors brought us some spaghetti and chicken.  Good staff that Christmas.

  
So Wednesday, we had the baptisms of Madelin and her four kids Berkiz, Rymen, Mayalin, and Cassandra.  I got to baptize them because President says baptize your first investigators, then have the members do it for the rest of your mission.  It was pretty awesome!  All of the key branch members came and we had a good talk and it went really smoothly.

  
So I'm going to keep it short so I can try to send some pictures, but have a Happy New Years!

Love, Elder McBride

Elder McBride's 1st Baptism

Madelin and Family

Some branch members children that we taught on a log

We went on a hike for P-Day for the first time

Found a cool rock to climb while hiking

Best Day Ever!

     Taylor's Mom here!  Christmas Day was the best!  It was really hard because it was the first time having someone gone for Christmas - but we got to talk to him for an hour!  It was so great.  He is doing so well.  He is in such a primitive place - but he has the best attitude.  I am really proud of him.
     Some of the things he told us:
1.  He had his first baptism!
2.  They don't eat at member's homes.  It is a new rule.  They eat one meal a day at a little cafe type place.
3.  They are one of only a few that have running water.  There PVC pipe that is their shower is only cold water.
4.  He has lots of horrible bites on his legs.
5.  He loves what an adventure his mission is!
      I got a Christmas letter from his Mission President with a some of pictures that I wanted to post.  They are when he left the MTC and checked into the Mission Home.  Tomorrow is the day he usually writes so I will post that too when I get it.

Taylor with his Mission President and wife (look how much taller Taylor is)

Same pic but with new companion too

All the new missionaries on November 23, 2009

All the new missionaries with their trainer companions

At a zone conference

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone!
    
I hope you all are enjoying the cold weather!  My neighbors told me that there was a huge cold front in the US and that there was snow everywhere.  But then again, they think that New York is the whole US . . .I guess just because that's where all of their family goes.  Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the pictures!  It gets kind of hard to remember to bring the camera, let alone use it out here - but I'm trying for you Mama!
    
So this week we were supposed to have the baptisms of Madeline and her 4 kids, but it had to be delayed because of ummm . . . womenly problems - ya, that's right.  We didn't feel very comfortable suggesting anything or trying to push her, so it is supposed to be this Wednesday!  Cross your fingers for us.  Also, we have another investigator named Sonia who is doing really well and we are going to set a baptismal date today.  There are also two different families where the mothers were baptized, but their kids weren't - even though they are just as active as the mothers - so we will probably baptize them by the end of transfer too.  We could have 12 baptisms this transfer, which would be awesome!  The mission's lofty goal is for each companionship to have 6 baptisms a transfer, se we might double that.  There is also a guy named Jorge Luiz who is 19 and has been a member of the church for about a year.  He is preparing for his mission and is back from school for a month and has pretty much been our third companion recently.  He puts on his church clothes, grabs his backpack and works all day when he can.  He is an awesome teacher already, and gives us references out the wazoo.  It's nice to have someone with us that everyone likes.  The kids don't throw rocks at me as much.
    
As for the food and housing questions.  Commonly, everywomen over the age of 30 is over weight, even with the worms and parasites and stuff.  They just don't eat nutritious food really.  They buy the cheap stuff, which is generally not quite as good for you - am I right?  The food is good though.  Elder Currie and I eat beans and rice with a choice between chicken and beef everyday.  It is really good, but everyone here likes to soak their food in oil which was kind of gross at first, but I'm used to it.  Then for breakfast or dinner it kind of just depends.  We don't have a break for dinner, so sometimes I'll just have a roll or something when I get home.  We also buy some cheap cornflakes.  But most of the time, I just kind of eat lunch and forget about all the other meals.  I kind of get too caught up worrying about other things - which probably isn't that healthy, so I'll try harder.  I'm probably a few pounds lighter right now, but not by much I don't think.  Oh, but the fruit is amazing!  It is so fresh and flavorful.  Oh, (you're not gonna believe this - Taylor has hated bananas since he was tiny) and I REALLY like bananas now!  It took me a while to get used to them, but after eating pig intestine - they just didn't seem so bad anymore :)  I kind of crave them now.
    
The house really isn't that bad, I promise.  I'll send some inside pictures next week.  We have a legit roof, and since we are on the second floor, (an old couple lives beneath us) we don't have the rat problems other people do.  The kitchen is really small, runs on our own propane,and our shower is just a PVC pipe out of the wall - but it's all good!
    
So this week we had an open house of a new chapel in our District, so we went over to help with that.  I was chosen to help greet the people out front, get their information, and prep them for the tour which proved to be really hard.  Dominicans don't really like to listen to directions . . . but it really pushed me and my Spanish which was good for me.  All in all it has been a great week!  We have a District Christmas party on Christmas morning, when we watch the First Presidency message and we are gonna make gallons of eggnog in the blender I bought.  It's awesome for making juice!  Shout out to my letter writers this week.  Thanks Ashley and Andrew!  Good luck in the field buddy!  You have letters on the way.  Have a great Christmas everyone and I'll call you soon family!

Love, Elder Taylor

Here are some more pictures from the Senior Missionary couple - the Berkleys!

I promised Taylor he would wish he had taken the piano more seriously :)

Elder Currie and Elder McBride with one of the blind men they are teaching

Taylor and Elder Currie posing on the motorcycle (they can't really ride them!)

Running Out of Good Titles . . .

The view from my bedroom window

Hey Everyone!  Life is good here in the DR.  Where to start . . . so glad to hear about Travis and Joey's mission calls!  I'm extremely stoked for them.  Especially Joey - going to teach where his family came from.  Pretty nuts. Oh! and Travis to Argentina!  Which one though?  There's like a million!  And about Brother Christianson - that's terrible.  I hope Scott's all right out there in Florida.  That would be so tough to have your dad die.

So we got to go into the city again for our Christmas Zone Conference!  That was really cool!  Some good musical numbers - but the best part was when President pulled out the power point about mission stats.  It's amazing to see how many baptisms some areas of the mission get.  Last transfer the AP's had 23!  So the Monte Plata area is usually the last area for baptisms, but we are doing sooo well right now.  We have 2 already and a family of 5 for this Saturday!  The Pres. turned to us during the conference and said "Monte Plata, estan trabajando milagros" (you're working miracles) - so that was pretty cool!  Later we got to sit on Santa's lap and they fed us a Christmas dinner, so it was a good time.
So, the Espanol.  It's going pretty good I'd say.  If I'm concentrating hard, I can catch about 90%, but every once in a while someone will ask me a question and I have no idea what they said and feel like an idiot . . . but those are getting further apart which is nice.  So the whole both MTC's thing was nice, because I started to get an ear for it early - but they taught no Spanish in the DR MTC because the teachers couldn't speak any English - so I'm having to teach myself everything which is pretty tough, but probably good for me anyways.  You know how in the US, black people use a lot of really different kinds of names??  LaFonda, Shaniqua, Shaquille, Amare, Beyonce?  Ya, same thing here.  It's pretty hard to catch people's names because a lot of the time they are not even Spanish.  Por Ejemplo Berkiz, Rymin, Suhaiti, and stuff like that.  My companion of 20 months still has trouble with those though.
So, we're teaching two blind men men currently.  Edgar and El Pato (everyone has nicknames here, and a lot don't even respond to their real name) and it made me think that what you do with your life is totally up to you.  Edgar is happily married, has two kids, a nice house and is the President for a blind person association and everyone in the town knows and loves him.  El Pato on the other hand, lives in a dirty, nasty wood shack by himself because his wife was tired of dealing with his alcoholism and wasting money on women.  He's mean to everyone, so everyone is mean back - especially the little kids.  And, he has no money.  Both of these men were put in tough situations by God, but they handled them differently and look what happened.  You always have a say in how your life turns out.  Especially in hard situations.

I'm going to end a little early because I am going to try to send some pictures, but have a good week and enjoy the Christmas season!

Love, Elder McBride

P.S.  Family - I'm sending a bunch of letters for Christmas right now and I hope they get there in time. The package that got broken into was candy canes, trail mix and lemonade powder . . . sorry, I ate them already :)  It wasn't a surprise anymore, so what's the point in waiting right? I know you just sent a Christmas package, so don't feel like you need to send this stuff right away, but this is what I am in need of:  A small day pack - face wash (it's liquid gold here) a plastic watch (not leather - it is so hot that they start to smell).  There are no shoe fixer upper's here in Monte Plata, so I was only wearing my other pair, but those rip my sock in a certain place by my heel when I wear them, so I've been wearing the bad toe ones and I think I might just glue them.  Brother Dickerson - ever since I got your letter talking about licorice nibs, I have been craving them even more than a greasy cheeseburger!  And, thanks for asking!  I love you all and have a good Christmas season and give Murphy an extra pet for me!

Here is my Christmas table :)

Me on the path to the Doce

We had a service project preparing branches with machetes for a hut!

Jungle Sunset

Junior and Richard.  Jose Manwell is the big one on the left that baptized them

The water we baptized them in.  It just kind of comes out of the pipes like that . . .

Letter from a Senior Sister Missionary (my own personal angel)!

Dear Family of Elder McBride.

My husband and I are senior missionaries serving in the same branch as your son.  We thought you would enjoy seeing him at a branch activity we had.

Your son is doing a great job.  We see him on Sundays (we are working in Santo Domingo but are assigned to the Monte Plate branch)  I was very impressed with him on his first Sunday in the field.  He is friendly with the people and not afraid to speak Spanish.  He seems to be doing well and adjusting to the hot humid weather.  I know that if he were my son, I would be very proud of the work he is doing..  He and Elder Currie have a lot of work to do.  It is hard because there are people who want to be baptized but can’t because they have to get married first.  This is a problem throughout the country.  My husband and I have been here since the middle of Oct. and it has been a life changing experience for me to see how much poverty there is.  The people seem to be happy though. 

If you are able to get the attached photos without too much difficulty and would like more, I would be happy to keep you posted (as long as your son is in this area).  Again, he is doing a great job.  I can tell he misses his family, especially at this holiday time but they are busy and doing great.  

Sincerely, Sister Berkley

Working on a picture frame

Taylor's companion - Elder Currie

People at the activity

Buenas from La Republica Dominicana!

Hey Everyone - it's been awhile!  Before I start, I just want to say I have a terrible version of Aladdin's "A Whole New World" in Spanish playing in the  background.  Sorry if this letter is a little disoriented.  I have so much to say and so little time to say it.  For those of you who don't know, I missed a P-Day, so it had been 2 weeks since I had written home and then last week while I was getting everything out on e-mail, the power gave out and all was erased.  Yes, my hour-long masterpiece . . . but I'm over that now - no worries!


So, about the power going out. Actually, that is extremely common.  The same with water.  That goes for the whole country.  I got sent out to the boondocks for my first area!  The beautiful town of Monte Plata.  It  really is beautiful!  Well . . . outside the town is beautiful - thick jungle and the works.  There is garbage all over  the streets (a few are paved), but I'm already kind of used to it now.  We are the only missionaries for about 25 miles in any direction.  The people here mostly live in wood huts with dirt floors and tin roofs.  Almost all have pay-as-you-go cell phones though.  That was kind of weird to see.  Some have TV's, but the big thing is to have a huge bumpin' stereo system.  The kids usually run around naked with the stray dogs and it's definitely the Caribbean here -  soooo laid back.  People usually work for just a few hours a day.  Then they just kinda chill at home or at the homes of others.  All drive around on motorcycles.  No one has the money for a car, so between all this, you could say it's louder than a Harley rally on the 4th of July!  My ears are kind of used to it now and it is kinda weird to hear silence.


My companion is Elder Currie from Alberta, Canada.  He is a good guy, a hard worker, funny and has some awesome Spanish.  My last two companions and I got along just fine, but didn't share many common interests.  But I feel like I kind of lucked out this time.  Oh, and he's the District Leader too.


So, my first church experience here was kind of an eye opener.  Here it goes.  We have an investigator who had an extremely abusive husband and ___________ helped her get out of there a little.  Well, __________ wife kind of flipped out.  She would wait outside the church and yell the most terrible things.  Things are a little better now, and the investigator and her three kids have a baptism date for this Saturday and it's looking good!!!   We had two baptisms last week.  Two 14 year old boys named Richard and Junior.  It went really well, but I felt like I didn't really get to know them that well.  But they're awesome boys - they'll do great in the church!  Our branch here has about 300 hundred members but only about 40 less active and 15 active.  It's really kind of sad.  A lot of them just don't get it. They don't see the full perspective of our purpose here.  So a lot of people over 30 or so don't know how to read, and all are extremely lazy so this is supposed to be one of the hardest areas in the mission. It is the most walking area in the mission.  But, we're kind of tearing it up right now cuz Elder Currie's the man!


So there is this little village about 15 miles out of town called the "doce" that we have two investigating families in - so we get to go out there quite a bit.  It's so cool.  We usually hop in the bed of a passing truck over there, then hike this jungle path to the houses.  Oh, and last night an extremely poor family kind of pushed food in front of our faces and were getting all offended when we said no.  So, we had big bowls of soup.  Not sure what kind and definitely don't know what was in it.  I don't really want to know to be honest with you.  I think I saw a carrot! . . . anyways, I love going out there because it's the adventure of a mission that I had always dreamed of as a little kid!  We have to be careful at night tho, because apparently at one of the crossings a few miles away, there is a group of Haitian's with machetes and it can get kind of dangerous.  But don't worry mother dearest, we are being careful!


Lots of bugs here - you better believe it!  My companion has some sweet bug stories and both our ankles are kind of attacked every night because we don't have mosquito nets, but they are some sweet battle scars!  There is tons of fruit everywhere - all ridiculously huge.  The people don't have much but they always have food because to be honest, they have no excuse to be hungry.  The ground is so fertile they could grow rocks.


I LOVE it out here.  I hope this didn't sound pessimistic or anything - just telling it like it is! I love my family so much and have been missing all of you.  I know I am doing the right thing and I am doing so well.  Keep me in your prayers!  I got the Christmas package!  Thank you so much.  One of the presents was opened at one point I think, but everything seems to be there.  I have letters on the way for you for Christmas.   Have a good week everyone!


Love,
Elder McBride


p.s.  I hope you had a good Thanksgiving!  I didn't do much - but I did give a paralyzed man a bucket shower because he told us he smelled bad.  He is a member named Carlos.  It really made me grateful, that's for sure.

If Anyone's Wondering? . . .

Hi, this is Taylor's Mom.  It has been 2 weeks tomorrow since Taylor has written.  He left the Dominican MTC on November 23rd.  I have tried to patiently wait to hear from him - but it has gotten harder and harder.  It has really been a trial for me.  Well, this afternoon, I heard my e-mail ding and saw it was from Taylor and was soooo excited!  Then I read it and it made me sad.  Here's what it said:

Hey, the mission's going good.  I just wrote an entire hour-long letter and the computer failed.  I've never been so  frustrated in my life.  I might just shoot someone.   I am so sorry I can't write more - but I'm trying to be obedient.  I'll talk to you as soon as I can.  I am sooooo sorry.


I am so glad to hear that he is okay, but I feel so bad for him, and I was so looking forward to hearing about what has happened since he left the MTC and what he did for Thanksgiving.  Well, I guess we'll just have to wait a little longer!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It was a super good week again! Time just speeds by here.  I can't believe it's almost been two months already!  That's 1/12th of my mission!  I don't think I'm ever going to want to go home (sorry Mom)! :)  Thank you sooooo much for the package!  No worries - I shared it.  I shared a lot actually, but then felt bad because it probably took a lot of money to send it over here.  I am saving the rest and it should be safe from the other Elders because I set a Book of Mormon on top of it - so they'll either have to crawl under, over, or around that book to get to it . . . Jeffrey R. Holland anyone?  Haha - I'm such a nerd, sorry!


Speaking of the Book of Mormon - I finished it this week!  Very good book and I recommend it to everyone.  Oh, but I started to keep a study journal that I write in as I read and thoughts come into my head, and it is amazing how much more in depth I get with the scriptures that way.  I should have started that a long time ago, and you should have too.  My testimony of the book is so much stronger than ever before!  I can whip a scripture out of it for just about everything now.


I'm glad to hear about the garden!  I hope it's delicious. I think I'm a little malnourished here because I haven't had vegetables in 6 weeks, but it's all right. You sent a Christmas package already huh!  I'm super excited!  The last one got here in 12 days, so not too shabby!


So . . . M. Russell Ballard came to the DR for a Caribbean area conference and stayed in the MTC building.  He never came and said hi or anything, but we got to watch his conference which was really good.  He was the apostle that set this country apart for missionary work, so he loves it.


Every Sunday, we watch a "video fireside" of past apostles that spoke in Provo, and this week we watched L. Tom Perry.  He spoke in Provo about a week after we left!  I was kinda sad that we missed him - but it's the same message anyways, so no worries.  We also have firesides on Sunday nights, and this past Sunday, a stake choir came to sing for us.  To be completely honest, they sounded pretty bad, but they sang with all their might.  They believed what they were singing and I could see their testimonies in their eyes.  I cried like a baby . . . I can't think of the last time I actually really cried, but that night was just incredible.  My love for the people here grew like 1,000,000,000,000 times!


So, I'm not exactly sure what will happen for Thanksgiving here, but because it's not a national holiday, I'm pretty sure that it's gonna be nothing.  But, I hope it's good back in old AZ!  Watch some football or the Macy's Day Parade, or something for me.  Oh, and stuff your face!  But, remember how the Lord has blessed your life.  It may seem hard to tell from your comfy couches in Gilbert, AZ, but if you came over to the DR, you'd know what I meant.  You are blessed beyond what you know.


I leave on Monday and I'm not sure when my p-day will be in the field, so I figured I'd throw my two cents worth in about Thanksgiving!  Oh, and the Dominicans are already putting up Christmas trees!  Ya, they have them here - all fake, but they have the right idea.  I love you all and I'll talk to you later!


Love,
Elder McBride

Dominican MTC

Hola

Another week?!  What?  It honestly seems like yesterday when I last wrote. Time goes by so fast here.  So, where to start . . . I leave here on the 23rd. The President of the East Mission lives in an apartment complex that overlooks the MTC and I guess sometimes he watches up play basketball, haha.  So, the East missionaries just pick up their bags and walk across the street early that morning, and you get sent out to do work that day!  Nuts!  I am super stoked to go out into the campo (field) and teach people for real, and share our amazing message, but I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little nervous. This is when my Spanish will really count!  Will they laugh at me! - or will they feel the spirit I'm trying to share with them?  Who knows?  But the University has been going really well, that's for sure.  I understand 100% more than I did the first time I went.  Oh, and our trainers are usually North American first transfer, which will be nice, but ya, I'm so excited to get out there . . . 11 days!


So we have some Latino roommates that are pretty cool.  One, Elder Martinez is one of the most amazing basketball players I've ever played! He's amazing.  Both of the Elders in my room were baptized no more than two years ago - without any family with them.  They are so strong to be able to do that, especially when their family is against it.  Oh, and Elder Martinez was baptized by one of the teachers here while he was on his mission. Pretty cool.  We've had some incidents with the other elder peeing in the bathtub (no, not in the shower) - just got tired of the toilet I guess . . . and, he's gone on the floor a few times too . . . but, hopefully we got the point across.....


Is it cooling down at all yet?  Christmas is soon and it's weird cuz it is still super hot here.  Oh, and I keep forgetting, but about a month ago, the toe of my right shoe started coming off and it has gotten pretty bad lately.  I'm gonna try to glue it up, but I'll keep you posted about that.


So, not many exciting events or contact this week, but it has been really good, nonetheless.  I never thought I could study the scriptures for hours at a time, but now I crave it.  I've grown so much here I can feel it.  But don't worry - I'm not a new person or anything!  Still pretty goofy and a little weird sometimes!  Anyways, thanks for the letters!  It's supposed to take around a week to get here, which I think is accurate.  But, the last letters I sent took around 2 weeks, so don't worry - I'm writing back, it just takes some time.  


Love you all!
Elder McBride

Hey Everyone!

So another week here in the D.R. Nothing too exciting went on this week. We are really starting to get in the groove here. The Latino missionaries report today, so that will be kind of cool!

I think I finally picked out my missionary plaque scripture Mom. While I was doing personal study a few weeks ago, I came across Alma 29:9-10, which I really love - and I think that's the one, but I'll let you know for sure.

About my companion. He's the last child of 10 and you can definitely tell! He's nice, but kind of last childy - ya know? He is super smart. His dad is a rocket scientist and I think it rubbed off a little on him!

Thanks for Matt and Greg's letters. They were really fun. I wrote Greg last week, so the letter should have just gotten there I think - and, I'm working on a letter for Matt. It's so cool they're already out in the field.

So, there is no possible way to get any kind of sugar here, which is driving us all completely insane! We get ice cream on Sundays, but other than that - nada! I was so spoiled at home with that huge pantry and such. I honestly think that if any missionaries found candy, there would be a District-gang fight over it! haha jk - but if you ever feel like sending a package, feel free. But no pressure or anything. I know that it's really expensive. Oh, and for packages, don't send USPS, but use UPS or FEDX because they are much safer.

I'm kind of sad that I don't . . .(end of e-mail)

(new e-mail)

Sorry, I had to go get a haircut, eat lunch, do service and go to gym and now I'm back. So honestly the week has been pretty uneventful. As I said before, the Latino missionaries come today, but I really haven't seen them yet, so I'll tell you how that goes next week.

Ummmm . . . I think I made some major progress in Spanish this week. Twice a week, we have days that we can only speak Spanish, and it honestly isn't that big of a problem anymore, but, the University Spanish is definitely way harder to understand. I know with the Lord's help, I'll get the hang of it sooner or later though.

I hope Halloween was fun! Many dulces for the hermanitos? Tell Dad good luck at the Stake Youth thingy - sounds fun! And Alex playing the piano for the fireside . . . what?! Love you all and sorry this one is kind of short. It's pretty much the same old as of right now. Have a good week!

Love,

Elder McBride

p.s. Don't worry about the candy. I know we're going through some hard times right now and I'll sacrifice it! :)

Love,

Elder McBride

Más Despacio Por Favor . . . (more slowly please)

Hi Everyone! Taylor sent some pictures today, but I'm going to add them in with the posts that they belong with. So, be sure and look back through previous posts so you can see them!

The view from my room

Hey Everyone,

So I'm just going to get down to the nitty gritty of things - no time for small talk! So, we went to the University again this week! Really cool and . . . I taught a man named Heimae (sp) the entire first lesson for about 30-40 minutes . . . in Spanish! My companion has some troubles with the language, so I basically taught the whole thing, and it was so cool! I had to ask him to speak a little slower sometimes, but I thought I did pretty well! I gave him a Libro de Mormon, and he said he was going to call the number I gave him and see about going to church. Pretty cool eh? I am soooo blessed to be here at this MTC and be able to have that experience already.

Next subject. Elder Hinckley came to the MTC this week! Yes, as in the son of Gordon B. He was such an amazing man and looks A LOT like his dad. He taught us in a fireside, and came around and sat in classes and stuff. Really nice. I guess he is in the Seventy in charge of all missionary affairs, so that's why he was coming around. He told us some cool stuff. Something I remember though is that he said the people of the Caribbean are really easy to teach and baptize because they are so nice and easy going, but they are really hard to convert. Truly convert. There is kind of a problem with converting activity, so that will be taught when I get out of here.

The missionaries and the Hinckley's. Taylor is on the left side toward the back. You can see him from the nose up! Blake Williams from the 6th ward is back there too.

So lately, I have had this ridiculous, unquenchable thirst for the Book of Mormon. I just can't get enough! Honestly, I have always known the scriptures were true, and that I should read them, but I have never had this desire before! I just can't put it down. It is so incredible and has so much stuff that I never knew was there. I started over when I reported for my mission, and I'm already at the very end of Alma. Anyways, end of that story.

So, my new District is super cool. We only have eight instead of twelve. We have the only two Hermanas, one of which went to Mountain View. And, all of the Elders share the same room, so we have gotten pretty tight lately. They, unlike my last District (which I loved), don't get me wrong, but this District just always want to talk about Church related topics and scriptures and stuff, which is amazing. One of them - his name is Elder Walker - has been reading one of his pioneer ancestors journals lately. One night, he just started freaking out. I asked him what's up, and he asked "Do you have an ancestor from Haun's Mill named Father McBride?" I said yeah, and he told me this story about how his ancestor saw an old man get cruelly slaughtered by corn cutters! I was like, "What?!" It was nuts . . . what are the odds of that happening, right?

Anyways, I got the DearElders that were sent from the 22nd yesterday, so it looks like all DearElders will be delayed a little bit, but they were REALLY nice to have! Thanks to all who have been writing me. I'm working on replies! They can really make a missionary's day - trust me!

Is it possible that you could send me Matt and Greg's e-mails! I'd like to hear how they are doing. Hahaha. I bet the Ryan is the best little Harry Potter ever - that little goober! So, I'll try to send some pictures soon, but the computers are slow and often crash. So, I'll try, but no promises!

Love,

Elder McBride

FINALLY!

So I have been going absolutely crazy this last week - knowing that Taylor was feeling really sick right when he got to the Dominican Republic. I have checked my e-mail way too many times a day every day (thinking that maybe TODAY was his P-Day and I would get an e-mail from him). I had just about given up and started thinking that maybe he was gonna have to write regular letters in the DR MTC - when, late this afternoon I got the e-mail! Woohoo - now I can rest easy knowing he is okay and happy! I know . . . I'm being a silly mom - I just can't help it though. :)

Hello From the DR! So I'm here! I'll just start with a play-by-play arrival:

I went to bed at 1:00 on Wednesday night, and got up at 2:00 and I wasn’t feeling very well. Wonder why? Anyways, made it to the airport, slept for two hours on the plane to Dallas. Then there was a two hour plane ride to Florida where I sat by a nice old lady from Peru and her Niña who was going to live with her for six weeks. It was really my first time ever speaking to someone who only spoke Spanish, which was pretty fun. We talked for about 20 minutes about church and stuff and then I crashed...talk about missionary work eh? Haha just kidding!

Anyways then a two-hour flight to the DR where I sat by a man named Raque (sp?) who was playing for the Diamondbacks this past season and I swore I've seen him before! We talked for quite a while about church and stuff and he thinks I'm completely insane for leaving my family for two years and living in another country haha but he was cool! He said he wanted to give me free seats to some of his games here and gave me his number and stuff, but I said I don’t think I'll be able to go to any games, but maybe I could come by sometime and share a message when I'm good at Spanish - so he said ok! I have his number, and when I get out of here I'll see if he is in my mission.

So, we got off the plane and these 4 Dominican guys came and grabbed ALL of our suitcases. That’s right - all. There were probably around 60 suitcases total and we were kinda freakin’ out a little. But, they said to follow them so we did and pretty much walked straight out of the airport and they loaded all out stuff onto this sketchy rickety old bus. Coolest bus ride of my life hands down! It was such a new experience and being able to watch the city go by was really cool.

Me and Elder Clayton on the bus

So we get to the MTC, and no one’s here....so I wander around and go up stairs and bumped into the MTC President! He's a way nice guy. So he and his wife took us downstairs and fed us and stuff. I went to bed feeling terrible and woke up and decided to just tough it out. I took my temperature the next day after I got to send that short email home and it was in the 103's. No fun. So I popped some Advil and kept going. I've learned that there is no time to get behind because you can't get caught back up. End of intro.

So we got new Compañero's here! Fun stuff. My new companion’s name is Elder Rich. es de Park City, Utah. He's genuinely a nice guy and trying to be a good missionary. I like him.

Language: So, somehow I got put in a class of geniuses... I think it came from a teacher recommendation, but most of my new District was in the Intermediate Spanish in Provo except for the three of us, who were just good for our class. Spanish all the sudden got soooo hard. It's intimidating with pretty much everyone better than me, and my teacher Hermana Parra doesn’t remember to speak slow sometimes and Holy Cow!!! I've heard some Castallano before, but this almost puts what I've heard to shame! They go sooooo fast. AND they only finish about 30 percent of their words. They drop off all of the "s" in words and sheesh. That’s all. But the teachers are all fun and good. If anything, they seem like they're having fun when they speak if that makes sense. Oh, and when any of the teachers get any good at English, they kind of talk like Jamaican's. It's pretty funny - Jamaican with a Spanish accent. The language can be really frustrating just not knowing as many words as anyone else, but when I teach lessons (yes, I do that in Spanish now) my mouth is totally filled every time. I started spewing out words that I'm not even sure exist, but apparently they do!

So, I had my first experience contacting! Yes, I left the confines of these walls! Oh yeah, we're basically like 50 yards from the temple and can see it from a window in our room which is pretty cool. ANYWAYS, we went to the Univeridad. yes THE univeridad. the only college in the country so, there's about 120,000 students - needless to say a big place. About 10 by 6 city blocks. So it went surprisingly well! Our very first contact was a member though haha, He just got back from Institute. But, I handed out about 6 pamphlets on the 1st lesson, and hopefully a few were generally interested. I had to do most of the talking, but it's all good. It really feels like I was just tossed to the sharks sometimes. Only the other Elders speak English and all the lessons, assignments, all that you say is in Spanish - so it can get pretty tough. But anyways, contacting was pretty fun. Oh! and this girl was calling out “Elder” so I went over there and she kept calling me beautiful and moving closer, so I just kind of left. Haha it was pretty weird, but I'm ok - still here anyways haha!

The food is food - and that’s about it. Beans, rice with beef and chicken everyday for lunch (the biggest meal of the day) and just something boring for dinner. A lot of bread - but it's natural at least! That's a plus right?

Anyways, it has been really nice to get a change, and I really like it here. I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining too much. I hope Joey and Travis are getting ready. You don't realize how good it is for you until you get out here. It's absolutely amazing seeing the Lord's hand from the front row. I wrote that letter for the Priest Quorum and it will be sent tomorrow. I love it here and I love all of you too!

Elder McBride

Ps - my new pouch mail address is:

Elder Taylor McBride

Dominican Republic MTC

P.O. Box 30150

Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0150

If you do this on dearelder before noon on Thursday (it sends from Salt Lake the next Tuesday) then it will be sent in the pouch and you don't have to worry about all the regulations and such. Dearelder does it for you.

Pss - If you could update that on Facebook Sis, that would be much appreciated. Gracias

There at Last - Safe & Sick :(

I was anxiously waiting last night to hear that Taylor made it to the DR last night. I never heard anything - but then woke up to an e-mail that made me sad.

Hey Family,

I only have three minutes just to tell you I made it here safe. I got a lot sicker after I talked to you and had a fever of 102 last night. I'm feeling a little better, but still not very good - but I'll just tough it out and keep working. Love you all, and I'll get to send you a real e-mail next week.

Love you bye!

Taylor said on the phone yesterday that he had a little bit of a cold, but was doing fine. I hate that he is feeling so sick right when he got there. It really brings out the "Mom" when you hear that your son is sick and so far away. I pray that he will get well soon and hopefully by the next time we hear from him he will be a lot better.

Yay for Phonecalls!

We just got off the phone with Taylor! It was so good to hear his voice. He left the MTC today for the Dominican Republic. He had to get up at 2 am to catch a 5 am flight. He said he got about 2 hours of sleep and he has a cold. But, his spirits are good. He called from Dallas during a layover. Next, they are flying to Miami where they have another layover - then on to Santo Domingo! They will arrive about 7 pm. He said there are about 40 other Elders going. A few are going to other places in the Caribbean. Out of all of those Elders, he only knows about 4 or 5 of them. They were all in different Districts in the MTC. He also got lucky and got to see Jordan Williams by chance! Taylor was just sitting there on a couch last night and Jordan walked out of the elevator! He just reported yesterday, but he was supposed to go directly to Brazil but his Visa didn't come through. We talked about a lot of stuff, but I will wait and see if he puts it in any of his letters.

Elder Jordan Williams and Elder McBride

I took this picture while I was still in Provo and we had already dropped Taylor off. I put it on here because I love how the suns rays are shining through.

The Time Is Almost Here!

Dear Family,

So right now I’m doing my laundry for the last time at the MTC! I leave at 2 in the morning on Thursday and fly out at six. It's been really fun and I'm not gonna lie, I'm really sad to leave. I love my District here, they're all such good guys. Oh! I kind of broke up a fight this week! Elder _____ and Elder _____ don't get along very well. I was over by the mail, and the Spirit prompted me to turn around so I did, and Elder ____and ______ started pushing each other. They were just about to start throwing punches when I jumped in the middle and talked some sense into them. They're such good guys, and I would never want either of them to get sent home - they just have their differences. I'm glad I was able to help stop them before they wouldn't be able to serve.

So, for all who read this who I haven't talked to - here's the story about the cyst on my wrist - (but don't call me a cyst wrist). Haha no one probably got that... Anyway, so I was at the health center because my companion had an ingrown toenail and a few days earlier I had noticed a bump on my hand. SO, I was just sitting there and figured that I should ask one of the professionals about it. I did, and they told me it was a ganglion cyst. Today, they sent me to a specialist to decide what to do with me, and the doctor agreed that it was a ganglion cyst caused by extra joint lubricating fluid in my wrist that kind of bubbled up. He gave me two options. He said he could surgically remove it and be done with it - AND leave for the DR two weeks later. OR, do the other unreliable, sometimes impossible, procedure of drawing out the fluid with a needle. I don’t want to leave late, so I said a little prayer, and chose the latter. First, they numbed it, then got this giant of a needle out and plunged it right in! Nothing happened for the first little while then, (sucking noise) it all just came right out. It was pretty gross, not gonna lie! Have you ever had power gel before? If you have, it looked exactly like that - same consistency and everything. Kind of like a light shaded honey for those of you who don't know. So . . . I’m cured and ready to head out!

This week has been really good with the language! I met an Elder from the DR, who knew just about as much English as I do Spanish, and we were able to talk for about half an hour no problem! It was pretty cool.

In class, we watched a movie of Elder Holland’s talk "The Miracle of a Mission". It was so good and inspiring - holy cow that man knows how to write a talk! Oh, and the MTC watched The Testaments on Sunday night. Never have I ever seen so many guys cry at the same time in the same room. The Spirit was so strong. OH, it's really cool when we all sing too - it's so powerful! Sorry this is all random stuff...

I'm so excited to get over there and learn the language so I wont be wasting any time when I get there! This is definitely the Lord's work and my testimony has become so much stronger in my time here. I’m so excited to teach the people who don't have the same truth I have. They need to feel the love of the Savior in their lives just as much as we do.

Wish me safe travels! Love you – bye!

Love, Elder McBride

p.s. Dad, I’m working on that letter for the priests. I’ll make it a good one. They ALL need to get out here! Fonzie - haha I think you're funny!

Twice in a Week!

We got lucky enough to hear from Taylor twice a week for 2 weeks! His time got split up because of some service projects.

Dear Family,

     
So honestly, there usually isn't a whole lot to tell everyone considering I just wrote the day before last, but this will be my last time writing twice a week, so I might as well take advantage of it. So.... something exciting! Wednesday, a guy in our Zone left for Peru, so we had a party and his brother sent a can of silkworms, so a few of us tried them (including me)! Actually there were only about six of us who could keep them down, they were sooooo gross! They were actually pretty big, and when you bit into them, all the juice came out and it was very nasty. 

This reminds me... there is a guy in my District with a friend at the Dominican MTC. He wrote a few days ago saying that the whole MTC ate some bad chicken, and that all of the American's had worms and other parasites really bad all week - throwing up and uhhh, well, you know....But sounds like it's gonna be an adventure! I'm actually a little sad to leave because my District is so cool, but I'm sure new experiences await!

Taylor & Elder Zufelt

DR Guys

I was able to see Matt at breakfast before he left, and it was so weird! I’m not going to see him for two years! It just hasn’t set in yet I guess. And Greg came and visited the night before he left, and we talked for a while, and he wanted to do the "Hurrah for Israel" cheer thingy so we did (hahaha that kid cracks me up)!

     
So we watched the Joseph Smith movie on Sunday night, and the whole first like 20 minutes was about when Joseph was little, and it shows a lot about Alvin, his older brother, and how much Joseph looked up to him, and it really made me miss the boys... I kinda miss being an older brother if that makes much sense. And the rest of the family at that, don't worry mom but I know that me being out here is the best example i can set for them.

    
 Anyway. How's life in good 'ol AZ? Is it warm still? How's school going - just life and such? Is the house quieter without me? haha probably! Can you ask Emily if she's getting the mail that I've been sending? Last letter it kind of sounded like she wasn't... maybe it was just a delay or something. Mail has actually been not too bad this past week or so, so don't feel bad mother - I honestly expected to get no mail from friends so I'm pleasantly surprised! Anyways, not much more to say for now, but reply soon! I'll be waiting.

Love, Elder McBride

P.S. have I really only been here two weeks? It feels more life two months! Time is so trippy here.