DID YOU FEEL THAT EARTHQUAKE?

A note from Auntie Kristin:

Last week, the day after I received an email from Taylor, I received an email from the National Geological Service that there had been a 6.1 earthquake just 150 miles from Mexico City.  I quickly fired off an email to Taylor to let him know I had heard about it and just wanted to make sure he was okay:

I just got an email that there was a 6.1 earthquake just 160 miles south of Mexico City.  Indicators show that it was felt there.  Did you feel it?  Did you freak out?  How bad was it?!?!  I am sure you are safe.  Just let us know though, okay?
Get ready...you'll feel them in CA too.  We were in San Diego last year and were sitting on a cliff overlooking the La Jolla tide pools when all of a sudden, the squirrels that hang out there all ran away.  We were like, huh?  I was laying on the ground taking pictures of them and felt the tiniest movement, but just thought it was me.  Well, shortly thereafter, I got an email that there had been a small earthquake there in San Diego at that very time!  It was so small that humans really didn't feel it, but the varmints did!

I knew he probably wouldn't even get to see the email for another week or so, based on the timing, but I wanted to know either way.  Plus, I was pretty sure my sister would freak out if she heard about the earthquake being so close to him, so I chose to keep that tidbit of info quiet until I heard from him.  Well, today, I heard back from him and this is what he had to say:

I actually did not feel any earthquake at all. (sadly) haha.  But they take very good care of us here so I am totally safe. Thanks for the notification though. They have really good earthquake technology here so we have been evacuated to the streets a couple times but we have not had an earthquake yet.   Wow that is a cool experience with the earthquake! 

The countdown to San Diego is now less than a week!! I am SOOOO excited and cannot wait to get out there!  My Spanish is actually not bad now. I am no fluent speaker yet but I can do well in a conversation I think. (Estoy listo para hablar español todos las dias y predicad el Evangelio todos los dias tambien) :)

So glad he was, and has been, safe.  Mexico City is well known for very powerful earthquakes so they do have good earthquake warning systems.  California...now that is another story...they have tons of earthquakes there - but it doesn't seem like they have good warning systems at all.  I'm sure he will be safe though...and get that opportunity to experience at least one while he's there!

Oh...and I finally told his mom.

1st PACKAGE

The manual Taylor received with his mission call specifically stated "Please do not send packages to the MTC."

 

"The Manual" 

I know that many missionaries did receive them while they were there, but Taylor asked that we obey the rules and not send them until he entered the mission field.  

T's mission president also asked that his pillow, blanket and sheets be mailed to the mission home, prior to his arrival.  Last night for family night we went shopping for items for his first and second care packages.  We had a great time picking out all kinds of things to express our love to Taylor!

Today I got to box up the first one and ship it out!  It was so exciting to be able to send a little bit of love (and home) in a box to Taylor. 

His package included his favorite blanket, a new homemade "Utah" pillowcase, and some of his favorite treats (Easy Mac, Ramen, Fiesta dip, Reese's, microwave popcorn) and some letters. It was fun to think about him opening it up on his first night in San Diego.  His older brother promised to send him a new pillow so we left that to him.

I also tucked in a thank you note, a Cd and some homemade washcloths for Pres. & Sis Clayton.

 

Cost to ship our 1st package to our missionary...$19.83.  The joy in doing it...priceless!

EMAIL TO MOM: WEEK 5

Hey Sweet Momma!

Yes Cody is exactly right about the MTC feeling like you are in the movie Groundhog's Day.  It feels exactly like that.  But I will be in San Diego in a week!!

That´s great that Heavenly Father was able to help you with your lesson.  Knowing you, I´m sure that the lesson went super well and that everyone enjoyed it! You are so close to God and are a TRUE example of what a daughter of God should be. I can´t even count the ways that I have learned from you! You are amazing Momma!

As for the primary and the Book of Mormons, that is a great idea and I love it!  I am actually not sure about what language they should be in. I would guess Spanish since most of the wards in my mission are Spanish.

I am so excited to start the next part of my mission in San Diego!! Yes I still have the phone and I turned it off the night I got here so the battery should be good.  I think that I can´t call at all now since I am supposed to live the rules of the Missionaries and that would not be ok.  But I will get there on P-day so I should have some time to write home after I arrive :)

I am starting to pack this week and I will do my best to pack as great as you but we both know that is a very hard task to achieve, ha ha.

This week has been really cool! I have met a Sister Missionary that is from Saratoga Springs and she went to my high school.  Plus, today we went to the temple again and that was so amazing!!! It was great, while we were waiting in the chapel, this cute little old Mexican lady walked in and she looked so much like Nana that it was crazy! While I have been here and especially in the temple, I have felt her presence with me and comforting me and I´m sure she has been with you too.  

I also wanted to say thank you for the pictures of the Make a Wish room.  It´s nice to see what it looks like.

I also met a Sister Missionary that is from Duchesne and she knows Beechop Floyd. Weird huh?

I just want to thank you so much for all that you did to make me the man I am becoming. I love you so much and am truly blessed by your example. I am sorry for not working harder so that I could provide more for myself. It worries me that you guys have to help so much or provide most of the fundage. That being said, I am more than grateful for all of it and all that you continue to do.  I love you more than anything and I am so grateful for you!

LOVE YOU!

Elder Davis

I don´t have a lot of time so I am sending a couple of pictures with some love :) I am doing well and am very healthy.

In front of the temple today.

Not sure what this picture is about, but it is funny!

EMAIL TO DAD: WEEK 4

It was so funny, the other day, we were going on a mosquito killiing rampage.  And a friend of mine  punched a mosquito! It was really cool until the window behind it shattered, haha. Yeah we had a good laugh and asked him what he was thinking and why he punched a window. It was pretty funny. There is also a HUGE moth in our house. It is bigger than my hand. 

 

(Do you recognize the wristband?  Um yah, that's Taylor's hand.)

I really am learning a lot out here and I am very ready to start in San Diego.  I can do so much in Spanish now and it is awesome. I can pray in Spanish and it is really cool.

  

I love you,

Elder Davis

EMAIL TO MOM: WEEK 4

I can´t believe it has been a whole month either. I leave in about 2 weeks and I am super excited. The language is coming along pretty well actually.

I can´t think of anything that I need at the moment. A mini english hymn book would be nice though.

I haven´t sent pictures yet because I have forgot my camera every p-day.  The reason I write so little is because I have so many people to write and I can´t be in front of the computer all day. It´s against the rules here and it seems like I am the only one obeying them.

You know me, I am a man of few words. I just don´t have a lot to say a lot of the time. That will change and will be better once I get to Cali and can write actual letters and have more time to do so. 

TRC is just a thing where we go to a "house" and knock on a door and "teach" an investigator. It was very cool but hard because I taught the whole time and my companion didn´t say a word.  I know that this is just the Lord blessing me and making me stronger. I really have gained a lot of patience and have learned a lot from this.

     

The food is good or great and times but it is getting a little old. We did have chicken cordon bleu though last week and it was fantastic.

This week has not been very different. Except I extended an invitation to be baptized to one of our investigators and she said YES! It was so cool and made me feel like I was doing something really cool. I am getting so much better at teaching the gospel and in Spanish to boot! I love the work and it is great. Granted it can be very difficult at times but I know that it will be worth it.

I just want you to know that I am so glad that I get to email you today. It has been a hard week and I really have been looking forward to it. I also want to thank you for the man you have molded me into. I know that without your awesome example, I could not make it out here and go through all that I have been through. Without you and your example, I would be nothing and I would not be able to have the success that I have and continue to have.

Here are some pictures :)

Elder Davis

 His first trip to the Mexico temple.

 T's district

 T and his companion, Elder Wareham.

T's "house"

EMAIL TO MOM: WEEK 3

I am sorry that is has been such a hard week. I have felt impressed multiple times to pray hard for you all down there and I want you to know that I have been doing so. You are all in my daily prayers and I love and miss you all more than anything. I will keep sister Lee and the rest of the people you mentioned in my prayers. Please give my love to everyone.
 

Things here are going well. Thank you for your prayers. It really does mean a lot to me and I definitely do need them.

 

As for Spanish, it is going slowly better each day. One of my teachers helped me set up a study plan and it helping a lot. I can now teach a whole lesson in Spanish, pray in Spanish, bear my testimony in Spanish, and I have also memorized some scriptures in Spanish as well. That being said, I still have a lot to learn before I am confident but I am studying really hard and doing my best.

Things I do for exercise are; hit the weights, play sports, run, and things like that. We usually do our gym time as a district. 

There are 10 missionaries in our district. There are 6 elders and 4 hermanas. Our district is very close and we get a long very well. The hermanas are so nice here. One day I wasn´t feeling very well and I was having a hard time and left to go to the bathroom for a minute. While I was gone they all wrote notes to me and stuck them in my things. I came back and found them and it really helped. There are just about as many sisters as there are elders here.  I talk to everyone in my district a lot actually.
 

The food here is very cultured. It is mostly Mexican and very hard to explain. On rare occasions, we have American food though.

I have gotten one letter so far and it was from Colton. It is because the address that everyone has is wrong so it takes longer to get here. I will have the correct address for you later today.

    

I had the amazing opportunity a few hours ago to go to the Mexico temple!!!! It was so amazing and very spiritual. I was very nervous so I said a prayer before hand that I would be able to understand everyone and be able to speak clearly. Immediately my prayers were answered. I have never spoken such clear Spanish in my life. It was amazing.

LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

Elder Davis

EMAIL TO MOM: WEEK 2

I didn't fell like I was getting nearly enough information from T so I emailed him a number of questions.

EMAIL #2

As for your questions:

1. No I have not been to the Temple unfortunately because it is closed and I probably won´t be able to go until the end of my time in the MTC.

2. Life at the MTC is a lot like school or college. You walk to and from class and the house, study all
day every day, and there is little time to do anything besides that.

3. My daily schedule is pretty much as follows: Wake up, shower, get dressed, head to class and study there with the teacher until lunch, then lunch, then gym time, then study more and teach investigators, then dinner, then more study time and learning, then we have a district review time, then we plan for the next day, then we go to the house and get ready for bed.

4. I have not received any packages so I will have to look into that.

5. I have not needed the blanket cuz it is insanely hot here. ha ha

6. I haven´t really wished for anything yet and that is very good. You did a very good job at making sure I was well packed :)

7. There is a strict "No MP3" rule here so I haven´t been able to use that and it has made it very difficult to sleep but I am doing my best to adapt.

8. My health has been surprisingly well actually. I had a flare up a bit ago but I managed to take care of it well and am doing better than ever.

9. My companion is from Detroit and he is only child. He is very caring about how I am feeling when I am not doing so well. 

10. I have only met one person that is going to my mission and he is that kid that was supposed to be on the plane with me.

11. On p-day, I do laundry, as much email as I can, take pictures, clean up, gym time, read and prepare for the next week.

12. I have had to buy some hangers, but the MTC gives us money every little while. 

 

Thank you for all the questions and for loving me so much! I miss you with all my heart and hope to be better at being able to write more often. It will certainly change once I get to my mission though.

Stay the amazing mother you are!!
 

Lots of love,

Elder Davis

EMAIL TO MOM: WEEK 2

Hi Momma!

 

Today I am doing alright. Sadly, I have not received any mail. I think the address that everyone has is wrong. Could you please email me what address you are sending to so I can figure it out?  That would be great.

 

I feel so terrible for how little a I am able to write. I wish I could write more than an hour or so a week but it is very strict down here and it kinda stinks. It is very hard not to write you a big long letter on how everything is going and how much I miss the crud out of you!! You are my best friend and it is EXTREMELY weird not being to talk to you every day! I miss you so much and feel so terrible for how short my emails are. Hopefully that will change when I get to the Mission field. But please help everyone understand how little time I have and how I have so many people to write.  It has been very hectic and I have not had hardly anytime for anything other than Spanish.

 

You will receive many blessings for helping me get out here and sacrificing your time with me in order for me to serve the Lord. I really am doing a great work already. I have already taught an investigator and have two new investigators to teach this week!  It is very hard to get all my thoughts out in Spanish but I have improved a lot and am working very hard to do what I can to be better!

The pictures really help. I know that the Lord is blessing me and helping me become more patient and I am learning to adapt to certain things.  

 

I am getting a lot of emails.  It´s very hard to keep up.  And yes of course I miss home. But I am not going to let it get in the way of my serving thee Lord!  I miss you all so much and it´s hard. I am very glad that Tyler is doing well!

 

I love you so much and miss you with all my heart! LOVE you to death!!!

 

Love,

Elder Davis