LETTERS DATED SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

Dear Mom,

You will be happy to know that I have finally received my birthday package!  Thank you so much!  I love the scripture case, the scripture marking pen, sunglasses and all!  I am super grateful and am happy to let you know that they finally got here.  What happened was my package for left in the wrong zone area so it got sent to the wrong place and it took a while to get to me.

Today we had some fun.  We (my companion and I) and another set of missionaries all went out to Fillipi's for lunch to celebrate the big day!  today marks the day of being cancer free for TWO WHOLE YEARS!

It was awesome and then afterwards, we had a big zone BBQ and ate food and what not.  It was a pretty fun day.  I also got the sick tie and letter that you sent.  Thank you so much.  I am super grateful for all the things that were in my B-day package and the others as well because I needed it all! 

Gracias por todo mama!

Love,
Elder Davis



Pops,

Estoy muy bien! Estoy aprendiendo much.  I really appreciate all of your letters and am glad to know that you are still having so much fun together.  I am adjusting to the work well.  I feel like I could be better of course, But I am doing all that I can. 
The favorite part of my day is either when I'm out teaching or night time just before bed.  My companion and I both just cook for ourselves or the occasional time will happen that we will cook for each other.  We really don't make a lot of food because the members and people in the area feed us pretty well.

That's so cool to hear that you and mom went to the temple and had that experience.  I am glad I have you two as parents to raise me and be such good examples.  I am happy for you that you are receiving such good revelation and having such good experiences in the temple.  I actually get to go to the temple on Oct. *** and I am super excited.

I love you Pops and I am super grateful that you are able to write me and for the relationship that we have.  I pray for you daily.  Thanks again for everything!

Love,
Elder Davis

MISSING BIRTHDAY PACKAGE

Taylor's birthday was on the 7th, we mailed and tracked his birthday package and the post office showed it arrived at the mission office on the 7th.  Yet, every week Taylor's email state that he still hasn't received it.

Shortly after receiving Taylor's email today I received an email from one of the Sister Missionaries at the California San Diego the mission office.

It read,

Dear Sister Davis,

 

I have solved the mystery of the lost package.  It was inadvertently put in the wrong zone and brought back today.  I will make sure it is delivered to him.  With 250 missionaries it is not uncommon to send something to the wrong zone.  Thank you for your patience. 

 

Sister H

 

I emailed back and inquired if Taylor would receive his package today or if he would have to wait an additional week for it to be delivered.  (Since mail is only distributed on Tuesdays.)  Sister H replied back, stating that the mail had already been delivered for this week.  But said she and her husband would be willing to take it to him that evening.  I responded, letting her know that was not necessary.

 

Three days later, I was sick and in bed and also feeling sorry for myself.  I was watching the Relief Society Broadcast from last night.  Pres. Monson gave a talk and relayed a story about how sometimes the Lord sends answers to our prayers and lets us know that he loves is in the most unexpected ways.  Feeling down, physically ill and missing my missionary I opened my email.  In it I found this email,

 

Dear Sister Davis,

 

I am sorry I was not able to get back to you sooner.  I wanted you to know that I delivered the package to your son on Tuesday afternoon.  He looked well and happy and was grateful for the package.  If you have further concerns or anything I can help you with, don’t hesitate to call.  I would be happy to help you.

 

Sister H

 

I was very humbled and reduced to tears.  I know that the Lord loves me.  He knows my heart and he knows my needs.  He sent Sis. H.  to my son, to let me know that he is mindful of me. 

 

CANCER FREE ANNIVERSARY!

Today marks two years that Taylor has been cancer free!  As each day passes there is a greater chance that it will never return. 

Happy Cancer Free Anniversary!

WEEK 9

Dear Mother,

 

    I am glad to know that you got my letter and that it helped you feel better. I will try to keep my letters more informative so that you can keep feeling that way.  I love you so much.

 

     As for the greenie package, yes I got the cookies and they were and are still DELICIOUS! Great idea with the Pringle's container!  I still haven't gotten my birthday package.  I should receive my other packages today when I get the mail in a couple hours.

 

    I also thought it was cool that Jessica knew the member here and that I know Derek as well, cuz the elders and sisters talk about them sometimes. Pretty cool.

 

To answer your questions:

 

1.  I actually have no idea where we will watch conference.

2.  Yes we can eat out whenever as long as we save our money and keep it within our schedule so we don't waste time. We actually eat a lot with members though.  We have just the usual places around to eat:  McD's, In N' Out, Taco Bell, Fillipies, stuff like that.

3.  I have not received any letters, emails or packages from anyone in our ward, except for the Floyd's.

5.  All my clothes and stuff are actually holding up really well! I have a rip in a pair of pants and a shirt, but a member has offered to sew them up for me.  :)  I don't know how my pants got ripped but my shirt got ripped by accident, standing up and scraping it on the table.

6.  The labels are holding up well too.

7.  Could you send me a few of my "Team Taylor" wristbands?  I would like both sizes please. And maybe my black Nike's?  The color on the Nike symbol is like a grey with a thin red stitch I think. They are my most recent Nike's and I would like them cuz I don't want to wear the same shoes all the time for work outs and what not.

8.  Yes I can listen to music. If I sent my MP3 player home, could you put more music that you and Pops think wouldn't drive away the spirit?  My Mp3 player does not have a memory card slot, it's only a USB so I can't do anything to fix that other than send it home.

9.  Saturdays are just a normal day for me. They aren't any different than Monday-Friday.

10.  Sundays are full of meetings and studying.

11. Other than the language, I feel like I am doing very well with the mission. I feel like I am prepared and that I did a lot to make it here.

12.  On p-days, besides laundry and what not, I spend a lot of time writing letters and we do activities with our zone and what not. Today we are actually having a bbq. And then after that we go out and have appointments and what not.

13. I can go to the temple every 90 days. I actually get to go on Oct **!!  :)

 

Thanks so much Mom for all you do! I love you more than you know!

 

Love your son,

Elder Davis

LETTER DATED SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

I have now received the "Greenie Package" that you sent me.  Thank you so much for it, the letters, the recipes and of course the picture of Nana.

I am doing well. Wondering where the birthday package you talked about is, but oh well. 

Things are going really well here.  I am learning a lot, teaching a lot and praying a lot.  I have to admit that I have been struggling a lot with the language.  The people here speak super fast so it is really hard for me to understand them.  That being said, it makes it that much harder to teach because I want to help them so bad but I can't understand what is going on so it's hard for me.  But I am working hard and trusting in the Lord. 

I have had some miracles lately though.  I noticed that when I speak, I actually can speak the language well, but it's the understanding that is the hard part.  The other night, my companion volunteered me to give a girl a blessing in Spanish.  I'm not going to lie, I was scared out my mind.  But I trusted in the Lord and was really a vessel and Heavenly Father spoke through me.  I know for a fact that I did not give that blessing.  I said things that I didn't even understand as they came out of my mouth.  But I know that what was said, was needed and I'm glad that I could be the catalyst for that blessing.  It has made me want to work harder to know how to give blessings and perform ordinances in Spanish.

It also makes me really happy that Alma got baptized!  I shouted for joy at the computer when I read it in your email and everyone thought I was weird.  Please tell him how happy I am for him.

I will take and send pictures of my apartment as soon as I get it clean enough.  It's a little dinky apartment.  It has 2 rooms, one bath and a mini kitchen.  We both (my companion) and I sleep in the front room because it is the only room with air conditioning and it gets VERY hot there. 

We get up, exercise with other missionaries that live close, then we have personal study, companion study, then language study, then we have more studies.  Then we go out for our appointments.  The work here is pretty much a lot of member missionary work.  The president says this is a "No Proselyting" mission.  In other words, we don't knock doors.  I am loving the work because people are so nice here.  I am blessed to serve in the Spanish branch. 

This Sunday I was asked to bear my testimony in Sacrament meeting and it was cool because I said things that I have never said before. 

Ok, so more about my mission.  We live in the Poway area, but most of our work and appointments are in Mira Mesa and Penaquitos.  So with that, I am very glad that we are fortunate to have a car. 

It's actually funny that you sent me those recipes because the other night (before I received the recipes) I made my companion and I, "Glorified Hot Dogs".  They were delicious!  I took pictures and I will send them as soon as I can.

It is hard for me to not see all of you, hug you and to tell you all how much I love you each day.  So I hope and want you to know that if I could do so, I would do it in a heart beat.  I love you so much mom!  You are the greatest example in my life and I wish I could thank you enough for making me the man I am today.  Don't worry about me because I will be taken care of.

I also wanted to ask - The health lady here asked to have you have someone from PCMC talk to someone in San Diego.  I will need scans soon and I need to know when and where to go.

I love you  more than you know.  Stay strong in the gospel and remember why we are here.

Love,
Elder Davis

WEEK 8: SAN DIEGO, POWAY

Momma,

 

My Companion is from Costa Rica. He is actually tri-lingual. He's awesome and he is teaching me a lot. I have not received any packages other than the package with my bedding in it yet. But that should change later today after the Zone Leaders dish out the mail. 

 

It is crazy down here because there is so much work to do and unfortunately, we live far away from the mission home. but we are working hard.

 

My health is good. I got a really bad cold last week but the Zone Leaders wouldn't let me go out and work until I was better so I rested up and I am feeling loads better now. I am remembering to take my medicine of course.

 

I am living well as far as food is concerned. Plus, the families down here are really nice and we are usually covered for dinner :) 

 

My birthday was really good. The other missionaries took us out and we got lunch and brought it back to the church so we could all eat together. I also got a card from the Claytons and a few calls from other missionaries.

 

Right now I have about 8 or so investigators and 2 of them are actually really close to being ready to be baptized. There is a lot of work to do down here. My Branch that we attend has less than 50 members so it needs a lot of work.

 

It's great to hear that things are going well with work. I am glad to hear that Jenny's new album is coming out soon. I actually wanted to ask if you could send a few Cd's cuz I wanted to give some to other missionaries.  Maybe "Called to Serve" and "Stand in Holy Places."  Maybe just send one CD per companionship so it's not too costly for you.
 

Also, could you please send that muscle rub , I have been having really bad back problems.

I will probably get all the packages and stuff later today.  I will focus my letters home more on what's going on so you guys can be more up to date.

 

I am working hard and doing what I can to live up to the title that Heavenly Father wants me too.  I will send pics as soon as I can. 

 

Thanks so much for you all do again Mother. You are the best Mom any missionary could ask for. I would eternally lost without you.

 

Te Amo con todo mi corazon,

Elder Davis

 

 

Pops,

 

Thanks so much for your loving and very COOL email. It's good to know that things are going so well there and that you are so happy. I really do think and pray about you all every day.

   

OK, so to answer some of your questions, I live in a little run down upstairs apartment with just my companion. I will send pictures when I get it cleaned up a little more. We drive a really nice piece of Toyota because we have to go everywhere to Spanish people since we're in the states.

 

Every morning, we get up early and do workouts in the park with the other missionaries that live close by.  After that, we go back to the apartment and shower and then have studies for a few hours. Then, we go out to our appointments and teach. 

 

We have not had a baptism yet but we are working really hard and we might have a date set by the end of the week.

 

Thanks so much for the updates about sports as well. They have really helped me a lot and I enjoy them so I can still be a fan, haha.

 

Thanks for all you do Pops. I love hearing about your experiences and how you are doing. I look up to you and thank you for your example to me.  I really love you and will actually have a lot more time to write actual letters now so I will continue to do that.

 

I love you so much and miss you,

Elder Davis

 

 

LETTER DATED SEPTEMBER 10, 2013

We received a letter from Taylor in the mail today.  It apologized that he wasn't able to email much on Pday and wanted us to know that it wasn't because he doesn't love us or something silly like that.  He said that the mission rules are strict about the time spent emailing and there is also a crazy amount of missionary work to be done.  He said there is so much to do that sometimes he and his companion barely have time to eat.

He also said that according to his mission president's rules, he is not able to give us the address to his apartment.  He said, "It is hard for me to only receive mail on Tuesdays but I know that as we follow that rule, we will be blessed even more."

He relayed his love and gratitude for us and told us not to worry or be sad!

His Dad and I both immediately sent him an email (which he won't receive until Pday) asking him not to  apologize or worry about us.  My husband said it best. 

"Taylor,
I need to say please don’t feel that you need to apologize for anything.  The work you are doing there is most important.  If you have time update us that is great!  If you don’t, we will survive and wait until you are able to. You are under the care of our Heavenly Father and a mission president, doing the Lord’s work.  We know that you are being sufficiently looked after.  It will take time for us to adjust too.  So again, no more sorries or apologizing for things.  We would much rather your letters be spent talking about the things you are doing there and the people you are meeting and more about your companion and the other missionaries in your area, and your apartment, and things like that which will help bring us closer to you."

"GREENIE PACKAGE"

A week or so ago, we spent family night shopping for all things green to make up a "Greenie Package" for Taylor.  Since we sent him a birthday package last week, we waited to send our "Greenie" package until this week. 

Along with all these fun green items, we sent him some letters, some quick, easy and inexpensive recipes and some homemade chocolate chip cookies.  We love our missionary!

WEEK 7: SAN DIEGO

Ok, today has a been a very rough and stressful day and I have only half an hour to email.  So I am just going to have to hit all the points I can and you are probably going to have to just mail me the rest that I don't cover.

 

I am SUPER sorry that this is so lame but I have a VERY limited time at the computer and I have nothing else that I can do to change it. I only can email on Tuesday's for an hour or a hour and a half if I am lucky.

 

I had a great birthday, got a few packages so thanks to all of you that sent me something and thank you especially to all  of you that gave me birthday wishes. 

 

I have been working really hard since I have been here and have not really had a lot of time to myself. I have around 10 investigators right now and have picked up about 3 new investigators in my first week here!! I know that for sure I am supposed to be HERE in this specific place for a reason. I am in the Poway Spanish Branch. I am struggling with the language but I have already taught a lot of the lessons and am learning very quickly. It's amazing how the Lord puts people in our path and prepares them for us.  We met a 90 year old woman the other day that is pretty much ready to be baptized. Super Cool!

 

The airport was way cool in San Diego. I landed and just fell in love and know that this is where the Lord needs me. There is a lot of work to be done here.

 

I have a super cool and awesome companion.  He is way cool and he really knows what he's doing. We get along really well and I know that I was put with him for a reason as well. He's awesome. His name is Elder Karlinsey. We actually have the SAME BIRTHDAY!!! How sick is that!? 

 

The apartment is pretty nice. We live in a little top floor one bedroom with a nice kitchen. The first day, we went shopping and I got the necessities like laundry detergent, dinner stuff and just simple things to keep me living (like PB&J of course.)

 

I taught two lessons my first day so that was hard but I have learned a lot and am continuing to do so. 

 

I am sorry that this email is so short but someone was wasting my time on the computer (of course.) But I am super glad to be out here and I am working very hard to be the Missionary that Heavenly Father wants me to be. :)

 

I love you all and pray for you all "A" lot!! Thanks so much for all of your roles in my life. I promise next weeks email will be better.

 

Love you all!

Elder Davis

1st US MAIL LETTER

We finally received our first letter via the US mail from Taylor today.  We still do not know exactly where he is, only somewhere in the California San Diego mission.  Other than this letter, he has been unable to contact us since his layover in Texas last Tuesday. 

This letter was written September 3, 2013 and we received it September 9, 2013.

Dear Family,

Well I made it safely to San Diego!! I am so excited to start working in the actual mission area!  I landed in San Diego and immediately fell in love.  It is so beautiful here!  It reminds me a lot of San Francisco but it has something different about it. I KNOW that I am supposed to be here in this particular place, teaching God's children.  I know that it is going to be hard but I know that it will be worth it and the Lord will prepare me and those that I will teach.

I continually pray for you all and I ask that you do the same for me.  Yes, I am working hard bit I will need all the help I can get with the language.  I still have a lot to learn.

I want you to know that although it has only been 6 weeks, I have a learned and grown a lot in the short month and a half.  I am trying my best to become the missionary and the man the Lord wants me to be.

Please tell the Scoob how much I love him and how proud I am of him for the young man he is becoming.  It won't be too long before he is doing exactly what I am doing right now.

All of that being said, I am pleased to announce that I am here in my mission and will start the work here soon, even tomorrow.  The address in which I am advised to have you send mail and packages is this: 

Elder Taylor Craig Davis
7404 Armstrong Place
San Diego, Ca 92111-4912

I have been counseled to have everyone that mails me something, to address it to my FULL name so that it will be easily delivered.  Also, I am only allowed to email for 2 hours each P-Day.  I can also only send mail every P-Day. 

Thank for you all wonderful family for the man you have made me!  You are all great and I know it's hard to not see me or hear me but you all are in my prayers constantly and I know Heavenly father will bless you for the sacrifice.  Stay Awesome!

Con Todo de mi Amor,
Elder Davis

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELDER DAVIS!

Today was Taylor's birthday.  This is the first time in his entire life when he has not been with his family to celebrate the day.  We spent the day reminiscing about some of our favorite times with him. 

One of his best friends brought over a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me, along with a note he had emailed last week, to be delivered with the flowers. 

So grateful to have such a wonderful son, who also has amazing friends!

MMN....SOUNDS LIKE TAYLOR

Taylor has had a very limited amount of time to email home while at the MTC.  Factor in that he is "male" and also "A man of few words" and it's easy to understand why I haven't gotten a ton of details about the MTC.  However, I have had the pleasure of reading blogs from a few elders and sisters who were in his district.  This evening I came across this post from a sister in his district.

"Possibly the sweetest goodbye happened this morning (Monday, September 1.)  Hermana Taufoou´s companion, Hermana Watkins (who is going to Arizona on her mission) left at 3 am this morning. Hermana Broadhead and I spent the night in their casa so we could spend more time with Hermana Watkins and also so we could be Herman Taufoou´s companions after Hermana Watkins left. We decided last night that we were all going to get up at 2:30 with Herman Watkins and walk her to meet the bus, and so we did. But as we were walking to meet the bus, Hermana Broadhead suddenly looked back into the dark street and said, "Is that our district?"

We all looked back, and sure enough, there were Elders Edson, Davis, Wareham and Elowitt running toward us in shorts and T-shirts. None of them will leave until tomorrow and Wednesday. The only reason they got up so early was so they could be there for Hermana Watkins and tell her goodbye. This act of sacrifice and love really touched me. Most of the people in our district also wrote one another goodbye letters. My stack of letters is in my backpack. I will read them on the way to the airport. I have honestly had THE best district here, and I am so grateful to have met them all."

Yep, sounds like Taylor!

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY!!!

As if talking to Taylor wasn't wonderful enough, we received this email from his mission president. 

Dear Brother and Sister Davis,

We are so excited to have Elder Davis serving with us in San Diego.  He arrived in great shape, and we wanted you to get this photo as soon as possible.  He will also be sending a letter today by regular mail.  Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.  We love your son already!

Sincerely,

President and Sister Clayton

California San Diego Mission 

Sis Clayton, Pres. Clayton & Elder Davis

(He looks happy, but tired.  And his mommy thinks he needs a haircut.)

Missionaries in the California San Diego mission.

SURPRISE!

On Sunday evening I felt prompted to send Taylor an email.  I doubted that he would get it before he left for San Diego, since his p-day is Tuesday.  However, I felt impressed to send it anyway.  I wanted to let him him know how excited we were for him to be heading to the mission field and also how much we loved him.  And let's be honest, there were words of packing advice and phrases of how proud we are of him. 

Earlier in the week I had asked Taylor if he would be able to call us from the airport.  He said probably not, as he was a missionary now and would not break any rules.  I checked with  several priesthood leaders as well as our Bishop to see what the "rules" were.  Everyone had a different answer.  Except for our very wise Bishop.  He suggested that Taylor ask whomever was in charge of him at the MTC. 

Monday we were in Idaho and were out to lunch, celebrating my cousin's daughter's birthday.  Shane happened to check the email on his phone.  There was an email from Taylor. 

Hola Momma!!

    
I actually was able to get privileges for emails today since I will not be able to email this week.  I also talked to the MTC President and he said that I am unable to call home because now I have my actual missionary tag and I need to live the rules of an actual missionary.  So sadly I will not be able to call home when I land or transfer flights.  But my mission president says that I might have an opportunity to email home when I arrive in San Diego.  I love you so much and am so grateful for you in my life.

I hate asking for things but if you haven´t already sent my "package" could you send my green scripture bag to me please?

I love you more than anything Mom. I thank you for providing the means for me to be out here. I can´t wait until I can just write you actual letters :) Love ya so much!

Elder Davis

Well there it was.  He went straight to the top and got an answer and I immediately made my peace with it.  I know that by obeying the rules he will be blessed and I wouldn't expect anything less from him.  I was able to quickly accept it and move on.

This morning Shane, Jonah and I tracked Taylor's first flight before we all left for work and school.  Then at about 9:10 my cell phone rang.  It was a number I didn't recognize and I almost didn't answer it.  SO glad I did!  It was Taylor!  His voice has gotten so much deeper that I almost didn't recognize it. 

I was like, "What are you doing?  I thought you couldn't call.  What is going on?"  He said that late last night the MTC president called a meeting and told the missionaries as long as they weren't within the boundaries of their mission that they could call their parents today.  I was in shock.  Such a wonderful surprise!  We talked for several minutes.  He told me about how much he loved his district and how close they had all become.  He spoke of several friendships he had made and how much they meant to him.  He was sad to have to say goodbye to everyone. 

Taylor's district

He said the language was coming along well, not as well as he would prefer, but he felt good about it.   I asked if he had "acquired" any new ties while in the MTC.  He said there was a tie exchange last night, but being "Taylor" he did the practical thing and went to bed so he would be prepared for the long day he would have today.  He said he had been up since 2:15 a.m. and had only slept a little bit on the plane.  He thanked me for being his mom and he told me how much he loved me.  We laughed and we cried.  I made sure he knew how proud we are of him and how glad we are that he is healthy enough to serve a mission.  I bore testimony of the gospel and encouraged him to find those who have waited so long for him to find them.  Today is the beginning of eternity for many souls who have long awaited his arrival.  I could have talked to him all day, but our time came to a close and we said our goodbye's and I love you's.  He's off to San Diego!