LETTER DATED MAY 27, 2014

  What up?  I really enjoyed all of your emails. The letters were also nice. I have to apologize for not writing a letter the past couple of weeks.  it has been super crazy the past few weeks on Pdays!  I have been insanely rushed.  I will be going to the temple again soon, so just a heads up that I probably won't have a lot of time that week either.  But I should have time this coming week.  :)

  So Luis & R******are doing great.  Yes, they are related.  Luis is R****** uncle.  So it would be cool to see both of them baptized the same day.  We actually have talked a little bit with R******'s mom lately and that is cool.  She has always been really anti, but now she's showing a lot more interest.  Heck Yes!!!  We just need to get them to church.

   I apologize this letter is super short and whatever, but I want you all to know ow much I love you.  I really appreciate all that you do for me.  Your are probably the most supportive family there is.  You are all the best! I freakin love you!

   Oh yeah, just so you know, I didn't receive my package today.  So I don't know what happened.  I know you tracked it and it was at the mission office last friday, but I never got it.  I'm sure it will be there next Tuesday. 

   I love you all!!!

   Love,
   Elder Taylor C. Davis

WEEK 44

    So what is up with me? Well, I am doing pretty good. This week has been super sick. 

    What happened to me this week? Hmm. So, my bike got jacked. Yep.  Right from our apt. While we were sleeping. Uh huh.  We have this patio that is closed off by a fence and I guess people hopped the fence and jacked mine and Elder Marin's bike.

    So this whole week, we have been walking all day.  But all is well. We saw so many people it was insane!!

    What am I going to do about the bike, I don't know. The apt manager says that the bikes might be covered by renters insurance though.  So that would be nice. I will let you know when I know.

    Oh and the bunker with all the bikes at the mission office is empty now so that won't help out either. A member said he might be able to help us out with some bikes from Tijuana though so we will see.

    So the investigators are doing great.  L*** is solid. No coffee. R****** said he's gonna come to church this week. And C****, our newer investigator is super golden!! She came to church, accepted a baptismal date and is keeping EVERY commitment that we give her. She is super cool. L***has a baptism date for July 5th and C**** has a date for the 21st of this month!!!

    The companions are great. We have so much fun and are having some super cool lessons together.  Today we are all going to play volleyball so that should be fun.

    The most amazing thing that happened this week was that we saw so many people!!!  Even though we walked all week, we still taught over 30 lessons and that was super cool.  I have seen the Lord's hand in my life a lot this week with the lessons we've had. As you can guess, tri-companionships aren't always the most united but we are doing super well it seems.

     I am glad that you got to see Kolby and Tanner. Tell that fool to write me back.

    I do have to apologize for not sending letters lately. Last week we were super rushed and I had no time to do anything.  But I will be sure to send letters this week.

     I gotta go, but I want you to know that I love you to death!!!!!!!

     Love,

     Your son (Elder Taylor C. Davis)

MAY PACKAGE

This month Elder Davis' package consisted of some new pants, some khaki's, his medication and a few snacks and treats.  We were in a pinch for time (because of the mail holiday) so we went with a "MAY" theme.  Hope he likes it!

WEEK 43

Elder Davis in front of one of his Dad's favorite places!

    What up!? So today I am doing great. Our new companion is Elder Marin.  He is from El Paso Texas and actually came back to the mission. (He came out with me but had to go home to take care of things with his family.) He is super funny and is a beast of a missionary.  He is actually like a mix of the both of us. He and I get along better it seems like though.  I am so excited to be in a trio! It will be interesting to see what happens because Elder Trio's don't usually last very long.

   Things with the investigators are doing pretty well.  We actually saw L*** and R****** yesterday. They are both doing well. It was super cool because the other day we asked L*** if we could set a goal for the last day he was going to drink coffee and he just said, "What about today?" What a beast!! 

    And he hasn't had any coffee since then!!! Heck to the yeah!!! R****** is doing well. We just struggle with getting him to church because he is super hard to wake up in the morning.  We have not seen R**** though, unfortunately.  Hopefully we can see her this week.

    So to answer your questions.... Yes we do recycle and my favorite scripture would probably have to be either Mosiah 2:17 or D&C 84:88. I trust your decision as to which one fits better to serve as my "mission" scripture.  :)  About the fires... I actually didn't know anything about the fires until like yesterday.  But as far as I know, I am not close to any of them and it is not effecting anything for us. So that's nice. I wish I could help the people it is effecting though.

    I am glad of the relationship that we have and I want you to know that you will always be my best friend.  I love you so freakin' much!!!

    Love, 

    Elder Taylor C. Davis

WEEK 42

   Good Morning!! So guess what? I am NOT getting transferred. And neither is Elder Nickel.  But..... We are getting a third companion tomorrow. What!?  I actually will not know who my companion is until tomorrow.  I was super confused when we got the call and I am still scratching my head because of what I have felt this week.  I thought and felt for sure that I was gone. Oh well. I get to stay here for at least six more weeks! :)  I have to be honest, I was kind of hoping for a change but this week I have been praying really hard and telling Heavenly Father that I will submit to whatever happens, just as long I am ready for it.  Well my prayer was answered. I guess I never learn with that one!  Like I said in our phone call, I am grateful for being able to learn so much from every companion. I wonder who our third will be?  We are actually expecting a "special" phone call from the AP's today informing us more of our situation so I will let you know when I know.

  I am so glad that you enjoyed being able to TALK with me on Sunday. It was very nice for me to. Emailing is great but is was nice to feel everyone's voice.  I have to admit though that I felt a little bad about not making a bigger deal about the whole Mother's Day part of the phone call. I wanted to express what you truly mean to me in my phone call but I didn't really get the chance and I apologize for that.  But that being said, I was very happy with the phone call. 

   I know me typing it on a computer screen is not nearly the same but I want you to know that you are my everything.  You are THE reason why I am who I am and why I have grown up so fast out here.  You taught me when I was very young what serving others meant. You have and always will be an example of loving service to me.  It makes me happy when women ask me if I miss my mom and how I can honestly say that I miss the heck out of her because she is my best friend. But, I know why I am here and that Heavenly Father will take care of her until I get back.  You have always known what's best for me and you have never done anything for your own personal gain with us boys. You know what's up and you tell it like it is.  Thank you SO MUCH for always being there for me. Especially when I need you the most...  I am truly blessed with you in my life and you being such a big part of it.  

   Okay, now to your question, the phone call actually wasn't hard on me at all.  I thought it would make me miss home a lot and stuff like that, but it actually ended up doing the opposite. It got me more pumped to Just go out and Do it.  I thought we would end up talking about worldly things and things that would make me think more of home but it didn't. If you think about it, almost everything we talked about was in some way, related to missionary work. How cool that was! Plus at the end, when I was bearing my testimony, I felt the spirit really strong in the room.  I was confused afterwards because usually when you testify to others, they feel the spirit.  But I was thinking and I came to the realization that Nana was present with me, during that phone call.  It is kind of funny because my testimony was being testified to me as I was testifying. :)  It just made me feel even more that this is what I need to be doing and what I am doing is of God.

  Okay, rambling over.  About the Khaki's, that's a head scratcher... Oh well. :) . I can't remember what they were like. Maybe they were just the more dockerish ones. If that's the case, I can't wear those anyway. I was wondering though, could you send me my newest pair of khaki shorts.  I would like them because I have nothing to wear with my Polo shirt that I have, now that I no longer have Levi's that fit.

   About the scans, yeah they didn't happen. Shocker!! But they say they ordered them and that I am good for now since I had scans just 4 months ago.  They said they will work on pre-auth so that's good. Other than that, all my counts are good. The doctor says that I seem really healthy and that almost all of my blood counts are normal. For a normal person! Except for the platelets, but that's a given...  So things are good. :)

  So we were able to see L*** and take pictures with him yesterday.  He is so cool. I hope he will be happy that neither of us is leaving.  We also were able to stop by and see R**** for about 2 minutes (literally) so that was pretty good too. :) Too bad we caught her a bad time though.  Fortunately, we were able to call her this morning and tell her the news that we are both staying and she seemed pretty happy about that. As to V*********, I haven't heard much about him but I did hear that he has a baptismal date again and that he is coming to church this week so hopefully that will go through. :)

  I had other things that I wanted to talk to you about but I can't remember any of them.  I just want you to know that I love and appreciate you with all my heart. I hope you feel my love and have a great week.

   Love, 

   Elder Taylor C. Davis

P.S.- Here is a picture of Luis!

MOTHER'S DAY LETTER FROM ELDER DAVIS

Many years ago, Elder Davis saw the movie "Mr. Deeds."  In it, the main character writes cheesy greeting cards.  Since that time, on birthday and other special occasions, Elder Davis has made up a lot of his own "Deeds" cards.. They are usually pretty cheesy and make his close friends and family laugh.  

After speaking with him yesterday I was missing him a little more than usual today.  But then the mailman delivered a "Deeds" card to me this afternoon.  Sure love that missionary!  He always makes me smile!

MOTHER'S DAY 2014

Today we were able to talk to Elder Davis for about 40 minutes.  He is doing well!  It was so great to hear his voice and for him to be able to hear his new little niece cry. 

WEEK 41

 

  Greetings from AMAZING San Diego, California!!! I am happy to say that this week has been grrrrrreat!  We were able to see a lot of people and it has just been super cool.  It was SUPER hot for a few days but other than that, it has been fantastic. 

    I am glad that you enjoyed the letters and pics.  I was worried that they wouldn't get there in time.  But glad that you got them.

 

      So yeah I have been putting my name like that lately.  But I was only doing it because it sounded cool and didn't even think about the whole general authority thing, until today.  But let's be real, Elder Davis is not cut out for anything like that.  

 

   As for the tie burning, yes that is a 6 month tradition. The 12 month is a pair of pants and it just gets worse from there, so I won't be doing any of the other ones.  I only did the 6 month one because it was an old dirty tie that was left in the apartment.

 

   Things have been great here!  L*** is doing great!! We saw him yesterday and he is slowly but surely leaving coffee behind.  He is also doing well with his health. Plus you can see the gospel changing his life so much!! You wouldn't believe it! . He is progressing hardcore and is changing SO much!! Man I love that man!! When we left his house yesterday, he thanked us and said that we had helped him "bastante". So Great!!!  Even if he gets baptized next transfer, I can still be there and possibly baptize him if he wants. R***** is doing alright. She has been having a hard time because she is having problems at home. But other than that she is good.  We are teaching a little boy named E******* and he is 9 years old and wants to get baptized. We just need to get him to church!!! We also added a 19 year old kid named R****** and he is pretty cool. He is actually L***' nephew.  We found out that T***** lives in TJ. LAME!! It has been a really great week!

 

   So transfers are next week. WHAT!? But yeah I feel pretty strongly that something is going to happen with me.  I am ready for whatever it may be.  :)   We will get transfer calls next Tuesday morning (if we are getting transferred) so you should know next week. :) 

 

   My doctors appt will be the day after I call home and I will be borrowing a car from some other missionaries.  I am not worried about the results or anything like that. I am just a little worried about insurance and stuff like that, if they'll actually do the scans and everything that day or if I will have to wait, etc... I will just go in by myself probs. No biggie.

 

   About slacks, I just wanted the pair that I had. I can't remember which one fit the best. I just wanted them for more variety. :) My navy blue pants, bit the dust a while ago. The zipper is completely broken so they are pretty much not wearable anymore. But other than that I am solid.  :)

 

   Okay now for the best part!!!! So guess what I had the opportunity to do yesterday!?!?!? I got to shake the hand of an Apostle of the Lord. A.K.A.- Elder M. Russel Ballard!!! Yeah... It happened!!!! After that, he spoke to all of us missionaries!!  It was so cool! I cannot believe that that was possible and I am so pumped for this week and the rest of my mission!! I have now shaken 2 of the 12 Apostles hands! Oh Yeah!!!

 

  So no, I did not get to go to the fireside on Sunday but I got to go to something better! :)

  I am happy to hear that you had a party and played games in my honor.  Funny because Mexicans don't even celebrate Cinco de Mayo.  I love you to death and I hope you enjoy your week!

 

  Love,

  Elder Davis

MISSIONARY MOM MANNA

A missionary mom goes through the week praying and having faith that her missionary is safe, healthy and happy.  You have one day a week that you get to KNOW how your missionary actually is.  I have found that even more than emails or letters, pictures of my missionary bring me the most happiness.  All three are what I like to call "Proof of Life." 

This week we received "Manna" from our missionary.  A.K.A.- a ton of pictures!  Happy day!  

12/10/13  A tie we sent him.

1/7/14  His new CTR ring.

  

 

  

 

1/13/14

 1/21/14

 

 1/23/14  Tie Burning for Bump Day!

2/13/14

 2/15/14

 

 

 2/16/14

 

 2/17/14

 

 

 

 2/25/14  Imperial Beach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 4/8/14   Grocery stash from Auntie

 4/15/14   Pday near the border.

 

 

 

 4/22/14  Temple Trip

 Elder Davis & Elder Nickel

 

LETTER DATED APRIL 29, 2014

   So I was unable to write last week due to our temple trip... but I hope answer all of your questions with this letter.

   I can't believe I am an uncle!   It just seems unreal!  You better show her pictures of me and stuff so she knows who  am when I get home!  I better see some pictures too okay?  Wow, it blows my mind.

  I also think it is insane that I have been here so long.  It really has taught me how short life is and has changed my life.  I only have less than 15 months left of my mission.  :(  That being said, I am going to do my best to enjoy the heck out of it.

  Transfers are coming up on the 13th and it is crazy that  have been here in Chua for almost 12 weeks!  I have been feeling pretty strongly that I am going to be transferred.  Elder Nickel has only been here for 6 weeks more than me and he only has 12 weeks left so her will probably go. Plus I feel it.  I think, I of course don't know for sure.  But I'd be happy going anyway.  Poway taught me that you can serve anywhere and love it if you have the right attitude.  It reminds me of Edward Dube's talk in last October's conference.  He said, "In the service of the Lord, it's not where you serve, but HOW."  I really like that because it's true. 

  As far as the media blitz , we were not really involved.  But President Clayton has said that we will get Ipads and that soon.  It will definitely be a great tool to help the work.  But it will also be a tool of the world for those who decide to not be responsible.  Hopefully we are all ready for it. 

  I love you deeply.  I am SO grateful for the life you gave me.  You are the best.  I hope this week is great for you.

  Love,
  Elder Taylor C. Davis

CINCO DE MAYO CELEBRATION

Since we have a Spanish speaking missionary we decided to throw a little Cinco De Mayo celebration in his honor.  We invited two families from our ward over for dinner, family home evening and desert. We love our missionary!  Happy Cinco de Mayo Elder Davis!