Crazy it is almost August!

Elder Nelson and I

 We found a turtle

Welcome to week 5

It is so crazy how fast this transfer has gone by. It is almost August. That is disgustingly fast. 

On Monday we drove down to the Highlands and partied at a house of some investigators. They were super cool and made us food while we played soccer. I popped the ball you guys gave me :( sorry.

Tuesday was awesome. We went and visited Alma and Adrian. They made us posole. It was so darn good. Then we had a very solid lesson. We got on a tangent and talked about how we are family. They expressed their love and gratefulness to us. It's those moments when you realize how much God loves you. They want to join so bad. They will, just need some time. Their daughter Itay is so cute. 

Thursday and Wednesday were good... I think. I can't really remember them. We had interviews on Wednesday, though. I did a role play with President Taggart. That was cool, but kind of scary. oooh!  I remember we found a turtle at the house of one of our less actives. Whaaa? It was so small and cool and distracting. 

Friday was awesome. We had some dinner appointments which are always nice. We went to Esperanza's and Vero's and ate some really good meatballs. Then we watched a lil church movie with them. We then talked about miracles. We need a miracle for them. I want them to be baptized while I am here, but it seems like it might take years before that happens. Oh well. I will come back for their baptism.

Saturday was good. I had an exchange with Elder Anding. I had a solid  with my him. I was kind of tired and negative. We went to try a potential and found that only the wife was home, but we starting talking to her. We ended up sharing Alma 7:11-12 with her. I started to bear witness of the Atonement, and I felt the Spirit. I don't know if she recognized it, but the Spirit told us both that Jesus knows when we cry. He knows when our knees buckle. He knows the frustration that never shows. And He makes it better. Knowing that makes me feel happy. Makes me feel loved.

Elder nelson and I are now on exchange til Wednesday due to our companions leaving next week.

Weird. 

Here are some pics.

Love y'all

Elder ty

p.s. best package ever. I love you all so much!! Thank you

Freehold

 Two Toned Suits 

 Sister Persaud

 Peruvian Restaurant

lomo soltado

Ceviche

 Elder Nelson

 Oops! New Haircut!!

It was a crazy week.

Tuesday I went on an exchange with E Gossner. He is a cool kid. We taught and had some fun in the rain. He taught me a lot of how I can better my studies. He helps me be obedient. 

Wednesday we helped move furniture for Alma and Adrian to their new home. It took us five hours. We got home at 10:30. It was so worth it. They want us to come by every week to share something with them. Adrian (the dad) said that this is the first church he ever has wanted to attend. He told us that he was telling his family that Saturday is the day for the beach, and Sunday is the day for church. It is such an amazing miracle. They came to church and have been reading and praying. Their situation makes it so neither of them can be baptized, but our goal is conversion. So they will be converted before they are baptized.

Friday was E. Blanco's final temple trip. He went with all the departing missionaries and I went and hung out with E Nelson. He is phenomenal. We had such a good time. He is one of my best friends I have made so far. We taught and contacted and had fun all day Friday. ALL day we working and walking. It was fun. 

Saturday E Blanco and I taught 5 good lessons. It added up to a total of 12 lessons for the week. With one day left, we had little hope for reaching our goal of 20 lessons every week. God gave us a miracle. We taught 9 lessons on Sunday. They were not bad lessons either. We gave blessings and taught. We reached our goal. 21 lessons for this last week. It was a miracle. It helped me understand how merciful god is to us. We work our hardest, and God makes up the rest.

I love being a Nj missionary. I love serving in Freehold. I love serving with E Blanco. I love my investigators and family here. 

But I miss my family back at home. You are all so special to me. I hope that you have a fun week with the holiday and the birthdays. 

Love you.

Was good.

Typical Day in Freehold

Sister Taggart, My New Mission Mom

Typical day in Freehold:

Elder Blanco and I wake up to this dumb robotic ringtone at 5:50 and go outside for our jog. This last week we found a sweet trail right by our apartment that goes through this cool forest. We see a bunch of deer, bunnies, racoons, and squirrels. The trees and vines shoot up and over the path kind of like that road in hawaii. It is gorgeous and makes running 3-4 miles fun. There is a coffee producer factory here and so in the mornings it fills all of freehold. I think it smells like beans, which is funny because the hispanics call this place frihol (and frijoles in spanish means beans). It is a pretty fitting smell. We come back and I sit around and watch Elder Blanco get swole with the weights. We have our studies, and then we go out for the day. We had a dinner/lunch appointment every day this last week. I think I am at the highest weight I have ever been at. We do work here in freehold. We got a car a week ago and now we are starting to work our huge area. 

Our investigators are the best. But if you could pray for them, that would be awesome.

This week we found the most amazing family ever.  The mom (Alma) reads the Book of Mormon and keeps commitments.  She believes it is ture and is going to pray to know if it is true. She read 5 chapters in Nephi.  She related the story to us perfectly.  She understands Joseph Smith to the point where she practically recited his whole story to us.  I have never met anyone so prepared. Her boyfriend's name is Adrian and he has been reading and praying. Unlike other investigators we have these two went to get married but cannot because she is married in Mexico and its practically impossible to get a divorce. They come to church and are practically part of the ward family already.

Esperanza's daughter was baptized 2 weeks ago. Esperanza and her sister cannot get baptized because their boyfriends won't leave They want a father for their children but both of the fathers will eventually leave. It is super sad but we have come to a point where they read everyday, they pray, they know it is true, they come to church, they do service for the members but they cannot be baptized. They are the definition of dry members.  They are so great!! They love the missionaries and have the coolest kids.  Marcos and Elsa are amazing.  They believe it is true and making so many sacrifices to come into the fold.  Their son is going to be baptized Aug 3. They cannot get baptized because they are not married. They have 2 kids and Marcos is already married.  They don't want to marry each other.  They do not love each other.  We are working with the divorce for Marco, but we don't know if they are going to marry or split.

Malinche is a store but there is a less active and in investigator that own it.  They are always there so we go and share a quick message when they have time.  We leave with a drink and sometimes a snack.  They are super fun and nice.

Well its been a great week. I love you all.

Stay strong. Jersey Strong.

Ty

Was good

Happy 4th

This week was fun and rewarding :) 

I don't have a lot of time so I am just gonna share the basics.

We got a car. 

We found a family and hopefully things will progress.

We had a fun fourth of july. We went to Longbranch and stayed at a members til 10. He lives really close to the beach so we watched the Fireworks from there. It was cool because NY was in the distance and the beach was right there.

We stayed over in Longbranch with some missionaries and stayed up too late talking. I have pretty much been a zombie for 3 days. We got fed a ton this week!! 

I confirmed Lindsey this week on Sunday. She is so cute. 

Pray for our investigators and that we will be able to find those that God wants us to find. 

Love you all.