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Hey Mom,

pretty busy week. lots of things going on.

im glad that you got to see bro kofoed this week. i was surprised to notice when he was teaching me the temple lessons that he had that picture in his scriptures. he is somebody i dont think i appreciated enough in the moment but he was an awesome bishop. i remember being there. i remember those trips to arkansas and bishop talking about parley p pratt from his massive book that he was reading about him. i remember all the stories about him and all that.

i am glad that the priests were able to help you guys out and that you are having fun.

being a trainer is very much like being a parent i imagine. havent been a parent but it sometimes feels that way. my new comp is Elder Catanach from Rio Rancho, New Mexico. he is a good kid with good intentions. he is quite homesick sometimes and i dont think he likes me very much. i have a huge respect for Elder Murley now. some things are hard to do. he is shy around me and a bit negative. there are some things that he doesnt trust me on. he wants to do things how he wants to do things. he turns to me when he falls on his face.

im trying my best to not be arrogent about anything and most of the time i just compliment him on the things that i like that he does. the way that i have found to teach him the easiest is to let him go for the most part with what he wants to do and show him better ways to do things by example. like i said he is a good kid and wants to be a good obedient missionary, he just has not yet learned that it is not Elder Catanach or Elder Barron's work but rather the Lord's. honestly not a whole lot in common between us.

i dont know how i was before but now i am very positive and anxious to make things happen and he hasnt realized why those things are important just yet. and it has been tough with my new district leader responsibilities to spend any kind of time improving our relationship.

i have to go on 9 exchanges this 6 week transfer not including the day that i went to the mission home to learn my new responsibilites from President and Sister Brady and the assistants. Lemme tell you that was fun, going to see them and spending most of a day learning from them with only a few others. its kind of lonely being in charge.

to a degree most of the missionaries in my district try to impress me and i have to hold myself to a very high standard. i miss Elder Gibbons being my right hand man and having the comfort of a more equal companion. now im running the show 24/7 which i dont neccesarily like. i have gone on 2 exchanges and it is difficult to have to evaluate a missionary. especially when you are not perfect.

i had to come down hard on one of the missionaries who came in this transfer as well. he told one of the nonmember families that i talked about last time all of the rules that he wishes we didnt have and why. it will take some time to recover from the damage. if nonmembers dont think we like being a missionary it is very hard to make any progress. the rules and holding the rules high help us to get things done that we want to do: baptize. he trashed them in an attempt to be funny. i gave him more complements in the evaluation than things to work on, but i had to make that a teaching moment for him. i didnt enjoy it at all.

missionary work has been tough as well. got stiffed by the golden family. havent heard from them.

chris er** commited on friday to go to Church for two weeks and meet with us twice a week and be baptized in two weeks friday. he skipped Church on sunday and has ignored us since.

the other family is still going to have us for dinner monday but they think of us as the amish now after that exchange. also, i learned that they know too much about the temple from previous missionaries.

henry is still doing well but he needs some more time. he will be converted not just baptized though. he is working to get all sundays off with his manager. had a stellar lesson with him.

had to drop dan because he said that he would never consider going to Church again or ever joining.

chris el** is doing the same as ever.

we need to find some new investigators again.

in short, its been tough this week. i have had a really hard time but i had a great experience through all of it. i felt like i was in a haze the first few days of this. like my head was swimming all the time from being tired. i was feeling a bit sorry for myself. President Brady sent all the missionaries a talk to read before Zone Conference about study. cant remember whose it was at the moment. since i was feeling down and it talked about having your burdens relieved i decided to let Heavenly Father know that i was having a hard time and to seek council. the first thing that i felt that saturday night was that i should fast on sunday. i fasted for Elder Catanach to continue to grow into a stronger missionary. on sunday ward council ended an hour earlier than usual so i decided to have a personal study since we usually dont get one on sunday. i asked Heavenly Father what i should study and i felt like i should read ch 6 of PMG in the Humility section. i found great advice and comfort in the scriptures that i read from it. i felt like Heavenly Father took away all of the pain from how the work is going and all the stresses that i am under. since then i have still been working very hard but i havent felt like i am swimming. i can do everything that i have to do. i just need to be patient with everybody and everything and the Lord will guide His work.

Love your favorite missionary,

Elder Taylor Barron