My Schedule

Well I able to receive your dear elder on Sunday. I'm not sure how fast it comes but I did get it there.

Mike: I don't think orange juice is part of my worries. everyone here has things coming from them that i myself didn't know existed. we have all sorts of different foods but the orange juice i would have to say i love.. Its freshly crushed from the oranges here so I'm thinking they didn't have them in the Provo.

Kim and family: Sounds like the life is still in the room. you could have kept the elbow stains though. Just tell Colton that uncle Taylor says to toughen up.. then ask him if all the guys on Taylors games if they cried.

Dad: Don't fry my computer. As your son i am looking out for your interests and saying that there are more important things in life than halo... ....... ...... ....... .... ¿Ahh heck who are we all kiddin??? HALO ROCKS!!!

Mom. i am able to pull my camera out next Tuesday. because a group of elders will be leaving. its a rule we cant use it till then. so i shall get pictures of the comedor, habitacions, cama´s, laundry room, study room, and other things that i think will be useful. I have no way of getting them home. i think i will talk to my teacher and have him burn me 2 cd´s of my pictures and send some home sometime 14 days from now.

As for my schedule. I sleep in till 6:15. there is to big of a rush for our 6 sinks, 8 showers, 4 urinals, and 4 stalls. you find yourself waiting there anyway. i then go and study till 7, play basketball till 8, eat till 9, study till 12, eat till 1, study till 6 with breaks, eat, study till 8, SNACK TIME!!, study till 9, lights out at 10. Sundays we can leave the MTC to go for a walk for 1 hour. and Tuesdays we email and go to the temple. don't forget Thursday Laundry day.

As for the weekly email: I dropped my razor head in the sink, after much ponder i decided i would get it out with gum on the end of my pen. I heard a ripping sound in my shoulder when i tried to spike a volley ball. it was minor though... two days and i could play basketball to its extent. we usually do exercise time apart from the other North Americans (there are 8 in my district) but today we had 4 teams of 5 so we would play till 5 points and the winner would stay. Surprisingly I was picked first, but I'm defiantly not the best. needless to say. There were 5 games played... game 1 we didn't play, game 2 we won, game 3 we won, game 4 we won, and game 5 lost (against the team we beat earlier) I didn't stick around for the last game. I was doing my math and 8 showers to 30 Americans.... I defiantly had to go in early to hit the showers.

Every time I find myself struggling I just remember dad saying, they know what your talking about. We usually email at 2 o'clock your time. But today we had a substitute and just said go ahead now.

In 7 days we get to go do a field trip (if the new president lets us) I heard we were going to the zoo, I also heard we were going to an archeology center. I'm not sure.

Just a thought,... try to keep the pictures small.. They were pretty big for my small inbox.
Here is something for mom (who is trying to learn Spanish and struggling a ton) to ponder on. a few missionaries went on splits last week, here is an experience. One elder said one of the most volgur ways of saying the ¨*"^¨ word. Another went to an area where there was (for lack of a better word) human poo on the sidewalks all over (or so he thinks) it is too large for a dog he says.

Anyway, I have 5 minutes left and not more to talk about. just remember that I still have 8 weeks of the MTC. there shall be no worrying about me until I am out there.

With nothing else to say.
Elder Madera (the second but far more kool)

President Hinckley's Testimony

Our beloved prophet, President Hinckley passed away. We love him . We will miss him, but we
will also see him again.

2 February 2008 Speaking of his long-time “cherished friend and colleague” and fellow Church leader, President Thomas S. Monson paid tribute to Gordon B. Hinckley Saturday as a “giant among men.”

Quoting an unnamed poet, President Monson said: “‘Here and there, and now and then, God makes a giant among men.’ President Hinckley was such a giant – a giant of knowledge, of faith, of testimony, of compassion, of vision.”

27 January 2008 "I hope that all of you will remember that on this Sabbath day you heard me bear my witness that this is God's holy work. The vision given the Prophet Joseph in the grove of Palmyra was not an imaginary thing. It was real. It occurred in the broad light of day. Both the Father and the Son spoke to the boy. He saw Them standing in the air above him. He heard Their voices. He gave heed to Their instruction.

"It was the resurrected Lord who was introduced by His Father, the great God of the universe. For the first time in recorded history, both the Father and the Son appeared together to part the curtains and open this, the last and final dispensation, the dispensation of the fullness of times.

"The Book of Mormon is all that it purports to be—a work recorded by prophets who lived anciently and whose words have come forth "to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations" (Book of Mormon title page).

"The priesthood has been restored under the hands of John the Baptist and Peter, James, and John. All the keys and authority pertaining to eternal life are exercised in this Church.

"Joseph Smith was and is a prophet, the great Prophet of this dispensation. This Church, which carries the name of the Redeemer, is true.

"I leave you my testimony, my witness, and my love for each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

Day Six in the CCM

dia sies,

I'm not sure how long it will take to mail this. Since it's not pouch. I think I can send it on the 21st.

I'm living with Elder Daivs and 4 latinos. They all make fun of the new/old American Elders.

Spanish is coming. It's a lot harder to teach ... even in English... than I thought.

Sundays are way chillax. No studies - just free time. We have about 1 hour a day of just socializing, but thats the time to get ready for bed so it's more like 30 minutes.

I like the CCM (MTC) here. Only about 20 Elders from America and the CCM houses only about 60. The Elders after us go to Provo for 3 weeks then here. So we lucked out.

The food is good here. We range in the types of food. A lot of vegetables though.

Our basketball court is just 2 baskets in the parking lot. They are mounted on something like a chalk board so you can move them. And our weight room is a 4 foot long elastic band. We aren't supposed to take pictures here until our last day. The CCM has a 10 foot wall and a security guard, so we only leave two times a week - Sunday walk and P-day (Tuesday) Temple trip. We are right next to the temple.

We can't hook up our camera to the computer either, and it isn't like there is a Kodak machine in the guard shack. So I'm not sure what to do.

The Americans love the lazer though. We shine it at a business building at night about a mile away.

!No mas para a hora?

Con amor.

Elder Madera

Lay Over

Time to Fly!

Bright and early on the 15th we loaded in the car and headed for Salt Lake. We wanted to be to the airport by 9:00 a.m. Dad drove while the rest of us slept.

We got to the airport with plenty of time. Checking in luggage went well, and we went to the beginning of the security line and sat for a while to wait until the last moment to let him go.

Finally Elder J. Reeder and another Elder came and we had fun taking pictures of the three as they were ready to leave. All three families said goodbye and then we had to face the fact that it was time to let them go so they wouldn't be late.

While all of the three family members waited in the waiting area, Taylor's mom went around to the closest possible spot to take one final picture. They flew out on American Airlines, flight #2036 at 11:50 a.m.

They arrived in Dallas/Fort Worth at 3:25 p.m. and then boarded their final flight #2195, nonstop to Guatemala, arriving at 9:05 p.m. All went without a hitch.

Elder Puputiu's Family

Hasta Luego Elder Wood

Elder Reeder and Family

Non-farewell

Although we no longer have the "farewells" as missionaries leave, it's hard to not have a family get together to say "good-luck" and to show their support.

January 13, Kurt Lindstrom reported his mission and Taylor opened the meeting with a talk. As usual, the family came out in force. Taylor has the most amazing family - they are great to show their support.

Taylor thanked his family, his friends, and those in the ward that had made such a difference in his life. There have been many who have had a great impact in his life. He also shared a story about a boy having to do push-ups so that each person in the class could have a donut, even if they didn't want it after seeing the pain it was causing the boy as he struggled to do one push-up for each person.

After the meeting we went to the dance studio for a family dinner. Thank heaven for Hogy Yogy and family that brought salads and desserts.

Announcement - New MTC President

The First Presidency has called five new Missionary Trainng Center presidents with their wives. They will begin service about Jan 1. 2008, including David Alan Christensen, 57, Guatemala Missionary Training Center; Mill Hallow 3rd Ward, Rexburg Idaho North Stake; stake president; former president of the Chile Santiago North Mission, ward Young Men president bishop and counselor, high councilor and missionary in the Mexican Mission. Professor at Brigham Young University-Idaho. Born in Farmington, New Mexico to Vaughn L. and Irene Cardon Christensen. Married Deena Bond, eight children.