February 24, 2014

Gilberto is officially Mormon!! And has the beginnings of an eternal family! :) I think Barbara will come around within the next couple of months.

Saturday was a good day! We did all the final preparations for the wedding/baptism, Got to the church at about 2, made copies of the program, filled the font, set up chairs, and then everyone started showing up at about 345.

the wedding went well, then Gilberto went and changed, came back in the room and we started the baptismal service. everything went very smoothly.

After the baptism, we had cake and then headed to Gilberto's house for a fiesta! We spent the rest of the night over there just eating, talking and dancing. ( After all, They are Mexican).

Yesterday, about 10 minutes before church started, The choir director asked If I would Help sing in sacrament... YAY:/ it was High on a Mountain Top, So it was easy. It went well and I feel like it sounded good. there was only one guy with bleeding ears after. haha just kidding.

As far as the rest of the week goes, nothing too special happened. We played basketball with all the Border patrol guys on Thursday. That was fun!

Before I go, I just want to testify of eternal families. I know they are a real thing, We REALLY can live with our family forever. In the presence of our Heavenly Father.

Eternal Families are the reason I'm on a mission. I have felt the joy of knowing I will be with m family forever, And I want to bring others to the knowledge of the truth. I left my family for a short time so that others could be with their family forever. I love all of you and I look forward to hearing from you! transfers are next week so I'll let you know what happens. love ya! -Elder Taylor Alston

Gilberto/Barbara Wedding

Gilberto baptism. Gilberto is on the left, Hermano Cuevas in on the right

The start of an eternal family.

This was the sunrise this morning.

February 17, 2014

How's everyone doing this week? how was your valentines day? full of love I hope!!

this week was pretty busy for us!

Monday: right after we emailed, Brother davis called and said one of his pipes broke, so we drove out to his house and fixed that for him. Then his water pumped wouldn't work, So we spent most of the day trying to figure that out... I took the fuse box apart and found some lose wires... Easy fix!!

Wednesday, we had interviews with president killpack then he took us to lunch and it was really cool because we just talked like normal human beings! haha about work, flying, school, all that good stuff. it was the first real conversation I've had with him! We asked him if we could trade the jeep for a truck and he said that would be fine, and we were told we had to take the jeep to Benson. And the truck was already in Willcox, which meant elder matiz had to drive one and I drove the other, It was really weird driving by myself for 30 minutes. haha so long story short, We now have a truck.

Thursday: we had to drive to sierra vista to get the heater fixed. After waiting 3 hours, We found out that they couldn't fix it because they needed to order a part... so we drove 73 miles and waited 3 hrs for an oil change!!! haha we weren't happy. oh well. Then we drove home and the day was wasted!

Friday: we visited Gilberto and Barbara, They should be getting married on Saturday and Gilberto is going to get baptized. Barbara "isn't ready" yet. We are also going to baptize Victor with Gilberto. He is 11 and His uncle is in our ward. (Hermano Cuevas)! We are excited to bring two more into the fold! Thank you for the support! love you all!

-Elder Taylor Alston

this was most of the weeks temp...not that ya'll care haha

BBQ at the Millers

on our way to the library today

February 10, 2014

This week we went over to see Gilberto and Barbara, And taught them about marriage. They told us they would get married. Now we have a wedding and baptism set for the 22nd! :) Yesterday was ward conference, the topic was, Hastening the Work of salvation. It was really good. Stake President Nolan spoke along with Bishop Rogers. Hopefully it pumped the members up to do more missionary work!!

Rodger Morse (recent convert) got a calling! he's working with the cub scouts! I wish we were aloud to be scout masters while we are missionaries. haha I miss scouts a lot.

I really want to share a quote with you regarding member missionary work before I go,

President Ezra Taft Benson taught: “We are commanded by God to take this gospel to all the world. That is the cause that must unite us today. Only the gospel will save the world from the calamity of its own self-destruction. Only the gospel will unite men of all races and nationalities in peace. Only the gospel will bring joy, happiness, and salvation to the human family”

there may be 80,000+ missionaries, but we cant do it alone. we need everyone's help. go on lessons with the missionaries, invite your friends over for dinner. I promise you can make a difference. 

Love you all. -Elder Taylor Alston

Caleb Miller...coolest 17 year old I know. We are going to have a ranch together.

February 3, 2014

Hey everyone! This week we found out that gilberto and Barbara aren't married... which means we have to  get them married before they can be baptized.. haha oh goodie.

Yesterday I was super sick. I woke up went to sacrament meeting, came home, and was going between my bed and the bathroom for a solid 12 hours. I felt bad for Elder Matiz having to listen to me puking all day. haha. I finally asked for a blessing at 9 last night. So the second ward Elders came over and helped elder matiz with that.

This was the first blessing I have gotten since I was set apart as a missionary. Its really hard for me to ask for help. I have an issue with pride and I know I need to change that. but what I really want to say is, If you need a blessing, ASK. I promise you they work.

And you can get a blessing for anything. Sickness, stress, need help with school, ANYTHING! Don't be afraid to ask. don't be like me. haha Thank you for supporting all the missionaries out there! we all need all the support we can get. until next week, Love you all. -Elder Alston