I would be lying if I said that I haven’t been listening to Christmas music every day...haha Deck the Halls?

hOLA fAMILIA!! 

This week, I almost died...

   Hahaha No. So you all heard about the volcano right? I’m sure. For the past 2 weeks we have heard all sorts of things about the volcano in Turrialba. Each day this week, it was giving off ash and smoke. HOWEVER, I didn’t see any of it!! The wind blew everything to San Jose! We bought masks last week to prepare for any type of ash that came our way but nothing came. The poor missionaries in San Jose, the majority of our mission, couldn’t leave their homes all day Friday. The air was so bad and still is SO bad. There is ash on the streets, cars and attaches to clothing. The crazy part is that the volcano is SO close to Guapiles. We see it every day! Hermana Tere lives right in front of it! Luckily, it has caused no problems with our water or the air. It’s a miracle and a great blessing!

   Also, if you haven’t heard by now, I will be wearing pants! HAHA no! I really don’t want to. The people on the street already think that we are Elders. They literally scream from their cars "HEY ELDERS!.” Wearing pants is just another thing that will make them think "Elder".  Also, It’s really hot! Long sleeves and Pants? The people here already think that I sweat a lot...just wait haha! I know that it’s for our own good though. Recently I saw an elder in Guapiles get sent home for Chikungunya. The symptoms are similar to Dengue and Zika diseases, which are also spread by mosquitoes, but it is severe and disabling! It was awful! I don’t want that… So yeah Mom, I WILL use my repellant and maybeee I’ll wear the pants haha!

Below is the letter that President Hayes received and forwarded to the missionaries in my mission…

“To: Mission presidents in the Central America Area
As announced by the First Presidency today (see attached announcement), missions are now responsible to:
- Purchase insect repellant containing at least 30% DEET for all missionaries. In missions where mosquito-borne diseases are highly prevalent, missions should also purchase permethrin insecticide. Please ensure that all missionaries understand how to apply these products and use them properly. For instructions on applying DEET and permethrin, please view the video, Prevention of Mosquito-Borne Diseases on the Mission President’s Portal.
- Ensure that missionaries serving in areas where mosquito-borne diseases are highly prevalent (see attached list of missions) wear clothing that covers exposed skin—especially arms and legs.
- To encourage sisters serving in such areas to wear full-length dress slacks, the mission will provide funds for all young sister missionaries called prior to June 5, 2016, to purchase 3–4 pair of approved dress slacks. Senior sisters will purchase their own dress slacks. Sister missionaries called after June 6, 2016, will be instructed to purchase their own dress slacks.
- When attending Sunday worship services, leadership and zone conferences, and baptismal services, sisters may wear dress slacks to the meeting location and change before the meeting begins.”

Elderes y Hermanas. Les avisamos de los detalles esta semana

Then, as I am writing this, I just received another email from President Hayes…

"Elders and Sisters,

As many of you know, there are new rules regarding clothing. Here are the guidelines established by the church: https://www.lds.org/callings/missionary/dress-grooming?lang=spa

'If they wear dark glasses, they have to be simple, black or brown, and no other color or style. They can not use them when they are talking to people.

If you wear hats, they have to be similar to the examples on the page.' Be prudent, we can say more. For the sisters, still we do not know everything regarding pants, but we have more information in the coming weeks."

OH NO IM DYING!! EVERYTHING IS CHANGING!! SUNGLASSES AND HATS TOO!!

Anyhow, we are officially entering winter here. Yeah, so while you’re all celebrating summer, I’m heading directly into winter. That really doesn’t mean anything. The sun still burns but we are getting a whole lot of rain! If we are luckily, sometimes there is wind and the temperature is a little colder. If not, we are in pure humidity.

I am so grateful for the rain. The people here are still so worried about the water. There is hardly any! It needs to rain a lot! Apparently it will be "winter" until January 2017 here. I would be lying if I said that I haven’t been listening to Christmas music every day...haha Deck the Halls? I promise I won’t get burnt out, but when it’s dark and rainy (and it’s snowing ash), it’s hard to resist “Let It Snow” and a little Christmas cheer. Besides, what’s the first rule of the elf? "Treat every day like Christmas!"

Recently, I have been studying our identity as children of God. It’s amazing how that knowledge, that God is your heavenly Father, can change your life and your perspective. We met so many people this week who are just lost. They feel stuck in their problems and helpless. You are NEVER helpless with the gospel. There is always a way to get back to the happiness that God wants for us. I know that my Heavenly Father lives and he loves me! The same way that I know that he loves you all, and he knows you too. This week Carolina thanked us for teaching her about our Savior in a way that she could know him better. I asked her what she meant by that? She said that we taught that He is our older brother and that in her 31 years of life she had never thought of Christ like that. She never thought of him as someone that she could depend on and go to like an older brother. I immediately thought of Park. It’s true that I feel like I can ask Parker for advice or help and that he will help me. I’m truly grateful for that. It’s the same if not more with Christ. He is our older brother and He is there to help us and lift us up when we feel weak. He wants to be our friend. We can have that brotherly relationship with Him. I loved that! It’s amazing how through teaching the gospel, I am taught. Oh how I love my Savior and I love this gospel!

Please remember who you are and WHOSE you are this week! Have a great one, and from the words of one of the greatest movies of all time…High School Musical, “Schools out, Scream and Shout!”

Love love love you all!!

Besos and abrazzos for everyone.

I completed 10 months yesterday. I love my English speaking Mexican companion, she made me this adorable card to celebrate :) 

Mom, Luis Alejandro says thank you for his fruit roll up. He loved them so much, he ate 2.

 We made a roll…Plantains with refried beans and cheese inside. It was delicious and reminded me of my cauliflower crust pizza I used to make at BYU!!

 So thankful for all of my friends back home who keep in touch with me every week…Email from my friend Scott, He and the rest of our friends climbed Mount Tallac on Monday.

“Hey Taylor!! With cold hands from (almost) the top of Mount Tallac!! All is well, I’ll write more later…”