First Baptism

Well, to answer some questions. I probably wont be helping out too much more with the tornado cleanup unless our branch gets assigned to help. The missionary army is starting to take a step back and focus more on the work again. Which we are happy and sad about, it was nice to take off my tie every once in a while. We are glad to get back in the swing of things. We have a baptism next Saturday with a part member family. The husband is a member and the wife isn't. But on Saturday she will be! :) We are pretty excited. This will be my first baptism on the mission. I'm stoked! I'm a little jealous of Ca Adv. It sounded fun. I'm glad to hear about Jessica, who still hasn't written me! :( and sad to hear about Freddy! That kid is going to be a stud missionary. He will be serving with President Taylor's son. Well I'm rushing this letter because our Zone is having a training p-day down in Ardmore so I don't have much time. But I love you all so much! Thank you for all the wonderful things you do for me!

Not a Second Wasted.

 

Starving and Serving

Ok, so as of now we are not heavily involved. I have not attended church here in Pauls Valley yet. We have been up every week doing clean up. We have a shortened sacrament and then go to work. It's really weird to pass the Sacrament in jeans and a yellow helping hands shirt. But I guess the attire isn't quite as important as the actual ordinance. We did not stay over night, we would drive home each night. We were only about an hour away so it wasn't too bad. 

 

Yes I can give you our address:

202 W. Chapel Ridge #322

Pauls Valley, OK 73075

Well I can't really answer the question about the food yet. I haven't eaten too often here. We are either out working, serving, or up doing relief. The branch here is sad. The dinners here are pretty sparse. We have been fed once by a lady who only speaks spanish, so that was an awkward dinner. We ate and she stared at us and we could not communicate. But I entertained her with my little spanish knowledge, like Gordo, Guapo, Feo, Machismo, and anything else that came to mind. She made some bomb authentic Quesadillas! I don't know if I'm losing weight from service, I hope so. I have been working out a lot, more than I ever did back home so if I'm hefty I'm going to claim muscle mass ;) Oh boy I'm so thankful for being raised in a fun-loving humorous family. It is real easy for me to gain trust with practically anyone. I can get lots of people to open up and tell me deep, dark secrets/concerns. Which in turn helps us find out how to teach people, not lessons. Most people don't like tracting but I like it because you get to meet so many new diverse people and learn how the Atonement can apply to them. It's wonderful!

Oh man Elder Haskell is interesting. He is an older Elder. He is 22 and has only 2 transfers left, so it is a strong possibility I will kill him. He is seriously thinking of going into law-enforcement and is one deaf man, worse than Dad! It drives me insane!!!!!!!!!! Hahahaha. He is from..... yup you guessed it, UTAH! South Jordan. We teach well together, but I've noticed some common sense/social skills lacking so I have been learning patience and Charity. I realize my own lackings when I'm with my companion and it helps me become a better missionary, I think, so I think this companionship will be a very educational one. Well here in Pauls Valley our focus is more rescue than anything else, but we have a baptismal date that is super solid for the 29th! I'm really excited for her! Well that's all I can think of as of now. I love y'all so much! Take care.

Not a Second Wasted

Elder Burnham

Pauls Valley

Yes all is well here on the great planes of OK. We have even more opportunity to serve and provide relief. It was nice being able to take off the tie and put on jeans and go get all dirty and scummy! Physical labor is one of the big things I have strangely been missing. I have found a whole new kind of tired recently. Its wonderful. So I don't think you ever told me what Sara was doing going to g-mas & g-pas for a little while. Is she meeting you guys when you come from Michigan? This summer sounds quite jam packed! Good, it will keep you out of trouble ;) I really do hope and pray Elders Burnham will be companions. Like Sean said, if you have any strings to pull that would be pretty amazing! But prayer will definitely be involved! So I am in a new area, Pauls Valley. This area has a reputation and not a good one. Elder Haskell and I either are being punished or are being trusted. We have been sent in as the clean-up crew. The previous Elders weren't the most obedient. We are in a branch and with what little exposure they had to the missionaries it wasn't good. We have been working on trust and the misconception on how missionaries really operate. We have a less active branch mission leader who hasn't been seen for a few transfers now, and so the work is going to be revolutionized here! hahaha. Pauls Valley could be golden! We have already found some great people. But we have had to back off because of some legal issues they are going through. Its a change moving from a ward where we were doing lots of finding and teaching, to a branch where the focus is retention, rescue, and families. There isn't much wiggle room either. There are 6 missionaries in this little branch. But that's OK. I'm grateful fort the opportunity to be serving here and to help the work move forward! It might not be as easy as Ada but I think it will be more educational and rewarding! Not to mention memorable ;) Well I love you all. Take care and continue praying for the victims of the tornadoes. Before I forget, I'm going to need Sean's new address.

Not a Second Wasted

Elder Burnham

Tornado Damage

Mormon helping hands

Flipped vehicles are piled up outside the heavily damaged Moore Medical Center on May 20, 2013

Aerial View of Damage on Moore Oaklahoma

Safety update

Dear Parents: 

Your sons and daughters are safe.   Thursday and again yesterday we experienced severe storms and additional tornados in our mission area.  Yesterday’s storms were more dangerous and destructive than Thursday’s storms.  Our missionaries were never in any danger on Thursday but yesterday caused us more concern because we had missionary relief crews out working in the morning.  As is my practice, I sent the work crews home well in advance of the approaching storms so they could be near their local weather contacts and shelters.  My practice is to personally monitor the storms and alert missionaries directly and through our mission leadership.  Local weather contacts are also very helpful to us. 

Based on preliminary reports, yesterday’s storms caused substantial new damage and sadly, additional lives were lost.  103,000 homes in the City (including the mission home) are without power.  The damage, downed power lines and traffic have prevented me from communicating with you earlier this morning.   We also had all our missionaries in South Oklahoma City this morning for a meeting with Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Presidency of the Seventy.  Now all of our missionaries are out working on tornado cleanup projects for the day. 

I will generally not communicate with you after every storm.  I will reserve these communications for storms that strike near where we have missionaries stationed.  If power is out and I am prevented from emailing you I will call the Church operators and let them know the missionaries are safe.  I will also inform the Missionary Department of the safety of our missionaries.  As you can imagine, we have a lot going on out here right now.  The safety of our missionaries (your daughters and sons) is our paramount concern and priority.  We will tend to them first and inform you once I have verified their safety and tended to other priorities related to the missionaries.  Thank you for your patience and prayers.

We are grateful for the Lord’s protection and your prayers.  Many miracles are occurring through these events.  The Lord truly does make all things work together for the good of those who believe. 

Warm Regards, President Taylor