Miracles Do Happen

Maham y Daddy-O,
 Hey guys what's up?  Everything over here is going pretty good.  I'm pretty good, but lately I have been thinking a lot about home. I don't know why, maybe it's because I am going 'down the hill' now. If the mission was like a mountain, and the year mark is the peak, I have now reached the peak and I'm going down the mountain. Everybody knows going down the mountain is a lot faster than going up. So yea, maybe that is why I have been a little baggy (homesick). I have a goal though, to only be a little baggy when I'm in the house in bed.  So far it's working out pretty well.  I also have another goal to read every book in the mission library before I end the mission. I'm reading Jesus the Christ right now. It's really interesting, but sometimes hard to read.  I struggle finding motivation and everything like that.  

So this week we baptized R... it was awesome. He bore his testimony after he was baptized. It's always awesome to see your convert share what he has come to know. So that makes me happy. But I'm also kind of sad because L... didn't go to church this Sunday so we have to postpone his baptism. Sometimes it's really hard because people don't want to give up their time for the Lord. But I know that he will be baptized and will be a missionary some day. ITS ALL ABOUT THAT FE (faith).  You gotta have fe or else milagros (miracles) won't come to pass. 

So this week we had a multi-zone conference with half the mission and with a general authority from the first Quorum of the Seventy Elder Alonso. It was really cool. We learned a lot about the atonement.  He told us that if we taught the atonement well and with the Spirit that our investigators would tell us to baptize them.  So my companion and I  put it to the test.   I really tried to put the atonement into practice in my life and in my teachings this week and we were sharing a lesson with a part member family of less actives.  We shared a message about the atonement and how God has prepared a way for us to return to Him and that by do the things He has sent us here to do, we are able to put this plan into practice.  The Spirit was so strong.  After our lesson the Father of the family who isn't a member came out of the other room where he had been listening and thanked us for helping his family. He said he understood our lesson perfectly and that he was going to go to church with us one Sunday.  So when that happened we were totally shocked because that Dude never wanted to talk to us before, and now he was telling us that he would go do church when we didn't even invite him.  I know that the promise Elder Alonso gave to us that day came true and that miracles do happen.  

Brillando!

Love you guys

Elder Tagg

PS some old photos that I'm finally putting up.  Evan's camera hasn't been working so these will have to do for now... 

A recent baptism right after he transferred from the mountains back to the coast

Another recent baptism.  His pants are looking pretty large on him (!)  

Testimony

Maham y Daddy-O

How's it going guys? Everything here is pretty good. It sounds like a lot of fun stuff is happening over there right now. But I'm glad I am here. Yesterday there was no power for a long time so that's why I didn't write and I am now allowed to write you guys today.

Just a couple of things about my new area. It's pretty cool. We have an investigator named Rafael he is going to be baptized this Saturday. He is 37 years old and is really excited to be baptized. Today we taught him about patriarchical blessings. He is really excited to get his and to recieve the Priesthood. He is awesome. On Saturday we helped him move. We took almost all day to do it, but in the end everything worked itself out. We are also working with an 18 year old kid and his 14 yr old brother, Lester and Marvin.  They are really sweet and want to serve missions. Every time we go they accept everything and share their thoughts on how they can see the difference between other churches and our church. We found Lester one day while contacting. Ever since I met him I have felt like in the premortal life I promised him I would find and teach him the Gospel. I don't know why but I love him as if he were my Brother. 

Lately my companion and I have started to read and study more diligently, and I feel like it's really helping me to feel the spirit. But today we had a lesson where the spirit wasn't there. It went really bad. I didn't feel good afterwords and neither did my companion. I hated not having the spirit. I felt super uncomfortable. 

se que esta iglesia es verdadera se que el señor me ama. yo se que es lo que tengo que hacer para que el espíritu este conmigo, cuando no tengo el espíritu no me siento bien y no puedo predicar su evangelio como El quiere que lo haga. se que jose smith fue un profeta llamado por dios y que por medio de el la iglesia verdadera está aquí en la tierra hoy un día. se que yo estoy aquí para traer almas al señor yo he visto el cambio que uno tiene cuando conozca este evangelio y por eso sigo aquí porque amo a esta obra y se que solo por medio del señor podemos tener la felicidad eterna. yo se que Jesucristo vive y que por medio de su expiación nosotros podemos ser perdonados de todos nuestros pecados. amo al señor amo a mi Padre Celestial y amo a los personas de a aquí de Guatemala. 

en el nombre de Jesucristo amen 

(I know the church is true and the Lord loves me.  I know what I need to do to have the spirit with me.  When I don't have the spirit with me I don't feel good and I can't teach the Gospel like He wants me to.  I know Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God and through him the true church was restored and is on the earth today.  I know I am here to bring souls to God.  I have seen the change one makes when they come to know the true church and that's why I continue to be here because I love this work and I know that only through he Lord can we have eternal happiness.  I know Jesus Christ lives and through His atonement we can be forgiven of our sins.  I love the Lord and Heavenly Father and the people here in Guatemala.  In Jesus' name Amen).

Love you guys, 

Elder Tagg

Catching Up

Sorry I've neglected posting Evan's letters.  We've had a busy Summer.  Also for a couple weeks he didn't write much so I was not inclined to post those 'texts' he sent.  Here are some past weeks and we expect another today...

8/8/16
Maham y Daddy O

How's it going guys?  I have had an interesting couple of weeks.  So first of all I had changes so now I'm back in Malcatan! But I'm in a different area called El Rodeo. It's a pretty cool area. We baptized last Saturday and we are going to baptize again this Saturday. This area has baptized the last 5 Saturdays in a row... it is soo different from the mountain areas I have been in.  I'm gald to be back on the coast.

The reason I haven't written the last two weeks is because I have had interviews with President. Nothing is wrong.  I just had some District Leader duties relating to members of my district in Retalhuleu. It's a long trip down there and back to the mountains. That, and some times I really just don't feel like writing. 

Anyways my new companion's name is Elder Pimentel. He is from El Salvador and has 14 months on the mission. He's pretty cool. I think we will work well together.

My camera situation is like this: My memory stopped working, but I sent it off to be fixed. My camera cord is lost and the battery charger I accidently left in my old area, but I'm working on everything to get it back up and running so I can send some pictures. 

I haven't gotten the package you sent yet, but I do know that it has gotten to the office. Thank you soo much. 

I love and miss you guys 

I'll write more details next week. Ask anything you want to know 

Elder Tagg

8/15/16

Maham y Daddy-O 

Ima just do bullet points cause it's easier

- This week was really good. We had fun, did good work, & baptized Kevin. 

- Kevin is a 14 kid and his family are converts of about a year. He didn't want to be baptized but we convinced the crap out of him until he did. Meaning we brought him pizza, played Uno with him and taught him after we earned his trust. He is really cool. He's gonna be a missionary some day...

- Thanks for the package. it was awesome!  I love yous guys. 

- I'm not in the same ward as before. I'm in a rama (branch) called El Rodeo. It's pretty freaking cool. However, I did see the members from my old rama San Isidro.  It was pretty sweet to see them again.

- I get along really well with my companion.  He is really humble and awesome, and our house is pretty small but it's cool. I'll send pictures when I can.

- We have a lot of investigators.  We do a lot of divisions with the jovenes (young boys) and we are teaching a lot of really positive families.

-That's pretty much all that is happening. But yeah, it would be cool if Dad could talk to the President about seeing a Doctor here for my ear. I'm going to talk to him next P-day and we will get everything figured out.

Hey when is Nathan going to get married? tell him to get  job and a haircut. Haha! 

I love you guys 

Elder Tagg 

PS See ya in a year  : )

Time Goes By

Mahm y Daddy O,

How is everything going this week? I hope it's not to stressful with a the trip stuff coming up. I know it can be hectic (don't know how to spell that). But everything here on my end is good except I can't get my memory card from my camera to work. But trust me when I say there are some cool pictures. It's really actually frustrating not being able to send pictures. I wish sometimes that you guys could just see what I see everyday like if I had a GoPro permanently mounted on my head or something. My favorite thing in Guatemala besides being a missionary is getting jalones, which is like hitching a ride, in the back of pick up truck. Doing this (especially here in the mountains), I feel like a freaking eagle! It's the best thing ever! It's so beautiful.

Well not much has happened this week besides the fact that tomorrow Elder Ga... gets a new companion. So we will no longer be in a trio, which will be better for getting work done. So that happened, and also we were able to put a baptismal date down for someone. So we will for sure we a baptizing this month. Her name is Si...  I think I told you guys about her before. But she took a little bit longer to get her to accept the fete (date).

Anyways, I love you guys and can't believe I almost have a year on the mission. It's pretty crazy how fast the time goes by. I'll be home in a year... CRAZY

Love you guys,

Elder Tagg

I Was Basically a Hero

MAHM Y DADDY-O

How's it going guys? This week was pretty crazy and I took lots of amazing photos, but I freaking forgot the cable to my camera so that's why there will be no photos this week. So sorry guys.

This week my comp Elder P... had changes also Elder G... (the gringo from my group). So this is what happened: They had changes and Elder Garcia and I stayed. But instead of sending us two new comps they only sent one because there is a shortage of missionaries right now. So I have two comps until another missionary comes up. Our new comp's name is Elder Carias. He is from Honduras and is freaking awesome. He only has 2 months in the mission, so I am finishing his training. Honestly I don't know why President is giving me all these responsibilities I guess he trusts me or something. Oh and by the way, Elder Carias' Dad is a 70 in Honduras so I'm gonna have to do a good job training him, or I'll never be a zone leader haha.

So that happened and we also had a another multi-zone meeting to say good bye to President and hermana Ruiz. I'm going to really miss them. I have learned so much from the both of them, and will never forget what they have done for me. It was really sad, but I'm also excited for president Goodman. This Thursday all the district leaders and the zone leaders are going to meet him. It should be pretty awesome. We will see what changes he makes.

We had a miracle in my area this week. So this week was district conference. We had 8 investigators in church which is crazy in the mountain zones. We are defiantly baptizing in July at least 4 that is for sure. So that was the miracle.

We also finally did something fun for P-day. We went to this field that was right next to the forrest and we played capture the flag. I won my team the final game. So this is how it went almost our whole team was in jail, and I went and snuck through a stream and spotted the flag. So I grabbed it and ran back through the stream with like four people chasing me and I crossed into the side of my team all wet and muddy, but we won! Hahahaha  swheeet victory! It was awesome I was basically a hero amongst elders and hermanas.

love you guys and know you can do it.

Elder Tagg

I

Someone posted this on Facebook.  All of these Elders have served in the mountain area of Tejutla and one of them is holding a mission call to be delivered to a fellow branch member.  Pres Ruiz gave it to them at zone conference.  Two Elders on the left have both been Evan's companions previously.

This is 1/2 of his mission.  He's in there somewhere!  

I Know Who I Am

Mahm y Daddy-O 

Hey guys. How's it all going? Sorry that I wasn't feeling good last week and didn't write you guys a full letter. Sometimes it's just hard and I didn't really feel like it, haha. This week will be a good one I hope. 

But first of all: HAPPY FREAKING FATHERS DAY DAD!!!!  I love you soo much and am so greatful you are my Dad. What a crazy dream you had! I almost cried... but any way it would be cool to be a kid again. I like who I am now.  I feel like I have really learned and progressed on the mission. I know who I am and what I need to do to be happy. Thanks for your example. I love you. 

This week was a week full of trials and miracles. But it was a good week. One of the trials was that our investigator that had a baptismal date, didn't come to church. So we weren't able to baptize her this week. We are hoping that next week she will be able to come. Her name is S.... she is 70 years old and lives in poverty. It's pretty sad.  But poverty doesn't really effect me as much as it did when I first started. it's now like something normal. But yea, she lives in poverty and she can barely hear, so we have to scream to teach her. But somehow she felt the spirit and chose to accept a baptisimal date. Another miracle is that an investigator that we thought didn't want anything to do with the church, came on Sunday by himself and he is now talking about going on a mission! His name is Amner and he is 18. We met him becuase his girlfriend is a member. The Lord has really touched his life and he has desries to serve a mission which is freaking awesome. We will be baptising him this next week or in July. Both he and Willian the baptism from a couple weeks ago, have desires to serve a mission. Super awesome.  Another miricale we have seen is that me and my comp and one other companionship (in the 2 zones in the mountains) are the only ones who have baptized this month. Which kind of sucks for the zone, but is awesome for us. So I know that the Lord has blessed us to be able to baptize in this time of little baptisms.  

Also this week I had to poop in a cup to see if I have pillary or parasites. That was pretty fun. I'll probably know by this next week, so I'll tell you guys next week. That was the first time i have ever pooped in a cup, if you have never done it I highly recommend it.... it's like nothing else. 

I love you guys and miss you. See ya in 14 months hahhaha!

Elder Tagg

Elder Tagg found a car just like his at home!  

New Area, New Companion, New Calling

Evan and his newest companion

The guy in front was with Evan in the CCM

A multi-zone get together! 

Yum!  

Hey Mahm and Daddy O,

So this week was pretty fun. As you guys probably already know, I had transfers from Tejutla. I am now in an area called Maclen which is in the other zone in the mountains. It's called Zona San Pedro. This area seems awesome with really strong members which is a big change from Tejutla. My new companions name is Elder Perez. He is from Peru and has 21 months in the mission. He seems awesome. 

My area, Maclen, is another one of those areas where you don't reaslly baptize a lot. It's kinda like Tejutla that way,  but we are baptizing this week! He is a 17 year old named Wi... He is sweet. I will send pictures of him next week. 

Also this week I was moved up to be a District Leader. It's pretty cool. My district is only 4 missionaries, and we all live in the same house because we live so far away from everyone else. It's still sweet though. I get to pass stats on to the Zone Leaders and I interview people... Pretty dang exciting... 

Anyways some cool things happened in the mountain Zones. First of all,l Elder GH... from my district in the CCM is in my district now and we live in the same freaking house!  Second, Elder Ga... came up to Zone San Marcos (my old zone) freaking right when I leave that zone, he enters it. But it's all cool. We get to see each other on P-days.

So that's all that pretty much happened this week. I love you guys and miss you.

Elder Tagg

skinny horse, skinny Elder

I love this shot

She's holding an egg

Elder Tagg and Elder Perez from Peru

Do the chickens have large talons?

Early morning Elder Tagg