Everything is How it was Meant to be...and Bull Testicles

Hey Mahm y Daddy-O

Hey guys how's everything going this week? I just wanted to say I love you guys and that you're awesome. I'm really happy with everything and just feel like everything is how it was meant to be. 

This week was alright. I was kinda really baggy all week because I've been sick with really bad diarrhea all weak and I feel like throwing up every 2 minutes, but I never can. It really sucks.  That, and everything that is going on I don't know, I just felt less focused this week. It was really hard. 

Anyways this week I ate bull testicle. I didn't know what it was until after I ate it though. At first I thought it was chicken but like really soft chewy chicken. Definitely the weirdest thing I have eaten here in the G mala, but no big deal. (this is not the son I know at all)  Now I'm just like Temple Grandin. Haha. 

So awesome that Niko's call is here! I can't wait for him to come down here to my mission. He is going to be an awesome missionary. This month was the 2nd to last month of Pres Ruiz time and the mission broke the record again! It was pretty awesome. We ended the month with 254 baptisms, the goal was 300 but we still broke the record.

I just found out that I have changes from Tejutla but they also said that my suit cases will stay up here in the mountains so that means that I'm staying in one of the two mountain zones. I like the mountains but it would be nice to stay in mission Reu. They say that when the new President comes a new mountain mission will open. 

Love yous guys and miss you 

Elder Tagg

PS I think I got sick because I touched this card hahahah! I love Eliza!!!!

Near Death Experience

MAAHAM Y DADAYYDA=O 

What the freak? Nathan has a serious girlfriend... THAT is Amazing. I never thought this day would come! Hahhaha just kidding. But that's really cool. I should probably email him right?? Do you guys know if she speaks Spanish??

Anyways that's okay if they don't wait for me if they decide to get married. It's just that I have never ever been to a wedding or a funeral so it's in their hands now I guess :(

This week has been awesome with some nice things going on. We had the last multi-zone meeting of Presidente Ruiz's mission. He was super baggy, but it was good. I learned that we can either choose to be humble and serve God diligently, or we can be humbled by someone else which will still brings blessings but if you humble you self its a greater experience and you are blessed in a major way. 

Also this week we were walking back home from a really far area and we hitched a ride with some Policías (Policemen). They were awesome but we had a near death experience that included them. Soo it was raining really hard and we were inside the truck with the Policías and they got a call, (I don't know what it was for but they started driving really fast and we were on a new really curvy road that had a huge mountain on one side and a giant cliff on the other.  So we were going really fast on a really curvy dangerous road and it was raining really hard. I just felt that something baaaad was going to happen and like 20 seconds later our back tires start skidding out and we were heading off the cliff.So the driver jams the steering wheel over to the other side and now we where heading towards the face of the huge mountain... But we didn't die or crash so I know God was protecting us missionaries. Anyways.... that was pretty dang exciting right?!! 

So that happend and I got all your letters and packages! Thanks sooo much! it was awesome. I shared the Starbursts with the Rama (the Branch) and they loved um. It turns out the office has had those letters you sent for like a month now. I also got a letter from Addie that was weird but cool. And I found out that one of Niko's friends is coming to Mission Reu in August. Dang, when she comes I'll have like almost a year. That is crazy.

Love and miss you guys 

Elder Tagg

What's Gringo On?

Hey Mahm and Daddy'O, 

What's Gringo on over there? Everything over hear is just peachy.  I'm enjoying my mission. But there is no Five Guys or Chipotle over here, so that makes it a little bit difficult. Other than that everything is enjoyable. 

This week just the normal stuff happened. I/we talked to some people, we ate some tortillas, talked to more people, ate more tortillas.... Pretty dang exciting. 

One thing did actually happen though. We planned a Mother's day trip to the cascadas.  (I don't remember how to say that in English!) (It means waterfalls)  Anyways, it's going to be awesome. I'm going to grill hamburgers and we are going to give to prizes and have cake, and we are going to baptize someone! So that should be pretty sweet. 

Also this week we cleaned our house because our Zone Leaders said that if we don't clean our houses and send them pictures, then we can't go to the temple. As if they were our Moms or could even take away our temple privileges -HA. Its' funny, so I sent them like 20 pictures of us cleaning the house as well as other things. 

This Sunday I'll call you guys through skype like at 3-ish or like 5 your guy's time 

Love and miss you guys 

Elder Tagg

Before

After

He CAN mop!

He can mop in SYLE

Hospital corners!

A good use for coffee cans

Secret selfie

I'm sending him a new shower curtain

This is the G rated photo : )

Amazing Tiring Week

April 25 2016

Mahm y Daddy'O 

How's life going for yous guys?  I hope its' all good. My life is pretty swell. I'm enjoying it. I just wanted to say happy birthday and anniversary. I hope it was awesome and that the cake tasted good without me hahahah. Sounds like lots oh fun what yous guys did. 

This week was amazing, but always very tiring. Soo we baptized that family on Sunday Hahaha. (l asked him my the "hahaha" here... He replied that it was funny because the Mom was 84 and you had to shout for her to hear you making it a funny baptism). It was awesome, but really difficult. We literally had to do everything so that it could happen. Really stressful. First of all, they live freaking far away from the church, an second... it was just hard, trust me.  (Too hard to elaborate apparently).

This week we also had the opportunity to go to Malacatan my old area!!! We went because a Hermana from our ward is going on a mission, but she needed her dental work done. There is a member who is a Dentist in Malactan.  He did the work for really cheap. it was good to see my old area, but it was also freaking hot! I forgot how hot it was on the coast. 

Anyways, our Mission President is dying (finishing his mission) in like 2 months, so all the zones are going to the temple. Which means that I get  to go to the temple again. That is pretty much everything that happened this week. 

Love you guys here are some more pictures 

Elder Tagg

The 84 yr old woman and her two sons at their baptism

I'm Loving It

April 18 2016

Maham and Daddy-O,

Heys guy this week was freaking sweet because we got to go to the temple with the Rama (Branch). It was awesome even though my comp and I didn't go to a session. We stayed and helped out the youth and did baptisms. My comp and I couldn't baptize them, but we did the confirmations, we were witnesses, and pretty much everything else you can do. 

I felt so good after the trip was done because we had to plan everything. It was soo hard to get the members animated enough to want to go. We invited like 80,000 people but only 18 ended up going. But besides that, it was really cool, and I really got to feel the Spirit.

Also this week we had interviews with the President because he is dying (finishing his mission) in 2 months. He wanted to see how everything was going and stuffs like that. He only talked to me for like 2 minutes again. He did the same thing with my comp. He says it's because he trusts us... IDK. 

Gueesssssss  what?! That family that I told you guys about that are really poor, accepted a fete (date) and we are baptizing them on the 23 of this month. So that is freaking awesome.  it has been soo good to see the Gospel help that family.  We are also going to baptize a partial family the first Saturday in May. President said that if we do that, we will be the companionship of the mission this month. I don't really know what that is because I have never heard of that in the past 8 months that I have been here. But it sounds pretty cool right? President also has told the whole mission that the Tejutla has seen miracles and stuffs like that : )

Tomorrow will mark 8 months in the mission, but I feel like I have 2 weeks haha. Except I can speak Spanish now hahaha. But I am loving it. It's really crazy how fast it has all gone by. 

Freak! I almost forgot. There was an earthquake here but it wasn't that big. It was a temblorito nada mas, (tremble nothing more).  But there was a huge earthquake in Ecuador where my comp's family is. Please pray for them. 

love you guys and miss you 

Elder Tagg

#Idoexist

4/4/16
Hey Mahm and Dad, 

I think that those photos prove that I #Exist.  Any ways the photos are of me and Elder Vi... (the brown one) and the baptism of Gio... We baptized him in the river behind his house. But the problem was that it was not deep enough. So we went and dug a hole in the river bed. But in the end, I still ended up baptizing him sitting down. That was an awesome experience. The other pictures from the river are of the family of Gio... and of the Elders from the area next to ours. Elder P And Elder R, both from Utah. The pictures of me and two other Elders holding a flag are from the change meeting we had. The white one is Elder W. He was also trained by Elder Go.. So he is my "Brother" in the mission.  Anyways, I love you guys.  Hopefully all the photos will make up for the crappy letter. We had to go visit some members, so it didnt give me a lot of time to write. My favorite confernce talk was Elder Holland's talk.

Love and miss you guys 

Elder Tagg

4/11/16

Maham y Daddy-O

How's it going in the States you rich peoples? Hahah!

This week was awesome! We did some good work. We found lots of people that will be baptized this month. We found two really positive families that I am sure will be baptized. One of the families is really poor because the 80 year old Mom is the primary care giver. Her husband died and all three of her sons have autism or down syndrome or something like that. Anyways they barely have anything, but we were able to get them some help through the Bishop's Storehouse because one of the sons was baptized a while back. It felt really good to help them. I almost cry every time we go to their house. Anyways they are really receptive to the Gospel. If the Mom gets baptized her sons will follow her, so that is awesome. It's really good to see how the Gospel can changes lives. Anyways we are working hard. I realized this week I really love the people here and I love what I am doing. 

So about the kidnapping thing. We also had to go and stay in the house after conference like the Elder you heard about. I still don't know what happened, but we are fine and I am still in the mountains. 

To answer your questions I DID get two packages this week.  I just wanted to say THANK YOU! I loved it! Haha you are awesome Maham. The branch is really good. One perk about being in charge of the branch is that we get to go to The TEMPLE every month. We will go next on the 16th of this month. My comp and I are doing really great. He is awesome. One thing I have learned from him is to be charitable and love everyone, no matter what. I always see him giving his stuff to people in need, even though he comes from a really poor family and he doesn't have a lot of stuff. He is always giving to those in need. I really love that about him and am trying to learn this too. My testimony is good. I am being good. The hardest thing about being a missionary is having to eat the freaking corn tortillas every dang day. They taste so bad and get soooo old. I am always a little homesick, but I don't really think about it that much, hahah.

Freak Dad that's a weird dream. I have also been having weird dreams where I go home but I hate it because I feel like I should be in the mission field hahahah. Ever since I got to Guatemala I've remembered my dreams and have been having weird ones.

Anyways, it's kinda late. I love you guys 

Elder Tagg

PS The pictures are of me in the mountains, me at a zone meeting, and me with a blue tongue because of the candy you sent me hahah. 

Elder Tagg's previous companion (former Branch Pres)

Add caption

I think this means we don't produce this product except to sustain a life of valor...

Elder Tagg is somewhere in there!

Peek a Boo.  It's an Elder!

stick bug!

digging a font

I think they have the same barber!

looks like fun!

LOVE this

Happy Day

The Elder on the left is Evan's companion

Semana Santa

March 21 2016

Hey guys! This week has been pretty weird. First of all, I did know Elder Fifita. He was the assistant to the President when I was born (first day on the mission). He was awesome everyone loved him. He was murdered in LA on the way back from a church activity. Super sad. He had been home for like 5 months. They don't know why he was murdered. They think It was just senseless. Also this week an Hermano from the branch died. His daughter didn't tell us until the day of the funeral. So none of the members could go to... So she got real upset and said she was going to stop going to church even though she was inactive in the first place. It's sad really. She let a little thimg get in the way of her salvation. What ever... it's on her.

Anyways this week (besides all of that stuff) was good. We found some really cool people that could be baptized...But we're gonna have to work hard with some of them to get it done. We are going to do it. 

Me and my comp are getting along really well. I feel like with Elder Wil... (a Gringo),  my Spanish got worse because we would always speak English. But now that I'm back with a Latino comp, it's a lot better. I think Elder Wil... just dulled my senses a little bit. But now I'm back to full swing. Hahaha

Anyways,  this week is Semana Santa. It basically is a week of Easters where they eat bread with honey and set off fireworks and remember Jesus... Also they make street art out of colorful dust. It will be awesome. Speaking of Easters my health is good no more diarrhea, but I do have to go to the doctor about my in-grown toenail that came back... And now that you mention it, since I've been up in the mountains, my hearing in my right ear hasn't been 100% But that's a story for another day...

Anyways, I love you guys and miss you

Elder Tagg 

Street art made of colored sawdust.  To be destroyed the next day during a parade of walkers. 

March 28th 2016

  

Hey guys this week was normal except for that the freaking UNITED STATES lost to the Guatemalans in soccer for the first time in 33 years. Everybody thinks it's really funny and laughs at me hahahah.... Ahhhh it's sad that we lost. Oh also this week was Easters so that would make it a not normal week too. Here they don't call it Easter they call it the Semana Santa. Basically what that means is that nobody works they all go to the beach and get drunk.  Then on Sunday they all go to church. Pretty great right?  Another thing that they do here is they paint the roads with colored saw dust. It's pretty cool but then the next day they destroy all of it. Hahahh, all that hard work- just gone.

Anyways this week work-wise was really slow because everyone leaves. And, in this area you really need taxis to get out to all the little towns where all the people are and this week none of the taxis where working. So we didn't have as much to do and the week went by really slowly. Aside from the work being slow our investigator, Gio....  that we were going to baptize... Well his grandpa died, so we didn't get to baptize him in March. But that stuff happens I guess. 

This week I have seen how hard it is to be a church leader.  A lot of stuff went down and we had to deal with it all. It was pretty stressful... So because my comp is the branch president our calling is first for the members and less actives, and second to baptize. But one of our zone leaders doesn't understand this, even though we have explained it a bunch of times. He has been reporting that we haven't been working just because our stats are low because we are competing with our calling of working with the members and the less actives. Anyways some stuff happened there and with the death of the member. Everything has been a little crazy and we have to deal with all of it. I miss just being a regular missionary. But changes are on Wednesday so we will see what happens. I don't think I'lll have changes, but who knows. 

Anyways I haven't gotten any packages. I don't know if they are in the office and they just haven't told me anything or if they are lost in cyber space.. How long ago did you send them? 

for right now I don't need anything, but thanks. I'll let you know when I do.. 

The New York trip sounded fun even though I wasn't there.  I know you guys can have fun without me and Nathan, it will just be harder... hahaha 

love you guys and miss you!

Elder Tagg