June 8, 2012

Dear Family,

How are you guys doing? I\'m doing pretty good. Sorry its taken so long for me to get Don\'s letter to you guys to send off to hem. I kept forgetting to send it, but I guess its better late then never. I am doing pretty good. I have been pretty busy the last couple of weeks since I last wrote you. I\'m still trying to contact all the less active members in the area, which is easier said than done. Mostly cause there are so many dirt roads that people live all of up here it almost impossible to find anyone up here that I haven\'t been to before. It would be nice if I had a GPS, but they are pretty expensive and I don\'t have the money to get one. I got a hair cut today cause my hair was getting really hot and it was bugging me alot. So I had Tracy cut it with a #2 on the clippers she had. Which is about 1/4 of an inch. It feels and looks good and by the time Summer is done up here I\'ll be about ready for another haircut. A couple of sad things happened this week. First is on Monday we went over to see our investigator that had a baptismal date but when we got there his girlfriend, how is a less active member that is coming back to church, told us that they got in an argument which ended up with him hitting her and her kicking him out of her house. Which is sad because our only investigator that was progressing is now living back in Bloomington with his parents. But it is good cause we had just taught the two about the Law of Chastity and how living together and not being married was breaking the Law of Chastity. To bad it had to happen the way it did. Second sad thing is I sliced my right hand open yesterday while doing service at a members house. At first we thought it was deep enough for me to have to get stitches but instead I just bandaged it up and it has since scabbed over and started to heal. I will send a picture on Monday so that you can see it. Other than those things nothing really exciting has happened. There is a guy that got called to the West Virginia Charleston Mission the other day which I though was pretty cool seeing how Karrie went to that mission. I hope everything is going good for you guys. Love you and think about you alot.

Love Ya,

Elder Taylor T Gull

PS Thanks for sending those meds. Its really helping with my allergies.

May 29, 2012

Dear Family

Sorry its been a couple weeks since I last wrote you guys. I have been really busy and it seems like I am even busier on P-Day then any other day. It’s been really busy the last couple weeks. Me and Elder Stokes have been working real hard to get to know all the Less Active Members or Part Members in our Area, which isn’t as easy as it sounds because there is a lot of them. Plus most people have work down the hill in Los Angeles or other places near LA. So a lot of people are gone during the day. We have however found some new investigators recently. There is this guy named Christopher Jordan, he is the boyfriend of a member who is trying to get back into coming to church. The first time we met them, she called and asked us to give him a Priesthood Blessing cause he had been jumped while he was paying for gas. They broke his jaw in two places and did some other things to him. I can’t really remember what though. But when we talked to them the day after the blessing. He said how he felt something, since then they have both quit smoking and we have set a baptismal date with him. This guy is really sold. It is pretty cool to talk to this guy and see his excitement to learn more about the Church. There is another person that we have somewhat started teaching that used to be one of the “Top Dogs” in a gang down in Los Angeles. But moved up here because he wants to turn his life around and learn about God. This area is starting to pick up and show some results for all the hard work I’ve been doing since I got here. I am getting better, but my allergies are still really bad. Before I forget, Happy Birthday to Mom and Kaytie. I’ll try to get something for you guys on Monday but for right now I’m broke. How is everyone doing. Its crazy that school is out again. It seems just like yesterday Del and Don graduated and now in August Kaytie is going to be a Senior in High School. That’s crazy. I’m gonna try to do a better job of keeping you informed in whats going on. I have really been slacking with that lately. Actually I have not been doing a good job with that my whole mission. I’m doing good though. I am really enjoying my mission and really like helping everyone out that will let me. I’m glad that I came on a mission instead of missing out on this awesome blessing. I know this is where I need to be there is no doubt in my mind anymore. A mission really has helped me to become a better person. I don’t get angry as much with people and I can actually stop and talk to people that I don’t know. Probably not to the extent Don does, never was as talkative as him. But most important my mission has taught me how much family really does matter. I miss you guys more than anything but I know I am making you guys proud being out here. I hope everyone is okay. Write me a letter. I like emails but I like letters better. Love you guys.

Love

Elder Taylor T Gull

Hi Jaymie,
I just met your son on Tuesday at transfers. I took a couple of pictures of him & his new companion Elder Stocker. I knew Elder Stocker from our stake, he was working with a friend of ours that was baptized in our ward but actually was in Elder Stocker's boundaries. I'll enclose the pictures I took of them.
Annette Bills
Ontario, California
MM to Elder Corey Bills
WIM-English
Jul 2011-Jul 2013

MM to Elder Tim Bills
IPM-English
Jul 2011-Jul 2013

May 7, 2012

Tomorrow is transfer day and i am staying put for 6 more weeks but elder Potts is getting transferred. its crazy how fast this transfer has gone by. i only have 5 more 6 weeks periods and then i am done. it seems like time is not on my side right now. at the same time i am happy for all the things that i have experiences that i have had. sorry i didnt write a long email. i am going to send a letter hopefully this week just need to get it wrote. well ill talk to you on Sunday.

April 18, 2012

hey how are you all doing? im doing really good in the mission field, there are not a lot of people for me and my companion to teach but we have been working really hard to find people to teach. the other day it rained and alot of the dirt roads had puddles of water on the and my the time we got to our apartment at the end of the day. the truck that we have was covered in mud. we havent been able to clean it yet but we need to get it clean before pres sees it. we got to go to the temple as a zone. it was really cool. the only problem is that i was like 30 minutes late so i wasnt able to do a session but i was able to do inititories while we were there. its really fun and its interesting all the different people that i meet everyday. i cant believe that in 9 months i will be done with me mission. its crazy to think how fast time has flown. its crazy to think that don is going to be on a mission on tuesday, again its crazy how fast time has flown. so whats new with all y'all? i really like it here in adelanto, a lot of people say that it is really ghetto but its no worse than san bernardino, and the people here are really open. we found a new investigator the other day, we had tracted into her last thursday but yesterday we went over and had a lesson with her, we taught the plan of salvation with her and she said that mormons make the most sense out of all the religions she has investigatied, currently she says she is agnostic, but she is really accepting so hopefully we can get her baptized, but its gonna be a while before we get to that point. i got the package that mom and dad sent to me today. thanks for all the things that were in it. the only problem is that me companion isnt eating sweets, so i am going to have to eat all the stuff myself, but ill just keep working out and i should be fine. its crazy i have gained i think 25 pounds while i have been out so instead of being 185 i am now 210 its crazy. but the members in the wards i have been in have fed me well just so you wont have to worry mom :). well i cant think of anything else to write hope y'all like it. i love you guys and think of you a lot
Love Ya,
Elder Taylor T Gull

April 2, 2012

hey how is everyone?
i am doing good. if you didnt know i was transferred last tuesday and now i am in adelanto instead of rancho. i really like here we have a truck that we drive cause there are a lot of dirt roads here. me and my companion live in a 3 bed 2 bath house, and we have no roomates it is just us there. my comps name is elder potts and he is from fort worth texas. he is a really cool guy. there isnt a lot of work here but we are working hard to get the work going. its nice being back in the desert i like the valley but it just seems too crowded for me. i am still a district leader and i have the samoan elders and a couple sisters and some senior missionaries too. so i have a big district. i alo have a HUGE area. it goes from palmdale road all the way to the county above san bernardino county. and from hwy 395 and aldelanto road to the la county. its the biggest area that i have been. how has everyone been? i hope everything is going good. talk to you later
Love
Elder Taylor T Gull

March 26, 2012

hey how are you? i am doing good. sorry i havent wrote a letter in a couple weeks i have been very busy on p day (so much for p-day being a day off). well this is my last monday in the hillside ward, i got the call on saturday that i was getting transferred so i get to pack all of my stuff, which is always fun. this last 6 weeks went by really fast and its crazy that a new transfer is starting tomorrow. i wonder where i am going, its always cool to see where i will go and who my new companion will be. hope fully i get a companion who like to work hard too. the past few weeks me and my companion have been tracting a lot cause we are trying to get the work going in this area and so we have been meeting a lot of interesting people lately. the other day we had set a return appointment with a potential investigator, and when we went to go have a lesson with her. her husband came out with 3 Anti-Mormon videos and he tried to "educate" us on how this church is just a cult and how we believe in a different christ... stuff that doesnt really make sence if they would just think about what they are saying. when stuff like this happens its just adds to my terstimony that this is really christs church, because if it wasnt there wouldnt as many people trying to prove its wrong. it was really hard saying bye to people. unlike in my last areas, i guess i am getting more attached to people. i have had a couple people that they are going to miss me, cause i am such a nice and funny person. the thing that i think is crazy is in june my trainer and follow up trainer go home, when i came out they had been kout for 7 1/2 months and now they are going home in 3 months its crazy time is going by really fast.how is everyone back home? when does don go on his mission again? i have talked to a couple of people in this area that are from southern brazil around where don will be for his mission and they said he will fit in there cause most of the people have the same skin as me, so him too, the only thing is that he will be taller than most of them. how is del doing? when does he start training is it next week or the week after that? ill have to go look up kayties pictures sometime. i went on last week and got a couple of the pictures of me with long hair cause no one believes me when i tell the i used to have long hair so i got the pictures to prove it. :) well i hope everything is going good with you guys. i love you and you are in my prayers. crazy general confrence is this week, before we know it mothers day will be here.
Love ya,

Elder Taylor T.Gull

March 12, 2012

hey how are you guys doing this week? i am doing really good, its week
5 of this transfer so next saturday is transfer calls and i will find
out if i am going to stay in this area for 6 more weeks or if i will
get the boot and go to a new area. yesterday at church a guy gave his
farewell talk at church, it was really good. he is going to
Chihuahua,mexico and reports to the mtc next wenesday. after church
his family invited us to have lunch with them at their house on top of
archibald. we went to it, and the only problem was we took our car to
pep boys to get the brakes worked on so we had to bike up to the
house. it was a really long ride and we were tired by the time that we
got to their house. it was a really fun time at their house but the
ride back to the apartment was really fun when we rode down archibald.
the work is going good in this ward is coming along. we had to stop
going over to a couple investigators because they werent progressing
or doing any of the things that we asked them to do. i hate doing it
but its for their good and dont want to waste their time as well as
ours. we have been trying to get splits going again, hope fully we
can do it. the elders quarom president and high priest group leader
are wanting to do it, hope fully we can get the rest of the ward
excited for it also. im sorry i have been slacking on writing back
letters i have been super busy and i havent had the time. for a couple
weeks i have been wanting to send a letter with a bunch of advice in
it for both del and don. but i havent got around to it and i feel bad.
i just need to make time on mondays and it should work out. this
monday isnt going to be like the rest since our car is in the shop,
but we are going to be doing service for a lady in our ward so i will
not have a whole lot of free time during the day. how is everyone?
well i got to go so one of my roomates can get on the computer to
check their emails. have a good week ill talk to you later.
Love,
Elder Taylor Thompson Gull :)

March 5, 2012

hey,

i am doing good. this week has gone by really fast, time is going by super fast its really nice but at the same time its not. its crazy to think that i have a little more than 10 months left. its crazy. when i first came out here it seemed like it was going to take forever, but now the end of my mission is going to be here before i know it. i really like the ward that i am in, i have a feeling like i am going to be in the ward for 6 months just like i was in san bernardino. but well have to see what happens on the saturday before the 27 to see if i am going to stay for another 6 weeks or if i will be leaving. me and my new companion are getting a long really well, he is from arizona and he used to ride bulls before he cam out. the work in the ward is going good, its slow right now cause we have had to drop a couple of our investigators cause they were not progressing or keeping any of the commitments that we asked them to do. so because of that we have been tracting like a couple hours a day looking for new people to teach. havent had much success yet but i know that well be able to find someone and we have been also been going over to a lot of the members houses and teaching them the lessons, mostly the restoration, and after the lesson we ask them if they know any one that we can go over and teach, they are getting more excited about missionary work which is really good. thanks again for the food that you dropped off it helped me out a bunch because i had barley any food and there was still a couple weeks until the first of the month. but i survived the only had thing is that the rolls that you gave me before i was able to eat them. my roomates really enjoyed the cinnamon rolls that you gave me. the are good but they are not as good as moms cinnamon rolls. but i guess beggars cant be choosers. how is the family doing? hows del? i wish i could have been there when uncle george and aunt sherry went through but i will be able to go with them after my mission. i wish i could find someone like uncle george out here to teach. i hope that someday they will send me to bloomington. hope you guys have a good week.

Love,

Elder Taylor T. Gull

p.s. are you going to send a cd and dvd for grampie like you did for grannie?

February 27, 2012

hey,
thanks for the groceries that you guys dropped off. when you sent the text message saying that you wanted to drop some stuff off for me my companion had the phone and since it was a number that the phine didnt know he thought that it was for a drug deal. im glad that you guys were able to see del and drop off a bunch of stuff for me. i greatly apprecitate it, earlier that day i had no food, all i had was a loaf of bread some peanut butter and jelly and a little bit of milk. my new companion is named elder schultz. he is from Surprise, Arizona.(its a real place) he has been out for almost 4 months i am his 2nd companion. his first area was the colton ward which i am jeouls of. last p day since we couldnt go to the libraries to email we went and hicked Mt. Cucamonga. it was really fun except for the north side of the mountain(the part we couldnt see) was covered in snow but we still went all the way to the top. another bad thing is i forgot my camera at the apartment so i wasnt able to take any pictures while i was up there. but my companion and roommates did so i will take some of there pictures. some thing crazy happened the other day, so i was riding home on my bike cause we decided to take a bike day and we were going home for lunch. so i was going really fast down the sidewalk and tried to make the turn into the drive way put i was about to crash into the sign in the middle of the two driveways. so i pulled on my back then front breaks and used too much front brake so i flew off my bike and hit my shoulder and hand into the sign. i am ok other than i bruised my shoulder and cut the palm of my right hand. such is the life of a missionary i guess. i am doing really good though, its crazy how fast time is flying. alot of the people that i met when i first cam out on my mission are going home in 9 to 15 weeks its crazy. my trainer goes home in june and when he goes home i only have 7 1/2 months left its crazy. also keith is going to be home before to long. its really fun out here. how is everyone doing? hope to get to talk to you for a little bit.

February 13, 2012

hey, 

A lot has happened this week. for starters i am not getting transfered but i am getting a new companion tomorrow. i am feeling a lot better than i have in a couple weeks and i am doing really good apart from my right shoulder hurting for what seems no reason. i talked to the medical lady and she told me to talk some ibeporfen and see if it helps so well have to see. the other day a family that me and elder crozer are teaching took us to ferrels and while we were there i ate the pig trough and after i finished eating it they made me stand on the booth and shout that i was a piggy. it was really fun plus the ice crweam there is really good. it always seems like there is always a party in there. it would be so much fun to work there but at the same time proably not. i have been talking to a guy in my current ward, who retired from the air force in 2002 and i told him how i might go in the military after my mission and he told me if i do to get into the air force cause that would be the best for me. i dont know what i waant to do after my mission and i know i shouldnt worry about it, but my mission is going to be done before i know it so i have just been talking to a lot of people about what theyt do. how is everyone doing? hope everything is going good. i love you guys.

Love,
Elder Taylor T. Gull :)