Update 57: More Phones!

That has been the biggest project his week for sure. The never ending new phones. (Just kidding it should end in the next month or so) About 5 out of 30 have had problems so far that we're trying to resolve on top of driving around and giving them to everyone. Still not sure if we'll go out to the provinces to give them their new phones, work on bikes and English class videos. 

We had a couple birthdays and this week has had many celebrations for them. Went bowling on Monday. Had cake a couple times at various meetings. And Sunday night we had dinner with the Christensen's. 

We've got some new people to meet with. Coolest one is we just had a Pakistani family of 6 show up at church who are already members. They just got to Cambodia and I'm looking forward to hearing their story and getting to know them better. It really is an experience unlike any other being in the international branch here in Cambodia. 

Love y'all! 

- Elder Taylor

Letters will be joyously received at: 

Elder Taylor

Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission 

House 2B, st. 222 off Norodom

P.O. Box 165

Phnom Penh Cambodia 

Love y'all! 

- Elder Taylor

Letters will be joyously received at: 

Elder Taylor

Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission 

House 2B, st. 222 off Norodom

P.O. Box 165

Phnom Penh Cambodia 

(belated) Update 56: Golf with President

We went golfing with President Christensen on p-day.

Been planning on how to roll out new phones to all the missionaries. We're updating to dual SIM phones and I get to be in charge of that as office elder. 

Staying way busy, one of these weeks I'll get the balance figured out on how to write a good group email again. 

Until then, love y'all! 

- Elder Taylor

Letters will be joyously received at: 

Elder Taylor

Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission 

House 2B, st. 222 off Norodom

P.O. Box 165

Phnom Penh Cambodia 

Week 56: (No weekly email....just a short note to Mom..and the beginnings of plans to go to Cambodia!!!!)

No main email this week from Elder Taylor, but he did send this email to me in regards to my enquiring about coming to Cambodia at the end of his mission to pick him up:

I've noticed parents email Sister Scott, the mission office secretary senior missionary, and ask about details for picking people up. Don't know if that's something you want to try or not. You could ask Ashcroft's mom if it helped her at all. 

*update* talked with Ashcroft and parents need to email and talk with Sister Scott so that she knows not to buy a plane ticket back for us with the group of missionaries. 

You can reach her at 2013452@ldschurch.org

- Elder Taylor

Letters will be joyously received at: 

Elder Taylor

Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission 

House 2B, st. 222 off Norodom

P.O. Box 165

Phnom Penh Cambodia

I immediately sent an email to Sister Scott:

Hello Sis. Scott,

Elder Taylor is our son, and we are looking into the possibility of coming to Cambodia at the end of his mission to pick him up (and do some touring of Cambodia before going back the the US). His release date is toward the end of June 2018. Please let us know if this is OK, and how we might go about coordinating plans. 

Thank you so much!

Brenden and Dorothy Taylor 

...and this was her response:

Yes, of course it is ok.  Around February of next year you just need to let us know here in the mission office if you decide to come.   I will then let church travel know that you are buying the ticket home for Elder Taylor.  After you purchase his ticket, you will just scan and email his itinerary and ticket price to church travel (I will provide that email to you closer to time), and you will be reimbursed for the ticket in the amount the church would have spent to get Elder Taylor home.  From what I hear, your reimbursement check will arrive about a month before his actual departure date.  You will be invited to attend the final testimony meeting here in the mission home on the evening he will be departing, and then Elder Taylor can go with you.  Parents are asked to work within set release dates, and not request an earlier one.  I will send a letter with all the details when the time gets closer.  Sounds like a fun trip and lots to anticipate!   If you have any further questions, please feel free to let me know.  I am happy to answer any questions that might arise.

Sister Scott

To which I replied:

Thank you so much for this information. Do you know his release date? 

And she said:

It is 27 June, 2018. 

Update 55: MLC and the 4th of July!

MLC landed on the 4th of July! MLC is a big meeting we have once every transfer (1 transfer = 6 weeks) for the main leaders in the mission: Zone leaders, English Class Leaders, and Sister Training Leaders. It was a good meeting to discuss mission business and goals. We had a ton of pizza for lunch. Elder Ouk (a small native AP, assistant to the president) was way full and i piggy backed him down from the upstairs balcony we ate on. He was surprised by how smooth I walked down the stairs. Yeah marching band practice with sousaphones!   That evening we had a fun get together grill out for the 4th. We had our house of 6 elders, 2 zone leaders who were in from the provinces for exchanges, President and Sister Christensen, and the Scotts. We borrowed a grill from a small restaurant we buy breakfast from all the time. It was rough to get it going, but once it was going the going was good. We got the hook up on meat and had thick patties of New Zealand beef and homemade cookies for dessert. 

On Wednesday we needed to help south stake center set up for a spiritual thought after English class. Our appointment at the south stake center fell through, so we went back to the mission home to grab Elder Cox’s new name tag to go to him (he's teaching English class there). It’d been raining, and on the way back to the stake center traffic was super bad and it took us an hour to get there. Setting up the projector and we realize we don’t have a speaker. There was no way the car would get us there and back in time because we only had 27 minutes. Biked super hard back to the mission home on Elder Ouk’s small bike and then back on Wayne’s bike.  So strange to bike and dodge through heavy traffic on a bike again after being in a car for 3ish weeks. I was dripping sweat when we got back to the church and everyone was like, “woah! What happened to you?” Made that bike ride in record time. Spiritual thought went great though after that and I got to say hi to my old investigator Om Sin Lee. (Still investigating) 

On Friday we had a really cook start to the day. Got a text from Sister Jackson saying Kena has gained a testimony of the BOM in America and wants to be baptized when she comes back! Kena is the girl from awhile back the walked into the south stake center while I was serving there last transfer and wanted to know more about Mormons. I helped teach her the first lesson and passed her off to the office elders. Then I got transferred to be an office elder and got to teach her once before she went to America for a trip. In America she has been going to church, learning with the elders there, visited the temple grounds, and wants to be baptized when she gets back to Cambodia!   Also had a unique opportunity to go meet with a monk in his pagoda and we talked to each other in English. Way nice guy, asked to take a selfie with us before we left. I've been wanting a photo with a monk, and now I guess I have one and I didn't even have to ask. 

Lots of other things have happened, very busy in the office, but those are some of the highlights. Oh and I'm going to play golf at a driving range with President Christensen and the house today. Did I ever send pictures from the last time we went? 

3 Ne 5:3 Therefore they did forsake all their sins, and their abominations, and their whoredoms, and did serve God with all diligence day and night.

- I was reading in the Book of Mormon and this verse really caught my attention. These people changed their lives completely. They went from sin, abominations, and whoredoms, to serving God day and night. Christ has provided the way for us to change and better our lives if we will trust in him. 

3 Ne 5:13 Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.

- This is my purpose. 

I love y'all! 

- Elder Taylor

Letters will be joyously received at: 

Elder Taylor

Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission 

House 2B, st. 222 off Norodom

P.O. Box 165

Phnom Penh Cambodia 

Very nice car we were behind this week. 

We have been lacking restoration lesson pamphlets and we finally got some! 

It's like Christmas! ​​

4th of July Dinner​

Update 54: Finding Miracles

This week has been way busy, but it has been great! We found 3 new investigators, all with amazing stories. One was way in the middle of the city with hard to use directions, but some how we found him!  Another was a referral from another companionship. She left Cambodia during the Khmer Ruge, but felt that she needed to come back to Cambodia for something and is super excited to learn with us. And last one was the easiest one. On Sunday we had a random fellow show up and turns out that he's from China, but he spent the last 6 weeks in Arizona. The last 3 weeks he's been going to our church and learning with the Elders and came to church on Sunday by himself!  

One last cool experience: While we were teaching the lady for the first time, who's name is Blessing -cool right?, we had a call from an unrecognized number, so I hung up. Afterwards I called it back, expecting a random Khmer to be asking about english class, but it was an American who needed some Elders to come help give his wife a priesthood blessing because she had just had surgery. We were actually really close by, so we hurried over. His wife is Khmer and they were here visiting. So we gave the blessing in Khmer. Last update she is doing better. 

Point: God's hand is in our lives, we just have to keep our eyes open and looking for it so we don't overlook those special moments. 

I love y'all! 

- Elder Taylor

Letters will be joyously received at: 

Elder Taylor

Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission 

House 2B, st. 222 off Norodom

P.O. Box 165

Phnom Penh Cambodia